Posts Tagged ‘long run’

  1. Short Races, Long Runs, and Divine Sandwiches

    September 18, 2011 by justgathering

    Yesterday was the Fitness Mind, Body, and Spirit 4 Miler, a race for which I signed up quite a long time ago.

    It was also 10 miles on my half marathon training plan. What to do? Run a 4 mile race in the middle of a 10 mile long run, of course.

    I left my apartment around an hour before the start of the race and charted a course that took me downtown and around Central Park on the roads. I wound up at the start of the race with 4.6 miles down. I chatted with friends who were running it, ate a handful of sport beans, and took off for the speedier part of the long run.

    This race was a little unorganized, but it was fun. I wasn’t taking it seriously at all, so I didn’t mind too much when a random lady tried to cross the road right in front of me as I sprinted toward the finish line. She probably minded when I body slammed her, but I’m pretty sure she was fine.

    Official time: 34:22, a PR. I grabbed an apple on the way through the finish and kept on running for the last 1.4 miles. Then, with 10 miles under my belt, I wandered through the little expo with my lovely friend Amy and ate my free food.

    Delicious apple.

    Yogurt, berries, and granola. Definitely a nice change of pace compared to the usual bagel.

    I actually really liked running a short race in the middle of a longer run. It broke up the long run into manageable chunks, and it was a good mental exercise to pick up the pace for a few miles in the middle. I might start doing this more often.

    Today was purely relaxing. Daniel and I joined Leslie at the Brooklyn Book Festival. We checked out all the book stalls, ogled some literary magazines and nonfiction anthologies, and successfully attended a ticketed reading (quite the feat, apparently).

    We also ate some amazing food. Sandwiches from Tazza, where we ate on Labor Day.

    Our experience there was just so good that we had to expose Leslie to the wonder that is Tazza. Daniel and I split two sandwiches again.

    Tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella.

    And roasted eggplant, red peppers, and goat cheese on focaccia.

    Followed, of course, by ice cream. Blue Marble mint cookie, to be exact.

    Not a bad weekend at all.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 7 Comments

  2. On Running Long Enough

    August 14, 2011 by justgathering

    This weekend’s long run was supposed to be 12 miles.

    Sometimes scheduled runs don’t go as planned. With all the traveling and weddings this summer has involved, I’m actually surprised that this is the first long run hiccup I’ve had.

    I managed 10.25 miles in 1:34:30 for a 9:13 average mile. I ran along the Chicago lakefront, which was hot and sunny and almost completely flat.

    This run felt surprisingly good most of the way, but I didn’t hit 12 for a few reasons. One was that this was our vacation day. This trip to Chicago was a working trip for both me and Daniel, so every minute I was running on the weekend sort of felt like I was stealing our one day to actually see the city together. So when I found myself back at our friends’ apartment having not reached my full 12 miles, I bagged the rest of the run in favor of some fun in Chicago.

    With two weeks til the Bronx Half Marathon, this was supposed to be my longest run. Am I worried that I didn’t get that last 1.75 in? No. Here’s why:

    1. The night before this run involved a ton of super cheesy Mexican food and Tecate-n-hot sauce cocktails. And perhaps a cup of water for the whole day.
    2. The night before this run I slept roughly six hours on a pull-out couch, waking up pretty much twice an hour.
    3. My breakfast before this run consisted of a hamburger bun, plain.
    4. My mid-run fuel was two prunes, roughly 40 calories. Not enough.

    I figure, if I can keep up a 9:13 pace for over 10 miles when I’m tired, sore, dehydrated, and have not been treating my tummy nicely, then I can definitely pull out 13.1 when I’m rested, watered, and properly fueled. No regrets.

    Once I got cleaned up, we set out to do some fun Chicago things. We started with lunch at a lovely Armenian restaurant called Sayat Nova. (This was a Yelp find. Love it when the Yelp app comes through for me.)

    Beers were had.

    We split a mezza platter of hummus, babaganoush, and cucumbers in yogurt and dill.

    Followed by a vegetarian entree that included rice, salad, spinach spanakopita, and plaki (white beans stewed in tomatoes).

    With a side of tabbouleh.

    This is my favorite kind of food. I would surely request it as my last meal. Or much needed replenishment after a long, hot run.

    After lunch, we hopped on Chicago’s First Lady for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s seriously cool boat tour.

        

    I’ve been on this tour once before, along with a few walking tours put on by the Architecture Foundation, and I have never been disappointed. Their volunteer docents are extremely knowledgable, and I’m always impressed at how much information they can pack into an hour and a half. Plus, the view from the Chicago River is the best.

        

    Could not recommend this tour more highly, especially if you’re interested in 20th century schools of design (or literature or music, for that matter). Daniel freaking loved it.

        

    Between work and weddings, we managed to sneak in a few other fun Chicago things this week.

    We tried to see a night game with my dad at Wrigley Field on Monday, but it got rained out.

    We were pretty bummed to miss out on this, but then (hooray!) my dad drove us in for the rescheduled afternoon game on Thursday.

    The weather was spectacular, our seats were the best I’ve ever had, and the Cubs won. Could not have been a more perfect game.

    Anyway, here’s how my last two weeks of training measure up to what I’d planned.

    Intended:

    Actual:

    Should I have so many rest days in there? Nope. I would have liked to do a lot more running and cross-training. But traveling, especially when you’re staying with friends, requires flexibility. Thankfully, now it’s back to New York and to routine and normalcy.

    So here’s my question for you seasoned (or not) runners out there: do you rigidly stick to your training plan when traveling, or do you go with the flow and trust that your best is good enough?

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | 11 Comments

  3. 10 Mile Memory Run

    August 9, 2011 by justgathering

    I’m home in Illinois for two weddings, two weekends in a row. This might be kind of weird (or maybe not, depending on how you feel about weddings), but what I was most looking forward to upon coming home was running my old routes.

    On Sunday, I had 10 miles scheduled. Rockford is not the most runner-friendly city in the world (although it’s not the least either), so it can be a challenge to find a 10 mile route that’s (a) easy on the eyes and (b) easy on the feet and knees. Especially in the area of town where my parents live, there are lots of jagged sidewalks and narrow roads (with drivers who don’t expect to be sharing their space with runners). So I prepared for this run by mapping out my miles beforehand and filling my route with streets I’ve run dozens of times.

    I am constantly re-fascinated by memory. Most people find themselves transported back in time by things like the smell of the laundry detergent they used to use, the chorus of the song they played on repeat for a month in 2001, the taste of the madeleine… I’m much more interested in the flashbacks brought on by running the same place twice, as I find them to be extra intense. (I attribute this to the elevation of hormones like epinephrine brought on by running. Any bio majors out there care to confirm?) Anyway, this run was pretty much 10 miles of flashbacks.

    Before moving back to New York in May of 2010, I lived in Rockford for a year. I ran down this hill several days a week, and I think it’s one of my favorite stretches of road in my hometown. It follows a long, steep uphill climb, and it ends at the Rock River. I know it doesn’t look like much, but this downhill block has made me so happy, so many times.

    The path along this river is where I learned to ride a bike.

    My mom used to take my sister and me to the Sinnissippi gardens for lemonade and to go rollerblading. Yes, rollerblading. I wish I could rollerblade everywhere, all the time.

    I can’t even recall how many times I’ve walked under these arches. When I see them now, conversations I had beneath them return to me, and sometimes summer smells.

    I paused around here to snap photos and refuel. My Garmin died very early on in this run, before I even reached mile 1. I had my map in my mind, though, so I didn’t worry about it. I knew by feeling that I was keeping a decent pace, so I focused on the journey, which is usually what a long run is about for me anyway.

    Two bridges were involved in this run, one during mile 7 and another during mile 8. Running over water is one of my favorite things. I used to run back and forth on this bridge just to experience the view again and again.

    The view from the Auburn Street bridge of Symbol, Rockford’s official city sculpture. Yep.

    I have no idea how long it took me to run these 10 miles, but I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. Several times, I would turn a corner and recall an exact phrase from the podcast I was listening to as I turned that corner two years ago. Memory is like magic. So many things have changed since that summer, but the feel on my arms of the light rain that persisted throughout this run was exactly the same as running in light rain has always felt and will always feel. No wonder people do this day after day for decades; it’s like a tiny thread holding all those random happenings together.

    It’s kind of nice to be home.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  4. Just Ran: 8 Miles in Philly

    July 24, 2011 by justgathering

    I did things other than run in Philadelphia this weekend, but those will have to wait. First, I’m going to tell you about this.

     

    I look tired, but really excited to be rocking a ponytail. My short hair has been digging bobby pins during this heatwave.

    After a ton of food and drink last night (including some fantastic beers), along with some bad sleep and not enough of it, my friend Jayme and I got up before 7 to log 8 miles along Kelly Drive.

    It was already 90 degrees and climbing. We decided to take it slow, enjoy the scenery, and try not to keel over.

    I have proclaimed Philly the city of sculpture. Rowing man.

    Rowing person.

    This is how we wished we felt around mile 3. It was how we started to feel around mile 7 when the heat and lack of food or water made us begin to hallucinate. Poor planning on our part…

    During the last mile we paused to take some Rocky pictures on the steps of the Art Museum.

    [I have never seen a Rocky movie. Is it really necessary? I feel like I get the point. Also, these stairs are incredibly easy to run up compared to most of the stairs in Central Park. If that guy was really tough, he would have run in New York. Just sayin'.]

    These steps did afford a pretty spectacular view of the city, though. At this point my iPhone was covered in sweat, so the pictures get a bit hazy.

    See that tank top? Compare the final picture to the first picture. Totally soaked through with sweat. Yes, folks, it was freaking hot out. We were disgusting messes by the time we made it back to our friend’s place, but it was totally worth it. Definitely the best way to start off our final day of sightseeing in Philly.

    8 miles in 1:17:03. Not too bad considering the heat and the frequent photo breaks. I’ll take it.

    And how’d I do in my training this week?

    I was planning on doing this:

    3 miles + Strength 4 miles speed Strength XT 3 miles tempo 8 miles Rest/Yoga 18 miles

    Here’s what I actually did:

    30-minute Dave Farmar Power Yoga podcast 4.5 miles speed Strength with free weights at home 3 miles – 26:20 3 miles – 27:18 Rest/Travel 8 miles – 1:17:03 18.5 miles

    I switched some things around, but for the most part I followed my plan, even managing to get in some yoga and some strength training. Good week.

    I have tons of Philly pictures to sort through, so expect some photos of great food and greater beers (and maybe some cultural stuff too) tomorrow night.

    Cheers to a wonderful new week…

     

     

     

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,, | 2 Comments

  5. 11 Mile Weekend

    July 17, 2011 by justgathering

    Yesterday’s long run: 7 miles.

    Today’s recovery run: 4 miles.

    Seen on yesterday’s run along the West Side Highway:

    There’s plenty of art along the Hudson River, but I found this piece so completely arresting that I had to stop and take some pictures. It’s called River Gazers, and it’s by Elizabeth Allison.

    My 7 miles went well. This was my longest run since February, and I’ve been being very cautious and listening to every ache and pain in my body. The second something feels wrong, I’ll back off, but for now training is going well. My splits:

    Mile 1 — 9:06

    Mile 2 — 8:57

    Mile 3 — 9:34

    Mile 4 — 9:13

    Mile 5 — 9:17

    Mile 6 — 9:10

    Mile 7 — 9:12

    I finished in 1:04:29 for an average pace of 9:13. I’ll take it.

    Best way to refuel: a cookie from a kid. My running buddy neighbor across the hall made cookies and her son shared them with us. Chocolate chips, oats, cranberries, and walnuts — this was a serious cookie. Daniel and I shared it while walking the dogs, and then I met my new friend Courtney for a green power smoothie at Peacefood Cafe.

    Also a good way to refuel. We walked and talked for awhile, mostly about running and good food and things that make us happy. Great afternoon.

    I was going to take the day off running today, but friends from my building were running so I decided that a recovery run wouldn’t do me any harm. In fact, I figured it might help me recover not only from yesterday’s long run but also from last night’s festivities. Friends of mine were in town from Illinois, so a few too many beers and a 2 am bedtime meant I woke up at 7:30 feeling not so hot. What better way to start the day than sweating out the toxins, right? Right.

    We ran 4 miles in 38:51, taking turns pushing my young cookie-sharing friend in the jogging stroller — again, that is a serious workout. There is no possible way I have any alcohol left in my system because I was sweating buckets.

    And now? Feeling fabulous. I don’t go out and go crazy very often, but when I do, I swear by an early run the next morning. Hangovers, I will pound you into the pavement.

    So how did I do on my training this week? Well, here’s what I scheduled for myself:

    And here’s what I actually did:

    I ran a little more than I’d planned, and I also did absolutely no strength training, cross training, or yoga. Whoops.

    What can I say? It’s summer. Instead of strength training, Wednesday night brought me to the High Line for a beer and a long walk in the sunshine.

    It was windy and perfect.

    Daniel and I meandered through the entire park, people watching and talking.

    Traffic theater.

    I feel so lucky to live in a city with so much green space.

    Thursday night I was supposed to do yoga with Leslie, but the class we picked ended up being a misprint on the schedule. So of course we found someplace with outdoor seating to have drinks instead.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: beer is a great pre-fun fuel.

    So, Wednesday and Thursday were a wash training-wise, but it was totally worth it. Summer evenings spent outdoors with awesome people and beers? Fine by me.

    (That said, this week I’m going to try to get in at least one decent strength workout. Might have to get up early to do so, but that just means more free nights to have fun.)

    So what’s the consensus? Anyone else out there fuel runs with beer? Anyone recover from a little too much beer by running? And anyone have a great beer recommendation for me?

    Signing off so I can go make pancakes and walk my puppies, but I’ve got food pics from this weekend to share mighty soon… Happy Sunday, friends.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 6 Comments

  6. Just Ran: The Weekend Long Run

    July 10, 2011 by justgathering

    Yesterday’s run was the first long run in my new half marathon training plan. 6 miles isn’t that long compared to the ten- and twelve-milers that are coming, so there wasn’t much mental build up. I rolled out of bed, laced up, and took off.

    But first, I had a pretty great dinner the night before.

    Key #1 to a good Saturday morning run: quality carbs on Friday night.

    Homemade bean and mushroom burger on a whole wheat bun. Beans, whole grains, and veggies are good carb sources. When I run first thing in the morning, I don’t usually eat first, so I try to make sure that my meal from the night before is full of good fuel.

    Plus a side of cauliflower and sweet potatoes, roasted with cumin and nutritional yeast. More good carbs and lots of vitamins.

    And beer to drink, which totally counts as quality carbs, as long as you don’t have too much. One is my magic number. In this case, it was Wolaver’s Wildflower Wheat, a summer favorite.

    Now back to the run. As I was strapping on my Garmin, I thought about where to run. I didn’t want to run in the park, since I always run there.

    Key #2 to a good Saturday run: choose a route you don’t run during the week. 

    I decided to retrace the route that Daniel, Steff, and I had biked on Thursday. I had never run north along the Hudson before, so this was a new and stimulating little exploration for me.

    Once I got to the river, I got the George Washington Bridge in my sights and ran toward it.

    The path was pleasant, although I didn’t make it quite as far as the scenic forest we rode through earlier in the week.

    Blue skies and views of NJ.

    As I got nearer to the bridge, I came across Riverbank State Park, where Steff and I did a speed workout on the track in the spring.

    I turned around before reaching the bridge. I’ll save that for a longer long run as my training progresses. But the six miles flew by, thanks to my still pretty unfamiliar route and some great listening material.

    Key #3 to a good Saturday run: look forward to your listening. 

    Whether you prefer the soundtrack of your natural surroundings or you like to create personal running playlists, a long run requires that you engage your senses and mind if you want to keep from getting bored. If I’m on a music kick, I’ll download a few brand new songs before each long run. Most of the time, though, I listen to podcasts while I run. Each podcast is full of brand new information and keeps my mind stimulated. I’m going to do a post soon and list some of my favorites, but on this run I was listening to Jillian Michaels talking about healthy living. Talk about motivating.

    With a big downhill at the start and a big uphill at the very end, this run absolutely flew by. 6 miles in 55:23, and my splits looked like this:

    Mile 1 — 9:28

    Mile 2 — 9:11

    Mile 3 — 9:16

    Mile 4 — 9:12

    Mile 5 — 8:56

    Mile 6 — 9:18

    Another thing that flew by? The first week of my half marathon training. How did it go?

    This is what I scheduled for myself:

    And here’s what I actually did:

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total
    4 miles 5 miles tempo Strength with free weights (planks, pushups, lunges with bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest flies) 11 mile bike ride 3 miles easy 6 miles Rest and potential bike ride… 18 miles

    Not too shabby. I surpassed my mileage goals, but I’m not doing as much strength as I’d like, so I know what I need to work on this week. Nice.

    Now, for a relaxing Sunday afternoon and perhaps a bike ride… toward ice cream, of course. Love summer.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 5 Comments

  7. Just Ran: 16 Miles

    December 13, 2010 by justgathering

    … on a treadmill.

    One factor to which I did not give adequate consideration when I signed up for a February marathon is winter training. And maybe I’ll get there eventually, but right now I am just not hardcore enough to run 16 miles in a cold rainstorm, or on ice for that matter. So I have a feeling I’ll be doing a few more long runs on the treadmill over the next couple of months, and I am very much okay with that. Plus, to me, there are benefits of treadmill long runs:

    • It lessens your chance of injury. After my 14 miles outside last week, I felt like all the discs in my back were compressed together, and I know it was from the pounding of my feet on the pavement. My feet and ankles weren’t particularly happy with me either. After 16 on a treadmill, my bones and joints feel great.
    • You can control your speed. I wanted to make sure that I was averaging below a ten-minute mile the whole time, and the treadmill made that easy.
    • You can keep in interesting. I think I’m a weirdo in the world of running for this, but I think treadmill runs are more fun than running outside. I like to play number games with my timing and speed. Last night, for the first hour I ran at 6.0 for 9 minutes and then 6.1 for 1 minute. During the second hour, I ran at 6.0 for 4 minutes and 6.1 for 1 minute. During the last forty minutes, I did two-minute intervals between 6.0 and 6.5. The time flew!
    • You can watch tv. I don’t have a tv, so treadmill runs are my time to watch my favorite (sometimes guilty pleasure) tv shows. Last night I watched two episodes of the new season of Top Chef and a few episodes of Mark Bittman’s Minimalist podcast. Saving up those tv shows for this run had me really looking forward to it all week.
    • You don’t have to worry about winter. You’re safe from ice, snow, freezing rain, potholes in roads, and slippery sidewalks. And you don’t have to worry about running in the dark.

    Now I’m not moving all my runs indoors. You can bet that I’ll be taking advantage of every bright, sunshine-y winter day that we get. But it’s nice to know that doing a few treadmill long runs won’t necessarily hurt my training. I’d be more concerned about my preparedness if my marathon were going to be in freezing temps, but I’ll be in New Orleans, so I don’t need to worry about that. All I need to do is keep on running.

    Up this week: a 5 mile tempo run, a 4 mile speed work run, and a 12 mile long run. Fun times!

    Edit to add: Here’s a great new article from Runner’s World on the subject of indoor training for distance races.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,, | 3 Comments