The Garmin-less Experiment (continued)

So after yesterday's surprising race outcome, I decided to continue the experiment but changed things up a little bit. I did take my Garmin, but set it so that all I could see was elapsed time. Today's plan was to run 1:45, not so much a set distance but time on my feet. Aaron dropped me off downtown and I ran a loop around campus, then turned south on the B-Line to meet up with him. It was another gorgeous day for a run and I started around 3:00 pm. I think everyone and their brother and their brother's dog was out for a run today!

I felt absolutely fantastic for the first 6 miles, running what felt like a very easy pace and very comfortable. Just after completing the 6th mile though, I began to have some serious questions about my lunch choices. Whatever made me think that I could start my long run 45 minutes after downing most of a Greek calzone? And two slices of cheesy garlic bread? OMG, what had I been thinking...ugh, bad BAD idea. Detoured to the Winslow Rd Burger King to tend to some GI turbulence. Texted Aaron to find out he was starting at Church Lane and heading north to meet me. I felt better so back to the rail trail. As soon as I turned onto the rail trail itself, I spotted another family out enjoying the beautiful day. I'm not so sure that they enjoyed me gawking and staring, much less taking their picture. I think that I gave them the creeps because they decided to abandon the trail after I took their picture.



I ran about another quarter mile before I was forced to walk again. And that's how the rest of the run went: walk a quarter, run a quarter. My stomach was trying to stage a coup and I wasn't going to let it win. *burp* I didn't manage to finish out the planned 1:45 run thanks to the rebellious calzone, but knew it was time to call it quits.

Once I got home, I checked out the Garmin stats. In spite of my feeble running for the last mile, I'd averaged an 11:03 pace for the 7.25 miles. Really?? Yep, really and truly and for 4 miles I'd been around a 10:30 pace. Stupid calzone. Lesson learned. Again.

Springville 10k Report 10/01/2011

A couple of months ago, I made a point of putting all of the Mag7 races on my calendar. Not because I planned to do a lot of them, but I thought it might be fun if I wanted to run a few on a whim. Today turned out to be such a day.

The plan when I turned in last night was to go for a nice early run with the folks from the running group. I'd picked out my clothes, set the alarm, and even had plans for breakfast with them afterwards. Yet when 6:00 am rolled around and my alarm went off, my brain said "no way!" and shut the alarm off without any hesitation. Back to sleep it was, waking just long enough to send my friends a quick text that I wasn't coming. Slacker, right?

After enjoying a lovely, leisurely morning with the family I started to mull over my running agenda. Run on my own or hit up that afternoon 10k that was on the calendar? So tempting, but I haven't run a 10k in ages, my training this fall has been weak, and I wasn't registered. Yet the sun was shining, it was a gorgeous fall day, and the urge to go run a race was there. Now that I'm back on my thyroid meds (all the tests were normal, by the way), just feeling normal feels amazing. You know how good you feel after you've had the flu, that first day of feeling human again? Yeah, that's how I feel now.

I looked over the web site, printed out the registration and the Mag7 voucher coupon and continued to debate it. I invited hubby to come along, but he didn't think it sounded the least bit fun and said he'd rather not. The day was beckoning, I just couldn't pass it up. He laughed and told me to just go, he knew I wanted to!

I hadn't made it a mile from the house when I realized that I'd forgotten my Garmin and wasn't wearing my watch either. I briefly considered going back for it, but decided against it. Today wasn't a goal race, maybe it'd be fun to race without a timepiece. Today's as good a day as any to give it a try, let's see what happens.

Once I got to Springville, it took just a couple of minutes to get my registration turned in and the volunteers gave me my race shirt and bib. It looked like it was going to be a pretty small crowd, which surprised me considering how amazingly beautiful the day was turning out to be. I chatted for a bit with the other runners, whining to Steph about how frustrated I've gotten with what I see as my failure to improve over the past two years. All of my race PR's occurred in fall 2008/spring 2009 but since then, it feels like I'm losing ground. Oh, well, after some conversation it was time for me to do a little bit of a warm-up and then head to the start line.

The course for the race was an out-and-back. I had checked out the elevation profile before I'd left home so I knew roughly what to expect. The outbound portion would be almost a steady uphill grade, but that meant the race would have my favorite kind of finish: downhill! I think I can fight my way through anything when I know that there's a downhill on the other side. That's a big part of my love for the Flying Pig, in fact: that long downhill finish into downtown Cincy.

Since I had no time piece and hadn't been training for the distance, I was really stumped over how to pace for this race. For the first mile, I started myself at the back of the pack, let the runners settle into their places and then tried to stay with the folks around me. After the first mile, I decided to change up my strategy a bit and started reeling in the runners ahead of me one by one. Nothing too impressive, just a steady push. I did take 2 short walk breaks on the steeper uphills, but then pressed on again at a slightly faster pace each time.

My 10k PR (1:00:15) was run in November 2008 at the Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day Race. That also was just 4 weeks after my half marathon PR (2:11:26) at the Indianapolis Monumental. That 1:00:00 barrier has taunted me ever since and I've not come any closer since that 2008 race. In spite of not being in PR condition, I decided that a little mind game was in order today. From about the 2-mile mark through the rest of the race, when I'd feel my legs starting to falter, I'd tell myself that I was running a 1:01:00 pace and if I wanted to get in under an hour, I needed to pick it up. I had this mental image of the race clock ticking away and that I needed to go just a little faster to chip away at that 1:01:00 finish.

The toughest part of the race for me was from about the 2.5 mile point to the turnaround. I was anxious to get that uphill portion over with but it just seemed neverending! The good thing is that I still was holding my own and not being passed by other runners, but we were spaced out far enough that I was barely making progress on the runner ahead of me.

Finally hit the 3.1 mile point, grabbed a quick drink of water, then took off again to head back to the finish. Still telling myself that my pace wasn't fast enough, need to push harder, not going to get in under an hour...hurry, hurry, hurry. It was strange having no idea what my pace was and having to gauge things totally off of perceived effort. My legs were tired, really truly tired and I was only halfway there! I was so glad that I didn't have long uphill stretches to fight through anymore, my legs were ready for this race to be over. Push harder, don't give up, picturing what the clock at the finish will read. Will it be 1:10:15 or maybe 59:59? Absolutely no idea so better push harder!

I don't know if I missed the mile markers as I was coming in or if they weren't there. I saw the signs for the outbound mile markers so I had a good idea where I was, I knew the finish was getting close when I recognized the houses I'd passed on my warm-up. I started watching for the 6 mile marker, I did remember that I'd seen that on my warm-up. Once I passed it, I tried to dig deep to get a good kick to finish. I found that there wasn't much left, I was really, truly, and completely spent. As I came up to the finish, it was bittersweet to see the clock ticking up from 1:00:10. I finished in 1:00:20, only 5 seconds off of that PR that I thought was still out of reach.

That's given me a lot to think about. 1) How much have I sabotaged my training by not believing in myself? 2) How do I improve my mental game? 3) Is it time to ditch the Garmin and just run? 4) I think this may be one of my best-run races ever. Part of me wishes that I had worn the Garmin so that I could review it but I know that had I been wearing it, I probably wouldn't have run it as well as I did.

Very happy with today's race. :)

Just Get Out!

I did manage to get out for a run yesterday. My breathing was awful. I'd forgotten how being hypothyroid makes my laryngeal issues worse and it felt like my throat was trying to close up each time I inhaled. I had to take a LOT of walk breaks just to catch my breath. My legs felt pretty much as I'd expect them to feel after 2 days of rest: sluggish. Honestly, the first 2 miles was an exercise in persistance. In spite of being absolutely miserable for the first half of it, it did get better once I hit my turnaround and I felt better for the rest of the day. I felt better than I have for several days in fact. Sometimes I need that dramatic reminder of how much my mental and emotional states benefit from a run. For the rest of the day and evening, my mind was in a better place, my body felt better, and I was definitely in a better mood. Obviously I need to heed my own advice: just get out there and run, you'll feel better once you're done.

In hindsight, I think that most of my "hypothyroid signs" are more likely due to running withdrawal than to my hormonal state. This is a big part of why I run actually. No matter how stressful a day I've had, how tired I am, or how much I just want to crash on the couch, I've only had a couple of runs that when I was done I regretted doing them. The overwhelming majority of the time, I finish with a smile and a better outlook on my day. Maybe this is why I try to encourage new runners to stick with it. Once you get to the point where you recognize the mental and emotional boost, you keep coming back to get your fix. I never would have believed it myself when I started running. Me? Hooked on running? Ha! For about a year, I'd dread each workout. I'd drag myself off of the couch to go to meet up with the running group at IRC just to avoid the questions of "where were you last night?" One day, a rest day, I realized that I didn't WANT to rest. I wanted to run. That was a turning point for me and most of the time, that feeling is there. Yesterday reminded me why.

Plugging Along

Today's entry is going to stray from my usual babble about my running agenda. My blog is my journal, my diary, and today it's my therapy.

Today is my eighth day off of Synthroid and I'm plugging along just trying to go through the motions of my routine. As long as I keep busy, I feel mostly ok: some dizziness now and again, I'm tired, lethargic, and lacking motivation. I slept almost as much as I was awake over the weekend, but the family is taking good care of me by taking care of themselves. I do find that once I sit down, the fatigue closes in on me and it's hard to overcome the inertia to get moving again. I haven't run since Saturday's race (the Bloomingfoods 5k Breakaway), in spite of my good intentions. Going to try again today, wish me luck.

So why am I off of my Synthroid? In February of 2002, when the twins were only 7 weeks old, I had my thyroid and its goose-egg sized evil alien friend removed. A few months later, I had radioactive iodine to kill any cells that might have survived the surgery. The iodine was delivered to me in a heavy lead cup by a friendly young man stunningly dressed in a lead apron and wearing lead gloves. I was told to swallow my radioactive cocktail in one gulp, given a tissue to wipe my lips, and instructed to discard the tissue into a radioactive waste bin. That was it. I was told not to sneeze or cough on anyone and I was good to go. By "go" I mean "go straight home and isolate myself from every other living being in my household for a week". Easy peasy. All in all, a pretty simple and straight-forward treatment for cancer: no nasty chemotherapy, no radiation burns, no weakened immune function. Today, the only reminders I have of the cancer are the faded scar on my throat, the raspy voice and funky breathing I have courtesy of laryngeal paralysis, and my absolute dependence on taking thyroid supplements for the rest of my life.

Eleven months out of the year, those are the only reminders that is. In order to test for any recurrance of the cancer, about once a year they have me go completely off of my meds so they can check my blood for any thyroid protein. If any thyroid protein (thyroglobulin) is found, it suggests that I'm relapsing. This is a stressful process for two reasons: just being reminded that cancer could be lurking is worrisome but the added benefit of being severely hypothyroid during this testing impairs my coping abilities. For me, it tends to affect me with fatigue, apathy, irritability, weepiness, and a bad case of the blues. I try to run through the hypo phase, sometimes that's easier than others. This time around seems to be a bit tougher than usual for no reason that I can tell. At 10 years post-diagnosis/treatment, the chances of me having a recurrance are <5%. Pretty good odds, right? Every year when it's time for tests though, I'm not interested in what the odds predict. All that I want to know is what do my tests say?

Tomorrow is my first blood test after going off of the meds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's been long enough for them to do the rest of the tests. If not, I stay off of the meds and we test again in a week. In the meantime, I'll keep moving in slow motion, sleeping every chance I get, and trying to keep my head above water.

Time to go run.

I Love/Hate my Body

Or maybe it's the other way around? Today is one of those days where I'm disgusted with the way my body works. Doc left me a message yesterday with some unexpected test results which will result in me needing more tests. In case that's not enough, the timing of these tests will leave me all off-kilter when I start my new job in 2 weeks. Just what I wanted: Hi, I'm your new employee and I need to take a week off because my body refuses to play nice. Oh, lucky me. My heel is still nagging at me in spite of 2 days of rest. The weather is great, my mental state could really use a run, but the fear of making the mystery heel injury worse has me taking another unplanned rest day. Nothing like a day where I both desperately need a run to clear my head and my body needs a rest day to heal itself. Some days, it just sucks no matter how you look at it.

One step forward, two back

I wrote up a race report for Geist a couple of weeks ago, just to have blogger eat it in spite of my repeated clicks on "save now" and "publish post". I was so frustrated by that effort, that I didn't bother trying again.

Short version: Geist Half Marathon has a beautiful course, it was warm and humid that day, I had 6 miles of a great race, then 7 miles of misery and pain. The frustrating part is that the issue isn't even running-related, I think it was just bad timing that it even happened during the run. *sigh* It was the first race where I wanted to DNF. The only thing that kept me going was my stupid pride.

Unfortunately, I had the same problem this past weekend during a 10k. Again, the race was going well until out of the blue, GI pain and then spasms hit and I was barely even able to walk until it settled down a bit. If there'd been a support vehicle in sight, I would have DNF'ed it then and there. It was so much worse than what I endured during Geist, absolute misery. I was also registered to run a 5k an hour after finishing the 10k, but was so sick that I knew there was no way I could do the second race so I turned in both timing chips after the first race. I would think it was just "runner's trots" except I'm having the same issues after a taxing morning of dragging my butt out of bed and sitting on the couch. It doesn't make sense.

On a positive note: I'm on week 5 of P90X and very happy with the progress I'm making. This evening I did the Legs and Back work-out followed by Ab Ripper. I still can't do a single pull-up but I did almost every one of the reps on Ab Ripper! Way to go, Me!

May Happenings

Well, so far, so good on the P90X work-outs. I'm staying on schedule with the work-outs and haven't missed one yet. I try to do the work-outs in the morning, then my runs later in the day. The soreness is easing up, now I'm just stiff and exhausted! I'm seeing some progress already but I imagine that some of that is just because I'm learning how to do the moves and I'm not fumbling my way through so much. My body is still adapting to the extra demands that I'm making, at least I think that's why my legs are so wiped out. My legs have been in a constant state of fatigue all week, as in I get tired crossing the room or going up a flight of stairs. It's just adaptation though, right?

I ran in the Morgan County Fallen Officers Memorial 5k last Saturday. The race is one of the flattest in the area and I'd last run it 2 years ago. During the 2009 race, I remember it was incredibly humid and the air just felt nasty. The weather was just about perfect this time though, overcast, 58 degrees, and fairly comfortable humidity. I admit to being disappointed in my race though. In spite of better weather, keeping my brain in race mode, and not taking a single walk break, I ran the course 9 seconds slower than in 2009. Ugh, it's so frustrating! I know that I won't PR every race, but I get aggravated that I'm not improving. My goal for now is to stay healthy/uninjured so I can keep putting in the miles and the cross-training. Hopefully, keeping that goal intact will help the rest of my running to improve. On the plus side, I did see via the online race results that I placed 3rd in my AG (40-49). Even better is that the Mag7 does their season scoring based on the 40-44 AG and I was first in that division. Hooray for being in a weak AG!

Next on the agenda: Geist Half Marathon in 4 days. I've never done this race, so it'll be a new one for me. No expectations, just hoping to enjoy the day and not worry about pace for a change.

A New Leaf

Now that my goal race for the spring is over, I decided this was a good time to get some consistent cross-training underway. I always have good intentions about cross-training, but have trouble following through. Since I don't have the excuse of being knee deep in a training schedule or any significant job obligations (unfortunately...) I plan to stick to it. Today is day 4 of P90X and we started the morning dark and early with Yoga X. I'd forgotten how tough the first 40 minutes of that work-out is! I also forgot that it's a 90-minute routine. Oops, only had time for an hour, so I'll finish it later today. I still have to do the Ab Ripper that I was supposed to do yesterday (yesterday was Arms and Shoulders PLUS Ab Ripper, but I didn't allow enough time for 2 routines, oops).

I'm guessing that I'm going to be pretty sore most of the time for the next few weeks, but the payoff will be worth it. We're doing the Lean version rather than the Classic but I'm thinking I may try Classic next time.

I'm trying to get the kids more involved in fitness as well. That's not a new venture, but I'm trying a new tactic. Since hubby and I will be doing the P90X videos, I checked out a few videos for the kids from the library to try. The kicker is that the only way I can get the kids to do them, is to do the video with them! This means that in additon to my running and my P90X, I'm also doing things like Hip Hop Abs, Yoga for the Kid in All of Us, and Island Girl Tahitian Hip Hop!! Yikes! Hopefully, the kids will decide that the videos are enough fun that they will continue them without my help because I can't keep up with 3 hours of exercise every day for long!

2011 Flying Pig Half Marathon Report

Race morning: the alarm went off dark and early. Hit the snooze button and nodded off for a few minutes until it went off again. Ugh, that felt like a very short night, I was still so very tired! We dragged ourselves out of bed and ate peanut butter with a banana on a tortilla, then tried not to fall back to sleep again. We got all of our gear ready and left the hotel at 5:50 to make the short trek to the start line. It was still raining, as expected, but we had brought some of those cheap plastic ponchos to keep us dry. It’s always fun walking over to Paul Brown Stadium and seeing the crowds growing in excitement as you draw closer to the staging area.

This was the first year that the Flying Pig had Pig Pens, a.k.a. starting corrals. They had us staged based on the finishing times we had entered on our registration and the corrals went from A through E. Aaron and I were in D so we approached the starting line where A was and then still had a good ways to go to get to our corral. As soon as we entered D, we heard someone joyfully yell “The VICTORS!!!”. I wasn’t expecting such a welcome, but it was fantastic to see Erin Hazler waiting for us! We chatted for a bit, I complained that I wished I’d hit the bathroom one last time, and about then the race started. As we meandered towards the start line, I warned Aaron and Erin that I was going to make a pitstop if I saw a portajohn with a short line before we got to the start line. I found one and told them to go on. Of course, they waited.

The three of us ran together for the first stretch and it was good to have company. Usually, I run my races alone, it helps me to find my “zone” but this time I was appreciating the companionship. My stuffy head was threatening to move into my chest, so I was running with no real expectations other than to see how I felt and take it from there. The rain ponchos didn’t last very long, we’d peeled them off in probably the first half mile. It was only a gentle drizzle and it didn’t take long to get warm enough to want the ponchos gone. As we approached the Southgate bridge, I was pleased with how well I was feeling. Not strong, but at least my head had cleared up and I could breathe. Mile 1 in 11:46.

Since I’d taken the pit stop in the starting corrals, we’d gotten trapped in behind a lot of walkers. At some points, it was tough to even keep an easy jog going due to the traffic. In hindsight, it may be better to make a quick stop on the course than risk getting caught in walking traffic next time. At some point in this second mile, I realized that I’d lost Aaron and Erin as I zigged and zagged around walkers. Aaron ended up catching me again right around the 2 mile mark. Mile 2 in 11:05.

The third mile goes by the hotel where we stayed. Funny how until this year I hadn’t paid much attention to the geography to even notice how close we were to the course! It was raining a little bit steadier at this point, but with the visor on I only noticed it because I could see the raindrops hitting the puddles. It actually felt very nice. The third mile ends midway over the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, which I think is the steepest of the three bridges. Whew, always good to have that behind me! Mile 3 in 10:43.

Aaron was still running with me at this point and I thought he was doing very well. We walked a water stop in this mile, just a quick break and back to running. I don’t remember much else in this stretch, it’s a pretty boring part of the race, I think: nicely warmed up but not starting to get beat up by the hills yet, so it’s easy to just zone out for a bit. Mile 4 in 10:25.

In the fifth mile, Aaron started to fade a bit. We took a couple more walk breaks, then he sent me on ahead. I was torn on whether to go or not, but I decided at that point we were both ready to run our own races. Mile 5 in 12:13.

As the race continued onto Gilbert, I knew that we’d soon be turning to head up to Eden Park. I find this to be the toughest part of the course, the three mile stretch of steady uphill takes a toll. I was feeling ok at this point, but still trying to just take it pretty easy. Just before finishing the 6th mile, the course crosses over Eggleston. As we approached the bridge, we could see the leaders of the half as they were finishing mile 13 of the course! I said something to another runner about how sick that was as we admiringly watched them run by. Wow, I just can’t grasp how a person can run at that pace! Mile 6 in 10:34.

I decided this was a good point to take a gel since we would be hitting some hills soon. I had a tough time getting the gel down, but over about 5 minutes got the job done. I had taken another extended walk break in the process, more out of mental fatigue than anything. I need to work on not getting so wrapped up in how tired I’ll be climbing that hill! The crowds as you turn onto Eden Park Drive are some of the most enthusiastic on the course, so that provides a nice boost as you hit the steepest part of the course. Whew, too bad that I can’t bottle their energy for the whole hill! Mile 7 in 11:56.

I thought that I walked a good bit of this part of the course, but when I reviewed the Garmin data, it looks like I was surprisingly consistent. I don’t have any idea how, I really don’t. Granted it wasn’t fast, but when I compare it to last year’s race I was running it at almost the same exact pace through this part. Considering how crappy this cold had me feeling, that surprises me. We run by a wonderful overlook that gives us a view of the city and river below, almost at the top of the hill now and that provides a boost. Mile 8 in 11:13.

At this point, you aren’t completely done with the hills but the steepest parts are behind you so it’s easier to hold a pace. I know that the downhill is still a mile or so away but it’s getting closer! I feel my legs’ relief at the change in the grade, the fun is going to begin soon. Mile 9 in 10:37.

My feet are really starting to hurt, especially the outer toes of my right foot. It’s definitely worse on an uphill grade, so I walk a short bit on one uphill. The pain is pretty intense, but it almost goes away completely on level to downhill portions. I realize that the exact same thing happened during the Heart Mini in March. I’m not sure why, but I guess it’s just a conditioning issue. I’m glad that we’re almost done with the uphill, because I think the pain would be horrid if I had to keep going uphill. Mile 10 in 10:55.

Miles 11 through the finish are almost a continuous downhill. At this point, I probably have a permanent grin on my face as I visualize my feet turning into wheels. It makes me absolutely giddy, I love LOVE this part! I really feel good running now, in spite of my faster pace, it feels very comfortable. Mile 11 in 9:40.
Although the next mile is still downhill, the grade isn’t quite as steep. This is also the point where there is a short dogleg and for some reason, I hate that little portion. There’s just something a little discouraging about running all the way out just to have a hairpin turn and go back the way you’d come! Mile 12 in 9:53.

Time to bring it in home—last mile, give it all you got! I find out that I ain’t got much left, but I’m working with what I’ve got. I am definitely ready to quit, so I keep reminding myself that I can rest in just a few minutes but for now, keep running. It feels like I’m barely running, yet my Garmin tells me otherwise. Mile 13 in 9:50.

Ugh, last little bit! Keep going, crowds are cheering, my legs are really burning, just go, go, go… I hear a surge in the cheers and realize there is a marathoner coming up on my left. Holy cow, that man is MOVING! I don’t even pretend to hold pace with him, but I see a few other folks showboating and trying. And failing. Ha! I think he was the second place marathoner, absolutely mind-boggling how fast he flew by me! My Garmin is off on the mile splits, so it shows that I ran another 0.28 miles past 13. Last 0.28 mi in 2:42 (9:34/mi).

I get across the Finish Swine (ha), get my medal, grab a cup of water and head back so I can wait for Erin and Aaron to finish. Erin comes in, I madly scream her name but I’m drowned out by the rest of the crowd. A few more minutes, and here comes Aaron! Yes, I admit to getting a bit teary as I saw him approach but then I was too busy screaming my fool head off trying to get his attention. He didn’t hear me, so I took off running along the sidewalk and got to him just after he crossed the last timing mat. I’m so very proud of him! His training was hampered by health issues and he so easily could have changed his entry to a shorter race. I think that’s what I would have done, but he pulled it all together and got the job done!

My official time was 2:23:26. I’m actually shocked that I was only a minute off of last year’s time. While I ran the first half 2 minutes slower than last year, I ran the second half a minute faster than last year. It’s admittedly frustrating that I got sick when I did, but I guess that I’m still proud that I was able to do what I did. Since I wasn’t able to run the Pig the way I’d wanted to (healthy), I signed up to run the Geist Half on the drive home. I’ve got three weeks to get recovered and ready to go. I’m writing this report up on Friday and I am just now feeling good enough to try another run. The cold did move into my chest and Monday through Wednesday were pretty miserable. I think I’m on the mend, now to get ready for the next race!

Flying Pig: the Pre-Race Report

So as race day for the Flying Pig approached, I started my usual race-week obsessing: checking weather forecasts, what to wear, what to pack, and trying to figure out all of the other last minute details. I was feeling confident about this race. After having run 2 half marathons this spring, I thought that I was in a good place to run a course PR at the Pig. If I had a great day, maybe even a distance PR.

On Wednesday, as I prepared to turn in for the night, I noticed my heart was racing. It felt like it was going to thump its way right out of my chest and I thought that was odd. I felt fine in every other way, but when I took my heart rate it was well over 70. Uh oh. In the past few years of running, as my resting heart rate dropped into the low 40’s, I had noticed a very consistent trend. Heart rate over 65 = sick within 24 hours. I felt fine though and hoped that it was just a fluke.

Thursday morning: sore throat. An “oh my God, it feels like someone took a belt sander to my throat” sore throat. And a headache. And a very stuffy nose. Perfect. So I tried to drink extra fluids, took my vitamins, and tried to take it easy, although I still went to work. I ditched the Thursday night run so that (a) I could rest and (b) I didn’t expose my friends to my plague. All to no avail, by Friday morning it was worse and I was running a fever. Well, nuts. I’ve planned for this race for a year, I’m not bagging it now. Aaron was running his first half marathon and I was finishing this race unless someone had to pull me from the course. I can be stubborn that way, not necessarily smart, but stubborn. Unfortunately, my boss was in the hospital and I’d already agreed to work in his place. I popped some ibuprofen, warned the ladies at work that I was dragging, and had a hectic workday in spite of my exhaustion. I finally got out of work (only a half hour late), got home, threw a few last minute items in the bag, and we left for Cincinnati.

After we got to the hotel, we unpacked, and decided to take a little walk to get some munchies. The hotel is just a block off of the race route, so I saw a few of these on our trek.



On Saturday morning, we decided to run across the river to go hit the Expo. From our hotel, it's just a quick run over the Roebling Bridge to get downtown. Last year, the bridge was in the midst of being painted and prettied up, so it looks really nice this spring. No more tarps!




Originally, I’d hoped to do 3-4 miles very easy just to loosen the kinks. Since I was battling the head cold, we just ran the 1.3 to the Expo, walked around there for an hour, then walked back to the hotel. That was plenty, just the walking left me tired and I wondered if I’d overdone it. I enjoyed the Expo though, bought a few things from the vendors, talked to someone representing the Geist Half, visited the empty booth for the Carmel Marathon/Half (wish there’d been a rep there, I hear some folks landed tasty registration discounts there!), and got some vitamin/antioxidant samples that I took in hopes that it might help my cold. Oh, and got my picture taken with the Cheetah Pig. I’d spotted a picture of that one online and knew that I needed to find him. Then I hummed the Cheetah Pig song to myself all day. (Think Homer Simpson if you don’t know what song I mean.)



After the Expo, we still had some time to kill before we had to pick up the kids from Sara so we debated what to do. I finally decided that this was a good opportunity to give Aaron a preview of the race route. We had both run the Cincy downtown area enough that we skipped that part and picked up the course in Covington. It was really nice for me even, since I usually just blindly run the race and don't take the time to notice street names and to sightsee. We made it as far as the Eden Park Overlook before we had to cut it short to go meet-up with the family. We stopped at the overlook for a quick photo-op. Every time I run this race, I think I should get a photo there but I never want to stop. Finally, I have my picture! The view from here is gorgeous and I'm glad that I got to get my picture on a clear day.




The weather forecast had been predicting a rainy race for us and that showed no sign of changing. It’s getting to where I almost expect rain for Cincinnati races! Flying Pig 2010, Heart Mini 2011, and now Flying Pig 2011 would all be rainy races. Visors and rain ponchos for the start, we’re prepared. We went to the Reds game in the evening, which made for a late night even though we left in the 6th inning. Good thing that we didn’t stick around for the whole game: it went into extra innings! In fact, I was already half asleep when I heard the “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM” of the fireworks announcing the Reds’ win in the 10th. Next on the agenda: race day.

It's Spring! Wait, no, it's not...or is it?

Snow on March 30? Really?? I gave the weather a pass on Saturday when it snowed because, I don't know, just because. Today though, April is only 2 days away and it's completely inappropriate to be dodging snowflakes at this time of year! I protested the snow this morning with a nap, so there.

Once the snow cleared and the sun came out, I decided to go visit the trail. I admit it, I didn't want to today. I was cold, I was grumpy, and I had no motivation. Bleh. So, I faked it. I put on my running gear and took off in the van to go run a couple of errands. The thermometer was reading 38, then the sun went back in the clouds. Seriously? I'm not a cold weather runner, but anyone who has run with me in the winter already knows that (and is probably sick of hearing about it). Give me 90 degrees and humidity any day over gray days and freezing temperatures.

I finished my errands and decided to change up the routine at the trail: rather than starting at a trailhead, I started in the middle. I decided that a little mind game might be in order just to get me to finish the planned 4 to 5 miles. I started at the parking area on That Road and went south. As I approached the roundabout at Church, I spooked a mourning dove from beside the trail but it didn't actually leave. It fluttered around overhead but stuck around. Hmmm, interesting. I decided to investigate on the way back.

At the roundabout I debated what to do: go back the way I'd come on the paved CCT or head north on the rail trail. Rail Trail won. I kept revising the plan as to how far to go on it before doubling back, finally decided just to take it up to Country Club and back. As I started the 4th mile, I realized that I had just hit cruise mode and had picked up the pace a good bit. It usually takes me 2-3 miles to get warmed up but it still surprises me when I look down and see the Garmin's evidence. Effort felt good, but I was coasting along at a 9:40 pace. Not a good idea with the IU Mini on Saturday, so I pulled back a tiny bit. Still felt pretty good though. It's nice to have runs like this again, it's been a year getting it back!

As I got back to the roundabout on Church, I started looking to see if the dove was still there. Yep, in fact, this time I saw two of them: the male nervously fluttering about and the female sitting on the nest. *big smile* That means SPRING IS HERE!!! So in spite of the yucky, gray, snowy day, baby birds are in the works. I was so excited about this that I actually went back to the van, grabbed the cell phone, and went back to get some pics. Thank you doves for coercing another half mile out of me: 5.5 miles today.

Heart Mini Marathon Race Report

So after finishing the Mag7k, grabbing some post-race munchies (Avers Pizza...yummm...), and getting my back taped up, it was time to head east. We cut it pretty close. By the time we got to the convention center, the expo was over and we had 20 minutes before packet pick-up was over. No problem--it took me just a minute to get my shirt, bib, and chip and I was done. I absolutely LOVE the shirt and the poster! I think I'm going to get a frame for the poster, if I get it back, that is. More on that later.



It was still early in the day (just after 4:00), so we went across the river into Covington to get checked into the hotel and then out for dinner. We debated catching a movie, but decided that we were both content with just having a quiet evening of watching basketball so I could get to sleep early. I managed to sleep through almost all the ballgame that kept Aaron up until almost midnight--I was obviously tired!

I didn't sleep well at all after about 2 am though. I'm always afraid of oversleeping on race days, so I set 2 alarms. I still thought I'd oversleep: either I'd set them for p.m. instead of a.m. (not that I've ever done that...ha...) or that I'd turn them off in my sleep. So, I kept waking up, double checking the time, triple checking the alarms, then back to sleep. *sigh* Finally, at 5:15, the alarms went off for real and the first thing that I did was check the radar. I'd been weather stalking every hour until I went to sleep and when I turned in for the night, it was calling for 10% chance of rain. I was horrified to see this when I checked in the morning:



Well, nuts. When I ran the Flying Pig last year, it rained, so this won't be my first rainy half marathon. I didn't have a garbage bag to wear, but at least I had my visor to keep the rain out of my eyes. Suck it up, princess, you won't melt. I got dressed, packed my spibelt, and choked down most of a mini-bagel. It would have been nice if I'd been able to eat more, but it just wasn't going down. The temperature was going to be about 40-42 for the race, a little chillier than I'd expected but I didn't think it'd pose a problem. I was wearing capris, a short-sleeved tech tee underlayer with a cotten short-sleeve over it, and arm warmers. I had a throw-away flannel long-sleeve that would keep me warm until the race started, hopefully it would keep me mostly dry, too. My worry was that I'd get wet and chilled before we even started, then it would be a battle to get warm again.

Aaron surprised me by deciding to walk me to the start in spite of the rain! That was a pleasant treat, usually I trek over the bridge into Cincy on my own on these race mornings. The company was much appreciated. Once we got to the staging area, I wanted to hit the port-o-let one last time, but the line was crazy long. I convinced Aaron that he really wanted a bagel from the coffee shop and I took advantage of his customer status to use their facilities. That saved me a good 20 minutes of standing in line AND it was warm/dry in there! It was just drizzling rain at that point, but still not something that I wanted to be in any longer than necessary.




The race was to start at 8 and I made it back to the staging area at 7:55. Aaron came with me and I started shuffling with the rest of the crowd. Once the gun went off, I handed him my "throw-away" and got a good luck kiss from him. He said he'd try to meet me at the finish, then I was moving. It wasn't until right before we got to the start line itself that I realized I was positioned with the 12:37 pace group. Eh, no biggie, hopefully it would help me to start slow.

I had decided that I didn't want to fixate on the Garmin and its paces for this race. I wanted to treat this as a long run, not as a race. I worried that if I was getting constant feedback on pace, it might lead me to push too hard too early. What I learned was that I'm not very good at judging effort: I started out too fast because it did feel very easy.

This was the first year for the half marathon at this race. The HM runners started with the 15k runners and we were going to run together for the first 8 miles. The start was at Fountain Square and we went east on Columbia Parkeway along the river. There were a couple significant hills along there and what wasn't hilly was rolling. The first mile though, was very nicely flat. I was running easy, just a gentle warm-up and I was aiming for a 10:40-11:00 pace. I could see the 11:30 pacer just in front of me, so I figured I was probably ok. I was surprised at the first mile marker when I was right at 10:40, I thought I was running slower than that! Since my warm-up usually takes about 2 miles, I knew I'd have to really focus on keeping my pace super-easy for the first few miles or I'd overshoot that pace significantly and run into trouble later. As I finished the first mile, the drizzle had let up and it was just overcast. It wasn't much after that when I took off the visor and fastened it to the spibelt.

As we finished up the first mile, we had gone through the first of the uphill segment. Starting the second mile, was a nice long downhill. At first, that's a relief. Then, you remember that the 15k course is an out-and-back. We'll be running this sucker uphill on the way back in. Ugghhh... Hit the bottom of that hill and back up we go. Mile two was all either that downhill or the uphill after it, not a flat stretch in it! So why did I run it in 10:36?? Crap, better try to slow down...got a long way to go! The 11:30 pacer was still in front of me, I'm glad that I wasn't relying on him to pace ME! Unfortunately, the next mile was mostly flat to downhill. My own pacing failed miserably and I ran that mile in 10:13. (Keep in mind my half marathon PR was an average 10:01 pace, so now I'm nearing race pace which I'm NOT ready for!!)

I think it was just after the 3 mile marker that I heard a bunch of cheering and wondered who all the spectators were. Then I noticed a car coming the opposite direction, horn blaring (accident? injury??). After it passed, I noticed the flashing lights of the police motorcycle escort--it's the leaders on their way back in! The wave of cheering that followed their progress was fantastic! We all cheered loudly for the first 4 or 5 as they passed, then we settled back into our own races until the lead woman passed by and we cheered her on, too. It didn't take long then for it to become a steady stream of runners and I tried not to think about them. "They've already hit the turnaround. Grrr...how much farther is it??" Mile 4 done in 10:28.

We turnaround at about the 4.5 mile point, more cheering, a short-lived pick-me-up. I knew that there was going to be a dog-leg on the course on the way back but hadn't checked it out as we went by. I didn't want to know, to be honest. I knew it was in the opposite direction as the river and that meant uphill. Around this point, I took off my arm warmers and pinned them to my belt. I'm glad that it's not raining anymore but even more happy that it's overcast. In spite of it being 40 degrees, I'm definitely warmed up. It's actually perfect running weather: cool enough that I'm not overheating, but not so cold that I need to bundle up. Mile 5 done in 10:32. I'm holding my pace, but it's still faster than my usual long run pace. I worry about that. If this were a shorter run, no problem but can I hold this for 13 miles this early in the year, especially since I'm still rebuilding? The mental game is starting.

Just before we get to the 6 mile marker, we hit the dogleg and oh.my.god. is it a hill. We're talking Winslow Hill material but longer. I'm walking and I don't even care! I know that I can walk this hill at least as fast as I can run it. A woman passes me at a slow jog and she's singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall". I laugh and tell her that she's got the right attitude! She keeps singing and trucks on ahead. I use the opportunity to start on a gel, I think that there's water at the 6-mile mark. As soon as I hit the top of the hill, I move back into my run and pass most of the folks who passed me on the uphill. As we move back to levelish ground on Columbia, a man passes me and says "Was that hill supposed to be some kind of a cruel joke or what?", we laugh over the cruely of it and get back to business. Mile 6 in 11:29.

I keep looking for water at this point since I've taken in about half of my gel packet and had ditched the handheld bottle that I brought with me. I don't want to finish the gel and have no water, but there's no water in sight. Oh, yeah...I remember as we pass the empty folding tables that the map DID say the 10k water stop was ONLY for the 10k walkers that would be coming through in a couple of hours. *sob* I just wanted to take my gel to relieve the fatigue that was starting, if I don't have water with the gel, I'm courting GI disaster. Ok, save the rest of the gel until the water is available. Mile 7 in 10:39.

My mind starts to check out at this point. I know that we're soon going to have the 15k split from the half course. I start questioning my decision to run the half. I'm not ready, I've been running too fast for my conditioning, what if my back starts hurting, a multitude of excuses why I should follow the 15k'ers. This is the worst part of the whole race: the decision of whether to stick to the half or cut it short. Mile 8 in 11:01.

I continue to debate what to do. I'm walking a lot, granted, there's that bugger of a hill to climb up, but still...I know it's a mental battle right now and I also know that I'm letting it get the better of me. Why should I back off of a training run? I knew from the get-go that I wasn't racing this, not aiming for a PR. Even if I do walk the rest of the course, I need to see this through. At mile 8.6, they start moving the half runners to the right lane. I move over. Ok, that's good, I'm physically going the right direction. At mile 8.7, we split off for real. Almost immediately, my mood starts to move in the right direction, too. At this point, we're taking a ramp on the interstate, first down, then steeply back up. Ugh, I do walk that uphill part (oh, my right foot is starting to really hurt...that's new...) but then back to my run. I finish mile 9 with a 11:40 overall pace. That'll prove to be my slowest mile of the day.

We zig-zag a bit through downtown Cincinnati as they move us to the road that'll get us to the bridge over the river into Newport. That part's mostly a blur other than the part where we're passing the half marathoners that are coming back in to the finish. Lucky punks. The other thing that I remember is seeing a bunch of trash cans but there was no water stop. Huh, there are dozens of GU packets all over the place though. Apparently it was a GU stop and they ran out before I got there. Fantastic. Not that I wanted one (I still had my own and actually never used any other than that first one), but if I'd wanted one it should have been there. Hmmph. As I pass the smiling young man at the 10 mile marker, I raise my hands over my head and yell "Only 3 more miles to go!" Yes, I'm genuinely thrilled by that! He sends me on my way with a "good job, way to go" and I finish the 10th mile in 10:36.

At this point, the runners have really thinned out. I actually worry that I might lose sight of the runner I'm following at a turn, but it's very well marked and the runner isn't THAT far ahead. This is the first half that I've run where the crowd got so spaced. We approach the Purple People Bridge to cross the Ohio and enter Newport. The bridge is pretty interesting. Apparently it used to carry traffic but now is strictly pedestrian (and purple), it's almost park-like with benches and potted plants. I'm a little bit disgusted though that 15k'ers and half marathoners who are done are using it for their cool-down. I know it's not meant to be discouraging, but at that point, I really didn't want to be reminded that a lot of folks had finished an hour ago. Mile 11 in 10:45.

I'm actually enjoying this part of the run, it's starting to drizzle a bit again but that doesn't bother me. My hands are incredibly cold and stiff though, every so often I try to warm them by tucking them in my armpits. It's too hard to run that way though, so it doesn't last long. It doesn't work anyway. I consider putting the arm warmers back on, it's starting to get chilly again. I'm so close to being done that I don't bother. The course takes us by and around the Newport on the Levee shopping area and then down along the riverwalk. It's really nice here and I'll have to remember this for running in the future. I'm not being passed at all now, I feel pretty good but I see other runners really starting to fade. We head back across the bridge to Cincinnati again, I walk the uphill on the bridge and finish mile 12 with an 11:12 pace.

Now the rain really kicks in. Ugh. I'm glad that it wasn't like this the whole race but wish that it could have held off a bit longer. I was already dealing with cold hands (why didn't I bring gloves??), now that I was wet I knew that I wouldn't be able to get the arm warmers on to warm them. It was nice to run through underpasses because at least it was a brief respite from the rain. Hurry up and finish though, then you can warm up again. Strangely, I can't remember much from this point (uphill? downhill?) other than seeing the rain. I didn't put the visor back on because my hands weren't working well and I didn't want to be fumbling with the belt to get it off. Just finish, almost done. Mile 13 in 11:01.

As I approach the finish line, I'm hearing the final strains of the national anthem and I realize that the 5k must be getting ready to start. The 5k'ers are staged in the facing lanes of traffic at the finish line and the national anthem ends just before I hit the finish line. I must say, it's pretty freaking awesome to have a couple thousand runners cheering you in at the finish!! Yeah, they were probably cheering for the anthem, but I think a few of them were cheering for me. ;) I managed that last 0.1 at a sub-9 pace but I forgot to turn off the Garmin so that's all that I know.

I finished the course with an official time of 2:21:57 for an overall pace of 10:51. I was 1359/1674, 66/100 in my division. Aaron met me at the finish with my throw-away flannel, I was so glad to see him bring it!! He had to button me into it though because my hands were numb and I couldn't work the buttons. The only post-race refreshments that sounded good were the orange slices and the chocolate being passed out by the angel from Ghirardelli. Oh, my, that was the BEST chocolate EVER! I heard that there was coffee but I couldn't find it, probably wouldn't have set well anyway. I scored a goetta sandwich for Aaron. *gag* Even if I liked that stuff, I don't think I'd want to eat it after a race. He liked it though. :)




Now that I've had a couple of days to rehash things, I'm really really happy with how I did. I wasn't planning to do this run until about 2 weeks ago, I didn't have the proper training plan to be ready this soon, yet I still managed my best Cincinnati half marathon time. This course is good prep for the Flying Pig (more rolling hills in this one, I think) and I beat my Flying Pig times from both 2009 and 2010. It does excite me to think about what to expect after another month of training for this year's Flying Pig, not to mention the IU Mini. It's good to see all of the pieces coming together. After last summer/fall off of running, it's about time!

Oh, and that poster that I love so much? I left it in the hotel room. Gah! I realized it an hour after we checked out as we were on our way home. I called, they hadn't cleaned our room yet, and it should be on its way to me in the mail. Fingers crossed that it gets to me in frameable condition!

Now, for some much needed recovery time.

Magnificent 7k Race Report

Hooray, spring racing season is now in full swing! Granted, the weekend's races were meant to be approached as training runs, but I still love the environment and energy of a race. I'd really taken it easy during the week since I'd managed to tweak my back on Monday's easy run. My lower back had been nagging at me ever since, the only time it didn't hurt was when I was standing or lying on my side. Perfect. I still was optimistic that I might be able to do better than I'd planned with the extra rest, as long as I didn't push the issue with my back.

On Saturday, I was up bright and early to help out with packet pick-up for the first Mag7 race of the year: the Magnificent 7k. My job was easy enough: give out t-shirts (which were awesome!) and bibs to the folks who were pre-registered. Easy-peasy. Aaron had decided to sleep in since he had me to get his materials picked up, but we didn't realize that parking was going to get sparse by the time he arrived. Luckily for him, I just took his bib to the starting line and he got it with just a minute to spare.

My plan for race day was to take it pretty easy. Since I'd be doing a half marathon the next day, I knew better than to push the pace and race it but I really didn't have an actual goal pace. I was just going to "run easy". I'd forgotten how hard that is to do in a race situation! Aaron had forgotten his Garmin in his rush to get the car parked, so he had no idea of our pace. I looked down midway into the first mile and thought "oops...no way we should be running a sub-9 pace, let's see how long Aaron can keep it up though if I don't tell him". We actually held onto it for a good bit and did the first mile in 9:10. Unfortunately, that's a lot faster than I meant to be running the day before my half!

As we finished that pleasantly flat first mile, we could see hills. HILLS? Hmm, I could swear that I'd heard this was a flat course. Ah, well, nothing you can do, just run the course given to you. I did tell Aaron that I was going to walk the steepest parts of the hills. No way was I going to risk tweaking my back at this stage. I didn't wait for my back to hurt or my legs to fatigue, I just walked once we entered the steep parts. There were two pretty good sized hills in the middle of the course where I walked a minute or so on each, but otherwise, I tried to keep a consistent effort. We ran mile 2 in 10:15, a much smarter pace for us.

As I remember it, from mile 2 to the turnaround and back was a pretty level stretch. Rachel was guarding the turnaround for us and I made sure to get a high five out of her. Hooray for cheerleaders! I'm very sad though that her cowbell was a casualty: it got run over not once, but twice. By the same driver! Jerk.

After the turnaround, Aaron told me to go on ahead. He wanted to take a walk break and when I slowed to walk with him, he waved me on. Ok, no need to tell me twice, I was feeling pretty good at that point. I ran most of the uphills on the way back, once I was warmed up it didn't worry me quite so badly that my back would protest (it didn't). Finished mile 3 in 10:21 and I was back to the flat portion of the course. I was still trying to run easy, but also keeping my ears open for someone coming up behind me: I didn't want to race but I also didn't want to lose ground to a possible AG competitor!

The crowd where I was had thinned out a good bit at this point. I may have passed a person or two, but also was passed (not a woman in my AG though!) by a couple folks. No biggie but as I got to the last 3/4 mile, I refused to let anyone else around me. I'd hear footsteps and take it up a tiny notch until I heard them back off again. Right before we got to the school, I noticed that the speed limit sign was reading off our speeds as we went by: it kept flashing between 5 to 6 to 7 as various runners went by. I thought that was pretty funny and had to chuckle. I finished mile 4 in 9:51.

No exciting sprint to the finish, just tried to hold the pace (maybe did try to increase my stride turnover a little) and run through the finish. I forgot to turn off my Garmin, but by my calculations I did the last 0.35 mile in 3:21 (9:34 pace). My total time: 43:06 for an average 9:54 pace. Not bad for a "training run", now I'm anxious to race a 5k though! I did manage to get an AG award: 3rd of 4. If I'd been in any other AG, I wouldn't have stood a chance! I better get my butt in gear if I want to hold my own this year.




After the race, I had Dr. Mandy Smith tape up my back. I've heard good things about the rock tape and figured it wouldn't hurt, hopefully it would help me to get through the half marathon on Sunday. Aaron and I got some pizza, I collected my participation award for the 2010 season (Mace--so don't sneak up on me!) and my surprise AG medal and then it was time for us to hit the road so I could get to packet pick-up in Cincinnati. Fun!

Weather stalking

Racing season is back and so is my obsessive weather stalking. As races near, I find myself first checking 10-day forecasts, then weekend forecasts, until finally my ultimate in forecasting is available: the hourly forecast. Aaaahhh, I know it's almost time to toe the line when I see the hourly forecast reaches the time when I'll be at the starting line. Tomorrow I'll be volunteering and running at the Mag7k here in town, then we'll head to Cincinnati for the Heart Mini Marathon. Even though neither one is a big goal race for me, I love the excitement of a race. Two in one weekend? Awesome!

Ready for Spring!

I feel like I don't have much to report, but since I've not updated for a while I'll give it a try. My running is erratic: 8 miles one week, then 22 a couple of weeks later. Motivation is lacking right now, but I'm not sure why. Even today's spring-ish 55 degrees feels chilly to me. I'm so very ready for spring and some warm, sunshiny days. The cold, gray weather just sucks the life out of me. Remind me again why I live in the Midwest? This Florida-born gal thinks that 80 degree temps are ideal running weather! By the way, the picture above was taken at the BARA Photo Scavenger Hunt a couple of weeks ago. We had a list of items/places/people that we needed to photograph and this was the one that went with the caption "I can't believe that we all fit in here!"

I've added a few more races to my spring plans, so you'd think that would add a little boost to my motivation. In just over a week is the Mag7k, should be fun but it's more an opportunity to have fun with the local runners, get a little pizza, and find out what fabulous participation prize I'll be taking home! In April I've got the IU Mini (4/2) and the Indianapolis Komen Race for the Cure 5k (4/16) on the schedule. Both of these are sentimental races for me. The IU Mini 2007 was my first half marathon and I've not been able to run it since. I'm excited to finally revisit this race even if it's a different course and got to preview the course last weekend. It'll be a tough one for me, time to run some hills! The Race for the Cure was my very first 5k and the reason that I started running in 2007 in the first place. I know that I never expected to continue running once it was over, but so glad that it gave me the boost that got this habit started. I ran my 5k PR of 27:27 in 2009, but I don't think I'll come close to that this year.

The last weekend of April/first of May will be a busy one for our family. We'll head to Cincinnati on Friday, April 29 to get ready for a fun weekend of Flying Pig events. The kids are training for the 5k which will be on Saturday, while Aaron and I will be running in the half on Sunday. This will be my third Pig HM and Aaron's first. I do plan to improve on my Pig PR, which if I get my act together shouldn't be out of reach. I think that running the IU Mini is a good route to get me ready, so I'm optimistic. Of course, my previous times weren't anything exciting. In 2009, I ran a 2:30:13 just 24 hours after running the Indy Mini and in 2010 I finished in 2:22:29. My HM PR is 2:11:27 but I think that's going to stand until at least this fall. We'll just see what happens.

Then the crazy stuff starts to happen. Somehow, I've allowed myself to be talked into running not one, but two relay races this summer. I missed out on running Red Eye last year with all my buds, so I have been planning on doing that one since last July. Then along comes another local relay in its inaugural year and we decide to do that one, too! June 3/4 is the Cork'n Run Relay. That one is a 200-mile, 12-person relay that starts in Starlight, IN at the Huber Winery (beautiful...went there for a wedding last summer) and then traverses southern Indiana as we visit wineries on our trek northward. We'll be running through Salem, French Lick, Bedford, Nashville, and then ending in Indianapolis at the Vintage Indiana Food and Wine Festival.

The second relay will be July 23/24 and is run here in Bloomington as 2 loops of a 50-mile course. Our teams are still being finalized, so I'm not sure who I'm running with but we'll be paired up with another team that has similar paces. That'll be helpful since that means we'll be running in pairs, reassuring especially once it gets dark!

There will definitely be some Mag7 races in the mix somewhere but until I know my work schedule, I'm going to hold off on registering. I'm trying not to even look at the schedule too much out of fear of getting my heart set on one and then being stuck at work instead! Fingers crossed that it all plays out well though. I had my best fall season after a summer of Mag7 races, it looks to be a good training strategy for me.

Tonight: Track workout with BARA!

Novartis 5k Race Report

The pre-race stuff was chaos, so by the time I got my chip and finished the last-minute sign-in, I only had time for a 1/4 mile warm-up before they were calling us to the start line. Oh, well, it's just for fun anyway. I can't complain, it was a free race.

It was super-humid (literally, the weather report was 100% humidity) and the start was a zoo. As usual, in spite of the announcer asking slower runners and walkers to start in the back of the group, I nearly ran over the walker who was one step in front of me. Because the race was run on the golf-cart path of the golf course, there was very little room for passing. I was able to get around a few of them in the first 100 yards, but then we got boxed in by hedges on one side and a water hazard on the other. I saw one kid nearly fall in the pond as he tried to pass there--oops!

The lack of a good warm-up really hurt me, then I went out a bit too fast as I tried to get around the slower racers. The first mile was on goal pace but then I started to have breathing issues. I ended up walking a short spell to get that back under control, then picked it up again. It was a struggle and overall, I'm not happy with how I raced mentally. I think physically, it wasn't too bad considering my current conditioning but I need to keep my head in the race better.

I did compare my time for this race to the last time I ran it and I was well over a minute faster AND in better condition that year (2008). I'm hoping that bodes well for spring training this year. Time will tell.

The Mental Gymnastics of Running

I have been trying to do most of my runs indoors for a few weeks, but it's not just because I'm avoiding the cold. I have a strategy. In 14 days I'm going to be running a 5k and I am doing what I can in a very short time to get ready for it. The catch is that the race will be in Florida and I learned the hard way what happens when I train in freezing temperatures and then attempt a race in warm/humid conditions. It may really be a physical issue of acclimation, but I suspect the mental side may be just as much a factor for me. So, I rationalize that if I do most of my runs indoors, I'm going to have at least one little thing in my favor at the race. Is there really that big of a jump in training in 20-30 degrees and then racing in the 70's? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm hoping for a little bit of the placebo effect. It'll at least eliminate that excuse if I am unhappy with my race day effort.

That's just one of the ways that my mental games can affect my running. During Sunday's 7-mile run I wanted to quit about a mile into it. Honestly, one mile. How sad is that? I was tired, I didn't want to do it, it was late because I'd procrastinated all day long until it was dark, blah, blah, blah. Good or bad, I ended up back at the Y running more laps on the indoor track. Bad because it had been a beautiful day and I'd missed running in the sun. The good part of it was that I was able to break up my run into nice little bite-sized pieces. Just one more lap, just one more lap, just one more lap...repeat about 40 times and I'd "just one more lap"-ed my way the full 7 miles.

I think that the mental side of running is where I need to focus most of my effort this year. I'm not fast and I am not too optimistic about changing that, but I can be better. I just need to keep my brain in the game and the legs will follow.

Trying again

Wow. I have neglected this site for a LONG time, but I am still running. I did go back and grab a few race reports from 2010 to add here, it'll give you a little something to get you caught up with what I'm doing these days. Short version: I've now completed 7 half marathons, 2 marathons and more 5ks than I care to admit to. Next race on the schedule is a 5k in 2 weeks at a conference in Orlando.

I originally started running with one of the "Couch to 5k" type of programs in January 2007. That was the last time I followed a 5k-specific training plan. Ever since then, I've just worked the 5k races into my training schedule for half/full marathons. This time though, I decided to give the 5k some real training. Will it result in a PR? I doubt it, since I'm still rebuilding from last year's injury and more than 3 months off of training. I'm still optimistic that it's a good way to work on my conditioning before jumping into half marathon training and I enjoy the speedwork outside of the context of marathon training. Speedwork's not so horrid when you aren't doing it on the heels of a 17-mile long run 2 days prior!

Spring 2011 plans so far include the IU Mini Marathon on April 2, the Indianapolis Komen Race for the Cure 5k on April 16, and the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 1. As for marathons, I think I'm going to take a break from those for a while so I can concentrate on improving at shorter distances. My 5k PR is 27:26 (2009) and my half marathon PR is 2:11:27 (2008), I'd like to get both of those improved before I revisit the idea of marathon training. I really like the 5k and the half distances and they don't have such a huge impact on my family life. Not to mention, I can do multiple half marathons within a short timeframe or even on a whim. A marathon? That's about like adding in a part-time job for 4 months!

I got 2011 off to a running start by meeting up with several folks from my running group on New Year's Day morning. We went for 4 to 7 miles (I was in the 4-mile group) and then met back up for a pitch-in breakfast. It's always fun to have a social hour after a run and what a great way to start the new year! As a little bonus, I was able to pick up my "award" from the fall training season. I'd missed the actual presentation at the season-end party, but Mel was kind enough to bring it to the New Year's Run. I'm not certain, but I have a good idea that my race morning outfit for the Indy Monumental may have had something to do with the award. ;)