That Would be Super!

As usual, I’m late to the Lounge’s TIART prompt, but I didn’t want to miss it because it’s such a good one.

“[The] theme is …. Choose Your Superpower. This week’s TIaRT theme comes from Runatthemouth. She suggested it would be fund to find out, ‘what superpower runners would have if they could? Sure, speed would be nice, but it seems like as a group we would get more creative than that. A shield to keep the rain out. The ability to stay warm or cool. I could see triathletes wanting to have Superman’s trick of instantly changing clothes in handy phone booth.’ “

Actually, both of those superpowers would be neat. I’ve seen triathletes in transition areas, and Clark Kent definitely missed an income opportunity. And I’ve missed some definite brainstorms–Betsy’s time-turning idea is brilliant for any mom, not just running-slash-marathoning moms.

Me? I’m going to need a few things.

• Tendinitis-immune knees that would give me the ability to run up and down hills with impunity. I scoff at you, Blue Heron Bridge!
• Some kind of scent that repels dogs. At the moment, it only repels my kin.
• A built-in cooling system for the Florida summer. What scientists tell us is God’s design for our bodies, sweating, is proving inadequate in Florida’s heat and humidity.
• And, finally, and also Florida-related, it wouldn’t hurt to be able to predict with accuracy which way a thunderstorm is moving. Until I moved here, I never knew it could actually be raining on one side of the street and not the other. With Weather Predicting Superpower, I’d know which side of the street the lightning would strike on, thus which side of the street part of town to herd the dogs to (I don’t really want them to get hurt. I don’t dislike dogs, I’m just afraid of them). And when to avoid the bridges.

Alas, God feels He has equipped me with what I need to run my race, even without superpowers or Time Turners.

Twelve tomorrow, hopefully without lightning, dogs, or knee pain.

Miles Per Gallon

Assuming you consumed 1 gallon of liquid food mixed with water, this short survey will tell you approximately how far you could walk before you passed out ran out of gas.

My body gets around 44 miles per gallon!

This is the equivalent of a motorcycle.

How far would you go?

Created by The Car Connection

Ducks!

When I was training for my first half marathon, I saw ducks on my long run training route. I would see them sleeping on the first loop of my fourteen-miler, floating in the water hazards on the golf course. On loop two, they’d be awake, chasing each other above and around the course.

As I started training for this race, in the blistering Florida summer, there were of course no ducks on any of my training courses.

But now, running in delightfully low temps, guess what? Ducks! Quacking (I can’t see them, since I run in the predawn) from the canals along my training route. I guess they don’t like the temperatures in more northern environs–my Connecticut sister says they had snow flurries there yesterday!–and they have returned to our warm Florida coast.

Welcome!

In training news, only seven today as the Boss had to go in to work early. He was very apologetic about asking me to return early but, as I told him, he gets paid to do what he does, and I don’t get paid to run. Yet. Though you’d think Nike would throw a few bucks my way, considering what I stepped out the door wearing today. Okay, some might argue no one could see it. See it, schmee it. Marketing, baby.

Cold Snap

Disclaimer: Runners from cold-weather climates may go ahead and laugh.

Having celebrated my first year of running earlier this summer, I am now experiencing my first running of every season. I ran through my first Florida summer, a feat I was extremely proud of. As October rolls into November, I am beginning to train through what we dare call a fall. I was running at this time last year, but mostly on a treadmill. It’s likely that, on cold days, I stayed in bed on early mornings and chose to get my runs in while the little ones were napping.

Alas, that is no longer a choice–the Lamb, now proudly five, no longer naps. If I’m to get my run in, it’s to be predawn or nothing.

We set a new record low today–50 degrees (please refer to the disclaimer). I shimmied into my new knee pants, base-layer wicking tank, long-sleeve tech top, and cap (an ear-covering hat of some sort would have been better), and set out.

You know, it would not have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the 15 mph winds. It might have been comfortable and downright too warm, after the first mile. If it hadn’t been for the 15mph winds. I wished I had gloves for the first three miles; my hands felt like ice.

But . . . I got my run in. Five miles at race pace. Legs felt good, in cruise control. Though my breath positively hurt for that first half mile or so, I was glad I was out there. I’m a runner.

Runners run.

Call It Research

Went south to visit my parents in Central America and didn’t run for a week. Eight days, actually. It was raining torrentially down there, which made the track unusable, and if you think drivers north of the border are unfriendly to runners, well . . . don’t get me started.* At the tail end of the week I fell prey to whatever stomach virus the kids had been toting around. I lost pretty much all ability to consume solid food, since I couldn’t hold anything, and subsisted on watered-down orange Gatorade. I lost about five pounds, all told.

Here’s hoping all is not lost.

Got back late Saturday night to discover it was raining in the Sunshine State. We were not surprised, but were so delighted to be home we would have welcomed a deluge. Woke on Sunday to find the rains were a front moving through–first one of the season! It meant for the first time, I could run at nine-thirty in the morning and not fear heat stroke. So I did. Got in a lovely four-miler, probably rather faster than I should have, but it felt so good to be out in the open air. Garmie felt rather loose on the second hole, tight on the first, so I may have to look into the quick release kit for my 205.

Today, an easy six. The original schedule calls for intervals this week but as I only have probably two true weeks of training before taper I’ll probably call those off in favor of longish tempos. The legs have to remember half marathon goal pace, after all.

Race day is much closer than I would like, but legs feel undoubtedly fresh, and thank goodness the weather is delightfully cool. Forecast calls for mid-50s tomorrow and upper 40s by Wednesday, and my legs may be bare both days as I own no running tights. I’m sure legs will get warm enough running. Right?

*Just please let me tell you, generally speaking, it is a good thing to have little dashes painted on your roads so people get an idea how many cars it is generally accepted to have on the roads–which, incidentally, is not the same number as actually fit side by side. Also, it is a welcome relief to be driving in a place where we yield to other drivers based on something other than the volume of our car horns. And last, but definitely not least, many, many points to driving in any place where manhole covers are not stolen to be melted down. Lest you missed it, this poses endless risks to cars that may suddenly find themselves not moving forward as they have sunk in this new and unexpected hole, and to any cars that may be behind them, even if they were following at a reasonable distance.

(Lest this diatribe be construed as an attack against the land of my birth, please know I understand there are complex social/economic issues at work here. I lived there but briefly before moving away at age 5, and perhaps this allows me the freedom to think about it somewhat dispassionately. However, I do mourn for its people. They deserve to be better governed.)

Very Quickly . . .

. . . as I don’t have a lot of time before we board a plane bound for the land of my birth . . .

Ran mile repeats again yesterday. Average pace, 7:49, up from 8:01 a few weeks ago.
Fastest mile, 7:18, up from 7:32 last time I did this workout.

All of this on the week recovering from the half.

Good stuff. Off for a week. Will try to run as much as possible.

Happy running, everyone.

Sweaty Summer Runs=Victory!

Worldwide Half Marathon: Think Global, Run Local

Time to test the training.

Rose early Saturday, Garmin charged, and dressed in my tested racing attire–black Nike shorts, gold top, white hat, Thorlo socks, Adrenaline shoes with New Balance sausage laces. I don’t always use Body Glide on training runs but I do on race day. Took the time to take most of a pack of Sport Beans to get fueled up.

Sarah wanted to run together. I told her my goal was to hold nine-minute miles and she was up for the challenge. She said if she couldn’t hold the pace she’d fall back. I didn’t think it would be a problem; she and I had run six nine-minute miles earlier in the year, but I told her she should feel free to drop off if she needed to.

We met at the running store at 5:45 and set off for about a half-mile warm up. Then I started my Garmin and we took off, running north along A1A. We were definitely breathing harder than we usually do when we run together, but some Garmin-watching proved we were holding pace well, and even making small talk. Sarah said she’d like to run seven, if she could hold the pace. We turned around at the 3.5 mark so I could drop her off. At that point, we had just over an hour on the clock, and I knew if I could hold the pace I could get in under the two-hour mark. I said goodbye and headed off for my somewhat lonelier miles.

I broke into my Sport Beans at mile 8 only to make an awful, though highly instructive, discovery: I can’t eat Sport Beans during a race. I’m breathing too hard to chew. I made myself gulp down about half the package, which I somehow managed to do without choking, because I knew temps were in the mid-70s when I started and I needed the electrolytes or I’d crash. But it was a rough go, and after about mile 10 I just held on to the half empty bag.

The original strategy, as shared in the last post, was to hold a steady pace for the first ten miles and then push the pace. I hadn’t counted on life stacking things against me; because of our small group meeting, I slept about six hours the night before, and had a less-than-ideal dinner. Picking up the pace at mile 10 was not happening. In fact, at mile 10, I wished dearly I’d asked Sarah to pace me for the last seven miles instead of the first seven, or that one of the triathletes training along my route would ride along me to keep me on pace. But I also knew that race conditions would have me with no pacers whatsoever; holding my pace is my responsibility alone. I gritted my teeth and held on; my splits prove I didn’t fall off pace. At mile 12 I found what I had in the tank and picked up the pace what little I could, and crossed the imaginary finish line at 1:55:53.

My splits:
mile 1–9:14
mile 2–8:57
mile 3–8:57
mile 4–8:56
mile 5–9:07
mile 6–9:09
mile 7–8:59
mile 8–8:43
mile 9–8:46
mile 10–8:36
mile 11–8:43
mile 12–8:43
mile 13–8:20
mile 13.1–8:02

Look at that. Instead of thirteen miles at nine-minute pace, I only ran the first seven hovering near that pace–only three of them above pace–and really did pick up the pace after that, though I didn’t feel like I had. And this was under somewhat adverse conditions.

I’m really looking forward to my race now, though I’m going to miss running with a friend.

Today, my legs are a little sore, but a good-tired-feeling. Looking forward to a nice easy run tomorrow.

By the way, if you’re a runner (and maybe even if you’re not) you ought to visit the Worldwide Festival of Races. Runners have posted their race reports for every distance–5k, 10k, and half marathon–and you can see their pictures, read their race reports, and visit their blogs. We had over 1000 runners participate in the third running of the Worldwide Half. And put this race on your calendar for next year. You can sign up for any of the three distances–or run two of them back to back Saturday and Sunday. It’s a great event. Think global, run local!

Tapering

That’s right. I’m supposed to be tapering for the WW Half Marathon.

With that in mind, I pushed my speedwork up to Tuesday, running four miles at goal half marathon pace. Didn’t feel quite as easy as I had hoped, unfortunately. However, I was encouraged that even as tired as I was, though I felt like I was struggling to hold that pace at or below 9-minute miles, when I pushed for that last mile, I was able to get an 8:08 pace. I’m trying to teach my body to run tired, to find the energy in adverse conditions, and I hope it will pay off.

Took today off. Plan to run an easy four tomorrow, take Friday off, and run my 13.1 under two hours on Saturday. My strategy: to start at a 9:30, 9:20 pace and pick it up in the first miles until I settle into a 9:10-9-minute pace, then try to push it, if I’m strong enough, at the 10-mile mark, letting it all hang out at the 12-mile mark. Even if I hold no better than a 9:10 pace for the first twelve miles, my kick should be able to bring me in under 2 hours, though I’d prefer not to have to rely on it.

That’s the plan, anyway.

Wildlife Count

raccoons–3
armadillos–1
opossums–1
bunnies–2
owls–1 (heard, not seen)
hawks–1 (!)

And, driving across the state yesterday, one beautiful bald eagle. Wow!