So, on Monday I knew I needed to run again after my pathetic attempt on Saturday's long run. I went out on the W&OD after work, around 4:45pm, for a 5-mile run through my preferred short course.
Running this route is as familiar to me now as driving through the streets of the neighborhood I grew up in, I think I could do either with my eyes closed. I get on at mile marker 27.5 and run west. The first mile is flat and open to the sun for about 3/4 of a mile, then up a hill. At the start of the second mile I cross over the bridge, then down the hill, and into a flat segment shaded by the tree canopy. It is quiet until the end of the second mile when the trail crosses over a busy road crowded with drivers who beep their horn at cars that stop to allow runners and cyclists to cross. The third mile is my favorite. It starts just past the busy road with the hurried drivers, and it becomes quiet and peaceful. There are no houses or roads through this stretch, and the only sounds are those of birds and bicycles. Through the woods, mostly open to the sun with patches of shade, past the cow pasture and the rock quarry, over the bridge, between the black fences, and over a second bridge if running six miles instead of five. Not only have I memorized the precise location of every mile marker post and slightest shift in elevation, I have also memorized every detail of the horse trails that run parallel to the paved trail.
On Monday, I decided to run the horse trails. It had been raining and cloudy all day long as I looked out of my classroom window, but by the time I went out to run it was sunny and cool, with the first hints of fall in the air. It was a really nice run. It didn't feel like work at all, I was keeping a good pace, breathing easy, and actually enjoying the sounds of my shoes as they crunched into the micro-gravel with each step. The horse trails are more hilly, more shaded, and a more intimate run as you are usually completely alone with a tree and brush barrier separating you from the parallel paved trail. I turned around 2.5 miles out and headed back.
About 1.5 miles into the return run I saw a stick in the middle of the trail. Uh, and then it moved. It was not a stick. Clearly it was a snake. Many years ago I liked to think of myself as someone that would react quickly and decisively in high-stress situations, but I have proven on at least two prior occasions that my actual reaction is to freeze. I can't speak. I can't move. I can't do anything. Everything slows down, except my mind which is racing, yet completely unresponsive. The stupid snake is slithering around in the middle of the trail. I am staring at it, frozen. I don't move forward, don't move backward. I am completely paralyzed , or so I thought. Apparently all bodily functions are not frozen, the bladder for instance. Yeah, as the snake slithered around on the trial, I had peed in my pants. Not a drop or two. I literally pissed my pants.
So now I am standing in the middle of the trail, with wet shorts and socks, unable to get to the paved trail without crossing through the snake-infested brush, and afraid to go forward less it be a trap set up by the little slithering evil beast waiting for me to run by so it can attack my ankles. At long last I realized that I was not going to get home unless I finished the run, so I ran out the last mile, still on the horse trail, praying the whole way that no one would be running behind me. Then I drove home in a sports bra because I was sitting on my shirt.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Crunch Time
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - Team in Training Fundraiser at the Dock restaurant, a little wine, a lot of fun, a long night, a successful fundraiser, but no running
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - Ran 6 miles with my trainer/friend (moving more into the friend than trainer realm at this point, but both terms are still being used loosely), then did my Core Strength Training class at the gym
Friday - nothing, and ate a greasy bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys for dinner (clearly did not learn my lesson the first time I made this mistake...remember - faster, not smarter...)
Saturday -
This was "The Day" as far as training for the marathon goes. Our Team in Training group run was scheduled for 20 miles, and is intended to serve as a mock marathon for the real deal which is less than a month away. This was the longest run scheduled before the race, to be followed by a month of tapering down and allowing the muscles to repair before the big event. I am somewhat self-aware at this point, and did realize it was way too far to run on my own, so I decided to take part in the whole National Capital Area Team in Training group run. Making this decision easier was the fact that I knew my mentor was going to be there, which is always a huge help to me, and the run was scheduled for Reston (so not preceded or proceeded by another type of marathon around the beltway.)
I arrived at the training site by the W&OD in Reston (by mile marker 17) and there were at least 100 other TNT runners from Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. already there. The plan was to run west for 5 miles (to mile marker 22), turn around, run 5 miles back to the starting point, pass the starting point, run another 5 miles east (to mile marker 12), turn around, then back to the starting point, for a total of 20 miles.
The first 5 miles felt great. I was running with Caroline (my mentor) and we were aiming for a 11.5 minute mile pace, but I have picked up speed over the past month or so (I don't know how) and kept falling into what I now believe is my natural pace of 10.5 minute miles. We actually had to keep making a conscious effort to slow down. By the time we reached mile 8 I had to pee. I should mention now that I was also on my period and had an extremely upset stomach from the aforementioned bacon cheeseburger. I saw a 7-11 just a bit off of the trail, told Caroline to keep going, and ran over to the 7-11 to use their restroom facilities. The person working there refused to let me use it. Great. Now I needed to pee, change my tampon, had an upset stomach, and Caroline was way ahead of me at this point. Then someone told me that there was a community center up ahead about a mile. I ran to that. I couldn't find the bathroom. I ran back to the trail and kept going. Internally, everything between my rib cage and thighs was in a serious state of turmoil at this point. Finally I made it back to the starting point (so 10 miles into the run) where Caroline was waiting for me, and she informed me that I hadn't even lost much time despite all of my legs off of the trail in search of a toilet. We kept going.
Apparently I missed the next opportunity for a restroom at a McDonald's just past the starting point. Awesome. We kept going. Finally, around mile 12, there was a water stop and a port-a-potty. Even better. I tried to take care of all the issues affecting my stomach, but was not all that successful. I won't go into the details. We kept going, for about another mile, then we stopped to walk. And that was all she wrote. Once we started walking my legs cramped in a way that I did not know was possible. The run was over. We went out to mile marker 13 (so stopping a mile short) and turned around. We walked all the way back, except for the last quarter of a mile, which we hobble/jogged, simply to save face. In total, I made it 18 miles, only the first 13 of which were running. So, another miserable failure.
I cried and sulked around for the rest of the weekend. I felt guilty for eating any morsel of food that entered my mouth, even salad. This run should have resulted in the confidence needed to make it through the race. Instead I am now questioning whether or not I will beat the bus across the bridge, if I can make it past mile 16 or 20 or 25, if I will even survive the endeavor, and honestly why I ever thought I could do this in the first place.
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." I am going to re-attempt the 20 miles this coming weekend.
Tuesday - Team in Training Fundraiser at the Dock restaurant, a little wine, a lot of fun, a long night, a successful fundraiser, but no running
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - Ran 6 miles with my trainer/friend (moving more into the friend than trainer realm at this point, but both terms are still being used loosely), then did my Core Strength Training class at the gym
Friday - nothing, and ate a greasy bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys for dinner (clearly did not learn my lesson the first time I made this mistake...remember - faster, not smarter...)
Saturday -
This was "The Day" as far as training for the marathon goes. Our Team in Training group run was scheduled for 20 miles, and is intended to serve as a mock marathon for the real deal which is less than a month away. This was the longest run scheduled before the race, to be followed by a month of tapering down and allowing the muscles to repair before the big event. I am somewhat self-aware at this point, and did realize it was way too far to run on my own, so I decided to take part in the whole National Capital Area Team in Training group run. Making this decision easier was the fact that I knew my mentor was going to be there, which is always a huge help to me, and the run was scheduled for Reston (so not preceded or proceeded by another type of marathon around the beltway.)
I arrived at the training site by the W&OD in Reston (by mile marker 17) and there were at least 100 other TNT runners from Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. already there. The plan was to run west for 5 miles (to mile marker 22), turn around, run 5 miles back to the starting point, pass the starting point, run another 5 miles east (to mile marker 12), turn around, then back to the starting point, for a total of 20 miles.
The first 5 miles felt great. I was running with Caroline (my mentor) and we were aiming for a 11.5 minute mile pace, but I have picked up speed over the past month or so (I don't know how) and kept falling into what I now believe is my natural pace of 10.5 minute miles. We actually had to keep making a conscious effort to slow down. By the time we reached mile 8 I had to pee. I should mention now that I was also on my period and had an extremely upset stomach from the aforementioned bacon cheeseburger. I saw a 7-11 just a bit off of the trail, told Caroline to keep going, and ran over to the 7-11 to use their restroom facilities. The person working there refused to let me use it. Great. Now I needed to pee, change my tampon, had an upset stomach, and Caroline was way ahead of me at this point. Then someone told me that there was a community center up ahead about a mile. I ran to that. I couldn't find the bathroom. I ran back to the trail and kept going. Internally, everything between my rib cage and thighs was in a serious state of turmoil at this point. Finally I made it back to the starting point (so 10 miles into the run) where Caroline was waiting for me, and she informed me that I hadn't even lost much time despite all of my legs off of the trail in search of a toilet. We kept going.
Apparently I missed the next opportunity for a restroom at a McDonald's just past the starting point. Awesome. We kept going. Finally, around mile 12, there was a water stop and a port-a-potty. Even better. I tried to take care of all the issues affecting my stomach, but was not all that successful. I won't go into the details. We kept going, for about another mile, then we stopped to walk. And that was all she wrote. Once we started walking my legs cramped in a way that I did not know was possible. The run was over. We went out to mile marker 13 (so stopping a mile short) and turned around. We walked all the way back, except for the last quarter of a mile, which we hobble/jogged, simply to save face. In total, I made it 18 miles, only the first 13 of which were running. So, another miserable failure.
I cried and sulked around for the rest of the weekend. I felt guilty for eating any morsel of food that entered my mouth, even salad. This run should have resulted in the confidence needed to make it through the race. Instead I am now questioning whether or not I will beat the bus across the bridge, if I can make it past mile 16 or 20 or 25, if I will even survive the endeavor, and honestly why I ever thought I could do this in the first place.
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." I am going to re-attempt the 20 miles this coming weekend.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Faster, but Not Smarter
The past week has been terrible as far as training has gone...
Monday - Back to School Night at my school, no training
Tuesday - Ran with the Cross Country Team at my school, 7 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes, amazing!
Wednesday - Meeting at the Dock for Team in Training Fundraiser, no training, but a really great dinner
Thursday - Ran 1 lap around the lake, Core Strength Training Class at the gym
Friday- - No excuse, no drinking, no late night, but also no training
Saturday (today) - This week's distance run was scheduled for 12 miles. It was supposed to be an easy week in between hard weeks (18 last week - in theory, 12 this week, 20 next week). I thought about making up the 18 this week, but then figured that next week's 20 would be miserable. Ariana had soccer practice and team pictures today, so running with Team in Training would have made it impossible to take her. I decided to run it on my own instead.
I got on the trail in my regular location, at mile marker 27.5 by the Carolina Bros. BBQ in Ashburn. I headed west to the outskirts of Leesburg for 6 miles then back for the second 6. The weather was beautiful, sunny, cool but not at all cold, and I ran on the horse trail which runs parallel to the running/cycling trail almost the entire time (which means I actually ran more than 12 miles, and ran a more hilly terrain). I finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes.
When I got back to my car I realized that I had locked my keys inside, again. This is the second time I have done this, at the trail alone. My analysis of today's run is that apparently I have gotten significantly faster, but unfortunately not any smarter.
Monday - Back to School Night at my school, no training
Tuesday - Ran with the Cross Country Team at my school, 7 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes, amazing!
Wednesday - Meeting at the Dock for Team in Training Fundraiser, no training, but a really great dinner
Thursday - Ran 1 lap around the lake, Core Strength Training Class at the gym
Friday- - No excuse, no drinking, no late night, but also no training
Saturday (today) - This week's distance run was scheduled for 12 miles. It was supposed to be an easy week in between hard weeks (18 last week - in theory, 12 this week, 20 next week). I thought about making up the 18 this week, but then figured that next week's 20 would be miserable. Ariana had soccer practice and team pictures today, so running with Team in Training would have made it impossible to take her. I decided to run it on my own instead.
I got on the trail in my regular location, at mile marker 27.5 by the Carolina Bros. BBQ in Ashburn. I headed west to the outskirts of Leesburg for 6 miles then back for the second 6. The weather was beautiful, sunny, cool but not at all cold, and I ran on the horse trail which runs parallel to the running/cycling trail almost the entire time (which means I actually ran more than 12 miles, and ran a more hilly terrain). I finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes.
When I got back to my car I realized that I had locked my keys inside, again. This is the second time I have done this, at the trail alone. My analysis of today's run is that apparently I have gotten significantly faster, but unfortunately not any smarter.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Failure of Priority
Review of the past two weeks (post the 16-mile run):
Monday (Aug.31) - 4 miles
Tuesday (Sept.1) - off
Wednesday (Sept.2) - 6 miles
Thursday (Sept.3) - 1 lap around the lake & core-strength training class at gym
Friday (Sept.4) - 5 miles
Saturday (Sept. 5) - off
Sunday (Sept.6) - 10 miles
Monday (Sept.7) - Labor Day, Jason's (son) 7th Birthday, ate a lot, exercised none
Tuesday (Sept.8) - 1st Day of School, 4 miles
Wednesday (Sept.9) - Got flu, puked in front of students at school, exercised none
Thursday (Sept.10) - Still sick, exercised none
Friday (Sept.11) - Still sick, exercised none
Saturday (Sept.12) - 5 miles
Which brings us to today, Sunday September 13th. This weekend I was scheduled to run 18 miles. Once again, I could not do it with Team in Training because Ariana (3-year old daughter) had her very first soccer practice and it is still physically impossible to be in two places at once.
On the first day of school, while at my daily ritual Starbucks stop, I ran into my "former trainer/friend." I told him how I was going to have to run the 18 miles on my own, and he tentatively agreed to do all or part of the run with me. By the end of the week we determined that we were going to do the run on Sunday morning, I would do the first 8 miles on my own and that he would pick up the last 10 with me. Now, I have done a lot of hard work on my own since he was most recently shunned, and this run should have been strategically used by me to show off my quicker pace and increased endurance. Basically, for the first time ever, I had the chance to beat him at something (other than Jeopardy). A golden opportunity squandered.
Last night, Saturday, I attended a DC United soccer game. Well, not just the game. I went to the pre-game tailgate, where I behaved myself and drank orange gatorade while everyone else was drinking beer. Then we went inside the stadium. It all went downhill from there. I switched from gatorade to liquor and then the game was over (DC United lost). If I had the sense to go home and go to bed at that moment, all would have been well. But, I didn't. I drank more. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Stupid.
I woke up at 5:50 this morning to start the first 8 miles. Um, I was still drunk. I went back to sleep. I got back up at 7:30 am, now suffering from an acute hangover. I got ready and drove out to the trail to meet my trainer. At this point I planned to just run the 10 miles with him and make up the 18 later. We started, slowly, painfully. Each step jarred the remaining liquid contents in my stomach. It was bad. I quit 1.5 miles into the run. I couldn't even run back. We had to walk the mile and half back. Since the day was already a huge loss, I decided I might as well enjoy the nice weather...so nachos and frozen margaritas.
Clearly this run was a failure of priority. As my now restored friend/trainer said, "a complete disregard for the fact that I am training for a marathon." He was being nice. Not only did I miss the window of opportunity to physically show him up, I wasted his time.
Worst of all, though, is that this weekend was the first time since I began this whole process that I cannot even claim to have quit, I didn't even try.
Monday (Aug.31) - 4 miles
Tuesday (Sept.1) - off
Wednesday (Sept.2) - 6 miles
Thursday (Sept.3) - 1 lap around the lake & core-strength training class at gym
Friday (Sept.4) - 5 miles
Saturday (Sept. 5) - off
Sunday (Sept.6) - 10 miles
Monday (Sept.7) - Labor Day, Jason's (son) 7th Birthday, ate a lot, exercised none
Tuesday (Sept.8) - 1st Day of School, 4 miles
Wednesday (Sept.9) - Got flu, puked in front of students at school, exercised none
Thursday (Sept.10) - Still sick, exercised none
Friday (Sept.11) - Still sick, exercised none
Saturday (Sept.12) - 5 miles
Which brings us to today, Sunday September 13th. This weekend I was scheduled to run 18 miles. Once again, I could not do it with Team in Training because Ariana (3-year old daughter) had her very first soccer practice and it is still physically impossible to be in two places at once.
On the first day of school, while at my daily ritual Starbucks stop, I ran into my "former trainer/friend." I told him how I was going to have to run the 18 miles on my own, and he tentatively agreed to do all or part of the run with me. By the end of the week we determined that we were going to do the run on Sunday morning, I would do the first 8 miles on my own and that he would pick up the last 10 with me. Now, I have done a lot of hard work on my own since he was most recently shunned, and this run should have been strategically used by me to show off my quicker pace and increased endurance. Basically, for the first time ever, I had the chance to beat him at something (other than Jeopardy). A golden opportunity squandered.
Last night, Saturday, I attended a DC United soccer game. Well, not just the game. I went to the pre-game tailgate, where I behaved myself and drank orange gatorade while everyone else was drinking beer. Then we went inside the stadium. It all went downhill from there. I switched from gatorade to liquor and then the game was over (DC United lost). If I had the sense to go home and go to bed at that moment, all would have been well. But, I didn't. I drank more. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Stupid.
I woke up at 5:50 this morning to start the first 8 miles. Um, I was still drunk. I went back to sleep. I got back up at 7:30 am, now suffering from an acute hangover. I got ready and drove out to the trail to meet my trainer. At this point I planned to just run the 10 miles with him and make up the 18 later. We started, slowly, painfully. Each step jarred the remaining liquid contents in my stomach. It was bad. I quit 1.5 miles into the run. I couldn't even run back. We had to walk the mile and half back. Since the day was already a huge loss, I decided I might as well enjoy the nice weather...so nachos and frozen margaritas.
Clearly this run was a failure of priority. As my now restored friend/trainer said, "a complete disregard for the fact that I am training for a marathon." He was being nice. Not only did I miss the window of opportunity to physically show him up, I wasted his time.
Worst of all, though, is that this weekend was the first time since I began this whole process that I cannot even claim to have quit, I didn't even try.
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