Monday, April 12, 2010

Is redemption supposed to feel this....painful?

Thanks for all of your awesome responses to my grad school excitement.  If anyone happens to know anyone through a friend of a friend's pal's uncle's estranged best friend that completed a Masters in Library Science online, hook a sista up!  I have a thousand questions. :)  And I also think it's funny that most people had mucho love for University of Washington because that's my #1 choice (thus far) as well.  Whoot whoot!  Plus it also happens to be one of the schools my BFFF Megan is looking to go to (but actually be there, not online).  All the more reason to visit, yes? :)

Thursday I had an easy 7 miler to take on.  With insanely sore shoulders from yoga, I headed out at a very slow and relaxed pace.  Each time G-man beeped at me it was muuuuch faster than I thought I was going, so I pushed the pace to an even slower pace.  Nada, didn't work. Ran consistently faster than I should've and felt great about it.  Whatevs, right? :)  I did 7 in 1:04:47 for a pace of 9:16.

Friday night I got in some ab work while waiting for the loverboy to arrive.  We dined and watched Up in the Air, which I looooooooooved.  Oh man.  I thought it was really good.  Also, loverboy is still ridiculously cute in case you were curious.  I gave him the coolest/weirdest/sweetest gift ever, which I may have to blog about at a future date....perhaps tomorrow.  Please remind me. :)

Saturday I was ready for redemption in the form of an 18 miler.  As you may remember from my previous 18 miler (let's be honest, you don't remember.  Why would you unless you're a) me or b) a stalker?  Since you are not a) me, and I hope to God you're not b) a stalker, than you wouldn't remember so click on the previous linky link to refresh your bwains [part of TEAM GREEN has difficulty saying his R's and refers to the brain as a bwain which just cracks me up] speaking of crack, hey-o Jerbear...you've derailed).

Anyway, nuts and bolts of the redemption, I have had one LR thus far in MARATHON TRAINING that has been less than stellar and it's been the 18-er.  I had blood on my mind and Gu in my pockets as I headed out for 18 miler: Take 2.  It was in the mid-upper 50s when I started out, and I was sporting the sexay watermelon runner version of Jerbear.  Something about that pink top makes me so stinkin' happy prancing around out there. 

The first few miles really flew by.  There were a ton of people out biking/walking/running and my legs felt awesome.  I did see a dude rollerblading in full length spandex tights.  Note to dude: if you must wear tights because you're cold (??) feel free to wear shorts or something over the tights, that's *sorta* distracting to see your junk on display, especially b/c you're at least 9 feet tall and it's right at eye level for shrimpy Jerbear.

1. 9:16

2. 9:28
3. 9:17
4. 9:26

I took my first Gu at about 4 1/2 miles and realized that my handheld (12 oz.) was almost half gone.  Uh.  Sweet portion control.  Luckily for me, I remembered that there was a cafe at the turn around point that I could duck into and refill.  Yay for hydration!  At this point I was chasing down some lady, which took my mind off of running.  Unfortunately she turned around before I could catch her, poop nuggets, but thanks for the entertainment lady!  My miles were still ticking off much quicker than I had intended, but without a whole lot of extra energy from me.  Yippee.
5. 9:27

6. 9:14
7. 9:19
8. 9:16
9. 9:34

I grabbed some water just shy of the 9 mile marker along with another Gu and hightailed it up a hill...that sucked.  Hence the time.  Stupid hill.  At the halfway point my time was 1:24:30.  I always like to note this to attempt to negative split that puppy.  Apparently during this next section my brain (or bwain) went out the window as I started seeing super happy families and little kiddos out having fun with their parents.  Didn't realize I had a biological clock, but at that moment I wanted, neigh, needed a hubby, 2.5 kids, and a golden retriever with a white picket fence.  Holy cow.  Luckily this mental lapse in judgment has since passed (for the most part).
10. 9:22

11. 9:20
12. 9:17
13. 9:19
14. 9:19

When I took my last Gu at 13.5 miles I realized, uh oh! I was out of water....and I still had 4 1/2 miles to go.  [Insert oh @#$(@$% here please.]  Also, this is the majority of the run that isn't done under tree coverage so I was just out there under the hot sun.  (Wasn't she just complaining about freezing weather and snow?  Yes..yes she was.)  The salt build up on my face was horrendous.  I just kept counting down the miles to being done.  I was also keeping myself busy by figuring out some potential goal times/finishing times for the MARATHON based on the 9:20ish pace my body seems to be comfortable with lately.  Math helps the miles fly by.  Also, since I took a slightly different route home (only the last 2 miles adding on an extra mile due to construction) my normal mental mile markers were all off.  Where I KNOW I should have 3 miles left aka kick time, I actually had 4 miles left.  Honestly, that was brutal and messed with my confidence a bit.  Grrr.
15. 9:30

16. 9:25


With 2 miles to go, I was stopped at a busy intersection waiting for a walk signal.  Um....stopping with 2 miles to go = worst idea EVER.  I was so thirsty and just wanted to be done.  I started up again and had to take a mini break with about a mile left to go.  I was borderline seeing stars... not fun.  Instead of my usual BTTW 5k finish, instead I was content with surviving it.

17. 9:21
18. 9:15


I finished the 18 miles in 2:48:33 for a pace of 9:22 (last 9 were 27 seconds quicker than the first 9, A+ for consistency).  Compared to the last 18 miler, I was about 5 minutes faster.  And other than the last 2 miles, I felt greeeeeeeeeeat.  As long as the marathon course doesn't run out of water, I should be ok, right? (Omg, don't even joke about that Jeri!)

I finished the week with my first 40 mile week, with 41 on the board.  Whoo whoo!  With only 4 running days/week, I'm pretty darn proud of myself.
Let's play a game called "Can you tell where I wear my running watch?"  The fact it is noticable at the beginning of April does not bode well for the actual summer months.


Also, who needs compression socks?  My VS mukluks do just the trick.  Just kidding, they don't at all.  But post ice bath and shower my feet were STILL freezing, so I had to go with it.  Also, please notice I'm wearing different tempo shorts post-run.  You mean you don't change out of one pair of running shorts to be replaced by a different colored pair of the same ones?  You are a fool. :P  (Also, super awkward angle taken to accentuate the above knee fat.  Oh wells.... :D)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The 18-miler = death! in my book. ;) my fist was awful too - big props to Watermelon-Jerbear for sticking this out for Round #2!! ha.

And, seriously, Rollerblading might be making a comeback. I see these peeps Everytime I do a long run on the Running trails during Saturday morning. WTF?! altho, mine as usually normal-sized people. ;)

Jamie said...

Yea for redemption runs! Nice job on the 18!

Heather said...

Wow, awesome job on the 18 miler! And don't worry, I thought the water stops the last half of Green Bay were the best ever. Not just plenty of water, but lots of orange slices all put in cups and everything. :)

Glenn Jones said...

Nice run Jer! If you're hitting 9:20's in training, you are a sub 4:00 (9:09 pace) for sure!

And thanks for your comment last week. I understand completely your words of wisdom!

Trying To Heal said...

you know, when i'm running sometimes i think, "jeri did this last weekend...times 230957349385734957." hahaha...hard core woman; i envy your strength.

oh yeah, and freak'n las vegas (was it you i was talking to about this?) is $145! for the HALF! WTF?!?!?!

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

Can't wait to read how you do at Green Bay. The most exciting thing for me out of that city since Holmgren left the Packers to coach my Seahawks.:)

Sorry, but I have not been in contact with my past Library Sciences UW friend in more than 10 years now. I will say Seattle is a great place to live. The UW is a great school and beautiful campus. I was born and raised there and went to the UW. If you decide to do the Masters in person - do it! Seattle still has lots of opp's floating around.

You might want to just talk with a career/advisor for an over view of job prospects. I do know you can do more than just be a Librarian with the degree. Many in the corporate world need researchers with the tools gained from the degree. I know someone who picked up this Masters Degree after Law School. He is a Director of Law Library for a Law School.

Good Luck with it all!

Marathon Maritza said...

Whoooo! Love the redemption run! And the tan lines :) hahahaha

Mica said...

A solid long run, for sure! I wish I could hit those paces for 18 miles.

I do the same thing with shorts. I finish a run, take off the sweaty ones, put on a new pair, and go run my errands. Whee!

Librarian on the Run said...

Jeri,

Sorry I missed your grad school excitement post. I got my Masters in Library and Information Science online through Drexel University, and I'd be happy to tell you a little about it. I am not familiar with any of the schools you have narrowed it down to, but as for an online program in general, it was a great fit for me. I was working full-time and I really liked being able to come home and log onto the computer instead of driving to class.

All of our courses were conducted through a program called Blackboard, which contained message boards, a work submission drop-box, and all of the links pertaining to the course. The professors would post lectures each week, and we would read/listen to the lectures and assigned reading, and then discuss it using the message boards. We usually had to post a certain number of "substantial" comments per week as part of our class participation grade. Assignments were often in the form of essays, papers, or resource reviews, but I did have a lot of group projects, such as research projects, Power Point presentations, or web sites.

These group projects were sometimes a little difficult, because we were working with people in different time zones. Usually we would divide the responsibilities up, work on our individual sections, and assign someone to put them all together.

The only time I had a timed test was in a statistics class (which I was tricked into taking because they called it "Action Research"!). The tests for that class were on the honor system: You were expected not to use your notes and to stop after a given amount of time.

Overall, the online program was the most convenient for me, because otherwise I'd have to drive over an hour to the nearest on-campus school that offered it. Instead I used that time, which would have been spent commuting, actually doing the work.

Although it was convenient, I have to admit that it was sometimes difficult to stay motivated. Every class for two years looked the same because they were all through Blackboard. It was also easy to procrastinate when your entire week's "class participation" did not have to be posted until midnight on Sunday night. (Not that it should, but sometimes it came down to that.)

The work and assignments were largely the same as an on-campus class (many of the professors had in-person classes and used the same lectures), so I don't think that the education you get online is any less than an on-campus student. It's also not "easier" or "harder" than an on-campus program. There are trade-offs for each.

So, I think that's enough for this insanely-long comment. I hope it helps.

You can contact me directly at tromagnoli@gmail.com if you have more specific questions. :-)

Good luck with your grad school search!

J said...

Good luck with the 18 miler! I can sure this one will go better!

erica said...

Hey girly! Just found your blog and absolutely love it! You now have a new follower! :]

I am just getting into running so your blog is fun for me to read!

xo