Train Wreck of Long Run

Workout

September 14, Monday

7:35 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: ~ 10.5 miles (?)
Duration: 2:13:06 [1st 6.48 miles, 1:10:36, 10:53 pace, 154/170]
Pace ave: ??
HR ave 149, max 174
@start: 57, 85%, sunny, NE@2
@end: 71, 69%, sunny, ENE@8
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

This run beat me into submission. I'd planned to do 12-13 miles. I made it approximately 9 or 9.5 before I surrendered. I was simply far too fatigued to go the distance. Had to walk a mile to get back home, and it was hard work. The 10K race on Saturday plus 2 hours of yard work Saturday afternoon plus erratic training plus reduced caloric intake (to compensate for the 8 days of travel and 3 pints on ice cream in Dallas) plus accumulated travel fatigue plus poor sleep all combined to make for one overly tired Jill. My hamstrings were really sore from the yard work. By the time I got home, my whole body was aching. Argh.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: post run 140.8
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Pokey 11.56 Miles

Workout

August 30, Sunday
7:55 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 11.56 miles
Duration: 2:11:11
Pace ave: 11:20
HR ave 151, max 172
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 56, 87%, sunny, N@3
@end: 66, 64%, sunny, N@6
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

Was a pretty good run, but was achy in my hips and very low back. Had to really work on my mind ... it kept wanting to just stop, but the second lap was easier in that regard that the first.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 144.8 , post run 141.6
bf: 29%, 28%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Leisurely 11 Mile Run/Walk

I wish I could say it feels great to be home after being gone for two weeks, but it doesn't. I'm glad to see my cats & dogs, family, and neighbors, but I'd just as soon be elsewhere. I'm going to be home only until Sept 1 when I go to San Jose and then Dallas, back on the 9th. After that, I have a trip to DC Sept 15-23.

It's interesting being at a crossroads in one's life and having nearly limitless options (or choices or alternatives or opportunities or whatever word works best). It's a great position to be in, but it does come with a good dose of anxiety, indecision, and sense of being overwhelmed by the possibilities. I prefer a menu with a smaller set of entrées than one with 100 choices. Wouldn't want to choose the wrong thing (as if everything is permanent ... not!).

I suppose it comes down to just picking something, giving it a go, and if it works, great. If it doesn't work, move on to Plan B or C or D ... would that it were so simple.

Workout

August 23, Sunday
6:56 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 11.02 miles
Duration: 2:06:55
Pace ave: 11:31
HR ave 149, max 167
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 60, 94%, cloudy turning sunny, NE@1
@end: 66, 71%, partly cloudy, NNE@8
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

A couple miles into this run, I decided to take it easier than usual, do a run/walk, and not take in any Gu along the way. My legs started feeling a smidgen of fatigue from yesterday's run, and the latest issue of Runners World had an interesting article about the common wisdom of running and how to switch it up (thus the run without any energy intake a long the way).

              HR
   Time   ave/max/end
01: 25:21.6 140/157/144
02:  1:00.4 144/131/118

03: 12:25.0 146/151/150
04:  2:00.0 133/151/115

05: 13:52.9 148/157/155
06:  2:01.3 138/155/127

07: 12:25.7 149/157/157
08:  2:01.7 139/157/122

09: 12:37.6 155/164/158
10:  2:00.6 139/158/130

11: 13:35.6 155/164/159
12:  2:00.1 141/159/124

13: 13:24.3 159/165/165
14:  2:00.2 153/166/139

15: 10:08.2 161/167/165

The best bit about the run: my back didn't hurt at all!! Actually, NOTHING hurt. My quads were tired and little achey by the time I got home, but there were no lingering pains from prior injuries. Woohoo!

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 148.0, post run 144.4
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

9 Miles in the Sauna

Workout

August 16, Sunday
8:20 a.m. ET
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 9 miles
Duration: 1:38:48
Pace ave: 10:58
HR ave 163, max 186
Cool down: .6 mile walk
@start: 75, 90%, fair, E@8
@end: 85, 72%, sunny, SE@12
Shoes: Yellow Pegasus

2.25 mile laps

1: 24:56.6 145 159

2: 24:39.4 161 174

3: 24:50.0 169 176

4: 24:22.9 176 186

I finally got around to planning my long runs for the Evansville Half Marathon. I really needed to do 9 today, so I did. Would that I were like that with most other things! Anyway, the run was pretty good aside from my back being uncomfortable the entire way after about a mile. I was definitely feeling a bit tired at the end, but it was pretty warm by then, too. Sucked down a Gu packet at the end of the second lap.

I ran all four laps at a bit more even pace than the last time I did this run. The last time, I ran the first three evenly in 26:00, 25:59, 25:30, ending with a 24:18.

Was really nice to be running again!

4.32 and a Hurting Back

Workout

July 29, Wednesday
8:09 a.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 4.32 miles
Duration: 45:18.8
Pace ave: 10:29
HR ave 153, max 176
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 70, 94%, cloudy, SSW@1
@end: 56, 85%, cloudy, WNW@7
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

My back hurt the whole way, the benefit being that the other aspects of the run were great: my mind was focused on my back instead of my legs or breathing or whatever else. I thought I was going to have to stop and walk a couple times, but the discomfort (spasm?) would ease enough to tolerate.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 147.2, post run 145.8
bf: 29%, 28%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

The Long Run That Wasn't

Workout

July 12, Sunday
7:30 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 10.62 miles
Duration: 2:20:26 (1:02:44, 1:17:42)
Pace ave: 13:13 (11:48, 14:37)
HR ave 145, max 173
@start: 71, 98%, slightly foggy turning sunny, NNW@1
@end: 79/81, 68%, sunny, NE@4
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

Walked for 2 minutes after 45 minutes when I sucked down a Gu packet. At the turn around, I walked 3 minutes, ran 7, walked 1, tried running but my feet felt like they were being flayed :-(, so I walked about 22 minutes. Ran another 6 or 7 minutes or so & walked the rest of the way. Tried running a couple of times more, but my feet hurt too much & I didn't want to end up with gigantic blisters. They are very tender just walking around barefoot in the house.

I felt pretty good on the outbound part of the run, but was definitely ready for a walk break at the half-way point even though I took it out very slowly. This is a tough course. I'd really like to run the whole thing one day, but it'll have to be a nice cool day for that. Today was just too warm humid. Some sections had decent shade, but there are long segments with zero shade.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 148.6, post run 144.4
bf: 30%, 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Drippy 9 Miles

Workout

July 5, Sunday
6:58 a.m. ET
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 9.0 miles
Lap 1: 26:00 HR ave 140, max 150, pace 11:33
Lap 2: 25:59 HR ave 149, max 157, pace 11:32
Lap 3: 25:39 HR ave 159, max 167, pace 11:24
Lap 4: 24:18 HR ave 173, max 190, pace 10:48
Duration: 1:41:56
Pace ave: 11:19
HR ave 155, max 190
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 74, 93%, light fog, S@7
@end: 77, 96%, sunny, WSW@6
Shoes: Yellow Pegasus

I'm very happy with this run. I managed to keep the pace where I wanted it (especially considering the temp and humidity) with the last 2.25 mile lap being much quicker, particularly the last half mile. This is the longest I've run since the half marathon in Dallas back on March 15th. I've been struggling with the long runs, so it's nice to get a good one under my belt. Even better, aside from a bit of soreness from the weight training session on Friday, nothing hurts!

Morning Stats

weight: post-run 149.0 [too many beers and margaritas, methinks!]
bf: n/a
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Crap Run & Livin' on Peanut M&M's

I watched the Indy 500 today which is a major accomplishment considering I managed to miss both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. I was beginning to think it was going to be one of those "finish under yellow" sister-kissers, but it ended on green. Still a sister-kisser, though, with Helio well out in front. Congrats to him for winning his 3rd, joining a select group of 6. Only 4 have won it 4 times. Perhaps Helio will be the first to win it 5 times.

Workout

May 24, Sunday
8:27 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: ~8.2
Duration: 2:09:50
Pace ave: 15:50
HR ave 108, max 158
@start: 71, 83%, cloudy, ENE@2
@end: 79/80, 61%, cloudy, SSE@4
Shoes: Pegasus 25

This was supposed to be a long run. I woke up early and ate some oatmeal so I wouldn't be running on an empty tank and then went back to bed for a little while. Got up with high hopes for a good run. Uh, not so much, as it turned out. I made myself run at least 11 minutes before deciding whether to do it or not. Still wasn't feeling good, but walked a minute and decided another 11 wouldn't kill me. Repeated that exercise once more, but 1:49 into the third 11 minutes, I was done for. Walked the rest of the way. Never did start feeling good. Legs tired. Generally felt too hot, too fatigued, and like I was working too hard, even though my HR wasn't high. Sigh. I guess this is just one of those bad patches that will eventually pass. Sooner than later would be nice, though.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 148.0
bf: 31%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Cloudy 8 Miles

Workout

May 3, Sunday
10:12 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 8.12 miles
Duration: 1:32:03
Pace ave: 11:20
HR ave 156, max 174
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 59, 77%, mostly cloudy, E@7
@end: 65, 56%, cloudy, ENE@10
Shoes: Pegasus 25

The goal for this workout was to go a little faster than yesterday, but not over do it, right around an 11:20 pace, hopefully, with my HR 75-80% most of the time. Wonder of wonders, that's what I actually did. I felt pretty fatigued on the way back, tho, and getting up McCarty Hill was harder work than usual. My quads were really feeling it. I need to start doing some hill sprints again sometime soon.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 150.4
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Really Good 11 Miles

I went to a book club meeting this evening for the first time. There were 4 of us & it was an enjoyable event.

Workout

March 9
12:44 p.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 11.02 miles
Duration: 1:59:30
Pace ave: 10:50
HR ave 165, max 185
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 50, 68%, partly cloudy, SE@5
@end: 53, 65%, fair, SE@3
Shoes: Pegasus 25

This was my first run in six days. Having been sick (not nearly as bad as in December, thankfully), I was a little uncertain at the outset whether going long today was a good move or not. I really wanted to get in a another long run before the race on Sunday, but I didn't want to push it closer to race day. It turned out to be a really good run, great weather, no trains, no dog bites. What more can a runner ask for, other than faster and no aches? :-) I at a Gu packet about 10 minutes for the start, at 45 minutes, and at 80 minutes. Walked for a minute at each Gu break. Discomfort in the center of the ball of my right foot cropped up again at about 6.5 miles.

With about a mile to go, I thought I could maybe finish the run in less than 2 hours, so I picked up the pace quite a bit. I didn't set a course PR (that was 1:58:05 this past October, a 10:42 pace, and an ave HR of 157), but I did manage to make it in less than 2 hours. Yay!

My conditioning isn't a good as it was in October and I'm 7 pounds heavier :-(, but based on today's run, I'm hoping I can do this coming Sunday's race in 2:20-2:23. If the Dallas weather forecast holds, at race time the conditions should be similar to what it was like here today. That's really good news.

Food

Time to start living off something beside Peanut M&M's. I rather shudder at the thought of the huge amount of junk I've shoved down my gullet this past week. Not that I want to be sick, but the next time it happens I'd prefer something that takes away my appetite.

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: post run 154.0 (ugh)
bf: 30%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

12 Miles on a Sunny Monday

It's nice to be home, again, but part of me wishes I were still in Canada. My kitties sure were glad to see me, and I them. They were once again little (ok, big & fat) stick-tights the past two nights and all day yesterday & most of today.

Workout

February 23, Monday
2:02 p.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 12.07 miles
Duration: 1:01:01
Pace ave: 11:08
HR ave 161, max 175
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 33, 46%, sunny, ENE@2
@end: 34, 42%, sunny, NW@2
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Gorgeous day! Brilliant blue sky, light wind, chilly but not frigid. I postponed my long run until today (instead of doing in yesterday) since the it was supposed to be a couple degrees warmer and a lot less windy. Good run. Quads started feeling a bit fatigued at around 8.5 miles. Took in Gu about 15 minutes before starting, then at 40 & 80 minutes. Got caught by a train at 80 minutes, so that worked out well. Walked for about a minute and a half at 40 mins, which was about the same amount of time I was waiting on the train. Was really stiff and achey at the end and had very little extra oompf to pick up the pace the last block. The bottom of my right foot (hey, other side of the body for a change!) near where my toes join up was sore from maybe 5 or so miles onward.

I was able to take off my gloves and jacket for about the middle 5 miles. Even though the wind wherever the monitoring station is said 2 mph, out in the fields, it was higher, enough so to make me become really chilled at about mile 8. Jacket & gloves went back on for the rest of the run.

Food

One of the nice things about running 12 miles is not having to be overly concerned about eating too much, assuming I don't eat a pint of ice cream, a bag of Doritos, and 2 pounds of Hershey's kisses.

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

n/a

Weeks 6 & 7 Summary

Week 6 turned out pretty good. I ran 24.62 miles, walked 4 miles, lifted weights twice, played the piano a couple times and the trombone once. Didn't eat all that well for a few days, though. The weather warmed up causing the roads to clear, so I ran outside 3 times. It was so nice getting off the treadmill!

Week 7, turned out not so good. I ran only about 12.5 miles, walked about 2, rowed 3.2, spent 50 minutes doing a cardio circuit (10 minutes on each of the treadmill, stair master, elliptical, stationary bike, & rowing machine), weight trained once, turned 45, didn't play the piano or trombone because I'm in Canada and have no clue whether there's a piano somewhere on base or not, let alone a trombone, and ate far too much junk since I've been here. The good thing is that I discovered I really like the rowing machine. The one I used in the gym is an older-model Concept II. Oh yeah ... I brought one of the books written in French with me, but haven't read any of it. Figures.

Workout

February 18, Wednesday
3:30 p.m. MT
Warm up: .3 mile walk
Distance: ~10.35 miles
Duration: 1:54:51
Pace ave: 11:05
HR TBD ... had a lot of interference near the base & will have to do error correction
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 27/18, 52%, sunny, WSW@10
Shoes: Pegasus (Canada)

Eddie played pit crew for me today. All in all the run was pretty good, especially considering I haven't run since Saturday and that was just 2 miles on the treadmill and I ate too much junk in the couple hours before I ran so my gut wasn't all that happy with me. The weather was really nice, although as soon as the sun got near the horizon I cooled off really quickly. My cool down walk wasn't much of a cool down since I was already on the cool side.

On the route map, instead of turning right and heading toward the TransCan shortly before mile 10, I went straight. Distance is an estimate. There weren't any markers around except telephone poles. In fact, when I stopped running, you could do a complete 360 and not see any sign of human habitation other than the telephone poles a couple antennae/towers. I might have to go back and do a little video of the area before I head back to the States.

Food

Oatmeal and blueberries for a late breakfast, then some chocolates and chips & salsa, then a little fish, raw veg, & a tad of pasta for lunch, then more chocolates, then my run. Urf. Supper was a gyro, some cauliflower, and carrots. I haven't updated my Calorie King food diary much at all since being in Canada. When logging stuff on Calorie King, it drives me nuts not knowing exactly how much I'm eating (I'm not toting my food scale to the meals!) and what the cooks have added to the food.

Morning Stats

n/a

Good 8 Miles

Workout

February 8, Sunday
12:54 p.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 8.12 miles
Duration: 1:29:03
Pace ave: 10:58
HR ave 157, max 178
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 51, 59%, sunny, NNW@6
@end: 54, 52%, sunny, NNE@5
Shoes: Pegasus 25

After yesterday's hard run and weight training, I just wanted to take it easy and maintain a fairly even pace on my long run today. Of course, long runs are generally supposed to be done at an easy pace.  The weather was fantastic again. Loads of blue, blue, blue!

My shoulders and triceps are a bit sore from yesterday's workout.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: post run 150.0
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

7 Miles on the Treadmill

This evening, I watched a movie that's been sitting on my DVR for a while, The Dreamers. Interesting, in a Bertolucci sort of way.

Workout

January 31, Saturday
3:37 p.m. CT
Warm up: .4 mile walk outside + .5 mile on treadmill
Distance: 7 miles on treadmill@1%
Duration: 1:18:50
Pace ave: 11:15
HR ave 152, max 167
Cool down: 2.25 mile walk
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Since it was so nice outside, I wanted to get off the treadmill and hit the streets; however, the streets were too slick being still mostly covered with icy snow, the sidewalks weren't cleared at all, and chunks off ice were falling off trees and power lines. Back to the treadmill. I watched Tropic Thunder while running, a somewhat stupid flick and not as comical as I had expected, just pretty ludicrous. Perhaps this winter has negatively impacted my sense of humor.

Anyway, the run was decent, just a nice, slow long-ish run.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

n/a

Bye Bye Birdie

As soon as I walked in the door from my run, my neighbor called & wanted me to go see Bye Bye Birdie at the high school at 2:00. Sounded good to me, so I headed to the treadmill for my cool down walk, then the hit the shower & was at their place by 1:45. That left no time for the salad I'd planned to eat, so I scarfed down milk & cookies at their place before heading over to the high school. The musical was okay. Not great, not horrible (well, a couple of the singing moments were headed toward the horrible direction). The female lead did a great job, though. I'm glad I went.

Workout

November 23
10:27 a.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 13.09 miles
Duration: 2:30:06
Pace ave: 11:28
HR ave 163, max 190
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 38/31, 53%, sunny, S@8
@end: 48/43, 35%, sunny, S@11

I did the warm up & cool down walked inside on the treadmill@1% incline. The run went pretty well, but it was hard. I walked three time to suck down some energy gels or gummies: @45:02 for 1:52, @1:26:07 for 3:12, and @1:54:50 for 3:08. The gummies (Sharkies) and I just don't get along from a breathing/chewing/swallowing perspective. The Sharkies taste great, but I'll stick with gels in the future.

Today's route is a difficult one, and I was very tired and stiff at the end. I tried picking up the pace the last couple blocks, but couldn't muster much. I was going as fast as I could which was nowhere near the usual pace I can reach at the end of a race or long run. The cold didn't bother me much today, but the wind fatigued me. The last 4 miles (wind at my back) I took off my jacket and shoved my sleeves up. It was a nice, bright blue day, too.

My left ankle and hip flexor started bothering around 7.5 miles. They both felt better after a couple more miles. Now, at 6:30 p.m., my ankle feels fine, but the hip flexor is still sore. Same ol', same ol'.

Food

Breakfast: 8:30 a.m. 1 packet Kashi vanilla oatmeal, 1 generic packet sugar-free brown sugar/maple oatmeal.

During Run: 1 vanilla Power Gel packet, 1 packet Sharkies + 4 sharks, Gatorade.

Post Run: 1:45 p.m. skim milk, 4 of my neighbor's oatmeal cookies.
Afternoon Snacks: 4:30 p.m. 2 oatmeal cookies.
Supper: 5:40 p.m. Birdseye Steam Fresh broccoli with edamame, carrots, & water chestnuts; Cool Ranch Doritos, Diet Coke, um ... more cookies.

Morning Stats

Because it's very chilly in my house in the morning, I get up and mess around on the PowerBook and eat, usually forgetting to get on the scales before doing so, a subconscious desire to avoid getting goose pimples from the cold, I suppose.

Happy Birthday to Eddie and to Jeff!

Workout

November 16

8:24 a.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 11.02 miles
Duration: 2:05:18
Pace ave: 11:22
HR ave 159, max 180
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 36/27, 65%, sunny, WSW@12
@end: 39/31, 56%, partly cloudy, W@15 gusts to 19

At least I got in some distance. It wasn't a great run, and it felt difficult, but then the wind will do that to you. I planned to do 12, but the part I add to the 11 mile route to get to 12 miles involves running another segment straight west right into that wind for 1/2 mile. I took a pass. It was hard enough as it was. I walked for a little over 2 minutes each of the two times I sucked down a gel pack at 36:56 and at 1:14:05, but otherwise managed to run the whole thing. My HR info (e.g. effort) for this run was very similar to when I ran this route in in 1:58:05, but today was 7 minutes slower.

I did the warm up and cool down walks inside on my treadmill. I think it helped keep my feet from being numb for the first couple miles of the run.

Food

Pre-run: 8:00 a.m. banana.
During Run: 1 Gu and 1 Clif Shot.

Post-run: 10:50 protein shake with 1% milk, whey powder, cinnamon, 2 packets Splenda.

Lunch: @Shyler's - 1:20 p.m. cup of bacon potato soup, 1/2 small rack baby back ribs, mac & cheese, steamed veggies, small slice coconut cream pie; @parents' - 100 calorie pack of Fudge Stripe cookies.

Supper: @parents' -6:30 p.m. 2 slices of pepperoni and 1 of hamburger pizza (minus the outer crust), 100 calorie pack of Fudge Stripe cookies; 8:00 p.m. red velvet birthday cake & ice cream.

I'm thoroughly tired of dessert now. I forgot about the birthday cake, else I'd have had one less slice of pizza and not eaten the 2nd pack of cookies. The portions at Shyler's are a nice size ... small-ish by today's standards at most restaurants. After lunch, I dozed through the last NASCAR race of the season, waking up for the last 56 laps.

Morning Stats

n/a

Another Bad Run

The temperature is supposed to get down to 23 F tonight. Brrrrrr.

I've decided its time to get a real job. If I can find something around here (within a 30 mile radius or so), so much the better. If not, I'll broaden the search to Indy, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville. Those cities are all 2-3 or 3.5 hours away from Princeton. I'm not opposed to moving, but in the short term, I'm more inclined to keep my place here, get a small apartment in the other city, and come home over weekends. It'd be great if I could find a position that allowed me to work from home 2 or 3 days a week. Of course, this job hunt might take forever. My brain is turning to mush, though, so I've got to re-engage with life again.

Workout

November 9

12:05 p.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 10.4 miles
Duration: 2:07:17
Pace ave: 12:14
HR ave 145, max 170
@start: 39/31, 66%, cloudy, W@12
@end: 39/32, 63%, cloudy, W@11

Ugh. Ran about 7 miles, walked 5 minutes, ran a mile, walked the rest of the way home (couple miles). Cut off the part of the route up to Warnock and back (ran the route in reverse). Was VERY cold walking that last mile. Just didn’t feel very “with it” today. The run was feeling difficult before I covered three miles, and the pace wasn’t fast ... between 11:15 and 11:30. My legs and butt started aching (not like muscle soreness from a hard run or lifting weights ... just a non-specific ache) after a few miles probably due to the cold.  I suppose general difficulty was just a combination of not eating all that well, not sleeping very well, a hard run yesterday, and the cold.

The Sharkies energy replacement gummies taste good, but I'd rather just have a gel since it's easier to get down the gullet quickly. Breathing heavily and trying to chew at the same time is a trying experience.

Bah. I hope the running is better this next week. Bad runs always make me question my ability to do another half marathon, let alone a full one. Once I have a really good run (like yesterday's), I think I can do both. We'll see.

Food

Breakfast: 10:30 a.m. banana, clementine, black grapes, 1/2 apple, 1/2 oz almonds.
Run: a packet of Sharkies energy replacement gummies.

Lunch: 3:00 p.m. hot green tea, @parents' - small hot dog & bun.

Supper: 5:40p.m. @parents' - chili, monterey jack cheese, ham, small bun, mayo, squash casserole, apple pie, cherry delight (lots), small brownie.

My mom & step-dad had a game night at their place. There were six of us in total, and we played Syzygy and Dominoes. I actually won the dominoes game: first time ever! Woohoo! It was by only one point, but it was a win nevertheless.

Morning Stats

N/A

Sub-11:00 for 11!

The forecast for the 12th has already changed from 60% chance of rain to 0% chance with mostly cloudy conditions. Bummer. Maybe it'll change back to rain as the day gets closer.

Workout

October 5
6:12 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 11.02 miles
Duration: 1:58:05
Pace ave: 10:42
HR ave 157, max 189
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 47/45, 90%, clear, ENE@4
@end: 54, 78%, sunny, ESE@1

Woohoo! Sub-11:00 for 11 miles. I think I could keep that up for another 2 miles assuming the temps aren't much warmer. I set a course PR by 13 minutes. I felt pretty stiff and achey toward the end, though. My left hip started hurting again on the outside around 8 miles or so. Rubbing on it didn't help much this time.

The usual 15 minute ice bath followed the run.

I feel pretty tired now at 7 p.m. I'm not too stiff, but not being able to really rest all day until now has tuckered me out. I'm glad tomorrow is  a running rest day. My exercise will be mowing the yard which takes all of 20 minutes or so.

Food

Pre-run: 6:00 a.m. green grapes, 1/2 oz almonds.

During Run: 1 Gu, 1 Powerbar Gel.
Breakfast: 9:45 a.m. protein shake with cinnamon & Splenda, can of fruit cocktail.
Snack: 12:00 p.m. @horse show - Diet Mt Dew, 1 oz bag Cool Ranch Doritos.
Lunch: 3:15 p.m. @horse show - cheeseburger, 1 oz bag Cheetos, 2 Snickerdoodles, Dr. Pepper; @DQ on the way home - small Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.
Supper: 7:30 p.m. black japonica rice.

Evening Snack: 8:45 p.m. 1.8 oz Milky Way.

The cheeseburger was probably one of the worst I've ever had, but I was so hungry I ate it anyway. The taste wasn't so bad, but the texture was icky. It definitely wasn't ground sirloin! The Blizzard was really good, but between it and the junk at the horse show, three hours later my stomach still feels yucky. And the Dr. Pepper was fully leaded, complete with oodles of high fructose corn syrup. Ugh!!!

I felt better after eating the rice. And the Milky Way ... a regular one, not that "Dark" version ... just had to be done to redeem it's name.

Morning Stats

weight: 146.0
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

No Triumph Today

Not even close to any running triumphs today.

I slept better last night having my pillow and fan in place, but after 6 hours, I woke up & couldn't get back to sleep. Granddad is doing better. He was out of the hospital bed sitting in a chair looking & acting a lot better when I arrived there this afternoon. They doc estimates he should be able to go home Tuesday or Wednesday.

Workout

September 28
6:38 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 14.29 miles
Duration: 2:56:43
7 miles: 1:20:35 [11:32 pace]

11.66 miles: 2:17:37 [11:48 pace]
Pace ave: 12:21
HR ave 140, max 173
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 47, 99%, fair, calm [6:25 a.m.]
@end: around 65, 84%, sunny, NW@4

Ugh. It just goes to show how much heat & sun can affect one's running. It started off cool enough, but quickly warmed up. My running attire was soaked (as in it dripped when I hung it all on various door knobs) at the end of the route. Around 8 miles, I started run/walk for a several minutes. Definitely a bad patch. Out of the blue, my left hip started hurting quite a bit, too. Once I got to Union, I stopped at the country store there & got a 20 oz Diet Coke from the machine out front. Parked my butt on the bench out front and sat there and drank about half of it & talked to a guy I graduated from high school with for a bit. Boy, that was one mighty fine Diet Coke! Walked a lot from there on out. Mt. Tabor road out of Union is loose gravel & difficult to run on. At one point, though, I fairly suddenly started feeling better (I guess the fluid from the Diet Coke was getting absorbed) & ran for several minutes, even up a couple big hills. Rain would've been SO nice ... or even some nice, gray, sky-filling clouds.

At about the 8 mile mark, a chocolate lab decided he needed to accompany me. He stayed with me the rest of the way all the way up to my aunt's back door. He wasn't there when I got out the shower, though.

Did the usual ice/cold water soak in the tub for 15 minutes before having a shower.

Food

Breakfast: 5:30 a.m. banana, red plum, green grapes, 1/2 oz almonds.

During Run: 5 dates, 8 almonds, 3 prunes, ~14 oz Gatorade, 20 oz Diet Coke.

Post-Run: 10:45 a.m. ~10 oz Gatorade.

Lunch: 1:15 p.m. DQ Irongrilled turkey sandwich, 2/3 of a small banana cream pie Blizzard.

Afternoon Snack: 4:00 p.m. Sonic cherry limeade (diet, I think ... I hope ... aunt brought it to me at the hospital).
Supper: 6:20 p.m. nuked red potatoes with Smart Balance & salt, grape tomatoes, green bell pepper.

Eating my regular breakfast beforehand didn't seem to have much effect one way or the other. Gu or Clif Shots are definitely the easiest and seemingly most effective thing to use. Gotta get to Evansville to get some.

Morning Stats

weight: 145.4
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Triumph!

Perhaps, triumph is a bit overly dramatic, but it sure feels good to be able to go 13+ miles without walking. Besides, I found a shiny 2005 penny lying heads-up during my run.

Workout

September 21
8:30 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 13.56 miles
Duration: 2:36:00
Pace ave: 11:30

First 6.48 miles: 1:14:57 [11:33 pace, HR ave 145, max 163]

Last 7.08 miles: 1:21:03 [11:26 pace, HR ave 156, max 171]
HR ave 151, max 171
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 62, 88%, cloudy, NW@2
@end: 68, 76%, showers, E@8

It started raining about 7 minutes into the run. At times it was absolutely pouring. It rained on and off the whole time, mostly on, so I spent 2 1/2 hours being wet, very wet, sopping wet. I really don't mind running in the rain, though. It keeps my temperature down, so the run just feels a thousand times better. Of course, 50 degrees, cloudy, and dry would have been good, too. :-)  Despite having soaked feet for so long, I have only one small blister on the side of my big toe where it rubs against my 2nd toe. I put Body Glide on my toes before the run.

This was a really good run. I was achey at the end, but not as nearly bad as at the end of the other recent long runs. I'd have preferred my pace be around 11:20 instead of 11:30, but I'll take the 11:30 without being bummed about it. Running in water-logged shoes and clothing didn't help the time any. I kept my average HR down where I wanted it, too.

I scrounge around and came up with one Gu and one Clif Shot, both well past their expiration dates. I took them on the run anyway. Had the Clif Shot about 45 minutes into the run, the Gu at 90 minutes, and 4 Starbursts at 120 minutes. Seemed to do pretty well with that, although getting the Starbursts out of their wrappers is a pain. I don't  consider them a viable race-day energy boost, but they are what I had on hand so might as well use them.

As with the last long run, after this one I hit the tub for a lower-body soak in cold water with the entire contents of the ice maker tray dumped in. 20 minutes this time. While soaking, I drank a whey protein shake and ate green grapes, read another article in Runners World, talked to my cats, a couple of whom seemed quite interested in the water. I expected one of them to slip and fall in, but none did.

Food

Pre-run: 7:20 a.m. banana.

During run: 1 Clif Shot, 1 Gu, 4 Starbursts.

Breakfast: 11:45 a.m. protein shake with Splenda & cinnamon, green grapes.

Lunch: 2:00 p.m. (?) @festival - Nutty Bar (ice cream), grilled chicken sandwich with ketchup, fried potatoes, lemon shake-up (lemonade, essentially); @home - the rest of the kettle corn.
Supper: 6:00 p.m. @grandparents' - 2 donuts, Diet Coke.

Evening Snack: 9:00 p.m. maple nut fudge.

Yeah, well. Two days of junk, but that's okay. I planned to have two days of junk. Back to normal tomorrow. I'm truly looking forward to a mongo-sized salad.

Morning Stats

weight: 150.4, post-run 147.6
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a