Swimming

A bit over a month ago, after repeated attempts by a friend to get me to try swimming, I finally ran out of excuses and went swimming for the first time in a long, long time.  As I knew I would, but for unknown reasons didn’t want to admit, I really enjoyed it and since that first “lesson” back in November I’ve been back to the pool a few more times.

I’m still learning about proper technique for my stroke and breathing and kicking…and about a million other things that it seems like I have to remember while swimming…but I am looking forward to improving and getting more efficient. 

This morning I went to the pool by myself for the first time.  As I slipped in to the slightly cool water, I had to smile to myself:  I just couldn’t believe I was at the pool, preparing to swim laps at 5:45 in the morning.  My friend was right, as soon as I started swimming; I ended up loving it and look forward to going back each week.  Why did I resist this for so long?

I still don’t have a clue what I am doing and am rather intimidated / impressed by the other swimmers who seem to be able to swim lap after lap without pause.  Meanwhile, I am please with myself whenever I can string together two or three laps without (much of) a pause at the wall.  One day, I tell myself, one day that will be me. 

With various pauses and rests thrown in, I swam 36 laps this morning for a total of 900 meters.  Most sprint triathlons have a swim distance of 700 or so meters so I am rather encouraged by my swimming abilities this early in my learning. 

Yes, I’ll finally admit it, my interest is slightly intrigued by triathlons and one of my goals for 2011 is to complete my first triathlon.  New year, here I come!

Daily Dozen:

Swimming, 36 laps

Run to and from pool, less than 2 miles

A good run, a realization and a new goal

This is my fourth attempt at following a marathon plan with specific types of runs – tempo, marathon pace, intervals, etc.  Once again, I have discovered that this type of training just isn’t for me. 

I get discouraged when I can’t hit the paces I am supposed to hit and always end up injured.  However, for my first marathon, I followed a plan that simply had me running miles and it is the only training plan that I have been able to feel successful at following.  I knew what to run that day and I just did it without much further thought.  Plan says 5, run 5.  Plans says 16, run 16. Just get the miles done. 

And I was able to get the miles done.  And, it was actually a confidence builder to succeed at the plan.  Lately, I just seem frustrated at myself for not being able to improve and succeed at specific speedwork. 

I want to get back to that feeling I had during my first round of marathon training:  the feeling of pride and wonder as I discovered each week what new mileage milestones my body was capable of hitting.  I want to go back to a time when I didn’t think twice about race pace or worry about running the race faster than last time. 

My new goal for Charleston is to run a strong race.  What strong means will depend on the day.  I want to have fun out there.  I don’t want to run a strong race and then feel down about it because it doesn’t meet the time expectation I foolishly set for myself.  If I run a sub-4 hour marathon, great.  If I PR, wonderful.  If I run my strongest race and it is 30 minutes slower than I planned, I want that to be fine as well. 

Today, rather than run the prescribed speedwork – 2 x 4 miles at MP, with .5 recovery – I went out for a long pre-work run listening to an All Songs Considered podcast.  I decided to run faster whenever there was a song playing and then slow it down when there was talking.  The pressure of hitting a specific pace on a cold, windy morning (and being disappointed and so frustrated in myself that I quit running) wasn’t part of my run.  I ran the “fast” pace that felt good and have no idea what that means in numbers. 

I ended the run with a smile on my face, feeling confident and strong.  Boy, that sure felt good, I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow. 

Daily Dozen

9.5 miles

XT in gym @ lunch hour

Snow Run

Yesterday it snowed for much of the day and the snow stuck around overnight. The first half of my run to work is on bike paths, which do not get plowed or cleared (not that I am complaining) so I was crunching over new snow patches, following bike treads and the tracks of other runners, and trudging uphill using short, choppy steps because the snow made running more like trail running on sand. It definitely got my heart rate up and gave me a good workout.

One of my favorite things about running in the snow is that things just look prettier after a snow fall. I took these two photos on the run in to work (excuse the blurriness and low quality – running and taking pictures with my phone is not one of my strengths):

Here’s a pink sunrise seen through the clouds.

I took this photo while I was running over the Roosevelt Bridge into DC. This shot doesn’t do the view of the iced-over Potomac with Georgetown and the bridges in the background justice.

While running, really it felt more like slogging by the end, on the snowy bike path was a fun challenge, it made running on the sidewalks in DC feel even better. Once I hit the flat, snow-free sidewalks I instantly sped up and running felt nearly effortless.

Daily Dozen:
6.5 miles run to work

A Running and Writing Funk

It was a month ago that I ran the Veteran’s Day 10K and I have been in a bit of funk ever since. Deciding to run home from the race proved to be a bad idea and I didn’t recover from that weekend very well. My paces have been off (think 11:30 to 12:30 pace…that’s slower than when I started running four years ago) and I just haven’t been excited about running.

Perhaps the most important factor of this running funk is that my confidence has reached a low point. What am I doing? Why do I care if I can run a marathon, let alone, in under 4 hours? What’s the point of running if I am going to feel like this?

Let me be clear: it wasn’t the slower paces, necessarily. I was putting all my effort in to faster paces – paces that felt as fast as the ones I had been hitting (somewhere in the mid- to low 9 minute mile range) and then I look at my watch and see 10:55. I was frustrated that I knew I had been running faster paces and that the effort didn’t seem to be paying off. Why push so hard for something that was nearly two minutes slower than I was capable of a month ago?

Anyway, I missed some runs. I got discouraged mid-run a few times and just stopped, opting to walk home and grumble than finish a run that felt horrible. But, that would only frustrate me further. Something needed to change.

I started to ignore the speed workouts and just go out for miles. I told myself it didn’t matter how fast or slow I was as long as I was out there getting the miles, everything would be OK. I even turned off the mile split feature on my Garmin. If I’m working hard and I feel like I am putting in a solid effort, I didn’t want to get discouraged if my actual pace didn’t match my perceived effort. In fact, I didn’t want to know until the run was over.

These things have worked. I’m feeling, and more importantly, running much better. My 16 miler over the weekend went well and the 20 miler the weekend before was also a solid effort.

The real take home lesson for me is that structured speedwork just isn’t for me. Tempo runs done by feel (run “comfortably hard”) and fartlek runs (run every time a song is one during the All Songs Considered podcast) work better than specific interval sessions (run 1 mile at marathon goal pace three times with half mile recovery). Not hitting the paces that I think I am supposed to be hitting just frustrates me.

Not to get too mushy but running is supposed to make me feel good about myself not make me beat myself up for not meeting expectations.



Daily Dozen:
XT @ lunch

Veteran’s Day 10K – A Race Report

Or, a lesson in how to overdo it.

Who knows where thoughts come from?  They just appear. 

Sometime on Saturday, I decided that I was going to run to the race on Sunday.  I could have ridden my bike or taken the metro, although that would have been cutting it close since the race started at 8 and the metro didn’t open until 7:30.  I thought back to the GCF Half Marathon last November and thought, What the heck?  Why not?

The few problems with this idea – this race being a time trial to judge my current fitness during this marathon cycle and that weekend’s schedule being a cutback week in terms of my overall training schedule, to name a few – didn’t seem to deter me.  I rationalize them out of existence, telling myself that with my left shin bothering me I probably wasn’t going to get a PR or have a good time trial so why not get some more miles on my feet since I missed a few runs last week. 

Plus, how bad ass is it to run 5.5 miles to a race, race it and then run back!

I woke up Sunday morning, got dressed and ready for the race, ate a banana, drank a glass of water, and headed out the door with a bagel in hand to munch on as I ran.  As I ran through the quiet Arlington streets I wondered how many people noticed me running by with a bagel in one hand and a race bid pinned to the front of my shirt and wondered what I was up to. 

I made it to West Potomac Park, about 5.5 miles from the house, in exactly 1 hour.  Not overly speedy but definitely a good warm up.   As I ran I questioned whether I was going the right thing?  Whether I should even shoot for a PR (faster than 8:19 pace)?  Maybe I should just enjoy the crisp fall weather and be happy with that?   If I didn’t get a PR, would that mean a sub-4 marathon was out of reach?  I hate that I have been so full of doubt this past week but Sunday, before the race, was not the moment I would shake that monkey off my back. 

Eventually, we lined up at the start line and before too long the race was underway.  I decided to run what felt like a fast 10K pace and let the first mile decide my approach to the rest of the race.  If my pace over the first mile was anywhere near 8:20, I’d shoot for a PR.  If it wasn’t, then I would just find a relaxing but quick pace and put all thoughts of PR times out of my head. 

As always, people were passing me constantly even and I am getting much better at letting that happen.  I no longer feel the urge to try to keep up with the people shooting out of the gate, confident that I’ll see them again before too long.  The first mile felt like it was taking forever but I eventually passed the first mile marker and hit the lap button on my watch.

I was pleasantly surprised to see 8:28.  Well, that is sort of close to an 8:19 PR pace and even though 9 seconds seemed like a long time to make up over the remaining 5.2 miles, the pace gave me the confidence to try.  Just a pick up the pace a little bit, I told myself.

Mile 2 ticked off in 8:18.  Well, that is more like it.  If I can just stay with this pace for the next 4 miles or so, I wouldn’t be far from my PR.  I started to focus on just making it to the turn around and before I knew it I hit Mile 3 with an 8:11 mile.  As it turned out, I made up those 9 seconds pretty easily.

I swung around the turn around and headed back “home.”  That’s what I tell myself on out-and-back long runs after getting to the turn around spot – “Now, I just have to make it home.  Just gotta get home.  That’s it.” 

It was also at this point in a race that I expect to stop seeing so many people passing me and to start picking off all those people who started off too fast and zoomed by me in the beginning of the race.  However, this wasn’t happening.  People were still zooming by me and I felt like I wasn’t gaining on anyone.  In fact, it started to discourage me and I started questioning my decision to run to the race.

What was I thinking?  I’m fading 3 miles in to a 10K!  Stupid. Stupid.  Stupid.

Mile 4 was not an easy mile but I told myself to just relax in to the pace.  If my pace dropped below 8:19, I told myself it was OK to let the PR go and not try to push myself to accomplish something that was out of reach.  I ended up running an 8:18 that mile even though I felt like my pace had slowed significantly and that people were passing me with ease.  I couldn’t quite give up on the PR so I pushed Mile 5, just to see what I could do at that point. 

It turns out I could run an 8:08 mile for Mile 5.  With 1.2 miles to go, I started to doing the math – if I stayed on this pace, if I didn’t let up for even a second, I just might be about to squeak in a PR but it would be close.  I ran harder.

Before seeing the sign for Mile 6 – Where it is?  Where is it? – I saw the finish line ahead of me.  All I had to do was run to it.  It seems to simple and easy.  Mile 6.  I hit the lap button on my watch but didn’t even look down.  Just run to the finish.  Keep pushing.  Stay strong.  Just run!

It turns out Mile 6 was my fastest mile at 8:06 and I covered the final .2 miles in 1:32 minutes for a 30 second PR at the 10K distance.  My official time was 51 minutes 5 seconds.  I couldn’t believe that after putting over 5 miles on my legs and claiming it was a warm up once again resulted in a strong PR.  I felt great.  Tired.  Out of breath.  But great. 

I was the 188^th woman to cross the finish line and 58^th in my age group. 

I grabbed an apple, a banana, a water and two cookies and sat down to stretch as I cheered on the rest of the people finishing the race.  After scarfing all that down, I had to make a decision, am I really going to try to run home?  My legs felt heavy but they didn’t hurt.  I was definitely tired but I wasn’t exhausted.  I decided to give it a try, sticking close to the metro line so that I could jump on if I needed to.  I ended up running all the way home, (except for the last 3 blocks but only because Mike happened to drive by so he gave me a ride home). 

I paid for it the next few days – the most sluggish, cement-legged run ever on Monday and more shin pain on Tuesday and today – but I still enjoyed it.  Honestly, I can’t say I won’t do it again.

Pros:

• Convenient-ish location
• Great time of year to race in DC and pretty location along the river
• Good organization
• Cookies!

Cons:

• A bit crowded (not for most people, especially for a DC race but this is just a personal preference)

To Run or Not to Run

Well, that is the question, isn't it?

Last week was a great week of running.  I ran for 52 miles total and during/after each run I felt strong and confident.  I was hitting the right paces on the faster runs and the easy runs felt east.  My long run on Sunday was a little under pace but I finished the 16 miles feeling like I had really accomplished something.

This week, however, hasn't been as great.  Tuesday, I went out to do some interval work at marathon pace and noticed that my left shin was hurting.  The pain was causing me to limp slightly so I made the decision to skip the run, thinking that maybe I'd try again the next day.  When I got up Wednesday the sharp pain was no longer there but it was feeling a bit tender so I went ahead with the planned rest day.  I ended up doing quite a bit of walking so I didn't feel too bad about skipping the speedwork for the week.

Thursday I did a 7 miler that was OK.  It wasn't a great run but it also wasn't a bad run.  My shin was feeling OK during and after the run; however, when I went down to the gym in the afternoon if started to hurt sharply again.  Uh oh!

So, what do I do?  I decided to get a good night's sleep and see how I felt in the morning.

Today, Friday, I planned to run to work.  Saturday is to be a rest day.  Sunday I have signed up for a 10K in order to judge my current fitness and see if a sub-4 marathon is in sight.  On the one hand, Sunday's race is important from a mental aspect.  It'll be a tremendous boost to run a great time for the 10K and know that my speed is there for the sub-4 attempt in a few months.  However, this isn't a goal race so I am a little nervous about taking another day off during the training cycle.

I woke up convinced I was going to run.  By the time I made it downstairs, I had decided not to run.  I think I'm being smart about a small injury so that it doesn't turn in to a larger injury but that doesn't keep the doubts at bay - What am I doing?  Who do I think I am attempting to run sub-4?  I'm not a fast runner!  Why is a sub-4 time so important?  I'm just not made for running fast.  I should just run Charleston for fun - slow and fun.  I can't do this so why try?

It is hard no to lose sight of the big picture (I was running strong going in to this marathon training cycle, I've been running strong up until now.  One bad week, a few missed runs - not that big a deal) when the immediate view feels so all encompassing (oh my god, I'm injured, when will I ever be able to run again.  Probably never.  Why is this happening to me?).  However, one missed run, one very mild case of shin splints isn't going to make or break me as a runner so I might as well enjoy the extra rest and start focusing on Sunday's PR attempt at the 10K.

Confidence and strength, not fear, that's the lesson I want to learn during this training cycle.

Long Runs: Progression Style

To me, long runs have always meant getting out there and hitting a certain distance goal no matter how long it took me.  Twenty miles?  No problem, I’ll just run out for 10 miles, turn around and run back home:  slow and steady the whole way.  That is, until now. I am taking a different approach to my long runs during this marathon training cycle.  

The plan I’ve put together for the Charleston Marathon in January (and my first attempt at running a marathon in under 4 hours) incorporates Progression Long Runs.  With 40 minutes left in the run, I am incrementally picking up the pace over the last four miles until the last mile hits my goal marathon pace (roughly 9 minutes per mile).  Knowing what certain paces feel like and being able to hit certain paces is not one of my strengths as a runner so I am not going to be getting too hung up on numbers.  Rather, my goal is to be able to hit the distance goal for the day and still be able to pick up the pace at the end to get somewhere in the vicinity of 9 minute miles.

Saturday was my first attempt at a progression long run – 13 miles with the last 4 getting close to goal marathon pace.  It was a gorgeous morning for a run.  The air was crisp and on the chilly-side but the sun was shining and there was promise that the temperatures would rise to be more comfortable. 

I headed out for a relatively flat 6.5 miles before turning back for home.  As I passed the four mile mark on the way out, I mentally checked off the location and told myself, when you run by here on the way home it’ll be time to pick up the pace.  I hit the turn around point and then headed back toward that spot (and home). 

I actually found myself looking forward to hitting the 9 mile mark (4 miles on the way out) and picking up the pace.  It made the long run seem a bit shorter, having something other than the end to focus on.

My Garmin beeped at the Mile 9 mark and I picked up my pace.  “Just a smidge faster,” I told myself.  I always have trouble hitting race paces when I’m not actually racing so I wasn’t expecting much.  I told myself not to be disappointed if I couldn’t find a faster pace and to just be happy if I was under a 10 minute pace.  I was pleasantly surprised to see my Mile 10 pace at 9:02.

Okay!  But back off just a little bit.

Mile 11 was 9:08 and I was surprised to still feel good.  I felt like I was running only slightly faster than easy pace.  Miles 12 and 13 would have some hills and I expected to slow down (and gave myself permission to have a slower pace).  I ran these two miles in 9:18 (bigger, longer hill) and 9:10.  It was a reverse of what I intended but still better than I expected. 

I felt great at the end of the run and not just because of the successful progression run.  I felt like I could have run further and most importantly, I felt comfortable running at a pace close to goal marathon pace after running with 9 miles already on my legs.  When it comes to running faster and increasing my race paces, I think that one obstacle for me can be confidence.  I’m afraid to run fast – my legs feel like lead, my lunges are burning, I can’t breath, I’m huffing and puffing, and most importantly my mind is telling me to shut it down, running slower just feels better in the long run.   I want to learn how to shut my brain off. 

I think my faster race times recently have shown me that I can run faster and that there is nothing to be afraid of when I stretch my running abilities.  Saturday’s long run gave me another great confidence boost.

I celebrated with a hot mug of hot chocolate (made with milk, I call that my recovery drink!) and an ice bath. 

Daily Dozen:

9 mile run to work

Push-ups, walking and stretching @ lunch hour