Chasing Awesome

Spring - and the first pikermi ("half marathon") season of the year is officially behind me. It was really a mixed bag for me. After injuring my leg and being unable to walk after last fall's Quad Cities Half Marathon, my main goal for the spring was to run smart and not re-injure myself. I managed that, but not much else. Brutal allergies made the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon a brutal experience. We all know how things went for me in Madison. The only saving grace of the season (well, besides not breaking my leg) came with a solid 2 hour effort at the Quad Cities Distance Classic

In short, I survived. I didn't get hurt. But I didn't do anything truly amazing, either. I can't help but notice that all of the PRs there on the side are from 2009 or later. I need a new one. I need to come up with a big audacious goal and just go for it. So here it is:

I want to run the Bix in 63:00.

I considered making my goal one hour or less, but honestly, on a crowded and hilly 7 mile course, that might be awfully hard to pull off. 9:00 splits will also be hard to pull off, but I feel more confident I can do it.

Training officially starts today. I'm going to rock some hill training, a lot more speed work than I did this spring, and smart eating.

Can I do it? Maybe, maybe not. But I know that I need to try. It's time to chase down some Awesome.

Inspiration is everywhere

Running my personal worst time for a pikermi (also known as a half marathon) should have me feeling down. But the fact of the matter is, it felt great to get out there and race hard, no matter what the end result.

The experience has inspired me to train harder for my next pikermi, which is on May 9. I'm adding more speedwork, plus hills every other week. Predictably, this has been kicking my butt... though in a good way! Then on Sunday, I ran with my running club and totally rocked out a ten miler.

I'm being realistic - I know that a PR might not be in the cards for me this spring... but it could happen in the fall. I am just happy to be training hard.

In the meantime, I have a 5K to run on Saturday, one I haven't done before. There is a kids' race as well. I signed Jack up, since not only does my boy love to race, but it's free for kids. Can't say no to that. Jack's race is a half mile, which will be the longest he's raced before.

When I registered Jack, I had every confidence that he could run 1/2 a mile... but that it might not be pretty. Like any kid, Jack isn't exactly the best at pacing himself. He likes to go out running like a maniac, arms waving wildly, which is not your best long distance strategy.

So, last night, Jack and I went to the track together so that he could see what half a mile feels like. Sure enough, he raced out as fast as he could, then slowed down a lot after the first 100 meters. He'd slow down, then surge over and over again. At the end, I think he understood that for a distance that long, a bit of strategy is important.

We took a water break, then Jack begged me to let him run another half mile. I said okay, but only if he'd run my pace, then kick it in when I told him to, no sooner. Jack ran with me at a more comfortable speed, with a few reminders to run relaxed and strong. With 100 meters to go, Jack kicked it around the final curve, happily crossing the finish line.

Living with someone who takes such joy in running, how can I not feel excited about hitting the track myself? That's my plan for tonight, and I am going to love every minute of it.

Badass 800s

Bart Yasso, step aside: I have invented a new speed workout.

Bart invented the Yasso 800, in which a runner does a series of 800 meter track repeats which miraculously predict their marathon finishing time. Nice.

But the workout I've invented is much tougher: Badass 800s.

Yesterday (the day which running history will note as the dawn of this new test of mettle), I drove to a nearby park and did a short warmup. Then, I went to the top of a long hill, set Paula Garmin, and had at it.

A Badass 800 consists of running down that steep hill, around a pond (the icy patches are optional to the workout), then finishing by running up that same steep hill, a total of 800 meters.

Badass 800s help a runner build fast twitch muscles, practice running downhill without killing your quads or falling flat on your face, navigate an undulating path that's far from track-flat, then handle a steep uphill when you're fatigued.

In short, they make you totally badass.

Yesterday, I did 4 Badass 800 repeats and went home feeling pretty much invincible. As I look ahead to the 2010 racing season, I am going to conquer every hill that I see.

Last one!

Sunday marked my last long run before next week's half marathon trisko. The entire group - both those training for the marathon and for the trisko - ran eight miles. Russ, our coach, told us to run them easy, have fun, and try to run with somebody new.

That sounded like a good idea, so I kept my iPod in my pocket and found a couple of runners to hang out with for eight miles. I'm glad I did. Both women were training for their first marathon, and it was fun to hear what they were thinking about and how excited they were about their first race.

After the run, we had a potluck picnic. I read somewhere that runners have no guilt at the buffet table, and our training group definitely proved that. One guy loaded up his plate with both fried chicken and doughnuts. John, another of our coaches, had a cinnamon roll in one hand, and a beer in the other - a fine Sunday morning breakfast. My own breakfast included a ham sandwich, tuna noodle casserole (surprisingly delicious after an 8 mile run and before 9:00 in the morning), lots of fruit, and cake.

So now, with that last run behind me, I am feeling excited. I have my race day outfit ready to go (featuring a new pair of Wright Socks), have looked at the course map, and am excited to do some shopping at the expo. Let's get this party started.

Runner II: Electric Boogaloo

I set off for a 3 mile neighborhood run today to shake off the cobwebs of a day of hanging out with a sick little boy (croup + strep = no fun) and to test out my latest pair of WrightSocks, this time the Runner II.

I was overcome with a strong feeling of "Meh" about the whole thing. Lately, I've been pretty solidly rocking out my long runs, or at least getting through them in heroic efforts. But I am having trouble mustering up much enthusiasm for my shorter runs during the week. It is really not a good thing, you guys, because I can't run a great half marathon just based on great long runs.

Today, I attempted to make my neighborhood 3 miler a little more exciting by Running Like Jack. Running like Jack means occasionally tearing off at full tilt. And it means that if I see a puddle, I am going to blaze through it and splash as much as possible.

Running Like Jack made that 3 mile run more memorable and helped me muster up more enthusiasm for something that has gotten mundane. I am also happy to report that the Runner II held up like a champ. Even soaking wet, I had no blisters, chafing, or discomfort.

Lonely Too Long

For a long time, I've really preferred to run alone. That's still true - the solitude and silence can be absolutely great. But at the same time, I really want to get more involved in my local running community. I want to know my fellow runners and be able to chat with people I see at races - that was one of my 2009 goals. So, when the opportunity to join a training group for the Quad Cities Distance Classic half marathon trisko, I decided to go for it.

Turns out, running with a group is fun... and doesn't cramp my style at all. There are cool people to hang out and talk with before we hit the trails. I usually end up running by myself, but I can join someone else if I want to.

So, when the opportunity presented itself through my running club to train for fall races, I jumped on it. For fifty bucks, I get supported group runs every week, coaching, access to weekly track workouts, a discount for the Quad Cities Marathon or trisko, a pasta party, and a t-shirt. Sold!

The group has been wildly popular. There are 120 people signed up right now to train for fall marathons and triskos. Last Tuesday, I went to my first group track workout and saw that about a hundred people showed up. One hundred people, willing to do speedwork on a sweltering hot Tuesday night! I am so proud of my running club.

Dress Rehearsal

Thanks to my involvement with my local running club, I had a great opportunity on Sunday morning. We ran a 13.1 mile training run for the Quad Cities Distance Classic Trisko (“half marathon”) – and not just any 13.1 miles. We got to run it on the actual race course!

I decided to look at the training run as a dress rehearsal for the main event. Would my plans for fuel, clothing, and so on work on race day? What would the changes to the course be like?

Fuel:
So, the night before the run, I totally forgot that I was doing a trisko the next day and didn’t make much of an effort to carb load. Dinner was cheeseburgers, baked beans, and grilled carrots. And let me tell you, it was delightful. Near as I can tell, my lack of carbs the night before had no ill effect on my running the next day. That is definitely one of the advantages of a trisko over a marathon!
For breakfast, I had a race day favorite meal: toasted English muffin with peanut butter and honey, plus coffee and some water. I meant to eat a banana, but I forgot . No problems there.

I brought two packs of Jelly Belly Sport Beans in cherry – that’s the good kind with caffeine in them. I figured one pack would be enough, but that the second pack would serve as a security blanket or would hook me up in case of emergency. I ate about half of them at 6 miles and the rest at 10. That was good, too.

Clothes:
It’s spring, so you can never be quite sure until the morning of a race what to wear, so I may not be in the same thing for the race as I wore to the dress rehearsal. But if I do end up in my yellow short-sleeved Brooks Podium shirt, grey C9 skirt, C9 socks, One More Mile hat (“Running is my happy hour”) and my Asics 2140’s, I’ll be very comfortable.


Gear:
My faithful running companion Paula Garmin was on my left wrist, over a simple wristband for padding. On my other wrist, I wore my Road ID that bears my mantra ONE TOUGH MOTHER.

Tragically, my iPod is all screwed up. It is stuck in the locked position and I can’t get it un-stuck. I am going to mess with it more this week in hopes of fixing it, the alternative being to buy a new one, which I’d rather not do. In desperation, I borrowed Steve’s. I say desperation because Steve is notorious at Stately Wasser Manor for making the world’s worst running playlists. The songs are all good, but way too mellow. You can’t work up a sweat to any of them. I ended up not using it at all, which I’ll get into later.

My biggest experiment was wearing my Fuel Belt. I really like it, but would it be annoying or uncomfortable for the duration of a trisko? I loaded it up with Gatorade (yellow, adorably matching my shirt). I put the iPod in the pocket, along with just the key to my car, leaving the rest behind to not have any jingling or extra weight. Then I attached my Amphipod, filled with Sport Beans, to the side of it. My friend Cindy compared my Fuel Belt to Batman’s utility belt, which is so awesome that I will call it my Utility Belt from now on. The Utility Belt was completely comfortable, so I’ll be happy to wear it on race day.

Course:
The course has been changed since last year. There’s still a massive uphill right after the first mile and a big downhill at around 4. There’s a short, steep hill somewhere around 9 to get onto a bike path by the river that I’m not too worried about. The great news is, the nasty hill at mile 12 that gave me such grief last year is gone, baby gone. My strategy is to run the first half on pace to finish in 2 hours, giving myself the option to speed up in the second half if I feel like it.

Cool:
There was a huge turnout for dress rehearsal – at least twice as many as the previously best attended training run. Among the people there was Kelly, a fellow runner who works with Steve. Her goal finish is about the same as mine, so we decided to run together. And it was delightful! I had such a good time talking to Kelly that I never used Steve’s questionable iPod – and the miles flew by.
So, all in all, Dress Rehearsal was a success. I feel totally prepared to run this race and to run it well. With any luck, last year’s 2:05 finish will be erased for a new trisko PR!

Running Like Crazy

So, yeah. It has officially been forever since I have posted anything. I have been so catlicking busy that although there is plenty to report, I just haven’t managed to find a second to sit down and write anything. Clearly, this situation calls for some bullet points.
• The new job is going well, but it’s keeping me very busy. I am learning a lot, as evidenced by my getting on a plane my second week of work and flying to Minneapolis, coming home for the weekend, then flying out again.
• I didn’t get to go to the Mall of America, nor did I run into Prince.
• However, one morning I got up early and went for a run. I discovered a park near my hotel where there was a running path that surrounded a beautiful frozen lake. Running around a frozen lake felt very Minnesota to me. I’m sure if I’d gone for another mile or two, I’d have run into Garrison Keillor.
• The boys and I went out for dinner the other night and Jack, with no preamble, picked up a crayon and wrote his name, all by himself, for the very first time. I am incredibly proud of him. He now has a Spider-Man notebook that he calls his sketchbook where he practices drawing and writing.
• Jack has also taken a step into kid-dom in that he is willing to help me clean the house for money. He will gladly accept any coin for any job and keeps them all in a bowl in his room. He thinks he is totally rich, though the amount of money he has amassed in his four years is about six bucks.
• Jack’s class at school has a new pet guinea pig, and I am delighted to report that her name is Miss Piggy. The teacher read them all a book about guinea pigs, and Jack pretty much committed it to memory. Steve and I have now deemed him The World’s Foremost Expert on Guinea Pigs. Jack will be delighted to bust out a number of facts about guinea pigs, such as that they need to chew on hard things to keep their teeth from getting too long, that when they are excited, they bounce up and down, which is called “popcorning,” and that celery is dangerous for them to eat because of the strings.
• Two new catch-phrases have entered the lexicon at Stately Wasser Manor. Instead of making sure, we are “make suring,” and if you want to tell someone you’re being honest, you’ll say, “I’m really true.” Jack’s turns of phrase really tickle me.
• I’ve decided not to run the half marathon I was planning on in early April. With the new job, I’ve been getting in decent miles in my weekend long runs, but I haven’t been as consistent in speed work. So, then new plan is to just train for the Quad Cities Distance Classic in May. I will have plenty of time to train for that, buying me time to miss a few training sessions as I need to.
• As part of that goal, I went on my first group training run on Sunday. We all met bright and surly in the morning, despite Daylight Savings Time and the fact that it was pouring rain. It’s nice to be with a group of people who are also crazy enough to think that’s a good idea. I hung with some nice people for the first 3.5 miles, but they were ready to turn around before I was , so I kept on going. Trouble was, the people ahead of me were WAY ahead of me, and the people running slower than me had turned around earlier, so I got a little lost. I was trying out the “return to start” feature on Paula Garmin when one of the faster runners joined me and helped me find my way back.
• After the training run, we all hung out at McDonald’s. Let me tell you, a group of runners really stands out in the crowd there. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was really friendly. Internet, if you are reluctant to join a running group because you don’t know anybody, don’t be. Runners are really nice people and are always willing to welcome another into the fold. Seriously.
• The day before that training run, I went to my Local Running Store and got a new pair of shoes (Asics 2140’s, if you care). My husband went with me because he was curious about what the store was like. He followed me in and listened for a few minutes while I chatted with the guy there. About one minute in, Steve realized that he had no clue what running store guy and I were talking about. All kinds of Asics serial numbers, discussion of “hot spots” on the feet, and he decided to wait for me outside instead!

Those are the highlights of what's going on here. I'll try not to be such a stranger!

Ignoring Your Coach

Take It and Run Thursday is nothing if not timely for me this week. The subject is "Training Plans Do's and Don'ts." Next week, I start officially training for the two triksos (aka "half marathons") I'm planning on running this spring. I've spent some time choosing the right training program for my schedule, adding it to our online family calendar, working to incorporate some group training runs (as part of my goal of getting to know local runners) and generally geeking out with excitement at the great runs I have ahead of me.

I love training plans. It's like having my very own coach who tells me how far and how fast to run each and every day. There is no doubt in my mind that the training programs I've used for my longer races have gotten me to the starting line prepared and in as good of shape as was possible for me on that given day.

At the same time, an important lesson I've learned is that sometimes, you have to ignore your coach. That is to say that although the training program is important, it's not carved in stone, and some degree of flexibility is vital to my sanity.

For example, sometimes I'm just going to have to take an unscheduled rest day. It could be because I don't feel well, because Jack has pulled on his Cranky Pants and is being a total nightmare and I can't ditch Steve with him, or just because. And if my training plan calls for me to run 10 miles, but there is a 5K that day that I really, really want to run, I am going to make that work.

Running is one of the most important things in my life, but it's not the only thing. As much as I love training, sometimes, I've just got to ignore my coach.

What's Next?

Thank you to all of you beautiful, talented readers for your kind comments on my race report. I know that you are all on the edge of your seats dying to know what my next running adventure will be. Just like last year, I am compelled to quote song lyrics from "Once More, With Feeling," my favorite ever episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
The battle's done, and we kind of won,
So we sound our victory che-er
Where do we go from here?"
--Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Once More... With Feeling"

First things first - I'm taking the week off to recover. Extra thanks go to Sandy who talked me down from the ledge yesterday when I was stressed out and wanted to go running.

But after that...

It's cross country season, babies! I have three races scheduled for November, all of which are on grassy, dirty, muddy, hilly cross country courses! I remember after the Bix last summer, Tom and I agreed that cross country was way more fun than track, and I have decided to re-live it.

I'll be following a modified version of FIRST's 5K training program, since two of my three races will be four miles. Saturdays will be long runs, probably between 8 and 10 miles, and including trails wherever possible. Tuesdays, I'm on the track. But on Thursdays, instead of tempo runs, I am going to make up some hill workouts. I'll do repeats of hills on the road, but will also hit the park to climb up some steeper dirt hills. It's going to be hard work, but it's going to be fun!

The race schedule is:

• November 2: Governor's Cross Country Race ("Weather conditions can make the course very difficult. Be prepared to get wet, muddy, slip, fall, and laugh at yourself. ")


• November 15: Hawk Hustle ("Along the rolling hills of Black Hawk College")


• November 22: Living History Farms Off-Road Race ("You must be ready to climb fences, wade through creeks, avoid animals and claw your way to the top of gullies with over 6,000 other runners of questionable senses.")

It may be time to spring for some trail shoes, my friends.