FAIL August 24, 2008

I didn’t do it.  I didn’t run my 20 miles, or even 10, or even get dressed.  I stumbled around the bathroom for a bit at 6:15 AM, and then went straight back into bed.  After Friday night’s dancing and sitting around in the heat and humidity on Saturday, I felt exactly 10.45% under the weather.  Did I use that as an excuse to be lazy and skip my long run this week?  Probably.  Could I have used the extra sleep?  Probably.

I had a great time at the company party on Friday night.  There was an ice luge, that alone should tell you how the night progressed.  People are always surprised to learn that I LOVE to dance, but I do and there was a lot of dancing.  And I dance rather…how would I describe it?  I dance pretty much like a skank whore.  It was so hot and humid, and I’m sure all the professional pictures will come out showcasing my pit stains and under-boob sweat, but it was a lot of fun.  Dancing is also crosstraining, so I consider it a productive night of strengthening my quads, hamstring, and calves.

Fiancee and I went to the White Sox game and sat and sweated our butts off in the humidity.  We had club level seating, which means we had an air-conditioned lounge to escape to and someone to take our orders.  Club level seating has its own menu, which apparently includes:

 

Soy What?

Look, I like edamame. I like tofu and soy nuts.  But if you’re ordering a soy salad with organic young lettuce at a ball game, I’m going to have to smack you.

 

Tater Tots Are More Up My Alley

We also had some hotdogs (duh), brats, and ice cream.  They offered a 2-foot-long dog, which I would’ve loved to get…if it hadn’t been a wallet-robbing $14.  

 

2 Footer Dog

After the game, we went to Saint’s Alp in Chinatown to cool down with some cold milk tea and refreshing bubble tea.  I love Saint’s Alp – I think it’s the only American branch of the Hong Kong chain, and it reminds me of Hong Kong tea cafes.  The food is nothing original or innovative, but it’s comforting and familiar and down-home good.  I had a bowl of the dan dan noodles - spicy and slightly peanutty, with a meaty, delicious broth.

 

Dan Dan Noodles

Next week, I’ll make a real attempt at 20 miles and hopefully not have to crawl back home.  I also have 800-meter repeats on Wednesday, which I’m strangely excited for.  Happy running (and eating) to everyone!

Falling Off-Pace August 22, 2008

I was supposed to do a 4 mile tempo run yesterday (8 miles total), but only managed to squeeze out 3.  My tempo pace is supposed to be around an 8:30 pace, and if you look at my splits, it’s pretty obvious why I crapped out on the last mile.

Tempo Mile 1 – 8:17 (oops, too fast)
Tempo Mile 2 – 8:09 (SLOWER, not FASTER, dumbass!)
Tempo Mile 3 – 7:55 (um, yeah…)

So after all those tempo runs and track workouts and recovery jogs and long runs, I still have yet to learn the art of pacing.  And in addition to thoughts of Oh my god, I can’t lift my legs or breath anymore, I have this constant fear that I’m going to trip in the midst of my speed workouts, go flying, and completely eat it on asphalt.  It’s not completely irrational, since I’ve often tripped over nothing more than my own two feet.  As long as no one is there to document it, you can’t prove it happened.

On the upside, I’m learning to love my speed workouts.  I love feeling like I’m flying and pumping my arms, feeling my chest heave up and down.  I love sprinting around the local high school track.  Beneath all the suicidal thoughts running through my mind at the moment, I know my legs are getting stronger and my VO2max is very slowly improving.  

My other dilemma (besides pacing) is that I got too antsy, started marathon training way too early, and now I’m ahead of schedule.  If all goes according to plan, I will have finished my three 20 milers in late September/early October.  And then I have no idea what to do with my extra month+.  I’m thinking of incorporating some elements of the Pfitz, and doing some mid-long runs the day before my long runs, to get my legs used to running through fatigue.  (Of course, now that I’ve posted this, I will inexplicably twist my ankle or get a hernia that will sideline me for weeks.)

Last thing: ever since this was posted on the RW forums, I’ve been obsessed with this song.  If you ever see a little Asian girl bouncing like a poser in her mini-SUV in the burbs of Chicago…

Good Idea, Bad Idea August 18, 2008

Let’s play round of Good Idea, Bad Idea, shall we?  For anyone who had a fulfilling childhood and got to watch Animaniacs, you will remember Mr. Skullhead demonstrating smart, enjoyable things to do and catastrophically fatal variations on those activities. I.e. climbing a mountain (good idea) vs. climbing a mountain lion (bad idea).

Good Idea:  Checking the temperature before your 17-mile long run.
Bad Idea:  Assuming the recently cooler weather will last.

Good Idea:  Hydrating properly.
Bad Idea:  Not hydrating properly because you thought it would be a cool 70 when in reality, it was 85 degrees (see above).

Good Idea:  Keeping a conservative 9:50 pace.
Bad Idea:  Speeding through the middle miles at at 9/9:15 pace.  And then completely fading in the last 3 miles, not helped any by #1 and #2.

Good Idea:  Running past the local Saturday morning yard sales.
Bad Idea:  Running in your sports bra past a local yard sale where a group of Mexican gangbangers were just getting in their car.  

Total mileage: 17.4.
Average pace:  9:35.

Let’s just say I was pretty spent at the end of that run.  I’m not too worried, there will always been trials and speedbumps while building up to 20+.  Next week, I have a company party Friday night, a White Sox game Saturday afternoon, and my first 20-miler to fit somewhere in there.  I went on MapMyRun.com to find a pre-mapped 20-mile route in my town that someone else had used before, but the longest run I could find was an 18-miler.  Do you know what this means?  It means I am breaking ground in my community!  I am the 20-miler Christopher Columbus!  I am the PIONEER OF DISTANCE in Oak Lawn, Illinois!  

(Also, to the family cooking bacon for breakfast in my neighborhood – please do not do that while I’m on mile 14.  It is cruel and very very unfunny.)

*   *   *

Portobello mushrooms were on sale at my local grocery store today, so I snapped some up and made this little medley.  Consensus (aka Fiancee) says two thumbs up!

- grape tomatoes, halved
- minced garlic
- chopped baby spinach
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper

Scoop out the underside of the mushrooms with a spoon, and then blend all the ingredients above together in a little bowl.  Spoon into the portobellos, and then stick it under the broiler for about 10-15 minutes until the garlic turns golden and mushrooms are cooked through.  

 

Portobello Medley

 

Friday night dinner at Palermo’s:

 

Fried calamari

 

Radiatora Pasta w/ Vodka Sauce

The pasta with vodka sauce is only slightly less addicting than, say, meth.  But you can’t carb-load with meth!  And on that note, peace out, peeps.

 

Gansta Lovin'

Sit-On-Your-Ass Week August 10, 2008

 

My cutback week turned into a sit-on-my-butt week.  I did a total of two whopping runs, and my knee was still not its normal self, so I just scrapped the rest of the week and gave my legs a vacation.  It wasn’t painful exactly, but I could still feel the tightness a few miles into my run, and the longer I spent with it in a bent position, the more it felt like it would lock up a little.  Right now, it feels fine and I haven’t had any problems with walking or stairs, so I plan to resume a normal schedule next week.

As mentioned, Fiancee and I hit up the Wisconsin State Fair yesterday with Fiancee’s brother and his octopus girlfriend – so named because she always needs to have every limb intertwined with his.  Here is photographic evidence:

 

The Octopus

How many points of contact is in this photo?  Is this really necessary?  

Anyway, my food tally for the day ran like this:
- corndog
- BBQ ribs (sooooo good)
- chive fries
- root beer

 

Ribs and chives fries at the fair

 

Fried cheese

And then I finished the day by eating this giant cinnamon sugar elephant ear all by myself.  (For those of you who don’t know, elephant ears are large pieces of dough stretched thin and then deep fried.)

 

Elephant ear

And for proportion’s sake…

 

Nom nom nom

Seven(teen) to Heaven August 3, 2008

Two miles in yesterday, I started feeling the knee twinge.  At the end of the 7-mile loop, still feeling energized, I started on the 10-mile loop and took a stretch break at Mile 9.  At Mile 10, I stopped and was faced with the decision of whether to keep running or turn around and walk home.  My knee wasn’t in excrutiating pain by any means, but I could feel that annoying, dull twinge with every step.  It was a frustrating situation where you’re not sure if you should press on, or if you should just call it a day to avoid more damage.  9 times out of 10, the latter is the right answer, which of course means I chose the former.  I kept running.

My pace was slow, but this wasn’t the run to worry about speed, lest I exacerbate the pain.  At every hydration break, I stretched a bit and tried to shake out my right leg.  I just wanted to finish my LSD this week so I could take my cutback week in peace, instead of being anxious about making up the long run.  Despite the knee, I felt surprisingly good.  No side cramps, no grumbly stomach, I consistently hydrated, alternating water and Gatorade, popped some Sharkies every few miles, and kept my pace steady.  At Mile 15, the pain started to diminish and miraculously at Mile 16, it disappeared.  

 

17 Miles!

About an 10:13 minute mile average pace, but I figure I have plenty of time to work on my time later.  Between this and the on-the-nose track workout on Wednesday (8 miles total, 5×800 m at 3:40ish each), I’m feeling pretty deserving of a cutback week and refuse to feel guilty about rolling around in bed until noon today.  As a side note, I will never understand people (*cough cough*MATT*cough cough*) who say they felt so good at Mile 17 or 18 or whatever that they ran a full 20.  As good as I might feel at the end of my 17, you know what feels even better?  GOING HOME AND TAKING A NAP.   

*   *   *

I have no food photos this week, I’m ashamed to say.  I went out to dinner with some girl friends last night at May Street Market, but the lighting was so dim that all my pictures came out super craptastic.  The food was excellent though – I had the grilled hangar steak with peaches, arugula, and onion rings.  I usually don’t order steak when I go out, but I had a huge hankering for red meat and the steak was so deliciously juicy.  For dessert, I had the Bing cherry spring roll – lots of juicy cherries stuffed in an egg roll wrapper and fried, then served with a ginger ice cream sandwich.  That ginger ice cream and the cookie it was served with was the most amazing thing ever.  

Next week, Fiancee and I are planning to head to the Wisconsin State Fair with Fiancee’s bro and his socially-inept, dull, and terribly clingy girlfriend.  I plan to distract myself by stuffing my face with greasy fair food – funnel cakes! curly fries! corn dogs!  I promise I’ll make up this picture-less week next week.