Running Chick

I haven't been documenting all my run streak runs here because I'm just too lazy to keep up with that much blogging. Heck, I can barely manage to put them up on Instagram, but I my last few runs were pretty decent by my standards, so here we go.

Day 29 - Christmas Swag/Zoe's Birthday/Nighttime Run

This little monkey turned the Big O-N-E, so we had to celebrate by going for a run.

I was also testing out the new swag Josh Santa brought me for Christmas - Brooks Cascadia 7 shoes and a headlamp.

I wasn't really keeping an eye on my watch (hard to do with headlamp & holding a dog leash), so I mostly was just going by feel. I was kind of surprised when I saw the results, I usually drag on the uphill sections of this route. That last mile - I have no idea. That's the most uphill section of the route and it's usually a struggle. Tailwind?

Day 30 - Come Get Me Run

Josh was putting in a half day at work, so I took that opportunity to run down to my mom & dad's house and have him pick me up on the way home. I'm only sort of excited about my pace.  Aside from a small uphill in the first .5 mile, it's downhill the rest of the way. Factor in Zoe pulling me and we have an impressive time. Eh.

It was also fairly warm outside, so I was able to run in lighter gear.  The Oiselle Lux top that I got from Amy and Oiselle Lesley tights were just right for the temp. Josh picked up lunch on the way home. Rodeo, of course, in honor of our Team /var/run Friday lunch tradition.

Day 31 - One and Done

After spending half of the day shoveling off the roof, then the other half shoveling the snow that was on the roof, by body didn't want to be be doing anything other than sitting by the fire, downing Ibuprofen and drinking wine. But, gotta keep the streak alive, so one slow one on the treadmill was all I could muster. I was running easy for this one, my entire body was hurting.

Side note: I've been using the Brooks PureFlow 2s for my treadmill runs. For years I've been running in the most cushiony shoes I could find, and I really wanted to see if I could make the switch to a more minimalist shoe.  I've been keeping my runs in them pretty short (under 4 miles) and I did have some complains from my shins & quads when I first starting using them, but now they're my go-to treadmill. I've also been using them when we run on the track at the SDC, but I've found that my shins do quite a bit of complaining afterwards so I don't know how these shoes are going to pan out for non-treadmill running.

Day 32 - Frigid Five (point five)

This run was cold as hell.

But, what the hell is going on with my time?

My last three outside runs have been in under 10:00. What?

I figured Day 29's run was a fluke. Maybe I accidentally told my watch to use the foodpod instead of the GPS. Maybe I was just having a good day. I dunno. Day 30 was all downhill with some help from gravity & Zoe, so I pretty much wrote that one off.

Yesterday when we took off, I figured I'd be back to my usual mid-10:00 slog for this route. It's a a bit hilly for the first three miles then there's about a mile downhill before we hit another climb back to the house. The last time I ran this with Josh on Thanksgiving day, I had a hard time keeping my pace up. I even had to stop a couple of times to get my heart rate back down from the stratosphere (aka pukeville). I'd classify that run as hard. This time around I found I was fairly comfortable with my pace and my heart rate stayed in the high 160s to low 170s the entire time. My splits were all under 10:00, which is definitely not the norm for me. What, what?

There's a couple of factors that probably contribute to this speed drop. I lost a few pounds bringing me back down to my pre-marathon eat-all-the-things weight. I've been running EVERY FREAKING DAY FOR THE LAST 32 DAYS. And I've been throwing speedwork into my routine every week or so with intervals on the treadmill or track sessions with the Team /var/run crew. Do these things for a month straight and I'm bound to see some improvement, right? I think? Anybody?

In any event, I'll just keep doing the same things and see where it gets me. Since 2013 is coming to a close, it's time to pick my spring half marathon. I've decided not to do Journeys this year. I've done it five times already and I'm getting bored with it. I've got a couple of races in mind, but I haven't settled on anything yet. Soon.

I always thought that if I ran more than four days in a row, I'd end up with some horrible, injury that would end my running days. Now, here I am 28 days later and still going. I've had a few aches and twinges along the way, but nothing really sticks around for more than a couple of days. Maybe I haven't been giving my body enough credit for all these years?

I'm averaging right around 17 miles/week. Sometimes I'll throw in a longer 5+ mile run, but typically I've been keeping them short & sweet.  I've been running with the team /var/run folks during lunch at work more, and that restricts my run time to about 30-35 minutes. I didn't think I'd like running during lunchtime, but coming home and not having to get a run out of the way is pretty convenient. I'm not sure Zoe would agree, but she thinks we should be running all the time.

Here we are post run(ch). I believe this is the one where I made everybody run around campus until my mileage got to exactly 3.00. The previous run(ch) we ended on 2.99 and it made me twitchy for days. Payback, bitches.

Here's another one of our run where Amy and I are busting out our sweet moves. Note that we were under the bridge. Note that we might have been breaking the law ("No Pedestrians"). (photo by Amy)

And another one of our mid-run dance breaks. Or something. (photo by Josh)

Post-lunchtime runs also turn out to not be as bad as I thought they'd be, logistically speaking. It required a bit of trial an error the first few times, but now that I've been doing a few run(ch)s, I've finally got my system down.  My run(ch) kit contains a bag with spare make-up and toiletries, the ShowerPill (which is pretty much my savior), and my most important item - a post-run hat because there is no saving my hair after a run. I sit behind a desk and write code all day long, so it's okay to toss on a hat for an afternoon of tapping away on a keyboard, but if I'd probably skip run(ch) on a day where I had an afternoon meeting.

My treadmill and I are also becoming pretty good buddies, however, it doesn't matter that it's my own treadmill in my own basement, I still can't stand to log more than 30 minutes at a time on the thing. If I just need to tick off a mile or two, I'll just punch in a speed and go, but if I need a longer run or something a bit more challenging, I'll do an interval workout.

There's a 2nd page to that workout, one of these days I'll make it fit on one small piece of paper, but continually flipping it around makes life interesting. This is a pretty challenging workout for me, especially minutes 7-8 at 6.9mph (8:34 minute mile). I do not run that fast, ever, and I have all I can do to just hold that pace and keep from flailing myself onto the floor.  I'm also certain that timer pauses when I'm not staring at it every second because sometimes those intervals mighty long (*I'm giving you the side-eye, treadmill timer*).  But the interval workout sure does makes the time go by so much faster than when I'm just plodding along watching something silly on Hulu.

Fast forward to Christmas, where I got a swag update - new shoes and a headlamp!

The shoes are Brooks Cascadia 7s, my go-to winter running shoe.  This is the third pair I've had. The first one was a Cascadia 6 and it fit like a dream. When it was time to replace them, I went with the latest version (7s) in the same size, only to find out that they were just a smidge smaller than the 6s. They didn't cause me any problems, but my feet definitely felt swished when I wore thick winter socks. So, this time, I asked for a half-size up to accommodate my socks and, eventually, insoles. Sizing up was the right thing to do, I ran 4 miles in them last night and my feet felt very unrestricted and happy.

 I used the headlamp for the first time last night. I had to keep messing with it in order to get the light pointed the way I wanted to, and I didn't like that I have to turn all the way around to see what's going on behind me, but ultimately it's way better than running with a flashlight. I'll come in handy if we ever find enough people to put a team together for a Ragnar Relay, too.

One thing I discovered last night was how reflective Zoe's orange vest is.

I haven't noticed it before since we're typically running in daylight, but my headlamp was really making it glow. This is good because, it means cars can see us. She also wears a blinky light on her collar, so we're really hi-vis over here.

Speaking of Miz Zoe, she turned 1 yesterday! It took a while for her to settle into a routine, but now after 5 months, she's trained us pretty well.

She pesters me relentlessly when I'm doing yoga/stretching/whatever on the floor. If I'm doing situps, she'll sit on me. If I'm doing planks or pushups, she'll wiggle under me and squirm around. It's annoying, but pretty funny so I don't get too worked up over it.

She tolerates me dressing her up in little outfits. Here she is in her puffy coat and booties. She runs in the booties on super cold days. They don't have much traction so when we hit some slippery patches, she ends up looking like Bambi on the ice.

She loves riding in the car. Note the same posture of these two.

She loves running and will go wherever & whenever.

And she sometimes has to share her bed with Pippen, but she doesn't seem to mind.

We frequently get asked what kind of dog she is. We typically say that she's a German Shepherd mix, but I've always wanted to know her exact genetic makeup. Turns out you can get a DNA test for your dog - hello Wisdom Panel.

I think it'll be useful in determining whether she's predisposed to any genetic heath issues based on her breed profile. And also, I'm just really curious to know.  She already takes up too much room on the bed, so fingers crossed for some really small breed so she'll stop growing!

Today I completed Day 11 of the 2013 Runner's World Holiday Running Streak. I find it hard to believe that I've done this much running and nothing has fallen off. Granted, I've been taking it pretty easy this week, but my legs can usually find something to complain about which causes me to sit out a day. I've had a couple of niggles & twinges, but nothing major and now will you please excuse me while I go knock on some wood.

Here's my log, to-date:

• Day 3 - 1 mile
• Day 4 - 6.30 miles
• Day 5 - 3 miles
  
• Day 6 - 3.5 miles
• Day 7 - 1 miles
  
• Day 8 - 2.25 miles
• Day 9 - 2 miles
  
• Day 10 - 1 miles
• Day 11 - 5.50 miles 

The weather has been so crappy the last several days, that a lot of my miles have been on the treadmill.  Today, though, it was primo outside running weather.  Granted, it was only about 7 degrees, but for the first time in probably four days, there was no wind so Zoe and I headed out.  She's sporting her new high-visibility coat. Safety first!

She's not bothered by the cold or the snow. She's a machine.

When we finished, she was sporting an impressive ice goatee.

And then she crashed in front of the wood stove for the rest of the day.

I recovered by spending the day in my new festive compression socks. Keep it tight, man.