running: the dawn

My parents own a treadmill.  Most of the time it stays folded up in the corner of the room and is usually covered in coats, hats, or other items that were too much of a nuisance to put away properly.  His reasoning is: “Well, I get on and get going.  But then I look over and see the couch.  And I end up choosing the couch.  It wins every time.”  He’s explained this to me several times.  I laugh every time.

Yesterday the couch almost won.  After a long day in my stats meetings (where I had to wear my glasses-ugh) the last thing I wanted to do was hop on a treadmill and go 9 miles.  For some reason, all my usual tricks just weren’t working.  I put a towel over the time/distance counter.  I put in a Friends dvd.  I put the fan right in front of me.  I decided to break up the run into 3 sets of 3 miles each.  But no matter what I did my head never got in the game.  I never found my zone, I never hit my stride.  I had to think about each step and I heard each gasping breath.  It was miserable.  I got it done, sure, but wow it took way more mental energy than is usually necessary.

The good news was that I was able to wear my contacts for my run!  All day long I was dreading trying to run with my glasses on.  The idea of sweating with something on my nose and touching my ears made me want to cry.  I’ve been wearing contacts since 8th grade.  I never wear my glasses except for right before I go to bed.  So my body assumes that when I’m wearing glasses it’s time for rest.  I also don’t like that my glasses make me feel like I’m separated from the rest of the world.  It’s like I’m perpetually looking through a window.  Leaving me on the inside and everything else “outside”.  It’s sad.  So the one redeeming quality was that I was able to wear my contacts with no discomfort!  That means both that the inflammation has gone down and the new solution is not causing an allergic reaction.  Yay and Yay!

Ok, so I’ve been skirting around the issue of nutrition lately.  Dropping little hints that I’m interested in improving my diet.  It’s time for me to fess up.  Honesty, I’m a little embarrassed.  Maybe a lot embarrassed.  I tend to shy away from people who are overboard healthy.  I guess I assume that they are judge-y or controlling and will look down on me because of my junk-food ways.  Now here I am, shopping in the organic/raw aisles making shopping lists of things I can’t pronounce.  Its weird.  I feel like I don’t belong.

Let me back up a second.  I started by reading a book called The China Study. It was a really interesting book that contained a LOT of medical information (most of which I didn’t understand) and talked about animal-based protein vs. plant-based protein.  Through reading this and discussions with Mr. Dawn we are on the brink of going vegan.  I have to admit, he is much closer to currently living dairy-free than I am.  I love me some cheese!  Oh, and ice cream.  And I must give a shout out to sour cream.  Those are probably the top three things I will miss.

I say “will” because instead of just going cold-turkey with our non-dairy non-egg lifestyle, we have been doing a countdown.  We will not both be home for good until mid-August.  It is too crazy hard for either of us to be too dramatic in our eating patterns while on the road or staying with friends and family.

As a part of the countdown, I wanted to do some additional reading specifically about vegan sports nutrition.  Enter Brendan Brazier. He has written a book called Thrive.  Initially I thought it would be more about making suggestions and replacements for how to still get all the nutrients that you need when you are no longer eating animal products.  Instead it is an entire philosophy of sports nutrition complete with shopping lists, recipes, and a 12-week meal plan.  And, he doesn’t just leave it at meat free and dairy free.  He builds his diet on nutrient-dense, plant-based, and as non processed as possible.  He talks about and elevates the importance of foods I’ve never heard of like Amaranth and Dulse flakes.

My experience reading Thrive was very similar to reading Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger.  I’m almost completely sold on the ideas that he talks about but I’m very hesitant to implement them into my life.  However, I ended up LOVING having the training plan for each week.  I knew what I needed to get done and loved being able to just go an do it.  I’m hoping that I will have the same experience with this book.  I plan on roughly following his 12-week plan.  I may not do it exactly like he lays it out, but honestly, the idea of having someone else decide what I make for dinner is somewhat exciting to me.

I may occasionally share from my journey to improving my nutritional intake.  Now you know the background information when that happens

Oh. My. Wow.

I blame statistics.  Really.

I spent all day yesterday in my how to teach statistics workshop.  If I am going to be completely honest, I don’t like statistics.  Yes, I know that it’s math, so I yes I’m supposed to like it.  There’s something very foreign about the language that statisticians use.  I sat in class all day yesterday thinking about how lost I was and how I’m sure that its the exact same emotional response that my calculus students feel.  So, as an exercise in empathy, I tried to find value in the experience.  Outside of that, there was very little redemptive qualities in the class.

The real fun came after class.  Lincoln is one of my favorite towns in America.  It truly is a jewel.  Most people dismiss it, and honestly, I’m ok with that because then it can stay relatively small.  I love that it’s a small town, but it feels like it’s big.  There are tons of diverse ethnic restaurants (and we’ve discussed how my favorite part of traveling is eating good food).  I love bike paths and/or trails.  Lincoln has them in abundance!  True, it’s crazy hot, which has me scared to run outside, but it’s nice to know that I could if I wanted to .

I was able to go to yummy Thai food with some great friends!  Then we hung out and caught up on life before the thing in my eye started taking over my life.

What thing?  I hear you ask…

I have no idea.  All I know is that my eye started tingling and itching a little bit.  For a contact-wearer, this is not really all that alarming.  I’m used to having things touching my eye.  I’m pretty strong about it.  Not this time.  My eye went entirely red and started gushing water.  It was slightly alarming.  But I figured it had something to do with my contacts and once I got back and could take them out, everything would be fine.

Nope.

I woke up this morning and wow-ow!  I tried to go to Jazzercise, but half way through class I had to stop.  I felt like crying and screaming out.  On the drive home I decided that I needed to get this situation looked at by a professional.  To the doctor I went.  I was a little embarrassed.  I actually got to the doctor’s office before they opened and as soon as the sweet receptionist unlocked the doors I was at her desk, water dripping from my eye.  It actually hurt bad enough that some of it was actual crying tears.  I must have looked pretty awful because she made sure that I got rushed right back to see the doctor.  I felt a little bad for the nurse that called my name…by that time I was noticeably crying and had a hard time saying my name and answering questions like “how long has this been going on?”  She decided to put some drops in my eye.  Describing them at asprin for the eye.  I’ll tell you what.  That stuff was amazing!  It was like “Pain-be-gone”.  Instantly I felt amazing and a little silly that I’d been crying so much.

Apparently this was not a miracle cure.  In fact she quickly got the doctor in so that he could examine me before the effects wore off and I curled back into the fetal position.  I wish I could remember more what he said exactly.  I was so deliriously happy that my eye felt so great that I wasn’t really listening.  He did say something about the outer layer of my cornea having some spots of irritation that could either be from an allergy to my contact solution or a virus.  Either way, it would be treated with drops over the next few days.

Awesome.  The pain returned.  I sat through another day of trying to understand a foreign language.  Luckily, now I get to get up and go to the bathroom every 2 hours to put horribly painful drops in my eyes.  Lovely.

Honestly, I think my body is just rejecting the new knowledge (i.e. statistics) and now is flushing it out.

This week’s theme was urgency.  For some reason I felt somewhat desperate to get my miles in.  Partially because I was back at home and didn’t have a treadmill as an option.  So as the temperatures rose and humidity boiled I became worried that I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in.  The other side of it was that I knew I would be leaving again yesterday and I still had a 9-miler to do.  It’s so hard to predict running whilst on the road.  I was heading to Andi’s house, and we usually do a great job of getting out and running when we get together.  However, the forecast included a heat advisory.

We decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a free pass to a local gym she had been given.  The awesome part?  We walked into the gym, apparently through the back door, and there was no one there to greet us.   The front desk was unoccupied.  After waiting for a few minutes, we decided to just hop on the treadmills.  Eventually the owner showed up and we went over to sign the legal forms.  THEN, after I had finished my seven and a half miles Andi learns that the gym closes in 13 minutes!  Oh man.  I had to crank it into high gear in order to get to mile 9 before they locked the doors.  It was close, but I made it.

Here’s the week in mileage:
Sunday–11; with 4 at marathon pace
Monday–none; I was driving and battling the hurricane that took over the great plains
Tuesday–6 general miles & Jazzercise
Wednesday–8 general miles & Jazzercise
Thursday–6 horrifying hot miles
Friday–9 general miles & impromptu speedwork

Total Miles: 40!  Hurray.  I’m finally back in the 40′s.  Let marathon training commence.

Another reason I’ve been stressed out and over-thinking my running schedule is that I will be attending a conference starting on Monday.  Which means that I get to spend anther 10 hours in my car tomorrow.  So, I have 12 miles to run sometime, and I’m not sure how that’s going to work.  Then once the conference starts, I didn’t know how I was going to get my miles in because there’s another heat advisory!  I’ve been trying to find a gym there that will let me have a week-long pass, but came up with nothing.

THEN–I emailed my friend that I’m staying with asking if there were any other options that I’d over looked.  Turns out there’s a treadmill IN the room where I will be sleeping!  Now, others might not be as excited about this, but I am ELATED.  I won’t be wandering the streets or passing out due to heat stroke in an unknown land.

I’m realizing all over again that I am a cold-weather girl.  Last winter I had no problem rolling out of bed at 5am to go running in 16 degree weather (well, maybe not exactly no problem).  But now, with the heat and such I am a complete wimp.  While I’m running outside, I feel my body temperature rising, and it causes me to panic a little bit.  Not good.  I will be glad when the days start to shorten and the heat subsides.

I woke up feeling: regret.
After turning off my alarm, I slept in too long to get my 9 miles done early.

I spent the morning feeling: joy.
Blueberry picking with a good friend and her giddy 2-year-old boy.

I spent the afternoon feeling: shame.
My mid-day run ended after 2 miles due to overwhelming heat and humidity.

I spent dinner time feeling: comfort.
A meal with a compassionate friend and cake.

I spent the evening feeling: redemption.
Another 4 mile run checks off tomorrow’s 6 miles.

I go to bed feeling: hopeful.
Tomorrow is a new day.  A new chance to change my attitude and reclaim control of my emotions.

I was on the road all day today.  Driving through much of the Great Plains in a perpetual rainstorm.  With lightning.  And walls of water.  I seriously was gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles where white and sweat was pouring down my forehead.  I was sooooo stressed out.  A 8 hour trip ended up taking over 11 hours!

As if that weren’t enough of an adventure for me I ended up losing my gas cap at a gas station.  With the wind and rain whipping around me, I was trying to keep relatively dry, so after I started filling the tank, I jumped in my car to wait.  Once I heard the pump click off I hoped out, quickly returned the thing to its holster (I have no idea what the names of these things actually are…), grabbed the receipt and immediately sought out the safety of the car.  It wasn’t until a few hours later, when the rain had slowed to just a steady down pour (as opposed to a torrential one), I pulled over at a rest stop and noticed that the gas door-thingy was still ajar.  Then it hit me: I never put the cap back on!!!  Silly girl!

I had a mild moment of panic imagining that gas had been pouring out down the highway and that rainwater was flooding the engine and I had just broken the “nicer” of our two cars.  I started texting the Mr. confessing all my sins and asking what I should do.  Too bad he was at work and I knew that he wouldn’t be able to answer me for a couple hours, so I needed to figure out what to do on my own (which I’m horrible at!).  THEN, it hit me–that’s why he bought me a GPS!  I searched along my current route (one of my favorite features) for an auto parts store.  There was one 20 miles ahead, I called them, they had the part I needed.  And done!  An $8 fix.

Mr Dawn called shortly after I got off the phone with Napa and calmed me down.  He explained that all of the horrible things I was imagining weren’t happening.  He did a great job of calming me down and talking me through it.  He’s amazing

Ah, home again!  For at least the next 5 days…such is life…

One more week until I start my 12 week program in preparation for the Grand Rapids Marathon.  I must say, I’m excited to sink my teeth into the meat of my training.  However I am NOT excited about the rising temperatures and humidity that I will have to deal with on my ensuing long runs…I guess it’s like dealing with the low temps of winter time, right?

Once again I forgot to update my training last week, so I’ll include the last two weeks.  Hopefully I’ll get better about doing this weekly so I don’t have to keep going back in time.

Week of July4-10
Sunday–8 general miles
Monday–Jazzercise
Tuesday–5 recovery miles & Jazzercise
Wednesday–5 general miles & Jazzercise
Thursday–7 general miles w/8×100 meter strides (sprints) & Jazzercise
Friday–5 recovery miles

Total Mileage: 30

Week of July11-17
Sunday–9 miles on vacation
Monday–2 sessions of Jazzercise, one regular format and one body-sculpting which is just strength training.  LOVED IT!
Tuesday–5 recovery miles & Jazzercise
Wednesday–7 general miles & Jazzercise
Thursday–8 general miles w/8×100 meter strides & 2 doses of Jazzercise
Friday–5 recovery miles & Jazzercise

Total Mileage: 34

I’m finally working my mileage back up to where it was pre-San Diego!  It feels awesome!  I feel super confident about the way that I’ve taken the necessary time to fully rest and recover from my last marathon and now I’m slowing building my base back up before I enter into full-blown marathon training.  Granted, this is my first year running more than one marathon and it’s the first time I’ve ever continued a structured running regimen after completing a marathon.  In the past, once my goal of finishing the marathon was complete, I would pretty much stop running all together.  Not this time!  I want to be fresh and ready to diving into some serious training.  That’s part of the reason why I have been running so many slower “recovery” miles lately.  I want to reintroduce the mileage before I add on the stress of speed and tempo workouts.  That way during my first two weeks of the training cycle I can back off slightly on the mileage and ramp up the intensity.

My goal in all of this (including the Jazzercise and weight training) is to be injury-free throughout this training.  I know that I need every workout in order to improve my speed and endurance.  Which means being diligent about everything that I do.  I’ve also started to learn more about the important role that nutrition plays in the life of an endurance athlete (I must admit it feel silly to refer to myself as an athlete…I just feel like I’m a crazy person who likes to run long distances).  I’m getting pretty excited to end my summer of traveling (I’ve only been home for 2 weeks since the end of May) so that I can really get intentional about fueling my body for optimal performance.  I have a couple books that I’ve been reading and I’m starting to formulate hypothesis that I want to test out.

At the same time that I’m feeling the desire to be home and return to a more structured life, I am horrified at how quickly the summer is slipping away.  It always seems that this time of the year (mid-July) I become terrified of the start of a new school year.  I don’t know why.  I just hate the beginning.  I hate meeting my new students, feeling awkward, getting everyone used to how things are done in my classroom.  I prefer to be a month or so into things so that everyone knows what to expect and what my expectations are.  Ugh.  So much work!  I always get through it though.  And it’s never as traumatic as my imagination would have be believe.  So there’s that.

How do you feel about the summer coming to an end?

Holla!  I was able to get my run in on Sunday before the craziness ensued.  I am very proud/thankful that I was able to carve out the time and follow through.  9 miles @ 8:57 per mile.  I could not have done it alone….

I owe this small victory to:

Google Maps: Have you ever tried the “bicycle” feature on google maps?  It has become my favorite this summer.  I’ve been traveling a lot this summer and every time I’m in a new place I can just go online, punch in my address (wherever it is for that day/week) and check the “bicycle” box under the “more” drop down menu.  At first I wasn’t sure how to interpret all the different green lines that then appeared on my map but with a little practice I’ve figured them out.  Dark Green represents bike-only paths, Light Green is for bike lanes, dashed lines mean that they are bike-friendly roads, but without actual lanes for bikes.  I was able to find a bike path 1.5 miles from the hotel where we were staying.  I had no trouble at all getting there parking and getting to enjoy a new route.

Econo Lodge: We were supposed to check out at 11am.  I knew with the weekend being crazy and busy I would have to get up mighty early to get the run in and then have to time get wedding appropriate.  I stopped by the front desk and asked about a late check-out and they were so accommodating!  It was great to not be stressed out about the time while I was out on my run.  I could just focus on running strong and hitting my goal pace.  Also, it was nice to be able to stick around til noon since the wedding wasn’t until 2pm.  That way we didn’t have to wander the streets in our finery.

And my new favorite…

Eye Pillow: So, for a few weeks/months I’ve been dreaming of getting myself an eye pillow.  Ever since my last massage when the guy put it over my eyes while he worked on my shoulders and arms.  It was like heaven.  Something about the weight on my eyelids was so relaxing.  I finally found what I was looking for at Ulta.  It is subtly scented with lavender and chamomile and has a silk case.  The one flaw is that there is not a strap that secured it in place so you have to be lying on your back to enjoy it.  I knew that Mr. Dawn was going to be out late Saturday night with the rest of the groomsmen and groom, but I needed to make sure I was rested enough to get up early.  I just left one of the lights on, threw on the eye pillow, and fell right to sleep.  It was amazing!  I do think that I’m going to try to fashion some kind of velcro strap to it though….

I haven’t yet got into the habit of posting my training stats for this cycle yet.  I’m recording them on my awesome training chart, Sir Cap’n Pete part II, but I haven’t been logging them on here.  So, here’s what I’ve been doing the past three weeks…

Week of June 20-26
Sunday–4 recovery miles with Andi
Monday–Jazzercise
Tuesday–Jazzercise
Wednesday–Jazzercise
Thursday–4 general miles & Jazzercise
Friday–5 general miles & Jazzercise

Total Miles: 13

So can you tell that I missed exercising for those two weeks?  It felt so amazing to be back in class lifting weights and dancing!  The running was alright, but it’s been so hot that it was always a lot harder than it needed to be.  But we’re all in that same boat together this summer…

Week of June 27-July 3
Sunday–nothing; this was my day of procrastination…
Monday–6 general miles & Jazzercise
Tuesday–5 recovery miles & Jazzercise
Wednesday–Jazzercise
Thursday–5 recovery miles & Jazzercise
Friday–6 general miles & Jazzercise

Total Miles: 22

It was so fabulous to have two weeks where I was able to get in 5 Jazzercise classes.  I love that there’s so much leg and core work!  I’ve been reading a lot about injury prevention and there’s a ton of suggestions out there for strengthening your hip muscles since most leg injuries originate in the hip.  All the exercised on active.com or runnersworld.com are different version of stuff that I already do in class!  I love it!

Ok, so I’m all caught up except for this week.  I have one more run scheduled for tomorrow, so I don’t want to post it yet cause who knows what will happen…because….

We’re hitting the road again! This time it’s for a friend’s wedding where Mr. Dawn is the best man.  Gonna be a fabulous weekend filled with friends and family.  Just gotta squeeze in a couple runs.  We’ll see how it goes.

See ya on the flip!

A couple posts ago I shared all the doubts that I’m struggling with so, I thought that I’d go to the other end of the spectrum and share with you all the reasons why I’m feeling confident and capable.

First: I’m not starting at zero. I’ve been reading a lot about running lately, so I’m not exactly sure where this idea entered my brain, but somewhere along the line I “read somewhere” that every step in a marathon is a culmination of all the years of running and training that you’ve gone through.  I’ve spent the last 5 years running and improving my fitness.  This past spring I was able to do something that at one time felt impossible, a sub-4 marathon.  Now I carry with me not just the improved athleticism, but the positivity and momentum of setting and achieving goals.

Second: I feel more and more comfortable with my training. I am now a friend of the track and I’m starting to think about adding some hills into my workouts.  I love hitting my goal paces and really pushing it on the hard days.  I’ve learned the value of the slower recovery miles and let’s not forget the glorious days of rest.  High mileage weeks no longer seem impossible and scary, instead I feel hard core when my weekly numbers top out over 50.

Third (and MOST important): I have the most amazing support staff!!!! Mr. Dawn is going to be there.  This will be my first FULL marathon that he’ll be at and I know that having him on the course is going to make a huge difference.  He doesn’t know it but seeing him while I’m running lifts my spirits more than almost anything.  Oh, but wait, there’s more!  Already my mom and dad have committed to coming to Grand Rapids for the race.  My mom-in-law is planning her trip out.  And if I understand correctly I think she’s planning on making t-shirts.  Then I know several bloggers who are running either the half or the full and it’s going to be great to have familiar faces out there on the course.

That would do it huh?  All those amazing people supporting me and giving me energy throughout the race.  It’s more than a girl could ask for!  Oh, but wait.  There MORE!

I’ve mentioned my running BFF Andi, right?  Well this past week she sent me this email:

“so i have some news for you, this sunday i start training….for what you might ask??? for GRAND RAPIDS MARATHON!!! hehe, now u r probably thinking, “andi you are a crazy women (and let’s be honest, a little out of shape)” but i have put a lot of thought into this. i realized that this may be one of the biggest marathons of your life, and so it’s super important for me to be there for you. i also know that i have no time in my schedule to train well (at least not once my easy months are over and i am on wards) and so if i were to run the whole thing i would never be able to keep up with you and i don’t want to do anything to jeopardize ur boston hopes. i realized that just having me out there behind you would be useless. so, i am not gonna run the race, but i am training to 1) be the best dang cheerleader you have ever had, because i am a pretty good one 2) to run with you at pace for parts of the race when you need some support – that’s why i need to train, if you hit the wall at mile 20, i want to be there to run the last 6 miles with you on pace if need be. i wish that i could commit to shooting for boston with you, but that’s really not a possibility, so the best i can do right now is to commit to supporting you.”

Can I tell you how much I started crying while I was reading this?  Andi and I ran our first marathon together and since then have shared many of life’s up and downs.  I love her like a sister.  She just graduated from medical school (yes, she’s pretty much a genius) and she’s in her intern year, so I was barely hopeful that she’d be able to come.  Now, there are still a few unknowns about her schedule, but just the fact that she is willing to partner with me in this journey blows my mind.  I will train better knowing that she believes in me.  I will run stronger knowing that she is cheering.  I won’t be afraid of fading because I know she will be there to help me through.

Thank you Andi!  You give me hope