See Diva Run

Apologies to Grease and Ms. Goucher, but I’m just so excited about my interval run tonight. As speed work goes, it wasn’t all that speedy. Lots of people run marathons at a much faster pace, but it was an adventure for me. This is week 14, or week 3 (depending on how you count) of the FIRST program, with intervals of 1200m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m and 200m, separated with 200m rest intervals. As the distances got shorter, the speeds got faster. I was a little worried in the 1200m, but oddly enough, after the rest, the next interval didn’t seem any faster than the previous one. I started with a one mile warm up, with strides. Holy crap, intervals and strides from the woman who went out for a walk one day and out of nowhere decided to run a bit, and ended up at the lake. Even though I’ve logged some serious miles, I’m still surprised and amused by my evolution as a runner. A year ago a reference to repeats, strides or any technical running word had me turning the page to look for pretty pictures! So, even Diva’s can evolve. Who knew?

Week 15 (or week 2 depending on how you look at it) of the FIRST marathon program is complete. I ran 4×800m intervals on Tuesday, 5 miles of marathon pace on Thursday and 15 miles at marathon pace plus 45 seconds on Saturday. The Saturday run was difficult. Now that I’m not running every day, I seem to need more mental preparation. Saturday it took until nearly 6pm before I was prepared, which means I ran until nearly 9pm. I finished strong, and could have run another mile or two, which leaves me feeling much better about running 17 miles next weekend. I completed 2 rowing workouts, and I’m starting to see improvement there, too. Today I rowed for 45 minutes. Normally my butt is so sore after 30 - 35 minutes I start to lose my will to live. It is oddly thrilling to feel the muscles in my back returning to life, after years of wasting away.

I have been reading “Core Performance”, and can see that a weak core is the source of most of my problems. When I started having low back pain during my run last night, I concentrated on keeping my back straight and using my glutes to push my hips forward. It made a huge difference. Tonight on the rowing machine, I tried to keep my back straight, and use more force from my quads. This helped keep the butt pain manageable. After my rowing workout, I did about 10 minutes of aerobic dance moves — mostly twisting and kicking to the sides. It helped loosen up my hips, quads and hamstrings.

The only negative thing I have to report about this week’s training is that the pain in my heel is getting worse. My foot feels bruised, as if I had stepped too hard on a rock. I have an appointment with a podiatrist on 2/6, but I’ve got a few miles to cover before then.

Tuesday 1 mile warm up, 4×800m@8:10, 1 mile cool down
Thursday 1 mile warm up 5 miles@10:00, 1 mile cool down
Friday 30 minutes rowing
Saturday 15 miles@10:42
Sunday 45 minutes rowing

My weight is holding steady at 140.6, which is 5 pounds below what it was a year ago.

Looking ahead to week 14 (or week 3) the interval workout starts out at 1200 meters, dropping 200 meters each interval until I am down to 200m. Since each interval gets progressively shorter, you run each one slightly faster. Should be interesting! The tempo workout is 30 seconds faster than this week, and the long run is 17 miles. I’m going to try and get 3 rowing workouts in, and I’m also going to try to do the Core Performance “movement prep” exercises.

And dance til you feel better!

Last September, Amy made a wonderful post on the Runner’s Lounge blog about using the same energy and passion that we put into running to do the things that will help protect us from injury. This post really spoke to me, and ever since then, I’ve been looking for ways to do just that. I started by asking Santa (aka Mr Diva) for a rowing machine for Christmas. Not only does rowing give a great cardio workout that is low impact, it gives a full body workout that helps strengthen your core muscles. I enjoy rowing, which is probably the most important factor, because I don’t have to psych myself into doing it. Good form is very important in rowing, or you run the risk of straining your back. I have yet to find a technique that doesn’t make my butt hurt!

The next step was adopting the FIRST training plan, which calls for 3 runs/week and 2 or 3 cross-training workouts. The plan is endorsed by many older athletes who have been able to achieve marathon PRs without getting injured while training. Many of the endorsements come from people who have struggled with injury on other programs. Less mileage, cross training, sounds good, right? I bought the book Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster, Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary FIRST Training Program. The book gives two thumbs up to rowing as a cross training activity. It also offers a very simple strength training program. When it comes to training, I am all about simple, so yesterday I gave some of the exercises a try. The exercises I tried were wall slides, single leg squats and walking lunges.

I could definitely feel the wall slides, and by the way, you will really feel them if you have textured walls! I was pleased with my single leg squats. I didn’t wobble, or lose my balance, and I had plenty of strength. The walking lunges were also good, but would probably be better if I had a little more room to do them. There were two upper body exercises including a pushup on a stability ball. As it turns out, just laying on the stability ball is hard. Pushing up was not an option. I guess I need to work up to it. I thought it was a pretty good workout, until this morning when I got out of bed. Then it was “Oh my God, will someone please call me an ambulance. No, make that a tow truck!” I think I sprained my butt!

It hurts to move, but it hurts even more to sit, so throughout the day I found myself getting up and wandering around. This is not exactly the condition you want to be in for your weekly tempo run, but it what is a Diva to do? I ran a nice slow warm-up mile and then ran my 5 miles at marathon pace, followed by a one mile cool down. I would love to tell you that it was just what the doctor ordered, but about 3 miles into the tempo portion, I felt like my body was unraveling. I developed a wicked pain in my side, and had to take a walk break at mile 4. At mile 5, I stopped and stretched, and was able to make it through to the end. I think the pain in my butt spread throughout the region!

I must admit that my butt didn’t hurt quite as much after the run, but what really did the trick was about 30 minutes of dancing after the run. It started innocently, when I let the iPod keep playing, and Gloria Gaynor started singing “I Will Survive”. After 8 minutes of “shaking my booty”, it felt much better, so I kept dancing. I had to work late tonight (is it really working late if you do it almost every night?) but every ten minutes, I would get up and dance a little more. It didn’t get my work done any faster, but it didn’t hurt as much as sitting for long periods, and it was a lot more fun.

Oh, and after work, I decided to have another go at the plank. I made my first attempt after reading about Nancy’s amazing 120 second plank. After reading her post I grabbed my iPod and ran downstairs. The iPod has a stop watch function. I fired it up, assumed the position and prepared to tough it out. After 45 seconds, I was losing my will to live so I gave up. A word of advice, wear shoes while doing a plank. When your feet start sliding, you are doomed. Tonight I had my running shoes on. They did not slide. I focused on keeping my torso straight without sticking my butt in the air, or letting everything droop to the ground, and I managed to hold it for 90 seconds!

I bought the book Core Performance by Mark Vestegen, but I’m having trouble getting into it. If you have a recommendation for a book, DVD or web site for core strength building workouts, please share.

Last week I got my butt kicked at the P.F. Chang’s Rock n Roll Arizona Half Marathon, and I came home with mixed feelings about running. I was so far behind at work that there was no chance to run Tuesday, but I did squeeze in a Tempo run on Thursday. Then I sat down and read Run Less, Run Faster, which got me all worked up about the FIRST plan, and I decided to use the plan to train for the Eugene Marathon on May 4. It also forced me to be more realistic in my time goals. This was on Friday, a cross-training day. I had to work on Saturday. After work I had plans to have lunch with a friend, and after that I met my son & took a long walk in the 36 degree rain. On Sunday, when it was actually time to do the running, my enthusiasm for the FIRST plan started to fade. You see the first long run on the FIRST 16 week marathon plan is 13 miles. Luckily I got paged by work, which gave me an opportunity to put it off until afternoon. The clock kept ticking, and those miles were not running themselves. One thing I’ve noticed about running: The more I run, the more I want to run. Conversely, the less I run, the less I want to run. A month of inconsistent running had left me not wanting to run, and the debacle in Phoenix didn’t help.

Finally, at 3:35 in the afternoon I dragged my sorry butt onto the treadmill. Since 13 miles seemed impossible, I decided to try running one mile, and see if I could stretch it into 10. The first few miles were torture. I wanted to quit at 1 mile. I really wanted to quit at 3.5 miles. 13 seemed impossible until I got to mile 6. At mile 6, I increased the incline on the treadmill. Suddenly I felt better. At mile 7 I dropped it back to 1%. At mile 8, I raised it again. I dropped it at mile 9, but increased the speed by 10 seconds/mile. I was feeling really great. Then I got to mile 11 and started to feel lousy. I dropped the speed back to 10:31. It didn’t help. I raised the incline to 2%. It didn’t help. I dropped it back to 1%. It didn’t help. Nothing helped. But in the end, I ran the 13 miles, without stopping or walking, and I did it in 2:17:28. Why couldn’t I do that last weekend? More importantly, can I do it for 15 miles this weekend? Tomorrow calls for 4×800m repeats with 2 minute rest intervals.

If you travel enough, something is bound to go wrong. If you travel with me, it will happen every trip. If you’ve read my recent reports you might recall the trip to the emergency room in Oklahoma, and the flooding that turned our trip home from the airport after our Las Vegas trip into an odyssey. This trip was challenged weeks in advance due to injury. I stopped running for two weeks in December due to heel pain, but it didn’t help. Then I got sick, which didn’t help. Did I mention long hours at work? Things were so busy, I was afraid I was going to have to bring the laptop with me and work from Arizona. Fortunately I got everything handled, and we finally got out the door. There was traffic, and a very slow moving line through security. Mr Diva ended up running through the airport in his socks, down the escalator and to the train that takes you to the north concourse. He managed to get his shoes on before the train arrived. We got to our gate at boarding time. You know how flights never board on time? This one boarded early. We boarded with a sigh of relief, figuring that was our excitement. We arrived in Phoenix shortly before 11pm, picked up our rental car and started north toward our hotel. About 6 miles up the road a truck started flashing its lights at us. A few minutes later a minivan drove by, with all of the passengers gesturing wildly at us. Thinking the car must be on fire, or that we were dragging something, we pulled over. Mr Diva got out and walked around the car, but didn’t see anything. He got back in the car and asked if my headlights were on. Doh! My car does that automatically. The really funny thing was that I’d passed a state trooper about a mile earlier. We laugh and say that must be the excitement for this trip, and head to the hotel.

We visited the expo the next day. It was huge, but very well organized. It helped that it was Friday. There was very little waiting for our packets, and no waiting for our shirts. We browsed all of the cool official race stuff, and I managed to resist everything but a pair of socks. I’m still trying to achieve that “less stuff” goal, but you can never have too many socks, right? We left the official race gear section and wandered the rest of the expo. It was surprisingly busy. I wandered past a booth where they were selling a pain relief product. They had folding chairs labeled with different pains, including one for heel pain. I decided to give it a try. The lady sprayed Jones Formula on my heels, and to my amazement, they didn’t hurt when I stood up. Of course I bought a bottle. She assured me that I could use the product, and I wouldn’t have to change my evil ways. I could just run and run. Hmmm. What the heck. We ran into some friends, visited for a few minutes and then headed to the Hard Rock for terrible food, horrible service and a really big bill. We check out the Phoenix traffic, which isn’t too intimidating to Seattle traffic veterans, and drive north where we see hills covered in Saguaro cactus, and a fabulous sunset.

Later that evening we are relaxing in our room when we hear an odd noise, kind of like an alarm. We hear it again, and it isn’t kind of like an alarm, it is an alarm. Next we get the announcement that we need to evacuate the hotel, and take the stairs. We put on our shoes and jackets, and I grab my purse and room key (I’ve been evacuated before), and walk slowly down the stairs and around the building. All the while, Mr Diva is insisting that it is a false alarm. We get outside and watch a helicopter fly over the building. Its lights illuminate a massive cloud of smoke. Soon the fire engines arrive. There was a single engine that pulled up in front of the hotel, but another 20 - 30 engines were lining the streets. It was quite a sight! We waited around for at least an hour before they let us go back inside. There are only 6 elevators, so we take the stairs. It was wet and smoky, and we were happy to get back in our room. With this much excitement so far, we are bound to have smooth sailing for the rest of the trip, right?

The next day we visited Rawhide Wild West Town in Chandler, before joining friends for dinner at the P.F. Chang’s in Tempe, right near the finish line. We tied up their tables for 3 hours, and had a wonderful time. The next morning we got up and got ready, and headed toward The Phoenician, where my friend Gladys was staying. The plan was to leave our car there and have her husband drive us to the starting line. One small problem, The Phoenician is on Camelback Road, and Camelback Road is closed for the marathon. We are forced to turn right on 7th, and are not allowed to turn left. Eventually we are directed onto the freeway in the opposite direction of their hotel. Thank goodness for cell phones. We make up our plans as we go, and eventually meet at a parking lot near Chase Field.

It was a beautiful morning, if a bit cool, but I realize it is going to heat up quickly, so I remove my jacket while we are walking slowly toward the starting line. I was assigned to corral 11, but my husband was assigned to 16, so we started in his corral. I started off slowly and carefully, wondering if the heel was going to be a problem. It wasn’t. I think I’m doing pretty well until I see the times. How can I be running that slowly? My husband started walking after two miles, and I manage to run slowly enough that he can jog up and catch me periodically. Around mile 5 the slow jogging catches up with me, and my left IT band starts to tighten. 8 miles is a long way to walk, so I’m trying to hang in there. I start to realize that I can run faster, but I can’t continue to go slow. I decided to go for it, and I take off running like a mad woman. The thing is, I didn’t tell my husband I was going to do this, so I stop about a mile later and wait for him, to let him know what I’m doing. I keep this up for the remainder of the race, but after mile 10, the intervals of hard running get shorter and shorter. I had plenty of energy, but the knee just wouldn’t bend. I managed to run hard for the last tenth of a mile, as captured by the finish photos (I was racing with Mr Diva, and I beat him by 1 second!)

We collected our medals, had our chips removed and went back to the finish area to wait for Gladys. She walked the entire thing in 3:17. It was her first half marathon, and we were so proud of her. Her first words were “I’m going back to golf”, but soon after she was talking about San Antonio. We finally meet up with her husband and start marching toward the parking garage. He says he is parked on the 4th floor. She tells him to get the car, and she will wait. He says the walk will do her good. They head toward the elevator, I head toward the stairs, and reach the 4th floor just as he is stepping out. Mr Diva thinks I’m nuts, but he is right behind me. We spend a lot of time sitting in Phoenix traffic, but finally we are back at our car and ready to head north for an In N Out Burger celebration.

Between the insanity, the injury and the cold that dogged me all the way to Arizona, this one had disaster written all over it. For some people a 2:50 finish probably qualifies as a disaster. I actually felt pretty good about how I was doing, except for the time. We can always blame that on all of the standing around and waiting. The truth is, I was running slow from injury and over training before I took the time off, so I guess I’m just lucky I was in good enough shape to finish the distance.

The day after the race my quads were burning! We drove up to Sedona for lunch, and then headed toward the airport. We had time left, so we visited the Botanical Garden in Papago Park, which was along the half marathon route. There were very few people, so we enjoyed a couple hours of peaceful strolling before the madness of air travel.

For a truly excellent report on the P.F. Chang’s race, see http://lvm.createmybb.com/showthread.php?tid=2339