Quick Update

Friday, 8/27
AM: 8.5 miles
PM: 15 mins. + strides (2 miles)

Thursday, 8/26
AM: 89 mins. (12 miles)
15 mins. pool jog
15 mins. core/stretching

This post is just a quick catch up before I delve into the weekend's drama. And by "drama," I, of course, mean injury. I mean, come on? Do you know me at all? If so then you realize it's virtually impossible for me to go an entire year without getting injured. In frustratingly predictable fashion, 2010 is turning out to be no exception.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. On these easy and relaxed Thursday and Friday runs I still had no idea what the next sequence of events would portend. Stay tuned for all the sordid details.

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25x300

AM: 3 mile w/u + strides
Target: 25x300m w/1 min. rest; hammer #15, 20, 25
Actual: #1-14: 55s; #15: 52; #16-19: 54, 55, 54, 54; #20: 52; #21-24: 53, 54, 53, 53; #25: 50
1 mile c/d
Total: 10 miles
PM: 25 mins. pool

I came into this workout knowing that it would be my last hard track session before Nationals. Although short intervals are not typically my forte, I really wanted to nail this. I wouldn't have Tanya to help me with pacing (she worked out last night, but I couldn't due to my summer class starting), but Maraya was planning to do 12x300 at the same time. Her workout would be much faster than mine (she was shooting for 50-52s, while I was hoping to hit 55s), but I knew it would help just to have someone else to start with.

From the first interval, this felt hard. Have I mentioned I'm no good at short distances? I kept reminding myself that it usually takes a while for me to find my groove in this type of workout, so I tried to push all the negative thoughts out of my head. Still, I was a bit discouraged for the first five or ten. It didn't help that the rest felt incredibly short; we barely had enough time to jog the remaining 100 meters and catch a few quick breaths before taking off again. (Of course, the positive side is that this makes the workout go by fairly quickly, but who's thinking of positives in the heat of the moment??)

So there I was, feeling crappy, when all of the sudden something strange happened: halfway through the workout, I began to feel better. Like, a lot better. Like a completely different person than the one who started 12 intervals earlier. Instead of being cautious and hesitant, I found myself relaxing and opening up my stride from the gun. I also noticed that my breathing in between intervals was much calmer than at the beginning as well. Sure enough, as my body began to come around, my times began to drop slightly. With five laps to go, I was ready to really start pushing. I hammered #20 in 52, then came back in 53. This confused Coach Simmons, who was running himself ragged trying to time four different workouts at once. Our mini-convo as I jogged down the backstretch went like this:

SS: Okay, five to go!
MN: Um, no, I only have four.
SS: Really? You were supposed to hammer 20, not 21.
MN: I did. I ran 52 on #20.
SS: But you just came back in 53. That's pretty legit. You sure there's only four left?
MN: Absolutely, positively sure.

I finished the final few intervals strong, running close to all out on the last one but still staying controlled. Mechanically I felt more efficient than I have in a long time (which isn't saying a whole lot, since I have the worst form in the entire world). Both Simmons and Jenna commented on how far I've come physiologically in the past few months, which was pretty cool to hear. All in all, for a workout that started with me feeling so poorly, this turned into one of my most solid runs in the past few weeks.

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Cheating

Wednesday, 5/5
AM: 58 mins. (8 miles)
PM: 3 miles

Tuesday, 5/4
AM: 5.5 miles
PM: 20 mins. pool
15 mins. core
3 miles

I can already hear Jordan telling me that lumping two days into one post is cheating, and I respect his opinion on that. But it's been a busy week and I'm trying to get the apartment all nice and spiffed up before the parentals arrive for my graduation, so cut me some slack. Besides, there's not much to report. I've felt slow and sluggish this entire week, no doubt due to a combination of the race, the weekend travel and the swamplike humidity that we're experiencing in lovely Charlotte right now. Wednesday was honestly the first time since Stanford that I've felt like myself. I've got a big mile repeat session on tap tomorrow night so hopefully the recovery trend will continue.

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Recovery Monday

AM: 20 mins. pool
45 mins. (6 miles)
PM: 5+ miles

I enjoyed a rare Monday off from work by waking up early to go to pool. Yay. Fortunately that lackluster experience was followed by a jaunt with Jenna around Freedom Park and the Booty Loop, so I suppose the morning wasn't an entire loss. I took it nice and easy on a standard SFPL (Short Freedom Park Loop) in the afternoon. I ran into Jordan's Let Me Run kiddos on the bike path and it looked like they were having a great time despite one of their fearless leaders being out of town. Other than that, nothing exciting to report. I pledge to my loyal readers that tomorrow's 6xmile workout will be much more entertaining.

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Weezy McSneezy

AM: 20 mins. pool
3 miles
PM: 5 miles + strides

So, here's the funny thing about taking caffeine pills at 5:30pm: they wake you up. Like, for a long time. Here is essentially a breakdown of last night:

9:30pm: Return home from workout; shower, eat dinner, etc.
11:00pm: Get in bed.
12:00am: Still awake.
1:00am: Still awake. Cat vomits. (Oh, have I not told you we now have a cat? More on that in a second.)
2:00am: Finally fall asleep.
7:00am: Wake up for pool. Hate life.

This chain of events leads me to feel torn about using the caffeine pills. I thought they really helped me feel alert and excited for the workout last night, but obviously I can't take them this late (which, essentially, is the scenario we were practicing for at Nationals) and expect to attain a semblance of a good night's sleep afterward. I don't know if having a strong cup of coffee would have quite the same stimulant effect, but most of the reasoning behind taking the pill instead of drinking actual coffee is that I'm exceptionally wary of how a cup would affect my notoriously tenuous stomach situation so close to race time. So, I need to think a little bit more on this matter.

Now to the kitty. Last week, one of my classmates informed our class that she and her husband are moving and that they can't take their cat with them. Apparently the local shelter is currently full and not accepting any new pets at this time. Fast forward to a few days later, and somehow we ended up with a three-year-old feline named Weezy. After a few days of hiding exclusively underneath our bed, she has gradually become accustomed to her surroundings and is turning into, if I may say so myself, the coolest kitty in the entire world. When she's not eating her food too quickly and throwing it up at 1am.

P.S. I added the "McSneezy" on the end because the pollen is making her sneeze just as much as Jordan. It's pretty adorable (Weezy's sneezing, not Jordan's). I never thought I'd say this, but I might actually be turning into a cat person. Or at least a Weezy person.

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Tobacco Road Marathon Adventure

AM: 85 mins. (11-12 miles)
PM: 20 mins. pool

For a very thorough analysis of the race from Jordan's perspective, click here. For some insights from the best girlfriend in the entire world who woke up at 3am to accompany her boyfriend to his marathon, continue reading below.

The first thing I remember clearly after the aforementioned 3am wakeup is hearing the announcer counting down to the start of the race. After spending the entire drive sleeping, I had apparently crawled into the backseat once we parked and continued napping until 7. I woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed, eager to start my own run and hopefully catch a glimpse or two of Jordan on the course. After asking for directions to the Tobacco Trail from someone in the parking lot, I set off down the winding country road. I'd thought the trail was only a mile or so away, but I misunderestimated (sorry, can't pass up a good Dubya joke on the eve of the healthcare reform vote). Instead, it was closer to three miles away. Fortunately there was little traffic and plenty of shoulder for me to run on, so the beginning miles passed uneventfully.

Once I reached the trail, I realized I had no idea where Jordan was or when I might see him. It was perfectly coincidental that less than five minutes later I spotted the lead motorcycle coming straight toward me. Expecting to see Jordan close behind him, I was somewhat surprised to see a tall guy in a Brooks singlet and a lanky Hispanic (who turned out to be Moroccan). The Brooks guy looked calm and relaxed, but I detected a hint of panic on the Moroccan's face. Not good for what I found out was only mile 11 of the race. About 30 meters back was Jordan, looking fine but not particularly happy. I shouted at him that the second place guy would come back soon enough, then asked how he was feeling. "I'm hurting," was the answer I received but definitely not the one I was expecting this early in the race. As I watched him disappear into the distance, I couldn't help but to feel slightly worried. There was still a lot of running to be done.


The American Tobacco Trail

I continued down the trail for a few miles, enjoying the tree cover and the flat dirt path. I'm sure it would be boring to train here every day, but I really enjoyed the trail this morning. I would've liked to go farther, but at some point I realized I needed to turn around and head back the way I came if I wanted to beat Jordan back to the finish. There was nowhere else for me to see him during the race, which meant I had no idea whether he'd found a second wind or dropped out or something in between. Talk about suspense.

After reaching the car and taking a few minutes to change clothes, I headed over to the finish line just in time to hear the announcer say that the lead marathoner was approaching the 24-mile mark. By my calculations that would put him at around a 2:20 finish, which meant that it definitely wasn't Jordan unless things had taken a dramatic turn for the better. However, there were clearly some miscalculations involved with that first report, because it was almost a full 10 minutes later that he announced the leader approaching the 25-mile mark. This would put him on 2:25 pace, which didn't entirely rule Jordan out as a contender. Still, I wasn't optimistic; the Brooks guy had appeared so strong, and Jordan hadn't seemed mentally prepared to charge after him. Sure enough, a few minutes later the Brooks guy (who turned out to be Gavin Coombs, a former NC State runner and an employee at one of Jordan's accounts) came into view, then crossed the finish line just over 2:25. Jordan was still out there, but how far back? Had he overtaken the Moroccan? Had he dropped out and decided to Gallowalk to the finish? Fortunately I didn't have to wait long for the answers to these burning questions, as I spied his Craft singlet approaching a minute or so later. It was obvious from his facial expression that he was pretty ready to wrap things up, but his stride and arm carriage still looked strong. He crossed the finish line a few seconds later in 2:27.17, a 3-second PR. It would be six full minutes later before the Moroccan finished in third. Needless to say, he'd died a pretty painful death.

Speaking of painful, Jordan looked to be in rough shape after the race. It wasn't until several hours and a few pieces of pizza later that he started looking and sounding like himself. Though he hadn't had the best of races by any measure, I was tremendously proud of how he stayed tough even when things weren't going well. I guarantee he will learn more about himself and about the nature of the marathon from this race than from any of the others he's run. And while I didn't enjoy the whole 3am thing, I was glad that I finally had the chance to accompany him to one of his races. Actually, come to think of it, he won the two marathons I didn't attend and now placed second at the one where I showed up. Hmmm. Maybe I should stay home next time after all.

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Early Morning Pool

AM: 7 miles
25 mins. pool
PM: 4 miles + strength

As much as I loathe Monday morning pool practice, at least it gets me up and out the door at a respectable hour. Today I opted to run to pool and back, adding an extra loop around Freedom Park for good measure on the return trip. Not much to report; all is well.

I went the extra mile this afternoon (literally) after it was brought to my attention that it might snow in Charlotte tomorrow. Again? Seriously?!? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's March. Sigh. At any rate, due to the weather forecast and the amount of time between now and Nationals, Simmons preemptively moved our Tuesday track workout to Wednesday. The weather might dictate my runs tomorrow, but hopefully I can still get in some decent mileage.

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Familiar Story

AM: 53 mins. (7 miles)
25 mins. pool
PM: 60 mins. weights + core

I ran with Jordan from school this morning before pool practice. Not much else to say about today except that it rained. Again. I'm over it.

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Yet Another Rainy Monday

AM: 25 mins. pool
7 miles
PM: 3 miles

I was excited to head out to McAlpine for a girls' run with Jenna, Pezz and Tanya after pool this morning...until it started raining. And by "raining" I mean more or less flooding the entire city within a matter of hours. I've concluded Charlotte basically sits in a floodplain, and weather like today's just reinforces that dire fact. At any rate, Jenna and Tanya and I resigned ourselves to the prospect of splashing around in the rain near Queens and through Freedom Park for our morning miles. It was cold and soggy but surprisingly not terrible in light of the good company. I know it's too much to ask, but it would be really nice to have agreeable weather for my pre-race workout tomorrow.

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Windy Wednesday

AM: 53 mins. (7 miles)
Later AM: 25 mins. pool

Man, was it hard to get up this morning knowing that 20-degree temps and 35 mph winds were awaiting me. Only the knowledge that I'd be happy to get the run out of the way propelled me out the door. That, and the fact that Jordan got up before 5am to get some work done before leaving for the day. Once I made it to the Dowd and met up with the 6am group, things weren't so bad. Good conversation and a relaxed pace almost made me forget about the wind...almost.

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McAlpine Flooding

AM: 66 mins. (9 miles)
PM: 20 mins. pool

Another Sunday, another long(ish) run from Old Bell. We're so predictable. Actually there was a bit of excitement before the run today, which Jordan has done a stellar job of recapping on his blog. And come to think of it, the run itself was slightly more exciting than usual due to the excessive flooding at the park. The weirs we normally cross were completely submerged, which meant we had no way of accessing the main park (where the Footlocker course is) from Old Bell without running off the path, up a dirt hill, down the nearby street and around the corner. This made for about a quarter mile detour each way, but otherwise didn't impede our progress.

I put in most of today's easy miles with Jenna and Tanya, which is always fun. Actually, mad props to Tanya; she debuted her indoor season at Virginia Tech yesterday and ran an astonishing 9:22 for 3k. That's 5-minute pace for those of you non-math majors. Needless to say, she won the race, and qualified for US Indoor Nationals in the process. I knew she was fit, but damn. That's ridic. Fortunately for me, the effort took enough out of her that she wanted to amble along at a relatively slow clip today, which is exactly what we did. Good times were had by all.

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I Prefer the Term "Band-Aid"

PM: 60 mins. ellip.
20 mins. pool

Well, it's happened once again. Jordan is now the local celebrity and I am his groupie. Honestly, I had to endure enough of this after Oklahoma City...looks like I'm in for another few months of stardom-by-association. Remember the waiter who said it was a "pleasure serving him today?" Or how about the guy who was supposed to be buying ME a drink at the wedding reception we crashed, but got distracted when he spotted Jordan across the room and whispered in awe, "Is that...Jordan Kinley?!" I mean really, a girl can only take so much.

All kidding aside, allow me to say very un-sarcastically that I'm incredibly proud of his run yesterday and excited to see what he trains for next. Want to know what I'm not excited about? Writing final papers. I banged out a 10-pager this morning/early afternoon and a brief 3-pager tonight. I've still got several more to cross off the list before I can consider this semester complete. So, until then, I'll probably be off the radar, writing and folding Jordan's laundry or whatever it is that groupies do.

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The Miles Just Keep On Coming

AM: 9 miles
2x20 water pump extensions=80
PM: 30 mins. pool

That's right, people, you read it correctly. Guess who has two thumbs and just ran NINE miles today??

>>>this guy<<<

So anyhow, Jordan and I met the Queens team at Old Bell for their last long-ish run before Nationals next week. (Incidentally, let me pause at this moment to acknowledge that Jordan got a job while he was in Austin this week. Though video game manufacturers around the country are no doubt cursing this development, I'm pretty darn excited. Especially since I helped him obtain said job and was promised a new outfit in return.) After a week away from Charlotte he was anxious to meet up with his love Simon and I was equally anxious to attempt my longest run to date. Much to my relief, the adductor felt fairly normal upon waking up this morning, which (hopefully) means a crisis has been averted there.

The run started out very casually, with Tanya, Jenna and I sort of heading up a group and Maraya, Jess and Holly close behind. By half an hour in we'd reorganized, and I found myself sticking with Jess and Holly throughout the remainder of the run. We kept the pace very relaxed until the final few miles back to Old Bell, where each of us opened up just a bit and blasted some killer 7-minute miles. Damn, I'm good. In all seriousness, I did feel pretty good, and was pleased that I finished up the run strong and in control despite the distance. The weather was beautiful, the company was pleasant, and the atmosphere among the group was fantastic. Everyone is pumped for next weekend, and I'm incredibly thankful that I finally get to be a part of it.

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Waterworld

AM: 6-6.5 miles
PM: Chiro
25 mins. pool

Well. I'm in a world of hurt today. My calves, my adductors, my quads, even my abs for heaven's sake--all of these areas and more are sufficiently rocked from yesterday's workout. I suppose I had it coming. As a result, I decided to ditch the watch this morning and embark on 6 of the slowest miles Freedom Park has ever seen. I simply didn't want to feel pressured to run faster than my feeble body would allow. So, I didn't.


...and the water continues to rise.

That's not to say this run ended up being barrels of fun. The weather is still horrible--this is day 3, mind you--and running past downed tree branches while the wind and rain howled around me was very surreal, almost like I was smack in the middle of a natural disaster. They tell me it's supposed to clear up by the weekend, but I wouldn't be surprised if Charlotte floats away by then.

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Enjoying the Sunshine

AM: 6.5 miles
2x20 water pump extensions=80
20 mins. pool

I slept amazingly last night and woke up eager to see how my body felt after yesterday's shenanigans. To my surprise, the hip felt fine and the rest of me only exhibited a little bit of soreness. With the green light from Simmons to attempt an easy run, I hit Tanya up to meet me and Jordan at McAlpine.

By the time we all arrived it was late morning and the park was packed. For good reason too, as the weather was absolutely spectacular. The three of us set off from Old Bell together, each with different mileage goals but content to jog with each other for a few miles. Though my hip felt decent, my legs were a bit more dead than I originally thought, and our blazing 7:35 first mile felt just as tough as the first mile of the race yesterday. After reaching 4 miles right around 29 minutes, I was content to shut it down for my solo jog back to the parking lot.

I had only made it a few minutes down the main trail when a familiar face popped out from Boyce. Pezz and I crossed paths a few steps later, and I was happy to turn around and keep pace with her for a few minutes to catch up. Turns out she's been struggling with injury too--stemming from a freak steeplechase accident she suffered a few years ago--and was trying to finish up a "big" 35-mile week. It was hard not to laugh at our similarities, especially considering that one of the last workouts I did pre-injury was out here with her. At any rate, it was great to catch up with her for a few minutes and see that she's back on her feet.

The rest of the jog back to Old Bell was uneventful, and the weather was so nice that I didn't mind waiting around for Jordan to finish up. Definitely a great way to cap off the week.

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Two Days in a Row

Wednesday, 10/28
AM: 4.5 mile run
30 mins. pool
2.75 mile run
2x20 water pump extensions=80
Total: 7+ miles

Tuesday, 10/27
AM: ~6.5 miles
2x20 water pump extensions=80
PM: 25 mins. ellip.

Despite the fact that it amounts to less than Jilane does on her typical warmup, I was pretty proud of myself to notch 13+ miles in little more than 24 hours. And, more importantly, to feel good doing it. Not "good" as in fit, but "good" as in my hip cooperated fully. The thought of running Thursday is quite tempting, but I'm going to do my best to restrain myself in hopes of saving up for a stellar predator run Friday. That, and I'm so busy with the week from hell right now that I wouldn't really have time to fit in an extra workout if I wanted to.


Fall foliage in Freedom Park, with view of the
B of A headquarters in Uptown

Also, just to state the obvious, I feel very, very out of shape at present. However I've decided to frame this situation positively, so I keep telling myself that every time I run, I'm gaining fitness. I mean that quite literally. When you're at the bottom, there's nowhere to go but up.

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A New Record

AM: 7 miles
2x20 water pump extensions
PM: 30 mins. pool

Yes, you read that correctly; I ran 7 miles today. Trust me, it's a big deal. Had I not been running with Jenna the entire time and keeping myself distracted with our conversation, I'm sure I would've been focusing on nothing but how pathetically out of shape I am. Instead, I managed to make it to the last few miles before I was really laboring.

Post run Simmons showed me some one-legged exercises he wants me to do every day called water pump extensions. Basically you rest your back leg on something like a rail or a bench, do a squat with the other leg, then come up and extend onto your tiptoes. It's supposed to remind all my limbs to fire in approximately the same direction or something like that. Anyhow, 2 sets of 20 on each side was plenty for my already fatigued muscles. Count this as a successful "long run" in the books.

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Manic Monday

AM: 30 mins. ellip.
25 mins. core
25 mins. pool
PM: 20 mins. ellip.

This week is going to be absolutely crazy with work, school, homework, taking my car into the shop and hopefully trying to see Brooke again before she leaves. The good news is that a weekend in DC and a reunion with some of my favorite peeps is on the horizon, which will no doubt make all the craziness worthwhile. I can't wait to take a break for a few days and get out of town.

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Another Week

Thursday, 10/8
AM: 25 min. run (3 miles); 10 min. walk
PM: 45 mins. ellip.

Wednesday, 10/7
AM: 27 min. run (3.5 miles)
15 mins. core
Chiro
PM: 45 mins. ellip.

Tuesday, 10/6
AM: 55 mins. ellip. incl. 6x3 mins. on, 2 mins. off
PM: 20 mins. ellip.

Monday, 10/5
AM: 25 mins. core
30 mins. pool
PM: 45 mins. ellip.

This week has been crazy busy, due to a combination of homework, working four days as opposed to my usual two, and other general activity. This morning I dropped Jordan and our friend Dave, a Princeton alum and Zap runner, off at the airport for their big Japan trip. Both of them will be competing on the Ivy League alum ekiden team in Izumo, a team that hopes to improve upon its mediocre at best showings from previous years (which both guys agreed was a much better position to be in than, say, defending champs). Dave drove down and spent the night with us last night to avoid a 4am departure time from Blowing Rock, and we had a good laugh remembering that the last time he was here, Dave played a key role (i.e. getaway driver) in what can only be referred to on a public forum as "the incident." Good times.

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So You're Saying There's a Chance

Thursday, 10/1
AM: 25 mins. ellip.
25 mins. core
30 mins. pool

Wednesday, 9/30
AM: 30 mins. ellip.
20 min. run (!!)
2.5 miles
Chiro
PM: 40 mins. ellip.

Tuesday, 9/29
AM: 30 mins. ellip.
PM: 55 mins. ellip. incl. 2x6 mins. on, 4 mins. off; 5x1 min. on, 1 min. off

Yep, you read that correctly--I ran 20 minutes on Wednesday. It's a new record. And, to be completely honest, while I didn't feel 100% normal I felt about 10 times better than last week. Much less gimpy, more fluid, less uncomfortable. This was definitely a step in the right direction and the first time I've felt optimistic in quite a while. Even Jordan, who certainly does not go out of his way to spare my feelings in these situations, said my form looked almost normal.

With that in mind, I have set a rather ambitious goal of running 10 miles this week. Of course, this is pending how I feel post-run--so far so good--and how the rest of my body responds to the abrupt mileage increase. But I would love to crack double digits for the first time since returning to Charlotte.

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