Me and The Boys

Tempered Tempo - Sort Of

Except for my miserably cold and rainy 16-miler two weeks ago, this fall and early winter have been unusually warm and pleasant, and have provided so many absolutely gorgeous running days. It's been glorious.

And it's meant that I haven't felt the need to reschedule any runs, or shift my training days around at all, or get on the treadmill for any of my workouts. Until this week. 

Speedwork was scheduled for yesterday morning, but I woke up to the news reporting black ice on the roads. We had a dusting of snow the previous night, and it was just cold enough that there were icy spots all over the place.

I held out hope that it would be warm enough by the time I got to the gym that I'd be ok to run outside, but when I saw people slipping and sliding as they walked through the parking lot, I knew I was going to opt for the treadmill.

Truth be told, I don't mind the treadmill all that much for speedwork. The short intervals keep things from getting too monotonous, and there's no need to keep glancing down at a watch to see if I'm maintaining the pace I'm supposed to be running - I just hit the buttons and keep up with the moving belt.

I did 3 sets of 400, 800, and 400. The 400s were at 5K pace - I actually ran them at 6:58, which is not my current 5K pace, but it's what I hope to have as a 5K pace in the very near future. And it felt like the perfect pace for 400s. Tough, but doable.

The 800s were at 10K pace, but since I've never run a 10K, I had to guess. My best guess, based on oodles of training data, is that I could run a 10K at about a 7:10 to 7:15 pace, so I ran the 800s at 7:13, and again, it felt just right.

Since I only run 3 days a week, I usually have one day, and sometimes two, between my weekday workouts, which is pretty essential, since those two workouts are both pretty intense (one speed workout and one tempo run). But when I saw that Thursday's forecast was calling for cold rain and gusty winds, and the possibility that the rain would be mixing with sleet, I initially thought I'd just move my Thursday tempo run to the treadmill.

But as much as I don't mind running intervals on the treadmill, I was dreading the idea of an 8-mile tempo run on the treadmill. So I decided to run two days in a row, and figured that I'd just back off a bit on my tempo run pace, so as to not push my body too much, since I had just done my speedwork yesterday.

I started off running the same route I ran last week, but in the opposite direction, which would mean tougher hills. I thought this would help me keep a somewhat slower pace, and it did at first. I was hovering right around 7:53 for the first two miles, and feeling great. But then as the hills turned into flats, my legs just wanted to move, so I didn't fight it.

I ran negative splits, and ended up with one mile at 7:33, and an overall pace of 7:44.

So, I didn't really temper my efforts like I had planned, but if my body hadn't felt up to that pace, I truly wouldn't have pushed it. It just felt like a comfortable tempo effort, so I went with it.

And now I have two full days of rest/cross-training before this weekend's long run, so I feel confident that I'll be rested and ready for those 18 miles come Saturday.

This morning also started with a quick visit to PT. My shin felt a little sore after last weekend's long run, and as I'm really going to be ramping up the mileage now, I wanted to check in and make sure things aren't heading into dangerous territory - and if they are, I'll get some treatments now, to head off any serious problems.

As it turns out, the area isn't doing too bad. Some tenderness, but nothing that a few quick appointments shouldn't take care of. And I'll probably do a few more periodic check-ins with her during February and March, just to make sure that things stay healthy and strong.

Another odd problem I mentioned to her, and one I'm still puzzling over, is that I'm having some strange discomfort in my left ankle. The most odd thing about it, though, is that it doesn't hurt at all when I'm running. It only hurts when I'm walking. And not all the time when I'm walking - just occasionally. And it was much more pronounced when I put on my running shoes yesterday morning with the orthotics in them. It felt as if the arch on the inner side of my left foot was too high, and my foot was sliding outward.

So I took the orthotics out, and it instantly felt better.

So I ran yesterday's workout without the orthotics. And felt fine.

And I ran today's run without the orthotics. And felt fine.

I'm not sure I'm going to attempt the 18 miles without them. It scares me a bit. Since I've been wearing those orthotics, I've been able to keep the shin from misbehaving. But if the orthotics don't feel right when I'm walking, I can't imagine that they're doing good things to my feet and legs while I'm running (even though I have no pain while running).

The next step is obviously to pay a visit to the podiatrist to have the orthotics checked out and adjusted, if necessary. But I won't have time to do that before my long run this weekend, so I'll just have to make a call Saturday morning on whether I wear them or not - and hope for the best.

All that aside, this week is one of those weeks where I'm in a good frame of mind, and embracing the training, and feeling really excited for Gansett. Who knows what next week will be like, but at this point, it doesn't matter - I'm just going to enjoy the positivity and optimism while I have it : )

My New Favorite Day of the Week

It's been a little tough for me to get excited about this round of marathon training, since it began only 2 and a half months after I ran Hartford.

There have definitely been moments where I've felt happy and excited and ready to get out there and get it done. But I have to admit that, as much as I love having a goal to work toward, and a plan to follow, diving into another marathon training program so soon is taking some getting used to, and I am fairly certain that I'll ever again run two marathons so close to each other.

I'm not all down in the dumps, though. I just have a lot of times where I look at the planned workouts and sigh, and wonder why I'm putting myself through this all over again.

Then I remember - I EARNED it, and I wanted it, and it's not a chore, it's my reward! I watched the start of the Gansett Marathon last year while out on a long run, and I was positively green with envy, watching that elite group of runners set out on the only qualifiers-only marathon. And I thought to myself that maybe someday, some year, I'd be there with them.

At that point, I never imagined this would be the year, and I like to navigate to the "qualified runners" page on the website once in a while and just smile at the sight of my name on that list.

So yeah, I definitely wanted this, and I definitely earned it, and I am going to be so amazingly proud to be standing on that starting line in April.

And that's what I have to keep in mind as I review that training plan, and as I set out for track workouts and long runs on these chilly winter mornings.

As it was when I crossed the finish line in Hartford, it will ALL be worth it in the end.

And there are times where I'm truly enjoying the process - like this morning, and last Thursday morning. Thursdays are tempo run days, and I am officially in love with the tempo run.

The tempo runs on this plan are scheduled to be 8-milers. Last week I did 7.5, this week I did 8. The pace is supposed to be anywhere from 7:25 to 7:40. Last week I ran a 7:24 pace. This week I ran 7:37.

Both runs felt positively incredible. It's hard to even describe, but it felt like my legs were just on autopilot. After quickly warming up at a slightly slower pace, everything just kicked into gear, and I felt like I was literally flying over the road.

Running at that pace for that distance is challenging for me (as it should be for a tempo run), but not so challenging that it's painful, and just challenging enough that it almost feels race-like, without being an all-out race effort.

There's that hint of adrenaline; that thrill of pushing yourself just beyond your comfort zone.

And of course there's just the fun of running fast - watching the trees and scenery go flying past, and seeing your shadow race alongside you.

These tempo efforts are definitely shaping up to be my favorite workouts of the week. They don't push me to the brink of exhaustion the way track intervals do, and they don't wear me down mentally the way long runs do. They're work, but they're also a ton of fun. And I feel damn near invincible when I finish an 8-mile run at what used to be my 5K pace.

Already looking forward to next Thursday!

Hot Baby

Dante had karate class this afternoon, so I sent him upstairs to get his uniform on, and when he came downstairs, Carmine pointed at him and yelled "Aaaaaiiiiiiyah!"  And then started yelling "Da-wah-weh! Da-wah-weh!" which I guess is his pronunciation of karate, because he yelled it again as we walked into the studio.

And as I was reminding Dante to say Happy New Year to his sensei, Carmine threw his hands up in the air and said "Hap Neh Yeh!"

The funniest by far, though, is his rendition of "Happy Birthday," which comes out sounding like "hot baby."  And the thing about Carmine is that he likes to repeat things over and over and over again. So when we took out the cupcakes for Dante's birthday last week, Carmine started jumping up and down and yelling "hot baby! hot baby! hot baby! hot baby!" 

Needless to say, we were all doubled over with laughter.

And of course, if you can get your toddler to run around yelling "hot baby," you'll do just about anything you can to encourage it, so there's a lot of "Hot Baby" around these parts lately. 

Out With The Old

Another Christmas is in the books, and it was another fabulous one. Tons of family time, tons of presents, tons of food, and tons of fun.

Carmine was totally into the present-opening this year, but not because he really 'got' the concept - he just liked the chaos of everyone tearing paper and exclaiming "oooh!" and "wow!" 

Scott took a really funny video of the unwrapping insanity at Grammy and Grampy's house on Christmas Eve, and it is absolutely hysterical to watch Carmine jumping up and down screaming and waving pieces of wrapping paper in the air. Every time I watch it, I almost fall off my chair laughing. He is nothing if not enthusiastic - even when he has no idea what all the enthusiasm is about.

He did finally catch on to the unwrapping thing on Christmas morning, though, and tore into his presents very eagerly. And then when we celebrated Dante's birthday 3 days later, he wanted to tear into Dante's presents, too. He'll get his own turn in just a few more weeks, when we celebrate his second birthday. He'll be a pro by then. And he'll be TWO! Yikes! How did that happen???!!!

And our 'little' Dante is six years old, which I still can't quite wrap my head around. He had a fun birthday. His cousins were here visiting the day before, and then on his actual birthday, he spent the whole afternoon with Scott and Gabe - going out to lunch, playing Blizzard Bingo at the library (each time you got Bingo, you won ice cream toppings, which you then, of course, enjoyed with some ice cream), then going to see a movie, then coming home to have his birthday dinner of cheeseburgers and french fries, with brownie cupcakes for dessert. A lucky birthday boy, I'd say.

One of their favorite activities of the past week (aside from playing games on the new Wii that Santa brought them) was the Kids Fit class they took at the local CrossFit gym. It was Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, and they absolutely loved it!  They did obstacle courses, sprints, box jumps, burpees, pullups, squats, and pushups. They were seriously working out, and having so much fun doing it - it was so perfect. They're going to be offering it again, and I'll definitely be signing the boys up again. A great activity, especially for the winter months.

Despite that, and three mornings a week at Kids Gym at the Y, and a good amount of time playing outside (as we enjoyed more unseasonably warm weather), they were bouncing off the walls All. Week. Long. I honestly don't know if I've ever seen them quite this hyper. We've had a really fun week, but I know it's going to be really good for all of us to be back on our regular schedule again - and back to eating normal, healthy foods again, too! 

Marathon training is officially underway, and I'm up to 16 miles for my long run, have done a couple of hill workouts, completed an amazingly great tempo run, and did my first track workout this morning. It hurt - I had forgotten just how tough those workouts are - but as always, I felt so unbelievably accomplished when I was done.

My 16-miler on Saturday, on the other hand, left me feeling nothing but awful. It was cool and drizzly when I set out, but I didn't think it was that cold, so I just wore a tank top with a long-sleeve technical shirt over it, and capris. I had gloves on to keep my hands warm, but I wasn't really dressed too warmly, because I figured I'd warm up pretty quickly once I got going.

I did warm up, but the rain also picked up quite a bit, and although it wasn't pouring, it was a very steady rain. I don't think it would have been an issue if I had only been going out for an hour or so, but I was out in that mess for a full 2 hours and 20 minutes, and it took its toll.

The first few miles were rough. I was kind of dreading the run, and I had left the house later than I usually do, due to Gabe's basketball game in the morning, so it all just felt 'off,' and I had a hard time getting going.

I finally hit my stride around mile 4, though, and had a few miles where I felt great, despite the cold and wet conditions. I stopped for a Gu around mile 7, and was feeling pretty good.

Then I turned toward the ocean, and the temperature dropped noticably. The air was much more damp and bone-chilling, especially since I was already pretty well soaked. And I was almost to the halfway point, which is always tough mentally for me, as I struggle between celebrating that I'm halfway there and bemoaning that I still have 8 more miles to go.

I kept at it, though - and was keeping up a great pace, too - even a little faster than I had planned on running. My plan had been to stick to between 8:50 and 9:00, but I was holding an 8:45 pace pretty comfortably, so I stuck with it.

But even though my legs were holding up ok, my mind was not. I was getting increasingly cold and uncomfortable, and more than once, I thought to myself that if it wasn't Carmine's nap time, I would be finding a phone and calling Scott to come pick me up.

I was also cursing myself for not dressing better. I should have worn something that was at least somewhat water resistant. It wasn't really all that cold, but since I was soaking wet, the cold was really getting to me.

I knew the only way to get out of it, though, was to keep moving one foot in front of the other, so that's what I did.

As I got closer and closer to home, I was feeling more and more awful. In addition to being cold and wet, the long-run aches and pains were now settling into my muscles and joints - and, I think, were also amplified by the cold. I was quickly approaching full-on misery.

And did I mention that the final few miles approaching my house are mostly uphill?

I honestly don't know how I ran those last few miles. It was awful, and I was so, so glad when it was over.

But a few more things needed to happen before I started to feel better. First, I needed to warm up. As soon as I stopped moving, I started shivering, and didn't stop for a long time. I don't know if I was actually hypothermic, but it felt like I was dangerously close.

I got into a hot shower and then put on several layers of warm dry clothes, and Scott helped me get together a steaming hot cup of tea and some toast and scrambled eggs, which was all I could even think about eating - and even that didn't go over so well with my stomach, which was feeling rather unsettled.

Finally, about an hour later, I had stopped shivering and shaking and was able to eat my toast and eggs, drink a bunch of water, and also scarf down a huge bowl of cereal, after which I started to feel more human again.

Very, very valuable lesson learned - rain + slightly chilly temperatures requires some sort of waterproof or water resistant shell. I'm confident that if I had not gotten so wet, I would not have felt so cold, and could have avoided feeling like I had a 60-minute flu after I got home.

Since I have never done runs of this distance in the winter, there was bound to be some trial and error - hopefully that's the worst of the error part of the equation! 

I still stand by my belief that winter training is better than summer training (hate running in sticky, humid air), but this weekend provided very clear evidence that winter training is going to present its own set of challenges - and we haven't even had any snow yet!

Challenges are meant to be overcome, though, and I have to just keep focused on my goal. I'm aiming to finish Gansett under 3:40. I'd love to get as close to 3:35 as possible, but I'll be thrilled with anything under 3:40, especially since I'm going to be running it just 6 months after Hartford! (Note to self - never again will I run two marathons just six months apart).

That's my first goal for 2012. Second goal is to break 21 minutes in a 5K. My PR right now is 21:57. I hope to shave at least a few seconds off that when I run the Super 5K next month, and then post-Gansett, I'll really be focusing on improving my speed at shorter distances.

Then in the fall, I'm aiming to finish a half-marathon in 1:42. Lots of time to get ready for that goal - and it'll be nice to have a somewhat less grueling training schedule during the summer (i.e., training runs in the 13- to 15-mile range, rather than the 15- to 20-mile range).

So many fun things ahead, in running and in life - it's hard not to be excited about the start of a brand new year!