Sunday, March 3, 2013

A Date With My Nemeses

Workout: 5 fusterclucked miles, 11:08 average (sort of), Pace Gloves

When I got in my car to head over to the Coastal Trail this morning, I had high expectations for my return. It had been over five weeks since my last visit, an experience that annoyed me so much it had me running the same trails day after day. No more, I decided. It was time to go back. But alas, my return was not all rainbows and Cadbury eggs. Instead, to possibly quote Jeff Goldblum in the classic film, Jurassic Park, "everything that could go wrong, did." That quote may be off by a word or six; it's been a while since I've seen that movie.

So why did it blow so hard? Why else? My nemeses: skiers. I swear there's a "Skiers united to make Jeano miserable" foundation somewhere out there. Probably funded by Sarah Palin's PAC.

In their defense, it really was a ridiculously dumb move on my part. I completely forgot that today was the Tour of Anchorage, aka the largest cross country ski race of the year. Oops. Let's call it 90% their fault and 10% my fault.

Anyway, that long set-up is my way of saying these were five of the most interrupted miles I've ever run. It would probably be more accurate to call it a 3-mile mosey and a 2-mile jog. But hey, at least it was pretty out!

Love the sky in this. No filter, for once.

Other disruptions include: running on the main road for a few minutes in an attempt to get back to my car via an alternate route; almost getting hit by multiple cars; bushwhacking back to the trail; removing my Yaktrax while on the road and losing one after putting them on again; semi-accusing a stranger of having stolen my lost Yaktrak; finding said Yaktrak and feeling bad about semi-accusing a stranger of theft... the list goes on and on. Oh, and of course, the usual dog problems. Dammit, Bailey, I just can't quit you.

The best part of this run, I guess, is that I was barely aware of the fact that I was running. No fatigue whatsoever. Stopping every five seconds probably had more than a little to do with that, but whatever. I'll take it.

Wait, I take it back - the best part of this run was the view.

Downtown 

It was overcast for the first part of the run, but then the sun came out and it was glorious. This weekend's weather is deceiving. There's definitely a hint of spring in the air, but we've actually got a couple more months before it actually gets here. But that's okay with me! Give me some sun and I'm happy with whatever else I get.

This is Bailey's happy face.

I wore my Pace Gloves, which were awesome. I've been excited about my new shoes so wore them for three out of five runs this week, but putting my Pace Gloves back on was kind of like sleeping in my own bed after weeks on the road. Thanks, buddies.

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It's a momentous occasion: the end of week four of marathon training! How'd that happen? Who cares, because it's wrap-up time!

21 miles jogged

Three five-milers and two three-milers. All easy. This week's mileage was identical to last week's, but with the miles divided up a bit differently.

This coming week marks the end of "phase one" of the training cycle. Week six, my mileage increases significantly (like, 70% in one week significantly. That's totally permissible under the 10% rule, right? Right), I start running six days a week instead of five, and I finally get to run sub-10:52 miles. As terrifying (and unsafe) as that all may sound, though, I think I'll be fine. All this slower running is really quite remarkable. Today was my fourth day of running without a rest day and I feel fine. Fantastic, even. Last week, I said my legs were pretty fatigued after my fourth consecutive day of running. This was true at the time, but by the next morning I was all set to run again and was disappointed I wasn't allowed to. Then, when I had yet another rest day on Wednesday my body was like, "Another one? Already?! Let me out there!" But of course I didn't because I'm an obsessive plan-follower. I've also had no shin pain/other niggles whatsoever. Props, Hanson Brothers.

Sneak peak at week six. The dates on this are wrong.

Questions!
  • Has spring arrived where you are?
  • Have you had a mess of a run like mine recently? Let's hope not.
  • Ms. TR says she's having issues scrolling down posts. Anyone else having troubles with this? We aim to please here at JJ-o.

14 comments:

  1. Spring? BAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Recently? Nope. But when I first started taking my now-husband, then-BF on long runs, he used to be kind of like your dog, I think: Look at this, fix shoes, stop for drink, tired so let's rest, etc etc etc. Used to drive me BANANAS. Me: I just want to ruuuuuun!!!!!!!!! Eventually, we compromised, but I used to come back from runs more stressed than when we left, so I kinda get it.

    I can scroll down through the whole post (on my PC, though) - but sometimes the comments disappear/won't scroll. *shrug*

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    1. Funny you should mention that - I just tried to access the comments on this post and ran into the same problem. Hmmmm...

      I imagine your seasons are more along the line of "rainy season and humid season." Poor girl.

      Love the husband-dog comparison. I almost feel like I'd be MORE aggravated if it were a human holding me up, though (since my dog's too dumb to ignore her instincts). Good for you for putting up with it!

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  2. Your feelings towards skiers are very similar to how I would feel to mountain bikers on my favorite trails in Colorado. Even though people on feet have the right of way, bikers couldn't (or wouldn't) always stop. Argh. I ended up resorting to only going on trails that did not allow bikers on nice days. No spring yet, but not a lot of gross rain/slush/snow either.

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    1. YES. It is SO incredibly annoying. I admit I'm a bit harsh on them (I actually love skiing!), but they really do seem to think they own the trails. They already chased me away from my favorite place to run (well, snow also played a role); give me my other trails!

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  3. You're running in snow?! Props to you! Your scenery is absolutely breathtaking.

    I can't stand when my runs are broken up. If I don't run all the way through and with negative splits, then it didn't count (ha, you and I just talked about this!).

    Bailey is adorable! No wonder you can't quit her. Love all the movie quotes BTW.

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    1. I've actually been running on snow since October! I kind of don't really know how to run on cement any more because I'm so used to it now (see yesterday's post)! I think you get used to anything if you do it enough.

      Yeah, I'm SUCH a movie connoisseur. Let me know if you're ever looking for more made-up quotes; kind of my specialty.

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  4. I am DYING for spring! No such luck here in Cincy. We've had a pretty mild winter, though. I'm just a wimpy wimp about the cold. =]

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    1. Stay strong! Soon it'll be 100 degrees and you'll be wishing for fall! Or at least, you would if you're anything like me. Although I admit I'm not very familiar with Cincinnati's weather - maybe it doesn't get that hot?

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  5. No spring yet. Hopefully soon. I hear the Cherry Blossoms are beautiful! I had an eh run yesterday, but really that was more my fault than anyone else's. It was a new trail and I just wasn't feeling it - a "this was supposed to be a 10 mile run and I cut it down to 5.5" kind of not feeling it.

    No problems reading here.

    Bailey looks in pure bliss.

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    1. I saw the DC blossoms last year and they WERE beautiful. I did the tourist thing and hit up the MLK memorial - there were tons there! It maaaay have confirmed that I made a poor choice in choosing NYC over DC after college (let's ignore your whole heat and humidity problem).

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    2. Ick. Heat and humidity is the worst. Summer is a constant struggle, ha.

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  6. Hey! thanks for passing by my blog :) Here to return the favor! love your blog by the way, just started to follow you!
    I am in NYC and spring hasnt arrived here yet. Cant wait for the nice weather and looking forward to more nice runs outside!

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    1. Why thanks, ma'am! I certainly do appreciate it!

      I was actually in NYC LAST spring, although I pretty much considered January-May to be "spring" (no snow! A tragedy to this poor Alaskan). It definitely feels great once you can wear a t-shirt outside again, though; I'll give you that!

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  7. Wow. If its under 45 degrees I usually hit up the treadmill rather than run outside. But then again, I live in Texas and am accustomed to running in 90 degree weather.

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