A Spontaneous Long Run On Sore Legs

After all the analysis about my improved running pace, I had a pretty sluggish long run on Saturday. But I have excuses! So.Many.Excuses. 

But really, let me just say something about this – who cares? I’ve been working hard to be as ready as possible for the Army Ten Miler and I know I’ll be just fine. I can run 10 miles. I just had this vision of rocking it after my faster speeds lately and started to peruse online pace calculators, dreaming of lofty finish times.

So let me tell you what NOT to do the day before a long run: Barre class.

Holy cannoli, I went Friday at lunchtime and it was like a live Thigh Master class. Intense.

I’m not saying don’t DO barre when you’re training for a race, just don’t do what I did this weekend:

• Don’t run 3/4 mile to barre class, do a crazy tough class that leaves your legs burning, then run back to work 3/4 mile on Friday.
• Don’t party too hard at a friend’s house on Friday night and make yourself too tired to work out Saturday morning.
• Then don’t spontaneously decide to do your long run Saturday afternoon instead of on Sunday as planned. While you are still sore from said barre class.
• And then don’t do the first 1/3 of your long run pushing a toddler in a running stroller. As fast as possible to make it to your daughter’s soccer game before it ends.
• And don’t forget any sort of Gu or fuel for an 8-mile run over hills and trains in super hot conditions.

I pushed that running stroller almost 3 miles to the soccer fields as fast as possible because my daughter’s soccer game was just finishing up and I had a plan for how to get in the long run before working that night.  I met my husband at the field, put F. in the car seat, folded the running stroller and tossed it in the back of the car, and went off on my own to run around the super-hilly trails at the soccerplex before running 3 miles home.

It was in the 80’s outside, unseasonably hot for the mid-Atlantic area in October. Thankfully I knew where the ONE working water fountain was in the HUGE park (why are all the others dry?), and had snagged some sort of nutrition from the stroller before it drove away.

It helped. A little. Not as good as Gu but better than nothing. But I’d better get used to it since I started the Whole 30 diet – so Gu is out for the Army 10 Miler. Yikes, I’d better practice with something else over the next couple of weeks – applesauce didn’t cut it.

Here’s how my 8-miler long run stacked up pace-wise:

• Mile 1 = 9:46 with stroller
• Mile 2 = 9:37 with stroller
• Mile 3 = 9:22, first 0.7 with stroller
• Mile 4 = 9:32
• Mile 5 = 9:52
• Mile 6 = 10:19 (uh oh, starting to not like the hills and heat!)
• Mile 7 = 9:56 (just get me the heck home already!)
• Mile 8 = 10:13 (this mile took for.ev.er!)

I had some stomach issues at the end of the long run, but as soon as I walked in the door, I had to hop in the shower and go to work for a concert.  I got home at midnight still not feeling 100% in my stomach, and still woke up a little off on Sunday.

So again I say about my pace – who cares? The Army Ten Miler is a bucket-list race and I’m excited about it. I’m not in it for the finish time – I’m doing the race with friends and seriously excited to see them and run with them. One friend coming to DC for the race is Melissa from I Thought They Said Rum – it’s going to be so great to see her, it’s been years!

I’m off on a Whole 30 adventure – I always vowed I wouldn’t eat a strict Paleo diet but I’m giving it a whirl for 30 days. More on that this week!

Is it unseasonably hot where you live for this time of year?

Have you done a race while on Whole 30 or eating Paleo-style? How did you fuel for longer runs?

I heart New York, but it doesn’t heart me.

Well, I suck. I just returned from a trip to NYC, and my exercise clothes are untouched in my suitcase. That is SO not me, and I’m very annoyed. I fully intended to run in Central Park and work out at the hotel gym, but a few things got in the way: work, kids, sleep, weather. But overall: Time, basically time.

It was mainly a work trip but I brought two of my kids with me, along with our au pair to watch them while I was working. My 7-year-old daughter sees a doctor in NY every 3 months so I combined work stuff I had to do in NY with the doctor visit. The three days were jam packed, and having the 16 month old toddler just threw off all my plans to work out. Plus crappy, rainy weather. Normally I make exercise a priority when traveling, but the priority this time was getting to work appointments on time, focusing on my daughter’s medical business, and making sure our au pair was comfortable on her first visit to NYC. We walked enough around the city to burn some calories, but it doesn’t compare to getting the heart rate up there with a good run.

The last time I exercised was sweating on the treadmill at 10pm on Tuesday night. Yeah, I got it done after posting that evening and was super proud of myself.

Tomorrow: long run of 11.5 miles (should I just make it 12?), my daughter’s soccer game, and we’re doing our taxes. Let’s hope my legs hold up for the long run despite being deprived of running this week.

Cyberspace ate my first 3 miles. AKA: My love-hate relationship with running apps.

Let me be clear: I don’t have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. But I am fairly obsessed with the NEED to know exactly how far I ran, what my pace was, and my total time running. I start the app when my feet start moving, I pause it at stop lights, I obsess about it. I need to hear the app tell me my average and/or current pace while running, I mentally note that pace and see if I beat it during the next time. And I often run the same route so I can see if I beat my pace for each mile or in total.

I used to spend time mapping routes on the computer, and before the websites or awesome map sites existed, I would drive routes to figure out where I’d go running the next day to get the mileage needed for my training schedule. So imagine how thrilled I was when technology caught up with what I wished existed. I was *thisclose* to buying a GPS watch when VOILA! my phone provided me with my dream come true – the ability to track my route with an app.

I’ve tried several: CardioTrainer, Endomondo, and have recently moved to Nike+. I really loved it for a couple of weeks but today – I’m irritated.

After spending half the day taking care of kids and feeling sluggish, I finally got out for the run during my toddler’s nap time. It was a gorgeous day and my first run of the year in shorts. What a treat! After about 2.5 miles, I paused my app at a stoplight (I cannot stand it ticking away for 4 minutes while I wait for a walk signal, thereby making it seem like my pace that mile was horrendous).

Suddenly – POOF! It was on the start-a-run screen. WHAT?! One reason I love Nike+ is that you can pause easily, but to finish the run you have to swipe deliberately. Anyhow, I had a bad signal there, which might have been the problem, so I couldn’t get it going again and went to Endomondo. Ran 0.7 until I got to a restroom and UGH – stopped it instead of pausing since the stop button is literally ON the pause button. A reminder of one reason I switched to Nike+.

By this point I was so frustrated, after more than 3 miles I was starting a run fresh again, with no fun badges from Nike+ to tell me how awesome I was today, and my progress broken up into several runs on two different apps. I wasn’t sure exactly how far I had gone since I had lost that first 2-something, so I went out of my way to go a bit longer.

When I got home, I obsessively mapped it on mapmyrun. Turns out my 9 miler was 9.96. If I had known that, I would have jogged around 0.04 to make it an even 10! (Honestly, I don’t have OCD…)

How was it? Awesome. My Morton’s Neuroma didn’t act up, only some numbness. I had some pubic bone pain. Otherwise, I loved the run. It felt great and I feel more secure for the half marathon in a few weeks!

(Now I’m researching GPS watches again…)

Like running through water

Yesterday I took a day off from running and cardio workouts, but did my regular Friday noon Pilates class that is held in my building. It was a crazy busy day of kids, work, then racing off to an elementary school event since I was volunteering and had lots of stuff to bring and set up. So Pilates at work was the perfect thing to fit a little exercise into my day.

I’ve noticed such a difference in my core strength since doing the Pilates class regularly – it’s improved not only my running, but also my other workouts. I had umbilical hernia surgery between kids #2 & #3, and also have diastasis recti, ab separation from carrying three giant babies that I carried out front like beach balls. So I’m thrilled with the strength I’m feeling in my core. I’m hoping it will also translate into better swimming skills for my triathlon training.

Today I had a 4-mile run planned (I typically do my long runs on Sundays) but in the end it was only 3 – and it took half the day to even get to it. I felt really wiped out from the work week, and despite putting on my exercise clothes at 9am, it was 2:30pm when I finally got out there. My son had soccer in the a.m., my daughter had soccer in the afternoon, so my husband drove all 3 kids to her game and I ran to the field.

It sucked. It was a gorgeous day but it felt like I was running through water. I had an awkward stride and my legs just weren’t moving easily. After 1 mile it got better, and after 2 it was a bit better still. But I was fine to stop at 3 when I got to the field, rather than going another mile around the park. I don’t think this bodes well for my long run tomorrow, but hopefully by keeping my legs loose today it will make tomorrow’s run easier.

Now I’m trying to rejigger my training schedule to figure out how many miles to run tomorrow – 9 or 10 – since I missed my long run last weekend. My half marathon is in 3 weeks and I’m worried I won’t get a decent taper in.