Feel the burn

Who thinks about their toenails? If you're a runner, you definitely do. I keep mine at a "healthy" length... My typical 2 are driving me crazy- go figure 2.5 weeks before a big race.... I have them "lifted" to allow the pressure to equalize. The blood comes out and they feel a whole lot better... Except not at all. My local wore off exactly 19 minutes ago, at which point I awoke in a good bit of pain. I feel so stupid and weak for having it done. Last time the relief was extraordinary. This time, not so much. I still have 2,2,3,6 and 10 left this week, and I'm hell bent on finishing at 2:10 or better this year. I need every ounce of training I can get.

Hills hills hills...

Who would've thought you could actually grow to love hill workouts?

This, coming from the kid who used to tie her shoes as many times as possible during pre-practice running in pee wee basketball.

I never thought I would be into the challenge of running hills. It's been proven invaluable in training- particularly now that I've started using it in interval training.

Great 8

Had a really enjoyable road run yesterday- an 8 mile long slow distance run. The cold has made treadmill training an all too-familiar ritual. This outdoor run felt much shorter than my 7 mile treadmill run Wednesday night. Funny how your surroundings make all the difference in your workout.

There are 4 weeks left in training, and the benefits of core training are more obvious than ever. It's got to be the best feeling to progress like this. This coming week has a long run of 9 miles, with 4 shorter runs ranging from 2-7 miles in length.

Looking forward, always :)

Down and out...

My efforts for week 3 were cut short by a stomach virus that has lasted 5 whole days. For those of you who know me, you may laugh at the fact that I managed to feel good enough day 1 to stop for a slice of pizza with AB in the evening, thinking that it had "passed", which was a clear mistake, as we stopped at his house to grab me a bucket for the drive home. Did I learn? Noooooo. Day 2- felt good enough to make a cake for a fund raising event that evening, which I had to leave early, because, yes, I was indeed still sick. Day 3- let's just say Sunday 8AM to Monday 8 AM, I slept >22/24 hours. Day 4 was basically a Day 3 re-run. Today was my first actual call-off in 4 years.

What is a runner to do? If you're an athlete and you haven't run into this, knock on wood, and line up your lucky widgets. This is one of a hand-full of times I've been through this. This time, it's mid-training, and I need to be sure it's time to get back to running. Let's brainstorm some ways to assess readiness to train after sickness.

Well, in my mind, it depends on some really key factors:

1- How dehydrated are you? After vomiting for 5 days, you'd think your weight would drop. Mine has not, which is a wonderful thing, because that means I've stated well-hydrated.

2- Where are you at in your training plan? Tail end of week 3, beginning of week 4- this translates to 6 weeks left- I missed a 6 and 7 miler, which isn't a huge deal, because I reached 6 with reasonable effort a few weeks ago. Noooo biggie.

3- Muscle Loss? Sometimes people feel like they lose all of their muscle when they're down and out. Fortunately, I feel neither flabby, nor flat.

So, what's the next plan of action? Wait and see- one day at a time. The plan I chose just happens to have a really light week 4 plan- 2,3,3,4. Sounds like perfect timing.

Reviews are mixed in regard to distance- whether to make up or move on. To me, it's a no-brainer: Listen to your body, and adapt. Plans change, right?

Things change...

Today we celebrated my grandmother's 75th birthday. I would not have missed it for the world, despite being signed up for a 2 miler. I was really excited- a short, sweet race, for which all of my speed work sure would come in handy...

Instead, I logged 5 on the treadmill--3 of which were to be at half marathon pace, which brings me to my next point: pacing seems to be all-together different than I had anticipated. I'm beginning to feel more comfortable pacing individual workouts than just simply saying, "I'm a _____ minute/mile runner" based uponi my most recent consistent time. It's crazy to think that I've run a 7:50 something mile comfortably, and I often sustain a 10 or 10:20 pace for long slow distance and really enjoy that, too. I guess what I'm really getting at is simple: when you grow as a runner, and you commit to real training with real goals and real rules, you can really do some amazing things. The feeling of beginning, enjoying, and ending a workout with a true goal in mind. Working hard, but more importantly, working smarter, seems to have made some tremendous gains for me in training quality.

Slacking

Wow. Sorry for the hiatus. My absence may or may not be indicative of the tight schedule I've been keeping (despite being on "vacation" from work). My days have been planned nearly to the minute. I managed to escape Boston hours before flights home were cancelled (don't you love going with your gut???), make it to 3 major events yesterday all over creation, and somehow manage to get my distance in.
The weather has been mild, which makes for pretty nice outdoor training sessions for week 2 (in March, in the northeast). Despite some treadmill sessions early in the week, the 3 solid road runs since then have been massively liberating.

What's week 3 have in store? A long run of 7, some 2-4's and some pacing mid week. As long as I can acclimate to daylight savings time and sleep sometime soon, we'll be in good shape.... Chin up.

Week 1

Really enjoyed a 2 mile run last night with some lifting and core work. It is so much more enjoyable when you can focus on quality more than quantity. I decided on a lower mileage 4-5 day training plan for the Pittsburgh half. I like having a couple rest days with the option of working out more. I made a pact with myself that the low milage plan would work if i commit to a solid regimen of true warm up, cool down, and stretching. I'm a huge fan already :)