Race to the Top of Vermont: August 29, 2010

Here's what I can say about this race- there was no "racing" about it for me. I ran maybe 10 minutes of the entire climb, if that. Those 4.3 miles that rose 2,550 vertical feet with at 10% grade were much more grueling than I had anticipated.

Usually I sell myself and my athletic abilities short. This time, I overestimated my fitness. My legs were burning, and I was exhausted by the time I reached the summit, a full 1:34:30 after I left the start. I know this timing is accurate, because this was my first race with timing chips.

Adding insult to inury is the fact that my racing shirt is too small. I ordered a large, which has been plenty big in other races, but this time it is much too tight. Too damned bad- this is a shirt I would feel like wearing around to brag that I even survived this race.

A big positive that came out of this, though, is the fact that I had to push my body harder than I ever have on one of my runs, or my 5K races. I was panting, and my legs were on fire, and I literally thought I would fall over from exhaustion. Yet, I pushed on and finished. I think this encourages me to work harder in my training, and it gives me a better idea of how deep I can dig when I need to.

When I reached the summit of the race (the second to last runner to finish, by the way), they were out of water. I sat in the shade, very thirsty, and hungry, and started to get quite faint. I rode down the mountain in a big van with other racers, and I sat in the passenger's seat, because I was going to have to throw up out the window. I did not, luckily, but I really felt extremely weak and ill. At the BBQ aftewards, I grabbed 3 drinks from the beverage line and headed home. I drank all three, and my waterbottle full of tepid water, before I made it home- a 40 minute car ride. THEN I started to feel more like myself.

I loved the friendliness of this race, the beautiful weather, the views from the top, and the atmosphere of joy and goodwill. However, I cannot say that the memory of the agony of Sunday will have faded enough in my mind by next August to again sign up for the Race to the Top of Vermont.

Taking A Little Break

Hi all. I know some of you loyally follow my blog, and I can't even tell you how much that means to me. Thank you all.

As school starts up, and since I'm fostering cats which make me really busy, and because I am embarking on a new training program that has less running and more cross training, I am going to take a break from blogging here.

I will blog about how my August mountain run goes, and the 10K in October, and then pick back up again when I really get into my half marathon training in mid-October.

Time to Regroup

This is going to be brief, because I am quite busy. The top of my right foot has been hurting, my hips are off, and I've just been tight all over. I did some searching on the Internet and found a Hal Higdon program that trains for a 10K in 8 weeks, and is much more conservative as far as distance. There are more strength and cross-training days worked in.

As of Monday, I will be 8 weeks from my 10K race, so I will start his training program then. It seems like perfect timing, so it's meant to be. I plan to visit Fleet Feet soon to talk about another pair of shoes so I can rotate what I wear to run in, and I also need to commit to a stretching program. Hopefully this will keep me on a good path all the way through to the half marathon.

Wednesday I walked/ran 3 miles, and I took yesterday off. Our foster kitten was very sick, and he ended up dying, so I wasn't in a place where I wanted to get out there and work out. Today I did 3 miles of all walking. I'll do whatever feels good for Saturday and Sunday, then the Higdon program starts Monday. I hope this is the magic bullet!

Week 7 Day 1 of 10K Training

Today was 5 miles. I took Sunday AND Monday off because I was feeling so sore. Well, as usual, after running today I feel better overall. My hips don't hurt as much. I can feel that my hamstrings are tight, and my Achilles/calves are tight too. I need to make sure to stretch out now that I'm warmed up.

I am worried about my heels, though. The very back of my foot, like where my heel strikes the ground, is incredibly painful. I don't think it's plantar fascitis (sp?) because I don't have that tight/tearing feeling. It is more like a bruised bone feeling- that repeatedly hitting the ground heel first is causing residual pain. It is worse when I first get out of bed in the morning, which is a hallmark of plantar issues, but I just don't know.

I have only 150 days until the WDW Half Marathon, so I have to get this solved. I will probably head to Fleet Feet later in the week and see what they think.

Week 6 Day 4 of 10K Training: 5K Race

My body is sending me signals, and I better listen.

I did the Fairfax Egg Run today. The weather was beautiful, my intestines and cardiovascular system and joints felt good. My feet/ankles, however, were in sorry shape, and my leg muscles all felt tight. I ran with my brother Tim, and we went out at a blistering pace (for me) of about a 10:30 minute mile. Just before the halfway point, the tops of my feet/ankles were so tight and burning that I had to walk. I told Tim to go on ahead, but he is a sweetie and stuck with me.

At two points on the return, I had to stop and walk. I wasn't too out of breath (although I was breathing hard b/c our running pace was quicker than my normal) but I just couldn't stand the pain in my feet.

I finished in 36:23, which is only 7 seconds slower than my 5K in June when I ran the whole thing as quickly as I could. That makes me feel good- it means I'm more fit overall. Still, I was disappointed in myself that I needed to walk. THREE TIMES.

It was wonderful to run a race in my hometown. I had friends and family and former students and future students and co-workers all cheering me on. The atmosphere was very friendly. And, of course, there were omelets at the end, (hence the name the Egg Run), though I didn't partake. The thought of eggs and cheese at the end of a race gags me. I did have a chocolate chip banana muffin and orange juice- that hit the spot!

I am taking both tomorrow and Monday off from any type of physical activity. Since I did a race today, tomorrow was supposed to be only a 3 mile run, so I'm skipping it, and then Monday is my scheduled rest day. That means I pick up again on Tuesday with a 5 mile run. I am hoping the rest does me worlds of good, because my lower half is seriously crying uncle.

Week 6 Day 3 of 10K Training

I took yesterday (Thursday) off, even though it wasn't my normal rest day. There were three reasons for this:
1. It was really hot and humid
2. I was feeling pain
3. I read somewhere to never take the day before a race off completely from running, and I have a 5K tomorrow.

So, I got up and did 4 easy miles this morning, with much of it walking. My left hip hurt and my pinky toes and my quads (that's new), and my instestines weren't happy either. I don't know what's been up lately, but it's really pissing me off.

I am going to hydrate well today, and eat some good carbs, and hope for the best tomorrow for the Egg Run. Though I hate this expression, "it is what it is" and we'll just have to see how it goes.

Week 6 Day 2 of 10K Training

Ugh ugh and blah blah. I have a wrecked left pinky toe and my left hip hurts and my feet hurt and I just feel like I need a week off. I really cannot afford to do that, since I am ramping up for the 10K in October, but after the 5K this Saturday I may take Sunday and Monday off just to rest up. I think my body needs a break.

I did 5 miles on the treadmill this afternoon, because it was too hot to be outside and this morning there were thunderstorms. I walked all but a mile of it. It felt ok, but I just didn't want to push things. I also did a round of weights. Good enough for me today.

Just as an aside, I have to give a plug to the NPR podcasts. I listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Car Talk and The Splendid Table and others as I remember them. They just make the time pass so much more quickly.

Week 6 Day 1 of 10K Training

Today was a 4 mile run, but I only ran half of that and then walked the rest. Yesterday I did not hydrate anywhere near enough, and I was out late, and my hips were sore, and my toe hurt, and it was wicked humid, blah blah blah. Anyway, I didn't set the world on fire, but I kept it at about a 14 minute mile average, so I'll live with that. I'm just glad I got the run out of the way before the severe thunderstorms that are due later today.

Today's excitement was that I saw a pair of panties by the side of the road. They had a navy blue background, then had little red cherries on them. All the rest of the way home, I constructed stories about how the panties got there. None of them are appropriate to share here.

Week 5 Day 5 of 10K Training

I've never really written about all the steps it takes for me to get out the door and start my long run. It's a very complicated process:

1. Go upstairs to put on running shorts, sports bra, and running singlet.
2. Pull hair into ponytail, slide on headband, clip the loose hairs up that fall out below the ponytail.
3. Put on deodorant.
4. Go downstairs with socks in hand.
5. Grab Vaseline, a paper towel, moleskin, and scissors, and grab sneakers from the hall.
6. Cut and attach moleskin to the pinky toes of each foot.
7. Smear Vaseline around all the toes on each foot. Wipe hands on paper towel.
8. Put on socks.
9. Put on shoes.
10. Smear Vaseline under the band of my sports bra to prevent chafing (or, should I say, MORE chafing).
11. Wash hand and fill water bottle half full of water.
12. Fill the rest of the space in the water bottle with Powerade.
13. Put water bottle in Fuel Belt, and add a paper towel and my cell phone.
14. Grab iPod, headphones, Nike +, and arm band.
15. Call to husband that I'm ready to leave, so he can drive me miles away from home and dump me in the middle of nowhere so I can run back.

I didn't list the steps in here of setting the alarm the night before so I have time to get up, drink and eat, go to the bathroom, and gear up so I actually get out of the house before noon. It's a miracle I ever actually make it out the door at all!

Today's run was excellent, excellent, excellent. I had to do 7 miles, so I go up and ate breakfast- I figured that was too far of a run to do without fuel. Justin drove me towards St. Albans/Fairfield today, and I ran home. I sought out a course that was mostly dirt, because this past week I had unintentionally run on almost exclusively pavement. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect.

I warmed up with a 10 minute walk, then ran for 35 minutes. I took a 5 minute walk/drink break, then ran for 30 minutes. I took a 5 minute break, then ran until I was 5 minutes from the house, when I stopped to cool down. All in all my pace was about a 13 minute mile, which I'm very happy with, considering how much of my run was actually running, and the fact that 25 minutes of my workout were actually walking.

I darnk blue PowerAde today, and it was the 0 calorie kind. I guess it was fine. I didn't throw up, pass out, or crap myself, which is basically my definition of success.

I started out with a lot of pain in my feet. The bottoms hurt, and the inside of my left foot hurt. That muscle that runs along the top of my foot/ankle, that activates when I point my toe, was extremely painful and tight; this was the muscle that bothers me usually only when I run on the treadmill. My knees hurt a little too. By the middle of the run, though, all the kinks seemed to have worked themselves out, and I was feeling fairly smooth and comfortable.

I have noticed that every time I stop for a drink break, it is harder for me to start back up running again. My first few trotting steps are stiff and feel awkward, but then I get into a rhythm. It makes me not want to stop to drink, though I know I need to. It's almost like it take more energy to get going at running speed again than it would to have never taken a walk break in the first place.

Tomorrow is a well-deserved day of rest, and then next week is less mileage, though I do have a 5K race on Saturday. WOOT!