« April 2006 | Main | June 2006 »

May 30, 2006

Why I'll never be really fast

So I was contemplating my existence earlier and was plugging my various 5k and 10k times into race calculators. This is a really fun thing to do, especially if you might not be able to run for a week or two. I am really glad to have my bike now, because it's a nice outdoor workout option when running's out of the question.

Here are some results.
- If I ran my 10k pace from yesterday for a marathon, I'd run a 3:05. This is pretty respectable and maybe I could win a smaller marathon.
- If I ran the 10k pace of my best post-college 10k, which was at Tufts a few years ago, I'd run a 2:56 marathon. It would be sweet to break three hours but seems highly improbably - I was in great shape when I ran this race and I don't know if I'll have the time or the inclination to get in this kind of shape again.
- If I ran the 10k pace of my all time 10k PR, which I ran a really long time ago, I'd run a 2:52. This would be sweet but it would be even more improbable than the last scenario.
- Lastly, if I ran the 5k pace of my all time 5k PR, which was a really long time ago, I'd run a 2:43 marathon.

Thus, I don't think I'll have to worry about paying my expenses and going to the Olympic Trials any time, ever. Not to be negative or anything because I could always have an amazing breakthrough and stuff, but it is very unlikely. The reason I got to thinking about this was that my friend K. was asking me about my running goals and stuff yesterday - he basically asked me why I run, and what my long term goals are, and kind of why I run so much if I'll never be that great. The answer isn't profoud or earth-shattering or anything, really - I just love running. If I could beat my really old 5k and 10k PRs, that would be great - but if not, I'll just enjoy every day I can run, as much as I can, until I can't run, or until I can't enjoy it, any more.

Obviously, turning 28 has made me very old and wise. Now I just need to rehab like crazy until I can continue my quest to run every day, and to enjoy every day.

Posted by barb at 4:21 PM | Comments (3)

Good BB, Bad Knee!

Well, I ran pretty decently yesterday. God knows how as I did not taper at all, I worked out a lot over the weekend, didn't sleep a ton, and didn't feel very prepared. But somehow I ran a 44:04 which is by no means an amazing time, but it's my second fastest Bolder Boulder ever, and as of now I am 9th in my age. I am constantly coming in 11th in my age which is so irritating. I imagine that I may go down one or two places when they evaluate the results, though. I hope not - the time I came in 10th in my age I got a really nice BB key chain!

My splits were actually pretty even. A few of them got messed up but overall I ran well and didn't run too many positive splits. My last quarter (or whatever) was a 91 which I am really happy with.

The weather was almost ideal - in the 50s or so, sunny, just a bit on the windy side. It was great for running, just a little cold for sitting around at the field watching everyone come in.

The bad news is that my knee kind of hurt a little during the race. Then this morning on my run it really hurt. It wasn't nearly as bad as the time I had ITBS after my marathon, but it was a similar feeling. So I ran 4 miles (which was the plan) and now I'm going to take a few days off, and concentrate on stretching and using the foam roller. Worst case I will go to the PT next week. I will also make Matt act as a pseudo-PT and beat the crap out of my quad and IT band.

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! We move out of our condo today so we will be homeless for 10 days. Luckily we can stay with friends!

Posted by barb at 9:47 AM | Comments (4)

May 28, 2006

weekend = packing

Well, we have been packing all weekend. We're actually almost done which is fantastic! We are moving out on Tuesday (which is also my brother's birthday - Happy Birthday, Bear!!!), and moving into our new house a week and a half later.

So that, along with many other activities, has been keeping us busy. I can't remember the last time I wrote in here but the basics are as follows:
- Thursday - I can't remember. Isn't that sad? Maybe like seven miles of running.
- Friday - 5 miles easy (rest day).
- Saturday - 22 miles or so biking in the morning, 3.5 miles running in the afternoon. It was really freaking hot!
- Sunday - 6 miles easy in the morning.

Tomorrow morning is the Bolder Boulder so we will be getting up obscenely early and driving to Boulder. It should be lots of fun, but it'll be a warm year for sure. I am hoping to run kind of a tempo pace, maybe 7:30's, but who knows how I will feel.

I hope everyone's enjoying the long weekend!

Posted by barb at 4:48 PM | Comments (3)

May 23, 2006

a decent amount of running

In the last 18 hours or so I have run 15.5 miles. Which is nothing to write home about, but it's decent considering the recent state of my running affairs. I was really not excited about going to volleyball last night, partly because I do not love playing volleyball, partly because I am still exhausted after the weekend, and partly because I knew after we went I would eat dinner no earlier than 9:00 (we ate at 9:15) and it would be hard to go to sleep by 9:00 as I would have preferred! But such is life. We won 4 of 6 games, helped greatly of course by the fact that our first opponents didn't show up. It's always fun to win regardless.

I ran down to volleyball and around the park once, for 7.5 miles. I felt okay in spite of bizarre weather conditions - hot, muggy, and windy. This morning I got up at 6:15 and ran 8 miles, in a very similar route to the one I did last night. It was nice. I love morning running in the summer, it's just so pleasant.

I have a doctor's appointment at 1:00 today, so I can't go to practice. I don't care too much about that just because it is taper week for the Bolder Boulder so the workout would be really short. I am debating showing up on Saturday but once again it's a very short workout and it doesn't seem worth it to drive to Boulder. Especially since we are moving a week from today and we have lots of packing to do.

Tomorrow M. and I are biking so I am very excited. I love biking, especially now that I have my computer! I think that the weekend when Matt's out of town for a bachelor party I may try to go in for a bike fit. It seems like it will make my body feel more natural on the bike. I think the biggest thing is that I need to ride more and practice shifting and keeping my cadence high. So I'm working on it.

I still don't know what to do as far as goals this year. I think I want to do either:
1. Run sub-20:00 for a 5k
2. Run 1:37 for a half marathon
I don't think either one's a huge stretch. But they are kind of different so I think I need to choose one. Maybe there's a flat, fast 5k or half in Philadelphia the weekend I'm there - that would be perfect!

Posted by barb at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)

May 22, 2006

story of my life

Let me just say that I have finally reached a breaking point. I am just too busy. This weekend was a ton of fun - Betsy, my BFF and maid of honor, visited for three days, and we went to a really fun bachelorette party for my friend A. who is getting married in a little less than a month. But now I am exhausted and there is no end in sight. Tonight I have volleyball which I am dying to skip but I can't - we have to have two girls playing and no one else can play. So my run for today will consist of running from home to the volleyball site, and running around until the last possible moment before we have to start playing. Then if we have any breaks, I will run, and if I am still annoyed with my total for the day, I will run home. But I don't think that is too feasible since I have a flat tire on my car (which I discovered as I wasted my lunch hour trying to drive to the jeweler's to get my ring sized) that Matt needs to change out after freaking volleyball.

So I am frustrated. I didn't run very much this weekend and I drank way too much. Thus, I feel that I have put on five pounds in three days. However, I was able to do three pull ups yesterday, which is something I had never done before. So I am fat and strong!

Here is the running over the weekend:
Friday - 12 miles in Boulder. Boiling heat. Felt good.
Saturday - 7 miles around City Park area. Boiling heat. Felt okay. Skipped practice due to lack of sleep.
Sunday - 4 miles from new house (to show Betsy) around Wash Park. Not too hot.

Overall considering I only ran 6 days, it was not a wretched week, but it wasn't great. I was tired on the Friday run, but I think it was mostly the heat that contributed to that. I had a great time biking last week and I'd like to get to the point that I am biking twice a week. I think once we move that should not be too hard. It would be nice to start swimming once a week but I don't think that will happen for quite a while.

So I will try to run as much as I can this week, and because of that I'm not doing a taper of any kind for the Bolder Boulder. But that's okay - it's not much of a PR course. I think I'll try to do it as a tempo run.

I hope everyone is having a good (and a more calm) week!

Posted by barb at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2006

Another short work week

Boy, I could get used to this. Last week I had a two day week and this week I've had a three day week! It is pretty nice. Unfortunately I don't think I have quite enough vacation to do this all the time.

Anyway I ran 6 miles yesterday afternoon for a nice total of 10 miles for the day. It was pretty warm, but on the second half of the run it cooled off nicely. This morning I ran 4 miles - I don't want to overdo it this week - and after work I'm going for a bike ride with my friend M., which should be fun. I haven't had time to bike for a week or two so I'm excited to get back on the bike. And now I have my sweet computer so I will know exactly how far and how fast I go!

Betsy is coming into town late tonight which will be lots of fun. We have many fun and exciting activities planned, including a long run tomorrow, practice on Saturday, a bachelorette party in Beaver Creek, a concert, a happy hour, etc., etc. Realistically everything is going to be nuts through July 1, so I am prepared for a long but fun road of constant activity and excitement.

I want to send a shout out to Alison and P., who support our blogs. It is so nice of Alison to let all of us have our blogs on her site!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Posted by barb at 2:14 PM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2006

busy week

Well, now that all the excitement of being out of the country and such has died down, now today it is my 28th birthday. I am officially an old hide ;)

Just kidding. Actually I feel the same. Just tired! Jet lag is a bugger. Tonight we only have to go to dinner for my birthday so it should be a relatively early evening. Also we need to look for couches for our new house - I can't believe how quickly everything is coming up! We are moving out of our condo in a week and a half. So we really need to start packing.

Anyway, running. I ran 8 miles at lunch time yesterday. I felt really good although it was hot later on in the run. Then I lifted. This morning I ran an easy 4 miles. The weather was gorgeous - I love the first few days when you can wear shorts in the morning. I have a meeting around lunchtime today but then in the afternoon I'll run again, maybe 6 more miles, and then some different lifting. Since wedding season is almost upon us, I would like to improve the tone in my arms. Also, since I have been eating everything in sight since we left for our vacation, I think it will help burn the zillion calories I have consumed! It would be nice to fit into the dresses I want to wear to said weddings.

The rest of the week should shape up as follows:
Tomorrow - easy short run in the morning. Biking after work.
Friday - 2 hour 30 minute run with Betsy!! She is coming into town Thursday night.
Saturday - RRB training.
Sunday - probably a short easy run whenever time permits.

It will be a very busy, but fun week!!

Posted by barb at 9:09 AM | Comments (3)

May 16, 2006

London

So we ended up going to London. Let me just say that going to Europe without mentally preparing yourself is very strange! The whole time we were there I was kind of in disbelief that we were really in London. I should also mention that London in May is really nice. I had been there twice before - in December and in March - and this was really pleasant. We could walk around outside, sit outside, etc. I love all the parks there and it was great to be able to go to a park and hang out as opposed to walking through briskly to conserve warmth!

I didn't do too badly with the running while we were there -
Thursday - 4.5 miles
Friday - 3 miles
Saturday - 3.5 miles
Sunday - 5 miles
Monday - day off.

I love running in London. Given more time I would have loved to do a few longer runs. I did try to run some faster paces just because the volume was so low. But I am happy with it. It is good to run almost every day on vacation in my opinion.

It was a fantastic trip. I could not have asked for a better birthday vacation. I don't know how to write about this, because it seems strange to do it, but I wanted to let all my blogging friends know that on Thursday morning Matt asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, so we are very excited!

Posted by barb at 8:11 AM | Comments (6)

May 9, 2006

Leaving tomorrow morning

I still don't know where we are going! But it should be fun. I probably won't update this until late Monday or early Tuesday. Practice was good today, although now my legs are a little stiff. Have a great week!!

Posted by barb at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

May 8, 2006

bad weather and worse drivers

I have to say that this morning I had pretty high expectations for my run and they were not met. I hate when that happens. My college coach always used to tell us to have low expectations, so that we would most often be pleasantly surprised by how our races went and the like. This (and not going out too fast) was generally a good strategy. I have found that in general, in life I tend to have high expectations, and thus I am often disappointed by how things turn out.

Today, I thought it would be 72 degrees and maybe slightly breezy when I ran. Instead it was 65ish, rainy, and really windy. I am so sick of the wind. I have decided on a new determination between windiness and breeziness - the weather is officially windy when it has a negative effect on pace. Today was definitely in the windy category. I didn't mind the rain at all, it was just unexpected.

Also, I set off with no expectation of being almost run over by an idiot driver, and that happened three times. What the fudge. People are such bad drivers. One of the times someone started randomly backing up into my body, and that was really irritating. The second and third times, drivers were running red lights. I am generally very aware of my surroundings so there wasn't any danger of my actually being run over but it was irritating. Luckily it made me feel better to yell at them! So this makes me very excited to move. Currently all of my runs are in very high traffic areas unless I drive to a trail. When we move I will have .75 miles of traffic (low traffic in fact) to get through before I am on a trail where I am highly unlikely to be almost run over.

So yesterday I only worked out the one time. I felt like a bit of a slacker but my legs were pretty sore. Today I did the maximum on my schedule (seven miles) and I also lifted chest and shoulders. My legs were still pretty sore but by the end of the run I was feeling much more mobile. Then I started the lifting, which I had not done in weeks, and felt like a panty waist. I hate the new lifting machines at the gym, which makes me less motivated to lift, which makes me out of shape, which makes me hate lifting! It is a vicious circle. Damn you, new lifting equipment!!

We are leaving for our vacation in less than two days. I am totally freaked out with excitement, I cannot wait to find out where we are going! Luckily I will be so busy until we leave that I won't have too much time to obsess or to build up unrealistic expectations!

Posted by barb at 2:55 PM | Comments (3)

May 7, 2006

good mileage week

Well it has been a decent week as far as mileage goes. Not great, not bad. But it's probably my highest one for a while so that is a positive thing! I wanted to run more than I did today but time just did not permit it. Here is the weekend recap:

Saturday -
I actually showed up to practice but since Darren wasn't there only one other person came. He is way faster than me and I didn't want to do the workout on pavement I decided to drive over to the Mesa Trail and do a long trail run instead. I know, I am not exactly doing whatever Darren says but it's close. The run was great. I love the Mesa Trail. I ran about 10 miles (56 minutes out, 51 back, yes it is very hilly). I did turn my ankle once and then I took a rough fall but I was almost done when that happened. I am sore today but it's not too bad. Mostly my quads, and my knees a little bit where I fell.

Sunday -
This morning I was going to do the workout from yesterday but we were looking at houses with a friend so I didn't have time. I did run five miles with two miles at tempo pace. So that was better than nothing but not the best. Today is beautiful although I was dealing with a wicked headwind during the run. Some of our plans for later got cancelled so I may try to get out on my bike later. Although I am not too sure if I have time or not - lately the weather has been going kind of bad in the afternoons and my quads need a rest before I go. So we'll see!

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Posted by barb at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)

May 5, 2006

Easy day

What a nice easy day of running I have had today. I do love running in the morning - it's really nice (especially on Friday) to go to work knowing that I've already done my running for the day! It was cool and misty the morning. I love running in that kind of weather although now my hair is frizzy and basically looking disastrous. So that is bad. But I ran four miles, which is good! I have a crazy long workout tomorrow with RRB so I want to feel rested up for that. I am kind of scared, all of my RRB friends are unable to go tomorrow so it will be me and all the people I don't know who are a lot faster than me. I still haven't decided if it's a good idea to go or not - if no one can run my pace, why would I go? But it is still easier to do a speed workout with a group even if you are the slowest one.

So, seeing as how I am obsessed with my new house, I thought I would direct everyone to Matt's blog if they want to see pictures. I still can't get the picture thing on my own blog. We went over there last night to show it to Matt's parents and every time I see it I am more excited! Blondie asked yesterday if the new house is closer to my running club and the answer is that unfortunately it's actually farther - but the highway access from the new house is better so I don't think it'll take much longer to get there. I wish there was a club just like mine in Denver, but there does not seem to be. In Denver we have either very beginner oriented marathon training groups or very track oriented groups, as far as I know. But D. sent me a list a while back of other clubs to think about so I need to look into it. I love my club but I am a hippie liberal and thus I hate driving a 50 mile round trip just to run.

So speaking of training and the like, I have become unsure as to whether or not a half ironman triathlon is in my future this year. My friend M., who I was planning to race with, is having a lot of trouble with her knees. She is getting an MRI in a little over a week but she may need surgery. If so, she will definitely not be doing the triathlon. I kind of want to do it, but I hate swimming (and I never have time to swim), and although I really like biking I don't want to spend enough time to get ready for a tri. I just kind of want to bike twice a week and have fun with it. I do think the biking really helps my running, but I don't want it to become my focus this year.

So that is the news. How exciting that Blondie is running Broad Street this Sunday - Go Blondie! If anyone else is racing and I just spaced you out, I am very sorry - but I think that is all the elite running racing for this weekend.

Posted by barb at 9:42 AM | Comments (6)

May 4, 2006

recovered

Well, I am feeling recovered from Tuesday. So that is nice. I ran 8 miles today in 1:09ish and felt good. It's kind of cold out (maybe 50) and it's cloudy, which almost never happens here, but those are nice running conditions, so I am fine with it. We are going to see our new house again after work today, so we are excited. And my birthday vacation is in less than one week! I still don't know how I will wait until Wednesday to go. But I guess I will just have to wait!

That is about all that is happening today. I am kind of tired. Also, I am very thirsty but sick of drinking water. So far today I have consumed 108 ounces of water, and yet I feel dehydrated. Isn't that weird? How much do most people drink? How much do you other runners drink? It seems excessive and yet I am dehydrated so often that it must not be.

Tomorrow is a very easy day (the schedule says 4 miles or a day off) so that will actually be nice, because Saturday is going to be a long, tough workout. I am looking forward to it, though! I know I will be in better shape soon and that will be worth it.

Posted by barb at 3:26 PM | Comments (2)

May 3, 2006

a return to the world of speed workouts

Speed workouts are hard! That is the primary conclusion I came to after last night's workout. And during actually. It was not that bad and I had a good time, and it would have been less bad had it not been 80 degrees and windy. Boulder is a windy town and my car was getting blown all over the road on my way up there, so I knew that would be a challenge. The group has changed a lot since the last time I went, and it was fun to see a few people I know pretty well and to meet some new people. It is always fun to see Darren as well.

The workout was 5 sets of 1/2/1 minute fartleks. It doesn't sound hard, I know, but it was kind of tough at times! I felt like I ran pretty well. I think I got in about 7 miles of running what with the warmup and cooldown. So that was good too. I drank a TON of water afterwards because it was so hot. I was very proud that I was not too dehydrated when I went to bed.

This morning I ran a very slow 6 miles. Like embarrassingly slow. But I am okay with it, my goal was to run very, very easy. I am liking being back on a team.

Tonight Matt and I are going to the last play in the series we purchased. It has been fun and I think we'll do it again this coming year. After the play I will definitely pass out, it's been a tiring week so far!

I believe I have mentioned this as well, but we are leaving on vacation a week from today. I am very excited = we are going away for 5 days. I don't know where we're going, so it is very exciting!

Posted by barb at 11:13 AM | Comments (5)

May 2, 2006

Experiment

May is such an insane month. So I thought it would be fun to add one more thing onto my already heaping plate - jumping back into my running club! Doesn't that sound like a great idea?

Okay, so it sounds crazy. But here is my experiment. I am going to do exactly what my coach says, and try to show up to every single practice (unless I am out of the state), for the month of May. Then I am going to see if I am faster. If I am faster after all that, I will think it is worth getting up at 6:30 on Saturday morning, using lots more gas than normal, driving about four times as much as I normally do, and leaving work at 4:00 on Tuesdays, in order to work with my running club again.

The good news about this is that I haven't done a speed workout in such a long time that it sounds really fun! Also, now that my mileage is so low, I don't feel like I have to do a bunch of extra running like I used to. So that is good too. I am so healthy and moderate now. Or not. But I am better. I added up all the mileage from the schedule this week and if I do everything I'll have 51 miles. Holy crap, that is a lot right now! I'm not sure if I'll really go over 50 - there's an optional run on Friday that I might skip and bike instead.

So yesterday, per my schedule, I ran 7 miles. It was nice. I felt good until the end when I got really sick to my stomach. I was nauseous the rest of the day from it. I think my lesson learned was as follows: Don't eat an apple 30 minutes prior to running. Good to know.

After work we had our first week of volleyball. We joined a team with some of our friends and we will be playing every Monday night for about 8 weeks. It was really fun although I am a terrible player and I couldn't get a serve in to save my life! I think our whole team will improve. I really hope so in fact because we lost all of our games (three of them). Basically, it is going to be a tiring week! I am tired already and it's only Tuesday morning. Frankly at this point we will not have any rest until July, there is something going on every single week and weekend. I don't know if everyone else has hit that age where everyone around you is getting married, but when you have six weddings in a summer, plus bachelor/ette parties, engagement parties, showers, and the like, it gets to be quite a big production!

That is all the news for today.

Posted by barb at 7:56 AM | Comments (1)

May 1, 2006

busy weekend

I am so tired. It is very exhausting having the weekends we have been doing. There is no time to rest. But that is okay. We think that in July, after the first rush of weddings, we might have some time to relax. So in a way it would be bad to do a tri this year because then July would be occupied with training!

Anyway, I didn't really race yesterday. I participated in the race at a nice easy 7:45 pace. My last mile was a 6:53 but that is about all. I don't know why - I was tired and sore from running in my mom's hilly neighborhood the day before, but really I just didn't feel like racing. I felt like doing a little bit of a workout and pacing my friend, so I did that for the first four miles. Then I took off for a good effort in the fifth mile, that is about it. It was fun though, I always enjoy road racing when I take it nice and easy. I ran a one mile warmup before the race and a three mile cooldown for a 9 mile day so that was good. I also ended up with a relatively high mileage week last week and that's nice too. Of course 'high mileage' as a term means something very different to me this year from last year or the year before, but I think that's okay - I won't reach my running potential right now but I am actually faster than I was last year.

So, that is about all the excitement of the weekend. We went to a fun party yesterday afternoon and ate a lot of good food. Saturday I ran with my insane dog and she actually didn't act insane, so that was nice. She was really good and fun to run with. I planned on 5 miles but then I had to run to a hair appointment which made for seven miles. Also yesterday my friend S. installed my bike computer, so now when I ride I can obsessively track my mileage! That will be sweet. I can't wait to see how fast I can go, and if I can get faster. I am sure it will take a while, especially since I don't have time to bike more than 2 or 3 times a week, but that's okay.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend, I am off to read about them! I am also very excited to see what transpired at Penn Relays.

Posted by barb at 7:44 AM | Comments (2)