Screaming Expletives

That's what I was doing when I woke up 15 minutes ago.

I set the alarm for 5:30, and I got up to hit snooze. That's all I remember until Andy woke me up saying, "Babe! It's 6:45!" And then I screamed some bad words into my pillow and got up.

So what does this mean for me?
1. No running with the team. I could have raced around and sped to Vienna and been only about 20 minutes late, but that's a terrible way to start the morning and I would have worried about trying to catch up to everyone, which is the worst thing I can do on such a long run.
2. No water stops. I'm not sure how many they were going to have, but now I have to be pretty much self-reliant with the fluids. It worked out OK last weekend by stopping at CVS, but I'm not sure where my route will take me today.
3. On the plus side, I was going to use my iPod, which is frowned upon by TNT. So at least I don't have to hide it.
4. Another plus, I don't have to factor driving time into my schedule. I am going to be starting at least a half hour later, but I don't have to worry about driving home, so that should make up for the difference... plus I can stretch and relax in the AC without having to sit in my car for half an hour after my long run.

It's overcast, and it might rain. The high today is only supposed to be 85, and it's supposed to be cloudy the entire time I'm running. This is AWESOME.

I can do this. Who cares that I won't be with the team? I CAN DO THIS. 16 miles, here I come. For grandma. And for me.

Visualization

From our weekly coach's notes:

TRAINING TIP OF THE WEEK: VISUALIZATION

We have focused this season in large part on the physical side of training. Let’s turn now to a topic that’s equally important for endurance athletes; the “mental” aspect of training. Here are excerpts from a training tip that we’ve shared with our athletes in past seasons:

“We've all visualized ourselves doing something successful. It's a process that we start as children when we dream of winning a gold medal or a spelling bee. But the act of visualization is much more than just daydreaming—it's a powerful performance tool that we can use to help us in our day-to-day lives, including getting the most from a fitness regimen. If you are having a hard time seeing how you could look when you truly “transform your body,” you could use a little visualization to reinforce in the brain what the body is trying to achieve. Visualization is not simply a process of thinking about something (although that is a decent start); it's an organized process of mentally working through weaknesses and seeing improvement in order to make progress.

Visualization is also referred to as “guided imagery,” or the process of creating a scene in your mind of what you want to happen. An Olympic athlete will create images, like pictures or movies, that recreate their best performances or envision desired outcomes so that imagery becomes a “normal” part of the psyche. While imagining these scenarios, the athlete actually imagines every detail and the way it feels to perform the way they want. These images can be visual (images and pictures), kinesthetic (how the body may feel), or auditory (creating sound triggers to stimulate repetitive performance). Using the mind, an athlete can call up these images over and over, enhancing skills through repetition or rehearsal, similar to physical practice. With mental rehearsal, minds and bodies become trained to actually perform the skill imagined. A layperson would apply the exact same techniques to improve on push-ups, yoga positions, finishing a desired number of repetitions, or just about anything. Such repeated imagery can build both mental experience and confidence in one's ability to perform certain skills or achieve a certain outcome.”

Here are several steps to help you begin to visualize like the pros:

• Visualize with as many of your senses as possible. Try to re-create as many feelings and muscular stimuli with each visualization as you can.
• Visualize as many times during the day as possible; when you get up, before training, after training, and always before you fall asleep.
• Visualize all the various situations that you will be facing. See the challenges and opportunities.
• Visualize those situations that are the most difficult for you. It is important that the images you create are as perfect as possible. Include as much of the physical feeling of doing these techniques as you can.
• Repeat each image in your mind as many times as possible. Utilize every opportunity to reinforce neuromuscular patterning.

Supposedly this really works—we'll see... :)

The Other Business

So on the MCM website, I encountered an interesting tidbit:

EXPERIENCE THE BROOKS VIP PORTA POTTY
Any runner wearing Brooks MCM 2009 apparel or Brooks shoes on race day earns the special privilege of using the Brooks VIP Porta Potty. Luxuries you’ll enjoy inside the Brooks VIP Porta Potty include flusing toilets, partitioned stalls, climate control, fragrance dispenser, hot and cold water, auto shut-off faucets and even an oak vanity and mirror. Download the location map of the Brooks VIP Porta Potty.

Fascinating. My current shoes are Brooks.

Busy-ness

I've been crazy-busy this week... our annual convention is coming up in 2 weeks, and I'll be flying to Oklahoma City (yay) to work 15-hour days for 5 days, then spend a day flying and go back to work the next day. But before that, we have to get everything ready to ship out on Monday—it's much cheaper to have a freight shipment take its sweet time and drive across country than it is to FedEx or UPS a bazillion boxes, even at ground rates.

Since I'm in charge of everything that's printed, I am usually the last link in a long chain for every piece that needs to be made. Which sucks, because the chain consists of many links, each one feeling as though there is all the time in the world—I mean, it's 2 weeks away, right? So I have to put pressure on my coworkers, and they have to try to convey the urgency to people who are miles and miles away and are busy with their own work. Ahhhh, the life.

Anyway, I'm busy getting all of these things done at what feels like the last minute. It's all under control, but every minute of my work day is full (and then some). Tuesday I did my run after work, which lasted until around 7, then went home and ate dinner at 9, and went to sleep at 11. It was a weird, sluggish run, my legs were aching and I just felt like I was running through quicksand.

I have to mention that I have a cold; Andy had it first, and now I'm a couple of days behind with it. Today is the worst day so far, I'm kind of achy and just feel crappy in general. Not to mention feminine issues (sorry gents) and today is the worst day of those cramps, too. So I'm just a big hot mess this week, and today seems to be culminating.

On my to do list outside of work:
• Write thank you notes to people who have donated recently. They are stamped and addressed, but I've been carrying them around for a week and haven't written them.
• Clean our house—we're having a party Saturday. After my 16 mile run. Yes, I'm serious.
• Plan the menu for the party.
• Pick up items to be borrowed from various friends: 2 blenders, a cooler, possibly a beach umbrella (it's a beach-themed party).
• Try to make some food ahead of time on Friday night.
• Get materials/pre-make food for a work party on Friday at lunch. Seriously considering purchasing something to bring.
• Make a fun playlist for the party (at home).
• Get plenty of rest Friday night for the run Saturday morning.
• DECIDE WHETHER TO RUN INSIDE OR OUTSIDE ON SATURDAY. This is the biggest concern I have right now, which is kind of silly considering all of the other things I have to do. Andy says I should run outside because I need the practice and it just isn't the same inside. He's right, but at the same time, I had SUCH a terrible run for the 14 miler that I am terrified of this run. I have psyched myself out of it, and I'm nervous about it. These are my concerns/worries/fears about it:

• HEAT. I am not meant to be out in the heat. If you've met me, you know that my skin is uber-white and not meant for sunshine fun beyond a certain point. Especially when extra exertion is required.
• WATER. At the 14 mile run, Team in Training ran out of water for the water stops. Yes, I carry my water belt, but it only gets you so far. So I get water and try to refill at the water stops, but it's kind of difficult when they run out. My entire second half of the 14 mile run was without water, except for one of the coaches coming by to hand out water bottles—to share. Way to plan.
• PACE. We all know that I am having major problems with pacing myself. Again, the 14 mile run started out way too fast, and I was spent by mile 9. The only way I know how to regulate this is to use my iPod because it can tell me how fast I'm going and I can judge whether I need to slow down or speed up. It is against the TNT rules to use headphone while running because you need to be aware of the trail and the other traffic. I understand this, but it's the only way. So I am considering sneaking it and doing my thing. I need it.
• TIME. This coincides with pace... I'm worried that it's going to take me forever. I was one of the last people to finish the 14 mile run, and I am NOT exaggerating. This is the opposite of a confidence booster. If it takes me 4 hours to do 14 miles, how can I finish the marathon in a reasonable time? I don't want them to reopen the bridge before I get across it. The pace time listed on the website is 14:00/mi—anything slower than that and they reopen the bridge, which is at mile 19 (So I have to do at least the first 19 miles in roughly 4.5 hours). And it would be extremely dangerous to try and run with traffic on it! Plus, they stop timing people at 3:30, so that's a maximum of 7.5 hours. In theory, if I could hold my pace I might be able to finish around 6 hours. That would be awesome by my standards!!!
  

Andy is a such good coach. He won't let me quit, even when I'm whining uncontrollably. And he keeps me from cheating myself, which sometimes I'm all too ready to do. So I guess I'm running outside on Saturday... there may be a party going on at my house while I nap. :)

Close Enough?

Well, as I often do when there is no set time and place to be, I procrastinated. Which is bad, because it only gets hotter... I didn't start until 10am! I couldn't do the run to Occoquan Park and back because I had planned on using the golf course path for about a mile where there wasn't sidewalk... and the golf course has a fence around it! So I altered my route, and ended up not running all 10 miles. (I ran 7.) But take into account:

Weather when I started
Temp/Humidity: 77 degrees/84%
RealFeel Temperature: 85 degrees

Weather when I stopped
Temp Humidity: 81 degrees/76%
RealFeel Temperature: 90 degrees

Also, did you know that your body heats up much more on the inside than on the outside while excercising? (The linked article is very interesting, as are the comments on it.) There is something called the 20-degree rule (I could only find reference to it here although we've talked about it in training. What can I say, I'm lazy with the Googling today.) So if it was 85, after some excercising it felt like 105. And who knows what my internal organs felt like?

I'm getting closer and closer to the decision to run all 16 miles next weekend INDOORS on the treadmill. I get plenty hot, and it would be nice to a) not have the sun beating down on me; b) have plentiful amounts of water nearby, and c) movies to watch. :-D

Perchance to Dream

I overslept my 5:30 am alarm today, there was a major thunderstorm and one lightning strike had to be in our neighborhood... not to mention that I was randomly dreaming about plane crashes before that even started... and I went to bed with a bad headache... let's just say it wasn't a great night for sleep.

So, I didn't make it to the group run, and now I'm running on my own. Luckily it's only 10 miles... I could go to the gym, but I'm going to do it outside since it's still early and hopefully the 10 miles will get me back inside by 9:30 or so (if I hurry up and leave soon!). I'm going to run from my house to Occoquan Regional Park, which will involve a big hill right at the turnaround.

Fingers crossed that it stays fairly cool for a while!!! Otherwise I will wimp out and turn around and head to the gym.

Running Music

I am currently doing research for running music.

Saturday's run was TERRIBLE, in the most epic way... it was the Grapes of Wrath of my workouts so far. HOT HOT HOT so effing hot, and I don't do heat... plus I started out way too fast and just died. Of the 14 miles, I think I ran somewhere around 9 and then just walked verrrry slowly to the end. I started off in the middle to front of the pack, and ended up being one of the last people in. SUCK.

So I need to figure out how to pace; training inside on the treadmill cheats me in that respect because the treadmill paces for me. So... although it's "against the rules" I have decided that I really do need my iPod if I'm going to get through this thing.

I've looking at some websites that let you search for songs with similar beats per minute, but I haven't figured out what range I like yet. Right now I'm just looking at all kinds of recommendations from all kinds of people/blogs/websites and I'm going to check out the songs I've never heard and see if any are my speed. (Pun intended!)

Any and all recommendations are welcome! First person to leave a comment wins a prize. A lame prize, but a prize nonetheless... :)

Prevent Sore Shins From Running at Runner's World

Prevent Sore Shins From Running at Runner's World

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This week

Tuesday night, ran 3 miles at the cinema. They were showing "The Uninvited," of which I saw the last 10 minutes (which didn't make any sense to me at all) and then the first 45 minutes or so. I didn't want to leave! Not that it was that good, but I was wrapped up in the story, you know? The dangers of hitting the gym without the possibility of catching an entire movie. Plus, why show a scary movie? Once I almost jumped off the treadmill. :)

Last night was a good run, 4 solid miles just watching NCIS reruns. Still using the treadmill because it's so hot, but keeping it at the 1% incline to hopefully mimic the difficulty of running outside. We'll see. 14 miles tomorrow, and it's a hill workout... apparently there are no flat stretches but plenty of shade... Starting at 7am!

hottttt

Wow, it is hot! I'm glad I ran inside... I just spent a couple of hours scrubbing our patio (it was green) and I am completely soaked with sweat. I look like someone got me with the hose. Lovely, I know. :)

Recovery Run

I'm not sure I understand the "Recovery Run." It's supposed to be the day after your long run, and I have yet to do it on the Sunday that I am supposed to. But I have gone on bike rides on Sundays, so does that count?

I guess today is my "recovery run" even though it's Monday and I have to run again tomorrow. I'm feeling very productive though, because I got a lot done this weekend around the house, so I want to keep up this wave of energy and be sure I get into the gym while I'm enjoying it! :)

Here's a random photo, since I haven't posted anything but words for a while:

I can't believe that I'm going to be in the midst of all of these people... it kind of gives me an anxiety surge just looking at it!

I Heart the Treadmill

Mmmm so nice to run inside on the treadmill! I ran 7 miles at the cardio cinema yesterday (was supposed to do 8, but we had plans with friends so I had to hurry) in just at 90 minutes. This is a good thing! And, as a bonus, I got to see the last 1/3 and the first 1/3 (in that order) of "Fast and Furious."

The thing is, it really wasn't that bad.

OK it was kind of bad, but not like "Glitter" bad, more like the movies that you see on Saturday afternoon on TBS, and you're flipping through, and the movie isn't that good, but you're like, eh, what the hell, nothign else is on.

The point is that I did my 7 miles in the air conditioning, so I was still extremely hot and sweaty, but I could actually breathe because the humidity wasn't 98% like it is outside. :-p Welcome to August!

Return of the Run

Last night's run was verrry short. Not because I was out of breath or hurting, just because the week without running made me lazy already! So tonight I'm going to try a 5-miler on the treadmill and see if I can bring back the pace a bit... I think I'm going to the Cardio Cinema, so they better have something good playing...

So Many Updates...

... so little time to post the updates! A list will have to do:

• No run in San Francisco.
• Biked across the Golden Gate Bridge! Was about 5-6 miles total I think, up to the bridge and then across and down to Sausalito.
• SF is freaking HILLY and so with the walking and biking we did, I feel OK about not doing the run.
• Got X-rays, don't have stress fractures.
• The doctor told me I have to STOP WEARING HEELS!!! Life over. :(
• I am dying to run... and way behind on work. Trying to figure out how I can get a good run in, get some work done, and have dinner with my girls tonight.

Unrelated... just got back in touch with a good friend from high school, and found out that he is big into mountain biking! I would love the chance to have Andy meet him and have them ride together. :)

More later!!!