"At least I don't have to run in Victorian garb"

Yesterday's run was a bit of a trial. It was 98 on the heat index when we left the house (at 9:00 pm, mind you), and I've been feeling like I'm coming down with some kind of respiratory thing for a few days. Also, because of the weather or hormones or something, my joints have been hurting a LOT lately. The big culprits are in my hands, feet, right knee, left hip, and right shoulder.

I got pretty discouraged and said something like, "Matt, I just don't think I'll ever reach a time in my life when working out is not painful and emotionally draining. I mean, sometimes there are other rewards but I'll just never be one of those people who loves to exercise for the sake of exercising." And, you know, he responded in the most honest way he could with something like, "Yep. You're probably right. But it's like work: you've got to do it".

The self-pity continued for a while. I was feeling really bummed and the threat of angry tears was rising with every step. Around the half way mark, I came to a sort of emotional crisis point, where I needed to turn my thoughts around or risk quitting right there.

So, as a mental/motivational exercise, I started listing off things I should be grateful for in the course of this lame unsatisfying run. Here is part of that list, with links and pictures.

• At least I live in a time where I am ALLOWED to run this distance I'm training for. (Katherine Switzer in 1967 Boston Marathon)
  
  
• And my doctor won't try to tell me that my uterus will fall out, that I'll grow a mustache, or that I'll age prematurely.
• I live in a country where it is not illegal for me, as a woman, to exercise.
•  I live in a neighborhood and country where I don't have to literally dodge bullets during practice runs.
• I don't have to run against Olympic athletes while fasting.
• I don't have to run in Victorian garb.
  
• Or in a hijab (I respect women who do so as a decision of personal faith and piety; I am extremely heat sensitive and would feel especially miserable).
  
• I don't have to run home from the market with groceries on my head.
  
• Or run with a baby.
  
• Or run from a bear.
  
• I still have both legs, and I don't have to learn to run again after losing them.
  
• My husband is not a super athletic jerk.
  
  
  
• I don't have to deal with atrocious air pollution. 
• I don't have to run on tundra or through deserts. 
• I don't have to worry about landmines, or morality police. 
• I don't have some kind of disorder which makes my bones fragile like glass, or prevents me from feeling when I'm injured. 
• I don't have to run from militants or risk being raped or maimed when I go on practice runs. 
• I don't have to worry about being mistaken for a robber and shot in gentrified neighborhoods.
• I don't have to run to entertain my corporate overlords.

So, that's part of my list. What are you grateful for? All reasons are acceptable, from the most mundane to the most ridiculous.

It won't always be easy

Today's run was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo lame. Yes. That many Os.

The good:Overall speed was acceptable (11:24 pace overall). We finished. I did not puke or anything else. I got out and ran even though I seriously didn't want to or feel like it.

The bad:
So much burping. Eww. My initial pace was a slow, pitiful crawl. Everything hurt and my legs felt like lead. I repeatedly wanted to quit and/or curl up in a ball and cry. Also, it felt really really hot (it was not that hot, maybe like 90F). Humidity was about 60%.

The ugly:
About 10 minutes in as we were getting ready to start the first speed interval, I accidentally yelled at Matt. I didn't feel angry at him before or after it happened, so we were both taken by surprise. It was basically one of those instances where I had to repeat myself because Matt couldn't hear me, and I let my tone get out of control.

With that run and all its emotional baggage behind me, I want to step back and evaluate some stuff.
Somehow, miraculously, this crazy plan is working. I've never done anything like this in my life. It is hard and unnatural. But folks, I just ran 5 3/4 miles on Saturday. I. Did. That. It's unbelievable.
It's been over a three and a half years since the first time I ran a mile. I've done a lot of things wrong from that day until now. Even my incredibly sweet, encouraging, inhumanely optimistic husband had doubts when we started this training plan. But it's working. I am experiencing little to no joint pain/inflammation on my runs and I have avoided injuring myself in a major way (so far).

So, let's take a look at what I'm doing differently THIS TIME.

New Sam	Old Sam
Has a set routine*	Did whatever, whenever.
Tailors strength training for running**	See above.
Has a running plan	See above.
Has a support system (that’s you folks & Matt)	Ran solo.
Varies running environments	Ran on a treadmill. Every time.
Has a concrete goal	Dreamed about stuff and things.
Listens to her body and rests when necessary	Rigidly adhered to unrealistic benchmarks.

^aka "got injured a lot"

*Routine:
5 minutes (minimum) of walking and dynamic stretches before every run
5 minutes (minimum) cool down walk and static stretches after every run
Cool shower post-stretch
Chocolate milk post-run recovery drink
Ice as necessary

**Strength training:
Exercises include things like planks, side planks, side squats, one leg chair squats, lunges, four part crunches, the sun salutation routine, regular squats, chair dips, pilates push-ups, calf lifts, resistance band leg lifts (side, front, back). I also stretch my hips, plantar fascia, and hamstrings regularly during the day when I remember/make myself do it.

What are your secrets to success?

Tuesday/Wednesday runs and a shiny new look

TUESDAY RUN
We ran one mile barefoot in karate class (upper belts have strict running requirements, so we start early). I must have landed too far forward on my toes, because I finished class with super sore calves. I'm definitely adding a foam roller to my Wish List, because this is not an isolated incident. Normally I really enjoy barefoot running and manage to avoid any injuries. It's likely I just didn't stretch well enough.

TECHNICAL UPDATE
You may have noticed that I've changed some things around lately, including the layout, color scheme, and domain name. I just recently fixed the internal hyperlinks (from one blogpost to another), so I'm sorry if anyone had problems with that. I hope you enjoy the new look.

WEDNESDAY RUN
We ran for 30 minutes in the Azalea District on Wednesday. I forgot where we stopped exactly, so I put down last street I remembered. I believe we might have run farther, although it doesn't really matter. The course we made up was basically one giant hill after another.

We almost skipped the run entirely. My calves were so sore from Tuesday's 1 mile barefoot run that I didn't know if they'd cooperate for my scheduled run. On top of that, Wednesday was one of the top three worst work days ever (the top two belong to the Tyler branch of Home Depot, but that's a story for another time). After a long conversation with my husband (and a nap), I still hadn't managed to shake it.

The good that came out of all this, however, is that I managed to channel all my frustration, disappointment, and hurt feelings into motivation to get out the door. I knew the run would make me feel better even if my calves yipped a little... and I was right. The fact that I made this decision so easily shows me that I've experienced a major attitude realignment. Exercise to feel better? Who DOES that? Apparently, I do.

About half way through the run, Matt pointed out another change. I have never been one to run through pain or discomfort, but here I was running through the pain in my calves (note: it's "sore" pain, not "injury" pain. I'm very conscious of giving potential injuries a chance to rest).

I managed to keep up a pretty good attitude throughout the run, although I got a little less-than-perky after Matt volunteered to demonstrate proper "fartlek" technique while we were climbing a long evil hill... I'll leave the implications up to your imagination. Needless to say, it gave ME motivation to run faster.

Forgot to log Wednesday!

The training plan for Wednesday had us listed at 25 minutes. We ended up running 30 minutes because Monday's 30 minute run got cut short to 25. It was an ok run. As I mentioned on Daily Mile, I somehow managed to get out the door without changing into my sports bra (my excuse: I had just woken up from a nap). It was pretty miserable. Some women can run comfortably without a sports bra. I am not one of them. I could have stopped, but figured I would lose this run altogether if I went home.

The consequences of not wearing a sports bra were pretty significant. Aside from the pain you might expect, it restricted my breathing and threw my whole posture out of whack. I got pretty grumpy towards my husband as a result, which is very lame and unfair. I'm working on it.  I had some problems on this run with allergies, but my breathing was pretty steady and returned to normal really quickly. I also had some discomfort in my ankles, but my other joints handled the run just fine. 

I definitely got pretty mopey at the end of the run. We weren't going fast enough, we hadn't run far enough, everything was bad, I wasn't made to run, I'd never be a "good" runner, blah blah blah. Matt tried to point out that 5 months ago I would not have been able to run for 30 minutes. He also tried to point out that 5 years ago, I couldn't (and wouldn't) run at all.

Seven years ago, I looked like this

Now, I look more like this

So I should be pretty grateful. I did not respond very well to Matt at first. The good news is that we DID make it all the way to 30 minutes; I've also managed to stay injury free this whole time, which is an awesome awesome accomplishment.

I've been thinking about run/walk ratios for the long run on Saturday (key part of Jeff Galloway's half marathon training plan for new and injury prone runners). This week is 3 miles, which I think I can do with no problem. He recommends a ratio of 3:00-1:00 (run/walk) for the 10 min/mi pace, or 2:00-1:00 for the 12 min/mi pace which I'm more likely to maintain for a whole 13k race. I feel really silly doing that on a "long run" of 3 miles.

I feel like I might be setting myself up for failure if I try to power through all the long runs by running continuously. I might start with the run/walk next week (long run of 4 miles) or the week after (long run of 5 miles). I want to push myself, but I don't want to injure myself or set unrealistic goals.

Anyway, I've got all of today to figure it out. Until next time... keep on truckin', friends.

Dailymile

If you happen to be SO interested in my running exploits that you must have the most current information available, then check out my Dailymile profile. Dailymile is a social media platform geared towards athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It allows you to log your workouts (running, swimming, cycling, weightlifting, etc) and share them with your friends; dailymile has buttons for Twitter and Facebook which allow you to instantly share the results of your run to other social media sites. You can provide and receive all kinds of feedback and motivation. I especially love the "map your run" feature and the analytics it provides. It's also FREE.

Here's a screenshot from Wednesday's run:



And an example of the analytics:

As you can see, since I began logging runs with Dailymile I have burned the equivalent of 28.27 donuts (for a total of 33.37 miles). Accordingly, I believe that running the Half Marathon in October will earn me a dozen donuts.  I especially love the way that this allows me to track my pace, distance, and perceived intensity over time.

Anyway, on to Wednesday's run...

Monday run/Tuesday run

Monday run:
Started out week 8 of the Cool Running Couch to 5k plan, 28 minutes. We covered about 2.3 miles along the same route that I mapped around Bergfeld Park on my Daily Mile account. First mile was 11:45, second mile was 12:45. The last portion was about an 11:30 pace (we made an effort to kick it up a bit). I wasn't super thrilled about the pace, but I got through it. Objectively, it's not bad at all. Considering we ran the Komen 5k at an average pace of 12:52, I'm making really significant strides.

I definitely feel most comfortable (in my stride/joints/etc) at about 10:00-10:30. I just can't run that fast over the course of a run, yet. I'm trying to add in a little bit of informal speed work, but I don't know if I'm applying it scientifically enough to make a difference.

I didn't have any issues with aches or pains for this whole run, which was awesome. Mentally, I flagged a bit at the beginning (around 10 minutes) and 3/4 through (a little after 21 minutes).

Tuesday run:
Same time (28 minutes), different route. Normally my second run is on Wednesday, but I'm going out of town this weekend to a convention so I thought I'd compress my running schedule. I didn't plan to run on Tuesday (normally, I have a karate class) but I didn't make it to class this week after some delays at the primary election polling site.

We covered 2.37 miles, apparently, which put us at an average pace of 11:48. That's not bad at all. I'm curious to see what kind of splits we hit next time we run that course. Matt and I played the animal guessing game for the last half, because I was really dropping off. I didn't have any physiological complaints, I just didn't want to run after about 8 minutes. I had an overall malaise that made this run kind of a slog.

Running two days back to back is rough. We've got another run planned for today (Wednesday), which I may postpone. I can definitely feel the effects of not having a rest day in my feet and hips; it's not "pain", just fatigue. I had a lot of problem on this Tuesday run maintaining my form. I got real flopsy. I don't want to set myself up for injury or burnout.

Overall
Anyway, that's where I am so far in the week. I definitely need to invest in some non-cotton running clothes ASAP, and remember that red Gatorade tastes like medicine. Blech.

Wishlist (and bribing myself to run)

After some discussion with Matt, I've decided to incorporate an incentive program where I will "earn" $10 for every week in which I complete every scheduled run.  This will be retroactive, starting the week this blog began.

As of this post, I have $20!

Here's my wishlist:

• CamelBak Annadel pack (a women's specific pack for cross-training, very well reviewed)
  - $41.19 on REI.com. Downside is, it's frost pink!
• Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS-Enabled Unisex Sport Watch
  - $149.98
• Compression socks (really, I just want to try them)
• Foam Roller
  - $14.77 (to work out some of these kinks in my calves)

It's possible I'll need some new shoes, but I haven't really thought about them yet.

Jog FM

http://jog.fm/ is a really neat website/app which allows you to create custom playlists according to your desired pace. They've recently started working with Spotify so you can listen to the songs on whatever device you're rocking. I don't have a fancy phone to stream music as I run, so I've used Jog.fm to make playlists of songs in my catalogue.

Here are some of the songs it suggested for a 10:00min mile:

• I Fought the Law - Clash
• Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel
• Live and Let Die - Guns N Roses
• Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
• Bad bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
• I Got You (I Feel Good) - James Brown
• Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
• Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
• My Sharona - The Knack
• We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
• I Get Around - Beach Boys
• Three Little Birds - Bob Marley
• Crocodile Rock - Elton John
• Shine - Collective Soul

Now these might not be songs I listen to every day (okay, some of them are), but this makes a killer playlist for running. As a former band nerd, I'm highly sensitive to rhythm patterns which makes music an easy way to pace myself (unfortunately, it also means my husband's long strides drive me bonkers).

With enough planning, I could build a playlist that incorporates intervals (maybe kick it up a notch with Outkast's "Hey Ya!" a 9:00 min/mile track) or cooldowns (LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It", 12:00min/mile).

What kind of playlist do you run to? 

May 7, 2012: The day I decided, on a whim, to run a half marathon.

 So how did I get here, anyway?

An innocuous Facebook link from a friend: “Who’s with me on this if I sign up?” A half marathon, in my very own city, five months away. A distance I have dreamed about running since I stumbled through my first mile.

I have never run a distance anywhere close to 13.1k. I’m not even particularly good at running, period. As a child, I looked like a runner – long and lean, I was the fastest girl in fourth grade. But then puberty happened. Suddenly, I sucked at running, and I hated it. I was not “built” for it. I was an intellectual. Blah blah blah.

My adult relationship with running began when my husband and I started dating in 2008. He was one of those “runners”, a bizarre subgroup of people I never expected to understand – much less associate with. I started running to spend time with him. It was a miserable, painful, and discouraging experience overall; I would push through the initial agony of starting a running regimen, achieve a modicum of success, and then get set back by injury or illness (a pulled groin, strained hip flexor, fibroid pain, bronchitis).

In spite of all this, something kept bringing me back to running: that ephemeral “high” that runners talk about, eyes glazed and distant. It’s a feeling of freedom, potential, and childlike glee; of absolute purpose and orientation. It is a defiant howl against every voice that has ever told me I’m too fat, too lazy, too defeatist, too much of a victim. I have only experienced it as a fleeting echo, typically bookended by frustration and weariness. I am determined to unlock it for good – to become “a runner”. 

But why a half marathon, you loony?

I don't know. I have never run that far before. I think in my heart of hearts, I just want to know if I can do it... and the only way to make myself train for it is to sign up for a race.

Down to the nitty-gritty.

Over the course of this long halting journey, I have learned a few things about myself. 

1. I am a social runner. I do best when I am running with other people. My husband is the ideal running partner. Fortunately for me, he has agreed to join me (somewhat skeptically) on this crazy venture. I'm also blessed with some running friends who are more boneheaded persistent than I am.
2. I am injury prone. I have to progress really gradually, and I do best when I incorporate some kind of low intensity calisthenic strength training like yoga or Pilates. I hate weight training, but it may be necessary to stay safe and fit when my schedule does not allow for fitness classes.
3. I need a goal, namely a race. This is the best way for me to “make” myself run, because I’m cheap and I flourish under structure. So, having a race marked on the calendar gives me both incentive and timeline. My first race was a Susan G. Komen 5k; since then, I have run two consecutive Warrior Dash races (we missed the third one, this past April, because I came down with a horrible case of bronchitis). It has basically come down to one race a year since I started running.
4. I need a schedule. See number 3.

So, soon to follow... a couple of training plans I'm looking at, and all that jazz.

Past races

Susan Komen Race for the Cure (Tyler, Texas) 2009, North Texas Warrior Dash 2010, North Texas Warrior Dash 2011