This Week's Long Run

Coach BB wanted: 11 miles
I delivered: 11 miles

Clearly my self portrait skills need work

This week's long run was an 11 miler so I headed out on the main road thinking I would do an out and back but there's one point where I can cut through and I know the mileage from there so I mixed it up. I know, I know, crazy times! Since I had such good luck with my compression sock trial run last week, I went for it again and this time wore my neon pink ones. I think I looked pretty sweet and my legs felt good during and afterwards. I've had such good luck running in compression socks that I just ordered compression shorts. If those work well I might just go for it and order a compression shirt and be totally geeked out in compression wear. 

Showing off my socks

The run itself was pretty boring, it was super humid but not raining and I just tried to avoid getting splashed by trucks going a million miles an hour through the puddles on the side of the road. I was still soaked when I got home from the buckets of sweat dripping off me but I jumped right in the pool and felt much better. 

Easter Bunny Murray

I didn't post this week because the kids were off from school on Thursday and Friday and we were getting ready for Easter. My set of six 800s on Wednesday didn't go as well as I would have liked-I was a couple of seconds too slow on two of them and I felt like I was having to push myself much more than the last time. But I tried to shake it off and not be too negative about it, onward and upward! On Friday I was supposed to do a 6 mile run at race pace so finishing in 49:18 and including my beloved hill again at the end. I really tried to stay in the game mentally and not slack off, especially around the middle part when I have a tendency to flake out and slow down. And....I finished in 49:08!! I was really happy and proud of myself for accomplishing that-it was a good boost! 

                               

Now bring on Week 3! I will be fueled by jelly beans and chocolate eggs so we'll see how that works out...

I wish eating these would turn me into a speedy bunny!

This Week's Long Run

Coach BB wanted: 10 miles with Fast Finish
I delivered: 10 miles with (not very) Fast Finish

Pre-run, check out those cool socks!

It was raining all last night but luckily when my alarm clock (Gus singing Old McDonald at the top of his lungs) went off at 6 it had stopped. When I headed out it was just cloudy and cool-perfect running weather! 

Compression socks + new shoes = super cool

Today I decided to try something different and wear my compression socks during my long run. I have a couple of pairs of these super tight socks but I only wear them after my run to help my muscles recover. A lot of Brazilians wear them running so I was feeling the peer pressure and wanted to give it a try and see if my muscles felt better during the run or after. I was also hoping I would look like Shalane Flanagan (US Olympic runner) in them but unfortunately not so much, see evidence below.

Shalane Flanagan:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXa-JS_Kwztbs436Ztm3uee3ouqR0wr0EfUoli7UQeEHSWxbEdW0yGiUEUPox4CtscqwConaLQvdC-fnZM4T0swx26G1apGQm1CWBRIzUM1K2ozuLsVIbQ8ch_tp2DaS-JMAQc90O/s1600/Shalane+Houston+running-1.jpg




Heather McNemar:

My legs didn't really feel much different while I was running but they feel good now (a couple hours later) so I guess the socks helped. I'll definitely give them another try.

I went my usual 10 mile route over the JK Bridge and back and it was uneventful. The bridge was a little wet and I started getting nervous about slipping and falling off but I stayed safe and on the bridge. I was supposed to finish fast but it started raining and I was fumbling around with my iPod so I got distracted. The rain really picked up when I got to the top of my hill and I had to hustle to get home and out of it.

I'm looking forward to my day of rest tomorrow, I feel like Gus looked last night. Bring on Week 2!

It's been a long week

41:06

I didn't just show up this morning!

I actually pushed myself and (almost) accomplished my goal! I was supposed to run 5 miles at race pace which meant a 41:05 finish. But...Coach BB told me to finish going up my beloved hill. Usually that means I give up, drop my head, scrunch up my shoulders and start stomping my feet. It's really gorgeous running form, don't all world class runners do that? Needless to say, it's definitely  not race pace and it's not helping me get up the hill any faster. So today I was supposed to keep pushing the pace all the way up the almost half mile long hill.

And I did it! My time was 41:06 which I was happy with considering the hill. I definitely felt different running up it, I was more focused and my form felt a little better. So it's a step in the right direction and I'm happy!

10 miles tomorrow with a fast finish...

                                       

Time to Stop Just Showing Up

Feet don't fail me now

Even though I'm only 3 days into marathon training, I've been thinking for a while about the race and how to better prepare myself for it. I've been doing a lot of reading about motivation and training your mind as well as your body. I feel like that's where my weakness lies-my body may be ready to go but my mind wants to hold back and not give 100%. One of my goals for this marathon is to empty the tank but I've realized that won't happen automatically and I need to work on doing that more in training.

Another realization that I've had is that I need to stop just checking the box. In the past I've convinced myself that as long as I do what the schedule says, that's good enough. But going out and running 6 miles at a half baked effort isn't helping me run faster, it's just checking the box. It's the same with my racing, I like to race and I like the feeling of accomplishment I get after finishing but after each race recently I've known deep down that I didn't really push myself as hard as I could have. That I just showed up and checked the box.

But if I just show up to the Rio Marathon, I won't run it in 3:35. I won't qualify for Boston. I won't empty the tank. And I really really want to do all of those things. Soooo...I'm going to stop congratulating myself for just showing up and start pushing myself to get the maximum out of every workout. I only have a finite number of chances to get myself ready-both physically and mentally-before the marathon and I want to take advantage of each one.

It really hit me during today's hill workout with Coach BB. She had me doing high knees at the top of the hill and I wasn't getting them up high enough so she was yelling at me and I was thinking: But I'm here, I'm doing it, isn't that good enough?  In the past I would have answered myself: Yes, it's enough. Way to go you! Just get it done. Check that box!"

But today my answer to myself was different. Instead I thought: HELL NO! It's not good enough! Stop just showing up and get those knees up!! And for a brief moment, I got those knees up.

I'll have a chance to test myself on this new resolve on Friday. Coach BB wants me to run 5 miles at race pace but she told me this time to finish going up my beloved hill. At race pace. And if I get to the top and I feel like I didn't keep up the pace all the way up, I should turn my butt around and run it again. And that time I better get it right.

Sometimes I think that woman can read my mind...

This Week's Long Run

Coach BB wanted: 9 miles
I delivered: 9 miles

My long run on Saturday was 9 miles which was the longest I've done since the half marathon. Looking at my training plan, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster creaking very slowly up the hill. The long run mileage just keeps going up and up and up-10 miles next week, then 11, then 12 until it  hits 15, then one week down to 11 and then back up to 17. Yikes!!! And my runs keep getting longer during the week too, at the end of April I have to do two 9 mile runs during the week! So this week's "long" run won't seem so long once that happens! 

Unfortunately this week I didn't see any wild animals or even other runners during my run. My iPod shuffle konked out at mile 3 so I was without music for most of the time. I don't run with music during the week because I like to be able to hear cars and wild dogs coming so it's a nice treat for me to listen to it on the weekend long runs. It's one of my motivations I use to get myself  pumped and psyched for the longer slogs. But without it I just cruised along and tried to get my wild ragged breathing under control. 

I'm excited to be officially in the throes of marathon training! 16 weeks to go until I toe the line in Rio! Call me crazy but I really like the structure of training with a plan and having the giant goal at the end to motivate me. Matt talked to a Brazilian woman at his work who has run the Rio marathon before (and is doing it this year!) and she was super positive about it which makes me very excited! She said it's a beautiful course and there are tons of spectators (if it's not raining) and that it feels easy after training at our elevation (3000 feet). I needed to hear that and I'm looking forward to talking to her more about it! 

Hills this week on Wednesday with Coach BB. Hopefully she won't make me jump up and down and almost pee myself again...

My best T-rex imitation

I'm back!

As Soul 2 Soul sang so many years ago: Back to life, back to reality!

My version of this song would also include Back to the 2 year old, back to convincing him to wear pants! And Back to running, back to the sweaty face!

I got back yesterday morning from my long weekend in Boston where I saw my parents and my sister and go to meet my nephew Jackson for the first time! So this post is really just an excuse to share adorable pictures of him!

He's overwhelmed by excitement! 

I had a great time hanging out with him and his moms, going out for lots of yummy meals and doing some serious shopping at Target and Stop-n-Shop! Of course I bought way too much stuff like I always do and had to load my carry on down with a giant bag of brown sugar and 4 lbs of jelly beans. The TSA woman's reaction was: "You sure got a lot of food in here!" Luckily I had looked up peanut butter and confirmed that TSA considers that a liquid so I put that in my checked bags. I'm not sure I agree but I didn't want to get it taken. When they re-scanned my bag I was standing next to Regis Philbin! He looks really old in person but he did say Hi to me.

Who needs pictures from Google images when you have such a cutie pie?

I didn't run at all when I was home and it didn't feel so bad.  A 6 day break! I think it's the longest break I've taken since I moved to Brazil! And honestly I didn't miss running at all. But that was probably because it was snowing when I landed and then it was cold! I'm so far removed from cold weather running, I've become a giant wimp about the cold. I also ate a lot of crap food that you can't get in Brazil. All of which meant I was dreading my tempo run with Coach BB this morning...And then Gus decided to get up at 4:30 am this morning! Sweeeeet! 

Love the tie!

We were supposed to do a 35 minute tempo run which means we jog down to the bottom of my beloved hill and then run at marathon race pace for 15 minutes, turn around and come back. This morning Matt needed to get to work early so we really had to hustle. As soon as the time started I took off like a crazy lady and Coach BB had to yell at me to slow down and calm down. I think it was nervous energy from not running in so long because pretty soon that little spurt caught up with me and I was struggling. Coach BB wants the runs to be conversational so that I think about that and not about the time or pace. So this time we talked about mental toughness. I had sent her this article about mental toughness in triathlons so we were talking about some of the elements of toughness that he talks about and how I can work on them. By the time we got to my beloved hill the 6 days off had caught up with me and I hunched down and started my patented shuffle shuffle shuffle up the hill. Coach BB was not happy with this turn of events which she was monitoring from about 10 steps in front of me. She (rightly) started telling me get my head up, start trying, stop saving myself, etc etc. I only perked up and did the stuff she was telling me to do when I saw the finish. Not cool and did not make Coach BB happy. The whole run left me sweaty, smelly, and feeling like I had chipotle burritos coming out my pores. But it was worth it to see and hold this little guy...

Yoga tomorrow...ommmmmmm

Take It Easy!

I've been trying to take it easy since my half marathon and give myself a little break before I get into the grind of marathon training from which there is no. break. My long run last weekend was only six miles-I slept in until the rains stopped, didn't bring any water or food, and just tried to relax and enjoy myself.

Coach BB did beat me up on the hills last week, making me practice high knees all the way up the hill and then torturing me at the top by making me run in place while trying to hit my hands with my knees. We ended with lunges up the hill and my hips said OW. I was in serious pain for the next couple of days and couldn't get my legs to move very fast.

I was going about as fast as this guy who crawled  into our house 

This week's workout with Coach BB was much less painful-Yasso 800s! I had to do 5 this week, I'm working my way up to 10 before the marathon. They went smoothly-we were working on keeping a consistent pace and not panicking or sprinting. I hit the 3:35 time for all but one but I had to jump up on the sidewalk to avoid getting hit during it so I'll call it a wash.

Today I did 5 miles and now I'm on a vacation from running for the next five days! That will be the longest break I've taken from running since we came to Brazil so I'm looking forward to it.  And I'm super excited because I'm going back to the US tonight to meet my new nephew for the first time!!! I'm glad he's just as excited to meet me!


                                

Hopefully my body won't go into shock from the cold and snow and I'll survive to do lots of good Target shopping!