Motivation....

....by way of toys.

Yes, this would be my 2nd HRM. My other is a Polar RS200 (red!) - it works fine, the strap is comfortable enough - and I've even got a few special bras that accept the Polar transmitter - these eliminate the need for the strap!

Anyhow, for regular every day wear, I'm a timex girl - and I was forever having to remember how to flip thru the settings of my Polar. Seems Timex is upping their HRM line - this is a Race Trainer model (mens unfortunately, apparently they do have one that looks like a bigger Sleek) - it's obviously built on the Timex platform, and as such, seems a lot more intuitive to me. The extra fun part? it comes with a USB thingy, so I can download my workout stats to my computer and upload it to the timex trainer website...much easier to slice, dice and analyze my data :D course....now I just need to get out and start gathering workout data...

But before I even get to that part, I have to figure out the target zones....any advice? Way way way back when I first injured myself I figured I should try giving the Maffetone method a try, but the target zone is quite low...I did the suggested sub-max step and chair tests....and came up with a MHR of 179 BPM...of course, I can tell you right now that I know my heart beats faster than that...I pegged it out at 189 BPM during a portion of my half marathon last year....suggestions? I intend to start training in Zones 2 & 3 to build my fitness and strength, then I might re-attack C25k depending on what my knee tells me.

Getting back into the swing...

Before the holidays hit, I figured I should attempt to get myself back into the habit of working out...especially since I've been told to get myself back into trail-shape to better eval how my knee(s) are doing. While I'm not back into running (or re-attempting the Cto5k program, though I did re-download the podcasts for training), I've started getting out for some brisk walks to the local park. Once I am certain my feet and knees are okay with the fast clip, I'll give the trails a go - and if all goes well, I'll hopefully be back to the Cto5k program in no time!

Swoosh....

While it's cool out, my hair manages to grow out - I don't ever really realize how long it is - though photos from the half marathon (now available for browsing!) show my rather long ponytail swishing away - I guess that's a good sign, because it wouldn't do that if I wasn't actually jogging!

A browse through the photos show that I apparently left the start line 6 minutes after the gun, so my "official" finish time was approximately 3:01:45. Not a sub three, but I'll take it happily :)

The skeiner and I are on talking terms again - it seems all the issues with that last skein of lace weren't necessarily entirely the skeiners fault. I had to scrap one more skein recently - seems I failed to inspect the skein properly before I dyed it - it seems a bunch of strands were either damaged or cut - I'm certain I didn't cut them in the unpacking process - mostly because the "knife" I use to open boxes isn't sharp enough to cut yarn. Anyhow, that particular skein was entirely unsalvageable and will be cut up and either used as samples or to tie bags shut. The other skeins that had more than their fair share of knots will be listed at a discount in the newly added "Naughty Skein" section of the Shop - if no one takes em, I'll be knitting with them because I don't mind the knots :)

13.1. It's Official.

Well over a year in the making*...I'm finally a Half Marathon finisher!

Weather: Sunny and cool in the morning with temps in the low 40s at the start, warming to a balmy 70+ degrees in the afternoon.

Gun Time**: 3:07:45
Watch Time***: 3:02:28
Max Heart Rate for the race: 195. Holy smokes. Looks like I need to adjust the programming on my watch ;)

* I had intended on running this half last yr but laid myself up with awful shin splints that resulted in a good 4 months or more of physical therapy plus new orthotics and a seemingly endless hunt for shoes
** read on for comments regarding the Gun Time
*** there is an actual likelihood that I actually finished in less than 3 hours - I had a post race brain shutdown and forgot to stop the timer - and then since I was wearing my Polar rather than my regular Timex, I had some operator error troubles :P

Race Wear: After much fussing, I opted for a Black 2-pocket GymGirl, a turquoise and white mid-sleeve v-neck, handknit wristlets, and my black Iron Girl hat

Apologies in advance for the lack of photos - I didn't bring a camera and DH was laid up at home with the flu - I'm now awaiting the official race photos, of which I expect to have some satisfactory images since I spotted at least 4 cameramen along the way :)

Night Before the Race, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring - except for me. With my pre-race jitters. I had intended to go to bed early and be well rested, but alas - at 11pm I was deciding on racewear and pre-pinning on my bib...by midnight I had set my alarm for 5:20am and had been laying in bed, listening to I don't even recall what program while knitting away on a pair of socks. I think I finally drifted off around 12:30am...only to be awoken by my loving cat at 3am as she uncharacteristically stomped around on top of me while purring loudly (normally, she sleeps at the foot of the bed, or next to my hip - I don't know what got into her that night!). 5:20 came all too quickly with the beeping of the alarm.

Hopped out of bed, slathered on the sun block and the body glide, donned the race wear and toasted and peanut buttered a bagel for the ride out to the race. Water bottle in hand, I was out the door with plenty of time to pick up some coffee enroute.

The drive out was dark, and uneventful with no traffic to be seen - until the exit that was designated for the race parking - but even then, with the stop and go to the parking lot, I still had a half hour or so to catch the less-than-5-minute shuttle to the start. A quick survey of the area revealed a bathroom with flush toilets! Hooray! No port-a-potty for me, thanks! After what appears to be the standard pre-race visit to the restroom, I got in the swift moving line for the shuttle....

And so the fun begins ;)

Apparently, the driver of the shuttle bus that I got on had been shuttling marathoners out to the marathon start - 25.x miles away from the parking area...can you guess where this is going? LOL - indeed, the shuttle headed out in the entirely wrong direction, then was finally stopped and redirected by a local racer - unfortunately, instead of heading back into the parking area to take the "normal" back way to the race start, they took surface streets and wound up dropping us off about a half mile away from the starting line due to the road closures for the race. This would have been okay if I had the time for the warm up walk to the start ;) but as I was walking briskly towards the starting line, I heard the countdown to the gun...and wound up watching the large field of half marathoners heading in my direction as they flooded through the start and were on their way - I still had to make it down to the start, and drop off my bag and sweatshirt for after the race!

**We interrupt this race report for more Stats for you:
The total field size was 845, the total number of women racers was 465.
My official time placed me well in the back of the pack, finishing 771st in the field and 403rd of the women.

Anyhow, I'm quite certain that by the time I had left my bag at the drop point for post-race stuff and made my way back to the starting line I had lost 10-15 minutes based on the impending countdown for the next race start time. Ah well, I was in it to finish - I had firmly expected to come in pretty far back in the pack. After all, due to my previous injuries and most of my training being relegated to a treadmill, my race strategy was to pace myself and run/walk the race with the intent of having fairly even splits as the miles progressed. To aid me in my quest, I had set up a fine selection of Podrunner Podcasts starting with 130 bpm, ranging up to 146 bpm - I figured the fixed beats would help me with my cadence and keep me on pace...after all, at these bpms, I was consistently training within my MAF zone, only having to resort to walking in the latter portions of my workouts.

...I was wrong. Apparently, the competitor in me was not happy about being so far behind - so even though I *thought* I was matching my running cadence with the 130 beats per minute of the tunes, I was apparently moving quite a bit faster...as was evident when I came up on Mile Marker 1 (11:34.5 with a Max Heart Rate (MHR) of 189 (oops - for your reference, my MAF training pace is 16:35-17:00)). Cripes. A definite newbie mistake - everybody warns about coming out way too fast at the start of a race. In order to try to calm my poor heart down, I wound up walking most of Mile 2 (15:00.6, MHR 174/Average HR (AHR) 166), mostly to see if it was possible to even get my heart rate down to somewhere close to my typical training zone - the answer for the curious is No - must have been the caffeine and the adrenaline - at least that's what I'm telling myself. Heading into mile 3 (13:09.4, MHR 184/AHR 179) I seemed to settle into my planned routine of running and walking - though I did it more adhoc rather than on a set time schedule - this was mostly done to accommodate the unanticipated hilliness of the course (It hadn't occurred to me to drive out and scope the course before hand - silly me). While the sun was rising in my face, I was still happy to enjoy the view of Superstition Mountain looming in the distance as the race course headed out along Lost Dutchman Blvd.

Mile 4 (14:12.8, MHR 182/AHR 175) was mostly dirt (as was mile 3, if I remember correctly. Graded dirt is definitely nicer to run on and noticeably softer than the pavement in some places due to recent rains). After getting past the backside of the hill known as the Dutchman's Revenge, my mind was still freely wandering while I continued to glance around, looking for early wild flowers (sadly, none to be found).

Mile 5 (13:08.3, MHR 185/AHR 179) saw the leaders coming back. They were looking plenty strong - while I highly doubt I will ever hit a pace like they were churning out (around 6:35 if I'm doing my math right), I do hope one day to be able to run the full distance of a half and look strong doing it!

Mile 6 (13:30.3, MHR 187/AHR 179) still going strong, and still passing people (hooray!) As I was getting closer to the turn around point, the leaders of the Full Marathon started to pass me by - they were moving at quite a clip and were seemingly untroubled by the distance. Some of these runners lapped me twice - as a leg of the race had all of us going up a street and then turning around - the full Marathoners had to run a bit further out before making their U-turn, thus the dual laps.

Mile 7 (14:03.7, MHR 187/AHR 187) I was still run/walking and still enjoying the light playing on Superstition Mountain.

Mile 8 (13:50.1, MHR 186/AHR 180) Starting to feel the burn, and slight aches, I switched from water to gatorade at the aid stations.

Mile 9 (14:14.8, MHR 188/AHR 180) As my focus began closing in more on the road and the immediate terrain (while still drifting off now and again as I spotted the occasional "for sale" sign on houses that we were running wogging by), I began wondering to myself if this was such a good idea. My shins were starting to give up the occasional prickle, and once or twice my calves had started to make initial noises of protest. I slowed a couple times to stretch and evaluate, and coax my legs into behaving.

Mile 10 (15:47.1, MHR 185/AHR 175) the Dutchmans Revenge. An aptly name hill, it's a tenth of a mile long, and rises 50 feet in that short distance - it's definitely a killer. I didn't even attempt to run it, instead, I took the opportunity to walk up while stretching my calves out along the way. The course at this point is mostly down hill with a few dips and corresponding rises along the way.

Mile 11 (13:44.0, MHR 187/AHR 178) I can see the the finish line in the distance as I continue on my quest - I'm still moving, though it's definitely taking more effort to remain running rather than walking.

Mile 12 (13:39.1, MHR 188/AHR 178) Thank goodness for the slight downhill grade - it's just enough to assist, without requiring the quads to chime in with braking power. I'm still determined to run as I can, slowing to a walk as demanded on occasion by my cardiovascular system.

Mile 13 (14:46.9, MHR 185/AHR 175) After beating back a hostile takeover by my calves and shins (I wound up walking longer than planned this last mile to calm the impending revolt), I rounded the corner back into Prospector Park and the finish line. Laid out before me was the finishing chute - and a mere 0.1 miles to go - determined to finish it strong, as I neared the mile 13 sign, I broke into a full out sprint, passing several folk along the way, it was such a joy to hear my name called out over the loudspeaker. I had finished!


I'm officially a Half Marathoner. It feels good - painful, but good :) My calves, shins and core are still having their revenge - I was hobbled a good portion of yesterday after the race (there were no options for an immediate ice bath and by the time I got home, I really didn't even want to contemplate burying myself in ice. Course, that may well have been my downfall.) Today, I'm still hobbling, though stairs don't hurt quite as much as they did yesterday. Laughing and sneezing though, are serious killers - I forgot how much my core hurt after I did my 5k last December...

I guess the big question is would I do it again? I think I have to say yes :) though I hope to be better trained next time - and will hopefully be able to run more than walk it. I managed to astonish myself with my finishing time, though now that I'm checking, the McMillan Calculator actually predicted my finish time pretty closely - at 3:04:26.

What's next? I've not decided - though if I can get my body back into a happy state, there's another 5k happening on February 29th!

Yes, I know the Half Marathon route is an out and back, and therefore the race profile should mirror itself starting at the 6.55 mile marker - I have no idea why it doesn't - isn't technology wonderful? I just find it hilarious that the hill called the Dutchman's Revenge appears as a rather prominent spike right at the end of Mile 10 - because that's exactly what it felt like!

Ran with Grace

After two days of nonstop (though much needed) rain down here in the desert, the clouds rolled out, the winds calmed and the sun returned - just in time for the Iron Girl race around Tempe Towne Lake. Originally, I had planned on running the 10 mi, however injuries earlier this year that kept me benched, general life craziness and my lack of consistent training convinced me to scale back down to the 5k instead. We'll see if the photo company got any good shots once they upload them.

Results: 460/1076 overall, 71/141 for my age division. It's fair to say I couldn't possibly be more middle in the middle of the pack ;)

Chip Time: 39:54 with a pace of 12:51 - about what I would expect, especially considering the inconsistent training on my part.

Observations from this race: My shoes are no longer pristine from limited running on dry pavement and mostly treadmill miles - I splashed through a muddy puddle within the first quarter mile of the race...this race, while fun, has a lot of new racers - resulting in lots of dodging of slower folk, walkers, and individuals going from run to walk without moving to the side. Getting drinks from aid stations was an experience too. There is no shame in wogging - It probably saved me from damaging myself or keeling over from over exertion - and I was able to kick things into a sprint in the home stretch. Oddly enough, I find myself sore and stiff all over today, even my abs hurt - as if I did lots and lots of crunches, which I most certainly did not...this didn't happen last year, and it's never happened on training runs. Hopefully the kinks will work themselves out as the day progresses.

As for knitting, I'm thinking I need a new hat. I'm looking at the Urban Homesteader hat from Neither Hip nor Funky - I wear my hair in pigtails or pony tails and this hat has little flaps that can be opened to accommodate any or none :) I have a partial skein of aeval, but I'm not sure if I have quite enough yardage...so I'm searching the stash to make a final decision on yarn. This should be one quick knit, so hopefully I'll have at least one more FO before the year is out!

I'm Listening...

...indeed. It was a race of library holds to see which would come available first - I certainly didn't expect it to be the Book on CD! I'm still holding relatively steady at position 9 for the actual book - which, by the way, I still plan on reading cover to cover.

Anyhow, I'm trying to give myself a chance of having both the books and listening experience at the same time by limiting my listening to working out - never have I felt so disappointed when the timer ran out on my treadmill run and no other machine was available to prolong the listening experience! How's that for new motivation for working out? :D

As for the running, I'm officially on W7D2 of the C25k program, still following a low heart training plan. I tried upping the speed by 0.1 mph today as I've been easily staying within my target heart rate zone on the last several runs. Amazing what a measly tenth of a mile per hour will do to one's heart rate fluctuation!

Sola

Sola, the new SOAK scent by Amy Butler is now in stock at the shop! The scent is quite nice, and is supposed to evoke the fragrance of an evening garden. I'm not typically one for florals - this one is more spicy than sweet, and I'm quite liking it :)

Other things I'm liking - it seems that the continued training has finally resulted in my heartrate settling down properly. I finally completed W6D3 (25 minutes continuous jogging) - still at a very slow speed of 3.5mph, but I'm well within my target heart rate zone. If things continue, I'll go ahead and up the speed a little bit! So far, I've had no signs of the shin splints returning (knock on wood), though I have occasional bouts with numbness in my feet - I'm trying to figure out if my feet are still adjusting to the new orthotic devices, and have also been trying to make sure I don't crank down on the laces when I get ready to run. Hopefully by the end of the summer, I'll have my pace picked up a little, and my mileage moving in the right direction - I have 2 races on the books for this winter season, one of which is an (eep) half marathon!

Aspirations

My cat, apparently, wishes to be a writer one day. He's not too good at it, but he sure tries. Heck, I'm sure I'd have problems too if I had to hold onto the pen with both hands!

I aspire to not have to be my own tech-support for web issues. A move to a new webhost was averted at the last moment, though plenty of comparison shopping occurred and a new host has been identified should my web hosting shenanigans persist.

I also aspire to be able to happily run my 2 races scheduled later this year. I'm continuing with my indoor training and cross training, and while I am still slightly frustrated at my slow pace, I do believe that things are settling - it certainly seems like my heart rate doesn't fluctuate quite as much as it did when I first started this adventure. Time will tell. I've officially cleared myself into Week 6 of the C25k program, and my feet and legs appear to have adjusted to the new orthotic devices. Hooray!

Cultivating Patience

I'm back training, with my eyes on a couple of races that are slated for this winter....in an attempt to do things right, I'm still working on my balance and ankle strength (even though everyone at the gym thinks I'm nuts I'm sure, what with all the one-legged exercises I've been doing) - I'm also trying to work in aerobic cross training on various devices in addition to trying to get myself to train using the Maffetone Low Heart Rate method...I say trying because it seems I am still trying to determine what pace I can run slowly at while still successfully staying within the designated training zone. At first I thought this would be a piece of cake...unfortunately, it seems my love of cake and lack of conditioning is making this much more challenging than originally anticipated :P I've been told that it can take several weeks to settle into a rhythm doing this type of training...and that it can take up to 12 weeks to see progress...

In other news, I've joined the Spun Stitches along...I keep meaning to spin myself a bunch of Arizona Sycamore colored yarn for knitting into a shawl or some other accessory - I have even had the bowl of fiber prepped for quite some time - I just keep getting distracted by other things (apparently I have a short attention span). I haven't decided if I'm going to ply it yet....and if I do, if I will ply it with itself, with sparkly iridescent thread....or both. Stay tuned, hopefully I'll get the wheel turning again soon and will have something to show :)

June, already?!

Welcome to the summer :) In true summer fashion, we're welcoming it in with soaring temperatures. Happily for me, summer is a time with wonderful fruit - several of which fall wonderfully into the Project Spectrum Colors this month. Sadly I completely forgot to take a photo of the delicious watermelon that I chopped up earlier - but I'm sure I'll chop another one before this color triad passes!

In other news, I seem to have slumped in the running training - life got in the way (as it is wont to do at times) and I finally got my new orthotic devices. I slipped em in the shoes the other day and went to have a chat with Mr. Dreadmill - and the feet were not so happy. Since the new devices are rigid, and built specifically for running, it seems I need to introduce my feet slowly to them, so there will be no more running until I get my feet well acquainted with the new orthotics. I figure I've been off the program since February due to injury, so I may as well do things right and take it slow - I certainly don't want another injury any time soon. In any case, I suspect I'll be stuck on W5D1 and W5D2 of the C25k program for a little bit while I get back into things. Sadly, the time away has certainly let my fitness slide a bit. MAF max speed on my last "run" was 3.8 or 3.9 mph. *sigh* The goal for now is consistency of training - I'll worry about performance later :) The races on the books for this winter include a 10miler and a half marathon - I've still got plenty of time to rebuild my base!

W5D1 MAF 3.9 0.0

When we last heard from our pink clad alter ego she was forced into a break from all things running due to ridiculously painful shin splints. Well, here we are, almost three months of physical therapy, an x-ray and a bone scan later, and I've been given the all clear to play nice with the Dreadmill.

Who would have thought I would ever be excited to be able to play nicely with a treadmill?! It's the sick and twisted mind of a runner at work, I tell you. Anyhow, I've been told to get back into running slowly, so I figured revisiting the C25k program may be in order. That, combined with my happy heart rate monitor, along with cross training (I don't know what kind yet), will hopefully keep me injury free.

So, to decode the above, it's the Week and Day (in this case, week 5, day 1) of the program followed by the speed and incline on the treadmill that seems to keep me at or near my selected training zone. I am currently attempting to follow the Maffetone method - with a target HR of somewhere between 143 and 148 bpm. Needless to say I am a little frustrated because I find it a smidge depressing how slow I have to go to maintain my heart rate within the targeted zone. Ah well, it's been proven to work, so while I'll never be a speed demon, I should see improvement!

And all I got...

...was this tee-shirt.

Well, if you're wondering why my number looks so spiffy and flat, it's because it's unused. That's right - In order to prevent myself from doing any further damage to myself, I decided to stay far far away from the starting line of the race - but I went to go get my goodie bag and shirt anyway, seeing as I wasn't going to be getting my registration money back.

Inside the goodie bag were fliers for a bunch of other events - including the Arizona Distance Classic, which celebrates runners of all levels...though I'm quite certain I won't be healed in time to be able to participate in that event...another race that caught my eye is the Rangar Relay Del Sol...perfect for groups of crazies that like to run - course I don't think I'll be rounding up a team for that event any time soon...

Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions for my poor handbag - my wonderful husband took pity on it as the straps took a turn for the worst this weekend and he replaced them with the mil-spec webbing - from afar, you can't tell that the straps don't match the strappage that goes around the bag...and it's essentially as good as new - I suspect the body of the bag will wear out before these new straps do....

Paused

Constant knitting and typing have taken their toll, and I find I'm having to take an unwanted break from Avast (tendinitis, I'm afraid). I'm stuck on sleeve island and have only completed 8 inches on the sleeves! that's 12 inches more to go...while DH's chest measurement isn't anything to cause me to cringe while thinking of knitting him a sweater, he's built lean and has long limbs - like a climber or what I imagine a proper running physique to be. It's nigh impossible to purchase clothing off the rack to fit his inseam length or his arm length - if the inseam or arm length is correct, the poor guy is usually swimming in the clothes - thus the reason for the sleeves that will go on and on :P

Sadly, knitting isn't the only thing I'm being forced to take a break from. I'd been happily training for a Half Marathon, and was halted mid stride by the odious pains called Shin Splints at the tail end of last month - I had hoped with active rest (cross-training), ice and NSAIDs I'd be well enough to compete as scheduled - I am now coming to the slow realization that this may not be the case. My type-A personality is wanting to try anyway, but my mind (and numerous other athletic friends including the DH) are telling me it's just plain foolish and I'd be asking to damage myself worse. This sound advice has been confirmed by my physician as well as the Physical Therapy place that I've been told to schedule an appointment at. *sniff* My very first Half Marathon shall have a DNS.

Anyhow, I've continued hunting for information to improve the quality of my training as it would seem that I've been going about distance training all wrong - and as I have been told before, I may have rushed into this whole Half Marathon business without the appropriate base mileage. This has been confirmed in my latest read: Marathoning for Mortals. I wound up learning several things from this book, some of which I'll include for those of you who may just be starting a running program, so hopefully you don't have to get damaged or derailed.

As a relatively new runner, I apparently should have allowed myself a minimum of a yr and a half of base training to prevent injury. I also probably should have started in with the cross training earlier in the program rather than getting myself forced into it - all that pavement running apparently took its toll and I find I am regularly now visiting with misters Dreadmill 1 (the treadmill) and Dreadmill 2 (the stepmill) along with Mr. Bike and Mr. Ostrich Machine (elliptical trainer) in an attempt to maintain my cardiovascular fitness. Lastly, I have discovered that I apparently didn't read No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running very well - or perhaps I just didn't take it to heart as I have been doing all my races at what is referred to in running-speak as tempo pace - needless to say, long slow runs - the ones that were really supposed to form the meat of my training needed to be just that - with an emphasis on the Slow part. Ah well, live and learn :) and here's to being even more prepared for the next race, whichever it may be.

Shins.

Well, I appear to be effectively hobbled with regards to my shins - at least for the time being.

New shoes did not do the trick (is it bad to say thank goodness? After all I only have 200 miles on the first pair and running shoes don't come cheaply!) I'll be taking a brief break from the running, and will try a little bit of cross training next week.

Sorry for the diversion from the Fiber content, the running bit and a semi-secret project have had me occupied of late.

Avast Update: not much to say, other than I'm working miles of stockinette stitch. With no shaping - too bad it's not in the round or I'd be zooming along ;)

Beaudelaire: I'm back at the gusset increases after having to rip the poor socks back and cast back on - hopefully I can make the heel a little more snug - the plain knitted heel flap was decidedly baggy and unkempt looking.

In the meantime, I've been trying to figure out to do with a short skein of Globe Mallow Sylph Fine Fingering - anyone have any favorite patterns to recommend?

BitterSweet

No, I'm not a Stephanie Popsicle - it did snow up in the great white north while I was there - I had no idea just how many different "colors" they spray on a plane during the de-icing process.

200+miles. I've run 200 miles since I started running at the tail end of last year. Can you believe it? Not too bad, if I do say so myself! Unfortunately, it appears I may have overdone the training - since coming back from my trip, I've been plagued with shin splints on my two recent runs. At first I was hoping it was simply a failure on my part to warm up properly - but it seems they're here for the time being. Looks like I'm going to have to visit the gym again and make friends with the equipment *sigh* I've not yet decided what this means for my race schedule, but if any of you have advice, I'd love to hear it :)