Rachel's Marathon Blog

runner's world

2005-09-24T07:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe I will post just a little bit, even if I'm not quite back up to form yet. Like I said, lots of cross training, not a whole lot of running. I decided I'm going to try to ease the running back in and if I feel any IT band issues, I'm going to meet up with the university trainer where I work, as per David's suggestion. Maybe now that I'm doing lots of cross training classes-- strength, abs, pilates, etc-- those will help build up those muscles that cause problems with the IT band.

Here was my dilemma yesterday: I had decided I would run 4 miles between my house and the university, then shower and meet some friends at five for drinks and a movie. But we were still getting intermittent rain bands from Rita (that storm is HUGE!), and it was also 90 degrees, so I decided to drive to the university. I had left my gym bag in my husband's car, so after picking that up I only had thirty minutes to do a workout. It was pouring rain and there was an empty treadmill in the gym.

I really wanted to run. The iPod was charged and a playlist was ready with some reggaeton and songs by Shakira and M.I.A., this new Sri Lankan-hip-hop sensation from Britain. In the old days I would have done a hard three miles with a few hills thrown in, followed by a few sit ups, then off to the showers and to meet my friends. But I'm trying to make different choices now because I realize how fragile some of these injuries are-- they just come out of nowhere and sideline you completely. So I did two miles, followed by ten minutes of stretching and strength work. Boring as hell, but I think this is what I have to do. After last January's marathon, gone are the days when I could just tear out for a run without stretching much and have no problems.

So, if you have thirty minutes only to exercise, don't fill it just with running-- it might save you in the long run to do the stretches and strength work as well...

still hibernating...

2005-09-19T14:32:00.000-05:00

I am taking a break from blogging about running... because running without IT band problems has become a problem lately. Since I came back from six weeks overseas, I thought that a nice break would help, and I eased into it again, first running one mile, then two, then up to three, but as soon as I start increasing the mileage (no more than 10% a week, believe me), the illiotibial pain comes back. So I'm doing a lot of cross training right now and keeping the mileage very, very low. Hopefully if I build up my strength again the IT problems will eventually go away.

Running is also hard for me in the summer. I'm a wimp. It's still the hot season down here in Florida, with plus 90 degree temps every day and no relief in sight except that provided by the slightly cooler weather that seems to come with hurricanes. And there, slightly cooler is relative-- we had a week of temps in the mid-80s with Ophelia, which dumped a little rain on us but not much else.

Until I start to feel like a runner again, I'm lurking on other RBF blogs and occasionally commenting... but if you like food, check out my other site at:

www.aninvitationtothebarbecue.blogspot.com

summer hibernation

2005-05-28T14:14:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving tomorrow for Morocco. It's probably a good thing, too, because I've had serious motivation issues lately with running. I had so much energy and adrenaline getting me through my first year at a full-time teaching job, taking me through my first marathon, two half marathons, long runs on the weekend, etc, and with the onset of the Florida summer heat (Note to David: how do you deal?) and the ending of the school year, I am just exhausted, completely wiped out. I still make myself go running every other day, but the runs are seldom of high quality. I've temporarily lost that drive that made me want to bounce out of bed in the morning and hit the pavement. Sometimes I even put on my running clothes early in the day only to keep them on all day because I can't motivate to get out the door until the last possible instant. The only good thing I can say about my runs is that I've managed to make 4-milers a regular part of my "bare minimum" physical activity-- which used to be just a three miler every other day. I haven't been motivated to lift weights or do any ab work (ahh, how i miss power abs), and I can already see the muscle loss.

I just can't be a drill sergeant on myself year-round, and I'm okay with that. I tend to have cycles of motivation with everything in my life-- periods where I'm reading and writing prolifically, periods where I can do nothing but watch TV, periods where I'm cooking like I'm on audition for Food Network, and times where I can barely throw together a taco dinner kit. I have to fight that Protestant work-ethic guilt, but I try... Cycles of motivation--do you other RBF'ers have similar issues?

So, not sure about whether I'll update while I'm gone, but I'll be back, and looking forward to catching up with the rest of you... I'm just going into some Florida summer-induced hibernation...

day at the beach

2005-05-21T11:54:00.000-05:00

day at the beach
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.

One week until I leave for an extended trip... to Morocco. I've been going to Morocco ever since a study abroad program got me hooked in college more than ten years ago. I went to grad school to study Morocco further, and lived there for two years while doing my fieldwork. I met my husband there, on an earlier visit. Now we have his family to visit, and I have some research to do-- so my trip is going to be equal parts work and pleasure.

When I lived there from 2001-02, running was a bit of a challenge. We didn't live in one of the more cosmopolitan cities (Rabat or Casablanca), where the sight of a female jogger would not be out of the ordinary. There was one place in the city of Fes to run, an abandoned race track for horses, and I had to get there very early, say, 6 a.m., when the heart patients who'd been told by their doctors to exercise were walking around. Any later than seven and the unemployed stoners would already be up in the bleachers, and I might have some unwelcome company on my run, some guy trying to pick me up.

Morocco is not a country where most of the women are veiled. On the contrary, a visitor would see just as many women in jeans or short skirts as women wearing headscarved. You can see from this picture a typical day at a very crowded beach-- where women are in bathing suits just like they would be here. Women and men now attend college in equal numbers, and women are a significant presence in the workforce.

Yet still, there's something about running that women just don't seem to do in equal numbers as the men, which is too bad, because as you know, some of the best runners in the world are Moroccan. So sometimes I'd get tired of fighting off the men who thought I was out to get picked up (wearing sweatpants even in the summer, and modest t-shirts) and I joined an exercise club, where I could run on the treadmill to my heart's content. There were lots of exercise clubs in Fes, but the newest sensation when I lived there was American Steel Fitness. The owners were Moroccan-American, and they'd imported all their equipment from the US at great cost. (The funny thing was that many of the female members didn't want to use the weight machines because they were convinced they'd get big muscles like a man, no matter what they were told). There were aerobics classes, too, although for the most part, they were never as tough as exercise classes are in the US. I had a lot of fun at that club, though, so I plan to check it out when I go back and see how it's doing.

Unfortunately, I may not feel like braving the harassment to get much running done, unless I can convince my husband (who has knee issues) to go with me. I may take a lot of walks with my mother-in-law. But my running is going to be winding down considerably for the summer now. Maybe that's a good thing-- give everything time to heal, and while all of you Northerners are enjoying your full running schedules, I'll live vicariously through you. I'll try to report back whenever possible, although I may be doing more cooking and eatingthan running for awhile...

casbah

2005-05-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

casbah
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.

end of the year

2005-05-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

The school year is finally over. I gave my last exam yesterday, and although I have a mountain of papers and exams to grade, the end is in sight, the students are headed home, and things are winding down. I saw off my parents and my mother-in-law this morning, then went for a three-mile run in the late morning heat, admiring landscapes and making plans for mine. (I have been in Florida exactly a year today, and I can't get over how flowers bloom here year-round-- bougainvillea, Mexican heather, lantana, plumbago. I have planted one of each but now want a yard full-- a riot of color). I went grocery shopping, bought some hummus spread, chicken legs to marinate in a tandoori yogurt sauce recipe I found in the latest issue of Food & Wine, and a six pack of Sam Adams. Now I'm set to sit back on the porch and start grading.

I did withdraw my name from the New York marathon lottery, and I felt okay about that decision. Thanks for the supportive comments. My running partner called last night and asked if I wanted to run the Marine Corps marathon with her in October, and although the prospect of having a buddy to train with sounded tempting, I think I would still have to decline. I'm not ready to do another marathon just yet, and I'm also not totally convinced that I'm built for them. Injury-wise, I fear that training for another might put me out of commission for running entirely-- there are still some lingering problems that I didn't have before I started training, and I blame the bi-weekly 16, 18 and 20-milers... I'm going to plan a few half marathons sometime in the winter-- Miami? Tampa again? Definitely Orlando... That will give me the thrill of training with out the agony of de-feet. Ha, ha...

Run for the trees

2005-05-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

tree on house
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.

I ran a 5K race this past weekend with a really cool theme-- adding more trees to the environment, which is especially welcome this year since we lost so many with the three hurricanes that hit us last fall (witness the giant laurel oak that fell on top of our house). Every participant in this race gets a tree-- I convinced my friend Amy to run and she gave me hers, so I wound up with a baby cypress tree and a baby live oak, both of which I planted in my yard, where a gaping hole remains from the aforementioned laurel oak.

I hadn't run a 5K since last summer, and my time ended up being 25:42. I never got the chance to do any speedwork due to my nagging IT band issues, but I wasn't upset about it. The race was still fun. I saw one of my Team In Training buddies, an extremely fast man in the 50-54 age group who ran his race in just under 20 minutes and just took up running in the last year. (Don't you hate people like that?!)

The humidity was already pretty intense at 7:30 in the morning. I ran my first mile too fast-- 7:56. I knew I couldn't keep up that pace, especially without really training. The second mile I was having some breathing cramps, which scared me for a few minutes, but I slowed down and they went away. The last mile went through some nature preserve that is only open one day of the year for this race. I was excited for the race to be finished so I could head back to the starting point to collect my trees.

Having run several different types of races now, I have concluded that I really prefer the medium distances. 10K's and half marathons are great because you have to learn to pace yourself, and they go on for long enough that you get to appreciate the scenery. I have a harder time appreciating the scenery with 5K's, when I feel like I'm sprinting and I don't really get into any sort of rhythm. I suppose I could train for one and try to master it-- and maybe some new goal setting is overdue since I've decided I don't want to run another marathon anytime soon-- but in terms of form I really just like the longer races.

I tried to take photos of my baby trees, but they're so small they blend in with all the other greenery. Great mementos, though, and the coolest race souvenirs I have received so far.

afternoon running

2005-04-29T07:10:00.000-05:00

I almost always run in the mornings before work, usually around 7 a.m. At that hour in Central Florida, it's still cool, all the bougainvillea, plumbago and other exotic flowers that seem to bloom year round are covered with dew, and I always feel like I'm starting my day off right. Yesterday I was too tired to get up early, so I decided to run after work.

Around 5 pm these days, temperatures are still in the low 80s, but the humidity has not yet kicked in (it will soon-- then no more afternoon running). I changed in my office and turned on the iPod and the Garmin Forerunner. (A side note-- I've had the Garmin for four months now. The battery only fully charges to 5 hours. What's up with that? It started out with 13 hours.) I did my few minutes of walking and stretching and hit the road, taking a new loop all the way through downtown Winter Park, an upscale shopping and restaurant district, through a neighborhood of multi-million dollar mansions, then back to the campus. 4 miles.

The afternoon run felt harder than usual. The temperatures were getting to me a little bit, and I had a stitch in my side and stomach cramps-- my first thought is always, what if I have an attack of appendicitis in the middle of nowhere? The stitch went away after awhile, but the smell from all the cars at rush hour didn't make the best air for breathing. I was pleased, however, to see that running at 5 o'clock in Central Florida does wonders for one's tan. I can't believe how strong the sun is here.

When Runner's World printed articles during the winter about running in the cold, I was grateful I didn't have to think about that. I probably will have to get used to running in the heat, though, without getting heatstroke (which has happened to me before). As your northern race calendars start to fill up with spring and summer races, our season here is starting to wind down. Last year I ran a brutal 5K on the 4th of July, when the temps hovered at 90 by 8 a.m.

I suddenly don't want to run the New York Marathon anymore. I registered for the lottery, but the numbers aren't drawn until June so I'm wondering if I can withdraw. Marathons require so much training, and the thought of dealing with all these little injuries that spring up from nowhere and doing 14-milers in August just doesn't appeal to me right now. I may not be cut out for marathons-- I do enjoy half marathons; I know that for sure-- but the daunting prospect of training for another full one is, at the moment, making me think it might take the love of running out of me entirely. Does this make me a wimp?

chaos

2005-04-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

It is that time of the year when students who have made nothing but C's all semester come to my office asking what they need to do to make an A for the class (uh, score 137% on your final?). It is a time for begging, wheedling, threatening ("I'm going to lose my scholarship if you don't give me an A!"), for tearful entreaties ("I've been unable to afford the books-- that's why I've read nothing this whole semester"), for various other unpleasantries. Outside of work, we had to take my mother-in-law to the emergency room for heart attack symptoms/blood pressure of 195/116. I spent almost 24 hours straight in the hospital and came out of it feeling shaken but incredibly grateful to have my own health.

The week was consumed with thinking about death-- at school where we did a blood/bone marrow drive in memory of Sandy, and at the hospital where I saw everything that is wrong with the American medical system through several hours spent in the Emergency Room. The only light moment came from the ER receptionist who, when calling out patient names, occasionally threw in a fake patient to see if anyone would laugh. ("Manuel Noriega? Manuel?") When we finally got a room, we were in the cardio-pulmonary ward, where some patients appeared to be doing quite poorly. At one point the woman sharing our room got a call from the hospital administration reminding her that she owed $26,000 in hospital bills (from a four night stay) and asking how she planned to pay for it. Apparently this was a mistake, and administrators came to her room to apologize for the phone call, but still. My mother-in-law is now fine but needs to be on blood pressure medication and may be in the early stages of diabetes. The hospital was probably a thousand times more frightening for her, as she's visiting from overseas and speaks no English. Now I think she wants to go home.

Still running, but not feeling much like blogging about it these days. Did a long run of 8 miles this weekend and last-- last weekend with no IT pain, this weekend with some. Hopefully blogging (and reading your blogs!) will improve after school calms down (last week of classes!) and after I run a little 5K this upcoming weekend where the prize is a baby tree. (Everyone entering gets a prize.) I'm going to try not to run too fast. My competitive instinct always kicks in, but this time, maybe I mean it. Too many issues with this nagging IT band-- and if I'm smart, I'll slow down or it'll never get better. Sigh.

the culprit

2005-04-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the replies to my last post... I am thinking that probably kickboxing with Carlos was the culprit behind the resurgence of IT Band syndrome. (I am paying the price for my transgressions...) Although fun, kickboxing seems to involve slightly jarring hip movements, in addition to the impact. Oh well-- I have to admit that two classes in a row does seem a little excessive. I'll go back to my one-hour fix of Power Abs tomorrow.

A houseguest who is staying with us right now wanted to go for a run this morning, so we went out for a thirty minute jog. She runs much slower than I do, but that's probably what I need at the moment, as I wore my IT-band support and didn't have any problems. I'll try to lay off running again until Wednesday, and also follow the advice of this month's Runner's World-- varying your terrain.

illiotibial band syndrome

2005-04-09T17:18:00.000-05:00

Blogger keeps eating my posts... and refusing to let me comment on other people's posts. Anyone else have this problem?

I went out this morning intending to go for an 8 or 9 mile run. The weather was beautiful-- sunny, but not too hot. Lots of stress lately has kept me really looking forward to my runs. At mile 5, the side of my knee started to ache-- a telltale sign that the IT band was acting up. By mile 6.3 I had to stop running completely. Where did this come from? I thought it was all healed up. I'd dropped back drastically on the mileage, cross-trained a lot, and even had a 7 mile run last Saturday that didn't hurt at all. The IT band hasn't really bothered me in weeks. The only differences this week were a kickboxing class and a tiny bit of speedwork. Could that have aggravated it?

The IT band cast a cloud over the rest of my day. I had to spend a few hours at work-- attending a ceremony for the "installation" our college's new president. (National presidents get inaugurated; college presidents get installed like new washing machines.) Standing up in sandals with a slight heel for thirty minutes, I started to feel it again. Maybe I should have kept up with the strengthening exercises, but they're just so time consuming. Injury is disheartening, especially since I never used to have problems until marathon training. What to do, what to do?

water running

2005-04-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

I had a great run this morning. Although I was presenting a paper at 10 a.m. at a conference that just happened to be local, I met my running partner for a seven miler at seven a.m. The weather was breezy and humid, with intermittent rain, but once we started running, the rain felt great. A big group of serious-looking early bird runners were just coming in at seven as we were starting. No IT band pain the whole way, and Susan and I just talked and caught up with what has been going on in both our lives over the past few weeks.

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful here I decided to go to the swimming pool at the college where I teach. The pool is outside and on a lake, one of the features that makes the college look like a country club. There are almost always students lying out there, but apparently faculty and staff only show up for serious lap swims early in the morning and late afternoon. Because for my whole life I've always looked younger than I am (which is only just now, at age thirty, starting to become a good thing, although it hasn't been in the past, when I've wanted people to take me seriously), I put on shades and a bikini, grabbed a lawn chair, and went incognito at the pool. I saw none of my students there, so I think I pulled it off.

I tried water running (I think)... would that be like treading water? I can't touch the ground anywhere in the pool. Drama occurred when someone spotted an alligator outside the fenced-in pool, down by the lake. I also eavesdropped on some interesting student conversations ("All my father cares about is making money. Forget the family; he'd rather have the nice house and the Jaguar. That's all men care about is money."). Most interesting was a group of students who were playing April Fools' jokes on their parents by calling them on speakerphone and announcing that the student had been arrested for possession of marijuana. Not a joke I would want to hear if I were a parent. I overheard several complete meltdowns by parents (and one eighty year old grandmother, who threatened to have a heart attack), which the girls playing the joke seemed to find endlessly amusing.

I am looking forward to summer, when the pool will be mine, all mine!

Easter run

2005-03-27T17:14:00.000-05:00

The statistics: 7 miles. Daytime high: 86 degrees. Post run: One hour of catching rays in my back yard, sunlight filtering through the trees. Reading a good book.

I was up early this morning anyway, so I drove to the West Orange trail, 24 miles away, where I used to train for the marathon with Team In Training. I hadn't been there since January. Each week I still get emails that my old teammates are out there running, but I've either been on long runs with my running partner or else otherwise occupied/injured.

The trail is pretty long-- I'm not sure how far it extends, but Central Florida is doing a good job trying to build lots of bike paths and running paths for people. Although the trail is paved, the scenery is incredibly beautiful -- live oaks draped with moss, orange groves, horse pastures, old shacks, lumber mills, etc. It's nice to go out of the way for a long run there.

I showed up at 7 a.m. thinking my Team In Training friends would be at the usual meeting spot. The parking lot was deserted, save for two cyclists-- I knew it was Easter, but I was thinking my comrades would be inspired by "Let Nature be your church" or similar Emersonian running sentiments. But I'd made a mistake-- they were there yesterday.

On the bathroom doors (locked), I saw a sign from the Parks department saying there had been a lot of cars broken into lately. I got creeped out again and decided to leave. I wavered, got mad at myself, and then decided to park at a church up the street. Soon it would be filled with people, and as for the trails, I decided to take my chances.

The run was beautiful. I saw a lot of cyclists and a few stumbling runners who may have been on a twenty miler-- they looked like they had been to the wars and back. Running at West Orange brought back a lot of memories from my training, especially since the conversation always drifted around to leukemia, and I can remember how I'd think of my friend Sandy while I was running, how I was convinced she was going to be fine.

I learned so much through the whole training experience; it was a pretty powerful and intense experience. I passed the parking lot where Susan and I high-fived each other after completing a twenty-miler. Today I paced myself-- slightly under ten minute miles and no hurt IT band the whole run. I was always so stubborn during the long runs, refusing to believe that over such long distances the body inevitably slows down, or that speed would make me more susceptible to injury. I learned a lot about myself-- about endurance, and the body's limitations. Several months of training for one rite of passage, gaining weight that was definitely not muscle, and I wondered what had taken over my body that I was in better shape than ever but weighed more than I ever had in my life.

In retrospect, the process of training was such a significant part of the actual marathon-- the process actually meant more to me, including raising the money for leukemia research, which wasn't as hard to do as I thought. The actual marathon, when it came, was a crazy, disjointed experience. The heat, the pain, the sun, the exhaustion, the weird herd of runners (20,000 strong) surrounding me who looked as bad as I felt, smiling Disney characters popping out at unexpected times, almost like a bizarre hallucination brought on by the ridiculous test I was subjecting myself to.

But what an amazing experience marathon training was overall. Difficult and rewarding and overwhelming like life itself is. And I still have nights where I wake up at odd times thinking about Sandy. I don't ever want to forget her.

falling behind

2005-03-26T16:24:00.000-05:00

I've fallen behind in my blog reading...

After having a great spring break, I seem to have fallen behind in everything. I've been overwhelmed with the amount of work I've had to do since I got back. In some ways, being a professor is great because my schedule is so flexible-- if I want to come home at 2:00 on an afternoon when I'm not teaching, I can, and if I want to go for a run at 9 in the morning, I can. But what people don't see is the many, many hours of labor that fall outside the 9-5 hours, and it is never a job you can just leave at the office. So it's been one of those weeks where I was up until eleven at night writing tests for students to take the next morning, catching up on the reading for the class I was to teach the next day, writing an evaluation of myself for my first year of teaching, preparing a conference paper, blah blah blah. This is to say nothing of how cranky this all makes me.

Not interesting. But I apologize for missing out on RBF updates, and I hope I can catch up soon...

I'm back to my lifelong running pattern of running 3 miles every other day, which my body seems to like, but which I'm not satisfied with, especially since marathon training had me feeling like a badass on my regular 12-mile jaunts. But there's been the nagging IT-band injury, which has gotten better since I decreased my mileage. I'm going to go for a long run tomorrow, and hopefully build up my endurance again. And one thing I did not neglect this week was Power Abs with Carlos. The class was on a Tuesday, but the abs were still aching on Friday, thus appealing to my more masochistic tendencies...

For those of you interested in food and cooking, I've restarted a food blog I kept for about two years. You can check it out here.

Hope to catch up with all of you soon...

the end of Spring Break

2005-03-21T21:45:00.000-05:00

Back from the nation's capital... and visiting family in the Carolinas. When I travel I constantly have to remind myself that a vacation isn't reality. It's hard, because I always covet where other people live and imagine how much better my life would be if I lived there too. But once you're living there (wherever there is) on an everyday basis, all the hassles of everyday life take away the novelty. Such is life.

While in DC, I ate and ate and ate and ate some more. Highlights included pomegranate margaritas and guacamole liberally spiced with cilantro at Rosa Mexicano, the best french toast I've ever had (challah bread with an intense, pecan-maple syrup), a French bistro in Dupont Circle with amazing ravioli baked in gruyere and cream sauce, Italian pizza with all organic ingredients, prosciuttio, and lots of woodsy mushrooms, and a crust that was the perfect combination of soft and crispy. One night my friend Beth also cooked amazing spare ribs in a lemon and olive sauce, and another night, my host Mara made a pretty tasty tofu stir fry.

I managed to get in one visit to Mara's excellent YMCA-- seven floors full of state-of-the-art machines of all kinds-- and I also had a good run with some big hills thrown in for good measure. Did a five miler and three miler while in South Carolina, so I'm pretty happy I managed to get in four good exercise days while still getting substantial amounts of rest for my IT band over a ten day period.

Back to the grind-- but one thing I really did miss, among all the friends and food and culture in DC, was the weather in Florida, ironically enough. It was great to be driving home and watch the car thermometer register higher and higher, with sunny skies and tall palms welcoming me back to Florida. (We'll all be paying for it this summer, and into fall with the hurricanes, but right now, it's ideal).

I drove to my usual running trail this morning to find a creepy-looking guy sitting on a picnic table, no signs of a vehicle nearby. I was a little creeped out but saw a woman walking her dog, so I ventured onto the trail for a warm-up walk. The guy looked confused about his purpose at first but then he ran by me on the trail-- he was wearing long black socks, and his white-blonde hair was long and not in any kind of ponytail, both of which made me think might not really be a runner (Also I'd never seen him before). I ran for a little bit but got freaked out as the trail started to get more deserted and woodsy, thinking maybe he was pretending to be a runner but was actually waiting ahead in the bushes. So I turned around, got back in my car, drove to work, and ran around the busy neighborhood there.

Have any of you ever felt unsafe/wary/freaked out on a run? I hate that feeling.

cross training and spring break

2005-03-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

I've been cross training a fair amount, trying to give my aching IT band a rest. I consulted a couple of running books (Bob Glover and Hal Higdon), both of which were fairly alarmist about cross training, even though they recommend it (they imply that you WILL lose your running fitness, even if you're doing other cardio stuff)-- but if you're trying to avoid/get rid of injury, what else can you do? In an ideal world I'd like to run three times during the week and then have a nice long ten miler on Saturday, but obviously right now that's not going to happen, so I'm just going to have to deal with it.

Last Saturday I did a little five miler with my running partner and the IT band was hurting after a few miles. This is disappointing, but I did run two half marathons, a full marathon, and a 12K since December, so it's probably time to give it a rest. I kind of like the elliptical trainer, and I discovered something odd-- the newer machines in our gym are easier to use than the old ones. On the old ones I huff and puff for twenty minutes and it barely says I've gone a mile, whereas with the newer ones I can do three miles in 25 minutes, no problem. Not quite sure why that's the case. It's still a challenging workout.

So, only one run since Saturday-- I did a little three-mile run on a treadmill yesterday and wasn't feeling any IT pain, although my hip was sort of sore afterward. While on the machine I got bored and wanted to play with the resistance and speed but I held back, kept it at 9:30 with one 8:57 minute mile in the middle thrown in, then tried to do a lot of stretching afterward, some weights, some ab work, etc. I unfortunately had to miss Power Abs with Carlos this week, which I'm hoping will become a regular part of my exercise schedule. Spring Break is coming up, starting tomorrow, and I'm off to visit friends in D.C. and family in South Carolina, hoping to get in a few gym visits and runs while I'm there. (Although the weather in the Northeast seems so dreary, I almost wish my DC friends could come down to Florida and we could go to Miami)...

running modesty

2005-03-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

Something that grosses me out just a bit is men racing without shirts. This may be due to a few unfortunate racetime encounters with big, sweaty, hairy, shirtless dudes, jostling me in a manner far too intimate for a race with strangers. Or a particularly potent memory of a man doing a pre-race stretch right in my face, his arms up to the sky, allowing me a close-up of underarm hair long enough to weave into braids. (For this I dread starting line-ups in the dark). I have noticed that at races, men of all shapes and sizes seem to have no compunction about sharing themselves with their neighbors, and in some pretty close quarters. When a friend of mine sent me this,
I had to laugh.

In a stunning coincidence, a few minutes later I was browsing the net for local races, and I came across the Hidden River Trail Streak. All sorts of questions came to mind, including whether it would be difficult to run without, um, support. I couldn't help but imagine the karmic justice if I could send some of those shirtless dudes over to this race, where they could fully express themselves.

Elliptical Trainer

2005-03-03T18:11:00.000-05:00

I decided not to run at all until this weekend, following David's example of taking a break. So just one little 2.8 mile run this week to give my muscles some rest. Instead, I did the elliptical trainer at the gym for the first time. I have never gotten on that machine before. I think I was scared of it-- like it might take off without me and I would go flying through the air. That did not happen, but I was surprised at how difficult it was. Not difficult coordination-wise, but just arduous. From among choices like "Forest Trail" and "Mountain Pass," I chose "Fat Burner-- 20 minutes." My heart rate went up immediately and I actually had a hard time completing 20 minutes. What's up with that? How is it that I can run for two hours straight and my heart rate stays pretty steady, but yet I do twenty minutes on this machine and feel like I'm slogging through two feet of mud? I did feel like I got a great workout, though. I was drenched with sweat. I lifted some weights and did my IT-band exercises, so that was that. I felt no pain anywhere-- is the elliptical trainer a good machine for cross-training purposes? Is it going to do any damage somehow?

Tomorrow, pilates. Diversify, diversify!

We're having the last gasps of a Florida winter here-- rainy and in the 40s, the coldest it ever gets, when most of the time it's in the 70s. I love the weather in the winter here, but I actually find myself craving cold and rainy days now, so I'm pretty happy. It will be a good night to go home and immediately don pajamas.

Outback Distance Classic

2005-02-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

The weather gods smiled upon us... although it rained almost all of Sunday, for Saturday's 12K race we had no rain at all. It was probably in the low 70s but not too warm, and cloudy, which made me think the run would feel good. I did wear my Team In Training singlet and was happy to finally meet fellow Central Florida running blogger David. This was a really cool race, for a number of reasons-- most of all, I now feel a sense of running community that's not only virtual, as in addition to meeting David, I ran into a bunch of other local runners I knew, which was cool. A friend's four year old daughter was singing the national anthem, and she was adorable. It's nice to finally have some familiar faces to see.

The run itself was kind of difficult-- I finished in 1:05:13-- and I ran a little faster than I'd meant to, but in a race it's sometimes hard not to. At least I wasn't staring at my Forerunner the whole time, which was one goal I accomplished. I meant to take in the scenery more, but I also just wanted the race to be over, as the humidity seemed oppressive to me once I began running. I could feel the IT band bothering me toward the end, which further makes me think I need a break. 12K is a weird distance-- after 10K I would have been happy to quit, and those last 2K seemed to be stretching out in slow motion. I wanted to kill the guy who claimed the finish line "was just around the corner" when actually it was almost a mile away. Usually I enjoy the actual racing part of these events but this time it was a bit tough... although "tough" is good sometimes, too, because then you really feel like you accomplished something.

After cooling off a little bit, steak it was, and it was a fantastic dinner-- steak, chicken, rice, caesar salad, rolls, and a big ol' Fosters beer to help replenish those carbs.

I had convinced a friend to run her first race ever, the 3K fun run, and was squiring her around as various runners I knew through Team In Training, or through the local runner's club, came up to greet me. I was being a little protective, though, and refused an invitation to share dinner with some other runners because I was afraid we would talk about running the whole time, and I didn't want to turn off my friend, who is very tentatively exploring the joys of racing. Perhaps I was being over-protective, but I was afraid too many marathon tales of black toenails and chafing incidents might scare her away for good. I think she had a good time. I know I did. I convinced my husband to head over to the race after he got off work, and there was still lots of food to be had. All in all, this was a great race, even if the food (and not the running) became the central event for me. Even though the actual running was tough, the event was a lot of fun.

I'm also thinking no more races until the end of April, when there's a cool 5K race where your souvenir is a baby tree. Something related to the native ecosystems of Florida, and involving a special forest that is only opened once a year for this event. I would like to get into speedwork, but that's not compatible with the break I want to take, so maybe after a week or two of slow, careful running I'll think more about that.

I'm going to see about getting a bike, learning about kickboxing, and trying some of the other RBF cross training suggestions... still waiting for someone to tell me how to do "water running," or is it just what it sounds like?

(take it easy) race tomorrow

2005-02-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments about my last post. I really appreciate it, and the comments helped me through a tough week. If anything I've been using this time just to be thoughtful and reflective about life, to be grateful for what I have, and to think about what my priorities and goals in life really are, because we never know how much time we have to accomplish them.

Last weekend I was on a bit of a bender in terms of eating, but I was surprised to discover I'd dropped another pound and a half after the weekend. I'd been eating cheesecake, buffalo wings, steak-- comfort foods-- so it was somewhat of a miracle. I'm finally back to pre-marathon weight, and I can really notice a difference. I still can't believe I gained 10 pounds through training.

I've been running, but decided to take two days off before tomorrow's 12K Outback race. I really like the t-shirts-- a cool painting of a kangaroo with a little baby kangaroo in her pouch. For once I don't mind the corporate sponsorship and am excited about steak. Still planning not to run as fast as I can, not to wear the Forerunner, just to have fun, maybe wear my Team In Training singlet in Sandy's honor... or not, depending on how rainy it is. I went for a four mile tempo run on Wednesday and had tons of energy but later on started to feel creaky. The next day I still felt creaky. I had energy, but just felt like my body was kind of sore and worn down. This makes me even more certain that I don't want to run fast tomorrow, since I've discovered that sometimes running fast=feels good in the moment=injury later.

Which makes me wonder: how often should we take breaks from running, and how long should those breaks be? I'd be curious to hear how other RBF'ers weigh in on this debate. I wish I liked some other form of aerobic exercise that doesn't pound on my legs. I'm a terrible swimmer, and I don't own a bike. I've heard about water running, but am not quite sure how to do it. Any ideas?

2005-02-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

I found out Thursday that my friend Sandy had gone into a coma. It had been a long day at work followed by a terrific reading I attended by Pulitzer prize-winner Edward P. Jones, reading from his novel The Known World, which is an amazing book about slaveowning blacks in the antebelleum South. The room was packed and I was drawn back into this novel I loved when I read it last summer, an unusual book about an unusual topic but so vividly imagined. The whole time I had my friend on my mind, and that night I slept horribly. I woke up with a start in the middle of the night, having a feeling I couldn't even describe-- feeling like I had seen something so vivid in my sleep that I wanted to remind myself to remember the shock of it the next morning, but I couldn't tell you what it was I saw or experienced, except that it was something strange.

On Friday I woke up earlier than I wanted to, feeling like I had not slept at all. I parked my car at the college where I work and trotted off for a three mile jog, running much slower than I normally do. When I came back to my car to get my clothes for the shower, I saw there was a message on my cell phone, so I immediately hit redial. It was Sandy's boss in the IT department of our college, telling me she'd passed away during the night.

I hadn't known her that long in the scheme of things. When I moved to Florida last May, she was my first new friend. We were the same age and we both wanted to buy a house, so that was the quest that united us last summer, and we spent considerable time talking about it-- neighborhoods, school districts, mortgage brokers, proximity to good restaurants, and that sense of finally owning something tangible, another rite of passage into adulthood. A house-- stability, age thirty just around the corner for both of us, both of us married but with no children yet.

She and her husband had just made an offer and were going through with the inspection when she found out she had leukemia. Our friendship had been developing as friendships often do-- you like the person, but there's no reason to rush things, because you've got all the time in the world to get to know them. When I heard she was sick and going into chemotherapy immediately, I felt a sense of urgency. I kept up with her and visited her after her treatments, and we exchanged long emails every week. At the beginning of October I asked her how she'd feel if I ran the Disney marathon in her honor, and I was thrilled when she told me that she would be honored. I threw myself into fundraising, canvassing, bake sales, you name it-- I'd never done this kind of thing in my life. I kept her updated about my training. She told me all the details of her treatment, and how she'd found that a few of her longtime friends shied away from her now that she was sick, but that she was happy I hadn't been like that.

I last saw her at her apartment the week before I ran Disney. She was enthusiastic about the stem cell transplant she was to receive in Gainesville the night before I ran. She was afraid her husband wasn't facing the fact that the transplant might fail, and she had been trying to prepare him for it. But she seemed pretty optimistic, and I felt optimistic for her-- after all, the donor was a "ten out of ten" match, whatever that means. The next week, after I'd written her to tell her all about the marathon, I got a long letter from her. She had sent plenty of emails, and in the mail she'd sent me cards, a Lance Armstrong bracelet, Christmas letters, etc, but this was a long letter. She described the transplant process, said she was so proud of me for running the marathon, and then she wrote:

"The bone marrow transplant unit has 20 patient rooms. All of them are occupied. I have met a few people while I have been up here. The stories of people here are really amazing. No one should have to go through this disease. Cancer is such a hard disease. When I get better, I want to volunteer with the leukemia society. I want to help others who have this. It doesn't seem so scary when you know someone understands what you are going through. I know you had mentioned something about starting a bone marrow drive when I get better. I think we should definitely do that when I am back. There is always a need for donors, especially minorities. I know people here who have been waiting for a donor for quite a while. It just makes you feel so helpless. I was lucky that a donor was found so quickly, and I thank God every night for that. I also thank God that I have a friend like you. We have a special bond that can't be broken."

I was so touched when I got the letter, and it broke my heart yesterday, reading it. For awhile it was looking like smooth sailing with the transplant, until she came down with this graft-versus-host disease, and her heart and liver finally gave out. I spoke to her husband and he told me about her final hours. He seemed to want to report the details to somebody, even though I don't know him well. I've been crying a lot, off and on, thinking about her family, many of whom sent me letters when they sent me donations for the marathon. The funeral is in Louisiana, but we'll do a memorial service here in Florida soon.

I've been trying to notice everything: burying my nose in the bag of coffee beans, looking up at the intense blueness of the sky, trying to separate out the flavors in the raspberry chocolate cheesecake I had for lunch. I want to tell the people around me over and over again how much I love them; how lucky I am to have them. I can't quite believe this outcome-- I really did think we would be there at Disney next year, cheering on the Team In Training participants, starting that bone marrow drive together at the college. And her presence in the letters and emails she wrote is still so very strong-- it's really hard to believe she's gone.

I wanted to run ten miles today and think about her the whole way. I wanted to notice every detail, the songs I was hearing on my iPod, the humanity in the faces of the people I pass... the old guy I see running with his dog every day, the father and his daughter on their tandem bike, the way my muscles and my body felt so strong as they carried me over the trail. The sun beating down and the cool wind counteracting it. I did not want that run to end. But I couldn't quite accomplish ten miles-- I still had energy, but I started to feel the IT band hurting after 8, so I stopped, conscious of my limitations. For today, that's all I had in me, and I guess it was enough.

leukemia

2005-02-16T09:35:00.000-05:00

My friend in whose honor I ran the Disney Marathon for Team in Training is in the 4th stage of graft-versus-host disease, which is a result of the stem cell transplant she received in January. She found out last July that she was sick, and she's managed to fight so many small battles along the way with chemotherapy, its side effects, finding a donor, going through the transplant, etc-- not to mention the fact that she was in the hospital through all three hurricanes that slammed into Orlando. Each time she got through a particularly difficult bout of treatment, she would always send out an email letting everyone know she was okay. She had to go to a different city for the transplant, so she's not as close by.

I hadn't heard from her in a few weeks, which worried me, but the last I'd heard she was doing better and might even be moving out of the hospital. That was three weeks ago. Now I've learned she's having major complications with this graft-versus-host disease, where from what I can gather the skin and then the liver are attacked because resistance is down. It doesn't sound good.

I'm not even going to try to express my feelings about this because it's just very sad-- there's not much I can say.

valentine's day run

2005-02-14T15:25:00.000-05:00

Although I usually run in the morning when it's cool, today I ran at lunchtime, and it was already 78 degrees. There were no trees on the route I chose today; I was recalling the agony of the Disney Marathon's 80 degree temps, and by the end of my four-mile run, the heat had gotten to me. I still somehow averaged a 9:22 min. per mile pace, but I didn't feel very good.

The Outback 12K in two weeks, which David recommended, is on my list of things to look forward to. There's a 3K and a 12K, and the best thing about it is that the race ends with steak and other assorted goodies from the sponsoring Outback chain. The race will start at 3:00 pm, (which is good, because who wants to eat steak at 8 am?) but running in the heat today, I started to chicken out. I signed up some friends for the 3K. Should I run the 3K instead to hang with them? Their race starts an hour earlier...

I think I'm still going to run the 12K-- after all, might as well work up an appetite. But I've also decided I won't think about my time at all. It will be just a fun, long run; I won't wear my Garmin, and above all, I will not push myself to be fast. That way, if the weather's hot I'll make it to the finish line without being overly challenged by the heat. My race goals are therefore to have fun, sail along, and look forward to the steak bites at the end.

73-year-old marathoner clocks in sub-3 hours...

2005-02-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

This is amazing. I can only hope that my knees aren't destroyed by the time I'm his age, but running a sub-3 hour marathon? Inspiring.

post-race blues

2005-02-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

The Gasparilla race was so much fun that it was somewhat difficult for me to get back to my normal life this week. Work was accompanied with various bureaucratic and interpersonal stresses, and I kept wanting to go for a long, hard run to forget about them for a little bit, but my body was still hurting from Sunday's half marathon (stiffness in my lower back and my hamstring). I've done two easy runs since Sunday, some weights and a yoga class. I like yoga but don't feel like it makes me as strong as Pilates, and I also have a difficult time tuning out the concerns of the world to achieve the ideal state of detachment that yoga demands. I wish I were better at that, but at least I can zone out in my own way while running. Pilates, with its slightly weird, early 20th-century calisthenic and strength poses, suits me much better than yoga.

I moved to Florida last May, and for months I was driven by the excitement of being in a new place, starting a new job, making new friends, etc. Now the novelty is starting to wear off, and I'm not seeing everything through rose-colored glasses. Since college, I've never lived in one place for longer than two years, and the permanence I was craving by snaring a stable job after grad school is now starting to freak me out. I love the stability of marriage but not the idea of remaining in one place forever, shackled to a mortgage, a job, and a city that still doesn't quite feel right to me. Three hurricanes showed me how stressful home ownership could be, and after getting all the hurricane damage repaired, I'm still left with a brown lawn that looks like a disaster compared to the perfectly watered Florida golf course-lawns of my neighbors. A four mile commute between home and work sometimes takes 40 minutes in rush hour traffic. (I could run that distance faster, but the route would be all car exhaust and strip malls).

And these complaints are minor, really-- I'm healthy, I made it through a couple big races (two halfs and my first full marathon) without serious injury, I have a great marriage, a good job, a house, friends. Great weather most of the time, except for the hot summers. So what's my problem?

I guess it is dissatisfaction that drives us to strive for more in our lives-- to set new goals, to not be content with things as they are. I'm going to do this both for running and for my career, and I think that will help-- sort of a belated set of new year's resolutions. I am grateful to have running because it does help me put everything into perspective, and I always try to channel more destructive urges (like drinking) into running instead.

So... coming down off the high of the Gasparilla race has got me thinking... and aware that some new goals are due, as well as some more positive thinking...

Gasparilla half update

2005-02-07T17:19:00.000-05:00

I came back yesterday from Tampa, where I ran the Gasparilla half marathon in 1:59:42. Yay! A personal record, and a fantastic weekend, which would have been great even without the PR.

My running partner Susan and I drove down to Tampa on Saturday afternoon. Getting out of town allowed me to leave the stresses of work behind, and the running expo at Gasparilla was amazing, better than Disney's expo. I discovered, sadly, that my beloved Mizuno Mercury's are being discontinued, but I also managed to find a discounted pair at the Expo that will last me well into this year. We picked up our race packets and the disappointingly ugly t-shirts-- bright yellow, no small sizes left, "Bank of America" plastered in several locations, and the word "Gasparilla" nowhere in sight. But the goodie bag contained some choice goodies, including energy bars, gels, and various runner's ailment products. We checked into our hotel, a few blocks from the event, and discovered that it had been partially transformed into a retirement home for people who are still displaced from Hurricane Charley. So the combination of runners and seniors was nice.

After checking in, we went to a nearby mall, had a great time shopping, and then split a delicious plate of gnocchi with tomato-vodka sauce at an Italian place called Maggiano's. We got back to our room at 9 and watched some TV before setting the alarm and asking for a wake-up call.

The wake-up call never came, but fortunately, the alarm went off at 5 a.m. For some reason, we decided to wear our Team In Training jerseys again, although I was a bit embarrassed since we weren't actually raising money for this one. Ate a Clif bar, headed outside, wishing that I had brought a throwaway sweatshirt-- it was cold! Maybe 48 degrees. I huddled amid a crowd of runners in my singlet and shorts, hoping the runners would deflect the wind, until it was time to start.

The gun went off at 6, and we ran the first several miles in the dark. Somehow this was a more intense race than the OUC half marathon, with runners not talking very much to each other. We were running alongside the full marathoners for the first 8 miles before they split off and headed away from us. At one point we ran by a long stretch of beautiful mansions on the waterfront, and then out onto a little strip of land in the middle of the water, out and back, which offered some nice scenery, even though it was still pretty dark. I warmed up pretty quickly and tried to keep us from going too fast using the Garmin Forerunner, but I was getting a lot of conflicting readings. It seemed we were averaging between 8:57-9:17 per mile, but each mile was different. I haven't quite mastered the Forerunner in a race situation yet.

There were few crowds along this route, unlike Disney, but Gasparilla was a better experience for me, and running in cool temps was nice. Half marathons feel so much better to me. At one point the Chik-Fil-A challenge truck honked by us, with several runners chasing it. We moved over to the right, but this didn't stop a runner from shoving me as he passed, which was completely unnecessary, as I was not in his way and was not weaving all over the road. That pissed me off, but other than that I was on cloud nine. Susan was just getting over bronchitis but still managed to keep a strong pace, and the only other thing I have to complain about was that I took a Power Gel that didn't sit well on my stomach. From now on, I'm sticking to Gu's... We sprinted the last mile and crossed the finish line with 18 seconds to spare.

No IT band problems, no achilles tendonitis, no shin splints, just a little pain in my lower back that I didn't feel until after the race. I was so cold after finishing that I picked a discarded sweatshirt off the ground and wore it back to the hotel... and will toss it myself at a future race. But otherwise I felt good, and exceptionally happy. We drove back to Orlando, rehashing the details of the race, talking about life, stopping for chili-mac at a Steak & Shake on the ride home. Life is good.

off to Tampa

2005-02-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

I'm headed off to Tampa today to run tomorrow's Gasparilla half marathon. The 15 K is today. It's somewhat chilly right now but it should be sunny and in the 70s most of the weekend, which should be nice for our fellow Canadian RBF'ers who have come down to Florida to run some of the races.

This is my first race where I've actually traveled a few hours away AND stayed overnight just to run a race. My running partner and I are going together. To my family, this represents a whole new level of obsession. They may fear I will do this more often, leaving my poor husband to fend for himself in the house, a "running widower" (similar to a football widow?).

I am not that concerned about my time but would like it to be slightly better than the only other half marathon I've run, back in December. I've been carbo-loading, and I'm also hoping I don't gain back the difficult pounds I've been working to lose since the last marathon. Wish me luck!

health fairs and rain

2005-02-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't go for my usual run in the morning because I was fasting for a cholesterol test at our university health fair. I was alarmed back in October when I donated blood and saw the cholesterol was already at 200. Here I am, thirty years old and fairly thin, but high cholesterol runs in the family. I was eating OK, but with the marathon training I started being more careful-- cutting out the occasional binges at McDonald's, which were probably happening too frequently. (Especially after going through a couple hurricanes, when our power would go out for days and everything in the fridge went bad, the one restaurant in Orlando that would have power was Mickey D's... it ran on the same generator as the local hospital.) So, no more junk. I rarely eat chips or junky snack foods, I try to avoid processed food at home, and I never, ever drink soft drinks, so really my junky weaknesses are for take-out Chinese, pizza, cheeseburgers, and any appetizer platter involving buffalo wings and fried cheese things... Mmm.

Cholesterol was down to 193. Woo-hoo! Felt like celebrating. I wanted to go for a run but there was too much to do at work. I came home and went running near my house just before dark. Running in my neighborhood is the worst. In New York, I didn't mind running in an urban setting, but there's something about running alongside suburban strip mall boulevards that is incredibly depressing. Mixed smells of car exhaust and fast food burger fumes. I took a road less traveled that also did not have sidewalks-- it was raining and my feet got all mucked up. I still managed to feel pretty good doing four miles.

I also tossed my name in the hat for the New York Marathon-- the lottery, at any rate. I think I was on that website the minute they posted the application. I must be crazy.

running and personality types

2005-01-29T17:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I felt completely out-of-sorts. I had a good, physically draining Pilates session but no running (I don't run every day), and as the day wore on everything seemed to be putting me in a bad mood-- bad weather, bad traffic, bad meetings, bad movie selection at the video store. I tried telling myself that I had nothing to get upset about and no legitimate reasons to feel mad at the world, but to no avail. I was glad to get the day over with.

Today, by contrast, was terrific, and I can't help but wonder if running was that magic bullet that started things out right. I went for a six mile run and the weather was fine-- partly sunny but not too hot, breezy, just the right weather to cruise along in a tank top and shorts and feel perfectly comfortable. Later some friends and I went to a cultural festival in honor of the novelist Zora Neale Hurston. Isaac Hayes of "Shaft" fame was singing live, there was jerk chicken on offer, people dressed in colorful outfits, and lots of cool Afro-centric art and jewelry. While the rest of the South experiences ice storms, the weather in Florida continued to be balmy and nice.

I sometimes wonder if running attracts a particular personality type. While I try as hard as possible to give the impression of being a laid-back person, I know deep down that I'm very anxious, and I've found that running is a good thing because it forces me to chill out. Running reduces my anxieties, boosts my moods, and somehow makes it easier to handle whatever curve balls life throws me. The more serious I get about running, the more it seems to have this effect. Is this true for others who love running?

goodbye marathon weight!

2005-01-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

This was the first full week of classes at the college where I teach, and since I'm not yet an old hand at teaching, I feel extremely stressed at the beginning of the term. I spend several hours preparing for a single class, rereading the books I've assigned because I can't remember their content, thinking of clever visual aids I could bring into the classroom to keep everyone awake. Our email accounts are flooded with notices about meetings, places we need to be, lectures we really should attend, committees we should consider joining. Students are dropping and adding classes like mad, and when they leave your class, it's hard not to take it personally. I'm constantly trying to strike a balance between being tough but not so tough that everyone is afraid to take my classes. All of this is very stressful, but when a class goes well, I feel great. As I was commenting on April Anne's website, it's almost like experiencing a good run. When they're bad (classes or runs), it lowers your mood for the rest of the day.

I have very little energy for running at the end of the day, so I try to run early. It's amazing how much energy that gives me to start my day. Now that school's back in session, I have access to free strength training, yoga and pilates classes again, which is a nice perk. I've managed to lose seven of the ten marathon pounds so far, and my strategy has been to find foods that will help me make it through the day without feeling too miserable and hungry. I've discovered the amazing power of oatmeal-- it doesn't have too many calories and seems to be the one thing I can eat that will keep me going for several hours without getting hungry. I like the slow-cooking oatmeal as opposed to instant.

I'm also discovering which lean cuisine-style frozen dinners I can take for lunch that have relatively few calories and don't taste like a few rubbery noodles with ketchup on top. (Favorite so far-- Healthy Choice Chicken Fettucine Alfredo-- 280 calories), or else I just eat yogurt. I've cut down somewhat on my beloved carbs, but it seems to be working. And next weekend is the Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, where I'll try to run a half marathon, so that will give me the excuse to bring back the carbs for a few days. I believe a few other RBF'ers are running in one of the many Gasparilla races next weekend-- let me know if you're going to be there.

small milestones, two weeks since Marathon

2005-01-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

I had a small running milestone of sorts today-- I ran ten miles by myself. Since all my long runs prior to the marathon were with other runners doing Team In Training, I had never really gone that far on my own. Back in 1999 I remember running 7 or 8 miles alone once. Somehow I had convinced myself that running long distances alone would be boring, and that I would only be entertained if I had someone to talk to. I loved running 3-5 miles alone, but it stopped there.

Today I was testing the waters for a half marathon in Tampa that's in two weeks. If the IT band in my knee started bothering me during the run, I wouldn't register. But although I sort of became aware of the IT band around the fourth mile of my run, I stretched a bit and it never really started hurting. I wonder if that's okay-- slight discomfort but no pain.

The weather changed during the run, but this time I was prepared. Clouds and temperatures of about sixty gave way to clear skies, wind, and a drop to the low fifties. It was very comfortable, except for the wind toward the end. Hardly anyone was out on the trail-- I think there was a 5K going on somewhere. I listened to my beloved iPod the whole way (dance music, hip hop, and reggaeton today) and generally just felt good about life.

pilates

2005-01-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

I took a four-day break from running when I still felt the IT band bothering me on my first four mile venture since the Disney Marathon. I've been following the ITB exercises I found on Jon's web page, which are supposed to strengthen affected areas to prevent injury... On Tuesday, I went to a pilates class, and I was amazed at how good it felt. Difficult, but good. I had done pilates before, but I want to go more regularly. A few of the exercises we did were actually similar to ITB exercises, and overall, I could really feel how the whole pilates regime strengthens the core, which is not separate from legs and feet but integral to their effective functioning. I like the pace of pilates too; it doesn't bore me. Yesterday I ran 3 miles for the first time since Saturday and had no problems. I'm hoping for similar luck today-- then maybe 10-12 miles on Saturday?! Still trying to test the waters for the half marathon in Tampa for early February... but I don't want to go if it's somehow going to interfere with marathon recovery.

I mentioned before that I'd gained 10 pounds since marathon training began in October. This is apparently a common phenomenon for some, but it's no fun when all your clothes get too tight, despite the fact you know you're in great shape. Interestingly, four pounds disappeared right away, which could have been water weight/carbo loading. I've been working on the rest of the weight for about a week now. Diets are a drag, but I'm trying to avoid sugar and simple carbs, at least until I can get back to where I was before. Someone told me if you eat immediately after running in the morning, it staves off mad cravings later in the day, and I actually found that to be the case...

running book recommendations

2005-01-17T13:22:00.000-05:00

Time for a new running book to devour... I can feel myself longing for a new perspective on running.

But which to order? Chi running? Running injury free? Glover's The Competitive Runner's Handbook?

Some recent purchases of my own: I loved Bob Glover's The Runner's Handbook, which was like an encyclopedia to answer all my questions about marathon training. First Marathons was nice, but the stories started to blend into one another after awhile, and it seemed like too many of the "first marathoners" were "average" people who mostly ran their first marathons in superhuman times. ("There I was, overweight, addicted to cigarettes, never exercised since high school gym class. Six months later, I crossed the finish line-- a Boston qualifying time of 3:37!") I picked up Hal Higdon's Run Fast at the Disney Expo, which will be useful as I work on my speed, but I'm looking for something more.

So what's your favorite book on running? Any suggestions?

recovering from Disney

2005-01-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for all the comments about my marathon. It was fun to write about it. I was glad I had a busy week at work, since many say that a post-marathon letdown frequently happens after the event has passed.

For the first two days afterward, I experienced the normal soreness in the quads and hamstrings, plus a pain on the outside of my left knee that had been bothering me during the race but was something I had never felt before. I did no running until Thursday, when I ventured around the neighborhood for a little run. I was only able to go one mile-- the knee and feet began to hurt, so I decided running wasn't a good idea.

This morning I met up with my running partner, Susan, and we did an easy four miles. The weather's finally a bit cooler (in the 60s as opposed to 80 every day), so that felt nice. I had hoped to go for six miles but as soon as I felt the new knee pain again I stopped. It's not an unbearable pain, but I'm still not recovered, and it's frustrating that pain disappears elsewhere and then reappears in a new location.

I want to run a half marathon in a few weeks and am wondering if I'll be okay for that. Would I need to force myself to run it slower than I'd like, if it's been less than a month since the marathon? They say that one should take a day of recovery for every mile run in the marathon, but what constitutes hard training, aside from speed, hill work, etc? Distance? Running too fast? No matter how much I read about running, I'm still never quite sure I'm doing it right, because sometimes speed feels good, and the next thing you know, you're injured...

I'm so excited that I met a cool running partner through Team In Training, someone who's serious and wants to keep running together. It's hard to move to a new place and not know any other runners, especially when nobody in your life runs. After our run, we went out for bagels and coffee, which was nice. The RBF is a great venue for sharing that love we all have for running, but it's nice to have people who understand it out in the real world, too!

Disney marathon photos

2005-01-14T15:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some links to a few marathon photos... Note how as the sun gets brighter the marathoners seem to look progressively more pained... Note that I'm not including my own "late stage" photos... too unflattering!

Post-marathon update

2005-01-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

I finished. My chip time was 4:46. I set out with a goal of running in 4:30, but as the race went on, my only goal became to finish without throwing up. Running this marathon was the most difficult, arduous task I have ever accomplished in my life. I don't know why I expected it would be easy. Training was fun-- despite the occasional worrisome injuries and runs that didn't go so well, I really enjoyed watching the long miles increase. I felt great during my first half marathon-- the weather was perfect, my pace was at a 9:27 minute-per-mile the whole way, and I ended up with enough energy to run the extra five miles needed for practice.

But the marathon was a different story.

It started out innocuously enough. The night before, all the Central Florida Team In Training participants checked into our Disney hotels and went to a banquet at Epcot to load up on pasta and listen to speakers. Back at the hotel, I set my alarm for 2 a.m., as the bus was picking us up at 3. Three hours of fitful sleep. After a bagel breakfast, I attached my chip, put on my Team In Training jersey with "Rachel" painted across the front, strapped on the GPS, and headed out the door. When we got to the staging area, a large parking lot in Epcot, we wandered around for hours, checking out the other runners, talking, speculating about how the race would go. After walking to my starting corral, my running partner Susan and I waited for the gun to go off. She was wearing a pace band, and I had the GPS.

At 6 a.m. the race started. It was 60 degrees, still pleasant for running. The first mile or so was slow as there were hordes of runners to get through. 24,000 in all, and often the half and full marathoners ran together. We tried to keep a conservative pace-- we were supposed to aim for 10:18 the first mile and we ended up being around 10:10. The next several miles were a similar story. I felt great, loaded up on gels every couple miles, and drank the Gatorade offered by the volunteers. The sun came up, and at one point our Team In Training coach found us and ran with us for a little while. The first 14 miles flew by. At mile 13, just after running through Magic Kingdom, I saw my husband, who was volunteering along the course, and that gave me a big boost. Then my knee and feet started to hurt, in places that had never bothered me before. No problem-- I kept running. At mile 14, my partner needed to use the bathroom. That immediately put us behind schedule by a good minute and a half. We panicked at first and tried to make up for it (big mistake), but as the sun started to bear down harder, I realized that I absolutely couldn't keep the same pace with my friend. I felt sick to my stomach. I told her to go ahead, and at mile 17 we parted.

It wasn't improper nutrition-- I didn't hit the wall. I still could feel that I had energy, but the sun, 80 degree temperatures, and all the gels in my stomach started to make me feel horrible. I doused myself with water at every stop, I ate a salt packet, and I never passed up the opportunity to have a First Aid worker slather green icy pain gel on my left knee. But after Animal Kingdom, which must have been around Mile 16, we were not in any amusement park until the end. Actually, there was MGM, but it seemed to go by all too quickly. I heard a song I liked in MGM and that made me wish I had more music to help me pick up the pace. We were just running under the sun on boulevards that all looked identical. A few spectators and marching bands were stationed along the way, but that didn't make it any easier. I tried thinking of my friend with leukemia in whose honor I was doing the race, and how my own struggle was entirely self-induced. I had to finish for her sake.

By now I was breaking up the running with frequent walk breaks. 80 degrees, probably hotter on asphalt. "You live in Florida, you must be used to it," people said, but I told them that no, it hadn't been that warm during a run for months. I tried to keep up with the same groups of runners who seemed to be stopping and starting as much as I was. I caught up with one guy I'd seen throughout the race and asked him what time he was shooting for. "About 4:20," he told me calmly. "One 10K to go." He was stopping and starting as much as I was, and I'd seen my goal evaporate, but I didn't tell him I thought we were way off. I concentrated on following an older man whose t-shirt proclaimed, "I love you, Rachel." Wasn't a message meant for this Rachel, but it would do. Run, walk, run, walk, try not to get sick. Need something to eat. Not just gels and oranges. Banana, that'll work. Nestle crunch bars? Ugh. Free power gels? I took another and held it, sticky and half-opened, for awhile before finally flinging it down. If I ever saw another gel it was going to be the end of me. Try to run more than walk. 1 mile of running and you can take a walk break. Okay, .75 and then a walk break. And then any other walk break through water stations. More water over the head-- that felt good. Follow the woman in the Tinker Bell costume. Pretend she has some pixie dust to give you energy. Tinker Bell is also taking walk breaks, her gauzy skirt looking wilted.

Finally the miniature empires of Epcot beckoned. I don't know how I made it through the last 9 miles. By now there were more spectators, and I got a lot of "Go, Rachel!" which cheered me up but didn't ease how badly I felt.

At the very end, I caught up with a Team In Training runner I sometimes saw at group runs. I had heard she ran a 10K with an 8:30 pace, same as I did a year ago, so I'd always thought we might finish at the same time. Lo and behold, there she was. I wanted to tell her this but I could barely speak. Gospel choir. Gold robes swaying back and forth, a joyful noise. I could no longer appreciate the entertainment. Mile 26. How long is that .2? Why does my GPS read 26.67? Are the measurements off? Are they trying to torture me? Finally I crossed the finish line. They snapped my photo. Gave me my medal, took my chip, and I stumbled off to the Team In Training tent. I saw my running partner-- she had finished 6 minutes before me, so she must have been having a tough time as well. I borrowed her cell phone to call my husband, who had just arrived in all the chaos and got an automatic text message from Disney that I was done, before he could make it to the finish line. I didn't care. I was so happy to see him. One of my friends from work showed up too. I almost started crying. I was so glad to be done.

The rest of the day I just felt relief. I could not eat anything for several hours, as bad as I knew this was for me, I just felt too sick. I walked around the resort with Susan and we talked about how tough it had been, rehashing every moment of the course as we tried to stave off the inevitable soreness. Finally I ate half a cheeseburger and some salty fries, which tasted wonderful, considering how much salt I'd lost. Later there was a beer, a victory party, and a lot of sleep.

Reflecting on the whole experience, I can't believe how difficult it was, and a part of me wonders if all marathons are that tough, or if it really was simply the stress of trying to run in 80 degree weather. Of course I'll have to find out, and the only way to do that will be to run another one. A different one, not Disney. I'm thinking New York, since I used to live there. Susan wants to keep training together, too.

The Disney race director, when asked to describe marathons, said, "It's like repeatedly hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. When you finally stop, it feels really good."

I am dead near positive I won't become one of those people who runs a marathon every weekend. Half marathons seem like a more manageable distance for me, and I feel fine running for that length of time. However, having now had the experience, I am already coming up with things I'd do differently next time. Maybe I would do a longer training run of 22 or 24 miles. Maybe I wouldn't eat so many gels, but try to get in some real food. But hindsight is... well, you know. I'm not beating myself over the head about any mistakes I might have made-- you don't ask for imperfect weather, either, but you just do your best. Kind of like life itself. I'm still proud. All this week, I've been walking around with the knowledge I ran a marathon. Or rather, I've been stumbling around as stiff as Fred Sanford, knowing that I accomplished something wonderful and insane that only 1% of the population experiences. Now I've got to step back and assess the damage to my body, the weight gain, the nagging injuries, the time spent away from family, and ask myself whether I will do it better or differently next time.

I'll post links to pictures soon...

one last update...

2005-01-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

One last update before the Disney Marathon, then I'm off... I woke up in the middle of the night with a slightly sore throat. I had a hard time sleeping after that, but I managed. I'm still not sure whether it's psychological or the real thing, but I have been taking many doses of Cold-eez, Zycam, and lots of citrus fruit, so hopefully I can ward it off.

I went to the Disney Expo today with my running partner to pick up our race packets. The expo was so exciting-- full of running gear and goodies, advertisements for other marathons, and little Mickey Mouse dolls decked out in runner's clothes. (I resisted buying Mickey but did break down and get an overpriced long-sleeve t-shirt with the marathon course map on the back). Our complimentary shirt was a pretty sleek long-sleeved cool weave shirt that I could actually run in. But-- this weekend it will be at least 80. At least I'm used to training in warm weather, although definitely not at my best... not sure how that will feel for those who come from colder parts. This is my first year in Florida, and boy, is it strange how warm it is most of the time.

And most exciting of all, I got to meet Hal Higdon. I bought a copy of one of his books just so I could get him to autograph it, which he did, drawing a little set of Mickey Mouse ears next to his name. He was a slight, unassuming man and seemed very nice--he's running the half marathon tomorrow. I was surprised his table was not mobbed with people.

I'll be staying at Disney all weekend-- strangely, it's somewhat far away from much of Orlando, so Team In Training is putting us up in the resort... Thanks for the good luck wishes!

Taper madness...

2005-01-06T14:34:00.000-05:00

SO MUCH ENERGY!!!! Last night I had trouble sleeping. I usually rely on running to wear me out a little bit, and with the reduced mileage, I'm bouncing off the walls. When I was a kid I would get so excited about my birthday I'd make myself sick. Calm... down..... Breathe...

My friend in whose honor I'm doing this race is having her bone marrow transplant this very weekend. How ironic that it's happening the same time as this race.

We got an email from our Team in Training coach with an article from Jeff Galloway on recovery. I was surprised-- after a marathon, for the long run he says you can run 8-12 miles the next weekend, 12-16 miles the weekend after, 8-12 after that, and then, 28 days later, if you wanted, 20-26 miles... Could a regular marathon be just another long run? I felt strangely excited when I read that... although I still don't even know what a marathon feels like or whether I'll enjoy it...

last minute questions

2005-01-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

To photograph or not to photograph? I can't decide whether to take a camera along with me on the marathon or not. How do those of you who take pictures as you run do it? (Oliver?) I can't imagine holding a camera while also worrying about opening gel packets, drinking water, etc. I don't like running with a fanny pack, and I've got one of those pairs of shorts with about 5 mesh pockets in it, but none would be large enough to hold a camera. Any ideas?

5 days to go...

2005-01-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

I went to the doctor's yesterday for a physical and found out that I've gained 10 pounds since I started marathon training. Before I started training, someone gave me an article about this phenomenon, claiming that distance runners are actually malnourished and don't get enough protein. I thought I was getting plenty of protein and avoiding too many carbs, but alas. I've always been good about staying consistently around the same weight, so I'm not happy about this new development. It's not all muscle, either, because I can see my clothes getting tight in non-muscle-y places...

If we're evolutionarily wired to run long distances, my body must be storing up for the long journey it thinks it's going on in search of nuts and berries for the winter.

Oh well, at least I have my health. I'll think about those extra pounds after the marathon.

peanut butter smoothie

2005-01-03T13:24:00.000-05:00

I am completely enamored with this recipe for a chocolate-peanut butter smoothie, which is delicious. I believe is intended to replace a meal for the Zone diet, but runners can use it for a power-protein boost that tastes great. I'm all about protein and carbs this week for my taper:

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Smoothie
1 cup 1% milk
2.5 T cocoa powder, unsweetened
2/5 Tblsp fructose (I used 6 packets Splenda, but you should sweeten to taste)
1 3/4 Tblsp peanut butter (any kind will do)
27 g. whey protein powder (1 scoop whey-- preferably natural flavor rather than vanilla)
2 cups crushed ice (Recipe calls for one cup, but I find this does not make it frothy enough)

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Mmmm....

Seven days and counting...

2005-01-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

Today was the last time I would officially meet with my Team In Training buddies for an officially scheduled run-- an 8 miler. We are in the taper, which is going really well, as I have tons of energy and no visible signs of injury. Temperatures were comfortable in the low 60s, and the sun was just rising as we ran past the orange groves and horse pastures on the trail where we always meet. We were taking it easy.

Our coach gave us some last minute tips, but I still have so many questions. I know not to start off too fast, but how fast is too fast? Are the pace calculators that predict your marathon time based on other races accurate? Should I wear my Forerunner GPS? Am I going to hit the wall after Mile 20? Probably these questions will only be answered once I actually experience a marathon. Until then, it's unknown territory. As an article in today's NY Times, about having children, says, "It's like a lot of things: you make it happen, then it happens to you.

why a marathon

2004-12-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

It is difficult for me to explain to non-runners why I'm running a marathon. I'm not even sure I have a logical reason for wanting to do one, but I can trace the thinking process that got me here. I always ran for exercise, and I've never been into biking or swimming. In 2002, when my husband and I lived in New York, we went to watch the New York City marathon, which was thrilling. Although tons of spectators line the course, we had a fairly easy time getting a good spot on 59th Street to watch the first runners come in. We ambled around Central Park and 5th Avenue as more and more runners neared the end of their races, cheering for the ones who wore nametags and marveling at how some of them looked like they were in tremendous pain.

I started browsing the New York City Road Runners website and found a running partner who lived in my neighborhood, an amazingly athletic Austrian woman who had just run the NYC marathon herself. She was "recovering" and content to run a 9-9:30 minute pace with me, but sometimes we ran faster. We ran up unbelievably steep hills, in unbearably cold weather, through desolate, tree-covered parks on the uppermost tip of Manhattan where we lived, with views of the Hudson River below us. She pushed me in a good way, and I'd never run as hard in my life. Hearing her talk about planning to run the Paris marathon (or was it somewhere in Italy?) sounded incredibly exciting.

I started running races the next year, and that was fun, too. I was afraid I'd be too slow or that my competitive instinct would get the better of me, and that it would somehow ruin running for me. This hasn't happened too much-- I can sometimes place in my age group for small town races, but in big cities there is too much competition, so I just focus on doing it for myself and for the sheer thrill of physical exertion.

The idea of deciding to run a marathon this year dawned on me slowly, but I was having a hard time training in the Florida heat. I was getting in a rut with my running routine. Three hurricanes later, I joined up with Team In Training, two months after they had begun their training sessions. My longest run was about 6 miles at that point, with three milers during the week, and I jumped in at 9 miles, which was where the beginner group was. That may have gone against the whole 10% rule, but oh well. For the first several weeks of training I felt great. I had a few bad runs, especially the 16 miler where I hit the wall, but overall it has been pretty fun to train with other people, and the whole Leukemia Society deal has added an increased urgency and sense of purpose to the goal.

What's really interesting is observing how your body responds to the new intensity of the running. There are all kinds of things to figure out nutrition-wise (I still am not sure why I gained weight through all this), and in terms of what to eat to keep up glycogen stores during long runs. (I highly recommend Gu and Snickers Marathon Bars). Each week brings some new type of ailment-- chafing, blisters, and for me the dreaded Achilles tendonitis and shin splints. Those were fairly disheartening, but facing injury also taught me to be very, very careful with my body, and to respect the stress of running these unbelievable distances in a single run.

Currently I'm in the taper phase, and I really do have unbelievable amounts of energy these days. I'm thrilled because the shin splints and Achilles tendon have been quiet lately. I can't wait to actually run the marathon itself-- to me it has become one of those rites of passage that is filled with mystery and wonder, and if all goes well I'll actually get to experience it. Ten days and counting...

cold...

2004-12-27T09:22:00.000-05:00

Although the recent wave of cold weather that hit most of the country only affected Florida with some temperatures in the 40s, I had the strange experience yesterday of a 25 degree drop in temperatures that happened while I was running. I got up at 5 to go for a 10 mile run, checked the internet weather, noted that temperatures in Orlando were around 67 degrees, and dressed accordingly-- shorts and a tank top, with an extra long-sleeve to put on after the run. By 5:45 I was in my car, headed to the trails that are thirty minutes from where I live and where the Leukemia Society has been training us for the marathon. It began raining on the way and by the time I got out of my car, still in the dark, the wind was fierce and there was a driving rain. I put on that extra long-sleeved top.

Only 4 of my teammates showed up, for which I was grateful, because if nobody had been there, I don't think I could have faced running in the dark in the rain on a deserted trail. But as we started running, the wind and the rain got worse. I ran with two other people, and we had very little to say to each other because it was so uncomfortable to talk with the sheets of rain hitting our faces. The only sound was the clop-clop of our feet on the asphalt, reminding me of horses. The first five miles were entirely into the wind, which was tough. At the five mile marker I stopped under a pavillion and felt my legs, which were as cold as ice. Coming back was better because the wind was at our backs, but I was happy to get to my warm car at the end, when I noticed the temperatures had fallen from 67 to 42.

This is nothing to complain about, because I'm lucky to be able to run year-round here in Florida, unlike others who have to venture out when it's only 4 degrees. But it's a very disconcerting feeling to have the temperatures drop dramatically and without warning. On the bright side, ten miles was a breeze! I'm so thrilled I can run this far without any soreness or tiredness afterward. I felt even more of a sense of accomplishment because I'd forced myself to get up so early and did it all in bad weather. My reward was thinking about the jacuzzi I'd take once I got home.

recovery runs

2004-12-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

I definitely believe it takes me almost a week to fully recover from very long runs, primarily in terms of my (slightly) injured areas (achilles tendonitis and shin splints). After taking a break from running from Saturday through Wednesday, I went for a three mile run, and I was disheartened that I could feel some soreness and discomfort. But today, with misting weather and temperatures in the 60s, I felt like I was soaring. I was running faster and my legs felt light and capable. This has put me in the best mood all day, carrying me through a potentially stressful round of last minute Christmas shopping and a pleasurable round of holiday baking that culimnated in my devouring an entire plate of Snickerdoodles. Sunday's scheduled run is a 10 miler, part of the taper prior to the marathon, although it will be hard to get out of bed after a weekend of decadent eating and holiday merry making. Happy holidays!

20 miles!

2004-12-19T08:35:00.000-05:00

I ran twenty miles yesterday, my last long run before the Disney marathon. It was difficult toward the end, but not as bad as I had anticipated. I never hit the wall; I carbo-loaded three days prior to the run, and I took lots of gels and drank Gatorade along the way. At least twenty other Team In Training runners were out for the last long run, and our coach had put out Gatorade and energy snacks every few miles on the trail where we run. At one point we ran by an orange grove and picked an orange to eat as we ran along. The orange was so sweet and so good that I was thrilled to be living in a place where oranges actually grow. I ran with Susan, who ran with me for the half marathon, and we seem to hit it off well as running buddies, encouraging each other along the way and wanting to run a similar pace.

There are three people doing Team In Training who are pretty fast and ran 26 miles yesterday for their last long run, doing it in about 3:40. One is an older man whose wife died of leukemia, and he has raised about $7,000 for the cause and seems to have immersed himself in running. The other two fast ones are a man and woman in their twenties who are very tall and lean. The rest of us range in pace; some of us are serious about running and others just seem motivated by the Leukemia fundraising. It's fun to come in from the long runs and record our times in the logbook and congratulate the other runners who are coming in. It's a great support team.

I went to a podiatrist on Friday about shin splints and the Achilles problem, and he seemed to think they were not such a big deal. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory, told me to cut back on the mileage, and suggested wrapping my leg before runs. I wrapped my leg for the first time yesterday, and I never even felt my shin splints. I didn't take the anti-inflammatory until after the run, though, because I wanted to be aware if there was any pain. He also seemed to think my problems might not be from the increased mileage but from changing the type of shoe. I wore my new Mizuno Mercury's for all twenty miles and was really pleased with them-- they didn't give me any of the trouble I've been experiencing with the Mizuno Alchemy's.

So, feeling good, some soreness in my quads today, but that's to be expected. Now I'll begin tapering.

a bad day for running

2004-12-14T17:13:00.000-05:00

I was excited to go running today after getting a new pair of Mizuno Mercury's. Back in early November, my beloved pair of Mizuno Mercury's was getting worn out, and the local running store convinced me to buy a pair of Mizuno Alchemy, which have been nothing but trouble since I first wore them for runs longer than 5 miles. Blisters, foot pain, you name it. So despite the expense, I broke down and got the new model of the old Mercury's.

I was trying to cross-train and rest after Saturday's 12-miler, thinking that two days without running should have been enough of a break. And still the same problem-- despite walking beforehand, stretching carefully, and starting off with a slow jog, I could feel what I think is a shin splint on the muscle slightly to the outside of my shin-- that "heavy legs" feeling again. I'm so upset about this-- no Achilles tendon problems now, but shin splints? With the marathon less than a month away, and our last 20 miler this weekend... Someone told me about an exercise that involves leaning your back against a wall and lifting your toes up toward your knees, but aside from that, I don't know what to do. Does RICE really work?

I have been in a funk about this all day.

early Christmas arrival

2004-12-11T15:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS arrived in the mail. I couldn't wait for today's 12 mile "recovery" run to try it out. I met the other Team in Training people at 6:30 at a local trail with somewhat monotonous scenery. My running buddy from last week's half marathon was there, and she was up for running together. For the first two miles again, I had that "heavy legs" feeling, which is actually in the front of my shin, so I wonder if it's shin splints. It went away eventually, though, and I felt OK for the rest of the run. No incredible soreness anymore after 12 miles, which is a great feeling-- I think my body is actually used to the distances of the recovery runs.

The GPS seemed to fluctuate widely in terms of pace. There were moments when it told me I was running 8:30 miles, when I was certain from my pace that I was going slower. At other times it would give readings of 11:30 when I was sure we were going faster. I'm not quite sure what that was about-- I just turned it on and ran with it. Sometimes I would hit the lap button at the mile markers to see how we were doing, because at the end of a "lap" it flashes up the time. In one wooded development it was having trouble detecting satellites. However, at the end of the run, it neatly summarized my data for me and filed it under History, even letting me know how many calories I burned. Cool. I'm not sure why the pace readings were so disparate, though.

heavy legs no more

2004-12-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

Strange... I went for a run today and felt great. No heaviness in the legs, no problems with the Achilles. Maybe I still hadn't quite recovered from the weekend as of yesterday, even though I gave it a few days. After my run today I did my achilles exercises and stretched carefully. This weekend is a recovery -- 12 miles-- and then our Team in Training coach is leading a stretching clinic.

I'm also eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Forerunner GPS... following the package tracking information in Amazon every few hours!

Christmas season eating has also begun... a holiday dinner for work two nights ago at a "family-style" Italian place, which meant huge, decadent portions of eggplant parmesan, lasagna, etc. I was careful but still felt stuffed. Last night we had guests for dinner and I made artichoke dip, horseradish-crusted beef tenderloin (a recipe from Cooking Light), potato gratin, and molten chocolate cakes. The gratin was a "gratin savoyard" with beef broth rather than cream, and I used lowfat sour cream in the artichoke dip, but still... stuffed again. Oh well. No problem as long as the few days before a long run are good in terms of nutrition...

heavy legs

2004-12-09T07:32:00.000-05:00

I have a little ritual now after the very long runs (this weekend, half marathon plus five). I rest the day after, cross train on a bike the day after that, attend strength training class the day after that, and then save my first run for Wednesday. I do this because I'm nervous now about the achilles tendon, and I want to make it through the first marathon without injury. Yesterday when I went for my Wednesday run, my legs felt very, very heavy. Almost like they had lactic acid in them, but it was all in the front of the legs. I walked beforehand, stretched, and started running, but for the first 2 miles they did not feel good at all. The feeling then went away, but it was still odd. I'm looking forward to going out this morning to find out if I'll have the same problem.

first half marathon

2004-12-04T16:48:00.000-05:00

I ran my first half marathon today - it was really a lot of fun. The half marathon wound its way through the city and some smaller neighborhoods, some of which did not look very urban at all. There were almost 1500 people running, and the weather was perfect-- about 60 degrees when we started out. I found one of my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society teammates and we decided to run together, which was great, because we talked the whole time. We ended up running faster than I'd planned, but I couldn't help it-- I had so much energy, carbo-loading really worked, and the weather was terrific. I tried gels for the first time too and was amazed at how much energy they gave me. So much easier than trying to chew a Snickers Marathon bar. Having Gatorade stops every two miles also seemed to help-- on our practice runs, the water stops are further apart.

My time was 2:03:15, after which I did another five miles to complete the 18 miles I was supposed to run today for marathon training. I didn't hit the wall this time, although my legs are pretty sore and tired. Not the achilles tendon, yet, although usually it doesn't hurt until the next day. I'm icing it just in case. Afterward, there was a beer garden with low carb beer, which struck me as funny. Distance runners are the last people who should be worried about their carb intakes.

The best thing about this race was the camaraderie I felt with the other runners. I had a great time running with someone I knew and motivating each other during the course of the run. I moved to Florida several months ago, and I remember doing a huge 5K this summer and realizing that I knew absolutely no one. Now I know several new runners through the Leukemia Society, and I expect that many of them will continue to race after we do our first marathon. I've also met a few other local runners, and a friend from work even came down to offer support.

I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment when I think about how 7 miles was the furthest I'd ever run, up until about two months ago. And now I have my first participation medal, and of course a new souvenir race t-shirt.

half marathons

2004-12-03T06:04:00.000-05:00

I decided to run a local half marathon this weekend. It seems to be a pretty big deal locally, and all the other people I've been training with are going to be there as well, so there will hardly be anyone running our planned 18 mile run. Our coach has suggested we run the half marathon and then turn around and run what we'll need to make up 18 miles. At first I thought I wouldn't do it, because from my other 5K and 10K experiences I know how hard it is to hold back in races. But although I also seem to be able to do 10-12 miles comfortably at a 9:30 pace, something happens after that point and I can't run any faster than 10 minute miles. Since at this point, marathon training is more important than being fast for a race on the way, I'm going to try to run 10 minute miles.

I was telling this to another runner and he suggested getting a GPS. I've seen these and been impressed by the way they allow you to create a virtual "buddy" to run with, also helping to control your pace if you want to run a certain way. They seem like the ultimate in runner's gear, and suddenly I want one...

I did a bake sale for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society this week and made several hundred dollars, enough to put me over my goal for fundraising. I've heard some runners disparage the Team in Training program, but I wanted the extra training, support, and camaraderie for my first marathon. I have always loved running but been apprehensive of doing the first marathon with very little guidance. Also it's nice to feel like I'm doing something indirectly to help my friend S, who will hopefully get a bone marrow transplant after the new year...

recovery week

2004-11-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

On the marathon training schedule I've been following in preparation for my first marathon in January, this was supposed to be my recovery week, a twelve mile run to rest up for next week's eighteen miler. Heeding the warnings of a few people that I might be in the early stages of an achilles tendon injury, I ran only six miles for my long "recovery" run, walking five minutes at the beginning, stretching carefully after getting warmed up, and continuing to do strength exercises to build up my calf muscles. It seems to be working-- unlike after my past two long runs (12 and 16 milers), I had no stiffness or pain when I woke up this morning.

Coming to terms with my own limitations has been one of the challenging parts about marathon training so far. With the added mileage, I can't just throw on my shoes and start running as fast as I'd like for a 10K or 5K distance. With increased mileage, each week brings a new obstacle-- blisters, chafing, "hitting the wall," and now the possibility of injury. I also didn't believe it when people told me that marathon training pace needs to be about a minute and a half slower than your best 10K time. But after hitting the wall last weekend, I think I'm starting to understand, and I plan to start slow when I tackle 18 this next weekend. I'll also try gels for the first time-- I've been taking a Snickers Marathon Bar along on long runs (delicious), but maybe gels, though less appealing, are more efficient.

I also plan to think more about what I eat this week. Carbo-loading with protein and lots of water in the two days prior to the long run. Any menu suggestions?

weather

2004-11-24T22:26:00.000-05:00

I'm checking the NYTimes and the Washington Post for news about weather-related delays as people are traveling for the holidays. Some of the running blogs comment on the difficulties of adjusting running schedules to wintry weather. After living several years in the Northeast, I can empathize. I remember running in Fort Tryon park in Manhattan in 24 degree weather, doing a steep hill and feeling like there was no oxygen to breathe once I got to the top. After that, I decided I couldn't personally run outside when it was below 28 degrees.

Having just moved to Florida six months ago, I feel oddly out of time and so far away from that world. The temperature has not yet been less than 60 degrees when I start running in the morning, even though it's almost December, and by mid-morning it's 80. It seems ideal, being able to run year-round, but the summer heat is relentless. This is to say nothing of violent thunderstorms every afternoon and three hurricanes. Occasionally I miss living in the Northeast and feeling like I was in the middle of it all. Sometimes Florida feels like a different planet.

Achilles tendon

2004-11-24T09:39:00.000-05:00

Although it didn't hurt during the 16 miler, my Achilles tendon has been sore the past two days. Yesterday I rode the stationary bike (boring) and attended my weekly strength training class, which is great. The teacher has run marathons before and always give me advice and good stretches. He advised not doing the recovery run scheduled this weekend (12 miles) and instead keeping the mileage light so the tendon could have time to heal. At the same time, I'll keep doing these strength training exercises my coach gave me (http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/achilles-tendinitis.html), which should help to build muscles to counterbalance the problem.

It's hard, though, to take a week off from serious running, once you get started in a program like this. Today I'm taking a break and on Thanksgiving I'll try a moderate 3 miles... I'm so tempted to do a Turkey Trot but I know that with other people running around me I would push myself to run too fast, which is maybe not a good idea right now.

Dinner last night: African sweet potato and black bean stew, from October's Cooking Light. No meat, but I did get waylaid by a tempting package of prosciutto at the grocery store beforehand...

I'm looking forward to a Thanksgiving visit from my best friend, brining the turkey, making my mother's German apple stuffing, and having friends over who love Thanksgiving food but don't know how to prepare it.

ouch

2004-11-22T09:44:00.000-05:00

S.O.R.E... every muscle aching from yesterday's run, particularly my quads and back, for some reason...

dinner last night: coq au vin from an old issue of Cooking Light... chicken in a red wine sauce with carrots and mushrooms... served over a mix of mashed sweet and yukon gold potatoes with a salad and a yogurt smoothie... I feel compelled to chronicle the diet so I don't repeat what I did this past weekend, pre 16 miler: a day at the beach with junk food, and the night before that, drinks and bad Chinese food...

16 miles...

2004-11-21T16:10:00.000-05:00

I ran sixteen miles this morning, my longest run yet. I was cruising along for the first ten miles, thrilled that my Achilles tendon was not bothering me, when around mile twelve, the 9:30 pace slowed to a 10:00/mile and I lost all semblance of form. My arms and legs wanted to fly off my body, every muscle was aching, and when I stopped, I felt like Fred Sanford, clutching at his back and lamenting to his late wife up in heaven: "Elizabeth! I'm coming to meet you!"

I'm wondering whether with more training, 16 miles begins to feel like ten. It worries me that the longest run on our training schedule is only 20 miles. The majority of my (little) runs in the past have always been good runs, so it's strange to have difficulty finishing a run. It also could be nutrition. After a few nights out on the town and some haphazard eating strategies, the last few days haven't been ideal.

Some things to be thankful for:

- of all my aches and pains at the end, Achilles tendon wasn't really one of them. (My coach, who is terrific, gave me some special exercises to do.)
- I finished 16 miles.
- I'm healthy.
- I'm only $100 away from my fundraising goals for the Leukemia Society.
- Next week will be easy-- 12 miles to run off all the stuffing I plan to eat.

I never thought I'd see the day where 12 miles seemed easy.

the poetics of space

2004-11-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

The great function of poetry is to give us back the situations of our dreams.
- Bachelard

First post

2004-11-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

This summer, when S told me she had leukemia, the first thing I did was to go for a long run. Listening to Tito Puente's "A Donde Vas?" on my iPod, my body fighting to cut through the summer humidity, I wished for something to do to combat the uselessness I felt. The thought of running a marathon and doing it for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society crossed my mind, but then the first of three hurricanes hit. After the third one passed, I contacted the Leukemia Society again, and was told that even though training was already well underway, I could jump in. For the past several weekends, I've trained with Team In Training, watching my mileage creep up from 10, 12, to 14 miles. The weather has gotten slightly cooler, I've raised 75% of my required funds so far, and each week experienced a new but minor ailment-- chafing on the collarbone, blistered feet, and just today, an Achilles tendon that started to throb when I went off for one of my easy, short runs. I promptly stopped and hit the exercise bikes at the gym instead, but all day I felt like something was missing.

I also haven't quite figured out what I should be eating-- I have several running training books, the reading of which has become a minor obsession, and I know the rules about percentage carbohydrates and whatnot, but still I'm gaining rather than losing weight. What's up with that?