Training Archive: MaryannIn the 7 days ending 2007-12-15:
| [csv] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| « | » |
| » now | ||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||
| S | M | T | W | H | F | S | |||||||
Saturday Dec 15 | ||
| Event: Valley Forge Battle to the End O' Marathon | ||
| Orienteering race 5:13:47 [5]*** 16.08 mi (19:31 / mi) +370m 11:19 / km | |
| 24c shoes: Saucony Triumph 3 | ||
| I finished the half marathon!!!! I am so thrilled to have finished it. Though I did keep positive thoughts about finishing it, I knew from looking at past history and the fact that I haven't trained for anything nearly that long, that it was very likely that I wouldn't finish. When I got to the aid station on the first loop at 3:10, I thought I'd be out for 7 hours because I thought it was only 9km at that point, but I heard later it was more like 13km. I started at 7, so I was encouraged that the first 9AM runner (Rosstopher) didn't catch up to me until the aid station. I thought they'd be blowing by me a lot earlier.
When I got to VF, it was really, really dark, and the only car in the lot was vmeyer's and she'd been a pre-starter. Even with a headlamp, I couldn't believe anyone could go out in this total darkness, but she and barb had. It started to get light at 6:45 and we started at 7. I was really happy that I'd decided to get up at a ridiculous hour and start early because the park was beautiful and very quiet at that hour. I was only thinking of taking time pressure off myself since I had no way to gauge how long I'd be out there, but running with the sun just up and only a handful of other runners and walkers was very enjoyable. The weather was great, just very cold, and the first half of the course at least was almost completely dry, no ice or mud in the way of the runners. Another bonus of starting early was having the 9 AM people pass me and I got a lot of encouragement from a number of them and from the volunteers, especially the AP'ers! Thanks! Also, my cell phone rang at control #22 and it was Sswede, who was handling the aid station I wouldn't get to on the second half of the marathon course, cheering me on. :-) I was surprised to find the Chesterbrook area so confusing, but then I always do have trouble with buildings. It was great to run in all these areas and on trails I would never know were there. I thought this was a crazy idea when Wyatt first put it on the schedule, but it was just so much fun! And I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment which is outweighing all the pains and aches that are announcing themselves now that I'm home. Edited to the time I calculated, though official distance was 13.11. Climb is the official one. | ||
| C • Awesome! 11 | ||
| Note | |
| Valerie had her FR and said if I took pretty much the same safe routes that she and barb did, then I did 15 miles! | ||
| Stretching 15:00 [1] | |
| At various times after the race. I thought I might have to stop and stretch during the race, but I was OK. I did start to feel some tightness in the hamstrings pretty late in the race, and I thought I was getting some hot spots on my feet, but they're OK. On the downhill to 22, my left knee started to hurt, but stopped once on flatter ground, and my hips and heels began to complain simultaneously near the end. Happily surprised everything held out as long as it did!
| ||
Half Marathon - Splits | ||
Friday Dec 14 | ||
| Note | |
| OK, I'm looking forward to trying to do this half marathon, but I'm also getting very nervous. It's hard to know exactly what to wear, but I think I've finally decided on the layers. I think it will kill my feet to wear O-shoes for that distance, so I'm going to go with my oldest pair of running shoes. That way I'll get more support from the shoes, but if they're a muddy mess at the end, they don't owe me anything and can be thrown out. I found out how to re-boot my Forerunner, and I did want to use it so I can see how far I actually do go (especially if I have to quit before finishing) and also to see how I'm doing for time and distance during the race. But...it may not be comfortable (my jacket sleeve won't go over it so it's between the jacket and glove) and it may actually be distracting, so I think I may just wear my watch. And I'm taking my cell phone so I can call for a taxi, maybe a pizza, maybe a psychologist to figure out why I'm doing this...:-) | ||
| C • sausage and mushroom please 2 | ||
Thursday Dec 13 | ||
| Note | |
| A little more Christmas shopping. Had my yoga things with me, but decided not to chance another of the increasingly frequent instructor switches. I didn't intend to taper completely, but I also don't want to start the half marathon already sore. Once this is over, I can get back to my regular training.
| ||
Wednesday Dec 12 | ||
| Note | |
| Christmas shopping. Got a completely bogus parking ticket at work today, on the god-forsaken, litter-strewn excuse for a street back by the loading docks which is all the parking that's left to us any more. And I do mean litter-strewn. Once, after 2 trips in 2 memorable weeks to Pep Boys with nails in my flattening tires, one of the guys there asked me if I worked at a construction site! There aren't enough expletives for the Philadelphia Parking Authority!
Oh, training, yeah...they caused me such emotional distress, I just couldn't do a bit of training. :-) | ||
Tuesday Dec 11 | ||
| Note | |
| OK, one more change to the results and this looks a lot more like it: 38:22.
The results are now up for Saturday's race, and I was 2 seconds faster than I thought. And the little girl I beat was only 6 years old and she really was closing on me, because I only got her by 3 seconds. I guess having all those people cheering for her really motivated her. It's not my proudest athletic moment, I'll tell you that! But I do get somewhat offended when I see younger people desperately speed up when they see a 55-year-old pass them, so I'm not giving any of them a break, even if they're only in first grade. :-) | ||
| Yoga 1:00:00 [3] | |
| The intense (but not the intensest!) instructor, though she wasn't on the schedule I had. Experience with her has been that she does some different poses and I get a very good stretching, and that's what I needed after this weekend, so it was fine. | ||
Monday Dec 10 | ||
| Note | |
| Well, they took the results down and fixed them, and now Diane's and Cara's are in line with what they thought they did, and mine is still 37:58, so maybe that is right? I really wish I'd had the FR on, to be sure, but I'll put this down. I did go faster at the beginning and end, but I was sure that crash in the middle would have affected my time more. | ||
Sunday Dec 9 | ||
| Note | |
| Reindeer Romp 5K - Havertown, PA - 3PM. | ||
| Warmup (dynamic stretching) 5:00 [2] | |
| shoes: Saucony Triumph 4 (green) | ||
| Followed by a slow run of about .4 mile, if I remember correctly from last year, from where I parked the car to Start.
| ||
| Running race 38:22 [5]3.1 mi (12:21 / mi) | |
| shoes: Saucony Triumph 4 (green) | ||
| A very cold, gray day but the predicted wintry mix this morning and rain this afternoon never materialized so the race was nice and dry. Instead of the thermasilk long-sleeved shirt, I put on a summer top as the first layer and then the really nice technical long-sleeved Brooks shirt that was the race T-shirt and my jacket. That worked well. Also wore the smartwool hat again and took it off after a mile or so, but it was great to have on before and after the race. A large turnout of 800 (runners and walkers - the walk was shorter) despite the weather. This race benefits the American Cancer Society and is in memory of a little local boy.
A somewhat hilly course, and my legs felt like jelly, especially the quads. Even my ankles felt tired at one point. I'm more used to tiring due to cardiorespiratory fitness issues, but this was just muscle rebellion. I kept going but the running was turning into more and more frequent walk breaks when a woman who'd been ahead of me dropped her lip balm. I called out to her but she didn't hear and kept going. She'd been running steadily and I hadn't gained on her at all, but I realized I'd have to try to catch her or I'd be carrying that thing until the end. So, I pushed myself, caught her, gave back the lip balm, and just kept going. I started passing people which felt just as good as the Bermans told me it would! Two girls passed me again, but I got them in the last half mile and finished ahead of them. The time is what I saw on the clock. My FR wouldn't turn on when I got there and I didn't even have my regular watch with me. According to the mile clocks, my first 2 splits were 12:21 and 24:51. My time is faster than last year, but a minute below what I'd hoped to do. One of these days, the stars will align and I'll put together 3 decent miles in one race! A nice get-together at Diane's house (we ran almost past it during the race) afterwards. All running club members except me, though with all the things I wear with the club name on it, I should probably join! :-) | ||
| C • back to back races 3 | ||