Well, my fifth marathon is over! I finished in 7:40:56. I was hoping for better, but that's just about what I expected. I could have saved about 15 minutes, I think, if I hadn't had to make two bathroom stops, but I did, so there you go.
The good thing was that I kept a good pace and never got really tired. I did my 1:3 minute run/walk ratio pretty much the whole way, and even increased my ratio to 2:2 for the last mile or so, and ran in the final 0.2 mile. I wanted to beat my LA time, which I did—by about a minute and a half, which really doesn't amount to much, but the big difference is that I feel fine and didn't get injured (except for many blisters on my feet).
Full race day report, with pictures, is here.
I had a lot of fun, but I think this is going to be my last marathon, unless I can get strong enough to finish in seven hours or less. Which isn't likely at this point. Maybe next time, I'll do a half-marathon.
But it was good to go out with another Honolulu, and have a good race.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Honolulu!
So here I am in Honolulu! The marathon is only two days away!
I feel... not entirely ready, but close enough. I missed my last long run, an eight-mile run I should have done last Sunday. I'd strained my back carrying some wood up to the woodshed, and decided I'd be better off letting it rest and recover rather than possibly straining it further by bouncing on it for a couple of hours. I felt a bit guilty about "slacking off," but my back feels pretty good now, so I expect it was for the best.
I have a room on the seventh floor of the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach, right near the entrance to the park where the marathon finishes. It's still dark at the moment, windy and wet after several weeks of storms, but I can see groups of runners out heading down the street toward the park for a morning run. Too early for me! Although the marathon itself will be starting at 5 am, and it's 6:20 now. But today, I'm exhausted from yesterday's long day of travel. I didn't even get to my hotel until nearly 10 pm (Hawaii time, after midnight my time), and then wanted to get something to eat and unwind a bit before going to bed. And I'd drunk a can of Coke on the plane, and was too caffeinated to sleep until hours later. So I haven't gotten much sleep yet, but I got up early anyway, planning to nap this afternoon if necessary and go to bed early tonight, so I can be ready to get up at 3 am on Sunday to go do the marathon!
Today, I plan to take it easy. If the weather's like this all day, I may not even stray far from the room! Things I need to do either today or tomorrow: go to the Expo, pick up my race packet, scout out the location of the start of the race and decide whether to walk or take a shuttle there Sunday morning. I'd prefer to walk, if it's not too far and I'm sure I know where I'm going.
Marathon in two days!
I feel... not entirely ready, but close enough. I missed my last long run, an eight-mile run I should have done last Sunday. I'd strained my back carrying some wood up to the woodshed, and decided I'd be better off letting it rest and recover rather than possibly straining it further by bouncing on it for a couple of hours. I felt a bit guilty about "slacking off," but my back feels pretty good now, so I expect it was for the best.
I have a room on the seventh floor of the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach, right near the entrance to the park where the marathon finishes. It's still dark at the moment, windy and wet after several weeks of storms, but I can see groups of runners out heading down the street toward the park for a morning run. Too early for me! Although the marathon itself will be starting at 5 am, and it's 6:20 now. But today, I'm exhausted from yesterday's long day of travel. I didn't even get to my hotel until nearly 10 pm (Hawaii time, after midnight my time), and then wanted to get something to eat and unwind a bit before going to bed. And I'd drunk a can of Coke on the plane, and was too caffeinated to sleep until hours later. So I haven't gotten much sleep yet, but I got up early anyway, planning to nap this afternoon if necessary and go to bed early tonight, so I can be ready to get up at 3 am on Sunday to go do the marathon!
Today, I plan to take it easy. If the weather's like this all day, I may not even stray far from the room! Things I need to do either today or tomorrow: go to the Expo, pick up my race packet, scout out the location of the start of the race and decide whether to walk or take a shuttle there Sunday morning. I'd prefer to walk, if it's not too far and I'm sure I know where I'm going.
Marathon in two days!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Week 24: Eight miles
75 laps, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio, 2:16 hours
I got off to a very slow start again this morning, not starting my run until after 11 am. I had planned to go down to the park to run, but since I got out there so late, I just ran around the house. It was a pretty good run. I didn't get tired and kept up my pace. My time includes one bathroom stop at around lap 56—I was going along just fine, then suddenly, my stomach cramped up, and I had to stop. Then when I came back out, I stopped again to get a rock out of my shoe. Probably took about five minutes altogether. If I could make a bathroom stop in five minutes in Hawaii, I wouldn't mind, but with 30,000 people on the course, there are always lines for the bathrooms, and it can take 20–30 minutes for a stop. It would be nice if I didn't have to stop, but when it takes over seven hours to finish, it's inevitable that I'll need to stop at some point. I can only hope the lines aren't too bad when I do.
I tried out a couple of things for the marathon: for one thing, I wore my waist pack with the big pocket, and put my camera, phone, small wallet with ID and a few bucks and lip gloss in the pocket. It also has an outside pocket that I put my handkerchief in. There was still plenty of room for GU and other snacks. So that was good. The bad was that the strap tends to loosen up as I run, and the pack bounces around and slides to the side, so I'm constantly adjusting it. I still think it will work better than using the one with the small pockets, so I'll take it to Hawaii.
The other thing I did was sew a small square of rubber onto the back of my running watch, so I can wear it on my wrist without shorting it out with my static electricity. I used buttonhole thread and tied the corners of the rubber square together across the top and bottom of the watch face. I had to be careful to tie it tightly enough to hold the rubber in place, but not so tightly that it ripped the corners of the rubber. It seemed to work fine for eight miles, so I'll do that for Honolulu, too.
I'm trying to decide whether to send for this dress to wear while I'm in Hawaii. I'm leaning towards doing it, although time is short and I'm not sure it will fit me. If it doesn't, or if it arrives too late, I suppose I can just send it back, so no loss. It sure is pretty, and I don't have any other casual dresses I can wear on the beach.
I got off to a very slow start again this morning, not starting my run until after 11 am. I had planned to go down to the park to run, but since I got out there so late, I just ran around the house. It was a pretty good run. I didn't get tired and kept up my pace. My time includes one bathroom stop at around lap 56—I was going along just fine, then suddenly, my stomach cramped up, and I had to stop. Then when I came back out, I stopped again to get a rock out of my shoe. Probably took about five minutes altogether. If I could make a bathroom stop in five minutes in Hawaii, I wouldn't mind, but with 30,000 people on the course, there are always lines for the bathrooms, and it can take 20–30 minutes for a stop. It would be nice if I didn't have to stop, but when it takes over seven hours to finish, it's inevitable that I'll need to stop at some point. I can only hope the lines aren't too bad when I do.
I tried out a couple of things for the marathon: for one thing, I wore my waist pack with the big pocket, and put my camera, phone, small wallet with ID and a few bucks and lip gloss in the pocket. It also has an outside pocket that I put my handkerchief in. There was still plenty of room for GU and other snacks. So that was good. The bad was that the strap tends to loosen up as I run, and the pack bounces around and slides to the side, so I'm constantly adjusting it. I still think it will work better than using the one with the small pockets, so I'll take it to Hawaii.
The other thing I did was sew a small square of rubber onto the back of my running watch, so I can wear it on my wrist without shorting it out with my static electricity. I used buttonhole thread and tied the corners of the rubber square together across the top and bottom of the watch face. I had to be careful to tie it tightly enough to hold the rubber in place, but not so tightly that it ripped the corners of the rubber. It seemed to work fine for eight miles, so I'll do that for Honolulu, too.
I'm trying to decide whether to send for this dress to wear while I'm in Hawaii. I'm leaning towards doing it, although time is short and I'm not sure it will fit me. If it doesn't, or if it arrives too late, I suppose I can just send it back, so no loss. It sure is pretty, and I don't have any other casual dresses I can wear on the beach.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Week 23: Twenty-six miles
8:01 hours, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio
I did my 26 miles! And it was a pretty good run, all things considered.
As planned, I did eight miles around the house, then ran ten miles to Meadowbrook Park and did another eight miles around the trail there.
I made four stops, which are included in my time. One at about five or six miles to go to the bathroom, then another at eight miles to refill my water bottle and drink some soy milk and orange juice before heading on down the road. Then, I stopped at about 17 miles, when I reached the Chevron station at Valley and Golden Hills Blvd. to buy a 20-oz Coke, which I drank over the next two miles, and at 18 miles when I reached the park to use the rest room and fill up my water bottle again.
I may regret drinking all that Coke tonight and tomorrow, but it sure did make the run easier! Nothing like a big jolt of sugar and caffeine to keep my energy up! I got tired, and slow, but was able to keep going with my run intervals all the way to the end, and outside of some stiffness and sore shoulders, and a blister on my right little toe, I have no big aches and pains afterwards.
I also ate two GUs along the way. I have about six left, which should get me through the marathon. I also need to figure out something to bring along to eat or drink. Maybe I can bring a small bottle of soy milk and orange juice in my waist pack. I think I'll use the one with the bigger pockets for marathon, so I can put my handkerchief and camera and phone and everything in it. I was going to bring my camera along with me today, but I got tired of carrying it and left it home.
I also think I'll use my Shox 2.45s for the marathon. I wore my newest Nikes today, but they're not as comfortable as the old 2.45s. I think the new ones make my little toe blister.
I had a few difficult patches. Running up Valley was very tiring, and I ended up walking about the last half of mile 17. I resumed my running intervals after I'd stopped for the Coke, and was able to keep up after that. I felt that I was going very slowly all the way along. Which, really, was as it should be. Our coaches for the AIDS Marathon always told us to slow down on the long runs, and do them 2 minutes/mile slower than our usual pace. I averaged about 18.5 minute miles, so that's about right. Actually, I could have even gone slower, considering that I'm averaging 17 minute miles on the shorter runs. Anyway, it all went as it should, and now I'm done with long runs until the marathon, which is in only three weeks now! Two more eight-mile runs, and then I'll be in Honolulu.
I did my 26 miles! And it was a pretty good run, all things considered.
As planned, I did eight miles around the house, then ran ten miles to Meadowbrook Park and did another eight miles around the trail there.
I made four stops, which are included in my time. One at about five or six miles to go to the bathroom, then another at eight miles to refill my water bottle and drink some soy milk and orange juice before heading on down the road. Then, I stopped at about 17 miles, when I reached the Chevron station at Valley and Golden Hills Blvd. to buy a 20-oz Coke, which I drank over the next two miles, and at 18 miles when I reached the park to use the rest room and fill up my water bottle again.
I may regret drinking all that Coke tonight and tomorrow, but it sure did make the run easier! Nothing like a big jolt of sugar and caffeine to keep my energy up! I got tired, and slow, but was able to keep going with my run intervals all the way to the end, and outside of some stiffness and sore shoulders, and a blister on my right little toe, I have no big aches and pains afterwards.
I also ate two GUs along the way. I have about six left, which should get me through the marathon. I also need to figure out something to bring along to eat or drink. Maybe I can bring a small bottle of soy milk and orange juice in my waist pack. I think I'll use the one with the bigger pockets for marathon, so I can put my handkerchief and camera and phone and everything in it. I was going to bring my camera along with me today, but I got tired of carrying it and left it home.
I also think I'll use my Shox 2.45s for the marathon. I wore my newest Nikes today, but they're not as comfortable as the old 2.45s. I think the new ones make my little toe blister.
I had a few difficult patches. Running up Valley was very tiring, and I ended up walking about the last half of mile 17. I resumed my running intervals after I'd stopped for the Coke, and was able to keep up after that. I felt that I was going very slowly all the way along. Which, really, was as it should be. Our coaches for the AIDS Marathon always told us to slow down on the long runs, and do them 2 minutes/mile slower than our usual pace. I averaged about 18.5 minute miles, so that's about right. Actually, I could have even gone slower, considering that I'm averaging 17 minute miles on the shorter runs. Anyway, it all went as it should, and now I'm done with long runs until the marathon, which is in only three weeks now! Two more eight-mile runs, and then I'll be in Honolulu.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 31:47 minutes
I had a good run today. I got out there kind of late, having not gotten up until 8:30 or so, and it was very pleasant, just warm enough to feel good on my back, but still cool enough to stay comfortable. The 2:3 minute ratio was easy to keep up with, and I had a good time. I hope this bodes well for the 26-miler on Sunday! I've decided to do the same route as I did on my last 26-miler, for the LA Marathon—I'll do eight miles around the house, then run to Meadowbrook Park for another ten miles, then finish with eight miles around the trail at the park. Mom will pick me up at the park when I'm done. And then—pizza!
I think one reason I've been so tired lately is that I've been having herpes outbreaks one after the other ever since I had surgery. I've upped my Vitamin C these past few days to 4000 mg a day, which should help. Aargh. If I can just get myself healthy again before the marathon, I think it will go well. It's been one thing after the other these past few months.
I had a good run today. I got out there kind of late, having not gotten up until 8:30 or so, and it was very pleasant, just warm enough to feel good on my back, but still cool enough to stay comfortable. The 2:3 minute ratio was easy to keep up with, and I had a good time. I hope this bodes well for the 26-miler on Sunday! I've decided to do the same route as I did on my last 26-miler, for the LA Marathon—I'll do eight miles around the house, then run to Meadowbrook Park for another ten miles, then finish with eight miles around the trail at the park. Mom will pick me up at the park when I'm done. And then—pizza!
I think one reason I've been so tired lately is that I've been having herpes outbreaks one after the other ever since I had surgery. I've upped my Vitamin C these past few days to 4000 mg a day, which should help. Aargh. If I can just get myself healthy again before the marathon, I think it will go well. It's been one thing after the other these past few months.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 1:2.3 minute run/walk ratio, 33:12 minutes
My run/walk ratio is an estimate today. I decided to do it partially by laps and partially by minutes: I'd walk one lap, then run for about a minute and walk the rest of the lap, then walk one lap, etc. So I was running for about a minute, then walking for something between two and two-and-a-half minutes, depending on how fast I was walking.
The weather was beautiful: sunny with a chilly breeze. It was warm when I was running in the sun, then cool in the shade. I was a bit slow today, but I just wanted to take it easy, after Monday's exhausting run. I don't know why I have these off days when I'm just too tired to move. I hope I don't have one on the marathon day! I expect skipping my midweek runs might have had something to do with it. Or stress over my poor kitty, who's back at the vet's getting his ears cleaned daily for three days. In any case, I feel better today. I'm going to make sure I don't skip any more runs before the marathon. I've got less than a month before Honolulu! I'll do my 26-mile run this week, then two eight-milers, then the marathon.
I got my documents from Pleasant Holidays yesterday. It's official! I'm going to Hawaii!
My run/walk ratio is an estimate today. I decided to do it partially by laps and partially by minutes: I'd walk one lap, then run for about a minute and walk the rest of the lap, then walk one lap, etc. So I was running for about a minute, then walking for something between two and two-and-a-half minutes, depending on how fast I was walking.
The weather was beautiful: sunny with a chilly breeze. It was warm when I was running in the sun, then cool in the shade. I was a bit slow today, but I just wanted to take it easy, after Monday's exhausting run. I don't know why I have these off days when I'm just too tired to move. I hope I don't have one on the marathon day! I expect skipping my midweek runs might have had something to do with it. Or stress over my poor kitty, who's back at the vet's getting his ears cleaned daily for three days. In any case, I feel better today. I'm going to make sure I don't skip any more runs before the marathon. I've got less than a month before Honolulu! I'll do my 26-mile run this week, then two eight-milers, then the marathon.
I got my documents from Pleasant Holidays yesterday. It's official! I'm going to Hawaii!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Week 22: Ten miles
2:58 hours, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio
This has been one of those weeks—I didn't do either of my midweek runs, then yesterday (Sunday) I was exhausted and the weather was cold and wet, so I decided to put off my long run until today. Today, I wasn't so tired and the weather was good, but I still had a hard time motivating myself to get out there and do it. I didn't start until after 10 am. I did my run here around the house (94 laps!) because I didn't feel like going into town.
I started out fairly well, but got pretty tired by the end. I think I was mostly hungry, since it was 1 pm by the time I finished. I should have had a protein drink or something before I started. My time doesn't include two breaks where I stopped my watch, one at four miles to go to the bathroom and grab a handkerchief, and one at about eight miles, when I stopped for a drink of water and got dizzy and abruptly decided I was finished. I stopped my watch and went to sit down in one of the chairs by the front porch, but after I rested for a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and finish ten miles.
I amused myself while I was running by planning how I'd survive out here if I had to be completely self-sufficient: no propane, no gas, no grocery store. I guess I'd be living on squirrels, acorns, and pine nuts. And chopping a lot of wood.
I started out with my iPod shuffle. The first song that came up was the first movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony. That kept me going for about the first half hour. Then the earbuds started making static-y noise, so I took them off.
This has been one of those weeks—I didn't do either of my midweek runs, then yesterday (Sunday) I was exhausted and the weather was cold and wet, so I decided to put off my long run until today. Today, I wasn't so tired and the weather was good, but I still had a hard time motivating myself to get out there and do it. I didn't start until after 10 am. I did my run here around the house (94 laps!) because I didn't feel like going into town.
I started out fairly well, but got pretty tired by the end. I think I was mostly hungry, since it was 1 pm by the time I finished. I should have had a protein drink or something before I started. My time doesn't include two breaks where I stopped my watch, one at four miles to go to the bathroom and grab a handkerchief, and one at about eight miles, when I stopped for a drink of water and got dizzy and abruptly decided I was finished. I stopped my watch and went to sit down in one of the chairs by the front porch, but after I rested for a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and finish ten miles.
I amused myself while I was running by planning how I'd survive out here if I had to be completely self-sufficient: no propane, no gas, no grocery store. I guess I'd be living on squirrels, acorns, and pine nuts. And chopping a lot of wood.
I started out with my iPod shuffle. The first song that came up was the first movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony. That kept me going for about the first half hour. Then the earbuds started making static-y noise, so I took them off.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Week 21: Eight miles
2:15 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
Good thing it was only an eight-miler today—I was completely exhausted, and had a hard time finishing. I don't know why I was so tired. I slept ten hours last night, but woke up still groggy and tired and never had any energy.
I did my run from Dennison & Highline, down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Curry. I looped back on Valley to Dennison and back to Curry, then ran up Curry to Highline and back to Valley, then finally back on Valley to Dennison and up Dennison to Highline. I was okay for the first four miles or so, but running uphill on Curry to Dennison was very hard. I think it's a bigger hill on Curry than on Dennison. I kept up my running intervals until the last mile, but I walked most of the last mile. I did try to keep my walking speed up, and finished in a reasonable time, but I was very dizzy and tired when I got home. I've been napping this afternoon, and still feel tired.
But I got my eight miles in. I hope next week's run is better.
Good thing it was only an eight-miler today—I was completely exhausted, and had a hard time finishing. I don't know why I was so tired. I slept ten hours last night, but woke up still groggy and tired and never had any energy.
I did my run from Dennison & Highline, down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Curry. I looped back on Valley to Dennison and back to Curry, then ran up Curry to Highline and back to Valley, then finally back on Valley to Dennison and up Dennison to Highline. I was okay for the first four miles or so, but running uphill on Curry to Dennison was very hard. I think it's a bigger hill on Curry than on Dennison. I kept up my running intervals until the last mile, but I walked most of the last mile. I did try to keep my walking speed up, and finished in a reasonable time, but I was very dizzy and tired when I got home. I've been napping this afternoon, and still feel tired.
But I got my eight miles in. I hope next week's run is better.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 32:55 minutes
It was a bit of a slow run today, but I felt good and just took it easy. I feel good after my 23-mile run. My back was sore all day Monday (not good for driving home), but was fine yesterday. And today I'm completely ready to go again! Now I've got two weeks to recuperate with 8 or 10 mile runs, before the 26-miler. The marathon is getting closer!
It was a bit of a slow run today, but I felt good and just took it easy. I feel good after my 23-mile run. My back was sore all day Monday (not good for driving home), but was fine yesterday. And today I'm completely ready to go again! Now I've got two weeks to recuperate with 8 or 10 mile runs, before the 26-miler. The marathon is getting closer!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Week 20: Twenty-three miles
6:45 hours, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio
What a fabulous run! Man, I miss being able to run in Golden Gate Park, or, in fact, any park. The run just zoomed by. The running paths are smooth and easy, and the scenery is gorgeous, with trees and bushes and flowers and lots of wildlife. I even saw a coyote! Possibly two coyotes, or else the same one twice. There were water fountains and bathrooms all along the way. The weather was perfect, sunny but with a cool breeze. Probably no more than 70 F all day. I'd forgotten to bring my hoodie for the morning, but turns out I didn't need it. It was a bit brisk when I started at about 7:50 am, but I warmed up almost immediately and wasn't ever cold.
I never got really tired. My legs were somewhat sore by the end, and I'm sure I wasn't going as fast as I was when I started, but I didn't slow down too much. Kept up my run/walk intervals the whole way.
I started out at JFK Dr and Great Highway, by the windmill, and ran down JFK to the cutoff that goes diagonally across to MLK Jr Dr, then went up MLK to the other end, and back up JFK, with one loop around Stow Lake. I think that was about 8.5 miles. Then I ran down Great Highway to Sloat and back, which I think was about 5 miles. Finally, I repeated the MLK – JFK loop around the park, with two times around Stow Lake for a total of about 9.5 miles. If I estimated correctly, that made 23 miles altogether. That would be an average of about 17.6 minutes/mile, which is about right, considering all the many bathroom stops I made. I also stopped at the refreshment stand at Stow Lake after I'd finished my final laps around the lake for an ice cream sandwich. Very tasty and good for a final boost for my last few miles. Too bad you can't bring ice cream along with you on a marathon!
The only slight bummer is that I dropped my handkerchief when I was getting into the truck, so I lost it. It was one of my new ones, too. I hope someone finds it and uses it, rather than having it be ground into the pavement by tires. Oh well, it was only about a dollar.
I'd been wondering if I might run with the AIDS Marathon group this weekend, but they weren't even there. I now vaguely recall that they aren't doing a Sunday group this time, only Saturday. So it was never a possibility. But I had a good run on my own.
I wish I could run in the park for my 26-miler! It makes such a huge difference to have a nice place to run.
What a fabulous run! Man, I miss being able to run in Golden Gate Park, or, in fact, any park. The run just zoomed by. The running paths are smooth and easy, and the scenery is gorgeous, with trees and bushes and flowers and lots of wildlife. I even saw a coyote! Possibly two coyotes, or else the same one twice. There were water fountains and bathrooms all along the way. The weather was perfect, sunny but with a cool breeze. Probably no more than 70 F all day. I'd forgotten to bring my hoodie for the morning, but turns out I didn't need it. It was a bit brisk when I started at about 7:50 am, but I warmed up almost immediately and wasn't ever cold.
I never got really tired. My legs were somewhat sore by the end, and I'm sure I wasn't going as fast as I was when I started, but I didn't slow down too much. Kept up my run/walk intervals the whole way.
I started out at JFK Dr and Great Highway, by the windmill, and ran down JFK to the cutoff that goes diagonally across to MLK Jr Dr, then went up MLK to the other end, and back up JFK, with one loop around Stow Lake. I think that was about 8.5 miles. Then I ran down Great Highway to Sloat and back, which I think was about 5 miles. Finally, I repeated the MLK – JFK loop around the park, with two times around Stow Lake for a total of about 9.5 miles. If I estimated correctly, that made 23 miles altogether. That would be an average of about 17.6 minutes/mile, which is about right, considering all the many bathroom stops I made. I also stopped at the refreshment stand at Stow Lake after I'd finished my final laps around the lake for an ice cream sandwich. Very tasty and good for a final boost for my last few miles. Too bad you can't bring ice cream along with you on a marathon!
The only slight bummer is that I dropped my handkerchief when I was getting into the truck, so I lost it. It was one of my new ones, too. I hope someone finds it and uses it, rather than having it be ground into the pavement by tires. Oh well, it was only about a dollar.
I'd been wondering if I might run with the AIDS Marathon group this weekend, but they weren't even there. I now vaguely recall that they aren't doing a Sunday group this time, only Saturday. So it was never a possibility. But I had a good run on my own.
I wish I could run in the park for my 26-miler! It makes such a huge difference to have a nice place to run.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Friday
Treadmill, 35 minutes, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
I didn't log my run yesterday, but I did do it, here in the hotel fitness room, on one of their treadmills. I didn't go by mileage, just ran at about 3.8 mph and walked at about 3.5 mph for about 30 minutes (even my time is inexact, because I ran for about 4.5 minutes, then I had to stop to use the rest room, and then I did 25 minutes and a five minute cool-down).
It was kind of fun and different to be using a hotel's treadmill. They had TVs in the room, mostly on morning news, but the one in front of me was showing a grade school scrabble championship (without sound), which was fun to watch. It was either that or watch myself run in the mirror wall in front of me. Bleah! I don't want to watch myself run!
In all the times I've gone to hotels thinking I'd use the fitness room to keep up on my exercise, I think this is the first time I've actually done it!
Tomorrow, Golden Gate Park, and 23 miles!
I didn't log my run yesterday, but I did do it, here in the hotel fitness room, on one of their treadmills. I didn't go by mileage, just ran at about 3.8 mph and walked at about 3.5 mph for about 30 minutes (even my time is inexact, because I ran for about 4.5 minutes, then I had to stop to use the rest room, and then I did 25 minutes and a five minute cool-down).
It was kind of fun and different to be using a hotel's treadmill. They had TVs in the room, mostly on morning news, but the one in front of me was showing a grade school scrabble championship (without sound), which was fun to watch. It was either that or watch myself run in the mirror wall in front of me. Bleah! I don't want to watch myself run!
In all the times I've gone to hotels thinking I'd use the fitness room to keep up on my exercise, I think this is the first time I've actually done it!
Tomorrow, Golden Gate Park, and 23 miles!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 32:50 minutes
I'm going on memory for the time, because my watch is out in the truck and I don't want to go get it.
I did my morning run yesterday, but didn't take time to log it, because I wanted to hit the road. It was an okay run, pretty unmotivated, but I made myself do it even though I was already behind in getting ready to leave on my trip. The weather was pleasant and I had a pleasant, if somewhat slow, run.
I'm going on memory for the time, because my watch is out in the truck and I don't want to go get it.
I did my morning run yesterday, but didn't take time to log it, because I wanted to hit the road. It was an okay run, pretty unmotivated, but I made myself do it even though I was already behind in getting ready to leave on my trip. The weather was pleasant and I had a pleasant, if somewhat slow, run.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Week 19: Eight miles
75 laps, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio, 2:16 hours
I missed both of my midweek runs this week, due to having to take the cat to the vet and myself to the doctor, and various other interruptions, and I'm still feeling a bit off, so I took it easy today with a 1:3 run/walk ratio and just ran around the house. I got off to a very late start—it was after 11:30 am by the time I got out there—and felt very unmotivated, but I got my run done, and my time wasn't even too bad. It was very cold this morning, but by the time I got out there, the sun had warmed things up a bit. The wind was biting, though. I wore long running pants and my hoodie, but I wrapped the hoodie around my waist after I got warmed up.
I'm going to have to be firm with myself about getting my midweek runs in this week, since I'll be heading out on vacation on Tuesday. I figured I'd do the first run Tuesday morning before I leave, and the second one on Friday in San Mateo. Then Sunday, I'll drive into San Francisco and do my 23-mile run at the park! That should be fun. I haven't figured out my route yet, I may just wing it.
I missed both of my midweek runs this week, due to having to take the cat to the vet and myself to the doctor, and various other interruptions, and I'm still feeling a bit off, so I took it easy today with a 1:3 run/walk ratio and just ran around the house. I got off to a very late start—it was after 11:30 am by the time I got out there—and felt very unmotivated, but I got my run done, and my time wasn't even too bad. It was very cold this morning, but by the time I got out there, the sun had warmed things up a bit. The wind was biting, though. I wore long running pants and my hoodie, but I wrapped the hoodie around my waist after I got warmed up.
I'm going to have to be firm with myself about getting my midweek runs in this week, since I'll be heading out on vacation on Tuesday. I figured I'd do the first run Tuesday morning before I leave, and the second one on Friday in San Mateo. Then Sunday, I'll drive into San Francisco and do my 23-mile run at the park! That should be fun. I haven't figured out my route yet, I may just wing it.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Week 18: Four miles
38 laps, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio, 1:12 hours
My stomach has been crampy and icky all day, so I got off to a late start, and decided to just run around the house, in case I decided to stop early. Which I did. Even at 1:3, I ran out of steam by lap 32. I was so tired I could barely run, and my walking laps were up around two minutes. So I decided to walk to 38 laps, or just over four miles, and call it a day.
Still. It's only three days after surgery, and I'm glad I was able to get at least half my miles in.
My stomach has been crampy and icky all day, so I got off to a late start, and decided to just run around the house, in case I decided to stop early. Which I did. Even at 1:3, I ran out of steam by lap 32. I was so tired I could barely run, and my walking laps were up around two minutes. So I decided to walk to 38 laps, or just over four miles, and call it a day.
Still. It's only three days after surgery, and I'm glad I was able to get at least half my miles in.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 31:55 minutes
Surgery doesn't seem to have phased me a bit—I felt fine this morning, no pain, so I went ahead and did my run. I felt as though I was taking it easy, but my time wasn't any slower than usual—in fact, I did better than my Wednesday run! So I think I'll be fine for my eight-mile run this Sunday. I am a little bit sore, so I'll definitely take it easy on Sunday, probably just do 1:3. But I'm glad I won't have to miss any more runs!
Surgery doesn't seem to have phased me a bit—I felt fine this morning, no pain, so I went ahead and did my run. I felt as though I was taking it easy, but my time wasn't any slower than usual—in fact, I did better than my Wednesday run! So I think I'll be fine for my eight-mile run this Sunday. I am a little bit sore, so I'll definitely take it easy on Sunday, probably just do 1:3. But I'm glad I won't have to miss any more runs!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 32:10 minutes
Not a terribly fast run this morning, but a good one. My right leg is fine now, after being very sore after the 20-miler on Sunday. I think it got sore because I'd skipped my midweek runs, so I must make more effort to do them every week.
Surgery tomorrow, so I might not be able to run on Friday, or do my 8-mile run on Sunday. I will at least try to get out and walk for half an hour or so each of those days. But we'll see. Maybe I'll jump right up after the surgery and be able to run just fine!
Not a terribly fast run this morning, but a good one. My right leg is fine now, after being very sore after the 20-miler on Sunday. I think it got sore because I'd skipped my midweek runs, so I must make more effort to do them every week.
Surgery tomorrow, so I might not be able to run on Friday, or do my 8-mile run on Sunday. I will at least try to get out and walk for half an hour or so each of those days. But we'll see. Maybe I'll jump right up after the surgery and be able to run just fine!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Week 17: Twenty miles
5:39 hours, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio
I had a really good run today, despite having missed both my midweek runs this week—one due to domestic disasters and the other to inclement weather. The 1:3 minute run/walk ratio really worked well—I felt good the whole way, and didn't start to get really tired until the last few miles. My right leg got pretty stiff and sore, but not enough to interfere with my pace. I stopped to stretch it out a few times, which helped a little.
I got up early this morning, at 5 am. I woke up and had to go to the bathroom, so I decided I might as well just stay up. I was on the road by 6:50 am. It was pretty cold out when I started, maybe high 40s, low 50s, but I wore my long pants and hoodie and stayed reasonably warm till the sun came up. It was cool and breezy all day today, which I'm sure made the run easier.
I ran and walked from Highline down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, down Golden Hills to Westwood to Meadowbrook Park for my first five miles. I took a short bathroom break, then ran loops around the field for my next ten miles. So I'm not sure how close to ten miles it was, but I think it must have been within a half-mile either way. I was calling a loop and a half = one mile, and it was taking me around 16.5–17 minutes for each "mile," so I think it was pretty close.
Mile 15 ended at the other end of the loop, so I called the half-loop plus the .8 mile up Red Apple Mile 16, even though it must have been a bit more than a mile. Then, I ran up Tehachapi Blvd to Snyder, then up Snyder to Jacobsen's track for Miles 17 and 18. I did one lap around the track, then the rest of the way up Snyder to Valley and Valley to Dennison for Mile 19, then back up Dennison to my truck for Mile 20. I think I may have ended up doing a bit more than five miles on the way back from the park, but I might have done a bit less than ten miles at the park, so I hope it all works out. Average pace was just about 17 minutes per mile.
This week on Thursday, I'm having the surgery I was supposed to have a couple of weeks ago, but didn't because I ended up in the hospital with cellulitis instead. I hope it doesn't interfere with my training too much, but I probably won't be able to do my eight miles next Sunday. Maybe I'll go out for a long walk, if I'm not too wiped out. But I should be able to miss one eight-miler without doing too much damage to my training.
I had a really good run today, despite having missed both my midweek runs this week—one due to domestic disasters and the other to inclement weather. The 1:3 minute run/walk ratio really worked well—I felt good the whole way, and didn't start to get really tired until the last few miles. My right leg got pretty stiff and sore, but not enough to interfere with my pace. I stopped to stretch it out a few times, which helped a little.
I got up early this morning, at 5 am. I woke up and had to go to the bathroom, so I decided I might as well just stay up. I was on the road by 6:50 am. It was pretty cold out when I started, maybe high 40s, low 50s, but I wore my long pants and hoodie and stayed reasonably warm till the sun came up. It was cool and breezy all day today, which I'm sure made the run easier.
I ran and walked from Highline down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, down Golden Hills to Westwood to Meadowbrook Park for my first five miles. I took a short bathroom break, then ran loops around the field for my next ten miles. So I'm not sure how close to ten miles it was, but I think it must have been within a half-mile either way. I was calling a loop and a half = one mile, and it was taking me around 16.5–17 minutes for each "mile," so I think it was pretty close.
Mile 15 ended at the other end of the loop, so I called the half-loop plus the .8 mile up Red Apple Mile 16, even though it must have been a bit more than a mile. Then, I ran up Tehachapi Blvd to Snyder, then up Snyder to Jacobsen's track for Miles 17 and 18. I did one lap around the track, then the rest of the way up Snyder to Valley and Valley to Dennison for Mile 19, then back up Dennison to my truck for Mile 20. I think I may have ended up doing a bit more than five miles on the way back from the park, but I might have done a bit less than ten miles at the park, so I hope it all works out. Average pace was just about 17 minutes per mile.
This week on Thursday, I'm having the surgery I was supposed to have a couple of weeks ago, but didn't because I ended up in the hospital with cellulitis instead. I hope it doesn't interfere with my training too much, but I probably won't be able to do my eight miles next Sunday. Maybe I'll go out for a long walk, if I'm not too wiped out. But I should be able to miss one eight-miler without doing too much damage to my training.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Week 16: Nine miles
2:27 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
Not a bad run today, but not a great one. I got off to a bit of a late start—the decaf coffee I drank at a café yesterday afternoon wasn't so decaf, and I was buzzed for the rest of the day and had a hard time sleeping, so I didn't get up until 7:30 am, and didn't get out onto the road until 9:30-ish. The wind was working against me today, blowing so hard that it made quite a headwind on several of my miles, and slowed me down quite a bit. And my whole left side was giving me pains, in my lower back, butt, hamstring, and across the bottom of my foot. I don't know what that was all about. Plus, I kind of had to go to the bathroom from the middle of mile 3 on. Not enough to have to stop, but enough to make the rest of the run a bit uncomfortable.
Also, I hadn't clipped my toenails in a while, and my right little toenail made a bit of a hole in the next toe. I wore my new Nikes for the first time, and they were pretty comfortable otherwise.
Still, despite all the complaints, I averaged 16.3 minutes per mile, and kept up my run/walk intervals for the whole run. Not too bad for my first long run after being in the hospital.
I think I will slow down to a 1:3 minute run/walk ratio for my 20-mile run next week. It's hard enough keeping up the 2:3 on nine miles.
Not a bad run today, but not a great one. I got off to a bit of a late start—the decaf coffee I drank at a café yesterday afternoon wasn't so decaf, and I was buzzed for the rest of the day and had a hard time sleeping, so I didn't get up until 7:30 am, and didn't get out onto the road until 9:30-ish. The wind was working against me today, blowing so hard that it made quite a headwind on several of my miles, and slowed me down quite a bit. And my whole left side was giving me pains, in my lower back, butt, hamstring, and across the bottom of my foot. I don't know what that was all about. Plus, I kind of had to go to the bathroom from the middle of mile 3 on. Not enough to have to stop, but enough to make the rest of the run a bit uncomfortable.
Also, I hadn't clipped my toenails in a while, and my right little toenail made a bit of a hole in the next toe. I wore my new Nikes for the first time, and they were pretty comfortable otherwise.
Still, despite all the complaints, I averaged 16.3 minutes per mile, and kept up my run/walk intervals for the whole run. Not too bad for my first long run after being in the hospital.
I think I will slow down to a 1:3 minute run/walk ratio for my 20-mile run next week. It's hard enough keeping up the 2:3 on nine miles.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 31:33 minutes
Pretty good run this morning. The weather was cool, I felt okay. Still feeling a little slow. I think I should start slowing down my ratio on the long runs to 1:3. I've only got nine miles to do this weekend, but I could use the rest of a nice, slow run. For the 20+ runs, we were always advised to slow down by two minutes per mile, and use a slower run/walk ratio, which I don't usually do when training on my own, but this time, I think it would be a good idea.
Pretty good run this morning. The weather was cool, I felt okay. Still feeling a little slow. I think I should start slowing down my ratio on the long runs to 1:3. I've only got nine miles to do this weekend, but I could use the rest of a nice, slow run. For the 20+ runs, we were always advised to slow down by two minutes per mile, and use a slower run/walk ratio, which I don't usually do when training on my own, but this time, I think it would be a good idea.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday
20 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 34:11 minutes
I'm back! And had a pretty good run this morning. Miscounted and ended up doing 20 laps; it would have been 32:33 for 19. A bit slower than my best, but, after being off for a week on account of being horribly sick, I think 32:33 is pretty good.
It was nice and cool out this morning. The ground was a bit wet, but not sloppy or slippery. It felt good to be running (and walking) again, but I can feel that I'm a bit worn out. I've decided to push my schedule back and do the nine-mile run this weekend. I don't think I could handle twenty. It will be fun to run 23 miles in San Francisco. I'll have to look up my old runs and plan a route. Probably twice around the park, including Stowe Lake, and once up and down Great Highway to Sloat will do it, but I'll have to remind myself the mileage on various bits. I think it was three and a half miles from one end of the park to the other, so seven miles round trip. Plus one mile for each loop around Stowe Lake. But I don't remember how many miles it is from JFK down Great Highway to Sloat.
I imagine the AIDS Marathoners will be running in the park that day, too. I wonder what their mileage will be? If they're doing 23 miles that day, too, I might ask if I can run with them, as a three-time AIDS Marathon alumni, even though I'm not doing the AIDS Marathon this year.
I'm back! And had a pretty good run this morning. Miscounted and ended up doing 20 laps; it would have been 32:33 for 19. A bit slower than my best, but, after being off for a week on account of being horribly sick, I think 32:33 is pretty good.
It was nice and cool out this morning. The ground was a bit wet, but not sloppy or slippery. It felt good to be running (and walking) again, but I can feel that I'm a bit worn out. I've decided to push my schedule back and do the nine-mile run this weekend. I don't think I could handle twenty. It will be fun to run 23 miles in San Francisco. I'll have to look up my old runs and plan a route. Probably twice around the park, including Stowe Lake, and once up and down Great Highway to Sloat will do it, but I'll have to remind myself the mileage on various bits. I think it was three and a half miles from one end of the park to the other, so seven miles round trip. Plus one mile for each loop around Stowe Lake. But I don't remember how many miles it is from JFK down Great Highway to Sloat.
I imagine the AIDS Marathoners will be running in the park that day, too. I wonder what their mileage will be? If they're doing 23 miles that day, too, I might ask if I can run with them, as a three-time AIDS Marathon alumni, even though I'm not doing the AIDS Marathon this year.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Week off
I didn't run this week at all—and I had a pretty good excuse this time! I was in the hospital Monday and Tuesday with cellulitis in my left arm. I'm home now, but still have an IV in my arm and am giving myself IV antibiotics, every eight hours, for seven days total. I have two more days to go. I feel much better than I did earlier this week, but am still tired, and have to work everything around my every-eight-hour IV schedule. And my left arm is very swollen and sore, because I haven't been able to use any compression on it while it was infected. I probably could have still done the nine miles I had scheduled for this week—and was planning to at least try it, right up until I ended up sleeping in until 9:30 am and waking to a cold, windy day, and just couldn't get myself to go out there and run.
I still haven't quite decided whether to shift my schedule later by one week, and do the nine-mile run next week, or try to go ahead and do twenty miles next week. I still have one extra week built into my schedule, so I could shift it, but that would put my 23-mile run the weekend I'm going to be in the Bay Area. On the one hand, it would be a lot more fun and easy to run 23 miles in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park and along the ocean; but, on the other hand, it would mean taking pretty much an entire day away from my friends and other activities to do the run. I've got a week to think about it.
I still haven't quite decided whether to shift my schedule later by one week, and do the nine-mile run next week, or try to go ahead and do twenty miles next week. I still have one extra week built into my schedule, so I could shift it, but that would put my 23-mile run the weekend I'm going to be in the Bay Area. On the one hand, it would be a lot more fun and easy to run 23 miles in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park and along the ocean; but, on the other hand, it would mean taking pretty much an entire day away from my friends and other activities to do the run. I've got a week to think about it.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Week 15: Eighteen miles
5:20 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
It was a good run today. Finally, the weather was decent, sunny but with a cool breeze, and not too hot. I was able to keep up my running intervals the whole way, instead of walking the last couple of miles, as I have for the last few long runs.
I didn't stop my stopwatch for any of my bathroom or water breaks, I just let it run the whole time. I figured I might as well time it the way it will be done for the real marathon, to get a more realistic idea of how long it might take me to finish. With breaks and all, I averaged around 17.8-minute miles, which would make about a seven-and-a-quarter hour marathon. Hm. Well, that's what I thought at the beginning.
I'm not terribly sure about my mileage this time, though. I might have done more than 18 miles. I started out at Highline and Dennison, went down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, and down Golden Hills to Westwood to Meadowbrook Park. I started my first loop around the trail, but found the lower end of the trail was covered in sheep! Our local flock of sheep was staying down there. There was a water truck filling a trough for the sheep to drink. I tried to ask the guy with the truck whether it would bother his sheep for me to run through them, but he didn't speak any English. Anyway, I decided not to run through the sheep, but turned around and went back. Along the way, I ran into the path that cuts across the big loop and makes a smaller loop, so I went around that. By timing it, I think one smaller loop was about half a mile, so I did four miles counting two loops as a mile. That was the first place where I wasn't sure about my mileage.
Then I headed back up Westwood to Golden Hills Blvd to Valley, running back the way I'd come. When I got to Snyder, I turned down to the school to run at the track, but there was my second confusion of the day. The gates leading to the track all appeared to be locked. I saw people running on the track, so I knew they'd gotten in there somehow, but I didn't know how. I ended up going back out to Snyder, down to Tehachapi Blvd, and across to the other end of the track, where there was an unlocked gate. I did two miles at the track, plus an extra lap to make the time come out right for another mile, and headed back to Valley and Dennison and home. So I'm not sure how close to 18 miles I was. I'm fairly sure it was more than 18, rather than less, but I don't know by how much.
In any case, I got my long run in, and another week's training is done!
It was a good run today. Finally, the weather was decent, sunny but with a cool breeze, and not too hot. I was able to keep up my running intervals the whole way, instead of walking the last couple of miles, as I have for the last few long runs.
I didn't stop my stopwatch for any of my bathroom or water breaks, I just let it run the whole time. I figured I might as well time it the way it will be done for the real marathon, to get a more realistic idea of how long it might take me to finish. With breaks and all, I averaged around 17.8-minute miles, which would make about a seven-and-a-quarter hour marathon. Hm. Well, that's what I thought at the beginning.
I'm not terribly sure about my mileage this time, though. I might have done more than 18 miles. I started out at Highline and Dennison, went down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, and down Golden Hills to Westwood to Meadowbrook Park. I started my first loop around the trail, but found the lower end of the trail was covered in sheep! Our local flock of sheep was staying down there. There was a water truck filling a trough for the sheep to drink. I tried to ask the guy with the truck whether it would bother his sheep for me to run through them, but he didn't speak any English. Anyway, I decided not to run through the sheep, but turned around and went back. Along the way, I ran into the path that cuts across the big loop and makes a smaller loop, so I went around that. By timing it, I think one smaller loop was about half a mile, so I did four miles counting two loops as a mile. That was the first place where I wasn't sure about my mileage.
Then I headed back up Westwood to Golden Hills Blvd to Valley, running back the way I'd come. When I got to Snyder, I turned down to the school to run at the track, but there was my second confusion of the day. The gates leading to the track all appeared to be locked. I saw people running on the track, so I knew they'd gotten in there somehow, but I didn't know how. I ended up going back out to Snyder, down to Tehachapi Blvd, and across to the other end of the track, where there was an unlocked gate. I did two miles at the track, plus an extra lap to make the time come out right for another mile, and headed back to Valley and Dennison and home. So I'm not sure how close to 18 miles I was. I'm fairly sure it was more than 18, rather than less, but I don't know by how much.
In any case, I got my long run in, and another week's training is done!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 30:50 minutes
What a difference the weather makes! It was actually cold this morning—58F in the house when I got up at 6:30—and still chilly when I went out to run at 9 am. I think this is the first time since I started that I finished 19 laps in under 31 minutes, and didn't even feel like I was pushing myself.
I hope the cool weather holds for Sunday's 18-miler!
What a difference the weather makes! It was actually cold this morning—58F in the house when I got up at 6:30—and still chilly when I went out to run at 9 am. I think this is the first time since I started that I finished 19 laps in under 31 minutes, and didn't even feel like I was pushing myself.
I hope the cool weather holds for Sunday's 18-miler!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 31:45 minutes
Back on track with my midweek runs. It was a good run, nothing special, just an ordinary jog around the house.
The big news this week is: I have new running shoes! I didn't wear them today. (I don't know what I'm saving them for, maybe my next eight-mile recovery run.) I wasn't intending to buy new shoes, but I was in Bakersfield on Monday and checking out the sports shoe stores for socks, and I decided to try on a pair of new Nikes. They were so comfortable and fit absolutely perfectly! I loved them. So I bought them. They're Nike Air Max Moto+ 5s. I guess I'm saving them for the marathon, but I do need to break them in a bit before Honolulu. Maybe wear them just on my recovery runs.
I did also get three pairs of new running socks at the Big 5 Sporting Goods store. Not Wright socks, no one seems to have them, but I tried out a pair this morning, and they seem fine. Wearing them on a long run will be the real test.
And I sent for a couple of running shirts from JCPenney. I was getting some new handkerchiefs from them, and needed something else to bump up the value of my order to make it worth the shipping charge. So I picked out a couple of shirts. Hope they fit okay! If not, I'll send them back.
Back on track with my midweek runs. It was a good run, nothing special, just an ordinary jog around the house.
The big news this week is: I have new running shoes! I didn't wear them today. (I don't know what I'm saving them for, maybe my next eight-mile recovery run.) I wasn't intending to buy new shoes, but I was in Bakersfield on Monday and checking out the sports shoe stores for socks, and I decided to try on a pair of new Nikes. They were so comfortable and fit absolutely perfectly! I loved them. So I bought them. They're Nike Air Max Moto+ 5s. I guess I'm saving them for the marathon, but I do need to break them in a bit before Honolulu. Maybe wear them just on my recovery runs.
I did also get three pairs of new running socks at the Big 5 Sporting Goods store. Not Wright socks, no one seems to have them, but I tried out a pair this morning, and they seem fine. Wearing them on a long run will be the real test.
And I sent for a couple of running shirts from JCPenney. I was getting some new handkerchiefs from them, and needed something else to bump up the value of my order to make it worth the shipping charge. So I picked out a couple of shirts. Hope they fit okay! If not, I'll send them back.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Week 14: Eight miles
75 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 2:16 hours
It was one of those runs, at the end of one of those weeks. First of all, I missed both my midweek runs this week; Wednesday I wasn't feeling well, and Friday I had the guy coming to install the new floors, so I had to get to work right away getting furniture out of the kitties' room and pulling up the carpet.
Then this morning I got up late—7:30, and still feeling tired—and wasn't ready to go run until 9:30. Since it was so late, and since my stomach was still feeling a little icky, I decided to just do my run around the house. I started out reasonably well, finishing my first couple of miles in 15.5 or so, but it was hot and I soon started to lose energy. I walked the last mile and a half or so, and was eventually not even trying to walk quickly, but just plodding along wanting to be done.
I averaged 17 minutes per mile, which, considering I was doing 15 minute miles at the beginning, means I slowed way down at the end. And on only eight miles. I really need to start early next week for my 18-mile run. And hope it cools down a bit. This heat is really, really making it hard to do my runs.
It was one of those runs, at the end of one of those weeks. First of all, I missed both my midweek runs this week; Wednesday I wasn't feeling well, and Friday I had the guy coming to install the new floors, so I had to get to work right away getting furniture out of the kitties' room and pulling up the carpet.
Then this morning I got up late—7:30, and still feeling tired—and wasn't ready to go run until 9:30. Since it was so late, and since my stomach was still feeling a little icky, I decided to just do my run around the house. I started out reasonably well, finishing my first couple of miles in 15.5 or so, but it was hot and I soon started to lose energy. I walked the last mile and a half or so, and was eventually not even trying to walk quickly, but just plodding along wanting to be done.
I averaged 17 minutes per mile, which, considering I was doing 15 minute miles at the beginning, means I slowed way down at the end. And on only eight miles. I really need to start early next week for my 18-mile run. And hope it cools down a bit. This heat is really, really making it hard to do my runs.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Week 13: Sixteen miles
4:43 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio for about 12 miles, walk about four miles
I had planned to try to get up even earlier than usual today, since the weather report called for a high of 92F, but it was not to be. I had a bad night the night before last, and was exhausted yesterday. I had a hard time getting up at 6 am, even after going to bed before 10 pm. But I did manage to get out on the road a little before 8 am.
I had also planned to run on the track at the middle school and nearby roads, so I could stay close to water and bathrooms today, but that was also not to be. I drove to the school, but found the bathrooms locked. I knew I was going to have to make at least one bathroom stop today, so I just ran four miles at the track, then filled my water bottle and drove back to the mailboxes at Dennison and Highline, then ran to Meadowbrook Park from there, going down Dennison to Valley, taking Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, then down to the park along Westwood. I figured that was five miles, so I'd done a total of nine by then. I stopped for a much-needed bathroom break, filled my water bottle, and soaked my hat and bandanna, then did three loops around the trail for about two miles, made one more water stop and headed back along Red Apple Ave.
By then it was after 11 am, the sun was high and hot and there were no clouds or shade to be had. There was a light breeze, and keeping my hat and bandanna wet helped keep me from overheating, but I just couldn't run any more. I only did about every other run interval along Red Apple, but when I reached Tucker and Tehachapi Blvd, I stopped trying and just walked the rest of the way. At that point, I figured I wasn't trying to keep up a pace any more, just trying to get back to my truck without giving myself heat exhaustion.
I walked up Tehachapi Blvd to Snyder, then turned up Snyder so I could take advantage of the water fountains at the school for one more water refill along the way. Then I finished up along Valley and Dennison.
I stopped my stop watch while I drove from the school back to the mailboxes, but otherwise I just let it run, through all the water and bathroom stops. Even with rest and water stops, and walking more than four miles, I still managed to maintain about a 17.7 minute per mile pace, which is pretty impressive, I think. The new mesh hat worked really well at keeping my head cooler, especially when I kept it wet. Wearing a wet bandanna around my neck helped, too. I was able to keep walking at a fairly quick pace even when I was on my last few miles. Taking numerous brief breaks to pour water over my head and catch my breath made it easier to keep going in the long run.
Now, I just hope the weather starts to cool down by the time I'm ready to do my next long run!
I had planned to try to get up even earlier than usual today, since the weather report called for a high of 92F, but it was not to be. I had a bad night the night before last, and was exhausted yesterday. I had a hard time getting up at 6 am, even after going to bed before 10 pm. But I did manage to get out on the road a little before 8 am.
I had also planned to run on the track at the middle school and nearby roads, so I could stay close to water and bathrooms today, but that was also not to be. I drove to the school, but found the bathrooms locked. I knew I was going to have to make at least one bathroom stop today, so I just ran four miles at the track, then filled my water bottle and drove back to the mailboxes at Dennison and Highline, then ran to Meadowbrook Park from there, going down Dennison to Valley, taking Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, then down to the park along Westwood. I figured that was five miles, so I'd done a total of nine by then. I stopped for a much-needed bathroom break, filled my water bottle, and soaked my hat and bandanna, then did three loops around the trail for about two miles, made one more water stop and headed back along Red Apple Ave.
By then it was after 11 am, the sun was high and hot and there were no clouds or shade to be had. There was a light breeze, and keeping my hat and bandanna wet helped keep me from overheating, but I just couldn't run any more. I only did about every other run interval along Red Apple, but when I reached Tucker and Tehachapi Blvd, I stopped trying and just walked the rest of the way. At that point, I figured I wasn't trying to keep up a pace any more, just trying to get back to my truck without giving myself heat exhaustion.
I walked up Tehachapi Blvd to Snyder, then turned up Snyder so I could take advantage of the water fountains at the school for one more water refill along the way. Then I finished up along Valley and Dennison.
I stopped my stop watch while I drove from the school back to the mailboxes, but otherwise I just let it run, through all the water and bathroom stops. Even with rest and water stops, and walking more than four miles, I still managed to maintain about a 17.7 minute per mile pace, which is pretty impressive, I think. The new mesh hat worked really well at keeping my head cooler, especially when I kept it wet. Wearing a wet bandanna around my neck helped, too. I was able to keep walking at a fairly quick pace even when I was on my last few miles. Taking numerous brief breaks to pour water over my head and catch my breath made it easier to keep going in the long run.
Now, I just hope the weather starts to cool down by the time I'm ready to do my next long run!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 31:12 minutes
I got up late this morning—around 9 am—and it was already too hot to run, so I postponed my run until the evening. Went out around 7 pm and had a lovely run, watching the clouds turn pink and the sky gradually grow dark. Kept up a good pace and finished in record time!
I had to go into Bakersfield today for a doctor's appointment, so I took the opportunity to go to the Sports Authority, which is apparently the store that bought out Copeland Sports, and bought a new pair of running shorts, a new bra, and a mesh running cap to keep the top of my head cool. I also wanted some more socks and possibly another shirt, but didn't find any I liked in the time I had (although my doctor was an hour and a half late, so I could have shopped for another hour if I'd known. Oh well, next time). I wore the hat on my run tonight, although there was no sun so I couldn't really try out its effectiveness. It was comfortable, though. I'll try the shorts and bra this Sunday on my 16-mile run.
I got up late this morning—around 9 am—and it was already too hot to run, so I postponed my run until the evening. Went out around 7 pm and had a lovely run, watching the clouds turn pink and the sky gradually grow dark. Kept up a good pace and finished in record time!
I had to go into Bakersfield today for a doctor's appointment, so I took the opportunity to go to the Sports Authority, which is apparently the store that bought out Copeland Sports, and bought a new pair of running shorts, a new bra, and a mesh running cap to keep the top of my head cool. I also wanted some more socks and possibly another shirt, but didn't find any I liked in the time I had (although my doctor was an hour and a half late, so I could have shopped for another hour if I'd known. Oh well, next time). I wore the hat on my run tonight, although there was no sun so I couldn't really try out its effectiveness. It was comfortable, though. I'll try the shorts and bra this Sunday on my 16-mile run.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Wednesday
20 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 33:29 minutes
The big news today is that I figured out how to store and recall my run without resorting to the watch manual! Heh. I thought I'd missed the split at lap 13, so I checked, and, sure enough, lap 13 was over three minutes, so it was actually two laps. My 19-lap time would have been 31:58.
I decided that, since the fast walking makes my walking lap too short, I'd just do timed intervals and see what happened. My total time remains much better. The fast walking coupled with longer walk intervals really helps keep up my pace. I can go faster overall when I walk longer but faster.
The big news today is that I figured out how to store and recall my run without resorting to the watch manual! Heh. I thought I'd missed the split at lap 13, so I checked, and, sure enough, lap 13 was over three minutes, so it was actually two laps. My 19-lap time would have been 31:58.
I decided that, since the fast walking makes my walking lap too short, I'd just do timed intervals and see what happened. My total time remains much better. The fast walking coupled with longer walk intervals really helps keep up my pace. I can go faster overall when I walk longer but faster.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Week 12: Seven miles
1:54 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
I ran at the middle school track today, doing my fast-walking walk intervals, and it was quite a good run. Averaged about 16.3 minute miles. I did my first three miles in just about 15.5 minutes each, but slowed down in last half when the sun came out and started beating down on my head. The hot sun really made a difference in my pace, I could feel it. Before that, it had been high overcast with a light breeze, very pleasant for running. For the last three miles, the sun came in and out from behind the clouds. I poured water over my head when the sun came out, and finished my run without getting dizzy or overly tired, but I did slow down. I wonder how that will affect me in Honolulu? The first four or five hours will be early morning and cool, but the last couple of hours can be hot. I don't remember it affecting me before, but by the last few hours, I'm getting pretty tired anyway and may not have noticed the difference due to the heat.
Anyway, it was a good run today. Keeping my walking pace quicker really helps.
I ran at the middle school track today, doing my fast-walking walk intervals, and it was quite a good run. Averaged about 16.3 minute miles. I did my first three miles in just about 15.5 minutes each, but slowed down in last half when the sun came out and started beating down on my head. The hot sun really made a difference in my pace, I could feel it. Before that, it had been high overcast with a light breeze, very pleasant for running. For the last three miles, the sun came in and out from behind the clouds. I poured water over my head when the sun came out, and finished my run without getting dizzy or overly tired, but I did slow down. I wonder how that will affect me in Honolulu? The first four or five hours will be early morning and cool, but the last couple of hours can be hot. I don't remember it affecting me before, but by the last few hours, I'm getting pretty tired anyway and may not have noticed the difference due to the heat.
Anyway, it was a good run today. Keeping my walking pace quicker really helps.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 32:14 minutes
I started a bit late this morning, but got out there by 9:30. It was getting a bit hot, but was still okay. I decided to try speeding up my walk intervals, and found that I could do a lap in 1:45–1:50 minutes if I pushed myself, which is barely any slower than my slower running intervals! Since, at my long run 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, I'm walking more than I'm running—two thirds of the time, in fact—it would really help my overall time if I could walk faster. I figured that, if I can save 10–15 seconds per two minutes of walking, and I'm walking two-thirds of a marathon, or about 5 hours, I could shorten my overall time by 25–30 minutes or more. That's well worth working on. Today's time proves it, as I was running my usual 1:30–1:40 minute laps. I cut at least a minute off my usual two-mile time just by pushing my walking speed.
On my last three run intervals, I stopped running short of two laps, because my walk intervals were being shortened too much—I was only getting about 1.75 minutes of walking per over three minutes running, and it was tiring me out. It will be interesting to see how it works over a long run, with my 2:3 minute run/walk ratio.
I should also see if I can google some information on race-walking, and see if I can get some tips on form for walking faster and more efficiently.
I started a bit late this morning, but got out there by 9:30. It was getting a bit hot, but was still okay. I decided to try speeding up my walk intervals, and found that I could do a lap in 1:45–1:50 minutes if I pushed myself, which is barely any slower than my slower running intervals! Since, at my long run 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, I'm walking more than I'm running—two thirds of the time, in fact—it would really help my overall time if I could walk faster. I figured that, if I can save 10–15 seconds per two minutes of walking, and I'm walking two-thirds of a marathon, or about 5 hours, I could shorten my overall time by 25–30 minutes or more. That's well worth working on. Today's time proves it, as I was running my usual 1:30–1:40 minute laps. I cut at least a minute off my usual two-mile time just by pushing my walking speed.
On my last three run intervals, I stopped running short of two laps, because my walk intervals were being shortened too much—I was only getting about 1.75 minutes of walking per over three minutes running, and it was tiring me out. It will be interesting to see how it works over a long run, with my 2:3 minute run/walk ratio.
I should also see if I can google some information on race-walking, and see if I can get some tips on form for walking faster and more efficiently.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:02 minutes
I had a good run this morning, keeping up a good pace. I was busy thinking about a post I'd made in my lj the whole time, which kept me going, I think. Heh.
My plan to run Tuesdays & Thursdays fell by the wayside pretty quickly. I was tired yesterday morning after a stressful day Monday worrying about my cat, who was at the vets. I brought him home Monday night but still didn't sleep well. Didn't sleep well last night, either, but there was no more putting it off! I felt pretty good despite the restless night. I'll probably be tired later at work, but for now, I'm fine.
I had a good run this morning, keeping up a good pace. I was busy thinking about a post I'd made in my lj the whole time, which kept me going, I think. Heh.
My plan to run Tuesdays & Thursdays fell by the wayside pretty quickly. I was tired yesterday morning after a stressful day Monday worrying about my cat, who was at the vets. I brought him home Monday night but still didn't sleep well. Didn't sleep well last night, either, but there was no more putting it off! I felt pretty good despite the restless night. I'll probably be tired later at work, but for now, I'm fine.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Week 11: Fourteen miles
4:00 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
So, obviously, I decided not to do the Mountain Festival 10K after all, but to go ahead and do my 14-mile run this weekend. It went pretty well—I finished in only a few minutes more than it took me to do the 12-mile run! This time, I ran on Dennison from Highline to Valley, then up Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, jog down and over on that street I forget the name of to Woodward to Meadowbrook Park for my first five miles. I called Mom on my cell phone when I was nearing the park, and she drove down to meet me and do her two laps around the dirt trail, while I did my six.
I stopped for a bathroom break before starting my laps, then again after I finished. My stomach was a bit crampy and uncomfortable today, but it didn't interfere with my running very much. I stopped my watch while I was taking the bathroom breaks, so altogether they would probably have added 10–15 minutes to the run.
I decided to run back on Red Apple Ave and Tehachapi Blvd to Mountain View, then back up to Valley on Mountain View, and out. Because of all the loops at the park, and odd bits of miles getting back to Valley and Dennison, I wasn't able to get accurate mile splits, which is probably just as well, because it just makes me obsess on my time anyway.
I was pretty tired by the time I got back to Valley, and skipped a running interval or two along the way, and then stopped for a rest in the shade of a huge ditch-digging machine that was parked along Valley Blvd. I didn't sit or squat down this time—I knew better! but just leaned against the machine on my forearms and rested till my breathing was sort of back to normal before starting out again. Between that rest and a mocha-flavored GU with caffeine, I finished out my last two miles feeling fairly strong, if very slow. I kept up my running intervals pretty well, and finished my 14 miles in just about exactly four hours, for an average of about 17.14 minutes per mile. Not bad.
The first long run after a bad—even disastrous—one like my 12-mile run is always a bit of a test to see if I'm going to be able to get back on track, or whether I've hit my limit and maybe my marathon days are over. But today's run went well, so I'm satisfied that the 12-mile was my bad run for this training season, and I'll be able to finish the training. Over half a marathon today!
So, obviously, I decided not to do the Mountain Festival 10K after all, but to go ahead and do my 14-mile run this weekend. It went pretty well—I finished in only a few minutes more than it took me to do the 12-mile run! This time, I ran on Dennison from Highline to Valley, then up Valley to Golden Hills Blvd, jog down and over on that street I forget the name of to Woodward to Meadowbrook Park for my first five miles. I called Mom on my cell phone when I was nearing the park, and she drove down to meet me and do her two laps around the dirt trail, while I did my six.
I stopped for a bathroom break before starting my laps, then again after I finished. My stomach was a bit crampy and uncomfortable today, but it didn't interfere with my running very much. I stopped my watch while I was taking the bathroom breaks, so altogether they would probably have added 10–15 minutes to the run.
I decided to run back on Red Apple Ave and Tehachapi Blvd to Mountain View, then back up to Valley on Mountain View, and out. Because of all the loops at the park, and odd bits of miles getting back to Valley and Dennison, I wasn't able to get accurate mile splits, which is probably just as well, because it just makes me obsess on my time anyway.
I was pretty tired by the time I got back to Valley, and skipped a running interval or two along the way, and then stopped for a rest in the shade of a huge ditch-digging machine that was parked along Valley Blvd. I didn't sit or squat down this time—I knew better! but just leaned against the machine on my forearms and rested till my breathing was sort of back to normal before starting out again. Between that rest and a mocha-flavored GU with caffeine, I finished out my last two miles feeling fairly strong, if very slow. I kept up my running intervals pretty well, and finished my 14 miles in just about exactly four hours, for an average of about 17.14 minutes per mile. Not bad.
The first long run after a bad—even disastrous—one like my 12-mile run is always a bit of a test to see if I'm going to be able to get back on track, or whether I've hit my limit and maybe my marathon days are over. But today's run went well, so I'm satisfied that the 12-mile was my bad run for this training season, and I'll be able to finish the training. Over half a marathon today!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thursday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:33 minutes
I am in a perfectly lousy mood today, but other than that, the run went completely uneventfully.
I am still waffling on whether to do the Mountain Festival 10K run, but I suppose I will. I've already planned to do other things on Sunday, so wouldn't be able to do a 14-mile run then anyway. So I might as well go ahead and do the 10K. It might be fun, who knows? The worst that can happen is that I'll finish last and feel like a fool, but get a 10K run done nevertheless.
I am in a perfectly lousy mood today, but other than that, the run went completely uneventfully.
I am still waffling on whether to do the Mountain Festival 10K run, but I suppose I will. I've already planned to do other things on Sunday, so wouldn't be able to do a 14-mile run then anyway. So I might as well go ahead and do the 10K. It might be fun, who knows? The worst that can happen is that I'll finish last and feel like a fool, but get a 10K run done nevertheless.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Tuesday
19 laps, 2:1 – 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:37 minutes
I got up early enough to day that I decided to do my first midweek run today instead of waiting until tomorrow. (But I'd better write fast, because it's already after 10 am and I haven't had my shower yet.) It was a good run... I only switched to the 1:1 interval for the last few laps because I misread my watch and quit running a lap early after 14 laps. The only way to catch up would have been to run 3 laps in a row, which I didn't want to do, so I just finished out my run at 1:1.
I'm considering doing the Mountain Festival Run 10K this Saturday in lieu of my 14 mile run. Then, since 10K is only a little more than 6 miles, I'd have to do the 14-miler next weekend, and move my schedule back another week. I still have one extra week built in, so it wouldn't be a problem, but it would switch my 23-mile run to the weekend I'm in San Mateo for Yaoi-Con. On the one hand, it would be really nice to drive into San Francisco on Sunday and do my 23-mile run in the park and along Great Highway. But on the other hand, it would take up pretty much my whole Sunday. I don't mind missing a day of the con, though. I'm really only going to see friends, and I'll have plenty of time for that the rest of the weekend.
The other thing I could do is consider the 10K a midweek run, and do the 14-mile run on Monday. Might be too much for me, though. I could just do the 5K on Saturday... before I make up my mind, I need to call and find out what the route for the Mountain Festival Run is, and if there's a time limit, because I don't want to be chased off the field before I've finished my run.
I got up early enough to day that I decided to do my first midweek run today instead of waiting until tomorrow. (But I'd better write fast, because it's already after 10 am and I haven't had my shower yet.) It was a good run... I only switched to the 1:1 interval for the last few laps because I misread my watch and quit running a lap early after 14 laps. The only way to catch up would have been to run 3 laps in a row, which I didn't want to do, so I just finished out my run at 1:1.
I'm considering doing the Mountain Festival Run 10K this Saturday in lieu of my 14 mile run. Then, since 10K is only a little more than 6 miles, I'd have to do the 14-miler next weekend, and move my schedule back another week. I still have one extra week built in, so it wouldn't be a problem, but it would switch my 23-mile run to the weekend I'm in San Mateo for Yaoi-Con. On the one hand, it would be really nice to drive into San Francisco on Sunday and do my 23-mile run in the park and along Great Highway. But on the other hand, it would take up pretty much my whole Sunday. I don't mind missing a day of the con, though. I'm really only going to see friends, and I'll have plenty of time for that the rest of the weekend.
The other thing I could do is consider the 10K a midweek run, and do the 14-mile run on Monday. Might be too much for me, though. I could just do the 5K on Saturday... before I make up my mind, I need to call and find out what the route for the Mountain Festival Run is, and if there's a time limit, because I don't want to be chased off the field before I've finished my run.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Week 10: Six miles
1:42 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
My plan was to run at the track at the junior high school today, but when I got there, I found both parking lot entrances blocked off, so I drove back to the mailboxes and did the Dennison to Valley, Valley to Tucker and back loop instead. I suppose they must have been planning some event at the stadium today. Which reminds me also that the Mountain Festival is next weekend, when I've got a 14-mile run to do. I'll have to do some careful planning of where I'm going to run. I may end up doing my run on Monday instead of Sunday.
Anyway, it was a short run this week and went well. I kept up my pace pretty well, averaging exactly 17 minutes per mile, and finishing strong. Nevertheless, I grumble that I wasn't able to get my average time under 17 minutes, even on such a short run. Ah well. Checking back to my first six-mile run back in June, I ran it in 1:37 with a 2:2 minute run/walk ratio. So, five minutes more overall this time. However, the first time, I didn't do the Curry-to-Tucker miles, I did an extra Highline-to-Valley loop. The Curry-to-Tucker mile on Valley is a hard one, with lots of hills and narrow shoulders to run on. I always take 17+ minutes to to that. It may also be a longer "mile" than Dennison from Highline to Curry. I measured the distances in my truck, but my truck odometer is only accurate to within a tenth of a mile. It's close enough for training purposes, especially if I vary my routes, but variations in length can easily account for a minute or so per mile.
I ate a GU at four miles and felt fine. I think I need to be more careful about what I eat for dinner the night before a long run, especially since my stomach is so easily upset.
My plan was to run at the track at the junior high school today, but when I got there, I found both parking lot entrances blocked off, so I drove back to the mailboxes and did the Dennison to Valley, Valley to Tucker and back loop instead. I suppose they must have been planning some event at the stadium today. Which reminds me also that the Mountain Festival is next weekend, when I've got a 14-mile run to do. I'll have to do some careful planning of where I'm going to run. I may end up doing my run on Monday instead of Sunday.
Anyway, it was a short run this week and went well. I kept up my pace pretty well, averaging exactly 17 minutes per mile, and finishing strong. Nevertheless, I grumble that I wasn't able to get my average time under 17 minutes, even on such a short run. Ah well. Checking back to my first six-mile run back in June, I ran it in 1:37 with a 2:2 minute run/walk ratio. So, five minutes more overall this time. However, the first time, I didn't do the Curry-to-Tucker miles, I did an extra Highline-to-Valley loop. The Curry-to-Tucker mile on Valley is a hard one, with lots of hills and narrow shoulders to run on. I always take 17+ minutes to to that. It may also be a longer "mile" than Dennison from Highline to Curry. I measured the distances in my truck, but my truck odometer is only accurate to within a tenth of a mile. It's close enough for training purposes, especially if I vary my routes, but variations in length can easily account for a minute or so per mile.
I ate a GU at four miles and felt fine. I think I need to be more careful about what I eat for dinner the night before a long run, especially since my stomach is so easily upset.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:24 minutes
I was bad and skipped my Wednesday run this week. I was so tired Wednesday, I got up too late to do it in the morning, was too tired to do it in the evening, then totally spaced doing it Thursday morning. So I will have to settle for one midweek run this week.
I'm thinking of trying to switch back to doing midweek runs on Tuesday and Thursday again, rather than Wednesday and Friday. Probably won't manage it, but if I could get my first midweek run done on Tuesday, then I'd at least have a little leeway to do the second run either Thursday or Friday.
Anyway, it was another slow run, but I'd already done a few minutes of running/walking by the time I started—I'd gone out to do my run when I saw Mom coming down from her place, so I stopped to see what was up, ended up walking up to her place to check her electricity, then stopped on the way back to water the trees while I was thinking of it, and ran one lap while the trees were being watered, and finally got out to do my run. So there were some extra laps and a hill climb in there somewhere.
I was bad and skipped my Wednesday run this week. I was so tired Wednesday, I got up too late to do it in the morning, was too tired to do it in the evening, then totally spaced doing it Thursday morning. So I will have to settle for one midweek run this week.
I'm thinking of trying to switch back to doing midweek runs on Tuesday and Thursday again, rather than Wednesday and Friday. Probably won't manage it, but if I could get my first midweek run done on Tuesday, then I'd at least have a little leeway to do the second run either Thursday or Friday.
Anyway, it was another slow run, but I'd already done a few minutes of running/walking by the time I started—I'd gone out to do my run when I saw Mom coming down from her place, so I stopped to see what was up, ended up walking up to her place to check her electricity, then stopped on the way back to water the trees while I was thinking of it, and ran one lap while the trees were being watered, and finally got out to do my run. So there were some extra laps and a hill climb in there somewhere.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Week 9: Twelve miles
3:56 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio for 10 miles, walk 2 miles
Well, there are good runs, and there are bad runs—and then there are really bad runs. I don't know what was wrong with me today. I got up at 6:30, headed out to run a little before 8 am, and felt fine for the first three miles, then I just totally lost it. I'd run out to Tucker on Valley and was heading back for mile four—which is always a hard mile, anyway, and I ate my first GU, thinking I'd try one every three miles this time and see how it worked. My stomach went wonky, but not too bad, but I was feeling so tired by the time I got back past Curry that I couldn't face the thought of running back to my truck, then turning around and doing it all over again.
So, instead, I turned down Snyder to do a few miles around the track at the junior high school. I figured the run down Snyder and back from Valley to the track would be approximately a mile, so I'd do some odd number of miles on the track, then finish up on Valley and Dennison.
I was pleased to find that there were water fountains on either side of the track, plus the men's bathroom in concession stand just outside the stadium was open. (The women's rest room was locked, but the men's was open. No problem—I'll use the men's. There was no one else around, so it didn't matter.) So, the question of where to fill my water bottle and use the bathroom during long runs is answered.
And it turned out I really needed the bathroom today, too. My stomach continued to give me problems, and I had to stop twice to run up the hill to the rest rooms. I stopped my chronometer while I was taking a break, mostly so I could use my split time to count laps, so the 3:56 hour total doesn't even include two bathroom breaks.
I also had a lot of trouble keeping up the 2:3 minute run/walk intervals, even on a soft, level track. I stopped early on a few run intervals, and skipped a few altogether.
I assumed the track would be exactly one quarter of a mile around, but it was taking me 19-20 minutes to do four laps, so either it was slightly more than a quarter of a mile, or I was running really slowly. I suspect it's a quarter mile only on the inside lane, and I was running in the middle, so as not to get in the way of a few other people who were using the track today. But I don't know. I should drive to the school and see what my time is on my first mile, which is always around 16–16.5 minutes.
Eventually, I realized that I was not going to do anything but head back to the truck once I finished at the track, so I went ahead and did five miles there, which, along with the five miles I'd done before I got to the track, made ten miles altogether, and then it would be two more to get back to the truck, for my twelve.
As I was finishing my final lap around the track, I stopped at the water fountain to fill my water bottle, and squatted down for a brief rest, which turned out to be a mistake—I got dizzy when I tried to stand, staggered a few steps along, then fell back to the ground, and had to rest and drink some water before I could get up again. I decided to walk the rest of the way from there.
The final two miles were hard, even just walking. I stopped again to rest in the shade of a little brick shed that's about halfway up Dennison. This time, I had an even harder time getting back up. It took me at least five tries before I was finally back on my feet and could finish walking to my truck. At that point, I couldn't care less about my time, I just wanted to get to my truck and go home. The final mile took 29 minutes, including the stop.
I came home and had a protein drink with crushed ice in it, yum! And I feel better already. For some reason, my stomach was off today, and it sapped all my energy. Also, I don't think the GU is really agreeing with me. I wonder if some pieces of Power Bar or something would work better? Or Gatorade instead of plain water in my water bottle? I need something to keep my blood pressure up, as well as my energy.
Anyway, my average time was over 19 minutes/mile today, even subtracting about five minutes for that final rest. I guess the best thing you could say about it is that I got it done.
Well, there are good runs, and there are bad runs—and then there are really bad runs. I don't know what was wrong with me today. I got up at 6:30, headed out to run a little before 8 am, and felt fine for the first three miles, then I just totally lost it. I'd run out to Tucker on Valley and was heading back for mile four—which is always a hard mile, anyway, and I ate my first GU, thinking I'd try one every three miles this time and see how it worked. My stomach went wonky, but not too bad, but I was feeling so tired by the time I got back past Curry that I couldn't face the thought of running back to my truck, then turning around and doing it all over again.
So, instead, I turned down Snyder to do a few miles around the track at the junior high school. I figured the run down Snyder and back from Valley to the track would be approximately a mile, so I'd do some odd number of miles on the track, then finish up on Valley and Dennison.
I was pleased to find that there were water fountains on either side of the track, plus the men's bathroom in concession stand just outside the stadium was open. (The women's rest room was locked, but the men's was open. No problem—I'll use the men's. There was no one else around, so it didn't matter.) So, the question of where to fill my water bottle and use the bathroom during long runs is answered.
And it turned out I really needed the bathroom today, too. My stomach continued to give me problems, and I had to stop twice to run up the hill to the rest rooms. I stopped my chronometer while I was taking a break, mostly so I could use my split time to count laps, so the 3:56 hour total doesn't even include two bathroom breaks.
I also had a lot of trouble keeping up the 2:3 minute run/walk intervals, even on a soft, level track. I stopped early on a few run intervals, and skipped a few altogether.
I assumed the track would be exactly one quarter of a mile around, but it was taking me 19-20 minutes to do four laps, so either it was slightly more than a quarter of a mile, or I was running really slowly. I suspect it's a quarter mile only on the inside lane, and I was running in the middle, so as not to get in the way of a few other people who were using the track today. But I don't know. I should drive to the school and see what my time is on my first mile, which is always around 16–16.5 minutes.
Eventually, I realized that I was not going to do anything but head back to the truck once I finished at the track, so I went ahead and did five miles there, which, along with the five miles I'd done before I got to the track, made ten miles altogether, and then it would be two more to get back to the truck, for my twelve.
As I was finishing my final lap around the track, I stopped at the water fountain to fill my water bottle, and squatted down for a brief rest, which turned out to be a mistake—I got dizzy when I tried to stand, staggered a few steps along, then fell back to the ground, and had to rest and drink some water before I could get up again. I decided to walk the rest of the way from there.
The final two miles were hard, even just walking. I stopped again to rest in the shade of a little brick shed that's about halfway up Dennison. This time, I had an even harder time getting back up. It took me at least five tries before I was finally back on my feet and could finish walking to my truck. At that point, I couldn't care less about my time, I just wanted to get to my truck and go home. The final mile took 29 minutes, including the stop.
I came home and had a protein drink with crushed ice in it, yum! And I feel better already. For some reason, my stomach was off today, and it sapped all my energy. Also, I don't think the GU is really agreeing with me. I wonder if some pieces of Power Bar or something would work better? Or Gatorade instead of plain water in my water bottle? I need something to keep my blood pressure up, as well as my energy.
Anyway, my average time was over 19 minutes/mile today, even subtracting about five minutes for that final rest. I guess the best thing you could say about it is that I got it done.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:29 minutes
It was a slow run today... but it's a good thing I got it done at all. I've been really tired the last couple of days, not sleeping well, and I didn't get up until 9 am this morning, when it was already hot out, and I decided to put off running until the evening. Lazed about till nearly 7 pm, when I finally pushed myself out the door. I didn't want to do it, but I did, and it wasn't really a bad run at all once I got going. But getting myself out there to do it sure wasn't easy.
It was a slow run today... but it's a good thing I got it done at all. I've been really tired the last couple of days, not sleeping well, and I didn't get up until 9 am this morning, when it was already hot out, and I decided to put off running until the evening. Lazed about till nearly 7 pm, when I finally pushed myself out the door. I didn't want to do it, but I did, and it wasn't really a bad run at all once I got going. But getting myself out there to do it sure wasn't easy.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:47 minutes
It was a good run today, if a bit slow. I had no trouble maintaining the two-lap running intervals—and I do think it helped my ten-mile run to have that practice in running for more than two minutes at a time—and was still feeling strong when I was done.
It's cloudy this morning and a bit cooler than usual, so that was nice. I also got up early this morning, and was out there by 8 am. I've been going to bed at 10 pm lately and getting up earlier, and also trying to eat better. I think it's helping.
I'm thinking about what route I'm going to run for my twelve-mile run on Sunday. Maybe I'll run all the way to Meadowbrook Park and back. It's about five miles from Dennison and Highline... I'd have to find a way to stick two more miles in there somewhere. Hm, twice around the dirt path would be about a mile and a half... I'll probably take my truck out on Friday and drive some routes and measure mileage.
It was a good run today, if a bit slow. I had no trouble maintaining the two-lap running intervals—and I do think it helped my ten-mile run to have that practice in running for more than two minutes at a time—and was still feeling strong when I was done.
It's cloudy this morning and a bit cooler than usual, so that was nice. I also got up early this morning, and was out there by 8 am. I've been going to bed at 10 pm lately and getting up earlier, and also trying to eat better. I think it's helping.
I'm thinking about what route I'm going to run for my twelve-mile run on Sunday. Maybe I'll run all the way to Meadowbrook Park and back. It's about five miles from Dennison and Highline... I'd have to find a way to stick two more miles in there somewhere. Hm, twice around the dirt path would be about a mile and a half... I'll probably take my truck out on Friday and drive some routes and measure mileage.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Week 8: Ten miles
2:53 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio
It was a good run today. For one thing, I finally actually got myself to get up at 6 am, and I was out on the road starting my run by 7:40. The day was coolish and pleasant, and I felt pretty good the whole way, having no trouble maintaining my intervals or keeping up a reasonable pace. Even on my final mile up Dennison, I didn't feel as tired as I usually do.
I decided at the last minute to vary my route a bit. I had planned to stick to my usual two miles, up and down Dennison between Highline and Valley, and up and down Valley between Dennison and Curry, but on my sixth mile approaching Curry on Valley, I decided to just keep going all the way out to Tucker and back to add an extra two miles, instead of going back and forth between Curry and Dennison one more time. The road between Curry and Tucker is more difficult to run on—there's a steep hill on the way out, and there's more traffic and less smooth shoulder to run on—but it was nice for a change.
Mile eight was my hardest mile. I was starting to feel a bit tired and wobbly, but when I finished it, I ate my second GU, which seemed to revive me (once it had finished making my stomach turn over a few times). I'm wondering if I ought to be eating more GU—the recommendation on the package is to use one every 45 minutes, but I'm waiting a little over an hour between GUs. Maybe I should try eating one every three miles on my next run, instead of every four miles, and see if it helps keep my energy up better.
I averaged 17.3 minutes per mile on this run.
It was a good run today. For one thing, I finally actually got myself to get up at 6 am, and I was out on the road starting my run by 7:40. The day was coolish and pleasant, and I felt pretty good the whole way, having no trouble maintaining my intervals or keeping up a reasonable pace. Even on my final mile up Dennison, I didn't feel as tired as I usually do.
I decided at the last minute to vary my route a bit. I had planned to stick to my usual two miles, up and down Dennison between Highline and Valley, and up and down Valley between Dennison and Curry, but on my sixth mile approaching Curry on Valley, I decided to just keep going all the way out to Tucker and back to add an extra two miles, instead of going back and forth between Curry and Dennison one more time. The road between Curry and Tucker is more difficult to run on—there's a steep hill on the way out, and there's more traffic and less smooth shoulder to run on—but it was nice for a change.
Mile eight was my hardest mile. I was starting to feel a bit tired and wobbly, but when I finished it, I ate my second GU, which seemed to revive me (once it had finished making my stomach turn over a few times). I'm wondering if I ought to be eating more GU—the recommendation on the package is to use one every 45 minutes, but I'm waiting a little over an hour between GUs. Maybe I should try eating one every three miles on my next run, instead of every four miles, and see if it helps keep my energy up better.
I averaged 17.3 minutes per mile on this run.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 32:10 minutes
Okay! That was a pretty good run. I pushed myself to keep up the pace, and managed 16 minute miles for both miles. I felt kind of slow and heavy, but kept going and feel fine afterwards.
Today I took my iPod shuffle out and listened to music while I ran. Since I don't have to listen for the watch beeps to tell me when to run and walk, the iPod doesn't interfere with my midweek runs around the house. I haven't used it on any of the long runs—I'm not sure it would be a good idea, but I might try it and see if it helps me keep my energy up.
Okay! That was a pretty good run. I pushed myself to keep up the pace, and managed 16 minute miles for both miles. I felt kind of slow and heavy, but kept going and feel fine afterwards.
Today I took my iPod shuffle out and listened to music while I ran. Since I don't have to listen for the watch beeps to tell me when to run and walk, the iPod doesn't interfere with my midweek runs around the house. I haven't used it on any of the long runs—I'm not sure it would be a good idea, but I might try it and see if it helps me keep my energy up.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:39 minutes
I increased my run/walk ratio this time, as planned, and had a good run. At first, I was tending to be a bit grumpy that my time wasn't any faster with doubling the run intervals, but then I decided I should really be glad that it wasn't any slower—if it had been, then I'd know that, even in my midweek two-milers, I can't keep up a three-minute run. Since I can, it means I will be ok doing what is essentially a 3:2 minute ratio for my midweek runs, and a 2:3 minute ratio for my long runs should be no problem.
Plus, this was my first time doing the 2:1 lap run/walk ratio for the whole two miles (I think, or at least the first time in a long time), so it will probably get easier, if I keep it up.
Ten miles this weekend! Double digits! Then twelve, then I can relax for a week with a mere six. I'm glad I'll be reaching the every-other-week mileage increase soon.
I increased my run/walk ratio this time, as planned, and had a good run. At first, I was tending to be a bit grumpy that my time wasn't any faster with doubling the run intervals, but then I decided I should really be glad that it wasn't any slower—if it had been, then I'd know that, even in my midweek two-milers, I can't keep up a three-minute run. Since I can, it means I will be ok doing what is essentially a 3:2 minute ratio for my midweek runs, and a 2:3 minute ratio for my long runs should be no problem.
Plus, this was my first time doing the 2:1 lap run/walk ratio for the whole two miles (I think, or at least the first time in a long time), so it will probably get easier, if I keep it up.
Ten miles this weekend! Double digits! Then twelve, then I can relax for a week with a mere six. I'm glad I'll be reaching the every-other-week mileage increase soon.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Week 7: Nine miles
2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 2:37 hours
It was a slow run today, averaging 17.4 minutes per mile, but I kept up my 2:3 interval the whole way and didn't get too tired. The last mile was the hardest, being one more mile than I'd run before, and being uphill on Dennison, but even then I managed to do all my running intervals, even running in the final minute. I think I was still close to 19 minutes for that mile—barely faster than walking it—but I think it's better for my endurance to run those intervals if I can.
I never did manage my second midweek run this week, and, combined with my week off the week before, contributed to this being a slow run. As well as the last run, my eight-miler, being such a hard run. I'm a bit behind right now, but as long as I do my midweek runs this week, I think I'll be back on track with my next run.
Despite being slow, it was a pretty good run. The 2:3 run/walk ratio works better, giving me more time time to recuperate between runs. My first few miles were in the 16–16.5 minute range. If I could have kept up that pace, I would have been fine. It wasn't as hot as two weeks ago, and there was a slight breeze, so I didn't feel too hot. I think I need to start running for 2 minutes at a time in my midweek runs as well. I keep thinking it must be almost time to walk and checking my watch and seeing that I have 30 seconds to go yet. I'm used to running 1:30 or so when I do one lap running, one lap walking. It's easier to keep track that way, but then when I try to run 2 minutes on my long runs, it seems too long. I will try running an extra 30 seconds after each running lap, or running two laps and walking one lap, on my midweek runs. I could even try driving to the mailboxes and doing my midweek runs up and down Dennison. We'll see.
Anyway, I'm up to a third of a marathon!
It was a slow run today, averaging 17.4 minutes per mile, but I kept up my 2:3 interval the whole way and didn't get too tired. The last mile was the hardest, being one more mile than I'd run before, and being uphill on Dennison, but even then I managed to do all my running intervals, even running in the final minute. I think I was still close to 19 minutes for that mile—barely faster than walking it—but I think it's better for my endurance to run those intervals if I can.
I never did manage my second midweek run this week, and, combined with my week off the week before, contributed to this being a slow run. As well as the last run, my eight-miler, being such a hard run. I'm a bit behind right now, but as long as I do my midweek runs this week, I think I'll be back on track with my next run.
Despite being slow, it was a pretty good run. The 2:3 run/walk ratio works better, giving me more time time to recuperate between runs. My first few miles were in the 16–16.5 minute range. If I could have kept up that pace, I would have been fine. It wasn't as hot as two weeks ago, and there was a slight breeze, so I didn't feel too hot. I think I need to start running for 2 minutes at a time in my midweek runs as well. I keep thinking it must be almost time to walk and checking my watch and seeing that I have 30 seconds to go yet. I'm used to running 1:30 or so when I do one lap running, one lap walking. It's easier to keep track that way, but then when I try to run 2 minutes on my long runs, it seems too long. I will try running an extra 30 seconds after each running lap, or running two laps and walking one lap, on my midweek runs. I could even try driving to the mailboxes and doing my midweek runs up and down Dennison. We'll see.
Anyway, I'm up to a third of a marathon!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Thursday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:24 minutes
Finally, I'm back! I meant to run yesterday, but I slept in too late in the morning, and was too tired in the evening. So I'm going to be doing my midweek runs back-to-back this week, which isn't ideal, but better than skipping one, I think. At least it should be all right to do every once in a while.
I did get a little exercise while I was gone. We went swimming in the hotel pool Sunday night. I did a bunch of laps and felt pretty good afterwards, even though it wasn't a full workout.
Today's run went well. It wasn't particularly fast, but it felt good. It was late in the morning—I didn't get outside until around 10:30 am—but the weather has cooled down quite a bit, so it wasn't too hot. I kept up a good pace, and even decided to push my final running lap to see how fast I could make it, and did it in 1:20 minutes. Then, on my 19th lap, I forgot it was my last lap, and nearly started running another one. Heh. Well, I guess I should be finding two miles pretty easy these days, since my long runs are up to 8 miles.
I wore my new Nike Shox 2.45s, and they felt nice and supportive on my feet. I should get another pair while I'm at it, so I've got one ready when these wear out. I should have a fresh pair for the marathon.
Finally, I'm back! I meant to run yesterday, but I slept in too late in the morning, and was too tired in the evening. So I'm going to be doing my midweek runs back-to-back this week, which isn't ideal, but better than skipping one, I think. At least it should be all right to do every once in a while.
I did get a little exercise while I was gone. We went swimming in the hotel pool Sunday night. I did a bunch of laps and felt pretty good afterwards, even though it wasn't a full workout.
Today's run went well. It wasn't particularly fast, but it felt good. It was late in the morning—I didn't get outside until around 10:30 am—but the weather has cooled down quite a bit, so it wasn't too hot. I kept up a good pace, and even decided to push my final running lap to see how fast I could make it, and did it in 1:20 minutes. Then, on my 19th lap, I forgot it was my last lap, and nearly started running another one. Heh. Well, I guess I should be finding two miles pretty easy these days, since my long runs are up to 8 miles.
I wore my new Nike Shox 2.45s, and they felt nice and supportive on my feet. I should get another pair while I'm at it, so I've got one ready when these wear out. I should have a fresh pair for the marathon.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Week off
This would have been my nine-mile run day, except that I'm in Las Vegas enjoying a weekend with a couple of friends, so I have taken the entire week off from training, including midweek runs, and will be back on schedule Tuesday.
I deliberately built a couple of spare weeks into my schedule so that I could take a week off here and there without getting behind, or having to double up my mileage. So I'll be doing my nine-mile run next Sunday, after having a nice, relaxing week off to rest up. After the difficult eight-mile run, a week off to recharge is especially welcome.
I've also started taking my vitamins again, and am feeling much better. The iron and calcium especially help with the restless legs, so I can sleep at night and get my rest. I'm looking forward to having a good long run next Sunday. And also hoping the weather will have cooled down a little by then.
And, perhaps I'll have my new shoes by then as well. I won a pair of Nike Shox 2.45's on eBay last Wednesday, which should be on their way by now.
I deliberately built a couple of spare weeks into my schedule so that I could take a week off here and there without getting behind, or having to double up my mileage. So I'll be doing my nine-mile run next Sunday, after having a nice, relaxing week off to rest up. After the difficult eight-mile run, a week off to recharge is especially welcome.
I've also started taking my vitamins again, and am feeling much better. The iron and calcium especially help with the restless legs, so I can sleep at night and get my rest. I'm looking forward to having a good long run next Sunday. And also hoping the weather will have cooled down a little by then.
And, perhaps I'll have my new shoes by then as well. I won a pair of Nike Shox 2.45's on eBay last Wednesday, which should be on their way by now.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Week 6: Eight miles
2:13 hours, Miles 1–5 @ 2:2, Mile 6 @ 1:3, Mile 7 @ 1.5:2.5, Mile 8 walking
I did the Dennison from Highline to Valley, Valley from Dennison to Curry and back loop twice for my eight miles. I got off to a late start today, beginning my run at about 9 am, which meant I was out there in the heat. Yahoo weather says it's 82 F now, and it felt like 80 F when I started this morning. Plus there was very little breeze. I really must get up earlier on long-run Sundays so I can get out there before it gets too hot.
I did pretty well for the first four or five miles, but then I started to get really tired. I cut my running interval down on the sixth and seventh miles to try to recover a bit—while drinking extra water, and pouring water over my head every mile or so to try to cool down—and that helped, while not really slowing my time down that much. I decided to just walk my last mile, partly because I was still tired and that last uphill mile is always a hard one, and partly out of curiosity to see just how long a walking mile would take. It ended up just about 19 minutes, so it did slow me down a bit, but it probably would have taken 17.5–18 minutes running and walking, so I didn't really lose that much time. Averaged around 16.6 minutes per mile even with that slow walking mile, so I think it was a pretty good run overall.
I forgot to take my cell phone with me today, which was not a good thing, especially in this heat. I didn't have any serious problems this time, but for safety's sake, I should have my cell phone with me on these long runs, in case I collapse and need someone to come and get me. I think my new phone is small enough to stick in my waist pack, so I shouldn't need to carry it flopping on my belt. I'll try hard to remember it next time. I did remember to drink water at least every mile and eat my GU at four miles. Next run, I'll need two GUs!
I did the Dennison from Highline to Valley, Valley from Dennison to Curry and back loop twice for my eight miles. I got off to a late start today, beginning my run at about 9 am, which meant I was out there in the heat. Yahoo weather says it's 82 F now, and it felt like 80 F when I started this morning. Plus there was very little breeze. I really must get up earlier on long-run Sundays so I can get out there before it gets too hot.
I did pretty well for the first four or five miles, but then I started to get really tired. I cut my running interval down on the sixth and seventh miles to try to recover a bit—while drinking extra water, and pouring water over my head every mile or so to try to cool down—and that helped, while not really slowing my time down that much. I decided to just walk my last mile, partly because I was still tired and that last uphill mile is always a hard one, and partly out of curiosity to see just how long a walking mile would take. It ended up just about 19 minutes, so it did slow me down a bit, but it probably would have taken 17.5–18 minutes running and walking, so I didn't really lose that much time. Averaged around 16.6 minutes per mile even with that slow walking mile, so I think it was a pretty good run overall.
I forgot to take my cell phone with me today, which was not a good thing, especially in this heat. I didn't have any serious problems this time, but for safety's sake, I should have my cell phone with me on these long runs, in case I collapse and need someone to come and get me. I think my new phone is small enough to stick in my waist pack, so I shouldn't need to carry it flopping on my belt. I'll try hard to remember it next time. I did remember to drink water at least every mile and eat my GU at four miles. Next run, I'll need two GUs!
Friday, July 06, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:55 minutes
I got up a bit late this morning, and it was already 95 F by 9 am, so I decided to wait until evening to do my run. I went out at around 7:30 pm, and it was much nicer for running. The sun had gone behind the hill and it had cooled down quite a bit—it was probably still in the 80s, but it was cool compared to 95!
It was a pretty slow run. Not sure why, maybe it was too soon after dinner, or maybe I was just tired. I felt good, though, and finished my run, so that's the important thing.
I got up a bit late this morning, and it was already 95 F by 9 am, so I decided to wait until evening to do my run. I went out at around 7:30 pm, and it was much nicer for running. The sun had gone behind the hill and it had cooled down quite a bit—it was probably still in the 80s, but it was cool compared to 95!
It was a pretty slow run. Not sure why, maybe it was too soon after dinner, or maybe I was just tired. I felt good, though, and finished my run, so that's the important thing.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:17 minutes
Once again, I slept in late and wasn't ready to go do my run until after 10:30 am. Which is not a good thing at all, what with the triple-digit highs we've been having this week. It felt like it was approaching 90 F already when I was out there. Yahoo's weather widget is telling me that it's 100 F now. So I took it slow, wore a water-soaked bandanna around my neck, and kept a water bottle handy for frequent drink stops. It went pretty well, considering. I started to feel a bit hollow during the final few laps, but finished in good time—I was generally keeping up with the 1.5-minute running, 2-minute walking laps, and the extra seconds are mostly from stopping to drink and re-soak my bandanna.
But I really must start getting out there earlier in the day while the weather's so very hot. Or else do my midweek runs in the evening after it's started to cool down.
It's a good thing my longest runs will be in October and November, when the weather will be cooler. Because when I'm running for five–seven hours or more, there's no way I can avoid running in the heat of the day.
I did a little online shopping today, ordering a new pair of running shoes and a box of GU. I ended up ordering Nike Shox TL IV in silver. They seem to be similar to the Shox 2.45s I've been using, and they were on clearance for a good price. Hm, I went back to the website just now to remind myself of the name of the shoe, and now it says they're not available. I must have gotten the last pair! I hope I like them.
Once again, I slept in late and wasn't ready to go do my run until after 10:30 am. Which is not a good thing at all, what with the triple-digit highs we've been having this week. It felt like it was approaching 90 F already when I was out there. Yahoo's weather widget is telling me that it's 100 F now. So I took it slow, wore a water-soaked bandanna around my neck, and kept a water bottle handy for frequent drink stops. It went pretty well, considering. I started to feel a bit hollow during the final few laps, but finished in good time—I was generally keeping up with the 1.5-minute running, 2-minute walking laps, and the extra seconds are mostly from stopping to drink and re-soak my bandanna.
But I really must start getting out there earlier in the day while the weather's so very hot. Or else do my midweek runs in the evening after it's started to cool down.
It's a good thing my longest runs will be in October and November, when the weather will be cooler. Because when I'm running for five–seven hours or more, there's no way I can avoid running in the heat of the day.
I did a little online shopping today, ordering a new pair of running shoes and a box of GU. I ended up ordering Nike Shox TL IV in silver. They seem to be similar to the Shox 2.45s I've been using, and they were on clearance for a good price. Hm, I went back to the website just now to remind myself of the name of the shoe, and now it says they're not available. I must have gotten the last pair! I hope I like them.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Week 5: Seven miles
2:2 minute run/walk ratio, 1:56 hours
Averaged about 17 minutes/mile, but I think my mile 3 was actually more than a mile, so perhaps I was really closer to 16.5 minute/miles. Either way, I finished my run feeling good, and had no trouble with the 2:2 ratio.
I ran along Dennison from Highline to Valley, then along Valley to Curry, along Curry to Tehachapi Blvd and back all the way to Dennison and Highline, then once more down Dennison to Valley and back. It was the same route as last time, with the addition of the segment along Curry between Valley and Tehachapi Blvd. It was that segment that I suspect was a little more than a mile—my first mile was 15:18, and my second was about 15:40, but my third was over 17 minutes. I didn't feel that I slowed down that much. But it was close enough—I shouldn't be worrying so much about my pace, only that it's not too fast and that I'm running well.
There were lots of people out jogging, walking their dogs, pushing baby carriages, and such, this morning. The sun was hot, but there was a good breeze. I made sure to take a drink of water each mile, and ate a packet of GU at four miles, which worked out well.
I'm using my black shoes now—the red ones, I think, are too worn out. I am sad. I need new shoes, I wish I could find some new red ones!
Averaged about 17 minutes/mile, but I think my mile 3 was actually more than a mile, so perhaps I was really closer to 16.5 minute/miles. Either way, I finished my run feeling good, and had no trouble with the 2:2 ratio.
I ran along Dennison from Highline to Valley, then along Valley to Curry, along Curry to Tehachapi Blvd and back all the way to Dennison and Highline, then once more down Dennison to Valley and back. It was the same route as last time, with the addition of the segment along Curry between Valley and Tehachapi Blvd. It was that segment that I suspect was a little more than a mile—my first mile was 15:18, and my second was about 15:40, but my third was over 17 minutes. I didn't feel that I slowed down that much. But it was close enough—I shouldn't be worrying so much about my pace, only that it's not too fast and that I'm running well.
There were lots of people out jogging, walking their dogs, pushing baby carriages, and such, this morning. The sun was hot, but there was a good breeze. I made sure to take a drink of water each mile, and ate a packet of GU at four miles, which worked out well.
I'm using my black shoes now—the red ones, I think, are too worn out. I am sad. I need new shoes, I wish I could find some new red ones!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:54 minutes
Okay, my watch didn't mess up this time! I've been wearing my watch on my left wrist, over my lymphedema bandages, thinking that the bandages would insulate my watch from my arm, but perhaps not—especially in this heat, as much as I'm sweating, my bandages do get damp. So today I went back to wearing my watch on my right wrist with a piece of rubber wrapped around it, under the watch band. Don't know it if made the difference, but I had no problems with my watch today.
I didn't get out there to run until 10:30-ish, so it was pretty hot, but I kept up a good pace and finished with approximately 15:45-minute miles. Now that I've started ramping up the long runs, it really seems to have improved my speed. This is very encouraging! I'm starting to think I might be able to finish with a time comparable to my first Honolulu.
It's interesting, when I was transferring all my old training journals to this blog so that everything would be in one place, I realized that in every marathon I've done so far, something has happened to keep me from doing the best time I would have been capable of. In my first marathon, Honolulu 2001, I started out way too fast, doing 12-minute miles, and completely ran out of steam by the time I finished, slowing way down in the last four or five miles. Plus, I think I spent at least 30 minutes waiting in line for bathrooms. I finished in just under seven hours, but I should have been able to do six and a half or so.
My second marathon, San Francisco 2002, I was training on my own and doing just fine, until I made the mistake of trying to join the San Francisco Road Runners. Their slowest group was training at 12 minute miles, and they were so discouraging to me, telling me I was too slow for SF and I'd be out on the course all alone and it wouldn't be any fun and I shouldn't try to do it, that I stopped training for about four weeks in the middle. I continued to run, but didn't increase my long runs over 12–13 miles. Then I did Bay to Breakers, which was so much fun, I decided to start training for SF again. I worked out a new training schedule, skipping the final 26-mile training run, and starting up with 18 miles on the next long run. Even so, I had my best-ever time of 6:24 in San Francisco, and had a fabulous time, but I really felt the lack of the 26-mile training run and slowed down quite a bit in the last three miles. I think I could have done 6:15 or better if I hadn't stopped training in the middle.
Marathon #3, Honolulu 2002, was my worst-ever marathon! Despite training at 14-minute miles, that was the fall I was spending a lot of time driving back and forth to Tehachapi while buying and getting ready my new home. I missed a lot of midweek runs, and more than that—I got into a car accident on Thanksgiving weekend, a week and a half before the marathon, rolling my Toyota on the freeway on the way home from Tehachapi. I wasn't seriously injured, but strained a muscle in my side rather badly. Another woman in my running group had a bad knee, so we decided to run together, taking it easy, not trying to keep up a pace, but just to finish the race. Which we did—in about 8:40! It was a long one, but fun anyway.
Marathon #4 was Los Angeles 2006, the first marathon after my cancer diagnosis and treatments. I wasn't fully recovered from the treatments yet, and it was going to be a hard, slow marathon in any case, but I developed some kind of injury in my right hip less than halfway through, and ended up limping slowly across the finish line, adding at least a half hour to my projected time. Still, it wasn't my worst marathon ever! I finished in something like 7:40.
I'm not really sure what to expect from this marathon. My time has been improving, and if I can average 16-minute miles the whole way, I should be able to finish in around seven hours. That means 1) keeping up my training for the next five and a half months, 2) not getting injured, and 3) running a smart marathon, being careful not to go out too fast, to drink plenty of water, to eat my GU, and so on. It's doable... but unforeseen events always come up. I probably won't do my best marathon ever, but it would be nice, for once, to run the best marathon I'm capable of at the time.
Okay, my watch didn't mess up this time! I've been wearing my watch on my left wrist, over my lymphedema bandages, thinking that the bandages would insulate my watch from my arm, but perhaps not—especially in this heat, as much as I'm sweating, my bandages do get damp. So today I went back to wearing my watch on my right wrist with a piece of rubber wrapped around it, under the watch band. Don't know it if made the difference, but I had no problems with my watch today.
I didn't get out there to run until 10:30-ish, so it was pretty hot, but I kept up a good pace and finished with approximately 15:45-minute miles. Now that I've started ramping up the long runs, it really seems to have improved my speed. This is very encouraging! I'm starting to think I might be able to finish with a time comparable to my first Honolulu.
It's interesting, when I was transferring all my old training journals to this blog so that everything would be in one place, I realized that in every marathon I've done so far, something has happened to keep me from doing the best time I would have been capable of. In my first marathon, Honolulu 2001, I started out way too fast, doing 12-minute miles, and completely ran out of steam by the time I finished, slowing way down in the last four or five miles. Plus, I think I spent at least 30 minutes waiting in line for bathrooms. I finished in just under seven hours, but I should have been able to do six and a half or so.
My second marathon, San Francisco 2002, I was training on my own and doing just fine, until I made the mistake of trying to join the San Francisco Road Runners. Their slowest group was training at 12 minute miles, and they were so discouraging to me, telling me I was too slow for SF and I'd be out on the course all alone and it wouldn't be any fun and I shouldn't try to do it, that I stopped training for about four weeks in the middle. I continued to run, but didn't increase my long runs over 12–13 miles. Then I did Bay to Breakers, which was so much fun, I decided to start training for SF again. I worked out a new training schedule, skipping the final 26-mile training run, and starting up with 18 miles on the next long run. Even so, I had my best-ever time of 6:24 in San Francisco, and had a fabulous time, but I really felt the lack of the 26-mile training run and slowed down quite a bit in the last three miles. I think I could have done 6:15 or better if I hadn't stopped training in the middle.
Marathon #3, Honolulu 2002, was my worst-ever marathon! Despite training at 14-minute miles, that was the fall I was spending a lot of time driving back and forth to Tehachapi while buying and getting ready my new home. I missed a lot of midweek runs, and more than that—I got into a car accident on Thanksgiving weekend, a week and a half before the marathon, rolling my Toyota on the freeway on the way home from Tehachapi. I wasn't seriously injured, but strained a muscle in my side rather badly. Another woman in my running group had a bad knee, so we decided to run together, taking it easy, not trying to keep up a pace, but just to finish the race. Which we did—in about 8:40! It was a long one, but fun anyway.
Marathon #4 was Los Angeles 2006, the first marathon after my cancer diagnosis and treatments. I wasn't fully recovered from the treatments yet, and it was going to be a hard, slow marathon in any case, but I developed some kind of injury in my right hip less than halfway through, and ended up limping slowly across the finish line, adding at least a half hour to my projected time. Still, it wasn't my worst marathon ever! I finished in something like 7:40.
I'm not really sure what to expect from this marathon. My time has been improving, and if I can average 16-minute miles the whole way, I should be able to finish in around seven hours. That means 1) keeping up my training for the next five and a half months, 2) not getting injured, and 3) running a smart marathon, being careful not to go out too fast, to drink plenty of water, to eat my GU, and so on. It's doable... but unforeseen events always come up. I probably won't do my best marathon ever, but it would be nice, for once, to run the best marathon I'm capable of at the time.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday
18–20? laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 29–32? minutes
Okay, today my watch totally flipped out. And it was my watch, not me! I was totally on track right up until about lap 13, doing good time—first mile was about 14:13, I was doing about 1:27 minutes running laps, under 2-minute walking laps—when suddenly, I noticed I was running an odd lap. That's not right—I run the even laps, walk the odd ones. So I wondered if I'd not pressed the split button hard enough on one lap. I do that sometimes. That would mean I was actually a lap ahead of myself, and there should be a 3:15–3:30 lap in there somewhere. So I stopped when my watch said 18 laps and recalled my workout.
It said Lap 2 was 58 seconds. That's totally impossible! Not only is the time wrong for any mistake I might make, I know I looked at my watch when I finished my second lap—my first running lap—and saw that it was about 1:24. Not 58 seconds! Plus, I know that my totals and laps were right up until around lap 13. If Lap 2 had gone wacky at the time, I'd have noticed it much earlier. The only thing I can think is that the watch glitched later and wiped out about a lap and a half.
So I went ahead and ran/walked another two laps, just to make sure I was getting my whole run in, but I have no idea how many laps I really ran or how long they took.
I was making good time, though. My last two laps were 3:15. I think my total time for 19 laps would have been around 31:15, or around 15.5-minute miles. Pretty good! Probably my best time ever for a midweek run, if I'd been able to time it!
Okay, today my watch totally flipped out. And it was my watch, not me! I was totally on track right up until about lap 13, doing good time—first mile was about 14:13, I was doing about 1:27 minutes running laps, under 2-minute walking laps—when suddenly, I noticed I was running an odd lap. That's not right—I run the even laps, walk the odd ones. So I wondered if I'd not pressed the split button hard enough on one lap. I do that sometimes. That would mean I was actually a lap ahead of myself, and there should be a 3:15–3:30 lap in there somewhere. So I stopped when my watch said 18 laps and recalled my workout.
It said Lap 2 was 58 seconds. That's totally impossible! Not only is the time wrong for any mistake I might make, I know I looked at my watch when I finished my second lap—my first running lap—and saw that it was about 1:24. Not 58 seconds! Plus, I know that my totals and laps were right up until around lap 13. If Lap 2 had gone wacky at the time, I'd have noticed it much earlier. The only thing I can think is that the watch glitched later and wiped out about a lap and a half.
So I went ahead and ran/walked another two laps, just to make sure I was getting my whole run in, but I have no idea how many laps I really ran or how long they took.
I was making good time, though. My last two laps were 3:15. I think my total time for 19 laps would have been around 31:15, or around 15.5-minute miles. Pretty good! Probably my best time ever for a midweek run, if I'd been able to time it!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Week 4: Six miles
2:2 minute run/walk ratio, 1:37 hours
Now, that's more like it!
For today's run, I drove down to the mailboxes and parked my truck, then ran down Dennison from Highline to Valley, up Valley to Curry, back to Highline and Dennison, then once more down Dennison to Valley and back. I got a bit later start than I meant to, but it was a lovely morning with a light breeze, and didn't get too hot.
The run went really well. I did my first mile in under 15 minutes! Slowed down a bit on later miles, but ended up averaging just over 16 minutes per mile. It really makes a difference to be running on a straight, smooth road, rather than bumpy rutted gravelly dirt around my house. I'm encouraged that I might be able to finish in closer to seven hours than eight.
The 2:2 minute run/walk ratio was no problem, either. The biggest problem was that, between traffic noise and my plugged-up left ear, I kept missing the beep to start running. I sure hope my ear clears up soon, it's been several weeks now. Even so, if a car drives by right when my watch is beeping, I don't hear it. I need to keep a closer eye on my intervals, I guess. Although it doesn't really matter that much if I miss an interval now and then.
I like running in town. When the runs get up to 3–4 hours, I'll have to figure out where I can make a bathroom stop somewhere along the way, but meanwhile, running along Dennision and Valley makes a good run.
Now, that's more like it!
For today's run, I drove down to the mailboxes and parked my truck, then ran down Dennison from Highline to Valley, up Valley to Curry, back to Highline and Dennison, then once more down Dennison to Valley and back. I got a bit later start than I meant to, but it was a lovely morning with a light breeze, and didn't get too hot.
The run went really well. I did my first mile in under 15 minutes! Slowed down a bit on later miles, but ended up averaging just over 16 minutes per mile. It really makes a difference to be running on a straight, smooth road, rather than bumpy rutted gravelly dirt around my house. I'm encouraged that I might be able to finish in closer to seven hours than eight.
The 2:2 minute run/walk ratio was no problem, either. The biggest problem was that, between traffic noise and my plugged-up left ear, I kept missing the beep to start running. I sure hope my ear clears up soon, it's been several weeks now. Even so, if a car drives by right when my watch is beeping, I don't hear it. I need to keep a closer eye on my intervals, I guess. Although it doesn't really matter that much if I miss an interval now and then.
I like running in town. When the runs get up to 3–4 hours, I'll have to figure out where I can make a bathroom stop somewhere along the way, but meanwhile, running along Dennision and Valley makes a good run.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:59 minutes
I got up this morning feeling fine, did the chores, then went out to do my run, wondering if I should try a 2:1 lap ratio this morning. But as soon as I started my first running lap, I realized—I was feeling very, very slow. And so it went. I had a good run, it was just, for some reason, slow. Ah well.
Sunday is six miles. I think I'll drive down to Highline and Dennison and do my run along Dennison and Valley Blvd.
I got up this morning feeling fine, did the chores, then went out to do my run, wondering if I should try a 2:1 lap ratio this morning. But as soon as I started my first running lap, I realized—I was feeling very, very slow. And so it went. I had a good run, it was just, for some reason, slow. Ah well.
Sunday is six miles. I think I'll drive down to Highline and Dennison and do my run along Dennison and Valley Blvd.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:41 minutes
Back on track with a pretty good midweek run. I pushed myself just a teeny bit on the running laps to try to get my speed up a little bit, and I felt fine doing it. I want to get under 33 minutes! Probably won't be able to without increasing the run intervals, because I don't think I can go much faster.
I watched my time at 1 mile and it was just about 16.5 minutes, so I was hoping to finish two miles in closer to 33 minutes. When I started lap 19, though, I was already at 31:40. Then I remembered—19 laps is actually a little more than two miles. So I counted my steps when I reached the tree to try to see what an actual two miles would be, and my time was about 33:14. It took an extra 15 seconds or so to finish the lap. Which isn't much, but it reassures me that I'm not consistently slowing down in the second mile. The "second mile" is longer than the first!
Back on track with a pretty good midweek run. I pushed myself just a teeny bit on the running laps to try to get my speed up a little bit, and I felt fine doing it. I want to get under 33 minutes! Probably won't be able to without increasing the run intervals, because I don't think I can go much faster.
I watched my time at 1 mile and it was just about 16.5 minutes, so I was hoping to finish two miles in closer to 33 minutes. When I started lap 19, though, I was already at 31:40. Then I remembered—19 laps is actually a little more than two miles. So I counted my steps when I reached the tree to try to see what an actual two miles would be, and my time was about 33:14. It took an extra 15 seconds or so to finish the lap. Which isn't much, but it reassures me that I'm not consistently slowing down in the second mile. The "second mile" is longer than the first!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Week 3: Five miles
46.8 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 1:28 hours
It was a pretty good run, considering I've been so sick this week. I felt fine today, though, and the run went well. I decided to stick to the 1:1 lap ratio, which was no problem, and I started the run going counter-clockwise, then switched to clockwise halfway through. This time, I brought a bottle of water out and left it on one of the tree rounds by the front gatepost, and stopped for a drink of water every two miles. I think that really helped. I got started a little after 8 am, and was finished around 9:30, but it was already getting pretty hot, and staying hydrated made a difference.
I didn't even get that tired on my last mile. Kept up a pretty steady pace throughout. So, go me! I'm glad my bout with sinus/ear infection didn't cause my schedule to slip. My ear is still plugged up, but my sinuses seem to be gradually getting better, so I hope by this time next week, I'll have my ear back.
It was a pretty good run, considering I've been so sick this week. I felt fine today, though, and the run went well. I decided to stick to the 1:1 lap ratio, which was no problem, and I started the run going counter-clockwise, then switched to clockwise halfway through. This time, I brought a bottle of water out and left it on one of the tree rounds by the front gatepost, and stopped for a drink of water every two miles. I think that really helped. I got started a little after 8 am, and was finished around 9:30, but it was already getting pretty hot, and staying hydrated made a difference.
I didn't even get that tired on my last mile. Kept up a pretty steady pace throughout. So, go me! I'm glad my bout with sinus/ear infection didn't cause my schedule to slip. My ear is still plugged up, but my sinuses seem to be gradually getting better, so I hope by this time next week, I'll have my ear back.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Friday
20 laps, 1:2.25 minutes run/walk ratio, 37:10 minutes
Todays was a rather mixed-up run. I'd skipped running Wednesday because of sinus/ear infection, and am still feeling tired and stuffy, but decided to try an easy two miles.
Instead of running 1 lap and walking 1 lap, I ran for about a minute on each running lap, then walked the rest of the way. Added up to about 1 minute running, then 2:15 minutes walking.
I got munged up in the middle when Mom stopped by to see if I wanted to go to town with her. I'd stopped my watch while I talked to her, then restarted it when I resumed running, but forgot to mark my lap. Later, I thought my time was off, but wasn't sure, so I went ahead and finished what my watch said were 19 laps. But when I came in, I managed to dig up the manual for my watch and figure out how to recall a workout, and checked the length of each interval. Sure enough, there was one that was about 3:45 minutes long—obviously 2 laps. So I really ran 20 laps today. Nineteen laps would have been about 35 minutes—a slow day, but not bad.
I was really tired when I finished, but recovered quickly and am fine now. I'm still not sure whether I'm going to be up for running five miles on Sunday, but for now I'll just wait and see.
Todays was a rather mixed-up run. I'd skipped running Wednesday because of sinus/ear infection, and am still feeling tired and stuffy, but decided to try an easy two miles.
Instead of running 1 lap and walking 1 lap, I ran for about a minute on each running lap, then walked the rest of the way. Added up to about 1 minute running, then 2:15 minutes walking.
I got munged up in the middle when Mom stopped by to see if I wanted to go to town with her. I'd stopped my watch while I talked to her, then restarted it when I resumed running, but forgot to mark my lap. Later, I thought my time was off, but wasn't sure, so I went ahead and finished what my watch said were 19 laps. But when I came in, I managed to dig up the manual for my watch and figure out how to recall a workout, and checked the length of each interval. Sure enough, there was one that was about 3:45 minutes long—obviously 2 laps. So I really ran 20 laps today. Nineteen laps would have been about 35 minutes—a slow day, but not bad.
I was really tired when I finished, but recovered quickly and am fine now. I'm still not sure whether I'm going to be up for running five miles on Sunday, but for now I'll just wait and see.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Week 2: Four miles
37.5 laps, 2:2 minute run/walk ratio, 1:11 hours
Did my long run today instead of yesterday (Sunday) because my cousins were in town and I wanted to spend the morning with them, and also because my sinuses were very badly congested and I felt awful.
The sinuses are still bad today, but I felt okay otherwise, so I went out and did my four miles. I deliberately ran very slowly, not wanting to wear myself out, and I got started late and was running in the heat, but still averaged around 17:45 minutes per mile, which isn't bad. I was about 33:30 at the 2-mile mark, and 52:40 at the 3-mile mark. I was also doing a 2:2 minute run/walk ratio, so probably the time I gained by increasing the run interval was offset by running more slowly.
I was pretty tired and sweaty by the time I was done, but I made it without struggling. Don't know if I'll be able to keep up the 2:2 run/walk ratio at higher mileages, though. If I could just get my sinuses cleared up, I think that would make a big difference. I had to breathe through my mouth most of the time, because I couldn't get enough air through my nose.
I will probably start wearing my water bottle running pack for the long runs now. I was pretty dry by the time I finished today. Or at least leave a bottle on the porch where I can easily grab it as I run by.
Did my long run today instead of yesterday (Sunday) because my cousins were in town and I wanted to spend the morning with them, and also because my sinuses were very badly congested and I felt awful.
The sinuses are still bad today, but I felt okay otherwise, so I went out and did my four miles. I deliberately ran very slowly, not wanting to wear myself out, and I got started late and was running in the heat, but still averaged around 17:45 minutes per mile, which isn't bad. I was about 33:30 at the 2-mile mark, and 52:40 at the 3-mile mark. I was also doing a 2:2 minute run/walk ratio, so probably the time I gained by increasing the run interval was offset by running more slowly.
I was pretty tired and sweaty by the time I was done, but I made it without struggling. Don't know if I'll be able to keep up the 2:2 run/walk ratio at higher mileages, though. If I could just get my sinuses cleared up, I think that would make a big difference. I had to breathe through my mouth most of the time, because I couldn't get enough air through my nose.
I will probably start wearing my water bottle running pack for the long runs now. I was pretty dry by the time I finished today. Or at least leave a bottle on the porch where I can easily grab it as I run by.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:28 minutes
It was a slow run today, for several reasons. First of all, my stomach was kind of yucky and I was slow to begin with. Then, I got off to a late start, and it was already getting hot out, but it had been cold in the house so I was still wearing sweatpants when I went out to run, and got too warm.
And finally, I increased my run/walk ratio to 2 laps running/1 lap walking, as I'd planned after my last run, even though I knew I was feeling tired and slow. I still did pretty well with the increased running, considering. I didn't feel any increased difficulty until the last couple of running intervals, and I felt fine when I finished my run. I think I'll continue to do the 2:1 lap ratio on my midweek runs and see if I can't get my speed up a bit. Theoretically, if I can run a lap in a minute and a half and walk one in two minutes, I should be able to do two miles in 32 minutes at a 2:1 lap run/walk ratio. Obviously didn't do it this time, but I'll keep it up for a while and see what happens.
As for Sunday's four-mile run, I'll probably stick to the 1:1 lap ratio. Or maybe try it at 2:3 minutes, which was my training ratio for LA. We'll see how I feel on Sunday.
It was a slow run today, for several reasons. First of all, my stomach was kind of yucky and I was slow to begin with. Then, I got off to a late start, and it was already getting hot out, but it had been cold in the house so I was still wearing sweatpants when I went out to run, and got too warm.
And finally, I increased my run/walk ratio to 2 laps running/1 lap walking, as I'd planned after my last run, even though I knew I was feeling tired and slow. I still did pretty well with the increased running, considering. I didn't feel any increased difficulty until the last couple of running intervals, and I felt fine when I finished my run. I think I'll continue to do the 2:1 lap ratio on my midweek runs and see if I can't get my speed up a bit. Theoretically, if I can run a lap in a minute and a half and walk one in two minutes, I should be able to do two miles in 32 minutes at a 2:1 lap run/walk ratio. Obviously didn't do it this time, but I'll keep it up for a while and see what happens.
As for Sunday's four-mile run, I'll probably stick to the 1:1 lap ratio. Or maybe try it at 2:3 minutes, which was my training ratio for LA. We'll see how I feel on Sunday.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:16 minutes
It was cold out there this morning! Probably in the 50s, with a biting wind. Despite that, I had a really good run. Most likely it even helped to be running in cooler weather, once I warmed up. (I need to remember to take a handkerchief with me, though, so I don't have to keep wiping my nose on my tee-shirt while I run.)
I increased the length of my running interval on the last half-mile or so. I ended up forgetting to stop running until I got to the turn at the bottom of the driveway on one lap. I felt fine, though, so I decided to keep doing it—instead of switching from running to walking at the front of the house, I'd continue on to the bottom of the driveway. And then I'd switch back from walking to running in front of the house as usual. Then when I got to the final lap, I decided to go ahead and run two in a row. It was no problem at all—I even felt that I could go on running at that point.
So I think for Friday's run, I'm going to try doing a 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, approximately a 3:2 minute run/walk ratio. If that works out, I might try doing 2:2 minutes for my four mile run.
I think Sunday's three-mile run made a big difference. Now, my midweek runs aren't my longest runs!
It was cold out there this morning! Probably in the 50s, with a biting wind. Despite that, I had a really good run. Most likely it even helped to be running in cooler weather, once I warmed up. (I need to remember to take a handkerchief with me, though, so I don't have to keep wiping my nose on my tee-shirt while I run.)
I increased the length of my running interval on the last half-mile or so. I ended up forgetting to stop running until I got to the turn at the bottom of the driveway on one lap. I felt fine, though, so I decided to keep doing it—instead of switching from running to walking at the front of the house, I'd continue on to the bottom of the driveway. And then I'd switch back from walking to running in front of the house as usual. Then when I got to the final lap, I decided to go ahead and run two in a row. It was no problem at all—I even felt that I could go on running at that point.
So I think for Friday's run, I'm going to try doing a 2:1 lap run/walk ratio, approximately a 3:2 minute run/walk ratio. If that works out, I might try doing 2:2 minutes for my four mile run.
I think Sunday's three-mile run made a big difference. Now, my midweek runs aren't my longest runs!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Week 1: Three miles
28.1 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 51:09 minutes
And the marathon training officially begins!
So, I decided not to go anywhere, but just to run around the house as usual. No doubt when the runs get longer, I'll want to vary the route a bit, but today, I just wanted to get out there and do it.
It went pretty well—I felt fine the whole way, and kept up my pace, averaging just over 17 minutes per mile. I did actually finish walking the final 29th lap as a cool-down, but stopped my watch after 22 steps (1 lap = 218 steps, so .1 lap = about 22 steps) to make it as close to an actual three miles as I could. Still slow, but oh well. I increased my longest run by 1/3 today, which is quite a bit. It was nice to find that the third mile wasn't any harder than the second. Being able to increase the miles without significantly slowing down is more important to a successful marathon than increasing speed.
What would really help me get a little of my speed back, I think, would be to lose about 10–15 pounds. I weigh about 12 pounds more than I did for my last pre-cancer marathon, and I'm sure that's slowing me down. I have been fiddling with trying to cut down on fat and junk food (not that I eat that much of it) while still getting the nutrition I need to keep up with my training. So far... no particular results. But I'll keep working at it.
I rigged up one of my old sports bras with one of the soft, fluff-filled prosthetics that came with my after-mastectomy camisoles. It worked really well, and was much more comfortable than running with a heavy silicon prosthesis on my chest. It's hard enough to find good running bras—finding good mastectomy running bras is nearly impossible. I may do better to just make my own.
And the marathon training officially begins!
So, I decided not to go anywhere, but just to run around the house as usual. No doubt when the runs get longer, I'll want to vary the route a bit, but today, I just wanted to get out there and do it.
It went pretty well—I felt fine the whole way, and kept up my pace, averaging just over 17 minutes per mile. I did actually finish walking the final 29th lap as a cool-down, but stopped my watch after 22 steps (1 lap = 218 steps, so .1 lap = about 22 steps) to make it as close to an actual three miles as I could. Still slow, but oh well. I increased my longest run by 1/3 today, which is quite a bit. It was nice to find that the third mile wasn't any harder than the second. Being able to increase the miles without significantly slowing down is more important to a successful marathon than increasing speed.
What would really help me get a little of my speed back, I think, would be to lose about 10–15 pounds. I weigh about 12 pounds more than I did for my last pre-cancer marathon, and I'm sure that's slowing me down. I have been fiddling with trying to cut down on fat and junk food (not that I eat that much of it) while still getting the nutrition I need to keep up with my training. So far... no particular results. But I'll keep working at it.
I rigged up one of my old sports bras with one of the soft, fluff-filled prosthetics that came with my after-mastectomy camisoles. It worked really well, and was much more comfortable than running with a heavy silicon prosthesis on my chest. It's hard enough to find good running bras—finding good mastectomy running bras is nearly impossible. I may do better to just make my own.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:30 minutes
It was a good run today. I felt good the whole way, didn't get overly winded or tired. And maintained my 2 minutes walking, 1.5 minutes running lap times the whole way.
So—am I ready for Sunday's three-mile run? Only time will tell! I'm thinking of driving into town and running on a different route for the three miler, just to make it more interesting. Either at the middle school, or perhaps along Valley Blvd and Dennison. We'll see when Sunday comes.
It was a good run today. I felt good the whole way, didn't get overly winded or tired. And maintained my 2 minutes walking, 1.5 minutes running lap times the whole way.
So—am I ready for Sunday's three-mile run? Only time will tell! I'm thinking of driving into town and running on a different route for the three miler, just to make it more interesting. Either at the middle school, or perhaps along Valley Blvd and Dennison. We'll see when Sunday comes.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 35:11 minutes
Another slow one. Even though I felt fine when I went out to run, I tired quickly and ran out of steam before I'd finished my two miles. I need more sleep, I think. I've been waking early but not going to bed any earlier.
I think Wednesday–Friday–Sunday is going to work out better for me than Tuesday–Thursday–Sunday. I'm always tired on Tuesday, and don't really want to run. Plus, it will give me two days to recuperate from the Sunday long run, which will be better when the runs get longer. And I don't work on Fridays, so I'll only be running on one work day.
Another slow one. Even though I felt fine when I went out to run, I tired quickly and ran out of steam before I'd finished my two miles. I need more sleep, I think. I've been waking early but not going to bed any earlier.
I think Wednesday–Friday–Sunday is going to work out better for me than Tuesday–Thursday–Sunday. I'm always tired on Tuesday, and don't really want to run. Plus, it will give me two days to recuperate from the Sunday long run, which will be better when the runs get longer. And I don't work on Fridays, so I'll only be running on one work day.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Sunday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 35:49 minutes
I was really tired today. In fact, for the last few laps, I walked part of my running lap. But my time wasn't too bad, considering.
I was really tired today. In fact, for the last few laps, I walked part of my running lap. But my time wasn't too bad, considering.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:55 minutes
Back to my usual time, although I did feel a little tired. I was in a bit of a hurry, though, because I've got a lot to do today, and I got off to a late-ish start. Now it's already 10:30.... but I got my run done, and that's the important thing.
I've decided to wait until next week to start ramping up with the three-mile run. I want to have at least two full weeks of not missing a run behind me when I start. I'll still be a couple of weeks ahead of my no-later-than-June-17 deadline for starting.
I'm now official: I signed up for Team ACS with a $75 donation, and set up my fundraising page. I gave myself a goal of $500 to raise. I'm thinking of printing up flyers to put on the bulletin board wall at the library. And I will post in my other blogs (the ones people actually read)! I will donate some more myself, but I hope I can get at least half of it from other donations.
The link to my fundraising page is in my sidebar on the left. It's under my real name, Janet Nelson. I'll have to figure out a way to put Cody on the page, too, since so many people know me only as Cody. But it's a start!
I'm now registered for the marathon and for the fundraising—now I just need to do the marathon!
Back to my usual time, although I did feel a little tired. I was in a bit of a hurry, though, because I've got a lot to do today, and I got off to a late-ish start. Now it's already 10:30.... but I got my run done, and that's the important thing.
I've decided to wait until next week to start ramping up with the three-mile run. I want to have at least two full weeks of not missing a run behind me when I start. I'll still be a couple of weeks ahead of my no-later-than-June-17 deadline for starting.
I'm now official: I signed up for Team ACS with a $75 donation, and set up my fundraising page. I gave myself a goal of $500 to raise. I'm thinking of printing up flyers to put on the bulletin board wall at the library. And I will post in my other blogs (the ones people actually read)! I will donate some more myself, but I hope I can get at least half of it from other donations.
The link to my fundraising page is in my sidebar on the left. It's under my real name, Janet Nelson. I'll have to figure out a way to put Cody on the page, too, since so many people know me only as Cody. But it's a start!
I'm now registered for the marathon and for the fundraising—now I just need to do the marathon!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Wednesday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 35:07 minutes
Yet another slight interruption—I ended up not running on Sunday while I was out of town, but it was mostly because of stomach problems I was having all during the trip. Still felt a little yucky and exhausted when I got up yesterday, so I decided to run Wednesday–Friday–Sunday this week instead of Tuesday–Thursday–Sunday. I feel as though it's been weeks since I ran (actually, last Thursday, so nearly one week), but I've only skipped one run.
Today's run was slow and lazy. I was about halfway through and starting to get grumpy about how hard it is to get going and how I'm never going to get back to my 15-minute miles and so on, when I (mentally) stopped and told myself, this has to be fun. That's all that really matters—not that I'm doing a certain time or whatever. Fun. Or I'll never keep it up until December—or even if I do, I won't enjoy myself and it won't be worth it. And if I'm pushing myself too hard to have fun, then I'd better slow down. Enjoy every single two-mile run around the house as much as I can, and forget about how fast I'm going once and for all.
So I did. I slowed down, I ran 17.5-minute miles, and had a good run.
Yet another slight interruption—I ended up not running on Sunday while I was out of town, but it was mostly because of stomach problems I was having all during the trip. Still felt a little yucky and exhausted when I got up yesterday, so I decided to run Wednesday–Friday–Sunday this week instead of Tuesday–Thursday–Sunday. I feel as though it's been weeks since I ran (actually, last Thursday, so nearly one week), but I've only skipped one run.
Today's run was slow and lazy. I was about halfway through and starting to get grumpy about how hard it is to get going and how I'm never going to get back to my 15-minute miles and so on, when I (mentally) stopped and told myself, this has to be fun. That's all that really matters—not that I'm doing a certain time or whatever. Fun. Or I'll never keep it up until December—or even if I do, I won't enjoy myself and it won't be worth it. And if I'm pushing myself too hard to have fun, then I'd better slow down. Enjoy every single two-mile run around the house as much as I can, and forget about how fast I'm going once and for all.
So I did. I slowed down, I ran 17.5-minute miles, and had a good run.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Thursday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:55 minutes
I was a bit slow today, even though I feel fully recovered from the exhausting Monday, but I feel good. I'm trying not to worry so much about time and just enjoy my runs. I'm still averaging 16–17 minutes per mile, but, eh. I'm still going to go to Hawaii and enjoy a lovely vacation and a fifth marathon, whether it takes me 7 hours or 8 hours or more.
Anyway, it's been less than two weeks since I've been running regularly again. I've pretty much concluded that last Sunday's timing was totally messed up, and I cannot possibly have actually run 19 laps in under 30 minutes. But it was a nice boost to my motivation to think so, anyway. Heh.
If all goes well, I'll do a 3-mile timing run Sunday the 27th, then start the regular training schedule. It will be nice to have a little extra time built in, in case of unforeseen interruptions to my schedule.
I was a bit slow today, even though I feel fully recovered from the exhausting Monday, but I feel good. I'm trying not to worry so much about time and just enjoy my runs. I'm still averaging 16–17 minutes per mile, but, eh. I'm still going to go to Hawaii and enjoy a lovely vacation and a fifth marathon, whether it takes me 7 hours or 8 hours or more.
Anyway, it's been less than two weeks since I've been running regularly again. I've pretty much concluded that last Sunday's timing was totally messed up, and I cannot possibly have actually run 19 laps in under 30 minutes. But it was a nice boost to my motivation to think so, anyway. Heh.
If all goes well, I'll do a 3-mile timing run Sunday the 27th, then start the regular training schedule. It will be nice to have a little extra time built in, in case of unforeseen interruptions to my schedule.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Tuesday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 33:18 minutes
No watch mishaps this time. I felt pretty good, but wore out quickly. I had a long, rough day yesterday, and would have waited till tomorrow to run, except that I'm going out of town on Friday and don't want to run then, so I figured I'd better stick to Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be in Burbank on Sunday; I think our hotel has a fitness room—most of them do these days—so I'll either do a quick run on the treadmill Sunday morning, or find a park or something nearby.
I also did my run first thing after feeding the critters and cleaning the litter boxes, and I'm thinking that maybe I was missing my cocoa. That has to give me some energy for running.
But despite being tired and cocoa-less, I had a pretty good run.
And! I went ahead and registered for the Honolulu Marathon. I'm official! I went to the American Cancer Society's TeamACS site to sign up to raise money with the marathon, but got tired of filling out forms midway through and stopped. They didn't have the Honolulu Marathon listed on their site. I could have signed up with "Any other race" and just filled in Honolulu, but I decided to wait a bit and see if Honolulu gets added. It's still a long way off yet.
But progress is being made!
No watch mishaps this time. I felt pretty good, but wore out quickly. I had a long, rough day yesterday, and would have waited till tomorrow to run, except that I'm going out of town on Friday and don't want to run then, so I figured I'd better stick to Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be in Burbank on Sunday; I think our hotel has a fitness room—most of them do these days—so I'll either do a quick run on the treadmill Sunday morning, or find a park or something nearby.
I also did my run first thing after feeding the critters and cleaning the litter boxes, and I'm thinking that maybe I was missing my cocoa. That has to give me some energy for running.
But despite being tired and cocoa-less, I had a pretty good run.
And! I went ahead and registered for the Honolulu Marathon. I'm official! I went to the American Cancer Society's TeamACS site to sign up to raise money with the marathon, but got tired of filling out forms midway through and stopped. They didn't have the Honolulu Marathon listed on their site. I could have signed up with "Any other race" and just filled in Honolulu, but I decided to wait a bit and see if Honolulu gets added. It's still a long way off yet.
But progress is being made!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Sunday
19? laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 30? minutes
I had a great run today! For the first time, I felt that I was really running, not just plodding along. And my time bore it out! Unfortunately, either I or my watch really screwed up, not once, but twice along the way, so I don't know my exact time, but it was working up to lap 12 or so, and I checked my time as I passed the oak tree on lap 10 (my 1-mile mark) and it was under 15 minutes.
It was after that that things went crazy. I found myself running on an odd-numbered lap (I walk the odd laps and run the even ones) and assumed I'd accidentally punched the split button twice, so I figured I'd just add a lap at the end. Then I got around to the end of the lap and discovered that a) my lap time was 4:22, so obviously I'd skipped a lap rather than doubling one; and b) my timer had stopped, so apparently I'd hit the stop button instead of the split button. After that, things went wacky. I started it up again, thinking I'd just add the time for one lap to my total. But then it happened again—I was about to finish a lap when I noticed the timer had stopped. I finished my run with my watch saying 17 laps, 25:18 minutes, but I figure I'd lost two laps in there with the watch shenanigans, one running lap and one walking, so I added two laps and 3.5 minutes to my total to get 19 laps, and about 28:48 minutes.
I hope it was me getting flustered and accidentally hitting the wrong button, but I'm pretty sure the second time, at least, I was paying attention and hitting the split button, so I fear my watch is going wonky. Probably needs a new battery, it's been a year and a half since I got it. But I'll see how it works on Tuesday.
Anyway. Not to let the watch situation overshadow the important thing, which is that I had a great run, and I feel really good, and my speed is finally back to pre-cancer levels—for two-mile runs, at least! At last, I feel the possibility of doing an under-7-hour marathon!
Soon, I'll go register for the marathon and sign up for the Team ACS fundraising, and start looking into airfare/hotel reservations. Eee!
I had a great run today! For the first time, I felt that I was really running, not just plodding along. And my time bore it out! Unfortunately, either I or my watch really screwed up, not once, but twice along the way, so I don't know my exact time, but it was working up to lap 12 or so, and I checked my time as I passed the oak tree on lap 10 (my 1-mile mark) and it was under 15 minutes.
It was after that that things went crazy. I found myself running on an odd-numbered lap (I walk the odd laps and run the even ones) and assumed I'd accidentally punched the split button twice, so I figured I'd just add a lap at the end. Then I got around to the end of the lap and discovered that a) my lap time was 4:22, so obviously I'd skipped a lap rather than doubling one; and b) my timer had stopped, so apparently I'd hit the stop button instead of the split button. After that, things went wacky. I started it up again, thinking I'd just add the time for one lap to my total. But then it happened again—I was about to finish a lap when I noticed the timer had stopped. I finished my run with my watch saying 17 laps, 25:18 minutes, but I figure I'd lost two laps in there with the watch shenanigans, one running lap and one walking, so I added two laps and 3.5 minutes to my total to get 19 laps, and about 28:48 minutes.
I hope it was me getting flustered and accidentally hitting the wrong button, but I'm pretty sure the second time, at least, I was paying attention and hitting the split button, so I fear my watch is going wonky. Probably needs a new battery, it's been a year and a half since I got it. But I'll see how it works on Tuesday.
Anyway. Not to let the watch situation overshadow the important thing, which is that I had a great run, and I feel really good, and my speed is finally back to pre-cancer levels—for two-mile runs, at least! At last, I feel the possibility of doing an under-7-hour marathon!
Soon, I'll go register for the marathon and sign up for the Team ACS fundraising, and start looking into airfare/hotel reservations. Eee!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Friday
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:37 minutes.
Okay, that was much better already! I got up early-ish today, so I got out there and finished my run before 9 am—feels pretty good to have my exercise done already.
I'm all excited and enthused about going to Honolulu again. Even though I've barely started training, and my time is still pretty slow, I don't care! I'm going to get my miles down to 16 minutes! I'm going to lose ten pounds! I'm going to go to Hawaii and have a great time! I'm going to raise a bunch of money for the American Cancer Society!
Oh, yeah. I went to the AIDS Marathon website, and found that the $2000-fundraising-make-your-own-travel-arrangements deal is only available for Florence, Italy, not for Honolulu. That, plus the realization that driving to Encino every Sunday for the group run is not really any more likely this time than it was last time, settled it: I will sign up for Team ACS and attempt to raise a few bucks for the American Cancer Society, and do the training on my own.
I got out my Jeff Galloway book, Marathon, last night to go through my calendar and set up the training schedule again. Turns out, if I do the 26-week schedule (and do a long run the week I'm in San Francisco for Yaoi-Con), I don't have to start training until June 17. I think they're starting the AIDS Marathon training in May because of the Florence Marathon, which is a few weeks earlier than Honolulu. So, I have a bit more time to just do my three-times-a-week two mile runs and get in a little better shape. Or, I could start early and have some extra time built in. Hm. Maybe I'll go ahead and stick to two miles for this week and next week (when I'll be at Fangoria), and see if I feel like trying three miles the week after that, which would be May 27.
Now that I know how many laps = 1 mile (nine laps plus 80/218 steps), I can measure out the shorter runs around the house. I could even train for the whole marathon in my driveway, if I didn't mind running around in circles for 7–8 hours. I should probably do at least half the long runs in town on pavement, to get used to running on harder surfaces—Honolulu's mostly run on freeways and paved roads. Anyway, time enough to worry about that when I get up to ten miles and more.
And, I can say that 19 laps = 2.0284 miles, and that 19 laps in 34:37 = almost exactly 17 minutes per mile, not 17.3! Heh. At two miles, it doesn't make much difference, but when I get to the longer runs, those fractions will add up.
Okay, that was much better already! I got up early-ish today, so I got out there and finished my run before 9 am—feels pretty good to have my exercise done already.
I'm all excited and enthused about going to Honolulu again. Even though I've barely started training, and my time is still pretty slow, I don't care! I'm going to get my miles down to 16 minutes! I'm going to lose ten pounds! I'm going to go to Hawaii and have a great time! I'm going to raise a bunch of money for the American Cancer Society!
Oh, yeah. I went to the AIDS Marathon website, and found that the $2000-fundraising-make-your-own-travel-arrangements deal is only available for Florence, Italy, not for Honolulu. That, plus the realization that driving to Encino every Sunday for the group run is not really any more likely this time than it was last time, settled it: I will sign up for Team ACS and attempt to raise a few bucks for the American Cancer Society, and do the training on my own.
I got out my Jeff Galloway book, Marathon, last night to go through my calendar and set up the training schedule again. Turns out, if I do the 26-week schedule (and do a long run the week I'm in San Francisco for Yaoi-Con), I don't have to start training until June 17. I think they're starting the AIDS Marathon training in May because of the Florence Marathon, which is a few weeks earlier than Honolulu. So, I have a bit more time to just do my three-times-a-week two mile runs and get in a little better shape. Or, I could start early and have some extra time built in. Hm. Maybe I'll go ahead and stick to two miles for this week and next week (when I'll be at Fangoria), and see if I feel like trying three miles the week after that, which would be May 27.
Now that I know how many laps = 1 mile (nine laps plus 80/218 steps), I can measure out the shorter runs around the house. I could even train for the whole marathon in my driveway, if I didn't mind running around in circles for 7–8 hours. I should probably do at least half the long runs in town on pavement, to get used to running on harder surfaces—Honolulu's mostly run on freeways and paved roads. Anyway, time enough to worry about that when I get up to ten miles and more.
And, I can say that 19 laps = 2.0284 miles, and that 19 laps in 34:37 = almost exactly 17 minutes per mile, not 17.3! Heh. At two miles, it doesn't make much difference, but when I get to the longer runs, those fractions will add up.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Running again
19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 37:22 minutes.
Okay, my back is still giving me problems, but I couldn't stand it any longer! I want to run! I want to do Honolulu again! So I went out this morning and did my 19 laps. It was a slow run, but it felt really good to get out there. The sun was hot, the air was fresh, and I worked out a lot of kinks and feel nice and refreshed now. So, back to three times a week running!
I'm actually considering doing another AIDS Marathon... I got an email from them yesterday offering an alumni special -- a $2000 fundraising commitment if we make our own travel arrangements. The email was a bit confusing: it said "for either the Florence Marathon" and then stopped. Does it include the Honolulu marathon? Will have to find out.
It wouldn't really be any cheaper -- I did some preliminary research and found that it would be around $1500 for hotel, airfare and a rental car for three nights around the marathon. So $1500 plus $2000 fundraising -- still $3500 altogether. But I think they only include two nights in their package, and you have to pay extra for your own room. And probably the flight is from LA, so I'd have to add on my own Bakersfield flight or whatever. So it might save me some money but the main reason I'd do it would be for the group training. Because I was thinking about trying to do the long runs around here -- I did it before, but it was less than fun. Of course, doing the group runs with the AIDS Marathon would require getting up early-early every Sunday to drive down to LA.... I had planned to do that last time, but I never actually did it.
Well, I've still got time to think about it. AIDS Marathon starts May 19 (I'll be in Burbank that weekend for Fangoria, so it would be easy enough to drive over to the park to do the timing run), so ten days. Eek! That's not really that much time... But I'll think about it.
Okay, my back is still giving me problems, but I couldn't stand it any longer! I want to run! I want to do Honolulu again! So I went out this morning and did my 19 laps. It was a slow run, but it felt really good to get out there. The sun was hot, the air was fresh, and I worked out a lot of kinks and feel nice and refreshed now. So, back to three times a week running!
I'm actually considering doing another AIDS Marathon... I got an email from them yesterday offering an alumni special -- a $2000 fundraising commitment if we make our own travel arrangements. The email was a bit confusing: it said "for either the Florence Marathon" and then stopped. Does it include the Honolulu marathon? Will have to find out.
It wouldn't really be any cheaper -- I did some preliminary research and found that it would be around $1500 for hotel, airfare and a rental car for three nights around the marathon. So $1500 plus $2000 fundraising -- still $3500 altogether. But I think they only include two nights in their package, and you have to pay extra for your own room. And probably the flight is from LA, so I'd have to add on my own Bakersfield flight or whatever. So it might save me some money but the main reason I'd do it would be for the group training. Because I was thinking about trying to do the long runs around here -- I did it before, but it was less than fun. Of course, doing the group runs with the AIDS Marathon would require getting up early-early every Sunday to drive down to LA.... I had planned to do that last time, but I never actually did it.
Well, I've still got time to think about it. AIDS Marathon starts May 19 (I'll be in Burbank that weekend for Fangoria, so it would be easy enough to drive over to the park to do the timing run), so ten days. Eek! That's not really that much time... But I'll think about it.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Lost April
Another week goes by without any running. My back still hurts, and every time I run, I aggravate it for another couple of days. I've decided to lay off until it's really, thoroughly healed. If I'm okay by, say, the middle of May and still want to try to do Honolulu this year, I'll go for it. Otherwise... maybe I'll try for the Long Beach Half-marathon or something.
I still want to do another Honolulu, but I'm having a hard time getting my schedule together. The back problems are just making it harder. It would have been nice to get an early start on training, but it seems that it's not to be. I'll try to keep doing yoga two or three times a week, at least, and revisit the marathon in a couple of weeks.
I still want to do another Honolulu, but I'm having a hard time getting my schedule together. The back problems are just making it harder. It would have been nice to get an early start on training, but it seems that it's not to be. I'll try to keep doing yoga two or three times a week, at least, and revisit the marathon in a couple of weeks.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Friday yoga
Yet another fly in the ointment this week: I couldn't run yesterday, because I had to get up at 0-dark-thirty to drive into Bakersfield for several lengthy meetings, so I had planned to run today instead. Then today, it's been snowing and raining off and on all day, not to mention I'm wrung out and tired from yesterday's meetings, so I skipped running.
Instead, I did a lovely 20 minutes or so of yoga, using a YOGAmazing video podcast I downloaded from iTunes. It was very nice, I love doing yoga. I am now downloading three more episodes for later. I subscribed to the podcast feed a week or so ago, but no new episodes have come out since then. There are quite a few episodes already up, though, and a number of other yoga podcasts available if this one runs out.
I found using the podcast to be the next best thing to going to an actual yoga class (and, in some ways, even better, since I don't have to leave the house to do it and can do it at my leisure). I can leave the iPod at my side or in front of me to conveniently grab whenever I want to watch the pose, or just listen through the earbuds if I'm familiar with the pose and don't need to look at it. Since I've taken yoga classes before and know the basics, it's easy enough to follow.
I've been thinking that I'd like to do some yoga as cross-training, and these video podcasts look like a very good way to do it. I will try to do one two or three times a week
Instead, I did a lovely 20 minutes or so of yoga, using a YOGAmazing video podcast I downloaded from iTunes. It was very nice, I love doing yoga. I am now downloading three more episodes for later. I subscribed to the podcast feed a week or so ago, but no new episodes have come out since then. There are quite a few episodes already up, though, and a number of other yoga podcasts available if this one runs out.
I found using the podcast to be the next best thing to going to an actual yoga class (and, in some ways, even better, since I don't have to leave the house to do it and can do it at my leisure). I can leave the iPod at my side or in front of me to conveniently grab whenever I want to watch the pose, or just listen through the earbuds if I'm familiar with the pose and don't need to look at it. Since I've taken yoga classes before and know the basics, it's easy enough to follow.
I've been thinking that I'd like to do some yoga as cross-training, and these video podcasts look like a very good way to do it. I will try to do one two or three times a week
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Tuesday 2 miles
19 laps, 1.5:2 run/walk ratio, 34:00 minutes
Just about exactly the same as my last run. The good thing was that I got up at 7:30 am, got out there and did my run, and got ready for work right on schedule. Looks like running on Tuesday mornings is going to work out fine.
Also, I finally found the paper on which I wrote the exact count of laps and steps to make a mile. That's going to come in handy.
Just about exactly the same as my last run. The good thing was that I got up at 7:30 am, got out there and did my run, and got ready for work right on schedule. Looks like running on Tuesday mornings is going to work out fine.
Also, I finally found the paper on which I wrote the exact count of laps and steps to make a mile. That's going to come in handy.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Saturday 2 miles
19 laps at 1 lap running/1 lap walking (appx 1.5:2 minute) run/walk ratio: 33:57 minutes.
Yay! Okay, now we're getting somewhere. I was beginning to think I'd never break the 18-minute mile barrier.
Obviously, 2:2 is too much for me right now. I was able to keep up a pretty good pace at 1.5:2, and would probably do even better at 1:2. My first mile was about 16:30, and the second slowed down a bit, so I averaged just under 17 minutes. And I cut about 3 minutes total off my last 19-lap run. I'm feeling very encouraged about this now. If I can just keep it up! I would really like to get down to at least 16-minute miles, but at least 17-minute miles would be no worse than my last marathon. April is fading fast, but I've still got some time to get into shape before starting serious training.
Next run is Tuesday. I'd forgotten that I decided to change my schedule to Tuesday - Thursday - Sunday, but I didn't run on Thursday anyway and I'm off work today, so I went ahead and did it. Next week, I'm in Bakersfield all day Thursday, so will have to run Tuesday - Friday - Sunday.
Have been thinking of adding some yoga or Tai Chi as cross-training, but my schedule is already pretty full. It would be quicker to do yoga in the mornings, though. Twenty minutes or so, and I wouldn't get all sweaty so I wouldn't have to shower. We'll see. I need to get my running schedule in place first.
Yay! Okay, now we're getting somewhere. I was beginning to think I'd never break the 18-minute mile barrier.
Obviously, 2:2 is too much for me right now. I was able to keep up a pretty good pace at 1.5:2, and would probably do even better at 1:2. My first mile was about 16:30, and the second slowed down a bit, so I averaged just under 17 minutes. And I cut about 3 minutes total off my last 19-lap run. I'm feeling very encouraged about this now. If I can just keep it up! I would really like to get down to at least 16-minute miles, but at least 17-minute miles would be no worse than my last marathon. April is fading fast, but I've still got some time to get into shape before starting serious training.
Next run is Tuesday. I'd forgotten that I decided to change my schedule to Tuesday - Thursday - Sunday, but I didn't run on Thursday anyway and I'm off work today, so I went ahead and did it. Next week, I'm in Bakersfield all day Thursday, so will have to run Tuesday - Friday - Sunday.
Have been thinking of adding some yoga or Tai Chi as cross-training, but my schedule is already pretty full. It would be quicker to do yoga in the mornings, though. Twenty minutes or so, and I wouldn't get all sweaty so I wouldn't have to shower. We'll see. I need to get my running schedule in place first.
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