Yesterday's Long Run: A List of Eventful Events.

I found a picture of me from 1994-ish yesterday, which would have placed me solidly in my college years and around 19-ish years old:

Zomg that shirt.  And shorts.  Oh the 90s.

As you can see from this pic of me at the end of yesterday's run, I still have the same taste for obnoxious multi-colored prints:

Note obnoxious print on shorts and shoes please.

It's good to know that my taste in clothes hasn't changed that much in over 20 years...but my desire to actually get off my arse and exercise has.  Well, now that I'm in my 40s I pretty much have no choice but to get up and do something lest I turn into a junk-food eating blob.  And get up and do something I did yesterday, with that something being a 19-mile run.  My long runs usually have something eventful happen, and yesterday's was no exception.  Let me do a quick list of those events for you, because lists are what I live for these days:

Event #1: I was exhausted even before I began.  OK, not really an event, but this past week was a nutty week for me at work, getting there super early and leaving super late each day (the school year is ramping back up for us educators).  I went home on Friday and feel asleep at 7 PM, not waking up until 5 AM the next morning when a dog slapped me in the face as a proof of life check. ("Is she still alive?  Someone slap the woman; we have to go outside!") And even after I woke up I was still exhausted...so that meant I dawdled around the house a lot before finally getting ready for the run.  This also meant I left a lot later than I should have, meaning I would be ending the run in hotter weather.  The things I do to sabotage my own runs, I tell you.

Event #2: Dodging cyclists at every turn.  Now, please remember that I love cycling.  I really, really do.  But it seemed like I kept running into every group ride being had in the area yesterday.  Some groups were awesome, letting large dog and I pass, but other cycling herds just plowed on through, causing Simon and I to head into the ditch for our own safety.  One time a group came over a blind hill and I seriously thought we were going to be bicycling roadkill.  At least I can't say the run was boring.

Event #3: Mother Nature calling me incessantly.  So if you read this blog regularly you know that Mother Nature and I have a love/hate relationship during runs.  Specifically, she loves to call me at inconvenient times during the run and I hate to answer...but I have to.  Yesterday was no different, and I had to duck into an abandoned field as well as find a nice spot in some really tall grass on the edge of a cornfield to take the calls.  I really have to review my eating plan to see if I can permanently block her calls during runs.

Me staring down Mother Nature.  And losing.

Event #4: Mother Nature made a fool out of me. As I was entering the early double-digits of my miles, I kept noticing that the hordes of cyclists passing me from behind kept chuckling as they went by.  I shrugged it off, because I was really more focused on getting the run done through the heat of the day that had started to set in.  As I was chugging down a welcome long downhill in the middle of mile 15, I felt something chafing me along let left side of my back.  When I reached back to re-adjust my clothing and see what was chafing me, I felt something sticking out of the back of my shorts (!).  I stopped to take a look, and realized I had streams of long grass hanging out the back of my shorts, with the ends inside chafing me like a sunofayouknowwhat.  I must have accidentally snagged them while I was answering Mother Nature on the edge of that cornfield, therefore enabling all of those cyclists to have a good laugh this morning at my grassy tail as they rode by.  Glad I could add a little comic relief to their rides (but not glad about the chafing that I gave to myself - OUCH).

Event #5: Body parts making strange noises.  From mile 11 on I kept hearing a weird suction-y type noise, and I kept thinking someone was coming up behind me.  That is, until I realized the noise was coming from the inside of my sports bra now that it was soaked in sweat and could hold no more (sweat, that is).  That bra got retired to the trash can after this run--FYI.

Event #6: Holy hilly hills.  As per usual, I ran lots of hilly hills for 19 miles. The only thing that gets me through this kind of torture is the fact that I do loops around my house, with a lot of looped out-and-backs of 3 miles or so...and instead of thinking about miles left I think about loops left, which is usually a much lower number that my brain can deal with without sobbing uncontrollably on the inside.

Event #7: Running 19 miles faster than the pace indicated on the training plan.  At some point during hot runs my subsconscious wants the suffering to be done so it makes me run faster...I finished a full 10 seconds faster per mile than I should have.  Whoops.

After dealing with the hills and the grass in my shorts and Mother Nature for 19 hot miles (the first nine with large dog), one good decision I made was to leave a cold bottle of water in the shade that is my mailbox.  Chugging that thing at the end of the run was like drinking unicorn tears.  One other bad decision I made was sitting in a deck chair while I took the dogs out afterwards...it took a while to figure out how to get out of that chair after the run I just had. 

But you'll be glad to know I did make it inside and to the ice bath, where I got judgy looks from cats the whole time, making for the perfect end to a long run.  Not really.

Hyooman you IDIOT sitting in ICE *judgeraysfromeyes*

Speaking of ending, this post is over now.  Check out the upcoming workouts below.

Upcoming workouts: Today--lifting heavy things.  Tomorrow - only 10 miles of speed work.  Only.

My Long Run Logistics

Saturday is my long run day.  Why?  Because trying to cram in a 2.5-3.5 hour run on a Sunday when you leave all your work and housecleaning until Sunday requires a day that is longer than 24 hours long.

During the summer I get up pretty early to get the run done before the heat becomes too obnoxious, and today was no different.  Large dog and I headed out the door at about 6:30 AM and got nine miles in before I could no longer stand the fact that he kept trying to pull me sideways into the ditch with him while I tried to stay moving in a roughly forward direction.  After dropping him off, I slammed out the last 8 solo, feeling pretty good even though by the time I finished it was nearing 10 AM and the sun was all out and starting to blaze.

My God I just want to run without having to counteract his sideways pull.

WHEE 17 hot miles

I honestly didn't feel that bad for the last 8 miles in the heat, as it wasn't humid and there was enough shade along my route to get some relief.  Also, I think I'm getting acclimated to the heat now that it's August and temps will start to cool soon.  Of course.

Anyhoo, a lot of people ask me how I can run all these crazy miles every Saturday.  Most often this question is phrased as "are you NUTS you run that far for fun?!?" but I'm sure they really mean "Gee, Terie, how do you prepare to run all of those miles each weekend like the badass you are?"  Well, to answer the latter, here's the lowdown on my long-run logistics:

1) Make sure you have good shoes.  And by "good" I mean "shoes you pulled out of the back of your closet and decided to run in since you haven't worn them for awhile and they're only 2 versions back from the current brand and model you wear."  In my case, I grabbed a pair of Brooks Launch 4s that looked like they could have used some fresh air.  Tiny dog seemed to approve of this choice as well.

2) Make sure you're wearing comfortable gear.  This means making sure you have clothes on that don't chafe but yet make a definite statement to all of the cars that pass you during your run.  The statement my gear made today was "It's hot and I'm fat and don't give a rat's arse what you think of me running around in just a sports bra and shorts because it is glorious that a shirt is not sticking to me--GLORIOUS I TELL YOU"

My gear apparently had a lot to say today.

3) Never ever ever (ever) forget to bring toilet paper with you on a long run.  I actually bring it on every run, tucked away in my running belt all snuggled up in a plastic bag so my sweat won't destroy it.  Because Mother Nature has the WORST timing for calling me.

4) FOOD.  MUST BRING FOOD.  While I always throw down a banana before I leave the house, I bring my two favorite flavors of gels with me that I buy by the case because I can:

If you're running long, you have to have some nutrition with you or you're going to be in a world o' hurt after about 90 minutes or so.  I may or may not have made this mistake and ended up curling up into a ball on the side of the road once. *ahem*

5) I back off the pace for the first mile or four.  I don't really know why this works for me, but I find that if I just run in the 10s for the first few miles I am pretty much banging out the last few miles well above my planned pace and feeling fantastic while doing it.  This was the case today as well:

Betcha can't tell which miles Mother Nature called me, can you?  Actually, I bet you can.  Glad I had that toilet paper.

6) I plan for my post-run recovery.  This means jumping into a bathtub full of ice-cold water and using my foot massager as I blog about all my running nonsense.

"NNNNNNGGGGHHHHH COLD"

While the ice baths are NOT PLEASANT AT ALL (and occasionally a curious cat falls in the tub with me), they have really helped my sore hip and the sore top of my right foot that had been plaguing me for weeks.  In fact, my hip and foot didn't bother me at all, unless you count when some insect-ish critter had crawled into my right shoe during a Mother Nature stop and then proceeded to bite the hell out of the top of my foot.  Stupid nature.

Speaking of stupid, this post is now over.  You know that because you're about to read about tomorrow's workout below.

Tomorrow's workout: Some spin and some upper-body weights; gotta keep working on the guns, after all.  Oh, and rest my legs or something.

More random things running has taught me

Yesterday I did one freaking hard workout.  It was a threshold workout that consisted of three 2-mile repeats at at 8:43 pace, with a roughly 3-mile warm-up and a 1.5 mile cool down--roughly 10.5 total miles. 

While that workout is hard enough in and of itself, I made it harder by doing it outside on all the hilly hills around my house instead of on the treadmill.  This decision was made because temps were again in the mid-60s, and you just can't waste a summer morning like that by staying inside and staring at a blue wall whilst slogging away on the treadmill.

But as I was getting ready to go do the run, I didn't think I could do it.

The distance and the hills (not so much the pace--8:43 I can totally handle) and the amount of 2 mile repeats were all getting in my head and forming a big ball of doubt.  But I forced myself outside and you know what happened?  I totally crushed that workout.

I've been running for a little over 9 years now, and you'd think I wouldn't doubt myself before a run anymore--but nope.  But I also love proving to myself that I can do the things I think I can't do, which is the one thing that motivates me to get out and do a run that I am fearful of doing.  It's one of those things I've learned in my 9-ish years of running--that I can do more than I think I can.  It's also taught me some other things along the way as well, which shall now be enumerated in a bulleted list for your viewing pleasure:

• I'm not invincible.  Sometimes I get injured because I'm playing fast and loose with recovery days or run too many races without enough rest.  When injuries start to crop up, preventative maintenance is needed - such as ice baths accompanied by cats with WHOA faces.

• Getting enough rest is essential.  Sleep is essential for getting the most out of your runs and for recovering/getting stronger.  It is also essential for staying awake at work the entire time and not wanting a nap at 2 PM because you got up at 3 AM to get that run done.  
• You'll always feel better if you just shut-up and get that run done.  At least, that's what the master of naps says in our house.

Hyooman.  Go running so you GO AWAY

• Consistency is key.  I've said this in previous posts, and I'll say it again - if you want to be better at running, you have to run consistently and with the intent to get better.  That's true for running ot anything in life, really.
• It's a hill.  Get over it.  Yesterday's run was full of annoying little rolling hills.  But because I was running for a certain pace, I told myself to power through them (up them, really), get over the hill (literally and mentally) and get to the downhill part as fast as possible.  It wasn't always easy and I wanted to stop and cry several times (especially when I had to run 0.25 uphill *sob*), but I kept going because I knew my post-workout would be beating myself up mentally for stopping.  Plus, I'm training for Twin Cities, which is known for its hill back half--what better training could there be for it but an elevation profile that looks like this?

holy hills

• Running is always better with a buddy.  Even if that buddy is constantly trying to pull you sideways into a ditch while you're trying to run in a forward direction and slobbers on himself during the entire run.

So much slobber.

• Skinnier doesn't mean stronger.  I used to be 20 pounds lighter than I am now, as shown in the pic below after my 4th 5K ever about 9 years ago.  However, that girl couldn't run a marathon, grit her teeth through an ice bath, or even think about running all the crazy hills I do now.

And she definitely wouldn't have thought about running over 10-ish in just a sports bra and shorts before going to work on a Tuesday morning, like the girl below does on the regular.

Tomorrow's workout:  I still have one more thing to learn - how to get tomorrow's 17-mile long run in before the heat gets all crazy while still attending a 5K with my dog at 8 AM at a location 35 minutes away.  So, if anyone has any helpful suggestions about how to solve the word problem I just gave in the previous sentence, I would welcome them (other than "skip the run you psychopath").  Myself, I forsee a 4 AM start time in my future....so if you're in my area Saturday morning and you see a bobbing white light following by a green blinky one on a lone country road, it's just crazy little me running in the dark.  Nothing to see there.

Stop and smell the sunrise.

Large dog and I had an easy 7 miler this morning — it was easy like a Wednesday morning.

It was such a good run we had to stop and smell the sunrise in the last half mile. Temps were fantastic, no dogs tried to attack us, and I got to wear my dinosaur shorts. These are the runs that remind me why I love running so much. 

And Botch loves to hang out with me while I’m in the ice bath. The weirdo.

Tomorrow’s workout: 10.5 miles of threshold work BUH 🙄

Oh speed work. You jerk.

Running a speed work session that consists of six 20m repeats (@ 7:17 pace) on either side of one easy mile inside on the treadmill like “TOO EASY GIMME THE HARD STUFF, TRAINING PLAN!”

Running that same speed work workout outside for the first time in at least 9 months like “Simon....I think my femurs are permanently shorter because of that run.”

Throw in all the hills I had to climb whilst I was speeding through the speed work and not only do my femurs feel compacted but my quads have been whining allday. Going to have to rethink that jumping HiiT workout I had planned for tomorrow, huh? 

OK I thought about it. I’m still jumping. Because I’m amoron. 

New Shoe Review: Saucony Kinvara 10

If you know anything about me as a runner, you know that I am die-hard Brooks fan.  However, I just sacrilegiously bought a pair of Saucony Kinvara 10s.  Don't tell all 5 of my pairs of Brooks Launch about this, okay?

Oooo purple!

Since I've been experiencing foot and hip problems, I decided to explore some other shoe brands and styles because it's definitely not that I'm running too much causing my running issues, right?  Right.

Anyhoo, let's get back to those Saucony Kinvara 10s.  Because these shoes have a much lower heel drop than I'm used to (a 4 mm drop, compared to the 10 mm drop of me beloved Brooks Launch 6s) and they say you should transition slowly to a low-drop shoe, I went for a 14 mile run in those bad boys because don't tell me what to do in my own shoes, people on the internet that do running for a living and know way more about this than I do.  And let me tell you, 14 miles is enough miles to get to know a shoe.  So, what did I learn about the Kinvara 10?

• I learned that you can tell your heel is much, much lower than normal in this shoe.  I could definitely feel that my heel was lower than normal, but the forefoot of this shoe had ample cushion.  It felt weird at first, but after the first mile I didn't notice the heel lowness, but I did feel the cushion with every step.
• I learned you can have a cushy shoe that is still lightweight.  These shoes never ever felt heavy, unlike my Brooks Ghost 11s which often feel like bricks tied to my feet at the end of a long run.
• I learned that those weird little bumps on the back inner heel of the shoes designed to do...something...with your Achilles feel weird at first.  I don't know if those are on the shoe as some added sales gimmick, but I thought they were going to be a deal-breaker when I first put the shoes on.  Who wants something rubbing against the back of your heels during a run?!?  But I completely forgot about them after the second mile and didn't feel them again.
• I learned that running in a lower heel drop does make your calves kinda way more tired by the end of 14 miles.  My calves were whinier than normal by mile 12, and I kept hearing them whine when I was walking around the county fair later that night.  Maybe I should listen to those internet people from crazy sites like Runner's World saying to ease into low-drop shoes slowly...
• I learned that the roomy feel of this shoe made the top of my foot NOT hurt for once.  I've been having pain along the tendon extending from the big toe, but there was none of that pain yesterday.  It was kind of nice.  And speaking of pain...
• I didn't have any hip pain, either.  I don't know if the shoe was the cause or the profuse icing I did of my hip the night before, but just thought that the lack of pain should be noted. 
• I learned that while these felt light, I didn't get that "fast feet feeling" I do in my Brooks Launch 6.  I like to feel like I can fly in a pair of shoes...while the Kinvaras are light, the push-off wasn't as nimble as I like it to be.  Contrasting the feel to the tempo run I did the other day in my fave pair of Launches, the Kinvara weren't really up to snuff.  They weren't slow-feeling, just not as fast as I'd like them to be.  
• I learned that the white and purple color scheme matched my nonmatching running outfit theme of the day.

What else do you expect when I'm up at 5:30 AM on a Saturday trying to make my brain pick out something in which to run?

Overall, I'm actually pretty pleased with the Kinvara's performance on this run, but my feeling whilst running in them was that I wasn't overly wowed by them.  I would definitely run in them again, but maybe alternate long runs in them or wear them for easier paced shorter runs.  I still prefer the quick pace and pickup feel of the Brooks Launch 6, but the Kinvara 10 still has a place in my running shoe rotation.  Besides--they're purple; I can't NOT wear them.

Tomorrow's workout: Speaking of quick, tomorrow there shall be speed.  But only a little in the form of 200 m repeats.

Jumping my way to recovery

This pain in my right hip is becoming a pain in the you-know-where. It’s not going away fast enough, but then again I think I should be able to ice it and have it healed overnight.  Well, I am icing it, but I am also trying to correct any muscle weaknesses that caused this mess in the first place—and that’s why I’m trying to jump my way to recovery with some HiiT workouts because, you know, you use your glutes and hips and stuff during those workouts.

One workout that I rediscovered in my Cathe library is CrossFire. 

This workout has a couple of sections to it and has been reviewed as nauseum since it’s release, so I’ll spare you the details. What I won’t spare you from are the reasons I forgot how much I liked this workout:

• You don’t need a ton of equipment. Some 3, 5, 10, and 15 pound weights, a fire walker band (theraband), and some sliding discs are all you need. I like not having to get in another workout cleaning up after a workout. 
• So much getting that heart rate up goodness. While I can definitely tell I have much better aerobic fitness than I did when I first did this workout a few years ago, all the high impact exercises in the first two sections of the workout still give your heart rate a run for its money. Why is that? Well, it because of all the...
• JUMPING JUMPING EVERYWHERE. Jumping is fun, kids!

• You get to test your jumping and not falling skills by jumping and trying not to fall with that band looped around your ankles. Good times. 

Let’s hope all this jumping pays off, especially since I have a 14 mile run on deck for tomorrow. Even workout supervisor is hoping I get better soon so I can do my runs outside without pain. 

But that’s only because then she has a couple of hours when I’m out of the house and not bugging her. 

Tomorrow’s workout: Like I said, there’s a 14 miler on the plan for tomorrow. Hopefully the hip will keep quiet. 

Lessons from Tempo Thursday

Normally I tempo my little heart out on Thursdays on the ‘mill, staring at my reflection bobbing up and downon the big blue wall in front of my treadmill. But not this morning kids—it was 50 degrees outside on this August first, so I took that tempo outside with large dog at 5:30 AM.

I actually programmed the tempo workout I was doing into the old Garmin (7 miles with 30 min at 9:20 pace) and ran off into the gorgeous morning. And while this tempo wasn’t the worst one I’ve ever done (I’m looking at you, 80 minutes at 8:54 tempo 👀), I did learn a few things as I ran off into the cool morning:

1) The neighbors at the ends of streets where large dog and I turn around all have dogs. I know this because large dog barks loudly EVERY TIME we turn around. EVERY.  TIME. The jerk. 

2) When doing tempos outside my house, you’ll just have to suck it up, buttercup, and run some of that tempo on some hills. They don’t flatten themselves just because I have to keep a certain pace. Those jerks.

3) Workouts sent to the Garmin do not auto-pause like a normal run workout. I know this because when I stopped to answer Mother Nature’s very important andurgent call in the middle of the tempo, the minutes just kept ticking by on the watch while Mother Nature held me hostage. That jerk.

4) Large dog just isn’t into post-run selfies that much.That jerk.

Tomorrow’s workout: Maybe some HiiT. Maybe some cycling. Maybe both. You’ll have to tune in to find out.Because I’m a jerk.