Usually on Fridays I get to wear jeans but I had a meeting which meant the jeans were out and jacket was in:

day 3

So the sergeant gave us the route and we headed out with a partner.  Katrin and I mostly knew the route, just a couple of minor details we weren’t sure of… but we’d figure it out because there were about 20 people at class.  We’d just follow the others.  Here were our first bootcamp miles:

mile 1: We were the third group out the door. We saw one group ahead but no one really behind us.  hmmmm.

mile 2: Quick stop around 1.5 miles to stretch calves because they were a little tight.  We had one couple pass us, but when we looked back, NO ONE.  Where was our class?

mile 3: Around the end of mile 2 I noticed that the couple had cut off an area and took a shorter route.  At 2.5 I noticed  the girl previously behind us now in front of us.  Um, are we missing something?

mile 4:  Huge hill.  Like .5 mile hill. We had to walk the second half of the hill.  Between the minor hills we had already done and still being sore from bootcamp day 1.  We walked.  Once we reached the top we ran the rest of the way.  As we were reaching the finishing point we saw another guy coming from the opposite direction.  I wanted to yell “CHEATER” at him.

So we walked in and we were the second to last group.  The kicker?  Our Sergeant asked, “So did anyone have a hard time with the route?” I looked around and no one said anything. It took all of my self-restraint not to raise my hand and let her know we were the only people who actually ran the assigned route.

Despite my fellow bootcampers cheating on the long run, I’m keeping up my 30 day goals with a new outfit.

day 1!

Training for Chicago doesn’t start until June, but in the meantime i’m going to try and get myself ready for this training cycle.  I deperately want to break the 5 hour marathon mark and have the stretch goal to beat the 4:45 mark since the courses are all generally flat. So I signed up for boot camp. no joke. I have two months of bootcamp that I thought would be great idea during some sort of delusion.  I even convinced my college roommate to join me.

We started March 1.  Apparently this is some new-agey bootcamp because they talked to us after the first day and told us we need to make 3 30 day goals.  Generally, I have two sets of goals, one year (lined up with my birthday, not the calendar year) and ten year.  I feel like everything else just doesn’t make sense because who knows what is going to happen.  So I have a 10 year goal.  And I’m still working on 28 year goals.   Last year I accomplished most of mine as I completed a marathon (TWO!), refreshed my Japanese/learn a new language (Korean!), tried something totally new (surfing!), work on the whole cooking thing, upgrade apartments, and left the country (Japan).  However, I didn’t go to a movie by myself.

So 30 days? eh. but here we go:

sayonara!

I checked my email after my long run yesterday and found my tv had arrived! YAY!

Being the strong marathoner that I am, I put together my new tv and took down the old tv.  And then I couldn’t move.  I was totally crippled with pain and unable to stand up straight.   After 3 hours of Aleve and a heating pad and STILL not being able to move, the ER it was.  Fun times.

Upgraded TV but marathon plan downgraded.  I’ve re-adjusted the miles so I won’t be attempting 22 miles this time around but at least I had already gotten in 15 miles.  Plus, the real long runs are just starting so I’ll be needing this over the next couple of weeks:

you better be worth it!

welcome home husband

After 21 hours of traveling, one hour of unpacking, and 8 hours of sleep, I was up and ready for my first long run outside in quite a long time.  My feet were so happy to be back on the pavement making their own pace.

I woke up super early thanks to a few adjustment issues but it was good because it gave me time to eat, get dressed, and update the ipod.  Oh, I’ve missed you ipod.  Here were my back in the States, back in the game miles:

mile 1: Down the Mt. Vernon trail and I KNOW I am running too fast.  The goal pace is somewhere around 12 minute miles because there is no air conditioning in the great outdoors and I need to last for 15 miles. 10:01

mile 2: Slowing down and a bit surprised how many people I see out here.  I picked capris and a tank top and this early in the morning and along the water I’m not at all hot. I know this thought will come back to kick me in the a$$ but until then, all I can think about is how great this air feels.  I may love Tokyo, but I do not love that air. 11:28

mile 3:  I love running, but around the three mile mark I hate running.  Right now? I’m thinking it would be fantastic to stop and head back to crawl back into bed.  Only not only is that bad for the long run status but also not about to help me with the jetlag. 11:42

mile 4: I’m seeing more and more people running.  I think seeing all the other people is motivating me.  Plus, I have to recognize that I am training for a marathon, I need to get my head in the game.   At this point, I just need the miles, regardless of the pace. 11:52

mile 5: I hate the freaking hill that is at the end of Mt. Vernon trail that leads up to Rosslyn and the key bridge.  One of the guys I used to run with said he always sprinted up hills because one of his friends told him thats what you should do when you hate them and it will make you a better runner.  I added a little sprint today.  11:26

mile 6: I cross the Key Bridge and am heading back to the same ground that I trained for marathon number 1 on.  It brings back some memories but also boosts my confidence that I really know these routes.  12:38

mile 7: I chose the Capital Crescent Trail for the shorter distance out… I thought this might give me some shade but instead just cut back the number of runners I’d see and increase the DC odd people.  I’m actually told to stop by one woman.  I’m sure I’m about to be killed until she points out that we need to just stand and see the deer in the woods.  Cool to see the deer, not so cool to chill with an old lady who doesn’t seem so balanced.  12:56

mile 8: I hit the turn around point and decide at the boathouse I’m going to switch from the Capital Crescent Trail to the C&O Canal.  I figure if my body is going to be taking the hit of 15 miles the dirt path might be more gentle. 12:40

mile 9: The dirt might be softer on the body but the total exposure to sun is far more brutal on the body.  I feel so overheated at this point I needed to take a quick break. UGH.  I knew the early coolness was just a tease.  Welcome back to the DC heat. 12:32

mile 10: So hot.  C&O Trail was a BAD choice but heading back VA and over the Key Bridge.  I see a major training group of cyclers on the bridge.  I miss having a running group.  I’m bored with myself and could use some company at this point. 12:18

mile 11: Back on the Mt. Vernon Trail.  I’ve got a bit of shade, but not too much.  I’m feeling overheated again and that just plain sucks.  I can’t seem to pull what it takes today to finish the run.  You’d think after hours sitting in one place on a plane the body would love to be moving….. 12:01

i know, rough morning

mile 12-15:  I was so overheated that I actually just sat on the grass on the side of the trail to eat my shot bloks.  I’m feeling fine in terms of my body, but really, I just can’t handle the heat.  The rest of the run is a jog walk combo. I don’t even bother to start the husband for most of it.   Sometimes I run during a song and walk the next, but really? by the end I am just walking.  I’m over the heat and over being back in town.

I ended up with 12.5 miles on the watch, but know that the actual distance was about 15.5 because I know where my halfway point was.  I’m on the fence about how I feel in terms of this run.  On the brightside, I was able to get in a long run outside, however, on the downside, I wasn’t really able to run the entire distance.  I am really anxious for the cooler weather and never thought I would want summer to end so badly in my lifetime.

I’m glad to be back on my home turf for training because the marathon seems to be fastly approaching and I have more options in this city.  However, the upcoming weeks make me nervous and unsure if I’ll be able to really beat the last marathon time.  I think that may be difficult because there were better training conditions before and I travelled less.

um, what do i do with all this? how does one accumulate this much in such a short time?

I normally don’t run the day before a long run, but since I’m heading back to the States tonight, its like running on Friday when you’re going to do your long run on Sunday.  Plus, I know the trek home is longer than the way here and I’d like to get some of sort of movement in my legs before I make them be solitary.

I woke up early and started packing up my stuff.  Oh my stuff.  I left space in my suitcase when I came here knowing I’d shop.  But I got a couple of larger things I wasn’t expecting and now it seems my belongings have doubled here.  In an attempt to clear my brain I took a packing break to hit the gym one last time.  Here were my escapist kilometers:

kilometer 1-2: I’m the only here, which is good because I’m guessing we’re still dealing with the turn around of guests over a weekend.  Plus, who comes to the gym when you have an amazing city to discover?!

kilometer 3-4: Apparently, some uncoordinated American kid with socks too high.  He can’t seem to get the hang of his elliptical and his almost spastic movements keep getting my attention as I’m waiting for him to tumble off.

kilometer 5-6: I actually stopped to get a quick sip of water.  The cool thing about these treadmills is they are energy efficient so when you step off they sense it and automatically pause.  I accidentally pressed the wrong button when I got back on tho so I had to start all over.  Ugh.

I ended up doing somewhere around 4 miles in just over 40 minutes.  I don’t have the exact time because I wasn’t expecting to reset the machine so I didn’t pay close attention to the distance or time at that point.  Oh well. Last Tokyo run done and back to packing.

relief.

PS, I am packing genius.  Everything of importance made it in my suitcase, duffle bag, and purse.  I deserve some kind of award for this.  On the other hand, the maids are going to freak out when they see all the toiletries I left behind.  I can rebuy those in the US where as those shoes I bought? Not available Stateside.

long run warm up

After such a grueling day on Saturday I took the sightseeing easy on Sunday.  I opted to take a cab instead of walk/metro myself to save the legs and feet.  I had 14 miles planned for this week’s long run.  I realize that it might be a bit early in the game for this distance on a long run but my overall goal was to be comfortably running 15 miles on August 14, only two weeks away at this point.  So far the long runs haven’t been as easy as I remember them being, but it also isn’t as strenous as I know they could be.   Tokyo is unbearably hot thus it was off to the gym for me.  Honestly, I’m getting a bit sick of the treadmill which can’t be a good sign this early in the training.  I’m really hoping that after all this crappy humidity DC will feel like the desert when I return.  I know, unrealistic, but a girl can dream right?!

Since I’ve got some serious math issues and wanted to stay true to the 14 mile plan I spent a good amount of time prior to the gym figuring out the math.  Fourteen miles is about 22 kilometers.  I can only go for 60 minutes on the machine before it restarts, therefore, I’d break it into four segments, 5.5 kilometers each.   Here were my carefully thought out and correctly measured kilometers:

kilometer 1-5.5: The gym is empty.  Like totally empty. Sweet.   I am guessing this is probably due it being Sunday and in between waves of gaijin workers/tourists.  After the mess that is Narita Airport who would really want to come to the gym?  Despite it being empty I can’t really focus and seem to struggle a bit thru the first couple of kilometers.  I think it is going to be one of those days where I just can’t catch my stride. 41:50

kilometer5.5-11: I’m already fantasizing about how when I am done with these kilometers I’ll be half way done! YAY! Unfortunately I’ve still got quite a ways to go.  I’m really missing my running group and especially on the first 14 miler this time because it was on the first 14 miler run last training cycle that I really started to make friends and get into the whole training group thing.   The last time when we did our first 14 mile run it was a PR distance for me.  I think it gave it that extra little adrenaline push that I’m lacking right now.

kilometer 11-16.5: I’ve got an older guy who has joined slowly ellipticalling next to me.  I’m tempted to switch over at some point to the ellipitcal too just to mix it up.  I’m bored but usually by now my love of running has kicked in; apparentlly tonight it missed the memo.   On the brightside, while I may be mentally floundering my body feels good. Nothing is tight and I still have my energy up.  I have even checked my heart rate a couple of times on the machine is it is pretty low, so I know the body isn’t feeling pushed.   I actually bought gatorade at the Embassy this week in preparation for the long run and I’m using that instead of the shot bloks because I don’t want all the caffiene to keep me awake later.  42:00

kilometer 16.5-22: Last leg! FINALLY!  Since I’ve only got a couple of kilometers left and I’m slightly curious about my heart rate I’ve decided to seriously increase the speed for the first kilometer.  I can always slow it down afterwards…. Or not.  I kept up the faster pace for the remaining leg and finally am feeling better about the run.  So good that nothing is sore but rather I could continue running a couple extra miles if need be.  Not needed this week, but I’m glad to have a strong finish to such a weak start. 35:07

I ended up doing the 14 miles in 2:39:37 which gives me and overall pace of 11:24 (in miles, my compute did the math when I got back to my room).  When I break down the pace by legs tho the last section threw off the overall pace because it went, 11:50; 11:42; 12:00; 10:02.  Drastically different yes?  The thing is, while I know I picked up the pace during the last segment I’m fairly certain that I wasn’t THAT slow during the other sections.  If I had to guess I would have put the pace at something like 11:30 average for the first three rounds and then maybe 10:30 for the last round.  Not that this makes a huge difference because when all is said and done, 11:24 is right within the long run pace I like to keep and with a total time of 2:39 I KNOW I must have hit at least the 14 mile mark.

Fourteen miles DONE.  Next long run is the first of two 15 milers, the second hopefully feeling easy and back into the full marathon mode focus.

hello shibuya. do you see that incline?

Saturday would normally be my long run, however, since I made up last week’s long run on Tuesday I decided to give the days an extra day to recover.  Plus, Saturday was July 31 which is the Japan equivalant to the day after Thanksgiving in the US for shopping.  I find shopping to be a fully acceptable form of crosstraining.  I worked my leg muscles by walking from store to store and walking on the escalator.  I worked my arm muscles by taking items off the rack, carrying around heavy shopping baskets, and then carrying around my purchases.  Like I said: fully body work out.   I even wore my husband for the afternoon to try and track my mileage but after losing satilite reception so frequently by entering stores I ended up turning the training mode off.

there were multiple bags in those bags. they were heavy. i swear my arms got exercise!

I (half) joke about the crosstraining on Saturday but after hitting up several shopping districts and the Meiji shrine while walking in between districts on my own (from memory! and not lost!) I was TIRED.  I hopped back on the metro and back to the hotel around 6 pm after 8 full hours of being on my feet.  I literally collapsed on the bed and propped my feet on pillows.   I honestly can’t remember the last time my body ached so much.  Luckily, my nightly routine in Japan includes soaking in the Japanese style tub and after which my body forgave me a bit.  Regardless, I knew the long run wasn’t happening Sunday morning and I was going to tone down the time on the feet.