Wednesday, February 28, 2007

catching up

"It is not gymnastics or ice skating you know."
-Emil Zatopek

Emil was a very famous czech runner. He won three gold medals at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in 5,000, 10,000 and marathon setting Olympic records in all three distances. He was also known by his very particular facial expressions that were pained and not very pleasant to look at....

I'm sure my face has looked a lot like his these past days of running. As it should. IT IS NOT GYMNASTICS or ICE SKATING! I completely agree. My face is pained and even, contorted at times....struggling to get up a hill or simply to make the last .5 mile of a 12 mile run. It hurts. it is painful. There is nothing pleasant about it....which is why i have such a love of it.

Last Weekend Runs:
Sat: 9 miles, strong, hilly
Sun: 12.3 miles, slow, steady, hilly

I took the day off from work today...a "vacation" day. Wanna know one of the major reasons i took the day off: so i could be sure I got in an 8 miler. This speaks to the true GEEK that I am. If there is anyone else out there like me, you know who you are.

Now, I will go and reward myself with a long overdue massage!

Monday, February 19, 2007

Unfavorable Conditions

How I hope this will be true:

"There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race."
-Emil Zatopek


Sunday's run: temperature, 28 degrees w/ some wind
Goal: 20 miles

Actual: 14.8 miles

Again, i ran part of the marathon course. While i plodded along, listening to ipod shuffled songs, i thought to myself early on, "hey, i'm just glad i made it out the door."

Then, at the first hour mark, "hey, one hour down only 2 to go"

Then, at one hour, 10 minute mark, "ok. just focus on getting to 1:30, then you are halfway done"

By 1:20, "ok. let's just focus on the next 10 minutes, 10 minutes..."

That seemed to work until about 2:20. My legs were tired and the left hamstring was soooo tight. AAUGGGHHHHH

I rounded a corner, did about 3 minutes flat and the last 2 minutes all uphill. Finished at 2:33. Not happy.

it was just fucking grueling out there on sunday. cold, wind in my face in some areas and, at times, i could not feel my jaw.

No, i am not happy with this result. My only solace is that i have another day....another day....

Saturday, February 17, 2007

a short recap

Post Half-Marathon physical comments: not nearly as sore as i thought i'd be..a good thing.

Post Half-Marathon emotional comments: very pleased, proud of the race & end result. I think the biggest benefit is the mental aspect...the thrill of doing a race while still training for an even longer one. Gives confidence and certainly breaks up some of the monotony that can happen while running all the long runs solo.

This week so far: 2 days spent at gym, on treadmill. a quick 3 miles, then slower 6. Both days, i felt like i labored. Heavy work week adding to fatigue.

This morning: on tired legs, went out for a solid 6 with hills. It was so needed to be outside again, even in 27 degree temps at the beginning. I needed to feel the air, the pull of the hills, the delight of the downhills....

Going for 20 tomorrow.

Train Hard, Train Smart.

Cheers.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Race Day

Location: Birmingham, AL
Temperature: 27 degrees

Pre-Race Breakfast: crappy hotel coffee, water, Chocolate Powerbar

Here I am at 6am in Birmingham, AL. A quick 2 hour drive from Atlanta. The streets are dark and empty as I look outside my hotel window. I eat and drink the same items before every long run. Only today, the coffee is a few notches below my snobby expectations. oh well. I am awake enough. I ran this same race last year and wanted to do it again. 13 miles is on my schedule to day anyway for my marathon training, so the timing was perfect.

It will be cold. It will be a hilly race. I am eager and ready for the challenge. My last race was back in Sept. 2006. Much to long....I am happy to get out there and line up with the rest of us fools. I guess we have nothing better to do on a cold, early, sunday morning!!! This will be a nice break in my training. Since I prefer to do most of my training alone, it will be especially nice to run long with a bunch of other folks. I am not too concerned with my finish time; i am more focused on having a solid run & paying attention to my body.

I will never forget last year as i stood at the starting line with the others who were running the half and some the FULL marathon...i looked around at all in their warm gear, with smiling, excited faces and thought...yep, this is where I belong.

see you at the finish line

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, I couldn't quite totally let go of not being too concerned with my finish time. I had a good pace from the get go and checked my watch at every mile. I was solid, steady, focused. I also had fun!! it was so great to race again!! the atmosphere is so unique and if you have been there, you know what i mean. Finish time: 2 hours, 3 minutes. (same as last year, amazingly enough) Faster than i needed to go or thought i would go. I was in a happy daze as i walked around the finish area. I was holding a thermal blanket, my t-shirt, a cool medal a volunteer placed around my neck, a banana, water, and powerade.

Thank you, again, Birmingham. Thank you.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Hey Ya!

Very solid back to back runs on Saturday & Sunday. This was the most I have run back to back so far (for this marathon training). Last weekend, I let myself off pretty easy by running long on Saturday and then a short 4 on Sunday. These past weekend, I did a strong 7 miler on Saturday followed by a slow and determined 16 miler on Sunday. BEFORE I even began, my legs were heavy & tired from the day before. I had no idea how far I would go…all I was focused on was putting one foot in front of the other. Here and there, I got some spontaneous bouts of energy/adrenaline. Let me tell you, it was needed on this chilly 34 degree morning. (Saturday was 28 degrees) One of the highlights of the run came about mile 12. I had just turned a corner and was headed up a small yet steady hill of about 1/2 mile. As I trudged up the hill on my fatigued legs, "HEY YA" by Outkast came up on my IPOD. And lo and behold, there I was shaking my body and moving my head and "dancing" as I was singing…"shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture…" It was sooo great…me, the goofball, with multi-colored running clothes on, black Asics fleecy cap, water bottle in hand, nose running from the cold…grooving to Outkast. No, that must have been a site!!

See…you never know what will keep you going out there on the roads….
Whatever it takes, baby... whatever it takes!!

Cheers