Good week of training and some company for the mileage!

dad and i did lots of fun training on our thanksgiving get-together! we went out the first day he and mom got here and hit the track for a 3 mile walk that turned into a 3 mile jog/walk/holy crap run like the wind for the last part of the 2nd mile! it went something like this...

sun had set, kinda dark and about 4-5 oz of steak in my belly. bundled dad up a little as he isn't used to fall training especially fall with no sunshine! we headed out to the track that is 1/2 mile from the house and started with a nice fast paced walk. the first mile averaged out to about 14:45 so we decided to kick it up a little. the second mile involved walking all but the last 100 yards of the first lap which we decided to jog. the second lap we jogged for the last 200 yards (the half way point) and walked the rest, the third was the same. the last lap we walked (i was a little twinge-y on the outside of my right ankle, something i have been playing with for a few weeks) until just before the last 100 yards, then dad started to jog and i decided to give it my best. as i started jogging next to him, he pushed a little faster and pulled ahead a little. suddenly, we were both running and i just kicked in the turbo boosters and shot to the end of the track with a dad slightly behind (i had a combo of youth and a job that requires standing and therefor leg strength on my side!) whole walk/run was 3 miles in 43:45! averaging under 15 minutes!!

the next night, wednesday, we ate a pretty big and heavy dinner in charlottesville and i wasn't feeling like training. we finished up dinner by about 6, but by the time we got home it was closer to 8 and it was well after dark. it had been an unseasonably warm day however and was still quite lovely out and there was a pretty nearly full moon to light the way, so we decided, full belly or no, to go out and get in 3 miles again. this time, with respect to our digestion and a little stiff from the showing off the night before, i was only really wanting to walk, so there was very little actual jogging happening on this session.

thursday was supposed to be 3 miles, but since it was thanksgiving, the plans got a little off. we had meant to do the 1 mile hike at the natural bridge, but by the time we finished with dinner, it was getting pretty late and they wont let you go in after dark. since we couldn't hike, we decided to at least take the stairs down to see the natural bridge. the stairs, and i use this term somewhat loosely as they were really just unevenly cut pieces of stone stuck into the ground, led down to the bridge where we were to watch a really cool light show extravaganza. after walking the 150 or so stairs we walked out to and underneath the bridge and really got to experience it's size and majesty. it is a really cool thing! after the show (which was really cool except it was FREEZING!!!!) we went over to take the bus back to the top where the parking lot was. the first busload was already full and as cold as we were we decided to take the stairs back up rather than wait (not mom's favorite idea of the week). all in all, not quite 3 miles, but probably around 2 and some really good stair endurance.

saturday was the endurance walk. the team was meeting at 7 am, but we decided that it was too early for us so we headed out at 8 and got to c'ville around 8:45. i took dad on the 7 1/2 mile loop i took 2 weeks ago figuring we could finish up any additional we wanted to do (i was scheduled for 9 total this week) at the UVA track by the parking lot where my car was. after about 6 miles i made a judgment call that it was better to do 7 1/2 miles and be able to socialize than shoot for the 9 and need to spend the rest of the day on my tush at home, so we limited the walk to the original path. the walk was awesome, we went through campus as i usually do, but it was during the UVA/Virginia Tech football game which is a huge rivalry so there was LOTS of fun tailgating going on (many drunken frat boys!). due to the sudden plunge in temp, dad got to play around with thermals and layers (though he only brought running shorts and it was 26 degrees out so he borrowed my nylon running pants which were about 3 inches too short! very funny!) although it was cold, we had a great time, with potty breaks and all averaged 18 minutes a mile even with the substantial hills that this route provides. after finishing, we stretched and headed to smoothie king for some nutrients while waiting for mom to come to town. unfortunately, the combo of icy cold smoothie with wet though wicking under layers of clothing led to a somewhat deep chill and we headed out of smoothie king looking for someplace to change into dry clothes and get warm. in the interim, i turned the heat up to high in the car and drove to the school for a changing room. the school was closed (forgot about the holiday) and the heat in the car felt really good, so that, combined with the early wake up time and the overall fatigue from the walk led us to pull the car into the Giant grocery parking lot and take a nice 20 minute power nap while the heater blew full blast. ah yeah! good times!

all in all, a successful week of training and lots of fun having someone to train with!

saturday morning training

saturday training, actually did all of my midweek mileage going in to it (first time in a few weeks) got up and ate breakfast of instant oatmeal and oj and headed out the door with haste as i was running a little late. got into the car and headed to c'ville which takes about 30 minutes in regular traffic. unfortunately, this was NOT regular traffic, this was pokey-the-driving-slugmobile traffic. so i was a little grumpy that i hadn't gotten up and out earlier, then i was grumpy that i had to be up so darn early on a saturday morning anyway. then i was grumpy that i had no clients scheduled for the day which meant i was up early with no plans for the rest of the day after the training. then i was grumpy because i had been trying for 2 days to get a particular friend on the phone and she never answers, oh yeah, that's right, no one has been answering their phones since yesterday, now i am grumpy and feeling sorry for myself because i am all alone in the world and i have to do everything for myself because there is no on around to pick up the slack and it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair (hold my breath 'til i turn blue and pass out, yes it was a temper tantrum, i'm aware thank you very much!). by the time i FINALLY got to the meeting spot for TNT group training, they had already headed out (not that it matters, i'm gonna have to walk by myself anyway, there are no other walkers, i'm the only one who can't run because i'm fat and why am i fooling myself into thinking this is a good idea? maybe i should just quit. i should just go home and watch tv, i don't want to walk now, no one would even notice either way, return to holding breath until blue again....).

so i started the car and got ready to leave. then i stopped. then i pulled the car back in to the parking spot. then i stopped. then i backed out again. then i drove the stupid car into the stupid spot and took the stupid keys out of the ignition (which was also stupid). i decided i was already there, i might as well walk. And even though i didn't have the map that my coach makes up for us for each session, i knew last time was 5 miles and this one was supposed to be 7, and i average about a 16 minute mile, so i would walk most of the 5 path and veer off for 16 minutes or so, double back and finish the 5 mile loop. so i headed out with my new water hip pack (probably the main reason i stayed, i was excited to try out the new hydration system) and began the walk. about 10 minutes in i was glad i decided to stay. about 45 minutes in i realized i LOVE charlottesville especially in the fall (i was unaware of it's beauty up close since i have spent the last 2 falls inside and inactive for the most part).

all in all, the walk was beautiful and uneventful. it's definitely getting easier to do the distances, my shins don't hurt at all any more. it's getting harder and harder to get my heart rate up to those really high numbers, the legs get wobbly before the lungs get too pant-y. my hamstring twinged a little at about mile marker 6 and by that night it was pretty mad, but a little icy hot took it out for the most part. but here's the part that makes this whole rant worthwhile...

when i finally got to the return loop to the parking lot where my car was parked, i looked up the hill and saw my car in the distance. i wasn't sure, but i thought i saw that my coach's car was still there too. i figured they weren't back from the 15 miles the full marathoners were doing and was pleasantly surprised to see that at least they weren't moving at double my speed (usually that happens, especially with the seasoned runners, we head out together and they are back at the end before me having done twice the distance in less time than me). as i made the final uphill (CUTE BUTTS!) my coach got out of her car and waved at me from across the parking lot. i couldn't believe she knew it was me. first off, she left before i got there and i hadn't emailed her to tell her if i was going to be there or not, so she had no reason to expect me. second, it was REALLY cold out, so i was bundled up in a jacket and a fleece hat, kind of incognito. when i got there, she apologized for heading out without me, and i told her that i was about 10 minutes late, no way would i have expected them to wait when they had no reason to know i was coming. Then i asked her how she knew i was there and out walking. she told me that Briana, one of the other participants, had recognized my car when they doubled back past the parking lot on their run. one of the other participants noticed it was me. my team knew i was there. wow. ok, now i get it, Go team...

really glad i stayed

ok, back to the schedule

so i ended up taking 10 days off from training due to a lovely upper respiratory tract infection that left me with no energy and even less voice (kinda freaked out poor miranda when she wanted to chat with aunt jen the other day and got a croaky monster on the line!). finally decided i was ready to get back on the road on tuesday. went out with no intention to worry about time, only to get my legs moving again after so long. during the down time i was actually "itchy" to get back out, i think i have developed exercise restless leg syndrome. went out for an easy 3 miles and set the watch only to keep time to see how much of a back slide happens with 10 days out of commission. wouldn't you know, the first mile was 15:38, the second was 14:10 and the third was 14:13! the whole thing was under 45 minutes, finally back to the time i had been doing before i got sick last time! apparently, the down time did me good. went back out on thursday and had an equally good walk, did a little hill training, so the times were a little slower, but not bad and my heart rate was staying nicely in the 130's to 140's (and the cute butt chant is less frequent, guess the hills are getting a little easier if i don't need the encouragement)

today i did an open house with my friend Ed who is a chiropractor in town, i did chair massage for 3 hours and we set up a table of my now famous "cancer curing cookies" which have improved with the addition of some butterscotch chips. spent a lot of time getting to know some of the great people in my neighborhood and raised another $45 for TNT and have a few people who went home with promises of web donations. after 3 hours of chair massage, i was a little tired, but today was an endurance day and the weather was absolutely perfect for a walk, so i went home, changed into walking gear and headed out. the schedule for today was just 6 miles, but as i was going, it felt so good i decided to pass the turn around point and keep going. finally i found myself at the main gate of lake monticello which is over 3 and a half miles from my house. there i high fived the stop sign and turned around and headed home.

the walk back was great and i noticed that i had picked up a nice cadence to my walk that began to turn to a nice, easy jog. i decided to just go with it and ended up jogging for about 3/4 of a mile before i started to feel winded. for the rest of the way home, i traded off jogging until my heart rate got to 150ish and then walking it back down to the 130's. unfortunately, it was starting to get dark and as there are no sidewalks in my neighborhood, dusk isn't the safest time to be out on the road. i picked up speed to try to get off of the main roads and finally found myself back on the road that leads to my road, 3/4 of a mile from home. at this point, the final little hill of the route comes in and normally it isn't really that tough. today however, that hill was a mountain! i guess this was the point that my legs were done. i started getting a little wobbly and was having a little trouble getting my legs to point in a straight line. fortunately, there is very little traffic on this road, so i had the whole area to sort of stagger up the hill. when i got to the playground 1/2 mile from home, i went over to the water fountain for a drink and found that they have closed it for the fall/winter. i must have looked like a lunatic fumbling around where the handle is supposed to be but wasn't. can you believe it? they just took the handle off and replaced it with this metal plate. my brain was struggling to comprehend this (now, post hydration, i have figured it out!) and my legs were screaming for a break. so i stopped, took a deep breath and dug down deep to get a little reserve. then i got back on the road and headed in the direction of the house. finally, i rounded the corner to Loving terrace and sprinted my way to the front door. i got inside, ripped off my shoes and plopped down on the floor for a few minutes of rest before stretching.

All in all, i think today i finally found the wall. i have yet to push quite this hard up to now, though i have definitely been close. but best of all i noticed something on my walk today....i feel less cumbersome. that's the best way to describe it, like my body doesn't get in it's own way. it's a pretty darn good feeling. and holy cow, i made it to the main gate and back! in total, it was 7.25 miles in 1:55! so that means that 14.5 miles would take under 4 hours, and we only have to do 13.1, so YEAH!!! now, if i can figure out how to double the distance without falling down on my face......