Did a 4 mile treadmill run today (easy pace_8:30) with good stretch and then hit the weights for a bit of upper body. I had actually planned 5 or 6 but my calves felt tight and I had absolutely no energy. Even after warming up, when the running then gets easier, I never really felt like I was in the groove. So i cut it a little short and figured this is supposed to be an easy week anyway. A bit of taper for the PDR half on Sunday.
I saw a few runners at the Y today that I know. Chris, Scott, Carole *and their crew*. It's nice to say a quick hi to fellow runners. Chris is running Philly this weekend...not sure of others. Carole, you are looking great - very fit & fast. What's your secret to staying so lean?? awesome! Also today found out that Ray (in run club ) is running Philly. He & I have done a few runs together this year. Ray's much faster than me at long distance races. I can match him in 5k's. I'd be tempted to run along with him on Sunday, but the end result might be too fast and then leave me busted/bonked/walking. It's tempting....hrmmmm....
Today I signed up for the DDC-15k on Oct.11th and the Conestoga 10 Mile Trail race on Sept.27th. I've mentioned the Conestoga in blog before (maybe? where is that post??). DDC could be an obvious PR attempt if the weather is cool. Conestoga, I've heard about this one for years. Although it's short for a true classic trail race, it's considered very difficult for the distance. Very steep climbs & descents, some just too dangerous for running...more like hand over hand climbing. I've hiked most of the course, never run it, and it really is a tough section of trail. My 10 mile PR is 1:07:30 but this race will be more about finishing without getting hurt. Estimated run time is double the PR time! Even the course record seems incredibly slow, something like 1:35?? but it's because there's some parts that you just can't run, too dangerous!
Showing posts with label insomnia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insomnia. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Top Ten List
I've thought about this one a lot in the last few weeks 'post marathon' so without further procrastination, here's my Top Ten "Ways to Screw-up Your 1st Marathon"
10. Set an unrealistic goal. If you do your 20 milers at 8:40 pace, then what illogical thought process made me think I could do 8:20 for the marathon. . . and hold it an additional 6.2 miles?
9. Start out waaaayyy too fast. And on a humid morning, and a hilly course. Hello? What was I thinking?
8. When the facts are clearly right in front of you, fail to adjust to the situation early enough to make a difference. Actually, failed to adjust at all really. At mile 7= 4 minutes ahead of pace; then at mile 10= 5 mins ahead. Huh? How come it didn't occur to me that I must slow down until my legs already were beginning their revolt/cramps?
7. Drive your car 10 hours the day before the race. Duh. Arrive at the hotel at a quarter till midnight. Doh!
6. Recruit a support person who is not a runner. In all fairness to the Mrs., this ended up being a minor issue given all the other major screw ups. But the water, cereal bar, and dry towel would've been nice at 16. And the missed Gu handoff was a real factor. The refusal to wake up & get out of bed at 5:30...plus the double back to the hotel after packet pick-up for the wife pick-up, that added a bit of stress.
5. Fail to interpret the course description profile correctly. "This course has LOTS of HILLS? Why didn't they just come out and say that?"
4. Other translation miscues: When they said this marathon is good for first timers, they didn't mean that the course is not challenging; they meant 1,000's of locals will come out to watch you suffer. When they said the race has a high BQ ratio, they forgot to mention that they invite a lot of fast people to come up to Vermont to race. Kind of like Carlsbad 5000 is 'America's fastest 5k' because of the runners that it attracts (it's not the course there either people).
3. Start out way too fast. This one cannot be understated as the primary reason for failure.
2. Drink a few beers & eat crappy food for the pre-race meal. It tasted good, but greasy cheese puffs, mini spinach quiche and fried mushrooms is not proper carbo-loading fare.
1. And from the home office, the number one way to screw-up your first marathon is... "Logical thinking . . . who needs that?"
10. Set an unrealistic goal. If you do your 20 milers at 8:40 pace, then what illogical thought process made me think I could do 8:20 for the marathon. . . and hold it an additional 6.2 miles?
9. Start out waaaayyy too fast. And on a humid morning, and a hilly course. Hello? What was I thinking?
8. When the facts are clearly right in front of you, fail to adjust to the situation early enough to make a difference. Actually, failed to adjust at all really. At mile 7= 4 minutes ahead of pace; then at mile 10= 5 mins ahead. Huh? How come it didn't occur to me that I must slow down until my legs already were beginning their revolt/cramps?
7. Drive your car 10 hours the day before the race. Duh. Arrive at the hotel at a quarter till midnight. Doh!
6. Recruit a support person who is not a runner. In all fairness to the Mrs., this ended up being a minor issue given all the other major screw ups. But the water, cereal bar, and dry towel would've been nice at 16. And the missed Gu handoff was a real factor. The refusal to wake up & get out of bed at 5:30...plus the double back to the hotel after packet pick-up for the wife pick-up, that added a bit of stress.
5. Fail to interpret the course description profile correctly. "This course has LOTS of HILLS? Why didn't they just come out and say that?"
4. Other translation miscues: When they said this marathon is good for first timers, they didn't mean that the course is not challenging; they meant 1,000's of locals will come out to watch you suffer. When they said the race has a high BQ ratio, they forgot to mention that they invite a lot of fast people to come up to Vermont to race. Kind of like Carlsbad 5000 is 'America's fastest 5k' because of the runners that it attracts (it's not the course there either people).
3. Start out way too fast. This one cannot be understated as the primary reason for failure.
2. Drink a few beers & eat crappy food for the pre-race meal. It tasted good, but greasy cheese puffs, mini spinach quiche and fried mushrooms is not proper carbo-loading fare.
1. And from the home office, the number one way to screw-up your first marathon is... "Logical thinking . . . who needs that?"
Monday, January 19, 2009
Ketchup N Camping
Ok, trying to catch up with blog entries. I can't sleep and there's 175 channels of crap on the tube. So in reverse order... here we go:
Saturday began with a horrible night's sleep since that's the standard drill for these things. Bacon & eggs & pancakes - which I would normally never eat that type of stuff at 7:30 a.m. but the boys had already been successful in lowering my resistance. Then outside where the temp was about 3 degrees Fahrenheit. No kiddin, really friggin freezin cold. Think witch's teat in a brass bra level of cold. All the dudes with Volvo's, Beamers & Mercedes were going out to their cars to check the on-board thermometers. Ugh. Anyway, as the day progressed the temp came up to something like 25 F and there was no wind that I could tell (may be the woods). Had a good day. Hiked a bit - hadn't worn my hiking boots since last summer? Here's a pic: that's us on the hanging bridge over the frozen creek. The boards all creaked & groaned as we climbed & crossed this contraption. I'm sure it was perfectly safe but the boys got a kick out of thinking that the thing might collapse onto the ice at any moment.
Thursday I had a very busy day and didn't get home until like 7:30 which is entirely too late. No exercise, but a pretty decent day otherwise.
Wednesday I had time for the Y and a lil cross traing session. I really felt like a run, but forced myself not to do that because I'd run the last two workouts in a row and I really have to contain my enthusiasm so as to not re-injure myself. 40 mins of lite cardio, most of that on the stationary bike. Then I did a good stretch - did I mention that rest & STRETCHING get the credit for my speedy recovery. Cross training is really just filling up time while burning a few calories. It cannot begin to provide the fitness improvement effects of running. And swimming is just something I don't seem to get. (yes, after a gland total of one (1) swim workout I have given up on that as a viable xtraing method - mostly the calf cramps to blame. see entry 1/7/09 here). I hit the weights for a moderate effort. Then proceeded home to eat wayyy too much for lunch. No wonder I can never seem to lose those final extra 10 pounds.
Saturday began with a horrible night's sleep since that's the standard drill for these things. Bacon & eggs & pancakes - which I would normally never eat that type of stuff at 7:30 a.m. but the boys had already been successful in lowering my resistance. Then outside where the temp was about 3 degrees Fahrenheit. No kiddin, really friggin freezin cold. Think witch's teat in a brass bra level of cold. All the dudes with Volvo's, Beamers & Mercedes were going out to their cars to check the on-board thermometers. Ugh. Anyway, as the day progressed the temp came up to something like 25 F and there was no wind that I could tell (may be the woods). Had a good day. Hiked a bit - hadn't worn my hiking boots since last summer? Here's a pic: that's us on the hanging bridge over the frozen creek. The boards all creaked & groaned as we climbed & crossed this contraption. I'm sure it was perfectly safe but the boys got a kick out of thinking that the thing might collapse onto the ice at any moment.
Thursday I had a very busy day and didn't get home until like 7:30 which is entirely too late. No exercise, but a pretty decent day otherwise.
Wednesday I had time for the Y and a lil cross traing session. I really felt like a run, but forced myself not to do that because I'd run the last two workouts in a row and I really have to contain my enthusiasm so as to not re-injure myself. 40 mins of lite cardio, most of that on the stationary bike. Then I did a good stretch - did I mention that rest & STRETCHING get the credit for my speedy recovery. Cross training is really just filling up time while burning a few calories. It cannot begin to provide the fitness improvement effects of running. And swimming is just something I don't seem to get. (yes, after a gland total of one (1) swim workout I have given up on that as a viable xtraing method - mostly the calf cramps to blame. see entry 1/7/09 here). I hit the weights for a moderate effort. Then proceeded home to eat wayyy too much for lunch. No wonder I can never seem to lose those final extra 10 pounds.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I Feel Fine
I had a great day today, but didn't have time for a workout. Tuesday's & Thursdays this semester are set up to be my busy days. I'll have the time tmorrow.
Started with getting to class on time - I know that's a no brainer but I'm still stuck in the Christmas break time zone. It was in doubt whether I'd make 8:30. Then I did a "good deed of the day" when my instructor left his jacket behind in the class room. I saw lots of friends today that I haven't seen in a while. That really put me in a good mood. As I was walking past a classroom I saw my friend Christie. So as I'm walking backwards to wave hi to her, the instructor was walking right over to the door! Sort of foolish, but I could see a big smile from Christie! awesome.
At lunch I met someone new. She's a runner from my club. She & I have injuries in common. And we both are dreaming of finishing a marathon. Maybe this will be our year! Isn't it true how most runners you meet are genuinely nice people? It's proven many times over. But rarely do I meet someone with such beautiful brown eyes. The word brown is too plain ... what's a better word to describe extraordinary color/shade of brown?
Evening class was interesting, but I can tell staying on campus till 8:p.m. is going to be difficult. The caffeine necessary has now me awake half the night. One of my favorite movies was on TCM - the Big Chill. I missed the first few minutes, but enjoyed it. Soundtrack is so perfectly matched to the scenes. Hadn't seen it for many years. Now watching Annie Hall.
Started with getting to class on time - I know that's a no brainer but I'm still stuck in the Christmas break time zone. It was in doubt whether I'd make 8:30. Then I did a "good deed of the day" when my instructor left his jacket behind in the class room. I saw lots of friends today that I haven't seen in a while. That really put me in a good mood. As I was walking past a classroom I saw my friend Christie. So as I'm walking backwards to wave hi to her, the instructor was walking right over to the door! Sort of foolish, but I could see a big smile from Christie! awesome.
At lunch I met someone new. She's a runner from my club. She & I have injuries in common. And we both are dreaming of finishing a marathon. Maybe this will be our year! Isn't it true how most runners you meet are genuinely nice people? It's proven many times over. But rarely do I meet someone with such beautiful brown eyes. The word brown is too plain ... what's a better word to describe extraordinary color/shade of brown?
Evening class was interesting, but I can tell staying on campus till 8:p.m. is going to be difficult. The caffeine necessary has now me awake half the night. One of my favorite movies was on TCM - the Big Chill. I missed the first few minutes, but enjoyed it. Soundtrack is so perfectly matched to the scenes. Hadn't seen it for many years. Now watching Annie Hall.
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