Getting back into training mode

February 22, 2012 6 Comments

February is almost over, thankfully. It’s lived up to its reputation as my least favorite month of the whole year and I’ve basically taken the entire month off from running/hardcore training/actually trying.

My knee isn’t 100 percent back to normal, but I think I finally have the right brace and I’m working hard on changing a few things around to help it get stronger and healthier.

Now, I’m staring at an excel spreadsheet of a training plan and I’m ready to get started:

I even added a race next Sunday, March 4 that kind of fits nicely into the first full week of real training: the Mill Creek Distance Classic Half in Youngstown. It’s hilly and tough and we’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, I’m excited to be able to get back into feeling like I’m training for something and I’m actually getting ready for my next two marathons and my first 50 miler. I hate to admit, but I’ve felt extremely behind pretty much everyone I know who is training for Cleveland or other spring marathons and have been training for weeks. I even know a few people who have been training for the half for a few weeks and here I am, not doing much of anything.

But I’m trying to appreciate my body for what I can do each day, but I’m looking forward to getting back to where I was and building up to my full potential.

It’s all about the bigger goal now. I’m ready to start doing the work.

Full disclosure: The wonderful people at the Cleveland Marathon gave me a race entry and I agreed to blog about my training and race day experiences. And you should know by now that I’m too snarky and opinionated and everything I post on here are my own thoughts and experiences. 

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practicing non-reactivity

February 15, 2012 2 Comments

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a moment, but before I began 40 Days, I felt kind of like this (in my head, not out loud) at times of really high stress:

Each week has a theme: week 1 is presence (bringing the idea of being present to your practice on and off the mat), week 2 is vitality (enriching your life with people/foods/things that bring you vitality and energy and letting go of resentment) and week 3 (the one I’m on now) is equanimity (maintaining peace of mind and practicing non-reactivity).

So reactivity relates to how you react to something that happens to you or something you’re doing — like screaming like Jenelle, dropping into child’s pose instead of trying an inversion, slowing down your pace because it’s uncomfortable, snapping at someone because they were rude to you, etc. All of those examples are negative and don’t get you to your goal or help you maintain a healthy, peaceful emotional state.

Non-reactivity got me through a tough situation last week (and I hadn’t even read the week 3 chapter yet), but it’s been a challenge this week, off the mat at least. I’ve been thinking a lot about how it can help my running — being less lazy when it comes to workouts, actually doing speedwork and not reacting when it’s uncomfortable.

I ran 4 miles yesterday, with no intention of going fast, but after running the first mile in 8:50, the last three had to be faster, of course. And then with 1.5 left, I had a perfect opportunity to practice non-reactivity: I almost got hit by a car.

I was at a stoplight, waiting for the light to turn so I could cross. The light turned red and a car came barreling through the intersection, nearly hitting the other cars whose light was green. They honked and slammed on their brakes. I could tell before I crossed that they weren’t going to stop, so I stepped back, threw my middle fingers at them and screamed, “it’s a fucking red light you asshole!”

It’s February, it was barely 40 degrees, I’m sure they didn’t hear me, but I was wearing a bright yellow vest, so they had to have seen me.

I was pissed for the next minute or so. Hoping they’d get pulled over (25 mph speed limit, residential area), hoping karma would get them, etc. But then I realized how I was reacting to the situation — I wasn’t letting it go, I couldn’t stop the driver from being dangerous and driving recklessly. I hadn’t died and I couldn’t change the situation.

 There was no need for me to react that way to it. The same way there’s no need for me to be pissed about my knee injury, berate myself for not being able to do an inversion yet or be unhappy that my boyfriend isn’t here. There’s nothing I can do about those situations but accept them and move on and keep running.

We have to pass through what is messy and sometimes painful if we are to get to the bliss on the other side.

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friday favorites

February 10, 2012 2 Comments

It’s definitely been one of those weeks. Nothing work related for once, but some pretty shitty things happened to me this week. I learned a few important lessons this week — definitely having the smallest wedding I can possibly have when the time comes and life is way to f’ing short to waste my time being unhappy/upset/annoyed/angry all the time. It’s time to step back and show some gratitude for the good things in my life.

Yoga. If it weren’t for 40 days and my daily practice, I don’t know how I would have made it through this week without a meltdown. I even did a 15 minute stress-relief practice on my break at work the other day. It was a way to keep myself centered and calm and not lose my cool. Because trust me, I definitely could have at more than one point this week. I took a 90-minute power vinyasa yesterday and it was one of those days where I just decided to push myself to my “edge” and go farther. I got out of my comfort zone and it was challenging, but so satisfying.

Oh and I landed this pose and more importantly held it for the first time ever on Monday:

Running. I ran six lovely with running club on Wednesday night. My knee rubbed close to the end, but other than that, it was pretty awesome. Not getting my hopes up yet, but it was great.

My friends. My running friends are great. My work friends are great. And my blog friends are freaking awesome. I got to one point the other day where I tweeted this (without really thinking, I’m going for less snark and more namaste nowadays):

I still haven’t had the chance to talk to him or anything, but it’s OK. I’ve had some pretty great friends there to listen to me, offer advice  and help me remember what’s important in life.

Good bad TV. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Last night was Jersday and Teen Mom 2 on Tuesday definitely brightened my night lol.

What are you thankful for this week?

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expecting a different result

February 9, 2012 6 Comments

Sunday, I came home from work to find my mom at her computer recording narration for a Powerpoint presentation she made for one of her Master’s courses.

For some reason, it kept cutting off her recordings and changing the slides earlier than she had timed. Before my run (in shorts!) that afternoon, I probably listened to her say the same thing over and over for a good two hours. I offered some help, but was unsuccessful and eventually, I left to go to my friend’s house to watch the Super Bowl.

When I got home nearly five hours later, she was still at the computer… recording over and over. I didn’t ask if she had tried anything differently from before or if she had called a classmate for help (my google efforts didn’t make any difference), but I do know that for a good chunk of time, she was doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, but instead hitting the same wall.

I hadn’t really thought that much of it until now — sitting here, thinking about my knee injury and my frustration with the fact that I keep getting hurt. Two years ago, I had a calf injury that put me out for the month of February and a few months later, I did something to my foot and I can no longer fully bend my big toe (yes, this is when I ran my first half marathon). Then last year, it was plantar fasciitis and now stupid runner’s knee.

Oddly, all of these injuries have been to my left side (I’m right handed), but through yoga, I’ve found I can stretch much deeper into my left side and it’s my more flexible side. Weird.

But here’s the thing, like my mom on Sunday, I keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I kept pushing, pushing, pushing, running more miles, getting faster, longer distances and expecting to not burn out and get hurt.

Maybe I should just stop heel striking....

So now here I am, questioning what I can do differently? What can I change? What should I take away? What can I add?

I have a few ideas:

  • New shoes: The only time I wasn’t suffering any injuries (or on my way to one) was when I would switch up between my Nike Frees and regular shoes. After getting plantar fasciitis, I fell back into just wearing a neutral cushioned shoe. Maybe it’s time to get the minimal shoes back into the rotation.
  • Losing weight: Let’s be honest, I can stand to lose a few pounds. I’m shooting for just 10 (and yes, losing weight while training for a race is possible. It just happens very, very slowly. If you gain weight while training for a marathon, then you need to clean up your nutrition. For real, you should be eating enough to maintain your current weight while training.)
  • Strength training: Without it, I wouldn’t have gotten through my injuries last summer and gotten to Chicago. I need to get this back into my routine.
  • Continuing my yoga practice: In just a week and a half, my 40 days of yoga practice has made a huge difference already — not just mentally and emotionally, but physically as well. I feel stronger and more flexible (most of the time, ha) and I’m dealing with stress and problems in my life in a much more calm and rational way, rather than just being a snarky bitch. I can’t say I will continue to practice with the quantity and intensity that I am now, but if I can continue to attend at least one class a week as well as practice at home a few days a week after the 40 days is over, I think it’ll help with the direction I see my life going.

That’s all I plan on starting with. We’ll see how it goes.

What do you do to stay injury free?

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run-less monday.

January 23, 2012 9 Comments

Long time no blog….

Not much has happened in the past week other than I’ve been doing things like working my butt off, yoga-ing and not running as much as I should be. I took two days off after Regis, went to hot yoga Wednesday morning and then did my first run (5.65 miles) with running club that night.

Oh and in between, I picked up this and had lunch downtown with my dad:

Yup, two years in a row I was at the top of my AG in the Hermes Cleveland Road Race Series. This year was considerably tougher. In 2010, I crushed everyone (sorry for the lack of humbleness), but this year there were more runners in my AG who participated in more races and I took two months off from the series because of plantar fasciitis. But anyway, I missed the awards brunch to run Regis, so I went down to the Hermes office to pick it up. And sad to say, but I will not be participating again this year because of all of my crazy trail races… that and I moved up an age group now and I like Jessica too much to kick her butt ;) (or fail miserably trying to beat her…)

So, back to the run… Running club was great. I felt awesome, fast and held on to the faster group the entire time (though a few guys were missing, but those are minor details). Nothing hurt. I ran a quick 4 on Thursday and had some soreness and a little bit of knee pain going downhill, but nothing to really bother me.

But Saturday, I headed out on another trail run/adventure. I started the run cold and frustrated (it had snowed all night) and very pissed off because I noticed this when I was putting my shoes on:

Yep. Nice big rip/hole in my Brooks trail shoes. I bought them in late October and don’t remember doing anything to my shoe last week that could have caused it (that foot didn’t get caught in either fall during the race). I was planning on replacing them in February, but I guess I get to now.

Around mile 6, my knee was hurting. By mile 9.5, I had enough and took the roads back to my car, only finishing 12.35 and the rest of the group did 15.5.

I was (and still am) pissed. I’m supposed to be training for Mohican. And Fool’s. And Cap City, the Pig and Cleveland.

I went to yoga in the afternoon to see my friends (Jess, Jen and Julie) at a class at the Yoga Room, led by Becca, who is going through YTT and is going to be super awesome! And with some assistance, I did something I never thought I’d do: a headstand.

Part of me wishes I had a photo to prove it, but that’d be obnoxious. Anyway, I’ve been to so many yoga classes before and never ever even attempted a headstand. The closest to an inversion I was always comfortable with was shoulder stand (and plow, but I don’t know if that counts.) I’ve always thought was too fat or too inexperienced to do it.

I guess all I needed was some help. And to be surrounded with people I actually know.

I’m off for more hot yoga. Fingers crossed I’ll be running again later this week!

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Run for Regis recap

January 17, 2012 9 Comments

Sunday, I ran the eighth annual Run for Regis (check out my race preview here!)

The race is a half, full marathon and 50K and runners can change distances during the race. It runs two loops: one 5.1 mile loop (green) and one 8 mile loop (orange) and repeat over and over until you are done.

I was on my own for this one (or at least without Erin. A few people I knew even asked me where she was!), but luckily I had Kirsten and her sister, bro-in-law and friend, Brian, to run with.

It snowed most of Friday and Saturday and Sunday morning, temps were in the low teens. . When I got out of the car, I kicked myself for running this race and not going to the Road Race Series awards brunch so I could get my last RRS first place female AG award (damn).

Shortly after 7:30, 200 or so of my closest friends and I were off into a big, snowy field (which later became a big muddy field):

I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember much from the loops at all. I do remember my hands being cold a lot… especially every time after we stopped and started again. I ran a lot with my hands balled up in a fist inside my glove. Case in point:

At least I’m still smiling?

The first two loops went well. I was feeling pretty good, nothing hurt, nothing was cold other than my hands and the only thing that really sucked was when my handheld froze and I couldn’t get it open. Luckily, the aid stations had hot water and I started filling my bottle with mostly warm water and a little cold to keep it from happening again.

The trails weren’t too bad at all. It was cold enough that the snow was packed, but not icy (yet) and we were moving along. We took a lot of photos, my hair was frozen:

After 13.1, Kirsten’s sister, Kelly, was done and finished with her first trail half! The rest of us lucky ones went out for more. The third loop (or second 5.1 mile loop) went by rather quickly. I don’t remember much about it either other than seeing Vince from Vertical Runner and some of the really fast guys coming through and finishing off the 50K. Oh and at mile 18.62, we saw a guy with a completely frosty and snowy beard.

About three-quarters of a mile into the last 8 mile loop (right by the ledges), we were going down a hill and I started talking to some guy walking up it with a dog. I was leading the pack (at this point, it was just myself, Kirsten and Brian. Mike had ditched us). And of course, next thing I know, I’m half on the ground, holding myself up with my arms. My left knee had crashed on the rock next to me and I don’t know what happened to my right leg, but it was OK. I passed it off like it was nothing and said it was about time one of us fell, brushed off the snow and kept going.

But pretty soon, I was in a world of hurt and so very badly wanted to stop. I decided that after the loop was over, so was my race and Run for Regis would become my third marathon/first trail marathon. I went back and forth in my head, telling myself that if I were feeling OK, I should change my mind and that if Erin were running with me, she wouldn’t let me quit (that and I don’t think I would have complained as much, ha). I became kinda bitchy and snippy and tried to push the pace a little because I wanted to finish the race and go home.

Of course, I fell again a few miles later. This time I didn’t hit anything, but again, caught myself with my hands and yelled some obscenities and nearly started crying in public. Fail. My knee hurt more and more and was just becoming an all over pain.

I started counting down the miles, but did my best to keep up and not completely just give up on it. After coming back up to the Ledges and seeing the open field again to the start/finish, I did what I do best and started kicking. At that point, I was on pure heart. My right leg was sore and my left just radiated in pain. With some words of encouragement from Brian, I pushed as hard as I could to the finish.

And then I crossed the line of my first trail marathon in 6:20:37. Mike, Kirsten and Brian all finished the 50K (so proud!) a little later. I stuck around long enough to eat some food and get my finisher’s gift:

Yes, that’s what you get in small races (especially trail ones). Though the race didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted, I’ll wear it proudly.

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Race Preview: Run for Regis

January 12, 2012 13 Comments

OK. So I decided this year I want to write previews for my races. A kind of who, what, where, etc. thing. Mostly for anyone on the fence about a race or considering one that I happen to be running to learn more about it and join in on its awesomeness. And I swear I have every intention of posting the previews for you to have enough time to register/train before the race sells out.

Just not this one…

So.

What: Run for Regis. It’s a trail race that benefits two causes. One is the Regis Shivers scholarship given to a high school runner to use for college in honor of Regis Shivers. The other cause the race benefits is the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House which is a non-profit that provides lodging to patients and family being treated at the Veterans Administration Medical Care Facilities in Cincinnati.

Where: Cuyahoga Valley National Park — Happy Days/Ledges Shelter loop and Kendall Lake/Salt Run trails.

(Click for source. The course goes down these steps. Scary when they’re dry. I’m a little nervous to go down them in the snow.)

When: January 15, 2012. The race is in its eighth year.

Distance: Half marathon, full marathon and 50K.

Other details: Registration is $60 for all distances and you can change distances during the event. All runners receive a Brooks vest upon finishing. The race is limited to 250 entrants (and it sold out within 6 days back in October. When I was in Vegas. I got in via the wait list :) )

Why I’m running: I picked this race for two reasons. 1. It’s in January. 2. It sold out by the time I had my ish together to register when I came home from vacation. That made me want it more. I’ve ran the course twice already and I’m slightly excited/terrified that this weekend, it’ll be covered in snow. Great.

Other bloggers running: Kirsten! It’s her first 50K! Show her some love :)

For more, check out the race website here.

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Protecting the long run

January 8, 2012 2 Comments

Since I don’t follow a training plan, I have one simple rule:

Protect the long run.

In a way, I don’t care as much about what I do the rest of the week, but as long as I protect the long run and get at least X miles in, I had a good week. When I trained for Chicago, I only planned out two and a half months of long runs and never cut those short. It worked and helped me feel less stressed and overwhelmed with a short training cycle.

And now that I’m staring at 50 mile training that starts in less than two weeks (ugh, I can’t believe I have a training plan for something and that it lasts almost six months, ew), I’m starting to worry about staying healthy and getting to the finish line on one of the toughest courses in the state (apparently). I’ve had a cold that’s lasted longer than a week (unheard of for me in the past two years). I have to nap every day and then 8-9 hours of sleep at night still isn’t enough and I have this constant tired look on my face. Not to mention, I’ve been taping both feet for plantar fasciitis for some time now and been wearing the stupid night splint again.

I’m not happy.

So something had to give. I have to protect the 50.

I’m currently a few hours away from going to bed without running today.

I’m trying not to dwell on it. I don’t want to settle for mediocrity and tell myself that it’s OK that I only lasted 76 days and that’s still a huge accomplishment. I set a goal. I didn’t accomplish it because I set an even bigger one that requires rest and recovery (thanks Hal Higdon).

With weeks pushing 75 miles, it just wasn’t possible. I’m not a machine. I need to keep my heart, my mind and my body healthy. I know the only person I’m really letting down is myself and I’m the one who’s going to have to deal with it. But I’ll get over it. I know I’ll thank myself later when I cross the finish line at Mohican.

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2012 at the races

January 3, 2012 11 Comments

So, in my last post, I talked about how I finally bought myself a Christmas gift and signed up for my first 50 mile ultra. I’ve been really hesitant for the past two months to sign up for anything or even set a race schedule for myself because of weddings, leave, showers, work, etc.

But I was going crazy not having anything to train for (except for that 50K in a week and a half…). So I wrote a bunch of races on my calendar (in pen) and though I’m only registered for three of them, I’m sure more will follow.

I’ll tell you now, I’m not racing that much this year. In the past two and a half years, I’ve ran 41 races, so I’ve decided to become more choosy on what races I spend my money on. That being said, here’s what I’m doing this year:

Jan. 15: Run for Regis 50K. I’m getting a little nervous about the weather, but other than that, I’m ready for this race and looking forward to it. At least I am when I remember it’s happening and I’m registered for it…

April 1: Fools 50K. Registration opened today… I’ll probably sign up tomorrow. I had originally planned on running this as my first 50K. Haha.

May 5: Capital City Half Marathon. This will probably be the first part of a two-race weekend. But I am so ridiculously excited to run this half marathon again. Of the four I ran in 2011, Cap City was the most fun, best course and had some of the best spectators. I had a really really good time and I’m excited for the changes they’ve made this year and to help celebrate the bicentennial of my state capital.

May 6: Cincinnati Flying Pig. No, I’m not crazy. Traditional ultra training calls for back to back long runs and honestly, a half one day and full the next are not even within the time frames I’m supposed to be training in that weekend. But I’ve always wanted to run the Pig and I figure I may as well just head down to Cincy, since I’ll already be in Columbus.

May 20: Cleveland Marathon. I ran the half the past two years, it’s probably time I run the full. As one of the official bloggers again this year, I’ll be posting about my training (though, let’s be real, I’m more focused on Mohican), so expect a rather unique and not-so-normal training perspective in those posts.

June 15: Mohican 50 Miler. Boom, can’t wait.

July 14: Buckeye Trail 50K. This will be interesting. I’ve ran on bits and pieces of the Buckeye Trail (one day, I want to say I’ve ran the entire thing. Not at once. It goes all the way around Ohio). But from what I hear, it’s a really challenging 50K. Love it.

July 28-29: Burning River 100. No, I’m not running yet. I hope to crew or pace someone. If not, volunteer. But I have to put it in my schedule because well, it lasts for 30 hours… And if you know of anyone looking for crew, I’d love to help!

September 22-23: North Coast 24. I’m on the fence about this one, but it may be a great way to mentally prepare for things to come in 2013.

September 29: Akron Marathon. It’s about damn time.

October 21: Columbus Marathon. I don’t know if I’ll be running the half or the full. I’m leaning toward the half marathon just so I can rest after a big September (like if I do for sure complete 80-90 miles at NC24). But I this race holds a special place in my heart, obviously, so I definitely want to go back.

I’m sure I’ll do the Turkey Trot and Pigskin Classic again. Those are must-do’s every year. Other than that, this obviously isn’t going to be my year of setting new PR’s and getting faster. I’m OK with that, I’d like to focus on just simply going longer.

What’s your race calendar look like for 2012?

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Running by the falls and other holiday traditions

December 27, 2011 5 Comments

So it’s been a while since I blogged… sorry I’m not sorry.

Things are busy, as usual, retail never stops. It’s now spring at work and my training job is set to get really busy next week.

Christmas flew by and it feels like it never really happened. It was full of old and somewhat new traditions. I started off the weekend with a 10K group run at Vertical Runner in Hudson:

I’m to the left of center in this photo. You can see more of my blue shirt than my face. Oh well. There were 150+ people who showed up and after the run, Vertical Runner had refreshments and a huge raffle.

No, I didn’t win anything. I did hang around and buy some trail socks to try and a second handheld (yeah, I’ll be double fisting on long runs very soon, haha).

Christmas Eve day wasn’t anything too spectacular. I stayed home, napped, wrapped presents, worked on the blog (new and updated tabs, fixed some things I didn’t like in the sidebar, changed my gravatar image, etc. A new header is coming soon, I swear. I haven’t worn those Mizunos in forever). It’s a long-standing, family tradition to make lasagna on Christmas Eve. I don’t remember how or why it started, or even when, but we just always do it. Last year, I made my own vegan lasagna. It wasn’t the greatest thing ever, but it wasn’t terrible. I did follow a recipe from somewhere. This year, I just went to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of veggies, sauce and cheese and did my own thing and made a vegetarian lasagna. F’ing fantastic.

I went to 10:30 mass alone, weep womp. But again, something I do every year, usually alone. I kind of like it that way.

Christmas day, I had the opportunity to “sleep in” finally, hung out and ran the fastest 10 miles I can remember running, well, ever. If that run had been the Hermes Cleveland 10 miler, I would’ve PR’ed by more than two minutes.

The day after Christmas was a new thing, for me. Erin had been talking up a post-Christmas waterfalls run in the CVNP for a while. It was trails I’ve ran a few times (Pine Lane, piano keys, Blue Hen Falls, etc). The Waterfalls Run is a yearly group fun run, with a long and short option.

Obviously, we ran the long route that started at Lock 29 in Peninsula.

The tradition is to stop and take group photos at each of the three waterfalls. Unfortunately, it was super super muddy (I would’ve rather ran through a foot or two of snow. I think…) so we were really slow-going for most of the route.

But that’s what makes trail running fun and a unique experience every time.

With a bathroom stop, some slow miles and me getting stuck in the mud (super embarrassing. A guy had to catch me and Erin had to push my butt up. Literally), we ran in the first waterfalls photo just in time:

Image

I’m in a blue shirt again, bottom right corner. That was barely six miles in and I was already mud covered.

The second waterfall was not too far off:

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I’m on the left squatting down. I really didn’t think I was going to get back up after holding such a deep squat to take all the pics…

We missed the last photo by Brandywine Falls. Either because we took the wrong way at a fork in the loop or we were too fast.

I’d like to think the latter ;) The longer runners ran 17-17.5. We got back to the Lock 29 lot at 17.54 and decided to round it out to a nice, even 18, for good measure. Everything but the last mile took forever and I’m going to go ahead and blame the mud for that.

But it was definitely a fun experience and awesome to run trails with such a huge group of people for a change. Definitely something I plan to incorporate into my holiday traditions again next year.

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