Greenway Trail

Today's run was supposed to be 4 miles negative split.  I posted on Facebook my opinion on running in cold weather and one of my running friends encouraged me to join her and another friend for an 8-mile run.  I decided that I preferred company to negative splits, so I drove over to our meeting point: a covered bridge just off of the bike trail.  This was the same trail that I had used for my first "long" run of the training but a different section, a part that I have only seen one other time when I actually was riding a bike.

The pace was slower than I run on my own but it was a good test of how well I could keep a conversation going.  I ran 5.7 miles from what I can map.  After Tuesday's trail run, I am no longer scared of 5 miles or a  couple more.  To be honest, I'm not scared of the half marathon at all anymore.  If I can do 8 miles of up and down, I can handle 13 miles of real roads and mostly flat.

My worry right now is the growing ache on the inside of my left foot.  It definitely sent me a few pangs during the run.  I am debating if I should try running in my old (although worn out) shoes for a few days.

Avoiding the Snow

I woke this morning to light snowfall.  Add in a short visit from my parents who took me out to lunch at Arby's and I had no desire to run today.  So I did the 25-minute jazz workout.  This is the third or fourth time with this video and I think I have finally figured out all the steps.  By no means does this equal getting all the steps right; I just know how they should go at this point.
The other advantage to this workout.  I did it barefoot which meant not putting my left foot into that running shoe that has begun to rub an inner bone the wrong way.

Trail Time!

Yesterday I put in 2.5 miles flat and not slow, but I do not have an actual time since I had momentarily misplaced my watch.  I know that was not the prescribed workout in my training plan but I was just pleased with the fact that I had gotten out for a run after Christmas.

My hair smells of woodfire as I type this.  That's because I spent probably an hour camped out near a fire in a  stone fireplace after today's run.  This morning a couple in our run club had rented a cabin up in the large city park.  Our group met for a morning of run time.  We had more than a dozen altogether including two guys from another run club.  We set off together for some time on the trails but ended up splitting into smaller groups the farther we got from the cabin.  My group finished with five runners although Tommy only dropped out in the last mile or so with a twisted ankle.  Janie had remembered to bring her phone so her husband was able to come rescue him.  The precipitation scheduled to come at 3 in the afternoon rolled in before we even started (9:30 to 10ish in the morning) so I was very grateful for my light rain jacket Christmas present from my parents.

I have not done any trail running since high school--and those moments were rare and almost always flat.  Scooby led us up and down hills, across small meadows, through parking lots, and over bridges.  Just when I thought we would get some road time in, he would swerve off the concrete into the fallen leaves, sometimes at a marked trail, other times on a track that only familiar eyes and feet would find.  I lost track of the number of climbs we made although usually it was the downhill over slippery leaves that proved more dangerous and heart-stopping.  A couple times a nearby tree helped steady my feet  as Mother Nature threw mud and debris at my toes.  Throughout the route I kept thinking how beautiful the area was--and then look down just in time to avoid a rock or root.

I ran without a watch since this was just a Fun Run so I have no idea of the total time.  The mileage came in at 8.2  according to our guide.  Oddly even though my knees had started complaining probably two miles back and the insides of my feet were having an argument with my shoes, the last part was not hard.  I still felt strong coming in.  Maybe because we had not run the whole time (some of the uphills demanded walking to safely climb, a few pauses had allowed our group to stay together).  Maybe because running with a crowd always provides its own source of energy.  Maybe because I knew food and warmth was waiting right inside the cabin!

We had a great lunch set up with soup, chili, sloppy joes, orange slices, clementines, carrots, celery, peppers, crackers, trail mix, and cookies (!).  The hot foods were the perfect temperature: warm enough to revive the body without burning your tongue.  The sweet foods were just delicious.  We sat at long tables or near the fireplace and then moved about the cabin to enjoy each other's company.  My legs may whine a bit tomorrow but I have to say, today has been one of my favorite days for a run not just in the winter but ever :)

Cold=One Unhappy Runner

Today is a 0-3 miles or active rest.  Since I took two days off from running early in the week and tomorrow will probably just be an easy run, I decided to go for about a 3-mile run today.  I set the goal of running sub 9-minute miles.

I had trouble picking a route.  I wanted something mostly flat but surprisingly found myself bored with the neighborhood (I have barely been running in my town lately so I'm not sure why I was bored already).  After trying out a few routes on-line, I finally settled on one of the roads from yesterday but with a different starting point.

The first mile came up a little slow so I picked up the pace for the second mile.  It was after the second mile that my stomach started to hurt and I resorted to my trick of picking an object 50-100 ft ahead and just focusing on that object.  The slight bit of snow or rain spitting at me did not hurt.  Once I reached the top of the slight hill, my stomach settled enough for me to lengthen my stride out just a little bit.  A check of the watch near the 3 mile mark showed me at 26:40.

At this point stubbornness kicked in and kept me going to the end.  I did not add any extra loops or distance but finished with 3.5 miles at 8:46 mile pace.

A Gift of Good Weather

The last two days have been very mild for December in Ohio.  Yesterday afternoon I ran in 60 degree weather, this morning high 40's.

This morning's run was supposed to be 4-6 miles pyramid.  I ran a total of 4.8 miles at an 8:58 pace.  The first two miles were run at an 8:50 pace--after running my first mile in 8:11.  The next 2.27 miles were run at an 8:57 pace.  The last half mile was at a 9:30 pace.  The route was mostly flat, two small but steady hills during the 3rd and 4th miles.  So I didn't really do a good job with pyramid overall, I managed to go faster in the middle than the end but not the beginning.  As I was running, I did think about how I am going to have to learn to pace better.  I am aiming for 12 minute miles in my half so going out at just a little slower than 8 minute miles is so not going to work.

Yesterday's run was a surprise for me when I looked at the running schedule.  "Only three miles?"  I was amazed to see that it was such a "short" distance.  It was marked as three miles, your choice.  Since I had taken the last two days off of running, I decided that a bit of torture with the hills was in order.  My parents' town has a lot more in the way of hills than mine so I was in the perfect place for it.  The route had two level 5 hills (lowest level) and I ran a pace of 9:38.  I actually ended up running just over 4 miles.  I normally prefer running in warmer weather but today it threw me for a loop.  I think I would've been better off in a different pair of running pants.

First Tempo

So this afternoon I sat down at the computer and logged onto mapmyrun.com.  I use this website to keep track of my mileage because you see, I am old school with my running equipment: shoes and a watch with a simple timing function.  My watch does not do splits (technically, I think it does but that is only useful if I know the mile markers) and it definitely does not keep my mileage for me.  Anyway, I logged on to figure out today's route but looked at yesterday's run first.  And went, oops.  I had mismarked my route.  Luckily, I had messed up by marking a shortcut that I didn't take (I don't even know where that road is to be honest, I'm not sure that's it's not someone's long driveway!).  Yesterday I ran a half mile farther than I had planned which makes my mile pace closer to 10:00 than 11:45.  Boo yah!

Today was to be my first tempo workout so I figured out a four mile run, did a little stretching (need to do more of that), and headed out.  I did have periods of faster speed but no where near as long or as much as the workout wanted.  I can blame the fact that my watch does not beep every X minutes but really it was more a matter of I don't like to maintain a hard speed for long.  Towards the end I had reverted to the mantra of "just keep moving, just keep moving."  I have got to find ways to finish that do not involve uphills even if they aren't that bad.  I will say my overall pace was only a little over 9 minute miles which isn't bad although the route was flatter today.  I have a feeling tempo workouts and I will be spending some time figuring out a workable relationship.

Flashback

After skipping my easy run yesterday (spent all of daylight with the family and was not running after dark, I'm not that crazy...yet), I put in 4.04 easy miles today (0-4 miles or else active rest was the prescribed workout).  And I did take it easy with a pace time of over 11 minutes per mile.  I did have some hills but nothing steep for any extended period.
Part of the route mimicked a very usual workout from my days in high school (before getting grounded to the track but that's another story).  I realize that I was probably running slower than back then plus I did not have a buddy to carry on a conversation with and waste valuable oxygen but the route was much easier than I remembered.  As I was climbing up the main hill, I found myself wondering: why did we ever end up walking this?  It's not that bad really!

I Hate This/I Hurt

Those were the two thoughts going through my head for probably 95% of my 3.5 mile run today.  I took yesterday off since the Run Club was having a party later and I was tired of feeling rushed through my day: work, run, stop at parents, get dinner, do school stuff, sleep.  Unfortunately, taking two days off in a row is not possible, so today I had to drag myself out into the just-about-freezing temperature.  Have I mentioned that I hate running once the temperature drops below 50?  The fact that I have been out and putting in the miles three other days this week was already something amazing, but today was cold and the workout was either hard or hills.  Since my development is flat and I didn't feel like driving to the park, I was in for a hard workout.
I started off not too fast but trying to push the pace past an easy run.  It's a hard balance for me especially when I find myself hating being out in the cold and running.  The route was easy; I made sure to do the loop near my house first, figuring that by the end of the run I was going to be highly tempted to cut the route short and hop into my house.
Even though I was mentally yelling every step of the run, it wasn't that bad--at least until around mile 2.25 when the cramps started.  Sadly just last night I had pointed out to one of my runner friends that I wasn't really dealing with cramps much this last week.  I really should learn to not say anything positive about my running; it always comes back to bite me :P
I struggled through the cramps which faded, returned, extended to the middle of my stomach, but refused to walk.  When the pain levels subsided, I made myself pick the pace back up.
As I neared my part of the development, I just kept checking off one little landmark at a time to my house; then I ran past my front door for one last little loop of less than a quarter mile but every step adds to my growth as a runner.
Total: 3.5 miles
Time: 29:19 (or something close to that)
Pace: 8:19

Dance Workout

Yesterday was 4-5 easy miles.  I fell .05 miles short after running out to the turnaround past the other development, the long knob in my development, and a short loop in my own development.  Guess I should've run out to the other turnaround.  However, the good old knee pain was threatening somewhere around mile three so I'm not too upset about not putting on more mileage.
Today was 0-4 miles or active rest.  I made my active rest a 20-minute video dance workout of which 4 minutes was warm up or cool down.  I'm not much of a dancer even though I took ballet for nine years.  I like it but I don't have modern moves.  The video did not seem to really get my heart rate up too much.  Some of the moves I could do well, others, let's just say, Shakira, your hips might not lie but mine sure do not move that way :P

Beginning Training

My first half marathon is March 4, 2012, eek!  My sister e-mailed me a training plan earlier this week which I texted her "thanks" and then promptly left sitting in my inbox for three more days before taking a look at them this morning. 
Now to put my running history in context: I log maybe 10 miles total on a great week.  My usual race is a 5K which is 3.1 miles.  Until this fall, I had run longer than 3.1 miles less than a dozen times in my post-high school life (in high school I never ran 5 miles in one stretch). This fall I started running with a run club every once in awhile and began to realize that yes, I can run longer than 3 miles if I want.
The running plan starts on the assumption that I am running 12 miles a week.  The first workout is a 3-4 mile run.  Hard.  Or with hills.
After sighing for a few minutes, I pull up mapmyrun.com, slide over to the park in town (the one place that I know has a real hill because my housing development is FLAT), and map out a three mile run.
I change into running clothes and hop in the car.  It is a short drive to the park, almost making me feel guilty for driving to a place to run.
I basically do three laps of the park.  Lap one is easy, the hill not too bad.  Lap two goes ok, a different hill this time, some hard breathing as I reached the top but strength regained on the downhill.  Lap three is some work.  My legs are getting tired.  My side wants to cramp but I mentally threaten coax it out of the cramping.  I chant in my head that this is last time I will run this part of the route.  I pass my car again and go for another fifth or sixth of a mile past the original plan.
As normal I immediately plop down at the end, this time I had a comfortable cushioned seat in my car as opposed to a cold driveway.  My breathing goes back to normal in about a minute.  I don't even bother looking in my mirror for my appearance.  I know my face is red.
Two hours later my legs are doing ok.  There will be some stiffness tomorrow.  That's ok, I can take tomorrow off--oh wait, the plan says 4 mile run!