Training Week 43
My next race is the Chicago Half Marathon on September 12. I am also training for the Chicago Marathon on October 10.
Funny running moment of the week: On Saturday, Erin and I saw a guy running in the NUDE (shoes only) on a forest preserve trail. With a lot of people on the trail. He came toward us and I saw he was holding a shirt or something by his crotch so I turned around when he passed, and sure enough – BARE butt. Ha! I wish I would have taken a picture. My mom told me I should ask Steven to reenact, but I didn’t even bother.
So… why was he running in the nude, is what I wonder. That’s how he likes to run? Something wrong with his pants? (My mom thought maybe he pooped them – ha!). Have you even seen anyone running in the nude?
Day 295 | August 9, 2010: strength + stretch
You guys aren’t going to believe it – I actually hauled my a$$ down to the office gym during lunch to do some strength and stretching moves. I was surprised I even remembered my locker combination!
Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb
Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb
Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb
Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb
Biangular Chest Press: 15 @ 30 lb, 2 x 15 @ 50 lb
Shoulder Press: 3 x 15 @ 20 lb
Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb
Arm Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25 lb
Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb
Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb
I think the MP3 player helped. Otherwise I would have been bored, bored, bored!
Day 296 | August 10, 2010: 5 m interval run – 2 x (4 x 400)
Tuesday marked two months until the Chicago Marathon and my first week back at the FIRST training plan. Back to speed work!
The schedule called for 2 sets of 4 x 400s, with warm-up, recovery intervals, and a cool-down. The recommend pace was 10K pace minus 45 seconds… yeah, we have not run a 10K in a long time and had no idea what our pace should be! So we decided to aim for a 8:45 overall pace.
And we mostly hit it! Of course, Jack (the Garmin) was being funky, so a lot of these times are for more than 400m (those marked with an asterisk*), but you get the idea.
| Set 1 | Set 2 |
|---|---|
| 2:12* | 2:15* |
| 2:23* | 2:13* |
| 2:18* | 2:02 |
| 2:16* | 2:05 |
We did walk a lot of the recovery intervals. It was just too freaking hot (upper 80s) and brutally sunny. You’ll have that.
I wore my Adrenaline 10s sans inserts to see how my legs felt. So far, so good.
So sweaty!
After the torture run, we attended the last free Tuesday night summer concert at Independence Grove. I was so sweaty I could feel sweat dripping down my butt. Steven did not think it was appropriate that I said that in public (in front of a young kid – I don’t think the kid heard me!).
Distance: 5.0 | Time: 52:14 | Avg Pace: 10:27
Day 297 | August 11, 2010: strength + stretch
Whoa. I actually made it down to the gym twice this week for strength. That’s impressive for me (especially since my chest and upper abs were KILLING me from Monday’s workout!).
Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb
Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb
Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb
Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb
Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb
Lateral Raise: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 37.5 lb
Biangular Chest Press: 15 @ 30 lb, 2 x 15 @ 50 lb
Shoulder Press: 3 x 15 @ 20 lb
Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb
Day 298 | August 12, 2010: 8 m run
Awesome run?
Well, it went really well until mile 3 when I drank some powerade and it made my stomach hurt. Then I kind of hit the wall at 6.75. Ugh.
I ran the first 5 miles with Steven riding the bike behind me. I walked a minute at mile 3 and ate some jelly beans. Then we stopped at the house at mile 5 so Steven could get off his bike and run the last 3 miles with me.
It surely went a lot better than I thought it would, considering the heat (and we started around 7:00, when it was starting to cool down), but I am disappointed that drinking powerade during the run bothered my stomach so much.
Distance: 8.0 | Time: 1:22:23 | Avg Pace: 10:17 | 1: 10:28 | 2: 10:06 | 3: 9:46 | 4: 10:17 | 5: 10:15 | 6: 10:30 | 7: 10:33 | 8: 10:22
Day 299 | August 13, 2010: rest
Day 300 | August 14, 2010: 12 m run + cross
I am trying to keep track of my walk breaks and how I am feeling, so I apologize for all the boring details!
Erin and I ran together at Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Neither of us had been there before, but we had been thinking about doing the supported 20-mile run there. The park is pretty! Lots of trees. Lots of trees = lots of shade = me likey.
Sorry for the blurry pic!
When I left my home in the morning, I was feeling pretty good about this run. I even saw a rainbow and figured that was a good sign!
We started off and I felt great. Maybe a little too great, because we took off and ran the first three miles around 10:00, which, unfortunately, is NOT my long run pace. I think I was just having so much fun talking to Erin that I was not paying attention to my feet. Oops.
We walked a minute at mile 3. I started to feel pretty blah and somewhat out of it around the 5 mile mark, so we walked two minutes at 6 miles, and I ate some pretzels and drank some water.
We kept going, and I was feeling sort of good. At the turnaround point, I asked some nice TnT people if I could fill up one of my water bottles with their water cooler. I brought three 8-ounce bottles for the run, and I had used all but one. The TnT people were super nice and told me to go for it. We kept running, and walked a minute at 9 and I still had a water left. But I ran out by mile 10, and when we passed a pump we stopped to try to fill – no luck. So… we walked for two minutes, in the hot sun, which had just appeared (it was supposed to rain, and never did, but we were enjoying that it was cloudy – but not enjoying the temps in the 80s!). Then I tried to keep running and had to walk another two minutes during mile 11. And I had to steal water from Erin.
Stupid sun!
Ugh. I was beat. My body felt mostly okay (jello quads by mile 10, heavy legs) but the heat was really getting to me. I felt so thirsty again. And I felt bad, because Erin was doing great and my pace was all over and I don’t think I was really talking coherently. She’s nice to stick with me!
When you get worn out at the end of a long run, do you start to get kind of… delirious and out of it? I sure do.
I finally got to the car and ended the 12 miles and got my bike to ride with Erin on her last 4. The sun was still out, and I felt crappy even on the bike! Jeez, what was that about?
But we did pass the nude guy that I mentioned above, and I found that humorous.
Erin finished really great for being in the awful sun and we sat in the shade for awhile. I drank two powerades and ate some grapes. I finally felt better after we had sat for awhile.
Erin recommended drinking something with electrolytes the day before a run. What do you guys do to stay hydrated? I drink about 120 ounces of water a day, if not more. Shouldn’t that be enough?
Ha ha. During our run, I said “I am not sure how I can run 26 miles if I cannot run 12 well.” But Erin had felt the same way a few weeks ago then had a great run at a longer distance. So… blaming it on the weather.
And I still had a lot of fun running and talking to Erin! What a treat!
(Can you tell I wrote this after the run – I think a bit of the incoherent-ness is in this post!)
(Oh yeah, during our run, we were talking about blisters that you get on the top/end of your long toe. We both had old ones during the run. At one point, I told Erin I could really feel my blister. See below. No wonder I felt that!)
Distance: 12.0 | Time: 2:09:00 | Avg Pace: 10:45 | 1: 10:24 | 2: 10:04 | 3: 9:53 | 4: 10:30 | 5: 10:11 | 6: 10:30 | 7: 11:14 | 8: 10:31 | 9: 10:36 | 10: 11:01 | 11: 11:52 | 12: 12:10
Bike Time: 57:47 | Distance: 4.00 | Average Speed: 4.1 mph
Day 301 | August 15, 2010: cross + yoga
Steven and I rode our bikes 11 miles at the Moraine Hills State Park, then had a little picnic lunch.
We haven’t been to this state park since November! But it’s really close to our house (just over 10 miles!) and really beautiful. Just a bit on the hilly side though. My quads were burning. I am pretty certain I will not be running there anytime soon!
And some of the hills were actually kind of scary to ride down. But scary in a fun way.
That’s me shaking my fist at the “Hill” sign.
We went to a BBQ at Steven’s friend’s house on Saturday and they sent us home with leftover homemade seitan, so Steven used it to make some yummy sandwiches for our picnic. Kind of makes me* want to make seitan again.
After we got home (and walked Data and sat on our porch for a bit) I did the YogaWorks Beginners AM/PM DVD to try to stretch out my tight legs.
*I should say us – Steven would be the one making it.
Bike Time: 1:00:15 | Distance: 11.00 | Average Speed: 11.0 mph
Week Summary: 25.00 miles
I am actually really pleased with my workouts this week! I felt like I got a good balance of running, strength, cross, and a bit of yoga.
I just wish I could figure out why I’ve been starting to feel so blah during my runs. Is it just an endurance issue? Or am I not fueling properly? Am I not eating enough pre-run? What do you eat the day before a long run?
Themocracy
For your 12-mile run did you drink/eat anything other than water during? If not that could be part of the blah feeling. But other than that, I think you have kind of pointed out some of the things that could be contributing – the crazy heat (is it cooling down near you now? The low tonight is supposed to be 59 here and I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to say the least ;)) in both of your longer runs and the too-quick start on the second. Heat and starting too quickly definitely zap my energy too!
I had some pretzels during my 12-miler… but I had a hard time eating them. I ate my normal breakfast too (oatmeal and bananas with another type of fruit). It is supposed to get somewhat cooler – temps this week in the high 70s/low 80s.
Great job on your workouts Kim!
Sounds like the heat may be partly responsible for the blahs…
haha I can’t believe you saw someone running nude. That would be soooooo awkward!
The day before a longggg run (like 15+ miles), I eat mostly carbs. It makes SUCH a difference!
I am LAUGHING about your naked guy…too funny!
Pre-run, I usually have a banana and half a bagel and a cup of coffee.
You should do the 20-miler!! (she says selfishly….) It would definitely be cool to meet you (I am signed up – can you tell??)
I just realized I read your question wrong….as crazy as this sounds my favorite night before meal is a steak grilled stufft burrito from taco bell…crazy? maybe. but it’s tried and true for me.
We are definitely signing up for the 20-miler. Probably the 10:30 pace group. Which will you do?
Burritos sound excellent for the day before! 🙂 I love El Famous Burrito, maybe I should go there.
That is quite the blister- ouch!!!!!
I am still laughing over the naked guy. Must be weird while running week- Sunday I saw two guys in suits. Full suits. Running. WHAT!?!?
Ha ha! At our first half, we saw someone running in a suit. We thought maybe it was a dare? Or lost bet?
You ran Busse!?!?!? COOL! That’s my local running place! But I’ve never seen a naked guy! I’ve seen some other crazy stuff at Busse but no naked dudes. Maybe one day I’ll be so lucky. 😉
In fact, I’m about to hop on my bike and make a loop around the Forest Preserve. I only live about 2 miles from the main loop. I LOVE BUSSE!!! 🙂
Cool! I didn’t realize your new place was so close to Busse! I really liked it there!
We haven’t talked in awhile, how have you been?
You got a lot of mileage in – that’s great!
I think it’s hilarious how your heat advisory is in the 80’s, while here I’m SUPER HAPPY it cooled down to the 80’s! Ha! Here’s hoping marathon day will be in the 50’s…
I don’t think I’ll ever be up for running naked….yikes…
One of the cross country courses I ran in high school was at Busse Woods! You were in my neck of town. 🙂
never saw a naked person running before – guess i’ve been running the wrong paths!
as for the eating, I too am training for Chicago and these long runs have been really tough because of the heat – making me struggle a little more than usual. my usual plan is a bowl of oatmeal and cup of yogurt about an hour before, then a Kashi GoLean Roll about 15 minutes before I start, and then typical GUs along the way. What I changed up for the weather: I have been using extra electrolyte tablets in my Accelerade mix because of the electrolyte (sodium) loss during the runs, which seems to be the reason I feel so blah. if you carry water or sport drink, i would either toss a couple eletrolyle tabs in (like Nuun) or take some salt pills right before and during the run. your muscles will thank you!
Hi Megan! Thanks for commenting! I am excited to meet another Chicago marathon runner 🙂
Where can I pick up the electrolyte tabs?
1. You have the BEST stories from running. I never see anyone naked *hrmph* I have to admit I would have chased after him “whoa whoa whoa…..when I am telling my buddies about this, I GOTTA know the story, dude”
2. Midwest heat sucks. that is all.
3. That is a KILLER blister.
I’m going with the guy probably crapped his pants. I say that because he was actively covering up his bits with his shirt. If he truly didn’t care about being naked and that was the point, then willy would have been freed.
My guess on your blah? You might not be eating enough before the runs or you might not be eating enough of what your body wants.