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September 20, 2007

17 Days!

Seventeen days - jeepers creepers! Race day never seemed like it was going to arrive - especially during the dog days of summer where the humidity was so thick we could barely breathe. The humidity evaporated some time last week (even though the temps are still hanging around the high 80s in Chicago) as the crisp air swept in and stole its place. I love cooler weather and I am praying to my running goddesses that we have a cool (and windless!) day on October 7th.

I am supposed to be immersed in a marathon grading session that will take me into the wee hours of the morning, but I need a slight detour before I engage the pile of work on my desk. I am excited. Very excited. I do worry about the fact that I am so excited because sometimes that energy can backfire and slap us across the quads on race day. But it feels so awesome inside to know - really know - that I am ready to roll . . . I have never worked so hard in my running life and I am hopeful that it will show when I finally cross the finish line.

And, of course, I am scared shitless. I would be lying if I left it at the excitement part. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to be scared so long as we do not allow our fear to hold us back or seep into the dark crevices of our psyche. For now, I am swimming in positive visualizations and thoughts.

We had another solid workout this morning. We met at 5:10 AM for a 5 mile warm-up and then we did 2 x 1 mile, .5 mile, .5 mile. The goal was to run the first set with 45 seconds rest in between intervals and the second set with 30 seconds rest. H. assigned me the following times: 6:15 for the miles and 3:02 for the halves. I ended up running 6:12, 2:53, 2:56, 6:01, 3:00, 2:56. I felt ridiculously strong the second half of the workout and I really think I could have kicked it up a notch - which is a weird feeling! I am usually good for tempo runs and strength runs; workouts like the one we did today are NOT my forte . . . they tend to bury me because they require some fast-twitch muscle movement (of which I have very little!). The positive effects of the miles are going to start to shine . . . today was the first taste of that :)

So I guess I ought to grade papers now . . . I just needed to let my fingers dance about the race for a while.

Posted by bridget at 9:32 AM | Comments (4)

September 18, 2007

3 Weeks: The Butterflies are Tumbling

3 weeks and the gun snaps . . . the butterflies are flip-flopping around in my stomach already. When I think about this training segment and everything that has happened, I almost have to pinch myself. While I always thought I had the ability to run the times I have been posting all summer, I never knew how to uncover them and bring them to the surface.

H. always reminds me (with a smile stretched across his face, of course) that the first time I showed up to run with the group, I had to pull off to the side and drop off the pack - I almost quit that day as a result of a piercing side stitch. In fact, when I first started pounding the pavement with H. and friends, I thought I was a bad ass when I could do mile repeats in 6:30! It's funny how a nice KICK in the ass changes our perspectives :)

Last week marked my highest mileage week ever: 77. And most of it was quality. I followed up a solid Tempo run on Tuesday with 4 x 1 mile repeats with 60 seconds rest on Thursday: 6:19, 6:05, 6:00, 5:53. On Wednesday and Friday I logged a pair of comfortable 10 milers. On Saturday, we went to the Morton Arboretum outside of the city and put in 15 miles. H. and I rolled the final 10 faster than marathon pace - finishing the final 5 a step faster than 6:20 pace. On Sunday, we hit 20 in slightly over 2 and a half hours. Final 20 miler DONE!!

I took yesterday off and today I hit the path once again for a tempo run. We re-arranged it slightly in that we ran 3 out (19:05), then pulled it back a notch to 6:40 for 1.25 miles and then we faced a mean and abusive headwind for the final 3 miles back (19:00). Even though I physically feel like a wasteland, my body came through for me today.

I didn't feel wiped out or anything from the run - it actually felt fairly comfortable (well, as comfortable as running on dead legs can be!).

Although I seem to be handling the mileage quite well, my body seems to be expressing some anger over the mileage mountain from last week - perhaps other runners out there have experienced this. Aside from feeling just downright shitty, I feel lethargic and puffy . . . and my weight shot UP 6 pounds! I tend to weigh myself to make sure that I am not losing . . . so I was shocked to see the increase staring back at me. However, I am not going to freak out - I am optimistic that my pending taper will even things out :)

Speaking of the taper, I have said this several times over the past few years, but I LOVE the taper! It's a beautiful reward for all of the hard work we put into this sport. The idea of brining a pair of fresh legs into the marathon excites me tremendously.

I am still iffy on overall time goals since this is unchartered territory for me. My idealistic/dreamy goal is 2:49. My realistic goal is sub 2:55. I will go out with the realistic goal in mind and if all goes well, I will ramp it up and chase the clock.

Posted by bridget at 9:35 AM | Comments (2)

September 6, 2007

From $500 to "is the dream dead???"

I'll start with the $500 and a mini recap before I 1) launch into a terrifying "it's all over moment!" and 2) vent about lazy, non-thinking, arrogant 18-20 year-olds (which, admittedly, I will regret once they blossom into budding rhetoricians and philosophers with powerful pens and vibrant words!).

First, the $500. For a fleeting moment, I wanted to quit everything in life and become a certified "road whore." "Road whore" is a term several local Chicago runners use to describe other local runners who essentially chase prize money at small races all over the midwest. I will never be good enough to run on a professional level, but banking $500 for 63 minutes of work is heavenly!

I ran the Park Forest Scenic 10 on Labor Day. I didn't know at the time that the race director dished out extra prize money to the top 5 Americans. I got beat by 4 Kenyans and 3 Americans and I still managed to rob the bank! Very cool :) I finished 10 miles in 1:03:04. Reflecting back on it now, I want to kick myself for not sneaking in under 1:03, but then I immediately remember that H.'s goal for me was to run 1:03:15. H. decided that I should use the race as a good marathon prep. workout - he didn't want me to race it full out because he was afraid that I might be disappointed with the result, and the last thing he wants is for me to crawl into a marathon race with little to no confidence. Needless to say, H. is smart.

I definitely had enough left in the tank to run faster, and I am semi confident that I could have rolled a few more 6:18s before completely bonking. I never felt great during the race, but I'm not supposed to feel particularly good or energetic right now . . . I am supposed to feel tired (whenever I slow down during tempos, H. looks at me and says, "How do you think mile 24 is going to feel?" That question always encourages me to gut it out because - as most of us know all too well - mile 24 doesn't feel all that great).

Speaking of tired, I am beyond tired these days. I ran a difficult 12 mile tempo run sandwiched between a 4 mile warm up and cool down on Saturday and returned on Sunday to clock an easy 20 in 2:25. I took yesterday off, and I hit the lakefront for 13 miles this morning - 7.25 were hard. H. and I started at 7:00 minute pace and worked our way down to 6:14. In spite of the fact that my legs are virtually DEAD at this point, the effort felt good. To be honest, I was relieved when H. called out the last 3 splits and they were all around 6:15 - I honestly thought we were running 6:25s. The 50 degree/no humidity morning certainly helped!

If all goes well, this week will be my highest mileage week ever . . . which sounds dreamy to me now, especially since I woke up last Tuesday after the race and I couldn't put any weight on my left foot. My mind started racing and I considered the best and worst case scenarios. Best: I wore new shoes on Monday and they irritated my tendons. Worst: Oh SH*T, I have a navicular stress fracture! I didn't blink an eye when I immediately decided to take the day off - and the next day off. I iced obsessively and by Thursday morning, I was back in my usual trainers and ready to fire up the engine. Writing this now (in one simple paragraph), I realize that I am minimizing the situation - it was a GIANT scare. Fortunately, I am never afraid to take extra rest days when I need them . . . sometimes all it takes is a simple 2-3 days off and everything magically repairs itself. That was the case with my foot. It is still slightly irritated, but nothing compared to what it felt like last week. With the marathon less than 4 weeks away, the last thing I can afford to be right now is stupid.

So it goes :)

AND . . . .

My final gripe? What is up with 18-20 year-olds these days? I know I am a young one at the age of (almost) 28, but I feel like an 80 year-old when I am around my students. I have close to 90 of them - most of them are 18-20 (with the exception of two outliers who are 22 and 16 . . . the two most mature students that I have!). I think part of the problem is that I am - without question - more tired than I used to be. Standing on my feet for 5-6 hours/day used to be a simple task . . . not so anymore. These final 4 weeks are presenting quite a challenge: how do I manage to have the race of my life and subsist on 4 hours of sleep/night?

I am trying to juggle it all right now, but I am finding it impossible. Teaching is hard business - classes may end at 3:00, but then I go home and I have 90 papers to read . . . and 4 lessons to plan. NOT FUN. AND, I am having a difficult time teaching the students that I have. I refuse to treat them like 5th graders . . . when students walk into my classroom, they are required to THINK, question, write, connect . . . what's discouraging is that several of them would much prefer it if I stood in front of the room and spoon fed them for 50 minutes as opposed to asking them to THINK. GRRRRRRR. What is wrong with our education system???

But, as usual, I digress.

I have my final 20 miler on Sunday . . .

Posted by bridget at 10:08 PM | Comments (4)