New kicks! Asics Cumulus 14

It never ceases to amaze me the situations I get myself in with the running community, whether it's running through a richy rich neighborhood in -2 degree temps or wandering into a Chipotle covered in mud.

Today, I found myself doing strides outside a Polaris shopping strip in a dress and hoop earrings.

Fleet Feet had a Diva Night! 20 percent off if you dressed up with bling! I'm sure photos will be posted soon, I'll add them when they are (I also got to play fashion model, but that's a whole different story!)

Back on track -- there was a discount to be had, and I was in the market for some new shoes. I left with a pair of Asics Cumulus 14s. Right now I'm on my fourth pair of Mizuno Precisions -- a neutral shoe, LOVE THEM!! But after my injury, my chiropractor suggested that I run on my heels instead of my forefoot.

(Pause for the running community to collectively gasp, and the non running community to collectively roll their eyes and wonder what the big deal is.)

Going minimalist

First of two posts today :)

I've had the Zoots for awhile but I'm finally making the jump into a true minimalist shoe.

I'm going to keep the Mizuno Precisions for my longer runs, but I have a new pair of New Balance Minimus' for shorter runs.

I remembered Sara W. at Words to Run By got them and loved them so I decided to go to Fleet Feet Sports today and try them out. I just love the way they feel! Thanks to a sale and a gift card I got them for cheap.

Apparently I'm a toe striker now. Way back when I first got fitted for shoes I was labeled as a heel striker so things have definitely changed after two marathons!!

I really like how it felt. I feel like I was striking really evenly, and the shoes are crazy comfortable. I'll blog again about them a couple runs in!! And it's crazy to feel the difference between them and the Asics Kayanos I started out in way back when!

After 18 miles, total exhaustion

At the beginning of the year, I didn't understand people who told me "I can't train for a marathon, I have kids." What's the big deal? At the worst of it, you're gone for 4 hours on a Saturday morning. With MIT starting so early, you're probably home by the time they wake up.

Then came the first 16-miler. I reeled for a few hours, then crashed. When I woke up, I had some of the worst soreness and exhaustion I had ever experienced. After that run, then my 18, 20, 22 and my race, I was out for the entire weekend. Anything that required the slightest bit of exertion was out of the question.

Parents who train for marathons (or those who have any other obligations on the weekends), how do you do it? Throwing the red ball to my dog takes special effort! Any chore I can't do sitting down can wait!

Yesterday I was scheduled for 16. I, errr, went 18. It was a great run, I felt really strong through the entire thing. Staying on my feet for so long after was probably a bad call. I did some shopping (pair 4 of Mizuno Precisions on their way!). Then I went to the 10TV Health and Fitness expo, which was a huge waste of time.

I had really good splits and my heart rate stayed where it needed to be:

My average pace was 10:20, average HR was 155. Splits:
Mile 1: 10:53, 171 bpm (doubt this is right, monitor was acting up)
Mile 2: 10:26, 164 bpm
Mile 3: 10:27, 152 bpm
Mile 4: 10:20, 152 bpm
Mile 5: 10:29, 149 bpm
Mile 6: 10:28, 150 bpm
Mile 7: 9:09, 149 bpm
Mile 8: 9:37, 154 bpm (potty break and subsequent catch-up)
Mile 9: 10:20, 149 bpm
Mile 10: 10:27, 150 bpm
Mile 11: 10:33, 149 bpm
Mile 12: 10:12, 153 bpm
Mile 13: 10:25, 153 bpm
Mile 14: 10:18, 152 bpm
Mile 15: 10:18, 155 bpm
Mile 16: 10:26, 158 bpm
Mile 17: 10:30, 162 bpm
Mile 18: 10:37, 159 bpm

Anyway, aside from the laundry that I absolutely need to do, my only mission for the rest of the evening is to find out if Jack Bauer can stop the pandemic virus in time! Netflix, I love you.

Song I'm currently obsessed with:

Chronology of shoes

I really can't explain the logic behind my sudden need to line up all of my running shoes and snap a photo. But, while cleaning, I decided to do just that.

From left to right, oldest to newest:

Asics Kayanos: About 350 miles logged on these! They took me through my first 10K and last fall's trail runs. I'm keeping them as trail shoes. 

Blue Mizuno Precisions: 359 miles logged on them. I've read that I should be able to get more life out of them, but every time I run in them my legs hurt, so I've downgraded them to walking shoes. These took me through most of my marathon training, and the 15-miler in Granville! 

Orange Mizuno Prescisions #1: I used these for the 22 miler and my marathon, and the last few weeks of training. 135 miles logged on them so far. Still in use.

Orange Mizuno Precisions #2: Noticing a theme? Hey, when you find something that works, right? Plus they're relatively cheap as running shoes go! Brand new. Didn't quite need them yet but Fleet Feet was having a sale! I think I'll break them in and then start using them right away for long runs only, and use the first ones for weekly training runs. I'll get more life out of both that way! I'll have to get different laces to tell the difference, the new ones won't stay that nice pristine shade of white for long!

In front are the Zoots. I used them for the shortest training runs, just to give the Precisions a break from time to time, and to start getting used to a lighter shoe! 30 miles logged on them. 

Summer lineup

After a week of doing virtually nothing I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I took the dogs for a good walk with some hills Friday, made like a floundering fish and jumped in the Y pool Saturday and Sunday, and did spinning, some lifting and ran a whopping one mile at a 12 minute pace yesterday. I'm shooting for spinning and lifting today and tomorrow, and then I'm going to jump into the MIT training schedule Saturday with 6 miles.

The good folks at Fleet Feet Sports have another pair of Mizuno Precisions ready for me to pick up Saturday, at 20% off plus a free pair of socks! My ultimate goal is to run the Columbus Marathon Oct. 16 in under 4:20. I'd like to beat a 10:00 pace so that should do it. I'm going to stick with MIT and their training plan, and keep going with the 10:30s.

But until then I have a few other plans. At some point I need to update my Daily Mile upcoming races!

My other goal this summer is to PR in a 5K. My time to beat is 24:27, set Jan. 1 of this year, I'd love to bring it under 24, that's a 7:44 pace.

JUNE 5 Warrior Dash -- I'm really stoked for this one! I'm doing it with my MIT friend Beth, Spark friend Sara and college friend Evelyn, in the 5 p.m. wave Sunday. We need to figure out ... something... costumes, war paint... something! It's in Hocking Hills, a 5K race, but with cargo nets, a mud puddle, a wind tunnel and a scrapyard to climb through, it's safe to say this won't be a PR contender! So instead I'll just toss back a few and have some fun.

Myself, Abbey and Anna.

JULY 17 Greenswell Triathlon relay -- Meet the Manic Mojos, comprised of myself and all-star Newark Advocate reporters Abbey Roy and Anna Sudar. We're doing a short triathalon relay at Alum Creek, women only, for breast cancer research. Since the run is the third leg, I don't know if this would be the best shot for a PR, either, but it will be a good time.

AUG. 26-27 Hood to Coast -- I am a proud member of Coasties and Ghosties of Sparkpeople.com. I'm stoked, and nervous, given that I've never met my 11 teammates before! It will be two days in Oregon, 197 miles starting at the top of Mt. Hood and running to the ocean. It's coming up fast, time to start planning my trip!

SEPT. 17 Hocking Hills Indian Run -- This was my first 10K, and my first trail run, last year, and I am definitely going back. Not sure on the distance yet, probably a 20K or a 40K, I'll compare it to my training schedule later and do what fits.

So, I still need to find a good 5K. I have a free entry for an M3S event, and there's something called the Bull Run in Columbus Aug. 6 that looks fun!

As long as the legs hold up, it's going to be a good summer!

Wet

Poor Mizunos.

Every Saturday MIT run has been an adventure. There was that day we went out in -2 degree weather, that day where ice pellets were bouncing off our faces, that day where the trail was too icy and we had to rough it up all those hills instead, etc...

And today: Water water everywhere.

It was pouring rain, though that eased off toward the end. Some of the puddles were 50-75 feet long and 6" deep. We did 16 miles, which took us all the way to OSU then back to Thomas Worthington High. My shoes and tights were caked with mud at the end. Our pace coach, Randy, suggested that we loosen the shoe up all the way and stuff it with newspaper, so that's what I did.

Despite the nasty blisters on my feet, I had a lot of fun today. The last two miles were really hard, thanks to my team for pushing me through. I started to make myself crazy checking my garmin all the time, so for the last 4 I tucked it under my jacket sleeve and made myself ignore it.

Edit: My splits were: 11:52, 10:18, 10:57, 10:58, 10:31, 10:16, 10:27, 10:41, 10:33, 10:34, 10:50, 10:47, 11:25, 10:32, 10:33, 10:02

I actually got a second pair of shoes Friday, Zoot's, that I can't wait to try out. Hopefully I'll get out in them for recovery Monday then I'll do another post.

I'm starting to settle in to a new Saturday routine that I love. (continued)

Mizuno Precision review: 168 miles in

I haven't posted about the Mizuno Wave Precision 11 since I first got them, so I figured now that they're halfway through their 350-mile life I'd do a quick review. Those miles add up pretty quickly when you're logging 20-30 a week!

It was a really weird feeling the first time I stepped on the treadmill with them, since they are much lighter than my old shoes, the Asics Kayanos. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't striking with my heels as much -- that's a good thing.

They're much lighter. I know I was having lots of pains with the Kayanos toward the end, and they eased up almost instantaneously with the Precisions. The shin pain has been coming and going but I've barely had any knee pain since I got them.

I've been very careful, my weekly mileage is skyrocketing up with the marathon training, and overall these shoes have been a very good partner. Lighter has been better for me. Who knows, maybe I will become a barefoot running convert someday!

Race Report: CRRC 15-mile Winter Run

I'm officially past the half-marathon point. I covered 15 miles today! Just don't ask how my legs are feeling. Or, pretty much any muscle in my body, for that matter.

I ran the Columbus Roadrunner's Club Winter Run (CRRC Winter Run), the 15 mile distance, this afternoon. We really lucked out with the weather, I was comfortable in my tech shirt and compression tights, but the course was tough. Here's the course map, and below is a screenshot of the elevation chart. I'm really glad I've been doing some hill repeats, I know I was passing a lot of people on the inclines.

And, with this run, I finally hit 30 miles for one week! Wahhoo!

The beginning of the run took a lot of restraint. There were some fast people, really fast people, there. I started off toward the back of the pack and had to force myself to keep above a 9:30 mile. Pacing was hard throughout... every time I stopped paying attention I found myself drifting toward an 8:30 - 9 mile. I recognized the 10:00 pace coach from MIT and tried to stay behind him, but lost him toward the end of the first lap.

15 miles was two laps of a 7.5 mile course. I forced myself to slow down for the first 10 miles, then for the last 5 I let myself go faster. The last two I really had to push through. But, toward the end I was passing a lot of people, and I ended up 3rd in my age group! I'm really glad I held back, otherwise I wouldn't have made it. 

I'm not exactly sure what my real time was. I'm going with 2:23. My Garmin said 2:19, but I accidentally stopped it so it only accounted for 14.75 miles.

I'll post some more details later... probably tomorrow, including my splits. Right now I'm a little tired, and I only have 3 episodes left in Season 2 of Lost (come on, Jack, figure out that something is not right with Michael!)

90 days until the Cleveland Marathon. (continued)

A few quick notes and then a Merry Christmas

Looked for a running Santa. Settled on this. 

This post is the online equivalent of me talking out loud about nothing important whatsoever. Enjoy.

I'm starting to look ahead to 2011 runs, I'll post a list later on. There won't be much flexibility for 5Ks and such leading up to May because my long runs will always be Saturday.

Still, I'm very tempted to do the First on the First on Jan. 1. It just looks like a lot of fun. Plus I know there will be pacers, it would be cool to see how I do following the 8-minute pacer, I'd love to get my 5K time under 26, which means I need to go at an 8:22 pace.

I should know better. I've had a lot of random aches and pains this week, I know they're just caused because I'm back to it after two weeks off, but it's a reminder to take it slow nonetheless.

Plus I need to cover 7 miles that day. So, I'd need to run 4 before the 5K even starts. No, I'll just stick with my plan.

Training this week... been following my plan. It's been good.

New shoes: Mizuno Precision

Old shoe

An ode to my old shoes: The Asics Kayano was a fantastic shoe, it was lightweight and had a lot of stability. I put in 350 miles (wow) on those shoes with few aches and pains and no injury. They took me through my first 10K and my first 10-miler. 


But it's time to move on.

A lot has changed since I bought my Kayanos -- I've dropped about 30 pounds, my running form has shaped up and my stability has improved tenfold.

I got the Kayano at Fleet Feet, but this time I went to see Tim at Star Power Running in Newark. I was in there in September to buy my FuelBelt and he really knew his stuff.

He's a fan of the barefoot running movement -- Vibrams Five Fingers and whatnot. It's something I'm intrigued by but not ready to try yet. Anyway, Tim immediately said the Kayano was "too much shoe" for me and I tried on some lighter pairs.

New shoes

First MIT run!

Fleet Feet Sports' Marathoner in Training program started today in Columbus! I ran 5 with them and it was a lot of fun.

I got to Worthington at about 7:30 and ran into Bill and Molly, it was nice knowing two of the 400 people there. Jeff, the head honcho of the program gave a brief introduction (I get a season's worth of Gu for signing up early, wahoo!) then we split off into pace groups.

I have no clue whatsoever what my goal time for the Cleveland Marathon is. They said to run a little slower -- usually I do my long runs around 9:30 - 10:00 so I went with the 10:30 group.