Ten Miles, Goal Speed, and a Quad Strain

I went to bed last night unsure how far I'd run in the morning. Maybe 10... or 8... or 11. I slept till 8 am and decided I'd run ten miles. The simplest, and maybe most challenging, thing to do was to run from my apartment to the end of Massachusetts Avenue and back. It is exactly five miles each way. I was trying to get out asap so I ate a lighter breakfast.

But for some reason I was really nervous about this run. Only two weeks ago, I ran 13 miles. But that felt like so long ago. It was also really cold all of a sudden and rain was in the forecast. I just didn't think I was going to have that much fun and I thought it was going to be hard. So I procrastinated.

I wore my gator shirt again today. I can't not. We're playing Alabama and that is huge. Luckily my man was up so I didn't have to take awkward before pictures of myself. He could take awkward before pictures of me instead.

I took two Gus with me on this run: Vanilla (caffeinated) and Espresso (double caffeinated).

I spent a couple minutes freaking out about the weather. Wind jacket or short sleeves? Ear warmers? Can't get sick! Ahhh!

I got over myself and left the apartment. But then walked back and forth from my building to the corner like three times before I actually got going. I would see people wearing hoodies and boots and think I absolutely needed long sleeves. Then I'd see someone running in shorts and think I was fine. Finally, I just ran. I was cold at first, yes, but I like to think that just encouraged me to run faster. It was a big mental game at the beginning. For some reason, ten miles was really challenging my mind. I think it had something to do with my "need for speed". I knew this would be harder because I would run faster. I would really push myself. And I was right- it was hard. But it was also fun.

I checked my watch a lot, especially early on. My friend Hadley said she could never wear a watch because she'd check it too frequently and the distance would pass so slowly. She doesn't even like mile markers in races and won't look at the course map before she runs one. Checking my watch kinda does the opposite for me though. It makes me want to push myself and so I run faster. It keeps me in check.

Through the first two and a half miles, my ears really hurt from the cold. That was not going to be pleasant for 8 more miles. And I worried it would make me sick. I thought of Josh at home on the couch, editing pictures. I imagined him deciding to come cheer me on and driving down mass ave. Maybe he would also read my mind and bring me some ear warmers. He didn't though... Eventually the pain went away and I forgot all about it.

Around mile 3.5, I was on one of the few flat stretches of this route and I knew it was time for Gu. I debated which one to take. Vanilla or Espresso? The double caffeine could be nice. But I have a weak stomach, with a particular weakness for coffee, so I worried this might make need a bathroom fast. I still couldn't decide. So I reached in my sports bra, where they were being stored, and pulled out the mystery winner. Espresso it was! I opened it cleanly and took it in three swallows. It was tasty. The consistency of thick pudding. It made me want water but I sipped my bottle conservatively, not wanting to cramp up. I really can't say if the stuff made a difference or not. But it felt fine to take it so, in case it subtly boosted my energy, I've decided I'll take at least one gu on race day.

Then I ran up and down hill for another mile and a half. I turned around and ran up and down hill some more. It was raining, I'm not really sure when it started or when it stopped. I was in a groove of rolling hills. And I was loving my garmin. The "average pace per mile" feature is intersting because it really broke up the run, for speed's sake, to one mile at a time. I was always focused on the pace of the current mile, not the run overall. And with the consistent hilliness of this run, I would go downhill and my speed would increase and then I'd go uphill and it would decrease. But I had no idea what my average pace was throughout and I became really curious around mile 8. I had run a 9:07 mile, a 9:10 mile, a 9:40something mile, and an 8:40something mile. And a bunch of others I couldn't remember- so I had no idea. Could have been 9:02, 9:10 or 9:30. I was pretty sure it wasn't 8:59 though. Luckily, the last .8 miles was all downhill. So, when I got there, I ran quickly to pick up speed. At the end, I was almost sprinting, and my left quad started to hurt. So I slowed down. I got to my corner and stopped the watch. Exactly 10.00 miles. Like a curious cat, I immediately stopped the run, saved it, and went to my history to see the overall pace.

9.01 minutes per mile! Amazing! That means I can do it. If I can run 10 miles at 9:01, I can run 13.1 at 9:07. I may be naive but I believe completely that the run I did today was as hilly as Baltimore will be. I hope I'm right.

I returned with these crazy pigtails, which I did about around mile three. I left with a ponytail but the straight short hair and the ponytail weren't working for me. Maybe I do it up like a little girl on race day?

I made myself the #1 recovery drink. With a little extra chocolate powder. Delicious.

And then I dragged Josh to the store with me to pick up fixings for the lox bagel I was craving. I indulged but the $8 wild Alaskan smoked salmon was so worth it.

I felt the same sharp knee pain that I felt after my 13 mile run so I acted fast. Icing them helped.

I had a few hours to hang out, and wander the Cleveland Park day festival in the rain. But then there was more sweating on the agenda. Soccer game #2 for the season was scheduled at 4:45 today and I was not feeling it. But we were going to have no subs and they needed me. One person didn't show up and we ended up being a man down. I was kind of careless but I still gave a good effort in the first half. I ran a lot and had some good plays. By the end of it, though, my quad pain was back and it was worse than during the run. With a real fear of injuring myself, I was the lamest soccer player ever in the second half. I barely ran at all and when I had to, I hobbled. I just kinda stood there and provided passing relief when I was needed. I had a few defensive stops but I was inactive to the point of real embarrassment. I hate to not give everything I have and normally I would. I could have run but it would have hurt and it would have likely strained my quad more which is the last thing I need. So I was lame.

I came home and discovered the magical world of Garmin Connect. I uploaded all of my runs and learned so much about my pace, splits, even the elevation of my run. So this is a breakdown of how fast I ran each mile, how much elevation I gained and lost, how fast my best pace was, and how many calories I burned. This is the coolest thing ever. But, mile four, I'm pretty sure I didn't run 4:16 minutes per mile. Ever. Even for one second. Thanks for trying though.

And... wonder of all wonders, here is an elevation chart for the run. I had no idea the Garmin could do this and I am more than pleased. I ran out and back to it is basically symmetrical. But you can see it was hilly. Let's see how it compares to Baltimore.

TODAY

BALTIMORE 13.1

So I ran many more rolling hills today but there are some much more steady (and long!!) inclines on race day. But whatever. Enough analyzing. I'll be fine!

I am currently on the R.I.C.E. recovery plan and am fine. I can feel a little pain when I walk but it doesn't seem like anything that will last two weeks. I regret playing soccer but I also would never sit and watch as my team played two (wo)men down. After October 15th, I'll be able to throw my heart more into soccer. But for now, it's all about running! And R.I.C.E.ing! Happy Saturday night and GO GATORS!


Tell me: Any advice for a quad strain? Do you think I actually ran a 4:16 pace?! Hah!

Energy Bars and a Countdown Calendar (for my friends)

Remember how my Wednesday night involved secret running projects? It turns out, every night this week involved secret running projects. These were for two of my favorite runners. They are intended to provide inspiration and fuel for their upcoming races.

Pumpkin NRG Bars for Hadz!

Hadley is running her second half marathon on Sunday. And the girl, like me, is currently obsessed with pumpkin. So I made her some Pumpkin Energy bars from Cycle and Style. I doubled the recipe and used two pans so they were spread pretty thin and I worried they would be a little dry. But she loves them and they have a ton of protein! So I hope they will be a tasty way for her to fuel up before the big day.

On that big day, she will run 13.1 miles from George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, to the National Harbor. And she will dominate. She'll be wearing a pink shirt that reads Big Bad Hads, in case you want to go out and cheer her on. I can’t wait to cheer for her and to hear all about it!! Run, Hadley, Run!

Marathon Countdown Calendar for Nikki!

Remember Nikki? Of course you do, I talk about her all the time and she's running a marathon in two weeks, on her birthday. On our 13 mile run together two weeks ago, she told me that she used to make calendars that counted down to her birthday when she was little. She wanted to make one counting down to the marathon, and her birthday this year. I pictured an advent calendar with a little goodie or card each day. On Monday, I thought of it and asked her whether she had made one. She hadn't and I know she's super busy, especially with training, so it occurred to me to make one for her. I made it my week-long craft project and stayed up too late every night cutting out paper, googling motivational running quotes, and drawing bubble letters.

It ended up being a lot of fun and it was well worth the time spent when I saw the excitement on her face when I gave it to her tonight. She knew I had a surprise for her but had no idea this was it. What's inside the envelopes will remain a mystery to the world and to Nikki, who will find out each day. All that I'll tell you is that they're filled with lots of inspiration, even more cheesiness, and some calories. Maybe some other goodies too.

Each day's envelope has it's own motivational word on it. They all came from ESPN and Runner's World magazines. Some of the words correspond with the day or the things inside of the envelope. Like the day before the marathon is "Conquer". The day of is "GO". And the after-race is "Smile. Eat. Have fun. Drink." I geek out about this stuff.

After she went home, Nikki sent me this picture. I'm very impressed that she has already hung the thing. And am so happy that she's very excited about it.

I am obviously so excited to run Baltimore. But sometimes I've felt like maybe it would have been better to not be running on Nikki's race day and to just dedicate that morning to cheer her on. I still intend to support her as much as I can and to celebrate her all day long (except when she goes home to sleep) but I wanted to help pump her up in the fourteen days leading up to the race. And those fourteen days begin tomorrow. Run, Nikki, Run!

Garmin, Gu, and an ESPN Documentary

Yesterday I had a few firsts on my after work run...

I took a Gu (hammer brand gel version) for the first time. Not that I felt I needed it on a five mile run but, I have little time left to try out my many varieties of electrolytes. I want to see how a few different things feel both during and after runs and then I'll decide whether I think I need anything during the half. I took the gel around mile 3.5 while running uphill. It was a little hard to tear it open with my teeth and then it burst all over my hands. But I spent about .4 miles slowly sucking it up. It was actually kinda tasty. Very sweet, though, and very vanilla-ey. I think it gave me a little energy boost but it's hard to tell. I also think it gave me some small cramps toward the end of my run. Maybe I should just stick to what I know: water and sweat.

I also wore my new watch for the first time. Good timing because rain was expected so you better believe the last thing I was bringing with me was an already injured iPhone! It rained and the watch held strong- it is water resistant and can be lightly submerged but is not to be swum in. 

The watch was awesome! It displays three things: distance, time elapsed, and average pace for the current mile. At each mile it beeps and, for a few seconds, displays the average pace for the previous mile (or previous lap as otherwise set). It doesn't show current pace which was the most common complaint I read in reviews. But I actually think that the average pace per mile is more useful because it lets you see your progress instead of just pushing you to run faster or slower than your "right now" pace. 

I think the little tool actually pushed me to run faster.

So I ran 5.41 miles in 41 minutes and 9 seconds, at an average pace of 9'05" per miles. Not bad. But my legs are sore, which they normally wouldn't be after 9 miles in two days. I can feel my muscles changing from my picking up the pace. Which is a good thing but I don't want to overdo it and injure them or wear them out before October 15. I'm going to slow it down a little bit but I am absolutely going to push for this speed on race day.

I got home and this guy wanted me to feel bad for him and his headache.

Whatever dude. Actually, I do feel bad for you that you didn't get to experience the awesome run in the rain I just had. But now lets hang out and eat pizza and olives.

With pizza, we watched an ESPN documentary called Catching Hell. It was about the infamous (among baseball fans everywhere, not necessarily me) incident on October 14, 2003, when cubs fan Steve Bartman reached for a foul ball, getting in the way of Moises Alou, who would have likely caught the ball. Had he caught it, the cubs would have been four outs away from winning the Natioanl League championship and going to the World Series for the first time since 1908. Instead, the ball was not caught and the cubs were five outs from winning with a 3-0 lead. That moment, though, changed the attitude of every fan, and player, in Wrigley Field and everything went to shit. The Marlins, their opponents, scored 8 runs before another out was made. They won that game, and game 7, and the "curse of the billygoat" (a supposed curse on the cubbies) was not lifted, nor has it been since.

It didn't matter the errors that were made by the actual players on the field that night, allowing eight runs to be made by the other team. Everyone blamed Bartman. The entire stadium pointed at him, chanting "asshole", people threw beer and trash at him, and he had to be escorted from the stands by security and had police surrounding his house for weeks after. He was a humble, life-long cubs fan but he was the focus of the media and he was made a scapegoat. His name will live in infamy. I love sports but this story is about so much more than sports. It really upset me. In my opinion, Alex Gibney does a really good job with Catching Hell. I highly recommend this film for anyone who is a fan of sports or a fan of human nature. At least read a real review of the film.

Tonight I am not going to run, but will stretch a lot instead. A pit-stop at Potomac Running for more electrolytes and secret projects for two running friends will get me over this hump day! Then tomorrow I've got a leisurely run with Ingrid on the calendar.

Saturday Morning Run and Soccer Game

It's another game day. For the Florida Gators and for me. So I woke up early and put on my school-spirited running gear. And I got at least one "go gators" on the road!

I met Nikki in Woodley Park and we started our 13 mile run together. It was really great to do a long run with her again. We went north on the Rock Creek Park trail and then on Beach Drive, which is closed to cars on the weekends. Running thirteen miles wasn't such a great feat, as I've been slowly building up to it for weeks and knew I was ready. But running and talking for thirteen miles was different. It was fun though, and not that hard. We talked about running tricks and food, races, work, family histories, and plans. We returned to Woodley Park, said a quick goodbye, and went our separate ways. I ran another .2 miles uphill on Connecticut Ave and then Josh showed up, in the car, to drive us to our soccer game. I hopped in, feeling really weird going from running for two hours straight to sitting in a car, without even a little walk in between. Not the healthiest recovery. My kneecaps started to feel some sharp pain that was really uncomfortable. It lasted only about ten minutes and they've been fine since.

We arrived at the soccer field and I changed into cleats and shin guards. A few of our players didn't show up so we were without a single sub. I was thrown in midfield which meant a lot of running (con), but less pressure to be aggressive defensively and prevent shots and breakaways (pro). To my, and my teammates', amazement, I held strong throughout. I had some lazy periods but I also had a lot of really good plays and runs. I had one assist and we won 2-0. And I wasn't completely spent. But I did take some time to lie on the fluffy turf afterward.

I have tried to be very careful with what I consume today, given the headaches my long runs have been giving me and my back to back run and soccer game. I ate whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey for breakfast. Then had half a pack of cherry (caffeine infused) sports beans and about 20 oz. of water throughout. Between run and game, I finished the pack, drank about 16 oz. of chocolate milk, and had an entire pack of Clif Bar Shot Roks which are like little energy bar balls that can be eaten in about two bites each. Within about 1.5 hours of the game ending, I had a chicken salad sandwich on freshly cut olive oil ciabatta, cucumber onion dill salad, and grilled veggies. Throughout the soccer game and since, I have drunk about 200 more oz. of water. 

I made it until about 4:30 before any feeling of a headache. I have one now but it is slight. I think that the added electrolytes and the chocolate milk did help me feel better throughout the day. And watching the gators play now makes me happy, as always. I am actually a little shocked at how good I feel given the added hour of soccer. I am proud of myself and I'm not ashamed to say it. Baltimore half is four weeks from today and I feel ready. I want it noooooow!

Gu and Chews and Sports Beans, Oh My!

For a while now, I have been getting persistent headaches on days after my long runs. They usually start within an hour of my finishing and last all day. I decided that I probably need to refuel my body's electrolytes better on these runs but had yet to do anything proactive. Tonight, on my walk home from work, I stopped at Potomac Running in Cleveland Park to get some expert advice on preventing these headaches. I talked to an awesome girl who works there and has plenty of running experience. She told me about the different kinds of gus, beans, and chews that many runners use to refuel during a run. She suggested the beans because they are small and easy to test out, whereas a gu has to be consumed all at once. I went a little crazy and spent $17 on a random assortment of stuff.

After my little shopping spree, I met Josh at Tacklebox for some real fuel. The good stuff. I ate three fish tacos and a whole plate of sweet potato fries. Nom nom.

Playing with our food. And Photoshop.

IN COD WE TRUST!

Tomorrow morning, I will burn it all off during my longest training run of all: 13 miles. I'm not sure how to even begin to choose which of my new goodies to bring along with me. I am especially excited about tomorrow because I get to run the whole thing with Nikki! Her marathon training schedule has her running 13 tomorrow too, on a drop-back week, so she is ditching the group and we're running together. Yay!

I have a super busy afternoon and evening to follow, which I'm not completely looking forward to. But, thanks to my new friend at Potomac River Running, I know that the best drink to have immediately following a run is chocolate milk. It sounds like the last thing I'll want in my stomach after running thirteen miles but it is apparently the perfect ratio of protein and carbs for refueling. With the added electrolyte goodies and chocolate milk to my training, I am expecting to be headache free all day long.

The kicker (no pun intended) is that I have agreed to play in a soccer game immediately after the run. But, by play, I mean stand on the field and kick at things. Assuming that my brain and fingers are still functioning after it's all over, I'll let you know how it goes.



Do you run with gu, gel, chews, or beans? What is your favorite?
Tomorrow I will and time will tell!

Ever tried pretended to smoke a sweet potato fry?
Now I have. I don't even know why it's funny. Smoking 'aint cool in my book.