Head for the hills!

I'll admit, my training hasn't been that great now that I'm back at school.  I really do aim for at least four runs a week, but I'd actually like to do more.  Generally I don't like having more than two off days in a week because I start to feel lazy.  But, last week was one of those weeks where running just didn't work out. Do you ever have a week like that after a really good run? I was so pumped about my super half marathon but then I felt like the rest of my runs were sub-par all week.  Who knows, maybe it was just my imagination.  After all, I didn't get much in anyways.  Sunday I ran with Ryan and did some toe running, which made my calf muscles burn for days.  Monday I took an off day. Tuesday I did speed work and boxing.  Wednesday I had planned to go for four - five miles, but got stuck at work later than planned and ended up only doing 2 before boxing.  Thursday was an off day and then I did 7 on Friday.  I'm ok with Friday's run because I went through Nahant to get in some hill work, and I most definitely did that.  As tough as hills are, I'll admit, I love doing them.  No, not because I get to go downhill, I just really like the challenge of getting up to the top.

Link to my 7 miler through Nahant: enjoy this picture of my beautiful Hoka's instead of a picture of my running map in the meantime.


After that though, I knew the chances of running Saturday and Sunday were slim.  We went to Vermont on Saturday and stayed overnight and then I had a family party on Sunday.  By the time everything was over, I was just too tired to run.  We did manage to walk about 2.5 miles on Sunday, so not all was lost. Even though I was planning on running on Monday, I ended up not having time between school, meetings, and boxing.  But at least I got in a workout, so I felt ok.  Today I did speed work on the treadmill at Title before doing the power hour. It wasn't terrible, but I still hate the treadmill.  Wednesday and Thursday this week I have crazy work meetings and so I'm going to have to tough it out and run between the end of the regular school day and the beginning of the meetings. I'm determined to get in at least 5 miles tomorrow and another long run by Friday night.  Saturday I have class all day, so that's probably going to be my off day this week.  Hopefully Sunday will set everything right again, and I can go back to long run Sundays and hills, speed, and short runs during the week!

Wednesday night runs

As you might be aware, I've been running the Lynn Woods runs this Spring/Summer.  This year we haven't been as good at keeping up with the runs.  Last year though, we had the MCM at the end of October, so it was more necessary to participate in the long runs and actually make an effort to push through them.  This year, my training is far from needing long runs in the woods, not to mention that some people were carrying babies and couldn't run towards the end.  So, it's been a bit sporadic this year, but we've still been going and at least walking the route, so that's something.  Now, you should also know by now that I've been testing out Tailwind and making decisions based on it's powers.  Sure, I had already decided that it was worth it, but tonight really drove that point home.
Today I went for a nice 5K before boxing, because I wasn't sure if I was going to run the woods or not, and I definitely wanted to get some miles in.  I went out on my now regular route behind the boxing club and down the rail trail.  When  I set out, I wasn't planning on going hard or fast, but I guess Tailwind had different ideas.  My first mile was done in 7:59.  The last two miles were both done in 8:11.  (Yea consistency!) Overall, my 5K was done in 25:13, which, according to Garmin is a new PR for me.  Woo Woo! That came on a Wednesday, after working all day, just drinking Tailwind, with no intention of trying. Needless to say, I was pleased with myself and of course bragged all about it to the trainers at Title when I got back.  Sure, they definitely didn't care, but whatever, it was my moment.  So I did my power hour 8 rounds of boxing, ate a PB&J while driving to the woods, and decided to run the short run after all.  Again, still mostly under the influence of Tailwind.  No one else from the group was running tonight, but that's ok, I've done plenty of solo runs before.  When the short run was lined up, I jumped in and hit the trails.  Lynn Woods has some lovely hills and the run is famous for starting on the incline, so everyone slows down at first.  As I was running in, I was passing people left and right and was feeling pretty good about it, even though I figured it wouldn't last.  But, the longer we ran, the more people I passed, until I was all alone.  Up in the distance I could see a figure in a purple shirt, but I just couldn't quite catch him.  Then again, I wasn't trying that hard either.  I was convinced that I was in first place for a while, but when I caught sight of that shirt, I realized I wasn't.  However, I knew I must be close, because I had passed so many people and there was no one around me.  To the point where I couldn't even hear feet coming up behind me, so I don't even think there was anyone close to me.  Never look back, that's the first rule of running a race, so I kept my eyes forward and chased that purple shirt.  Sure, I never did catch him, but I did manage to pull out a 9:00 minute mile in the woods.  Maybe that's not that impressive, but it was enough to keep me in FIRST PLACE for female finishers.  That's right, after two years of woods runs, I finally came in first. Top five actually, even if I was number five.  Anyways, I'm proud of myself but I'm fairly certain I owe most of it to the Tailwind.  If I didn't believe it worked before, I definitely do now.

PROOF!

                                     

Click here for my Garmin Connect

And my 5K from earlier today

*These are both double links. One click will take you to the picture page. You have to click view details on that to get to the Garmin page.

Oh and here's a lovely picture I drew, just because I like the way it came out. Well, most of it. I don't love Anna's eyes. I do love how Elsa came out though. I so should have been a Disney animator.  Also, a sign for Matt D's surprise party this past Saturday. In case you're wondering, I take requests.

Tailwind update

Ok so I've used it twice now and I think I'm ready to form an opinion on the product.  One use wasn't enough to convince me either way so I really wanted to be sure I used it the way it was intended and then the way I wanted to, just to be sure my opinion would be solid.  Before I tell you my thoughts, let me take you back to my weekend workouts. (Those include today because it's a holiday.)

     Saturday morning we went for our lovely long run.  Nothing too crazy, we were shooting for 10 - 11 miles and we made it roughly 10.5, so I consider that an accomplishment.  Our plan was to meet in Wakefield and run around there, mostly because the lake is an easy 3 mile loop, so we knew we'd at least have that.  Like fools, we decided to run the lake last and went off on an adventure through Wakefield first.  Not that we haven't run through other parts of Wakefield before, but this was a new route.  Unfortunately, the first road we took once we crossed from the lake was a giant hill.  Nothing like starting off the beginning of the run on a steep uphill! Once we got over that though, the roads weren't too bad, and we just followed it straight for 4 miles into Stoneham.  The plan was 4 out, 4 back and then the 3 around the lake. So I'm not really sure how we came out to 10.5 instead of 11, except that I don't think we accounted for the first .4 or so that we ran down to the giant hill.  Anyways, this isn't about where I ran, it's about the tailwind.  For Saturdays run I decided to try the mandarin orange flavor.  I'm not a huge lemon fan, and I didn't want to use berry or the caffeinated raspberry yet.  I mixed up the TW the night before and put it in the freezer/fridge.  Since the bottle was so full, I didn't want to risk the chance of freezing the whole thing and ruining my bottle, so I switched it fairly early.   In the morning the water was cold, but like all cold things in the summer, it didn't stay that way very long after we started running.
     The very first thing I noticed about the orange flavor was that it was absolutely the saltiest thing I've ever tasted.  On the TW website and the packages it recommends mixing a whole packet with 20 - 24 oz of water.  My water bottle is slightly over 20 oz, so I figured it would be ok.  I was wrong.  Pre-run, it was hard to even think about taking a sip of water.  During the run it got a little easier, because at that point I needed the water and the salt.  Around mile 9 we stopped so my running partners could refill their bottles, and when I did that, the taste finally diluted enough to not be a salt mine anymore.  So, what I learned from Saturday is that if you're going to mix the whole packet, maybe do it in more than 20 oz, maybe even more than 24 if possible.  Aside from the taste though, the performance seemed to live up to it's hype.  But I couldn't be certain because I also ate a honey stinger waffle for breakfast before running, so it could have just as easily been that.  I do know that I did not feel the need for any gels, blocks, or other kinds of fuel in the middle of the run.  This has actually been a pattern lately, where I don't feel like I need more fuel, but I also end up dropping in time a bit towards the end.  On Saturday I didn't feel the need and I didn't drop in speed.  In fact, and this might be the biggest deciding factor in whether or not tailwind works, I will now reveal my splits, as recorded by the trusty Garmin ForeRunner 10.   I know it's huge, I apologize, but the re-sizing options made it basically unreadable.

But really, check out those splits....and that elevation.  Whew.  So, as far as I can tell, the tailwind at least made it more consistent, if not actually better.  I still felt like I couldn't really judge yet though, because the last few miles of our run were downhill and then flat, so I am almost positive that had something to do with the negative splits.  Although, that's a fairly huge difference, so maybe it was partly thanks to the TW.

Anyways, so to be sure that I felt ok about using TW and that maybe it was just my fault the orange was like eating a block of salt, I gave the lemon a try today.  This time though, I only used half the packet in a full 20 oz bottle.  That definitely removed the salt taste, but it also really diluted the entire taste, which one would expect. It was almost as if there was nothing in my water, but you could still taste a hint of lemon. In the end, I probably could have used a bit more, but if that continues, then I'd just have a mess of leftover flavor scraps and nothing to do with them.  So, today I went for a short run and then went to a regular 1 hour Power Hour at boxing.  My run was 2.6, because I wanted to be able to combine it with Saturdays to equal 13.  Now, when I'm by myself I tend to run faster anyways, and usually that destroys my pacing for the later miles.  Since I only went 2.5, I don't really have much to compare it to, except last Wednesdays 4, which was done in similar weather. Hot, humid, sunny, all around miserable, if we're being honest.  To compare, last Wednesday I ran at 3:00 p.m. According to Garmin, the weather was 90 degrees, felt like 95, with a humidity level of 52%. I managed to get those 4 done in 38:22, with my splits going up all the time. I started at a 9:02 and ended at a 10:04, each mile getting progressively slower in between. Like I said, it was gross out. After that run, I did a Power Hour at boxing and I really felt awful.  It was hot, sweaty, and just all around awful.  I took a  lot of breaks during that hour. Just to preface, I usually try to get in a few miles before boxing and then do the Power Hour and it's usually fine.  I eat a banana or a gel in between and then go "hit it hard" if you will.  Usually I don't feel as miserable as I did after that run on Wednesday.
     Today, I ran at 10:30 a.m. with Tailwind. According to Garmin, the weather was 81 degrees, felt like 85, with a humidity level of 74%. I got those 2.6 miles done in 22:13, with my splits staying fairly close to each other.  1st mile was 8:08, 2nd mile was 8:33. My third mile, had I made it, would have been around an 8:50.  So, in that regard, maybe not too much better than Wednesday except I was just all around faster.  The difference for me was the boxing.  I didn't bring anything to eat in between and just kept drinking the tailwind.  I did add some more to the bottle when I added more water, but I still have a fair amount left from the lemon flavor.  This is where I felt the difference.  When it came time to box, I wasn't tired, I didn't feel worn out, and I was able to go as hard/fast as I wanted to, until the club got too hot to handle.  By which, I mean, their a.c. is broken and it was actually getting too hot in there.  And when I left, I felt like I could go run another 4 miles if I had to or if I wanted to.  I didn't, but I could have.
So, faithful readers, who have followed this entire thread with a least half interest, my final opinion so far is that Tailwind is worth it.  Sure, it could be a placebo effect, where I think it works, so it does, but really, does that matter?  In the end, all that matters is that it seems to work and it gets me over the finish line in a timely fashion.

I'm still here

I've been having a serious motivation problem lately.  Not about updating, but about getting out and doing my training runs.  Thinking back, I feel like it came on the heels of that awful 17 miler I did about a month ago now.  After failing to run the second half of that at an acceptable pace, I kind of let myself get defeated.  For a while, (read, until today) I really didn't even want to keep going with this whole marathon things.  Seriously, who in their right mind decides to run a marathon, just for fun?  It's not like I'm trying to BQ and I don't really plan on running anymore, so what was the point.  Luckily, thanks to a power hour at boxing today, I finally pulled myself out of that mindset and back into the marathon pump up.
Let's stick with what I know.  I KNOW I can run a half, in good weather, in 2 hours and 1 minute.  So, given the idea that I want to try and come in around 4:30, that leaves me another 2 hours and an extra half an hour to get in the last 13.1.  On top of that, if I can do 17 in 3 hours and 4 minutes, that STILL leaves me an hour and half (give or take a few minutes) to finish the last 9.2.  I know I've done a 15K in 1:34, which is almost exactly what I'll have left.  So, putting it all together, assuming the weather is good, I can make a good start and keep up a fairly regular pace without too many stops, I should be able to come in right around my goal time.  Of course, my goal time is an entire hour slower than what it would take to BQ, which is why I say I'm not even attempting it.  But, I am attempting to finish in a reasonable amount of time.  If for no other reason, I really don't want to run for 5 hours.  Who does?  Especially when I have the prospect of a 6 hour drive home ahead of me after the marathon.
So, I know I slacked, and I know I'll pay for it.  At least I've been boxing on top of my training, so I'm hoping that will improve my endurance.  If you're wondering how power hour got me back into my pumped for the marathon state, it's simple.  Usually there's a trainer or two walking around having people hit the pads while you work on combos. Today there was 4.  That's double the amount that usually circulate.  These four weren't going easy either.  It was always just one more round, just 10 more hooks, a 100% combo burn-out.  In short, there were no excuses.  If the trainer was in front of you, you were going 100%.  Lucky me, I got visited by all  four trainers at different times, therefore forcing me to dig deeper and work harder.  And on the heels of that push, came the push I needed for the marathon.  So, to the awesome trainers at Title, who won't let you quit, thanks for getting me back on track!
You know what else helped?  Ryan telling me that I should just not do it, because it's crazy and who wants to do crazy things.  I know he meant it and didn't mean it all at once.  I think he seriously means it, because he doesn't want to drive down there, and to be honest, I think that's the worst part of all of it, I don't want to make the drive either.  But, I know he didn't mean it, because he doesn't want me to give up, so when I'm whining about actually giving up, he pulls out the old reverse psychology and makes me NOT want to quit anymore.  He's slick, but he knows what works.  And I know even though he hates the whole thing, he'll be at the finish line, being disgusted by the runners and happy for me all at once. So, at least I have that motivation. Thanks Ry!
In other news, I got my donorschoose project funded, so that's all set and it's awesome.  School has been going great this year and all the children seem happy to be back.  I actually made some cool crafts for school, which I'll share later. Right now, I'm trying to stick to marathon training updates.  I want to try and run from heartbreak hill to Copely as a shorter training run, a few weeks before the marathon, just to get a feel for it, and be able to say I at least ran part of Boston.  Other than that, I think I'll stick to regular routes and aim for the 20 miler this weekend.  Here goes nothing!