Race Review

Registration: The story of how I got registered for this marathon is: I'd actually applied to be an ambassador. (You post on your blog and instagram about training and the race and tag Flying Pig in it all.) I was trying to convince them how awesome it would be to have an out of town 'ambassador' training in the cold with ice-eyebrow pictures for their instagram.  They had too many applications, but gave everyone who'd applied a wicked discount code. And boom, Liz is running a marathon. I registered online last August.  Little did I know just how real those ice eyebrows would become.

Packet Pickup: I have a love/hate relationship with the expo.  
Hate: the parking situation. One year we parked at the garage right next to the expo, then waited like half an hour to get out of said garage, and learned our lesson there. Normally we park at a garage a few blocks away and walk. This time, at noon on Friday multiple downtown garages were full. (This is not normal.)
Love: the expo. Highlights include where you can buy past year shirts for $3, the Good Will booth for throw away clothes, and the P&G line which we did not stand in this year.  

SWAG: For this race, at the expo, I got a shirt (which I asked Olive to hold until I'd actually completed the marathon because I'm superstitious) a soft sided cooler, and a poster. Olive thought it was always backpacks, but it's been a bunch of different kinds of bags. We looked in the official gift shop, but I couldn't find the shirt I wanted ("I'll run a marathon when pigs fly"), nor the back up shirt I wanted ("I survived training in the polar vortex").  

Transportation to and from the race: This year was an adventure. Olive drove, and parked in Lot 1 or Lot A (I'm honestly not clear which) The lines to get into these lots are crazy long. I finally just got out of the car while we were stopped in traffic and headed over to the start.  

Transportation for spectators: This year, Mom and Olive had a spectating/cheering adventure of their own.
Spectating miles 1-5: Mom and Olive parked, spectated at the start line, the bottom of the bridge back into Ohio, and on 7th street downtown.  They got to all those places on foot.
Miles 9 and 11 - Mom and Olive next saw me around Torrence/Madison, and then again at Erie/Paxton. They were able to drive there and had no problems parking.
Middle miles: After that team Dad/Marge saw me at miles 12 and 17, and were able to do that totally on foot (because we live near mile 12, and there's a wicked out and back which makes it about a 15 minute walk to mile 16.5).  
Late miles and finish: Mom and Olive took a break while Dad/Marge were looking after me.  Mom and Olive next saw me at miles 19 and 21, and then the finish.  They drove/parked at 19 and 21, and were able to use their original parking pass from the morning to park again at the finish.
Note:  This worked because Mom was comfortable with the crazy ass roads in Cincinnati and Olive was down for the driving and parking parts of the adventure.  Out-of-town people who have access to a car can use the Waze app, which is updated with road closures.  Out-of-town people without a car would either need to Uber, or just spectate downtown on foot, which is up to mile 5 and then at the finish.

Start Line: This is different than years past when I've run the half marathon. The race now starts on Elm and goes onto Second ave immediately.
Pig Pens: The corrals were a bit of a hot mess this year. (But only a bit.) The biggest issue is that Corrals D through I were on a different street around the corner and we absolutely could not hear the starting line at all. Like, didn't hear the anthem, didn't hear the announcements, didn't hear the gun. Nothing. Once we turned the corner and were on Elm, we could start to hear, but I have no idea what we missed. I bet they'll get a lot of complaints about this, and I bet it's something they'll fix.
Um, you know, other: There was an odd thing with the potties. There was a ginormous bank of them that were super easy to see from Corrals A to C. And then there was a significantly smaller bank in the back by Corral H/I. Shocker that the line was much longer there. There were even smaller banks in all the corrals. I think some of the big bank up front should've been relocated to the back to even things out.  

Course:
Terrain: This is the hardest of any full marathon course I've run. Different from Twin Cities, the most significant climbing is in the beginning, and by mile 8/9, it's a net down hill.  (It's not all downhill, there are definitely rollers, but once you see Skyline, that's the highest part of the full marathon course.)  The last couple miles along the river looking at downtown and Kentucky are really pretty.
Support: There are cheering teams every five feet, tons of music, and all of the food and water and Gatorade you could want. I told Olive, at first I was really strict about when/what I ate but by the end, I was all "ooo a popsicle, yes please". Each mile has a sponsor that does a water stop. (Yes, I said there are water stops every single mile.)  Most miles also seem to have food stops including Sweedish Fish, Hershey Kisses, Girl Scout Cookies, other kinds of cookies, and bacon. I did not have the bacon. There were also several (several) unofficial stops with alcohol including mimosas, margaritas, and all of the beer. I had a sip of beer very close to the finish line but that was it.  
Cars: This course is partially open to traffic in some places.  As a runner, I was never uncomfortable, and I am super fussy about these things.  The first couple miles are totally closed to traffic, and the smaller side streets later in the race are also totally closed to traffic.  Madison Rd and Erie Ave are open to inbound traffic while the runners are on the outbound side.  Columbia Parkway is open to in and outbound traffic with an inbound lane closed for runners.  I ran on the shoulder there.  Even then, I wasn't uncomfortable with the cars.
For spectators/cheering support, having one side of the road open to cars can be an issue, depending on what side of the street people can access.  There were places where there were spectators on the sidewalk, a lane or two of cars, and then the runners.  The police do not allow spectators on the center line or islands in those places, so spectators can't get close to their runners for hugs or high fives in some places.

Pace Team:I did not use a pacer. Some of these pacers run and walk the water stops only, and some of the pacers do a run/walk. You just have to know what you're getting.  The pacers did have their own booth at packet pick up and the person I talked to was very knowledgeable, familiar with the course, and had good advice for me. Mom, Olive and Dad all said they wish the Pace Signs were written on both signs in HUGE BLACK LETTERS, because the signs were hard for the spectators to read.  Dad also said he'd just say "what group are you?" and everyone would answer him.

Fan Support: There are offical support stations and unofficial support.  
There are some stretches of this race where there just can't be fans (Hello Columbia Parkway) but in those places there are 'Squeal Teams' to cheer people on. The race does a great job of involving the local schools so there are also legit cheer squads around the course. True story: One of the places Dad and Marge waited for me, around mile 17, there was a cheerleader squad.  This was later in the race when things were really spread out.  So, Dad says to them "can you do a cheer for my daughter when she comes?" and they did.  At first I thought it was because I had my name on my shirt, but Dad told me later that was a special request of his.  Made me feel like a million dollars. (Different cheer squad than the one pictured.  These ladies were on point as well and Olive snapped their picture.)
Did I mention the unofficial stops with the alcohol? Some of the popsicles may have been unofficial too. There was a ton of crowd support, even on River Road into the finish line, just people sitting on their chairs on their lawns, kids out having fun, tons of stuff. 

App: Flying Pig does have an app that includes tracking.  I had significant issues with it on Saturday with Olive in the 10K so we did not use the app at all on Sunday.  Olive and I, as well as Dad and I, practiced Find my Friends and used that instead. 

Finish: The Finish Line, and the chute are significantly improved from past years. (The race no longer finishes underneath the Coliseum in the pit of darkness and despair.)  The race finishes on a wide street,.  It's super easy for spectators to get right up near the finish and cheer their athletes on. The chute is now the best configured I've seen. There was no crowding inside it or trying to get out.  It dumps runners right into the finisher party (though sadly the beer tent was still a very long walk).  I liked the mix of free food and stuff you could buy.  

Race Recommended For: Well, I mean, this race has my heart. As soon as I got done, I was like "I'm never running another marathon again" and Olive was all "you said that before, and then you said 'except I want to do The Pig once".  (Update: It's now been a full day from the Marathon and I can barely walk.  This is just a note to my future self.  Marathons are hard.)
Locals: Even though Cincinnati is a city, this feels like a small town race.  If you know Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky, you will see yourself in this race. All the schools and neighbrohoods are involved (including my school Walnut Hills and my neighborhood Avondale). People of lots of different ages and races were involved, from the kids handing out candy to Avondale Running Club massive water stop in the middle of that horrendous climb.   People of all abilities were also involved in course support including some people cheering from the wheelchairs in more than one 'squeal team'. 
Likes a challenge: For an urban marathon, I thought the course itself was challenging. It has tons of climbing very early in the race.
First timers: Will appreciate the course support and the pace teams.
Experienced runners: Will also appreciate how well organized things generally are.
Fast runners: Will appreciate the competition.
Slower runners and run/walkers: Will appreciate the 7 hour time limit.

Global Running Day: Would you rather?

I'm reading some of my favorite blogs and they're all asking the same questions for Global Running Day.  And I'm all, do you know me? 

Run with no socks or no sports bra?  I do actually run without socks from time to time.  Though this is not well known.

Run a mile naked or in a snow suit? Here's the first "do you know me?"
Run in the freezing cold or in the sweltering heat? And the second, "do you know me?"
Run on an empty stomach or full bladder? I do run on an empty stomach for most of my runs.  This is also not well known.  All of my runs in the morning are fasted, except long runs which usually get half a salted avocado before heading out.
Run uphill or into a headwind?  Uphill.  Headwinds never end.
Run without music or without a GPS watch? I do run without music when I'm outside.
Skip deodorant or Body Glide?  You chafe less than you'd think in a snow suit.

Run as much as you want on the treadmill or only once/week outside? I didn't get this question at first.  I think it's asking would you tolerate running on a treadmill, or would you hold off running unless you could go outside.  And honestly, if the blizzard didn't stop me, what conditions would force me inside so frequently?
Run a beer mile or a color run?  Neither?

Run a trail or the road? I love them both so hard.  I run significantly more miles on the road though.
Run an out and back or a loop? I do both.  Whatever I'm in the mood that day, and somewhat determined by where I am able to run as well.
Eat a slice of pizza mid-race or drink a milkshake?  Here's another random "do you know me?" because I hate pizza.

Run in the rain or snow?  I've done at least one long run and some of my best races in the rain.  I'd pick rain in general, the footing is a bit easier to work with than snow.

Beer or chocolate milk at the finish line?  The final "do you know me?"

All the posts are coming. This is just a warm up.

Thanks to HRG for the survey. 

Favorite place you’ve traveled to?  South Africa.  Hands down.

Worst pain you’ve ever experienced? I remember a couple migraines I'd rather not.

Who was the last person you took a picture with? According to my computer, it was these selfies with the Dungeon Master. (I'm pretty sure that's going to be her blog name.)

If you could talk to ANYONE right now, who would it be? I want to call Mom and Dad and tell them I had a nice day.

Ever had stitches? Yes

Nail polish… yay or nay? No. Because when I do it, it looks like a five year old did it.  Sigh.

If you could have any career, what would it be? I actually really like the career I've got right now. Again, I am lucky.

Does pineapple belong on pizza? I hate pizza in general. Therefore I am unqualified to answer this question.

You have the remote; what channel? Right now it's between BBC America, HGTV, and catching up on The Voice.

If you were an animal… what would you be? Everyone thinks I'd be a bat.

Did you grow up in the city or country? I'm a city girl all the way.  It makes me nervous to park on people's grass.  I will walk around the house to get to the front door versus knocking on a back or side door.  Because I'm a city girl.

Are you taller than your mom? No, and this has always made me a little sad.

When was the last time you cried? Mercifully, I can't remember.

What percentage of the time are you listening to something while you work out? 
Outside running - about 10% of my workouts.  
Inside if I'm running more than a mile, or on the elliptical - 100% of the time.  
Inside if I'm only lifting - about 10% of my workouts.    
There was a time I couldn't make my body move without music.

Sunday Not So Long Run

Plan: Totally didn't have one.  I woke up around 9am and went to the Farmer Market.  And had all of the thoughts:

• I was sick yesterday, do a shorter run today and swap mileage for later in the week.
• Then after the farmer market: It's still cool out, just go run, do your 4 mile for Tuesday
• Then: Oh no, Tuesday I have friends after work and an 8:30am meeting.  I don't want to do a long run that early in the morning.
• Then: Maybe you can do 6 today.
• Then: Maybe 7? Lake Nokomis? 
• Then: I'm at the point in training where I don't have to go 10 because I'm not worried about being able to go that far, now it's just keeping up the fitness... 
• By the time I was actually running, I decided I could do 8 no problem without food or water and I was basically right.

Route: This was also largely undecided when I headed out, but wound up being along Minnehaha Creek almost the whole way.  I had to cross paths with the Minneapolis Bike Tour twice which was fine. Ask me about the up hill at the end.

Weather: Low 50s when I started, high 50s or 60 when I wrapped up. A bit of wind from the west which felt good.

Wardrobe: Reflective shorts, short sleeve shirt, pink Altra shoes

Execution: I turned off my beeping watch around mile 4 because it was pissing me off.  This was mostly at MAF, and a solid run.  This was also a music assisted run.  I decided if I was going to run with music on race day, I should practice which ear buds etc at least once before hand.

Nutrition: I had a hard boiled egg before the run, carried no food and no water.  Lovely cup of coffee after the run was heaven.

Bonus: I bumped into a girl I went to social work school with at Lake Hiawatha.  We're neighbors apparently.

iOS 8 Updates: Nike and Strava and Endomondo

I use my running apps on an iPhone, so the iOS 8 update was a big deal.  Every year I notice an iOS update the week before Twin Cities Marathon, and every year I refuse to update until after race weekend.  This year was the same.  Here's what I've noticed about the apps.

Strava: I cannot tell one single difference.  In a very good way.  This app wins the prize for being the only one that found my heart rate monitor straight away, without needing to re-pair it.

Nike+: Nike+ and I have always enjoyed strained relations but we had recently achieved a detente of sorts.  The iOS 8 update blew that all to hell.

• Health kit: I never uploaded/integrated/whatever the health kit.  Apparently now there's a way for me to connect some kind of heart rate monitor?  I can't figure it out.
• Music controls: are 10 kinds of screwed up.  The music sort of insists on having the controls go through the app while listening to itunes, but interacting with the app at all during the run seems to impact playback in less than ideal ways.

Endomondo: Still my favorite app and my favorite website.

• Heart rate monitor: I had to re-pair my heart rate monitor after the update.  This wasn't the only app that had this issue, but I didn't notice until some runs were completed so I was kind of bummed.
• Vibration: A feature lost in an earlier update seems to be restored.  The phone now vibrates at the end of a lap in addition to giving an audio cue.  I really missed that feature and am glad to see it back.

Some other information, since many many people seem to search these things:

• Interval workouts: Not available with Nike+ nor Strava, available with Endomondo Premium (or legacy Endomondo Pro)
• Goal workouts: Nike+ allows goals by distance, time, or speed.  Endomonodo allows goals by distance, time, and on Premium accounts also calories burned.  Strava allows goals of time or distance on premium accounts only.
• Foot pods: No.  Just, no.
• Heart rate monitors: Endomnodo and Strava seem to support loads of these. I use a Mio Alpha with no problems.
• Running indoors: Nike+ has an indoor setting that uses the accelerometer on the phone.  Endomondo and Strava do not support indoor running.

Long Run Saturday - The good, the hot, and the ugly

It's been a rough week; a rough couple weeks actually.  I can always tell my mental health is taking a turn south when I can't get up to run, I stop keeping food in the house and all I eat is crap.  So yeah, it's been rough.  I actually had what I'm calling a long workout this week, 6 mile track workout followed by 4 mile elliptical workout in no air conditioning that almost killed me.  You think I jest.

I was still 10-12 miles short on my goal mileage for the week, and I knew I needed to get in a run today.  Originally I'd planned to run before Zumba.  Alas, the 3 alarm trick didn't work today.  I went back to sleep, woke up and made breakfast, skipped Zumba entirely.  Then it was a morning and afternoon of mental negotiations to get my ass off the couch.  It was such a pretty day I didn't want to be at the gym but such a hot day I couldn't really see a long run.  Eventually I was all "do the 12 mile course, and after a couple miles just start doing intervals".  I picked a course I liked, and one that does have some shade.

It was an interesting run.  I can't tell if I'm happy with the way it turned out or not.  My brain refused to leave without music.  My playlist had tons of Pitbull which made both my brain and my feet happy.  I didn't have any firm time goals, even thinking I'd do intervals 'most of the way'.  Intervals really only came out in force in the last mile or two.  I'm not sure how long I stopped to snap photos of birds, or how much the heat slowed me down.  All in all, I'd like to run faster in the marathon, but I'm not totally discouraged either.  Even better: within the first two miles I'd already made a poop stop.  Awesome. 

I ran the first five miles outright; mile six involves that hill.  I ran up the hill and was sucking wind by the top of it so I took a longer walk than normal.  Then again about five minutes later, I took a true walk break, snapped some pictures and had a gu.  Turned out to be my only gu of the run.  I had a second surprise walk break during mile seven when I came upon a mama turkey and her babies.  Since I'm all about self preservation, I stopped running, walked and gave them all a wide berth.  The mama isn't so protective because she ducked into the weeds and left her little ones right in front of me where I could see them.

Minnehaha Park by the falls was a complete zoo.  I gave up the running path and went across the street to the bike path.  Not one biker complained to me; I think they understood my desperation.  I didn't even want to do intervals there I just kept running to make it go by faster.  Point of information: the tree in this post is still down across the path.  It's taped off now at least.  Since it's not threatening any people, power lines, or property we'll assume it's not a high priority.

All of the bodies of water I passed today are really high.  The river is at flood stage, although not quite high enough to close the Ft Snelling trail yet.  It does get that high sometimes.  The creek is absolutely busting at the seems.  I saw some tubers heading down.  That looked fun and relaxing.  Lake Hiawatha has overflowed its bounds and eaten up part of the running path.  The bike path is still above water.

After mile 11, I told my brain that it could start doing intervals of one block running, one block walking.  I wound up running a bit more than that.  The last half mile was just running around the block by my house.  Because we have to finish what we start. As soon as I got inside I jumped in the ice bath, partly for my legs and partly just to cool off.  I had a whopper of a fruit smoothie for a snack.  Yeah, I was freezing by the time I was done.  I was even more surprised to come home and enter miles in my running log and find out I had in fact made it to my goal mileage for the week.  We'll see how that combined with next week being a step back week helps me feel.

Friday Long Run - Ft Snelling

This is my last long run before my weekend of racing.  It was not confidence inspiring.  Sigh.

Things that went not so well:

• My pace: I don't know what I expected, but I was disappointed.  I ran the first couple miles (don't ask how I "ran" a 12:56 mile), then went into running 4:00, walking 1:00.  And I ran the long downhill and steep uphill at Ft Snelling.  Perhaps I shoudl've paused the run when I went to the bathroom in mile 8?  That really effed up my average pace.
• Trying a long run without Immodium.  No more "I'll probably be fine".  Just take the pill like a good girl.  Good news: I did not poop my pants.
• That arm strap for my iPhone.  The strap got all sweaty and I hate that my phone is without its case.  If I take it out to snap a photo I have to be super careful.
• Heat.  Remember, it was 30* last week for the 55* today really freaked my body out.  You'd think my pasty white skin would've reflected all that sunlight but apparently not.

Things that went well:

• Bodyglide: I forgot that on my last long run.  I usually only forget it once a year.
• The arm strap for my iPhone:  I liked that I could feel the phone vibrating when it's strapped to my arm.  I can't feel it in my pocket or in a race belt.  Relevant because I was using the interval timer app like I will on race day and I liked I could feel it without having to have earphones in.
• The route: In honor of my upcoming races I actually needed to practice running both up and down hill.  And this route is my favorite of all time.
• Breakfast - I had muselli in almond milk with a banana and chia seeds.  It was like rocket fuel.  I made myself take a gu at mile four but I didn't want to because I was still full.  I had to, there's not another good place for a long time.  I took another Gu at mile nine but it just made me want to pule.  See above about the heat.
• Running without music - it's my new thing now.  I almost never run with music outside any more.  The track and treadmill other different cases.  Outside I just listen to nature and the sound of my own awesomeness feet.
• Up big hills - you know I ran all the way up the sucker.  I'm now taking the Running Beth approach read: Mountain Goat of go up as fast as possible to get it over with.

Android to iPhone - additional thoughts

I wrote about the initial switch from Android to an iPhone (hello, I've missed you so much).  Here's some more thoughts.  FYI - I was running Android 2.2 (Gingerbread, which is quite old) and now running iOS6. 

iOS - let me tell you which contacts to always send straight to voice mail.   Android had a feature that let me send any contact directly to Voice Mail without the phone ringing.  iOS sadly does not.  I mostly used this when places would call me for donations and I wanted to ignore them without having to be rude or say no, but I'm sure we can all think of some other uses for this feature too.

iOS - would a "week view" on the calendar be too much to ask?  The calendar situation is kind of like, "you are known for graphics and elegant design and this is what you came up with?"  Apparently I just needed to turn the phone sideways.  Sigh.

Android - get a feature like 'photo stream'.  I know with Android/Google I could've linked to Picasa pretty easily but my free Picasa account is full from hosting pictures from this blog, so I didn't have the option unless I wanted to fork over more money.  I call shenanigans.

Android - I should really be able to take a screen shot without rooting my phone or paying mega bucks for some special app.  Boo.  Now you know why I have no screen shots for the android features I miss most.

Android - All phones should be able to receive software updates.  I hate that by the time I got rid of this phone, Android 4.2 was released, but my phone was stuck with 2.2 and no hope of ever getting an update.  For Android, it seems to be basically up to the phone manufacturer to roll out firmware updates and OS updates.  I got one update from Android 1.6 to Android 2.2.  After that, it was radio silence.

Android - for the love of all that is holy, figure out how to sync music between my computer and my phone.

I think in general I'm much happier having my phone and my computer have (essentially) the same operating system.  I very much miss my operating system being so well integrated with a web based email/calendar client (Google - sigh). 

Running Music - And Where to Find It

In running, there seem to be those who cannot move without music blasting in their ears and those who do not understand.   If you run frequently, those five songs with a good beat can get old quick.  Where to find more music?   (My current answer is "Zumba Class" which may be the opposite of helpful.)  Here's some better suggestions:

InTheGym is my favorite place to get new music.  They do a great job of having all kinds of different genres and gearing it to different sports or workout goals as well.  The site isn't updated frequently or with great regularity which makes me sad.  I keep them in my RSS feeds and I always smile when a new playlist is out. 
 
Pandora is my second favorite, and has several exercise stations.  They're not exactly easy to find on the website.  If you're like me and can't remember where this awesomeness is hidden, do this: Click "New Station" (next to the search bar on the left), and when the menu comes down click "browse genres", then click "workout".  There's several different genres and some divided by sports and activities like dancing.  My favorite is the Latin Workout station, although I've never been in a position to listen to it on a run.  Those of you with a smartphone and unlimited data, let me know what you think.  

GymDJ lists individual songs and has 30-60 minute mixes, again divided by sport and genre.  The mixes tend to be free for download, while some of the individual songs seem to be 30 second samples (to comply with copyright laws I think?).  I haven't been on this site too long.  The RSS feeds are updated regularly and seem to work right (which is a bigger deal than you'd think).  I've never run with a mix but I understand they're quite appealing because there's no song skipping or silence.

JogTunes is a search engine where you can search by genre, artist, who the tempo of the song, or sport.  I'm not clear on how specifically songs wind up in their search engine (would a FAQ be too much?) but they seem to have many genres and a health dose of indie artists.

RunHundred is also new to me but I haven't been wowed so far.  They also reliably update the site with new music.  Sadly, it's all 30 second samples.  The site also doesn't share the "100 list" without providing your email and more information than I want to share, so I can only see the daily song updates.  The constant pop-ups and advertisements on the site are what really does me in.  Somebody with better ad blocking software (or patience) might really enjoy this site. 

Spotify - Can someone please explain this site to me?  (Do I still need someone to invite me?)  I can't say for sure, but have heard it's an excellent place to find new music.  Let me know.

BeeMp3 is just an Mp3 search engine.  It will not help you find new music.  But if you find a great song on one of these other sites and have trouble finding it for download or purchase, there's a good chance it will be here.  I have a don't ask don't judge policy on using this website.

Taper: Elliptical

Suddenly I hate music while exercising?  That can't be right.

I have the day off work for Yom Kippur.  To those of you who observe, I hope you are having an easy fast.  But for me that meant one thing: sleep in!  I finally drug myself out of bed and hit the gym a little after 9am.  The parking lot was crazy busy but the fitness floor was fine.  I don't know where everyone was.

I got on the elliptical and was all "oh, my old friend" like I really missed working out on the elliptical since I haven't been doing it much recently.  Yeah, that lasted about two minutes.  Then I was all "this is so boring, no wonder I haven't done this in a while".  WTF?  That's unusual becuase I typically like the elliptical.  I started to put in some tunes because as previously mentioned running without music is not the same as the elliptical without music.  I don't know what was my issue though because I hated almost every song that came on.  Apparently I was tired and cranky.  The 'fitness' part of the workout was fine, not too hard and not too easy.  Afterwards I was careful to stretch and foam roller to facilitate recovery.  I'm tapering. 

Walking a cool down lap on the track

I came home and had breakfast.  Followed by a nap.  I think I was a cat in a previous life because laying on the couch and napping is one of my favorite things to do.  Ever.  Shortly after the nap I went on a cleaning jag.  I understand that does not equal the suffering of fasting for 24 hours, but it was impressive for me to get that much cleaning done in one afternoon.  I am now back on the couch where I belong cuing up for my second nap of the day.  I may or may not have dinner plans afterwards. 

12 Miles, 36*. What could possibly go wrong?

7:30am when my alarm clock went off, might as well have been 5:30am.  Why is it so early? I had 12 miles on the plan today.  It was 36* when I checked.  What do I wear for this?  I kept having this internal conversation of, seriously - it will be warm when you're running.  I wound up in wool socks, a light pair of pants, t shirt and long sleeve shirt.  It was warm when I was running in the sun but pleasantly so and not like I was going to pass out.

745 - out the door.  I was doing a Ft Snelling run, made slightly longer by taking "long cuts" and adding some stuff at the end.  I brought my headphones along but started with not listening to them.  This is also only the second run this year where I wore a fuel belt instead of my Cambelbak bag which meant I could take both gatorade and water along.

Miles 1, 2 and 3 Oh seriously!  Already?  This is what happens.  I wake up, I go through the normal getting ready routine, I think I'm good.  Then a mile from my house, just starting into the run I have to poo.  Awesome.  I prayed for peace with the Minneapolis Park Board who maintains facilities over parts of my route.  The facilities are always hit and miss, sometimes being clean and well stocked.  Sometimes they're not well stocked or the door is locked or the thing is turned so you can't open the door or any other kind of nonsense imaginable.  Today was fine.

Minnehaha Falls and the park Per tradition, I was running by Minnehaha Falls as the Women Run the Cities race was starting.  That explains all the cars and the people.  Their race goes from the falls north up the river so we were never really in each others way.  One of the cyclists told me I was running the wrong direction but I knew he was joking and thought it was funny.  Usually this race is the week before Twin Cities, this year its two weeks out because "the first Sunday in October" is falling as late as mathematically possible this year.

Ft Snelling State Park - Down  I love this part of the run.  There was a tree blocking part of the path, it must've fallen recently.  Nothing nearly as dramatic as the time I climbed that fence during a 20-miler.  I took some Gu, had some Gatorade and generally enjoyed myself.  Did I mention the weather was gorgeous, despite the chill in the air.

Ft Snelling State Park - The Hill I took the hill without music today, possibly for the first time ever.  I was all "you'll go faster if there's no music to distract you" and I was right.  The hill is really broken into two segments - the looooong painful steep part and the little steep part at the end known as the finisher.  There's about 200' of flat in between the two parts.  Usually I run up the big part, catch my breath on the flat and run up at least half of the finisher before needing to catch my breath again.  Today, a pick up truck was on the trail coming at me as I started up the finisher.  Good, I needed another walking break.  Let me just get out of your way and stand over here.  WTF?

Ft Snelling State Park - Top side  The view along the river was tremendous as usual.  I can't tell if I'm seeing fall colors or if the trees are just burned out this year because of the drought.  I'll take a closer look and let you know when I go back next week for my 10-miler.  Still no music.  Also, the river is down.  Wow.

Minnehaha Falls - part 2.  As I mentioned I had a long sleeve shirt on.  It was bright green and kind of hard to miss.  So I was astonished when not one but two people on two separate occasions heard me coming, turned and looked at me, turned back around, stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and were startled when I almost ran into them and wanted to pass them.  I'm in bright green.  How do you not see me?  Also, how do you look at me and then forget I'm coming?  One was a racer who'd finished so she's mildly excused. 

The parkway again - I ran on the side of the road opposite where I'll be for Marathon Sunday just because for these last two weeks I try to stay off the course as much as I can.  It's a mental game.  I had gatorade and a gu and then was all "why do I feel like I just poured acid down my stomach?"  Probably important to remember that for the marathon. 

Back into the neighborhood Running Beth says I live in hill country.  While anything outside of Austin, Cincinnati and San Fransisco can't rightly be considered 'hill country' for running purposes, there are some rollers on the way back to my house that hurt more at mile 11 then they would at mile 3.  I started thinking I just want to stop and cry.  I'll never make it through a marathon if this is how I feel at mile 11.5  That was followed by the voice of reason Calm down, this is normally when you'd take water and another gu and you're not doing that so just live with the pain.  It's almost done.

Running around the block a few extra times I knew this route, long cuts and all, was still only 11.5 or so and I needed 12 miles so when I got close to my house, I ran around the block a few extra times for what I thought would equal another .5 miles for an even 12.  I have become one of those runners who runs around the block so their Garmin shows an even number at the end of the run.  I don't even own a Garmin.  (Side note - now you know what to get me for Christmas.)  I was highly encouraged when I stopped the clock at 2:30, including a poo break and that hill at Ft Snelling, that's must faster than I thought I went.  May be fairer to say that's much faster than I thought I was going at mile 11.5 when I just wanted to stop and cry.  This may be one of the more accurate readings my Nike+ thing has ever taken, it's off by about .4 miles.  Given how wrong the thing normally is, that's excellent.

Another great thing about running when it's in the 30s and 40s: no guilt about skipping the ice bath.  My arms and legs were freezing already and my skin was all red.  After the run I had a power smoothie of oats and nuts (put in the blender and grind first, then add the rest), banana, two kiwi, a plum, yogurt and chia seeds.  Apparently I have a "breakfast" date at 1pm. 

Running with headphones - yes or no?

Do you run with music?  A while ago I was tooling around on the web and found this post which I read and sort of ignored until I thought about it some more.  Since then I've been doing more and more runs sans music and it's been an interesting experience.  Today was the first day I didn't even bother bringing my headphones along.  Here's what I think:

• I feel much less pressure to keep looking for new music for running.  That playlist doesn't get nearly as old when I only hear it once a week.
• I like that I can hear the sounds of my feet on the pavement.  It's my own rhythm.
• Without music is much closer to how I run in races, since I'm normally with a pace group so it's good to practice that way.
• Such a better plan for running in the dark.
• I run faster up hills.  There's no music to provide a rhythm or pace and I just want this crap over with.
• I like runners who also do not have earbuds because they always smile and say hi as they run by and leave me in the dust.
• I never have any plans to stop listening to music for any workouts at the gym including track workouts, treadmill or the elliptical.  You can pry my iPod from my cold dead hands.

How I've done it so far:
One day I went out for a run and it was going to be dark when I left so I was all "I'll take my earbuds with me and put them in when the sun comes up or at XX point along the course.  Read more here.  I did that for a couple runs here and then for my 20-miler I kept my earbuds out the whole time I was running in the dark without a sidewalk.  More on that foolishness here.  For other runs in Cincinnati, I did one with music because I was totally unmotivated and wouldn't have left the house without the extra incentive.  The other run was totally without music although I had the earbuds with me as a safety net.  Today I just left them at home for my four miler.

Future plans:
I have no idea if I'll keep this up forever, or even go totally music free on some of my longer runs.  20 miles is a long way without some music to distract me.  For now it's nice in the mornings to feel like I have the energy to run without the boost from the earbuds.  I will probably still post what running tunes I'm using now, even if I don't use them as often as before.

Vacation - Running

Wednesday night as I was going through my mail, I found this gem.  I can't believe I signed up for another marathon.  What was I thinking?  I also got my save the date postcard for the Dreidel Dash. 

Thursday was a day of travel and carb loading.  There was no exercise.

Friday was my last 20-miler before the marathon.  This pictures weren't taken on the run but this is what some of the views looked like.  I know in Minnesota we love the Mississippi River, but the Ohio River Valley is really something to see.

 

Saturday was a day of recovery from the big long run.

Sunday I did a short run becuase I knew I'd be in the car most of the day and it would feel good.  Also, I'm nicer and more patient after I run.  (Serious.)  This was actually the best weather of any of my runs.  It was nice and sunny but not swamp like.  I ran the "hill" route from my parents house.  It's a lot of going up at first and a lot of down hill at the end, just the way I like it.

  
Monday I did Jazzercise with my mom because for Mondays in September you can bring a friend for free.  When Danza Kuduro came on, I absolutely could not do the routine correctly because I kept trying to do the Zumba routine instead.  Fail.

Tuesday I did six miles, totally without music.  (More on that later.)  It was a super humid day and the weather ultimately devolved into rain for periods of the run.  Great.  I did a longer version of the out and back hill course from my parents house.  The elevation profile is in blue/white and my speed profile is in the red/yellow rainbow.  I ran really fast at the end because it was both downhill and I was over getting rained on.

Mileage got a little wonky with moving the 20-miler from Sunday to a Friday.  My plan for the rest of the week is to keep running and then to truly start the taper after my next 12-miler over the weekend.    

Long Run Friday - 20 Miles Cincinnati Style

For my final 20 miler before Marathon Sunday, I ran up and down big hills in Cincinnati.  Because that's how life is.  For a recap of past years final 20-milers, don't look for 2009 because it was so bad I didn't even write about it, here's 2010 with a bonus musical post and here's 2011. 

Weather - through a strange set of circumstances, this was the only day on the whole trip I could even get in a run this long, so I was stuck with whatever happened weather wise.  It wasn't super hot, in the 60s and 70s, but the humidity was impressive.  Around 90% when I walked out the door this morning.

Sidewalks - I feel like I never have to ask in Minneapolis or St Paul, "are there sidewalks on that street"?  It's an important consideration here, and even more relevant  because my reflective gear is at home.  (I'd planned to be doing this on a bike trail.)  So there I was on Victory Parkway going "wtf?" when there was no sidewalk in sight for about a mile. 

Hills - I'd originally had this slated as 22, but with the Cincinnati sized hills, I decided it could just be a simple 20.  That took me long enough as it was.  I went up a big hill on Victory Parkway between miles 6 and 8; down the big hill all the way into downtown and to the river from miles 8 to 11; and then all the way back up all the elevation I'd lost from miles 16 to 19.  I ran mile 16 and ran/walked from there to the top.  The last mile was literally all down hill which was great.

The route - my parents didn't want me to go out to the bike trail early.  For some reason they thought running through Norwood in the dark would be safer.  I picked this route at the last minute.  Other than Victory Parkway having no sidewalks it was a pretty good choice.  I'd run parts of this route for the Flying Pig but most of it was brand new.  Compared to where I normally run, there were so many stop lights. 

Nutrition and hydration - I think the salt sticks are working great.  I had a ton of them becuase it was so humid out.  I also ate a 'big' breakfast before I left of yogurt, banana and granola.  I took a gu every 4 miles (which I've been told is a lot, like every 50 minutes) and 2 gus at mile 12.  (I barely got down the gu at mile 16 without gagging.)  I had a total freak out about running out of water so I filled my bladder again around mile 15 (and barely drank any of that stuff).

Timing - I ran this route in about 4:40 (which I know is slow) but there is a nature break in that time, time for getting lost and what I think is a lot of time for stop lights.  I'm not sure how I feel about this time.  I mean, at mile 3.5 I was already at 48 minutes which is ridiculous.  Who knows what I actually did.  Here's what Nike thinks, but they also think this was 24 miles which is crap.

Music - The transition to running without music has been so much less painful than I ever would have expected.  I had my tunes with me but kept the earbuds out until about mile 7.  I wanted to have no music for anything in the dark and anything without sidewalks.  Once I started going up hill I wanted something to distract me.  I'm pretty sure I took the earbuds out in one other place along the run but I can't remember now.

Other stuff -

• Running downtown was a blast but I think the novelty would wear off if I had to do it again.
• The "Ohio River Bike Trail" is not complete.  That's how I got lost.
• What's up with all those water fountains not being turned on?  Rude.
• So much fun to be in Eden Park and running into downtown.  Gorgeous.
• The river was amazing.  It looked high to me but I know it's not.  (Who can say drought?)
• I should find a new route for every 20-miler I do to make them less awful.
• No ice bath but I did stretch a lot and kept moving throughout the day, especially when I made dinner for all those people.
• I found myself not caring about this run which was mostly hormonal (awesome) but about two hours later was all "oh awesome, now I get to taper"
• Still trying to decide on which shoes to wear on Marathon Sunday.  The ones today are slightly more shoe but I also had a big blood spot on one sock when I took them off.

Long Run Fridy - Lucky 14

I felt like garbage when I woke up.  Awesome.  I forced down a Luna Bar (the raspberry icing so did not help) and got myself together for a run.  It was about 60* and super humid when I left.  There were on and off sprinkles, mostly off, but it was humid pretty much all day.

14 Miles were on the calendar for today *Monday*, but I deferred to today becuase of weather.  I'm still following this training program, and modified it only slightly to allow a 3 week taper instead of 4.  For my 14, I hit Lake Nokomis and Ft Snelling, and caught a glimpse of the improved Coldwater Spring National Park.  I ran with and without music, just alternating based on how I felt and how much motivation I needed.  Here's what it was like:

The Nike+ kit seems to work much more accurately if I turn it on when I've already started to run instead of in my warm up run.  It's nice and somewhat reassuring to have actual data about a run.

• Mile 1 and 2 - running in the neighborhood on my way to the Lake.  I was trying to decide if it was raining or if the wind was blowing water out of the leaves most of the way.  Also, I felt like garbage.
• Miles 3, 4 and most of 5 - running at Lake Nokomis.  Sunrise was gorgeous.  There were a lot of clouds so it really added to the drama.  Some of those miles are slower because I got caught at stop lights twice.
• Mile 6 - Minnehaha Parkway.  I have a love/hate relationship with this street.
• Miles 7 and 8 - one of those miles is slow for potty stop reasons.  Don't panic.  Thank goodness I'm near the falls and Ft Snelling because this is my favorite part of the run.
• Mile 9 - up that damn hill.  I think I took it faster than normal but I can't remember.  I was so out of breath at the top I nearly blacked out.
• Miles 10 and 11 - back through Minnehaha Falls, and caught my glimpse of Coldwater Spring.  (There's some controversy over this park, like nobody wanted it until they threatened to build a road over top of it or something?  Also, it's sacred to the tribes here.)  The parking lot is not paved.  Is this on purpose or not finished?  Also, took my last bit of food and my last salt tab.
• Miles 12 and 13 - Minnehaha Creek running trail and Lake Hiawatha.  Slow and steady wins the race.  But I was basically still moving at a respectable pace.  Is it possible I stopped listening to music on this stretch?  Just being entertained by the sound of my own feet.
• Mile 14 - I hate this stupid hill.  I'm sure it's good practice but whatever.

When I logged on to Nike to see my run data, I told me I sped up at the end (ha!).  That can't be right.

Nike also told me it's my five year anniversary?!?  There have been some extended absences from using this thing, but I have stuck with it an impressively long time I think. 

  

I'm trying another new thing in training called "eat right away after a long run" because of all the things out there to tell runners we should.  I made a smoothie and hit the ice bath.  Ugh.