Perspiration and Vampires

Just did 6x400s while watching part of a Buffy episode. Here are my times (goal for these is 2:27):

9:36 warm-up (0.75 miles)

2:24
2:16
2:25 (I had to stop in the middle of this one as I overdid it on the previous one!)
2:20
2:25
2:23

5:20 cooldown (0.25 miles)

2.5 miles total
323 cal

I seem to have no problems doing my speedwork, and my long runs are coming along rather well. It's just this tempo run thing. I am supposed to do a 6-mile tempo run this week. Maybe I will do some intervals during it, and see if that ups the pace at all.

Less than 4 weeks until the race! Gulp.

Long Run Done

Eight miles today on a perfect day to run...I'm becoming spoiled by this weather and I know it's not going to last.

8 miles
91:41

11:28 pace
7:14 max pace

151 bpm
176 max bpm

2167 cal
(Is it weird that this is more than 100% more calories burned during my 5.15-mile run, even though I ran only 60% farther? I mean, that's 270 calories per mile....that seems near impossible unless I gained 100 lbs somewhere between Thursday and today.)

I'm starting to count on adrenaline and spectators to help me meet my goal at the half. I ran fairly hard today, not all out but I never felt like I was shuffling along, and I only walked when I had to (i.e., when a large dog ran toward me, barking). I could have pulled off 5 more miles today for sure, but a 11:00 pace is looking more like a secondary goal. Maybe not...maybe I can ratchet it up a notch at the race...I don't know.

In totally unrelated news, we just got back from a 4-year-old's birthday party where DH was subjected to debating with one of those people who has no clue what they are talking about but goes right on talking anyway. According to this guy, the earth just "makes" oil all the time, so we shouldn't be so worried about using it, and the sun is not made of matter. (DH wasn't clear what this guy thought it WAS made of, and the little bit I heard of this person's side of the conversation made me wonder what the h#*% they were talking about...something about magnetic poles and the sun's heat making them stronger.....

Oh, shoe update: I bought some superthin socks - some sort of Nike ones with specific left and right socks (there's an "L" on the bottom of one sock and an "R" on the other ). I tried them with the shoes that I thought were too small, and everything felt really good for all 8 miles. I'm relieved - buying a couple of pairs of $7 socks is way cheaper than buying another pair of $95 running shoes.

"Tempo" run

Instead of 8 miles, I did 5.15 miles. My excuse is that I don't have time to do 8 miles, but that's bull. I can sit here surfing the internet for an hour and feel like I'm not procrastinating, because I'm immediately available if someone calls or emails me. Out there running, I'm not immediately available. Of course, 99% of the time, no one cares if I'm immediately available! It's all in my twisted little mind.

Anyway....here are the stats.
5.15 miles
59:26

11:32 pace
7:55 max pace

149 bpm
171 max bpm

1005 cal burned


Once again, I tried to keep my heart rate up, but it just doesn't happen. Part of it is the 2-3 times I walked, but part of it seems to be that I just can't get my body to want to go that fast. I ran the last 1.1 miles in 12 minutes, which was at least remotely close to my tempo run time (10:54 or so, whereas my tempo pace is supposed to be 10:47). But before that I didn't feel like I could go that fast. It's like I save it all for the end, rather than burning out somewhere along the way. Maybe next time I will TRY to burn out along the way. Or maybe I'll just do intervals the whole time and see if that ups my heart rate and/or pace at all.

Eight miles on Saturday (Sunday I have the kids all day as DH is going to Montreal). Tomorrow I should do something, hill repeats or something....but I am supremely unmotivated. As I think I have mentioned.

Ugh.

Just no motivation lately. I tried to do 4x800s but only did 1.5x800s before giving up.

:(

I finished the one 800 in 4:57 - my goal time for these is 4:59. I just had no oomph to keep going.

A Need for NaCl?

Sometimes after a longer run (7 miles or more), I feel ill. It can happen as soon as an hour later, or the next day. I have read that this means I need to hydrate better, and eat more salt.

I used to be the consummate hydrator, drinking many, many glasses of water per day. I don't do that anymore, nor do I bring water or sports drink with me on long runs (which I also used to do). I have noticed salt on my face after long runs, but I don't think that's anything new for me.

I guess I'll start drinking more water and eating a salty dinner/breakfast the night before/morning of my long runs, and see if that helps. My solution today was to eat junk food...Doritos are salty, right? ;)

I am just not smart.

Why, why, WHY did I buy running shoes online? Well, that's not really the question. The question is why did I buy running shoes online in the WRONG SIZES? I knew perfectly well which sizes and widths were comfortable for me, but noooooooo....I had to get shoes that were too narrow and too short. So that when I try to run 10 miles, I get horrible blisters such that I'm about to cry by mile 4, and have to go home, put on band-aids, change shoes and socks, and go run another 6 miles.

Did I mention the ibuprofen?

Instead of "saving" money by buying online I have basically wasted $150 on two pairs of shoes that I can't wear on anything more than an easy 4-miler. I'm hoping, wishing that it could be the socks....and buying a couple of pairs of thin, high-quality running socks (I really only have one pair that fits this description...the others are high quality, but thick and cushy) would certainly be less costly than buying yet another pair of shoes.

Anyway...I did the 10-miler today in 2 parts.

Part I:
4.6 mi
53:30

11:41 pace
9:19 max pace

149 bpm
963 cal


Part II:
5.5 mi
66:41

12:04 pace
8:31 max pace

148 bpm
1184 cal


I tried to keep my heart rate around 155. I really did. But I just couldn't get to that level of intensity and stay there. Plus, I did take a few walk breaks, which brought down my average heart rate. I'm starting to think I just have really low standards for myself and my running, since I appear to do my long runs at something like 60%-70% of my maximum hr. You read enough about heart-rate-based training, and 60% to 70% sounds like basically nothing - like I may as well just be sitting on the couch reading a novel.

Anyway...this upcoming week is the week of eights. 4x800s, then two 8-mile runs - one tempo and one long. Happily, the weather has been stellar - 70s and sunny - and shows no signs of stopping (although it will only be in the mid-60s by Friday).

Now that I've burned 2,000 calories I'm trying to think of something worthwhile to eat.

Tempering the Tempo

Just did a 4-mile tempo run in glorious weather....70s and sunny, with a light breeze. The birds, turtles and frogs all were out sunning themselves.

I tried to get my heart rate up to 170, but that would have required sprinting 4 miles, I think. Here are the stats:

4.0 mi
45:25:14

11:22 pace
9:35 max

159 bpm
179 max bpm (this occurred during lap 2, a short sprint, detailed below)

754 cal

The sprint (which was basically to get me back to the bottom of the hill near my house):

0.12 mi
54 seconds
7:21 pace (!!)
6:49 max
171 bpm
16 cal

I'm sort of amazed that I only burned 16 calories...but then it didn't last long.

I may try the same thing again tomorrow to see if I can get the HR up higher and quicker.

I've been really tired this week...maybe it's the Female Thing, I don't know. But I've been falling asleep between 8:30 and 9 pm and getting 9 or 10 hours of sleep a night. You'd think that'd put me in a great mood with lots of energy....but not so much. Hmph.

Well Gosh.

I just looked, really looked at the heart rate targets for my long runs and my tempo runs.

I haven't even been close to hitting the tempo run target...like, ever in my lifetime. It's between 169 and 173 bpm.

On my last "tempo" run, when I ran at a perfect long-run pace of 11:31, my heart rate was right where it should be for long runs - between 155 and 165 bpm.

Go figure.

I cannot imagine keeping up a 170 hr for four miles without exploding. I think "tempo" is some sort of euphemism for "exhausting and killer."

3x1600 and sunshine!

Just finished three 1-mile repeats...though technically the program says to do 1600 meter repeats, which is 0.994 miles. But I added the extra 6/100s of a mile just for endurance's sake. :)

Times:
9:32 warm-up (0.75 miles)
10:08
10:15
10:19

506 calories burned

My goal time was 10:17, so I consider that a success! I did these on the treadmill with a 0.5 incline. It's really nice outside (and supposed to be in the 60s and even 70s this week!), but I prefer repeats on the treadmill.

Now for the caveats and excuses department...I did not do my 6 miles over the weekend. I had planned to do them on Sunday, but, well, let's just say some sex-specific issues cropped up and all I felt like doing was lying on the couch. I'm thinking maybe I should be getting more iron.

This week's plan:
Wednesday: either an easy 4 miles or a bike ride
Thursday: whichever I didn't do Wednesday
Friday: 4-mile tempo run
Saturday: dig up the flower gardens
Sunday: 10 miles

I wish there was a relatively flat place to cycle around here, just to get me acclimated. But there's nothin'. It's hilly and gorgeous, emphasis on the hilly.

Run for the Hills

It's not rocket science, this running thing. Run faster, get faster. Run more often, get more fit.

Still, it amazed me today that I ran up two hills without walking...two hills that easily would have kicked my butt just a month ago.

The schedule says I should do a 6-miler this week at 10:47. I did 5.46 miles and instead of watching my pace, I watched my heart rate. I was trying to keep it as close to 160 as I could. I found that it was consistently too low for about the first 3.5 miles. After that, it was easy for my to keep it at or above 160. :)

The stats:

5.46 miles
1:02:49
11:30 pace (this is right on for my long runs...maybe I should up the heart rate goal for these tempo runs?)
7:50 max pace

156 bpm
174 max bpm

1017 cal burned


I noticed that my calories/mile figure is back down in the 180s, after a couple of runs where it was well over 200. This was easily the hilliest run I've done in awhile (except for that 9-miler...that was pretty hilly too), so what gives? I don't know. I don't put too much stock in the number, anyway - especially because I could look three other places on the internet and find three distinctly different calorie counts given my weight, distance, speed and elevation changes.

So I am basically doing this same run (plus half a mile) this weekend. That seems very doable. Maybe I should shoot for the 10:47 pace this weekend, though.....

Listening to the Body

Today my body says, "Hey - you have run for the past three days. I know you're into this run-every-day thing, but I think it's time for a break. Do those 5 miles tomorrow, okay?"

So I'm listening.

6x400s

Today was a gorgeous day....but I did my 400s on the treadmill. Which was okay, really - I prefer it for things like that.

I also put a 0.5% grade on it to better simulate "real" running...or something.

My times (after a 0.75-mile warm-up):

2:19
2:26
2:25
2:23
2:23
2:21

306 cal
2.3 miles total

I think I'll do a 5-mile tempo run rather than 6 miles...and maybe do it tomorrow. It's supposed to be another really nice day.

Owie Knees

It didn't seem warm enough to bike, so I went out and did 3.1 miles. Great day, but my knees rebelled a bit and I couldn't go as fast as I wanted to.
The stats:

3.1 miles
36:58
11:55 pace
9:35 max pace
734 cal

I forgot to wear my HRM...oh well.

Tomorrow is 6x400 day, though I may want to do a 6-miler then, as it's supposed to be sunny and warm. after that it gets cloudier and cloudier, ending in a 5-day period of rain, rain, rain. I think that whole "April showers bring May flowers" idea originated in Vermont.

Oh yeah - I wore my old Asics (1090s) and they felt great. They are the same size and width as my new shoes, though - the ones that killed my feet yesterday. Urgh.

More Than I Could Chew....

I was supposed to do a 5-miler last week and then 10 miles on the weekend. I didn't do the 5 miles, due to poor planning, a truly crazy work schedule, and barfing children. I figured I could pull off the 10-miler yesterday....it was sunny, 40s, no wind, gorgeous running weather.

Well. I found out after 5 miles or so that my new trail running shoes are half a size too small. Or my socks are too thick. Or something. I spent the next 4 miles trying to keep my toenails from turning black and falling off, and the insides of my feet (at the base of the big toe) from being rubbed raw.

As a result, I did 9.1 miles instead of 10, and ran slow. Now, I have some issues with my Garmin - it loses the signal in the Vermont woods and so I'm somewhat convinced that I actually ran faster than this. But here's what the G-watch sez:

9.13 miles
1:58:29

12:59 pace
9:04 max pace

1849 calories (this tells you it was hilly as hell, at least!)
203 cal/mile

146 bpm
165 max bpm

The thing is, hills or no, I just wasn't working hard enough. My average heart rate should be 155 or higher. I never got in the groove - which stinks because it was the first really good day to run outside in a lonnnngggg time (not counting our weeks in Florida).

I came home, drank water that tasted like ambrosia, took a shower, had a bowl of Cheerios and then took S. ice skating for two hours. I think that may have actually helped with the post-run soreness.

This week:

6x400s
6-mile tempo run
6-mile long run (I may make this an 8-miler since I've cheated myself on the last two long runs - did 7.5 instead of 8, and 9.1 instead of 10)
I also want to do a bike ride and at least one 3- or 4-mile run, and a cross-training session. I probably should do two cross-training sessions, actually. I think if I made sure I exercised every day, it'd be easier for me. It's when I start taking days off that I go down that slippery slope into lounge lizard land.

Vermont's Midnight Runner?

I'm supposed to run 5 miles today and have no time. Normally that is a poor excuse for a lack of motivation. But except for short breaks to refuel and go to the bathroom, I've been at work since 9 am. Before that I was hanging out with the kids while Matt walked the dog. I suppose I could have run first thing in the morning while the kids were watching their daily wake-up video...but that just sounds like torture. Run BEFORE coffee? What's that about?

Maybe tonight, after the kids are asleep. A fun way to spend a Friday night, eh?

Another Day, Another Treadmill Workout

I am so looking forward to running outside and not having to wear three layers of clothing!

Cross-training on the treadmill today - nothin' fancy. Five miles tomorrow - outside, I hope!

2x1600s

That was supposed to be 3x1600s, but I am living in Work Swamp lately (as in, I'm swamped with work....okay, I am tired of writing as it is, so cut me a break) and I'm a wimp (see, I admit it), so I stopped after two.

I did the first one in 10:10, and the second in 10:14. I just looked up my goal pace, and it was 10:17. That makes me wish I'd done the third one! (I thought my goal pace was closer to 10:00 and I was an out-of-shape slacker.)

I burned about 330 calories (I wrote it down, but the piece of paper is in the upstairs bathroom and if I leave this office, I won't make it back in for 30 minutes).

My excuses are that the kids have been sick (one week of diarrhea and one day of vomiting....at least today they are well enough to squabble!), which makes my DH cranky (as he takes care of them during the day), which makes me cranky. And I've had a ton of work to do (see above). Plus taxes are due soon, and we owe, and that's never fun.

Anyway. Here are my goal times for all to see:

400s: 2:27
800s: 4:59
1600s: 10:17
tempo runs: 10:47
long runs: 11:32

Tomorrow or Friday is a 5-mile tempo run, and Sunday is a 10-miler. I'm also supposed to be cross-training for 30-40 minutes twice a week. That hasn't happened yet this week, though. Does ice skating for 3 hours count? I did that Sunday.....