I was supposed to run today and didn't because I wasn't feeling great (and it's hot). Instead, I will do my run tomorrow. It's three miles. If you can imagine.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Day off....but......
Someone got a new toy:
An AWESOME NEW TOY!!!! This is the only object I have ever owned for which I want to read the entire owner's manual.
I was supposed to run today and didn't because I wasn't feeling great (and it's hot). Instead, I will do my run tomorrow. It's three miles. If you can imagine.
I was supposed to run today and didn't because I wasn't feeling great (and it's hot). Instead, I will do my run tomorrow. It's three miles. If you can imagine.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Last of the semi-long runs
This post is the third in a three-part series to get caught up with my running exploits after having been out of town for Thanksgiving weekend. Although actually it talks about today's run, so technically it is still on time.
Back in Florida, back to the hot runs. Although luckily, this morning wasn't too bad, from a temperature/humidity standpoint: it was actually in the 50s to start and didn't get over the mid-60s. I was hoping to get up early and go, but didn't have much oomph to start my day, so I started around 8am. Today was 10 miles, the last serious distance before the marathon. Everything is much shorter from here on out and I think that the longest remaining runs are 5 miles.
However, I still have this super-annoying head cold! So the weather didn't seem quite so great because I was sweaty the whole time anyway. It was somewhat helpful to have a point of comparison for running while sick since I didn't really in Detroit with the conditions varying so much from normal. What I learned was that running while you are sick is not fun. I didn't feel comfortable really at any point, although the run itself went relatively well. Perhaps it is all in my head (HA! Get it?)
Today I also experienced my first technical glitch of the entire training period. I have to say that this isn't too bad considering that I managed to get through about 340 miles without one.* I'm not sure that today's run was exactly 10 miles, but that's okay. Around mile 7.8, the distance tracker seemed to freeze. Either that, or it was the longest 0.1 mile I have ever run. Flashbacks to the turkey trot with no 5-mile marker. Then suddenly, I had run 8.3 miles. Ditto at 8.8. In other words, there was some weird 'increments of 0.5' thing going on, then things were fine. However, I'm not sure that it tracked the distance exactly right. I still ran to what the phone claimed was 10 miles. And that will just have to do.
*Incidentally, that is an insane number. I have run over 340 miles training for this thing. Insane. That is further than from here to Savannah, GA.
Back in Florida, back to the hot runs. Although luckily, this morning wasn't too bad, from a temperature/humidity standpoint: it was actually in the 50s to start and didn't get over the mid-60s. I was hoping to get up early and go, but didn't have much oomph to start my day, so I started around 8am. Today was 10 miles, the last serious distance before the marathon. Everything is much shorter from here on out and I think that the longest remaining runs are 5 miles.
However, I still have this super-annoying head cold! So the weather didn't seem quite so great because I was sweaty the whole time anyway. It was somewhat helpful to have a point of comparison for running while sick since I didn't really in Detroit with the conditions varying so much from normal. What I learned was that running while you are sick is not fun. I didn't feel comfortable really at any point, although the run itself went relatively well. Perhaps it is all in my head (HA! Get it?)
Today I also experienced my first technical glitch of the entire training period. I have to say that this isn't too bad considering that I managed to get through about 340 miles without one.* I'm not sure that today's run was exactly 10 miles, but that's okay. Around mile 7.8, the distance tracker seemed to freeze. Either that, or it was the longest 0.1 mile I have ever run. Flashbacks to the turkey trot with no 5-mile marker. Then suddenly, I had run 8.3 miles. Ditto at 8.8. In other words, there was some weird 'increments of 0.5' thing going on, then things were fine. However, I'm not sure that it tracked the distance exactly right. I still ran to what the phone claimed was 10 miles. And that will just have to do.
*Incidentally, that is an insane number. I have run over 340 miles training for this thing. Insane. That is further than from here to Savannah, GA.
Running in cold > Running in hot
This post is the second in a three-part series to get caught up with my running exploits after having been out of town for Thanksgiving weekend.
Saturday morning another Detroit run remained. I was staying downtown, so the run went around Comerica Park -- which looks super nice by the way, I want to visit in the summer and see a few games. This time the distance was only 4 miles. I say 'only' because after the past few weeks, 4 miles feels like a walk around the block.
Except that this walk took place with a wind chill of 20F. It really wasn't so bad in the sun -- if you can called Michigan sun 'sun' -- but when those wind gusts hit, it was not pleasant. That being said, I still preferred it over running in the hot. And my time was better than most Florida runs as well.
However, it is entirely possible that running in 20F wind chill was not helpful for my cold, since it continued to stick around. Blech. Enough! I know that it's common to get sick during taper time, but still. Irritating. And annoying!
Saturday morning another Detroit run remained. I was staying downtown, so the run went around Comerica Park -- which looks super nice by the way, I want to visit in the summer and see a few games. This time the distance was only 4 miles. I say 'only' because after the past few weeks, 4 miles feels like a walk around the block.
Except that this walk took place with a wind chill of 20F. It really wasn't so bad in the sun -- if you can called Michigan sun 'sun' -- but when those wind gusts hit, it was not pleasant. That being said, I still preferred it over running in the hot. And my time was better than most Florida runs as well.
However, it is entirely possible that running in 20F wind chill was not helpful for my cold, since it continued to stick around. Blech. Enough! I know that it's common to get sick during taper time, but still. Irritating. And annoying!
Turkey Trot in Detroit
This post is the first in a three-part series to get caught up with my running exploits after having been out of town for Thanksgiving weekend.
Thursday morning was Thanksgiving, an event that I celebrated by flying to Detroit to see the New England Patriots stage a late-game rally and beat the pants off of the Detroit Lions. Tom Brady's QB rating was perfect. I realize that this is in no way relevant to this blog, but it's a fact that I will not get sick of anytime soon.
Speaking of sick, I got sick. I caught a cold last week and ran through it on Tuesday, hoping that it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Unfortunately, it continued on Thursday. Just a head cold, so no reason to stop running (I would if it became a chest cold), yet not ideal. I was a bit concerned because the weather was supposed to be in the 30s and raining. Just in the 30s would be manageable, but with rain? Ick. Luckily the rain held off for the duration of the race since I would definitely put 'rainy and cold' in the Top Three of my least favorite weather conditions.
The run itself went quite well. So well that I thought I might have a new PR for 10K time, but in fact did not (boo). Probably the fact that I didn't really warm up to race pace beforehand combined with the fact that I had a cold did not help. And I brought 'performance gear' from a Florida race thinking that it was 'performance gear,' when really it just trapped heat (*why* this was distributed for a Florida race, I may never know). Plus it was a relatively congested start, so I probably didn't get a good pace for a bit.
Also, I totally missed the 5-mile marker. I was feeling pretty good through mile 4, so my plan was to crank it through mile 5 (I did not take the phone on the grounds that it might rain). Hard to do when you totally miss mile 5, even though I was pretty sure that mile 4 was awfully long. Ah well. My goal right now isn't to PR in a 10K race.....even though it sure would have been nice......
Thursday morning was Thanksgiving, an event that I celebrated by flying to Detroit to see the New England Patriots stage a late-game rally and beat the pants off of the Detroit Lions. Tom Brady's QB rating was perfect. I realize that this is in no way relevant to this blog, but it's a fact that I will not get sick of anytime soon.
Speaking of sick, I got sick. I caught a cold last week and ran through it on Tuesday, hoping that it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Unfortunately, it continued on Thursday. Just a head cold, so no reason to stop running (I would if it became a chest cold), yet not ideal. I was a bit concerned because the weather was supposed to be in the 30s and raining. Just in the 30s would be manageable, but with rain? Ick. Luckily the rain held off for the duration of the race since I would definitely put 'rainy and cold' in the Top Three of my least favorite weather conditions.
The run itself went quite well. So well that I thought I might have a new PR for 10K time, but in fact did not (boo). Probably the fact that I didn't really warm up to race pace beforehand combined with the fact that I had a cold did not help. And I brought 'performance gear' from a Florida race thinking that it was 'performance gear,' when really it just trapped heat (*why* this was distributed for a Florida race, I may never know). Plus it was a relatively congested start, so I probably didn't get a good pace for a bit.
Also, I totally missed the 5-mile marker. I was feeling pretty good through mile 4, so my plan was to crank it through mile 5 (I did not take the phone on the grounds that it might rain). Hard to do when you totally miss mile 5, even though I was pretty sure that mile 4 was awfully long. Ah well. My goal right now isn't to PR in a 10K race.....even though it sure would have been nice......
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Taper Time Begins with a Challenge
Since I started training, I've noticed that my body sometimes craves weird things. This goes beyond those times when I find myself hording carbs in my shopping cart, although that is one good example. What is even weirder is when I find my body 'craving' things that have nothing to do with food. For instance, after one of my long runs, I was getting ready to go watch my football game at the bar and I realized that my feet craved for me to wear running shoes. Seriously. I can't explain it any better than to say it is a craving.
Today, I had a 5-mile run. It was supposed to be 5 miles with hills, but I didn't feel like running over in the hill neighborhood. Several factors conspired to make me less motivated: the fact that the sun goes down at 5:30 now; the fact that I did not get home until 5; and the fact that I don't like running in the dark any more for fear of tripping and bashing up my knees (or worse). I couldn't go running in the morning because I was in Orlando. Yes. Again.
I came awfully close to not doing today's run. Probably closer than I have come before. For one, I just wasn't in the mood. Also, I got a massage this afternoon which helped take out all of the running kinks and I was enjoying being able to move my neck freely again (the massage finished at 4:45, hence why I did not get home until 5pm). And the weather, while not vile, is not ideal for running. Today's heat index was in the mid-80s. Ugh.
However, somehow my body craved (?) going for a run around my little condo association neighborhood. By 'little,' I mean this thing loops at 0.7 miles. Why I wanted to do this, I don't know. It required that I circle 7 times around the little loop, then add on a tiny bit. But for some reason, this made me happy and it really wasn't so bad. There is decent lighting at night here, which is not true of all neighborhoods. I ran on the road, so no uneven sidewalks to trip me. It is a loop, but it isn't a terrible loop as far as scenery goes. Just chalk this up to another one of my weird 'cravings,' I guess. And that is another 5 miles that I really did not want to run done!
Today, I had a 5-mile run. It was supposed to be 5 miles with hills, but I didn't feel like running over in the hill neighborhood. Several factors conspired to make me less motivated: the fact that the sun goes down at 5:30 now; the fact that I did not get home until 5; and the fact that I don't like running in the dark any more for fear of tripping and bashing up my knees (or worse). I couldn't go running in the morning because I was in Orlando. Yes. Again.
I came awfully close to not doing today's run. Probably closer than I have come before. For one, I just wasn't in the mood. Also, I got a massage this afternoon which helped take out all of the running kinks and I was enjoying being able to move my neck freely again (the massage finished at 4:45, hence why I did not get home until 5pm). And the weather, while not vile, is not ideal for running. Today's heat index was in the mid-80s. Ugh.
However, somehow my body craved (?) going for a run around my little condo association neighborhood. By 'little,' I mean this thing loops at 0.7 miles. Why I wanted to do this, I don't know. It required that I circle 7 times around the little loop, then add on a tiny bit. But for some reason, this made me happy and it really wasn't so bad. There is decent lighting at night here, which is not true of all neighborhoods. I ran on the road, so no uneven sidewalks to trip me. It is a loop, but it isn't a terrible loop as far as scenery goes. Just chalk this up to another one of my weird 'cravings,' I guess. And that is another 5 miles that I really did not want to run done!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Long and Winding Road (mostly long)
[Yesterday I ran 4 miles. Nothing exciting to report. Although there is now a 'On Purpose Stephanie Encounter' to go with the 'Random Stephanie Encounter.']
Today was the last long run: 20 miles. And I finished it. It was not the most pleasant run I have ever done: it started in the 60s with 85% humidity, enough to push the temperature + humidity number to 150 (which, as you may recall, is too close to 160 for my comfort). During the course of the run, the conditions did not get much better, exacerbated by the fact that I am a really freaking slow runner so everything took a long, long time. But no matter. It is now done. With any luck, these will be the worst conditions I encounter for such a lengthy distance.
I ran my normal route around the north part of the golf course neighborhood, then went over to the south part to loop miles 7ish-13ish. Overall, it was a really nice route, particularly because there were convenient water stops: one about 1/4 (or 3/4 on the return) of the way through and another at the halfway point. Very useful. Probably would not have done so well without them, particularly since I forgot to pick up some of the healthy Gatorade stuff, so I was stuck with only water (and, naturally, my sports beans). When I felt my brain wandering, I reminded myself that this was a combination of tired/need sports beans/want hydration and to keep focused.
Completing 20 miles feels like a real accomplishment, even though there is still the long race to go. I've been thinking a lot about the overall training during the past week and am pleased that I've done a good job at getting out there and running, even when I don't feel like it. This hasn't always been easy, but on the whole, I think that it's been easier than I expected. I'm also really thrilled that I have such a wonderful neighborhood at my disposal because that has made everything much more pleasant. As I ran today, I thought about how fortunate I am to live in and around a neighborhood that offers so many options for routes, while also providing shade, scenery, and very little traffic:
And now, on to Taper Time!
Today was the last long run: 20 miles. And I finished it. It was not the most pleasant run I have ever done: it started in the 60s with 85% humidity, enough to push the temperature + humidity number to 150 (which, as you may recall, is too close to 160 for my comfort). During the course of the run, the conditions did not get much better, exacerbated by the fact that I am a really freaking slow runner so everything took a long, long time. But no matter. It is now done. With any luck, these will be the worst conditions I encounter for such a lengthy distance.
I ran my normal route around the north part of the golf course neighborhood, then went over to the south part to loop miles 7ish-13ish. Overall, it was a really nice route, particularly because there were convenient water stops: one about 1/4 (or 3/4 on the return) of the way through and another at the halfway point. Very useful. Probably would not have done so well without them, particularly since I forgot to pick up some of the healthy Gatorade stuff, so I was stuck with only water (and, naturally, my sports beans). When I felt my brain wandering, I reminded myself that this was a combination of tired/need sports beans/want hydration and to keep focused.
Completing 20 miles feels like a real accomplishment, even though there is still the long race to go. I've been thinking a lot about the overall training during the past week and am pleased that I've done a good job at getting out there and running, even when I don't feel like it. This hasn't always been easy, but on the whole, I think that it's been easier than I expected. I'm also really thrilled that I have such a wonderful neighborhood at my disposal because that has made everything much more pleasant. As I ran today, I thought about how fortunate I am to live in and around a neighborhood that offers so many options for routes, while also providing shade, scenery, and very little traffic:
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| And pretty, colored trees! |
And now, on to Taper Time!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Weather gets perfect
Last night I ran another 5 miles with hills (okay, I know, they are not really hills). Unfortunately, I was whisked away to Orlando as if by magic (no, not really), so I didn't have time to blog about it. It was fantastic. I went at sunset because many, many things prevented me from going in the morning, such as being in Gainesville, FL with no running gear. But it was not a big deal. The only slight problem I noticed with running at night is that I am now wary about falling again, so I am cautious. Overall, though, great run.
I still haven't experienced any massive problems or injuries, but I do feel like my body is on the brink of having enough. No specific symptoms, just a general feeling of 'Don't push this much further.' Which is fine, because I'm not pushing it much further and next week marks the start of the decreased mileage!
Tomorrow is 4 miles, then the 20-mile megarun on Sunday. Almost there.
I still haven't experienced any massive problems or injuries, but I do feel like my body is on the brink of having enough. No specific symptoms, just a general feeling of 'Don't push this much further.' Which is fine, because I'm not pushing it much further and next week marks the start of the decreased mileage!
Tomorrow is 4 miles, then the 20-mile megarun on Sunday. Almost there.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Last week of high mileage
The alarm went off this morning and I felt whatever the diametric opposite of motivation is to go out and run. However, I reminded myself that this is the last week of big miles. Next week marks the start of taper time, when your mileage drops so that you are ready for the race. So I just need to get through this one week. Eventually, that was what got me out the door, although it was not a quick process by any stretch of the imagination.
Yet again, my schedule is weird this week since I will be traveling to Gainesville tomorrow. I decided to flip the 10 mile run that was supposed to take place on Thursday and do it instead today (now Thursday will be 5 miles). This was probably part of why I was somewhat unmotivated this morning: 10 miles is a long way. In fact, not that long ago I would have called it a long run. But I had to get it done this morning since there is a chance of showers later and I figured I did not want to risk it.
The run itself wasn't so bad once I just got out there. Some days the entire battle is just getting out there. The first part was mostly overcast, which was great. Then there was more sun than I would have liked, but a somewhat cool breeze came with it. I say 'somewhat' because it is more humid than normal at this time of year, so it wasn't quite as enjoyable as it could have been. Not crazy summer hot or anything though, which is good.
Only 29 more miles to go this week! <-- this is a remarkably demotivating thought.
Yet again, my schedule is weird this week since I will be traveling to Gainesville tomorrow. I decided to flip the 10 mile run that was supposed to take place on Thursday and do it instead today (now Thursday will be 5 miles). This was probably part of why I was somewhat unmotivated this morning: 10 miles is a long way. In fact, not that long ago I would have called it a long run. But I had to get it done this morning since there is a chance of showers later and I figured I did not want to risk it.
The run itself wasn't so bad once I just got out there. Some days the entire battle is just getting out there. The first part was mostly overcast, which was great. Then there was more sun than I would have liked, but a somewhat cool breeze came with it. I say 'somewhat' because it is more humid than normal at this time of year, so it wasn't quite as enjoyable as it could have been. Not crazy summer hot or anything though, which is good.
Only 29 more miles to go this week! <-- this is a remarkably demotivating thought.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Where did I go? Pittsburgh!
It's been a few days since I last posted, but don't worry. All is well. The running is still on schedule. Saturday I did my 5 miles which was supposed to include 8 minutes of hill time. Yeah, I got that and then some. In case you have never been to the lovely city of Pittsburgh, let me warn you in advance: it is hilly. Like, crazy hilly. Especially when you get off-track and wind up adding a bunch of hill to your run accidentally. All hills aside, though, it was an extremely pleasant run, when all was said and done, even if a bunch of stuff went wrong along the way.
My plan was to run in Schenley Park, near where I was staying. The directions were relatively simple: take a right, then take a left, then turn and cross the bridge, then I would be there. Except that I am directionally challenged a lot of the time. In this case, I completely missed the bridge. Adding to the fun was the fact that I had my phone, I started the running app, but forgot to completely turn it on, so I ran probably a good half mile before figuring this out (at least I guesstimated it at about half a mile). Then I wound up taking a straight downhill path for a bit in the wrong direction, which naturally required a straight uphill to get turned around again. I think that I probably ran enough hills to make up for all of the slacker Florida hills that I've done so far during training.
Once I actually found the park, though, it was quite pleasant. There were trails with foliage. Not Florida foliage. Actual, honest-to-goodness foliage, with leaves of different colors -- even if they were fringing on past peak. And I got to run right next to them on a lovely trail. Plus the weather was great, in the mid-50s....and this was around noon! Noon! Can you imagine? Because it gets hard to imagine being able to run at noon when you live in Florida for a while.
I did slack off a bit at the end and after completing my guesstimated 5 miles (4.5 miles, allowing for the 'Oops, I forgot to turn on the app' error), walked the remainder. The hills were just....ack. There is no other word. If nothing else, running in Pittsburgh gave me an entirely new appreciation for the term, 'Killah hill.' I just mapped the basic route on Map My Run and discovered that I covered about 450 feet over the course of a 5-mile run. For reference, the highest point in all of Florida is only 345 feet above sea level and it is nowhere near where I live.
My plan was to run in Schenley Park, near where I was staying. The directions were relatively simple: take a right, then take a left, then turn and cross the bridge, then I would be there. Except that I am directionally challenged a lot of the time. In this case, I completely missed the bridge. Adding to the fun was the fact that I had my phone, I started the running app, but forgot to completely turn it on, so I ran probably a good half mile before figuring this out (at least I guesstimated it at about half a mile). Then I wound up taking a straight downhill path for a bit in the wrong direction, which naturally required a straight uphill to get turned around again. I think that I probably ran enough hills to make up for all of the slacker Florida hills that I've done so far during training.
Once I actually found the park, though, it was quite pleasant. There were trails with foliage. Not Florida foliage. Actual, honest-to-goodness foliage, with leaves of different colors -- even if they were fringing on past peak. And I got to run right next to them on a lovely trail. Plus the weather was great, in the mid-50s....and this was around noon! Noon! Can you imagine? Because it gets hard to imagine being able to run at noon when you live in Florida for a while.
I did slack off a bit at the end and after completing my guesstimated 5 miles (4.5 miles, allowing for the 'Oops, I forgot to turn on the app' error), walked the remainder. The hills were just....ack. There is no other word. If nothing else, running in Pittsburgh gave me an entirely new appreciation for the term, 'Killah hill.' I just mapped the basic route on Map My Run and discovered that I covered about 450 feet over the course of a 5-mile run. For reference, the highest point in all of Florida is only 345 feet above sea level and it is nowhere near where I live.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
I crossed the street...
For some reason, I used to think that the ABBA song 'I Had a Dream' contained the lyric, 'I crossed the street' in it. Presumably, the line should be, 'I crossed the stream/I had a dream' since that makes much more sense. But I still think of my version when I hear this song. And today, I did just that. I crossed the street. Prior to today's run, which was 18 miles, I could find ways of circling around the northern part of the golf course neighborhood, thereby avoiding having to cross a relatively major street. Today, since I had to add another mile from the last long run, I decided the time had come. I was rewarded with some pretty good Florida scenery:
If you're curious to know what this part of Florida would look like had northerners not descended and built golf courses, here is an idea:
The street next to the river in this neighborhood is also called Riverhills Drive, only it's the southern part and the other half -- which had some of the houses featured previously on the blog -- is the northern part. They have some pretty ritzy homes on the southern part too:
Overall, though, today's run was not nearly as enjoyable as the last long run. In part, this was probably because I shouldn't have been doing a long run today after only 5 days' rest from the previous long run and a 9-mile run on Tuesday. Physically, though, I didn't feel too awful, at least not any more awful than I would expect from a long run. And good news, body: you only have one more this week, and it's only 5 miles! The real problem is that the spectacular cold front is going away. The temperature at the start of the run was a very palatable 58F, but unfortunately the humidity was around 80%. By the time I finished the run (many, many hours later), the temperature was already 75F; the RealFeel on Accuweather calculates it at 82F. Let me tell you: it felt closer to 82F than 75F.
I could actually feel when things were starting to go wrong physically because of the weather. For instance, before I had my last dose of sport beans, I could really feel my mind starting to wander. I opted to take three packs and had one each 4.5 miles, which I think was fine overall, but the last one was definitely a necessity. How could I tell? I would start coming up with alternatives to my route or thinking about changing what I was doing. Bad idea. After I had the sport beans, I just continued on and all went well. Another issue: if I was in the sun for too long, the same kinds of things started to happen. Luckily, there was a shady version of the route near the end, but at one point, I think that I was in the sun for a bit too long. My brain definitely got off track there.
I almost fell again today. It's time to admit that these aren't flukes, but probably fatigue errors. It happens. Not much that can be done about them except to hope that I don't actually fall!
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| You can actually see parts of the Hillsborough River on this side of the street because not everything is built up. This picture was taken near a public boat launch. |
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| More of the Hillsborough River |
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| Vacant lot right next to the river. |
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| I just wonder about their cooling bills. |
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| You can actually look out on the river from that giant porch. |
I could actually feel when things were starting to go wrong physically because of the weather. For instance, before I had my last dose of sport beans, I could really feel my mind starting to wander. I opted to take three packs and had one each 4.5 miles, which I think was fine overall, but the last one was definitely a necessity. How could I tell? I would start coming up with alternatives to my route or thinking about changing what I was doing. Bad idea. After I had the sport beans, I just continued on and all went well. Another issue: if I was in the sun for too long, the same kinds of things started to happen. Luckily, there was a shady version of the route near the end, but at one point, I think that I was in the sun for a bit too long. My brain definitely got off track there.
I almost fell again today. It's time to admit that these aren't flukes, but probably fatigue errors. It happens. Not much that can be done about them except to hope that I don't actually fall!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Switched-up schedule
I am starting to see a pattern here. On Tuesdays, I start running and in response, my brain says, 'OH COME ON! We just ran XX miles! Isn't that enough? IS NOTHING EVER ENOUGH FOR YOU?' Then after about 2 miles or so, it settles, and we go on our merry way. I'm off to Pittsburgh for the weekend, so I wanted to get my long run out of the way in advance -- see, I learned from my California adventure! Thursday, then, will be this week's long run. Instead of 5 miles today, I did 9, so that I can save the shortest distance for when I am in Pittsburgh. However, today 9 felt looooooooooooooong.
Partially, this was because I ran at Flatwoods, one of the conservation areas around Tampa. It is actually contained within a super-giant nature preserve and generic suburbia forms its borders:
As you can clearly see from the map, there is a 'paved trail for biking and rollerblading.' You can also use it for running, but it's better suited for the other sports. First, it is a 7-mile loop. If you are coming at it from the west (Bruce B. Downs), there is also a 2-mile trait just to get to the loop. So you are looking at some relatively hefty mileage right off the bat. Also, while it is scenic (provided you find pine trees scenic), there are a lot of parts which do not provide very much shade. Not too bad if you are on a bike, but potentially awful if you are running. I'm glad I waited for a cold front or else it would have been quite unbearable. There was a stretch of probably a mile with almost no shade at all. However, in the shady parts with the wind was quite pleasant.
I have to say, though, that it does get a bit boring after a while, at least in my opinion:
Now imagine looking at that for seven miles.
I realize that some people might enjoy this a lot more than I did this morning and I'm pretty sure that part of my boredom with Flatwoods was just fatigue from Sunday. It is quiet and there were no sidewalks for me to trip on, so that was good. Also, it is well marked for mileage and, provided that it is cool, not unbearable. There are water stops at various points as well. Oh, and as the name suggests, it is flat as can be. I've been told that I will get my butt kicked by hills in Pittsburgh, so I shall revel in Florida flat until then.
I did see a few interesting things along the way, though. One was particularly shocking:
Do you see how those leaves are a different hue than green? That is Florida foliage, people. Florida foliage. I don't think that I have ever noticed that before!
Partially, this was because I ran at Flatwoods, one of the conservation areas around Tampa. It is actually contained within a super-giant nature preserve and generic suburbia forms its borders:
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| Image courtesy of generic suburb website that borders park, hence the 'YOU ARE HERE' marker |
I have to say, though, that it does get a bit boring after a while, at least in my opinion:
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| Actually the road as you are leaving, but looks exactly the same as the trail. |
I realize that some people might enjoy this a lot more than I did this morning and I'm pretty sure that part of my boredom with Flatwoods was just fatigue from Sunday. It is quiet and there were no sidewalks for me to trip on, so that was good. Also, it is well marked for mileage and, provided that it is cool, not unbearable. There are water stops at various points as well. Oh, and as the name suggests, it is flat as can be. I've been told that I will get my butt kicked by hills in Pittsburgh, so I shall revel in Florida flat until then.
I did see a few interesting things along the way, though. One was particularly shocking:
 |
| WHOA! |
Sunday, November 7, 2010
16 miles? During a cold front? Not a problem!
Today's long run was the 16-miler. The cold front continued, which was probably the most fortuitous weather ever. I was concerned about today's long run because it coincided with the switch to Daylight Savings. Just because the clock goes back by an hour does not mean that Mr. Florida Sun cooperates. I wanted to make sure that I got started early enough so that 10am did not feel like 11am. However, with the cold front, this concern was irrelevant. I went out a bit later than I had hoped (was planning to go out around 6:30am, and went instead closer to 7am), but it was fine.
Apparently, I have almost lost any skills I once had for how to dress in cooler weather. The basic rule that I like to follow is to dress for the finish, not the beginning, because of course you do warm up while you run. But Florida does not really require much thinking in the appropriate dress department. Generally, I just go in shorts and a performance singlet. So when the temperature drops, it now confuses me. I didn't want to overdress, but I also didn't want to freeze at the beginning. I went with shorts, long-sleeve performance shirt, and an actual ballcap. Actual ballcaps are too hot normally, so I figured that it would pay off today. This combo worked pretty well and I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point -- okay, maybe a little cold to start.
The temperature was in the 40s to start, then got into the 60s by the end. In other words: perfect. And the dew point was in the 30s. As much as Florida drives me nuts, the weather during cold fronts is pretty much ideal (how unfortunate that cold fronts are maybe 5% of the year). You get the cold, Arctic wind from up north, but you don't usually feel cold because the sun is still warm. It's pretty easy to cope with these conditions. If you feel cold from the wind, you get the sun to warm you up. And if you feel too warm, you go in the shade or wait for a gust of wind.
As tends to happen in good weather conditions, I am reminded that I actually do not hate running. I know, I've been over this before, but I really do sometimes forget. The weather here is generally very difficult to negotiate for me, no matter what time of day. So when I actually get to run in reasonable conditions, it is a real treat. And I realized something else. I may not be very good at running long distances, but I don't mind running long distances. Especially in good weather. I feel like I've reached a good point mentally where long runs don't actually feel so long and I stay strong through the last part. For instance, I got to 4.5 miles from the end today and felt like the rest was going to be just fine to finish. This is encouraging and a great feeling. The last part wasn't even so bad, overall. Now I just have to remember how those last miles feel when I run the real marathon.
Also, here is hoping for similar weather conditions!
I did have one small freakout today when I checked my time around 6 miles. For some unknown reason, I convinced myself that 8 miles (the halfway point) was around a quarter of the marathon. I started freaking out because I thought that I was running significantly slower than I had anticipated. It took me until somewhere around 12 miles to realize that actually, 8 miles is closer to two-thirds of the way through a marathon. This makes a pretty big difference, as the following fictional comparison demonstrates (fictional because I do not run this fast):
See how that happened? It added a whole hour. Even for this imaginary fast person.
I have one last comment about today's run. When I train, I don't listen to music, but I do sometimes get music in my head. For a while, it was various chamber music of the nineteenth century (I know, I'm a geek); for instance, Schumann's string quartet in A major (op. 41/3) would often be my imagined accompaniment. You don't need to tell me that this is weird, I know already. There is something about the strings all working together in chamber music that I feel works while running. Today, though, I suddenly had Bob Seger's 'Hollywood Nights' burst out of nowhere around mile 5. Random, even though it was on the radio yesterday.
The best moment ever was when I was 2 miles from the end of a long run while training for a half-marathon and Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' started up as if on cue in my head. Seemed appropriate.
Apparently, I have almost lost any skills I once had for how to dress in cooler weather. The basic rule that I like to follow is to dress for the finish, not the beginning, because of course you do warm up while you run. But Florida does not really require much thinking in the appropriate dress department. Generally, I just go in shorts and a performance singlet. So when the temperature drops, it now confuses me. I didn't want to overdress, but I also didn't want to freeze at the beginning. I went with shorts, long-sleeve performance shirt, and an actual ballcap. Actual ballcaps are too hot normally, so I figured that it would pay off today. This combo worked pretty well and I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point -- okay, maybe a little cold to start.
The temperature was in the 40s to start, then got into the 60s by the end. In other words: perfect. And the dew point was in the 30s. As much as Florida drives me nuts, the weather during cold fronts is pretty much ideal (how unfortunate that cold fronts are maybe 5% of the year). You get the cold, Arctic wind from up north, but you don't usually feel cold because the sun is still warm. It's pretty easy to cope with these conditions. If you feel cold from the wind, you get the sun to warm you up. And if you feel too warm, you go in the shade or wait for a gust of wind.
As tends to happen in good weather conditions, I am reminded that I actually do not hate running. I know, I've been over this before, but I really do sometimes forget. The weather here is generally very difficult to negotiate for me, no matter what time of day. So when I actually get to run in reasonable conditions, it is a real treat. And I realized something else. I may not be very good at running long distances, but I don't mind running long distances. Especially in good weather. I feel like I've reached a good point mentally where long runs don't actually feel so long and I stay strong through the last part. For instance, I got to 4.5 miles from the end today and felt like the rest was going to be just fine to finish. This is encouraging and a great feeling. The last part wasn't even so bad, overall. Now I just have to remember how those last miles feel when I run the real marathon.
Also, here is hoping for similar weather conditions!
I did have one small freakout today when I checked my time around 6 miles. For some unknown reason, I convinced myself that 8 miles (the halfway point) was around a quarter of the marathon. I started freaking out because I thought that I was running significantly slower than I had anticipated. It took me until somewhere around 12 miles to realize that actually, 8 miles is closer to two-thirds of the way through a marathon. This makes a pretty big difference, as the following fictional comparison demonstrates (fictional because I do not run this fast):
- 1 hour/8 miles in my erroneous first version would result in a 4-hour marathon;
- 1 hour/8 miles would be closer to a 3-hour marathon.
See how that happened? It added a whole hour. Even for this imaginary fast person.
I have one last comment about today's run. When I train, I don't listen to music, but I do sometimes get music in my head. For a while, it was various chamber music of the nineteenth century (I know, I'm a geek); for instance, Schumann's string quartet in A major (op. 41/3) would often be my imagined accompaniment. You don't need to tell me that this is weird, I know already. There is something about the strings all working together in chamber music that I feel works while running. Today, though, I suddenly had Bob Seger's 'Hollywood Nights' burst out of nowhere around mile 5. Random, even though it was on the radio yesterday.
The best moment ever was when I was 2 miles from the end of a long run while training for a half-marathon and Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' started up as if on cue in my head. Seemed appropriate.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Lots of weirdness, really
So first, when I asked for a cold front last week, I didn't think that my wish would be granted quite so successfully. We are in the middle of a real, honest-to-goodness cold front. In Florida, that means that the high temperature today was 66F. Yes, that's cold around these parts. It is supposed to get down to the 30s tonight, which is super cold for here. Also, the humidity is not higher than 50%. Rather than call it cold, I prefer to think of it in the following terms, 'WHOO!!!!'
If we're really lucky, some alligators might come out and sun to combat the 'cold.'
It was so temperate, in fact, that I ran in the afternoon today. Like around 2:30pm. Which is practically unheard of. Because the sun is still Mr. Florida Sun. Cold weather in no way alters that fact. It just makes it slightly more bearable. However, when I was in sunny sections with no wind, you could still feel it beating down. I feel silly writing this because despite this fact, running in the sun in mid-60s weather is one hell of a lot more enjoyable than, say, running in 90% humidity in 70+ degree weather.
There was a slight mishap today. I was running on campus at USF (I'm actually still at work) and discovered something important: not all of the sidewalks are even. Some jut upward. My shoe caught on one of these exact spots and I managed to fall pretty well. No major damage, just some nasty-looking scrapes. My favorite part of today's run was after this slight mishap when some random guy on a bike yelled, 'WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR KNEES?' and I yelled back,' I FELL.' I mean, what else do you think would have happened to my knees?
Incidentally, I learned something about weather and split times today. It was a 5-mile run and my split time was a full minute faster than recent similar distances. Plus this is adding in stop times at lights, so it was probably even better with no more perceivable effort. So for the umpteeth time, I would like to remind Irrational Me that split times are not relevant in Florida conditions!
If we're really lucky, some alligators might come out and sun to combat the 'cold.'
It was so temperate, in fact, that I ran in the afternoon today. Like around 2:30pm. Which is practically unheard of. Because the sun is still Mr. Florida Sun. Cold weather in no way alters that fact. It just makes it slightly more bearable. However, when I was in sunny sections with no wind, you could still feel it beating down. I feel silly writing this because despite this fact, running in the sun in mid-60s weather is one hell of a lot more enjoyable than, say, running in 90% humidity in 70+ degree weather.
There was a slight mishap today. I was running on campus at USF (I'm actually still at work) and discovered something important: not all of the sidewalks are even. Some jut upward. My shoe caught on one of these exact spots and I managed to fall pretty well. No major damage, just some nasty-looking scrapes. My favorite part of today's run was after this slight mishap when some random guy on a bike yelled, 'WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR KNEES?' and I yelled back,' I FELL.' I mean, what else do you think would have happened to my knees?
Incidentally, I learned something about weather and split times today. It was a 5-mile run and my split time was a full minute faster than recent similar distances. Plus this is adding in stop times at lights, so it was probably even better with no more perceivable effort. So for the umpteeth time, I would like to remind Irrational Me that split times are not relevant in Florida conditions!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Ask and ye shall receive
Probably I should not have said anything about the remarkable no-rain streak. I woke up this morning to this:
Plus the weather looks like it is going to stay disruptive all day. Last night thunder woke me up. Probably best to take a pass. NASA is delaying their shuttle launch because of these storms. I feel like if NASA is willing to delay a shuttle launch, maybe I have an excuse not to go for my 5M run.
However, tomorrow is going to be in the 60s as a high (!), so despite the fact that I don't usually like to run on Fridays because I get tired from work, tomorrow I will make an exception. Should be good! The two weather channels that I watched this morning both made it seem like weather in the 60s was a bad thing. Really?
Plus the weather looks like it is going to stay disruptive all day. Last night thunder woke me up. Probably best to take a pass. NASA is delaying their shuttle launch because of these storms. I feel like if NASA is willing to delay a shuttle launch, maybe I have an excuse not to go for my 5M run.
However, tomorrow is going to be in the 60s as a high (!), so despite the fact that I don't usually like to run on Fridays because I get tired from work, tomorrow I will make an exception. Should be good! The two weather channels that I watched this morning both made it seem like weather in the 60s was a bad thing. Really?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Flipping the schedule
Today was 9 miles, which according to the schedule should have been on Thursday. However, I have several obligations that day so I figured it was better to get the longer run over with today (Thursday will now be 5M with hills). Nine miles is the new 8 miles, apparently, because today's run really didn't feel all that bad either. However, it was probably helped by the fact that it was cooler (around 70F) and overcast the whole time.
The overcast, actually, was a bit concerning because it definitely picked up as I went along. I checked three different weather forecasts this morning, not because I was worried about rain but because they were somewhat contradictory: AccuWeather put the humidity at 80%, while WeatherBug had it at 98% or something disgusting like that. But not one of them had mentioned rain around the time I was running. Luckily, it held off. There was just a brief shower right now, but it's about two hours later.
I also realized something weird. In my entire training program, I have not once been caught out in the rain. It's been close and there were a few times that I thought I would, but it has never actually rained while I was out. Now we have had a dry fall (there was basically no rain in October), but this seems unusual for Florida. Here's hoping I can keep that streak going for the rest of training!
The overcast, actually, was a bit concerning because it definitely picked up as I went along. I checked three different weather forecasts this morning, not because I was worried about rain but because they were somewhat contradictory: AccuWeather put the humidity at 80%, while WeatherBug had it at 98% or something disgusting like that. But not one of them had mentioned rain around the time I was running. Luckily, it held off. There was just a brief shower right now, but it's about two hours later.
I also realized something weird. In my entire training program, I have not once been caught out in the rain. It's been close and there were a few times that I thought I would, but it has never actually rained while I was out. Now we have had a dry fall (there was basically no rain in October), but this seems unusual for Florida. Here's hoping I can keep that streak going for the rest of training!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Why you only go 20 miles
A friend of mine, who is also training to run a marathon (Philly), sent me this article today. It is awesome. It totally explains why you only run 20 miles and why that's okay. It put my mind somewhat at ease.
(Of course, only somewhat, but I don't think I'll be fully at ease until the thing is done!).
(Of course, only somewhat, but I don't think I'll be fully at ease until the thing is done!).
Whoops
Yesterday's 'long' run was so short that I completely forgot to blog about it! It was only six miles. Hard to think of that as a long run after the past month, I do have to say. And I realized that instead of being annoyed that it got hot during Taper Week, I should be grateful. It would be even worse if it gets hot during a normal week with much longer runs.
Anyway, I've been reflecting quite a bit on how things are going since this is the last Taper Week before the real Taper Weeks that will occur right before the actual marathon. Crazy! In response to this, I think that I've started hording. Yesterday I went to the Running Center and stocked up on 'sport beans,' opting only for the ones with caffeine (apparently, they do not all have caffeine, as I discovered around mile 10 of the 14-mile run. Boo). Today at the grocery store, I started hording carbs. Because I will likely need carbs. And kept reminding myself to stock up for when I am ridiculously hungry, which will probably start sometime tomorrow after a 9-mile run. Also, I bought a big container of chocolate milk so that it's just sitting at home and I don't need to detour to the CVS and stand in line for, like, 15 minutes after a long run to get my chocolate milk because someone ahead of me feels that the marked discount on Tampa Bay Rays cowbells does not match what was in the sales flier (why yes, that did actually happen, how did you guess?). I'm flipping the schedule this week because of work, so it will be 9M tomorrow, 5M with hills on Thursday, and long run Sunday. The week after will having some flipping as well. Stay tuned!
I have only 3 actual long runs remaining before the marathon: 16M, 18M, and 20M. This schedule stops at 20M. Please don't ask me if I am worried that this will not be enough training or if I think I will make it or if I feel that there should be another longer run. The answer to all of those questions is that yes, I'm concerned. But I'm reminding myself that it's not about the actual plan (to some extent) but your belief in the plan. I mean, I could technically run a marathon tomorrow, regardless of how I trained, it just might not go so well and I might really hate myself the morning after -- and all of this will likely happen no matter what training plan I follow. So I need to have faith that this plan will work. Also, I'm already breaking it down in my head that it will be 2M + 2M + 2.2M to finish. That's it. Just three groups of two at the end. This can totally be done. And will be, dammit.
I also keep trying to do the math for 10% markers (2.6 miles) during the run but keep breaking down after 13.1. It is a good time waster, though.
I do have to say that as I'm getting into this last stretch of training, I'm not feeling too awful. No major injuries to report, no serious problems, and as long as I don't bang a shopping cart straight into my shin like I did today, no real pain. Phew. I may not be fast, but I think that I am pretty durable.
This post has lots of numbers for my non-quantitative brain. No idea why.
Anyway, I've been reflecting quite a bit on how things are going since this is the last Taper Week before the real Taper Weeks that will occur right before the actual marathon. Crazy! In response to this, I think that I've started hording. Yesterday I went to the Running Center and stocked up on 'sport beans,' opting only for the ones with caffeine (apparently, they do not all have caffeine, as I discovered around mile 10 of the 14-mile run. Boo). Today at the grocery store, I started hording carbs. Because I will likely need carbs. And kept reminding myself to stock up for when I am ridiculously hungry, which will probably start sometime tomorrow after a 9-mile run. Also, I bought a big container of chocolate milk so that it's just sitting at home and I don't need to detour to the CVS and stand in line for, like, 15 minutes after a long run to get my chocolate milk because someone ahead of me feels that the marked discount on Tampa Bay Rays cowbells does not match what was in the sales flier (why yes, that did actually happen, how did you guess?). I'm flipping the schedule this week because of work, so it will be 9M tomorrow, 5M with hills on Thursday, and long run Sunday. The week after will having some flipping as well. Stay tuned!
I have only 3 actual long runs remaining before the marathon: 16M, 18M, and 20M. This schedule stops at 20M. Please don't ask me if I am worried that this will not be enough training or if I think I will make it or if I feel that there should be another longer run. The answer to all of those questions is that yes, I'm concerned. But I'm reminding myself that it's not about the actual plan (to some extent) but your belief in the plan. I mean, I could technically run a marathon tomorrow, regardless of how I trained, it just might not go so well and I might really hate myself the morning after -- and all of this will likely happen no matter what training plan I follow. So I need to have faith that this plan will work. Also, I'm already breaking it down in my head that it will be 2M + 2M + 2.2M to finish. That's it. Just three groups of two at the end. This can totally be done. And will be, dammit.
I also keep trying to do the math for 10% markers (2.6 miles) during the run but keep breaking down after 13.1. It is a good time waster, though.
I do have to say that as I'm getting into this last stretch of training, I'm not feeling too awful. No major injuries to report, no serious problems, and as long as I don't bang a shopping cart straight into my shin like I did today, no real pain. Phew. I may not be fast, but I think that I am pretty durable.
This post has lots of numbers for my non-quantitative brain. No idea why.
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