Lost in Seward Park!

Last week was an easy week--or 'taper week', as I've been calling them. A reduction in miles to give my legs a chance to rest up a bit. 4 mile runs, and cross training on non-running days (an additional rest day during these weeks, too). On Thursday, I decided to walk Greenlake--something I haven't done in a long time. I forgot how much I enjoyed that--just people watching and taking in the sights. Even though running outdoors is great, I still take in a lot more when just walking. It was a cold day, but perfect for a brisk walk. There were tons of people out, and I caught the beginning of a beautiful sunset.

I went and saw "Spirit of the Marathon" on Wednesday night. I met up with a couple of co-workers, and met some people from the running group I signed up to join. (I also hit the Sale going on at Express--I couldn't resist, and I haven't spent any money on clothes in quite awhile)! The documentary was showing at Pacific Place--a high end shopping mall right smack in the middle of downtown. About the only thing I can afford in this building is the movie theater!

The documentary was fantastic. It follows the story of two elite runners (Dena Kastor, and I can't remember the male they followed), and about 6 or 7 other people who run for various reasons. I highly reccomend this film for anyone--runner or not. It's fascinating, has some great comic moments, and very inspiring. All of the people followed in the story were training for the Chicago Marathon. It was amazing to watch the progression of all these runners at so many different levels. I am still in awe of these elite runners that hold between a 4 and 5 min/ mile pace for more than 2 hours. As they point out in the film, a standard treadmill's top speed doesn't even reach this pace. Incredible.

Sunday I met up with this group for a run. We ran about 8-ish miles. Most of the runners that showed were male, and quite a bit faster than me. My co-worker, Carol, was very kind to keep me company (she's definitely much faster than I am). There was one female that was about the same pace (as far as I could tell--not sure if she was just taking it easy or not) but she decided to take the shorter route.

We met at Coleman Park and ran along Lake WA down to Seward Park--did a loop through Seward, and then back along Lake WA. I had no idea this park system existed. It is BEAUTIFUL! I will be back for sure. Though Carol and I ended up taking a different path (we missed the path to follow the road around Seward Park), we ended up on some trails that ascend up through the middle of the Park and around. We ended up hitting quite a few hills and doing some unexpected trail running. We finally met up with the road at some point, and then started the trek back. Despite being "lost", I'm glad we found these trails. It'll be a great place to go back to!

I'll be back to join the group. It was really fun. I'm hoping that as the weather gets warmer, more people around the same pace as mine will show up. The other woman that was there that I think was about the same pace is thinking of doing the same marathon as I am in June. It'd be cool to connect with other runners doing this race!

Oh, and on a whim, Cory and I ended up with a brand-spankin'-new treadmill yesterday. Joel, Cory's brother, found this fantastic deal at Fred Meyer up in Everett. It was on sale 60% off of an already marked down ticket. $140 total. You can't beat that. I don't think I'll be able to use it early mornings because of noise, but I'm still so happy to have it, and know it will get good use. Thanks to Joel for spying such a great deal, and ESPECIALLY for helping us get it all set up! He pretty much did most of the work!

This week the mileage begins again....4 mi Tues/ 5 mi Wed/ 7 mi Thur/ 6 mi Fri/ Rest Sat/ 10 mi Sunday/ Rest Mon. I'll be in Wenatchee on Sunday--still trying to figure out how I'm going to work that 10-miler in between all that's going on. I'm going to aim for a very early morning run--we'll see what happens. I'm hoping that by some miracle, the weather will change to 40 degrees and sunny so I can hit the streets. Though, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Off to get some Japanese food!

Necessary Roughness....

Whew--yesterday's 9 miler proved to be a somewhat difficult run. Though I actually made a lot of stupid mistakes leading up to the run:

1) Didn't eat enough early in the day
2) Definitely didn't hydrate well the day before or yesterday morning
3) Didn't take water with me on the run
4) Started the run too fast

The sad thing is...I KNOW BETTER!!

I was feeling rushed and just sort of said "Oh well...it's only once--can't do too much harm." Well, lesson learned. I am fine--and nothing happened to me--I just really noticed how quickly I lost momentum. The first half of the run was pretty good--but I really should've started off more slowly and I will never do a long run again without adequate fluids! It was also really windy when I ran East on the trail--it was a bit of a struggle against the wind, but nice on the return path with the wind behind me.

I ditched out on the group run yesterday morning for 2 reasons--1) I woke up late and still felt really groggy and tired and wasn't ready to run yet. 2) It was a brand new course for me, and I realized I had no idea what the availability of bathroom stops would be--this is critical for me. So, I put off the run until about 2pm and took to the path at Alki.

Good things about the run: I finished it--tired, but not exhausted. I did keep an average pace of about 10-min mile. It was BEAUTIFUL out yesterday--very sunny. It was a good reminder that I need to do more running outdoors to work on pacing without the treadmill! I'm also trying to view the difficulty of the run as a good thing--it's just a reminder that preparedness is really important, and that all runners have bad days, and struggling through them is just as much a part of the process as having those days where you feel invincible!

I still can't wait for warmer weather--though sunny, it was COLD.

This week is a taper week. 4 mile runs throughout the week. Thursday night I'm going to see the film "Spirit of the Marathon" with a bunch of other running geeks! Should be fun.

In other news, the Jazz workshop I went to on Saturday was great fun. I'm looking forward to the rest of the workshop. It's 8 weeks long (runs through the beginning of March). I met some really nice people and am feeling less nervous about it all now. I think it will be a great learning experience.

Big Foot is back!

He's back. "Big Foot", as he has been lovingly deemed. The guy at the gym. He's been there the last few mornings--two of which he planted himself on the treadmill right next to me.
STOMP
STOMP
STOMP
STOMP
At least I know he hasn't keeled over....yet!

ANYway.....this week has been good. I managed to get a mild hill workout in, and did some speed work today. Did 5 miles Tues, 5 mi Wed, 7 mi Thur, and 6 miles this morning. I felt a little tired Wednesday but Thursday and this morning I felt fantastic....really strong and felt like I could take the speed up a couple notches.

I never thought I'd be able to keep up with an early morning workout routine, but it turns out I really look forward to it. It's such a nice start to my day.

I signed up for a running group through MeetUp.com. A coworker of mine is a member and I've been looking for a group to run with once or twice a week. My first run with them will be my long run on Sunday (9 miles). They just happen to have scheduled a 9.5 mi run that day, so it works out well--I'll probably just walk the last 1/2 mile.

Next week is a taper week. 4 mi daily runs. Then the following week my long run will be my first 10-miler. I've been looking forward to the "milestone".

This weekend is the weekend to try "new" things. First the running group, but I'm also going to go to this jazz jam session. Most of you know I'm a classically trained singer--though I've sung a bit of jazz and know the style, but this is a first for me. A different coworker of mine is learning the bass and attends this jam session regularly. It's a chance for people wanting to learn more about jazz to get together and play. It should be fun.

In other brief news---I got a call from my sister early this week. It turns out my family is having their own "Get In Shape" Contest. I think there's 9 or 10 people participating. They're each throwing $100 into the pot. My Step-Grandfather (Arnie) will be the stat-keeper. I think it's about a 3 or 4 month long deal. The person who loses the beggest % of their body weight will walk away with $1000. I'm so proud of everyone. I think it's the coolest idea, and such an awesome thing for a family to do together. I even have quite a few people on board to do a 10k with me in October. It's in Astoria, OR. Part of the course is crossing the Astoria-Warrenton bridge (4 mi). It should be a beautiful course!

Rest day tomorrow. 9 miles Sunday. Rest day Monday.

For the Love of Snagglepuss...Slow Down!

Oops--ticked off a fellow runner at the gym last week. This guy who runs about the same time as I do in the morning likes to run really, really fast. The problem is--he's too fast for his own legs--he can't keep up the pace and is constantly propping himself up against the handrails and stomping against the metal protective barrier at the top of the treadmill--panting, sweating, and looking as if he's about to face-plant against whirling rubber. I kept quiet for about 3 weeks, thinking one of the trainers would eventually say something. I couldn't take it anymore. "Ya might wanna take it down a notch, buddy", just sort of slipped out. Oops.

I haven't seen him at the gym since, but that doesn't mean anything really. He didn't really respond--just gave me a look that pretty much said "Shut up and mind your own business". Fair enough, fair enough.

Running updates: Made it successfully through two 8 mile runs. I had to readjust my schedule a bit through the holidays. I still completed all the mileage, just had to move days around here and there. I finished my first 9 mile long-run yesterday evening. I was planning on doing my first outdoor run in quite awhile, but didn't get the time until late in the day, so the gym it was.

Cory and I took a much needed "mini vacation" to Port Townsend Saturday night. We stayed in a cute little hotel with a fantastic view of th Strait of Juan De Fuca. We wound up with some fantastic pictures--I'll try to post a few here. It was a beautiful, sunny winter day. We tried to head home early enough to get a run in during daylight hours, but as we approached the Hood Canal Bridge (really the only option for getting home with the changes in ferry service recently), it had been closed down for "Police Activity". Turns out there was a 'suspicious backpack' left on the bridge so they closed it off to traffic and called in the bomb squad. No, I'm not kidding. We turned around and went back to Port Townsend for lunch. We never found out what was in the backpack, but I was imagining something silly like a sack full of origami flowers or little plastic figurines.

The last few weeks have been very tiring--lots going on, and things are finally slowing down a bit, so hopefully I'll get a chance to post a little more often. I'm havig a hard time remembering the things I wanted to mention--all in all, the runnig is going well. My legs were aching most of the morning after yesterday's run, but no major pain to report or anything I'm concerned about. I'm getting to the point where the length of my daily runs are about where they will remain throughout the rest of my training. What will continue to increase is the length of my long run. That's a good feeling. It encourages me mentally--I know I can continue with this schedule.

...and speaking of encouraging me mentally--Cory has been so supportive, curious, and helps keep me moving towards my goal. I must give a shout-out for that. My schedule can be a little crazy sometimes. Thanks to everyone who keeps me going!

I have been getting up a tad earlier than I was just to get in the couple extra miles some mornngs, but I am sleeping much better (especially the last week) than I have in a really long time. I am tired by 9pm--in bed no later than 10.

Speaking of...it's 'late'. Almost 9:30 and time to start heading towards home. Cory and I are at Cafe' Ladro catching up on e-mails and reading. We just got back from a book signing/ talk by Anu Garg--the creator of Wordsmith.org. Cory can fill you in on the details--but it was a long awaited meeting for him. Not to mention a really fantastic presentation!

Sleep calls.

Nutshell

Lots to catch up on, but I'm in a rush....life has been kind of insanely busy from the holidays 'till now--it's finally beginning to slow down a bit! More soon, I promise. In a nutshell--two 8 milers under my belt--getting so my daily runs are varying between 5 and 7 miles--first 9 miler this Sunday. Things are going well--no injuries to complain of. Some slight knee pain after long runs, but disappears quickly.

Signed up to join a running group once or twice a week--really looking forward to that, and hopefully will do a 10k in the next few weeks.

More to follow shortly....