Archives for May 2006

Okay, I know that I may not be fast as some of the people reading this, but for the purpose of getting ready for my marathon I will be chanting this ad nauseam in the coming weeks. Today’s run was awesome; it reinforced my affirmation.

I was more than ready to get outside today, due to having missed my run yesterday. I sunk my headphones deep into my ears, and started my running music playing. I had it pick up were it had ended the last time I ran with music. The song grabbed me right from the first few beats; I took off faster than usual, without caring about what my pace would be. I just let the music play enjoying the breeze blowing, and the sun shinning. A few songs later I looked at my pace. It was still fast but I still felt good. I thought, “So what if I tire out later.”

As I ran, I contemplated how long to run. I missed my 5-mile run yesterday and was supposed to run 5 miles today. Together, that would be 10 miles. I wasn’t about to do that. About 2 1/2 miles out, I hesitated for a fraction of a second. I wasn’t ready to turn around yet. On I ran, still going at a fast pace. 4 miles out, I was ready the turn back. I hit the restroom, ate a few gummy bears (they were leftovers from Sunday’s long run), and stretched before starting back.
I switched it up a bit on the way back. Instead of staying up on the main trail, I ran along the water on the well-worn paths that the mountain bikes have made. I followed the narrow paths, moving side to side and following the path up and down the little mounds of dirt. I returned to the main trail for the last two miles. Finishing just in front of the side entrance to my work, I exclaimed “YES!” Looking at the GPS to see an 8.13-mile run in 1:06:02. D@mn, I’m fast; that’s 8:07 minutes/mile!

Some days are days when I just NEED to go running. I need to put on my headphones, block out the world, and just let my feet take me away for a while. It makes it all better. These days, when I just need to run, are often the days when I can’t.

Yesterday was that sort of day. The day was not going well and it just kept on like that all day long. I wrote, “ARRGH” in an email to show my frustration. I have a strong conviction that email is a form of self-expression, that the recipients of your email judge you by how it comes across, and that each email should be carefully crafted and edited so that there are no misunderstandings. I was showing how extreme my frustration was the only why I could at the time. In my defense, there were only a “couple” of people on the distribution. My workday was only the beginning.

After leaving later than usual, I sat in traffic for nearly an hour. Arriving at YaYa’s daycare at 5:58 p.m., I narrowly escaped paying the $10 fee for being late to get my child. I skipped my stop at home, and went straight to BoBo’s baseball game. They were losing (1:2), and managed to turn it around for a 14:4 win. I arrived home to find my dinner had dried out in the crock-pot (I knew that I should have added a bit more water). BoBo had a commercial assignment that still needed me to assist in editing and transferring the film to a VHS tape/DVD so that he could turn it in today. A bit irritated that homework assignments for kids today require a bit too much parent involvement, I surrendered the rest of my evening.

There would be no running outside or on the “mill”. By the time I finished up, it was 9:30 p.m. I warmed up all of the leftovers I could find and served it to the kids. I ate tortilla chips and salsa, washed the dishes, and headed up to bed with my protocol in hand. I sat in my bed reviewing the document AGAIN for any typos or inconsistencies. Needless to say, I had no problem falling asleep.

The following training reminder was from Hal’s program arrived in my email on Wednesday; “Don’t push the pace too hard today, because you have 26 miles of running to do on the weekend. Yes, that’s right: 26, but split into two days.” 26 miles of TRAINING; it’s hard not to freak out about that. Fortunately, the reminder arrived with plenty of time to let the idea settle. By the weekend, I was stoked at the awesome plan. It was obviously “perfect”.

My 8-mile run on Saturday was awesome. I nailed my race pace almost exactly as I had planned. My average pace was 8:27 minutes/mile for the run. I only need to run an average pace of 8:47 to hit my 3 hours, 50 minute marathon finish goal. Secretly, however, I want to run nearer to the 3 hours, 45 minutes that I had been targeting for the past few years. Because of this, I have been running my pace runs about 8:25 – 8:40 pace throughout. Since I have done all of my training with this in mind, I don’t see how it can hurt me on race day. Remember it’s a secret, so keep it quiet.

On Sunday, I headed out to the same trail that I’ve been running on these past many weeks. It’s beginning to bore me. I went out in a different direction to start out. Up to the top of the dam, along the reservoir, and then back down. I returned to my car, with 6 miles completed, and meet Cindy for the remaining 12 miles. I dropped off my outer shirt and iPod, exchanged empty bottles of water and Cytomax with full ones, and applied sunscreen. Then we were off for the remainder of my 18-mile run.

At first Cindy would begin to pull ahead, and I would have to remind her to slow down. My knees ached unusually for me with each step, and the smallest of uphill felt difficult. I trudged onward and was soon feeling better. I think the sugar from the gummy-bears, that I ate at the car, were beginning to fuel me. 1 mile into, this part of, the run Cindy had to use the restroom, then again at 1 ? miles further on. I tried not to get discouraged, but the time on the trail was beginning to get to me. I just wanted to be done with it already. I forced down a Cliff-shot at about my 7th mile. I prefer GU gels, but didn’t have enough to carry me through for this entire run. The thick consistency of the Cliff-shot was hard to swallow. I washed it down with some water and tried not to gag. At mile 12, it was my turn to hit the restrooms, and then we turned back toward the car. I had saved my last GU gel for the return portion, and when I said, “Yum,” Cindy just about choked. She thought I was delusional.
Having remembered Hal’s little note, “It’s usually a good idea to not push yourself too hard, but if you want to pick up the pace for the last 4-5 miles of this 18-mile run, I won’t stick out my leg to trip you.” Despite it being mostly uphill on the way back, the last 6 miles of the run was somewhat faster. I watched for anyone who looked like they were wanting to ambush my small increase in speed but only Cindy seemed to object to the push in pace. In the end, or at the top of the bridge in our case, I ran 18.35 miles in 2:48:06.

The follow up calculations help to reassure my mind that I am able to do well in my marathon and qualify for the Boston Marathon. Based on my average pace from each run (8.2 miles at 8:27/mile and 18 at 9:09/mile) my weekend marathon took 3:53:59. Hey, it?s a PR! I know that it doesn?t exactly translate into a marathon finish. I am taking any bit of encouragement that I can get, and am also looking forward to this week?s stepback.