Comments (19)

By kilax, November 30, 2014 7:34 pm

Highlight of the Week: Running with friends and hitting a new monthly PDR!

Monday | November 24, 2014: 5 m run (w/Kelly) + 4 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 45°/45°, Time: 49:33, Pace: 9:54 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but still have that back pain
Loc: hood, Temp: 36°/34°, Time: 38:57, Pace: 9:44 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay, poor visibility (wind + snow)
Strength: medicine balls, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Tuesday | November 25, 2014: rest
Wednesday | November 26, 2014: 7 m run (w/Kelly)
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 17°/17°, Time: 1:08:32, Pace: 9:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, NO WIND!!!!!
Thursday | November 27, 2014: 22 m run (first 7 w/Kelly)
Loc: Around Grayslake/Round Lake, Temp: 23°/27°, Time: 3:53:47, Pace: 10:37 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: uneven
Friday | November 28, 2014: teaching strength class + 6 m run
Strength: medicine balls and boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 30°/29°, Time: 59:39, Pace: 9:56, Difficulty: easy, Felt: surprisingly good
Saturday | November 29, 2014: COOL “10K” (7 miles) (last 3.7 with Bobbi)
Loc: Old School FP and DPRT, Temp: 38°/43°, Time: 1:15:25, Pace: 10:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: upset re: wrong turn
Sunday | November 30, 2014: 4 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 34°/34°, Time: 38:00, Pace: 9:30 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• I was working from home on Monday and saw the rain turn to beautiful snow flakes as the temperature dropped and thought, “I want to go on a run in that beautiful snow!” Gah, worst idea ever. Ha ha. It was so windy, the snow was blowing right in to my face and I couldn’t see for most of the run. And the sidewalks were quickly getting icy. I am just happy I got back from that run safely. I won’t make that mistake again – running in windy snow when it’s just been raining… derrrrrrrrrrr.
• That makes me sound like a snow hater. I am not. I love snow and I love cold weather. But, I would be lying if I said I was not grateful that the snow mostly held off for the bulk of my long runs training for the Dallas Marathon! It’s just easier to plan routes when you can run anywhere and don’t have to worry about snowy/icy trails (or their spring cousin, flooded trails). And it’s nice to not be stuck with loops in my neighborhood yet (due to the trails being buried in snow). 
• There was some snow and ice for my long run on Thursday though, hence the “uneven” comment above. And there was a whole lot of other “uneven” going on. A few miles in, I had a really strong pain in my right lower lat (after stopping and massaging it I could continue). That pain showed up on Tuesday the 18th, and I thought it might be hormonal, but it stuck. It’s gotten better since then, and I have a true massage soon that I think will help. I also had odd stomach issues – I think it was cause my pack froze and I couldn’t drink as much water. And yeah, difficult footing. My legs and lungs felt great, and that long run left me feeling confident for the marathon!
• Like I mentioned in my whiny recap yesterday, I have a new monthly PDR – 250.2! And with that, it’s taper time! I have a 5K this week, a few more double digit runs, and two weeks until the marathon!

Link to Training Week 266

Comments (24)

By kilax, November 29, 2014 11:45 am

Two very good reminders came out of today’s race:

1. Don’t “race”* unless your heart’s in it
2. Don’t always follow the leaders

Some years I am super pumped about doing Thanksgiving time-frame races and take advantage of the fact that Chicagoland has a ton of them. Some years, not so much. Like this year. I scratched the idea of doing a half marathon today early in the week, and kind of thought about the COOL 10K, but was super on the fence about it. I feel like running… just not so much like paying for it. Ha ha. So I decided to see how I felt when I woke up and how the weather was. Felt good, weather was good (highs in the 40s, whuuuuuuuuuuuuut?!), and bonus, Bobbi was doing the race too! And it’s for a good cause (proceeds go to a food pantry), so I prepared a 10K playlist with hopes for a speedy time, and went.

I’m familiar with the race course. It’s a shared 5K/10K course, where the 5Kers do a loop, the 10Kers go off the loop to get that extra 3.1 out and back. Simple course and it hadn’t changed this year, according to the course map.

So I was really surprised in the first .4 miles of the race when we made a right turn where we normally make a left, and ran somewhere we typically don’t. But I saw everyone else going that way behind us too, and stuck with it.

I was feeling good (just had wardrobe issues**) when I passed the 2K sign and saw we were .9 miles ahead of it. Um, yeah. We went the wrong way. Dang. I was hoping I wasn’t right. 

I felt like an idiot for following the leaders (even though everyone did) and discouraged that I’d have to run a faster pace longer, so I slowed down. At 3.3 I stopped and waited a few minutes for Bobbi and ran the rest with her! It was nice to chat, but I felt so dumb/embarrassed about making that wrong turn (which was marked with a low sign) and on how easily I gave up – just no heart in it, today.

But the sun was out, it felt nice out, the 13 mph winds were not horrible and I got to run with my bestie. I’d say that’s a success! And! I hit a new monthly personal distance record (PDR) during this run!

It made me feel better that the race director acknowledged people went the wrong way (up to 7.3? I had 7.0 in 1:15:25). In fact, I think every 10Ker ran extra. The 5Kers did not, since they started later. There were some runners behind us who thought they were almost done and Bobbi let them know what was up. We felt so bad for them – running 7 instead of 6.2 on their first 10K! One lady joked that she might as well go for a half, next. Hee hee, I like that attitude!

Have you ever taken the wrong turn in a race? What did you do?

Ha ha, that happened to me when I had to walk half in 2010. We got off course but I used my friend’s smartphone to get back on track and we still hit 13.1!!! I can’t recall if that happened that time cause they had already started to take down directional signs. This time was definitely runner error! So don’t get me wrong – this is a great race, and I love that it benefits the local community. And that you get to pick your race swag (horrible pic, but you can choose from a black hat, black headband or blue hat)!

*to me, this is very distinct from running a race just for fun
**overdressed, and hipS-sister has gotten too big

Comments (13)

By kilax, November 28, 2014 4:30 pm

Xaarlin was such an awesome personal pacer at the Naperville Marathon last year. We discussed strategy quite a bit before the race, but also, a lot of my personal preferences, such as: how drill sergeant-y I wanted her to be, where she should run (in front of me, beside me, behind me), what reminders I needed (check my form!), what would be encouraging to hear, and so on. And like I said, she did an excellent job!

One thing on my list was conversation preference. I know… kind of weird. But I’ve learned a few things about how conversation helps me in long, goal races. First, I like to start the race with with running happy – that means, well, topics that make me happy! Then, toward the end, as the race gets harder, I need to talk about things that make me “run angry.” You know, when you’re talking about something that makes you upset and you run faster? Useful tool at the end of a race… not to be used in the beginning, ha ha (seriously, it wears me out – it’s just asking to bonk).

Secondly, if I’m running with just one other person, and I’m getting quieter and quieter, that’s a sign I’m fading. I’m someone who can almost always think of something to talk about, so if I shut it, something’s up. Bad news in an endurance event! And it probably has some science-y reason it’s happening – less blood flow to the brain or low blood sugar or whatever.

So. Since I enjoy talking during long endurance events, sometimes I will purposefully hold back on conversation with my running partner, prior to the event, so I have lots of conversation topic. Ha ha, don’t worry; I’m not being rude and ignoring them that week, just not going all out in the blabbering, like usual.

We did these things at Naperville and it mostly helped! There was only one thing I didn’t realize I needed to remind Xaarlin to force me to do – eat in the last 6-8 miles. I get to this place mentally where no food sounds good (I know, surprising) and stop eating, which, derr, makes me crash! I’ve definitely learned from that!

I was really encouraged after my 22-miler with Rachel. We held a steady pace and I was chatty the whole time and did not get delirious at the end. Yesterday’s 22-miler was also mentally successful (just not so much physically) as in I did not reach delirium!

Just, honestly, ran in to some cold weather logistics on the long run. I love running in the cold and snow, but 22 can be a bit tricky in those conditions. 

I’m feeling really excited about running Dallas with Gina in just over two weeks. We’ll do the same “save the convo” for race day plan (or as Gina called it, a “talking taper,” ha ha!), a bit, since she’ll be busy the week of the race and the two of us won’t have much alone time until we’re running those 26.2. Maybe instead of a pace band, I should do a “convo” band. Ha ha. “Okay, at mile 20, start bitching about xyz.” Hee hee. 

Dallas is her first marathon, so, really, I don’t care what our finish time is, as long as we have fun. But it would be nice not to be out of it for the last few miles, and I know these things will help me. Ha ha. 

Have you ever “saved conversation” for a race (or a run or other event!) with a friend?

Comments (10)

By kilax, November 24, 2014 6:23 am

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about my sharing habits with my girlfriends, because I’ve realized I favor certain communication methods over others, and it’s mostly up to chance on who I will communicate with next, and how. So I am finding myself saying more often, “Did I tell you about this?” and being surprised that I didn’t (and feeling that guilt). 

Ha ha, let me explain. First of all, I feel very lucky to have several close girlfriends*, and secondly, I usually don’t have anything “important” to communicate with them**. Just my typical day-to-day blatherings. 

But who I talk with, and how, changes on a day-to-day basis, so what gets shared with whom does as well. 

I prefer in-person communication above all other. But we can’t see our friends every day, can we? So after that, I really like google chat, cause it’s easier to type using a keyboard, than texting. And it’s live communication. Then, email is nice. And texting is good too***, but some things are just too much to put in a text. 

So, it’s all very obvious, but I have just been thinking about how the people I see in person, tend to get news the soonest, then maybe someone I google chat with, or write an email to, and so on. Ha, notice that phone calls were not on that list? I only call my mother and grandmothers.

Which… brings me to the point of this whole post (long arse intro, huh?!). My parents were in town this weekend and we had such a nice visit with them. The four of us did things together, as well as spending time with other people, but I also had the chance to have some one-on-one time with my mom and dad, separately. 

You guys know that I get that one-on-one time with my dad quite often when I see him, because the two of us work out together. And I truly cherish that time with him. I gossip away, and when I shut up, I get to hear what is going on in his life, ha ha. 

But I rarely, RARELY, get that one-on-one time with my mother. Like… I can’t remember the last time I did before this weekend. When I am around her, there are almost always other people there, too. And she is usually busy, taking care of people! And when I call, she is often on the go, or around other people. 

So, to have that time with her, was just fantastic. We talked about a lot of different things I know we never would have, had we not been one-on-one.

Sigh, I realized though, that I am horrible about keeping them up to date in things that are going on in my personal life****. You know, the things I started out this blog post talking about – the day-to-day blatherings. At least that made me feel better about how quickly I share them with my girlfriends, as I was updating my parents on things that happened over the entire last year!

With whom would you like some more one-on-one time?

*and interestingly, mostly from different social groups – not many are friends with one another
**as in, why do I even feel guilty if they are missing out on my dramz? ha ha
***and really fantastic for keeping in touch, just not sharing long stories, hee hee
****really, just talking about small things here – I tell them “important” news

Comments (10)

By kilax, November 23, 2014 2:31 pm

Highlight of the Week: Dad coming to my Friday am Efit class (and coming with me on some runs, too)!

Monday | November 17, 2014: 8 m run + teaching strength class x2
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 13°/14°, Time: 1:18:46, Pace: 9:50 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: Two dumbbell, Difficulty: easy, Felt: really energetic
Strength: Two dumbbell, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | November 18, 2014: 5 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 19°/19°, Time: 47:25, Pace: 9:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but so not in the mood for the wind
Wednesday | November 19, 2014: 9 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 19°/20°, Time: 1:31:48, Pace: 10:12 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: tired (slept poorly) / oddly sore back
Thursday | November 20, 2014: 5 m run (w/Kelly) + 16 m run 
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 18°/18°, Time: 51:01, Pace: 10:12 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, felt happy to see Kelly!
Loc: Grant Woods FP, Temp: 25°/25°, Time: 2:44:16, Pace: 10:16 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: good, but the wind+hills took it out of me!
Friday | November 21, 2014: teaching strength class (rest)
Strength: Medicine balls and boxing, Difficulty: easy (observing), Felt: great!
Saturday | November 22, 2014: 6 m run (w/Dad on bike)
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 44°/45°, Time: 59:49, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: really good, chatty (ha ha)
Sunday | November 23, 2014: 7.3 m run (w/Dad on bike)
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 47°/46°, Time: 1:16:04, Pace: 10:25 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (but push back from the wind)

Notes:

• Definitely had the “running on tired legs” thing going this week. I had house guests (my parents, yay!) this weekend, so I adjusted my schedule to do my long run before they got here, and moved my rest day to one of the days of their visit. I ended up running 8 days in a row, with my long run being the last day, and man, that rest day felt really good on Friday, ha ha! I do think it’s good to train on tired legs from time to time, so I’m happy I had the chance. 
• Another which one question for you – would you rather run in cold winds (15-25 mph with gusts) or hills? I did my long run somewhere forested this week to stay out of the wind (somewhat, not entirely) but those trees come with hills. I was totally spent after the run, but not as demoralized as I would have been from running in the wind. So, hills for me!
• Just a warning from personal experience this week – make sure your electronics are bundled up when you go out in the cold, too (along with yourself). They can get too cold and shut down. 
• We had a swing of cold temps at the beginning of the week – highs in the teens, with “feels like”s in the low single digits, because of the wind. I enjoy running in the cold, and especially the hot bath after, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy wearing shorts and a tee for those 40 degree runs at the end of the week. I wonder what the temperature will be like for Dallas. It’s three weeks from today! One more 22 miler then taper!

Link to Training Week 265

Comments (23)

By kilax, November 20, 2014 4:18 pm

On Monday, Steven said goodbye and was heading out the door for work when I called to him, “Wait! Don’t I get a goodbye kiss?!”

So he walked over for one. 

And shocked me on the lips. Ouch! 

Ha ha. It’s that time of year. It’s dry. We’re all picking up static electricity. Poor Data has it the worst. You can see his fur light up if you pet him in the dark. 

And my hands! What the heck! Every year. EVERY DANG YEAR! The right one is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more dried out than the left one. Gosh, it hurts so much. 

What do you people do so you don’t get all dried out when the humidity and temperature drop? Use humidifiers? Actually use lotion? 4za <—-added text from Data

Hmm, maybe the lotion thing would be a good start. Muah ha ha. 

Comments (18)

By kilax, November 19, 2014 6:42 am

I’d love to take an anatomy class and woo hoo – our local, fab community college offers one!

I love this muscular system cheat sheet my parents gave me, but I’d like to rely on it a bit less.

Sigh, the problem though?! It’s online, and I struggle BIG TIME with learning from videos. Sigh sigh sigh.

What’s your preferred learning mode? In person? Hands on? Classroom? Textbook? Video? Osmosis?

I greatly prefer a classroom/in-person setting with hands on training when applicable. This is followed by text book. I can learn from a book, I just really have to focus, and hey, that’s easier for me in a classroom. Video? Not a good chance. With dual monitors, I’m constantly screwing around with something on the other screen. It’s pathetic how short my attention span is when it comes to watching videos (for learning or for fun).

Maybe I’ll look around and see if other local colleges offer a weekend course. Or I’ll just have to learn to focus on the screen!

(Total FWP, fo sho. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to expand my knowledge, and the money and resources to do so. Just thinking about how I learn best, is all.)

Comments (10)

By kilax, November 18, 2014 7:35 pm

A photo just popped up on my kitchen digital frame that made me realize I’ve only run with my running club once this year. And that was in *cough* January. 

Oops?

Not really oops. In December I contemplated whether I’d rejoin the club or not. I’d been a member since very late 2010, but hadn’t done much with them for the past year and a half. Not for any bad reason. It’s just that I joined, originally, got/learned what I needed, then cut back.

The running club was a fantastic way for me to meet new people. And then meet people through those people. Like, Brian, at Essential Fitness, which is where I work as a personal trainer now. I first met him in very early 2011, never thinking I’d be working for him some day!

And also, through those people, I learned a lot about the area I live in – places to run I didn’t know about, which schools are the best (not that this knowledge affects me, but it’s interesting), new shops, best roads to take to avoid traffic, and so on. 

The thing is, I don’t use the club anymore to support those relationships (and haven’t for a long time). I’ve taken them outside of the club. They’re good enough that they sustain on their own. I don’t go to club events, or join club runs (I’ve learned I prefer to run solo or one-on-one (group runs are not my thing)). 

I’ve noticed other people are like this too – they got what they needed (and it was good) – and now they are cutting back. Or have completely cut back. 

Again, no malice. It’s just the cycle of life. 

I don’t plan on rejoining in 2015, since my interaction this year so far, has been ONE run, and liking posts on Facebook. 

But hey, thankfully Facebook is around. I won’t be on the club page anymore, but I can still see what everyone is up to on their personal pages (and all the time I see them in person)!

Are you a member of a running club? Have you ever left a club, because you felt like you got what you needed out of it?

Ha! That last question makes me sound like I don’t know what a club is – a group of people organized around a similar interest/purpose. People who mostly don’t just come and go. Oops. Again. 

Comments (21)

By kilax, November 17, 2014 11:26 am

What if you could only gift people “homemade” items this holiday season? What would those gifts be?

(Ha ha, I know, another holiday post SO soon! Hey, better this than what I’ve been thinking about – how this time of year makes me feel bad about how well I don’t know certain family members, and vice versa.)

As I am bundled up at work today, wearing some finger-less gloves that a friend made me, I’m thinking about what a nice, thoughtful, useful gift that was… and how I’ve used them for years!

And my mind also wandered to “what could I make for someone?” Um… I bake. I can make those fleece cut & tie blankets. Err… I can offer personal training sessions? Ha ha – no one wants that. 

Man, I need some skillz! Knitting/crocheting (whatever the difference is) is actually something I’d like to learn! And I could probably stand to try a few other things.

Or, I could just buy items from my talented friends and family! I have a second cousin who makes pens, bowls, jewelry and other items out of wood. My friend Kelly makes beautiful wreaths. And Steven is super duper handy! Hee hee.

Comments (8)

By kilax, November 16, 2014 10:09 am

Highlight of the Week: Rachel joining me for all of my 22-miler! It was such a treat to catch up, and the run just flew by!

Monday | November 10, 2014: 3 m run (w/Kelly) + 5 m run + teaching strength class x2
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 42°/42°, Time: 29:57, Pace: 9:59 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 49°/53°, Time: 46:29, Pace: 9:17 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: angry
Strength: Two dumbbell, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Strength: Two dumbbell, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Tuesday | November 11, 2014: Strength in Numbers Virtual Half Marathon + 1 m run (w/Kelly) 
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 52°/44°, Time: 2:10:21, Pace: 9:57 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great 
Wednesday | November 12, 2014: rest
Thursday | November 13, 2014: 7 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 25°/25°, Time: 1:11:01, Pace: 10:08 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Friday | November 14, 2014: teaching strength class + 5 m run (w/Dawn)
Strength: Body bars, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good – got me out of a cranky start to the morning
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 24°/23°, Time: 50:42, Pace: 10:08, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | November 15, 2014: 22 m run (w/Rachel)
Loc: DPRT, Temp: 20°/31°, Time: 3:51:28, Pace: 10:31 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: really good!
Sunday | November 16, 2014: 4.6 m run (w/Jen)
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 25°/27°, Time: 59:08, Pace: 12:52 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fine

Notes: 

• I remembered not to go all out teaching back-to-back strength classes on Monday (and it helped – no mid-week DOMS)!
• Saturday was the first long run in awhile where I didn’t feel delirious for the last 3-4 miles. WIN! I think the fueling strategy did it (AND, having awesome company the whole time!). I still ate something every 30 minutes (and took an electrolyte tab with it), but ate more honey stinger waffles than normal. So (just for my records), I would have a gu or clif gel at 00:30 and 1:00, then a waffle at 1:30, then repeat. I also opened my Vitamin Water earlier than half way through, to take sips. It’s crazy what a difference the “right” fueling strategy for me makes. Have you figured out your long run fueling strategy?
• Hmm, I wonder if this has been my highest weekly mileage of the year (just over 60)? I have a cut-back week next week, another peak week, then two weeks until the marathon. Hard to believe it’s four weeks from today! Training went FAST! 
• Sunday was my first run on the season on snow. YAY! (although, as much as I love snow, I’d be okay with not doing my last two longer distance runs on it, hee hee)

Link to Training Week 264