Archive for February, 2010

Today closes a 69mi week, my highest since mid-November.  Considering I had a day off on Friday, it was a pretty dense set of runs.

Yesterday I unknowingly tricked myself.  I had 10mi planned w/4MP.  Got out there and before I started the MP miles, I changed it to 5MP.  Then when I got to my halfway point I changed it to 11mi total but somehow still thought I was doing 5MP, so it wasn’t till I got home that I realized I did 6MP.    Silly, yes, but it’s funny to note that had I gone out with 6MP to begin with, I wouldn’t have been so lalala about it since 6 of anything raises my anxiety antenna.  Crazy how much weight the mental shit carries.

Today was a 20-miler but instead of doing one of my two usual routes, I decided to try something different.  The first and last 5.5mi were the same but between that I veered off onto the towpath in Manayunk and planned on going up/down a tough hill I’d heard about, Shawmont St.

I’d been on the towpath before but only on a bike and that was a couple years ago.  I remember it being lovely on the water and lots of other sporty folks around.  Well, there was water.  But it’s pretty industrial and there was nobody around except a couple people walking their dogs so I was actually a little nervous.  Also, I kicked myself for not bringing money or a phone…really not smart.

The run went from my usual asphalt path to concrete sidewalks to boardwalk then soft gravel to about a mile of packed snow and mud, not to mention 9 felled trees in the span of about 1.5miles that I had to climb over, under or around and going both ways so that made 18 trees to deal with – a real obstacle course.

And then that big-ass hill.  Damn that was a good hill. It was a little over a mile and really effective.  Again, not the safest, the sidewalk and bike path were obliterated by snow and I almost considered skipping it since cars were going pretty fast on it, but it looked so inviting in a masochistic way and I’d come that far (that was the whole point of the route was doing that hill) that I just hoped it was not my day to be hit by a car. Happily, it wasn’t.

I had one gel at mile 12 and ran out of water a few miles too early, same as last week, so I’m going to have to use the larger handheld for 20′s from here on in.  Also, my last few miles felt like last week’s; like I was running through sludge – which is somewhat worrisome since my long runs were not that tough last cycle.  Maybe by taking 2 gels next time and bringing more water, it’ll be better.

It might also be due to the fact that I did that 5-mi race the day before last week’s 20 and I did 11 w/6MP yesterday – maybe it’s just normal poopedness.  Still, I cannot wait to say sayonara to 20s!  It’s so much easier to feel good for 17 miles than it is for 20, much less 26.2.

Many thanks to Jim for turning me onto Veronique Billat’s workout, 30/30s.  It wasn’t till I got home and downloaded my HR data that I really got the point of what these are about.

When you read about or explain the Billats, it’s human nature to want to compare it to something recognizable, so you think it must be like strides or fartleks.  It’s neither.  It’s an ocean wave of running. 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 20 times.

The difference between Billats and strides/fartlek is that the latter give you true recovery.  With Billats, 30 seconds goes by in a flash, so while the work portions are fast, the recovery portions are seemingly over even faster.  You literally do not recover, however, you get enough of a break that you can complete another surge.

But enough talk, here’s the dirt:

This is a 5×1000 workout I did in October (I’m using this to compare because I’ve only done 800s this cycle and they compare even less favorably than this one).  My HR for the workout portion averaged 177 and hit 187 Max.  I spent 12:33 at 183.  It was 20:10 of hard running.

Here are today’s Billats (30sec on,30sec off)x20.  I started them at mile 6.75 of an 11-miler.  My HR for the workout portion averaged 181, hit 188Max and I spent 14:48 at 183.  It was 10 minutes of hard running.  Do you see?  I spent more time “in the zone” for 1/2 the amount of hard running as regular intervals! Wow.

Funny thing was, I had a preconceived notion that it couldn’t be as good a workout since 10 minutes sounds so paltry.  Truth is, the recoveries end up being included in the total time since your HR doesn’t have a chance to go down much. Who’d a thunk it?

Oh, and before anyone comments on how hard it’d be to keep track of that many intervals, it’s a simple matter of programming 30/30 or just 30 seconds into your Garmin or Ironman-type watch and setting it to repeat 20 or 40 times.  Easy schmeasy.

Before I close, I wanted to update you on my resting HR after the whole quitting-pot-heart-rate-escalation phenomena.  About a week and half ago, over 4 months since I quit, it finally, finally hit my old normal HR again.  I’m really shocked at how long it was affected but utterly relieved that it’s back to good ole 48, flirting on 47.  Took long enough.

Epilogue on the race

Turns out the time I listed on my race report was clock time  and my chip time was 35:41, so less suckage than originally thought.   Seriously though, I have only good feelings about the race, those consecutive negative splits tell me I was holding back which is very unlike my usual race M.O. (go out pretty hard, lag in the middle, then try to get back to speed at the end).

Yesterday’s Long Run & A Shoe Question

I had 19 scheduled but I made it a 20 (what’s another mile when you’re at that point?).  I did a couple trips up/down Smile Hill though not the full mile due to a snow barrier, but still got in about .75 mi each way.  As I continued on I started feeling really leg-tired, which was partially the race but it’s not the first time this cycle that my LRs had my legs feeling “used”.

As I picked apart what exactly was bothering me, I came to the realization that the way I’ve been wearing my shoes for the past couple months (quite loose) was not doing me any favors.  I could feel the arch shifting around with each step which has to defy the whole support system of the shoe.

Now, the reason I’d been wearing them loose was my right foot had a hotspot on top around Xmas and it lasted about 3 weeks, so I loosened that shoe quite a bit.  Then, due to the cold, I’ve occasionally been wearing 2 pairs of socks so I loosened them further to accommodate the thickness but never tightened them back up.

I’ve read of guys wearing their shoes so loose they slip in and out of them, so I didn’t think it would matter much, but after I realized their floppiness might be hindering my comfort level, I tightened them up near the end of my run and wouldn’t you know…the rest of the run felt way better, so that was an elementary lesson learned.

What about you guys?  Do you wear your shoes loose or tight?  I’m curious about this.

My First Blog Freebie

A couple weeks ago I got an email from a company saying they’d send me a free case of Vita Coco coconut water if I’d mention it on my blog or Facebook, but it was for a contest that ended that day so I told the guy I wouldn’t be doing another blog post for a couple days but I could mention it on Facebook.

Before I did, I asked Doggie Girl if she’d ever heard of the company or the product and she said Vita Coco is great stuff, then someone else chimed in and said they loved it, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll do it.  So I FB’d and Tweeted it.  Today I got my promised case of Vita Coco.

It’s actually really good!  I was expecting something thicker like regular fruit juice (which I don’t like full-strength and always water down) but it’s really light flavored water, basically.  It only has 60 calories and loads of electrolytes so it was cool to find this in the vestibule when I returned from my run.  It made for a great recovery drink.

I’ve been thinking about freebies since a few of my fellow bloggers often get free products to review.  My problem is I find it weird to ask for stuff, which I assume is the main way to get hooked up.  Hopefully more people like that one guy will happen by, if not, I’m going to have to get some guts and start begging for goodies.

A New Gifted Runner Service

I’ve had a lot of requests recently for putting people’s running shirts together so today I officially went into business as offering that service to anyone who wants it.  I’m not charging much and turnaround time is pretty fast, so if you’re interested check out my Let Me Make Your Shirts! page for info and pricing.

And that’s it for this Monday’s Hodgepodge.  Newsletter day will be tomorrow so keep an eye out. So long for now, peeps.

So I snuck this one by you guys, first time I’ve done a race without mentioning it here beforehand.

I did this one thanks to Lynn on the Women’s BQ thread.  She’s a great gal and when she mentioned this race, I was all “ooooh, I dunno”.   After Philly, I’ve been scared to race again (though I know I needed to) plus I’ve been slower this cycle and this race is hillier than any race I’ve ever done.

I read a great term on the Marathon Race Training forum for the first race of the season, “Rust Buster” and that’s exactly the way I thought of this one.  Just get it out of the way so the more important race, my Half in March, isn’t such a shock.  Even so, yesterday I required hand-holding from my Sub3:20 thread friends because I was more worried about what people would think with my result, since I knew it would not be indicative of a good marathon for April.

I know this is stupid, btw, to be concerned with what people think but I’m telling you this because I know it’s a common feeling even if you don’t have a blog, since our race results are there on Athlinks for anyone to see.  And I do have a blog. :-)  Anyway, my pals on the thread were, as usual, amazing, cool, sweet and so positive that I wish I could hug them all.  Luckily, I’ll be able to attack a good many of them in Boston.

Last Night

I’ve been keeping late hours these days, going to bed at 2am, getting up at 8:30 or 9:00, so I took a melatonin around 10pm to get to sleep at 11 which worked a treat, though I had a bit of tossing and turning.

Before I took “my meds” (that term cracks me up, how it’s in the common vernacular these days), I pulled out Matt Fitzgerald’s Brain Training For Runners because there’s a really great section on pain and suffering within racing and I needed to reread it.  After Philly, that’s one of the things that scares me, the discomfort, but Matt basically says expect and invite the pain, which helped me be “bring it on!” today instead of worrying about the hills.

This Morning’s Weigh In

I told myself last night not to get on the scale.  I knew it would fuck with my head because I’m heavier lately so I told myself not to weigh myself and when I wake up, pretend I’m 117.5 (so not true since I haven’t been that since early November).

I took a lot of Ibuprofen yesterday because I have a quad that’s been tight and I haven’t been good about tending to it but for the last couple days I’ve been rolling it so now it’s more tender than before.  Unfortunately, ibuprofen makes me retain water, so when I got on the scale this morning (what, you thought I’d obey myself?) and saw 122.5, it was more confirmation that the race would not be my best.  I was pretty much ok with it by now though, so in a good mood, though scared.

The Race

I see Lynn and her hubby when I get there which was a stroke of luck because there were tons of runners.  It’s a bigger race than I thought.  I get my bib and was very happy that it was chip-timed because I didn’t want to line up near the front this time.

I was in the bathroom line to the very last minute so I didn’t get a warmup though I found a little swath of parking lot next to the start and did a few circles there.  The temperature was 34 degrees but windy at times, so I guess “real feel” upper 20s.

I never have much recollection of my races, though what I do remember was a guy dressed in a penguin suit who was the pacer for 35:00 (surprised there were pacers…there was also another penguin for 40:00).  He passed me at the beginning and I wasn’t one bit tempted to try to keep up.  With the hills in mind, all I wanted to do was finish this race in one piece.

There was another guy running near me who obviously did this race many times, so he’d announce, “a hill coming up after this turn” which was helpful but also annoying because he wasn’t one bit out of breath, so I was jealous.

One thing I remember clearly was in the midst of it, all the worry about what kind of time I’d get or what people would think of me became laughable.  I was a strong woman again.  As I made my way up those rollers (they were genuine hills to me but I’m sure others would be “oh yeah, gentle rollers”) I was once again alongside and passing men much younger than me and damn, if that isn’t always a gift to the psyche.  I’m sorry guys, I know it’s petty, but to hang with your kind is one of the thrills of racing for me.  I love men and while being surrounded by them is fabulous, passing them is downright delicious.

Splits were 7:15,7:16,7:10,7:05,6:58.  My clock time was 35:53 (chip time’s not up yet), 1st place in my AG.  Sure, it’d suck if I was predicting a marathon from it but I’m not and in fact, I’m pretty chuffed with the result.  I managed this on a new and hilly course and 5lbs heavier than my usual (honestly, 7lbs over my best race weight from the Spring).  I will lose the weight before my Half and when the weather improves, running should be easier so today was a good Rust Buster.

That said, maybe I should be thinking 3:30 – 3:25 for April 19th but really…who gives a fuck?   If that’s what it’ll need to be, that’s what it’ll be.  Seriously, I want to feel like I did today, strong and capable.  You can’t buy that feeling.

I’ll do this race again next year, the Masters winner came in at 33:xx and I’ve got my eye set on that.  I’m just waiting for this marathon rigmarole to be overwith so I can find Fast Flo again.  She’s here alright, just waiting for an opening.

Miscellaneous

I totally forgot to eat anything this morning, but never felt as though my energy was compromised.  So last night’s pasta was enough to keep me happy throughout, good to know for the future.  And I didn’t even notice my quad.

Shoutout to Lynn and Joanna, it was super fun hanging with you guys afterwards and thanks again Lynn for talking me into it, I owe you one.

My Running Anniversary

Today marks 3 years from the day I ventured outside for the my first taste of the Couch-to-5K running plan.  I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I’d still be running now, much less enmeshed in it as thoroughly as this.  Life unfolds in the most wonderful, unforeseen ways.

New Video – Running Jackets!

This was a fun one to do (or rather, to edit).  In the spirit of America’s Next Top Model, I tried my best to be Fierce and there’s no question I rocked it bigtime.  I hope you enjoy the tips offered as well as the high quality fashion show.  Featured are the Sugoi Hydrolite rain jacket, and my winter running jackets, a Gap fleece and the Asics Storm Shelter jacket.

It’s snowing outside again as I type this. Philly is very close to a record for most snow ever, so this is getting old.  Still, I have to thank the snow for some new found energy pumped into my running.

New route = a great find

I’ve mentioned how amazing the Parks dept is about clearing off the bike path so usually snow is not an obstacle, but after last weeks deluge, they surprisingly left it for a couple days so I was forced to change my usual route. No major complaints because they did clear off part of the river path going in the opposite direction so I still got my river fix, but it was a bit repetitive since I had a 2.75 mile loop to work with. I did this for 11 on Thursday and 8 on Friday.

Now, the good that came of it was that in order to get that loop, I ran on areas I’ve ignored in the past, one of which is a ramp that goes up to the museum. It’s about .07mi and Sporttracks tells me it’s 6.5% grade (with the elevation correction plugin since Garmin is an idiot when it comes to calculating elevation), so it’s short but quite sweet as far as adding in some convenient hillishness to my run.

Saturday was a 12-miler and most of the path had been cleared off so I was back to my usual route, though the icy sections made it more like a trail run in places, so again, I was quite pleased about the added difficulty.

Bits of gold in Runners World

That night, I finally cracked open the Runners World I bought. I never read that magazine though their forums are my online hangout, I rarely even look at what’s going on in the rest of their website. But I bought this issue because people were saying great things about the cover article on Kara Goucher. And my, oh my, it really is a wonderful article and I recommend everyone get their hands on it.

To find a world-class athlete has the same mental crap roaming around her brain as us regular runners was truly eye-opening and it hit me like a big fat hug from the Running Gods. Honestly, it gave me a new perspective on races, time and the future.

Another thing in the magazine that caught my eye was a speed workout article about developing a finishing kick. One of the workouts for marathoners consisted of 8-20 200m repeats at 5K pace. Now, that got me thinking about Jim who’s been doing Billats this cycle and seeing real progress with it. If you don’t know about Billats, read this article and this, it’s fascinating stuff. What it boils down to is that by doing short repeats with short recoveries, you actually stay in VO2max longer than if you did a longer workout.

Yesterday I played hooky

I felt enormously guilty about it but it was yet another cold, windy day and I was feeling cold in the apartment and frankly, just didn’t want to brave the elements. I appeased myself by realizing that my supposed cutback week had not really been a cutback at all, it turned out to be 58 miles and since I’m doing low 60s, that doesn’t qualify.  Blowing off yesterday’s 15 (I wouldn’t have blown off a 17-20) gave me 49.75 miles for the week…so a proper cutback.  Nothing lost though I still gave myself crap about it all day.

Today’s Workout, 11.75mi w/26 30-sec hill reps (Hillats)

I am so glad I took yesterday off! Seriously, I had a renewed energy and was rarin’ to run.  Since it’s going to be snowy tomorrow and my planned hill workout will be questionable I decided to do a modified Billat workout on that newly discovered ramp. I was pretty excited about trying something new and the fact that it’s only 30 seconds per rep is low-pressure plus it fits in perfectly with the ramp distance.

I did 7.25mi before hitting the reps (30-30s x 20, though the recoveries were 36-38secs to return to the bottom of the ramp).  When I got to the 19th rep I thought, “oh yay, just one more” but the idea is to do these till exhaustion and my pace was still steady, so I didn’t stop till 26. This means I should have done them faster but it’s hard to gauge that when it’s your first time and there’s uphill included.  Bottom line is I feel great about the workout, it was fun and I ended up with more hard running than if I’d done tomorrow’s scheduled 6 x.25mi hill reps.

Part of me is all “this is really not conventional marathon training” but the other part says “you hate the long slogging, so screw what “should be” and do what’s fun and gets you working hard.”  So I plan on doing proper Billats and these Hillats for the duration of the cycle.  I’m thinking it’ll fight off the slower turnover I inevitably get during marathon training.  As long as I have the tempos,  marathon paced workouts and LRs, it’s all good.

So that’s the latest dirt, sorry this is sooooo long!  I just couldn’t help it. :-)