Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Week starting Feb 07, 2010

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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
58.970.004.000.0062.97
Brooks ST3 II Miles: 61.65Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.32
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.850.000.000.0016.85

Low 40s, light rain.  Endurance w/ 2 faster miles (9:45, 9:33) just before cool down.

Pleasant run.  I'm off on a (rare) child-free shopping trip to the fabric store...

Weekly summary for Mon-Sun

Total 50.89


Mon 3.42

Tue 9.65

Weds 6.1

Thurs 9.29 w/ 4 x 1000m

Fri 5.58

Sat  off

Sun 16.85 

Brooks ST3 II Miles: 16.85
Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.860.000.000.004.86

41F, mostly cloudy w/ pretty crescent moon showing through.  Easy & slow run. 

I let myself sleep a little later this morning. It's still really hard to get up, even if I get an extra 15-20 minutes. I've always been confused about what a "morning person" is.  I've been called a morning person because I get up early, but it isn't easy. I have no reason to think it ever will be easy.  Isn't a morning person someone who wakes up naturally and feels good early in the morning?  Then again, I don't feel particularly peppy at night either.  I guess that makes me a later-in-the-morning-once-I-get-going person. 

Brooks ST3 II Miles: 4.86
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.170.000.000.008.17

37F, clear & starry.  G-A run w/ 5 x 10 sec. hill sprints.

Those hill sprints were a bit of a "well, it's better than nothing" experience.  First of all, I let myself space out (why does that happen so often?) and didn't have time to do the 10 reps I had planned.  I didn't even really have time for the 5, but Mr. Sno doesn't worry too much if I'm a couple of minutes late.  Secondly, I should have gone to a steeper hill.  So... all in all the sprints were only fun and not grueling - gee, isn't running a brutal sport?  ;) 

Close encounter... I ran so close to a deer this morning that we were both startled into- well,  doing nothing.  After passing a hedge along a sidewalk, there she was, standing less than 3 feet from me.  She froze in the beam of my headlamp, and I ran past slowly. I could have reached out and touched her.  It's a moment I think I will remember for a long time. 

Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.17
Comments(10)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.820.004.000.009.82

42F, raining, w/ wind at times.  Tempo intervals: 4 x 1 mile moderately hard (9:00, 8:43, 8:46, 8:43) w/ brief recovery jog between miles.  20 minutes strength work. 

This was such a great workout. One of those perfectly balanced efforts: hard enough to feel effective (ie "when can I stop?!?!?") but still fun.  I even added a mile to my original plan (3 miles) because I had more time and still felt pretty fresh. I feel especially pleased with the consistent splits, since I wasn't on a flat surface the whole time. For a warm up I ran 3 very easy miles and finished with a couple of 30 second hill sprints. 

This workout makes me feel a bit better about missing a run yesterday.  But it also shows me something I've seen before:  more sleep equals better running.  On Tuesday night I had some difficulty sleeping, and then I had cat trouble in the wee hours to take care of.  A little before 4 AM, after some anguish and exhaustion-induced weeping, I decided to turn off my alarm and let go of the Wednesday morning run.  Just. Let. Go.  

So today I feel like it was a good decision, and I am even thinking of having a personal rule about no running unless I get at least 7 hours of sleep.  I am also rethinking my speed work schedule to give myself only one speed day a week.  I am supposed to run hill work and tempo on the same week and then VO2 intervals the next.  I guess I'm feeling old today, in spite of my good workout.  All this stuff is just rattling around in my brain while I decide what I want and the best way to get it.  :)  

Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.32Brooks ST3 II Miles: 8.50
Comments(9)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
23.270.000.000.0023.27

Low 40s F, wind 10-15 mph, cloudy, raining last 4 miles.  Endurance run. 

I was a little worried about this run.  Yesterday I had a lot of soreness from Thursday, whether from the run or the strength work I wasn't sure. I did increase my lunges Thursday.  I dislike going into a long run when I am not completely fresh, but it turned out all right.

After being "otherwise engaged" the past two Saturdays, it was nice to look forward to running with the club again today.  And although it was pretty thin attendance, there was a new woman there with whom I could run.  I haven't had a partner at the club runs for a long time.

She and I ran together for about 7 miles. She was just a wee bit faster than I wanted to run, but I figured it wouldn't hurt. Not much...  The last few miles did feel like I may have spent too much on those seven 10-minute miles.

I ran the Leg Builder Hill in miles 14-16 and that felt pretty good.  By 19, I was glancing at my watch a little too often. I had to really force myself to take some detours around the neighborhood to pump the mileage up above 23.  But now it's done! Such a happy feeling.  

Brooks ST3 II Miles: 23.27
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
58.970.004.000.0062.97
Brooks ST3 II Miles: 61.65Vibram Five Fingers KSO Miles: 1.32
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