Slogfest

Posted on July 29, 2012 by scoopsontherun

Four weeks of marathon training have been completed, three more months to go.

My achy quads continued to have their say during this week’s long run and the rest of my body wasn’t thrilled that I stayed up late to watch the Olympic opening ceremony but I ignored their complaints and got this run completed. Ideally, I should have started earlier in the day but I just couldn’t wake up. I’m not sure what the actual temperature was but I do remember WeatherBug clearly saying the humidity was 90%.

I guess I wore right shirt. There was one tiny spot on the short not as sweaty as the rest. I guess I didn’t run hard enough. (c) Stacey Cooper

I felt that almost right away as I started to sweat before I even started running. There was a chance of rain during the day and at one point I thought it had started to rain but turns it out it was just the sweat dripping off my hat. That was about half way through the run. Everything was dripping my the time I got through with that run.

My quads made the first few miles feel really tough and I’m still having a hard time trying to find my long run pace. For the most part my splits were pretty consistent. My first mile was 11:54 and my last mile was 11:58. Everything else was in the low 12s except for two miles that went into the low 13s. I think that was when I was trying to slow myself down because I was worried I would run out of gas at the end. Next week will be my first double digit long run of the marathon season and I can’t wait for it.

August is when a lot of people hit the hardest part of training. For first timers, the excitement of training for the marathon wears off. The routine starts to feel tedious and depending on where you are training it’s also the hottest time of year. I remember having such a horrible time during the month of August when I was training for my first marathon. I do not remember having a single good run. I really felt like a slug on every run. Apparently that is normal.

Recovery is key. Good thing for the ice packs and compression sleeves but Rocco the cat does not appear to approve of this method. (c) Stacey Cooper

Last year was so much better. I knew what to expect and knew where I had to fine tune my training. I learned how to recover better. Part of that involves remembering to stretch after the run. Doing so after the cool down actually helps. Then heading into the dreaded ice bath is ideal. I recommend that you Google this. People LOVE posting pictures of themselves in the ice bath. I forgot to make ice for an ice bath this weekend so I did the next best thing and used the ice packs I had and donned my compression sleeves.

It is amazing how much this helps. My quads that were bothering me all week have finally stopped screaming. The ice packs helped kick start the healing process and then following that up with some foam rolling and I’m good to go.

Of course, there is also the bit about rest. Today was a cross-training day which meant I slept in and watched the Olympics. Yeah, I hardly ever cross-train. I don’t know too many runners who do this either, although we do have good intentions. I did actually do some light stretching before I did my laundry. Tomorrow is supposed to be a real rest day so that means not doing laundry for me. But seriously, when your training plan calls for rest you should do that and then maybe try to do some real cross-training on cross-training days.

It’s a long slog to marathon day, don’t kill yourself during a tough hot month. August is going to suck but in four weeks it will be September. Promise.

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The Power of Three

Posted on July 25, 2012 by scoopsontherun

I’m in the middle of my fourth week of marathon training and this is where I have to start tweaking the plan a bit. Last year I had to do this because of my work schedule was insane so I rarely had a mid-week run that went over five miles. I never missed a long run and I made sure that I some of those mid-week runs were extra intense. I ended up getting an 11 minute PR.

With my mother’s ongoing medical problems I don’t have the option of running after work so that means I’m running at 5:00 am. Because I’m slow I can only get three to four miles in and I have no intention of getting up any earlier. This will mean doing three mile runs three days a week. That’s a power number right there! Since I had success doing this last year I’m too concerned. I still think I can get a PR especially because I’m running better at this time than I was last year.

It’s been fun picking up on trends on these runs during the week. I usually have two rest days after my long run. One is technically supposed to be a cross training day but the closest I get to doing that is occasionally thinking about it. Tuesday is the first run of the week and my legs usually feel a bit heavy and my body is frustrated that I’m awake at 5:00 am. Wednesday’s run is better and Thursday always feels awesome.

This week my legs have been achy, yesterday I felt my normal sluggishness and today’s run wasn’t much better. I took my Stick to work today to get some extra rolling in. Hey, it gives me something to do during conference calls. They’re achy now as I write this so I’m wondering how tomorrow’s run is going to feel. Hopefully a little foam rolling will help but we’ll keep the run a low intensity one.

Ah, the achiness is a sure sign that you’re a month into marathon training and when the fun really starts.

 

 

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Don’t Get Chased by Bees

Posted on July 14, 2012 by scoopsontherun

Every once in a while it feels as though one of my long runs ends up being like a DirecTV commercial. Kind of like my current fav — Don’t fall into a dinner party. Please watch the video below so you can have an idea about the next couple of things I will write. It’s only 32 seconds, you’ll love.

So I was out on my long run this morning, a nice seven miles through New York and Connecticut, when my fist of goodness and I ran by a bee. Said bee was not impressed with my fist of goodness or my calf and stung my in that calf. I’m mildly allergic which means I’m not oh shit get to the ER now kinds thing but enough that I needed to get home and take some Benedryl.

Bees

They really do chase you.

I ran/walked home for the magic pink pill slightly angry that I wouldn’t be able to finish the seven miles. Since it felt better while I ran I even contemplated finishing my seven miles. Then I felt it stinging and thought better of it. I don’t really want my RoadID to be used.

So far I don’t have any inflammation although I will feel a pinch/sting when I stretch it while walking. The Benedryl is kicking in (hello nap time!) and I am currently icing it to keep any swelling down. I’l be visiting my mom in the hospital later today so at least I’ll be close to the ER in case it gets worse.

I am, of course, hoping to get the long run in tomorrow.

This brings me to the Hal app. Today I had a stronger gps signal on my phone and the app matched my distance more accurately through five miles. Although the gap kept widening the longer I ran. I would be interested to hear from faster runners to see how accurate the app is for them to see if it’s just a slow runner thing. But I do hope that anyone using a smartphone app to train double checks the milage they are putting in because the marathon is 26.2 miles not 26 and that .2 miles is hell when you have put in all the training miles you are supposed to. I can only imagine what it would be like if you didn’t, you might end up falling into a dinner party.

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Sweet Nothings

Posted on July 11, 2012 by scoopsontherun

I am convinced that Hal Higdon is whispering sweet nothings in my ear when we are on a training run. Then I have to tell him, “Sorry Hal, I don’t play for your team.” This devastates him.

I’m in my second training and so far all is well. These are sort of base building weeks if you want to call it that with short long runs on the weekend. As I mentioned last week I am using Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 Marathon training app. For the most part I really like. It actually has your training schedule built in after you enter your marathon date. There are written tips for each run and verbal tips during the run. you can turn these “off” by lowering the alert volume. you can listen to your music and then type in your notes about the run after you’re done. There are the now standard social media sharing tools and charts and graphs with your goals. Overall, this is a great app. But…

As I feared going in the accuracy of the distance ran leaves a lot to be desired. This is not necessarily the fault of the app but with the GPS unit in the phone and in most smartphones altogether. I’ve used Nike, MapMyRun, and Runkeeper and all were great for short distances but when you ran more than three miles the gap widened and this was most definitely the case with the “Hal App.”

I was so fast on a couple of those miles that poor Hal couldn’t keep up. (c) Stacey Cooper

My long run on Saturday was six miles and I knew I was going to have problems. For some reason it took forever for my Garmin to pick up a signal when it normally does it instantly and the phone kept giving me the orange not quite there signal. Not wanting to wait another five minutes I started off on the run and at half a mile Hal told me I ran a mile. Oops.

When I hit 3 miles on my Garmin I was told I was done and then when I finished my well-known six mile route Hal was convinced I ran 9.48 miles at get this a 8:24 pace. I CAN’T EVEN SPRINT THAT FAST!!!!! But as you can see from my image I was happy, it was sunny, and I ran on the road. It was actually very hot and humid but I was happy. There is always something special about using your FuelBelt for the first time during a new training cycle.

I’m still feeling out the social media sharing thing. One thing that I don’t like about this is that when you have the app set to update automatically it will do so as soon as you hit your goal distance, not necessarily when you finish. An annoying first world problem when your gps in the phone is wonky and it posts you’re done when you still have three more miles to go. It will also post again when you hit done. Obviously the fix for this is to do it manually but hey first world problems here.

The app is also a huge battery drain when you use it with music. This may not be a problem for faster runners but I can see this being a problem for slower runners on longer runs. I’m still going to use/test the app for a little longer to see how accurate I can get this on a long run with a strong gps signal and also so Hal can tell me how running a marathon is like the flowers in a field.

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Marathon Training Gear

Posted on July 4, 2012 by scoopsontherun

When I knew for sure that I would tackle a third marathon, I started to tally all the gear I would need so that I could be stocked up and ready to go. After going through this experience twice already I had a pretty good idea of what I would need and one or two other items to complete that list.

Just a few things I keep on hand for my marathon training. (c) Stacey Cooper

Probably the first and most important item is shoes. The general rule is that you need to replace your current pair somewhere in the 300 to 500 mile range. I’m nearing that 300 mile mark with my current pair and knew I would need some new kicks early on and timed that with a sweet sale at the National Running Center. They are ready to go when I need to start breaking them in on a few easy runs.

The next item I always seem to keep stocked up on is Gatorade. Stop & Shop/peapod.com  always seem to have a Gatorade 32oz 10 for 10 sale and the bottom shelf of my fridge is usually filled with a rainbow of flavors.

Speaking of fuel, I always get a couple of cases of Gu, also through a sweet deal at the National Running Center. You can mix and match your favorite flavors and the more you buy the more you save. My flavor staples are Vanilla Bean, Tri-Berry, Jet Blackberry, and Chocolate Outrage. I believe they also have deals on other gels like Powerade but since I never liked the texture or taste of the other gels I don’t really do a cost comparison. I also don’t really use the Clif Shot Blocks. While I like the taste of them you do need to chew on three of those babies to get the full 100 calories that you need and I find that a bit annoying when on the run.

I’m partial to my FuelBelt for fluids on the go and I have added a couple of extra pouches to meet my full needs. I’ve heard some people complain about it being too heavy but I barely notice it. I haven’t tried the CamelBak but I know people who swear by that but since my FuelBelt works I’m switching it up. Since I’m a slower runner I need to pack more gels and those can take up some space in addition to my iPhone, money, keys, and other items I need to carry those extra pouches some in handy.

Of course I also have my BodyGlide on hand to prevent chafing. My rule for applying this is put it everywhere — even there. However, it seems that I always miss a spot and that will be the one spot where I chafe that day. After having to buy a small bottle of vaseline at a Queens gas station one year I started searching for the perfect chafing triage item. I found it in these small A&D Ointment packets. The packets are small enough to fit in your pocket or other pouch and work better than Vaseline. I was never so happy to have these on hand when I ran my 18 mile long run on one of the hottest days of the year. My shorts were soaked with sweat and my thigh started to chafe where the bottom hem of the shorts was rubbing against it. The A&D Ointment saved my run that day.

Of course there are also the usual watch, sunglasses, hat, and clothes but having all of these extra little things on hand makes planning for these training runs a bit more easier and lets me focus on more important things like my route and the actual running part.

What are some of  your training must haves?

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Marathon Training – Day 1

Posted on July 3, 2012 by scoopsontherun

What a great morning to start my marathon training! The weather was on the cool side and the humidity was lower than it has been recent days.

Today was an easy three miles and also the first day that I used the Hal Higdon marathon training app. One of my concerns that I have with any running app on a smartphone is the accuracy in the distance actually ran as these apps tend to say you ran farther than you really did. While this may not make too much of a difference on shorter runs, it can make a big difference on those long runs.

This one started fairly well. At the beginning of the run, Hal told me how the training would work and that I should never cheat on my long runs. When we hit the one mile mark Hal told me at the exact same time that my Garmin did–so far so good.

Hal starts talking at various times through the run to offer advice and encouragement. Then he chimed in that we were at the half point, his voice was getting a little annoying. When he let me know we were at the two mile mark he was there before my Garmin was and I got a little sad and he stayed ahead of my Garmin the rest of the way. Hal said I ran a total of 3.15 miles my Garmin says exactly three.

I know that my Garmin is the more accurate device if only because when I ran the marathon last year I pretty much stayed on the blue line, the actual measurement of the 26.2 miles, my Garmin said I ran only a little bit farther.

I’ll have to see about turning off these voice alerts on the app. While I don’t mind the occasional tip or words of encouragement it was a bit much for a three mile run when you include the distance alerts. I’ll have to see how much those can be altered but it will probably be an all or nothing deal.

Overall, I liked the app for this first run of my training. The social networking aspect worked well although it does state your average pace when it posts to Facebook. If you are embarrassed about your ace you may not want to share that info. But I got over the fact that I’m a slower runner a long time ago. I’ve never pretended to be fast and my pace is what it is.

I’ll do some tinkering with the app in preparation for tomorrow’s three miler, but I am so excited that marathon training is finally here!

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Hot Summer in the City

Posted on July 2, 2012 by scoopsontherun

See how I avoided the overused we’re having a heat wave title there?

Sunday was the Queens 10k in Flushing Meadow Park — a park with little shade. It was near the mid-80s with around 53 percent humidity at the start of the race. We were sweating just standing in the starting corrals.

Since my one and only goal was to basically finish and get my credit towards my NYC Half Marathon guaranteed entry I wasn’t sweating this one. Ouch. I did start it a bit faster than I wanted but as I approached the second water station I slowed down and practiced my long run pace. Considering that, I was pretty happy with the results. I was six minutes off of my 10k PR but this race had some nice perks as well. Aside from working out my long run pace and getting a medal there were some nice ice water sponges at the finish. Yes, that was a nice bonus and the perfect way to end the race. I’m simple like that.

My Neutrogena sunblock worked awesomely as usually, highly recommended for people like me who come in three colors; white, less white, and lobster red. I also got to try my new Yurbuds out. I really like them but a note if you are thinking about using them. While they’re not technically noise canceling, their very design does block out a lot of noise. You’ll need to lower your volume if you are used to using your Apple ear buds. You will also want to keep the volume low so that you can hear instructions on the race course or so that you can hear that murderer or zombie coming up behind you on a run. Seriously, enjoy your music but be smart, you need to hear what is going on around you. I’m looking at you people who run with your Beats headphones. Oh and you also look stupid running with your Beats headphones. If you are interested in the Yurbuds or my super awesome sunblock visit the Running Accessories section up above.

Marathon training has officially started. I’m using the Hal Higdon plan and all of his plans  have a rest day on Monday. I like starting a training plan with a rest day. Three miles tomorrow morning though. Bring it on New York!

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Marathon Time!

Posted on June 28, 2012 by scoopsontherun

This is Marathon Place, also my happy place — right now. (c) Stacey Cooper

Yay, I start training for my marathon next week! I really am excited about this, which is a first. In 2010 when I ran my first marathon I so concerned about not getting nervous about it that I somehow forgot to get excited at all. Not once during the training or even the night before did I feel anything except for the fact that it was just another race. I finally did get excited that I was running the marathon 3.5 miles in. Well better than waiting until after the darn thing.

Last year, I got excited about it in August when miraculously all of my training runs improved and happiness overcame us all. Well maybe not all of us but certainly me.

And now this year I can’t wait to start training. Maybe it is because I actually took some time off from training right after the Brooklyn Half Marathon. Not having to train for the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon has been refreshing. It really has given my body and mind the rest it has needed. See, I’m finally becoming smart about this running stuff. While it would have been nice to run Napa again or even San Francisco a week later it just turned out not to be in the cards this year.

So marathon training starts on July 3 and I’ve stocked up on all of my supplies. I’ve got my new pair of shoes ready to go when my current ones hit their limit. There is the Gu, Body Glide, and Gatorade at the ready (Thank you Stop & Shop for Gatorade 10 for 10 sale).

Most importantly are the small packets of A&D ointment. Why and what are these you ask. Well these are the most perfect little travel size packets for chafing triage on the run. Two years ago while on a long run in Queens there was an awkward stop at a gas station to buy a small bottle of Vaseline for chafing from my sports bra. That bra will never ever be worn on a long run again. Then there was that stop at a NYRR medical tent during the 18 mile Tune-Up when the top of my thigh started to chafe because of my sweat soaked shorts. Now I never go on any long run without the A&D Ointment packs. I had to use them during the Brooklyn Half and they were a lifesaver. Highly recommended by Scoops.

I’m using Hal Higdon’s novice marathon training plan for the third year. I’m pretty comfortable with it and like the distance of the long runs. Last year I downloaded his training app but never actually opened it up because I thought it was just something that listed the workouts. Apparently, it has a lot more cool features besides listing the runs, although that is pretty nice itself. It utilizes the phone’s built in GPS to track your runs, you can play your music through it, it logs your runs, offers tips and has social networking features.

Normally, I just use my Garmin because I have found with other running apps on the phone that the GPS feature has been off, often saying I have run farther than I really have. That can be dangerous in marathon training. Instead I think I’ll use it simultaneously with my Garmin and give periodic reviews as I go along. I have a feeling that it will be better than the Map My Run and Nike+ apps but I want to give you some solid info on this app since it does cost about 10 bucks.

So I’m still just cruising along with some easy runs this week with the Queens 10k on Sunday. It will be nice and hot again for that but no plans or goals for that other than to finish and to get my NYC Half Guaranteed entry credit.

Then I will bore you with every detail of my marathon training! You are so excited.

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FRNY Pride Run Recap

Posted on June 27, 2012 by scoopsontherun

This is one of my anniversary races, our goal race for my running class five years ago. Has it been that long already?

My times have always been all over the place for this race. Last year I ran it with a really bad head cold — the one that screwed up my Napa to Sonoma Half training. The year before that I was training for Napa and had combined it with a long run. Both years my times were slow. This year, I wasn’t training for anything so the race was about having fun.

On Thursday evening, my mother had a set back at the hospital and was awake with her in ICU and managed to get three hours of sleep on a very small sofa in the waiting room. At the time I didn’t think I would be running but when she rebounded nicely on Friday and made it through Friday night ok, I decided to run the race.

I’m glad I did, and I’m sure my doctor is as well. While I have been dealing with my mother’s ongoing illness I know the one thing that has been keeping me sane and healthy has been my running. There have been adjustments along the way like that whole getting up to run at 5:00 am thing that I have finally gotten used to. But that has also meant fewer miles in the morning.

But the race itself was perfect. I didn’t PR but was three minutes off my 2009 PR. I’ll take that since I wasn’t racing this and had zero goals aside form having fun. I ran pretty well and felt pretty good the whole way. When I looked at my splits after they were all pretty consistent so that was pretty good.

You also can’t argue with ice-pops after a hot race. Popsicle is a trademark name just like Xerox so you can’t use that word to cover all frozen ice treats. Just don’t do it!

I’m still feeling good about my running these days and look forward to this weekend’s Queens 10k that I completely forgot was this weekend until about an hour ago. Oops.

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It’s Summer!

Posted on June 20, 2012 by scoopsontherun

Don’t these flip-flops make you happy that summer is finally here!?! (c) Stacey Cooper

Today is officially the first day of summer, literally one of my days of the year. I love summer so much. I got a whole bunch of new flip-flops to celebrate. New colorful flip-flops are always a good thing and just in time for the first heat wave of the summer here in NYC.

Although the new flip-flops are squeaking more than flip, flopping when I walk. I have now learned that flip-flops need to be broken in like running shoes.

One of the things I really loved doing was running in the evening during the summer. Not only did it feel great but I also looked super hard core for being one of the few people getting your miles in when people were soaking up the AC. I’m also sure I looked insane to many of those same people sitting in their huge carbon footprint AC filled cars.

But alas, with my mother’s continued illness, running in the evening just isn’t in the cards these days so I have been left with my early morning runs. You will be glad to know that my body is finally getting used to the idea of popping out of bed at 5:00 am and hitting the street. I am even beginning to enjoy it. I can’t believe I just wrote that.

These are indeed happy running at 5:00 am feet. (c) Stacey Cooper

I was even a little happy that I would be able to brag that I got my run in this morning while others would be dreading about having to run this evening.

One of the things I have noticed is that I am a little slower when I run that early in the morning. Maybe it’s the fact that my body is still getting used to waking up consistently at 5:00 am or that maybe I need some pre-run fuel.

This morning my legs felt super heavy and only started to feel a bit better near the end of my run. Instead of trying to speed through those miles I attempted to try and get a feel for my long run pace. But overall I do feel more awake when I get back to my house and get ready for work, although I am thankful for the 40 minute nap I get to take on my train ride into the city.

Also, this whole waking up super early in the morning thing gives me a great excuse for going to bed early. I seriously love my bed and I hope all of you can rest easy knowing that little fact.

I’ve got one more early morning run planned for this week and that will be three consecutive days that I have gotten up at 5:00 am to run. With the Pride Run on Saturday, I’ll be taking a rest day on Friday and reward myself by sleeping in until 6:00 am.

After the Pride Run I’ll start boring you with a whole new round of marathon training!

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