A run blog

Marathon training week: 2/18
Marathon plan: 9 miles

Time of departure: about noon
Return: not sure

Phase of the moon: 100% full!

Temperature: 36°F(2°C)
Wind Chill: 27°F (-3°C)

Route: Down the lakefront, almost to Belmont
Approx Distance: 9 miles
Running buddy: self
Clothing: shoes, socks, striped athletic pants, long sleeve t, windbreaker, hat, gloves. I felt a little underdressed when the wind was blowing, which it was most of the time. A sweatwicking t-shirt would have been nice.

What did I eat pre-run? 1/2 bagel, a sip of water. I should have drank more water.
How did I feel? I felt like my knees were tightening up. It was cold.
What do I like about running? It gets me out the house on a sunny day when it's cold.
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Today was one of those crisp, cold, beautiful days. And I spent the morning making my (relatively new but untouched) mp3 player work. I downloaded a book from the library and uploaded it onto my mp3 player! Ugh. I hate doing that sort of thing, which is why I've resisted (procrastinated) for so long. So I spent the run listening to a story...I forget the title and the author, but the main character is name Amanda Peabody...more on that later.

I'm watching the American President...Oh, how I love Aaron Sorkin!

Yay! Week 2!

Marathon training week: 2/18
Marathon plan: 3 miles

Time of departure: 8:40am
Return: 9:25am
Sunrise: there is no sun. 6:46am
Sunset: 4:26pm
Phase of the moon: Waxing Gibbous, 79% full

Temperature: 46F/8C
Wind Chill: 42F/6C
Dew Point: 42F (why do I care about dew point? I can't remember).
Humidity: 86%
Lake Temp: 47F

Route: 3 miles on the lakefront
Approx Distance: 3 miles
Running buddy: just me.
Clothing: shoes, socks, cotton yoga pants, t-shirt, wind breaker. too easy!

The Drive Activity: there were cars.
Dog beach Activity: didn't get that far. I did see quite a few dogs though.
People tally: I didn't count people but there were quite a few people out.

What did I eat pre-run? A few sips of water. (Yay! 3 miles, I don't have to eat beforehand.)
How did I feel? Awesome.
What do I like about running? It got me out of bed and out of the house this morning. Else, I may still have been there.
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This morning was a very gray and foggy morning. This made me very happy, of course. The lake was gray, the horizon line obliterated by mist and low clouds. Small but frequent waves rolled in against the shore. Near Foster Ave beach, when I shut my eyes, they sounded almost like the wind in the trees. Ah, so nice. Most of the trees are without their leaves, their spindly branches appearing to reach up and disappear against the light gray sky. I know summer is a great season. And I do love how I can go swimming and drink frozen vodka lemonades on the beach and just relax in the sun. This is all very nice. I love those times, I really do. But there is something about these darker days that resonate with me on an entirely different level.

It was fun today to go out and run 3 miles and know that I did what I was supposed to do, that I wasn't supposed to run longer, that I was not slacking by not going further. As much as a routine and a plan gives you structure, it also gives you freedom I'm seeing. Rest days, take the day off. 3 mile runs, do the 3 miles, don't run 6. How nice! Follow the plan. No decisions to made. There is a liberty in this.

Today, I only had to stop for one street light, which was super nice. I've decided I won't do any stretching mid-run for these 3 miles, unless I really feel a need, of course. I'll just be easy on myself early on and let my body warm up. I also ran on the grass as much as I could and did all along the lakefront. I figure there is less force of impact going into my body (than if I were to run on asphalt or concrete) and my legs have to work harder to stabilize of the uneven terrain. So long as I don't sprain an ankle, it makes them stronger. I'm not particularly prone to strains, for which I am grateful, so I think this is good for me.

I've started picking up the pace since I'm now remembering how to run. I was experimenting with trying to engage my mula and udiyana bandhas and witnessing how the force of the impact of my feet hitting the ground may distribute differently in my body when they were engaged versus not engaged. It's a subtle sensation, but I felt like there was less slaming and clonking between my shoulders and rib cage, between my ribs and pelvis, with my spine on my sacrum. I'm sure I'll be paying more and more attention to this in the coming weeks. It's a very subtle sensation.

the first of the long runs

Marathon training week: 1 of 18
Marathon plan: 8 miles

Time of departure: 2:30pm
Return: Not sure.

Temperature: 40°F(4°C)
Wind Chill: 33°F (1°C) (It was windy. And it felt cold).
Lake Temp: 47F

Route: Down past Addison and back up.
Approx Distance: 8 miles
Running buddy: Self.
Clothing: I felt under-dressed. shoes, socks, long striped pants, short sleeve t-shirt (this was the problem, I would have appreciated a long sleeve), wind breaker, hat.
The Drive Activity: busy and noisy south of montrose

Dog beach Activity: There was a big red kite flying.

What did I eat pre-run? Two tacos and guac & chips from Rocky's on Clark. This was lunch.
How did I feel? Good. Cold. Slightly bored.
What do I like about running? Today? It was all about feeling good that I had the discipline to make sure it happened today.
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My friends and I had our Traditional Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner tonight. This was quite delicious, but went rather late into the evening. It's after 1am now and I'd like to just crawl into bed, but I realize I can't get behind on these blog posts. Everyday is some day in marathon training.

My friend Sara and I went to a Mosaic workshop this morning (yay!), so finally the mystic of the mosaic has been de-mystified a bit for me. We also made plans to get together and do a little mosaic-ing together. (yay!) So, yea, maybe I'll have photos to post of my mosaics soon.

But about the run? I felt good getting out the door, good starting to run. I had a sense that it was going to be long. And it was gray and cold and windy and I have no running buddy and I lost my mp3 player at the Old Town School and...yea. I did a lot of counting (my running mantra when I'm not talking and not thinking about anything productive). I count to one hundred, and then count to one hundred again, and again, etc. I have no idea how many times I do this. I would say most of the last 5 miles involved counting. Jeez. I need to get an mp3 player working again and start listening to some philosophy lectures. Or start running 6:30 min/miles and convince Matt to run with me again.

Overall, I feel good. I did all the runs in my first week AND I even respected the rest day. Tomorrow is a scheduled cross train day, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that. Maybe I can swap it out with Monday.

Running really does tighten you up though, because of the knee jerk reflex. Did you know that?

Sleep at night, rest on Rest Days

Marathon training week: 1 of 18
Marathon plan: Rest

Do you ever feel, at night, before you go to bed, I'm too tired to do "x" thing tomorrow? And then you remember that between now and then you get to sleep and so you think, oh, okay, I suppose I can do "x" thing tomorrow...

Well, this morning I woke up thinking, I don't think I can run 8 miles tomorrow. I'm too tired. But then I remembered that today was a Rest Day. And then I decided that I would sincerely respect it as such and made plans to NOT attend a favorite West African Dance class.

Ya'll should be proud of me. Restraint is not necessarily what I'm most known for.

But if I wasn't going to exercise, I was going to think about exercising. So I ordered a new bicycle seat for my Pista. This one. It is much like the one I have on my road bike, which is quite comfy as bicycle seats go. And I read quite a bit from The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga which was quite fantastic and made me really excited about massage AND yoga AND Thai Yoga Massage! I love being excited about learning new things and learning old thing again and more thoroughly.

I also made this Cranberry Sauce With Port and Cinnamon for our Traditional Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner tomorrow. Though it doesn't quite look like the picture. I did the prep work for stuffing (like chopping onion and celery) and as much prep work as a I could for this Apple-Cranberry Crisp with Polenta Streusel Topping.

Oh! And for breakfast I made Scrambled Tofu and Potatoes! Yum! I AM training after all--a girl's gotta eat! And while I was cooking breakfast, Helen Money or Alison Chelsey was being interviewed on eight forty-eight. I love her songs Birds and Song for My Sister, which you can listen to on her website. Enjoy!

Run to yoga!

Marathon training week: 1 of 18
Marathon Plan: 3 miles

Time of departure: 5:20pm
Return: 5:53pm

Sunrise: 6:41am
Sunset: 4:31pm
Phase of the moon: Waxing crescent, 33%
Temperature: 34F. Cold!
Lake Temp: 50F

Route: From Yoga Now down the lakefront, back to yoga class. It's easier to do a yoga class after a 3 mile run than doing a WAD class after a run. Because there's less jumping!

Approx Distance: 3 miles
Running buddy: Just me.
Clothing: shoes, socks, yoga pants, long sleeve t, wind breaker, hat.

The Drive Activity: there were a lot of cars.

People tally, on the path:
0 Walkers
4 Runners, 3 of them were women, 2 of whom I saw twice
6? Cyclists, 5 men, 1 woman.
0? People with dogs

What did I eat pre-run? A salad. It was good.
How did I feel? Good. I started to feel like I had more control today; for instance, I could sense I was bopping along and then shift my stride so that it was smoother. I felt like I could manipulate more where the effort, or lack of effort, would occur in my body.
What do I like about running? It's a good way for me to check in with my body and means to gage how everything is working. For instance, I was feeling a bit of extra tightness or something behind my lateral right knee. And I had a sense that my left hip wasn't quite happy in it's socket. None of this was pain, and nothing would be noticed sitting on the couch, but while in motion I had more of an awareness of the inside of my body.

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These 3 mile runs feel almost ridiculous now, which is kind of cool. It's as if I don't want to get all sweaty and dirty my clothes for 3 miles. It takes me 2 miles just to feel warmed up, and then I only have 1 mile where it starts to be fun. :) Yet I understand their place in a training program. SOoooo...my compromise seems to have become: run to WAD, run to yoga. This way, I only get sweaty once each day! Plus, well, you know me, I love to cross train and do multi sport sorts of things.

It was dark though. I was thinking about safety and what is involved with being a woman out on the path. I was thinking, maybe I should get a foghorn and carry it with me. AND some pepper spray. Or maybe a foghorn would be enough. I kind of like that idea. But interestingly, it was most solitary women I saw on the path.

This was my first 3 mile run on the route where I usually do 6 miles. It was fun! Kind of like those days of school when you only go for half the time. It feels worth it, going to school, just so you can go home early.

Yoga was awesome. I'm really like this Ashtanga yoga stuff. Something about me I've realized is true: I like routine. Ritual. Consistency. I know knowing what's coming next. I also like not knowing what's coming next, if we're talking about life on a grander scheme, but I do appreciate a certain bedrock. I liked that about Army training and certain things about the Army in general. I like taking the monkey mind out of it and learning to do things in a flow. I like being able to witness the most subtle increases in strength, flexibility, knowledge and body awareness which is easier to do when the routine is constant from day to day.

I'm beginning to know the Ashtanga series a bit now. I'm able to make guesses about which posture is coming next, and sometimes I'm right! I feel my body is beginning to learn how to move into postures that 3 weeks ago it was very confused by and ignorant of. Oh, growth is so fun!

the beginning of a journey

Time to bring back the stats.

Marathon training week: 1
The plan: 5 miles

Time of departure: 7:30am
Return: 8:45am

Phase of the moon: It's waxing. There was a new moon...Thursday, I think?
Sunrise: 640 AM CST
Sunset: 432 PM CST
Temperature: 50F
Lake Temp: 50F. Brr. That's too cold for swimming.

Route: Down to Wilson on the lakefront and back up. I hugged the lake most of the time.
Approx Distance: 5 miles
Running buddy: Just myself
Clothing: I wore running shoes, socks, blue pants with white stripes, long sleeve t, wind breaker.

What did I eat pre-run? Oh, I don't think I ate anything. I forgot about this step.
How did I feel? Pretty good. Like I'm finding my running legs. They're a little sluggish about remembering how to run.
What do I like about running? Oh, I like that it takes me out of doors on beautiful mornings like this one.

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Last night I left my mp3 player at my dance class. I think. (I should see about getting that back tomorrow.) So this morning I was sans mp3 player. I am also without running buddy because Matt and I are currently having differences. He wants to run fast. I...well, I don't run fast. He wants to run at night. I want to run in the morning. I want to follow this marathon program to facillitate a successful run of the Rome marathon. Matt scoffs at marathon training programs. And so it goes. We're working out a compromise, but meanwhile, I'm in Week 1 of a training program.

Yay!

And so it is interesting to be running a route that is super familiar to me with nothing but my thoughts. And no one to compromise with or discuss changes in route...so today I stretched near the lake and ran along side it as soon as possible all the way down to Lawrence where the path turns inland a bit. I think, while I'm running, what is it to run without a buddy? What will it be to run this winter essentially alone? Where will my thoughts take me? Will it feel like a fun adventure when it's -2F plus windchill? Or will it just feel like a bad idea becoming reality? How much does the sharing of an event determine the essence of that event?

I don't know yet. But it's mornings like this one that remind me that this is without a doubt my favorite season, that even with the trees half empty this city is glorious, that the colors of burnt orange leaves against a deep blue sky are one of the most miraculous of color combinations and I want to say to someone, isn't this incredible? And I look around, looking to see if there is someone looking for me, looking to lock eyes and nod and smile.

The lake was a deep and glorious blue color, almost completely still. Certainly, it was flat. There weren't any waves, just a textured surface, as if made by the hand of an oil painter. Along the shore it did show like glass, dotted with some mallard ducks and seagulls with their beaks tucked in their feathers...

Anyhow, it was a beautiful morning, by anyone's standards.

Day 2: 3 mile run to WAD

Today I began to remember that a big part of the challenge of training for a marathon is finding the time. Or, shall I say, creating the time. I biked to work, worked, biked home from work. Sat down. And realized I had to be at my West African dance class in an hour. And I had to run 3 miles. And then meet up with a friend.

So I thought to combine commuting to dance and my run by running to dance!

My dance class is about 2 miles away, so with the help of google pedometer I figured out a little addendum. (yay! google pedometer!)

When I arrived at dance, the warmup had already started--so I had no break!--that was tough. Bike, Run, WAD = the new triathlon. It kicked my butt.

DAY 1: Rest Day

Today is Day #1 of Marathon Training. But this feels like a joke, because today is a Rest day. How silly, I first thought.

But then I got to thinking:

Anyone who is good at teaching you how to breath properly is going to teach you to exhale completely first. If you first clear out your lungs of stale air, a full deep breath will occur naturally.

It is best to eat when you are hungry, not when you are full.

My sister and her boyfriend tell me that, back in the day (of biblical times, I think it was) a day actually began with nightfall. First came nighttime and darkness, then came daytime and light. The light moves into the void. But first there was a void.

Perhaps it is only a coincidence, but our new year begins in winter, when much of life is hiberating and resting. Like an empty womb before the birth of a new life?

A fast, a period of time of giving up something, is commonly used by people as a way to begin a new spiritual journey.

And so as I had these thoughts I, of course, realized that it makes perfect sense to begin with a rest day.

(I still did do an Ashtanga yoga class...but it was a beginner class.)

Thinking about Rome...

This is the plan:

Marathon Training Schedule: Intermediate - I:
"Marathon Training Schedule: Novice 2
WeekMonTueWedThurFriSatSun
1rest3 m run5 m pace3 m runrest8cross
2rest3 m run5 m run3 m runrest9cross
3rest3 m run5 m pace3 m runrest6cross
4rest3 m run6 m pace3 m runrest11cross
5rest3 m run6 m run3 m runrest12cross
6rest3 m run6 m pace3 m runrest9cross
7rest4 m run7 m pace4 m runrest14cross
8rest4 m run7 m run4 m runrest15cross
9rest4 m run7 m pace4 m runrest11cross
10rest4 m run8 m pace4 m runrest17cross
11rest5 m run8 m run5 m runrest18cross
12rest5 m run8 m pace5 m runrest13cross
13rest5 m run5 m pace5 m runrest19cross
14rest5 m run8 m run5 m runrest12cross
15rest5 m run5 m pace5 m runrest20cross
16rest5 m run4 m pace5 m runrest12cross
17rest4 m run3 m run4 m runrest8cross
18rest3 m run2 m runrestrest2 m runMarathon"

Monday will mark the beginning of the 18 week training program for the Rome marathon. It begins with a Rest Day. How fun! Today though, Eric and I are planning on doing some running, hopefully more on that later.

I'm hoping to resume blogging on such mundane things as the weather and how my body feels and who else encounter out there. This idea of running a marathon in the spring and training for it over the winter began with the idea that 1) I want to do triathlons in the summer and so don't want to train for a marathon and 2) someday Eric and I would like to do an (heaven forbid I'm jinxing it) but an Ironman. Someday. While Eric has done 3 marathons, I have not done any and one must run a marathon or two BEFORE they swim/bike/run an Ironman. And last year we ran through the winter, driven by the novelty and the...oh, well, the challenge and adventure of doing something we thought a little ridiculous: running miles through slush and snow, crawling up bridges covered with ice, sliding down the other side. But this year, perhaps we need something more than just the challenge of "can we run through the winter? outdoors?" to get us outside, because we know we can.

Some runs I expect to be noteworthy: The 11 mile run will be on my 30th birthday. The 15 mile run will be the day after Eric's 29th birthday. Comparing last winter's temperature stats and this year's marathon plan puts the 18 mile run on what may be expected to be the coldest weekend of the year, ALSO the second weekend of a Thai Yoga Massage Therapy program I'll be attending, so it'll be challenge enough just to find the time for it. My 12 mile taper run is expected to be in Paris, France and my 8 mile taper run in Milan, Italy. And, of course, the marathon itself will be in Rome, Italy. Roma, Italia!

Yea. Okay, time to head out for my last pre-season run. (Sorry, Eric, I'm running late writing this...)