I'm going to dew point in weather's face if it doesn't lay off

Since my last post, Louisville has been your choice of:

• Hot (like 90* and humid)


• Storming (like rain and tornadoes)


• Windy (like 15mph)

Suffice it to say it has been a tough couple weeks. Last Monday, I figured I'd get in an easy 4 miles when I left work ... except it started to hail. With the long weekend, my running group was nonexistent, so I decided to run Sunday with the Derby City kids for my long run. It was 92*. Not one of my best decisions, but I got the miles in nonetheless.

Today I headed over to E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park with the intention of doing some cruise intervals. It was a mere 80* when I arrived, but the 71* dew point and 66% humidity had me sweating like an OSU Athletic Director a half mile in. I bagged the workout, did an easy 6 -- and they didn't even feel easy. I guess it is time to start waking up early again.

I got some awesome New Balance gear last week. Favorite running outfit is the NBx Adapter Sleeveless top, super lightweight, great hand to the fabric, great fit, little pocket on the inside; along with the NBx Run Short. The short fits amazing, liner is Xstatic fabric, no-tie drawstring, zipper pocket in the back. My number two outfit is the IceFil Sleeveless tank, which utilizes IceFil (xylitol) to actually bring down the temperature of the fabric when you start sweating. I also love the lower neckline. This I pair with my go-to shorts, the NP Short, which I own in way too many colors. (Or not enough.)

By the way, all that gear is on sale right now on the New Balance website. Of course, if you live near a specialty running store, go there first.

Oh yeah, I ran a 5k over the weekend ... It was more of a tempo run. Where I got beat by a middle school girl who runs for Derby City. And we all went the wrong way. I'm running another one this Sunday (at 4 p.m.), and possibly one June 11 as well. Anxiously awaiting the return of what little speed I used to have.

Race report: Run for the "L" of It 5k

This post is subtitled, "The Little Engine That Couldn't."

Summer has come to the Ohio Valley, which meant at race time Saturday it was in the mid-70s with humidity pushing 80%. Lovely.

The women's line-up for this race was stacked -- probably one of the most competitive races in the city. I knew that was coming, so I was mostly racing the clock since I knew some of these girls would be a minute ahead of me ... at least. If there were any other women closer to me, I'd race them, but those other girls ... Not even. In the end, U of L runner Emily Borsare would win in 17:10, followed by Amy Doolittle-Crider, Kim Coleman and Meghan Braffet, all right around 18 minutes. Yikes!

I went into this race hoping to run around 19 minutes like I did last year, but thinking 19:15 was more realistic considering how I felt during Thursday's workout. (I can only post about one thing at a time, so I will get the week in review up soon.) Apparently even that was a little too optimistic.

I hit the first mile marker in 6:06, even though Cassidy (my 405) pinged a few feet later at 6:15 pace. Sometimes I hate that damn thing, I think I'm going to start setting it up for races so that it works like an old school watch - no auto-lap, no pace. Just chrono and I will force-lap at the mile markers.

The course is a pretty cool configuration, sort of a backwards C-shape with a little loop at the top. So people watching at the start/finish line can also see you around halfway, and there's no sharp turnaround like in an out-and-back.

My coach was at the little loop, and I yelled to him that my jacked-up right leg was hurting. He told me to relax up top and keep going. I was hoping he was going to tell me to drop out. Drats. Okay, legs, keep going. Cassidy split 6:29 for the second mile, yikes. Couple more turns and then we are back at Eighth and Main, which means I just have to get to Fourth and Main, pop up a couple blocks, then it's over. It's so humid the sweat is beading up on my skin -- no evaporation at all. Gross.

I spend from about 1.5 miles to 2.5 miles running next to my friend Rob, a pal from Track Tuesday. I start putting some ground on him as we turn onto Main, catch a couple of other men, turn onto Fourth and blast the jets. This is always a bad idea because the Fourth Street part is longer than I'd like (about .3). Catch two more guys, commit to the I'm-going-to-hurl feeling. Because once you "chick" some poor dude, you can't let them pass you back. Just can't.

Cassidy is stupid and only got 3.05 for the race, which is an acceptable figure considering the width of the course, but means its calculation for pace over the .1 is no good. It figures something like 7:20 for that part, but I was definitely working harder than that coming up Fourth Street. Oh well.

Crossed the line in 19:30, good for fifth female and an AG win. Thank goodness my friend Meghan doesn't turn 25 till next month, so she won the AG below mine.

More races coming up, more race practice, less whining. That's the plan.

Oh, and kudos to my mom and friends Melanie, Debra and Jeff on this race, too! Mom improved over her 5k a couple of weeks ago, Jeff ran in the 18:20s after not running a 5k in forever, and Debra picked up an AG award!

April Summary

After Shamrock, I decided I had definitely earned a little bit of downtime. The turn-around between Marshall and Shamrock had been fairly quick (not quite six months from race day to race day), and the crappy winter weather had been mentally harsh. With no races planned till the end of May, I figured I could take April pretty easy — running because I wanted to run, not because I had to run.

I also had this great idea that I would get back into cross training again, but that only happened like three times that the month. Including a one-hour personal training session that made me unable to lift my arms for three days. No fun.

The first week after the marathon, the last full week of March, I think I ran 15 miles. Then I got up to a stellar 32 miles the following week, all recovery miles, all slow as can be.

Then I busted out a 10 miler at a decent pace, and took two days off that week. The speed was coming back but the muscles weren't bouncing back very quickly.

The third week of April was an oops. A 12 mile long run, 8.5 mile speed session and a 9 mile run. There was a weekend switcheroo, where we were trying to do our long run on Saturday since people were racing the next weekend — I only had time to do 9, but along with a couple of easy, shorter runs, I hit 46 for the week. Initially it felt okay, but I followed it up with two 8 mile runs and a 9.4 mile nasty hill workout and had to take a day off. Over the next four days I ran a whopping 10 miles, and I needed it. Plus I had some sort of race silliness (see Cades Cove Loop Lope race report) coming up.

To round out April, the Ohio River Valley attacked my sinuses, resulting in a week of fighting swollen lymph nodes, phlegm and mucus. Gross.

After Shamrock, I had set a goal for April of averaging 28-38 miles weekly over the course of the month. I averaged about 37, so pretty good there. Of course, I had also set a goal of strength training twice a week ... Epic fail.

I should have set some goals for May at the beginning of the month instead of 11 days in. Oops. Let's say averaging 40-50 miles per week and completing 75 percent of my assigned workouts.

Virginia trip, part 1

My running pal/relay teammate/New Balance benefactor Pete and I were the two people embarking on the Shamrock trip. Pete lives in Lexington (about an hour away), but we were flying out of Louisville. Early. He picked me up at 5 a.m. Friday, which gave us plenty of time to catch our 6:50 a.m. flight.

Usually Louisville's quaint airport (technically two terminals, but really just two hallways) is pretty desolate that early in the morning, but there were spring breakers clogging up everything. In fact, our plane contained both elementary AND high school groups. Yippee!

Anyway, it made the tiny security checkpoint slower than a three-legged dog in the snow. And it really confused them why my boarding pass only had my last names on it, no first name. Now, listen, that is not my fault. I didn't design the damn ticket. You want me to have more names on it, talk to the kiosk. Or whatever.

Pete's prototype 759s (due out in May -- check them out!) were pulled for a check at security, although mine were not. Who knows. I remarked maybe nitroglycerin wasn't the best cushioning choice after all.

Our flight was a short trip over to BWI, during which I fired up Cassidy (my gfr 405) so we could see how fast and how far we were going. It kept dropping the signal, which I didn't understand ... since I was closer to the satellite than I usually am. We had virtually no layover at BWI; they were beginning to board as we got to the gate.

I left my book on the first plane (hopefully the next person in that seat loves chick-lit), so I ended up wasting a lot of time complaining about breakfast (well, the lack thereof) and looking at SkyMall. I weighed the relative merits of purchasing a group of garden meercats versus purchasing a garden Yeti. Tough decision — and since they live in very different natural environments, you really can't have both. That would just be unrealistic.

We landed in Norfolk at 9:30 or so, picked up the rental car — a Mazda R3 with about 50 miles on it — and headed to a breakfast place called Citrus, recommended by a local on the flight. Delish. Pete had eggs benedict, a nice normal-person sized breakfast. I couldn't make up my mind ... so I ordered everything. Enter The Lynnhaven: hash browns or grits, pancakes or french toast, sausage or bacon, and two eggs however you want 'em. For $7.

To kill time, we attempted to find the touristy part of Virginia Beach, but no dice.

N(touristy) + N^2 = e(pic)^fail

We drifted around for a bit, found the expo but had to wait for it to open. People were actually lining up to get in. We sat at a table and waited; the full only had a thousand people so the odds of us needing to rush in were nil. Packet pickup was easy enough, although oddly organized. At one table you got your bib, once you figured out the right spot, and you had to remember to actually get your own safety pins. You had to have a signed waiver and identification with you. Which was sort of funny, because I gave the volunteer my waiver and my ID, and then she asked my name to verify I was getting the right bib. Clearly we both know my name, assumed or otherwise, at this juncture.

Then off to a different room to figure out which area is the marathon shirts. I got an XS tech long sleeve ... made by Brooks, a company who notoriously vanity sizes apparel. So really it fits like a medium. Why are there never shirts that fit? In the land of marathoning females, I am not that small!

Our hotel, the lovely Sheraton Norfolk Waterside (great all-around, definitely recommend), got us checked in before lunch. Lovely rooms; Sheraton currently has my vote for best blankets. I thought the duvet might suffocate me, but in a nice expensive duvet way. There was no scratchy comforter, which I always throw immediately onto the floor, and the pillows were excellent. Only complaint was that there was free wi-fi in the lobby, but not in the rooms. Apparently that is standard in nice hotels, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

We roamed downtown Norfolk for a bit, got lunch at Schlotzky's Deli, and went back for naps. We threw in an easy four miler in the afternoon, then hit the Outback Steakhouse next door for dinner. Then I proceeded to sleep for 11 hours — hey, they say two nights before is the important night for sleeping and I was happy to comply.

Saturday we visited Running Etc. in Norfolk, a nice store with lots of stuff and a cool layout. We had lunch at The Green Onion — definitely a trip highlight. It was sunny and 70, so we read outside for a while and generally acted like bums. We found a Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and that was pretty much the end of the non-race portion of the trip.

Race report to follow.

Spring training: Week 3

Alright, alright, this one is being posted way late. Whoops. Finally back on track and feeling good, mileage-wise, so the weather goes down the drain. A craptastic week.

Didn't run Sunday because ... because ... I didn't feel like it. I laid around all day watching movies instead. And then spent the rest of the week feeling guilty.

Monday I went to tackle my long run, but after seven miles on roads covered in snow and ice, and topped with sand, I gave up. A couple hours later I hit the treadmill to knock out the other 10 miles, which was fine. I believe that was the day I spent most of my treadmill time watching a History Channel show on the Kennedy family. All of them.

It wasn't until Thursday that the roads actually cleared and we could really run. Note my consistent 7:50 pace much of the week. Those days averaged a 150 heart rate, which is about 73% of my max HR. That's fairly low, just a smidge over the 145 bpm or so I use for recovery runs. Which means two things: I'm getting fitter and that I'm not trying very hard. Hello, slacker.

Spring training: Week 1

Am not in shape to hit 60 miles already. Especially not when it's 15 degrees outside every day.

Temperatures dropped throughout the week, as everyone probably noticed. Nice run on Tuesday ... and no run on Wednesday. I ran outta steam. It was cold and dark and everyone was gone. Thursday it was a little warmer but windy, then the weather went to pot.

Sunday we executed a nice Magic Schoolbus Run™ - I ran to Rebekah's, she and I ran to Eileen's, then the three of us ran about 7 miles before dropping off Eileen. Then back to Rebekah's and two miles back to my place. Not bad, pace-wise, 7:40 average and HR average 158.

Back to work

Monday was day 1 of my 12-week Pfitzinger training program. I'm not sure we are entirely settled on Shamrock, but it's the earliest of the options so figured I should get back on it. This will be a roughly 60-mile week, not including Sunday's 17 miles with 8 at marathon pace. Ouch.

More exciting is the inaugural midnight New Year's run here in Louisville. Titled the "2k10k" this year, it will loop around the fabulous Seneca and Cherokee parks. It's not a race -- partially because we just decided to do it on Sunday -- but could certainly turn into one in the future. Turnout probably won't be huge, but it'll be fun!

Does put me in an interesting spot for doubling, though. I'm going to run this afternoon, then again eight hours later, then again sometime Friday.

Week in summary to follow on Saturday.

Treadmill intervals, ouch

Last night was my last interval workout before USATF Club Cross Nationals on Saturday. It was 40 degrees and pouring rain all day yesterday, so I decided to hit the treadmill.

I was scheduled for 6x400 at 1:32 and 4x200 at :36. Doing 200s on the treadmill is nearly impossible; you can't hit the buttons fast enough. You go through the first 100 before it's up to speed. Damn things. Plus I forgot what the split was supposed to be anyway. Went through the 400s in 91 average, then the 200s in about 44. If I could have operated the controls, I definitely could have run the 200s in at least 40.

It's always hysterical to crank the treadmill up to about 10.5 mph while other people are doing 10 minute miles next to you. The girl to my left was walking and reading a book, in pants and a long sleeve -- meanwhile, I'm flinging sweat off my elbows in a crop and split shorts.

As a nice bit of irony ... I ran inside, which I hate, to stay dry and warm. I put my warmups back on, then stood in the cold for 10 minutes waiting for the bus. Then stepped in two huge puddles walking home. End result pretty much the same.

A reminder to myself: flats do not make the leg and foot injury feel better. It hurts like hell this morning, so day off to try and heal before the race. I'll probably take Friday off as well, depending, then play it by ear once the race is over. I need to be training hard the week after Christmas for Shamrock ... Yikes.

One week later

Having had a week to digest my marathon performance, I'm trying to not complain about it too much. I can see where I erred, have a few potential solutions and am excited to try again.

Didn't run much this week -- I hear that's what you're supposed to do after a marathon -- just 4 miles on Wednesday but 10 on Saturday. I was feeling a little antsy not running. Everything feels okay except for the top of my hamstring, but I'm going to see my wonderful massage therapist tomorrow and hopefully she can work that out.

This week will be interesting because one of my best friends is getting married Saturday (and I'm helping organize the reception) and I'm running a practice cross country 5k meet on Sunday in preparation for club cross nationals in December. It'll be a fairly light week mileage-wise, but I do have a 5x1k workout on Wednesday. Then a couple of speed/tempo workouts a week until nationals. We'll get thrashed by some of the high-caliber teams who will come to the meet, but it's in Lexington so it'll be a neat opportunity. I get to wear a sweet uniform, promote the Derby City Athletic Club and maybe meet some really amazing elite runners. What can be bad about that?

MUM training, week 3 (of 12)

I am 61 days from race day. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's at that point where it seems both really freaking close and really far away.

This week was actually really outstanding, my first time hitting 80 in a week, and following that with a solid 20 miler on day eight. Of particular note was the long run, which not only had a solid average pace, but actually had the last six miles at closer to 7:30 pace, with the last mile in 6:45. Then I did my first long run day double, which didn't feel too bad.

Thursday's tempo was alright, it was hot and I wasn't really excited about it. I hit pace and ran well, though, so good effort there. Friday was the week's surprise day -- I had to go out for 12 miles by myself, which sounded awful, but then I walked outside to find it about 50 degrees and absolutely amazing. I cruised along happily at a surprisingly good clip, especially considering the mileage my legs were already carrying.

Not much else to say about the week. Other assorted updates to follow, hopefully one tomorrow about my weekend adventuring with my "manfriend" TT as he took on Ironman Louisville.

MUM training, week 2 (of 12)

I'm in a post-long run stupor right now, sitting in bed after a nap with a bottle of sparkling italian mineral water and a box of junior mints. I think it's well-deserved.

This post probably should be done on Saturday, since that's when I end my training week ... But I work on Saturday and not on Sunday, so here we are. I knew this week's mileage ranked amongst my highest totals ever, but I thought I had gotten in more 70+ weeks in the past than I have. Digging through my log earlier shows I've only hit 70 twice, both times before Memphis in December 2008: a 73.8 in late September and a 74.5 in early November. Hmm. That makes this week -- a 74 -- the second-highest of my life. And I feel pretty good. Really good considering my very snappy pace over 18 miles today, although I will mostly attribute that to the gorgeous weather.

I hate stale junior mints.

This week -- click on the picture for the log -- included way more double-digit days than I'm used to, both in singles and doubles. My long run was in Lexington, and may have been one of my worst runs. I felt awful the entire time. It was hot, I was dehydrated, my legs were trashed from the 5k the night before ... Blah blah blah.

The rest of the week was good, though, especially after I saw my wonderful massage therapist on Tuesday. Everything felt smooth and solid all week. My heart rate and pace are both down, hooray quantifiable fitness improvements. Not a whole lot of exciting runs, just one workout with four miles of tempo, but a lot of miles.

Marshall University Marathon in 69 days.

Race report - A Midsummer's Night Run 5k

This weekend was the 25th anniversary of A Midsummer's Night Run 5k in Lexington. I ran this race last year for fun, in part because one of my best friends had a broken toe and wasn't going very fast. Now the same gal is married and has moved to Lex, so it seemed a great opportunity to see their new apartment (and their first place together) and get in some good runs.

As you might guess, it's an evening race. It starts at 8:30, so you begin with the sun up and finish with it mostly down. Kinda neat. Weird for me because I rarely run in the evenings. It's a huge race, with 3,967 finishers this year.

The course is a tight loop, lapping back on itself for part of it. They're using the D-tag chip system, but the start is still packed and crazy.

I drove to Lex after work on Saturday and got there about an hour before the race. My friends actually live on top of the start line, so it was a quick elevator ride down to start our warmup. It was at least 80 degrees still, and Kentucky muggy. Several more of our Bourbon Chase relay teammates were racing, so we all hung out at the start for a few. Mostly I complained about how much I hate 5ks. I mean, really, I do.

I was dead-set on negative splitting this race, which would make it my first 5k ever where I did that. I've never been sure before how fast to go out, so I usually just floor it and hang on as long as possible. My psuedo-coach and training partner, who has been there for all my recent speedwork, recommended I go out at 6:20 pace for the first mile then start dropping it down, trying to split under 6 for the end.

I don't look around much at the start to assess the competition, because I know there will be plenty. There's a guy running barefoot, with his D-tag fastened to a rubber band; a mulleted women's masters runner in gear as old as I; etc., etc.

My friendly Garmin 405 Cassidy was pretty handy in the negative-split endeavor, but I pretty much hit 6:20 out of the gate and then it was too dark to see the damn thing and I had locked the bezel for once so I couldn't activate the backlight. Sigh.

The first mile feels easy -- that was the plan -- and I nail 6:20 on the dot. I'm trying to settle in and get comfortable, but there's so many dang 90-degree turns in this race I'm constantly running tangents and trying not to kill the soccer-cleated dude cutting every corner.

Mile 2 is an "oops," a 5:58, but it's the only mile with a net elevation loss so maybe it's not my fault. I was getting into a rhythm though, and feeling much better than I usually do at that point. I get passed in here somewhere by a woman in purple, which I don't like (that I was passed, not the color purple). Somewhere in here I'm telling myself I have to learn race strategy somewhere, and I'm sighting other women and catching them.

Mile 3 is a little more uphill, a little slower, but not bad: 6:07. I see purple lady ahead of me as we hit the final straightaway. With about a half-mile to go I ease on her shoulder and sit for a minute, then surge past and hold that pace for a few seconds. I can't tell if it's her I hear behind me or someone else, and I worry I went past too soon. I'm backing off the pace a little with a quarter to go, trying to not totally die before I kick after hearing the last mile split.

As I near the finish, I hear someone right on my heels and hope it's not her. It's not. It's some dude. I don't care about him. I cross the line totally toast, and there's a race official stopping me and getting my bib number written down. I realize this means I probably placed top ten, since that's who gets plaques that evening.

Oh yeah, I ran like 19:15 according to Cassidy (who also got the mileage at 3.16), and 19:19 according to my chip, which I think is crap because they had two chip mats placed like 10 feet apart. There's no telling which mat actually started my time. Whatever.

Moral of the story is I hate 5ks slightly less now. My Bourbon Chase teammates all did awesome (watch out!) and I got a plaque for 7th place female (out of 1,999!). Then we had greasy pizza, drank whiskey sours (made with bitters muddled in your glass), stayed out till 3 a.m., got up five hours later and ran 15 miles. We roll hard.

Whoops

Sorry I forgot to post, ah, all last week. Running isn't very exciting right now, since I'm in taper mode. Just 45 miles last week and not even that many this week.

Less than a week to go. Guess that means it's time for an obligatory reflective post. This training cycle I let somebody else design my program for the first time. Coach Chad Waggoner, a sub-3 marathoner and Trinity High School coach, put together my schedule. Not to say I followed it exactly ... but hey, I stuck to it pretty closely. He's been greatly supportive and doesn't let me get myself down.

January was so-so, a lot of good days but probably more off days than I should have taken. Especially at the end of the month when the ice storm hit, and I just couldn't find the will to slog through ice. This is also when I found out the treadmill destroys my IT band.

February was much more solid, only three days off and strong long runs on three of the four weekends. I really hit my stride in March, one day off before the 15k. Three 20+ runs and the other weekend was a 17.

I'm feeling ready. Ready for what exactly, I don't know, and like they say in "Once A Runner," "It's bad time to put your mouth on times your feet can't reach."

It's an important race -- every marathon is -- because of everything that goes into it. Running when you don't really want to, going to bed early on weekends, collapsing in your yard after a perfect 20 miler ...

Many props to my training pals, probably the best support group a gal could have: Diane, Rebekah, Eileen, Kelly, Steve and Dave. The people who don't run with me often but who I know are backing me up: Guy, Justin S., Justin B. and my family.

So going into this, I'm reminding myself this race is not "the" race. I'm already planning another marathon in the fall. Keep my eye on the prize and do the best I can.

"It's over!"

(Please read headline in voice of Teen Girl Squad from Homestar Runner.)

Ran 18 miles today. Great run. Guess my body just wanted this week to heal up some. Nothing hurt, nothing was bad -- I have zero complaints about today's run.

If you need a visual to accompany my report, here you go.

Diane talked me into starting at 8, even though we usually start at 9 on Sundays and I was hella sleepy when I got up at 7. Our plan was to run part of her upcoming marathon course, the part that crosses over the Second Street Bridge. You get to the base of the bridge at about 22.5 miles, then it's a long uphill, back down, a little loop around the base of the bridge, then back across. N.B.: yours truly is scared of bridges. It was an interesting portion of the run. Diane said she would see me speed up, check my Garmin, slow down for a few steps then speed back up. Oops.

It was a really well-executed run -- nice and hilly in the beginning, since we went from Seneca Park through Indian Hills to River Road. Then down River Road to downtown Louisville, across the bridge, back down Main Street, then the bike path back to Cherokee Park. Then directly to Panera for sandwiches!

The weather was even compliant; sunny and 46 at the start but close to 60 at the end. It could have just stayed around 50, but oh well. And my shins don't hurt at all, knock on wood.

Taper time!

Just totally unnoteworthy

Running this week was not particularly exciting. Still dealing with some shin pain; hopefully just residual race tear. Got in a slow 9 miles on trails on Tuesday, then 11 miles Thursday with 4.5 miles of tempo -- but most of the other days were ugly. I did mostly trails trying to baby this shin, so my pace was atrocious. I did get gloriously muddy on several occasions though.

Last long run is tomorrow ... 18 miles. Then I can take a break - sort of.

Race report - Heart Mini 15k

Much to everyone in Louisville's confusion, a "mini marathon" is not necessarily a "half marathon." Sunday I headed to Cincinnati for my first race since Memphis. I decided to just drive up that morning, so that I could sleep in my own bed and save money, so I was on the road at about 7:30 a.m. ... gotta love a 10 a.m. race start! I had a coffee, a donut, some poptarts, a bottle of water and a bottle of gatorade with me. Most of those were consumed en route.

Got to the parking garage at about 9 a.m., watching everyone walk around the pickup area in tights and jackets. "Crap," I thought to myself, "I hope I'm not the only fool in shorts." My current philosophy is that if it's too cold for shorts, it's too cold to race. Granted, I wore shorts and short sleeves in Memphis and it was 35, so the bar is pretty high.

I had resigned myself to the weather; when I arrived it wasn't awful. Mid-40s, occasional drizzle. I had packed short sleeves and a singlet, plus my shorts. And gloves.

Inside, I scooped up my packet, along with a rare creature: a race shirt that fits. When they handed it to me, I was worried it would be too small. It looked tiny -- probably because it was a youth small. It fits perfectly. Go figure.

At 9:15 I was back in my car, heater running, pondering my warmup options. I had a running jacket and warmup pants, but couldn't decide if I wanted to warm up in those and come back and sit in the car for a few and change, or if I wanted to ditch everything and and warmup just before the start. I opted for the later.

I listed to a litany of obnoxious songs that make me want to run fast: Drop it like it's hott (Snoop), Walk it Out (DJ Unk), Ole Ole, etc. I put my tag on my flats, pinned my bib to my shorts, and locked up the car at about 9:40. I jogged over to the convention center, hit the bathroom, did some strides inside where it was warm, then jogged outside some more.

Had a hard time getting to the front of the start, so guess I should have warmed up earlier. They had seeded spots, but nothing about them on the website, and the female seed standard was 57 minutes anyway. Yeah right.

Mile 1: 6:20. Totally uphill through the first half mile or so. Nice overpass bridge. Weather crappy. Too fast. Pull self back under control.

Mile 2: 6:44. Right on pace. Water stop at mile 1.5, the 5k turnaround from earlier that morning. Really loud stereo. I hate running past speakers. Makes my head want to explode. Nice view of the river.

Mile 3: 6:34. Fast? Slow? These middle distances (10k/15k/HM) kill me. Trying to settle in. 5k in 20:16.

Mile 4: 6:37. Better. Nice hill thrown in here. Approaching turnaround, always fun to navigate. This race has two! Count seven girls ahead of me, so I figure I'm in the top ten, but you don't always know for sure.

Mile 5: 6:40. Back up the hill we came down as we approached turnaround. Getting to see runners still coming in.

Mile 6: 6:48. Hill from HELL. Goes up about a quarter mile so steep you can touch the ground in front of you, whips around the second turnaround at the mile marker. Wind getting nasty. 10k in 41:04 (a new PR).

Mile 7: 7:05. Then you go back down the hill, and up a really long one. At this point the wind is so hard I can't breathe or see. Catch girl in front of me who looks totally spent. Stay with her for a bit.

Mile 8: 6:46. Wind still terrible, hills still terrible, I'm starting to be miserable but it's almost over. Encouragement gained when crossing chip mat at mile 8.3 -- they give awards for the fastest final mile. It's a good reminder there's just one stupid mile left.

Mile 9: 6:57. Back up the huge hill from the race's beginning. This one hurts. My calves are screaming, the wind is blowing me backwards, and I'm ready for it to be over. 2:09 for the .3 - not much of a kick. Chip timed to 6:40 for the last mile (seventh fastest final female mile).

Finish time 62:40, 6:45 pace, ninth female overall. Somewhat encouraged that the seed time was 57 but the weather was so rough only the first-place girl ran that fast -- she ran 57:30. I'm happy, had gone in hoping to run anywhere between 6:30 and 7 pace, so I was about dead middle. Think better weather and I could have ran faster for sure. But, all things considered, for that course on that day, it was a good performance.

Flats worked out well, no owies. A little dinged up overall post-race, but that's to be expected. Other updates to come later.

Last 20+ run!

Ahhhhhh! It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As of today, I have no more over-20 milers left. A race next Sunday, then 16-18 miles, then I'm out.

Actually, it's not that bad. I really love long runs, the longer the better. For whatever reason, I do better the longer they are. I went out today planning to just do 20, but then when Diane decided to do 22, I threw down two nice last miles -- ending with a 6:44. And after about mile 16 or 17, I was really having fun. I don't think that's allowed. We ran up our last big hill, one in Cherokee park that runs from Willow Park up Alexander Road to the Cherokee Golf Course pro shop, and I was actually giggling. That hill usually kicks my butt; today I coasted up like it was no big thing.

I guess that means the training is working. Fancy that. Good because Boston is in less than a month.

No other really interesting runs this week since last post. Easy trail run Friday morning, which was great because the trails are finally all clear. Easy run with Eileen Saturday morning for about 8 miles as part of her long run -- she's going to do great at the mini.

Race next Sunday. Maybe a little bit of downtime this week?

Spring! Finally!

It finally feels like spring, thank goodness. Running in shorts makes me happy -- it doesn't take much, I know.

Tuesday night I went over to Waggner High for KCRS Track Tuesday, a weekly event that has gone on for over 20 years. It's an all-comers speed night, and this time of year it gets pretty busy. Many people are training for the Triple Crown or other spring races, plus the weather's nice. (There aren't so many people in mid-January when it's sleeting and 25, but we're there!)

Because I'm about to run a marathon (yikes), the interval workout planned for everyone wasn't great for me. So I went and did my own thing, and tried to just stay out of the way. I did 5x1200 with a slow lap between each repeat. It was my first chance to wear my new NBx racing flats, which is good because I plan to wear them in the 15k.

Yesterday morning was just an easy 8 miles, no heavy breathing allowed. Nothing really notable there, Rebekah and I just looped around St. Matthews -- over the Reservoir and around Seneca Park, pretty much.

Rodes City Run 10k is this weekend -- good luck to everyone who is racing!

Whew!

What a week. It was hard to post because I was sans-computer from Saturday to Thursday ... the Mac PBg4 from 2003 finally crashed on me. Permanently.

I had a good week, running-wise. I mean, it must be good if the little log application on the left can't hold it all! I logged 66.2 for the week, including 17 last Sunday, 6x1600 on Tuesday and hills Thursday.

Today I put in a noteworthy 22 mile run with Steve. Our first loop was 13.27 miles at 7:30 pace; we went up to River Road, cut over to the bike path, through Cherokee and Seneca and back to the bathrooms. Then we did a 8.78 mile loop over to Browns Park and the reservoir. Then we sat in my front yard. I was really hungry the entire run, so I need to work on my pre-run nutrition some more. I seriously felt like my stomach was caving in and trying to eat itself.

I did get to try some of my awesome New Balance apparel the past couple of days -- since it finally warmed up! The new NBx line has some really nice gear, like the Cocona fabrics and great detailing. My only complaint is that the cuts are a little off, even the XS sizes seem big in the tops, and they're cut really long. Great if you like looser fitting, more full-coverage tops. But, in a singlet, I don't want a ton of extra fabric.

Next race is the 15k in Cincy on March 29. I may go knock out a 5k at Tom Sawyer, the Goose Creek 5k, on April 4.

Yesterday Eileen and I met at Sawyer for some two-mile repeats. She's training for her second half, so she did two sets; I did three. I think I may have essentially run faster than my 10k PR. (Which isn't very good, so maybe I shouldn't be too proud.)

Sawyer has a gravel loop that is almost exactly a mile (my garmin pegs it at .97 or so) -- it's also flat and not usually crowded. (Lots of people come walk from maybe 5-7 p.m. when the weather is nice.) It was pretty cold yesterday, so I did a 1.75 mile warmup to get everything loose, not to mention checking on any kinks lasting from Sunday and Monday.

After talking to a couple of guys with way more experience than I have, we estimated my VDOT at 52, which makes 6:40 a nice pace for me on this workout. Then again, my times are a little all over the place, so I range from a 48 to 52, depending on race distance.

Times: 6:28/6:40, 6:42/6:36, 6:33/6:32.

Oops.

So I'm not sure what that means. My VDOT is higher for my 5k PR I ran last May than the marathon I just ran, even though I think the marathon was a much bigger accomplishment and required a lot more work. And is a much more impressive time than my 5k. Curious stuff.

The Mason-Dixon Games are this weekend at Broadbent Arena -- if you live in Louisville or nearby, it should be a fun meet to watch.