Urban Dare Columbus race report, and other musings

Life has kept me a little busy lately, in good ways, so this is going to be uncharacteristically short (as in -- here's what I can write while inhaling a hummus sandwich on my lunch break).

First up -- the Urban Dare Saturday. This was a fun event -- though it was more scavenger hunt, less dare. I did it with my buddy Jason. We had no idea what to expect when we got there, we were handed blue shirts to wear and told to await further instructions. There were about 80 teams.


First instruction: Run to the statue 20 feet away. That was easy. We got our other instructions -- all clues of places to go around downtown Columbus. In Columbus, I know where the statehouse is. And Einstein's bagels across from the statehouse. And... that's it.

Thanks to a glorious invention called the smartphone (I'm not cool enough for one, but Jason was) we got online and deciphered the clues, and plugged them into the GPS. They were all statues, restaurants and landmarks.

We got turned around a couple times, and almost ran 3 miles out of our way. We ended up having to run a mile back because we missed a landmark. We also had to stop a couple total strangers on the street and ask them to recreate this photo:

Beyond this, though, the "dares" were pretty pathetic. At most landmarks we just had to take a picture to prove we were there. At one we had to do a 3-legged race. At another we had to jump rope. Far from the rock climbing walls and stuff the event advertised! It was still a good day though.

The event was billed as 5-7 miles. I decided to be crazy and I went to MIT that morning and did 6 with Kim, and my hamstrings were screaming from Crossfit two days before. Thanks in part to my superior navigating skills, we ended up covering 9.3 (with lots of stops in between!). Our official time was 3:32 (there were many stops). Total was 15.3 miles for the day, giving me a 27 mile week, my highest since Cleveland.

I'll update later with some more links and stuff. In the meantime, a few other random musings:

New Rules of Lifting for Women Take 2

I started the New Rules of Lifting for Women program earlier this year, but abandoned strength training altogether when our mileage got really high. My friend Kim reminded me of it last week, so I decided to give it another shot, now that our weekday runs are back to 3-4 miles.

When I tried the program the first time, I made the mistake of using heavier weights right off the bat. The program starts with more reps and then decreases, and the weight is supposed to get heavier. Toward the end of the first set I would have had to lunge with 30 pound weights, and that was just asking for injury.

But, when your weekday runs reach 6-8 miles, it's not like you have much time for anything else, anyway!

I started with Stage 1 this week, and I don't feel like I did to badly. I was sore, but not to the extent I had last week when I was experimenting with a few other programs! I think, too, I started off with a reasonable amount of weight, so I have room to increase.

The thing I love about this program is that it is incredibly efficient. Each move works multiple muscles so it only takes a half hour max.

The nice thing about the Y is that the women's center has most of the equipment I need for this, so I don't need to wade through masses of muscley tattooed men to get a turn on the cross cable machine.

Here's what the first two sessions looked like. Squats and lunges were supposed to be body weight only, but that seemed too easy so I modified it.

TUESDAY: Stage 1 workout A
Squats 2 x 15 w/ 10 lb weights
Pushups 2 x 15 (I've lost a ton of upper body strength, these were hard!)
Seated row (cross cable): 2 x 15 @ level 5 (?)
Stepups 2 x 15 on bench w/ 5 lb weights
Jackknives on ball 2 x 8

FRIDAY: Stage 1 workout B
Deadlifts 2 x 15 @ 25
Lat pulldowns 2 x 15 @ 25
Shoulder presses 2 x 15 w/ 8 lb weights
Lunges 2 x 15 w/ 10 lb weights
Ball crunches 2 x 8

When the reps go down to 12 I'll probably keep the same weight on some, just because it will add up too quickly otherwise!

Reward for getting out of bed

I am so glad I got out there this morning, and I survived 14 miles to boot. My body was screaming at me when I got up, the same dehydration/achiness/headaches/sniffles that I've had all week. Normally I run with the 10:30s, today I started with the 11s and felt pretty horrid the first two miles. At the first water stop I dropped back to the 11:30s and then I started feeling better.

I noticed yesterday in spin class and the two miles I ran that my heart rate was way up, so I tried to pay attention to that today. My average was around 140 -- that's usually where I am at a 10:30 pace so I'm glad I dropped back. I missed the people I've gotten to know in the 10:30s, but the 11:30s were a very enjoyable group to run with.

The weather was nice, cold but not too cold. We were on the streets of Worthington, as opposed to the trail, so it was very hilly. My legs are rudely informing me that they did not appreciate the inclines.

The long run is 16 next week and 18 the week after. The next week is a taper week at 10, and I'm doing Conquer the Creek in Columbus.

I ended up with 24 miles this week, not bad -- all things considered. (continued)

Not a champion this week

I'm slowly dying.

That's actually a gross exaggeration. But I really did have had the cold/flu/I-don't-really-know-what-it-was from hell this week. We're talking pounding headaches, random body aches, a general fatigue and, of course, an imaginary clothes pin clamped tightly on my nose.

So, a few miles around the indoor track at the Y has been the extent of my training. Instead of talking about that, I offer you this link to this hysterical blog. Enjoy. Especially this post. And this post. See you next week. In the meantime, I'm going to be a little busy, in Lost we just found out Juliet is not such a good person after all (or is she double-crossing the others?)

One more random note -- of the me being annoyed with a company and needing to tell the world in a way that will come up in a Google search style. Never order from Nutty Guys. I love dried fruit and nuts, so I got a Groupon for them and ordered more than the Groupon would cover. It took them 20 days to ship my order (their website promised 2-3 days). They didn't respond to several emails wondering what was going on -- their online chat doesn't work and no one picked up when I called. It wasn't until I complained to Groupon that I got an unapologetic email from them explaining that they were out of stock on something. They're shipping is pricy too -- lesson learned: Go to Trader Joe's, same prices and they're way better!

And to not be the whiny consumer, do order from Marbles: The Brain Store if you like puzzles and such. I also discovered them through Groupon, and they are super-reliable. I love my Buckeyballs!

Freakishly springlike and loving it

On Wednesday, I ran in short sleeves. On Friday I ran in shorts. What a wonderful week in Central Ohio! It was a little colder today, but still a great day to be out.

This week was a fallback, 10 miles, and that did seem short compared to last week's 15 miler. The next 3 weeks are 14-16-18, yelp yelp yelp! I thought we were going a little fast but we ended with an average pace of 10:20.

755 calories burned on the run. 1150 consumed at Panera after (what happens when you say yes, I will take a delicious chocolate chip cookie for $0.99). Hear that, Panera? You won... this time.

Fleet Feet actually got a halfway decent picture of me... stole this from their Facebook page (I'm in blue):

(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!

8 miles in sub-zero temperatures

BURR It was cold this morning! Accuweather forecast for Worthington for when we were running is to the left. I repeat, burr!

A girl in my group had it right, it definitely takes a certain kind of person to get out there on these types of mornings. I never would have considered myself that kind of person, but there I was.

We did 8 miles in 1 hour and 26 minutes, giving me 23 miles for the week.

I wore my MIT jacket, a long sleeved tee and a long sleeved tech tee. I wore a pair of athletic pants over the Under Armour compression tights I bought yesterday.

Normally you start off cold and warm up quickly, but not today. One mile in... freezing. Two miles in... still freezing. Three miles in, I didn't even want to stop for water, cold drinks of any kind were not appealing in the least. I went for my Gu Chomps, and those were frozen... completely inedible!

The girls all had frosty hair and eyebrows. My Garmin couldn't take the cold, it kept going back and forth between 5 and 9 mph.

After we turned around at three I was just numb. By mile four I'm starting to get some feeling back in my chest and thighs. By mile five I can feel my arms and legs. It wasn't until mile six that I can say I was at all comfortable.

I was going to stop at six but a girl in my group talked me into doing an extra two. Why not, it took so long to get warmed up, might as well keep going!

Burr. And yes I know I lived in Maine for 2.5 years, but still, BURR!!!

Not sure on the plan for next week yet, I'm exhausted, time to curl up with a book in my nice warm bed (which it looks like I'll be sharing with two stubborn greyhounds, one of which has made a nest with all my blankets.)

Here's the beauty of going to MIT every Saturday morning: I get my run out of the way first thing, then I get all my other errands done on the way in. By noon I am done done done done done for the weekend!

Warrior Dash 2011, I signed up!

I'm pumped, I just registered for the Warrior Dash in Hocking Hills on June 5. I'm in the last wave, at 5 p.m. It's going to be fun!

Link: http://www.warriordash.com/register2011_ohio.php.

Now how on earth do I train for this thing?

Teaser "I did it" post

One week ago represented a quiet but significant milestone. I stepped on the scale and it read 129. On February 1 of this year I weighed 179. 50 pounds, gone gone gone gone gone and never coming back. I started to write a blog post about it. I've refined it, and refined it, and refined it. I'm really struggling with how much personal information I want to throw out to the world. I'm getting closer, still not right though, and the delay is kind of killing me. But I've had a burning desire to do an "I did it" post. So here is a teaser, the rest will come when I'm ready!

I normally don't buy stuff for the label, but on Thursday I found this at Kroger and it was just too perfect to celebrate with:

I'm in Maine this week. Had a fantastic, fantastic day today. I finally got a sports therapy massage, which felt amazing. Except that I got read the riot act on flexibility training and stretching. My IT band, calfs and shins are super tight. I've got to work on that. I got a balance board for home, which I've been doing calf raises on to strengthen my ankles for trail runs. The Y offers a BOSU class. I'm intrigued.

I ran 8 miles on the Kennebec River Rail Trail today. Felt like I could have gone further, but it was getting dark (and it wasn't even 5 p.m.) It was a fantastic run. I started out in Farmingdale. The trail goes along the Kennebec River and snakes through the town of Hallowell. The best part is that there is a gap in the trail, so you have to run down Water Street -- Hallowell's Main Street. It is such a beautiful, quaint town. It is always busy, but it is also very progressive. The road has designated bike lanes, and I wasn't the only runner going through town, so I didn't feel self conscience in the least, like I do when I run through Newark.

To the left is a photo of my favorite bar on the planet, The Liberal Cup. I have lots of fond memories of that place when I was covering Maine's political scene. More later!

27 miles this week, and preparing for the long run!

As in, THE long run. The Cleveland Marathon is now 183 days away. Took a couple steps in preparing today. I'll get to those in a minute. But first...

This week marks a new record in weekly miles, 27! Old record was 25. I actually did two long runs this week -- did 11 Monday to make up for a miserable day Saturday, and 10 today. Of course, my short runs were very short, I did 2 miles of hill repeats on Tuesday, normally I do three, and Thursday was an easy four miles on the treadmill.

The old record was 25. Here's the graph:

Today's run was wonderful. I ran the bike trail but took a different route. I started at the Y and ran five miles out, all the way to the cow pasture. I was off today and I have a feeling this was one of the last times I'll be running in the sunlight for awhile. It went well, nothing hurt and I'm not really sore now. Just tired.

Then I went to Columbus. Fleet Feet put a note up on Facebook that there was a new model of my shoe out, the Asics Kayano, so they were closing the one I have out for wicked cheap. Of course when I got there they were already out of my size! But I'll poke around online and try to order a couple pairs, I'm sure it's out there.

Redemption!

There's nothing like being paranoid about being lost, dodging traffic and having a running buddy to make 11 miles seem like nothing. I am feeling 10,000 times better!

Ok, it wasn't that bad. It was just enough to keep me distracted to complete the distance. It was probably just about 11 miles.

I was meeting up with a friend from work to run. Since I wanted to get a long run in, I ran 3.5 miles to her house, ran 3.75 miles with her and then did the 3.5 back. Most of it wasn't bad, I just need to find a few good side streets in between Waterworks Road and the road leading up to her place so I can stay off Mount Vernon and 21st Street. Not very pedestrian friendly, but that was only a short ways.

I think I have a nasty blister, otherwise I'm feeling pretty good.

Abstract bricks

Every time I've failed to complete a run I've known I was doomed within the first two miles. It's actually pretty good motivation... because once I make it past those first two I know I'll make it the rest of the way.

I hit a wall today, though. I went out for my first 12-miler, per the training program, and I just couldn't do it. Couldn't make the legs function. I survived the first mile, albeit barely. Forced myself to stretch for five minutes. Made it another half mile beyond that, and then my legs just quit. Felt like I was wearing giant bricks instead of shoes. I was achy, nothing in particular, just really, really tired. So that makes my weekly mileage a pathetic 17 miles.

I know I'll have off-days from time to time. Still it's discouraging!

I thought I did everything right... ate carbs out the wa-zoo yesterday, took yesterday off from any activity, drank Gatorade beforehand, etc. So what went wrong? It could be any number of things.

Climbing hills

If there's one thing I've learned from the Mohican race Saturday, it's that if I want to keep doing this insane trail running stuff I've got to run more hills. 

I've been pretty good about running them once a week on the treadmill, but when it comes to picking a route for my longer runs I'm all about the flatness.

This is what I did today, stepping it up a bit. The last four weeks I was doing the same, one grade down on all.

1 mile @ 6 speed and 5 incline

2 x 1/2 mile @ 5.5 speed and 7 incline

4 x 1/4 mile @ 5 speed and 9 incline

Walking .1 to .25 miles in between. 

Usually I finish in just under an hour, and it burns a ton of calories. The intervals also help break up the prolonged agony I've come to equate with running on the treadmill.

I've been doing some reading though, and Runner's World suggests more of a rolling hill approach, so maybe I'll try that out next week. This article also has some interesting tips on form.

I really need to make it a point to find more routes around here with a hill or two, most importantly so I can practice running down as well. Horns Hill is two miles from my apartment, though I don't know if I'm that crazy. Also I've gotten a few tips from people in Granville. I hear the Denison campus is a doozy, and probably safer to run at night too, which will become a factor very soon.

300 miles logged

Forgot a little note from yesterday... I now have 300 miles under my belt, according to my training logs at the Daily Mile.

What's 300 miles from here?

EAST: Niagra Falls

NORTH: Flint, Mich. (why I'd want to go there is beyond me)

WEST: Terre Haute, Ind.

SOUTH: Roanoke, Va.

I got my Asics Kayanos at 70 miles, so I still have a good month with those shoes.

The 5-day-a-week dilemma

I'm using Cool Running's half marathon training program right now, though I've modified it pretty heavily. At the moment I have no use for speedwork. I'm not actually training for a half (yet), this program works perfectly though for the 10-mile trail run I want to do in December.

My biggest dilemma is how many days to run. I've wanted to go up to 5, but I think I've decided that four days of running plus one day of cross training is more practical. Every training program I look at for distances longer than a 10K calls for 5 days running.

The problem lies here: I want Fridays and Sundays off completely, because I'm either doing my long run or racing Saturday. So, if I'm a 5-day-a-week runner, that means four of those days are consecutive.

10 miles!

So I just collapsed on my couch with a couple of ice packs and decided not to move for a few hours. Feeling pretty good... did my second 10 mile run. That makes 25 for the week, my highest yet.

Toward the end I kinda felt like I could have kept going... maybe I should have. I just read an article about overtraining, I was out of gatorade and my ankle has been hurting on and off, so it was probably best that I didn't, though of course now I have that nagging "how far could I have gone" mentality. Next time.

Ran with a runners club out of Granville. Very good group of people. Some were way too fast but I fell in nicely at a 10-minute pace with the slower group. We did 6 miles through the Denison Bioreserve, which I never knew existed until today. Definitely going back, beautiful area and good practice for upcoming trail runs, which I hands down prefer to the road.

Most of the group did the marathon a few weeks ago, and they stopped after 6 so I cut down to the bike trail on my own. I don't like running without my iPod, the silence was eery, but I got it done.

Got breakfast and then went right to the gym to do my strength training. Was definitely a little slower on that but now I'm done done done done done for the weekend.

Back to it

This was a bit of an off week... I was down for a couple days with a stomach bug and was definitely a bit dehydrated on my runs Friday and Saturday. I managed to get in all 8 miles of my long run in today, just had to stop a couple extra times. Took a little detour so it ended up being 8.5 miles.

It was a beautiful fall day and it was really nice to be outside. I ran the bike trail starting in Granville and heading out toward Alexandria.

Even before I started feeling ill Tuesday my runs were a bit slow. I barely managed hills Monday and just couldn't force myself beyond a mile Tuesday. Friday I felt strong going 4. Lizzie the greyhound came with, that was her longest distance yet and she was a champ. That made for a total of 17 for the week.

It was kind of an off week in general. I did boot camp at the gym this morning and then the long run so I'm really sore and have a nagging pain in my shin, time to find the ice pack and absolutely taking tomorrow off!

I added Cleveland's Turkey Trot to my upcoming races. It's a 5 miler, I may do it with my sis. It looks like a blast.

24 miles logged this week

What a beautiful fall morning... I did 10 miles in Granville. Slight soreness but it's tolerable.

I logged 24 miles this week over 4 runs, and surprisingly that wasn't my highest week to date... a couple weeks ago I totaled 24.7. Both Monday and today I pushed my long runs a little further because it has just been so nice out, managed 8 on Monday and 10 today. On Wednesday I did hill repeats on the treadmill and my legs seriously hurt so I barely eeked out 3 Thursday.

Saturday mornings in Granville are marvelous. The farmers market is always packed, there are a ton of people out on the bike trail and there's this wonderful little coffee shop with great fair trade blends. Such a stark contrast from Newark.

I've been feeling really good on my long runs... usually I fall into a good rhythm after the first 2, around a 10 minute pace, and the rest of the way is a breeze (as long as the iPod is charged up... the Hold Steady's new one is my latest favorite). I need to find some hillier routes for my shorter runs, though. Dawes is always good, I'll try to get there next week.

I'm shaking things up, trying to decide if I want to move up to 5 days of running or stick with one day on the elliptical.

Game plan for fall

First a confession... I told myself I was going to take it super easy this week to recover. I was going to be good and stick to the elliptical. But it has been a hellish week... I was kind of riled up after work Tuesday and went out to run 2.5. Then I did the same thing Thursday, logging 3 at the bike trail.

My legs are pretty sore from strength training this morning but I'm going to attempt to do two loops around the long trail at Dawes Arboretum tomorrow morning. Next time I go there with the pups I'll take some pics, it's beautiful there.

I'm excited... I have a new plan. Kind of, anyway. Still needs some tweaks. It might be a bit too ambitious, I'll play with it as I go along.

My goal is baby steps until I eventually get to the marathon distance. (May = Flying Pig). The big race I'm working toward is Salt Fork 10-mile trail challenge.

Goals for Saturday and beyond

It’s my first 10K and I’m ready. I’ve covered up to 8 miles on the completely flat Licking County bike trail, 7 miles at the completely hilly Dawes Arboretum. Cranked the treadmill all the way up to 10 grade, to the point where someone even asked me if I had a death wish.

I really want to finish in under an hour but I know better than to set that goal. My training pace is a 10 minute mile. My last 5k pace was an 8:25 mile but that’s mostly because I sprinted the last half mile trying to get third place (I did). BUT! It’s rough terrain and I don’t know how bad these hills are. And last year only three of 15 women in my age group beat an hour. So I’m going to be good and set my goal at 66 minutes. Moreover, my goal is just to run the whole thing, no stops.

I keep telling myself that I’m going to wait until the race is over before plotting out the next steps. I’m going to take a few days off. But I just can’t stop myself from looking ahead. There’s a 10 mile race at Salt Fork state park Dec. 4. Or I could just try to improve my 10K time? Or my 5K time? My mind wanders and then suddenly I’m on Fleet Feet’s site again!

One step at a time!

Hocking Hills Indian Run site

Hocking Hills Indian Run map

Hocking Hills Indian run 2009 results