Posts Tagged ‘long run’

Alright!  333 miles for October, a mileage PR and my body’s behaving wonderfully, no tweaks or sluggishness, knock on wood.  Here’s how October looked (click it for real size):

Now on to today… a “Hard 20″: 1 easy, 18@GMP+20sec., 1 easy.  I’ve been working with 7:30s as my GMP, even though I’ve been waffling about what my goal actually will be.  It’s just an easy number to deal with.  So today’s goal was 7:50s for the 18 portion.

The weather was perfect, 55 and overcast, touch of rain at the beginning and some light wind.  It went swimmingly, ending up with 7:46 avg for the 18, 7:51 avg for the entire run.  With this result, I’m thinking 7:30 is back to being a reasonable GMP, so forget 3:18, sub 3:17 is what I’ll be shooting for.  Yay.

In another reconsideration move, I mentioned I was going to do 90miles this next week.  After some back and forth with one of my favorite posters on MRT, A Muse (whom I consider the Running Buddha at the RW forums with his generous and sage advice) I realized that this was not the wisest placement for a 90.

When I saw A Muse’s peak volume week landed 6 weeks out, I went and looked at Pfitzinger and Daniels and saw that they, too, peak at 6 weeks, so it wasn’t making sense to me to have my highest volume come 3 weeks out, especially when it’s also my hardest quality week.  That’s what I get for following Hudson’s plan as written, I was supposed to think about it and adjust, but was lazy.

So I’m going to keep it around 81 for the third week in a row.  Like I wrote in the Hudson thread, the only reason I’d be going 90 is to assuage my ego and my ego’s not running Philly.  I’ll save 90 for the Boston cycle.  That means I also get to skip the one double in the plan, since I don’t need to split that day up now.

Lastly, I’m subtracting some mileage from my taper weeks because Hudson would have me at 70 the week preceding race week and that doesn’t seem very taperish to me.  So today was my last 20 of the cycle!  Next weekend’s LR will be 17 (thank you,  A Muse).

The week ahead looks like this:
Mon: 8 w/10 hill sprints
Tues: 12 w/8x2min @ HP
Wed:14 last 7 moderate
Thurs: 8 or 9 easy (supposed to be another progression but I’ll see how I feel)
Fri: 14 w/10MP
Sat: 8
Sun: 17

Crossing fingers there’ll be no life drama interweaving said schedule,  just some steady running.   Later, fellow running fiends.

As mentioned, today was a planned 24.  I decided to take it to the trails because there was a regatta at the river which meant the river loop would be a clogged pain in the ass to deal with and I’d have to fight my way through 3 times.

Before I left, I did some calculations for how long it might take because I knew my Garmin might lose satellite reception on the trail.  I figured 3:30 should do me fine.  I left my music at home along with my HR monitor, taking only my sunglasses and my larger, 20 oz handheld, which I’ve avoided using the entire summer but needed for this route, and a couple gels.

The run was great exercise.  The trail section is 12 miles of constant undulating rollers and gravel footing with some rocky patches.  I went farther in than I ever had and was surprised to find a covered bridge I didn’t know existed.   The trail ends at a major road so I turned around there – the only problem was I’d only covered 1:41, which would mean my run was short, so on the way back I wrestled with myself about what to do.

I knew it wasn’t a speedy run, thanks to the uphill of the trail, so there was no doubt it wouldn’t be 24 miles, which I could totally live with (24 is very much “extra credit” as far as LRs go)  but I had a mileage goal for the week I had my heart set on…my first 80 and I thought I needed at least 23 for that.

So a mile from home, I did what I call a Garmin Penance Mile, backtracking some to make a needed mileage goal.  I can’t tell you how much I hate doing it since there’s nothing worse than being so close to home after running for hours and voluntarily delaying the finish when you’re already half-zonked, but for that 80, I did it.

Got home tired but satisfied.  Immediately went to Google Earth and found I did 23.75, so that’s fabuloso.  Slowish, at 8:47 pace, but considering the trail portion, I’m really happy with it.  Then double happiness to find this brings my total mileage to 82 for the week, so a mileage PR with room.

Speaking of home sweet home, I wasn’t going to mention this because I’m a bit embarrassed by my constant complaints with this place, but last week I thought someone had left a bathtub overflowing.  There was a constant sound of water glugging above from one end of my apt to the other.  It sounded like the whole ceiling had turned into a pool.  I actually called Nick because I was afraid the evil upstairs neighbors had done something stupid and the ceiling was going to collapse.  Nah, turns out that’s the sound the heating system makes and what I have to look forward to all winter.  Glug glug glug.  Great.  I’ll probably pee myself in my sleep.

Then yesterday, I’m sitting here at the computer and think I see a fleeting shadow.  I look over and see nothing, so I figure it’s my imagination.  Today, I go to eat my regular pre-run bread and peanut butter and find the bread looks weird, like a chunk is gone from the corner.  I inspect the bag and find something has gnawed its way through.  I have mice.

So after my arduous run today, I shower and immediately leave to get mice traps before Rite-Aid closes.  Because I really am living in the lap of luxury.

Like the pleasure of fresh undies, this week has got to be better than last.

On the apartment front, the freaks were gone all weekend, both the assholes from upstairs and the crazy loon from downstairs (they’re best friends, so they probably went to a weekend-long sheep slaughtering event or similar…ok, maybe a wedding ).

You’d think this would have eased my mind, but all weekend I kept having imaginary conversations with them which sometimes went my way, other times it ended with the crazy lady pushing me downstairs.   And I feel really bad for the girl who lives in the other apartment upstairs, because every time I’d hear someone going up the stairs I’d assume it was the couple, so I’d vigorously give my front door the finger (I’m mature like that).   Poor girl didn’t deserve such negative vibes.

One thing I forgot to mention is that after I went upstairs the first time and talked to the girlfriend, (and got 3 great mornings of sleep for my trouble) I saw the boyfriend on the landing and even told him “I love you!” and he had laughed and smiled, so it’s twisted how things went so sour in an instant.

Seriously though, I’ve had a really tough couple of days.  Saturday evening Nick invited me over to spend a few hours with his family.  I needed the company desperately and he knew it.  Was good to see them all and eat pierogies and laugh and cry together.

Then yesterday I ran 22.2 miles with the last 11 “moderate” as per Hudson (7:53s), avg. for the run 8:16.  The actual running was great, I felt healthy and strong and got to chat for a few minutes with my friend Lara, who was riding her bike in the park.  But my mind was ugly for the whole of those 3+ hours.

I kept thinking of Nick’s ex-wife and my mother (because this suicide business is an all-inclusive club) and this apartment and wondering how I’m going to deal with it and also, constant deep questions about myself and if I’m more of a screwed-up person than I admit to.  I think I’m about as pragmatic as they come, but with my mother’s history behind me, I’ll always have this fear that I’m not who I think I am.  That my hermit ways are a dangerous thing, though even in my aloneness, I’m vastly more social and lack the paranoia and schizophrenic traits my mother had.

One of the things I remembered during the run were these awful little calendar books I found when we cleaned up her apartment where my mother had written in each day, “bad” “bad” “good” “bad”.  There were overwhelmingly more bad days than good.  I take heart in knowing I enjoy life and if I kept such records, it’d mostly be “good”s.

On a science mystery note, I solved the oddity of the outlets not charging my phone or other battery devices.  I’m such a dodo…the outlets I was using were switched outlets!  So when the light switch goes off, so does the power to the outlet.  Duh.

Just got back from a 7 mile recovery in the rain.  Perfect temps for a calm wet run.

Which tells you that I did my 22 yesterday on a beautiful, sunny morning (my first run over 18 miles since running Steamtown!)  It was uneventful but I did manage to make my way up one of the Philly marathon hills (I think there are only 2) where a bunch of people were walking for Sickle Cell Anemia and this one woman, just ambling down the road, cracked me up as she told her son to “stop bothering me, you’re breaking my rhythm.”

I took it slow because of the speed workout the day before.  Btw, a couple comments in the last post about 1/4 mile tracks require an explanation about my speed workouts.  I’ve only been on a track once (not counting race finishes) since starting to run.  I do all my speedwork on the measured path in the park. It’s not exactly flat, but close enough.

Anyway, my goal for yesterday’s 22 was to come home feeling good so I took it slow and easy.  Mission accomplished, my pace was a modest 8:48 and my legs never caught on that they’d run so long.  It was nice getting the LR out of the way on Saturday, too.  That means tomorrow I’m going to be a good girl and do my hill sprints, which I’ve been neglectful about recently.

So this week’s mileage was 75.6 thanks to that Long Run since, besides one 12, I ran short single-digits the rest of those days.

What else? I’m officially giving up my bad habit (non-medical herb) until after the marathon.  I did this last year and didn’t think it made much difference, but back then I was running a minute/mi slower, so I’m thinking perhaps the faster machine requires more care.  If anything it should help me eat less snack crap since I’ve been terrible on that score lately.

I’ll leave you with two satisfied gals at the Philly Distance Run.  That’s Kat on the left.  I’m the squinty one in the soaked shirt with no upper lip (I found it later that day).

Last year, the heat beat me.   Beyond the major dehydration/hospital ordeal, I remember clearly how miserable I was last summer, setting the alarm early enough to insure inadequate sleep so the temps would be as close to bearable as possible.  I was grouchy for a large part of the season.

As this Spring unfolded, the looming temps were often on my mind.  I had this fear that my new found paces would regress and I’d end up the same ugly, sweaty mess I was last year.  But I’m not one to wait and see what happens to me…

Today was set to get up in the 90′s so instead of leaving early, like a bright person, I purposely waited until it hit 85 degrees.  After all, it was my last long run before the big race – I didn’t need to be fast, could take it as easy as I wanted, plus it was only a 12-miler.  I filled up my handheld, strapped on the HR monitor and out I went.

My HR shot up from the start but I was surprised to keep a fast pace even so.  Midway, I had a 4-mile block averaging 7:51/mi., major surprise considering it was 86 and climbing at that point.  Admittedly, the final two miles weren’t my fave; little shade and I wanted to jump in the river, but still, when all was said and done, I averaged 8:12/mi.  Besides a 16-miler two weeks ago at 8:07 (on a mere 51 degree day), it was my fastest Long or Easy run, ever.

Hot sun, I scoff at you!!

So with great relief I now envision this summer as something other than a pace murderer, a fatigue creator, a disgusting collection of stinky hot sweltering days.  I think it’s going to be a great season for improvement.

We reserve the right to rescind this statement as the humidity rises.

How appropriate that on Easter, my Garmin came back to life.  I guess it was the rain that temporarily did it in yesterday, water must have entered the housing.  But I was not accepting of this fate, so last night I kept turning it on and messing with it.  Eventually the buttons started working again and the screen stopped scrolling as madly, then this morning, all was peaceful with the world again.  Garmin lives.

So Garmin and I enjoyed a fantastic long run today, you could tell we were deeply in love by the numbers it gave and by the adoring glances I couldn’t help bestowing upon it.  16 miles @ 8:07 avg. pace and since Hudson called for the “last 15min Hard” the last couple miles netted me 7:16s.

Couldn’t believe how easy the whole run was, which I believe may be linked with the wrapping up of my Lady Time – looking back on my logs I see a trend in the hormonal department.  Whatever the reason, one thing is sure: I really, really liked it.