Archive for September, 2008

Tomorrow is packet pick-up for PDR, so while I’m wasting the night away, I turned on the TV for some brain numbing entertainment in an attempt to stop thinking about running.

My favorite show these days, hands-down, is Tabatha’s Salon Takeover on Bravo, where Aussie straight-talker Tabatha goes to a failing hairdressing salon, whips the owners and staff into shape then gives the salon a renovation.

The show must have been advertised in the salon trade magazines as “Get a free renovation for your hair salon!  Be a part of a reality show!”, because the owners are always freaked out and pissed off at her for messing with their business.  You can tell all they wanted was a new look for their crappy salon.

Tonight’s best moment was when one of the hairdressing staff asks Tabatha during the initial meeting, “What’s our cigarette schedule?”
“What?!?” Tabatha replies incredulously.
“Our smoking schedule” the girl repeats.
Cut to Tabatha alone, speaking to the camera “Here’s a smoking schedule for you: Fuck Off!”

And at least once in every show she’ll say, “You are fucking del-u-sional” And of course, she’s right.  Plus, this is the second week where one of the  hairstylists (in different salons, mind you) calls her a Monster behind her back, and I think the show’s only been on 3 episodes so far.  I Heart Tabatha.

America’s Next Top Model.  I don’t watch this anymore, but since Nick’s out of town, I recorded an episode as a guilty pleasure.  This year they have a preoperative transsexual as one of the contestants, named Isis, who seems to have a very sweet personality, but as far as model attributes go, has scrawny chicken legs, bad teeth and a lazy eye.  Ain’t no way this one could pass (as a woman or a model).

On this particular episode, they had to model bikinis, so Isis didn’t have much choice for the pose exept to sit with high-crossed legs, since she has a package to conceal.   Yeah, that’ll work in the real world.  Hey Tyra, here’s a twist for next season: get some girls that actually look like models, now that would be craaazy!

America’s Got Talent.  (Notice how shows with “America’s” in the title, are usually exceedingly stupid?)  This one needs to end yesterday because they’ve sucked me in yet again and I can’t get out.  The compelling reason to watch this show is partly the talent, but mostly because one of the judges is the infamous, slurring drunken burger-eater, David Hasselhoff (Don’t Hassle the Hoff!).

The true test the judges ask when considering whether the contestants deserve to move to the next round is, “Can they sustain a show in Vegas for an hour and a half?”.  A completely sensible question and one that has resulted in many mediocre talents removal.  Which leaves me wondering why a 4-year old, standing stock still, singing a song from Beauty and Beast (yes, she’s cute, but c’mon), is still returning week after week.  Obviously, Celine Dion’s got nuthin’ on her!

Our favorite part of the show is that pivotal moment each week when The Hoff says to yet another contestant, “You’re what this show is about!”.  We just love how slutty he is with hyperbolistic praise.  But I’m holding off watching this week’s episodes till Nick comes back from vacation, because nothing is more fun than yelling epithets at The Hoff with your loved one.

Beyond these, there are other shows I love to distraction: The Office, 30 Rock, The Soup, Project Runway, and a couple others.  But enough of this TV talk, I should go in the other room and attempt to read some fiction because I can feel it coming on now; that irresistable urge, an insatiable need to pull out Daniels’ Running Formula or Advanced Marathoning or…  I’m hopeless.

Today was 11 easy with a trip up Smile Hill, my mile-long piece of runnin’ fun.  Was gorgeous out, 64 w/no humidity to speak of.

On the way to the hill, I passed that walking woman I’ve become park pals with. She runs quite a bit now, which leads me to do fun stuff like clap or give a big thumbs-up when she goes by, but I’d been feeling guilty about that recently, like maybe that’s somewhat patronizing, though she always responds as jovially as me when we pass.

So today, she was on a sidewalk area right before a thin stretch of dirt path begins.  She was doing her walking thing as I approached her, and as soon as the dirt path opened up, she hopped on it and started to run, pointing to the ground and saying apologetically to me, “I have to run on soft surfaces”, to which I replied some inanity like, “You go, girl!”

It was totally adorable that she felt she had to explain herself to me, but on the other hand, the next time I see her, I’m going to make a point to tell her that whether she walks, runs or skips (there’s this strange obese woman I’ve seen out there who actually does that, skips the whole way), it’s just cool that she’s out there.

But anyway, back to the run, started comfortably and sped up a bit as I got going.  Got to Smile Hill and went up it comfortably, yet faster than I have before, then came down with an 8:01.  While I don’t plan on going down Steamtown hills that fast (though on the famously steep mile 4, I might…I’ll talk strategy in a future entry), it’s been a really wonderful piece of land to traipse on in rehearsal for the big day.

Now I’m home and popping Zicam, which I bought yesterday, because I’ve had a scratchy throat ever since the temps went down from gross hot to lovely.  I never used it before but it seems like it’s working, I have the hint of a cold, but nothing more.  Luckily, I only have a couple 4s before the big race on Sunday, so it’ll be nice to veg without any big workouts ahead.

And that’s it from glorious Philly.

I was looking forward to today’s workout, which is hilarious considering it was intervals, but after you do a couple workouts of 1000s and 1200s, 8 w/5x600s and 90sec. recoveries sounds just about fun.

Then I wake up this morning thinking it might not be such a great workout after all.  I didn’t sleep well and yesterday my quads had a little DOMs after  Sunday’s sauna run, which I still felt when I woke up.  Add to that, I checked my resting HR upon waking and it was a bit higher than usual, mid-50s.  Not that I pay a huge amount of attention to it, I don’t do low HR training, but it is a possible sign of overworking, though probably just lack of sleep.

All these nit-picks aside, the weather today was totally in my favor – 65 with 49% humidity and overcast.  Heaven.

So I start this shindig really slow, 4 warmup miles around 9:30 avg. and I wonder as I’m running, how I’m going to infuse myself with enough energy for intervals.  I’m perfectly happy plodding along and the thought of going fast sounds as fun as pushing boulders, at this point.  I wonder on the third mile if I should do a couple strides beforehand to get myself moving, but seriously, I’m too lazy.  I figure, whatever, I’ll just do this.

As usual, if you’ve been following, my interval goal pace is 7:15s (goal 5K pace converted off my goal marathon time of 3:40).  So the first one starts, I make a point not to check my Garmin till half-way, because, without fail, I always start too fast on the first one, then see the number, get shocked, pull back, then go too slow, then have to speed up to get normal again.  It’s silly.  Today, I’m just going to do them and whatever happens, happens.

So the first one ends, hmmm…7:10.  Good, a tad bit too fast, but reasonable.  The second one, 7:10 again.  Uh, ok.  Third…7:01.  This is weird.  Ordinarily, I’d be all, “oh no, way too fast, I’m going to die on the others, must…hold…back.”.  Today, I’m like, “cool, lets see what else”.  Fourth comes…7:03.  Wow, this is going well.  Then one more to finish off the set…7:07.

Avg pace – 7:06, the fastest set of intervals I’ve ever run!  And as for the make-sure-you-didn’t-do-them-too-fast test of “could you do another at that speed?”, I’d say, why yes, I sure could of!  And that leaves me feeling downright jubilant, because I’m not so far off from being in a new “minute”, as I refer to it.

See, I visualize my progress as a huge clock face.  My paces for the past few months leave me restful in the 10s, comfortably situated in the 9s, visiting the 8s quite a bit, and when I’m frisky, I’ll hang out with my racier pals, the 7s.  So to think I may be hanging with the devil-may-care 6s before too long is wild!

But enough future flight of fancies, back to the rest of this week.  I’ve got 11 easy tomorrow with a trip up and down smile hill.  Then 4 recovery, a day off, and 4 w/strides.  Then Sunday, it’s the Philadelphia Distance Run!! And now, because I’m shameless, reckless and somewhat stupid, I’ll announce my goals here for all to see: I’d be cool with 1:46:something, very happy with 1:45:something and thrilled with 1:44:something.

We shall see…

That was downright painful.  I knew it would be, 20 miles on a day that, before it was even light out, had a Heat Index of 78.  And this week I learned about dewpoint, which is actually the number that can make a run particularly miserable, more so than humidity.  Anything with a dewpoint over 65 will suck big bananas, today’s was 70 when I left and 72 when I returned (aren’t those things supposed to go down as the day progresses??).

I also had a bit of a scare yesterday on my 4-mile recovery run.  I wore my Asics 2130s knowing they’re no longer good shoes for me for regular runs (not because they’re used up, but because they don’t agree with my ankles and feet), but anyway, I figured some slow recovery miles couldn’t hurt.  I was wrong.  I felt this terrible pain at my heel/ankle, where my dormant bursitis exists, that came and went throughout yesterday’s run.  So all day I did major ibuprofen and ice, scared shitless because an injury at this point would be the LAST thing I need.  Thankfully, it didn’t appear once on the run today and as for those shoes, if I had a gun I’d take them in the backyard and shoot them full of holes, instead they’ll be going to Goodwill this week.

Back to today’s run, I put on my lightest shorts, bra top, My Precious Marathon Shoes for the second time, gel flask rigged to hold some S-caps (because if I ever needed them, today was the day), handheld, and I was gone.  It was 6:23 when I left, just starting to get light out and it was cloudy for the first half of the run, so that helped.  I forgot to eat before I left and was thinking I should have had a little bagel with peanut butter, but was 2 miles in by then, so banished the thought.

Around mile 8, I passed a cute guy in green wearing a hydration belt who said with a smile, “Oh my god, it’s Flo.” then gave me a high-five.  I figured I knew him (because I have a horrible memory for faces, among other things) so trying to not let on, I replied, “How are ya?” as I slapped his palm, to which he answered back something about “Three blocks”, and while I wasted time trying to figure out what he meant (3 blocks left to go? there are no blocks here…) I realized he’d actually said “I read your blog”.  And that was an instant “oh wow how cool” moment, but by that time I’d figured it out, he was too far away to say so.  So Cute Green Guy, you better leave a comment here so I know who you are, it totally gave me an energy infusion and left me with a huge smile on my face!!  Thank you!!

That smile lasted until about mile 15 when I first noticed my feet were as soaked as if I’d been tromping through puddles, nevermind my clothes which had become completely soaked through miles earlier.  I hadn’t put any bodyglide on my feet, so luckily I didn’t feel blisters forming but was ultra aware of the massive pruning going on in my shoes.  Not comfortable.

By then the sun was out, too and while I had originally planned to take a jaunt up Smile Hill, I was so miserably wet and hot by the time I got near it, I said, “fuck it” and made a date with the hill for this Wednesday when I have an 11-miler.  There would be no jaunting today.

As far as pacing goes, I started reeeeeal slow today because I knew the humidity would be a killer, so the first mile was a blistering 10:21, which is funny considering I never would have run that slow before marathon training, but I didn’t give a crap today.  My plan had been to do the proper Pfitz paces, staying around 10s for the first half, moving to Pfitz’s 10% over MP for the second half, which would have been 9:13s.

What ended up was a bit faster (but not hugely), ending with 8:50s for the last miles, average pace for the run today: 9:22 (this includes 3 stops for water refills).  Not bad considering it was such a disgusting day.  In fact, it’s my 4th 20-22 this training cycle and my fastest, despite the conditions. But I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking too pretty at the end, felt like a panting dog and just wanted it to be over.  I almost considered taking a walk break around 18.5, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, I’d seen those 8:50s and wanted to keep it that way.

So that’s my adventure.  Once I got home, I stripped down and parked myself in front of the fan, standing on a towel to sop up the dripping water, then left watery footprints everywhere as I dragged myself to the kitchen for a glass of water.  You’d think I lived at the city pool.

Anyway, it’s over. Like I said before, I hope this isn’t my last 20, but I only have one more opportunity for one and that’ll be 2 weeks before the marathon which can go either way.  Depends on how the Philadelphia Distance Run goes next weekend, if I don’t require any extra recovery.

So yeah…big race next Sunday, a half-marathon!  While I won’t be fully tapered, this will be a looser week, so hopefully I can manage a great race.  But now, must take a long shower and wash the salt crust off, happy in the fact that I completed one of the toughest runs this training cycle.  Later, my lovelies!!  And I hope you also had a productive, if not soaking, long run this weekend.

Today was really nice, the schedule called for 10 G.A (general aerobic) miles, which meant no tempo, no intervals, no set pace even, just run the way you want.  You know I love the regimen of a plan, but just winging it is such a nice treat.

It was cloudy with a bit of a breeze though still warm enough to turn me into a little sweatball (heat index of 76).  Average pace, 9:01.

Strange Sighting: There was an Asian woman, older, walking backwards by Falls Bridge.  She was on the bike path and keeping a pretty straight line without looking back once, all while aimlessly waving a white hanky.  I thought she was a crazy homeless type at first, but when I got close, I saw she was very neatly dressed and well laundered.  I first passed her backside, then when I turned around I got a good look at her face, she gave me the cutest smile, as if to say, “yeah, I know this is weird, but there’s a reason I’m doing it.” so I waved and grinned back.

Brain Dead Moment: Near the end, my dear friend Yvonne passed by me on her bike on the way to work.  She didn’t see me at first and while I saw her, I suddenly couldn’t for the life of me remember her name.  I yelled out , “Hey…Girl!” like a total idiot.  She saw me and apparently didn’t suffer from whatever sports amnesia I was exhibiting, yelling back, “Hey Flo!” without hesitation.

Things to Look Forward To: Goody, going to Pepboys this afternoon to get a new battery for my scabby looking car.  Can’t wait, what a thrill.  Then vacuum for guests coming over tonight before we hit a restaurant.  Tomorrow it’s 4 recovery miles, then taking Nick to the airport for a week-long visit with his kid in Portland, OR, which means I will stock up on Chicken Pot Pies, my favorite white trash food that Nick cannot stand and I will eat in abundance in his absence.  And then a 20-miler on Sunday.  Might be my last one, though I hope it’s my next to last, with my final coming the week after PDR.  I will, as ever, keep you posted.

Jim asked a good question in a comment to the previous post and when I started to write a lengthy reply, I realized I might as well put it all out there in its own entry.

He asked, “Hey Flo, I should think if you hit your goal time, you’ll have a much deeper BQ than most people manage. Why not go for Boston if you do that?”  Here are my thoughts:

A “deeper BQ” would exist only because of my age and gender.  If I was a guy, I’d be sweating bullets to make the grade, wouldn’t even have a chance this go round.  So it’s all relative when they give you a clear advantage.  But mainly, I’m looking at the big picture…

They say you have 7-10 years of improvement for running when you start, no matter how old you are when you begin.  We know that growth eventually slows down dramatically after the newbie rush and the PRs dwindle from minutes to seconds, but still, 7-10 years is the common improvement window given.

It’s been a little over a year and a half for me, so forget 7-10 years (who can think that far ahead?)  but 2 or 3 years…that’s a time frame I can envision.  So if I keep working a steady and straight line and manage to stay healthy, I could be posting some interesting numbers down the road, for an old lady anyway 

So when the day comes that I am really ready to tackle Boston, I want to do it as an Officially Strong Runner.  That means more race experience; running harder races, hillier races and not caring so much if I PR or not, one who takes a bad race as just another notch on the belt.  I’m quite far from that right now, still content to seek out the flat (or in Steamtown’s case, net downhill) races while I get faster, but that’s cool.  There’s time.

So that’s the deal.  I might get my goal next month at Steamtown, I might not, I might get a BQ but not the one I want, I might crash and burn out of nowhere, but whatever happens, Boston will be there when it’s time.