22 mile Train Wreck

Actually it wasn’t too bad. This was the text I sent Skip when I got home.


*22 miles, I hate running, I’m dropping the marathon and never doing this again.*


He didn’t even flinch. Skip rocks my world...soo accustomed to my nonsense.


This has been a good week. Tate and I did a 45 minute Tae-bo on Monday followed by a 15 minute Ab Yoga thing from OnDemand on tv…it was HORRIBLE!! My abs are still sore and it’s Thursday!! I will definitely give that another go.


Tuesday I ran after work at the hospital..nice easy paced run and I found a wallet! It must have been buried under a snow bank for a really long time because I couldn’t even salvage one thing from it and also couldn’t figure out whom it belonged to. No money..unreadable i.d.


Yesterday was a rest day and that brings us to today. I knew I had to knock it out fairly early because lil T had a half day and would be home right after noon. So as soon as I put her on the bus I headed out. I got my SPI belt in the mail Tuesday and I loaded it up last night and wore it today….and I have to say…I didn’t love it. It bounced..and I had to dink with the damn thing for 22 freakin miles. Maybe it works if you’re a dude and don’t have hips…or maybe I just have to get used to it…because I’ve never run with anything around my waist before. Ah well…I’ll try it again before I decide. So I had 21 miles on my schedule and ended up with 22. At about mile 15 I checked my watch and realized I was going to really have to shove the shit along if I was going to make it home by the time lil T got off the bus. I got there right behind her as it was and she was PISSED! It was a decent run…recovery wasn’t bad…certainly better then the last two 20’s I’ve done….so it’s working..I’m getting used to it…just like Vincent said…LOL.


So that brings me to roughly two months or 9 weeks left till the marathon. The long runs for the remainder of this training session are as follows.


26.2 miles
15 miles
14 miles *half marathon race instead this week*
26.2 miles
13 miles


You will notice that there are not 9 runs there…only 5. The other weeks include the taper and step back weeks to recover. Another thing is those 26.2 mile runs may not happen. 24 maybe..but I don’t think the 26 is necessary. I know I said I had to know….but pushing myself up over 20 multiple times is going to be sufficient I think. When all is said and done I will have done 5 or 6 runs in the 20 plus mile range…and I think that’s plenty. If I feel like doing the full 26 miles..I will…if I don’t…I won’t.
I just don’t want to be house bound and unable to walk for 2 days after my marathon. I have a life to lead and shit to do.


And my ADD thought for the week are…


*I’m only working a half day tomorrow and I won’t be sorry to see that place in the rearview come 12 o’clock tomorrow.
*Vincent is turning 15 next week…how is that even possible?
*I am running my first virtual 5K this weekend…I’m excited!
*I wish I could run with Lori on long runs…I bet they would suck considerably less.
*I told my mom today that my dad better be at the finish line because I think this is the only marathon I will do…too damn time consuming.
*I’m still not smoking..and I miss it every day…I wonder when that will stop?


Happy Thursday!!!

Making 20 my new 16

My second 20 mile run took place this morning. It was supposed to happen on Thursday but for the first time like ever..I bailed due to bad weather. I took lil T to the bus stop that morning…and after about 8 minutes outside was so frozen I said screw it to the 20 I had planned. Instead I subjected myself to a 1.5 hour long weighted Tae Bo session….the 20 would have been easier.



So this morning promised to be in the mid 20’s heading up towards 30 by the time I was to be done. I geared up and headed out the earliest I’ve been out in a long while. Something happens to me when I long run that just doesn’t when I’m just going out for 5 or 6 miles…it’s a different mindset. I have time to take in my surroundings…pay attentions to sights and smells like the Kerry Seasoning plant I smelled for miles and miles today..smelled just like pickles. Anything to keep your mind off the fact that you’re doing something that humans really weren’t designed to do. I fueled perfectly for a change…Hammer Espresso gels on the 5’s and Margarita shot bloks on the 2.5’s. And honestly the only thing that felt bad was my lower legs the last 4 miles or so. I wasn’t tired…my legs were just sore. But I remember how 16 miles used to sound so flippin huge to me…and I couldn’t get my head around it..well that number is now 20 miles….and hitting 16 isn’t that big a deal any more. What I am hopping will happen is that eventually…20 won’t be that big a deal…and after that…22 won’t be a big deal…and so on and so forth. You see…I just don’t like to leave much to chance. I want to know that 26.2 well before race day…because honestly..right this second..I could never have made it another 6.2 miles…no freakin way. Two miles I could let myself get away with….because I can do anything for 2 miles….but 6.2….no…I don’t think so.


So I’m supposed to do 22 miles this coming Thursday but am thinking about bumping that to next weekend to give myself a full week between long runs. After that my last long run of February is a mere 8 miles..I so look forward to those step back weeks.


That brings us to March…can you believe it? March is my first month that I do full race distance. I have two step back weeks this month..one the week before my 26.2…and one the week after. This is also the month that I reintroduce speedwork into my plan. I will probably do this on the weekends because I don’t want to do it too close to my long runs. April will follow pretty much the same routine that March has with another full race distance and speedwork….and I start my taper the last week of April. That brings us to May….and my marathon which falls on the first Saturday of May. I am actually looking forward to March and April because it means less crazy long runs and switching to speedwork..which oddly enough I have missed.


Anyways..I think I need a nap. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Note to Self

Dear Dumbass,



When you are feeling *kinda ok* at the end of your SCHEDULED miles for your long run….stop.
That is all.


Sincerely,
Other Dumbass


So I had 15 miles on tap for this morning according to my plan. I took my car and parked it over by the path and did 5 mile loops….until the end. I packed extra water, another shirt..and for once…being smart…I packed my Mizunos. This was the first long run I was going to attempt with the Frees…it was not wonderful. After the first loop I stopped back by my car and refilled my water..lost the tanktop I was wearing and headed back out again. Some time during that second loop I started feeling one hell of a hotspot on my right foot. I haven’t had issues with blisters in YEARS. One of the many thing I can say about the Mizunos is that they felt fantastic straight out the gate over 300 miles ago and haven’t stopped since. Anyways…I decided that when I got back by my car again I was changing shoes. After that my feet were fine…heel strike be damned. The funny thing is..I don’t really heelstrike anymore…even in the Mizunos.


There I am…coming up on mile 15 and feeling sort of ok. The path is in sight and I know that’s roughly 2 miles around. I look left, I look right…shrug..and head down the path. Now I still felt pretty ok those last two miles..after 15 who’s counting right? But when I got home and got out of my car…holy shit. I thought I was going to die. My poor dogs didn’t know what to make of my bent over hobbling ass. The pain didn’t stop until I was settled in a freezing ice bath and I think that’s only because I went numb.


Anyways…today was only supposed to be 15 miles………I went 17 which I was supposed to do next week. That means I only have to do 15 next week right? Somebody throw me a bone. I miss summer..

Merry Merry Christmas

Ahh….Christmas morning. We’re down to one child in the house this year. Every other year my boys spend Christmas with my ex-husband…which is every bit as bad as it sounds. As a single gal….I used to buy a 6 pack of beer and spend the day at my parents drinking myself into a cherry stupor….missing my boys…but since I met Skip….and especially since lil T came along…it’s not as horrible….more quiet…less mess. ..crazy little girl to make me smile. We don’t buy our children boatloads of things..never have never will. This partly stems from the fact that we’re broke…but also stems from the fact that in our eyes…Christmas is more then the presents…better to give then receive and all that. Skip and I don’t buy gifts for each other….of if we do it’s something very small and thoughtful. Instead we take the money we’d spend on each other and buy for children that get brought up through the church..or Skips work has a program as well….that’s what we did this year. We had a 14 year old boy and a 9 year old boy this year…awesome. Much better then getting something else that we really didn’t need to stuff into this already full house. And if I have one thing that I’ve done with my children that sticks….I hope it’s that.

So yesterday I knocked out 10 pretty decent miles at below marathon goal pace. I know this doesn’t seem to be the normal approach…but I do ALL my longruns with the target at getting them below my goal marathon pace time. Especially the last few miles. I want to know exactly what that pace feels like..and I want to be able to maintain it for the entire time baring any catastrophe. But then I’m a psycho that way. That’s how we’re training with Dragon Boat as well…..why should race day ever be a surprise? I mean any more then it’s going to be anyways. I also intend to do at least one full marathon distance training run during this cycle…hopefully two if I can work it.


On the barefoot front….the gravel marching is going swimmingly. One thing I didn’t anticipate was that this first batch of gravel that I’ve been marching in is turning to dust! If I can get another week out of it I’ll be surprised. So I guess it’s a good thing that it came in a 50lb bag because I’m sure I’ll use all that and probably more. After I finished the 10 miles I had on tap yesterday..I took of my shoes and socks and finished barefoot to my house. I had no foot pain and felt great!! It was only like .35 mile but that’s ok..it was 27 degrees….HA!


So I was wondering what other peoples thoughts were on race pace training? Do you do it? What about full race distance?


Anyways…I hope everyone is having a wonderful, peaceful Christmas. We’re heading over to my moms so she can feed us and the boys will be home tomorrow afternoon….I can’t WAIT!

Ugly long run and the Taper plan

Why are my long run days ugly and cold…and the day after…it’s beautiful and sunny? And why am I such a tightass that I won’t adjust my long run days when I know this is going to happen?


It was miserable out yesterday. I hit the road by 7AM and wanted to turn around by the time I reached the end of the driveway. With that being said…the fact that I completed the 13.1 miles is actually pretty good. I ran to the lake and back..and also hit Shopko so I could pick up New Moon for the kids. All the while I was heading east with snowysleet pelting me in the face, I kept thinking how this was my last REAL long run before the half…until I started doing the math in my head and realized that I actually have two more….a 13 plus next Saturday and a 10 miler the following Saturday. I’ve decided to start my taper after my long run next weekend. Cut my mileage by 25% the first week…and by 50% the week of the race. Keep my intensity up…but mileage down. That’s the plan…nothing loose about it. Most of my big taper week I’ll be out of town so this shouldn’t be too difficult….someone remind me I said that. Training/running has completely taken over my life…or as much as it can for a working mother of three. I eat, drink, and sleep running. I don’t think about much else…I analyze race strategy…plan my runs…go to bed WAY early. I’ll almost be happy when this is over…and I can go back to a more enjoyable running existence. My 3 other races I have planned for this year don’t require much. A 5K, a 10K and a 10 mile…no big….nothing past the 4th of July. That is…of course…as long as I don’t get a bug up my butt and decide to throw my hat in the ring for a fall marathon…but that is NOT in the plan.


Today was great! I met J and Traci at Lake Andrea and we did race distance….5K. That was the first time for either of them and they held up well. We ran 3 and 2 so they were able to complete it….and they were tired. Not to mention…it is ALWAYS windy out there for some reason….so that last mile was a bitch. Their assignment for the week is to run at least 30 minutes..2 other times…but try to increase the run/walk ration. J and I have a date to get her some running shoes on Thursday….her feet and knees are bothering her and I’m fairly certain it’s due to the fact that the shoes she’s been running in are older then my first born. I’m thinking we’ll try 4 and 1 next Sunday. I think I am more excited for them then I am about my half. By the time of this 5K my half will be 2 weeks behind me….and I will be able to run this…hopefully score a new PR…and watch these incredible ladies finish their first race. I plan to go back after I’m done…and run behind them screaming until they finish. Maybe not screaming…but running with them. I’ve explained what will happen…they know the coarse….they’ll be with friends…this should go off without a hitch. Can’t freakin WAIT!


In other news….there is no other news…and isn’t that grand? Just sitting around waiting to hear about Katies big run!!!

Rollin 13.6 and Hammer Raspberry Gel

I took lil T over to Dawns house because Skip wasn’t coming home till tonight..and Dawn took mercy on me and agreed to watch T so I could get my long run in. Jeff had stuff to do today so I was going solo for the whole thing. I did take Jackson…Dawns 2- year -old chocolate lab with me for the first 4.5 miles. It was his first time out and he did awesome! Pulled the hell outta me until I turned that leash around and made it into a choke…then he was a total gentleman.

So I relaced my running shoes to try to get rid of this left foot weirdness and I think I succeeded. I laced them in the wide-foot/top of foot pain pattern and was basically pain free for the first 8 or so miles. After that I only had an occasional twinge. I laced them by skipping eyelets..especially at the bottom..so they were pretty much only laced normally at the top. Looked something like this.  I did ice it when I got home but its feeling really good right now. I’m on the fence on whether or not to cut my mileage this week…or just go status quo and see how the foot holds up. I’m buying new shoes either way next week to start rotating in….but I’m thinking of lacing my running shoes this way for good…but will decide after a little more wear.


I tried to concentrate on keeping my pace slow today. All I read about long runs say to make your pace around 2 minutes slower than your usual pace. So my usual pace is around 10 minute miles…sometimes less…so today…I attempted to run 12 minute miles….but did not succeed. I will try harder next time….12 minute miles are just really slow...KWIM?

I also tried another Hammer gel today…Raspberry..and AGAIN….it was not gross…gave an almost immediate energy boost..and didn’t make me gag. This stuff is excellent…and I am SO excited to find something that works!


So I’m meeting another newbie wanna runner tomorrow….Kudos to Allison for wanting to brave the elements and start getting healthy. J is still under the weather but is planning to join me next week. So Lake Andrea @ 8AM…rockin it newbie style…I need it after today…

Hammer Nutrition Montana Huckleberry and 12.75 miles

*Click Me*This was seriously one of the first energy gels that did NOT make me want to hurl.  It actually tasted good...did not sit like lead in my pouch...and gave me a serious kick in the pants that I needed today when I had NO business attempting a long run after last night.  Good good stuff.  I need to find a store that carries it and try the multi pack.  I want to give it a number of run throughs before my half so I know for sure that my pouch is not going to reject it at mile 7 causing me to detour into the bushes to die. 


So we went out last night...hit a couple of bars in Racine before ending up at *This Place* to see *These Guys* who have been around FOREVER...excellent cover band...great show.  My friend Dawns husband works with their bass player and his wife bartends at McAuliffe's.  She is totally adorable...I met her at Dawns husbands Christmas party..and no..I don't know why I was there...and just loved her.  The bar was so packed I didn't even get to say 'hey' till barclose but I'll definitely go in on a notso packed night to see her...  I didn't drink very much...maybe three the entire night...but I was still exhausted and didn't get home till almost 3.  Up by 7...blah.


So needless to say...my run...along with being late in the day....also sucked.  I was dead tired from the minute I stepped out the door.  The first hour went by pretty decently...even for being dead tired.  But when i long run..I make sure I loop and go pretty far from home to make sure I don't cut it short.  I'm all about taking my chances to be a sissy away from myself.  But man...once I started to head back...even with the wind now behind me...I was TIRED!  Another stupid thing I do when I long run is don't start taking any gels or drink untill I've been out at least an hour.  There are two reasons I do this....1. so I don't have to pee..especially if it's light out...and 2. Because I'm a cheap/poor mofo and those gels are over a buck a piece.  Oh well...it's done for this week.  Don't have to think about it again for a week.


In other news...I found *This*  It's out of stock online..and it's not the one I want...but it will work till i can afford the one I want. 


Hope my two readers have a great week!