One Long Trust Fall

It’s been a while my friends. My excuses are lame and too many in number so I’ll spare you. The thing to note here is that we have hit the 10 day countdown to race day. 10 MORE DAYS.

I could describe the way I’m feeling in many words, the most popular choices being: excited, nervous, exhausted, stressed, anxious… Whoever chose to run a marathon the same week as they were moving (with a few days of nowhere to live included), starting a new class, and traveling out of state is a real winner. Oh wait, that was me.

At least once a day I am asked how I’m feeling about the race. Am I getting excited? Am I nervous? Am I ready? I know these people are looking for just as short of an answer as if they had asked “how’s it going?” but here’s what I really want to say:

To look back and know that I have dedicated the last four months entirely to one distant goal is astounding to me. The last time I committed to anything for more than a few weeks is probably when I was undergoing cancer treatment and that wasn’t exactly a choice, but a necessity. The best way I can describe what this feels like is a trust fall. A four month, exhausting trust fall.

I’ve have to spread my trust quite thin. I put my trust in myself to know that I had the willpower to get up at 5am or go outside in negative temperatures and run. I had to trust my body to heal the blisters and stay upright a few hours into a run and not allow my legs to give out when it felt like I couldn’t take another step. I put overwhelming trust in my support system to pick me up when I was down and push me to keep going and to tell me I could do it when I had already convinced myself that I couldn’t. And let me tell ya, they were there for me in spades and then some.

The overwhelming part of a trust fall is the anxiety, fear, and rush that comes from wondering if you will actually be caught at the end. The moment when you’ve past the point of catching yourself and there’s no turning back. That anxiety has caused me sleepless nights, emergency mid-run bathroom breaks, and many tears. Can I do this? Will the weather screw us over? Will I be ready???

Some days I feel ready and some days I don’t. I’ll have a terrible run and be sure I can’t do this but Coach Bob will tell me that it was great that I had a bad run today because today isn’t race day. No matter how ready I feel or don’t feel the end is near. I WILL be running a marathon. I have put hard work and heart into this. And I can’t wait to sleep in on the weekends again.

Spring has Sprung?

Multitasking is essential!

It’s just about 6 weeks to race day and it couldn’t come soon enough. Everyone around me has been saying “May 24, that’s right around the corner!” But to me it seems like I’m waiting for next Christmas…and it’s only December 26. I told Coach Bob I was in a training slump and having a rough week to which he responded “weren’t you having your rough week last week??” I guess it’s an ongoing slump.

Buuuuuut, a few things have happened in the last week that have put me on a upswing from this slump. First, I knocked out a 10 mile run at a pace that was over 30 seconds/mile faster than what I was shooting for. Sure this is great news and all, but what really made it an epic moment was the fact that I was literally running into the sunset to the tune of Chariots of Fire as I crossed the non-existent finish line. The lighting was gorgeous. And the timing of the tunes was priceless, especially considering I was listening to a podcast that doesn’t typically play music. It was a thrilling moment to say the least and was a solid example of that “runner’s high” that everyone blabs on about. It is real my friends.

Running for hours at a time isn’t terrible when this is your view! Also, I think I found my next sports venture. FYI, that guy is on skis. Right up my ally.

Next, I set out for another long run; this one just under 14 miles. Not bad for a lazy Sunday. I was right on with my target pace the entire time and felt a great sense of accomplishment when I finished. But the point that I totally glazed over as I was in the running zone was the moment when I hit 13.1 miles a whole 6 minutes faster than I had when I raced my first half marathon back in October. Progress at it’s finest, folks.

Speaking of half marathons…I picked one up this weekend. The fact that is it absolutely normal and feasible for me to decide on Wednesday to run a half marathon on Saturday is still blowing my mind. Not gonna get over this one for a little while…

Lastly, I knocked out an entire whole enchilada workout, outside, in 66 degree weather! Minus the fact that the ground was sopping wet, it was gorgeous!! And then this happened…

Thanks a mil Vermont….

It is APRIL.

Fifteen Miles of Feelings

I officially ran more than I ever have in my life. A whole 15 miles, all in one go…as I had to clarify to many people that didn’t understand and thought I was crazy. But they were right, I am crazy, and running 15 miles in 15 degree weather with 25 mph winds definitely solidified that fact.

A lot goes through your mind when you’re running for that long. And it was not a particularly good running day for me so I was out there for a looooong time. Here’s the general gist of how things went:

The Start: Damn, it’s colder than I thought. I really wish I had worn an extra layer, or a face mask, or a sleeping bag. But I’m outside, on my way to running a butt load of miles and it’ll be over before I know it…just as my running app reports that I have completed 1 whole mile. Maybe this will take longer than I thought…

The Middle: Guess what? It’s still cold. In order to get in 15 miles my route is twisting and turning all over town and I have to chant the street name of my next turn in my head so I don’t miss it and tack on extra miles. I’m also going from headwind to shelter to headwind to sidewind to shelter and on and on with every turn. Most of the puddles on the sidewalk are frozen and I try tip toeing over them until I slam my foot down into a puddle of slush that is NOT frozen. From then on I’m on and off the sidewalks to dodge around the puddles. This causes me to run over some once thawed now frozen mud, littered with deep footprints from a warmer day that I now trip over causing me to spastically lurch forward nearly face plant into the ground. How many more miles to go???

The Middle Continued: I think I have entered a state of delirium. My legs are swinging like a pendulum that I no longer have control over. I think I took a wrong turn and I’m not sure where my current path is leading me. Oooooh look a field of horses! I wonder what it’s like to be a horse. They run so fast… Why don’t they have those horse blanket things on?? It’s STILL COLD.

The END: I am listening to a podcast about heroes. These ordinary people who did something extraordinary for someone else who was in danger. I feel like a hero myself. Except that I put myself in this ridiculous situation and I am going to have to “rescue” myself to get out of it. The miles are counting down. I’m kicking myself for choosing a route that ends with a slow and painful uphill stretch. The voice on my running app is so freaking obnoxious, but then she says, “Distance 15 miles” in the most beautifully robotic voice I have ever heard and I wish I could hug her and never let go.

Post 15-mile selfie. Never looked better.

 

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

I have found the outfit I will be running the marathon in…

 

And I am 0 for 3 in remembering to bring normal socks to the gym. Hiking socks for the win.

The Whole Enchilada

It’s been nearly two weeks since I’ve last posted and if that’s not an indication of how simultaneously busy and utterly exhausted I am then I don’t know what is. The days have been going by in a blur. When that starts to happen and you finally stop to take stock of the last few weeks that have passed by you tend to remember the good times….or the really bad times. Luckily, in terms of marathon training it’s all been pretty good but that hasn’t stopped the tough days from sticking out in my brain like a sore thumb.

One such day that sticks in my mind is a day that Coach Bob titled “The Whole Enchilada”. As well as I know Coach Bob (his is my father after all) I know that a workout with a funny title will not be fun and sure as hell will be a lot of work. So I went into it will a barely open mind, a slightly ajar mind is more like it.

It went a little something like this:

• 10 min warmup then…
• 8 x 2 minutes tempo run on treadmill with following in between:
  • 30 bicycle crunches
  • 25 squats
  • 20 lunges
  • 15 pushups
  • 10 long arm crunches
  • 5 burpees

My first thought was “oh, not too bad,” I texted him to confirm that I was supposed to do 2 mins tempo run, then the crunches, then 2 more mins, then the squats, and so on. I could almost hear the snickering from a few thousand miles away when we told me good try, but it’s 2 mins tempo run, then crunches THROUGH burpees, then 2 more mins and so on. EIGHT TIMES.

Unreal. No thank you. I should have slept in instead.

It went well until I got to about the third time through. I could only manage to pump out 10 crunches at a time, then splay out on the mat like a starfish for a few seconds, and then keep going. The lunges were slow going. I powered through the squats since I was directly facing the window whose reflection gave me a perfect view of a man doing squats with about a million pounds of weight. So I guess I could tough it out and make it through my weightless squats.

I made it through the sets five times before I felt a pretty significant pain in my right hip and honestly my butt, I guess I should say glute to be more official about it. But seriously my ass was killing me. It was pretty bad during the tempo runs and worse during the crunches. I thought it was a good time to call it a day.

Sat down to have a nice stretch. Any guesses as to which part of my body was on this mat??

I managed to fit in:

• 150 bicycle crunches
• 125 squats
• 100 lunges
• 75 pushups
• 50 long arm crunches
• 25 burpees

…all before 7am. Not bad for a day’s work. I hobbled out of the gym feeling a bit let down that I didn’t finish. I couldn’t say that I did the whole enchilada. I had a partial enchilada. So I decided to drown my sorrows and fill myself up by taking myself out to breakfast. I may not have had a whole enchilada but I had a part of an enchilada and a delicious breakfast sandwich, starting my day feeling pretty accomplished.

Now if only I could walk normally again…

 

Speed Racer

The weeks of marathon training keep rolling by. I’m feeling the impending doom of burnout but right now, in this moment, things are going well and I’m feeling great. I may not be singing the same tune after my long run this weekend, but I’m living in the moment!

I bit the bullet and have joined a gym. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is. The average temperature in February was a whole 7 degrees. SEVEN. And I was out there fighting the cold and just barely winning all month long. Now I’m treating myself to the luxury of a warm, cozy gym where the judgment is high and the treadmills are loud.

The Dowager judges you.

The last few weeks have incorporated plenty of speed work. At first I absolutely hated it and didn’t understand why I needed to do speed work. Clearly, the obvious next step was to ask Google. This article summed it up in just enough words before I got bored and moved on. It boiled down the main benefits to this:

1. It improves your running economy. Essentially, shorter, faster repeats train your body to burn less fuel while going further. It’s like getting better gas mileage.
2. It breaks up the boredom. Distances runners have to run a lot, and it’s more fun to try getting some speed in, knowing it will make you faster overall.
3. Short, fast repeats allow you to insert some volume of running at a pace that is significantly faster than race pace. If your goal is a 9:00 / mile, you’ll do workouts at 8:10-8:50 / mile, which allows 9:00 to feel easier.

So at least I know now that Coach Bob isn’t just making me do tough, painful workouts for purely torturous reasons. Doesn’t make me enjoy it any less. Buuuuut, when I’m done with those speed workouts and I’ve run faster than normal and I didn’t die or fall of the treadmill or puke or cry, I feel like the most badass chick on the planet. So they can add that benefit to the list.

Awwww, thanks Demi!

My longest run yet, 10 miles, is slated for this weekend and I’m excited and nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve run that kind of distance, I hope I remember how to cope. Here’s hoping!

Anyone else incorporate regular speed work into their training? Likes, dislikes? Do you feel the benefits?

Happy Weekend All!

GTL, minus the T.

This Valentine’s day weekend left me down in the dumps. Even though I have someone to celebrate with these days, I still think this “holiday” is a load of crap. Plus, our only plans on this lovely day of affection and overspending on chocolate were thwarted by my useless heap of a car. So basically the weekend was off to a wonderful start!

Then I checked the weather for Sunday, the day I was meant to be on a run for an hour and a half. I was hoping for a balmy 30 degrees, no wind, sunshine. And this is what I got:

In case you didn’t catch all of the important parts, I’ll point them out to you. “Bitterly cold,” “…as low as 40 below,” oh and this one is my favorite, “frostbite…in less than 15 minutes.” So it was either flake out and hit the Netflix hard, or come up with another solution. My annoying conscious won and I found myself Googling a day pass to the gym.

Although I just expressed my disdain for running on a treadmill, I didn’t really have a choice on this one. I thought I would just add it into my daily errands just before heading to the laundromat. Didn’t exactly go as planned. After driving to the next town over (where a day pass there was a whole $2 cheaper) I was informed that they closed at 3pm. It was currently 2:10pm, so that wasn’t going to work. I headed back into town, coughed up my extra $2 and hit the treadmill.

Worst part of the experience was that I forgot headphones. Of all the damn times to forget. I had to be in an enclosed room with other people (I hate other people) listening to them grunt and sweat and, if you’re the guy next to me, belch. Lovely. I also was forced to watch rugby on TV, which I don’t understand, and read the subtitle which drives me nuts.

I did not sign up for this machine.

Lastly, the treadmill told me I was the slowest human on Earth. I sped the belt up to what I thought was my usual pace only to see that it was telling me I was going over 2 minutes slower than my normal pace. Give me a break! I couldn’t figure out how to add more time and all my button pushing stopped the belt twice. Plus, I had to stare a a million different signs and people glaring saying I should only be on the machine for 30 minutes. GET OVER IT, I’m staying on here for 90 minutes. I clearly know the ins and outs of gym etiquette.

On the way out I had a small uplifting moment when I stopped to rummage for my keys and got to read what all the kids at the after school program said Valentine’s day meant to them. And this is what I was graced with:

Stacy, you have my heart.

I was so dehydrated from running in a heat box with strangers and extremely hangry after this run that I felt sick and worn out. The laundry was not happening. This day of GTL turned out to be a GES, Gym, Eat, Sleep. And I am perfectly fine with that. This experience made me absolutely LOVE my 5:30am run this morning with a temperature of -5. Bring it on Vermont!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY SUCKERS! 🙂

5 Reasons You Should NOT Do a Cleanse While Training for a Marathon

I love junk food of almost any kind, this much we know. The frequency at which I bring up ice cream alone is sometimes unbearable. It seems that my eating habits as of late have gone WAY off the deep end. Any baked good, sugary treat, or greasy goodness in my general vicinity was being shoveled into my mouth. So when I saw that a friend of mine was organizing a clean eating cleanse I thought this would be a good chance to get back on the right track and stop eating so much CRAP. I jumped on the bandwagon. I am currently on day 4 of 7. As Bro-nami told me, “You just have to get over the hump of the half way point, and then stay struggling, stuck on the hump until it’s over.” TRUTH. It has definitely been eye opening and I know that I am eating healthier but the benefits end there. And so I give to you the top 5 reasons (because surely there are many more) NOT to do a cleanse, especially if you are in the midst of training for a marathon:

1. Being in a constant state of hunger. I have come to believe that there are not enough hours in the day to eat enough of what I am allowed to feel satisfied. The word hanger has been thrown about pretty much hourly. As described in the video below, I have definitely exhibited all of types of hanger in only 4 days! That must be a record!

2. Taking grumpiness to a whole new level. I think I can speak for everyone I live with, work with, or have interacted with at all in the last for days that the hanger I am feeling has made me into a supreme bitch. Anytime someone mentions a food I’m not allowed to eat, my first and only reaction is to scream, “HOW DARE YOU. I AM ON A CLEANSE,” give or take a few expletives. After making brownies in the house the other night, B-Bop is lucky to be alive. It’s best just to steer clear of me til Monday.

Look at me all excited the night before day one! Meal preppin’ like a boss.

And now I want to punch everyone in the nose.

3. Extreme amounts of tupperware. In an attempt to eat as much as possible I have been bringing copious amounts of food to work. My poor, cute lunchbox has been forcibly packed to the gills until I realized that I had to expand. It has been rendered useless…

4. No energy to speak of. I’m pretty sure I have been functioning at the lowest possible energy level just above being asleep. I’m tired at 10am, noon, 2pm, and everywhere in between. I’m not even sure I’m actually awake right now…

5. Working out is TOUGH. I went for a run today and just felt like lying down on the sidewalk. My average pace was 1:30 over my target for this run. Thing is, I couldn’t move my legs any faster. I was trying but they were giving me nothin’.

But hey, I’m over the hump right? Or I’m at least on it and riding it like a camel all the way to Sunday at midnight where you can find me here:

Winter Running Is Somethin’ Else

As much as I hate to say it, because I am winter/snow/cold’s number one fan, the day has come that I feel just a tad annoyed at running through the winter. Vermont has finally received some significant snowfall, which makes me wish I had a tail to wag to show how excited I am. But with this snowfall has come subzero temperatures, salt EVERYWHERE, and a pretty sad showing by the city plows.

This weekend put a nice cap on my first complete week of training (thanks to the slight IT band issue I’ve been nursing). I managed to pack in 16 miles between Friday and Sunday. These days had high temperatures such as 8˚ and 0˚, numbers I typically use to describe how many glasses of wine I want to drink and how many I wish I had drank when I wake up the next day, respectively.

By the time I was out on these runs the sidewalks were mostly clear. The windchill was definitely something to write home about. And my motivation was as low as the temperatures. That being said, I refuse to succumb to the treadmill or the indoor track. Unless Coach Bob tells me I can’t go on without moving indoors or I lose a toe to frostbite, I will stay outside as long as possible.

Make sure to be seen!

My main argument as to why I love the cold is that you can always get warmer if you try. Drink some tea, put some slippers on, don a head to toe sweatsuit. The number of items of clothing I shimmied into this weekend for ONE run was well into the double digits. Thermals under running tights, two shirts, a jacket, neck warmer, hat, gloves, warm socks…and the list goes on and on. If they made fleece underwear you can bet I would have been wearing it. Back in the summer it used to take me 30+ minutes to muster up the motivation to get outside. Nowadays, it takes me longer than that to put on my 43 layers. Forget motivation, I need to get outside before I sweat my ass off. I now know that the largest setting on a watch band is not made for when the Hulk is wearing said watch but is instead made to fit around three layers and a glove. This ensures an enormously awkward feeling and a small amount of space for ice to develop under the watch during your run. Good times!

With all this snow fall I still haven’t taken a spill during a run, knock on wood. Which seems strange because I took more than a few diggers when there was not a flake to be found on the ground. Can’t win em’ all right? At least I can say I didn’t fall on my ass after pretentiously gushing about my love of running through the winter like this woman…

Marathon Training: Week One

…did not go so well.

The week started off great. I’ve got all this adrenaline, it’s week one, I’m training for a damn marathon, people think I’m crazy, which is great because I AM, I’m starting off on the right foot!

Day One: Strength. In which I do more squats, hamstring curls, reverse lunges, and jump squats in one evening then I ever want to do in my life. About 100,000 in all…which is only a mild exaggeration. Fun fact: I took a personality test at work that said I tend to exaggerate. What do they think they know me or something????

Day Two: Spinning. LOVE these days. I’m pumped Coach Bob is on-board with cross training cause it’s my jam. So is spinning cause the jams are always on point. I went to a rap/R&B themed class which isn’t usually my go-to but the instructor that teaches it is my go-to soooo it was a no brainer and an awesome class!

Day Three: Easy Run. Three easy miles for day three. Averaged 10:00 minutes miles, just had a good time and tried not to eat it on all of the ice, had some pretty entertaining near misses though.

Day Four: Day Off. In preparation for a big weekend of hard work. But I woke up and felt mild tightness in my hip. Walked up the hill to work and it turned into a mild pain. Didn’t think much of it and went to broomball that night cause we’re a dynasty and reigning champs so there was no other choice…and I could barely walk post game. Seriously hobbling like an old woman. Any weight on my leg was creating some serious pain along the outside of my hip. Talked to Coach Bob, pain was consistent with an IT band issue, and so the hard-work-filled weekend became…

Rest and Recover: Total of 4 Days. Technically I played broomball on the first night so I wouldn’t exactly call that a complete day off, the next day I may or may not have gone ice climbing (don’t tell Coach Bob) so I wouldn’t count that one either, so I’ve had a good two days of rest. Equipped with some stretches from Coach I’ll hopefully be good to go for week two.

Here’s to a better week!

A glimpse of the dynasty in action.

Taking the Plunge Into Marathon Land

The Oatmeal has never let me down.

I have officially signed up for my first marathon! I feel a new level of insanity, a sharp tinge of nervousness, and a bit of regret thinking about all the other things I could have spent that money on. Just a minute while I mentally work out how many pints of Ben & Jerry’s that could have gotten me….oh and did you hear about their new flavors?! I digress…

This week will mark my first week of marathon training. I am also a week out from starting my first class in my quest to go back to school. I also play broomball regularly. And hockey occasionally. And I work full time. And have I mentioned my undying love for Netflix? And my god, why do I think I have time to train for a marathon?!

Coach Bob has assured me that it can be done. Yes, it is true that many people training for marathons run most days in a week. But over in my world we sure do love the cross training. I may not log the insane amount of miles that others might but come race day I know I will be ready if Coach Bob says I’ll be ready. That being said I have taken a peek at my first workout, which starts with “5 x 50 squats” and that is where I promptly stopped reading because I suddenly hit with a wave of nausea. I am going to need some serious Taylor Swift blaring in the background to drown out the whining I will inevitably be doing. Yay.

There are only 123 days until race day and I’m only mildly freaking out. Once I get into full swing of training I’m sure the anxiety will subside. Right? Until then it’s Vermont City Marathon here I come!