That was a close one...

Was T H I S close to using this pic as my wallpaper at work but then someone talked me out of it.

Just barely...

I feel like we've done this before

11/11: Rest
11/12: 4 Miles, TM. 35:49 (8:56)
11/13: 5 Miles, TM. 45:10 (9:01)
11/14: Rest. OOPS.
11/15: Rest 5 Miles, TM. 43:41 (8:44)
11/16: 8 Miles, TM. 1:09 (8:37)
11/17: NTC, 45 min. Fast&Fierce. 1 Mile, TM. (8:33)

***

Anyone getting bored with these recaps yet? Yup, that's what I thought. It's like groundhog day. Run. Recap, blah blah.

And then we begin again.

I've been doing more speed work this time around since I didn't do any neglected that part of the training last time around, and I feel like it is making a difference. A small difference, but still...a difference.

J and I had grand plans to run outside on Saturday but we were running short on time and it looked windy (WIMP) and he had a few errands to run, so I decided to jump on the treaddie and start a new episode of Extreme Weight Loss.

Sadly, no Garmin splits for this week, but I've got this for you:

8 mi

distance

0.5 ft

elevation gain

1191

calories

1:09:03

total time

8:37

pace

My fastest 8 miles yet. Sure they were on a treadmill with little incline but STILL. I'll take it.

***

First week of runs in my pretty new shoes. They have yet to grace the road.

Taking pics of my shoes at work instead of....working.

Weekday treadmill runs still taking place at Dark O'Clock in the morning.

***

Clearly I've run out of interesting things to share with you this week.

Half marathon #2 - Two weeks away.

Running hits me.. so hard. Makes me say, Oh Mah Lawd!

10/4: Rest
10/5: 6 Miles, TM. 53+min
10/6: 5 Miles, TM. 45+ min - Random Speed work thrown in.
10/7: Lazy ass Rest
10/8: 5 Miles, TM. 45+min
10/9: 11 Miles, Outside. 1hr40min
10/10: Rest

***

Last week of the double digit long run in the books!

Treadmill runs this week were average. Watched all 4 episodes of the current season of The Biggest Loser. It's amazing how time seems to pass just a tad bit faster when you're engrossed in a show. J got a new monitor and hooked up a computer in front of the treadmill so now I can watch my shows on a larger screen. Spoiled.

Also, for some godforsaken reason, I see a rogue mosquito taunting me every morning when I run. I end up clapping like a baby seal (while still running) until I kill that sumbitch with my bare hands, and then just wipe on my shirt and carry on with my slog. However, as Sam pointed out today, I am probably just spreading the eggs, which may explain the gremlin affect. Gross.

Speaking of gross, our new coworker started yesterday and he sits right next to my cubicle. I figure I'd try and be on my best behavior all week before letting loose my true personality, filled with burps, farts and random bits of biting sarcasm and venom.

I only lasted  a couple of hours.

I blame Sam, and I blame Bartell Drugs for selling Talking Rain sparkling water with lemon-lime essence. That madness escaped my lips before I could stop it! It was the bubbly bubbles! I just hope.... I hope B is hard of hearing...And lacks a sense of smell....

***

Saturday's Run:

Garmin Time.. can't touch this...

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:40:28.0	11.00	9:05
1	9:12.4	1.00	9:12
2	9:35.8	1.00	9:36
3	9:13.9	1.00	9:14
4	9:15.6	1.00	9:16
5	9:17.9	1.00	9:18
6	8:58.4	1.00	8:58
7	9:13.0	1.00	9:13
8	9:04.6	1.00	9:05
9	9:10.3	1.00	9:10
10	8:53.0	1.00	8:53
11	8:33.0	1.00	8:34

Again, Mile 2? Can kiss my formerly flat Asian ass. WTF. I don't even know.

That aside, this was my fastest double digit long run to date. The weather was perfection - High 30's/ low 40's, no wind (*ahem* LAST WEEK *ahem*). I took a GU at mile 6 and had planned to stop at the water fountain around the same time but you know what? Apparently they turn off the water fountains in the winter.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

I.. DID NOT KNOW THIS UNTIL SATURDAY.

After swallowing my Peanut Butter GU, I just relied on my lump of coal gum to keep my mouth moist. At this point, I was starting to feel the fatigue - My legs were tired, my arms were sore and I was THIRSTY.

Curse you, water-less fountains!

For the half, I have decided to take a back up GU in case I need an extra kick. I really started to feel the pain around mile 9. Staying at a brisk pace was tough at this point, but I kept telling myself to keep going. I figure if I want to get faster and stronger, it's going to hurt a little.. or a lot, depending on the day. :)

Last run in my pretty purple Mizuno Wave Riders. 450+ miles.

Time for my new black beauties.

11 Miles Done. Last double digit run before the half. This Saturday s 8 Miles. Is it weird that I am kind of relieved... and sad.. at the same time?

Half Marathon #2 - Three. Weeks. Away.

Running in a wind tunnel - Not my idea of a good time.

10/29: 5 Miles, TM. 45.14 (9:02 pace)
10/30: 6 Miles, TM. 53:25 (8:53 pace)
10/31: 3 Miles. TM 27:39/ (9:11 pace)
11/1: Rest (a lot of candy and menchies. WHOOPS)
11/2: 10 Miles. Outside. Windy as shit. 1:35. (9:31 pace)
11/3: 5 Miles, TM*. NTC, 45 Minutes. Adrenaline Hit.
***

Extra tired this week. PMS week, maybe? Let it be known that everyone has been forewarned.

This warning/announcement may be of more use if more than 2 people read this blog. But whatever, I put it out there people. Be careful....

I like to try and get the highest weekday mileage run out of the way, which works well since the plan I'm using happens to have the longest runs be on Tuesdays. However, since I had Wednesday off for O's field trip, I figure I"d sleep in a little but still have time to run 6 before the kids woke up. Tuesday's run was run of the mill, 5 miles. Wednesday I slept in until 5:30 and ironically had a tougher times getting my legs to listen to me. I just remember wanting to stop. A lot. I didn't though and ended up running a faster pace than the previous day's 5 miles. Like I said, I make no sense. My pacing skills are crap questionable.

Thursday, however? I almost skipped. I think I must have gotten in and out of bed about 4 times in the span of 20 minutes but eventually I rolled my ass out of bed with about 30 minutes to spare. I figured I could at least squeeze out 3 lame miles. Surely I could do that, right?  However, I had a momentary lapse in judgement and realized about .4 miles into the run that the first 3 miles of any run kind of blows. Managed to stumble my way through, with a slower pace than the previous two days runs. Pace and consistency fail. Shocker to no one.

Friday's rest was filled with way too much sugar. Such shame. And yet, such deliciousness.

***

Saturday's run: 10 Miles in Hurricane Bonney Lake. GOOD LORD.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:35:29.0	10.00	9:31
1	9:29.7	1.00	9:30
2	9:27.9	1.00	9:28
3	9:25.3	1.00	9:25
4	9:35.5	1.00	9:36
5	9:14.8	1.00	9:15
6	9:36.4	1.00	9:36
7	9:49.0	1.00	9:49
8	9:41.5	1.00	9:42
9	9:36.5	1.00	9:36
10	9:32.0	1.00	9:32

Saturday's run. It was.. HARD. It has been a while since I've struggled so much during a long run. I was able to wrangle J into joining me in the blustery outdoors, with the black clouds floating ominously close to our neighborhood. It felt like every direction we turned was like running into a wind tunnel. My hat even blew off half a mile into our run. I had to go chase it because it kept blowing away from me! Never once in our 10 miles did I feel like I hit a groove, even after a hit of Chocolate Outrage GU at mile 5. I didn't take my water with me, and didn't necessarily miss it but I am sure that I could have used a little hydration. I had planned for us to run by the water fountain about halfway through but we ended up going in a different direction The toughest part of the run was coming back up a long, gradual hill at mile 7. My legs felt heavy, and J even mentioned that I seemed to be dragging my feet a bit.

After my hat blew off, I was very tempted to run home and finish the rest of the 9 miles on the treadmill. I never mentioned this plan to J, and so we trekked on through the neighborhood, with his achy knee and my heavy legs. I remember struggling to stay focused, to not hate every second and to just. keep. going.

Struggle, struggle, struggle.

At one point, J turned to me and said, "you should try smiling. I hear it helps release dopamine and makes you feel good" and my curt response was "shut.... it. Just. run...". We actually did have a good laugh right about then but the laughter slowly faded to silent, inward tears at the thought of four more miles in the raging wind. The wind just. never. stopped. Towards the end of the run, at mile 8-ish, I even had to ask J to slow down and wait for me. As most people know, I would never normally do that. In fact, I have no problem leaving people behind if I have to. I'd make a great soldier, I know.

We both didn't have much left at the end and the last hill towards home was rough. J had to stop for a few seconds because his knee was aching but I wasn't much better. I could have sworn I was running up the hill but nothing seemed to be moving. I looked down at my watch and my pace had slowed to 12 min/mile at that point. With arms pumping like a flailing maniac, I managed to reach the top with .5 miles to go. J and I ran slow circles around our neighborhood until we reached the 10 mile mark. I was relieved to finally hear the BEEP of the mile marker and instantly stopped my Garmin and came to a stand still right in front of our house.

10 rough miles. Windy. Fatigued. DONE.

Saturday's run was a much needed reminder of why I do what I do. If every run and every workout were easy, would I push myself as much as I do to improve and keep going? Sometimes my run is going to be mentally and/or physically tough, and I will want to give up. In the past, I guarantee that I would have. I mean, stopping is easier. It hurts less. Giving up has always been the easy choice for me.

Until now.

Trying. Pushing. Hurting. Struggling. Conquering - that is what helps us get better, right?

***

I will leave you with one of my favorite commercials:

*Forcing myself to do at least 1 day/session of XT a week. Need to build strength in other ways if I want to get stronger and faster. And less flabby... 

Oh and I had Menchies on Wednesday too! Shhhh....

The Art of Pacing in the Rain (or fog, as it just so happens..)

10/25: Rest
10/26: 8 Miles outside. 1:12+
10/27: 5 Miles, treadmill. 44+min
12/28: Rest

Trying to embrace the rest days. Even when I indulge in some cupcakes at work.

And some chex mix at home. Whooops.

***

I am exhausted from non running related weekend festivities so I'll keep it short ... especially since this is probably going to be boring.

Ran outside for this week's "long run" of 8 miles. Funny how 8 miles used to feel so intimidating but now it just feels like a regular run, especially since I ran 7 miles on Tuesday, a week day run! The only thing that is still intimidating and simultaneously head scratching is my pace. I.. kind of suck at pacing.

Let us take a moment and examine the mile splits, once again showcased by the Garmin:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:12:30.0	8.00	9:05
1	9:11.4	1.00	9:11
2	9:08.3	1.00	9:08
3	9:13.7	1.00	9:14
4	8:55.8	1.00	8:56
5	9:14.5	1.00	9:14
6	9:06.7	1.00	9:07
7	8:51.8	1.00	8:52
8	8:45.7	1.00	8:46
9	:02.4	0.00	9:10

Let us take a moment to study this, shall we?

.... .............. ..........

... So... what the... eh?

Originally I had planned to run easy for the first 4, 5 miles and then finish with 3,4 HMP miles.
Well, as you can see, I'm not quite sure what I did. It is not really.. anything?

Tempo? No
Progression? No
Threshold? No
No? No.

No.

It was just a wackadoodle run.

Yes, I just used that weird word. I'm like an 80 yr old man. I mean, what in tarnation!

After the first two miles, I knew I was probably going out too fast if I wanted to train my pace on this run. I can't really tell you what I was thinking or doing during the run. I just remember feeling a little roller-coastery during each mile. Mile 6 ended up being the only mile of the latter half that was relatively close the HMP and then I think I just sped up the last two miles to be DONE. I didn't have any fuel or water duirng the run, unless you count the 3 swedish fish I sucked on intermittently. I also ended up holding the bag of candy in my hand, which was not surprisingly slick with sweat at the end. Mmmm, sweaty fish.

In an ideal world, sub 9 (8-40 something..) would be my goal half pace at this stage of my running life but I haven't trained enough for longer runs at that pace. I am finding myself at this weird stage where all of my runs are the same pace - 3, 4, 5 mile pace is pretty similar to my 8-10 mile pace, give or take a little. It's hard for me to run the slow ones slow, and the fast ones fast. Seems like it should be easy but maybe I'm just making this too difficult for myself.

Wouldn't be the first time.

But long story short, clearly I need to work on my pacing.

***

Sunday's workout: 5 Miles, treadmill. 1 full episode of Falling Skies, which left me wide eyed at the end scene. At least the time went quickly. Not sure if I can watch something so serious in the early mornings though. Any suggestions for something entertaining and preferably lighthearted to watch at 4am? Anyone?
Between Falling Skies and The Spirit of the Marathon, I need something... easy.

5 mi

distance

37.5 ft

elevation gain

768

calories

44:28

total time

8:53

pace

***

Tomorrow's plan: 3-4 miles + 10 strides. We'll see about the 10.... Most likely I'll do 5mi, but we'll see what happens. I make no promises when it's that early in the morning. I'm lucky if I remember to put on a bra...

I'm tired...

10/21: Rest
10/22: 7 Miles, 1:05 hr/min
10/23: 5 Miles, 45 min
10/24: 3 Miles, 26 min. 15 Ab Burner

Most runs done on 0% or 1% incline. Yes, I know I need to work on that.

***

Tuesday:

This run was the last weekday 7 mile run on the training schedule. Funny how I've done 7 before in the morning, and even 8 and 9 (weekends) but for some reason felt psyched out about this particular day. I ended up sleeping early on Monday night ( around 8 pm, just like the seniors) and woke up feeling... still tired. I mean, let's face it, I will never NOT be tired waking up at 4am. I knew I needed a little over an hour to complete the run before rushing to get ready for work, so I didn't give myself much moping time like I normally do. Finished at a decent time, and 2 minutes faster than my previous 7 miles. I am finding that most of my treadmill runs end up being either progression runs or speed work, neither of which I really did when I ran outside exclusively. It's been nice to able to mix the runs up, even though I probably need to get out on the streets a little more often. Getting a little too comfy with the 'mill, I am. Oh! and almost forgot, I watched the first hour of Spirit of the Marathon during this run. It really helped the time fly by, and I was so inspired, and kind of choked up at certain parts .. da fuh..?

7 mi

distance

1.7 ft

elevation gain

1051

calories

1:05:05

total time

9:17

pace

Wednesday:

On the training plan - 3-4 miles with strides. Finished watching Spirit of the Marathon. Yes, I did a weird gaspy cry while watching everyone run the Chicago marathon.

I.. just.. I don't even know.

Ended up doing 5 miles total: 3 miles at a relatively easy pace, and then intervals for the next two miles. It is amazing how much faster the time/distance flies by when doing intervals. The sprints are painful and even the recovery jogs feel like a little too much effort but before I know it I'm onto the next mile. It's kind of nice. Nice. And Painful. Burnnnn.

5 mi

distance

8.6 ft

elevation gain

754

calories

45:09

total time

9:00

pace

Thursday:

Alarm went a little before 4am, and I immediately slapped the snooze button, and then threw the clock across the room reset the alarm for 5am. My legs were tired and I just... didn't want to get up. I figured because today was only 3-4 miles, I could just run after work. So.. of course, I spent all day annoyed at myself for not just getting up and getting it out of the way. At this stage in the game, having gone through this scenario a few times, I should have known better. I talked myself out of running about 20 times on the drive home from the train station, but figured I'd obsess about it all night if I didn't just get it out of the way.

We're noticing a theme here, right?

Running. It staves off the crazy. and yet, it brings it as well.

Yeah, I don't know either...

So, ran 3 miles while watching the newest episode of Modern Family. One of my favorite lines of the episode:

Claire: "I should talk to my dad. You know what? He was pretty down after the divorce. I bet he has some insight."
Phil: "Yeah, because you're dad's so in touch with people's feelings? When a man is overcome with emotion at a Celine Dion concert, you do not tell him to grow a pair!"
Claire: "Phil!"
Phil: "The ship went down but their love lasts forever!"

Love that show. I just need each HULU episode to be longer than 20 minutes!

After the run, I came upstairs and did a quick NTC program, Ab Burner. 
Side note - someone asked me today if I had a six pack, since I work out so much. My response: Yes... it's just hiding under a giant one pack. 

3 mi

distance

4.5 ft

elevation gain

451

calories

26:16

total time

8:44

pace