TIART: 13 words of running

Runner's Lounge TIART challenge is to finish this sentence, "You are a runner...."

You are a runner when you make room for running gear in your luggage.

I think I finally knew that running was more than a way to stay fit when I would research running venues for work related travel and for vacations. When you pack running shoes, socks, and plenty of shorts, shirts, running bras, suddenly 1/3 of your luggage space is gone. Actually, the first thing I pack is my running gear. Then I know how much room I have to work with and how I then must select my clothes to minimize the different shoes, etc., that I pack.

When you find yourself on a curvy mountain road doing an out and back course, hugging the ditch, you are a runner on vacation to a friend's wedding in North Carolina.

When you find yourself running along Highway 1 up the central California coast and are excited to see mile markers to Hearst's Castle and you realize you can easily run your scheduled 14 mile long run while visiting your parents, you know you are a runner.

When you wake early in January to run in light snow in Salt Lake City so that you can make your 7 a.m. meeting at your temporary work site, you know you are a runner.

So for me, once I started including my running gear in my luggage, I knew I was addicted.

Short plan, long plan, plan plan plan

Today's Take It & Run Thursday topic at the Runner's Lounge is "As you start your marathon (or half marathon) training, don't forget..."

To follow a plan - not necessarily to the T, but even loosely, a runner embarking on a distance of 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles will have much more success, more fun and more satisfaction if said runner has some sort of plan. I have "trained" with just a long run as my weekly have-to run, and I have trained with every day planned. Somewhere is between, but leaning toward the more planned side works best for me.

Sometimes people are hesitant to call themselves a runner because it may be the first time tackling a race of that length, he / she may be a back of the packer, or some other reason. But we are all runners - everyone who goes out there and attempts the distance in a running manner is a runner. As such, we all deserve to put ourselves in the best possible position for success. That means training the body in a variety of ways to make it stronger. That also means training the mind to withstand the various attacks from self-doubt.

For years, I ran without any sort of plan and I enjoyed it, but I never saw improvement and when it came to perform at longer distances, I inevitably fell short of my expectations.

About two years ago, I started to incorporate some speed work into my week. My pace gradually increased, then I realized I was pregnant with baby #2 and went into maintenance mode. After baby #2 was born, I started following a 20 wk marathon schedule and it worked well. Earlier this year, I felt like I was drifting, aimlessly running 4.5 mi or 6 mi or 3 mi, but without any sense of what I was doing, except for hitting a total weekly mileage goal.

Then I found the Hal Higdon spring training plan, followed by his intermediate marathon training plan, and I was in love. My running again has a purpose and a reason. When I run an easy 4 miles, it is because I ran 12 x 200 m repeats the day before. When I run hill repeats, I know it will make my legs stronger and prepare me for the hills in San Francisco.

There are a lot of thing to remember when you start training for a race - a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon, a marathon and I won't even go to the ultra distances. But to me, having a plan is the basic requirement.

TIART: Best of the Best

TIART at Runner's Lounge is the Best of the Best.


The past year, I have had a number of good runs, good months, I would even call 2007 a great running year. October 2007, in particular, was a highlight. It started in late September with the Hurrican Run, then concluded in late October with the Tulsa Run. In between, I went to Denver and ran the Half Marathon with two good friends.

TIART: The Heat is On

This week's TIART at Runner's Lounge is running in the heat. I have lived in Tulsa for roughly 10 years, but lived previously in the relative cool and dry NW New Mexico / SW Colorado and Denver. So, I am a cool weather girl. I am accustomed to very low humidity and if it was 95 deg, it was really not that hot and I knew it would cool down dramatically once the sun set. I also knew I could drive 30-60 min and be at 9000 ft of elevation and 70 deg.

When I was in college, my boyfriend at the time was from a small town south of Lincoln and he would talk about "feeling the air." I have to admit that I had no idea what he was talking about until I moved to Oklahoma. With that in mind, my half hearted attempts at training during the summer here have met with little success. My goal over the past few years has been to simply maintain my fitness level, but not shoot for any gains. If the furthest I ran was a very slow 6 miles, then that's okay. I could knock those out all summer long, knowing I would ramp it up come late September. My races were always scheduled for October through April, allowing me to avoid the hot, humid, dripping days.

This year, my plan is different. I registered and was selected for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco on October 19. That means I am ramping up my mileage and running my long runs in late July, August and September. The moment after the euphoria of having been selected, I immediately wished I had not registered, knowing the hell that I had just created for myself.

So, given my past, what am I doing different this year?

- I started looking at training plans immediately and hit upon Hal Higdon's intermediate 20 week plan, then I saw that he had a spring training schedule as well. They were designed to be used together and to prepare a runner for Chicago - it is also known as his Personal Best Training Plan. The idea was for to have a solid base of 8-10 mi long runs every week from which to start the marathon plan. I am currently on week 9 of the spring plan and it is going well. I have found it easy to stick to the schedule (so far) and I have tweaked it for my own use.

- I found a training partner for the long runs. One of my son's teachers runs and we have similar paces and similar goals and she volunteered! I typically run by myself, but know I will need the help of a parter to force me to adhere to my plan.

- I plan on running early in the morning. The earlier the better.

- I plan to incorporate water fountains, restrooms, bookstores, and cafe's into the runs. The Arkansas River runs through Tulsa, with a great trail system with water fountains at every mile. I will use this, which I typically avoid because the high traffic, but early in the mornings, it should be less busy.

- I am going to look to my friends and other resources to get me through. This is a new endeavor for me, but I am determined to do it.

TIART: I'm Just Not Into It

It's Thursday, so that mean's TIART at Runner's Lounge. The theme is cross-training. As I have read some other posts about it, I find myself nodding in agreement to all of it.

I know I should be doing it, I know there are huge benefits, yet I just cannot get into it. My journey as a runner started as a soccer player and having to run a lot and finding that my conditioning between seasons suffered for lack of activity. So I started running to further my conditioning. It was a means to an end.

Then there was a hiatus of any activity except beer drinking at fraternity houses for a few years. The freshman 15 happened a year later for me - it was the sophomore 20 or so. Finally, I started running again, forcing myself around an indoor track on which 8 laps = 1 mile. I ran 2 mi/day every day in my 4th and 5th years. (you read that right, 5 years - I had fun in college...)

So for me, running over the past 20 years has been about keeping in shape, helping to combat the 5 - 10 lb that always creeps on and holds on for dear life. When I lived in SW Colorado and NW New Mexico, I did not have to worry about it as much, as my lifestyle was extremely active - hiking, mountain biking, cross country skiing. I also ran, but not daily.

Now that I have been in Tulsa for 10 years (ack!), running is nearly my sole form of daily exercise. I will walk with the kids, I may play soccer with Nathan, but it is the one thing that I can do anywhere, anytime, with minimal equipment. It also has the benefit of being the most efficient for burning calories.

I would love to take a yoga class. When? Where? What suffers in my life in order to do that?

I do not swim. I cannot swim. I sink.

Biking? I did take my bike to the local shop for an overhaul and will retrieve it this weekend, hoping to ride with my family. But I do not foresee a day when it will be more than a family jaunt.

Elliptical? I have one. I use it occasionally. I do not like it as much as I like running. My husband uses it much more.

Strength and core exercises? I have made these a priority. I have started doing about 15-20 min of core work with my son in the evening. I have noticed an improvement in my posture during longer runs. I have incorporated 10 lb dumbbells 4x/wk. My arms do not tire as much during longer runs. I know this is helping and it makes me wonder how much more yoga could do for me. But for now, this is going to suffice.

It's Instinct

Runner's Lounge Take It & Run Thursday topic - It was sooo obvious....

I have been contemplating this for the past day or so. I have read other posts, nodding the entire time. But my own mind is empty. I have made many mistakes in my running career and I am sure I will continue to make mistakes, hopefully not repeating them too many times before I make the necessary adjustments.

Shoes? yup, been there, too many miles on my shoes
Too few long runs? sure thing
Too many long runs? Did that one, too.
Lack of stretching? ongoing battle with that
Flip flops? maybe I can blame part of my PF on discovering Teva flip flops last summer?

So I have been digging through my memory, attempting to recover some words of wisdom. I just know it when I do it. So maybe the issue I want to talk about is to trust your instincts. If you feel tired, you just may be tired. If there is an ongoing issue you are battling, seek some expert advice. If you are having a great run and have a little more time, then extend it a bit. Remember those good runs when you are struggling through a bad run, try to resurrect how you felt, how you held your body.

When I start second guessing a decision, many times I should go with it. Why did I wear untested clothing bought at the runner's expo during the marathon the next day? Sure it was cute, but it was chafe-proof, it was not washed (ew!), it was matchy-matchy, which is not normally my style. Why did I not wear my old faithful shorts and dry-fit top? I knew better. I just did not think.

So, think, trust, use your instincts.

Marathon Mania (6 Days Late!)

Sorry for the lateness of this, but I was on the central coast of California, drinking more than a little wine, celebrating 7 years of wedded bliss with my hubby. But I did not want to ignore this one, as I am quite excited and somewhat fearful of my marathon plans for the fall.

TIART - Is Marathon!

A few months ago, I realized that the Nike Women's Marathon was in San Francisco, a place I adore, and the schwag is a Tiffany designed necklace given to finishers by firemen dressed in tuxedoes. What is not to like about such an event? With its proximity to Napa and wine tasting, I knew my hubby would be up for it. (sense a theme here?)

I discovered that it is a highly desirable event, so random selection entered. I had spoken with my friend Gretchen and she was going to register as well. Our mistake was not registering as a team. If we had registered as a team, we both would have been selected or we both would have been rejected. Unfortunately, one of us made it and the other did not.

Then it hit me. I live in Tulsa, OK. The date of the marathon is Oct. 19. That means my long runs are in July and August. In hot, humid, heavy air. Not a recipe for success. So I started digging around for some training plans and attempting to psyche myself up for it. I was not going to drop out of this race before I even started to train for it. That is too defeatist.

So I landed on the Hal Higdon plans, counted backward and realized I had 30 weeks to prepare. I have been working on the 12 week spring training plan to give myself a strong base with regular weekend runs of 8-10 miles going into the 18 week intermediate training plan, it is his Personal Best training plan. I am not good with strictly adhering to a plan, but I am doing most of this, plus a few more workouts.

I am on week 7 and doing well. I like having a plan and I like that this one is reasonable for me.

But I still have the long runs on July / August before me. I recently met up with the science teacher at my son's school. She mentioned that she saw I had run a good race a few weeks' ago and we started talking about running. We each had our 2nd babies within a month of each other, we are nearly the same age, and our paces are close. She offered - OFFERED! - to run my long runs with me. I cannot say how much I appreciate the offer and have already followed up with her to let her know that (1) I appreciate it and (2) I want the help.

I do not typically train with another person. Running is a solitary activity for me. It's my escape. It is the one time during the day that nobody requires anything of me, except myself. But running for over two hours? I need encouragement. Particularly this year.

You see, this will be my 6th marathon. My last one was Napa Valley in 2007. I was the most prepared for that one than I had ever been before, but I totally bonked during the race. Why? I think it is because I ate sushi for dinner the day before. I was still breastfeeding, so was pumping milk like mad. During the training, I was as thin as I had been in many many years. I think when it came time to deliver on race day, I had no reserves.

Another problem is this ongoing issue with my right foot. After running nearly 2 hours, my right foot falls asleep. I have been wondering if the plantar fasciitis had anything to do with that. If PF has been showing its nasty head for a long time and I simply ignored it. Oh, and new clothes I had bought the day before at the runner's expo. I was battling an empty tummy, a numb foot, new clothes that did not chafe, but were not comfortable, and simply wanted to finish. And that's exactly what I did. I simply finished. Not a bad thing, but not what I expected going into it. I had expectations. I had even set them with three different levels, depending on how well I felt that day. Let's just say I fell far below the lowest level.

So what am I going to do differently? I have inserts now that make my feet happy. I will be buying new shoes (at least 2 pair) this weekend. I will ensure I am adequately fueled the day before. But I know there is more. I know something will slip through the cracks and I will have to have a strong will.

In my humble opinion, the long run is not just to train the body for enduring the distance and the pounding, but it is to train the mind to handle 3+ hours of introspection. So to do this, I happily accept anyone who wants to help me through that.

No new clothes on race day. I can do that one.

Fueling during the race? I have never tried the gu or anything else. I am usually a water girl, maybe part of a banana midway, but I have never trained with fueling during a race or a long run. Perhaps I need to start adding that into my plans. Where to begin?

Take It & Run Thursday

My questions for all the folks at Runner's Lounge:

1. Plantar Fasciitis - what to do? I am 99.999% positive this is my problem with my right foot.
2. Long runs in steamy, hot August - how should I prepare for this?
3. Do you really go with the 1/2 size larger shoe than you normally wear?
4. Anyone else like thin socks or would run sans socks if they could?

And for my workout this morning: 5 mi in 44 min on the dreadmill (hubby had already taken off for work); watched NCAA men's gymnastics competition (recorded on ESPNU); started at 6.1 and ramped it up 0.1 mph every 3 min.