Marathon Schedule 2012

I’m a very type A person.  I like to have a plan.  And it always has to be the most efficient and well thought out plan.  So when my spring marathon plans somersaulted last week, I was in a tizzy.  Emails were sent to all running buddies to see what their plans were.  I like to optimize my marathon weekend fun by joining up with runner friends. 

My first plan was Grandma’s.  Kyle has been asking when I’m going to do it (presumably so he can have an excuse to go feeshing in Duluth) and I thought Krista was going to be doing it.  And since it’s so late, I could do a half marathon in May as part of my training…..say… in Brookings!  When Krista confirmed she wasn’t running it, I moved on. 

Lincoln?  Drivable distance for my parents (maybe) and I could probably wrangle Angie to do it.  But meh.  Wasn’t really too excited about it.

So then I landed back on Brookings.  But as the full.  It’s a very small course.  Like 400 for the full and half.  But it’d be cheap.  Just gas to get there and a cheap-o registration fee, and shacking up with Megan.  And the money for Mexican food and margs afterwards, obvs.  And I thought that surely my parents and Kyle could be spectator extraordinaires.  BINGO.

This is how I landed on the decision to do my first marathon in South Dakota.  Might as well be at home when I land my first marathon time that starts with a 3.  J

Naturally after deciding on spring 2012, my mind started to work toward fall 2012.  Since I’ll be doing things el cheap-o this spring, perhaps I could spend some $$ this fall.

Think BIG:  NYC.

I think I’m going to enter the NYC Marathon lottery.  I think I’ve convinced myself that the ideal time for me to run a marathon is in November/December, as it’s typically cooler, and I’m able to train for the majority of it during the fall when it’s cooler.  AKA I don’t drown from my sweat.  Visiting NYC is on my 101 in 1001 days list, and I’m sure I’ll need another Susan fix in a year.  J

If I don’t get in, I think my back up marathon will be Dallas White Rock.  I did the half in 2009, and it was a blast.  Plus I need to go down and visit the family, since I have a new niece arriving in 2 ½ weeks.  I secretly want her to be born at the same time I’m finishing Philly.  Is that too much to ask?  Naaaaaaaaw.

So that’s my plan for the next year.  Who’s joining me???

October in Review + 20 Miler for Philly

October In Review

Total Miles: 170.7 up from 121.2 last month. (151.2 miles from October 2010.)  Highest mileage month of the year, and second highest ever!  (Highest was April 2010).  Heck ya!  This includes a mini taper the first week in October since I raced a half.  WHOO! 

Total Time: 26:54:05 up from 18:56:33. (23:52:41 last October.)

Total Runs: 23 for an average of 7.42/run.

Highest weekly mileage:

10/24/2011 — 10/30/2011:

50.0 Mi

7:59:30

My second 50 mile week ever. :D

Favorite run: My mid-week double digit run.  See below.

Most hardcore run:  Either my 8 mile run with 4 at tempo, or my 600 m intervals.  I managed to find some sub 7 speed in these ol' legs of mine.  So that was fun.  Apparently I failed to blog about the intervals.  Meh.  Just imagine greatness, I guess.  :P

Favorite race:  Fargo FM half marathon.  Well, half of it was good.  So perhaps I should say the Fargo quarter marathon. :)

Bike Miles: 0.  I thought about it, does that count?  Between 8 hours of running, and a gazillion hours of school + work, biking is just not happening.  And that's sad because its still nice enough to do it.  Sorry Princess Leia.

Favorite Jams: Beyonce's Love on Top.

________________

So quick recap of last week since I was too lazy to blog apparently, I did intervals.  They were fast (for me) the recoveries were slow (for me).  Interval paces on the 600s were in the 6:30s-6:40s.  Heyo!

 

And on to my favorite run of the month, the 11 miler on Thursday.  After doing 8 miles, the night before with some speedy 600s, I was concerned my legs would be d-e-a-d.  But I didn't have class, due to fall break, so I was going to take full advantage and get my run in while crunching around on some fallen leaves.  I was prepared to take the run slow, since the name of the game is injury free, but my legs weren't having it.  I was in the 9:20s for most of the run with a low HR.  I'm sure the 46 degrees didn't hurt the cause.  And yes, I was the only one out there in shorts and a tee.  Hey, I put on a tee shirt, not like I'm crazy wearing a tanktop! The last few miles were a little scary since the sun had completely set.  I also slowed down since I always seem to fall, and the odds of this only increase when it's dark.  :/

 

I did 11 miles in 1:44:13 for a pace of 9:29.

 

Friday I somehow convinced Kyle to join me for part of my recovery run.  I did 2.5 miles without him and then he joined me for the last 1.5 miles.  We ran for about 4-5 minutes, then took a walk break, and repeated until we were done.  A dude in vibrams sprinted past us on a walk break, and that lit a fire under Kyle.  Of course that next running stretch had to be in the 8:30s.  Come on dude, this is my RECOVERY RUN.  But it was fun to have his company, and he didn't throw me in the river when we got there, so overall, I'd say that's a win!

 

Saturday morning was the last (and only) 20 miler of Philly training.  Eep!  After a glorious 11 hours of sleep (yes, seriously), I finally rolled out of bed and hit the trails.  I was bummed that I was too lazy to get up early, because the trick or treat trail run was going on, and I meant to intersect with the route and cheer my friends on.  Grr. 

 

After putting in 30 miles in a few short days, my legs were trashed from the start.  Which is good, I suppose.  Nothing wrong with getting in some major miles on super tired legs.  Mental toughness, I'm chasin' ya!  The first 5 miles were pretty pokey and in to the wind, which sucked.  Especially because weather.com had told me the wind was to be a light 3 mph breeze.  Liars.

 

I finally got some pep in my step about an hour in (probably didn't hurt that the wind was at my back) and decided to add some difficulty to my run (you know, because 20 miles isn't hard enough) and added a long hill in the middle of it.  I heard there are about 2 decent hills in Philly, so might as well get a little practice since I suck at them.  Adding pain to the current... uh... pain.... is the awful smell blowing over from the meat packing plant.  It. Was. Terrible.  I could taste the crap.  And of course this is right by our penitentiary, so I was on high alert for an escapees.  So much fun.

 

When I finally hit ten miles and turned around, I was assaulted by the wind, yet again.  And the smell of the meat packing plant.  Barf.  Luckily I had some downhill miles to attend to.  After the downhills, life started to suck.  I always seem to lose some steam during the middle 3rd of a run.  The wind wasn't helping.  Somehow I managed to kick up the pace a little bit during the final 3 miles to finish strong.  Not my fastest 20 miler, but definitely my most consistent.  And I finished feeling like I could easily run for another hour, which I haven't always been able to say at the end of a 20 miler.  I hit 9:20 and 8:40 for miles 19 and 20.

 

I did 20 miles in 3:12:34 for a pace of 9:38.

 

And apparently I took a total of 2 photos this weekend, but they were important hydrating photos, so enjoy.

Sunday morning mimosas. 

 

Me:  How much do you think you'll drink?  What size champagne should I get?

KK:  Jeri... it's 10am, I'm not going to drink.  Get whatever you want.

 

And then Sunday night I had the grossest beer ever to wrap up the Old Chicago Halloween mini-tour.  If I wanted apple juice, I'd order apple juice.  Ick.

 

 

My cheezhead haz a sad.

Yesterday as I was boppin' around twitter, I happened on a registration announcement from the Cellcom Marathon, and a notice of the course changing.  Naturally I clicked on it and was saddened to read this:

"The courses have not been finalized for 2012, but the course has typically had a net elevation change around four feet. There is one major change planned for the route this season. Due to the construction scheduled for the south end zone of Lambeau Field, the 2012 Cellcom Green Bay Marathon routes need to be altered and will not take a lap around Lambeau Field during the final mile.


“The Cellcom Green Bay Marathon is an event that draws in the whole community and the Packer organization really enjoys being a part of the excitement,” said Aaron Popkey, manager of corporate communications for the Green Bay Packers, “We worked hard to find a way with the construction to get the runners through the stadium and weren’t successful for 2012. We look forward to having the course return to the inside of Lambeau Field in 2013.”

So I'm bummed, but I won't be running Green Bay in 2012.  But it's on the schedule for 2013.

Now here is the time when you tell me what spring race you're running and bribe me with ice cream to come run with you............. and GO!

Philly Training + Running Buddy

Since I’m planning to run Philly with these two fine ladies, I’m making it a point to try to run with people.  News flash:  I really like running alone.  Running with people is hard for me.  Even in high school track when there were girls that were similar speed as me, I just preferred to chase the boys (real shocker there) than run with the girls.  It’s hard.  I’m always concerned that I’m slowing them down.  Or I’m concerned that I’m not getting the most out of a long run if it’s not the exact pace I want to be/feel like I should be running.  Unless you’re running with your exact pace twin, it just ends up being too much stress.

Well last weekend, I had a date for my 16 miler, but because of our alma mater’s homecoming festivities, and my need to sleep in, plans didn’t work out.  Which brought me to this past weekend.  I had 18 on the schedule, and had emailed Karla to see if she wanted to join me for part of it.  Karla and I have pretty similar race times, and she just destroyed her first full in the Twin Cities a few weeks ago.  She usually runs her long runs a smidge faster than me, but since she’s not actually training for anything, I hoped she’d be ok running a little pokier.  J  Of course I was surprised when she said she’d be up for the whole shebang!  I was doubly thrilled when she was on board for a late morning start!  Dear Fall, Your cool temps are amazing.  Don’t ever leave me.

When we started off, it was 37 degrees, and I knew I looked like a fool in a tank and shorts, but I also knew I’d warm up quickly.  Karla’s daughter recently joined the Dailymile and wanted to log some miles, so she joined us on her bike.  Around mile 4, her daughter got picked up by her hubby and we continued to just run and chat and chat and run.  We navigated through some construction to get down to the Falls, and the miles were just flying by.  Turns out, the nice part about a running buddy, is your brain has other stimulation outside of looking at your pace/time/distance/heart rate.  Who would’ve thought!?!?!  The first time I feel like I really looked at my watch was 13.33 miles.  That’s not a bad distance to zone out for!

Normally when I run with somebody, I run a lot slower, because talking throws off my breathing rhythm, and I pretty much feel like I’m going to die.  But not Saturday.  I’m not sure who the one pushing the pace was, but we were comfortably in the 9:15-9:25 range for most of the run.

Around mile 14 we both started feeling a little tired.  Luckily for me I had a GU to take at mile 12, and it kicked in around mile 15.  Not so luckily for Karla, she left her GU with her daughter’s bike.  She also started to have some tummy problems.  Poor thing.  At mile 16, we parted ways, and I took off like a cannon.  I have never had a second wind like that in a long run, and I owe it all to the GU Roctane.  Blueberry Pomegranite, my fave.  Mmmmm.

Since I was feeling strong, I decided to do a “faster finish” long run.  It felt great to run that strong after having 16 miles on your legs.  8:58 and 8:41.  Whoo!

Sadly, due to our weaving through the construction areas to get to Falls Park, I must’ve over estimated how much distance we had left, because I finished my run a half mile from home.  I like to cool down, and all, but I was out of water and thirsty.  And I swear to you, a G.D. horsefly followed me the entire ½  mile home, landing on me and annoying the poo out of me.

I did 18 miles in 2:48:33 for a pace of 9:21.  Other than our mile walk/running through construction areas (9:56) and our slowed down pace to fight Karla’s tummy issue (9:32) we were cruisin’!

After logging my 3 mile recovery run on Sunday (which sucked, hard), I was so thrilled to see that I was on the top of my dailymile board!  I know a lot of my friends a lot more miles than me, but I think the ones doing monster training are running NYC and have started their taper, so I win by default.  And I'll take it.  To be honest, 40+ mile weeks are a big deal for me, because my body always seems to start breaking down at the 40 mile point.  So three cheers to 45 and no issues (**knocks on wood**).

And just for fun, I was trying out a new filter for a camera app I downloaded and managed to get this gem of a photo after it's 27 rapid fire flashes.  I kind of love how terribly great it is.



Weekly Wishlist: All That Glitters is Gold

When I woke up yesterday I could not drag myself out of bed.  It was 22 degrees with wind chill, and the winds were a-blowin'.  Plus I had already convinced myself that my tempo run was hard/scary.  I rolled back over, vowing that I would hit the gym after work to do it.  As you've witnessed by my spill running with Susan, I'm a klutz.  And I will not allow myself to run fast at night when it's dark.  Much too high of chance of falling and breaking a hip. 

After work I hit the gym in tempo workout appropriate gear.

What is that?  You might ask.

Black tank top, and green shorts with various shades of green.  Meaning:  I can have the worst swass and swoob, and NO ONE WILL KNOW IT.

Definitely necessary, as I could've wrung out my top and bottom when I was done.

Anyway, I scoured the magazine rack for trashy mags, as I like to read them during my warm up and cool down miles and there WERE NONE.  Ugh, this run is going to suck.

I had 8 miles to do, with the middle 4 at tempo/15k pace.

The start of the warm up....sucked.  I haven't ran on a treadmill for awhile, and I was reminded that I don't really like it.  My knees felt creaky and I was annoyed I didn't have any trashy gossip mags!

But then it got better.  When I started my tempo miles, I started on the low end of the goal pace (8:08-8:29).  And then kept bumping up the speed every 1/2 mile or so.  I was shocked when I had a mile and a half left and wasn't dying, and my HR was only a couple of beats higher than it was during the warm up miles.  YIPPEE!  During the last mile I bumped up the speed faster than pace, just to get my HR up to where it should be for tempo runs.  I had Jason's voice in my ear, "Your tempo runs should only be about 4 miles, but FASTER!"  Ok fine.  Faster it is.

I finished and I was grinning ear to ear.  Usually I'm hunched over trying to get my breath back after struggling to hit the slow end of my tempo pace.  I felt like I could've run a few more miles at that pace (which duh, if I can run a 10k at a faster pace than that, I don't know WHY tempo runs freak me out so much.  D-u-m-b.)

Then I had a leisurely 2 mile cool down.  And continued to shower the treadmill with sweat.

I did 8 miles in 1:10:54 for a pace of 8:51.
My tempo miles were:  8:24, 8:17, 8:09, 7:55.  For an average of 8:11.
And my average HR was 160!

Cloud 9?  I iz a-ridin' on it.
_________________________________
I would not consider myself much of a "girly girl" but my goodness, do I love a good sparkleWith that being said, I was the little girl who would put on every single broach and clip-on earring of my gradnma's and wear it around the house.  Hmmm... I wonder if those broaches are still around somewhere.  They were kind of fab.  Anywho.....I thought I'd do a fun "themed" weekly wishlist to show off some cute sparkley/glittery goodness.

Buy it here.

Not full on sparkle, but just enough to make it cute.

Buy it here.

I think this is just the perfect amount of sparkle to wear over a cardi or sweater....

 Buy it here.

If I wasn't still carrying around a coin purse that I got as a birthday party favor in 2nd grade, this would be an instant buy.  Ok, jk, I wouldn't pay $55 for a coin purse.  The thought is nice though.

Buy it here.

Ignore the price tag, this is obviously something I'll never get. ($8k!)  But the designer's name is JERI, which is so uncommon, that I think it's a sign that I need a pug asap  I may have taken this as a "sign from the universe."  More on that later...perhaps.

Buy it here.

Not sure in what world this would be a good accent pillow, maybe a super glitzy little girls room, but it totally has my attention.

Buy it here.

While an "all over" glitter handbag would be a BIT much for me.  I like that this has just the hint of awesomeness and pizazz.

Buy it Here.

I originally had a sequin mini from Express on this list, but it sold out, and made me sad.  So this one is way out of my price range, but equally as cute.  P.S.  Where was all this cute gold stuff when I was desperately searching for my golden birthday?!?!?  Harumph.

Signs From the Universe: A Pug Tale

A couple of weeks ago, I was going through my facebook feed , trying to make myself tired enough to fall asleep.  While doing so, I happened upon the most adorable creature on the planet.  His name is Joey.  Of course, I woke Kyle up from a dead slumber to show him pictures of my new love.

Love at first sight?

I now know it exists.

I put the little puggle bug out of my mind, because I told myself NO PUG until I finish with grad school.  I do not have the time.

But the more pictures they posted of him (he’s at a pug shelter in Nebraska) the more my heart melted.  I started to scheme.  My apartment doesn’t allow pets, could I find one that would?  Yes!  And it’s owned by the same company as the one I live in, so I wouldn’t have to pay a fee to break the lease.

But it’s more expensive.  And a major deposit for the dog.  Plus the adoption fee for the dog.  Plus the cost of owning a dog.  No problem!  Kyle and I will just move in together.  What better reason for co-habitation!  Come to me my puggle friend.

In case you were wondering, this is exactly how my mind works when someone suggests I come run a race with them.  I work out HOW it can all come to be, without looking at any of the downsides.

After sending my mom pictures of her new grandpug, I started realizing the flaws.  And I got extremely sad.  “I shouldn’t adopt Joey, should I?” I said to Kyle with crocodile sized tears running down my face.  “Probably not….”

And then came the signs from the universe.  Do any of you pay attention to these?  The silly little signs that URGE you to make major life decisions (yes, I know.  I lead a SUPER tough life, in that my MAJOR life decision is pug ownership.  EAD. J) 

First was the ring.  The adorable pug ring I saw on outblush.  With the designer JERI.  I mean really. 

Next, I went to my local library to grab some books, and there was a wall of magazines to take for free.  Naturally there was one all about PUGS, that I snatched up.

While on my 18 mile run on Saturday, I ran by the dog park, and there were not one, but two pugs running around having the greatest afternoon of their lives.  I wish I would’ve been doing a non-important run, I would’ve gone and played with them.

And the fact that I realized that our pups names would rhyme, that pretty much sealed the deal, eh?  (Kyle’s dog is Zooey).

Le sigh.  So no pug.  For now.  But I think I’ve realized that I can’t wait until I’m done with school, so the wheels have been set in motion.  Not to mention that Joey’s picture is still the background on my Droid…. And the screensaver on Kyle’s iPhone (that I put on there, but that’s neither here nor there).

Why you no adopt me Jerbear?

Marathon Training: Occasionally, I'm dumb.

This marathon training cycle is….interesting.

a)      It’s 6 weeks long

b)      It’s a modification of the Pfitz 55 plan (I’m usually a VERY loyal Runners World training program for 26.2)

c)       It’s not a ZOMG I MUST PR effort

d)      And my Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty much maxed out for time

With all these variables factored in, it was pretty interesting and challenging to create my marathon training program.  First attempt  I threw in Pfitz training runs around my 5k and 10k races I had scheduled for October and called it good.  My co-worker took one look at it, (I had a 5k on Saturday and 18 miler on Sunday, then the following week a 10k on Saturday and a 20 miler on Sunday) and said, “I thought your goal for this training cycle was to NOT get injured???”  Uh… oh.  Ooops!  But I’ll run the long runs sloooooooooooooooow, I promise.

I then forwarded my training program to Jason.  The all knowing runner buddy/coach/friend.  He usually can edit my training program to minimize my odds of getting hurt, AND  I get my way.  Sadly, this time…. Was a no go.  He didn’t outright call me an idiot, but he could’ve, and I wouldn’t have been mad.  So sadly I scrapped my races for October.  Sniffle.  There are so few 10ks around here when it’s not a bazillion degrees and eleventy million percent humidity.  I had a single tear.  L

With past training schedules, I like to have a rest day before my long runs and after.  But I’m not allowed as much “freedom” with my training with grad school thrown in.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I work from 8am-5pm, hustle booty home, and have class from 6-9pm.  I could run SUPER early before work, or late after work, but they’d need to be on the treadmill for safety.  And I’m banking all my treadmill runs for the arctic tundra weather.  So I’ve included 2-4 mile “sanity runs” for those days, or just opted for a rest day.

Of course, this means that my Mondays and Wednesdays have the bulk of my mileage.  Like this past Monday.  Approximately 48 hours after doing my 16 mile, I had an 11 mile on my schedule.  Uff.  Since this training program is SHORT, I thought some mid-long runs would be key to help me build up my endurance (which is, admittedly, my weakness).  I figured as long as I kept the pace and the heart rate slow and low, I would be a-ok.

And slow I did (for me, nothing wrong with a 10mm, for the record).  The first 5 miles were right around a ten minute pace.  And my heart rate was in the higher range of where it should be for my mid and long runs.  Magically (or what felt like magically) at about 4.5/5 miles my legs started to feel great, and my heart rate dropped (by a good 15-20 beats).  And with that my pace dropped easily in to the 9:20s and lower.  I smile-ran the last 6 miles like you had just treated me with a big bowl of my favorite ice cream and told me it was lactose free.  It didn’t hurt that it was chilly (aka my favorite running weather) at 41 degrees.  Also, there's something very b.a. about running a double digit run before work on a weekday.

I ended up with 11 miles in 1:45:42 for a pace of 9:36.  Average HR: 155.

And on the injury front, I feel like I am making significant strides (heh…. Running joke….. heh… punny) towards staying injury free.  Kyle is officially jealous of the quality time I’m spending with Frank (my foam roller) and I am constantly focusing on my form during my training runs.  With the exception of speed workouts when the only thought I can entertain is “OMG please don’t die.  This hurts.  Heart, don’t explode!”  But yeah, other than that…. Totally concentrating on my form.

And I think it’s working/helping.  After my long run, I had some soreness in my IT bands and quads, but a teeny tiny fraction in comparison to previous long runs.  And my hamstrings and calves seem to be tired, which I’m deeming a good thing, as apparently I never really used those muscles previously for running.  Uh… ooops.

To solidify my already stellar day, I got a package from a giveaway I won from Kimi!  Naturally I had to wear it as soon as I got done with work.  And a photo shoot had to take place.  Mostly because Kyle thought it was funny to pretend to take pictures of the tv rather than me.  Too bad he didn't get a shot of the death glare I was giving him 75% of the time. 

**I knocked on wood while writing this post, please do me a favor and knock on wood while/after reading as well.  Thanks. **