Did You Know?

Get a load of this shizz!  Apparently, I chose running over my marriage!  Huh!  Interesting, isn't it?  Especially when you consider that I run so early and am done most days before a certain someone rolls out of bed.  Yup, that's what I was told tonight.  I must be a real bastard to have a hobby that I enjoy, keeps me healthy, allows me to stay fit, and enables me to de-stress.  Yeah, that's totally it; what was I thinking?!  (May I humbly throw in a "GFY!"?  That's my version of "Can I get an "Amen" from the audience?!")

Maybe one of these days I'll take up a more sensible hobby.  Sky-diving or BASE jumping, anyone?

I'm Out of the Convertible Shoes!

This title might sound silly, but I was finally able (well, at least willing) to put on regular sneakers and stop wearing the convertibles (ie: sneakers with the tops over the big toes cut out).  I'm sure I didn't need to do that for quite so long, but a little too much time in the convertibles is probably better than a too little time in 'em where my toe starts hurting again.

Today's run had me doing 17 miles, but half of them were at marathon pace.  Since my last long run was a disaster (to me), I opted to do this one on my own for a bit of redemption.  The plan was to do the first 8 miles at a regular, slow-ish pace, then do the marathon pace for the next 8.5 miles, and finally to wind-down the last half mile.  This pretty much is how it shook out, and I'm happy about that.  Of course, the Nervous Nelly in me says, "but that was less than a third of the real distance that you'll want to cover at that pace."  Perhaps I need to tell Nervous Nelly to STFU!

If you're sitting there, reading this, and wanting proof that this was a pretty decent run, I've got your proof right here via a screen shot of my Garmin Connect info.  I'm not quite sure how/where that final full mile ended up with a 7:33 pace!  LOL!  The last one highlighted below is a combination of the half mile at marathon pace (MP) and then a slower, cool-down half mile.  I wish I could break it up to see if that 0.5 at MP was as fast as the previous mile was.

 

Today's Run: 10 Miles at Marathon Pace (MP)

After taking yesterday off and deciding to move those miles to today in order to give my toe an additional day to heal, it was time to hit the road in my "convertible" shoes.  Last year, Dr. Taub suggested that I cut a hole in the top of one sneaker that still had some life left in it.  This way, there would be no pressure on my nail.  Because the universe works in mysterious ways, this year, it's my other foot that's having a toe issue which meant cutting the other sneaker of that pair.  I did this handy-work on Friday since I knew I'd be needing the convertible at some point over the weekend.

Here's how today's run went.  The goal was to do 10 miles at marathon pace.  Of course, "marathon pace" means different things to different people, but Joan wants me shooting for times near the 8 minute per mile pace.  The humidity this morning made it tough, but I got it done!

 

Thanks, Stephanie, for this thought!

Love it!  So appropriate!  I shall make it my new motto!

 

2 Doctor's Visits in 1 Day...I Feel Old!

I certainly shouldn't have waited to see either doctor, but you know how it goes: you have pain, you think "I should see the doctor," it sort of goes away (or seems manageable), you think "I don't need to see the doctor," and then it comes back, so you (again) think, "I need to see the doctor."  Yeah, this has been me for about 2 weeks for the back of my leg and about a week for my toe.

Today, I finally had enough and decided I just needed to go; it was either go now or go later.  As Dr. John would say, "pay me now, or pay me later" in terms of addressing an injury.  (Hmmmmm, my philosophy is always that later sounds like a better idea!)  Anyway, I took a picture of my progressively-more-purple toenail & texted it to Dr. Joe Taub.  (Don't remember Dr. Taub and the work he had to do on my other foot from about a year ago?  Refresh here.)  Since Joe's a runner, I feel much better going to him because he won't be one of those doctors who say "just don't run for a few days."  I'll spare you the details on what he did, but suffice it to say that I left and felt like I could only drag my leg.

Interesting side note, when I walked into Dr. Taub's office, I was probably the youngest person in the waiting room by a good 30+ years.  I'm not sure if that made me feel really young or really old.

Later in the day, I was able to get in to see Dr. Dan, who I had not seen in a long time.  He was able to work some ART on me and get me feeling good.  So, after two different doctors, I think I'm back on track.

Today's Horoscope

From NYPost.com

I love that last part: "do it and do it brilliantly."  Well, that's what I intend to do!

Today's Run Was Not Such a Good One

If you simply saw the numbers, you'd either tell me that (a) I'm lying about the run not being a good one, (b) I'm being a bit too dramatic, or (c) I need to get my head checked.  But, as the saying goes, the devil's in the details.  Let's start with the numbers.

The original plan by RCJ had me doing 20 miles, but the route should include 4 bridges.  I mapped out this little gem ahead of time, so I knew it would end up being more like 22 miles, so I texted her to ask how terrible it would be if I did 22 miles as opposed to 20.  Her response was "not terrible!"  Ok, so my route was set, and as usual, I'd have my hydration vest, my gels, and my Nuun tabs with me.  I had breakfast & coffee before I ran, and I started nice & early to maximize whatever cool (relatively speaking) weather there would be.

The first bridge was at about mile 5-point-something, and the second one wasn't until mile 13 or so.  The next two bridges would happen between then and mile 20.  By the time I reached the third bridge, I was feeling pretty wiped, and I knew my water supply was diminishing.  I tried to keep my water intake and Gu/Nuun tab consumption at regular intervals, and I think I did, but sweet Christ, this run just was not a good one.  By mile 16 or so, I knew it was getting rough, and I bargained with myself that if I could just run to the base of the final bridge, I'd stop at a gas station, get water, and then walk.  But you know I like my nice, round numbers, and because that wasn't 20 miles, I figured I could keep going to where I was pretty sure 20 miles would fall and, as I reasoned with myself, another gas station would be.  I must've been pretty motivated to get that final mile (up to mile 20) done.  Check out how my pace changes from the previous miles!  How did I pull off a pace of 8:09 if I felt as shitty as I did?!  LOL!

The rest of the trip home was a mix of slow running (as the 8:56 and 8:51 paces show), some walking, and then a bit more shuffling (less than a mile at a 9:22 pace).

When I got back, I did something I pretty much never do: took my shoes, vest, and watch off and went right in the pool!  Yup - in all my running gear: socks, compression sleeves, and more!

I still don't know what went wrong, but days like this always make me wonder how I'm going to pull off 26.2 miles!

Today's Run Was a Good One!

If you're reading this blog, you likely know that this week sucked.  I won't be broken, and a certain someone is not going to be allowed to derail my training or stop me from reaching this next goal of mine.  (May I humbly throw in a stress-relieving "Go f*ck yourself!" right now?  Ahhhh, that feels good!)  I'd be lying if I said this week's runs were easy, but after a rest day yesterday, I'm happy that today's run was a really good one!  It has left me re-energized and looking forward to next week!  Let me fill you in.

Today's long run had me doing 16 miles with at least 6 at tempo pace.  RCJ said she'd join me, and I was looking forward to the company.  We chat most of the time, and it makes the miles fly by.  I had a pretty good route planned out.  We started out in Tradition, ran into St. Lucie West, and then swung back into Tradition to wrap things up.  I really like this route; it's got one bridge that you end up running twice, but the rest of it is pretty flat and semi-interesting.

RCJ is such an amazing runner that I'm always inspired to run with her and want to do my best.  We agreed to do 5 of the 6 tempo miles in the middle and then to make the last mile a good, fast final kick.  Check out what's below; the highlighted parts are the tempo miles.

Yeah, I was quite surprised to see a 7:20 final mile!  I knew it was fast, but if I had to guess, I don't think I would've thought it was that fast.  Cool stuff for sure that left me thinking maybe this Boston goal is do-able!

What might've been even cooler than that was the text that I got from another running friend, Stephanie.  She sent me this: "Joan posted about your fantastic run this morning on FB. Well done chica. Boston here you come!!!"  Thanks, Stephanie!  Your text means a lot to me.

Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams

 

Just like Forest Gump, that's all I have to say about that.