Victory!

I’m super happy with my training stats this week, particularly since it’s the first double-digit week (and first double-digit run!) since the beginning of June.  In other words, this was the first week in two months where I actually completed all of the scheduled runs on my training plan.

This week was the first week after our big move–and so life has started to take on a more normal feeling once again.  It’s also helped to have an easily-accessible running buddy, my sister-in-law, Lisa, who I spent my first two runs with this week.  We scheduled our first run on Wednesday night–I ran to her house and then we ran back to my house together.  I had intentions of running on Thursday, but by the time I got home, it was after 9 p.m.  Moments after I moved “Run 2 Miles” to Friday on my Google Tasks list, Lisa called me to see if I wanted to head out. This time, she ran to my house first and we ran back to her place together.

That left me with a whole three-day weekend to get in my other miles.  Friday morning, I decided to head out for my first longer run in the area, keeping mostly to the neighborhood streets since they have better tree cover than Woodward or any of the major mile roads.  It’s always so strange to me to see how much distance I cover on foot on roads that I have driven around since childhood.  It makes the world seem smaller.  I was able to cruise through town and make a stop at the grocery store before heading home, which made my run all the more productive.

I had intentions of sleeping in today as a reward at the end of a long week–but couldn’t sleep past 7:30.  I donned my running gear, snacked on half a PB sandwich and plum while I mapped out a running route that would break my run up into three chunks, and set out water and Gu for brief water stops after each chunk.  The first loop around town went quickly, particularly since I knew I would be refueling after only 3 1/2 miles.  By the time I got to my house, I realized that I still felt content from my light before-run breakfast, but decided to fuel up any way before heading back out, which was a good decision.  Around mile 4, I decided to double the size of my running loop rather than heading back home for one more stop and tried to stick to my 6-mile route from Friday.  I made one more stop at CVS around at 7.5 miles to grab a Gatorade and cruised the rest of the way home.

During my long runs in the past, I rarely fueled up along the way, counting only on the water fountain on the Paint Creek Trail around mile 4.  My mindset was that I should just push myself to keep going.  Knowing that today’s run was going to be my longest in 8 weeks, I made fuel more of a priority, which was a wise decision.  It makes my hard ass objective to keep going in the past seem very foolish.

Bring on next week’s 22 miles–I’m ready!

Rough Start

I headed out this evening for my first run after two weeks.  That coupled with the humidity made for a sluggish run–something I had anticipated and dreaded.  But it’s done.

Paint Creek and the Park - 2.02 mi (00:25) – 12:09 pace

 

 

Back in the Saddle

In the past five weeks, I have successfully neglected my long runs–meaning I haven’t surpassed 9 miles in a week since my half marathon.  I decided not to beat myself up over it–and know that the best laid plans often go awry (thanks Robert Burns).  But it does mean that my goal to run the Detroit Free Press Marathon is becoming less and less realistic.  With the race only 12 weeks away, cranking my mileage back up to 20-30 miles a week and hoping to fit in 20 milers once the school year starts seems unlikely–especially knowing that I will probably have one or two weeks where my training takes a backseat.

That being said, I have set two new goals:  I WILL be running the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon on October 16, which will be completely amazing.  In addition, after reassessing my game plan, I decided that shooting for a spring marathon would be the best bet–and the Bayshore Full in Traverse City on May 26 would be perfect! Registration opens at 8 a.m. on December 1 and I am determined to click “Submit” by 8:01.  I know once I have money on the line, I will have extra incentive to be committed.  I also found training this spring to be a lot easier to do than trying to blast through the summer heat–so I know this is completely doable.

Tomorrow will be a new day for my training–and I plan to kick off my new half training plan for October 16 with an easy 3-miler.   This is the last week I will have the convenience of running on the Paint Creek and Clinton River.  I have four runs scheduled this week, and I’m hoping to fit in three of them on the trails by Friday afternoon–totally doable.  It does mean I have to be a bit strategic given the temperature, but I know it would do be some good to get in some early morning runs, particularly since I will be busy teaching summer school and getting ready for the move on Friday and Saturday. But I know it will be very necessary for my emotional state.  Saying farewell to the trails will be like saying goodbye to a good friend who I have taken for granted.  I have full intentions of driving out to visit them on the weekends for my long runs–but I know it won’t be the same…

Anyway.  My experience in the past month and a half make me wonder, though–what do other runners do when life gets in the way of their training plans.  Do they reconfigure race dates or buck up for the date they set? I’d be curious to know others’ thoughts.

Life Happens

It’s been nearly three months since my last post–and I am forcing myself to update today.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy blogging.  I love having a running record of my life to reflect on, and this blog in particular allows me to reflect on my identity as a runner.  But when I drop the ball on something that I feel should be very consistent, it makes it more difficult to get back into it.  But life happens.

In the past three months, there have been a few very pivotal changes.  Most of them have to do with my daily life (and I took time to chew on this in my other blog here).  But one of the biggest was being able to officially cross “Run a half marathon” off of my bucket list.  After failing to snag a spot for the Stoney Creek Half Marathon, which would have been minutes from home (I’m really good at procrastinating when it comes to signing up for races), I decided to sign up for the next most logistically possible half–the Run for Chum in Dansville, Michigan.

The weekend of the race, Steve and I stayed with two of our dearest friends, Shane and Colleen.  Colleen, a fellow runner, was an amazing source of support that weekend.  On Saturday, we ran an easy 2 miles through her neighborhood to loosen up for the race the next day.  She and Shane accommodated my dietary needs on Saturday night; despite the fact that Shane doesn’t love marinara, Colleen and I made a delicious batch of spaghetti and meatballs (sans parmesan) and sipped on a single glass of wine.  And Colleen accompanied me to the race bright and early Sunday morning in the middle of BFE, promising to meet me at the 10 mile mark and to run the remainder of the race with me.

Conditions were ideal the day of the race.  I had been extremely strategic with my eating and hydration 48 hours before the race.  I had two packs of Gu stuffed in my sports bra.  My iPhone was set to my favorite Pandora station to keep me motivated.  And the weather was a perfect 65 degrees at the start of the race.

This was the first year Dansville has hosted the Run for Chum, so there were easily less than 200 participants in both the 5K and half races.  As a half marathon virgin, I made a tragic error–and started out off at a pace much faster than I would be able to maintain throughout the race, particularly given the very hilly, street paved nature of the course. I watched racer after racer pass me, and by mile 3, I was sure that I was in last place.

Then the mental game started.  I knew physically I was more than capable of running 13.1 miles.  I had run two 14-milers in the month before the race.  But I felt discouraged as I watched others outpace me, gradually disappearing out of eyesight.  I felt alone as I ran along unfamiliar country roads.  I was disappointed when Pandora stopped working around mile 5–but didn’t want to stop to fix it.  And I felt embarrassed as the the police patrols that were monitoring traffic throughout the race passed me, stopping to ask if I was ok.

Despite all this, I had no doubt that I would finish.  Ultimately that was my goal. While I hoped to finish in under 2:30, I had told myself multiple times that finishing was an accomplishment in and of itself.  So I kept cruising.  The country roads were lovely, curving in and out of tree cover.  The temperature couldn’t have been better.  I accepted that I could very well be in last place, but that I was still going to cross the finish line.

As promised, Colleen met me during the last leg of the course.  After waiting at mile 10 for a while, she decided to head out to meet me and we caught up between mile 9-10.  What a lifesaver!  She reassured me that I was NOT in last place (really?), blasted the tunes she had on her iPod, told me stories to keep me entertained, and adjusted to match my 13-14 minute pace. I wanted to go so much faster–and in terms of endurance and muscles, I know I could have.  Unfortunately, the rest of my body refused; my ankles and feet were screaming at me after months of being spoiled by long runs on the trail instead of pavement.

The course started to look familiar during the last two miles as we ran along the roads we had drove in on earlier that day–and that was tremendously encouraging.  I kept picking out small goals–the bus depot, the streetlight, the next crossing–to keep me going.  And then I saw it.  The football field–and the finish line.

Now, I would not say I am a terribly emotional person, but Colleen brought me to tears during the last leg of the race when she told me she was proud of me.  The nature of what I was doing–accomplishing a goal that seemed so unfeasible a year earlier–truly struck me, and I had to choke back tears in order to race to the end.

I finished in 2:37:10–only 7 minutes slower than my goal–and was 72 out of 75 participants.  Mission: Accomplished!

Get Your Protein the Animal-less Way

While I am by no means a vegan–or vegetarian for that matter–I have definitely sought to cut out the amount of animal protein I consume, tending to only have it around dinner time.  Instead, each weekend I prep a big batch of vegetarian-friendly cuisine for the week, often with complex grains for breakfast and some sort of soup or salad for lunch, all packed with plant-based protein.

This week’s menu is no exception–and I am pretty excited to eat!  For breakfast, I’ll be indulging in Pineapple-Red Quinoa Parfait with Greek Yogurt for breakfast thanks to this recipe from Whole Living.  Between the protein-rich “mother of grains” (8 g. of protein), creamy Greek yogurt (18 g.), and sliced almonds (8 g.), I know that this breakfast will keep me going with over 30 g. of protein! Hope the kiddies are ready for my energy.

For lunch, I’ve created a delicious cous-cous salad–and found it so tasty and simple that I thought I would share it:

8-10 stalks of asparagus, trimmed

2 c. whole wheat cous cous

1 14-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp. olive oil

salt/pepper to taste

Greek Yogurt (optional)

Set the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the asparagus in a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper (enough to coat) and arrange on a cookie sheet; roast for 15 minutes.  Cool and then chop into 1-inch pieces. 

While asparagus is roasting, bring 2 1/2 c. water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add cous cous, cover, and remove from heat.  Allow it to sit for 5 minutes and then fluff with fork.  Toss cous cous with chickpeas, tomatoes, asparagus, and olive oil.  Season to taste.  Top each serving with a dollop of Greek yogurt; can serve hot or cold.  

Omigod! It is soooo tasty and satisfying–and versatile (and I made it up all by myself .  There are about a million vegetables that could be added to change this dish up, but this week, the tartness of the tomatoes with the sweetness of the asparagus, nuttiness of the cous cous and salty bite of chickpeas is an amazing combination.  I’m definitely in love–and super geeked to eat this week.  It’s amazing what a couple of well-planned meals can do for my weekly morale–and energy

Walk of Shame

No–I definitely slept in my own bed last night with my dear husband.  But today’s last three miles during my first 12-mile run certainly felt like a walk of shame.  It wasn’t an easy run to begin with; this was my first humid run of the season and I was feeling it.  My body was craving water and my shorts kept sticking.  I took advantage of the Paint Creek Cider Mill’s location around the four-mile mark to snag a bottle of water and cool off, and then jumped back on the trail.  Feeling rejuvenated, I decided to go past the 5-mile mark instead of turning around as I had originally planned for today’s 10-miler and run to the next road, which was another mile up.  I KNEW I could do 12, and wanted to make it happen today.

All was going well–my pace seemed better after stopping to hydrate, the sun starting to hide below the tree line, and I was running into a very welcomed, cool breeze.  I had expected my knee and ankle to start bothering me, since they have been sore on and off, and the pain definitely kicked in around mile 7, but I wanted those 12 miles.  By mile 9, I had to give in; I didn’t want to do long term damage.  I tried doing intervals of running/walking, but I could only handle that for about half a mile.  And so I walked. And walked.  And walked.

I limped through the front door, welcomed by darling husband.  It wasn’t until I peeled off my shoes that I realized that I had a blister on my left foot that left a bloody trail in my shoe (gross, I know).  The blister I developed on my right foot early in the week had resurfaced and was even larger.  My thighs felt raw from chafing (time to invest in some compression shorts to wear under my regular shorts for those long runs).  And my knee didn’t want to bend.

Two hours later, after icing, ibuprofen, and a couple of hugs, I feel a lot better.  Looking back, I realize how silly it was not to have my husband rescue me and how silly it was to almost cry when I could see my apartment building.  But it would have been my longest run ever.  And it was such a beautiful day.

I know rough runs are inevitable, especially when the runner has ran her shoes into the ground like I have.  New shoes are officially on the agenda this week.  And then I’ll rock out those 12 miles the RIGHT way.

How to Meditate While Running from Runner’s World

Yes!  This is exactly what I’m talking about.  I’d love to go on this sort of retreat: How to Meditate While Running from Runner’s World.