Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 15

I'm on the taper, I'm on the taper (<--to the tune of a child singing, "na-na na-na boo-boo!").

Monday, 4/4 - Zumba
Tuesday, 4/5 - off
Wednesday, 4/6 - 5.25 miles in 56 minutes (10:41 average)
Thursday, 4/7 - off
Friday, 4/8 - 20 miles in 3 hours, 52 minutes (11:37 average)
Saturday, 4/9 - off
Sunday, 4/10 - off

I did it!  The dreaded 20-miler is officially behind me, and I have entered the taper!

In other awesome news, Nike's website finally has splits data back up (I LOVE my Nike+, but my mom put it best when she said that she thinks they have only one person - just one guy in a little cubicle - supporting the website for the millions of people using it, because it is always having some sort of issue).  Here are my stats for the big 2-0:

MILE	TIME	AVG.PACE
1	10:47	10'47"/mi
2	22:14	11'27"/mi
3	34:14	12'00"/mi
4	46:08	11'53"/mi
5	57:09	11'02"/mi
6	1:08:29	11'20"/mi
7	1:19:35	11'06"/mi
8	1:30:38	11'03"/mi
9	1:41:55	11'16"/mi
10	1:53:00	11'05"/mi
11	2:04:22	11'22"/mi
12	2:17:07	12'45"/mi
13	2:28:34	11'28"/mi
14	2:40:40	12'05"/mi
15	2:52:07	11'27"/mi
16	3:03:24	11'17"/mi
17	3:15:44	12'20"/mi
18	3:28:15	12'30"/mi
19	3:40:55	12'40"/mi
20	3:52:16	11'21"/mi

Miles two and three are super hilly - hence the longer per mile times there.  The dip at mile 12 is easily (and legitimately) explained by my mid-run stop at home (filled up the water bottles, grabbed another Gu, and took some ibuprofen) ... hold on, tangent.  Remember this?:

Best. Movie. Ever.

Okay, sorry, what was I saying?  Oh yes, I had a two-minute pit stop at the homestead a little over halfway through, and because I didn't want my iPod to re-set like last time, I didn't pause it.  It makes sense, though - the clock isn't going to stop running should I take a break during the Pig!

Anyway, the run was actually pretty good.  The weather cooperated for the most part - it spit rain here and there, but I didn't get poured on (like I had feared).  The looming rainstorm did bring another unwelcome little visitor: HUMIDITY.  Holy shitballs, how did I forget that I live in the Humid-Nati??  Apparently, anything above 45-50% is considered to be high humidity.  Cincinnati averages about 70% humidity - that's a year-round AVERAGE, folks.  Summers are brutal here.  And I got my first taste of 2011 humidity on Friday.

Somehow, by the grace of God, the humidity let up after about an hour, and the rest of the run was quite pleasant, weather-wise.  I felt really good - well, as good as you can feel running 20 miles on your day off.  I think I made a mistake with my Gu intake though - around mile 15, my stomach started growling (uh-oh!).  I had taken two Gus and half a pack of Shot Bloks (one Gu at about mile 4, Bloks at mile 8, and Gu #2 at mile 12), but in hindsight, I should have brought along one more Gu.  A growling stomach during a run is not good ... two miles later, I hit the wall.

My troubles are evident in my split times.  All of a sudden, I completely ran out of steam.  It was one foot in front of the other for miles 17 through 19, and the last mile was true agony.  I was in a lot of pain in every sense of the word - physically, mentally, and emotionally.  But, as you always must do in marathon training, I pushed through and shuffled my way back home and straight into recovery mode:

Chocolate milk, Propel, and water: recovery fluids of champions.

Oh, but my 20-miler left me with something to remember it by: a HUGE blister on my right heel.  Remember that teeny little blister from last week?  It apparently got all of its little son-of-a-blister friends together and threw a party in my shoe for all 36,900 steps of the run.  I took off my shoe and was greeted by a disgusting gum ball-sized blister.  I'll spare you the photos (yes, there are photos - I had to show Jeff the proof!).

All in all, the 20-miler wasn't half bad.  And hell, what's another 6.2 on top of that?!  Nothin'!


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 35
Completed (This Week): 25.25 (72%)
Scheduled (Overall): 408
Completed (Overall): 333.75 (82%)

SOTR: "A/B Machines" & "Infinity Guitars" - Sleigh Bells

I'm generally not a fan of songs that repeat the same line over and over (and over ...), but I can't help but love this one.

The Mister bought the Sleigh Bells album Treats last year, and it has become some of my favorite running music.  I feel kind of badass when any song by Sleigh Bells comes on the iPod during a run.  "A/B Machines" also works very well as a wake-up song; Jeff has it programmed as his alarm clock.

You may not think you know about Sleigh Bells, but I bet you have heard their hit "Infinity Guitars."  It has been featured in recent commercials, including this one:

On that note, let's just go ahead and throw a little bonus song in today, shall we?  Here's the video for "Infinity Guitars":

What's more badass than a baseball bat-carrying Catholic school girl in sunglasses and a heap of burning guitars?  That's right - nothing.

Preparing for a Long Run

Well good morning!  Today is the day - the 20-miler.  This is the longest run of my training program and once this is over, it's time for the taper!  I've taken the day off of work to get this last really long run in and over with for the weekend, since tomorrow is this guy's birthday:

Those pills on the counter were for our dogs, I promise you.

I'm up early and I've got a little extra time today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explain how I prepare for a long run - because, believe me, preparation is involved.

Some people can hop out of bed right into their running shoes and head on out - if you are one of those people, I envy you.  On a perfect day, my long run prep time nears the 2 hour mark.  What takes so long?!  Well ...

First things first: food and drink:

Thirsty much?

Water is obvious - lots of water.  Coffee is and forever will be my drug of choice - I'm fairly certain that this body has not functioned without caffeine a single day in the past 15 years.  That last glass there may not look appetizing, but trust me when I tell you that is full of delicious nutrition - the green monster.  I've been drinking one of these blended creations nearly every day since December.  In today's mix:
-about 3 cups fresh spinach
-1 banana
-a small handful of fresh raspberries
-a tablespoon of Justin's classic peanut butter (the best $8 you will ever spend - actually, spend a couple more bucks for the maple almond and your life will change forever, trust me)
-a tablespoon of flax seed
-1 cup of milk (Jeff and I are total hippies now and bought our first half gallon of non-homogenized milk produced without growth hormones from a local creamery - ah-mazing!)

Once I've got my liquids down, I begin assessing the situation outdoors.  If I haven't yet, I map out my run and have one last check on the weather (STORMS today in the 'nati?!  You've got to be kidding me!).  I make sure my iPod is charged up and ready to go.  I already have my running clothes picked out ("picked out" is a loose term - I always wear a variation of the same thing).  When I do get dressed, I'll make sure to Body Glide it up - this is a VITAL step!  That stuff needs to go everywhere - the longer the run, the more Body Glide is necessary.

It's about this time that I start getting nervous.  I always get nervous before a long run - it never fails.  I am in the "sit and wait" portion of prep time.  With all of the liquids consumed above, I do not think it is a mystery what I'm waiting for.  There is nothing worse than having to "go" during a long run - this applies to #1, too.  I usually go pee about 8-10 times during prep time, and I always make "one last stop" before walking out the door.  During both Detroit and the Heart Mini half I made the mistake of skipping my "one last stop" and had to stop for a pee break during each race.  No fun!

Oh, I didn't even mention last night's prep!  I had a delicious pasta dinner that looked a little something like this (without the bacon, of course - this is an old pre-veg pic):

Did I mention that I'm married to the best cook ever?

Dinner was accompanied by lots of water and was followed by an early bed time.

So there you have it - how I prepare for a long run.  After popping a couple of Tums to ease my anxious stomach, I'll be on my way.  See you in four hours!

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 14

One more month!  Let the countdown begin ...

Monday, 3/28 - off
Tuesday, 3/29 - off
Wednesday, 3/30 - 8 miles in 1 hour, 25 minutes (10:38 average)
Thursday, 3/31 - 3.5 miles in 39 minutes (11:11 average)
Friday, 4/1 - off
Saturday, 4/2 - off
Sunday, 4/3 - 12 miles in 2 hours, 19 minutes (11:38 average)

I definitely took advantage of the fact that this was a "step-back" week.  It doesn't help that I was feeling like a nasty cold was coming on all week (hence the skipped Zumba session on Monday and the missed 5-miler on Tuesday).  Excuses, excuses.

Today's 12-miler was good and bad (at least it wasn't ugly):
The Good - Absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather in the 'Nati today - 71 degrees, sunny, and breezy.  I seriously could not have been more happy with the weather!  There were a couple of times during the run when I felt - dare I say it? - a little bit HOT.  Spring is coming after all!  :)  I had a pretty decent night's sleep and even let myself sleep in a couple of hours this morning.  OH, and I was super excited to run with my new shoes, socks, shirt, and capri pants (two lessons here: 1. it doesn't take much to get me excited, and 2. I am SUCH a girl).
The Bad - As mentioned above, I was feeling a but under the weather this week.  Although I felt pretty good setting out, I could tell I wasn't 100%.  I also had a bit of knee pain here and there, and a little twinge in my ankle (where I have NEVER had any problems before).  I felt like there was a teeny tiny rock in my right shoe throughout the entire run, but I couldn't get it out - that "rock" turned out to be a blister (that is why you never wear brand new shoes to a race - always break them in for at least a few weeks first!).  Dang.  My tummy was a bit upset post-run, but nothing a few Tums and some chocolate milk recovery drink couldn't handle.

My pace wasn't the best today - so what?!  Week 14 is behind me, and I've got a 20-miler to prepare for.  BRING IT!

"When you go to Nationals, bring it. Don't slack off because you feel sorry for us. That way, when we beat you, we'll know it's because we're better."

I am not ashamed to admit that I still love Bring It On.


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 30
Completed (This Week): 23.5 (78%)
Scheduled (Overall): 373
Completed (Overall): 308.5 (83%)

SOTR: "Run Baby Run" - Garbage

Today's 'Song Of The Run' is "Run Baby Run" by Garbage.  I can't believe I haven't paid homage to this song yet.  Garbage has always been one of my favorite bands (totally underrated by the general public), and I think this song is ... well, perfect.

Not only does it have a great upbeat tempo, the lyrics always get me pumped up!  My favorite line is:  "Find out who you are, before you regret it.  'Cause life is so short, there's no time to waste it."

Garbage has been around since the mid-90s - perfect timing to complement my teenage angst.  I have always thought that Shirley Manson is the most beautiful woman in the world.

Source

Rumor has it that Garbage is back in the studio for their fifth album and are scheduled to tour this year.  I can't wait!  I honest-to-God nearly cried five years ago when I heard they broke up.

Alright, enough gushing - I've got 12 miles to do today.  Run my baby, run.

Running is Making Me Old

I'm beginning to think that running is making me an old lady.  Knee aches and hip pains aside, I've found myself doing and thinking many things that are indicative of getting old.  Take the following examples of thoughts I've had while running through neighborhoods:

-Today is April 3rd.  Christmas lights and Christmas decorations should have been removed months ago.  I can't tell you how many houses I've seen that are still adorned with Santa Claus door hangers and twinkling multi-colored lights.  Most of these houses are in some pretty ritzy neighborhoods - so I know these people can afford to pay the kid down the street 20 bucks to take them down.  Come ON, people!
-If you have a ridiculously long driveway, why would you decide to park right where the driveway meets the sidewalk?  Because it is funny to watch me have to run into the street to circle around your car?  How hard is it to pull up five feet?!
-Speed limits in neighborhoods are 25 mph for a reason - because there is bound to be a lot of pedestrian traffic.  Attention to all of you jerks rolling through at 45 - slow it down!
-On the other hand, no need to slow it down just to stare at me and wonder why on earth I'm running up and down your cul-de-sac in sub-zero temperatures.  NO, I am not running from someone chasing me - NO, I do not need a ride somewhere - NO, I am not out of my mind insane (well ... that last part is debatable).  Mind your business!  Keep it moving!
-This last one takes the cake, and I know it has affected many-a female runner.  I will NEVER understand why people (okay, men) feel the need to honk their horn when they see someone walking or running down the street.  First of all, a honking horn 15 feet away from a vehicle is awfully loud, and never fails to scare the bejesus out of me.  Secondly, what are these men expecting?  That the woman is going to be SO flattered by their horn honk that she decides to flag them down to set up a date?  Come on now!  I think Jerry Seinfeld said it best in the closing credits of the very first Seinfeld episode, The Seinfeld Chronicles:

"Women know what men want, men know what men want, what do we want? We want women, that's it!...It's the only thing we know for sure, it really is: we want women. How do we get them? Oh, we don't know 'bout that, we don't know. The next step after that we have no idea. This is why you see men honking car-horns, yelling from construction sites. These are the best ideas we've had so far...The car-horn-honk, is that a beauty? Have you seen men doing this? What is this? The man is in the car, the woman walks by the front of the car, he honks: [imitates horn] e-eeehh, eehhh, eehhh, this man is out of ideas. How does it...? [imitates horn again] e-e-e-eeeehhhh, "I don't think she likes me"...The amazing thing is, that we still get women, don't we. Men, I mean, men are with women. You see men with women. How are men getting women, many people wonder. Let me tell you a little bit about our organization. "Where ever women are?", we have a man working on the situation right now. Now, he may not be our best man, OK, we have a lot of areas to cover, but someone from our staff is on the scene...That's why, I think, men get frustrated, when we see women reading articles, like: "Where to meet men?". We're here, we are everywhere. We're honking our horns to serve you better."

So do you see what I mean?  The more I run, the more I have these thoughts that I'm convinced are just signs that I'm getting older.  I am, after all, going to be 30 in a matter of months ...

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 13

I had a good week.  I neeeeeeeeeded a good week!

Monday, 3/21 - Zumba
Tuesday, 3/22 - off
Wednesday, 3/23 - 5 miles in 54 minutes (10:47 average)
Thursday, 3/24 - 5 miles in 52 minutes (10:28 average)
Friday, 3/25 - 3 miles in 32 minutes (10:47 average)
Saturday, 3/26 - 19 miles in 3 hours, 29 minutes (~11:05 average)
Sunday, 3/27 - off

Like I said, this was a good week!  I really needed to have a good, solid long run - more for a mental/emotional boost than a physical one.  I had been feeling pretty down on running for a while there, but I feel like last week's half marathon combined with this week's 19-miler (once again, uphill both ways!) has officially pulled me out of my slump.

I will say that the mid-week runs are getting harder and harder as my legs get more and more worn down from the mileage that keeps piling up.  I'm sooooo looking forward to the taper.  Totally the best part of any marathon training program.  My taper starts April 9th (coincidentally, the Mister's birthday), the day after my 20-miler.  I'm looking forward to my legs feeling "normal" when I run again, rather than completely worn out with every single step.  But I do know that part of the reason marathon training gets so intense prior to my beloved taper is that your body needs to learn how to run on tired legs - because that is exactly what is going to happen on race day.  So I'll keep pushing on through.


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 34
Completed (This Week): 32 (94%)
Scheduled (Overall): 343
Completed (Overall): 285 (83%)

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 12

Per the usual, this week's re-cap has been brought to you on a slight delay.

Monday, 3/14 - Zumba
Tuesday, 3/15 - off
Wednesday, 3/16 - 5 miles in 54 minutes (10:53 average)
Thursday, 3/17 - 5 miles in 54 minutes (10:49 average)
Friday, 3/18 - off
Saturday, 3/19 - off
Sunday, 3/20 - RACE DAY!  Cincinnati Heart Mini - 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 19 minutes (10:26 average)

I am excited to report that I have finally run my first OFFICIAL half marathon!  In all of my training to date, I have never signed up for a formal half marathon race until now.  I gotta tell ya, this might be my distance.  I definitely felt challenged and know that running a half requires a fair amount of training, but I didn't feel like I was going to flat out die afterwards (a common side effect of running any distance over 15 miles in one go), and - bonus! - I could walk without a limp the next day!

The weather was dreary, a bit chilly, and somewhat drizzly at times - but to me, it was great running weather.  My mom and step-dad ran the 5k portion of the event that started right as I was finishing, and being as how they were my ride home, I had 45 minutes to kill as I waited.  And THAT was when I really felt the cold!  Thankfully, a local hotel allowed people to wait inside its lobby so at least I didn't have to shiver outside.  That is something  I learned about winter running - sometimes it doesn't even have to be that cold outside to give you a nasty chill as soon as that sweat starts drying.

Anyhow, I was pretty pumped with my time - I know it might not sound that fast, but my goal was 2:30 and to beat that by more than 10 minutes was exciting for me!  The best part was that I felt pretty darn good throughout the race - even on the hills - and I was able to pick up the pace towards the end.

... and it is for a great cause!!

On the other hand, the days leading up to the race were rough.  I had been feeling really worn out, and my legs were begging for a couple of rest days.  So rest days they got!  I cut my scheduled 8-miler down to 5 (my friend Ashley and I were both quite literally dragging our feet halfway through our St. Patty's Day run, and both of us agreed to skip out on the last three), and completely took off Friday and Saturday to prepare for Sunday's big race.  As much as I hate to miss runs, I feel like it was the best decision, because I woke up rearing to go on Sunday morning!


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 31
Completed (This Week): 23 (74%)
Scheduled (Overall): 309
Completed (Overall): 253 (82%)

Tragedy! Crisis!

I am a creature of habit.  I am also verrrrrrry particular.  Take my choice in gum: from the ages of 13 through 20, I only chewed one brand of gum:

I would refuse any other type of gum offered to me, and probably went through a pack or two every day.  I was obsessed!  Then one day, I guess I finally got sick of it - the very smell of someone chewing a piece of Winterfresh made me gag.  I needed to move on.

And move on I did.  Enter the incredibly fabulous Orbit White Spearmint:

I was in love.  Orbit became my drug gum of choice, and life was grand.

But something has gone awry.  The other day, I was unable to find a single glorious green pack of heaven anywhere in my local grocery store.  Okay, fair enough, perhaps they don't carry it anymore.  That was just fine with me, as I usually buy my gum in bulk from my local Sam's Club anyway.  Gotta stay stocked up.

But when I made a special trip to Sam's, tragedy struck.  Nowhere in the entire gum and candy aisle was I able to locate my Orbit White Spearmint.  I literally stood in the same exact spot for a good five minutes staring at the shelves, willing it to appear.  And the worst part is, there was not even an empty spot for it - I think Wrigley and Sam had a nasty break-up and Orbit White Spearmint was part of the court settlement.

Oh but the horror continued to unfold when an awful thought entered my head: what if Wrigley is - gasp - discontinuing Orbit White Spearmint?!  The non-"White" version (oh my, I promise that is not intended to sound ignorant!!) of Orbit suckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkks.*

So I've come to a fork in the road:
(1) Choose a new brand of gum (blasphemy!).  I've tried my best to like the Peppermint version of Orbit White:

See?  Even the Peppermint's free image is crappier than the Spearmint's!

... but I just can't make it happen.  I feel like I'm going to puke with every piece.

Option 2:  Become obsessive about Orbit White Spearmint and try to track myself down a new supplier.  Perhaps I'll buy a whole case like Elaine with the sponges.  Don't put it past me!

*There may or may not have been an embarrassing incident in which my office Secret Santa gave me the regular Orbit Spearmint gum rather than Orbit White Spearmint gum.  I may or may not have made a snide comment regarding the incorrect gum purchase.  Said snide comment may or may not have been made directly to my Secret Santa, before I knew my Secret Santa's true identity.  I considered quitting my job from sheer embarrassment alone.