We're all out there chasing our better selves (FredtheDuck chases on)

[JulieODC]

Great journal - following along with you!

 

[FredtheDuck]

Not running related, but Disney related - our kiddo was Anna from Frozen for Halloween and she was so cute! We only took her to a few houses last night (friends in the neighborhood that we knew would want to see her), but by the end she had mastered saying "Trick or treat!" (shyly), and this morning, she woke up and immediately demanded "I want more treats!"

 

[JulieODC]

Not running related, but Disney related - our kiddo was Anna from Frozen for Halloween and she was so cute! We only took her to a few houses last night (friends in the neighborhood that we knew would want to see her), but by the end she had mastered saying "Trick or treat!" (shyly), and this morning, she woke up and immediately demanded "I want more treats!"

View attachment 280960

Amazing how quickly even the littlest ones catch on to trick or treating!! If only potty training worked the same way

 

[FredtheDuck]

Amazing how quickly even the littlest ones catch on to trick or treating!! If only potty training worked the same way

If only! We haven't started that yet, but I suspect we're getting close.

Also, welcome! Glad to have you along : )

 

[ZellyB]

She looks so cute!!!

 

[FredtheDuck]

She looks so cute!!!

Aww thank you! It was fun to watch her get into the spirit (no pun intended) a little bit this year!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I was actually thinking along these lines this morning. I've run a half now. I know that, barring unforeseen circumstance, I can finish a half. I can build on my experience with training, with that race, and with subsequent work that I am doing now and will put in in the future to tackle my next half with less of an uncertain "Ok, I'm going to go out and do my best and hope that I finish" and more of a "Ok, I will finish this. How? What am I trying to accomplish? Is there a real goal and a real strategy to employ during this race to meet that goal?" And that'll be a new level for me. That's kind of where I am with 5ks now. I'll do it. What do I want from it and how will I get there? New line of thinking, and a marked departure from "Enjoy a nice jog and finish."

It's really remarkable what happens to our confidence after doing a half. There are so many running experiences I've had since that very first half that I never would have even dreamed were possible the very first time I started to train.

 

[FredtheDuck]

@DopeyBadger random question: I couldn't get out this morning to do my speed workout at the track (the tl;dr is that it is becoming rapidly apparent that I'm going to need the shoulder surgery that I have been trying to avoid). I have some time during lunch to hit the treadmill today. Better to do the speed workout on the treadmill (which will give me some practice at the new paces) or swap my EB that I'm supposed to do tomorrow to today and then do the speed workout at the track tomorrow?

 

[DopeyBadger]

@DopeyBadger random question: I couldn't get out this morning to do my speed workout at the track (the tl;dr is that it is becoming rapidly apparent that I'm going to need the shoulder surgery that I have been trying to avoid). I have some time during lunch to hit the treadmill today. Better to do the speed workout on the treadmill (which will give me some practice at the new paces) or swap my EB that I'm supposed to do tomorrow to today and then do the speed workout at the track tomorrow?

Either do the speed workout today on the treadmill (if you're comfortable with it) or an easy day on the treadmill. You don't want to move the speed day to tomorrow since you have another hard workout on Saturday (8 mile LR). I don't like to put hard days back to back.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Either do the speed workout today on the treadmill (if you're comfortable with it) or an easy day on the treadmill. You don't want to move the speed day to tomorrow since you have another hard workout on Saturday (8 mile LR). I don't like to put hard days back to back.

Done. Note to self: speed workouts on a treadmill feel much harder than speed workouts at the track. I suppose it could also be the new paces. Either way, phew, that was tougher than I expected.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Done. Note to self: speed workouts on a treadmill feel much harder than speed workouts at the track. I suppose it could also be the new paces. Either way, phew, that was tougher than I expected.

I know I can't do them. Just feel too out of control at faster paces.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Monday Training Update (Week 6): Week Ending 11/5

This was the plan for the week:

T - 4 miles @ EA + Strides
Th - 1 mile @ WU, 8x400 @ 10k w/ 30 sec RI @ WU, 1 mile @ CD
F - 4 miles @ EB
Sa - 8 miles @LR

This was overall a good training week. I got out and did my 4 miles outside on Tuesday, and it was beautiful weather. I'm trying to build my endurance on hills a little more, so I'm picking kind of repetitive segments that have some hills in my neighborhood, and then heading to a "back stretch" that has the very end of my run on a bigger hill. It isn't the most exciting route, but I can feel my endurance getting better. I've been wearing my new Brooks for these EA and EB runs, and I'm really happy with them. I've noticed myself feeling much less sore after I run, which is probably both a function of being in better shape and possibly some benefit from the shoes. I'll take it. Pacing was ok: 12:37/mi, was supposed to be doing 13:02.

Wednesday into Thursday was another difficult sleep night. These are getting old, fast. It was game 7 of the World Series, and @MoanasPapa is a born-and-bred Dodgers fan, so he was up late watching the game, woke me up when he came in, then had a hard time getting to sleep and kept me awake with his dejected tossing and turning. So of course had a nightmare a couple of hours later and I couldn't get back to sleep after it, so... you know... a 5AM wakeup call was not welcome. I ended up finding time during the day to do that workout on the treadmill here at work. As I wrote earlier this week, it was much tougher on the treadmill, and I was running at brand new paces to boot. But it got done. One thing I JUST realized though - I'm supposed to be running my RIs at WU. I've been (quickly) walking them. I tried to run the first couple on the treadmill but decided to go back to the typical walk given the unexpected challenge of the workout. I'll start running RIs outside, where I'm a little more comfortable during speed workouts.

Thursday's workout was somewhat uneventful. I picked the same route I had done Tuesday. I made a tactical error and had laid out cooler-weather clothes (capris and a long sleeve tech shirt), but didn't want to go change because my in-laws are in town and I was trying to be quiet. Oh well. It was fine. Pacing was much better: was supposed to be doing 12:11 and did 12:13. I also ran 1/3 of a mile longer than I was supposed to because I miscalculated one of the loops. That's ok, I felt good.

I was not sure when I'd get my Saturday 8-miler in. I ended up being able to go after kiddo's gym class. Weather was great. It definitely took me a while to settle in to the run, though, and I had a lot of random stops in the first couple of miles. I was actually really glad that the discussion about stopping at intersections had come up on the main running thread last week, it helped me feel ok about my stops (intersection, troubleshooting wireless headphones, pit stop). Around mile 2, all the distractions were done and the other 6 miles were all straight running, and they felt good. It was a pretty run that was partly paved trail and partly neighborhood. My new LR pace is 11:47 and I ended up at 11:13, but it's my fault (for some reason I had it in my head that my new pace was 11:27. I think my old one was 12:27.). One fun thing: I noted how much better my endurance is than when I did my 8-milers last cycle. Those were done on a trail that's a less hilly, this one was done on a hillier route. Last cycle, I would have been really working hard beyond mile 6, this time, I was surprised to still be feeling fine at 8. Last cycle, I never in a million years would have wanted to do the route I did on Saturday because I would have worried about the hills too much. This cycle I didn't really even think about it. I was tired at the end of the run, but I wasn't depleted, and I could have easily kept going. So, that's great!

Shoe alert: I ran that 8-miler in my NB 1400s, and they hit over 200 miles on that run. I felt a little more achy in my Achilles and hips after the run (felt fine during), so I'm wondering if maybe they're getting towards the end of their usability for long runs. Maybe time to relegate them for speed only and find something else for LRs. I like the Brooks and have had very little residual soreness after my runs in them, but I'd like something with a little more spring/cushion than that particular model for longer distances. Time to do some research.

Also, I have a race on Sunday. This'll be my first sub-30 5k attempt. I have no idea what the elevation situation is for the course (it's a low-key race series for a local running club, so details are scant), so I'm not entirely sure what to expect except that I will go out and run hard and there will probably be pizza and beer for dinner that night.

 

[FredtheDuck]

I got curious and decided to approximate this weekend's race in gmap pedometer. I don't know exactly where the start line and turnaround will be, but I should be within a couple hundred yards, and it looks totally manageable, I'll just need to be smart about by breathing going up the weird little spikes.

 

[FredtheDuck]

It’s always when I’m feeling confident that something dumb happens to bring my back to earth. Run derailed by GI this morning. I got a mile before I had to throw in the towel. It happens, but it sure is irritating.

 

[ZellyB]

Excellent training week!! I have to share your misery about husband's who stay up late to watch sporting events and then keep you awake with their dejected tossing and turning. We aren't baseball fans in our house, but Chris loves his Chiefs football and it's a tragedy in our house every time they lose.

Anyway, great job on that 8-miler. Isn't it awesome when a run like that just feels good and you know you could keep going? So fantastic.

Can't wait to hear about how the race goes on Sunday. I know you can do it!!

 

[Dopeyintraining]

I got a mile before I had to throw in the towel.

I think you did the right thing. If it's a tummy bug you could make yourself worse. Hope you feel better soon though I'm sure you're on for a good run on Sunday.

I have NB Vongos which have done 150 miles in which isn't a lot. I loved them to start with but I feel like they have lost their springyness and I have relegated them to my shorter runs.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Speed workout felt good this morning. I didn't do it at the track because it was an abbreviated (only 5x400) workout due to the race, and that didn't make sense with the route I normally do to get to the track. All 5 intervals were sub-10 (9:33, 9:15, 9:32, 9:32, 9:29), and I felt like they were hard but manageable (I was actually a little surprised that I was going as fast as I was for the last two because I felt slow). Hoping that bodes well for the sub-30 attempt on Sunday!

Minor negative that I'm watching: the torn labrum in my shoulder has been really painful the last two weeks. It doesn't usually impact my running, but today I was VERY aware of it being jostled as I ran. I found myself checking my distances a lot more than I normally do on such a short run, and I think it was because subconsciously I was hurting and wanted to know when I'd be done. So that sucks. I've been in touch with the Ortho I'm working with on it. I suspect we're headed towards surgery (which he assumed we probably would), so now it may come down to finding a time to do it. My two concerns: Lots of travel coming up, and with a toddler in the airport, I really need the use of both arms. And, the recovery will require me to not run for a period while the reconstruction sets and begins to heal over. So I'm trying to figure out how to thread the needle between the travel and starting training for the Cleveland half I'm hoping to do in May.

 

[ZellyB]

Great job on your speed workout today, but bummed to hear your shoulder was bothering you. I hate that you may have to have surgery and but hopefully if you do you can manage a good time to do it with minimal disruption.

 

[roxymama]

Catching up on your journal:
1) Your kiddo is adorable and she is totally right about how awesome getting candy is on Halloween.
2) I hope your shoulder is nice to you this weekend! RE: toddler in an airport tip. It's not fail-proof but I found that by putting little toys in a backpack that my kiddo liked walking with the backpack on (instead of being carried) and then when in the stroller she'd be rooting around in her backpack while sitting. just an idea...again not fail-proof.
3) Really excited to hear how your 5k goes. I think you are totally capable of grabbing that time starting with a 2

 

[FredtheDuck]

I’ll write a more detailed recap later, but wanted to note that I didn’t make my sub-30 goal. Official time right now is showing 31:36, but the gun and chip are identical so I have a query in to the organizer. @moanaspapa’s gun and chip are the same too. We crossed the start in the second wave with 44 seconds already on the race clock, so I expect that the chip will be revised down to 30:52 or so. Either way it was a PR, so that’s nice. More later.