Taper time:Third Marathon

    Taper time: I have trained as much as I can. Now it is time to let my muscles rest/rebuild and get ready for the stress of running 26.2 miles of trails in a week and a half. I feel pretty good about it.This year has been way different than last year. Partly because I have been training mostly by myself. Occasionally have had some awesome runs with others...some great trail runs! And a good 20 miler with my friend Christy that helped me not only physically but the extra important mental boost. So the difference this year has been I have had to check in with myself on how I am handling the training as I haven't had others around to get a lot of feedback from. In a way that has been good for me but it makes it a little more stressful going into the big day. But it will happen. I will finish. Barring some injury I can't foresee I am sure I can do it.
   People say you run the first half of a marathon with your legs and the second part with your heart. I also will include the mind in that. I think anyone who runs distance can tell you that getting your mind in the right place can be the key to a good or difficult race. If you have trained the body well than it can go the distance. It might hurt some, be difficult in spots but the body can accomplish it. But if you go into it with a bad attitude or bad mental state you will be putting more pressure on yourself and it can be a very long 26.2 with lots of arguments with your inner critics. Spending time arguing with those pesky naysayers in your head can be exhausting and already a marathon is by definition exhausting.
   So during this taper period I will be reviewing my mental and emotional state as well as resting physically. I have a good book to read; I have started a new art piece to work on; I will remember I am loved, wanted, needed and surrounded by goodness. I will trust that I am safe and sound. I will try to get good rest, eat good food and engage in daily laughter therapy. I will hunt down those bad thoughts in my head and hard feelings in my heart and slay them with positive energy and the light of love.
    I will have patience...with myself, with the people around me and remember I am not in total control. Just prepare the best I can and wait.
                    

My VERY LONG RUN---23 Miles DONE

 I got up at 4:30 this morning. It was still pitch dark. I had a 20ish mile run on my docket to do this morning so I had gone to sleep very early so I could start running very early. I had my coffee, a little breakfast and took off in the dark. I had my headlamp. Here is a picture of the B-line bridge soon after I started. I had some new podcasts on my mp3 player but decided not to play them while it was dark out so I could be alert. Also not play the  ones about ghosts until it was light outside. I was already kind of nervous in the darkness.

 The town was dark and quiet as I ran through the streets. It felt like I was the only one awake...maybe I was. I soon was able to ditch my headlamp after this point as light began to rise in the sky.  I ran on campus and up through the arboretum. It was a perfect temperature this morning...just cool enough to be comfy and no humidity.

      When I got to Griffy the woods were dark still but alive with noise. As I ran I saw two screech owls alight on a branch. They were big...either fighting or getting ready to mate I couldn't tell which. They flew on before I could snap a picture though. I thought I might have heard a deer in there too but couldn't see at that point.

 I just have always liked this mailbox that looks like a tractor. Someone spent a lot of time on it! It is interesting to see what kind of things people do. I got a text here from a friend asking how much more I had to do and I said I was going to run up to Old State Road 37 and turn around. What I ended up doing instead was getting to Old State Road 37 and decided to run along the road down to cascades park and then take that back. 
      Here was the scene as I got to the causeway of what had formerly been lake Griffy but now was Meadow Griffy after they drained it. Very pretty...here you can see the mist coming up off the ground.

I love the peace I feel out at griffy. It is just so joyous to be in the presence of natural beauty and be all alone in it. I decided now I could put on my podcasts. I started listening to one called Mysteries Abound which I had 4 different segments of it. It is all about ghosts, mysteries and paranormal things with some factoids thrown in there........like how we spend a total of 2% of our day with our eyes closed due to blinking.

Here is a church that I find at the end of Hinkle road when I turned onto Bethel lane. I always liked the look of this little church. It has a graveyard as well. I just think it looks so country-fied. I am also a sucker for old things. I was feeling good physically too.

1. My heel wasn't hurting
2. My heartrate was staying in range without me having to slow down too much which means i was running efficiently.
3. It was so nice and cool I didn't feel overheated
4. I had made sure to bring my hydration pack so I had a liter and a half or water. I hydrated often.
5. Here I decided to take some calories in with a shot blok.




                                                                                                              I always take  a picture of this barn. It looked so picturesque this morning. I was at this point also listening to Trail Runner Nation podcast which I enjoy...it was all about "Why people run". I know why I run. It makes me feel happy!!

 Here are some lovely flowers I found along the roadway. The first ones of course are daisies...one of my favorite flowers after roses. The one on the right I am not sure what kind they are but I love purple!

 I got down to cascades a little after 8:15. By now I had been running for 3 hours. WOW! I love this ballpark. It is a nice one...and all surrounded by trees. Some day I will catch a game here. I like baseball.

8:30am: double espresso break. I was getting tired so I decided to use a caffeine pick-me-up to get me through the next hour or so of running. Double espresso...I don't mess with the syrupy messes or caramel stuff. I would rather eat my calories rather than drinking them. And I LOVE espresso!

So after that brief break I continued on down the street to catch the B-line again. I had had a Molly Ables spotting pre-Sbux so that was a pick me up as well. I felt like I got a *third?* wind so was feeling active and energetic again. I think besides the coffee it was also the realization that I had conquered already a very hefty distance of running and was still feeling okay. I LOVE that feeling!! So empowering! After a big long run I feel like I could do anything I put my mind to.

9:00 am: Got to Rail Trail to start the final leg of my journey. It was heating up a bit more now so it was nice to be in a covered and shaded environment. By now my legs were tired but not hurting so that was good. I was listening to a podcast now about weird Australian monsters that was recorded in Brisbane, Australia. I reminded myself to tell my friend Jan, who lives there, about it. I had another friend sighting at this point: Shelly and Mariluz who gave me a high five as we passed each other.

And now I arrived at the pretty Church Lane bridge. I love this old bridge. It is so picturesque. I snapped a picture and then turned to go down the Clear Creek trail. I wanted to stay in the shade but running a leg of Clear Creek was part of my plan and I am pretty serious about my plans when it's an important run.
  I ran down Clear Creek to Rockport road and turned around. A weird thing had happened at this leg of the run: I had stopped feeling my legs. They were numb like someone had pumped them full of novacaine and my torso was just kind of floating along. Weirdness. It didn't worry me....just felt unusual. I guess by now I was getting pretty darn tired. It was 9:30 by the time I turned around. I had been running now for 4 hours straight.

SO That's the whole run! I finished 23 miles in 4:41 something. I got home, made more coffee, showered, iced my knees and now am prepped to get my trekking class written out and done. I feel like a superhero for running all that way!!!!!!!!!

Trying to keep a cool head when the competition is heating up

Qdoba

DINO

Trail Run

Series

15k

SERIES

STANDINGS

WOMEN

2013

Rank

Name

Age

#1

#2

#3

#4

bonus

#5

#6

#7

TOTAL

1

Kara

Egan

25 to 29

200

200

200

600

2

Katy

Goggin

30 to 34

184

196

196

576

3

Heather

Lake

40 to 44

174

193

186

553

    I ran the Brown County DINO race today. It was a great run. I felt so strong on the hills I know that hill training has paid off and there were long stretches where I felt like I was flying! I found out today that I am third in the DINO series for overall female. Last year I got that place and it meant a lot to me. So I would like to get that place again.
   The only place really in my sport of trail running I am competitive is at the DINO races and I think that is because since the beginning of my running of them some kind of benign spirit has helped me to do very well at them! It surprised me being a new runner and all so here is where I let myself get out all the competitive stuff that I don't feel anywhere else.

Highlights of the race: As you can see VERY muddy. It was raining lightly when we started and it was total mud from first to last. I thought it was funny when people were tiptoeing around on the mud. Like...GUYS...you are going to be doing this for an hour at least. Give it up and just get muddy!
   I was running for awhile with a very strong female runner who ended up placing in her age group, which was one up from mine, and she was FAST! I was really proud of myself that I could keep up with her because I felt like it was a 10 minute pace or below. Then at the water stop I passed her by and didn't see her again.
   The HILLS. WOW. I felt so strong on those hills it really surprised me. It was hard but not awful. And there were long stretches of run-able trail...besides the mud which didn't faze me (I had tied my laces really tight. There were at least 3 people I saw lose shoes to the mud) I felt like on those stretches I could possibly have hit a 9 minute pace.
   I finished it in 1:33:41 and the course WAS long (10 miles instead of 9.3) so it really was a successful run. Here is where I need to make a distinction. My feeling kind of bad about getting fifth place is NOT being ungrateful that I can run at all or being upset at the women who did place before me because they were tough, fast runners and they worked hard and deserved to place where they did. It is more of a disappointment in my performance. I can be extremely hard on myself sometimes. I DID a GREAT run. I had a good time, felt great the whole way, gave it my very best and finished only 5 minutes slower than last year and last year didn't have the mud to slog through.
   AND I still have 4 more races to go to keep my slot on the results. I can drop my worst time so if it is this one then I still have chances to get 1st, 2nd or 3rd and then can keep my place. And if I don't place in the series standings then I need to be easy on myself and feel good that I do as well as I do! Starting running at the late-in-the-day way I did.....past 40....I should probably not even be doing as well as I am.

Post race feast:  Sweet potato fries, avocado, stir fry with hamburger, peppers, shaved almonds and mushrooms. EXCELLENT!!!

185 miles in one month! How did I do that??

        I can't believe I am looking at my monthly total mileage and it is 185 miles! That is 85 miles over my 100 mile/month goal. I have only missed 7 days of running all month and it has been fun, pain-free runs. I have run some trails, some roads. I have run with a friend or two and I have run many runs alone. I have run without music/with music/with podcasts or just listening to the red-winged blackbirds trilling along the clear creek trail. There have been times I did not want to take a run but I went out the door anyway and you know what? partway through I decided I didn't want to be doing anything BUT running.
     I mostly heart rate trained it. This is my third month of heart rate training and I really think it is making a difference. Yes my runs take longer. Yes I sometimes get frustrated or even embarrassed when I have to walk up a little hill or, even worse, a downhill. But I take it seriously because I see changes. I see results! I have lost body fat and lost weight. I feel better about my running and my workouts show that.
      I take heart rate training so seriously that when my GPS watch started to have a nervous breakdown on me and say stupid things like my pulse was 39 on a Paynetown uphill I said LIAR and sent it back where it came from so I  bought another monitor from a friend. Even though I had lost some bells and whistles such as GPS, etc....the heart rate was the most important thing to me. Now my monitor says more sensible things although that means I have to walk more. Sometimes I get to having such a great time and I forget to check it (I still haven't figured out how to get it to chime when it gets over my heart rate so I have to look at it from time to time) and it will be 148 and I will have to stop dead in my tracks and start walking......sometimes fuming as my little runner's high dissipates.
     Also I have been doing pyramids in the weight room and that is making a difference overall. Last week I did a pyramid at the bench press: I started at 5X85 then did 8X80 then 10X75. I finished off with 20X45. I like doing them that way because you first get the strength/power move and then move into the endurance. . On the dumbbell chest press I am up to 25 pound dumbbells and 15 on the flys. On the rows I have finally gotten past the 70 pounds mark and am up to 85. The squats I do a pyramid as well: start off 5X105, 5X110 then when I am fatigued I increase it to 115 and do that as many times as I can. An aside: in the last month the guys in the weight room have started to "little bit" accept me. One even asked me to spot a chest press for him. Kind of cool.
   For core work I have started some intense stuff in the last two/three months. I have done high-intensity moves that work me harder while needing less overall time to do. That's good news for a busy person.
   I like to do my stability ball crunches holding a 10lb. weight plate. I can get in more with 20 crunches than I could with 50 of the regular kind. I have also progressed on the TRX to where now I do planks and body saw movements with a 10 lb. weight plate on my back. Body saw 10 times back and forth and then hold a plank with the 10lbs. on as long as I can hold it. I do that perhaps 3X. Then here is my trick again. When I am fatigued with all that then I do a plank with feet on the stability ball and 20-25 knee tucks. So once again I do the power moves followed by endurance moves.
   Besides that it has been just lots of long, slow, lovely runs through the summer days and nights. Pain-free and relaxed the way running should be. Even the sucky runs are better than no runs at all.

Hill repeats on a summer day AKA how to kick my own butt

        Today's Training:  I am getting into the habit of workouts at the cross country course. I have started seeing the same people almost every time and it is always cool to go there. Today I did have to kick my own butt a little! I have had quite a week and so was feeling kind of run down today. Said to myself "I will do my hill workouts tomorrow night instead of the group run."  
     Then I said to myself: Heather! You will say you will do your hill repeats tomorrow and then tomorrow you may find a reason not to do them. And I remembered how I feel during and after my workouts. So I got on my bike, rode back to work and hit the course. It was VERY HOT as I usually go right after my early morning training but today I went at 1pm. Sun bright and burning down.
   I jogged down to the fence, put my water bottle and headphones down and do what I usually do which is stand at the bottom, take a deep breath and GO!! I don't stop until I am past the grass. Then I turn around and jog back down. Usually it is easier but today the air was very humid and I felt like I was drinking the air. So I walked back down and thought I would only do a few. Then I thought again: You got all the way here dressed and ready do at least 10. You have to do at least 10!
  I decided to run like heck all the way up and then walk/jog down and take long enough to truly catch my breath before starting the next one. There was one woman there I think I had seen before and she was jogging up the hill. I took my deep breathe and ran up past her. When I turned around to head down she said "Nice work! I wish I could do that!"
   In the end I did 10. And I was glad i kicked my own butt and got out there. Now I can look forward to casual run Thursday!

                                                             LOVELY DAY!!

Whole30 DNF: not a good fit for me

       Whole30: I tried it and it was not a good fit for me. I am so happy for my friends that have found success in this meal plan but I was having trouble with it and so I listened to my body and decided to place my pride aside and DNF this diet.
      One of the main things was I don't have a large food budget and some of the things that they wanted me to eat regularly were pretty expensive for me. Fresh berries, meat, coconut oil, dates, avocados, olives were kind of expensive. Oatmeal, beans and peanut butter are filling and cheap. I felt I needed to be able to take my Gu's when I was doing long runs. I felt hungry all the time.
    My diet before Whole30 was pretty good. I had a larger breakfast with some complex carbs, protein, fruit and yogurt. Lunch was usually salads, quinoa and some veggies. Dinner was Tofu stir fry, veggies, milk. I have been off processed foods for years. No boxed stuff, no mac and cheese, no TV dinners. I had bought frozen veggies, Tofu, yogurt, skim milk, whole grain bread usually with flax in it, flax seed cereal, oatmeal. Very simple and did pretty well for me. I did find out I can do with much less wheat and carbs and it will help me feel better so that will continue. I will not be having bread, cereal, bagels, etc....on a daily basis. I have found I can do without those most of the time. I feel I needed my Quinoa. That has been a staple for me for quite some time as have soy products. I wanted my protein powder.
   Another aside: Whole30 DID show me I can go without so much sugar which is very good for me to know. As difficult as it was, conquering the sugar beast was a good thing to do and that is something I will take with me.

As I said, I believe Whole30 is great for some and perhaps not as useful for others. Deciding to call it quits so I can feel less hungry and have enough calories to manage my physical workload every week is a good decision I think.

MORE POWER to my friends who have made this work for them though! Major impressed!

Training log: doing the discipline thing

       My training is beginning in earnest now. I do not officially start ultra training until the end of June but am already trying to get in good habits like the back to back weekend runs, hill repeats and sticking to a running schedule (doing it even when I don't feel like it). So far my runs have been fairly shortish (maybe 6 miles or so) but I am at least starting to develop habits of discipline that every training athlete must adopt in order to achieve their goal. A quote I like is "The future is purchased with the present" Now I must do stuff other people won't so that later I can do stuff that other people can't.
   My schedule is roughly thus:  running days are tuesday, wednesday, thursday, saturday and sunday. Wednesday including hill repeats at the cross country course if I can find the time to do so. It's good for me to do my intense work on the soft grass. Plus i LOVE running up that long, grassy hill. Mondays and Fridays are rest/cross-training days. I also have been adopting a habit in the last 6 months or so of weight training. That usually includes a bench press day, squat rack day and deadlift day  with supportive lifts of dumbbells, barbells as well as cable, kettlebell, weight machines and bodyweight exercises such as TRX planks/pikes, pushups, squats, lunges/walking lunges, planks on the mat, tricep dips and other as I see fit that week's schedule.
    I try at least once a week to get in an alternative workout: rowing, HIIT workout, tabata, core only, medicine ball, pretty much whatever comes into my head that will add alternative movements to my muscles. There is an important element to training which is specificity. That means if you want to run you have to run. That's it. However if you only run you use the same muscles all the time which means other muscle groups get or stay weak therefore increasing the chance of muscular imbalances and injury.
                                                So MIX IT UP! 
   I have also started a really strict diet a couple of weeks ago which I am loving! It is the Whole30 plan and leads to some amazing benefits. I can already feel that I am lighter, faster, more energy and in general feeling amazing! I feel so much better and my body is taking to my training better. Last week I did hill repeats and I felt so much faster and running up the hill seemed easier.Still hard but better!

      I signed up for my full marathon which according to what I have read of ultra training it is good to get a full under your belt about a month before your ultra. This one is about a month and half before but the schedule that weekend is for 20/10 so I can adjust to get pretty much the right mileage just adding on a bit on Saturday and cutting Sunday a bit short.


So there you have it:  Training is good stuff. Even if you don't want to really do that workout or say no to those cookies and ice cream when you are on that course for the distance you can look back and say
"if it weren't for those sacrifices I wouldn't be here or able to do this."

                         So have gratitude for discipline. It will get you where you want to go.