Training secrets

Dammit L, quit divulging my training secrets!! This is all supposed to seem effortless, and um, easy. Let's preserve the illusion at least!

(The wires go through the holes, Sweetie, with the Ipod in the pocket.....)

....just kidding, I love you! Mom

We're on vacation (well, some of us...)

Re: mom's claim that over the holidays she'll "run whenever she feels like it without following a particular schedule": bullshit. I've heard all about her schedule to run the bridge, do an easy run, run 9, 10, or 12 miles this weekend, and generally run 6 days per week allowing herself only one day of rest!

My strategy is somewhat different: get really sick just in time for Christmas so I don't have to tag along on the difficult bridge run : ) No, I kid, I kid. I was really looking forward to running here in Charleston while on my vacation, since it is safe to go out no matter the hour, since there's no risk of being run over by diplomats or politicos, and since it's almost 80 degrees, there's no smog, and I'm not in the middle of a frigid city. But alas, my body thinks otherwise. Oh well, Merry Christmas!

Running less, shopping more

While L spins like crazy getting fit, I have reduced my mileage about 20% these past two weeks, giving my arthritic knees a break. That allowed me to do some Christmas shopping. Laurel received a "Care package" of some old and new cold weather running clothes, a not so subtle hint to do some running this winter in DC. I'm told she was puzzling over the Ipod holes in the high tech Nike jacket I sent...

Although I worked up until Christmas eve, I now have off until Jan 5th, which makes it much easier to get my runs in. The weather has been nuts--some days hot and near 80, some cold and dreary. Very confusing to my cardiovascular system. I've signed L and I up for the Resolution Run next weekend. Although it is supposedly a certified race with chip timing, which qualifies it as a "real race," its label as a "fun run" tells me that other niceties such as reporting and verifying the results per USAT&F standards cannot be expected.

Good friends of mine in NC, Ron and Kathy, emailed that they did the Napa to Sonoma Half two years ago--I'm eager to hear what they have to say about the race and things to do in that area. I'll see them at a Radiology meeting in Hawaii in March. Now for a long morning run.....

On track

After Month One (November) of my "Phase One: Increase General Fitness" plan ended up being a FAIL (I think I ran an average of twice a week), Week One of Month Two (December) was a WIN!

Mon: Spinning. 60 minutes of heart-racing, sweat-drenching cycling at the YMCA...I'm still trying to find the best instructor--so far there is only one I like, and instead of shopping around (and ending up with narcissistic spinning junkies who play house music and yell at you about when you can and cannot drink your water), I should probably stick with him.
Tues: "Body Bar" with Marsha, again at the Y. A weight training class involving "body bars" (like the large barbells that you load up with different weights, except all the weight is in the bar, and there are varying sizes/weights). My upper-body strength is laughable.
Wed: Rest--very sore from weight workout! Especially in the hamstrings.
Thurs: Indoor run on the treadmill. Whenever I run on a treadmill, I get shin splints. When I run outside, I do not: Discuss.
Fri: Wine.
Sat: Run AND Wine. (Kind of a like a 2-a-day. Definitely not at the same time, though.) Ran outdoors mid-day, down to the Washington Monument and back. Saw the inaugural stand under construction in front of the back of the white house (sometimes I wish I had a camera with me on runs...do they make such a thing? Runner-friendly cameras?)It was about 30 degrees. I froze my ass off. Literally: my butt was numb when I got back to the apartment.

Hoping Week Two is just as successful!

Running sick

My Reindeer Run race was supposed to be my goal race for the season and I really wanted to better my Turkey Day time. An intervening trip to Chicago and the obligatory cold that followed messed up my plans, however. Despite the liberal use of decongestants verboten in serious running competitions, I ran a seriously slow race, a minute and 20 seconds slower than last week. Maybe I was being punished by the Olympic Gods. Anyway, lesson learned: don't run while you are sick, the outcome is usually not optimum. It is time now to take a bit of a break over the holidays and run when I feel like it without following any particular schedule. Then next month it is back to building a base.

On why my mother will most certainly be better prepared for this than I

Though I hope to convince my brother to go for a run with me tomorrow in the nearby park here in brisk Pittsburgh (where I am staying for the holiday weekend), my plans thus far to strike out on my own have not gone so well. For one, I'm afraid I'll get lost and end up on the wrong side of the tracks, but more importantly it's just too damn cold, and I'm a wimpy southerner with thin blood who just can't handle it. I also discovered a scale in my brother's house, and weighed myself for the first time in a couple years (I don't own a scale. Ignorance is bliss! And obsessing over small fluctuations in weight has never seemed worthwhile to me. If my clothes start to feel tight, that's my indicator.) And, well, let's just say that even though I walk everywhere in DC, my lack of regular running has had an impact. Phase one of my training for winter 08/09 (to increase my general fitness) has been stalled in favor of an alternate strategy for the holiday season: Eat and Grow Large With Food.
Laziness: 1, Laurel: 0

Preparation by way of racing

I have a bit of a head start on L on the running thing and maybe the wine thing as well. I ran the Turkey Day 5K race in Charleston, winning my age group in 24:03. That time is not particularly impressive unless you are under 10 or over 60. I'll leave it to your imagination into which category I fall. It was a perfect day for a race, chilly (46 degrees) and sunny with negligible wind. The post race libation was beer--bizarre on a cool morning, but we enjoyed it. It's a fun race and well attended (4000 plus). It's not always the case that a charity run can create an event which appeals to serious competitive runners. I am off to Chicago for a couple of days and then will try to better that race time at the Reindeer Run next Saturday. My most serious local competitors will be doing a half marathon at Kiawah on that same morning. I'm thinking their times will give me some idea of what I might be able to do in Napa next summer.