Running in My Sleep

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October 31, 2004

Crazy Water Stop on the Bridge

Setting up our water stop at Marine Corps Marathon ended up being a total cluster. First of all, we were dropped off at the wrong bridge, so three of us had to bike around the Pentagon to find where we could get onto the HOV part of 14th Street bridge - where the runners would be passing. All the while, we're hauling gallons and gallons of Gatorade, water, cups, etc in our backpacks. My ALICE pack came in handy, easily packing 4 gallons of water and my own personal gear - shoes, jacket, snacks, Camelbak. By the time we met up with K., she had just finished running a mile across the bridge with her full shopping cart - boom box, bull horn, signs, candy, food, more drinks. She said that she got crazy looks from drivers on the other side and the Marines on the bridge. Wish I could've been there to see it.

The first wheelchair competitors were nearing mile 21 when we finished setting up. At least 15 or so other club runners came out, many in costume, to cheer and help us pass out drinks and food. It was a ton of fun and some runners were in full costume, which must've been uncomfortable considering how sunny and hot it was. I was excited to see that Mary Kate Bailey, a Marine Corps Captain, take first woman in today's race. I always root for the Marine team to take the Armed Forces cup (it's been a while), though I'm not sure what the final results are yet.

Needless to say, I expended all my energy shouting my lungs out. I'm not even going out for Halloween anymore, since I re-exacerbated my right achilles pain today. At least the left hip joint pain is gone and hopefully my legs will be refreshed tomorrow.

Posted by Leilani at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2004

Dead Legs

Things got a little hectic toward the end of the week with work and one of my best friends coming in town, so I've been a slacker on posting the past few days. While she's readying her gear, body and mind for the Marine Corps Marathon tomorrow, I'm taking this opportunity to catch up and hopefully get some extra sleep. Don't forget to set your clocks back!

Wednesday ended up being my only decent workout of the week. My other runs went as such:

Thursday: 5 miles (40 minutes), lift arms
Friday: off (extremely tired and lethargic)
Saturday: 11+ miles (1:38 - forgot to make a turn at Garfield St)

I've had a terribly long case of dead legs all week, maybe from doing my recovery runs too fast for my current shape after racing Army. My cardio's been fine, I just haven't been able to shake off the soreness despite multiple foam rollering sessions and icing. I really enjoyed today's run route which took us through Glover Archibald Park - Potomac Avenue - Capital Crescent Trail in Washington, DC. In the past, I always depended on my running partners to lead me through our long run courses, since I'm not that familiar with the trails. But today I was solo for most of my run and had to depend on a cue sheet to navigate the turns and confirm my location, which meant I stopped frequently to read the sheet. As I've mentioned before, I get motion sick very easily, so I can't read n run simultaneously.

Despite my heavy legs and running by myself, I was quite content admiring the gorgeous homes and the changing leaves falling wispfully from the trees. I was especially amazed by one home that looked story bookish. It was a tiny, one story home painted in pale green, brick, and ivory colors on the corner of Gallena Street and seemed as if dwarves or very short people would live there. Unique, cute and welcoming...

After SLR and breakfast at Whitlows this morning, I picked up D. in Crystal City and we headed to the mall in search of Halloween costumes. She wanted to be Trinity from the Matrix but all the pleather had been picked over, so she's going to be a marathoner from the 80s - complete with striped tube socks, head and wristbands, and short shorts. I found a mediocre witch costume, which I purchased mainly because I think I can use the dress again. Hey, I'm all about functionality.

Now, I need to get a move on and find out the logistics for helping out at our club water stop on the marathon course tomorrow. R. and I are meeting a few of the gals to pick up water, Gatorade, and possibly other supplies to haul over in our backpacks and bikes to the 14th Street Bridge. It's going to be a lot of fun cheering everyone on. I'm kind of glad not to be running because it's going to be a warm 70 degrees!

Posted by Leilani at 11:07 PM | Comments (2)

October 27, 2004

Second Wind

I don't where it came from because I was suffering at work all day today. I could barely keep my eyes open in a six hour process improvement meeting. My fault for not going to bed until almost midnight. At one point, my mind must have been asleep while my pen was scribbling copious notes. When I came back to my senses, I realized that I had scribbled four lines of gibberish with the exception of two words - "halloween costume". Weird how your body can go into auto pilot.

Back to my my second wind... I get out of work late and it's too late to head to Arlington for track - a 30-45 minute drive, depending on traffic. I end up going to the gym instead because it was dark and my long trail is covered with branches and fallen tree trunks. Ripe for a nice ankle twisting. So, at the gym, I had an awesome treadmill run and stationary bike session. Nothing like being outside, but sometimes you have to take what you can get. I started real slow on the treadmill (8+ min/pace on incline) and gradually picked up the pace to end at a 7:17 pace - 8 miles in 63 minutes. Though my quads were still sore, my legs, cardio, and form felt very strong. I also noticed that my weekday 8-mile runs are feeling easier, which, I hope, means I'm getting in better shape. Surprisingly after my run, my blood sugar wasn't tanked out and I still had some energy left. I jumped on the stationary bike for 30 minutes and did some isometric hip exercises afterward. My quads were burning on the bike, but I pushed pretty hard and it felt good. The entire workout was a small confidence booster that I needed. When I trained for my first marathons a few years ago, I would go to the gym directly after my Saturday long runs to lift, cross train, or climb the ropes for another 30 minutes to an hour. I feel like it made me stronger, and I want to start doing that again as well as adding more cross training during the week. Good news is that the government has finally agreed to allow us contractors to change to 6am - 6pm coverage Monday through Friday. I think starting this weekend, I won't have to work anymore on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights! I am overjoyed with the prospect of having a real weekend again, but more importantly, getting at least 7 hours of sleep before my Saturday long runs. And having a little more time for supplemental weekend workouts. Wow, this is awesome!

Posted by Leilani at 08:54 PM | Comments (3)

October 26, 2004

Cool weather and candy

I just got back from a 55 minute recovery run. What a gorgeous day outside! I really relished it since it had been raining and gloomy for almost a week here in DC. My quads were still sore, but my right achilles felt 100% better thanks to massage (real hard...get those kinks outs) and ice before I went to bed last night. Despite being sore, I felt good for most of the run and wanted to run faster, but I need to save something for track tomorrow and my stomach felt funny toward the end. I finally got my GPS watch to pick up a signal about 40 minutes into the run - my third attempt at using the gadget. Alison and Liz were right...you really do need to be in a clear area for the darn thing to read. That stinks since I'd be more interested in my pace and distance on an unmarked cross-country course/trail.

My stomach's feeling better now. I was craving something salty-sugary, so my blood sugar must have been low. I stopped to walk with about five minutes to home; I didn't mind since I was loving the weather. I absolutely love the fall! I grabbed a Coke and Propel from my car trunk (emergency stash) on the way inside and drank some of each while foam rollering the tightness in my quads. I feel like a new person. :-)

My co-worker brought in some body part shaped Halloween chocolates today. It was funny - ears, toes with painted nails, ears, and eyeballs. A source of great jest for our otherwise demoralized office. My personal favorite were the ears because they reminded me of Mike Tyson biting off the tip of Evander Holyfield's ear. Gross but memorable and one of the few sports that I like to watch on TV. I brought one of these chocolate ears home for the hubby to taste. He's my official taste tester and recipient of all things I deem gross-tasting. He's such a good sport.

Time's flyin'. I need to get to the gym to lift before it gets too late. Hope everyone's having a happy Tuesday out there....

Posted by Leilani at 06:58 PM | Comments (2)

October 25, 2004

Cross Training Boredom

I started off my "Sunday" (I work Friday and Saturday nights) equivalent with my new favorite cereal - maple and brown sugar flavored Frosted Mini Wheats - and a trip to the gym to cross train. My legs and right achilles were sore from yesterday, so I decided to take it easy. I brought the new Runners World and Running Times to try to entertain myself. Problem is that I kind of get motion sick when I read on the elliptical unless I hold the magazine right in front of my face. I get motion sick real easy...it's very mental and I want to puke. The bike was no better because I tend to slack off when I'm reading. So, I had to drop to magazine after a while and focus on my workout at hand. I ended up doing 45 minutes on the elliptical - it was hurting my achilles - before I switched to the bike for 30 mintues. Very, very boring. Afterward, I tried to ice bath my right foot in a bucket to help the achilles, but I'm a wimp! I couldn't tolerate it for even 10 seconds. I don't know how you all do it.

Since I was off from work today, I got a bunch of errands done: haircut, grocery shopping, drycleaning and altering new pants I bought. Shopping for bottoms is such a pain for me. I hardly ever find pants that don't have to be hemmed or taken in at the waist, and even so, the thigh area is tight sometimes. Most girls would probably be envious, but it makes shopping quite a chore and expensive. Anyhow, I got all my shopping done for the fall season yesterday. I had to get a couple things for a wedding I'm in at Key West in two weeks, and I picked up some work shirts that I don't have to iron. The mall already has Christmas stuff up. It seems like they put it out earlier and earlier every year. So annoying! What's the point?! It would be like eating candy corn all year long...But it did remind me that I should probably get gifts early this year or shop online because I won't be touching the mall with a ten foot pole after Thanksgiving.

Posted by Leilani at 10:23 PM | Comments (2)

October 24, 2004

Good Race, Bad Pacing

I essentially had three goals coming into the Army Ten Miler: 1) don't stress out too much, 2) run ~75 minutes, and 3) negative splits. Well, I accomplished goals 1 and 2, but did horribly on 3. I ran 73:11 according to my watch. Here's how my splits went:

7:03 (I let the crowd pull me in)
7:07
7:17
6:38 (there's no way...)
8:13 (someone jacked up the markers)
7:16
7:20 (rt hip feels tight here)
7:32 (legs starting to get heavy)
7:30
7:10 (beat the lady in the flag shorts!)
I wish the race was longer....

It was cold, rainy, and extremely crowded (20,000+ people). I like doing large races every now and then, because of the tremendous energy and excitement. However, you have to fight your way for a good spot on the starting line at Army, even with color coded bibs. In doing so, I didn't really warm up and jumpstarted my legs/cardio too fast in the early miles. As you can see, I didn't stick to my negative split strategy and got slower in the latter miles. I have a hard time pacing on shorter races and sometimes let myself get sucked into the crowd at large races.

I suppose I could focus on the lack of consistency of my splits or the fact that my time was slower than RRCA Columbia Ten Mile Challenge in February. But instead, I want to think about today's race in positive terms. Not only did I beat my goal, but this is the start of a new "season" (marathon training, that is) for me, so things can only get better from here, right? I'm so excited to be able to train for a marathon again - it's my favorite distance.

Oh yes, one last positive. In my last two races and marathon, as Becky has witnessed, I've finished doubling over in my attempt to sprint for the glorious finish. Today, even though there was a little dry heaving action going on, I did not puke!! Yeay! :-)

Posted by Leilani at 12:51 PM | Comments (10)

October 22, 2004

Winter Marathon Goal & Beyond

Finally, a chance to relax and breathe...I got up early this morning for my chiropractic appointment, thinking that I'd have all the time in the world to get things done before work. But that's never the case, now is it? It seems I was driving all over the DC Metro area this morning with my checklist. I did get to run an easy, uneventful 32 minutes on Stringfellow Road before heading out. My quads were kind of tight, probably from pushing the pace the last mile yesterday, but I'll be fine by Sunday. After all, this has been an easy week mileage-wise.

I just hope Dr. McLaughlin has some time next week to talk about my marathon training plan. My tendency would be to push myself to my limits. However, my base mileage took a nose dive when I went to the desert for most of last year (I can't stand hot and humid weather) and when I got injured earlier this year. I'm still in the process of building back up. So I don't think running hard on every run (like I used to) will get me to the start line healthy and strong. In fact, that should be my goal for my winter marathon!

**MY WINTER MARATHON GOAL: Get to the start line healthy, strong, uninjured.**

I need to set a realistic goal for myself because I don't know how much I can and will improve in the next 16 or so weeks. I don't expect to beat my PR (3:18 and my only race money ever). I was in such incredible shape back then (sigh), but I think I can put in a 3:30 or 3:40 effort.

Now that I'm thinking 2005 marathon goals, I want to run a really strong Fall marathon - 3:10 or low 3:teens. That's why I need a coach, so I know how often to run my hard efforts and how hard to run them. It's exciting and stressful to think about but seems so far away at the same time. Oh, to dream...

Posted by Leilani at 05:21 PM | Comments (3)

October 21, 2004

Paranoia

I ran an easy 50 minutes on Fairfax County Parkway, gloomy and drizzly (is that a word?). Because I took the previous two days off with my hamstring/IT band pain, it took a bit to warm up. Outbound on the trail, I saw three shady-looking guys on bikes. With several recent attacks on our local trails, I try to be super aware of people I see when running alone. And it reminded me that I should probably start carrying the mace can/hand weight that my mom bought for me, with the days getting shorter. Anyhow, being overly paranoid, I ran a little further than planned hoping to avoid them on the return trip, and I also thought about what I would say to them (in Spanish) if they were to accost me. Things like "I'm a cop! See my GPS? You won't get away!" or "I'm a Marine! I'm not scared of you!" Okay, so I'm not a cop and yea, I'm a big dork. But you gotta be prepared, ya know?

For the rest of my run, I thought about feeling strong at Army Ten Miler on Sunday. I know it won't be a PR, but I do want to put forth max effort without pressuring myself. Is that possible? We'll see. I realize that my best races are ones that I don't overanalyze/stress myself and just have FUN. Remember, I love to run. My plan is to start easy, not to let others dictate my pace early, and try for negative splits.

I had planned to start cracking on my task list when I got home, but I went to the gym instead and lifted with R. It will save me some time tomorrow because I need to pick up my race packet and go to the chiropractor before work tomorrow evening. Oh yeah, no luck for now...looks like we still have to work night and weekend shifts, despite the fact our customer is in violation of the Statement of Work. Argh, I won't get started on that. This entry would end up being a novel.

Posted by Leilani at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2004

Pondering

While I hate to complain, my entire body, especially the lower half, seems to be in pain and tired for no reason. Not agonizing pain or anything, but my left hamstring hurts, my right hip is sore, and my upper back has been super tight since the weekend. All this negativity didn't make me motivated to workout, but I had to do something or else I would've been in a terrible mood. This may be a monthly trend because I remember feeling this same way a couple months ago...I ought to start keeping track.

After warming up with the usual 3 sets of push ups - 10 count body builders and ab exercises, I jumped onto the elliptical for 30 minutes. The first ten minutes were mental torture even with music, but by the time 30 rolled around, I wanted to go longer. I promised myself to go easy on the legs, though, so I lifted instead. It actually ended being a good upper body session. I felt strong and didn't take much rest between exercises. The power went out just as I was finishing up my last set of bicep curls.

On a non-running note, I may be up for some new work challenges shortly. And no or less shift/weekend work, which would make me very, very happy. My program manager B., also a Reserve Marine officer, may get called up next month for a one-year assignment in Germany (better than the desert!). If his orders materialize, I become the official deputy PM. I sort of function informally in that role now but only with trivial things. Our prospective PM is a real change catalyst and wants to delegate responsibility to the lowest level...exactly what everyone wants to feel challenged and improve morale. B. asked me last week if I wanted to be PM, but I thought the other guy was more experienced...and honestly, I have more pressing priorities right now like family, running, finishing grad school, and my Reserve career. I would have to give up the Marine Corps and cut back running to put in 110% effort because my work place is so screwed up! I feel like I still have unrealized running potential, and I want to push myself to the max (as I get healthier) to see what comes of it. And I'm not getting any younger. Am I a slacker for not stepping up to the PM position? I just hope I get another opportunity down the road, perhaps on another contract, for big time leadership and management responsibilities. Since I got in this business, I've always wanted the challenge of managing a multi-million dollar IT/defense project. I need to stop worrying about my decision and refocus on the future big picture. And I need to get to bed.

Posted by Leilani at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)

October 18, 2004

Quiet, Productive Day

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! I got a good laugh from the piece Mary provided by Andy Rooney on women over 30. :-)

I decided to take off from work to start working on my knowledge management CIO briefing and clean up around the house, since I got nothing done over the weekend. Besides, I was felt like a cold was coming on and wanted to take it easy. Good thing I did...my upper body's a little less achy and my cough has subsided. I should probably still pick up some Dayquil on the way to work tomorrow.

I ended up doing a progession run on the treadmill for 63 minutes (8 miles) because I didn't make it out before it got dark. My hips were a bit stiff from the hike yesterday, so it felt great to stretch everything out. My left knee-hamstring-IT band (I'm not sure what - the spot moves) is still tweaked from Saturday, though. The combination of the above made my level of effort feel harder than I was actually running. I started out ~8 minute pace and worked down every couple miles to a 7:30 pace. Since Army Ten Miler is on Sunday, I plan on taking the rest of this week easy. No PR expected, but I do want to make a solid effort to gauge my current level of fitness.

Yikes, it's getting late...time to go to bed.

Posted by Leilani at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2004

My Big 3-0

Today I sadly enter a new age group, 30-34, where I will no longer be close to fast. No more free coffee mugs, plaques, etc. at the local Bunion Derbies or Snowball Series races. Of course, I'm being facetious, but it is true that my competition will be stiffer. I guess that leaves me no choice, but to work hard and get faster! Yes, today is my 30th birthday. I am exhausted and maybe catching a cold, so this is going to be a quick entry.

R., one of my bridesmaids S., and I drove to Shenandoah National Park and went hiking on White Oak Trail. Since we took missed the planned turn, we got there kind of late and had to cut the route short. Additionally, we only brought only a few snacks, and R. was worried about me turning into a monster. The leaves were beautiful - changing yellow, orange, and burgundy; in some places, the reflecting sunlight made the treetops appear to be snow white. The weather was crisp and cool, and the waterfalls provided a peaceful background to a perfect fall day. We hiked for about 2 hours and took lots of pretty nature pictures, but we hit traffic on trip back home. It seems that everyone had the same idea we did today because the park and roads were crowded.

Oh, cool birthday presents. I got a pave diamond necklace from Bulgari, face products from L'Occitane and Sephora, and a Timex GPS watch. I was kind of bummed at first because the watch didn't fit, but R. got a new band, and hooray it fits! I tried to measure the distance of our hike with it, but either it wasn't getting a signal or maybe I should just read the directions.

Posted by Leilani at 10:11 PM | Comments (10)

October 16, 2004

SLRing Again

Today was my first day back to SLR (Saturday Long Run) in a long time, maybe since May or June. SLR is the organized long run that my running group, DC Road Runners, puts on weekly. The core group is a tight knit community of all paces, and everyone is energetic and young. There are so many places to run and an influx of new runners in the DC area that you can never get bored! The route selected for today was Ross Drive, which is a beautiful loop course that traverses dirt trails adjacent to a creek up through tree-lined Rock Creek Park, Ross Drive and back down through Georgetown to finish at the Iwo Jima War Memorial. For most of the route, it's easy to forget that you're in the nation's capital.

I didn't realize how much I was anticipating this run until I sprung out of bed, ready to go at 6:30am. This was after a late night in DC watching Cirque du Soleil Varakei, which is an amazing show that I highly recommend. As usual, I was ushering R. out the door at 7 with a sense of urgency in hopes of securing a coveted parking space at Iwo Jima. No luck - the place was packed. Several marathon training groups were out as well Marine Corps Marathon organizers preparing for October 31st. But by arriving early, we were treated to a fellow SLRer demonstrating pre-marathon tips to first-time marathoners. He proceeded to strip out of his garbage bag tshirt, wind pants and show off his singlet with name plastered at least three times...just in case the cheerleaders miss it.

At the 8am start, it was a tad chilly in the high 40s, so I donned a long sleeve shirt, shorts, and gloves for the early part of the run. Jessie and I started off together with ~ 4-5 other guys. Though she planned to run slower because she was nursing IT band pain and going 20 miles, she still challenged my pace on this hilly course. Thanks for running with me, Jessie! For sure, I thought she would drop me once we reached Ross Drive. But my run went better than expected, and I managed to keep up until after Key Bridge - the home stretch. I never felt overly out of breath, though my legs started to get heavy and my outside left knee/calf was achy toward the end of the 2-hour run.

I needed to have a good, strong run after feeling down about Wedsnesday and Thursday. And I was extremely content with today's effort. My knee still hurts and I probably won't be able to ice until after work, but I may have to take tomorrow off anyway since we're planning on hiking in Shenandoah National Park. It's going to be so much fun!

Posted by Leilani at 08:18 PM | Comments (3)

October 14, 2004

Two Tiring Runs

I am so exhausted right now that I wish I could crawl under my desk and go to asleep. But alas, I am at work and my employer likely wouldn't appreciate my snoozing on the clock. Last night's tempo run at track and this morning's very, very easy recovery run kicked my butt. Even though my legs weren't sore, I think they were still tired from Monday's tempo. At track, my old track running partners were *way* ahead of me, and I was barely hanging onto this older, hairy back guy that I usually outrun. At least hairy back man's back kept me entertained for the painfully long 2 x 15 minute repeats. So out of shape - each lap for the first 15 minutes got progressively slower. I had to lick my ego-wounds with the fact that I could maintain a steady pace for the second 15 minutes. It was a sad effort, but I did complete the workout.

Today's 6-mile recovery run wasn't any better. Even though the weather was perfect and my legs weren't sore, they were tired, tired, tired. In addition, my Nike sports watch died when I got the battery replaced just a few weeks ago. Arrgh...So, I've come to the realization that 1)I am not in the same shape I used to be, and 2)I am not going to get it all back in one day. I know that I'm making progress every week, and I'm estatic that my hip pain is gone. But at the same time, I'm frustrated because improvements aren't coming fast enough. The last time I felt this way was in 2002. I ran Grandfather Mountain Marathon in Boone, NC in July, took no recovery time, and continued to overtrain for what resulted in a mentally and physically horrible Philadelphia Marathon. My coach at the time told me not to run Grandfather Mountain. I can be so hardheaded. Well, at least I'm acknowledging these mistakes and hope to keep this in mind as I ramp up for an early 2005 marathon. I'm thinking about Ocala, FL in January or maybe Austin in February. 'Til then, I really need to count my blessings that I can run again...

Posted by Leilani at 07:56 PM | Comments (2)

October 12, 2004

Sucking Wind & Seeking Advice

Today was a recovery 5-mile run day, but it was a tougher effort than yesterday's tempo run! It was surely frustrating, and I wondered if I had pushed a little harder, my legs wouldn't have felt so tired. Sometimes it seems that slower, easy runs are harder than my faster workouts. With that said, how slow should an easy run be? Is there a formula or guideline that keeps runners from too high (weekly) intensity? I usually base recovery runs on how I feel, but without fail, I push the pace for the last ~10 minutes in order to feel some sense of accomplishment. Too much intensity/speed work last winter - spring equipped me with hip flexor and piriformis injuries. Any words of wisdom this hardcore blog community?

Posted by Leilani at 08:29 PM | Comments (2)

October 11, 2004

Relaxing Columbus Day

It's been a while since I have not set my alarm clock and woke up "whenever". When I finaly rolled out of bed at 10am, I felt guilty because my long "to do" list hadn't gotten any shorter. Can't take it back now. At least I did laundry and organized my closet!

R. and I went for a hard hour bike ride on Fairfax Co Parkway. I am soooo out of biking shape not to mention that I was burning up. I dressed more appropriately for an artic excursion thinking that the wind would be harsher. After my chiropractor appointment, I did a 63 minute tempo-ish run on W&OD. I thought about skipping the workout, since my left hip (piriformis) has had a dull twinge since Friday. I hope it's just a passing pain.

Warm up 13:27
5 x 1/2 mile 3:26, 3:32, 3:31, 3:34, 3:24
1/2 mile recovery 3:56, 3:55, 4:08, 3:56
Cool down 16:48

My current state of (non)fitness should've made my splits more like 3:35, but I'm terrible at pacing by myself. I hope that won't affect Wednesday's track workout. So, the day is almost done and I have not done any work at all. Time to write a couple performance evaluations...

Posted by Leilani at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2004

Busy Weekend

Since I've been out of the loop recently with the running club during wedding planning, I'm not sure who all ran Chicago today. I did see that my friend T. qualified for Boston, though. I was so happy for her...she's had such a stellar year. PRs at all her races, I think.

I'm finally winding down from a crazy busy weekend. After J and K's wedding in Leesburg on Saturday, R. and I drove out to Arlington to run my errands for D's bridal shower this afternoon. And we stopped for dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant - Duangrats. Odd name, but the food is delicious! I didn't get to bed until midnight, and then I had to roll out of bed for work at 4:30am. That was a rude awakening, yet I made it through the day with even time for an easy 29 minute run. I wanted to let R. pace me in order to run slower and start off the new week with fresh legs, even though the light, cool breeze tempted me to go faster. What a beautiful night for a run! I should go catch up on sleep now, but my Type A personality says I have a long (never ending) list of things that I need to get done...

Posted by Leilani at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2004

Friday Long Run

Since I'm attending an AM wedding tomorrow and have plenty of errands afterward, I wanted to run long and unrushed today. Back to Burke Lake Park for three loops on the dirt trail -- 15 miles in 2 hours and 1 minute. With the temps being to my liking in the mid-50s, I probably ran the first loop a tad fast (for long run pace), as my heart rate was unusually high. Thankfully, I settled into a maintainable pace ~53 minutes into the run. I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few people on the trail for a weekday mid-morning. One older lady in a greenish-yellow tank top gained my attention. When I passed her on the first loop, she cheered "Go-go-go! Somebody has to be faster!" And on subsequent loops, when I reversed direction, we continued to provide encouragement to each other. She looked so energetic, even heading into her fourth lap. Having her on the course really made my long run.

Posted by Leilani at 05:19 PM | Comments (1)

October 07, 2004

Cat Monstair, Official Spokescat of PowerBar

Not really, but I think he should be. My aptly named cat loves to eat PowerBars, especially Vanilla Crisp. Every time R. or I open up that bright foil wrapper, Cat Monstair comes begging. We give him tiny pieces so he doesn't choke, and he manages to get them down despite the sticky texture. His facial expressions during the process are too hilarious. Yet as a concerned pet parent, I wanted to know if PowerBar is a healthy part of a cat diet. I emailed them, and this is what they said: "Thank you for your inquiry. While we've heard from numerous consumers over the years who have had pets who like Performance bars, including ferrets and mongooses (!!!), we cannot recommend letting pets eat our bars. The stickiness of the bars alone, due in part to the sugar content, makes me nervous. However, you are by no means the first consumer to report that a pet likes our bars. We have received some hilarious stories and photos of animals sneaking off with telltale golden wrappers between their teeth. No, it's not a good idea. You may have to eat them on the quiet."

Who would've known? A PowerBar-eating Mongoose? Now, on running...Yesterday was a day off since my legs were STILL sore and the pain in my ankle turned sharp instead of dull. I'm guessing that dead legs were a result of not getting much sleep the past week, about 5-6 hours worth each night. Finally caught up to me. Today, I completed an easy 5 miles in 39:22, keeping in mind tomorrow's long run. I started at an 8 min pace and worked up to 7:40. I also lifted upper body - 3 sets of alternating 10 pulls ups/15 ten-count body builders, one set of two exercises (double - single joint) for each muscle group to failure, and a bit of ab work. Need to do more of the latter.

I'm hoping for a good long run tomorrow. I may tape or wear a brace if the ankle's acting up. Now that I'm starting to feel better and my mileage is on the up and up, I've got to stay healthy.

Posted by Leilani at 08:00 PM | Comments (1)

October 05, 2004

Not-So Alive Legs

My left ankle still hurts and my legs are still sore. I'm attributing the latter to being out of shape, but I wish that I could gain back my endurance and speed a lot sooner. It's depressing to think about how I used be able to run considerably more without the discomfort from what I deem an easy run. And that's frustrating. I suppose I ought to be thankful that I can run considering I couldn't run for most of the summer.

I finished 50 minutes on the Fairfax County Parkway Trail this afternoon. The weather was gloriously in the mid 60s - my kind of temps. Had it been 20 degrees warmer, today's run definitely would've been more challenging with my sore legs. My legs always respond better to cooler weather; they feel faster, lighter, and more energetic. It's the heat and humidity that kill me. Needless to say, I'm in heaven with the forecast this week and don't mind writing off the sore legs and ankle.

I'm catching up on emails from my Marine Corps Reserve job, while I wait for R. to get home so we can hit the gym. My plan is to warm up with my pull ups/push ups routine, lift upper body, and elliptical with any time left. He doesn't like to do marathon gym sessions, so I'm going to have to use my time efficiently. I hope he gets home soon because I'm pretty darn hungry, and I don't want a snack (he always jokingly tries to give me bananas, which hardly fill up this big eater)....I want dinner!

Posted by Leilani at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2004

Happy Monday Run

Even though today was an easy recovery run day, it was the best training run I've had in a long, long time. I was excited to escape the office and soak up the sun and cool breeze. I had little more than an hour to spare before my chiropractic appointment, so I parked in a commuter lot adjacent to the W&OD Trail and headed toward Fairfax County. Starting off, my legs were a bit dead from Saturday's long run and my left ankle still ached. I planned to do a ~8 min/mi pace, but my enthusiasm carried me into the high 7:40s. No point resisting.

Usually I dread mile markers on W&OD, but today they kept me from getting too comfortable. When I turned around at a little over 4 miles, my step gained some spring in anticipation of getting back to my car. I ran miles 4-6 a bit faster, then pulled in the reins for mile 7. Remember, recovery run not race. It ended up being ~8.5 miles in 66 minutes...slow but fun and mostly pain free (minus the ankle). Then, news flash...it suddenly hit me that my hip wasn't hurting! The right side of my hip had been in constant pain since earlier this year. And then I also recalled that it didn't hurt on Saturday either.

I relayed this excitement to Dr. McLaughlin. He thinks recovery would have happened sooner had the wedding and honeymoon not curtailed my training. With this, he said that if the positive trend continues, we'll cut back my visits and move to online coaching after the Army Ten Miler. I told him that I don't expect a PR there but that my longer term goal is to run another marathon in January or February (just fast enough to qualify for Boston). I hope that I can stay healthy. I've never had a coach who's designed a plan only for me, and I'm thrilled at the prospect of good things coming from it. Dr. McLaughlin has done numerous marathons and Ironman triathlons, so I value his professional opinion as well as many other local athletes including Alan Webb. So, we'll see - I shouldn't be overly optimistic just yet.

Well, time to ice my ankle and sift through junk mail before getting back to work.

Posted by Leilani at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2004

What Motivates Me.....

I was inspired today by Meghan's blog entry titled "On Motivating Factors". I enjoyed reading about and could relate to her experiences in ultra-challenging life events and endeavors. For me, I got bit by the physical/mental challenge bug early in college. It started with boxing my sophomore year out of anger from an ego shattering breakup, and I continued to do so until I joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1998 (when I got bored with my civilian job), later adding kickboxing to my repertoire.

While I can't say the Marine Corps itself has changed me completely - after all, I joined when I was 22 and a college grad - the experiences I've gained as both an enlisted Marine (and now an officer) continue to motivate me as well as challenge myself and my Marines be "Semper Fidelis" and think "pain - if you don't mind, it don't matter". One of my most memorable experiences was going to Cold Weather Survival School (MWTC) at Bridgeport, CA in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

I volunteered to go to MWTC in January 2001 for my two-week annual training, since I didn't want to sit at a desk in Baltimore doing boring administrivia. I really wanted to attend SERE - survival, evasion, resistance, and escape - training instead, but no seats were available, since that's a more popular yet equally tough course. I mean, who in their right mind wants to spend two weeks freezing their butt off in -30 degree temps in the Toiyabe National Forest, right? Upon arriving at base camp where cold weather gear was being issued, I immediately felt short of breath at 6,700 feet and also noticed that I was the only female present out of 34 males. Darn, no one to "bond" with. The first week consisted of the male physical fitness test - pull ups, sit ups, 3-mile run in camoflauge and combat boots - and long days of classroom/hands on instruction in bow and drill (primitive fire starting), field shelters like snow caves, snowshoe making, water generating and food capturing/preparation methods, sun and moon navigation, and cold weather survival. Learning all these techniques was amazing, and I also savored fattening up in the cafeteria three times a day knowing that the next week we'd be eating only whatever we caught in the mountains.

The second week was physically and mentally demanding beyond my expectations. Monday morning, we snowshoed to the rally point for isolation at nearly 12,000 feet with all of our gear, which weighed almost as much as I did. That hike alone nearly broke me. Being the smallest Marine in the class and the only female, I was the slowest. The pack and my legs were heavy, my breathing was suffering, and my will was practically deflated. But I couldn't quit...it wasn't an option. I didn't want to be weak in front of my male counterparts, as female Marines are portrayed sometimes. I didn't want to go back to Baltimore saying that "I couldn't hack it", tarnishing my reputation for toughness. So, I had to make it to the top, and I did. Whew! Our instructors paired us off for liability purposes, and we were given specific tasks and had to check in with a note at the rally point each day.

When my partner was assigned to me, I could tell he was disappointed in the expression he made to a friend. That really hurt me because I knew that I was as good as the rest of the guys, if not as tall, strong, and fast. And everyday that week, I made sure to work my hardest despite how tired, hungry, and cold I was. Nothing was going to break me at this point, not even the extreme cold. Though we did not have any food or water, I did not whine, complain or show any sign of emotion, except relaying my goal to eat Taco Bell when this was done. We did not catch any food while ice fishing or from our traps, and our water supply was minimal because the ambient temperature was so low that as soon as our home made water generator deposited any drops into our canteen cups they would refreeze. By the end of the week, I was eating handfuls snow because I was so dehydrated, even though this was a huge no-no. The only things we succeeded in doing were collecting dead wood for our nightly fire, building our snow shelter and wood tools, and constructing the assigned rescue signal (a 18 foot "X" of tree bark to contrast the pure white snow).

At the end of the course, I had gained the respect of the instructors and my fellow coursemates. I endured the same difficult things they had with a positive attitude and strong work ethic. No one dropped out, and from what an instructor told me, I had reason to be proud. Only three to five women in the entire Marine Corps finish the winter course every year.

So, the whole point of my story...This is one of the tribulations that I think about when I'm having a tough workout or race or any day in my regular, cushy life. Like Meghan, I know that I've passed the uncomfortable to the miserable time and again. I can and WANT to do it again because of that weird brain chemistry or whatever motivates us to challenge ourselves beyond what most people dream is possible.

I too, would love to hear about what motivates you...

Posted by Leilani at 09:59 PM | Comments (2)

October 02, 2004

Good Long Run

For a few seconds I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it. About 15 minutes into my run, I twisted my left ankle on a rare root on the Burke Lake Park trail. Yah, I heard it crunch real good. After shaking it out for a minute, I decided to keep going and see how it felt. For a lot of the run, I was really missing my running partners...the chatter, unspoken teamwork, and the cadence of someone else's footsteps with mine. They've moved or are preoccupied with other things these days, so I train alone for now until I feel confident enough again about my speed to go back to my club. Thankfully, I ended up having a strong hour and 35 minute run, with the cool yet humid air and no other incidents. I would have liked to have gone longer, but R. and I needed to leave for VA Beach to see my dad before he goes overseas again.

All in all, today was a great day. My ankle's a bit sore, but I'll keep icing and massaging it. Oh yes, and another reason to be positive...outside of the wedding, this is my first Saturday AND Sunday off from work in a long, long time. Whoo hoo!

Posted by Leilani at 11:50 PM | Comments (1)

October 01, 2004

Burpy Thursday

I was pretty much debilitated yesterday when I got home last night after work and a combined workout. After lifting for upper body, I ran 4 miles easy and elliptical-ed for 10 minutes. It was all I could bare since early in the run I started burping up the salmon from lunch 6 hours earlier! I didn't want to stop because I needed to flush out the lactic acid in my legs and get in more miles. But I had to cut it short to crawl home onto the couch in time for the Presidential debate. This frequent indigestion (or whatever it is) has me stumped recently; it never used to happen in my young 20s. Balancing eating for sufficient energy vice a full belly has been tricky. Does anyone out there have this problem? If so, do you stick to carbs before runs? I could use some advice on tasty, easy to digest but filling pre-run foods (not PowerBars, which make me queasy on an empty stomach). I've suffered from hypoglycemia to the point of hospitalization before, so it's absolutely necessary for me to be fueled up before any run or workout.

Posted by Leilani at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)