Double

Yesterday was a blast and the first double run of the training season.  It was completely unplanned.  We started off with 16 miles in the early morning.  The first 5 were incredibly slow: partly because it took me awhile to warm up and partly because it was very dark.  We picked it up no problem and the last three were very solid.  I even surprised Phil when on the last mile I ran up beside him.  Normally he leaves me behind (I tell him to) because he is faster but today I had it in me to comfortably run the last mile at 7:15.  He looked over and smirked and gave me a ‘what are you doing here’ look.  It made it want to keep running on pace.  

Happy to be able to run before heading into work. 

On the run we were almost attacked by a giant black bear or dog.  I’m not sure which.  It came running out from behind a house into the yard barking but thankfully stopped before the street.  I jumped behind Phil like a scary cat and Phil remained calm.  I was slightly surprised that he didn’t scream and run away.  I now feel more safe and protected.  Thanks Phil.  He did however jump later in the run when little dogs barked in the day light.  I think he has things backwards. 

Even though it was cool we still needed a lot of fluids.  Phil stopped at a sprinkler head which took me right back to my Panama City days.  I used to only drink from sprinklers and not even carry water.  At some point on the run we had about a 2 min conversation on how our lives affect those around us.  Phil jokingly said “Look what I sacrifice for you” in reference to sleep and getting up early to meet me.  It got me thinking…I am truly thankful for friends, family, past roommates who have all been apart of my crazy lifestyle. 

I got off work relatively early and threw out the idea of doing intervals last night rather than this morning.  I was concerned that the intervals wouldn’t be as strong at 5am in the dark and on tired legs.  We decided to go for it and I’m so glad.  20 min warm up followed by ½ mile intervals with 3min rest in between then a cool down - a little over 10 miles total.   The first 6 were relatively comfortable and I was able to negative split.  By number 6 I was pushing.  8 was solid.  I was shocked when I saw 6:42 pace for number 9 and was determined to get under 6:30 for the last one.  I did 6:28 but only because Phil hung back and pushed me through it.  I thought I was going to die.  The calves are soo tight and the quads felt like jello.  Success! 

Bam - solid intervals on the second run of the day.

Double run - what - we ran a marathon today - no biggie.

The secret pre-run food: a first and might be used again.

Treadmill Tuesday

Tuesday was the first day in over a year I stepped on a treadmill.  The weather has been horrible and I didn’t feel like running in lightening and tornado warnings.  I’ve been saying for weeks I need to practice walking and after having a hard time with it on Saturday today was the day to practice.  Thankfully Phil agreed and we did two hours before work.  It really wasn’t that boring and I survived without a working TV.  Phil and I were discussing SS100 and how we both ended up registering.  He asked if I was worried he would not do it after he already committed.  I said nope “the cool factor is too great to back out.”  I keep telling myself the same thing.

I was able to get in a short swim in the evening in between the sky falling.  It was my best swim in awhile because the heater had gone out.  The normally hot 82-83 water was a perfect 79.  

My shot blocks came in the other day.  I found a great deal online and just couldn’t pass up buying several boxes.  I know these will all be gone well before off season starts.  They just look a little funny stacked up in my pantry.  Hmmm fuel. 
 

 

I’ve been trying to start weight training and core strengthening.  And by trying I mean thinking about and not actually doing anything.  I was determined this past weekend to change that and broke out my free weights and the stretch cord.  Well in less than 10 min the cord snapped and whipped me in the neck.  So much for trying to get in a routine.  I will not be attempting that any time soon. 

Excuse Me Sir...No Cheating

I was determined to make Sunday’s run a good run.  I had so much doubt after Saturdays run that I needed a successful run.  It turned out great!  The plan called for 16 miles but I decided we were going to do 18-20 in the morning.  Well when I reveled that to Phil he wasn’t as onboard as I was.  I can’t blame him though extra miles aren’t always fun.  I don’t think he initially believed me because I could stop laughing while telling him.

Happy.  I could have cared less we were slow.

We started out much slower than yesterday and that was the plan.  I didn’t care about pace: I just wanted no pain and to finish feeling like I could keep going.  All things were good about the run: I didn’t chaff, I had enough fluids, I ate less (1 shot blok every 2 miles with 2 at mile 8 and 14 along with a cliff bar), and I only pooped ONCE!  I even went without my calf sleeves for the first time in months, wore new shorts, and drank water and not gatoraid – all this was done to convince myself today was a new fresh day of running and it was going to be good.

The 'yup we did it' post run pic.

The best part of the run was at the water stop at mile 8.  It was in a local park where three young kids were playing football.  The oldest looked at Phil and said “Excuse me sir do you want to play football.”  He responded with something to the effect of “I don’t play football” but he thinks he said “I can’t play right now.”   Well I can never turn down a football so I got him to throw it to me and threw it back a few times.  Nothing impressive but I loved that the kids had the guts (and manners) to ask so politely.  I knew it was time to go when he under threw it and I had to lean down to get the ball: hello quads: nice of you to remind me you are sore.

Sorta icing while cooling down.

The whole run Phil said he was hurting but he looked fine and was talking without difficulty so I knew I could get him to do the full run with me.  Towards the end of the run Phil was talking about taking off and picking up the pace.  I was all for him doing it but I knew I wouldn’t keep up.  I really wanted to tell him to go to 20 since he felt good enough he could pick up the pace but didn’t want to push my limits: I already had gotten two extra miles from him.   As we were running up the huge hill (ie ramp) I was using my left hand to push myself off the cement blocker.  I heard “No cheating” from behind but I didn’t’ care:  It was helping me get up the hill.  At the top he took off and I just picked up the pace slightly.  So happy to have had a solid run! 

Post run hour long bike.  Nothing special just free spinning to loosen the legs.

Run and bike mostly pain free.  Only mild inner left groin pain.

Smooth Rocks - Saturday Run

“I prefer to use smooth rocks over leaves.”  That was my response to Phil asking me about what I do after I go to the bathroom on a run.  It isn’t ideal but it is my reality.  I was waiting for the run where my GI issues would reappear and well Saturday it was.  Phil and I headed off for a 26.5 mile run after I got off of work.  I was pumped and was feeling pretty good!  It was pretty hot (78) with only a little breeze.  I packed lots of food and wore my backpack for the second time so I could carry enough fluids.  

All the fluids and food pre run.

Excited for my first marathon of this training block.

We stopped at mile 14 to refill fluids and I still felt strong.  That was until mile 18.  The stomach hit hard and I had to find my first bush.  I’m not sure if it was the heat, what I ate prior, too many sugary shot blocks, or not enough liquids.  It was hard to recover and although I wanted to push through Phil was fading also.  I told him we had to push through our walls and could stop at mile 21.  He started doing his walk/run which although I know is really beneficial and can be even faster it still mentally defeats me.  It just hurts too bad to start running after walking.  We made it to mile 21 and walked around a little bit looking for a water spout.  I thought for sure I would finish the remainder of the miles running: wrong.  I called it at mile 22.5 and said lets just walk.  The next 4 miles sucked flat out.  Made it 1.5 ‘walking fast’ and then ended up just walking and by the end was doing a walk/stop/stretch/poop/complain rotation over and over.   Looking back I wasn’t fading as much as I thought based on time.  Average at the ‘why did I give in and give up point’ was 9.18/mile.  Overall finished was a little over 10min/mile pace.

Went old school (MS 50 days) and made a sign before the run to make sure I finished. 

 Death afterwards.  GI troubles all afternoon/evening.

 Lesson learned: Will not wear the backpack again without wearing a shirt.  

 It burned so bad when I got in the shower. 

The Last Few Days

Monday was uneventful as it was an off day for training since Aaron was still in town and I had to go to work.  When I came home I found a scrubbed tub that was sparkling and hamburgers ready to be cooked.  They were delicious.  I'm thankful he was able to come visit all the way from California even if it was just for a few days. 

The clean tub!

Delious, melt in my mouth, yummy burger.

Tuesday night we broke our stretch of intervals: just couldn’t make it 6 Tuesdays in a row.  I was feeling ok minus left IT troubles but Phil was recovering from his Austin marathon on Sunday.  When he mentioned just running steady I didn’t complain.  I’m glad we did because my left knee KILLED until mile 4 – not good - all the result from the hip pain at mile 17 on Saturday I think. 

Stupid IT ban problems.  Left knee and hip are not on my favorites list.

Wednesday was wonderful.  I love that Phil has a job where he can take off at lunch to run with me on my days off.  13 in perfect sunny and 60 weather.  The first seven we kept laughing that all the cars were being really nice – I even started counting how many completely stopped or passed us by going across the yellow line.  Normally this does not happen when we run this oneish mile stretch without sidewalks.  It became pretty humorous watching the drivers.  The last 6 were fun.  At our turn around we ended up not stopping to fill up our water bottles.  Probably a mistake but made it work.  At the start of mile 8 I realized my HR was averaging  145 and thought ok I can push.  Without much effort I dropped to 8:30 so I decided to pick it up even more.  So much for the first 7 being at 9s.  I dropped to 7:30-7:45 and kept it there for mile 9,10, 11.  The last two were at 7:20.  I have never done that before.  Very stoked.  Only negative was my left knee had significant pain until mile 3.5 and even though it became manageable it never went away. 

Post run picture.

The rest of Wednesday I was on a high and starting getting a lot of errands marked off my list.  I cleaned, vaccumed, and finished putting up my blinds.  They look so much better than the pull down shades.

Changing out blinds/shades in the bedrooms.

Early evening meal.

Cold (40s) and Windy (20+mph)

Sunday was another solid day but was really really windy.  We made it out the door just in time to run and get back to have 5 min to get ready for church.  One good thing about the wind is it took my mind off just how cold it was that I actually enjoyed the run.  The sun was shining and I was feeling strong.  I couldn’t even really tell I ran yesterday.  

Breeze is winds little brother.  Wind is the bully in town and out to cause trouble and frustration.  Breezy is the enduring kind little brother who one doesn’t mind if he tags along.  Complain too much and he’ll get his big brothers hurricane and tornado.  That's Aaron's analogy of the wind today: he hated it but tried to be quite so tornado didn't appear.

I finished the run feeling pretty warm but I was glad I had on two hats.

We spent the afternoon watching movies and eating pizza.  It was perfect.  I'm very thankful for a good friends and times spent together.  Although it was last min. planning everything worked out without a hitch.  

Guana State Park - Saturday

Saturday was awesome.  Aaron got into town Friday night and we made plans for a weekend full of running adventures that would be modified because it was sooo cold.  When we woke up on Saturday he wasn’t game for heading out the door.  As much as I hate the cold I would still rather go in the morning especially when I have 20 to run.  Trying to make the most of the situation we headed down to the 26.2 Breast Cancer Marathon Expo to walk around.  I wish I was in the mood to shop because they had some great deals.  In honor of the event I wore my only two pink shirts on Sat. and Sun. 

Aaron and his 5k sticker I bough him at the expo.

After the expo we headed down to Guana River.  We were trusting the internet and a few people we asked at the expo that it would be worth driving the 45 min.  We thought there were going to be about 10 miles of trails.  Wrong!  There are easily 30 miles!  Granted not all in the park (only about 9 are) but still it made me sooo happy.  I loved getting to explore it with Aaron and have no clue where we were going until we found maps at the end.  It wasn’t stressful because it would be pretty difficult to get lost since there is water on both sides of the park.  

Proof that we paid.  At first we thought it was free for military but after running 

back up the road to ask the education center we found out it wasn't.  Back to the 

to get cash and back up to pay again.  We were already 1.75 miles into the run.

Heading off I had on my new Nathan backpack and I loved it.  It didn’t move or chafe at all.  The paths were all wide and mostly fire lanes.  The ground was compact and wasn’t very difficult.  Yes I will need to run more challenging trails but for now it was a baby step.  I started off slow but ended up negative splitting without any increase in effort.  So much wildlife: buzzards, wild bores (scary), ducks, cool looking plants, and an armadillo that could have cared less that he was two feet away from me.  

Post run at the trail head.

I finished soaking wet despite the colder weather (low 50s).  It was a little windy but manageable.  Cardio did great and I could have kept going.  Only negative was the left hip pain that started at mile 17.  We only stopped three times: twice to check trail markers and once at mile 14 to refill water/gatoraid at the car.  All the stops were less than a min or two.  I credit the success on the pre run Chick-fil-a biscuit: which I might have to do that again next time.  Or maybe it was because I had enough fluids and ate every two miles.  Waiting to run until lunch time turned out not to be so bad.

(pic)

After running we headed to St. Augustine nice and dirty but with clean clothes on.  It was freezing but we still had a great time.  We were just going to walk around the fort but we both got in free because of Aaron being in the military.  Even though he “didn’t want to be educated” Aaron ended up really enjoying it and might have read more plaques then me.  It’s amazing just how old the fort is.

(pic)

The biggest lesson I learned from this weekend is rest serves me well.  I biked and swam significantly less this week but ran the same.  I felt like I had so much more energy and was less fatigued.  It’s good to have a feeling like that after being trashed last week. 

Valentine's Day

Thursday was just another day and I like it that way.  I love seeing people I love celebrate the people they love both single and married.  I received sweet valentines from patients who were missing their parties at school and had extra treats to share.  At lunch time MD R came to visit and say hello at the office to all the providers.  He was so helpful a year a go exchanging emails and phone chats with me talking about training groups and locations.  We were supposed to meet up to ride but I chickened out because he is super fast and lives 45 min away.  It was really good to meet and finally chat in person.   He joked that we are the obsessive type and he may steal me away from Carithers.  With the other MDs around he pulled up a cartoon video on you tube comparing Ironman athletes to Ultra Runners.  It was 6 min of laughing. 

My Valentines. 

Watching the video at work with people who just don't get why it really is funny.

So many training clothes this week.

Take That Road: I Am Strong

"Think I can bike tonight or do I need to be Cari strong for tomorrow."  Those were the words Phil sent me in a text last night in reference to our 16 mile run this morning.  This scared me.  I did not feel strong last night and certainly did not feel strong this morning when I woke up after being up most of the night with coughing fits.  However, I was ready to trick myself and Phil into thinking I could do the run.  As we were walking out the door I was constantly silencing all the voices saying I would be too slow or that maybe we should do 13 and not 16.  Sometimes it just takes getting started for the ugly voices to disappear and other times you spend the whole run trying to ignore them: thankfully they disappeared and I was just glad to be out. 

The forecast called for ugly thunderstorms all day so we knew we would likely get wet - it was just a matter of time.  Within the first mile I was sweating due to the humidity, enough that Phil commented: "Is that water dripping from your elbow."  I wanted to respond with something cleaver like 'no, it's liquid gold' or 'no, it's slowness leaving me."  Did I say either - nope.  The rain came at 12.5 miles and lasted until the end.  We only had about a mile from 13-14 where it was a downpour, the rest was just light and steady. 

The radar after the run.  Not very impressive but that one mile was super heavy.

Although it was windy (22mph) it didn't feel that windy except for mile 8 and 9.   This is when we came out of the neighborhoods and ran down an open road.  At the turn around we benefited from the tail wind.  Phil started to struggle around 8 and we slowed it down just slightly.  At our 10 mile refill water bottle stop our average was 9.13.  Much slower than other weeks but we were both still happy with it.  We dropped the pace a little more the remaining 6 miles.  My quads, which had been doing great started to become really fatigued around mile 11.  I was thankful for the slow down and was reminded that it's tough to run fast when your body is fatigued and warn out even if your mind and cardio wants to take off.  I was so proud of Phil for pushing through and finishing even when he was tired and weak.   It is these types of runs that build mental toughness.  He made sure to let me know he was proving his mental toughness and didn't want to slow down anymore.  What a great training partner.  Even though he was struggling he didn't really show it and I would have never known if he hadn't said so: he's tough.

 

Phil post workout.  Tired and hiding.  Next time he will not wear those shorts.  

They kept falling and he had to run holding them up the whole time.  No ideal.  

Glad it was him and not me.

Phil's toes.  Bring on the blisters and the gross feet.  These will look pretty when 

compared to post race pictures.

Sometimes lying to yourself pays off and you enjoy the run.  I may not always believe I am strong but I do believe I can work hard and push myself to the limits.  I can convince myself that I can do it, that I will enjoy it, and it will make me stronger.  And most of the time I finish and it's all true: not a lie.  I did it, I enjoyed it, and it made me stronger.  That is an awesome feeling!  It is always worth stepping out the door and giving it a go.  And when it decides to pour on my runs I embrace it and let it wash away my doubts that I can't do it.

Happy to have finished the run in the rain.  It has been a long time since my last 

rainy run.  There aren't many things better than jumping in a puddle coming off a 

sidewalk and thinking 'take that' road.  

Lesson Learned

Tuesday was a huge learning experience.  I headed out for a run in the morning with 100% humidity and so much fog I couldn’t even see my condo from ½ mile away.  I came back drenched.  I had no goals as far as pace: still trying to work out the quads from the weekend.  I was doing the slow shuffle yet again where the HR doesn’t climb at all.  I was averaging close to 10 min/mile.  Then around 4.5 miles Gary and his friend (training for Big Sur Marathon – how fun!) came up behind me just slightly faster.  I ran with them the next mile plus and picked up to 8:45s no problem.  I love chatting with others.  Gary was asking about my compression sleeves and asked if they made a difference.  Then proceeded to ask if I don’t wear them do I feel naked or get hurt.  My response was “I just feel weird.  They make a difference but now they are also a security blanket.”  I felt dorky but he said he felt that way about his knee brace.  We parted ways and he told me I was an inspiration.  It caught me off guard but also put a smirk on my face where I kept up the pace and ran a few more miles.

Huge lesson learned.  Even if I’m tired and not lifting my legs off the ground 

I should still pick it up.  I'm sure I'll keep relearning this.

On the home stretch I ran into the older man who walks his three puppies every single morning: same time, same route.  We said good morning to each other and then I didn’t catch the next thing he said.  After I said ‘huh” he responded with, “I’m talking to him” in reference to his dog.  He loves those little guys and you can tell they are very well taken care off.

Monday Night's Run

Wow.  I paid for this weekend on my evening run on Monday.  I should have hated the run because it was so slow but I actually really enjoyed it.  It didn’t bother me that my quads were so tight I couldn’t pick up my legs to resemble any sort of a running stride.  Or that I was going even slower because it was dark and I didn’t want to trip since I was dragging my legs.  I stopped caring about pace and just embraced the environment around me.  I saw kids playing, birds flying, and an old man walking his dog while on crutches who said he was glad to see me: these things I enjoy.

Running on Tired Quads

Sunday was awesome.  13 mile run despite the quads being really fatigued!  The weather was perfect at 71 degrees.  There was a sustained 17mph wind but didn’t feel like it the first half because we were running through neighborhoods.  The last six miles when we were on the open road there was only a tail wind!  This made it easier to keep up the pace.  I was worried at the start because for the first time I had inner right knee pain for the first mile.  It went away right around the mile marker and didn’t return: I’ll have to pay attention to that and make sure it doesn’t become a common trend.   I got a nice little break at mile 4 when we had to stop for the draw bridge to go up and down.  Ate at mile 2-4-6-7-8-10-11 and drank every 1-2 miles.  Nutrition was spot on even though I ended up with salt on my skin for the first time this year.  Not many more runs and I’ll have to start taking my salt pills to be able to survive.   Phil and I were both able to pick up the pace the last mile and a half.  I love when I’m tired but still able to push and be rewarded with a sold time.  The whole run was at a 8:39 pace: exactly the same as the last 13.

Both Saturday and Sunday I was hoarse because of all the mucus I have/had sitting on the back of my throat and coming out of my nose yet looking back at my times I really can’t tell I was fighting a cold.  So much further to go until I’m ready for the 100 but this weekend was solid.  It hurt, I pushed, great times on the garmin, good times in general, and I couldn’t be more excited I’m doing this!

Post solid 13 mile run!

The salt appeared on the skin for the first time since last fall.  The weather is quickly warming up.

I finished off the weekend with a swim to loosen everything up.  Normally I go straight from church to the pool on Sundays because they open at noon right when we get out.  Well since I ran first that wasn't the case.  As I walked in all the lifeguards gave me a hard saying it wasn't 12 and therefore I couldn't swim.  I figured we were on good terms so I asked them to tell me if my swimsuit was see through.  I have no clue and I don't have swimming buddies to make sure I don't embarrass myself.  Thankfully it wasn't and I can keep wearing it. 

First 20 Mile Run This Training Block

Saturday was a great day!  We traveled up to Little Talbot Island to get in a trail run.  We didn’t know what to expect but thought we’d check it out.  There are four state parks all really close to each other and we thought we were going to run from one to the next doing each one’s individual trails. It looked like each park had between a 3-5 mile trail.  That wasn’t the case.  We ended up only doing four miles of trails.  Hello reality check.  Four miles was enough: it was tough!  Our average mile pace dropped by almost 90 seconds and my HR skyrocketed.  My right toes had a sharp pain in them for about a mile after running through the soft sand.  It was a slap in the face which I needed because I was getting a little too confident I could potentially finish in less than 20 hours.  Lesson learned: need to work harder.  I did enjoy the first 5 miles in the park before it even opened and the pine straw portions of the trail.  The rest of the run was all on road. 

Nutrition was ok until the last hour.  Ate and drank every two with one quick refill stop at mile 9.  I really needed more fluids for the end.  I didn’t realize how windy it was until our turn around point.   When we headed back north for 3 miles (13-16) it was incredibly windy and difficult.  I don’t know what stole my thoughts more: the crazy wind or the dramatic lean of the road which I was worried I would pay for later.  Things became a little more doable when Phil took over the lead and I tried to draft off him.  He was in his own world singing and ‘naying’ when he was tired or pushing.  Although focusing on him and not leading was easier I never recovered from the windy three mile push.

I had nothing else at the end and could barely muster anything close to a sprint the last 1.5 miles.  I think I maybe dropped 15 seconds.  At least I tried.  I was so proud of Phil as he ran ahead and had a strong finish.  My quads were on fire at the end.  We sat on the pavement stretching for awhile when my new friend Richard the park ranger told us we couldn’t park where we were.  We ended up chatting awhile about trails, animals, and parks.  He was a good resource and I’m thankful he stopped to talk to us.  The run adventure had the perfect ending with a delicious and fulfilling hamburger from O’ Brothers.  I can’t wait for the next successful 20+ run.

Gold mind at Ross on Friday night started off the weekend well.  Most of the shorts were 7.99 - steal.

It's been awhile since I've pack to go for a run.  Add four more Gatoraid bottles and I was set.  Glad I didn't forget anything!

Park entrance: about 40 min away.

Felt a little silly wearing my trail gear since we were only on trails for 4 miles. But, I love my giraffe gaiters and will wear them whenever I can.

Quick water bottle refill stop at mile 9.

Where we parked that prompted the park ranger telling us that weren't allow to park there when we were sitting on the road stretching post run.  I would have paid but we arrive an hour before it opened and wanted to get started.  He told us to park across the street where there are no parking signs...hmmm.

 

The park ranger!

   

The tough windy bridge.  This was right after we tried to enter the southern most park and told we couldn't without paying the pedestrian fee.  This is where I finally called Phil out for 'naynaying.'  Whenever he is pushing hard or tired to nays like a horse.  He as no clue how often he does it .  I think it is hilarious: most of the time because it lets me know I'm not the only one suffering. 

Made it back in one piece!

First up: iceing.  Didn't have ice and didn't feel like going to buy some from the store so I tired the next back thing.

 Next up: washing out the bottles.  While at Little Talbot we notice there was a little to much mold floating around in the bottles.  Disgusting but true.