I'm Making It Up As I Go Along

Week 1 of my completely made up and likely-to-be-changed training plan for Endless Summer is in the books, and I am freaking tired.  Granted, it doesn't help that I've been sick for the past couple of days (allergies + a cold or just allergies or maybe it's the black plague, who knows).

What does my made up training plan look like, you ask?  Well, it looks like a whole hell of a lot of running and walking and very little time for things like naps and piñatas.  To be more specific, my week looked like this:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 1 Hour Run
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 1.5 Hour Run
Friday - Rest
Saturday - .5 Hour Run
Sunday - 2 Hour Walk + .5 Hour Run

Saturday's run and today's run were supposed to be an hour each, in theory, but with the way I was feeling, it just wasn't going to happen.   So all told I spent 3.5 hours running, 2 hours walking, and covered roughly 24 miles.

Going forward, the runs will increase and the walks will increase and hopefully my tolerance for a piñata free life will increase.  (Please, don't ask what's up with me and piñatas today, because the truth is I have no idea.  Sometimes a word just gets in my  head and since it took me entirely too long to figure out how to type a tilde on this stupid laptop, I'm just going to keep using it, mmkay?)

Though I'm not exactly sure how it'll all flesh out, I think that my training will peak at something like 11 hours of running and walking per week.  After Endless Summer I'll probably scale back for a week or two and then ramp back up even higher before I get to North Coast.

Or, maybe I'm completely full of crap and have no idea what I'm talking about.  This, truthfully, is much more likely.  Fortunately I have lots of very smart friends who have been at this way longer than I have, and I can pick their brains when I realize mine are falling out of my ears.

Aaaannd I have a 5K next weekend and a Half Marathon 2 weeks after that.  I keep forgetting about those races. I am NOT looking forward to the 5K, but the Half Marathon in St. Michael's should be fun.  Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.  We'll see.

I also just registered for another 5K that's in August.

Hey, it's cheaper than gambling, boozing, or doing drugs.  (And better for you, I'm told.)

On Banditing, Stealing, & Being An Entitled Dumbass

If you've been anywhere near the Internet this week, you've doubtless heard about the "Boston Bandits" - the 4 people who reproduced a girl's Boston Marathon bib in order to run the race without qualifying, fund-raising, or paying to get in.  

There have been dozens (maybe even hundreds, I haven't read the entire Internet) of articles and blog posts about these four individuals.  People have been shaming them all over social media, and the whole running community is in an uproar.  

Then there are those who say "What's the big deal? Who cares?"  It is to those people that I feel the need to respond (not that they probably read this blog, but hey, it's my party and I'll bitch if I want to!). 

In case you were not aware, taking things that you did not pay for is wrong.  Stealing, lying, cheating, all of these things are not acceptable. 

Did these four individuals kill anyone?  Rob a bank? Kick a puppy?  No.  Of course not.  They "only" bandited a race.  They "only" copied a piece of paper.  They "only" took water from the aid stations.  They "only" took medals at the end of the race that hey, admittedly, they did run.  

No big, right?  No harm, no foul.  

Except. 

Except. 

It's fucking wrong, people!  (Sorry, mom)  What if we all decided that banditing was ok?  Who needs to pay for a race? Pfft, they are public streets, right?  And water comes from lakes and stuff, so that's free, too, right?  So why do we have to pay to run on streets and drink water?  Dumb, right?  

Well, what about all the food that's in grocery stores?  I mean, that apple came from a tree that was grown in the USA, and I pay taxes to the US government, right?  So really I already paid for that apple, so why should I pay for it again?  

Ok, ok, so maybe that's a stretch.  But you get what I'm saying.  It's a slippery damn slope, and it scares the crap out of me that so many people are willing to go down it.  When did we get to be a country of people with such entitlement issues?  When did we stop believing in working for what we get, and just start expecting people to give us things?  When did we start thinking it was ok to steal because it "isn't hurting anyone?"  

I have two small kids.  Every day I worry that I'm screwing them up in some way.  Every day I'm worried that if I do something - or don't do something - they'll end up on some talk show saying that I ruined their lives.   I do my best to make sure that they know they are loved, and that they know right from wrong.    It makes my job harder when it seems like more and more people are changing the definition of "wrong."  

Do I think that the Boston Athletic Association needs the extra money that those fake bibs should have cost?  No. Of course not.  Do I think that at the end of the day, those bandits really hurt anyone?  

Abso-freaking-lutely.  

It's a slippery damn slope, people.  We need to wake up, stop  being entitled dumbasses, and remember what we'e all known since we were children.  You don't take things that don't belong to you.  Period. 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." 

- Edmund Burke

Time For A Run

The last time I followed a training plan, I had set mileage that I was supposed to run each day.  I slogged through the miles and often times felt overtired and overworked.  I stressed if I didn't get the exact mileage I was supposed to get.  It didn't work well for me.

This time around, I'm trying a new tactic.  I've set up my training plan so that each day I have a prescribed amount time to run.  An hour, and hour and a half, etc.  So far (a whopping 4 runs in), I'm liking it.   It somehow takes the pressure off, so that if I have a slow day, I don't feel as guilty that I "only" got X amount of miles.  Time on your feet is time on your feet, and since I have two time-specific races coming up, it makes sense to me that I concentrate on time rather than distance.

That being said, I do want to do some runs where pace is the main focus, but for right now I'm not worrying about that so much.

Today's run was an hour and a half on the paved loop that I will  be running for the Endless Summer 6 Hour Run in July.  As I was out there, I realized that no matter how many times I run that loop in preparation, it will be the weather on the day of the race that is going to determine how things go.  July in Maryland can be unbearable.  Between the heat and the humidity, race day may be brutal.  Time will tell.

Between now and then, all I can do is put in my time, and hope that I can acclimate to the heat as it comes.  Today it was only around 58 degrees and by the end of my hour and a half, I was pretty warm.  A few extra hours and an extra 30 degrees...  yeah.  That's not going to be terribly comfortable.  But it is what it is.  

I'm actually really looking forward to the race, I just hope that I enjoy all the training leading up to it, too.  My last real "training cycle" was not terribly enjoyable for me and when it was over I kind of went into a negative spiral.  I don't want that to happen again.  The race is just one day - the rest of it is the real journey.  

Which do you get more enjoyment out of, your training, or race day? 

Meb For President

Oh, my goodness.   Did you watch? Tell me you watched.  If you're saying "Watched what?" then obviously you don't need to be reading this blog.

The 118th Boston Marathon was held yesterday and OH MY GOSH, what a race.

I won't re-cap it, because if you care, you watched it (or read about it), and if you don't care, then me telling you about it isn't going to change your mind.

I will say that I'm sorry that Shalane Flanagan didn't win, because I know that she really, really, really wanted to, but man, she did a great job.  She set a record, both personally, and for American women, and that is saying something.

And Meb.  Oh, my.  Meb Keflezighi.  What an amazingly awesome and supremely gifted runner. I will be honest, I did not think he was going to win.  When the race started, I cheered for him but was kind of expecting him to get over taken.  Ha.  That'll teach me to doubt!

By the last 400 meters, I was on my feet in my living room, bouncing up and down, yelling at the television.  "Don't celebrate! Keep running! Faster! He's behind you! Faster!"  I can't remember the last time I was that stressed out. LOL

*sigh*  What a great day. 

And, as always, watching amazing runners run got me all fired up.  So I spent some time last night looking at the calendar and fretting and came up with a loose 14 week training plan for the Endless Summer 6 Hour Run.  It looks like a crazy amount of running.  I honestly don't know how it's going to go.  But I'm gonna try!  

2 weeks till my 5K, 4 weeks till my HM, 14 weeks till ES6, and 22 weeks till NC24.  I have a lot of running ahead of me, and I am seriously crazy excited.   

Did you watch Boston?  Does watching a race get you pumped up for your own running? 

Wicked Good Fun

Oh, hello there, internet!  How I've missed you!

It's funny what a week in the Tennessee wilderness (ok, so not really wilderness, though I did see a deer and a turkey) will do to you.  I managed a little Facebook-ing on my phone, and that one piddly post the other day because Boston was on my mind, but really I was not on the wild wild web all that much.  Which meant that when we got home this weekend, I had a ton of blog reading to do!  Ya'll are a talkative bunch. Holy Moses.

So, what did I do in Tennessee, you want to know?  Well, what everyone does when they go stay on a lake in Tennessee!  Fishing, horseback riding, running, and, of course, dinner and a show.  Because, really, what is a vacation without going to see a musical?

That's right, while visiting my mother and father in the boonies, my husband and I (along with my wonderful mother) snuck off to the "big city" (120 miles away!) to see Wicked.

(Source)

It was so good!  I'd seen the show before, but my hubby and mom had not, so I was glad that we could all see it together.   Before the show, we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is apparently a chain that I've never heard of.  I had been missing out!  The food was really good, and the restaurant was really eclectic and pretty.

Stained glass windows and gorgeous chandeliers (and a bad photographer, i.e. me)

A trolley inside the restaurant - and you can eat inside it! 

After dinner we walked to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and since we had time to kill I got a glass of wine and we wandered a bit.  We saw a cigarette machine across the room and were mildly startled, since it seemed out of place.  Upon closer look, we discovered the machine wasn't selling cigarettes at all.  

I had never seen one before, but I love it! Art-o-mat machines are "retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art."  You can read all about them on their website. Very, very cool. 

. . .  and I already told you that Wicked was great, apparently because I am unable to write this particular post in a linear fashion.  Can I blame it on my brain still being on vacation?  I can? Awesome, thanks.

And now, my dear friends, it's time for me to leave you (for now) - mostly because my brain left a few minutes ago.  So I will be back another day to talk about something else that hopefully makes sense and isn't too blithery.  Ooh, apparently blithery is not a word.  Come on, spell check. Blither is a word,  why isn't blithery?  Never mind.  See?  Brain fried.   I go bye bye now.

Do you ever write blog posts when you're too tired to think straight?  Do you think blithery should be a word? 

Oh! I almost forgot! (See?  Brain issues today, people.  I'm tired!)  I got to meet another "internet friend" while I was in Tennessee!  I knew that he lived somewhat kinda not really sorta close to where my parents live, but I wasn't sure exactly where.  Turns out we were able to swing a meeting, and he kindly bought me a coke and chatted with me and my mom for awhile before we had to go.   Runners are the bestest! =) 

Ok, now I'm really going.  Toodles! 

One Year

There are different events over the course of a lifetime that you will always remember. There are certain tragedies that you will discuss with friends and the conversation will start, "I remember exactly where I was when. . ."

A year ago today, I was parked in the car loop at my son's elementary school, checking Facebook on my phone. It was there that I read the words "bomb" and "marathon" and I thought it had to be a horrible practical joke.

Then the reports started rolling in. 

Today, many have healed and attempted to move on. But we all remember, and a little part of our hearts will always belong to Boston. 

Slow-ass Runner Seeks Same

Let's get one thing straight, shall we?  It's not lonely at the back of the pack.  There are plenty of people next to me and behind me in races.  We are legion, we, the slower-than-thou.

I know there are lots of slower runners out there, because as slow as I am, I have never been last in a race.  Even in the smallest race I've ever run (170 people), 33 people finished behind me - and I was only managing a 13:00 pace that day.

I know they're out there, these 12,13,and 14 minute milers.  They are not shy, they are not afraid to show their faces. They race with joy and with pride, and I salute them for their efforts and wish them well (and sometimes curse them when they pass me).

And yet.....

Where the hell are they?  Outside of these races, where do they congregate?  Why do I never see them out on the streets and paths and trails where I run?

Every time I lace up my shoes and head outside, I am passed by the fleet of foot.  Young, old, and in between, runners lope past me and I am left shuffling along.  Don't get me wrong - I'm ok with solitude.  But it would be nice to be able to chat, sometimes, with another runner.  It would be nice to have someone by my side at mile 8 or 9 when I'm bored and want to stop and go home and eat a bagel (or an entire cake).

I used to think that I'd get faster, and "one day" I'd be able to go join a group run and actually keep up.  "One day" has not arrived.  I'm not getting (much) faster.  And I'm certainly not getting any less lonely.

(Insert big sigh here, cue the violins, etc, etc)

What's a slower runner to do?  Craigslist?  What would my lonely-heart ad sound like?

Slow-ass Runner Seeks Same

Faster friends leaving you behind? In need of a training partner who's more your speed?

If you are a turtle in a land of cheetahs, this is your lucky day! 

Non-threatening, mid-30s female who runs 12-13 minute miles and likes long walks on the . .  .

wait no, wrong ad, what the hell was I saying?   Oh, right.  Running. 

I need a freaking running partner! *sob* Someone who understands that sometimes walking is ok, and that on long runs, snacks are mandatory.  Someone who doesn't wear split shorts in December, and agrees that there's nothing wrong with the occasional tutu. 

If we have similar paces and similar interests, please contact me at 1-800-NoBQJustBS

I may have to start accosting chatting up people after races.  I'm not sure the whole Craigslist thing would work.  I mean, there are some crazy people on the internet.  

Do you have a running partner? How did you meet? 

What's Next?

What's the best thing to think about after an endless winter?   Why, an Endless Summer, of course!

When I signed up for the North Coast 24-Hour Endurance Run, a friend suggested that I sign up for the Endless Summer 6 Hour Run as a sort of test-run/supported training run.  So I could get my feet wet, so to speak.  My first thought was "6 hours? I can't run for 6 hours!"  But then I reminded myself that I'd just plunked down over $100 to run for twenty-four hours, so I'd darn well better be able to run 6 hours two months ahead of time! 

After deciding to run the race, I cyber-stalked it, reading every race report I could find, and checked in on the Striders website every few days to see if registration had opened.  Then I got busy with other things and just kind of forgot about it.  Not the race itself, but the actual act of registering for it.  

Today good friend Michelle told me that she wanted to sign up for a race, even though she's walking and not running these days, and that she had decided that ES6 was going to be it.  And, oh look at that, registration opened two weeks ago.  Whoops.  Glad she reminded me!  So now I'm signed up, as is my friend who originally told me about the race.  (He didn't know registration was open, either.  So, really, I'm not THAT oblivious.)

(Me & George after last year's ES6)

What I'm most excited about now is that Michelle and I are going to do some of our training together.  I knew that I needed to add in an extra day of training to get my mileage up, and I wanted it to be just walking because I know that I will be doing a lot of walking at NC24 - but to me walking long distances is super boring.  Being able to do some longer walks with Michelle will be great! 

Of course, I'm sitting here talking about ES6 and NC24 .... and yet I have a 5K and a Half Marathon coming up that I should probably be thinking about, at least a little.  But training for a 6 hour run (and eventual 24 hour run) should make the 5K and HM super easy, right?  Right.  =) 

Have you ever done a timed race?  Any tips for an ultra-virgin? 

Bloomin' Terrific - Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Race Report

When my alarm went off at 4:45 on Sunday morning, I'm not sure I knew where I was.  I dragged myself into the shower in an effort to shake off the last vestiges of sleep, and ran through a mental list of what needed to be done before I toed the line at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in DC. 

• Get dressed 
• Find watch and Road ID
• Eat something
• Walk the dog
• Figure out what metro stop I needed
• Find cash for the metro
• Tape up my shin
• Question my sanity

Once most of those got done (I didn't manage to walk the dog - she's old and sometimes just doesn't want to cooperate!), I got in my car and headed to the Metro station.  I still wasn't really thinking about the race.  I was just kind of on auto pilot.  Some part of my brain knew that I wasn't ready for this.  I hadn't been running as much or as often as I should have been, and hadn't run more than 7 miles at a time since October.  My calves were tight, my shin hurt.  I was running (literally!) on no sleep.  Blah, blah, blah.  But all that stayed in the back of my mind and mostly I was just calm.  

Then I got to the Metro, which opened early on Sunday just for the race, and I saw other runners getting out of their cars, talking, laughing, pinning on their bibs, and I started to get excited.  "These are my tribe," I thought.   We all got on the train and it was just us.  I think I counted two people who were not headed to the race, but the other couple of hundred that I could see when the doors opened were all going to the same place.  This is my tribe. 

Arriving at the race after a short walk from the metro, I immediately hopped into one of the super long lines for the porta potties.  I'd had an entire bottle of water on the train and knew I'd be hating life if I didn't take care of business before hand.  The line was so long that I was still waiting when the first runners started the race.  Sometimes it pays to be in the last corral! 

Once I was finished I popped over into the purple corral to wait for our turn to start the race.  Everyone around me was in great spirits, and I was starting to get more excited.  I turned on my watch and set it for 2/1 run/walk intervals since I knew I wouldn't get through the race just running, given how craptastic my training had been.  (Plus, I did this race last year doing 2/1 intervals, and it went pretty well.)  

We slowly started to move forward towards the start line and the announcer was doing his bit and then he said something along the lines of "Give it up for the party wave - these runners really like to maximize their racing time, it's the PURPLE WAVE!"   We all cheered and laughed, though technically not all of the runners in the purple corral are slower runners.  If you don't have a previous 10 miler time to give at registration, I think they automatically put you with purple.  But nevertheless, we did all seem like a fairly happy crowd.   And then... we were off. 

The first bit of the race is really crowded, so I didn't get into my run/walking until almost the first mile mark.  My pace for that first bit was relatively slow, though, so everything felt fine and my legs were cooperating.  At one point, there was a trio of young guys behind me singing "Do you want to build a snowman" from the movie Frozen.  I spun around and said "Please, oh please tell me you're going to do the whole movie!" They laughed and began a conversation about how they should bring a boom box next year.  Soon they passed me and I never saw them again, but the definitely put me in good spirits for the first part of the race. 

(I think this was near the Kennedy Center -it was just after this that there was a turn-around and I saw the local guy who juggles while he races.  This time he was juggling 2 small balls and 1 basketball, and he was bouncing the basketball as he juggled.  That guy is amazing, I should have taken his picture. I didn't want to slow down, though, because if he'd gotten ahead of me I would have been really mad. LOL) 

(Walking and taking pictures at the same time is not as easy as you might think!)

Along the way I was a little disappointed that the Cherry Blossoms weren't actually in full bloom (or much of any kind of bloom), but it's still a fairly pretty course (for DC).  It was the perfect temperature, and things just felt good.  I was tired, sure, but didn't really struggle at all until about mile 6.  Mile 6 felt really, really hard.  I didn't know why until later in the day (more on that later).

One of the great things about this race is the spectators.  Funny signs, people with dogs, little kids, etc.  Plenty of people out there cheering, giving high fives, etc.  Another great thing is that this race puts your name on your bib, so I got six (yes, I kept count) personalized shout-outs.  One of them made me really happy, actually, because it was towards the end of the race and I was really tired by that point and this little boy, maybe 8 or 9, said "Whoo! Diana! You can do it!" and gave me a fist bump.  Tears, people.  

My time for this race last year was 1:59:32, and my original plan (way back in the fall when I signed up) was to beat that time.  Race morning, I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen, but somewhere around mile 8 I realized that it could happen.  Unfortunately, by mile 10 I was so tired that I let my walk breaks go longer than they were supposed to.  I ended up finishing in (an unoficial) 2:00:22.   Looking back, I'm a little peeved that I gave up on myself and didn't fight for a PR.  On the other hand, considering my lack of training, my painful shin, and the fact that I hadn't had a decent night sleep in a week, I am incredibly pleased with my time. 

(Man, I get red-faced when I run!)

When I got home from the race, I uploaded my Garmin data and I realized that I ran crazy inconsistent splits.  Not only that, but I realized why mile 6 felt so hard.   Check it: 

Uh, yeah.  Sub-11?  For me?  That's darn fast.  No wonder it felt hard. Also, it slowed me way down in the subsequent miles, but oh well.  I do find it kind of cool that I can bust out a 10:59 mile in the middle of a 10-miler, though.  =)

After going over my splits I got cleaned up and headed out to meet friends for Bingo.  Not just any Bingo, mind you, but Bingo where you win Coach and Micheal Kors purses.  And they serve booze!  Really, what more could you want after running a 10 mile race?  (Well, I would have liked to actually WIN something, but whatever.) 

(Both Cokes were mine, but only one of them had rum in in, I swear!)

When I got home from Bingo I pretty much collapsed. I was so tired that my husband says I was talking to him when he came up to bed, but he could tell I was asleep, and I made no sense.  I have no memory of that at all! 

Today I'm a bit sore, but mostly I feel good - and I am anxious to sign up for this race again.  Entry is based on a lottery system so I'm not guaranteed to get in, but I'll try.  Hopefully I'll actually manage to train next year.  Either way, I'm hoping that I'll be back in the fray, surrounded by 17,000 other people out to enjoy the day.  My tribe.

Step Sisters Ribbon Run

On Saturday morning, I got up bright and early and drove 65 miles or so to Ashburn, VA to meet up with some "internet folk" at the Step Sisters Ribbon Run, a 5K & 10K run for breast cancer.

It was colder than I was expecting and the wind was crazy stupid, but the sun was shining and I was happy to meet my friends in person for the first time, after having been talking to them online for quite awhile now.  (They were just as awesome in person, in case you're wondering!) 

Of course I am an idiot and took NO pictures.  But you guys have imaginations.  Pretend, ok? 

The idea for the 5K was for me to just do my super-slow running and meet up with people at the end.  I had no intention of actually trying to race this thing.  I ended up hanging with K for most of the race, and she's faster than I am, so I was actually going at a fairly steady clip for awhile.  Faster than I should have, that's for sure.  Around 2.4 miles, my right shin (the one that loves me SO MUCH) started to speak up and I knew I needed to slow down/walk if I had any chance of running my race the next day.  So I told K to go on ahead, and I walked for a few minutes.   

I picked up the pace again in the last 2/10 of a mile or so and ran in it - hey, even if it's not a "real" race, you can't walk across the finish line, right? 

(Thanks to W for this picture!)

I think my time for this one was somewhere around 38 minutes, which is slower than my fastest 5Ks, but faster than my slowest 5Ks, so I'll take it.  It beats sitting on the couch all morning, in any case. 

After I finished we hung out for awhile, waiting for the rest of K's family to finish, then we all went to breakfast at a great place called Mimi's.  They had fun looking mimosas on the menu but since W & K were treating me, I felt bad adding $8 to my meal, so I didn't have one.  I will be making my own soon, though.

When breakfast was over, we said our good-byes and I headed home.  At that point, I had no idea what I was going to do about Sunday's race.  My shin hurt, my calf was tight, and I was just overall tired from a stressful week, and not enough sleep.   It would have to be a race-day decision.  

Would I drop down to the 5K?  Stay home and sleep? My alarm was set for 4:45 a.m.   Time would tell.   Details tomorrow. =)

Did you race this weekend? Have you ever done two (or more) races in one weekend? 

April Already?

How is it that individual days can seem so slow, yet you blink and entire months have gone by?

I can't believe it's the 3rd of April already (and nearly the 4th, as I type this!).  I feel like just yesterday it was the New Year.  Already I'm facing my first weekend of racing for 2014, with back to back races coming up this Saturday and Sunday.  I am incredibly, undeniably, not in shape to run either of these races - even at a "leisurely" pace.  Due to some unfortunate family circumstances, I didn't run at all in the past week, and today when I went out to try to get in a "shake  out" run before this weekend, I barely managed two miles before I admitted defeat.

My legs are heavy.  I haven't slept well in days.  I'm not ready in any way for this weekend.  Saturday is a 5K that I'm only running  because I really want to meet some internet friends "in real life."  (Did you know Facebook isn't considered real life?  Weird. I talk to my FB friends more often than I talk to my husband most weeks!) So Saturday I'm not skipping.  Sunday, however, I could just bag.  I'm not going to the race with anyone, no one is meeting me there, no one would even care if I didn't go.  But every time I think about not running the race, I get sad.

I looked back at my "training" log from last spring, and my running going into the Cherry Blossom race last year was rather dismal.  And I still managed to have a great day, and finish in a time I never would have expected.  So what is it about this year that has me convinced of certain doom?   I don't know.  Something feels different this year.  Maybe because it's a year later and I'm still making the same stupid mistakes.  Maybe I'm just angry with myself for not being in better shape.  Maybe I just don't think lightening can strike twice.  Who knows.

I guess by 10 a.m. on Sunday, I'll either have proved myself wrong, or be sitting in the back of a SAG wagon.  Either way, I'll probably be crying.  LOL