For other codependent runners in DC...

For some, running is valuable time alone.  For others running requires a little more motivation to get out there.  I wanted to offer a few additional opportunities for group runs that you can participate in if you fall into that latter category.  This is by no means a complete list. There are dozens of running groups in the area and if these don't work for you, I encourage you to look online and find a group that meets at a time/location that works better for you.  Also, if you have recommendations of your own, please feel free to share. Runners are generally a friendly group, but it's always nice to see a familiar face.

Monday - 6:30pm Lululemon Logan Circle  

This is my favorite group run of the week.  It's a large group and goes out for a 3 or 6 mile run rain or shine.  Runners of all abilities participate, so you should be able to find someone at your pace, and there are definitely enough fast runners to make this a tempo run if you want to push it. Weather permitting we do abs for 10 minutes after the run and then head to Churchkey for drinks.  It's a very social group.  Most if not all of the lululemon stores offer a weekly run club if you live closer to one of the other locations.

Tuesday/Thursday - 7pm Pacer's Logan Circle  

Another evening run group (though if you look at their website they also offer early morning runs if you are more of a morning person).  Similar format to the lululemon Monday runs since it's led by the person who started the lulu run club.  3 and 6 mile run groups, abs, and usually drinks after the run.  One of my favorite features is they regularly bring in shoe reps so you can learn about and try running in some new shoes (6 miles can tell you a lot more about a pair of shoes than jogging across the store).

Being a Non-Runner who Runs!

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the term "Oh I can't... I'm not a runner." People are always telling me how impressive it is that I do triathlons and half marathons and the second they do my immediate response is "So can you!" Lets be honest here. If I can do it, anyone can. I started this challenge two years ago, 20 lbs heavier and as a declared couch potato. To be fair, I've struggled with these labels myself, but it's time to get over it!

This week one of my running coaches sent us an email of the same old story. Her boss, who has signed up for a tri sprint, is claiming that he is no longer sure he can do it. His excuse being that he is just not a runner. To which she said, "I am sorry, but that is just not an option and everyone can be a runner". She then proceeded to send him this article, which she (and I) though was so funny and possibly helpful, which I now share with you and hope you enjoy!

The Non-Runner's Guide to Running

Triing to Keep Up

So due to scheduling conflicts I will not be doing my swim training with YTri. Instead I am going to be joining a Master Swim program in my neighborhood. There has been a bit of a delay in the start so until next week I will be swimming alone. Luckily swim workouts are not hard to come by. 


Since I had no group to swim with and a flexible schedule I figured I'd just add on a swim workout after this mornings run group. The Thursday morning (vets/faster) run group did the same route as Tuesday's except instead of two or three catching up with me on the hill, the whole pack swept past me... but that's fine. The whole reason I am running with both groups is because I'm officially in pace limbo. I'm pretty fast for the Tuesday group but definitely slow for the Thursday group. And, most importantly, I was not the last! I was definitely one of the slowest... but NOT last. 


Here is what I ended up doing for the swim... 

400 swim easy

300 alternate 50 kick drill, 50 swim

200 catch up drill

100 finger tip drag

5 x 200 swim at 75 - 80% on 4:00 (adjust interval if needed, you should get around :20 rest)

100 warm down

Total: 2100m

Here are some great videos describing the two drills in this workout:

Kick Drills

Catch Up Drill 

Running for Speed

Sometimes I get so obsessed with measuring my running success by mileage that I forget that, though I'm a metronome, another form of running is speed training: less mileage and focusing on pushing my speed. I blame the memory of soccer sprints ("suicides" anyone?) as my mental block against this whole section of training.

The reason this has come up is that running with the slower/newbie Tuesday group, I realized that since its only week two, the group is barely making it to 4 miles. Well what motivation do I have to get out of bed before dawn if I'm barely hitting my minimum mileage? This is what I was contemplating while I was running up Meridian Hill Tuesday morning when a couple of the faster runners caught up with me (yea I might have started fast out of the gate due to my frustration with the route) and then sped right past. A little taken aback, I shook off my surprise and then took on the challenge. I stuck with these three for the rest of the run, including an extension we all decided needed to be added on to round us up to a full 4 mile route.

For the first time in a while I remembered what it felt like to really push my limits... and it felt good! Ok, yes it didn't feel fabulous during parts of the run where it felt like my side was being compressed by a tourniquet, but overall my breath felt big and full, my legs were really getting stretched out, and kicking a little butt didn't hurt either :) .

Older Speed Training Posts:
Indian Sprints , Fartleks Part I , Fartleks Part II

Timed Run

This morning we did our timed run. It was just over half a mile to the loop, followed by 2.5 miles timed and then the half mile back. Surprise of surprises (dripping with sarcasm) when I found my time to be a 9.5 minute mile. I swear I am a darn metronome!

At my natural pace I'm a 10 min miler... consistently. Seriously, if I leave to go for a run, look at the clock and come back and I've been gone for 40 minutes, I can guarantee I ran almost exactly 4 miles. I map it out to check, but really it's a waste of time. If I am pushing it, and dealing with shorter distances, I'm usually somewhere around 9:15 - 9:30. When I did the Cherry Blossom 10 miler last spring, not only did I finish at a perfect 1 hour 40 minutes, but when they displayed my split times in the formal results I had consistently done 10 min miles throughout. The same thing happened at my half marathon: 2 hours and 11 minutes (on the dot!). So now that I've spent the last two years learning to run and pushing the distance, now hopefully I can pick up the speed!

 _______________________________________________________________________

What are split times?

"When training for a race such as a half marathon, timing different sections of the race, or splits, are used to help improve performance and training. The segments, or splits, can vary but one mile intervals are typically used. Split times are also used for pacing during a race and can improve race performance when used properly."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/377367-what-are-half-marathon-split-times/#ixzz1mZBcprAZ

My Stubborn Run...

So Tuesday's training didn't go exactly as planned. First off, I stayed up much later then I was supposed to Monday night trying to trudge through hundreds of pages of reading for the worst masters course ever (3rd Party Governance... yea). Plus my internal clock hasn't adjusted to tri training times yet (up at 5-something and barely making it to 10pm without crashing). Finally, the Tuesday run group is mainly newbies, it was their first day, and it was a timed run. By "timed run" I mean they run down to the Eclipse and then lap around for about a mile timed so they can have a benchmark of where they started so they can accurately measure their progress.  It's actually a great tool and really motivating because you KNOW you will improve from your first week's time, but now you can be shocked at just how much! But for me, considering the other variables, it would mean me waking up very early for a meet and great, not get that many miles in, and I will be also running with the Thurs morning vets group who will also be doing a timed run, but with more mileage. Plus I'm going to the happy hour Thurs which will probably be slightly more fun to meet the newbies with a cocktail in hand than sleep in my eyes.

Long story short I didn't run with the group Tuesday morning. When I got up I realized it was going to be one of those days... a sloth day. There is this evil me, a sloth me, and every once in a while she rears her ugly head and makes doing anything such a chore. She wants waffles for breakfast, marathon movie watching in bed, and if I need to get up and get moving she motivates me to bake. Procrastination via baking! Bad bad bad for the good me.

I had a pretty tough time saying no. Though I had spurts of good intentioned productivity, they never lasted long and I always ended up caving to evil me's whims. By the end of the day I felt gross, defeated and depressed. I needed to go for my run. As I have mentioned many times before, I consider myself a codependent runner. I have a really really hard time motivating myself to go out and run alone when, instead, I could meet up with a friend and chat my way through the miles without even noticing them pass. Unfortunately (continuing the theme of the day) all running buddies were MIA last night. Of course... I really thought I was going to, yet again, cave to evil me, but then... I didn't. I put on my stubborn face, threw on my running gear quickly so as to not tempt a change of mind and stomped out the door. I might have had a horrible sloth day, I might have not gotten half the things done that I needed to, and I might have eaten waffles for breakfast, but I was GOING to go for a run damn it!

Not only did I go for a run, but I ran up to the National Cathedral, one of the highest points in DC. With my ipod blasting I pounded my way up and up and up with nothing but pure stubborn attitude pushing me along. It was spite... spite for the evil me, spite for the codependent runner me, spite for the procrastinator me... it was my stubborn run.

After it was all over I, of course, felt wonderful. I was awake, motivated and moving. Later during a discussion with my Mom, she gave me an assignment: to run alone for a minimum of 4 miles once a week. It's not that I need to become a lone runner, but I do need to be ok with running alone. The lack of a running partner does not justify a lack of a run. Another challenge...

Happy Turkey Day!

"Life just get's in the way"

There is a reason this is such a popular quote. Something I did not consider when deciding to train for a Spring marathon versus Fall was the holiday season. This is probably due to the fact that I was too busy whining about training in the cold that it distracted me from the immense amount of scheduling conflicts to come. Well that and denial. Anyway, the first challenge has arrived... Thanksgiving. Instead of the traditional heading up north to grandma's house and spending the week in the kitchen, my small clan (it's just my parents, sister and myself) will be heading to warmer climates... The Bahamas! At first I thought this would make my challenge of hitting my mileage easier, but that is not necessarily the case. I'm not saying it will be impossible for me to escape for a quick run here or there, but how am I supposed to run all my midweek mileage PLUS a 10 mile long run, by myself, in the Bahamas, while my family sits around waiting? Let's not even mention the track workout. The negative of being at a resort versus home sweet home, is that with all the activities planned, skirting off for a 2 hour run usually puts others in the awkward position of having to wait for you or at a minimum scheduling the days activities around you.

My solution: do what I can and don't worry about the rest! I've already made a 10 mile running date with my training partner for the Monday we return to DC so that will be my belated long run for the week (Monday versus Saturday... big whoop!). As for my mid-week total, my goal for this week, if it was normal, would be 20, but considering the circumstances I am going to aim for 18, and Tuesday the girls and I got up early and pushed a hilly 6.5, so I'm already down to less than 12! I'm thinking 3 shorter, less time consuming runs sprinkled over the next 5 days should be doable. Yes I might lose a bit of nap time on the beach, but who says that's better then running by the waters edge?

Indian Sprints

Last week was my first ever track workout. By "ever", let me clarify... I mean EVER. As in have never ever...

Needless to say, I was walking in blind and a wee bit intimidated. Let us remember that running, and especially sprints, were used as the main torture devise of every soccer coach I've ever met. So shaking that negative connotation is not easy. As a few of us slowly jogged around the track for a mile warm up, the program's head coach ended up next to me. After introductions and "so why do you want to run a marathon?" type chat, I finally asked, as nonchalantly as possible, "so what are these sessions like?" He shrugged and said something along the lines of "Oh nothing too bad, the usual long distance speed training stuff" blah blah blah and left it at that. After a minute of trying to find the right words I finally spurted out "No, I mean literally, what do we do? I've never run a track workout before so I'm completely lost." He was a bit taken aback, and then smirked and said "Ohhh..." and went on to break down some basics for me before the workout began.

Track Etiquette:
Tip #1: Run Counter Clockwise
Tip #2: If you are not pushing your pace (aka warm-up or cool-down) stay away from the inside lane. That is for people who are in the midst of their workout.
Tip #3: At the same time, if you are pushing your pace and just happen to be slower than most of the Speedy Gonzales' out there, don't mind them, stay on the inside and they will pass you on the right. So really if you aren't pushing it stay away from the inside two lanes.

First Workout: Indian Sprints (ironically one of my past soccer coaches most favorite form of torture)

For those of you who had the privilege of escaping childhood without this growing experience let me enlighten. Basically you have 5-7 people running laps in a straight line (one behind the other), with the person at the end constantly sprinting to the front of the line. So as a group you are running laps, and when the person behind you sprints to the front of the line, it is then your turn, then you get to slow down until you are at the end of the line again at which point you sprint to the front again, and again, and again. You usually average 3-4 sprints per lap (quarter mile). We were to do 4 miles.

For me the weirdest thing was that I was running with 6 people, and yet no one was talking. Grant it, it was our first time meeting and we were sprinting, but the whole point, for me, to run with others is to pass the time chatting. So when I figured out that wasn't going to happen I worried that this was mentally going to feel like an eternity. Surprisingly, between absorbing the atmosphere of the track (it seemed the entire neighborhood around this school consisted of runners who were all training that night), keeping pace, watching out for my turn and county laps, I was quite occupied and before I knew it we were half way there. By the end, I was tired, but I felt really good! I know it was my intro to track, and that it is just going to get harder from here (the track coach's speech intro was that we were here to learn how to run in discomfort because no matter how much we train, those last 6 miles come race day WILL be uncomfortable - - not a motivational speaker) but it was definitely a confidence booster to walk out day one feeling good!

It's Official!

Just bit the bullet and am officially signed up for the Rome Marathon!
March 20, 2011

117 Days to go... 

What makes a "Runner"?

The late George Sheehan once wrote, "The difference between a jogger and a runner is a race number", this supposedly delineating the difference between those who enjoy running as an activity versus sport. I disagree with this. Does that mean if you run 40 miles a week but never enrolled in an official race, you are still not really a "runner"?

There has been equal amounts of praise and criticism about the recent surge of running's popularity. Some attest that this is proof that America is finally getting healthy and highlights all of the wonderful 5K's, Turkey Trots, and running groups that have recently emerged. On the other hand, there are those involved in the elite racing division that believe this surge of amateur involvement is actually hurting America's running competitions by lowering the mean racing times and overcrowding big city races with first time competitors.

For whatever reason, I still find it hard to refer to myself as a "runner." Some of it is the leftover mentality from less than a year ago when I found it hard to get out and jog 2 miles. That is more of a personal image I haven't gotten rid of yet. But there is also that larger stigma that unless you are really great and competitive in a sport you are not truly a part of it. This seems to be the same when you refer to the cycling world or many other endurance sports. If you go for a 25 mile bike ride every weekend, but never compete, are you a biker?

For many of these sports, there seems to be a reservation of sorts by the elite competitors. There's a kind of intimidation factor that comes across as "if you're not serious/professional about running/biking/etc, then get out of our way and don't waist our time!" I do understand that it must be frustrating when beginners who don't understand protocol get in your way, potentially could cause injury/accidents, or don't take it as seriously (I mean I get mad when people don't understand the stand to the right, walk up the left concept on the Metro!). At the same time, it's a shame that so many people do not attempt these great endurance sports mainly due to lack of encouragement or access to knowledge. Though I am an admitted book worm, there is only so much you can gain from pages, rather than being immersed in the actual culture. If it wasn't for the Y-Tri program holding my hand, matching me up with veterans, and having patience for my silly questions/mistakes I would NEVER have attempted a quarter of the things I have this year. I mean I grew up riding a beach cruiser (thank you Florida). I had no concept of gears let alone clip-less shoes/pedals, the appropriate bike fit... hell, the appropriate bike!

This is the number one reason I began this blog. In the weeks before my official triathlon training began, this shy, anxious, "I really don't want to make a fool of myself" girl spent hours online and in bookstores trying to find answers to basic questions like: what do I wear for winter running?, do you wear sneakers to spin class?, can anyone translate these swimming workouts to English? What I found was only training advise for the already experienced athlete, all in terminology that might as well have been Russian. There was no true beginner basic information. That was the niche I was hoping to fill here for the next couch potato who wanted to dip there toe in the world of endurance. I wanted to ease the fear of "what the hell are they talking about", and encourage the "oh I get it now!"

So call yourself whatever you'd like. The one thing you can be sure of is that there will always be someone faster, always be someone slower, and you will always have more to learn!

Road Runner Training Schedule

DCRRC Spring Marathon Program
Training Schedule
Targeting end-of-March Marathons
Wk Ending			Weekly Totals				MidWeek Totals			Weekend
(SAT)		Low	Mid	Adv		Low	Mid	Adv		Long Run
6-Nov		10	16	26		4	10	20		6
13-Nov		14	22	28		6	14	20		8
20-Nov		18	26	30		8	16	20		10
27-Nov		20	28	30		10	18	20		10
4-Dec		22	31	32		10	19	20		12
11-Dec		26	34	39		12	20	25		14
18-Dec		27	35	40		12	20	25		15
25-Dec		26	32	37		14	20	25		12
1-Jan		27	35	38		14	22	25		13
8-Jan		30	36	44		16	22	30		14
15-Jan		28	33	42		16	21	30		12
22-Jan		32	39	46		16	23	30		16
29-Jan		36	41	48		18	23	30		18
5-Feb		32	39	44		18	25	30		14
12-Feb		38	43	50		18	23	30		20
19-Feb		34	35	49		20	21	35		14
26-Feb		37	38	52		20	21	35		17
5-Mar		40	41	55		20	21	35		20
12-Mar		28	29	38		15	16	25		13
19-Mar		21	23	29		12	14	20		9
26-Mar		32.2	33.2	36.2		6	7	10		26.2

At the Beginning... Again...

Welcome to Tri-ing to Break Away... The Marathon Edition:

After making the commitment to do the marathon, one of my biggest issues was guaranteeing myself running buddies throughout this winter. I have already acknowledge my issues with training alone, and though right now I have a wonderful group of friends always available for a run, come the nasty cold winter I needed to make sure I'd have someone there to push me through those long double digit runs. Luckily, my best friend and tri training partner has also decided to tackle a March marathon! So even if everyone else decides they don't want to brave the freezing weather, I'd at least have him to count on. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that with running 4-6 times a week and truly hating running alone... ever, that this was a lot of pressure to put on one person.

Since the Y-Tri training program worked so well for me, I started looking into marathon training programs. After some researching, asking around, and avoiding programs that I had no way of affording, I came across DC Road Runners. This seemed like the perfect amount of training, for an affordable price. Their format allows you to be as involved in their process as you'd like. As a running group in general, they offer group runs throughout the week at different locations around the DC metro area. More specifically for their marathon training program, they also offer Wednesday night or Thursday morning track training session, and a Saturday 8 am long run. For me currently, I have my own running group that I can do my midweek mileage with, but have no structured track training, or weekend long run. So for now, I can join in for the Wednesday night track workouts and the Saturday long runs. Then when we get deeper into the depth of winter, if my running buddies decide to pull back a bit, I can always join in on one of the many Road Runners' groups as a backup plan to help meet my midweek mileage. Also, if that wasn't enough, Road Runners has partnered up with Pacers so just in case your schedule is particularly difficult, you can always join in for one of their "fun runs." Perfect!

Road Runners' program also matches you up to specific coaches depending on where you are with your running. Though you are able to work with all of the many coaches, and from what I understand they expect you to, you will also have a specific coach that works with you to personalize your training schedule and outline you're individual goals. This is where I find great value in participating in the program. No matter how many books, articles, and advice you find, outlining and analyzing your unique training program and goals is always where I seem to have the most questions... and astonishingly enough, no matter how many I ask, the books never seem to answer back. Basically, this program adds that human touch my massive amount of research was lacking.

Well it has officially begun. Here we go folks, on with this next adventure!

Gaining Speed

As I've mentioned in several posts, since my triathlon in June and the end of this years Y-Tri Training season, a couple girls and myself, who happen to live in close proximity and pace together perfectly, decided to create our own little running group to keep moving during the "off" season. Because this was such an organically created and organized group, I don't think any of us knew what to expect. Though we had discussed different goals and strategies... we ended up just running. At the time, that is exactly what all of us needed. Tri training had been so structured and serious and once the tri was over and summer was here, we all just needed a break and were mainly concerned with running off each of our individual lazy summer vacations.

Recently though, we have noticed our routine becoming a bit dull. We have pretty much plateaued in our distances, 6-9 miles (there is only so far you can run in the morning before work without having to wake up before 5am... at that's just not an option!). Plus there are only so many interesting routes you can map out, especially now since we no longer have the sunlight which allowed us to attempt different trail and park runs. So what can we do to mix it up? Well if we can't work on gaining distance, we could always try gaining speed. From the beginning, one of the best assets our group had was similar pacing. Nobody felt held back or left behind... it was all inclusive. At the same time, it probably has not encouraged us to push our pace. Adding speed training (fartleks, track workouts, hill repeats) would allow us to try something new, improve our speed, and exert as much if not more effort in a more compact time slot. Win win!

So now, for one of our running sessions each week, we will be doing some form of speed training instead. Our plan is to run down the to The Ellipse (just over a mile), complete 3-4 laps of 1 minute push, 2 minute recover, and then run just over a mile back up. It would total between 4.5 and 5 miles. Over time, our goal would be to increase push time and decrease recovery time. We'll probably alternate these fartleks with different forms of hill repeats every couple weeks to keep things fresh.

This is also specifically advantageous to me since I will need to add some form of speed/track training  to my routine once I begin marathon training (beginning of Nov). This way I don't have to suffer through it alone. Plus, one of the best forms of motivation is trying to catch the girl ahead of you!

My Fall Funk

Between the title and my lack of posting I'm pretty sure you have a clue as to what this post is about. Fall is not my friend. Yes, I concede it is beautiful and on these first few days in October the weather is fresh and crisp and all that jazz. But something about this season always throws my world just slightly off kilter. I'm sure part of it is the Florida girl inside of me that is mourning the loss of summer and dreading the next 6 months of layers, slush and cold. I also just began my masters program. Yet again I am trying to find my footing: making a schedule that I can stick by, readjusting to working at home, figuring out which of the 5 computer labs on campus actually have the stupid statistics program I need for class...

Also, my runs with the girls have gone from fresh summer morning jaunts to trudging in pitch black coldness.Those adventurous trail runs are now out of the questions since we can barely see our hands in front of our faces let alone watch the path. I also had to dig in the back of my closet to pull out running layers. Instead of just throwing on my tank and shorts, I now have to check the temperature each morning to decide what to run in.

Then there is planning out my training for a marathon next march. I've compared and contrasted a zillion training programs and have been devouring as many tips and training articles I can on top of my readings for school.  When I finally started to feel confident on what I needed to do and how I was planning on doing it, it hit me that I was going to be doing all of this during the winter. I mean I KNEW it was going to be winter, but it suddenly occurred to me what that really meant: layers of running gear, mostly running in the dark, less running partners to choose from, and God forbid we get hit by another snowpocalypse!

*sigh*   Ok, that is the end of my rant... I will now move forward and suck it up!

Packing Up!

I'm getting ready to head down to Virginia Beach for the Sandman Sprint! A girlfriend and I signed up for this as the perfect end of summer beach weekend. It's enough of a goal to keep us moving, but not something so extensive to stress over. Also, where better to end a race then on the beach? (Typical Florida girl!) September is also the perfect time of year for such an excursion: the tourists have all gone home, fall responsibilities haven't gotten too out of hand (Labor Day wasn't THAT long ago), and the weather is cool enough for race day with enough sun for beach time. It's truly the best of both worlds!

Though I'm very happy with my running lately, I have to admit my biking and swimming have fallen short. This is just another testament to workout buddies. With the girls I run with, one of us will always pick a route and time and all I need to do is show up (which is expected). With the swim and bike, I have to either find a partner for each outing, plan a workout, and/or get down to the gym for a class. Not that any of these options are tremendously difficult, just rather that they are up to me to execute. This will be an experiment to see just how much muscle memory can come into play come race day.

One last minute note included in a recent email that gave me pause:
"We know that Hurricane Igor is out in the Atlantic.  The current weather forecast is for sunny skies and a high temperature of 80 degrees.  The storm has the potential to cause rough surf.  No determination concerning altering or canceling the swim will be made until race morning." Yea... we'll have to wait and see how that goes.

Time to review my check list, pack up the car, and get ready for the fun weekend ahead!

Book Review - "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall

At the beginning of tri training, back in March, one of my running coaches sent out her weekly email discussing our runs for the week and what to expect, but in this one she also included the following quote:

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

She had just begun reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and was raving about it. She wanted us to get as inspired as she was. The difference was she was a marathon runner who had already bought into the theory of enjoying to run ages ago, while we were newbies wondering if you could die from running 3 miles. So my first thought was more along the lines of "well if something was chasing me I might actually finish one of these crazy runs!" But extra motivation couldn't hurt so I downloaded the digital version and added it to the library on my e-reader... and there is sat. Life was moving fast between work, masters applications and tri training, so my to-do reading list was not necessarily at the forefront of my mind. Then when I took off on my recent adventure I was looking through my digital library to find something to distract me on my first 13 hour flight, and there it was.

Recently I found my reading juggling back and forth between fiction (ex: The Life of Pi Yann Martel) and fact (ex: The Paradox of Plenty Douglas Boucher). One thing I loved about Born to Run was the balance between science and storyline... I got the best of both worlds! It was like a recipe with a sprig of anthropology, a dash of biology/genetics, a dollop of adventure, and topped off with comedy and life. On top of everything else, it inspired.

Review by Washington Post

The "M" Word

I have been asked to do a marathon. Me… the girl who 6 months ago almost fainted at the thought of completing a 4 mile jog. I guess this is the same mentality that makes me deny the fact that I’m a “runner.” I mean what constitutes a “runner” anyway. Well, that’s for a later post. It’s not like I have not been approached with the idea before. I have several friends who are runners and swear that completing a marathon is one of life’s greatest achievements. I’ve just never had the desire. The triathlon, though it scared me to death, also had an intriguing factor. There were new sports to be learned, and different ways of training and types of equipment. I mean look at this blog! It literally kept me on my toes. A marathon just has always seemed so… well, boring. You’re doing one thing… running. You’re training is just… running. There really aren’t any fun gadgets or techniques. You are just putting one foot in front of the other over and over and over again. As the last year of change has proven, I don’t seem to do well with monotony. So have I now somehow been wooed over to the dark side? Not sure yet.

Let’s just say that there have been many new positives to the situation that have recently revealed themselves. For one thing, my mentality towards this type of challenge has changed. Thanks to the triathlon, I don’t seem to question “Can I do something” anymore but instead “How do I do this” or “Do I want to do this.” The triathlon, to me, represented something that I considered impossible to accomplish. Now I feel like that word “impossible” has been erased from my vocabulary. In my mind I’ve done the impossible.

Another recent epiphany is that, without trying to or planning to, I’m already a quarter, if not a third, of the way there. I am now regularly running 8 miles. I recently had this conversation with one of the girls I run with who agrees that we have no idea how we got here. Obviously we “know” how we got here, but meaning this was not planned, or a goal. It just happened organically. I’m by no means implying that going from 8 miles to 26.2 will be anywhere close to as easy, but by realizing how far I’ve come in respect of running as a whole, a new world of possibilities has recently opened up before me that I truly never thought possible.

One of the greatest encouragements is that my best friend/tri training partner has recently had a similar breakthrough. After being asked to join, I went to him with this idea for some constructive feedback. He was, as usual, completely supportive and the one who brought up most of the pros already mentioned, but did not show any particular interest in joining me on this expedition. Then this morning, it just happened for him. He had a breakthrough 9 mile run and was tantalized by the same concept completing the triathlon gave me… “I can totally do this!” Knowing that I not only would have a training partner, but specifically the one who went through this last taxing journey with me, start to finish (literally), and all that it entailed, is invaluable.

There is also the point of view, turning a con into a pro, that doing a marathon would be something totally out of the ordinary for me, hence the opposite of monotony, and yet another check off the old bucket list.

This does not mean that I have not, and am not, still considering my list of apprehensions. For one, my knees have always been the first to revolt in the face of endurance, and out of the three sports I’ve trained in this year, running is definitely the knees arch nemesis. I would have to be uber cautious and proactive in training and strengthening to prevent injury. There is also the time commitment. I have a better idea of what I’m up against after my tri training, but at the same time, it has been nice getting my social life back. Am I ready to place it on the back burner again for another 6 months? And will running be enough to keep me entertained? I know that the second I lose interest or enthusiasm for such a goal, the chances of my accomplishing said goal diminishes significantly.

What needs to happen, what always happens at this stage of my decision making process, is research. I will now proceed to bombard myself with marathon facts and statistics until I’m blue in the face and cannot take anymore. At that point, the decision will be made.

Oh, and did I mention this marathon will be taking place in Rome?! Who says “no” to Rome?

Off to the bookstore!

Leave your watch behind...

It’s become way too common for us to get caught up in the pace. We are so focused on our speed, time, and distance that it is all too easy to forget to actually enjoy running. I know I’ve never been a huge advocate of the joy of running and usually look at it more as a dreaded school paper that I know I’ll leave for Sunday night to write, but turns out, if you leave all the pressures of performance behind, you might actually find yourself having… dare I say… fun.  

This beautiful Saturday morning I rolled out of bed, laced up my shoes and headed out. First of all, I almost never run without someone else. Without someone to talk to, how do you pass the time? Yes, I’m that chatty runner. Second, for the first time this year, I didn’t map out a route and calculate a distance/time goal. I just followed wherever my feet wanted to take me: Rock Creek down to the riverside, across to Virginia and back and then to explore the set up for tomorrow’s Nation’s Triathlon. I bumped into my running coach and stopped for some scenic stretching on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I didn’t focus on my speed and made sure to stop at my favorite café for a latte before heading home. Sure training goals are important, but some days you just need a break!

Runner's Toe

Last week I was so swept up in the fact that I kept up and cranked out 15 miles in 2 days after my vacation that I didn't stop and consider the possible side effects. After the longer runs it's not unusual for one or both of my knees to be slightly sore for a day or two. But after Thursday's run not only was my right knee pretty tender, my right big toe nail felt slightly bruised as well. I shook it off and assumed the weekend would put me right.

When Sunday's usual yoga and brunch date with the girls came around I barely noticed that I was still feeling that weeks running endeavors. Until I was in a full front bend, staring at my toes and noticed that my right big toe nail was raised compared with my left. At closer inspection I confirmed that my right big toe nail was actually lifting off of the nail bed. Gross! Left alone it had no discomfort, but when touched it felt like I was poking a dark bruise, though the coloring and everything else visually looked normal. I figured I hadn't run since Thursday and I wasn't planning on heading out again till Tuesday, so as long as I made sure Tuesday's run was a bit more conservative, I would be giving my toe ample healing time. Nothing seemed to change between Sunday and Tuesday morning, so I kept my plans for a short 3 miler. I wrapped my toe in gauss to offer some cushion and headed out. Everything felt fine for the first mile but then suddenly it just started throbbing. Once I hobbled my way home I saw that not only had the area underneath and around the nail bed swollen up, but for the first time there was discoloration. My toenail was officially turning purple. Awesome.

My solution? To do what any other straight thinking person this day and age would do... I went online. What I found was that this was common and referred to as runner's toe. Good news right? Sure... except for every article I found said that if you felt like there was pressure (hello, it felt like my toe was a balloon being filled with water) you needed to release the pressure to relieve the pain and avoid infection. Suddenly thoughts of prehistoric techniques for headaches like drilling holes into ones temple ran through my head... and I wasn't far off base. Each of these articles described how to do this "procedure" at home. Since I doubt you'd believe my description of these torture methods, I've listed some of my sources below. Basically they were advising me to take a paperclip, sterilize it under a lighter flame until red hot, and then place it on the area of the nail where the discoloration is. This will immediately melt the nail leaving behind a hole where the fluid can escape. If you’re “lucky” and the fluid is located more on the edge of your toe nail, you can instead use a needle which you will stick in the delicate skin around or underneath your toe nail to give the fluid a way out. I’m sorry but isn’t sticking bamboo shoots under ones nails considered torture?!

Full disclosure: when it comes to medical procedures, I am a complete and total wimp. So there was no doubt in my mind that these “at home remedies” were not an option. Instead I called up a Podiatrist, who couldn’t see me for another 2 days, but told me until then soak my toe in warm water and Epsom Salt for 20 minutes twice a day and then bandage with neosporin. Like a good patient, I followed the doctor’s orders, and also didn’t attempt to run, bike, swim or even put on a closed toe shoe. By the time my appointment came around, the swelling had completely gone away, and all that was left was the purple discoloration. What needed to be done was basically what all my research had told me… it needed to be drained. At least a professional was doing it. The doctor pulled out a drill that had a rounded sandpaper head and started to work. He slowly sanded down the purple section of my toenail until it was paper thin, and then with a tiny tap of the drill head the nail cracked and the toe started to drain. With a Philips screwdriver looking scalpel, he assisted in making the crack a bit larger and then massaged my toe to make sure all that needed to be drained was removed. As mortifying as the procedure looked, it was surprisingly pain free. I mean, it was tender and I didn’t really want to look at the deformity that had become my big toe, but all around not as bad as I expected.

Even though the pain from the pressure build up was gone, I still had to wait four days until my toenail was healed enough to feel comfortable back in my sneakers. I ran 3.5 miles and so far so good. Now to play catch up… again…

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/injury_archives/black_toe.html

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-241-290-291-405-0,00.html

http://www.time-to-run.com/women/footcare.htm

Keeping Up

One negative of not running alone, and having become dependent on my running girls is that I cannot always set the pace, distance, etc. So even though I've been out of commission for 3 weeks doesn't mean they have. In fact, they have been really pushing it and upping their distance, which is great, except it makes playing catch up a bit more intimidating. Tuesday they planned on revving it up with our favorite 8 miles down across the Potomac, around Roosevelt Island, and back over Memorial Bridge.



I agreed to go along, but figuring I'd turn around 1/3 of the way in. Instead, I only cramped up once and, though there was plenty of huffing and puffing, end up plowing through the whole thing. Needless to say I was surprised.

I was promised a shorter run for Thursday, since I expected to really feel those 8 miles in the form of seriously achy calves. It was technically shorter, though not as much as I expected. We ended up doing a 7 mile run which included Massachusetts Hill and trail running through Georgetown.



Not only was I not in as much pain as I thought I'd be considering Tuesday's 8 miler, but again, I kept pace as if I'd only been gone for a week rather then almost a month! It shocked me just how fast your body can bounce back and the amount of muscle memory you obtain. Moral of this story, don't take it easy because you think you can't.