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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.