Mill time and Marathon training plans...

First treadmill run of the season. I need to start weaning myself on to the beast anyway. Worked 7:30a to 5:30p today and it was dark when I got out of work. I won't run in the dark, so the treadmill was the only option if I wanted to run today - which I did! I'm not a huge fan of the treadmill, but a treadmill run is better than no run.

I swear to god all you people who say treadmills feel easier than running outside are insane. My easy pace outside is usually around 8:00/mile, give or take 5-10 seconds, depending on how I feel that day. An 8:00 pace on the mill feels more like a 7:30 pace if I were running outside!! Explain that. (My personal theory is that what you are used to doing is going to seem easier. I'm used to outside, not the mill, so outside feels easier. *shrug*)

Got 5 easy miles on the beast. Felt a little nauseous during the run which was odd. I never get nauseous during runs. Whatever... Next two days see me working 7:30a to 7p, so no more running until Thursday probably. Sucks. I hate working long days.

My goal this weekend: Decide which training program to use for Boston. I have a handful that all look good. Just need to make the decision. I'm leaning toward one of the programs from Advanced Marathoning, the 55-70 miles/week plan. But I keep thinking that the last plan I used worked so well, maybe I shouldn't change. I got the long run schedule for that plan from the Competitive Runner's Handbook and made up the rest myself, tossing in lots of Yasso 800s, mile intervals, tempo runs and MP runs. Part of me really wants to try something different though! Decisions...

Time to catch up on some sleep. I'll need it for the next two days.

It's the little things that add up.

Today's run:

Overall a nice run, but not great. I say that mostly because of new shoe issues. I picked up some Mizuno Wave Riders a few weeks ago - my first neutral trainer. Today was their 4th or 5th run. Because of previous heel slip, I tried tying my shoes in the "lace lock" manner, but that caused the tongue of the shoe to put too much pressure on my ankle which became painful at around mile 1! I tried loosening the shoe, but that didn't help much. Then I tried retying the shoe normally which helped for a while, but my skin was already bruised by that time. I managed to get the tongue to stay on the opposite side of the bruise by offsetting my bow and then had no issues, but it took a while to finally figure that out. Fortunately, I had no more heel slippage once I retied the shoes! I think the thicker socks I wore helped. Hopefully that won't be an issue anymore and I can go with normal lacing!

My other issue was more minor. The knee started bothering me just a little by mid-run. By the end of the run, it was feeling better. I refuse to get too worried about it. Several hours later it is perfectly fine.

Oh, the rain was a slight issue since I didn't have my baseball style cap. With no bill, the rain got in my eyes. Kinda got used to it after a while, so also a minor issue. But all these issues added up to make my run subpar. Cap is in the laundry. I tell you, those caps get so stinky so fast! And with the hat so close to my sniffer, I need to wash that hat often! Wish my tiny head weren't so hard to fit into caps, cuz I need to stock up. :-)

12 miles easy-

Splits:
8:32
7:58
8:07
8:02
7:54
8:13
8:01
8:18
8:16
7:57
7:33
6:54

Inconsistency is the key???

I turkey trotted!

Okay. Here's the scenario. After my Oct. 18th marathon, I took a full 2 weeks off from running. That doesn't mean I didn't cross-train my butt off, because I did! But I didn't run at all. Zilch. Zero. Then right when I was starting back up with running, Matt and I go on vacation. I did several runs on vacation, but not nearly as much as I would have done at home. Once we got back, I got in only a few more runs before injuring my knee! That kept me away from running for another entire week. Back to cross-training. So, that adds up to nearly a month and a half of very inconsistent training. I expected my Turkey Trot 10K to end up being a training run. At best, maybe I'd run it a little faster than what I'd expect for a typical 6 miler down the Paint Creek Trail - perhaps 45ish minutes. What I didn't expect was a PR by over 20 seconds!!

How is this even possible? Not sure I really care! I'm just enjoying it! :-) This kind of consistent improvement can't last that much longer, so I'm going to keep riding this wave while it lasts!

red's new 10K PR: 41:45 at the 2009 Detroit Turkey Trot!

Grand Island Trail Marathon & 10K | Munising, Michigan 49862 | Sunday, August 01, 2010 @ 7:00 AM

Matt and I registered yesterday --

Grand Island Trail Marathon & 10K | Munising, Michigan 49862 | Sunday, August 01, 2010 @ 7:00 AM

Great deal on Nathan hydration vest! I love expos!

Can't believe I almost forgot to mention in my last post one of the best things about my vacation in Traverse City. I got an $85 Nathan hydration race vest for only $15!!!! Woooo!!! I've been eyeing this vest for a long time - basically planning on buying it as soon as training for next year's ultra began. Then I accompany Matty to the expo before the Iceman Cometh MTB race and a Nathan dealer was there! I spot the vest and decide just to try it on. Then he tells me it is $15!!! I ask him what's wrong with it? He says it was a sample they sent to him and it does not come with a bladder. I know bladders are not that expensive and also know that one of the bladders from Matt's many Camelbaks or my North Face pack will fit just fine. So I say SOLD!! He also threw in a Nathan 5 oz nutrition flask (for gel) as a bonus which fits perfectly in the front pocket. I am now ready (and excited!) for ultra training!!

Despite my new shoe purchase yesterday, I decided to run in my Elixirs today. They had been feeling a little neglected. So tomorrow I'll break in the Guides. Today was the first day I wore the Elixirs since the marathon. I had been a little nervous about wearing them after my toe discomfort during the marathon. The Elixirs were entirely comfortable today for my 8 mile run. I wonder if the marathon discomfort was a toe problem and not a shoe problem. I'm thinking my toes would not have been happy in any shoes I chose that day. I'm back to liking my Elixirs. We're both happy about that! :-)

Today's run started out a little iffy. All the crappy (but yummy) stuff I ate over the vacation was coming back to haunt me, I think. Plus, I had a bit of stomach cramping issues on the drive home on Wednesday. At the beginning of the run, I was afraid the cramps would return, but I started feeling better the more I ran (just like the marathon! Running - the new cure for stomach ailments?). By mile 3 I was back to enjoying myself. My splits shocked even me. I can't believe I'm still capable of being shocked. Here they are:

Splits:

1. 8:12
2. 7:47
3. 7:34
4. 7:22
5. 7:37
6. 7:26
7. 7:36
8. 7:28

Could my hip pain be due to wrong shoes? I hope so!

I am very sad to report that my vacation is over.

Traverse City was awesome!! Matt had a great time at his mountain bike race, the Iceman Cometh, which I learned was the largest mountain bike race in the world with over 4400 participants! WOW! Yes, that many boys and girls on bikes on northern Michigan single-track!! Matt said it really wasn't all that crowded, relatively speaking. There were apparently only a few bottlenecks which is amazing considering the size of this race. They had a zillion waves that started 5 minutes apart. Still, MTB races do this odd type of wave start. They don't line up by pace but by age and category (beginner, sport, expert, elite, etc.) - which means there are often faster people starting behind slower people. Doesn't really make sense to me. I guess that is one more way running is better! hahaha!!!

That doesn't mean I don't want to try MTB racing though. :-)

Matt is going to tweak out his old Raleigh for me so I can see if my back has healed enough to handle riding. I don't think it has, but I really, really want to try. Wish me luck.

I got in several runs while on vacation. I relived part of my first marathon's route (Bayshore). I ran up the Old Mission Peninsula along the shore of Grand Traverse Bay in Lake Michigan about 8 miles, then turned around and ran back. Nice run! It was sunny and 55 that day. Almost identical to race day last Spring. Memories...

A few days later I ran about 8.5 miles on the Vasa Pathway, a relatively non-technical but hilly and beautiful trail in the woods. There are many many more miles of trails up there that need to be explored next trip! Also, I'm pretty sure there is a trail race on the Vasa trails that I'll need to put on the calender in the next few years.

Most importantly -- I got new running shoes!!!

I had been running quite happily, or so I thought, in my Saucony Omnis. Well, my feet and lower legs were very happy, but my hips were not. I didn't really relate the hip problems to my shoes until very recently, and it is still only a guess, but that's all I have to go on right now. I was finding that after longer runs, my hips would get very sore (not the hip joint, but the very top of the hip bone (iliac crest?). I did all my long runs in my Omnis. That is, until the marathon. I wore my lighter performance trainers for the marathon and guess what? No hip pain. The performance trainers had much less support than my Omnis. Now I'm wondering if I really need to be running in a stability shoe. Anyway, I didn't want to jump from a shoe with moderate support to a neutral right away, so I took a smaller step down to the Saucony Guide. It still has a decent amount of support but not as much as the Omni. We'll see how it goes!

Garmin Design Flaw and the Iceman Cometh!!

Went for run #3 post-marathon today. Best one yet. Decided to do a ten-miler. The first two were 5 miles and 6 miles. It was time to add a bit more distance. Plus, for some reason, anything under 10 miles is just too short for me to really enjoy. I love distance. I absolutely loved today's run. :-)

The time I recorded in my journal is somewhat approximate as I didn't want to turn on my Garmin and wait forever for it to connect to satellites just to read my final time. Stupid machine. Why didn't they design it so we can turn it on and read past workouts without having it connect to satellites first. Who was the moron who designed the software!?? Fire him, I say! (or her) ;-) Hopefully future models will have this problem fixed.

Anyway, the run was great! And that's all I have to say about that.

Omnis are now over 400 miles. I will mourn them when they pass. They still feel great though. Time to suck it up and fork out cash for a new pair and start rotating them in. *sigh*

Heading to Traverse City tomorrow to watch my husband ride in the Iceman Cometh mountain bike race. I'm hoping to find some great running routes/trails up there, maybe even while I'm waiting for him to finish the race! This is one instance where having the Garmin is nice. I can just start running without having to map out a route first. I'll know how far I've gone and how long it took me, etc. So I shouldn't bash Garmin too much. I do like the gadget quite a bit.

Can't wait to enjoy my VIP treatment as a Subaru driver. We get a parking lot all to ourselves near the finish of the Iceman race. All other drivers will have to park in satellite lots and get shuttled in. I LOVE MY SUBARU! haha!

Short Update - 1st run post-marathon

Did my first run post-marathon today after 2 weeks off. Ran 5 miles at about 7:50 pace, which should have been really easy. It wasn't. It was only so-so. I'm not surprised. In fact, I expected it. Darn good thing I've been working my butt off at the gym. Think how much harder today would have been otherwise. Think of how much fitness I'd have lost. I'm actually quite proud of myself for what I accomplished the past few weeks and now it is time to get my running back on track. This upcoming week I plan on doing about 35 miles. The week after that probably 40-45. Then 45-50 for week 3. Once I build back up to about 50 miles/week, I'll have about a month before Boston training begins. It feels so odd not being in the middle of a training plan! Good thing I have a few 10Ks coming up!

Congrats, Meb!!!

Also congrats to my hometown team Hansons - Brook's Nick Arciniaga for an awesome Top 10 finish at New York!!