Pulled Out of a Hat

Workouts:

Monday (5/21):

7.21 Miles Easy (Treadmill, 1:01:50, 8:35 Pace)

Tuesday (5/22):

1.29 Miles Easy (Warm Up for Team Steam, 12:19, 9:33 Pace)

4.14 Miles Intervals (Team Steam – Envelope Track Workout, 29:08, 7:03 Pace)

Tuesday’s Team Steam workout was a new one, it was called an “Envelope Track Workout”. Basically that meant pull various track distances out of a hat and run them until we met or exceeded 4 miles of workout. We also kept our recoveries as short as possible, which was about 30-40 seconds for me. What made this strange was not really knowing what was next. How do I run my 400M pace without knowing if the next go around was 120o, 800, or 400? I made sure to keep my effort above my goal pace for this race, but I didn’t go all out either until we got our last 400M and felt like I could run what has been my pace for them lately (1:31 – 5:58 Pace).

I can’t say this was my favorite workout. I would rather know what I’m in for upfront, even if it’s 12 x 400s, 10 x 800s or whatever.

I did get to wear my Marathon Maniacs jersey. One thing I can’t explain is the design that includes a cat and a guy on the back. So I went out and looked up the history, makes more sense now!

Run for the 4th – 4M – 30:07

Race Take Away: Too fast, too hot

Last Saturday Rob and I ran a 4 Mile race in the small town Chenoa, IL. I work with the race director so it was nice to get out to support her (and her husband’s) event and check out a race we hadn’t done before.

Rob and I went out for a 2.5 Mile warm up and found out quickly that this was going to be a super hot race. It was humid and the temps were 85-88 degrees already for this 10am race.

We checked out the course and my legs were feeling good. Before we knew it we were off. I knew I had went out too fast because I wasn’t far behind the lead pack of guys, still I was struggling to slow down. I tried to back off the pace, but got to mile 1 in 6:39. Not a good call in the heat and without doing speed work. I would not be in any position to keep that up. I get to mile 2 in 14 and am still lead female, but fading badly. The baking hot sun is melting me and I know that I will get passed soon. Before mile 3 another female we race with often passes me as we talk about the heat. Normally I wouldn’t even get water on a 4 mile race, but by the time we got to the second water stop I couldn’t help but get water. The lead female even fully stopped at the water stop, but I couldn’t close the gap. All I could do was just get there as fast as my melted legs would take me resulting in 2nd female, 1st age group (30-39). Rob also had a melty race, but got 3rd overall, 1st in his age group (30-39).

Afterward your runner bib got you either 2 draft beers or a pork chop sandwich. So Rob and I used our bibs to split the sandwich and each have a beer. It was nice to hang out with the other runners and swap race stories.

We will definitely look to run in this race again!

Stats:

30:07 (on my watch)

7:32 Pace

F: 2/?

F 30-39: 1/?

Me with the pig mascot. The pig did not run the race, but still it had to be so hot in the costume just walking around.

Keeping Pace

Workouts:

Friday (5/11):

Rest

Saturday (5/12):

1.03 Mile Easy (‘Hood, 9:43, 9:27 Pace) — My watch was acting crazy, I had to restart it.

8 Miles Easy (‘Hood, 1:04:56, 8:07 Pace)

Sunday (5/13):

2.12 Miles Easy (‘Hood, 18:37, 8:47 Pace)

Weekly Mileage Total: 27.04 Miles

Monday (5/14):

9 Miles Easy (‘Hood, 1:21:01, 9:01 Pace)

Tuesday (5/15):

1.22 Miles Easy (Warm Up – Team Steam, 11:12, 9:11 Pace)

3.06 Miles 6 x 800M Hill Repeats (Team Steam, 22:06, 7:14 Pace)

0.38 Miles Easy (Cool Down – Team Steam, 3:49, 10:03 Pace)

Wednesday (5/16):

4 Miles Easy (Treadmill, 33:26, 8:22 Pace)

Thursday (5/17):

1.15 Miles Easy (Warm Up – Team Steam, 10:38, 9:15 Pace)

3.9 Miles 4 x 1 Mile Hill Repeats (Team Steam, 32:36, 8:22 Pace)

Friday (5/18):

3.58 Miles Easy (‘Hood, 32:00, 8:57 Pace)

Saturday (5/19):

2.41 Miles Easy (Warm Up for Race, 20:51, 8:41 Pace)

4 Miles Race (Pork Chop Festival 4 Miler, 30:07, 7:32 Pace, 2nd Female Overall, 1st Age Group)

Sunday (5/20):

12 Miles Long (‘Hood, 1:52:06, 9:21 Pace)

Weekly Mileage Total: 44.7 Miles

This week has been work of trying to keep pace, in all aspects. For running, my legs have either been stale, the heat has been very hot (80+ degrees) or both. All I can do is try to move forward and keep at it even when my pace suffers.

The hill workouts with Team Steam have been really challenging and good for me. Still my hips are tight so I’ve been streaching, including lying on the ground and putting my legs up. Coco was a big help too.

 

We did a race on Saturday and from my workout list above you can see it wasn’t my best, but I will get a race report posted how it went next.

Getting Wings

This week has been CRAZY busy! I know I say that often, but it really is true. Wednesday we took off of work for the afternoon to take care of some very important flying business. We sold our 1945 Piper J-3 Cub to a wonderful family that has a farm and is so happy to have it. Us the day they signed the papers.

Rob flew our J-3 down to a friend’s farm for pick up by the new owners. They are thrilled to have it and we are happy that it will bring them so much joy.

We get asked why we sold it, heck why did we even sell the first plane we built? And the answer is to make room for new adventures. We love the challenge of new things and we love how much flying has added to our lives. We have kicked around what would be our next plane purchase or plane build and we have settled on building an RV-10. It’s a four seat of the RV-7 we built, plus we can add extras like air conditioning! And with this build we will take our time and not try to squeeze building it in less than 4 years like the last one, that took almost every night and weekend to pull off.

A beautiful example of an RV-10, built and owned by Rob Hickman.

We probably won’t buy the first kit until we have completed our basement finishing project, but I will post as soon as we get started. We will have a website dedicated to the build, just like we had with the RV-7.

To watch our RV-10 build and the build history of our RV-7 check out: www.rv-builder.com

Let’s Get Moving!

Workouts:

Wednesday (5/9):

8 Miles Easy (‘Hood, 1:11:33, 8:57 Pace)

Thursday (5/10):

0.71 Mile Warm Up (Team Steam, 6:31, 9:11 Pace)

3 Miles Hills - 3 x 1 Mile Hill Repeats w/1 Min Recovery (Team Steam, 22:01, 7:21 Pace)

0.66 Mile Cool Down (Team Steam, 5:49, 8:49 Pace)

We have been having amazing mild and beautiful weather. Wednesday was windy, but I had 8 easy so the wind really wasn’t a factor since I wasn’t trying to hit a particular pace. Thursday our Team Steam workout was a but kicking hill workout that was 1 mile repeats that had a perfect balance of .5 mile climb and .5 mile cruising back down. I am loving these workouts. The scenery and turns keep it interesting.

We also got our team shirts! Love them! Sorry for blurry phone pics.

Front:

Back:

I Need a Decoder Ring

My legs have been feeling good since IL Marathon. I did some light miles last week between our hectic schedules and the only soreness that remains is my pesky right piriformis. I’m doing the stretches I got from my previous work with a physical therapist.

I’m seeing improvement, but if it doesn’t completely go away in this coming week I’ll get time scheduled to look at Graston’s treatments again to get it knocked out.

Last night was Team Steam workout and I was stoked to get back to it after taking last week off from the team workouts. Last Tuesday I was still sick from sinus stuff so I decided to keep my workout light and indoors at home and Thursday I had to travel for work.

After our warm up we hit the track for doing 400M @ 5KRP or better w/recovery partnered. Jamie and I partnered up for the workout. Basically we alternated running 400M and each got to rest when the other was out running. I ended up with 9 intervals. It was a crowded track so there was a bit of jocky-ing around for space, but I was still surprised that I was able to end up well above my 5KRP on unfresh legs with a 5:58 average. I’ll take it! It felt good (in a track hurty kinda way) to be doing speedwork again.

In other running new Natalie sent me the 2012 Boston Marathon poster. She had asked me if I picked one up and I said “No, I got one last year and I didn’t even open it yet”. And she said that the poster has all of the particpant names in it, kind of like the Nike Chicago Marathon wall of names in a mural. So of course I pouted that I didn’t pick one up, but as usual Natalie saved the day. She picked up an extra and said she would mail it to me. She always thinking ahead and manages to take care of me with Boston stuff, love her!

The names are printed on both sides of the poster just to fit everyone’s name. Luckily Natalie and I are on the same side so I can hang it in our workout room with both names showing.

Speaking of Boston Marathon momentos…I FINALLY got around to ordering my 2011 Boston Marathon picture and getting it put into the frame that Rob bought me last year. I love this frame, it’s one of my favorite running keepsakes.

And for those 2012 Boston Marathoners out there adidas has marked gear on sale so I totally stocked up. The prices are too good to pass up. I would look like a running billboard for Boston Marathon if I wear everything I bought together, but I will try to keep it down to 2-3 items per outfit. I’m sure I’ll get teased for having so much Boston Marathon gear in general, but I like the race, the style, the fit and the price, so oh well!

The women’s short sleeved shirt. Wore it to our track workout and it was perfect, I love that it has a longer length than the race shirt given for the event. The material is also very ventilated, the weave is very light and doesn’t feel heavy or scratchy at all.

Ah the Boston beanie! I needed a new one. In 2011 I picked one up and it was so cold race day I wore it to race in. Then it got warm and had to make the call to ditch it which I hated to do, but I didn’t want to carry it the whole way. Normally in these iffy weather situations I would bring a throw away hat, but I hadn’t packed one. So now I finally have a new one to keep!

I also ordered the tech gloves. I’m interested to see out the outside key holder works out and the touch finger that is supposed to be compatible with touch devices like watches and phones. It would be cool if it works as expected.

And an extra set of capris, always need more of these and the price was too good to pass up.

In other running news I got us registered for Bix7 again this year. I can’t wait to run this race again. Here is last year’s post if you haven’t seen it.

Also, I’m trying to fashion a workout plan to get me through a couple half marathons before Chicago Marathon training kicks off. I really can’t find a plan that fits around our schedule, Team Steam and that feels intense enough to maintain or gain fitness. So that leaves me to try a new experiment. Taking the philosphy of my favorite training guide “Advanced Marathoning” and trying to turn it into some sort of half marathon plan.

I’m basically reducing the volume of the long runs and the med-long runs by 25%. Then I’m adjusting the days of the workouts so that I can get the majority of my long runs completed on Saturdays and get Team Steam Tuesday and Thursdays and fit in races during this 11 week period. I feel like I need a decoder ring just to figure this thing out! I’m not sure if this is the best approach, but it’s worth a shot. I will keep you posted on my thoughts around it.

 

2012 April Recap

Just a few days late on stats for April, but I want to try to get back to doing a monthly recap. I hope to include my workout statistics and some highlights each month.

2012 April Stats:

Running -  159.4 Miles, Time 23:09:15

As expected my running mileage overall on a marathon month drops due to taper and recovery. This month was twice as light because it was my first time completing two marathons in two weeks. What is not cool is how I’ve let strength training drop off. I have to make an effort to keep strength training activities as important as running sessions. Hopefully these monthly status posts will help keep it in the front of my mind because I will be reporting on it.

2012 April Running Highlights:

Ah so many for April, but here are a few that bubble up to the top.

My first no tummy issue race! And every race since! Woo hoo!!!!

Boston Marathon – of course you knew I would say that!

Getting to hang out with Natalie! I can’t imagine the Boston Marathon without time with her!

BAA 5K run with Rob – such a fun way to see the Boston Common area together

Rob and I at a Boston Red Sox game, seeing them win and getting to sing “Sweet Caroline”

Running IL Marathon 5K with Rob as a fun run.

Running the IL Marathon 2 weeks after Boston, making me a Marathon Maniac!

 

One of my favorite hill workouts was with Team Steam doing hill ladders. I hope we get to do this one again!

2012 April Other Highlights:

Best Lobster (maybe meal) Ever!! Barking Crab Naked Lobster Roll – Boston, MA

Meeting up with Alaina in Boston. She is so nice and makes us feel like Bostonians by taking us around the area.

I went back to being blonde. Change of pace for a while.

Our friend Kelsey got married! Us with the Best Man Drew!

Planning to plan – that’s the best way to sum it up. Rob and I have some new adventures picked out for running, flying, the house and such. As plans start to solidify I will begin posting about them, so more to come! I’m very excited to have some new things on our horizon!

2012 IL Marathon – 3:46:03

Race takeaway: I am a Marathon Maniac!

Race morning we were up at 4am and awoke to thunderstorms. They were expected to be over by the start of the race. The race would be cooler, 45-ish degrees with wind in 18mph range. I didn’t get a picture before the race, but I wore Swiftwick black long calf compression socks, black Nike tempo shorts, adidas Adios II in red, adidas black longsleeved shirt with thumbholes (love this shirt), and adidas Boston Marathon singlet in the “Core Energy” color, and sparkling red headband.

We were dressed and ready to go with no problem, except we were out of coffee?! Grrrr!!! That meant an unplanned stop at Starbucks, adding 20-30 minutes onto our drive with the going through town and getting coffee. I’m an advocate for get there early and wait out the race. I would rather have time to wait around than stress about parking, bathroom lines, etc. Plus we had our friends, Lisa and Chris’ race packets so I was stressed about finding them and getting them their bibs.

We made good time, but got hung up in traffic bottleneck to park. We were finally parked and able to hand off race packets by 6:15am. The race starts at 7am, that was WAY too close for me. That meant hustling to the bathroom in Assembly Hall. As expected the ladies line was long and there was virtually no line for the dudes bathroom. So I bravely announced my presence, hid my eyes and went to the men’s room. One other brave lady went with me. The guys paid us no mind and we were in and out super fast. Rob and I then quickly headed towards the start line and they began the national anthem. We’ve NEVER cut a race this close. We said our goodbyes got in our corrals (Rob A, me B), double knotted my laces and we were off!

So I had many thoughts regarding how to run this marathon being my first time running marathons 13 days apart. My legs felt good, but I had no idea how I would manage through the miles to come.

My first goal was to Marathon Maniac no matter what. Which just meant finish any pace or any way possible. In the back of my mind was a BQ. Sub 3:40 was in my mind, but getting a BQ doesn’t guarantee Boston Marathon entry. The registration process can be crazy. People who BQ close to the qualifying time have been shut out of entry due to high demand so I didn’t want to put too much pressure on it. Instead I decide to run conservative and just see how I felt and if BQ happened, it happened.

Again this is all an experiment of one. I’m sure everyone would have their own approach to the situation. I wanted to see for me personally how running in an 8 min or sub-8 felt. I was at the half in 1:46 and had felt good. For the first half I had no kinks or pain, but then around mile 14 it’s like my energy was gone. I wasn’t hurting, just felt like I couldn’t move faster so I just was like “Okay, I’m getting that Maniac no matter what” and I just focused on keeping my effort up as much as I could. Around mile 18 my glutes and hips got tight, but I was able to keep moving forward. I was actually surprised by my time because based on how I was feeling I was suspecting to finish more around 3:55-ish.

When I came across the finish line I saw Rob waiting for me and I burst into tears of joy. I finished in 3:46 I told Rob “Last year I said I would do this race after Boston and I did it! I’m so proud!” Rob was also happy with his marathon, his second fastest time of 3:30. He was very happy with his time considering he hasn’t had the training time like past marathons.

I was really sore right afterward in the hips, but we managed to hobble our way back to the car to drive home. We had to hurry and get ready to leave for a wedding out of town. We were in such a rush I didn’t get one picture before or after the race, boo! Luckily we made it to the wedding in time and got to hang out with our friends.

Blurry pics from my phone of us at the wedding.

Us with Drew (who was the Best Man).

And finally I got a picture of me with all three medals.

Marathon #9 complete!

Marathon Maniac – Bronze Level complete!

Stats:

3:46:03

8:38 Pace

2010 – IL Marathon

2012 IL Marathon – 5K – 23:32

Today after work Rob and I had to get to Champaign, IL to go to the IL Marathon expo and run the 5K. Tomorrow morning is the marathon so this was a first. When to eat the night before a marathon when you have a 5K at 6:45pm and then won’t be back home until 8:30-ish.

That resulted in Noodles & Company side salad with fat free dressing and regular buttered noodles at 3:00pm. I have no idea if this is the right route, but we usually eat at 4:30-ish the night before a marathon so we will try this and have a light post-5K snack.

We were down to the expo in more than enough time to pick up bibs and shirts.

I managed to spend a couple bucks on headbands at the expo. Then we headed back to the car to wait. I used the time to take pics of our running shirts.
The 5K shirt. General guy’s fit for this one.

The women’s cut marathon shirt.

We made our way to the start line in plenty of time. There were approximately 5,000 5Kers registered.

Other than a delayed start so cops could tow a car on the course the start was smooth. The race course is relatively flat and has minimal turns. We ran easy paced. Just before the finish we saw Ryan and Melisa! We always seem to find them at events without even trying, is like a mini-tradition to spot them. Then into the stadium to finish Rob and I hold hands.

All done!

After the race we got to chat with Ryan and Melisa for a bit. Then we ran into Erin and Mike (who won tonight’s 5K!) so we caught up with them quickly and then got on the road.
The medal was really nice, the middle “I” spins.

Now off to get rest!
Stats:
23:32
7:35 Pace
F 35-39: 4/?

She’s a Maniac

Last weekend resulted in two days of sick with sinus junk and fever, not a fun way to spend the weekend. I got in miles when my head would stop pounding, but it was unpleasant. I did get in 8 that felt good Monday and my quad pain seems to have faded. Tuesday at Team Steam my legs felt very stale. Our workout was 3-6 x 1000M with 90 sec recoveries in a marked area within a cemetary. I’m new to doing marked speed work outside of a track, but it was nice to have scenery. The pace was supposed to be 5K Pace or faster, but with my recovery from Boston I just put in the effort I could to make it through 3 and then did 1 loop at an easier pace.

I forgot to mention that I’ve changed my hair color to blonde. I’ve been brunette for 2 years so it felt like time to switch it up.

I meant to have Rob take my picture before work, but forgot so this creepy Starbucks bathroom pic will have to do instead.

Thursday night Team Steam workout was awesome! We did hill ladders up the big Steamboat Classic hill in Glenn Oak Park. They had cones set up going up the hill. You started at the first cone ran up two cones and came back down the hill one cone, then up two more cones, back down one cone until you made it to the top. From the top you ran back down to the start. Then you could repeat the workout as many times as you wanted. I did two rounds on my own and the last one with Jamie. It was such a fun workout and I hope we get to do it again!

This weekend is theIL Marathon weekend! Rob and I will be running the 5K tonight for fun and then the marathon tomorrow morning. This will only be 12 days since Boston. My main goal is getting to become a Marathon Maniac! As Rob and I continue our running adventures I want to see how to multi-marathon close together and learn how to manage recovery.

So I will be posting all of the adventures this weekend and tweeting!!