The Story So Far

I have been training for the Chicago marathon since June. The race is on October 7th and I am in the final stretches of training. I have had several roadblocks, including summer, laziness, school, work, travel and beer (not in that order). Here are some of the items that have gotten me through it:
















These are the shoes I've been training in. Just these, no rotating. Not sure if this is a smart idea yet....I might get another pair soon and use those during the marathon. These are Asics GT-2120.






















I always took pride that I could run without aural aids, but alas, I was wrong. I love listening to music and This American Life and NPR to pretend like I'm up to date on world issues.





















The Burke Gilman trail in Seattle is the longest path around and what I've been doing my long runs on. It is beautiful in parts, but has become boring. There is also ONE drinking fountain along the whole damn thing. What is up with that?


















I got a cool breathable hat, and that's about all there is to say about that. Mine is actually the above model, but blue.















Ice baths! Nothing sounds crazier than soaking your body in a tub full of this, but it does the damn trick. Thanks Maritza for the tip.



















Then, of course, my newest favorite addition - the Garmin. This thing is amazing. I could go on for hours, but won't. The apparatus and act of using it has its downfalls, but overall its a pretty cool deal.

I will have more to report soon, so check back later!

eed

Get a Get a Get a Get a Garmin

I got a Garmin! The Forerunner 305, which is what I've been lusting after for ages. I just found out I get a significant discount through my employer so I splurged and got one! It should arrive in 7-10 days, just in time to start my official marathon training.

Friday, 5/25 - did quick loop in Discovery Park that was probably les than 3 miles. It was fun, no rush.

Daffodil My Ass

The weekend started off pleasant enough, dinner out on the town, leisurely breakfast, then I made a wrong turn somewhere around Orting, WA.

"Sure, 50 miles sounds great!"

I basically tore my behind into shreds which obviously is not a nice visual. The route would have been gorgeous since we were so close to Mt Rainer, but the clouds (which later turned to rain) covered up any prospect of the hills being alive. Some problems incurred on this ride:

*chafing in bad places (note to self, don't wear *blank* next time)
*busy roads
*bumpy roads
*too much traffic/too little shoulder
*rain
*no daffodils as promised!

I was cruising happily at about a 65% pain level until mile 35 when it dramatically increased to, say, 99%. Not only was my ass chapped (literally) but my neck/traps were just screaming. I guess its from being in that posture for so long. In all we were peddling away for 4 hours. 4 hours is long time to be doing anything, let alone perch your entire body weight on a couple of pressure points. Especially when you have bird-bone syndrom (hollow bones).

Get your Vashon

Headed over to Vashon island today via the WSF to do a little loop around the isla. Turns out the loop is 42 miles of hills, but never mind that. It was great, once I got the hang of getting into my easier gears the hills weren't as bad. Considering I haven't been training at all in cycling I did pretty well. Legs were slightly burning most of the ride and will definitely be sore tomorrow. However, I did feel like more of a bad ass than when I woke up this morning and you really can't beat that.

Junky

Surprisingly I woke up after exactly 8 hours of sleep feeling good enough to run. I jumped out of bed and immediately put on my running gear, which may be a good enough trick to getting me out of the door. I was out on the streets by 9:10 and had a plan to run exactly 50 minutes until I reached a garage sale that started at 10. I ran along South Lake Union, North to the University Bridge, then through some gorgeous neighborhoods in Volunteer Park. I stopped a couple of times to check out the views of the lakes and boats and houses, but I pretty much hit my mark and was only 5 minutes late to the g-sale. It was a mighty clusterfrig with fat people and their dogs, but I scored tons of crap that I'm pleased about. From there I walked home, stopping at Value Village along the way to buy some more crap.

I think my run was about 4.5/5 miles but since I was stopping and going I don't really know what my pace was. Let's call it a fun run. I put in another couple of miles on the pavement later by walking downtown and back. I bought some more crap down there too but this was retail crap.

I've spent the last hour readying blogs about people who like to thrift stuff (garage sales, antique stores, flea markets, etc.) and its totally inspiring me....to buy more and maybe to write about it. If I ever get a camera again I may start picturing the crap that I find on here!

F is for Friday

I ran the same route on Wednesday as I did on Monday. Except I went a little bit longer. I discovered that I ran farther than I thought on Monday so that brings up my pace a little bit which is a good thing. I don't have the stats on hand right now but I think I averaged under 9 minute miles, which makes me happy considering the incline and wind that was in my grill the whole time. I basically felt like ass the entire run, but kept thinking that when I finished I'd feel totes better. Not so. I don't want to explain what followed, but it sucked. The only thing I can chalk it up to is the beer I had the night before or the carrots and coffee only diet I had leading up to the run. I think I need to pay more attention to what I eat and drink. There are junior high school habits that I still hold on to which include consuming entire boxes of cereal at a time. Its just not right. I'm 30 FGS. Back to the Wednesday run, I somehow hit the sweet spot, an HOUR of sunlight in Redmond. How lucky is that?

So, right now 2 runs for 11 miles M-F is good for me. Anything is better than nothing right? But the truth is that I need more more more - after I got done feeling sick on W, I actually felt higher than a kite for a long time. The endorphins lasted many hours and I miss that feeling. I think I owe it to myself to pony up.

Other thoughts:
*bikram yoga again
*new bike - the possibilities are endless (investigate wknd rides, possible commute alternatives)
*maybe start using my gym membership
*go to some local group runs
*start eating better you sloth!

ps - I'm going to Tim Gunn's book signing on Sunday - how f'ing cool is that?

Snickerdoodle Heaven

Oh my god, in the mail just arrived a package with a DOZEN Aroma cookies from Liz. I cannot believe she sent these to me. So nice! This rounds out my planned meal tonight of Baked Lays and good Pinot. Seriously, could life be better?

Dolce

And dolce means sweet beyotch. I bought a bike yesterday and tore out of work today to come home and test drive it. Seattle bitch slapped me again with rain as I exited my office, so no go on the new wheels. I bought a Specialized Dolce in Portland last night to evade sales tax. Total entry level bike but felt good on the test runs compared to the others. I just wanted a bike so didn't throw too much into research and decision-making. The front fork is carbon and rear is aluminum, shimano shifters and not sure of the breaks. Its blue and white with white tape on the handle bars. I didn't get clipless pedals/shoes, want to feel comfortable riding on it first before I start really risking my life.

Ran some miles at lunch today while it was still sort of nice out. 4.8 miles in 48 minutes - you do the math. The bitch of it was the damn elevation, 350 ft over about a mile, is that hard or is it just me?

4/9/07

I'm still scared shitless a little bit on the bike, so trudging along timidly. My traps and lower back get sore - and I'm only going about 8 miles. I forgot to time the 1st 1.5 mile, so for the last 6 I timed myself at about 21:00. My goal is to do 40k in under 1:10. That will be sandwiched inbetween a swim and a run too.

After about a ten minute break and some water, I went running. Ran 4.44 miles at an 8:11 pace.

I'm in MA, visiting my sister for a few days. Running around her place is a tradition when I'm here and brings back good memories. I have been running since my last January post. Pretty frequently, but not enough for me to be obsessive about logging them here. I may transfer the data from my spreadsheet, or maybe not.

It is time to get serious about the marathon and what my plan of attack will be. I'm getting interested in doing a triathlon perhaps in June/July, before marathon training starts. I just hope I don't burn out.

4/7/07:

Biked 8 miles, not sure of time. My first time on a road bike. I feel once getting out of the clips. Got off the bike and ran 3.6 miles at an 8:24 pace.

4/6/07:

Ran gradual hilly course in Boston - 5.6 miles in about 50 minutes. Crappy pace, but it was good to get out.