Training

The Best-Laid Plans

Today I begin marathon training.

There I go, throwing out the gauntlet. Using the m-word. I’m not sure if I’m actually going to run a marathon, but I’m going to start a marathon training cycle. Last year I had planned to run Grandma’s Marathon and had signed up for the free training emails. I had a strange, minor injury to my hip that wouldn’t go away and so I scrapped the idea. Plus I wasn’t really that dedicated to begin with. I saved the training emails for future use, and today’s the day to start the 18-week plan in order to sync the plan up with the race date (June 20th). So, I’m diving in with a 2 mile run this evening, as indicated on the plan. (Don’t worry, I had an unplanned rest day on Saturday because I felt gross.)

Why train for a marathon if I’m not sure I’m going to run it? I don’t know. It’s something to do. I do want to run marathons in the future, so I do want to give a training cycle a try. I’m just not sure I’ll be able to dedicate enough time to the long runs, due to homework. It will be warmer and lighter out later by the time many of those long runs come along, but I’ll also be in the thick of exams, projects, and general fatigue from yet another grinding semester as an engineering student, so I am going to have to play it by ear.

I have given myself til March 31st to decide if I’m going to enter, as the entry fee increases again on April 1st. I might have to extend that date and just eat the higher entrance fee, because the training time commitment increases quite a bit in the middle weeks of the program. I will have to see how the first 6 weeks go and how my body and my schedule handle the increased mileage.

A prescribed two mile run sounds like a great end to my day… at 8 pm. Today is the first day of the rest of my semester, I guess.

Priorities

I know that I complain a lot about being slow, and complaining is bad. However, being slow is a huge problem for me right now, logistically speaking.

I am not the best time manager, even in my most motivated periods. My attention span is pretty short, which is probably part of the reason I’m so bored on the treadmill. It also means I’m not very productive. I am trying to balance school, work, running, and slacking off watching television and farting around online. We’re also going through a cold snap up here (though it’s been much better overall than last winter, when the cold snap was approximately 6 months long!!), and I am still getting home when it’s dark out. Cold weather and darkness are two major motivation killers for me.

To relate this to running, I’m struggling with two major problems. On any given day, I either feel like I don’t have enough time to get in a significant run, or I run when I should be doing other things. Sometimes both!

Wednesday I got home around 6, knew I wanted to get a workout in, but also knew that I had a lab report I really needed to finish start. Ahem. Instead of starting in on one or the other, I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls and played a computer game to wind down. Oops. While vegging out, I thought about whether or not I could really get in a run (on the treadmill, of course). I really should have done an hour or so, and I realized I just didn’t have time to do that. For most people, an hour would be a nice medium-length run. With my current running strategy, it’s not even 4 miles. It’s hard to justify a shorter workout, because it seems so stupid to log a 1.8 mile run or whatever a half an hour workout ends up being. Since I had done another one of my patented double rest days (Sunday and Monday), I couldn’t skip another run without feeling a lot of feelings, so I convinced myself to do 35 minutes and then dive into my homework. On the plus side, I did get in over 2 miles, because I was able to hit a 15:39 average pace. (All my whining last week seems to have been premature.) Someday I would like a 30-minute workout to cover more than 3 miles. I dream big.

Sunday I skipped running altogether, which I regret, because I am not sure if I’ll be able to get outside this weekend. The high this Saturday is 2F, so I will not be going outside. Anyway, I also regret it because I didn’t work or do homework in place of running, so I might as well have gone out. Running outside takes up even more time than the treadmill. First, I have to get the motivation to get outside. That’s difficult, even when I’m strapped into my running shoes and ready to go. If I decide to go on a trail run, I have to drive there, which adds extra time. My outdoor workouts usually take longer, since I go farther and I also have terrain and elevation changes that slow me down. And then there’s the inevitable stop for a latte afterward, and then I get home and have the chills and don’t feel like doing anything and I feel tired.

I have to make better use of my time. There’s still going to be time in the day for watching TV, surfing the net, and other mindless activities. I just need to cut down on that time in order to get my work hours in, my homework done, and my running done. That means:

1. Accepting shorter runs might be all I can squeeze in, and running them without feeling like I haven’t done enough. Something is better than nothing.
2. Running on the treadmill even if I can run outside, if it’s cold and I’ve got a lot of work to do. I can’t risk that chilly, tired feeling afterward preventing me from getting any real work done.
3. Taking extra rest days if I need to get other stuff done. If I’m running instead of working, I’m going to miss that on my paycheck. If I’m scrambling to get homework done, stressed out and sleeping less, I’m not taking care of myself mentally or physically.
4. Cutting down the amount of time I spend gearing up to work out. I need to get into my spandex and get downstairs or outside, rather than toodling around wasting time trying to mentally prepare myself.

It’ll be warm soon, lighter out later, and hockey season will end, so I’ll have more time and fewer complications soon, but there could be six more weeks of crummy temperatures and there will be 12 more weeks of homework, so there won’t magically be hours and hours of free time on the horizon. Best to find some discipline and act like a grown up.

Patience

Ah, I love this song. I wish Axl wasn’t old and fat with a ruined voice. I saw him perform Welcome to the Jungle a few months ago on some show and he was out of breath and horrible.

Out of breath and horrible? Sounds like me.

I took both Monday and Tuesday as rest days this week. It was unplanned, but probably for the best. I hadn’t taken a rest day since the Friday I fell down the stairs, in an effort to turn Mondays into my scheduled rest day for the rest of the semester. I don’t plan on taking 9 days between rest days in the future. Tuesday I had too much homework to take an hour or so to work out. That was unfortunate because I like to work out the day after a rest day.

I like to work out the day after the rest day because I have more energy and I always expect to be about a minute faster than the dragging workout I suffer through right before the rest day. I don’t know why I expect it because it’s never true, but hope springs eternal.

Until recently, when I ran, I expected to get better every time I ran. I expected to “PR” each route every time I ran it. My logic was: I’m so slow and out of shape, every workout should come with fitness gains because my body isn’t used to it. This was obviously based on nothing. It also led to an ineffective way of training. My “easy” days were shorter distances and flatter routes. My “hard” days were longer distances and hillier routes. The effort level was the same: try to be faster than the last time out on the course. This doesn’t mean I was giving 100% effort on every run. I don’t think I’ve ever given 100% effort ever during an athletic activity, except when I was on a swim team. I gave 100% effort at meets, or at least 90%. That was long ago and far away.

Since I’m training based on my heart rate, I’m giving a similar effort (from a cardiovascular perspective) each run, so that hasn’t changed. However, the pace I can maintain at that heart rate varies from day to day, so some days are faster than others, but all days are slower than what I am capable of achieving.

At first, I made peace with this. Now I’m creeping back into that same old mindset again. I expect to be faster at the same heart rate. I expect that I should be starting to see some 15:xx times at the same heart rate. I did, finally, on Thursday (15:44 average pace for 45 minutes on the treadmill), but I was expecting it on Wednesday (which is stupid because I had a 16:02 average pace for an hour, so that’s still an improvement) and was bummed when I couldn’t get it.

I did have a mini-mental breakthrough when I reminded myself that on the treadmill, I can only adjust my pace in discrete intervals. When I bump up the pace one increment, from say 3.7 mph to 3.8 mph, that is an increase in pace of 26 seconds. A bump from 5 mph to 5.1 mph is only 14 seconds, and from 6 mph to 6.1 is only 10 seconds. A 26-second increase in pace is significant. Maybe I’m capable of maintaining 142 bpm at 3.85 mph; I can’t do that on the treadmill. What I can do is run a longer period at 3.9 before bumping it down to 3.8, but every time I hit the decrease pace button, it feels like a defeat.

That was a lot of feelings and frustration for one post, but translating those feelings and frustrations into words makes things more clear and more logical to me, and can help me move beyond them. I should probably bookmark this post for myself and revisit it from time to time when I’m getting impatient with my training plans. Alternatively, I can revisit GNR when I’m getting impatient and get the same message as this post. Woman, take it slow and it’ll work itself out fine.

On The Tundra

It was a little bit colder yesterday than I realized, until I was out on the street for a run.

First of all, the cold weather makes it nearly impossible to keep my heart rate down. If it’s in the 30s, or even the 20s with no wind (a rarity around here), it’s only a problem at the beginning, but it was down in the teens yesterday and felt a lot worse than that, and at 19:xx paces I was still hovering above 142 bpm for the first half a mile or more. This training is really not ideal for cold weather. A blog I read, Miss Zippy, had the same trouble keeping her heart rate down in the cold and has had to give up on MAF training for this training cycle. I laughed because she lives in Baltimore and blamed the “very cold temperatures” for her heart rate issues. I find it funny when the 20s or 30s are called “extremely cold,” unless we’re talking about 20 or 30 Kelvin, in which case, yes.

A couple miles in, I was up near the UMD campus, crawling along the gradual but interminable incline along College Ave between Woodland and Junction, trudging pathetically along at a 17:xx pace, my path was crossed by a pack of actual fast runners. There were probably 6 or 7 of them, all tall, leggy, and graceful, all at the same pace, all making that pace look effortless even though it’s probably a pace I could only dream of. I felt like a walrus watching a pack of caribou prance by.

I was under-dressed for the weather and for the pace I was forced to take, but it took me awhile to realize that. I didn’t realize that running so slowly, keeping my heart rate low, would keep my body from warming itself up as I went along. I was 2 or so miles into the run when I realized I wasn’t warming up. The skin on my face, forearms and thighs was stiffening up, which indicated I’d already gotten a bit of frostbite. It’s fine to start out cold, I usually do, but by that point I should have been warmer. I was still just under 2 miles from home, and I realized I was facing another 25-30 minutes outside if I kept following the heart rate restriction.

With 1.5 miles to go, I cheated. I turned on the jets and let my heart rate skyrocket into the 170s or 180s and zoomed (for me) the rest of the way home.

Splits:
17:35
18:42
15:59
11:31

Oops. Also, FYI, I’m not really that fast, it was all downhill. It did feel amazing to run “fast” for me again, and I did start to warm up a bit as I charged along. I still ended up having to take a shower to warm up, which was probably not very good for the affected skin. It all turned bright red and started to itch. I need to be more careful.

I think kicking it into high gear at the end of a run when I’m cold and haven’t run fast in a long time as a sign that this slow aerobic training I’m doing is working, or at least is not detrimental. I also think I need to check the weather report before I go out, and I need to cover my legs better to block the wind. (I usually cover my arms better, with 2 layers of long sleeves.) I also need to stop writing this post and get dressed for today’s run.

Two A Days

Hahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahhaahahahahahahah!

Yes, even thinking of doing actual two-a-day runs is hilarious. I didn’t. What I did do is meet up with a friend during my break between classes and take her dog for a walk. I wore my watch but not my heart rate monitor, as that would have been both ridiculous and obsessive. We went for a loop and a half walk around Bagley Nature Area, which was about 2.5 miles. Loki found some squirrels in a tree and almost lost his mind over them.

I ended up getting my pants soaked with snow and my friend drove me back home so I could change before I went back to class. I also ended up getting insanely sweaty because I wore my winter coat, which was a dumb idea. I’m fairly certain I exceeded my heart rate targets going up that stupid hill, but I’m also confident I stayed well below the target most of the rest of the walk.

After I got home for good, I made a poor but tasty choice for a late lunch (I eat at weird times): a bagel and cream cheese (not the poor choice) and the rest of the pulled beef I’d had for dinner a few nights ago. It was glorious and delicious and I felt gross the whole half hour I spent on the treadmill an hour or so later. Yet another slow and demoralizing session on the treadmill. I need to make better food choices, I guess.

While I think two-a-days for someone like me are ridiculous, I did like making use of my break to do something outside. It’s something I can consider in the future: stop by my car, drop off my backpack, and run for an hour between classes. So I’m sweaty in class later, no big deal. It’s an opportunity to get a run in before it gets dark, and avoid the treadmill for another day. I have to find a way to avoid kicking up snow behind me and soaking my pant legs.

Ups and Downs

Friday was an unexpected rest day.

Now that school is in session, my planned rest day is Monday. I have class starting at 9 am and don’t get home til 8 pm, so it’s not a day conducive to working out. I don’t like the situation because I like having the flexibility to slack off when I feel like it, rather than on a schedule, but I guess I’ll have to take two rest days in a week if that comes up.

Friday was an unexpected rest day because I went out to start my car to let it de-ice a bit and fell down the four concrete steps from the door to my yard. I didn’t realize that the stoop would be icy under the awning and stepped out confidently into the warm air, only to completely lose my balance on the invisible coat of ice, tumbling down the stairs. I actually rolled down them, rather than sliding like I have in other stair-related incidents in my life. I kind of wish I had a video of it because I am sure I looked ridiculous. I wasn’t hurt that badly (just some bruises) but I had some stiffness in my back (which could have been from sit-ups from Thursday) and some random twinges, so I chose to take the day off.

Saturday I felt good, apart from the bruise, and it was a beautiful day (any warm day in winter is beautiful, even if it is cloudy), so I drove to Hartley Nature Center. There’s a trail map here. I enjoyed running there last fall, although the trails I typically ran on are groomed for classic cross-country skiing, so I chose to stay off them. I tried out a new trail, the Guardrail, which is not shown on the trail map I just linked to. I should probably look around the interpretive center and see if there’s a better map, but I spend most of my time on the Guardrail trail wondering if it was a loop, an out-and-back, or part of a larger trail. I wondered if I was actually going around in circles or possibly getting farther and farther away from the nature center. It turned out I was not, but it was a bit nerve-wracking. I ended up running just under five miles, a lot of it at a pretty slow pace. My GPS was acting kind of funky and giving me 19:xx paces when I was flying down a hill and quicker than expected paces when I was walking, so I was having trouble gauging how things were going. I was also fairly cautious because the last thing I wanted to do was fall again, especially if I fell on my already-wounded right side.

The Guardrail trail is actually pretty nice and I would like to run it again soon. I planned to do a full trail review but I’ve already forgotten my thoughts about the trail.

Sunday I was really struggling to get moving. I got up, had a bagel and cream cheese, and got dressed in my running clothes, but I couldn’t get my butt out the door. I kept stalling. I was having an “I hate being slow” moment. Even a few miles at my sloth-like pace ends up being a major commitment. There’s no such thing as a “short” run for me, time-wise. I can’t fit a run in at lunch or between classes; it’s not worth the hassle for a measly 1.5 miles. I want to be at a point where I can put in 3-4 miles and have it be over like *that*. That is a long way off.

I finally got off my butt and headed out, running along Skyline to Chester Creek Trail. This stretch of Skyline Drive has some of the best views (I should have brought my phone to snap a pic or two), but I also don’t feel safe running on it because it doesn’t have a sidewalk, and just before the bridge over Chester Creek, there’s a nearly blind curve. I end up running on the wrong side of the road at that point because I am concerned about being struck by a car coming around the corner. I had to kind of sprint (relatively speaking) across the bridge because half the sidewalk was under construction and blocked off. I hate road running.

I wanted to do a trail review of Chester Creek Trail from the Skyline bridge down to 4th St, but in order to do that, I would have had to slide down on my belly like a sea otter. It was horribly icy, and even with my shoe chains on, I didn’t want to risk it. One slip at certain spots along that trail and I’m falling over a cliff. I was really bummed because I like that trail and because I wanted a little extra distance. Instead I had to circle back home and didn’t even get to three miles.

Monday I got out of class about an hour early, and decided to forgo the rest day by running an uneventful 40 minutes on the treadmill. I managed to run an average pace of 15:33 with an average heart rate of 142 bpm, so I guess I’m improving? That should be a pick-me-up after Sunday’s crabbiness, but I’m mentally drained. I also won’t get a chance to run outside until Friday, thanks to work and a meeting, so I’m disappointed about that. I’m going to need to end this post before I complain about something else.

To end on a high note: I have no lingering effects from my exciting tumble down the stairs on Friday.

Meep Meep

Road running!

Since school has started, I’ll be able to get home when it’s light out three days a week (I work the other two days). Or at least I will until classes really ramp up and I’m stuck working on assignments til midnight.

I have a few general comments on my approach to road running.

1. I am a fairly strict obeyer of traffic laws. Even if there’s no one coming, I won’t cross against the light. I run on sidewalks as much as possible and run opposite traffic when I can’t. I hate when drivers who have the right of way motion me through. I also won’t cross unless I make eye contact with the driver and see them motion me through, even if I have the right of way. If I can’t see them, I will stand there all day if need be. I always give a thumbs-up of acknowledgement, so that I can show I’ve seen them and appreciate it, instead of waving, which could cause confusion. Safety is such an integral part of my profession (engineering) that it carries over into my daily life. I am the poster woman for Defensive Pedestrianism.

2. I don’t pause my watch for stoplights, stop signs, untied shoes, wedgie picks, or any other reasons. I understand that it can skew splits, but those aren’t real splits anyway, if I stopped in the middle. By that logic, I could run 200m 8 times with breaks in between and call the aggregate time my mile time. It doesn’t matter anyway, no matter what, I’m still slow! I also don’t plan on making excuses for the slow times associated with a long layover at a stoplight, or pointing out how many times I stopped. My times are my times. Voila.

Okay, now onto yesterday’s run, specifically. I wore my shoe chains, since there are a lot of jerks on my route who haven’t shoveled the sidewalks in front of their homes, myself included. It was a good idea because while there were stretches of clear sidewalk, there was slush, packed snow, and ice along the way. It slowed me down a bit, as did the annoying long hill that lasted the entire first mile of my run. This is not a flat city. Running on the sidewalks in Duluth is also at times more technical than a trail. Not only are there a lot of hills, there’s large cracks in the pavement, slabs of pavement jutting up just waiting to trip an unsuspecting runner checking her heart rate for the millionth time, and spots where it feels like I’m running sideways due to the slant of the path.

I felt pretty good, certainly better than I ever do running on a treadmill. I had the same problem with my heart rate monitor I did last weekend, with the spikes at the beginning. I don’t know if that’s due to the shock to my system from breathing cold air or what, but I “cheated” and ran at a higher heart rate at the beginning since I was already going pretty slowly and I knew it would settle down. I was right. I power-walked a fair amount up the first hill but that was the only one I had to walk up, and on the way down I was flying! Giggity!

Splits:
18:49
16:21
14:45
17:06 (pace for the last 0.98)
Average heart rate: 140 bpm

After I got home, I put my coat on and walked to the convenience store 2 blocks away and bought some Powerade (Strawberry Lemonade), pretzel M&Ms, peanut butter crackers, and motor oil. Both my car and I were filled with delicious, nutritious sustenance.