171

8 miles on the new treadmill this morning. I don't know why, but for some reason it felt harder than my treadmill runs usually do. The grade felt steeper; the pace felt quicker. I set it at 6.0 (10:00/mile) and after 10 minutes it said I had gone a mile, so I assume the calibration was correct. I found that I had to reduce the grade to zero and I kept reducing the pace to 5.8. Nevertheless, I finished the 8 miles in 1:20:14, so regardless of what I did, I made it up the last mile when I did a few strides at 8.0 (7:30 pace!). I should also mention that I woke up quite sore from yesterday's workout and I was feeling sluggish before I began today's workout. I watched the movie Once which I don't recommend while running on the treadmill. The accents are so heavy that all of the dialogue was lost on me. Fortunately, there is more music than dialogue!

Tonight I'm going with some girlfriends to see Menapause. I'm not quite there yet, but it should be a fun night out.

171 miles for the month and I haven't even done a single 20 miler this month! Is it possible that I'm feeling the fatigue of accumulated mileage?

The New Treadmill Arrives!

I guess I'm not surprised, but I'm disappointed that John Edwards is no longer running for president. I really liked him and was looking forward to the opportunity to vote for him. Nevertheless, I like both both Clinton and Obama. But it's Clinton I'm backing now. Between the three, Edwards, Clinton, an Obama, I don't think the Democrats can go wrong. What a rare treat!

Yesterday I ended up running twice. The first time, it started to pour down rain when I was only a half a mile into my 8 mile run. I bagged it at 1.5 miles and went home. Later, I managed to squeeze in a fast five miles at the treadmill at the gym while Sarah was at ballet.

5 miles recovery today. Same route as yesterday -- that is, the treadmill at the gym, LOL. Then the workout:
Front and Rear lunges (8 lb dbs), 15 each leg x 3
Bosu squats 20 x 3
Plyo stepups, 30 alt. legs SS pushups (15) X 3
Ball pikes (10) SS Ball side obliques (10, 10) SS Ball crunches (15) x 3
Deadlifts (12 lb dbs) x 15 SS Curls (12 lb dbs) x 20 X 3

The new treadmill was delivered today. I'm going to break it in tomorrow for an 8 mile general aerobic run. I already went to Blockbuster and rented three DVDs because we're supposed to have a few days of cold weather. I'm prepared!

Mission Accomplished

Yes! 17 miles in the bag. Mentally, I had to finish this run. I've been unable to finish my last two Sunday long runs, mostly due to weather, and I felt pressure to complete this one without any drama. Mission accomplished!

The weather was cooperative -- sunny and 30 when I started at 11 AM; 37 when I finished a little after 2 PM. For my listening pleasure, I enjoyed a couple of podrunners at 141 and 135 BPM and an episode of This American Life. I've listened to TAL for so many long runs now that they are starting to air repeats. I'm not ready for repeats, so fortunately next week is a recovery week and my long run won't be all that long.

I ended up going a little over 17 miles. It took a little over 3 hours. About 5 miles in, my husband and daughter came by in the car and cheered for me. It was great, and they wanted to be sure that I mentioned them in my blog! I thought about Tea's determination and Chas muscleing through her 12 mile run yesterday and that helped me keep on going.

Looking ahead to next week, it's a recovery week, but with the exception of the shorter long run, I don't see what's so "recovery" about it. The schedule is 8/5/8/4/12. The 5 and 4 are recovery runs, but the 8s are the usual general aerobic with strides. Some recovery!

I did finally get to sit on the couch and watch A Prairie Home Companion last night. I'm not a fan of the radio show, but the movie was somewhat entertaining. I'm going to have to go to Blockbuster because Thursday's forcast calls for "cold and windy" and that might be the day to break in the new treadmill.

WTD: 41.25
YTD: 152 (Wow! Really?)

Confessions of a Couch Potato

My trainer told one of my sons this morning that I was getting "lazy" with my workouts. Lazy! I'm not a professional runner so, like everyone else, I do what I can to get it in. Lazy is saying "I don't feel like running 5 miles today; it's only recovery anyway," and then sitting on the couch and watching "A Prairie Home Companion" instead. That's not what I did.

What I did was get up at 7:00 to give my kid breakfast and drive him to his high school for the SAT. Then I came home and woke up another kid so he wouldn't be late for his own workout. Then I got to eat breakfast myself. After that, I cleaned the floors and two bathrooms. Then I picked up number 2 son at the gym, drove home, fed, made lunch for, fixed hair in a bun for, and drove my daughter to ballet rehearsal. By this time, it was 11:30 and I was hungry. I ate a piece of toast and got my own lazy ass out the door for that 5 mile recovery run. We all know how much I love recovery runs, right? I ran slow, slow, and slower, keeping my heartrate below 160. Does that sound lazy? And the day is only half over...

I ran today's run the exact same route as yesterday's. Remember yesterday's splits? (They're down there in yesterday's post). Well, here are today's, with HR splits too:

Mile Pace HR
1 10:53 139
2 10:48 142
3 11:40 144
4 11:05 146
5 11:21 142

Tomorrow is 17 miles. I'm hoping for a little bit of a warmup in the temperature. I must have misunderstood the weather for today. I thought it was supposed to be in the 30s, but it hasn't quite made it yet. And the wind is positively arctic!

Spirit of the Marathon

Yeah! I got a run in. Not the one I was scheduled to run -- 10 miles at general aerobic pace -- but a different one. Yesterday, time and the weather conspired against me. Today it was mostly time. Fortunately, the temperature around 4:00 was about 25 degrees with barely any wind. What a difference the lack of wind makes! Make no mistake though, 25 is still cold for me.
I have to get Sarah to a ballet rehearsal (Peter and the Wolf) so I decided part of a run was better than no run at all. Instead of a GA run, I opted for 5 miles at about a 15k pace. It looked like this:

9:43
9:18
9:39
9:38
9:50

Total time: 48:13. Avg. HR 161.

So far I've only done 79% of the scheduled runs this week. With two more days to go, I'm apprehensive about finishing it up.

I saw Spirit of the Marathon last night. I ended up going alone. Scott went to the band concert. I called every running friend I have and none could make it. Then I called the nonrunning friends. They couldn't make it either. Then I tried to guilt Freddie, my 17 year old, into coming with me. No dice. I got to the theatre about 20 minutes early. After buying tickets for Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana I went into the theatre and sat down. I watched every slide on the screen. I watched previews for the Metropolitan Opera HD several times (I'd love to go to that!). Then I went to the bathroom. I must have been out of my seat for maybe three minutes. That must be when they showed the screen advising of the extra features. I'm really disappointed to have missed them because it appears they were a highlight of the movie! Every single time I go to a movie, I stay through the credits. The only reason I decided to skip the credits last night is because I was alone, it was freezing outside, and I thought I better get home. I didn't like the movie enough to see it again, especially not for $10, but I would like to see the extra stuff.

Run through the Pain

Lots of running stuff today, but my house is still a mess.

I finally went to the podiatrist to see about this toe issue I'm having. Nothing specific, it just hurts sometimes when I'm running. I didn't think it was a stress fracture because I can bend it without pain at all the joints. The pain is fairly localized to one small area. After a couple of x-rays, we determined that, thankfully, it doesn't appear to be a stress fracture. But what is it? We discussed running and that it could be a tiny stress fracture that might only show up on MRI. Or, it could be a bone bruise. Or one more thing, but at that point I was only half listening. The thing is, it's nothing to prevent me from running. He gave me a prescription and some samples of Celebrex. Also, he suggested that since it's localized that a cortizone shot might be helpful. So, I may go for the injection before I run the marathon.

Speaking of marathons, I went ahead and registered for the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville, Kentucky today. Now it's official. I'm training for something.

Today's run was great! 5 miles recovery was on the schedule and I decided that I needed a change of scenery. I have a love/hate relationship with the route I took. See if you can guess which is the love and which is the hate?

The sun was shining and it wasn't too cold. I don't know -- low 20s? -- but no wind. I had to stop a couple times in the first mile to adjust my HR monitor which made it's way down to my waist somehow. I got some strange looks when I went into a bar to rearrange my running self. I assure you that I was the only runner in the bar!

I stopped the Garmin at 5 miles and added another 2 miles at LT pace. I was feeling guilty about cutting yesterday's run short.

Say "Hello"

Say "hello" to the new addition:

It is a Spirit XT 675. We decided to go for the fully loaded Honda. The deck is nice because it's 22X60. I'm fine with a shorter deck, but we brought Freddie to run on it and he's almost 6 feet tall. It's got a couple of fans which I would have loved to have at the gym today. I sweat like crazy when I run on the treadmill. Also, it has heart rate control which is great for me because I've been doing heart rate training. It's coming next Wednesday.

Tea asked: Sorry to change the subject, but I was thinking about you while I was running today. I was wondering what your long term goals are....not this year goals, but have you thought about what you plan on doing few years down the road? Any interest in doing ultra-races? (like the wild west relay or other ultras)? Or are you more interested in getting a BQ?
Just curious

I really don't have too much interest in getting a BQ. I need 4:00 and I'm only at 4:31, so I'm not even at a place where I can visualize it. If it's challanging and fun, I'm interested. Ultras don't interest me because they seem more painful than fun.

Lately, when I look in the mirror, I see a couple of things running has done for me. One good, one not-so-good. The good -- my body looks great. I've never been in better physical shape. The bad -- my face. I wear sunscreen and hats, but for the first time in my life, I look in the mirror and think I look my age (still 44 for another month). I'm used to looking younger than my age, but my skin has caught up with me. I'm not happy about that part. I'm not going to give up running, but maybe with the new addition of the treadmill I'll do more of my running inside. Maybe I'll even schedule certain runs for the treadmill. Running outside is great but it's brutal on the skin. To all you young women running -- wear LOTS of sunscreen ALL THE TIME. I did not have these wrinkles two years ago. It came on fast.

I ran at the gym today. Temperature-wise, it's not that bad -- 31-- but it was windy and snowy this morning and I was on a tight schedule. Sarah had a late start today so she didn't have to be at school until 10:15. I was supposed to run 9 miles with 4 at 15k or half-marathon pace. It didn't exactly happen that way though. I ended up doing a general aerobic run for 7 miles. HR stayed in the 150-160 range. My pace was 9:40 throughout with 1% incline. EVERY SINGLE TIME I start running on those treadmills, I get the urge to go to the bathroom. The bathroom is downstairs from the gym so it's a real pain. Sometimes I stop to go and there's nothing there! I stopped at 7 miles because it was 12:00 and I had scheduled an Active Release massage for 12:45. I had just enough time to shower, buy a protein shake, and get to the spa.

5 more miles

I got to run on the treadmill today. I went to the gym this morning, not too early though because I slept till 9:30 this morning! My training is really wearing me out. Yesterday's slow run didn't seem to have any effect on today's run. I increased the pace every mile and ended up running 5 miles in 45:12 minutes. Incline at 1% and no potty stops! Whoo!Hoo!

I just spent the afternoon with the high school seniors going on March of the Living. We watched The Pianist. Their preparation for the trip includes several pre-trip meetings. We will be viewing the Mapping Our Tears exhibit at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Center at HUC, watching Schindler's List, meeting a Survivor, and several other Holocaust education experiences prior to departing for Poland in April. It's recommended that they all read Night by Elie Wiesel. I haven't read it since high school so I better go find a copy and read it again.

WTD: 41YTD: 111

Treadmill Shopping

Gym workout today:

Hamstring curls (single leg) 10 lb (10,10) SS Wallsits (2:00) X 3
Seated DB curls (10 lb dbs) 20 X 4
Single leg tricep pulldowns 15 X 3Calf raises (I forget the weight) 20 x 3
Core rebounder w/ 7 lb ball 20 x 3
Stretch

I've finally had the chance to go out and test drive some treadmills. Yesterday I tried the PaceMaster and the Precor. For the price, I preferred the PaceMaster. Unfortunately, they don't have any units in stock and are unsure if there have been any changes in the new models.
Today, I went to another store and tried the Landice and Spirit treadmills. The Landice is on sale -- a really good sale too -- but it is still expensive. However, it comes with a lifetime warranty on everything (except labor which is 1 year). The Landice gets top reviews everywhere, except Runner's World, which gave top reviews to treadmills that cost more than I'm willing to spend.

The Treadmill Sensei calls the Landice the "BMW" of treadmills. List price is over $3,500 for the L7 Cardio Trainer model (includes HR and HR control function that base console does not) and the dealer has it listed for $2695 + $50 delivery and setup. I ran on it and liked it. The only drawback, though not for me at 5'5" is the 20 x 58" belt. There is also a "basic" model which does not have any user programs or HR control.

I guess you could call the Spirit XT675 the "loaded Honda" of treadmills. It's also reviewed very highly by all the treadmill review websites, comes with a 22 x 60" deck which is nice, the console includes lots of user programs, HR monitoring, two fans, and speakers. It also was nice to run on. It has a good warranty -- 10 year parts, 1 year labor -- and a nice pricetag too. $2150 on sale. Regular price $2399.

The PaceMaster is the same price as the Spirit, but costs $138 for delivery and setup. After I heard the $50 at today's dealer, I quickly narrowed it down to the Landice or the Spirit. How can it cost an additional $90 for one dealer to deliver vs. another? I live close to both.
As for cars, I own both a BMW and a Honda. Like the treadmills, the Honda has more "stuff" than the BMW, but I'm really happy with the bimmer. The question is, will I be more happy spending an extra $500 for a Landice or getting the Spirit and having an extra $500 to take to Vegas next month?

Unfortunately, I can't have either delivered by this weekend, so I'll still be shivering outside.

Snowflake In My Eye

Every day I cross off a run on the Pfitz program, I say to myself: "Is this really me? Am I really running long runs in the middle of the week? Am I really maintaining my pace on these runs? Am I really doing this??"

NO, I didn't want to go outside in the damp and cold and run a ten mile general aerobic run. NO, I didn't want to run 14 miles on a Tuesday because I couldn't finish it on Sunday. And, NO, NO, NO, I do not want to run 15 miles on Saturday because it will be a sweltering 21 degrees as opposed to the predicted 14 degrees on Sunday.

But did I? Will I? YES and YES.

I set my Garmin to only show the heartrate window this morning. I didn't look at my paces, only my heartrate. I tried to keep it above 155. I think it worked out ok. I finished in 1:41:xx -- about a minute over what I projected. I took a pretty long walk break to eat a gel and drink some water, but other than that, I have no excuses. I stopped the watch at most red lights, so I don't get a pass for that. I ran my usual hilly course and I do slow on the uphills. The last mile I did ten strides.

Speaking of elevation, the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon keeps updating their website. Recently, they added the course map and elevation chart. How can I resist entering a marathon with a flat elevation like this one and only two hours from home? Can you say "PR Potential?"

Chug, chug...

I ran 4 miles recovery on the treadmill today. When I went to log it, I saw that I was supposed to run 5. Oh, well. I can't seem to win. I also looked at the weather for the rest of the week, and I think I'm in trouble. It's just going to keep on getting colder beginning with Friday. Saturday's temps should be high of 21 and Sunday is predicted a high of 14 for my long run. Yikes! I don't think I can stay out in that kind of cold for three hours. I also don't think I can commandeer a treadmill at the gym for that long either. What to do...? What to do...?

After the recovery run/warmup, I had a hammergel and got ready for lifting. I was feeling sluggish and I was thrilled when I was finally done.

*Step-ups on box (bodyweight) x 20 SS pushups x 10
Step-ups on box w/ 10# dbs x 20 SS pushups x 10
Step-ups on box 2/ 5 # dbs x 20 SS pushups x 10 X 2

*OK, so I told RJ that I never used weights when I do the stepups, but it turns out that I lied. I used dumbells that I held down at my side. 10s were a little much, so I dropped it down to 5s.

Squats into military press w/ 5 lb dbs (20x4)
Single-leg burpees 8 each leg x 4Single-leg
hamstring curls 5 lb 20 each leg x 3

It doesn't look like I did that much, but I was pretty wiped after yesterday's run and then today's 4 miles. My hip is a little sore as well.

aaaahhhh....

Ahhhh..... That's the sound of relief. I'm relieved that I got my 14 mile run done today. It was causing a significant amount of anxiety! I really felt the pressure to get it done before I moved on to 15. I was actually worried until I passed the point where I threw in the towel on Sunday.
Today is also the coldest day that I've run this year. When I took Sarah to school this morning, the car showed 16 degrees. I don't know what the temperature was when I went out to run two hours later, but I do know that both my water and my hammergels were frozen! I looked like a ninja in my windpants (over my CW-X tights), jacket, and balaclava. With the water bottle holsters strapped around my waist, I can imagine what they were thinking when I stopped in the bank to take off my mittens and try to warm up a gel (and myself).

The run felt good. I listened to Blue Man Group, which provided a nice, mindless, percussive beat to run to. Then I listened to a heartbreaking story on This American Life. It was about an American Muslim family in the U.S. after September 11 and how their children were treated so cruelly in school by both the teachers and administrators which led to the other school children taunting the Muslim kids. It was very sad. I tried to push harder the last four miles to get my heartrate up a little more. It worked, sort of.

Finish What You Start

Well, that sucked.

Actually, the run itself didn't suck. But it sucks that I didn't finish it. Everything was going well. I was listening to Sweeney Todd and time was passing quickly. It was drizzling a little, and I was wet from sweating and became chilled. I decided around mile 5 that I would stop home and change shirts when I got close to my house. But by mile 7 things started to fall apart. My right ankle started to hurt in the front. Then my left big toe started to hurt. By 7.5 I was walking. When I got home at 7.75 I decided to call it a day and try to run 14 on Tuesday instead of the scheduled eight miles. So, if it works out, maybe I can call this a Sunday/Tuesday switch except that Tuesday is supposed to be a GA run. Oh well. I guess I can try for a 3/1.

*Sigh* Isn't there a saying about "the best laid Plans?"

WTD: 33.8 (Should have been 40)
YTD: 70

Best Laid Plans

I love to have a plan.

Today's plan was to run my 10 mile general aerobic run like this: 10:00 for three miles, 9:50 for three miles, 9:30 for three miles.

It didn't exactly work out like I planned, but the plan did keep me focused and motivated. Here is what really happened:

*Mile 4-5 involved a quick stop to remove my gloves, adjust my ipod, eat a gu, put gloves back on.

I realized right away that I was going faster than I had planned, but I decided to just go with it, as long as I didn't slow down. Now, before you are tempted to say something like "Natalie, you really should have gone a little slower because look how much you slowed down those last two miles," first take a look at this elavation chart:

Notice how the line at about 7.5 goes almost vertical and even more so at 8.75.
Now, let's hear the applause.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

Damn Rain!

I'm really bummed. I was motivated to run my 10 miles but the damn calendar and the damn rain have gotten in my way today. If only I were fast enough to knock out 10 miles in less than 1:40 (and that's on a good day), I could have got it done this morning. This morning the sun was out and I was dressed and raring to run. I couldn't do it though. I had a manicure/pedicure appointment and I wouldn't have made it if I'd gone for the run.

Now it's after 4:00 and it's been pouring for two hours. I've still got to feed everyone and take my daughter to her Bat Mitzvah lesson at 6:30.

BUT I WILL GET THIS RUN IN TOMORROW!! I've already cancelled my strength workout at the gym in order to to the run. If I'm really motivated, we have dumbells in the basement, but you know how that goes...

Holding Up Well

I've switched around my lifting schedule in order to accomodate my new running schedule. So, for the time being I'm doing my strength workout on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Today also corresponded with my favorite (not) kind of run -- the recovery run. In order to save some time, I elected to do the 4 miles on the treadmill before my workout. I'll just say that it wasn't horrible. I kept about an 11:00 pace and threw in some strides the last mile, just to get it over with a little quicker.

I get no sympathy from my trainer for either having a tougher running schedule or for running immediately prior to my workout so I took a Hammer Gel in between. It was delicious. I love the raspberry flavor!

Jump Squats on the riser (20) SS pushups on bosu (10) x 3
"Fast feet" on the riser (90 seconds) SS Standing DB rows (15 lb dbs) x 3
Frog jumps (or knee jumps)(5) on bosu SS Rebounder (7# ball) x 5
Seated Row (40 x 15) SS Run down then jump up the stairs X 4
Front & Side shoulder press (5# dbs) 20 x 3

I'm on my way to 40 miles this week.

Time for a Hammer Gel?

Week 2 of Pfitz 18/55 is in the books. Yee Haw!

Today's 13 miler was much better than yesterday's 5 mile recovery run. My average pace was 10:55 which is a full minute faster than my recovery run pace. My average heartrate was 150. I tried to pick it up the last three miles, but it wasn't easy considering it was loaded with steep hills. It's one instance where I can tell more from my heartrate than from my actual pace. My heartrate in the last three was 159/157/156.

I took two Hammer Gels with me and used both of them. I think they really helped to keep me from feeling fatigued. I don't see the point, for myself, of depriving myself of carbs, glycogen, calories, whatever you want to call it, on my long runs if I'm just going to feel miserable.

This American Life provided me with an entertaining episode for the first hour of the run. I ate my first gel during David Sedaris' story about people who defacate in stores. Yes, that's right. While David Sedaris was describing how there are actually people who poop in the center of clothing racks, dressing rooms, and in the center of the toilet roll holder I was squeezing a packet of tropical flavored Hammer Gel into my mouth. I shudder to think of what that might say about me. Plenty of things gross me out, but when it's time for my gel, it's time for my gel!

RECOVERY: Another Name for Hell

Recovery must be another name for Hell.

5 miles. Avg. HR: 142 bpm. 11:xx avg. pace. With each step I felt like I was going nowhere. No spring. No pep. No forward momentum. Can someone please explain to me how a recovery run of 5 miles is more beneficial than simply taking another rest day? Or a spinning class?

I just kept plodding along as I checked my heart rate monitor about every minute, keeping my HR low. Drag, drag, drag.... Plod, plod, plod... Perhaps the idea is that I hate the recovery runs so much that the long runs are almost joyous! Now I know... there is something even more dreadful than running long. It's running short and sloooowwww..... And, slow is relative, I know. Some people's slow is my fast and my slow is some people's fast. But the feeling must be the same.

What kept me going was thinking of all the people on the Hal Higdon Boards ... Jess, Vivian, Dave, Scott... who have had success with the Pfitzinger program.

So, I kept it slow. And I finished.

Trippin' on the Treadmill for Ten

Aarrrgh!! Treadmill Torture this morning. Temps were in the teens (still are) and I'm not that tough so I opted for the treadmill. The first 7 miles weren't all that bad. I was using a treadmill that had been moved to a studio temporarily and the temperature was nice and cool. With 3 miles left to go, someone's personal trainer was distracted by my noisy footfalls (the studio has a wood floor) and asked me to move to the gym. Fine, only the gym was about 80 degrees even with the fans on.

I got it done. 10 miles in 1:40:10. About the same as if I had run outside. I loaded Jay-Z's American Gangster on my ipod and listened to that for the first hour. He steals a lot from Outkast and Kanye West, but it's not bad. It's 100% rap; all a cappella too, so it got tiring long before it was over. I started to feel like someone was screaming at me and when I'm in my "exercise/cardio zone" I have a hard time listening to what anyone says. So, I have no idea what the CD is about. ;) I haven't seen the movie either.

First Run of 2008

Today was a great start to the new year and to week 2 of the training plan. I ran 8.25 miles with 10x100 meter strides. I had a little bit of fun this morning setting up the Garmin to measure the strides. Um, how many tenths of a mile is 100 meters? I settled on .06-.07; can't remember which.

I entered my data on my new running log -- thank you Dave-O. It does everything except calculate the day I ovulate. Also, it rounds up, so maybe I'll hit 1500 in 2008 after all. According to the log, my average pace was 9:53. My avg. HR was 160 which is 81% of max.

This is the coldest day I've run so I dressed warmly. I can't believe I actually contemplated putting an ice cube in my water bottles. By the time I drank the Gatorade Endurance, it was like a slushy margharita. Big dry snow flurries are still coming down, but nothing is sticking.