Regaining My Training Legs

Under most circumstances, getting caught in the rain isn’t the worst thing that can happen on run. But after Saturday’s run-in with the sidewalk, I felt a little wary of inclement weather and opted to renew my confidence on the long-neglected track at the rec. center.

And, you know, it really wasn’t bad.

I ran a mile to the rec. center, 6.13 miles on the track and then another mile back to work. The day’s 8+ miles put me at 59.1 miles with two weeks remaining in my run to 100 miles goal. I have been targeting the century mark since April, and it appears I might actually make it this time (knock on wood). At this point I am 12.5 miles ahead of my target… so, at least I have some wiggle room in case of emergency.

Today’s run, however, was all about getting my confidence back. I know most people need to retrieve their confidence from memories of a bad race or a bout with injury or illness. Well, I had to get it back from the concrete on the corner of Kent Road and OH-91.

Although I ran on Saturday night, in my pre-Cavs ritual, it wasn’t a comfortable run at all. I was uneasy, scared and wholly unfocused—I didn’t know whether to worry more about unfriendly cars or uneven sidewalks—at that was just a little over two miles. So, I started out slow.

I almost forgot how easy it is to run on the track. No hills, no wind, no godforsaken heat and humidity! Not mention the even and friendly surface. And after an 8:59 warm-up mile, I aimed to build a touch of speed for each mile because it was going to be a short run on such simple terrain.

I picked up mile two to 8:47 and three at 8:40. I wasn’t even winded after an 8:37 fourth mile or 8:30 fifth. So, I came cruising in at 8:00 for the last mile and then cooled down for a few laps for a 53-minute run.

Also: I am most happy to report that my knees have been quite awesome. Despite the Saturday scare and weekend soreness, they have really felt great when running the past couple weeks. All it took was a little doctor scare! My left knee is still scabby and sore to the touch from the fall, but feels great in my stride. (My left arm, however, is a different story: after landing, flipping and skidding on my upper arm and shoulder, weight training and swimming will take some slower getting used to… I’ll see how it feels in the pool tomorrow).

The one-mile runs to and from the rec. center were nice bookends to the workout. It was a little awkward to jog with a tote bag (and trying not to sweat too badly on the way back because I had already showered), but I made it work. It was better than wasting gas to drive across campus… and only took a few extra minutes.

Next on my list of ways to integrate training into my work day: packing my bike. I would like to start bringing my bike to work. I’m not yet in cycling shape to make the ride to work (correction: I’m not in shape to make the ride to work and then actually want to pedal home at 5 p.m.), but it would be nice to have my bike to ride to places like the rec. center or anywhere else wind-blown helmet hair might be appropriate. It just breaks my heart when I have to drive somewhere, and I’d really like an alternative when there just isn’t enough time to walk.

Now, if only I could get my wheels on and off without a big, dramatic and greasy scene, I would be all set.

Finish Line: 30 Miles in January

Landon was correct: I woke up around 8:30 a.m. and listened to the sounds of raindrops tacking the windowsill. It was relaxing for a moment, until I thought about my remaining miles. So, I up and drove to the Kent State rec. center and ran my remaining 7 miles. I'm done!

Today, I ran in three sets to get to seven miles: 5K (3.13 miles), 2 miles and 2 miles. I don't typically run long (for me) distances on back-to-back days, so I was tired today. The first 5K was a little slow, but — with a little encouragement from a Kent State wide receiver and the Will Smith track "Freakin' It" — my first 2-mile set was tiger fast: 8:01 for the first and my personal best 7:00 for the second. We won't talk about the other sets: I finished them and I'll leave it at that.

But now I must start over again. I haven't determined next month's goal(s), but will definitely be thinking about it. 40 miles? 50 miles? We'll also see what will be at stake.

Thanks to everyone for their encouraging words and very close guesses on my finish line. As the winner, Landon will get "Ricki-Ticki-Tavi" on DVD. Your next chance for equally cool prizes will be coming soon.

Why You Need Nike+iPod

This isn't an advertisement. But if it were, I would tell you that you need this thing because it's awesome.

If there are similar products out there (I admit that I haven't done my comparison shopping/research), please let me know. I am repeatedly surprised at the things this Nike+iPod thing can do and hope that more people can share in this joy.

After loading my most recent run into my account (unfortunately, I couldn't add my 4.5 miles from the other day), I was able to see my run plotted out on a graph of time and distance. Incredible! If you look at the graph (view graph in greater detail), you can see where I was slowing down and pittering out... until I felt the need to race. It also marks off each mile and your time. For example, I clocked 7:58 for my last mile. Not bad.

Then again, you could just keep track of your mileage and do some division when you get home. But I was never good at that whole math thing.

My goal for now is to do five consecutive runs under 8:30; this total run averaged 8:24. Four more to go; I'm getting there.

We're going to dinner this evening and I'm trying really hard to convince myself that I should not, in fact, run home 11 miles just so I can have some dessert tonight! Worry not, Iron G readers: I will not crumble under the pressure.

The hardest part about this resolution is explaining to people that it's not a crazy diet plan. For the past two weeks I've gotten plenty of "Oh, but you don't need to lose weight" and "But if you eat it for breakfast, it's not dessert." I even faced more peer pressure than a girl on prom night at a recent work party for the Buckeyes. Everyone kept saying that having just a sliver of buckeye cheesecake wouldn't "hurt." And they're right; it wouldn't hurt. It would just completely nullify everything I've done this month. The adversity reminded me how much people don't appreciate others' goals, or how willing those people are to bring others down just to feel better about their own lack of goals and ability.

So, this is just your friendly neighborhood Iron G reminding you to say: F'em.