Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

May 14, 2024

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Location:

Snoqualmie,WA,

Member Since:

Jan 31, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon PR: 4:17 at Portland Marathon, Oct. 2007

5K PR 24:37 2009

10K PR 52:58 2010

Have run 22 marathons to date.

No injuries, ever.   :)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Qualify for Boston (4:05 for my age/gender) - or, perhaps, to use my desire for a BQ as a way to get in the hated speed work so I don't just get slower and slower over the years.  This goal is "under (re)construction" right now, until I figure out whether it is truly what I want. :) 


Long-Term Running Goals:

To continue learning about myself and about running, and to enjoy being a fit, happy runner for life.   To always know why I am running and the best way to get the most (both mentally and physically) out of my runs.  To keep a sense of humor and remain optimistic about myself as a runner.  To enjoy running more and more with every passing year. 

Personal:

Baby boomer generation.  Jogged a little in my 20's and 30's.  Started running seriously in 2002.  Low-carb runner since January 2010. 

I love long runs and cold, cloudy weather.  I don't believe in "junk miles."  I am an optimist.  I adore dark chocolate, fog, my family, and knitting -- not necessarily in that order.  

"As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are."  -- Joan Benoit Samuelson 


Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Brooks ST3 Lifetime Miles: 891.35
Vibram Five Fingers KSO Lifetime Miles: 23.77
Brooks ST3 II Lifetime Miles: 965.17
Lunaracers II Lifetime Miles: 198.23
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Lifetime Miles: 104.14
Asics Piranha Lifetime Miles: 536.83
RunAmocs (Softstar) Lifetime Miles: 16.23
Piranha II Lifetime Miles: 219.53
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.100.004.500.009.60

I'm not sure I've entered my miles correctly for today and here is why.  The workout was: warm-up + 4 X 10 minutes at LT w/ 2 min. jogs b/t + cool down.  As I may have mentioned before I run in a hilly neighborhood.  During the first two LT intervals, it was so hard, as LT always has been for me, but I could not go by my Garmin because of the hills.  I would take a little, relatively flat stretch, check my pace, and try to maintain that level of exertion. 

Well, on the 3rd interval I decided to go ahead and look like a dork by running back and forth on the one truly flat stretch in my neighborhood (about .3 mi long). I wanted to see my pace on the Garmin and experience a more consistent level of effort.  Within the first 100 yards I realized: I have been working too hard!  So those first two intervals -- 10 minutes each --were closer to my VO2max pace!

What a joy to know that LT pace is not as hard for me as I thought it was.  I got a huge boost of confidence from this experience.  From now on, my speed work is all going to take place on that one street, regardless of how stupid I feel running back and forth (when the whole neighborhood is so lovely for running).  Oh, how I wish I had a track nearby.

Second noteable event: I am running in new Nike Triax shoes today.  Went shoe shopping over at the big city yesterday, at a real running store.  The shoes felt really good, especially during the tempo run. 

Dilemma: I did a little math in my head this morning, and realized that, with about 7 weeks to go until my marathon, I could be putting as much as 300  miles on these before race day.  I had been mistakenly thinking "7 weeks, not much time" without really working out how many miles that is.  I want these shoes to be relatively fresh for the race. So it looks like I'll have to continue in my old shoes for most of my runs, or buy a 2nd pair. Ouch.  Any advice most welcome!

15 minutes abs and weights

Comments
From Dale on Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 10:41:50

Get a second pair and rotate them so you don't run in the same shoes each day. Better yet, get a third and rotate between each of them. They'll all last a bit longer that way since the support/cushioning will have time to recover between runs.

I've got the problem with all my routes being hills too. I'm going on the theory that it's the effort that's important, not the actual speed, so once you get your Tempo effort dialed in, you just take whichever pace you get on the hills. Not sure I could handle running a .3 mi loop over and over. Then again, not sure my theory holds water so take it for what it's worth.

Good workout any way you look at it.

From Snoqualmie on Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 12:06:31

Thanks so much for the encouragement. And just to set the record straight, my little flat place is .3 in each direction, so it's not quite as monotonous as all that. I really appreciated your thoughts about tempo pacing, and shoes. Cheers.

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