I am here to admit that I have caught baby fever. A decent number of my friends from high school have had children. And it seems like a quarter of my co-workers are pregnant. And those who aren't pregnant are parents to cute little babies. Ahhhh! BABIES!!!
"Well," you might ask, "You have a good job and a nice husband. Why don't you just make one?" I definitely could. But there are extenuating circumstances. My husband is from Tanzania and didn't receive the best education there. He is working on getting his GED, and then he has at least 4 years of college ahead of him. So that, in addition to all the usual excuses such as money and freedom, are preventing us from having babies now.
I have come up with something else to keep my mind off babies in the meantime. A goal. Before I have children, I will qualify for the Boston Marathon. This is a fantastic goal because I figure it will take at least another two years to do it. Plus, ideally, I'd get to run the marathon for which I qualified before getting knocked up. So that's like 2.5-3.5 years! HOoooray!
This may seem like a trivial, lofty goal to some. But it's working for me! I could hear the biological clock ticking in my brain as I got ready for work this morning. The "Babies! Babies! Babies!" chant did start, but only repeated a few times before the goal popped into my head. Babies later! Running now!
I think the reason that qualifying for Boston works to distract me from my child-rearing desires is because of the nature of child-rearing and the nature of training for a fast marathon. Both are extremely time intensive. Although I hope I continue running once I have children, I'm not sure I'll be able to devote hours to it. So Boston nowish, babies later.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Berbee Derby 10K race report
I had run this race last year in 57:50 (a 9:18/mile pace), so obviously I wanted to beat that (hopefully easy goal). My medium goal was to run it all under a 9:00 pace. And my ridiculously hard goal was to run it at an 8:26 pace, because race calculators would predict my next marathon time at 4:00. I pretty much knew that that wasn't going to happen, since 8 weeks ago I ran my marathon in 4:38. And I've taken it fairly easy since then.
So off we went. I didn't have too much of a strategy besides to run at whatever pace below 9:00 felt manageable. There were 1540 other people running the 10k, and I had lined up near the back, so the first mile was spent dodging people. The first mile felt good, and I think I did that in about 8:40. By the second mile, I could definitely feel that I was running harder than normal. But that's okay, it's a race! My 5k time was 26:54, which I was very happy about. I decided my goal at that point was 54:00.
I was still passing people, but I couldn't tell if I was maintaining/increasing my pace or if others were just slowing down more than me. Once I reached mile 5, I could hear the announcer, so even though I desperately wanted to slow down at that point, I knew it was almost over. And yet, it seemed so far away. I remembered that the final 1.2 miles seemed awfully difficult last year, and the same thing happened this year! There were a couple of decent hills that I remembered, so I thought I was in the clear after that. But then there was one more big one. My watch said 50:00, so I knew that if I met my goal, there was just 4 more minutes of this to go. I pushed. I passed an 11 year old boy who was running with his dad, begging him to slow down (they did for the hill, and then they still beat me by 20 seconds :)). Mile 6 came and I gave it all I had, which didn't end up being a sprint, but something faster than what I had been running. I had to dogde 5K walkers who were finishing at the same time, which I found very annoying. And then, I finished!
Final chip time: 54:19 (8:45 pace).
I'm pretty pleased with how I ran this race. Although I had positive splits, the second half's pace was just 10 seconds slower than the first half. Considering the hills and the strong headwind, I don't think that's too bad. AND, I'm happy that I had raced hard enough that I didn't have the energy to sprint the last bit to the end. Even in my marathon, I sprinted to the finish. I'm glad that I had given it my all during this race and had nothing left over. And it's pretty awesome that I shaved 3:30 off my time from last year. :) Next year's goal: sub-50:00.
I should also note that my non-running husband and younger brother ran the 5K in 24:31. Must be nice to be naturally gifted... :-P And I did not end up kicking my older brother's/SIL's butts, as they wussed out (slept in; they got in from Boston around 1am the night before).
So off we went. I didn't have too much of a strategy besides to run at whatever pace below 9:00 felt manageable. There were 1540 other people running the 10k, and I had lined up near the back, so the first mile was spent dodging people. The first mile felt good, and I think I did that in about 8:40. By the second mile, I could definitely feel that I was running harder than normal. But that's okay, it's a race! My 5k time was 26:54, which I was very happy about. I decided my goal at that point was 54:00.
I was still passing people, but I couldn't tell if I was maintaining/increasing my pace or if others were just slowing down more than me. Once I reached mile 5, I could hear the announcer, so even though I desperately wanted to slow down at that point, I knew it was almost over. And yet, it seemed so far away. I remembered that the final 1.2 miles seemed awfully difficult last year, and the same thing happened this year! There were a couple of decent hills that I remembered, so I thought I was in the clear after that. But then there was one more big one. My watch said 50:00, so I knew that if I met my goal, there was just 4 more minutes of this to go. I pushed. I passed an 11 year old boy who was running with his dad, begging him to slow down (they did for the hill, and then they still beat me by 20 seconds :)). Mile 6 came and I gave it all I had, which didn't end up being a sprint, but something faster than what I had been running. I had to dogde 5K walkers who were finishing at the same time, which I found very annoying. And then, I finished!
Final chip time: 54:19 (8:45 pace).
I'm pretty pleased with how I ran this race. Although I had positive splits, the second half's pace was just 10 seconds slower than the first half. Considering the hills and the strong headwind, I don't think that's too bad. AND, I'm happy that I had raced hard enough that I didn't have the energy to sprint the last bit to the end. Even in my marathon, I sprinted to the finish. I'm glad that I had given it my all during this race and had nothing left over. And it's pretty awesome that I shaved 3:30 off my time from last year. :) Next year's goal: sub-50:00.
I should also note that my non-running husband and younger brother ran the 5K in 24:31. Must be nice to be naturally gifted... :-P And I did not end up kicking my older brother's/SIL's butts, as they wussed out (slept in; they got in from Boston around 1am the night before).
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Indoor half training plan
Well, the indoor half that I'm signed up for is in a little more than 8 weeks. That means I have 8 weeks to uh... get my butt in gear. So I'm publishing my training plan here in hopes that I will actually stick to it:
Basically, it's 3 weeks of base building (SLOW miles), 1 week step-back, 3 weeks that include speedwork, and 1 quick taper week before the race. I haven't decided quite yet what my speedwork will entail. Yasso 800s? Tempo runs at 10k pace?
If I can stick with this, I'll be golden to run under 2 hours. I analyzed my marathon training a bit further, and I came to the shocking realization that the average mileage of my 18 weeks of training came out to... 22.7. Yeah. 22.7 miles. No wonder I didn't have any injuries to deal with. No wonder I didn't lose any weight. (I do wonder how I didn't gain weight, actually. It was the summer of junk food.)
Anyway. That number makes me feel bad because, well, it's pitiful. I wasn't even busy at work this summer. I had plenty of time to run. 22.7 miles per week is no way to train for a marathon. On the other hand, it gives me lots and lots of hope. I ran a 4:38 marathon on awful training. What can I do on 40 mpw? 50? 60? Ooh, the possibilities!
Now I need to go to bed so that I can get up and run the 10k! This is the first time I've raced a distance previously, so there's a little added pressure to destroy my old time. I'll let you know how I did tomorrow. :)
Basically, it's 3 weeks of base building (SLOW miles), 1 week step-back, 3 weeks that include speedwork, and 1 quick taper week before the race. I haven't decided quite yet what my speedwork will entail. Yasso 800s? Tempo runs at 10k pace?
If I can stick with this, I'll be golden to run under 2 hours. I analyzed my marathon training a bit further, and I came to the shocking realization that the average mileage of my 18 weeks of training came out to... 22.7. Yeah. 22.7 miles. No wonder I didn't have any injuries to deal with. No wonder I didn't lose any weight. (I do wonder how I didn't gain weight, actually. It was the summer of junk food.)
Anyway. That number makes me feel bad because, well, it's pitiful. I wasn't even busy at work this summer. I had plenty of time to run. 22.7 miles per week is no way to train for a marathon. On the other hand, it gives me lots and lots of hope. I ran a 4:38 marathon on awful training. What can I do on 40 mpw? 50? 60? Ooh, the possibilities!
Now I need to go to bed so that I can get up and run the 10k! This is the first time I've raced a distance previously, so there's a little added pressure to destroy my old time. I'll let you know how I did tomorrow. :)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
wah wah
I've been in a funk all day. I guess that's what happens when you lay around the house all day in your pajamas. Or maybe pajamas are a result of the funk. Well, in any case, it's one of those all too common grey, depressing Wisconsin fall days. I had meant to get up and go for a ten mile run this morning, but instead I ate candy and watched TV. Then my husband left for work, and I sort of just stared off into space on the couch. I tried to nap, but I couldn't relax. I tried to read, but I couldn't focus (also hard to do with a cat clinging to your chest).
Then I realized I had a choice: I could sit around and feel like crap, or I could go for a run and feel better. So even though it seemed like the least enjoyable thing to do, running was better than doing nothing. I got my stuff on, and off I went. I ran an out and back route, where the turnaround is right at the peak of a gigantic hill. Right around there is when I realized that this run was SUCKING. My pace felt comfortable, but I was exhausted and a little dizzy. I finished up with negative splits and a good pace (9:55/mi), but there were no endorphins to make me say, "Yay!" Or perhaps there were endorphins, but just not enough to cover up how crappy the run was.
Luckily bad runs like these are few and far between. I'm hoping it means that I'm coming down with a bug, because the alternative (the "I've lost a crap ton of fitness in the 6 weeks since my marathon, and running just 6 miles kicks my butt" alternative) is scary.
So today is still depressing. Running didn't make me feel much better. But it got me out for a little while, and sometimes that's all you can ask of it.
Then I realized I had a choice: I could sit around and feel like crap, or I could go for a run and feel better. So even though it seemed like the least enjoyable thing to do, running was better than doing nothing. I got my stuff on, and off I went. I ran an out and back route, where the turnaround is right at the peak of a gigantic hill. Right around there is when I realized that this run was SUCKING. My pace felt comfortable, but I was exhausted and a little dizzy. I finished up with negative splits and a good pace (9:55/mi), but there were no endorphins to make me say, "Yay!" Or perhaps there were endorphins, but just not enough to cover up how crappy the run was.
Luckily bad runs like these are few and far between. I'm hoping it means that I'm coming down with a bug, because the alternative (the "I've lost a crap ton of fitness in the 6 weeks since my marathon, and running just 6 miles kicks my butt" alternative) is scary.
So today is still depressing. Running didn't make me feel much better. But it got me out for a little while, and sometimes that's all you can ask of it.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Motivation in the Winter
Today I signed up for an indoor half marathon in January. "What does an indoor half marathon entail?" you might ask. Apparently it involves running 47 laps around an ice rink.
This sounded incredibly boring to me until I read the reviews from the inaugural race last year. People loved it! They got to see their fans every lap, they had an aid station every lap, they got to lap (or be lapped by) other runners. They asked for song requests to be played during the race, too. My three requests are:
Quiet Dog Bite Hard - Mos Def
Girls Say - Groove Armada
Keep It Coming Love - KC & the Sunshine Band
I have only run one other half marathon. This was in May, after having slacked off since March. I had run 20 miles in March, 20 miles in April, and 30-some in May before the race. I finished in 2:28:03. I ran the first half of my marathon in 2:14:19. I'd like to do this one in under 2 hours.
I know that in my last post, I had said that I was happy to not be training for anything. But the truth is that I've been itching to plan! Now I have an excuse to, as this race is 11 weeks away.
This sounded incredibly boring to me until I read the reviews from the inaugural race last year. People loved it! They got to see their fans every lap, they had an aid station every lap, they got to lap (or be lapped by) other runners. They asked for song requests to be played during the race, too. My three requests are:
Quiet Dog Bite Hard - Mos Def
Girls Say - Groove Armada
Keep It Coming Love - KC & the Sunshine Band
I have only run one other half marathon. This was in May, after having slacked off since March. I had run 20 miles in March, 20 miles in April, and 30-some in May before the race. I finished in 2:28:03. I ran the first half of my marathon in 2:14:19. I'd like to do this one in under 2 hours.
I know that in my last post, I had said that I was happy to not be training for anything. But the truth is that I've been itching to plan! Now I have an excuse to, as this race is 11 weeks away.
Friday, October 30, 2009
A Great Run
Tonight I had one of those runs that made me really glad that I'm not training for anything right now. I had it in my mind that I would do somewhere between four and six miles when I got off of work, but it was sunny outside, and I missed one of the routes that I used to run a lot. So I threw on my stuff and headed out for 7.7 miles.
It was beautiful out. I haven't done too many runs outside since the weather turned really fall-like. I love the smell of fall, which is kind of weird because it smells a little bit like decay. But it reminds me of when I ran as a child, zigzagging through the grass in order to catch leaves that spiraled to the ground.
I ran through the 29 mph gusts of wind, I ran up the hills, I ran through the sunset and watched the sky streak pink, I dodged cars and only flicked off a couple of them. OH, and I encountered another friendly runner! She said, "You go girl!" as we passed each other. Corny, yes, but so nice.
And the best part of this run was that I maintained a pace under 10:00 (9:57). I'm well aware of the placebo effect that cold weather has on my interpretation of my fitness, but I'm going to take it. Sure, I'm faster than I was during the summer because my body doesn't have to work as hard to cool down. But let's just ignore all the words in that last sentence that follow "summer". Take the sugar pill and be happy. :)
So I need to remember these fun impulsive runs when I get the urge to plan out from now until next June. I now understand cyclical training. If you train all the time, if you maintain your ability to run 20 milers whenever, you get burned out. Fall back in love with running and drop the training schedule. :)
It was beautiful out. I haven't done too many runs outside since the weather turned really fall-like. I love the smell of fall, which is kind of weird because it smells a little bit like decay. But it reminds me of when I ran as a child, zigzagging through the grass in order to catch leaves that spiraled to the ground.
I ran through the 29 mph gusts of wind, I ran up the hills, I ran through the sunset and watched the sky streak pink, I dodged cars and only flicked off a couple of them. OH, and I encountered another friendly runner! She said, "You go girl!" as we passed each other. Corny, yes, but so nice.
And the best part of this run was that I maintained a pace under 10:00 (9:57). I'm well aware of the placebo effect that cold weather has on my interpretation of my fitness, but I'm going to take it. Sure, I'm faster than I was during the summer because my body doesn't have to work as hard to cool down. But let's just ignore all the words in that last sentence that follow "summer". Take the sugar pill and be happy. :)
So I need to remember these fun impulsive runs when I get the urge to plan out from now until next June. I now understand cyclical training. If you train all the time, if you maintain your ability to run 20 milers whenever, you get burned out. Fall back in love with running and drop the training schedule. :)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Berbee Derby prep
My next race, the Berbee Derby, is coming up on Thanksgiving.
This race will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first race I ever ran. I had nervously signed up for the 10k because I was already running 11.5 mile long runs, and it seemed like such a waste to just run the 5k. But it was my first race. I had no idea how to pace myself. But I actually did much better at pacing myself during this race than I did during my marathon. My lofty goal was to get under 60 minutes (9:40 pace), and I managed to finish in 57:50 (9:18 pace).
I'm not sure what my goal is this time. Obviously I want to be much faster than last year, since at that point I had only been running about five months. According to various race predictors, if I were in shape to run a 4:00 marathon, I would run a 10k in 52:27 (8:26 pace). But based on last year's time, I should have been able to run a 4:30 marathon... (But then again, I could have- if I had stuck to my training plan!)
This year, my whole family is participating! My mom and dad are doing the 5k walk, my younger brother is doing the 5k run, and my older brother, his wife, and my husband are joining me for the 10k. :) Being the competitive brat that I am, I guess I can set a goal of kicking their butts. If that's possible...
For maximum butt-kicking, I should try to run 30-40 miles per week, with one good tempo session and one nice long run. Since my marathon, my weekly mileage has been quite pitiful. But hopefully the competition will inspire me to do more than 4 mile runs. :)
This race will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first race I ever ran. I had nervously signed up for the 10k because I was already running 11.5 mile long runs, and it seemed like such a waste to just run the 5k. But it was my first race. I had no idea how to pace myself. But I actually did much better at pacing myself during this race than I did during my marathon. My lofty goal was to get under 60 minutes (9:40 pace), and I managed to finish in 57:50 (9:18 pace).
I'm not sure what my goal is this time. Obviously I want to be much faster than last year, since at that point I had only been running about five months. According to various race predictors, if I were in shape to run a 4:00 marathon, I would run a 10k in 52:27 (8:26 pace). But based on last year's time, I should have been able to run a 4:30 marathon... (But then again, I could have- if I had stuck to my training plan!)
This year, my whole family is participating! My mom and dad are doing the 5k walk, my younger brother is doing the 5k run, and my older brother, his wife, and my husband are joining me for the 10k. :) Being the competitive brat that I am, I guess I can set a goal of kicking their butts. If that's possible...
For maximum butt-kicking, I should try to run 30-40 miles per week, with one good tempo session and one nice long run. Since my marathon, my weekly mileage has been quite pitiful. But hopefully the competition will inspire me to do more than 4 mile runs. :)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
My First Marathon
Running a marathon has always been something I wanted to do, even when I didn't like running. A coworker recently asked me why I wanted to run a marathon, and... I couldn't really put my finger on it. I guess I thought that maybe, if I could run I marathon, I would be the epitome of accomplishment and discipline and fitness (read: thinness).
Now, if you take a look at the graph below, you will realize that I certainly never attained the discipline necessary to properly train for a marathon. If I had stuck to my plan, the majority of my training weeks should have been in the 40s, with a few in the 50s. I had two really good weeks in July, felt accomplished, and proceeded to slack off.
As the weeks ticked by, the panic never set in. This was both a curse and a blessing. Panic would have motivated me to get out there and run more often. Log more than one 19.5 mile long run. Eat more than Coldstone and Snyder's cheddar cheese pretzel pieces. (Yeah, I never became the epitome of thinness. Surprise!) On the other hand, panic would have motivated me to get out there and log more miles, which we all know can lead to injury. It would have stressed me out. It could have lead me to believe that I couldn't run a marathon, so why try?
But I knew that I could. Lots of people run marathons. Big people, thin people, old people, young people, fast people, slow people. So I arrived in Milwaukee with a very level head. I was going to stick with my pace group so that I could reach my goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes. I didn't race well (I ditched my pace group to run faster in the early miles, then they caught up to me, then I couldn't keep up with them) and ended up finishing in 4:38, but apparently it's not awful to only finish your first marathon 8 minutes slower than your goal time. Hooray!
So what's next? Well, in the weeks before the marathon, during the marathon, and immediately after the marathon, I had decided that I wasn't going to run another one until I got much faster. I must make my long run pace faster by a minute per mile. I must run a half marathon in under 2 hours. Etc etc. Then I realized that even if I was that fast and logging 50 mile weeks, I would only be saving myself 50 minutes per week. And given the amount of television I watch, that's no excuse not to train for another marathon. Unless I don't want to.
But I do!
I still can't explain it. I now realize that being able to run 26.2 miles doesn't necessarily require discipline. Training won't make you skinny if you eat your weight in ice cream every Sunday. But it will give you a sense of accomplishment.
What do I want to accomplish next? A sub-4:00 marathon. I know that's crazy, trying to take 38 minutes off my time. But I'm signed up for Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, which is in June. Eight months away. I've got plenty of time to train. And hopefully publicizing my lofty goal will help the panic kick in a little bit, and I'll be able to maintain 50 mile weeks in the spring. Hooray!
Now, if you take a look at the graph below, you will realize that I certainly never attained the discipline necessary to properly train for a marathon. If I had stuck to my plan, the majority of my training weeks should have been in the 40s, with a few in the 50s. I had two really good weeks in July, felt accomplished, and proceeded to slack off.
As the weeks ticked by, the panic never set in. This was both a curse and a blessing. Panic would have motivated me to get out there and run more often. Log more than one 19.5 mile long run. Eat more than Coldstone and Snyder's cheddar cheese pretzel pieces. (Yeah, I never became the epitome of thinness. Surprise!) On the other hand, panic would have motivated me to get out there and log more miles, which we all know can lead to injury. It would have stressed me out. It could have lead me to believe that I couldn't run a marathon, so why try?
But I knew that I could. Lots of people run marathons. Big people, thin people, old people, young people, fast people, slow people. So I arrived in Milwaukee with a very level head. I was going to stick with my pace group so that I could reach my goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes. I didn't race well (I ditched my pace group to run faster in the early miles, then they caught up to me, then I couldn't keep up with them) and ended up finishing in 4:38, but apparently it's not awful to only finish your first marathon 8 minutes slower than your goal time. Hooray!
So what's next? Well, in the weeks before the marathon, during the marathon, and immediately after the marathon, I had decided that I wasn't going to run another one until I got much faster. I must make my long run pace faster by a minute per mile. I must run a half marathon in under 2 hours. Etc etc. Then I realized that even if I was that fast and logging 50 mile weeks, I would only be saving myself 50 minutes per week. And given the amount of television I watch, that's no excuse not to train for another marathon. Unless I don't want to.
But I do!
I still can't explain it. I now realize that being able to run 26.2 miles doesn't necessarily require discipline. Training won't make you skinny if you eat your weight in ice cream every Sunday. But it will give you a sense of accomplishment.
What do I want to accomplish next? A sub-4:00 marathon. I know that's crazy, trying to take 38 minutes off my time. But I'm signed up for Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, which is in June. Eight months away. I've got plenty of time to train. And hopefully publicizing my lofty goal will help the panic kick in a little bit, and I'll be able to maintain 50 mile weeks in the spring. Hooray!
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