Wednesday, June 30, 2010

long run wednesday.

In the training plan I'm using, Wednesdays are home to semi-long runs. They're usually 1/2 the length of the long run coming up on the weekend and this week was no exception. Today was 6, Saturday will be 12.

Phil and I ran along the Hank Aaron Trail today. I've never been on it, and appreciated new territory. Running there-and-back is getting really old, so having new ground to cover was awesome. We made it past Miller Park and I learned it actually runs all the way down to the lakefront. Phil thinks it's about 17 miles...which seems insane. But, in a few weeks that will be my Saturday run so if anyone wants to pick up my tired body at Alterra, coffee is on me. It's a little daunting that 6 miles will soon become a "quick run" and 10-12 will be my mid-range mark. I'm really looking forward to the day I say "I only have 6, 7, or 8 miles to run".

We're grilling corn tonight for dinner, and it's just about done. Have a great night, everyone!
-Haylea

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Chasing Chad Foundation

I've been meaning to post this on here, but haven't remembered until now. If you're active in any way, you should log onto www.ChasingChad.com

This site is dedicated to Chad Bordwell, an employee of Direct Supply. He was a running enthusiast, and fitness advocate. Last year he came down suddenly with a brain tumor, and passed away shortly after. Along with his family, DS created the Chasing Chad foundation to commemorate his passion for running. The website has been created to advocate an active lifestyle, and raise money for brain cancer research. You're able to join for free, and log your activities. It doesn't include just running- it's everything! You can convert anything from lifting weights, snowshoeing, to playing with your kids.

I really encourage you to check the site out, make a donation and live an active lifestyle!

-Haylea

3 miles.

It was an easy, breezy 3 today. 30 minutes is an easy run to skip, so I have to remind myself that the little runs count just as much as the long ones do. They're in the schedule to keep my legs moving and cardio in check. Today's run made it apparent that I need to stretch more... a lot more. That's my new resolution- 10 minutes isn't going to kill me. I'm also going to start doing yoga once a week (or try to). Today's deal on Groupon was for the Bikram yoga studio downtown. I bought 2 groupons, and now have 10 sessions at the studio (for $30! normally $120). That said, I should get stretching.



by the way-if you haven't been to www.groupon.com yet, get there. It's a free site that sends "daily deals" for around the city. I just talked about the yoga one, but Phil and I also bought a groupon certificate to the pasta tree. I paid $20, but got a $40 gift card to the restaurant. Not bad, right?

Monday, June 28, 2010

cross training.

What is the definition of cross training? Swimming? Elliptical? Shopping? Because, if cross training includes shopping than I cross trained Bayshore up and down. I love cross-training.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Training in Nashwauk.


This post is a little bittersweet for me. I've been on vacation for the past week in Nashwauk, MN which is an 8-hour drive north of Milwaukee. I was with Phil & Wilson, plus Phil's family. They have a beautiful cabin on Lake Shoal and we spent the week willing the sun to come out of the sky, listening to the loons on the water, and grilling for every meal. The best part? I didn't have my phone on, and the internet is essentially a myth in those woods. Being able to post this means I'm back to where the city where my real life continues.

While up north I had a fairly ambitious week of running ahead of me. Tuesday was only 3 miles, Wednesday was 6, Thursday 3 again. Friday was rest. Sounds ok so far, right? Saturday, sweet, sweet Saturday... 11 miles. That's the longest I've run since my 1/2 marathon so I was nervous about it all week. I wish I would have taken a picture of the route- it was unreal. We ran on the side of the road, which was a county highway. The pavement turned into a gravel road just a couple of minutes into the runs. During of our runs we saw more deer than cars, and the biggest annoyance were horseflies. The people who did drive past us were so polite- they waved, moved to the other lane and gave us plenty of space to feel safe running on the side of the road.

Let me talk about the 6 miles first. The 6 miler route was a simple out-and-back run. We ran for 30 minutes, and turned around. The gravel was nice to run on because it was easier on my legs than the pavement, so I was feeling good. Then I realized the route was rolling hill after rolling hill. I had to laugh to myself because it's always something, right?! I have a love/hate relationship with hills. I love running them because it's such a great challenge, and I like to pass people on hills during races. I remember back in high school I would make it a point to pass at least one person on every hill I ran. Of course i hate them because they're hills, and they hurt :)

I read an article about hills in Runner's World magazine that suggested naming hills to give you a mental edge. They pointed out famous hills like Heartbreak Hill from the Boston Marathon. I've been doing it ever since, but am much more literal with my names. The hill on 68th street near my place is called "Long legs Larry". It's not a hard hill, but it's just annoying to have to run up it every single time I run home! When I run it I literally picture Mr. Long Legs Larry running it ahead of me. He's your average 40-something runner- I know you have since him around town. His short-shorts make you blush a little because you simply can't stop staring at his sculpted legs. He's married to Super-Fast Sarah, who has every bit of passion he has for running, and on the weekends they push their kids in the stroller and run as a family. They would never be afraid of a hill, in fact they embrace them. Picturing them running ahead of me inspires me to push harder through that hill and become a runner with the rights to wear short-shorts.

The rolling hills I was talking about before, needed names. I was getting antsy running them. There were a pair of them around the 20 minute mark, and I needed something friendly. They became Calvin and Carl- brothers of course. Carl wasn't so bad, but Calvin was brutal. Coming back after the turn around was MUCH harder, and I had to dig a lot deeper to get up Calvin, but push I did and finished the run strong.

For my 11 mile run, Wendi (Phil's mom) drove us 11 miles away from the cabin and dropped us off. I was so thankful for her doing that. When you're 11 miles away, you don't really have any other choice but to run. If you walk, you're only going to get there slower. There we stood in the middle of the road, and started our run. As I said in the beginning I was nervous about this run because it was the farthest I've went since my 1/2 marathon. Our goal was to run it between 1:45-1:50, and ended up at 1:44. 9:30/mile, which I'm really pleased with. I had a small patch around 45 minutes in where I freaked that I still had an hour to go. Shortly after that, Wendi came by with some water. It was more refreshing than words can describe. Seriously, how nice is that? I wish I always had someone to drop off water and a towel on my long runs!

I know I'm sounding really new-age here and keep talking about what I'm doing mentally but honestly that's the real battle. Bodies are made to do amazing things and for me my challenge is comes from trusting my body won't fail. I read an article about mantras, in fact I think I've talked about them in an earlier post. I had one during this run that really got me through it. It was so easy to focus on the strength of training that has led me to the run I was doing.




The route ended on the old gravel road, and I finished the hills (even Calvin and Carl) mentally and physically stronger than the runs earlier in the week. We ran right into the water and soaked our feet. It felt amazing to have the first long run of training completed. Now I feel more confident that I will be OK, and I can handle the training.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

6 miles.

This week's long run was a 6-miler. I knew it was going to be hot, so I hit the pavement at 8 a.m. I was a fool for thinking the sun wouldn't get me. Lesson learned- if I want to avoid heat I need to get our around 6:30-7am. Given how much stuff we have going on this summer, I don't know how easy it's going to be getting up that early on a Saturday morning. But, it's what I signed up for so here I am- saying it out loud- I'll be an early bird this summer.

The run yesterday was pretty decent. I cut it a little short, but felt good the whole time. I'm a terrible runner in the heat- I just get really worked up, emotional, and moody when I'm hot. Usually I end up walking a little bit to cool myself down, and need to get past that. I'll never make the long runs if I keep walking. I didn't walk yesterday, so that was an accomplishment. When I was done with my run, I picked up Wilson (my dog) and went for a cool-down run. He is so happy when he's running! I need to model myself after him when running- how great would it be to not worry about pace, let my tongue hang out, and chase after whatever catches my eye?!

Today and tomorrow are essentially rest days, and running begins again on Tuesday. I'm taking a vacation to Phil's family cabin in Nashauk, MN next week so no blogging will be done. I'll let you know how running on vacation goes in a couple weeks.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I forgot to start training.


Well, it turns out I'm not great at keeping up with projects. Like this one. The one where I was going to blog about running a 1/2 marathon, and then a full one? WELL, time has come and gone so has the 1/2. I'm not going to write about it today, but I'll just let you know I beat my personal best with a time of 1:57, and feel totally accomplished.

The next project was to continue running, keep my endurance up and roll right into marathon training. HA, high hopes on my end. I have a million and one excuses, including (but not limited to): I moved, my legs were tired and I needed a small break, work was busy, it was cold out, it was hot out, etc. etc. This week I realized I should probably get back in the game and decided to look up some training schedules. It turns out I should have started training 2 weeks ago! Dear lord, that is NOT the start I was hoping for. Since I can't take back time, I guess I'm jumping right in.

As a side note- it is unbelievable that I didn't already have my training plan mapped out. I'm a total type A, and should have had it written on each calendar, my planner and in outlook at work. I must be losing my shit because I don't even care that I'm not super organized now. Phil must really be rubbing off on me b/c I'm entirely laid back about the situation. (Megan, if you read this, understand that I'm losing my squirrelness. we might even be dinosaurs together someday)



Anywho, I'm following Hal Higdon's plan b/c he's the shit apparently. People swear by his method. I like it because it's really straight forward and doesn't involve intense speed work, hills, or other BS. Here's a link to his site if you care to see the plan- I'm doing his Novice 2. www.halhigdon.com I ran 4 miles yesterday and 5 today. I get a little break, and then it's supposed to be 6 this weekend... but since I'm starting late I'm shooting for 7-8 miles. My plan is to start getting into the habit of waking up early and getting the runs done. The idea is to get in the habit of doing it now so when race day comes around you're already used to the schedule.

Well, it's time for me to hit up the local watering hole to meet my favorite volleyball team, the Sandy Pitts. PBRs are on special, oh yes.