running: the dawn

Blog Update:

If you are reading this in Google Reader, you might be missing the newest addition to my blog.  I was always under the impression that since I use WordPress, I couldn’t integrate Google Friend Connect.  After some exploration I happily discovered that I was mistaken!  So, now, you can “Follow” by clicking on the button to the right.  Super fun.

I’m hoping that for Christmas this year Santa will bring me a new redesigned blog.  I have some ideas about what I want to do visually with this space.  Now I just need to find an artist that would love a little side project.  Any suggestions?

Running Update:

After having mapped out a plan to stay injury-free during the upcoming training cycle, including running at slower paces and slowly rebuilding my mileage…I’m suffering from new pain.  I went on a nice, slow, four mile run yesterday and by the end I couldn’t believe how tight the back of my left knee was.  Like tension you could cut with a butter knife.  Tension I wanted to cut with a butter knife.  I felt like I had to keep my knee slightly bent at all times.  I iced it as soon as I got home.  Then I did the Insanity “Recovery” dvd which is a lot of stretching and some strength work.  That helped a lot, but eeesh.

The weird thing was that it’s not a joint pain.  It’s not the IT band.  It’s unlike anything I’ve felt before.  I’m hoping that its just a muscle cramp from all the Insanity that I’ve been doing.  All that jumping around really does lead to tight hamstrings and calves.

Other News:

Our church is starting a running club!  I’m very excited about it.  I have a hard time finding running/training partners that are interested in persevering through the snowy months.  Technically the club isn’t starting until January 9, but it sounds like the person organizing it might be training for Boston too…such a huge blessing!

notice the totally free part? hurray! no need to dip into my running allowance

Speaking of blessings, I found out today that I’m going to get a little extra monetary compensation for the additional work that I’ve been doing this week!  So a few extra coins to put in the Boston Fund.  Sweet!

I hate grocery shopping.  From the list that I never make (or forget to bring) to the shopping cart traffic jam and the long check out lines.  Then I get home and realize that I’ve forgotten at least half of what I needed to make the recipe that prompted the trip in the first place.  I never plan the trip well and end up circling the aisle haphazardly in search of quinoa, or spelt four, or some other obscure ingredient that is never listed on signs.  My heart rate increases just thinking about it.

Because of this disdain for the grocery-merry-go-round, I have developed the bad habit of rewarding myself for making the trip.  For a long time, this meant I was allowed to purchase a dark chocolate something at check-out to release those happy chemicals in my brain as soon as I set foot outside.  However, now that I’m not burning an exorbitant amount of calories while running I should probably cut back on the candy bars.

So the past couple times I’ve gone to the store I have bought an Alo drink in lieu of chocolate.  What is an Alo drink you ask?

yum

It is a slightly sweet aloe-infused drink.  The different flavors are called Exposed (just aloe), Awaken (aloe and wheatgrass), Allure (aloe, mangosteen, and mango), Enrich (aloe, pomegranate, and cranberry), and Appeal (aloe, grapfruit, and lemon).  Here are some of the claimed Health Benefits:

1. Aids Dental Health and Hygiene
2. Provides Rapid Soothing & Cooling
3. Aids in Healthy Digestion
4. Immune Support and Function
5. Regulates Weight and Energy Levels
6. Collagen and Elastin Repair
7. Packed full off minerals including calcium, sodium, iron, potassium, chromium, magnesium, manganese, copper, and zinc.
8. Packed full of Vitamins including B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E, Folic Acid and Niacin.
9. Anti-inflammatory Properties
10. Body-Building Blocks contains eight of the essential amino acids

Seriously.  I am in love with this drink.  And anything that can take the place of my Herseys Special Dark bar must be something special.  Now, be warned.  There are chunks of aloe actually floating in the drink.  This is my favorite part, but if you’re not used to chewing-whilst-drinking it may be a little strange.

I’ve tried several of the different flavors and the Awaken (with wheat grass) is my hands-down favorite.  Dee-Lish!

Finally.  I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of waking up early to exercise.  This does require going to bed early enough…and I’m pretty sure that’s been my problem recently.  However, with the time change I was drowsy at a perfect time last night, got a full 8 hours of sleep, and was still able to get my Insanity on before school!

This week I have a different schedule at work and its kinda throwing me off.  I mean, I have a little more down time than normal, but its just because my responsibilities have been spread out.  Basically for this week I have to get there early and stay later.  Its fine, just takes a little getting used to.

Lately Mr. Dawn has been sick.  Fever.  Chills.  Coughing.  If its not fun, he’s got it.  I feel so bad for him!  He has a big test this week and a huge research paper due next Tuesday, so he really doesn’t have time for all this non-sense.

In other news, I’m thinking about signing up for a Thanksgiving morning 5k.  We’re going to spend our Turkey day with Mr. Dawn’s family and I found a local running club that is hosting a 5k.  But get this: instead of giving awards to the fastest people, they give 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place to the people who most accurately guess their finish time.  So, before the race everyone writes down how long they think it will take them to run the 5k.  The rules strictly state that no one is allowed to wear timing devices (watches or garmins) during the race so that no one can cheat.  Sounds fun, right?  And it only costs $7.  What a fun thing to do Thanksgiving morning!

Anyone else running a Turkey Trot or other race this Thanksgiving?

First.

The NYC Marathon?  Epic.  Yes, I paid the $4.99 so that I could watch the live stream on my computer at 9:00am.  I am that big of a marathon junkie.  The first half of the race was such a let down, both the men’s and women’s races.  I mean with the elite squad that was gathered there the numbers should have been much lower at the half way point.  (Granted I am saying all this while lying on the couch, wrapped in blankets, sipping my morning tea.)  The second half is where everything started happening.  Hailey (the men’s world record holder) dropped out of the race, the lead women’s pack dwindled to 3–two of which were running their first marathon, the men finally started to throw in some surging, and the competition got exciting.  Both races were really won between mile 24 and 25, with the lead man and women crossing the finish line well ahead of their respective competitors, but that didn’t make it any less exciting.

It was so interesting that during the first half of the race the men’s elite field refused to pick up the pace.  They had the word’s best runner in their midst and they let him dictate the pace.  Ironically that meant that the winner came in well over Hailey’s 2:03:59 time.  I wonder if he’s wishing that he would have pushed a little harder a little sooner….

Lesson Learned: It doesn’t matter who else is running, you have to run your own race.

Second.

I have been noticing that a huge number of people from the running blogs that I read are currently injured.  Like two-thirds of them.  That seems like a huge percentage.  Its a good reminder to me that rest and recovery are just as important and the hard training and racing.  Since I have at least 5 or 6 weeks until I need to start training, I want to make sure that I follow a recovery plan.  I have enjoyed Pete Pfitzinger’s training plans for the last two marathons I’ve run and since I know I perform better when I have a written plan I think I’m going to follow his “5 week recovery” plan.  It has a reverse-taper where you slowly build back the mileage before entering any speed, tempo, or long runs into the mix.  I did this after San Diego this past June and I really think that it helped me fully recover and get through my 2nd training cycle injury free.

So…true confessions.  This recovery plan designates almost every run to be at “recovery” pace.  For me recovery pace needs to be a 10 minute mile, maybe a little faster, but no faster than 9:30.  I did 6 miles today and the average pace was 8:37.  Not in my recovery zone.  Sure, nothing felt bad today….but the more I read about over use injuries the more worried I am about being sidelined before Boston.  With that in mind, starting today, I am going to run my prescribed paces this month.  I will stick to them even when they feel slow.  I will stick to them even when I feel like I’m loosing fitness.  I will do it!!!  (Hopefully that’s enough positive thinking to get me through…)

Lesson Learned: Rest and Recovery lead to Growth.  Be patient.

Third, and Finally.

This lesson is pretty much a “Duh!” moment.  After the aforementioned 6 mile non-recovery run I ate dinner with Mr. Dawn and then did Insanity.  I wore those 6 miles like buckets of cement encasing my feet.  The set tonight includes “power jumps.”  If you are privileged enough to not know what they are let me enlighten you.  Power jumps start in a squat position, then you leap (ha!) into the air, pulling your knees up above your waist (ha!), slap your knees with your hands, and gracefully (ha!) land back in a squat.  Seriously.  I couldn’t coordinate this.  At. All.  It was comical, I assure you.

Lesson Learned: Running and Insanity are not good neighbors.  They should be allowed to reside on different sides of the day, preferably one in the morning and the other at night.

As a tribute to the best husband in the world, I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into who this mysterious Mr. Dawn really is…

He's a snowboarder (Honeymoon January 2008)

Water purification expert (Backpacking August 2010)

Explorer of the wild outdoors (Arizona December 2007)

Sure shot (July 2009)

Worship leader (Spring 2010)

Blonde, hiking, gangster? (Backpacking August 2009)

Music/technology junkie (our basement/bandroom/home gym)

Grower of facial bonsai (ever evolving)

The best marathon support staff in the world (here he's taking a picture of my garmin to post to facebook!)

Happy Birthday Baby!

Ugh.  What a week.  This week will be filed under the “barely survived” as opposed to the “lived to the fullest.”  Each and every day I felt like I was just getting by moment by moment.  I wasn’t able to look ahead.  I didn’t even have time to make a to do list let alone accomplish anything that would have been on it.  But it’s over and done with.

In the area of exercise and fitness I must say that I did not do accomplish what I wanted.  Especially with this being my first week back to running, I really wanted to log closer to 20 miles.  My actual total is embarrassingly shy of that goal.  But for better or worse, here’s what I was up to:

This week’s workouts:
Sunday: 4 miles & Insanity Fit Test
Monday: Insanity
Tuesday: Insanity
Wednesday: 4 miles & Insanity
Thursday: Insanity & Jazzercise
Friday: Insanity

Total Miles: 8

My goal for this coming week (and the next 5, really) is to get up in the morning to get the Insanity done with, leaving my evenings for running.  Hopefully with the time change, that will be more reasonable.  I need to start building my base back up.  And aside from the “need” I feel the pull to be running more.  I miss it!  In the three weeks since the marathon I’ve fallen off the running bandwagon and really feel like I’m not longer part of the club.  That makes my heart sad.

Today we got the first snow of the season!  I actually love winter.  And I love running in the winter.  Aside from how long it takes me to suit up for the elements, there’s something so peaceful about running around with the ground covered in a blanket of white.  I prefer running in snow than rain.  Granted, my winter running gear is still not complete.  I need a pair of running tights and a good jacket so I don’t have to wear 45 layers, but I have enough to get by and Christmas is coming, right?

Mr. Dawn’s birthday is tomorrow!!!!!   We started our celebration tonight with veggie fajitas and his requested Kit-kat birthday dessert (which was literally just a Kit-kat with candles in it!) in lieu of cake.  He has to work tomorrow night so we decided to celebrate a little early.

The news in the Dawn household?  Mr. Dawn is sick.  I know.  Life is just not the same.  Mainly because I feel like I’m living in a hallowed out garlic clove.  Why, one might ask?  Well….I made his mother’s magic “Flu Soup” for dinner tonight.  The ingredients of this soup:

• 2 Onions
• 6 Tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1 quart water
• Braggs liquid aminos

I rolled up my sleeves and got to work without realizing what I was getting myself into.  Chopped the onion.  Started mincing the garlic.  “I wonder how much garlic I need to mince for 6 Tbsps?”  An innocent enough question, right?  6 cloves? Nope.  12.  Not even close.  2 whole heads of garlic later….I decided that its enough.  Mainly because that’s all the garlic we had in the house.

He loved it though.  Ate at least two whole bowls of it before I headed out to Jazzercise.  I was so self-conscious the entire time…all I could smell was the garlic scented sweat that was pouring from my forehead.  Gross!

But you know what?  When I got home Mr. Dawn had cleaned the entire kitchen and did the dishes!  Whilst sick.  **swoon**  That is love folks.  I’ve been feeling super stressed this week, with parent-teacher conferences, two tests, and trying to figure out what to do for Mr. Dawn birthday on Saturday.  So it was so amazing to not have to clean.  Instead I did Insanity

After some pretty strong encouragement (read: pressure) from my brother I have decided to give the Insanity dvd’s a run for their money.  I’m still in my “off season” and while I will continue to run and slowly build the mileage back up, I wanted to add in another cross training element–you know, for kicks and giggles.  He’s been through the P90x serious and Insanity both and recommended the later as a better supplement to my running.

Now, I am just 4 days into the series, so I can’t yet speak to any long term benefits or improvements.  What I can tell you is that I have never felt my core this sore after a cardio workout.  Usually I only get this kind of deep-down muscle fatigue after an intense ab-centric workout.  I can’t believe how tender my lower abs have been all week.  True, I did run 4 miles on the same day that I did the “fit test” but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the cause of my sore-core.  Wowza.

From what I can tell so far (remember, only 4 days in) the program is all about cardio intervals incorporating plyometrics (jumping drills), resistance training, and strength building.  I cannot believe how quickly the people on the video move.  It makes me look like I am working out neck-deep in a pool of wet cement.  Seriously.  I mean, I understand that in marathon training we develop our “slow twitch” muscles as opposed to the “fast twitch” but sheesh.  I look like an uncoordinated toddler and I feel like a new born giraffe learning to walk for the first time.  Bottom line: it ain’t pretty.

I’ll be sure to check back in with results the next time I do my fit test in two weeks.  The hope/goal is that every two weeks you repeat the same fit test from day one and you see marked improvement over time.  Let’s get Insane!

Have you ever subconsciously held your breath?  You know, when you’re watching your favorite sports team in the final seconds of a game that could go either way.  Or when you’re opening that letter from the same school that you sent the application to four months ago.  Or when you’re constantly checking your email waiting to hear back from the folks at the Boston Marathon.

Ok, so maybe that last one is just me…but I didn’t realize that I was carrying around so much tension.  Until today.

I was sitting at my desk and a student brought her Calculus assignment over to ask for my help on a question.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Except that at the same moment she set her book down in front of my computer, I saw the words “Boston Marathon Entry Confirmation.” And my heart literally skipped and I felt butterflies down to the pit of my stomach.  My eyes filled with tears.  I may have even exclaimed “Oh wow!”  Meanwhile my student remained completely oblivious to the monumental moment that had just taken place.

I’ve decided that it’s not weird that I’ve read the two all-important lines 1589 times.  I’ve decided that its completely normal that I feel 100% different now.  I’ve decided that all the training and the sacrifices and the pain was totally worth it!

Why did the email change everything?  Maybe now that I’m breathing normally again the full amount of oxygen has returned to circulation and my brain can function at its full capacity…

After work I drove up to meet up with my girls Nicole and Erika for a post-marathon celebration.  They both ran the Long Beach Marathon the same day that I ran Grand Rapids.  We ate good food and talked some serious running strategies.  I love being with people who obsess about running as much as I do.  Thanks girls, I had a wonderful evening!!!  Perfect way to celebrate the good news from today.

Erika, Tonya, Nicole, and me