solar squirrel

ZzzzzzzzzZzzzZZZ -Photo taken by Will King

Well - SolarSquirrel hasn’t quite gone into winter hibernation (I don’t even think squirrels hibernate…) but she’s pretty darn close!  I haven’t managed to work out more than 3 days per week this year and my running is pretty much non-existent at this point.  To top it off I have a miserable cold that caused me to wimp out on the Winter Buckeye 50k.

My days have consisted of working a TON on school projects (my independent study and my project for the Cleveland Clinic) and looking for a job.  I have only had 2 interviews, but I have a follow up interview with a company on the 26th.  This company’s industry is right where I want to be and they are doing VERY well financially and are projected to continue to do well - especially with the new administration.  (Go Obama!)  I’m not holding my breath, though.

Exercise has been so tough because of this weather, so I was trying get my running in on the treadmill which just doesn’t seem to work for me.  I get tired doing 9 min miles.  What is up with that?  I have been managing to do some sweet workout classes at Bally’s, though.  I can go to any Bally in Ohio with my current membership so I have been going to whichever one that has a good class that day.  I also swam for the first time this past Tue. with Brian R. and K.  It was fun seeing my old work friends and gossiping about Philips.  I guess they got an email from the North American CEO stating that there wouldn’t be any raises this year…at least they aren’t laying anymore people off…we’ll see how the 2nd quarter goes.

So ignoring the fact that I probably can only run about 10 miles withoug dying at this point - I need to start training for BOSTON!  I’ll probably use the same training schedule that I used for the towpath marathon.  If I start training tomorrow I have 13 weeks.  YIKES!  Luckily my goal for Boston is to just experience it, so I should be ok.  AHAHAHAHAHAA - I just looked at week 13 from the schedule I used for TowPath and I’m supposed to do a 20-miler this weekend!  Yea, right!  Ugh…I guess I’ll just have to play it by ear what I end up doing this weekend.

I think I’ll plan on at least running w/ the SERC group on Sunday’s (I’m probably the slowest member of SERC at this point…) and hopefully figure out a plan that will work out so that I can at least run Boston and enjoy it at the same time.

Congrats to everyone who braved the snow and ran the Winter Buckeye 50k today.  Daisy Duc did an awesome job and so did Todd.  Congrats to Bridget and Steve who did the half even though they just did a marathon the week before!

I’m so excited that it’s finally snowing and wintery! 

I have been pretty lazy for basically the past month with regard to working out.  I don’t know how it’s possible, but I haven’t gained any weight according to the scale - something tells me that muscle has been replaced with fat, though.  I’ve been eating like the piggiest pig EVER - just ask Todd.  Seriously, I’ve gotten to the point where I can eat 2 meals worth of food in one sitting and still have room for dessert.  I am an obese person trapped inside a work-out-aholic’s body who isn’t working out too much these days.  I would go over the astonishingly large amounts of food that I’ve eaten the past few days but it’s too embarrassing, so you’ll have to just take my word for it.

In other news I signed up for the winter Buckeye 50k.  Todd is also signed up and I’ve been slowly starting my training with Bridget and Steve on the trails.  If you go to the list of entrants, Todd is listed as ‘Mark Blackhedge’; my name is spelled wrong, though phonetically correct (and they have me as 29…wonder if I forgot how old I am or if it’s a mistake), and Bridget is listed as being 281 years old.  Regardless - we all signed up on time and I’m looking forward to beating my previous winter bt50k time.  (It’s sold out!)

School is out of control demanding so much of my ‘free’ time it’s not funny.  I’m taking the 2nd part of my sustainable business class, as well as doing an independent study, and finishing up my Org. Beh. class.  In the spring I will also tack on an entrepreneurship class.  I’m doing this because if all goes as planned I’ll be finished with my MBA in Fall 09.  Yippee!  Now if I can just manage to scrape up the >$4k for each class…

OH!  I signed up for Boston and I got my registration confirmation email!  If you go to the website and search for my name I’m listed!  I’m super excited and I can’t wait!  It’s official - I’m going to do the Boston Marathon!

Here’s a rundown of the past week (11/3 - 11/9):

Monday:  40 min. spin in the am. w/ Joe
Tuesday: 8 x 400 on Solon Track w/ Bridget - ~1:30 pace; 2 mile warm up, 1 mile cool down
Wednesday:  5 mile run at lunch ~8 min pace
Thursday: 5.5 mile run at lunch ~8:30 pace
Friday:  School all day - no time for exercise
Saturday:  School all day - didn’t even get home until almost 10pm
Sunday:  Trail run - Pine Lane (8 miles) - with Steve, Todd, and Bridget

Totals:
Run:  23.5 miles
Bike: 10 miles
Swim: (for you, Brian) big fat 0!

First off - I’ve been consumed with school so sorry for the absence of posts.  (Had to go to class all day Friday and Saturday including a presentation on a book that I stayed up all night Thursday night reading…)  Also work has been killing me, but I FINALLY had a breakthrough this past Thursday and my software written in C appears to be playing nicely (and, more importantly WORKING) with the assembly code that I integrated with it.

If that above paragraph doesn’t give you an indication as to why I run, you obviously handle stress better than I do.

So - I went to the Dr. - the same one E-Speed went to - and he told me that the problem I have been having with my knee isn’t IT band like I thought, but something called “Synovial Impingement Syndrome”.  I think this can also be referred to as ‘runner’s knee’.  Basically I have irritated the cartilage or something and it’s causing swelling and pain.  I think this is related to my IT-band becoming tight, so the stretching can’t hurt.  My treatment:  overdose on ibuprofin for 2 weeks but I can continue to train as usual.  My plan is to deal with the pain until after the Tow Path marathon.  After that I’ll take a minimum of 2 weeks completely off from running, possibly 3.  The Dr. said that running won’t do any permanent damage, so if I have to deal with a little pain then I will.  It’s just kind of scary taking so many ibuprofin - I have taken more in the past week then I usually take in an entire year!

I’m planning on running 20 miles at about an 8:30 pace in Solon with SERC on Sunday, so we’ll see how that goes!

Today is day 5 of no running for me. I am doing the Portage Lakes Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday, so that will be exactly 1 week with no running. My knee doesn’t hurt, but I can tell it’s still not right. It’s hard to explain…but it definitely feels different than my other knee so I decided to make an apt. with the person E-Speed saw. He specializes in knees, so hopefully he’ll figure out what the heck I did. (It was funny because when I called to make the apt. one of the first things the girl asked after I told her I wanted to make an apt. was ‘which knee is it’ - I didn’t even tell her it was my knee - so I guess that’s the only thing he sees people for.) I think Todd is doing the Duathlon Sunday, so it will be fun having both of us racing. I haven’t biked since GCT, mostly because of the incredible pain that I was in on the bike, so let’s hope that biking doesn’t kill me. I’m going to do this race just to have fun - my dad is coming to watch and probably take some video - should be a good time!

I took today off work because I needed a day to get things in order, call places that are only open during the week, run errands, etc. One of the things I had to do was pay my school bill and I found out that I have the option to do this EZ Pay thing - which kindly allows me to make 4 payments of $2,151 rather than one giant payment. How nice. Oh the fun things I could buy with that money. This semester I am taking a sustainable business class (which goes 2 semesters) and an organizational behavior class - both require a TON of reading - I wish I didn’t read so slowly. Hopefully this will all pay off, I sure know my undergrad. did.

Anyone else doing Portage Lakes Tri or Du?

I am obsessed with fixing my knee. This is day 2 of the all out war (last week I wasn’t really fighting it, it is war this week). Yesterday I stretched, iced, massaged, and took 1 ibuprofin. I didn’t do ANY exercise AT ALL. (Unless you count playing 2 rounds of cornhole w/ Todd).

This morning in the shower I stretched, then took an ibuprofin when I got to work and stretched some more. At lunch I did 30 min on the elliptical and did more stretching and then got some ice in the cafeteria and iced for about 30 min back at my desk. Tonight after work I rollerbladed for an hour and then stretched. Now I’m sitting on the couch - and I just realized - I could be icing right now!

Ok, I know - I am seriously going overboard, but you have to understand that in over 15 years of running I have never been injured, so this is a bit of a shock to me. Last week it hurt even walking - this week so far it doesn’t hurt when I walk, but I’ve been going down the stairs so that I don’t bend my knee. I’m planning on taking all week off from running and then doing the Portage Lakes Triathlon this weekend. If my knee acts up after this weekend I am going to make an apt. to see someone.

I have been waiting and waiting for someone to come up with an entire gym concept that encompasses sustainability, conservation, and reuse. I should have guessed that one would spring up in Portland, Oregon; the same place that has electric car dealerships. Check this place out - The Green Microgym. I’m sure you’ve always wondered what would happen if someone harnessed the electricity from your workout - at least I know I have - but I was discouraged to find out that the amt. of energy that I create is actually quite small - I sure feel like I’m generating a lot when I’m working out hard! But this gym actually has taken some really good ideas into action using solar to subsidize some of it’s energy and also using member’s art work on the walls. I’m most impressed with some of their equipment which I have never seen before. I love the idea of harnessing  kinetic energy, which I honestly feel EVERY gym should do - and it looks like this one is currently investigating it with the use of this company called ReRev. Why not use some of that energy created by all the jumping around during an aerobics class? I know there is a dance club in Rotterdam that uses the same idea from dancers on the dance floor…I am definitely going the next time I am in the Netherlands for more than 48 hours.

I haven’t posted for a while…I’ve had pain in my left knee for a week (started last Sat.). I ran about 15 miles yesterday with Elizabeth and Janet at an easy pace and it felt pretty good during the run, (after taking 4 days off) but after my knee pain is now back. I think it’s ITB, which both Elizabeth and Janet have had in the past. Todd told me not to run AT ALL, because I need to let it heal. I think he’s right, but at the same time I don’t want to loose the fitness-level that I’ve achieved so far. So I don’t know what I’m going to do. I need to get in to see someone ASAP and make sure what I have is ITB-related and go from there. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I know I’ve been kind of slacking when it comes to updating about my training. Towpath training is going pretty well. I have managed (with the help of Bridget) to knock out ALL of my track workouts on schedule and exactly as I am supposed to. I have also managed to get in the pool at least once a week. I guess you could say I have been sort of slacking with my biking, and that may be why the half iron today was so painful (more on that later). But for the most part I have been doing pretty well with my training - running; biking; or swimming every day. Here’s a quick recap of this past week:

Monday: Swim at lunch 40 min.
Tuesday: Track workout -6 x 800 with 200 - 400 Rest interval.
Wednesday: Bike at lunch - ~15 miles.
Thursday: Run at lunch ~7.5 miles
Friday: SLACKED
Saturday: SLACKED - went to Blues and Brews and got a little tipsy w/ Toddykins.

Yea, yesterday was fun…Todd and I went to the annual Blues and Brews at Stan Hywet to taste a whole bunch of beers from all over. Todd did a bit too much tasting (I was tipsy myself - luckily we walked so we didn’t have to worry about driving). He was making me laugh so hard because he was mad at himself for drinking too much and feeling crappy so he just laid on his back on the floor and used his flip-flop as a pillow. It was hilarious!

Today was the Greater Cleveland Triathlon, and sort-of last minute I decided to do it because if you are a member of CTC you got $20 off, so I figured that made up for the dumb $10 USAT fee and the online registration fee. It was still like $170 dollars!!!! For what??!!?? I don’t know what I was thinking because I have only done one half iron distance and that was in 2006 at Steelhead. I didn’t train for this, but I figured what the heck - how hard can it be? WRONG! I’ll explain in more detail later, but the bike was HARD. I guess I’m not in as great of biking shape as I thought I was! Plus, since the water was so choppy, we didn’t even get to swim - instead doing a 1.2 mile run to replace it. (Which Janet and I started late because the freaks who were running the race started it early!!!) All in all it was good, though. I was a little sad because Todd wasn’t there to cheer me on - but Bridget, Melissa, Elizabeth, and Beth were all there which was AWESOME and I didn’t know Janet was doing it either - so I had tons of friends there, which was GREAT! Brian was even there - though when I saw him the first time I was delusional from just getting off the bike and had to ask him which way the run went!! He was there cheering at the 1/2 way point for the run and hopefully I looked a little better. I’ll post details about the race tomorrow - for now you’ll just have to wait!

I’m training for the Towpath Marathon. I want to finish fast enough to qualify for Boston. That means that I have to have a mile pace no slower than 8:24 min-miles. I’m using the FIRST marathon training program and tweaking it a bit based on my triathlon training. (So if I ride 100 miles, I’m not going to do my long run the day before, etc.) I was also informed that I should be running more than 3 days a week, so I decided to tack on another easy day, generally running about 4 miles at a relaxed pace. My off-days are either swimming or cycling; sometimes aerobics class or rollerblading, etc. (or nothing if I’m really being lazy.)

Generally the longer runs (18+ miles) are supposed to be done slower than your planned marathon pace (PMP). This is great, right? You can relax, chit-chat with your running pal about nonesense, look around, say hi to other runners… WRONG. I have found that running 45 seconds slower (and some of the runs even allow for 60 seconds slower!!!) than my ‘planned marathon pace’ is outright excruciating.  My legs can’t take it - it’s like torture for them for some reason!  Is that the point????  Am I supposed to be in so much pain from running slower?  Today, as an experiment for my 20-miler I decided to just run whatever pace felt comfortable.  Wouldn’t you know it it was 8:22.  Very consistently 8:22.  My slowest mile was 8:50 and my fastest was 8:11, but overall I was at a pretty consistent pace.  I felt comfortable pretty much the whole time with the exception of when I ran out of Heed (yep - I am drinking Heed now - I think you actually acquire a taste for the stuff after a while!!!) 3 miles away from my jug that I had hidden behind a rock off of the towpath.  Now - is this bad?  Am I going to negate my training because I am not going slow enough?  I just can’t imagine running over a 9-min mile for 20 miles.  I get into this nice rhythm around 8:30 pace.  I feel like I can keep that pace very easily.  Can I use that as my long run pace since it’s comfortable for me? (Going slower if I need to.)  Or is the point of the added time to make you suffer and have bad leg pain to make you used to being on your feet longer…PLEASE my running friends - I need advice!!!

For the time being I’m just going to stick to the training schedule but modify my long runs to be at a pace that is comfortable for me, and if that pace is way faster than 45 seconds over my planned pace then I don’t care.

In other news - yesterday was the 2nd Annual 100 mile Burning River ultra race.  I volunteered at E-Speed’s incredibly well organized aid station that the runners went through at miles 56 and 60.6 at Boston Store.  Huge congratulations to ALL of the runners - especially Melissa T., Dawn M., and Steve Hawthorn.  Steve - I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!!  YOU ARE SO HARD CORE!!!!!!

This was a big race weekend, with the Buckeye Trail 50k on Sat. and the Xterra O.N.E. off-road triathlon today (Sunday). Since I knew I couldn’t do both, I opted to do the triathlon instead of the 50k, since I’ll be getting plenty of running later on this year and I also HAD to take advantage of the opportunity to do a trail triathlon - duh! I just want to say that I have some of the most incredible running friends ever! They all did so well and I was SO IMPRESSED with EVERYONE. Elizabeth was incredible, finishing 8th overall and coming in 2nd place female overall. Everyone else did incredibly well, too. It was just an awesome time cheering everyone on. Todd barely trained (I think he only ran once in July (muddy paws race) and maybe 2 or 3 times in June!!!) But he can go out and run 31 miles without training - insane!!!! I’ll post more details for the 50k and my trail triathlon - but for now here are the photo’s!

(I took 3rd overall female at the triathlon!!! YEA!!)

XTERRA O.N.E. trail triathlon

2008 Summer BT50K