Getting Back to It

When I started running again in 2009, I vowed to never stop again. It was so hard to get back in to it, and I never wanted to go through that again. Enter grad school. Here I am, still trying to get back to where I was in 2010-2011. I feel live I've spent almost nine months (at times half-heartedly, or brokenly) trying to get back to where I was, and while I've made some progress--marathon in 2012 was 5:38, and in 2013 was 4:55, half in 2012 was 2:22, and in 2013 was 2:14 (on a horrifically hot day) I still have a long way to go.

Yay progress.......but boo, that's still a far cry from the 1:50-1:52 and 4:12 times that I posted in 2010-2011.

At times it seems easier to just throw in the towel and just be a casual runner.

But I'm not a casual runner. I'm a competitor. Against myself.

So I'll continue to slowly creep up my weekly mileage, and slowly push myself to creep up my speedwork paces.

My current goal for the half in five weeks (FIVE WEEKS!!) is a sub 2. And as of right now, I still have at least five weeks of work to put in to make that a reality, which is just crazy because once upon a time there were many, many 13.1 mile long runs that were done casually at a sub 2 pace. *shakes head at self*

I have two more halfs five weeks after NYC and if all goes well, I think 1:55 could be doable. Again, this will take a lot of work to make that happen, but I know I have it in my legs, I just have to work at it.  I just can't wait to get back to the times I was posting before my hiatus and start the work to finally crush those PRs. But it's pretty clear that none of the work will be easy.

And I think I'm ok with that.

Back on Track + Cold Weather Gear Review

The first 6 days of January have come and gone, and my first week of training has wrapped up.  And for the first time in a long while (how long? *licks finger, pages through online running log* since the week of August 13th) I completed all of my scheduled runs.  I'm using a training plan from Runner's World smart coach (freebie) and am essentially starting from scratch.  5 runs a week:  3 easy, 1 tempo or interval, 1 long run.  I do intend to do strides on one of my easy days, because I enjoyed that aspect of Pfitz, and once my fitness comes back a bit (dear God, please come back) I intend on doing some fast finish long runs, every 3rd or 4th week.

My plan currently goes to May 11th, the day of the Brookings half marathon, yet I'm not 100% sure I'm doing that race yet.  It's narrowed down to that race, or Fargo half as my spring goal race.  Goal B race of the season is the Get Lucky half marathon up in the cities (which also aligns itself with excellent BFF time with Sheana, and celebrating my fave holiday).  I also got the sweetest green running duds for Christmas, which I can't wait to wear for the big holiday.  Besides those two races, there's one in January (christ, it's january already huh?) and a couple in April that I'm mulling over.  No registration triggers have been pulled at all, which worries me only slightly.  I refuse to pay money to train/race poorly (see: fall 2012).

26.2 miles ran this week, not intentionally.  I got lost on a 5 miler on New Years Day.  Yes, I was running in town, no I have no idea how I got lost, but I was freezing my buns off, and I'm glad that I only tacked on an extra .2 miles because it could've been much, much worse if I had gone south instead of north when presented with those options (uh hello Harrisburg).  Interestingly enough the time spent running this week (4:36) is slower than four of my five marathons.  I told you I'm doing some slow pokey get-back-in-to-shape base mileage.  Uff da.

I did purchase a face mask this week, mainly after the freezing five miler listed above.  My body was completely fine and dandy, but my face was frozen.  I don't think I mentioned it on here, but according to the doc I've developed mild rosacea.  Funsies.  I've always been extremely prone to wind burn, and of course extreme heat and cold aggravate it, which I don't need.  Enter weirdo ninja mask.  (Ollie is such a good model, right???)



I wore it on my long run today, and while I'm sure I looked like the biggest dork ever, it helped.  My face is only slightly rosy 3 hours later.


Pros

• Breathable-ish.  The one I purchased has an opening under the nose, and ventilation in the mouth area.  
• Easy to pull up and down.  At times the wind was at my back or being blocked by trees, so I took it down.  It definitely constricts breathing some, so it was nice to tug down and then put back up as needed.
• $22 isn't bad as far as winter running gear goes.  I'm lucky that I have all the coats/tights/pants/super duper insulated pants/yaktrax/gloves/hat/ear warmers that I need (as I've acquired over the past few winters of running), $22 is nothing compared to what you can spend on winter running crap.  They did have some cheaper ones that were just the mask without the little neck cover, but I would've needed a scarf to go with it, which ended up being $25.  No thanks.
• You don't have to smile at other runners that you see, because they can't see it anyway!  Wave and go!  I found myself smiling and waving every.single.time and every time I thought to myself, they can't see you smile Jerbear, STOP IT.

Cons

• I look like a doof.  (But I'd rather look like a doof while running, than be bright red faced in day to day life.)
• I had to pull the thing down every time I had to blow some snot out of my nose.  Since my allergies suck, this was frequently.  Like 2-3 times a mile.  The material also got slightly irritating to my nose, presumably because I was blowing snot rockets, wiping my nose with my gloved hand, and then putting the mask back up.  I don't think it'd bother skin at all if you just kept it in place the whole time.  
• By exhaling into the mask, my face ended up slightly damp.  Not a problem until I ran directly in to the wind, and the ventilation shot cold air at my wet face.  Brrrrr x 10.

**I wasn't paid in anyway for this review, just my two cents on something I obvs should've bought two years ago when I started bitching about my face freezing off during runs.

One week of solid running done, here's to 51 more!  Hah.

Beer Cures What Ails You

All last week I was hardcore itching for a run.  In between rolling pin + IT band tears, I kept going knowing that it would get me out running quicker.  I had high hopes that Thursday would be the day.  But I failed the “jogging in place without stabbing pain” test that I had set forth for myself.  Luckily Friday afternoon I was passing with flying colors.  As soon as I got home from work I got changed and flew out the door.  I wanted to run somewhere in the range of 3-6 miles depending on how I felt.  Ok, full disclosure:  I wanted to run 6 miles, but I was willing to let my IT bands dictate the distance.  Annoying.

I was seriously flying for the first mile and a half.  My legs were FRESH.  And fast.  And fabulous.  And the air was cold.  Long sleeve tech tee and shorts weather is my FAVE.  But about a mile and a half in, my right IT band and quad started tightening up.  So I turned around at the 2 mile mark.  My leg got tighter and tighter and my pace got slower and slower.  Wah wah.

I did 4 miles in 38:18 for a pace of 9:35.

Let’s play:  When does the leg start to hurt??

1. 9:27
2. 9:18
3. 9:45
4. 9:48

It’s a new board game Hasbro is coming out with, I think. 

To celebrate commiserate my run, Kyle and I went out for dinner and drinks Friday night.  Oktoberfest mini tour?  Yes please!  I’m fairly certain I read somewhere that great beer heals IT band issues.  Bottoms up!  I had four 6 oz. samples of four of the tour beers….. and I called it a night.  Or I did after a mini dance party at my apartment with Kyle shaking his head at me in embarrassment.  Truly I just think he’s jealous of my moooooooooooves.

Saturday I was bummed to miss out on the group run.  I had high hopes of joining but after Friday’s run, I decided some biking/stretching/icing/rolling was in the cards.  I biked a boring 11 miles on the stationary bike at my gym, and then walked behind the building to get some froyo. 

P.S.  Whoever decided to put the great froyo place in the same building as my gym is awesome.

And because I could feel the beer working its magic on my IT bands, clearly we had to enjoy some more on Saturday night.  I got dolled up for the first time in 4 weeks.  True story:  I hate unpacking, and instead leave my suitcases open in my kitchen and “unpack” as I need the items.  I found my curling iron still tucked away inside.  Uh… sorry I look like a pile all the time KK. Ooops.

Since Bama was playing, I had to sport some crimson.  ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Sunday I was bound and determined to get in some miles, though I promised myself that as soon as my leg started hurting/tightening I would stop and just walk home.  I was concerned that continuing to run on Friday was just putting off my recovering.  I kept the pace slow, and made it 6 pain free miles.  WHOO!

I did 6 miles in 59:10 for a pace of 9:52.

My legs definitely didn’t feel fresh as a daisy, as they had on Friday.  Apparently biking zero miles and then trying to bike 11 miles fast will cause your legs to be tired.  Who knew?!?!  Towards the end of the run, my legs were feeling tired, and I started to get concerned, until I realized that they were just feeling fatigued vs. dead.

It got me thinking about the IT band issues from the race on Sunday.  It almost felt like my IT bands and quad were non-functioning after a certain point.  Instead of the muscle contracting and relaxing with each step it was just contracted and locked up.  It explains why my leg felt so heavy and my stride was so shortened, because my hamstring (which is definitely weak in comparison, and possibly part of the problem) was doing most of the work instead of sharing the duty.  It also explains why my hamstrings were insanely tight after the race (hamstring issues are about the one issue I haven’t had, knock on wood!).  Anyone have any knowledge or experience on this?

Either way, it was nice to have this worked out in my brain.  I know I couldn’t push through whatever it was, because I tried, but it was still annoying the heck out of me that I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t, you know?  Hmmm… now on to correcting!

Oh and then some more beer was consumed while watching the Packers win (although they were looking rough to start with).  Beer is medicine I can get on board with, clearly.