Last night my new turquoise running skirt (a Valentine's gift from my parents) was begging to be taken on a "test run" at the gym. It felt pretty comfortable when I tried it on, but I wasn't about to go for a long run in that thing until I was sure it was at least comfortable for two or three miles. So after several rounds of "do you think I'm too fat to wear this?" "No." "Okay. But seriously, am I too fat to wear this? Does it look bad?" "No." with my husband, I decided to stop being self-conscious and take the skirt to the gym.
I must say, I think I look pretty good in that thing. I'm just not sure "skirt culture" has caught on here and was afraid that I was going to get a lot of "what the..." looks from people at the gym. No one was really looking at me though, which is actually kind of a shame because - as I said - I do look pretty good in that skirt. At any rate, the skirt ended up being very comfortable to run in. It may be making a half marathon appearance in a couple of weeks.
2.18.2009
2.16.2009
Me vs. The Road, Part II: Me - 1, Road - 1
The Road didn't even see it coming.
On Sunday I set out for a solo 14 mile run. Saturday I'd starting to come down with something, and on Sunday I woke up feeling like total crud. Dragging myself out of bed on Sunday felt like a monstrous effort, so I did not have particularly high hopes for my run. I just hoped that I'd be able to at least finish it, even if I had to walk several miles. Mindful of what happened on my last run, I armed myself with a veritable arsenal of water and sport beans and GU before I left the house. Coupled with my multiple articles of clothing that I took along because I wasn't sure what the weather would be like, I think I looked like I was about to go trek Mount Everest instead of just go for a run around the park.
Eventually myself and my 30 pounds of gear arrived at the park, and I decided I needed to just start running before I had a chance to think about how much the next two and a half hours of my life were about to suck. The park where I run has a four mile outer loop and three mile inner loop, so my plan was to run the four mile outer loop twice and the three mile inner loop twice. I set out on my first four mile loop, deliberatly going slow and telling myself not to get my hopes too high because I know the first loop for me is always the most difficult. The first part of the loop was, unfortunately, directly into the north wind. But once I turned and had the wind at my side, I settled into a pretty comfortable, albeit slightly slower than normal, pace. Much to my surprise, the first four miles were easy, and after a quick stop at my car for some sport beans and a drink, I started out on the next four mile loop.
I told myself at this point it wasn't going to get any worse, because this was the last time I'd have to run directly into the north wind for any significant distance. It turned out I was wrong about that, but it was a comforting thought at the time. I kept expecting for the cramps or the pounding sinus headache to begin again, but they never did. The second four miles was just as easy as the first, and I even picked up some speed along the way. At my second break, I grabbed a vanilla GU and some water, and then started off on the first of two three mile loops.
I had thought that the three mile loops would be a little sheltered from the wind, because they are lined by trees and wind through the middle of the park for the most part. I was wrong. And I think the wind had picked up by that point in the afternoon. But I wasn't about to turn around and go back to the car and spend time fussing with my layers, so I just kept on going and figured that eventually the wind would be at my back again and I'd warm up. After mile 9, I could feel my stomach start to cramp on me a little. Having a head cold was bad enough, so I just thought to myself "no, I am not going to put up with THAT today, so you can just knock it off." And to my surprise, my stomach did knock it off. Turns out that miles 8-11 were the fastest that I'd run so far, and I wasn't even remotely tired when I stopped at my car to grab one last drink before the last three miles.
Back into the wind for another mile and a half or so, and my mind is really wandering at this point. For the first time, even though I've never noticed it before, I realize that somone has graffitied the words "follow your heart," "dream big," "push yourself," and "believe" at various points along the running path. I start to think about that for a minute, then look at my garmin and realize that I've run 12 miles already. I think to myself that during the half marathon, this is the point where I'm really going to want to push it, and decide that I feel good enough to push myself to race pace for at least a mile. Much to my surprise, race pace comes easily and at 13.1 miles I have this thought:
"Congratulations - you've just run a half marathon. AND YOU'RE NOT TIRED."
So I kept going at race pace until I completed my last loop and had finished 14 miles. No hip pain. No stomach cramps. Not a single step walked. I GAINED speed along the way. I defeated the road.
Top 10 things I learned along the way?
1. It's good to have a complete day of rest before a long run.
2. I can still run well even if I have a cold.
3. Having a new playlist helps.
4. I can gain speed over the course of a run if I'm careful about conserving energy at the start.
5. Blue sport beans are good, and BONUS - just happen to be my favorite color.
6. After 8 miles of running I'm just delusional enough to think that a vanilla GU tastes like a tasty ice cream treat.
7. Sometimes it pays to read the graffiti along the path.
8. It's frightening what I think about during a long run when I don't have real people around to talk to.
9. I'm perfectly capable of running a half marathon.
10. And, most importantly - having one bad run does NOT mean that my training is failing or that every run after that will be also be bad.
On Sunday I set out for a solo 14 mile run. Saturday I'd starting to come down with something, and on Sunday I woke up feeling like total crud. Dragging myself out of bed on Sunday felt like a monstrous effort, so I did not have particularly high hopes for my run. I just hoped that I'd be able to at least finish it, even if I had to walk several miles. Mindful of what happened on my last run, I armed myself with a veritable arsenal of water and sport beans and GU before I left the house. Coupled with my multiple articles of clothing that I took along because I wasn't sure what the weather would be like, I think I looked like I was about to go trek Mount Everest instead of just go for a run around the park.
Eventually myself and my 30 pounds of gear arrived at the park, and I decided I needed to just start running before I had a chance to think about how much the next two and a half hours of my life were about to suck. The park where I run has a four mile outer loop and three mile inner loop, so my plan was to run the four mile outer loop twice and the three mile inner loop twice. I set out on my first four mile loop, deliberatly going slow and telling myself not to get my hopes too high because I know the first loop for me is always the most difficult. The first part of the loop was, unfortunately, directly into the north wind. But once I turned and had the wind at my side, I settled into a pretty comfortable, albeit slightly slower than normal, pace. Much to my surprise, the first four miles were easy, and after a quick stop at my car for some sport beans and a drink, I started out on the next four mile loop.
I told myself at this point it wasn't going to get any worse, because this was the last time I'd have to run directly into the north wind for any significant distance. It turned out I was wrong about that, but it was a comforting thought at the time. I kept expecting for the cramps or the pounding sinus headache to begin again, but they never did. The second four miles was just as easy as the first, and I even picked up some speed along the way. At my second break, I grabbed a vanilla GU and some water, and then started off on the first of two three mile loops.
I had thought that the three mile loops would be a little sheltered from the wind, because they are lined by trees and wind through the middle of the park for the most part. I was wrong. And I think the wind had picked up by that point in the afternoon. But I wasn't about to turn around and go back to the car and spend time fussing with my layers, so I just kept on going and figured that eventually the wind would be at my back again and I'd warm up. After mile 9, I could feel my stomach start to cramp on me a little. Having a head cold was bad enough, so I just thought to myself "no, I am not going to put up with THAT today, so you can just knock it off." And to my surprise, my stomach did knock it off. Turns out that miles 8-11 were the fastest that I'd run so far, and I wasn't even remotely tired when I stopped at my car to grab one last drink before the last three miles.
Back into the wind for another mile and a half or so, and my mind is really wandering at this point. For the first time, even though I've never noticed it before, I realize that somone has graffitied the words "follow your heart," "dream big," "push yourself," and "believe" at various points along the running path. I start to think about that for a minute, then look at my garmin and realize that I've run 12 miles already. I think to myself that during the half marathon, this is the point where I'm really going to want to push it, and decide that I feel good enough to push myself to race pace for at least a mile. Much to my surprise, race pace comes easily and at 13.1 miles I have this thought:
"Congratulations - you've just run a half marathon. AND YOU'RE NOT TIRED."
So I kept going at race pace until I completed my last loop and had finished 14 miles. No hip pain. No stomach cramps. Not a single step walked. I GAINED speed along the way. I defeated the road.
Top 10 things I learned along the way?
1. It's good to have a complete day of rest before a long run.
2. I can still run well even if I have a cold.
3. Having a new playlist helps.
4. I can gain speed over the course of a run if I'm careful about conserving energy at the start.
5. Blue sport beans are good, and BONUS - just happen to be my favorite color.
6. After 8 miles of running I'm just delusional enough to think that a vanilla GU tastes like a tasty ice cream treat.
7. Sometimes it pays to read the graffiti along the path.
8. It's frightening what I think about during a long run when I don't have real people around to talk to.
9. I'm perfectly capable of running a half marathon.
10. And, most importantly - having one bad run does NOT mean that my training is failing or that every run after that will be also be bad.
2.13.2009
Nothing like it?
"There's nothing quite like your first marathon. The adrenaline just flows." -- Sister Marion Irvine
On April 26, after I've just run 26 miles, I'll tell you whether this is true.
On April 26, after I've just run 26 miles, I'll tell you whether this is true.
My Friday Foto
Me and the hubs with Rupert at the Hello Deli in New York in September. I'm sure Rupert hates this sort of thing, but we were really excited about it.
2.12.2009
No walk in the park...
"This is not about instant gratification. You have to work hard for it, sweat for it, give up sleeping in on Sunday mornings." LAUREN FESSENDEN
A few months ago, before I'd decided to train for a marathon, I was reading one of John Bingham's columns on the Runners' World website. In response to a reader's question about marathon training, he replied that the nice thing about marathon training is that it neatly divides all of the activities in your life into two distinct groups: things that you must do because you're running a marathon, and things that you cannot do because you're running a marathon.
Now, here comes my insurance commercial moment. You know that place where you're running in ridiculously cold weather, getting up way earlier on weekends than you would otherwise want to, planning your weekends around your training runs, and skipping the margaritas with friends on the weekends because you have a long run the next day? I'm there. The place where I routinely say the following sentence "I can't do _____ because I have to run __ miles tomorrow." The place where not only do I have to see a physical therapist, but I walk in with a new problem for him to fix after every long run.
It's not exactly an easy thing, this marathon training. It takes a lot of committment and sacrifice and willingness to put running first. It requires a lot of support and understanding from my family and friends who are often affected by my training schedule. As I was about to leave for a physical therapy appointment the other day, a co-worker asked me if it was worth it. Is it worth it? I'll have to admit, some days I do wonder about the answer to that question. But then I think about what it will feel like to cross the finish line at my first half marathon, and cross the finish line at my first marathon, and the answer is a resounding YES! Yes, it's worth it. It is absolutely worth it.
A few months ago, before I'd decided to train for a marathon, I was reading one of John Bingham's columns on the Runners' World website. In response to a reader's question about marathon training, he replied that the nice thing about marathon training is that it neatly divides all of the activities in your life into two distinct groups: things that you must do because you're running a marathon, and things that you cannot do because you're running a marathon.
Now, here comes my insurance commercial moment. You know that place where you're running in ridiculously cold weather, getting up way earlier on weekends than you would otherwise want to, planning your weekends around your training runs, and skipping the margaritas with friends on the weekends because you have a long run the next day? I'm there. The place where I routinely say the following sentence "I can't do _____ because I have to run __ miles tomorrow." The place where not only do I have to see a physical therapist, but I walk in with a new problem for him to fix after every long run.
It's not exactly an easy thing, this marathon training. It takes a lot of committment and sacrifice and willingness to put running first. It requires a lot of support and understanding from my family and friends who are often affected by my training schedule. As I was about to leave for a physical therapy appointment the other day, a co-worker asked me if it was worth it. Is it worth it? I'll have to admit, some days I do wonder about the answer to that question. But then I think about what it will feel like to cross the finish line at my first half marathon, and cross the finish line at my first marathon, and the answer is a resounding YES! Yes, it's worth it. It is absolutely worth it.
2.07.2009
Road - 1, Me - 0
Some days you own the road. Some days the road owns you. Some days the road chews you up, spits you out, runs over you, and then turns around and laughs in your face. Today was definitely a chewed up, spit out, run over, and laughed at kind of day for me.
Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful day to run. Temperature in the 60's, beautiful blue, sunny sky, no wind. The kind of day we rarely have in Kansas, especially in early February. Exactly the opposite of the 18 degree, windy day we had for my last long run. I got a good night's sleep last night. I felt strangely optimistic about today's twelve miles. I was excited to run with my running buddies Beka, Katie, and Jessica. The first three miles went pretty well, I felt good, and was even surprised that I was running faster than my normal training pace. After three miles, Katie and Jessica peeled off, and Beka and I set out to do a four mile loop before taking another water break.
Beka runs faster than me. If you ask her about that, she might pass it off and try to tell you that I'm a good runner, but it's true. So off we are on our four mile loop, and I'm keeping up with Beka fairly well for the first mile or so. Then, Beka slowly starts to jet out in front of me, leaving me schlepping along behind in what is quickly becoming a state of misery. Even though I feel like crap, I'm still running faster than my normal training pace. I figure at least I've got that going for me. The feeling doesn't last for long though - by mile 6, I'm contemplating sitting down on the edge of the path to cry, and think about just going home as soon as I get back to my car. I realize that I'm close to having a mental breakdown, and only hope that Beka will stop to wait for me in the parking lot so that she can talk me out of quitting. Since sitting down to cry won't exactly accomplish anything, I keep going, and finally meet up with Beka in the parking lot. She gives me some Gatorade, which doesn't exactly make me feel better, and tries to cheer me up by telling me that we only have five miles left - which also does not make me feel better. My stomach has staged a full-on military coup of my body at this point.
Not much good happened during the last five miles of our run, except for this exchange somewhere after mile 10:
Beka (extremely chipper): "We've got less than 2 miles left! -pause- "Are you feeling any better?"
Me: "Nope."
Beka: "Do you still want to smack me?"
Me: "Yep." -pause- "Actually, I think I want to push you down and beat the crap out of you. Can I do that?"
Beka: "I think you could take me."
And this exchange, after we'd just hit 11 miles:
Beka: "I'm going to be a nazi now...we only have a mile left."
Me: "You're very small and annoying."
As annoying chipper as Beka was for the last five miles of our run, I never would have finished them without her. On my own, I would have let the road and my stomach defeat me and would have gone home extremely upset with myself for such a poor performance. Beka is a truly good friend and running buddy...she could easily have decided to go off on her own, and finished the twelve miles much faster than I did. But she stuck with me when I was having an extremely bad day, even though that meant that she had to give up what could have been a really good run. And she did her best to cheer me up the whole time and make sure that I didn't get down on myself for having a bad run.
Then she semi-talked me into taking an ice bath after my run. I'm not really sure what was the worse experience, the run or the ice bath. But at least the horror of the ice bath took my mind off the awful experience of the run.
I get another shot at the road next weekend, with a 14 mile run...and I will have my revenge.
Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful day to run. Temperature in the 60's, beautiful blue, sunny sky, no wind. The kind of day we rarely have in Kansas, especially in early February. Exactly the opposite of the 18 degree, windy day we had for my last long run. I got a good night's sleep last night. I felt strangely optimistic about today's twelve miles. I was excited to run with my running buddies Beka, Katie, and Jessica. The first three miles went pretty well, I felt good, and was even surprised that I was running faster than my normal training pace. After three miles, Katie and Jessica peeled off, and Beka and I set out to do a four mile loop before taking another water break.
Beka runs faster than me. If you ask her about that, she might pass it off and try to tell you that I'm a good runner, but it's true. So off we are on our four mile loop, and I'm keeping up with Beka fairly well for the first mile or so. Then, Beka slowly starts to jet out in front of me, leaving me schlepping along behind in what is quickly becoming a state of misery. Even though I feel like crap, I'm still running faster than my normal training pace. I figure at least I've got that going for me. The feeling doesn't last for long though - by mile 6, I'm contemplating sitting down on the edge of the path to cry, and think about just going home as soon as I get back to my car. I realize that I'm close to having a mental breakdown, and only hope that Beka will stop to wait for me in the parking lot so that she can talk me out of quitting. Since sitting down to cry won't exactly accomplish anything, I keep going, and finally meet up with Beka in the parking lot. She gives me some Gatorade, which doesn't exactly make me feel better, and tries to cheer me up by telling me that we only have five miles left - which also does not make me feel better. My stomach has staged a full-on military coup of my body at this point.
Not much good happened during the last five miles of our run, except for this exchange somewhere after mile 10:
Beka (extremely chipper): "We've got less than 2 miles left! -pause- "Are you feeling any better?"
Me: "Nope."
Beka: "Do you still want to smack me?"
Me: "Yep." -pause- "Actually, I think I want to push you down and beat the crap out of you. Can I do that?"
Beka: "I think you could take me."
And this exchange, after we'd just hit 11 miles:
Beka: "I'm going to be a nazi now...we only have a mile left."
Me: "You're very small and annoying."
As annoying chipper as Beka was for the last five miles of our run, I never would have finished them without her. On my own, I would have let the road and my stomach defeat me and would have gone home extremely upset with myself for such a poor performance. Beka is a truly good friend and running buddy...she could easily have decided to go off on her own, and finished the twelve miles much faster than I did. But she stuck with me when I was having an extremely bad day, even though that meant that she had to give up what could have been a really good run. And she did her best to cheer me up the whole time and make sure that I didn't get down on myself for having a bad run.
Then she semi-talked me into taking an ice bath after my run. I'm not really sure what was the worse experience, the run or the ice bath. But at least the horror of the ice bath took my mind off the awful experience of the run.
I get another shot at the road next weekend, with a 14 mile run...and I will have my revenge.
2.06.2009
My Friday Foto
This is me sitting next to a newspaper-clad performance artist on the street in Honolulu, Hawaii. We just happened to spot this guy as we were walking to dinner one evening, and I just happened to be dressed in black and white myself. Perfect photo op.
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