W5: D1 - Postponed is Better than Skipped

By some strange happenstance I awoke this morning at 5:11. I had to use the bathroom, and then I realized I couldn't hear the pitter patter of ran on the windows. My ears are very sharp, but I put my ear to the pane to be sure. Nope, no rain. 5:11 was early, and we'd gone to bed late. But I knew I would run as soon as I put my ear to the glass. I was up, and even if it had been raining, I knew I'd go out.

My pre-run meal was more of an experiment than anything. I'd read that chocolate milk was an excellent pre or post run fueler, which excited the child in me. However, we did not have any chocolate. So I settled for 3 oreos and a bit of extra milk just to finish off the jug. I filled my water bottle, but rather than carry it I left it near the curb because when it's still full it is a pain to heft around.

I'd never run before sunrise. The sky was inky blue black and the streetlights were on. The world was quiet and still. I've been reading Zen and the Art of Running, so I was hoping it would help me on my run. I thought it looked an awful lot like night running, but soon I began to see that it was really quite the opposite. The sky was dark yes, but the velvety blue black gave me a new shade to look at every lap, once I took the time to notice. And once I noticed, I couldn't stop noticing. And it was beautiful.

I realized I could look much further ahead in the coming daylight. At night I see by puddles of streetlamp light, moving like a frog from one to the next. In the day I can see down the street and around to the second half of the loop. At the beginning of the loop I could see almost the entire track, which made it look much smaller. I was sad to see the lovely shade of dark blue go, but as the sky lightened I could see more detail in the tree line. In the grey overcast morning no longer were they black slightly blurred silhouettes, but green trees with distinct leaves and branches.

And soon the world was waking up. Cars and drivings were coming to life. A little boy was on his bicycle, another little boy was out with his adorable puppy. I apologized to this boy because the puppy was very keen to follow me. I jumped at the deep bark of the same dog whose first bark always startles me. The same children whose presence bothered me in the afternoon, were a welcome sign of life and progression, in the morning. For a moment I was annoyed at their appearance and refusal to move to one side of the street, but it was fleeting. Even among them I began to notice things. One girl was already on her cell phone, I felt bad for the young boy who was carrying a Red Bull, not a quality breakfast. They were a sign of the post dawn morning and of fall.

I finished in 3:21:38, or about 21:38 slower than I wanted to. But the important thing is I finished and I finished feeling better than I did when I ran 9 miles or 10 miles. I am a bit sore, there were kinks along the way, and I slowed down considerably around the last 3 miles, but it was not as difficult as the previous 2 long runs. 

W4: D4: The Run That Didn't Happen

Well, my awesome plan to run the awesome trail near us utterly failed.  The beginning of the trail is in a small city, which meant street crossings and then crossing a field.  I made it to the field, but then because there were 3 options as far as which direction to go, I got nervous and ran back to the map.  I was afraid to go the wrong way and end up somewhere I didn't plan to be.  By the time I started back my husband who had gotten worried when I didn't pass him, was on his way back.  So, I decided not to go for the 12 miler after all, I wasn't sure I'd be able to beat the setting sun by that point either.  I plan to get the run in though soon.

W4: RD2 - Weighing In On My Weight

I found running because I needed to lose weight.  Way back in February 2010 I wanted to do the Couch to 5K program and complete a 5K  I began the program, but I was too slow.  I could run when it said, and walk when it said, but I couldn't cover the distance it wanted me to.  Then in Tae Kwon Do, I sprained my ankle, those two things combined stopped me from running for a while.

I am now about 34 pounds lighter than I was in February 2010, and I'd still like to lose more weight.  Yes, I've been really slow about it, but there's been a lot going on in my life since February 2010.  I hoped marathon training would help me lose weight, but it hasn't, and that's okay.  Sure, I'm burning some calories, but because of the long runs, I need more calories to get through all those miles.  It comes down to what I want more.  I could stop training and focus on weight loss, or I could keep training and maybe lose a few pounds.  I choose to continue training.

Do I wish my stomach would lose inches?  Yes.  Do I wish a bit of my inner thigh would not jiggle quite so much?  Yes. Do I wish that the lovely toned look of my legs would start spreading to the rest of my body?  Yes.

I won't lie and say I'm not having a hard time accepting that while my body will get a bit stronger, it may look like this a little while longer.  I want to be a bit leaner, I want to be done trying to lose weight.  I don't want people to ask me if I'm pregnant, because so much of my weight is concentrated in the middle.  I was never seeking perfection, I don't need to be a certain size, or a certain weight.  I could be happy weighing 131 pounds if it were a leaner 131 pounds.

I'm not going to give up on losing weight while I'm in training.  I'm just going to adjust my goals.  I used to try to lose two pounds each week.  Now I'm going to shoot for half a pound, or at most one pound.  If I lose, I lose, if I don't, well, as long as I'm still on track with my training, I'll be happy.

W4: D3 - New 3 Mile PR

Well, it looks like this is the week for setting PRs, granted my original ones weren't that high.  I still didn't have much motivation, but I used it to my advantage.  My 3 mile run ended at 43:39, thirty seconds faster than my previous 44:09.  My only hope now is that my 12 mile run on Sunday goes smoothly.  I'm not expecting any time records, after all, this will be my first twelve mile run.  But I am hoping to complete the distance and feel decent afterwards, not well enough to go out and do it again, but well enough to not be hobbling from mile 10 onward.

W4: D1 - Busy Bee

In spite of my trepidation, last night I went to Tae Kwon Do, Zumba, and Haidong Gumdo again. I am afraid to hurt myself or pull away too much of the energy my body wanted for those long runs, but I guess we'll call this experiment week. Kind of a stupid thing to do with the half marathon just around the corner, but there you go. 


I ran 3 miles, but it was not hard even after all that other activity. Some bits of my body were a bit tighter than normal, but in a weird way I felt like I had more energy. I did run cautiously since it was my first post All That Stuff Run ever, but I felt good during and after. My time was 46:48, slower than usual, but that's okay.

The big lesson so far has been, run before all the other stuff. At night I'm tired, and I'm glad because I'm sleeping better. On the plus side, the neighborhood kids started school yesterday, so daytime running is more appealing. 


I'm also surprised that after 3 hours of exercise and a 45 minute run, I'm fine. Right now I'm most sore from Haidong Gumdo, and well, you can't really prepare for cutting things with a sword, unless you're cutting things with a sword. Perhaps the second big lesson is, I can do more than I thought. 

I've adjusted my nutrition for all this extra activity, but I think I may try to introduce more carbs in the second half of the week because these long runs are double digits now. Fingers crossed.

W4 XT - I Did Not Run

So, I was all "I'm sticking to my schedule this week, I'm going to run etc." And then, I did not run. I planned to. I had time to. I had the energy to, I just didn't, but it was poor planning more then laziness.

I planned to run this afternoon, but I remembered today was "Bring a friend" day at our Tae Kwon Do school, I thought it would be a good day to go back. In addition they were offering a free Zumba class afterward, so I wanted to do that as well. I thought, "A 3 mile run will be a good day ender after all that."

Tae Kwon Do was a good work out, I've lost some flexibility, but overall I did well. I did sweat, but I didn't feel exhausted or incapable. It was good to see some of our old friends and meet the new instructor, who was very nice. Afterwards they had pizza, I had one piece of plain pizza, just like I 'budgeted' for. Next came Zumba, which I found to be easier than I thought it was going to be, I didn't know the choreography, but I caught on. Some of the more intricate footwork was harder, but I managed.

We chatted with the new instructor for a while and then came home. I planned to run, but I was tired. And it's getting a bit cooler out in the evening. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself about it. I could have done it, but if I push my long run to Sunday, there's still time to follow my schedule properly. 

W4: RD1 - Getting Back On Schedule

After 'adventures' with Irene, I did not cross train, in part because of Irene, but also because my quad was still sore, and being unsure of how to proceed, I decided to give it more rest, rather than stretch it or move it the wrong way and risk injuring myself.  As far as Irene, we were really lucky, we lost power for about 16 hours, but we were not evacuated or injured.  This morning I woke up and was tempted  to go right out for a 3 mile run, to make up for the one I missed.


However, after giving it some thought, I decided not to run.  Oh I feel a bit lazy, and a bit like I'm making excuses, but I want to follow the training schedule properly this week.  That means today, I rest.  I may go for a short walk later, but that's it, no running.  At the end of the week I have to face down, not a dozen donuts, but a dozen miles.  I haven't had a donut in a long time.

I'm still trying not to be discouraged about the ten mile incident, but I think until I do my long run this Saturday it's going to be on my mind.  I believe I can do it though and with proper preparation, I will do it well.

W3: D3 - Good and Bad

I was supposed to run 3 miles today, but Hurricane Irene is coming.  I knew the odds that I could fit a 3 mile run in on Saturday were better than being able to fit a 10 mile run in.  So, I switched them.  I am glad I made it through all 10 miles, but my time shot to 2:44:11 or an average of 16:24.

I know I did a few things wrong.  Namely, I did not have my rest day, and I forgot my sports beans, and I did not drink at all during the run.  Still, to say it doesn't make me nervous would be a lie.

At that rate I won't be able to finish any marathons in the time allowed.  I am still glad I made it though.

W3: D2 - Pretty Darn Good

After my cranky episode yesterday, I was in much better spirits on Thursday.  We watched Spirit of the Marathon Tuesday night and I've been intrigued by something that was said in the film.  One of the runners featured talked about how she and some of her friends are constantly looking at their watches and thinking about the next run because they want to improve their times.  I can relate to that, in February 2010 when I started running I was always looking at my watch and trying to outdo my times.  Even this April when I started training for my first 5K, I was still glancing at my watch, trying to track each lap.

But when I started training in August, something had changed within me, (Wicked reference.)

It stopped being as much about the time, and much more about the distance.  Time will always be a big factor for me, but distance will too.  And the young woman in the film said she wished she could be more like the runners who simply went out and ran, and weren't focused on their time.  In spite of being so slow, I've noticed a shift in that direction and I like it.  I still check my watch sometimes, sometimes I lose count of my laps and I need to time a few to figure out how many I've done.  But overall my mind has decided to be much more focused on each step, rather than each second.

My target 5 mile run time is 1:15:00 or 15:00 per mile.  I finished in 1:16:21, I was really pleased about that.  No, it's not my target time, but it was pretty close.

W3: RD1 - Weight Gain

Well, after my triumphant return to the 120s last week, I have crossed back into the familiar land of the 130s, but I don't mind.

Running has given me the opportunity every week to measure my success without a scale.  I have never run nine miles before, but I did last week.  I have never run ten miles, but I will this week.  Weight loss is more like the icing on the cake, than the cake itself.  I guess I should work on finding a better metaphor, since I don't much like icing.

I did a little extra cardio today, just some light walking.  I need to do that more on cross training days, in addition to finding fun ways to cross train.  I get too antsy on Monday, but if I do too much on rest days I could impact my runs later in the week.

W2: XT- Cross Training at the PA Ren Faire

Warning: This blog is not exactly on topic as far as running, but it's a story to share, but feel free to skip along if you were looking for running related ramblings.

Today my husband and I set off for the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  I know, I know, this is not cross training, but walking is, and walking around was the plan.  After one of the SLOWEST breakfasts in the world, (one hour to receive 3 pancakes, bacon, toast, and oatmeal,) we finally arrived around 12:00 PM.

The plan was to donate blood to:

A: We could help replenish the amount my Mom has need throughout her ordeal (over 20 transfusions.)  B: Receive free entry to the Faire that day.

However I did not bring my ID, which was stupid for many reasons, one of them being if we'd gotten in an accident, and second you can't donate blood without an ID.  Thankfully after much frustration and digging around in my husband's wallet I found two non-photo pieces of identification and was allowed to donate.  Unfortunately by then my husband was finished and it was after 1:15.  But he needed to sit and rest a while as he'd nearly blacked out while giving blood (because even though I told him not to, he looked around at all the other people giving blood...)  So, after about half an hour I was taken to give blood.  After another twenty minutes they processed me and tested my iron...  Sadly, my iron was too low, 11.1 which is indeed not the 12.5 required.  The second test produced an LLL, which I think means it wouldn't even read it because it was so low.

Iron(y) alert, earlier that week I'd gone to the doctor because I thought my iron was low, but since he never called about it, I thought all was fine.

So, feeling quite sad about not being able to give blood, I walked back to my husband, ticket in hand.  I was grateful for the ticket, but as stated, after my Mom needed so much blood, giving back was the primary objective.  My husband and I spent some time walking around and checking out some shows.  We were watching a great group called Circa Paleo, but then a gentleman waved at them to stop, the bad weather we'd heard about was coming.  The kind group allowed us to "seek shelter" as the PA system was urging, onstage.

And then the rain came.  And then it stopped.  And came again.  And so it went until about 5:00.  Because we'd been cheated out of hearing the entire set by Circa Paleo we went back again.  It was still raining, but there was no thunder or lightning so the group was cleared to perform.  They felt badly about the rain, and because there were only three of us, they allowed us onto the stage apron and performed for us for almost an hour.  By then others had come, but it was really a great little intimate experience courtesy of mother nature.  We purchased a CD, had it signed and went on our way.

By 6:00 the rain was back again, hard, and I felt bad for the poor knights and actors who had to perform the Ultimate Joust, without horses, in the rain.  I felt especially bad for the actors who had to play dead in the mud.  Afterwards the company and we spectators dashed for the Swashbuckler's Stage, a covered stage area they use for the Finale when it rains.  It was a lot of fun and my husband and I will be returning again later this year, hopefully to sunnier weather.

Oh and I ate a Scotch Egg.  I don't eat a lot of meat, but I do love those things.  And I purposely ate a low fat, low protein breakfast to save room.

W2: D4 - 9 Mile Long Run

I have never run 9 miles before, and I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in my results.  I finished it, but I finished in 2:21:00, still within 15 minutes, but very nearly 16:00.  I also had a bit of a rough time on the last 2 miles.  It wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't as easy as the 7 mile run had been before.

While I am immensely proud that I went that far, because of my speed and the effort involved, I immediately became concerned about how hard next week might be.  But, rather than wallow, I tried to be pro-active.

1. I may have run the first 5 miles a little too fast.  I know better.
2. I tried my first GU this week.  Not terrible, but maybe I should have taken more or less.
3. Maybe I should try the Sports Beans, better texture.
4. I need to learn to pace my drinking, I'd never drank or ate anything on a run before.
5. I need to find the proper place to wear my waist bottle holder thing, and I should have done that before I was going out the door.
6. I need to try and keep better track of my laps, I may have inadvertently added or lost one or two.

Overall, still very proud, I hope next week's 10 miler proves a bit easier.