Sunday, December 30, 2012

Running for Bacon in the SNOW

The brothers are in town for a week and little brother is training for the same marathon as me in 3 weeks so we have had some good runs together.

Thursday, December 27
Recorded high was 34 degrees and low was 21. We ran at 10:00am so it was probably 25 degrees or so.  10 mph wind.  And snowing.....the entire time (even though the forecast said it was only a 30% chance).  We ran on the river trail.  There was mud in places. There was 4 inches of snow in others.  What a pace run!!! For 10 miles!!!!
I managed to get sick after all my playing gigs on the 23rd and 24th so I was suffering from a sinus infection for Christmas and still am.  Ich!
Goal 7:38s but I'm really happy keeping them under 7:45s.
1 mile warmup
Then:
7:31
7:31
7:46
7:41
7:38
7:42
7:54
7:49
7:47
7:44
Not bad for having a head cold (do I get bonus points for that on marathon day????) and through the snow on the ground and snow in the air (which was totally cool by the way!).  11+ miles.
That day ended with 15 of us for dinner at my folks' house for standing rib roast, piles of potatoes, veggies, rolls and pumpkin pie.  I had 2 slabs of prime rib (I haven't had red meat for a while but I was so hungry from the run).

Saturday, December 29
Did the mesa run again.  Husband came and so did brother and Sentry (the dog).  Lots of snow, lots of mud, lots of rocks. 15mph wind. High was 32 that day so maybe it was 28 or 30 degrees.  500 feet or so of climb (we averaged 9:44s because of all the snow and hills and the stupid headcold).  8 miles.

Sunday, December 30
Long run across town. 16 miles. 40 degrees.  8:15 pace was the goal.  Ended up averaging 8:25s.  First half is pretty much all uphill with 500 feet of climb....then back down again.  I couldn't breathe very well...my nose is now super chapped from all the cold weather running mixed with the constantly runny nose.  I'm crazy frustrated as this is the last long run and now taper starts....3 weeks to go.  I guess 10 seconds per mile can be credited to the sickness and the uphill but I'm still bummed (especially since my pace run on Thursday was pretty good even though I was sick).  Ah well.  This is how we all feel right before taper starts right?  Like we've had the crap beat out of us a couple of times and what the heck was I thinking when I signed up for this race???????

Husband made us all crepes with blueberries, creme anglaise and bacon for breakfast.  SOOOOOO divine!

I'm ready for taper.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas Running (and Violining)

On Sunday, I played in church and then had a 4.5 hour string quartet gig at a very upscale Christmas party about 1.5 hours away.  I had my morning run before all that and ended up not getting home until nearly 1am. I was exhausted.  Then on Christmas Eve, I had to get up pretty early to run, then head to a gig where I was hired to play back-up on a few numbers (on electric violin) and to play O Holy Night on solo violin (acoustic) with a pianist.  The church asked that I wear a red ball gown so I made one over the last few weeks...ended up costing me only about $80 but it turned out great.  I played four church services plus a rehearsal for a total of 7.5 hours of work.  During the first service, it started to snow!!!  We haven't had a white Christmas for 16 years.  It was so exciting!
By the end with all the nerves of performing, mixed with the gig the night before, the running and the lack of sleep, I was EXHAUSTED!  Headed to my folks for leftovers of Christmas Eve dinner and headed to bed.

Woke up this morning to white!  Decided to do my strength run (warm-up, then 3 x 2 miles @ 7:28 pace, with 1/2 mile easy in between) on our street since it was mostly clear of snow with just a half dozen icy spots to avoid.  The sidewalks were a mess so I spent most of the time in the road.  It was a nice run...a little slow from avoiding the ice but it was done by 10 so I have the whole day to rest. Then we headed to my sister's for brunch with her family and my parents.  Delicious!

Happy Christmas everyone!  Here are some Christmas photos of my running buddy, Sentry!




Thursday, December 20, 2012

Cold Run....Soooo cold

Thursday....tempo run.  9 miles at marathon pace.....plus warm-up (and cool-down)....do I need a cool-down if I'm frozen????  Seriously.

When I left the house it was 11 degrees.  (with wind chill weather channel said "feels like 1").  When I got home it was 18 (weather channel says "feels like 12").  Burr. 

I headed to the river trail where I do my speedwork and tempo runs because it's as flat as we can get in this super hilly town and there's no traffic.  Turns out, it's buried in snow and ice so I had to create a course on the fly and ended up having some good hills mixed in. I came across DH finishing his morning run (I had to go feed the chickens and he had an appointment to get to so we couldn't run together).  I was frozen. He had an extra pair of gloves and he gave them to me.  Lifesaver! Just another reminder of why I married this man! I also had to deal with all kinds of snow and ice on every street in this town because of trees or buildings or other objects shading the roads and sidewalks so nothing can melt.  My brother calls it "ninja running".  Today was full of it.  I didn't manage to hold  the paces I did last week but I stayed within 20 seconds per mile which I guess is acceptable.  All were between 7:45-7:55....I'm supposed to be 7:38 so I guess I was close enough considering the circumstances.  When I got home, I was a popsicle. My face. My toes. So cold. Thermometer in the yard said 18. Ugh. No wonder. My warm blood doesn't like these temps.

Got inside and warmed up with eggs, homemade bagels and FOUR pieces of bacon....thicksliced. Oh yes!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Reindeer Romp 5k

Downtown Reindeer Romp 5k.
They used the same course as our downtown Turkey Trot a month ago. A bunch of runners were giving feedback after the Turkey Trot that the course was too short (GarminGirl said 3.04).  So they extended the course a bit to try to make it closer so it was 3.06 this time. My finish time was 1.5 seconds slower than the Turkey Trot.  I finished in 20:29.1.  First place for women!  Free Newtons!!!!!!!  Wahoo!

About an hour before the race, it started raining and sleeting.  It was cold (maybe 38 degrees) with a light breeze.  My feet were soaked from a 1 mile warm-up. I was worried about a couple spring chicken girlies in their 20s jumping around at the start in their cute outfits with WAY too much energy.  All these 50-mile weeks of marathon training have caught up to me and I'm just tired (and I haven't been in my 20s for almost 5 years now so there's definitely no jumping around at the start).  The top 3 women and men get free shoes from our local shoe store (Brown's Shoe Fit) so I really wanted to be top 3.  The gun went off and the 2 girls bolted from the line (probably 5:30 pace).  I stuck to my plan on no faster than 6:30 as I should be around 6:40-6:45s on average.  After a half mile, I was gaining on one of the girls.  By 7/10ths I passed her.  We turned the corner and headed up a big hill (over 100 feet of gain in less than a half mile).  About 100 yards into the hill, I passed girl #1.  I was in the lead.  I kept on chugging through to the end of the race, passing a few men on another incline towards the end, let myself roll down the hills and finished 11th overall.


Within the first mile. I was about to snot-rocket and then I noticed my sister taking the picture so I held off for a minute.


The finish....but I can't get it to rotate.

My nephew and I at the finish line having hot cocoa.  Yum!  It warmed me up  for about 20 seconds.

Wordquota and me at the finish.  It was SOOOOOO cold!
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Run of 12s RR....Run of a Lifetime

The stars aligned today.
12-12-12
I know the virtual race was to be a 12k but I ran 12 miles (I'll get to why later).
I chose a route from home to 12th Street:

I ran up and down 12th Street 12 times. (It's only 3 blocks long (about .35 miles), but let me just say GHETTO! I wouldn't normally run 12 steps on this road so 12 times up and down was a BIG deal....luckily I had a trusty Doberman with me....Thank you my beautiful Sentry for being a good running buddy today!) Here's a bit of my gps map showing my repeats on 12th St:

I wore a #12 bib:

It was 18 degrees when I headed out (was hoping for a 12 there but didn't get it). Although I did SCORE on the 12mph wind (said weather.com as I left the house).  HOORAY....another 12!  (I have NEVER said Hooray about wind and I probably never will again...hate the stuff...but today it worked).

I worked the whole time to remember all the proper words for the 12 Days of Christmas and I think I was successful.  (I never wear headphones so I am always counting or singing to myself....I wouldn't usually sing such an annoying song like the 12 Days of Christmas but it was definitely appropriate in that today is 12 days away from Christmas!)

So, here I am at mile 11ish:

So, why the 12 miles?
Why is today so special?
Why are the stars so aligned for me? Afterall, it's 12-12-12 everywhere today!
This is why:
On endomondo (my fitness tracker where I sync GarminGirl), there are challenges.  I entered the "2012 miles in 2012" challenge back in June when I had about 800 miles logged.  I had just run a May marathon and didn't have plans for another. Ran a Half in August.  In October I finally got my ducks in a row and registered for a January race.  About a month ago, I decided to look at my challenges and realized I only had a few hundred miles to go.  Did the math and had to run like 37 miles a week to make it by December 31.  No problem as I am in the height of training with numbers around 50-60 per week.  Last Wednesday I had 65 to go.  Just stuck to my program.  Saw the invite for the virtual 12k race on 12-12, but Wednesday is my REST DAY! NOOOO! Then Wednesday grew near.  Yesterday, I looked at Endomondo....2000 miles so far this year.  No stinkin way.  12 miles to go to make 2012 miles in 2012.  I texted Dad (my #1 fan).  He said I was crazy to even think of resting. I had to finish my 2012 on 12-12-12 (with a 12-miler, with 12 repetitions on 12th Street, with a 12 bib on).  He was right.  So I did.  But I did it so perfectly that it came out to 2012.12 miles total for the year...TODAY.  How do you like that for some 12s?

I'm a little speechless about this whole running thing. I'm proud. I'm tired. I'm skinny. I'm hungry (all the time). But one thing is for sure, I love to run.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Winter Marathon Training is really here

6 weeks until Arizona Rock n Roll.  Had a really fantastic Tempo Run last Thursday....9 miles at marathon pace and totally nailed it.  Felt great! Best one yet! Over the weekend, the weather turned to winter.  Sunday I ran 10 miles. It was 26 degrees with 10mph wind and blowing snow.  I did 4 of them with my DH and the other 6 with my sweet puppy.  This morning it was 12 degrees with a bit of a wind. Got in my 8 miles by choosing a new secret trail. A run out of downtown, up my favorite road, then up a big hill, and then a slight left between a few fence posts and magically I am transcended to the top of a huge mesa with 360 degree views of the Land of Enchantment.  I ran on top for about a mile and then turned around to head home. I will definitely be exploring this new spot some more.  All the beautiful scenery made me forget how stinkin' cold it was!  I will try to remember to take my phone sometime to snap a pic.