Ice Baths and 14 Miles Below Marathon Pace

One thing I hate about doing my long run during the week is that it seems to take the whole day…even if it’s only a couple plus hours. Thursdays used to be my laundry, appointment, cleaning..and all the other bullshit day. Now it’s that plus a long run thrown in. But on the flip…I love not having to worry about it on the weekends.



So in going along with upping my mileage before I back off and start marathon training…I did 14 miles today below marathon goal pace. It was actually closer to 15 but I forgot to turn my Garmin on again after a bathroom stop and didn’t notice till about a mile later…whatever. It was an extremely good run..I didn’t bonk at all. It’s hard to keep that pace down so at mile 12 I did whatever I felt like and those final two miles were both sub-10’s. I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold the 10:30 or less for the whole 26.2..but that’s the plan. The plan also includes a 16 miler next week, an 18 the following, and a 20 miler the week I’m in San Francisco. Skip doesn’t think I can do a 20 mile run out there because of the hills…but I told him to get bent and watch me….HA! That will leave me the rest of November and all of December to do whatever….with actual marathon training starting January 1st of all days. I think having that 20 miler already under my belt will make my training that much less daunting. I was also reading in Runners World last night about doing speed training only in the final 6 to 10 weeks of your marathon plan…I liked that and am thinking that’s what I’ll do. My concentration will be my long runs and hopefully still getting in some barefoot miles.


Oh oh oh!! And I also took my first icebath today. It totally didn’t suck…which surprised me. I dumped 3 trays of icecubes in after I’d already run the coldest water in there…and sat my ass there for about 15 minutes. That was a couple hours ago and I don’t notice any real difference in recovery…but I’ll try it again I’m sure.


Dom’s final cross country meet is tonight and I can’t wait to watch him run. He is determined not to be last but I keep telling him that doesn’t matter…but at 13…it very much matters to him. So here’s hoping he can beat somebody….go Dom! After that we take off to watch V’s second to last football game of the season. Maybe he’ll get some more playing time tonight…he’s so sunk his teeth into this sport…and although I’d rather see him running free then taking a beating from someone twice his size..this is his choice and I have to honor that.


Does anyone else ice bath?  What's your verdict?

1009 miles 21.5 Barefoot and the Pre-Marathon Plan

So during my long run yesterday…12 miles at marathon race pace..I hit my 1000 miles for 2010. This was not a specific goal that I had..but it is cool non the less. It was a fabulous run…all along Kenosha’s Lakefront much of it along the marathon path that I’ll run in May. Seventy degrees and sunny..what a perfect day! V’s team won the football game…they’re now 5 and 1 and Dom pr’d again at his cross country meet..although I wasn’t feeling too hot and didn’t make it to either. It was one of those really good days…the kind we all need more of.



So here is my revised pre-marathon plan. I’ve laid off the weights and am replacing it with sweaty weighted Tae Bo sessions. I really want to drop some weight before I start.


I’m going to start upping my long runs so when I start actual training…I’ll be reducing mileage at first. I know this sounds kind of strange..but those that went through my half training with me..know I do things a little differently. I would like to get one 20 miler in…or at least as close to it as I can manage. Before my half I was doing race distance for my long run one week..and 10 miles for my long run the next…and just alternated those for several months. The end result was a race that wasn’t necessarily a breeze….but it didn’t kill me…because I’d prepared to the best of my ability. I’d like my marathon training to be similar..and I think my body can hold up to those big long runs on a regular basis if I prepare it right. I have been basically doing ‘maintenance’ long run of at least 10 miles once a week for damn near a year…so there will be no base building…it’s already there. I’m going to do a 16 week but actually write in a couple of extra weeks in case I get sick or life just gets in the way of my buzinazz. I printed of 5 months worth of empty calendars at work today and am going to fill them in one of these days. I’ve looked over multiple plans and I’m just going to kind of take what I want from each of them and tweek it into my own. I don’t plan on ever running more then 4 days a week and my long run day will be Thursday s when I’m off. I’m going to try and make this as painless on the family as possible..although they are all crazy excited and super supportive…I am definitely blessed in that department. My marathon goal pace is 10:30 miles or less….I don’t know yet if that is realistic….but it is for 12 miles…what’s 14.2 more right?


I also booked my flight to San Francisco last night. I’m more than a little squirlly about this for several reasons. I have never flown without Skip..and I don’t really fly well even with him. I’m going to be doing this one solo both ways. He’s going out the day before and coming home the day after. It will be interesting….probably most interesting for the poor sap that will be stuck with me for 4 hours each way dealing with a crazy broad wacked out on as much Xanax as I can handle.


Have a great weekend!

Bad Brian, Stupid People..and Barefoot Miles

I love running in the fall evenings..and I hate running in the fall evenings…with Brian. There are so many other dogs out this time of day that our runs are usually miserable and by the time we’re done I never want to see him again. He acts like such a shithead and just looses it when we pass another dog. He is 17 pounds of small man complex…and it drives me nuts.



Onwords.


I have consistently been splitting my runs…the first part of the run in my shoes…then I loose them for the last 2 plus miles. On Sunday I went to pick up the boys and ran in the lovely hilly town of Hartland, Wi…at least I think that’s what it’s called. I think I probably looked pretty tardley running down the bike path barefoot carrying my 100 dollar running shoes under my arm…but whatever. I had a first on this run…and very stupid couple with their very stupid little dog were coming towards me….I stayed as far as I could to the side but they still…while I was running mind you…let their dog on it’s little retractable leash…lung over to sniff me. Really people? WTF makes you think I want your dog near me…let alone while I’m running with no shoes and trying to avoid rocks? What made this worse…though I don’t think they knew he was coming….but there was a biker coming up behind them..trying to pass..and their little PookieWoo or whatever the hell his name might have been…lunged right in dudes path to get to me. This could have been a catastrophic for all involved if shit had gone down about 2 seconds differently. If people would just give a tiny bit of consideration for others…this world would be such a different place.  And I have to say...Brian at his WORST...has never gotten near another dog OR person!


I love it though…the barefoot running. I feel like I’m getting stronger and I really believe it’s improving my shod running..the form of it…the way I’m landing is more mid foot and not so much on the outsides of my feet..in shoes. What does that make me then….a hybrid runner? I don’t see ever giving up the shoes completely…although who knows what the future holds…but I can see myself getting to the point of doing everything but my longruns without shoes. This brings me to the thoughts of winter again. I’m a pretty badass chic and there wasn’t much of anything that kept me inside last year….so where does that leave me with my barefoot running? I have no treadmill….and really don’t want one…but am seriously considering it so that I don’t loose what I’m now gaining. Decisions decisions. I’m also thinking of finding a Turkey Trot 5K to do barefoot…if I’m up to it by then.


In ever present other news..I have almost talked myself into joining Skip in San Francisco the first week of November. He has to go out for a conference and I would love to get back out the West Coast for a couple days. What would I do for all those hours while he is at said conference you ask? Absolutely nothing…..I answer…nothing at all if I can help it.


Happy Running!

5 Miles 3 Barefoot

So I didn’t get up this morning and run…with this beautiful weather and fall springing up all around me I just can’t bring myself to run in the dark until I absolutely have to. I blew out of work early so I could meet the bus and lil T…I had told her this morning that she could either go with me on my run and ride her bike..or wait for Dom to get home and stay with him. She chose to ride with me…mistake number one.



I have been doing most of my runs barefoot including one last Thursday right after I had my final wisdom tooth pulled..HA! It’s been wonderful and a real learning experience. I’ve also split a couple of my runs doing the first half or so with shoes and the final couple miles barefoot. This caught me in one wicked rainstorm last week that I LOVED!! I’m learning…keeping my pace slow and concentrating on landing lightly and not on my heel. I’ve had no real pain although there have been a blister or two that went away within a day. I wish I’d started this earlier in the summer…with winter right around the corner and no treadmill….I wonder what I’ll do with this new found interest.


Anyways….


Lil T and I headed over to the trail and got down to business. I knew this was not going to go well when she was already bitchin before we’d hit a quarter mile. By the end of the two mile trail I was on the phone with Skip telling him to come get his daughter before I threw her in the pond. He did and I didn’t.


After they left I tossed my shoes in the car and headed back to the trail. There were a number of people out tonight…that’s one thing I don’t like about being barefoot..it attracts attention..and I’m WAY not into that. Oh well. The farthest I’d gone barefoot was 2.1 miles….tonight I went 3..mistake number two. No pain..just heat feet..if that makes any sense. But I don’t run again till Thursday and it’s my long run which will be done in shoes to the tune of 10 or 11 miles…depending. This damn hole in my mouth from the wisdom tooth is taking it’s time to heal…as these things do.


So here are the things I noticed on this evenings run.


I was much more relaxed once I lost the shoes…I don’t know how much this had to do with Lil T being gone but there it is.


I pay much closer attention to what I’m doing without shoes on. You’d think this is a no brainer but you never really notice how ‘out of it’ you are until you try it.


I do NOT pronate at all without shoe on…and I noticed I pronate LESS with shoes on since starting barefoot running.


My pace was much more consistent barefoot….my graph of my run from my Garmin wasn’t choppy at all compared to the two miles I ran before ditchin the shoes tonight.

In kid news..



Dom had his first cross country meet last Thursday and wasn’t last. He ran the 1.5 in about 16:30 which is a minute faster then his goal time. So proud of that boy..he puts his heart and soul into it…and I do LOVE to watch my children run.

Dom before his first meet.

Getting ready to finish.  He wanted to run it barefoot but coach said no.

V is doing better with football. He’s getting play time and really throwing himself into the training and games. He loves the game and against my will...I am trying to learn a little about a game I have NO interest in...HA!

That's V..turned around wondering who's hollering at him.

So skinny...almost loose him when he turns sideways...and always with the arms crossed.

So that’s it…my observations from the evening. Hope everyone is having a wonderful relaxing week!

Harvest Moon Run 2010

This was my first year doing this race…my first night race…and my first race that including any trail running. I liked the first two…the trail running kinda bites. That was the mile that did me in and it was the first one.



But let me backtrack. For the last year or so I’ve been thinking my best 5K time was 28:05…that was during my first summer running 3 summers ago. And I’ve been berating myself ever since that I couldn’t beat it into the ground…that I couldn’t even come close again…whatever. So yesterday..I pulled up the results from that race…which I did in Wisconsin Dells in HERE. See that…all this time I’ve thought it was 28:05 when in fact it was a minute slower…and I’ve PR’d at least once since then at my 5K this last spring at 28:54. Duh Duh Duh…small wonder I was having a hard time hitting that time again since I never have…HA! So last night…my Garmin time which is what I go by..was 28:28…clock time was 28:34. Either way I did PR…go me. I will get it down under 28 minutes..one of these days. It would have happened last night without the trail running……didn’t like that one bit…it was getting dark…the trail wasn’t lit…and with the rain from last night…blah..anyways.


Onto the good stuff. I left before Skip to get there around 5:30. My little brother Paul..ever the on time guy..had been there for about 20 minutes already and had picked up our packets. The race was to start at 6:30 with a children's run at 6 pm. I put on my bib and helped Paul with his. Bruce got there a bit later but still had plenty of time to hit the bathroom and whatnot.


Tinky did the children's race. I didn’t think she would because she can be funny about that sort of thing..but at the last minute changed her mind. Here she is running the quarter mile in her pajamas. Finishing sans one shoe because they kept falling off. She got a ribbon and rocked her race! So proud..says she’s going to win next time.


Tinky running it in.

Finishing..minus one shoe but done!

My little racer girl!

I had to pee again..and the line for the bathroom as usual was crazy long. I wanted to get a little running in so that I was starting warm so I ran to the far parking lot and peed there…suck it bathroom lines…give me a tree any day. I got back to the start line with about a minute to spare and muscled my way through till I found Bruce and Paul. Vincent was supposed to pace me my last mile but I told him to go ahead and run with his uncles….he wasn’t racing..just hanging with them and keeping them motivated. He told me he’d find me later…which he did..when I had about ¾ mile left.

Bruce, Paul and I before.

So the gun goes off..we head out. At first Bruce was staying with me but I told him to go back..he’s just not ready for that yet. He finally listened and after that I was on my own. We hit the trail after maybe a half mile. This SUCKED! I have NEVER run on trails before..this wasn’t even gravel…it was a rooted, wet..ugly mess. First mile split 9:34. The rest of the race was kinda blurry. There was one water station which was good because I was crazy thirsty and forgot to bring cough drops. Second mile split was 9:18. Like I said..V caught up with me not long after that. We’ve been in a number of the same races..but have never finished together…he’s so much faster. But he took my Garmin and said “Lets go Mama”. I was in no mood to go…but it was so cool to have him with me. Last mile split was 9 flat…thanks V! We finished strong…flying past a number of people at the end. It was good…I almost puked.

Done 28:28

After finding Skip I told V we needed to go back and find Bruce and Paul. He took off and I started heading back. I could see them coming in the distance…my boy..and my brothers. I didn’t run them in..V did. I settled for screaming at them and watching the clock. Bruce finished 31:29 for a 10:08 pace. Paul finished 31:33 for a 10:10 pace. Awesome…I was so proud of them both. My parents came to watch and were thrilled to watch their 3 children cross the finish line of the same race. My mom told me how proud she was of me for getting them to do that…I told her to shut up or she was next. Now keep in mind…that neither of them had EVER done distance running before this. We started at the end of June meeting Sunday mornings…how incredible is that?

Sweaty and Done!

Amy from my first group of newbies also ran this race…which was so cool! After we got my brothers in..V went back AGAIN to find Amy and her friend. I caught them not too terrible far from the finish and did run them in.


This was such an amazing night! To see my brothers finish…PR for myself..finish a race with V….and run Amy in. I was on cloud 9. That’s what it’s about for me…at least a huge part of it…finding the person…or people…that need to do something different..something that they think they can’t do…something for themselves….show them how...be there for every step..and see the end result…so cool…so very very cool.

And in the words of the good book..


“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”


Philippians 4:13


Have a great day folks!

Puttin it in the Books

So I did it…..I signed up for the Wisconsin Marathon this coming May..and I didn’t hurl. I saw Skip got paid..knew the race opened on the 15th….tap tap click and it was finished. Now if only my training goes that easy. I need to hammer out some details for the training plan…….I think I’m going to do my own again….but I’m certain it will include at least one run of full race distance. I know most plans don’t include this…….but I HAVE to know what it’s going to feel like..that’s just how I roll.



In race news…my brothers first race is this Wednesday so our final training run is in the morning. The good thing about running races with your newbies is that it takes the pressure off of you to some extent. Yes I want to PR..I want to finally bury the 28 minute 5K because I know I can…but I’m just as if not more so interested in getting done so I can watch them finish. The good news? They’ll have an instant PR because it’s their first one. The bad news? I have one bitchin chest cold that is still kicking my ass 1.5 weeks in. I’ve got 3 days to loose that or I’m guessing any chance of a PR for me is history.


In football news…V’s team got spanked on Thursday night but he did get plenty of play time. I got a little squirrely when I saw him take a bad hit from a dude that probably had him by 100 pounds no joke….but he got right back up and went again. Proud of that boy……plays with his heart…just like he runs.


In cross country news….Dom has his first meet this Thursday. He’s running the 1.5 mile and is pretty excited. The coach from last year must have done some research over the summer because she’s working these kids like she should…good for her. Dom does his share of bitchin but I keep telling him that it will pay off come meet day.


In barefoot news…I’ve run 3 times sans shoes..the last time being last night with Dom who also ran barefoot. We did 1.6 miles and it felt pretty good. They aren’t kidding about using muscles that have been sleeping because I could really feel it later that night and again today during my run. It’s good though..something different…I wonder if doing this as one of my weekly runs..or as an extra run…will do anything about my funky pronation…because you really can’t pronate when you don’t have shoes on…at least I don’t think you can. I need to do more reading.


In school news….all three kids seem to be doing well. Lil T is thoroughly enjoying kindergarten and seems to have taken the school by storm. She wants to be a Daisy…lord help me.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I’m off to enjoy my husband that I just retrieved from D.C. this afternoon.

Sucky September Running

And other things. I extended my long run on Thursday to 11 miles and it sucked. I chalk this up to being sick which also sucks. Thanks lil T for bringing me home my first kindergarten cold.


Anywhoo…so I woke up today feeling even worse and it was crazy raining. But let me rewind. I had this dream last night..and the only thing I really remember was running barefoot…weird huh? I’ve never really ‘gotten’ it and never really wanted to. I’ve been lucky and injury free for over a year. I don’t have shoe trouble and usually feel fine before, during and after my runs…I have no real urge to ‘become one with the earth’ or any other hippy stuff usually associated with barefoot running. At least that’s how I’ve seen them….just kind of interesting….neither good nor bad…just kinda there. Katie has been talking about it alittle bit and maybe that’s how it seeped into my sleeping self…who knows. Anyways..since it was raining and cold and I felt like shit..I decided to blow off my hill run and just do Tae-bo instead. Just as I was finishing that hours worth of Tae-bo…..which I usually do barefoot oddly enough…I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I grabbed Brian and took off. I got to the end of my driveway and realized that it wasn’t hurting. So Bri and I ended up doing a mile barefoot. Was it earth shattering?...not really. Was it interesting?...yes. Will I try it again…..sure. But to be honest..I like the non-thinking that comes with running in shoes. I had to pay such attention to what I was doing today that I could not even take in my surroundings…I wonder how much of that goes away with time. My feet have been a bit sore today but only in the balls of my feet..not the heel. It was good though.


So I’m meeting my brothers in the am to run. It’s also Doms 13th birthday….and I’m shipping Skip off to D.C. for the week….busy day.


Nyquil, Unisom, Bed. Night folks