Motivation Monday!- Last long training

It’s almost here!  Race day is almost here!
On Saturday I walked 12.8 miles for the first time ever…it was intense.
Miles 1-3 sucked as usual, but the torrential downpour didn’t help either.  Miles 4-6 were better- saw hourses...



I stopped at the 6 mile water stop to change my dripping wet socks and by that time it had stopped raining.  But my feet were in serious pain by that point, just due to the squish squash of water in my shoes.  I grabbed some gummy bears, power aid and was off!  Miles 7-9 were great…I was motoring right along!  My walking buddy had some IT band issues and caught a ride back to her car… hope she’s doing better!!
As I approached the mile 10 marker…I realized how much easier that last 2 miles was than when I walked the 10 miles in the rain.  Suddenly it occurred to me just how much my training has done for me.  Just as were rounded that 10 mile mark it started to rain again…light at first…but as we got to the 11 mile mark we were getting pelted…PELTED!!  I could hardly keep my eyes open the rain was coming down so hard…I was actually concerned that it was hailing!  At the last quarter mile…it began to thunder and I saw lightening…now- lightning and thunder… that is some serious motivation!!  I could hardly move at that point because my clothes and legs were soooo heavy…and I was slamming into a wall…but I made it back to my car; and then off to Coach Val’s for breakfast and TNT camaraderie, and marathon shuffle jokes J
The consistency with which my body handles these miles is amazing.  And I am very glad that it is as predictable as it is.  It helps me to know just how that day will go if I prepare, and keep consistent in my fueling process.  I look back at where I was in February at our first training…I was miserable with just three miles…but dude!  I just did 12…TWELVE and was excited about it!
Marathon training has warped my mind…but I love it.  And I think I may have talked Jeff into doing a Du with me!! Hehehehehehehehehheeeee J

Monday, May 23, 2011 | | 0 Comments  

Motivation Monday

So last week was the kickoff for the fall season of TNT.  Good turnout and I recognized a few of the mentors- so I foresee an awesome season ahead. J

Saturday…3 miles running in the rain. Boo.  I am just not a fan of the rain while running.  It’s very detrimental to my mood.  It makes me cranky.  I set out Saturday morning, to run 3 miles.  With a migraine. Woo.  At about a mile in I started to get nauseous every time I started to run, so I ended up walking a large portion of the route.  I have never wanted to quit as badly as I did that morning.  I was in pain and out of breath… sick and alone.  But I was far from my car, and therefore left with no choice other than to continue the route just to get back to my car.  I was a little miffed that I didn’t see my coach at all on the route.  This is my first go-round at “running” and I am positive that I need tips and pointers.
After the training I headed over to the Fundraiser that me and my team from work have been planning for weeks!  Zumba®!  We had a great turnout, and raised about $800!  It was awesome to see everyone dancing up a storm and enjoying themselves.  I will post some pics here soon.
Three weeks until my first half marathon.  And I am really starting to get nervous.  I don’t doubt my ability to finish…just the event itself…I have never done anything like this before, so I have tons of questions and I don’t know what to expect.  But I know it’s gonna be great!
And then once the Minneapolis half marathon is finished…training can really begin for the Nike Women’s half marathon in October.  I also want to do the Minneapolis Duathlon at the end of August.  A bunch of my friends are doing it, so I suppose now I have to.  But I need a bike first. J

Monday, May 16, 2011 | | 0 Comments  

Wildcard Wednesday!

Running terminology…
Since I am a newbie, I don’t know a lot of the jargon and terms that all of the elite and veteran runners use.  But I found a great link on the Runner’s World site for terms for newbies.  It’s a bit long… but I learned a lot, and now I feel less like a doorknob when I read other blogs and see a new term and think “EHH?”
General Running Terms

10% Rule is a general guideline that says don't increase your weekly mileage by more than about 10% each week. An alternate rule is Daniels' rule not to increase more than the number of workouts you do per week; i.e. if you run five times per week, and then you can increase by five miles a week.
Anchor Leg means the last leg in a relay. More commonly used in track.
Bandit is someone who runs in a race who hasn't registered. This is frowned upon.
Base is how many miles you are running; for example if you run 30 miles per week, that is your base. This is somewhat simplified, but gives you the general idea.
Bib is what you call your race number. In running, it goes on the front of your shirt or shorts.
Bonk means to run out of energy, to "hit the wall" ... It's not fun.

Boston Qualify (aka BQ): To meet the standard to urn in the Boston Marathon. The Boston Qualifying Standards from the Boston Athletic Association. Sometimes used as a verb -- "I BQed at Chicago."

Carb Loading basically this just means trying to maximize the storage of glycogen (a form of energy) in one's muscles before a race.
Chip refers to a little thing you tie on your shoe that measures finishing time when you cross a mat in a race.

Chip Time In chip-timed races, time elapsed between the moments a runner crosses the start and finish lines. For elites who line up right at the start, chip time equals gun time. For everybody else, chip time is usually better than gun time, because it takes some time to reach the start line for runners who are lined up at the back.

Chronograph is a fancy name for a runner's watch. The stop watch mode where you time your runs is known as the Chronograph mode.
Chute typically found at the finish line of a race -- usually a roped off area where the officials collect the tear off part of a bib or order the runners as they finish.
Clydesdale a larger runner, usually a person who meets a certain weight requirement. Used as a division in some races. Sometimes the female Clydesdales are called fillies; this is also sometimes called the Athena division.
Corrals In large races, participants are often divided into starting corrals based on their past performance or expected finishing time. The goal is to ensure that slower runners do not get in the way of faster ones.

Couch to 5k is a beginners running plan.

Cross country is usually a fall sport at the high school and college levels; it is a running event in which runners must run a course consisting of varying terrain. In team events, the first five runners to cross the finish line score for their team. The team with the low score wins. 1 point is awarded to first, 2 points to second, 3 to third and so on. A perfect score in a Cross Country meet is 15 points.

Cross training is another aerobic exercise such as swimming, cycling, cross country skiing used to complement running or when you are injured and can't run.
Cruise intervals. Like tempo runs, these runs are designed to help you learn to deal with the accumulation of lactate; they are sometimes called lactate threshold runs. Don't worry too much about what that means right now. Cruise intervals are usually 3 to 15 minutes in length, with 1 minute or so of recovery for each five minutes of run time.
Cut down the opposite of a ladder or an interval workout of decreasing interval lengths, such as 800-600-400-200 meters.

Doubles refers to doing two runs in the same day. Singles would be doing just one run. So if someone says "I did 50 miles this week, all singles" they are saying "I ran 50 miles this week, all once-a-day runs."

Draft to run behind someone, so as to let them break the wind resistance.
Elite refers to those really super fast folks who usually don't have to pay for shoes because they get them sponsored.
Expo is often held before larger races like marathons, where runners pick up race packets and get race/running related gear and goodies.

False start means to jump the gun. Much more commonly used in track and field than road racing.

Fartlek is a fun word that you can say and make non-runners snicker. It simply is an informal way of doing speed work. It's a Swedish word meaning "speed play." In a fartlek, you would run hard to say the next telephone pole, and then slow down, and then run hard again to the next object. It's just basically bursts of speed in the middle of a workout. It can be easy or hard. There's no set distance or speed, it's very loose and informal. Fartleks are good for a beginning runner who wants to dabble in speedwork.

Fuel Belt a type of belt you wear around your waist that has holders for bottles to carry fuel or fluids. Other types include Amphipod (a brand) and Camelbaks (which are like back packs that you carry water in0.

Gallowalking refers to walking at certain fixed intervals, such as one minute in ten, during long runs. The phrase is named for Jeff Galloway. Also called a run-walk.

Ghost Runner is the guy (imagined or not as the case may be) that is on your heels about to pass you, used for motivation to keep up the pace.

GU is a type of energy gel. It's a brand name, but it's used as a generic for gels. Gels are a semi-liquid sugary snack used for a quick energy burst. Sports beans are a jelly bean product related to GU. Cliff Blocks are another similar product. Hammer Gel is another product. Etc.
Gun Time the time elapsed between the official start of the race, and the moment a runner crosses the finish line. Race start used to be signaled by a starting gun, hence the name. Today it's mostly air horn.

Hardware refers to winning some sort of an award at a race. "I brought home hardware" means "I won an award."

Hashers or Hash House harriers are self proclaimed "drinkers with a running problem."
Hill repeats these typically are runs up a hill to build strength. I personally hate hill repeats, so I prefer to run hilly courses instead.

Ice Bath is what it sounds like, taking a bath in ice to help prevent next day soreness.
Intervals (sometimes called "repeats") usually refer to track work, though you can do them elsewhere. Usually intervals consist of a set distance (say 400 meters, 800 meters, a mile) that you run at a set, usually fast pace. Between the intervals, you would recover by either jogging slowly or walking. People often do them on the track because the track is obviously measured. An example of an interval workout might be 4x800. This means you are going to run four sets of 800 meters (or about a half mile) at a certain pace. Between those faster runs, you will walk or jog to recover. Often an interval workout will give you the pace you're supposed to run and the time you should take to rest. Usually rest time is roughly equivalent to how much time it takes you to run the distance. So in our 4x800 example, if you were doing the 800s in 4:00 minutes (8:00 mpm pace), you would take about 4:00 rest. Intervals build your pace and speed.

Jog is basically running at a slower pace, often to recover between intervals. Jogging is subjective rather than objective. One person's jog can be another person's run.
Junk miles are runs at an easy pace done in order to reach a weekly or monthly mileage total rather than for any specific benefit. A lot of people say no miles are junk, though!
Kick is usually used as in "finishing kick" -- simply means running harder at the finish line, the last final sprint.

Kilometer is about .62 of a mile. 5K = 3.11 miles. 8K = 4.97 miles. 10k = 6.22 miles. Etc.

Ladder which means an interval workout of increasing interval lengths, such as 200-400-600-800 meters.

Laps and Splits are your times in a race or workout at several measured intervals. Laps would be this for example; a 36:00 minute 4-mile run might have mile splits of 9:00, 8:50, 9:10, 9:00. Splits technically refer to cumulative times, e.g. if you are running 8:00 min/miles, your split times will be 8:00 @ Mile 1, 16:00 at Mile 2 and so on. Negative splits refers to running the second half of the race faster than the first. The opposite is a positive split where you run the first half faster. Even splits would be running essentially the same time for both halves of the race.
Long Runs are typically 25-30% of your weekly mileage or so and are usually done once a week. These are usually done at a comfortable, fairly easy pace. We often refer to them here as LSD -- long, slow distance. An appropriate long run distance is determined by your goals. A long run might be anywhere from 5 miles to 25 or more (for an ultramarathoner).

Master is an athlete 40 years of age or older.

Out and back means a course you run out a certain distance, then turn around and run back. A loop is simply that -- you start in one spot and run in a big circle.
Pack runners who run in close proximity to one another.

Personal Record or Personal Best means you ran your best time at the distance. Can be used as a verb "I PRed this weekend at the local 5K."

Point to Point means you start at one point and run to the next. So a point-to-point 5K would start at one location and finish at another location 3.11 miles away.

Pyramid is a combination of a ladder and a cut down, such as 200-400-600-800-600-400-200 meters
Rabbit is someone who goes out with the intention of setting a fast pace in a race, but then often drops out.

Recovery run is simply a run at an easy pace done for recovery purposes or just simply enjoyment. Most of a beginners runs should be easy runs.
Relay where one runner runs one leg or section of the course then passes off to another ... etc. In track, the relays commonly include the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800. The team is made up of four runners; each runs one leg of that distance. This is pronounced, by the way "four by 100" or "four by 800." These might also be called the 400 meter relay or 3200 meter relay.

Relay Meet usually refers to a track meet where the events are mainly relay events rather than individual events. When I ran track, we had some special relay events like the 4x1600, Sprint and Distance Medleys, etc.


Road Kill - You become road kill when during a race you are passed by a faster runner.

Runner is a person who RUNS. Please stop asking what is the difference between a runner or a jogger. If you're interested enough in the sport to come here, the chances are excellent that yes, you're a runner no matter how slow or fast you are or whether you ever enter a race or not.

Runner's High is a feeling of happiness and euphoria following running. Seems to be caused by endorphins. Not everyone experiences it.
Sandbag means to act like a slower runner or say things to mislead your opponent into thinking you're not competition.


Snot Rocket is a way to clear your sinuses when you're running; as in "I launched a snot rocket." Ask the board for technique suggestions. Also known as a farmer's blow.

Sprints are usually the races 400 meters and below in track and field. To sprint means to run as hard and as fast as you possibly can, usually for a relatively short distance.
Steeplechase a long distance track event that involves hurdling and a water jump.

Stick is the baton carried by relay runners in track and field.
Strides are short, controlled bursts of running of 50 to 150 meters designed to improve efficiency, work on form, etc. Often done at the end of a run.

Streak means you run at least one mile continuously for such and such number of days, weeks, months, or years in a row. These can get VERY long.
Sub is used often to say "sub-3" or "sub-20" or "sub-30" ... It simply means to run underneath that time. A "sub-3 marathon" means the runner ran the race in less than 3 hours, for example.

Surge to run faster in a race as a tactical matter, often to try and drop (lose) an opponent.
Tangents Refers to shortest possible distance along a curved race route, which includes the tangents of every turn. Official race distance is measured along the tangents. "Running the tangents" means staying as close to the optimal route as possible in order to improve race performance.
Taper is where a runner cuts back mileage before a big race like a marathon or even a shorter race. Tapering runners often get cranky and/or sort of paranoid since they aren't running as much leading to jokes about taper madness.

Tempo run is a run at around your 10K race pace (or about 80-85% of your heart rate or so). Traditionally tempo runs were 20 minutes or so in length, but they vary. It's often described as being "comfortably hard" -- it's a challenging, but manageable pace. You want to finish a tempo feeling challenged, but not exhausted. Most tempo runs consist of ten to fifteen minutes of easy running, then the tempo part, then ten to fifteen minutes to cool down. Tempo runs build speed and teach your body to run at a certain pace.


Triathlon combines swimming, biking, and running, usually in that order. There are various distances.
Ultramarathoner is simply any race that's longer than the marathon. All marathons are 26.2 miles. Common distances can include 50K, 50 miles, 100 miles, or even longer than that.
Wall a sudden bonk, often occurring around mile 20 of the marathon.

Waves Refers to staggered start when different corrals depart at different times to accommodate all participants within limited confines of a race course.

Warm Up is a period of slower running prior to faster running. Cool down is slower running at the end of faster running. This is also sometimes called a warm down.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011 | | 0 Comments  

Motivation Monday

What a weekend!
I had my first double digit weekend…14 miles in total.  Saturday was our first 10 mile training session…in the pouring rain.  I mean torrential downpour…I was soaked from head to toe within about 15 minutes.  It was no fun.  But- it felt so good to say that I had accomplished that.

Two of my TNT teammates lost their daughter to leukemia, and have set a goal to raise 1 million dollars in their lifetime for LLS.  They announced on Saturday that they are at just over $140,000!  That is amazing!  They hosted a pancake breakfast after the run/walk training.  Huge spread of food…and booze J


Then on Sunday I walked in the March of Dimes March for Babies.  4 miles in the freezing cold on May 1st.  I honestly did not think it was very well organized- the director sent out wrong directions to the participants, and I hate driving aimlessly around Minneapolis without knowing where I am going.  So I walked 4 miles just me and my ipod, and then when I got to the finish line my team had all left.  So I ate a cold hot dog and went home.  Yeah- won’t do that again.
 Suffice it to say that this was not a great weekend for outdoor training.  But I made it through, completed my training and the M4B walk…and today is a rest day. J  yay.
Last week I broke through a major wall on a training session mid week- I actually ran!  I was on my own, and was able to pick up my pace- to about a 17 minute mile…which is very fast for me.  And it felt amazing to run.  So- I am all in for an encore of that this Wednesday- and I can’t wait.  I just hope that I am not still this sore on Wednesday…
I needed a little pick me up last week, so I watched the video for the 2010 Minneapolis Marathon…and got super pumped…and at the end of the video the race director mentioned the Minneapolis Duathlon…waaaa?  So I checked that out…and I am ALL over it!  It’s the end of August…just 6 weeks before Nike- and I want in.  So- now I know for a fact that I am insane- 3 events in 5 months. Yep- totally nuts.
Well, not nuts- I just want to see how far I can go…how far can I push myself.  I want to see the edge of what I thought was possible for my body and mind…and go farther.  I have already amazed myself- I have not quit and this training has been hard, it’s been one of the most brutal winters here in MN and we have trained outside twice a week- every week since February…I don’t have a choice…I am a marathoner now!!

Monday, May 02, 2011 | | 0 Comments  

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