Getting over it

There's nothing to dispel the anguish of failing at something huge like adopting a puppy! Meet Levi. Life is good again.


I am still recovering from my injuries (mainly the knee) and won't be running again for a while. In the meantime, I'm happy walking the dog.

Joy and disappointment

I'm not going to lie, last week was emotional and I'm still coming to terms with not having run the marathon. Any doubts I had about my decision were silenced this weekend when my foot started killing me after walking less than 2 miles around the city. Even still, I'm upset that life isn't fair and I'm uncertain about wanting to try again.

Disappointment aside, Raj and I had a - dare I say it, magical weekend in Philadelphia, filled with delicious food, wine, and friends. We loved everything about Philly: the amazing history and architecture, friendly people, BYOB policy at all restaurants, Amada tapas, the art museum, and yes, even watching the marathon. Once again, I am thankful for everything I have and everything I am and look forward to 2009 and moving on to my next big adventure.

What people are saying about Peroneal Tendinitis

Ran across an interesting thread on Runner's World:

http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/678106477/m/291108977

I know in my heart that running the marathon will put me at extreme risk of tearing my Peroneal tendon. While I know the "right" thing to do is to postpone the marathon, I just can't let go of something I've worked so hard for, obsessed over, thought about, talked about, dreamt about, for months. But I know no matter what, nothing is worth putting my health at risk. I'm reading too many horror stories of runners needing surgery or taking months or years to recover from this injury. It's just not worth it.

More physical therapy in the morning....

It's down to the wire, folks

Today I paid an expensive visit to my friend Jeff, the physical therapist. I told him I was planning to run a marathon on Sunday and he laughed. This is what my ankle looks like wrapped up in an agonizingly cold compression ice pack. What you can't see from the picture is me screaming in pain.

So here's the deal - I don't think it's gonna happen. I'm on day two of the Methylprednlsolone and we'll see how that affects the swelling. You can't heal tendinitis in 5 days. Sure, I'm fine milling around the office and running an errand at Costco and whatnot, but this is 26.2 miles, people! I am so conflicted! If I do start to see improvement by Friday, do I chance it and just run the damn thing? What happens if I can't finish? Not only do I not get the medal (I'm picking up the t-shirt at the Expo, but I wouldn't feel right wearing it), but I get a big fat DNF next to my name on the race results. Not to mention the extended damage I'll be doing to my tendon. This is the worst feeling in the world, coming so close, the goal just within reach - and then failing to reach it.

Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!! I don't know what to do!!!!!

"Dude, where's my ankle?!"

I was on the phone at 7:30 am trying to book a same-day appointment with a podiatrist this morning. Luckily, Virginia Mason Sports Medicine clinic was able to fit me in. The wrong address was listed on the Aetna insurance website, so I spent about 10 minutes running around First Hill trying to find Lindeman Pavilion. By the time I arrived for my appointment, my ankle was on fire.

So, good news first. I don't have a stress fracture and I don't have Cuboid Syndrome. I have Peroneal Tendinitis which subsequently caused IT Band Syndrome (I had no idea I had this in my right leg). The Peroneal tendon starts in the foot and wraps behind the ankle and up through the calf, meeting up with more tendons in the knee which extend upward through the thigh. So an inflamed tendon in the foot can also affect the calf and the thigh.

The doctor believes running on a canted, or slightly angled, surface caused the problem. I tend to stay to the right of the trails I run on, mainly to accommodate bicyclists. He said next time run in the middle of the lane and let the cyclists go around me. It's not worth it.

He's not sure if I'll be able to run the marathon. He prescribed me a six-day superdose cycle of steroids to knock out the swelling, along with 2-3 sessions of deep muscle tissue PT and ultrasound therapy, and NO RUNNING. He's not sure if this mix will do the trick, but said it's my only shot. I've already made an appointment at Real Rehab just around the corner from my place, and unfortunately my shitty insurance makes me satisfy my deductible before coverage kicks in for PT, so I am looking at $125/session :( I guess it's a small price to pay for a slim shot at completing something I've worked so hard for these past months. One thing's for sure, no more running after the marathon!

(Famous last words.)

Six days to go...

I ran my last long run yesterday and ended up having to walk the last 1.5 miles due to increasing pain in my right foot. I felt the pain for the first time starting at around mile 15 of my 20 mile run two Saturdays ago, and it's been appearing around mile 4 on my shorter runs. It's continued to get worse.

I've been researching the problem online and am almost certain I have Cuboid Syndrome, if not a full-fledged stress fracture. My ankle is also swollen, like the beginnings of a sprained ankle. I am calling my doctor first thing tomorrow to get some x-rays done immediately and possibly get in to see a podiatrist. From what I've gathered from the research, if it is Cuboid Syndrome and not a stress fracture, a podiatrist should be able to manipulate the bone back in to place.

Let's hope. I can't run a marathon on this foot.

Holy crap the marathon is in 12 days.

2 weeks to marathon

T-minus two weeks to marathon day. My body is slowly breaking down into little pieces, now still not fully recovered after last Saturday's 20-miler. I remember reading somewhere that it takes 26 days to recover from a marathon, which probably means it takes a good three weeks to recover from 20. A quick rundown of my physical state:

• Knee problem is not getting any better. Now I am frequently waking up during the night if I roll over and move my leg.
  
• I didn't blog about this, but I went to see my doctor two weeks ago about a bad pain in my neck. Turns out I somehow pulled my trapezius muscle (the large muscle that connects the head to the shoulders down the back). He put me on muscle relaxers which actually gave me worse headaches, so I've only been taking them intermittently. I'm not sure what caused this (could be ergonomics at work), but I'm sure my tense running form has made it worse. I wake up everyday with a headache and am taking between 2-4 Advil per day.
• I have a new problem with the outside of my right foot. I have absolutely no idea what's going on. Maybe bruising of the muscle tissue? I was freaked at first that it might be a stress fracture, but nothing hurts when I massage my foot, so I doubt that's the problem. The pain sets in at the 4-5 mile mark and generally hurts for a day or so following my run.
  

I took it easy this week, only running once on Wednesday (5 miles) and 10 miles today (in the pouring rain, unfortunate). I'm a little sore but I feel ok. I think another week of light running and some rest will do me good. I'm definitely recognizing the necessity of a full three-week taper (I had considered doing only two) to give my legs the rest they need. I'm not sure what's going to happen on marathon day, but I'm sure I'll cross the finish line, even if I have to crawl.

3 days of rest

Saturday's 20-mile run completely ruined me, so I've taken the last 3 days off to recover (plus, there was absolutely no way I was going for a run on election night :) The outstep of my right foot was in pain Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday, which threw me into a slight panic (stress fracture???), but started feeling better yesterday and today is practically good as new. I'm pretty certain that a) running on a slanted trail screwed up my foot and b) I just ran A LOT and it's hard on my body.

Tonight I'm back out on the Burke Gilman for a 5 mile run. I can't believe the marathon is in two and a half weeks!!!

20 miles

Fu@%*ng A.

Garmin report here.

Happy Halloween!

These are my lovely new running shoes that I received in the mail yesterday. Onlineshoes.com was offering a 20% discount on selected footwear. Luckily, they had my Asics GT-2130's in black! I'm going to use my tattered white ones for the 20-mile run tomorrow, but start breaking in the new ones during my taper. I'll be wearing these for the marathon!

Somewhere, embedded deep in the sub-conscious, is this crazy belief that my sleek black ninja shoes will help me run swifter and faster. If anything, my size 11 feet will look smaller.

Week 11: What I think about when I think about running

This week's title is a spin on the popular memoir by Haruki Murakami called "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running." I keep meaning to pick up this book. Maybe I will after the marathon. I ran for a very long time this weekend - almost 4 1/2 hours - 18 miles - the furthest I have ever run in my life. I had Wacarra with me during the first 6 miles and we chatted away about everything from the election to Weight Watchers to future career goals and aspirations. It's true that whenever I'm not running all I talk to her about is running, and when we are running we talk about everything else :)

After mile 6 we had to say goodbye and I continued on to the next 12 miles alone. I decided to try a new trail this time and started just outside of Matthews Beach Park at 97th Ave NE and Sand Point Way and ran 9 miles up past Bothell Landing and back. The views were straight out of a Monet painting (if Monet painted fall foliage). The trail led me over rickety bridges and still water, through windy paths littered with golden yellow leaves and tall birch trees, past a wild rooster and a pair of bronzed running shoes. Throughout the entire run I was reminded how fortunate I was to live in an area of the country that not only has stunning natural beauty at every turn, but also a population of tax payers who financially support the infrastructure needed to maintain such beautiful trails and parks. Thank you, King County.

So while I was surrounded by all of this beauty, on a slightly chilly, clear autumn morning, I thought about all of the wonderful things that have come into my life from the moment I began running. I am more satisfied with my career than I have ever been; I've become a more supportive friend; and I am in the best relationship of my life. In a nutshell, I am the happiest I have ever been, and I trust that things will only get better. I believe there is a direct correlation between running and achieving and my level of happiness. I guess you could say I've hit the runner's high.

The 18-miles wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Miles 13-16 were still difficult but once again I made it. For the very first time, I looked at my Garmin watch, at the 17.95 miles staring back at me from the display, and I was really, really proud of myself. Eighteen miles is an awesome achievement. I did it. I'm a runner.

Link to the Garmin Report

Waaaaassssuup???????

I don't usually post political stuff on this blog, but this video made me laugh out loud. A partisan take on the old Budweiser "Waaaaasuppp???" commercial:



They used the same guys from the original ad that ran back in 2000. Looks like the party's over:


Ok, I'm off to run 18 miles. Ciao!

Week 10: This is really hard

Yesterday I ran my second 16-miler. It was about 10 degrees warmer at the outset of my run, which I noticed right away. Not sure if this affected my running ability or not. Things were uneventful up until mile 8, where I caught up with Alex who ran with me for the remainder of the 16 miles (thank you, Alex!). I can't even articulate how helpful it's been to have my friends show up and run with me. It makes all the difference in the world.

I had a very difficult time from miles 12-16. I tried to explain to Alex that it almost feels like the skin all over my body is screaming. I get irritable, really irritable. Every cell in my body is begging me to stop. I feel like I'm losing it. Mentally, what my brain is thinking cannot catch up to what my mouth is speaking. I lose track of my words mid-sentence, which I find fascinating (it took me four attempts to sound out the word "specifically" - LOL). Does this mean all the glycogen has been depleted from my brain? Just when I think I have nuthin' left, the 16-miles are over. So for the marathon, I only have to run 10 ADDITIONAL MILES. Yeah, no problem.

The good news is that my recovery has been much quicker. My legs are barely sore at all today. I've been stopping several times throughout the long run to stretch my calves, hamstrings, and quads, and it feels like that's been helping. My knee feels good today.

**** Whenever I start to complain to myself about how HARD it is doing these long runs, I have to remind myself - it's NOT SUPPOSED TO be easy. This is why barely a fraction of 1% of the population attempts to run a marathon. This is also why the payoff is so great.

Here's a link to the full Garmin Report if you're interested.

Week 9: Happy Sweet Sixteen!

So this weekend marked my longest run to date: 16 miles. I was filled with trepidation all week as I thought about the prior week's 14-mile run and how bad my knee hurt this week. I purposely took it easy on my weekday runs, logging three 3-milers on Tues/Wed/Thurs, instead of the recommended 4/7/4.

I've been mostly sticking to two or three primary running routes since the spring: Alki beach, Burke Gilman between Gasworks Park and U-Village, and my favorite, Leschi. As my runs have continued to increase, it's become more and more of a challenge to find a long enough route to get all the required mileage in. In addition, I'm really bad with directions and have an unjustified fear of somehow "getting lost" in Seattle, a city I've lived in for 12 years :) This weekend I decided to shake things up a bit, and planned my 16-mile route to begin at Shilshole Marina/Golden Gardens Park running along the Burke Gilman to U-Village and back. Wacarra had plans to meet up with me at Gasworks on my return route, around mile 11.5. This turned out to be a lifesaver!

I was excited for the good weather on Saturday. I started my run at 7:30am, at approximately 40 degrees (similar to marathon day in Philly). It was sunny, clear, and beautiful. I wore my North Face running jacket for the first four or so miles, then took it off at Gasworks where I briefly stopped to use the restroom. Running through Fremont along Lake Union was amazing. Fog was lifting off the water and I could barely make out the silhouettes of the boathouses and fishing boats which reminded me so much of the small town in Maine where my uncle lives. I made it to my turn-around point at mile 8 (U-Village) fairly easily and was counting down the miles until I would be able to meet up with Wacarra.

We finally met up at Gasworks and she arrived bearing gifts in the form of six or seven candy pumpkins (similar to candy corn) which I quickly devoured :) It was so nice to have someone to talk to for those last 4 miles. Around mile 12 my knees really started to hurt - and when I say "started to hurt" what I really mean is "started to feel like someone took a sledgehammer to them." Aside from the knees, I felt pretty good. I finished just under 16 miles in 3:27, stretched, and drove to Starbucks for a chocolate banana Vivanno and some Perfect Oatmeal.



When I got home, I immediately iced both knees for about half an hour, showered, rested a bit on the couch, and then took the bus downtown to Pike Place Market. Raj and I walked around for a bit and picked up some ingredients for dinner, but otherwise it was a pretty light day. On Sunday, we did some more walking at the Magnuson Dog Park, but mostly took it easy. I honestly felt great all weekend, but what was especially strange was what I noticed once I got to work this morning. My office is nestled within a series of buildings in the Red West portion of the main Microsoft campus. I am contstantly walking in between buildings, which means I have to climb a lot of stairs. Stairs = knee pain. But not today! I noticed it immediately. There is a slight discomfort, but I would say near 80% improvement from what I've been feeling. I have no explanation for this. Was it the extra sleep over the weekend? Was it the spicy olive oil from Pike Place Market? The icing? The candy pumpkins? I'll probably never know, but I feel fabulous today, my legs feel fresh, and I have high hopes for this week and my next 16-mile run this coming Saturday.

I'm down to my final six weeks! I can't believe it! Only three more long runs, then I taper, then I run the marathon. I can't believe I've made it this far. Sometimes I can't believe it's me who is running all these miles. It doesn't seem possible. It's as if "that person" is someone else I can't even relate to. Like I can't take credit for the accomplishment. It's a strange, almost out-of-body experience. Is this a common feeling?

UPDATE 4:30pm - Ok, so I take back everything I said earlier today. Left knee is still hurting, though not as bad as it has been. Me = still feeling good. Taking one more night off and resuming running schedule on Tuesday...

Ice, ice baby

So earlier this week I went down to Super Jock n' Jill to potentially buy a new pair of shoes. Problem is, according to the shoe people, there is nothing wrong with the pair I have. They said I was wearing the proper shoes for my stride and to come back on Thursday when the in-house Physical Therapist was on duty. This is an awesome FREE service by the way that they provide to the running community. Really, I am so impressed with the service at Jock n' Jill and if you're in the market for some new shoes, please buy from them :)....

So I went in last night and Michelle was on duty to talk with me about my problem. She asked me several questions and had me lie down on the ground to test the strength in both legs. After about 10 minutes of pushing, prodding, and yanking on my limbs, she told me that the left side of my body is much weaker than the right, and that my patella-femoral is most likely due to weak core and butt muscles. She told me that A) if I were her client she would advise against running the marathon, but B) since I'm going ahead and doing it anyway, please do exercises (demonstrated) to stregthen my gluteus maximus, run on soft dirt if possible, and ice like crazy. She said I will most likely not do any long-term damage to the knee, but it will definitely not be able to heal over the next six weeks :(

I have a lot of mixed emotions about her advice, and while I'm not planning to stop training at this point in time, I have serious doubts about my running future post-marathon. I have never felt any overwhelming love for the sport, in all honesty. Participating in these races has always been more about overcoming fear and anxiety and following through with my commitments than anything else. It's always been about my compulsion to keep on reaching higher...and then higher...a little more.... well, you get the idea. In a way, it's become an addiction, albeit a healthy addiction :)

Tomorrow I am running 16 miles, two miles further than last week. My planned route is from Golden Gardens park to U-Village and back, along the Burke Gilman. Wacarra is joining me on my return route to give me water and moral support for the last 4.5 miles or so, starting at Gasworks park. I am hoping to feel stronger this Saturday than last, and pray to the sports injury gods for a pain-free long run :)

It's official. We're on our way!

Raj and I purchased our airline tickets this morning - it's official! We're going to Philly!

Week 8: 26 reasons to celebrate

After logging 30 miles this week, my body is exhausted, my knee is still in pain, and I feel totally beat down and broken. The usual. There aren't really any words to describe Saturday's 14-mile run. That is, it's hard to articulate that kind of physical and mental anguish. I will say that Body Glide is a girl's best friend. And it wasn't until I slipped into the hot shower (that is, several hours after my initial "ice bath" which was every bit as thrilling as it sounds) that I identified instantly every inch of my skin where I neglected to apply the Body Glide. This includes, but was not limited to: my belly button, in between my big and second toes, a small spot under my right arm, under my breasts, and.... wincing with embarassment .... in between my butt cheeks. Let's just say I won't make that mistake again.

On Sunday, Raj and I hit the road at 2am, stopping at Northgate Starbucks to pick up some fuel before driving south to Portland to watch Wacarra run the marathon. I am neurotic about arriving everywhere early, and in this case it worked to our advantage because we had our pick of street parking once we rolled into downtown. We had tons of time to kill, so we wandered around in the dark, people watching, with me paying close attention to the what all the marathon runners were eating prior to the race start. After killing time at yet another Starbucks, we wandered up to the race start at 3rd and NW Salmon. There was quite a crowd of spectators!


We were able to see Wacarra start, in either the 5th or 6th wave, then caught her again at mile 2 and between miles 4 and 5. After than, Raj and I wandered around looking for a good breakfast spot, and settled on Kenny and Zukes across the street from Powell's. The food was awesome! After breakfast, we spent a few hours in Powell's and then headed back downtown to catch Wacarra around mile 26.

We found a good spot to take photos a few hundred yards from the finish line. There was opera music blasting and a huge sign with a lady viking that read "It's almost over!" The crowd support was very inspiring! It was pretty emotional to watch the runners come in. These were the 4 hour + marathoners, the mortals, people you could actually relate to (vs. the 2-3 hour marathoners, aka "freaks of nature").

We spotted Wacarra a few minutes behind the 5:00 pacer - wow! What a great time!!! I was amazed that she was able to maintain such a solid pace throughout the whole race. Not only that, but she looked fresh and pretty damn happy. I snapped these shots at the 26 mile mark, with only 300 yards or so to go:

And then it was over, just like that. Afterwards, I asked her how it went and she said much easier than the training runs (which gives me hope), and miraculously she experienced no joint or knee pain. This completely baffles me.

Tonight I am going to get fitted for a new pair of shoes at Super Jock and Jill. I can't continue to run long distances with my knee pain, and I'm hoping a different pair of shoes will correct the problem (the knee braces aren't working). Switching shoes did the trick in the spring, and when I bought a new pair to train for this race I just bought the same pair of shoes. Maybe my gait has changed in the last 6 months? I guess we'll wait and see what the shoe people say.

Congratulations, Wacarra!

Over the hump

Well, the end of this week marks the half-way mark! Yay! Philly here I come!

Tomorrow I'm set to run 14 miles down at Leschi. This will be the longest distance I've ever attempted to run, and doing so after taking a full week off to recover from my cold (thank god this happened early on). My legs are feeling good though - no pain after two back to back 5-milers this week. I'm going to pick up a new knee brace tonight, this time I'm trying out the IT Band Strap, which I think will help correct what I suspect might be Iliotibial Band Syndrome, a common running injury usually caused by increasing mileage too quickly.

I'm just going to take it really slow tomorrow and finish when I finish :) On Sunday, Raj and I are driving down to Portland very early in the morning to watch Wacarra run the Portland Marathon. I'm SO looking forward to getting caught up in the excitement of the marathon and just milling around Portland for the day.

In other news, Spirit of the Marathon comes out on DVD Tuesday! I can't wait to pick it up from Barnes & Noble.

Week 7: Down for the count

I didn't run a mile this past week. Not one. I took seven much needed, mandatory days off from running while I recovered from my crappily-timed illness. Do I feel guilty? Yes. Do I feel like I've suffered a major setback? Yes. Am I going to keep going?.... YES!

Training for a marathon is a metaphor for life. Sometimes unexpected things happen and you just have to keep going. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes you succeed. I am not surprised that I fell sick this week because honestly my mood has taken a downturn, I was not properly nourishing my body (vitamins, etc.), and I was not resting enough after my long runs. Let this week be a lesson that at this point in the game I need to start taking every element of my training very seriously if I intend to run this marathon.

Today I am recommitting and moving forward with the plan. This Saturday is my longest run - ever - at 14 miles. Overcoming the mental hurdles is every bit as challenging as physically conquering the miles. You don't anticipate it will be this hard. You can't, because you're in uncharted territory and you have nothing else to compare it to. Fear of failure is alive and real and very scary for me right now. All I can do is keep pushing forward. Every day. Every mile. It's hard.

It was bound to happen

I've been stricken with a chest cold :( You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning and your chest feels like it's filled with liquid and it's achy and heavy and your throat hurts when you swallow and your first thoughts are, "oh, crap." Yeah, well, that was today. And my health and mood continued their descent as the day dragged on. Now it's 6:45pm and I'm watching CNN buried deep underneath my fuzzy blue blanket with my polar fleece sweats and my Patagonia zip-up. I'm going to head to bed around 9:00 tonight and try to head this cold off at the pass with some serious green smoothie action tonight and in the morning. Hopefully a few days off from running will do me good and I'll be back in action for the half-marathon this weekend.

Week 6: Ouch, my knees!

Saturday's run was the second longest distance I've ever completed: 11 miles. Thank god Wacarra ran with me this week, as I probably would have A) probably postponed the run until Sunday due to the pouring rain B) bitched and complained even more than I did and/or C) had a much harder time finishing. Once the rain let up, I was able to enjoy a beautiful and secluded area of West Seattle that I had never seen before. I'll definitely be back here in a few weeks.

Miles 6-7 were tough and 9-11 were borderline agonizing. Running in wet shoes and clothes didn't help. Wacarra took this photo of me at the finish: HAPPY to not be running (and yes, still raining)... I hope as these Saturday runs continue to increase in distance that I'm able to find the mental and physical stamina to complete them on my own.

Next weekend: Bellingham Bay half-marathon

UPDATE 9/22: Edited to add that, despite the pity party I threw in honor of myself last week, I officially registered for the Philadelphia Marathon on Friday. The hotel room is booked and the race is paid for.... now Raj and I just need to book our airfare and we're ready to go!

Week 5.725: Time to vent!

So I've finally hit the wall so to speak with this training. I was waiting for it to happen. Last Saturday was puppy dogs and rainbows up in Bellingham, but this week it really started to dawn on me that I have a lot of frickin miles to run, I'm sore, I'm busy, and I'm highly irritable. Could it be a bad case of PMS you're asking yourself? (I asked myself). Maybe, but all I know is that I DON'T want to run this week!

It's dark in the morning, it's dark in the evening. I'm a slow runner. I'm tired of running at Gasworks Park. I hate running at Greenlake. Alki Beach is far away... and windy. The stuff I'm working on at work is a mess. I'm tired and grumpy when I get home. I have errands to work in. Three runs during the week is haaaaard. I'm tired of my music selection. I miss my boyfriend. The first two miles never get any easier! These races are expensive. I ate indian food last night and woke up and gained three pounds today. My jeans are too tight. I don't like my hairstyle. Sarah Palin might get elected VP. My 401K is probably gone. Why are people working at Microsoft if they don't know how to use pivot tables? Life's not fair.

Ok, so the runs aren't seeming so bad now. Seee??? Just had to vent. < / end rant >

Bellingham detail

Click to enlarge

Week 5: Rounding out the week with a 15K

This morning, Raj, Alex, Mia and I piled into my Rav4 and drove north to Bellingham for the Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15K (9.3 miles). It was a scenic route, fairly flat, with some great views of Bellingham Bay. Alex and I ran together the entire way, with Raj and Mia waiting for us at the finish line (which boasted the best post-race food-fest free for all I have ever seen!). It was nice to get out of Seattle for a day and substitute my usual uneventful long run with something festive.

I can't believe how much 3 months off from running has set me back. We passed the 10K mark at 1:16, a full 9 minutes slower than my Mercer Island 10K race back in March (which included 3 huge hills). We plugged along the entire way though, walking only briefly at miles 7 and 8, finishing the 9.3 miles in 1:55. It was a fun run though and I'm glad we drove up for it.

Week 5 marks the 1/3 way point to the Philadelphia Marathon. My knee is doing much better now that I'm off the treadmill. Still sore after today, but that's to be expected after a 9 mile run. It's hard to believe that I'm almost running the length of my longest training run for the Vancouver half-marathon, and I'm only half way there! In the coming weeks I'll be increasing not only my Saturday runs (next week is 11, then 12, 14, 16, and 18), but my weekday "short" runs to 4/5/4 and eventually 5/8/5. Now that the days are getting shorter I will need to come up with a better plan for doing 3 outside weekday runs per week. I may need to start running in the dark, which I am not thrilled about.

78 miles down and counting.

Will it Blend: Nike Shoes Edition

Ha ha... I own this blender. Maybe I'll try blending my old Adidas.

Running with the Garmin Forerunner 305

So this weekend I bought a used Garmin Forerunner 305 secondhand off of craigslist for approximately half the retail price. Wacarra told me about these little gadgets last Saturday on our run, and as soon as I heard about the 305 I was intrigued. Basically, it's a GPS device that fits on your wrist, like a watch... only it tracks all the important things you'd want to know when doing any sort of physical activity or training: distance, pace, heart rate, calories burned, etc. There are literally about 20 different types of data that this thing records. You wear it on your wrist like you would a watch and yes, it's a little bulky and no, I probably wouldn't wear it out on a Friday night, but I did not find it at all distracting to wear while running. There is also an option to strap a heart rate monitor to your chest which communicates with the wrist device.

(Note: not my arm)

So I wore this on Wednesday morning for my 5 mile run and also tonight for my 3 mile run, both at Gasworks. Wednesday didn't work out, as I hadn't cleared the previous owner's user data from the device which was causing a weird conflict with the software. Once I wiped it clean, I was able to start fresh with my new data. There are so many reasons why the Garmin 305 is cool I don't know where to begin. After using it for 2 runs here is what I'm finding impressive:

1. I actually know how far I'm running by distance, not time. In the past, I had measured one mile as 12 minutes of running. Now, I actually know the exact distances I am running. This frees me up to try some new routes.
2. My heart rate is really high! I am averaging almost in the 90% rate of my max, which means I have fallen REALLY out of shape since I stopped running through the summer, but also gives me a good benchmark for improvement.
3. I can set an alert to beep me when I go above or below my target heart rate. Very cool.
4. The unit ships with some pretty basic software, but you can also use the supplementary web-based software called Motion Based (www.motionbased.com). The free version is awesome! You can upload your runs from the device into Google maps, and see all of your data in chart form - what your heart rate was on such and such a hill, how fast you ran during the last mile, how many seconds you stopped for, etc. 

You can also view other Motion Based user runs across the U.S. (there were some runs uploaded tonight from Oildale, CA - my hometown, ahhhh), or filter by your city. So if I want to see what routes people are running in Seattle, I can view them. You also have the option to make your runs private, but why would you want to?

The coolest thing about the software is the ability to replay your run using the Map Player. When you "play back" your route, the little pin glides along your route, giving off real-time data results including what your heart rate was, pace, elevation, etc. at any given moment during the route. It's really cool.

I think this is going to be a useful little tool for helping me improve my pace while training within my target heart rate zone. I'm excited to track my route in Bellingham this weekend for the 15K!

Week 4: Nicely done!

Ran my 8 miler this morning with Wacarra, who has lost nearly 100 lbs. in less than a year through running...

This was a tough week, both mentally (watched far too much political coverage) and physically (my knee was hurting like a mofo all week). I'm afraid the old "knee issue" has reared its ugly head again, despite running with new shoes and a knee brace. I think I've pinpointed the problem which is doing my short runs on the treadmill. I think there must be a problem with my small muscle fibers and tendons compensating for the movement of the running surface... honestly, I have no idea, but I'm going to stay off the treadmill for a few weeks and see if that helps the situation.

The bad news is I took a 4 day break from running and missed my Thursday run in order to ease the pain a bit. I was having difficulty climbing stairs at work and even pushing the clutch down in my car was causing me to wince. After icing my knee and taking the rest it was back to business this morning. Wacarra, who is in the process of tapering down in her last month of training for the Portland Marathon, ran with me this morning on my 8 mile run along Lake Washington in Leschi. We had a great time! I'm not sure if it was the jelly beans I ate beforehand, or just having someone to talk to for a change, but the hour and a half breezed by and I felt like I could have easily done a half marathon today. Some days are just like that I guess.

Next weekend I am off to Bellingham for the Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15K and I'm pretty jazzed to #1 - look at something besides Lake Washington and #2 - run in an actual event with people cheering us on. Looks like I will be doing this alone, as Raj has to work and my other friends will be MIA. Saaad :(

More unfortunate news - we found out yesterday that we will not be able to stay with one of Raj's friends in Philadelphia as planned (long story), so we will have to book a hotel room, which will run around $200/night for 3 nights. And I was really looking forward to touring Philly with a local! Oh well....

Wacarra told me about a cool little gadget called the Garmin Forerunner 305 today which is a running watch that measures pace, distance (by GPS, so it's accurate), calories burned, and heart rate. I've already checked craigslist and there are several, so I might pick one up today. I do love my gadgets. Looking forward to trying it out and posting a review soon.

Week 3: 3/4/0/7

Not much happened this week run-wise. I was highly distracted by the DNC/Barack Obama speech/CNN commentary/Sarah Palin debacle, and it was hard to focus this week. Regardless, I managed to log 14 miles and finished with a strong 7-miler at Leschi on Saturday.

My left knee is still hurting day of and day after my long runs, even if I wear my patella brace. The dull pain usually subsides 2 days after my long run, and I hope this isn't going to be an ongoing and/or worsening problem. Keeping fingers crossed.

Week 2: Getting easier...

East Lake Sammamish Trail

Week two kicked off with a new gym membership. After heading into my old gym, Anderson's Nautilus at Greenlake, to run on a treadmill during a particularly rainy evening, I knew there was no way this was going to work. Five of their six treadmills were occupied by huge football player type guys, and the temperature in the treadmill room was hovering around 80 degrees.

So I did some research and settled on L.A. Fitness up on 134th and Aurora. Alex had been in a few times and told me it was great, although too far of a trek for her. This gym is awesome! Pool, racquetball courts, millions of treadmills, and it's spotlessly clean. Oh, and the monthly membership is almost half of what I was paying at Anderson's. The choice was easy.

So I settled into a gym routine this week - just in time for several days of Seattle rain. Running on the treadmill is fine for now while I'm still doing light weekday runs of 3-4 miles. In a few weeks when those increase to 5-8 miles, I'll need to come up with a better plan.

So I finished out the week with a 3/4/3/6 schedule, 16 miles total. On Saturday, Raj and I had to get up early to watch Alex compete in her first triathlon, also in the city of Sammamish where he lives, so I got up early from his place and ran the East Lake Sammamish Trail. It looked good on the website, but the loose gravel trail really screwed up my knees, particularly the left knee, which I had problems with in the spring. I won't be running there again.

Later on Saturday, Raj and I drove out to Port Angeles and camped at Heart o' the Hills in the Olympic National Rain forest. We took it easy and just relaxed all day, ate some awesome mexican food, and settled in our tent fairly early. On Sunday, my knee was still hurting and as it started pouring rain, we decided to scrap our hiking plans (and omelette plans....saaaaad) and head home.... which took 5 hours due to a massive car accident on the 101!

Overall, much improvement this week with my runs. I am running between a 11:35-11:50 minute pace, which was close to my half-marathon time. Aside from the physical progress, I am making a huge effort to up my calcium and iron intake, and of course plenty of carbs. It is nearly impossible to "watch my weight" while I am in training mode, so I'm just focusing on eating the best foods I can to give me optimum energy to complete the runs.

Ok, off to the gym for my Monday night run....

Week 1: 15 miles down; hope restored

So today officially marks the end of week one of my 15 week marathon training schedule. I'm following the 16 week schedule (and omitting one of the three 16-mile runs) laid out in the book The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer by David Whitsett. It's a fairly straightforward plan which requires 4 runs per week, including one long run (Saturday). I felt pretty good this week, although I hate, hate, hate Greenlake and will be avoiding that loop altogether going forward. I have some sort of mental block which keeps me from enjoying my time there, unless I'm walking with a friend.

I completed all four runs, including 5 miles at Leschi yesterday. However, getting back into the swing of things has been hard and I've definitely had to walk during the runs. Yesterday was especially hard, as I'm not used to running in this "heat." All of my half-marathon training was done throughout the late winter and early spring, and I much prefer running in cold weather any day. This is one of the primary reasons I've chosen the Philadelphia Marathon - the average start/end temps of that race are 45/55 degrees.

I'm reading a few really interesting books this time around and am approaching this race much more creatively. I'm choosing to really focus on nutrition (following the guidelines in Nancy Clark's Food Guide for Marathoners) and to make sure I'm fueling my body with the proper nutrients. I know for a fact, with the last race I wasn't getting nearly enough iron in my diet (which would explain my chronic fatigue following the long runs), and according to my last physical I am slightly anemic, so I really need to increase my green smoothie intake during the next few months. Also, I have decided to incorporate one day of weight training into my new routine. I know I should do more, but one day is all I can commit to at this time.

Overall, I'm following the principles of Kaizen - small steps over time equate to big changes. I'm trying to overcome the anxiety I have about the long runs by not thinking about them ahead of time - just conquering them as they come. I'm glad to have week one behind me and am excited to move one week closer to my goal.

Blissfully optimistic or just stupid?

One year ago today, August 12, 2007, I ran my very first organized race: the Seattle Guts n' Glory 5k to help raise money for Chrohn's and Colitis research. I remember every detail of that race: the song playing on my iPod when the starting horn sounded, watching my reflection in the glass of some of the businesses in SODO (thinking - wow, I'm a runner), the turnaround point at Starbucks on 1st ave. S (I worked next door at the time and visited that Starbucks every day .... I wondered if anyone inside recognized me as I trotted by red-faced on the street outside), how far the finish line seemed and how overjoyed I was to cross it.

So today seems like a good day to make an announcement to my dear blog reader(s). And maybe I'm crazy and maybe there is no way in hell that I can make this happen, but..... deep breath..... I have decided to train for the Philadelphia Marathon happening on Nov. 23, 2008. All 26.2 miles of it.

Now there is a good chance that I will actually kill myself in the process. A really good chance. I haven't seriously run in 3 months, and while I'm hoping my body will snap back fairly quickly (I was up to 10 mile runs in May), I'm still looking at a freakishly intense training schedule that takes me from 4 miles this Saturday to 18 miles in approximately 13 weeks. I'm not sure I can do it. But I'm going to try, dammit!

There are a few reasons why I've decided to do this now: I haven't fallen THAT far off my prior training schedule, as a contract employee I can't work overtime (even if I wanted to), I have practically no responsibilities whatsoever at this point in my life, I've gained about 10 lbs. since my last race that I desperately need to lose, and frankly, 2008 just feels like my year.

Making a public commitment solidifies the deal. Makes me accountable. And I'll go back to using this blog for what it was initially intended to do: track my running progress. As I sit here writing this, I can't believe I'm writing this. I'm staring at the "Publish Post" button wondering if this is the right thing to do. And I'm scared to death that I'll fail.

But I guess that's why I don't have a choice but to do it.

Annoyed with these Blogspot templates....

BTW reader(s), sorry about the frequent template changes. I hate the blogspot selection. There are only a few to choose from and they're either A) ugly B) too narrow or C) too wide. I might return to Lefty Minima, which you might recall was the plain white, simple blog that I used for several months. I'll need to jazz it up with a custom header graphic though, and that requires work. Work and effort. And time. And thought....

Another one rides the bus

This morning I implemented my grandly ambitious plan of commuting by public bus from Seattle to Redmond. I decided on Thursday of last week that I officially can’t take it anymore. The commute from Greenwood to Microsoft is slowly killing me. After gritting my teeth through another hour and a half commute to travel 13 miles across the 520, I actually looked up my route on Metro’s Trip Planner and realized it wasn’t that bad. An hour to and from work, but an hour reclaimed! An hour of reading! Of listening to books on tape! An hour daydreaming or people watching! I could only imagine the possibilities… A few points of interest regarding today’s commute:

1. First off, I downloaded the “Seattle Bus” app for my iPhone from the App Store last night for $9.99. Steep price, yes, but it’s an awesome app that gives real time arrival times for your bus route. I’m not sure if it’s based off of GPS or what, but it’s accurate. You can see exactly how many minutes you have until your bus actually arrives vs. going off the scheduled time. This feature kept the anxiety low all morning (I’ll get to this in a sec).

2. Did not work out this morning. Had intentions to. Set the alarm, but when it went off I made an on-the-spot decision that trying to run AND take the bus was too much this morning. So I ended up getting up at 6:15. Still too late, I’ll adjust this tomorrow. Will start running again in the evenings until I can develop a habit and then will maybe switch to mornings. We’ll see.

3. My first bus, the 48, comes every 12-15 minutes. I mistakenly thought I could take the 7:38 instead of the 7:27 and still catch my connecting bus at the 520 transfer point. Um…no. I realized this after it was too late. I still had time though to get my latte at Wayward (new barista, coffee not as good, might switch to Neptune) and had only a few minutes to wait for the 7:38 bus. All was good in the world.

4. Read about 50 pages of The Kaizen Way – loving this book.

5. Confirmed schedules en route – the 7:38 was to arrive at the 520 transfer spot at 8:08. The connecting bus was supposed to depart this same spot at 8:06 L Could I make it?

6. As it turned out – yes! Thank goodness for my Seattle Bus app! I was able to see that the connecting bus was running 11 minutes behind schedule. This caused me to relax and enjoy my latte and book. I caught my connecting bus with less than 10 minutes of waiting at the connecting spot. Yay!

7. Arrived at the stop on 148th and 51st in Redmond at 8:46. Had a leisurely walk into Red West. All in all, probably walked ½ mile total this morning. That’s a full mile per day vs. sitting in my car for 1.5-2 hours. Another yay!

8. The commute in went off without a hitch. I loved it. Got some serious reading done and I feel like I’ve actually learned a thing or two. Might download some NPR podcasts tonight.

9. Another victory for public transportation!

Eagle Creek

Raj and I went camping at Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (midway between Hood River and Portland) this weekend. Here are some highlights from our camp/hike to PunchBowl Falls. The views were truly spectacular:

There were parts of the trail that were fairly narrow with cable ropes attached to the rock on one side, and a sheer drop off on the other. We were shocked to see several families hiking with infant children and wearing flip-flops no less. They could have easily gone over the edge.

Getting the fire started was a true test of will and determination!

The key to a successful camping trip is a) warm sleeping bag and b) proper ground support. We spent the extra bucks and each bought a Therm-a-Rest, and it's made all the difference. With both of our recent camping trips we've woken up refreshed and relaxed. SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY, it's so worth it! I hit the jackpot at Joe's last weekend and found an $89 Asolo sleeping bag on clearance for $15. One of my better finds...

After spending Saturday night sipping Rosemount Shiraz and roasting marshmallow s'mores by the fire, we drove into Portland on Sunday and spent several hours at Powell's Books (the world's largest bookstore!) and ate dinner in the Pearl District.

Closing the book

It's with a heavy heart that I said goodbye yesterday to my friends and co-workers in the Live Search Books group where I have been a contract employee for the past 10 months. My boss and some of the other members of my team took me out for a goodbye lunch at our team favorite Thai Ginger in Redmond Town Center. I feel as though I've come so far in the past year in terms of increasing my skill set and making all the necessary connections at Microsoft. I recognize the huge career risk that this was, leaving a good paying, full time job behind to strike out on my own. I feel that it has paid off enormously, as my next position, as a Product Marketing Manager in Rich Media, will be even more challenging. I will miss working with an incredible array of super talented, clever, charismatic, and personable colleagues, but I'm sure my new team will be equally exciting in its own way.

Working in 88 has also allowed me generous access to Raj, who works next door in 87. I'll miss our daily lunches in Cafe 86, the smoothie bar downstairs, and hot, cheap oatmeal. In May, our building was treated to a ping-pong tournament starring none other than Mr. Bill Gates himself. Here's a shot of Bill ping-ponging.

I'm excited for the next chapter to begin .............

Blast from the past

I was digging through some old CD's tonight and found this cruise video from 2005! I shot this footage using my Sony digital camera, which takes 15-second video snippets. I used to love making these little digital films... Back when I worked for Holland America I could pretty much cruise anytime, anywhere, for free! Ah, the good old days! Here's a bit of the Mexican Riviera on board the MS Oosterdaam.

Weekend on Whidbey

Spent 3 wonderful days on Whidbey Island with Rajesh, Alex, and Alex's friend Caitlin this weekend. It was so great to get out of the city and 4th of July hoopla and just relax on island time. We stayed at Alex's dad's house while he was in Port Townsend working on his sailboat. His house is amazing! All warm and cozy ... we loved every minute of our time there. Here are some pics:

On Saturday we took the ferry from Clinton (on Whidbey) to Port Townsend.

Random strangers on the ferry to Port Townsend

Cute little girls on the ferry.

Richard's house nestled among the trees.

The backyard is amazing. Here's the koi pond.

Rajesh loved the hammock. He fell (hard!) twice while trying to master the "quick mount." By the end of the weekend, he was a master hammock expert!

Backyard decoration

A living room you can actually live in.

Wonderfully organic!

Cat nap.

My sweetie :)