2 months down

The last day of February I am reflecting on the last two month's of marathon training.  It has been fun.  The training plan is genius.  I feel good.  The warm winter has enabled me to run outside all winter.  Only three weeks until the first day of spring.  I feel like we have been robbed of our winter.  I like all my seasons.  I like winter and snow.  I like to get out my cross country skis at least once a year.  We could still get snow but the forecast for the next couple of weeks looks too warm.  When I say we have missed out on winter many people think I'm crazy (including Jim).

February - 121 miles.  Year to date - 231.5 miles

Today is rest since I did today's easy run yesterday.

Lots of little bugs

Today the temperature was back to the 60s.  Saturday I was dressed for winter.  Today it's back to shorts.  With the warm weather there were swarms of little bugs.  As I was running down the trail I was passing a group of walkers that were swatting away bugs.  Then a couple of bicycles came by and commented that the bugs bother walkers too.  Of course they do.  Then I got to thinking.  Are the bugs worse if you are walking or running or if you are going fast on a bicycle.  Similar question to whether you will get wetter in the rain if you run fast or slow.  I thought about this the rest of the run and did not come to a good conclusion.  Then I googled it.  There was a formula that went like this:
N nuA nVA d V = + ( T F )( )  I have concluded that if you move through a swarm of little bugs you will end up eating a few.

Racing

There are a lot of races out there.  If you wanted to you could race every weekend.  You could race a couple of times a weekend.  Yesterday was the Castlewood Cup Race.  Earlier in the week Kathy asked me if I wanted to run a 5K this morning "just for fun".  At that time I thought it would be fun but decided to wait and see how I felt after yesterday's race.  Racing two days in a row may be a little crazy.  I felt pretty good after the race yesterday.  This morning I woke up at 6:30 and thought about signing up for the race this morning.  That thought did not last long.  I rolled over and slept another hour.  I looked up Kathy's results on line and she did great.  Now I feel like a slacker.

Jim and I went to the Art Museum and then the Zoo.  As we were walking up and down the steps in the art museum Jim said his legs were sore and he would not have been able to run a 5K this morning.  I felt like I could have run a 5K but I am a slacker.

On Your Left

Today was the Castlewood Cup 15K Trail Race.  This is one of my favorite races of the year.  It is also one of the most challenging.  There are three big hills in the woods.  This year the course was in great condition.  The trail crew did a fantastic job prepping the course and there was no mud, ice or snow.  The temperature was about 30 at race start which is great running weather.  Kathy, Jim, Jen, John and I all ran.  Kathy and I earned age group award which were fleece blankets.  It was my fastest Castlewood Cup time in 5 years.

In this race there are many places where the trail is single track wide.  If you want to pass someone you say, "on your left."  Then they know you want to pass on the left.  If someone wants to pass you they let you know and you move over so they can pass on the left.  Today I heard "on your left" quite a few times, but I also said, "on you left" many times.  I passed a lot of people in the last 2 miles.  After running 7 miles of hills the last 2 are fairly flat but the legs are so tired at that point.  It is good to say, "on your left" more than you hear it.

I talk a lot about running and the training plan.  This is just one component of marathon preparation.  Nutrition is also very important.  Extremely important is sleep.  Jim and I decided it is time to buy a new mattress  to get better sleep.  This afternoon we went to several mattress stores and tested mattresses.  After running 15K we were tired but neither of us fell asleep in the store.  We didn't buy a mattress today but will soon.

New Shoes

My new shoes came!  I ordered a pair of Brooks Glycerin online.  I have had many pairs of Brooks and the 8.5 Medium always fits so I feel confident ordering them online.  I would not order any other shoes without trying them on.  These will be my high mileage work horses.  I was reading that it is good to rotate through various shoes instead of running in the same pair every run.  I will wear my Ghost, Cascadia and the new Glycerin throughout training.  I will occasionally throw in the Launch.  I am anxious to try the new shoes out.  Today is a rest day.  Tomorrow is the Castlewood Cup 15K Race.  I am not wearing my new shoes for that race because it involve running through a creek.  When Jim saw the new shoes he said, "Do you have as many pairs as Kathy now?"

Today while I was working Jim and Kathy were at Castlewood helping prepare the trails for tomorrow's race.  Jim was gone five hours.  I hope everyone appreciates their hard work making the trails safe.  Jim said that Kathy swings a mean hatchet.

This is how we taper

Today was an easy run.  When I asked Jim if he wanted to join me he said he was tapering.  We do have the Castlewood Cup race on Saturday.  I explained that tapering doesn't mean not running, it mean running slower and shorter.  He tapered by not running.  He did spend the afternoon in his vineyard trimming the vines.  I tapered by doing an easy run on the Stinging Nettle trail.  It was another nice warm day.  I have worn shorts more this February than I can remember in the past.

Today's quote from Finland:  Age does not give you good sense, it only makes you go slowly

Women are from Venus Men are from Mars

Sometimes I run with Jim, sometimes I run with Kathy and sometimes I run alone.  Today Jim went with me for my easy run.  I love Jim and I love running with Jim but there are difference between running with Jim and running with Kathy:
1)  Jim does not talk when he runs.  He will answer yes or no questions but he just runs.  Kathy and I talk the whole time we are running.
2)  When Jim's nose runs he executes a snot rocket.  Kathy carries a Kleenex to blow her nose into.
3)  Jim pretends that he doesn't like running.  Kathy likes running.
Runs with Jim and Kathy are both great, they are different but great.

Today's run was 5.3 miles on the Al Foster Trail.

My Support System

For any goal it helps to have a support system.  I am thankful for lots of support in my journey toward running a marathon:
1)  Jim is my biggest supporter.  He runs with me on shorter runs.  He encourages me.  He never complains when I need to leave 3 or 4 hours for a long run.  He is my biggest fan.
2)  Kathy is my friend, coach, slug sister, training partner and shoe guru.  She put together our amazing training plan.  She make a long run seem short.  She make running a marathon seem fun.
3)  My sports bra is a great source of support.  I don't know what women did before the sports bra was invented.
I have a great appreciation for my support system.

Since I did today's workout yesterday.  I took today as a day of rest.  I did some stretch and strength. I continue to work on abs strength.   I don't know what is more difficult running up a hill for 80 seconds or holding a plank for 80 seconds.

A not so ugly run

Today is a holiday for some people.  My company does not celebrate Presidents Day; therefore, it was a work day for me.

Since yesterday was a rest day, I decided to move tomorrow's hill workout up to today.  It was a nice warm day and I was feeling good.  I went for a quick warm up through the neighborhood.  The warm up was ugly.  My legs were feeling tired.  Every step was an effort.  After the warm up I had a discussion with  myself.  I could quit and save the hills for another day when my legs felt stronger or just plow through a really ugly workout.  I decided that I would go ahead and do the hills.

Once I started the hills my legs magically started feeling stronger.  This week's hill workout was 80 seconds up, then jog down 8 times.  You would think that a grown women with a college degree could count to eight; however, somewhere in the process I couldn't remember if I was on the 5th or 6th repeat.  I did an extra to make sure I got in the full 8 repeats.  I could set my watch to count for me but that shouldn't be necessary because I can count to eight.  When I was done I felt good.  It was not as ugly as I anticipated.

I have determined the altimeter on my Garmin is not functioning correctly.  When I do a run then check the elevation on the computer it does not seem to be measuring the elevation changes accurately.  

When I was running there was a kid on a motorized scooter zipping by me.  When I see kids on any kind of motorized toy, I always think to myself they should be pedaling a bike or running around.  At least he was outside on a beautiful day.

Now I am 40% done with my training schedule.  I love having a goal.  

Howell Island

Today was an open day since I did the long run yesterday.  Jim and I went to Howell Island Conservation Area in Chesterfield to hike.  We walked about 4 miles on the trail.  There are 8 miles of trails there.  It would be a good place for an easy run.  The terrain is flat.  The run could also be extended by continuing on the levee trail.

After a long run I take inventory of my body parts.  Legs feel good.  Knees feel fine.  Ankles feel great.  Feet have some sore spots.  I need to pay close attention to them.  I have a high tolerance for pain and can easily ignore aches.  I had a doctor once tell me, "Little hurts become big hurts if you don't take care of them".  I need to pay close attention to my feet.  I have new shoes but it may be time for different shoes.

Seventeen

Today was a seventeen mile run.  That seems like a far way which would take a long time.  Seventeen miles is not that far when you are running with a friend.  Kathy and I met and nine o'clock and ran 17 miles in a little over three hours.  The time just flies by when you have someone to chat with.

Kathy has run 17 marathons.  She is the brains behind the operation.  She put the training plan together and gives me tips and guidance.  I have run one marathon and walked one marathon.  I think with our training plan we will be ready in May,

After the run I stopped by Kathy's house for some puppy love.  She has four of the most loving, sweet, funny dogs.  Since Dexter left us to live with TJ and Pat we have been dogless.  It is good for me to get some dog kisses.  Maisey (the lab) is the best kisser.  She likes sweaty runners and spent a lot of time licking my legs.  Sully (the bassett) is just comical.  He makes me laugh just watching him.  Buddy (the spaniel) is all round good boy.  Then there is Tyler (the golden) who is a big old teddy bear.

Today's run put me over the 200 mile mark in my marathon training.

Warm weather in February

February has been very warm.  Today was close to seventy degrees.  Since I ran yesterday and will do my long run tomorrow, today was rest.  The weather was so nice that I really wanted to run but I know the importance of rest.  Instead I did some stretch and strength.

One of the exercised I do is balancing on one foot for 30 seconds.  This is pretty easy until I try to do it with my eyes closed.  It is amazing how the eyesight affects balance.

Even Numbers

I don't consider myself to be a perfectionist.  I like to do things well.  I like to exceed.  But perfection is too lofty of a goal.  I do like even numbers.  When my Garmin reads "4.9 miles" I will run another tenth to make it 5.0.  I don't think that the tenth of a mile will make any difference in my training but I like even numbers.  I moved tomorrow's easy run up to today because it fit better into my schedule. I went to the Al Foster Trail.  When I got back to the parking lot my Garmin read 4.7 miles.  I could have stopped at that point because the workout was for 4 to 5 miles.  I ran another .3 to make it an even 5.  Does that make we weird?

Running at Castlewood

Last week I ran at Castlewood.  It was 30 degrees and very windy.  There were two cars in the parking lot.  Today Jim suggested we go to Castlewood.  It is ten days until the Castlewood Cup Race and Jim is getting serious about training.  Today it was 47 degrees.  There were a couple of dozen cars in the parking lot.  What a difference 17 degrees makes.  We ran about 2/3 of the Castlewood cup course.  I completed 7 miles at a 11:31 average pace.  It was a great day for running.

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day.  I told Jim that it would be romantic to go on a run together.  He thought I was nuts.  Since I did today's workout yesterday, I decided to do stretch and strength today.  I continue to work on upper body strength, abs and flexibility.

Today my slug sister who is also my coach left me a present to remind myself of the goal -  a cute little flying pig.  She also gave me socks for my tired feet.  She must  have read my mind because my feet have been tired lately.

70 seconds is a long time

I did my long run on Saturday and rested on Sunday so I moved the hill work out to today.  Today the workout was a warm up (went to the Al Foster with Jim and ran an easy 3.2 miles).  Then came back home for the hills because Jim doesn't like hills.  There is a big hill up to the subdivision that works well for hill work.  The workout called for 70 seconds up hill then jog down 7 times.  70 seconds is a very, very long time when you are running up a hill.  It is a very short time when you are jogging down.

I am a numbers person.  I talk to myself when I am running alone.  I tell myself I am a quarter done or halfway there, etc.  Seven is an odd number for a repeat.  Seven makes me do math in my head while I am running.  After one hill I am 14% complete.  Even number intervals are much easier to calculate.

I am six weeks into an 18 week training plan.  33% of the way there.  

The slugs are out

I have seen the snow geese heading north.  Do they know something the groundhog doesn't?  My crocus are blooming in my yard.  Today there was a slug on one of the flower stems.

The slugs are out crawling and running and doing everything they need to do to get from point A to point B.  That is except this slug on my flower who was motionless.  Today was a rest day since yesterday was a long run day.  Jen came out with Charlie and we went for a hike today.  I was slightly faster than a slug.

Running on a country road

Today we are visiting Jim's parents.  They live in the country.  I ran 15 miles on country roads - some gravel and some asphalt.  Jim was my support crew.  He road his bike beside me and carried extra water.  He also handed me pieces of granola bars when I needed a snack.  I have been training with GU shot blocks but forgot to pack them.  I did fine with granola bars.  In the country everyone has dogs.  Many of the dogs are not restrained.  Jim's most important job was to protect me from dogs.  I like dogs but respect dogs I don't know.  Most of the dogs stayed in their yard.  There were a few that came out in the street.  Jim was my hero.  He kept his bike between the dogs and me.  One dog bit Jim's sock but he was fine.  It was a beautiful day about 70 degrees.  Besides dogs I saw horses, cows, goats and chickens.  The horses and cows seemed curious about the crazy lady running down the street.  They would come to the fence and stare at me.  I had a great run.  The route had some hills.  I kept a steady pace and felt strong at the end.  I ran the second half faster than the first half.  Jim was the best crew ever.

Run to the port a potty

Today there was an easy run on the schedule.  I took a lunch break and Jim went with me.  The Al Foster Trail is the best place for me to go for a quick easy run.  We ran to the port a potties.  There was a man there cleaning them.  I told him how much we appreciate what  he does.  He pumps them out, then he puts some fresh water in with some blue stuff.  Then he rinses off the floor and wipes everything down.  It is clean and fresh when he is done.  I told him we were very thankful.  He said he doesn't get much thanks.  Today was an easy 4.5 miles with a potty break.

My friends from Finland

I work for Nokia which is headquartered in Finland.  I talk to  people in Finland quite often.  They sometimes share their Finnish sayings.  Today's saying of the day, "You have slippery skis but you mustn't turn off the track."  I have rewritten this to: "You have muddy shoes but you mustn't turn off the trail."

Today was a rest day.  It was also National Pizza Day.  I did some stretching and ate pizza.

Only two months until the Go St Louis Half Marathon.

Twilight

When I am going to run in the afternoon I usually check to see what time the sunsets.  Most of the trails close 30 minutes after sunset.  They call this twilight.  After the sun sets it is still light because the sun is just below the horizon but it is still illuminating the sky.  There are actually three different twilights.  The one we are most accustom to is civil twilight which is about 30 minutes after sunset.  Then after that is nautical twilight which is about 30 minutes after civil twilight.  After another 30 minutes comes astronomical twilight.  Here are the twilight times for today:

Sunset:                              5:31
Civil Twilight:                  5:59  (When the human eye can clearly distinguish objects)
Nautical Twilight              6:30  (When sailors can navigate based on the horizon)
Astronomical Twilight:     7:01  (After this astronomers can see the most stars)

Twilight depends on how far the sun is below the horizon.  Civil twilight is when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Nautical twilight is from 6 to 12 degrees below the horizon.  Astronomical twilight is 12 to 18 degrees below the horizon.  After that it is officially night.

If the parks system would go by astronomical twilight then we would have an extra hour to run trails in the evening.

In July when Kathy and I ran the Get Your Butt Kicked Race from 6 to midnight we did not need our headlights until long after sunset.  We must be sailors or astronomers.

Today's run was the Castlewood Cup Course which is a 15K.  I started about 4:30.  Shorts weather yesterday, snow flurries today.  It was 30 degrees.  I was dressed for 30 degrees but I was not dressed for 30 degrees with a wind chill of 19.  I was cold most of the run.  Due to the fact that I had to go by civil twilight, I only ran about 6 miles.  I did not want to get stuck on the trails in the dark.

Run in two parts

Today Jim went with me to the Al Foster Trail.  We ran 4 miles.  Jim led the way.  He does not like the long distances but he pushes me on short runs.  Each mile was a negative split with and overall average of 8:50.  The last mile was 8:26.  Then we drove home.  Jim went to barbecue hamburgers while I did the hill portion of the run.  There is a good hill into the subdivision.  I ran one minute up  hill then jogged back down 6 times.  Then a little cool down jog for a total of 1.5 miles.  Total today was 5.5 miles.  Jim made a delicious dinner of barbecued hamburgers and roasted vegetables - Brussels sprouts, broccoli, sweat potatoes, mushrooms and onions.

Today the temperature got to the 60s.  On a warm day little bugs hatch.  We both ate a few bugs on the run today.
Note to self:  Keep your mouth closed when running through a swarm of bugs.

Only Three Month

Only three months until the marathon.  The main goal to to make it to the starting line.  If I can make it to the starting line trained and healthy then making it to the finish line will be no problem.  The goal is to use the next three months to make sure I make it to the starting line.

Today is a rest / strength and stretch day.

Superbowl Sunday

Today is Superbowl Sunday.  Jim's brother and sister-in-law came yesterday afternoon.  They spent the night.  We had a good time with them.  We always enjoy their visits.  They left about one today.  I laced up my shoes and headed to Sherman Beach.  I ran the dirt trail over the Castlewood State Park. I think everyone in west county thought it would be a good idea to go for a hike at Castlewood before the Superbowl game.  The park was packed with hikers, dogs, runners, and bikes.  It was a beautiful day in the 50s.

All my long runs are based on 4 minutes run and 1 minutes walk.  I find that this is physically and mentally easier than trying the run with no breaks.  Today I ran/walked 12 miles at a pace of 11.32.

Music for today's run:  The Beatles.

Snowball Series - Last Race

Today was the last race of the Snowball Series.  It was a four mile race at Jefferson Barracks.  The course was on asphalt trails which were quite hilly.  No big hills but a lot of up and down.  I have concluded that I am not good on hills.  I finished in 34:28 which averaged 8:37 mile pace.  This is not bad for hills.  I won my age group for today's race and also won my age group for the series.  I won a trophy and a small blender.

I liked this series because the races were each in a different park.  This gave me an opportunity to run in places I don't usually go.  We were fortunate with the weather this series.  In the winter you can get anything.  Today was about 25 degrees and windy.  We didn't have any super cold races or snow and ice.  I met my age group competition.  She was very nice.  I have met so many nice people through running.

My Garmin

Today was a rest - stretch and strength day.  It is a good day to charge my Garmin.  I have been known to let the battery run down.  I also let the battery run down on my phone, tablet and other rechargeable items.  I have come to find that nothing really bad happens if electronics run out of battery.  I can still run and go on with my life without them.

I am on my second Garmin.  My first Garmin was a Forerunner 305.  Several years ago Jim bought me a Garmin 405CX.  At that time I handed down my old Garmin to Jim.  (I think that is why he bought me a new one.)  After years of use the wrist strap broke.  The original strap was plastic.  I replaced it with a soft velcro strap.  The plastic strap would not tightened around my skinny wrist so I always had to wear a sweat band under it so it would not bounce around on my wrist.  With the new band I don't have to wear a sweat band under it.  I think I like it.

My Garmin does a lot of fancy things.  I use it for the basic distance and pace.  I am going to make a goal to read the instructions and figure out what else it does.

Ground Hog Day

Today is a very important day for runners.  Today the ground hog tells us if we are going to run for 6 more weeks in winter weather or have an early spring.  The official ground hog in Puxatawney predicts 6 more weeks of winter.  St. Louis Zoo used to have their own ground hog prediction but their ground hog got very grumpy if they woke it from hibernation to check the weather.  They decided to let it sleep.  They used a pot bellied pig a couple of years which is a kind of hog.  It was not very good at predicting the weather.  So far winter has been fine for running.  There was only one day where the temperature was 10 and windy that I did not go outside for a run.  I am ready for 6 more weeks of winter.

Today there was an easy run on the schedule.  I had a very busy day at work and could not get away at lunch for a run.  Then I ended up working until 8 p.m.  At that point my choices were to run in the dark or exercise inside.  I spent 40 minutes on my Nordic Track which equates to 4 miles.  I would much rather exercise outside.

Sometimes You Have It

Sometimes you have it.  The run is going fabulous.  The legs feel strong and powerful.  The mind is pushing you forward.  You feel like you are running on air.  Today was NOT one of those days.  I felt like I was wearing concrete boots and running through peanut butter.  Today's run was hills.  After yesterday's aerobic run my legs felt like spaghetti.  When I find the going tough I recite a mantra to myself to keep myself going.  Today's mantra was "you will not die before the next mailbox."  I did finish 6 miles with hill repeats.  I finished with a big smile on my face because I succeeded.  Sometimes you have it and sometimes you don't but you can still push through.