sticky fingers

Today I completed a 14-mile run, the run yet this year. It went pretty well. My pacing has become a lot more consistent, and I'm right where I'm supposed to be, which is 45-60 seconds over my planned marathon pace.

My feet are killing me. My legs feel a bit stiff, but not too bad. I did devote about 20 minutes to stretching after the run. I probably would have done more, but I really wanted to jump in the shower.

New this year is a bottle belt, which has been great. I remember seeing these on runners now and then, and I always thought they looked kind of silly. But now I'm not sure how I ever ran without them. I filled all four bottles up with gatorade, and then had an additional 12-ounce bottle hidden at the 12 mile mark (also conveniently by my apartment). It seemed to be the perfect amount of liquid for 14 miles.

Speaking of things I used to think were silly, let's talk about gatorade. In 2010, I was convinced that all sports drinks were simply sugary drinks that people consume when they want to feel slightly healthier than they do drinking soda. A bunch of overpriced propaganda for "athletes" to buy into, and defeat the purpose of the exercise in consuming all those calories. I ended up creating my own concoction, with water, juice and honey. It was kind of gross. So, this year, LTB bought a jug of powdered gatorade that he prepares before the run (meanwhile, I make our post-run smoothie.* Making the smoothie before the run and storing it in the fridge is the best idea ever).

It turns out that gatorade during the run is incredibly refreshing, energizing, and completely essential. Electrolytes or whatever, right? Water alone simply does not cut it for runs over an hour. I tried to find a link to verify this fact, but my computer isn't cooperating. So, either trust me or Google it up.

On that note, LTB did pick up some other gatorade products as part of their "G-Series." It was crap and a waste of money. That "pre-game" fuel made me nauseous and I felt weighed down for the first couple miles. No more of that, just plain old gatorade, even though it does make my fingers and face terribly sticky by the end of the run.

Did I seriously run 14 miles? It's kind of unbelievable. I felt tired towards the end, but I felt like I had my head in the right place, always remembering to only count the miles I'd finished, not how many I have left. Somehow, thinking, "woah, I already ran 5 miles! That wasn't so bad," is much much more comforting than thinking, "I have 9 miles left. Not even half way there." The latter line of thinking needs to be avoided as much as possible, for sure.

*Ingredients for my amazing smoothies: I've tried changing it up, but it doesn't get better than this: frozen strawberries, bananas, spoonful of peanut butter, couple spoonfuls of Cabot greek vanilla yogurt, almond milk, and whatever juice we have on hand -- usually grapefruit or orange.

Hello March

I've been slacking on keeping this updated over the last couple of weeks. Every run, I think about all I want to write about, and then I come home and have to go straight back to work after the shower. See, I got a new job, and I'm getting lots of overtime, which is great. Not so great for blogging. Well, the job is slowing down now, so I'm back.

I have some practicing to do, so this will be quick. Today, I had a 6 mile tempo run: 1 mile warm up, 4 miles at midtempo pace (for me, 8:15/mile was the goal), 1 mile cool down.

The snow was coming down pretty hard, but it wasn't too bad. I was getting used to the sunny 40° weather. Today was the first day I had to run with my gloves in a few weeks. It was cold enough that I didn't want to take off my gloves until after the second timed mile, so I'm not sure how fast I ran the first mile. Here's the breakdown:

Miles 1-2: 17:46 (8:53/mile)

Mile 3: 8:20

Mile 4: 8:39

Overall average: 8:37/mile

I'm falling a short of the goal, but that's fine. I can tell I'm working hard, and that's the point, right? In January, the best 4-mile run I completed averaged a 9:20 mile. I dropped an average of 33 seconds off each mile, all while running an easy mile on each side of the 4-miler. Not too bad. It's good to keep track of these things so I don't feel too discouraged when I don't meet the daily goals.

The last two long runs (9 and 10 miles), I ran at or below the goal speed, so I feel great about that. I can tell the tempo runs and the speed training is paying off.

Another victory: I made it through January and February without running on a treadmill! Every damn mile was outside, and it was great. Take that winter.

Overall, no stomach issues, no knee problems, no injuries at all right now. I still hate speed training, but the long runs are fantastic and I actually look forward to them. I'm doing pretty damn good. I know this training process will have its low points, so it's important to note the good times.

bragging rights

Real quick post to keep track of my times for the tempo run today. Goal: 1 mile easy, 5 miles at planned marathon pace (PMP), 1 mile easy. My PMP is 9:10. I think today is the first time I actually made my goal! Here's how I did. Much better on the pacing this time around. I think the differences in times have more to do with my inability to hit the "lap" button on the iPhone stop watch at the *exact* invisible mile marker. Obviously this would be easier on a tread mill, but what fun is that?

Mile 1: 8:59

Mile 2: 9:32

Mile 3: 9:05

Mile 4: 9:45

Mile 5: 8:41

Total: 46:02 (9:12/mile)

I can tell the speed training is paying off. Once again, I had speed training on Tuesday, and I hated it. 4 x 800m, 2 minute rest interval. Today, however, I was able to think to myself, "this feels a bit better than speed training, but I'm still working hard, this must be the perfect pace." And it was! Hurray! I'm totally proud of my run today.

Week 1 of Official Marathon Training: Done

Today I completed an 8-mile run, the longest yet this year. It actually felt pretty great. I get a little scared each time I take on increased mileage, which makes completing it all the more satisfying.

It's weird to think that I've done all this before, but there's still a nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me this is impossible, that I simply don't have the constitution, the body, the willpower to make it through this. I think this is the reason why people run marathons. I know it is for me. Because I can think back on this at any point in my life, whenever things seem impossible, and remember that that nagging voice is nothing but a scared, ignorant, lying source of misinformation. It's sounds corny as hell, but seriously, there have been countless times when I've thought to myself, "I ran a goddamn marathon. I can do anything."

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm doing the "train less, run faster" program, which started this week. As I was warned, just because I'm training less days a week, this does NOT make it any easier. This is freaking hard, and I am feeling pushed right to the edge of my ability. However, I am hugely grateful for having a day off in between runs. I ran Monday/Wednesday/Friday and did yoga on Tuesday and Thursday. Not surprisingly, my knee pain is GONE. Like magic. Even after the 8-miler today, I feel great. I didn't even need ice.

So, Monday involved speed training. 10-20 minute warmup (about 1.5 miles jogged slowly, followed by stretching), then 3 x 1600 meters (1 mile) at a 10K-45 second pace, 1 minute rest intervals. End with 10 minute cool down. I thought this would be easy! Only three miles? And I get a whole minute to rest in between? Piece of cake. My pace was supposed to be 7:15/mile -- quite fast for me, but I'm only doing one mile at a time, so how hard could it be?

I was hoping to run on a track, but that proved trickier to find than anticipated. I called UVM's athletic department to ask if I could use their track and got no response. I then called Burlington High School, and they said it was cool so long as the gate was unlocked, which they said it should be. Drove down there early afternoon, and it was locked. Argh. SO, I went down to the waterfront instead, as they at least have mile markers on the bike path. I was hoping to run on some rubber, but had to deal with the asphalt once again.

Once warmed up on the bike path, I began the first run, iPhone in hand to measure the miles. Turns out I really need a watch, or a stopwatch. The iPhone screen turns off, and it's too easy to accidentally hit the pause button on the touch screen. Plus I kept yanking my headphones out of my ears. I gave up on music by the third mile.

For the first mile, I felt like I was running fast as hell, but I made it in 7:30-ish. I felt exhausted. The one minute of rest FLEW by and I felt like I was still gasping for air on the second mile. "I hate this. I hate this. I hate this," is what ran through my mind. I finished the second and third miles in about 8 minutes. I felt really uncomfortable and unhappy the whole time. This is very different from the long distance running I'm used to. Plus side? It went by really fast, I guess.

Day #2: easy 2 miles, 2 miles at 10K pace, easy 2 miles. I was wary about running 6 miles for the first time, but I actually really liked this run. The easy miles were, well, easy and quite enjoyable. I didn't quite make my desired 10K pace (8 minutes), and was closer to 9 minutes. We'll work on that.

Day #3: 8 miles at planned marathon pace + 30 seconds. For me, that's 9:40/mile. This was actually great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous -- about 40 degrees and soooo sunny. I think this is my favorite running weather. Just perfect. The run was challenging, but I felt prepared for it. Now, I have GOT to work on my pacing. With the "lap" feature on the iPhone stopwatch, I tried to capture my times for each mile. After the fourth mile, it looked like it wasn't letting me do that any more -- turns out it just scrolled down and I could have kept using it. So, I only got the first 5 miles, and it's obvious that I'm all over the place and not great with pacing.

Overall, my time was about 81 minutes, or 10:07/mile. I don't have the exact time because a) I didn't start running the second I hit "start" and, b) my phone froze at the end of the run for about 30 seconds. Here's the breakdown. This looks ridiculous:

Mile 1: 10:00

Mile 2: 9:11

Mile 3: 10:44

Mile 4: 9:47

Mile 5: 9:21

Miles 6-8: 32 minutes (10:40/mile)

Miles 3 and 6 involved a ridiculous hill on Battery Street -- 6 solid blocks of a relatively steep decline/incline. This is actually what runners face at the 15th mile of the Burlington Marathon, affectionally referred to as the "assault on battery." I figured I should get a handle on it so it doesn't wipe me out like it did in 2010. It's surprising that running DOWNhill (mile 3) slowed me down so much. I think I was holding back as I saw it as an excuse to conserve my energy, but there's no excuse for that time. I'm assuming that running up the hill on mile 6 slowed me down to about 12 minutes, and I ran 7 and 8 in 10 minutes each. I felt like I was crawling up that thing. It's pretty damn tricky.

Week 1 is done. I feel great. I love how breathing feels after a long run. My lungs feel so open, like I was never really breathing before. Have I mentioned how much more energy I have now? How I can climb the multiple flights of stairs to my apartment without being out of breath? Life is good.

I won't do what you tell me, KNEES

I can't tell if my knee is getting better or not. Well, my left knee, which was originally the reason I went to my doctor, feels great now. Now it's my right knee that is killing me. I told my physical therapist this, and we were both stumped as to how this happened.

On Tuesday, my PT put some tape on my knee in a funny design. I had not realized there was such an art to this. She used a fancy type of tape that will stay on my knee for several days, through showers and all. My Wednesday run felt a lot better. I really felt like it was all getting worked out and I could cancel the rest of my PT appointments. Today I thought I'd give LTB's knee compression wrap a shot, as he didn't need it and I was feeling desperate for quick fixes. Unfortunately, it made my knee feel a lot worse -- probably the worst it's ever felt. I've since stretched, iced, and took some Aleve, and now it's feeling fine.

I'm sick of this.

In my unprofessional opinion, I think the wrap made my knee feel worse because it forced my leg to stay straighter and bend in a weird fashion, which I think only served to exaggerate the way my foot slightly turns out when I run. But, I don't really know what I'm talking about.

I'll keep on doing the exercises and stretches recommended by my PT. Tomorrow is a rest day, and I plan on practicing some serious yoga. Even with the pre and post-run stretching, my legs feel so incredibly tight. It's ridiculous. I have to think that this is part of the problem.

I'm glad my PT hasn't recommended that I stop running completely, and didn't tell me to cut down my runs during the last visit. My doctor didn't seem too concerned, and didn't do any x-rays or MRIs. Of course, I have to go and read a bunch of medical articles on the internet, self-diagnose, and convince myself that I need surgery and I'll soon be unable to walk. The internet is a dangerous place, people. I suppose I should trust the professionals to do what they do.

As for running times, even when I'm in pain I'm hovering around 37-38 minutes for the 4-mile run. I had one 35-minute run last week, which I was happy about and felt like I could have continued if not for these frustrating joints. I'm stubborn about running the entire time, and I've nearly made it through the month of base training - just two more 4-mile runs this week. The real training begins next week.

I realize I haven't shared the training plan with this blog yet! So, I'm going with the 3 days a week, "Train Less, Run Faster" program. Yup, only three days a week, with cross-training 2-3 days a week. I plan on doing A LOT of power yoga. I really think this plan will be beneficial for my joints, and I'm excited about the transition. I have definitely noticed that my knee(s) feel a whole lot better after taking a day off, and this program will allow for 1-2 days off between every run. Never running 2 days in a row. I think this is what my body wants.

Let's not forget about the music. No contest, the best music for running through the pain like the obstinate runner I am: Rage Against the Machine.

I swear, this song comes on my mp3 player and I my legs turn from agonizing stumps to limbs of an olympic athlete. I also appreciate how long this track is, as compared to my playlist's bookending 2-minute punk rock tunes.

Oh, Tom Morello, you slay me.

two steps back

Sometime between my last post and now, I developed some knee and ankle pain. I don't exactly know what's going on, but I'm not happy about it.

Running outside in the winter is hard on the joints, no doubt. I'd usually spend more time running on the grass next to the sidewalk when possible, but the frozen ground is just as tough on the joints as cement this time of year. Perhaps worse, it seems, as the ground is uneven and ankle rolls are more likely.

Except for the anticipated soreness, my joints were fine for the first couple weeks. Then the pain slowly crept on, mostly in my left knee and right ankle. It hurt the most going down hill. The pain never got excruciating, but it was enough to slow me way down (too stubborn to ever stop and walk). It's kind of hard to describe, but it wasn't always the pain that slowed me down, but often my lack of stability, like my bones were all out of alignment. In the hours following runs, I could barely climb stairs, or bend my knee to get in my car. Walking became quite a chore.

In the last week, I've spent a bit more time stretching after runs, and I've been icing my joints. Ibuprofen is magical - although I've been trying to run without it so I can actually tell if I'm hurting myself or getting better. It has improved a bit, but I still don't feel 100%. The feeling that you could go faster, if only it weren't for joint pain, is really frustrating.

So, as it was clear it wasn't going to go away on its own, I made an appointment with my doctor. My doctor referred me to a physical therapist. I had my first meeting with the PA on Tuesday. She observed how I walked, testing my flexibility and strength. I learned that one of my feet slightly turns out (although not enough to require orthotics), my hips are tight, and my knee is creaking. She recommended some stretches and strength building exercises. She didn't tell me that I needed to stop running (*phew*), but did suggest that I cut back a bit. I don't know, you guys... it sucks to hear this. I'm scheduled to see the PA every week through February.

Today was a rest day, and I did some hip-opening yoga. It felt amazing. I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow and decide whether or not to do the full 4-mile run. I'm not intentionally trying to rebel or hurt myself, but I stubbornly believe I know my own body. I'll take it day by day.

So frustrating. I just want to go back to improving my times.

like a gazelle

Second run of the third week of base training, and I finally feel like I'm in shape again. I felt that coveted "runner's high" for the first time in a while, as I kept my head up and focused throughout the 4 miles. None of those, "uggh this is awful when is going to stop" thoughts that have been running through my head for the last two weeks. I'm sure those thoughts will be back, though. It was nice to be reminded that running is actually enjoyable!

Before the run, I really wasn't feeling it. I've been running 5 days a week, taking off Tuesday and Friday (always subject to change depending on the weather). The last two days, Saturday and Sunday, were rough. It was absurdly cold. The high on Sunday was 6 ºF, with a low of -8. This morning, when I woke up and checked the temperature, wunderground reported -5. Ack!

Also worth noting is my yesterday was filled with a debilitating migraine. All I could do, for hours, was lie down with a blanket over my eyes. While I'm certainly no doctor and may spend too much time self-diagnosing, I think dehydration may have triggered my first migraine in years. Saturday night, I went out and had a few drinks - first time since NYE, actually. I did not properly rehydrate before passing out (not that I drank all that much). The next day, I don't recall drinking much water, nor consuming more than a sip before jumping in the shower post-run. Before I knew it, scintillating scotoma took over my vision, so I downed a bunch of water and took some excederin, but it was too late. My afternoon was ruined.

So, fully recovered today, I wanted to stay that way and was in no mood to run. But I did anyway, of course. I remember an interview with a competitive marathon runner that I read a while back, where the interviewer asked the runner at the starting line how he was feeling. His response was simple: it doesn't matter. It might come off as cold and callous, but I find it somehow calming and zen-like. It's true. It doesn't matter how I'm feeling before a run, not emotionally anyway. Obviously physical problems are a different story, but when I'm running, but those silly thoughts and emotions are a different story. I'm going to run anyway. I might be cranky, scared, tired, enthusiastic, optimistic - it's irrelevant. Just run.

I wish I could find the interview. I think it was in Runner's World like 2 years ago.

Today, I just ran. I lost myself in the moment, and it felt great. The temperature increased to a balmy 15 ºF, and I did feel the difference. I felt like I could use that energy normally devoted to shivering to, you know, running. I can tell that running in this frigid air is going to pay off come spring time.

And, I had my best time yet for the 4-mile run: 37:30. Still, at 9:20/mile, I'm not quite at my 8:00/mile goal, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely.