Good Excuse

Hey! Where've you been?? I've been busy...

Running AND biking AND brisk walking (the 15 mile type!) and meeting with clients as I start up my little business solutions consulting firm.

See: all good excuse(s). And you thought I had given up on my Detroit Marathon goal. Nothing of the sort. Nope. I'm completely committed to it. Grrrrrr!

Today's post is going to be a summary of the workouts I've logged over the last 2 and 1/2 weeks. Wow! I can't believe it's been that long. I'm sorry loyal reader (who's probably just a figment of my imagination).

1 hour run on 7/10: I was worried about the chafing. Well I wore my awful, tight and binding shorts and used buttbutter and didn't have an issue. I was motivated to go out and get new fitness clothes, spending more money than I could really afford. I knew realistically I could not train in one pair of shorts for the next 14 weeks. I'm fully committed to this marathon, I tell ya.

4 miles on 7/12 got pushed to 7/13 because of a hellacious bike ride in Detroit. I had planned to run after the bike ride, but I was so soaked from the rain storm, and working at my buddy's after the bike ride that I gave myself a pass as long as I made up the run the next day. The bike ride was 27 miles starting from Fort Wayne to Belle Isle and back. It was a comfortable pace. Some of us sprinted around Belle Isle -- I had a death grip on the leader's single speed mountain bike (Gus you are a complete ANIMAL! Who maintains a 160 rpm for that distance??) and had a great time. On the second leg of the sprint the guy ahead of me starting falling off of Gus's wheel, but I managed to jump him, bridge the gap, and push Gus all the way to the Belle Isle Bridge. Make no mistake about it, I could not have beat Gus, but it was fun as hell riding like that. It really pumped me up!!!! By the time we got back to the RenCen we could see a huge rainstorm coming up the Detroit river. After the downpour passed, Jeff and I tried to get back to Ft. Wayne but got caught in the second storm. The rest of the group was determined to have lunch in Mexican Village before going home. I was on my whippy Litespeed and had to be really careful avoiding huge potholes that were hidden in the flooded streets, try not to get run over by distracted drivers, and hope my wet brakes would stop me when necessary. None of the rain could wash away the elation I felt from the Belle Isle sprint : ) I'm still stoked today when I think of it.

4 mile run on 7/13: I wore new shorts and had a good run. 7 miles on 7/14, 4 miles with 5 minutes of hills on 7/15, and 6 miles on 7/17 were all uneventful. I even managed to add a 4 mile brisk walk with Marie and Jan in Grosse Pointe after my 6 mile run! The next day Marie and I had an awesome 29 mile bike ride from Grosse Pointe to Belle Isle and back.

My 8 miler on 7/20 just about killed me. First, I didn't manage my route well and ended up running a third of a mile longer than necessary. It was ungodly humid, sometimes actually misting and fogging my glasses. I got a late start and so had a deadline pressing on me as I was running. It made me angry and distracted. On a positive note: I completed my goal.

My 4 mile run on 7/21 was fine, but I was a bit disheartened by my 8 mile run.

I substituted a 15 mile walk with Marie and Janet for my 6 mile run on 7/24. Those women kicked my butt, but I hung in there (hopefully hiding how beat I was). Lesson learned on this walk: eating / refueling really helps.

Today's run was a 9 miler. I gotta tell you I was dreading it. I thought, man, I can't take another run like last Sunday! Thank goodness it was cool and not humid. I kept telling myself I just walked 15 miles without dying -- I could do this. I also brought Zone Bars and promised that I would refuel. I still procrastinated and ended up starting late (almost 10 am) which cost me the awesomely cool weather.

I had a great run. The pace was fine. Nothing hurt. Each time I ate I felt an real increase in energy. (Maybe those Hammer Jells are important) I actually ran beyond my 4.5 mile turn around, so I would have a walking cool down. At the 9 mile point I wasn't actually ready to stop running (but I did -- needed to cool down, you know : ).

Here's the route I ran today.


My faith has been restored!

Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

Ouch!

Umm. Anyone have a remedy for chafing?

My 4 mile run on Tuesday was not so fun. To start with, it was god-awful humid at 9 am (never a good sign), and before the halfway point my inner thigh started to chafe. I mentally slapped myself in the forehead for forgetting to put on the bodyglide and had the usual inner dialog: let's stop... you know the b.s. Well, I decided it was an easy run, so I should just suck it up, mark this as a consequence for not being prepared, and finish.

And I did. It wasn't pretty. Yay for me.

When I got home, I realized my bike shorts had given out -- they were about 8 years old anyway -- and the chafing was because a small section of tender skin was being abraded by the tattered cloth.

Sheesh. I should have stopped.

I'm afraid I won't be able to do my 1 hour run tomorrow. My plan is to use good shorts and lots of body glide and play it by ear.

Dang! Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Keep your fingers crossed I can heal quickly.

Here's my run:

So Far, It's All Mental

Does that mean I'm mental?

Funny thing happened to me yesterday at the park (when I was running, of course). Sounds like a lead in to a bad joke...

I have come to believe, for the most part, marathon training is mental training. At the two mile mark, of my six mile run, I was having all kinds of crazy thoughts: stop here and finish the run at home on the treadmill (yeah, right!), stop here and run the rest later in the evening (even less likely to happen than the treadmill), take this work out as a "bye" after all this is your third day straight running maybe your body needs the rest (if you've read my earlier posts you'll see that I put off my Thursday run until Friday (for no good reason) and I have been staying up too late and not getting enough rest (for no good reason)).

You'll be happy to hear the the "real" me stood up to the "current" me, and I completed my planned run. Yes, it wasn't at the speed of light, but I finished! What got me through? I pretty much figured that the first week of training is the lightest of the schedule and if I wimped out now I might as well pack it all in -- which I am not prepared to do because I am fully committed to running the Detroit Marathon on Sunday, October 19, 2008.

The funny thing is that the run WAS possible. It wasn't fatal. It didn't hurt me. In fact, it has given me confidence to continue and the insight to know that the "real" me is still here, maybe lurking below the surface, and able to step up when necessary.

I don't have a route to share because I forgot to turn on my route tracker on my GPS. Grrrrr! I did use the trip computer, but it doesn't upload to my PC or MapMyRun.com. I'll have to be more careful tomorrow.

Ice Baths: a little tip from your pal, Kamboja : )

After my runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I took 15 - 20 minute ice baths. My old adventure racing buddy introduced me to this concept after we did long runs (11 milers) and long training days (how long was that mountain bike ride to Stoney and back??). We generally stood in his driveway running the garden hose over our legs. I've improved the process: I fill the tub and sit and read. The initial shock isn't very fun, but in less than a minute it feels wonderful. Shifting the water around gets your attention, but for about 4 hours after the soak your legs feel GREAT. I even took an extra soak before bed on Sunday because I could feel my legs tightening again. Today (Monday) my legs feel about 95%. Amazing when you consider how much I ran the previous 3 days. I also didn't need to take any Alleve.

I've got 4 miles to do tomorrow -- early -- because it is supposed to be hot and humid in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon, so on that note, I'm wrapping up this humble post.

Night!

I Did It!

I guess writing my post last night tweaked my psyche because I woke up on time this morning to get out of the house by 8 am and do my 4 mile run. I was very proud of myself for not talking myself into a late start or (God forbid) running in the basement on the treadmill.

Here's my route:


I'm going to keep this short because I am tired (bed late, up early, 2 days of back to back running) and I have my longest run in... eeek! 2 1/2 years... tomorrow. Six miles.

Will I be able to do it? Hell yeah. I just have to hang tough.

My legs were pretty tired during the run, and my right ankle felt a little sore. About an hour after I got home I took an ice bath. It really felt good -- after the initial shock. My legs felt good for about 4 or 5 hours. They have gotten progressively tight throughout the day, so I just took some Alleve.

I plan to get out by 8 again tomorrow, so I better sign off here. Sorry this post is so choppy.

Independence Day

Ok. So maybe I got started off on the wrong foot -- but, honest, my intentions are good. What I am trying to say is that I already missed a workout (yesterday's) in my 16 week, 56 event, plan. Ugh! Did I tell you that I loathe running?

Never fear: I made up my 1 hour run today. I'm going to pay for my procrastination though. I've got a 4 mile run Saturday and then a 6 mile run on Sunday. Plus, I had a beer tonight that my husband offered after dinner. (Can you say "training sabotage"?)

In my feable defense, yesterday had yucky weather. It was raining and warm in the morning (when I prefer to run) and then just warm and humid later in the day. I should have used the treadmill, but I really just didn't want to run. I busied myself with organizing my iPod, so I will have music for my dreaded long runs. I know, I know. I could have done that after my run.

Today's weather was awesome, so I procrastinated all morning and ended up running between noon and one. Yeah, I paid for that... it was warmer and more humid but still tolerable. Thank goodness my dog doesn't hold it against me : )

As usual, getting out the door is the toughest part of the workout, second to the first 20 minutes where I try to cut deals with myself. You know the usual inner monologue: just do xxx, make up the difference later, why are you doing this? When I finish though, I have such a feeling of accomplishment, such a feeling of satisfaction. I need to bottle that feeling and take a sniff when I get poopy about starting the run.

Tomorrow I would like to be out of the house by 8 am, but the realistic side of me knows that I am sabotaging that by playing with my GPS, MapMyRun, and writing this.

On that note, I'll sign off.

NO EXCUSES 2008

Here's the route I ran today.

Committed 2008

Since my very first blog posting, I've been designing posts in my mind.... as you may have noticed there have been a couple of months that have passed since my first (and last : ) blog. That pretty much symbolically defines me: lots of intellectualizing, not much action.

Ok, we can dwell on the shortcomings or we can acknowledge the high points: let's take the high road!

About 3 weeks ago, I read a Doug Kurtis article in the Detroit Free Press about this year's marathon. I've thought seriously about running this (my hometown) marathon since I was crazy fit in 2005 thanks to a friend that introduced my to adventure racing. I should have run it then when I was in shape and mentally tough, but I ended up chickening out when I didn't have anyone who would be my support. I was just too intimidated to go all by myself: what would I do with my car keys and pre-race clothes. Oh yeah and the weather folks said it was supposed to rain. I could have done the Friday night walk up registration (I was working downtown for heaven's sake), but wimped out and had a pity party instead. Race day when I peeked out my windows it was slightly overcast, I rolled back over for a little more sleep, confident that the skys would soon be opening up, and I could feel justified in not running the race. Three hours later, round about when I might have been finishing, I peeked out my window again... and it was a beautiful clear, sunny, not humid day. RATS! I should have run!

So fast forward almost 3 years later, and I still haven't run. Oh, and yeah, I've gotten married, had a baby, gained almost 60 pounds and there it is... the Detroit Marathon challenging me. Doug Kurtis encouraging me. My inner voice tweaking me.

I found a 16 week training plan (17 1/2 weeks from the event). I've registered -- spending the $70 I don't really have to piss away, and I'm in -- fully committed. I even did a couple of pre-training plan runs. They were good mental challenges. Could I keep my commitment? Could I run when I didn't really want to (did I tell you I absolutely LOATHE running)? Yup and yup.

It's all been really empowering. When I toughed out my first "1 hour run," I kept arguing with myself. I don't want to. I can't. I'm not ready. The real me replying, "not backing down. I can do this. Just 10 minutes more." When I was finished, I was so proud of myself.

Yesterday was my first "16 week" marathon training plan run. I almost used a prior commitment to visit a friend as my out to not do my workout, but I hung tough and did my run. The weather was beautiful at 8 in the morning, low 60s. A good run with my Airedale!

Check out my run on Google Maps.



Woo Hoo Baby! Just like 2008 -- NO EXCUSES.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I DIG DEEP and get through this and enjoy the rewards for my investment and commitment.