Archive for April, 2011

Life was a sampler of big things and little this week.  I can’t go into the meat right now, but here are some small dishes…

Socks.  My beloved Balega Hidden Comforts are showing their age in an unexpected way: they’ve become huge, like man-size.  I’d like to think my feet have turned into petite flowers but it’s a mere illusion so I’m having to replace them which is downright pricey, but they lasted a few years so it’s worth the expense.

A nice blog perk: someone from Simon and Schuster emailed me asking if I’d like a review copy of Kara Goucher’s new running book Running For Women.  I received it a couple days ago so I’ll be giving a review sometime next week.  Gotta get my taxes done first.

Good runs this week.  Will break it down on Monday but it looks like I’ll hit 74 miles.  I’m not trying to push this into crazy-land or anything, just had some beautiful weather days which stretched a couple runs out. I admit it, I’m a child of weather – when it’s good, it’s magnificent.

Boston Marathon Headbands! Took me forever to find a ribbon and wouldn’t you know, I find it waaaay close to race day, but there’s time to get yours if you order asap (count on 2-4 days, depending on how far you are from Philly).

Hugs for my injured buddies.  I have so many injured running friends right now, it kills me to read of another needing x-rays, MRIs, pool running and the like.  So I’m sending healing vibes and the biggest buckets of sympathy an imaginary internet UPS can deliver.  May you all see the end of your boots, ice packs and compression gear as soon as possible.  As for those already on the comeback, wishing you some beautiful weather as you return to full speed.

Love to all.  Sweet weekend to you, folks.

70 miles in 6 days with nothing longer than 13 and I feel fabulous!

Now, Thursday and Friday were chilly and drizzly with Friday being a tired, achy run.  I was circumspect about it though, thinking “Feeling pooped was bound to happen – guess it’ll be like this for a few days till I get used to the mileage.” I managed to pick it up on the way back but overall, it felt draggy and hard.

Turned out to be a one-day event, the weekend brought two strong and energized runs. (no doubt helped by sun and temps in the 50s)

Sunday was extra zippy thanks to a regatta. Rowing events always produce tons of Ugg-wearing school girls and pimply boys dawdling mindlessly on the bike path, flanked by a plethora of parents wielding folding chairs and coolers. While the temptation is to elbow every single one of them, I subdue my violent urges and speed up to get away.

Here is the week as it was:

Mon: Off
Tues: 12@8:03
Wed: 13@8:10
Thur: 10@8:27
Fri:  11@8:30
Sat:  13@8:03
Sun: 11@7:54
Total: 70 miles (avg pace 8:11)

Just to reiterate, these are averages, not steady paces throughout.  I almost always start slower, then by the third mile I’m well-oiled.  Sometimes there’ll be reason to the rhyme (a light progression) but sometimes faster miles will pop up intermittently, like when I get the urge to pass another runner then keep the pace for a bit, or when I “race” a scull full of rowers tootling down the water, or the other day when, on the lonelier side of the river, some huge insane guy was maniacally chasing geese while making creepy goose sounds…couldn’t get away from his crazy ass fast enough.  Every day is different.

Supplements Revisited
The week before last, I went back on glucosamine and MSM.  The knee twinge had returned to bug me a bit so I brought out the full weaponry.  I also started taking Fish Oil which is a great supplement for a number of reasons, one of them being an anti-inflammatory, plus I don’t eat much fish so…may as well.

The knee’s been pain-free all week, so in one more week I’ll stop the glucosamine/msm (just letting this mileage level settle) but will stay on Fish Oil indefinitely.

This Week…
I’m doing 70mi in 7 days so I can have some shorter runs.  But I have to say, doing it in 6 days had one nice benefit:

I used to be a little sigh-y when I had to do 12-14 milers, which is silly since it’s not that long a run, but whatever you deem to be your Long Run feels “extra” compared to your everyday runs.  And though it hasn’t been a challenging distance for years, I would still putz about the house putting it off as if it was.

But in the last couple weeks, having done six 12-14s and three 11s, the putz factor has been eliminated entirely, they’re all just regular runs now.  I’ve officially run out of angst.  How refreshing.

That’s it for Monday’s missive.  May your day be fine and your week even better.  Later, sweet gators.

Already veering from the schedule, my last 3 days were higher than planned.  Expecting bad weather for Thursday, I went 13 on Wednesday and as it turned out, Thursday was fine, just some chilly mist so I did 10. This landed me 263.3 miles for March, my highest mileage month since last May.

Now, back to this plan talk…

More about why
There’s something I left out in the last post that I need to explain, an additional motive for the plan that goes beyond the fun factor.  It’s called Summer.

Last summer was awful.  It started with a race collapse/hospital stay that screwed with my head royally.  My paces dropped a lot more than in previous summers and I felt fragile and insecure physically, allowing myself to plod on non-workout days which became a bad habit.

I’m not saying it was purely a bust, in July I started working with Coach Adam/A muse, which was invaluable as it gave me needed direction and put me back into the game with some kick-ass workouts.  But coming off that weird race scare, I was starting from a negative space to begin with.

This year I am bound and determined to go into Summer strong and remain so till the end.  I refuse to see my paces drop off a cliff and whatever dropping does occur (inevitable with the heat) will be minor compared to last year.  How will I manage it?

1. Building mileage now so when summer hits, I’ll be comfortably stable at the new level
2. Going into it with these fresh, energized paces
3. Making hard running an afterthought, not the main thought.  This means less heat-related worries about rearranging days, dumbing down workouts or fear of ending up on the pavement.

Yes, I know that without the proper stresses (hard/easy, short/long) this doesn’t even qualify as training anymore, but that’s ok!  My instincts tell me that I am going to come out of this a better runner thanks to a happy headspace, consistency and the most important practical aspect…higher mileage.

More about mileage
I once averaged 70mpw but only for 9 weeks in marathon training – that’s what I’d call an aerobic tease.  And though I’ve had long periods in the 60s and high 50s, I find my weekly averages are less than what I imagine: 58mpw in 2009 and 54mpw in 2010.  While the difference between 54 to 70mpw isn’t huge, it’s an untapped reservoir and I’m willing to bet that changing this alone will be a valuable addition.

Back to the plan…
When I wrote it out, I was pretty conservative about the build with 65, 70, 54, 72 then repeating the next month.  but since the past 7 days were pretty much what I can expect from a 6-day week in the 70s (14, 12, 11, off, 12, 13, 10) and I’m feeling good still, I’m going to go for straight 70s now and lose that recovery week completely (Jim, you called it), taking extra rest if I need it.

I’m not even going to write out a revised plan here since my parameters are simple: 6 or 7 day weeks with 70+ miles…however that works out is how it’ll work out.

A Last Word
Prompted by some Facebook idiocy and expanded for anyone else who can’t seem to figure out that we are individuals, each with our own likes and dislikes, here goes:

I am not you, you are not me.  If I decide to do something because it sounds fun to me but it doesn’t sound fun to you, I don’t care.  I don’t run for you.

You can tell me to race more! race for fun! add more variety! or whatever brilliant idea you somehow imagine I’ve never heard or thought of, but if I don’t want to, you aren’t going to make it happen.

I think about running.  A lot.  I’m not a 14 year-old with my first issue of Runners World Magazine.  The choices I make are weighed, considered and colored by my experiences thus far.  Respect that and I’ll respect you.  Don’t, and I’ll tell you to go fuck yourself.

And with that, have a great weekend people.  Have fun, run well.