This weekend I decided to just do the low end of the required 4-6 miles on saturday because I wanted to go for the high end of 5-10 miles on sunday - so Saturday was 4 miles; Sunday was 10. I can't really remember what Saturday's run was like - most likely because I am still kind of inebriated from my 10-miler this evening. Long runs do that to me quite frequently, especially today since I'm pretty sure I was low on blood sugar before even starting out. So it's a crazy combo of a runner's high and tanked glycogen levels. I should have eaten more today in prep for such a long run, but oh well.
Believe it or not, it's actually good practice for the marathon because it's forcing my body to function on energy derived from fat, as opposed to energy derived from glucose. Quick biochemistry lesson... The average human body can only store about 380 grams of glycogen, which equates to approx 18-20 miles of running. Herein lies the rub - a marathon is 26 miles, so where the heck you 'spose to pull those last 6-8 miles out of? The answer: fat stores. The other rub: The body naturally prefers glycogen as fuel (because it requires only like 10 metabolic processes, as opposed to the 20 or so required to turn fat into energy). As with anything, the more practice you have at something, the better you are at it.
Anyway, back to the 10 miler, breathing was at an all-time worst, the entire freaking run! Big fun!! I'm sure I've had instances where my asthma was acting more obnoxious that it did today, but I certainly cannot recall one at the moment. It hurts and it's sort of miserable, but at the same time, it is a part of me and the added struggle makes the battle, the journey and the victory all the more meaningful. I could; however, have done without the insanely painful stitch in my side the last 1.5 miles. But on a good note, I'm so glad my Aunt Jean had a good day yesterday. Unfortunately, the good day was just a teaser and was followed by another very weak day today. Let's hope for another good day tomorrow! :)
Katy did 10 today too - this is the longest she has ever run in her entire life - muy congrats!!!: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Saturday's Miles: 4
Today's Miles: 10
Miles This Week: 30.5
Total Training Miles: 85.75
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Day 19 - Gawd I hate that friggin hill!
Why oh why am I already experiencing chaffing?! My first encounter with chaffing last year wasn't until I hit like a 16-18 mile run. But oh no, yesterday and today, thighs rubbing together and now I have little strawberries between my legs, go ahead, laugh. A 112lb person should NOT be having this problem, wth.
This run was just doomed I guess. Less than a mile into things, Jasper took off after a fox, despite my yelling at her to stop. I called and called and she never came; I didn't see her for several mintues. I was sure the fox had eaten her, and quite frankly, I didn't care. Then, she just shows back up out of nowhere. Considering her bad behavior yesterday, this is strike 2 for her.
I've noticed my asthma usually lets up a little bit after the first mile or so (the doctor says that this is because the adrenaline and endorphins released during exercise are natural bronchodilators, hmm interesting). I decided to try to use this to my advantage and get a mile on flat land before going after Darth Vader. This didn't work at all. I still wanted to die on that mile long hill. So far we have chaffing, Jasper acting up and the hill cramping my style.
About the 3rd mile (schedule called for 4-7 miles, I wanted to go for 7 today), Jasper once again misbehaves. The rule is that she can wonder all over the place while I run, but that when I see/hear a car coming and call for her, she is to stay at my side until they pass. She did not come this time and just dilly-dallied in the middle of the road. The people had to come to a complete stop & when I went to pick her up, she just ran away from me. I don't know if the people in the car were amused or what, but they just kept sitting there. Angry & embarassed, I waved them on and kept trying to chase down the stupid dog. Meanwhile, ANOTHER car is coming and we go thru the same drill with them too. Jasper finally crowches down on the side of the road, as if I beat her senseless on a regular basis - which I have never done, but it certainly took everything I had not to do it at this moment. Strikes 3 & 4 for Jasper - she is on indefinite running probation. Stupid bitch.
As if I couldn't have gotten any more angry and frustrated on this run, as the sun is setting, the bugs are swarming. I am so effen sick of effen bugs!! I cannot wait to get back to the city where we have far, far fewer bugs, and there is concrete instead of dirt and mud everywhere. And I am never more than 5 minutes away from a Wal-Mart. I am SOOOOO friggin sick of the country and nature right now. Bahhhhhhhh!!! Oh, and even though I'm wearing neon yellow shorts & a bright white top, the next several cars that go by must have been texting while driving or something because 3-4 times I was nearly run off the road. I threw my arms in the air at one car and the next one I flipped them off. I am an angry, angry girl today.
Go Katy Go!!: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Today's Miles: 7
Miles This Week: 16.5
Total Training Miles: 71.75
This run was just doomed I guess. Less than a mile into things, Jasper took off after a fox, despite my yelling at her to stop. I called and called and she never came; I didn't see her for several mintues. I was sure the fox had eaten her, and quite frankly, I didn't care. Then, she just shows back up out of nowhere. Considering her bad behavior yesterday, this is strike 2 for her.
I've noticed my asthma usually lets up a little bit after the first mile or so (the doctor says that this is because the adrenaline and endorphins released during exercise are natural bronchodilators, hmm interesting). I decided to try to use this to my advantage and get a mile on flat land before going after Darth Vader. This didn't work at all. I still wanted to die on that mile long hill. So far we have chaffing, Jasper acting up and the hill cramping my style.
About the 3rd mile (schedule called for 4-7 miles, I wanted to go for 7 today), Jasper once again misbehaves. The rule is that she can wonder all over the place while I run, but that when I see/hear a car coming and call for her, she is to stay at my side until they pass. She did not come this time and just dilly-dallied in the middle of the road. The people had to come to a complete stop & when I went to pick her up, she just ran away from me. I don't know if the people in the car were amused or what, but they just kept sitting there. Angry & embarassed, I waved them on and kept trying to chase down the stupid dog. Meanwhile, ANOTHER car is coming and we go thru the same drill with them too. Jasper finally crowches down on the side of the road, as if I beat her senseless on a regular basis - which I have never done, but it certainly took everything I had not to do it at this moment. Strikes 3 & 4 for Jasper - she is on indefinite running probation. Stupid bitch.
As if I couldn't have gotten any more angry and frustrated on this run, as the sun is setting, the bugs are swarming. I am so effen sick of effen bugs!! I cannot wait to get back to the city where we have far, far fewer bugs, and there is concrete instead of dirt and mud everywhere. And I am never more than 5 minutes away from a Wal-Mart. I am SOOOOO friggin sick of the country and nature right now. Bahhhhhhhh!!! Oh, and even though I'm wearing neon yellow shorts & a bright white top, the next several cars that go by must have been texting while driving or something because 3-4 times I was nearly run off the road. I threw my arms in the air at one car and the next one I flipped them off. I am an angry, angry girl today.
Go Katy Go!!: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Today's Miles: 7
Miles This Week: 16.5
Total Training Miles: 71.75
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Days 17 & 18 - That darn hill is back
Wednesday was my day off - well, from running anyway, not from anything else. Aunt Jean is still feeling very crummy. It's been exactly one week since her last radiation and the pain hasn't let up any yet :( We really hoped it would have by now, maybe just a little bit anyway. I did officially register for the race today, though. How crazy is it that I'm paying $65 so I can run 26.2 miles? I'm sure most people wouldn't run a marathon even if you offered to pay them ten times that, ha! I love being insane.
Today I was supposed to do 6 miles at my target marathon pace, which I have decided to shoot for 10 min miles. Considering my recent progress, I thought today was going to be easy. But then I realized that it's been a week and a half since I had to tackle that awful hill, which I have decided to name Darth Vader.
My first mile (all uphill, and a pretty steep one) took over 11 minutes, and I knew I still had one more large hill and two smaller ones before the sweet relief of downhills. Just when I was starting to really make up the difference in time, I had to take a detour and chase down my running partner (Jasper, the 10 foot tall and bullet proof chihuahua), grab her up and walk with her in my arms for the next quarter mile or so. Why, you ask? There was a very big dog that she tried to pick a fight with. Well, I'm sure I've shot my goal all to hell by now, but the downhills are just around the corner, so maybe I can at least keep from totally bombing. Should have finished in exactly 60 min, and made it in 60 min & 28 sec. I was happy with that, considering.
Annnnnd, herrrrrre's Johnny, no wait, Katy: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Wednesday Miles: 0 (Day off)
Thursday's Miles: 6
Miles This Week: 9.5
Total Training Miles: 64.75
Today I was supposed to do 6 miles at my target marathon pace, which I have decided to shoot for 10 min miles. Considering my recent progress, I thought today was going to be easy. But then I realized that it's been a week and a half since I had to tackle that awful hill, which I have decided to name Darth Vader.
My first mile (all uphill, and a pretty steep one) took over 11 minutes, and I knew I still had one more large hill and two smaller ones before the sweet relief of downhills. Just when I was starting to really make up the difference in time, I had to take a detour and chase down my running partner (Jasper, the 10 foot tall and bullet proof chihuahua), grab her up and walk with her in my arms for the next quarter mile or so. Why, you ask? There was a very big dog that she tried to pick a fight with. Well, I'm sure I've shot my goal all to hell by now, but the downhills are just around the corner, so maybe I can at least keep from totally bombing. Should have finished in exactly 60 min, and made it in 60 min & 28 sec. I was happy with that, considering.
Annnnnd, herrrrrre's Johnny, no wait, Katy: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Wednesday Miles: 0 (Day off)
Thursday's Miles: 6
Miles This Week: 9.5
Total Training Miles: 64.75
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Days 15 & 16
After some incredible progress last week, this week sure started out with a flop :( Since it was a very sluggish 8 miles on Sunday, I was really hoping to have a good, strong run for Monday. Schedule called for 0-6, and I had in mind about 4 or 5. However, my job had other plans for me. I ended up working over 12 hours (which really isn't that big of a deal for me), but when I didn't stop work til 10pm or so, it was simply too late at night to just be starting a run, and I was too tired. Not to mention, I was nauseous, light-headed, dizzy and high-as-a-kite from working with lacquer for the last several hours. I was very disappointed, but I had to let this run go. Fail.
Today was another 12 hour work day that involved a lot of inhalants, but since most of the spraying was done during the daytime while the bugs are away, we were able to ventilate and spare a few brain cells, as well as not thoroughly piss off my asthma. But of course, a mild nosebleed had to make a cameo appearance, just for spite. I was still tired though, and a little woozy AND it was supposed to be speed workout day...oh boy what a nice mixture this is gonna be, right? I decided I just wanted to get the 3 miles over with, so I opted for 3 intervals of 1-mile each. It's one thing to do a 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile as hard as you can, but to practically "sprint" an entire mile is a whole other story (sprint being a relative term compared to my usual 10-10:30 pace). Well, screw it, here goes...
Mile 1 - 8:44, wth?! Oh my freakin gaaa, really? Did I just do that? Well cut my legs off and call me shorty!!! This is an incredibly impressive pace for me, but I'm sure my next two miles will suffer dearly.
Mile 2 - 8:58, Did I really just maintain that? Boo-ya! Not to mention that my time was actually a little better than that, but the neighbors stopped me for a few seconds to warn me that they saw copperheads out on the road the night before, oh goody.
Mile 3 - last one, the TRUE test. Let's see what I can dig deep for. Drum roll please... duh duh duh duh - - - - 8:17!! Yes, EIGHT MINUTES, SEVENTEEN SECONDS. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, biatch!!!
Wonder if Katy was able to do the full 3 miles this time on her 2nd go-round w/ speed training: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Monday's Miles: 0
Tuesday's Miles: 3.5, Rockstar Style
Miles This Week: 3.5
Total Training Miles: 58.75
Today was another 12 hour work day that involved a lot of inhalants, but since most of the spraying was done during the daytime while the bugs are away, we were able to ventilate and spare a few brain cells, as well as not thoroughly piss off my asthma. But of course, a mild nosebleed had to make a cameo appearance, just for spite. I was still tired though, and a little woozy AND it was supposed to be speed workout day...oh boy what a nice mixture this is gonna be, right? I decided I just wanted to get the 3 miles over with, so I opted for 3 intervals of 1-mile each. It's one thing to do a 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile as hard as you can, but to practically "sprint" an entire mile is a whole other story (sprint being a relative term compared to my usual 10-10:30 pace). Well, screw it, here goes...
Mile 1 - 8:44, wth?! Oh my freakin gaaa, really? Did I just do that? Well cut my legs off and call me shorty!!! This is an incredibly impressive pace for me, but I'm sure my next two miles will suffer dearly.
Mile 2 - 8:58, Did I really just maintain that? Boo-ya! Not to mention that my time was actually a little better than that, but the neighbors stopped me for a few seconds to warn me that they saw copperheads out on the road the night before, oh goody.
Mile 3 - last one, the TRUE test. Let's see what I can dig deep for. Drum roll please... duh duh duh duh - - - - 8:17!! Yes, EIGHT MINUTES, SEVENTEEN SECONDS. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, biatch!!!
Wonder if Katy was able to do the full 3 miles this time on her 2nd go-round w/ speed training: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Monday's Miles: 0
Tuesday's Miles: 3.5, Rockstar Style
Miles This Week: 3.5
Total Training Miles: 58.75
Monday, June 20, 2011
Days 13 & 14 - Peach Festival Race
Day 13 was the Peach Festival 4-Mile Race, which worked out perfectly since the schedule said to run 3-6 miles. Granted 4 miles is on the low side of that, but considering the fact that it was racing 4 miles and not just regular jogging, I think that makes up for the difference. My time came in right at 36 minutes, which comes to an average of 9 min miles!! Holy crap - didn't know I had that in me. Thank you to Ann for showing up to cheer for me and take some pics, and also letting me borrow her nebulizer to do a treatment the night before and morning of, I am certain I couldn't have pulled that off without her help :) I would like to do a few more short road races in place of training runs going forward and see what I can get my times down to.
Day 14 was rough. Running Rx was 4-8 miles, and I really wanted to do the 8. But I was not feeling that great. Legs sore and tired from the race, my tummy was upset, I'd done a lot of travel over the weekend & hadn't slept super great, and I decided to go for my run during the hottest part of the day. All things considered, I had to work in several walking breaks in this run, but I had promised myself I was doing the full 8 miles, even if I had to walk every last step. As miserable as I felt during the whole run, I'm glad I made myself do it. I think it's getting out on days like these and doing what you have to do that makes us into true champions and gives the journey its true meaning.
Let's see how Katy has been doing: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Saturday's Miles: 4
Sunday's Miles: 8
This Week's Miles: 26.25
Total Training Miles: 55.25
Day 14 was rough. Running Rx was 4-8 miles, and I really wanted to do the 8. But I was not feeling that great. Legs sore and tired from the race, my tummy was upset, I'd done a lot of travel over the weekend & hadn't slept super great, and I decided to go for my run during the hottest part of the day. All things considered, I had to work in several walking breaks in this run, but I had promised myself I was doing the full 8 miles, even if I had to walk every last step. As miserable as I felt during the whole run, I'm glad I made myself do it. I think it's getting out on days like these and doing what you have to do that makes us into true champions and gives the journey its true meaning.
Let's see how Katy has been doing: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Saturday's Miles: 4
Sunday's Miles: 8
This Week's Miles: 26.25
Total Training Miles: 55.25
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day 12 - HOTTT
When I rolled into Clarksville last night to pick up some job materials, I noticed it was Peach Festival time. I'd completely forgotten it was that time of year. I remembered how they used to always have a road race every year, the Peach Fesitval 4-Miler. I ran it a few times when I was in school and it was a fun race. I thought, "How fun would it be to do the race as my training run for Saturday?!"
Then, at about 3pm on Friday, I realized, oh crap, I usually run in the evenings and if the race is 1st thing in the morning, then I need to hurry and get my Friday run out of the way NOW - in 103 degree heat index. YeeHaw! As such, I opted for only 3 miles, since the plan called for 3-6. There was very little shade and it felt like the longest 3 miles I've run in awhile. But when it was over, a nice cold shower bounced me right back. Now, I go eat...lots. Race starts @ 7am - hopefully I can hash out something impressive.
See Katy's blog too: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Today's Miles: 3
This Week's Miles: 14.25
Total Training Miles: 43.25
Then, at about 3pm on Friday, I realized, oh crap, I usually run in the evenings and if the race is 1st thing in the morning, then I need to hurry and get my Friday run out of the way NOW - in 103 degree heat index. YeeHaw! As such, I opted for only 3 miles, since the plan called for 3-6. There was very little shade and it felt like the longest 3 miles I've run in awhile. But when it was over, a nice cold shower bounced me right back. Now, I go eat...lots. Race starts @ 7am - hopefully I can hash out something impressive.
See Katy's blog too: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Today's Miles: 3
This Week's Miles: 14.25
Total Training Miles: 43.25
Days 10 & 11
Day 10 was a day off. I had contemplated going on a short 2-4 miles since my Monday run was cut short at only 1.5 miles when my headphones went out. But, I ultimately decided against it because since it's so early on, I thought it would be good to keep myself wanting more and prevent burnout. And, since Monday's schedule said 0-6 miles, then technically, I still did what I was supposed to.
Day 11 said 3-6 miles. I definitely wanted to go on the high side this time and go for 6. Aunt Jean had her last radiation on Wednesday and will be feeling really crummy for several weeks, so I wanted to push myself this extra hard this week. I didn't really have a time goal going into this run; I just wanted to push myself as hard as I could and see what it came out to. What happened next was something I didn't think was humanly possible for me and my asthma. Normally, keeping just a 10-10:30 minute mile pace is everything I can do. At the end of the 1st mile, I was at a 9:16 and couldn't believe it! However, it had been a very slight/gradual downhill for that first mile, so I just sort of gave that the credit. But then, after the 2nd mile, my pace was 9:06 - and this even included a small uphill. I thought to myself, "How is this even possible?! This has to be wrong."
Granted, my breathing was extrememly labored, but it still just didn't seem like the time could be that good. I finally accepted the sweet reality when my average pace was still in the 9:20s at the third mile, at which point I made it my goal to keep the overall pace at less than 10min/mile for the whole 6 miles - but I knew was going to be VERY hard because I was already hurting pretty badly and only halfway finished, AND the last mile was ALL uphill. So, I was going to need every bit of those lower 9 min times in the beginning to offset the inevitable slowing down that was to come.
By mile 4, I was tired and hit a few small uphills; my average pace had slowed to the 9:40s. Mile 5, my pace had climed to the low 9:50s. And I still had an entire mile all uphill to go! I wasn't sure if I could do it at this point and was scared I had set too lofty of a goal. I just kept telling myself... you have to do this, you have to at least try; Aunt Jean is hurting too!! I hunkered down & decided not to look at my watch again until it was over. Just try to zone out & forget the fact that this was going to hurt & I had to somehow find a way to do this without the help of oxygen - which had long since abandoned me. I closed my eyes, turned the ipod WAAAYY up & prayed for mercy. I finished w/ and average pace of 9:51 & finally regained normal breathing about 4 hours later, ha! It was worth every bit!!!
See Katy's blog too: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Wednesday Miles: 0
Thursday Miles: 6
This Week's Miles: 11.25
Total Training Miles: 40.25
Day 11 said 3-6 miles. I definitely wanted to go on the high side this time and go for 6. Aunt Jean had her last radiation on Wednesday and will be feeling really crummy for several weeks, so I wanted to push myself this extra hard this week. I didn't really have a time goal going into this run; I just wanted to push myself as hard as I could and see what it came out to. What happened next was something I didn't think was humanly possible for me and my asthma. Normally, keeping just a 10-10:30 minute mile pace is everything I can do. At the end of the 1st mile, I was at a 9:16 and couldn't believe it! However, it had been a very slight/gradual downhill for that first mile, so I just sort of gave that the credit. But then, after the 2nd mile, my pace was 9:06 - and this even included a small uphill. I thought to myself, "How is this even possible?! This has to be wrong."
Granted, my breathing was extrememly labored, but it still just didn't seem like the time could be that good. I finally accepted the sweet reality when my average pace was still in the 9:20s at the third mile, at which point I made it my goal to keep the overall pace at less than 10min/mile for the whole 6 miles - but I knew was going to be VERY hard because I was already hurting pretty badly and only halfway finished, AND the last mile was ALL uphill. So, I was going to need every bit of those lower 9 min times in the beginning to offset the inevitable slowing down that was to come.
By mile 4, I was tired and hit a few small uphills; my average pace had slowed to the 9:40s. Mile 5, my pace had climed to the low 9:50s. And I still had an entire mile all uphill to go! I wasn't sure if I could do it at this point and was scared I had set too lofty of a goal. I just kept telling myself... you have to do this, you have to at least try; Aunt Jean is hurting too!! I hunkered down & decided not to look at my watch again until it was over. Just try to zone out & forget the fact that this was going to hurt & I had to somehow find a way to do this without the help of oxygen - which had long since abandoned me. I closed my eyes, turned the ipod WAAAYY up & prayed for mercy. I finished w/ and average pace of 9:51 & finally regained normal breathing about 4 hours later, ha! It was worth every bit!!!
See Katy's blog too: http://katysfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/
Wednesday Miles: 0
Thursday Miles: 6
This Week's Miles: 11.25
Total Training Miles: 40.25
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