Eat Drink Run Woman

As Bon Jovi would say, “Ohhhh — we’re halfway there. Ohhh-oh! Livin’ on a prayer!”

This week fortunately ended on a much better note than it started. However, I believe what transpired needed to happen to help me gain perspective.

Sidelined with a sore calf, I moped around the house on Sunday. “I’m not going to hit 200 miles this month,” I sniffed. “I may not be able to run the Mt. Si Relay,” I sniveled. “I may as well give up on Boston,” I weeped. While deep down he really wanted to shake me out of my funk, my darling knew I just needed a hug and a good cry.

With that out of the way I too could see how ludicrous my problems were. Here I was sulking because there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to run a 26.2-mile race in a time fast enough to… run ANOTHER 26.2-mile race. However, I’m not too surprised at this reaction. After all, when I first blogged about wanting to qualify for Boston, I wrote:

“I know my biggest challenge will be to keep things in perspective: few people qualify on their first attempt (I read blogs by people who have tried to qualify numerous times). You just have to learn from your experience and adjust your training accordingly. Plus, you can never predict (or control) what the weather will do on race day.”

I knew this adventure wouldn’t be easy; I’m just bummed I started acting like a petulant child at the first sign of adversity. It’s at times like these I need to remember what Juls has endured. Her quest for Boston has been side-lined not from a minor injury, but the devastating loss of her dear husband to cancer a year ago.

Besides, turns out I just needed some new shoes.

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It’s amazing what the right pair of shoes will do for you. (I know what you’re thinking: “Shouldn’t you have figured this out by now? Sheesh, and you call yourself a runner.” HARRUMPH. There’s no need to get snippy, even though I pulled a fast one on you.)

I digress.

I’ve been buying my shoes at a very reputable and knowledgeable running store ever since I got back into running. Staff members are runners themselves, and they take the time to watch you run to determine the best shoe for you. Given my IT band issues/runner’s knee, they recommended a high stability/motion control shoe, the Asics Gel Foundation 7.

My first pair was the men’s version as they were out of the women’s; three months later I bought the women’s version, which got me through my first two marathons. Both pairs were getting into 400-mile mark earlier this year, so in February I picked up another pair. Although I was prone to getting blisters on the side of my foot just under my big toe, the shoes worked well. Why mess with success?

Then came last Saturday’s 20-mile run and what I thought was a calf sprain. My left calf muscle was incredibly tight during the entire run, and the next day I noticed a bruise just behind my left knee at the top of my calf. Yee-ouch! The bruising really concerned me as I feared it was a sign of some serious damage. I took the next four days off (so no 200-mile month) and went to my physical therapist.

She’s never done a foot analysis before, so she had me take off my shoes and socks and watched me run across the room. Turns out I DON’T over-pronate; what I really need is a shoe that provides neutral to moderate support. In fact, she had a sheet from my running store outlining the recommendations for each level of support (neutral, moderate and durable). The Asics Gel Foundations are in the durable support category — something I do NOT need.

She spent several minutes massaging my upper calf; although I winced throughout — it wasn’t one of those soothing massages you get while listening to the sounds of a babbling brook — I felt great afterwards. She also instructed me to continue to work on strengthening my hips through side leg lifts and leg rotations. And of course, I had to buy new shoes. (I was bummed considering I just bought the Asics, however, I realized I’ve already put more than 240 miles on them!)

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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.

Well folks, this is gonna be a tough post to write. But I can’t continue living a lie. While I may come across as some badass runner chick, deep inside I know I’m a fraud. Run Boston? Me? Puh-leeze. Who the heck am I kidding?

This has been building up for some time, and with my recent injury, it all came boiling over. Fact is, I’ve become SOOO obsessed with running, I’ve let everything else go to hell. Housework? Couldn’t be bothered. I neglect my “in-the-flesh” friends for my online blogging buddies. I waste an inordinate amount of time reading running blogs, listening to running podcasts and commenting on running forums. I can’t remember the last time I read a book or magazine that DIDN’T deal with running.

Here I am a chef, yet now almost half the calories I consume are from ClifShots, ShotBlocks and chocolate recovery shakes. My food blog is woefully ignored, and I hardly ever participate in the personal chef forum any more. I need to heed Jodie’s advice and rediscover balance in my life.

So what does that mean? For starters, Eat Drink Run Woman will cease to exist. It’s had a good run — a full year — but I now must focus on other things. Who knows, perhaps I’ll rebrand it as “Eat Drink Lounge Woman.” After all, who looks happier, this woman:

…or this one?

I’m still not sure what to do about the North Olympic Discovery Marathon; perhaps I’ll see if I can switch my registration to the half marathon. However, I’m not even sure I’ll be up for that. I’m just looking forward to relaxing and taking up something that doesn’t cause me pain every day (I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit).

I’ll miss you all, but will be cheering for you from the sidelines.

All the best,
Betsy

My goodness — I just realized today is the 1-year anniversary of Eat Drink Run Woman! (Although given what happened during my 20-mile run, “Eat Drink Can’tRun Woman” is more precise). 🙁

It was bound to happen. I’ve been too cocky. I’ve crowed about how fast I’ve been. I obviously did not leave an offering to the running gods.

I have a calf sprain.

How can this be? I’ve been stretching (most of the time). I’ve been doing my PT exercises (many of them, anyway). I even took an extra day of rest this week. But about five miles into Saturday’s 20-mile run my left calf started tightening up. I should have stopped to stretch earlier, but I was determined to keep going. Ironically I was forcing myself to slow WAY down since I was concerned I was over-training. I was determined to keep my heart rate at 70% of my maximum during the first 10 miles (which was about a 10:30-10:40 pace); I’d then allow myself to speed up to 80% of my maximum (about a 10:10-10:20 pace).

I finally stopped at the 10 mile mark to take in some ShotBlocks and water and stretch my calves and hamstrings. That helped at first but soon the tightness returned. Just before mile 16 I stopped at my gym for a potty break, but I also spent several seconds with the calf stretcher (in hindsight I should have also used a foam roller). By mile 18 I was really feeling the pain, but I refused to walk.

When my darling saw me hobbling up our stairs he knew he’d be conscripted into service. I winced in pain as he massaged my tender calf; although it truly helped, I still have a bit of tenderness today. I’m hoping a day of RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) will help, as I’m just 5 miles from hitting the 200-mile mark for the month (I KNEW I shouldn’t have taken that rest day on Friday!). However, I have to follow the same advice I gave my darling when he rolled his ankle earlier in the week — if it still hurts, DON’T RUN!

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Last Tuesday I ran seven miles for someone I don’t really know.

A fellow personal chef posted on our national message board her goal to lose 60 pounds; knowing support of friends, family and colleagues will be key to her success, she asked if any of us would be willing to “sponsor” a pound. Once she lost the designated pound, we’d have to do whatever we committed to — shaving our head, eliminating our favorite junk food for a month, volunteering at a local soup kitchen, etc.

I wanted to pick something I’d actually look forward to doing (shaving my head was NOT it!), so I told her I’d run the number of miles for pounds lost. Perhaps not the most creative, but given my weight loss (40 pounds) came as a result of running, I figured it’d be apropos. But I did give myself a challenge, sponsoring three goal pounds: 7, 15 and 22. On March 24 — three weeks after starting the challenge — Gabriella posted to say she had hit the first mark.

I had a 6-mile speed work session scheduled, but decided to add a mile in her honor. As I stood in my client’s kitchen that day looking out at the pouring rain, I contemplated postponing the run until the next day, my day off. But knowing I had made a promise — not only to Gabriella, but to myself (I wouldn’t let a little rain keep me from working toward my Boston goal) — I was determined to lace up.

While I got home at a reasonable hour, as usual I dawdled for well over an hour. I finally headed out at 5:30 p.m. Fortunately the rain had stopped, but mid-way through the run it started up again. RASSENFRASSEN! But again, I remembered my promise and was determined to finish the 7 miles. A little over an hour later I was back home, cold, wet, but elated I had reached my goal.

So Gabriella, I look forward to the day I get to write the reports for the 15- and 22-mile runs!

Angie asked me about my weekly mileage on the Pfitzinger plan, so I’ve added the numbers to each of the weekly posts. At first glance it would appear the program does not follow the 10% rule, where you only increase your mileage each week by 10%. However, that isn’t the case; it just appears that way due to how I’ve shifted the schedule.

Pfitzinger has you start your week on Monday and end with a long run on Sunday. I prefer to do my long runs on Saturday, so I’ve shifted it a day. However, there have been a couple of instances where I’ve had to do my long run on Sunday (once when I was sick, the other when I ran the Mercer Island half instead of the scheduled long run). So you’ll see a jump from 35.85 miles in week 5 to 57.65 miles in week 6. I started week 6 with the MI half and ended it with my regularly scheduled long run. If I were to recalculate my mileage based on a Monday-Sunday schedule, then it’s more in line with what the program calls for (and doesn’t increase more than 10% each week).

I definitely feel I’m getting stronger and faster with the training. I’m sure part of it has to do with dropping a couple of pounds (although the orgy of food and drink that is Easter certainly didn’t help. Back on the program!). Even with my long runs I find I can run a fast pace toward the end. I haven’t been as diligent about my gym routine (I really need to get my core conditioning in), but I guess I shouldn’t beat myself up about it too much.

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People try to put us d-down (talkin’ ’bout my community)
Just because we run around (talkin’ ’bout my community)
In the winter we get c-c-cold (talkin’ ’bout my community)
But we ain’t gonna die before we get old (talkin’ ’bout my community)

This is my community
This is my community, baby

Why don’t you all f-fade away (Talkin’ ’bout my community)
And don’t try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin’ ’bout my community)
I’m not askin’ for increased i-i-immunity (Talkin’ ’bout my community)
I’m just talkin’ ’bout my c-c-community (Talkin’ ’bout my community)

This is my community
This is my community, baby

While I would never say this during a job interview, I’m not much of a team player. I was never into sports when I was younger, and the few times I took up team sports as an adult (softball, soccer, volleyball) it was a bit of a disaster. Not because I thought I was so much better than everyone else; quite the contrary. I had absolutely no confidence in my skills and I thought I was dragging everyone down.

That’s why I’ve taken to running — I can go it alone and not be responsible for anyone else. Mind you, I’m sure if I found a fun running group I’d have a blast — I do enjoy the camaraderie of other runners — but even then I’d be concerned I was dragging the group down if I was having a bad day (or I’d get frustrated if I felt I could go faster than what the group was doing). But just as Coffee Betsy states in her post, I LOVE getting together with other runners after the run is done. I think that’s what I enjoyed most about the Goofy Challenge; I was truly in my element as I walked hobbled around Magic Kingdom the day after, proudly sporting my Goofy medal and congratulating all the other crazy souls.

However, even though I enjoy my solo runs (or runs with just my darling and me), that doesn’t mean I don’t long for — or seek — a community of like-minded obsessive fools. In fact, if it weren’t for the virtual community I’ve developed over the past year, it’s doubtful I’d be on my quest to qualify for Boston. I get energized and motivated by all the blogs I read and podcasts I listen to, and I believe they’ve helped push me to be my very best.

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While I’ve read a lot of positive comments about Pfitzinger’s training programs (especially if you want to get stronger and faster), most people agreed you will feel rather beat up. This week certainly gave me a taste of what’s to come.

Given I ran the Mercer Island Half on Sunday, once again I tweaked the schedule to allow for some recovery. While I (mostly) got in all my runs, I bagged out on all my gym routines save for Monday. I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed at 5:30 a.m. While I know my body appreciated the break, it meant I didn’t do any stretching or PT exercises (our house is so tiny I’d have to rearrange the furniture to make room for any type of exercise. Therefore I typically just do my stretching at the gym). But I’m heading into the big-time mileage weeks (50 this week, 54 the next) so I know I’ll need to concentrate on keeping my muscles flexible.

Here’s my week:

Sunday: Mercer Island Half

Monday: 45 minute arm/shoulder routine, 5-mile recovery run (9:18 pace)

Tuesday: 9-mile lactate-threshold run w/4 miles @ 15K-half marathon pace. This run was truly a mind-over-matter one. I ran a 2-mile warm-up at roughly a 9:40 pace and contemplated how fast I’d run the 4 miles. My goal is to run at my 15K pace (8:45), but since I was recovering from the half I decided I’d be happy with a 9-minute pace (what I ran during the half). When I hit two miles I picked up the pace; I didn’t look at Garmin, I just wanted to run what felt comfortable. At the end of the mile I glanced down to see I had run it in 8:28! I slowed it down for the next mile, which wasn’t difficult given I was now running into a headwind. I also toyed with taking a break after two miles, easing back into a slow pace, then picking it up again. But as I neared the 2-mile mark I decided to keep a fast pace for four miles nonstop. Miles 2-4 were 8:56, 8:40 and 8:44, which meant I averaged an 8:42 pace. I was pleasantly surprised. I ran my last three miles at a considerably slower pace, but averaged 9:17 for the entire 9-mile run.

Wednesday: Rest day! A group of personal chefs gathered that evening for a wine tasting, so my only form of exercise was bringing a glass of wine to my lips and noshing on yummy food.

Thursday: Since I hadn’t been drinking for a couple of weeks the wine really took its toll. Oy! I planned on hitting the gym, but when I awoke with a bit of a hangover I reset my alarm for another two hours. I pretty much felt crappy all day and I certainly wasn’t looking forward to that afternoon’s 10-mile run, especially since it had been pouring all day. By the time I headed out the door it was well after 5 p.m. I decided not to wear my iPod given the rain, and turns out I’d be sans technology throughout the run. Because the sleeve on my heavier rain jacket forces my Garmin onto my wrist bones, I slipped the sleeve over Garmin (which meant I couldn’t view it during the run). Halfway through the run I decided I’d cut it short, so as I was nearing the end I slipped my sleeve back over to see I had run a total of… 16 yards. D’oh! I somehow had hit the stop button in the very beginning. However, I was able to determine I ran a little over 7 miles using MapMyRun, plus I had my start time. My overall pace was 9:19.

Friday: A new day, a better attitude. I was bummed to see the rain wasn’t letting up, but since I only had a 5-mile recovery run, I didn’t mind. Imagine my delight when I stepped out to see the rain had stopped. Hallelujah! To celebrate (and to make up for cutting yesterday’s run short), I ran six miles (9:15 pace).

Saturday: I was worried when I checked the weather forecast on Wunderground the night before — 80% chance of precipitation. NOT what I wanted to hear given I’d be doing a 17-miler. But fortunately the report was wrong; while I awoke to overcast skies there was nary a drop of rain. I had hoped to get an early start, but realized all my cold weather gear was in the laundry. So by the time I got everything washed and headed out the door, it was a little after 10:15. Because I wanted a relatively flat run, I drove down to Gasworks Park and headed along the Burke-Gilman to the Locks. After crossing the locks I headed south and made my way down to Myrtle Edwards Park. I’ve been hearing a lot about the Phedippidations podcast, so I downloaded several episodes, including his report of the 111th Boston Marathon (I thought it would be good motivation!)

I’ve been concerned that I’m running my long runs too fast, so I really tried to keep my pace for the first few miles in the 10:30-10:50 minute pace (approximately 20% slower than my marathon goal pace). I came close — 10:20 average pace for five miles. I then picked it up, hoping to average a 9:55-10:10 pace (approximately 10% slower). I managed to do that for the next four miles, but was then ready for a walk break as I downed some Clif ShotBlocks. My legs were beginning to tire at this point, so I slowed to a little over a 10-minute pace. However, I managed to pick it up for mile 16 (9:56) and again for mile 17 (9:49). I guess I was really motivated by the chocolate milk I had waiting in my car! My overall pace for the 17.25 mile run was 10:10.