Failed 20-Miler

On Saturday I was supposed to run 20 miles according to my training schedule. In reality, I ran about 11 of those and had to walk the remaining 9. This was entirely my own fault. See, I had been out at the going away party of a friend of mine on Friday night and, while I managed to curb my alcohol intake, I still managed to stay out until 2am.  Needless to say, I wasn't thinking quite straight when my alarm went off at 7 for the longest run of my life up to this point.

My first thought when I woke up was "all right, let's just get this thing over with", so I wasn't exactly a fount of positivity. Still, I could have at least had the presence of mind to eat a little something before I headed out, but I was feeling spiteful and maybe a bit self-destructive, so I just decided that I was just going to have to suffer through a 20-mile run on an empty stomach.

In point of fact, I couldn't even go 2 miles on an empty stomach, and before I knew it, I found myself outside a gas station scarfing down a Snickers bar (omgittastedsogood). That seemed to hit the spot and, my mood much improved, I found myself actually starting to enjoy the morning's run.

About 5 miles in, the stomach cramps started. I tried to ignore it as long as I could, but by the time I got to mile 10, each bounce sent me into pure agony. Eventually I decided to take a break and walk for a mile. Walking meant less bouncing, which meant less pain. By mile 11.5 I was ready to start running again, but barely made it through mile 13 before the stomach cramps flared up again. I decided to cut my losses at that point and just walk the rest of the way home, dejected and feeling like a bit of a failure.

But hey, at least I didn't give up entirely and get the train back. My legs still hurt today, and I've got the kind of chafing you only get from long-distance running.

Less blogging, more running

Big changes are afoot for me at the moment, which leaves little motivation for me to keep up this blog with any regularity. At least I can say, though, that my motivation to run is staying fairly well intact. This weekend I'm scheduled to run 20 miles. Given what I felt like after I did 17 miles three weeks ago, I can't say as I'm exactly looking forward to it. At least the chafing from last time has pretty much healed. I just have to remember those strategically placed band-aids, they seem to help.

I can't say that I'm actually any faster, but my long runs seem to be averaging about 12.5 minutes per mile, which I'm ok with. My half-marathon pace last about 12:26, so running 17 miles at 12:30 is really nothing to sneeze at.

The 14-mile run I did while I was visiting my parents was probably my worst run. My pace was over 13 minutes per mile, but it was also boiling hot, so I have to cut myself a bit of slack there. Thankfully the weather is supposed to be cloudy and rainy tomorrow morning, which makes running distances much more pleasant.

I ran the 17-mile run in London on the middle weekend of the Olympics. I made the mistake of going through Hyde Park where there was a giant screen showing the events, plus there was a race of some sort going right through the middle of the park. I gave up for a bit and just walked through the crowd. By the time I got into Belgravia the crowds were driving me crazy and I may or may not have screamed at a group of 12-year-olds who had no concept of sharing public spaces. Not one of my finest moments. However, once I got down to the Thames, I had calmed down significantly and the crowds at Westminster didn't bother me one bit.

Tomorrow's run will be right here in and around Heidelberg. I'm sure there will be some rude Germans that will annoy me, but I'll probably annoy them even more when I disregard the Don't Walk signs in an effort to keep my pace up.

Swimming

Today's training:
Swimming
Distance: 1 km
Time: ca. 45 mins

Just as I am a slow runner and a slow biker, I am also a slow swimmer. But really, how does anyone swim fast at all? More importantly, how do you breathe? I really just can't breathe well when I'm swimming. Someday when I get this marathon behind me, I'm going to get myself some lessons where I can hopefully learn how to breathe when I swim. 

A little faster

Today's training:
Run/walk 30 mins
Distance: 2.9 miles
Pace: 10:20 minutes per mile

Sweet! This is much better than Tuesday, I'm please to say. This week I've been waking up at 6:30 to get a run in before work, and I think it's the best way for me to proceed in the summer months when I'm usually too hot to move. Besides, when it's already light at 4:30, 6:30 doesn't seem like all that big a deal. Obviously that will change come August, but for now, it's what's working.

Back in the saddle

Today's training:
Cycling to and from work
Time: 106 mins
Distance: 15.44 mi
Pace: 8.7 mph, 6.89 minutes/mile


I like cycling to work, even though having to shower and change once I get to work can be a bit of a pain. Still, I'm lucky that my place of employment offers showering facilities.

As for my pace, well, we all knew I was slow. And I'm trying not to think about how there are people who could run from my house to my work in less time than it takes me to bike it.

Back again!

Greetings everyone!

I'm back from my vacation in DC and NY. After the high of finishing 7.5 miles at an 11-minute average pace, I returned to Germany and subsequently got hit by a one-two punch of illness and jetlag that kept me from running for the past two weeks (save for 2 frankly miserable Sunday runs that I don't want to talk about). Today I finally started back up again, and it might have been slow, but at least I did it. I was seriously worried I wouldn't.

Today's training
Run/walk 30 mins
Distance: 2.75 miles
Average pace: 10:54/mile

Now, that looks pretty pathetic compared to what I did in NYC when I kept that kind of pace but was able to go for almost 3x as long, but I'm still trying to stay positive and not get discouraged. Tomorrow I'm going to bike into work, weather permitting.

Training from Thursday, May 24: Running 30 mins Pace: I forget, but something between 10:30 and 11:00 mins/mile Training today: Running 30 mins Avg pace: 9:59 mins/mile Distance: 3.03 miles So far this vacation, I've managed to miss only 1 workout, and that is because DC is a friggin' sauna. Thankfully I was able to work out in a gym last Thursday, but you can see that my pace still wasn't all that great. Now I'm in New York where it's cooled down a bit do that I can run in the morning, and what a difference!

Today's training: Running 30 mins
Distance: 2.35 miles
Average pace: 12:48


Greetings from Washington DC! I have actually succeeded in actually working out while on vacation, which I'm very proud of. Not so proud of my performance, which was even slower than usual.  I attribute that to the three H's of doom: heat, humidity, and hills. Ugh.

Oh well though, the important thing was that I got out there and did it.

Today's training:
100 squats
50 knee pushups
This ab workout


Holy mother is it humid outside. I'm surprised my hair has only gone to twice its normal volume. Today's strength training wasn't particularly strenuous, but I was still sweating like a pig by the time I was done just because of the damn humidity. I can't wait until I get to DC tomorrow where I'm sure it's going to be even worse.

Speaking of which, yes, I'm going to be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, in DC and New York visiting friends and family. Hopefully I'll find the time to keep up my training to a certain extent. At least the jetlag will work in my favor and I might be able to squeeze in some early morning workouts.

Today's training:
Run/walking 6.52 miles
Average pace: 12'19"
Total time: 1h20'

Ok, today I totally earned my Slow Runner moniker. I'm never fast in the morning anyway, but this was ridiculous. For the first 4 miles, I was struggling a lot, but managing  to keep a relatively quick average pace (~11'30"/mile) while alternating 3 minutes of running and 1 minutes of walking. Then I was so tired that I switched to 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking and kept at that for a little while. Then I got to the point where I just didn't want to move my legs fast anymore, so I walked for about a 3/4 mile before going back to 2 minutes running, 1 walking for the last mile.

It was seriously exhausting, and disheartening. Six-and-a-half miles is barely a quarter of what I'll have to do for the marathon and it was HARD. I've run more than this before, without walk breaks even. Why is it so difficult now? I guess part of it is the heat. I managed to get myself up and out of bed by 10 to start running, but the heat was already getting pretty bad. I guess I'll just have to get used to waking up early in the summer months. That shouldn't be so hard considering the ungodly hour the sun's coming up at these days.

The other thing I was reminded of was my first 5-mile run when I was preparing for the half-marathon last year. That was another seriously hard run, I think again because of the heat and also because my body was having to get used to longer runs. Maybe this is just that same problem again.

No matter, for my next long run, I'm definitely going to start right away with taking walk breaks every 2 minutes instead of 3. That's what Jeff Galloway says I should be doing anyway at my snail's pace.

Today's training:

Run/walking for 30 minutes (treadmill)

Average pace: 10:46/mile

Distance: 2.79 miles

My legs were feeling a lot better today, but it was a struggle to keep up my pace. After yesterday's bike ride and generally staying up too late all week, I was pretty damn tired today. Tomorrow is a day off both from work and training, so I'm hoping I'll be able to recuperate in time for Sunday's long run of 6.5 miles. 

Spring bike ride

Today's training:
Cycling (20 miles)

Went for a great bike ride yesterday. You couldn't have asked for better weather, and the hills have just gone this lush green, a true harbinger of summer. Cycling is definitely tougher for my hamstrings and glutes than the usual slow running I do, especially when there are hills (we stayed by the river, but there were still a few places with a bit of an incline).

Today's training:
Run/walking for 30 minutes (treadmill)
Average pace: 10:46/mile
Distance: 2.79 miles


The side of my lower leg felt all right during the run, but now I'm starting to feel something in my Achilles tendon on the same leg. This might be sympathy pain for my friend P who just snapped his last week (I'm cringing just thinking about it). Oh God, I really, really don't want anything to happen to my Achilles tendon. Like, really. P said the sound it made was almost worse than the pain. Almost.

I'm going to wrap my arms around myself and rock back and forth for awhile now.

Swimming

Today's training: Swimming 1000m


Swimming is hard. I still haven't figured out the whole "breathing" thing. I don't think you can really count the pitiful gasps I make between strokes as full-fledged breaths. It  would, like, be an insult to the entire respiratory process or something. Things got better once I managed to get into a rhythm, but man was I beat after I got through those thousand  meters. Including my many breaks, the whole thing took me about 45 minutes.

I went with my friend A who got yelled at for getting scratched by some lady doing the backstroke who said "You have to watch out for me! I HAVE A NECK INJURY!". I guess pool rage is a thing now.

Speaking of necks, along with breathing, one of my biggest challenges today was keeping my neck in line with my body while doing the crawl. It's really tempting to keep your head elevated because it seems like it'll help you get your head out of the water to breathe, but I can personally confirm that this is counterproductive. Not only does it make you less hydrodynamic*, it really hurts the crap out of your neck. Maybe I should go and condescendingly explain that to screeching backstroke lady if I see her again.

In other news, my lower right leg seems to be feeling better, so I think I should be ready to try another run tomorrow.







_________________________________________________________________________________
*I thought I might have been making up that word, but it turns out to be real. Score! 

The current state of things.

Here's the rundown of things as they stand right now:
Most recent run: Friday May 11, 2012
Time: 30 mins
Distance: 2.87 miles
Pace: 10:32 per mile
Current magic mile time: 9:27
Issues: Pulled peroneus brevis muscle in right leg (self-diagnosed).

Strength training today:
40 knee pushups
80 squats
This ab workout

In which I am most definitely a tortoise and not even a little bit of a hare

Aesop said that slow and steady wins the race, but I beg to differ. The constant, plodding pace I had in my first half-marathon last year yielded me an 832nd place finish. As I'm sure you know, 832nd place is not exactly what you call a "win", and while I'm proud of myself for finishing at all, my time of 2:40:20 isn't really something to cheer about. This year, I'm training for a full marathon and if I can sustain my current training pace, I'll be lucky to finish in under five and a half hours. Judging by the published marathon results of a few local races, I'm setting myself up to come in dead last in my age group if not overall.

Look, I usually view my slowness with good humor, but the very real prospect of coming in dead last in one of these races kind of scares the crap out of me. I'm vain and competitive enough to view a last place finish as a personal humiliation (even though I don't think poorly of other last-place finishers because it's a marathon FFS and just getting to the end is pretty awesome). I figure, therefore, that it's good for me to aim to not just improve my endurance, but also my speed, at least by a little bit.

The problem is that my zeal has already laid me up with an injury. My 30-minute run on Friday was one of my best, with an average speed of 10:32/mile. Unfortunately, I had a bit of trouble hopping up a curb and managed to pull the muscles on the outside of my lower leg (the peroneus muscles) during that lightning fast, gazelle-like sprint through the sleepy morning streets and will probably be out of commission for the rest of the week. This sucks because the weather happens to be unbelievably beautiful and not too hot at the moment, i.e. perfect for trying to run fast.

To make up for not being able to run, I'm going to try and do a bit of swimming or other cross-training (did I mention that I'm a horrible swimmer, too?). Plus I should probably do a bit of strength training to help me with my posture and stamina. This blog is going to serve as my training log. I hope to visit it often. Maybe other people will join me for the (slow, sweaty) ride.