Charleston Lately

Brad is gone for the weekend at a 9-hour mountain bike race. Not only did he take my car, the peanut butter, and all of the beer we had in the house, but he also took the last of the coffee. That was a pleasant surprise this morning.

*****

KSF is beautiful, the trails have been great, and I went for an 11-mile run with this guy this morning:
He and I were running at about the same pace today. Look at the pity in his eyes. He's all "Dude, lady. You should be faster than that by now."

I know, turtle, I know. It was just a bad day.

I also saw my first ever bear while running today. It was HUGE and lumbering away from the trail I was on. I stopped for a minute to contemplate what I should do. Sneak away? Continue to stand completely still, staring at it? Yell? In the end, I just continued on my run, checking over my shoulder every now and then. It did not give chase.

*****

My friend Misty turned us on to these real femur bones that are filled with food for our dog. She (the dog, not Misty) has been gnawing on a bacon and cheese flavored one for the past week, with her eyes closed in ecstasy. Probably one of the better purchases I have made for her.

If you have a dog, especially one who is lazy yet needs constant attention like our dog, I highly recommend these. It keeps her occupied for hours.

*****

We finally bought that living room furniture! I am the proud owner of two huge comfortable couches and I love them. They're so nice that they make all of our other furniture look extra shitty in comparison.

*****

Week 5 Training

Monday - yoga + 3 mile run
Tuesday - 3 mile run, tempo pace
Wednesday - 2.75 mile run, 5 horrible hellish hill sprints at the end
Thursday - unplanned rest day. My knee was bugging me.
Friday - Blissful Rest!
Saturday - 11 miles that took a lifetime
Sunday - 4 or 5, depending upon my mood tomorrow

Susan G Komen Race for the Cure

Yesterday I ran the 11th annual Susan G. Komen WV Race for the Cure here in Charleston. I ran this race last year, and it was my first 5k. This year, my goal was:

1. to PR (My previous 5k PR was the last 5k race I ran, the Turkey Trot, with a time of 31:45)
2. to finish in under 30 minutes.

However, last Wednesday I ran speed intervals on the treadmill and didn't use my knee sleeve. Thursday I ran an easy 2 miles, and my knee hurt pretty badly. I spent the rest of Thursday and Friday icing it every few hours, and my plan was somewhat derailed. I didn't want to hurt my knee in the 5k and risk not being able to run the Half Marathon (which is now less than a month away! EEK!), so my goal became to finish, run as much as I could, not kill myself, and walk if I needed to.

Friday night, Brad and I went out with some friends for happy hour and then dinner, but I made sure to drink a lot of water and only two beers so that I wouldn't be dehydrated for the race on Saturday. After the 5k, my HM training plan called for 6 more miles, which would not be fun hungover!

Saturday morning I woke up, had cereal and coffee, woke Brad up, and we went down to the Capitol grounds, where the festivities were in full swing (Brad was awesome enough to come with me to cheer me on! Thanks, B!). I wore my pink Nike Dri-Fit T-shirt, pink socks, and my pink Bondi band. I don't normally dress in all pink when I run, but at the Susan G Komen race, you stand out if you're NOT in pink!

I hung out with Brad for a while and then went to line up. I was so nervous! I always get pre-race jitters, even though I will never win a race in my life. Soon enough the horn sounded and everyone took off! The other runners and walkers fill both sides of Kanawha Boulevard. It's inspiring when 7000+ people come out to support a cause, especially to do something active.

I kept a good (for me) pace throughout, didn't have to stop to walk at all, and felt good! My knee didn't hurt and I thought maybe -- just maybe -- I would achieve my goal of under 30 minutes.

As I approached the finish line, I saw 30: on the clock. I was so close! But I picked up my pace to finish in under 31:00, and I made it! The official chip results aren't up yet, but I crossed the finish line, high-fiving Brad, just before the clock turned over to 31, so my time will be 30-something. I'm happy with that. Next time, under 30!

After the race, I went home, ate a bagel, and drove to the state forest for another 6 miles. It was a perfect day, the trails were in amazing condition, and I was happy to be able to run on them.

Week 4 Training:

Monday - yoga
Tuesday - 3 miles tempo
Wednesday - 3 miles intervals
Thursday - 2 miles easy
Friday - Blissful Rest
Saturday - 5k race + 6 miles
Sunday - rest -- sore legs!

On My Legs

I've always had big thighs. For the record, I am not calling myself fat. But my legs have always been fat. Large. Shapely. Thick. Or, to use the quintessential midwestern term, "sturdy." Because of this, I have never really worn shorts. Bermudas, sure. Knee-length running tights, yes. But never shorts.

Last week I purchased a pair of Nike Tempo running shorts. Partly because they are popular among runners and I want to be like everyone else, but also because Charleston? It gets super hot in the summer. Last year, I would put on my workout capri pants and run a couple of miles a couple of times a week. But now, my running schedule is busier and I run longer and the capris aren't going to cut it once the temperatures hit 90. And this will happen very soon.

I took them for a spin yesterday, drove to my favorite nearby trail for a quick and dirty 3-miler over my lunch break (Can I just say that this is the best part about working from home?). I'd already applied my Body Glide to avoid chub rub issues, so I took off in my shorts and I started up the hill.

A woman was walking on the trail, and I passed her around the 1.5 mile point and nodded pleasantries. She was looking at my legs as I passed.

"Oh shit, she must think my legs are too fat for these shorts. WTF lady? I can wear shorts if I damn well want to." These thoughts are rolling through my head as I plug along.

I reached the end of the trail and turned to head back. Wouldn't you know, I passed her again! "Hello," "Hi there," still obviously staring at my legs as I went by.

"I clearly should not be wearing these shorts. They must look really bad. I am a giant fat monster." It's amazing how quickly what I imagine one complete stranger thinks of me can ruin my mood.

When I got back to my car, I remembered that my leg looked something like this:

IMAGE SOURCE - if this was my actual leg I would not have these issues

And that might have been what she was staring at. Whew! Self-esteem meltdown caused by total stranger averted.

Here's a little bonus story:

Picture it: Pittsburgh, 2008. Brad's friend Ned rolls up to our house on his road bike to go for a ride with Brad.

From inside our kitchen, I hear Brad say, "Dude. Your thighs are huge."

And Ned answer,"Yeah, thanks!"

There's one conversation that would never pass between two women.

An Easy Week

This week ended up being quite an easy week in my half marathon training, due to a skipped workout (oops) and another shortened one (oops). Here's what I did:

Week 3 Training

Monday - yoga
Tuesday - (should have been 4 miles, actually skipped because I waited for 10 hours for the Suddenlink guy to show up to install my office phone. Not cool, Suddenlink.)
Wednesday - 2 miles intervals (fast and fun!)
Thursday - 3 miles tempo (this should have been 4 but I was short on time)
Friday - Blissful rest
Saturday - 9 beautiful KSF miles
Sunday - 4 miles easy pace

My 9-miler this morning was awesome! The weather was perfect, the trails were perfect, and I had one of those elusive good runs. I felt strong and bad ass running hills, even with my dorky water bottle fanny pack thing. I borrowed Brad's iPod because mine isn't holding a charge for some reason, and it was great to hear something different than my normal running playlists. He has great taste in music, and today I heard everything from Lil Wayne and Jay-Z to the Decemberists and Grinderman. It was a welcome change.

Off to enjoy this beautiful Saturday!

Training Week 2: Electric Boogaloo

Today Brad and I looked at the ominous weather forecast (storms all day) and decided to go back to the furniture store we went to last Saturday to look at some living room furniture. We found some couches that we want to buy, but we left empty handed again! Brad wants to think about it some more -- it's a big investment, and one that we will have to live with for a long time! I think we will be going back to buy them, though, because we both really like them and we seriously need new living room furniture. The small, uncomfortable, dog-stained hand-me-downs just aren't cutting it anymore.

Anyway, I was planning an 11 mile run today, but decided to push it back until tomorrow because of the forecast. Wouldn't you know, it ended up being nice and sunny all afternoon. When we got home, I put on my running clothes and went for a very easy 2 mile run. I am running my 11-miler tomorrow, and I normally take the day before my long runs off completely. Just after I got back home the wind started blowing like crazy, and the skies are all black. Brad is out there on his road bike -- I can't imagine how he could be riding in this wind!

Also, I received a box of Easter candy in the mail from my mother yesterday, including Peeps and Cadbury Creme Eggs, two of my absolute favorite things in the whole world.

Wow, this is all very stream-of-consciousness.

Week 2 Training:

Monday - Yoga
Tuesday - 3 miles steady
Wednesday - 4 miles, with 4 horrible, hellish hill sprints at the end
Thursday - 3 miles steady
Friday - Blissful Rest
Saturday - 2 miles easy peasy
Sunday - 11 miles

32 Going on 13(.1)

After weeks of quietly training, I finally signed up for the Decker's Creek Trail Half Marathon. The race is on June 4th, and I am simultaneously excited and terrified. 13.1 miles is a long distance to run, but I feel confident that I can do it. I just hope I don't win the caboose award for bringing up the rear.

Of course, I will be completing, not competing. I do have a goal time in mind, but that is plan B. Plan A is just to finish. I read a lot of runners' blogs, and I can't help but compare my slow running times to their much speedier ones. Not to mention all of the seriously fast runners who will be running the half marathon that day, who will probably be showered and on their way home by the time I finish. It's going to be very hard, but I'm going to try to only focus on myself, how I feel, and the goal at hand -- just to do it.

Brad, who has been sidelined for the last few weeks with a knee injury and is missing the beginning of his race season as we speak, helped me set up a training plan for the 8 weeks leading up to the race. This week was week 1 of his plan, and so far I've been doing well.

Week 1 Training:
Monday - Yoga
Tuesday - 3 miles intervals
Wednesday - 3 miles steady (I actually ran intervals this day instead)
Thursday - 3 miles intervals (I actually ran steady / tempo on this day)
Friday - Blissful rest!
Saturday - 9 miles
Sunday - 3 miles easy / recovery

You will see that this plan has me running 5 days a week, and before I had been running 3 or 4 and taking at least two complete rest days per week. It's going to be hard, but everything in life worth doing is hard.

The Best / Worst Run Ever

Yesterday was the day that I have been thinking about with simultaneous dread and excitement for weeks now. It was my very first 10 mile run.

I have been covertly training for something that I'm not ready to talk about yet, but it has involved running distances that I never thought I would be physically able to run (see above: 10 miles).

It's been well documented here that I was a fat kid / fat teenager / fat college student, and I grew up almost completely sedentary, using my energy to smoke and be angry at the world. I've never been athletic and I still don't consider myself an athlete, a runner, or even particularly fit. Just last summer, I thought running 5 miles was something I'd never be able to do. Now, 5 miles on nasty / lovely KSF trails is a great way to spend a weekend morning, or decompress after a rough day at work. It's still not easy for me, but it's fun and challenging in a good way.

Yesterday, I woke up and looked at the weather forecast. It was supposed to rain, and then not for several hours, and then rain again. So I hung out and drank coffee until about 10:30, when all signs of rain seemed to have passed. Brad taped up my knee for me, I packed some jelly beans, water, and my Uggs (for the drive home), and headed out to the state forest. I was wearing my new Brooks Cascadia 6's for their first long run and would be using this water bottle fanny pack thing that Brad bought for me. I was set.

I parked at the back of the forest and headed out. Uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill, pass some mountain bikers, eat a few jelly beans, 5 miles. Easy peasy. I was at my turn-around point and feeling pretty good.

Then it started to rain. I was wearing knee-length tights, a tank top, a light jacket with thumbholes, and a running hat. I was warm enough, until the hail came. With it came wind. I was on the top of a ridge, and the wind blew right through my wet lycra and into my exposed ears. I was freezing and I had 5 miles to go!

I saw the mountain bikers again in another mile or so, they called me "fucking crazy" for running in the hail storm.

But it did end after a short while, I did make it back to my car, I did live to tell the tale. Of course it all seemed very dramatic at the time, but it was kind of awesome. I felt pretty bad ass.

I was freezing on the drive home. I was also starving, but I can't really eat for a few hours after a long or difficult run. All food is unappealing and I get sick to my stomach if I do eat. So I took a hot hot shower, made a smoothie and sipped it, wrapped in a blanket on the couch while watching Project Runway.

And today it is 65 and sunny. Ah, the irony.