Day 6, Week 2: Tempo NINJA

I grabbed the dog this morning and headed out for a 5:30-ish AM tempo run.  I did surprisingly less hemming and hawing and sitting around with my coffee not wanting to do the run since I knew I was going to have to blog about it later.  Who knew posting stupid pictures of myself every day would refill my running mojo?  Not me, that's for sure.

The tempo was supposed to be run at an average 8:48 pace.  You can see below how well I met that target:

Seriously, 5th mile??  8:19?  After running 4 miles before that?  Like I've said before, I'm an idiot.  Why?  Because I'm a big believer in running training runs at the pace you're supposed to run them at, because running them faster all the time just leads to overtraining.  I blame the fact that it was dark when I did this run and couldn't obsessively stare at my watch every 3 nanoseconds to make sure I was on pace.

But after I saw my splits I have to admit I felt like a running ninja and spontaneously broke out into some crane, boys and girls.

This was also way better than doing the tempo on a treadmill.  Why?  Here's the difference for me between tempo running outside vs. treadmill:

Tempo outside: 1) Terie runs the whole time at the desired pace (or faster) while bring dragged by a dog

Tempo on the treadmill: 1) Finish warm-up mile  2) Kick treadmill up to tempo pace  3) Stop every few minutes to do something like blow my nose or get a drink as an excuse not to run so fast on the treadmill 4) Finish the run thinking, "Well, that was better than nothing."

On a completely different topic, I decided to use this blog to not only write stupid workout posts, but also to write stupid reviews of new gear that I'm trying.  The first piece of gear I'll be trying is this little beauty from Fitletic:

You see, I love Fitletic running belts...but despise hydration belts.  Those little water bottles usually cause me all sorts of trouble and I end up throwing a tantrum during the run whereby the hydration belt doesn't make it home with me and is never EVER seen again.  

But I decided to give this hydration belt a shot because as I've mentioned before carrying a water bottle in my hand during a run is, for me, akin to having a root canal just for the fun of it. And unfortunately water is just a little necessary on those 20 milers. So...I'm going to suck it up and try this belt and review it for you because hey--that's the kind of runner I am.  I'll endure the pain of potentially crappy gear so you don't gave to.

I'm also going to try it out on not just any old training run--I'm going to try it out at the Twin Cities Marathon weekend in two weeks.  Be prepared for gritty, raw reviewing right in the thick of marathon endurance....and be prepared for lots of shaky video and swear words.  But wait to prepare until, like, the day before.  Wouldn't want anyone to peak too early.

Tomorrow's workouts: Bike ridin' and weight liftin.  Yeehaw!

This running skirt thing is getting out of hand.

Workout: 4 miles at a comfy pace in the nice cool 50 degree temps of the early morning here in northern Illinois/almost Wisconsin.

This week I was supposed to start my marathon training plan.  In fact, I was fully intending on doing my 5 x 1000m workout on the training schedule this morning.  However, my legs had other ideas.  It seems my quads were a bit cranky with me after my 17.5 mile ride yesterday, and my shin splints are whining more than usual.  I still wanted to get a run in, so I decided instead just to do an easy 4-miler and enjoy the run.  And enjoy my new running skirt from runningskirts.com:

If you can't see, it's got all the running distances written on the skirt, from 5K on up to all of the distances I will only dream about doing.  I have to say this skirt was pretty awesome.  I bought what they call the "athletic skirt," which means it has compression shorts underneath.  Those shorts are comfortable and don't ride up during the run.  The seams are all on the outside of the shorts, so that means no chafing, ladies.  There are also two pockets on each side of the skirt that close in the center with velcro--pretty handy for iPods, gels, or small phones. (I couldn't imagine running with a big clunker of a phone in this pocket, though; it would quickly become a projectile and then become what they call "broken.")  While not cheap, you can tell they were designed with some foresight and with a runner's needs in mind.

This running skirt thing is getting out of hand.  They make me look like a girl or something.

Nevertheless, I will suck it up and wear it during my 11.6 mile night run this weekend at Ragnar Wasatch Back.  I have the cutest blue top, blue calf sleeves, and running shoes to go with it.  It's really too bad, then, that all people will be able to see of me at that time of night is my bobbing headlight and flashing butt-light.

But I digress into the realm of fashion; let's meander back into the realm of my marathon training plan.  Since this week is pretty much all thrown to hell, I decided tomorrow will be a much shorter ride on the bike with some light yoga afterwards, and then a rest day on Thursday while I'm traveling to Utah.

After Ragnar, however, will get decidedly trickier...I will have to recover for a few days and then resume some training.  I think I will do some easy runs and gear up for the long run that's on the schedule for the weekend (16 miles).  After that, I can resume training as usual.  I don't mind skipping the two speed sessions next week, simply because I will have 14 more weeks to enjoy them.  Oh the joys of marathon training!  At least I'll have a cute running skirt to do it in.

Today I ran my own mini-more-than-half-marathon.

My weight has been up the past few days, up to 147.0.  However, my clothes have been fitting better, and I feel skinny, so I'm not fretting about it too much right now.

What I am fretting about is the fact that I had to cancel my plans to do the Sunburst Half Marathon today because of the bumbling of the doctors down at the immediate care clinic down the street.  It involved a TB test, 2 hours of wait time, and a lot of people who didn't know what the other people who had seen me before them were doing.  If you want to read the details, you can read my review of the place on Yelp.  What you do need to know is that because of all that, I would have left here at about 6:30 P.M., gotten in to South Bend at about 10:30 EST, and then have to get settled in a hotel and wake up for packet pick-up at 5:30 A.M. for a 7:30 A.M. race....it would have been a complete mess.

So I cancelled and did a 15-mile run here instead.  My own mini-more-than-half marathon.

Those were 15 strong miles.  I was surprised, considering that yesterday I did 2 miles on some very tired legs.  I wanted to do 3, but came back early and then did Cathe's Total Body Tri-Sets workout, which contained so many push-up variations that I woke up with sore shoulders.  (Aren't they supposed to work your chest....?  Need to work on my form.)  Anyway, the run started out looking like it was going to pour down rain and ruin my awesome new Brooks Ravennas:

In fact, I actually met someone walking along that road (which, if you couldn't tell, is pretty rare and kind of freaks me out; they're MY roads, dammit) who warned me I might get wet.  I assured him that I've been wet before. (Oh unintentional double entendres!)  But not a single drop of rain fell, and I was feeling very good at the 7.5 mile turn-around.  As I turned around, I started running right into the wind.  Ugh.  That'll teach me not to check the wind direction and speed before I do a long run.  I've gotten out of the habit now that the weather is warmer.  However, even though I was running into some strong winds, I found myself thinking about why long runs at this time of year are better than winter runs:

• I'm not worried about body parts getting frostbite.
• I get to wear tank tops.

This is the best I could do since my personal photographer was not at home.  But I am wearing a tank top.

• I can wear my Camelbak on the outside of my clothes because the water won't freeze.  
• Icicles don't form on my eyelashes due to the act of breathing.  
• I'm only wearing one layer of clothing.
• The loose skin/fat under my triceps can finally fly free and jiggle at will on the run instead of being bound up in a base layer.
• It's easier to help farmers fertilize their fields when you only have one layer of clothing with which to contend.

And speaking of my Camelbak, I am so pleased with that purchase I just want to shout it from the rooftops. It is going to be pretty awesome to train for my fall marathon with that this summer; I'll never have to carry a water bottle or wear a fanny pack every again!  Having my hands empty while I run is one of those little things that make this runner overjoyed.

I also purchased a pair of Yurbuds last night because my current running headphones are driving me bonkers.  They shift in the wind, don't stay in my ears, and are hard to wear with a hat (I usually run in a hat).  So I picked up these suckers whilst trapped in Walmart-land:

photo credit: nan palmero via photopin cc

Although I found them really tough to put in my ears (because I am lacking fine motor skills, apparently), once I got them in, they were comfy and didn't move at ALL.  Not even in the crazy wind.  The sound quality was excellent, and they are sweat-proof and waterproof.  I think I have found my favorite pair of running headphones yet.  However, be forewarned--they are pretty pricey.  But I have found that, with running gear, you really are paying for quality (so cough up the cash, cheapos!).  

The plan for tomorrow is to run 4 miles and do some biking.  This means I will have run 19 miles this weekend...the same distance I will be running in Ragnar Chicago this coming weekend!  

I don't know about you, but I cannot wait for my first Friturday of the summer.