Because I love running long distances (or maybe because I'm a masochist), I tagged along with my Running Spot buddies on their 19-mile trek yesterday. I'm only doing half marathons this Fall, so I decided there was no need to run the full 19 miles. Sixteen would do just fine.
Our run started at the Loveland Spot, running north out and back on the bike trail for 4 miles then south out and back for 5.5 (4 for me). The temperature was in the 60's or 70's, but the humidity/dew point was out of control! By the time we hit the mile 4 water stop (I bring my own, since I'm a crasher), I did not have a dry spot on my shirt. Sexy, sexy. I was running with Kent and a few girls I've only met a few times, and we were all complaining because:
- The trail is beyond monotonous. At one point we actually went rogue and ran on the road, which goes right next to the trail, for a half mile. We were begging for a change of scenery, getting excited at things like fallen logs and the occasional grassy field. Sad.
- The trail is not only monotonous but flat. We normally bitch about the hills in O'bryonville but I think the flat trail is worse, because you're using the same muscles over and over with no break.
No one's Garmins were working correctly because we were in the woods, so we didn't really know how fast we were going. I also didn't get a clear read on when I needed to turn around. I left everyone some point during mile 12 and started hauling @ss because I just wanted to FINISH. The elites were passing me (they had already run the 5.5 miles and were circling back) and I felt stupid for being such a wuss, since I was doing only 16 miles. I mentioned this to one of them and he replied "there is no 'only' about running 16 miles." True story.
The end of the run was pretty miserable and by the time I hit the Spot, I could tell I was dehydrated - everything was cramping up. Tisha and I decided the best thing to do would be lie down in the parking lot, using railroad ties as pillows. Classy, we are. We were only motivated to get up by the fact that Kent was having everyone back to his house for breakfast. Score!
Our group (quite a lot of us actually) crashed Coach K's house, completely taking over the kitchen and deck. His very patient family was surrounded by gamey runners guzzling mimosas and shoveling in quiche as if we might never eat or drink again. Mmm...I heart quiche. Most of us stayed to hang around outside afterwards chatting and soaking up the sun. :-) Good times!
Once I got home, I plotted out my route on USATF to try and gauge my pace. I looked at the map and oops! I ran almost 17 miles on accident - 16.69 give or take. This puts my pace right around a 9:09. My body feels like it's been hit by a bus, I have more blisters than I can count, and two of my little toenails are black (again, sexy, sexy). As my dad would say, it might be time to take me out back and shoot me.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
grumpy but speedy
Today was not a good day at work. :-) It was starting to get dark by the time I got home, but I decided I didn't care - dead bodies in the woods be damned! - I needed to go for a run. Cincinnati summer was pressing down its heavy blanket of humidity; however, my mood seemed to fuel me right up the first hill. I literally felt like I had a hand pushing at my back, and maybe I did because my first mile split was 9:20. For perspective, this split usually ranges from 10:00 to 9:30. Woot. I ended up with an average pace of 8:19 for the 4.25 miles, which is officially my fastest time since June!
I'm happy with the pace improvement although I think the better improvement was that of my mental state. I was having a pity party when I set out, but then I realized that any day I am healthy enough to run four miles can't be all that bad. Yes, I suppose I'm kind of sappy but whatever. Running helps me keep my head out of my @ss, which is a full time job really.
I'm happy with the pace improvement although I think the better improvement was that of my mental state. I was having a pity party when I set out, but then I realized that any day I am healthy enough to run four miles can't be all that bad. Yes, I suppose I'm kind of sappy but whatever. Running helps me keep my head out of my @ss, which is a full time job really.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
metronomes, beer, and pancakes
I'm so proud of myself. For the second week in a row, I got up early on Saturday morning and ran with the Running Spot group. They were doing 16-18 today from Crossroads, which I seriously considered doing. The plan was for me to run for at least 2 hours and take it from there.
Pace wise, my old group is all over the place. Coach Steve is now running with the 8-minute mile kids, no one can catch Tisha, and the rest of us are pretty scattered as well. I started off at a comfortable clip and caught up with Joan, my Winter training buddy, somewhere on Brotherton. Joan is like a metronome with a steady, even pace - complete opposite of me (I tend to run erratic splits). We were having a great time chatting though, so I kept up with her despite the fact that I knew I was running too fast to hold out for 16. :-)
The route took us on part of the Pig course - down Erie to Bramble, then through Mariemont where we did a few laps around what used to be my training loop. I was feeling pretty good...until we had to run back up Brotherton. Ugh. Once we got into Norwood, I knew I was only down for my original two hours. I ended up turning around somewhere near Floral and Smith and running back with the halfers, who happened to be trolling in the same area. I hit Crossroads at 1:59:34, about 13.75 miles at an 8:41 clip. I looked back at my training log from the Pig and this is about on target for me. At least I'm consistent!
Post run I hung around and waited for the marathoners to finish their 18 because I knew there would be...beer! And breakfast. Sure enough, Larry and Rich both had a delightful selection of imported beers. I enjoyed a delicious Lowenbrau in the parking lot of Crossroads, which is a church. Did I mention we were doing this at 10 am?? As the old joke goes, we are drinkers with a running problem. Afterwards a few of us went to IHOP for pancakes and chocolate milk. I didn't end up getting home until 1 pm! Long morning but totally worth it.
Pace wise, my old group is all over the place. Coach Steve is now running with the 8-minute mile kids, no one can catch Tisha, and the rest of us are pretty scattered as well. I started off at a comfortable clip and caught up with Joan, my Winter training buddy, somewhere on Brotherton. Joan is like a metronome with a steady, even pace - complete opposite of me (I tend to run erratic splits). We were having a great time chatting though, so I kept up with her despite the fact that I knew I was running too fast to hold out for 16. :-)
The route took us on part of the Pig course - down Erie to Bramble, then through Mariemont where we did a few laps around what used to be my training loop. I was feeling pretty good...until we had to run back up Brotherton. Ugh. Once we got into Norwood, I knew I was only down for my original two hours. I ended up turning around somewhere near Floral and Smith and running back with the halfers, who happened to be trolling in the same area. I hit Crossroads at 1:59:34, about 13.75 miles at an 8:41 clip. I looked back at my training log from the Pig and this is about on target for me. At least I'm consistent!
Post run I hung around and waited for the marathoners to finish their 18 because I knew there would be...beer! And breakfast. Sure enough, Larry and Rich both had a delightful selection of imported beers. I enjoyed a delicious Lowenbrau in the parking lot of Crossroads, which is a church. Did I mention we were doing this at 10 am?? As the old joke goes, we are drinkers with a running problem. Afterwards a few of us went to IHOP for pancakes and chocolate milk. I didn't end up getting home until 1 pm! Long morning but totally worth it.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Balmy.
That's about the word I'd use to describe the weather this morning. I did 4.25 before work and by the time I finished, I looked like I was trying to win some kind of obscene wet clothing contest. However, the humidity was not my greatest challenge today. No, my greatest challenge was getting my lazy ass out of bed. I really needed to do 6 miles but kept hitting snooze. Oh well, at least I got up at all??? I did manage to do an 8:42 average pace, which is not bad considering I had a 10-minute mile for my first split. There might be hope for a Fall half marathon PR. Maybe. I'm not counting my chickens just yet.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Keepin' it classy
So, after Tuesday's dismal attempt at speed work, it became clear to me that I need to start training with the Spot group again. Also, I had promised Tisha I would go, which was about the only thing motivating me to get out of bed at 6:45 am on a Saturday. Ha! Of course I was late getting out the door and had to run up the hill but whatever - good warmup, right?
Almost all of my old crew was there this morning - awesome! As my friend Kent put it, everything was right with the world (or as right as it can be before an 11 mile run at 7 am...). I was worried I wasn't going to be able to keep up with everyone since I've been running slow lately and I swear, half of my pals have qualified for Boston and the other half probably will this Fall. Fast, these folks are.
But, either I was having a good day or everyone else was having a bad day because I had running buddies through the first 5.5 miles! We were cooking through Eden Park, until someone pointed out that we had to run UP the hill on the way back. Ha, ha, nothing wrong with a positive split I guess. It was really humid this morning and I didn't have my water bottle...I was super dehydrated by the time we hit the 5 mile water stop and had to take a nature break at 5.5, which meant I lost all my buddies. :-(
I knew the route though, or so I thought, and I was trying to run faster so I could catch up with someone to entertain me up Gilbert. I kept looking, and looking, then I started to wonder "how long was i in the freakin' bathroom???". FINALLY I caught Megan on Gilbert but she had come from another direction. Ooops, I went the wrong way coming out of downtown. It didn't matter though because all the marathoners were doing 13, so I lost her anyway in Eden Park. I did get to run with the elites for about .25 miles, since they had already done the add-on and were back on the same route as me.
I finished with 11.34 miles thanks to my detour but get this - my time was 1:36. Ha! That's an 8:31 pace!!! I was barely running that the other night on flat ground for 5 miles. Woot. Apparently running with the group really does make me run faster. It is almost like a mini race.
The best part of the morning was after the run. My friends have started a tailgate group post run, so someone brings beer every week. Todd brought quite the assortment - Bell's, Guinness, Great Lakes, Corona. Of course I had a Guiness - recovery drink! We all sat around the parking lot in O'Bryonville, at 10 am, drinking beer and making fun of each other. Super classy! Robert, one of our coaches and a fellow Nashville road tripper, taught us a valuable lesson as well...that you should never pay for drugs, sex, or office supplies. I don't even know how this topic came up. :-) Man, I've missed these people. Running and drinking before noon on a Saturday, what could be better??? Then I managed to score a free breakfast with my friend Cole who lives up the street and has a real kitchen. I'm fat, happy, and stupid. Time for a shower and a nap.
Almost all of my old crew was there this morning - awesome! As my friend Kent put it, everything was right with the world (or as right as it can be before an 11 mile run at 7 am...). I was worried I wasn't going to be able to keep up with everyone since I've been running slow lately and I swear, half of my pals have qualified for Boston and the other half probably will this Fall. Fast, these folks are.
But, either I was having a good day or everyone else was having a bad day because I had running buddies through the first 5.5 miles! We were cooking through Eden Park, until someone pointed out that we had to run UP the hill on the way back. Ha, ha, nothing wrong with a positive split I guess. It was really humid this morning and I didn't have my water bottle...I was super dehydrated by the time we hit the 5 mile water stop and had to take a nature break at 5.5, which meant I lost all my buddies. :-(
I knew the route though, or so I thought, and I was trying to run faster so I could catch up with someone to entertain me up Gilbert. I kept looking, and looking, then I started to wonder "how long was i in the freakin' bathroom???". FINALLY I caught Megan on Gilbert but she had come from another direction. Ooops, I went the wrong way coming out of downtown. It didn't matter though because all the marathoners were doing 13, so I lost her anyway in Eden Park. I did get to run with the elites for about .25 miles, since they had already done the add-on and were back on the same route as me.
I finished with 11.34 miles thanks to my detour but get this - my time was 1:36. Ha! That's an 8:31 pace!!! I was barely running that the other night on flat ground for 5 miles. Woot. Apparently running with the group really does make me run faster. It is almost like a mini race.
The best part of the morning was after the run. My friends have started a tailgate group post run, so someone brings beer every week. Todd brought quite the assortment - Bell's, Guinness, Great Lakes, Corona. Of course I had a Guiness - recovery drink! We all sat around the parking lot in O'Bryonville, at 10 am, drinking beer and making fun of each other. Super classy! Robert, one of our coaches and a fellow Nashville road tripper, taught us a valuable lesson as well...that you should never pay for drugs, sex, or office supplies. I don't even know how this topic came up. :-) Man, I've missed these people. Running and drinking before noon on a Saturday, what could be better??? Then I managed to score a free breakfast with my friend Cole who lives up the street and has a real kitchen. I'm fat, happy, and stupid. Time for a shower and a nap.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Grab bag yasso workout
With Sunday's 8-miler under my belt, I decided to try my luck with some speed work tonight. At first I was thinking of doing an interval run - the Spot group usually does two minutes on, two minutes off for these things. However, Spot runs also include coaches with Garmins, so you can tell what your pace is. I have about the lowest rent watch you can get (and I love it, btw) so I can only take my splits per mile and hope for the best. Not what I want for an interval run, really, so I decided to take advantage of Lunken's mile markers and do a combo interval/Yasso run. The plan was to run every other half mile as a Yasso 800, with a slower 800 in between. The track is five miles, hence, five fast 800s and five slow ones.
I started out and felt like I was running a decent clip...took my first 800 split, only to find I was running a 4:40 pace. Hmm. For my "fast" 800, I ended up doing a 4:08. Yikes. The rest of my splits went something like this: 4:30 slow, 4:17 fast, 4:25 slow, 4:20 fast, etc. I missed the last half mile marker and ended up just taking the full mile split, which came out to 8:28 minutes per mile. Redemption, somewhat.
In case you didn't notice, I was getting faster on each slow interval and slower on each fast interval. Truthfully, I'm not sure you can call what I was doing "speed work".
I'm trying to think happy thoughts though, since this was my first attempt at speediness since, I don't know, April? (not counting my erratic rash of 5K's in June) The moral of the story? I have to train with a group if I want to run a reasonable pace for a long (or apparently even a short) distance. News just in, but I tend to get pretty lazy on my own...
I started out and felt like I was running a decent clip...took my first 800 split, only to find I was running a 4:40 pace. Hmm. For my "fast" 800, I ended up doing a 4:08. Yikes. The rest of my splits went something like this: 4:30 slow, 4:17 fast, 4:25 slow, 4:20 fast, etc. I missed the last half mile marker and ended up just taking the full mile split, which came out to 8:28 minutes per mile. Redemption, somewhat.
In case you didn't notice, I was getting faster on each slow interval and slower on each fast interval. Truthfully, I'm not sure you can call what I was doing "speed work".
I'm trying to think happy thoughts though, since this was my first attempt at speediness since, I don't know, April? (not counting my erratic rash of 5K's in June) The moral of the story? I have to train with a group if I want to run a reasonable pace for a long (or apparently even a short) distance. News just in, but I tend to get pretty lazy on my own...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Eight is great
I'm pleased to announce that I ran eight miles today for the first time since...the Pig. Oy. I've been slowly trying to increase my mileage and I finally worked up the courage to break 6.5, lol. It was humid enough by 9 am that I was drenched in the first half mile. I stopped in O'Byronville, stretched my angry achilles (they hate Torrence) and went on my merry way at what was probably close to a 10:30 clip. I can't get over how much my pace fluctuates these days but as I keep telling myself, I need to rebuild the foundation before I start freaking out about speed.
Today's run was to Eden Park, which is a little hilly but one of the most beautiful Cincinnati runs, in my opinion. Also, running through the park brings back a lot of memories:
- The awful Art Museum 5K in 2006 where no one could find the start line, people were throwing up at the top of every hill, and I laid down in the grass at the finish line (only to get right back up because the race officials were threatening to call the EMS :-)
- Running with my friend Joe right before I started training for the half Pig and getting really, extremely lost
- The first time I ran the Overlook with the Running Spot group (didn't even know that overlook existed...)
- Training for and then running the 2008 half Pig
- Hill repeats up Cliff Street training for Columbus 2008
- Holiday in Lights Run 2008
- Training for and then running the 2009 Pig
Anywho. It took me a good 30 minutes to get warmed up this morning but once I was going, I felt amazing and managed to take almost five minutes off of my time on the way back home, which allowed me to finish with an average pace of 9:30. Glad to see I can at least still pull a negative split run out of my @ss!
Today's run was to Eden Park, which is a little hilly but one of the most beautiful Cincinnati runs, in my opinion. Also, running through the park brings back a lot of memories:
- The awful Art Museum 5K in 2006 where no one could find the start line, people were throwing up at the top of every hill, and I laid down in the grass at the finish line (only to get right back up because the race officials were threatening to call the EMS :-)
- Running with my friend Joe right before I started training for the half Pig and getting really, extremely lost
- The first time I ran the Overlook with the Running Spot group (didn't even know that overlook existed...)
- Training for and then running the 2008 half Pig
- Hill repeats up Cliff Street training for Columbus 2008
- Holiday in Lights Run 2008
- Training for and then running the 2009 Pig
Anywho. It took me a good 30 minutes to get warmed up this morning but once I was going, I felt amazing and managed to take almost five minutes off of my time on the way back home, which allowed me to finish with an average pace of 9:30. Glad to see I can at least still pull a negative split run out of my @ss!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Sun Run
I have been horrible at sticking to my training schedule this week! Here it was Friday and I had only done one 4 miler...oops. I've been eating like a goat this week so my motivation to get out of bed and run 6 this morning had more to do with fitting into my jeans than it did training, but whatever. I managed to be on the road by 7 and got to smirk at all the suckers going to work so early. :-) It was already super humid and I decided to do my usual route backwards, which meant I got to run UP Delta. Bleh. I swear this is worse than running up Observatory.
Even with the heat it was a beautiful morning for a run, and I am finding that early AM runners are more friendly than night runners. Everybody I waved to waved BACK and some people were waving at me first! I got really excited about this.
About two hours after my run, one of my neighbors walked his dog through the same area I had just trotted through, only to find a...dead body. Apparently it had been there so long the police couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman at first. Not sure how the person died, but this is very creepy to me because I have probably run past that very spot about 50 times in the last six months. Also, I've been known to dash into the woods on a few occasions myself (nature calls, you know) and now I'm thinking that might not be the best idea. What's worse - crapping your pants or finding a dead body??? Augh.
Even with the heat it was a beautiful morning for a run, and I am finding that early AM runners are more friendly than night runners. Everybody I waved to waved BACK and some people were waving at me first! I got really excited about this.
About two hours after my run, one of my neighbors walked his dog through the same area I had just trotted through, only to find a...dead body. Apparently it had been there so long the police couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman at first. Not sure how the person died, but this is very creepy to me because I have probably run past that very spot about 50 times in the last six months. Also, I've been known to dash into the woods on a few occasions myself (nature calls, you know) and now I'm thinking that might not be the best idea. What's worse - crapping your pants or finding a dead body??? Augh.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
8:25! chafing! gerbil!
Tonight was an eventful run! I was in the pissiest mood (back to juggling eight brands don't ya know) so I hauled ass up Torrence, getting to the top in 5:48, which is a solid 30 seconds faster than I have been running up that hill lately. I was doing my new 4.25 mile route and usually enjoy the smell of Busken at the corner of Madison and Edwards, but tonight it made me want to puke. This is great because it means I was working hard. :0
When I turned the corner onto Edwards I saw a gerbil! WTF was a gerbil doing running around Hyde Park??? The little guy was running along next to me for a hot minute, then took off behind some flower pots at Wild Ginger. So random. By the time I hit Erie, I was excited to get a red light and take a break, which is when I realized I was experiencing some, er, chafing. It's a little humid out, so I was drenched, but the problem was in an area I have never experienced. Let's just say I could have used some Nip Guards. Again, WTF? I was wearing my trusty Nike singlet...maybe it has gotten worn out over the years, I don't know.
At any rate, I managed to do a negative split run and average an 8:25 minute mile pace. This is pretty exciting for someone whose fastest pace in the last two weeks has been 8:57. :-)
When I turned the corner onto Edwards I saw a gerbil! WTF was a gerbil doing running around Hyde Park??? The little guy was running along next to me for a hot minute, then took off behind some flower pots at Wild Ginger. So random. By the time I hit Erie, I was excited to get a red light and take a break, which is when I realized I was experiencing some, er, chafing. It's a little humid out, so I was drenched, but the problem was in an area I have never experienced. Let's just say I could have used some Nip Guards. Again, WTF? I was wearing my trusty Nike singlet...maybe it has gotten worn out over the years, I don't know.
At any rate, I managed to do a negative split run and average an 8:25 minute mile pace. This is pretty exciting for someone whose fastest pace in the last two weeks has been 8:57. :-)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Back on a training schedule, sort of
I'm slowly working my way back into training. My goal for this training period is to do three runs per week, and my goal for last week in particular was to get back up to six miles (which sounds crazy given that I have run two marathons). Done and done. I actually got four runs in:
- Monday - 4.3 miler around Hyde Park - 8:57 average pace
- Wednesday - run/walk around Lunken with a friend who is a new runner
- Thursday - 6.4 miler around Norwood with Tisha - 9:02 average pace
- Saturday - 6 miler around Hyde Park - 9:32 average pace
I was a little frustrated with the pace but until I can get the mileage where it needs to be, I really don't want to focus on speedwork. Next week I would like to get up to eight miles. Once I hit that benchmark I will probably start doing Yassos, track work, hill repeats, all of necessary evils to try and get faster again. Yeehaw.
- Monday - 4.3 miler around Hyde Park - 8:57 average pace
- Wednesday - run/walk around Lunken with a friend who is a new runner
- Thursday - 6.4 miler around Norwood with Tisha - 9:02 average pace
- Saturday - 6 miler around Hyde Park - 9:32 average pace
I was a little frustrated with the pace but until I can get the mileage where it needs to be, I really don't want to focus on speedwork. Next week I would like to get up to eight miles. Once I hit that benchmark I will probably start doing Yassos, track work, hill repeats, all of necessary evils to try and get faster again. Yeehaw.
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