Must Run!

Rock n Sole Half Marathon and my life

2011-07-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Wow...sorry everyone!! So in a nutshell? I haven't run since the Half three weeks ago. Instead I have been working 55-60 hour weeks. I work til about 8:00, eat at 9:00, and go to bed at midnight-1am because my entire day is shifted and there's no way I can just turn in for the night two hours after I eat dinner HA! In the small crevices of time where I'm not working, eating and sleeping, I have been helping Chris with his photography and constructing his art booth: he successfully sold a bunch of pieces in the Kenosha art fair a couple weeks ago, and now we're preparing for the Domes Art Festival in a few weeks. Honestly though I think we've been to Home Depot and Menard's at least two dozen times in the past month.

As for working...yikes. The big top secret project we've been working on all culminates at 4am on Monday morning. I have to come in tomorrow (Sunday) from 6am-2pm to do last minutes verification with the rest of my team. The worst part is that it might not work, in which case the extra 40+ hours of overtime we've all put in is all for naught and the project does not go live. The worst part about THAT isn't so much the "wasted time" as we'll probably try the project again in a few months and be better at it. The worst part is we won't get accolades. No one will pat us on the back for all our slave labor over the last few weeks. I mean they might not either way, but the odds significantly plummet.

ANYWAY...the Hoan Half Marathon. Ahhh yes. My first DNF. And not really an official DNF so much as just cutting the run short and opting to finish the 10K race instead.

The short story is that they ran out of water at Mile 3. Yep Mile 3. And because the 10K runners started after us Half runners, they got no water at all. Not only did they run out of water at some spots, in other spots there were no cups and the volunteers had to pour water into their cupped hands OR runners would pick up the empty water jugs and try to shake any remaining drops into their mouths.

Did I also mention it was 8am, 85 degrees, no cloud cover, and 75% humidity? Well that actually sounds kinda nice after the near 100 degree days we've been having this month ;) BUT trust me, it was a dangerous heat index and the race director had approved a green flag at the beginning of the race. In the corrals we all stood there waiting for the race to start just DRIPPING with sweat. Already!!

Right outta the gate, we ran up the Hoan bridge.

It wasn't the toughest incline by any means, but having no shade and working real hard right off the bat, wasn't so much fun. Add in some lack of water and it's more of a mental struggle than anything. At Mile 4.5 I saw an upcoming water station (this was of course after Mile 3 had already ran out of water), but because I thought it was a fluke, for some stupid reason I dumped all the water I had in my bottle on my head. Why Katie why? That mistake really cost me. Mile 4.5 was out of water too so I just had to deal with it.

Sometimes when I run in really crazy humidity I get heart palps. What I USUALLY do is stop and sit and see if they go away and continue on. When you're in a "race" that isn't exactly an option. I walked from Mile 4.5 (after realizing I wouldn't have water for at least another mile and a half) to Mile 5.5. I started up again once I made the final decision: I'm done.

My parents were waiting for me at a Mile 6 to switch shoes with me. I planned to run in my Newtons the first half since I had only trained up to 6 in them. Once I saw them my decision to stop had officially taken hold. The look on my mom's face pretty much said it all. She was so worried. So after chatting with them for a little bit while gulping down water (finally!) I doubled back and ran toward the 10K finish line so at I could at LEAST feel like this race was worth the anguish (mostly mental anguish having worried about the weather for at least a month prior to race day). I finished in something astronomical like an hour and a half YIKES.

I collected two bottles of water, three cups of Gatorade, a couple cookies, an MGD, and a huge bag of ice (they were literally handing out bags of ice!). Oh and my 10K medal. I don't necessarily think people should get medals for "only" running 6 miles, but after the ordeal my brain went through for this thing, it will always be a reminder of the experience.

Meanwhile, people were STILL running the Half Marathon. Running....and then not running..as in collapsing and being taken to the hospital instead. Something like 20 runners were taken to the hospital with 50 being treated on-site. A friend of mine who was manning a station by his house on the north side (Lake Park) stretch said a guy collapsed on his lawn and the paramedics worked on him for a half hour before finally taking him to the hospital. Eventually (and I say that with disgust), the race put up the black flag and the clock was stopped. If you were miles away STILL running, you were outta luck...no times would be recorded and the race was in essence canceled.

Now something like 5-6000 people ran the 10K and Half Marathon that day, so 50 people hospitalized really isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but let me put it into perspective: Earlier this year, the Chicago 13.1 runners ran in very similar conditions where 11 people were hospitalized. Horribly enough, one 22-year-old man died. But according to this runner's race recap not only did the race director acknowledge it was going to be dangerous the day before, they added MORE water stations AND an ice towel station??? Mmmm ice towel. He also did something so small but speaks volumes: start the race with a yellow flag. When I got up the morning of July 10th and saw that patronizing green flag on the Rock n Sole website, I was so pissed. "Stop being a pussy, these are easy running conditions" is what that stupid green flag told me.

Well to make a long story short, the inaugural Rock n' Sole race made headlines and a wave of anger just rolled through our little city and beyond (since so many out-of-towners decided to run it too). The race director sent a huge apology email to us that Sunday evening. And a few days later, offered a refund system: keep or donate $15 to Ronald McDonald House, and 20% off next year's registration which includes two free Summerfest tickets. Not anything huge, but definitely a good olive branch. And 20% off next year's race may be good because I feel like this is an ordeal I need to tackle. Yeah they ran out of water, yeah it was hot, but had I trained better, I might've actually been able to finish. I had three friends who did actually finish and WELL at that...all between 2:15 and 2:30. So it was possible. Just not for my pansy ass ;)

So that's where I'm at running-wise. Seeing as I no longer need to train in the heat, I've taken these past three weeks to heal a few aches and pains, mostly my ankles and feet which just kill every morning I wake up. I hope that's because of "old age" and nothing serious!

Thanks for reading through this epic tale! I thought I'd make up for the lack of posting with lots and lots of words :)

T-Minus....

2011-07-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Less than a week till my Half and I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Minus one sore ankle from last night. I'm an idiot sometimes. Beer will do that. Icing it with two bags of frozen fruit wrapped under an Ace right now...seeing as I can walk on it, I think I'll be fine.

I didn't train this one to break any records. I really just wanted to run over the Hoan.

And for whatever reason, when I signed up for this race on January 31, I didn't think too much about 13.1 miles in JULY. I was probably wistful about running outside in my skivvies. I'm trying really hard not to look at the weather because, honestly, the weather for the day won't be the weather for the day until the day arrives. A couple days ago I saw that it was only going to be a high of 70. Now not so much.

But seriously, it's six days out. Anything can happen. The T'storms would be ok though...T'storms means cloud cover means I'm happy.

If it's not one thing it's another and odds are I won't be recovering from the stomach flu this time around, but if it's 85, humid, and sunny on the morning of the race, I'll feel exactly the same way as I did in April of last year: knowing full well I might not make it all the way to the end, but getting out there anyway. What do I have to lose except a little dignity when they find me passed out on the side of the road at Mile 7.

I was planning on doing a final 8 miler today, but the ankle thing messed that up. Hopefully it feels better tomorrow and I can get in a shorter run, keep things loose.

...and then I vommed.

2011-06-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was a red letter day in my running world...for two reasons! Finally, at the Lighthouse 10 miler, I ran with Claire! Not just the first couple at a local half marathon this time. Mile after mile. Water cup after water cup. Start to finish. And it was a TOTAL blast!! The miles just melted away even though we ran for nearly two hours!! The light conversation was great, but my favorite part about running with Claire was how kind she was: asking me how I was feeling, telling me it was ok to walk through water stops ;) I really struggled with this race for some reason (for many reasons?), but she was awesome the whole way! Not to mention the fact that she basically gave up on TWO attempts at personal goals in order to run with me: 1. her chance to beat LY's race time, I looked it up and she literally said "Next year this bitch is mine!" Haha! And 2. before I signed up, she was going to do the 4 mile option--barefoot! So yeah, pretty much the best running friend a girl could have ;)

First of all, I repeated my faux pas from the Chicago Half...I ate breakfast. At the end of the day, there's really not a lot of difference between a 10 mile training run and a 10 mile race when you're me. So why did I change up my eating plan last minute?? Stupid. All I had was a granola bar, a lot of water, and probably a cup and a half of coffee at 5:30am. But I was crazy nauseous through most of the race (which started at 8am). Tiny sips of water throughout the course seemed to make it worse, and taking a gel felt out of the question. At mile 6 though, I forced down half. It wasn't awful, but--hint, hint--it came back to haunt me later ;) Meanwhile, my IT band was being a little jerk the whole time too. Claire even noticed it, saying I looked like I was hobbling a little throughout the second half. Gar! While not completely debilitating, it definitely made for a slower run.

The Finish. Claire told me about the a wicked hill at the end of the race, right before the finish line. I tried not to think too much about it. But of course we hit Mile 9 and I could not WAIT for the race to be over. Claire decided we were going to finish strong. (What? You mean NOT the pathetic shuffling I had been rocking the last few miles?) After the hill, only a few hundred yards remained. The finish line was as clear as day. But I seriously had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get up to a ~~sprint~~ normal running pace. I crossed the finish at a fuzzy 1:53 something.

And I knew it was coming.
There has only been one other race where I had to hold myself back from throwing up everywhere: a 5K in my friend Monica's old neighborhood and my third best 5K finish. This time, however, I couldn't hold back no matter HOW hard I concentrated: my first ever race vom experience! Luckily I had just ran 10 miles and burned off anything and everything I had eaten in the past five hours, aside from the half gel and some water. So it was no biggie; Claire and I agreed it was kismet. Her son doesn't have to be the only one barfing at the finish line!

But speaking of Claire's kids, not only did I meet (and re-meet) several members of her posse at the race, I also met her hilarious husband and little lady! T just cracks me UP!!! After the race, we all hung out for awhile at their house. Claire poured me a cup of coffee (a girl after my own heart! haha!!), and her daughter proceeded to show me all of her stuffed animals (totally something I would do at her age...and honestly up to like 12.). I basked in my ultra-fave post-race glow, as well as the warmth and coziness of their home. And if that wasn't hospitable enough...Claire literally sent me home with a running store!! She gave me a foam roller, a stack of Runner's Worlds, a long sleeve running shirt, and some SHOES. Yeah sure, all stuff her huz really wanted her to get rid of and probably would've ended up in the dumpster or local Goodwill, but now it all has a new home. I used the foam roller last night and it was heaven and hell all wrapped up in one! Going to try the shoes out, probably tomorrow when I actually run again. This three-day break has been lovely ;)

So 1:52:42 was my chip time...11:20 min mile pace. It is officially--including both of my Halfs--the slowest race I've ever run, and by an entire minute per mile at that. How do I feel? Well honestly, I'm not particularly bummed about it. I know I went slow and I also purposefully threw in some walk breaks for the first time in a race. I can't exactly blame the heat as it was comparable to the Chicago Half weather. I have a lot more training miles behind me in this cycle than I did at the Chicago Half, so that's funny. But I also had a more easy-going spirit coming into this race than any of the others. 'Just have fun' was my mentality. I did and then some!! So when it comes down to it, I wouldn't change one iota about the supremely awesome day I had!!!

And with 3.5 weeks till the Summerfest Half, I hope to channel some of that easy-going spirit, even without my running buddy by my side :)

Fire Side Chats

2011-06-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

You know who is inspiring? Other runners. Like real live ones.

Last night I joined in on a 200ish person training run at Ronald McDonald House for the Summerfest Half. It was five miles (or nine if you're a rockstar!) around the Tosa area in a wet sloppy frigid March-style mess. While I wasn't nervous about it, as I've run a dozen races by myself and showed up to many of them all alone...I was sort of lonely on the drive there. I almost posted the training run on Facebook to see if any of my friends happened to be going, but refrained.

Well immediately upon my arrival, a woman started chatting with me! She looked to be late 30s or so and definitely a runner. She was helping out at the event, running the 5mi, but not running the Half in July since the longest she's run is 6mi. I was like, say WHAT girl? You could totally do it! Anyway, she ran with me for a couple miles and apologized a billion times for being so chatty, but I loved it!! I even chimed in...despite the fact that I was trying to hide the sections where I was out of breath ;) She was fast! We parted ways at the end of the run, she told me she'd catch up later.

I joined the runners congregated in the RMH and shoved free pizza, chocolate chip cookies, and Gatorade into my pie hole. Again, I was alone though. I sat with a couple runners and we made small talk, but they mostly chatted with one another. After they left, two 50-something dudes, JB and Joe, sat down and they were awesome!! We all talked about the various races we've run, etc. Joe looked and talked exactly like Kevin Spacey, so that was fun! The woman from earlier (Lorie I think?) sat down with us eventually too.

I left RMH feeling really happy! I had run a solid 5 (in the rain!) with lots of cool, sweet people, and it reminded me that I don't always have to do things by myself. I'm not really a group person. I never really wanted to join a running club like Badgerland Striders or Team in Training...but maybe I shouldn't rule that sort of stuff out.

Well at the very least I can ride this high for a little longer since I am both a. running a race and b. running said race with a FRIEND this Saturday!!! I can already tell I'm going to have a blast even if I don't run my best!

You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go...

2011-06-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Downtown!

[Question about foam rollers/compression sleeves at the end...maybe you can help me out?]

No strippers and margaritas this past week! But it was sticky sweaty HOT anyway. Being inspired once again by Claire's post, I gathered up my guts and decided to run outside last Thursday instead of my usual gym run. I plotted a 5 mile stretch and said a prayer. I had two things going for me: it was overcast and only 92 degrees, rather than sunny and nearly 100 the day before. Well it didn't matter because I still seriously sucked at it. I got only 2.5 miles through it before I seriously wanted to stop and head back. At 3 I decided to cut through the loop early and before embarking on a hill with an official 3% incline, I gave up and walked. I started up again when I got lost in suburbia where all the houses look the same and everything ends in a cul de sac.

I ended the run a quarter mile shy of 5 miles and was relatively satisfied that I at least tried it. But pretty depressed knowing full well that if the Half Marathon is anywhere close to 90 some degrees and humid, I just won't be able to rock it. Yes that's a defeatist attitude, but at least I'm prepared. And yeah yeah, I signed up for a Half Marathon in July and I have no one to blame but myself ;) Seriously though, I have no idea why they aren't starting it at 7am. My Chicago Half in September started at 7:30. There's a big difference running the last few miles at 9:30 vs 10:30 on a hot summer day. Chicago changed their start time relatively last minute, so I have hope.

Speaking of suburbia, I officially love running in the city way more than in nature. What's wrong with me? I trained most of my first Half along the lakeshore path in Bayview/St. Francis...and yeah it was really pretty! I've been doing most of my long runs this time combining downtown and the lake front and I just adore it. There's so much to look at, so many people I pass, lots of distractions, yet super relaxing. I've also stopped listening to music when I run downtown. I find myself way more calm when I can listen to the music of the traffic in the city...Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty...How can you lose? Seriously, maybe Petula Clark was singing about her training runs.

And speaking of the concrete jungle, no matter how much I claim to feel better running in my Newton's, I still have some all-over leg pain after these long runs. Running on a lot of concrete will do that I'm sure...no matter how you are foot-striking. Therefore, I'm wondering if a foam roller and/or shin compression sleeves will help? Anyone out there use either of these? The pain isn't centralized in any one location...just a general soreness everywhere!

I've got less than a month until the Half now. My 10+ mile training runs are pretty much over I think. This weekend I'm heading down to Claire's territory to run the Lighthouse 10 Mile! Doesn't look like it'll be too hot, so I'm stoked about that!! The Saturday following I am in Chicago for a design conference. As much as I would absolutely LOVE to run through the streets of Chicago for an 8-10 miler, I think the delicious food and DRINKS Saturday night will prevent this from happening.

So I'm in somewhat of a home stretch here. And I'm going to try to promise myself that Half Training is over for 2011. Yes yes the bright lights and neon of Vegas are like an evil siren temptress, but I will refrain and focus on minimal/natural happy running over the remainder of the summer!

Strippers, Heat, Qdoba...spicy!

2011-06-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

So it's been awhile! I had a weird couple weeks running-wise. Sucky is the operative word I think. I was just starting to fit right into the running pocket. My pace was getting faster, I was rockin the fartlek, I was hitting my long runs pretty decently. Well then it got hot. And my job sucked the life out of me. And I didn't feel good. I pathetically attempted 11 miles on Memorial Day. The day it was like 90 and humid and big huge burning sun. First off, I was supposed to do the run on Friday because I had a half day from work. Instead I got my hair chopped off and sat on Water St. Bar Louie patio and drank beers with my work gang. That evening I had 30 margaritas, more beer, and saw strippers...so Saturday morning was out. Saturday night I attended a wedding...more beer. Sunday was out.

So Monday and its sticky soup was my demise. I ran for TWO MILES and had to sit at a bus stop. I stopped again at mile 3. And walked the remaining mile and a half home. So depressing. I decided then and there that this week would be the mid-training "easy week" I've been hearing so much about. [I tried googling but just take my word for it!] I ran 4.5 mid-week and that's IT. Until Saturday when, once again, it was horribly hot and sticky. I tried SO HARD to get up early, but every day during the entire "easy week" I had been getting 5hr/night sleep because of long work days and long work nights. Blah blah blah details, in any case I headed out at 8am and it was still horrifying. THIS time I ran more/walked less 4.5 miles, but still real rough, stopping several times to rest under shade. I got to my car where I was supposed to switch shoes and get more water and said FUCK THIS and headed to the gym where I wondered if I'd be able to run 6.5 miles on the tread. NOPE. 2 miles. 11 miler AGAIN out of my reach.

When I got home all bummed yet again, the news informed me that apparently a huge cool front was headed our way and it'd be like 70 max and low humidity!! YEEHAW now we're in business!! And my friends, I cannot even describe the universal differences. I barely broke a sweat. I've been hotter on the treadmill than I was out there today. Plus for most of it there were sporadic cloud clumps and even a dash of rain droplets. It was absolutely f'ing gorgeous.

As for difficulty, well I went slow, like whoa. So I felt really great through pretty much the whole thing. Most of my discomfort was in the first four miles. I was hungry and my knees hurt. But after a gel and getting into my groove, I felt wonderful...like WOW running can be FUN! I felt like I could go forever. Back when I was hungry though, a glorious thought bubble bounced out of my brain...No not twenty miles...MexiCAN I Can!! And honestly, having that thought bubble with me through the run totally gave me a boost! I guess guac is my carrot. Healthier, in my opinion? ;)

Now here's the funny story: I couldn't start in my pre-routed spot because I was in the middle of a big bike race. So I already logged into my brain that I'd had to make up that chunk of mileage. There were a couple spots where I thought: "Is this route right? Am I missing a loop?" The run was just a little TOO easy and I was done a little TOO quickly. Well, to make up for the previously-mentioned new start spot and my unease about too-short-of-a-run, I tacked on what I thought was on an extra mile. I got back, stretched, got into my car, and decided to check my pre-planned route on my iMapMyRun app.

EFF ME.

I DID totally screw up!! Not just one but TWO loops. I did some math (I'm horrible at math) and decided the total distance was just too short and I did NOT waste this awesome weather for a too-short long run. So I literally got back out of my car and started it up again. I know. Well, THIS time I actually had the smarts to turn on my MMR app and which TOLD me I ran for another two miles (NOT as fun as the previous bunch). To make a long story long (zzzzzzz....), when I got home I adjusted my route online......

13 miles. Guhhhhhh. So in actuality, I was golden perfect when I stopped the first time. And now I've probably messed up my knees for good! They aren't feeling so hot :\ Damn you 10% increase!!! So hopefully I'm ok, I'll just take it easy and ice I guess.

old people

2011-05-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

So on my long run last weekend, I was really hurtin around mile 5.5 or so. In other words, too early to be tired on a long run! I vowed to stop and stretch at the turnback point. There, an older gent on a walk came up to me and asked "how much?" While I may have looked like a sporty prostitute (I was sweaty?), I assumed he meant mileage and I answered "only seven today." Only seven. For whatever reason I feel like the whole world is running marathons and seven miles is a puny weekday run right at the beginning of everyone's training cycle. He replied, "that's great! Are you training for a marathon?" (see!!) I answered, "No, the Summerfest Half in July." He nodded and delved into a tale about how he ran the first Lakefront Marathon back in 1981. He said he was in his 50s when he did it, so this guy had to have 80-something! He said that he had felt amazing at mile 20 and then it just crashed and burned from there and he barely crossed the finish. At the end of the story, he got pretty whistful and said he wished he could still run. I just nodded along, iterated how amazing it was that he ran a marathon, but should said, "hey, you're out here walking!" My grandpa's 85 and pretty active himself, but I'm positive these two men are a rare breed amongst the octogenarians out there! In any case, my present came back to me and I realized that I can be tired at mile 5.5 but no complaining about it missy because right in front of me stands my future. No, not any time soon, God forbid, but eventually. And I'll be out taking an early morning walk being passed by PYTs training for a marathon. I hope I'll be as sweet as this gentleman and ask "how much?"

My eight mile run today was filled with rain and wind rather than inspirational elderly people. Not as fun. And it was tough, so I really could've used an old guy's praises! But I'll have to rely on myself once in awhile I suppose.

Idiot

2011-05-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Remember a few days ago when I waxed poetic about all the fun healthy food we can eat? Well literally hours later I was as sick as a dog (are dogs known for their illnesses?) with some sort of digestive toxin running rampant through my body. What on God's Green Earth did I eat NOW? If you've been following me for the past couple years (...aaaaand my whole life) I get stomach flu/food poisoning a lot, like at least twice a year, if not more. Everyone's got their 'thing' and mine is bacteria. Colds and flues and stomach bugs are lurking around every corner and there's nothing I can do about it...no matter how healthy I eat and drink. In any case, after this happened so SOON after that blog post, I feel like a huge idiot and had to share. My boyfriend even razzed me about it. He eats several pounds of sugar a day and rarely gets sick. Although I think he's currently feelin' what I was feelin' so it must've been bad. So here I am today taking a risk with my first "real meal" since Monday of turkey and pepper jack on wheat, carrot sticks, apple sauce, (and some kettle chips, don't tell anyone).

For whatever reason over lunch here, I skimmed back in my blog for race posts. Maybe it's because my favorite runner Claire is tackling her first MARATHON tomorrow and I can practically feel her tumbling emotions from way up here in Menomonee Falls! She's put her time and miles in and no matter what happens, she's going to have a blast at this thing!! And that thought made me ponder races in a new way. We all know races are fun; the competition, the people, the fun snacks afterward...all good stuff. But races are seriously the cherry on top of the sundae, particularly for people who really train for something, whether it be finishing a long ass distance or getting a new PR time. It's the reward for all your hard work. My POINT is that I dare say race day excitement is something you have to EARN! I'm looking forward to earning that excitement again. And Claire, grab onto every detail you can tomorrow...you've earned the crap out of it! ;)

Good food!

2011-05-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

So my diet has just been really random for awhile now...somewhere in between really awful and ok. I've gotten into the habit of just saying yes to anything. Do I HAVE to grab a mediocre workplace cupcake? MUST I dump a handful of shredded cheese into my mouth? Am I REALLY hungry when I continue to shovel fries into my fryhole? I'm making it sound worse than it is, but what I really miss are ways to incorporate unique (to me) HEALTHY foods into my menus. Enter two sites that I've recently found; two places I need to use more often: Cooking with Quinoa and No Meat Athlete. [The latter I discovered via J&M's blog!] As I've gushed to pretty much anyone who knows me, quinoa pretty much kicks ass when it comes replacing the same-old, same-old brown, or God-forbid, white rice. It's particularly great when you're cutting meat out of your diet because it's jam-packed with protein.

"But I don't wanna cut meat out of my diet!" That's fine...I had a turkey taco tonight! But yesterday I had black beans, pineapple, red cabbage, spinach, and onion topped with soy sauce/pineapple juice/smoked paprika over brown rice (I'm bringing it back IN after my quinoa rampage last month!) My point is that I've found that when I make vegetarian-centric meals, I feel a lot more adventurous. Meat's expensive too, and I'm a cheap bastard. If you're looking for a place to start, I'm sure at LEAST one of these sounds delicious!!

With my resurgence of running, I've noticed that I'm just not as *there* whilst exercising. "I shouldn't be this tired" I say to myself. So I just don't think I fuel properly before/after...protein, electrolytes, etc. Well, last night I made my own protein bars...the syrup doesn't make it THE healthiest thing in the world at about a TB per bar, so here's No Meat Athlete's version. Definitely going to try it next.

For the past two weeks, running HAS been getting easier. Well not "easier" per se, but less daunting. When I first started and tried SO HARD to eek out a 3miler, I thought: HOW in the HELL am I going to run a half marathon. I don't wanna :( Today I ran 4 and it felt great! Tough, but great! Baby steps ;)

Ahhh, there it is!

2011-04-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, backstory, so I started getting back into the whole "running thing" end of January into February. A couple runs here and there. Got sick, took a weekish off, blah blah blah. Honestly, the only real thing that got me going again was the fact that I signed up for the Rock n' Sole Summerfest Half Marathon here in Milwaukee back in...???...well, what feels like ages ago and it was probably about time I start training for it. Yeek! Remember at the beginning of the year, my main focus became OTHERS for once? Well talk about a shot of happy juice! Focusing outward, rather than inward, was just what the doctor ordered! I was able to get out of my head and back into what inspired me to run in the first place: the journeys, goals, trials, tribulations, and SUCCESSES of others!

In any case, you already know this mumbo jumbo and I apologize for boring you with my waxing. I have a point! Up to this juncture of--well, I guess I'm calling it "re-training"...a word I never want to use again!--I've kind of been, let's say, mailing it in? Not that I'm blah about running, but basically I have miles I want to get in, days/hours I can do them in, AND I go to the gym. I mean running on a treadmill? That's about as auto-pilot as you can get! In addition to this mentality, I've also had really difficult runs. Like as in...all of them. No run has been easy or even mild. I always end my runs (and these are 2-4 miles ONLY) extremely winded, tired, and wanting to have stopped a mile or two previously. It just FEELS different than when I used to run. I mean duh, I'm nearly starting from scratch. But I keep on keepin' on and I increase the mph even though it's hard. Like real hard.

Well, my friends, I made it. Huh? Where? What now? Yesterday I ran four miles and it was difficult, but GREAT. It just felt, I don't know...RIGHT! I felt strong and my breath wasn't challenged and winded, but rather strong and...purposeful! I honestly said to myself: ahhhhh there it is. The feeling I had been waiting for, but too scared to chase after because of all the ego hoopla from before. I have this little person in my head that says, "guhhhhmyGOD it's JUST running, who cares?!?!" That same little person was putting me on auto pilot this whole time. Telling me just to DO it and check the emotion at the gym door. Well the bubble has done been busted because I tasted what it was like to be proud of myself again!

One of my last posts discussed mantras and because of Beth's jewelry giveaway, I started to wonder...can I adjust my new mantra "I have never finished a run and wished I hadn't done it" into one single word? I can.

Afterwards.

The highest high I ever feel (that's um, natural) is after I finish a run, especially an important one! Like a long distance trainer or a race. It is truly an emotion that transcends this world sometimes.

Afterwards. That's what will get stamped onto my trendy necklace tag if I ever snag one ;) I asked if you have a mantra...well here's a dooze: Do you have one SINGLE word that really speaks to you? (Take your time, I had to think about it!)

My heroes.

2011-04-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a huge shoutout to the subject of my recent blatherings, Beth Risdon. As I previously wrote, she developed a femoral neck stress fracture six months ago, but remained determined to run Boston today. One of those six months were spent in crutches, several not running, and the brunt taking it as easy as her psyche would allow...her longest training run was 15 miles, a mere two miles over a Half Marathon, with the bulk of her training done in a local pool water-running. Training is only half the battle as it was also Beth's determination, guts, and confidence that got her to Boston. Although she was determined to take this race easy as finishing was her main goal, it's quite possible that the last few miles were totally grueling as her physical state began to break down, and she had to rely on sheer will to carry her the rest of the way. And I can only imagine a fraction of the euphoria that triumphed over the pain and exhaustion she felt as she crossed the finish line. I hope, above all else, she felt an enormous sense of pride!

I really don't know Beth from Henrietta, but following her story has been nothing short of inspirational. It's been said that about 1% of the population will run a marathon in their lifetime. I wonder what percentage of the population daydreams about running a marathon, but...just...doesn't. All I'm saying is that seemingly ginormous goals truly are attainable when we work hard at them. Yeah yeah, cliche, but it's an important piece of the puzzle that is so often trumped by giving into adversity (there's no adversity in my life and I STILL have trouble sticking to my goals!)

In any case, here's to people everywhere who set their sights on a goal that is anything but a sure thing. Here's to people who take risks, who own the trials they may face, who earn their accolades for the work they put in. Thanks for being an inspiration to us all!

Words to live by

2011-04-05T13:15:00.001-07:00

Mantras are wonderful things, and you gotta live by mantras that speak personally to you. My usual life mantra is "the sweet is never as sweet without the sour," picked up from Jason Lee's character in Vanilla Sky. Good feels a hell of a lot better when we have a bad batch of bad to compare it to.

Then there's the one I constantly throw around to my friends, family, and total strangers "life is not designed for our comfort, but for our struggle, for in struggle there is growth." And to add to that: I believe growth gives us purpose--something to live for--and I don't know about you, but I find comfort in that!

As for running, the world is bursting with inspirational mottos. But something I found today really hit home for me: yet another gem from SUAR Girl aka Beth Risdon:

"I have never finished a run and wished I hadn't done it."

It's not complicated and it's something I can calmly digest when my alarm goes off at 5:30am. Or when I'm exhausted at the end of a classic Kohl's day and didn't listen to my alarm at 5:30am. Or when a half marathon seems daunting as I'm losing energy at Mile 4.

I've never finished a run and wished I hadn't done it.

No matter how frustrated we get on our runs that don't go so well, deep down we know we're ridiculously awesome for having gotten out there. A few more miles on the old shoes is a badge of honor no matter how shitty we felt that day.

Do you have a personal motto or mantra that helps you get out of your warm oven of a bed or through the hot magma you occasionally feel like you're running in?

[Sidebar: I got a really good motto in an email from running-bud Claire: "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable." Now THAT says running haha!]

If Beth Can Do It...

2011-03-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

So somewhere between now and three months ago, I went from 22 to 52 followers. I must've got caught in someone's net back there!

To recap, my promise to myself this year was to take the pressure of all this running and blogging and run-blogging, and instead, be inspiring, be kind, and be mindful of embracing exercise rather than condemning it every two seconds. For the past three months, I've taken up running once again after our breakup. I've been doing something I've always criticized: treadmill running. As part of my journey to ~~walk~~ run in other people's shoes, I've decided to be less critical and more open to the various ways people train. Sure, once I was a super-hardcore/glutton-for-punishment runner in the winter, but I'm ok with putting that aside to run in the [too]warm gym at 6am instead of the bitter elements.

For those of you who have dealt with starting-from-scratch running, you'll be delighted to know that this is precisely how I currently feel about my status as a runner. With my 5k PR at 25:30 (~8:15min miles), this year I can barely do a 5k in under 32 minutes (~10:15min miles). Am I complaining? Maybe a little, but I'm mostly embracing it as a humble experience. It certainly takes the pressure off!

So with that said, it's not Monday, but I am inspired by another one of my fellow run-bloggers. She's practically a celeb in the run-blog world...the Shut Up And Run girl, aka Beth. And while "Shut Up And Run" is a great mantra, because of her backstory, I often find myself using the more-appropriate mantra "What Would Beth Do?" And if you read any of the following references to her blog, you'll find that while she does shut up occasionally, more often she is honest, she is accepting, she never takes herself too seriously, and she is pee-or rather poo-your pants hilarious. By applying all of these qualities to your own life, whether it be in your exercise, your work, or even your relationships with people, I think we could all feel a lot more satisfied with our lives.

(showing me ice-bathing is the way to go)

The Spark Notes version of her story is that she's a Ultra Awesome Boston-Qualified Marathon Runner who got hurt...bad (femoral neck) and hobbled her way through, now, nearly six months of rehab to get where she is today: ready to run the Boston Marathon as she had planned pre-injury. Sure she won't run it as fast as she could've when she qualified. But she's gonna damn-well run it. And probably with a much more positive and engaged mentality than pre-injury to boot!

The [not so?]funny thing is, this has happened to her before. Just a month prior to her injury-announcement, she wrote a post about over-training in which she describes her LAST stress-fracture (this time in her foot) a year ago that put her out for two months. Clearly, my girl is no stranger to running injuries. But as she admits, it can be difficult to not want to push...to push through the pain you aren't supposed to push through. While I can't relate to her stellar marathon skills, I can relate to pushing past the point of good-for-you. Not even physically so much, but mentally. It can wear you down...like a stress fracture of the mind, excuse the cheese ;)

In any case, Beth is a role model to many a runner out there, especially new runners. Despite her injuriEESSS, she takes a moment to mourn, and then gets right back out there. I mean she freaking water-runs and for over an HOUR. Why? Because it's good for you when you can barely walk without crutches that's why!

But honestly, if I thought running on a treadmill was boring, I can hardly imagine what water-running for an hour must be like. Eff running in the bitter cold, THIS is hardcore :)

In an effort to cram-pack this post with as many link-references to Beth's blog, I will leave you with this final post. If you haven't read any of the above, read this, because I think it truly encapsulates Beth's attitude, humility, and perseverance. If you've ever dealt with any set-backs--even if it's just a "mental" stress-fracture--this helps you feel connected again...you're not alone.

What Would Beth Do becomes What Would You Do?

And as Beth quotes:
“If you relax your mind into every situation exactly the way it is and accept that fact without any ifs, ands, or buts, then you can gain peace, self-acceptance, and the ability to allow solutions. Otherwise, you are locked in that place of your past behaviors which created your present reality.” (source)

'Something' Mondays

2011-01-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ok so I have this idea to, from time to time, feature someone I know who has rocked it out athletically and in a unique way. And since Mondays usually blow, I think Mondays are a good day to feel inspired. But I can't come up with anything punny or cute as a moniker, sooooo ideas are welcome!

Well there are less than two hours left in this week's Monday and I'm determined to get this going! So this week you can be inspired on Tuesday, which--as my dear friend Nicole oft declares--is the new Monday. (I tend to agree.)

The first person who came to mind when I was throwing this whole new outlook together is my running blogger friend Claire. I'm not so sure she'd be thrilled to be up on my pedestal today but tough cookies!!

Anyone that spends any significant time around me has heard of barefoot running. Not because I do it, but because I wanna. Well Claire does it. And not just like to be cool or something. She literally runs barefoot, runs barefoot well, and has even decided to march in a bucket o' gravel to maintain her sweet barefeet (she's not crazy, people do this!) in the "off-season"...I use air quotes because in Claire's world there IS no off-season! She runs in the bitter cold and snow (YUP! Barefoot!)

Our story began last year...she somehow discovered my own blog and it turned out we both were determined to train for our first half marathon despite kinda being newbies to the game, more or less. She always gave me the best pep talks, pep types? Well our Halfs were on the exact same day and it was pretty cool having someone going through the same thing I was that day. Very exciting. Also very cool that we basically got the same time! But speaking of times, what I especially wanted to point out about Claire is that it's not really about numbers and schedules. Oh sure she's got her numbers and schedules! But underneath it all is this absolute FIRE. Her running career isn't completely driven by numbers (like mine might have been), but by this undying passion to run. If anyone ever thought I was motivated, well you've got another think coming. This girl ain't messin!

And guess what? She uses her power for good! She's trained a bunch of newbies to run their first 5Ks...people who never thought they'd ever run. Like ever. She has inspired her own family too! It's like she exudes this addicting running elixir!!! There are some of us out here who inspire people in a general way. These people might say to themselves: "I wish I could do that" or "I should get off my lazy ass like they do." But with Claire, there's no wishing or shoulding or even TRYING. It's freaking go time.

She's Yoda.

And that's what I love. I won't go into her personal deets, but like many she inspires, Claire came from a place where running was daunting. Daunting because of wavering confidence in ability and the effort that would be involved. I think we all can relate to this. If anything is more inspiring than someone taking charge of her life, her health, and passing it on to others with excitement, encouragement, without a smidge of ego, and just enough tenacity to kick you in the ass when you need it...I mean seriously. Can I have a sip??

Have you ever seen Up in the Air? Do you remember the backpack? We can only fit the most important stuff in there before it feels way too heavy and those straps slice into our already burdened shoulders. Well Claire is one of those people I want to keep in my backpack. I want her there for my lowest lows because I will absolutely find my way back up. And I want her there for my highest highs because she will ALWAYS be proud of me. Never jealous or competitive. And she'll keep me grounded!

And that's precisely what I want these...um...'Something' Mondays to be about: People I want to take with me. It's not even about running anymore, is it? It's about the kind of person I'd like to be all the time, every time.

Thank you Claire...I hope you continue to inspire others as you've inspired me!

'Obsessed' is how the unmotivated describe the dedicated.

Just another day...

2011-01-02T11:21:00.001-08:00

Seeing as it's January 2nd, perhaps I won't feel so cliche about this post today.

Couple things: A few weeks ago I reread the post before this, and was honestly humbled by people who actually cared enough to not only read, but comment on it. So I returned to you a big gooey comment back. Check it out sometime! I've also noticed that there are 22 followers of this blog which boggles my mind. 22 may mean nothing to the likes of awesome mega bloggers like Beth, but to me it's like whoa. Maybe I should give these 22 people something worthwhile to read now and again.

Something worthwhile. Hmmm. What could that possibly be?

Blogs are anything from general updates and life tips to instructional how-to's and what I like to call "blagging" (blog bragging). My favorite type of blogs are obviously streams of consciousness. I feel like I can connect to people who have absolutely no idea what they're doing in life and feel the need to blather on endlessly about it. Definitely my modus operandi, if you will. However, "worthwhile" reading material and streams of consciousness are like oil and vinegar, aren't they? In other words, do I really have anything to add to the world of words? Or am I basically adding to the Too Much Informational Superhighway?
Sigh.

Year One of my running career was humbling and exciting: I soaked up the information others imparted to me in order to learn how to run. Year Two of my running career was very self-centered, and in a way it needed to be so I could reach lofty goals I set for myself. Well Year 3 will bring something entirely different. I've decided that this year I need to run more presently in other people's shoes (or bare feet perhaps!) I need to look through the eyes of those around me rather than focus inward so much. I have to think about how my actions would make other people happy rather than living solely for my own personal gains. 2010 was a super easy year for me. Nothing nightmarish happened and I think it made me lazy. Sometimes Too Much of a Good Thing is not such a good thing and we forgot that "the world isn't designed for our comfort but for our struggle, for in struggle there is growth." Have I grown much this year? Hmmm.....

I fulfilled all of my January 2010 running goals. Did this make me grow? In some ways, sure. I learned to accept physical and mental pain. I learned how to harvest motivation and turn it into discipline. But when all is said and done, why do I feel empty? Why did I feel like a sham? Apparently...at least for me...there's no point to lofty goals and discipline if the only one who really gains anything is me and me alone. I was at the top of the mountain, super excited and proud of myself!! But a few minutes later, I realized there was no one there to keep me company on the long climb down.

This year I'm not going to make any goals except for the following: Absolutely and completely change the way I think about running. Fellow run-blogger Maggie posted a contest to win a necklace that simply states "Love to Run." Mentioning said contest is not my way of picking up another entry. Her contest got me thinking about how I'm the last person in the running world that deserves something like this around my neck. Thus, what I must do this year is earn it, figuratively speaking. I need to look at running in a completely new way. This includes, but is definitely not limited to the following:

1. Inspire rather than brag. Practice sincerity and altruism rather than kindness for the sake of personal gain.

2. Run for others, whether for charity or to simply help out a beginner or someone who is struggling.

3. Embrace exercise as a way to celebrate the physical life that I've been given and connect to others who feel the same way, rather than close myself off and treat running like a Me and Me Alone experience.

4. Above all else, look at the world as someone who needs a best friend. As sappy Saccharin thanks-for-making-me-vom-in-my-mouth as this sounds, I'm very serious! This world needs more people who care about it.

And I'm also very serious about this change and it's pretty frightening because I know how difficult it will be. 31 years young and I can already say I'm pretty set in my ways. I can be a real sarcastic asshole sometimes. (Sarcastic assholes can be pretty hilarious though, am I right?!) At the end of the day though, I have to happy with what I'm putting out there in the world...which brings us FULL CIRCLE to how I started this thing (I knew we'd get there!)

If I find something worthwhile to tell you about...something unbraggy, inspirational, or wise...I'll write about it. This year my blog won't be so much about schedules, personal records, and race recaps. Rather I want to focus outward...I want to celebrate you and celebrate what it means to be an inspiration. I'm going to need some BIG TIME help though, I definitely can't do this alone. So keep an eye out for my extended hand!

Good luck to everyone and their goals this year. I know several who are attempting their first Super Lofty Goal: marathons, barefoot races, Ironmans, oh my!! I promise to be in your corner cheering YOU on for once!

Must own?

2010-10-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

If this blog was always about how awesome I am at running, well that wouldn't be much fun would it?? I think deep down we all find something slightly motivational in the failure of others. Because it makes them human. It makes them just like one of us.

Well I haven't been awesome at running in quite a good while. But what IS awesome? Perhaps just getting your ass out there is awesome enough. Well, I haven't been doing that either. So enter non-awesome. Remember when the whole point of this blog, the whole point of running was that I "must run"?? Well at this juncture, I write more about NOT running than running and that's ridiculous. It's redonkulous.

So Al's Run (8K) was Saturday. You may or may not recall that Al's Run was my Big Huge Goal when I started running last year...the shiny golden carrot I was running toward the entire summer. And at the end of the road I had a shiny golden 42:41 PR in my back pocket. This past Saturday morning, before the race, I cued up the ol' blog post and I knew...I just knew that it would be totally unattainable this year. A year where I ran not one, but two Half Marathons. What I didn't know, however, is how unattainable "unattainable" would truly be.

51:56

Let me throw it out there again, folks. 51:56.

Now I will NOT knock any runner out there who's run five miles in 52 minutes. In many circumstances that is a respectable time. Not only that but running five miles in GENERAL is a respectable distance! There was no possible way in all that is true that I could run five miles two years ago. However, in my teeny tiny personal running history, five miles in 52 minutes is atrocious. What's more atrocious is that running five miles in 52 minutes wasn't even easy! I walked three times. I was pretty uncomfortable throughout miles 2.5-5. And yet I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 18 minutes A MONTH AGO. I have a 10K coming up in two weeks and I'm 95% leaning toward shuttin' that shit down. That's out of control.

Now while apparently a month is enough time to completely deteriorate as a runner, I think there's something else going on. Running is nearly 100% mind over matter. And my brain, my attitude, my spirit isn't in the game. I went into this race having already failed.

Where's the girl with the Half Marathon medal and the smiles and the flying and the magic??

About a year and a half ago I found something I loved to do, so I worked hard, and became successful. Now...not. Not loving it, not working hard at it, not being successful at it. So where do I go from there? If you fall out of love with something, do you rekindle or do you walk away? I thought autumn would be like the romantic spark to get me back on board. But that hasn't happened.

Time. My life is completely different from when I started this gig. I'm not single like I was a year and a half ago. Living with a boyfriend is a lot different than living with a sister. A lot more time gets sunk into relationship stuff. And since I took this new job, nearly 14 additional hours of my time per week is devoted to that job, and driving to and from that job. Fourteen hours. So I'm "working" 54 hour weeks. This includes whole lunch hours I no longer receive...hours that I used to run at my old job which is literally an impossibility at the new one.

Ok now I'm just getting whiny.

But seriously, it's just...not...happening for me. And the worst part is that I don't even have kids to blame all this on. The very excuse my friends have given me when defending their inability to exercise on a regular basis...and even THEY find time to get some runs in. It's all badness swirling around. Badness and guilt. Aching guilt. Because I thought this was gonna be my thing. But it's not. Because all the other runners around me don't have this psychotic inner turmoil when it comes to something as simple as running.

Maybe Rachael and Rachel are right...maybe I just have to own it. Just say, fuck it. I'm not an awesome runner who is obsessed with it anymore. I lost my mojo. Don't know if it'll be back. "...I'm sorry I'm not sorry." I'm over it.

And I'd like to flip it and reverse it. Most of the people, runners, I encounter do a pretty damn good job of owning their running abilities, no matter what stage they're at. They don't do a lot of comparing, contrasting, complaining...in other words, the opposite of Katie here. And I'm down with that. I need to be more supportive of everyone's individuality and ownership, rather than focusing inward and trying to barf it all over everyone all the time. I.e. this post. A lot of word vomit in this post and most of it is making excuses and railing on myself. Well I'm done. I'm over it. Maybe running will be fun for me again some day. Maybe not. But feeling guilty about it is dumb. And to anyone whom *I ever inspired in any sort of a way... that will never ever leave the depths of my heart. Honestly. And if there are any scraps at the bottom of the barrel that is my love for running, well you're right there to help me dig them out.

So that's it! Readers keep running or writing or loving or whatever you do best. And when you're over it, no biggie.

Stairs

2010-09-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

So speaking of my legs hurting, the following has been bothering me forever. At Kohl's in the morning I walk from the ground floor up to the third floor. And then 2-3x more times throughout the day I walk from the first to the third (the cafeteria, and more importantly COFFEE, is on 1). The three flights in the morning are a REAL DOOZE. I've worked here for almost four months and when I get to the third floor I seriously have never been more exhausted in my life. More than my Half this weekend? PERHAPS! It's like I get to the top and I feel like I'm literally having a heart attack. I cannot catch my breath and my legs are burning to boot.

So! Being as bored as I am today, I finally googled it and found this, aptly titled: "I run daily but stairs still kill me." YES! Dude I know!!! Well, turns out the answer is very obvious. Different muscles + gravity + climbing a high altitude in a short amount of time = Who gives a shit if you can run a Half Marathon?! So basically, I have to work in some kind of biking massive hills if I EVER want to climb three flights of stairs without dying. That's cool.

Alright that's all I got.

Chicago Half 'Cap

2010-09-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

Alright then! So here are some thoughts I took from the Chicago Half Marathon! Neg stuff outta the way first.

Did you know that 20,500 people registered for this race and only 13,500 finished? So apparently I wasn't the only one unprepared. But I DID finish! While my time was a mere three minutes slower than my first half, I worked my ass off to BE three minutes slower. Huh? Let me explain. While part of the three minutes contained a very small handful of breaks to briefly stretch and take iPhone photos...

a majority of it was me falling apart in the last three miles. In fact I was ahead of schedule up until then and by a lot! See, at the Expo the day before, I grabbed this free 2:15 pace tattoo. They had them for all 15min increments between like 1:30 and 3:00 or so. Pretty freaking sweet. And you KNOW I looked hardcore with a ginormous pace tatt on my forearm!! Anyway, so up until miles 9 and 10 I was AHEAD of my pace by upwards of, wait for it...three freaking minutes. For example, mile 4? I hit it around 38 minutes. My 2:15 pace tatt screamed 41 minutes at me. And while I cockily pumped my fist to the sky mouthing the lyrics to "Empire State of Mind," I should've been SLOWING THE EFF DOWN. Well, as I said, I learned my lesson in the final three miles when I literally wanted to die. In fact I passed people who looked dead on the side of the street or on stretchers and I thought: Hm yeah, that's about right.

My friends, the sun was hot that day. The temp was crisp and, indeed, hinted at autumn. But the sun, my God the sun. I didn't wear sunglasses thinking for some reason that I'd be fine. But I probably poured like seven cups of water over my head throughout the second half which was entirely facing south into that giant white ball of horror. HOW was it so hot??? A friend just wrote me that he was at the race rooting for his wife's sisters and spotted me at mile 12. He said I was smiling. Squinting in burning agony is more like it.

Aside from my too-quick start and the sun, two additional debilitating things were 1. being nauseous the entire race--like the ENTIRE race--and 2. my feet.

Not sure why I was nauseous?? Perhaps it was eating a half of a PB sandwich at 5am. They say never change what you eat before a race, so therefore I guess I should've eaten nothing. But that was TWO HOURS before I actually ran, so should've been fine. I only ate one gel at the 3-4 mile mark as I couldn't stomach another one. That might've killed me in the end too.

And my feet....HURT. As I said some other time, I wore the shoes I trained in the first time around...my orangies. The orangies are far from broken in and were replaced for a reason, but preferable to the pinks ones that I've given up on. So ALL pieces of my feet felt shattered by the end of the race from my arches to my heels to my ankles and Achilles to the toe part where bunions typically form (that area was the worst). Sighhhh shoes. Sidebar, you know what didn't and still doesn't hurt? My KNEES! The one part of my body that gave me the most trouble for the past year and a half. I think I might have to thank the 2-3 flights of Kohl's stairs 4x a day. Go go gadget quads!!

Now maybe I should stop pointing a finger at all this stuff and see those other three fingers pointing right back at me! As I started this post...Yeah I was unprepared. Even with my jump start and being ahead-of-the-game for the majority of the race, the second half was horrible because I didn't train as hard. Sure, I didn't fall apart so badly I had to pull a DNF. But I felt like I was scraping at an old frying pan for the last bits of caked on food particles, ANYTHING to fuel those final minutes. I don't regret not training as hard. But now I know better. Now I know how it feels to be unprepared.

MEANWHILE. I had fun.

WHAT?? Haha! No really, this race--this entire WEEKEND--was an absolute freaking BLAST. I said I was going to do this for enjoyment and I totally did. I mentioned the Jay Z fist-pumping right? That was a huge highlight. I felt amazing at that mile 4 moment, like nothing could stop me.

Another highlight? The weather. (But you just said??) Ah whatever, the sun sucked, but the perfect blue sky looked gorgeous behind the Chicago skyline and refreshing breeze felt absolutely wonderful.

Best highlight? The crowd...having spectators lined up along THE ENTIRETY of the race route, cheering us on. And because we had our first names on our bibs, people would find them and yell them out! I mean seriously!! But the cherry on the top was when I felt like absolute crap and I passed a teenage girl who said, "...Aw, I want to start running." My eyes well up just thinking about that. I mean I couldn't have asked for anything better at that point.

And finally...the moment. The finish line. The medal.

I will admit that the phrase "I want to quit" crept up in my mind a healthy portion of times...I saw people stop and just leave the course in the middle of the race. Buuuut I heard my inner whiny child-voice say, "no, but your medal!" Haha! Man it's like a dog without a bone! So I passed the finish line, perfectly satisfied when I stopped my watch at 2:18, and stumbled (literally stumbled) through the crowd with my sweaty mitts on my medal (SERIOUSLY Katie, you did not WIN the Chicago Half Marathon). Then I was handed a bottle of water, a banana, a granola bar, and...oh my sweet Lord, a delicious chocolate chip cookie. It was like manna from the Gods. I shoved it directly into my cookie hole, chocolate smeared everywhere. Oh it was glorious!

And with that I took note of the fact that this is why I race. I mean in addition to the ability to shove cookies into my mouth, I think I race to undergo that incredible transition from feeling the worst ever, to feeling the best ever. And this is the recipe for life. We don't know ups unless we know downs. The sweet ain't as sweet without the sour. Despite being probably the toughest and most painful of the handful of races I've done in the past 14 months, this particular race will probably go down as my favorite: From the conversation-packed ride to/from Milwaukee with my friend Mark, to the absolute hilarity and scrumptiousness at carb-loading dinner with Mark, Monica, Tim (plus Crystal's tiramisu cot and my lemon pounding).

From my silly stupid pre-Half dreams ("you can race it, but you're not getting a medal"), to the feeling of pure happiness post-Half, as I vegged on the couch, Miller Lite in one hand, a piece of Lou Malnati's pizza in the other, watching the Bears sort-of win....ahh it was perfect, absolutely perfect.

Where is she now?

My legs are like twisted pieces of rubber, doused with Sriracha cock sauce, and lined with barbed wire that has been coated in hawk talons and anacondas that are squeezing every muscle fiber till they all pop. I think it took me 20 minutes to walk downstairs yesterday and at work I've resorted to the elevator. I put off going to the bathroom as long as I can so I can avoid getting out of my chair. And this is ALL after immediately replacing my glycogen (see: chocolate chip cookie), replenishing my fluids (bottles of water and Poweraid PRE AND POST-Miller Lite), and stretching lots and lots and lots. Clearly I must've worked hard because I didn't even feel a fraction of this aftermath when I ran that 16 miler. Sigh. I look forward to being able to walk without looking like a 90 year old who rode a horse for twenty-five straight days.

And when I can RUN again, what's my plan? I have a 5K in two weeks, an 8K in four weeks, a 10K in six weeks, and a 15K in seven weeks. So that's all sounds doable hey? Yikos. Better heal up quick!! And invest in SOME sort of footwear while I'm also barefoot training. Ah barefoot training...that should be interesting.

Anyway, thanks Chicago Half Marathon for some seriously awesomely good memories!! See you next year, questionmark??? ;)

~stats

The Eleventh Hour

2010-09-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday's the big day! Am I prepared? Yes and no.

First and foremost, it's nice to not be vomming my guts out and weak from nutrients rapidly being ejected from my body. I mean really nice. It really sucked to not be able to look forward to the race last time around. To wonder if I'd even run it at all...something I didn't officially decide until 5am that morning! This time I'm in mega relaxed mode.

But too relaxed?

This whole 12 week training process as been the epitome of too relaxed. Last time I ran 190 miles in 12 weeks, this time a mere 130. I didn't do any tempo or intervals. Last time I was running 5 miles at around 9min/mi pace. And doing it all the time. This time? I think I went for 5 mile runs like twice. I didn't really push at all. So my original goal of being super hardcore, rocking intervals, and pushing for a sub-2 pretty much went out the window at the word go. The goal just didn't stick.

My new goal? To enjoy the race.

And I think that's why I'm particularly relaxed this week. With my first Half, I didn't want ANYTHING to screw with it. And then the flu stuff messed with my head. So while the experience was amazing, don't get me wrong...you'll never forget such a major First...I think Sunday will be worlds different. Not better, just different. South Shore was small, meek, and bare bones. Chicago is, well, Chicago! Big city, awesome skyline view, thousands upon thousands upon thousands of runners. It will be a lot to take in. There will be a true sense of camaraderie. South Shore was very quiet, very personal. Chicago will be buzzing and I'll feel a part of this huge, loud, obnoxious picture. So I want to really enjoy taking that all in. The whole time thing won't be my priority. Sure, I'll want to do what I can to match the 2:15 from South Shore (I mean I even printed out one of those pace wristbands HA! But if a PR isn't in the cards, no big deal.

Most looking forward to???

The medal.

Like I said, South Shore was great. I'd do it again some day. But as I've noted previously, there was no medal, no shirt, nothing but a bib number and some race results somewhere on the web to prove I did it. I keep envisioning crossing that finish line and someone handing me a medal and then wearing it around all day! As I wrote in a past post, in the 5K I ran with my friend Monica, I watched the Half Marathoners receive their medals and was simply mesmerized and practically salivating!! It's super stupid, I know.

Sighhh, now watch. My arch will fall during the race and I'll get picked up by the 3 hour van. Yeah there's some rule where you have to finish in under 3 hours or they pick you up and that's it. Yikes. No medal for Katie.

Positive thoughts!!

The weather looks absolutely gorgeous for the 7am start! Free pizza afterward! Bear's Home Opener! Done training!!! Haha! The last one will be nice. I want to reboot and start fresh. I don't want to repeat last post-Half and just give up for a month! It's Fall...best running season ever! I want to enjoy myself and have fun again :)

In other news, my friend Mark is running this bad boy as well (he's my travel AND hotel buddy for the weekend!). My ex-coworker and fellow softball player Josh is running as well. Apparently his wife is like super speed bunny...I don't even want to know! This chick I currently work with is ALSO racing. This is her first half and she was diagnosed with bronchitis this week. She's on some meds and currently plans to still do it!! Flu is one thing, but bronchitis?? She's a trooper!!! And finally, my bestest friends Monica and Tim will simultaneously rock the Chicago 5K! I'm super stoked to spend the weekend AND this particular experience with them!! They're newish runners this year, so it's been awesome having friends to whom I bitch about running and they understand ;)

Alright dudes, let's get 'er done!!!

Run Bare

2010-08-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

Three things today:

First off, I had my final long run (before the Chi Half) last weekend. My mom, sis, and I camped at Point Beach State Forest outside Two Rivers, WI. I mapped out 14 miles before I left, memorized road names, and had the run looming on my mind for days prior. Fun!

Now we all remember my last 14 miler three weeks before my first half. Lots of pain. Lots of tears. Well this one would prove to be some more of the same. Not necessarily pain, however. Here goes: 3 miles into the route, I came up on the road I would be running back on. It was SUPER bright and sunny. Aka: super bright sun I wouldn't want to run back into at the end of my run. So I decided to reverse the loop I planned. Mistake. I totally got lost. I've been camping at Point Beach for nine years now, but I don't really venture into T'Rivers. Long story short, I went two miles out of my way to find my route back. I ran along this combo of roads, back and forth back and forth back and forth, trying to figure out where the heck I was. The road name was correct, but the sun was in the wrong place! Haha! Anyway, being lost totally zaps your energy. And this was only six miles in. I was 4 miles from the campsite and my mind just gave up. I stopped to walk and just felt sorry for myself and started thinking about my mom and sis just waiting there for me, worried about where I was. I just burst into tears. I know, such a drama queen. But getting lost when you're running really f*cks with your mind, man. Because it's not like in a car where you can just turn around and press the gas pedal. Ok, so I walked for eight minutes...huge drops of salty discharge streaming down my cheeks. What a display. After the eight minutes were up, I started running again and yelled at myself a bunch. I rolled into our campsite and let 'er rip once again (seeing your mom does that to you sometimes). She and my sis gave me water and peach nectar juice and started cookin' up some mean breakfast burritos and I felt worlds better. Final tally: roughly 16miles...exactly 3 HOURS of running (well minus that eight minutes haha!). Definitely a PR even though it lacked some grace.

Second, I received a FANtastic piece of "fan mail" the other week. I think maybe it was my second or third email since I started this blog a year and a half ago. There truly is nothing more inspiring than someone reaching out to take the time to thank you for something. This blog isn't much more than a stream of consciousness. Mostly complaining. But we're all in this together and if there's anything I blather on about that can possibly be helpful, well then, hey, it's all worth it I guess! So thanks Michelle!! I hope you heal up quick and get right back out there!!

Third, barefoot running.

I have a friend who is literally obsessed with running barefoot. He's up on his big puffy barefoot cloud looking down on us silly, small-minded, shoe'd dummyheads who have no idea how big of a mistake we're making. I was NOT a fan of this. But when I got an email that barefoot runner Michael Sandler was stopping at my local running store with his fiancee to talk about it, I thought: hey, maybe I'll check it out, just so I can tell my friend I've given it a chance.

Wow.

Talk about an eye-opener. I'm going to have to write an entirely separate post devoted to all the ways my mind has been changed, but in short: shoes suck. Ok they don't completely suck. And Michael doesn't think so either. They serve purposes. Like becoming hand weights ;) No no, seriously, running shoes still take part in training, but runners don't have to rely on them so heavily.

Shoes mess you up though. After listening to the science, there's really no denying it at this point. Anyone who has ever had issues with knee pain, IT band pain, arch pain...even NECK pain, you could potentially trace it back to running shoes. And we all think: "well I must need different running shoes." I myself just wrote in a past post: "I need new shoes. My feet hurt." New shoes? How about NO shoes.

SO! I drank the Koolaid, I purchased Barefoot Running, and I'm going to give this a whirl. It takes awhile to build up, however. And as Michael had us all repeat three times: "I will only go 200 yards on my first run!" So this past Tuesday, I put my shoes in my hands, and ran two blocks barefoot. Invigorating to say the least! Like I'm a kid again. After my 8 mile yesterday, I took off my shoes and ran four blocks. Then iced my feet :) Ever since the seminar, I try to go barefoot as often as possible. Through the Target parking lot, on the route to church, and I don't put my work shoes on until I step inside the building and I have QUITE the trek from car to building (let's just say I get to work on the later side...)

If you've ever considered running barefoot, there are probably 340350325 concerns that tell you not to. I'll address some of the ones I had next post. At the end of the day though, this running thing has been quite the struggle for lil ol' Katie ever since the spring Half. I just don't feel it. I don't have that "I love running" except in fleeting moments that are ruined by pain and frustration. I need a change. I can't do the same old thing anymore. Even after only a year and a half. Starsky's bored. So I'm giving this a shot. This and the whole Run Bare attitude: running isn't about times and PRs and mileage. It's supposed to be fun. I'd like to have fun while running again.

Running!!

2010-08-18T11:18:00.001-07:00

Now that the weather is cooler and the humidity is gone, running is wonderful again!! Ok I've only run twice this month. TWICE. And I have a half marathon in less than a month?? Ooook. No but get this:

1. I've come to terms with this Half not being the Half for me. Some people can train just fine in the humidity. Maybe they don't like it, but they do it anyway. I'm looking at you Claire ;) The winter was brutal, but I kept at it. When the wind was just too icy I bought a balaclava. When the sidewalks were covered with a foot of snow, I barreled through them. But in my own mind nothing can help humidity...except running indoors. Now, next year I think I might invest in a gym membership during the summer months, but that doesn't battle dreadmill boredom. Which leads me to...

2. With a month left, I was so fed up with not being able to run, I attempted to find some sort of indoor access. I had to rule out a day pass (do these still exist?) at the Y because I wasn't sure how I'd be able to handle running 144 times around the track (to do 12 miles). I also ruled out the Pettit Nat'l Ice Center's track because of the Wisconsin State Fair burgling the parking, causing its close to the public. I finally decided on using my parents' Nordic Track which is NOT a treadmill and five billion times harder than running!!! I could only do an hour. Which in Nordo time is apparently THREE MILES??? You've gotta be kidding me. I wasn't aware at how much different the muscle usage is...it's like riding a bike basically only standing up. The bottoms of my feet killed (like peddling would do), and my quads were worked like you wouldn't believe. Overall a GOOD workout for some cross training but not such a good substitute for a 12mi run. And staring at my parents' basement wall covered in Lord of the Rings posters and Presidential Exercise Awards "signed" by Bush himself, failed in the scenery department. All I had were the soothing sounds of Ira Glass to whisk me away.

3. The humidity broke this past Sunday and I didn't have time to squeeze two hours in, so I saved it for bright and early Monday morning before work. 5am, two hours and eight minutes, a SPECK shy of 12 miles. The weather was PERFECT. The two episodes of TAL eased the time. And I felt pretty good. Except for my feet...which brings me to:

4. Shoes. I've barely put 250miles on my current shoes. Maybe 300? But seriously not enough to require a new pair. But my feet KILL. I know your feet aren't going to feel the greatest after 12 miles, but honestly?? There's no way I'd be able to take much more and there are people out there who run like 50miles at a time! They just, I don't know, HURT. The bottoms. It's not blisters...it's just the whole foot. Like in the bones. Now as much as I never wanted to admit it, I don't think this current pair of shoes was ever for me. I've had problems from the getgo. Like the outside of my arch hurting. What causes that?! So yeah, I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a new pair. And REALLY get checked this time. The girl who sold me my first shoes (my former HS classmate) did a great job. Those ASIC Cumulus ruled. But these Kayanos I picked out myself because they were $40 off. Stupid. In addition to my feet killing me, I did something to that tendon that's right on the top of my ankle. Some kind of tibial something or other. It got all super puffed out and bulgy about 3 hours after my run. Ice and wrapping it did wonders though as now it's fine. I've never hurt that part of my foot in my year and a half though, so now I'm wondering if THAT'S a shoe issue as well!

5. EXCITED ABOUT RUNNING! Buying new shoes for over $100 MAKES you into running again! I also downloaded the iPhone iMapMyRun app because I don't own a Garmin and I heard that this app is actually surprisingly accurate. I bought a little pouch thing that snaps around my waste to carry my gels and my iPhone fits there just fine...so I'll test it out one of these days...use the app as well as map out/time my run manually. Cool weather is right around the corner. Just gotta get through August and the Indian Summer of September. Then I'm golden! Ready to take running by storm once again!

6. With that said, because this Chicago Half Marathon is a wash for getting anywhere close to a PR (just have NOT trained hard enough), I've got my eyes set on possibly running another Half on November 6...8 weeks from Chicago. It's like long enough to retool my training but short enough where I won't just slack off and lose interest (see: the past few months). I've also got three other races on the docket in October: an 8K, a 10K, and a 15K respectively, in that order. So that'll be good for training too.

7. The end!

Checkin in!

2010-07-09T05:11:00.000-07:00

Where we last left off was me rebooting. The reboot process involved me not blogging anymore. I'm not sure why, just wanted to try everything. Well everything worked and I've been running my little heart out for the past month and a half or so. I'm nine weeks out from the Chicago Half and while I put together a new schedule, I've been pretty willy nilly about it. For my "long runs" on the weekend I actually started at 9, went down to 8, went down to 6, jumped back up to like 10 but split in half. I'm all over the board. Not to make excuses or anything but it's sooooooooo hot. I'm seriously NOT digging training for a Half in the summer. Even with all the snow piles and ice patches and frozen lungs, there's something to be said for winter running. You feel hardcore about it. In summer you just feel gross. I don't feel hardcore after running 8 miles in the blazing sun and sweltering humidity. I just feel sweaty and over it. The funny thing is that I totally let running fall by the wayside during one of two most pleasant running seasons, Spring. Boo on me. And once Fall rolls around it'll be after Chicago and I'll probably be over running again. Haha!

Anyway, last night was my first race since Wrigley back in April: Storm the Bastille 5K. It's a fun run so very low key but verrrry crowded. It's one of the most popular "couch to 5K" Mke runs I can think of because it's right in the middle of the summer (after peeps have continued to get their run on from their New Years resolution), it isn't chipped so there are no results, and the party really begins after this race ends (anywhere from 9:12pm to 10ishpm depending on your speed or lack thereof) as it's part of a four-day downtown festival we have here. Running through the streets of Milwaukee at night is pretty swank. Anyway, I got 26:25 and was SUPER stoked about it. Made me feel back on track. What's funny is that I've been doing these two mile "run as fast as you possibly can" runs...not sure why but I guess it's something different? I barely crack 8:30min miles for just those two and I'm usually dying at the end. At the end of TWO miles. So I was very surprised that I was able to maintain this same pace for 3.1. Race atmosphere will do that I guess! I also knew that my arch-nem was running the same race. Talk about a carrot dangling in front of a rabbit. You don't want a negative force to drive you, but sometimes it just does. Call me Vader.

Meanwhile I've had some hip issues since that 10mi last weekend. I could barely walk a block to my car after I was done without tears flooding my eyes. So I took the week off (minus the race), and I may even take a break from my long run this weekend, we'll see. I've still got nine weeks and I don't need to push the envelop here. Next weekend I'm in Boston visiting my friend/old college roomie who is getting her Doctorate at HAHHHHHVAHD. I don't know. She's wicked smaht or something. So I'm looking VERY much forward to a looooong run through Cambridge. Hopefully I won't trip on all the ivy?

Reboot.

2010-05-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

This week I started over. What a difference. And I guess I don't hate running as much as I thought ;) I just hated what it was turning me into. But I did several atypical Katie things this week like run without my watch, run in the morning before work (wah?!), and just, well, run. Not think about it. Like yesterday, even though I was pretty dehydrated from some drinkie treats, I was like, whatever I'm going for a six mile run and I'm gonna like it! And I did. It was pretty fantastic.

Lesson learned. I gotta get back to the basics and thinking about it as this hobby of mine. Running becomes a way of life for lots of people and that rules. For me I guess I'd just like to enjoy it and not worry so much about the competition. At least for now.

PS Running when it's not gloomy, cold, and raining makes a HUGE difference in one's mood.

I want to quit running.

2010-05-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

You are looking at one sorry ass excuse for a runner.
"How the mighty have fallen" plays on repeat in my mind.
I hate it. I really do.

I thought this type of post would be an important part of a running blog. The conversation where you really don't like running anymore and wonder if you'll like it again. I would hope every runner goes through this battle, at least once in their career. Here's mine.

Sometime after the Half Marathon, I stopped loving to run. The multitude of factors squeezed into the last month include:

-the stomach flu knocking me on my ass and the mental game I had to play to run the Half anyway
-the aftermath of the above, including not being able to eat properly for at least three days following the Half
-no longer having a goal once April 10th came and went
-taking the week off and feeling laziness creep in
-two shitty runs after that week off
-a disappointing 5K
-a 2.5 week break due to my vacation and then more laziness
-all the other various stressors in life: getting a new job last week, wrapping things up at my current job, an awful stomach sickening family crisis...

Tuesday I went for my first run in two and a half weeks to get my mind off the family stuff, and it actually felt great! My body felt strong and I did 4 miles at a good pace. But today I had yet another shitty run. I *only ran 3 miles, but I was so tired and it felt like a struggle the whole way. My pace was identical to Tuesday's.

I know I can't base my entire opinion of the sport on one lousy run, but it's hard to keep shoving myself out there when I've been dealing with so much stress. Not just life stress, but running stress most of all. It's as if I'm suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the whole flu/Half ordeal. Is that even possible? The funny thing is that the Half wasn't even bad...it was quite lovely in fact. But maybe I was suppressing certain emotions under the surface, I don't know.

One bullet point I failed to mention above--and I dare say a key component to my dying love affair with running--goes as follows. I've mentioned this runner "friend" before, but in a nutshell: A girl my age, my size, started running this past Dec/Jan, can now run just as far (completed her first Half as well) but much MUCH faster. Now we're all different. We all have completely varying histories when it comes to personal records and paths we forge in our running careers. However, this is the type of runner who fully admits she'll "take it easy," but can still run sub eight minute miles, like it's a piece of cake. This is all after a mere four months of training. And not knock-down drag-out training either. Avg 15-20 miles a week. I'm completely absolutely CHALLENGED to run sub NINES. Even at my peak, when I was able to complete a 5K in 25:30, it was HARD. It wasn't easy breezy. I literally cannot wrap my mind around it.

Ok I digress. Like I said before, we're all different and some people are just naturals while others have to work very very hard to even get anywhere. That's life. Life's not fair. IN FACT. Somewhere, someone reading my OWN story could say the same thing about the two of us. Perhaps this runner works her ass off, has been running for three years, averages 30-40 miles a day, and I still beat her Half Marathon time. It's possible, and it's food for thought.

At the end of the day, what does the top of my blog say??
Altogether now!!!!
"It doesn't matter how many people have tried it before; it's important to realize that whatever you're doing - it's your first attempt at it."
Done.

In any case, with the stressors and disappointments and frustrations swirling around in my brain since the Half, I was destined to come to this point. I lead myself here and I'm the only one that can get myself out. For one, I'm FAR too deep inside my head. Running is like 80% mental. It's impossible for my physical body to break down THAT much in just two weeks, and actually my pace has been right on target to what I usually do. It's the mental part that has broken down. My mind is playing tricks on me, I'm doubting my abilities, and I'm far too focused on other people. Therefore that 80% of running is currently a complete failure.

No wonder I hate running.

So it's time to change. It will be a complete overhaul of the way I go about running and I'm going to need some help from somewhere. Some kind of inspiration and a different desire/motivation than what I've used in the past. Competition with myself is healthy to an extent. Competition with others, good in moderation. But neither can represent the Be All End All. I have to find a better reason to run: a reason I believe in and a reason that is healthy for my mind.

The first step in my overhaul will be to quit DailyMile. I started an account there a month or so into my Half training, and was actually pretty wary about it. I already keep my mileage logged on MapMyRun, and DailyMile is like the Facebook of running. In one way it can encourage you to keep up with your fellow runners. But keeping up out of spite rather than to simply push yourself? Ugh no thanks. When this turns into a sickness like it did for me, that's just not a great road to wander down. CLEARLY thousands of "normal" people can endure the social pressures just fine! (Do I have enough friends? Did so-and-so beat my 5K? Did I get enough comments on my last workout?) Clearly I cannot. I think I work better when I triumph alone. This is NO cut on the handful of people who read/comment on this blog, however. It's more personal here for some reason. Probably because of the people who actually take the time to read my 5000 word essays in which I basically just whine and rant! They must care! ;)

To conclude this whiny 5000 word essay, my only hope is that there's someone else out there just like me, going through some kind of slump...who may stumble upon this giant nugget of poop and feel not so alone in their own swirling pool.

For now, I guess I'll keep running...

Race to Wrigley 5K

2010-04-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm sooooo not going to be able to do Race to Wrigley justice. But there's no way I'll be able to blog about it on my roadie, so I'll do a quick recap before heading to dreamland.

I stayed with my bestest friends ever Monica and Tim down in Hoffman Estates, IL so I didn't have to get up at 4am to drive from Milwaukee to Chicago this morning ;) They treated me like a QUEEN for the short 18ish hrs I was in town. We had mostacciolo, spinach feta almond salad, and garlic bread for dinner MMM! And then I tried going to bed early but we got distracted by Facebook Cat Nipple Hilarity WHOOPS! Got to bed between 11 and midnight and awoke to the sound of a 5:30am alarm yippie!!

After picking up some Starbucks, and poppin' in some Luda, Monica drove us to Wrigleyville and we found FREE parking right by the race yippie again!!! We hung out in the car for awhile because it was pretty chilly but NOT raining HOORAY! We took some photos [insert here] and Monica gave me a hug, wished me luck, and sent me on my way.

As a diehard Cubbies fan, I was SUPER excited about running in Wrigleyville! I was totally amped for the start! Now with 8,300+ people (a record!!) at this race, I'm gonna tell you it was pretty congested and congested the entire time. But I won't try and use that as an excuse for my shitty results. Oh wait I think I just did. No but seriously, it really does take a lot of EXTRA work when you're dodging and sprinting around people and cones. I think that's what wore me out so quickly. I just could NOT go faster no matter how hard I tried and my lungs burned?? I've felt this way during my other two runs this week too. Like I couldn't get enough air in my lungs and it hurt breathing.

I reeeeeally wanted to get under 27, and when I looked down at my watch at 26:30 with a little over block left to go, I knew, even if I sprinted, it wasn't going to happen. But that's ok because I ran inside the concourse of Wrigley Field and THAT is flipping awesome!

Monica yelled "GO KATIE!!!" really loud as I sprinted in. Meanwhile I "raced" this chick in a green shirt next to me and "won" haha ;) And then she said: "I ran behind you the whole race...thank you so much for pushing me!" WOW! I need to dwell more on cool stuff like that instead of being so self absorbed SHEESH KATIE!!!!

I grabbed my Gato and naner, found Monicat, and chatted about the race for a bit. We tooled around this make-shift Cubs Shop next to all the race stuff, and OMG she bought me a Cubbies shirt as a "congrats"?!?!?!? BESTEST FRIEND OF ALL TIME!! I was like, "no no, what do you mean?!" And she said she was inspired by me and really proud! AGAIN...less self absorption Katie, honestly!

So that rocked...we headed back to the car and had an awesome time chatting on the 30+ minute ride back to H.E. Seriously, of all the parts of the day, my favorite was the ride to and from the race in the Ion with Monica :) So cozy!!! Then I, Monica, Tim, and their nearly one year old daughter Addison Grace (as in Wrigley Field streets Addison and Grace haha!!) piled into the car and headed to Panera for post-race yumminess. They treated me too! AWWW!

So yeah, while I'm going to stop focusing so much on negativity (especially considering how awesome it felt to have such a great friend in my corner), I DO want to turn this into a fuel burning inspiration to get back into my good running days. My 5K PR is 25:30 which is crazy for someone like me. I want to get back there. I just need to add the interval type training back into my routine (which is exactly what got me that PR last year). But I need to stop talking about it and start DOING it.

But in May. Haha! Tomorrow at 7am I will officially embark on my road trip to San Bernardino and back! All car. No legs. Haha! May will hopefully be a rockin' runnin' month. Especially considering the fact that I ran six times in April SIX!!!! And two of them were races!!! What the heck?

Speaking of 7am it's currently 11pm...TO BED I SAID!

See you in May :)

Controversy

2010-04-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

No, not the controversy regarding the fact that I FINALLY ran yesterday...the first run since the Half...ouch :) I'm talking about the controversy surrounding listening to music during races, or even running in general. Yesterday, while researching the volunteer opportunities for Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon this October, I stumbled upon the story of one of the runners from last year getting DQ'd for wearing headphones during a couple miles of the marathon (against the rules if you're an elite runner racing for the cash).

I then stumbled upon See Dane Run's blog where he discusses his personal distaste for running with music. What struck me, however, was that he used to like to listen to music on runs...that he "understands the allure." This got me thinking about the gray area inside the two opposing groups, To iPod or Not To iPod?

I've mentioned my running music story before over at Mag's blog, but to recap: because my old iPod pussed out on me, and because of running in the city at night, I stopped listening to music on my runs. And after the first couple times, I didn't even notice anymore. And I wasn't any faster or slower without the music either.

I do love music, however. At work, I'm usually headphones-on, and I'm that girl you hate who rolls her eyes when she has to take them off ;) I exchange new music with my indie-loving coworkers, but I love everything from Pink Floyd to the Dorsey Brothers, from Fleet Foxes to the Presets, from Simon & Garfunkel to Jay Z. Thus, I wondered if I'm supposed to be equally obsessed with listening to music while I run. As you know, I got my new iPod, loaded it up, and even made a specific playlist for my Half. This race, however, was actually an interesting test and confirmed a few things I was starting to realize about running and music:

1. It can be distracting, but in a bad way, oddly enough. While I loved the music when I first started, and I loved singing along to parts of songs that totally amp me up (looking at you Lady Gaga), which DID give me a burst of energy, I have to admit that for the last 3-4 miles of the Half, the music started to annoy me. Like parts of songs I wasn't as into made me more frustrated than usual, if that makes any sense. And when that happened, I kinda lost focus on the race itself.

2. MOST of my small handful of races have been iPod free. And I do remember how I liked hearing the variety of breath patterns and pattering of running shoes and along the pavement. It felt like a race rather than a training run. Don't get me wrong, the Half felt like a race. But I was definitely in a little cocoon-like iPod "pod"...aware of my surroundings, but focused more inward to the music, as opposed to outward at the race.

3. While I made sure I thanked/waved/smiled/thumbs up'd almost all the volunteers at the Half, I didn't necessarily hear their cheers with my music on. Normally the races I run aren't that packed with spectators, but if there are spectators, I'd hate to look like I was ignoring their praise with my earbuds planted firmly in place. They took time out of their morning to cheer us on, the least we can do is be grateful and give them a nod of appreciation, right?

4. Maybe I am loosing out on an opportunity to be quiet and one with my thoughts when I listen to music. I certainly remember appreciating sights and sounds when I'd run without it. In fact, I'd often try to look for funny observances that I'd relay back on this blog when I'd run sans iPod.

With all this said, however, I will admit a gray area. There are runs you just don't feel like doing and music definitely helps give a much-needed boost. I also admit that podcasts are a cool way to learn while running. As I've mentioned previously, This American Life has opened my eyes to a lot about our world, which is never a bad thing! Especially when you've got two hours of running ahead of you. Music can be a distraction from pain and I did use it to escape from the havoc inside my body during the 14 mile training run.

At the end of the day, I guess you just have to go with how you're feeling. While I think it's important to experience a musicless run from time to time, especially if you're a. running in nature (to experience those unique sounds), b. running in the city (to be safe), and c. running in a race (to appreciate the runners and spectators around you). I also think music can help during training, especially if you have to run the same route over and over and need SOMETHING to liven the experience.

I encourage you to read the comments at Dane's blog to see what a lot of other non-music runners have to say on the topic. It definitely made me think about leaving the iPod at home more often...especially for races!

FAT AND LAZY!!!

2010-04-14T12:28:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhhhhhh vacation :)

I'm not running, or doing any workouts until Saturday. So that's a whole week, exercise free! I really got burnt out back there...not physically, but mentally. If I hadn't dealt with the flu thing, I'm sure I'd feel different. But with all the anxiety surrounding everything, I was like I. NEED. A. BREAK. And here I am :)

Not only am I not working out this week, but I've been eating like a banshee!! After being sickened by food for 4-5 days, when I got my appetite back, I got it with a vengeance! So far this week I've had super fatty pizza, Girl Scout cookies galore, Ben & Jerry's (ok it was Half Baked Fro-Yo, so not actually TOO awful), mini Reese's eggs, and a burger/pasta salad/taco dip/loads of banana cream pie during today's work luncheon. Tomorrow I'm heading down to a rooftop game at Wrigley for work and I can't even imagine what greasy treats await me there!! Plus cookout food and fatty Italian restaurant yumminess this weekend!!! mmmmmmmmmmmmMMMM!!!!

It's fun to not care for a little bit. I promise to get back on track next week :)

The funny thing is, I'm taking another vacation in a week and a half. As this vacation is a road trip along Route 66, this will take place predominantly in the south/southwest...home of lip smackin' ribs, juicy steaks, greasy diners, and scrumptious Mexican delights! And I highly doubt I'll be in the mood to run around in the Mohave Desert when I've been cooped up in a car for 6-12 hours at a time! I'll swim in the motel pools, yeah that'll be my exercise ;)

Anyway, the month of April is going to be a bit of a wash, but I've got a race on the 24th and another one mid-May, so slacking isn't really an option. Feeling like a massive lump on a log will be fuel to the fire when I come back from vacation! Sometimes I think we all need a little R&R. Not the kind where we let things fall by the wayside because those are a little depressing and only make us feel worse. But the kind of R&R you actually decide to take...and has a relatively scheduled beginning and end :)

Alright, that's all I got today! Oh I signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon on Sept 12th so I can be cool and actually have a fun medal and tshirt!!! ANYONE who reads this who wants to run it, LET ME KNOW!!! We'll meet up and get this thing DONE!

South Shore Half Marathon

2010-04-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

To begin: You wanna know what my goal for this year was? To run a 15K (9.3mi) in the fall. And that was a pretty lofty goal in my mind. I mean I was going to work all summer on it. But then competition reared its not-so-ugly head and I was suddenly smack dab in the middle of some good ol' fashioned half marathon trainin'.

I think I experienced every positive emotion there is to experience yesterday. Confidence: As I crawled out of bed at 6am feeling so sketchy, but officially making the call to race. Calm: When I sat cross-legged on the grass centering myself in the sun. Excitement: As everyone gathered on the lake path while the seconds were counting down to 8:30.

Sheer Giddy-ness: When I took my first few long strides and Junior Boys' "FM" poured through my headphones. Awe: As I came up to the halfway marker and the clock said 1:05. Pride - In Others: When I watched walkers struggling, but digging deep to strike up a jog again. Blessed: For the gorgeousness of the day and the route...the crystal blue lake, and the golden light streaming through the treetops. RELIEF: When the finish line came into view! Pure Unadulterated GLEE: Seeing my family. Seeing the clock. Putting up the horns. Sprinting to beat Two Hours and Fifteen Minutes.

THANKFULNESS: To have finished.

Now for the nitty gritty...
So I went back to work following the Day Of Sick, felt strong at the beginning, but steadily lost steam as the day wore me down. Anything I ate (namely tomato soup and Saltines) sat in my stomach like a brick of nausea. All I wanted to do at 5:00 was go home and take nap. Instead? My car took a nap in the form of a dead car battery WEE! And after roadside assistance dude charged it up and I got my battery replaced at Firestone in the burbs, I finally got home at 8:30 bleh. Just enough time to whip up some tasteless, saltless, butterless noodles and a pouch of tuna. Seriously was the grossest meal ever and not the "carb load" yummy meal I had envisioned weeks ago. But it was quick, easy, and mild. Still sat in my stomach until the next morning :( At least I had Twister. Chris bought me Twister at Target for $5 because he knew it was my favorite cozy calming movie :) Perfection!

Ok fast forward to the race. All the lovey dovey wonderfulness aside, it definitely wasn't an easy feat. The first half was good, great really. I was running almost exactly 10 minute miles which didn't feel too fast or too slow. It felt refreshing. All I could handle for breakfast was one waffle--and with the total of like 600 calories from the day before, plus zero calories from Sick Day, the gel I had around mile 4 was MUCH needed. After mile 7, I felt the wall approaching and approaching quickly. Nausea came on and the last thing I wanted was a gel, but I knew I had to take it. Luckily it didn't make me feel sick (yay Hammer!!) and helped tremendously for the remainder of the race. What helped most of all? WATER! I carried my Fuel Belt bottle and refilled it at every water stop...mmm glorious water! Especially in the hot sun!

Everything after mile 10 was kind of a blur; at that point, I had to switch into mind mode because my body was pretty pissed at me. Oddly enough the parts of my body that hurt were NONE of the parts that hurt during my training (i.e. knees, hips, CALF MUSCLE). The two things that hurt the most were the sides of my two big toes (from blisters that had formed) and my ass??? Like the muscles inside? So bizarre and something I had never felt before! I will say that I really...really........REALLY wanted to walk. I wanted to walk SO badly. Especially when I saw other walkers. Ahhh yeah that looks so refreshing! There was this one older guy who would run, then walk, so I'd pass him. Then he'd start running again and pass me. And repeat. This happened maybe eight times and it kinda drove me nuts because it was like passing the same landmark over and over! Like I was running in a loop! In any case...I didn't walk. I just couldn't do it. (Mostly because I knew it'd be too hard to start up again!)

The last 1.1 was redonkulous. Very much "one foot in front of the other" without anything else entering my mind. I saw the finish line down the path hill, "hit restart," took a photo of myself with my phone (took it along in case I passed out somewhere along the route!), hunkered down, and focused on the glorious bright orange cones ahead of me.

As I neared the end, I scanned the crowd for my family. I finally saw their [probably shocked?? ha!] faces, threw up the horns, and sprinted to the finish. My official race result time was 2:15:07, but I sprinted for a reason and that was to BEAT the impending 2:15 on the clock haha! My watch said 2:14:58 ;) But 2:14, 2:15, either way that is friggin redic. How this happened I'll never know.

Anyway, as I've mentioned this race was very bare bones. No medals like most people get who run Halfs (and Fulls obvi). Not even a cheap cotton tshirt. I paid $10 and got my bid number. But for some reason, I really liked it this way. The volunteers were super sweet, always ready with water cups, and cheered for everyone. The light smattering of spectators also cheered for everyone, not just their family/friends. It was a small and humble race. But this felt just right as this race--and more specifically this week--was honestly one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had. I was knocked down right at the very end of my training, and it made me realize how I don't have complete control over everything. All I have is, well, what I have. In this case it was three months of training and my glutton for punishment attitude. Oh and, above all else, a HELLA lotta freaking awesome people in my corner. Everyone that wished me better, wished me good luck, told me I'd kick ass, and sent FB msgs and txts, (i.e. the best fam and friends a girl could ask for, Chris, Tamra, CLAIRE WHO KILLED HER HALF YESTERDAY AND SHE RULES, etc etc etc)...well, I couldn't let them down now could I? ;)

In conclusion? I feel like CRRRRAP today. I was sick to my stomach virtually the entire day following the race, so I couldn't eat anything. I managed a large pretzel and a Bloody Mary :) but that's it. Normally I'd dive face first into a pile of greasy lip smackin' wings, but the thought of any foods made me want to vom. So I pretty much didn't scoop up my lost calories. OH WAIT I had some gulps of honey while sitting in a tubful of icy water when I got home? Today my muscles are so sore I can barely walk, and I still can't eat without getting sick at the thought of food. But how did I really expect to feel right? ;)

Let's wind down this epic post with some photos of how hilariously crappy I look, shall we????

Am I crying? Am I going to toss my cooks? WHO KNOWS?!

Such concentration on the pain!

Aww FAM!!!! I look weird because I'm trying not to offend my boyfriend with my stench.

The guy who started it all, my runner step-dad. And it was his 49th birthday no less!!!

Ok THAT is all I got (REALLY Katie? Are you sure that's ALL you got?) Pshhh. Until, wait for it.....NEXT TIME :)

bib number: 2319
age: 30
overall place: 657 out of 836
division place: 38 out of 64
gender place: 236 out of 360
time: 2:15:07 (but in MY mind 2:14:58 HA)
pace: 10:19
~link to my stats

Pre-Half Marathon Part Two

2010-04-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

The stomach flu.

I didn't really see this one coming.

Now while I've received more than my fair share of the stomach flu in my day (I typically get it once a year for some stupid reason), what are the odds I'd get it this week of all weeks?! Well I guess 1/52 which are pretty good odds. But still!! When I was awoken by a very angry belly at around 3:30-4am yesterday, I thought to myself: you have GOT to be kidding me. I tried to pass it off as anxiety and told myself to just calm down. But I recognized the feeling there in the pit of my stomach, and I knew there was no stopping this beast. From that point on, I was up every half hour on the half hour relieving myself via any orifice that beckoned. At some point, leaning over the porcelain throne in agony, I had to laugh. To think how freaked out I was over a little calf twinge, here I am expelling all my calories and fluids just in time to run for two and a half hours or so, when I need these things the most.

Today is Major Recovery Day. I'm drinking Gatorade and water, and trying to eat food. I just don't feel like eating. The thought of food disgusts me. But I just have to force it down. As for tomorrow. It truly is a waiting game. Yesterday I lied on the couch all day in a pool of sweat and every bone in my body ached in sharp throbbing pain. When I woke up this morning I already felt worlds better. Perhaps I'll feel even better tomorrow morning. I won't know until I wake up and get to the starting line.

As anyone who knows me knows: I am a glutton for punishment. I'll put my body and psyche through the ringer if I feel like I'll learn something from it. This will be one of the bigger physical tests that I'll ever have to endure (aside from maybe childbirth and a full marathon, if either of those are actually in my future). But we'll see. While it goes against every fiber of my being, I can always just "go slow"...and just really try to finish. Like I said. We'll see.

In any case, well I worked on the following earlier this week, still under full impression I was going to run this race. I got the idea from a fellow run-blog buddy, Maggie, who ran her first Half back in February. When I read her post, I fell in love with the idea, and had to be a big fat copy cat :) So I may or may not run or finish this race tomorrow, but the thing is, like 99% of a Half Marathon is the training that goes into it. And for the last 12 weeks, that's all I have lived, ate, and breathed...Half Marathon training. The race is the final show, yes. It's the Big Performance to show off what I've done these past 12 weeks. But not making it to the final show doesn't slight the training by any means. So whether or not I run or finish the race tomorrow, I would still like to dedicate each of the 13.1 miles to all the things and people that made TRAINING for this Half possible.

Mile 1: Mapmyrun.com + Purple Watch - for an easy way to keep track of my routes, mileage, and average minute miles that I hold so dear! Hey, it's a cheap way to be a distance runner without a Garmin :)
Mile 2: Google - for all my information cravings...from organizing this whole Half training operation from the get-go, to researching water bottles and compression shorts, to finding ways to strengthen and cross-train, to figuring out how I should be eating (also see #8!)
Mile 3: My sister - for taking up running again and being a full-circle inspiration, as while she took a hiatus, her first 5K was what inspired me to run in the first place! (She also left work early yesterday to bring me Feel Better Flowers, the sweetheart!!)
Mile 4: My mom - for talking me off the ledge this week (back when it was only my stupid calf that was freaking me out). And in case I can't run, she came up with this SUPER sweet idea of putting on a "personal" Half race where she would give me water at different stops, and even have beer waiting for me at the finish line. WOW!!! Best mom ever.
Mile 5: My step-dad - for his always helpful advice and encouragement and for getting back out there after many, many weeks of injuries!!! He ran a marathon awhile back and had a horrible experience with cramping and such. So he knows my thought process right now...the disappointment I'm dealing with.
Mile 6: Chris, my wonderful boyfriend - txting me "I hope your run went well today" while I was out there and he was at work, giving me massages, listening to my rants and reassuring me it'll all work out, and above all else, saying he's really looking forward to this race. For some reason that really hit me...that he's very proud of his little Gazelle :)
Mile 7: Tamra - for always taking an interest in how my training was going, asking me about my long weekend runs, and "stroking my wiener" on FB ;) I love how hardcore she is about running, but also how humble she is.
Mile 8: My sister's boyfriend Nate - for opening my eyes to the kinds of foods I should be eating and WHEN I should eat them. I already see a huge difference!
Mile 9: must-run.blogspot.com - I don't know where'd I'd be without a venue for my running rants and epic thought processes!! I do tend to ramble, but it helps me organize my mental state. Running can make a gal crazy, and it's nice to regurgitate the crazy back out into cyberspace!
Mile 10: My blogging buddies!! - It's also nice to know there are a few people out there, people I don't even know personally, who actually identify with me. I'm SURE my non-running friends can get a little sick of Running This and Running That, so it's nice to have these running pals to correspond with...namely Maggie, one of a few people who inspired me to run this Half Marathon :) and CLAIRE who is running HER Half tomorrow too!!! GAH GOOD LUCK LADY!!!! Also anyone else who stumbled upon this stupid blog and leaves their two cents!
Mile 11: My non-running friends :) - For LISTENING to all the Running This and Running That, when it's probably really boring haha!! But if I've inspired any non-runners or on-hiatus-runners to get in the game, then that's just plain awesome!!!
Mile 12: Orange Bomb - A late entry as I didn't use him until Week 8! But helpful nonetheless, especially when I was dying on my 14 miler. I'm sure he'll come in very handy during the race :) (Especially when my body really wants to shut down)
Mile 13: Everything else that's going with me on this race - From my Asics and my bad knees, to my pigtails and my stupid calf muscle. From my shorts that ride up and my favorite sports bra, to my Hammer Espresso Gels and Fuel Belt bottle. From my flu-ridden body and the fears in my brain to the power of mind-over-matter and the smile on my face, we'll all be there front and center, ready to attack this thing.
Mile .1: Myself - Yep I get the little ol' tenth of a mile I am dedicating to little ol' me, but honestly, that's the hardest and best part of the Half. As I always say, I love sprinting to a finish line, whether it be real or imaginary, and this race will be no exception. IF I GET THERE......That tenth of a mile will be absolutely be my happiest and most deserving moment. And this big old baby will undoubtedly shed a few tears when the Twelve Week Journey comes to an end*.

*Whether that "end" is actually crossing the finish line or only making it 3 miles into the race, I know deep down in my heart that I tried and gave this thing my all. Life is far from perfect and putting all of one's eggs in a single basket--aka Race Day--puts a lot of pressure on a person to try and MAKE that basket perfect. Odds are it ain't gonna happen. All I can do is stay positive and hope for the best.

...Until tomorrow...

Pre- Half Marathon - Part One Point Five

2010-04-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

This blog is about my goals and my fears right? My ups and downs? Well for the past few days, I can't help but get this psychic flash to me on Saturday afternoon typing "Running FAIL" into my FB status :'( I am completely freaking over here, and for really no reason at all. I'm basically being a big fat baby about the whole thing.

It started with my feeling "off"...that "funk" I was talking about in the last post. For the past few days, I've felt this yuck coursing through my veins. Now not to get all TMI, but this was the week of the the Big P. Not necessarily the best thing to happen the week before a big race. Anyway, as my sweet, sweet boyfriend pointed out to me last night, my body's been expelling some pretty crucial stuff, iron being the main component. Even a minor iron deficiency would explain my fatigue (sleeping in till 10:30 and still feeling out of it??), as well as my mood swings and blahness. I bet I was already on the road to deficiency (I sound like such a delinquent!) Maybe I really wasn't getting enough iron? My protein comes from chicken, fish, nuts, and beans, which are good sources, but not like red meat, or apparently oysters would be. And I sure as heck didn't eat enough spinach and vitamin C to help with iron absorption. Being a longer distance runner now, the extra muscle gain and pounding the pavement (breaking blood vessles), is probably causing me to lose more iron than I was before my mileage started adding up. Add insult to injury with the Big P, and Katie, you've got yourself a Big P-Roblem.

Anyway, there's nothing I can do about that now, and being at the end of my Bye Week, I'm already recharging my "supplies" so to speak (I know I know GROSSSS). But this is definitely a lesson learned.

What do I do in the meantime? Well I don't run apparently. See, Problem B is this calf thing I've got going on. There's this "knot" type feeling in the space between my ankle and calf, on the side. I mean it feels just like when you have a knot in your back. I've iced it and rubbed it gently (gave it some wine and took it to bed?), but nothing really helps. Last night I was supposed to run an "easy" four miles. Within the first 50ft, I decided the run was DOA, circled the block, and called it a day...very depressed. I thought about running tomorrow, but maybe I should just not. A wise woman tells me that there's no way my fitness can suffer in a week's time. What's done is done and the most I can do now is make any potential injury worse.

Like I said in the last post, I need to stop with the anxiety, and start up the positive vibes. I should focus on the fact that perhaps this minor injury is a blessing in disguise and my running will be even better than I could've possibly imagined on Saturday. The race is still two and a half days away and maybe this calf thing will be on its way out by 8am on Saturday.

The thing I forget is that while I've suddenly become this distance runner and I'm able to run 14 miles, I am FAR from experienced having only a year of running at my back. I don't have much experience with injuries or races or training. I can always run another Half Marathon. This isn't the be-all, end-all just because it's my first. (I'm going to refrain from comparing this to losing one's virginity...oh wait I just did.)

Remember the "as long as I finish" goal? It's so easy to lose track of the whole point of this journey. If I worry too much, I'll completely ruin any fun I could have on race day. A few weeks ago, I imagined the Half with SUCH excitement! I could picture little running Katie, striding along the lakefront path with a huge smile on her face. Somewhere in the last week I lost that cool girl. I gotta go find her again.

Pre-Half Marathon - Part One

2010-04-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Man I better get out of this funk I'm in :\ I don't know what my problem is today, but I'm all meh-ish and blah. And it's beautiful outside too! I'll work out when I get home, maybe that'll put a skip back into my step.

In any case, it's like five--well pretty much FOUR days until the Half, and I'm nervous. I'm freaking myself out I think. There's nothing at all to be nervous about. It's "just running" haha! I've put in all the work. Nothing has gone horribly wrong. My knees feel decent, no worse than they ever do. It looks like it's going to be in the 50s and sunny. I really couldn't ask for a better set-up! I just need the morning to get here already, that's all. Just have to get through these next few days...

So on that note, here is my Week-Of Half Marathon Plan:

• Lots of water. I have a work tailgating party on Thursday where there will be beer-a-plenty, and of course I'm going to indulge, I'm too weak not too ;) But I will focus on a max of one. And in the meantime, water up any chance I get.

• Lots of sleep. I wasn't feelin' so hot this morning, so I took a half of a sick day and slept till 10. I know right? I swear, something is up with my body right now and I don't like it. I was talking to this marathoner/biker neighbor of mine the other day and he said "Make sure you get good sleep TWO nights before the race because you'll be all jacked up the night before and probably won't get good sleep no matter how hard you try." Good point. I read that sleep as a "lag time" of like 36 hours anyway, so it's much more important to get good sleep this whole week than the night before.

• Lots of carbs. Complex carbs/protein a tad more than usual all week. But keep fat and sugar at an even lower level than usual!! This is something I've already f'ed up today because I'm going sugar CRAZY having given it up the past six weeks. I've read some contradictory stuff about over-loading on carbs the night before. I think if I maintain a slightly elevated level all week, and just eat a healthy portion the night before, I'll be good to go. And NO salad...my belly doesn't like roughage before running. ;)

• Morning Plan: Breakfast will be an egg and toast and water right when I get up. I've got two precious Espresso Hammer Gels left for the occasion, so since they have caffeine in them, I'm trying to figure out if I should have just a little coffee when I wake up. I'm a MUST-HAVE-two-mugs-per-morning kinda gal, but hopefully like 8oz of coffee plus the gels PLUS the adrenaline will keep me jazzed up. In addition to the gels, I'll be bringing my Fuel Belt water bottle because my gummy mouth doesn't wait for water stations.

• IPOD! There were many combos of things I could do here. I'm backed up on This American Life podcasts, so I thought about Hour One devoted to TAL, and the remaining race devoted to music. But I've been on a music kick lately, so I found 2.4 hours of stuff to fill the entire race. This includes Girl Talk, of course, along with Lady Gaga and Pet Shop Boys, my more recent running music buddies. Added The Presets, Junior Boys, Scissor Sisters, and Cut Copy as well. Also making the list "Party in the USA." Random right? Awhile back, when the song first came out, I thought about it being a perfect running song and said to myself: "This will be the first song I'll add to my new iPod once I buy one." And so it was written, and so it shall be done.

Ok! Well it helps a little to visual this plan. I've run half the course on my regular runs, so I know the area. I just need to focus on the positives of the experience. You can't worry about something that may happen until it happens!

Part Two to follow on Friday.......

Half Training - Week Eleven

2010-04-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ahh Week 11! And Week 12 is barely a training week with, what, my four mile on Tuesday and two baby miles on Thursday? I dare say this is the home stretch my friends! Anyway, today I ran a lousy 6 miles in the rain. Everyone on FB had these really great rainy runs or races and mine just blew chunks. My new Brooks visor helped a ton though...I really needed something to shield my eyes from the rain...I absolutely hate that feeling. Meanwhile though, my knees hurt and I just felt like lead. Oh well, hopefully this just means NEXT weekend will kick ass. This week I had two quality five mile runs at 8:48 min. mi. and 8:49 min mi. averages respectively! That's a full 20 seconds better than I've been running lately! Who do I have to thank? Claire and my ankle weights, that's who! ;) I also thank these nutrition changes I've made. Running days, I always eat two breakfasts, one at like 7: an egg/whole grain bread half sandwich thing, and one a couple hours before my run: quick oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and honey. Then I run around 12:30 and I eat or drink some kind of high sugar thing right after, like chocolate milk or almonds and golden raisins. Less than an hour after that I eat some sort of high complex carb/protein lunch like quinoa with stuff in it or a peanut butter sandwich or whatever. So I definitely have a system going for sure!

But let's be honest here, I WANT BAD FOODS!! Especially sugary cakey yumminess that I haven't had for six weeks!!!!! Mmmmmmm I had a slice of orange cake frozen from my grandpa's birthday two weeks ago that's de-thawing in the fridge as we speak. I will devour it upon arriving home around 11pm tonight after the Easter Vigil! Then I will proceed to eat the following in no particular order: a Cadbury Cream Egg, a Peanut Butter Egg, a cupcake, Girl Scout cookies that have been in my desk drawer for a month, ICE CREAM...or no no CUSTARD, Oreos, a donut, and some other stuff I can't remember right now. Am I preggers? Jeez!

And on that note, Happy Easter!!! Ok so this next week I'll probably write up a fun Pre-Half Marathon post. I can't believe it's a week away WHAT THE EGG?!?!?!?

Half Training - Week Ten

2010-03-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

This week was a light one for sure. Work was insane and I just didn't have the time (didn't WANT to have the time?) to squeeze in a 5mi run at the end of the week. However, I did do yoga on Monday (day after the horrendous 14), then did a 5mi on Tuesday along with leg weights. Then an hour long work out (dance, kickboxing, leg weights) on Wednesday. Thursday and yesterday were "off days" but hardly felt like it because I barely sat down the entirety of both days on this photo shoot for work. A lot of people are on their feet for their full time jobs, but not this desk chair flat ass cubicle worker bee! It was quite the workout ;)

Anyway, I'm actually really glad I was "forced" to take a light week. I think after the 14, my body really needed the breather, both physically and mentally. A lot of people training for Halfs will log in like 30-40mi weeks, while I've been averaging barely 20. But I remind myself that this is the first time in my [one year] running career that I've trained this hard, I'm not exactly used to it! So I've pushed pretty hard considering, especially the distance mileage jumps of 10 to 12 to 14 in two week's time! Anyway, this is a long winded way of convincing myself that it was GOOD to take it easy this week.

Another thing that proves this to be true is my KICK FREAKING ASS RUN TODAY!!! I tapered down to 8 miles (much less than the suggested "30% reduction" but whatever). I felt just fabulous during the entire run. I was able to keep up a great pace (averaged 9:30) and NOTHING HURT!!!!!! This is unprecedented. The last time I did an 8mi run was five weeks ago and I did it in 1:30 (~11 min mi pace) and a lot of body parts hurt...my hips, knees, groin, and feet bottoms most especially. But this 8mi was WORLDS different. My feet didn't feel a thing, my right knee was a little twingey but nothing to write home about. My hips were fine. It was a miracle! Thus, the reduction in miles this week really helped heal my ailing legs I think!

Two more things that helped?
1. My new leg lifts routine with my ankle weights. I can already totally feel the difference. During today's run my legs felt strong! They felt like runner legs!! Nothing like last weekend when they felt like they were shattering inside my skin with every step. Like grandma legs! (Thanks C for urging me to get going on this!!!)
2. My diet. I went to the store early this week and just loaded up on healthy foods: quick oats, bananas, tuna, almonds/sunflower and pumpkin seeds, chicken breasts, brown whole grain rice, quinoa, broccoli, apples, Boca burgers, the list goes on. And I signed up for a My Plate account at Livestrong.com, so I could really pay attention to what I was eating and more importantly WHEN. I could go on and on and on about the diet portion of my new outlook, but that will be another novel of a blog post altogether. The point is, I think it will all very much help me in these last two weeks before the race!

Ok that's all I got! I hope everyone's weekend runs went/go well!!

Half Training - Week Nine

2010-03-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'm officially over yet another hump...the distance. Yesterday was my 14 mile run, and the furthest I'll go in my training. And possibly the furthest I'll go for quite awhile. It's going to be my White Whale. For this was a distance that SERIOUSLY pushed me to my pain threshold.

Let me start off with the fact that while last Tuesday's 5 mile was amazing and quick, my second 5 mile on Friday was horrible. My legs just wouldn't go! They were stiff and I never hit a comfortable stride. It put me in the worst mood for the rest of the day, let me tell you. So I did the 14 yesterday, hoping that Friday was just a fluke. Nope. I could tell right away that it was going to be more of the same: that stiffness that prevents a nice comfy stride. I do have to admit that I decided on a quicker pace than usual. Probably too quick. But I have a running acquaintance who just started, is training for a Half, and totally leaves me in the dust. This person is about my same size, age, etc. Jealousy is ugly my friends, it really is. It gets the best out of me sometimes. That's why I chose the quote that's at the top of this blog. Something to remind me that this is my own journey, no one else's. But meanwhile, jealousy also pushes me to be better. So I pushed this weekend and I pushed hard.

So basically, it wasn't that I was tired during my run, or that I was out of breath, or that I had cramps. It was solely my legs. They ached all over. It didn't feel like a pull or an injury of any kind. Just an all-over pain from the thigh all the way down to the bottoms of my feet. And they felt this way the entire time. So basically I was putting myself through pretty awful pain for a solid 2 and a half hours. I stopped maybe 3-4 times for intersections, stretched, but never walked.

Now, I'm trying REALLY hard not to be a wimp here, honestly. Because DUH running is freaking hard! This I know. Just for some reason yesterday was particularly rough. There were times where I wanted to cry a little, but I tried to pay more attention to This American Life and Girl Talk, my aforementioned saviors on these long runs. There were also times when I felt pure unadulterated glee! Granted these lasted about 30 seconds and maybe there were a total of 3-4 glee segments. Two minutes of glee gets lost in the 2.5hrs of pain.

The last three miles were probably the hardest I've ever pushed my body. I kept thinking: how will I make it??? And then I'd tell myself: Omg you have THREE miles left, just get through it it'll be fine! I also put this "I Am A Warrior" mantra into effect, and that helped a lot. But I could tell, I was running so awkwardly. Not exactly like limping, but picture sort of a waddle? Like a granny running? Or running after riding a horse for five hours? That's what I felt like (probably looked normal though). Around the 11.5 mile, I had to stop to wait for a traffic light. I stretched a little and drank water (hooray for my hand-held Fuel Belt bottle!!!!). But when I started back up??? NIGHTMARISH. It felt like running on broken legs! Guh. The other thing is that I kept thinking: aren't my endorphins supposed to kick in? Whatever those are called? Where's the "runner's high" from being in so much pain that my body just goes on auto-pilot? I think I was born without the capacity for a runner's high. Which kinda sucks because that's half the fun of BEING a long distance runner in the first place!

Anyway, so the final block, I sprinted. I always sprint. Even when there's nothing left. And when I crossed the imaginary line, I cried. Yep, couldn't hold it in. And it was the heaving type of crying, like not so much tears, but heavy jagged inhaling. And it wouldn't stop! I seriously felt like such a pansy! Well from the ridiculous to the ridiculous, I dragged myself up the stairs by my arms, and took off my ipod/shoes/jacket/clothes like an elderly person. I put the bathtub faucet at the coldest it could get. I grabbed my half gallon of chocolate milk and I got into the water. I cried some more because THAT was insanely painful. I put my running socks back on because my toes just couldn't withstand the cold. I sat there for about 15 minutes, soppy running socks, sweatshirt on, drinking chocolate milk and talking to myself aloud: "That was really horrible right? I mean that was seriously painful, am I wrong? I can't do that any more can I? Can I?? Thank God the Half is shorter than that. How do people run marathons? I just don't get it." And more crying. I got out and shivered for a solid half hour while I went on the internet, waiting for my skin to reach room temp so it wouldn't be such a shock when I took the HOTTEST shower I could!!

My boyfriend came home from work with a hot chocolate cherry mocha :) and made an Indian chicken dish...PERFECT for getting some proteins in my system. I spent the rest of the night collapsed on the couch watching that new Life series on Discovery HD, and probably had one of the best nights sleep in history. Today I'm sore, but not too awful. At lunch, I volunteered at my church's soup kitchen, which is a lot of scampering and squeezing around a tiny, tight dining area, and I handled it ok.

So now what's the Plan of Attack from here?
1. I've still got my two 5mi runs during the week, plus cross. This next weekend my "long" run drops significantly by half with an 8 mile, but I'm going to listen really intensely to my body and make sure this will be ok. How HORRIFYING would it be to go through all of this work and pain only to injure myself in the final weeks of training?! I officially know that I can do the 13.1, so that's all that really matters. While I tried really hard not to pay attention to my TIME, considering a good time (for someone with my experience) was inevitable, but I'm going to try not to obsess over it.
2. I'm going to pay more attention to my diet. I don't think I'm getting enough good carbs and DEFINITELY not getting enough protein. Especially right after my runs when those things are key. You can eat all the carbs/proteins in the world six hours after your run but they aren't going to replenish your muscles like they would right afterward. I'm also going to drink more water, less booze. Not that I'm some lush, but in these last three weeks, I've gotta just hunker down. A friend of mine just called me this morning who is in the Police Academy and wanted to know if I would participate in a study they were doing for class. Drink as much as you can in a small amount of time so the students could have experience with drunks. I passed it up. Free booze! I'm from WI, where that's like a mortal sin! ;) I kid of course (sort of), but honestly, I have to take better care of my body! Hopefully it'll help.

Ok that's all I got! Thanks yet again for reading the novels I write here, yikes! I just have to tell myself that this is probably a cake walk compared to being in labor for three days ;)

My One Year Running Anniversary

2010-03-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to admit that I almost completely forgot about today and how huge of a travesty would THAT've been?!! ;)

In any case, I've probably told this story several times on this blog, the Intro here and the Massive Epic Novel here. But to make a long story short, I was never able to run more than a few minutes and after that few minutes, I literally felt like absolute crap for the next couple days...sore legs and coughing...for DAYS! That shit ain't right! With several inspirations, namely my stepdad and my sister, I seriously wanted to give running one final try. If this didn't work, nothing would. I followed a very simple Beginner's Running Guide. It all began with the babiest of steps (in my mind at least): Walk a minute, run a minute, for 14 minutes.

One warm and sunny March Sunday, one year ago today, I walked a minute, and ran a minute, for 14 minutes.

And every week after that, I added an additional minute of running, per interval, to that schedule. I never strayed, aside from Week Six that I had to repeat because I just couldn't grasp running for six minutes straight all that well. It sounds so silly now, but this is my point! I started at a very very low end of the athletic scale. A place where ANYONE that has two working legs can start. Honestly.

Once I completed Weeks One through Ten, the sky was the limit. I hit all kinds of Personal Records:
-my first 5K
-my first 8K
-my coldest run (only 15 degrees which isn't that bad actually!)
-my most amount of miles in a month at 58 in February [FYI my least amount of miles was 0 in December d'oh!!]
-my fastest average pace ever: 8:04/8:13 (my watch/the race clock) min miles for my 5K last October.
-And of course, my longest distance at 12 miles this past weekend.

The Half Marathon is one more goal on a long list of goals that never really ends. And that's what rocks about running... I'll never be the runner who runs for her health, and in fact, it's probably hurting me just as much as it helps (damn my knees!) But it's the goals that push me every day! I absolutely love plowing through those imaginary finish lines and I may or may not be addicted to patting myself on the back for new PRs...I will totally admit it.

You know what I also love though? Other runners. I have found this whole new group of comrades with whom I just love reading, discussing, gushing, and complaining. Friends I never knew I had. We stick together. The best runner friends are the ones who are with you every step of the way, maybe not physically, but they're there, out in cyber Blogland or Facebook, cheering me on. I love cheering them on too, it's all part of the camaraderie. Running is a very personal sport and as the quote at the top of this blog states: "It's important to realize that whatever you're doing - it's your first attempt at it." You can't get mixed up in other people's PRs and goals and let them tangle you up. They are GREAT motivators to reach beyond yourself, but if you find you're doing it more to prove yourself to others, you'll probably get pretty disappointed. Despite its personal nature, however, most people need the support of others. I definitely need the support of others. I love it. And I hope I never stop offering my own support to my running buddies!

Anyway, looks like I made this long story long again. Classic Katie. But I just wanted to gush and, ok yeah, pat myself on the back a little. One year can abso-f'n-lutely change a person. And drastically. I can't say it enough, I COULD NOT RUN. I couldn't! I really really sucked at it. But a year later? I'm actually doing something! I thought an 8K was daunting a year ago (my original goal I wanted to reach when starting this escapade)...now I'm training for a Half that's in less than a month?!?! How Did I Get Here??? Well, I'll tell you how. By getting the heck out there on that pavement. By being in pain. By suffering setbacks. By kicking ass at goals. By my family. By my friends, personal and blogging, who cheered me on. And above all else, by having a freaking good time. Even my worst running days were running days which are GOOD days in my book.

So I've said it before and I'll say it again: anyone stumbling across this blog who has wondered what it would be like to be a runner...try it. Just give it a whirl. I mean I never really even wanted to run up until March 11thish, 2009. Something clicked in my head and I said: why not? Ok ok, it might have had a LITTLE to do with a guy I was seeing, but don't these things usually?

So to celebrate, today is actually one of my cross training days, but when I get home from work, I'm going to put on my old orange Asics, and I'm going to walk one minute, run one minute, for 14 minutes. I'm going to truly grasp how far I've come in these 365 days and 386.9 total miles!

Half Training - Week Eight

2010-03-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try REALZ hard to keep this short because my posts are far too long and blathery and peeps ain't got no time to be readin' these novels!!

I just got back from my TWELVE MILE RUN WHAT THE EFF?!?!??! I can't believe I did it. I mean I can't believe I DID IT did it! I will say this...I kept my promise of takin' 'er easy and stopping to stretch. I kind of had no choice. LOTS of super busy intersections! See I ran from my house in Bayview to my parents in Greenfield. This means nothing to most ~~people~~ person(s) reading this blog, but it's from Lake to 43rd St, with some wind-y-ness mixed in, which still makes no sense. Alls I know is that at my half way point which was "only" six miles, I looked to the north and could see downtown like super far in the distance and I got chills a little bit. Maaaaaaaaybe that could've been the yucky weather though...it was chilly, dismal, SUPER windy, and just generally the blahish day you could imagine. But I was kinda happy to be able to wear a jacket because I had a lot to carry. I've been all about bringing my phone just in case I seriously injure myself...so far so good!

So the run itself was good and bad. I mean not horrendous or anything, but I was really dehydrated. I had some delicious Bloody Marys with my mom last night :) And then a salty George Webb's MEGA breakfast of eggs, 'cakes, bacons, and 'browns MMMMM! I tried to drink as much water as I could, but omg, at mile 5ish, I was SO THIRSTY!!! I finally stopped at a gas station hoping they'd have a drinking fountain (bubbler, whatever, I'm from Iowa), and they didn't of course, so I had to cup my inked up hands (more crib notes) and drink from the faucet. Yikes. Hopefully I'm not bent over the toilet tomorrow! It barely made a dent in my thirst, so I just dealt with it at that point and learned my lesson. The funny thing is that after my MEGA breakfast at Webb's, the BF and I went to Sports Authority so I could buy some ankle weights and I scoured and asked about the Fuel Belt hand held water bottle. SA doesn't carry the awesomeness, so I walked away thirsty.

I think the biggest struggle were miles 7-10. I was just losing steam and sore and just like "why am I doing this again???" What kept me sane was two episodes of This American Life: "My Pen Pal" and "My Experimental Phase"...I had heard of This American Life before, but never really checked it out as I'm not necessarily and NPR/Talkish Radio type. But omg, this show is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaddicting!!!! I just get glued to every episode. Which translates to: um, perfect distance running companion??? YES! So these kept most of my attention away from pain and thirst. THEN because clearly my 12 miles were going to go over the 2 hour mark (and TAL eps are an hour long)...I switched Orange Bomb over to Girl Talk who, if you aren't already aware, is this dude who, among other things, mixes dirty booty hip hop with The Sounds of the Seventies. Seriously though, this guy's a genius and I went to his show here in Milwaukee awhile back and FREAKED OUT. I lost a flip flop. I lost 10 gallons of water via sweat. I danced on stage. It was amazing. ANYWAY! Gregg's music gets me through anything, so I started up Night Ripper and my last mile was absolutely the best mile I've ever run in my life. I didn't know I had anything left in my tank, but here it was!! I was fist pumping and rappin' along with Luda and just, yeah, freaking out all over the road! People in Greenfield, WI probably thought I was nuts.

So I did NOT bring my watch. But I left exactly at 2:00 and rolled in around 4:19. Now that includes all my stretch stops and dirty faucet shenanigans, so I'm all right with that time! When I got to my parents' house, I ran upstairs and immediately ran a COLD BATH!!! I didn't have any ice, but I wanted to try out this whole ice-ish bath phenomenon! Omg it's amazing! It really helps!! And I think I'd be able to withstand the ice too if I poured it in after sitting in the cold water for awhile. So yeah, I chatted with my mom and sat in the water for about 15 and then she drove me back home. THANKS MOMSI!

So yep! Only 1.1 miles to go and I'm there baby! Although next week is supposed to be 14...yowzah! Good times....good times.

Ok so I wrote a novel anyway. Then I'll spare you the details of when I ran 4.6mi during my lunch hour in the rain and didn't bring a hair dryer so pretty much had to be at my place of work with wet hair in two little buns at the top of my head for the remainder of the afternoon. Lesson learned! But I did that 4.6 in 9:05 minute miles, and THAT was awesome in my book!

Not awesome in my book?? PUSH UPS. I am absolutely terrible at push ups. I do the designated amount, but just SUCK at them. I'll keep trying though. It's all I can do! But yay for ankle weights! I'm hoping that in the final month of training for the Half, I'll be able to strengthen my legs more so it won't be as painful. Fingers crossed!

OH! One final thing...love Hammer Gel, but Hammer Gel Vanilla????? Yikes. It tasted like cold medicine. Very strange! No biggie...I still got my Espresso!

Half Training - Week Seven

2010-03-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

I am over the hump! Over the halfway mark and officially over the single digit mileage!!

With the aid of half of a bottle of Zicam, a Starbucks Vivanno, four giant cloves of mashed garlic in tomato soup, spinach salads, literally like 500 gallons of water, LOTS of sleep, and refraining from alcohol....my cold lasted less than one week. This is a record in my life, my friends. An absolute record!

So with that, I took my 10 mile run by storm on Saturday! It was about 45 degrees and crystal blue skies...an absolute DREAM for Wiscy in March!!! I wore my running tights, but only a thin short-sleeve t'shirt and I felt perfect. So because my routes are getting longer now, I actually have to write crib notes on my hand haha!

It really would pay to have a Garmin, but hey, I'm old school?? I did take my phone along this time because I was a little nervous and wasn't sure if something would go horribly wrong. Like I'd need to be peeled off the pavement or God knows what. BUT! I got to take a lovely photo of my route!

That's downtown waaaaaaaaay off in the distance on the left-hand side. So far away!

The run felt great during miles 1-4. I went niiiiice and easy just like I said I would. But somewhere between 4 and 5, things unraveled a little. Nothing major, but I was definitely feeling some pain creeping up in my legs. This of course was the exact same time that I entered the park and about 70 percent of the path was covered in lakes of melted snow! (If it's not one thing, it's another hey? haha!) So my new pinkies got REAL dirty and my socks were absolutely soaked. This made for a pretty shitty second half, let me tell you. Running in soaked socks just isn't fun at all. My toes felt all chaped and raw. I think the puddles just caused me to lose my focus or something because then the leg pain just came with a vengeance. It wasn't anything dehabilitating, but for example, in my new shoes, there's this extremely strange pain I get at the top of my foot (where the leg and foot connect...in that crook). It's as if there's a part of my shoe that's digging in there, but no matter how I adjust it, I can't find the problem for the life of me!! So miles 5-7 I just had to deal with it...there was nothing I could do.

Suddenly between 7 and 8, it kinda went away, as did any other pain...or perhaps I just regained my focus and decided to not let it bother me? I picked up the pace and ran the last two miles at a pretty good clip! SO much so that I was incredibly winded by the time I crossed my imaginary finish line and it took awhile to regain my composure! So my final time was exactly one hour and 47 minutes - 10:40 min miles. So I think my next hump is running for over two hours! That's just going to be a trip, seriously!

Two recovery items I have noticed:
-My calves are really tight. I never have a problem with my calves after a run. So I'm not sure if I just forgot to stretch them for longer, or what. But even today, still pretty tender.
-My knees don't hurt at all! I iced them twice the night after the run...so that must've helped!

So this weekend, I'll be skipping 11 and going straight to 12 miles. For this run, I am going to forget completely about time (I may even leave my watch at home)...and focus on keeping my body healthy. This means, STRETCHING! I rarely stop to stretch during my runs, and I think I'm at the point where I really have to be careful in these final weeks. I'm going to take a solid five minutes every 3-4 miles and make sure all muscles have some quality TLC. The other reason I don't really want to bring my watch is that I know if I get my time, I'll be too tempted to predict my Half time and there is no way I want to be disappointed by anything after that race.

Oh I'll end on this lovely note: I got home from my 10mile and guess what had come in the mail. HOORAY!!!!!! Too bad it hadn't come BEFORE the run though ;) I look forward to the 12 mile to see if the music distracts me from my legs. Hope so! Anyway, here's Orange Bomb and Floyd, new and old, passing the torch! I like how there's a piece of ATT mail accidentally in the corner. Thanks ATT Uverse!

My Running Wish List!

2010-03-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

Alright! So another redonkulous week, exacerbated by my (mild) illness. I skipped my Tuesday run. On Wednesday I did kickboxing for 15 minutes, nearly passed out for absolute realz, sat down head-between-legs, tried 5 more minutes and then quit. I managed 4.29 miles on Thursday. Was it fantastic? Not particularly. Was it horrifying? Not at all. Did I run 12 minute miles? Absolutely!! It didn't knock me out like I feared it would, and I was happy to squeeze it in at the end of a long, dreadful work day :) I also did my pushups! I'm doing Day 3 in between writing this ;) It's clearing my nose!! And then of course tomorrow, I've got my 10 mile. I'm just going to take it slow and easy. And reward myself with pounds of BW3's afterward ;)

So as a pick me up, here's a fun TOP TEN LIST of running stuff I'd love (and some stuff I actually need!). It's too bad I couldn't think of these things 2-3 months ago when it was CHRISTMAS and my BIRTHDAY. That's the part that bites about having them so close together...I can't spread out my prezzies!

1. 5th Gen iPod nano in Orange (of course!) - ~~$149.99~~ $133.99

As I've mentioned, I currently own a 1st gen iPod nano from 2005. It holds 400 songs. I can no longer add new mp3s (via itunes 9...I'd have to downgrade). It stays charged for 15 minutes. The 5th gen has a radio, takes video, fits 2000 songs, keeps charged for 24 straight hours, and comes in orange! I mean talk about an upgrade!! I think after five years I deserve it ;)
*Update! I'll be receiving my lovely orange iPod on Tuesdayish WEEEE!!! Thanks Uverse rebate!

2. Sugoi Speedster2 Hooded Shirt - ~~$99.99~~ $59.99

Well, cold weather is almost over, so I won't really need this badboy. However, it's a. out of stock in most places, and b. $40 off on Amazon! So I should really take advantage.

3. Fuel Belt Palm Holder Water Bottle - $13.95

This seems to be a well-suggested option for carrying water. And it isn't SO expensive where if I don't like it, I'm out a bunch of money!

4. Nike Women's Pacer Seamless Long Sleeve Shirt - $50

Ok, again, it's going to be warm soon (yay!), so I won't need this. It's also pretty expensive. But I like it, and maybe I'll get it later :)

5. Nike Pro - Core 2.5" Women's Training Compression Shorts - $22

WARM WEATHER! I have only one pair of shorts that don't ride up that much. It would be FAB to get some more pairs that are comfy and cool. After a bunch of research, I found these slick shorts.

6. Road I.D. - $19.99

When I run at night, or when my legs hurt, or when I'm crossing a busy intersection, I have these flashes of being attacked, passing out, or being injured in some way. Call me crazy! But this would be a great thing to have on my person, as I never carry my ID or anything with me.

7. Hammer Gel 12pk - $14.55

Mmmmmmmm Espresso ;)

8. Adjustable Hot & Cold Wrap - ~~$14~~ $11.95

Very basic and inexpensive, but adjustable to use on other parts of my body that might hurt. TWO of these would be nice, actually, so I can ice both knees at once! Now if I had a million dollars, I might go with this Moji knee ice pack...but $89? Yowzha. In any case, now that I'm done with my push ups, I'm icing my knee....with a grocery bag full of ice cubes. I'm ghetto fab with my DIY ice pack and antique iPod!

9. Valeo Adjustable Ankle Weights - ~~$19.99~~ $14.42

I've got some knee issues, it's clear. To help this issues, I'm going to work a combo of these stretches, these and these too into my weekly routine. But I'm going to need some ankle weights, and the adjustable (2-10lbs) version is absolutely perfect! And much less ghetto than the 8lb hand weight/scarf combo I was trying to concoct the other night....

10. ideclarecharms necklace - $59+

The "$59" includes the personalized hollow charm (Katie • Must Run!) and the little Runner Girl charm...doesn't include the chain though, which would be at least $30, so I'm pretty sure I could find something in my jewelry box ;)

And that's that! For now I'm going with the ipod, the ice packs, and the ankle weights...maaaaaybe the hoodie, such a good deal! What are YOUR wish lists, two readers?! I encourage you to post your own! It'll probably give me more ideas to expand my own ;)

Half Training - Week Six

2010-03-01T11:59:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile! Much to catch up on. Topics from this past week:

1. It's Halvsies in Halfville as I'm offically halfway through my Half training. HALF!
2. 12 people were laid off in my department and it was ridiculously horrible.
3. Run for Haiti!
4. I ran my 9 miles on Saturday in 1:34:57.
5. I hate snow even more than I thought I could.
6. I have a cold...nooooooooooooo!!!!
7. PUSH UPS YES!!!!!

So yeah, halfway through! Things I've noticed? When I first started out, after my hiatus, my lungs were not up to par with the rest of my body. It partly had to do with the cold air (much colder than it's been these past few weeks at around 15 degrees) as well as still recovering from my NYE cold. Now, particularly during the 9 miles, I realize that my lungs bounced back more quickly than my body could keep up with. I have aches and pains in places I didn't know I had, but breathing couldn't be easier. My hope is that in the next six weeks, things will balance out and my body will catch up.

Back in 2007, 30 people were laid off in my department, including my sister and best work friend Nicole. Not fun times. At the beginning of 2009, maybe 3-5 more people were let go. But now we're back up in scary territory as a dozen more got the chop, including two other best work buddies. Yeah I'm lucky to STILL be here after all this, but that makes me much more sad than happy or relieved. In good news, all my close pals who lost their jobs here and now doing bigger and better things (or at least getting paid way more), so I'm sure the same will go for my other buds.

The same day of the Big Layoff, was my Virtual 4mi Run for Haiti. So I tried funneling all of my anger and frustration into the run. I made the mistake of doing it after work, instead of at lunch, where I may or may not have been indulging in a pint of Spotted Cow in honor of my fallen comrades. So traffic was a nightmare to deal with. I also screwed up my timer, so I couldn't pause it at stoplights. I had to watch the timer go by and keep track of all the seconds to deduct from my final time. SOOOO frustrating! In any case, I timed around 37:33, although the website has a different idea about "Virtual Time" which I don't really understand, but that was 36:44. ~stats here, if you filter to Milwaukee, WI.

So while the watch/traffic screwing up my race, the awful awful work day, and the lovers quarrel that followed that evening all got me pretty down, my 9 mi on Saturday picked me right back up! I ran it a little faster than I should've...I wasn't out of breath by any means, but it averaged 10:30min miles...an average that maybe I should save for actual Half Day. But it felt good, so I kept with it! As I mentioned above, however, my legs were screaming at me. Ugh. And I couldn't really walk correctly until about three hours after the run! It freaks me out because I'm like: "if its like this after 'only' nine miles, what will 13.1 feel like?!! Or worse, the 14 that I have to do in THREE WEEKS???" Freaks me out. Did I mention that? So I just need to take it easy, and again, not go so fast that my legs are wondering what the deal is. The good news is my knees are getting better, I can feel it. I haven't felt the need to ice them (tho I probably should).

Snow. I am soooooooooooo OVER IT. Like I mentioned for my 8mi, I ran the lakefront path and it was clear for the most part, but sections were pretty bad. Well for some stupid reason, despite the fact that we got MORE snow last week, I thought it'd be a stellar idea to run the same path. It was even worse! On the one hand, it kept me at a slow pace, but on the other, it didn't even matter because I was huffing and puffing so hard from the bounding I had to do over all the snow piles. Not to mention trying desperately to avoid rolling my ankle...unsuccessfully I might add. At one point, I wanted to throw knives at people because I got to a stretch of sidewalk...SIDEWALK...that snow had completely drifted over...at least three feet. This whole time, I had been trying to keep an even pace, at least a jogging pace over the snow, but I finally was forced to completely stop in order to step into pre-made footholes inside of the mountain of snow. I mean, it's really frustrating when you're already in 4miles, have a good pace going, and just have to stop for some stupid reason.

Ok I'm done complaining. It's supposed to be FIFTY this Saturday!!!!

But speaking of Saturday...the day I'm supposed to run 10 miles...double digits...FINALLY. So yeah, in the wee hours of the morning, around 4:30 or so, I awoke to someone throwing knives into my throat. In other words, I'm getting a cold. Another one. Now, I usually have two colds in the winter...pretty typical. But I thought, maybe with my new healthy lifestyle I'd avoid the second one. Totally jinxed myself. So I'm sucking on Zicam, throwing down water and tea, and peeing like it's going out of style. And I'm already planning on a sick day tomorrow. Not because I can't work with a cold, because clearly I'm not that sick, but just so I can reeeeeeallly get some sleep in. At this stage in the game, any sickness or injury is such a liability. I mean I still remember my posts from the Hiatus Comeback and how the phlegm from my cold was SUCH a damper on my runs. If I wasn't such a Mucus Queen, it wouldn't be a problem, but I seriously have crazy leaky faucet nose even when I'm perfectly healthy and its 55 degrees outside. I'm supposed to go 4.5mi tomorrow, and while I currently feel well enough to run, I shouldn't push the envelope as there will be NOTHING that stops my long run on Saturday. NOTHING.

Finally, one of my fave running chicas posted this Push Ups Challenge that looks like something I'm pretty much going to definitely do. Six Weeks | 100 Push Ups. Now, I am NOT a push up person. And my arms are my absolutely least favorite body feature. So with six weeks left in my Half Training, I think this will be a great addition to my cross training schedule. So along with Beth's Kickass Motivational Greatness List, I'm going to print out the schedule and get crackin', cold or no cold!

Good luck out there to the rest of my running friends!! Spring is right around the corner :)

PS My next post, if not devoted to how much I hate getting sick, will discuss all of the running gear and accoutrements I've been coveting these past few weeks!! And SOME of which I may be able to actually buy because guess who just got her ATT Uverse Rebate Cards in the mail this afternoon!! HOLLA!!!!! (Sorry I just got this news and it totally made my day!!)

Next up...

2010-02-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

...Asics GEL-Kayano® 15!

SO basically I love my Asics...and love my GEL-Cumulus® 10s even more. Especially the fact that they are orange, which is why my whole blog was orange and such. ORANGE! Anyway, I wanted to either find the same exact pair, or bump up to the new Cumulus 11. But I figured going with the 10s would save me money, like they'd be on sale or something, being the old version and all? Not so much. I scoured the internet and basically they were going to cost $95 no matter what, which is what I paid for my pair last March.

Well, I got a coupon for $20 off $100 at FleetFeet in Brookfield from racing in the Steve Cullen, so I thought: "Omg what if they have my shoes! That would be a savings of a lifetime!" Drove on out there, but not so much. They're a fine establishment, but they don't really have too many Asics in general. Ah well. Luckily there's a Sports Authority right down block. They did NOT carry my Cumulus, but what's this? Kayanos that are normally ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY DOLLARS on sale for $99.98???? SOLD!!!!!

Well not exactly sold until I researched them a little on my phone first. But I mean for $140, they better be good right?! So I tried them on and literally ran up and down the shoe aisles for awhile. Mama likey! And the pink is always good...it's no orange, but I dig it.

I got these Saturday, so I was actually kinda bummed that I couldn't try them out right away on my Sunday long run...but I didn't think busting out 8 miles in a new pair of shoes would be quite the stellar idea. So I'll start the break-in on my 4 mile tomorrow. Speaking of, it's actually a 4 Mile Virtual Race for Haiti! Because it's through Map My Run (the site I use to keep track of everything), you just plug in your info once you're done and post it to the race site. It's $30 and 100% of the proceeds go to the cause.

SO yes, I've changed up my blog to match my shoes, just like any fashionista would (I am like the exact opposite of a fashionista). And I will leave you with the most geeked out photo EVER...my new shoes receiving an imaginary torch from my old shoes...you know cuz of the Olympics and all.

oooh, white and shiny!!

Half Training - Week Five

2010-02-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I officially ran the furthest and longest of my little running career thus far, with 8.18 miles in an hour and a half! (Up till now, my furthest/longest was 7.22mi in 1:07 back in Sept.) For some reason, I was really nervous about this run all day. I don't know why I was building it up in my head, as it really isn't all that long. Perhaps because it WAS the newest mileage "personal record" since Sept. But once I got out there, the nerves melted away and the run felt fab! I definitely decided to cut it waaaay back pace-wise. I've been doing my regular week runs averaging a 9:30 pace. Well, I Half-Marathon-Shuffled it up big time and it felt wonderful. Just so relaxing! And even knowing I'd probably be running at LEAST an hour and a half, it was really nice not paying attention to my watch too! The whole thing just made me love running that much more.

So most of the route consisted of the path right next to the lakefront in my neighborhood. A couple miles of it run right along this beach and I actually almost transferred myself on over there because the path was ridiculous. It started out ok, but the snow and ice just got worse and worse. It's a good thing I was down with going so slow because there's no way I could've scampered along that path any quicker, trying not to roll my freaking ankle!

At the halfway mark, I had run for about 48 minutes, so that obviously works out to 12 minute miles. This is most definitely the slowest I've ever run, and while it is hard swallowing my pride in that sense, I know its good for me. Half Marathon Day is one thing, maybe I'll bust it out, but training, I just really gotta take it easy.

While breathing was an absolute picnic the whole time, what hurt was various odd parts of my legs: my inside right groin area, my left outer hip area, and the bottoms of my feet. At about an hour into the run, I stopped cold to stretch out my hips because it was getting really uncomfy! That helped, as did the Espresso flavored Hammer Gel I tore into once I stopped! Oh my YUM!! I decided to try it after a blogger pal's positive thoughts...I've always heard mixed reviews about Gu and my stomach can get iffy on runs, so I wasn't sure where to start until she mentioned this stuff. Not only did it NOT do any weird stomach things, it was so easy to ingest. See, I already have trubs swallowing my own mucus on runs, I had no idea how I was going to swallow something even more viscous (that's what she said?) But afterward, it was almost like I didn't eat the gel at all...there was no weird aftertaste or throat-grossness! Plus it was just absolutely delish. I have a few other flavors as well, so I look forward to trying those!

The funny thing about the Hammer Gel, however, is the part where I tried to follow these directions to pin the package to my running tights. I did everything just fine except for where I rounded the edges. Well I must cut a teeeeny tiny hole in the corner because when I reached for the package on the inside of my tights, there was a nickel-sized glob of it that had oozed and attached to my skin and tights. CLAAAAASIC Katie. Luckily, since it was like 30 degrees out, it was virtually frozen there and not going to like smear all over the place or anything. And when I got home, I just ran super hot water over the spot in my tights and it melted away with ease. I tell ya.

The one thing I wish I had, and hope to have access to soon, is water. I really shouldn't be running over and hour without SOME kind of water. But I just don't have the money right now to spend on a Fuel Belt, and I just don't like carrying anything in my hands when I run. (Uh Katie, isn't discomfort better than dehydration? Hello!!) I'll figure it out. The hilarious thing is that I was dealing with a classic: "water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink" scenario because snow is quite abundant, but all covered with droplets of God knows what. I could've stopped to dig into the four foot high snow banks for some fresh stuff, but I was over it. "I'll down a bunch when I get home," I thought to myself. Currently I'm almost through my 32oz bottle of water with more on the way. I figure it's not SO bad since I'm not sweating all the much.

Ok! So that's about it! I feel better about Week Five after this long run because I took it WAY too easy. Two 4 milers, yes, but barely ANY cross training and too much alcohol on Friday night ;) Tomorrow I'll try to write a shorter blog post (geez) about my NEW SHOES! I'm at 300mi plus on my current pair, but I'm really thinking I need to change it up with my leg pain and now foot-bottom pain I'm experiencing. Maybe I just wear shoes out faster, I don't know!

t'shirt weather and bad runs

2010-02-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Not to make this blog completely negative (AGAIN), I will first say that:
1. it's gorgeous outside! Ok it's like 35 degrees, but with the sun it just feels warmer! SO warm, in fact, that a mile and a half into my run today, I had to take of my jacket and tie it around my waist! T'shirt weather!! The last time I wore a t'shirt was the Halloween run on Oct 31st.
2. Tuesday's run was awesome!! I felt good and I did 4mi in 37mins!

Today was another 4mi run, and I thought: bah, piece of cake! But my Lenten give-up squeezed itself into my running world because this was not so much a piece of cake. On a good note, I was so happy for the sunshine! I had officially bought a pair of MEN'S Dockers sporty sunglasses for $15. Trotting along, however, I just couldn't get into the groove and it kept getting worse. My legs felt horrible, a mixture of stiff and rickety like an old prison cell. Yes, that's it, I felt like my body was a prison cell and my happy-sunny-runner inside couldn't break free!!

About a mile in, I wanted to just turn back. I rarely get this feeling, but it's like an overpowering fear...just the simple three more miles ahead of me felt overwhelming and I wanted to stop. But a. I felt too lazy to turn and walk back (which sounds funny to me...walking more daunting then running?), and b. I was wearing running tights...there is no walking in running tights. I don't want people to laugh at me?? So laziness and fear of embarrassment kept me going. Into mile 2, I thought about just cutting the 4mi short, but I decided to focus on the mantra that, when training for a half marathon, distance is far more important than speed...so press on dear padawan! So I decided to just take this opportunity as a blessing in disguise to practice what I think I'll call my "Half Marathon Shuffle." Little slow steps that decrease my pace and conserve energy. Well this didn't really help at all and actually made me feel worse, I have no idea why. Mile 3 my legs continued to hurt which was a surprise to me. Whenever my knees hurt, they always get better halfway through my run, as my body loosens up...and then I finish feeling good. In this case, they just felt worse and worse and the pain spread all over...to the point where slowing down (yes even MORE so)--or God forbid, stopping at a crosswalk, was murder. It took every ounce of energy to do it.

I surpassed the 37 minute mark with a quite of bit left to run. In my head I had already given up (but what the heck am I giving up on if I'm STILL running? I ask myself now!) I got to the last block...I always ALWAYS sprint the last block, roughly 6:30min mile speed. I couldn't even muster so much as a quick jaunt. I basically tumbled to the imaginary finish line feeling super defeated. I looked at my watch, and my brain read 45:02...a far cry from my 37 minutes from Tuesday. I wanted to curl up in a ball, I couldn't bare the thought of getting cleaned up and changing and going back to my desk. I seriously wanted to cry...I was completely depressed...which never happens after I run.

Then......WHILE getting dressed, I just so happened to look at my watch again. 42:05. Wait what? I literally had to stare down at it for a good 30 seconds to make sure my dyslexic brain in its depressive fog had truly mixed up the numbers earlier. Indeed it did. And that's when I absolutely laughed out loud at myself. How ridiculous ARE you, Katie? Getting depressed over something so silly and not only silly, but false. Because it seriously doesn't matter if I ran 4 miles in 37 minutes, 45 minutes, or 42 minutes. It's that I ran 4 miles at all. And if I'm going to be running 13.1 miles, I better as hell spring for an attitude adjustment.

With that said, I'm trying to stay positive about my 8mi run on Saturday. I'm wondering if perhaps I was dehydrated and low on calories today because of fasting yesterday and that's what did it. I also didn't wait long enough between eating lunch and running, which could've made me feel logey. Whatever the excuse, I think a positive attitude goes a long way, and the break from city running will probably help if I add more serene park paths this weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, I wish my tiny handful of readers happy running and happy weekends :)

** I would like to add to this post, that I happened upon the marathorookien.com website, and these absolutely incredible stories have truly cheered me up. While I haven't run a marathon, or even a half marathon yet, I feel so honored to be a part of such an amazing and inspirational group of people: Runners. (And yes, I'm currently weeping at my desk, but for good stuff, no longer bad...)

8K Race and Half Training - Week Four

2010-02-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

Alright alright! I'm sitting in a Starbucks, using some free WiFi, sippin' on an upside-down Caramel Macchiato! I just finished building my boyfriend a light box for his photography stuff. He's been talking and talking about making one, and while he was at work, I just went ahead and did it for him ;) Post-Valentine's Day gift?? We had a blast this V'day weekend...pulled a 500 Days of Summer and tooled around Ikea for more hours than most people probably do.

"Doesn't my new living room look lovely?"

"But our sink doesn't work!"

"Hey I ran a 5mi race today."

It was funny because we stopped at a 'Bucks afterward and the barista was like "What are you guys doing for Valentine's Day?" "Uhh, we went to Ikea?" Haha!

ANYWAY...I bring up the light box because I had off of work today for Prez Day, and it appeared as though I had plenty of time to take my 4mi run...but the day just gets away with you, especially when you sleep til 10am WHOOPS! So instead of running, I built the light box, and I'm at Starbucks WRITING about running. Ah whatevs, the weather absolutely sucks right now, so I'll just do it tomorrow.

Week Four of training, as I've already written about, has gone very very well! I'm feeling back to my old running self and have good vibes about how the rest of the training will go. My knee seems to be getting better too...which I'm hoping is due to the cross-training I've been doing. The fun kickboxing and dance dvds I work out to are murder on my quads and those are precisely the muscles I need to build up to balance out my muscular hamstrings, so my femur isn't rubbing against the back of my patella OUCH! I wanna vom just thinking about that! So anyway, Week 5 will entail two 4mi runs during the week and an 8mi this weekend. Now 8 will officially be my longest run to date (I ran a 7.5mi this past fall). I'm very excited to cross that line! And SPEAKING of crossing lines.......

My 8K!! I did a lot better than I thought I would! Let me set this race up for you in a three-pronged discussion:

1. According to this article in our city paper, the Journal Sentinel: "'This is a who’s who in the local running community.' In recent years, the Cullen [8K] has developed into competitive early-season test for the top runners in the area." So basically, it's not really a race for your casual runner. Al's Run is packed every year because it's a huge cause, very much in the spotlight. This Steve Cullen race is not only in the middle of winter, but it's longer. For example, despite it also being in the winter, the Sampson Stomp at the Mke Zoo being a shorter distance makes it more popular for casual runners. ANYWAY, omg Katie move on...so there were only 500 runners in this badboy and many of them were elite.

2. In addition to this fact, the course is difficult!! Al's has a mild incline for the first 2-2.5 miles, but nothing too distracting. This one kicked into a steep hill right after the first half mile and it felt like it went on forever. You could hear people huffing and puffing already! It was pretty brutal! After that there were a bunch of significantly shorter hills scattered throughout. And then at the very end, the Big Monster. I swear this thing is at a 45 degree angle. And the Finish is at the top of it, so you see it looming, and you're just dying running up this monstrosity to get there!

3. And finally, most of the race was a park path, so say 4-5 ft wide? And said park path was, of course, covered in snow and ice. Some parts were traveled enough to allow the grippy asphalt beneath to come through. But sometimes it was on the left side, and this race was one of those "double back" types, so the fancy elite athletes were running toward you and you had to move back over to the right.

Alright, so Al's I ran in 42:41. Crazy impressive for me. This one I ran in, according to MY watch, 46:29. And I think that's awesome considering the addition of all the crazy hills AND non grippy snow/ice surface!! Ok enough blabbering, I will provide my stats here to let you see what I mean:

bib number: 356
age: 30
overall place: 307 out of 518
division place: 11 out of 32
gender place: 97 out of 226
time: 46:50 (This makes sense because I took note that I crossed the start 15-20 seconds after the gun. I'M saying 46:29!)
pace: 9:26 (Again, I'M saying 9:16!)

~link to my stats

So basically this is nowhere near my usual percentile (my typical age div/gender is in the top 20% and then like 30-35% overall).

I get really crazy about stats...I should probably stop :)

After the race, and after the barf-up-my-Huevos-Rancheros feeling wore off, I shuffled into the warming tent for my bowl of chili and two beers :) I also grabbed a cup full of candy hearts for my boyfriend who had so lovingly gone through the ridiculous horror that was trying to drop me off, and then pick me up. The race Start/Finish was nestled into this park, so there really was no access by anything other than foot. SO I had to run a half mile to get to the race (we got there late-ish), this INCLUDED the aforementioned Big Monster by the by! And then I ran another half mile AFTER the race to get to my boyfriend's car. Interestingly enough, when I slumped into the passenger seat, I looked down at the cup o' candy hearts I had been juggling and at the top was a larger heart face up which said "You Rock"...awesome :)

Ooooh gift ideas!

2010-02-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Quick post, via Beth Risdon's column. [I'm going to double up and probably post a couple of these at my Love on a Budget blog, but it's more relatable here first.]

Some super awesome and rad gift ideas for the girly runners in YOUR life (hopefully our mates read these blogs hey ladies?) The one I most particularly like is the charm idea. So cute! Stuff like that is always so thoughtful. A friend/coworker of mine mailed me a "Runner Girl" bumper sticker awhile back and it just totally made my month! It makes you that much more motivated!

"ANYTHING ELSE?"

2010-02-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today's run would not need a blog post...thinking it'd just be a typical 3.5mi and nothing to write home about. Oh but it was. I've been a total Negative Nancy today and it's not going to stop now haha!

As I said before, I moved my run from yesterday to today because I knew the sidewalks would probably be more clear, AND it would be sunny which helps when it's extra cold out. Oh the sun was my enemy today my dear friends. The run started out better than usual because my knee didn't hurt. But around the 4th block, I had to start doing some fancy footwork because, what's that, oh yeah the sidewalks WEREN'T clear. This is downtown Milwaukee people, not like the forest trails! So trying to jump over one of the snowbanks blocking the intersection I needed to cross, I landed on my foot all weird which triggered the knee trouble again...like a sharp, but aching twinge. After a mile, I got so sick of trying to manage the walks and intersections, I just decided to run in the street which is a little awkward with downtown traffic. Meanwhile, I'm not sure if it's because of the cold or the awkward footing, but I felt so slow like I was running in lead. Well, before I knew it I WAS running in lead!! Ok no I wasn't, but basically the lakefront path that's on my route was not cleared, and it was too late to take a different way...so here I was, trampling through snow a foot deep...I think I was running on the grass part? I have no idea! So that went on for about a quarter mile...so only like a few minutes at least.

Switching directions now, I was running into the sun. So all I could see were blazingly shiny puddles. I couldn't escape them! I tried looking upwards or closing my eyes, but the terrain was far too uneven to "guess" what was next (sometimes when I'm running long paths that I've done a million times, I close my eyes to relax and it's very calming!). Back to the shiny puddles. So about five minutes of this, it hit...an ocular migraine. Oh how I loath these. They start in the middle of your vision as a sparkly mass, like if you accidentally looked at the sun or a bright reflection (AKA: A SHINY PUDDLE!), and then work their way out to the periphery of your vision. Here's a good photo of what it kinda looks like:

It's more sparkly than that though, and there are more jagged edges. And it's blinding. The whole mass is a giant blind spot, which clearly isn't any fun at all. Anyway, once the sparkly mass hits the edge and goes away (20 minutes), this is when the headache may or may not hit. Usually I don't get a debilitating migraine, thank goodness, but I do get a mild headache...it feels like I'm underwater...a general pressure.

The remainder of the run was just as frustrating as ever. I hit all the traffic lights, the snow and slop was everywhere, and people would NOT step aside. Finally I got so fed up, I shouldered this poor Asian girl standing in the middle of the sidewalk not paying attention. I said sorry. I was mostly just annoyed with the migraine because I know what the rest of my day will be like. It's not bad at all, so it doesn't warrant going home by any means, but the headache just sits there hovering in a very annoying way.

Well despite all that, I ended up going 3.65, at 9:40min miles and that's actually pretty impressive CONSIDERING all that hullaballoo! So I'll kick Negative Nancy outta here and get Kalm, Kool, and Kollected Katie back in the mix. I rewarded my trubs with a 60¢ Nature Valley granola bar from my work's vending machine, so I'm already feeling better :)

Because who doesn't love winning stuff?!

2010-02-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Via C.E.E.'s kickass blog, the following link is a kickass giveaway for the three runners that probably read my blog: WIN FREE CHAMPION GEAR HERE!

Meanwhile, yes, quite a boatload of snow happening here. Yesterday I rocked out inside to a dance dvd (I am literally the worst dancer ever...why don't I have coordination?!) and today I'm using my one rest day, so tomorrow hopefully the sidewalks will be a little more cleared out for my 3.5mi. Speaking of...I ran 3.5mi on Monday at 9:05 minute miles. I am seriously back to Runner Katie again and it's awesome motivation!!

And finally, I'm like a friggin stalker checking up on Maggie's Half Marathon Update, but nothing yet! Soooo curious ;)

Saturday's my 8K race and it's funny that I built Al's Run up in my head to be this giant crazy goal, which it was don't get me wrong, but now that I've got this new insane goal, running an 8K is less worrisome. I will NOT be running it in 42:41, however. No way!

Half Training - Week Three

2010-02-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

Before I get started here, I just want to wish a fellow running blogger a very special good luck on her Half Marathon this weekend. She just started running this past August, so it's quite a feat for a noob. Oddly enough, it's BECAUSE she's a novice doing a Half that I'm doing my own. I've got a competitive streak and I'm definitely one to be inspired by the goals of others :) Anyway, I'm very excited to see how it goes!

Ok sometimes I like to just blabber on about my runs...like every little detail. Clearly people reading could really care less about these stupid little observations, but I find them entertaining. And that's what I like about running. Each run is different in some distinct way. Sometimes this part of your body hurts while this part finally feels great. Sometimes people around you are annoying and making cat calls. Sometimes you come across a bizarre situation. Sometimes you run into someone you know. In any case, in this particular post I'm in the mood to talk about tonight's little details.

Tonight was my 6 miler and let me start off by saying that it was virtually perfect. I felt great, even better than last week's 5 which was all awesome n' stuff. This is because if tonight's run was a vacation spot, it would be the Bahamas...aside from the temp of course...in that I took it eeeeaasy like Sunday morning! With that said, reason why I took it easy: my first step onto the pavement. Nightmare. My left knee just shot with pain immediately...step after step after step. So much so that I was limp-running! I was like: uh this isn't good...but me being me, I just dealt with it and ran super slow and super light, like ginger baby steps. This went on for a mile, so I probably did it in like 11-11:30 minutes! Yipes! The great thing about this, however, was that my breathing felt like laying in a hammock on a June day in the late afternoon...ahhhhh.

Next up was the part where I passed a condo's gym with giant windows and inside I saw an older gentleman walking the treadmill with a button down, sweater vest, and khaki slacks on?!?

Then my running tights felt like cactus and were reaching into areas I didn't know existed, until I literally had to stop (which I hate doing) and adjust everything.

And then, because a large snowstorm is approaching and because I ran downtown and on the lakefront, it was blustery as all get out. Luckily I was running with the wind...unluckily I had decided to put my hair in a ponytail instead of two pigtails like usual. So my bangs don't really stay up. So here's the gale force winds whipping my bangs into my eyes and mouth until I let out an extremely frustrated sigh and tried to re-ponytail everything WHILST keeping up my pace (which is still like 10:30 min miles, mind you...haha!). I ran another mile and it just didn't work. I know bangs in your eyes and mouth probably sounds like a walk in the park, but I seriously wanted to start throwing things, what I wouldn't GIVE for a couple of barrettes. Finally I took all of my hair down and started over, putting the two sides into pigtails. STILL running! And because I was running, it took me forever, and the people I passed by probably thought I was nuts!!

After that, I said to myself: alright Katie, let's get the heck out of this hammock already! So I picked up the pace. Approaching the last mile and a quarter, I looked at my watch: 49:00 Aw crap! I'm so NOT going to do this in under an hour am I?? I kicked it up several notches. I crossed my imaginary finish line...one hour, one minute, fifty-five seconds...deece.

Ahh, I crack myself up. Anyway, Week 3 was great! I'm up to two 3.5mi runs during the week. The second one I did at a 9:30min mi pace which is really getting back in the swing of things! I'm truly getting back to my old self and it makes me feel great! I did some more kickboxing this week too which was a ton of fun! I'm learning the moves and I don't feel so stumbley!

I had to do my "weekend" long run tonight because tomorrow I'm heading to Madison for the Wisconsin v Michigan Hockey Classic in Camp Randall as in outdoors! I can't wait!! So WALKING (and beering?) will by my cross-training tomorrow ;)

Ok! One of my near-future goals is to get a new pair of shoes. I'm starting to notice some slight discomfort and it'll be good to break in a new pair for the Half. Thanks to ANOTHER fellow running blogger for the advice!! :)

*SIDEBAR!! THIS JUST IN! I looked at my MapMyRun training log and for Week 3 I ran exactly 13.1 miles!!! It like suddenly hit me: Ok! That's what you did this week, in nine weeks, you'll be doing all that in ONE DAY!!!! WHOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHH!!!!!

whoa.

Half Training - Week Two

2010-01-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

To cap off Week Two of my half training...awesome awesome AWESOME 5 mile run!!! I haven't had a run like that in ages! The further I went, the better I felt, and it's those kind of runs you just dream of, right?! I FELT like a real runner out there....instead of a heaving, struggling, sack of crap like my other runs have felt haha! I felt so swift and compact and my breathing was almost effortless...instead of struggling to maintain my oxygen levels like the past couple weeks. Anyway, one reason this happened is because I went slow. I did exactly ten minute miles almost the whole way (the last 1/2-1mi I did faster). Last year my main goal was to quicken my pace so I could get good times in my races. But today some light bulb went on inside my head. This year I'm training for a half marathon (duh) and the key is to maintain a certain energy level, rather than gain speed (duh again). If I feel anything like I felt today on that half marathon day...well then that run will feel fabulous. And I want it to feel fabulous. (And by "fabulous" I mean not-wanting-to-puke-my-brains-out fab, as opposed to sitting-on-a-beach-with-an-umbrella-drink-in-my-hand fab.)

ANYWAY! This Lightbulb Moment really helps me to hone in on my focus in these next ten weeks of training. I know it was just the beginning back there, but I was getting all kinds of discouraged. Classic Katie. This run was just what I needed to make me feel like a runner again!

brrrrrrr!

2010-01-27T11:04:00.000-08:00

I ran on Monday night after work, it was probably around 25 degrees or so, but very blustery and tiny bits of sleet were pelting my face. It was a classic "thought I was going faster than I was" run and, long story short, I was really disappointed in my results when I recorded my route and time. The winter was what frustrated me most. I don't know if I just had the end-of-day exhaustion blues or what, but I really dipped low and felt like, how the hell am I going to run this winter?

Well last night I went to Target to find better running coverage for my head...like a head/ear band or something. Every run I've done so far this winter is murder on my lungs. And the wind is like butcher knives piercing my eardrums. Of course Target put all of their winter stuff away (uh hello Wisconsin in January???), but low and behold, I found a balaclava in the winter sports section reduced to $6! It's not at all sexy and I look like a ninja, but it does the job real well! There's a mesh patch right by the mouth which works WONDERS for my breathing. So today's official weather.com temp is: "19 degrees F | Feels Like: 3 degrees F | Wind: From WSW at 20mph gusting to 25mph". Ouch. But with my balaclava, my running tights AND yoga pants, my moisture-wicking long sleeve shirt AND jacket, and my running gloves (love that "functional wiping surface!")...I was actually too warm! In the "home stretch" of my runs, I usually go balls out and triple my speed for the final block, and today, I had to take off the balaclava so I wouldn't completely overheat. Then, of course, all the sweat and mucus immediately froze to my face ;) Ahhhh winter runners...we look oh so attractive!

But I digress...my run was actually pretty great for once! I'm picking up speed again and breathing isn't as labored as last week. Definitely motivational! And now that I have the proper protection, I feel way better too, particularly about my lungs. Maybe I can finally get over the remnants of this cold virus!

Half Training - Week One

2010-01-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

Alright, so first of all, I decided to get super Miss Organizized about this whole half marathon situation. I was hemming and hawing about it for the last few weeks because I'm the opposite of prepared. But because I always need a swift quick in the ass when it comes to motivation, there's nothing like training for a half marathon out of nowhere to kick you swiftly in the ass. Ok, well, not completely out of nowhere. Minus the month hiatus, I'm a couple months shy of a year of running. I've run a small fistful of 5Ks and one 8K. The thing is...13.1 miles ain't no 5 miles. The longest I've run is 7.25mi at around a 9:18min mile pace and it wasn't even that taxing. That was stellar for me. This Sunday I ran 4mi at just a few seconds under 10min miles and it was...kinda taxing. Meh. So for this reason, I need to focus, work hard, and stop looking back. I kind of see this whole thing as me starting running for the first time, like back in March of '09...only on a grander scale.

Oh and WHY am I doing this?? Two reasons. 1. I've already touched on: I hear more and more 'beginner' runners going for this goal this spring, and I'm like say wah?? "If they can do it, I sure can!" I'm a sucker for competition. And 2. I think my running personality is more distance than speed. I have a runner friend who is just so stellar at races and I hope she starts getting all sorts of huge crazy trophies and stuff! Meanwhile, that won't be me, but that's all good! I'll have distance be my running goals. I'm down!

So with that said, the following is a schedule I sort of based off of Hal Higdon's 'Novice' schedule.

The main change I made personally was to up the mileage more quickly so I could get up to 14 miles three weeks before the Half, and then I could taper. I was feeling a little weird about having race day be the day I get up to that mileage...situations like that make me want to vom on race day. And then I read a similar sentiment on a fellow runner's blog, so I couldn't help but agree. Now, for those people out there who don't care about a time, or don't even care if they walk, just so they complete the mileage somehow...then the training becomes more flexible! But I'm psychotic. I can't walk during a race...any race. I can't even walk during my runs! I started my running career with a 10 week walk/run interval schedule, and once I was able to run straight for 3-4 miles, I didn't look back. Thus, it is my personal stance that, for me, this half marathon MUST be a running half marathon through and through. And that, of course, makes it all the more daunting!

In addition to the running, I've got cross of course. Before I started running I did workouts like Pilates and "twist step" (a stair type machine). In the past year, all I've done was run. I think when you boost your goal so intensely, you should probably really cross train hey? So via the magic of Netflix and Roku, I can stream workout DVDs from my internet connection to my tv...awesome. I've got Yoga, Pilates, Kickboxing, Weights, even Dance, that I'll sprinkle in throughout the week. Also, I know putting a smaller distance race into your training is always a good idea, so I'll probably do the Steve Cullen Healthy Heart 8K on Feb. 13th.

At the end of the day, I really have no goal time, and I'm not even going to think about a goal time. Like, I don't even know what a good goal time would BE for someone like me. All I want is to run the crazy thing in its entirety. And not pass out at the end.

ANYWAY! Week One was this past week. I ran three 3mi days (including a 5K race) and one 4miler. I did some yoga, but no other cross. I got that all organized tonight for the remaining 11 weeks. So yeah...we'll see about this whole crazy thing! I'm not going about it lightly. I'm not one to say: yeah cool, I'll do that no problem! I'm scared shitless and it's three months away. But being scared shitless gets me running. And just think...bikini season what?? Hahaha!

Back in the saddle!

2010-01-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

A few little updates:

I decided to start running during my work lunch hour. We have a shower here, so that's nice. And right now I just can't run in the dark in my neighborhood...not a good idea. So far it's working out well! I have plenty of time to run at least 3 miles. The hard part is actually doing that. My first time back on the asphalt, after my six week hiatus, was last week Wednesday. The run wasn't actually too bad, but I went relatively slow (9:30 min. mi.) and only went 2.5 miles. Today, I was really focused on going at least 3, and I thought I timed it perfectly. Nope. 2.94 miles. Bah so close! In fact, if I had just gone to the end of the block my office is on, instead of stopping at the door where I started, it would've been 3 exactly. Ah well. In any case, today's run was the WORST!! More on that in a second.

This weekend was the Milwaukee Co. Zoo's Samson Stomp 5K. I believe this event has been going since 1980?? So this year's "30th anniversary" shirt listed all the years and the temperature of that year. While 2010's January in Wisconsin has been forgiving (it was around 20 degrees or so), in past years it's been in the negatives! Two years ago it was -4. Yeah. In any case, the race winds through the zoo and parking lot. It's VERY hilly and that was definitely my downfall. As was the cold damp air (I would've almost rather had it 8 degrees and dry than 20 and wet)...I'm still getting over my chest cold and that phlegm just sat right there in my throat/trachea...awesome! So my final time on my watch was 28:09. Very very disappointing. Only because I ran my first 5K in 27:53. And of course my best 5K was 25:30! So basically I'm in worse shape now and that's just not good at all. But!! Talk about fuel for the fire. Now I'm on a mission to get back to where I was.

So back to today's run...as I was passing the two mile mark, I kind of figured out that my muscles aren't so much the problem, it's my lungs. Perhaps your lungs atrophy more quickly than muscles when you take breaks. Add in the whole chest cold thing, and the fact that the air is so cold right now, it's so hard to breathe. And I didn't even get a chance to ease into it because of the stupid hiatus. Anyway, I have to be confident in the fact that I can get back on track. Additionally, boy have I learned my lesson! Barring any serious injury, I'm never taking that long of a break again!!

UPDATE!
The official stats are finally in:
bib number: 999
age: 30
overall place: 384 out of 1097
division place: 17 out of 90
gender place: 101 out of 520
time: 28:03
pace: 9:02
~link to my stats

So within the top 19% of my age and gender (and 35% overall)...that's practically the same EXACT place I was in for the 8K last fall! And that race I did spectacular in! So honestly? I'm not AS bad as I thought after the hiatus, all things considered ;)

2010

2010-01-01T17:15:00.001-08:00

Post last published on November 1st, wow that's pretty awful! While I'm not one to make excuses (who am I kidding?), the month of December was anything BUT an opportunity for extra time to squeeze running into the picture. So I took a month hiatus (I believe the last time I ran was on Dec 3rd?) In addition to preparing for the holidays, which included shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking, and hand-making 43 unique Christmas cards, each one different, I packed up my entire life and moved in with my boyfriend. I will tell you right now that the worst possible time for you to move in Wisconsin is in the winter, but worse is during Christmas. I seriously don't know what I was thinking. On moving day--December 26th--of course it had to snow...of course it did. And the cleaning, my God the cleaning. I lived in my old apartment for four years and that is four years of dirt in places you never knew existed. In any case, I am currently as snug as a bug in a really large, gorgeous, Arts and Crafts style second floor apartment, a block from Lake Michigan, with two cats, and a seriously amazing boyfriend.

Now that I'm settled, I can restart my life back up again, and that includes my life as a runner! So with that said, here are some goals for 2010.

-Overcome my fear of running in Wisconsin winters.

I do perfectly well with cold runs, in fact, I really enjoy them because I "run hot," in other words, I run in a t-shirt and shorts when it's 40 degrees outside, and I'm still sweaty. But in the winter it isn't 40. Oh no my dears. Right now it's 12 degrees outside and that's actually not bad. The low for Sunday is supposed to hover right around zero. Now I got a pair of nice cozy running gloves for Christmas. For my birthday, which is Wednesday, my stepdad is taking me to a running store for a little spending spree! So I'll pick up some running tights and a hoodie, and perhaps look into a face mask of some kind because the worst part about winter running is breathing zero degree air into your lungs. Another negative to running in the winter is the darkness. I wake up, it's dark. I get out of work, it's dark. And while Milwaukee isn't the worst crime-ridden city...oh wait, yeah it is! We rank Number 9 so that's awesome and really makes me want to venture out into the darkness.

Now, I thought about joining a gym for two months (January and February are rough here, but March isn't bad at all, that's when I started running, and it was mostly 35-45 degrees, very handle-able!), but a. I don't know if I really want to shell out the money for a gym, and b. you just don't get the same workout on a treadmill that you do in the outdoors (and it's definitely REALLY boring too!) So this winter thing is a biggie, and I truly hope to find the motivation to get out there.

-More races!

I have a really good friend at work who seriously kicks major ass at running. She did 18 races this past year and wants to surpass that goal big time this year. We're not competitive with one another per se because she's clearly a more established runner than I am ;) However, she gives me a lot of motivation to kind of "keep up" with her abilities! So I'd love to sign up for more races and keep my running spirit alive that way.

-Run a half marathon questionmark???

And speaking of running in more races, I recently read on a running blog I follow, a fellow beginner runner is going to try a half marathon in the spring. She recently ran her first 5K, so this is a pretty huge goal! But she set up shop with a trainer and, while it's a huge goal, it's also a realistic goal if she truly puts her mind, spirit, and energy into it! Well this got me thinking: There's a half marathon literally right in my new neighborhood this April. It's SO tempting, but originally my "big running goal" for 2010 was just a 15K in the fall. Now that would be 9 miles vs 13 miles, so slapping an extra 4 miles onto my original goal...and then moving it up six months...is no big deal at all right? Right??

I definitely need a kick in the ass, in regards to the aforementioned winter blahs putting a kink into my routine. I had a good thing going back there and was up to 7 miles, and a pretty easy 7 miles at that! When I was in my prime, around November, reaching the 9 mile mark was going to be a piece of cake. Now maybe not so much, but I don't think a month off put me too far off track. So with that said, I think waiting for my "giant goal" of a 9 mile race waaaaaay off in October isn't as exciting AND we all know that Katie needs exciting goals to keep herself motivated. So with this said, I'm just going to keep my options open. The Half barely costs anything and I can sign up day of, no big deal.

Alright, so that's 2010 for you! This is the year I spend being 30 years old, so it's a red letter year for sure. I'd love to make it count.

Lakefront Discovery 5K

2009-11-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Done and done! And done it was!! It was about 42 degrees with like 100mi/hr wind gusts. Ok that second part was an exaggeration, but seriously, it was windy. So like I said, I was hoping to break 27 and did I ever!! I hauled major A the first mile with 7:45...what the?!?!? Well let me just tell you that I seriously paid the price for that. The two miles after that were a real dooze. I was huffin' and puffin' more than I ever have during a run. They offered little cups of beer at the 2.75ish mile mark and I couldn't even look at the stand haha! I think my biggest issue was--and please excuse the mild disgust--crazy major phlegm happening. I swear I thought I was going to choke!! Ok end disgust ;) Anyway! I seriously gave it all I had in the last two blocks. I could see the finish and I was like, omg, how am I ever going to get there...TWO BLOCKS! But I passed this chick on my left and just plowed through the pain. I saw my sister cheering me on to my right, and straight ahead, right after the finsih was my sweet boyfriend, camera-ready, to take what I'm sure is THEE ugliest photo of me ever!! THank GOD it's film so I don't have to see it for a few weeks ;)

So after finishing, I seriously told everyone to just HOLD on while I leaned over my knees trying to make my lungs work again. After a minute I regained my composure, had an Oreo and a couple mini Special Dark bars, washed them down with a whole water bottle, and began the freezing cold search for my bag. I tossed it in the Uhaul right at the last minute so it wasn't in an organized box with my name on it. Dumb. I was like "I wish I could look for this thing with CLOTHES on!!!" I mean not only was I wearing shorts and a tshirt in 42 degree 100mi/hr wind gusts, but the sweat (yes I sweat in 42 degree weather haha!) had now turned to icicles all over my body. Anyway, I found the thing and my sis, Chris, and I headed over to the Ale House for my well earned FREE BEER! I enjoyed several cups of that, but did not enjoy the frigid temps inside the Ale House. After a little visit to Starbucks with Chris to warm up, we parted ways, and I actually ran most of the way home? Oh Katie.

So yep! Run number three under the belt! Oh, so what was my time? Oh that'd be 25:30. WHAT??? Totally didn't expect it. Not at all.

Not. at. all.

The official stats breakdown:
bib number: 1721
age: 29
overall place: 41 out of 367
division place: 4 out of 45 (what?!)
gender place: 14 out of 230
time: 25:30
pace: 8:13
~link to my stats

Next up MAYBE the Turkey Trot on Sunday??? I'll have to switcharoo my church situation though, so we'll see. I wanna win a free turkey!!!

light month

2009-10-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

So since the 8K, I've taken it REAL easy. It was kinda nice though resting my knees. After that race, they were really killing me. Now they feel almost 100% normal! Tomorrow I have the Lakefront Discovery 5K! After I ran Al's, I looked up the participation and times for last year's Lakefront Discovery and a. like 100 people run it (because most do the 15K), and b. the fastest times in my division are like 24/25 minutes! In Al's I did the first three miles in like 25 and half!! But for some reason I don't think I'll be able to crack that tomorrow. I think I'll be lucky to do it in 27. My first 5K was 27:53 I think? In any case, people keep saying I'll surprise myself, so we'll see. I did a test run earlier this week and it wasn't good at all. I had a side ache the entire time. But I think I'll be better off tomorrow morning with rest and food in my stomach (I was so hungry during Tuesday's trial run!)

After the race though, I really have to step it back up. While I did really need the rest, I have to get up to my three runs a week again and start building my mileage.

Al's Run!!

2009-10-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

I DID IT!!!!!!!!

Ok, so in keeping with my race posts, here's a summary:

I went to bed at 9:30pm, ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, so I could get up well rested at 6am this morning. I made coffee immediately. For breakfast I had a peanut butter, banana, milk, protein smoothie and a granola bar. I was pretty nervous. Not really giant flapping birds just yet, but it wasn't your typical Saturday morning (because when am I up before 8am?!?) I iced my knees and watched a Dog Show on Animal Planet. At 8am I walked over to my office to grab my ipod (I had left there accidentally WHOOPS!) GOOD because it gave me a mile and a quarter warm up :) On my way there the giant flapping birds began their dance in my stomach. Guh!

After grabbing my ipod and going to the bathroom for the 9348025th time, I headed to the shuttle area, and I heard "Want a ride??" It was my parents in my mom's bright yellow Cobalt :) I hopped in, we drove *AH* block, parked, and headed to the shuttles. I gave my mom my jacket and yoga pants, she handed me my ipod (almost forgot JEEZ), and my stepdad and I boarded the bus. We spent the next hour chatting about running and life in this Marquette building...I was trying not to think TOO hard about everything! At 10:15, and after ONE more bathroom break, we got in the very back of the 7min mile section which I didn't agree with but David convinced me just to go with it. "3 minutes" "90 seconds" "5...4...3...2....." It's finally here!!!!!!

In a few words: the race was definitely difficult! The whole reason I wanted to run with my stepdad, aside from the comradery (!!), was so he could keep me at a good pace. He's the one who recently finished SECOND in his division at the Cudahy Classic 8K! So I was definitely doing a pretty jaunty pace! The first song on my quick playlist was "All Over the World" by Pet Shop Boys and I immediately got all misty!! I was like: holy hotdogs, I'm REALLY in this thing!! A seemingly lofty goal just a few months ago...is totally happening! From that point on, I kicked some ass. Yep, not gonna lie, there were a couple times I felt kinda rough...but not so bad that it was debilitating...mostly my legs hurt, as a good majority of the first half is uphill. But I never experienced one cramp or side ache :)

Then the magic happened.

So my original goal for this race, around 4-5 months ago, was under 50 minutes. As you know, a couple weeks ago I adjusted that to 44 minutes. You may also remember that I completely freaked out after my bad run and figured 44 minutes was TOO lofty. Well......as I was rounding the 4 mile marker, I looked at my watch. At 4 miles I was at 34:40. What????? Totally unbelievable! So in the final mile stretch, in order to make my 44 minute goal, I could basically slowly jog to the finish line and make it. This rocked!! But of course I didn't slow down...I really pushed through. It was hard. I mean I had basically been running 8:40 min miles which is pretty crazy for slow little me!!

Right before rounding the last corner, I put on The Hives' "Supply and Demand" and went...to...town. With the finish line in my sights, I scraped the bottom of my energy barrel and seriously sprinted to the end. As I crossed the finish, I did this crazy arms rockin out "look at me I'm AWESOME" move and then basically wanted to throw up :) But I didn't!!! David was behind me and I turned around and said, "ok give me a minute"...after that I turned back and said "Seriously David, that was AWESOME!!!" I can't even describe how elated I was!!! I just couldn't believe I did it. I really accomplished my goal, and in "only" seven months of "beginner running."

In the next minute, I ran into a couple dudes from work...one of whom I chat with a ton about running :) We all finished relatively close to one another so that was pretty exciting too! Then my mom and sister ran up to us and that made me even MORE excited!!! We all chatted about the race, I got water, my free snicksnacks (pita chips!!!), and scarfed down a half of a banana. We capped off the event by going to one of my favorite local restaurants Buckleys and I celebrated with a Guinness ;) I used my mom's Blackberry to discover the following SUPER FREAKING AWESOME info:

Katie Nelson
bib number: 2690
age: 29
gender: F
overall place: 1134 out of 3185
division place: 86 out of 367
gender place: 280 out of 1444
***time: 42:41***
~link to my stats

42 freaking minutes and 41 seconds?!?!

Totally NUTS. So basically I was in the top 23% of my age division 25-29 (which, BY THE BY, I'm at the END of!!!) and in the top 19% of my gender. And, roughly, in the top third overall. (hopefully my math isn't totally off...my brain is tired??) For only running for SEVEN months, I think that's pretty damn awesome.

...

Now how about a piece of humble pie, huh Katie??

I could NOT have done this without all the friends and coworkers behind me, well aware of this race and well aware of me racing this race. Talk about motivation!! I also could not have done this without the knowledge that my mom and sister were waiting for me at the finish. Especially considering that just ONE YEAR AGO I was waiting for my SISTER at the end of her first race...JEALOUS of the fact that she could run and I couldn't!!! And finally, I couldn't have done this *WELL* without David at my side keeping my pace. I really don't have any words to describe...such a milestone, and such an experience.

Ok I think I'm done with this novel of a post. My legs kinda hurt and I might need more beer ;)

Next stop??? My Halloween 5K in three weeks!!!

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Running is AWESOME :) :) :)

Day before Jitters

2009-10-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

Alright so the day is almost here. You'd think I have a marathon to run tomorrow. It's "just" 5 miles guh!! I just never got over that bad run from last week, AND my knees are totally shot. I don't know what I did, but my left one hurts SITTING DOWN. It's seriously lame. In more ways than one? Anyway! So I mapped out the gist of the route:

And for the heck of it, here are my mile markers:
Mile 1: Milwaukee
Mile 2: A little after Knapp
Mile 3: Roughly the end of Lafayette Hill
Mile 4: Almost to the Mason Bridge
Mile 5: FINISH! Start haulin' once I hit VB though.

"During Al's Run in Milwaukee, I'd like to take a Knapp, but at the End of the Hill and Under the Bridge I must Finish!"

Ok that helped! I broke down the route, so it seems way easier to handle. NOT that it wasn't easier to handle in the first place, but for some reason, I'm a little more excited now :) I can almost see all the people and hear the crowd! Alright, good stuff, I'm golden now! My knees should break in heading into mile 3 per usual and after 3.5 I should be able to really bust outta the box!

Well wish me luck internet friends who may or may not read this blog :)

minor set back

2009-10-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

So I'm usually gushing about how friggin rad my runs are, hey? Well I'm not superwoman afterall. My run last night was atrocious. All I was going to do was a ~2.25 mile fartlek/interval type run right? Oh man. So right when I started I felt some pain in my right shin. And after my second speed-up, I felt like I just couldn't breathe right. So after barely a mile and a half, I just had to stop. (I had ONLY been running 14 freaking minutes!!) I caught my breath for five minutes and ran the rest of the way home (not even a half mile) like three times slower than when I started. It was very disappointing. And for the rest of the night my knees and shins hurt pretty bad AND my exercise-induced asthma kicked in. Something I haven't suffered from at all since I first started running. My knee was even worse this morning.

SO! Apparently I must not have waited enough time to run since my 6.6mi on Tuesday?? But c'mon two days? So bizarre. I guess my body just needs rest. And of course I seriously don't want to overdo anything before the race. So lesson learned: just take it easy this week. I got a bunch of long distance in this past month, so I'm good there. I'll run once, maybe twice in the next week, but real easy. Hopefully I didn't mess up my knee or anything somewhere back there :(

Al's Run goal

2009-09-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I really didn't want to set a goal time for my 8k race next weekend. Mostly because I didn't want to accidentally suck and disappoint myself. Originally I wanted to run it in under 50 minutes. At first that actually looked challenging because I was running my long distance routes averaging like 10:30 minute miles. But for some reason, recently I've just been blowin' it out the box. Last night I ran 6.6 miles averaging 9:04 min miles. That's unbelievable. That means that I could run Al's in 45 minutes. That's crazy talk. And with it being race day and all? With the adrenaline? We're talkin' like 44 minutes possibly. Like if I ran even 8:54 min miles? Done. And that blows my mind.

But like I said, am I setting myself up for disappointment if I really set that goal? The whole point of doing Al's Run was to DO it! To actually run an 8K which I never in a million years thought I could do. But what if I have a bad running day? What if it's unseasonably warm and sunny? What if I have a really bad side cramp and just absolutely have to slow down to regain my composure? It's hard dealing with the unknown. And speaking of the unknown, I've never even run this route before. What if that trips me up? Bah...this is just week-before-the-race jitters, that's all. I guess at the end of the day I'm going to hope for something like 47-48 minutes (9:30min mi avg), but push really really hard for under 45. I mean you need a lofty goal to get that extra push at the end of the race right??

In any case, I have like three runs left before the big day: a fartlek one tomorrow, 3-4 mile quick paced run over the weekend, and a light jog or two early next week as I don't want to do anything drastic before the race. I find that my body really gains ground when I have more than just a couple days between runs. For example, I had about four days in between last night's and Thursday's run and I could seriously feel a ton of progress, like my body is rewarding me for resting :)

One final note: God bless fall. The absolute, without a doubt, ultimate BEST WEATHER to run in. October in Wisconsin is a gift from above for runners :)

go go gadget legs?

2009-09-24T14:42:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post that I DID in fact run this morning. I went to bed a little on the late side, so that 6am alarm was a real dooze. When I headed out, my legs were a little rough, so I decided I'd just do like three miles instead of four, to give my legs a rest. I also decided to do a bit of a slower run. Well when push came to shove, while I didn't do my little "brain tricks," there were quite a few times when I decided to push harder. And hard it was! It's been so humid lately, so the run was pretty stifling. When I got home and tracked my route, it turns out I did ~3.75 miles at 8:54 min miles?!?!? How the heck was I going so fast?!?! Anyway...it's times like these that I think this training is not only working, it's ACTUALLY working! What? Yep!

another goal accomplished!

2009-09-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

In my first running blog post, my "third goal" was to run with my step-dad. Now despite the fact that he's pushing 50 and regularly feels pain in places we didn't know existed, he still hauls ass!! A few weeks ago, he ran the Badgerland Striders Cudahy Classic 8K and placed second in his age division (M 40-49) with a time of 38:33 (7:43)...I think that's pretty freaking good!!

In any case, when I first started running, I figured it would be awhile before I'd run with him. Obviously he can slow it down for me, but I didn't want him practically tripping over his feet in an effort to slow down. Well with my own 8K race coming up, I figured it might be a good idea to try it. Perhaps David would speed me up a little. Meanwhile, he wanted to run the race himself, but to avoid injury, he needed someone a little slower to run with. It's a match made in heaven!

So Sunday afternoon, he met me at the apartment. This was my "long run" day and since I went 6.6 miles last week, I decided to up to to 7 miles. I know...7 miles running with a veteran?? Was I biting off more than I could chew?? Well I mapped out a 7 mile route, and we took off into the slightly mild temperatures, but HOT sun. Aaaaand how did it go??? Well basically it couldn't have gone any better!!! Right away I knew I was going faster than I typically do in the first couple miles. At first it made me nervous because of the length of the route...was I going to totally pass out like four miles in? Nope not at all! I just kept plugging away. I'll tell you that runs go SO MUCH FASTER when you're running WITH someone! Talk about a way to beat the long distance boredom! And it's not like we were talking or anything. We probably exchanged like three sentences total the whole way, not including "turn right here." But I guess maintaining your focus on the person next to you is enough distraction.

The two hotspots in the run were the two big hills I made sure to incorporate: one at mile 5 and one at mile 6.75 or so. So yeah, right at the end of course! I told David I needed to slow down to prepare for the first hill and that worked ok. And actually after the hill was over, I usually slow waaaaay down to recover, but because I was with David, I just pushed on. After the second hill, at the end of the route, I gave 'er hell, per usual, and sprinted the final 2 minutes (roughly four blocks or so). I think David was pretty surprised I had it in me!!

Ok enough of that...what about STATS?!? I love me some stats!! Well, when I recorded our time (1:07:10) into mapmyrun, turns out I did the 7.2 mile route averaging 9:18 min miles!!! That's WORLDS...WORLDS away from 10:10 min miles from last weekend's long run. So yeah, consider this girl very proud of herself!!! Meanwhile David ALSO said that this was one of his favorite runs! He said the pace was excellent and definitely a good way to avoid re-activating his injury. So basically, while he may not earn himself another awesome 8K time in the upcoming race, he'll be helping ME get a better time than I would by myself. Basically if I can run 7 miles at that pace, I can certainly do 5 miles at that pace!! Add in the energy and adrenaline of Race Day, and I could stand to get a really solid time! I'm so stoked now!!!

In other news, last night I did another "fartlek" type interval run. Only 2.2 miles again, but I did it in 18:28 instead of 20:00 like last week! That's a solid 8:30 min mile average!! I do believe that's my best time yet. Granted "only" for 2 miles, but still...I think all the varying in training is seriously helping me. I'm so glad I really buckled down in these past few weeks!

However, with that said, I noticed during my long run, and especially in my interval run yesterday, that my legs are feeling pretty rough. I could feel sharp pains in my right leg from my quad to my knee to my shin to my ankle to my big toe. It went away about 3 minutes in, but still, it's got me a little worried and I don't want to overdo it just two weeks before the 8K. So I'm going to see what happens on Thursday morning...whether I should do the 4 miler or not. On the one hand, more long distance will really prepare me for the 8K, but on the other hand, am I pushing it with these 6-7 mile runs? It's so hard to say.

OK END OF LONG ASS POST! I'm sure YOU could've run 7 miles in the time it took you to read this jeez!

this morning's run

2009-09-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

So my 4ish mile runs have been landing on mornings (instead of after work) several times now and I always kind of dread them because I feel really sluggish and my time is always slower. Well I actually woke up like 5 minutes before my 6am alarm went off, so perhaps I was already psyching myself up for a better run.

I started trotting away and I immediately noticed two things: a. why aren't my legs working right and b. I dressed waaaaay too warm for what I thought to be a cold morning. But I didn't let these things get me down. I pulled up my pant legs and focused on trying to get my pace/footfalls right. I was totally clopping like a horse out there!

Sure enough, I started hitting my stride, but approaching the two mile mark I started getting tired per usual. But just yesterday I read someone's something-or-other on Facebook talking about Jillian from Biggest Loser and the concept of Mind over Matter. So I started telling myself: hey now, this is ALWAYS the part of the run that sucks...body will wake up in just a few minutes, so right now brain has to take over. And I went faster.

I started setting little goals for myself like "get to those trees way down there in 30 seconds." Now because I'm technically unsure of how far away the trees are, I have no idea whether 30 seconds would be a fast pace or not, BUT simply the act of "setting a goal" makes one run faster! So I kept doing this throughout my entire run...five minutes on this next leg, 30 seconds to the next block, get to Point B before time hits 40:00. It worked like a charm. Additionally, when I'd feel tired, I'd just tell my body to go harder, no ifs/ands/buts about it.

Nearing the end of my route, I was *hoping for something like 9:45 minute miles, MAAAYBE 9:30. What did I do? Not only did I run 4.78 miles (when I thought I'd barely get to the 4.2 mile mark), but I did it averaging 9:10 minute freaking miles!!!!! 9:10?!?!? What the?!?!

So there you have it! I think I seriously gained a TON setting the small goals (sort of like doing intervals/speed work, but *tricking your body into thinking they're just fun quick little games). Although I think my speedwork 2 mile runs are meshing really well with my hour+ runs as well.

Maybe it's all coming together? Maybe I just had a really good running day? Maybe I ate the perfect combo of food the night before (uhh pizza/wings/238021408234 tortilla chips???)...I don't know, but I like it. And it gives me fuel to keep getting better. I'll be prepared for the off days like any other runner has to be. But hopefully this physical AND mental training is really paying off!

OH!!! And I totally forgot to mention it Day Of, but my SIX MONTH RUNNING ANNIVERSARY was on Tuesday!!! Six months and look how far I've come...I mean WHY would I ever consider doing a half marathon?!?!? And here I actually am! Spooky!!!

Less than a month!!

2009-09-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've got less than a month until my 8K race. In the last two weeks, I've adopted the following regiment:

Beginning week: 2-2.5 mile "intervals" in which I run three 45 second burst every five minutes. It's much more difficult than it seems! Undoubtedly because I'm not used to it. Despite the 20 minutes I'm running which is ridiculously short, this is the hardest run of my week.

Midweek: 4-4.5 miles. I try to pick this one up so I get at the 9:30 min mile range.

Weekend: Hour run. Last week I only did 52 minutes because it was so hot, and apparently I was running 9:30 min miles which doesn't seem right to me, but I guess math doesn't lie! Yesterday I ran from my house to my boyfriend's house, which is actually "only" 4.5 miles, so I had to tack on an extension which bumped it up to 6.6 miles!! I did it in 1:07 though which was actually incredibly disappointing. I seriously thought I was haulin' out there, especially because a large chunk of the run is a. downhill and b. in a slightly sketchy neighborhood so you HAVE to run a little quicker!! I don't know where I went wrong. But this actually gives me some fuel to repeat it this weekend and try to beat that time. Maybe Sunday night again, but perhaps NOT after dark?? I was honestly a bit frightened at certain points haha!

In any case, the main reason I was disappointed was because I am extremely determined to beat 50 minutes in that 8K. Obviously doing the 8K in the first place is a goal unto itself, but now that I know I can clearly run five miles plus, I want to get a good time. So since I'm starting a new running week, I just really have to step it up a notch and push even though it hurts. NPNG and all that fun stuff ;)

Anyway, I'm still loving to run!! My knees aren't loving anything right now, but they're just gonna have to deal with it.

PS I just realized that with my 6.6 miles I ran yesterday, I ran over 10K!!! So there's my next goal all set to go: 10K race! :)

still running!!

2009-08-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

So there's been a bit of a hiatus on this blog, but that doesn't mean I've quit!! I have been struggling for time, however. I was down to only running a couple times a week. But it is summer and in addition to the tons of social engagements, the hot weather, and the additional exercise I get from walking around fairs and fests, the lakefront and neighborhood, and Vegas (oh that's right Vegas), I've balanced things out quite a bit.

In ANY case, I decided to post today for various reasons! One, I received two comments in the last week from random passers-by thanking me for encouraging them to get out there! This, in turn, encourages ME too!! When I first started running, I read quite a few beginners' blogs and it was really neat starting at their first entry and seeing how far they had come. To provide that for someone else is the main reason I starting this blog and even if I inspire just one single person, it's worth every letter I type!!

Secondly, I rocked another milestone last week! I ran for an entire HOUR!!!! Obviously I've got an 8K coming up in about a month and a half. And as I just mentioned, my days running per week have not only decreased, but so have my miles...clocking in 3.5miles at most. Not good when you're trying to get up to running 5 miles comfortably ("comfortably" being the operative word here). So on Wednesday evening, I started out with the intention of trying to run for at least 40 minutes to try to build my stamina back up. Well, as I approached the first mile, I hit a major wall. My upper abdomen cramped up and I could barely run. I stopped for a minute to stretch my legs and it died down. But I ran for another minute and it came back with a vengeance. My mind was racing...I was down by the lakefront park and I thought to myself: I should just go back. I'm barely going to make it two miles, let alone the 40 minutes I had planned on. But something inside my brain clicked and I knew I was just going to have to force myself. And not the kind of force where your alarm goes off at 6am and you "force" yourself out of bed to go for a morning jog. The kind of force where, with every step, you feel the most painful blood curdling stab in your side and you barely breath because that just makes it worse. But off I went...

After mile two, I started "getting used to" the pain...in the sort of way where I basically tried very VERY hard to zone it out. I felt like a zombie running up the lakefront path merely focusing on the breath going in and going out of my lips in short bursts. And then...suddenly at about 3.5 miles, like MAGIC, the pain was gone and I was golden. And every five or so minutes after that point it just got better and better. Basically my body decided that apparently this is what she and I were going to be doing for the next chunk of time, so we might as well feel good about it. Like a pouting infant whose mom won't let her have the toy at Target, so she just gives up and moves on. Somewhere at this point, I think it was at the 40 minute mark, I decided to go the whole hour. As I rounded up the last ten minutes, the only part of my body that really hurt were my hip flexors, as they aren't used to the ongoing forward/back motion.

When I returned to the apartment, my sister and her BF came downstairs and were all "where were you this whole time?!?!" It was a GRAND feeling showing them my watch and saying: No, that isn't a minute and two seconds...HOUR AND TWO MINUTES!!!" Awesome! In any case, I'm going to try very hard to run an hour once a week. It's very difficult to find the time and the weather to do it in (Wed night was a cool 65 or so...very atypical for August in Wisconsin!). But I think at this point, if I can get through the awful stabbing I endured on Thursday and still run for an hour, this 8K in October is totally ON!

Here's to second winds!!!

My first 5K race!!!

2009-07-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

I did it!!!!!!!

My running pal Drew got to my apartment around 7ish. We watched Friends reruns (while I was trying desperately to ignore the huge flapping birds in my stomach). We headed down to Cathedral Square Park around 8pm to find my family hanging out by the bar Bad Genie. For the next hour, I, again, tried to ignore the massive birds, as well as the blaring music which was supposed to be "motivational" but more so intensely nerve-wracking! Chris arrived a little before start time, and I will admit that it was an incredibly sweet gesture!! I will ALSO admit that it didn't help my nerves too much, as it was the first official Meet the Parents moment yeesh!! Ironic too since the first time Nate met the parents was at Mandsi's first 5K last October! Running brings people together, I'm telling you! Davie, Drew, and I headed into the throng of runners with ten minutes to go. Davie headed to the front and Drew and I discussed weird things like peeing out of your mouth?? I blame nerves.

KAPOW!!!! START TIME!!! I was in the middle front of the 5000 runners, so I waited until I crossed the official start line to start my watch (about 30 seconds after the big clock began). Ok, talk about surreal guys!! Obviously I've been in crowds of people all heading in the same direction, but there's something about the RUNNING in the same direction that made me feel very Cloverfield! Like we were all running from some ginormous monster thrashing about the city! It was truly bizarre and not something I was expecting!

Most people passed me up for most of the time ;) But I definitely didn't want to go too fast. Interestingly enough, I checked out my time at the first mile mark and it was around eight and a half minutes!! So I was definitely going faster than typical which obviously makes sense in a race atmosphere. Midway through the race, since I knew the course, I was like: jeez this is going super fast!! Just flying by! I did feel tired throughout, just because of the quicker pace, but it wasn't debilitating by any means. The final half mile was the point where I was going to "pull out all the stops" and "haul ass"...and despite the fact that it was ALL UPHILL, I really did! I started to pass more people and just gave it my all! I definitely felt a very strong burning sensation in my chest, but in my head I just kept yelling C'MON KATIE, KICK IT INTO HIGH GEAR!!!

Right ahead of me I saw the clock at 28 minutes and as I crossed the finish, I stopped my own watch at 27:53!!! Sounds a lot better than 28:00 which was only seven seconds away ;) I was TOTALLY winded as I put on the breaks, but honestly, within a minute, I was good to go! Like I hadn't run at all! Even my mom commented on it! "I have a fast recovery time" :) I did feel great though, SO excited, as shown in this pic haha!

So we hung out for awhile, I did some stretching (glad I did because, this morning, I can vaguely feel what it WOULD'VE been like if I hadn't!!), purchased a beer, and discussed some details. David ran it in 21 minutes or so INSANE!!! Drew had an asthma attack halfway through and actually SAW me pass him by!!! He came in maybe 20-30 seconds after me.

Everyone dispersed and Chris and I chilled with our beers outside Genie for a little while. After taking him home, I eagerly updated my Facebook stuff and hit the sack around 1am ha!!

Overall it was very much an intense and exciting experience to say the least! I don't think I would've done anything differently. I think maybe my favorite part was watching the other runners continue to stream in AFTER I had crossed...NOT to be some big ol' bitch or anything, but it really made me feel like I have something here with this running thing. I'm not amazing or some running prodigy, but if I put my mind to it, I think I can just keep building...whether it be a faster time or a longer race. At the end of the day all that matters is that it was FUN!!! I felt like I was really part of something, but at the same time, it felt very personal. I noticed the runners around me, but it also felt like very much my OWN private race just like my every-day runs.

So onward and upward!!! I'm going to really start to focus on the 8K now and come up with some kind of schedule combining strength training short runs and one slower long run each week.

One final note, as I said on Facebook, I couldn't have done this without my stepdad. I look forward to future days of mutually impressing and motivating one another for as long as we can (barring knees, hips, and other rough spots due to our old age haha!!)

Thanks Davie for everything!!!

Major Goal!!!

2009-07-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

I ran 5 miles!!! I can officially run an 8K! Maybe not amazingly well--the run was VERY inconsistent starting off pretty rough and slow and ending perfect--but I can do it! Man I remember when I first started and 5 miles seemed pretty freaking impossible!! Like when I looked at Stage Two and was just totally bewildered at running straight for one whole hour. Now these 5 miles I did took 51 minutes, but I imagine that on a good day I could potentially run for an hour if I went a little slower. I'll work up to that...it's definitely another goal of mine. In fact, it's times like these that make me wonder if I'd actually be able to do a 15K. Maybe not anytime soon, but within the next year or so? Like the Lakefront Discovery next fall? Well I guess anything can happen if you keep at it. My knee just needs to hold up and actually lately it's been hurting less and/or the recovery time is shorter. So I bet it's a combo of building strength and wearing that knee brace bandage thing (thanks again Davie!!).

So next up, my first 5K on Thursday!!! I'm not nervous now, but I know I probably will be day-of. I'm going to take an easy run tomorrow (yesterday I think I walked like six miles total and my legs, or rather my FEET could use a break today) and then nothing till Thursday. Wish me luckies!!!

way behind!!

2009-06-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

I've had a few runs since my last epic post! Right now I'm in 5K training mode...my goal is to run at least 4 miles so I keep building up the endurance. I've had mixed results.

Thurs 18th
I ran in the morning exactly 3 miles in 30 minutes so my pace was the "slower" 10 minute miles...it's really hard to run quickly in the morning, that's for sure. My legs were pretty sluggish.

Sun 21st
This run went surprisingly well as I had been eating massive amounts of food and drinking massive amounts of alcohol all Dad's day! I ran 3.5 miles in 33 minutes (9.5 min miles) in the refreshing rain.

Wed 24th
UGH!!! I ran first thing in the morning, at 6:30am, and it was already 81 degrees and muggy as hell. I REALLY wanted to go 40 minutes, and halfway through, I was like 30?? And then I reached the Jefferson hill and had to stop at 25. This was the first time I've had to stop running when I had a different goal in mind. It was just too hot and the air was so stifling after that hill I couldn't breath! So I did 2.5 miles in 25...really not bad for an 80 degree day. And I actually ran three more minutes on the walk home because I was bored with walking haha!

Mon 29th
I took a loooooong hiatus because I was in Peru, IL all weekend, and FINALLY did my 4 miles! 4.2 in 43 minutes though, so a little slowish. My legs weren't feeling that great and something's up because they hurt pretty bad all night post-run and into this morning. I think I just had too long of a hiatus. I'm hoping to run again Wednesday morning even though I'm starting to loath morning runs with the cold muscles and all that.

In any case, my run yesterday OFFICIALLY clocked me in at 100 miles since March 15th!!! SUPER stoked about that! Meanwhile, I signed up for the Storm the Bastille 5K Fun Run that's next week Thursday! It'll be my first 5K although not as much pressure because it's a pretty tight race in the streets of downtown...so it's not like you can get a very quick start or anything packed amongst a zillion people. GOOD though since in a normal 5K I'd probably start of way too fast anyway! I expect a lot of weavin and bobbin! I'm really excited though! Especially since I know I can run 5K without too much trouble nowadays. Good stuff!!

I still have to purchase my Nike+ iPod guy...I was going to buy it once I completed Stage One, but then I thought I'd buy it after my first race. I actually started out this whole thing anti-iPod. I liked listening to the 'sounds of the city' and all that rub. But after my runs started getting longer, I kind of like the distraction of music. To each his own I suppose. So yeah...I'll give it some thought after the race next week. I'm really not supposed to be spending extraneous moneys on stuffs....

One to Forty-Four Minutes in Three Months

2009-06-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

I started running exactly three months and two days ago. My background in running was non-existent. A mere handful of times I would read an email where my friend Monica talked about taking a run the night before, or I'd watch my sister head out into the elements, or I'd listen to my stepdad talk about his running injuries, and for whatever reason, I'd get all inspired and beam: I'M gonna run too!!! Only I had no idea what I was doing, so I'd run for five minutes, feel like I was going to throw up and pass out on the sidewalk, and vow that I just wasn't cut out for the sport...only to repeat the same process again a year later. I told people I had exercise-induced asthma. I said I just didn't like it, that it was boring. I made up all sorts of excuses.

But after my sister and stepdad ran the Lakefront Discovery run last year, a seed was planted. I saw all the runners and their fans, and while I was excited to cheer on my sister's first 5K, I admit, I was jealous. I wanted people to cheer for me too! And to feel that sense of accomplishment crossing the finish line. This was last October.

Five months later I met a guy who ran in all kinds of races, half marathons even. Yeah yeah, we were dating, and I kinda wanted to impress him. Once the decision was made that I was GOING to run no matter what--as with the onset of many of my hobbies--it came on quick and it came on strong. And I researched the hell out of running all day. I found a great place to buy shoes. I looked into breathing tricks for those with asthma. But, most importantly, I found a specific schedule: My Running Bible. I seriously could not have come this far so fast if it weren't for this simple little table. Think about it. The first week all you have to do is be able to run ONE minute straight. One on/one off, for a quick and easy 14 minutes. Well, I say "quick and easy" now. In all honestly? I was still a little freaked out. But the whole thing wasn't so daunting that I felt like I couldn't handle it. And once I completed my first 14 minute run/walk, I was hooked. It felt so good to be outside and soak up that energy. I felt that I really could DO this thing!

And onward and upward I went. I remember heading into Week 3, and already feeling the pain. I remember thinking "run for three minutes straight???" yet I did it. I remember halfway through Week 6 I decided to repeat the whole week over because I struggled so much. Struggled to run six minutes straight. But I pushed through. I pushed through those pesky side stitches where your entire abdomen feels like it's being stabbed by a million knives. I didn't stop. I pushed through burning shins. I didn't stop. I pushed through my knee feeling like it was crumbling into a billion bone bits. Ok I stopped to heal up a bit :) but I didn't stop mid-run. That's the trick of my Running Bible. I was so determined to follow it so strictly that once I started running for that interval, unless my "walking minute" came up, I would not stop. And then you'll get days like The Perfect Run when you truly realize how much you love the sport. And why you HAVE bad days in the first place. They make the good days feel that much better!

Three months and two days later, here I am. I have officially completed the first 10 Week stage of my "Running Bible" table. I can run 5K straight with no major problems. And last night I ran 44 minutes straight through. 4.5 miles. Let me break it down for you: running for one minute straight is, what, like a tiny tenth of a mile? And three months later I can run 4.5 miles straight through? Ok ok, I'm not gushing on and on here for sake of bragging, honest. I'm gushing on and on here because if I can do it, YOU can do it!! Maybe you'll be able to run one mile straight in 3 months, maybe you'll run ten miles...that part doesn't matter, what matters is that you'll see actual results. 90 days is nothing. It goes so fast, you won't even see the time pass! And to go from -there- to -here-...it's just gives you so much motivation to keep it up. And that's exactly why sticking to a schedule is so important. There really was no room for frustration or discouragement. Especially if you ARE willing to be a touch flexible. Like repeating weeks when you don't feel like you're ready for the next one, OR taking weeks off for injuries or illness, which I did at least three times!

In conclusion!! All this post is really meant to be is simple motivation. Motivation for those of you who have entertained the idea of taking up running. Even very, very deep down, where you won't even admit it to yourself (like me!) If there's just a tiny spark, like the soft, dull glow of a piece of kindling in a campfire that's just ready to rage...I urge you to take advantage of that! Sure there will be good days and horrible days, but in the end, you'll always be proud of yourself for doing something you never thought you'd do.

This is also motivation for all you already-runners out there! KEEP IT UP and know that you are ALL 100% inspirations to the rest of us. Without you, we'd be nowhere. Running in place with no destination. And finally, to all you ex-runners out there who have retired your shoes and safety pins: you've inspired plenty of us as well. Plus you have an abundance of words of wisdom to provide to us for the rest of our days. You are true veterans.

Ok that's all I got. I apologize for the blathering on :) Next up for me is training for the goal that started this whole thing, Al's Run 8K. Aka: Run for an hour straight through. And who knows where I'll go from there?? I never ONCE in my life thought I'd actually be a runner...not once. And to be one? It's an amazing feeling.

End of Week 10 & Stage 1

2009-06-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

And what a way to end Stage 1!!! For this last run, I felt a little rough at first...a little cramping and such, but I literally told myself it'd be gone soon if I just ran it out. And that's exactly what happened! After the first ten minutes, I felt great! And I didn't even bother stopping for my walk breaks. So basically I ran 44 minutes straight. And not only that, but I ran faster at an average of 9:39min miles!!! Gooooood stuff. STATS!

Week 10 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 10 Min (44 mins total)
Total Distance: 13.37 mi
Ave Distance: 4.46 mi/day
Ave Time: ~9:55 min mi

Ok above post will be a synopsis sorta thing...let's ponder running shall we??

Week 10

2009-06-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on!! First of all, my knee is a lot better and Davie got me a brace thing to wear when I run and walk to work, so that VERY MUCH helps!!! Second, here are some runs for Week 10 (which has lasted over a week haha!)

Last Tuesday I hit a MAJOR milestone!!!! I ran my 44 minutes as dictated by Week 10, but I ran 4.4 miles!!!! This means I ran 10 minute miles. Which breaks my record by nearly 30 seconds. AMAZING!!! Unfortunately, it was a really hard run. My shins hurt pretty bad and my breathing was not on at ALL. I struggled the whole time. So when I found out how far I had run in the time allotted, I figured the struggle was just due to my too-quick pace. HOWEVER.......

....On Saturday I did the same thing, 4.4 miles in 44 minutes and it wasn't a struggle at ALL!!! It was another Perfect Run: no leg/knee pain, no breathing problems! SO that rocked!

In the middle there, I actually took a quick one mile run to see what my time would be. I think it was 9:16 or something? But it was quite a struggle to go "that fast"...not sure if it was due to the heat or what. I bet on a cooler day I could run much faster for just one mile.

So I have one more run to complete Week 10 which I'll probably do tonight. Look for my breakdown/summary of the last ten weeks sometime soon!

unofficial 5K!!

2009-06-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I ran my first "full" 5K, as in NO walking breaks whatsoever! It took me just under 35 minutes total, which isn't all that bad. I'm sure I would've run faster had I known exactly where that 5K marker would've been and how to pace myself ;) Now this is also coming off my week long break, healing from my weird knee injury. And of course I sort of re-injured it during the run. Not as badly though, so I think I'm going to try to start Week 10 tonight after work. I just have to ice it immediately after post-run stretching. In any case, the 5K was quite a breeze really!! My shins hurt a little bit, but my breathing was great and I just genuinely enjoyed myself the entire time! I could've ran longer too, but didn't want to push it.

It's a bit of a pipe dream, but I'm going to try and get back into pilates. I think they'll really help avoid more injuries and of course strong core = better running. It's really difficult to get into pilates though because of the "boredom factor." The reason why I've been so into running is because of the variety: different scenery, people, weather, etc. So I just have to find a different motivation with pilates...when I was really into it a couple years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed the extra flexibility. And I did notice some major strengthening of my legs, especially quads which need the most work and will help my knees tremendously. So yeah, I'm going to try!

sigh...

2009-06-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

Despite the perfect running weather (hovering around 50...June 2...what?), I'm going to have to extend my "break" into a hiatus AGAIN. My knee is all f'd up and I have no idea how. It doesn't hurt like usual...that dull ache? It's more of a sharp pinch, like a sprain would be (but not that bad). LAME!!! It's like I have ONE more week to go and this happens. Well I can't run tomorrow because of softball or Thurs because of dinner out, so hopefully it'll get all healed up for Friday. The ultimate frustration, I tell you.

End of Week 9

2009-06-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

My other two runs for Week 9 were on Thursday and Saturday. Thursday's run was a little tough because of the humidity, but I felt like I was going much faster than usual. In actuality I was not, but that just means it was easier to go the pace I'm used to and that's always a good thing! I had some "angry fuel" for that run too which helped :)

Saturday I ran right away in the morning and that made for a tough run leg-wise...they were so stiff and it felt like I was on the path to shin splints! So I went super slow and just dealt with it.

Week 9 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 9 Min (40 mins total)
Total Distance: 11.21 mi
Ave Distance: 3.74 mi/day
Ave Time: ~10:46 min mi

My avg time was a little slower, so that's unfortunate, but maybe I'm hitting a weird plateau thing. I definitely feel better all around when I'm running. Better breathing and stamina and such. I can tell my knees aren't doing so hot right now, so I'm taking this two day break before diving into Week 10.

WHAT?? This week is WEEK 10!!! So it'll be the final week of Stage One and then I can decide whether or not I just want to keep running that time (1 off, 10 on for 44 minutes), or move on to Stage Two. I think perhaps I'll continue with Week 10 for several weeks to try to maintain my stamina and build on those ~4 miles. The two races that are on the horizon are June 25thish and July 9th, so I should focus on being able to run four miles pretty well, as they suggest for people running their first 5Ks. And THEN I'll start on Stage Two to train for Al's Run! Week One of Stage Two is running 15 minutes straight right away, so in my brain that feels pretty intense!

Week 9

2009-05-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

I got a little behind on writing, so here's post #2 for the morning!

I'm pretty busy this week, so I had to convince myself to run in the morning instead of after work. I got up at 6:30 and did the whole "do I really HAVE to" song and dance, but my determination won in the end and I headed out into the damp barely 50 degrees. Luckily, the run was perfect! No cramps or stitches or anything...the only complaint was stiff legs, but that's pretty typical when you head out for a run immediately after waking up! I stretched midway through just in case. I'm only a quarter mile away from the 4 mile mark! That's pretty exciting! What I'm beginning to realize, however, is that it's starting to get tough to squeeze runs in now that they're longer. Week 9 is 40 minutes total...add on post-run stretching, plotting my route on Google, and sometimes writing up a blog post real quick, and you've got yourself an hour. Lots of stuff has been happening right after work now that summer is approaching, so I just have to stay dedicated. I've only ran maybe three times in the morning, but they've all been good ones, so I shouldn't be so afraid of just waking up and getting out there. I guess the only problem is cutting back on the up-till-4am nights ;)

End of Week 8

2009-05-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

I got two more runs in this weekend...Thursday night it was NOT 80 degrees. Some crazy front plowed through around 6:30 and dropped to a frigid 50 degrees!!! So it was actually perfect running weather. Although the run was far from perfect. I had some stomach cramps (maybe due to the beer I had right before at happy hour?!) and the last interval was almost entirely uphill in 30mph gusts! A little tough.

I ran again Sunday afternoon.....after two glasses of wine and a boatload of cheese, crackers, berries, and bean salad! I ran down by the lakefront where they were having a kite fest of sorts so it was a nice entertaining run watching all the people. Actually for part of the run I just shut my eyes because it's a straight path and I don't have to worry about crosswalks and cars. I found that to be super relaxing! Oddly enough, the run felt so good, I thought I was going much faster than I actually was. That was a little disappointing, but no big deal of course.

Alright, so...

Week 8 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 8 Min (36 mins total)
Total Distance: 10.17 mi
Ave Distance: 3.39 mi/day
Ave Time: ~10:36 min mi

So while I added a half mile to my run, I'm holding steady at 10:30 minute miles. That might just be my average time for awhile now until I start building up more endurance.

Week 8 - over 5K!!!!

2009-05-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Week 8's first run was Tuesday and HOLY HOTDOGS it was blazin' saddles out there!! Definitely near 80, but with pretty gusty wind, which at first was annoying, but after I started sweating profusely, it helped cool me off! But yes, as my subject line exclaims, I officially passed the 5K mark! AND I've officially run over 50 miles since I started! Now so I ran 3.4 miles in 36 minutes, so that means I probably would've done a 5K in 35 minutes. That's pretty slow. But it was like 80 degrees. And I did have my three 1 min walks in there. So I'm perfectly happy with that number! Tonight I'm going out again despite the current temp holding steady at 81 :\

End of Week 7

2009-05-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Good stuff!! Ok so yesterday's run wasn't as *perfect...I had stomach cramps (not a side stitch) through the whole first half. Then I had a really great middle, and then almost the entire final 7 minute interval was uphill (and steep!), so my legs got super tired. But I fired on all cylinders for the last two minutes, major sprint, and that felt good! AND you wouldn't believe it, but despite the cramps and the "not perfect" feeling, I ran a teeny tiny bit further and faster than Perfect Run day! So anyhow...

Week 7 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 7 Min (32 mins total)
Total Distance: 8.65 mi
Ave Distance: 2.88 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:35 min mi

And actually those stats are BS because I had that really bad run on Wedneday coming back into it after a week and a half of being sick. Without that day, I averaged 3 mi days and 10:30 min miles!

I'm going to forgo the day break and start on Week 8 right away tonight after work. I will officially surpass the 5K distance now and be able to gauge and work on my time. And I KNOW speed isn't the goal here...and I will try not to push myself...but I would really like to nail down a decent time that's less than 35 minutes. Anywhere between 32 and 34 would be great at this juncture! I still have a whole month until the Superun (if that's still going on), so that's plenty of time to train.

By the by, when I was walking into work this morning, it all kind of hit me: the fact that I can run 3 miles. I know to the seasoned runner that doesn't sound like much, but to me it's absolutely huge. If you read my first post, you'll recall that I could barely run a couple minutes straight. And here it is, two months later, and I can run three miles?? What the heck is happening?!? Granted I do take those minute walk breaks three times, but sometimes I feel like I don't even need them. I think those walk breaks are sort of my Dumbo feather. While I take them because it's part of the regimen (and I'm a stickler when it comes to my precious regimen), I also feel like I'll jinx something if I don't take them. But I promise, when I get to Week 10: running for four 10 minute intervals with 1 min walk breaks in between (so 43 minutes total), I will take a day and try to go the whole length without stopping. Let go of the feather so to speak. That'll be a great day!!

THE PERFECT RUN

2009-05-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

..at least as close to perfect as you can get!! 3 MILES IN 32 MINUTES!!! Omg it was GLORIOUS!! When I was walking home from work, I felt a twinge in my upper abs and was all super scared I was going to have another run like Wednesday's was. But I forged on and threw on my running clothes, not looking back. Right away I knew it was going to be good. I started slow per usual, but no stitches or cramps of any kind. My shins were a little tight, but I'm sure they were just worked from Wed and not running for a week and a half. ANYWAY! I picked up my pace pretty quickly and the rest is history! I got a little winded 3/4 of the way through, but caught my breath again during that final quarter. I KNEW I was hauling when I hit the spot I had stopped on Wednesday and still had OVER five minutes left on the 32 minutes!! So check it out:

Wednesday:
32 minute run
2.56 mi - 12:38 min miles

Friday:
32 minute run
3.03 mi - 10:33 min miles

HOLY HOTDOGS!!! I added an entire half mile and shaved two whole minutes off my time!!!

In any case, clearly I'm stoked! Too bad I probably won't have another run like this for awhile. But it definitely put a SKIP in my STEP! If I could possibly ever have an actual 5K work out like this run, I'd totally get in under 35 minutes which is a HUGE goal. Just gotta keep at it!! YAY FOR RUNNING!!!

Week 7

2009-05-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got back on track this Wednesday after a week and a half hiatus! I was mostly worried about how my legs would take it, but apparently that was NOT a problem! My legs barely felt tired at all, but within the first ten steps, I developed this crazy cramp/side stitch horrific pain from my diaphragm to my lower abdomen. And it didn't go away the entire 32 minutes!! It had nothing to do with my pace (I think I ran just shy of 13 minute miles YIKES). I'm hoping it was just a fluke, like my body couldn't remember how to process the oxygen I was breathing in or something?? My lungs have been a little sketch since the virus. I'm going again tonight after work hopefully, so fingers crossed that it's much better!

Week 7...

2009-05-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

...will be a running hiatus to clear up this random cold. Why is everyone and their mom sick right now?!

End of Week 6

2009-05-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

WHAT a good run this morning!!! Well first, I'll catch up with my last run on Wednesday. Like I said, I forced myself to take it really crazy slow...so my breathing was great the whole time, maybe a little labored toward the end, but my legs were awful! They hurt so bad the entire time, especially my upper inner thighs and my FEET for crying out loud! So I wasn't too excited about it, but I was happy that I didn't feel like crap at the end, due to the slower pace. The funny thing was that my minutes/mi time was only FOUR SECONDS longer!!! Four seconds longer than the run where I went "crazy fast" at the beginning. That just goes to show you that slow and steady really do win the race!

Now onto my run from this morning!! Once again, I started off really slow...my calf muscles still hurt from the Killers concert on Thursday haha! Too much thrashing around I guess. I thought it might be a problem, but I stopped after the first six minutes to stretch them out and it was just fine. After that, my legs were pretty good! AND my breathing was perfect...the entire time!! Even up to the end! Which is totally impressive because, get this, I almost ran a 5K!! I got to the 28th minute and I was way down by the lakefront. I really didn't feel like walking all the way back, so I turned my timer back on and did an other six minute interval which took me to 35 minutes!! It felt great!! After mapping it out and entering my time, turns out it was only 3.09 miles...so if I had gone a measly three more blocks, it would've been 3.3mi. But it feels really good to know that I could actually do it! Sure I'd have four 1 minute walking stops, but hopefully by the time the first 5K rolls around in a month and a half, I'll be way more ready. I've been running for a month and a half so far and look how far I've come!

Ok so here and the stats for Side A and Side B (the B sides are always better aren't they? haha!)

Week 6 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 6 Min (28 mins total)
Total Distance: 12.59 mi (A 4.76 | B 7.83)
Ave Distance: 2.52 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:47 min mi

I'm definitely glad I repeated Week 6...I needed the confidence booster for sure! Onto Week 7, walk 1/run 7 for 32 minutes!

Week 6 Side B

2009-04-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

WOW what a run! The first half was like my best run ever. My breathing was absolute tops and my legs weren't sluggish AT ALL! I was super excited!!! ...sooooo I overdid it. BOO!!! I just felt like going fast because I was just gliding along! But I ALSO mixed in a TON of hills and I think that THIS isn't the point where I can mix fast AND hills. So then the second half of my run was completely brutal. My breathing has never been so labored!! I felt like I was either going to trip from exhaustion, pass out, or throw up!! GUH!!! But I just slowed it waaaaay down and kept pushing on. I couldn't help but smile to myself every so often because the pain was so bad...like "jeez this is a nightmare!"...funny huh? ;) But then the FUNNIER part is that ever since the run ended, I've felt like a half million dollars! My recovery time is seriously like 30 seconds for legs and maybe a minute and a half or so for lungs...then I'm golden. I feel totally great right now like that was the best run of my life! WEIRD!!! I don't know what's up, but I'll take it!

What is kinda bumming me out is my mile time. It's pretty much right under 12 minute miles and I feel like I'm never going to knock that down. I know I probably will though...it'll just take time. I can't let it psyche me into running too fast though. I know I keep saying that ;) I just have to keep it slow at the beginning, even if I feel like going faster. If I keep it slow, it'll give me more juice for the end of the run...rather than huffing and puffing and dragging my ass that whole last mile! I just need to SEE it to believe it, that's all. So I promise, my next run I will seriously slow it way down at the beginning and see where that gets me. Maybe it'll help to take a break from the hills too.

PS Run is star'd twice due to the drastic difference between first and second half!

Week 6 Side A

2009-04-26T19:40:00.001-07:00

First of all, I was only able to do two runs this week as my good pal Casey was in town visiting (and I was too lazy and wanted to sleep in all three days I was off work!) Both runs were really tough. The first was Thursday afternoon...my breathing was actually very good, but my legs were pretty sluggish. I had also walked three miles that day, so that might've had something to do with it. The second run was Saturday through the streets of Hoffman Estates, IL visiting my good pals Monica and Tim! I took the run right away immediately after getting up...which I've done before of course...but it was also the first "warm" run at 75 and humid. Again, my breathing was good, no stitches or anything, but my legs were even MORE sluggish than usual and I felt like I was running through mud every single step I took the whole 28 minutes :\ Halfway through the run I decided the following: I failed Week 6 and I definitely need to repeat it. While I got plenty of exercise throughout the week (the aforementioned 3 mi walk Thurs, another probably 6mi walk on Wed, and an hour of ice skating with 2-3 hours walking around a library and the Public Museum Tues), running was just rough. And I realize it's getting harder now, but still...I gotta get back on track. Especially now that my knee isn't bothering me...it's just sluggish leg feeling where I feel like I can't pick up my feet. Don't like it!

So starting tomorrow, I'm going to actually try for four runs this next week! AND I'm going to try to eat better too because that's definitely fallen by the wayside.

End of Week 5

2009-04-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

I am officially half way through the first 10 Week stage! And today's run actually made me a little fearful of my weeks to come. It was pretty hard! I don't know if it was because I had used up all my energy cleaning the apartment all afternoon, or perhaps the not-that-light rainstorm I was running in, or leftover dehydration from the drunken shenanigans on Friday night...but it was hard. And made me wonder if I can run for six minutes straight. I mean I know I can, but is it going to be completely awful?? I can't psyche myself out, I just can't.

In any case, I ran with a new pair of insoles that my stepdad bought me!!! I'm not sure if they worked for my knee just yet?? I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow. Although if anything ruined my knees it was the giant hill I had to run up from Water St up to Van Buren OUCH!!! David you were right about that spot in Al's Run!! I'm really going to have to keep it seriously slow at the beginning of that race in order to get up that thing.

Anyway STATS:

Week 5 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 5 Min (24 mins total)
Total Distance: 6.75 mi
Ave Distance: 2.25 mi/day
Ave Time: ~10:50 min mi

Good stuff! This week I run/walk for 28 minutes...that's quite awhile! But I think I'm ready :)

Week 5

2009-04-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

So I've almost concluded the halfway point to my first 10 week stage! I'm definitely noticing a ton of improvement too. Just yesterday, as I was running, I recalled years ago when I'd try and go out...and just the intense struggle there. And I know the more minutes I add on, the better I'll get. Makes me feel great!!

Tuesday's run was decent...I went pretty fast and had to run in 3428934 mi/per hour winds UPHILL for at least half of it, so that was a little rough. But I do like those more difficult terrain/weather days simply because I think it trains me a little better than an "easy" run would.

On Wednesday my knee hurt pretty bad though and I had to sport the old Ace. I wasn't able to take Monica's "keep leg elevated" advice Tuesday night because I spent an hour and a half cooking PB&J drumsticks :)

Yesterday's run was fast again, but my legs/knee didn't hurt at all! I took Monica's advice of stretching five minutes in and it helped a lot!! I did have some breathing issues, but it was more sharp upper GI pains...and I KNOW it was due to the beer, wine, and popcorn I had ingested only hours prior to the run ;) I would NOT do that under normal circumstances of course! Then, all evening I tried to keep my leg up, and it helped a ton because today my knee barely feels bad at all. No Ace or anything!

So I imagine my final Week 5 run will be tomorrow morning...love the Saturday morning runs!!

End of Week 4

2009-04-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

Because I screwed up on Wednesday, these stats are just from two runs:

Week 4 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 4 Min (20 mins total) - minus Wednesday (Week 5 run)
Total Distance: 3.41 mi
Ave Distance: 1.705 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:50 min mi

My biggest hurdle right now is my knees, especially my left. I even had to wear an Ace bandage on my walk to/from work on Thursday. When I run my knees don't necessarily hurt too much...it's just the next day, especially when stairs are involved! But I'm not going to let it stop me. I read a bunch of stuff on the internet, stretches and such, that can help. I'm going to really try to get back into pilates as I know that will help tremendously. I'm also going to look into insoles as maybe those will help too. I read somewhere that tons of runners have knee issues, but they work through it. It would be one thing if I was a seasoned runner and my knees just can't perform anymore, but since I'm just beginning, I have to believe there's a way to simply strengthen them for the time being. I know I won't be able to run till my dying day, but jeez I'm "only" 29! ;)

whoops!!

2009-04-08T16:43:00.001-07:00

I'm a total idiot! I skipped to week 5?? For some reason I thought I was already doing walk 1/run 5 for 24 minutes and that is SO not the case! But at least I know I can do it?? VERY labored though...and here I thought it was because I was dehydrated...which I completely am with those four beers last night. In any case, the run started off pretty stiff, but within the first 5 minutes, I felt perfect! Then in the last 10 minutes I really took a turn for the exhausted!! But in the last 2, there was this chick I ended up being ahead of and I was determined NOT to let her pass me, so I hauled ass the rest of the way home :) Anyway, Friday I'm back to the walk 1/run 4 for 20 minutes ;)

Week 4!

2009-04-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I got myself up to run this morning! When my alarm went off, these thoughts crossed my mind: I won't have time tonight if I go to the rents after work, I can't tomorrow evening either if I go out with Scott, but if I go tomorrow morning, that means I have to run on Thursday instead of Wednesday, and Thursday morning is Lostcap, but Thursday evening is church...GAH just GO!!!! So I got up :) But it was such a great run!! The four minutes were a breeze and again, I felt like I could keep going. I had absolutely NO breathing trouble at ALL which is seriously making me all kindsa stoked because that was the one thing I was most worried about when I started this extravaganza. I DID do 12 minute miles though so that totally has something to do with it. I'm slow as molasses! But for now it works and it's a good way to keep me from getting discouraged. I can always pick up the pace down the line. Endurance over speed!

End of Week 3

2009-04-04T07:26:00.001-07:00

This was a light week for me. I felt like I needed to take it down a notch, so took the advice of fellow runners :) and took it easy with only three running days and no twist step. Obviously I burst through the gates with some intensity, but now is the time where I really wouldn't want to bite off more more than I can chew and screw everything up! Today's run was a good example of that. I slowed my pace way down and noticed a significant difference in my breathing (not labored at all!) and I definitely felt like I could've kept going at the end of the run. This was kinda sad too because I had walked about a third of a mile down to the lakefront to run that stretch, and then had 2/3rds of a mile to walk back to my apartment. I saw all these runners and wanted to start up again, but kept hearing my mom and didn't want to push it :) I mostly don't want to injure my shins because I can see those taking FOREVER to heal.

Week 3 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 3 Min (16 mins total)
Total Distance: 4.40 mi
Ave Distance: 1.467 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:25 min mi

My first two runs this week averaged 11 minutes, but this last one was 11:42 as I slowed my pace way down (as previously mentioned). In this next week of walk 1/run 4, I'm going to try to force myself to slow down. I have to get used to holding myself back, especially at the beginning of a run, if I want to do these long distance races. And now's as good of a time as any...before I get into the habit!

Week 3

2009-03-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

Whew! Well today was the first of 1min/3min (for 16mins)...and a bit of a doozie! My legs were really tired and stiff. I think I'm still recooping from the ice skating on Saturday...that did a number on my legs for sure! Heading into the last interval, I had to stop at Kilbourn and this older woman asked me about my shoes. She used to run before her knees got bad (something have to look forward to!), so she asked me a few other questions. Before the light changed, she told me to keep up the good work! Well, I was at that 12 min mark and was supposed to walk from 12 to 13, but a. I had been resting at the stoplight for about a minute, and b. I felt stupid walking across the street after our inspirational talk! So I ran all of the last four minutes! It wasn't so bad! The important thing is that I was in a super shitty mood upon getting home, and the run made me feel better :)

End of Week 2

2009-03-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

Well here we are already at the end of week 2! I wouldn't say that running is getting "easier" per se, but I find that every time I go, I like it more! I always look forward to it, and, like today for example, sometimes I have to stop myself from going! I think my knees need a break. I can feel a little more pain than usual when I go upstairs now. But I had a feeling that would happen since my knees have ALWAYS been rough. But if I keep my training steady and don't overdo it, I'm sure I'll build up some endurance in them. Hopefully!

Week 2 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 2 Min (15 mins total)
Total Distance: 5.42 mi
Ave Distance: 1.355 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:20 min mi

All good stats! I obviously raised my mileage adding on that extra minute, but I also shaved off a few seconds on my average time. THIS, however, won't always be the case. I can imagine that I'll undoubtedly hit a block where I'll be running longer than my body is ready for in the next few weeks, maybe even this next week, and I'll have to slow it way down.

I'm ready for the 1min/3min intervals! I think I've found a comfortable pace/stride now...it's just a matter of controlling my breathing. I can see having a little trouble with that tomorrow. I wonder if there will be snow all over the place??

ahhhhh

2009-03-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

I LOVE RUNNING :)

That is all.

Week 2!

2009-03-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Real quick here, but I just had to mention that not only could I do the two minutes, but it was pretty easy!! And actually I think this morning's run was better than yesterday's and this one was on six hours of sleep. Not bad at all! ...I think I'm gonna like it here ;)

End of Week 1!

2009-03-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Week 1 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 1 Min (14 mins total)
Total Distance: 4.74 mi
Ave Distance: 1.185 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:50 min mi

Well I definitely made it and passed with flying colors I think! I mean granted the first week schedule is pretty easy, but hey, I wasn't a runner by any stretch prior to this week, so it definitely means a lot to me!!

My run today was gorgeous yet again! I felt great...the only thing is that I need to find my stride: the distance and timing of each step. In addition to simply building the endurance in my shins, I think finding the right stride and how I land with each step will help too.

I'm very ready for Week 2's 1 min walk/2 min run. In fact, during my last two runs I found myself looking repeatedly at my watch to see when it's time to start running, yet forgetting to look when it's time to start walking. It can even be a little frustrating when I hit a good pace and stride and I have to stop! So mos def a good sign!

First run of Week 2 is tomorrow right away, good stuff!

PS

2009-03-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Gadgets are fun and I want this one! $30 isn't so rough...I think I'll make it my reward for completing Stage 1 in ten weeks! NEAT!!

running at dawn

2009-03-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

...is A'OK with me! I've always had a lot of trouble exercising in the morning. I think it has something to do with being a slave to coffee and the inability to do anything functional without it. I gave up coffee for Lent 3 weeks ago, however, so maybe that helped this morning. Again, this was a very invigorating run as it was probably around 45 degrees. I got a couple minor stitches though...I think because I didn't have Mandsi there to set a pace! But I did my little breathing trick and within 15 seconds it was fine. It's totally stupid, but I just have to remember to breathe when I run. You wouldn't think it'd be so difficult!

I know it's only the second day, but I'm still having a great time! I find myself VERY much looking forward to these little runs! Like I find myself bummed that I have to do boring Twist Step tomorrow after work ;)

day one!

2009-03-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's pretty close to perfect when your first run is a gorgeous 50 degree day in March! Mandsi came with me which was fab too! Not only was she the time keeper, but it was good to be able to do the "conversation test"...know that I was going at a good pace because I could speak without struggling. I am really diggin' the fact that I decided to start with this predetermined schedule. The walk 1 min, run 1 min is perfect to start with...it gave me a great energy boost without any exhaustion, which is exactly what a beginner wants. You don't want to get discouraged right off the bat! There is plenty of time to be exhausted, but I definitely don't mind putting that off until I'm deep in the heart of this activity...where there's no turning back! Running now feels so much less daunting. I'm actually looking forward to next week when I add another minute of running in between minute walks. Baby steps, but that's exactly what I need!

My next run has to be Tuesday morning because I have bowling right after work that day. That'll be an interesting test since I RARELY work out in the morning...just not a good time for me. BUT like it says over to the right, "can't" is no longer in my vocab ;)

Prelude to My Future Career in Running...

2009-03-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

...or something?? All I want to be able to do is actually run for more than a couple minutes without feeling horrible. It isn't like I'm some lump on a log either. I weigh less than 120lbs, I walk 2.5 miles 5 days a week to/from work, and I work out at home for 20 minutes whether it be cardio, weights, yoga, or pilates. Yet I'll go and head out into the concrete jungle and hit the brick wall every time. Perhaps it has something to do with my asthma. Make me laugh and I'll cough for the next three days. But I think it has more to do with biting off more than I can chew and getting discouraged. The key is to start slow to work toward a greater goal.

My first goal is to follow this Stage One 10-Week Schedule I found here

My second goal is to be able to run with my sister. She is Inspiration #1. She ran her first 5K last fall, and ran it incredibly well! The second she crossed the finish line (which I idiotically missed), I was so proud, impressed, and inspired!

My third goal is to be able to run with my step-dad. He is Inspiration #2. He has run in like millions of races haha! AND he ran a marathon not too long ago. Maybe he doesn't think he did that well, but c'mon, it's a MARATHON! I can't even imagine.

My fourth goal is to reach and accomplish the Stage Two 10-Week Schedule:

My MAIN goal is to be able to run in Al's Run, an 8K, this October 10th. I have over twenty weeks before the race, so this should be plenty of time to get to this point, even if it is a lofty goal for a beginner.

I have other inspirations...my mom, for example. Even if she can't go for runs much anymore, she started running once she met my step-dad, and being a not-so-athletic person, turned into quite the athlete! She's 50+ and amazingly healthy all due to this decision.

Another inspiration is the ~$100 pair of Asics I bought last night :) During a time when money is incredibly tight, an expensive pair of shoes isn't something I can just toss into the corner of my bedroom to collect dust! I better earn these pups! FYI, if you live in the greater Milwaukee area and need a new pair, please visit Performance Running Outfitters. A friend/coworker recommended them to me and it turns out the place is owned by my former high school classmate and her husband! She was so helpful! These guys take the extra time to fit your specific foot shape and size. You can even run on a treadmill to get a feel for the shoes! Such a great experience, particularly because I came in a half hour before close and I didn't feel rushed at all!

And thus begins my journey into the unknown. I know I have plenty of brick walls ahead of me, but I just gotta plow on through. I'm going to try and be positive and look forward to those *good running days!

I believe Sunday will commence Stage One, so I'll be back to log in my info (via Breaking the Tape) and officially put this plan into action.