The Road to 26.2: Week 14

My poor neglected blog.  I'm working hard to balance my training with the seemingly endless life to-do list, but sadly, there isn't enough room for more frequent blogging, too.  Instead of dwelling on it and berating myself for not making the time, I'm going to accept it and move on.  While my posts are few and far between, I'm pleased that I've been keeping up with the weekly training summaries, as I like reading back over them to see how far I've come during this journey.  For week 14, the workouts happened like this:

Monday (3/9):  walk with my BRF.
I sorely miss our early morning runs while Emily heals her hip flexor, so I'm always glad when we can meet up for a walk.  A perfect start to the week and a great way to stretch out my legs after Sunday's 19-miler.
Tuesday (3/10):  5 mile run and strength work.
Wow, did my legs ever feel stiff at the start (and middle!) of this run.  My calves screamed until mile 3.5, and as a result, my pace was barely more than a crawl.  I kept reminding myself that my legs will be tired in the late miles of the race; this was good practice for continuing forward progress even when faced with discomfort.
Wednesday (3/11):  8 mile run.
When my early morning alarm sounded, I found an intensely foggy scene out my window.  An outdoor run was out of the question, and my brain revolted at the thought of 8 treadmill miles at 4:45am.  So I logged those treadmill miles at 1:15pm instead while my girls napped.  I've done plenty of 4- and 5-milers during nap time, but 8 is hard to squeeze into that window.  Lesson learned.

Thursday (3/12):  BRF walk, yoga, and strength work.
Another lovely morning walk with my BRF with yoga and strength work during nap time.  I made up my own yoga sequence, which (surprise, surprise) hit all the tight spots I'd been feeling.  So refreshing!
Friday (3/13):  5 mile run and strength work.
Slow, easy miles in a drizzly rain.
Saturday (3/14):  REST!
But not because I wanted to.  At the last minute, I was called into action to help my ailing grandmother, so my Saturday running window closed before I could lace up.  I was irrationally frustrated by the situation and wasted a great deal of mental energy being angry.  I finally set my negativity aside and enjoyed a sunny afternoon, including a highly anticipated fashion show with the girls.

J-Bug selected dresses, headbands, and shoes for all three of us.
We were all quite fashionable, she assures me.

Sunday (3/15): 12 mile run
Starting at 6:15 to squeeze it in before church, this run began in moonlight, included a brilliant sunrise, and ended in beautiful sunshine.  I felt strong throughout, both mentally and physically, and pulled off a strong finish for the final miles.  Especially considering that it didn't happen when or how I had planned, I'm very pleased with this long run.

You may notice strength work cropping up more frequently this week.  One of the lovely Strava BAMRs challenged us to try incorporating more frequent but shorter strength workouts during the month of March.  To my surprise, I've really enjoyed the mini workouts.  It's easy to fit in just 3-5 minutes of strength after a run or while waiting for the pasta to boil.  I'm enjoying a new approach to strength, as my tried-and-true routine was growing a bit stale.

Blue sky, sunshine, and not a speck of snow or ice.
Life is good.

I have just one more heavy week of training before the taper begins.  How did that happen?!  3.5 weeks to race day!

The Road to 26.2: Week 12

After a frustrating week 11, I had high hopes for week 12.  And it was a better week, if only by degrees.  I made it outside twice, got my cross training done, and finally got to turn the page on February.  In greater detail:

Monday (2/23):  5 mile run.
Facing the treadmill again after the weekend's 18-miler, I wanted nothing to do with this run.  I forced myself to apply a mantra I often use in life but rarely need for a run: shut up and do it.
Tuesday (2/24):  yoga and strength work.
A good release of my over-tired muscles.  I'm getting to the point where my muscles are fatigued most of the time, so the yoga is more important that ever.  My body - especially my calves - are so happy when I'm faithful to yoga.  I followed the yoga with my usual strength roundup: squats, planks, pushups, glute and core work.
Wednesday (2/25):  8 mile run.
OUTSIDE!!  After 36 consecutive treadmill miles, my feet loved every second of this cold midweek mid-distance run.  The miles flew by!  Happy does not even begin to express the elation I felt as I cruised through the neighborhood.

Adding to Wednesday's happy run, I glimpsed a brightening
sky as I returned home.  Spring is coming!

Thursday (2/26):  5 mile run.
A frustrating day from start to finish, this treadmill 5-miler while the kids napped was the lone bright spot.  When a treadmill run makes it on the highlight reel, you know it was a rotten day.
Friday (2/27):  brisk walk plus strength.
Cold but sunny, I enjoyed a speedy walk through the neighborhood followed by my tried-and-true strength favorites.
Saturday (2/28):  13 mile run.
I still marvel at the fact that a 13 mile run is a stepback distance.  How far I've come in the last three months...  In the snow in the middle of the afternoon, this run took me outside my comfort zone and challenged me to consider whether cold and snow is actually better than treadmill boredom.  The jury's still out on that question.

Sunday (3/1):  REST!
Three cheers for March!  I gleefully changed the calendar page and bid farewell to February.

A family snowball fight on Sunday afternoon.
I thought I was all done with snow after Saturday's run,
but we had a blast :)

In addition to doing yoga to help relax my tired muscles, over the last few weeks I've also tried to be more attentive with foam rolling.  My husband and I enjoy watching Netflix in the evening when the kids are in bed, and I'm attempting to use Netflix time to foam roll.  Some nights I just can't face it, but I'd say I'm making it happen about four times per week, which seems pretty reasonable to me.  My calves and upper back, especially around the shoulders, are my primary targets for the foam roller.  I think the calves are tight from the accumulated miles, but I'm pretty sure general life stress gets the blame for the shoulders.  Whatever the source, I need to roll out that stress to keep this body moving towards the starting line.  6 weeks to go!

A snowy view of my favorite tree.

Embracing the Suck

Marathon training requires endless schedule shuffling, weather obsessing, mileage counting, and face stuffing.  I find some of those things quite enjoyable, particularly the face stuffing.  But this weekend, the weather obsessing and schedule shuffling nearly got the best of me.

With a weekend full of Cub Scout events, our family calendar had few openings for my scheduled 18-miler.  I needed 3 hours to complete the miles, plus a little extra to stretch, refuel, shower, etc.  This left my only window of opportunity early on Saturday morning; I needed to be finished by 9:30.  No problem.  But Mother Nature had other plans: a winter storm descended upon our area dousing the city in a mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow.  In the wee hours of Saturday morning.

For a moment, I considered braving the roads, but I knew I'd never forgive myself if I wound up injured from slipping on ice.  I've been training steadily for 11 weeks; I couldn't throw all that away on one run.  So I embraced the suck and launched an 18 mile run on my basement treadmill.

Pulled out the big guns: I wore my Sparkle Athletic skirt
to inject just a bit of fun into the monotony of 3 hours on the treadmill.

I tried my hardest to frame the run in the most optimistic terms.  Instead of feeling angry that I was confined to my basement for hours, I told myself that I had the privilege of spending a Saturday morning watching Netflix.  Rather than watching each second tick by on the display, I covered it up and measured my run in show lengths.  I stopped to fuel after each 40-minute show, only looking at the display at those intervals.

Considering I spent 3 hours running nowhere, things went remarkably well.  I texted my sister before I started and found a reply from her during my first fuel stop.  We exchanged texts at each break, with me updating her on my progress and her cheering me on.  At my third break, I was all done.  I'd bested my previous treadmill distance PR and wanted nothing more to do with the hamster wheel.  I felt defeated, but she reassured me that I could finish.  Though I lacked her confidence, I returned to the dreaded contraption anyway and soldiered on.

Read past my tired brain's mistyping: "forgot" should be "for your".
(Surprisingly, "Hanks" is not a typo; that's how we say thanks around here.)

In the final miles, I could not maintain my resolve to keep my eyes off the display.  I tried focusing solely on Netflix, but my mind couldn't stop thinking about how far I still had to go.  My glutes were tired, my low abs hurt, and my toes ached.  Most of all, my brain no longer cared to embrace the suck.  At mile 16, I told myself that if I ran to 17, I could walk the final mile.  When I got to 17, however, I knew there was no way I'd walk.  I wanted to GET OFF the treadmill, and the fastest way to do that was to run.  I pushed hard the last three miles, steadily increasing the speed so I could end the torture.

When it was all over, I was sure I'd cry.  I'd felt emotions welling up as I dug deep to finish those final miles, and I was sure the flood gates would open with an ugly cry spilling over.  To my surprise, I just felt extreme elation.  I was happy to be done (obviously), but I was also so.darn.proud of myself for attempting such an overwhelming task and chipping away until it was finished.

I've often worried about miles 20-26.2 of the marathon.  Will I be able to conquer those miles?  Do I have the mental and physical strength do it?  After yesterday's run, I have to believe that I have the mental strength required.  Though I have no scientific proof, 18 miles on the treadmill MUST be harder than an equal number of miles on the road.

Yesterday, I stared down 18 miles on the treadmill.  I faced the suck, I embraced it, and I conquered.  Come April 12th, I hope to be able to say the same about 26.2.

The Road to 26.2: Week 8

Didn't I just post one of these?  I can't believe how fast this training plan is going.  It feels like I just started, yet somehow here I am, recapping week 8 of the plan.  Week 8 was not without flaw, but I hit all of my workout milestones: 4 runs, 3 strength workouts, and 2 yoga sessions.  A bit more detail about those workouts:

Monday (1/26):  4 mile run and strength work.
An easy run to start the week that truly felt easy!  It felt good to move my legs and start the week with a BRF run.  Post-run, I did some squats, lunges, core and glute work.
Tuesday (1/27):  7 mile run.
With very tired legs.  My brain was engaged, I was enjoying the finale of Serial, but my legs were toast.  All the wise mother runners on Strava assure me that this is part of the process; running on tired legs is mental and physical prep for race day.  How do runners train for marathons without such sage voices?  I'm fortunate to have a cadre of mother runners supporting me on this journey.
Wednesday (1/28):  yoga and strength work.
At 9:40pm.  Better late than never, right?  This was mostly a going-through-the-motions sort of a workout.  My heart was definitely not in it, but hopefully my body still reaped some benefit.

My training partner on Thursday.

Thursday (1/29):  4 mile run.
With my husband traveling for work, I had to get a bit creative for this run.  I could have logged the miles on my treadmill, but I'm still traumatized from last month's 12-miler to nowhere.  Instead, I laced up early while the kids slept, took my baby monitor, and ran lots (and lots and lots) of laps in front of my house.  My neighbors surely think I'm nuts...
Friday (1/30):  15 mile run.
My sister offered to watch my kids for the afternoon, and I jumped at the chance to run in sunlight.  I'm certainly not an afternoon runner, but in spite of that, I felt surprisingly good during this run.  I explored a new-to-me running route near her house, got lost in some podcasts, and enjoyed the sunlight on my face.  My legs felt strong throughout, perhaps in part due to the pancake-flat route.  All in all, a terrific long run!
Saturday (1/31):  yoga and strength work.
My body was stiff after accumulating my highest-ever weekly mileage, so I did a long yoga workout.  It felt good to release those sore, overworked muscles.  The strength workout felt tough, especially on my legs.  To get the work in without taxing the legs, I focused primarily on core and arms.

Sunday (2/1):  REST!
A legit rest day.  With very little on the family calendar, we enjoyed a quiet day at home.

This week marked a departure from the previous ones with several unusually timed workouts.  Late night yoga and afternoon runs are not usually my cup of tea, but it's nice to know that I can still get the work done, even at an odd time of day.  Marathon training is about flexibility, right?  If so, I definitely honed some workout flexibility this week.

12 Miles to Nowhere

Yesterday found me with 12 miles to run and no good way in which to complete them.  Due to family commitments, I had to fit in my long run in the morning, and Mother Nature was not smiling upon me.  The temperatures barely reached 15* with windchills hovering around 5*.  Knowing that my 12 miles would take about 2 hours, I reasoned that it would be unwise to spend such a long time out in the bitterly cold air.  I'm as badass as the next mother runner, but losing a toe to frostbite isn't high on my to-do list.

With the outdoors off the table, I was left with one other choice: 12 miles on the treadmill.  In my dark, uninviting basement.  With baskets of laundry and bins of outgrown clothes to keep me company.  By Thursday, I was 93% certain that this would be my fate, so I had a good 36 hours to prepare mentally.  I knew I just had to embrace the suck and do everything I could to make it as painless as possible.  I downloaded several episodes of the Serial podcast, cued up a few episodes of Friends on Netflix, and lined up my water, dates, and headphones on the treadmill console.  Time to quit moping and make it happen.

My Strava post after the run.  I stand by my assertion that
monotony is better than frostbite, though I'm not sure by how much...

The run began worse than I expected.  The first mile dragged on forever, and I couldn't wrap my brain around the possibility of logging another 11.  But by mile 3, my mind had accepted my fate and stopped complaining about the unchanging view.  I found my zone for miles 3-6, but then my brain re-engaged and started rioting.  6 miles was my previous treadmill distance record, and both my brain and my legs knew it; neither of them wanted to continue past the 6-mile mark.  It took all the mental strength I had to stay on the treadmill because every fiber of my being wanted to hop off and call it a day.

After fueling at mile 8, I found my stride again.  "Just 4 miles to go," I told myself.  "You can do this!"  I knocked the speed down a little, switched from podcasts to Netflix, and solidered on.  Mile 11 was another low point, but I forced myself to kick up the pace for the final mile.  I upped the speed every .2 of mile 12 and finished feeling strong but exhausted, both mentally and physically.  It was undoubtedly the hardest run I've had in quite some time.

I climbed the basement stairs and rejoined the family, barely mustering the words, "that.was.hard." in response to my husband's inquiry about the run.  I was totally spent, yet at the same time, I felt like a rockstar!  As I laid in our dining room with my legs up the wall, I thought about what I had done: powered through when I wanted to quit, tackled an insane number of miles while staying in one place, and lived to tell about it.  I have no doubt that I will face mental difficulties such as this on race day.  This run was an opportunity to practice my response when negative thoughts try to defeat me.  Though I didn't break any land speed records (why is it so much harder to run on a treadmill?!), I am so proud of my effort.  I will carry this victory with me for many future runs and remember that the harder the battle, the sweeter the reward.

What's your treadmill distance PR?  Given the scenario, would you have braved the cold or faced the treadmill?

Cruise Ship Running

My husband and I set sail today for an Alaskan cruise to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary.  Thanks to the generosity of my sisters and parents, we are traveling sans kids for the first time ever, a thought both terrifying and exciting at the same time.  I could spend an entire blog post sorting through the various emotions accompanying this trip, but I'll spare you the drama.  Instead, let's focus on the challenges and excitement of running while cruising.

As any good Type A person would do, I've spent embarrassingly large swaths of time contemplating running options for our trip.  [Lest you think I'm single-minded, I've also spent countless hours poring over the details of my kids' schedules while we're away and planning our onshore excursions (snorkeling in Alaska, anyone?).  So I'm obsessing equally over the kids, our activities, and running ;) ]  The ship is equipped with a "jogging" track (goodness, I hate that word), which according to my research is about .2 mile around.  A mere 15 laps should get me a good 3 miles.  Sounds tolerable.  However, I have a 5-mile run scheduled this weekend, and 25 laps sounds torturous.  Perhaps I'll be soothed by the beauty of my surroundings and therefore distracted from the round and round monotony of passing the same deck chair 25 times.

A view like this could make the endless laps feel less miserable.

Since 15 laps sounds manageable and 25 sounds like the seventh circle of hell, I hope to squeeze in my long run today before we leave town.  Then I can do my next long run when we return next weekend, and I'll just enjoy some simple 3-milers while aboard the ship.  The boat also has an exercise room equipped with treadmills, so I can seek out the hamster wheel should the laps prove unpleasant.  From the pictures I've seen, I believe the treadmills face a wall of windows, providing runners with panoramic views of the ocean.  Sure beats the view from my basement treadmill...

I am most excited about the long days we'll be experiencing while traveling so far north.  Sunrise should begin around 4:45am with sunset around 9:30pm.  Given that I'm coming from the central time zone, that 4:45 sunrise will feel like 6:45 to me, which counts as major sleeping in for this mother runner.  Score!  I hope to enjoy sunrise or early dawn runs at least three times while aboard the ship.

Have you ever run on a cruise ship before?  I'm guessing that the large ship will negate most wobbling, but I'm curious to see if it will feel unsteady while running.  I'll check it out and report back next week!

New Routes and Silence

When my alarm sounded this morning, it felt a bit like a scene from Groundhog's Day.  Just as I did two weeks ago, I snoozed the alarm and told myself that I could run on the treadmill at naptime instead.  After the snooze, however, I felt a bit more coherent and remembered how dreadful that treadmill run was.  I survived, but I could live without repeating it again for a while.

So I dragged my tush out of bed and fumbled into my running clothes.  As I stepped out the door, the just-rained humid air filled my lungs, and I started wishing I was back in bed.  Setting low expectations for the run, I headed out and decided to cobble together a new-to-me route through St. Louis Hills and Southampton.  Ever since my run commute earlier this month, I've felt braver about trying out new running routes.  Last week, Emily and I created a new route on the fly, and last weekend, I ran to a new park.  All on familiar roads that I know very well, but ones that until recently, I felt unable to run upon.  The new route was a nice change of pace and gave me some extra pep in my step.

In addition to finding new routes, I've also been running without music lately.  It started as an accident rather than as a conscious decision.  With so many of my runs with Emily, I'm out of the habit of taking along headphones.  Now that I've logged a few non-music runs, however, I really kind of like it.  Sometimes it feels challenging to continue moving forward without the distraction of music or a podcast, but I enjoy the peace and quiet and the opportunity to listen to my own thoughts.  Though they are not always pretty, the miles with just me and the open road feel somewhat luxurious.  So much of my life is filled with chatter and noise, I appreciate the chance to unplug and revel in silence.

Such a wise man, that Thomas Merton.
A fragmented existence might be the kindest way to describe my life these days.

The Price of Sleeping In

After a broken night sleep, thanks to a cranky, teething one-year-old, I could not force myself out of bed when my alarm sounded at 5:03.  I snoozed once, then twice, then decided that an early run was definitely not going to happen.  I promised myself that I would run on the treadmill at naptime instead.  I silenced the cruel dream-crusher and fluffed my pillow for an extra hour of shut eye.

Once I was really awake, I knew that I would regret my decision to sleep late.  The kids started bickering as soon as they stepped out of bed with J-Bug sobbing three times before she made it to the breakfast table.  I sighed, wishing that I had some post-run endorphins to help me ride the tidal wave of emotions erupting in our house.

Somehow, we survived the rocky start and had a surprisingly good morning.  Some fresh air and friends helped to turn all of our moods around.  By the time everyone was down to nap, I really just wanted to crash and regroup, but I knew that I'd be frustrated with myself if I blew off my run for a second time.  I changed into running clothes, knocked the dust off my treadmill, and got down to work.

Best.craigslist purchase.ever.

My brain could tell that I'd been away from the treadmill for quite some time.  The first mile was agonizingly long and painful as I watched each second tick by on the display.  I found something of a groove late in the run, but it never really became easy.  When I finished, however, I felt unexpectedly happy.  Although I battled mental monkeys throughout the run, when it was over, I felt like a million bucks.  I was proud of myself for following through and logging some miles today.  It would have been easy to skip it entirely, but I chose to do the hard thing and run on the treadmill at an awkward time of day.  While the numbers were nothing extraordinary, the feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming.  This treadmill run was surely successful, but I'll think twice before I snooze my early alarm again...

10 Running-Related Personal Questions

I have not yet posted about my profound admiration for the ladies of Another Mother Runner, but I promise, that post is still to come.  Yesterday, however, Sarah invited us to answer 10 questions about ourselves, and as a rule follower, I feel the need to oblige.  You can read Sarah's answers on the AMR blog; Dimity's are to air later this week.  As for me:

1.  Best run ever:  A scenic 6-mile run last April near my parents' wooded cabin.  The weather was gorgeous; the newly green trees beautiful; the views around the lakes breathtaking.  Before this particular day, I had not run much at their cabin, so the sights and sounds were all new to me.  At one point, I came out of a wooded passage, and as I rounded the curve, the view of the sun rising over the lake was nothing short of spectacular.  In fact, I was so inspired by the beauty of the scenery that I hardly noticed the killer hills, though my quads definitely felt their effects the next day.

2.  Three words that describe my running:  Always moving forward.

3.  My go-to running outfit is:  Fairly basic: a pair of Champion running shorts from Target, a wicking shirt, and a headband to keep my hair out of my eyes.  If I'm running in daylight (unusual on these dark fall mornings), I'll wear a hat, too.

4.  Quirky habit while running:  I always end my run at a house near the end of my block with a giant flagpole.  I have no idea why this became a ritual, but now the flagpole always signifies my finish line.

5.  Morning, midday, evening:  Morning is always my first choice.  I love the quiet stillness of the world when most of its occupants are sleeping.  But sometimes life gets in the way, and I sneak in midday treadmill runs while my kids nap or an evening run after my husband gets home from work.  But morning is always best.

6.  I won't run outside when it's: icy.  I'm cool with rain, snow, heat, and humidity, but I refuse to deal with ice, especially since I have a treadmill for those too-icy-to-hit-the-road days.

7.  Worst injury - and how I got over it:  I've only been running for a little over a year, so to date, I've not had to deal much with injury [have I just jinxed myself by saying that aloud?].  When I increased my mileage last spring, however, I found that my calves were extremely tight all the time.  I added in additional post-run stretches - and forced myself to do them after each run - and my muscle pain quickly dissipated.

8.  I felt most like a badass mother runner when:  I completed my first 10-mile run.  I wanted to log a double-digit run before my one year running anniversary, and I did it two weeks ahead of the deadline. One year previously, I could barely run 60 second intervals.  That lovely June day, I rocked 10 miles and felt like a BAMR.

9.  Next race is:  This Saturday (9/15) - a local 5k in the neighborhood in which I grew up.  A hilly course, but I love running those familiar roads.

10.  Potential running goal for 2013:  I hope to toe the line for a half marathon, most likely in the fall.

Fall is in the Air

Though the temperatures remain sky-high, other signs indicate that we are much closer to fall than to summer.  I now see many school buses during my morning runs, as well as students standing around waiting for them.  I was surprised to see a flock of students waiting for the bus at 5:55am!  I knew some schools started early, but I could not imagine having my kids ready and waiting for the bus before 6:00am.

A sure sign that fall is now upon us.

The biggest sign of fall for me, however, is the darkness of the sky when I head out for my run.  I like the peacefulness of the dark morning, but I'm really not a big fan of running in the dark.  Although I run familiar routes along which I've memorized every crack in the sidewalk, I still fear that I'll miss a crack one day and injure myself.  I contemplate running in the streets instead, but somehow I don't feel I'm ready for that step.  I feel like I need to be a more hardcore runner in order to pull off street running.  Silly yet true.

On the darkest of dark mornings, I'm sure I'll resort to my treadmill, but I'm not quite ready to give up on my road (er, sidewalk) runs yet.  I love the fresh smell of the morning air and the stillness of the world when most of its residents are sleeping.  Fall is one of my favorite seasons for running, and I'm ready to embrace it in all of its darkening glory.

Back in the Saddle

I ran for the first time today since July 3rd, and though it wasn't effortless and it certainly wasn't pretty, I am happy to be back.  We spent the last 10 days in sunny Florida where I did some pool running, but mentally and physically, I needed a complete break from road running.

During today's run, which had to be on the treadmill, my legs felt strained from underuse over the past several weeks, and I had to use every ounce of willpower to complete the miles I had planned.  (Full disclosure: a promise of post-run Cheetos and Diet Coke may also have helped motivate me to finish.)

While I appreciate my treadmill and all that it does for me, the hamster wheel concept rings true.

I think I will take a break from my running log for a bit.  I need to reconnect with my love of running and not feel encumbered by counting my weekly miles and studying my average heart rate.  As a self-declared nerd, I love analyzing those statistics, but for the moment, I think I need to run with my heart rather than my brain.  I'm looking forward to running my local outdoor routes this weekend.  How I have missed those roads!