Eat Drink Run Woman

Dear Running,

I don’t know how to break this to you, but I think we need to cool things just a tad.  NO!  I’m not breaking up you, I swear.  After all, we’re running Skagit Flats this Sunday, aren’t we?  And I just booked our spots on the Victoria Clipper for the Royal Victoria Marathon in October.  And you KNOW we’re doing Boston, baby!  (In fact, I registered us yesterday).

It’s just… well, this old gal is having a hard time keeping up with you.  I’ve been skipping my gym routines just to get my sleep.  My right calf has been barking at me.  As I write this, I have an ice pack on the top of my foot (note to self: do NOT Google “foot stress fracture“).

Think about it — I’ve basically been in constant training mode since April 2006.  Don’t you think we deserve a break?  Actually, I don’t even consider it a “break” per se; I just think we shouldn’t be exclusive.  I need to see others (Mr. Bike Ride, Ms. Yoga, Mrs. Swim, Mr. Elliptical).  Don’t worry — I don’t like them more than you.  In fact, they actually strengthen my feelings toward you.  Remember that crappy 3-mile run we had the other day?  By taking the next day off, I then was able to run a 5K PR.  And by taking four days off after the Tunnel Marathon, I totally kicked butt during Hood-to-Coast, despite the vertigo.

Believe me, I’m in it for the long haul.  I just think it’s time to back off from such a strict schedule.  Okay, okay; so maybe after Royal Victoria.  I’m with you on wanting to try to BQ again.  But I’m warning you — if I feel I’m not in tip-top BQ shape, I’m just going to run the marathon for fun.

Forever yours,
EatDrinkRun(Mostly)Woman

Uno, dos, tres… catorce!
Hello, hello… ¡Hola!
I’m at a place called Vertigo.

What, pray tell, do the lyrics of a U2 song have to do with running the Hood-to-Coast relay?  Nothing, however, the song title is the same as the condition that plagued me during the race.

Let me back up a bit.

Remember the dizziness of which I spoke during North Olympic?  While I suspect it was due to dehydration, my internal gyroscopes had been off for about a month prior.  It never felt like full-on vertigo; rather, I would often feel light-headed when moving my head around quickly.  The sensation would come and go, but it started to get progressively worse the middle of July.

To my surprise, it did not affect my running, not even during a particularly tough BUAL™ workout.  The next morning, however, I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride.  I still made it to my yoga session, but during one position where I lifted my arm and turned my head toward it, I experienced a violent jolt of vertigo.  I left class immediately, canceled my cook date, booked an appointment with my doctor and stayed in bed for most of the day.

The next morning my symptoms were gone; I didn’t even feel the slightest bit dizzy.  My doctor did a preliminary check, then recommended I make an appointment with an audiologist.  (She didn’t think I required an MRI just yet, as most likely it’s a condition called benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo, or BPPV).  I saw the audiologist August 1, and unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the results were inconclusive.  Considering I no longer felt any dizziness, I wasn’t concerned.

But then I went off the wagon.

(more…)

The folks at Runner’s Lounge are keeping it succinct for today’s Take it and Run Thursday. The theme? Write your running memoir in six words. Here’s mine:

From 200 pounder to Maniac contender.

Now that more than half the year has gone by Amy and Tom over at Runner’s Lounge were curious to hear how we’re doing with the goals we’ve set for ourselves for the year.  When I set mine back in January, I was determined to make them realistic, yet challenging.  I didn’t want to come up with some arbitrary goals that were counter-productive to my marathon race training.

I’m actually quite pleased with my progress:

Goal #1: Determine my maximum heart rate
While the common method is to subtract one’s age from 220, that calculation is a bit off for me (it would be 176).  Based on several runs and tests, I’ve determined 180 is more accurate.  Why is this important?  Wearing a heart rate monitor provides another data point to analyze during your training.  I often go out too fast during my long runs, so I’ve come to just rely on my heart rate rather than my pace to make sure it’s in line.

Goal #2: Run at least 1,000 miles
Check!  As of my 15-mile run yesterday, I’m at 1,125 miles for the year.  I’m sure I’ll hit 1,600 by the end of the year, perhaps more.  I toyed with setting a goal of 2008 miles, but that seemed too ambitious.

Goal #3: Maintain a plank for at least 2 minutes, side planks for 1 minute
I’m definitely on track for this, although the front planks are getting more difficult.  Today I maintained a front plank for 95 seconds, and side planks at 55 seconds each.  I had slacked off a bit after my marathon, so I’m hoping by doing these 2-3 times per week I’ll reach my goal by the end of the year.

Goal #4: Fill out my arm weight routine sheet in 4 weeks at least 4 times
My gym has index cards where we mark down the weight, # of reps and sets for each exercise.  There are six columns on each side of the card, so by keeping my Monday/Wednesday/Friday routine, I would have filled the card within 4 weeks.  I did this twice, but have now changed up my gym routine to concentrate more on flexibility and strength training exercises for my legs.  So my new goal is to have at least 12 weeks between now and the end of the year where I go to the gym at least five times in a week.

Goal #5: Sub 2:00 half marathon
Check — twice!  My Mercer Island Half time was 1:58:02 and my Kirkland Half time was 1:53:35.

Goal #6: Get down to 155 pounds by March 9 for the Mercer Island half, 150 by June 8 for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon
Didn’t quite make this one (I was just over 160 for Mercer Island, 155 for North Olympic), but I’ve decided 155 is a good weight for me (I’ve had several of you express concern I was looking TOO skinny).  I’ve been a bit of a booze hound since North Olympic, plus we’ve been allowing ourselves a few more treats, so my weight has been fluctuating between 156-159.  But my goal is to not get above 160 (even during the holidays!) and to get my weight back down to 155 for race days.

Goal #7: Decrease salt intake
This is tough to measure, but I feel I’ve been doing rather well, especially after my doctor said my blood pressure was high just prior to North Olympic.  It’s now back down to normal, so I’ve probably been a bit more lenient with the salt consumption.  I know it’s not good for me, so I have to be diligent about keeping it in check.

Goal #8: Après-run junk food in moderation
Again, we’re doing rather well (although we allowed ourselves a burger, fries & beer lunch after a particularly tough 15-mile run last week).

Goal #9: PT exercises/stretching at least 5x/week
This is the area in which I’ve slacked the most.  Fortunately I haven’t had any hip or knee issues, but I know if I continue to ignore my PT exercises, they’ll come back.

Races:

January 12 & 13: Goofy Challenge — check!
March 9: Mercer Island Half Marathon — check!
March 16: St. Patty’s Day Dash — bagged on this one as I ran 17 miles the day before and needed a break
April 13: Whidbey Island Half Marathon — ran the Mt. Si Relay instead
May 11: Kirkland Half Marathon — check!
June 8: North Olympic Discovery Marathon — check!
August 17: Danskin triathlon — decided I didn’t want to give up an entire weekend to do this.  In fact, I won’t be doing any triathlons this year (but plan to next year).
November 2: New York Marathon — with the other travel we were committed to this year, I decided not to throw my name into the hat.  However, we will be running the Royal Victoria Marathon on October 12.

So there you have it.  If you were to grade my progress to this point, I’d say I’ve earned a B+.  Hopefully by the end of the year I can get that to an A-!

It’s not wise to do lunges, squats and wall sits on day you’ve scheduled a 9-mile VO2max workout with six 800-meter sprints. Your quads will hate you.

(Sorry for the short post. Summer has FINALLY arrived in Seattle, and as any local will tell you, you have to take advantage of it before it disappears for the next several months. My trip to Maine was relaxing, although I came down with a nasty cold two days in; GRRRR. But at least I had my Mommy — and my new sister-in-law — to pamper me. I promise I’ll write more soon!)

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It’s been two weeks since my last blog post.

I’ve been meaning to post for a couple days now, but when Angie emailed me to see if everything is okay, I figured I better write sooner rather than later (for some reason the concerned emails from the rest of you must have been lost in cyberspace). Rest assured I’m doing fine, but real life is getting in the way of my online existence.

You see, now that my marathon is over I’m left to deal with all the things I put off — housecleaning, filing, gardening, bookkeeping, feeding my cat (I kid! There’s no way in HELL she’d let us go more than five hours without feeding her). Normally I wouldn’t have any problems putting these things off even more, but my darling and I have signed up with a financial planner and need to provide them with all our financial documentation, including where our money’s been going. If we were organized folks that wouldn’t be a problem, but considering the last time I did any serious filing was during the Eisenhower administration, it’s meant I’m tearing through the house spittin’ and swearin’ looking for my credit card statement from April of last year.

So unfortunately that means you must suffer along with us and be deprived of my witticisms, at least for the time being. That said, there really wasn’t much to write about the week after my marathon. After all, I’m sure you’d get bored by post after post that said, “Didn’t run today; in recovery mode.”

(more…)

So I just checked the results from the Arlington “Walk & Roll” 10K and was surprised to see someone listed as the top female, 40-49. Turns out they have me listed as a male!!! (Although my time qualified me as the No. 3 male in that age group). There were 41 runners this year; I was No. 13 overall.

They might have the results listed incorrectly, but they can’t take that blue ribbon away from me!

May 3 update — I’m back to being a female again!

Not today.

Perhaps if you got me during my first lap.  After all, I was on a recovery run and my right calf was giving me grief.  I was running slowly, just enjoying my time outdoors.

But something funny happened after that first lap.  I stretched some more, and I loosened up.  I still forced myself to keep it slow; I’d go only as fast as felt good.  By the time you came up on me, I had run about 4.5 miles.  I felt GOOD.  “Spirit of the Marathon” was spurring me on.  I could hear the “slap, slap, slap” of your shoes against the gravel behind me, but I refused to slow to let you pass.  Did I mention I felt good?

Sure, if you had passed me I wouldn’t be disappointed.  I’ve come to understand and respect the role of the recovery run.  But I decided if you were going to pass me, you were going to work for it.  I don’t know what happened to you (heck, I don’t even know if you were a guy or a gal), but at some point I stopped hearing your foot falls.

Perhaps you were done, or perhaps you decided this old broad was too fast for you to pass.  Doesn’t matter, ‘cuz I felt GOOD.

Yet another “Take it and Run” Thursday.  Our task this week was to write up something we’ve learned about running — in 13 words or less.  As the haiku queen, this was made for me!  (I’m hoping this introduction doesn’t count toward the 13 words):

23-mile run
Hot July air; the result?
Sweat stains on my boobs

When I was 12 one of my older brothers moved back in while he was attending community college. He’s an artist, and at the time he was painstakingly working on a huge (4′ x 5′) painting of a Balinese woman. Around that same time I brought home a new kitten — an intruder our older cat detested. He would chase the poor kitten around the house any chance he got.

One morning as my brother was taking a shower there was a huge commotion in his studio (which was right next to the bathroom). I pounded on the bathroom door, “Dan! The cats just knocked over your painting!” He bounded from the shower (just barely covering himself with a towel) and darted to the studio expecting to see destruction. Instead, he saw the painting propped on its easel intact.

In my mid 20s my boyfriend at the time received the following voice mail message: “Hello, this is Myra Manes. Could you please give me a call at (206) xxx-xxxx. I’ll be here until 7 p.m.” He called the number, but when he asked for Myra the woman on the other end told him, “Oh my no, she’s long gone.” “But she said she’d be there until 7 p.m.,” he said. “Sir, you’re calling a funeral home, asking for Myra Manes.” (Say it out loud).

The date of both of those events? April 1. 🙂

I thought this could go one of three ways: 1) I’d post and no one would read it (or at least comment). 2) people would get the joke right away, or 3) they’d take it seriously and express their shock and sadness for seeing me go. Being the attention whore I am, I was hoping for #3. But when I opened my email this morning to see the heartfelt comments, I got all verklempt. Perhaps I had taken it too far!

Thing is, there’s a reason many of you fell for it — so much of what I wrote IS true. Remember my post on dodging housework? Well, my office pretty much looks the same one year later. I’ve only written one post per month for the past four months over at Ovens to Betsy. I check running forums and blogs first thing in the morning, then immediately upon returning home from work. And ClifShots and ShotBlocks have become a fifth food group.

That said, rest assured I’m STILL obsessive runner gal, although I’m TRYING to become a bit more balanced. (Although depending on what my physical therapist tells me tomorrow, I may be Eat Drink Lounge Woman for a while). I’ve got too much invested — both financially and mentally — to give up now. (Not only have I paid for registrations for myself and my darling for the North Olympic, we’re also entered in the Royal Victoria Marathon in October!)

For those of you who thought I was serious and wished me well, my sincere thanks. Your support truly keeps me going. However, perhaps the BEST response would have been, “BUCK UP! SNAP OUT OF IT! QUIT FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF AND LACE UP THOSE SHOES!” But of course, you’re too nice for that!

So assuming I haven’t ticked everyone off with my prank, you can expect to read more of my trials and tribulations as I follow my quest for Boston.