Run Miss Runner Runnington

It has been a hectic winter since I last posted...

Officially beginning my marathon training two Sundays ago, I'm already in a rut. With "snowmageddon" hitting GR pretty bad, running is one of the last things on my mind.  My 11 mile run on Saturday was dreadful and the only thing keeping me going was knowing that as soon as I got inside, I might be able to feel the tips of my fingers again.  We all go through these stages when we run, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon into my training. I'll keep blaming it on the snow.

With Hal Hidgon's training plan, my hope for this 18 week course is to focus on quality, not quantity of miles.  It has been refreshing to come home and not have to run a couple of 8 milers in the middle of the week.  Instead, I've had several 4-5 milers, with workouts in between and one long run.  With Spring hopefully on it's way, I know I will look forward to these runs after work...for now I'll have to just put up with it.

Zach and I have been reading a book together (which makes us realize how bad we are at reading out loud).  Last night the chapter we were reading discussed attitude and how we act and think.  It was so interesting when the author suggested that it is our choice what our attitude on life is, we get to decide if we are positive or negative to ourselves and others.  Even when others say harsh words or make you cry, it is your choice if you remain positive or choose to become negative.  In the end, we decide our outlook on life, and run with what we are given.  I've come to the conclusion that this is a concept I need to become more familiar with. Not that I'm a negative person by any means, but I do tend to take criticism and negative comments personally.  I tell Zach that I am "sensitive" but in actuality, I get to decide if these comments will effect me.  Granted it doesn't help your attitude when others around you are constantly complaining, but that just means I need to work extra hard at having a positive attitude, despite what is thrown my way.

The same can be said about my training and my daily runs.  I know each run will be hard and cold with all the snow, but going into it with a positive outlook will only make the run more easier.  I hope this frame of mind takes hold and gives me the strength I need for these upcoming weeks.

Stay Positive. Stay Warm. Stay Motivated.

There are many days were I just do not feel motivated to get out and run. Here is a kicker for you...sometimes I hate running.  Especially when it's early, cold, and I rather stay in my sweatpants, drinking coffee, and reading.  This morning was no different. Having the day off, I got up that morning with great ambitions. I wanted to clean the apartment, plant my new succulents (yay!), do laundry, run, etc. When it came time to get ready to go run, I kept thinking of things I could do around the apartment; procrastinating the inevitable.

It's during my longer runs that the creative thoughts usually generate. I get lost in the moment; listening to my music, not paying attention to where I'm heading, and letting the stress of the day disappear.  Today was no exception.  With the snow cascading down, drifts and mounds covered the pathways I trend.  I thought I'd be freezing today; every direction I turned the snow found ways to get into my jacket.  After about a mile of getting use to the chill, it almost didn't feel like I was running in the Michigan winter! Wearing layers upon layers, my pink ear-flap hat, and my favorite tights, I was cozy.  Getting off the beaten path where the drifts grew, the snow under foot was fresh and reminiscent of trail running...only fluffy!  

I began to reflect on what makes a runner.  Why are there so many folks in the world that claim they can't run or declare they aren't runners?  I believe there are just two reasons for people to say these things about running: lack of confidence in their ability to do so, or they just don't want to be runners. That's it.

No matter what others say, anyone can run! It's just a matter of how much you want to or not. Majority of people don't want to be runners, and that is fine.  It confuses me when someone becomes amazed at the amount of miles Zach or I run.  "How do you do that? I could never run that far. I'm just not a runner."  If you are one of these people, my apologizes for offending you, but please stop saying that.  Every person has an innate ability to run, anyone can do it...it's just a matter of choice.  It might not be as easy and you might not be able to go that fast or far, but in the grand scheme of things, does that really matter? When I hear someone tell me, "I could never be a runner," all I hear are excuses. Next time be honest with me, just say you don't like running or aren't motivated enough to start. I'll understand.  Running isn't for everyone.

My mother is one of my favorite people. Her and my father have always supported my hobbies, especially running. Both of them ran in high-school, but the sport never went beyond that. Just this past summer, my mother surprised me when she told me she had started running again.  She slowly went from walk/jog, to completing a mile, to 3 miles. I was and am extremely proud of her. She didn't think she would ever be able to run again, but with a little motivation and inspiration, she has been enjoying it.  It is stories like these that make me lace of my Wave Riders and get out in this yucky weather.  Being young and fit, I need to take advantage of this time and not bum around.

How has everyone's training been going so far? Any goals or races planned for 2011? If you need any training tips or race suggestions, feel free to ask!

Sorry everyone for such a long leave. Definitely needed the break from running to get my motivation back on track for this new year. As of now, Zach and I are signed up for the Bayshore Marathon, which is at the end of May.

Been contemplating which training course I should follow and how to train to not get injured or worn out. I've been establishing a base for a couple of week now and have already noticed my hips and IT band flaring up like no other. I'm sitting on a huge bag of ice as of now.

After talking with my boss, he suggested a lower mileage training schedule with high intensity tempo and speed workouts. I've printed out Hal Hidgon's advance marathon schedule and have a feeling this will work out wonderfully for this marathon.

On Twitter I found a wonderful running site, the Daily Mile, that I hope I will use more than Flotrack. The nice thing about the Daily Mile is that it resembles Facebook; you can add friends, join a community, and see what other people are up too. Several of my friends, along with Zach, are going to do the marathon, a nice reunion. Keeping touch with these friends from all over the country has been hard, but this will double as a way to keep in touch and to motivate each other.

My New Year resolution for running will be to do this Bayshore Marathon faster than a 3:20.  I also would like to be diligent on eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, and going out of my way to do different training groups around Grand Rapids.

I hope everyone's New Year has started off well.

Happy Running!

Miss Runner Runnington is currently on a running hiatus...

Since my running will probably be sporadic and boring during this Fall and Winter 2010, I will resume my blog once training picks up again.

Besides, we all know the wedding is consuming my free time. :)

"run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

This past Sunday I ran the GR Half Marathon, making this my last official race for the year. Going into this race, goals were low and anxiety high. Since the North Country, my motivation has been lacking and the training has followed. I figured this half would be a struggle since the last time I had run over 10 miles had been during the marathon.

With the adrenaline flowing high that morning, I went out as usual, too fast. I could not believe how great I felt for the first 5 miles, so I tried to maintain my pace. Zach brought his bike and occasionally pedaled next to me for support, which was almost as good as having him run with me.

Finished in 1:29:45
6th woman overall
2nd in my age group

Splits (aprox):
1 mile: 6:33
2 mile: 6:48
3 mile: 6:46
4 mile: 6:50
5 mile: 6:42
6 mile: 6:57
7 mile: 7:00
8 mile: 7:00
9 mile: 6:22
10 mile: 6:50
11 mile: 7:15
12 mile: 7:06
13 mile: 7:15

Overall a great flat course and race to finish up the year. Let’s hope that with some down time; the motivation will ensue.

So it has been a long time since my last blog and I feel like months have gone by since then. Life has been beyond hectic. My running has been put on the back burner; resulting in me transferring my marathon registration to the half marathon. I knew that if I tried to do the full, I would be killing myself just to finish. Zach sprained his ankle when we went rock climbing, so he is officially out of running for a couple months...leaving me to attempt this by myself.

Right now I'm in Chicago for work. Tomorrow I'll be helping Nike set up Niketown for the Chicago Marathon Expo. Super pumped about this experience and being able watch the marathon on Sunday.  Just one more reason why I love my job!

More to come after the GR Marathon next Sunday.

Below are some pictures from the NC Marathon that my co-worker kindly took for us!

Zach reaching for my hand to finish "together."

The transition from training for the North Country Marathon, recovering, and back to training mode again has been a struggle.  After barely being able to walk like a normal person for a couple of days, Gazelle had a cross country meet against Calvin College that I had signed up for a month earlier...not thinking that I would still be in this condition.  Reluctantly, I ran the 5K the following Thursday after the marathon and did it fairly well! Ended up finishing first for Gazelle women in a 21:04. 

Since then, I have started slowly getting some miles in. This past week I did about 17 miles, but I'm still having issues with my IT and knee. Something that I do not think will easily go away. I'm nervous that this will become a problem before the GR Marathon, hindering my chances of a PR. With the marathon only about a month away, I'm not sure how exactly to train for it. Having a pretty solid base makes me feel better about finishing with ease, but I do not want to be in as much pain as I was at the North Country. Obviously, my mistakes will be taken into consideration for this next one.

I'm going to try increasing my mileage each week, getting one 20 miler in, and then backing off again. Let's hope this works to my advantage.

To finish the last week of my training, most days were light runs with one day of biking, in anticipation for Saturday. Friday, Zach and I got out of work early to pack and head up to Cadillac where we spent the night at my co-workers parents house. This helped out tremendously; allowing us to have a nice bed to sleep in before the race, rather than camping out or coughing up money for a hotel. The weather that morning turned out to be beautiful and almost perfect running weather. With much anticipation, I really got out fast the first couple miles...hoping to get in the women's lead pack to avoid getting tramped behind a slower runner on the single track.

Going into this marathon, I really had no idea what I was doing. This lack of experience really became apparent when I hit the first aid station. Since this was a trail run, they couldn't really have that many aid stations, so with seven stations through 26.2 miles, the first was around mile 3.9...or so I thought. When I came through this station, my time was well under what pace I had planned to run at. I was breathing pretty hard and the hills had just begun. I was later told that I should not count on the aid stations being at the right mile markers, which I found out to be true when the second aid station was way off. Frustrated, but happy with how I was feeling at the moment, I kept on my way. The scenery was beautiful when I had the chance to look up, since the trails were pretty rugged and I had stubbed or lost footing several times during the race. The hills (steep inclines and descents) kept coming and they never seemed to end. It wasn't until around mile 15 or 17 where I really started to feel the pain of this race. I knew at that moment that I was not going to be able to maintain my 7:15 pace and that my pace had probably slowed to an 8 minuter. The terrain was something I had never experience before. If this race had been a half marathon, Zach and I would have finished well in the front of our pack since it seemed to be around the half where things started to go wrong.

Hydration was key since it did get steamy after 10am, so I was happy that I had chosen to run with my Nathan bottle. Carrying that helped me fuel up on my own time since the aid stations weren't that reliable. I stored my splits and 2 GU's in the bottle case as well and used only one at the 1:15 point. I think drank about 3 bottles worth of water (pretty sure the bottle is 20 oz), 2 half cups of coke, 2 small cups of lemonade, few M&M's, and a handful of gummy bears during the whole race. I probably could have ate more and drank more during the whole race, but was satisfied with how I handled at least that aspect of the marathon.

I started to really struggle around mile 20. At this point, I was looking forward to each aid station, just so I knew how far I was from finishing since my pace was way off by that point. Few strangers crossed my path that I chatted with briefly and who helped me push on...promising cold beer waiting at the finish line. Half the time I tried to think of things that would make the time pass faster...what my split could be at, wedding plans, how Zach was doing, calculating how many more minutes I might possibly have until the next aid station, and so on.

It was around mile 21 when I saw a familiar racing outfit...Zach. I was so happy to see him since I knew we would pull each other through these last miles. He had went out extremely fast as well and had crashed about the same time I had. Struggling with injuries these past months had put a damper on his training; which definitely played a role in the turnout of this marathon. Aside from the fact that I wanted Zach to do his best, I was glad to have him at my side to finish our first marathon. With a mile left, we started to finally hear the music at the finish line. With all the energy we had left in our beaten up legs, we picked up the pace and ran through the finish line, hand-in-hand. :)

Below are lovely pictures of what my feet looked like after the race. They look like mini tumors on my toes. They might look like they hurt, but they didn't bother me that much during the race. It wasn't until today, the day after, when the pain hit me. My quads, IT band, butt, and back kill. Zach and I can barely go up and down stairs without looking like an old married couple. Hopefully this soreness will subside before to long... got a couple races already lined up already.

Oh what a glorious and exhilarating week it has been since my last post!
First things first, Zach proposed on the 21st! Had an amazing Saturday, in which I had to go on a scavenger hunt to “find” him. Nevertheless, I did not get my last long run in that day…but I could care less! Running around trying to find all the clues was a workout in itself. I ended up in Fredrick Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park for my last clue. It lead me to a sculpture where Zach had written in chalk on the ground…”Sit Here, Face Woods.” So I did. I waited about 5 min and then he came strolling around the corner. He awkwardly pulled me aside to a secluded garden called the Gallery and popped the question!

With the tapering going down to 30 miles this past week, running has taken less time and focus in my schedule. Been running with Zach most days and took a day off for “Yoga in the Park” with Gazelle and Lole.

Really looking forward to running this marathon, but also ready to get it over with. My legs are shot and my focus is not as strong as it once was for this race. With wedding planning to do and the GR Marathon to think about, it’s time for a new direction.

For this week I've slowed down tremdously...35 miles and still feeling sore. My knees have not been the same since the last 20 miler, but I'm hoping that these next two weeks of tapering will revive them. Not much happened this week...tapering can get rather boring. Saturday was my longest run of 10 miles and also when Zach and I signed up for the GR Marathon at Gazelle. Met the race director, Don Kern, at the sign up. He has done a lot of far out races, including the run around the South Pole with Dean Karnazes.

My plan for this week is to once again rest up, stretch, ice well, and get lots of sleep.

The tapering effect has yet to really take place and my legs are getting pretty toasted. This week my mileage was suppose to be around 35, but I ended up doing 42 miles. When talking to my friend about this, I realized that I have been training consistently since January and have been training solely for this marathon for 21 weeks without much of a break. So I definitely have a reason to be feeling this way.

Tuesday was another good workout on the track. Zach came out and ran the workout beautifully; making it look so easy.

Warmup
Stride outs for 4 min
800 hard
400 easy
1 mile hard
400 easy

We did this 3 times in a grueling heat/humidity.

The rest of the week was pretty typical, except for Saturday. Zach and I went to Egypt Valley and ran these trails for 20 miles. It was probably 1 1/2 to 2 hours where I really started to slow down and feel how sore my feet were. The trails were amazing to run on; made for mountain biking with the ups and downs required for a great running workout.

Looking to take this week's mileage down to 30-35 miles and putting at least 1 day of cross training in there. I want to make sure the soreness in my shins and hips stop and get the rest I need before Saturday. Definitely getting enough sleep, which is so important at this stage in the game.

For Week 20, I'm slowing starting to work on the decline for my marathon. With a weekly mileage of 40 miles I definitely felt less pushed, BUT of course other obstacles came into play for this week. I went to practice once again and I think that riled up my knee, despite having a great workout. With work being insanely busy, traveling back home to IL for the weekend, and doing 15 on Saturday, I'm now trying to recover.

Sleep = #1 priority right now
Food = more veggies/fruits with proteins after hard runs
Stretches/Ice Knee = do more frequently

Been wearing my Zensahs and I really like them. Not sure if it is mainly a placebo effect, but after my 22 miler, I wasn't really sore at all the following day. I'm hoping this is partly because I wore these right afterwards and during the following night.

Super busy...so focusing on my running, spending time with Zach, and work. Gotta go!

Week 19 was another top mileage weekend and also happened to be the week the Merchandise Team traveled to Boston. Leaving on Wednesday and not getting back till Saturday definitely messed up my "routine," but was well worth all of that. It was great to hang out with co-workers and fellow retail teams, while learning a tremendous amount about New Balance.

After coming home on Saturday, I ended up sleeping for a good part of the day and only running 6 miles. Zach and I decided that it was best to just do our 22 miler on Sunday after getting a little more rest.

We headed out to Saugatuck Trails for a 3 hours escapade. It took a few miles to get into my routine and feel comfortable. Saugatuck Trails are rather grueling and my knees were getting the most of it. It was not that hot out but it was insane how much water I actually went through during the whole run. A 16oz bottle, 8oz bottle, and half of Zach's 22 oz bottle. Used 2 GU's, which felt appropriate for this time period.

I'm anxious to see how these trails will compare to the marathon's. I know that Saugatuck is more challenging, but the rumors are that North Country Trails are constantly up and down.

Knee seems to be holding up...just a little sore. I bought Zensah leg sleeves and wore them after my 22 miler. My legs felt great today, so maybe they helped!

Week 18 was a huge drop in mileage, leaving my legs restless and wondering what I was doing with my time. Took this week pretty easy since I know next week will be another killer high mileage week (50ish).

I was bummed that I wasn't able to go to Tuesday's practice because of my knee...
but I did find resolution to the whole problem. Went to the injury clinic at work and basically I have some instability in my knees. What I need to do is get on more trails, strengthen that with exercises, and stop running the exact same routes and on sloped roads. My IT band was definitely a part of this and foam rolling has not seen the last of me. It was relieving to hear a professional tell me exactly what the problem was and how to fix it. High hopes that my right leg will slowly start coming back to normal before the marathon.

Ran with Zach on some trails yesterday...only did about 5 miles on the actual trails since the deer flies were making a meal of us. We were screaming with our arms above our heads during a sandy part of the trail where apparently the flies make their home. Did about another 5 off of the trails on grass/even sidewalk.

Next week will be pretty jammed packed. It will be a challenge to get 50 miles in since I'm traveling to Boston for work for three days. I know they have a workout room at the hotel, but I don't know if I'll have time to use it!

Week 17 into my marathon training and have been dreading going outside in this humidity and heat waves. The last two days have cooled down tremendously and have made running a little more tolerable. Next week, I only have 7 more weeks of training until the big day! I'm getting pretty antsy for this marathon because I'm afraid my knee won't take that much more hardcore training. Today for my long run I went out to Riley Trails and was only able to run about 4 miles there because of a combination of the hills, mosquito's, and boringness. Decided to head out and run out to Lakeshore Drive which provided a much more entertaining run and seemed to help my knee a little bit better than the trails.

Been feeling extremely sleepy this last week. I'm not sure if I'm getting sick or if this is associated with my running. I'm going to try to attempt to get more sleep this week, but I'm guessing since Zach will now be in GR; that might not happen.

Also want to get back on track with my eating habits. In the busy-ness of life, I haven't had the time or made the time to cook like I used to. It is crazy how different people eat. I can't help but notice the people around me and the choices they make. Whether this be co-workers, people I see at Meijer, friends, or family, I'm intrigued to what they think about when it comes to the food the are putting in their bodies. I really think that most Americans don't give a shit about their "diets" and prefer the lazy solution of quick and easy food. I wonder about addictions and what food people become "addicted" too. I know I fine myself craving foods like french fries, chicken tenders, and any type of baked good more often than I should be eating these. Makes me wonder what is truly in our food and why we get these urges to go out and buy these things when I could just grab an apple and call it good.....

Enough rambling! I need to get ready to head into GR to help Zach unpack once he gets into town!!! YAY!

Another uneventful week in the running world. Knee has been consistently sore, but not to the point of pain, so I'm still running on it. Took two days off, biked once, and ran the rest of the week. The only eventful thing about this week was that Zach was in town and that I did my longest run to date on Saturday.

For Gazelle track practice, we did a warm up, strides, and then a workout of a hard 800, rest for 200, hard 300, rest 300...this was done four times and equaled four miles. It has been great for my training to get higher quality miles in, instead of just junk miles.

Got up early today and headed from my apartment down to South Shore for my long run. The weather was warm, but relatively nice for such a lengthy run. Running past all the gorgeous houses on South Shore is always fun; seeing how ridiculously big these houses are and wondering how much they cost. Took one GU at the turn around point, roughly around mile 9. I had brought a 12 oz water bottle along and filled it up on my way back to Kollen Park, but was still really thirsty after that. About four miles left, I decided that I had to go into McDonald's and fill it up or I was going to pass out. Other than being dehydrated and a little sore, 18.2 miles felt pretty good! Next time, I'll bring more water or find more water fountains...another GU would have been nice.

This week was my first time attending the Gazelle Marathon Training Program; which I'll be going to every Tuesday. It was so nice to get back on the track and pull out my speed and mix it with some endurance. There is just something magical about stepping on a beautifully laid out track and warming up your body for a strenuous speed workout. We ended up doing 16 "harder" 200's for our main workout. These 200's were based on our 5K times, but I think since my endurance has been pretty well established, that I should have made these splits harder.

With my IT band not bothering me at all...my knee has started bugging me. Funny how that works. After my massage it was a little sore, but nothing compared to how it has felt today after the Reed's Lake Run. I ended up doing both the 5k and 10k and now seconding guessing if this was smart.

It was considerably hot/humid, but I felt that these were both training runs for the marathon.

5k: 19:45
10k: 43:11 (I ended up 2nd in my age division!)

Weekly mileage was around 40 and I did 15 for my long run today.