Déjà vu

Today I ran longer than I have ever run in my life. TEN MILES. The odd thing was that ten miles was much easier and felt much better than nine miles. This week we decided that we would give the 11 minute mile pace group a try. Within 5 minutes, we could both tell that that was too slow, so we broke off to try to catch up with the 10 minute mile group. We made it and continued with them for 10 miles.

We ran through a few neighborhoods in southeast Portland. I do mean a few because when you are running 10 miles, you have to cover a lot of area :) Anyhow, the neighborhoods were beautiful. The trails that we ran on were really cool too. I am noticing that one of the best parts of running in Portland is that you get to see it all.

Around 3 miles, we stopped at a bathroom along one of the trails. People drank water if they had it and everyone stretched a bit. Then I noticed one guy pull out a bag of what looked like pills. I started thinking, "man, he is in bad shape if he has to take ibuprofen only 3 miles in..." Then I realized that it wasn't pills, it was Peanut M&Ms!!! It was everything I had in me to not go over there with my hands open asking for a few. At a later stop, back in the parking lot we started in, the same guy pulls out a bad of Sweedish Fish! As he shares a few with some of the other runners, he announces, "this is my Gu." Genius. I am pretty sure that I can be a runner.

That being said, we are really beginning to fit in well with this running group. It's becoming the favorite part of our Saturday.

Focus

Thursday's three miler this week came without lead legs. This is not because I ran with a group or because I was chatting with Mike - I think it was because I focused on something besides how tired my legs were. I focused on pushing up hills. I focused on rolling through my feet. I focused on using my arms. I focused on getting the most out of my stride.

At the end of every run Mike and I do, we sprint for about 50 yards. I am not sure why really, but we do. Most of the time, I am able to muster up enough energy to pick up the pace quite a bit. However, this time, I focused on really lengthening my stride and getting the most out of every step. I didn't use any more energy than normal, just more focus. During the sprint, I noticed that Mike fell back a little bit. Afterward, he told me that it seemed like I sprinted a lot faster than normal. Amazing what a little focus can do :)

The files are IN the computer!

I finally get it! These workouts that I have been doing for the past 21 weeks have been to build my stamina. Duh, right. I know that that is the idea. But today I experienced it.

After 15 weeks of running (about 6 weeks ago), we ran 5 miles for the first time. I specifically remember that day and that was a LONG run. Well today I am running that same 5 miles as part of my weekly maintenance (non-long run) workouts. And you know what? It didn't seem long at all. It felt great and totally manageable.

I wonder if the 10 miles that I have to run this weekend will ever feel manageable.

Not today...

Tuesday, when I got home, I told Mike I did not want to go running. We both know that that is a joke because we have kind of made a personal deal with ourselves that we won't skip workouts because that just leads to skipping more workouts...

I was thinking about "not wanting to run" while I was running. The thing is, it's not that I don't want to run. If I just decided that I wasn't going to run on a day that I was scheduled to run, it would ruin my day. Then I realized how accomplished running makes me feel. It's a little part of every day, be it bad or good, that I can experience achievement. That's pretty cool.

So, in the end, it's not that I don't want to run. It's that I want to be done with my run :)

Registered.

Yesterday I got the email from the Eugene Marathon that they received my sign-up form and I am officially registered to run in the 2010 Eugene Marathon. It still seems like a dream/nightmare. I'll believe it when I cross the finish line.

Did I hear a 'niner' in there?

This is one of many posts that you will read that begin this way...

Today I ran longer than I have ever run in my life. NINE MILES. We got up this morning and met the running group at Grand Central Bakery in Portland. We ran with the 10:00 minute per mile group and ended up averaging about 10:20 minutes per mile.

For the first time, I realized why running distance is challenging. We ran for an hour and a half. That is a long time. After a while, your legs are just freaking beat. They start to feel like jello. It would have done me no good to slow down or walk as my lungs and heart rate were fine. I just wanted to be done. And, when I was finally done, it felt great. Nine miles. I ran nine miles.

One other thing I realized today - after long runs, I have an uncontrollable urge to vacuum. Weird, I know, but at least I have clean floors!

SHORTS!!!

I got home early today in time to go running in, that's right folks, the SUN!!! It was about 57 degrees which is warm enough to wear shorts, a tshirt and sunglasses :) Now I know this is in direct contradiction with yesterday's post when I said that the weather was the same... so here's the one day exception. It was beautiful. However, it was that pesky 3 mile, third-day-in-a-row running, Thursday. My legs were lead-ish again today, but running in shorts made it all worth it.

Laundry

Last night we did our 4 miler. It went well and felt great. Next week Wednesday runs will turn into 5 miles. I remember when 4 and 5 miles seemed like marathons themselves. Now I can get out and run them on a Wednesday after work. It's very empowering.

Now for some tangential details... We run Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. That results in a lot of gross sweaty clothes. Unfortunately, the weather is fairly constant throughout the week, so I find myself wanting to wear the same thing: the pants I got from my mom for Christmas and the top I got from Mike's parents - easily my favorite running outfit. I can normally force myself to wear a piece of running gear twice before I wash it (unless its a long run and then I have to wash it immediately). Mike is the same. So, I find myself washing running clothes twice a week and our drying rack is now a permanent fixture in our loft.

There is a plus side to all of this laundry. Because I wash all of our running clothes cold, this means I also get to wash other cold items. I always have multiple clean pairs of jeans and my favorite black camisole is always clean and folded in my drawer :)

One of THOSE runners

Tuesday 3 miler - easy peasy. We ran the normal route and chatted the whole time. It felt good.

Running after work at this time of year means you are running in the dark. That means that you are harder to see and, when running along neighborhoods where people are watching the intersection, not the sidewalk, you can be easily missed. I have been surprised by runners before while driving. They are normally wearing dark clothes and come out of nowhere. I curse them and think about how they should be required to wear a headlamp and a caution vest.

I wore dark gray pants and a deep blue long sleeve today. I came out of nowhere for a poor lady driving a white van. She saw us before she entered the intersection, but if it were me, I would be cursing us. I need to get a caution vest.

Can you find your home in this moment?

Our weekends are reserved for a long run and cross training. Monday is a rest day. So typically, we cross train on Sundays and I go to yoga on Monday. I consider these 'workouts' my mental workouts.

Most people will tell you that distance running is a mental game. I completely agree. If you look at my post from last Thursday's run vs Saturday's run, you see a big difference. That's because, on Thursday, I had my headphones on and my head was racing with reasons why that run should hurt. And it did. Then, on Saturday, I spent 6 miles chatting with other runners not giving myself a chance to get inside my own head and convince myself that my body was tired.

Sunday we went for a long walk with Penny for our cross training. I got to feel my legs outside of a running context. I looked around instead of staring at the ground like I do when I run. We went along a similar path that we do when we run, but I got to feel it in a different context.

Then Monday night was yoga. I love it. It lets me stretch for an hour and 15 minutes. It lets me feel powerful from my core. But, most of all, I get talked into a blank state of mind by Brant - the instructor. He has the most calming voice and puts everything in the form of a question leading me to feel very empowered. Can you focus on your breathing? Yup. Can you notice how your breath fills your stomach? Uh huh. Can you find your home in this moment? Already there, Brant, thanks. My state of mind in yoga is the opposite from where it is when I am running, focused on the ground, mind racing. I am hoping that my mind can eventually go to the same place when I run as when I do yoga.

I'm a runner

This morning we woke up at 6:30am to meet a group in downtown Portland for a run. That's early for a Saturday. I have been following the 'Run Oregon' blog since September and they talked about free group runs every Saturday. Given that these runs are starting to get long, I figured it would be a good thing to try - even if I had to get out of bed early.

Boy was I wrong. It was an amazing thing to try. There were probably about 50 people there to run. Wow, runners are happy people. What a pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning. The run supported up to 16 miles as an out-and-back, but you could turn around whenever depending on how long you needed to run. Led by Coach Jim, three pace groups were formed: one for a 3:40 marathon, one for a 4:15 marathon, and one for 5 hours I think. The interesting thing was the pace that you would be running. The 3:40 marathoners would be running at a 10:00-10:15 mile pace, the 4:15 marathoners would be running at a 12:00 mile pace. 12 minute mile! I don't even remember what that feels like!!! So, what I learned this Saturday is that long runs should be done at a VERY comfortable pace.

Given that I probably wanted to run a 10:30-11:00 minute pace, we decided to go with the fast group. For the first time I felt like I was an athlete. I was in the FAST group. We chatted a bit with a couple at the back of the pack that mentioned that they might slow down at some point. We never did though. We made it three miles and then turned around (6 miles out and back). As we turned around, we ran into a lady that had fallen back on the last hill - she asked if she could join us on our way back. Deb, as we learned her name, had a Portland Marathon 2009 finisher shirt on so I knew that I could pepper her with training questions. We ran back 3 miles, talked the whole time, and before I knew it the 6 mile run was over, we had made a new running friend, and I felt FANTASTIC!

We will be participating in the Saturday group runs from now on. It is so energizing to see all those people and to be surrounded by such great energy.

Also, I think I have officially sucked Mike into the Oregon running community. He loved it too :)

Lead legs

Well, we finished our 3 mile Thursday run. That's the good news.

It hurt. This is the third run in a row this week and my legs were tired. In between songs on my iPod, there was a bit of silence, and I could hear my feet plodding on the ground. I need to focus on using my feet to help me run instead of just landing on them like bricks at the end of my legs.

After the first mile I started trying to think of ways to make myself feel lighter. I repeated "light as a feather, stiff as a board" a few times and then I started thinking about my days in junior high :) Then I started thinking about the balloons in Up! which we just saw last weekend - "Pretend the balloons are attached to your back lifting you out of your shoes". And then I pictured the old man and the little boy holding the house down by the hose and the rope. That's when my legs became the hose and the rope. The old man and the boy were the bricks at the end of my legs.

But we made it. Friday is going to be a glorious day of rest for my poor legs. Saturday we get to do a new, fun, and exciting thing - run with a group of runners in downtown Portland!

Goals

Last summer I spent a lot of time thinking about all of the things that I want to do in Oregon. It is so beautiful here and there is so much to do. There's berry picking, the farmer's markets, gardening, trying new restaurants, kayaking, etc. We had a great summer, but it left me wanting to do more. And then, in September, I realized that summer would be ending, the berries would be gone, the farmer's markets would be closed, gardening would be over, etc. So, I decided that I was going to find some way to enjoy Oregon during the winter that would keep me busy until next summer. I decided to start running again. My goal was to run a marathon.

First I had to pick one. I knew that I would need time to 1) get into shape in order to train for a marathon and 2) train for a marathon. I put together a training schedule with help from Hal Hidgon. First, I would train for a 5k. Then I would train for a 10k. Then I would begin marathon training.

That put me at 35 weeks out. I started hunting for a marathon 35 weeks from then. That's when I found the Eugene Marathon. The more I learn about it, the more I think it's perfect. It's a flat race that ends on Hayward Field - the University of Oregon track where Prefontaine ran so many times and where US Track Olympic trials are held.

So then I started running. With the best training partner in the world, Mike. And then I sprained my foot and Mike sprained his ankle.

So, a week later, we started running again :)

Here we are. We've trained for and run a 5k. We've trained for and run a 10k. We are now training for a marathon. In fact, we are already two weeks in. You can follow our training schedule on Hal's website here. Last weekend we ran 7 whole miles. We are in the middle of week 3 now with a nice 4 mile run yesterday and a 3 mile run yet to do today.

I look forward to journaling this experience both for my reference and to share with friends and family :) Enjoy!