Moving, Forward and Up

Before you start harping on me about my hiatus from blogging, know two things:

1. You can always keep track of my workouts on dailymile.

2. I moved. Yes, I'm still living in Portland. No, that doesn't make the process any less stressful.

Unpacking at the new place. Clothes EVERYWHERE.

To sum up, week 4 of SR training was spent packing up my old place, and week 5 was spent getting settled into my new place. As a result, I scaled back on my mileage for those two weeks (ran 34 miles out of the scheduled 51 for week 4, and 41 of the scheduled 60 for week 2). I also scaled back because it was HOT out here. No joke, it hit 99 degrees one day last week. (I think the last time I was anywhere that hot was when I lived in NYC.) And running in it was HORRENDOUS.

With that being said, my runs just didn't feel good over these last two weeks. Paces that typically feel easy suddenly felt sluggish, and I felt as sluggish as I did when I was struggling with iron deficiency a few months ago.

That could be for several reasons. One obvious explanation would be the heat. According to an article in Runner's World, "Every 5°F rise in temperature above 60°F can slow your pace by as much as 20 to 30 seconds per mile." It could be related to sleep, as I haven't done much of that since before I moved. Another potential explanation would be the iron. I just learned the other day that both regular and decaf coffee contain phenols, which inhibit iron absorption, and I have had more of that in recent days (though it hasn't been much). I would also try to blame the 4th of July party where I got glutened, but that would only explain Saturday and Sunday's runs. So who knows. My guess goes toward explanations #1 and 2.

Speaking of hydration/fueling, let me tell you a great lesson I learned Sunday! You ready for this??

Not all sports gels are gluten-free.

I was about to head out for my long run Sunday (18 miles, which ended up being in the 80-something degree heat) when I looked at the label for the chocolate flavored Clif shot, and saw that it contains maltodextrin. Now I remembered from my recent research on soaps and cosmetics that maltodextrin is a gluten-containing ingredient that is sometimes found in soap, shampoos, etc., so I went to Clif's website, and confirmed that both the shots and the shot blocks are not gluten-free. Fortunately, Gu Energy Gels, Hammer Gels, and Honey Stinger Gels are all gluten-free, so I'm not particularly worried about my long-run fueling. But does anyone know of a flavor that's super-caffeinated and gluten-free? I need to find a fix for my beloved Clif chocolate cherry gel that contains two shots worth of espresso!

Do you have any theories on my sluggish training? And/or any recommendations of caffeinated sports gels?

Summertime!

Summer's finally here (almost)! How can I tell? At 9 pm, it's still bright outside. I live for these long days!

You know what else screams "summer" to me? Ice cream. The other half recently introduced me to Coconut Bliss ice cream. Coconut milk-based, minimal ingredients, maximal flavor. Despite the fact that I seem to be unable to put have trouble putting the pint back in the freezer once I take it out, I highly recommend it! To be honest though, soft serve is more my thing. Back to Eden (the absolutely wonderful vegan, gluten-free bakery I finally tried about two weeks ago) apparently has soft-serve, dairy-free ice cream, and so I may have to go back there and get some to celebrate the official start of summer.

Another summer delight: mojitos. Fortunately, rum is distilled from sugarcane (and not grain), so I can still enjoy those. Unlike my former friend, the vodka-soda with lemon.

In all seriousness though, after two weeks of minimal gluten and dairy, my stomach seems to have dropped the swords of revenge. Maybe not 100% (my GI system seemed to retaliate a bit after drinking gin, and I later learned that gin is also distilled from grain), but compared to how it felt the week before Newport, I'll take that.

I'm still being mindful of my caffeine intake, and my energy levels have still been pretty consistent. I kid you not, I wake up after about 5 hours of sleep, only have 1 (sometimes 2) cup of coffee, and can still last about 18 hours. It's crazy! Maybe there is something to that extra iron dose (and pairing it with vitamin C, while limiting my coffee and wine consumption).

So now let's switch from food to training. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I'm already 2+ weeks into my multi-marathon training plan. All of the workouts have been either recovery runs or general aerobic (GA) runs, so it feels more like funning at times. But the "fun" is what keeps us coming back for more. Am I right or am I right?

To force myself to do ancillary work, I wrote it into my multi-marathon plan. After 1 week of testing that trick (because week 1 of this plan was simply recovering from Newport), I think it's working. A brief recap of weeks 1 and 2 of workouts.

Week 1 (Planned/Actual)
Mon - Rest or cross training / 4.43 mi of cycling in 20 min
Tues - Rest or 5 mi / rest
Wed - Recovery 5 mi / 5.16 mi at 7:41/mi
Thurs - Rest or cross training / rest
Fri - Recovery 5 mi / 5.06 mi at 7:36/mi
Sat - Recovery 5 mi / 7.19 mi at 7:40/mi
Sun - Recovery 7 mi / 5.13 mi at 7:40/mi + foam rolling
Total - 22-27 mi / 22.54 mi running + 4.43 mi cycling

Week 2 (Planned/Actual)
Mon - Rest or cross training / rest
Tues - Standard warm-up, recovery 6 mi, 2 x 1' standard core / Standard warm-up, 6.24 mi at 7:45/mi, 2 x 1' standard core
Wed - DS routine, recovery 5 mi, IT Band rehab routine / DS routine, 5.01 mi at 7:40/mi, IT Band rehab routine
Thurs - Rest or cross training / rest
Fri - Standard warm-up, GA 7 mi + 8 x 100m strides, strength workout / Standard warm-up, 7.07 mi at 7:34/mi, 2 rounds of 10x10 RYBQ strength routine
Sat - Standard warm-up, recovery 5 mi, DS routine / Standard warm-up, 5.06 mi at 7:40/mi, DS routine
Sun - Standard warm-up, GA 10 mi, 2 x 1' standard core / rest (unless walking around all day in honor of PDX Pride counts)
Total - 33 mi / 23.38 mi

How's your training going? What do you think of the briefer recaps?

The Science of Newport: A Race Analysis

When we last spoke, I had revealed my mile-by-mile recap of the Newport Marathon, and the emotional side of the race. "The Art of Newport," if you will. (If you need to catch up, go read that recap first.) This will be more about the technical side of the race.

It has been said that those who can't remember the past are condemned to repeat it. And before I begin training for Santa Rosa, I want to visit Newport one last time to determine what went right, what went wrong, and what I could do differently on August 24.

So what went right?

First, the speed work in the Pfitzinger plans. Maybe not all of the tempo runs went according to plan, but I remember all of the track workouts when I felt like I was going to die during the intervals, and ended up nailing my target splits.

On a related note, I did most of the runs as prescribed in the training plan, and one of the keys to improving as a runner is to run high mileage (or so Jason at Strength Running tells me).

Source

All Willy Wonka memes aside, I logged 56 miles for my peak week (the only time I ran more miles in a week during Eugene '13 training when I ran 57 miles in a week. But I wasn't working full-time then, so I'm chalking this one up as a win). Furthermore, April 2014 was the first time I logged 200 miles in a month.

With the exception of the last week of training, I was more mindful of what I ate. Sure, I had my cheat moments, but I know that I paid more attention to keeping gluten and dairy out of my diet when I went out to eat. Also, my issues with iron absorption compelled me to reduce my coffee consumption (because coffee hinders iron absorption) during the second half of training. I cut back from about 3 cups a day to 1 cup, and none after noon (well, most of the time). Once the nasty, wicked headaches subsided, I felt like my energy levels were more consistent. Less caffeine, more energy...maybe it really WAS messing with my iron absorption.

My pre-race massage also ended up being a wise choice. I did this a week before MCM because my legs were extremely tight, and after the success I had there, I decided to work a pre-race massage into my recovery week calendar. Groupon was also offering a deal for a LMT near my office, and how could I pass that up? My legs definitely felt fresher after that.

But what went wrong?

While I got enough sleep for me, I don't think I got enough for a recovery week. In the days leading up to the race, I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep per night. If you know me, you'll know that my attitude on sleep is along the lines of "I'll sleep when I'm dead." I just try to cram as much as possible into my days (because I don't know how to sit idly), and it usually catches up with me. I know that sleep is important in recovery, and that these same benefits probably apply to the taper as well.

The GI issues I had during recovery week and the race itself. Before I received the results from the celiac blood test, I took "potential celiac disease diagnosis" to mean, "You should go enjoy a burrito in case the test comes back positive (since ignorance is bliss)." And while I enjoyed said burrito as I ate it, the hours of GI distress that ensued was less than optimal. If I had to guess, I'd say that my mid-race GI distress was either due to the extra coffee I drank on race morning (normally, I'll have one cup of coffee before the marathon, but I ended up having about 1.5 cups this time) or to the gluten- and sugar-rich race eve eats (because my system wasn't used to them).

Per usual, I started out way too quickly. Between race morning excitement and jumping into an unofficial sub-3 pace group in the first mile, my pace for the first mile was my fastest lap of the whole race. I knew as soon as I saw that lap that I went out too quickly, and also knew that it was too late to do anything to prevent the damage.

My gel and water stops didn't correspond perfectly. I took the gels as planned, but on a couple occasions, the next water stop wasn't for another mile after I consumed the gel. You need water to help metabolize the glucose that's in the gels, so I couldn't reap the full benefits of them. Or so is my guess. And I'm sticking with it.

How can I improve?

Coordinate my Gu and water stops.

Get more sleep in the days leading up to the race.

Make a more concerted effort to figure out what foods work and don't work for me. Though I may not have full-blown celiac disease, I can't rule out the possibility of a gluten sensitivity (especially after the issues with that burrito). Also, the adjustments I made based on my iron absorption problems seemed to help improve my energy levels. With that being said, I think continuing to pay closer attention to what I eat and my body's reaction to it could be greatly beneficial.

Do more core and strength work. I put in the miles for this race, but more often than not, I'd skip out on the ancillary work. I did more strength work in the weeks leading up to MCM, and I'd like to think it paid off there.

Do some predawn long runs. I'm putting this on my list only because Santa Rosa has a 6am start time, and I think it'd behoove me to get used to starting long runs at that hour.

Do you have any more suggestions?

What's Done is Done

The taper -- the time when you back off from running, and then have to deal with the emotional overload that comes from not running. Well, alright, maybe you don't have to, but I feel better when I do. And right now, my way of dealing is by putting it out there for everyone to read.

With five days to go, I'm equal parts calm and terrified. Okay, maybe equal is a lie. But I'm feeling calm and terrified. And a bit excited too. But because calm isn't as exciting to discuss or read about, I'm going to discuss the fear factor.

I haven't talked much about goals because my one big time goal for the marathon is to break 3 hours. Perhaps I've said it before, but I'll say it again anyway. The thought of running a 2:xx marathon scares me shitless. I'm trying to stay calm, because I know that if I get worked up, I'll use that energy to fly through the first half, only to die in the second half. So we'll see how that plays out on Saturday morning.

Taper mode seems to turn me into a huge worrywart. Every little niggle (Aussie slang for minor ache/pain) makes me worried that it's going to turn into something major on Race Day. Which then makes me worried that my sub-3 is out of reach. But all I can do is rehab and foam rolling. You know, all of that ancillary stuff.

I also dealt with iron deficiency this training cycle (and no, I still don't have any idea what's causing the deficiency), and I know that it affected a good chunk of my runs during the second half of this training cycle. How? Paces that used to feel easy suddenly started feeling challenging. And I'd be lying if I said that didn't make me doubt whether I can achieve my goal.

I haven't done as much core and strength work as I probably should have over this training cycle. And that makes me worried that I've kissed that sub-3 goodbye. But I had my first 200-mile month during this cycle, and I lived to talk about it. And that counts for something, right?

As I type all of this, I'm telling myself that worrying about the 15,000 things that could potentially go wrong is like a rocking chair -- it'll help me bide my time, but it won't get me anywhere.

Source

That I need to crush self-doubt. That I'm greater than the injuries that have plagued me. That I've put the miles in, have done the speed work, and what's done is done. And most importantly, that I have an incredible network of friends (real-life and social media runners) and family who believe in me, and will be cheering me on from the race course, sidelines, and across the country. And that, my friends, is how I've calmed myself down. Oh, and listening to my pre-run playlist of Kelly Clarkson, David Guetta, and the like.

My project for the next few days is to keep myself calm and relaxed. I have my pre-race massage scheduled for tomorrow (Tues), a haircut scheduled for Wed, a reunion with the lovely and fierce Erin on Fri, and a weekend at the coast with some awesome running friends. Plenty of things to smile about, right?

Halfway to Newport: Week 6 Training Recap

What's happening out there?

So 6 weeks down, and 6 weeks to go. I'm officially halfway done with the Pfitz 55/12 plan, which is just mind-blowing. Where have the last six weeks gone? I know I was in Puerto Rico, but April is just a giant blur. I feel like my life this month has been run, eat, work, shower, sleep, and maybe socialize a bit. Yes, I've hit my weekly mileage goals for the last two weeks (and for 4/6 weeks of this cycle), which makes me happy. But I still feel like my life is work and running.

And speaking of time zooming by, my birthday's tomorrow. Where the hell have all of these years gone? I need a drink right now. But for the sake of my sleep cycle, I'll be good. Because the last thing I need during the 55-mile week of my training plan is a bout of insomnia. 

I finally returned to my doctor on Thursday for follow-up lab work. Despite the iron supplementation, my iron levels managed to drop. Actually, I think plummet would be a more accurate description of the change. I know that endurance training breaks up your hemoglobin stores, but between the last test and this one, my weekly mileage has only increased by about 10 miles. So this had to be due to something else. With that, I turned to the Google. And learned the following:

-Polyphenols (present in coffee, tea, and wine) inhibit iron absorption (Source)

I don't care so much about the tea, but for those of you new to my blog/life, coffee and wine are two of my favorite things.

Source

Source

-Eggs and dairy inhibit iron absorption (Source)

As a result of my lactose intolerance, I consume little dairy. However, I consume 3-4 eggs a day. Damn you, chicken eggs! Why must you be so delicious?

-Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue and increased sensitivity to the cold (Source)

Over the last few weeks, I was feeling really tired (which I just assumed was due to not sleeping enough), and noticed that my Raynaud's flare-ups were becoming more frequent. (I kid you not, I would drink a smoothie in my house, and my fingers would go numb and white.) I hadn't opened up too much about this in my previous recaps, because I didn't have a real explanation for why (and neither gluten nor dairy seemed to be a good explanation). So we'll see if proper/increased iron supplementation will help this. In the meantime, I have an appointment scheduled to see a specialist next month.

What is "proper supplementation"? Well, I'm glad you asked! To promote absorption, it should either be taken on an empty stomach, or with vitamin C (e.g., orange juice). I mentioned my medical issues in a dailymile post, and one of my DM friends (who has a similar issue) suggested taking it first thing in the morning, and right before bed, and not eating for an hour before or after either dose. She also suggested cutting back on my beloved caffeine, and reassured me that even though it'll be painful, it'll be worthwhile.

And now, onto my workouts!

After reviewing my training log (aka dailymile), I concluded that the big theme of this week's training was the mental game. Namely, the challenge of sucking it up, putting on your big boy shorts, and dragging your ass outside. And even though we discussed that last week, the mental component is huge in this sport because of how much time you spend on the streets/trails with you and your thoughts.

Mon

Planned: rest or xt

Actual: rest (and maybe some foam rolling)

Tues

Planned: Recovery 5 mi

Actual: Recovery 5.01 mi at 7:50/mi pace

Thanks to an Instagram post from one of my Bostonian friends, I remembered that today marks the one year anniversary of the Boston Bombings. I had to dedicate part of this run to them, and just think about how lucky I am that I'm still alive and able to partake in this sport.

After my Boston dedication, my thoughts drifted to other things - my training plan (and whether I can pull off this crazy-ass goal in 6.5 weeks), my job, and smaller matters like my upcoming birthday plans, and what I was going to eat when I got back home. I love recovery runs, because they give me a chance to just run and think about something other than target paces.

Wed

Planned: VO2 max 10 mi with 5 x 1000m at 5K race pace (6:33/mi); jog 2 min between

Actual: VO2 max 10.09 mi with 5 x 1000m at 6:26/mi pace

This was my first time doing a VO2 max workout, and I'd be lying if I said I weren't intimidated by it. The workout: 10 miles with 5x1000m at 5K pace (6:33/mi) and 2 min jogging in between. So I did a 3.19 mi warmup (1 mile to the track, and 2.19 on the track), then this workout, and then a 2.65 mi cooldown (1.6ish on the track, and the rest was the route back home).

For this, I used the Workout option in the Garmin settings (first time ever for that!), and for the sake of accuracy, temporarily switched my Garmin to metric settings. So I ran this, and then checked the results when I was done. Before I converted it back to statute (to get the splits), I saw "5.00km, 19:58", and was floored (I'll save you the math, 20:00 for 5km = 6:26/mi pace). Once I converted it to units I can understand, I was even more stoked.

Splits: 6:18, 6:14, 6:32, 6:30, 6:32

I'm still shocked that I hit my target pace for every interval, my pace for 2 of the 5 intervals was faster than my goal 5K pace, and my overall pace for the speed work was faster than said goal 5K pace. After the last week of workouts, this was a nice confidence booster.

Thurs

Planned: MLR 12 mi

Actual: 2 rounds of the RYBQ 10x10 strength routine

I had a charity event to go to on Thurs night, and decided to use Thurs morning to get the follow-up lab work done. So as a result, I swapped my MLR and rest days. And decided to use this rest day for ancillary strength work

Fri

Planned: rest or xt

Actual: 5.01 mi at 8:06/mi pace (am); 7.03 mi at 7:46/mi pace (pm)

Part 1: This might be the one time I felt more cranky after a run. First, it was cold (39°). Second, my stomach was not feeling so hot. Excuses, excuses. The gist of it is that I wasn't feeling very springy. Also, I think my Garmin was having an off day as well. It tried saying that my usual 5.03 mi route was 4.96 mi.

Part 2: Well, I can say that tonight's run was much better than this morning's. For starters, it had to have been about 20 degrees warmer.

I ran through my neighborhood again. I should really branch out, except I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like thinking of a new route. Initially, I didn't want to go out, but by the first mile, I felt glad I was out there. During mile 4, I thought of Erin's comment on my latest blog post, and started thinking about US states and capitals (for some of the states), and then the capitals for some foreign countries. That's probably the highlight from this run. Well, that and it felt like redemption for this morning's awful run.

Sat

Planned: Recovery + speed 6 mi with 6 x 100m strides

Actual: 6 mi at an unknown pace + 8 x 1 block strides

So my Garmin decided to crap out again. Except this time, I didn't even hear it beep. I just looked at it around the time I expected it to beep for mile 1, and it said 0.36 mi. I was at the MAX station, so rather than try restarting it, I just decided to take the MAX to 24 Hour and deal with the treadmill. Once I started on the treadmill, I couldn't get into a groove. So I left (feeling all defeated), went home, and after some hemming and hawing, decided to run my usual 5M loop with my headphones and phone, and time myself with the stopwatch. Music definitely helped get me back into a groove.

My playlist gave me flashbacks to the following events: Dad Vails '06, Eugene '12, Chicago '12, R Baby 4 Miler '09 (first race I averaged a sub-7 pace), and maybe some others that I'm not thinking of. Also, I saw two different CT license plates on this run (aww nostalgia time! haha). It was like a journey through the last (almost) 28 years.

Based on the Garmin time from run #1 and the stopwatch time from run #2, I'm estimating that my total time for this 6 was 47 min.

Sun
Planned: Marathon specific 15 mi with 12 mi at marathon race pace
Actual: 15.03 mi at 7:27/mi pace, with the last 12 being at an average pace of 7:19/mi

After Easter brunch, a nap, and accepting the fact that I had no valid excuse for missing this run (partly thanks to everyone's FB, IG, and DM posts about Boston), I headed out for an early evening run.

Today's workout: 15M with 12 at marathon goal pace

After a 3 mile warmup (and a side-5 from a diner at my neighborhood taqueria), I picked up the pace, except my legs were not feeling sub-7 minute miles. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5, I had the thought of, "Oh crap, did I lock my front door?" And one of the last places you want to have that thought is in the insular midst of the Springwater Corridor. So I decided to make this workout into one 10M loop and one 5M loop. Once I hit mile 5, turned around, and continued at a speedy clip back home. Fortunately, I had locked my door.

For my 5M loop, I just headed down my street 2.5 miles, and then turned around. I heard some kid belting out "Let it Go" from "Frozen," which just made me laugh. Started thinking about random things, like the US states and their capitals (rattled off all 50 of each in my head). Oh, and how lovely the houses are, along with how much apartment rents are over there. At some point during my run back home (probably around mile 14 of 15), I felt like the lactic acid had been flushed from my legs.

MGP may not have happened (average pace for the 12 was 7:19), but I gave this what my legs had in them. More importantly, I sucked it up, put on my big boy shorts, and got out there. And THAT is the bigger win, in my book.

Planned total: 48 mi
Actual total: 48.17 mi

How do you maintain a healthy balance between your running/professional life and your personal life? 

Do you own a GPS watch? And if so, has it given you satellite reception issues?

Highs, Lows, and Plateaus: Newport Training, Week 2

I recently read a blog post with a weekend recap in "High-Low-High" format, and think it pretty accurately describes my week. So here goes:

High - Finally trying the Vans gluten-free waffles. These had been recommended last week, and I happened to find them on sale, but I didn't open the box until earlier this week. And they're pretty awesome. They're light and fluffy, but have just the right amount of crunch when toasted. They reminded me of the Eggo waffles I haven't had in years. So far, I've tried them with peanut butter, as well as with peanut butter and honey, and both combinations are delicious (though in my mind, you can't go wrong with peanut butter on most things).

Low - Learning that not all vodka is derived from potatoes, and some is derived from wheat. (Article)

Seriously, Grey Goose? You cost enough. The least you can do is not rely on the distilling process to remove the gluten. But I did get a couple good recommendations - Monopolowa and Tito's.

High - Receiving my birthday present from my mom...five weeks in advance.

Yes, I'm aware that she's type A. But I won't complain, because all I wanted was to be surprised by my gift (I was), and the Nutribullet's pretty awesome. No joke, I've probably used it about five times in as many days. (Mainly for smoothie/green juice concoctions, but I did use it to make a peanut satay earlier today.)

Low - After feeling so energetic last week, I just felt rather blah this week. I avoided gluten altogether, and only ate dairy once. Maybe it's because I ate less meat and more lentils and beans?

High - Finding GF frozen breakfast burritos at Whole Foods! No, I have not tried them yet, but I was simply stoked to find them.

Low - Getting my lab results back from my doctor, and finding out that I'm borderline anemic, and that he wants to do further testing. Yup, that'd explain why I was feeling so tired. (I finally ordered my iron supplements, but they won't arrive until Wed. Until then, time to ramp up my meat intake.)

High - My upcoming vacation! I'm heading to San Juan on Wednesday for a friend's wedding, and since I've never been, I'm making an extended vacation out of it. Also, it takes a hella long time to fly there from Oregon, so I'd rather go for more than 2-3 days. Either way, so excited! The forecasted highs are in the 80s and the forecasted lows are in the 70s, which makes this Raynaud's sufferer happy. We'll see how the heat forces me to adjust my training plan for the week.

And with that, I lead into my training recap:

Monday
Planned - rest or xt
Actual - Work Challenge

Nothing particularly noteworthy, aside from that it felt good.

Tuesday
Planned - LT 8 mi with 4 mi at 15K-HMRP (6:45-6:48/mi)
Actual - LT 8.01 with 4 mi at 15K pace

My legs definitely were not feeling 100% at the start of this workout, but I forced myself to do this workout as prescribed. (Because while I *could* do this run at a GA pace, how am I supposed to grow as a runner if most of my workouts are at that pace?)

I used the first two miles as my warm-up, so it worked out (nearly) perfectly that from my place over the Broadway Bridge and around to the Greenway is about 1.9 miles (in that I only had to deal with street traffic on the warm-up and cooldown, and I could do the LT portion of this workout relatively uninterrupted).

During the first mile of the LT portion, I had one side of my brain saying, "Just do what you can", and the other side saying, "That's not the point of this workout." I don't really recall my thoughts during mile 2 of the LT interval, aside from being focused on hearing my Garmin beep so that I could turn around. Miles 3 and 4 were a blur of, "Push yourself! You're supposed to push yourself to exhaustion. That's the point." And once my Garmin beeped to signify the end of the LT interval, I was so relieved. I felt like I gave it my all, and somehow, I managed to run each mile a bit faster than the one before it. (Though mile 2 of my cooldown led me to wonder a bit about that one.)

Splits:
Warm-up: 7:54, 7:41
LT: 6:57, 6:49, 6:44, 6:43 (avg = 6:48; within the target range)
Cooldown: 8:11, 7:08

After doing a few of these lactate threshold workouts now, I'm finally seeing the point of them: to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Also, I read my training schedule this morning, and realized that my birthday is during the peak week of this cycle (i.e., the 55 mile week), and that I have one of the hardest workouts of the plan scheduled for that day (LT 12 mi with 7 mi @ 15K to HMRP). Fun stuff.

Wed
Planned - rest or xt
Actual - rest

My piriformis was feeling a bit tight throughout the day (I think as a result of Tuesday's speed work), and though I had every intention of going to the Work Challenge, I decided to go home and do some pigeon poses instead.

Thursday
Planned - GA 11 mi
Actual - GA 4.38 mi, Work Challenge, GA 7.12 mi

Part 1:
I had a morning doctor's appt., and meetings scattered throughout the afternoon, so the only way to squeeze in these miles was to split them up. This was around 3:30 or so. Got to run by the cherry blossoms in bloom. (Actually, they've been in bloom the last few times I've run down there, but this is the first time I'm remembering to mention it in my recap).

Splits: 7:20, 7:51, 7:52, 7:11, 7:10 (for 0.38)

Work Challenge:
Last one! So stoked that it's done, so that I can focus more on running now, but I'll have to carve out more time for core and strength work now.

Part 2:

I decided to head home and do part 2 of the MLR in my neighborhood (mainly so I could run, and not have to deal with waiting for the bus to get home and eat). I was tired, and certainly didn't feel like getting out there, but I was already dressed, so I just sucked it up. I definitely did not feel springy (though neither did the weather, despite it being the first day of spring), and I was just annoyed with everyone. Around mile 2, I got a random side-5 from some guy drinking outside at one of the restaurants on Alberta. First time ever!

By about mile 4 or 5, I started to get my second wind, and just let that push me through to the end. It was also around mile 5 that I stopped being annoyed with everyone. Funny enough, this run was the same pace as part 1. That was not planned.

Splits: 7:53, 8:08, 7:42, 7:17, 7:20, 7:29, 7:09, 6:35 (for 0.12)

Foam rolled later, and also massaged my plantar fascia (both feet). 

After I finished this run, my doctor called to tell me about the borderline anemia. If anything would explain my general lethargy, this would be fit.

Friday
Planned - rest or xt
Actual - rest

There was also happy hour, shrimp fajitas from a food cart, and game night with friends. Great rest day.

Saturday
Planned - Recovery 5
Actual - Recovery 5.28

My day got consumed by a haircut, PSU Farmers Market outing, and an impromptu coffee/tea outing with another friend. But I was able to squeeze this in between the Farmers Market and coffee by locking my stuff at 24 in the Pearl and starting/ending there. Compared to Thursday, this felt MUCH better. Plus, the benefit to starting/ending at 24 is that the extra floor space motivated me to do some dynamic stretching, IT band rehab work, and foam rolling after my run.

Splits: 7:15, 7:43, 7:28, 7:32, 6:59, 7:16 (for 0.28)

Sunday
Planned - LR 15 mi
Actual - LR 15.3 mi

I ventured down the Springwater Corridor for this run, which was a nice change of scenery (I hadn't been down that path in about 6 months). The weather was beautiful, and everyone and their mother seemed to be out (whether on bike, foot, or in the case of one guy, roller skates). By mile 4 (soon after I got on the Springwater), I felt like I was in a good groove. I just ended up losing myself in the run. During mile 7, some random woman passed me on her bike and said "Nice pace." I hit the Sellwood Bridge just before my watch beeped for mile 7, so I just ran an extra 0.5 miles along the railroad tracks, and then turned around. That portion of the path was unpaved and rocky, but it was still fun to explore!

The back half was fairly uneventful. Was still in the zone. I love running back up the Springwater because it just feels good to head back toward civilization. I added a little extra on so that I could crack 40 miles for the week.

Thought of Erin and Lynton on this one, after their amazing races today. (Erin got 3rd overall female in the Oakland full, and Lynton PRed in the Oakland half.)

Splits: 7:51, 7:43, 7:45, 7:35, 7:28, 7:30, 7:30, 7:41 (the rocky path), 7:16, 7:26, 7:21, 7:16, 7:39, 7:48, 7:14, 6:53 (for 0.3)

I had this issue on Thursday, and I had it again today. If I finish exercising, get home, and then opt to eat before changing and showering, I get chills, which are immediately followed up by a Raynaud's attack. After 15 miles, food sounds much better. But if it means having to deal with white fingers, I may have to switch up my routine.

Planned total: 39 mi
Actual total: 40.09 mi

First 40+ mile week in nearly 6 months!

Any tips for running in the heat? Or for training while on vacation? And do you suffer from the post-workout chill?