Better Times

After that last post I almost forgot about the great run we had on Tuesday evening.  Started at Murchison Middle School - easy 1 mile warm up.  4 hill repeats with an easy 3/4 mile jog in between.  Then an easy 1 mile back and 20 minutes of plyometrics and fast running on the track.

It was fun, I worked hard and my legs were trashed by the end.  I feel fine now...no soreness to speak of.  I need a workout like that today to lift my spirits.

I Hate My Job

That's right.  There are many good things about where I work but right now I hate it.  I could easily quit today.  I'm not going to because that would be stupid.  I am going to consider some other lines of work though.

Right now I feel physically ill about it.   That's all.  I'm going to bed now.

Silicon Labs Marathon Relay

Due to a very minor hamstring issue, I did not race in the relay. Initially I was happy not to. I ran around on the closed roads today, getting my run in, so I could cheer on the runners from my group. There is nothing better than just flying down Congress Ave..FUN! Once I saw how much fun everyone was having and let the atmosphere soak in, I was wishing I was racing. It was really fun to just relax and cheer people on though. I also had a great run. Short warm up and then fartlek for 3 miles and then a cool down. My legs felt very good and I am feeling no stiffness or pain tonight at all.

I really miss racing locally. That will be my focus next fall after my summer break.

Easy 10

Since tomorrow is Silicon Relays, we only had to run 10 miles today.
My legs were a little tight but cooperated this week. I am not running
the relay so will be doing the alternate w/o tomorrow. I think I will
do a mile easy down to TLT and then do the 4 mile loop with the pick
ups Karen wants us to do. Then I will jog over to the start finish
area of the relay and cheer on our teams before I head home.
Yay for the return of sunshine.

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Don't laugh too hard

I was getting ready for our run tonight and it was raining lightly and in my opinion it was chilly out so I tossed my arm warmers in my bag.  Yeah...arm warmers.  I wore a sleeveless top and since I don't like cold rain touching me, I figured I'd use them during the warm up.  It wasn't raining at the start so I did not need to use them!

Today was 1 mile warmup and then 1 mile HMGP (7:15) - 1 mile easy - 1 mile HMGP (7:13) - 1 mile HMGP (7:11).  My personal goal was to be disciplined but run each mile of HMGP a little faster than the one before WITHOUT running more than a few seconds faster than actual HMGP (7:12).  The guys were running a little fast at times so I would let them go.  Had them as company on the easy miles.  Felt great the whole time - felt pretty easy which is good!

Then we had happy hour to say good bye to Mark and Debbie before they head off to the base in Louisiana.

Had an appt with Dr Z today.  There is nothing wrong with my hamstring.  I do need to use TP etc on a more regular basis though.

Cool, Rainy weather calls for...

...soup.  I love making soup and I always make simple broth based ones.  I don't really care for cream or pureed soup.  Today, I am making Spicy Rotisserie Chicken Soup.  I saute onion and 1/2 pound of mushrooms, add 2 quarts of low sodium chicken broth, a skinned, chopped rotisserie chicken, some frozen corn and a jalopena seeds and all.  I then let it simmer until it's time to eat.  If I'm hungry I serve it over some pasta.  Tonight I'll steam some green beans and add those.

Yum - fresh raspberries and pineapple for dessert.

Have an appt with Dr Z at Advanced Rehab to check out my hamstring tomorrow- I have no pain, stiffness or discomfort at all but since I had significant issues with it 2 weekends in a row I just need to know running fast isn't going to break it or if it is what I can do to sort of stay in shape.

Caught the hamstring bug

After last Saturday's horrible run my right hamstring seized up. So I
did not run Sunday or Monday. Just gentle stretching and icing. It's
doing a lot better. Did group core workout today and then ran about 3
miles at a very easy pace. Everyone else did CV workout. I am going to
call advanced rehab tomorrow and see if Dr Z can look at it. I am not
doing the relay this weekend. Honestly I'm not all that sad. I need a
little down time.

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Too much

Today after shocking our systems with 2 fairly tough workouts already this week, we were supposed to do 10 miles at easy LR pace and then 4 miles progressing up to HMGP.  I ran OK for 6 miles and then died.  Shuffled the last 4 and could not muster the mental or physical strength to do the last 4.  It was mentally distressing for me...I've been in this spot before and it is tough to dig out.  I plan to take tomorrow off and play it by ear as to whether or not I do my leg of the Relay next weekend.  Will talk to Karen about it.

Not much else to say about it but hopefully it will motivate me to get back to my healthy diet.  Fell of the wagon for a few weeks.

Drill Sargent

Karen had another delightful workout for us.  30 minutes of tough core - no breaks - one exercise after the other and not 10-15 reps - there was a lot of complaining, joking and laughing.  Karen gave us no slack!   She laughed at all the complaints of butt pain from Tuesday but assured us that we would feel better tomorrow.

Then we hit the track for 36 min of 2 min easy/2 min hard.  I felt like I ran hard and smart.  2nd 18 minutes I ran faster for the hard than i did for the first half.  I put pretty much everything I had into it and it looked like everyone did.  However, I did not run stupid.  I will not get injured in speed phase because I'm not paying attention to my form or how I feel.  I did feel like I was flailing a little during the last hard 2 minutes.

Right now I feel pretty good...going to take Ibuprofin and go to bed.  Hope to feel better tomorrow than I did this morning!

Writing a letter to the paper

I have written one or two letters to magazines in the past.  I have an urge to write a letter to the Statesman but because the issue and individual involved is directly tied to my work I won't.

I will air my thoughts here.  The story involves an illegal alien who was allegedly driving drunk and killed an innocent man.  So far the news has blamed the following  - APD, the Travis Co. DA and Immigration.  I haven't seen mention of the driver (who has pled guilty to 3 DWI's in the recent past but because of circumstances beyond the court's control, was not serving time) being held accountable.  The issue has nothing to do with whether he was legal or not in this country...it has to do with the fact that he has a drinking problem, hasn't acknowledged it, hasn't personally sought out help and doesn't accept personal responsibility for his actions.  If he doesn't want to stop drinking, that's fine.  He just needs to stop driving, with or without a license (he has never had one).  He is in jail with a 1st degree murder charge.  Hopefully he will go to prison for a really long time and when he gets out and is deported to the Honduros, he will be too old and feeble minded to bother coming back.

Suck it Up!!

Yesterday, Karen enjoyed inflicting pain on the entire team.  We met at Anderson High and after a 15 min easy warm up did 20 min alternating plyometrics and fast running.  Then we did 2 minutes of suicides and then another 20 minutes of the plyo/running combo.  My hands are still sore from doing burpees on the track and my butt is killing me from all of it.  Those of you who have done the Cruise with Ruth E. and thought that was hard ain't seen anything.  This was much tougher and Karen was way meaner than Ruth!   I'll admit it...I'm a weakling.  Karen's purpose was to show everyone how "weak" we are even after all the running we did this summer.  What I learned from it is that I can suck it up and try a little harder when I think I can't.  My butt is killing me today but I got out the door and did an easy 4 mile recovery run - the first mile was tough and then I was fine.  Will try and get out for an easy 2-3 mile shake out run in the AM since we have another track workout on Thurs PM and a progressive run on Sat.  

In the past, I have given up when it seemed too hard.  This time around I am going to try a whole lot harder to hang on even when I think it is impossible.

Love/hate relationship with rain

Saturday was a 10 mile run in the rain. Felt nice to have cooler temps. Rain didn't bother me other than slightly heavy shoes. Karen failed to tell us to bring xc spikes for the section on the Far West foot bridge that is under construction. Nice slippy, slidy mud. Unremarkable and slow run...did have some right hamstring and calf tightness/pain but only on the downhills. Uphills felt fine.

After the run I made breakfast and then slept from 11 until 4:30pm. Got up and retrieved Riley from the pasture...this is one of the parts I hate...he was covered in mud! Gave him a bath and put him in a stall to dry off. Ate dinner and then rode.

Today, after being at work all night, I was whipped. Slept from 8:15 am until 6:15 pm and then forced myself out of bed. Obviously no run. Why am I so tired? Allergies. Even with meds I am suffering bad. They wear me down. Hopefully it will dry up soon. This is the biggest reason I hate rain. I am hoping I feel better tomorrow so I can get even a short run in. At the rate I am blowing my nose I am doubtful.

Aqua Jogging

Karen decided that the New Mexico folks could endure an hour of aqua jogging in her pool on Tuesday night.  Everyone else ran 6 miles of hills in her neighborhood.  Having never aqua jogged before I had no idea what to expect.  It was kinda fun...only 4 people bothered to show up for that and i'm glad I did.  My legs felt like they had been clubbed with baseball bats before and today feel almost normal.  My light massage tomorrow should put them right back into pre race condition.

No running until Saturday per Karen.  I'm going to try and get on my bike for a ride tomorrow to keep things loose.  

Otherwise will get back to giving Riley some exercise.

New Mexico marathon 2009

Friday - arrived in Albuquerque just before 1:30pm.  Free shuttle to the hotel - Best Western Rio Grande.  Gorgeous mountains to the north, sunny and warm...not hot.

Since I was early for typical 3pm check in, I fully expected not to be able to check in right away.  The clerk at the desk immediately found me a room so I could go put my stuff up.  I was hungry so decided to head out to Old Town to look for food.  In the pre race phase so no mexican food today!  Ended up with a tasty chef salad with bread.

Walked around a little but after walking too much pre Boston, I was cautious.  Later on, went for dinner and a quick trip to Walmart to stock up on water and snacks.

Earlyish to bed, watched bad TV, read a book and got about 7 hours sleep.  Up for a 7:30 am pre race run with the team.  That could have been a race breaker right there.  Karen seemed a little cranky since she had injured herself and couldn't run.  The turn around place was not clear and everyone overshot it.  Karen then proceeded to chastise me for a misunderstanding between her and some other runners that involved a comment I made and that put a damper on things.  Thank goodness when I talked to the others about it, they told me Karen had completely misunderstood what they had said.  Whew...everyone happy again.  Quick breakfast and the first of what seemed like 100's of bottles of water.  It is very dry in New mexico, and you never tire of drinking water like you do in Austin.  Even when you know you feel hydrated, you are still thirsty.

The "expo" was down the street at the Hotel Albuquerque which was a whole lot more swanky than the Best Western.  The expo was nothing special.  Only a couple of venders.  Jeff Galloway was the featured speaker...no one from our group was impressed by him saying we would go faster if we run/walked - more on that later.

The rest of the day was filled with lunch, tea and a cookie at Starbucks while I sat on their patio soaking up the sun and pleasant temperatures and read my book - felt like a real vacation.  A group of us drove the course and were surprised at how moderate the hills up and down were.  Not nearly as bad as we had been led to believe.  

Dinner and then to bed by 9pm.  Wake up call arranged for 2:30 AM.

Slept on and off - total of maybe 4 hours of sleep.  No trouble getting up.  Ate my breakfast, used my stick on my legs and headed downstairs.  It was not cold out in the slightest but pleasantly cool.  I wore a jacket and long pants over my race uniform.  Champion Chip was timing and instead of those ridiculous sticky tape things Austin makes you use, they had disposable chips which laced onto your shoes.

We took a school bus from the hotel to the start on Tramway Bvd.  They had a small strip mall for us to hangout at.  Plenty of porta potties for the small marathon field.  Official photographers got some good pictures of our red and green team.  A classical guitarist helped us relaxed with soothing music and they had luminaires all around the parking lot.  Quite a different feel from a big city marathon.  James Gelb had a problem with his Garmin and after trying to get someone from our group to give him their watch (no one would) he managed to get a watch from the race director.  Try accessing the race director 15 min before any large race!  

Low key start - I think there was a sign that said start on one side and finish on the other.  Luminairies lined the course for the first few hundred meters.  Decent job on the national anthem - here was another difference.  Everyone was quiet...there was no chit/chat.  Then the race director said on your marks, get set, go.  No air horn, no fire works.

The first 8 miles were gently rolling up and down.  I planned to run pretty conservatively on this part.  I stuck to my plan and pretty much nailed my goal time for this section.  The mountains were to our right, Albuquerque to our left.  It was pitch dark - occasionally we would run by a street light.  Brandon Smith and I ran together through this part.  I felt great - no effort at all.  Not a lot of people out cheering but hey...it was 5:30 AM!  The police were very friendly, traffic was light (the roads are not closed) and the hydration stations well manned.  As we ran up the base of the mountain, the sun started to peak out over the mountains.  It was a little cloudy so probably not as spectacular as it could have been.  Way, way out over Albuquerque, you could see pink light starting to light up the city.

The next 8 miles essentially were down hill.  Not net down hill like Boston but DOWNHILL.  It was some very easy running.  People in our group claimed to see all sorts of animals.  I didn't see any.  I could feel some tension in my abds and back near the bottom of the hill but nothing bothersome.  I was on target for pace and nutrition. 

Saw Karen, Ryan and Matt on their bikes at mile 16.  I was still doing OK at this point and was still with Brandon.  By mile 17 the wheels started coming off.  Had trouble getting my legs to turn over and felt like I was working too hard.  I did pass some guys who were walking so it could have been worse.  I kept reminding myself that this was a C race.  Time didn't matter, being smart did.

The race went for 4-5 miles on a bike path.  Nice to have if you are training but it sucked for the race.  Not sure what it was about the path...it was paved and the footing was good but I just could not stay in the groove.  I decided that I needed to focus on hydration and nutrition so I did something I have never done before.  I walked through 3 water areas.  So I can say with authority that run/walking does not make you faster...it makes you slower.  So I had 3 slow miles on the bike path.  I accepted them for what they were.  Nothing I could do about it...what was done was done.  I passed quite a few people in a worse place than me.  There was some freak on a bike attempting to sing while biking and it was bad!  Once off the bike path I was amazingly able to pick up my pace and with 4 miles to go dug down deep and got going.  A high point was the four girls walking the half marathon who wanted to try and keep with me because I was so fast (ha!) and then one of them informed the rest of them in a hushed voice "she's on mile 24".  Brandon was out of sight at this point and I will admit I was surprised.  In the end he had a great race.  I saw Karen et all one more time and tried hard to keep the faster pace coming.  One more slight sinking spell but I yanked my self out of it and kept moving.  I visualized Karen in front of me with a rope tied around her pulling me along.

I was glad to see the finish...but not completely relieved as I was at Boston.  I felt OK.  Not completely trashed like in Boston.  I got my medal.  Cool pottery medals.  Grabbed some water, orange slices and cookies and my post run bag.  Met up with Karen and Mary and proceeded to cheer the rest of our team and lots of other people into the finish.  One guy from Austin wearing a Rogue trail race shirt looked surprised and then really happy when he got a bunch of tired Austin women screaming for him at the finish!   

After everyone was done, Karen was hot footing it back to the hotel so she and Ryan could leave.  She reminded me to do an ice bath but as a quick after thought, I went to check the results.  Crap...8th overall woman??  1st in my age group???  The winning woman was 48 and had a decent time.  My time was not so great but I'll take it given we have done no speed work at all.  Pretty much everyone from Team Rogue Roadrunners settled down on the ground to wait for the awards ceremony.  Imagine that...they gave out all the awards...not just overall men and women.  They madfe everyone feel equally important and even had some random draw prizes too.  Our team definitely deserved the spirit award.  We cheered hard for anyone from Austin that placed...and there were several.  My only physical complaint was my left foot. Some pretty significant neuroma pain from mile 17 on.  Took my shoes off after I finished and had some foot cramping.  Karen felt that was from the downhill.  I hope it won't be such an issue at Houston.

My overall impression - Albuquerque is a neat town...nice weather, less traffic than Austin, cool scenary.  Pretty much everyone in our group was wondering how they could move there.  Brandon deserved the MVP award for our team.  He stopped to help a lady who had fallen...the best I could do was slow down and wait for him.  Pretty much everyone in our group though he deserved to place in his age group...he had a really good race and finished 4th in his grp.  If you look at reviews of this race, they aren't great.  I could find no fault.  I would certainly go back again and I can't say that about all the races I have done.  The hotel was reasonably priced and convenient..had a pool and hot tub and a decent restaurant.  Old Town was within walking distance and had several good restaurants.  We went to a Mexican one for lunch and then for dinner had salads and pizza and beer and then headed over to the Chocolate Factory for dessert.  Ate candy and ice cream outside (cool enough for a jacket) while we watched a Labor Day fireworks display.  

I usually feel overwhelmed after I race and don't often make an effort to get together with others afterwards.  This time was different.  I feel a much better connection with the team and we really had a good time.  It was like a mini vacation.

Tomorrow

No time to type up a race report...that will come tomorrow.

Dragging

I cannot believe how tired I am. Two nights of inadequate sleep is not
a good thing. As soon as I get home, I am going to bed. Other than
that, I feel pretty good.

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Race

I will post a race report tomorrow. Altitude definitely a factor -
time 3:39:56 - 8th overall woman - 1st in my age group.

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2:30am

Went to bed at 9pm. Slept on and off. Looking forward to being done
the run today so I can take a nap. Feeling good in general.

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How hard can it be?

With such a cheery design on the official race shirt, how hard can
this race be?

Saturday

Started the day with a minor headache. It's either the altitude or my
allergies. Good news is that a couple of advil fixed it. Went on a 4
mile easy run and got yelled at by Karen due to a misunderstanding
between some of the other runners and her. Thankfully it all worked
out and everyone seems happy. Except Karen who apparently injured her
back and can't run. She and Ryan and Matt are renting bikes so they
can ride around the course encouraging runners.
Went to the "expo". Nothing special. Listened to 5 min of Jeff
Gallo"walker" extoll the virtues of run/walking. Not. Everyone from
Karen's group got up and left.
Drove the course with Mike, Kris, Andrea and Daniel. First 8 miles is
a mix of long gradual climbs, flat, short downhills and one steeper
up. Next 6-7 miles downhill - no up, no flat - only down. Definitely
going to be important not to trash my quads on that part. From mile 15
to the finish it's pretty much completely flat. Half on bike trails,
half on city streets. I think this is going to be an interesting
race. There won't be any crowd support or many people to run with.
Thankfully I don't mind running on my own. I am going to use my Garmin
and bring my shuffle. Just in case.
The weather should be great. I sat outside enjoying some herbal tea
earlier, reading a book. And no, I wasn't dripping in sweat.
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Friday

Uneventful trip to ABQ. It rained in the mountains and produced a
gorgeous rainbow. In this picture you can see the mountais and the
rainbow. Sorry the picture ain't great. Made a trip to Walmart to
get snacks and water. Reminded me why I don't shop at Walmart as a
rule. Feels hot but after the rain it was almost chilly.

Airport security questionable

I rarely travel by air and if I do I usually check a bag. This time I
was determined to take a minimum of stuff with me. I was surprised
when I saw the sign about the gels, shampoos and so forth being in a
ziplock baggie. Oops...they are in my toiletry bag. I just pretended I
didn't see the sign and proceeded thru. No one opened my bag or seemed
to care about my non complience

Thank goodness because I have headache and feel a little worried about
the whole weekend. I always feel guilty leaving my cat.

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Dri-Fit

Have you ever read the label that comes with your Nike Dri-Fit clothes (typically issued to Team Rogue).  I quote - "this garment features Dri-Fit fabric that wicks perspiration to keep you dry and comfortable".  Right.  There have been few days this summer when I have been running and felt dry and comfortable no matter what I was wearing.  OK, maybe compared to if I was wearing a cotton t-shirt.  I believe Nike is based in Oregon so they would have no idea that dry and comfortable in Texas involves AC while it may not in Oregon.  Of course we don't perspire in Texas, we sweat!

Things looking good in NM

Yesterday we had an easy 3 mile run and then 2 miles on the track.  I am now remembering what I liked so much about my first Rogue group.  The runs were short and it all seemed so easy.  That was yesterday.  One mile on the track at 400easy/400MGP and then another mile at 400mgp/400 faster than mgp.  I ran 1 min/mile pace faster on the faster part.  I felt super smooth and it was just effortless.  My legs are feeling really rested.  I'm feeling good about my run in New Mexico on Sunday.

This morning we had the option to run a couple of easy miles or take it off.  It was so nice out, I took Silver dog for her first easy 2 miler of the season.  That was one happy dog!  Her endorphins were running so high that she even let me check out her sore ear.  She got bitten by a tick the other day and would try to bite me if I touched her ear.  I had to muzzle her to get the tick off.  Her ear looks fine.

Checked the weather forecast for ABQ for Sunday...high 81 and low 60.  Yipeee!!!!  40% chance of rain but I don't care at all about that.