week 3, workout ... um, 3?

Went to the park and back. I really should be adding more mileage, but I just had to know if I'd gotten any faster.

I experimented with pacing, switching around which muscles dominated my stride. As usual, I think I went out too fast, because by the last half mile, I was completely wiped out. I could barely stagger up the hill to my apartment. Not sore, not out of breath, no low blood sugar, just ... tired.

Actually, I don't know why my leg muscles were so worn out after those 3 little miles. I'm not normally this tired afterward. I did walk 3.5 or 4 miles, largely uphill, on Saturday ... but that was two days ago, I didn't feel tired yesterday, and I walk all the time anyway. I don't know what happened. I even went for a walk this evening and didn't feel recovered. I suppose I should eat some more dark leafy greens and lift some weights. Or something.

Time to park: 15 minutes.
Total time: under 35 minutes. Call it 34:45.

Yes, this is faster than before. It's still way too slow, but there is progress. Progress so incre-freaking-mental I could scream. I'm still not down even to 11-minute miles yet. What makes it worse is I know there will be days in the future with no progress at all, days when I will be going slower for reasons of training or exhaustion.

I am having doubts that I can speed this along to consistent 9-minute miles by June. 26 miles is a long way to go. Even 3 miles today was a struggle. But there's only one way to find out if I can do it -- keep going and see what happens. I'll know I've made real progress if I can do the run in 30 minutes, but we're not even close to that now. And even that's a long way from what I'm aiming at.

Total running distance so far: about 18 miles.

Making up running slogans

The runner's brain at work...

I paid a visit to my parents (who live on the other side of town, a two-hour journey for me since I don't have a car and must rely on public transit) this weekend. I intended to borrow their rowing machine, but all I ended up doing was leaving some of my not-too-abundant workout gear at their house by mistake. Oops. I'll retrieve it in a week or so, probably.

So I was surfing the Runner's World website and reading motivational articles. I was kind of waiting for the rain to stop, but it's probably not going to, so guess what Liz gets to do: live up to the name of her month-old blog, and betake her butt out in a typical Seattle rain.

But I wanted to write down a couple of the best sayings I thought up and/or found, so maybe someday I can get a t-shirt with one or more of them. If I find somebody who prints actual quality running shirts. Ones I made up are marked with an asterisk. Here we are ...

- Instant Swimmer - Just Add Water (okay, not a running slogan, but this cracked me up)
- Instant triathlete - just add water, wheels, and shoes * (would be great with graphics)
- I run like a girl. Try to keep up.
- May the course be with you
- Busting mine so I can kick yours
- Happiness is pushing your limits and watching them back down (yay, shoe ads)
- Life is a gift. Run like you stole it. * (modified)
- I run, therefore I breathe *
- REST: Run, Eat, Sleep, Triumph * (modified from one that ends "repeat")
- Bring me that horizon (okay, it's from "Pirates of the Caribbean," but I never saw it on a running shirt)
- The mountain awaits you. Say hello. *
- Movement is mandatory, speed is optional * (hooray for us slowpokes)

And now it appears the rain is easing, so I think I better seize the break while the getting is good.

Them thar hills: week 3, workout 2

I'm getting impatient with my lack of speed. Also, I like variety (read: bore easily), so I decided to try something different today.

I rode my bike to the park and ran up a steep hill 10 times, then rode the bike back home. (Uphill.) Even on the switchbacks, it was definitely an incline, and the path is kind of uneven. Even if I'd been able to run faster, I couldn't really go too fast because I didn't want to fall and twist an ankle.

I forgot my watch, so I have no idea how long that took. Maybe 45 minutes. I didn't go very fast, but I made it. As I bicycled home, at least two runners passed me. On foot. I hope they feel smug, because I sure don't. I mean, I'm pleased that I finished the workout, but I'm still annoyed at how slow my body insists on being. I hope that it gets better soon, because at this rate I'll never manage a 4-hour marathon.

waaah. Whine. I want to be a graceful greyhound, not a lumbering clod. Seriously. There is no good reason why I ought to be this slow. I'm not old, I'm not overweight, I'm not broken. I know I'll get faster gradually, but I want to get more faster now. plzkthx.

Week 3, workout 1

Run did not go well today at all. I ran out of energy in about 10 minutes and wound up walking most of the distance.

I think this was partly due to muscle fatigue (yesterday was a day off, but I still walked to buy groceries etc.) and mainly due to not eating right. I'm trying to reduce consumption of refined carbs in favor of more veggies and whole foods, so I had a bowl of whole-grain cheerios and milk and a banana for breakfast (see, bananas are healthy food) ... then I got really hungry a couple hours later. So then for lunch I had a few corn tortillas with cheese and tomato sauce (didn't have salsa), and an egg. Oh, and I ate a few gummy bears that were left over from the New Year's party.

A few hours later, when I went out to run, I got what I'm pretty sure was a blood sugar dip.

What happened? I got whole grains, protein and veggies. But maybe not enough of them. I normally eat two eggs at a sitting; maybe I should have done that. Or maybe I ate too far in advance of the workout. I'm one of those natural grazer types: left to my own devices, I eat relatively small amounts every few hours. I kinda want to lose a little weight, but maybe I should worry about getting enough energy for working out first. In theory, if I'm fit and eating right, any weight my body doesn't need should go away by itself. Shouldn't it?

Tomorrow I'm going to do some more upper-body work. Hopefully I'll be ready to run a little further on Wednesday. I need to start adding more miles soon or I won't be ready for a marathon in 25 weeks. And at some point I need to work in some speed or I won't be hitting 9:00 miles by then. Maybe once I get used to the longer workouts, I can do the 3-milers as "intervals" or whatever they call them. Or I could haul my bicycle out and, y'know, ride to the park to do sprints instead of running all the way there. I suppose that might be a good idea, since driving there isn't an option.

Total time: 42:30 (minutes and seconds). I think the shoes have done close to 15 miles now. Hooray, I finished a half-marathon. And it only took me 2 weeks. Am I actually going to be running that distance (or more) in single sessions by March? I must be nuts.

Week 2, workout ... whatever this is

Weather today was perfect for a run: cool and damp, but not rainy. Just the way I like it. Could've done with less wind, but oh well.

I tried out that "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" recipe, and told myself I couldn't eat the pretty golden brown ball that came out of the oven until I'd gone for my run. That got me moving, albeit reluctantly. I keep finding that the hardest part of running is getting out the door and surviving the first quarter-mile; after that it usually improves.

Today I got to the park in under 16 minutes, running the whole way except for a minute or so with a stitch in my side. I got back in just 20 minutes, and I ran part of the way back! Total time: 36 minutes. Either I'm getting better at pacing myself, or I'm getting stronger. Probably both. I ran really slow, but the majority of the distance was definitely a run, not a walk. Woohoo.

Also noticing minute improvements in flexibility (yay stretching) and core strength. (Been doing a few pushups, situps and those "Superman" moves that strengthen your back.) Just barely enough that I suspect it's not entirely psychological. I don't look any different, but I think things may be getting more efficient here. Or so I'm convincing myself. Maybe in a couple months I will actually be able to touch my toes without bending my knees. (That sounds easy, until you try it.)

Total distance since day 1: umm ... about 11.9 miles? That sounds so lame, but I must be patient. Keep putting in the time and mileage and the fitness will come.

You can probably also tell that I've been playing with the blog layout and colors. I wanna put some pictures and stuff up and make it look pretty, but this will require some tinkering. I don't have any running-related pictures that are the right size, and I'm not great at HTML code. But I'll work on it.

Liz needs to learn to count

I just re-examined the calendar and saw that the Rock'N'Roll Marathon is in June, not July. So I have 25 weeks left, not 29. Oops. Guess I'd better get a move on.

Apparently I'm not the only one who makes resolutions to run marathons in six months; there's this group called Seattle Fit which is running a program to train people. They want $120, which is not bad for six months of weekly workshops (they probably make money because a lot of people pay them and then quit), but I don't have that kind of cash lying around at the moment. Maybe I can show up at a couple of their things in late January and try them out first.

I also looked around online for running groups that might be friendly to such as me, but most of the ones I managed to dig up seem either too far away to get to, or a lot more hardcore than I was looking for. (For instance, the Seattle Running Company has weekly trail runs -- of 20 km or more. Not a distance I'm prepared to start out with.) Quite apart from the risk of injury, I don't want to be a slowpoke and ruin everyone else's good time. So I need slow people to hang out with.

Also of note: marathons are expensive. (So are triathlons.) I'd like to sign up for a half-marathon or a few 5-10k races between now and June, to practice racing and meet new people, but those entry fees are steep! I suppose their target demographic is people with lots of disposable income. But it's kind of a downer for people like me, for whom a $100 race entry fee might equal two or three weeks' worth of groceries. The price of shoes is bad enough, but at least those last a few months. So much for running and triathlon as "egalitarian" sports. It's okay for slow people to enter, but not broke people. I wonder whether they'd allow a discount if I contacted the race director and asked very nicely.

The weather was tolerable for a brief period around lunchtime and then turned absolutely horrible. It's pouring rain and really windy. When am I going to learn my lesson, to get out and do the workout while the getting is good. At least the days are getting a little longer. I can see the difference already.

I set my alarm for a reasonable hour this morning, thinking I'd go and check out the Resolution Run (a charity 5k), but I wound up hitting snooze and going right back to sleep. It was a late night last night. I have got to start putting my cell phone on the other side of the room when I want to get up in the morning.

Week 2, workout 1 - early nights

One lame thing about Seattle in the winter is how early it gets dark. It feels like the day's only half over and wtf -- the sun's setting. That makes you feel like it's nighttime and you want to wind up the day's activities, even though it's only 4 pm and you still have a lot to do.

I didn't get my butt outside when the sun was up, but I wanted to at least do a token workout today (walking around doesn't count to me, even if I'm climbing hills or carrying groceries). I can't run the Burke-Gilman trail or the parks when it's dark and I'm alone, 'cause of our wonderful crime-ridden neighborhood. So I ended up putting on these new $2.50 cotton yoga capris* I bought at Walgreens (yes, you may laugh now) and jogging around the block several times. Five circuits plus another loop to cool down took about 27 minutes, then I came back in and stretched.

Unlike in some cities, blocks here are not anything resembling a uniform size or shape. (They also tend to slope, like everything else in this region, and my block is no exception.) But I'll call it 1.3 miles.

* The experts say not to run in cotton, but I don't have a ton of technical fabric garments. So far, I haven't run in hot enough weather or long enough distance for chafing to be a serious problem. Hopefully by the time we get to that point, I'll have collected a few things. The cheapass yoga pants worked fine today. I think I want some long-sleeved shirts and a light vest with pockets, so I can quit going around in this oversized fleece jacket with broken zipper I've been using. Also, why the hell doesn't anyone make running shorts with pockets?

Total distance since beginning: 8.8 miles.