Thursday, May 31, 2012

Making Training Plans

"Wow. What's up with the crazy new blog look?" you ask. I needed something to do while the HVAC man was repairing our AC for the second time. I think the new look reflects how I was feeling...hot.

So, I finished Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon. He made me feel like it's totally doable, but I'm not sure I got all the answers I was looking for, or learned much of anything new. Not to sound like I know everything! I just did so much research on long distance running when getting ready for my first half marathon. I do think the most important thing I learned though, is to respect the distance. At this point, I have no idea what it is like to run over 13.1 miles, and it is scary territory.

There was a chapter on "the runner's diet", but I'm still confused on nutrition during the race. I suppose I'll find out what works best for me on my long training runs, but do marathoners eat during the race (talking about mid-packers here...not the elite. Or maybe I should be talking about the back of the pack - who am I to think I'm included with mid-packers??)? Do they just subside off of chews/gels, or are they choking down bagels or energy bars in the latter half of the run? Honestly, I can't imagine either, but I know I'll have to have something more than chews to keep going.

Also, finding your pace for the run is still a question. Higdon says in the book that a good way to estimate how long it will take you to finish a marathon, is to take the time you finished your half x 2, plus 10 minutes. Well, I finished my last half in 1:57 x 2, plus 10 minutes...that's just a little over 4 hours. According to a pace calculator, that's running at a 9:18 pace - I don't want to doubt myself, but ha! Honestly, finishing in a certain amount of time shouldn't even be a concern of mine as a first-time marathoner. But it's nice to have a goal to shoot for (other than FINISH!, which is my main objective). I'm going to shoot for under 5 hours, hoping I can do it in 4:30. However, as I've said before, I'm going to be open to whatever happens. The first 12 miles of this race are all a climb - I have no idea how I'll be able to handle that. Hopefully, I can hang on strong and look forward to the last 14 being a decline.

I'm looking at following Higdon's marathon program for "Novice 1" - an 18 week training program, with the longest run being 20 miles in week 15. He suggests running a half in week 8 - I'm already signed up for the Air Force Half Sept. 15, which falls on week 10. I'm sure I can rearrange some mileage there. Also on my calendar, is the Wounded Warrior Project 8k Nov. 3, which is week 17 of training. Higdon's program calls for an 8 mile run - again, I'll fiddle with the weekly mileage and make it work. I think it's going to work out just fine.

So training officially begins July 8 - we'll be in TN by then. Girls will be out of school, but the husband's new job will supposedly allow him to be home every night, and I'll just have to run then. I'm trying now to boost my weekly mileage to stay in shape and be ready for the training. I'm working to keep my mileage to 20+/week. I've been doing good, but once the girls get out of school, and since the husband is already at his new job in TN, it's going to be hard to keep it up. I'll have to do the treadmill, and it's a battle to go for long runs on that thing.

I'm very motivated to stick with this though, and see it through to the end!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

New Blog Name?


I did it. I just registered for a full marathon. Pensacola Marathon, Nov. 11, 2012.

Charlotte just asked if I am nervous. Yes. She then told me I would have to practice. Yes, yes I will.

I am healthy. I am capable. My goal will be to finish, and to have fun. I honestly don't care what my time will be, but I would like to keep it under 5 hours...just because I don't want to be out there any longer than that. But I don't even know what kind of pace I will have to keep, and need to remain open to whatever happens.

My parents grew up in Pensacola. I was born in Pensacola, although my parents didn't technically live there at the time. Dad was over in Vietnam, and Mom drove down to Pensacola to have me and stay with her parents. I made it back to Pensacola to finish college, and lived there off and on after school. It's as much of a hometown as I'll ever have. It's going to mean a lot to me to run my first marathon there, and have a medal that says "Pensacola".

Also, this event takes place 10 days before I turn 40. A great way to end a great decade, and look forward to a new one.

Deep breath...I can do this.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Taper Madness

I asked a friend yesterday how training is going for her first half marathon, coming up in two weeks. Her reply wasn't too enthusiastic. She mentioned how she thought it would be easier by now, she didn't expect her time to be great, and frustration. I know what she's going through - I've been there, done that. When I was going through it, another friend pointed out I was experiencing "taper madness". In mentioning this to my frustrated friend, I searched the web and found this funny article:

Symptoms and Treatment of Taper Madness

'Tis the season. There is a wicked strain of Taper Madness sweeping across the world. Since fall is the prime racing season for so many runners, you can't trip over your own shadow without falling into a runner with a full case of delirium and the shakes from Taper Madness.Dscn0830
Taper Madness is real. Don't let your doctor tell you any different. It isn't a figment of your imagination - it strikes all runners who attempt to take their training down a notch a week or so before the big race. It is a necessary evil that runners live in order to arrive at the starting line with legs that have a bit more spring in the step instead of feeling beat to hell. But the contrary nature of the taper is what you gain back in physical rejuvination you lose in mental reasoning capacity. The term "madness" wasn't happened upon. It is a full and complete description of the feeling a runner gets as they anxiously await for the race. Their thoughts race - most times in circles of repetition. They sense and feel aches and pains of the tiniest amount and then worry them to the greatest extreme. All their conscious waking moments are consumed with preparing and running their long awaited event.
But there is a bright side to your condition - it is entirely temporary, 100% reversable and completely harmless to your long life. But the symptoms can be confused with other more serious conditions, such as truly losing your mind, life ending not yet discovered diseases, and obsessive compulsive disorders that need to be treated.
To help you decide if you need to ride it out versus see a specialist, here are some of the common symptoms of Taper Madness:
  • Out of Control Phobia of Germs. You have converted your hydration belt, cellCrazy_baby_face phone holder, purse or other items on your person into hand santizer and Lysol toting equipment. You find yourself spraying down desks, keyboards, phones, bathrooms, and even your loved ones to keep them 99.9% germ free. You easily move out of the way of handshakes and hugs of most people - even the ones you live with now. Your children and spouse are instructed to stay within arms length and even blowing kisses down wind are prohibited. Even if you have never been a self proclaimed germ phobe before your taper, you find that your eye sight is accurate enough to now see possible viral and bacterial infection lurking around every public surface. No infection, flu, or cold will stand between you and the starting line.
  • Self Proclaimed Expert Meterologist. Through your running training, you rarely studied weather except to decide how much sunscreen to wear. You withstood all temperatures, wind gusts, precipitation - hell even a tornado and hurricane. But now with weeks to go, you have your email, Twitter, IM and cell phone set up to provide up to the minute reports on the 3, 5, 7, and 14 day forecast for race day. You have enacted a "no talking" zone during nightly weather and find yourself switching to the Weather Channel ten times a day. Some runners will even go so far to try to strike up a relationship with the local meterologist to get the inside scoop. And others will channel ancient forecasting methods to forecast the weather themselves using moon position, clouds and the path of birds.
  • You can't get enough of the details. The race website you glanced at a few times before signing up you now visit regularly in the lsat few weeks. You have a minute by minute schedule mapped out for the days before the event through the starting gun. You have studied the maps to figure out bathrooms, parking, meeting spots, and more. You have doubled checked your confirmation number, hotel reservation, and your bib number. Every other day of the year you let the little things go but for a few weeks each year, the details are everything.
  • You wonder if you are losing your mind. In the same hour you think to yourself, "ISilly_dog can!" "I can't possibly.." "I will!" "What the heck was I thinking..." "I can't wait!" "Am I really ready?" "I am going to rock that race!" "What if I am last?" "I can't wait to cross the finish line!" "What if I don't finish?" "My training has gone so well." "I should have pushed harder on the miles in the middle...". You flip flop between positive energy and mental anguish in the blink of an eye. Every other month of the year you are a rational, logical human being capable of dealing with complex emotions. But for these few weeks, you can't seem to get seem to talk sense into yourself.
  • You see people talking and hear words, but you really don't care what they are saying. And that's not like you. Most times, you try to pay attention in those boring meetings. You can usually remember what your better half told you last night. You can even stay lucid in a conversation with your kids about video games and cartoons. But not during Taper Madness. Not a chance. You hear people talking. You see their lips moving but you can't focus on the message and you really don't care. During Taper Madness you would you really like to stand up and scream, "Can we talk about what I want to talk about....MY [FILL IN RACE}?!?!?"
  • Your race gear achieves high status. Instead of being throw on the floor, in the laundry or stuffed in a bag, your chosen race gear is clean, folded and perched on a shelf, chair or other place of high honor a few days/weeks before the event. Family members are instructed not to touch it, move it or refold it. It has a purpose.
  • Excursions require safety reviews. Someone casually mentions going out for a meal, drink, shopping, whatever, and you do a mental scan of the route, the establishment, and company before deciding if it is worth the risk of a sprained ankle, chance of eating the wrong food, or picking up a stray germ.
  • You think about the race - ALOT. When you get up you think about what you will be doing that time of the day on race day. When you go for a run you think about what it will be like to start or finish the race. You have visualized the finish line so many times you have your never-to-be-used finish line speech to perfection. You have practiced, secretly, the fist pump, jump for joy, double arm 'yahoo!", etc that you will do for the picture that really counts. And smiles....you know which smile you will try for and at which miles - instead of the death snear - even if that is how you feel. You think about the race at every meal, walking to your car, brushing your teeth, while watching the news, singing your favorite songs (but with new taper related lyrics)... with every step or breath you take.
  • You know you are dying ... or at least facing a race ending injury. You held off minor and major injuries throughout your training, but now in just a few days you have aches, pains, tweaks, tight spots all in places you haven't before and in ways you haven't experienced before. You wonder how your body could betray you now! You spend time on www.webmd.com and www.sportsinjuryclinic.net hoping to find the answer to your mystery illness - only to find that there is nothing that specifically covers what you are experiencing.
If any of these sound like a current symptom you have, congratulations - you have Taper Madness. There is a wonderful home treatment.
The race.
Just go with it for a few days. It will come to a quick end as you cross the starting line.
In the meantime, know there are many runners like you dealing with the same infliction. If you need a place to vent, talk about your race or absolutely nothing, stop by the Taper Madness forum in the Lounge and talk about what you are thinking about, how you are coping or heck, even about what you really want to talk about ....YOUR RACE!
***If you are wondering, the pictures have nothing to do with running. They just made me giggle and thought they would bring a smile to your face too.
Crazy baby face on Flickr by Christian Metts
Dog picture by Red Star



Omg!! Is that not ME a couple weeks before a race?! Exactly! Reading it just made me laugh at what I put myself through. I identify with it all, sad but true. I guess that's all part of the experience...can't see it not happening again. Especially if I register for a full marathon - can you imagine the insanity then?? Good lord....