All bummed out.

It's been an interesting working out week.

I had a good 6 x 800 m treadmill session on Tuesday, a nice slow run on Wednesday, and finally got to run a tempo at my 10K pace outside Friday morning.

But it seems like something is amiss.

I'm midway through my marathon training program, and I am tired.  Not just my legs, but my whole body, mind, and soul is tired.  I am having a hard time getting my butt up and moving for a run these days; I'm hoping its just because now I am pulling 40+ miles a week, a mileage my body has never experienced before with this much regularity.

And I'm not seeing a lot of gains in speed or endurance.

Part of me is a little scared that I haven't been pushing the intensity of my workouts in order to achieve my goal race pace.  You see I went and did that whole "reading" thing again, and bought the book Run Less, Run Faster, which proclaims that by running 3 solid workouts a week--and pushing their intesnity--you can PR and run miracle miles and have a fabulous life.  Well, maybe not that last part, but the PRs are sprinkled throughout the book.

Looking at my training plan, I realize it's just a modified version of the plan presented in that book.  But I've been slacking on the pace of my tempo runs when I do them on the treadmill.  And I don't think I've been practicing enough at pace during my long runs or doing cross-training that is aerobic enough (I love my weights, dammit).

I guess I'm torn as to what to do--go with what my body feels I should do, or push beyond that and go for pace.  Because you only get faster by running faster.  Like all things, I suppose, it's a matter of meeting myself somewhere in the middle of all my fear and tiredness.

That's what I have to keep telling myself as I prepare for a 16 mile long run today that is supposed to be at race pace.  It was supposed to be yesterday, but my intestines and a lack of a place to use nature's facilities without being spotted changed my plans.  I managed 5 miles yesterday, with the last 400m speedwalking back to my house so as to not embarrass myself on the road.  There's something inherently cruel about the fact that when you REALLY have to go when you're out on a run, running just makes that "about to mess my pants" feeling worsen--but walking in single-digit windchills isn't all that fun, in case you haven't experienced that.

Looks like I'll have a lot to think about when I'm on this run today.  I'll let you know if I work anything out, or push myself too far and end up injuring myself.  But I will leave you with this picture of me after I took off my balaclava after Friday's tempo run just to lighten the mood:

Anatomy of a Winter Run

Since I went for a long run of 20 miles yesterday, I thought it might be beneficial to share my winter running "getting ready" protocol with all of you, because none of you asked and I have pictures.  So, without any futher ado, here are...

MY PREPARATIONS FOR A WINTER RUN:

1) Freak myself out about how cold it is going to be outside.
2) Wonder if I should do half of the long run outside and the other half on the treadmill.
3) Decide I am going to run tomorrow, not today.
4) Decide I am going to run today and not totally wimp out.
5) Fart around on the internet for an hour mapping several possible routes based on wind speed and direction.
6) Look outside and think about how cold it is.
7) Finally decide to get dressed.
8) Put on first layer of clothes:

Those are my FAVE purple calf sleeves.

9) Put on second layer of clothes:

10) Put on third layer of clothes:

11) Realize I forgot to put on my hydration backpack and go talk to the hubbs while I'm putting it between my second and third layers, telling him where I'm going.  Watch helplessly as he takes a picture of me adjusting my hose:

12) Take away the hubbs' privilege of sleeping with his phone by the bed.

13) Waffle for about an hour as to what route I want to run.  I usually end up basing my decision on the "least amount of loose dogs" rule.

14) Load up with hand warmers, pepper spray, mittens, 6 gels, my phone, and lip balm.  Bray like a pack mule before putting in headphones.

15) Leave for run.

Overall, it was a pretty good run yesterday.  However, in case you didn't already know, don't ever do a full body weight workout that includes squats and lunges with a loaded barbell the day before a long run.  Why? Because when you do your 20 mile long run the next day your legs will be tired by mile 5 and you'll have to slow down in order to make it to mile 20.

At least the weather was freaking gorgeous for those 20 miles.  I mean, you couldn't ask for better weather on a February day in Illinois:  it was in the upper 20s, no wind, and sunny without a cloud in the sky.  Nothing but blue skies did I see.

And, when I got home, I saw nothing but sunburn in the mirror from the nose downward.  Apparently I forgot that the sun will still give you sunburn in the winter when you're traipsing about outside for almost 4 hours with no sunscreen.  Because I was wearing sunglasses and my balaclava up over my chin, I have red marks that look like a painted on clown face.  It made work today that much more interesting, ("Hey, what happened?  Are you sunburned or did you tie one on before you came to work today?  Is that really "water" in your water bottle?")

Anyhoo.

Tomorrow's workout is 8 x 800m, and it looks like Mother Nature is going back to her cranky self again tomorrow: high winds and snow starting in the morning.  Treadmill Tuesday, here I come.

Mother Nature: Knock it off so I can run outside.

This week has been another week stuck on the treadmill because Mother nature feels like she has something to prove by either making it:

1) Too cold to run safely outside unless frostbite is the new black
2) Snow like a *BLEEP* with high winds and white-out conditions.

Maybe she's trying to make up for the fact that I ran 4.5 miles in this outfit on December 2nd:

My house is under perpetual construction.  It's my cross to bear.

At least I can wear similar outfits when I run on the treadmill.

Wednesday was an easy run day (6 miles), and I feel like those are getting easier to do mentally.  Six slow miles doesn't seem so torturous anymore, especially not with good treadmill TV on in front of me.  The tempo run I did today wasn't any easier on the old mental state than last week; however, I tried something a little different with that 8 mile tempo, 6 of which are supposed to be actually run at tempo pace:

I split it into two 3 milers with a 400m walk in between each 3 mile segment.

Part of me feels like I totally wimped out, and the other part of me feels super-duper smart by figuring out a way to survive this workout on the treadmill.  I had to split this into two smaller, achievable runs, because when I got up I had absolutely NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in running this run on the treadmill.  I wanted to run outside so I could run faster than I do on the treadmill.  By my outside was full of white stuff and 20 mph winds, so, like Mother Nature, I only had two choices:

1. Skip the workout entirely and be a total and complete *BLEEP*
2. Make the workout work for me.

Obviously, option #2 won out, which I consider a smallish victory.  However, I still need to kick up the speed (which I did compared to last week) on these runs when I do them on the treadmill.  I take a small measure of comfort in the fact that it looks like I didn't stop at all when you look at my Garmin graphs:

And I only ended up doing 7.5 miles because I had to get to work and my dogs were circling the treadmill in a rather menacing fashion, waiting for me to get off it (they have an intense desire to lick my sweat, which is intensely gross.  But they're dogs.  They lick a lot grosser things).  

Looks like I'm going to have to work on not taking that break in the middle as well as kicking up the speed.  That is, if Mother Nature doesn't decide to back off on this whole "Oh gee it's, like, winter or something" thing and I'm forced into another week of treadmill running.  

Tomorrow the treadmill isn't an option--it's outside for a slow 20 miler.  I'll let you know if Mother nature behaves or not.

A Trying Treadmill Tuesday

Have you ever gotten out of bed at 4 AM, sighed heavily at the fact that the cold winter winds were literally rattling the windows of your 1930's farmhouse, and then bemoaned the fact that your house has no insulation so your house is almost as cold as the outside, thereby totally demotivating you to strip down into shorts and a t-shirt and scamper downstairs to do your treadmill speed workout?

You have?  Well, that was me this morning.  I'm glad I'm not the only one.

The speed workout sat there all innocent-like on my training schedule, saying I needed to run a 1200m at my 10K pace and then a 400m at my 5K pace, and then repeat that 2 more times.  My brain, however, was not acting so innocently; it was screaming "nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" and covering its ears  to block it all out and make it go away.  The big baby.

I managed to work through the internal brain screaming and, after a quick breakfast, managed to get into my running shorts and a t-shirt in my house that was probably 50 degrees or so by that point.  This is when my dogs feel the need to bug me to go out, because they enjoy torturing me by making me stand by the front storm door wearing next to nothing.  The gleams in their little doggie eyeballs give it away that they are enjoying the fact that I'm freezing my ass off while they are forced to use the bathroom outside in the cold.  I try to explain to them that this is one of life's little injustices, but they just stare back at me, biding their time so they can poop in my shoe or tear up a valuable document I leave lying around.

I then made my way to the treadmill, whereby I realized that I forgot to put on my Garmin.  So, I trucked back upstairs to get it.  When I picked it up, I realized I left it on all night, and the battery was almost gone. (Does anyone else accidentally leave it on when you transfer your data?  I do.  I'm a moron.)  So, I quickly slapped it on the funky charging clip and then went back downstairs to get all my other treadmill equipment ready:

• A small bottle of gatorade
• A bottle of water
• A bondi band from one of my Ragnars
• A small hand towel for sweat and other bodily fluids that come from a face
• My foot pod for ye olde Garmin 
• The TV (getting it on and on a proper show that is good treadmill TV)

I went and got my Garmin (which had pretty speedily charged itself halfway by that time) and started up the treadmill, which is near a window that might as well have been open because so much wind was getting through it.  And I really really REALLY didn't want to do this workout.  It's not that I didn't want to run.

I just didn't want to do this workout.

If you regularly read what spills froth from my brain, you'll know I have this thing about running more than an 800m on the treadmill.  That thing is this:  I don't think I can do it.  Either I run too fast and have to take a break, or I just don't push myself enough to finish it once the pain starts setting in.

Bottom line, I have failed at these before, and I was afraid of failing again.

But then I told myself that I wouldn't accept that kind of stinkin' thinkin' out of my students, so I couldn't accept it out of myself.  I decided to do a mile warm-up and see how I felt.

Amazing how one mile can motivate you.

I ended up doing all of the repeats, and I made it all the way through the 1200s without stopping to rest.  However, there was a lot of mental abuse afoot whilst I was on that treadmill.  By the end of each one (and especially the last one), I was literally repeating over and over again in my head that suffering is optional suffering IS OPTIONAL YOU MORON JUST KEEP GOING YOU'RE ALMOST THERE.

Yeah.  Well, at least I didn't promise myself a new house this time.  I think I'll just save that one for long runs.  But I have to remember all of this pain and suffering is so I can fill the gaping chasm that exists in my PR list:

I wonder what it will be.  Until then, guess I'll have to keep talking myself into and beating myself up during workouts to find out.

Reading is bad for you. Well, for me, at least.

My training schedule calls for 2 days of cross-training every week--on Sunday and Monday.  Technically the plan gives me the option of running easy on Sundays, but I haven't taken advantage of it.

Until today.

I know what you're thinking: "Hey, idiot, today is MONDAY.  Get a calendar and use it."

I am aware that it is Monday.  I am also aware of the fact that sometimes I read things about running that are meant for people who warm up at my half marathon pace (8:30) and then try them out and/or add them into my current training.  And then I get injured.

So what did I read this time?  I read about this thing called "embedded circuit training."  From what I read, you are supposed to run about 2 miles on one of your easy days, then do a circuit of strength exercises with 30 seconds of aerobic activity in-between.  Then you are to run 2 more miles.

This is supposed to give you some serious PR-age and make you faster.  So I thought to myself, "Hey--I can run those two miles on either end of this on my treadmill, then do one of my circuit DVDs.  Do that once a week on Monday, and then I'll be SUPERFAST; I'll break the freaking laws of physics."

Yeah.  Well.

I did run those 2 miles first on the treadmill (by the way, "Monsters Inside Me" is great treadmill TV).  My legs were tired.  I mean, TIRED.  You'd think I ran 18 miles two days ago or something.  Anyway, since these 2 miles were supposed to be run slowly, I didn't even go above the 4.5 mph mark.  After the first 3/4 of a mile, my legs were feeling pretty good.  My left IT band was whining a little and my left hamstring was "ahem-ing" me every now and then, but I felt all good and warmed up for my circuits.

I did some total body circuits, seeming to forget that yesterday I did Cathe's Supercuts workout again (it is becoming a regular Sunday workout; DEEE-licious!), which involves a lot of squatting and other leg maneuvers.  During the lower-body portion of the DVD today, I could feel that I may have slightly overdone it.  Just to not push it any more than I already had, I nixed the idea of running another two miles afterwards, and just went shopping instead to walk off whatever damage I may have done.

Unfortunately, I'm really feeling that run now.  My mistake, in hindsight that is painfully 20/20, was that I need to give my legs a freaking day off during these two cross-training days.  I keep forgetting that I am a rank amateur at this whole "running a marathon" thing, and I need to take it easy for my first one so I can run a second.  And maybe even a third.  Thus, I am hoping to get to bed early so sleep can restore my legs for my speed session on the treadmill tomorrow.  (I wanted to run it outside, but Mother Nature has foiled me again with her making-rain-turn-into-snow trick.)

There were, however, two bright notes this weekend:

#1. I bought my first tube of Body Glide.  After my last 18-miler, unmentionables were chafing that made doing other unmentionable things very painful.  I am disturbed that it says "Do not use on deep puncture wounds, animal bites, serious burns."

Mainly I am disturbed because those warnings are usually there because some idiot like me actually tried to do these things.


#2. I cranked out 15 bicep curls on each arm using my 20-pound dumbbell.  Before this time, I was cranking them out with my 15s; for some reason today I decided to throw caution (and quite possibly my left shoulder joint) to the wind and try them with some 20s.  When I was done I grunted in a distinctly man-like fashion.  I felt like this lady looks:

 photo credit: meehanf via photopin cc

I would have pitied the fool that messed with me while I was out shopping this evening.  But no one did.  Unfortunately.  Hopefully I can channel my bicep curl triumph tomorrow morning when hitting the treadmill for some 1200m repeats.

Using a hydration backpack is better than eating snow.

Yesterday I woke up at 6 AM, fully intending to eat breakfast and then scoot on out the door on my 18-mile long run.  Instead, I spent the next few hours waffling with myself, debating about whether to do the run that day or wait until the next day (today).  I have a shin splint in the making on my right leg, and my left hip has been wobbly during the last week, so I was thinking that they may need a day.  Also, here in northern Illinois-land, we have been plunged into a deep freeze with temperatures in the teens most of the day; I hemmed and hawed about waiting until the next day to do the run because it was supposed to be warmer that day.

I finally convinced myself to suck it up and do the run yesterday, trying out a new out-and-back route in order to provide the motivation to take the time to get all of my winter running gear on and get out the door. (I like running in new places, because there are sights to see that I never even knew existed right in my own backyard--for example, a zoo and a firearms shop.)  But I put on a piece of gear that I hadn't worn before: my hydration backpack.

Backback plus bonus dog.

You see, I'm really really tired of carrying water around in my hand or on a belt, especially in this cold weather.  There's that whole "water freezes below 32 degrees" thing to contend with, so you actually end up carrying around a bottle of ice after an hour, or I have to deal with a hydration belt that eventually rides its way upwards during a run, becoming a bra by the end.  The thing is, though, when you're running for 3 or 4 hours, you get thirsty--really thirsty.  So, instead of eating snow for the last 6 miles and spitting out the road sand that comes with it as I have done before, the  logical solution for me was to shell out some serious cash for the backpack you see above.

Inside the backpack is a bladder that hold about 1.5 liters of water.  Connected to that is a tube that comes outside and down the right arm of the backpack, which ends in a bite nozzle that you bite down on (duh) to get the water to come out.  Since I wear about three layers in the cold weather, I put the backpack in-between my 2nd and third layer so as to prevent it from freezing; I also threaded the tube with the bite nozzle through the right arm of my jacket (between my 2nd and 3rd layer) so that wouldn't freeze either.

It worked like a charm.  Here's what I liked:

• 1.5 liters was more than enough water for a 3+ hour run
• The bite nozzle worked well; I felt like I could get enough water, especially after sucking down a gel.
• The straps that come around the front didn't bother me at all. (Although they did make wear marks on one of my favorite running shirts I was wearing for my 2nd layer.  Bummer.)
• I looked like a total hunchback running down the road with it underneath my jacket, drawing confused looks from passing motorists
• It didn't bounce at all--I didn't even notice it after the first mile.
• It has lots of pockets to carry your stuff.  While that didn't help me yesterday (it being underneath a jacket) these will definitely come in handy when it gets warmer.

I only had two main issues with it:

• The constant sloshy-sloshy sound of the water in the bladder was my constant companion.  However, I run with music, so I only heard it between songs.  (I found out later if I drained the air out of the top of the bladder before running I wouldn't hear it sloshing.)
• I was stupid enough to leave the bite nozzle sticking out of the top of my sleeve during the first two miles of the run.  Having tried out the bite nozzle in my house before I left, there was water sitting in the tip of the nozzle, which promptly froze as it hung outside of my jacket for those two miles.  Thankfully, I just had to press on it to break it up, and it was all good.

Overall, it was a good run yesterday, even if the first 9 miles were right into the cold and windy suck that is Illinois in February and I had to shout "NO-GO HOME!" to way too many dogs.

This was a pace run, meaning I had to negative-split the run so I was ending at my race pace.  I think I did a pretty good job, considering that I had decided I would run each mile my body wanted to run it and not get so focused on the numbers.  Compared to my last 18-mile run, I did come in a bit faster with my average pace, although not much--I started slower this time than last time, but last time I never got into the 10:00 paces whatsoever. 

However, I am going to need to watch it during my marathon--I tend to start speeding up around mile 7 or 8, I've noticed, and then I have to throttle back in later miles in order to make it to the end.  If that happens during the full 26.2, I think I may be in trouble; I am currently planning on holding back a little until the 13th mile, and then assessing the situation from there.  I just don't want to have to do a lot of the pathetic self-bargaining that I had to do yesterday just to make it through the 17th mile.  (I promised myself a new house.)

Anyway, it's cross-training for the next two days for me, which will give my shins a needed break.  Let the Cathextravaganza continue.  

Trying to uncrank myself.

A lot of work craziness, a lot of crankiness, and a lot of running have been the rule for the last half of this week.

This was me this week.  Hell, this has been me since September.

The running, however, helped deal with most of the crankiness, so there was a net craziness gain of zero this week.  I like it when it all balances out, don't you?

Wednesday was an easy run on the treadmill, and when I say easy, I mean easy.  Easy like a Sunday morning easy.  However, I still like to start slow and kick it up a little towards the end, just to get used to running faster at the end of my runs.

It's the "tempo run" I did on Thursday that I am the most disappointed with this week.  While it was 8 miles of much needed stress relief (meaning 8 miles of not thinking about work and focusing on the run), it was a tempo run that I once again ran too slowly because of my fear of doing these types of runs on the treadmill.  And now for the splits:

Yeah, it pretty much bit the big one.  A 9:30 pace thereabouts; pretty sad, considering I usually like to run these at my 10K pace when I'm outside, which is anywhere between 8:15 and 8:30.  But the treadmill has mentally shackled me for some reason.  A 9:30 was all I could handle before my brain started to panic, telling me I would never, ever make it all the way to 6 miles oh God that's so long to run fast on the treadmill I'll never ever make it.

The treadmill and I have to come to an understanding, it seems.  I have to stop thinking "I can't" while I'm on there and just remember that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.  I'm there to run, so I need to get it done.

And my brain just needs to shut the hell up while I'm on the treadmill.  Maybe I'll just turn up the TV to drown myself out.

On a brighter note, I got to use my barbell for an entire workout this morning.  Continuing my Cathextravaganza, I did her Power Hour workout, which is a high-rep weight training workout that will give you a little workout with your barbell.  I like this workout because:

a) I get to use a barbell in almost every exercise
b) Cathe tells you what weight she has on her barbell every single time
c) It makes my biceps beg for mercy
d) Mmmmm deadlifts and dead rows (I love back work)
e) The late '90s set cracks my shit up
f) I get to use a barbell in almost every exercise

I thought it was a little light on the tricep work at the end, but maybe because in every other workout I own by Cathe it seems like she works the triceps until you can feel them trying to flee from your body.  Although I can tell you that I scared the crap out of my husband when he came down the stairs this morning and saw me doing tricep extensions while laying down on my step--the hubbs thought I was going to drop the thing on my forehead and tried to "save" me by grabbing the bar.  I can tell you that's not a safe thing to do when your wife has been cranked up on crankiness all week and just wants to do some tricep extensions with 35 pounds on her barbell without being bothered.

Speaking of bothered, tomorrow I see I have an 18-mile pace run on the training schedule, where I have to negative split my run and end up at my marathon goal pace.  It is also slated to be 12 degrees with 12 mph winds at the time I want to go out and do this run.  Looks like tomorrow I'll be blogging about that run while wiping the icicles from my eyelashes.

I can't wait until spring gets here.

Cranky guy photo credit: massdistraction via photopin cc