Big PR! Dang that hurt!

I raced the Cap10k this morning. Thankfully I woke up with minimal aches and pains from the 23.4 miles from yesterday. My ultimate goal for this race was 44:51 (7:15 pace), but I gave myself an acceptable range from 44:51-47:00.

With tired legs, the hilly Cap10k course was brutal on my legs. I'm not a friends with uphills and there were many, so I didn't really worry all that much about being slow. My legs felt like bricks at mile one. I sucked it up and ran with all the effort I could give. I squashed some negative thoughts during the race and finished well.

Chip Time - 45:38.8 (a big PR of almost 2 minutes)
Overall place - 570 out of 18,000+ if you count the untimed people.
Age Group - 13th (really 14th because the overall ladies winner was in my age group)

I'm super proud of my time. I'm also proud of Chad, who broke 40:00 for the first time ever. Congrats to all of my Team Rogue teammates who ran today, even after running 20+ miles yesterday. Awesome!

24 with a close

A short update on the first of this weekend's runs...

24 this morning - First 10 with Dionn (who gave me a shout out in her blog, thanks!) on the Eastside loop. We ran pretty conservatively to be sure to have energy to finish. Next, we added the St.Eds loop. I did the 13.4 mile version to make my total 23.4 for the day. I have to admit that I was jealous of Dionn doing 20 when she turned off to head back to the cars, but not jealous about the super long bike ride she has to do tomorrow for her ironman training. Good Luck!!! I finished the run today with a faster close...miles 19-22 were 7:40 or faster.

The numbers...

10 miles, 1:30:54 (9:05 pace)
13.4 miles 1:55:27 (8:37 pace)
Total 23.4 miles 3:26:21 (8:49 pace)

3 bag ice bath - 5 minutes sitting in the tub while it filled with cold water, 20 minutes with 3 ice bags, 5 minutes letting the water drain. BRRRR!!!!

Tomorrow...racing the Capitol 10k. I've got a goal. Hopefully my exhausted legs will cooperate with my mind.

Non-running updates

Sorry for all of the long boring posts! Here are some non-running updates.

My handy husband tuned up the lawnmower and got it working on the first pull this past weekend. While he mowed the front lawn, I reorganized the garage to make it possible for him to park his truck inside now.

We got the weedeater/edger working only to have it die after a couple of minutes. No biggie...we went to Lowes and got a sweet super-powerful electric edger that I can use much easier than our old gas model. Yup, I edged the front yard and flower beds. I'm handy, too.

Chad also opened our new leaf blower and made good use of it clearing our decks of the multitude of live oak leaves and cleaning up our driveway after I edged.

I cooked a yummy dinner on Wednesday night that was supposed to be for my dad and Rose. As it turned out, the hailstorm kept them from making the drive to our house, so we were able to share it with Chad's mom (who lives in the neighborhood). I got all of the recipes except one from epicurious.com (which Karen introduced me to), and I think they were a hit. I would make any of them again. The recipes are great when followed exactly. Sorry no pics...we ate it all too quickly.

Mixed Greens with Tangerine and Fennel
Salmon with Sesame and Orange-Ginger Relish
Lemon-Scented Quinoa
Ginger Ice Cream

Sleep, glorious sleep

Background - After my meltdown a couple of weeks ago at the Soulbuster workout, I have made an effort to try to figure out why my body was so damn uncooperative. I was swollen (over 5 lbs heavy), fatigued, muscles ached, and just all around grouchy. I suspected it might have been my thyroid levels, but that turned out to be wrong. At the suggestion of my endocrinologist, I went to Dr Hutchens to see if there could be another explanation for the swelling. I blogged about suspected food allergies (food intolerances, actually), and Dr Hutchens suggested this as well at my appointment. I didn't even mention it to him beforehand. So here's what I've been doing...

• I write down everything I eat (dr hutchens order).
• I log my weight every day. (dr hutchens order).
• I take my basal body temp every day (dr bledsoe order)
• I take my resting heart rate every so often (sisson order)
• I've been limiting the amount of wheat that I'm consuming. (voluntarily)
• I've been vigilant about taking my prenatal vitamins (lots of b vitamins and iron).

For those of you who watch The Biggest Loser, a lightbulb went off for me a week or so ago. Tara had seen little to no weight loss for two weeks in a row, despite working out like a monster. At the weigh in, her trainer Jillian told her she had been overtraining. LIGHTBULB!!! I might be overtraining. So, I've implemented a few more steps to start feeling better.

• I have been really trying to get more sleep - at least 7-8 hours a night.
• I take naps when I need to.
• I've lowered my mileage to 67-72 mpw on the hard weeks and 45-50 on the easy weeks. I don't feel pressure to squeeze in miles if my legs are too achy and I'm exhausted.

The result? Over the past couple of weeks I've been feeling much better. Day by day my weight is coming down (5 pounds since soulbuster). I feel rested. My poop is back to normal. My temps and heart rate are normal. I'm not as grumpy. My muscles are feeling better, too. I'm also able to hit my times better at workout.

Sure, two weeks is not enough time to say I'm 'cured' from all of the medical things. I will, however, keep doing what I'm doing to keep feeling better and better. Ahhh sleep, glorious sleep, you are my friend.

Hailstorm

...and this one is not the largest one in our yard. It's just the one that I could get to without risking getting my head hit by incoming hail.

Warhurst revisited

It is now three weeks since the last time we did the Warhurst workout. Last time we ran it, we started from Barton Springs, warmed up 1.25 miles, and ran in very cold temperatures (I wore tights). I did 5 repeats and all five of my 'mile sections' were slow. I was bummed that my efforts did not yield a faster mile split.

Today it was a balmy 70 degrees and humid when we started, so I was wearing shorts and a tank top. We also warmed up 2.5 miles. I think it is obvious that I am not only stronger today than I was before, but that I run better when I don't have to wear tights and when I get a slightly longer warmup.

Oh...and I had a total dingbat moment today. I missed the part about the mile section being at tempo pace (or HMGP). I thought it was MGP, and kept freaking out that Michael was running so fast (and dragging me with him) when his goal time is a little slower than mine. He couldn't figure out why I kept talking about MGP.

Here is the lowdown -

Mile sections
Previously, Today
7:57, 7:26
8:08, 7:26
7:53, 7:31
7:50, 7:38 (I wasn't dying. I was just mistakenly trying to calm down and get to MGP.)
8:00

Today, I didn't do a 5th repeat to be sure that my hip does not flare. It was feeling pretty tweaky going around the track. Overall, my hip is actually feeling better.

1200 Track sections
Previously, Today
5:29, 5:29
5:28, 5:27
5:28, 5:27
5:26, 5:25
5:28

So, I think it went pretty well. I'm jazzed about maintaining my effort through all four repeats, especially because the mile sections were much faster than last time. I know I gave it a good effort going up the hill on Veterans Dr. I wish I wasn't such a dingbat and knew that it should have been tempo pace instead of MGP. I wouldn't have slowed down on purpose.

Now I'm working, drinking my water, wearing my compression socks, and trying to stretch the rest of the day.

Much respect for the Warhurst. Good work everyone!

Running Faster

Ask me how my run went this morning. C'mon, I know you want to know. Well, it went really well, thank you very much. I have to admit, I was a bit scared at this little progressive pace run on the schedule. I think my goal MGP (7:38) is tough. The 10k pace that goes along with a 7:38 MGP is something that I've never even thought about doing in a real 10k. I was shooting for a 7:15-7:20 10k pace today, which is a faster pace than my standing 5k pr (7:29 pace). Really, I have struggled with speed in the past.

Here's how it was supposed to go. The first column is the 'ideal pace structure' as set up by coach. The second column is what I thought I could do. (I wanted to give myself slower early miles to warm up better.) The third column is what I did.

Ideal I'd be lucky Actual
to hit these
mile 1 8:35 9:00 8:58
mile 2 8:25 8:45 8:00
mile 3 8:15 8:30 8:00 (split 15:59 for miles 2-3)
mile 4 8:05 8:15 7:55
mile 5 7:55 8:00 7:50 (split 15:44 for miles 4-5)
mile 6 7:45 7:45 7:48 (there was a little uphill)
mile 7 7:35 7:35 7:24
mile 8 7:25 7:30 7:21
mile 9 7:15 7:20 7:16
mile 10 fast! who knows? 7:07!!

I'm so excited that I felt strong enough to hit times close to the 'ideal workout'. Even with the fast early miles, I was able to hold on.

Woohoo! I got the biggest runners high from this run. I'm confident that my ultimate goal is a good goal for me. Even if I don't actually run 3:20 in Nashville, I'm confident that I can at least train for it and get faster overall as a result.

Other big news -

• I set a new PR for my 5k today between miles 6 and 10. Pick any 3.1 mile stretch between those mile markers and I smashed my old PR. I estimate my last 5k of the run was 22:28 (:54 faster than my PR)
• I also PRed my 10k. My average pace for my old PR was 7:40.7 per mile. Pick any 6.2 mile stretch after mile marker 3 of this morning's run and I set a new PR. I estimate my last 10k of the run was 46:21 (1:23 faster than my PR).

Looking Forward

I'm still counting down...

• 12 more days until the Capitol 10,000
• 37 days until we leave for Nashville, 39 days until I race.
• 53 days until we're on the beach in Maui!

Aside from the countdown, I'm really looking forward to April 25th after the marathon. Do you know what happens then?? I get to sleep in every single morning if I want to!!!! No more waking up early to go run!!! This early morning running business does not agree with me one bit. I don't like waking up before 6am, much less before 5am. It's just wrong.

La Vie en Rose

La Vie en Rose is the song that I walked down the aisle to (a string quartet played it). I picked it because of both the lyrics and because Chad and I would be going to France for our honeymoon. Every time we heard this in France, I would well up...it was incredibly romantic to get to relive the emotion of walking down the aisle throughout our honeymoon. The great thing about hearing this song in France is that it is so stereotypically 'French' that it has been remade so many times with so many different instrumental versions. I picked it out several times as 'elevator music' or from local street performers during the trip.

The version playing is the Edith Piaf version.

French Lyrics
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens,
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d'amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça me fait quelque chose.

Il est entré dans mon cœur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause.

C'est lui pour moi. Moi pour lui
Dans la vie,
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie.

Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat

Des nuits d'amour a ne plus en finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des enuis des chagrins, des phases
Heureux, heureux a en mourir.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d'amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça me fait quelque chose.

Il est entré dans mon cœur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause.

C'est toi pour moi. Moi pour toi
Dans la vie,
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie.

Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat

English Translation - (In some parts it is a literal translation. In other parts it captures the meaning of what the French lyrics were intending. There is an english version of the song, but it is not even close to the same in my opinion.)

Eyes that make me lower mine,
a laugh that dissipates on his lips,
this is the unretouched portrait
of the man to whom I belong.

When he takes me in his arms,
he speaks to me softly
and life seems perfect. (I see life in rosy hues.)

He utters words of love to me,
everyday words,
And it touches me inside.

He has brought into my heart
A happiness of which I know the cause.
It's him for me, me for him, all our lives.
He told me so, swore it, for all our lives.

And the moment I laid eyes on him,
right then I felt inside me
my beating heart.

Nights of love that never end,
a great joy takes hold.
Annoyances and sorrows disappear.
Happy, so happy I could die.

No Thyroid for me...

As an update to Friday's post...I did not get my thyroid medication upped. I saw my TSH level, and agree that it is within the 'normal' range. As long as it is below 2.0, my doctor is not going to adjust my Synthroid dosage. I don't go back for 6 months, so it could be a while before it is adjusted again. Hmmm....

She suggested that I follow up with my primary care to look for vitamin deficiencies (B vitamins, iron), so I have made an appointment with Dr. Hutchens this Friday. I will go fasted so they can run bloodwork if they need to. I really doubt I have a vitamin deficiency. I take a prenatal vitamin with iron at least 3 times a week (because I'm too lazy to take one every day).

I'm also going to ask about a referral to an allergy doctor. After this year's cedar season and suspicion that there is a food allergy that is affecting my 'swelling', I'd like to talk to a specialist about it and possibly do some testing. In the meantime, I'm going to start cutting back my intake of coffee, dairy, wheat and soy, as they are known food allergens or foods that I have started to regularly incorporate into my diet since I've started gaining weight and feeling swollen.

Soulbuster II

If you witnessed my run on the track today, you know it wasn't pretty. It finally took a breakdown followed by more running followed by Steve telling me 'You're sick' for it all to register. Here's the short (but thorough) recap.

• I didn't sleep all that well. I woke up heavier than I have all season and very swollen.
• I did my normal routine this morning...eat, drink, poop, pee. Nothing out of the ordinary.
• When my bladder ached 5 minutes out of Gateway, I knew it would be a long day.
• I had 6 pit stops total during the run today, four of which included #2. I pooped in the restroom at Russell's Bakery, Burger King, Mozarts, and the Austin High Tennis courts. (sorry for the TMI, but I was definitely feeling sick)
• The 20 pre-track miles were fine otherwise. My left hip is still sore. The hills were a little much for my legs today.
• On the track, I nailed MGP for my first two miles. After a lap of trying to go faster, I had a breakdown because I felt horrible in my guts.
• Steve told me to run 800 really easy and give him one more mile at MGP. He wanted me to get out of the 'emotional' part of my breakdown.
• I nailed my MGP mile after the breakdown, went straight to the port-o-potty, had nothing left in my intestines or bladder but felt like I had to go so bad. Instead I just sat there and sobbed.
• Steve had good words for me and made me realize I really was actually sick and probably very dehydrated. It was okay to stop running at that point.
• I have taken a three-bag ice bath. It was so cold that I still had big ice cubes left in the water after 20 minutes.
• I lost over five pounds during the run in 40-50 degree temps. Five pounds after drinking water throughout the run, eating 3 GUs, and post-run half of our anniversary almond croissant.

Thanks to those who were out there and cheered for me. I will run strong again on another day.

One Year Ago

Our official anniversary is tomorrow, March 15, but I thought I would share some of my favorite Saturday memories. Below are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend. (Credit for the pictures goes to Amelia Tarbet. We have compressed the images to hopefully be on the safe side for reprinting/copyright issues.)

This one is of the ladies going for our pre-wedding pics.


Chad and I walking out of the chapel as husband and wife.

Whew, the party can start!

Posing in front of the 'groom's house' that we used as the bar for the evening. The building is the old Bee Cave store or post office or something like that.

Cross your fingers for me...

Gosh I'm blogging a bunch these days. Please cross your fingers for me. I have an endocrinologist appointment in 30 minutes and I'm really hoping that my bloodwork shows that I need my thyroid dosage upped. That or perhaps the Dr will have some other explanation of why I'm sluggish and gaining weight (8 pounds) despite running 70 miles a week and eating a balanced/restricted diet. Please please please let this appointment go well.

Anniversary Weekend - Rehearsal Memories

On Sunday, Chad and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary. It is crazy how fast time passes, but it also seems like forever since we said 'I will'. (The answer to the question wasn't 'I do' :)). One year ago today (Friday) we were setting up for the rehearsal dinner and hoping for good weather. It was 80+ degrees and breezy as I remember it.

The set-up went well. Thankfully, we had friends and family come out for some hard manual labor to set up tables and chairs early in the day. The rehearsal and dinner could not have gone better.

Here are some pics from the rehearsal and dinner that night. Our dinner was delicious - salad, main course, and dessert paired with family wine at each course. It was such a treat. It is awesome to go back and look at the pictures to remember how much fun it was with our closest friends and family.

Tea Weather

Yesterday during my massage, Lisa said that this is 'tea weather'. I totally agree. Even though I've been downing a cup of coffee for 5:30am runs, I'm finding that tea really hits the spot throughout the day. Do you drink tea? What brands/flavors?

Here's what I've been drinking -

• Tazo - Wild Sweet Orange - This is a perfect cider replacement tea. If you don't want the sugary sweet taste of hot apple cider, but you still want a warm fruity taste, this is the ideal tea. I love this tea with a spoonful of sugar...I could drink it all day.

• Tazo - Passion - similar to the Wild Sweet Orange in terms of satisfaction and drinkability, but with some hibiscus/passionfruit notes.




• Two Leaves and a Bud - Mountain High Chai - My absolute favorite chai blend. I don't need milk in this one because it is so smooth on its own.




• Tazo - Organic Tazo Chai - not as good as the Two Leaves and a Bud, but still a satisfying, spicy blend. I'm drinking a cup of this right now.





• Yorkshire Teas - Red Breakfast Tea - Yummy strong black tea.

I'm a little stuck on the Tazo brand, only because I like their variety packs and their consistent flavors. In the past, I have been known to branch out and try new brands and flavors.

As a wedding gift, we got a tea kettle that I LOVE! It works well for tea or oatmeal (which I eat regularly). I also got some tea diffusers and tea balls for loose leaf tea, so I'm excited to try bulk teas.

It is certainly tea weather.

To Hell with the Trifecta

My Facebook status this morning read 'Sadie Jones has decided that a 4:30 wake-up, 40 degree temps and rain are the perfect trifecta for her to stay in bed...but she is gonna run anyways.'

I meant it. I really wanted to stay in bed. I am not a morning person. I hate running in temps below 45. I really hate running in the rain when it is cold. If it wasn't for horrible peer pressure and my complex to try to be one of the 'hard core' members of the team, I would have loved to cuddle up under the covers for another three hours. Damn, now that I re-think it, three hours under warm covers would have been so nice.

Thanks to Mike for posting this radar image on his blog. I'm stealing it. This is right about the time we started our warmup. Seriously, when I found out we were going to the Eastside track instead of Austin High, I almost had a meltdown. Mentally, I had prepared to run west, and it was all I could do to grin and bear it through a rolling hilly warm-up in a part of town we used to visit on the tour of our student neighborhoods when I was a teacher.

One good thing about this morning...I was so distracted with the weather conditions and my preparations to avoid the discomforts of the cold rain that I forgot to wear my watch. Oh well! I wasn't able to take my splits for the track workout. It was probably a good thing. My clothes were soaked and I was running in lanes 3 and 4 because of the huge puddles on the inside of the track. I can guarantee you my times would have been slow because of all of the extenuating circumstances, not because I wasn't putting forth the effort.

My Facebook status now reads "Sadie agrees that 'there is a fine line between hard core and stupid.' She will only admit to the hard core bit." The quote comes directly from Glenda when she walked in after her workout. I laughed a little when she said it. Then it hit me....

I drove safely. I wore proper rain gear to minimize the suffering through the cold rain. I ran the workout to the best of my ability. None of those things are stupid. Ever. Though I would not call people 'stupid', those who stayed in bed this morning (without a valid excuse like being sick) missed some of the mental toughness that I gained this morning. And yes, I could have slept in and run the workout on my own at lunchtime to avoid some rain...not an excuse on a group coached workout day.

Rock on...10.9 miles in the cold, cold rain and wind. Tough as nails. Hard core. However you want to put it...

Countdown

The weather change today got me thinking about a particular upcoming vacation. I'm ready to shove my toes in the sand at the barefoot bar at the Hula Grill, to drive down the coast with the top down and smell the ocean water, to admire an afternoon rainbow above the hills over Kaanapali Beach.

I've started some countdowns...

4 days from now Chad and I will celebrate our first anniversary!

18 days from now I'm racing the Capitol 10,000 the day after a really long run. Should be 'fun'.

29 days from now I'm taking off on a road trip with my darling to check off an item on his 'bucket list'. More on that in a later post.

43 days from now we fly off to Nashville to run fast. That sounds closer and closer, especially since some of those days will be recovery weeks or tapering. yay!

59 days from now we'll be on a plane to Maui to vacation for a week. Yay, yay, triple yay!

Headwind

Tara and I almost missed the rain today. We made it over halfway into a muggy, hot run before we heard the cold front about to hit us. We could see the trees shaking and heard the steam train sound of the leading edge of the front. Ten steps later, it was twenty degrees cooler.

The leading edge of the front was awesome. I know exactly where we were when the first cold breeze hit. The winds howled and knocked brown leaves off of all of the Live Oak trees in the Pemberton area. It was a shower of leaves for five minutes before the actual rain started to fall. Mist became sprinkles, became rain, became a near downpour before we made it back to the house.

We ran through a complete change in weather forecast this morning...awesome!!! So glad we got six miles in, because I'm not so sure I'm going to do any more later today. We're gonna need to bundle up tomorrow morning!

Music Change - Right Round

One of the songs on my running mix right now is 'Right Round' by FloRida. It samples 'You Spin Me Round' by Dead or Alive (which should be playing as you read this). If you want, feel free to scroll to the bottom and play 'Right Round' to hear the difference. That, or enjoy the oldie but goodie and let the more contemporary version play automatically afterwards.

Either song is fun to run to.

Yikes - Sucky Running Weather ahead!

The forecast looks like it is going to suck starting tomorrow. Yes, running in the rain can be fun, but running in thunderstorms does not work for me at all.

The plan is to get in all of my Wednesday miles in the morning and suck it up to do the team workout on Thursday as long as it is not too awful. Thank goodness I get a rest day on Friday and have the luxury of running when I want on Saturday (when I'll likely only need 6-8 miles to fill in weekly mileage). Soulbuster looks to have decent weather so far.

Easy Tuesday

We ran easy this morning instead of doing a quality workout. I ran with Amy and Stephanie because it seemed like most of our normal peeps didn't show this morning. The company was fun, the route was good, and I managed to get slimed twice by Sisson's sweaty arm (the first time on accident, the second time on purpose). Amy and Steph were running about 10 (we did 10.4 if anyone googlemapped it) and I tacked on a few extra with my iPod to get to 13.25. I felt like I could have run all day my legs felt so good. My left hip/glute is still giving me a touch of pain now and then, but it appears to be recovering okay so far.

Have a great day everyone!

Low Blood Sugar

I experienced low blood sugar this morning while trying to finish my 9-10 miles for the week. In the past, I have passed out in the middle of a run (and in the middle of the road) due to low blood sugar, so I know what it feels like to crater. I'm only blogging about this in case it helps someone else to read about what it feels like to have low blood sugar on a run to the point that you must have food. I don't need any warnings from anyone, nor do I need anyone to be concerned about me. I messed up and I have now taken the steps to replenish my body.

After yesterday's 23 miler I did not fuel up enough. I see now that I needed to eat more during the day (and different kinds of foods) but I just couldn't stomach eating certain things yesterday and tried to do my best.

Here's what I ate -
Before run - coffee w/sugar, Clif Bar (approx. 300 cal)
During 23 mile run - 1 GU, 16 oz Cytomax
Breakfast after run - (approx 660 cal) Odwalla Super Protein Smoothie, small container pineapple chunks, 1 small banana, 16 oz non-fat latte - Food did not seem appetizing at all.
Food at party - (approx 750 cal) veggie burger with mustard, relish, and tomato, cupcake, separate small slice of birthday cake, lemonade, water
Dinner - (approx 450 cal) large bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with milk - Still didn't want to eat the 'good for me' food in the house.

I definitely did not replenish my fuel stores throughout the day since I only consumed around 2200 calories (and those are generous estimates). I likely burned all 2200 of that and more during the run yesterday morning, not to mention during the following 22 hours awake and asleep before my attempt at running this morning.

This morning I had my normal apple cinnamon oatmeal (300 cal) and a cup of coffee with sugar before heading out to go run again. I went downtown around 9am and ran 5 miles on the trail, stopping for water and such. After five miles, I didn't feeling like running any more down there on the trail. Sure, I definitely felt tired and a little drained, but I thought it was just general fatigue. I chugged 16 oz of Cytomax in the car.

When I got home, I mapped out a 2 mile route from the house and planned to do a couple of laps to get myself to 9 miles for the day. It was already a warm 80 degrees and I had been sweating like crazy, so I figured that breaking up my route into 2 mile chunks would allow me to drink more water and stretch if I needed to before heading out again. After my first mile on the road, I started to feel lightheaded and felt instantly like my blood sugar was low. I then started to get little spots in my eyes and felt dizzy a few blocks away from the house. If you have ever experienced low blood sugar, you know how this feels...exhausted, but 'shaky' and jittery, and with a bit of a drunk 'buzz'. You get a little 'confused' if it becomes severe enough.

I realized it was very late in the morning, that I had probably not fueled enough from yesterday, and that the seven miles now under my belt were way beyond what the oatmeal and coffee would have provided energy for at my level of glucose depletion.

Immediately upon arriving home, I rushed into the kitchen and quickly made myself a PB&J. My hands were shaking. I needed the quick sugar of the jelly, the complex carbs of the bread, and the fat/protein from the peanut butter to help my system balance as fast as possible. I also made some more Cytomax to get some instant relief. Thankfully, I felt better almost immediately and was able to digest the sandwich and finish another 2 miles without any problems, though I did wait about 15 minutes before heading out again. My last 2 miles felt pretty darn good in fact. I ate a good lunch and feel much better now.

Don't bother leaving me comments saying 'be careful' or 'watch out'. I've been through it before and know how to handle my body. Please be careful yourself about eating enough after a big run before you go out and try to run the next day.

4-5-5-5-4

Keeping this as short as possible while still sharing what I want to share -

4 mile warmup - 37:38

Loop 1 - 5 miles (not MGP, but 'faster than easy pace and see how my legs feel')
8:01
7:40
7:36
7:50
8:12
average - 7:52 (I'm very happy with this pace being 'faster than easy pace'.)

Loop 2 - 5 miles (supposed to be easy pace, really I tried to slow down)
8:13
8:08
8:09
8:23
8:41
average - 8:17 (I'm very happy with this pace being my 'easy pace'.)

Loop 3 - 5 miles (MGP - see what I have left, ultimate Nashville MGP is 7:38)
7:54
7:13 - can you tell I love downhill? What was I thinking? And this was into a brutal headwind!
7:40 - consciously backed off here because the previous mile split scared me.
7:55
8:20 - can you tell how much I hate uphills?
average - 7:48.4 (I wish this average was faster, but I'll take it for now. I've got some work to do to meet my goals.)

4 mile cooldown - 39:43 - very painful, but Michael and I ran back the whole way and did not need to walk (not that there is anything wrong with walking).

Total running time - 3:17:23 (average 8:35 - HOLY COW that is fast for me if it includes 8 miles of really easy running)

Notes of interest -

• It's funny to me to see how consistently variable my splits are on each loop based on the terrain. You can definitely tell where the hills were. I think most people had a spread of paces similar to mine, especially with the slower miles 4 and 5.
• I did this run with only one GU at mile 9 and 16 ounces of Cytomax throughout the run.
• I've been battling water weight for the past week and started this run 6 pounds heavier than I started the run last weekend. I weighed 148 at the start today. After the run, I was down to 143.2, even after eating breakfast and drinking lots of fluids. I hope it stays low...hopefully I've sweated out all of the excess sodium that I've been hanging on to.
• My hip did start to flare during lap 3 and during the cooldown, but it is feeling better now.
• Breakfast with the team was awesome. Kamran got a Snuggie from the black short fasties (which was hilarious to watch) and he also drove me to my car at RunTex. Thanks Kamran!

Song Change - Feeling Good

After my last post about reframing the rest of the season, I thought I'd change the music from the brooding, somewhat angry Bjork song that was playing all week. Here you go...

Feeling Good
lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
performed by Nina Simone (probably the best arrangement and performance of this song, IMO)

Birds flying high, you know how I feel.
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel.
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel.

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.
It's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good.

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.
It's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good.

Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don't you know?
Butterflies all havin' fun, you know what I mean.
Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean.
And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me.

Stars when you shine, you know how I feel.
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel.
Oh freedom is mine! And I know how I feel.

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.
It's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good.

Uncle and a Reframe

I cried 'uncle' today. Not because the roller workout was too hard. My efforts were better than I expected them to be. 'Uncle' because I have reconfirmed that I am not a multi-day quality workout runner. My past running history has shown that I am more successful when I run only one quality workout per week and at the most some kind of short tempo/MGP run on another day. Both of my marathon PRs have been at the end of training seasons with one quality a week, regardless of overall weekly miles. Every single time that I have been in a group that does Tuesday/Thursday quality workouts I get an injury...and I can count at least 3 seasons where that has occurred. Again, that is regardless of overall weekly miles.

I'm not injured in case you are wondering. My left hip/glute has flared up a little (no big surprise) and right now it is very early. I was still able to run 13.3 'rollers' this morning, but I opted to not run the steady state back to Randalls once I figured out that the fast hill work was bothering my hip.

Steve and I both agreed that it was a great decision to change up the T/TH/S plan and run only the Tuesday quality workouts hard, then run a MLR on Thursday and approach any kind of pace work on Saturday with caution. I get to still keep up all of the rest of my mileage assuming my body can handle it. He was great about the decision being made, and reconfirmed that we had talked about all of this at the beginning of the season. Before I even started the high miles, we knew that at some point my body may not want to run two quality days. I'm glad that he thinks we're making a good decision.

Some people's bodies thrive on 2-3 hard workouts a week. Some people need no quality at all. Some people need fewer miles. Some people need more miles. I'm just thankful that I have a coach that understands that everyone has different needs and that I might actually perform better with a plan that is slightly different than the majority of the group.

March

Some thoughts about March -

• In general, March weather is unpredictable. The weather can be downright nasty with wind and rain, or it can be gorgeous. Most of the time, I have found March to be cloudier than expected and colder than expected. Seems like when we get budding trees, I expect warm weather (like in the 90s).
• Speaking of budding trees...I love this time of year for the color and smells of the trees. My favorite trees with the white buds have their traditional grape juice smells. The redbuds and mountain laurel trees are all showy and purple. From my window in the office, some of the trees that were very recently brown and twiggy are now showing a bright green burst of leaves. Hooray!
• Our anniversary is March 15. We're not planning on making a big deal about it because we've already got a couple of vacations planned where we can celebrate. Maybe we'll go to a nice dinner here in Austin, but unfortunately there is a 'Soulbuster' long run scheduled for Sunday the 15th. That pretty much ensures that I'll want to keep it low key on Saturday night (and eat right), and by Sunday evening I'll likely be a zombie. Happy anniversary honey, you're going to have one tired wife.
• I don't participate in many of the activities that keep Austin busy during March. I don't do SXSW, I don't have anything to do with the basketball tournament, I don't usually go to the rodeo unless there is a good concert that I want to go to, and I pretty much try to avoid the big crowds where they are.
• Running in March can be difficult. If you are training for Boston or some other spring marathon, this is peak training time. Thirty one days of tough running typically makes the training log look awesome, but makes me completely exhausted. That, and it is usually capped off by running or racing the Capitol 10,000, which is not an easy 1ok. I'm looking forward to putting in the hard work now that it is March. I have my calendar set before me and I know what I've got to accomplish. There is a light at the end of the tunnel (way out there) and I'm looking forward to how it might feel to really be in shape.

Warhurst

The Warhurst must be respected. It is a tough workout.

We had to do 5 repeats today, which means that after our warmup we did sets of 1M at 'tempo to MGP' pace followed by a 400m easy jog to the track and 1200m at 10k pace followed by water if we needed it, followed by 400m easy jog...repeat 5 times. Each repeat (including the easy jogs) was just over 2 miles, so running five of them is no small feat.

Coach told us to first focus on the 1200m on the track. He wanted those fast and consistent. Then, our next priority was to focus on the mile time. Our final focus was to do all 5 sets. My ultimate goal for the workout was to do the mile sections at 7:38 pace and the 1200m at 7:20 pace (meaning that my time for the 1200 should have been 5:30). I was determined to get the track pace right, regardless of where I was on the mile.

Here's how it went, then the excuses.

round 1 - 7:57 - 5:28.89
round 2 - 8:08 - 5:27.89
round 3 - 7:53 - 5:28.24
round 4 - 7:50 - 5:26.06
round 5 - 8:00 - 5:27.70

My 1200s were good. No excuses for my performance there. I'm more than pleased that I didn't slow down. I'm also glad to see that my first one was my slowest and my last two were my fastest two.

My mile sections were slower than I hoped. I really thought the first one was going to be 7:45 or faster and I panicked when I saw 7:57 for the effort that I was giving it. I don't know if it was the cold air, running in tights, or what, but I didn't feel warmed up and my legs didn't feel so hot the first couple of repeats. The 8:08 was my reaction to feeling a little sluggish. I tried to stay within myself going up the Veterans hill and just settled into too slow of a pace.

After round 2, I started to warm up and felt pretty good. I know why my last repeat was slower...I was so focused on being finished that I just let myself ease up. I wasn't chasing the ladies in front of me as closely as during the other laps, so I became lax in my pacing.

I've got a bunch of lame excuses as to why I was slow on the mile sections...hills slow me down, I don't like running in tights, it was really cold, it was really dark at first, Steve said it was okay to be a little conservative on the miles and I let that be an excuse for me to go slower, it was cold, I didn't feel like I was in a groove, I weigh 5 pounds more than I did on Saturday because of things not in my control, I didn't get a good night's sleep, it was cold, I wished I was wearing shorts, I had menstrual cramps after repeat #3, hills slow me down, I lost focus, it was cold...wah wah wah...

Excuses aside, I'm pleased that I completed the repeats and didn't bonk. I did the track work correctly and am not too disappointed that my average mile section pace was 7:57.6. That is faster than my 'B' goal MGP and on a flatter mile I would have come closer to meeting my 'ultimate' workout goal.

Much respect for the Warhurst. I look forward to repeating the workout in 3 weeks.

Yesterday vs Today

Yesterday was a rotten day all around. I hope a minimal night's sleep and a good hard workout take care of the rest of the bad juju. Seems like today feels better already, but I've got all my fingers and toes crossed that it will last.

Negative Energy

I've gotta get some of this out...

• stop emailing me
• stop calling me, especially when you think it is okay to screen my calls
• the sound of your voice makes me cringe
• you make me want to hide
• you completely jack up my plans and I resent you for that
• when you dump stuff on me, my first impulse is to curse and put my foot down
• thank you doesn't cut it anymore

Don't think you know who I'm talking about...Putting this out in space should help me (and a few other people who have gotten an earful lately) get some relief. There is some serious negative energy floating around, and these days I seem to be a thirsty sponge for it.

Cheers!

We're at the winery today!