Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf

Dory Dory

After reading your logs since the Achill Half Marathon (thank you Catweazle), I've finally decided to plunge into this murky water and have a go at it myself.

A bit of background - I live in Virginia in the United States, but my grandfather was born and raised on Achill Island (Dooega, specifically). I started swimming when I was very, very young and swam competitively until I had basically burned out from two-a-days and travel. I still swim (primarily in the summer as I have my own lap pool in the back yard) but after too many winters of inactivity (other than the rigorous elbow movement of food shovelling from plate to mouth....or the taxing motion of the digits on the remote control) I decided to get off my duff and force myself to learn to love the art of running. Early on, it was more walking and jogging, but last January I decided to commit myself to actually pretending to be a runner and, when my husband and I decided to make our first trip ever to Ireland to visit the location of my grandfather's youth, we scheduled our trip around the Achill Half Marathon and signed up to participate in this grand event - my first ever running race. YIKES!! I did participate in a local Earth Day 5k prior to the Achill Half, but I signed up for that after commiting to Achill.

Race summary for 2011 -
Earth Day 5k (April 2011) - 25:24 (or something like that)
Achill Half Marathon (July 2, 2011) - 1:55:xx (very pleased and had a blast!)
Shepherdstown Half Marathon (October 1, 2011) - 1:45:18 (improved 10 minutes!)
Luray Homecoming 5K (October 23, 2011) - 23:15 (died the last mile, but improved 2 minutes from last 5k)

My goals for the next 11 months (I set these goals on my last birthday, a month ago) are to complete my first marathon (signed up for the Charlottesville marathon on April 7th), participate again in the Achill half marathon, do an obstacle course run, and maybe a triathlon. The obstacle course run will be completed tomorrow.....because....apparently the mud run I signed up for thinking that it was just a run through mud (silly me!) is actually a log carrying, cliff climbing, electric shock crawling, mud wading event. Weeeeee. I am so not ready. Oh well. At least I will be ticking this off my list. I am also signed up for a 10k Turkey Trot on November 19th and would like to go a sub 50.

I hope to provide something of some value in this thread....and I welcome any and all guidance from anyone who would like to contribute....but if not, and if I only hear the echo of my fingers tapping the keys, then I'll just use this as my archive of my physical activity, just as I used to keep a diary of my swim practices to track the mileage I swam each week. It's all good either way.

menoscemo

Best of Luck with the log.

Nice tough half Marathon you picked for your first race :eek:

Your speed over your more recent HM indicates great potential!!

catweazle

Good to see you Carol.

Have you made your travel arrangements for coming over here next year, are you going to be visiting different areas than last year - perhaps you might do the Triathlon in Ireland?

The calendar is not out yet - but the Hell of the West is around the end of June every year - I will get you a bike

Dory Dory

menoscemo wrote: »

Best of Luck with the log.

Nice tough half Marathon you picked for your first race :eek:

Your speed over your more recent HM indicates great potential!!

Thanks....and as they say (regarding the Achill half as my first race), ignorance is bliss! But I truly had a grand time.:)

Dory Dory

catweazle wrote: »

Good to see you Carol.

Have you made your travel arrangements for coming over here next year, are you going to be visiting different areas than last year - perhaps you might do the Triathlon in Ireland?

The calendar is not out yet - but the Hell of the West is around the end of June every year - I will get you a bike

If Andy Schleck comes attached to its saddle, then we have a deal!!

(Seriously, no concrete plans have been made as of yet, so I am open to a few new ideas.)

shazkea

Good luck with the log and goals and I look forward to reading about your progress.

pgmcpq

Welcome. Good to have another North American based logger. I'm "up the road" in NJ.

Dory Dory

shazkea wrote: »

Good luck with the log and goals and I look forward to reading about your progress.

You are sweet. Thank you.

Dory Dory

pgmcpq wrote: »

Welcome. Good to have another North American based logger. I'm "up the road" in NJ.

pgmcpq??? In the flesh?? Like royalty...as you were the 2nd log I started following. I guess I'll just say, "howdy neighbor!"

Dory Dory

A Hero's Run 5K

When I signed up for this event I truly thought it was just a 5k trot through mud and slop, but with three days to go to the event I was enlightened with the knowledge that logs, ropes, hay bales, manure, cold water and electric shocks, in addition to the mud and slop, were just some of the ammenities I was paying for. While I am not totally opposed to logs, ropes, hay bales, manure, electric shocks, mud, and slop (please note that I am, however, opposed to cold water), my enthusiasm plummeted with this new knowledge in large part because I had not trained for this type of activity. Ugh!! What to do?? Well, I am not one to make a commitment and not keep it, plus my husband and our ex-marine buddy (both of whom I had to convince a month ago to do this event with me) were totally digging these race enhancements....so...in for a penny, in for a pound! I was in....all in. Gulp.

Race day started out with frost on the car windows. Fortunately, the race did not start until 1pm which allowed the temperature to creep into the upper 40s. With the sun shining and not too much of a breeze blowing, race conditions were certainly tolerable. After check in, stretching, potty breaks, and brief instructions about the course, the three of us decided to participate in this as a team endeavor and not worry about going for any medals, which meant that we'd be heading off in the second wave as the first wave was stacked with the "competitors" and the third wave was comprised of the "just want to finish-ers". As the first group was gathering at the start line, my husband and our marine buddy decided between themselves to throw me into the competitor category so they pushed me down the hill and into the middle of the pack. There I was....and the pre-start army chant was being recited (did I mention that this was a charity event for the military and their families...and that an army troop was present, which was totally cool??)...and then the gun went off....and competitive instincts kicked in.

We ran down a dirt and gravel road to our first obstacle - walking over logs in the water. It was a breeze as I have pretty good balance, thus I did not fall in. Next - running up a hill that was laden with hay bale after hay bale that we had to hurdle. Good grief, did that take the punch out of me! I'm not a very big person and the bales were quite huge, so it took significant momentum for me to throw my body up onto the bale for me to get over it. More than once did I have to back up and start again with greater speed. Then more running up hill...then onto a gravel road....and then into a field. I was making pretty good time during this section of the course and was passing a few participants. I figured I'd make as much time as I could on the run. We then had to scurry up and over a pile of cow manure......and then dive into a muddy covered trench and crawl on our bellies under a plastic tarp.....and then under a blanket of electric wire on our bellies again (not so bad for me, but for some of my bigger comrades, not so much). Then we ran down to the icy cold stream where we had to run through freezing cold water for at least 100 yards. It started out at knee level, and I was able to run, but once I reached waist level depth, I took a cue from the fella I was behind and just walked it. The current was coming at us and it was too deep to run, so we conserved energy while we froze our legs off - but we chatted and encouraged each other, which was part of the point of this event, so that was lovely.

Once out of the stream it was hard to make our legs move. My companion yelled at me to keep going, but once I did get my arse moving I realized my shoelaces had both come untied in the water - even after double knotting them. Note to self: use those clippy thingies whenever an event calls for wading in water. Really. Double knotting is no use. And do you have any idea how hard it is to double knot your shoelaces when your fingers are frozen?? Any way, I digress. Next up....running to a football field where we had to get down on all fours and, without letting any other part of our body touch the ground, we had to go halfway up and back doing a bear crawl. This was murder. Exhaustion, numbness, fatigue....and we had to bear crawl 100 yards. I was passed by a very tall and lanky 20 something year old male who was cruising along like nothing else. Once upright, it was another run up a hill, around a telephone pole, and then back down to the football field where we had to get back on all fours and leap frog (yes, leap frog!) halfway up and back without letting any other part of our body touch the ground. Well, at this point I knew that I was in the lead in the ladies division, and, as I'm moving a minuscule distance with each one of my sorry leaps, I cursed under my breath that I will be quite pissed if I lose this race because of this dreadful leap frog. As I neared the end of the field, still on all fours with my fanny up in the air, I yelled to the course official asking if I could get up yet. Once I was given the go ahead, it was a sprint back down to the stream where I went splashing through to the other side where three ropes at various heights were waiting for me to use in my climb up the very steep cliff. I had on cycling gloves, and my adrenaline was on high (only about a mile left to go in the course at this point - yee haw!) so this climb was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I was worried that this would be my undoing, but to my pleasant surprise it was not.

Next, it was a trail run through some gorgeous woods with a beautiful carpet of leaves, then over a big round obstacle (had to hurdle it), and down to where the logs were waiting to be carried up a hill and back down. Women were allowed to pick a log that was 20 pounds or less, while the men had logs that looked to be 30 or 40 pounds (or, but the way the veins were popping out on a few of the gent's necks, perhaps heavier than that). I decided that since I was the first woman to reach this point that I would reward myself by choosing a small log...which I did....and was quite pleased that the run up and down the hill with my log was not too terribly bad. Certainly no red face or popping veins from me. I placed my log back in the pile, then had to go diving back into the icey cold water for a complete submersion, and then upon my return to dry land, two young children threw flour on me (huh??). Yep, they were waiting for me as I left the water and tossed a cup of flour (the baking kind) on my wet body. Okay. Whatever.

At this point, I knew that I only had some more running and one more obstacle to complete before I crossed the finish line, so I took off up the hill, over the stream, and out of the woods at a mad dash. After I crossed into the open field, I could see the finish line - woo hoo - but I had to cross more water to get there first. As I approached the water, I could see an orange netting material that ran the entire width of the murky water I had to cross. Once I got to the netting, the official raised it up and explained that I'd be crossing on my belly under the net. As I was moving forward under this net, my pony tail was getting caught in the openings, thus making it difficult for me to move ahead, so I had to reach out with one hand/arm, lift up the net and hold it up til I had moved myself one stroke forward with the other hand/arm, and then I repeated this motion over and over again until I reached the end of the net. It was very much like doing the backstroke, but on my hands and knees and with my belly to the mud. Once out of the net, and sufficiently muddy, I scurried up the last steep hill to cross the finish line in 34:53.

I had two friends greet me with big smiles and lots of clicks of the camera. After warming myself up by the massive bonfire the organizers had going (thank you!!), I waited by the finish line cheering all the others on and encouraging them to finish in style...and gave huge whoops when I saw my hubby and our marine friend in sight of the completion. Grand smiles from the two of them!!! Such excitement. We hung around until the last person crossed the line....had a group photo with all the athletes....and then I collected my uber cool Hulk-like trophy. Smiles all around.

I rewarded myself today (the day after the mud run) with a 15 mile LSR. Prior to today, the longest I'd ever run was 13.1 miles - and today's run kicked my butt at the end. Per my garmin - 15 miles, 2:08:30, 1281 calories, 8:33/mile. I'm tired, my upper body is sore, and I have bruises all over my knees. I think I'll pour myself a glass (or two) of wine tonight, pop some vitamin I before bedtime, and take it easy tomorrow.... and if you read this post in its entirety, you may need to do the same as it's length is a bit on the upper end of acceptable. Pardon my lack of brevity..but this was such a fun event!!

catweazle

Didn't take long for your first win of the log - well done!

There is something similiar over here called tough guy which a boardie called Oryx takes part in every year

http://www.toughguy.co.uk/

15 miles at 8.33 the following day is good going as well, any longer than that and you might need to take some food with you.

Dory Dory

Oryx...tough guy....upgrade to Jesus Warrior Squad?? I tip my hat to her savagery.

The event I was in was a mere tough mudder neophyte, and, because it was the first year this local event has been held, the field was not nearly as grand as it will be in future years, thus putting it (and the win) in proper perspective. But it was a blast of a day, and more than likely a stepping stone to other similar events.

Dory Dory

I'm trying to figure out how often I will post my workouts (once a week or daily?), but here is tonight's:

100 minutes on the treadmill, 45 minutes of which were at a 15 percent incline while alternating run/walk at 4 - 6 mph pace. Had my trusty I-pod with my personal favorite mix to get me through the session. I followed this up with not enough stretching and not enough core work....which is my biggest flaw. I'd much rather a long slog than core work and stretching. 7.7 miles and over 1,000 calories burned. Time changed this past weekend, so I'll be spending more time indoors putting in the miles, which I don't really care for.

I haven't been on the bike in 6 or 8 weeks. With winter coming, I need to get the trainer set up.

Dory Dory

I'm considering adding a 90 minute yoga session to my weekly workout routine and I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on the benefits of yoga with regard to strength and conditioning. I took one yoga class many years ago and just kept thinking of a million more productive things I could have been doing besides lying on my back stretching and breathing. Never went back, but now that I'm older and punishing my body with increased running mileage I'm wondering if this would be a smart addition.

Dory Dory

Tonight's session:

Treadmill again (how many months til spring??!!)
100 minutes
7.89 miles
45 of those minutes at 15% incline...and 30 of those minutes at 15% incline as follows: 6 x (1 minute @ 4mph, 2 minutes @ 6mph, 1 minute @ 4mph, 1 minute @ 8mph)

Had the Washington Capitals on the television to help me through....but the boys are trailing at the moment by 1.

Real running tomorrow.

Dory Dory

Proper run tonight with a friend through town and on the very hilly back roads. I need hill work, so this is good. We didn't start the run until dusk, but the moon was in full bloom, so if you discount the traffic lights in town and the crazy drivers on the back roads that caused us to jump into the brush and out of their way, the run was lovely. We had planned on going 8 miles, but my companion is nursing a pulled muscle and it was giving him trouble so we cut the run short.

Per Garmin:
6.55 miles
54:59.12
8.23/mile

Laps as follows:
9.44 (hills and warming up)
8.30 (more hills)
7.55 (getting my rhythm)
8.03
7.58
8.05
4.40 (last .55 miles)

Dory Dory

Treadmill night....but I had my trusty iPod with my personal treadmill mix booming from the buds.....and I thought of this session as a warmup for the Virginia Tech Hokies (my alma mater) vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football game tonight.

100 minutes, 7.48 miles, including:
30 minutes using 3 pound hand weights for a little upper body work and additional challenge
30 minutes at 15% doing 6 sets of (1 minute @ 4mph, 2 minutes @ 6mph, 1 minute @ 4mph, 1 minute @ 8mph)

Due to social commitments over the next two days, I will not be able to run again until Sunday....but I may try my hand at another long run Sunday, but will need to figure out hydration and nutrition on these long slogs when I venture out beyond the confines of my normal field circuit.

Virginia Tech beating Georgia Tech at the half, 21-13. Go Hokies!!!

Dory Dory

What started out as an awesome morning and grand first 10 miles ended up being one of my worst runs in a long, long time.

Coming off of two days rest, I was itching for a long slow run, and I had my eyes set on 15 to 18 miles (secretly hoping for 18 as last Sunday i had gone a solid 15 for the first time ever) and, because I really had my sights set on that 18 mark, I thought it wise to slow down my pace from last weekend's to ensure that I wouldn't blow up...which is something that is really hard for me to do (slowing down) since I am constantly competing with myself/previous splits/previous distances/previous anythings...so I recruited a friend to run with me knowing that he would rein me in when I needed reining in.

I decided to follow Catweazle's advice and take hydration and energy into consideration on this longer run and I dug out my belt that holds two small water bottles and has two small pockets to stash my "energy" units in. I filled one bottle w/water and the other bottle w/an electrolyte drink and, not having any gels or bars handy, temporarily opted for "snacks" in the form of gummi bears and homemade shortbread cookies (which, by the way, are out of this world!). I say temporarily because upon hearing my snack menu, my friend forced me to cough up the cookies and substitute them for two Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gels. I reluctantly followed his orders and left my buttery and sugar kissed friends behind...yet was happy with the knowledge that they would be waiting for me upon completion of the run as my reward.

We had Athena, a high energy border collie mix (my friend's dog), with us for the first 5 plus miles, but she was puttering out on us so we dropped her off at my friend's very cool outdoor clothing and gear shop in town to give her a break. At this point, we were averaging about 9:20/mile, which was really comfortable and my body barely felt taxed. We took in some water and I tried my first ever gooey gel....which I managed to swallow without gagging....but I have to ask, what is that gritty stuff at the end of the packet?

Because we knew we would now be running out into the country, we slapped on our water/snack belts and headed out to conquer the asphalt hills and valleys. The next 6 miles were fantastic. Even though I was running with what felt like an extra 5 pounds around my waist, and even though the wind was at my face, and even though I faced quite a few hills that I swore would be my friend, I felt strong and relaxed. Our average speed was about 9:10/mile. I was confident 18 miles was going to be a breeze.

Somewhere around mile 12 I felt cramping in my left calf so we stopped to allow me to stretch it out. I've never had leg cramps before so I wonder if it was due to lack of proper water consumption or nutrition prior to this run. (I only had a cup of dry cereal and a few sips of water before I ventured out this morning, which is a good bit less than I usually have in my belly before a run.) Started running again and calf felt okay, but about a mile later my right hamstring started to tighten, which then caused my right knee (that I've been nursing since my last half marathon) to tighten w/pain. Stopped again, tried to walk it out, started to feel better, decided to give it a go and started running again. The pain was pretty significant from the knee at this point and it ran up up my thigh and ended at my hip, but I'm very good at blocking out pain so I kept trudging forward until my partner noticed I was limping and made me stop to give it a rest. A few stretches, some more water, another Hammer Gel (only 90 calories!) and then we were off at a slow trot/walk....picked it up a bit to a slow jog/trot....but realized we better wrap up the session and head home as to not add insult to injury. We came in right at 15 miles. Dreadful last 3 miles at probably 10:30/mile pace. Ugh!

Summary:
15 miles
2:23:38 :mad:
1253 calories
9:36/mile :mad:
Roadkill: 1 squirrel, 2 opossum, 1 raccoon, 1 rabbit, 1 deer (picked clean by the vultures), and 1 black cat.

catweazle

I remember a comment from the owners of Walmart that the more Roadkill the stronger the economy was!

1253 calories out - 180 in

Its different for everyone but I always have a big breakfast before I head out on a long run, I potter around doing jobs for an hour or two after before I head off. Anything under 2 hours for me is a pleasure anything over 2 hours gets my full attention as regards nutirition and hydration and even a cut down on the wine the night before.

Have a look for isogels, they are mixed with water - much easier to swallow

A race win - 15 miles -18 miles in a week at 9.10 pace on a training run 6 months out - what time you are looking at for Charlottesville? Make sure and lock into a program - they will all build up your mileage gradually and have recovery weeks - don't run too much too soon! Remember your legs are in uncharted water with it being your first

Dory Dory

I'm thinking more "Angry Birds" and less "booming economy" with respect to the healthy volume of roadkill. Which does make me a little concerned when running the roads. :eek:

I definitely think there was a disparity in calories in and calories out today. This was an earlier run than I am used to (I usually go around noon or 1pm - this was a 10am start), thus contributing to the lack of intake prior to the plodding....and, because I have never cramped before on a run, I will assume it was insufficient energy/hydration for a run of that length....which makes me wonder: are muscle cramps tied into the length of time one exerts and not mileage (thus meaning if I had gone at a quicker pace I could have gone further before I started cramping?)? Ah the tortures I put myself through!

Marathon goal? My goal this far out is to go a sub 4 hours, so my average pace must be 9 min/mile, which I feel good about. I do need to pause and look at a training program since I have a tendancy to overtrain...do you have one you prefer?

catweazle

Dory Dory wrote: »

Marathon goal? My goal this fr out is to go a sub 4 hours, so my average pace must be 9 min/mile, which I feel good about. I do need to pause and look at a training program since I have a tendancy to overtrain...do you have one you prefer?

I haven't any preferred program have only tried two - I did my first with Hal Higdon Intermediate 2. There is plenty of running with that one, 3 x 20 milers near the end but I found with all the slow runs I wasn't prepared for a faster marathon pace on the day.

http://www.halhigdon.com/#marathon

I did a blend of a Furman / Runners World program for my 2nd more as I had only 12 weeks training for it, Furman looks for only 3 important runs a weeks and cross training so that's suits with triathlon training in the mix - it had tempo runs and it also has a 22 mile run in it which I wanted for confidence. I felt confident that my legs would hold up to this program as I have had a lot of mileage in the legs at this stage and I dont seem to get injured easily (touch wood) - so perhaps this might not be the one to do for your first race if your knee is at you already

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-9215-0,00.html

You have time yet anyways to sniff around for one - most programmes are 18 weeks - see what suits you timewise.

If you are planning to run sub 4 next April, you have started out in early November trying to run 18 miles at sub 4 pace, so just be careful about pushing too hard to soon - a few people in these logs will be tut tutting about having your weekly long slow run the same pace as your target goal. Long slow runs are meant to be slower than your planned marathon pace.

Dory Dory

catweazle wrote: »

If you are planning to run sub 4 next April, you have started out in early November trying to run 18 miles at sub 4 pace, so just be careful about pushing too hard to soon - a few people in these logs will be tut tutting about having your weekly long slow run the same pace as your target goal. Long slow runs are meant to be slower than your planned marathon pace.

The single hardest thing I've faced during this transition from swimming to running has been the approach to training. To slow down is both phsycially and psychologically hard for me to do, and in opposition of what I was taught as a swimmer.....BUT, I understand the merits as it applies to running, and (with reminders from the tut tutters and friends like you) I will commit myself to a marathon training plan and do my best to stick within the suggested paces.

Your comment about injuries and perhaps the Furman program not being right for me hit me straight in the gut. I have never been plagued by injuries, but must admit that immediately prior to and after the last half marathon I have been pestered by a few...which makes me wonder if it is related to overtraining and putting too much stress on my body too soon. The trainer is now set up in front of the television, so I will be able to do a little bit of cross training which I have lacked since I closed my pool.

(Oh....and I'm leaning towards the Furman plan.)

Dory Dory

60 minutes on the trainer tonight.....spinning....spinning....spinning. Thighs felt good.....my derriere, not so much. Note to self: have hubby swap my rock hard saddle for a cushy fanny-friendly one. (sorry CW ) Tonight's cycle was grand on my knee. It actually felt better after the session than before.

Dory Dory

Just returned from a 90 minute yoga session. Lots of stretching and core work - definitely woke up some muscles that have been negleted for far too long. I tend to pass up stretching and muscle isolation and focus on cardio and endurance, so I am reminded (once again) that diversity in motion and in discipline is a good thing. And I am hoping (if I keep at it) that my running/swimming/cycling will benefit from this added strength/flexibility/balance plus help keep injuries away. Time will tell.

Dory Dory

Hubby slapped the extra cushy granny seat on my trainer to help prevent further discomfort to my already sore tush.....and away I spun for 60 minutes tonight. Legs feel good, and my knee feels great.....I think giving the running a two day rest was just what the doctor ordered.

Proper run planned for tomorrow, but it's supposed to rain, and these Irish logs may just shame me into venturing out into the wind and rain and darkness, something I never would have considered prior to reading these training reports.

Dory Dory

Apparently I either wasn't shamed enough by these logs, or I didn't dig deep enough into my Irish-ness because I opted for the comfort of my climate controlled basement over the cold and rainy darkness of this particular night.

After the disastrous run on Sunday, and after two nights on the trainer, I really needed a session that was a high tempo run. I would have much preferred a proper run unencumbered by the restraints of the treadmill, but I decided to make the best of my current workout situation by foregoing my usual treadmill tactic of utilizing the incline, and replacing it with a flat run at a sustained healthy pace.

First 35 minutes on treadmill was a warmup with increasing speed every 5 minutes.
Next 60 minutes I held steady at an 8 min/mile pace. (thank you Imelda May for keeping my beat steady)
Last 5 minutes cool down.
Summary: 100 minutes, 11.15 miles, 8.58 min/mile pace

I don't really know how treadmill statistics compare to proper run statistics, but tonight's session felt good in that I felt physically strong. My knee got a little tight on me while running, but it didn't hurt like it did on Sunday, and it
immediately resolved upon completion of the workout.

I plan on spinning tomorrow night (more rest for the knee), then rest on Friday, then 10k race Saturday morning.

Dory Dory

Spin on the trainer tonight. Felt good. Added some time to the session (had new shorts on with a little extra padding - yay!) so I was movin' and groovin' for 75 minutes. Giddyup!

pgmcpq

Dory Dory wrote: »

r two Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gels.
......
I tried my first ever gooey gel....which I managed to swallow without gagging....but I have to ask, what is that gritty stuff at the end of the packet?

I don't know if this is related to your cramping problem but the above does not sound right. Hammer Gels are pretty easy to take and should not have "gritty
stuff" at then end. I wonder if you go a bum lot or one that have exceeded their shelf life (18 months IIRC). I cannot speak for Huckleberry and everyone is different but this does not sound right.
Also note : Hammer Gels are light relative to other gels so figure on taking them a little more regularly than others.

Vultures :eek:. Yikes - I've had runs where they'd be eying me up hopefully.

rainbow kirby

If you're going to use Hammer gels, try the Apple and Cinnamon one - it tastes like the filling from a McDonald's apple pie.

Dory Dory

pgmcpq wrote: »

I don't know if this is related to your cramping problem but the above does not sound right. Hammer Gels are pretty easy to take and should not have "gritty
stuff" at then end. I wonder if you go a bum lot or one that have exceeded their shelf life (18 months IIRC). I cannot speak for Huckleberry and everyone is different but this does not sound right.
Also note : Hammer Gels are light relative to other gels so figure on taking them a little more regularly than others.

Vultures :eek:. Yikes - I've had runs where they'd be eying me up hopefully.

rainbow kirby wrote: »

If you're going to use Hammer gels, try the Apple and Cinnamon one - it tastes like the filling from a McDonald's apple pie.

Maybe I should have stuck with my homemade shortbread cookies.

If gritty stuff at the end of the packet is not a part of the experience of the goo, then I suspect the gels were old. No wonder my running buddy didn't ask for reimbursement from me for the two!! Any hoo.....I will try the apple and cinnamon...and I will check the date....and if there are any other brands you prefer, please enlighten me. AND, while we are on this topic - is there a trick or preferred method to chewing on gummi bears while running without feeling like you might accidentally choke on one? Or does practice make perfect?

And vultures.....yes.....I know what you mean. The turkey buzzards are quite intimidating. And they smell really bad.

Dory Dory

Saturday, November 19th, 2011 - Woodstock 10k Turkey Trot

Woke up to the smack of 24 very cold degrees and significant frost on the ground. Wasn't quite sure of how to dress for this affair, but figured I'd go the layering route so I could strip off as needed. I did make the right move by not wearing my super warm Underarmor compression turtle neck (I'm new to this running business, hate being cold more than just about anything, and am still learning about proper apparel...and constriction of movement...and sweating to death) and opted for a wicking undershirt, my Virginia Tech Hokie t-shirt, long running pants, and gloves. Also had a very cushy and warm pullover, but that was purely for pre and post-race putzing around warmth and fashion. Never hurts to look well put together among the ranks of the competitors.

The race was in our neighboring county - a small, rural community - and the proceeds of this event go to a particular pantry that serves the needs of infants in that county. 240 runners showed up for this second annual run, so it was already a success in the eyes of the organizers. The atmosphere was splendid - a gal who was perkier than she had any right to be at this ungodly hour in the morning was directing the car parking, wonderful muffins/bananas/drinks were layed out in the seasonally decorated food tent, appropriately high energy music was blasting from the PA system, and well organized check-in and chip pick up was taking place by smiling volunteers. Oh, and the t-shirt is very cool in bright orange with a hatchet wielding turkey in runners on the front. Biggest criticism to this point - only two porta-loos for all these people. Ugh! And you know how many times we all have to go before the gun goes off. Major toilet traffic jam!

10k is a distance I have never done before in a race, so, being that it was unchartered territory for me, my strategy was to just go at a swift speed - not as fast as a 5k, but certainly faster than a half marathon. Somewhat disappointingly, the course was a 5k course that we had to do twice - oh well. I felt pretty good for the first few miles, other than the slight discomfort of my toes and top half of my feet feeling like they were blocks of ice, and was impressed with the number of hills we faced. With one circuit in the books, I still had my running buddy, Gary, in my sights just ahead of me.

By the time we were into the second half of the race, most of us were spread out - so I didn't really have anyone around me to follow on this poorly marked course - only Gary a bit in the distance. Unfortunately I tend to get into my own "happy place" when I run and don't always pay attention to what's around me like I sometimes should...so....at about mile 5, I zigged when I should have zagged....and got off course!! Holy crap!! How utterly rediculous of me to do such a thing - and on the second time around! I didn't even realize what I had done until I was halfway up this crazy steep hill....and I only realized what I had done then because I was thinking that I was shockingly dying a slow death on a hill that I didn't remember being so hard the first time around, and then it occured to me that perhaps I had royally screwed up and was disgracefully off course. I slowed to look behind me...and to look around me....and, alas, no runners were in sight anywhere. Crap! What to do?? I had two options - turn around and get back on course, but that was not appealing after all the hard work I had done to get to this point up the hill - or keep going and hope it dumps me back on course, at which point I would backtrack onto the course and make up the mileage that I had missed by turning off course too soon. I opted to keep going. Sure enough, my wayward route intersected the official route, so off I went passing (in the "wrong" direction) both the runners who were still making their first way around the circuit and the faster runners who were ahead of me when I made the wrong turn. Looking quite perplexed as I ran by them, I did try to explain to a few of the most curious in a quick shout what foolish error I had made. When I finally met up with Gary, I went a bit further then turned around at a point that I thought was approximately the distance between the two of us when we inadvertently parted ways. My biggest hope was that I did not cheat by shorting myself the proper mileage on this course. I already knew I had chosen a harder route by accident, but I did not want to run less than the specified 10k.

The remainder of the race felt good. Toes and feet had finally warmed up to the point that I could feel them, and physically I was in fine shape. The last bit was a sprint, and I came in under my goal of 50 minutes. Official time was 49:11. My Garmin said 49:21, but I forgot to hit the stop button when I crossed the finish line, so we're going with the official time....and Garmin mileage said 6.41 miles. Whew!! I quickly consulted Gary's Garmin to see what his mileage said - 6.36 miles - so, yes...I had more than made up for my error.

Apparently my getting off course was a bit of a scandle, however, since I had finished first in my age group. I was called to the press box via the PA system and was told that another runner had reported that I did not follow the proper route. After explaining to the official what had happened - including the steeper hill I tackled and the additional mileage I ran, and offering to show her my Garmin as proof, and telling her that I was totally fine with being disqualified as I fully understood what I had done and wanted to be fair to the other participants - the official seemed satisfied and told me no worries. This is small town for you. And let's face it, it's not the Dublin marathon. This is small potatoes. However, unlike the Dublin marathon, and being that this event was a turkey trot, it was fitting that my medal was placed around my neck by a young lady in full stunning turkey regalia. That was certainly a first for me.

Garmin splits -
Mile 1 - 7.36
Mile 2 - 7.46 (hills)
Mile 3 - 7.28
Mile 4 - 7.39
Mile 5 - 8.21 (got off course and hills!)
Mile 6 - 7.29
Last .41 - 3.01 (7.19 pace)

A few quick observations (because I like to overanalyze at times)...in a stream of consciousness format: Since this was a circuit, I like how mile 1 and mile 4 are similar...and how mile 3 and mile 6 are nearly identical...plus I like my pace at the end. I can't help but wonder how close mile 2 and mile 5 would have been had I not gotten off course and slowed and hit that harder hill. I also know I would have shaved a bit of time off because of the total distance factor. Final summary...I think I could have easily gone a sub 49...but the official time is 49:11, so I will live with that until the next 10k.

Dory Dory

With just one day under 20 weeks until my first marathon, I decided to finally heed the advice of a few wise people who have contributed to my education in the theory of proper training approaches - in other words, how to avoid total self-imposed all out war on my body every single time I run. So....for today's post 10k race session, I settled on doing a recovery jog as defined by McMillan. I pulled up the McMillan calculator, keyed in my best half marathon time of 1:45, and out popped a pleasantly surprising easy breezy 9:58 to 10:28 pace that I vowed to stay within. Woo hoo......and I did just that....and I feel really good. Of course I kept telling myself to not get too used to this pace, but I was guilt free for 8 relaxing miles. Summary: 8.29 miles, 10.01/mile pace.

catweazle

Well done - Its getting a bit ridiculous now -two race reports two wins

The Virginia athletics association might have to look at handicapping your age in future. Kudos on settling for the slow recovery run - another fast run after a 10k race would have been just fooolish

Dory Dory

catweazle wrote: »

Well done - Its getting a bit ridiculous now -two race reports two wins

The Virginia athletics association might have to look at handicapping your age in future. Kudos on settling for the slow recovery run - another fast run after a 10k race would have been just fooolish

Aye, but in rural small town racing the field looks more like corn-fed clodhoppers than world class Kenyans. I'll be a midpacker for sure come April when I venture out into the big, cruel world of the city known as Charlottesville and run with the masses for 26.2 miles. I'll be just a mere number there.

Recovery run....thanks. I'm learning.

Dory Dory

75 minutes of spinning while watching my boys on ice charge, pivot and dipsy doo the biscuit the length of the pond with their twigs, and curl and drag it between the pipes. Hockey: Caps vs. Coyotes. Caps winning 4 - 2 with 9 minutes to go. Yay!

shotgunmcos

Dory Dory wrote: »

Never went back, but now that I'm older and punishing my body with increased running mileage I'm wondering if this would be a smart addition.

Definitely. Thanks for the tip on the Fly stroke Dory Dory. Your username reminds me of the scene in finding nemo where Dory gets lost bouncing off the jellyfish. shotgunjunior probably watched it a hundred times Anyway on the yoga, seres was asking me about this recently. I'd recommend Pilates if its core strength you seek. It focuses on heavy breathing patterns while holding strength balance poses. Yoga is less about the breathing and more about movement. I find it great for lining you up, stretching you out and generally getting at the little muscles neglected by running and tendons abused by running.

Best of luck with the log and running the marathon!

Krusty_Clown

Dory Dory wrote: »

Caps winning 4 - 2 with 9 minutes to go. Yay!

Don't keep us in suspense!

Dory Dory

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Definitely. Thanks for the tip on the Fly stroke Dory Dory. Your username reminds me of the scene in finding nemo where Dory gets lost bouncing off the jellyfish. shotgunjunior probably watched it a hundred times Anyway on the yoga, seres was asking me about this recently. I'd recommend Pilates if its core strength you seek. It focuses on heavy breathing patterns while holding strength balance poses. Yoga is less about the breathing and more about movement. I find it great for lining you up, stretching you out and generally getting at the little muscles neglected by running and tendons abused by running.

Best of luck with the log and running the marathon!

You have the origin of my user name correct!! And to think, Catweazle thought of the Hunky Dory crips and their rugby playing hotties. Tsk, tsk.

I will definitely be on the lookout for a Pilates class, but right now in our little town I'm fortunate to have yoga offered two times a week at one of our local fitness centers. Let me know if you try the butterfly suggestion. At this point in my life, I don't need to torture myself with the difficulty of butterfly, but I do enjoy this drill.

Dory Dory

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Don't keep us in suspense!

Sir Krusty, it was a crazy nail biter at the end, complete with the Coyotes pulling their goalie with a minute to go, plus a mad scramble in front of our net, but the Washington Caps held their line and pulled it out, 4 - 3. Whew!!!

Dory Dory

90 minutes of yoga in the books for today....and I am loving this new addition to my weekly repertoire. My body is back in alignment....sleeping muscles have been roused.....and I feel stronger, at least for the moment.

Namaste.

drquirky

Loving the sports (other than running) updates in your log- I'm from the USA but live in Ireland so scores from home are always welcome (even if they aren't teams I support)....

Dory Dory

drquirky wrote: »

Loving the sports (other than running) updates in your log- I'm from the USA but live in Ireland so scores from home are always welcome (even if they aren't teams I support)....

Not a problem...and, out of curiousity, what teams do you support? I'll keep a lookout for you. I'm a HUGE hockey fan, but love just about all sports. If you're into hockey, then you probably know that Sidney Crosby made his comeback last night and racked up two goals and two assists. I'm not a card-carrying member of the Crosby fanclub, but I applaud his performance.

drquirky

Huge into hockey- I'm from Boston so I'm a big Bruins fan. Saw that about Crosby- pretty impressive....

Dory Dory

Your boys play play the Red Wings on Thanksgiving day at 1. Should be a good game.

Slogger Jogger

Just catching up on your log now. A great read. Good luck with the marathon training.

Dory Dory

Thanks, Slogger Jogger.

A bit of tragedy tonight.....as I straddled my trainer to begin my 75 minute spin-o-rama session and was preparing to launch my iPod into super-funk mode, to my shock and horror I discovered that I had let the battery run down. Crap! I hate that! I even dug out my backup iPod to satisfy my fix only to find total silence from that device as I had let that battery die too. (I have a similar problem with my car's gas tank.)

Workout summary.....75 minutes of spinning at various cadence speeds while thinking of all the words that begin with the letter "L" that accurately describe that lanky lad from Luxembourg, Andy Schleck.

Dory Dory

iPod was revved up, and Caps were on the ice, so I was in sensory overload for tonight's session. After two nights of spinning, I was in need of the full body participation of a run...a run that radiated from the core and orchestrated the collaboration of the legs and arms. So on the artificial landscape of my treadmill, I went for a mix of distance at a healthy clip plus a brief sub-session of speed.

35 minutes warmup of increasing speed every 5 minutes
45 minutes at 8 min/mile
Next 15 minutes: 1 minute each of the following minute/mile pace-
7:30/8:00/7:30/8:00/7:03/8:00/7:03/8:00/6:40/8:00/6:40/8:00/7:03/8:00/7:30
8 minutes cool down

Summary: 103 minutes, 11.63 miles, 8.51 min/mile

Caps report/highlights:
All I have to say is: a good, solid hip check is a beautiful thing. Caps win 4-3 in overtime against the Jets.

Dory Dory

Okay...so the best thing about the Thanksgiving Day 5k in Sperryville (yet another small, rural community in a neighboring county) yesterday was that I won my age bracket and came in third overall for women....but other than that, it was sort of a dud of an event. No great bag with cool goodies in it, the t-shirt was blah, no food tent for us to gather and gnash under, and the organizers opted out of the standard high energy psyche-you-up tunes at the starting line for a more sedate and relaxing flute duo at the 3 mile marker. Very strange, but you'd have to know this county to understand. I'm surprised I didn't see a few of the runners stop and hug a tree along the course.

Overall, the course was tough. The first mile was flat, and I was cooking, but as I turned the corner just after mile 1, BAM, a crazy hill that seemed to go on forever smacked me in the face. (Just once I'd like to run a course that has no hills!) After that, there were some rolling hills, then a descent at the end...with the flautists...playing their peaceful tunes....smiling calmily as we bolted by them in a frenzied gravity pulling push to the finish. I was disappointed with my 5k time, but my Garmin read 3.25 miles, so I'm guessing that these small town races aren't always accurately measured. That, coupled by the fact that each course has its own unique characteristics, I suppose you cannot always compare one race time with another - yet another difference between running and swimming.

Mile 1 - 7.01 (felt great...relaxed and steady....flat part of the course)
Mile 2 - 8.21 (omg....thoughts of spewing halfway up the climb....many stopped to walk, but I did not)
Mile 3 - 7:34 (rolling hills...was getting my groove back)
Last .25 - 1:46 (but I forgot to stop my watch at the end, again! 7:04 pace, but some downhill at the end)

Official time was 24:35 - ugh! Over 10 sec slower/mile than my last 5k, but, again, it's a different course. Can't beat myself up too much over it...especially since I am very happy with my pace at the beginning and end of the race.

It was such a gorgeous day yesterday that, upon my return home, I decided to run another 6 plus miles. Between my disappointment in my race time, and the fact that with winter at our heels, I need to take every opportunity to run outside that I can. It felt good. Really good. I ran in my field.

6.23 miles, 51:29.70, 8:15/mile pace

Dory Dory

Today...trail running on the Appalachian Trail -

I needed a change of scenery, plus I need hill work, and plus-plus it was a drop-dead gorgeous day today, so I decided to do some trail running - something I have not done in quite a while. We live right next to Shenandaoh National Park, thus tons of trails are at my doorstep. My favorite hike is to Mary's Rock (it has a fabulous view - so I had to do this one today with runners on!) but it is fairly steep and extremely rocky, which makes running on this path quite an adventure with all the rocks jutting up and exposed tree roots waiting to trip you on your nose. And there are also plenty of fallen trees on the way to the summit that you either have to hurdle over or scamper under to keep you from getting too bored. Trail running on the Appalachian Trial is definitely a foot-eye coordination death-trap that forces you to stay in the moment to avoid certain catastrophe by falling. I was reminded today that the periphery is quite narrow and your running space is immediate - you can't look too far ahead of you for you will not see what is under you. I imagine it might be similar to some of the night mountain running with head torches that some of you do. I also imagined that Radiohead on this trail under a full moon would have been very appropriate.

Any way....I forgot to turn my Garmin on for a brief portion of this run, so the total distance may actually be a bit longer at 8.82 miles, but I'm not really sure since I am still learning this whole Garmin thing. My pace (and there is a stated moving pace too) was like a snail, but I had to watch my footing, especially on the descent to the bottom. The calories that were computed have got to be incorrect!! OMG....I think I burned enough between the elevation and the time spent running to be able to eat another whole Thanksgiving meal and not feel an ounce of guilt. The Garmin data is as follows:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/131089512

shotgunmcos

Nice route to have on your doorstep. Hey the 5k sounded tough, the middle mile especially. Running that close to your pb considering aint all bad

Dory Dory

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Nice route to have on your doorstep. Hey the 5k sounded tough, the middle mile especially. Running that close to your pb considering aint all bad

Where we live is a hiker and trail runner's paradise as we live between two mountain chains with tons of trails and beautiful scenery. Thanks for the 5k pep talk. I appreciate it.

And you....and your wicked swimming. I'm in awe. And jealous that apparently a pool is at YOUR doorstep!