Long Run Saturday Success

I am a woman on a mission - a mission to redeem myself after my last race. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (by a bad race). I jumped right back on the wagon this week, clocking in 4 weekdays of running (3 easy runs, 1 speed workout).

Today my plan said I needed to run 14 miles. Ummm, I haven't run longer than 13.1 since October 9, 2009 (the Chicago Marathon). But I felt like I needed to do it prove something to myself. To prove I had it in me to set out to do it and do it right. 

BUT the reasonable side of me was thinking I should be conservative, that long runs are supposed to be 30-90 seconds slower per mile than goal pace. So I held back, running around an 8:30 for the first 9 miles (and being forced to stop for a drawbridge - that's a new one). Side note: tried the Peanut Butter Gu today. It was delish! I mean, I wish it had some caffeine, but you know. :)

And then something just snapped, and I went all Ricky Bobby and said to myself, "I WANNA GO FAST!" and I just took off. My last 4.5-5 miles were at a sub 8:00 pace. 

"I don't know what to do with my hands"

Today's run: 14.8 miles, 2:01:39, 8:13 pace. BOOM. As soon as I hit 14 miles and I was under two hours I yelled out "YES!" and did a little fist pump. And then I realized I was still in public and people probably thought I was crazy. Don't care!

Some days you got it. Some days you don't. But I revel in the fact that today, I did!

So I celebrated with my foam roller, The Stick, a big bottle of lemon tea Nuun... and I signed up for a marathon in October! I haven't run a marathon since October 2009 (see above). I'm super pumped and hope to put in a great training cycle this summer. 

I earned my Cinco de Mayo margarita today!

I'll take this one please, on the rocks, yes to salt

Side note #2: Loving the Garmin! I have only taken in on two runs but it's really helping with pacing (I now realize I am ALL over the place - I'll be working on that). And I've had no issue with figuring out the bezel and no problems with it. I do have to wear a wristband under it to get it to fit my child-sized wrists. 

80's fashion, making a useful comback

The unexpected workout

Yesterday I took my dog for a 2.5 mile walk. She's done this walk before, no problem. In fact, as soon as she realized we were going on our 'long' walk, she pulled like a sled dog and leap around like a rabbit all the way to the trail because she was so stoked. And she LOVES stairs. See:

Why are making me sit here? There are more stairs to climb! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME BE GREAT???

Well, we get to about the halfway point, and she camps out on a bench:

Go on without me, mom, I'm just going to chill here.

So I thought, maybe she's just tired; it is a little warm (it was like, 62 - dog, you used to live in HAWAII). So we hung out for a bit on the bench. But I had stuff to do, so I told her we had to walk back home. She proceeded to walk, very slowly. And then she started holding her back foot up, like it was hurt. I examined it like 15 times and could find nothing wrong. Then she decided she was just going to stop walking altogether:

Yeah, I like it here. I can just stay here. You go home and bring me food. I live by this water now.

So, even thought I could find nothing wrong, she refused to walk, so I had no choice but to carry her back home - about 3/4 of a mile away. She weighs 30 pounds, and we live on a hill. It was really fun. No fewer than 5 people got a really good laugh at my expense (it's okay, I can take it). 

Then we got home, and as soon as I put her down she ran inside like nothing was wrong, and begged for food. I'm pretty sure I got faked out. But it's okay, because she does super cute things like this:

Look at me, I am the cutest dog in the world! Even though I love to mess up your couch pillows and blankets.

 So, does anyone else's dog do this? Or have I been totally outsmarted by my canine? She does have me wrapped around her little paw, that's for sure.

Yesterday's workout also consisted of running 3 miles. My ankles were still sore from the shoes from hell (see yesterday's shoe post) so I had a slow start.

Mile 1: 8:41

Mile 2: 8:19

Mile 3: 7:54

And by that point, I was at CVS and I needed to pick up some essentials (you know, self-tanner, because I am the palest person ever and I need to keep that slight fake tan so my legs don't blind people). I then went home and did a (very) short workout:

Pushups (not the girl ones): 3x10

Front lunges x 10

Front lunges with torso twist x 10

side lunges x 10

reverse diagonal lunges x 10

back lunges x 10

My ankles really hurt by this point, so I put on my sexy compression wear:

It's less grandma when they are neon!

I cannot say enough good things about compression wear! I also put some ice on my ankles while I was sitting on my ass on the couch, and today they are good as new. Cannot wait for my compression shorts!

I only have one pair of compression socks, so it was clear I need to buy another pair, so I took up the sweet deal from Skinny Runner's site and got these bad boys from Pro Compression:

Argyle FTW!

I also spent some QT with The Stick and the foam roller (both torture devices in their own right). Some things I just have to do for my own good. 

Today I did a yoga class - 90 minutes of Vinyasa Flow. Yoga is a huge challenge for me because I am SO inflexible. I seriously can't even do half pigeon, and my standing split is barely an L. It's sad. However, I am pretty good at the strength poses, and I LOVE headstands. I got to do a 60 sec one today, I was super excited! I also *almost* got side crow. I need to practice more.

Today is a no running day. Tomorrow we'll do 12; last long run until our half marathon next weekend. Yay! Which is exciting for many reasons - it means the race is almost here, and it means I get to eat pizza tonight! 

What workouts do you guys do outside of running? How to stay flexible and pain free?

Running Gear Thursdays

So I am kind of a running gear junkie. Some might think I have a problem. Since I spend more of my life in running gear than regular clothes, I figure it's okay to have lots of it, right?

I am currently running about 30-40 miles a week, along with about 3 session of weight training and 1 yoga class a week. I like to have multiple pairs of running shoes - which I say is for rotating through so they wear more evenly, but really, deep down, I just love running shoes.

I am sort of in a shoe flux right now. I just started keeping track of my shoe mileage, so I really don't know how many miles my current shoes have on them. I've had my current shoes for about a year or so - and I trained and ran 3 half marathons last summer, but my mileage was pretty light through the fall. I picked it up big time around Thanksgiving (shout out to the 100 mile challenge on dailymile), but since I was running in the lovely New England winter conditions, I wore gortex trainers most of December, January, and February.

I am currently running in these shoes:

Nike Pegasus 27. They still feel pretty good. I think I have about 250 miles on them, so I am unsure how much longer they will last. I used Superfeet insoles for about 2 years, but the bulk of them was causing me some pain/tenderness on the top of my foot. I recently accquired FootDisc insoles from a GearBuzz deal and I really dig them. I have super high arches, but no pronation issues. I also have become a midfoot striker over the past year or so (after the beginnings of a heel spur).

I also run in these:

Nike Pegasus 25? 26? I scored these off eBay last year for like $35. They were the previous year's version. I like the feel, but they are SO UGLY. I have a vendetta against white running shoes. I recently read about washing running shoes in the dishwasher (totally works! and doesn't damage them at all!) and I washed them, but unfortunately they are now just ugly and clean. They have about 200 miles on them.

I wore these through the winter:

Nike Pegasus 27 GTX (Gore-Tex). I cannot say enough good things about these shoes. They really are windproof and waterproof. The only downside is they have a standard sole, so running in the snow was challenging (lots of slipping and sliding).

I am now having a dilemma of what my next shoe should be. I had a brief moment where I wanted to try the barefoot thing, so I ordered these:

Saucony Hattori. They are cool, I will give them that. But I quickly realized that trying out barefoot shoes with a half marathon less than a month away is a stupid idea. Also, they tore up the back of my heels so bad that I am still having nightmares about them. See that little tab on the back? Who on earth thought that was a good idea?

So then about two weeks ago, after an 11 mile run and a bloody mary, I decided to branch out from my Nikes (which I've been wearing for 5+ years pretty much exclusively) and get a pair of these:

Adidas Oscillation. I HATE them with the fire of 1000 suns. I wanted a pair of shoes that were a little lighter for shorter races and track work. You see that odd stitching around the opening and tongue? It's super stiff. I took them out for a slow 5 miler and I ended up with bruises on my ankles! My ankles felt like I'd run 10 miles the next day. That is unacceptable. I am so mad at myself for buying them (and at my husband for throwing away the box, so I cannot return them). I will never put these torture devices on my feet again.

So as a last ditch effort, I ordered these last night:

New Balance 890. New Balance is super dominant here in their hometown area of Boston. So I figured I'd give them a try. And I ordered them from a store that will take them back (and I will lock down the box far away from the husband). And, they are YELLOW! I love vibrant, fun shoes.

Also, I've gotten hooked on compression gear. It started with a pair of CEP calf sleeves:

(mine are black)

And OMG immediately the nagging soreness in my soleus and my inner ankles was gone! But them I realized the sleeves weren't good for recovery too, so I scored some CEP socks on eBay:

(I ended up with the pink ones. I am NOT a pink person, but they were half price. I AM a cheap person)

And I totally love them too. My husband is even hooked on them (he says he's had a lot less shin pain).

So I have been reading about the wonders of these compression shorts that are made just for women, so I ordered them too because they are having a HALF OFF sale right now!

I ordered red ones because I live on the EDGE

I'm 'gearing up' (so to speak) because I'm going to start marathon training in May. I haven't run a full marathon since 2009; I sort of looked at it as 'did it, checked off life list, move on' type thing. I also injured myself somewhere in there and it took a while to get my mojo back. Since moving to Boston, running has crept into my veins again, and since I've been running so much faster and stronger I feel like this *might* be my year to BQ. (I kind of hate typing that, I feel like I'm jinxing myself). My last marathon in 2009 was the Chicago Marathon, where I ran a 3:55:56. I'm running much faster these days so I'm going to train through the summer and hope for a fast fall marathon with the intention of qualifying for Boston for 2014.

So, what's your favorite running gear? And what are your favorite shoes? And how many miles do you typically put on a pair before throwing them out? Inquiring minds want to know!

(None of these people paid me to mention their products)