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!

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.

Polar Vortex Post

If you haven't heard lately, it's been a tad cold lately here in Northern Illinois--polar vortex cold.  We're talking temps of -25 to -32 underneath the wind chill.  What, exactly, have I been up to during this polar vortex?  Well...

1) I've been doing the obligatory "throw boiling water up high in the air and make more snow even though we don't really need any more" science trick.  If I don't, they'll revoke my Midwesterner license.

Phase changes are UHMAYZING

2) I've been doing spin and lifting weights in my teal and black sparkle-painted workout room and taking weird selfies with my bike.

3) I've been treadmilling in my smelly basement because even thought there's a polar vortex going on, my shirt says there are "no excuses" so I pretty much have to suck it up, buttercup, and get those miles in amongst the basement smell and other junk we have stored down there.

4) I've been watching the animals sleeping the polar vortex away in between taking them outside and watching them do absolutely nothing before racing back in on frozen paws.

Mom.  Only laying on you will unfreeze my paws.

hyooman sleeping through polar vortex SCRAM

While the animals are sleeping, here's some learnings:

• Did half-mile pick-ups during my easy 6 mile treadmill run to make it go by faster and turned it into a not-so-easy run because I'm a moron.
• Remember my left-butt injury?  It's not so bad anymore...must be the spin.
• Remember my ankle injury?  Yeah neither do I but my ankle has been sore for 2 weeks.  Must be picking up left butt injury's slack.
• Fun fact:  The ratio of the number of times I have taken the dogs outside to do some business and the # of times they have done absolutely nothing and run back inside on frozen paws is almost 1:1.

Tomorrow's workout: A 4 mile tempo run.  On the treadmill.  Because polar vortex.  BUH.

Don't want to do your run? Trick that brain of yours.

So it's been a few days since I've tortured everyone with a blog post and I know you're dying to know what fitnessy stuff I've been doing.  Well, here it is:

Some running in a minor polar vortex (the real one is getting here tomorrow)....

SO EXCITED to run in 3 degree weather + snow
freezing to my eyebrows as I ran. So.  Excited.

Pit stop after the first 3.5 = a run in two parts.

Did I mention the 3 degrees thing?!?

Some spin and lifting heavy things and taking bad post-workout selfies...

The black sparkle paint is the best part of the pic.

...and some treadmill speed work to the tune of 8 miles total, 4 of those being one mile repeats @ 8:34 pace.

I must confess that I didn't want to do either of those two running workouts because...well I think the obvious reasons are "too freaking cold outside" and "mile freaking repeats."  But part of my determination to lose 20 pounds by this summer is to complete the running workouts as listed in my trusty My Run Plan app, no matter how cringe-worthy or shriek-inducing (mile repeat workouts do this to me every time).  So away I went on those two runs, doing them anyway even though my brain was all NOPE NOPE NOPE PLEASE NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOPE the whole time. 

Now, I haven't always been able to get past my brain NOPE-ing away workouts, especially if I lie to myself and say I'll do them after work (NOPE).  But lately I've been using some tips and tricks to ignore the NOPE and get the run done, which are helpfully enumerated for you below:

1) For cold winter runs, have the right gear.  If you have the right gear, you can run in the cold with confidence.  For my winter runs I make sure I have some pretty awesomely printed fleece-lined tights and a lot of sass to make it to the end of the run:

So much sass.  And awesome tights.

On top of all that (or underneath, as it were), I also have a thin base-layer tight to keep that warm air right next to my skin, a nice thick running turtleneck under a quilted running jacket, a buff, a balaclava, and a neat-o Ragnar hat to top off the ensemble.  When I run in super cold weather that's pretty much my running uniform, only with different obnoxiously colored tights and hats.  Gotta be sure to mix that up, you know, so the people in the cars passing you don't get bored of looking at your same old tired running outfit.

2) Also for cold winter runs, always know that it's never as bad as you think it will be.  The weather forecasts for those days always put my NOPE brain on overdrive, but once I get out there and start running it's usually never as cold or as miserable as I think it will be.  Unless I forget that water freezes at 32 degrees Celsius and don't have it in an insulated bottle and have no liquid water for for 15 miles of a 20-mile run...then it *is* as bad as it seems.  Especially when you're eating snow from the side of the road and spitting out gravel as you truck on down the road...then it's pretty freaking miserable and you're only running because if you stop moving you'll freeze on the spot and die.

But that's still not as miserable as doing all those miles on the treadmill.

3) Speaking of treadmills, those little running equivalencies I blogged about earlier sure do come in handy.  This is especially true for the longer more torturous repeats, such as the 4 x 1 mile repeats I did this morning.  My mind likes to break down those little mile repeats into more little four quarters, and then celebrate when I reach the halfway point and the "ONE MORE LOOP TO GO" point.  After which I walk for a minute and a half and then do it all over again, making my brain conveniently forget the mile I just did. (Brain: Hey, didn't we just do one of these?  Me: WE DID NOTHING NOW RUN)

4) When you don't want to do your treadmill run, get on the treadmill anyway--but have a backup plan. When I got on the 'mill this morning I went in with a backup plan - if I felt I was going to die running an 8:34 pace, then I would alternate quarters during each mile, running an 8:34 and then an 8:40.  That way I could have a little bit of slower running to look forward to, even if it wasn't much of a plan.  (By the way, my backup plan to the backup plan was just to sit on the treadmill and sob in my smelly basement.)

Welcome to my smelly basement, where
I run next to a set of doors and a pile of lumber.

5) Fun socks are a must for hard treadmill runs. They lessen the torture, especially when they say ROAR on them.

And now let's roar our way to some learnings because this post is over now:

• I mean seriously-how fun are those socks?
• Superfun, that's how much fun.
• Loud shorts and pants are also motivational in getting your run done, but everyone knows that already.
• I need to write a running book called "Overcoming the NOPE: How to trick your brain into running every single day."

Upcoming workouts:  Many more treadmill miles because the real polar vortex is coming in the next two days...

That feeling when...you have so many feels.

That feeling when you wake up and have to get dressed for a 4:30 AM treadmill threshold/tempo run so you take a selfie of yourself at that hour of course:

Huge runner thighs are a go for launch

That feeling when you just wish you looked like this again and wish Medifast could make this happen in two weeks (minus being covered in mud because man does that set off my eczema these days):

That feeling when you use your urge to look like the aforementioned picture to get your butt down to the treadmill so you can run 7 miles under a bare lightbulb amongst that awesome smelly basement smell:

That feeling when you actually run both of those 2 x 2 mile repeats @ 9:00 pace without stopping ONCE to go to the bathroom:

That feeling when you walk into the bathroom to shower after your epic threshold run and see this first thing:

Whut hyooman a little privacy please

But especially that feeling when you realize you have a lot more treadmill runs ahead of you thanks to Mr. Polar Vortex coming back for a visit:

negative 22 BUH

That feeling when the post finally ends and puts you out of your misery with some learnings:

• I'm very impatient with weight loss.  But as my wise mother once said, "It took a while for it to gain, it's going to take a while for you to lose."  *sigh*
• I kicked ass on that mud run, btw.  6 miles of obstacles in 53 minutes.
• I also kicked ass on that threshold/tempo run.  Didn't think I would be able to do both repeats because I tend to mentally break down during tempos on the 'mill.
• Speaking of mental breakdowns, SERIOUSLY NEGATIVE 22 OH COME ON MOTHER NATURE
• The cat, I can honestly tell you, is not worried about the weather at all.  Or tempo runs for that matter.

Tomorrow's workout: I have declared Fridays a "free space" to do whatever workout I want.  I'm leaning (or jumping, as it were) towards a total body plyometic workout, but who knows what 4 AM will bring?  Stay tuned.

Ramblings about my treadmill run this morning. And many bulleted lists.

It's me again, kids!

As you can tell, my treadmill and I had another hot date in my ugly smelly basement this morning, this time at around 5 AM.  Six easy miles was on the schedule, and I have to admit I was dreading it.  That's because it is a known fact that six easy miles on the treadmill is more accurately measured in eons and epochs rather than minutes and miles, and I suspected I might die of old age while i was trying to get this run done.

So I decided to spice it up with some pick-ups.  Well, actually I first decided to spice it up with some awesome purple shorts.

PURPLE POWER

And THEN I decided that I was going to accentuate my run with some pick-ups. 

I ran the first mile at warm-up pace, ran the second mile at around 10 min pace, and then did the first half of miles 3 through 5 at a 9 minute pace (with the back half of those miles at a 10 minute pace). I am happy to report that a) I made it off the treadmill, b) I am still alive, and c) those pick-ups made the time go by much, much easier.

But during the run I couldn't help but notice my mind wandering off, trying to self-soothe by making up these weird comparative equivalencies to keep myself motivated. It actually wanders off like this a lot, and I thought

• I have half a mile of this last pickup....that's only two short little loops on the display.
• I have one more mile left...that's only about 10 more minutes of running.

Of course, those are the more sane ones my brain comes up with when shut up in a basement with a treadmill.  I thought I would share some of my other little running equivalencies I cook up when I'm in a race or outside taking large dog for a spin:

• I have two more miles left of this hilly run....that's only four more times I have to be dragged downhill by large dog.
• I have 13 more miles left of this marathon...that's only three more gel snack times until I'm done.
• I have 20 more miles to go...that's only a puppy every mile that I don't stop.
• I'm at the start line and I have no motivation to run this race whatsoever...that's only one waste of a race registration and one miserable run ahead of me.

But there's other ways you can spice up a boring treadmill workout other than playing little mental games with yourself.  Here are some other suggestions:

• Do speed intervals for 20 seconds whenever you hear a certain word in the song you're listening to or movie you're watching.  Whatever that word is, just make sure it's in good taste along with whatever it is you're listening to/watching.
• Jump off the treadmill every half mile or mile and do some push-ups without permanently injuring yourself.
• Hum.
• Crossword puzzles are always a good idea while running to exercise your brain along with your body.
• For crying out loud get off the treadmill and go outside where it's not boring.

So boring.  Go outside.

And here are some suggestions for learnings from the ramblings above:

• As usual, I should never write posts when I'm this tired.
• So many bulleted lists in this post.  So. Many.
• But boy did that treadmill run go by in the wink of an eye this morning.
• A really really slow wink of an eye.
• Please dear lord don't jump off a treadmill or do crosswords while running.  You'll hurt yourself.  FYI.

Tomorrow's workout: Got me a little tempo...it may be on the treadmill or I may go outside and do it where it's not boring, for crying out loud.

Day 3, Week 1: Welcome to my day...again.

My morning started with a little treadmilling because it was raining outside at 5 AM.  During this treadmill adventure, I made a very important decision: to never wear a shirt whilst running on the treadmill ever again.  I give this decision a hearty thumbs up.

Nevermind that it's 5 AM; I GOTS NO SHIRT

Look Ma NO SHIRT

This decision came out of the fact that the shirt I had on was sticking to me like a second skin as the sweat poured out of me.  It was making me rather angry until I came to the stunning revelation that I could take my shirt off because the only people that could see me shirtless were the cats who were wandering dangerously close to the treadmill, and they weren't even really people (cats are demons, you know.  Well, my cats are, anyway).  So off went the shirt and I went on with the run. 

Speaking of that run, it was supposed to be 10-11 miles.  But it was all "1.75 miles warm up" and 1.5 miles cool down" and "3 x 2 Miles" and then I was all "GEEZ RUN PLAN APP WHY SO MUCH WARM UP AND COOL DOWN" and finally I went "BUH I need to get to work some time today" and ended up doing a 1.5 mile warm-up and then 2 of those 2 x 2 miles.  Which was fine with my left butt, which really didn't care for 2 mile repeats at all by the end.  But it held itself together for this last treadmill picture:

And then I went off to work, where it was my school district's first day with students.  So I reasoned that it was technically my first day of school, too...or my 4,181st day of work, depending on how you look at it and how good at math you are.  In my eyes, both are worth celebrating with an incredibly stupid pic.

You know what else is worth celebrating?  The end of this post.  I promise something more coherent tomorrow when I'm not trying to keep my eyelids open as I type.

Tomorrow's workout: Some bike riding in the dark! (If it's not raining)

Just my complaints about workout gear.

After yesterday's workout extravaganza, it was nice just to have one workout to do today - some speed.

LOOK I'M TREADMILLING WITH NO HANDS

The Runner's World app said I had to do six 400m repeats at around a 7:50 pace, which is slower than I normally run them but I wasn't about to argue after the abuse my legs took yesterday.  It also said I should have run 5-6 miles but the way I do math it only came out to around 4.5 miles.  Besides all the math issues, how'd the workout go?  This about sums it up:

I did watch more that a big blue blob I swears.

As you can see, I also wore a tank top with little strips that are allow people to see right through to your nakenedness underneath.  I'm not sure how I feel about this fitness-wear trend...but I do know that I'll be saving these tanks for the treadmill.  And while we're on the subject, let's examine a few more fitness-wear trends I don't really understand:


Trend #1: Putting organza-like mesh material on running tights.

Now, I get that it this stuff makes the tights more breathable (especially in places like knee-pits) but every time I've seen a pair of tights with this stuff in it, it ends up looking too pantyhose-esque for my tastes.


Trend #2: "Athleisure."

Before anyone freaks out, let me state that I am the number one proponent of wearing workout gear to places other than to a workout.  In fact, if I could get away with it, I would show up to work every day in a race t-shirt and a pair of running capris with my Oofos flip-flops (even in the dead of winter).  But the whole "athleisure" concept makes it hard for me to shop for gear I actually want to run in...because when I'm at TJ Maxx and grab that cute "running" top and then realize it's made by Calvin Klein and a little too froofy for running, I get all disappointed and whatnot and have to continue my search.  And plus how durable is something that's "athleisure" *really* going to be against my excruciatingly powerful BO?  Not really.  It's way too froofy for the likes of what comes out of my armpits, that's for sure.

So my point is that all this froofy girly "altheisure" pseudo-running gear makes it harder for me to pick out the actual running gear.  Just sayin.


Trend #3: Inspirational sayings on workout shirts.

I'm not really inspired by any of the ones I've seen in the past few years.  Well, the other day I was in a Dick's Sporting Goods and I saw one shirt that said "This girl is on fire" and I thought that would be appropriate for me when I was running in the heat this weekend...so not really inspirational, but more like a prediction.  I guess I've just seen these little sayings that pop up on these shirts so often that I am now impervious to their power.  I need new ones, t-shirt manufacturers.  Let's get on this, people.


Trend #4: There are not enough crazy-colored tights and capris for me to buy.

Sad but true.  The world needs more crazy running tights.


Trend #5: Not enough races that allow dogs.

Doesn't pertain to workout gear, I know, but I just felt the need to get that off my chest.


Trend #6: Wicking shirts that aren't really wicking.

Nothing sticks in my craw or sticks to me quite like a shirt that says it's wicking but then sticks annoyingly to my mid-section in such a way that it shifts with my fat rolls as I move.  You know what shirts I'm talking about-those shirts that feel like cotton but advertise themselves as wicking.  Mmm-hmm.  Lies, I tell you.


Don't get me wrong - if you're into all of the trends I listed above, more power to you.  After so many years of running, however, these are the things about fitness gear that bother me...and you're bound to get irritated after awhile.  And after so much facetious garbage in this post, the cat says it's time to end it and call it a night.

Hyooman.  I told you to leave me out of your stupid blog.  I means it.

The trend of learnings that aren't learnings continues:

• You know what else bothers me?  Running shorts that have built-in spandex that inevitably rides up or cuts off circulation in your thighs.  I fall for this every summer.
• If I see someone with that organza-like mesh on someone's tights in a race, my first thought is that they are running in their unmentionables by accident.  
• Froofy.  This word needs to be used more often.
• Athleisure should be a word used less often.

Tomorrow's workout: Bike riding' it.

Lessons from the long run: 15 miles of treadmill BUH-ness

Mother Nature was made good on her promise to give us 20 to 30 mph winds today.  If you've ever had a long run planned and then woke up to the whistling of the high winds past your bedroom window, you'll know how depressing that is.  Since the winds were coming straight from the east, the hubbs and I briefly toyed with the idea of him driving me east for 15 miles, dropping me off, and then me running home to the west with that nasty wind at my back.

But then he was all "oh if we do that I will worry about you getting killed or hit by a car or some crazy person shoving you in the trunk of a car and stealing you" even though I have been running all over the place by myself for 7.5 years and usually the only things I need to worry about where I live are stray dogs and goats following me.

I eventually ended up humoring him and headed to the treadmill.  Total BUH.

BUH and a BUH

Even though this long run was on the treadmill, I still learned some long run lessons:

Lesson #1: My treadmill and my Garmin watch think quite differently about distance and pace.

Add 99 more minutes of BUH to that time you see there.

I had to run more than half a mile for my watch to actually read a happy "15" whilst the treadmill had already pushed past that number.  Running on the treadmill is BUH enough without having to run extra because I'm a slave to what my Garmin reads.


Lesson #2: Doing one mile slower and two miles at pace really helps get through the longness of treadmill long run.

Doing this splits the run into smaller chunks of 3s for me, which makes it easier to get through.  Plus I get to look forward to a slower mile every once in a while...so, bonus.

Lesson #3: The Last Jedi is a good movie--DON'T BELIEVE THE HATERS.

Downloaded that sucker on my Kindle, hooked up my Bluetooth speaker so I could actually hear the movie over the treadmill, and it sucked me in entirely.  I even bought the one with all the deleted scenes at the end, so I didn't have to suffer through the last few minutes of the run with no movie.

Kindle deployed for maximum treadmill distraction.

Lesson #4: This new watch band I bought for my Garmin sucks.

I've whined before about how bands aren't made for people with nickel allergies...well this band isn't made with a strong enough magnet.  This means the magnet slips down the band while you run, loosening the band and annoying the crap out of me.  I would get a new one but they all contain nickel somehow, which takes my annoyance to a whole.  'nother.  level.


Lesson #5: The Headsweats visors really are better at sopping up all your head sweat.

Now, let me first state that I like the visors and hats Headsweats puts out.  However, I always thought they were kind of hyped when it came to their sweat-soaking abilities...until today, that is.  I wore a visor that was just that: a visor, and during the last 3 miles I was slinging more sweat off the brim of that visor than I was off the rest of my body.  I've learned my lesson in terms of visors.

So during my 15 mile treadmill run I ended up wiping my visor more than my face. #treadmillrunningproblems #treadmillrunning #longrun #marathontraining #facetiouslyfit

A post shared by Terie Engelbrecht (@mrsebiology) on Mar 24, 2018 at 1:39pm PDT

Lesson #6: I dig the Brooks Levitates.

I've run a marathon in them and done some long runs in them including this one...they're not as heavy as I thought they'd be (like the Glycerin is and the Ghost now feels) and they have a springiness that I didn't think I'd like, but I do.  These have goal marathon potential.

Now, if only they came in tie-dye, they'd be perfect.


Lesson #7: I've got to stop the online shopping while I procrastinate before doing my run.

I don't know if I've said much about this on the blog, but we're remodeling a new house that one day I may actually eventually live in (maybe) and that takes money.  So I really really shouldn't have bought the St. Patrick's Day version of the Brooks Launch 5s and I should have never, ever thrown my name in for this:

It's $170 bucks if I get in, plus they sell you cool merchandise during registration, which is the best way to suck my wallet dry.  Like I tell the hubbs, at least my addiction is running and not things like cocaine, heroin, or gambling.  I do have a knack for putting things in perspective for him, I know.

Lesson #8: If it's the last mile of a long run, nature will call.

Seriously, what is it about the last mile of any long run and the need to answer that call?!?  It's a good thing there's a bathroom right next to the treadmill.  I need to take a serious look at my fiber intake.


Big lessons are done, now for the smaller learnings:

• If I could have done this run outside, I would have.  Mainly because large dog needs the naughty run out of him again.
• I'll have you know that if I don't get into the MCM, I already have Grand Rapids Marathon as my back-up marathon (which is way cheaper).
• There may have been some hooting and hollering while I was watching Star Wars and running at the same time.
• And there was so much sweat being flung from that visor that male cat, who usually likes to hang out by the treadmill while I'm running, kept getting hit with droplets and vacated the area.
• Fiber.  A friend and a foe.

Tomorrow's workout:  I'm thinking about a bike ride OUTSIDE like a crazy person plus some upper body weights.