2017-01-31

Back when I was in high school, running cross country, we didn't have things like GPS watches and smart phones with RunKeeper and Strava. We just ran whatever route our coach told us to that day. I do know our cross-country meets were 2 miles, and one time I decided to run the 8-mile Turkey Trot in Dallas, instead of the 5k, because "I was a runner." I don't know any of my PRs, VO2 max, or cadence, we didn't have iPods to drop a beat to drown out the pounding footsteps or labored breathing, it felt like we ran forever sometimes. I don't have any knowledge of a run that I did in my teenage years that exceeded the 8-mile Turkey Trot. I remember that day well, I remember running across a really long bridge that seemed to go on forever. I remember my feet, knees, and ankles hurting like they have never hurt before. I remember finishing, I don't have any idea what my time was, and thinking "ouch that really hurt, why did I run that far?" I'm sure for the rest of the day I sat around doing absolutely nothing except eat Thanksgiving food and complain about how sore I was. 

Since having D and deciding to do TransRockies, I have run 8 miles, or more, a handful of times and I always think back to that 8-mile Turkey Trot and how miserable it made my teen self. Today was an 8-mile day, and adult me got up early, got D's stuff ready for school, went to work, ran 8 miles, rushed through a shower, picked up D, did the family night thing at Chick-Fil-A, did an hour commute, watched half of Trolls with my 2-year-old while we sang and danced, did the whole bedtime routine, and pretty much kicked teen Angela's a$$. That's always a little ego boost, to know that you're stronger mentally, and physically than you were 16 years ago, I think it's common to think that we decline from our physical capabilities of our teenage years and it's exciting when we defy that.
If I'm being honest, today's run was hard, I was really hurting, my calf was tight, my knees were achy, and it wasn't just the typical "warm up through the first mile and it will get better," it hurt the whole time and even got worse as the miles went on, but I got it done. I feel like I hobbled through it, but I got it done. I decided to skip stairs today, even before I started, I've been more sore than usual and the weekend sinus crap kind of kicked my butt so I decided for the sake of time and conserving energy on an 8-mile day that I would do stairs again next week. I had some Facebook correspondence through one of the Facebook groups after my run about recovery and what works for them. One guy recommended that I rest some, I explained my plan to build my mileage and told him about my progress for the month of January and he advised that I pull back by 5%-8% this week and then resume as originally planned next week. He said every 4 weeks you should decrease by 5%-8% for one week to recover before moving forward. I think that sounds fantastic, so instead of the 7, 8, 6 that I had remaining this week for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I'm "just" going to do three 5-mile runs. It amuses me that I say "just a 5-mile run," before 2016, I would dread a 5-mile run, it would be a necessary evil in tri training. Now it's one of my short days. I love it!!

2017-01-30

I think Monday morning runs are starting to become my favorite. I'm fresh from a rest day, but on Sundays I spend the day solo with D, and let's be honest, they're a little trying on my patience. So, heading out in the dark for a quiet sunrise run on a rested body feels nice. I've been feeling sickly since Saturday, yesterday was probably the worst of it. So, I was feeling a little puny today but I got my seven miles in anyway. No PRs or anything fancy, just a steady 11:23 pace. I combined my 4.6-mile loop with my 5.4-mile loop for one big loop that was supposed to be 6.4, so I did a little out and back on one of the turns. I know it's just geometry math, but it's weird that you can add a 4.6 loop to a 5.4 loop and only have 6.4 miles. This afternoon I drove a couple more routes to use as my mileage increases. Everything looked good, it seemed the further out I got the hillier it gets, which is a good thing, I'm training for a mountain race in the flats of Texas so if I can't train for altitude at least I can train on some small ups and downs.

Not stopping at the sign today, less than halfway done!

My Nathan Vest is getting a hole, time to contact customer service.

2017-01-28

Today is C's birthday and he still encouraged me to run anyway. He has been so supportive of all my running and I don't thank him enough. I even feel a little bad that I gave him grief about fitness for so long and felt "betrayed" by all the hours he spent at the gym and now I'm doing the same thing. On one hand, I feel guilty, and on the other, I'm glad that I have this now so that it seems a little more balanced. I'm glad that I can relate to his strict schedule, need for sleep, and healthy eating choices. I'm sorry for the time we lost being at odds about it, but grateful for the understanding now. Sometimes he says things like "this is your year to do these things" and it makes me a little nervous about next year. I'm a goal oriented person and I need something to train FOR. My own health and well-being just isn't enough to get me out of bed and outside for a cold morning run. So, when next year comes, do I sign up for another extreme race to keep me on track or do I say "well, my running days are over" and return to my pre-2017 way of life? Can my body and my family weather another year of ultrarunning? I guess it's silly to worry about right now, THE race is still almost 7 months away. Who knows how I will feel in August? I just feel a sense of peace, and accomplishment that I haven't felt in a while. It's such a contrast to the restlessness and blah-ness I've felt since becoming an adult.

About my run today - nothing too exciting, just another loop at home, 6 miles. Oh, and another 10k PR; o). The 10k PR at home is kind of exciting because most of my fast runs happen at the school, not on the dirt roads where footing is a little loose and there are more variables. Although it's not trails I'm happy to have the dirt roads to do a lot of my running on, I think it has so many advantages over the pavement, especially for my end goal!

2017-01-23

Rise and shine for a 6:00a six miler. Yesterday's rest day was fantastic, and there was no small group at church so we stayed home all day. Anyone who knows much about me knows I am not a homebody, I like being out and about but right now I am so content just staying home. Maybe it's all the running, maybe it's the back to back weekends of traveling for races. Whatever it is, I just want to chill at home in my sweats. 

The Duel - Wichita Falls, TX - 10k Training Race

2017-01-21
The Duel offered 10k, 13.1 miles, and 26.2 miles and runners could choose either paved or trail. Many areas of Texas got a lot of rain this week so the trail course was impacted and they had to do some re-routing mid-week or cancel the race. The Duel sent out an email saying that the 10k route would be closer to 6.4 miles, the 1/2 marathon would be 13.8 miles, and the marathon distance would be close to 26.2 miles. It also explained that the 10kwould turn around at one point and the 1/2 would run one full loop + one partial loop, and the marathon would run 3 full loops. The course was well marked with orange tape (to keep on the right) but the instructions on where to turn around and where loops started and stopped were bad. They had volunteers placed at transitions on the course but they were useless. They were pretty involved in themselves and if they did look up and acknowledge you, it was just to mumble a "good job." For the record, the aid station volunteers were fantastic, but many of the teen volunteers seemed a little more like they were "voluntold" to be there and they would rather be anywhere else.
Sorry for all the backstory, but necessary for the next bit.
I wanted to try the "set a target" feature on my watch so I chose the 10k distance and a 1:15 finish time. I had a good pace going for about 2.5 miles but then I started tripping, three times in about .25 miles, so I decided it was time for some GU and a walk. I did my usual .2 mile walk and then decided I would do that at the beginning of every mile for the rest of the course, when I got to mile 4 though, one of my jams came on and I postponed my walk by .5 miles. When I got close to the finish line, my watch said I had only gone 5.88 miles, that's nearly .5 miles shorter than what the email said the course would be. So, I asked one of the non-helpful teens about it and she said she thought I was ok because "it's just supposed to be like 6 miles or something." I opted to run back across the bridge and down to the gate and back up before crossing the finish line. That put me at 6.37 miles. When it came time for awards it looked like I would have had 3rd place in my age group if I wouldn't have turned around, but I wasn't out there to win anything, I just needed to get my trail miles in. Sometimes it's difficult to keep my sights on the big picture instead of the competition. Today I had to tell myself "you have many more miles to run and bigger goals than this 10k, so just get through it, there's nothing to prove."
I am so glad tomorrow is a rest day, my lower calves/Achilles area is tight on my left leg and I need some R & R after 17.6 miles in 3 days.

2017-01-20

The wind is such a mind-screw. I went for my 5-mile run today in 20mph winds. Ugh suck!! When I got to the part where I had to run into the wind I couldn't even do my .35 run interval. Instead, I did electricity pole intervals. Walk to one, run to the next, repeat, repeat, repeat. I'm sure there will be some times at the Leadville Marathon and TransRockies when we get up above tree line and on top of a pass that the wind could be very brutal. So, I just remind myself that I should train through it, because come race day, the weather could be very unfriendly. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, right? I didn't die today so I must be a little stronger :) 

2017-01-19

It seemed that the odds were stacked against my run today. I left work a little late, I was supposed to meet C at the school, ready to run at 3:15 for 6 miles. I was still changing clothes in the locker room when D's school called and said she was sick. So, I finished getting dressed, completely prepared to not get my run in. C had to coach at 5:30 and I didn't think keeping her in town for another 2 hours was going to be an option. But, C stepped up ad said I'll take care of her and you go do your run. She was in good spirits considering she just puked, apparently, this bug has been going around at school, acting completely normal, no fever, just a sudden up-chuck or two and then diarrhea for a day or two (haven't gotten to that part yet).
So I tried to get my run going and the Fenix 3 was having severe issues finding a GPS signal, I waited, and waited, and turned off and on and waited some more. Finally, I decided I just needed to get going so I started my run with the watch and on Strava, just to make sure I got accurate mileage. About .5 miles in the GPS kicked in and just a few seconds later gave me stats for my first mile at a 6.47 pace, LIES! So, I stopped my watch and kept Strava going until the distances matched and then resumed my run on Garmin. Fortunately, no more issues for the remainder of the run. I ended up with a one mile PR lie that I'm not sure how to fix. I intentionally did some walking before the 5k mark and then stopped the watch completely before the 10k mark so that I didn't end up with other false PRs.
I still have 5 to do tomorrow, and a 10k trail race on Saturday. This is the first week since I really started training that I'll have 3 running days in a row. I hope it goes well, I know I'll be welcoming my rest day with open arms come Sunday!

2017-01-17

I saw a meme the other day that read "Bad weather always looks worse through a window" -Tom Lehrer
Today I tested that theory and it turned out to be true. When it came time to do my five miler today it was 45 degrees with steady rain. I decided to #runanyway. It was great! I loved it! I actually ended up with a 5k PR, that's my second consecutive run with a PR, and my VO2 Max moved up to 45!
The rain was so refreshing and I couldn't help but think "when I'm running on a 95 degree day in July I'm sure I would gladly welcome 45 degrees and raining."
After my run I had plenty of time to do stairs and then take a nice, hot shower before picking up D from school.
This morning I had another Airrosti appoinment, C rubbed my lower back on Sunday night and it has felt TREMENDOUSLY better ever since. So, Airrosti discharged my back and now we're just working on my Piriformis and Obturator on my left side. She said I had some trigger points there that she worked on. Holy cow, it hurt so bad, I thought I was going to cry! I think this is one of those times where pain is gain and hopefully it will feel better soon.

2017-01-16

Six mile run today, it started off cold and I don't think I'm caught up on sleep from the weekend, so  I really  didn't want to get out of bed.  Yesterday, the weather was so yucky and I was so thankful for the timing of my rest day. When I got up this morning I really expected some of yesterday's yucky weather to be lingering, but it  really was a beautiful morning! I ended up walking less than than usual, sometimes because a song came on that was too good for walking or because I felt like pushing it a little harder because I got started a little later than I intended. I ended up with a 10k PR as a result!  Since it was muddy on the dirt roads I opted to wear my trail running shoes and I regretted it while running the last mile on the road. It was so uncomfortable the way the treads met the rough asphalt.  Since my new route is only 4.6 miles and now my runs are getting up to 6+ miles I decided to drive some of the other routes I have mapped out on Footpath. The 6.7 route is a no-go. There are some creepy, hoarder, hillbilly, sticks houses out there and at least 2 stray dogs. The 5.4 mile route and 8.4 mile route look good, more time spent with cotton fields and cows, which I am totally okay with. Maybe I'll get to try one out on Friday.

Bruises & Bandages - Georgetown, TX - 10k Training Race

This weekend we kicked off our 2017 trail racing season with the Bruises and Bandages Race down in Georgetown, TX at Russell Park. We stopped at the Regency Suspension Bridge on our way down and took some pictures and did some jumping to feel it move. It was a neat little detour. Let's talk about Friday night and our experience with Russell Park Campground. TG and I decided a couple of weeks ago, to book a “SHELTER NONELECTRIC,” on their website this was described as a shelter with bunkbeds that has a maximum occupancy of 8. So, we spread the word that we had extra space if anyone else wanted to join us. We ended up making the trip with a group of 6 people and 2 dogs. When we got there, we were a little surprised to find two sets of bunkbeds (only 4 beds), one had a broken bottom bunk and there were NO MATTRESSES. Just bunkbed frames. SERIOUSLY?! Please be a little more honest about the description of the accommodations. I would have gladly brought one of the 4 tents we own and one of the 5 sleeping pads, but I brought bedding for a twin mattress. TG was the only one who brought a sleeping pad. After a trip to Austin to eat a yummy Olive Garden dinner we made a trip to the local REI, a few hours and several hundred dollars later we all had a sleeping pad to get us through the night. There weather for race day was a little less than ideal, but that can’t be helped. All week long the forecast called for mild weather, temps in the 50-70s with a chance of rain. They were right about the chance of rain, it sprinkled off and on but stayed dry while we were out on the course, but I think the high was only about 47⁰. The race was small, I would guess about 50 participants. I’m glad there weren’t more because the single-track start in the mud was congested and made for a lot of walking for about a mile. We ran the 10k out and back, the first and last mile were the most technical and the muddiest. The rest of the course was smooth sailing. Overall, we averaged 13:03 per mile and had about 266 ft. of elevation gain. It was a worthwhile training run and I would say the only negative part was the ill described “shelter” that we reserved.

2017-01-13

Happy Friday the 13th! Time for a 4 mile run before getting on the road to Georgetown for Bruises and Bandages.  Pretty mild day this morning, I really didn't want to run any more than I had to, so instead of the 4.6 mile loop, I decided to go out and back on the loop for 4.06 total miles.

2017-01-11

Another hot run today. Five miles in 82⁰ heat. C’s schedule was a little different today so I didn’t have to get up early to get it in. I got to wait until 5:00PM, which is usually a good thing in January, but like I said, today 5:00PM was hot! C fixed us a delicious steak dinner with some asparagus and sweet potato, it hit the spot just right. I don’t grill, so it’s always a treat when he is home and I can get some food off the grill, especially steaks!

2017-01-10

This picture sums up my workout today. I had 4 miles on my schedule and it would be my only opportunity to get the stairs done at the school. The problem is, I left work late and had to choose between a shower or stairs before picking up D from school. When I got to the locker room I realized I forgot my towel, so stairs it was! Today was also HOT, considering my last run was in 30⁰ and today it was 75⁰ during my run. This global weirding thing is for real! My stairs were a little faster than usual and as the text excitement shows, my legs weren’t shaky afterwards either! Woohoo! Good training day!

2017-01-08

Moved on up to 5 miles today. Used my new 4.6 mile route and added a couple of out and backs on some dirt roads to get my 5 in. Today the dog and I were "greeted" by a stray along the way, I guess that happens when running out in the country on some dirt roads. I'm really struggling with fatigue right now. Yesterday and today my legs just felt stiff and tired. I don't know if it's the stairs we did on Thursday, the cold, or the running back to back days. Until this week I had been running every other day, giving myself about 48 hours to recover and now it's only 24. Whatever it is, I hope it works itself out soon. I hate feeling so sluggish. My watch is telling me I'm in good condition and my training effect is only 2-3, so I'm not overreaching at all. I have tomorrow off to get some rest, I hope I'm feeling refreshed for my run on Tuesday!

2017-01-07

Today I had the opportunity to try a lot of new things on my run. A new haircut, new jacket, new headphones, and a new route. I must say, they were all great! The haircut: minus about 6 inches - OMG, it was so nice to put my hair in a ponytail (using only one elastic) and be ready to go! No wrapping and twisting and pulling and securing and having to start over three times to make sure it wouldn’t fall loose during my run. And with the new length I can put the ponytail through the hole of my Trailheads headband/ear warmer thing, before the hole was pretty useless to me with the huge know of hair. New Jacket: The North Face Cyclone Hoodie – I found this little jewel for $35.00 at TJ Maxx. I really LOVE LOVE LOVE my Salomon Bonatti jacket, BUT I hate using it as a windbreaker on training runs and then it stinks so bad I can’t stand it and end up washing it 1-2 times per week. I just want to make sure it remains waterproof for those wet days and I worry that frequent washes are going to wear that feature down. So I’m glad that I found this cheaper jacket to throw on for windy, cold, and dry days and I don’t have to worry about the frequent washes. It was great for my run, kept the warmth in, the hood is easy to use, zipper glides well, it’s bright pink so that helps with visibility on those isolated dirt road, the compression around the waist is perfect for keeping the wind out. For $35.00 it was a GREAT deal and I’m glad I found it. New Headphones: Bose Soundsport Wireless Headphones, Citron – Lots and lots of research went into which headphones to buy. I have been using Bose wired headphones and with all the layers and iPhone 7’s lack of headphone jack I really wanted to go wireless. I thought I might be able to go cheap but after trying the standard ones that Apple sends with their phones I realized that after years of Bose I’m a sound snob and should probably go with Bose again. I watched the RizKnows review on them and was a little worried that they might be too bulky or not stay in my ears well, but I have had ZERO problems. I used ear warmers for half of my run and surprisingly they were still able to fit snuggly enough against my ears to keep them warm even though the Bose are bulkier than I would like. I kept my phone in a case, in my spibelt, under my jacket, and had dual layer ear warmers and sometimes a hood and didn’t have connection issues. It kinda “glitched” maybe 3-4 times but that was mostly when I was fiddling with the controls or taking layers off and putting them back on my head. When I didn’t have any layers on my head I had zero connectivity issues. The New Route: 4.6 mile loop – I am so glad I tried this loop, running 2 miles out on the access road and 2 miles back was getting old, there’s so much debris on the access road, and having to worry about the entrance and exit ramps gets old. I drove the loop first to make sure there weren’t any stray dogs or other sketchy things to be aware of. It’s a lot of dirt road, which is better than pounding pavement. It goes by cotton fields and cows, who are very skiddish about me and the dog. I saw a few cars, which actually gives me a little peace of mind to know if I got hurt or something that I’m not so isolated that someone would never find me. But few enough cars that I’m not dodging them the entire run. I wish I would have started using this route months ago but my scaredy cat solo female runner brain got the best of me. I think I’ll be staying off the access roads from now on and trying some more dirt roads around here. On the bod today can be found in "labels"

2017-01-06

Not only a rest day, but a pamper day! It was glorious!! I got that much needed haircut and a relaxing pedicure. Big thanks to C for keeping D and giving this mommy a chill solo afternoon! Now I’m back home with D, watching Beauty & the Beast while C is coaching his Friday night class.

2017-01-05

Today C and I did 4 miles at the school, followed by ~50 flights of stairs. It’s a little difficult to know exactly how many flights of stairs because it’s indoors, so GPS and altimeter don’t work and Garmin doesn’t have a real great app for tracking that kind of thing. But regardless, it’s a good workout. It will be especially helpful for TransRockies since we don’t have a lot of opportunities to get hill training here. I went to the dr today, more back and piriformis pain after Sunday’s fall on the trail. My back is feeling pretty bruised after she worked on it. Same old thing, I’m excited to start some Yoga when school gets going again, hopefully that will help some of my aches and pains.

2017-01-04

Well, I got my run in, but I wasn’t very happy about it. My alarm went off a couple of times and I got up, dressed and ran in the dark with the dog. When I got home I went into the bedroom for clothes after my shower and C tells me, “I’m not going to work out” and rolls over to go back to sleep. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I could still be asleep right now! I got up and ran in the dark so it didn’t disrupt your workout schedule. Oh well. It’s done. But seriously, give me a heads-up next time before I head out into the dark! The poor dog ended up getting some shredded tire wrapped around his back legs for a bit. He always runs behind me and I’ll glance back to make sure he’s there but don’t always take a full look at him. I called him to the opposite side of the road while we passed an interstate entrance and saw the tire there but I thought he was stepping through it. I didn’t realize it was stuck to him until a little later when I called him across the road later for a passing car, he was lagging a bit and I saw the tire was still there at his back feet. Poor guy! :( Anyway, we got it untangled and continued on our way.

2017-01-03

Rest day I'm really coming to appreciate these, today after work I went to the library and had some quiet time, worked on my training and racing calendars.

2017-01-02

I think it’s time for a haircut. It was driving me bonkers today! #runanyway #gooddaytorun #getmoving #getoutside #ultrarunnerintraining #gellagoesrunning #runningmom #transrockies2017 #beatyesterday Wearing today: #garminfenix3 #salomon #kyodan #saucony #sweatyband

New year, new miles - 4 trail miles today

2016 results are in and 2017 goals are underway! 2016 results: Total distance: 366 miles Most miles in a week: 21.5 Most miles in a day: 15.5 2017 goals: Most miles in a day: 31.07 Most miles in a week: 120 Total distance: TBD I'm going to keep most of my running adventures, progress, and commentary off of Facebook. If you're interested you can follow my adventure here. We took it to the trails to kick off the new year! We're going to be covering a lot of miles this year in preparation for TransRockies Run 6.