Marathon v3.0 begins today

Unlike #1, where I was excited to do something I'd never done before, and marathon #2, where I sort of skated through, #3 is going to be somewhat challenging. Why?
1) I'm training for Big Sur, the hilliest marathon in the country, by running in Chicago, the least hilly place ever.
2) I'm trying to fold a decent amount of cycling in. Unlike #2's once-a-week, or #1's no cycling at all, for #3 I'm going to be doing 4 hours/week on trainer as part of an indoor class. That's pretty hefty, and forces the schedule to shuffle a little.
3) I for some reason chose Hal's Intermediate I, a training program that has only 1 rest day, and then added the cycling on top of that. Erm. It's easy to put this stuff on paper, it's a little harder to actually do it. Thanks to Bob for helping make this fit together, but it's still a pretty tall order. So, we'll give it a shot. If this is v3.0, v3.1 might be dropping one run a week, and there are ways to make v3.2 too, if I'm burning out. But why not shoot the moon?

So, I'm already running at 10:30 pace, no problem, which will get me to the 4:35 I wanted last year (before I got sick and puked during the marathon- no joke). BUT with those hills, who knows what will happen. My goal is to finish in the 6 hour time limit- I really hope that's not an issue, or I shouldn't even be trying- but be comfortable running a decent pace and be able to enjoy the scenery. Really, I'd like to come out of this in May with a fun race under my belt but better equipped for MTB season.

And so this morning the program started, on the shortest day of the year, with a soft dusting of snow hiding the ice on the sidewalks.

noncommittal change of plans.

ok, so i'm tentatively adding the Fox Cities Marathon to my schedule, and as of today I'm switching from the half marathon training plan to the full marathon Novice 2 plan, week 8. (Look at me!! I'm a Novice 2! )

I don't have a set goal time, but I'd like to be under 4:45 and I'd be quite happy to be in the 4:30 range. We'll see. I'm still going to run the Chicago Distance Classic and I'm still hoping for under 2:20 with a stretch-goal of 2:10. Now it'll just fit into week 13 of 18 instead of being the goal race. The really funny thing... the 20 miler falls on my wedding day. I guess we can assume I'll just do that on the Thursday before instead.

And coincidentally... marathon #2 will also be small (fewer than 5,000) and in a small town. I was thinking that I don't really like the races where there's lots of traffic. I'm a solo runner and having just a few folks is just fine with me.

rewards.

today's one of those days where when you make the effort, you get something back.

ben got up at 6am today to ride trail with Mike, so Molly was up anyway. I decided to run 12 (though the plan says 8) and just get up and go. i wanted to run out to Northerly Island and figured we were better off doing it when traffic is low, since Molly is such a vicious killer, and all.

anyway, I was talking about rewards. like the views from the little hill on the south end of Northerly Island, or from the 18th street Metra overpass, or from the path northbound at the planetarium. and like taking a break at the deserted beach by the planetarium and watching Molly sprint into the water (and drink half her weight of it.) or like finding a little riverfront trail you never knew existed. it was just a good day.

i said i would go slow and i did. counting the beach stop, a 11:34 average. isn't it funny that my idea of slow was my marathon pace just a month and a half ago? rewarding. run more and you get faster, it just happens. pays ya back.

back in the saddle again.

last week i topped a 25 mile week for the first time since the marathon. and within days, i was losing weight again, feeling strong again, and remembering what that familiar and welcome soreness was like. i think i need to keep the mileage up in the 25+ per week range. anything less is not cutting it for me anymore. (That's the problem with progress... you can't go back.)

in true girl-on-steroids fashion, i had way too much that i was hoping to get done last night. B14 and i jumped in the car and attempted to buy a push reel lawnmower, pick up a microwave, pick up some bike parts, try on sports bras and pick up some running crap, mow the lawn at the old place with the new mower, drop the microwave off at B14's, and make it home in time for Hell's Kitchen. We accomplished all but two of these... dropped off the mower but didn't do the job (I'll do that today) and I missed 45 min of Hell's Kitchen. But, Jen was sent home, which was all I really wanted to happen anyway.

we walked into the running store on the wrong night, though, and Nike was signing people up for their little chicago marathon training program with some fair full of people pushing the Nike brand. UGH. I've talked about how I feel about Nike several times on this blog and won't rehash it, but, while I was considering buying my next pair of shoes at that shop, it's now a definite NO! I told B14 that those people are what I hate about running- the trixies and grown up sorority girls with the little bands in their hair who were born running 7:00 miles. We need to take back the sport for real women- the kind who drink beer from a can and own pit bulls and dance to 80's music and have hips.

today's interval workout was no problem, though steroids make me thirsty, so i had fantasies of swimming and cold water the whole time. Hal's pop-up on training peaks this week was about running hard workouts hard and easy ones reaaaaly easy, so between intervals I ran 11:30 miles, for a 6.5mi average of like 10:40. whatever, my legs still feel the 2:00 400meter intervals, what happens in between is just recovery.

22 short films about the West Loop.

after being all bummed out yesterday about my running, i went out today telling myself i would just run, no looking at the gizmo. it was way cooler out today and i just sort of plodded along. the results? 10:17, 10:18, 10:00, 9:54, 9:51. 5 in 50:18, negative splits, without thinking about it. maybe? ...

the funny part was how today, the first day in a month that i was looking around and enjoying it, there was just so much going on. in retrospect it reminds me of a certain Simpsons episode. in mile 1, Molly started going crazy. I couldn't figure out why... it was because Ben was biking by on the way to work. Then in mile 2 a guy kept shouting at us, and it took me a while to figure out that it's my friend from Streets and Sanitation- but he's traded in his white truck for a navy blue one, so I didn't recognize him. Back in the park in mile 3, the police trainees were running in orange vests two abreast and took a cut through the park, catching up to me. "Taking a shortcut, eh?" I joked. One offered to race me. I wondered why they were way faster than their usual ~12:00 pace today, but two miles later I saw why-- the women had a separate running group and a separate trainer. The smaller crowd of summer school students headed to Whitney Young did the usual shriek-and-jump at Molly, then I saw the police running a third time, a shih tsu tried to attack Molly, and that was 5.

my ankle started getting angry at mile 2 (maybe that's why i started running faster?) between my still-super-swollen finger and my still-angry-ankle-tendon, i'm starting to wonder if i'll ever be in one piece again.

anyway, the running crap list is getting longer still, since months ago Dan found a camelback fanny pack for cheap on steep n' cheap. since it was cooler today i thought i'd give it a shot. it was ok. not sure i like it more than my water bottle holder. either way, it used to be put on shoes - grab dog - run. now it's ipod-gizmo-heart rate strap-water carrier thingey-dog. too much crap.

last night we met Dan n' Lisa for a lakefront picnic. Without thinking about it we chose the lawn in front of the Field Museum as our spot, but hot damn! What a view. Everyone on their afternoon workout and every idiot on a bike was our entertainment for the night. If you heard someone shouting your name but couldn't figure it out (Chris P was the best at that) it was us. Sorry about that.

1/3

four weeks into the half marathon training plan, and i'm sort of wishing i was back on the "run whatever pace you want" marathon plan. the combo of running with a garmin telling me my pace and not hitting my pace goals has me sort of bummed out. that 5k was too slow and I have yet to run that miracle 9:00 mile I'm supposed to hold for 5k. my 3 mile workouts are more in the 9:30 range, and my long runs are a full minute slower than my 10:00 goal. hoping i can surprise myself is now getting a little unbelievable. i'm stuck just being happy with anything faster than my marathon pace of 11:27 this spring.

you read every now and then about people who go from couch potato to boston qualifiers, but it usually involves dropping 75lb and a few years of work. i'm starting to wonder whether a BQ is something my body could even do... though I hadn't even entertained the thought until last week. i'm way to impatient for that long-term a goal, but who knows what will happen if i just keep running. but this slow progress... it's frustrating.

the weather this week is FINALLY supposed to be good. Looking forward to cool-ish mornings. Maybe I'll be able to log some good fast times, or at least have fun trying.

500! Or, how did I turn into a runner?

Today I'm celebrating a total of 500 miles run (about 64,200 calories burned) this year.
Which perplexes me. Last I checked, I was a biker. I guess I should check more often.

But the combined need to do something, need to exercise our dog, and need to have sanity-time led me to try running last summer... starting with run a block, walk a block and finishing with that stupid idea of running a marathon.

Unlike biking, which takes three times as long to get a good workout in, and which involves things like power meters and gears and lots of gear, running is simple. Do it and you get better at it. Do it some more and lose weight like mad. Keep doing it and it becomes enjoyable. Without trying, you get faster, skinnier, happier, more focused. Oh, and it's great exercise for the dog, too.

I'm not saying I'm done biking- far from it. Biking is still really what I want to be doing, and will always be my preferred passtime/workout/transportation/way of getting a fiancé, but I just don't have the time or access to the right routes to make it stick as a workout. And I just don't see myself stopping this running thing. It's done so much good for me (and Molly).

This morning's "victory lap" was far from it. I was a little over-enthusiastic about the drinking-margaritas-on-the-porch-with-b14 thing last night, and the jump from last week's 12 to this week's 21 miles is sort of kicking my butt. I mean, my longest mileage week was 40, I can handle 21 no problem, it's just a rather fast increase (which most runners would warn against). My tired legs were no fun, and around 3 miles those margaritas came back for a not-so-refreshing-this-time buzz. I'm taking tomorrow off.

retrospective

I don't know why I got myself into this marathon thing. I've been running for less than a year continuously, with few exceptions, and haven't even finished a 5k since about 2003.

Alot of it comes from Molly, our overly energetic pit bull, whom we thought would be calmer if she got more exercise (ha) so I started running instead of walking her. It started with running two blocks and walking one, then built up to 5k a day, then stretched to 5 miles. I saw how quickly what was a hard distance became easy, and wanted to go farther. Ben and I joined Holly to watch the Chicago Marathon, and I decided I wanted to do that. I was turning 30, after all, and that's what you do when you're 30. I didn't have some deep life-goal reason to do it. And it wasn't to lose weight either- that was already happening.

Part of this is how I work best on a plan. Tell me what to do, I'll do it. It's much easier to get up at 5:45am on a snowy dark morning when there's something in writing you're supposed to do. I knew if it was in writing I was likely to get there. It was motivating.

The first 10 weeks were not that big a deal. In the time between registering for the marathon and starting the training plan, I made it my goal to run a few 10-milers to get a sense of the long runs. The only thing that made it hard was Chicago's Worst Winter Ever, and even 10 miles in 15 below were insane. I learned to layer, got tough, and only ran 5 miles total on the treadmill. Until I hit the 12 mile mark, it was more about getting out of bed and outdoors than anything.

I also learned the hard way that you can't go from 25 to zero to 25. Two weeks off in the middle of the plan for a vacation, then jumping right back into week 11 was what pushed me too far and injured my foot. They say you shouldn't add more than 10% of your mileage in any given week, and I went 0-0-26. Duh.

Anyway, those last few weeks were hard. The injury and missed runs screwed with my head. My 14 and 16 mile runs were rough and I was dreading the 18 and 20. I spent Friday nights sitting on the couch planning routes and filling bottles. I learned that those long runs were far better when I had no plans for the whole day Saturday and could try to enjoy them. I took it slow, focusing on running through whatever I encountered and getting the miles done.

I didn't realize that in retrospect I was running too slow and being too relaxed about things. Everyone will tell you "don't worry about time, just get to the finish line." But the thing is, I know I can run faster than this. I just haven't pushed my pace on long runs at all, and it's making pacing for race day really frustrating. Next time I train (if there is a next time) for a marathon, I'll have a pace goal for long runs that's just a little off my marathon race pace, and stick with it. I had a great run for my 20-miler, but I was running 12:30 miles. I could have pushed myself to 11:30's, gotten home tired instead of happy, and been far more confident about my 5:00 marathon goal.

the taper was a welcome gift, but with some costs. By the end of my 40-mile week, I was pretty burned out, tired out, cranky, and in need of a break. The taper brought a break, but it also brought other things- I had to re-learn how to eat less, I had to get serious about washing my hands and avoiding sick people, and I had to learn how not to run. The time on the couch, that I'm liking. The rest, it's just hard to get used to.

folks say you "learn something about yourself" in the process of first-marathon training that you don't get again. i don't know what it would be. i guess i learned how to make time to do something I want to, and how to shut off my brain and just go. nothing transcendental though.

so, here we are. we fly to Oregon tomorrow, pick up my race bib, and hopefully get some sleep before Sunday's race. I want a 5:00, I'll be happy under 5:15, I'll be ok under 5:30. anything higher than that and you might not want to talk to me next week. and my plan for next week: a half maratho training program that involves speedwork. I really want to leave 10:00+ miles behind.

and a sincere thank-you to anyone who asked how it's going, commented here, emailed me, gave me tips, or just reminded me that it's almost over. Hal's forum on Training Peaks and the FirstTimeMarathoners on Runner's World were the running partners I needed. And, of course, Molly, the reason I run.

training: check.

ran an extra mile this morning- for a total of three - to bring my training total to 400 miles. i ran my victory lap faster than ever, about 9:10 miles, and it felt great.

so, training, done. I completed almost all of this plan, missing a 7miler the day I got engaged and a few mid-distance runs (week 12's 8 and 12 and week 11's 8) for my injured foot. aside from that, 18 weeks, 400 miles, lots of 6am wake-ups, unshoveled sidewalks, snow, ice, rain, wind, and even a little sunburn.

ready as i'll ever be.

and since I don't know what their travel plans are, good luck to Judi - break that 5:00 at the Pig! - Progman at the New Jersey Marathon, and all the RW FirstTimeMarathoners club runners at the Pig. I'll be thinking of y'all out in Oregon!

5:00

you know how sometimes you ask people a question, then ignore their answers and keep asking other people the same question, then realize it's all because you know what you WANT the answer to be? that you were looking for support and reinforcement instead of honest answers all along?

yeah, well, I WANT to go off with the 5:00 pace group. It was my goal when I set out to do this whole thing last fall. I let all that "just get to the finish" crap get to my head and make me train slower that I should or could have, and now it's sort of a stretch. But I don't care.

My pace has me timing at anywhere from 4:50 to 5:37, but the slower times include stop lights and Molly poop breaks and elevator waits. The 4:50 prediction is the only one where it was a real point-to-point without anything in the way. Beside, what's the worst that can happen? I hit 20 and crawl in from there? I think that would still be slower than 5:37!

so, it's decided. no more worries, no more asking people in hopes of getting an answer that I'm not seeming to get. 5:00 is what I want (4:59 actually) and it's what I'm going for. if I regret it at mile 22, whatever. It's not like my leg is going to fall off.

20.

let me start by saying, I feel awesome. I needed that. everything went just as planned. short walks every 2.5 mi. didn't get hungry, got a little thirsty but the water fountains were on. smiled alot. sang along. took it in stride. for the first 15 miles, i just kept telling myself to slow down. easy peasy. the 4:12 time pretty much guarantees I'll be under 5:30 at the marathon.

i was tired for the first 10. sore. the 20 miles i had put in this week were showing. but then i dropped off Molly, and then the sun came out, and then i hit the lakefront, and then it was allllll good.

i was fiddling with my headphones around 18 miles in and a tourist jumped in front of me. there, in front of Ed Debevics, I tripped and fell into a mud puddle. I didn't look too bad, but my knee was bleeding. Meh, gotta run home. So I jumped up and started running again. For the next two miles, people felt the need to tell me, "you're bleeding." Yes, I know. It had run down to my socks in a thick drooly line by the time I got home. i can't help but wonder if the adrenaline boost from a fall didn't help bring me home faster.

it's lovely out today, and the planned scattered showers stayed away. i'm probably sunburned. the wind was fierce and nearly claimed my hat- and definitely claimed some of my pace- but it's nothing. all in stride.

i picked up the pace a mile from home. i walked in the front door knowing i have 6 more miles in me. and a few more weeks till i have to find 'em, anyway. 22 days to go, and just 59 miles.

one month to go.

yup. as of tomorrow, i've run 301 and i have 99 to go in training. 4 weeks. i'm at a point where if you sawed my left foot off, i'd still stumble through the marathon. i mean, the time limit is 8 hours. i'm hoping to beat that by 2 1/2 hours.

i'm hitting a point of near-burnout though. my body aches. i'm always tired and always hungry. i get cramps and pains when i'm just sitting on the couch. this is a lot for a girl who's run continuously for less than a year and who's carrying a little extra weight. next week is the peak - a 40 mile week. i can do one more week. then three weeks of taper- no problem.

on another subject, Ben turned to me last night with that serious look on his face.
"Will you be my mechanic this fall?"
"Um, what, no ring for that? *grin*"
It was just so... formal.
He wants just one person building and working on the bikes, which makes sense. I'm game, but this is different than my usual bike priorities. I need to read up on all the high tech doohickeys and start comparing weights down to the gram. I mean, 3g is a significant percentage of his weight, so... ;) I'm confident it will be no problem... at least until UCI legalizes disc brakes in CX. I'm already excited to cable those frames up with the newfangled Gore cables.

18!

ok, so i probably ran 16.5 of it. but walking is totally acceptable, which was the theme of today's run. i left the house tired and not feeling great. in two miles, i had run it all off. i enjoyed about 11 miles, followed the plan, and then things began to break down a little.

now, remember that I skipped last week's 12 mile long-run, that the week before's 16 was more of an injured run-walk, and the week before that the 15 was brutal to me. The longest I'd really run-run recently was last Wednesday's 9, so I should have expected turmoil to begin setting in around 10.

at 11, i wanted an extra walk-block, so I did. at 13, things fell apart a little. i was really cranky and crashing out. i remembered that this was exactly where the bottom fell out for me on my 15 mi run, told myself that i'd just run half a freaking marathon, and decided to walk a mile- a full mile, no matter whether i felt a bit better after a block. it's a good thing i did, and the walk took me from crying at song lyrics to finding my smile again. I easily ran mile 14 with the promise of another gel stop at 15.

15 was hard again, but I realized something... I kept wanting to walk but i couldn't figure out why. my legs were worn but not sore, my stomach was sloshy but not bad, and i wasn't tired-tired. i was just... mentally fatigued, almost bored. i gave myself an extra walk block at 16 and then kept focused to tough it out to 18.

see- there it is again, the mental thing. my legs can totally take it now. my foot was sore and hurt every 2 miles or so but was nowhere close to the problem it's been before. i was thirsty at times but nutrition and drinking was never a problem. it was my brain. it was my 300k problem. it's turning off the "that's enough" instinct, and it's harder than it seems. i'm learning. trading off between focusing on song lyrics and focusing on the next milestone I'm pursuing helps. i think bands and crowds and a race day will probably help more.

nevertheless, for 12 miles i was right on pace. the next 5 were 7 min longer than pace. then i stopped looking, but it was roundabouts 4hours. who knows what i'll do 26.2 in. no doubt it'll be 5-6 hours. between that, your guess is as good as mine. i've decided that "running" a marathon for me will probably include walking mile 13, and that's just fine.

anywho, that's 18. one more longer run to go. i can't believe i'm going to finish this thing. thanks to you- all of you, readers, commenters, lurkers, supporters. this blog gives me good accountability and even better motivation.

15.

ok, so i had never run 15 and hadn't run 14 in three weeks, but man o man, that hurt. for the first time it was my feet bothering me, and my socks were bloody from blisters by the time I got home.

it took me forever to get out of the house this morning. i just wasn't convinced that my setup was right. i realized that the water fountains on the path are still turned off and 15 is too far to run on one bottle, so i was borrowing Ben's camelback, which i was sure i'd regret, but ended up not minding at all. filled it with the gleukos stuff, threw two clif shots in the pocket, keys, lip stuff, road id, molly... an hour later, i was off.

running the lakefront path in snow is awesome. until mile 12 or so. when running anywhere isn't quite awesome for me yet.

i followed my plan of walk every 5 to grab a clif shot and drink but i found it hard. the first 5 was fine. by the end of the second 5 i was super thirsty. then the plan broke down. i allowed myself an extra stop at the shed aquarium - around mile 12.5 - where i drank too much and walked a little too long and had trouble coming back. then i missed both long lights getting to and from grant park and it seemed i missed every light in the loop. meh. but i was hurtin' good by the Shed and counting down blocks from Wells. i told myself i wouldn't care about my time on this run since it was just getting back in the swing of long runs after vaca, but at 3:10 i'm somewhat pleased. just 10 min behind where I want to be after 3 weeks off from step-up long runs. not bad.

the good news, though, is that the Eugene Marathon has water stops every 2 mi or so, so maybe it's time to do gel every 5 and drink every 2. with drinks every 2mi, i'm wondering whether i'll even need to carry a bottle for the race.

i'm very glad that i mixed a bottle of perpetuem before i left for the run. i should make a habit of that. best recovery drink ever.

13. no, i mean 14.

i was supposed to run 13. Holly convinced me that the lakefront path was worth a shot this time of year, saying there are few bikers and it's plowed. well, she was right. i saw a total of three bikers the whole time and- credit where credit is due - it was a group of three on MTB's, 2 2CC kits and 1 met life. i half expected to see the Klug's out there, but I didn't. Running south, though, the trail was black ice and i found myself having to run in the snow to avoid falling. By the northbound trip it was mostly melted.

i miscalculated in my head, though, and the run from my house to the path down to 43rd and back was 14. it was slower than i had hoped - 3 hours- and with no stoplights on the path i've got no excuse for that beyond knocking off maybe 5 min for the elevator ride and dog chores. it was ok until around McCormick place northbound, where i got really bored. i guess i'm used to seeing street traffic. the last two miles just plain sucked.

the sight of the day was a tin with a big slice of deep dish pizza on a bench on Jackson that when i ran by again 2 1/2 hours later was half eaten.

26 miles for the week. 12 weeks till the marathon.

10!

Yup.
This one hurt, though. That 9mi Saturday was with HEED and endurolyte tabs in hand. This was just done off the peanut M&M's I ate at 4pm. The hip started pinching at mile 6, i felt like jello by mile 8. But I did my first 10 ever. I walked only two blocks of it, short ones.
Oh, and my recollections of sunny days on Haines Point totally misled me on this route-- it was creepy how that whole point had two bikers and one other runner on it, and probably only about 3 cars went by. I was thinking about whether people would have a way of identifying my body. Note to self: running through parks after dark equals bad. Though I did see 3 foxes- reddish ones with big straight bushy tails with a touch of white at the end. And yes, I know it wasn't a feral dog... its body was small and its tail as long as its body and straight... I looked closely. I guess it could have been one fox who followed me- they all looked the same. Kinda creepy.
And my empty stomach and thirsty self returned to a hotel where the closest I could get to HEED was a bottle of sweet tea.

9.2

Nothing is worse than telling yourself you're going to run 10 mi for the first time in your life, then running a really, really long time, and then getting home and finding that according to the gmap-pedometer you only went 9.2.