Early to Rise

I love my weekends. I love them! The sleeping in, the quiet morning, the lingering cup of joe, having my boys beside me - just relaxing and considering the possibilities…. Even with a relatively rigorous running and x-training schedule I’ve managed to keep my weekends relatively peaceful and sleep centered. This weekend, however, we set our alarms for a very early Saturday morning wake-up to watch my brother participate in a triathlon, something he particularly loves doing. It’s the first time we’ve had the chance to see him in one, and it was wonderful. The weather cooperated, the whole family came out in force, and Eric did better than he anticipated. It certainly raised my desire to finally tackle that beast (best left to another year).

The dawn waking Saturday hijinks made the idea of an early rise on Sunday entirely unappealing. I really wanted one nice long morning rest - but I knew in order to get my 22 mile run in with our current heat and humidity that I had to be out the door early. I had NO desire to run. When the alarm rang I turned it off and just laid there talking myself out of the whole affair. I honestly don’t think I would’ve climbed out of bed if it weren’t for the smell of coffee (merci Conrad!). I felt exhausted, I didn’t have the proper fuel to take with me, and I didn’t really have time for breakfast if I expected to beat the heat. So as I was pulling on my shoes I made a pact with myself that I would just get to the 2nd water fountain in the park and try again Monday morning for 22. I had no real plan to seal the deal. And I think, for me anyhow, that’s when my best runs happen. Those times when I set out with no real expectations always end up being the runs I feel like I could go on forever. I went out the door and rolled through 22 miles with relative ease. It’s a great sign that my training is paying off in giant endurance dividends, and that despite my poor choice in nutrition for the morning I’m doing a good job taking care of my fuel tank in the long term. It’s exciting to see my body respond on little sleep and a stressful week - but I also know that it’s really important to rest and let my body repair. That balance is tricky, as I feel myself getting fitter I want to push a little more, test the boundary just a tad, but I’ve got 7 weeks until Chicago and 12 until the big event of 50 miles so I’m working on my patience and my restraint.

Miles Run: 62 + 1 hour swimming +1 hour biking +1.5 hour resistance/yoga

Down time

It’s been one of those weeks where I just couldn’t catch up to sleep. It continually played chase with me and won. Luckily it is my down running week and oddly enough the only time I felt good was during my runs. In fact I felt great. My easy week really was easy. Things are finally coming together for me, and although I don’t think I’ll hit a PR with this Chicago Marathon, I am finally truly feeling fit and ready to go. This heat, this extended vacation time, this life…. It’s all been killer. But last week I started to feel better, things got easier - so much so that I had to shave about 30 seconds off my speedwork and base pace times. And this week the trend continued. On Wednesday, my anaerobic day, I added almost an extra mile of speedwork to the run, and my cooldown mile was @ 7:20 (not my cooldown pace…) It’s funny because my body is tired, my mind is a little weary, but once the running shoes are on I feel invincible. Hopefully this burst of running energy is a sign that I am getting fitter and maybe even that speed is starting to make an appearance. I’m not worried about my endurance, I know I’ve got that in the bag - but the fast part, well it’s been a struggle this summer. The 80’s are set to return this week and perhaps that will help me along even more.

Miles run: a delightful 50 + 1.5 hour resistance + 1 hour biking

Why oh Why?

That interrogative has been thrown at me often this week. It’s not as if all of a sudden last week I decided upon 50 miles. It’s been percolating in the brain for over a year now, and in March both Conrad and I made a commitment to ourselves and each other that we would tackle this beast of a distance, together, in 2010 @ the JFK. We read up, watched videos, talked about it with friends and family, and when the entry window opened kissed our envelopes and sent them off. I suppose because I wrote about the confirmation letter people began to believe in this thing actually happening and started asking questions. My first answer is why not… I love endurance training, I love testing the limits of the human body, I love finding out new things about my own mental, emotional and physical toughness - so 50 miles just makes sense in a way 26.2 made sense when my longest distance had been 13.1. But there’s of course more of a story to the 50 mile quest than just why not…

Tenacity and athleticism run in my family. Growing up with your Dad as a successful professional athlete can somewhat skew the curve as to what one thinks is normal in sports and life. I was a good athlete with decent speed but nothing super special. I was afraid of failing in sports so strongly that I gravitated towards theatre and academics. By the end of high school I had given up on organized sports entirely and much preferred to watch my talented brothers play their respective games in baseball and soccer. I stayed fit on my own but became nothing more than a spectator in that world. Then my younger brother graduated from college; feeling post soccer career blues he threw himself into training for a marathon. The Jorgensen domino effect began. Next went my older brother Brian, and then my parent’s began training for a half marathon….

At this point that I couldn’t keep myself out of the game any longer. If my parents, in their late 50’s at the time, could muster up the energy, the courage and the umph it took to train for and participate in an endurance event, there was no reason I couldn’t do the same. So I began, in earnest, to run. It took me a while to get the hang of it, finding the right gears for longer runs, understanding the fueling needs in endurance, but eventually I got pretty good at it, winning some races, consistently coming in the top, gaining confidence and speed with each passing month. However, I still hadn’t made the jump to 26.2. And then I was diagnosed with a genetic hiccup that gave me almost certain odds for breast and ovarian cancer. I reeled over the news. I got frustrated about knowing this handicap. Running helped calm me, center me and give me the courage and confidence to make a very hard and ultimately life saving decision.

3 days before I went in for surgery to have a double mastectomy & reconstruction, I ran my first marathon. I was sick with a fever, my brain was all nerves and exhaustion, I hit the wall harder than I could have possibly imagined at mile 17, but I finished the race, tears welling in the eyes, Conrad’s hand in mine, and I couldn’t wait to start training for my next one. That first marathon and it’s training and focus got me through one of the most overwhelming and difficult times in my life. I walked into surgery, fitter than I had ever been,determined to recover quickly so I could get back to this wonderful thing called running.

And now it’s time for another major life decision. It’s time for another major surgery in December. I can’t think of a better way to bow tie these last 6 years than to do something I’ve never before attempted - to push my mind and my body. In essence I run because I can. I run because it feels good. I run because my mom, my inspiration, smiles when she watches me. She’s proud of my perserverance, my talent, my desire to get better, be stronger, learn more. Her illness and my hiccup crashing into our lives are what brought running to me. And while I truly wish she did not have to suffer, to worry, to hurt - I do this in honor of her. In my endurance training and racing, I suffer, hurt, worry that I will not find the finish line, in the end conquering these distance goals, taking her with me every time.

Miles Run 60 +1.5 hours resistance +1 hour yoga

JFK 50 miles is a real thing now...

I started the mental journey back in April during the STL marathon. My brain had time to wander and sift during those long hours in the heat - I knew, I was dead certain, that 50 miles was well within my wheelhouse. I got excited, overwhelmed, almost brought to tears - all during the 26.2 mile race. My mind and body were already somewhere else. I came home, read up, started a blog, created a ‘pseudo’ marathon/50 mile training plan and honestly dedicated myself to becoming stronger and fitter. I did exercises I never thought I would attempt, began cross training in earnest and even managed to get in most of my long runs during our extended vacation. At some point in July I signed, sealed and delivered our 50 mile entry forms, complete with our marathon times (supposedly good enough to qualify us a place as they have a lottery system with approximately 10,000 entrants for 1,000 spots.) But I still wasn’t quite sure how the whole thing worked. I figured I’d send it - they’d look at it and decide we weren’t yet ready for 50 miles and reject us. Even though the training was progressing and the promise of a guaranteed entry was spelled out on the website - I was still prepared in the mind to not get into the race - and then we did. And the honest reality, the seeing our names in the alphabetical listing, well it sort of took my breath away. I’m so excited for this. I’m beyond that Conrad will be my partner in crime, and I just want it to get here already! That being said, this week in training was equal parts exhausting and successful. I’m truly ramping it up now, adding the speed element 2x a week and keeping the long run as quality as I can. And when I look at the training plan post Chicago, I get all giddy that it’s just 10-15 mile runs each day with a 4+ hour run on the weekends. No need for speed - just get up and go running. I think I’m going to love this ultra thing!

Mile run 66 + 1.5 hour crosstraining (my pool is closed for cleaning and re-striping!)

ADAPTATION

I do my best to constantly learn as I go, take in the surroundings, internalize, organize, sort and move on - for some reason in my running life I have had the hardest time adapting to change.  I set my schedule, rain, snow or shine and crank through it regardless of how I feel.  With this summer of running, however, I can taste this phase of adaptation: I am not 14 - I am 35!!! While not old by any stretch - my body needs more TLC than it did 5 years ago.  Example: after a very, very hot 8 mile run yesterday in the heat of the day I came home, didn't drink or eat enough and thought it would be a good idea to go out for a 16 mile run this morning before work.  Ahhh... Well, I did it - but my pee is STILL burnt orange after more than 32 oz of liquid and my weight went from 108 to 101 - 7lbs of water lost!!!!

I will be smarter from now on - I swear.  No matter how jealous I am of my kid and his speedy, nice weather trail running...He can go to XC Camp, run 60 miles in 5 days after running a total of maybe 90 miles in the previous 2 months combined and adapt just as quick. All he needs are a few ice baths and by weeks end he’ll come out with a new 5K PR - whereas I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed by Thursday’s race. So I’m slowly learning to adapt to aging, to slowing down, to having to truly “take care” of my body. The process of adaptation is fascinating as we are both running in totally different avenues. He’s getting faster every day, with every run, and I’m starting the gradual process of declining times and shorter mileage runs. I’m in the in-between, not quite a master yet but truly over the hill athletically. I MIGHT have one or two more PR’s in my tank - if all variables come together in a perfect moment - but truthfully it’s time to sit down, evaluate and figure out new goals for the next years of my running life. I think that’s one of the main reasons I’m so excited about this journey to 50 miles. It’s no longer about times, speed, very precise form. It’s just about running because I can. It’s about pushing myself into a new realm of fitness, pushing my mind to focus....

So while Eric’s runs are largely progressive and improvement, mine are changing into testing new limits and limitations and fighting off the natural process of getting older. I love this! I love that running changes with you. I love that it sticks around regardless of age, weather, busy schedules - and I especially love that it is a long, constant, beautiful story that weaves throughout my whole family’s life. I think I might finally be at peace with adapting in my running world.


Miles Run 48 + 1.5 hours swimming +2 hours biking +2 hours resistance/yoga

Easy, Breezy, Peaceful Beach Days

Another vacation week away from home - another wonderful, peaceful, quiet time with family. My running isn’t coming along the way it should be as I am “supposed” to be preparing for a marathon in just under 3 months - followed by the 50 miler 5 weeks later, but I am running everyday. Our beach runs have been wonderful. I’ve run with Big E, My E, & Conrad almost everyday - in the rain, searing heat, lovely morning air, you name it. That being said - with only 12 weeks to go before Chicago - I know this upcoming week I have to hunker down and actually start training. I need to become disciplined about my speedwork, long runs, extra cross training, and upping the miles to an acceptable level. I’ll shoot for 60 miles next week and 8-10 hours of cross training - We’ll see how that goes.... In the meantime - I’m happy to note that I have fully fallen back in love with running. It’s stolen my heart once again, and perhaps I just needed these few weeks of no watch, no calendar running to find that space. Now it’s off for a run in my new Kinvara’s to start off the week right - let’s burn some pavement.

Miles Run - 45(ish).... Does playing in the ocean count as cross training? 5+ hours!

Vacation

I’m on holiday and will keep this short. My cross training has expanded to include road biking - and I love it! It’s much easier to exercise outside when you’re going 20 mph with the wind. I haven’t been on my plan these past two weeks as I’ve been traveling and out of my element - but I have continued running 6 days a week, including 2 speedworks and 2 long runs. I’ve run around the lake, at the beach, on the melting pavement, in the mountains, through the woods, in a serious rainstorm, with my boys... Not one day have I been blessed with anything approaching good weather - BUT - I’m pushing along anyhow, and I do feel fit. Next week it’s time to hunker down and get back to my intense training. I’ve got 13 weeks till Chicago - my normal time to start marathon training!

Miles run 90 +2 hours biking +3 hours resistance training + 2 hours swimming

The Mill

Yes! I finally feel like a runner again. It’s been hit and miss over these last few weeks, and this was the first solid 6 days of running I’ve had since…. can’t remember. The caveat in this confidence building episode - my new friend the treadmill. With temperatures everyday hitting the mid-90’s and stifling humidity - I’ve conceded the outside realm to the weather. They win. So I loaded up my I-pod, stuffed my gym bag and scurried off to SLU for a very successful training week. Tuesday was an easy base run anywhere from 4-8 miles depending on how I felt. I hopped on, started her up, and couldn’t believe how easy it felt. I could BREATHE, I wasn’t immediately soaked to the bone and my head - well it felt like it might just be making a major comeback from the migraine attack. I think on Tuesday I could have run 15-16 miles without effect, but I listened to my plan and scooted out after 7.5 when the music player lost all battery.

Wednesday was a speedwork day. Now - speedwork on a treadmill is easier for sure - it guides you. But this speedwork was still quite an unexpected breeze. After my run I told Conrad that it felt too easy, and I that I should really amp up my speed and shorten the recovery times for next week. This literally never happens to me on speed days. On the good ones, I come home tired and satisfied, on the tough ones I am exhausted, but never, ever do I feel like they are easy. I took this as a very good sign. Perhaps getting some new asthma medicine coupled with 3 breathing treatments really did the trick. The only disappointment for me this week was my lack of swimming. I’m nursing some chest soreness and can’t really get in the pool just yet. So I did add some mileage to Friday’s tempo run to make up for the cross training deficit and still felt great. The week ended with a 14 mile easy base run, with an extra 2 miles tacked on for good measure upping the total to 16.

This is a major breakthrough in the running life of me. I have always, always, always HATED the treadmill. It gets on my nerves, it’s boring and it’s at the gym - talk about sensory overload. It’s totally the opposite of what running is to me - peace, tranquility, time alone. Plus you can’t just walk out your door and go. There’s a whole process to it: the bag, the ID, the inevitable wait period while you glare at someone walking, reading a magazine, and talking on the phone while taking up the last treadmill. Ok, point taken - I hate it. So I was beyond surprised when I had no issues with former public enemy #1. What’s going on? Have I found a new friend? Or is it just the ease and comfort on the joints of the treadmill, mixed with the tunes and the A/C that have me feeling like I could tackle the marathon tomorrow? I’m not sure what this magic is - but I’m crossing my fingers that it continues into next week in the big D heat - where my new friend will not be making the trip, and it’s just the melting pavement under me.


Miles Run 50 +2 hours resistance/yoga

Just Not That Into You

All week I considered breaking up with running. My relationship with it just isn’t satisfying these days. Running isn’t sparking my interest at the moment. Partly it’s the heat, partly its the headache that comes along with this humidity, partly it’s just being plain tired. Thankfully this was my down week, lots of easy running and low key exercising. I ran twice on the treadmill and twice with Conrad, which was quite nice. I accompanied him on his track workout Tuesday night @ Wash U, and we had a lovely run through Tower Grove Park on Saturday evening. It’s nice to get outside of your own neighborhood and run some different routes every so often. But even with the change of scenery and the delightful company, I just had no umph in my step. I’m grumpy with my good friend running and just want it to go away for a little while so I can be lazy. I missed my easy long run on Sunday entirely. I just couldn’t get myself out the door.

From the age of 11 I’ve suffered from debilitating migraines - another genetic hiccup passed on from the Rice’s. Some years they’ve had me in the hospital, some years I can make it through with just a touch or two of the noggin. I’ve always fared poorly in humid conditions, and this summer is shaping up to be a doozy. I can’t swim when my head hurts this bad. Going underwater makes it feel like my eyes are going to explode. It’s no fun. And running takes a backseat as well. If my head isn’t pounding up a storm, I’m on a very strong vasco-constricting medicine, causing all my veins to tighten up considerably - making running and sucking in for oxygen a rough experience.

I find myself talking to my cranky self - telling me that it’s the headache, it’s the medicine, it’s the heat that are wearing me down and rubbing off that love of running. AND I’m hoping that’s all there is to it. If we can get a one day break in this weather pattern, and I can break the cycle of headache/meds, perhaps I will fall in love with my fitness partner all over again. So, I’m off for a nap to try and shake this headache that’s on its 7th day, and will wake up ready to tackle a hopefully heavy training week!

Miles run (a paltry) 30 +1 hour resistance/yoga

The Joy & Misery

Well, I’ve knocked about ideas all week for the essay. But my brain is fried - (from the heat) - and I’ve got no umph in my intellect or my running. I missed 12 miles on my schedule this week, one run on Saturday all together and the odd mile here and there throughout the week. The heat continues, the humidity smothers and the speedwork has all but ceased as I’m just trying to keep my endurance up in these miserable days. I missed 1 day of resistance and had no energy to do yoga. I even cut out my joy, the swim, on Saturday as I was just to blah… It’s depressing, and I’m working on a solution to this early weather assault. I’ve got my suspicions its just going to be one of those summers. As much as I HATE the treadmill, I think it will have to become my friend if I hope to continue serious training, building on the miles and upping the ante on speed.

Miles run 40 +1 hour swimming +1 hour resistance/yoga

The heat is on...

I like to think of myself as a strong, hardy, independent person. At the age of 12 I would beam with pride when called stubborn. I was downright giddy that my parents had a book in their library entitled The Strong Willed Child. As I got a little older and my worldview grew less myopic, the harsh reality of my limitations and inferiorities came crashing down. Losing championship games, not making the grade I expected, actually confronting failure - ouch. But I did manage to dust myself off and move on - most of the time capturing some positive essential from the experience. There is however a little piece of me that is still an obstinate and overly- sure 10 year old, and boy did it come out this week.

June in St. Louis got off to a hot, hot, hot and mighty humid start. No bother for the strong and capable me. 108 lbs of sheer force and will, I woke up Monday morning absolutely sure I could tackle this weather, any time of day, with aplomb. Well - not even close. I withered and withered and withered some more, and by Saturday, when I finally ran at a reasonable time for the heat, I just couldn’t make it more than 4 miles of my scheduled 8. I limped home - tail between the legs - slumped on the couch and felt sorry for myself and my lack of fitness, wallowed away for an hour or so wondering if I’m just too old to keep up and how in the world I would ever make 50 miles if I could barely scrape out 4. Eventually I decided to just zip the brains negativity and go have fun. It worked! I woke up Sunday morning, humbled and ready to tackle a 14 mile run - weather be damned. I took it easy, ran well within my comfort zone and finally, somewhere around mile 8, I began to feel like me again knocking the last 6 out of the park with some decent speed.

14 miles - not that big of a deal. I run that distance 2-3 times a week while marathon training, but 14 miles after a week of getting my esteem chomped up = priceless. And I relearned, which I think I have to every year, to be smart about running in the heat. It accumulates on your body and taxes you in a way that running in mild temperatures just does not. I tend to get into a zone when the weather warms up in the spring and I am running well - where I think I can do anything - run Badwater 135 miles in the searing heat, no problem - Leadville, I could do that in my sleep - Sahara 1 week across the desert run, without a blink - and then my reality sets in, brings me back to earth, smacks me around and helps to center me back on my own realistic goals. It stings every time, and every time I come away with a little more knowledge of myself. So while I wouldn’t call this week a good running week - it sure was a positive self examination week, and I’m hoping that I can cater my goals to the reality of my body and it’s limitations in a way that keeps me satisfied within but still reaching just beyond the line.

Miles run = 49 +1.5 hour swimming 2 hour resistance training/yoga

The Build Begins

Some things I’m just not very good at keeping - one would be a journal. I’m always kicking myself, the supposed writer, for not chronicling and archiving the moments that present in a more concrete manner. It makes me sad to think of all those memories lost to the unreliable narrator of my mind. (I fully recognize the irony of that statement.) I have tried over the years, many times, to start some sort of narrative - any sort of reference to this life. There are dozens of bound journals with fits and starts but no real essence. The closest you would get to finding the moments would be in my boxed up yearly dayrunners, even those are dusty with neglect in these electronic dating days. So, last week when I was cleaning out my desk, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a running journal that I actually kept for my 3 months of Boston Marathon training. It was nostalgic and strangely intense to read the tiny snippets - and they truly are tiny, just a roll call of miles run, temperature, calories consumed, miles on the shoes, pace and how I felt - nothing spectacular, nothing special. But just peeking into that book took me instantly back there, to that 12 mile run a week before the big race supposed to be slow but burned up @ sub 7 pace. I can remember the way the air felt, the unusual smell at mile 9 that nearly made me sick and turning onto our street smiling ear to ear, recognizing how ready I was for the big day. And that’s just one run. I could do that for almost every run recorded in the journal. It made me pause and realize one fundamental reason why I love running so much. It’s something I DO. It’s not something I start and stop. It doesn’t nag at the base of my mind as a should be or could be; it simply is. Yes the training plans, the goals, the triumphs are all part of the package, but running is running without the medals and the circled date at the end of a calendar. I lace up my shoes, walk out the door, head to the park and traipse back home. Once home I am finished with my task - beginning, middle and a neat,tidy denoument - every single day. And if I’m up for it I can pile on the goals, push myself to go faster, longer, harder, more; layer the experience, but I know regardless that I will most certainly open the door and run. It’s as essential as sleeping, eating or loving.

And with that newly formed understanding my first building week went quite well. I had to cut out my Wednesday run entirely due to freakishly strange weather: hail storms, 50 mph winds, and loud, loud thunderclaps that shook the house. So I padded the rest of my runs with a few extra miles to try and meet my weekly mileage goal, coming close. Next week I plan on adding an additional 2 hours of XT via road bike; we’ll see how well my energy holds all of these different exercise balls in the air - and if it does - then I might just do the Ironman Tri in September with Eric…..

Miles run 46 +1.5 hour swimming +1.5 hour resistance & yoga

Just a short note

It was a “down” week for me - so lots of easy running, minus the Thursday hill session which nearly sent me home in tears. I was beginning to get quite frustrated with my lack of fitness and speed, and then along came the weekend. Sunday was a breakthrough run for me. It was hot - hot - hot, and I had no intention of actually completing the long run. I told myself I’d be happy with just 4 miles as the thermometer tipped 92 degrees. After a week of temperatures in the 60’s - 92 felt like being in an oven. But I went out there and plugged away - running all the miles and shaving a few minutes off my supposed finish time. I finally feel like my fitness is progressing, and that I am getting somewhere! Hopefully this trend will continue next week - as I take a serious step up in training intensity.


Miles run 32 + 1 hour swimming + 1 hour resistance training

Too Cool!

BRRC - First Cut from Brandon Wade on Vimeo.

Rain, Rain, Rain.....

10 days and counting...everything is damp, all the time - our towels will not dry, my shoes are squishy and chilly when I pull them over my socks. I’m tired of this weather! Everyday this week it was either threatening to rain or raining during my run - a no sunglasses necessary week. I managed to capture all 6 runs on the plan anyhow, and for 3.5 of them I had a partner, my teenage Eric. Our Saturday run, which was scheduled to be a “recovery” 6 mile day for me after my Friday speed session, was a breakthrough moment for Eric. Having the opportunity to feed off that energy was empowering and fitness building, if not a little silly on my part. With puddles and mud and rain coming down Eric decided to go cross country in the park, and I followed along - mud caking the backs of our legs, shoes growing heavier with each stride, we had an absolute blast. Eric hit every puddle with the joy of little kid stomping around post rainstorm, and I couldn’t help but smile - especially when he blurted out mid-stride, “I really love running.” Of course, he was in such good spirits after 4 weeks off running that I could barely keep pace with him. As he glided along at a 6:00ish pace I had to let him run ahead. I kept telling myself quietly - slow down Kristen this is your recovery day. BUT watching your kiddo in a moment of pure bliss, well that makes the exhaustion, the soreness, the difficulty on the Sunday long run all worth it. Witnessing someone else discover the essential feeling of physical power and exhaustion of the purest form = priceless. And after more intense running than anticipated this week I am very much looking forward to a down mileage week - starting off with shooting a Big River commercial this evening. I get to play a fast runner. “Play” is the operative word here, as I just don’t feel anywhere near fast yet - hopefully a few more weeks of base building will help....

Miles run: 40 + 1 hour swimming + 1 hour resistance training

The Letter C

The couch - what an enemy it can be! This week started off with a really strong fever and head cold which quickly went to my chest - hence - the couch. If wasn’t working I was down, tissues all around me, blankets tossed on and off and trying, trying, trying to feel GOOD. Cinco de Mayo (a silly but engagingly fun holiday) came and went without so much as a taste of guacamole or salt rimmed margarita. And my 5K race Wednesday night - well that was a bust…. The rest of the week went down the tubes as well, and as the weekend approached I was concerned that I would never get better and the fever, the congestion, the headache, the cough was here to stay.

The highlight of my week - seeing Eric get his Varsity letter for Track & Field, as a Freshman. I didn’t expect it to hit Eric with such significance - but he was unexpectedly excited about the recognition after working so hard to achieve it. And as he continues to grow in the arena of running, I’m the one who is excited to watch his development and progress.

The week ended, Sunday, FINALLY with a run - the best part, my fast teenage son accompanied me. We both have been out of running - him for 2 weeks due to a wrist fracture on the growth plate, and me for the week thanks to illness. So we took it nice and easy, chatted the whole time and made our 5K loop in no time. I look forward to a normal training week this week, complete with sore and tired legs and slower than expected speed times.

Miles run: 3….+1 hour resistance training

Regarding Research

Ask anyone around and they’ll tell you I’m a reader. I’ve an entire room devoted to books. In a large house this would be no big thing, but in our small 1600 square foot, 7 room house, it’s a serious commitment to institute a library. In my library are several shelves devoted to training and fitness. I’ve read everything and I do mean everything available about distance running, the marathon, nutrition, the runners body, etc... Some of the books have been wonderful gems of information, some are better suited for the ‘que as kindling. There are hundreds of books out there about distance running and optimal training - so when I began my ultra running research I figured it would be relatively easy to find some valid information. Uh huh…. That the library doesn’t even recognize ultra-running as a subject should have been my first warning. Next stop on the research train was Barnes & Noble online. Check their marathon running category and you come up with over 100 titles. Try ultra running or ultra marathons and you come up with 7, 3 of which have nothing to do with ultra running, 2 of which are over 20 years old and out of print. Yes, this was going to take a little more digging. Hours and hours later I found some tasty tidbits via running blogs and running times. I am honestly surprised at the lack of information out there in the middle of this information age. Ultra-running is a bit of a middle finger to the boon of distance running as an everyman sport. It’s the underground rave world of running. This both excites me and scares me. And as I start this project I am as under-prepared as I’ve ever been in terms of research. Somehow though, my nerves are steady and I have confidence that I can not only find some relative and relevant information, but even if I do not - that I can make it through a 50 mile run. It’s a little like a kindergardener’s confidence when they barrel through the doors of learning - all boundless energy and optimism. My training week bolstered this, and I was able to complete all my boxes.

The week was not without struggle however. My hips - both of them - have been pesky lately. This is not a pain I’m used to experiencing and it’s quite uncomfortable. In addition, I had a bit of a bug, slight fever, bad headaches S/Tue - but nothing to X a workout over. So on Wednesday night I jumped into a 4 mile race in Forest Park for my “speed” work, and it was rough. After the first minute I felt like my legs were cement. When I hit the first mile marker in 7:18 I was dumbfounded; my body certainly FELT like it was working much harder than this. I should’ve been hitting that marker a good 45 seconds earlier. I took a deep breath and soldiered on, knowing it was going to be an embarrassingly slow speed-workout for me. I hit the remaining 3 markers in 7:16, 7:18, and 7:01 respectively. In the end, after crossing the finish line almost 3 minutes slower than anticipated, I was actually glad to have the experience in the bank, and hopefully I’ll be able to watch my fitness grow as the weeks progress. This race also serves as a remarkable reminder of my age. I’m by no means an old timer but spring chicken doesn’t ring so true anymore either…. These are the moments when you realize: you’re not invincible youth anymore. I can’t just go out there and rip off fast miles without real preparation in every way. From my sleep numbers to my food input, it all matters now. It reminded me of the need to focus on all of the variables and centered my drive to do just that. The week ended with a peaceful 9 mile run in the park, a perfect way to end an imperfect week of running.

Miles Run: 40 + 1 Hour Swimming + 1 Hour Resistance Training

The Plan

My training plan is complete. It’s a thing of beauty. Color coordinated, stamped, sealed and delivered to my fridge. It hangs up there as a reminder of my goals and need to focus on fitness, nutrition and whole body health. It’s also a daunting and overwhelming peek into the next 5 months of my life - seeing it out there, recognizing that I am consciously deciding to push myself into a fitness realm I’ve yet to find - well it makes me dizzy with anticipation and fear of failure. I LOVE checking the boxes after a workout complete, putting little smiley faces next to my mileage chart. At the same time, every workout missed gets a slash. Some training plans those slashes start to add up and weigh heavy on the mind. It messes with your psychological fitness level more than your physical one. Self doubt becomes the hungry bear in the arena. I am crossing my fingers for mostly checks, but that’s the beast of distance running. You just never know what the next day holds. There’s also a down-stretch that happens to me after getting my training plan. I’m not necessarily a “task oriented” person, and being told - even if it’s essentially by myself - that I am to do something sometimes sends me kicking and screaming in the opposite direction. So this week has been about trying to center myself, realize that even though the plan is long and entirely of my own design, there will still be time for fun, free, peaceful running. I will hopefully be setting up my physical self for feeling really, really great going into my late fall surgery. Part of me just wanted to sit on the couch all week and be lazy, knowing the build I’m about to enter, but the fit, the focused part of me grabbed my shoes and pounded the pavement anyhow. I ran on Tuesday with Conrad 8 miles. It was lovely. We chatted the whole run and I felt great at the end. I only got one other run in this week, but I feel confident about my rest and ready for this leap. Follow me as I jump off a new ledge~

Miles This Week: 12

Quiet Time

Post marathon week is typically fraught with dichotomous feelings of elation and exhaustion - happiness at completing a task and depression over the task being finished after months of preparation. This marathon didn’t hold the same post-marathon blues for me. Partially because my training was incomplete, cut short and there were no plans to actually run the marathon - I was freed from the constrictions of time goals and nervous energy. I woke up Monday morning literally ready to run, but took the day off anyway. This week has been abnormally warm, sunny, and humid. We’ve been on average 25 degrees above normal - straight to July. So running in Forest Park took on a whole new color of intensity. I stepped out the door on Tuesday morning after 48 hours off my feet and had a very nice, easy 4 mile run with my partner a German Shorthair, Mady. Wednesday I could hardly wait to get out the door - another 4 miles, which was surprisingly intense as the temperatures tipped the scales @ 86 with 70% humidity. Even Mady wore out. Thursday I had the chance to run with Conrad - lovely chat, and it was good to see him feeling healthy and fit again. By weeks end I had 25 miles on my shiny new Brooks Green Silence and no idea how fast or slow my park running was. No music, no watches, mostly running partners and peace. On Saturday I got to watch my son break through an important milestone in his running career. It was really cool to greet him at the finish line and see the determination, the focus, and the realization that if he works for it - the sub 5 is within his sightline.

This week was not about times, splits, intervals. Time in the fresh air - thinking and breathing time. Technically my training for the Chicago marathon will begin on Monday the 26th. This is a long and slow and progressive training plan focused on whole body strength. I’ve always had 13 week plans - so I’m nervous to see if I can maintain the focus for such a long stretch. I’m doubling my Chicago marathon training as my JFK 50 mile training as the 50 miler is 6 weeks after Chicago. One more week of carefree running here I come.

Miles this week = 25

The beginning

The sacred experience of the marathon gives me goose bumps every time I conjure it in the memory. This past Sunday, April 11, 2010 - I had the joyous opportunity to run another one. This time in my hometown! For the first time in my marathon running life, my parents got to see me out there on the course. I didn’t know it would feel so damn good to see my Dad in his bright yellow shirt smiling as he saw me coming up the mile 16 hill. I certainly didn’t comprehend the impact of seeing my mom- 5 days out of another chemo treatment - standing there, ready to give me a hug. My mom is the reason I started this distance running tour in the first place. That little moment beat any other moment in running. It kicked crossing the finish line in Central Park with a torn ligament in my knee, the amazement of realizing I would be running Boston, the intensity of heartbreak hill, even crossing the line in my first experience @ White Rock - something I never, ever thought could be touched. My mom’s arms around me right there @ the corner of Hanley & Forsyth in the bright sunshine and too warm temperatures changed my focus. I finished the marathon helping out my Conrad, who gutted it out despite tunnel vision, heart palpitations, seeing stars.... And in those last 10 miles I came to understand just how much I love this sport. The struggles, well they’re what make us better, stronger, more fulfilled human beings. Consistently throwing yourself out there - knowing that failure is a very real option - confronting it all, your past success, your current level of fitness, the reality of getting older. It’d be so much easier to sit on the couch and remember those times you ran a 35 min 10K, but yet you choose the experience. You struggle; you cross the finish line holding your best friend in the wide world’s hand - and this incredible peace washes over you. It was hard to watch my sweet one struggle so much, but I was thankful my body held up and allowed me to be his support crew. Conrad and I finished the race in very different places mentally, physically and spiritually. We traveled it together, and in the end we reached the same conclusion - YES it’s all worth it. My long and winding explanation here: at mile 22 when I was running backwards, sideways, and all around, patting people on the back, trying to say words of encouragement when it looked needed, striking up conversations with random strangers and making sure Conrad was ok - I realized - YEP, I’m ready for the next leap in endurance running. 50 miles here I come!