Last week vacation

Its the last week already, DH went to work today after 2 weeks vacation, kids go next tuesday. I had been taking it easy in terms of the morning routine, now its back to the usual stuff- prepare breakfasts and lunches, soccer practice and games, homework, tight schedule.

GB has caught the morning run bug, was asking me yesterday if I wanted to continue the R/W in the AM, but no, wont be able to do it for long - have to be in the house by 6.30 to send off the family for the day- maybe till mid september - its already dark at 5 AM.

This morning did my speed session- 6mph for 45 sec with 3mph for 90 sec- more like 2.8mph- out of breath and gasping ater the 6 mph. Maybe will settle at 5.7mph max. How can these bursts of 45 sec running like a maniac help me in my overall speed in a 26.2m long marathon, I dont know. But the short hard(for me ) session feels good at the end even tho I cant sustain it for more than 20-30 min.

Imagine- a 10min/mile is my speed session, others finish a marathon at that speed thru'out and say they are 'slow'. The theory of relativity.

Back to the grind

Went to Fort Bragg for 13yo soccer tournament, big affair in small beachside place. About a 100 teams. you would think, and actually I did too, that I would make use of this oppurtunity ro run long and far on the beachside, enjoying the salty air, the wonderful view etc etc.

Did not happen. Firstly the 6 yo would not let go of me. She did not want to play with any of the little siblings of the other girls on the team leaving me free to do as I wished.

Then the DH was in no mood to take care of her while I went for a stroll on the beach.

The major reason was that there was no beach area meant for running. It is all small coves, outlined by craggy cliffs overlooking the Pacific,beautiful view, meant to be enjoyed sitting on beach chairs, eating a sandwich.So we played in the sand, looked for seashells on the seashore, but no running or walking.

Does that mean that I couldnt do some stretching in my room.But I was too lazy to get up and stretch and so whatever time we spent in the room, it was in front of the t.v watching Phelps and Misty and Kerri win gold medals, while we sat and stuffed ourselves....

Today I made myself do this 3.6m walk just to get out of the 4 day lethargy. Included a long hill, so I took some extra time. Factor in the heat, and the 4 day time-off, and the weekend stuffing, so the time of 15.9min/mile is OK. As if it would be faster without those factors!!!

So I am back. Hopefully will be able to follow schedule this week. 10 weeks for M-day!!

Weekly running

3 straight days of covering 4.6-4.9 miles each day, R/W, avg pace 15.5-16.5min mile.
I think I was still tired after the LSD of 16.5 miles so wasnt able to do as well- had to push my self hard during all the 3 days. GB was the motivator this week, she called me up at 5AM on the dot to meet her in 15 min. I cldnt say no even if I wanted to , because I have never seen her so motivated.

Now the 10 mile for this weekend, am going for my dtrs soccer tournament on friday, so am planning to finish it in the morning before we leave. GB has agreed to accompany me, so we shd finish it in approx 2and half hours.

I am having some pain or the other everyday now, weird, travelling pain- one day on the left foot,today on the outside of my right foot, just achiness and then after I have worried about it for 2 hours it moves to another joint- I am sure my feet and knees are going to rebel one day and just ache all together.

August is already here, first week is over, time now is moving so soon, another 10 weeks and we will be running the marathon- cant wait.

Was reading Ryan Hall- U.S contender for Olympic marathon gold- article in runners world and it says he is aware that anything can go wrong on that particular day- your past great runs dont matter- its that particular day. For them any little thing can make a difference between marathon gold or silver.

Its the same for us in the back- we can be as consistent or motivated for the whole year, if its too windy/sultry/hot/cold/scratchy throat/lack of sleep/nerves/....add your own ... on that day, we are done. Esp. for us because they close the marathon after a particular time ,and we are runnin/walking to beat that time of 6.5 hours. So any of those reasons can make a difference between Finish and Did Not Finish.

The ones in the middle have it easy- they are not running for the first place and they dont have to worry about beating the marathon closing times.
But you know what, I am sure they too have some goal to beat- another friend or relative or a celebrity's time or mostly just their own previous times. And I am sure- atleast I am hoping that once my times improve and I join the middle of the packers, I too will keep working hard to compete against myself.

Rest tomorrow, 10 miles on friday, will try and do mostly hills.

LSD 16.5miles!!

Finished 16.5miles on Sat. Goal was 18 miles, made up 0.5miles of my 2 mile lag, next time another 0.5m and so on.

Friday went to sleep late , watched Miss Congeniality with the 13yo since it was one of those rare times when she asks for my company. Slept at 11 Pm. And before I knew it , it was 4 AM. Had to peel myself from the bed. Ate half a PBJ, got my banana, keys, phone, and out of the door by 4.30 AM.

It was so dark!and still. No movement on the street, obviously at 4.30 AM, and I guess that was good. Heart rate went up with each step I took, I think I have never covered that .72mile so fast. Met GB at the jucntion and off we went. It was still, no breeze so that was a bit uncomfortable. But it got better in another 30 min or so. Walked the first 2 miles, then started R/W. The first 5 miles were OK, we took a water break at a McDonalds, laughed about how some storeowner previously had refused outrightly to give us a cup for water. We talked and carried on but then she got a bit tired and hungry?maybe? thirsty? so we tried to finish this half of the session as fast as we could. The plan was to do 2 sessions of 9 miles with a water break at her apartment.

By the time we reached her apt at the end of the 1st 9 mile session, she was too tired and hurting everywhere. So she decided not to do the 2nd session. I was feeling OK at this point so I carried on. The sun had come out by this time-7.10 AM, so I decided to walk on the shaded sections of the road. Did some R/W and she called in maybe 15 min asking me to come back , saying she wanted to join me. I dont know what happened- was it the cold water/juicy plum/resting on a chair/our mom saying 'oh my poor kid', something rejuvenated her so that when I reached her 15 min later, she was all set to do another 10 miles.

I, OTOH , was completely drained by this time. I went to her apt, drank some water and sat down. The bottoms of my feet were burning, my left foot was acting up, my knees were sore- I just did not want to walk or run or whatever. GB took me out again, we did 3.5 miles, all credit goes to her. She started telling me some gossip about some friends of hers and believe it or not, kept speaking for the whole 3.5 miles!! I was very very pleasantly surprised to see the apt again in 55 min.

On the whole, a good session. Tho' that niggling thought at the back of the mind that I still havent caught upto the required session. Avg speed was 16.3minmile. Required is 14.30minmile. I didnt factor in the breaks we took because I am sure we will be taking those during the marathon too.

Points to note:
PBJ before the LSD and banana during works for me as far as food is concerned.
I need to carry water- I overlook it 'cos I am too lazy , but it is required during the long runs.
Icing the knees is a must after the workout. It helps with up and down the stairs later.

Just a thought: for all those runners who run at great speeds and feel that the turtles should not spoil their marathon experience- yesterday while doing the 16.5 miles I felt as much pain, discomfort as any other elite runner. Yes I took 4 hours to complete and did not puke on completion, but my effort was not any less. This thought came after reading an article in the latest Runners World on racing etiquette, how slow runners and walkers spoil it for people running for personal bests. U know what , they should have a race just for people who take more than 5 hours to complete a marathon. Then, watch me!!

Yest. and today spent the whole day at the soccer fields for the 13yo soccer tournament, yest was a bit sore and tired, but today am back to normal.
Rest today, run tomorrow.

Getting there

R/W with GB in the AM, 4.72miles in 70 min, so avg speed 14.8min/mile, if I am calculating correctly. Which included a hill. And we were not exactly on cruise control while doing the session- I mean We were huffing and puffing quite a bit.But it is getting better, I hope.

And I do hope that by the marathon day we can do the distance at 14.5min per mile -because that is the recommendation on the official Nike Womens Marathon site.I was reading some reviews of the marathon on www.marathonguide.com and the majority said its a good first marathon to do but some had not been able to complete because the cut-off is to cover 18.5miles in 5 hours and these people were late by 10-15 min because they were in the 12-15min pace group which started the marathon about 20 min later.
And there are hills- I looked at the tinny course map available on the site and could barely make out the words but there are hills 1-2 miles long and atleast 3-4 of those.

So GB is all activated to cover those hills in a respectable manner and so all of our workouts now will include a hill. Which is actually unavoidable living in this area.

Rest day tomorrow, 18 miles on saturday- I hope we are able to do the 18 miles and not stop at 14 or 16 or miscalculate the distance. We'll see.

Half way there!

12 weeks of training done, 12 weeks left!
Am I feeling stressed? not much, only when I see my handwritten program and realise that I am done with one side of the sheet and now can see the goal of 'MARATHON DAY' written in big green letters with a smiley face!

Took a day off yesterday, today am off from work and DH (who has the whole week off- some people r lucky)wanted to run with me. So did the 3.63m loop next to our house, it includes a big, bad, long hill. Would love to say that I ran up the hill like a gazelle, but no, I crawled up with spurts of what I call running and he calls running in place. But, but I did do the loop in 53 min, which is a whole 2 min better than what Iwas doing in March/ April. Tho it could be the beautiful cool breezy day also.

GB was in San-francisco yesterday and says it was really cool there. Which is good. But I hope its not cold in October. See, the temp has to be just right- not too warrm, not too cold, breeze just adequate- not too windy, not too still, not against me at any point . I can do hills too, as long as they are not too long, not too steep,a slight down grade is preferred, so I can let gravity take over and roll down on cruise control. Then I can run.I am sure some day in the near future they will have a course like that! Till then, its mother nature and me and I hope she is kind to me on the day.

Have to fit in 2 more sessions before the months end to get 20/30 workouts for the month. Havent done any weights, only some yoga, get back into the routine, and dont remind me-18 miles this weekend. 18!!!

Slacking off

R/W with GB twice this week.

She wanted to R/W on tues, wed and thurs. Tues I did go and we completed 3.35 miles in 55min, wwhich included a nice hill.
Wed, I got too lazy or u can say I just jammed. I was awake from 4.30 Am onwards and did not get up till 6.30 AM. Even tho my upper back hurt, the way it hurts when I have had an uncomfortable night and getting up helps. GB called a couple of times and then went on her own.
Today/thurs , I realized my folly and went at 5.15 Am sharp for the r/w. I did 4.67mi in 67 min. Relatively flat course. But GB now with foot pain so am planning to do the LSD on sunday instead of Saturday to give her some time to heal. Also 13yo has soccer tournament so Sat. will be rushed. Its only 8 miles this weekend maybe GB will do less and be ready for the 18 miles next weekend!