I wish people would stop telling me that all I have to do is give up my daily Starbucks and use the money to pay for some overpriced something or other. First off, I very rarely complain about the price of anything, nor would I use the price as an excuse not to get something I need or want.
Whenever I see that for the price of your daily coffee, you can get this instead, I immediately don’t want that thing. Why are you trying to guilt trip me into buying your product?
But more importantly, I don’t buy daily Starbucks. I can count the times I’ve purchased Starbucks (iced Green Tea lemonade) in the last decade on my fingers–usually because someone I’m with wants Starbucks. I don’t buy lunch every day. I don’t eat at fast food restaurants. There’s no Jamba Juice nearby, so I don’t walk down and get a smoothie ever. I don’t spend money on crappy processed food.
So, what would you have me give up?
It’s been suggested I not pay for Hulu, Netflix, or DirecTv. Well since I’m not complaining about money, you are, perhaps you should stop projecting your issues on me.
I’ve been known to spend more than some people pay on their yearly rent on a single dinner. Or fly to a country thousands of miles away to run a half marathon. I can afford your product, but if you have to use guilt to make me buy it, then you know it’s overpriced and not worth the $2, $4, or $10 a day you want to charge me.
Since October, I have been in pain. My bowels have been very angry at me. I’m always, always tired. Running had been hard–all the training and no improvement. It’s been a rough few months.
Way back on May 17-19, I participated in a Racewalking clinic with Coach Dave McGovern. I went in pretty much a blank slate and came out with a new understanding of Race Walking Technique and just how hard it really is, but also how fun it can be.
I knew I needed to get through the Duvall Double, so I haven’t focus too much on the Racewalking since the clinic. Now that the races are in the books, I am switching some of my training days over to Race Walking. Ideally, I’d like to do at least 2 days of each, each week, plus my long run. There’s no way I’m ready to hold the Race Walking technique and cadence for 12+ miles, so those long runs will be a combo of run/walk/race walk/get to the end, but probably mostly running until my technique and shins match my determination to get it over with.
I’m partial to this video because it starts out in Santee. These guys are fast!!! I couldn’t embed it, so I found another one I could. The following video is amusing, but not really very overtly technical.
and because I don’t think anyone should ever take themselves too seriously, I share this for your viewing pleasure…
So when you see walking funny around Ballard, you know what I’m doing. Now get out there and sweat!
I didn’t set expectations for the Duvall Double, but I set a couple goals. I wanted to be around 12ish minute pace for the half on Saturday and around a 13 minute pace on the insanely hilly 10k.
Everyone who knows me knows that I celebrate my 21st birthday every May, spending Memorial Day weekend partying like I can drink for the first time. It’s not because I’m embarrassed by my age, or I don’t want people to know how old I am, but because 21 is he last year you get anything in the United States. It’s the last birthday that’s special not because you’re just old! It’s the last just crazy special and fun birthday. (16 you can drive, 18 you are an “adult” and gain a range of new allowances, and 21 you can drink).
This year, I didn’t do that. I got Chewie when I was 20, just a couple weeks before my 21st birthday, and he celebrated every single 21st birthday with me. Someone sent me a card signed by my remaining two dogs, and it hit me hard. Where was Chewie? I miss him.
I have no doubt I was the best dressed with my pink Sparkle Skirt that matched my pink hair perfectly….I was by far not the best runner. Woke up early after a late night (Race Walking workshop the prior evening) and headed out to Gas Works park praying it didn’t rain. It didn’t. We ran into a few friends who were all running the 15k. Not there was much of a difference, we were all just standing around. At some point, a horn sounded and we figured that was the start. Off we headed, sticking together until my shoe came untied. As I moved off the course, my shoelace got stuck in a grate and I had to yank it lose before tying it and getting back into it. Off we went. We were in the back of the pack thanks to my shoelace, but that’s fine. At the 15k split point, everyone turned left. We went right. We were basically last. Seems everyone was running the 15k. We made it a point to pass as many people as possible so we wouldn’t be dead last. I stopped to pee at about the halfway point and walked in on a clown. Yes a clown. There was a tall clown in a portajohn, adjusting her clown shorts. After waiting, peeing, and getting back on the course, we weren’t last, but we had some catching up to do. We ran, we walked, I did my imitation of race walking, we basically crawled up hills, and we went and went and went. We worked a 3/1 fast/slow interval all the way to the end. We weren’t fast. We weren’t last. Only one of our friends running the 15k passed us. So not too bad. In the end there were 21 people behind us and 80 ahead of us. Not bad for the first race of the season. Hopefully next time we can get closer to that 10 minute mile mark!
I don’t write here as much as I should. It’s almost oppressive to put down on this little blog that my training is not going as planned. I have been sidelined by medical issues. Unexplainable medical issues or just an extension of the good ol’ endometriosis crawling into other parts of my body and life.
I’ve spent the last few weeks being poked and prodded and generally treated like an alien abductee. Everything came back normal. My GI doctor suggested that I take probiotics as if I haven’t been taking them for months, if not a year. As if that is going to stop this crazy intense pain that leaves me sitting in a chair dazed and confused. This pain is different from the pain I’ve lived with basically my whole life. I’m back to yet another doctor today.
Meanwhile, I’ve been running as much as I can. Trying to run at least a mile every day. Some days are fine. Some days suck. My long runs aren’t going so well. So instead of suffering through another long run, I run hills and try to run one really, really fast mile. Then I can just walk home. Not that I’m not doing my long runs, I’m just not adding extra mileage each week as I should be. I spend a good portion of the run in pain. Or I walk half of it. But I’m out there….
I’ll be out there today……after that doctor’s appointment.
I declared May 1 the official start of my training season, but I’m going to do a core workout and a couple mile run today to get ready for tomorrow. I would have started early but I caught a pesty cold in Coachella. Let me tell you that it sucks to be sick in 100 degree heat while sleeping in a tent. Even a fancy tent like ours.
Sick at Coachella
My first run is a 10k on May 18 and then a 1/2 on June 1. What?!? Train for a 1/2 in 4 weeks? Yup, I’m just that crazy. I’m treating the 1/2 as just another long run and not pushing myself. The race is flat and has a 3 hour time limit and I plan to take it easy. The following day is a 10k that basically goes straight up hill! That will be a nightmare of an amazingly fun proportion.
What’s the plan? I’m doing a low mileage runyourBQ plan mixed with a little Dumbo training. Really what matters is kicking up those long runs again. I have 6-7 miles this week, then 8, then 9, then 11-12, and then the 1/2. I haven’t been running much but I’ve been keeping at a 3-6 mile outseason runs with some Insanity workouts thrown in, and lots of intervals. I really like intervals on the treadmill, although just running on the treadmill is dreadful!
I’m a runner, although I am not a RUNNER. You’ve read a million times about how I don’t even like running.
Late last year, I read a guide for training for a marathon with a meat-free diet. At that moment, I was more obsessed with losing this damn 30 pounds of surgery fat that seems to be stubbornly clinging to my thighs and my neck. After re-reading those three intro e-books a million times, I slowly got obsessed with running a BQ. Not necessarily with running Boston itself, just qualifying. If I wanted to run Boston, I’d just do a charity run; it’s easier. (Of course, if I qualify and get in, I’d run the damn race).
Six pounds in two months isn’t much of a weight loss, is it? Well, to be fair, I gained another 10 pounds somehow before I started my offseason dieting! How did that happen? I blame Carthay Circle at Disneyland, or the Blue Bayou, or Uva Bar (five times), or ummm yeah I ate a few boxes of thin mints. This was during my training. My offseason pales in comparison! So it’s Actually a 14 pound weight loss since January 22. That’s not so bad.
I’m running here and there. I’m working on Insanity. I’m enjoying myself. Next week I go to Maui and then to Coachella the following week. When I return, I begin the next phase of my training: Run Your BQ!
