coming back

backlog -

sunday: 3 miles, slightly under 30 minutes. i did the last .25 at 8:30 pace for some reason . . .

monday: rest day

new and exciting plans -

so now josh and i are thinking about running the disney world marathon, held this year on january 8th, 2006. i still want to do philadelphia (november 20th) but i think that both would be do-able, as long as i don't try to run both as fast as i can. i would ideally love to qualify for boston in one of these races, but depending on how things go, i might just go for a more moderate goal of dropping my initial time by 10 minutes.

we'll just have to see.

josh ordered some new books from amazon on training, and i'm contemplating using the pfitzinger method that everyone talks about (well, everyone being a bunch of running-obsessed people on the runners world forum - although seeing as i've read their posts, i shouldn't really talk). i believe there are programs of different lengths (12 vs 18 weeks) and of different peak mileages (and while there is no way in hell i'm going anywhere near 70 mpw, i could imagine 55).

anyway . . . an 18 week plan would put me somewhere in late july to start the program, so i'm going to continue my recovery ramp-up and then do some weeks of 5K training to improve my speed. i'd love to find an actual 5K to test myself with at the end . . . anyone have any suggestions (somewhere around durham, nc)?

recovery, continued

so it's sort of frustrating - i feel pretty recovered. in fact, i feel essentially that i'm ENTIRELY recovered. so it's hard to rationalize having to do this whole reverse-taper thing when i want to start up a new training program full-swing.

but i'm going to resist my overambitious urges, because everything i read tells me it would be a big mistake not to do a gradual build post-marathon. at least next week i'm going back up to about half my original marathon mileage -- and hopefully i'll feel ready to run on the trails next sunday.

the rest of this week (recovery, week 0!)

thursday: 3 miles, 30 minutes
friday: 3 miles, 30 minutes
saturday: 3 miles, 30 minutes
sunday: take a wild guess :)

road to recovery

all right! i went running today after 3 days of total rest. my 3 slow miles felt ok: not terrible, not wonderful. i think i'm a little dependent on running for stress relief/relaxation, because i've been missing . . . something . . . the last few days. does that make me crazy? don't get me wrong, i love my rest days, but generally only one in a row.

that might make me crazy. but what can you do?

i can just add running to my list of addictions, which also includes:

1. coffee
2. peanut butter
3. desperate housewives
4. trashy magazines
5. making lists of things

not the best habits, but definitely not the worst.

now what!?

thanks everyone for your comments!! it's so awesome to get feedback -- i will be sure to check out everyone's site who posted here . . .

in response to the iPod question - it's fine, now. but i've had this problem twice now where after running 2-3 hours with it, it freezes completely and then finally stops as if the battery is gone -- but there's NO WAY it's really gone, because i fully charged it beforehand (both times) and the little 'battery icon' wasn't even halfway used up! then, both times, it 'woke up' after a little charging. so maybe it IS battery issues - but if so, then the battery life certainly isn't what apple cracks it up to be.

complaints aside, i still love my tempermental machine. a lot.

ok. so i ran a marathon. but . . . now what?

here's the plan i've come up with for now . . . but it's subject to change!

recovery: i plan on taking the 4 weeks in a 'reverse taper', without much speedwork or super-long runs. i'm thinking something like:

this week (i'll call it week 0): run or walk (depending on how things feel) 30 minutes thursday, saturday, and sunday (today will be the last day of total rest)

week 1 of reverse taper: total 20 miles, split into five runs of 3, 3, 4, 4, and 6 miles

week 2 of reverse taper: total 27 miles, split into 5, 3, 5, 5, 9. maybe one day of easy-ish intervals

week 3 of reverse taper: total 32 miles, split into 6, 4, 5, 5, and 12 (i love my 12 mile weekend group runs and i can't wait to get back there!).

then, i'll do some specific 5K training (haven't picked out a 5K though, yet!)

and THEN, i want to train for a fall marathon, probably philadelphia. and someday, maybe not this time around, i would like to qualify for boston.

i can't help it. i like goals. they make life interesting.

26 miles of (sort of) fun

the drive: we left for cleveland at 7:30 am, which is 2 hours later than i originally wanted to leave, because i was originally on crack. anyway, the drive there was relatively uneventful, although i kept pestering josh with questions like, 'do you really think i'll make it?' and 'wait, do you really really think i'll make it?'. he was tolerant of this. actually, more than tolerant. but i had to take his optimism with a grain of salt, because he has run marathons without training. at all. with just one no-nonsense stop at subway for lunch and several mini driver-switching stops, we arrived in cleveland at 4:30, with plenty of time to get our numbers and chips at the expo

the carbo-load: thanks to my friend brian who is a cleveland native, we had recommendations to go on, and the place (mama santa) was perfect pre-race fuel. we ate lots of pasta and pizza (and i mean lots). josh completed his traditonal pre-race ritual of gettin' a little tipsy. i drove us back to the hotel (hampton inn, very very convenient). we crashed.

the race: so i ended up wearing the new shirt josh gave me for my birthday despite all the advice to not change anything -- and it worked out, luckily. it even had a cute little pocket in the back where i stashed 3 gels. but enough with the fashion, and on to the running . . .

* miles 1-2: very crowded. i tried to be social but realized that i'm happiest with the iPod on (i swear, i'm a really friendly person, but not so much with strangers, and especially not when i'm super-nervous, which i was.

* miles 2-13: an uneventful first half. i ran at a fairly consistent pace between 9:00 and 9:30 per mile, and i worried that i was going too fast, but i was going at what felt natural and relaxed to me, so i figured i wouldn't mess with it. ate a gel at mile 9 or so (nasty, but i am scared to run long distances without them). my iPod and i were very happy.

* miles 13-16: still feeling good. i started to think about what the wall might feel like if i hit it, and i started to get nervous, but excited to reach the mythical 20th mile. another (gross) gel at mile 15-ish. i was still happy, though. me and my iPod.

* miles 16-20: miraculously still feeling good. still rocking out to the iPod.

* sometime during mile 20: i'm rocking out to queen/david bowie singing 'under pressure'. i'm thinking about how happily appropriate the song is, becuase i'm sort of under pressure to finish strongly at that point (i spent most of this race analyzing various songs that i've heard 8 million times. dissociation -- i'm very good at it). and then . . . the THING STOPS. just stops. freezes in the middle, right in the MIDDLE, of the classic 80s anthem that i was basking in. i began to worry about my abilities to run -- even finish -- without my apple-friend.

* miles 20-23: i start to hurt. i start to worry about the wall that others around me are clearly -- hitting. people who were obviously going much faster than me before were sort of shuffling along looking like death. i didn't want that to happen to me, but . . . how could i prevent it? i ate another gel (UGH), or some of it, wishing they came in injectible or absorbable (the Gu-Patch!?)form. and oh, i missed my music. but at least there were some people in the sidelines offering encouragement. i did all i could to muster up a 'thank you'.

* miles 23-26: i realize why people say marathons are so hard. i realize why people say that the last 6 miles of the marathon are 'a different race altogether' -- it hurts! but the wall -- the evasive wall -- i'm just didn't hit it. despite my calves feeling extremely stiff and bruised, i didn't feel like going slower would help. i didn't feel like i had no fuel, just that i was tired of running and wanted to be DONE. so i kept going. josh joined me for the last .2! and then it was over.

4 hours, 1 minute, 57 seconds (chip time); 4:03:something by the clock.

i'm really really happy with how things went. i don't think i could have gone any faster -- i felt truly depleted and FINISHED at the end of the race. i am super-super-super sore now, maybe partly because we got in the car and drove right home (9 freaking hours!) after showering at our hotel. i want to run another one! and maybe someday i'll regain the ability to walk down stairs. i hope so, anyway.

details to follow

i want to write on and on about my first marathon right now, but i have to go to work. i will work on a report tonight, but here are the numbers:

time for each mile:
9:59
9:02
9:26
18:01 (2 miles)
9:16
9:16
8:59
9:32
9:21
9:14
9:07
8:52
18:15 (2 again)
9:11
9:06
9:06
8:46
9:13
9:09
9:33
9:19
9:32
9:28
9:20
(i forgot to measure the .2!)

total = 4 hours 2 minutes

overall, i had a great time. and i definitely haven't run my last marathon (probably in a different city next time, though!). more to follow . . .

last one (almost)

4 miles, 3 slow and then 6 x 100S. just a 2 mile jog between me, and . . . oh my god.

the marathon is in 2 days.

did i REALLY decide consciously to run 26 miles? a mile for every year that i've lived, plus one? did i REALLY sign up for that?

i think i'm going through stage 1: denial.

let's hope the others pass by quickly, becuase i've only got 48 hours!!
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

people actually read this?

dianna, thank you so much for the encouraging comment yesterday :) i seriously wasn't sure if anyone ever read this blog (which is more boring than my other blog, which is still sometimes pretty boring) . . . and now i know that at least 1 person does!

yesterday's run was fine - i really am NOT a big fan of tapering, however! i miss the hard workouts and oddly crave longer intervals and hills. but i'm holding back. the run:

* 1.5 miles / 15 minutes warmup
* 3 x 400m, 7.5 mph, 7.6 mph, 7.7 mph respectively, with maybe 250m jogging in between each
* 1 x 800m, 7.8 mph (7:40 pace). the song 'toxic' came on and i just had to extend this last interval . . .
* 1.3 miles / 13 minutes cooldown

total = 4.5 miles

i'm trying to figure out what to wear to the marathon. i want to be comfortable (or as comfortable as one can be when running 26 miles), and i also want to look cute in my photos (vanity, yeah, so what!?). i know you're not supposed to do anything 'different' on race day compared to training, but i kind of want to get a technical/breathable shirt, because otherwise i'm going to be stuck in cotton, since that's all i currently own. i did manage to survive my 16, 18, and 20-milers in cotton, but i have a feeling it could be warmer in the race. i'm definitely going to wear my new shoes (although i wish i had gotten a couple more weeks of break-in time on them -- next time!) and a pair of red shorts that are my most trusty and comfortable, but the top -- i may have to go shopping tomorrow. although josh claims that there just might be something running-related amongst my shower of birthday presents tomorrow. so we'll see!

tapering: not as fun as it sounds

ok, so i have lots of updating to do. fortunately, i haven't been slacking on the running as much as i have on the posting! i managed to get my runs for the week in while i was in philadelphia, though it was sort of challenging.

last week: the mini-taper

monday - off
tuesday - 6.5 miles intervals (i wrote about this in the last entry)
wednedsay - off
thursday - 75 minutes outside (many hills!) in philadelphia, over 7.5 miles, i'm sure
friday - 42 minutes outside (6 X 100 S after 30 minutes of running) - about 4.5 miles
saturday - 4 miles on the treadmill (at 6 am . . . before the wedding!)
sunday - ok, this was really done on monday, but i'm pretending it wasn't a day late: 10 miles treadmill

total = 32.5 miles

this week: the real taper

the plan . . .

monday - off (well, really 10 miles, but let's pretend)
tuesday - off
wednesday - 15 minutes easy, 4 x 400S, 15 minutes easy
thursday - 3 miles, 6 X 100S
friday - rest
saturday - 2 mile jog (i might do this friday instead - we'll see!)
sunday - marathon!!!!!!!!!

i'm excited already! and totally scared out of my mind . . .

need for some speed

i hadn't done relatively fast intervals in a while - my program had focused more on mileage and long runs (i guess that makes sense, for a marathon!). yesterday i got to do a somewhat speedier workout, and it felt pretty good - i can't wait to put more interval work into my schedule after this race. maybe i'll go to the actual track instead of the treadmill . . . or maybe not :)

6.5 mi total

1 mile warmup, 10 minute pace
3 x 1 mile 8:34 minute per mile pace (quarter mile jogs in between each)
3 x 800m: the first 2 at 8:00/mile pace, the last at 7:40/mile pace (yeah!)
(again, 400m jogs in between)

no cooldown b/c i was running late. oops.

OH - my new shoes feel great! cushiony and comfortable. yay!

20 miles: check!

ok, so it wasn't exactly how i envisioned it, but i did complete 20 miles o' fun yesterday. i had planned to do 14 miles on trails/roads in duke forest with the running group i've been going with, and then josh was going to join me for 6 more.

the 14-miler actually went really well - i felt strong and didn't even mind the hills at the end (which suck). however, josh's leg started acting up (probably some kind of muscle strain - so sad!) and instead of doing the last 6 miles with him, i had to finish alone. and because i couldn't take the idea of running on the cross country course (hello, 6 more miles of hills? the marathon ITSELF will be flat!), i got in the car and finished up in the gym. on the treadmill.

josh says it counts, so nobody tell me that it doesn't. because i need to confidently believe that i ran 20 miles (which means just SIX MORE 2 weeks from now!). i didn't hit 'the wall' (and i kept waiting for it, too!), but i'm sure i will during the real race. i had a gel at mile 9 and again at mile 14 (and ugh, i HATE those things when they are warm - nasty) and i think that helped, so i'll definitely plan on doing the same for the marathon, although i'll plan on taking an additional one at mile 20!

weekly mileage: 50.5. and now it's time to taper!

oh yeah - i ordered shoes on line, the new balance 754. the 753 (my old shoe) was being phased out to the point where i couldn't find it in my size, so i figured i'd go with this new model which is supposed to be similar. i'm excited to try them out - tomorrow.

slow miles

4 miles, 3 of them at slow 10:00 pace and then 6 x 100 speed intervals at the end.

i need new shoes. i'm going to get some today. i think it's almost urgent; my ankles and feet just feel - unsupported and uncomfortable. hopefully, the footware is the problem - they definitely have about 500 miles on them, so it's time for replacement anyway!

i read a chapter of the competitive runner's guide (by bob glover) while on the treadmill (i know, i'm crazy) and learned a bit about race tactics while 30 minutes SPED by. i didn't even have my ipod on, because i wanted to concentrate!

i'm getting more and more nervous but excited about the marathon. i hope i survive, because i'm figuring out some great training plans for later in the summer, with the help of the book.

90-minute morning

yesterday i did my prescribed 90-minute run (treadmill, of course) in the morning. i ran at 9:30 pace the whole time, which quite honestly was probably too fast. i think i should be taking it easier on long runs unless i'm actually trying to do a speed workout or tempo run. my pride says, "but 9:30 miles are still really sloooowwww" but really they don't feel that slow when you're on the 9th one.

also, my foot started to hurt. i think i need new shoes. i'm going to get the same ones i have now (new balance 753s) because i've never had any problems running in them before. really very few blisters, even. and i don't want to mess with a good thing . . .

today i just have a 3 mile run + 6 X 100 S (so 4.2 miles total). i'm running at 10:00 mile pace, even if it feels too easy. i don't want to overtrain, especially so close to the race. sadly, i've read multiple times that you can't 'cram' for a marathon.

TM half marathon

i think i just completed the hardest workout of my training program. it wasn't as long as the last couple of weekend runs that i did, but it was plenty long -- and i was alone, tired after a day of work, and on the treadmill.

somehow, i did it. and i'm thrilled that i don't have to do a run like it again for the duration of this program. because it wasn't so much fun. i figure they put it in there for 'mental toughness' -- and hopefully it worked!

13 miles / 2:01:20 (although sort of broken up into pieces)

2 mi @ 9:20 pace

4 x 2 mi (all at 9:00/mile pace)

3 mi @ 10:00 pace

wow.

i can't believe i'm really doing this

saturday: 5 mi

sunday: 18-19 (i'll go with 18.5) mi, the first 2/3 mostly on trails with a group and the last 1/3 with josh on the road

total mileage for week: a record-breaking (for me) 46 mi

i'm shocked that the 18-miler on sunday wasn't harder than it was. my main problem was the i started to get a stitch at the end and i had to run practically doubled over to the finish. my legs, surprisingly, did not feel fatigued at all. i couldn't believe it. maybe i just hadn't gone far enough to reach that elusive 'wall' -- or maybe i'm really good at storing a lot of glycogen. yeah!

i had a gel at mile 8 and again at 12.5. i drank water a bunch of times too - i hope i can figure out what caused the pain towards the end of the run so that i can prevent it in the actual race. next week is my last long run (20 mi), so we'll see . . . i cannot believe i'm actually going to do this.

i can't back out now. no one runs 18 miles for the hell of it. i'm running this freakin marathon. yeah!