Running: May 16-22

[limewave]

I'm taking the initiative this week . . .

5 very early miles for me yesterday morning. I'm still feeling sluggish from the 25k last week, but not feeling pain anymore.

No races for me on the horizon. My goal for the summer is to keep my long runs between 6-9 miles and I want to work on my 10k pace. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to run an 8:30 min/mile 10k.

I see speed work and hill repeats in my near future.

[Grog]

I've been quiet the last couple of weeks, lots of work and lots of time spent playing outside or reading books instead of being online. Felt good, actually!

Yesterday was my first marathon, the Capital City Marathon in Olympia, WA. I wrote this in an email to a friend this morning and I thought it was a good race report overall, so for all of those who wonder how my race went, here it is:

The Capital City Marathon is - it has to be said - a *fantastic* event. I'd call it a boutique marathon. Less than 400 runners (on the full marathon), a beautiful rural course, well-staffed water stations every other mile, a de-luxe pasta dinner sponsored and hosted by some local Italian restaurant for $12 (!!), great soft-shell like jackets instead of one-more-tshirt, and beautiful weather on top of it, a little sunny a little cloudy not too warm. No medal but a "finisher's tile" (nice to use as a coaster) instead. What else can you ask for? It's also a really shallow field as there are few really fast times being posted and fewer really slow times, they don't allow walkers in the marathon. Really, if you're ever going to do a marathon in your life, you have to go and do that one. (Hopefully they find a new race director - theirs, a volunteer, is retiring this year after many years of service. Anyone interested?)

The only thing that's not included is a flat course. I don't know who said it's supposed to be a relatively flat course but it's really rolling hills, and the elevation graph does not do justice to it. Maybe 4 miles of flat total, other than that pretty significant rolling hills the whole time. It just gets steeper in the second half. I was aiming for 4:30 but my first half was fairly rapid, I was on pace for 4:15, but I slowed down a bit on uphills and a lot on downhills, which kill my feet and hips. The last three miles did me in, as can be seen here:
http://slowgeek.com/ru/Grogotte/1750601626?unit=km

My wonderful husband Chris followed me along with a rental bicycle (thanks to the Olympia Outfitters store) almost the whole way. The roads were really really quiet and he was able to ride on the other side without interfering with the race (or traffic - what traffic??). Chris went for a couple of miles at a time and then waited for me - why always at the top of the hill? - to take pictures or cheer. It was great.

I very much enjoyed the experience overall, including the training, but if I was to do it again I would train for about 6 months, with a significant amount of speedwork, to take it under 4 hours. It would be some work but within the realm of possibility. But I'm not sure I'll have enough time to train for this again before I retire (or get a maid, a driver, and a personal assistant). For now, I'm going to get a new bike. :) I also want to increase my foot strength by progressively introducing so-called barefoot running (i.e. Nike Free or Vibram 5-fingers).

We went down to Olympia from Vancouver on the Amtrak Cascades train. The train! It's wonderful. And there is a lot of road work on the I-5 around Tacoma this year so after all it probably would have been longer to drive according to locals. This being said, it's not fast, about 2/3 of the speed compared to driving. The worst bit is Vancouver BC to Everett, after that it speeds up. It took us even longer coming back last night because there was an incident on the track - we didn't hit anyone but the conductor had to do an emergency stop because of someone looking unstable walking by the track, and then we had to wait for the sheriff to pick him up. There is a beautiful view of the water to be had about 85% of the time, and it's a lot more comfortable than the bus. The food is good (relative to train food in general) and not that expensive, they even serve micro-brews (so I could get a Deschutes Black Butte to celebrate), and the rolling personnel is hilarious (as my experience has been on North American trains in general). I just wish I had more time on the Coast to justify the length of the train trip, but on the other hand I don't think driving would have been a good alternative.

Thanks everyone for the cheers and tips when I was in training!

[colby]

I did about 18 miles yesterday, it was rough. I had a rough weekend all around. The weather was hard on me (too warm, too dry, too soon) and I just felt "off". I walked more than I have in a really long time and stopped often where I could to cool off with river water on my head/face (I was dreaming of those soaked sponges they give you at Ironman run aid stations). I ran out of water at about mile 13-14, which was 3 miles shorter than last week's run when I didn't run out of water at all. This will probably be my longest long run before Ironman and I have to let it not get me down. ;)

[Crankin]

I ran 5k yesterday to test out my Zoot compression tights after the run (see the apparel thread).
It was a bit painful, but I brought no electronics, since i seem to do better without focusing on that right now. I know I am far below the 9:45 pace I had last summer. Last June I bought new shoes; my bunion was killing me in my shoes. The new ones are great for that, but not enough support for my shins and other places that have hurt in my last few runs. I had no trouble before. When I get back from my cycling trip, new shoes are first on the agenda, because I signed up for a 5k on June 5th! I am sure I will be DFL, but I didn't want to do the walk. It's for the cancer wing of the local hospital; my good friend is a development officer for the hospital (i.e. she's in charge of the event).
What have I done? I am not competitive at all. And the course ends on a hill...

[OakLeaf]

Way to go Grog!!

Yesterday was my first too, we took the long way home today and did a little sightseeing so I'll put together a full report later - but the weather was perfect, I had fun and beat my time goal by 8-1/2 minutes (4:21).

I feel better today than I have any right to, I think - like, better than I've felt the day after a lot of my longer training runs at a much slower pace. Makes me wonder if I just didn't work hard enough yesterday. :confused: I guess that's what I get for having a hypothetical Magic 8-Ball as my coach.

[colby]

Way to go, Grog! Just under 4:30. :D Sounds like a beautiful course, too.

And, another WTG to OakLeaf - beating your goal by over 8 minutes is awesome. Not being sore is even more awesome. It doesn't mean you didn't work hard enough, it means you worked within appropriate limits and your magic 8-ball training plan worked well. (Or that your delayed onset soreness hasn't started yet) ;) Maybe you could have gone harder, but it's hard to find that balance - I'd rather go easier, reach my goal confidently, and not feel dead the next day than cut 5 minutes off my time and not be able to walk.

[Bike Chick]

Way to go all of you! Quite impressive.

[Grog]

Great work Oakleaf, congrats!

I feel the same as Colby: I think I could have gone harder at times, but I know I would have had a sh**ty week, and I need all of my senses and my whole brain at work. I didn't want to feel tired and spent for more than a day. I'm a little sore, going down stairs is not very pleasant, but absolutely tolerable, especially once I get going.

[limewave]

Yay Grog and Oakleaf!!! What an accomplishment! :D

[zoom-zoom]

Wow, awesome results, marathon ladies! Enjoy your reverse taper recovery time. :)

[skhill]

Way to go, Grog and Oakleaf!!

I don't know what happened, but somehow I did my 6 miles at an 8:54 pace this morning. It felt comfortably fast (which is maybe 9:10 or so for me) not fast fast (sub 9:00 for that distance); could my new-found enthusiasm for speedwork be paying off already? I was thinking of aiming for sub 55 min in my next 10k, but maybe I can aim even lower (it's not until July 4)....

[limewave]

I've switched modes and am doing a 10k training program that focuses on speed work/intervals. . . . Even though I have no 10k plans in the near future :rolleyes:

2 mi WU 10 min pace
4 x 400's @ 1:50 ea
1 min recover b/w
2 mi CD 10 min pace

Phew!

Anybody hear from Urlea lately?

[rocknrollgirl]

I checked her blog, she has been having some injuries, but she did her 50k this weekend and kicked it!

[Susan Otcenas]

Congrats to all the marathoners! You are all so inspiring.

I did 10.3 miles this morning. I didn't get enough sleep last night (like 5 toss-n-turn hours) so I wasn't expecting much, but my pace turned out better than expected. Around 10:22 per mile.

Jeff had whole wheat applesauce pancakes waiting for me when I got home. :)

[kacie tri-ing]

8 with some speedwork. I felt better than expected considering I did my first olympic this weekend.

Awesome work ladies!!! Keep it up!

[yellow]

Did somebody say whole wheat applesauce pancakes???

Oh, I ran today for the first time since February 17. 1 min walk/1 min run for a total of 20 minutes. My PT has given me a schedule to work up to 10 min run/1 min walk/10 min run by June 10. I'm really glad he put the thought into it! I have to order some new shoes, though; I wore my bestest ones out during my walking miles.

:D

[Grog]

Oh, I ran today for the first time since February 17. 1 min walk/1 min run for a total of 20 minutes. My PT has given me a schedule to work up to 10 min run/1 min walk/10 min run by June 10. I'm really glad he put the thought into it! I have to order some new shoes, though; I wore my bestest ones out during my walking miles.

:D

Cool!! Welcome back to running Yellow!

[colby]

Cool!! Welcome back to running Yellow!

Quoted for truth! Awesomeness!

[OakLeaf]

Yeeeeeeha! Welcome back Yellow! :D

[limewave]

I was supposed to do a tempo run today . . . but I crashed my mountain bike last night and am pretty banged up. I thought I'd take 48 hours to heal. I have a nice gash on my right knee with lots of bruising. Big scrapes and bruising on my right leg. And my right arm is all torn up. I can't wait to see my chiro on Monday morning!

[Grog]

Oh no Limewave :( I hope you feel better soon.

Went for a 15-minute run tonight, the first since my marathon. It felt a bit weird at first but I did a few accelerations and it felt instantly better. Happy.

[rocknrollgirl]

Forty very slow mins for me yesterday. I raced last Sunday and my legs were sore and heavy this week. I was hoping to bounce back a bit faster, but hey, I raced hard and I am OLD!

[Red Rock]

Did another 1.5 miles to day on the track. The run felt a little sluggish, perhaps because I went swimming yesterday for the first time in a LONG time. My calorie burn was not as much a previous runs. So that has me a bit puzzled. I hope to go out on the trails on the weekend.

[GLC1968]

Ran the loop I did from work last Thursday again last night. I just mapped it out this morning (still no GPS for me) and it is 3.7 miles...not 3.1. No wonder I was sore last week! I feel pretty good today though. Last night, I found that I was doing such a bang up job of trying to enjoy myself and the weather (gorgeous!) that my HR kept dropping too low. I had to keep reminding myself to work harder! That's a huge change from when I started and just doing the distance at all was a challenge.

[Bike Chick]

I was supposed to do a tempo run today . . . but I crashed my mountain bike last night and am pretty banged up. I thought I'd take 48 hours to heal. I have a nice gash on my right knee with lots of bruising. Big scrapes and bruising on my right leg. And my right arm is all torn up. I can't wait to see my chiro on Monday morning!

Oh, no, Lime!!! Hope you heal fast!

[colby]

Weather was questionable today and circumstances conspired against me repeatedly this week which led to me being super tired and getting a late start, so I switched my long ride for my long run.

That said, my long run scheduled for 17-19 which I surpassed, edging up to 20 (hard to say what the GPS margin of error was, it said 19.25). I took it nice and easy, I know my heart rate average was low and I could have pushed much harder to drop a good 20-30 minutes off, but after last week's miserable running weather I just wanted to cover the distance at an acceptable long run speed. Didn't look at how long it took, 3:30? That included stopping at stop lights, eating, and picking up dog poo (she made it an amazing 10 miles, it was perfect dog running weather). This was my longest long run, I will go down from here. Next weekend I'll probably run the local half marathon.

Tomorrow I get to follow it up with 3-5 hours on the bike and a short run afterward... yay? ;)

[skhill]

Colby, I'm amazed that your dog can make it 10 miles with you. That pup must be in great shape! These days, my increasingly geriatic dog often needs to flop down and take a breather midway through our walks... but he still wants to go and still enjoys himself.

At church this morning 3 of us got into a discussion of which of the high school and college tracks in town have a. the easiest fence to climb and b. the nicest, most understanding security guards. But I'll continue to use the decaying track at the old colored high school; it's in my neighborhood and there's no fence at all. And the surface isn't too bad as long as you stick to the outside lanes...

Today I knocked out my old favorite 3.5 mile route in 31:24, my fastest yet. Makes up for yesterday's dreadful attempt at a long run-- just 8 miles and I was dead.

[colby]

Colby, I'm amazed that your dog can make it 10 miles with you. That pup must be in great shape! These days, my increasingly geriatic dog often needs to flop down and take a breather midway through our walks... but he still wants to go and still enjoys himself.

Thanks :) She's a boxer-rottweiler, and is at least 8-9 years old. A couple of years ago she was fit and happy enough to run up to 15 or so miles (we trained, albeit slowly, for my first marathon together, most of the way), but now that she's getting older and I've gotten faster, 10 miles is quite an accomplishment. It takes perfect weather, has to be cloudy, not hot or humid, no more than 55-60 degrees. At about 8 miles, she did stop and rest, but only for a minute. Now, if it's warm and sunny outside, all bets are off. Sometimes we can't even walk around the block without stopping for a rest in the shade. ;)

I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts and only push her when it's safe - I know our runs will get shorter as she gets older, and eventually she'll just be my walking and hiking buddy. I got a bike trailer for her so that she can ride to work with me. Nothing says love like towing your 70-lb dog just so she can be a part of your day. I think we know who owns who. ;)

[kacie tri-ing]

Way to go colby! I am getting excited to hear about this year's installment at your race! Do you have a new and awesome swim cap again?

I had a full brick (really, it was another olympic distance tri, but on my own this weekend!) on saturday. Sunday, I had a 12 mile run and the last 5 were really hard miles. My legs are spent. I get to start tapering this sunday though! I am doing the HIM in Kansas weekend after next! (I guess an exclamation point?)

I had a friend say to me this weekend, "so half ironmans must be easy for you now, right?" Ha. Ha. Ha. I wish! Made me think of the quote my coach loves, "it never gets easy, you just get faster."

Happy running!

[colby]

Way to go colby! I am getting excited to hear about this year's installment at your race! Do you have a new and awesome swim cap again?

I had a full brick (really, it was another olympic distance tri, but on my own this weekend!) on saturday. Sunday, I had a 12 mile run and the last 5 were really hard miles. My legs are spent. I get to start tapering this sunday though! I am doing the HIM in Kansas weekend after next! (I guess an exclamation point?)

I had a friend say to me this weekend, "so half ironmans must be easy for you now, right?" Ha. Ha. Ha. I wish! Made me think of the quote my coach loves, "it never gets easy, you just get faster."

Happy running!

Heh - I saw TYR has a couple of new awesome swim caps, I might have to get one for open water swimming. It's hard to beat the nemo cap, though, it's bright and awesome at the same time.

So true. Easy is relative. :P I would add, they don't get easier, you just get more confident. ;)

[limewave]

I haven't run in a week. My big goal for the day is to get in a run, even if its only 15 minutes.

[katluvr]

Can't remember my last run! I was going to run today, but the yard needs soooooo much work. So I worked in the yard. Tomorrow...I will run! Even though we are hitting 90, summer is here! But I will run!

I also just ordered by VFFs...so when they come I'll have to really get out there!

K

[OakLeaf]

haha I'm in the same place. I've felt physically recovered enough to run since Wednesday or Thursday anyway, but kind of taking a mental break from running. It was taking all my mental focus for the last several weeks. I've been back on the bike a bit (90 miles last week) and the garden needs lots of work. But this thread is making me miss running! Probably going to do the club ride tomorrow night... run Thursday maybe.

[rocknrollgirl]

7 for me this morning before school. I was very tired from training this week and I felt like I was slogging, but I got it done. Feeling a bit sleepy now......and I still have 5 hours of work to go.

[skhill]

6.5 miles this morning for me. I'm struggling with this summerlike heat and humidity we're having this week. Of course, I'm sure a big part of how wiped out I felt was the trouble I was having keeping my pace reasonable. I kept speeding up, then realizing I was going to fast and slowing down, then speeding up again, etc... maybe I should log it as an unintentional fartlek!

[Susan Otcenas]

15 miles this morning. This was on my training plan for yesterday, but I was still feeling fatigued from my 600K on the weekend so I pushed it off a day.

I was holding 10 minute miles through 9 miles or so, slowed down for the next 3, and was reduced to run/walking miles 13,14 & 15. All in all, it took me about 15 minutes longer to run this route today than it did 2 weeks ago.

I was pretty much over being sore from the weekend's ride, and now I'm walking funny all over again! ;)

Susan

[OakLeaf]

I guess I still remember how to run.

Four and a half, easy - it's hot, and I'm a little bit sore from last night's ride. Feels good to be back on the road. :)

[Grog]

I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm "signed up" for a challenge 10K against a (male) co-worker on June 18th. It's a Friday-evening race, kinda fun. Currently our times would be pretty similar, but that's because I'm pushing hard and he doesn't know how hard he can actually run. He's never done intervals or speedwork or anything, didn't even know it existed. He just goes out and jogs for the same time at the same pace every day. I have convinced him to do a weekly track workout with me before work, just to see what happens.

So we had our first this morning. I rode to the track, so it was technically a brick. :) It was nice to run on this track (brand new surface) and good to get some company to share the pain. And especially fun to see him discover new speeds in his legs. I saw him at a meeting later in the day and he said, "Now I believe I can be faster." For some odd reason, it makes me very happy when other runners find something in themselves they didn't know was there... (even if it means that I'm just going to be beat at that race!! I will still try my best.)

[limewave]

6.5 slow miles in the heat and humidity for me yesterday. Glad that's over.

Grog--That's cool! I'll be interested to hear the results of the 10k.

[rocknrollgirl]

4 mile tempo run the the DH this morning. The last mile was tough. I am sure I will feel it on my mt bike tomorrow!

[skhill]

Had a great 10 miles this morning. It's still hot and humid (65 F at dawn), but for once I remembered to put on sunscreen and bring my sunglasses. And I brought water, too. My goal on this run was to run slow, and that's just what I did. 9:55/mile, which felt ridiculously slow, but I felt like I could have comfortably gone a few more miles if I'd had the time.

[OakLeaf]

Almost five, just to blow the campfire smoke out of my lungs before we go back to the music festival down the road. :cool: Just about everyone camps out, but it's so close to where we live, it's just nicer to sleep in our own beds. 80° already at 10:30 a.m.

[limewave]

50 minutes of trail running for me. I tried to keep my hr at 150 or so average. It was a nice run.

[Red Rock]

Well, I kind of went on a trail runnin/hike in a new area locally. It was all an adventure. I know I was out to long. When I checked my HRM it showed 2 hours. Part of that was walking back to the car. I was temporarily lost in the trails as I had not seen the signs when I came in. So there were others that took me off track some. So I know I did a lot more miles just walking upon actually finishing my "run".

I have been slowly working up my mileage on the track. I am up to 1.5 will be going to 1.75 this week. I will try to go back to where I was today to run the trail or part of the trail so my bosy gets used to running on uneven ground.

As I was coming back home I guzzled a chocolate milk and a string cheese because I knew I was super hungry. Then I immediately jumped into a colder bath for my legs. I tried to be in their as long as possible. Don't know the time. Then I got out, ate and put on some compression socks complements of a local store. Wow! I am converted to them, that is for sure. I had pain in my legs when I had finished, then something like two hours later there was no pain. I did notice upon putting them on, that I had a major surge of heat. I do not know if this has happened to anyone. I just kept drinking lots of water. I now have to think about dinner.

Red Rock