Rouge Leader Standing By

I ran(/walked/ran) 23 miles yesterday!  Holy buckets that was far!

The day started out comfortably cool and overcast and the first half of our run took us up to a gorgeous wooded area that I particularly like running through. The sun came out later and the second half of our run was on pavement and through areas with little shade. I was quite warm.

My biggest issue on yesterday’s run was my feet.  They swelled a bit, though not enough to make my shoes tight, and the bottoms became tender.  The switch from walking to running became a bit more difficult than usual, even by the 15 mile mark, but I toughed it out. It was one of those days when I was really glad to be running with a group. Had I been on my own, I don’t know that I could have completed all 23 miles, but my running buddies kept me entertained and distracted and I was able to keep on going.

I brought a lot of nutrition with me on this run. Having felt like I was running out on the 20 mile run, I may have over-prepared for 23. I filled two water bottles with straight water and mixed Honey Stinger Gels into the water in the other two bottles. I also brought along two extra gels to mix into those water bottles when I refilled them at the aid stations,  three bags of the Stinger Energy Chews and one bag of Jelly Belly Sport beans.  Rather than running out, I only ate 1.5 bags of the chews and no beans. But I did use all 4 gels (mixed in water) and I also drank quite a bit of straight water. I really like the gels. If you try them when you’re not exerting yourself, they may well be overpoweringly sweet. During exertion, they taste much better. By putting them into my water I can take in small amounts at a time, which seems to be the thing to do.

After my run my feet and legs were sore but I wasn’t as tired or mentally fogged up as I had been after the 20 mile run. It’s fascinating to me, as a new runner, how different each run can be. Some days a short run can be harder than a long one a few days later. Sometimes I’ll have weird pains that reoccur over a period of a few days or a week and then disappear. My only continuing issue is my IT band, which behaves very nicely as long as I use my foam roller every few days. Right now it is tight, but not at all sore.

I was able to take a cool bath again after my run, which helped immensely. I strongly recommend the cold bath method to anyone who is running or biking long distances. I did take some ibuprofen as well, which I generally try not to do unless I’m too sore to sleep. I am concerned about masking pain that might alert me to an injury I need to be aware of, so it seems best not to use painkillers much.  But between the swelling in my feet and the sunburn I managed to get, I decided that a little ibuprofen was appropriate this time. And I really didn’t feel like I had any serious pain to worry about, either. My legs were inflamed and felt very tired and somewhat tender, but not injured at all.

Today my feet feel fine and I’m a bit stiff, especially in the hips, but not particularly sore. And I definitely don’t feel injured. My sunburn is probably the most annoying post-run issue I have, and it’s not even that bad. Next time, I’ll apply/re-apply sunblock once or twice when we stop at aid stations.

The title of today’s post comes from the fact that my pace group might be breaking away from the class for our 26 mile training run. Many of us want to run the actual Marathon course, but logistically it is difficult for our class coordinators to manage shuttling everyone out to where the course starts and get people back after our run to retrieve cars. I don’t blame them a bit. But several of us feel very strongly that it will be psychologically beneficial on race day, to have run the course already. So we’re going rogue. We’ll have to get friends and family to do our aid stations for us, but I think we can manage. (As we were discussing our plan to go rogue, I was called Rogue Leader after mentioning that I chosen to return to our pace group after being re-assigned to a faster one. Being a nerd, I was amused.)

The Missoula Marathon is in 47 days and we only have one long training run left to go. That boggles my mind a bit, but I’ll be ready.

Does it Hurt to be Beautiful?

Sunday was a busy day for me and Monday night I went to see The Avengers with friends (It’s AWESOME!) so I am blogging a bit late. Our run on Sunday was a recovery run of 5 miles, with a magic mile. My time was a touch slower than my last MM, which I’m actually fine with.  It was 9:07. Using Galloway’s method of taking the last 4 MM times, throwing out the worst and averaging the rest, I get an average of 9:10, which predicts a marathon pace of 11:55 min/mile or a 5h 12m marathon.  We still have one more magic mile to run before the marathon, so that prediction will probably change a little.

Just yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and signed up for the marathon itself. I’m not sure that it’s been very clear to my friends or my readers that I hadn’t gotten around to that yet, but I hadn’t.  Part of my dilemma was deciding whether to start at 5am with the walkers or 6am with the runners.  Since yesterday was the last day to sign up at the slightly discounted price, I made my decision and registered for the 5am start. I did this to lessen the pressure I might feel to hurry up to make it to the finish line before the party is over. I also thought it might be nice to get a head start on my friends who are traditional runners, so that I can see them when they pass me, rather than having them jet out in front of me, never to be seen again. I enjoy those times when the traditional marathon training class shares part of a route with us and thought perhaps it would be nice during the marathon itself.

This coming Sunday is our 23 mile training run.  It really doesn’t seem like much more than 20 miles did, so I’m not worried about it.  My Mizuno shoes are breaking in well and have been serving me nicely on the short runs, but I think I’ll appreciate being back in my more familiar Asics for the 23 miler.

I had a little brush with a shin splint in my right leg last week, but it seems to be gone now. For a few days I would have a fairly random pain in my right shin every once in a while during the day. It wasn’t severe or particularly frequent and I think it was caused by the boots I wear to mow the lawn in causing a problem with my arch. It’s hard to be certain of course, but using my foot rubz ball and stretching/rotating the ankle seems to have fixed it right up.

Today I learned that I don’t really have a great tolerance for running in the heat yet. It will come in time, I’m sure. NOAA says it’s 85 out right now and my route was fairly sunny. I didn’t bring water, since I was only going out for a short run and I regretted it.  Halfway through my run I opted to stop at the grocery store and use their drinking fountain before heading back home. I’m not sure if that made my run better or worse, since my stomach got a bit upset on the way back, but that may have had to do with the fact that I ran a bit too fast for a little while, which I explain below.

Finally, before I explain the title of this post and the reason for my overly fast running in the heat, let me just alert you to the fact that I am a feminist. That means a lot of different things to different people and this blog isn’t where I want to go into exactly what it means to me, but part of this post will make more sense in that context.

Does it hurt to be beautiful? That is what the 50 something strange man yelled at me from across the street as I was turning onto the trail that takes me home this afternoon.  So many things flashed through my mind just then.  Is he dangerous?  Is he going to follow me?  Why does he think he has the right to yell at me or judge my appearance?  He must be sorta blind, given that it’s really hot and I feel seriously haggard.  What I yelled back was a simple, Yeah, sometimes it does, before turning and running down the trail. 

I’m sure he didn’t catch any of my meaning. He probably assumed that I meant that I dislike running in the heat, which is true. Or that beauty is hard work, which can be true depending on what is meant by beauty in a given context.  What I really meant, right then was that yes, being hollered at by a strange man on the street did hurt even if only psychologically.

Since this man was unknown to me, I cannot guess at his motivations or what kind of person he is. He may have been perfectly harmless and nice or he may have been a danger. It’s impossible for me to know. What I do know is that his question was unwelcome and inappropriate and that I ran a good deal faster than I should have for about the next half mile, until I was certain I was well away from him.

Dearest readers, if you see a person run by and feel the need to call out to them, cheer them on. I can’t speak for all runners, but I sure don’t mind being cheered on. In fact, I love it. But don’t ask questions or make comments regarding their level of attractiveness. Just don’t.  It’s pretty gross. And that’s all I’m going to say on the topic today. If you want more information on why it’s not acceptable to yell stuff like that out to strangers, please go read a dedicated feminist blog like Feministing, Feministe, or any of the thousands of others.

The Missoula Marathon is in 53 days!  I’m officially signed up and I’m really looking forward to it!

 

Recovery Runs are Nice

Today’s run was a nice 5 mile recovery run and it felt good.  The half marathon trainers had a 4 mile recovery run scheduled, but we were short on pace group leaders today so I think some of them opted to go out with full-marathon training groups that matched their paces. The reason we were short on pace group leaders and had fewer people in class today than usual is that a lot of folks went over to run Bloomsday in Spokane. It sounds like a fun run and it fits well with our training schedule. Next week is another 5 mile recovery run, with the possibility of a Magic Mile (we’ll still be short pace group leaders, so it’s up to us to decide). This might seem strange, but the Galloway training method is all about injury prevention, and when we get up to the high miles, we space our long runs out a bit farther.

A lot of the talk before and during our run this week was about our 20 mile run last week and our recovery experiences. It really surprises me to know that I seem to be having a much easier time with recovery than some of my classmates, even though many of them are more consistently active than I am. I suppose age could be a factor, but at 38 I’m not exactly a spring chicken myself. Many of my classmates were too sore to run on Tuesday, even those who took cold baths after our run. I was slow and my legs were tired, but I wasn’t too sore. If I’m doing something especially right, I don’t know what it is. I wish I did.

My new shoes are beginning to feel broken in. I don’t know that I’m ready to trust them on a long run, but I did the math last night, and I think that if I run all my short runs in the new shoes, my Asics should make it through the remaining long runs and the marathon. The Asics currently have 239 miles on them which means that after our 23 and 26 mile runs, they’ll be at 288. So I think that they’re in good enough shape. I will also have put about 84 miles on the Mizunos by then, at which point they may become my primary shoe for a while.

One thing I’ve learned about my own running needs is that I get overly thirsty and cranky if I don’t have water on any run over 3 to 3.5 miles. Some folks don’t bring water on our shorter runs, like today’s 5 miler. I really dislike feeling thirsty generally, and especially while running. I don’t seem to have to stop at the restrooms any more often than my classmates do, so I don’t think it’s really a problem.

Lastly, I cannot say enough good things about my foam roller.  I’ve been using it every few days, and always on Saturday evenings and my right IT Band feels fine. Every time I use it, it hurts less than before and I’m really to the point now where I only have one bad spot, which isn’t even all that bad.

Only 62 days left before the Missoula Marathon and I’m feeling pretty confident and very lucky. For those of you who are in Missoula, I sure hope you’ll consider coming out to cheer us on, especially later in the race after the fast people have gone by.  Us slow kids need love too.

Twenty Miles is Far!

Four weeks ago, our 15 mile training run was the most difficult one I’d had so far.  The 17.5 mile run two weeks later was much easier.  Last week, my short solo Thursday run was also one of the worst I have had.  What these two bad runs had in common was the timing of my cycle.  I’m sure I don’t have to elaborate further on that.

So coming into my 20 mile training run I was a bit worried that it would be another difficult one. I decided to take control of the things that I could control like hydration, sleep and nutrition.  For a couple of days before the run I did my best to be well hydrated, eat well, take my vitamins and get plenty of sleep.  I also bought a new water belt that could hold four bottles instead of just two, along with more noms and other supplies.

For my breakfast before the run I had two eggs, a large banana and a bunch of peanut butter (smeared on the banana).  For during the run, I mixed the Stinger Honey Gels (I use the gold) into two of my water bottles, and filled the other two with plain water.  For my noms I brought along a pack of assorted Sport Beans and two packs of the Stinger Chews (one Lime-Ade and one Fruit Smoothie).  I started sucking on a jelly bean a bit earlier in the run than I usually do (only about 30 to 40 minutes in) and I had a jelly bean or chew in my mouth most all of the time from then on.  I don’t chew them, just to be clear, so they take a while to dissolve.  I alternated between the plain water and the water with the gel mixed in, and finished the first of the honey-waters around half way.

I also used my foam roller on my right IT Band (the one that gets tight) once or twice per day for several days leading up to my run.  Most of the time I also rolled my left IT Band at least once on those days, even though it doesn’t feel tight.

Now, I have no way of knowing if this strategy was what made the difference, but I do know that I had a much, much better run than I did the previous Thursday, or 4 weeks before when we did our 15 miles. Around mile 14 or 15 I could start to tell that certain muscles were getting tired and my feet were certainly feeling the pounding they were taking, but I didn’t feel bad and I didn’t feel like I was struggling. Around mile 17 I started to really pay attention to how much distance was left, but I still didn’t feel bad.  I did get a bit of a mental boost after 17.5 miles, knowing that every step after that was farther than I’d gone before.

Our route was a bit unusual in that it was sort of a 10 mile out and back followed by another, different 10 mile out and back.  That might sound sort of boring to a lot of people, but I don’t mind that sort of thing at all.  And honestly, it was really cool to pass the other pace groups once on each leg of the run.  We cheered each other on, exchanged high-fives and I think generally improved each other’s experience. We were also cheered on at several points by one of our class leaders, who met us repeatedly along the route, and by runners from the traditional running class as well as a number of random strangers we ran past. I have to tell you, if you see a group of runners out on a training run, give them a cheer. It honestly feels great and they’ll really appreciate it.

Finally, I also tried something new after my run. Jeff Galloway and a number of others strongly recommend a cold bath (just tap cold is supposed to be fine) after a long run. I don’t have a bathtub so I hadn’t tried this before but some very kind friends of mine allowed me to use their tub after this run, and boy was that a good idea. The cold bath itself was not the most comfortable experience I’ve ever had. My feet, in particular, had a hard time with the cold water. But today, I’m so much less sore and stiff than I have been on previous long runs that I’m sure a cold bath will become part of my post-long-run ritual as often as I can manage. One thing I will say is that I think it might be easier to sit in the bath and run the water in, as I did, than to climb into a cold bath, particularly for the feet. Less shocking, that way.

So mentally speaking, 20 miles is the penultimate milestone for me.  23 miles (our next long run) doesn’t have the same mental impact so it’s our final long run of 26 miles that is the next significant training run in my mind.  That run is scheduled for June 10th and I will run around the block to get my extra .2 miles in if we finish short of the full 26.2.  Following that 26 mile training run, we have three consecutive recovery run Sundays, and finally the Marathon itself on July 8th in just 68 days.

I feel much more secure now in my ability to run this marathon. 26.2 miles isn’t much more than 20 and I’ve already run that far!

Shoes and Safety

Monday was a big day for me.  I bought a new set of running shoes that I’m very excited about, along with some toe socks to try and an extra pair of the good socks that I know I like.  I also attended a Runner’s Personal Safety and Self Defense class.  It was presented by Run Wild Missoula and The Runner’s Edge, which also happens to be where I bought my new gear.

The class included some information from local police officers as well as some safety equipment sold by the Runner’s Edge.  My big takeaways from the class were: pepper spray, elbows, practice/preparation/planning, visibility, trusting your gut and be careful with headphones.

Pepper Spray:  The Runner’s Edge sells the Jogger Fogger, which is what I will be getting. The advantage of the Jogger Fogger is that it doesn’t require such accurate aim.  It sprays a mist or fog that will be a bit less powerful, but more likely to actually get into the eyes and mucous membranes of your target. The thing to remember to be careful of is not to be downwind if possible, and to consider holding your breath either way. But you’ll have adrenaline on your side, which will help a bit. One thing the officers emphasized that I thought was interesting was, DO NOT warn your attacker. If you’re in a situation where you feel threatened enough to use the pepper spray, just spray it and get the hell out of there. Warning your attacker will give them (if they’re human) time to cover their eyes or turn away so that your spray has less of an impact. They also suggested cutting the safety tab ahead of time. They seemed less concerned with accidental sprays than I would have expected.

Elbows: If you’re attacked by someone bigger and stronger than yourself, or even if that person just has the element of surprise your elbows are a good weapon to use. Punching them may well break your hand, but your elbows are a bit stronger.  You can go for their face or neck if possible, but other soft spots are good too. Even just using your water bottle to hit them in the face with or spraying your water at them is better than nothing and could give you the second you need to kick them in the old peas and carrots so you can get away.  But a lot of us aren’t experts at any kind of self defense technique. That’s where preparation, practice and planning come in.

Preparation, Practice and Planning: Being prepared doesn’t just mean having the right shoes or knowing whether or not you’ll be out long enough to need water. You should also make sure that someone knows where you’ve gone and when you should be back. That way, if you’re not back on time, they know where to start looking. If you’ve never taken a self defense class, consider watching some self defense vids on youtube and practicing a bit so that your body will know what to do in a scary situation. Plan your route and know your surroundings. If you get into trouble, knowing which way to go to get to the nearest open business or the friendly neighbors’ house may make a big difference.

Visibility: I’m lucky to live in a pretty safe community. There haven’t been many attacks on joggers over the years, but of course even the few we’ve had are too many. Visibility is helpful because anyone who is planning to attack a jogger is a little less likely to go after the person who is drawing a lot of attention, but also it keeps you safer from vehicles. Wearing lights when it’s dark out and bright clothes are great ways to stay visible to traffic and to other pedestrians.  There are so many options when it comes to visibility gear, too. Here’s just one set of good ideas.

Trust your gut: If you’re out on a run and somebody approaches you and makes you uncomfortable, trust your gut.  Cross the street if you need to. Draw attention to yourself by yelling, singing or using a whistle. Do whatever it takes, even if you look like a nutjob. If they’re not a bad person and you’ve just hurt their feelings, that’s sad but they will live. On the other hand, if they are a bad person you’ve just made it less likely that they will bother you because you’ve just drawn attention to yourself from all the other people in the vicinity. Also, walk and run confidently with your head up.  Know who is around. Look them in the eye.  Don’t stare at your feet like I do, when I walk.

Headphones are a problem. Many of us love to run with music, but you need to be able to hear what’s around you. Cars and people make noise and you need to be able to hear them coming. There are headphones out there that are designed to allow external sound in, including a very fancy and expensive brand called earHero. Their earHerosport model is out of my price range, but they look really fantastic.  One of the officers who spoke to us today has a pair and they’re tiny little things that don’t plug your ear and block the external sound. There are other options as well, but I haven’t explored them yet.

On Tuesday I ran in my new shoes, and so far I love them.  They’re light and comfortable. Sadly, I don’t think the toe socks fit me properly.  They work great on my toes, but they’re too loose and slippy under the ball of my feet.  On Thursday I will run in the same shoes, but with socks I am more familiar with, just to make sure it’s a sock issue. And I’ll run in my Asics for our 20 miler on Sunday. I’m not taking any chances, there!

The marathon is in 73 days and I just keep getting more excited!

Pockets and Lessons

One of the things that drives me nuts about ladies running gear is the frequency with which there are no secure pockets in them. It makes me cranky. I realize that fashion, and yes, even running fashion, is designed to make us as nice to look at as possible and pockets – if they are used – ruin the line of our figure. But you know what? I don’t care. I’m not out there running 4 miles or 17.5 miles so that I can look nice while I’m running! I want pockets. I want a place to put my cell phone, my keys, maybe even an ID and some cash or my debit card. I prefer that these be secure pockets that my belongings will not bounce out of as I run. These are not tall orders, and I shouldn’t have to wear my water belt on a short run, just to have a place to stash things.

As it happens, my newish running shorts (the black version of these) have two sets of pockets. The outer pockets are not what I would consider secure. I keep my lip balm in there but that’s about it.  The inner pockets are in the back, to the right and left of my spine, and are much more secure.  That’s where I stashed my phone and cash today. And that, was how I learned a lesson today. It was one of those lessons that you realize you should have thought of before, but didn’t. As it turns out, secure pocket or no, those inner pockets aren’t the best place for cash. When you have to hand over sweaty bills to the lady at the coffee shop after your run, you feel kind bad about that. Or at least I did.

I mentioned in my last post that our next long run is 20 miles.  As it turns out, we only have three more long runs before the marathon.  I can’t quite wrap my head around that fact.  On 4/29 we have 20 miles.  Then the following two Sundays are both 5 mile recovery runs, with a Magic Mile on 5/13.  Then our next long run is 23 miles on 5/20, followed by two 6 mile runs, including another Magic Mile.  Our last long run is a full 26 (and if I have to run around the block to get in my extra .2 I’m doing it) on June 21st.  We follow that with a 3 mile recovery run, two six milers and then it’s time for the Marathon on July 8th (76 days from now).  And I am very dedicated about running my short (3 – 4 miles) Tuesday/Thursday runs each week as well.

If you had told me a year ago that I’d be looking forward to running (run/walking) 20 miles, I would have considered calling the nice men in the white coats to determine whether you might be a danger to yourself or others.  It really is amazing how much my outlook has changed since I started this class.  And in all honesty, a lot of that has to do with discovering the Galloway run/walk/run method.  I honestly don’t think I would be doing this today if I had tried to just run.  I don’t think I would have enjoyed a couch to 5K program or anything like that.  Whether I’m running at a 30 second walk/ 45 second run split, or 30s/30s or even the 60s/60s back when I first started, the run walk splits really make all the difference to me.  They enable me to go much further than I could otherwise, and to feel great about it.

Also, since my little sprint last week that seemed to stretch out my IT Band, it hasn’t bothered me a bit. I could feel it after the run but that was it.  I haven’t felt it since, except when using my foam roller, which already is starting to hurt a lot less each time.

My plans for the coming week might include buying some new gear. Possibly shoes and some of the socks with toes in them, as I have a bit of a toe overlap issue on my right foot.  I also plan to attend a  runners self defense class that Run Wild Missoula is putting on.  It depresses me that such a class is needed, but it truly is.  I’d also like to get a new pic taken for my header image.  And yard work.  ’Tis the season for yard work, and one of the advantages of the Galloway method of training is that many folks find it easier to be active after a long run.  Which is not to say that traditional runners can’t do stuff after a long run, but I know I couldn’t if I were doing traditional running.  At least not at this stage.

I’m also really excited to learn that some of my classmates are reading my blog!  That tickles me to no end.  And if any of y’all ever have anything to add about a run, or are having different experiences, please comment and let me know.  And if you have a blog, I’d love to have the link!  See you Sunday!

Sexy Seventeen (and a half)

Every run is different. Today’s run was 17.5 miles. It was raining nearly the whole time, but it was still a gorgeous run. The first half of our run took us through a local park and wooded area and it was so green and beautiful. It was also really nice to get off of the pavement for a while.

After about 4 miles in, I started to feel my right IT Band.  It didn’t hurt, but I could feel it. This concerned me, because it was so early on in our run.   Around mile 6, a few of us made a stop at a convenient restroom, unsure of where the next one would be. After we “sprinted” to catch up to our pace group, my IT Band felt fine. That little sprint seemed to work it right out and I didn’t feel it again during my run. I can feel it a bit now, but not much.

They say “the wall” pushes out a little farther with each long run, and it’s true.  The 17.5 miler today was easier for me than the 15 miler two weeks ago.

In addition to the slow buildup of miles, some other things that may have made a difference: Today, I made an effort to take in more calories during my run using a combination of a honey gel mixed into one of my water bottles and gummies. Also, I think my new breakfast is working out really well for me. My pre-run breakfast lately has been two eggs and a peanut butter sandwich on homemade socca bread. Socca is a flatbread made from garbanzo bean flower. The recipe I adapted is here. The important things are the warm water, and letting the batter rest in a tightly covered container for 30 minutes.  You can leave out the rosemary and onion, add different flavors and even make it sweet if you want.

In two weeks, we’ll be running our 20 miler.  26.2 is only a tiny bit farther than that.  I’m almost there an I’m feeling great.  I’m really excited about running the marathon in 83 days!