COVID Diaries - Happy Mother's Day

Mom is celebrating Mother's Day with record cold and no plants in Cincinnati. Sigh.

I am celebrating, like, having my body back. I mentioned this the other day.  I ran today, and felt better at the end of the run that I did at the beginning. I was like "oh, I remember this is how it's supposed to feel".  It's amazing.

I am also having a bit of a war with Blogger over here.  Their dumb new interface doesn't recognize HTML in the text box?  WTF?

So, today was a slow yet totally productive day, and I'm mildly optimistic for my future of running.

COVID Diaries - Heart Rate Running

In one of my FB groups today, I posted this, but it belongs here too:

Y'all, I think MAF saved my life. 
Sort of?  Maybe not quite that dramatic, but MAF training has been important in resolving a significant health issue.
Around February, my physician recommended changing medications, explained the pros and cons of this med, and I took her recommendation.
A day or two after that, I headed to Florida (from Minnesota).  Running was fun, but my heart rate was a bit higher than I expected.  Whatever right?  It's winter where I live. I'm hot.
It just kept going.  As changes with COVID and... my heart rate just got worse and worse.  I assumed it was stress. And the changes in life, and my crap diet under quarantine.
Last week I had a scheduled check in with my physician about the new medication.  I told her "the side effects I had with old medication are gone. With new medication, when I run my heart rate is so much higher than I expected it to be.  I used to be able to run at this pace at 140bpm, and now I'm at like, 160 bpm.  Also, I can't walk up stairs in my house without getting out of breath."
Unrelated to MAF, I was able to take my blood pressure and it was crazy messed up. 
I had a virtual visit with my physician.  She said "I did a lot of research on this and this medication can cause tachycardia in 4% of people, so I think we need to stop it"
And then my physician said "you should be feeling better within a week".  I was like "really?!?  I've lost all my fitness". Literally, I can't walk up the stairs in my house without getting out of breath.
Y'all, 2 days later, I'm almost back to being able to run at MAF again.   It's amazing.
It was so important that I was able to say to my physician "I wear a heart rate monitor when I run.  These are my normal number and this is what it is now."  The data helped her quantify the problem. It's a rare but documented side effect of that medicine.

COVID Diaries - April 17

The Furlough begins.  For the next 10 days I don't have to work.  I actually moved my work computer out of my normal sight line.  (3 day weekend, 4 days off work, next 3 day weekend)

I am nervous that I'm going to turn into a day-drinking, non-running, all-of-the-issues human being while I'm not working.

I am making plans/goals for furlough week.  Accountability goal number 1 is that my bathrooms (and there's 3) are cleaned by Sunday at 5pm.

Bike riding, a "distance picnic" involving a hamburger and fries with Olive, and distance tacos with Dungeon Master are also on the agenda.

I'm going to be 100% honest here: My heart rate has been screwed up for quite some time. Today, I did a run solidly at MAF, so that felt nice.

I'm making a "list" (it's post-it notes) of what I want to do on my ten furlough/quarantine days.  I want a burger and fries y'all.  So hard you can't believe it. 

Sunday Long Run

Plan: Get back in plenty of time to see Mom and Dad off.  No joke; this was the most important part of the day.  Secondary goal was to keep at or below MAF pace, but not super far below my MAF heart rate.

Route: I need to enjoy the 40th street pedestrian bridge before it gets taken down for 3 years or what will feel like 3 years, I'm sure.  So I headed west to Lake Harriet, around the lake, then followed the creek back home.  This route has some hills, which will be good for 10 miler.

Weather: Cloudy and cool.  I was okay with the clouds this morning, though they didn't make sunrise as dramatic as I'd hoped.
Wardrobe: 2xu shorts; an illuminite shirt since I left at 4:45am when it was still dark, and Merrell Trail crusher shoes, and a hat.
 

Execution: Win for both my A goal of getting back early, and my B goal of keeping things at/under MAF but not super easy.  I was back my 7am, and done stretching and inside by 7:10am.  (8:26am departure).  Avg HR 135, Avg pace 14:00/mile, including some hills and stopping to take pictures.
Nutrition: I am still full from last night.  I didn't carry water or food.  I am sad for marathon training when things will change.

Bonus: This Blue Heron was super close to me, and completely not bothered by my company or picture taking.

MAF for beginners: the begining

I'm trying out the MAF thing for real. I've done a lot of heart rate training in the past couple of years, but never exactly this.  I always wanted to keep an eye on my heart rate but thought I'd make myself insane if I tried to focus on such a specific heart rate.

This year, a couple things have given me new energy and confidence.  I lost some weight doing Whole30.  That was really nice.  Lifting weights has made me feel much stronger.  The Flying Pig experience this year made me believe in my fitness.  So I'm ready to give this a try for real.

Based on the 180 test, my MAF is around 150bpm.  That's always felt high to me.  144 or so feels like the pace where I could just run forever.  I'm targeting 145 as my MAF goal for now (180-35=145) because that feels right. 

Run 1 (Saturday 5/13):
Route: The Lake Nokomis horse shoe as I call it.
Minutes Run: 40:13
Watch program: 143-146 was the range.
Avg pace: 12:21/mile for 3.25 miles.  How surprised am I?
Avg BPM: 145
Thoughts:

• The watch beeped at me a lot.  This was not a good program.  When I got home, I made some updated programs, one with a much wider range for long runs, one with a more narrow range for shorter runs, and one very narrow range for the MAF Test.  
• It was also easier than I thought.  I didn't look at my watch a ton, and was able to make corrections quickly when I was too high or too low. 
• Starting off the running portion with a slightly higher heart rate is actually the biggest change.  It's fun to go a bit faster in the beginning.   The beginning of the run also seems to be where my HR goes the most crazy.

Run 2 (Sunday 5/14):
Route: Around Lake Harriet and by the rose garden
Watch program: Range of 140-145 beats per minute
Minutes Run: 38:23
Avg pace: 12:48/mile
Avg BPM: 143
Thoughts:

• Second day was better than the first, but also slightly slower
• The beginning is where my heart rate goes crazy.  I found a nice rhythm by the end.  
• Passing people messes with my rhythm and my hear rate.  Le sigh. 
• I will need to re-learn running up hills, but we'll keep with the flat lakes for a while 
• This is a good thing.  I felt good at the end of this run. 
• This watch program was better than yesterdays.  I think the slightly bigger but also slightly lower range worked better and let me stay more even at a natural effort.

Run 3
Route: Lol.  I was on a treadmill.
Watch program: Range of 140-145 beats per minute
Minutes Run: 33:08
Avg pace: Unclear from the watch, but between 12:00-12:30
Avg BPM: 142
Thoughts:

• The treadmill isn't as bad as I thought
• 5 minutes later: this workout will never end. 
• I ran this in my Vibrams and enjoyed it thoroughly

Run 4
Route: My favorite 4 mile route outside, hills are involved but not massive climbs
Watch program: Range of 140-145 beats per minute
Minutes Run: 43:38
Avg pace: 12:32/mile for 3.48 miles
Avg BPM: 142bpm
Thoughts:

• This was my first real run on a varied terrain/course, gave me some confidence.  
• Watch program forced me to keep it slightly harder but even in the beginning which was good.  
• This course is flooded.  I barely made it under Cedar ave.

Run 5
Route: My favorite 4 mile route outside, hills are involved but not massive climbs
Watch program: Range of 140-145 beats per minute
Minutes Run: 45:32
Avg pace: 12:41/mile for 3.59 miles
Avg BPM: 142
Thoughts:

• This run was in the wind and the rain.  
• This run was all over the place in terms of heart rate.  I'm not sure if that's because I wasn't paying attention, or the weather, or because I'm about to start my period and that's how life is.  
• In a couple cases I think the weather freaked my watch out, especially that massive spike early on.  
• I am cold. 

Run 6
Route: Out and back around Lake Nokomis
Watch program: Range of 135-145 beats per minute, this is a different program than all previous runs
Minutes Run: 55:05
Avg pace: 13:15 for 3.78 miles
Avg BPM: 140
Thoughts:

• It was not totally raining, more the super humid air after a rain so I wound up wet anyways 
• I totally had a Paula Deen breakfast of bacon egg sandwich on a donut, and a latte to wash it down.  It's fine, I'm starting whole30 again on Tuesday 
• This was purposefully a slower run than the others, starting off at a lower heart rate.  
• This run was a mix of relaxing and frustrating with going a bit slower.  Trust the process?

 
A word about watch programming:  My programs are set up as Warm up until lap press.  Run within a specific hear rate range until lap press.  Cool down until lap press.  The minutes run, average paces, and BPMs listed above do not include w/u and c/d. 

Long Run Sunday: Before the Snow

Plan: Wake up early and run before it rains.  Keep the heart rate low.  This is a rare Sunday long run, because tomorrow it will be raining and snowing all of the day. Sadly I'm serious.  Normally now I've been lifting on Sunday, at a class.  We'll see if I make it today.

Route: Several lakes, the creek, and the Greenway.  I've done this run once before when I needed some extra distance. There were spots that were very lonely and some that were very very busy.  I think all of the training groups in the world were on the Greenway.  I'm guessing many of them were getting ready for Grandmas.

Weather: In the 50s and very humid, not much wind to speak of.  Sunset was pretty.  After that it was mostly cloudy, except a about 10 minutes when the sun poked through.  

Wardrobe: Shorts, tank, and the visor.  I also tested out the injinis in the Pink Altras.

Execution: This run went really really well. Apparently the Whole30 thing can do this for running.  I talked to someone yesterday who had a similar experience when she did Whole30 the first time. I tried to keep the heart rate low, but it crept up by the end.  I'm still really proud of this run.

Nutrition: 2 hard boiled eggs pre-run.  Larabar during the run.  I carried two bottles with me, and mostly finished off one during the run.

Bonus: True story about the Larabars.  The first one I tried was the Cashew Cookie flavor. They were okay and I proceeded with the running.  I tried a Coconut Cream Pie bar yesterday.  They are everything. And then I decided I'd keep eating the Cashew Cookie on runs and save the good bars for other times. 

Long Run Monday - Elm Creek Park

Plan: Keep my heart rate low, but don't use the program/alarm on my watch.  Because if my heart rate does go too high, I will be miserable.  The plan was amended to run a fast final mile.  This run was on a paved trail and it also counts as my hill day this week. Because hills!

Route: The Elm Creek Outdoor Adventure Loop, which is apparently my name for it now.  It's a lollipop route.  The out is 4 miles, the candy section is just over 4 miles, and the back is 4 miles again. 

Weather: In the high 40s, super humid and light wind.  This is my most favorite running weather ever.  Though the pictures look a little dreary.

Wardrobe: Shorts, a shirt, visor, and Green Silence on my feet. 

Execution: This run went really well.  My heart rate stayed low.  Some of the hills were hard, but not as brutal as I expected.  Towards the end, I really wanted to be done, so I decided I'd do a fast final mile.  I wanted it in the 12s, and got it down to 12:04.  This goes down as a win.

Nutrition: This was another big win compared to my last long run. I had 2 hard boiled eggs about 45 minutes before the run.  Once I got going, I took a bite of my Larabar every mile.  In the first couple miles I was a little 'bleh!' to eat food, but by the end I was really glad I'd fueled consistently.  I had two bottles of water but only drank one during the run.  You know I downed the other one the second I got done.

Bonus: My post-run nutrition was on point too.  I had a roll up of turkey and prosciutto and then some apples.

Long Run Thursday: Disorganization and Poor Planning Pays Off

Plan: I did not set heart rate alarms, but 'keep an eye on the heart rate' should still happen.  See if I can get up that big hill at the end.

Route: Start at French Park visitor center.  Run east past Hazelden and then follow the path around the lake.  Turn around at the corner of Medicine Lake Blvd and Northwest Blvd and run back the other way.

Weather: Weather was around 40* and winds out of the southeast, 10mph or so. This is where the disorganization and poor planning starts, because I'd heard "oh there's a slight chance of rain, blah blah" and didn't look.  Yeah, it rained miles 2-8, and then again right at the end of the run.  Not terribly hard rain, but rain and it was 40*.  

Wardrobe:  Running pants (not tights), compression socks, long sleeve shirt and quarter zip.  Orange visor on my head and Altras on my feet.  (And if you look closely, you can see raindrops on my shoulders.)

Execution: I am shocked and amazed on many levels.  Rain: I ran through the rain in the cold. Couldn't have predicted that ahead of time.  Hills: I made the hills bigger in my head than they were in real life.  I made it up and down all of them fine, including that last beast.  Heart rate: I'm really proud of the heart rate.  I kept it low 'till the end.  Then I decided I needed to be able to run down hills fast at the end of a run because Flying Pig Training.

Nutrition: I had bacon and eggs for breakfast and I did not have an upset stomach for this run.  Win!  For lunch I had museli and one of these bars.  I carried water and gummy chews.  I had a chew every mile or so.  Except when I was climbing, I really had no desire to eat.

Bonus: I'm so proud of myself for staying out there in the cold and the rain and not giving up.  And I'm actually really happy with these paces.  For a long run with hills and a low heart rate, that's an improvement over some recent efforts.

Long Run Monday - Miracles can happen

Plan: I had almost no plan.  It's a miracle I got out the door today.  Once I'd started, I decided to see how well I could manage my heart rate.

Route: I did the Creek/River/Greenway loop.  I'm learning to love it.  I guess.

Weather: It was about 28*, winds supposedly out of the east, but I think ESE or SE maybe?  The winds were in my face at the beginning and then again at the end, but not much in between which was nice. I tried to take some of these pictures to remind myself how little snow I'm actually dealing with this winter.

Wardrobe: Fleece lined tights, wool socks with sock liners, a long sleeve shirt and sweatshirt, and a ear band and gloves.  Gloves were sometimes on and sometimes not. It got really cold the last block or two when I was walking straight into the wind.

Execution: I was slightly more aggressive with the heart rate than the last time I ran this route. I let it be around 142 vs the 138 I'd done last week.  And after mile 7, I just let the heart rate creep up.  I'm trying to be okay with these splits.

Nutrition: Before the run, I had yogurt and a banana.  I carried water and chews with me on the run, but I didn't have any.  Whatever, I'm sure I'd have been miserable without them.

Bonus: There's construction going on, on a bridge over the trail.  The road is closed to cars but for the moment, the trail is open to runners.  Apparently this lasts like all summer so we'll have to keep an eye on that.

Sunday Not Long Run

Plan: Go run, use the 130-150bpm program on my watch.  Have fun.  Today's goal mileage is around 8 and the real long run is tomorrow.

Route: Around Lake Hiawatha and Lake Nokomis, taking the long way home.  Strava says the last time I've done this route is 2016, and before that it was 2014.  Yowza.

Weather: Low 20's and wind out of the west.  I thought it was going to be out of the southeast, but apparently that's tomorrow. I wore sweat pants, compression socks, a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt, with a headband and gloves.

Execution: I had fun in the sunshine, and really didn't look at my watch a lot.  Most miles I was in the high 13:xx (which I'm telling myself I'm okay with).  I'd had delusions of grandeur of doing strides at the end.  No.  Just, no, I'm hungry.   

Nutrition: This was a fasted run.  Meaning my lazy butt woke up around 10:30am and left around 11am.

Bonus: I am surprised and pleased to report that my phone did not turn itself off so I was able to take pictures.  When I got home I made myself a banana and cashew butter smoothie and then stretched myself out.

Long Run Sunday: This loop needs a name

Plan: Run 10 miles. Keep the heart rate low.

Route: I need to name this route so I can tag it on my blog.  Head out along the creek.  Go north along the river.  Come back in on the Greenway.  And then back through the neighborhood.  I did it the first time here, and then made peace with the route here and one last time last summer. 

Weather: It was about 35* with 95% humidity.  I wish I was joking. Not really rain, but there was some fog.  Wind was out of the north, 7mph.  I was a bit cold along the river, but otherwise good.  I wore unlined tights, a shirt and windbreaker, and long socks.  I also tested out my new hydration belt.

Execution: I kept my heart rate really low, like Z2 low, until I hit the Greenway.  While I was running, I was so proud of myself.  And then I got home and saw how freaking slow I was.  And I felt really bad.  I'm so confused. I ran with a program on my watch that alerts me if my heart rate goes too low (less than 130) or too high (over 152) and it was beeping a lot once I got on in the last couple miles.  Apparently, we know where my endurance ends.

Nutrition: I carried water and had a few sips every time I ate.  I had Energy Chews and ate some at miles 3 and 7.  I did not eat before I left the house.

Bonus: Ice and snow were melting all over the place.  I'm surprised my feet stayed as dry as they did.  And we're naming this the CreekRiverGreenwayLoop for the blog.  I'll go back and tag the old posts so I can find them.  While this route goes along the river, there aren't a lot of river views, and the course itself isn't terribly photographic.