Week 21: Eight miles

I did my run yesterday (Saturday) this week, because today I'm driving to LA for the opera! It was another cold, not terribly fun run.

I started off the day by sleeping until 10 am -- about the time I should have been starting my run. Oops! Sat around for an hour doing morning chores and drinking hot cocoa and still didn't feel very energetic, so I called my mom and told her I'd head out at noon and do an afternoon run instead of morning run, hoping that by then I'd be awake enough to do it.

I never had a whole lot of energy, but did my 12 loops around the trail in the park (probably a little more than eight miles, if my estimate of .7 miles per loop is correct) in two hours and twenty minutes, and felt fine. I wore my long underwear as before, and really needed it! Brr! It's supposed to be warming up some this week, I really hope it's warmer for my 24-mile run next weekend.

I brought my iPod, but never used it. I just felt like listening to the birds and wind, and hearing my watch beeps. I used the chrono to keep track of lap times, as well. I started out doing each loop in around 10:50 minutes, but ended up nearer 11:15. So I slowed down a bit, but not too much. Still, eight miles is only one third of a marathon, so if I'm slowing down already, that doesn't bode well for finishing a whole marathon without losing energy.

But, at least LA in March will be warm. I know that will increase my energy level. (And also, it's at sea level, while I've been training at 4000 feet. That should make a difference. I'll be interested to see how it affects my marathon.)

And around...

The sun was out, but the wind was cold, so I bundled up with scarf and fleece vest, along with my usual running clothes, for my afternoon run. 2:3, 30 minutes, check.

Also, I officially give up on my stupid treadmill. I spend umpty-up dollars on a stupid treadmill accessory kit -- which only had one 5 oz packet of lubricant, not the two I thought I was getting -- and it helped, some, but still, the thing is just not usable. I'm going to haul it out to the garage and take it to the dump on my next trip, and do my running outside.

I did finally get a call back from the woman at the Parks and Recreation Dept. (Thought I'd already noted this, but don't see it in my recent entries.) She said that the only tracks are at the Middle School and High School. Both are available to use, as long as school is not in session, but there are no bathrooms available nearby on the weekends for either of them. So, they will not be useful for long runs.

She also said that the TVPRD is building a new gym out by the Holiday Inn that will have an indoor running track. It should be ready by the end of the year -- which will be nice for next winter, but doesn't help much now. Oh well. Only two more long training runs, and that's it. I'll manage to get them done somehow.

Around and around

The weather was decent and the driveway more or less dried up, so it was back to running in circles around my house. Thirty minutes at 2:3. I didn't feel terribly energetic, but it went fine.

Week 20: Eight miles

The weather report was calling for high winds this afternoon and a high of about 40 F, so this morning I bundled up in cotton long underwear under my nylon/flannel track suit and brought my wool gloves along with me for my run at the park. I got there around 10 am, and the temperature was brisk, but the sun was out. I wore my gloves for the first forty-five minutes or so, then was warmed up enough not to need them. I kept zipping and unzipping my jacket, depending on whether the wind was blowing, but other than that, I was comfortable enough for my run.

I did my eight miles at 2:3, with one bathroom break, and took about two hours and twenty minutes altogether. It was a good run.

The ground around here seems to be drying up, and it's supposed to be sunny this week, so I'll probably be able to do my midweek runs around the house as usual. Whew! Getting my runs done in this weather is really challenging. If I ever do another marathon, it will be in the fall, so I can train in spring and summer!

A Real Treadmill

Since I'm unable to run on my driveway while it's still so muddy, I went into town today to check out a few gyms and see if getting a membership for a few months might be a good solution. First stop was Anytime Fitness, which used to be Bodyworks, where I had a membership a few years ago. It's conveniently located right on my way to the post office, and has nice new equipment and friendly staff guys. Unfortunately, they have no month-to-month membership, and their rates are a bit high. But the guy let me use the treadmill there anyway for a free tryout, which was cool! So I got my daily run in, thirty minutes at 3:2, on a big fancy high-tech treadmill! Yay!

They do have a day-use rate of $5, with no contracts, which might be a good solution for days when I just can't face running outdoors. The only disadvantage is that they are only staffed Monday through Saturday, so I wouldn't be able to do it on Sundays.

I also checked out the Fitness Zone on Tehachapi Blvd. They had a monthly rate, but it was also a bit high, and a $5 one-day use rate. Only two treadmills, though, and they're closed on Sundays, so Anytime Fitness would be just as good.

I think that, unless it's outrageously cold or windy, it would be better to just drive to my mom's and run on the streets around her place.

Am still futzing around with my treadmill. Yesterday, I bought some lubricant at the Kmart to try on it, which did no good and actually made it a bit worse. Then I washed down the platform and belt and tried Turtle Waxing the platform. Also no help. So this morning I got online and ordered a Treadmill Accessory Kit from the website of the treadmill's makers. It's got more stuff than I need -- keys and towels and a surge suppressor -- but also has 2 - 5 oz bottles of lubricant, and a bottle of belt wash. If 10 oz of lubricant doesn't do the trick, I officially give up on it.

Oh, I also scouted out the track at Jefferson yesterday. Looks good, the only thing to do is find out if there are usable restrooms near. I called the local Parks & Recreation District to see if they had any info, left a message on their voicemail but haven't heard back yet.

This Sunday will be an 8-mile run, and the weather calls for sunny 50 F, so I think I'll be fine to run it at the park, as usual.

C-c-cold

Wot a day. I made yet another attempt to use my treadmill. Gave up in frustration. Went outside to see if the driveway were runnable. Blasted with freezing wind and slipped in mud. Gave up in frustration. Came inside, tried the treadmill again, screamed in frustration. Finally did my 30 minutes running a figure-eight through the front room and sun room. But I got it done!

The good news is that I feel pretty darn good today. I was still tired and a little sick to my stomach yesterday after the 22-miler on Monday, but today I felt strong and energetic. I filled up the rack on the porch with firewood and didn't get a bit tired. So I suppose all this running around is doing me some good after all!

But I have to figure out something to do for my remaining training -- especially if even the midweek runs are going to be hard to do at home.

I think I saw a running track at the unused Jefferson Middle School in town. I must see if I can find out if a) it's really there, b) if it's open to the public, and c) whether there's a bathroom there. I think I can handle the cold as long as I bundle up with scarf, gloves, cap, long johns, etc. if I have a place to run with good footing and facilities.

Week 19: Twenty-two miles

I did my 22-mile run yesterday (Monday) instead of Sunday, because it had snowed Saturday night, and Sunday was expected to be very cold and windy. Yesterday was better... but not much.

I started out not really knowing where I was going to run until I got up in the morning. My first plan was to run around the house for an hour or so to warm up, but when I got around the back of the house on my very first loop, I found the driveway still very icy and slippery in the shade. So that was no good. Since all the usual dirt roads and trails I run on were also likely to have frozen and icy patches, I figured I'd better run on sidewalks. I decided to drive into town and run on the paved trail that runs alongside Valley Blvd between Dennison and Curry. It's just about exactly one mile, and I could just run back and forth on it, taking a break in the middle to drive over to mom's for a pit stop.

Sounded good. But, it didn't work out that way. By the time I got to town, parked and ready to run, it was already nearly 10 am. Almost as soon as I started running, I had to go to the bathroom -- even though I went before I left. (That's one reason I like to do my first couple of hours at home -- with a bathroom handy.) I only did four miles before packing up and heading to mom's. By then, it was nearly 11 am, and I still had 18 miles to do.

So I decided to leave my truck at mom's and run back along Valley. I figured I could get in another mile in the time it would take to drive back and park, and at least save myself a little time. If I needed another break, I'd just run back, or else call mom on my cell phone to come and get me.

The first thing that happened on my way back was that I tripped on a little metal marker sticking up in the middle of the trail at the side of the road and fell on my right hip -- exactly the same place I fell on the road on my last long run, when I got startled by a couple of dogs that ran out of nowhere barking at me. Ow. Well, I got up and kept going. I was feeling very, very frustrated by then, knowing I'd be out running till at least 4:30, on a cold, windy day. I spent some time on the run back trying to get some equanimity back, telling myself I was going to be out there all day whether I fussed and fumed about it or not, so I might as well just try to enjoy the run.

When I got back to Dennison, I decided to run up Dennison to Highline and back, which would be another two miles. I'd been timing my miles using my new watch, since I finally had a route marked off in one-mile increments, as well as I could measure in my truck. I was disappointed to find that most of my miles were taking 18 - 19 minutes, even though I was using a 1:2 run/walk ratio and didn't think I was going any slower than usual. Were these miles really miles? It's hard to get a real guage of how well I'm doing when I don't have well-marked courses to run.

Anyway, after that, I settled in and did the Dennison-to-Curry mile on Valley back a few times, until I was on my 16th mile and running out of water. I considered just having mom bring me water and continuing to run, but I decided a bathroom stop wouldn't go amiss, so I had her pick me up and drive me back to her place, to fill up my water bottle and use the bathroom.

From there, I decided to run down to the park for one mile and do my last five miles on the trail. I figured it would be unfrozen by then, having been mid-40s all day, with lots of sun.

I got a bit of a second wind running down to the park, but by the time I got there, the sky had clouded up, and the wind was freezing, and I was tired, and the last five miles were really hard. But I pushed through them, and finished at 4:40 pm. Then mom drove me back to her place for a lovely salmon dinner.

I'm tired today, but not sore. A day of rest and I'll be fine. But, boy, that was a difficult run. The cold just sapped all my energy out of me and made it very unpleasant to be outside running all day. My route was repetitive and boring. And getting off to such a late start set a bad tone for the rest of the day.

Physically, my hardest run so far remains the 10-mile, but the 22-mile was by far the hardest mentally. I really, really did not want to be out there for nearly seven hours in the cold. I can only hope the weather's better for the 24 and 26-mile runs.

Later and later

I procrastinated just about as long as I possibly could on my second midweek run of the week and still have it be a midweek run, but I did my 30 minutes at 2:3 this afternoon. It was a slow and blargy run. Sun was out but the wind was cold. I didn't feel bad, or tired, or anything -- just not a whole lot like being out there plodding around the house.

I tried to do my run yesterday on the treadmill, thinking I'd clean the platform and adjust the belt and see if I could get it to work better. No luck, I finally gave up in frustration after 15 hard minutes. I suppose I can count that as some exercise. I wish I could figure out a way to make that treadmill work properly. I have a feeling the problem is that it's basically a cheap piece of junk that is never going to run smoothly. But I will probably keep working on it for a while. I suppose I can finish my marathon training without it, but if I'm going to continue exercising afterwards, which I hope to do, I'm going to have to eventually figure out a way to keep going throughout the winter months even when I don't have a marathon to motivate me. I like using a treadmill indoors, especially for quick runs, and it would be great if I could use this one.

Tuesday, check

The colder it gets, the later in the day I run. Brr. But, by the time I went out at 1:30 pm or so, the sun was shining and it wasn't too bad. Thirty minutes, 2:3, one more run down!

Week 18: Eight miles

Today's run went quite well. It was cold and windy, but I wore my nylon/flannel track suit and stayed comfortable. Used the iPod but kept it turned way down and only missed one run interval, and that was when I was walking with my mom, who'd come to walk two loops before heading back to fix lunch, and I wasn't paying attention. I did the 2:3 interval, kept on pace, felt good, and finished right on time. Go me!

Next weekend, 22 miles!

Schedule changes

I've been all turned around this week, due to Monday's storm, which threw my usual weekly schedule off. I usually go into town on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but since Monday was so stormy, not to mention a holiday so there was no mail, I skipped going into town and went on Tuesday instead. I still did my 30-minute run on Tuesday, but when it came to Thursday, I had a ton of stuff to do, besides going into town, so I decided to postpone my daily run until today, Friday.

It was a lovely run -- the weather was great, and I felt great. I've been taking DHEA supplements since last Saturday, and so far, I think it's really helping. I feel much more focused (physically and mentally), stronger, more energetic. I hope it lasts!

In other scheduling news, it turns out I'm a week off from the LA group runs. I emailed my site rep after the weekly email said we'd be doing 22 miles this weekend, and I'd scheduled myself for 8 miles. I knew I'd be doing my own thing through the holidays, but thought I'd planned my schedule to link back up with the group as of last week. Turns out, I was going by the original schedule they'd made up when they were planning on doing the New Orleans Marathon. When they switched to the Miami Marathon, which is a week earlier than N.O., they moved up all the post-holiday long runs by one week. But no one ever told me about it!

So, if I had still been considering trying to drive to LA to run with the group, at this point I'd have to move up my schedule of long runs, so that I was doing over-20-mile long runs with only one recovery run in between them. Not to mention that I've already made tentative plans to go out of town the weekend of Feb 19, which is the group 26-mile run, since I had it on my schedule as an 8-miler. Oh well. I think it's best if I just finish the training on my own.

Indoors

Yesterday it rained all day and last night it froze, leaving my driveway washed out, frozen and muddy today. So I did my run indoors, on the treadmill, instead of running around and around the house.

The treadmill still sucks. The belt sticks to the platform so I have to push it with my feet to keep it moving, instead of just running or walking on it, which makes it twice as hard. My legs were fine, but I huffed and puffed and sweated way more than usual. Still doable at 30 minutes, but I wouldn't attempt to use it for a longer run. Which means... I'm still going to have to find some way to do the long runs outdoors, no matter what the weather. Unless I get a three-month membership at one of the gyms in town and use the treadmills there. But that's kind of a big expense for something I'm not sure I'll even need. Guess I'll just keep running outdoors and hope for the best. And if it comes to it, I'll run in the mud and/or snow.

Week 17: Eight miles

It was a strange run today. I'm glad it was only eight miles (and I love that I'm again at the point where I can say "only" eight miles). The weather was cold and cloudy, but I managed to finish before the rain started. I used my iPod for the first part of the run, but I kept missing my watch beeps, so I finally shut if off. But I still somehow kept getting off my intervals. So... I mostly ran 2:3, with some 3:2, 1:2, 2.5:5, who knows! My stomach was a bit wonky, but not enough to really bother me. I forgot to count laps so I only went by time. I think I did the right number of loops, though.

Anyway, it was a very disjointed and ditzy run, but I got it done.