Friday:
29:13 run, 3.3 miles, 8:45 approx. pace.
Hilly terrain in neighborhood
15:00 - walk home
______________________________________________________________
Saturday:
37:26 run, 3.8 miles, Hilly terrain in Brookhaven neighborhood
6:30 - walk back to car
______________________________________________________________
Sunday:
45:25 bike ride, 12 miles & Silver Comet Trail
18:26 run, 2 miles, 9:15 approx. pace & Silver Comet Trail
Went to gym and lifted
I feel very good about these trainings. Each training was done LESS than 24 hours after the prior one. (Not by specific design, just the way it worked out)
Friday’s run was after work on a warm evening. I was also in a crappy-ass mood and diddn’t feel like running at all. Once I got going however, I think I was able to just totally zone out and focus on my breathing and ended up having a great time.
Saturday’s run was immediately after working in office for 4 hours. I went in to help clean out some storage rooms as we are undergoing some changes at work and need some extra space. 4 hours of carrying boxes, re-packing boxes, etc..
Running in Brookhaven neighborhood is always a pleasure. One of the more prestigious hoods in Atlanta. Most of the run was on the outskirts of the golf course with a small lake on the course. The streets are very wide, lawns are immaculate and tall, overflowing green trees all over the place. It always gives off a very serene & peaceful feeling there. Even though I saw many cyclists, runners, & walkers, I still felt very much alone and with plenty of space. What a gorgeous area. I’m sure there are no houses there priced under a million, BTW.
Sunday’s training was done at Silver Comet Trail, approx 20 minute drive from Atlanta. I had not been to this trail since last July when a cyclist had been murdered. I know it was a fairly random act, but it kept me away for almost a year.
It was fantastic to get out there again. This paved trail, tree-lined & mile marked is a great place to do flat training. On this beautiful Sunday, there were many cyclists, runners, walkers, rollerbladers out...reminding me that the trail belongs to US.
I’m feeling stronger & stronger on the bike. How great to not have to worry about cars, potholes and traffic lights.
I wasn’t sure how i would feel today after back to back workouts and saturday’s less than 24 hours prior---so getting in another 2 miles afterwards was awesome.
I grabbed some Citrus Cooler Gatorade(which is THE BEST flavor, IMO) afterwards, headed to the gym and got some weights in.
A varied, fun, & inspring training weekend. The coolest part about all of this is the fact I have no future race or anything on my schedule. I am just training to train; get better, get fitter, keep finding out what works & what doesn’t.
Train Hard, Train Strong.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Re-Cap
Saturday: 8 mile bike ride, 32 minutes
1 mile run & track - 8:41
Sunday: 3 mile walk, 7.8 mile bike ride 30:41
Tuesday: 25:48 3 mile on treadmill
Thursday: 29:09 runin neighborhood; 10 min walk home
Been varying the workouts lately which has been noticeably fun and helpful to my body. It's so fun to ride in nice weather and so nice to go faster on my runs.
-Train Hard, Train Smart
1 mile run & track - 8:41
Sunday: 3 mile walk, 7.8 mile bike ride 30:41
Tuesday: 25:48 3 mile on treadmill
Thursday: 29:09 runin neighborhood; 10 min walk home
Been varying the workouts lately which has been noticeably fun and helpful to my body. It's so fun to ride in nice weather and so nice to go faster on my runs.
-Train Hard, Train Smart
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Recap:
Sunday: another 1 hour plus run on the ASKA trails!! Gorgeous, quiet, cool
Tuesday: “Interval” workout on Thrillmill & GYM
4 x 200
{8 min pace, 7:53, 7:53, 7:47}
2 x 300
{8 min pace}
Felt awesome! A great switch up after coming back from woods, trails, & hills!!
Thursday:
It’s been great weather this week in the ATL, so I decided to bring my running stuff with me to work & run home after work was over. I could run the oh-so famed PEACHTREE ROAD RACE course and then some. Appproximately 7.5 miles home. I also thought, it’s fine if i don’t make it the whole way since there are big hills, i slept like crap after having 2 delicious margaritas night before, and body is just tired. Whatever I didn’t run, i would walk. But, since I HATE walking, the motivation to keep running was high!
It was very freeing to run after work instead of drive home. I would ideally like to rely less on my car, if i can. I’m gonna keep working at it.
I had my fuelbelt on, my blackberry in back pocket, keys, debit card & ID. I felt happy running while so many were stuck in traffic. (inhaling the fumes was not so great, but oh well) The course is always tough, but i am determined to finish with a better time if i get into the race.
Before I knew it, I was making my way into Piedmont Park and seeing so many people out -- taking advantage of the warm, no humidity weather.
I decided to stop there at 57:00. I walked over to see if TRADER JOE’s had opened and it had!! Yippee. We have all been waiting for this!!
I walked in. Got a few things for dinner and carried the sack home about a mile away.
I felt good about doing somethin’ good for our planet. And good for my body.
Good for my Soul.
<>
Tuesday: “Interval” workout on Thrillmill & GYM
4 x 200
{8 min pace, 7:53, 7:53, 7:47}
2 x 300
{8 min pace}
Felt awesome! A great switch up after coming back from woods, trails, & hills!!
Thursday:
It’s been great weather this week in the ATL, so I decided to bring my running stuff with me to work & run home after work was over. I could run the oh-so famed PEACHTREE ROAD RACE course and then some. Appproximately 7.5 miles home. I also thought, it’s fine if i don’t make it the whole way since there are big hills, i slept like crap after having 2 delicious margaritas night before, and body is just tired. Whatever I didn’t run, i would walk. But, since I HATE walking, the motivation to keep running was high!
It was very freeing to run after work instead of drive home. I would ideally like to rely less on my car, if i can. I’m gonna keep working at it.
I had my fuelbelt on, my blackberry in back pocket, keys, debit card & ID. I felt happy running while so many were stuck in traffic. (inhaling the fumes was not so great, but oh well) The course is always tough, but i am determined to finish with a better time if i get into the race.
Before I knew it, I was making my way into Piedmont Park and seeing so many people out -- taking advantage of the warm, no humidity weather.
I decided to stop there at 57:00. I walked over to see if TRADER JOE’s had opened and it had!! Yippee. We have all been waiting for this!!
I walked in. Got a few things for dinner and carried the sack home about a mile away.
I felt good about doing somethin’ good for our planet. And good for my body.
Good for my Soul.
<
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Trail Run/Hike
I've been aching to get away from the city, so I FINALLY did this weekend. Just 2 hours away from the hustle & bustle of Atlanta and I totally feel like I am States away!!!
Had no idea where to go for a run, so i perused some of the material in my quaint, cozy cabin. Though I found no specific running trails, i found a bunch of info on hiking/mountain biking trails. After having coffee and writing a partial letter to a friend, i put my gear on and headed for the trail. The area was actually this: ASKA
As I neared one of the trailheads, i had come upon an adventure race in progress. So, rather than being out in the middle of this place solo, i was surrounded by lots of folks on their mountain bikes. I actually was thankful because often times being out in the woods scares me! Maybe because i grew up in the city. I mean, i would rather go running through the worst parts of Atlanta, GA or Oakland, CA than go out in the woods alone. I know, it's a bit weird. Anyways.
I had to park my car about 1 mile from trailhead and go from there. So, i took off running a mile uphill on a forest road. Then, the real trail began; a very hilly technical trail. It felt so awesome to finally be back on a trail. To smell the cleaner air, to listen to the sounds of nothing, to see so much of nature all around me was invigorating and exhilirating. Not to mention the andrenaline was pumping because somewhere in the back of my mind i think there is some pyscho-killer just waiting out there....
The trail was very difficult and it was more of a trail run/hike than a true run. i definitely had to hike some of it if i wanted to last a bit. and this was fine by me because really i just wanted to be out there. also, i didn't have much water at all, so i knew i had to ration accordingly. At one point, i turned around and headed in another direction and felt like i was flying down the trail...it was so much fun to go fast and it made me realize even more how steep the uphill direction was. Going downhill on trail is fun and exciting because you really have to watch your footing. My arms were flailing about at one point...i felt like a little kid. SO MUCH FUN!!!
After a bit, i got back to where i parked and saw more of the adventure racers coming and going. They looked tired, but determined. I cheered some of them on.
All in all, i was out there on the trails for 1 hour, 15 minutes. I hope to get out again tomorrow before heading back into the bright lights, big city.
TRAIN HARD, TRAIN SMART
Had no idea where to go for a run, so i perused some of the material in my quaint, cozy cabin. Though I found no specific running trails, i found a bunch of info on hiking/mountain biking trails. After having coffee and writing a partial letter to a friend, i put my gear on and headed for the trail. The area was actually this: ASKA
As I neared one of the trailheads, i had come upon an adventure race in progress. So, rather than being out in the middle of this place solo, i was surrounded by lots of folks on their mountain bikes. I actually was thankful because often times being out in the woods scares me! Maybe because i grew up in the city. I mean, i would rather go running through the worst parts of Atlanta, GA or Oakland, CA than go out in the woods alone. I know, it's a bit weird. Anyways.
I had to park my car about 1 mile from trailhead and go from there. So, i took off running a mile uphill on a forest road. Then, the real trail began; a very hilly technical trail. It felt so awesome to finally be back on a trail. To smell the cleaner air, to listen to the sounds of nothing, to see so much of nature all around me was invigorating and exhilirating. Not to mention the andrenaline was pumping because somewhere in the back of my mind i think there is some pyscho-killer just waiting out there....
The trail was very difficult and it was more of a trail run/hike than a true run. i definitely had to hike some of it if i wanted to last a bit. and this was fine by me because really i just wanted to be out there. also, i didn't have much water at all, so i knew i had to ration accordingly. At one point, i turned around and headed in another direction and felt like i was flying down the trail...it was so much fun to go fast and it made me realize even more how steep the uphill direction was. Going downhill on trail is fun and exciting because you really have to watch your footing. My arms were flailing about at one point...i felt like a little kid. SO MUCH FUN!!!
After a bit, i got back to where i parked and saw more of the adventure racers coming and going. They looked tired, but determined. I cheered some of them on.
All in all, i was out there on the trails for 1 hour, 15 minutes. I hope to get out again tomorrow before heading back into the bright lights, big city.
TRAIN HARD, TRAIN SMART
Friday, April 6, 2007
just an entry
"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, "are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?"
-Peter Maher
JOE often mentions the Thrillmill in his posts. Having had the day off for Good Friday, I went to the gym and found it nearly empty. YEAH! I got on the ThrillMill and did the following:
warmup
6 x 400 meters @
2:00 each
cool down
weights
--a solid, short workout. so nice to go fast after logging what has felt like so many slooooow miles.
-the rest of the runs this week were all short and not much else to say about 'em.
Hopefully gonna get out on a trail tomorrow and get off the damn pavement. I have been craving the dirt, the trees, the smells, the varied terrain of being "out there" instead of being just outside.
>>TRAIN STRONG<<
-Peter Maher
JOE often mentions the Thrillmill in his posts. Having had the day off for Good Friday, I went to the gym and found it nearly empty. YEAH! I got on the ThrillMill and did the following:
warmup
6 x 400 meters @
2:00 each
cool down
weights
--a solid, short workout. so nice to go fast after logging what has felt like so many slooooow miles.
-the rest of the runs this week were all short and not much else to say about 'em.
Hopefully gonna get out on a trail tomorrow and get off the damn pavement. I have been craving the dirt, the trees, the smells, the varied terrain of being "out there" instead of being just outside.
>>TRAIN STRONG<<
Sunday, April 1, 2007
extra stuff
some geeky training stats
For an 18 week training period for the marathon:
Total Mileage Logged - approx. 452.8 miles
Avg per week = 25.15
( i think this could have been part of my finish time disappointment. for previos trainings, i have logged my miles)
from about 4 weeks into my 18 week training, i wrote down all the gels, gu’s, powerbars, etc... ingested. These numbers also reflect race day.
POWERBARS: 24
POWERGELS: 7
ClifBars: 14
Accelarade Gels: 2
BALANCE BARS: 5
GU’s: 3
CLIFSHOTS: 4
Massages: 4, at least
For an 18 week training period for the marathon:
Total Mileage Logged - approx. 452.8 miles
Avg per week = 25.15
( i think this could have been part of my finish time disappointment. for previos trainings, i have logged my miles)
from about 4 weeks into my 18 week training, i wrote down all the gels, gu’s, powerbars, etc... ingested. These numbers also reflect race day.
POWERBARS: 24
POWERGELS: 7
ClifBars: 14
Accelarade Gels: 2
BALANCE BARS: 5
GU’s: 3
CLIFSHOTS: 4
Massages: 4, at least
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Race Report
“To describe the agony of a marathon to somone who’s never run it is like trying to describe color to someone who was born blind.”
-jerome drayton - canadian marathon, won boston 1977
This was a very different experience for me in many, many ways. It was the first time for many things:
first time i ran a marathon in the city in which i live; first time i had a co-hort with me...planning, sharing excitement, going to the expo, going to the starting line together(SL ran the HALF); first time i forgot my timing chip; first time i ever walked during a race; first time i ever wanted to just STOP and not finish....
On prior race days, especially prior marathon days, when i awake, i can pretty much tell instinctively if i will have a “good” day. sunday, 3/25, was not one of those times. I was anxious, nervous, and very, very tight on my body and i never loosened up during the whole race. From the start, i could feel my legs, for whatever reason, just did not have it on this day. So. I kept on.
It was a beautiful morning in Atlanta...starting time with just a sliver of morning darkness remaining and 66 degree temps...much, much too warm, but that is just the way it goes.
It was an overly congested start with people WALKING smackin the middle of the road....um...hello??
This is one of the biggest things that irritate me! if you are going to walk, great, but go to the far right or start in the back. here i am, trying to manuever my way through the congestion and pick up a little pace and then, SMACK, HALT..walkers!! Not good race etiquette!!
Finally, we get to some wider roads and i can breathe and soon enough the half-marathoners split before mile 4 and the rest of us go on to a much more demanding course!
This was the ING inagural race for Atlanta and with every first timer, it had it’s problems...no water stops between miles 4-8. YIKES! We were all suffering with the hills in between and the rising temps. WOW! My hips and thighs were tight and hurting, but i was still moving at a good clip...on pace to finish in 4:15-4:20, which were my previous marathon times. I felt like i could sustain the pace. Until.
Coming out of the Emory University area to a short little downhill, we then entered my next door neighborhood of Druid Hills. I know these hills well. However, the planners threw in 2 I had not seen on the map and WHOA!! These were mile 16-17 and man, they got me. Also, let me mention, there had been only 1 Powerade stop along the way so far! And these were not the only hills so far, these were just the toughest, the steepest. Coming around to mile 18, was my corner....the corner that was just steps away from where i live and i thought, “i could just stop...” and then i saw my friend C. smiling, waving, cheering me on like crazy. I kept going. Slower. Much slower. The last 4 miles had taken a lot out of me and my perhaps 9:50 pace quickly turned into more like 11:00. YIKES. You know you are hurting when the DOWNHILLS hurt and that is what i encoumtered next. Soon enough, i am walking, stretching, trying to get my body do DO SOMETHING. GET BETTER. QUICK. I looked around and so more folks like me. We were all suffering. So many runners were taking walk breaks, streching their calfs, the quads. It was probably mid 70’s by this time. I had ingested 4 different gels by this time, but it was not nearly enough replenishment. I was famished. Physically battling this demanding course, i was also battling mentally. i had to “let go” of my desire to finish in 4:15-4:20. forget it. no way. And the pain was so deep...i thought, “i could just stop. not finish. go home. my house is sooo close.” Then, i looked around at “my fellow teammates” who were struggling too. How could i bail? “Angie, you will finish ths race. you WILL finish this race.”
And that was that. The last 6 miles were excruciating and then at some point, my body was just numb. My legs felt like they were just shuffling along. A far cry from my last marathon where i was sooo strong the entire way, especially the last 5 miles...and that was in san francisco!! The last 3 miles were gradually uphill on Peachtree Street, in the climbing temperaturesup to 80 degrees with lots of folks cheering us on. All our bib numbers had our names on them so people were cheering, “go Angie..you are almost there.”
And i was...i could see the finish banner and wanted to kick and sprint. but this was another first: i had not finishing kick. none whatsoever. my legs heavy like bricks...i was just satisfied to cross the damn finish line.
Time was the SLOWEST of all my other marathons.
4:53
What i know is that i DID IT. For the 5th time, I did it. It takes so much just to get there...the starting line. And i found that i can go much further even when in much pain.
This was the most challenging, most demanding, most humbling race i have ever done.
“if you want to win something, run 100 meters. if you want to experience something, run a marathon.”
-Emil Zatopek
-jerome drayton - canadian marathon, won boston 1977
This was a very different experience for me in many, many ways. It was the first time for many things:
first time i ran a marathon in the city in which i live; first time i had a co-hort with me...planning, sharing excitement, going to the expo, going to the starting line together(SL ran the HALF); first time i forgot my timing chip; first time i ever walked during a race; first time i ever wanted to just STOP and not finish....
On prior race days, especially prior marathon days, when i awake, i can pretty much tell instinctively if i will have a “good” day. sunday, 3/25, was not one of those times. I was anxious, nervous, and very, very tight on my body and i never loosened up during the whole race. From the start, i could feel my legs, for whatever reason, just did not have it on this day. So. I kept on.
It was a beautiful morning in Atlanta...starting time with just a sliver of morning darkness remaining and 66 degree temps...much, much too warm, but that is just the way it goes.
It was an overly congested start with people WALKING smackin the middle of the road....um...hello??
This is one of the biggest things that irritate me! if you are going to walk, great, but go to the far right or start in the back. here i am, trying to manuever my way through the congestion and pick up a little pace and then, SMACK, HALT..walkers!! Not good race etiquette!!
Finally, we get to some wider roads and i can breathe and soon enough the half-marathoners split before mile 4 and the rest of us go on to a much more demanding course!
This was the ING inagural race for Atlanta and with every first timer, it had it’s problems...no water stops between miles 4-8. YIKES! We were all suffering with the hills in between and the rising temps. WOW! My hips and thighs were tight and hurting, but i was still moving at a good clip...on pace to finish in 4:15-4:20, which were my previous marathon times. I felt like i could sustain the pace. Until.
Coming out of the Emory University area to a short little downhill, we then entered my next door neighborhood of Druid Hills. I know these hills well. However, the planners threw in 2 I had not seen on the map and WHOA!! These were mile 16-17 and man, they got me. Also, let me mention, there had been only 1 Powerade stop along the way so far! And these were not the only hills so far, these were just the toughest, the steepest. Coming around to mile 18, was my corner....the corner that was just steps away from where i live and i thought, “i could just stop...” and then i saw my friend C. smiling, waving, cheering me on like crazy. I kept going. Slower. Much slower. The last 4 miles had taken a lot out of me and my perhaps 9:50 pace quickly turned into more like 11:00. YIKES. You know you are hurting when the DOWNHILLS hurt and that is what i encoumtered next. Soon enough, i am walking, stretching, trying to get my body do DO SOMETHING. GET BETTER. QUICK. I looked around and so more folks like me. We were all suffering. So many runners were taking walk breaks, streching their calfs, the quads. It was probably mid 70’s by this time. I had ingested 4 different gels by this time, but it was not nearly enough replenishment. I was famished. Physically battling this demanding course, i was also battling mentally. i had to “let go” of my desire to finish in 4:15-4:20. forget it. no way. And the pain was so deep...i thought, “i could just stop. not finish. go home. my house is sooo close.” Then, i looked around at “my fellow teammates” who were struggling too. How could i bail? “Angie, you will finish ths race. you WILL finish this race.”
And that was that. The last 6 miles were excruciating and then at some point, my body was just numb. My legs felt like they were just shuffling along. A far cry from my last marathon where i was sooo strong the entire way, especially the last 5 miles...and that was in san francisco!! The last 3 miles were gradually uphill on Peachtree Street, in the climbing temperaturesup to 80 degrees with lots of folks cheering us on. All our bib numbers had our names on them so people were cheering, “go Angie..you are almost there.”
And i was...i could see the finish banner and wanted to kick and sprint. but this was another first: i had not finishing kick. none whatsoever. my legs heavy like bricks...i was just satisfied to cross the damn finish line.
Time was the SLOWEST of all my other marathons.
4:53
What i know is that i DID IT. For the 5th time, I did it. It takes so much just to get there...the starting line. And i found that i can go much further even when in much pain.
This was the most challenging, most demanding, most humbling race i have ever done.
“if you want to win something, run 100 meters. if you want to experience something, run a marathon.”
-Emil Zatopek
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