How I Lost the Weight

First, today's workout. 1.5 mile warmup on the treadmill.

Strength:
Bosu squats (10 lb db) 4 x 15 SS Stairs 4 sets

Plies (lateral squats) on Bosu 4x 20 SS Jumpsquats 4 x 20

Uni deadlift/rev lunge (8 bl db) 4 x 10 SS Pushups (bosu) 4x15

Rebounder (7lb ball) 2x15 SS Victories 2x10

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I have lost 15 pounds since November. I'm in the best shape of my life and alot of people have asked how I did it. It's really no big secret. I can tell you the one thing I didn't do and that is "DIET." No "Zone." No "South Beach." No "Atkins." No Grapefruit Diet, Slimfast, NutriSystem, or WeightWatchers. Nope. Sorry to all of those in the diet industry, but your diets are not how I lost the weight.

The first thing I did was purchase this book. ------------->>>

Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark, MS, RD. Reading the book, I was able to determine the healthy dietary requirements for my own body. Based on the fact that I was an endurance runner, I was able to guage my body's preferred ratio of Fats, Carbs, and Protein. (25%, 55%, and 20%) and yes, I am aware that it doesn't equal 100%, but I rarely meet my exact percentages anyway. These are just the goal guidelines. After reading the book, I discovered that I performed best when I ate at least 5 or 6 "meals" a day. I use the term "meal" loosely because it includes snacks as well. One of the first things I learned from the book, is that I could exercise till the cows come home but still not lose any weight. Which, of course, is why I was able to run thirty miles a week and GAIN weight.

I was running to eat.

I needed to change my philosophy.

I needed to eat to run.

Once I had the Guidebook, I purchased a program called FitDay. You can use the free online version, but for $29.95, I liked the extra motivation of having invested a little money. Using Fitday, I set up my own personal food journal. A typical day might look something like this:

At the end of a day, I could anaylize how I fared with the fat, carbs, protein ratio:

Fitday also has functions for tracking your weight loss, calorie restriction, activities, metabolism, and other fun stuff including the ability to easily add custom foods to the program.

So, really, for the cost of a book on sports nutrition and a $30 food log, I lost the weight by paying attention to what I eat. Nothing faddish here. Just good, solid, basic nutrition. An extra bonus is that my family is also aware of the things they eat too.

Of course, I have to give credit to my incredible personal trainer, Aaron, who is always on my case about my nutrition. Do I eat enough protein? Do I get enough fat? How much carbohydrates am I getting in my diet? And, it was Aaron's idea for me to log my food intake.

I just took it to the level of ANAL.

Run a mile, Rest, Repeat

Peg at the V-Boards (http://www.halhigdon.com) said:

"By the way, I saw lots of running skirts at the Bolder Boulder Monday. But it was funny, the young girls weren't the ones wearing them, it was the 40 somethings like my friend and me! But they were cute! We wore skirts too!"

WOMEN IN THEIR 40s DESERVE TO BE CUTE TOO!

...Back to business:

I'm doing the Hal Higdon Intermediate Marathon Recovery Plan, and yes, it's that tough.
Today's workout was 3 x 1 mile repeats at 10k pace (9:30). The last .25 mile I kicked it up to 5k pace, just to get it over with. Funny how that works... the faster you run, the shorter the workout. Anyway, 4.25 miles total including warmup, intervals, and about 1/10 of a mile cooldown, or rather, meltdown, because it was h-o-t.

Off to take the big kids out to lunch. They're so lucky to have me as their mom! (Right kids?)

Dos

Two workouts today:

Running: 4 Miles. It was hot and felt hard. I saw a little baby fawn lying in the grass of someone's backyard. When I approached, it let me get to within three feet before it got up and ran away. This little deer was no bigger than a dog. It was brand new! I hope its mother was close by.

9:36, 10:09, 10:01, 9:49 T=39:40 (2nd mile was deer watching)

Biking/Weights: I road my bike to the gym. It's the first time I've used my bike for transportation. It was scary. I don't like left turns. In fact, on the way I went a route that was only right turns until the gym. Then I had to cross two intersections and turn left into the gym. I chickened out and crossed one intersection. At the second, I went onto the sidewalk and walked my bike across. The gym is right on the corner anyway. Total bike (both ways): about 35 minutes.

Strength workout (it's a doozy!):

Seated Row (27.5) 15 X 4

Lat pulldown (20) 15 x 4

DB Curl (15 db) 15 x 4

Pushups on bosu 10, one leg up 8 ea. side, then 5 ea. side

Lunges 4 x forward, then 4 x reverse (about 15) SS Stepups (5 DB) 4 x 10 ea. leg

Uni Pushdown (ropes 17.5) 10 each leg

Rebounder (7 lb ball) 3 x 15 SS Victories 3 x 10Stretch

Phew! I'm wiped out. It's 85 degrees. Yuck.

Monday: "Bike Day"

It's been at least a month since I had my bike tuned up. The gym is closed, yoga is cancelled. I'd been meaning to make Monday's my "bike day" and today I had no excuse. After rounding up the helmet, shoes, and gloves, I headed out for my first ride since September. I can't believe it's been that long! You can tell I'm a super dedicated biker. ;)

I kept to my usual running routes, managing to cobble together 9.8 miles without leaving the neighborhood. I tested my memory of the gears, drinking while riding, using the rear-view mirror, hand signals to turn, and, the one thing that really petrifies me: riding on the main roads. I remembered to unclip when I came to a stop... that, in and of itself, is a major accomplishment.

I also mananged to squeeze in one moment of bitchiness. Yep. I was nearly home and riding along, about 14 mph on the RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD, when along comes another bike rider -- and older woman -- riding STRAIGHT AT ME. She smiles and says, "hello" and what do I do? No "hello, how are you?" No, not me. I respond to her greeting with this:

"You're on the wrong side of the road."

That's it. How friendly of me. Then, guess what? I realize I know her. Arrrgghh. I couldn't be a bitch to a stranger. I have to pick a neighbor that I know. Hopefully she didn't recognize me in my cool bike gear and shades.

But, in my own defense, she should not have been riding her bike on the wrong side of the road. We don't drive our cars on the wrong side of the road! What if I had been running? She could have come up behind me and I wouldn't have even heard her. Or if I was driving? And another car was coming the other direction? I'd have had two vehicles coming straight at me.

So stupid.

Next time, maybe I'll try a brick.

Trails

7 miles and it was tough. One of my more difficult routes, but rewarding. I'm fortunate to live less than 2 miles from a city park with a nice trail system. Since the marathon is over, it's time to get back to the trail. I ran the 1.75 miles to the trail then ran about 3.5 miles on the trails and ran back home. Only 2 incidents to report. One, I cracked my head on a fallen tree. I thought I was stooped low enough, but apparently, wearing a hat does have its drawbacks when it comes to guaging certain distances, that being the distance between a fallen tree and the ground. I felt a little instant nausea, then I felt better. The second incident occurred on my way out of the park, where the gravel fire road slopes down to the main road. I lost my footing, slid and pitched forward. I managed to catch myself with my left hand and I think I fell on it pretty hard, because it still hurts.

It's ungodly hot already and I'm only posting these splits to show how much the trails slow me down. It's worth it though for the soft surface and shade.

10:26, 10:40, 12:48, 14:08, 12:48, 13:34, 11:02.
Gardening today.

WTD: 14.5
YTD: 587.54

Routine

I ran 3+ miles this morning. No watch, no clock. I started out fast but ran into a young neighbor girl running. She's 16 and runs the same 30 minute route every day. I dragged her along with me so that she ended up running an extra mile. Every time I see her I tell her to add another 1/2 mile or sign up for a 5k and she never does. I hope she was happy with her 4 miles today!
I also signed myself and Freddie & Adam up for the Redlegs Run For Home 5k next Sunday. It's Adam's first 5k and he's sorta trained for it. Well, he can run 2 miles. Freddie said to sign him up and no he's not going to train and yes he's going to blow us all away. He played baseball for his school team, but I don't think he did too much running. We'll see who blows who away.

Another bar mitzvah party tonight. None of our kids are even going. When will it ever end?

Ghosts in the Graveyard

I had a fun time coming up with a title for this entry. Several possibilities came to mind as I ran my 32 minute recovery run this morning. Some of the discarded titles:

"Scaring up the Ghosts"

"Have Mace; Will Run"

"School's Out for Summer"

"Dancing with the Dead"

This week has been so crazy. The older kids had exams so I've had to arrange my schedule to pick them up at odd times. This morning they got out at 9:30 (last day). After dropping my daughter at school at 8:15 then running downtown to drop something off for my husband (no, not his wallet this time, LOL) I was afraid I would never get a little 3 mile run in. And believe me, I needed it. I have a serious case of PMS and the road rage was kicking into high gear. With a haircolor appointment at 12:00 my running options were seriously limited. I know I've mentioned this before, but I won't run for at least two days after having my hair cut and colored. I expect it to look nice for at least that long given what I pay for it.

Anyway, my solution was to park the car at Walnut Hills and run a loop from the high school. The only problem was that the school is in a really dicey neighborhood. The kids are warned all the time not to leave campus. So, I grabbed the pepper spray and off I went, figuring I would be relatively safe running in the street rather than the sidewalk. I don't know what use I thought the pepper spray might be because I was probably more likely to get shot than attacked.

After a mile, I was in a much better area and I turned down a road that would take me back to the school. As I was running along, I came to the Walnut Hills Cemetary. "Hey," I thought, "Isn't this where the CC team does their hill workouts? Sure is! I think I'll go there too." Why not run in the cemetary? Nice paved roads, well-maintained and attractive gardens, trees, shade. Besides, I've never run in this cemetary in the daytime before! That's right. I've been here before. 2005. Halloween. "Run Like Hell 5k."

Upon exiting the cemetary, I headed back to school, this time to the front of the building. It was now 9:30 and I could hear the principal (the principal is your pal, LOL) giving the last announcements of the year, well, forever for him as he is retiring. I realized that I didn't have another 1/2 mile in me to run all the way around the school to the back parking lot so I walked up the steep, steep stairway and right in the back door and out the front door. Hello Mr. Security Guard. You know me right? Sweaty mom of 2 teenage boys? Good thing the boys didn't see me. They'd be mortified.

To sum up: First run since marathon. Feeling fine.

Bragging Rights

Please allow me a minute to brag. Walnut Hills High School has once again been named one of Newsweek's top 100 public high schools in the United States. You can see for yourself the entire list here. Only two schools in Cincinnati made the top 100. One, Indian Hill, was on the list last year but this year was demoted from 68 to 81. Walnut Hills went from 65 last year to 34 this year.

My sons both attend Walnut Hills. My husband graduated from Walnut Hills as did his mom and both of my parents. I couldn't be more proud of this fine institution and its students and alumni. Walnut is the gem of the city and it's great to see it recognized, again, in a national magazine.

Here is the email that principal Marvin O. Koenig sent regarding the rankings:

"Congratulations! Your hard work and that of our students is being recognized once again. Newsweek currently has Walnut Hills in the top 100. The school went up to 34 from 65 last year. Indian Hill was 68 last year and is at 81 this year. IH is the only other Ohio school in the top 100. Wyoming slipped below this year. I suspect each year you will see schools bobbing around in the rankings, being down one year and up the next since a very simplistic formula is used. WHHS being recognized in the 99th percentile of the nation's public secondary schools is gratifying. It is great to have your accomplishments noted. Congratulations again! "

Mr. Koenig is retiring after this year and we will miss him.

WAY TO GO WALNUT HILLS!

Cleveland Rocks!

Better go grab a latte and a bag of chips. This report is long...

The Cleveland Marathon was my “revenge” marathon. It was my third marathon. I ran LBCM in 2005 and finished in 4:56:xx then ran The Flying Pig (hometown marathon) in 2006 with a finish time of 5:09:xx. As my fitness deteriorated over the summer of 2006, I approached the fall with a firm resolve to tackle my nemesis: THE MARATHON. I hired a trainer and laid down the law. “I don’t need a shrink. I just want to beat my fastest marathon time.” My trainer is not a runner, so in his naiveté answered, “No problem, you will absolutely beat your time.” My trainer believed in me and I believed in my trainer. Together we created a success story that led to Cleveland. If you’ve kept up with my blog since November, you’re already familiar with the training regime which included strength and core training twice a week in addition to marathon training. If not, you can still catch up, but I’m going to fast forward here the MARATHON.

We arrived in Cleveland on Friday afternoon. Our weekend included tickets to Jacobs Field to watch the Indians play the Reds. Our seats were amazing! Three rows behind the Reds dugout, which I took to be a good omen even though the Reds were trounced by the Tribe 9-4. Never mind, Cincinnati got ‘em back on Saturday 10-4. (We won’t talk about Sunday). Saturday, we headed to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Museum and fought our way through the weekend crowds. As we were watching the highlights movie from HOF inductions, I started getting nervous for the marathon as I realized that many of the songs and artists in the movie were on my “Long Running Songs” playlist on my ipod.

Oh, yes, I should talk about the Cleveland Marathon itself. This year was the 30th anniversary for the Cleveland Marathon. You would never know it. There is virtually no excitement in the city for the marathon. The maps of the course were completely ineffective, both for nonlocal runners hoping to drive the course and especially for spectators planning on scouting out strategic viewing locations. The expo was pretty good – lots of free stuff – but official merchandise was icky and the marathon shirts, though tech shirts, were only in men’s sizes, so I am practically swallowed up by my size small shirt.

The Cleveland Marathon, now in its 30th year, is very small. There are three races, a marathon, half-marathon, and a 10k. There is some prize money, with the majority of the prize purse going to the 10k, so that is where the Cleveland Plain Dealer placed its prerace emphasis. Unfortunately, the 10k was subject to a major snafu. If you’re interested, you can read about it here. Supposedly, there were 9000 total runners, but I believe there were only about 2000 marathoners. In fact, after the half and the full split, I was running virtually alone the remainder of the race.

The race began at 7:00 AM. My stated goal for this marathon was 4:40, but after some discussion in my blog about “secret” goals, a secret goal of 4:30 was revealed, and thinking I could actually run a 4:30 marathon, I lined up with the 4:30 pacer. It didn’t matter where I lined up though, because as soon as the horn sounded, the 4:30 pacer was out like a bat out of hell and I never saw him again. To run a 4:30 marathon, you have to keep a steady 10:18 pace, which in a field this small, was entirely doable. My splits for the first 4 miles are all under that pace and I NEVER saw the pacer.

The race course is very scenic. It is not flat, however, and I felt sorry for those runners who entered believing it to be flat. I did my training on hills, so it didn’t bother me a bit, but I heard several groans as we covered the rolling hills of the course. The race starts right in downtown Cleveland and the first quarter and the last quarter are right on the lakefront. It is definitely a windy course, and the wind is relentless from miles 19-23. The wind didn’t bother me though. I’d rather have the scenery of Lake Erie with the wind, then running endless miles on a desolate highway. There was very little of that.

So, how did it go? The weather was perfect. I was happy with my pacing. I felt like I was running with energy for most of the race. Although the race field was small, I had steeled my mind for boredom in training and I didn’t feel like I needed any crowd encouragement (though it would have been nice. C’mon Cleveland! Show some enthusiasm for your marathon!) At the halfway point, I went ahead and turned on my ipod. For a marathon with the slogan “Cleveland Rocks and Runs” I must say that the entertainment along the course was pathetic to nonexistent. There were maybe two bands and every once in a while there would be a tent on the side of the road with a boom box connected to a big speaker. Period. I didn’t need it though.

My finish time was seriously effected by the FIVE bathroom stops I took. Thank goodness Cleveland has large, old trees bordering the highway. Thank goodness for running skirts! I don’t know what to do about this issue. Kegels? I took two detrol before the race, but obviously they didn’t work.

Running to the finish with Jim

My bathroom stop at mile 12 is really the one that put me behind, but I felt like I could make up that time if I just took it easy until Mile 20. I was feeling fine and running strong until about exactly Mile 20. Then the course took us along a long airfield next to the Lake and the wind, the monotony, and 20 miles of running strong took its toll and I began to slow down. I kept telling myself that I was having more fun than I had at the Rock museum, but it wasn’t working. I told myself I had trained to run on tired legs. That didn't work either. Just after running around Cleveland Browns Stadium and passing a roller blader (yes, I am not kidding and the idiot nearly wiped out and took some runners out with him), I was passed by a girl with a 4:45 bib on her back. Even though I knew she was running faster that 4:45, it bummed me out a little because I definitely wanted to beat 4:45. Around Mile 24, our friend Chris ran by me and I tried to keep up with her for the rest of the race. We passed "4:45 girl" and then Chris ran ahead (she was really smoking!) but I kept pushing it to the finish line. As I rounded the final corner to mile 26, I saw my husband and daughter wearing their “Team Wolf” shirts and Scott’s cousin Jim, who’d already finished, sprinted with me to the finish. Because of the small field of runners, I had the whole road to myself and I heard the announcer say “Make way for the lady in pink. She could use some more room!” I spread my arms wide and would have stopped to take a bow, but I was determinedto beat the clock to 4:40 and I did easily with a finish time PR of 4:39:10. The medal is totally cool. The finish line food was definitely unique. Aside from the usual apples and bananas, there were popsicles, cheetos, fritos, pretzles, potato chips, fruit cups, twinkies, cupcakes, chocolate and strawberry milk, an assortment of fruit punches. And beer. You had to pay for the beer. There was also a really cool 70s disco band. There were NO MYLAR BLANKETS.

Do I have 4:30 in me? Definitely if I can get my bathroom breaks under control, I think I can go for 4:20.

If you can stand reading anymore, here are the splits:

Mile 1 9:44

Mile 2 10:14

Mile 3 9:50

Mile 4 10:02

Mile 5 10:58 (big tree pit stop)

Mile 6 10:12

Mile 7 10:04

Mile 8 10:17
Mile 9 10:41 (into the woods)
Mile 10 10:11
Mile 11 10:53
Mile 12 12:27 (uh, oh… needed a porta john)
Mile 13 10:04
Mile 14 10:05
Mile 15 10:09
Mile 16 10:49 (pit stop)
Mile 17 10:21
Mile 18 10:36
Mile 19 10:39
Mile 20 10:37
Mile 21 11:35 (pit stop)
Mile 22 10:49
Mile 23 11:35
Mile 24 12:57Mile 25 10:56
Mile 26 9:51
Mile 26.24 2:22

Chillin'

Well, I thought I'd check the weather for Cleveland this weekend. Sunday looks like it will be perfect weather for running. A little rain, high of 60; couldn't ask for much better. I just found out some friends will also be in Cleveland over the weekend. My fan base is growing! I've recruited them to cheer for me.

Pregnancy & Marathons

I've been told it's the journey that counts.

I did my last run this morning. 4 miles. It was hard. One of my hardest, in fact. My quads are sore from the shredding they took yesterday running down the hill from Adam's clarinet teacher's house on a measly 3 miler. So, it's rest, rest, rest from now till, as Blingy Bob says, 3 days, 10 hours, 58 minutes, 32 seconds until the gun goes off.

It's a strange feeling being this close.

In some respects, training for a marathon is alot like being pregnant. At first, you do what you're told to do, take your vitamins, you go to checkups, you run your miles. Your due date and the marathon seem like they'll never get here. Then your belly starts to get bigger, you start to see results from your training. Your excitement grows. You start a blog. In my case -- two blogs. ;)

Next thing you know, you are only days away from your due date. There is nothing to do but wait. While you wait, you grow introspective. . . you turn inside yourself. Is this practice for long hours of labor? Or long, lonely, painful hours running the marathon?

Slowing Down

I can't believe I am paying someone to fix my a/c and the only thing wrong with it is the filters are dirty. I should have cleaned them before I called for service. I thought about it. I just didn't do it.

Anyway, I'm supposed to run 3 miles which I will do as soon as the a/c guys are gone. I went to the gym for an easy workout. Lots of core and balance stuff.

Woodchops w/ 4 lb ball 30 X 3; Stretch IT Band in between sets
Reverse lunges on the Bosu 20 X 3
Unilateral Shoulder press w/ 4 lb ball standing on Bosu 10 each side X 3
Pushups 15 X 3
Hops on Riser (Deceleration training) 20 X 3
Supermans on Bosu 15 X 3; Hamstring stretches b/w sets
Rebounder w/ 4 lb ball 25 X 2

"What the hell do I need to be practicing deceleration?" I ask.

"So you can slow down when you need to," answers Aaron-the-Trainer

HELLO? YOU THINK I CAN'T RUN SLOW?

"Tending the Rabbits"

Today was my last long run before next week's marathon. The Plan called for 8 miles and I had my own plan for running it. My Plan was to wear the 4:30 pace band I picked up from last week's Pig. I wore the 4:40 band in the race last week. I think I can do 4:30. I wanted to practice and see what it felt like for 8 miles.

What is it they say about "the best laid plans of mice and men?". . .

Even though I plugged El Garmino into the outlet last night, it must have been off its rocker because this morning the battery was dead. Darn! I got one mile out of it. Also, I had to guess at the mileage. I ran a route that I think would have actually been 9, but I was running with a friend and we ended up walking the last .5. Let's just call it 8.5 and I have no idea as to time.

Oh, well.

Tapering. . . tapering. . . tapering. . .

WTD: 25.26
YTD: 540.8

Spring Fling

I've been planning a 5k since January. There are only 5 of us workhorses on the committee. The race is May 20th. Here's the flyer. Unfortunately, I will be in Cleveland, running another race, on May 20th.

In honor of the Hadassah Spring Fling 5k that I've been planning, but won't even be attending, I ran my own little simulated 5k today instead of the scheduled 3 miles. (I'm probably breaking all the taper rules, if there are any).

I'm happy to report that while this may not be a PR for a real race, I think it is definitely a PR for a simulated race. How I wish you could simulate that adrenaline rush!

My splits: 9:54, 9:15, 8:53, 0:47. Total: 28:51.

Check out how I get faster every mile, just like I would hope to in a real 5k! Finally, I'm learning how to run with my brain.

Have a happy weekend everyone! 2 ballet performances down, only 2 more to go today. Maybe this afternoon they'll shake things up and one of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters will get to marry the prince.

Isn't There a Cheaper Way to Taper?

I'm like a coil that is ready to spring.

Today is "rest" day and I have waaayyy too much energy.

I spent $250 at Sephora. Then I spent another $100 at Bigelows.

How much makeup and hair products does one person actually need?

Well, it is Mother's Day on Sunday. My mom would really like that gift set. Ok, so I already bought her the Neil Sedaka CD. But she is my mom after all.

Oh, yeah. I could use a new makeup bag. That one's even got handles. And it's so cute.

I only need to spend $8 more to get the "free" tote bag? Gosh, I could sure use that tote bag when I go to Cleveland next week. Let's see, that pummice stone costs about $8.

PLUS, I AM A RUNNER AND I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY NEED A PUMMICE STONE!

Is This What is Meant by "Taper Madness???"

Saving the Best for Last

I went to the gym and did my strength workout with my trainer. I HAVE A GREAT TRAINER. He's not a runner, but he BELIEVES IN ME as a runner. He has never shared my doubts about my ability to run faster and run more miles. He encourages me to do both of these things. I never hear: "it's bad for your knees" or "I can run it faster than that." Aaron believes, therefore, I believe too.

I question him constantly about whether I should still be coming into the gym this close to the marathon. His answer is that we have significantly decreased the amount of weight I was lifting and he theorizes that my body is used to storing energy for my workouts and if I stop lifting too soon, my body will no longer store the energy. In theory, I should be able to use the stored energy for the marathon that I am not using for the strength workout. I'm not sure when is the right day to stop -- in practice, it was probably today, because my schedule is pretty busy next week, and I'm quite sure I shouldn't be lifting on Thursday.

Anyway, if anything, this training cycle has certainly taught me how to run well on tired legs. Between the Saturday/Sunday runs and the Thursday runs after strength training, my legs know the feeling of running when they don't want to.

This morning my workout went kind of like this (sorry, no details yet):

Seated Row 3 sets
Explosive single leg presses on the sled 3 sets
Unilateral rope bicep curls
Shoulder presses
Pushups on the handles one leg up
Dumbell pushups

After my workout, I headed out of the gym for my 4 mile run in the valley. This is the run that is basically 2 miles down and 2 miles up. My goal was to do each mile under 10:00. Aaron suggested I should be more specific, so I said I'd try for 9:15s and 9:30s. Anyway, I wanted to finish in under 40 minutes and I don't mean 39:00.

I'm happy to report that, this being the last time I'll do that particular run this cycle IT WAS MY BEST ONE YET! Splits: 9:18, 8:44, 10:01, 10:20 (Remember down 2, up 2) Total: 38:28.

By way of comparison, the last time I did this 4 was March 15 when my splits were: 9:51, 9:41, 10:27, 10:52. Total: 40:54. And I was happy with that one!


I absolutely remember being so thrilled to see a split that started with a 9:xx. I'm in awe of myself that lately I've been able to throw in an 8:xx every once in a while. I guess you really can improve -- even at my age!

You Call This a Life? I Call it a Marathon.

We've all had them. The days and weeks that never end. The endless parade of sporting events, concerts, recitals, lessons, rehearsals, appointments, and on and on and on. Is it just me? Or is it May? When the school year comes to a close, so do all of the related activities. I had to set the alarm on my Treo to 30 minutes prior to every event or I would be in deep shit if the bell went off at my customary 5 minutes till and I had completely forgotten where I was supposed to be. It's not even 10:00 PM and my eyes are halfway closed. I'm fantasizing about being in bed as I write in my blog, but there are still lunches to be made, laundry to be put away, and two more children to put to bed before my fantasy becomes reality. Please, please, please let me get through this week and then it's 1 week until my real marathon.

Speaking of which, I ran 5 miles at Lunken Airfield today. I attempted to listen to Fresh Air. I gave two episodes a try, but I guess I don't care too much about the relationship between Kissinger and Nixon or who leaked info about WMD in Iraq. Call me uninformed, but I just couldn't get into it. However, EVERYBODY who reads this blog should immediately download last week's episode of This American Life called "Habeas Shmabeas." It's about "terrorist" prisoners at Guantanamo Bay prison and, as nick m. suggested in my V-Team blog, should be required listening for all citizens. Seriously, does anybody have any idea what we are doing there??? Anyway, as usual, This American Life made for captivating listening for 5 miles in 50 minutes. Not too shabby for a recovery run.

Count Down

As I enter the last two weeks of training before the marathon, I am committed to making every run count. I want to maintain the intensity of my runs and workouts even while reducing my mileage and training load.

That said, today's workout was no exception.

I ran a total of 4.5 miles today, including 6x400 intervals.

2 Miles easy warmup at 10:32 pace
Intervals were: 1:59, 2:03, 1:55, 1:59, 2:02, 1:58. Rest intervals, which I walked, were 2:00. Cooldown was a little less than .5 miles.

McMillan's training calculator indicates I should be doing 400s between 2:03 and 2:10 which is based on my MORE HALF MARATHON time, but I think my Half would actually be faster now and I'm quite satisfied with my splits. In fact, my first and last 400 are almost the same time, so my consistency bears out my training.

Later this afternoon, I hit the gym for strength training -- upper body and core. Bunch of bicep curls, bunch of shoulder presses on the Bosu, bunch of pushups, some tricep torture, whole lot of bent over rows, rebounder w/ 4 lb ball, stretching. I'm sure there was more but I was talking about Sunday's Pig the whole time and I can't remember. Marathon Brain.

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I just got done watching American Idol. What a disappointment. I like the BeeGees, but really, who else can sing their songs like they do? And will somebody please confiscate the Crayon box from Paula? Her eye makeup was positively distracting

Planning

I'm taking today off instead of cross-training. My daughter is off school and we're going to a movie. I think it's called "The Land of Women." I don't think it's about dinosaurs.

In the meantime, I'm still thinking about my next marathon(s). I'm intrigued by the Breast Cancer Marathon (26.2 With Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer). I know too many women and families whose lives have been effected by breast cancer, so I imagine it will be a pretty emotional race. Plus, it's cool to do an inaugural event.

If I do the Columbus Marathon on October 21, the Breast Cancer Marathon is exactly 18 weeks after. February in Florida sounds like a winner.

Obviously, I'm not counting on getting into NY this year. But the More 1/2 is definately on. I can't miss out on my women's weekend in NYC.

This Little Piggy

This is the race for which my blog is named and which I have been focused on since November. My plan was to vanquish my miserable performance last year. The only thing is, I forgot that this was also the weekend of my nephew's Bar Mitzvah. When I was reminded in January, I thought all was lost in terms of motivation, but I immediately registered for another marathon and turned my focus to Cleveland. See, I am completely focused on doing my best and I knew I couldn't devote myself to the family and to performing well in the marathon. When I was told I wouldn't be needed to host a breakfast this morning, I went ahead and registered for the Flying Pig Half Marathon since I was slated to run 12 miles this morning anyway. How could I resist? Hometown marathon... Great swag... Cool Bling... Crowd support. This Big Bad Wolf was in!

This Little Piggy Went to Market (Expo)

I was at the expo within an hour of it opening on Friday. The weekend was jam packed with family stuff so I couldn't meet any V-Teamers, though I would have loved to, and I needed to do the expo then or never. I like to go early, because stuff tends to run out. Hands down, this year's Pig expo was better than last year. For the first time since I've been running Pig events, it was back in Cincinnati at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Nice and roomy location. Really great Pig logo merchandise. I bought a hot pink Asics running vest, a couple of tatoos, socks, a visor, and WINGS! The wings are really cool. They are each individually handmade and numbered by the artist. They look like pink aviator wings and attach with safety pins. I also bought a nifty Bondi Band in sequin pink which I decided to wear instead of the visor. Now my outfit was complete!

This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef "Carbing Up"

Ok, I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't actually racing this one, so it wasn't entirely crucial that I eat for performance this weekend. In fact, it was virtually impossible. I could either enjoy myself at all kinds of food-oriented events or be the party pooper Aunt. I chose to enjoy myself in moderation. I will say, the desserts at last night's party were to die for. The best chocolate fountain array I have ever seen. I limited myself to a Buckeye, a marshmallow, a pretzel, coconut cake (just a taste). To be honest, I better not leave out the Graeter's ice cream -- black raspberry chip on Friday night, and the rootbeer float after services yesterday. Before I leave this topic, if you thought last week's shoes were high, last night I wore the most adorable 3 inch spike heels you've ever seen. I did refrain from alcohol. One half a glass of wine.

This Little Piggy Went Wee Wee Wee All the Way Home

My goal was to run the Half in 2:15 or slower. At the expo I picked up pace bands for 4:30, 4:40, and 4:45. I decided to go with the 4:40 because that is my goal time for Cleveland. It would get me to Mile 13 in 2:18:56. I also thought it would be a good exercise to see if I could follow the pace band, because I have not had good luck with them in the past.

Despite all the concern about weather, there has not been one single day this week where the weather was as predicted. Today came clear, cool, and beautiful. My ride was a little on the late side, so we didn't get downtown until about 5:40. We parked in a garage at 3rd and Walnut, which wasn't too far from the start, but also not exceedingly far from the finish. First order of business was to stand in line for the porta-potties. While waiting in line, I made friends with some women in line behind me and they pinned on my wings. Next, we checked baggage and lined up in a clump somewhere around the 4:30 pacers. About 5 minutes later, the gun went off without fanfare. No National Anthem.

For the first 9 miles the race is very crowded. Marathoners, Half-Marathoners, Relayers, Walkers... everyone starts together. Unbelievably, I was passing walkers for the first three miles. I don't understand why they won't start at the back.

For the first 6 miles, I was cruising along according to my plan. My splits were 10:47, 10:16, 10:22, 10:08, 10:37, 10:49. Unfortunately, my monthly "friend" visited yesterday afternoon, and by mile 6 I thought my uterus was going to fall out. Like it or not, I had to actually go in a porta-potty. The Mile 6 water station directed me to a bank of potties located a parking lot away but behind a building. I had to leave the course and run there a ways, but there was no waiting. Somewhere on these boards I learned the trick of taping a tampon to the back of the race number, but I couldn't find duct tape last night and had to use packing tape, so it took some time to untape it. The whole thing put me about 4 minutes behind schedule and, me being me, I felt like I had to make up that time. I had a big uphill climb through Eden Park that was about to start and let me tell you I cranked!!

Someone took a picture of me starting up the hill on Eden Park Dr. and I was seriously kicking that hill's butt. My next splits were 13:42 (pit stop), 10:01, 9:59, (This is about where the Half splits from the Marathon) 10:36, 9:37, 9:11 (serious downhills), 8:54, 3:53. Total of 13.42 miles. I did feel my milage was off for most of the race. I added a little by choosing an out-of-the-way potty stop, but definitely not 3/10 of a mile away! My finish time was 2:19:00 which means that I not only caught up with my pace band, but I passed it!

I am proud of a number things regarding this race:

1) I made a plan and stuck to it.
2) I finished fresh.
3) My fastest mile was my last and it was on a flat road.

The Flying Pig Half is a great race and a great course. I had alot of fun this morning... even on 3 hours sleep last night and with killer cramps. Here's the elevation map for the Half Marathon. Check out those hills, both up and down.

WTD: 32.08
YTD: 515.54

This little wolfie...

... is just biding her time until tomorrow's Half-Marathon. I ran a couple of miles without a watch. Whoo! Hoo! That's what I call freedom! Clothing and accessories are all laid out for tomorrow. I'm ready to go kick some piggy butt! Goals? Oh, yeah. Ok, this may sound weird. My goal is 2:15 OR MORE. Yes, I said, "or more." I have to remind myself that tomorrow is a TRAINING RUN. I will not race. I will not run fast. I will stick to the plan.

THE PLAN IS TO KICK ASS IN CLEVELAND ON MAY 20TH!

Pig Swag

SWAG: In popular culture, the term swag now usually refers to promotional items or gifts that are given away by companies or organizations. It can also simply be used as a slang term for desirable items in general.

The Flying Pig Marathon has great swag.

There's this cool poster. I now own at least 4 of them. One of these days I should hang them up!



There's the race t-shirt. This one is, unfortunately, cotton. Only the marathon runners get tech tees.




And here's a nifty sling style messanger gym bag that will come in handy when I get my bike out of the shop and ride it to the gym.

Teenagers

This is how I felt yesterday.


My 13 year old, middle son, "hates" me. He is on hour 32 of a tantrum that started when I told him he could not go to the Twilight Ball because it is this Friday night, which is when our family is celebrating Shabbat together in honor of my nephew, Adam's cousin's, Bar Mitzvah. This should have come as no surprise to Adam, who himself was just Bar Mitzvah'd this past September. He very clearly remembers how disappointed we all were when another family member didn't come to Friday night dinner because of a school football game.

Now I am the enemy. Everything wrong with Adam's life is my fault. Mind you Adam has another parent, my husband -- his father, but I am the only parent to receive 100% of Adam's ire. I think it is because he senses ambivilance in his dad. Kids are smart that way. Scott would rather permit Adam to go to the dance, so as to cull his affection and prevent a scene, than form a united front on this (or any) issue.

This is me right now

So, today I have been told that not only does Adam hate me, but all his friends do too. He has destroyed my crossword puzzle by filling in all of the squares with hateful words to describe me. He has told me that I deserve whatever happens to me and he would not be sorry if anything did happen to me. Meanwhile, his dad doesn't intervene, so the bad feelings Adam has for me, I am now feeling for Scott.

"Marathon Brain"

Having been associated with too many friends and family members who have dealt with cancer and endured the rigours of chemo, I am well familiar with the term "Chemo Brain." Chemo Brain is the term used to describe the condition where, after having experienced chemotherapy to treat their cancer, people are unable to concentrate on their work, or unable to juggle multiple tasks. Some find they don't remember things as well as they used to.

I propose a new study into the effects of a phenomenon that I call "Marathon Brain." Marathon Brain occurs when one is training for a marathon or other endurance event and, while in the throes of vigorous training or recovery, one has difficulty remembering what one has just said, done, was going to do, or what is supposed to be done tomorrow. The only exception to the rule is that the number of miles on the training plan for any given day of the week is always in the forefront of the mind.

The closer I get to my marathon, the worse my symptoms are becoming. Now that I'm entering the "taper" phase of my training, my kids will be fortunate if I even remember to take them to school. Oh, look. It's 5:30. What are we going to eat for dinner tonight. Um, dinner?