banned from the track

i woke up this morning at 4:30am and realized that i'm not allowed to go to 5:50am track practice today. no hill repeats. no circuit drills. no monster hill climb. no 180 steps/minute... more sleep. i'm kind of sad (and yes i'm crazy).

not that my day isn't full... so i went back to bed and got up at 7am. last day at work and lots to be done! month end reports. payroll. meetings with my team. plus had to get my dad from his 1st rituxan treatment. he seemed ok. it took 5 hours and they had to stop half way through because he was having a reaction to it. but he seemed fine. called my mom to let her know we're back and he still has all 10 fingers and 10 toes, etc. once he was home and settled, i hurried home (except traffic was not my friend - who plans a 49er & raider game on the same thursday?!) got home. changed and did my easy 20 minute run per the taper down training schedule. again, i didn't want to deal with driving anymore so i did my old run from home to starbucks and back. it was another hot day and my last run before my 1/2 marathon, but no time to get sentimental. i had to get back in the car and go to sportsbasement and get gu and other odds and ends before the trip (and no, traffic was not better later in the evening). it's past 11pm and i'm still going... gotta finish this report for work. gotta clean and pack... and eat! did i tell you that i need to be at the airport in 5 hours?! eek! i'll sleep on the plane.

1.8 miles
17:38 minutes
<10 minutes a mile

4 days to go...

today was a busy day... and hot! i thought i was busy at work yesterday, but i'm trying to get everything done at work before i leave and make sure there aren't any loose ends, plus any other things at home that need to be done. ACK! i leave in 2 days and run in 4. i almost didn't make my run today. it's usually a cross train day where i bike or do pilates, but there is no strength training this week and i need to do something to keep the legs loose for sunday. i got out of work (later than i planned) and ran around the block (well a group of blocks). i didn't do this loop before but it was flat, and i didn't need to move my car before going home. today wasn't the most exciting run. it consisted of sidewalks and buildings and heat. my legs felt better than yesterday too. after i mapped it each loop was .7 miles and i did 5 laps... was gonna do 4, but that put me at 25 minutes. i can't wimp out bc it's hot... it was 80+. what am i talking about?! my run is in kaua'i and it's going to be 84 degrees... and raining.

tomorrow is the last run before sunday's half marathon. only 20 minutes. EEK!

3.5 miles
32:49 minutes
9:23 miles a minute

the final buddy run

the final buddy run was today at 6am. i'm kind of sad about that. i emailed my ladies and let them know that i'm only doing 3 miles (not 6) and would meet at 6am instead of 5:45am... that extra 5 minutes really does help in the morning. the plan: 3 miles and off to work. the butterflies have started. that or something is wrong with my stomach. i had a 1/2 lara bar and tortilla before the run (yes, i have no food whatsoever in the fridge... figured why get groceries since i'm leaving in a few days). after 5 minutes of running, the butterflies got worse. i can't be nervous since it's only 3 miles. maybe it'll go away. it didn't, but i was fine. i made the 3 miles at a slow pace. part ofme feels like i peaked too soon. i was at a 9:?? minute pace a while back, but i'm not going to worry about that now. i can't really change anything i've prepared for. just get ready and enjoy the run. i did try out my new run skirt for this sunday. it's black and not as obnoxious, but i was told that you run faster if you're coordinated :) and a bright blue and pink skirt with a purple singlet may be a bit much!

this week is about tapering down down. i was told not to run anymore for the rest of the week, but that can't be right. time to consult with my coach on how much more i can do. no strength training, so i canceled pilates and training. just resting and emergen-c. guess that's a good thing because i've got a bunch of stuff to do at work before i leave. now for a quick power nap before i get ready for a 12 hour day at work!

3 miles
34 minutes

welcome to my pity party

6 days to go and this is not a workout entry.... today i was supposed to run 4 - 6 miles. i didn't. i didn't run yesterday because i was at work. i am working extra hours until i leave for kaua'i. my throat is sore. it hurts to swallow. i am achy. my knee is still a little tweaked. i can't sleep. my dad's first treatment is thursday and i need to leave work to pick up my dad from his treatment and get him home and then go back to complete all of my work deadlines.

BREATHE....

maybe i'm just stressing myself out. i always work extra hours at the end of the month. there are always deadlines at work, and i've got them done before. i've been training for 8 weeks. 1 more week isn't going to make or break my training. this week is about keeping my legs loose, rest, recover and hydrate.

time for me to suck it up and do the damned thing!
pity party over.

last coached training run

so today was the last coached training before i leave for my race... it was ok.

today the scheduled training run was 4 - 16 miles (depending on which run you were training for) with staggered start times so everyone finished around the same time. i was scheduled for the last group running 4 - 6 miles~ good thing because my alarm woke me up at 5:30am... yes too early. went back to bed and i slept in until 7:30am... too late. i got up, threw on my gear and sunscreen... forgot my handkerchief... and jumped in my car. i followed the directions in my training packet and made good time, since not much traffic to get to the suburbs... except for the fact that when i got there and parked, it was the wrong place. luckily it was the 2nd water stop and they gave me directions to get to the start... up the hill hard left, up the hill, down the hill veer right... um, i'm screwed. didn't know if i should just turn around and go home. there were no signs, no nothing. luckily, i wasn't the only lost/late person, because the only reason i found the start was that i spotted 2 TNT people stretching next to a police car (don't ask about the police car... different story). i checked in and got to the trail. all in all i didn't really start until 8:45am. i did see one of the mentors on their way back and was told that coach said to only run 4 miles.

only 4?! ok... i suppose we are supposed to taper. i passed the 2 people i started with and ran alone. no problem. the trail was marked well. my pace was ok. i passed the water stop, got to mile 2 and turned around. that's when i saw wendy (she's the 1 of 3 people on my team who is running kauai. the 3rd is a ninja and i've never met him - heard he was cute, so i'm sure i'd remember). we ran back together at the split was a little faster.

i talked to my coach about how i hurt my knee. he said i should be okay, but i'm on an ice regiment and and anti inflammatory for the rest of the week. i got my race packet and new purple people singlet for next week. by this time the food spread was out, but i felt guilty... didn't work up a sweat

how can last weeks' run with hills feel so good and today... just ok.

i kind of feel like i cheated. i'm not winded. my knee is sore. i told a friend that my run sucked, and he laughed and called me little miss sunshine. i mean, it was fine. i did 10 minute miles. maybe a little sad because it is my last official workout.

little miss sunshine, sweat pea, peanut... this girl is gonna do the damned thing! this next week is about rest, hydration & hawaii!


4 miles
40:38 minutes
10:09 minute miles

routines

so it's 10 days before my run and i'm sitting here with ice on my knees. i was doing so well too! the day started with me getting up at 5am. i'm finally getting used to waking at 5am on thursday, eat some fuel and get to the track by 5:50am. today we did circuit training with hill repeats...big hill repeats. it was my last "official" track workout. next thursday is an easy 3 mile run and then it's fly to kauai. it was a bit humid, but i think i did well. i feel good... the top part of the steep hill still kills me, but my time to do 4 circuits seem better and consistent.

still need to remember to hydrate while i run, but i'm doing ok. went home... took a quick 1 hour power nap (i've learned that getting up at 5am and not finishing my day until 9pm... getting home at 10pm is taxing... so that hour really helps and keeps me going through when i usually poop out at 4pm.

work was work... i had my big girl shoes, but ended up wearing flats all day.
that's when my routine changed... RIGHT KNEE... INNER PATELLA... OUCH! i was walking down the stairs when i felt the pain... i didn't do anything strenuous today to injure myself. it was just a slight discomfort (and it was too late to find a sub), so i decided to teach class, but no jumping jacks, kicking, or anything that would stress out my knees. walked through most of the class. then with one step... sharp pain :(

@#$(#)%$#(!#!!

i finished class. got food. drove home. pulled out my ice pack... and here i am.
resting, icing & elevating. i don't think i'm injured, but you can't be too safe.
i don't even think i did anything during training. it was getting out of the car or walking down the stairs or something stupid
:(

1 hour track practice - hill repeast & circuit
1 hour kickboxing class - just boxing... no kicking

ran 3 miles on 3 hours of sleep

so, let's face it. i'm not a morning person. but now that i've committed to these 6am buddy runs on tuesday, i have to go. monday was a long day at work... 10:30a - 10:30p. i rescheduled my planned workout with my trainer... i didn't get home until about 11pm. had to eat dinner since i forgot or better yet, didn't have time to get food while at work. i had a granola bar at 3pm (190 calories - not enough) and managed to get a half sandwich at 6:30pm while working...

by the time i got into bed at midnight, i couldn't fall asleep until around 2pm, and by then i kept waking up because i didn't want to sleep in. i wasn't sure how the run was gonna be... training said 4 - 6 miles. i've been slammed with emails, so i didn't call to confirm.

i surprisingly got up at 5am... brushed my teeth. had a 1/2 clif bar and water then got to our meeting spot. it was already 70 degrees at 6am. we decided to run the lake once and go from there.

it was gorgeous. the lights were on and the moon was still out, it looked more like dusk than 6am. this was the most beautiful time i've run this lake ever. running with people is great. i'm still not a big talker, but we have conversation and run buddy talks, but not incessantly. it's good. there are 3 of us... and we all admit, if we didn't have our tuesday morning date, we'd all be in bed. it wasn't our fastest pace, but i'm not really worried about that.

12 days til the marathon... i start to taper off this saturday and decrease my mileage.

i'm worried about 3 things - heat, dehydration, and getting enough rest before the marathon... mainly getting enough rest. i'm not good with tapering down and moderation.

example: i slept 3 hours and still ran 3 miles... with the full day ahead of me which doesn't end until 9pm.


3 miles
33 minutes
11 minute miles