My tune-up half marathon: Goodness gracious so much goodness

During this training cycle, my normal weekend routine involves getting up and running an insane distance in the cold, trying to ensure I don't lose fingers to frostbite and not letting large dog pull me into a ditch for the miles he's with me.  But this weekend has been different--instead, I went and ran an insane distance in the cold about an hour south of my house.  I went and ran a half marathon.

So much green.  SO MUCH.

FYI--I don't normally get a medal for running
loops around my own house.

The purpose of this half marathon was, for once, not to get a medal.  It was my official training plan tune-up race, at which the plan was to run my marathon pace (9:25-ish) the entire time just to see how comfy it was so I could make any adjustments as needed between now and the end of May.  How well did that go?  Well, see for yourself:

Just in case you couldn't tell, NONE of those
paces are 9:25.  NONE.

I'm a tune-up race moron.  And you know what's even crazier about those paces? The fact that I ran 4 miles before the race started and then about 1.5 more after the race because there was an 18-19 mile run on the training schedule this weekend.

So the pace was way too fast (bad), but there were a lot of positives (goods) that came out of this race.  Let's arrange them in a nice bulleted list because we're all down with bulleted lists (especially when they are not a part of a death-by-powerpoint):

• Good #1:  I actually did the extra mileage I was supposed to do.  Normally I have every intention of running the extra miles on the plan when I have a race scheduled, but it doesn't usually happen.  This time it did because I'm still in the RUN ALL THE RUNS mode.  A PR never comes to most runners when they don't do the runs on the training plan.
• Good #2: My ankle didn't bother me at all. I've been worried about my right ankle and its corresponding shin splint that had plagued me for weeks, but it didn't rear it's ugly head at all for any of the miles I ran today.
• Good #3: I managed to run with the 2:05 pacers for at least half of the race before blasting off to the finish.  Now, these pacers kept running in the 9:20s...but last I checked that's not the pace one runs to wheeze across the finish line in two hours and five minutes.  Too-fast pacers aside, I hung with them  for the first half of the race and then they disappeared at a water station right before the start of mile 7.  I do attribute some of my strong back half of the race to the fact that they slowed me down during the first half. (The other half I attribute to the cold wind that I wanted to get out of ASAP because I like my fingers attached to my hand.)
• Good #4: This gave me a good sense of how tired I'm going to feel at mile 17 when I'm doing my marathon thing.  This course was much flatter than the hills around my house, which pounded my legs a little more than they normally get pounded.  This made my glutes and hammies pretty sore and tired by mile 9 (my mile 13 when you add in my 4 before the race), but I kept pushing because, again, you don't get a PR by wimping out.  I may have to add in some light leg work to my strength days to counteract this type of fatigue, seeing as my goal marathon is of similar flatness to this half.
• Good #5: I realized I can totally go into overdrive at the end of a race and not die.  In the last 0.2 the race curved into a parking lot so you could see the people ahead of you--and that's when I saw the 2 hour pacers.  Now, I never thought I would ever catch up to them, but I started gunning it with everything I had left for that last 0.2 in case they were running too fast like the 2:05 pacers--and they were, hence my official sub-2 finish.  So what if I hobbled through that 1.5 mile cool down.  That last-minute burst was worth it, baby.

• Good #6: SHAMROCK SHOES PEOPLE.  And I only saw, like, two other people who had colorful running tights on in a sea of black.  How not fun.

And now, it's a good thing that it's time for learnings because that means the post is nearly over:

• I'm feeling pretty good about my performance in this race - that sub-2 really surprised me.  Especially since the 2 hour pacers crossed the line ahead of me.
• I'm also feeling pretty good about those awesome shamrock shoes.  Mmmm.
• Feeling good about nearly killing myself in the last 0.2, even though now walking is still difficult.
• Large dog is not feeling good about the fact that I had to leave him behind.  In fact, he is wholly unimpressed by all of my racing nonsense.

Tomorrow's workout: Some cross-training until my legs work again.

Some of my new normals.

This round of weight loss and this training plan have me doing some stuff I've never done before or stuff I haven't done/experienced in a long time.  For example....


...12.5 mile treadmill runs before work so epic I have to lay down to take my post-workout selfie...

I'm not trying to be sexy.  I'm just trying to save energy by not standing.

Doing a 6 mile easy run after all those 10-12 mile morning runs and being shocked at how short it was because normally I'm all like SIX MILES OMG IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOREVER....

ZOMG only six miles?!?

Having dinosaurs quietly roaring away on my ankles as I run to nowhere in front of the big blue wall...

roar.

Having female cat approve of my roaring socks...

Hyooman. You may wear those socks.
Now keep the rubs coming.

Actually tracking my weight religiously and getting on the scale every. single. morning (except when I travel and don't have a scale) even when I don't want to get on because I fear an increase and seeing a nice downward trend...

Trend: DOWN

...and finally, putting on a pair of size six pants this morning and not having muffin tops spill over the top and being able to breathe while sitting all day long.

Large dog is unimpressed and is wondering when he'll
get that treat he was promised earlier.

These things are my new normal, if you could call it that.  I hope they become a permanent normal (except for those 12 mile pre-work runs), much like these nonlearning learnings I put at the end of each post:

• Another new normal that isn't new is that I'm pretty much exhausted after work and blog super tired all the time.  You could probably tell.
• Everyone needs a pair of Roar socks.  Literally everyone.
• Female cat's approval of my socks is nice, but ultimately unnecessary as they had already been approved by large dog.
• Large dog barely recognized me in normal clothes and without a visor on.
• But I'm sure you recognize how awesome those red shoes are.  Yes, you do.

Tomorrow's workout:  Spin.  Weights.  Cross training goodness.

Reasons I love having my own workout room.

If you know me and my workout history, you know I haven't always had a workout room of my very very own.  In my old house, my treadmill and bike were squeezed into this odd little room right next to the downstairs bathroom, so the hubbs got the joy of stepping right out of the shower and almost right on to my treadmill.  I also worked out right in the middle of the living room when doing my weights and stuff...which made watching TV or actually sitting in the living room impossible for him whilst I was working out and flinging sweat all over the TV in there.  

They always say to work out in the space you have....and I did in that old shack of a house.  But man, did it suck.  Well, no longer do I have to dwell on that suckage, because I get to make myself suffer in the name of exercise in my very own room in the basement of our new house.  It's not all decorated and fancy and stuff, but it is allllll mine.

These chest flys (flies?) are all mine, too.

But I don't love it just because it's mine.  I love my new workout room because:

• I can fling sweat all over my TV and have no one complain about it.
• Grunting (and other things that happen naturally while running because I have a digestive system) without shame.  
• Weight lifting selfies without an animal wandering through the background.

• Being able to run on the treadmill without getting random form advice from a hubbs standing in a bathroom getting ready for work.
• Cranking up the workout music as loud as I wants.
• Singing along to music as loud and off-key as I wants.
• Being able to do ab exercises on the floor without smacking into a piece of furniture with one of my body parts, and..
• Bike selfies.  So many bike selfies.

And, by reading this post, you have learned:

• I really really really like my little basement workout room
• I should probably hang stuff up on the walls someday
• I'm a little obsessed with my bike
• Probably very, very little that you can apply to your workouts, making this post a tiny little waste of time.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Tomorrow's workout: ONLY NINE MILES (of tempo running)

Some running truths for your viewing pleasure.

I ran 11.5 miles on the treadmill this morning: A 2 mile warm up, some pickups, 2 x 1M repeats, 3 easy miles, 2 x 1M repeats, and 1.5 miles of cool down.

Truly epic, if I do say so myself.  And sweaty.  But since I had some time on my hands running to nowhere, I had time to ponder, reflect, pontificate, opine, and do some serious internal whining about a variety of running-related topics.

I am pontificating so hard I'm sweating.

During this epic 2-hour run, I specifically pontificated about a few running truths that always find runners at some point:

Running truth #1: Speed work both sucks and is awesome.

The only way to run faster during a race is to run faster during training.  Not all the time; in my case, it's just on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4 AM in my basement. Anyway, it's really too bad that running faster makes you feel like stopping and then, if you still don't stop, keeling over and dying, but it's the "almost dying" part of running faster that makes you...well....run faster.  You have to embrace that sucky death feeling of speed work to get to that awesome HOLY SHLAMOLY I JUST PR'D ALL OVER THE PLACE feeling after a race.


Running truth #2: All laws involving space and time dissolve when running speed intervals or repeats.

Time gets dilated and narrowed and all slowed down once you start any type of speed repeat or interval and all stretched out and sped up when running easy.  It's all explained in Einstein's law of objectivity or something like that. Aren't up on the science of this phenomenon?  Just go run really really fast for any length of time and you'll start bending and distorting time all on your own.

Just got finished bending time and boy am I tired.

Running truth #3: You're not in charge of your run--your gastrointestinal system is.

Just when you think you may be able to finish a run without any fear-inducing abdominal rumbles, your GI tract is all "HEY GUESS WHAT" and you're taking a pause for a very important cause.  Never forget--your GI tract is the one that calls the shots. 


Running truth #4: No matter how fast you're running, somewhere there is a dog asleep silently mocking you in his dreams.

Because dogs aren't stupid enough to wake up at 3 AM to eat breakfast and have coffee before getting on the treadmill at 4 AM.

His face is all "mock mock mockity mock"

And below is more truth disguised as "learnings:'

• Speaking of time dilations, I tried not to think about the fact that I really got on the treadmill at 3 AM this morning. Damn Daylight Savings Time.
• Speed work.  It sucks.  But it's good for you.  Do it.
• Every time I get all cocky and think I may not have to stop during a run my GI tract shows me who's boss.
• And every time I get all cocky and think large dog and I are having a good run he goes and drags me into a ditch.  This is yet another way he mocks me.

Tomorrow's workout: Spin and weights and all sorts of cross-training goodness.

Determined to run all the runs. Even the crazy 12.5 mile ones.

I did a sweaty 12.5 mile thing this morning.

Some things about this sweaty thing I did:

1) Since only the big blue wall is there to judge when I'm on the treadmill, the dress code for the run was sports bra and shorts only.  Oh, and sun visor for all the sun I encounter in my dark and smelly basement.

2) My right ankle has been slightly messed up for weeks, with it hurting to walk all day after a run (so of course I still run on it because I am a moron, you know).  Today I ran without my usual shoe inserts in and wouldn't you know it my ankle has been fine all day long.  Sometimes it's the little things, kids.

3) This run was surprisingly tough.  4 two-mile repeats didn't intimidate or scare me, but I was having a tough time getting through the repeats....it was like time slowed down to a crawl during each interval and my mind was screaming MY GOD WOMAN WHY AREN'T WE DONE YET ?!?

4) While tough, a moment of running clarity shone through my moments of running darkness.  As I was struggling through the third repeat staring at my shadow on the big blue wall, I really didn't think I was going to make it to the end of the workout.  I thought about quitting after that repeat, but then this thought blasted it's way through my mind:

"Tired of having bad marathons? Then you need to get this done."

You see, when I ran my first sub-two hour half marathon, the reason that feat was accomplished was because I grabbed a training plan and did every single run on it.  Every.  Single.  Damn.  Run.  Never skipped a workout or cut one short, and thus a half-marathon PR was born after trying for a solid year.  Even though I think this My Run Plan plan is kind of cray cray for having these long speed and tempo sessions during the week, I am determined to run all the runs on this plan and see how that pays off in terms of marathon time.

By the way, I managed to power through the third repeat and take down the fourth.  I did get to 12.5 miles, and felt incredibly accomplished once I stopped sweating all over myself.  I also managed to accomplish not falling asleep at my desk later in the day, too.  So much accomplishing today.

5) Despite the glow of all the accomplishing today, here's how I really felt once the run was done:

No prettied up Instagram-y pic here.

And here's some learnings to really tell you the post is done:

• Why yes, that is a brand new sports bra.  Thanks for noticing.
• Hubbs approves of all new sports bra purchases as long as I replace my old ones that stink to high heaven.
• In all seriousness, my brain is now all about doing all the runs on the training plan no matter what.  Even if my treadmill breaks down and I have to run in place next it--I'm that serious.
• And I am tired of bad marathons.  Let's get this done.

Tomorrow's workout: 7 easy peasy miles!

Why I love cross-training days, as told in pics and some words.

I like running, but I love me some cross-training, too.  Why?  Let us count the ways, gentle (or not so gentle) readers:

1) I get to ride to nowhere on my precious spin bike, which I love more by the day and perhaps even the hour.  I have found that my legs are fresher (i.e., not tight, sore, and begging for mercy for 3 miles) and more ready for the abusive runs that I must do on the training plan in the My Run Plan app.  

2) I get to secretly (not so secretly now, I guess) wear knee-high compression socks all day at work so my legs feel one step closer to fabulous by the end of the day.  

But these Ragnar socks are fabulous all by
themselves.

3)  Because cross-training, or getting up off my ass and working out as I used to call it before all the running lingo entered my life, is what helped me not look like this anymore.

WANTED: More cross-training.  And good eating habits.

4) Back selfies after repeatedly lifting heavy things.  And lots of them.

5) This picture has nothing to do with cross-training.  Just wanted to show everyone I do exist in normal human clothing for most of the day even if this human isn't all that normal.

Even the cat can sense my abnormality.

Post is over.  Read the learnings and clean up after yourself before you leave:

• The bike is fast becoming a fave piece of equipment I wish I had invested money in purchasing sooner.
• Don't tell my treadmill I just said that; it has jealous tendencies.
• When you can't sit down properly and it's been 3 days since that long run that destroyed you, compression socks underneath your work pants it is.
• Do people really lift weights for other reasons besides back selfies?  Really?  Huh.
• While I do wear real clothes, the world would be a better place if I could wear running clothes to work.  Truly it would.

Tomorrow's workout: Another "REALLY, TRAINING PLAN?!?" 13 mile threshold workout.  Buh.

Too much running, some fiddling, and animal pics

This morning I did a 10 mile treadmill run because (a) I have a treadmill and (b) it was way too freaking cold outside.

I was supposed to run a 14 mile speed session, but yesterday I decided to go fiddling about in the My Run Plan app and WHAMMO I completely screwed up my training schedule so that it was trying to train me for a marathon on 20 miles a week.  This resulted in lots of very short runs on the plan and a face that looked a lot like the one I had this morning after finishing those 10 treadmill miles.

It also resulted in a lot of swear words being directed at my phone, many of which are still hanging in the air above the couch as I write this.  I got a lot of dirty looks from female cat for this, whose delicate ears cannot handle such language.

Hyooman.  Stop swearing dammit.

I eventually fiddled about in the app the right way and got my plan somewhat back to normal, but it resulted in the 10 mile speed session I did this morning.  I was actually kind of sort of super glad I didn't have to do 14 miles of speed, as my quads, calves, and any other little leg muscle in my body was still tight from the 17 miler I did on Saturday on the hilly hills around my house.  Even after the run this morning I kept stiffening up while sitting at work and had to go take entire laps around the building (it's a big building) just to flush out all that crazy stiffness.  My legs are still pretty tight, but thankfully my supervisors are good about getting me into bed for some good sleepy-time-type recovery.

Woman.  Go to bed so you'll stop complaining.

And that's where this little runner is headed - to bed.  But you're headed for some learnings:

• I haven't hurt this badly after a long run in a very long time...I'm either undertrained or just really stupid for running in the first place.
• Life lesson: Don't go fiddling about in running training plan apps. 
• Unless fiddling is your thing, I guess--then fiddle away.
• Who's glad I don't run again until Wedneday?  This little tired runner.
• Is this post just an excuse to post pictures of my animals?  Most likely.

Tomorrow's workout: Spin.  Weights. Hoping my quads untighten by Wednesday.