Don't Overthink It (Run 66)

This morning I overslept a bit, so I only had time for a 30-minute run, instead of a 50-minute tempo run. So, I shuffled my schedule and just went out for 30-minute run through Browne's Addition. I run there often, but I altered my route just slightly, and went for it. I was a bit stiff from this weekend's long run/hike/vomiting session, as well as yesterday morning's leg-lifting and plyometric workout, so it felt like I was going a bit slow at first.

But, I just ran, and I fell into a pace that I assumed was slow, but felt good. As I approached my apartment at the end of my run--about 32 minutes instead of 30--I felt like I could keep going.* I stopped my Nike+ sensor on my iPod, and to my surprise I had gone further and faster than I thought--my pace was a good 30-40 seconds faster than it felt.

Time on your feet really does help.**

*I could have kept going, but as I am not a "natural beauty" kind-of-girl, I had to get back home to eat, shower, and head to work.

**See my previous post.

All I Needed Was a Little Ego Boost (End of Week 9)

Week 9 was an up and down of emotion and ability, which started off with my bad run that ended Week 8.* Week 9 ended with our long team run (Run 45) at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning on the Centennial Trail by SFCC (very, very hilly). I ended up running the first 30 minutes of my supposed-to-be 60** minute run with a girl that I had gone to high school with, Heather Butner, formerly Heather Silvey. Heather was always a star athlete and sprinter in both high school and college. There was no way I could ever have kept pace with her in high school. She and I knew of each other, but never really knew one another during that time. She was always very friendly, and I knew she was one hell of a runner.

So, Saturday morning, bright and early, I find myself running with--and keeping up with--Heather on a very hilly course, very early in the morning on Saturday.*** Now, I understand that sprinting and distance running are two very different creatures (Heather even commented as much), but for me to keep pace with someone I'd always considered a strong, fast runner really changed my bad-attitude that had dominated the end of Week 8 through a good part of week 9. Thanks, Heather!

In addition to be able to keep pace with a good runner, I get a little ego boost every team practice by finishing first. This is not because I am the fastest (far from it--I think that Aileen Laughlin, my friend Meg's little sis may be the fastest out there--and the fastest woman at the least), but because I run with the people who are completing a full marathon. They are running almost twice the distance that I am during our long runs to prepare themselves for the twice-as-long race in October (26.2 miles v. 13.1 miles). During practice we all run out in the same direction and turn around based on what our race distance is (half or full marathon) and what our pace is (over or under the 12-minute-mile mark). The half-marathoners running under a 12-minute-mile (that would be me, and...me) have to run for the least amount of time during out team runs.

So, I get to turn around sooner. Now, I know that many of my team members and coaches realize that I am a "halfer," but I can tell by the looks on some of my teammates faces (mostly the walkers) that not everyone realizes this. The coaches always give us a max turn around point for the runs, as in, even if your reach mile marker x before you are supposed to turn around (based on your time limits), turn around anyway (and add distance to the other end point of your run). I think some of these other teammates assume that I have reached the max turn around point at mile x, and that I have turned around to head back--very quickly. Sometimes I'll say some encouraging words to those teammates that I am passing in the opposite direction and let them know that I am a "halfer," but sometimes I just let them think that this short, 30-year-old girl who claims to be a "new runner" is just a natural.

*See my earlier posting, "Running Just Might be a Pearl Izumi Ad."

** The trail is a bit confusing by SFCC, so on my way back to the parking lot via the trail, I missed a turn and ended up all the way on the other side of SFCC. The team coaches and mentors looked at me strangely as I came running from the other side of the lot to the water station at the end of my run. This confusion added another 10+ minutes and probably close to 1.5 miles to my run.

*** I realize that "very early" is not 6:30 a.m. for many people, but I am NOT a morning person.

Running Just Might Be A Pearl Izumi Ad (End of Week 8)

The last few months I have noticed several ads from Pearl Izumi in both Runner's World and Outside which denounce jogging. No, Pearl Izumi has not abandoned the sports in which you lace up sneakers and hit the road, trail, or treadmill* and move in a motion that is faster than walking. Rather, Pearl Izumi is making a distinction between running and jogging.

I read an article (possibly on www.runnersworld.com) that said whatever your pace, you are a runner and not a jogger. Being a jogger implied that you were not serious about the sport, so if you ran a 4-minute mile or a 16-minute mile you were a runner. Since my pace is in that 4-to-16-minute mile range, I decided that I must be a runner.

The Pearl Izumi ads play on the same notion, and they even reference a website for Pearl Izumi gear and "inspiration": www.wearenotjoggers.com/home. The "We Are Not Joggers" site contains two chapters (so far) of a flip-through book which explains the difference between running and jogging. Basically--running is harder. You do not look cute when you run. Running is painful. Running is a feeling, and that feeling is not good. The site is quick to point out that runners can jog, but really they are just running slowly. However, joggers never run. No matter how fast they jog. Basically, Pearl Izumi is making running a bit elitist.

If you know me at all, you know elitism is not one of my turn-offs. However, I am not sure if running wants me to be part of its club. I have been training for 8 weeks, and in my mind, I should be a considerably better runner than I currently am. Sure, I can run for a long time. And, I can run for long distances. But, I wish I could run for a long time and/or a long distance (the two can be mutually-exclusive) at a faster pace. It is hard to remind myself that I am new at running, and the initiation into the running club is hard. My long run on Saturday was miserable (see above, running is hard and does not feel good). I ran two good miles, and then a combination of my mind, my body, and my ego just gave up--would not let me run, run slow, or jog. I could not overcome the mental hurdle that morning. I wasn't really sore; I wasn't really breathing heavily; but, I just wasn't in the mental part of my running game. Like when Andy Roddick always loses in big tournaments. Everyone knows he's a great tennis player with a huge serve and serious athleticism--but he falls apart in the mental game, and he loses.

My mental game was non-existent on Saturday. I ended up walking another four miles that morning, mostly in tears. I felt betrayed by running. Kicked out of the club. But really, I was betrayed by me. I want to be part of that running club, so today, I'm going to try again.

*Pearl Izumi's "We Are Not Joggers" website specifically states that while their shoes work just fine on treadmills, you cannot run on a treadmill--you are only jogging, no matter what your pace is.

Trust the Training Schedule (Runs 34 & 35)

Run 34 was schedule for Thursday (June 26). I worked a long day, so I planned on running Friday morning (even though my long run was scheduled for Saturday morning--usually Friday is a rest day). I ended up running in 80 degree heat, Friday night, battling the Hoopfest set-up crowd (which included a set of guys in matching jumpsuits who appeared to be closely watched while they worked). The run itself was not too bad, but in a desire to go out to dinner, I ended up barely stretching, and I didn't hydrate well enough post-run.

I slept later than I planned on Saturday (I was not intending to go to team practice this week), so I couldn't run through the park and downtown, as it was covered with basketball courts and around 200,000 people. So, I ran down Riverside towards People's Park and over into Peaceful Valley. The route was very hot and very hilly, and I struggled to maintain a decent pace. It was around 85 degrees. I managed to get in 54 minutes of running, according to Nike+.* I did stretch and hydrate after, but I would not count that as a quality run.

*I alternate between a pair of Asics and a pair of Sauconys. I bought two little pouches from Grantwood Technology so that I could use the Nike+ sensor with my iPod and not run in Nikes. The pouches lace to your shoes and seem to work great. They are around $6, and they are available on Amazon.

Maybe you shouldn't always trust your gut? (Runs 30 & 31)

Last Saturday (June 21) marked the end of my sixth week of training, so I am approximately one-fourth of the way done with training. Saturday was another team run, and I seem to always do really well on those. I ran just over 6 miles early Saturday morning.

I tried out an interval-type training run for excelling at long runs, which has been suggested by our coaches. It consists of intervals of running and jogging or running and walking. The intervals vary based on your ability and/or desired pace. The idea is to maintain a better overall pace by giving your legs and lungs a little break every x number of minutes. Interval training is not new, but it seems counterintuitive to go from running to a slow jog or walk to increase your overall pace. But, intuition is not always right (like when my gut said that big bangs and a perm were a good idea)...

I did some ten-minute intervals of running with 45 seconds to 1 minute of very slow jogging and/or walking for Saturday's team run. As a result, I was able to run at an overall faster pace, and I was not exhausted after my 6+ mile run. My pace dropped about 45 seconds per mile faster than it was without the intervals. I'm going to continue to play with the intervals from here out.

Unlike last week, I stretched really well after the long run, and I made sure that I hydrated. I attended a birthday party for my second oldest sister, Shirley, on Sunday, and I skipped the cake (as sugar has become my enemy--I love it, but it wreaks havoc on my GI-tract during runs), so I could complete my recovery run Sunday night.*

*I almost skipped the recovery run out of laziness, but I had been watching Olympic diving trials on DVR, and after watching 18-30 year-olds with 3-5% body fat and super-defined legs, I figured I'd better get off the couch and get in some cardio.

The Treadmill is My Enemy (Run 22)

Given that it was all of 47 degrees in Spokane yesterday (and it snowed in Airway Heights), I was forced to do my 40 minute training run indoors at the gym. I haven't run on a treadmill in months, as the cardio wall in Oz Fitness has several tvs (with the closed captioning turned on) and as I am never without my iPod, I figured it couldn't be that bad.

It was awful. The actual running was fine. I made sure to up the pace and incline to better mimic an outdoor run, but the 40 minutes seemed like forever without a change in scenery. I found myself staring blankly at "30 Minute Meals" with Rachel Ray. She is considerably more palatable with the sound off, and not once did the closed captioning read "E-V-O-O," or any other Ray-ism. However, it was still torturous watching her make the least appetizing mac-and-cheese I had ever seen that did not originate in a box.

Still, I got the run done, and even tried a new gel--the ClifShot. I didn't need the nutrition for a 40-minute run, but I am testing them for the actual race, when I will need the carbs. So, I downed one with water 15 minutes before the run. The flavor was fine, and I didn't notice any GI stress during my run. However, my stomach was upset for most of the evening after my run, so I may not be having any more ClifShots. So far, Carb Bomb is the clear favorite.

What is an easy run (Run 12)?

This morning I managed to get out of bed early and run at 6 a.m. Getting out of bed early was helped by the fact that my friend Luke was going to run with me. Luke and his sister Devon (my best friend) are both natural athletes, so even though Luke has not been running quite as much as usual, he is still a considerably better runner than I. I'll admit, I was a little concerned that he'd think, "Wow. She's a little slow. Does she really think that she can RUN a half-marathon?"

Luke graciously agreed to run at my pace, and I tried to maintain a decent pace for the easy run scheduled for today (but not so easy that Luke had to walk). Although my footfalls and breathing got pretty heavy and loud towards the end, I managed to stay a few seconds back from Luke the entire time (despite the fact that I don't think he was even sweating). Since I am relatively new to running, this was for me a good run. Earlier this year, I'm certain that I would have had to walk and/or give up--the little accomplishments really keep you motivated.

According to everything that I've read and been told, an easy run is one during which you can have a conversation. There was certainly some talking, but it got less and less as the time wore on during the run. It's really a challenge for me to want to continue doing something at which I am not the best. Maybe running will help take my ego down a notch or two.

Luke did add that if I keep up the running, I'll get addicted. I can't imagine that being a bad thing, and it should be considerably less expensive than my Nordstrom addiction.