The Average Woman's Running Blog

Just got lucky

2012-03-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

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You see my YMCA on the left? This is where I can swim, lift (but not bench), run, bike, etc when I'm downtown Seattle during the work day. Currently, the Y is about a 7-10 minute walk from my office depending on traffic/timing of lights. This is quite close but unfortunately the round trip does have an impact on my schedule.

As a consultant, it can be tough to get 8 BILLABLE hours in my day when I have child care only for a limited time in the day. Sometimes, I need to bring my computer home at night to make up extra time to get everything done and have solid time to bill. This isn't too bad since it does afford me the flexibility to work out during the day when I have missed my morning window pre-work to work out.

Good news - that not-so-attractive building directly across the street from the Y is going to become my new office in May! Our lease runs out at our current location, which we've outgrown, and we'll be moving up the hill to this most perfect of locations. I will be able to zip in & out for classes and workouts with minimal impact on my work day.

As if it couldn't get any better, just north of our new office is our Central Library which is a beautiful work of art and also is where my little guy takes story time on occasion. Another stroke of luck that I'll be close enough to see the little guy at times.

Come May, NO EXCUSES for me to miss out on gym time - I CAN'T WAIT!

Old soles

2012-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

I was just digging around in the back of my closet for my camel back to take snowboarding up in Whistler, B.C. this weekend and found some OLD SCHOOL, OLD SOLES in a very dusty box.

My beloved cross country spikes and flats!

These are still crusted with 20+ -year old dirt from long-ago cross country races. It's been a long time, my friends! I'm thinking my old school racing flats are now hip "zero drop" shoes these days. I just might have to resurrect these for the upcoming St. Paddy's Day 5k.

Anyone else out there save their old sports gear from the good old days? Do you, too, feel that the older you get, the better you were?

Running saves

2012-02-29T12:07:00.003-08:00

This week, my husband and I are going through a difficult experience. I should be ashamed to admit this, but my first inclination when coping with this difficulty is to go find a bottle of Jameson whiskey. I've never had a drinking problem but in this instance, I'm wanting to forget everything and feel no pain.

At 9 a.m. (in the coffee), 11 a.m. (pre-lunch), 2:00 p.m. (afternoon relaxation), and 8 p.m. (evening reprieve). But I haven't done that. I've thought about it even though I know it's not a healthy response.

Given what is going on, I really think I have a reasonable excuse to be unhealthy for a few days.

What has stopped me?

Aside from the reality that numbing my mind wouldn't help anything and really would just make me feel worse (!!), running and other exercise is what is really helping me through this. If I have an Irish coffee at breakfast, how am I going to feel good enough to run later in the day? If I indulge at lunch, how am I going to lift weights in the afternoon?

Running has saved my liver. It's helped motivate me to not be stupid.
Running has also kept me from wanting to consume the box of See's chocolates sitting on my counter (will someone come remove those please?).
Running has provided stress and tension relief.
Running has cleared my mind and brought some peace, even if temporary.
Running has helped me breath. I've been holding my breath all day, every day this week and that just doesn't work when you're running.
Running has helped tire me out so I can have more restful sleep.

I haven't felt good enough to run very much, but it's enough to keep my feet on the ground this week.

Things are going to improve; we're just waiting for some time to pass.

Now, I need to move on and am looking forward to my best friend's wedding this weekend. I look forward to focusing on my most amazing girlfriends, re-hashing our Vegas shenanigans (including the RNR Half), and thinking about all the fun ahead of us (maybe I can trick them into more races?).

Jersey-girl, B-licious, Cynnematographer & bride-to-be, the Scientist, your Average Woman Runner

LSD

2012-02-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

LSD (long slow distance) became LSD (long snow distance)

(Seattle style)

New runner friend, Sarah, had 15 miles on the books, in preparation for her first marathon. I'm not in shape for a full 15 (I wish), so I hung out for the first 8 of Sarah's run.

The night before our run, I fell asleep to the sound of POURING rain. When my alarm went off at 6 a.m., it was silent outside. NO RAIN. YES! And, it was 44 degrees at home, a perfect running temperature.

I was meeting Sarah on the Eastside (Redmond's 60 Acres Park) and as soon as I crossed over into the "Eastside," it started to sprinkle. Then it started to POUR. Drat!

As Sarah & I started our run, we started getting drenched. And something strange happened for Seattle...the rain turned to SNOW!

Sammamish River Trail, heading into Woodinville. This trail flows for about 11 miles then connects to the Burke Gilman trail, which runs another 20 miles into Seattle

Ok, it just looks like rain and really it was a very wet, cold rain-like snow. It was an unexpected, FUN, turn of events.

Sarah on the trail

At the turn-around point - it's sticking!

The snow started to stick a bit as we headed north (lookie!). ALMOST real snow. You folks out in ME, VT, and IL think this is hilarious, I'm sure. By the time we made it back to our cars (my drop off point), we were soaked - feet squishing in the shoes, clothes weighing an extra 5 lbs in water weight. I felt odd leaving Sarah to run another 7 on her own but the rain/snow lightened up a bit and she lived to tell about it.

This was my third run with Sarah and I look forward to the next.

So here's the cool thing: Sarah and I (and other women around here) met via a Facebook running group site that Kerrie (MomvsMarathon) set up for Women Runners of King County (WeROKC). This site was a brilliant idea and has helped many of us women runners organize for weekend runs and races.

Do other folks out there organize and have "blind running dates?"

Excuse me, Miss, but how much do you bench?

2012-02-22T00:30:00.000-08:00

"What?"

"I mean, I saw you lifting and your arms just look really big. So I'm curious about how much you can bench."

"I don't bench. I do push-ups."

"Oh, well, you look about like me, I mean, my arms are about like yours when I'm lifting, small but solid, so I - "

"You are saying I'm husky? Thick? Like a guy?"

"No, I'm not saying you don't look good. I'm saying...I was just curious about what you bench."

"Well, I don't know, I don't bench press."

I was almost done with my strength routine this morning when some guy and I had this little exchange. How should I take that? I was laughing at the time, it was so random. Who asks that? If I had been bench pressing, it would make more sense. I'm pretty clueless about stuff but I'm positive that this was not a feeble attempt at a pick-up. Honestly, since I was in college (I was lifting a lot then), I've been told many times by both women and men that I'm

HUSKY
THICK
SOLID

and it was kind-of meant as a compliment but really, I don't like being described this way. Those are not characteristics typically associated with being feminine, attractive, or even fit. What's wrong with using

TONED
FIT
STRONG

**********************************************************************

In other news, bizarro track workout on the stationary bike went well this morning (before I did my strength routine). I was supposed to do 4 x 1200m in 5:30 with a 400m rest interval. I pedaled hard (120 RPM) for my 5:30 interval then pedaled easier (80-90) RPM for my rest interval of 90 seconds. All in all, it was 12.16 miles in 45 minutes (includes warm-up / cool-down). I was definitely sweating when I was done and feel like it was good for my legs to work on a fast turn-over.

Tomorrow is a run day and even though today was an "interval" day, I'm really tempted to do my tempo run (3 miles) instead of doing it on the elliptical. Hmmmm.
I should run easy.
But I want to run tempo.
I should go easy to be sure I'm healthy.
But I want to run tempo.
I should stick with the bizarro plan.
But it feels good to run hard...

[Please make Conda go away.]

Top 3 Seattle running routes

2012-02-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Are you visiting Seattle soon (RNR?) and looking for local running routes? I have a guest post, Postcards from Seattle, at Beth's "Yes, folks. I run like a girl" blog. Check out my overview of the three top Seattle running routes (all flat, mixed distances).

Read about:

Downtown waterfront via Olympic Sculpture Park and Myrtle Edwards Park – Great for people staying downtown without a car.
Lake Washington waterfront – Popular running route great for sunrise runs.
West Seattle / Alki Beach – Stunning cityscape and Olympic Mountain views.

THIS is why I went online in the beginning

2012-02-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

One of the main reasons I started blogging and signed up with Daily Mile is because I was struggling with figuring out how to get back into running after having a baby. Even though I'd been running since I was 16, I just couldn't put all the pieces (especially by broken body) back together.

Reaching out online helped me find inspiration, motivation, and humor. TODAY, I received a fantastic reminder of how helpful this whole virtual running scene is.

Today was filled with lots of house chores, cranking through that never-ending list. Got the little guy down for a nap, laundry in, dishwasher running, and thought about taking some time to relax. So, I sat down at the iMac to check up on the virtual world and saw THIS photograph.

A sweaty, satisfied, triumphant, proud ZOE (Run, Zoe, Run).

So I immediately got up, laced my shoes, and hit the treadmill. I sang loud to my iPod and ran 3 miles totally pain free (turned foot mostly healed, no ham/glute issues). I FEEL GREAT!

After horrible wind and rain, the clouds parted midway through my run and the sun actually came out and poured through the window onto my face. A sure sign that the Running Goddess is pleased with my Theo offerings.

Back to bizarro RLRF programming?

2012-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

This past fall, as I was recovering from my calf injury, I decided to start picking up the Run Less, Run Faster / Furman FIRST 10k training program but in a funky way. I made it the bizarro version of the program where I did my key workouts on the bike or elliptical and ran on the cross-training "easy" days.

I had hoped to get some new speed going for the upcoming St. Paddy's Day 5k (Tacoma, WA) by taking on the RLRF 5k program in late January. All the cool kids were doing it.

Well, this What the Butt thing happened in late January so I jumped off the program to go easy on my hammy then this week, I turned my ankle and messed my midfoot up. It's getting better now and I think I should be able to run by this weekend.

But, this was another week OFF. I've only logged 22 miles this whole month.

I had been thinking I should scrap any idea of actual speed training and just log easy miles and have fun at St. Paddy's Day. Well, now I'm thinking that sounds like NO FUN. Instead, I should try the bizarro plan again. Maybe by the time the race comes, I'll be able to pull off a new Mark Remy PR (i.e., personal record in previous 2 years)?

YES. I will try bizarro training. No, wait, (just) trying is for little girls. I will do, I will do!

That means, on deck for next week:

Key Workout 1: 4x1200m @ 7:06 pace (400m RI) - Likely will do this on the elliptical
Key Workout 2: 3 mile tempo @ 7:46 pace - Probably the bike or maybe pool?
Key Workout 3: 7 miles @ 8:16 pace - Bike

In between, I'll get easy runs in with a target of 30-45 minutes each run (3 runs total).

With some luck, I'll do this WITHOUT falling down, tripping, or otherwise hurting myself.

A year ago today I...

2012-02-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

was only 38!
celebrated my 8th wedding anniversary
had just completed the New Orleans Rock & Roll Half Marathon - almost on a whim
was in Week 2 of the Run Less, Run Faster / Furman FIRST half marathon training program
was injury-free

Today, I...

am only 39!
will celebrate my 9th wedding anniversary and birthday by playing hookey from work with my husband. snowboarding is out (see issue below), so maybe a movie and lunch? ideally, we'd go get tattoos but in all these years, I have yet to convince hubs to do this with me.
am *trying* to train for a 5k on St. Patrick's Day
hope that I can become injury free in time for that 5k
expect to set several P.R.'s later this year (a new type of P.R., that is)

Ramblings...

Lately, I've been walking around with a hitch in my get-along and wondering, "What the butt?" Something crazy was going on at the top of my hamstring / base of my glute. This irritation appeared out of no where. I took a week off and it's much better though not totally resolved. I was relieved that Saturday's 8-mile run for Sherry Arnold did not leave me with regrets.

Three days ago, I had a fantastic run in the pouring rain. Some days, it just feels good to get wet. I thought I looked like a drowned rat until I actually saw a dead rat on the side of the road and hoped that I did not resemble that guy. Blech. That run was supposed to be a track workout but with my patchy training and the "what the butt" thing going on, I had decided that I need to drop the speed work and just log some regular miles for a while.

Two days ago, I was walking home from the train in my brown MaryJane Dansko's. Pretty much every day in the fall/winter, I wear either my brown MaryJane's, black MaryJane's, or brown clogs. All Dansko. Not the most attractive shoe, but quite comfortable. The problem with these shoes though is that they are TALL. Sometimes I fall off of them.

Two days ago, I fell HARD. Pow. Right foot rolled in, ankle went out. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. "Damn uneven sidewalks!" Continued walking home only to have excruciating pain on the outside of my midfoot. I was convinced it would be gone by morning.

One day ago, I woke up with continued foot pain. I iced all day at work. Barely able to walk. Grimace. Grump. How do you tell the difference between a strain and a fracture?

Am I falling apart, just before I get into the master's running division?

Is it just bad luck? If so, will it happen in 3's? Do I need to wait for one more thing before this all turns around?

Can I blame Conda? Wait, it's the season of no excuses. I guess I just need to keep plugging away, one day at a time to get back to where I can run carefree again.

Today, I woke up and the foot is still sore but it definitely feels less sore, I have less of a limp. I now have high hopes that I will run again. All is not lost! I won't cancel the doctor's appointment for tomorrow just yet but will be optimistic and go make a sacrifice to the Running Goddess to help speed this healing along (she appreciates chocolate).

I think my "take home" lessons from all this include:

Be wary of dead rats under foot after it rains.
Ditch the Dansko's, I'm lucky I haven't hurt myself worse for all the times I've rolled an ankle in those things.
Never, EVER, wear anything but running shoes, just to be safe.
The body's got more to say as she ages and I better listen more closely.

For Sherry Arnold

2012-02-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Kerrie (Mom vs Marathon) organized the Women Runners of King County (WeROKC) to meet up this morning to run in honor of Sherry Arnold. It was great seeing the WeROKC ladies again and sharing the run with many other runners out along Lake Washington this morning.

Be safe.

Sarah, name, name, Tiffany, Lindsey, Zoe, Kerrie

Sybil - is lovely purple!

Lindsey, Tiffany, Sarah, Kerrie, yo, Zoe

Name that veggie

2012-02-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

A month ago or so, I posted a photo of my veggie box that gets dropped on our door step at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday nights. During the main growing season, many of the veggies actually come from this specific farm & other local farms but during the winter, many of the veggies are brought up from warmer climates (i.e., California).

In winter, this is what $32 buys you. In summer, the box is more plentiful because the fields are fuller. I like how they tell you where EACH ITEM comes from.

Anyway, a couple people commented on the veggies. "What was that stuff?" Tongue in cheek, I'm sure, but even still I thought it would be nice to plug buying from a CSA (community sponsored agriculture). Marcia's (The Studly Runner) post today, Does this toast your oats?, gave me the kick in the pants to get this up. Reading about all that junk food made my teeth hurt and made me want to sink my teeth into some broccoli!

Veggies. I love them. I sneak them into all my meals. Spinach can be added to everything from pancakes (believe it!) to scrambled eggs to cupcakes (see below).

The mushrooms and snowpeas from this box got sauteed in some sesame oil with sesame seeds and served up with some lamb and veggie dumplings I got down in Chinatown.
The new potatoes and leek were cooked and added to some steamed, shredded cabbage and kidney beans to make a "bubble and squeak" veggie patty served up with pancetta.
Tonight, I lightly sauteed the braising greens and more mushrooms before mixing into an enchilada casserole.
Apples & pears get sliced up and sprinkled with cinnamon for snacks on the go or eaten with lowfat cottage cheese at work for a mid-afternoon snack.
Broccoli (and cauliflower) gets steamed then mixed in with scrambled eggs and then wrapped in a tortilla for yummy to-go breakfast as I walk to the train.
The chard is still in the crisper, likely will add to a pasta & bean salad this weekend.

For moms of kids who don't like veggies, check out Jessica Seinfield's cookbooks - she manages to hide veggies in everything, it's pretty awesome. Spinach in chocolate cupcakes - YES! Fortunately for me, my tot LOVES veggies. However, I know that in 6 months that can all change.

Anyway, we get these beautiful organic veggies delivered right to our door. They don't supply all of our need but I would say about 75% of our veggies come from this box. Once they arrive, I PROCESS them. This means I bathe and dry them, then package them up nicely in the fridge so that when it's time to cook they are ready to go. Free of dirt and whatever residues they may have.

The soap helps cut any coatings that are applied (more applicable to conventional produce, like wax on apples & such) and the peroxide kills germs. Sometimes I use a dilute solution of bleach.

For the wash, I soak the veggies/fruit for at least 15 minutes. The hardier ones get a good scrubbing then I rinse everything well before drying. If you don't wash your stuff after it comes from the grocery store, try it once. If you look at the rinse water to see what falls off, you just might be a bit grossed out. Grapes are a great example of something that comes D I R T Y.

I know this is expensive. With two incomes and just one kid (and a house in the not nicest part of town), we can afford it. This is someplace we choose to spend extra money because we want to support local businesses, organic growing practices, etc. Also, I like that we get a nice variety every week. It forces us to be creative in our cooking, use everything up before it goes bad, and makes us strong like Popeye.

Other places we can at least buy organic, if not local, at more affordable prices are Costco and some of the large chain grocers like Safeway & Fred Meyer. Even the Cash & Carry! This weekend I got a container of Earthbound Organic Spring Greens Mix the size of my abdomen for $5. This is enough salad for an army for a week. (Now I'm sick of salad this week and it's only Wednesday. Oh well. Next week it will be something else.) I try to buy when things are in season (and cheaper) and on sale. I'm not afraid to buy IN BULK and then blanche, steam, or cook everything up and freeze in meal size portions. It may seem like a boring Friday night activity, but it's relaxing to me and makes my weekdays so much easier when I can pull fresh stuff out of the freezer.

When we first started getting our produce I wasn't sure what to do with about half of it. The greens? WTH? Romanesco? Rutabega? Rapini? I thought radishes were the only "r" veggie! And who knew that potatoes come in the color PURPLE and taste like candy?

If you are interested in mixing it up, getting jiggy in the kitchen with your veggies, try an internet search on community sponsored agriculture. Check out their websites. Many of them provide recipes on seasonal veggies so that even if you don't decide to pay an arm & a leg for some produce, you can still use their recipes to try something different.

Your taste buds will thank you!

Triple Crown

2012-02-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

It came in the mail today!

2011 RNR Races: NOLA, Seattle, Las Vegas

Funny thing, a new RNR Vegas half marathon medal came in the mail a couple weeks ago, too. I guess that replaces the RNR Vegas MARATHON medal I was given. Anyone want a marathon medal?

I guess that means I should finally hang my Allied Medal Displays Seattle cityscape hanger I got for Christmas. I have a feeling it may be filled up as soon as it gets installed. This means I may be able to justify purchasing a certain medal hanger on Etsy...(my birthday is coming up, after all).

*******************************************

Ok, just hung it on commercial breaks during The Voice (*Blake Shelton*).

RNR: Double Encore, NOLA, Seattle, Vegas, Triple Crown; NYC half, Maui, Indy Mini, NODM, Vancouver, Yukon, Vashon Is Tri/3rd place team, Hood to Coast, Lk Sammammish Trail, Seattle x3.

Installation was easy: I held the screws and level while awesome hubs pulled the trigger. I think I can squeeze one more medal on?

Oldest: Seattle Half Marathon 1996 (I threw away my medal from my 1991 debut half)
Most recent: Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon 2012
Smallest: Vancouver (B.C) Half Marathon 2007
Biggest: Indianapolis Mini Marathon 2011
Hardest earned: Seattle Rock & Roll Half Marathon 2011 (torn calf at mile 14, walked from marathon to half mary finish for total of 15+ miles)
Most scenic: Yukon Do It Half Marathon 2011 (close tie with North Olympic Discovery Half 2010)
Most repeated: Seattle Half Marathon 1996, 1999, 2007
M.i.A: Seattle Half Marathon 1991, Hood to Coast Relay 1995

You can see, we left plenty of room...

...by my lovely treadmill wall of bling for...

...this one from Etsy: RunningOntheWall (assuming it's o.k. to use mixed media).

My experience as a lab rat

2012-02-02T23:09:00.000-08:00

In graduate school, I had to work with lab animals (non-human primates, actually). The tests were on-going, so fortunately I didn't have to deal with project termination, ex-sanguination, and other unpleasantness. But, it was still tough seeing the little guys in that environment. I digress...

Fortunately for me, Brooks Running Company uses the uncaged, free-range, human variety of primate for their testing. Also fortunate for me, Brooks is located < 20 miles from my house!

Just so you know, ANYONE can be a Brooks Lab Rat, as long as you wear a size 8.5 (women's) or 9 (men's). I've wear-tested several of their fantastic shoes (that's how I discovered their Ghost), which you can do from pretty much anywhere as long as you agree to their wear test agreement. Today was my first day actually going to HQ to be a lab rat in their biomechanics lab.

Funny thing, Brooks HQ is in an office park located right across the street from where my husband has worked for years, I just never noticed. On the outside, it's a regular-looking office building. Inside, the lobby is NOT like the lobby of the environmental consulting firm where I work. Nope. Check it out:

I didn't get into the racing shoe...maybe next time?

There were lots of people going in & out who just looked like they "Run Happy," you know?

I checked in, changed into some compression shorts, then was taken back to the testing lab by Brooks biomechanics expert, S, who works with B (sorry, I didn't think to ask permission if I could use their names). Both S & B have graduate degrees in biomechanics, they are the only specialists of this type at HQ, and they are BUSY.

Of course, I had to ask if they had seen any of the Brooks-sponsored athletes. S said that when the athlete training/racing schedules permit, they (Brooks) try to bring the athletes in but it's certainly not an every day occurrence. S reported that Scott Jurek does go in to consult with the designers on trail shoes but does his testing actually on the trails rather than in the lab. Desiree Davila has been in Brooks before but hasn't run in the lab. Chrissie Wellington, on the other hand, got her foot scanned in their lab once. I wonder if her foot was bulging with muscles? I should have asked about that.

The testing consisted of three main steps:

Run in various shoes for 3 minutes each at about 9 min/mile, wearing reflectors over key points on my hips, knees, ankles, and feet.
Complete 2-page survey on each shoe.
Run in each shoe again with an insert in one shoe that has 110 (or was it 101?) pressure sensors in it.

STEP 1:

I ran in 5 different shoes: a conventional shoe like the Adrenaline, 2 minimalist-style shoes, 1 PureProject shoe, and 1 shoe that was like a racing flat. At least one shoe was not on the market yet. The treadmill was about 2x the width of a regular treadmill and had a strange groove under the belt that felt really strange, especially in the minimalist shoes. There were no handrails on either side, just a bar at the front and I'm proud to say, I didn't fall off!

While running, large red "lights" mounted to the tops of the walls around the treadmill must have been shining down on me and somehow recording the reflection (I should have asked more about how this worked). On S's computer monitor, you could see ME represented by a point cloud which were the locations of the reflectors that they had stuck to my joints. These points represented my movements in 3-D - funny little dots like a runner constellation in motion, in space.

S & B will analyze the volunteer data to see how our point clouds varied depending on which shoe we were wearing at the time. Small changes in the outsole, insole, etc can affect how we move in our shoes and S & B are the ones who figure out what it all means.

*My hamstring-tendon thing is still tender but I'm happy to report it didn't affect my ability to run at all. I'm still going to take it easy and continue with the massage, ice, and NSAIDs. THANK YOU for all the advice!

STEP 2:

This was actually the most difficult part of the testing. The survey questions were similar to those you answer when you wear test shoes from home and I always struggle with how to answer them. I have a tendency to rate the shoes based on what I'm used to, so that my answers reflect a comparison between the test shoe and my "baseline" shoe. It's difficult to evaluate each shoe independently.

Of the shoes I tried, I actually really liked one I thought I wouldn't like - it was like an aqua sock! The sole was surprisingly supportive and cupped my foot quite nicely. It was truly a "minimalist" type of shoe (and now my calves are aching as a result). Also, today was my first time trying a PureProject shoe and I liked it, but it surprised me that it is actually not a true "minimalist" shoe, especially compared to the aquasock type shoe! But, I think this is a real plus because I don't think I could use a true minimalist shoe to run very long distances without my feet getting very tired (3 miles max), whereas the PureProject shoe was substantial enough that I could envision running longer distances. Unlike the conventional shoes, the PureProject shoe facilitated my "new" mid-foot/forefoot strike I've been working on.

Sounds like I might be purchasing a PureProject shoe soon?

Another shoe I tried was sort-of in between a conventional shoe and the aquasock but my foot was swimming in the toe box and the heel cup was too small. NOT a good shoe for me. Maybe for someone else? That was the only shoe I just didn't like.

All in all, it was a lot of fun getting to try so many shoes that I wouldn't normally think to try (or aren't even on the market yet!).

STEP 3:
Finally, I ran in each shoe all over again for just about one minute and B recorded how much pressure I was applying in my footstrike and where the pressure was applied. The image on his computer screen looked like the weather man's Doppler radar showing a storm moving across the state, only the state was foot-shaped and the eye of the storm (shown in red) was in the ball of my foot, moving southward toward my arch where the pressure gradually dissipated (colors fading to orange, yellow, green, blues). Very pretty.

At the end of the testing, about 3 hours had passed. The time flew by! Super sweet S gave me a nice parting gift before I left:

Brooks Infinity half-zip

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to try this again sometime. I enjoyed learning about what running shoe scientists do! For now, though, my calves need to recover from all that running in low profile shoes - ouch!

What the butt?

2012-01-31T07:30:00.000-08:00

When a track interval hurts, speed up! That way, it will be done quicker. Right? Well, not today. You just might end up stopping before the interval is complete.

I've been ignoring a little soreness at the top of my right hamstring, where it connects to the base of my butt (?). I have no idea what the technical term for this location is. Anyone? It's been "there" but not slowing me down so I've been letting it ride.

It hurt more than normal during last week's speed work (that was HALF of a speed workout due to being short on time). I could feel the nag for the last couple miles of Sunday's long run, but it was nothing that alarmed me.

This morning I was so very excited to get some speed work in for the Furman FIRST/Run Less, Run Faster 5k training program: 1600 (400m RI), 1200 (400m RI), 800 (400m RI), 400 (400m RI). I got almost 3/4 through that first interval and that nagging pain suddenly became acute.

I did the responsible thing: STOP. DROP. ROLL.

That foam roller found a lot of tenderness back there, right where I sit.

Next, I did the irresponsible thing: I got back on the treadmill. It HURT to run. I couldn't deny it. I jogged slowly, vowing to at least get 3 miles in for the day (because I'm stubborn). Maybe the soreness would go away after a bit?

It did subside after a few minutes but it certainly did NOT go away.

So here I sit on a pack of ice, reaching out to Blogland for any thoughts about this damn thing.

I will sit on ice all day today, maybe even bite the bullet & take some NSAIDS. I will be a good girl and will cross train and continue to ice tomorrow. Thursday, I have an appointment at Brooks to be a running lab rat. I've been looking forward to this appointment all month.

Dear pain in my ass, please don't make me cancel this appointment...

Duck, duck, duck...GOOSE!

2012-01-27T21:50:00.000-08:00

Giraffytagged me in this crazy game of lists. I’m excited to participate in somethingthat involves a prime number!

Las Reglas:
1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them.
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My RandomList

I just found out I’m categorized as a“Basic – Analytical” decision-maker(i.e., I like spreadsheets but also use my gut).
Giraffy doesn’t want to accept it, but EvanDando is MY boyfriend and she needs to find someone else.
My favorite fiction writers are Haruki Murakami, Jose Saramago, HermanHesse, Madeline L’Engle, many of the Latin American authors who write inthe style of mystical realism. I also love nonfiction!
I am an only child but have 1,000,001cousins and am close to each one.
In my fantasy life, I’m a mortician or sports nutrition specialist.
I’m turning 30(i) in less than amonth. *gulp* One more year until I'm a master AG’er.
My preference has always been to travel to less developed countries but as Iage I’m starting to appreciate the concept of vacationing in places withamenities that meet or exceed the standards we have at home.
Travel wish list: Japan (so I canstalk Haruki Murakami), Iceland (soI can stalk Bjork), Mexico (Oaxaca,D.F., so I can eat my weight in mole and chocolate), Spain (so I can eat my weight in Serrano ham & paella and washit down with a river of wine).
I’m a knuckle-dragger and I don’t care what you downhill people have tosay about that.
I don’t use a Garmin/GPS. Harry, my HRM, is as techy as I get.
Rick Bayless sent me a Tweet after I Tweet-raved abouteating at his restaurant, La Frontera,in Chicago this week. I’m going to print & frame, then hang it in myoffice.

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Giraffy’s Random List

Do you cross train? (Be honest!) YES,I try to x-train at least 2x/wk but I’m not always successful: weights, yoga,cycling, swimming.
What's your FAVORITE thing aboutrunning? These days, it’s the fact that I get to be by myself and haveobligations to no one but me.
And your LEAST favorite? Havingtightness in my plantar fascia and calves (red flags).
If you could eat only one food for therest of your life, what is it? IMPOSSIBLE!
What came first, chicken or the egg?EGG
You're stuck on a deserted island - whatthree books do you wish you had with you? IQ84 (Haruki Murakami), Lordof the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkein)= both in Spanish and an English-Spanish dictionary. Figure I may as well get fluenty.
How much time do you spend getting readybefore leaving your house for a normal day of work/school/whatever you do? 30-45 minutes depending on if I eat breakfastat home or take something to go. This extends upwards of 60 minutes if I’mgetting the little man ready, too.
Do you love the treadmill as much as Ido? Absolutely.
My birthday is coming up (in 6months)... want to come have a party? Do we get to run before having cakeand margaritas?
What should I get The H for his birthday(next week)? A gift certificate for a massage or tickets to a game.
Have you joined TeamGab yet? Is the Pope a Catholic?

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The Tag-ee Random List

Wouldthe following bloggers please respond to the questions listed at the end ofthis entry?

Determinedto Be Fit

Yes, Folks,I Run Like a Girl

Runner Mum

Foil-WrappedRunner

Adventure Is Out There

Mom vs Marathon

Running for Bling

Happy To Be A Running Mama

What isyour preferred method of re-fueling after a long run?
Do youkeep a food diary?
Do youtypically run alone or with others?
If youcould get paid to run, would you?
Desiree,Shalane, or Kara?
What/whereis your “dream” race, the race you would love to do over all others barring anylimitations in resources or ability?
What areyou most proud of accomplishing in 2011?
Have youever changed careers?
Whatpodcasts (if any) do you listen to?
If you hadto pick, where would you go in 2012: Japan, Iceland, Mexico, or Spain?
How muchlonger do you think you’ll continue to blog?

If you made it to the end of this post, I’m impressed!

A beer deferred

2012-01-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is a crazy week. I arrived back home from our Hawai'i vacation on Monday morning, then was packing Monday night for a Tuesday flight to Chicago (work training).

I love this city!

Our flight out of Seattle was delayed and I didn't get checked into my hotel room until 7 p.m. My co-worker and I had made plans to meet at 8 p.m. to watch the State of the Union address and have dinner. It took until about 7:10 p.m. to find a place nearby that was actually showing it, instead of the Blackhawks (hockey town) or Michigan-Purdue ball game.

It was Tuesday track workout day and I really didn't want to miss it. What to do? With less than an hour, I knew I couldn't get a full workout in. It would have been easy to throw in the towel and head down to the bar early and have a beer. I was tired from the red-eye on Sunday night/Monday morning and then from traveling to Chicago.

My typical choice in this scenario (especially at night, in a city with fantastic food & brews) is to enjoy a hoppy drink. After all, what could I really accomplish between 7:15 and 8:00 p.m. (that includes time for a shower/change of clothes)? What's the point?

Hell didn't freeze over, believe it or not, but I DID defer the beer and sprinted to the hotel exercise room to test their treadmills. I figured I had time for exactly HALF of my speed workout.

5k training plan:
10 minute warm-up
4 x 1000 m repeat @ 7:02 pace with 90 sec rest interval
10-20 minute cool-down

Reality:
7:25-7:30 = Begin 5 minute warm-up
7:30-7:36 = First 1,000 m repeat + 90 second rest interval
7:36-7:40 = Second 1,000 m repeat
7:40-7:45 = 5 minute cool-down
7:45-7:55 = shower, dress, race downstairs to meet co-worker
8:00 = Order well-deserved Goose Island ale / arugula and grilled shrimp salad

Now, I just need to remember that sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what you've got and it's better than doing nothing at all!

My next challenge will be to get up early enough tomorrow morning to do my tempo run!

Team Gab Virtual Race (AKA Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon)

2012-01-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

It's time for Team Gab!

Before reading this race report, check Giraffy's page HERE to learn about the race she is running in honor of her youngest who has been fighting leukemia for over a year. Team Gab is raising money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (It's tax deductible, yo! Get your last 2011 donations in NOW!) .

Yesterday I had the good fortune and pleasure to run the Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon with the lovely Kim @ (Just) Trying is for Little Girls. I dedicated this race to Gabs and am rooting for Giraffy's team to kick a$$ in the fundraising. Before I describe this great event, a few thanks are in order:

Thank you Giraffy for being such an inspiration with all that you somehow manage to do in the same amount of time that I do much less (run, work, mom to many, fund raise, etc).
Thank you to KIM for inspiring us to take our first trip to Hawai'i (and for me to register for this race).
Thanks to our Alaskan Airlines credit card for providing a $99 companion voucher every year ($650 savings for one ticket).
Thanks to Costco for hooking us up with an affordable package for accommodations & a car, making this trip possible for us.

A few days before this race, Average A (Diary of an Average Runner) saw a DailyMile entry for a run in Ka'anapali and shot me a message. She was coming to run Maui too! However, Average A is not even close to average. After waking up at 2:30 a.m. the day before the race so she could catch the sunrise on Kaleakala (volcano) and BIKE down to the bottom from 7,000 ft, she picked up her bib and upgraded from the half to the FULL MARATHON. Loca! Kim et al. and me, hubs, and little man met up with A and her friends at the Maui Brewing Co. for dinner. Unfortunately, that was the only time I saw A.

For the race, Kim and I had originally planned to show our Husky pride, wearing super cute purple & gold UDub cotton/poly blend shirts, black skirts, and purple tie-dye socks. After I arrived in Maui, I realized we would end up in an aid car due to heat stress if we ran in this.

Plan "B" was to go AQUA and get lei'ed:

Race start: 6:45 a.m.

Prettiest race bib ever.

Kim, her hubs S, and I started out the race together after hanging out at what was NOT the race start. Oops. We found the correct location in time, no worries. I was feeling a bit rough from the get-go, like from spending so much time in the sun, sand, and surf during previous days, not drinking enough water, and having one too many Mai Tais and mother's milk from Maui Brewing Company:

Thanks for the recommendation, Jamoosh!

Why yes, that IS my SkirtSports running dress I'm wearing! Works well for running, beach wear, AND being a lush!

Ok, back to the race: Kim and I ran together the entire time. I have the potential to run my mouth nonstop so hopefully I didn't drive Kim too crazy with my chatter but I really enjoyed having the time with her. We talked about other runner bloggers, boobs, families, marriage, jobs, running, and more running.

After about 3 miles, Mr. S peeled away from us and we didn't see him again until the finish line (total sandbagger, "I'm not in shape, I'll probably walk!"). The 3-mile mark was about the time the field started to thin out enough to where we didn't have to weave in and out of traffic and could finally settle into a groove together.

The course started in Lahaina then ran south along the oceanfront highway. On the way out, we enjoyed the sunrise, ocean views, and cool breeze. I totally spaced on taking photos until after the turn-around, when I REALLY needed the distraction because by about mile 8, I started to hurt. The sun was well up by then, I was hot and thirsty, and there was no shade. The views helped a lot and I kept thinking about how great it would feel to jump in the water at the finish line.

Random people, nice view

One of several parks/beaches along the highway

That's KIM up there!

The last couple miles were tough, no lie. I should have been better hydrated and poured water over my head at previous aid stations to cool off. It helped having Kim there to plug along with. It was a relief to see the finish line. We crossed the mat in 2:06:50 with big smiles. Post race, we enjoyed water, fresh oranges, water, pineapple, water, macadamia nut cookies, and more water.

Until Brightroom publishes their photos of our glorious finish together, I can only share these finish pics:

The Girlz

+ "S"

Post-race refreshing dip, contemplating the view before heading back to the car.

If you made it this far, go back to the top and click the link to register for your own Team Gab Virtual Race - any distance, anywhere, anytime before February 17.

Maui: Run #2, Beach walk in photos

2012-01-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I tried to mix it up today and run north up the beach but after a few minutes it seemed that it was going to be just an "in town" run and I'm not really interested in seeing anything but the beach, water, and gardens while running here. I can see strip malls anytime!

After doubling back, entered the Beach Walk

To get here, take the Lower Hono~~~ road off the main highway running past Ka'anapali. I think this is the last exit for Ka'anapali, then it becomes Napili (?). The trail head entrance will be immediately on your left, after the bend in the road and the Honua Kai Resort. This is a public access point with parking & public restrooms.

This was a rare, quiet point on the trail. Countless runners this morning, including 3 familiar race shirt viewings: women in a Seattle RNR, Hood to Coast, and See Jane Run.

On the way out traffic wasn't bad but on the return trip I was weaving quite a bit around other runners and walkers, like Dom Toretto and Paul Walker being fast & furious while racing a quarter mile down a city street for a million $.

Whoa! Sliding on the freshly sprinkled path.

Side trail to the beach

Moloka'i in the distance

For the golfers out there

6.5 miles round trip in 52:11. Not bad for the heat/humidity.

It's looking like our matchy-matchy Husky outfits (see end of Kim's post, they are super cute!) will be post-poned to the Tacoma St. Patty's Day race (I just registered, Kim!) because we will surely have heat stroke if we wear dark cotton for a half marathon here!

Maui: Run #1

2012-01-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

I could get used to this...

Although my body is in shock with the warmth (low 80's) and humidity, it's feeling pretty damn good. We flew out of Seattle just as Snowmageddon was starting. We're missing out on an unprecedented 5-9 inches of new snow in town. Crazy!

Meanwhile, Ka'anapali is pretty o.k. It was a bit rough on our first full day here yesterday as the little man caught a bug. We took it easy, spending time at the pool and beach but not for very long. We got a decent sleep last night so I was able to get up early-ish this morning and try my first run (a little over 6 miles) along the "beachwalk," which is accessible from anywhere along the Ka'anapali beaches.

Compliments of USATF.ORG

The trail is a bit busy with runners and pedestrians but it was all good. It's part wood, part cement sidewalk, part oceanfront, part resort, fresh air, no traffic/car worries, all good (again, yes). I will take my camera next time so I can share the great ocean views.

After I got back and posted my run to DailyMile, Average A commented that she's coming here, too, for the Maui Oceanfront Half! WOOT! I can't believe we didn't know each other were going to be here until now! "A" will be running with friends, decked out in grass skirts and coconut shells - oh my! Ms. Kim arrives later this week, too, and I'm quite excited for this little bloggy reunion.

In the meantime, I'm testing out places where we can carbo load...

Maui Brewing Company - the variety is ALMOST too much! (We got through 16 varieties on this visit.)

GO LADIES!

2012-01-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for the trials today!

Thank you Brooks for supporting our girl!

I really want to see Desi come in FIRST for the trials but I can't be untrue to these truly tough women, Kara & Shalane:

Kara is the so very inspiring come-back mama, America's sweetheart.
Shalane, well, I just love her tough-talk (and slight potty mouth).

If all three of these women qualify, it will be the best marathon team ever. EVER.

Too many notes

2012-01-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

In a little over 2 days, I'll be on a plane bound for Maui. My first trip to Hawaii, EVER, which is crazy for a native Washingtonian. It seems like I'll never get there though.

I've been working every night this week to get caught up before lift off and still, I need to do so much before Sunday's departure WITHOUT child care over the next 2 days:

~~Put a hold on the mail (minor)~~ DONE 1/13!
~~Cancel the dairy delivery (minor)~~ DONE 1/13!
~~Cancel the produce delivery (minor)~~ DONE 1/13!
~~Notify the neighbors of our trip plans (minor)~~ DONE 1/13!
~~Put the lamps on timers (minor, yes, these things are just busy work but they add up)~~DONE 1/14!
~~Pack (find our snorkel gear, life jacket for little guy, sunscreen, summer clothes, etc)~~ DONE 1/14!
~~Complete & send in my annual self-evaluation~~ (yes, it's that time of year) DONE 1/13!
Provide manager reviews for 6 of my co-workers
~~Develop a budget for a new project opportunity that came in today~~ DONE 1/13!
~~Complete a deliverable that is due tomorrow/Friday (!)~~ DONE 1/13!
~~Take care of some loose ends for a confidential project~~ DONE 1/14!
[Just decided not to worry about the 2 baby showers I'll be missing & will just send presents after I get back]
~~Watch my niece Friday-Saturday while mom is away~~ DONE 1/14!
Get last long run in before Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon on 1/22? Can I squeeze an 8-miler in?
~~Watch the marathon trials on Saturday, 3 p.m.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~ DONE 1/14!

I'm sure I'm forgetting some work stuff. I'm thinking the performance reviews will get put off until I'm already in Hawaii. Yes, I'm bringing my computer because guaranteed, I'll have fires to put out (like one of the people on a project team just gave notice so I'm coordinating transition of her work to another staff while away).

The good thing is my "goal" list for next week is all relaxation:

Drink as many varieties at the Maui Brewing Company as I can without making my head hurt too much
Go to the top of Haleakala / visit national park
Run/walk each day along the beach
Snorkel every day
Eat lots of tropical fruit & seafood
Have fun running the Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon with KIM!

Just need to get through the next 2 days (and a 5 hr flight with a 2.5 yr old!)...

Soma (Session 1)

2012-01-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

My mom has been seeing a somatics practitioner for quite a few years now and credits her with improved flexibility and balance (things that help her keep up with our 2 year old). The soma treatments also help her with restless leg and plantar fascitis.

Finally, I decided to give it a try. My husband and I each went to "Session 1," which focuses on BREATHING. The therapy is supposed to consist of 12 sessions that follow a progression.

Somatics uses hands-on guided movement and self care exercises that lengthen muscles back to their natural, relaxed state and correct inefficient movement patterns. Benefits include:

• decrease in muscle stiffness
• reduction in pain using a natural and little known brain process
• decrease in stress and tension
• integration of how we move our entire body easily and surprisingly with little effort

So how was it?

At the beginning of the session, you stand in underwear and the practitioner checks out how you stand from the ends of your toes to the top of your head. At my session, "Ms. Soma" could pick out my leg imbalance (which caused my calf tear) and issues with my flat feet and all kinds of messed up stuff going on.

I'm always trying to remind myself to stand up straight (thanks for the reminders Jamoosh & the Hard COREs) and it's effort. A lot of effort on my part - pretending there is a string pulling me up, checking my pelvis tilt, lifting my arches, checking my knees, etc. And, I often catch myself holding my breath. Not sure why other than I need to relax more.

After my session today, I stood up again for inspection and it was completely effortless. It's difficult to describe, but it was like I was weightless, floating up almost. I was so very relaxed, but not like after a massage - it was completely different than at the beginning of the session. Also, I could breath so much easier, with deep, relaxed breaths. I felt like my breaths were what was making me stand up so easily? Or maybe it was just actually my bones and not my muscles that were having to work so hard?

Right now, we're trying to decide if we're both going to continue with the full series of treatments. It's expensive but could help us both.

Anyone out there tried soma? Thoughts?

I'm no economist but...

2012-01-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

I can share a study that some real economists published!

In the most recent Environmental Health Perspectives, some folks from University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Iowa, and Georgia Institute of Technology estimated that $8 billion/year could be saved by making 50% of short trips by bicycle. In their analysis, they evaluated 11 of the largest mid-western urban areas. These cost savings would be seen through improved air quality and physical fitness (i.e., reduced health care costs).

Since most car commutes are just shorts trips, riding a bike for half of those trips could have a big impact.

(In case you needed some extra motivation to jump on a bike this winter!)

Grabow M.L., S.N. Spak, T. Halloway, B. Stone, A.C. Mednick, and J.A. Patz. 2011. Air quality and exercise-related health benefits from reduced car travel in the Midwestern United States. Environmental Health Perspectives 120:68-76.

NYC marathon 2012

2012-01-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

Registration is open for the New York City Marathon! (Click HERE.)

Since I applied for the lottery in 2011, I am "grandfathered" in for the "get rejected three times then you're in" deal. HOPEFULLY I will not get in this year but will get to reapply and get an entry in either 2013 or 2014. Anyone else applying? Are you hoping for entry this year or later on?

Happy ending (race re-cap)

2012-01-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

This was the most happy ending to 2011: At 6:55 a.m. on December 31st, I commuted via car and car ferry to the Olympic Peninsula to participate in the Yukon Do It half marathon in Port Orchard, WA. As the sun rose, it was looking to be a clear but cold day (24 degrees!). The crossing took just 35 minutes from West Seattle to Port Orchard/Southworth with a pit-stop on Vashon Island.

View from ferry while docked on Vashon Island

The start of the race was located at the finish point on the map. The course headed due north to the water then headed northeast along the waterfront to Manchester State Park where it took a few turns then headed back along the water.

Route from Seattle to Port Orchard, on the Olympic Peninsula

This race I signed up for on my own and enjoyed having the commute and race time to contemplate 2011. This year I experienced some extreme highs and lows in running and this race was a beautiful, happy ending to all of it. While the North Olympic Discovery Trail Half Marathon (also on the Olympic Peninsula) was beautiful, this course topped it - handily. (I would like to make a tradition of doing this race every year.)

The pictures don't do the course justice and I didn't take nearly enough, but see for yourself the mountain and water views (I completely neglected taking photos of the old growth forest views in the state park):

Walk-jogging gingerly down an icy hill.

Olympic Mountain range across water

Runners starting out along the Yukon Bay

Part of the course between the water and state park ran through quaint small family farms, mostly populated with horses and cows, but also CAMELS!

BIG smile on my face pretty much the entire race (thanks for the pic and cheering along the course, Carla). This photo was taken in the state park.

Race shirt with our iconic symbols of Seattle: Space Needle, ferry, Mt. Rainier.

As far as the "race" goes, I set out to take it easy. I hadn't trained as I would have liked for this race so I wasn't really sure what I had in me. My primary goal was to finish without hurting myself. My secondary goal was to try to finish in less than 2:00 hours. I ran conservatively, focusing on enjoying the time to contemplate and enjoy the views.

Mile splits:
1 = 9:26 (Everyone had to walk down a steep hill at the start because the road was icy, but this was a good way to keep from starting out too fast.)
2 = 8:56 (I can't believe what a gorgeous morning this is!)
3 = 8:48 (Sound of seals barking from the bay.)
4 = 8:57 (Stopped to use a port-o-potty, it was occupied, got tired of waiting, kept running & kept it in!)
5 = 8:59 (Running inland now, quaint homesteads.)
6 = 9:18 (This is where the hills started.)
7 = 10:18 (The course most mostly flat but where there were hills, they were fairly challenging. I did NOT push myself hard up those so I could conserve energy. Fortunately, the smell of the forest was invigorating.)
8 = 9:09 (I realized I had a good amount of energy still in the tank and decided to start picking up the pace on mile 9.)
9 = 8:41 (Making our way out of the countryside and back to the water.)
10 = 8:46 (Oh the waterfront views are back!)
11 = 8:38 (Feeling good, can I pick it up more?)
12 = 8:34 (Lots of people ahead of me, I'll just try to move up one at a time.)
13 = 8:11 (Uh-oh - I'm going to be sore tomorrow.)
Finish time = 1:57:29 (unofficial)

Race results and photos have not been posted yet and yes, I'm quite sore today (New Years Day) from that run.

I'm curious to see how Elizabeth Mitchell (actor in TV's Lost) did in the half marathon! If I see pics of her, I will post later. I did not notice her on the course but heard she ran (I don't know that I could ever recognize a famous person without someone pointing them out).

Happy New Year & welcome 2012!

Urgent and delusional

2011-12-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

2011 was off to a good start with the first ever Master Plan 2011 (for Kicking Ass), which started out with the New Orleans RNR Half Marathon in February and included two "A" races that would wrap up my intense training and racing year in early October:

Indianapolis Mini Marathon: Achieved my goal and basked in my hard-earned success for weeks, and
Portland Marathon (my first ever marathon): DNS. Yes, my racing season ended in June, months before Portland.

Of course, the Master Plan went through many revisions, including the addition of another, tragic marathon in June which resulted in me being injured from June through October.

I pushed it too hard. I was using the Furman First, Run Less, Run Faster training program and loved the intensity of it but my body cried uncle after 5 straight months with essentially no break. I trained hard and was surprisingly compliant with the rigorous schedule despite all the other challenges in life that demand our time and energy.

So why was I pushing so hard? A sense of urgency. I had a lot to accomplish in 2011 because the Master Plan 2012 includes some big changes. 2011 was my year to get it all done.

I added the Seattle RNR Marathon as my first full for two reasons:

I was impatient. I was feeling so good with the RLRF training, I really wanted to dive in and start marathon training. After the Indy Mini, I felt I could accomplish anything!
Boston Marathon qualifying times were becoming more stringent in Sept. 2011. Portland was AFTER the new standards would be in place and I wanted my shot before the tough got tougher.

So not only did I feel the need to complete my first marathon in 2011, I needed that first shot to be a Boston qualifier. (This is where Adam's unicorn starts peeing rainbows.) The pipe dream continues with me running Boston with a small bun in the oven and huge smile on my face. I would then take a brief sabbatical from running, knowing I had left my 30's running career with a firework finish and then would re-start in the master's age group after #2 was sleeping through the night.

Yup. That's why I needed to cram so much into one year, one race, and why it hurt so bad, why it was so devastating to have it all fall apart 14 miles into my marathon. My big race where I was on a sub-BQ pace and feeling great.

Do you wonder what color the sky was in my fantastical world when I was dreaming up this big plan? I do!

Making time to run with TWO kids is possible (THANK YOU blogging, running parents out there for inspiration, showing how it can be done), but I know from #1 that the first six months (at least) is ROUGH.

No sleep = no energy = no running.

I have feared that after #2 comes (date undetermined as not preg YET), I really won't know how soon I will get to start training again or how seriously I will be able to train. It may sound petty to worry about this when we're talking about the incredible joy of having a child, but I NEED to run. I need to run and need to make challenges for myself, especially since having a child.

So there it is. A confession of a delusional running mom who wanted it all before life got a bit crazier and more unpredictable.

I don't want to give up on running goals for 2012 even with life (my BODY) taking a big turn but I am still thinking about the Master Plan. (Kim, I plan on planning some early 2012 races!) One thing I do know, I hope to channel Zoe and run throughout my pregnancy!

Inspired by an ultramarathoner's journey

2011-12-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

For a while now I have been following a blog that I really enjoy. I have found Kia @ Determined to Be Fit amazing and inspiring in all that she's accomplished this year. We have quite a bit in common (I think) so I felt especially absorbed by her journey and am fighting the tears right now as I'm so happy for her finishing her first 50-miler.

After half and full road marathons, Kia transitioned into trail running with a 10-miler, marathon, 15k, 50k, and now a 50-miler. Up and down mountains, through streams and mud pits, getting lost in the woods and finding her way back again, she did it all. So incredible.

It makes me wonder,
What will I set out to do next year? How far will I venture out of my comfort zone?

What about you? Are you going to try something new in 2012?

Monkey racing

2011-12-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

I scooted out of work a bit early to squeeze in my 6x800m workout at the Y (treadmill), rushing the whole way up the hill, through the locker room, and onto a machine.

"Quick Start" and I was off on my warm up, trying to keep my heart rate below 160 bpm. It was painfully slow (12:00 miles?) because I was pretty amped up from rushing to get there. This is my new deal as of yesterday. An ironwoman co-worker has been telling me to slow it down, make the body more efficient by running longer at a lower heart rate.

This is exactly the OPPOSITE of what I normally do. I'm usually all out pretty much all the time, even on long runs, unless someone else is setting the pace.

Then this weekend Caratruck Girl posted about heart rate zone training. It pushed me over the edge. Since I don't have enough time to do a full FIRST/Furman program, I figure I may as well try something different. Zone training.

Meanwhile, a T.V. monitor is on in front of me but I'm not paying attention because I'm looking at my HR and thinking about my upcoming 800m intervals and wondering what pace I'll need to run to get my heart up around 185-190 bpm.

I think Monday night football was on?

Then suddenly the scene changed to horse racing.

Wait, what?

That horse is really hairy.

And the tail is thick and shaped like an arc.

But the jockey...is hairy too?

Damn, things are fuzzy when I don't have my glasses on.

Closer.

What the heck?

I realized it wasn't horse racing at all, but something along these lines:

The clip I saw was more convincing than this, I promise. But really, have you ever seen this? I guess it's "Banana Derby."

After recovering from the shock of seeing a little monkey jockey zoom around a track on the back of a dog, I cranked it up for my first 800m interval. At the same exact moment that my first interval started, ENTER SANDMAN started on my shuffle.

Oh yes, this was going to be a good workout.

And it was.

Rock on!

Candy canes take Tacoma

2011-12-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

Well, officially it was Santa Runs Tacoma, but as Team Will Run For ~~Ice Cream~~ Hot Chocolate started the 5k race, with me at the back of the pack, it looked like our candy cane-themed runners were going to take over! It was great seeing all the red sparkles and stripes head up the hill.

Yes, this mostly flat 5k started UPHILL! Other than the hill and the 35-degree weather, it was a nice start. There were not too many people but lots of costumed characters.

This is where I was NOT today.

While I was freezing with the girls in the Pacific NW, the hubs was on the beach WORKING in Puerto Rico. Something amiss here?

The Santa Runs Tacoma race is also run in Kabul, Afghanistan on Christmas day by I Corps from our local, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and so videographers were taking messages from participants to send over to the troops. Our group sang the opening to "We wish you a merry Christmas," followed by a big thank you. Quite nice to take some time to remember those far from home.

Behind the scenes (literally)

Almost everyone: "A," Kadie, Tiffiany, Karla, Kim, Mel, Zoe, Kerrie, yo

My aunt ran today, too. We ran this same race together LAST YEAR.

Colorful clothing, antlers, beards, etc.


Trying to stay warm pre-race.

It would have been nice to take photos during the race like I did last year because some of the costumes were pretty great. But, my goal for the race was to actually run a bit hard. I've struggled with my training lately but still wanted to push it and see where I was at. So, no photos.

In the end, it paid off because I ran much better than I expected and wound up with a 3rd place finish in my age group (23:11, 35-39 AG). The two women who placed ahead of me also placed in the top 5 overall. The women's winning time was 18:26 and in fact, the top five women ran sub 19:00. I love it when there are fast women around, don't you?

What's even better is that Tall Mom Mel and my aunt ALSO placed third in their age groups AND Kim placed first in her age group!

Kim, Mel, and I rockin' our ribbons.

Post race libations/celebrations

It was a lovely day in Tacoma and certainly inspired me to get back into speed work. This week will be a struggle while the hubs is out of town because I'll have less time available but I'll do what I can.

Next up:

YUKON DO IT! half marathon on December 31.

Chapped

2011-12-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the work white elephant gift exchange.
I was second draw.
Stole the first draw pick: CHAPS.
Not. Kidding.
Full leather.
All goodness.
In-credible.
More draws. First draw gets her gift stolen and re-steals her chaps.
I was chapped. Bitter.
Though first draw says I can borrow them anytime.
Is there a Cowboy 5k coming up anytime soon?
I draw: Homer Simpson chia pet.
Later, chia pet taken.
So sad.
New draw:

Clock & fishy caviar dish.

There is peace in the world once again.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Next up:
Santa Runs Tacoma 5k with "Team I Run for Ice Cream" re-appearing as candy canes.

Can I get another "do over?"

2011-12-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

Ever since early October, I've been struggling with this pattern of getting in a couple weeks of good training to rebound from my injury, only to be followed up with a few weeks of down-time. Down-time due to work, sickness, and/or travel. Life.

So when I thought things were going so great in early November, when I hit my first speed workouts since June, I got smacked down. Now it's a month later and I'm heavier (= slower) and sucking wind.

Do over! I want to go back to October and start my 5k training again! I want to get back to 8:00 miles!

My upcoming 5k on Saturday will not be the big race I had hoped for but I still hope to dig deep and try to gut out a decent time (8:30 pace?!). Then, I have a half marathon two weeks later. And another half marathon three weeks after that!

This IS my do over week. I'm focusing on just getting my routine back. Then next week, after the 5k, I'll have 5 weeks of half marathon training, which will include a half, half-way through. Ha!

Here is my completely bastardized Furman FIRST/Run Less, Run Faster program cut down to 5 weeks (though I will not hold myself to specific paces for now; will just increase exertion level):

Obviously, the half marathons will have to be easy runs since I'm in no shape to push hard but both are in nice settings so I will certainly enjoy the ride.

USA Track & Field National Cross Country Championships

2011-12-10T15:36:00.001-08:00

Saturday was USA Track & Field national cross country champs from coast to coast. My friend's daughter's team placed 5th at junior nationals in Myrtle Beach, SC (woot!) and on this coast, we had the master and open cross country championships.

I had hoped to catch both the men and women races but I got tied down at the house getting caught up on chores and only made it to the men's race. I knew a couple guys in the open division so it was nice to see them run. It certainly took some kahunas to get out there in this field:

Quite a big race. Eek!

Mid-pack

The men's 10k race was won by Jonathan Gray of Team USA Minnesota in 29:38 (4:47 pace). The top teams were McMillan Elite, Boulder Running Company/Adidas, and the Asics Aggie Running Club.

The guys coming around a corner. You could feel the ground moving!

The guy who won is in the blue, on the left.

Men's leader, Gray, of Team USA Minnesota. Notice how there is no one directly behind him?

The women's 6k race was won by Brie Felnagle in 19:54 (5:20 average pace). The top teams were Adidas Team Rogue Elite, Boulder Running Company/Adidas, and Club Northwest. Our very own Club Northwest of Seattle won the women's master event. Reading the results, it turns out I know one of the masters female runners for the Seattle Running Club - would have been nice to see her too. Ni modo.

Aside from this, I went on a first run in quite some time and felt jiggly and slow. BAH. One week until a 5k I had hoped to "race" but will instead just have to go try to finish without passing out. Still trying to formulate a plan for the Yukon Do It Half on 12/31 and the Maui Oceanfront Half on 1/22. More on that and the Master Plan for 2012 later...

Happy Monday everyone!

What happens in Vegas...

2011-12-07T20:59:00.001-08:00

Ends up on my blog!

Not. :) I am silent on the bachelorette party; although, I can say that the bachelorette got lei'ed twice at the running expo.

We started out at 11 women for the party but just five of us lingered for the big half marathon walk. (Did anyone else out there purchase kick-ass Stetson boots at the Cowboy Christmas Fair, next door to the expo?) It was a fantastic bachelorette party weekend in Vegas. My first time ever. I was nervous and wondering why I hadn't done this when I was in my 20's but I have to say, Vegas is for everyone.

We saw George Lucas (we were too wimpy to ask him: "Why, why, WHY did you create JarJar Banks and ruin Star Wars?") though I never would have noticed him if not pointed out to me.

There have certainly been a lot of complaints about how crowded the Rock & Roll race was and I have to admit, I felt like I was 19 again in a mosh pit at a Nirvana concert as we were trying to make our way to our corral. We never made it, ended up jumping in as the corral went by. There were no shuttles as promised, so we walked 1.4 miles to the start from our hotel then walked 1.4 miles back again. At 11 p.m. When it was sprinkling and 35 degrees outside. Brrrr.

There weren't many bands on the course so we decided to sing & add our own Rock & Roll to the event.

BUT - the race pretty much kicked ass. We had a fantastic time, took lots of walk breaks to enjoy the view,

Yes, random dude with beer stopped to pose

lost track of all the Elvis's & Marilyn's we saw, and

I felt complete after seeing Endorphin Dude around mile 6.

Third RNR event, third Endorphin Dude encounter.

Awesome. He only has five more marathons to go until he reaches his goal of 52 marathons in 365 days. We rocked our Sparkle Skirts and enjoyed the other crazy girls on the course.

You can't see it, but these girls are each carrying 3 tall-boys.

I am done with Competitor Group races even though we were smiles before & after:

The Before

And After

Done! Where is that burger? It's 11 p.m. and we're HUNGRY!

A great ending to a fantastic weekend with some of the best friends a girl could hope for.

And now, to get back to RUNNING and preparing for the Santa Runs Tacoma 5k and Yukon Do It half marathon later this month.

ROCK ON!

Vegas bound

2011-12-01T23:00:00.001-08:00

I'm nearly packed but definitely ready to head down to Vegas with my crazy girls. Two days of bacheloretting fun then...

We're doing the half marathon as a walk and will enjoy every crazy minute. I'm really hoping I see some of y'all down there on the course! Our little group will be in Team Sparkle attire.

Have fun everyone & rock on!

November re-cap & December races

2011-11-28T22:31:00.001-08:00

Man, I started this month out RIGHT! My running was on track and I even got my first full week of speed work in with NO pain. I thought I was "back." Then, the green virus hit = Sinus pressure so strong I feel like my teeth are going to pop out of my gums. Ug. I'm recovering now but the training is off-track again. So it goes.

Next month is another chance to pick it up again. Somehow, despite being in recovery mode and having trouble with consistent training, I managed to get myself hooked into TWO half marathons and ONE 5k next month! LOCA!

Let's break November down...

November mileage = 54 though still two days left (up from 37 in Oct., 47 in Sept.).
One week out sick. Blech.
Dropped out of Amanda's Holiday Booty Buster Challenge. Lame, I know. I had fun with it last year, but it was stressing me out to have to track everything.
10 running days total (so far), 6 cycling days, 4 strength training days, 1 elliptical day (that almost finished me off).
First successful interval (4 x 1,000m) & tempo (4-mile) workouts since June. This included mapping the perfect 2-mile loop on which to run tempos, just <0.5 mile from my house. Includes flats & moderate hills for a great mix (see photo below).
Two long runs with Megan, beautiful fall scenery along Lake Washington (photo 1, photo 2).
Received two pairs of Brooks shoes [free] to wear test (sweet!).
Enjoyed my CSA produce more than ever with summer gone, the photo of which seemed to be of interest to some folks. I think I will have to post on the crazy veggies later.
Did NOT participate in Black Friday (again) and overcame the urge to buy a Thomas the Train track for the little one to put under the tree (though I caved on a puzzle). Still on track to not overindulge. But I might go back for that Thomas toy.
Succumbed to CyberMonday deals and purchased blinds for the new basement bath & bedroom.
Panic about what's coming in December with minimal training under my belt:

Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half Marathon (mostly a walk) THIS WEEKEND, at the end of a bachelorette weekend. Assuming we finish, this will be RNR event #3 this year!
Santa Runs Tacoma 5k on December 18 with Team Will Run for Ice Cream, dressed as candy canes.
Yukon Do It Half Marathon on December 31 in Port Orchard. I only signed up for the race because of the photo they have on their home page. It's beautiful. Or it has the potential to be beautiful, anyway. It could also be 33 degrees and raining this year when I do it. Fingers crossed for clear skies.

Sweeeet 2-mile loop for running tempos

In addition to the hubs being in Puerto Rico for work for a week and all the other holiday work & family parties, it's going to be a busy month. So glad I have these races carved out, even if I end up having to go easy due to lack of training. It's going to feel so good to get out and run with a bunch of festive people (it's been since June, can you believe?).

Happy Thanksgiving & Vinny quote (TBL)

2011-11-23T09:13:00.001-08:00

I'm taking some time off from running for a few days due to a virus that overtook me, but want to wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, including a loving & supportive family, great job, incredible friends, and the ability to get out and enjoy running (when I'm not sick, that is).

This is totally random but last night during The Biggest Loser, Vinny (my favorite contestant) made a statement that resonated with me. When Bob asked him what he would see looking into Vinny's window at Thanksgiving, Vinny said that they would see the happiest kid who would have everything he needs and would work hard for everything he wants.

Things just don't have much value when they come easy. Nothing wrong with a good work ethic and nothing worse than someone who thinks they're entitled to everything!

Good luck to the Seattle Marathon/Half Marathoners out there and everyone doing a turkey trot, gobble, waddle, and more.

Just a little more than a week out from Las Vegas RNR Half! WOOT!

Now to make some sense out of this week's produce delivery...persimmons, arugula, kale, beets, baby bok choy, and more - oh my!

NCAA Division I XC Update

2011-11-21T17:28:00.001-08:00

NEWS FLASH!

The University of Washington's Husky women placed 2nd today at the NCAA Division 1 national cross country championship meet in Terra Haute, IN!

UW's score (170) was oh so close to the 1st place team Georgetown U (162). Villanova followed UW in 3rd place (181).

It was a close race for the top finishers, with a Villanova runner taking first in the 6 km course in 19:41.2. Fellow Pac-12 conference runner, Jordan Hasay of University of Oregon (Go Ducks!), took a close second in 19:41.8. These ladies are amazing, no?

UW's lead runner, sophomore Katie Flood (she won the Pac-12 meet, yo!), placed 7th at nationals with a finish time of 19:47.9.

The next big running meet (non-collegiate), the USA Track & Field National Cross Country Championship, is coming to us here in Seattle on December 10. As with last year's Pac-10 conference meet, the USATF national meet will be run less than a mile from my house, at the Jefferson Park Golf Course.

Let me know if you are in the area and want to spectate with me. Details about the meet can be found HERE. Otherwise, the schedule is here:

December 10, 2011
9:00 a.m.	Community Races 2 km & 4 km
9:45	Disabled Club Champs. 2 km & 4 km
10:45	Masters Women's 6 km
11:45	Masters Men's 10 km
1:00 p.m.	Open Women's 6 km
1:45	Open Men's 10 km

It took 5 months

2011-11-17T22:54:00.001-08:00

I haven't been able to complete Furman FIRST speed workouts since JUNE, before the big blow-out. But it looks like I'm on my way back. After 5 long months.

Key workout #1: 1 mi warm-up, 4x1000m in 4:44, 1 mi cool-down. DONE!
Key workout #2: 1 mi warm-up, 4 mi tempo @ 7:34 pace, 0.5 mi cool-down. DONE!
Key workout #3: 10 mi long run. (To be completed this weekend)

Ok, so this is a bit premature as there still is one workout left, but it's the speedwork that has been the greatest hurdle in my rehab. I'm pretty damn excited to have gotten through the intense workouts unscathed. No calf explosions. Not even a tumble off the treadmill (though it was close on those 1,000's).

And in other unfinished business...

finally finished knitting this hat that I started last winter. Had to rip it out and size up. DONE!

Other positive happenings this week:
Two pairs of mystery shoes from Brooks arrived on my porch to wear test (and another Brooks running skirt of my doing):

Very nice!

Splits59 raffle entry to LA Marathon

2011-11-15T22:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I was contacted by Splits59 about an incredible opportunity:

Activewear company Splits59 is sponsoring two female runners in the 2012 Honda Los Angeles Marathon.

How do you get a chance to be sponsored? Click on this link HERE and enter a random drawing to enter the contest.

Who is Splits59? They are a California-based company founded by triathletes and ultra runners who make fashionable clothing for active women.

When does this all go down? The drawing takes place on December 1, 2011 and the LA Marathon that you can gain entry to takes place on March 18, 2012.

What exactly can you win? Two ladies will win paid registration into the 2012 Honda LA Marathon and a Splits59 Endurance Pack, which consists of clothing, a water bottle, and more. (Package valued at $400; does not include travel.)

Splits59 says: "this challenge is for the passionate runner who’s either never run a marathon or just needs a little extra push to run their next one. We want you to come run Los Angeles!"

Check out the official rules on their contest entry page.

Bizzaro Furman 10k training & other updates

2011-11-13T21:40:00.001-08:00

Thank you JESS for the great Pearl Izumi arm warmers and for hosting the Cupcake Classic!

I don't know how to make a proper fist/biceps pose. Instructions anyone?

****************

I'm still not getting all of my Furman workouts in but last week was an improvement (how did manage the marathon training program earlier this year? Did I dream that?). Life is just too busy sometimes. I did manage to get 2 of 3 key workouts in and was able to run every other day:

Key workout #1: Short ladder intervals. Instead of 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m with 400m RI on the track, I did it all on the elliptical. I used the Furman target paces and just went all out for those interval durations rather than trying to hit those distances on the elliptical. Sounds strange but it was a great workout and left my legs sore for a couple days.

Key workout #2: Mixed pace tempo. Didn't happen. Too sore from key workout #1!

Key workout #3: Long run. This is always my favorite part of the week. As with last week, I met up with Megan (The Daily Sweat) for a beautiful run in fall color along Lake Washington. We ran a 9 mile out & back route between Seward Park and Leschi. Felt great. We saw 49 other runners while we were out!

Megan in action

I only made it to the gym for strength training once (hubs was traveling again = limited "free" time). Bike commuting went reasonably well though.

This next week my goal is to hit all three target workouts, only I think I'll do the Key Workout #1 or #2 on the bike instead of elliptical because that crazy machine too hard on my calf when I try to pick up the speed/intensity. I THINK my calf is healthy enough for slightly longer speed work - maybe that 4 x 1000m workout coming up this week?

****************

As for the "healthy at any size" topic from last week, I appreciate all the comments. I really do wish we could put a cap & trade system on fats, sugar, and preservatives and figure out a way for everyone to have access to affordable, healthful foods, but I know it would never fly. Imagine the cries in Washington if anyone spoke of additional regulations on industry and development of new federal programs. And I do know that we have a lot of inequity in everything in this country and that we do not all have the same opportunities and that federal programs can help address these gaps. I myself have benefited from affirmative action programs and would never oppose such programs, unpopular as they often are. I still do not think it's fair to tell people that they can be healthy at any size or that they should not take responsibility for their health. It's misleading and harmful.

****************

And in good news, the IAAF has allowed Paula Radcliffe to keep her World Record status. The IAAF stated that the recent rule was not meant to be held to old records; although, isn't that exactly what they said when they made the ruling? Either way, it's good that Paula's record will stand and hopefully we'll see a new women's world record soon to show those at the IAAF that women can run fast, even without male pacers.

****************
Saving more great news for last, the UW women took their FOURTH consecutive NCAA West Regional cross country championship title this weekend. Full results for the meet can be viewed HERE. They, along with Arizona State women XC, will be continuing on to nationals in Kenosha, WI on November 21. GO DAWGS!

I know it's backwards, but you get it.

Neoliberal healthist? Yes ma'am

2011-11-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

I typically stay from politics but I can't keep clam about this one. Here's the deal:

Normally the word "neoliberalism" has negative connotations to me. Well, apparently I am guilty of being a NEOLIBERAL HEALTHIST and I'm owning it. Last week, my best friend was at the biggest conference in public health (American Public Health Association) and started texting me from a session entitled:

POLITICS OF OBESITY: Health at Any Size.

Introduction: The focus on obesity at the individual and health behavior level can mask the social and structural production of obesity. It has also proven to be largely ineffective, as the increasing levels of obesity in the U.S. have shown. Further, the focus on 'obesity reduction' may alienate women of larger sizes and actually result in their engaging in fewer health behaviors, such as exercise, due to issues of stigma.

So take everything you read here with a grain of salt, I did not attend the session and this is clearly NOT my area of expertise BUT...I play a health expert in blogland.

I was so intrigued by my friend's texts (i.e., rants on the fact that health statistics show you can't be healthy at any size) that I had to do some internet searching on this new term for lack of any other route to learn more. I found masters theses, Ph.D. dissertations, blog articles, online mag articles, and articles from peer-reviewed literature on this topic. And they incensed me!

From what I can gather, neoliberal healthism is that idea that the individual is responsible for obesity and poor health and that good health can be achieved through one's own determination and actions. The neoliberal healthist believes that the individual is responsible for choosing a healthy lifestyle and even has a social obligation not to be obese, not be unhealthy, because of the high cost of disease to society (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc). According to some folks out there, including those who spoke during this session, this is BAD to put everything on the shoulders of the individual.

They believe that focusing on the individual masks the problems in society and culture that contribute to obesity. Oh, and don't use the words "obesity" and "obese" because it makes people feel bad and creates an intimidating environment.

I can see where they're coming from with using the term obesity. BUT I don't see any reason why individuals shouldn't take responsibility for their own health and when people don't take responsibility, I think it makes it MY problem, our problem. And that's not cool, yo.

I strongly feel that when they say we shouldn't focus on the individual, they are taking POWER AWAY FROM ME. They are telling me, "Sorry hon', but you're weak, you really cannot resist temptations out there, you aren't capable of taking care of yourself or making healthy lifestyle choices, you really can't change anything about your life. Just give up, we'll try to take care of this one for you by fixing all the problems with our media, marketing, food production and service, educational system..."

Sure we need to make larger changes at the societal and cultural level but in our free market system, I think we have to affect change from the bottom up. We have to make the change through our lifestyle choices, using our power as consumers. It's not happening from the top down. Unless you think the federal government can get away with a cap & trade system on sugar, fats, and preservatives in food?

This really struck a chord with me and was quite upsetting. It challenges my belief that I AM an individual, I am empowered to make smart choices. Also, I'm raising a toddler and I put a lot of effort into trying to teach him personal responsibility and consequences for his actions, so how can people say that making individuals responsible for their actions is WRONG?

What do YOU think?

If you find this interesting, do you own searching and look into this then tell me what you find out.

Something to write home about

2011-11-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

Ready?

Ok, this may be the FIRST weekend ever that my entire house was vacuumed ALL AT ONCE. If you're like me, you squeeze house work in as you can: while the little guy is sleeping, while hubs is out playing with little guy, while cooking, whenever. As a consequence, nothing is ever clean at once. I am just amazed that I was able to do the upstairs, main floor, and basement together. Definitely cause for celebration and pulling a pint from the fresh keg we picked up on Friday. Mmmm...Manny's!

(By the way, I run for beer and appreciate that having a kegerator means I don't have to shamefully drag 100 empty bottles into the alley once a week for the neighbors to see on recycling pick-up day.)

Another cause for celebration: I can feel I'm coming out of my slump. I'm just going to call October a FAILURE and move on. A new month, a new beginning.

The hype for the NYC marathon and the long run yesterday with lovely Megan (The Daily Sweat) combined with the amazing fall weather lately have helped to kick me in the caboose. (The new pumpkin/polka dot running skirt doesn't hurt, either. See below.)

Route: Madison Park to Mt. Baker Park on Lake WA Blvd, out & back.
Yes, eyed closed. But check out those colors in the trees!

Yesterday, Megan & I ran for 30 minutes in darkness along Lake Washington until the sky started to glow a brilliant PINK as the sun rose over the Cascade Mountain range. The rest of the run we enjoyed the sunrise turn the sky bright colors as well as the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows of the leaves along the lakeside path. (Wish I had taken a camera along.)

We did a nice 8-mile out & back route along the lake which is also miles 4 to 8-ish of the Seattle Marathon/Half coming up this Thanksgiving weekend. I think this must have been one of the last long runs before the race because this route was CLUTTERED with runners. We must have seen at least 40 runners out.

This was Megan's first long run to kick off her marathon training so I'm hoping to catch these lower distance runs with her for a while and get my butt in gear (i.e., hoping Megan will drag my lazy butt along as she trains). Always helps to have a friend to train with and it's great that this is one I met via blogland, at the Lake Samammish Half Marathon this past March.

On deck for me this week a la Furman FIRST 10k program:

Ladder intervals (200, 400, 600, 800 & back down)
Mixed-pace tempo run
Long run (9 mi)
Cross-training, weights, and physical therapy exercises

I think this week, I'll do all but the track work as actual runs. Still nervous about re-injuring the calf on the speed work so will try the ladder intervals on the elliptical instead.

I hope everyone's week gets off to a good start!

Struggling & end of 2011 race list

2011-11-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's the change in season? The darkness as late as 7 a.m.? The frost and rain? I actually had to wear full-length pants for the first time this season during my bike commute to/from work.

Brrrr. Must be November.

I'm pretty much recovered from the big push at work but all those extra hours + hubs traveling (oh yeah, he was gone the first half of this week, too) = derailed routine. And for me, training success is ALL about routine.

So, I'm struggling to get back into the pattern of getting up to do my workouts, get to work, get home to see the little guy & fix dinner/do house chores, then sleep & repeat. It's not easy, even though it feels so good once I'm actually doing it.

We've all been in this rut before and I know the way out is to JUST DO IT. Easy, right? Someone want to come kick me in the butt tomorrow morning, about 5:50 a.m.? I NEED HELP! Somewhere between September and now, I got lazy.

I look ahead to how soon Thanksgiving will be upon us and wonder when I'm going to get with the program. TIME IS WASTING! I'd REALLY like to do some races at the end of this year, after having taken so much time off from that damn calf explosion during Seattle RNR.

If I can suck it up & get off my Halloween candied ass, I will manage a decent finish to the Master Plan 2011:

Widdle Waddle Half (11/24) = I have no business going 13 miles in 3ish weeks but I can walk-jog if needed or just go REALLY easy. It's located just a few miles from my house & follows a decent running route.

Las Vegas RNR Half (12/4) = Already registered with girls from the bachelorette party. This will definitely be a mostly-walk event for us. Plus, Cheap Trick is the headliner! (ha)

Santa Runs Tacoma 5k (12/17) = This is what should be motivating me to get out of bed each morning. I had hoped this would be a target race, a grand finale for 2011 but I'm not sure if I can pull some speed together by mid-Dec.

Yukon Do It Half (12/31) = I've never run in Port Orchard and it just looks like a pretty place to run. I had hoped I'd be in shape to semi-race this (tempo run?).

Alright y'all, I'm tired of this blah attitude. Tomorrow morning I'm DOING IT! Or else I have face this page knowing I wimped out.

NYC Marathon - maybe by the hair of my chin!

2011-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

Am I the last person to see the new entry rules for the NYC Marathon?

All I can say is, I'll be getting in by the hair of my chin! Thankfully, I entered the lottery this year and so I am now the last cohort of entrants to have the option of applying for the lottery three years in a row and then getting an auto entry in on the fourth year if I don't get in during the previous three trials. That's 2014 for me, at the latest. Hopefully by then, I'll figure out how to hold it all together and not get injured.

For everyone else trying for the lottery, there is no auto entry after multiple trials & denials. Nope, nope, nope!

And as for qualifying times...FUHGETTABOUTIT!

For women < 39 yrs, you must now run REALLY freaking fast instead of just really fast to qualify. And when I'm 40, still no way. My current best time for running 13 miles would only get me in if I was in the 55-59 age bracket!

Check it out:

Men
Age	Marathon		1/2 Marathon
	Current	New	Current	New
18-39	2:55	2:45	1:23	1:19
40-44	3:10	2:50	1:30	1:23
45-49	3:10	2:58	1:30	1:25
50-54	3:30	3:06	1:40	1:29
55-59	3:30	3:14	1:40	1:33
60-64	3:45	3:24	1:48	1:39
65-69	3:45	3:35	1:48	1:42
70+	4:00	3:46	1:55	1:48

Women
Age	Marathon		1/2 Marathon
	Current	New	Current	New
18-39	3:23	3:00	1:37	1:27
40-44	3:38	3:10	1:44	1:30
45-49	3:38	3:21	1:44	1:34
50-54	3:52	3:35	1:50	1:40
55-59	3:52	3:49	1:50	1:46
60-64	4:13	4:06	2:00	1:52
65-69	4:13	4:26	2:00	2:02
70+	4:35	4:50	2:11	2:12

Because the 2012 race qualifying period is already open, this new policy will take effect beginning with the 2013 race.

By 2015, the NYC marathon will certainly become quite the competitive, fast race indeed.

In the meantime, I'll be happy to follow my friend K running it this coming weekend. She applied via the lottery this year and GOT IN! Can't wait to track her online and watch the elites running via Universal Sports Network.

Blogging is hard on my wallet

2011-10-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

What is it with blog land? BEFORE I was sucked into this world, I was content with a few simple running items - tights, pants, shorts, capris, and ONE running skirt.

However, since reading more about other runners (and meeting more local runners) and seeing all their cute clothes, I've started accumulating all kinds of things. It's not a bad thing but lately it's gotten a bit crazy with some sales from SkirtSports and RunningSkirts, and I need to take a break to let my bank account recover.

For example, this just came today from SkirtSports. It fits, very cute (ok, ignore the Punky Mel-style mish-mash of stripes):

Gym Girl Skirt

And about three weeks ago when they were having their daily deals, I also picked up a SkirtSports happy hour skirt (which I wore to the Portland Marathon, loved it, even wore it to work) AND a running dress.

Then today, I saw the RunningSkirts sale and broke down and picked up the pumpkin dot triathlon skirt that I've been eyeing all year.

Fortunately for Carla, I now will not need to steal hers. And I'm not going to mention the few things I picked up at RoadRunner Sports this fall.

Oh yeah, and there is that Sparkle Skirt purchase coming up for the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half/bachelorette party. This also will be part of a candy cane costume for the Santa Runs Tacoma 5k.

Seriously, I'm normally a very ~~cheap~~ frugal person. This is probably more than I've spent on running stuff over the past 10 years.

As of NOW, I'm on an OFFICIAL RUNNING-RELATED SPENDING FREEZE.

I realize I'm no where near the skirt collection that Becca (seriously, check out that photo on her page, it is awesome) has but I am curious,

How often do y'all get something new to sweat in? How long do you keep things before they are retired?

New baby!

2011-10-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

My new baby, need to decide on a name for her.

Ha! Kind-of like a new baby - I'm quite proud, anyway! NAME SUGGESTIONS?

This Sunday, I am thankful for the family living "up on the plateau" above Microsoft who has a lot more expendable income than me, who purchased a high-end Landice L7 series treadmill and then never really used it, only to sell it seven years later on Craig's List for 22% of the original purchase price to this Average Woman Runner.

Oh, and I'm thankful to my parents for throwing in the upright fan to use next to the new 'mill.

I will appreciate this for all the runs I can squeeze in, particularly when the hubs is traveling and I don't have child care but need to exercise. And my family will be thankful because I'll be a much nicer person to have around if I don't have to struggle as much to get my running workouts in.

I'm so excited!

I'm thinking it looks rather lonely and plain over in that corner, though, so will need to do some decorating. Maybe start with one of these? Could be quite motivational while doing the 10 x 400m Furman FIRST workout.

Made by Runningonthewall, you can buy a variety of medal & bib hangers by checking out their shop on Etsy HERE. This can also be personalized with your name & comes in 9 colors.

Or this one?

My hometown!

Made by Allied Medal Displays.

I ran for a cupcake today

2011-10-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to Jess!

The WeROKC

(Women Runners of King County, organized by MomVsMarathon's Kerrie T)

group mobilized early this morning, in the DARK, to

RUN FOR CUPCAKES!

AvgWoman, Foil-wrapped Runner, K, Zoe

this one includes Kerrie!

It's been a long time since I have had the pleasure of running with these ladies and longer since I ran on the Cedar River Trail. The best surprise this morning was seeing ZOE, recently returned from China.

It was a WET one, not the usual drizzle that Seattle is famous for, but the pouring rain that makes it pointless to even think about staying dry. Heading out, we were a dark mass with beaming headlamps. Strange enough, we encountered another group of 4 or 5 women coming toward us on the trail, in the dark (they didn't have headlamps!). We weren't the ONLY crazy ones out this morning?

The rain subsided a bit as we finished and allowed us to snap a couple photos and munch a cupcake. I had made applesauce spice muffins (why do my muffins stick to the paper?!) for treats, too.

Good luck to 'K' who is running Marine Corps Marathon next weekend & good luck to anyone else racing this weekend!

Streaking

2011-10-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

Not THIS kind of streaking:

and believe it or not, not this kind either:

United States Running Streak Association

More like work-too-many-days-in-a-row kind:

Too much work!!

I'm ready for a day off. So I can RUN again! As I overcome this injury, I have a few races in mind that I'm excited about. I want to test my legs again! Maybe even a little Pumpkin Push 5k in two weeks?

You know what's REALLY getting me through this crazy work rush?

Thoughts of this upcoming HALF MARATHON (Jan. 22, 2012) for which I am now registered:

Oh yeah, Baby!

And I have THIS lovely lady to thank for the idea of going to Maui in January and running this race:

KIM @ (Just) Trying is for Little Girls

I think I'm the only native Washingtonian who has never been to Hawaii. SO looking forward to this race AND especially looking forward to TRAINING for this race!

What? I'm not Wonderwoman?

2011-10-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

UNCLE.

I THOUGHT I could do it all, but sometimes something has to give. (I spent my childhood wishing I could be as amazing as Lynda Carter - little-known fact about the Average Woman Runner.)

Click here to purchase at Easyart.com

My hubs has been traveling, work is INTENSE and requiring me to put in extra hours at all hours & days, and I just didn't have time last week for me. At all. I ran Monday (felt great!) knowing it might be my one run all week due to limited child care while hubs was away + busy work, and sure enough, that's all I got.

Today, I got to sneak another run in and it felt SO GOOD after being sedentary all week. I didn't even bike to work last week, I was so pressed for time and worn out! ACK! Well, I'm hoping that today's new POST-INJURY run record (50 minutes, yo!) helped keep my ass from becoming chair shaped...for a couple more days anyway.

I have a HUGE report due Friday so the end is in sight but it's not going to be pretty.

Right now, I'm squeezing a few minutes in to blog as I wait for some risk calculations to come in. I'm at a road block on my work progress so I wait...

and try not to sweat about work...

but the clock is ticking...

and this is when I need the physical sweat the most: To force me to take deep breaths!

That's how it always goes, right?

I've been meaning to write about how this bizarro-Furman FIRST training thing has been but I've really only completed one week so far. The week before last, I ran easy for my cross-training days and then did my weekly 3-mile tempo on my bike by chugging really hard for 25 minutes, as an equivalent workout.

Then, my "track workout" of 6 x 400m (I cut it down from 8 reps due to time limitation) was done on the elliptical. WTH IS that thing? I kept wanting to pick my feet up, which would then cause me to hit the (moving) footbed and it was all I could do to keep from falling off. And the arm thingys? Forget it.

Anyway, I had a target pace for the 400m repeats so I just went ALL OUT for 1:51 and then took the standard 90-sec rest interval as some "easy ellipticizing." It definitely got my heart rate up so I'm hoping it builds the cardio strength I need when I get back to the regular Furman program. Just not sure about the leg strength improvement.

As soon as I get through this work crunch, I'll get back to training, which includes runs up to 50 minutes now (woot!) and other big, running-related news to share...

BTW - For a little news post-Paula Radcliffe's meeting with the IAAF on 10/12, read HERE.

Portland Marathon (spectator report)

2011-10-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

This was the race that wasn't for me:

Not this year.

But my husband and I drove down to Portland yesterday anyway to cheer on our friend, A, who was running Portland as his first ever marathon. A & his wife, E, moved out to Seattle from Indy this summer. Before they moved back out West, I had visited them in Indy and ran the Indy Mini Marathon with A in May. Well, A & I were supposed to train together this summer for Portland but I kinda screwed that one up.

Anyway, we went down to cheer A on and it was AWESOME!

Menu @ Bailey's Tap Room

Cascade Imperial Amber (Portland, OR) and Double Mountain Killer Green Fresh Hop IPA (Hood River, OR) were my favorites.

Aside from getting to enjoy many, many (like 16?) of Oregon's celebrated microbrews at Bailey's (try their sampler platter), eat warm cookies from the DoubleTree Inn, and ride the Max, we got to see A (and a pile of other runners) at miles 11, 19.5, and 26.

Go A!

E & A at the finish. Finishers received an additional finisher's shirt, gold bling medal, 40th anniversary medal, a rose, and a Douglas Fir sapling.

I ended up running miles 19.5 - 23 with A and really enjoyed getting to be a very small part of his big marathon experience. It was so emotional watching all the runners on the course, especially at this most challenging portion outside of the downtown core. I was really fighting back the tears at the finish, watching people come down that last chute.

*sigh*

And it makes me so inspired to train and hungry to race!

Notable sights:

two guys running completely barefoot
Pacific Islander-style guy running with a green headdress, wrist thingys, and loincloth (and he had nice buns, yes)
guy I went to college with who I always knew to collect psyilly mushrooms and travel to Ecuador to chill in the jungle with the curanderos (yes, interesting)
guy completely garbed in British flags
beautiful views of downtown Portland from the "other" side of the river (I can never get my directions straight in that town)
two women crossing the finish together, holding hands, who reminded me of Kerrie and Zoe (totally choked me up)
one turquoise sparkle skirt (woot!)
too many bicyclists WITHOUT helmets (what's UP with that PDX? y'all are dense about this one!)
more cute running skirts than I could count
thousands of proud faces

Congratulations to A, Carla (I had hoped to see her but did not), Kristen, and everyone else who ran in Portland, Long Beach, and Chicago this weekend!

We're sad (que descansa en paz)

2011-10-05T22:32:00.001-07:00

Dear IAAF...

2011-10-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

From: averagewomanrunner@gmail.com

Subject: Restore Paula Radcliffe's Marathon World Record

Date: October 3, 2011 3:46:07 PM PDT

To: info@iaaf.org

HISTORY STANDS.

She earned her finish times using her own body and mind. Having men run alongside or in her vicinity does not change the fact that she ran the fastest 26.2 miles in the world for women. Having fast people in the race can push others to run their best, regardless of gender. The logic behind the new rules is weak and does not create for fair play. The rules should be gender blind. A race ran, is a race ran.

This isn't just about Paula. You are sending a message to ALL women that our accomplishments are nothing if achieved in the company of men. It's belittling and sexist. When your wife, daughter, sister, mother, or female friend comes home from a co-ed race triumphant with a personal best, will you remind her that her time is invalid because she couldn't possibly have made the mark without the men in the field?

The new rules are rubbish. They leave one to think that someone in the IAAF is afraid of women.

The Average Woman Runner
Seattle, WA

USA

Try again: Furman FIRST 10k training starts tomorrow!

2011-10-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, we are not quite 100% back to good health but we're close. Close enough for me to get moving'.

After a delay last week in beginning the Furman FIRST 10k training program (altered for my gimpyness), I'm excited to get back to it. Week 1 listed here (just ignore dates):

But tomorrow is a run day, which means...I'll just run as my cross training and lift some weights. As I mentioned previously, I'll be doing my speed work on the elliptical, bike, or pool. I know, sounds dumb. But until I can get the all-clear for more explosive motions, this is how it is. It will at least get my heart rate up & give me a focus!

In other news...

Has anyone else fallen prey to the daily deals at Skirt Sports? Oy. I have a happy hour skirt AND running dress headed my way. Can't wait to wear, though it's cooling off here so I may not have many chances to wear them outside the gym until an upcoming beach vacation in January (more on that later).

and

ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL PORTLAND MARATHON! Who is running besides Carla (Foil-wrapped Runner) and Kristin (Running with Runner Girl)? I'll be there cheering on my training partner (who had to train alone all summer, dang). I'd love to cheer on other folks - let me know if you're running!

Get in mah belleh!

2011-09-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

The summer harvests coming in and fall weather approaching triggers the "Cook-In-Massive-Quantities-Then-Freeze" behavior in this house. Despite the 70+ lbs of salmon, crab, chicken, and other goodies in our freezer, we're finding room for more...

Pride & joy of the Pacific Northwest: Salmon! Delicious & nutritious.


So beautiful & fun to watch as they head up the fish ladder @ Issaquah Hatchery

Tangy sweet tomatillos are in season & made for a delicious giant vat of roasted tom. enchilada sauce (Thank you Rick Bayless for your incredible recipes). Froze a couple batches for winter consumption. This will definitely keep us warm in December.

Also, blueberries & peaches are rolling in by the pound. Two loaves of whole wheat blueberry maple braid bread made and not yet disappeared. Been baking a lot of breads lately. Not sure why. It's so strange to bake things that don't require sugar.

Cooked up giant vat of Dungeness crab bisque (we caught the crab outside Port Townsend, WA), which has my favorite wild rice that I order every year from Minnesota HERE. Their whipped hazelnut honey is amazing. Again, couple mini vats stored in the freezer will be TASTY this winter. This week, we're slurping it up with home made herbed whole wheat bread.

This weekend I hope to see if I can get some end-of-summer tomatoes and cook up some marinara sauce to freeze. All the peaches have ended up in my smoothies so none of those for the freezer.

What do you stock up on, if anything?

Any good tips for hoarding summer to savor later in the winter?

10k training delayed by the croup

2011-09-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

Who ever heard of croup? Not me (until today). Apparently it's laryngitis for tots, is not uncommon to see in them at this time of year, and can land you in the hospital the morning you are supposed to start your 10k training.

Despite how much I obsess about training, there are things more important than running and Baby F trumps all. When Baby F woke up at 5 a.m. today with bluish lips and panicking because he couldn't breathe well, we rushed him to Children's Hospital here in Seattle. After several doses of racemic epinephrine and some steroids, his breathing is easier. As I write, he is sleeping quite soundly.

We should be released from the hospital tomorrow morning but I'll be busy watching our little guy like a hawk once we get home. So, I will not be starting training this week but should be able to get it going next week. Also, we will be canceling our weekend getaway to La Jolla. So sad because we were all looking forward to some SoCal goodness: sun, sand, friends...sun. We should be able to reschedule for later this month?

Silver lining of staying at the hospital:
Our room has a view of the new wing being constructed here. This means we had excavator, crane (Cranky), front end loader, and dump truck action ALL DAY LONG. It was a 2-year old's dream. The only thing that would have made it better is if a helicopter had landed in the middle of it all OR if a Thomas the Steam Engine had cruised through.

Before I sign off & get some sleep on the sofa-bed...

Congratulations to Anne who triumphed in her first marathon and to Megan, our local Oiselle athlete, who competed in her first Olympic distance triathlon this past weekend. Nice job ladies!

Salvaging the Master Plan for 2011 (10k training plan)

2011-09-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

The salvage of the Master Plan for 2011 is in progress but the training will begin next week (finally!) and the first three weeks will include these [adulterated] workouts:

The rehab running is coming along but as I mentioned a little while ago, I've been trying to claw my way out of purgatory. When I was first injured, my PT thought I'd be able to train again after 12 weeks. Well, I'm at 12 weeks and I still have pain after running. It's discouraging. It makes me wonder when I'll be able to run carefree again?

The problem is...I gotta train or I'm going to freak out. So here's the deal:

I'm going to bite off what I HOPE is a more manageable portion...a 10k. I've been deliberating between a 5k and 10k and am going to err on the side of optimism. I am hopeful that taking on the 10k program will be feasible and also provide a safe transition to half marathon training at the end of the year (or sooner?).

There will be no marathon training in my future, not for at least a couple years.

But wait! How can I train when I'm still having pain after running? I'm going to try something a little different.

Nope, I'm NOT giving up on the Furman FIRST / Run Less, Run Faster program. I'm DEFINITELY going to use their 10k training program because I LOVE the workouts, the structure, and the results.

The Furman FIRST program is based on THREE focused runs: a tempo run, intervals, and long run, which are supplemented by TWO or more cross-training days. I really can't take on speed work at this point, so this is where the adulteration takes place:

Instead of swimming/biking on the two+ cross training days, I will do my easy rehab running. Running will be my cross-training!

Instead of hitting the track and roads for my running speed work, I'll use my typical cross-training activities for speed. I won't really be able to go by distance, just by time. So, a 10 x 400m track workout with a goal of 1:39 per repeat could become a hard swim effort of 10 x 1:39.

Getting my heart rate up for equivalent run-time periods seems like a good second to running and also gives me a focus to keep from going mad. My hope is that sometime during the 10k program, I'll be able to switch it back to normal and start actually RUNNING the key runs.

If I plan for a 12-week program, the Santa Runs Tacoma 10k on December 17th (recap of the 5k last year) falls within my .

Thismakes me feel much relieved to have something to focus on. I don't know how itwill work out, but I'll give these first three weeks a try and thenre-evaluate.

You Go Girl Half/10k photolog (spectator report)

2011-09-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's been a year? In 2010, this race brought us team "Will Run for Ice Cream" and Becca, L, and T, among other out-of-staters.

Last year, it was T's big race to break 2:00 in the half. This year, Kerrie SMASHED her goal of breaking 2:00 (1:52).
Last year, this was the midlife crisis mama's FIRST half. Many half & Half Fanatic status later, she returned a veteran.
Last year, this was little Al's first ever 10k. She & Kadie came back again as a super mother-daughter duo.
Last year, I ran the 10k but am not ready to run 6.2 mi right now so I went down and spectated with the Adorable Wife. Lots of fantastic ladies to cheer on today!

2012 Team Will Run for Ice Cream

Pre-race caffination

Mel, Kerrie, Kim

Stacie & Adorable Wife

Kadie & Al

Go Kerrie!

Mel & Kim

Jill & Carla

On her way to a PR!

Comin' down fast

I want Carla's skirt...

Jill, wearing her hair special for Mel

Kim flying to the finish

Carla finishing her 2nd You GO Girl Half

Finished!

Plea from purgatory

2011-09-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. They got rid of purgatory decades ago during Vatican II. However, they clearly did NOT consult with the Running Goddess when they made that decision because I am very much stuck in a purgatory right now.

Ever since I got the green light to run, I've been in a funk. I was so motivated with my cross-training while in re-hab and then I started running, thinking I had "made it," but then I gradually stopped cross-training. But I'm not really running either. I'm running but not able to train.

HELL: The calf is sore after my runs so I feel like I have to be very cautious and I feel like I can get re-injured in a heartbeat.

HEAVEN: On the other hand, I've had some fantastic, intense runs that make me feel alive again.

I just bounce back & forth between the two extremes.

Running but not training. It's a purgatorial suckhouse.

People tell me to "just relax, just enjoy running for the sake of running!" I try. I can't. Really, I don't want to just run to run. Why?

I'M HUNGRY!

I was so primed and ready to rock when I got injured, I have all this pent up FIRE. I have UNFINISHED BUSINESS!

I STILL GOT MY BUSINESS SOCKS ON!

and they won't come off. I was on my way to finishing my first marathon with a kick-ass time. I was supposed to be training for Portland Marathon (3 weeks away) all summer with my friend and TODAY WOULD HAVE BEEN my last 20-miler before the big taper. But none of that came to be. My dream reality that wasn't.

Purgatory madness.

Don't worry, I'm working on a plan. I'm going to claw my way out of limbo. It's not what the Master Plan for 2011 was going to be, but I think it will make the most of what I have left of 2011.

Stay tuned.

************************************************************************************

And in case anyone is curious...the GIANT zucchini that made the bike commute home with me yielded 9 cups of finely shredded zucchini. That's a LOT but I was ready for the challenge of using every bit. Those 9 cups were used up in 1 day:

2 big loaves of zucchini bread with walnuts
Quadruple batch of sweet potato veggie patties (froze, saving as snacks for the little guy)
Double batch of zucchini pancakes. THESE were bomb. Served with herbs and parm cheese. Heaven.

This weekend, I've set myself up for another round of "cooking in vats" by purchasing an insane amount of tomatillos. More on that later.

Tri training raises your bowling score! (interview with a first timer)

2011-09-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

So says the Recreational Mathematician.

Competitive side coming out, "On your left!"

I met the Recreational Mathematician back in 2006 through the Club Emerald running club. Despite being separated by several age groups and representing the opposite sexes, our paces were well matched so we had some good runs together. At that time, the Recreational Mathematician was new to running. After running early morning tempos, track repeats, hill repeats, and long runs with the club, Mr. Mathematician rocked his first half in 2:02 (Seattle Half Marathon 2007). This was a guy who never considered himself an athlete.

Fast forward four years. This former risk analyst and lover of Number Theory (integer delight!) decided in February of this year to sign up with Club Emerald's tri training team. What motivated this guy to tear himself away from his whole numbers? Maybe a love for analyzing training statistics? The Recreational Mathematician says he:

Needed a challenge (he was recently retired).
Wanted to lose weight and get in shape.

Fortunately for him, he has a saintly wife who has been willing to tolerate the time consuming training schedule and piles of stinky laundry as this guy has literally trained his butt off. He lost 30 pounds in 4 months! The Recreational Mathematician says the weight loss has definitely improved his running. Tri training has also improved his bowling game! Who knew? Any other bowlers out there who have raised their scores after gaining strength and flexibility from tri training?

Sadly, tri training spoiled the Recreational Mathematician's "A" streak. He got his first "B" in a math class. Ever. You see, this new retiree was taking an Elementary Number Theory class at the University of Washington for fun. He found that attending intense lectures and concentrating on numbers for hours was challenging when he had already burned up his energy during his morning brick workout! Nuts!

Club Emerald swim training

The Recreational Mathematician's training updates on DailyMile were an inspiration to see - at least one brick workout a week (a first for him), 6 a.m. swims in the cold Lake Washington waters (another first), yoga (another first), spin class (yet another first), and runs galore. Mr. Mathematician says he was easily completing 10 workouts over 6 days for the past 6 months.

In mid-August the Recreational Mathematician completed his first triathlon. He says he has a great sense of accomplishment for 1) getting out of the lake, and 2) being able to do it all. And less than a month later, he completed yet another triathlon!

Yes, I did it! The swim was by far the most challenging leg.

The Recreational Mathematician shared a comforting revelation about tri training: EVERYBODY struggles. Regardless of what level you are at, from the back-of-the-packer to the team hot shot, tri training is tough. Thankfully, the team is there to keep you going and help you work through those rough spots.

After tackling his first and second ever triathlons, the Recreational Mathematician offers the following thoughts about his triathlon experience:

Being part of a team is great support: structured workouts, friendly competition, and camaraderie.
Buyers remorse: He wishes he had known more about bike gear before he purchased everything.
The work load will be more than you think for a sprint tri BUT anyone can do it with some good training.
Triathletes are nice people. They will stop to help you change a flat or give you a pep talk before you take that first plunge into the water.
He has a competitive streak that he didn't know was there (seeing guys in his age group ahead of him pushed him to take the lead out and pick them off).
Everyone will have different goals (I think this means you shouldn't compare yourself to others, no?).
If possible, try to pick up these sports at an earlier age (<55+ yrs).

So what is next for this number theorist?

Half iron? (the swim was definitely his most difficult so an Olympic distance tri is a logical next step but considering the half iron swim is only slightly longer, why not go for it?!)
Duathlons?
PR in the half? (he wants to earn a sub-1:45 in the near future, previous best of 1:50)
Marathon? (if he runs a 1:44, he can qualify for NYC!)
Distance cycling events?

This not-so-average male runner is an inspiration to all first-timers, of all ages.

Check out Sarah and Amy who also were new to swimming, biking, and running when they took on their first triathlons.

Minimalist Mondays in PDX

2011-09-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Dr. PT sent me a link today about "Minimalist Mondays" that his clinic hosts...in Portland. Drat! Anyway, for folks down there with time to run at noon this may be something to look into.

For those of us who are NOT in Portland but are interested in minimalist running, you can see the session re-caps on their website HERE. They post exercises and tips on how to take on this natural way of running.

I've been really discouraged lately with my running which makes no sense at all. I went 7 weeks with a blown calf and was impressively committed (in my opinion!) to maintaining my fitness with cross-training in addition to diligently working on my physical therapy exercises. Well, now that I have the green light to run 30 minutes every other day, I'm really struggling. I feel good when I'm running but I'm missing some days! Also, I have all but stopped with my biking and swimming (burn out?) with the exception of my short bike commute to work, I am tired all the time (no, I'm not pregnant), my calf is aching from my PT session massages, and I'm putting on weight.

Humph.

This past Thursday, (oh wait, that was only yesterday?) was supposed to be a run day but my calf was super achy so I didn't run (or do anything else). Today my calf is still throbbing by maybe it just needs some blood circulation from a good run...I hope it's in the cards?

Why, after all my time on the DL am I flaking on the running? Perhaps it's because I'm aimless, don't have a finish to my Master Plan for 2011?

It's difficult to figure out how to pull something good out of the rest of 2011 with so little time to train. I had been thinking of pushing for a half at the end of the year but am wondering if I should be conservative and downgrade to training for a 5k? That would mean more speedwork but likely lower mileage. At this point, I'm not sure if long, slow distance or short, faster distance is the safer bet.

Any thoughts?

Zucch THIS!

2011-09-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the great ideas on GIANT zucchini usage! For everyone with overgrown gardens, here are some tips:

1. Grilled zucchini pizza

2. The BEST zucchini fritters EVAH

3. No-noodle zucchini lasagna

4. Zucchini chocolate brownies. Mmmm!

(Thanks Allrecipes.com)

I actually have a recipe I like where I grate zucchini and yam (dewater), add some seasonings, egg, cornmeal, then pat into little cakes, pan fry or broil, and they become delicious little fritters that I give to the little man as snacks. They keep well in the freezer so you can make them in bulk and use as needed. Quite yummy, healthy, and handy.

Alki Beach, West Seattle

Today was a run day for me, so the little man and I kicked off the long weekend with a run at Alki Beach and some sand time. Ten kickin' sights included:

A Great Dane whose fur was like a Holstein (black & white spots) - he left major slime on little man's leg
Three guys filming a rap video (boiiiii!)
Stroller Striders group out exercising (will someone pay me to help them workout with their babe & stroller?)
Two paddle boarders
Seal
Backhoe loader (always a delight)
Two garbage trucks and one compost truck (flashing lights!)
Two KIRO newsmen looking for people who were at the mini Statue of Liberty on Alki Beach on 9/11. [I said no. Should have told them that instead, I was at the CDC in Atlanta attending a DOD conference on mustard gas. Odd but true. Ended up driving back to Seattle from Atlanta with my client when all the flights were cancelled.]
Three Bainbridge ferry boats and two West Seattle taxi boats
The cutest little guy EVER:

With that, we're off to the mountains for the next few days. Hopefully I'll get to hike a little, play in the river, and push my next run up to 30 minutes!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend everyone!

Fruits of labor

2011-08-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

A co-worker hasn't been keeping up with his veggies lately so he brought in the most beautiful chard I've ever seen, tomatoes on the vine, and...

Giant zucchini!

Happy to report:

Zucchini did not fall off rack during ride home.
I didn't bike into any parked cars today.
I decided not to baby the calf and did not walk my bike up the hill home - and calf feels fine!

Suggestions for what to do with a giant zucch? There are plenty more at the office to schlep home. Casserole? Bread? Looking for recipe recommendations.

Upon arriving home, the little man and I picked up the mail. I was quite surprised to find...

Rock Encore: RNR NOLA & Seattle.

Next up will be the Triple Crown after completing RNR Las Vegas!

LOVE these guys

2011-08-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

And they're coming to Seattle in October. CAN'T WAIT!

Listen to the whole album and your butt will shake to the rhythms. Then you'll want to add them to your running playlist. And you'll find you burn more calories and you'll run with a smile on your face.

NUUN HTC Bloggy Encounter

2011-08-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

NUUN's Hood to Coast Relay Teams: NUUN Platoon & AfterNUUN Delight are heading out Friday morning to begin the relay of all relays: HOOD TO COAST.

Today, bloggers from all corners of the U.S. flew into Seattle to prepare for their weekend adventure. Lucky for me, Average A sent me a text - She, LB, and Susan were downtown. They ditched their bags in my office & then we headed up to the market:

Average A & A

Unfortunately, my photo of the four of us in front of the first Starbucks (at the market) didn't turn out. After a bit, I had to go back to work. Shirk work!

A conference and some database work later, the ladies came back for the bags and brought a couple more friends with them, the lovely Ironwoman Emily and XLMIC.

I'm so excited for these ladies! Hood to Coast is SO much fun (I was on two different corporate teams in 1993, 2006 and LOVED LOVED LOVED it). A co-worker taught me how to use Twitter today so I'll be following these lovely ladies as they cruise from the top of Mt. Hood down to the cool Seaside coast.

Back in the Emerald City, I'll be celebrating my graduation from 15 minute to 25 minute runs (every other day) - THANK YOU Brian @ Madison Park TAI!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Slacker update

2011-08-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

I've been lame about posting lately but things have just been busy here at home, at the gym, and at work.

I'm keeping up with blogs, reading but not commenting much, and am really excited about the NUUN HTC relays this weekend. Someone tell me how to use Twitter so I can follow the happenings?

Overall, things are going well. I'm up to 15 minutes of running every other day. Tomorrow morning (7:20 a.m., baby!) I have PT and am hoping to graduate to 20 minute runs.

I'm lifting and getting stronger in my arms but I don't feel any improvement in my core. I'm convinced that Baby F just destroyed my core forever. Little twerp.

Today was my first bike commute since June, yes!, but had to walk my bike up the hill home because my calf was complaining. I really don't want to risk re-injury so I'll take it easy on the hills for a while. It felt so good to zip to work this morning instead of take the light rail.

In other news...

I'm planning a Vegas bachelorette party in December, which culminates in the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half Marathon run! I wonder...how can their website claim that they're the biggest night-time running event when this is going to be their first night-time event? How do they know? I'm curious about who will be performing this year. I am secretly hoping for another Bret Michaels show. H.O.T.

Reading "Racing Weight" and developing a strategy to improve my body composition. My goal: Get down 8 lbs by Thanksgiving and < 20% body fat. It's pretty ambitious since I can't train that hard right now but I'll give it a go and see how I do. Any improvement is welcome and will make me faster. It's a bit arbitrary since I don't have any races to get lean for other than Seattle Half Marathon and I really don't even know if I have time to finish rehab/recovery and train for that. What I need is a late December/early January race but there aren't any around here at that yucky time of year.

Please don't make me sacrifice the good stuff!

More on the "Get me lean" plan later.
Until then, I gotta hit the sack to rest up for PT tomorrow.

GO TEAM NUUN PLATOON & AFTERNUUN DELIGHT!

Daily Sweat

2011-08-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU MEGAN @ DAILY SWEAT & THANKS TO OISELLE!

Megan is an Oiselle-sponsored athlete and recently gave me this super-soft and hip t-shirt. Check out Oiselle's site for more t's and cute running gear. Use the code RUNTODAY to get 10% off your first order.

Born + Raced in WA

Triple Crown

2011-08-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm up to running 10 minutes every other day, after tomorrow I can bump it up to 15 minutes every other day. I'm still not sure what this means about training for an actual race but I was checking the calendar and it's looking like I might be able to squeeze an "A" race in at the very end of December or in early January.

The only catch is that there aren't any local races (half marathons) in late December or early January. Drat.

Oh, but wait! I just bought an airplane ticket today to attend my girlfriend's bachelorette party in

LAS VEGAS on December 3 - 5.

(I may have had some influence over which dates we went down for the party.)

You know what that means?

Third RNR event in 2011 gets me the Triple Crown, baby!

Don't worry, I'm not crazy enough to think this will be a "race" race on the Sunday night of a bachelorette party weekend. It will be fun though, and a good opportunity to purify the system before heading home.

In the meantime, I'm trying to convince other members of the party to stick around for the race. Wishful thinking?

Communities within a community

2011-08-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

We are one big running community and within that, we are many communities. This even more apparent to me now that I've entered the blogosphere. I wonder though, which communities do you consider yourself to be a part of?

A couple weeks ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Determined to Be Fit, which included mention in THIS race re-cap post of a group called Black Girls Run. According to the website:

The mission of Black Girls RUN! is to encourage African-American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority.

It got me thinking about how sometimes I'm at a race and I get excited when I see a Latina. Not so much Latinos, but definitely Latinas. Sorry, I'm all about the girl power. How cool is that, to have this group, Black Girls Run, encouraging black women to get out and run, be healthy, and support each other?

In the Seattle area, you are much more likely to see Latinos and some other non-white groups (e.g., Asian American, Pacific Islander) running than African Americans but for the most part, we're a fairly homogenous running community in Seattle (white-looking, but not just due to the lack of sun). It's just the demographics of the area, I guess? I'm white but also a Mexican-American or Chicana, which is 1970's talk for someone of Mexican descent but a U.S. citizen. I'm a mix, I'm a mutt, a I'm a mixed-nut. Which makes me...just American I guess.

Anyway, I still can't help but get excited when I see people, especially young women, who appear to be Latinas. It's not always evident by just looking at someone (duh) but I still have to admit that it makes me feel encouraged for women and non-white women especially. Is that superficial?

Young women all around struggle with self esteem, weight, education, and many other social and economic issues and it's so uplifting to see WOMEN of all backgrounds out there pushing themselves.

Do any of you belong to groups that provide support to under-represented groups in health & fitness or otherwise? LBGT? Ethnic groups?

I'm curious what groups are out there and if anyone has heard of a running group that focuses on getting young Latinas together to encourage and celebrate health & fitness?

Non-running streak is OVER!

2011-08-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

Dr. Brian said he could see the smile on my face while standing behind me as I ran on his treadmill today. It was THAT big.

Today WOULD HAVE BEEN my 47th non-running day.

I got 1 mile in on the treadmill and felt fine! Rx for this coming week includes some awesome new strength moves I'll share later and 10 minutes of running every other day as long as I have no pain.

AND... (it gets better)

I get to resume my bicycle commute to work which I've really been missing because it's such a great way to start a work day, zipping through town.

WOOHOO! I'm alive again!

Hands in the air, back AWAY from the salt!

2011-08-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

A while back, I listed off a few podcasts that I enjoy as well as a few that y'all recommended (HERE). Well, I had backed off on listening to most running-related podcasts because frankly, all those podcasts were depressing me. Just a constant reminder that I CAN'T RUN. It's been 45 days, folks.

Well, I'm back to listening because I'm thinking my calf is doing better and I'm HOPING (praying) that I get the green light to start (walk)jogging soon - or at least get clearance to ellipticize. That's ALMOST running, right?

Anyway, last night on Ben Greenfield Fitness, I heard an interesting interview with a South African expert on hydration, Dr. Tim Noakes. Dr. Noakes claimed that the fitness drink industry has taken hold of our minds and brainwashed us all into thinking we will collapse without their products. The interview included an interesting summary of research on hydration in athletes, dating from pre-1950's to the present. In his decades of study, Dr. Noakes claims there is not a single study that indicates that we should be taking salt/sodium supplements during endurance events.

Whoa! Say what? He even went to far as to say that there is NO research that shows that we need to be drinking enough fluids during events that we minimize weight loss. Instead, he recommends only drinking for thirst and that weight loss is expected and perfectly fine.

For an interesting listen, check out this interview in Ben's Episode #157: The Death of Gatorade – Should You Stop Using Electrolytes During Exercise?
I guess no more excuses for potato chips now?

My favorite - FLIES!

2011-08-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

So I'm supposed to be doing a lot of balancing stuff for my physical therapy, including standing on one leg on one of these (doing it with eyes closed is the next step):

I was in the gym today, standing on one leg on the disc, listening to Missy Elliot, and thinking about how my arms were just along for a free ride. Laying at my side doin' nothin'.

Then...an "Aha!" moment. I found something to do with my arms while balancing. Enter these:

and some FLY ACTION! I wish I had a picture. They were brilliant!

Balancing on one leg on the disc, cranking out flies to Missy E.

This is definitely my new favorite move. You gotta try it!

And for those of you who've had a sweltering summer, this is what our cool summer in Seattle has led us to:

sweaters on trees, yes. your eyes don't deceive you.

35 min. strength training + PT exercise routine

2011-08-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Is it worth adding a lat row? Pull down? I'm thinking swimming covers a lot of the arm & back stuff?

What? No, it's o.k. you don't have to worry...I have no designs on becoming a graphic artist. Keeping my day job.

38 days since I last ran, but who's counting?