heading to grandma's - week 11

Good God, I'm behind on my blogging.  <Insert humorous/pithy/fascinating excuse as to why I'm such a crappy blogger here.>  My training suffered, too.  I had two incredibly busy work weeks that really messed with my energy level/drive to run after getting home from work.  I did what I could.

Week 11:  April 23-29

Monday
Easy Run As Follows:
Warm up brisk walking 5-10 min
Easy run of 3 miles at 11:15 min
Cool down with brisk walk of 5-10 min
workout note: nice three with Jane, 10:40 pace

Tuesday
Interval Run As Follows:
Warm up with 1 mile at 11:30 pace
Mile repeats!  WOOT!  3 x 1 mile at 9:10-9:20 min pace.  Recover ½ mile at 11:45 min pace.
Cool down with brisk walk 5-10 min
Workout note: Nothing

Wednesday
workout note: zip

Thursday
3 Miles Easy Run as Follows
WU w/ 5-10 minutes of brisk walking
Run 3 miles at 11:15 pace.
Cool down with 5-10 min brisk walk.
workout note: 3.41 miles, 11:09 pace

Friday
workout note: nada

Saturday
Long Run as Follows:
WU for 1 mile at 12:30 pace
Run 13.1 miles – race pace – 10:20 or better.  Cool down (HA!) with an additional 5 miles at recovery pace of 11:45-12:30.  Get those miles in!!!
Cool down with brisk walk for 5-10 minutes
workout note: I did my race, got a course PR, (read about it HERE) in the rain, people, in the pouring rain, AND I did my additional 5 miles on the treadmill. I am a badass honeybadger.

Sunday
workout note: walking 3.45 miles


So yeah, not my most stellar week, but what the hell.  The following week is worse (as I knew it would be due to my work schedule.)
But.....
And it's a BIG butt....  (Oh wait, we're not talking about MY butt here, right?  "But" =  a coordinating conjunction.... I digress.....)
ANYwhoo -
Spoiler alert!!!  I have a KICK ASS weekend of racing coming up!!  I can hardly wait for my next post!!

another rainy race

New hat and headband to help provide attitude.

Oooo, look!  My second blog post today!!

So yeah, I ran the Get in Gear Half marathon yesterday.  If you recall, I won an entry to the race via a marvelous little invention called Facebook. The internet certainly is chock full of goodness!

Yesterday's race was just like last year's....cold, rainy and windy.  For some reason, it was a much tougher race than last weekend's half marathon. I don't think I hydrated as well this past week, and I was having GI issues most of the week as well...... I'm still figuring out this whole fueling thing.  It's a puzzle, that's for sure.  Good think I like puzzles!

Post-race soaking wet honeybadger.

I met up with the same friend I ran with last year (Julie) and we had a great time catching up on everything that's been going on since the Minneapolis half marathon (the last race we ran together.)  I also got to see my sister-in-law (well ok, technically she's my ex-sister-in-law but as far as I'm concerned, we're still family!) She ran an amazing race and finished under 2 hours.  I'm so jealous of that pace!  I was going to get pictures of all of us, but the porta-potties were calling our names.... so my SIL and I lost each other before the start.  Didn't see her again until the out-and-back portion of the race.  She was waaaayyyyy ahead of me - no way I could have kept up with her! Another work friend was running too, and also killed it at 2:02.  I have some speedy friends!

So anywhoo, the upshot of the day was that I didn't get a distance PR, but I did get a course PR!  My official time was 2:14:53, last year's time was 2:23:26 so that's an improvement at least. GarminElectra bailed on me at the start. The lying tart APPEARED as though she was ready to run the race with me, and chirped when I hit the start button as I crossed the mat, but at mile three I realized there was no beeping happening.... so I had to restart her. Grrr.  That means I only have my splits for the last 10 miles. SUCH a frickin' diva.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:41:39.1	10.17	10:00
1	10:23.2	1.00	10:23
2	10:13.5	1.00	10:14
3	10:19.1	1.00	10:19
4	9:51.0	1.00	9:51
5	9:57.8	1.00	9:58
6	9:41.9	1.00	9:42
7	9:58.9	1.00	9:59
8	10:12.1	1.00	10:12
9	9:25.9	1.00	9:26
10	10:00.8	1.00	10:01
11	1:34.9	0.17	9:18

We must have been REALLY slow for those first three miles because my overall pace was 10:18.  It was pretty crowded at the beginning and we were getting passed by a lot of people, but that's usually how it is for me anyway.  I like to start slow and then once my body gets over the fact that I'm making it run, it levels off and I can slowly pick up the pace.

I started to fall apart a bit at mile eleven (mile 8 according to GE) and needed some sustenance..... my hands were so cold I couldn't get my honey stingers out of my pocket so I had to walk. I told Julie to just go ahead and I would catch up.... not so much - I didn't see her again until the finish line.  She was flying and ended up about 2 minutes faster than me.  I really had to dig deep those last two miles and WILL myself to keep running in the last mile.  Not exactly the strong finish I had hoped for but, oh well.

After the race I still had 5 miles on the training plan. So I went home, changed my clothes and headed to the treadmill.  And I did my 5 miles for a total of 18.  Just like last year, it made me feel like a badass honeybadger to do all those miles.  Funny how that works!  After all that, I took a well-deserved ice bath.  I hate them and I love them at the same time.  My muscles are always much happier after an ice bath, but the during part?  Ugh.  The actual sitting in a tub of icy water is NOT happy time.

Not.
At.
All.

Colorful language helps me cope.

busted

I knew this was coming.  You'd think I would have prepared a little, but no.

This afternoon, I had a chat with TenacityChris (AKA the fabulous Coach Honeybadger) about my marathon training plan for Grandma's. We talked about what I've been doing the last few months (working and walking mostly, with a smattering of running thrown in), how my training has been going (Training?  I was supposed to be training??), and about the status of my various injuries (all good!!).

She also wanted to know what I've been doing as far as strength training and working on my core.  Uhhhhh, some planks, and some push-ups......(said with an upward inflection? So it sounded like a question?)

PROOF that I have been keeping up with my 30 minutes
per day challenge.  And proof that I'm not good at coloring
within the lines.

BUT, I want some credit for my recent goals..... I have been meeting the goal of moving my chubby butt for at least 30 minutes every day.  And I have been meeting the goal of running at least one mile per day.  I've managed to meet those goals consistently for the last 15 days! That's practically a lifetime in my world.

Anywhoo, I'm SOOOO excited to be getting my marathon training underway!!  The new job may pose a bit of a challenge with the mid-week longish runs, but we'll figure out how to make it work.  My biggest challenge? Staying injury free. If I have to invest in vast quantities of kinesio tape and spackle to hold things together between now and June 16th, 2012, so be it.  I'm gonna be ready.

Game on, Grandma!

slacker town

Holy crap.  Has it really been more than a month since I've written???  Seriously, it seems like it's just been days. This past month has FLOWN by!

So let's see, just what have I been doing?

The Ankle

The diagnosis is in: tendinitis of all three tendons in my right foot.  So I've been taking it easy for what seems like FOREVER and trying to listen to my damn ankle.  I have a bunch of exercises I have to do, and I think they're helping so I'm continuing to do them.  So very boring.  And I've been walking a lot in lieu of running.  Also boring   And I've been doing more core work so hopefully that will pay off at some point, too.

Running

Note the distance - I must have killed the tangents again!
My official time was 30:31.

*see above*  Not so much running but check this out:  I ran a 5K PR!!  Officially a PR this time!  Sadly, not as fast as my virtual 5k PR but I'll take it.  It was in the Gopher to Badger 5K where the course takes us along and over the St. Croix River from Minnesota to Wisconsin (hence the name "Gopher to Badger" - Minnesota is the Gopher state and Wisconsin has badgers.  Not Honey Badgers though, which is both a failing and a blessing.)  I loved the course, part shady street, part trail, over a long bridge.... The ankle didn't hurt at all during the run but it sure complained later in the day and the next day too.  So less running, more rehabbing.  It's on the mend but it sure is taking it's sweet time.

It gets kind of warm in Arizona in August....

Family

Remember last February when darling daughter and I traveled out East in search of the perfect college?  Well, I dropped her off at college last week.  In Arizona.  Did we travel to Arizona to look at schools?  Nope.  Have we ever even BEEN to Arizona?  Nope.  So how did she find this school anyway?  Her boss told her about it during her performance review.  She looked it up on the google, applied, found out that they would be very generous with scholarship money and made her decision.  Ta da!  But it's awful having her that far away.  A three hour plane ride and then a two hour drive...... She'll do great.  I'm the one who needs to adjust.

Other health related issues
As you may or may not know, I am a pasty an alabaster skinned Irish lass who is prone to sunburn.  As I kid, I got sunburned a lot, and as a stupid teen I did the whole "baby oil and reflective blanket" thing to try to fool my skin into thinking it's capable of obtaining a tan.  I also fried myself in those new-fangled tanning beds when they first came out.  The upshot of all that is that I have damaged my skin and as a precautionary measure, I get my skin checked by a dermatologist on a yearly basis.  I'm always inspecting my skin to look for anything new so that my derm can take a look and make sure that any of the more unusual spots and freckles are harmless....  So this year, I'm in for my annual check and she finds a suspicious spot that I had missed.  (Let's just say it was on my naughty bits and required the use of a mirror for me to see it... we'll leave it at that.)  Anywhoo, so she says to me that she's "80% certain that it's benign and we can either do a biopsy today or we can watch it closely, and I can come back in a month and she'll measure it and see if it's changed at all...." and I'm thinking to myself, "Only 80% certain??  I think I want a better percentage than that.  And come back in a month?  She wants me back in that soon for a check??"  So I asked what type of skin cancer it would likely be if it wasn't benign and she said, "Melanoma."  Umm, yeah.  OK. Not interested in watchful waiting.  Take the damn thing off.  NOW.  Long story short, it's benign.  <HUGE  sigh of relief>  I didn't realize how much I was stressing about it until I got the results of the biopsy.  I got the news two days before taking DD to school in Arizona so I was able to relax and enjoy my time with her.  My kids thought I was the sunscreen nazi before, they have no idea what they're in for now.

Work
Busy, busy, busy!  I love my job - it's interesting and I'm always learning something new.  And it keeps me occupied and out of trouble.  More or less!

As promised
Some more Warrior Dash photos!  Such a fun day!!!

Action shot of us running after getting blasted by water from the snow-making machines.  It was such a hot day that running soaking wet felt great.

One of the many lonnnnngggg hills on the course.  It was at a ski resort and they made the most of the hills.

Running through the sand pit.  Up another hill.

At the top of the wall!  See that chick on the lower right?  This was a frickin' tall wall to climb!! And check out the arms on the dude on the right.  Yikes!

Jumping over fire!  
I'm probably the whitest girl you know.

Crossing the finish line after crawling under barbed wire through the mud pit.  Notice how pristine the husband's face is...

My face.....not so pristine.  I don't know how the husband stayed so clean!

lumberjack warrior

Post LJD 5k, you can't really tell but I was a sweaty, smelly mess.

I'll add more later but I did two races last weekend: the Lumberjack Days 5k on Saturday and the Warrior Dash on Sunday.

Saturday was hot, humid and I had strange things happening with my right leg (was going numb - kind of like it was asleep) during the race.  The ankle is still an issue so off to the sports doc I will be going.

Anywhoo..... Should have brought my camera along - Carrie Tollefson was there and I could have gotten a picture with her.  Dammit!!  I was a hot mess when it was done.

The Warrior Dash was so much fun!  I didn't dare take my good camera with me on my mud-slogged journey so I carried a waterproof disposable camera instead.  Hopefully, we got some good shots on the course.  I have to get the film developed (so old school!) so I'll do another post when I get them back.  But here are a few before & afters (taken with the digital camera) to whet your appetite:

Pre-race.  I am unable to keep my eyes open.  Again.

Here's mud in yer eye!  And up yer nose!  And in yer mouth!
And in every other orifice.

The husband's legs AFTER getting rinsed off.

Post-race.  The husband took one for the team thus allowing
 the photo gods to show me with my eyes OPEN!!

what up?

Learnin' to shoot!! Typical American 4th of July activity
 meets mother/son bonding time.  Here's SS teaching me how
to use a BB gun on our recent trip to Omaha.

Hey peeps!  Here's what I've been up to lately, along with my typical stream of consciousness-type blogging....

Fitness
Running?  Not so much.  My ankles are still really sore.  I've been taking it easy, just doing 3 miles at a time, nice and slow.  And daily walking with Jane of course.  My right ankle in particular is bugging big time.  The pain is now starting to travel up the ankle bone..... I might need to schedule some quality time with my sports doc.

Our awesome shirts for the Warrior Dash!

I'm signed up for two races next weekend: the Lumberjack Days 10 miler on Saturday and the husband and I are doing the Warrior Dash on Sunday.  The Warrior Dash shouldn't be a problem but I'm a little worried about the 10 miler.  That could be an ugly one, especially with my practically non-existent mileage.  We shall see what the weekend brings.

I started a couple of new programs - 100 push-ups and 200 squats.  They are both 6 week programs brought to me via my new iPhone.  There's an app for that!  My upper body strength is crapola so I'm hoping the push-ups will help with that.  And call me crazy, but I LOVE doing squats.  Both of these will be easy to incorporate into my day so I'm thinking they are doable and attainable goals.

Name-dropping
Hey, remember Misty?  I was lucky to run with her for a while in the Stillwater 20 miler and then saw her heading towards the finish line at Grandma's.  I'm not the only one who's inspired by her.  There was an article in the Pioneer Press about Misty and her amazing accomplishments!  Way to go, Misty!!!

Weather
We are in the middle of some nasty-ass weather.  Feelin' hot, hot. hot.  And humid.  I think the humidity has been in the high 70's.  It's like being underwater when you go outside.  I actually LOVE hot, humid weather but this is getting to be a bit much, even for me.

How I ruined the husband's birthday last year. 

Work
Work has continued to be super busy.  Super duper busy.  It's awesome that I can work from home about 50% of the time.  It's so nice to not have to spend 2-3 hours a day in rush hour traffic.

The husband
We celebrated the husband's birthday this week.  Last year I pretty much destroyed his birthday by getting in a 3 car accident on the interstate (during rush hour traffic) and totaling my Pilot.  It was the first car accident I've ever been in.  Scary!! I wasn't hurt, other than major torquing of my body and LOTS of muscle pain, so that was good.  But it did kind of put the kibosh on any sort of birthday celebration, unless you count time spent in Urgent Care as celebrating.  And my trusty Pilot didn't survive.

the calorie-laden remains of the husband's birthday cake.

This year was better.  I didn't try to steal his thunder with my usual attention-seeking behavior (e.g. totaling my car).  He didn't get home until late on his actual birthday (Bastille Day!) due to two kids in sports but I made a fantastic german chocolate cake for him.  It's his favorite.  Almost a whole pound of butter between the cake and the frosting.  I think it's about 800 calories per slice.  No lie.  It's so worth it. (My mouth is watering just typing this.  I might need to go get myself another piece.)  We've spent the last couple of days extending the celebration.  I think he's enjoyed it.

Photo shoots always tire Jane out.

I signed the husband (and myself) up for the Medtronic TC 10 mile lottery. It's limited to 8800 runners and is run the same day as the Twin Cities Marathon.  We'll find out in a few days if we made the cut.  I love 10 mile races.  I think it's the perfect distance!  I really hope we can get in.  It would be fun to be a part of the TCM festivities!

So that's about it.  Things remain pretty quiet here in Lake Wobegon.

What's everyone else been up to?

gonna have to get in gear, for real

Last weeks mileage goal: 34 miles
Actual mileage: 27 miles

So, I fell a few miles short of the goal.  That's ok, I was on the mend!  Plus, work was absolutely insane last week with some super long hours.  This week will be a crazy busy one too, but hopefully work will settle down again after that.

Husband's photo #1 - Action shot!  That's me in the green.

I ran the Get in Gear Half Marathon yesterday and other than it being a dreary, rainy, blustery day, it went pretty well.  I PR'd by 7:19!  Race time was 2:23:26.  So, I'm happy about that.  Highlight of the race was when the husband showed up unexpectedly (he had to take DSD to lacrosse practice so I didn't expect to see him at all.)  What a treat to hear someone yell my name just after mile one and look over to see him standing on the sidelines under a big old umbrella!  Getting there meant he had to drop DSD off at practice, high-tail it over to the race site, find a place to park (no easy feat) and then hope to see me among the 6000+ runners.) Seeing him got me a little teary-eyed.... he's the best!  He even tried to take a couple of pictures with his phone.  Side note: This was the day of bad photos. Not a decent one in the bunch! But I won't let a little thing like quality keep me from using them in my blog. 

Husband photo #2 - What's with the puppy-dog paws????

For the first several miles I had to keep telling myself to slow down since I had to do another 4 miles when I was done with my 13.1.  I'd be going along feeling good then glance at Garmin Electra and realize I was running 9 minute miles. I think I played it a little too safe and could have been faster.  Maybe.

Another highlight was when a friend from work ran up along side me at about mile 4.5.  She's training for Grandma's half (this was her first half) and we chatted and ran the entire way.  I forgot how nice it is to run with someone!  She made the day much more pleasant.  My left hip was really sore at the end and I had to push to finish strong.  So I pushed!

The first attempt post-race.  Kind of blurry so I figured I'd
give it one more try. (See how water-soaked my jacket is?
Definitely NOT water-repellent.  Oooooo, looks like
gear whore needs a new jacket!!)

I truly planned to do my remaining 4 miles right away after finishing the race and getting a snack, but by the time I got something to eat and got back to my car, grabbed the camera to snap some pictures (gotta have documentation for the blog!) drop my bib and medal off (love the bling!!) I was soooooo cold and my clothes were completely soaked through..... I decided to head home, get into some dry clothes and hit the treadmill for my final four.  Which I did!  Even though I SO didn't want to.  It was like death by treadmill.  Absolutely awful.  I was tired and crabby as hell and my hip hurt.

But I did it.  I am a bad-ass honey badger.

So while I don't think the two together qualify as a 17 mile run, they sure as hell qualify as 17 miles.  And that's something.

2nd attempt.  Must have hit zoom at some point....
I completely lost interest in capturing the event after this one.

I wore my compression socks for both runs and had no calf pain.  And the chest wall muscle tear was a complete non-issue!!  No pain there, either.  Yay!!

Race day notes: Oatmeal for breakfast.  Cliff shot bloks and GU chomps for sustenance during the race.  No GI issues!  Wore the old blue Sauconys; the pink ones need a little more break-in time. 

I ended the day going out for a fabulous dinner with my folks and brother & sister-in-law to celebrate my parents 53rd wedding anniversary.  I replenished every calorie I burned and then some.  It was a delicious meal! Got home and was in bed with lights out by 9:30.

It was a good day.

Here's TenacityChris's training plan for me this week:
5/1 Sunday
Off Day
5/2 Monday
Kettlebell
5 miles EASY running (11:00 pace or greater)
5/3 Tuesday
7 miles running as follows (intervals)
Miles 1-2:  11:00 pace
Miles 3-7: 4 x  ½ mile repeats at 9:45 pace, ¼ mile recoveries at 11:00
5/3 Wednesday
Rest Day
5/5 Thursday
5 miles easy running (11:00 pace)
5/6 Friday
Kettlebell
5/7 Saturday Down and Dirty 8k race … If you are doing the race at anything faster than slow training run, make Thursday’s run only 2 miles.
5/8 Sunday: 18 Miles Long Run
Miles 1-5:  11:30 pace
Mile 6:  10:45 pace
Miles 7-12: 11:30 pace
Mile 13:  10:30 pace
Miles 14-17: 11:30 pace
Mile 18:  10:30 pace  Finish strong - you CAN do this!  Ice Bath!!!

Looks like it really is time to get my ass in gear.  Grandma's is only 48 days away!  I can do this, right?  I'll be able to finish 26.2 miles.  I will.  Right??

the week ahead

So here's what my trainer, TenacityChris has in store for me this week.

Keep in mind, I'm supposed to baby my muscle tear and cut back on miles and/or not go too fast on my runs if that seems to be irritating it.  Injury recap: What seems to be happening is that I'm so worried about the chest wall hurting that I contort my body in unusual ways (more so than usual in order to protect the chest wall tear) and that's what is causing me to have all these new and interesting pains.

Liz, my postural restoration PT, wants me to take it easy, too, and really listen to my body and limit mileage as needed.  So I may or may not get that many miles in and it's highly unlikely that I'll do any kettlebell this week.

Anywhoo - here's what's on tap:

4/24 Sunday:
Off – Happy Easter!
4/25 Monday
Kettlebell
5 miles easy running (11:00 pace or greater)
4/26 Tuesday
7 miles running as follows (tempo)
Miles 1-2:  11:00 pace
Miles 3-5:  10:15 pace
Mile 6-7:  11:00 pace
4/27 Wednesday
Off day
4/28 Thursday
5 miles easy running (11:00 pace)
4/29 Friday
Kettlebell
4/30 Saturday:  Get in Gear Half Marathon
17 Miles Long Run
Miles 1-5:  11:30 pace
Mile 6:  10:45 pace
Miles 7-12:  11:30 pace
Mile 13:  10:30 pace (take time to have a drink, grab a banana, then finish the rest of your run…don’t let your body cool down)
Miles 14-16:  11:30 pace
Mile 17:  10:30 pace  Finish strong - you CAN do this!  Ice Bath!!!

Can I just say that TenacityChris CLEARLY has a mean streak? <even though she doesn't have a mean bone in her body>

Look at Saturday's run - I'm running a half marathon.  But 13.1 miles isn't enough mileage, so after I dazzle all the folks at the Get in Gear Half Marathon with 

This will be me at the
GIG half mary

my 

lightning 

fast 

speed, 

I get to grab a snack and then run another 4 miles.  That's gonna suck!  But at least I get to grab a snack.  So she's not completely heartless!

Yeah, I know.  I know. I KNOW that TenacityChris is doing her damnedest to turn me into a Honey Badger marathoner despite my lack of running talent.  And, oh how I LOVE her for that!  So, <crap> assuming all goes well and the body is behaving, I guess that means I have to hold up my end of the bargain and just suck it up and do it.

But I might I'll probably whine a little. 

honey badger

I'm trying to be a tougher runner.  I want to be more like the honey badger - completely badass!  (plus, I just love this video.  I laugh every time!)

It's been tough to get tougher because I'm dealing with some injuries. Again.

This time I somehow torqued my chest wall by trying to fold up the back seat of the car while sitting in the driver's seat.  The pain is located right under my right armpit and radiates in a half circle from front to back ending at my shoulder blade.  Then I made it worse when walking overly exuberant Jane - she was Super!Excited!ToBeGoingForA WALK!!! - and pulled really hard on the leash several times. Which I was holding in my right hand.  Jane is strong!

Anywhoo, it's a strange injury because I can do planks but can't do crunches.  I can't lay (lie?) on either side in bed, I have to lie (lay?) on my back. It hurts to brush my teeth.  Not the brushing part, the curving the arm part to reach the teeth.... Hurts to cough.  Hurts to sneeze.  Hurts to take a deep breath.  So I haven't been able to go to kettlebell class.  And I LOVE kettlebell class!!  It doesn't hurt when I'm running, but it aches afterwards.... Strange.  With my history of osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis) I was a little afraid of having a cracked rib.  It's pretty unlikely but still.... So, feeling a bit like a hysteroid, I went to the doctor after several days of the pain not getting better.  She offered to do an x-ray but pretty much said I didn't need one.... so I didn't get one.  I think it's getting better.

Then there's my right calf.  It's been getting super tight and while not exactly painful, I was worried it might turn into something nasty.  I've been stretching and icing and using the foam roller on it but it still tightens up.  Then I made the mistake of doing an internet search for "calf pain" and seeing all kinds of horrible possibilities and the recommendation that I MUST take 7-10 days MINIMUM off from running.  So I called my PT Katie to talk me down for advice.  Katie thinks I'll be fine.  I need to just keep doing what I'm doing and listen to my body, and maybe try some compression socks.

purchase of this magnet was inspired by the honey badger

I'm getting SO AFRAID I'm going to do something to hurt myself and make it impossible for me to do my marathon.  Argh!!

I think it's just that achieving the goal of running a marathon is so important to me.  I was disappointed last fall when I couldn't run the TC Marathon but this is somehow different.... life is still complicated but running has really been a release for me.  Last fall running was a chore, a "have to."  It has now become a blessing, a "get to."

Tomorrow I get to run 15 miles!  I have never run that far so I'm looking forward to seeing how the body holds up.

It's time to relax and enjoy the journey.

And it's time to find and embrace my inner honey badger.  I know it's in there somewhere!