Chicago Marathon Training: Week 8

Sunday
Distance - 10.3
Pace - 10:07

Rawwrr!  :)

I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but the training plan I am following to prep for Chicago is kind of my own creation.  ... and .. it's already a thing ;) ..   Michele was asked what plan she was following, and she said, 'its called the Crazy Judy Plan.  Its like Hanson, or Galloway, but crazier. lol. Really, its just a mesh of the Atlanta Track Club Peachtree Plan, last year's marathon training plan, with adjustments because we were already trained well to 13.1 when we started, we were eager to see at least 16 sooner rather than later, but we also wanted to train for a good bit longer so that we weren't total old lady newbs when we got out there.  So far so good.  This week, mainly because of the Peachtree road race, the plan called for a (relatively) shorter PRO run.  PRO = progressive.  I had on the calendar 8-10.  Michele, however, needed to get in her overdue 16 from last week.  I was tempted to do at least another 4 with her, but the last stretch of the Riverside course (starting at about mile 8) begs for a bit of zoom.zoom, so I kicked like a loon, and took the natural "out" at 10.5, when we hit the parking lot.  I hope my legs thank me for staying the course next Monday!

At 10:07, compared to 10:40ish for 16 miles, I feel like I for sure covered the task at hand: shorten it up now and again, and put a little zip in it.  Just like on the 16 miler, my last mile was my fastest .. a very good indicator that the effort was easy.  In fact, because it was cool, and relatively flat, I'd say this took VERY LITTLE effort to maintain (on the relative scale of running 10 miles, of course).

After the run, some family time, and then we all met back up for an End of Peachtree Training Run Lead celebration.

Fave part: hangin' with my spud bud

Monday
Distance: Rest or XT

I did: nothing.  Mergh!  Really have to get on myself about either swimming more often, getting on a Jillian tape again, or SOMETHING.  But its not the best week to be 'good.'  PMS is real, and all I wanted to do is rest, eat, and channel my inner whale-i-ness.  Mergh.

Random trending topic side bar of the week: Sports Bras
On Saturday, I had a participant (male) apologize to us two women he was running with, because he was so uncomfortable, he really needed to take of his shirt. Of course, he doesn't know me very well, because I am like the least prudish person on the planet. And even more so on behalf of others.  Whoever made me gave me almost absolutely no filter about 'getting things done' when it comes to quickies like peeing, changing, etc. I clean in whatever state of dress I feel like.  I get ready for runs in my car, or the parking lot. I wouldn't bat an eyelash at women protesting their right to go topless, breast feeding in public, heck, I couldn't say I'd immediately spook at the thought of one of those nudest hot tub meetings out in the woods that are always the hot topic of some movie or t.v. show.

BUT .. it would take ABSOLUTE Armageddon for me to ditch the tank.  (the tank I only accepted just last year over a full t-shirt). Mainly because I am still SERIOUSLY uncomfortable with my middle .. (It being PMS week, even more so).  Needless to say, though, the guy we were running with was a good bit bigger than I.  And this got me thinking.  Not 'I'm READY,' but more: what would it take, can I ever get to a point where I would be ready to even call that a goal, and what should I do to get there?  Plus why the hell am I so good to other people, but not to myself, and why the heck are we (the social, all of us we) so good to men, and so harsh on women?

The uncooperative middle: Exhibits A and B

I came to find that this thought seemed to be on the minds of many a woman this week:

First this article popped up on my feed: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/i-got-tired-waiting-womans-bikini-photo-encourages/nrmWG/

Then this one: http://www.runselfierepeat.com/blog/bye-bye-insecurities-bring-on-the-sports-bra

Soon, even my friends were apparently giving this thought: http://10ktuesday.blogspot.com/2016/06/peachtree-training-week-1213.html

Possibly all converging right now because .. IT IS HOT AS BALLS!

After all this thinking, what I've got is:  I *DO* want to get there.  Its not an *impossible* thing, or a thing that I find un-okay to aspire to.  I WANT to have a 'bod.'  I haven't had a 'bod' since high school.  I don't think every runner, every woman, needs to get to, or even want to get to, the same place.  But for me, it would rock.

Regarding the sports bra, I'm not there yet, but on the other hand, I would do it if the situation truly mattered.  Like my participant, if my skin was about to bleed off, I am going to be good to myself, and say F U judge-y people.  Yes, I am still overweight.  That doesn't mean I have to be deathly uncomfortable.

Mainly I want this for the fashion.  How many CUTE outfits at Victoria Secret *hinge* completely on the matching sports bra??  ALL. OF. THEM.

On the other hand, I found the CUTEST couple of #babysteps tank/bra combos at Athleta:



Possibly the best of both worlds!! ***so excited***  Am I 100% ready for these by nit-picker's (including my own) standards .. nope!  So I can do something a little daring, a little rock the establishment .. but not making the nit-pickers totally puke .. and all while beating the heat and staying much more comfortable!  WINNING!!!!

Tuesday
Distance: 5 miles
Pace: 9:46

Best of times, worst of times run.  Good: I did it!  Solo runs are TOUGH for me to stick to, and in 85+ degrees, the odds of me actually doing what I say I am going to do are slim to none.  The other good: the pace averaged out to be not-total-crap, which is usually what I put out there on a solo run in blistering heat.

The bleh:  I had NOOOOO motivation to run.  I *never* found a zone, a rhythm, or my pace.  I went out a little fast, hoping to channel my own inner #10kTuesday momentum, like I am forced to do when I hang with that squad.  But I went from zippy to dead stop, and zippy, and oh look at the flowers, and zippy, and maybe just stop at 4, and okay, I still have 10 more minutes, so might as well get in 5, and then 'oh look, I'm late for cheer carpool .. run!'  Yucky mental game.  But .. um.. done!

I figured that if I am going to keep blogging about running, I should start getting good at making little videos about running.  Well, little videos about running are hard! Haha.  I wanted to make this a mini quickie  lip-sync to the song I was listening to.  But then I figured out I can't take a video and play music at the same time on my phone.  So .. attempt one.  Random little shot of me running. :)  Baby Steps.

These are getting really LONG, so lets publish this and add to it at the end of the week.  Says who?  Says the owner of this dang blog! ;)  If you're mid-read, come back on Saturday or Sunday for more good ramblings. :) :) :)

.... okay , I'm BACK ...


Wednesday - Sunday
Distance: 1 WU mi, 1 mile / 400 recovery, 800 / 400 recovery, 400 / 400 recovery, 1 CD mi
Times: 8:05 (whaaat? Goal would have been about 8:40); 3:52 (compared to 4:03 goal); and 1:46 (compared to 1:59)

Speed work this week actually resembled speed work.  With only 3 intervals to run, it was easy (read doable) to disregard the disgusting 90+ degree heat.  Because .. only for one mile .. only for two laps .. only for last lap.

Kyle came to Gwinette track for this one and we CRUSHED 'pod' running together.  Enrique's tip to "pod up" and run the track together, rather than alone as part of a racing strategy has really stayed with me.  Of course, I can't always bang out these times, but a little motivation to crush it every once in a while is just perfect.  There's still the matter of racing strategy; if you are pod running, when do you pull away, when do you chase, etc.?  For the mile, I had Kyle, and for sure didn't feel "all out" about it.  The next two, he really took off in the last ~100m.  The second one, I let him lead; I had my target pace crushed .. no need to race it.  The last one, I had hoped to really CRUSH again .. but dude TOOK OFF at the 50 m mark.  I wanted to .. but nope.  Lots of nope.  So notes for the books: don't leave a race with Kyle to the final sprint.  Tee hee.  That said, mission: ACCOMPLISHED. :)

Thursday
REST


Piggies are ready for Peachtree.  Sure they'll be in socks and sneakers, but relax / confidence building time is important. :)


Friday
Distance - 4 miles (Riverside)

I am just so thrilled to have found this meet up!  Traffic is doable, because its Friday.  The time is "reasonable" at 6:30, so it almost feels like sleeping in.  The group is mainly "fasts."  But the conditions are perfect, because: 1. they are running their easy day 2. its a relatively shorter distance. 3. Riverside is flat, and cool.

For the second week, I ran a 4 mile PR, besting last weeks time by 2 seconds.  :)



After that, I had some chores to take care of so .. impromptu day off!  Woo.  Unfortunately, after the car repair was done, I felt the "too much time on my hands" panic creeping in.  So I took the girls and Bella for a nice walk / swim at Roswell Mill.  So relaxing. :)



Saturday
Distance: 3.1 easy
Did: 29:31, 9:31 .. maybe not SUPER easy, but conversational for at least 2 miles. ;)

The 7:30 start was supposed to get us (Harley, Katie, Michele & I) a little closer to race conditions.  The Greenway (flat and shady) negated that.  I could feel the heat threatening its would be status later in the day, but I could also feel the breeze of the morning.  Another run with company means running at my best fairly naturally.  This was a good run, and just what the doctor ordered in prep for Peachtree, both mentally, and for shake out purposes.

After that, To. The. Expo!

These things can both be really, really fun ..



And extremely overstimulating ...


Sunday
Rest .. if you can call it that. ;)



Total - 27.5


Upcoming

Peachtree
This video is life right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT91YSVkXUA&feature=youtu.be

Chicago
Dude, look at all the green boxes!  #ctso method (cross that shit off) works! :)


Michele was in Chicago earlier this week for work.  Very jealous.   She went on a stealth mission to take notes for us.  Verdict: its as flat as they say it is. :)

Chicago Marathon: Week 7

Sunday
Distance: 16



Can't say enough great things about this run!  The first 2.5 miles of the Peachtree course are great for warming up zippy, and surrounded by friends, even better!  Mentally, it helped to have three single-digit legs to this run: 6.2 to run the course, out and back on the beltline, and then 6.2 reversing the course.  Sounds so much better than 16. :)  The real fun began at about mile 13.  The reverse of Peachtree means some TOUGH hills at the end.  Of those that remained, I think I was the only one who refused to walk.  Harley told me I took the hills like a champ, and that he was pretty impressed.  I was like d'awwww, thanks! Then, at 15.5, he edged in front again, and took off.  Of course, that meant GO TIME.  We kicked it out for a 9:24 mile 16! BOOM!.

If I take this pace out to marathon distance, that's 4:40:59, and a nice comfy 4 minutes under what is more and more often coming to mind as a goal for Chicago, 4:45.  Pros going for me: MUCH hillier course today, MUCH hotter run than I assume Chi in October would be, MUCH less adrenaline on a training run than on race day, and 3.5 more months of training, with hopefully, at least -5 lbs of body.  Cons: 10 more miles of holding said pace.  So .. back to: I don't know, duh, because its my first.

Yes, that was still the Tom Tom pictured up above.  I am REALLY slow when it comes to swapping out gear.  Like 8 months slow!  I took both watches out (new toy is one of THREE gadgets on arm, if you double check that picture), but pause/starting, etc, on both for 16 miles proved .. um .. inefficient. (plus, I didn't really know how, so my first workout was over 20 hours long; eventually, I taught my self how to trash the record and turn off the watch.  Progress.)

So far, on the Forerunner 630, I've: really liked the light, comfortable feel of the watch.  Its, well, a real watch.  Compared to the Tom Tom, feel-wise, its like: dad's watch vs. the Fisher Price plastic watch you might get for a two year old to pretend they have a watch like dad's watch. :) So that's one perk.  Con: I still wonder if I shouldn't have bought something that could at least count swim laps ... BUT .. I still lean toward it being mass overkill right now.  Doggy paddling does not require a watch.  Next upgrade.

Other con: I still wonder if I shouldn't have picked up the version of this watch that includes a wrist HRM.  This one only gives those metrics with the purchase of a chest belt; another $100 bucks.  I don't train heavily with HR; my Tom Tom only seemed to display it when it felt like it.  (For realz!  .. ooooor .. maybe there's a setting I never figured out. ;) ).  The bottom line decision on this, though, was: 1. I don't ALWAYS need HRM, so even if uncomfortable, I can buy and wear the belt eventually, and then get the *real* stats every once in a while.

Here soon, I just need to spend an hour with the thing, and show it who's boss!  Because the display is the most important thing to me, and I can't get that to work right yet.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
Distance: 6.22
Pace: 9:57

Running with more people ROCKS!  This run happened a bit by mistake / punishment. Lol.  One, I think it was karma .. after missing a 7 am race start, someone needed to redeem herself with some 5am game!  Two, this run really happened to me because I was being lazy, and fearing accountability!  I knew I was feeling this way, so I tried REALLY hard to stay a "maybe"for any run the gang proposed.  "I'll be a maybe, because .. maybe I'll run later at Fowler ... or earlier ... at 10KTuesday ... yea, 10KTuesday, that's it .. I'm a maybe for Publix, 5:45 PM (hilly heat-fest) because .. um .. Birgit is preggo now, so um, maybe I won't be too far behind that group again.  Yea, yea .. that's what I am probably doing.  If I don't go there, though, for sure I'm in .. like maybe for sure.  Lol.  Then .. foiled with Kyle's: oh, okay.  I'll just do that, too, instead.  MEEERGGHH!  lol.

Running with the "fasts" is where its at, though!  I can't always push myself to moderate effort, and the first half of this was for sure that.  I realize that.  But getting there more often is a perk of faster anchors within sight ahead.  On the other hand, the second half felt REALLY comfortable, and I ran it ONB (10:04, 10:07, 9:48, 10:15, 9:53, 9:53, and .29 at 8:43).  So possibly it just felt a little harder because I don't typically take the 'easy' first mile at 10:04.  Anyhoo, loved it.

Wednesday
Distance: 1 WU, 4 x mile repeats / 400 m recovery, 1 mi CD
Pace: 10:51 WU, then: 8:33, 9:09, 10:36, 9:08

"Did I win the picture?" Michele and I literally battle it out until the click, hence why we're both almost falling over!  Creeping to out inch each other. bahaha.

This felt like the impossible work out from HELL.  I guess after having two awesome, happy runs so far this week, the next work out would have to take one for the team.

I ran with the new watch, and that was a DISASTER!  I couldn't find anything. Did I try to take that first mile out at 30s+ too fast? .. NOOOO.  But I couldn't find a display with pace and avg pace.  I like seeing both.  At the finish line of mile two at goalish pace, I could feel the 91 degrees zapping me completely.  In fact, after the finish line, I was sure I was going to hurl.  No puking, but I took a SLOW recovery, and then decided the 3rd interval was going to be more recovery.  Luckily, for interval 4, I had the recovery, some bought us gator-aide, the evening got a couple of degrees cooler as the sun finally began setting, and then, too, knowing it was the last one.  Perked back up with another interval at pace for Peachtree goal.

If I had to hang my hat on this speedwork, I'd say 9:08 for 6.2 is still out of reach.

Thursday
XT
About 6 laps

Bill, Ash and I went swimming at the HOA pool in the evening after work.  Too many kiddies, but he watched me do some laps, and actually gave me a few tips that helped a good bit.  Primarily:  you can actually hold your breath for a lot longer than you are.  Try going every other stroke; see how you like that.  And, woo .. that made me faster without making me any more uncomfortable or winded.

The not so good thing .. he also was quizzing / warning me about Charlie horses and cramps and whatnot.  And I am all like: Of course, I know how to tread water, and yes I can dead man's float just in case ... but we're doing a triathlon, dude.  I don't need to practice floating.  I've been swimming once a week for a few months now, and have never had a ... AAOOOOOOOOOOUUUUU, what the fuck was thaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU. OOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.  Karma = bitch.

Friday
Distance - 4 miles
Pace:

More running with fast people. :) I needed 4-5 miles, and people were meeting at Riverside this AM to run 4-6 miles.  Seemed legit.  Well, except which people.  But whatever, right? lol.  Turned out to be a great decision.  Here's my 4 miler from Resolution Run in January:

LOL!  Raced it. :) For sure not easy / conversational.  All Michele and I had to give each other were the sound of the other's foot falls, and maybe some short jokey quips here and there.  On the other hand, for sure not the hard race effort I remember 37:49 being in January.  Reserve gas still in tank, ready for hopefully, a new 10K race pace. ;)  Yippy!

Saturday
Distance: 8.8


Aww, the last group run for this team!  Peachtree training is finished, and I think my pod is ready! Can't wait to see them all accomplish this goal. :)


Total: 40!
I think this might be my first 40 mile week!  (I've never kept track by week before beginning Chi Marathon training officially, but if I had to guess, I'd say this was a first)


Coming up


MEEERRGH!

10% - 9:08 avg pace
50% - PR - under 58:42
90% - PTRR PR - under 1:03

To Trot or Not to Trot (DNS #2)

Saturday
Distance - ZIP

Oh womp, womp.  So much womp womp!



I woke up at literally 6:28.  For a 7am race. My stomach jumped into my mouth. :(

If I had woken up 15 minutes earlier, I might have had a chance.  If I had woken up 15 minutes later, I would have known for sure there was NO chance.  At 6:28, I forced myself to swoosh toothpaste, jump into all the gear, and haul ass out the door.  (Luckily, I had prepped everything the night before).  Maps said I would get there at 7:02.  Possibilities: Last wave?  Race is running late?  Might as well check.  Serious cons: no breakfast, no coffee, no stretching, no warm up, and if in the last wave, absolutely NO external motivators.  But on those, I figured if I got to race, I'd at the very least get in the distance at tempo.  It wasn't meant to be, though.  I got to Riverside, and JUST as I pull up to the intersection for the Chattahoochee Nature Center, the cone van is the VERY car right in front of me.  He stops, lays out a line of cones that essentially makes me the FIRST car diverted left.  That was when I gave up.  The race had either started or was about to start, and there was no way to get close enough to CNC to park.  Walking/jogging would take too long.

To add insult to injury, the morning was PERFECT. Cool and overcast.  I can so easily see that 9:08 pace on my watch, me dancing around in excitement .. and then WOOOSH, not happening.  Sucked.

On my drive home, I was certain hubby had been an asshat, and turned off my alarm, because I was "ignoring" it, or something.  Dude, I had even gotten up at 4 AM, checked the time, and thought to myself:  I feel well rested now, but .. lets not push it.  So what happened???  After frantic drive, I looked again, and even though I *had* set the 5am alarm, I had also set it to vibrate only.  Hubby gets to live another day.  It was all my fault.  (Insert aforementioned womp womping).

Did Not Start (DNS) number #2, in the books!

There won't be another good moment to tackle this particular goal .. the 9:08 pace for sure slips from 50%ish goal to 5-10% goal at Peachtree, given the crowds, heat, and hills.  If I miss it for the 4th, many of the other 10Ks in late summer / early Fall will be tempting, but there will be a bigger price to pay on the marathon front to add in ANOTHER race that I want to take seriously .. tapering, running shorter distance, etc.  There are two possibilities of near-guaranteed success: Sizzler (current PR), and some Lighting race.  I guess we'll see how tempted I get, and whether or not training continues as well as its been so far.  Maybe, if I continue to be as solid and ahead of schedule, we go for one of these.  Or .. I guess we start taking Peachtree seriously??  (Naaaaaaahhhhh).

Chicago Marathon Training - Week 6

Sunday
Distance - 15 miles (WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

Avg Pace


Boom!

This run was soooOOOOoooo much better than 14 and 14.5.  If marathon day turns out like this run, I will be a seriously happy camper.  Prep for it on Saturday night may not have been ideal ...

#jelloshotfuel

But after just a wee smidge of alcohol, some pretend poker (at which I kicked BUTT!), and then a catch-up episode of Outlander, I managed to put myself to bed at a respectable 11pm.  Unfortunately, we were running at 6am.  That turned out to be worth the loss of sleep.  No 90 degree slog fest.  The 10:30 pace came easy until about mile 12.  After that, it was a bit harder to keep under 11.  But I wasn't even close to needing to run/walk.  I did run alone for most of it; Ms. Michele was feeling her zippy self, and ran up ahead most of the time, and Kyle was finally feeling the effects of two back to back PR weekends, so he ran somewhere behind me a good bulk of the miles.  I was prepared for alone, and opted for some music on this run.  That was a good fall back.  When even that got boring, I dug back to the parent road trip bag of tricks, and finished out the last 6 miles playing the Alphabet game! Haha.  There are not many signs at the Greenway in Fowler park, but at the slower long-run pace I was moving, between those and t-shirts of passer-bys, it worked.  Add that to the list of things you can think about to distract yourself while on a long run! lol.

Heart stitch repeated itself at 14.5 mile mark.  Luckily, there was a quick trail closing that required a pause right then.  (The closing was 3ft long, just where they were changing out some wood planks, but crossing it was the only way to get to the main trail, and/or back to the car).  Getting around the tape, and over the planks was enough recovery.  Its a bummer that it happened again, though.  Much later in the run, but if it becomes more than the 'pain of the week,' I'm guessing I'll soon be on route to one of those monitoring sessions that ultimately leads to: we don't see anything wrong, but be careful and come back to us if it gets worse.  

If by any chance, we kept these paces up as we train, I am eyeballing a 4:45 marathon finish time goal, and Michele can probably shoot to break the 4:30 mark.  WAAAAYYY too early to say either of those are goals, and just finishing WILL 100% be the 'make us happy no matter what' goal.  But a decent time wouldn't be turned away. :) :) :) The median time for females who run a marathon is 4:45.  Must. Be. Average! Lol. 

Sweaty sleepy Judy.  But very happy campers!

Pacing conservative "easy" like a pro!

What my Sunday night looked like! Time asleep: 11 hours!!! Haha.  I didn't feel sore, and was on my feet a good bit after the run, so all in all, I felt like I took this one like a pro, and not like someone doing this mileage for the first time.  BUT .. the sleep chart at the end of the day might say otherwise.   I know some of that was Game of Thrones watching, not sleeping, but still!   Knocked da f'k out, indeed. 

Monday
Rest

Took a walk at lunch, and sat on the couch all night with the Billster.  Fun.

On the running front for today, though, I did add a toy to my collection, which is for sure news worthy!  The insurance program at work has a Wellness Incentive.  The more points you accumulate, the more you can spend at their health-themed "mall."  This bad boy retails for over $420.  But I got it FOR FREE, having accumulated some serious points using my Fitbit and ... entering. all. the. races. Can't wait until it ships, so I can start playing with all the new functionality.  A little nervous about jumping ship from TomTom interface to Garmin, but come on .. all the cool kids are doing it! (It = have Garmins).




Tuesday
Distance - 3.1
Pace - 9:52

She cheers.  I follow.  Time to learn to fit running around taxi-momming.  Emily's practices right now include Tuesdays, 7-9.  Fortunately, that's a perfect block of time for a run, and Fowler park is close by.  Unfortunately, last time I tried this, I left Emily at the gym, and then SAT.  I SAT for 1.5 HOURS in my car.  AT FOWLER parking lot.  In run clothes. Texting and Facebooking in my air conditioned car.



God bless the K-man!  He came up to do Fowler with me this time, and that was great.  Short, sweet, and done.  I can't believe I once thought fitting in a 3 mile run was too much effort.  I guess its all relative. ;)  Now it feels like a present.

Nothing remarkable about the running.  Rain showers helped cool temperatures a bit.  I didn't want to kill myself.  Keeping it light this week so that I can run my best Possum Trot possible.  At the end, I did kick it up a notch.  The final mile was for sure 9:08, and the final .1/2 mile was probably under 8.

Wednesday
Distance: 1 mi WU, 4-5 x 1200, 1 mi CD

Did: NADA! :(  Mama had a just don't wanna work out in the sun day.  Some of that was justified in the brain with thoughts of the possum run, but really, it would have served me just fine to push a few intervals THREE days before a 10k.  Bad Judy.

Thursday
Distance: 3.1 + 300 meters (6 laps)
Time: 28:15

Another evening run with 50/50 chance of happening.  But just as I was debating whether to go to dinner, and just screw it, I tossed out to Ash an improbable suggestion: hey, want to go to LA Fitness first.  I'll get in a 5K, some swim, and then we grab dinner?  And she said YES.  Woo. :)

The time on this for a random, tired evening on the mill is a good confidence boost.  A little push, but for sure not PR push hard effort anymore.  Woo! Now .. I just double it on Saturday, and .. oof. Lol.



Friday
Rest

Just a walk with doggies to get in my 10K:



Saturday
See race report tomorrow! :)

Total: 27.4

Coming Up
This week, we're just about 1/2 way into the year, so I thought it'd be good to review the 2016 goals:

2016 Running Goals:

Run 1000 miles  - At just shy of 600 miles, I am CRUSHING this goal. So far, so good!

Run a sub-8 1 mile - CHECK! 

Run a sub-26:30 minute 5k - CHECK!

PR at PTRR (Current - 1:03)

Run a sub-2:14 half marathon - CHECK! (stretch goal: run a 2 hour 1/2) - I'll attempt after Chi

Lose 10 lbs - 7 down!

Up hair game! :) - boxer braids and piggy buns .. nuff said!

Not run a full marathon this year.  - We all read between the lines when this goal was set, right?? ;)

Given how well these are moving along, I've already got a couple of thoughts for 2017: the year of .. wait for it .. over-the-top costumes? haha.

For the 'goals that scare you,' we'll also have: get ripped.  And by ripped I mean as toned as my non-leg parts can possibly get.  This is really scary.  My body doesn't do ripped.  Its soft and curvy, and so far .. only the running sticks.  Anything else I try quickly jumps off the deep end and into a black hole of nothingness.  I can commit to running 14 miles, and done.  I commit to doing Jillian DVD every Monday .. and I just end up rolling around on the floor for 5 minutes, and then watching her while laying on the mat for 25 more.  (I don't go grab popcorn, but you can just picture that its a short hop skip and jump to that image from what I actually end up doing!)

To get serious about this will mean maybe forgoing a 2017 marathon, and REALLY committing to something structured for toning .. be that a trainer at LA F with regular appointments, or Orange Theory, etc.  Acknowledging that I need help, and structure, and accountability.  Plus, making it a priority, time wise.

I really need these things NOW, but with marathon training for the first time EVER, I am wading into that water slllooooooowlly.  The time commitment priority has to be the running right now. The swimming may help a little, and here and there, I hope I keep getting talked into things that will pull me in this direction in 2016.  Heck, if I don't have to set the goal in 2017, great.  But if by December, rippedness hasn't shown up at my door by accident like a lost puppy, (lol) then Jan 2017, I will GO GET IT! *^_^*

Race Report: Braves 5K

Saturday
Braves 5K

Goals
10% - PR
50% - Repeat PR of 26:46
90% - Under 30


Result

Wahoooooooo!  (Official: 26:25 / 8:30 average pace)

About this run
I didn't know how to feel in the morning.  The "Con" weighing heaviest on my mind was last Thursday's 5K at Pubix/Westside with Kyle.  I kept that short run "easy" at ~10:00, with very little 'racing' / hard effort.  It didn't FEEL easy or by choice, though, because of the hills and 85+ degree weather!  When Kyle pushed at the end for a fast finish, I didn't even bat an eyelash; just kept that steady pace right to the end.  Usually, a little sparing will get me going.  Not this time.

The other fact that kept popping into my brain : my last 5K resulted in a SERIOUS PR, and that required a pacer (what my friends have since labelled an: illegal drug. lol).  Could I come even CLOSE to that time by myself???

One thing that calmed me was hearing someone else put the feeling to words.  I asked how she was doing this morning.  She said:  "I'm nervous."  Plain and simple.  Yes, we know we're not winning, yes we know its silly, but point blank, we get nervous anyway.  It happens, and I can acknowledge it and move on without needing to dwell on it.  So I too accept it.  It means I care.

The wait is over!  Time to boogie!  More and more often, without planning for it, I am surrounded by friends and familiar faces at the start corrals.   So awesome.

This race went by QUICK!  In part, I can thank the person right behind me in the picture up above.  She ran real steady (but fast steady) out of the corral, and before I knew it, I was on her left hip.  This did wonders for me.  For a moment, I wondered what the etiquette on this is .. are you allowed to just pick someone to stay with / draft off without arrangement, lol?? or are you just annoying them and killing their own race vibes?  But as soon as she noticed I was sticking with her, she gave me a few tips of encouragement, and I could feel the love. :) I kept her comment of: "you're holding this pace great" with me for a good long time after we parted ways closer to mile 2.  The first time I thought to seriously look at my watch, I was already at .68.  For a 5K, that's like .. almost there, baby!

I knew the second half of this race was tougher, and for me the middle mile(s) of any race are all about steady hard effort.  Luckily, even after I lost the side-by-side companion, I had the "out in front of me" companion/target for maybe another mile or so.  That was focus, for sure.

Unfortunately, something I did on the hydration/fuel front was MAJORLY off.  I don't carry hydration for races this short, and had been instead sipping gator-aide all morning.  It should have been fine.  But right around this point, my tongue turned into a caterpillar. Fortunately, one: I was up in B corral to start, where people congestion at stops is lower, and runners are pretty efficient at the grab and go, if they even grab anything.  And, two: I had read an article that just a small swig of water, while it can't "correct" de-hydration, can at least stave off the body's effects, by telling the brain something like: its okay, we're okay, we're going to get water, see?  No problems swishing around enough water in my mouth to knock the problem out for the whole rest of the race.  Elephant's feather or not, it worked.

Someone had told me they'd probably be pacing this positive-ish.  For me, the pacing strategy on a 5K is almost always: fast, steady, fast:

I'm getting better at this pacing thing! ;)

The middle miles seemed to have a bit less sun protection, and more quick hills thrown in the mix.  It was MUCH better than running at, say, 11 am.  But 7:45 was for sure hinting at the 90+ degree weather to come.  That said, compared to everything else I'd been putting myself through these last weeks, the course itself seemed like cake, even in the 2nd half.

The one scare came when I got a stitch in my chest at almost mile 3.  It lasted for maybe 10-20 seconds.  It wasn't painful enough that I couldn't run through it; just enough pain to hint at the possibility of something scary.  I focused on my breathing.  Devil Judy said: you'll be that person that didn't listen, and ended up running herself into a heart attack.  Angel Judy said:  focus on your breathing.  Calm down, and see if its a momentary thing.  Don't be the melodramatic girl who stops to walk, and then nothing comes of it, and you have to be all about the excuses like: I had to stop ... I thought I was having a heart attack .. for real guys.  (Lol, yes, this is what goes on in my brain while I run).

Angel Judy was right.  It was a momentary stitch, went away after a moment of thinking calm thoughts, and focusing on the breathing.  Good Judy.

(I'll be watching this carefully, though;  I'm not an idiot)

Approaching the 3 mile mark, and Turner Field, I didn't think I'd have access to that "other gear."  Its never guaranteed, and you always want to write it off with an: I paced well and left it all on the course before this, so no need.  WRONG!  Finish kick is like dessert stomach.  Its real.  haha.  You just have to talk yourself into getting a bit more uncomfortable.  The light went off in my brain not right at seeing Turner Field, because Brain remembered it was still a good 800-1000 m to the finish from here, and it didn't want to be tricked.  For Brain, kick is visual.  See finish, run hard.  But Brain lost to Heart when I heard a "Go Judy" shout from Coach Amy!  Dude, I dare you not to run with heart when an Olympian cheers you on!  #runcelebritycrush much. ;) Perfect product placement.  I'm buying. :) :) :)

Just after that straight away, there is one more to-do: get EVEN MORE uncomfortable.  Thoughts rattling in my brain:  I think I have a PR, but never trust on-the-race math, and especially math that requires being accurate to the second.  So I'm thinking both: you got it, so don't kill yourself, and you'll be SAD if you miss it by a few seconds, and could have given more.  Also, 8:30 or better average pace would be RIDICULOUS, right?? .. and what about under 26:30.  That COULD happen.   These thoughts are all waging war against the constant that is: or I could JUST STOP ..DUH!

Then .. another perfect product placement in the form of Coach Enrique at the gate to the warning track, reminding me that I had done all of the speedwork for this.  2nd wake up call =  can't stop, won't stop mode!  In fact, I AM going to RACE it in, and try to check off one or two people on the warning track!  Go, Judy, go.  Through the finish with PR and under 26:30 .. Like. A. Boss. *^_^*

I had no idea where the other two triplets were the whole race.  I didn't think I'd seen them go by, but that first mile, I was 110% focused on Carol, so who knew.  Later Kyle said he could see me, and was trying to catch me.  He set a new PR, and broke my Singleton time!  We really do run like twins.  Just depends on the day.  We have our specialty distances, though, it seems.  In hindsight, just glad I didn't 'take it easy' for a second anywhere along the hot spots mentioned above! K-man was coming!! lol.  *^_^*

And then, after the race, it's the after party!!

DoOOOOooon't Stooooopppppp Beliiiiiiiieviiiiing!

Of course, the person I was needing to find was my illegal drug pictured above, Coach Jerry.  After months of gunning for it, he earned himself a seat at the under 20 minute club! ***whoa***  We HAD TO celebrate that!! Plus, I had to share with him my incredible feat of running a 5K PR without his illegal help.  (and then *whisper* beating Kyle, haha).  His reaction was pretty much priceless, and I think the moments of sharing and celebrating with him, Angelina, Brandi, M & K, and the rest of the crew are by far my favorites.  Again, I say: if you think running is a solo sport, you're probably doing it wrong.  Just count the names of all the people I mention throughout, and every time I do something I'm proud of!!

So .. we hate the hours leading up to the gun, we both adore and hate the running, and then live for basking in the glory the rest of the day!  haha.  Plus, we thank running when we hop on the scale later. ;)  All in all, it seems like a fair trade.

What's Next?
Good question.  26:30 was the 2016 year end goal for 5K!  But we still have a really nice, fast course in the form of Atlanta's Finest to come in August.  It seems obvious that gunning for under 26 by then could be a 10% reach goal.  Especially if I continue to drop a lb here and a lb there prior to.  BUT .. A PR with a 25 in front of it sounds like COMPLETE INSANITY and scares the BAJEEZUS outta me!!! So I don't even want to type it today as a goal.  Maybe next week. ;)

Tomorrow, we run long.  New mileage in the form of a first 15!  After that, the focus shifts to 10K, and my not-so-secret secret race.  Goals for the Possum Run are just: 10% - run 9:08 pace, and 50% / 90% - don't.

Chicago Training: Week 5

Sunday
Rest (aka birthday celebrathon hangover nursing day)



Monday
Distance - 4 miles
Pace - 9:40

Another one of those days where you spend a whole day trying to talk yourself into running, but you spend more time actually negotiating with yourself than doing anything.  When I finally jumped ship off the couch, it was 8 pm, and all I want to get in was a 'quickie.'  To LA Fitness (because the AC upstairs is broken, and my guest room with treadmill is temporarily an oven).  Pace was sub 9:40, but it was a brick oven on the 2nd floor of LA F too, so for sure not easy.

Tuesday 
Rest (aka rut-roh)

Missed a call from Michele.  Decided to do 10kTuesday on the treadmill.  Then decided to bail on that and just sit on the couch with hubby all night.  This whole no-kids-thing could be doing wonders for my training  .. but so far, its just made me want to enjoy what I never get to enjoy .. being a slouch!

Wednesday
Distance - 1 mi WU, 5 x 1000 with 400 m recovery, 1 mi CD + 11 laps
Goal: 5:09



Tough!  Tough, tough, tough.  I am going to blame going out too fast. And new sneakers. And the heat fest that is 6:30 pm on an open track these days.  But the goal was 5:09, and I hit it 3 times.  Once I was off goal by 30+ seconds (needed a: just recover interval) and the other by 4s.  My first one, though, was 4:55, so yea, a little fast in the heat, and I was spent.  Next time, must pace that out a bit better, so that I can hang for the full work out.

This is the second time I have almost burst into tears thinking about the marathon after a run.  Being THAT drained and exhausted, and having 20 more miles to do.  After our 14.5 last Saturday was the first time .. to think that we'd been literally running ALL MORNING LONG, and STILL had the WHOLE Atlanta 10 Miler to go .. the very thought makes the "d" word jump to my tongue every time.  (deferment, you perverts!)

In other news, though, WEIGHT LOSS IS COMING!! :) I am maintaining under 140s.  For the longest time, it had been: 139. 139, 142, 139, 141, 143.  Now its more like: 137, 138, 138, 137, 137.  Boom!  Buh Bye, "4" tens digit, officially!!  Counting re-lost and found weight, that's -5 since I started marathon training.  WooooOOOOOOoooo.

I'm still giving a lot credit to eating better and swimming for the break in the plateau.  Different muscles, and even after I am EXHAUSTED with intervals, I can still easily talk myself into jumping in the pool.  Its never an easy workout, per se, but the perks:  cooling off, hot tubbing, relaxing and feeling cleaned off ... all make the brain say: yea sure, lets do it.

Thursday
Distance - 3.1

A little Publix with the returning champ, Mr. K-man, tonight.  A shake out run for him.
Here is where I can see two paths diverging.  A couple of people so far have told me that maybe racing isn't a good idea during marathon training.  But lets get real .. I'm not putting off racing for 22+ weeks.  Just not going to happen.  Plus, I think speed and race pace running need to be a part of marathon training, or I will just get slow!  That said, I can now see the conflict.  Total distance for the week is tanking .. some of that due to the fact that my "week" starts Sunday, and this time, we ran long Saturday, but still ..   I could go long today, and add more miles to Friday, without totally messing up the Sunday long run, and have a more decent total for the week.  BUT .. Braves 5k.  I don't want to tack on the miles I missed earlier in the week now because I need rested legs to run this 5K.  Right now, I don't think its going to ruin me, but closer to full on training (say with 18 weeks to go), I'm going to have to let marathon training win more and more of these arguments.

And speaking of which, its 6/9 .. so OFFICIALLY 4 MORE MONTHS!!!  Panic Mode: ON!!!


Saturday
See race weekend post. :)

Total - 21 

Week 4 Chicago Marathon Training / Freedom Run Race Report

Sunday
XT at Cycle Bar in Dunwoody

Continuing to get more and more legit at this. ;)  All stats better the third time!

CLASS RANK

13 / 33

---

CALORIES BURNED*

584

*estimated

---

AVERAGE/MAX RPMs

82 / 143

---

AVERAGE/MAX WATTS

127 / 302

 

Lavender towels on our heads .. that's how we roll. :)

In the afternoon, the gang met up for some other-than-running fun.  Yup, we do that too, some times.  Gotta keep it happy!  Unfortunately, I didn't get Kyle drunk; a must if I were really wanting to safe guard my top 5K PR standing tomorrow.  Haha.

Monday

Memorial Day Freedom Run - Cumming, GA

Distance: 6.22 and 8 miles

50% goal - sub PR - Hit

Pro Tip:    KNOW THY COURSE!

Oh. Em. Gee.  I bet no one else knows that there is a dessert-like mountain-ish gateway to the pits of Hell in Cumming, GA!  Lol.  So much for hokey little small race in the middle of nowhere that will land us some prime running.  The scale on our ad hoc elevation for this one was WAY OFF.  BY FAR, some of the hilliest running I've **ever** raced.  It reminded me of Martin's Landing near Riverside.  Slapped on top of that: NO sun protection what-so-ever in about 85+ degree sun-blaring conditions.  I did not even come close to the 10% goal, but 2 miles in, I was uncertain about the 90% goal, so to have taken a PR (50% goal) was a definite win!  Two things kept me going: 1. Michele and her friend, Tom, were a stone's throw up front the entire time, and 2. at a small race like this, even if you are sucking, maybe everyone else in your age group is sucking a little harder?  Too early, that 9:08 average pace said good bye.  It was hard not to just ditch it and walk up the never-ending mountains after that.  But I kept watching Michele and Tom, and kept thinking that, if nothing else, steady-pacing it out was a great accomplishment and good training.  I was rewarded for the effort when .. BOOM!: 3rd in Age Group! :) 

 My only regret:  I waited too long to try and catch Tom and Michele.  I had it at the end, but didn't have enough course left.  Plus, rotten Kyle tipped them off with a "she's coming" in the finish shoot.  Bahaha. I ended up 58:20 , she at 58:14.  A 3-way tie would have been ideal.  Not important for anything goal-wise (Kyle has the 10K top PR from a month or two ago, and ran the 5K this race), but still, I could have, so I wish I would have. ... of course, if I had sooner, she might have bested 58:14, so um .. woulda, shoulda.  ;)  It was the only minute or so in the whole morning where I had gas in the tank to spend actually racing.

Immediately following the race and awards, we hopped in the cars, and hit Fowler for the remaining 8 miles on the calendar.  The going was GRUELING!  By the time we got done, it was NOON, and like 90 degrees.  I had trouble with an 11 minute pace!  I kept making deals with myself:  get to mile 4 (aka mile 10), and then run walk 3-1s from there back if you need to.  Then at 10 miles, I told myself: if you were down at Riverside with Harley, or TJ, or Angelina, you would not walk, and you'd be pushing 10-10:30s.  Don't walk.  Only later did Harley comment: "I did 14 too. Lots of walk breaks because of heat and hills. Need to keep up with you !"

<3 my tribe. :)  So nice to know I am not the only mortal one. Anyone who thinks that running is a solo sport is clearly doing it wrong in my opinion.  Hopefully this run will be a one-off, and not indicative of the entire marathon training cycle.  Fingers crossed!  Must find cooler temperatures, even if it means .. eeep .. headlamps. ;) 

Tuesday

Distance: REST

I am enjoying the blogging.  Each year, I am going to try to keep picking a different challenge.  Last year, it was 100 selfies, this year, its keeping this blog, next year, maybe something else.  It helps me not inundate social media with run posts, and to chronicle a fun time in my life.  Pretty sure I am the only one who really reads these so far, but that's just as well.  I like being inside my head.  If I ever goal viral, I'd have to sensor myself, lol. 

Wednesday

Distance: 1 mi WU, 6 x 800, .5 CD, plus 6 laps

Indicator time suggests about a 4:06 for these.  We were headed down to Riverside, but ended up rained out.  Option #2 was back up to LA Fitness for some treadmill intervals.  Michele doesn't run on a treadmill at all.  So it took us time to get used to the mechanics.  (For example, that the speed won't immediately kick up to 7.4, even when you are ready to start there).  The 1st one was at 4:15, second at 4:08, and from there all but the last were between 4:02 and 4:04.  The last one was 3:50.  If I use my 5K PR rather than my indicator
time, these should be at 4 on the dot, so by any account, we put in good effort! :)

Since we were at LA F., might as well hit the pool, too.  I could have gone on, but I do these much slower than M, and she skipped her cool down mile (not important if swim cools you down; important if you don't count swim as miles), so I was already ten minutes behind.  By the time I hit 6, she was at 12 and ready to hot tub.  Who can argue with hot tub?? :)

Thursday
Distance: XT

Best intentions. :/  This whole summer thing is really going to bust my bubble.  Oldest needed the car to take to work.  Luckily, I can just ride in with hubby.  But that means nothing on the stop-at-LAF front before/after work front.  I contemplated a quickie 5K after Ashley got out of work, but honest engine, I was beat.  And sore.  I started this 30-day core challenge.  I am always surprised when something basic like that tires out my legs.  But apparently there are still muscles in there that squats will get, but running 14 miles won't.  So I gave myself a pass.  On the one hand, I feel justified, since that is the 'plan.'  Up the long run, but don't completely start a 7 day marathon training program until after Peachtree.  On the other hand, that scares me a bit.  What if I can't get out of that mindset when the time comes?  What if I keep blowing off mid-week work outs?  Meh. :/



Friday
XT

Saturday
Distance: 3.1 + 7.5 + 4

This one was better, but not perfect.  The heat, and stops and starts are really draining.  That said, we hit 14.5!  Getting half of the extra distance in before training was very helpful, weather wise.  Not worrying about pace at all yet is really helping, too.  I have to thank the participants for that.  Blaming them makes it easier on the ego. ;)

Total - 34.1