14 Miles and a little tip

Saturday I ran 14 miles. The plan was to run four outside and finish up the last ten on the treadmill so hubby could get to work on time. Too bad the rain started before five am. I could hear it hitting the tin roof and I knew that all 14 miles would be logged on the treadmill. I have a love-hate relationship with my treadmill. I love it! It is an absolutely blessing and I’m no longer a slave to hubby’s work schedule OR the crazy New Orleans weather! I hate it because it is so darned boring to run on.

Two weeks ago, I was scheduled to run 12 miles while being home visiting family. I had a plan to run it on Sunday, 10/6. For some reason I thought I could squeeze 12 miles into the craziness known as my brother’s wedding. As you can guess, my plan was an epic fail. The combination of jet lag, staying up too late and having a tad too much to drink at the reception meant all I could think about the next morning was a big, fat, greasy cheeseburger. I did hop on my brother’s treadmill a few days later but it was too late in the afternoon to pull off all 12 miles, so I logged six.

Having skipped those 12 miles, I knew I had to approach the impending 14 with caution. I started of WAY slower than usual and gradually increased the speed. I never ran faster than 5.3. I am still working on walk breaks when on the treadmill. I started off thinking I’d walk every four miles when I took my gels. After the first four miles, I realized that I was incredibly tired and struggling physically and mentally. Then I decided that walking every two miles could get my through. By the time I reached the halfway point, I knew I was going to have to walk every mile. So I ran .9 miles and walked .1 until the last two when all I wanted to do was cut off my legs at the knees and be done. I finished all fourteen miles and am incredibly proud of myself for not quitting like I wanted to. I tried to not let this crappy run discourage me too much. That is what happens when you skip a long run. Thankfully, I don’t have anything on the horizon that will cause the miss of another long run. 

My next long distance will be 17 miles and that is a very daunting number. The farthest I have ever run is 15. I will continue to work on my treadmill walk breaks knowing that on race day I will maintain a 4:1 ratio. Run four minutes, walk one minute. I’d love to be able to negative split this race (something I have never been able to do since I blow my wad in the first half of each race), but I will focus on finishing. It is my first full marathon and all I want to do is cross that finish line!

Lesson learned: don’t skip your long run!

It's a great day for running y'all!

10.5 Miles on the dreadmill and I loved (almost) every minute of it!

I never did get out and finish up those 9 miles that I bailed on. I figured out that the humidity combined with poor carb-loading the day before caused me to dehydrate and made me pretty miserable. I finished up my training week and continued on, slightly worried about the next long run of 10.5 miles. I had some decent evening runs and ran a solid 4 miles last week. It took me a good week to recuperate from that epic fail. I was dreading my mileage increase and actually started to dread my short 30-minute runs. Afraid of my run? That has not happened to me before and I was quite ashamed. Then, I was gifted the best present in the whole wide world, this beautiful thing:

Source: Nordic Track

The Nordic Track C900 Pro. I actually ordered the C900, on sale with a 10% off coupon AND free shipping. They were out of the C900 and upgraded me (free of charge) to the C900 Pro! It came early Friday afternoon. It took me all day to assemble it. I woke up Saturday morning more sore than I have felt after racing a half marathon. My quads hurt from all the up and down during assembly. I guess I need to start incorporating squats into my weight training? I actually had to take a hot shower last night and then rub my quads down with icy hot to loosen them up for this morning’s run. It worked.

I set my alarm for 6, got up and ate some oatmeal and crawled back into bed with half a cup of coffee. When I was able to focus my eyes clearly, I got back out of bed and put on my running skirt. I wanted to start by 6:45 so I could be done shortly after the boys woke up. Too bad the noise of me on the treadmill woke them up! I was only half a mile in when they came out of their room. They did enjoy watching me run. For ten minutes. Then they moved on to more important things like playing chess or with their legos.

I did experience some technical difficulties due to user error. I was 1.25 miles in and decided it would be a good idea to move the key clip to me so the machine would turn off if I managed to tumble. I didn’t tumble, but I did manage to unplug the machine and it deleted my stats from the screen. I plugged it back in and made the mental note that I was running to 9.25 miles instead of 10.5. For some reason, I remember that I had just burned 200 calories but can’t remember the time. Ha! My next “technical difficulty” was around mile 8.5 (give or take some mileage). I didn’t realize that the machine would turn off after 1.5 hours of use. It did. Thankfully it kept my distance and I could quickly turn up the speed to the pace I had been keeping. There is nothing worse than running at a set pace and then have it slow down unexpectedly. Next time I will anticipate this turn off.

I wore my race vest full of water and kept and handheld bottle of nuun on the cup holder. I took a gel at mile 4 and at mile 8. Even though I was running inside, I didn’t want to dehydrate myself again. I only took walk breaks at mile 4 (with a gel), mile 7 (my legs were needing a rest due to the sore quads) and mile 8 (second gel). The unplanned walk break at mile 7 was due to my legs not being used to running longer distances.

It is hard to run any distance on it with the screen (slowly) counting up your distance but once I hit 5 miles I knew I was halfway done and it seemed to go quicker. I would consider today’s run an epic success! I know that training for a marathon on a treadmill is not ideal, but in this New Orleans humidity, I need a reprieve! The good news is that it is a flat course AND the humidity will be much less in February.

It’s a great day for running y’all!

The Walk of Shame

Today’s schedule had a nine-mile run on tap. I was set. I had eaten the right amount of carbs for dinner last night, drank tons of nuun yesterday and munched on a few pretzels. I knew it would be a muggy run this morning, but I was prepared for it. Or so I thought. I’ve been enjoying my low-humidity evening runs a bit too much I guess. I stepped out the door at 6:25 this morning and all I could think was, "Ugh, nine miles in this?" 

The first mile was slow, the humidity was pressing down on my body and I was still trying to wake up. My second mile got easier. The third mile, I was starting to feel it. My face and neck were getting too warm. I pulled out my chilly pad from the back of my race vest and put it around my neck. It helped a little. By 3.5 miles I got the worst side stitch I have ever had. I stopped running and figured I could walk it off. By the time my garmin ticked mile four, I was in even more pain. That was when I decided to throw the towel in and walk home. That was one painful mile to home. I swear that the Sheriff that passed me on the road would have pulled over and put me in his car if he had not been in the inside lane on Esplanade!

Thankfully I made it home with no accidents. I wasn’t sure if either end was going to erupt based on the level of pain I was experiencing. I got in the shower and then crawled back into bed and slept it off. I’m feeling better this afternoon, but still have that dehydration headache. Not sure what happened this morning, fingers crossed it was a one-time event.

Lessons learned from this epic fail:

1)    Use the chilly pad immediately on the long run. There is NO reason to let myself get overheated first, start off cool and maintain a comfortable level.

2)    Find a breakfast that works. I had half of a banana and half of a piece of toast this morning. That combo obviously wasn’t enough.

3)    Suck it up and run. I know I made the right decision this morning, but it is incredibly hard to run in 97% humidity (or more!). My choice is either muggy mornings or HOT (95 feels like 101+) in the evenings where I will definitely overheat AND run out of daylight.

I will run the missing four miles tomorrow. I know it is not ideal, and I’m really upset that I had to bail this morning, but it was the right decision. I knew it was going to be a hard run when my stomach felt off this morning as I was getting out of bed. Even before the cramp I found myself wishing cars would run the stop sign and hit me so I wouldn’t have to finish, it was that hard; then the cramping hit. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind and my body was physically off. The good news is that my new treadmill should be here in two weeks or less so my next long run can be done on it’s proper day with no care to the heat, humidity or hubby’s work schedule. I know treadmill running isn’t ideal, but it’s incredibly practical for my current situation.

Regardless of the craptastic run, I am glad that I was able to get out and do five miles this morning! 

It’s a great day for running y’all!

Take That Humidity

Yesterday I ran 8 miles. I was actually scheduled to run 7.5 but I was so close to the 8 mile mark I decided to finish up that last .5 miles. I struggle with running half miles, they are hard to plan for on my usual routs and I struggle with them mentally: if I can run .5 miles, why not go all the way to 1?

I was up at 5:30 that morning. I didn’t sleep well the night before, not sure why. I usually anticipate my alarm on my early running days, but that night was just due to random insomnia. I ate half a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and half of a banana. I tried to drink some water, but not too much. Just a few minutes past six, I had foam rolled and was ready to go. It was early dawn, the sun was just starting to wake up. It was 77 degrees with 100% humidity. I could sure feel that humidity. The first three miles were hard. I felt slow, heavy and sluggish. Once the sun came up, the humidity started to drop and I noticed a difference. Even a 3% drop is easily noticeable. I took a gel at 4 miles. I was thankful for my new hydration vest. The Nathan Intensity 2L vest was perfect! I could take a swig as needed and not slow down to fumble with my flasks. I did bring two flasks of nuun in my hydration belt and two flasks of water for dousing my face, neck and head. By the end of the run, my flasks were empty but my vest was over half full. Great news for longer distances in this NOLA humidity! I passed a few other runners, a bit uncommon for my morning runs. Not sure why everyone decided to wake up at 6am to run? Maybe it was the rain we had the day before?

These 8 miles were indeed the hardest I have ever run, but I kept them all under 13 minute miles (don’t forget I said 100% humidity) and that made me feel good. I think that as the humidity drops, I will find my speed. I hope.

I spent the rest of the afternoon drinking the rest of my water and watching Lord of the Rings: Return of the King with the family. For dinner we had some rocking steak fajitas and I might have had a gin a tonic. Overall, it was an epic day.

Today, the boys and I went for a short walk. I’m only a tad sore from yesterday. I mostly feel tired and run down. I’m guessing that is from the humidity. Looking forward to another three miles either tomorrow night or Saturday morning- depending on the weather and how I’m feeling.

It’s a great day for running y’all!

The Hardest Six Miles I Have Ever Run

I just finished week five of the Jeff Galloway Finish It Marathon Training Plan. My long run was six miles. I can honestly say that they were the hardest six miles I have ever run in my life. I started off at quarter after six in the morning. It was already 80 degrees with 91% humidity. The heat index brought the temperature up even higher. I scarfed down half of a banana knowing I’d need fuel but not wanting to waste time eating a full breakfast and waiting for it to digest. I stepped out of the front door and it felt like I was in a sauna. Ugh. I had a full fuel belt: two flasks of nuun up front and two flasks of water in the back. I set my garmin and started my timer. My legs were slow, the heat and humidity kept pushing me down making me slower. The miles slowly ticked away and I took a gel at mile three. I don’t normally take gels with me on six miles, but figured with the lack of breakfast combined with the weather, I should bring one. I’m glad I did. At each walk break (4 min run, 30 second walk) I would take a sip of nuun. After the second mile I started sipping water and splashing it on my face. After three miles I started pouring water on my neck and my head. By mile five my fuel belt was sucked dry. The only thing that got me home was knowing I had only one mile left.

Lessons learned for a successful run in August in New Orleans:

1. I need to find something I can eat (before my long runs) and then run immediately. Half a banana works. I wonder if I should try adding some Greek yogurt as well? Training for my half marathons, I would eat a bowl of oatmeal. Unfortunately, oatmeal is too hot and I don’t want to get up that early to eat and then wait for digestion.
2. I need to leave the house at SIX am and not any later. Once that sun comes up, it gets H-O-T!
3. I need to bring more liquids. Problem solved. I ordered a Nathan Intensity 2 Liter vest. It should be here before my next long run (7.5 miles)
4. I should consider getting a Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad to keep my neck cool. I loose a lot of water by dousing my neck and head.

Rough run aside, it was pretty awesome knowing I ran six miles in weather most people don’t even leave the house in! Pretty GBA in my book. I’m looking forward to my new vest and experimenting with breakfast options that don’t give me a mid run gut ache.

It’s a great day for running y’all!

Marathon Training

Yup, it’s official. I’m training for my first marathon! I started this week and I’m thankful to be using the Galloway Method due to the intense humidity in NOLA. Phew! Post run, I’m a thirsty, tired, fatigued and getting headaches. I’ve been chugging nuun and coconut water like it’s going out of style! I think it is helping. I hope. This week I’m “base building” by running 3 miles max. I’m cool with that since I’m still acclimating to the weather here. I have found that hitting the road by 7 am is ideal, and regardless of the distance, I need to bring a TON of water and some nuun. As my distance increases, I will need to start up some salt tabs since I sweat like a pig!

Regardless of the humidity, it’s a great day for running y’all!