9 weeks to chicago. and knocked down.

I got knocked down last week, big time. I ran less last week than I have since early May. Last Monday night the inklings of exhaustion and sinus issues settled in. By Wednesday it had turned into a full blown sinus infection, by Thursday I was so pitiful that I couldn't even take myself to the doctor. I can't remember the last time I was that wiped out and knocked down. My suspicion is that life/work/teaching/training/allergies all caught up to me in the same week.

So remember in my post last week when I told you to hold me to running seven miles even though I didn't feel 100%? To spare myself humiliation? Yeah, I ran five miles. They weren't pretty. I gave up. Of course when I found out the next morning I had a sinus infection I didn't feel so pitiful about the running.

Instead of festering and getting PISSED that I couldn't run, I vented a little, let out my frustration and simply allowed myself to rest. And I won't lie. It was pure bliss. I can honestly say I needed it. I can only go for so long before I need a break. From everything. Yeah I'm one of THOSE.

I ran a whopping 15 miles last week! Most of those miles were either done in near tears or in a dazed and confused state and it was awful. But after a big fat dose of sleep (i think i slept more in four days than i did the entire month of july), rest and medication (that I'm pretty sure was delivered by God himself to my doorstep), I woke up Monday morning after a full week of feeling terrible, hopping out of bed feeling fantastic.

There are still 9 weeks to train. I'll still get three 20 milers in. I'll still surpass my monthly mileage PRs, so I have no worries. I needed a break. I've already run twice this week and I'm feeling great. Sometimes breaks are good. Even during marathon training.

Week 7 - Chicago Training
15 Hazy Miles

I leave you with a picture of my Chicago training buddy Shelley and I doing what we like to call 21st Street Yoga. After our long runs we whip out our towels and plop down in the grass alongside a very busy street to do some yoga. A little pigeon, maybe some downward dog. We are shameless.

what's your song: version 1.2...

I skipped doing this last month and am now desperate for some new tunes. I need to beef up my long running playlist. My picks this month are a little random, they are songs I've just picked up along the way and am currently enjoying. On those long runs all I need is variety, so random is perfect. Right now I'm working on packing my marathon list full of great stuff. Feel free to share your current favorites.

In no particular order:

1. High and Dry -Radiohead
2. Blinded by the Light - Manfred (yep, there's my no shame song of the month)
3. Single Ladies - Beyonce
4. Eye of the Tiger - Survivor (this is my shout out to Julie and my mad RockBand skillz)
5. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves
6. Flume - Bon Iver
7. Wanna Be - Pussy Cat Dolls
8. Dead and Gone - T.I. and J.T.
9. Comes and Goes (In Waves) - Greg Laswell
10. Boom - Flight of the Conchords (and for good measure and a little entertainment, I give you their music video, it gave me too much enjoyment not to share)
    
    
    

My "I Just Don't Wanna" Pick (the song I hit when I need major motivation):
Let it Rock - Kevin Rudolf (this get's played the last mile or more of my long runs)

Here are links to the past two versions:
version 1.0
version 1.1

And Travis I know you aren't a runner, but I have a feeling you could suggest some excellent songs seeing how your blog is mus-tacular. Waiting sweetheart.... just waiting....

five weeks to 'M' day...

Just writing the title sort of grounded me. Five weeks, only FIVE WEEKS to my first marathon. All the struggle of training for previous marathons only to get hurt, the heartbreak of all it all, finally I'm going to reach my goal. I hope anyway, as long as my body holds up.

I took it easy last week, I skipped runs like no ones bidness, but I had no choice. I was down with the sinus junk and it wiped me out. I was wiped out period. I was pretty frustrated, beating myself up over missing my runs. But I woke up this morning feeling fabulous, no aches and pains for the first time in three weeks, no exhaustion. I feel really good today, I think the rest was worth it.

So instead of beating myself up, I'm moving on with a positive outlook. The thought of working all week, teaching class in the evening and training in between doesn't seem so daunting this week. In fact, I'm looking forward to pushing ahead and making some stuff happen. Because on top of all that, we are finishing up some home projects thanks to a little appraisal looming over us in two short weeks. More on that later.

I have major fears setting in about the marathon, I'm worried I will be far slower than my goal time of four hours, after the lax training and a slow 20-miler. I'm worried my body will fail or I'll get hurt in the next five weeks. I'm concerned I haven't done enough speed or hill work. But I can't let that stop me.... pressing on.

I have to run six miles tonight between work and teaching. I have to head to the gym for my run, currently the land of oz is in a tornado watch.The thought of a tornado wouldn't keep me from running outside, the climate over the city doesn't really allow for a tornado touch down anyway, so I feel safe no matter what. It's just the current 40 mph wind gusts that I fear! Cheers to a happy running week!

eight weeks to ‘M’ day….

Less than eight weeks now and I will run that first marathon that has been eluding me for years now thanks to injury. I’ve been a blogging slacker and I apologize to all 12 of you who read this! I’ve had a bit of a week or so and have taken the stance if I can’t write something nice then I won’t write at all. Frankly I just wasn’t in the mood. But now I will blather on and on and on all about me and how I run, so hold on and enjoy.

Last week I decided to do all my runs alone and try and push to see what I could do. It paid off and I learned what I needed to know. I can push myself to run faster and further. I’ve only been back to running since the first week of January because of my injury, and I haven’t had times I’m happy with yet, so last week boosted my confidence and helped me feel like I might be able to finish that little OKC marathon!

On top of that I had a spectacular 16 mile run on Sunday. I have previously done all my long runs with Emily and Kristen the running lawyers, but I was solo this weekend, just me and the Zoo Park 4-mile loop. The 16-miler was a milestone for three reasons: it is my longest run to date, it is the same run last year on which I acquired my evil-was-on-crutches-for-five-weeks-metatarsal-stress- fracture, and it was my fastest long run in the history of me!

The first four miles were brutal and lonely, I ran all four thinking to myself how can I get through three more laps of this four-mile route. I will be here forever. I am going to die in the middle of the Zoo Park, no one will know, and the monkeys are going to come and find me and steal me away to eat me as a snack. I’m doomed. Luckily I made it back around to the parking lot in tact, no being stolen by the monkeys. I stopped for some Gatorade and Watermelon Sport Beans (thanks to my sister Kris, she sent them as a birthday present, I highly recommend them) and something in me kicked into gear and I hit negative split after negative split for the rest of the run. I was stunned, and confused, but happy to be hitting my stride and feeling great! I finished those 16 strong and like I could have kept going.

I got home took an ice bath, stretched and proceeded to go stuff my face full of delicious taco pizza at Knolla’s with Ed, trying to replace the 2000 calories my Garmin says I burned. It was a good day. Cheers to marathon training, my friends.

a 14 mile heart-fest...

Emily and I ran 14 this morning, how sweet is it that we ran 14 on the fourteenth, and it happened to be valentines day? It was like a heart-fest..... and by heart-fest I really mean it was a let's get this motha' finished because it's still 25 degrees and we've been running for two hours-fest. Overall it was a really good run. It was only 20 degrees when we started, but the wind was barely present (in Kansas terms anyway) and it was sunny and clear.

If it hadn't been sunny that run likely would have been unbearable. The only complaint I had was that my legs started to ache around mile eight. My poor little chicken legs can't handle the cold so well, they just get so tight which is really frustrating. Other than that, it was a great run on a new route which we now heart.

To keep us distracted we played 20 questions, it kept us entertained the first four miles or so. But I lost, I couldn't figure out Norah Jones... seriously NORAH JONES, not a hard one to figure out, clearly my mind wasn't so sharp, how embarrassing! After the run I had a lightning speed round of stretching and using the foam roller then rushed to get coffee with Ed (it's a Saturday morning tradition for us) at a local coffee shop. I had just enough time for a quick shower--which solved my achy leg problem--and headed off to teach for the afternoon. I had sympathy on my students and let them out early today under the stipulation they "shoot their footage," but really it just allowed me to come home and lay on the couch.... so devious, yet so brilliant.

As for more acknowledgement of today's holiday, Ed and I celebrated valentines day Thursday night since we loathe going out on valentines. He is out getting steaks and a bottle of wine now. Really for us, there is no better way to celebrate than filet's and wine at home! For now though, it's time for a nap, I gotta rest up for my BEEF!

it's all coming back to me now...

The wheezing, the sucking of the air, the pain, the near vomiting on the guy on the dreadmill next to you. All of it has returned to memory, it's been four months since I last did speedwork, and how quickly I forgot the pain of it all. WHEW. I did a five-mile tempo run last night on the dreadmill and I was positive that throwing up on the guy next to me was inevitable. I ran the first mile easy, then bumped up to a 8:27 pace for two miles, but I was sucking air so hard that I had to slow down to a 8:40 for mile four, then I finished with mile five at an easy pace. Not gonna lie, that was pure evil.

It's official, I am out of running shape, I'm thinking this whole getting back in running shape thing is overrated. I suppose the good thing is that I have progress to look forward to. I know I'll see results quickly in speed and endurance, it's just that the pain of starting it all over again is so miserable. In fact, it's so miserable that at this point I would rather be locked in a room with Bill Gothard and his banjo for three hours while he lists his rules and reasoning for how women should look and act, than do speedwork again, and that's saying something.

marathon training has officially begun...

This week marks the start of my marathon training, 15.5 weeks to 'M' day. I trained for two marathons in the past only to get injured at some point during training, it's been one of the most frustrating aspects of my life. So much so that I became the demon child who's head would spin round and round and round and spew filth and vomit at anything who walked her way. This time around I'm going to take it easy, only up my mileage 10% per week, do some speedwork, and go easy on myself if I'm not as fast as I'd like and of course try to refrain from spewing pure evil.

I'm a little nervous though, training officially started Monday, and just tonight I did Monday's run. On Monday I had to do my long run that I didn't manage to do this past weekend. I don't know that it's the best way to kick off training, but I'm catching up and will still start week two next Monday, right on schedule. Ed and I ran three tonight, it wasn't fast but we ran up as many hills as we could in our neighborhood, of course these "hills" are just baby slopes, but it's better than nothing. Plus my body is so sore from weights and yoga I can't even move without hurting, it was a nice calming easy run. The good news is that I have already reached my yoga goal for the week, and only have one more day of weights to meet my weight training goal for the week, so in that regard I'm doing well.

As a treat to kick off marathon training I ordered my Road ID today (a christmas gift from fellow runner kristen) and am scheduling a massage for sometime in the next week. The massage (a christmas party prize i won at work) is more for my aching muscles, I think I torqued something skiing, I figure it will get my muscles all worked out for the weeks to come. Also, in hopes of making it to marathon day, I have reserved my hotel in Oklahoma City.

So here's to praying my guts out that the third time really is the charm!

a new level of stupid...

Okay FINE, I admit it. I totally wimped out and did not do my long run yesterday, which should have been five miles. When I woke up it was three degrees and windy. I assumed it would warm up and I could go for a balmy 12 degree run later in the day. However, as the day progressed, my hour long weight training session and two mile run post weight training on Saturday left me unable to walk or sit. Or stand, literally. Not to mention the other huge list of things I had to get done yesterday, all while feeling exhausted. I am admitting total fault and stupidity here. Lesson learned. Do not do hard-core-all-out leg weights the day before a long run. Or, try to accomplish in one day, what most people take three days to achieve.

I couldn't even bring myself to go to the gym and do the five miles on the dreadmill. So I am left with the obligation to go run my five miles over lunch at the Y, I'm still debating whether to dreadmill it or track it. Tough choice. Maybe I'll do a little of both. All I know is that I have to get this run in because I am leaving later this week to spend Christmas skiing in Colorado. I am absolutley stoked and can't believe I get to have such an amazing Christmas this year. Luckily we are having Christmas with my parents on Christmas Eve-Eve, so I don't have to feel lonely and left out of family activites, thanks mom and dad! They are the best. I am so blessed, more than I deserve.

But here is the thing, I'm really worried I'm going to fall off the wagon over the next week... so help keep me motivated fellow runners, because I know all I will want to do is ski, sleep, eat, watch movies, stare at the amazing scenery and revel in the snow. I will not want to go out in the -18 degree weather and run 3-6 miles in the mountain air (i.e. air in which I can't breathe) after a full day of hitting the slopes. I am trying to decide who has it better this Christmas though, my sister is spending it in Maui. What's funny is that she's jealous I'll be having a white Christmas on the slopes, and I'm jealous she'll be soaking up the balmy sunny air, I suppose the grass is always greener....