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?

Recovery Week

The Eugene Marathon has come and gone. After all the time I spent griping about being injured, feeling burnt-out and half-caring about the race, and just wanting Eugene to be a mere memory, it's done. Those four months sure flew by! (But at least I have some fond memories of the race.)

Anyway, now that the race is done, I figured I'd write about my week of recovering/not running. And to clarify that "not running" does not equal "sit on my ass while I eat and booze-face" (as delightful as that sounds once in a while).

What Recovery Week has Entailed
Three easy sessions on the stationary bike - This has been to keep my legs moving and flush out the lactic acid. Since cycling's a different workout, different leg muscles are used during it. (Remember my general philosophy: "There's more to marathon training than running.") Easy cycling's nice because it allows me to read while I exercise. (Yay for multi-tasking!) While on the bike, I finished Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (which I highly recommend), the June 2012 issue of "Runner's World," and read some of the June 2012 issue of "Running Times."

Two core workouts - Core strength helps runners. Just an example: If you hunch over, you're constricting your airways. Better core strength can translate to better posture, which can result in better breathing. (More on the benefits of core training later).

Two sessions with the foam roller - This is to relieve any residual tension. And while we're talking about foam rollers, I finally bought one of my own! My gym has foam rollers, and so I've just gone there every time I needed to foam roll. It's convenient when I have to go to class or meet with my thesis advisor, but if I have to go just to foam roll, it's not worth my while (despite how much it helps). So I caved and finally bought one. And then I caught up with Hulu while I foam rolled (again, yay for multi-tasking).

One session of yoga (plus another session of dynamic stretching) - Three days after the race, my right hamstring (or maybe it was my piriformis -- it's so hard to keep track when everything's tense) was still really tight, so I decided to go to yoga. And I felt better afterward!

One ice bath (two if you count the post-race one I took on Sunday) - Fill the tub about halfway with cold water. Add a bag of ice (I used a 7-lb bag of ice cubes the first time, and a 10-lb block the second time -- the cubes work much better). Get in and sit for 10-20 minutes. (I wore running tights and long sleeves, since we know how well I deal with cold environments.)

And last, but not least...

One shoe-shopping adventure - I went to my local running shop, and must've spent 1-1.5 hours shoe shopping. In all fairness, this included a gait analysis and shoe sizing, but still, I lost count of how many pairs I tried on. I'd put a pair on, run around the store for a bit, run on the treadmill for a bit, take the pair off, and then repeat that. Eventually, I narrowed it down to one -- the Saucony Mirage 2. Yes, you read right -- after 3+ years of running almost solely in Brooks, I bought shoes made by another manufacturer. (What can I say, they felt the best of all of the ones I tried on. Plus, my Brooks are still in decent shape, so I'll probably still use them from time to time.)

I haven't taken my new shoes on their inaugural run yet, but a diagnostic 3M run is on the agenda for tomorrow, so I'll have to try them out then. I'll let you know how they are once I try them out!

Impromptu Day Off

Oh, hey there! Yes, I've been AWOL for the last week. No, I didn't go on any exciting vacations. But I did come back for another edition of "Friday Five."

In honor of my absence, this week's theme is "Anecdotes from My Training."

1. It's warming up here! This was the forecast when I left for my long run on Saturday:

What'd this mean? I was able to leave the hat at home. I still needed the gloves. But it was much more pleasant than the run in the snow!

2. I ran into some friends along the way. On Saturday, I started my long run by myself, but between miles 6 and 7 (6.25 to be exact), I ran into my friends Jeff and Steve, who were in the midst of their long run. So I ran with them after that. It was a great balance between running by myself to recharge and get me time, and running with others to be social.

I also ran into another friend on Wednesday morning, but that wasn't as exciting because he wasn't running.

3. I explored some new routes. Or rather, I explored one new route (Tryon Creek State Park), and some variations of routes that I've previously run. It's always enjoyable to switch things up!

4. For the first time in about 6 or 7 years (I'm not sure of how long specifically, but it's been a while), I tried swimming laps. I did about 3 laps, but because of the smell of chlorine and the chlorinated water splashing into my ears, I was over it after that. Not to mention that I was already drained beforehand. But I'm still humored by the fact that I can survive running for 3+ hours on land, but can't seem to survive swimming 3+ laps in water. Goal for next time: 4 laps!

5. On Tuesday evening, I developed this craving for pancakes, and decided that they'd be a good breakfast for after my 9M run on Wednesday. Plus, it always helps to have delicious food to look forward to while running. To make my life easier on Wednesday, I made the batter Tuesday night and stuck it in the fridge. It seriously hit the spot! Plus, I had some batter leftover, so I was able to have pancakes again on Thursday!

Sweet and Savory
Left: Basic pancakes with a poached egg
Right: Chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter

--

I ended up with a day off (kind of). My thesis meeting this week was switched from Friday to Thursday, and my other meeting I had scheduled got canceled. All I have scheduled is a 7M tempo run (which I should probably start on), and some homework. And the sun is shining!

Any big Friday/weekend plans?

Active Recovery Works!

Good news! I can finally sit for more than an hour without my piriformis becoming irritated.

Per the Smart Coach training plan, I went for an easy 5M run on Friday. (What makes this easy is the fact that my pace was about 90 sec slower than my race pace for 5M.) Saturday called for rest/cross-training, so I opted for 30 minutes on the elliptical as a means of active recovery. Between both of them, I'm feeling much better now!

Funny story. Right after posting my last entry about wanting a training plan that allowed for more cross-training, I saw a post on No Meat Athlete talking about (almost) the exact same thing! It's specific to cycling, but the first four points are all things that I've read before.

I was using MapMyRun to track my mileage, but I recently created a profile on dailymile. I think both websites are great, but I like the layout of dailymile so much more. To me, it's cleaner and more streamlined.

And now for a running photo and anecdote...

This is National Airport (or DCA, if you're a flying nerd and/or have traveled to DC). I don't normally bring my phone or camera with me when I go running, simply because I hate carrying things. However, I brought it with me because I was running from Alexandria to DC for the first time, barely had any idea where I was going, and didn't want to get lost. While running down Haynes Point, I passed this, and the photo op was too good to pass up! I'd also like this to serve as a reminder that sunnier running days will soon be upon us.

Off to gear up for the week!

Confessional Booth

I have a confession to make.


No, this isn't where I jump into a room, and like on The Real World, start dramatically ranting about how I can't stand my roommates. (Fortunately, I don't have roommates.)


My confession? I need to change my training plan.


You see, when I was designing my training plan, I came across the Intermediate Marathon Program on Cool Running. Description: "For runners who currently run 25 to 50 miles per week and expect to run the marathon in under 3:30 for men, or 3:50 for women." I thought to myself, "This sounds like me. That's how much I run now, and that's my goal time. Okay, let's try that." As I penciled in all of the runs on my calendar, I didn't think twice about how the plan involves 6 days of running and 1 day off a week. I've been on that plan for about two weeks now, and what have I noticed (besides the 60+ runs that are on my calendar alongside my classes, research advising meetings, trips/visits, and other appointments)? A pain in my right leg that resembles sciatica (and shows up if I've been sitting for more than an hour), tightness in my IT bands, and a fear that if I run this much, and do (practically) nothing but that for the next three months, I'll come to hate and dread running (assuming that I'm not sidelined by IT Band Syndrome, Piriformis Syndrome, or any other injury that's possible). 


I love running. But I don't want to become obsessive about it to the point that I no longer enjoy it. Or become injured from overtraining and can't even run/finish Eugene.


I read at one time that cross-training (in addition to running) can actually help in marathon training. (Among others, Jeff Galloway, former Olympian and creator of the run-walk-run plan, endorses it in his marathon training plan.) How? Cross-training (e.g., cycling, swimming, elliptical, rowing machine) is a low-impact way to add extra fitness. Plus, you're using different muscles than you use for running!
(Other good articles on marathon training and cross training: here and there.)


Because of this, I figured that I should add some cross-training to my regimen. However, I had no idea which runs in my training calendar would be best replaced by cross-training. While considering all of this, I read about the Smart Coach app from Runner's World. You tell it a recent race time, what distance you're training for, how hard you want to train, and your race date. You can also tell it what day of the week you want to do your long runs. And the best part? It's free! (They have a paid version that comes with spiffy features such as daily email reminders of workouts and the ability to adjust your plan, but I think the free version is suitable for my purposes.) So I tried it out (what did I have to lose aside from the few minutes it took me to enter everything into the form), and was quite surprised. It came up with a plan that has 4 days of running a week, 3 days of rest/cross-training, pace times for all of my training runs, and a projected race time consistent with my goal. After Googling "smart coach reviews" and seeing good feedback, I've also found Hal Higdon's plans. His Intermediate 2 program seems great (5 days of running, 1 day of cross-training, 1 day of complete rest), though it's more generalized as far as what pace you should do each run. (Higdon's paid version supposedly offers more guidance, but since I've never used it, I can't confirm this.)


After reading all of this information, I think I'm going to adjust my plan. Any good plan (not just a training plan) must leave room for adjustment. You test the plan, and if it (or part of it) doesn't work, you figure out why it didn't work and how you can change it so you can achieve your goals.


Have you used a training program before (specifically, one of these)? If so, what was your experience like with it?