1. Well, I no longer get to whine about how I think I'm sick. I am now officially sick. Went to the allergist, nearly inhaled a breathing testing tube by accident, left with samples and a sheaf of prescriptions.
2. It's a combo of a sinus infection on top of allergies on top of a cold. Isn't that fun? No wonder I feel like roadkill. I'm looking forward to starting the antibiotics and prednisone tonight. I know some people are anti-drug but I've been suffering through this for more than two months. Bring on the pharmaceuticals!
3. The kittens continue to grow. For only four and a half months old, Rudy is huge.
4. My mom phoned me last night right after I'd kicked the kitties out of my room and gotten into bed. Once the light was back on and they heard me talking, they started body slamming the door. For about 20 minutes. They could have just been wrestling outside my door and smashing into by accident except that within minutes after my alarm going off this morning they started doing it again. Little whackos.
5. They love it when I plug the sink and fill it with a few inches of water. They drink forever. I need to take a picture; it's kittens of the sinkengeti. When I was in the shower the day before last, I must have put too much water in the sink because once they drank their fill somebody decided it was time to play. The whole bottom half of my mirror is one big water spot. And this morning they discovered the joy of running away with the end of the toilet paper in their mouth.
6. Julie and I got together and ran naked yesterday morning. I think we did about 3.5 miles. Sadly the sun was not out like it has been so I couldn't fully show off the beauty of Summerlake Park. But it was still pretty. Although the park is only a quarter mile from my door, I do a loop up the street and back down through a nearby neighborhood to get there. The loop is about two miles and I call it the vegetables before the dessert of getting to run through the park.
7. I have to run fifteen miles on Sunday. Hopefully the drugs will have done a good chunk of their magic by then. Anybody want to do a slow 15 miles with me?
8. I'm going to try the Mizunos again for this long run. At last Sunday's half marathon I developed a hot spot on the bottom of my left foot. I had to go up to a size ten for these shoes and I think they're maybe a quarter of a size too big. Maybe I need thicker socks. So far I've had a lot less ankle pain with the Mizunos.
9. Realized this morning that it'd been a while since I'd eaten anything resembling fruit in its natural habitat. Today I got OJ and then a Jamba Juice. I need to eat some actual fruit but this should stave off scurvy for another couple of weeks.
10. Still really loving listening to audiobooks when I run. Right now I'm on Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher. Love Harry Dresden, and its James Marsters (aka Spike) who does the audiobooks. A twofer!
11. Can't believe it's already almost Labor Day weekend. I wonder if there are any good TV marathons this weekend... Hmm, not really. M*A*S*H marathon on Monday, that's about it.
12. Which reminds me. The Cougs kick off their 2012 season tonight!
13. Got any good plans this weekend? I'm defrosting ground beef to BBQ burgers. That's about it for me.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Week 7 Recap of My Quest for a Smaller Chest and Hot Marines: The Eugene Women's Half Edition
Howdy hey my cilley fwends! How was your Week 7?
Mine was mixed. I did only two of my scheduled four runs. Feeling extremely tired, just can't seem to shake it. Also, the feeling of a head/chest cold. And as you know, I have a helluva lot of chest. It really seemed to hit me on Wednesday. I should've run. But I didn't.
I did not skip my long run, although I did swap up with next week's long run which suggested doing a half marathon at the end of Week 8. But Week 8, as you may have noticed, ends with Labor Day weekend. Where there are no half marathons scheduled. At least around here. There was, however, the Eugene Women's Half this past weekend. As I may have mentioned.
I had hoped to PR as my B goal. My A goal was for a sub-three. I didn't have a C goal.
I did not PR. I should have.
Garmin Connect was down this morning so I only saw my splits briefly this morning. They were all over the place.
I felt tired and wheezy all weekend. Race day I was up too early then just started to get sleepy again right when I needed to be up and getting ready. Still, I felt decent as I waited for the race to start. The temp was nice and cool, the sky very cloudy. In short, perfect race weather. The gun went off and so did I.
To almost instant cramping in my left shin. Mothafucka. Did not see that coming. Particularly since I was in the new Mizunos. I was also very thirsty right from the go, so dehydration issues crossed my mind. Managed to crank out a not-horrible time for the first mile, then a horrible time for the second mile. Old ladies walking were faster than me.
Mile three it finally worked itself out -- and we'd hit the first water station. I put up a 13:30ish overall mile time, which was a combo of walking and running. When I was running, until the last couple of miles I was consistently around 12:20. But I was feeling like I had a small cinder block sitting on my chest. Wondering if I was running too fast when I was running -- was under a 12 minute mile pace occasionally, then I'd back off -- and still thirsty. In retrospect, I should have stopped at a water station, drank at least 10 oz and refilled and had an extra Gu.
I alternated between mile times that were exactly where I wanted to be (13:30), a little slower than I wanted to be (around 14:20), and much slower than I wanted to be (over 15:00). Did a decent overall average for miles three, four and five, then slowed way down in mile six and I don't know why. Noticed today in looking at my splits from last week's 12 miler that I did the exact same thing there. I don't think I took a Gu in that mile, I usually fuel during mile seven, so I'm not sure what happened. I do remember feeling overwhelmingly exhausted, having trouble catching my breath yet combined with a feeling that I was breathing effortlessly -- like I was breathing too shallowly, too quickly. But maybe I did fuel during mile six since I was so tired. I can't remember.
Did a couple of goodish miles after that. Think that I did the second four miles faster than the first four as I finished mile eight in 1:50. That's pretty good for me lately. I think that was around five minutes faster than the first four miles. Got confused with my math at mile nine, thought I only had three miles to go and had visions of smashing three hours, then finally figured out that I still had FOUR miles to go. Bummer.
Then I bonked after mile ten. I had to have been on track to meet my A goal because I walked most of the last two miles yet still came in at 3:06:25. Not a PR, but still eleven seconds faster than Rock 'n Roll in May. Although Rock 'n Roll was a harder course. Hmmm.
So. It was odd to do this race on my own. I could've really used a race buddy in the end, either to drag me along or to inspire me to drag them along. It works either way sometimes. I was feeling so lousy at the end that I did consciously let my PR slip away. I should've easily done 3:03. This was the first time I've crossed a finish line and they immediately asked me if I needed medical. I should have lay down with some ice but was afraid I wouldn't get back up.
The shirt was nice this year, for the ladies it was deep hot pink with a V neck; for the men, candy apple red with a scoop neck. I'll have to take a pic. Ditto with the finisher's charm. It is heavier and slightly bigger than last year's. Neither look like race swag, but in a good way.
I did eat before the race and took a couple of electrolyte capsules, and thought I was drinking enough but I've been bad about water intake on a regular basis for a while now. Bad CilleyGirl. I took a puff beforehand, but I desperately wanted for my inhaler during the race. I've got to figure out why the six mile slump. I just looked back at my ten miler and seem to have the same slow down. Yep, went back to another long run and same thing. Hmm. And I need to be just a few seconds faster per mile to beat the MCM cutoff. Yesterday's race was at an average 14:14 min/mile.
Mine was mixed. I did only two of my scheduled four runs. Feeling extremely tired, just can't seem to shake it. Also, the feeling of a head/chest cold. And as you know, I have a helluva lot of chest. It really seemed to hit me on Wednesday. I should've run. But I didn't.
I did not skip my long run, although I did swap up with next week's long run which suggested doing a half marathon at the end of Week 8. But Week 8, as you may have noticed, ends with Labor Day weekend. Where there are no half marathons scheduled. At least around here. There was, however, the Eugene Women's Half this past weekend. As I may have mentioned.
I had hoped to PR as my B goal. My A goal was for a sub-three. I didn't have a C goal.
I did not PR. I should have.
Garmin Connect was down this morning so I only saw my splits briefly this morning. They were all over the place.
I felt tired and wheezy all weekend. Race day I was up too early then just started to get sleepy again right when I needed to be up and getting ready. Still, I felt decent as I waited for the race to start. The temp was nice and cool, the sky very cloudy. In short, perfect race weather. The gun went off and so did I.
To almost instant cramping in my left shin. Mothafucka. Did not see that coming. Particularly since I was in the new Mizunos. I was also very thirsty right from the go, so dehydration issues crossed my mind. Managed to crank out a not-horrible time for the first mile, then a horrible time for the second mile. Old ladies walking were faster than me.
Mile three it finally worked itself out -- and we'd hit the first water station. I put up a 13:30ish overall mile time, which was a combo of walking and running. When I was running, until the last couple of miles I was consistently around 12:20. But I was feeling like I had a small cinder block sitting on my chest. Wondering if I was running too fast when I was running -- was under a 12 minute mile pace occasionally, then I'd back off -- and still thirsty. In retrospect, I should have stopped at a water station, drank at least 10 oz and refilled and had an extra Gu.
I alternated between mile times that were exactly where I wanted to be (13:30), a little slower than I wanted to be (around 14:20), and much slower than I wanted to be (over 15:00). Did a decent overall average for miles three, four and five, then slowed way down in mile six and I don't know why. Noticed today in looking at my splits from last week's 12 miler that I did the exact same thing there. I don't think I took a Gu in that mile, I usually fuel during mile seven, so I'm not sure what happened. I do remember feeling overwhelmingly exhausted, having trouble catching my breath yet combined with a feeling that I was breathing effortlessly -- like I was breathing too shallowly, too quickly. But maybe I did fuel during mile six since I was so tired. I can't remember.
Did a couple of goodish miles after that. Think that I did the second four miles faster than the first four as I finished mile eight in 1:50. That's pretty good for me lately. I think that was around five minutes faster than the first four miles. Got confused with my math at mile nine, thought I only had three miles to go and had visions of smashing three hours, then finally figured out that I still had FOUR miles to go. Bummer.
Then I bonked after mile ten. I had to have been on track to meet my A goal because I walked most of the last two miles yet still came in at 3:06:25. Not a PR, but still eleven seconds faster than Rock 'n Roll in May. Although Rock 'n Roll was a harder course. Hmmm.
So. It was odd to do this race on my own. I could've really used a race buddy in the end, either to drag me along or to inspire me to drag them along. It works either way sometimes. I was feeling so lousy at the end that I did consciously let my PR slip away. I should've easily done 3:03. This was the first time I've crossed a finish line and they immediately asked me if I needed medical. I should have lay down with some ice but was afraid I wouldn't get back up.
The shirt was nice this year, for the ladies it was deep hot pink with a V neck; for the men, candy apple red with a scoop neck. I'll have to take a pic. Ditto with the finisher's charm. It is heavier and slightly bigger than last year's. Neither look like race swag, but in a good way.
I did eat before the race and took a couple of electrolyte capsules, and thought I was drinking enough but I've been bad about water intake on a regular basis for a while now. Bad CilleyGirl. I took a puff beforehand, but I desperately wanted for my inhaler during the race. I've got to figure out why the six mile slump. I just looked back at my ten miler and seem to have the same slow down. Yep, went back to another long run and same thing. Hmm. And I need to be just a few seconds faster per mile to beat the MCM cutoff. Yesterday's race was at an average 14:14 min/mile.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thirteen Things Thursday: The I Can't Think of an Edition Edition
1. Yesterday my MCM training plan e-mail said that if I feel tired and sluggish that I should either shorten my run, cross training, or take a rest day. They shouldn't have said that. I woke up with a headache, a pinched neck, and a completely numb left hand. Like so numb I wouldn't have been surprised to see it had swelled up like Mickey's glove. I skipped the run and took the extra sleep. Boo.
2. Just wrapped up a fabulous four day weekend with the CilleyMom. She arrived Sunday and I took her to Road Runner Sports for the Shoe Dog Experience, as a couple of years of wearing those Sketcher Shape Ups had done a number on her hip and back. Turns out that we have exactly the same foot profile, down to the size. So as she was finishing up trying on shoes I tried out the Mizuno Wave Enigma 2s that they hadn't had in my size at my Shoe Dog fitting. Guess who also left with a new pair of sneaks?
3. I've only run once in the Mizunos -- for which I had to go up to a size ten, I feel like I have on clown shoes (goes with Mickey's glove, I guess) -- but I think they will help with my ankle issues. They felt a lot more stable around the ankle, the Nike Vomero 7s don't have that. I'm going to run in them at least once, maybe twice, before deciding if I will wear them on Sunday.
4. Which is the Eugene Womens Half. Which I am doing solo this year, sadly, due to Julie's back issues. Hadn't gotten any of the race day info stuff yet so I went to their website. Went to confirm my registration and I'm not showing up. First it said I wasn't there at all then it stopped giving me any results whatsoever. I did check my Active.com profile and my bank account, both tell me that yes I did in fact register, and I've got an email into the race folks to confirm. It would really piss me off to get all the way down to Eugene to find out I wasn't registered. Plus the fact that they've already taken all my money. And Julie's money. Anybody else doing this race?
5. Monday CilleyMom and I went to the zoo. We had fun trying out our new shoes and bitching about all the children. My wrath was earned particularly by this white trash ass-wipe couple who were smoking. In the zoo. Which is SMOKE FREE YOU WHITE TRASH ASS-WIPES. Gah.
6. I took many pictures at the zoo of animal butts. I'll post them some other time. And if you are thinking, hey didn't you just go to the zoo last weekend? Yes. Yes, I did. I love the zoo.
7. This picture sums up my life with the kitties:
Before that, we had kitty in a coffin:
I did not pose her. She put herself in here. Which made for a cool "vampire kitteh takes her first victim" shot:
8. On Tuesday we headed east to Cascade Locks where we boarded the Columbia Gorge sternwheeler for a five hour cruise of the Gorge. It was awesome. I have not yet downloaded my pictures. I knew a lot of the history but not all, plus you get to see stuff from the river you never see as you whiz by on the freeway at 80 mph. Food could've been better, but other than that.
9. CilleyMom loved my new apartment. And so do I.
10. I did something different on my last long run, namely I listened to a book on tape as I ran. It made the time fly by. I hope to do this for Sunday's half.
11. At which I also am hoping to PR, if not sub-three. I'm worried about the cutoff time for MCM. If you had to hit a certain pace by say mile 12 or even mile 15, that's not bad. But at mile 20? Gah.
12. I will be booking my flight and stuff for the MCM trip soon. I guess I should finally read all those guide books I bought. For those who have been to New England, what are the must-see spots? Salem is at the top of my list, after that I don't know. I'm staying in Warwick, Rhode Island, and will probably be in New England for three or four days. Depending on whether I decide to do a day or two in New York also. In New York I have to get a hotel. In Rhode Island I have my friend's futon. One of those is much cheaper than the other. Plus, there is lobster.
13. I will leave you today with this random thought. When you read about something like a robbery or an arrest, do you ever hope it is someone you know but don't like? Just me? Okay then.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
2. Just wrapped up a fabulous four day weekend with the CilleyMom. She arrived Sunday and I took her to Road Runner Sports for the Shoe Dog Experience, as a couple of years of wearing those Sketcher Shape Ups had done a number on her hip and back. Turns out that we have exactly the same foot profile, down to the size. So as she was finishing up trying on shoes I tried out the Mizuno Wave Enigma 2s that they hadn't had in my size at my Shoe Dog fitting. Guess who also left with a new pair of sneaks?
3. I've only run once in the Mizunos -- for which I had to go up to a size ten, I feel like I have on clown shoes (goes with Mickey's glove, I guess) -- but I think they will help with my ankle issues. They felt a lot more stable around the ankle, the Nike Vomero 7s don't have that. I'm going to run in them at least once, maybe twice, before deciding if I will wear them on Sunday.
4. Which is the Eugene Womens Half. Which I am doing solo this year, sadly, due to Julie's back issues. Hadn't gotten any of the race day info stuff yet so I went to their website. Went to confirm my registration and I'm not showing up. First it said I wasn't there at all then it stopped giving me any results whatsoever. I did check my Active.com profile and my bank account, both tell me that yes I did in fact register, and I've got an email into the race folks to confirm. It would really piss me off to get all the way down to Eugene to find out I wasn't registered. Plus the fact that they've already taken all my money. And Julie's money. Anybody else doing this race?
5. Monday CilleyMom and I went to the zoo. We had fun trying out our new shoes and bitching about all the children. My wrath was earned particularly by this white trash ass-wipe couple who were smoking. In the zoo. Which is SMOKE FREE YOU WHITE TRASH ASS-WIPES. Gah.
6. I took many pictures at the zoo of animal butts. I'll post them some other time. And if you are thinking, hey didn't you just go to the zoo last weekend? Yes. Yes, I did. I love the zoo.
7. This picture sums up my life with the kitties:
Before that, we had kitty in a coffin:
I did not pose her. She put herself in here. Which made for a cool "vampire kitteh takes her first victim" shot:
8. On Tuesday we headed east to Cascade Locks where we boarded the Columbia Gorge sternwheeler for a five hour cruise of the Gorge. It was awesome. I have not yet downloaded my pictures. I knew a lot of the history but not all, plus you get to see stuff from the river you never see as you whiz by on the freeway at 80 mph. Food could've been better, but other than that.
9. CilleyMom loved my new apartment. And so do I.
10. I did something different on my last long run, namely I listened to a book on tape as I ran. It made the time fly by. I hope to do this for Sunday's half.
11. At which I also am hoping to PR, if not sub-three. I'm worried about the cutoff time for MCM. If you had to hit a certain pace by say mile 12 or even mile 15, that's not bad. But at mile 20? Gah.
12. I will be booking my flight and stuff for the MCM trip soon. I guess I should finally read all those guide books I bought. For those who have been to New England, what are the must-see spots? Salem is at the top of my list, after that I don't know. I'm staying in Warwick, Rhode Island, and will probably be in New England for three or four days. Depending on whether I decide to do a day or two in New York also. In New York I have to get a hotel. In Rhode Island I have my friend's futon. One of those is much cheaper than the other. Plus, there is lobster.
13. I will leave you today with this random thought. When you read about something like a robbery or an arrest, do you ever hope it is someone you know but don't like? Just me? Okay then.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Splits baybee!!!!
Finally got my Garmin to upload into Garmin Connect. My splits from Saturday's Crawfish Crawl 5K:
Mile 1 - 13.01
Mile 2 - 12:35
Mile 3 - 11:53
Average pace - 12:25 min/mile.
Fastest pace - 9:23 min/mile.
Yeah baybee!
And then from Sunday's long run:
Mile 1 - 16:55
Mile 2 - 16:00
...in the 14s and 15s, then
Mile 8 - 13:03
Mile 9 - 13:08
Mile 10 - 14:01
How awesome is that!
Particularly since I did a pathetic slow-ass run this morning that I ended up cutting short because of some weird, persistent weakness in my left leg. That's how it goes.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Mile 1 - 13.01
Mile 2 - 12:35
Mile 3 - 11:53
Average pace - 12:25 min/mile.
Fastest pace - 9:23 min/mile.
Yeah baybee!
And then from Sunday's long run:
Mile 1 - 16:55
Mile 2 - 16:00
...in the 14s and 15s, then
Mile 8 - 13:03
Mile 9 - 13:08
Mile 10 - 14:01
How awesome is that!
Particularly since I did a pathetic slow-ass run this morning that I ended up cutting short because of some weird, persistent weakness in my left leg. That's how it goes.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Monday, August 13, 2012
Week 5 Recap of My Quest for a Smaller Chest and Hot Marines Plus Kicking Crawfish Ass!
Week 5 of MCM training ran the gamut.
When last we tuned in, Week 4 had not gone well. After finally (mostly) solving my leg and foot cramp issues, I was disappointed that I managed only two of my four scheduled runs for the following week. By that Sunday, I did about seven of the slowest miles ever, feeling like I was coming down with the flu as I shivered despite high temps and sunny skies. I started having severe dizzy spells and ended up home from work on Monday and Tuesday. Which meant that I didn't run in Week 5 until Thursday, where I started out really strong for the first two miles and then abruptly bonked. Luckily I had packed a Gu with an idea that this might happen, it took a while for it to kick it but when it did I was able to finish strong.
Although McKayla Moroney was not impressed.
Though she was impressed with my performance at Saturday's Crawfish Crawl 5K. And so was I! After limping my way through the CATnip 5K just the week before last at a dismal 0:54:10, I sprinted (for me) to a 0:38:58 finish at Crawfish. So fast that my friends weren't expecting me for at least another five minutes and nobody saw me finish. I'll take it! Plus, this race was mostly on what I have dubbed my nemesis course -- Cook Park. I've raced in this park close to ten times now I think, and this is the first time I've ever been happy with a race there. On top of that, this was pretty close to my 5K PR (I tried to chase it down), it's the fastest 5K I've run since my PR back in 2010 (I think), and I didn't walk a single step. Garmin Connect was down yesterday so I haven't seen my splits but I am almost positive they were all negative. Overall a fun race, not only were the Fruit Fly and her Man Friend there racing with me but Kim and her family were there as well.
The Fruit Fly and her Man Friend were my guests for the weekend, and for some reason we thought we'd follow a Saturday morning race with a Saturday afternoon on our feet in the heat. Silly us! But it was fun: We grumbled at small children at the zoo, saw lots of animal butts and bats peeing, and wandered around the Bite of Oregon before finally deciding that a dip in the pool was needed. Followed up by some absolutely fabulous wood-fired pizza. And a waitress that had the hots for MF.
Sunday I made them get up at o'dark thirty for a ten mile run on the Banks-Vernonia trail. I had warned them (or at least RR) that the first five miles would be uphill. The trail has a slight grade to it; you don't really see it, but you'll be going along thinking about how much you suck at running. It's just always there. But this makes the return trip worth it, you feel like you can fly.
Since MF did not get the memo about the uphill grade -- and I'd made them get up before six a.m. -- it seems there was much cursing of my name at mile 1.84. Or so I was informed when I caught up to them just after mile three. (My reply of "But isn't it beautiful out here?" was not appreciated.)
As promised, the five miles back was all downhill. And I flew through miles seven and eight. Again, Garmin Connect was down but I can't wait to see my splits for this run. And it turns out there was a racewalk race going on that morning. Which explained the card table with bottles of water and cups we ran past. We didn't see anybody with the race until the run back. And it was kind of creepy, because first there's one racewalker and he's booking. A few seconds later around another curve, there's a second. Alright, I figure they're together, out racewalking. Another curve and then there's a third. That's where it started to get creepy, because nobody had on bibs or shirts or anything to indicate they were in a race. It was kind of like coming across a herd of zombies. The last guy in the pack was very chatty, he confirmed that they were racing. Then I ended up talking to a race official as I finished out my run, she told me all about it. It was a 10K in case you were wondering.
After brekkie and showers, we settled in to watch the men's Olympic marathon that I had recorded as it started at 3:00 a.m. It was fun, but probably only for runners. I started rooting for the Ugandan, or the little man in a dress as I called him, because the Kenyans were clearly blocking him. And then he just took off at what, mile 23? 24? A great finish. Plus Meb battled his way back to fourth and we were so proud.
So. While I only got three out of my four runs in for Week 5, it ended on a really positive note. While I was in the middle of my long run, around mile six or so just kind of mostly walking along, I thought about how I'd run faster on my next long run. And then a little voice in my head said:
And the little voice is right. I started running. I ran all of mile seven, nearly all of mile eight, and was running a good chunk of mile nine when I did stop to talk to that nice race official. I had that feeling every time I stopped to walk like you do when you first get off a treadmill, when walking feels weird. So I started to run again. For a while I was under an eleven minute mile. Holy crap!
Tomorrow I need to get up extra early so that I can get my run in before a 7:30 a.m. appointment. Which means I need to be out the door at 5:30 a.m. to run. My goal will be to run as much as possible of the short runs. My goal for long runs is to average under a 14 minute mile. That's the sweeping point for MCM, the pace I need to maintain until at least mile 16 of the marathon. It means getting serious about this training thing. Because if not now, when?
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
When last we tuned in, Week 4 had not gone well. After finally (mostly) solving my leg and foot cramp issues, I was disappointed that I managed only two of my four scheduled runs for the following week. By that Sunday, I did about seven of the slowest miles ever, feeling like I was coming down with the flu as I shivered despite high temps and sunny skies. I started having severe dizzy spells and ended up home from work on Monday and Tuesday. Which meant that I didn't run in Week 5 until Thursday, where I started out really strong for the first two miles and then abruptly bonked. Luckily I had packed a Gu with an idea that this might happen, it took a while for it to kick it but when it did I was able to finish strong.
Although McKayla Moroney was not impressed.
Though she was impressed with my performance at Saturday's Crawfish Crawl 5K. And so was I! After limping my way through the CATnip 5K just the week before last at a dismal 0:54:10, I sprinted (for me) to a 0:38:58 finish at Crawfish. So fast that my friends weren't expecting me for at least another five minutes and nobody saw me finish. I'll take it! Plus, this race was mostly on what I have dubbed my nemesis course -- Cook Park. I've raced in this park close to ten times now I think, and this is the first time I've ever been happy with a race there. On top of that, this was pretty close to my 5K PR (I tried to chase it down), it's the fastest 5K I've run since my PR back in 2010 (I think), and I didn't walk a single step. Garmin Connect was down yesterday so I haven't seen my splits but I am almost positive they were all negative. Overall a fun race, not only were the Fruit Fly and her Man Friend there racing with me but Kim and her family were there as well.
Stolen from Kim -- Fruit Fly, Me, Kim, and Man Friend
I had to borrow this from Fruit Fly. That's an elephant hat I'm wearing.
Not a schlong hat.
Sunday I made them get up at o'dark thirty for a ten mile run on the Banks-Vernonia trail. I had warned them (or at least RR) that the first five miles would be uphill. The trail has a slight grade to it; you don't really see it, but you'll be going along thinking about how much you suck at running. It's just always there. But this makes the return trip worth it, you feel like you can fly.
Since MF did not get the memo about the uphill grade -- and I'd made them get up before six a.m. -- it seems there was much cursing of my name at mile 1.84. Or so I was informed when I caught up to them just after mile three. (My reply of "But isn't it beautiful out here?" was not appreciated.)
Also borrowed from Fruit Fly. But isn't it beautiful?
The light was absolutely amazing.
As promised, the five miles back was all downhill. And I flew through miles seven and eight. Again, Garmin Connect was down but I can't wait to see my splits for this run. And it turns out there was a racewalk race going on that morning. Which explained the card table with bottles of water and cups we ran past. We didn't see anybody with the race until the run back. And it was kind of creepy, because first there's one racewalker and he's booking. A few seconds later around another curve, there's a second. Alright, I figure they're together, out racewalking. Another curve and then there's a third. That's where it started to get creepy, because nobody had on bibs or shirts or anything to indicate they were in a race. It was kind of like coming across a herd of zombies. The last guy in the pack was very chatty, he confirmed that they were racing. Then I ended up talking to a race official as I finished out my run, she told me all about it. It was a 10K in case you were wondering.
After brekkie and showers, we settled in to watch the men's Olympic marathon that I had recorded as it started at 3:00 a.m. It was fun, but probably only for runners. I started rooting for the Ugandan, or the little man in a dress as I called him, because the Kenyans were clearly blocking him. And then he just took off at what, mile 23? 24? A great finish. Plus Meb battled his way back to fourth and we were so proud.
So. While I only got three out of my four runs in for Week 5, it ended on a really positive note. While I was in the middle of my long run, around mile six or so just kind of mostly walking along, I thought about how I'd run faster on my next long run. And then a little voice in my head said:
If not now, when?
And the little voice is right. I started running. I ran all of mile seven, nearly all of mile eight, and was running a good chunk of mile nine when I did stop to talk to that nice race official. I had that feeling every time I stopped to walk like you do when you first get off a treadmill, when walking feels weird. So I started to run again. For a while I was under an eleven minute mile. Holy crap!
Tomorrow I need to get up extra early so that I can get my run in before a 7:30 a.m. appointment. Which means I need to be out the door at 5:30 a.m. to run. My goal will be to run as much as possible of the short runs. My goal for long runs is to average under a 14 minute mile. That's the sweeping point for MCM, the pace I need to maintain until at least mile 16 of the marathon. It means getting serious about this training thing. Because if not now, when?
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thirteen Things Thursday: The Urban Legend Hodge Podge Edition
1. Been having fun discussing various freaky things with my coworker today. I was talking about how I don't even like to go into rivers or lakes anymore because: sharks. She had to google it. I totally know where to avoid meeting up with sharks. Basically, water. Even shallow water.
2. Then we somehow segued into the dangers of licking envelopes. Or eating at Taco Bell. A toss up, really.
3. Did you know Mr. Ed was not a horse? Of course!
4. I've always liked this one, which is an urban legend. I can't speak for all atheists, but generally speaking I just want religious folks -- by which I mean those of the Westboro Baptist Church ilk -- to get a clue. No, I don't mean I want them to become atheists. Although, that would be fun. But rather, live and let live. Life's too short for that kind of crap.
5. Anyhow.
6. This was actually in my Property textbook in law school. May be fake, but always enjoyable.
7. I'm bored with urban legends. Time for the Unalaska police blotter! Note the last three entries....
8. And who could resist clicking on the 'Ode to a Dead Salmon' fetid-writing finalists selected link? Cleary, not me. Complete with photo!
9. "Airline employee requested assistance with an intoxicated woman who was not causing a disturbance. Officers responded and spoke briefly with the suspect, an intoxicated woman who was not creating a disturbance." Reminds me of Ron White's drunk in public bit.
10. I guess I should mention how training is going.
11. That's about all I have to say about that.
12. But if all goes as planned, I'll be running today, tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. Sunday evening, I die. Or have the next of three rounds of company begin. It's a toss up, really.
13. Are you still watching the Olympics? I have to say, after watching the live streaming video for a couple of days I have a hard time focusing on the U.S. primetime coverage. Last night, it was on the gold medal match for womens' beach volleyball. Forever. You know, the match where both teams were from the U.S.? Gosh, do you think the U.S. will win gold in this one? Switch back to track and field already!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
2. Then we somehow segued into the dangers of licking envelopes. Or eating at Taco Bell. A toss up, really.
3. Did you know Mr. Ed was not a horse? Of course!
4. I've always liked this one, which is an urban legend. I can't speak for all atheists, but generally speaking I just want religious folks -- by which I mean those of the Westboro Baptist Church ilk -- to get a clue. No, I don't mean I want them to become atheists. Although, that would be fun. But rather, live and let live. Life's too short for that kind of crap.
5. Anyhow.
6. This was actually in my Property textbook in law school. May be fake, but always enjoyable.
7. I'm bored with urban legends. Time for the Unalaska police blotter! Note the last three entries....
8. And who could resist clicking on the 'Ode to a Dead Salmon' fetid-writing finalists selected link? Cleary, not me. Complete with photo!
9. "Airline employee requested assistance with an intoxicated woman who was not causing a disturbance. Officers responded and spoke briefly with the suspect, an intoxicated woman who was not creating a disturbance." Reminds me of Ron White's drunk in public bit.
10. I guess I should mention how training is going.
11. That's about all I have to say about that.
12. But if all goes as planned, I'll be running today, tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. Sunday evening, I die. Or have the next of three rounds of company begin. It's a toss up, really.
13. Are you still watching the Olympics? I have to say, after watching the live streaming video for a couple of days I have a hard time focusing on the U.S. primetime coverage. Last night, it was on the gold medal match for womens' beach volleyball. Forever. You know, the match where both teams were from the U.S.? Gosh, do you think the U.S. will win gold in this one? Switch back to track and field already!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Thirteen Things Thursday: The Olympic Edition
1. If you are among the many who can't stand the NBC Olympic commentary, particularly in prime time, the live streaming feeds are way better. A lot of the live commentators are British so there is a lot less drama and it's not so USA centric. It's nice to be able to watch everybody compete.
2. The velodrome racers need to either wear dark colored racing suits or put on shorts after they got off their bikes. Because, three words: Sweaty. Ass. Cracks.
3. I have absolutely no idea what is going on in fencing. I was watching it live yesterday and they have zero commentary going on. Only time I've missed the NBC commentary. I think it's their helmets light up when they're hit and the floor lights on the piste light up when they get a point. Maybe. I have absolutely no idea.
4. Well, I went to NBC's "all about fencing" page. Still have absolutely no idea.
5. I am really happy that baseball and softball are no longer Olympic sports. I'm willing to keep soccer and water polo in if they'd get rid of basketball next. And sailing. Why the hell is sailing an Olympic sport?
6. And don't even get me started on badminton.
7. Then again, did you know that singing, painting, etching, and even city planning were all once Olympic sports? I'll totally go with canoeing and kayaking over those.
8. The swimming commentators today are Australian. They're cracking me up. I dare you not to giggle while listening to an enthusiastic Aussie.
9. More gold for the USA. I won't spoil which sports and athletes.
10. Did you hear about how big archery is at the Games this year, thanks to The Hunger Games? I think archery would be about the only summer Olympic sport I could do. Although I have a pretty decent backstroke for someone who can barely swim. But I can't swim in a straight line.
11. Track and field starts tomorrow. Are you excited? I like the big events like the heptathlon and the decathalon. The 1976 Olympics, when Bruce Jenner won gold, is the first Olympics I remember. I don't really remember watching it, but I remember hearing about it. Plus there was this after-school kind of special about his life not long after. The jist of it was that he got to be so fast because he had to sprint home every day after school to pull in the bedsheets his mom hung out his window that morning. Because Bruce Jenner wet his bed.
12. 1976 was also when Nadia Comaneci won gold. Again, don't really remember. I think Lake Placid was (is?) the first Games I remember seeing. Calgary in 1988 were the first Games I really watched. I never really watched the Summer Games until 1996, which is the story I've told before.
13. Are you watching the Olympics?
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
2. The velodrome racers need to either wear dark colored racing suits or put on shorts after they got off their bikes. Because, three words: Sweaty. Ass. Cracks.
3. I have absolutely no idea what is going on in fencing. I was watching it live yesterday and they have zero commentary going on. Only time I've missed the NBC commentary. I think it's their helmets light up when they're hit and the floor lights on the piste light up when they get a point. Maybe. I have absolutely no idea.
4. Well, I went to NBC's "all about fencing" page. Still have absolutely no idea.
5. I am really happy that baseball and softball are no longer Olympic sports. I'm willing to keep soccer and water polo in if they'd get rid of basketball next. And sailing. Why the hell is sailing an Olympic sport?
6. And don't even get me started on badminton.
7. Then again, did you know that singing, painting, etching, and even city planning were all once Olympic sports? I'll totally go with canoeing and kayaking over those.
8. The swimming commentators today are Australian. They're cracking me up. I dare you not to giggle while listening to an enthusiastic Aussie.
9. More gold for the USA. I won't spoil which sports and athletes.
10. Did you hear about how big archery is at the Games this year, thanks to The Hunger Games? I think archery would be about the only summer Olympic sport I could do. Although I have a pretty decent backstroke for someone who can barely swim. But I can't swim in a straight line.
11. Track and field starts tomorrow. Are you excited? I like the big events like the heptathlon and the decathalon. The 1976 Olympics, when Bruce Jenner won gold, is the first Olympics I remember. I don't really remember watching it, but I remember hearing about it. Plus there was this after-school kind of special about his life not long after. The jist of it was that he got to be so fast because he had to sprint home every day after school to pull in the bedsheets his mom hung out his window that morning. Because Bruce Jenner wet his bed.
12. 1976 was also when Nadia Comaneci won gold. Again, don't really remember. I think Lake Placid was (is?) the first Games I remember seeing. Calgary in 1988 were the first Games I really watched. I never really watched the Summer Games until 1996, which is the story I've told before.
13. Are you watching the Olympics?
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
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