Fire and ice

Mother Nature has spent the last two days dumping snow, ice, and everything in between all over Cincinnati. I was torn about where to do my run today - inside or outside. I knew I didn't feel like waiting for the group tonight, since I wasn't sure if they're even going and I'm stir crazy RIGHT NOW.

Interval work on the hamster wheel seemed to be the way to go, given that there are at least six inches of snow outside with a layer of ice in between. I don't really like the treadmill but I was grateful to have one handy and was actually enjoying my warmup playlist (Mark Ronson and Ratatat). Then, about 3/4 mile into the warmup, the power went off. Then came back on. Then went off. On. Off. You get the picture.

Not in the mood to break my stride, I put on my pants and jacket and headed out to brave the snow. What a mess! The powder on my street was really slippery but once I hit the main road, I was able to run in the tire tracks. I got about 1/4 mile from my apartment when I saw a Cinergy truck in the middle of the street. And then I smelled smoke. There were two guys standing in front of the truck and one came up to me and said "There's a utility pole on fire up here. Is there any chance I can convince you to go back the way you came?"

Without even thinking, I blurted out "Please? I'm really, really bored." Never mind that this poor guy was trying to contain an electrical fire and help restore power so people could have heat - I wanted to run dammit! I realized I was being a nuisance and was about to turn around when he said "Ok, ok. Just stay on the other side of the road and run in the snow." He was really nice about it! Maybe he is a runner too.

I trotted on up the hill and sure enough, there were four foot flames shooting out of a utility pole across the street. There was also a fire truck, four firemen, and a police officer watching the thing burn (I'm hopeful they had a plan). They were staring at me like I was crazy so I put on my best "Everything here is completely normal" face and said "Good morning!". The firemen said good morning back and the police officer glared at all five of us. Doh.

I ran up to Grandin and did a quick loop, trying to avoid hills and falling on my @ss in general. I started to wonder if I really was crazy for going out when I looked down and saw footprints in the snow. Clearly running shoes from the look of them. Ha! Crazies unite. :-)

I steered clear of the whole electrical fire mess on the way home and instead opted for a route through the woods. The trees were dripping with ice, frozen and bent to create a passageway just for me. So beautiful.

Ironically, I made it through a very snowy, icy 2.5 to 3 mile run without falling, then managed to bite it right in front of my own house. Ha ha. That's going to leave a mark.

This run ALMOST takes the cake for being my most interesting workout. Almost. The half-naked lady I saw running in the rain this summer still holds the number one spot...

Seriously?

I just spent 20 solid minutes torturing my poor legs with the foam roller. It's week FOUR of training! How are my legs this knotted up already??? Augh. And ouch.

Double-secret high-mileage group

So, there is a double-secret training group at the Spot that is doing higher mileage every week. I had heard rumors of this but assumed the higher mileage was just the add-on that is optional for Group B but mandatory for Group A. Well, we all know what happens when I assume things... :-)

We ran from Newport today and I was chatting with my running buddy before we took off. The plan was to do six base miles, which meant my group was doing seven. However, my buddy asked me if I was planning to do 12. Huh? Apparently the double-secret high-mileage runners get emails with all kinds of crazy add-ons and this week's add-on was to do the six-mile loop twice. I decided to play it by ear. I hadn't eaten much breakfast (a granola bar), which is fine for seven miles but dicey for 12, and I didn't have any Gu with me (yep, I need Gu's if I'm running more than 10).

Our route took us around Newport for a mile then across the Purple People Bridge into Cincinnati. I don't know why but I HATE that bridge. I think I would rather run any of the other bridges besides that one. Once we got across the bridge, we ran down Pete Rose Way to 2nd Street, then followed Elm all the way to Central. From that point we ran the half marathon course backwards into Eden Park for a loop around Mirror Lake before heading back down Eggleston to the cursed bridge.

I was kind of cranky this morning because we were doing right around a 9:00 pace, but my exertion level felt more like an 8:30. Someone asked the coach what pace we were running at one point and he said "9:15". I groaned out loud "that's it??". In hind sight, that probably sounded kind of rude. Oops.

Needless to say, I decided not to do the add-on for 12, although I did get in an extra quarter mile running back to my car. Ha.

Yay for Yassos!

Careful what you wish for...I showed up at Crossroads last night anticipating a group run up and down Madison and our coach surprised us with...track work! Yay! We ran 2.5 miles to the Norwood High School track where we did five Yasso 800's.

There were four pace groups based on marathon goal time: 3:10, 3:30, 3:45, and 4:00. I did the 4:00 group and the pace (basically an 8-minute mile) felt really, really good. It was so dark (no lights at the track) that our coach was having trouble reading her watch. Hence, four out of the five 800's were below the 8-minute pace. I was pretty excited about that. Normally I want to yak during track work (for various reasons) but I was able to sprint the last 100 meters on the last two 800's. (Don't you just love the beginning of training season :-) The group in general seemed really pumped up - everyone was cheering each other on. So much fun...I felt like I was back on the Jr. High track team.

I'm also excited because I really like the lady coaching the 4:00 people. I've been making a serious effort to stick with her, especially on the front half of our long runs. This is good for me because it keeps me from taking off too fast with my 3:45 pals, which will help me train better to run a negative split marathon AND I'm meeting new buddies who actually run my pace.

I got home last night and was queasy, tired, and my legs were all locked up. Boom.

Battles...

This training season is going to be a bit of a challenge for me...I can tell already. First of all, I've noticed that our workout schedule is not nearly as difficult as the Summer/Fall program. Even though the coaches are making my group add on mileage, there is virtually NO speedwork on the calendar. My last marathon training program had speedwork every Tuesday night - interval runs, hill repeats, and everyone's favorite...trackwork. This program has long runs on Saturdays and short runs on Wednesdays, with two additional short runs in between. And the additional short runs are just...runs. Last time they were progressive pace runs.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't actually DO all the stuff on the Summer/Fall schedule (slacker!). But, I did do a lot of it and for as much complaining as I did, it really paid off. And since the Pig is a hilly course, I'm looking to step it up this time, not take things down a notch. I'm guessing this training is scaled back a bit because it's a Cincinnati-based race, so the group has more locals who want to run their first marathon? And cheers to that - it's awesome to see so many people striving for 26.2.

That said, I've got to get some speedwork in on my own. Yesterday I treated myself to some hill repeats up and down Torrence Parkway. Bleh. It was a truly humbling experience - I could only do three repeats and I almost yakked on every jaunt up the hill. I have to wonder if I had a partner or a group around me if I would have been such a punk?

As for stuff like intervals and trackwork, I think I'm going to have to dust off the treadmill for these (ugh). I don't have a Garmin, so pacing myself on the road is tricky, which is possibly the ONE advantage of the hamster wheel - you always know how fast you're going and how long it took. I just don't know what else to do. I don't want to do speedwork on Sundays (the day after my long run) and I don't want to be trolling around the UC track or the Lunken bike path in the dark on a weeknight. Plus, snow and ice have made it difficult to run fast outside anyway (hmmm...maybe this was part of the problem with yesterday's hill repeats...).

So, we'll see what happens. My other "battle" this season is my diet. I originally said I was going to drink less and eat better. Yeah, I just got back from drinking a Guinness and eating a plate of cheese sticks. The good news is that when I do things like this, it really motivates me to not skip workouts. Although this is more so that my pants will fit and has less to do with my marathon goals. Sigh. What can I say? It's winter and I'm in hibernation mode...

Crazies, dwarves, and ninjas

Not in the mood to write a verbose post from my Saturday run with The Spot...but a few things are worth noting:

- you couldn't really tell who anyone in the group was because they either had a) hoods over their faces (ninjas) or b) goofy head socks (dwarves)

- it was 9 degrees with a windchill of negative 6 - and windy

- clenching your fists for 10 miles to stay warm = sore arms for the rest of the day

- putting Body Glide on your face helps control the windburn...sort of

- as we were running down gilbert, some random dude in loafers and khakis came chasing after us yelling "Shannon! (i think that was her name?) Heyyyy!". (picture the Friends episode where Chandler's chasing Cathy through the streets of New York) when he finally caught her he was like, "How are you, do you need a Gatorade, great job," etc. The rest of us thought it was so cute that her dad (?) was coming to check on her during her run.

Dude eventually left and she was like, "yeah, i don't really know that guy, i met him at the gym and we've talked once". Yikes. She was kind of freaked out...

- by the time we got to Mt. Adams (around mile 5) it was really, really freezing, we were sick of hills, and i was getting a little surly...then we passed a coffee shop with a chalkboard sign that said "Go Running Spot!" awwww. i felt very warm and fuzzy.

- it started...precipitating...somewhere in eden park. not snow per se, because it was bouncing off of us and making the sidewalks slick. hail? who knows but by that point (mile 7) it was kind of funny. bring it on mother nature!

- we ran the overlook at the edge of eden park even though it wasn't on the route. the coaches ALWAYS include the overlook on our routes and we were like Pavlov's dogs, unable to skip it because we've spent the past year being conditioned to like it (or at least tolerate it).

- in walnut hills, my running buddy reminded me that i was planning to do a negative split, so i decided it would be a good idea to sprint the last 1.5 miles. (stupid. and really, a neg split doesn't mean you drag @ss for 8.5 miles and sprint the last few to make up for it.)

- in the hallway of my apartment building, i discovered that one of my neighbors (i have 5 neighbors mind you) is also training with the Running Spot. awesome!

- i averaged a 9:11 pace. eh.

Negative splits/temperatures

Our training group was scheduled to do a negative split run tonight through Hyde Park...25 minutes out and 24:59 back...or less. The coaches love to plan routes that are downhill on the first half and uphill on the back half and tonight was par for the course. We were supposed to run down Madison to Erie and see how far we could get down Erie. It was snowing when we set out, which was really pretty, and the wind was at our backs, which actually felt kind of nice because I was slightly overdressed. The run back was a different story...ugh. My fingers were so cold that I messed up my watch and didn't accurately record my split at the turnaround. Actually, I think my time was wrong in general because it said I averaged an 8:09 pace. I would love to believe this is true but I felt more like I was doing a 9:30. Regardless, I was happy to get in seven miles on a weeknight...

I ran last night too - about 4.5 miles. Yesterday's run was great because I saw a couple of friends who are training with the Running Spot half Pig group (they run on Tuesdays). I REALLY miss running with those guys. I was spoiled with that group last year - so many of us ran the same pace - it was tons of fun and I always had a buddy to run with. My marathon buddies are excellent too, they're just all faster than me. :-)

I think I'm going to take the next two days off. It's supposed to be 10 degrees tomorrow and anyway, I'm running out of clean winter technical gear...

I can't think of an original title today

The sound of heavy rain hitting the roof woke me up this morning before my alarm went off. Normally I love this sound but it's not what I want to hear when I'm heading out for a training run in January. I got up to check the weather, praying that what I heard was just regular rain and not freezing rain (I learned my lesson in Buffalo). Thankfully, it was 36 degrees and the roads were ice free so I was able to meet my group up at Crossroads.

I skipped breakfast since our schedule only called for a 6-7 mile run. I hate eating before a run and I can usually do six miles on the reserve from my caboose. However, our group has been split into two and my half was supposed to do 7-8. Doh. The head coach said we should take the run easy, doing our marathon pace plus 30 seconds. He then yelled out the different paces each coach would be running. No one was running slower than a 9 minute mile. Grrrr. I don't have any idea what my goal is for the Pig given that it's so much hillier than Columbus. But even if I took my Columbus pace and added 30 seconds, that would still be a 9:36. I'm a little frustrated because I felt like our summer group was also really focused on the fast people and I always felt like the fat kid on Goonies chasing everyone (hey you guyyyyyyyyyys!). Hopefully I'm stronger now since I have one marathon under my belt? I guess we'll find out.

Anywho, our run took us through Oakley, Norwood, and Hyde Park...and it rained the whole time. The weather wasn't really a bother until I got back to Crossroads and noticed that everything, including my base layers, was soaked. So much for "all conditions gear". :-)

Despite the rain (and the fact that I skipped breakfast), I finished the 8.06 miles in 1:09:55, which averages out to about an 8:40 minute mile. Decent. As part of my training, I've been trying to stretch for at least 10 minutes each day and have been lifting weights twice a week. I'll be curious to see if it helps my body hold up a little longer this season...

Ice, ice baby

So, I found myself in Buffalo this week for a couple of days (work trip) and decided I wanted to get a quick run in while I was there. It was snowing a little when I got in Tuesday night, but it had turned to rain by Wednesday morning - or so I thought. I trotted out of the Hampton in my running getup and headed down Delaware Avenue hoping to find a random park with a nice jogging path (there are a couple, according to Google Maps).

The sidewalks around the hotel were covered in salt and crunchy, melty ice - not slippery at all. However, the further from downtown I got, the slicker things became. At first there were just a few slick spots. Then I noticed that the "rain" was actually freezing rain and things were quickly turning into a skating rink. There was about 4-5 inches of snow on the grassy areas (also kind of crunchy) and I was forced to run on that, which was mildly entertaining. The problem was that there weren't many grassy areas and I had to keep getting back on the icy pavement.

Normally in a situation like this I would just run in the middle of the street, which was all slushy. But Delaware Avenue is a main drag, so I didn't think I should jump out into traffic. I REALLY didn't want to venture onto the side streets because I have a horrible sense of direction, but the ice was getting so bad I didn't think I could make it back the way I came. Hence began my exploration of Buffalo.

I tried to run in what I thought was a circle back to the hotel and of course, got horribly lost. Luckily Buffalo isn't that big and I was able to use the couple of tall buildings as a wayfinding tool. And, I saw some really awesome houses - huge turn-of-the-century Victorian mansions, cute little bungalows, and the nicest people out shoveling and salting their driveways. Everyone said "good morning" and no one looked at me like I was crazy for running in the ice. (I guess these people are used to going about their daily lives regardless of the weather. The snow/ice didn't let up once the whole two days I was there.)

About 30 minutes after I set out, I finally made it back to the Hampton, slightly soggier than when I left. (I was running through puddles on purpose to get away from the ice). My shoes were soaked but dried out quickly thanks to the USA Today I found hanging on my door. I shoved some of the newspaper in the toes and when I checked them later, my little Asics were dry as a bone.

It was actually a pretty fun run, although looking back, I'm lucky I didn't fall and break my leg (or my head), especially since I had no ID on me. (Bad Jen.) My boss made me promise to order a Road ID tag ASAP...

Ready or not

The marathon training completely crept up on me this time. I thought I had at least another week to try and get myself mentally prepared but no dice. The first group session was this morning and I dragged myself out of bed to go meet everyone at 8 am. Ugh. However, I have proven over the past few months that I'm barely capable of doing 20 miles per week by myself - no way can I do marathon training alone. I need the group to motivate me, or at the very least, plan my workouts. Lazy, I know.

Our run today was fairly easy - a five-mile loop from the Running Spot around Evanston and Hyde Park (plus an extra mile for me since I run to/from the store). I forgot to set my watch of course but one of the coaches said I finished in about 42 minutes - roughly an 8:24 pace. Nice! I did an 8:33 pace on my 6-miler last Sunday, so maybe I'm not as out of shape as I thought (although my pants are telling me a different story).

It was fun seeing my old running buddies/coaches and getting back into a routine. Even though we only did five miles I actually feel like I accomplished something (before 10 am!) AND I made my favorite smoothie drink when I got home. Happy. :-)