Project "Suck It" -- Week 1

Week one of Project Suck It (aka: Portland Marathon Training) officially started Monday. This week is a little crazy because the hubby is leaving for work on Friday so I have to spend as much time with him as possible before he leaves. Starting next week, I will be full on training mode.

Next week I will post some of my goals for this training cycle as well as for the marathon.

Last night I did an awesome track workout:

Warm up w/ plyos - about 15 minutes 3 x 10 push-ups 3 x 10 tricep dips 2 x 10 single leg hamstring bridge 30 - 50 crunches 2 x 10 superman After each of the exercises we ran a 400 before moving on to the next set. It was pretty awesome - and hard! 2 nd part of the workout: 1 mile: 8:52 4 x 400: 2:04, 1:57, 1:40, 1:44 Cooldown

This morning I was pretty tight and sore but my hubby managed to get me out of bed despite my protests, so I could get in a recovery run since we have a date tonight.

3 mile recovery run/11:01 ave. pace

On the coaching front -- technically my coaching will start beginning July, but I am pretty much being coached by him already considering he owns the store I run out of, heads the workouts, and tells me exactly what to do. He is also training for the same marathon so I think most of the group workouts will cater around our plan. Hopefully that means plenty of people to run long runs with.

Race Report

Sound to Narrows 12k race report:

First off I will say I have a much more positive outlook on life after this race compared to the last. I think I really needed to hear some of the comments you and some of my other runner friends had to offer me. The sweet taste of victory (hitting my time goals) will feel a whole lot better after all the sufferage and bullshit I have to go through to get there. Duh! Now onto the goods stuff. I had little expectations for this race since it is known to be fairly tough and usually people run it for fun, or they try to beat their previous times. I was doing it for neither. This was the race I started training for when I was fresh off my IT band injury 9 weeks ago. The timing of the race fit perfectly into my schedule because it is the week before marathon training and it was just long enough to get me back into shape. I have never run it before so I had nothing to compare it to.

True to Pacific NW summer conform, conditions were perfect - 59*, no wind, and overcast. I had my normal pre-run oatmeal 1 hour before the start. It so nice having the hubbs with me. The timing usually involves him being away at work for most races, so this was a treat. I had a chef, chauffeur, support crew, and photographer. I was stoked!

Pre-race smiles My strategy: run comfortably strong all the way through. Since it was all hills, I couldn't rely on mile splits or time.

elevation chart

My goal: Sub 1:15

Mile 1.5 was all down hill so what to say about that. What goes up, must come down right. I was really concentrating on my form here. Trying to run strong knowing that even though I had done about 10 minutes of plyos and warm - up, I didn't want to open it up and fly to hard right out of the gate.

Mile 1: 8:58

Mile 2: 9:23

Mile 3 & 4 had a major climb and I really wanted to make it up without stopping. I was really trying to draw energy from the strong runners ahead of me, but I had to stop towards the top. I didn't want to waste myself before the halfway point. A little high school kid picked me up before the top and helped get me through it. Thanks kid - good luck in your mile swim coming up Friday!

Mile 3: 10:17 (super proud of that split)

Mile 4: 10:04

Mile 5 had a sharp climb at the end of a long steady climb so I held on again for as long as I could. I tried to draft of a couple of women who were running very strong, but I just couldn't make it up without a little power walk.

Mile 5: 10:17 (again, super proud of that split and how weird that it's the same as mile 3)

The first half of mile six had somewhat steady terrain and I was able to regroup and mentally pump myself up. What a difference positive self - talk makes. I couldn't believe just last week I was actually talking myself down so much. Why did I do that to myself? I was closing in on the last mile. Mile 6.5 - 7 was the climb to the top where we started (remember that 1st mile 8:58 downhill split).

Mile 6: 10:08

By mile 7 all those hills were catching up to me and I had to stop so that I could finish strong. I am a little disappointed here though. I only walked a total of three times and each time I tried to keep it to a minimum (under 20 sec), but I must have walked longer here, plus it was all uphill so I know I was moving slower.

Mile 7: 11:49 (I didn't think I was going that slow)

The last half I knew I was so close to sub 1:15, I was trying to give it all I had. I was weaving in and out of people trying to beat the clock so hard.

I was really fighting the lactic here.

My eye was on the finish line - please let it be sub 1:15. I didn't even want to look at my watch, I just wanted to put my head down and go for the last gut check.

Final Time: 1:15:37

(10:04 ave pace/Total elevation gain: 4,425 ft.)

:38 seconds off, but I'm not going to let me get down about it. That was a hard f'ng course and next year who knows, maybe my goal will be sub 1:10!

Cooling down

More pics courtesy of my personal photographer (and it's my blog so I can have as many pictures of myself as I want right):

If you read that whole thing thanks! And thanks again for all your kind words after my last race. I really did get me through some of those tough spots today. Now I'm off to try and think of a good name for my next goal: Portland Marathon. It's my redemption race for the Seattle Marathon.

Brick

Today I did a brick, but I went back to my roots and rode some sweet ass singletrack. I took those pointless slickers off my mtb and hit the trails. Oh how I miss you singletrack. So. much. fun. It brought me back to a a couple of years ago when I started training for this psycho triathlon. It was so fun. I was literally in the back of my field, but it was so fun and hardcore I didn't care. My proudest moment was when a guy was on my tail during the bike and I asked him if he wanted to pass me and he said no. He was actually following me because he was so scared. It was awesome. Totally chicked him.

I have only done one other xterra, but the course wasn't as good. I ended up getting sick and vomiting on the bike which resulted in me having a long hiatus from Gatorade and probably never being able to stomach the orange flavor ever again. Kind of like when you puke off tequila - it takes a long time before you can go back. I didn't have any water on me and I waited for someone to come around so I could beg for some to get the nasty taste out of my mouth and wet the whistle, but nobody came around and I had just get back on the saddle. Once I finally made it to transition I got lost on the run because the course wasn't very well marked. Long story short, it wasn't a good race but nonetheless when you complete something like that you can't help but feel accomplished because it's so sick.

Playing around

I think this is what the hubbs was doing most of the time -- waiting for my sorry ass to come around the corner.

Very glad we didn't see this guy

"The Look"

We also met this cute old man breaking a little horsey when we were at the trail head. He was so cute and we got to watch him handle the horses a little bit.

Overall it was a fantastic morning and a fantastic ride despite the "use it or loose it" technical abilities to handle obstacles. I am definitely rusty (a.k.a - a pussy) when clearing roots rounding corners. I lost a lot of the skills and quad muscles necessary to climb over roots and rocks etc...

Hopefully I can work this into the summer routine at least a few times a month. There are some good trails around here, but it's kind of scary going alone. At least the first time on a new trial. I worry about injury and being stranded in the woods by myself consequently being eaten by wild animals.

Oh yeah, the run was only about 15 minutes long. My legs were hurtin'!

Weekly Goals

Thank-you everyone who gave me such uplifting comments on my last post. Sorry again for the pitty party. You guys really did make me feel alot better. I am ready to take on a new week.

Monday: OFF (hubbs comes home today)

Tuesday: Swim, Speedwork session

Wednesday: 4 miles, core workout

Thursday: Swim, plyometrics

Friday: core workout

Saturday: 12K

Sunday: OFF

Overall goals:

• I need to loose a couple of pounds in the next few weeks. Marathon training starts this month and I know I wont be loosing any weight once I start logging big miles. I think my weight loss goal might make a comeback in the sidebar.

• General eating: Stop eating like it's my job. For the last month I have been eating whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm a big believer in giving into your cravings, but this is out of control. I need to go back to my 'normal' ways, eating for fuel and craving healthy foods.

• Swim: at least 2x a week. Stop the pussy-footing around it. I love it and it's the perfect workout. Why I am slacking here?

To end on a positive note, I got my hair done Saturday and I am once again, convinced I have the best hairdresser and she is worth every penny. This is the next morning. I did absolutely nothing to it - no brush, no product, nada and it still looks better than when I do it.

Race Report

WARNING: you are about to read a very lewd and negative race report. If you are easily offended - this is not the blog for you. Consider yourself warned.

Today I did a 10k. It was a very low key event and I really didn't 'train' for it, but I was expecting a much better performance. The check-in was pretty chaotic. Thank goodness is was a fairly small event because there was a problem with the pre-registered participants and we had to essentially re-register. It took longer than expected and I didn't have much time in between checking in and the start. I ran for a couple minutes warm up then I did a few plyos to loosen up the muscles. Despite the problems with check in, the race started on time which was actually pretty impressive. My strategy was to start out at about a 9:30 pace then around mile 4 pick it up a bit and finish strong. When I was approaching the first mile mark I realized I forgot to change my garmie to time every mile so I was immediately kicking myself. (Note to self: take even the smallest races more seriously and be prepared the night before.) The first mile I covered in 9:26 so I guess mission accomplished there. I am not interested in hashing out the mathematical details in trying to figure out my my mile splits, but I will post my garmin link for those that are interested in seeing just how shitty I am. Upside - maybe it will make you feel better. The second mile was basically a down hill. I actually got a side ace from it though. What's up with that? The third and fourth were good to go but mile 5 - 6 were pretty much incline. I'm over these fucking hills. Yeah, I know they are supposed to be good for you but c'mon how the hell am I ever supposed to get any confidence when I am either recovering or climbing. Annoying!! I stopped at mile 5 for about 30 seconds to sip on some water. The negative trash talk was full force inside my head by this point. "What the fuck are you doing calling yourself a 'runner'? Your so damn slow. Seriously, give it up. What's the point of all this training? Blood. sweat, tears, blisters the size of Mt. McKinley, soreness - for what, to get passed by some bitch with a full face of make up and a fake nails who probably has never done a speedwork session in her life. I pretty much hated life with a passion at this point. I had a good kick at the end when a female in front of me was struggling and I tried to encourage her (I guess it was one of those "fake a smile when your grumpy and see how it improves your mood" moments because I did end up finishing strong. Overall I feel like shit about the whole thing. I am so disappointed in myself. I want so badly to become the swift fast strong runner you all are, but it seems like nothing I do makes a difference. I train diligently. How patient do I have to be to see result? I am not born with the gift of speed or the freakishly low heart rate but c'mon somethings gotta give. I guess there is nothing like a disappointing race to force you to re-evaluate what your abilities are. I am coming back full-fucking-force. No bullshit. I am so completely determined to get faster that I am going to make myself and everyone around me crazy. Portland marathon training starts in a couple of weeks. I have one more race next weekend (which I am not looking forward to because it is a crazy ass course but I am going to treat as a training run) then I will officially start marathon training. No holds barred for this. I am going to eat, sleep, dream about running. I'll even piss sweat I'll be training so hard. I am trying to think of a good name for this next four months. I'm thinking of calling it:

Project Suck It

....as in suck it up bitch because you are going to get faster if it fucking kills you.

Sorry for the pity party potty mouth but I know you guys will understand. Here are the hairy details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/6613170

Randomness

I have a ton of things I wanted to talk about, but I can't think of all them right this minute so I will attempt and then cover the rest later. Personal: My hubbs is gone again. Only for about a week, but still - ANNOYING. I mean I knew that he would be gone a lot when we got married, but it's these week long trips in between his 75 day work trips that are the hardest for some reason. Swimming: Happy to report that I finally got my fat ass back into the pool this week. Only 45 minutes and about 1500m (I wasn't keeping track) but it was worth every meter. Why oh why did I forsake you swimming pool? Hope to get in tomorrow morning again, but we'll see. No promises. I think I will be stopping at the store for a bottle of wine later (see above). Work: School's out, and I have been given the opportunity to do an internship which I am very thankful for. However, part of being an intern is dealing with a staff who doesn't really want to take time out of their day to help you so there is very little direction and I find myself very bored. I want to work hard, I want to be busy, I want to work on projects, but I have little to no control over this. It makes for very long days (and I only work 6 hours a day). Ugh. I don't want to complain about it because I know it is a good opportunity (although I am not getting paid) but I need to be challenged a little more. Running Goals: I have decided not to do a triathlon this summer. I was on the fence about it for some time because I really want to focus on making improvements on my running, and while I know the cross training is good for that, I just don't want to deal with the stress that comes with getting in the swim and bike workouts (particularly the bike). I will still swim my little heart out, but it's all about the run. That said, I have decided to pay for coaching to get me through my next marathon (Portland). I have been working with the owner of my local running store casually for a while now, but I really want to step it up and basically have someone tell me what to do. I have had two women tell me to use him. One just had a huge PR at Boston and the other has been using him for a couple of years and went from just under a 5hr marathon to about 3:50 so he comes with a good list of recommendations. The training season starts the same week as the triathlon and I don't want to be distracted starting out straight away. Obviously, I will keep you updated on the coaching front.

Let's Kick Some Gator Ass

I have been loving all the race reports! Keep em coming.

For the next three nights I will be totally obsessed with this:

4 - 0, Huskies, top of the fourth. BooYaa. I just spent half hour recaping my workouts last week and just accidentally erased it. Idiot! I'm not in the mood to do it all over agian. Maybe tomorow.