Queen of the Hills

Running teaches you things you don't know about yourself. Last summer, running taught me that if I really put my mind to it, and gave something the effort it deserved and needed, that I could do anything. Well, at least it taught me that if I kept going out, putting one foot in front of the other, worked through the pain and occasional heartache, that I could indeed become a runner.* I also learned about some of the secrets of the running life: body glide is not something you buy at an "adult" store; even a bad run can be a good run; learning how to properly spit is a necessity; black toenails have nothing to do with nail polish; not all gels are created equal (flavor wise); and G.I. distress is a frightening thing.**

Running also taught me that if you don't follow the rules--and even if you do--running might punish you. I tried to take advantage of running last summer, and I got punished with two broken metatarsals, which meant months of not running and a walking "boot" that I hated. So, while I have been seriously running since late May of last year, I probably have less than a year of real running in my legs because of the injury.

In the last 3-4 weeks, I have really become serious about my Portland Training. Giving a lot of effort to my runs, listening to my body, suffering through ice baths, watching my nutrient intake, getting more sleep, consuming less alcohol and sugar, and really focusing on the specific goals of each training run. I am a noticeably stronger runner than I was last year at this time, even though my running had been more consistent for a longer period at that point. I am definitely in worse physical shape than I was last year, but I can run harder and faster, and, unexpectedly, I have fallen in love with hills.***

Every runner knows that hills are a challenge, both uphill and downhill. The uphill challenge really needs no discussion--even the non-runner can appreciate it--but downhills offer their own challenges.**** Still, I have really been pushing myself on hill training, and I have gone from a little bit of distaste to a bit of an obsession. Hills have become Benicio del Toro or Javier Bardem or Jonathan Rhys Meyers--each of these men has a decidedly unique look, one that would not be considered conventionally attractive, but I cannot tear myself away from them. Hills are mini-reminders of how much better your running is becoming. It's great for the ego to conquer a hill today that conquered you yesterday. The fact that hills whip you into shape quickly and are great for your glutes certainly doesn't hurt either.

*I previously wrote about what a runner is here: http://runnergrrl30.blogspot.com/2008/07/running-just-might-be-pearl-izumi-ad.html

**Last summer, running made me vomit and not figuratively. My stomach was extremely sensitive about what I ate before a long run. There was a particularly nasty huckleberry pancake incident that I wrote about in a post last August. I spent quite a bit of time figuring out what fuel works for me. That fuel is definitely not GU. I would compare the taste of the caffeinated berry flavor to sucking on a cherry-cough syrup coated penny. Fortunately, the apple-cinnamon Carb Boom reminds me of the filling in an apple donut and stays down.

***I consider the first half of 2009 to be six months of excess. Coming on the tail end of recovering from the broken foot, I was set back by a broken heart. In the past, I handled heartbreak by hours in the gym. Not this time...I solaced myself with sugar and libations; late nights out with friends; not a lot of sleep; and even less gym time. This is BAD for your fitness level. The flat stomach I was so pleased about making it through the holidays with was replaced with my "break up belly." That little belly...and a little more everywhere else...is hanging on still, but my new lover running is showing it who's boss, albeit slowly.

****I'll write about downhills in a later post.

Pictures

My blog is very text-heavy. As I anticipate a serious overhaul of this blog's appearance in the near future, I hope to change that, but part of the issue is this blog is about running, and I certainly do not take Facebook-style self portraits in the early morning as I head out the door to go running in no makeup, a hat pulled down low, and sometimes matching clothes. So, I'm going to post a couple of non-running photos from time to time--and try to tie them back into running, if possible.

In the above photo (taken during my friend Heather's birthday celebration), the five girls to the right of the photo are all runners.* The girl in orange in the front, Heather, is training for the Portland Marathon with me, as is the girl in the black in the front, Melissa. We guilt each other into getting in all of our training runs, commiserate about training issues, and generally encourage each other not to quit. The girl on the far right, Lori, runs 5-6 miles about 6 times a week. She's not training for Portland, but plans on coming down to cheer for us. The blonde in the back, Liz, is a triathlete, and while she is not running Portland, she did do a 10K Trail run with Lori, Melissa, and I in May.

Please note that I am not standing in a ditch in this photo--I am actually wearing 4inch heels.

*The three girls to the left are not runners of which I am aware. Actually, I can only say for certain that Meg, the girl on the far left, is not a runner--but she is a pretty bada$$ weight lifter.

6 to 7 Miles of Music

Saturday's training run was "six to seven miles" at a long, slow run pace (1-2 minutes slower than your desired race pace). I almost always run with my iPod, and I take great pleasure in making running mixes. I am always asking friends for running music suggestions; it's interesting to see what motivates different runners. Saturday morning's playlist was a massive playlist called "IRunThis" (original, I know). It's an ever-growing, ever-changing list to which I always add, generally while I'm listening to a shuffle of my master iTunes library at work. Once I listen to a song from the IRunThis playlist, it gets transferred into the Used-Run playlist and deleted from the IRunThis playlist (I am really not that anal retentive, I swear). If I really love a song these days, it gets added to my slowly growing Portland Marathon Official playlist. Portland, unlike many other big marathons, actually allows and even encourages runners to use headphones, MP3 players, etc.

Saturday's run included the following:

(1) "Tick Tick Boom" by The Hives. This was formerly my previous Nike+ "PowerSong," my go to song when a run got hard, and I wanted to quit. The Hives are a Swedish band that tend to dress all the same (in black and white suits), and their front man, Howlin' Pelle Almquist, is full of showmanship, bravado, and a huge dose of (feigned?) ego. They put on an amazing live show, and "Tick Tick Boom" is a high-energy song with a chorus that includes the lines: "I've done it before/And I can do it some more." That's a long run mantra if I have ever heard one.

(2) "The Rockafeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim. I have no idea why this song has this title. I don't think any of those 3 words appear anywhere in the song. Most people would recognize this song as the "Funk Soul Brother" song or the "Right About Now" song. Again, high energy, this song is "electronic" or "techno" or "dance"--it was not my favorite running song, but probably the fact that the Ross character from "Friends" talked about this song (and maybe sang it?) in an episode has killed it for me.

(3) "You and Dat" by E-40. As this is a family, friendly blog, I'll leave comments about this song to myself. I will, however, mention that the "Dat" modifies a body part that benefits greatly from lots of running--definitely motivating.

(4) "Swagga Like Us" by T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye, and Lil Wayne. This song is a bit too slow for running, but the song that T.I. and company raps over/samples--"Paper Planes" by M.I.A.--is a great running song.

(5) "Whoo! Alright, Yeah...Uh Huh" by The Rapture. I think the title speaks for itself. This is a running song.

(6) "U.R.A.Q.T." by M.I.A. This song is crazy, but a fun song for running. Actually, a fun song, period. The title is pronounced by reading each letter individually. I downloaded this song after reading about it on the brilliant blog "Things I Bought That I Love" created by Mindy Kaling from "The Office." Incidentally, if you like things and buying things and well, laughing, read this blog (http://thingsiboughtthatilove.com/).

(7) "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" by The Gap Band. A great 80's song. Not a great 80's running song.

(8) "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive. A great 80's song. A great 80's running song. A song that has been sampled greatly by Flo Rida to create a completely different song.

(9) "4 Minutes" by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. I love Madonna. I love Timberlake. I love Timbaland. That's all that needs to be said.

(10) "Straight Outta Compton" by NWA. Why is this on my playlist? Why isn't it on your playlist?

(11) "With Love" by Hilary Duff. I may be ashamed of walking; I may be ashamed of failure and quitting; I am not ashamed to admit I love this song by Hilary Duff.

(12) "Can't Stop, Won't Stop (Remixed Vers.)" by Young Gunz feat. Chingy. Again, it's all in the title.

(13) "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team. Embarrassing? Yes. Motivating? Hell yes. This song was a total pick me up on the last part of my long run.

(14) "Vans (Remix)" by The Pack. "Yeah, yeah I'm in my zone." Lyrics to motivate.

(15) "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" by Estelle. Estelle's entire album, Shine, is great for running, save a couple of slow tracks.

(16) "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo. See number (8), above (exclude references to Flo Rida).

(17) "This is How I Disappear" by My Chemical Romance. Loud, aggressive. Just what you need those last few hundred yards.

(18) "Whatever U Like" by Nicole Sherzinger feat. T.I. This song always gets me going, always.

The Motivating Power of Shame*

The 4th of July. The day America celebrates its independence from England. Incredibly hard to believe now that a tiny country that gave us Shakespeare, blood pudding, and David Beckham once controlled Colonial Americans.** Harder still to believe is that many Americans probably have no idea what year America celebrated its first Independence Day (hint: it did not involve aliens and Will Smith). Americans associate Independence Day with barbecues, federal holidays, apple pie, sunshine, and fireworks. Americans do not associate Independence Day with running.

So, it was incredibly challenging on the morning of the 4th (Saturday) to get out of bed as early as I would on a workday to run "six to seven miles" or 72 minutes.*** I slept a bit later than I would have liked (6:30 instead of 5:30), laced up my Asics, grabbed my water bottle and tucked it into my running belt, brushed my teeth, put on my sunscreen, and headed west towards downtown Spokane and the Centennial Trail.**** I felt strong on the run--pushing myself, waving at other runners, trying to maintain an easy, even pace needed for my long, slow run. I incorporate several very short walk breaks into my long runs, as long runs are supposed to be slower, their purpose being to get your body used to so much time on your feet. Allegedly, run breaks not only allow you to catch your breath and grab a little water/gel without choking and/or pouring your water/gel all over your face and clothes, but they also help pull (push?) the lactic acid out of your muscles to allow you to run longer. When I started really running just over a year ago, I felt guilty, ashamed even, of taking walking breaks. In truth, I still feel a little of that, and I will extend the time between walking breaks on long runs if it means I can run past other runners, walkers, senior citizens on bikes.*****

This walking shame is about vanity, of course. But, in reality, I am out running more miles before breakfast on a Saturday morning than most people ever run in a row, period. But, walking shame is not the point of this post...this post is about the shame of quitting, of failure.

I always tell people that I am afraid of two things--aging and failure. In reality, I just hate both of them. My type-A(+) personality cannot deal with failure very well. So, while I, like most Americans, do not associate Independence Day with running, I do associate a missed long run as a failure on a small scale that could mean failure on a large scale (not being able to run the Portland Marathon in October). Certainly a portion of that fear is related to feeling as if I have let myself down, but it's more about the shame associated with telling people that I missed too many runs and therefore cannot run the Portland Marathon this year because, as anyone training for any big race knows, everyone knows about it. Everyone. Friends, family, co-workers, ex-boyfriends, the person who sells you coffee on weekday mornings. I cannot handle the shame associated with telling people that I am not running Portland because I quit or was lazy or just could not commit to the training. I ran Nike last year with a broken foot, partly because everyone knew I was training for it.

I am not hard core. I run because I am ashamed. And, I am not ashamed to admit it.

*I know I have not really been updating this, but please check back, as I will be filling in some of the gaps here soon (between October and now).

**One of these is not a good thing.

***My current Beginner Marathon Training Plan has all of these runs of between x and y miles.

****While a running belt resembles a fanny pack, it is not one. It is not worn by tourist to hold camera and currency; it holds in place a water bottle (think about running and holding a water bottle for miles in the heat) and tends to have pockets for keys, gels, phones, tissues, etc. that you might need on a long run. Okay, so it's totally a fanny pack.

*****This last one will be the subject of a later post.