Spring is in the air

I went for a short run after work yesterday, and my Under Armour long-sleeve was too warm. I've planned another run today, and it's supposed to be in the 50s by that time. Can't wait for spring!

Snowshoeing

This morning I attended an introduction to snowshoe running. First and foremost, it was exhausting, but it was also really awesome. Up until recently, I had no idea that people used snowshoes for running, and there I was lined up with almost 40 others for a race. It was a good time, and I'd like to do it again next year.

I rented snowshoes from a company that was on site, and (with only minor difficulties thanks to frozen fingers) I strapped myself in for the first time. Here's how they looked:

I walked around a little to get a feel for them. There were several inches of snow on the ground covered by a crunchy coating of ice. It was treacherous walking with just sneakers, but the snowshoes made it fairly easy -- once I stopped stepping on my own feet. They distributed the weight so I didn't sink down, and they had deep cleats on the toes and balls of the foot that gripped so I didn't slip. After walking around, I jogged a little and felt pretty awkward. I had to lift my knees up more than usual so as not to trip over my own feet. It looked like snowshoes are generally one-size-fits all, and I wonder if a larger person with bigger feet would have an easier time of it.

Once some more people arrived and started warming up, I took another jog around the snow/ice covered field by the starting line and got the hang of it. I didn't run around too much, though, because even that little warm up tired me out.

I was surprised to see that a lot of people had brought their own snowshoes. It turns out that some of them were experienced snowshoe runners who had participated in national races. I made sure to start out on the back of the pack for the race.

After the race started, I soon found out that it was very tricky running on icy snow that had already been crunched. The snowshoes were very hard to run in on uneven ground, and stepping into deep footprints almost made me fall several times and was very rough on my ankles. As difficult as it is to run in snow with just sneakers, if that snow is rutted or uneven, especially when they're hardened from ice, the snowshoes don't make it much easier. I wasn't concerned about my time, so after pushing harder than I should have for the first half mile, I started walking through the uneven areas. It really gave my legs, ankles, and lungs a break, but overall, it was such a workout that those breaks didn't really refresh me. At one point, the trail went past the road, and the snow was soft and wet from being mixed with road salt. I found this to be one of the easiest parts to run through, although I kind of freaked out when bits of snow were flung up from the lip of my snowshoes right into my mouth. Eewwww. But I kept going and haven't died yet.

The last quarter mile was flat and even. There were not many places were the ice was broken through, and I took the opportunity to speed up and start passing people. I really started to feel good at this point, because I could get a rhythmic stride going. There were two distance options for this race: 2.5K, which was one loop of the course, and 5K, which was two loops. I had signed up for the shorter option, since it was my first time, and I was so happy I did. I was exhausted! I broke off from the rest of the group and made my way to the finish. It will never happen again, but I turned out to be the second person to cross the finish line! Out of 7 people to run the 2.5K option, I was the second, and thankfully no one from the 5K lapped me. :-) My time for the 2.5K ended up being 26:31 - about what my usual 5K time is!

So that was my first experience running in snowshoes. It has really helped me to narrow down my options for winter gear. One of the more experienced runners said that the conditions were the most difficult he's ever encountered for snowshoeing, but those conditions are similar to those on the rail trail I usually run on. That would be one of the main reasons for me to get snowshoes, and I think that traction devices like YakTrax or MICROspikes (they're like snow-chains on steroids) would be a better option for me.

On another note, the race was held in a park that used to be the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital.


It kind of looked a little like a college campus, but in a creepy, almost Gothic kind of way, especially when you got a closer look.


It was an interesting day all around!

Training update and snowshoe running

Energized isn't really the word. Lately, when I finish my workouts on the EA Sports Active Personal Trainer, I'm bouncing off the walls with energy - skipping, jumping, rocking out to the music they play in the background. Yesterday I finished my workout, went outside and ran 3 miles, then came back in and worked out my back, arms, and abs again. I'm definitely going to keep going with this workout routine. Hopefully the exercises are evening out any muscle imbalances I had and are improving my general fitness enough to have a positive effect on my running. And even if they're not, they're getting me to exercise, have a good time doing so, and feel great about it.

I got so into the Wii program because snow, ice, and cold temperatures were making it difficult to run outside. The weather has finally given us a break here in my corner of the Northeast, though, and tomorrow I'm going to take advantage and try out snowshoe running. I've signed up for a 1-mile xc snowshoe race, where a company will be on-site to rent snowshoes to those who don't own any for themselves. I thought this would be a great thing to try out, since snowshoes would make it possible for me to run on my favorite rail-trail all winter, but I didn't know if I would like them enough to justify the price (and they are quite pricey). I can't wait to try them out and see what they're like. I took a look at the specs on one brand, and it said that they weighed 2 lbs 13 oz, which seems like an awful lot to have strapped to your feet, but who knows what it will feel like when actually running. I'm really looking forward to trying something so new. I'll be sure to write up a report about it after the race!

January recap and February plan

So I wish that I could emerge from my long blogging absence to report intense training and amazing progress with my running. Unfortunately, the running stats don't say much. In the month of January, when I thought that I would be reaching some higher mileage totals, I cut out a lot of long runs and worked more on total body fitness with the Wii Active Personal Trainer. So in January, I only ran 35 miles when I expected to run almost twice that much.

The good news is that I did exercise. About twice a week, in between and along with short runs, I did the Wii Active Personal Trainer workouts. And you know what? It has been getting me into better shape than years of running has. Look at this picture of how my pants are now fitting:


These are pants that I bought for work in August. The style was a good fit, so I bought a lot of different colors in that style - about $200 worth - and now, after a couple of weeks of these personal trainer workouts, they're all a few inches too big. If I get more serious and complete 3 or 4 workouts in a week (4 is recommended) and start watching what I eat, 2011 could finally be the year that I could be able to wear a bikini without fear of flab.

But what about running? I know for a fact that my body will not respond well to exercise without a lot of rest, and I can't increase my mileage and do the workouts with enough rest in between.

So... I'm not going to increase my mileage right now. That means that I might not be on track to run a marathon this year, but it could be good for me. I think that I'm benefiting a lot from exercising so many muscle groups. Maybe I'm building hip strength and when I do go back to focusing more on running, that nagging hip/IT band pain I developed just before the half-marathon last year won't be an issue. It also can't hurt to get rid of all of that pudge. Stronger muscles having less fat to lug around has to equal increased speed, right? And I really want to finally have a flat belly.

So the plan is to do the Wii workouts 3 times a week and run between 1 and 2 miles before or after each workout. Then a long run every Sunday, if possible. If a run is not possible on Sunday (and lately it's not, thanks to the weather making roads and sidewalks icy and very narrow), then do another Wii workout.

So that's it. And I'll try not to disappear from here again.

Beginning again

The squares on my December running schedule have all been crossed out for over a week, so I guess it's time to tally up the miles and post a 2010 in review/goals for the new year post.

December was my third-highest mileage month of the year, which I think is surprising, because in my mind, the schedule that I followed was limiting the mileage by giving cross-training and rest a high priority. December's miles bring my total running miles of the year to 500, which is a personal high. The most before that was 350 in 2009.

In addition to more running than ever before, 2010 brought a lot of new experiences for me. Mainly, I trained for and ran a half-marathon, which is the longest distance I've run in my life. I also ran in my second, third, and fourth trail races and began exploring technical trails in nearby parks and have really come to love trail running. I've also learned to incorporate weight-training and rest into my running schedule with very positive results. I even (kind of) set a new 5K PR.

I'm happy to be able to begin the new year on such a good note, because I feel that I'm in better shape than ever before and am just feeling good in general. I think that I'm responding well to the combination of running, weight-training, and rest that I've been following since November and have begun a Wii program (EA Sports Active 2 Personal Trainer) to work more on total fitness. I might have to tweak the intensity of that program since last week it made me too sore to fit all of my runs in, but I'm looking forward to a great year of fitness.

I don't have any definite goals that I'm setting for myself, but one thing that I am definitely thinking a lot about is possibly running a full marathon this year. I'm going to continue slowly working the mileage up to a good base and see if I can maintain it. If I can do that without injury, I might just sign up for 26.2 in the fall...

Beach Party

Every December there are some crazy people who come to the Beach Blast 5K and run it in their swim suits. I have not attained that level of insanity yet, but I had a blast at the race today and had one of my fastest times ever!

It's surprising that today went so well, because I almost decided not to go. I wasn't feeling the greatest (as in: would rather be curled on the couch in the fetal position with a heating pad on my lower abdomen), but I knew that there aren't many opportunities for races in the winter, and I wanted to show my support for this small, local race, and I figured that I'd go and give it what I could. It turned out to be my best 5K time of the year by far, and I brought home some delicious homemade jam as a prize for being 2nd in my age group!

The race was at a local state park, where I've been running various races for years, but today's course was new. It was a triple loop through the parking lot and campground. I've heard some scuttlebutt that it was a little short of the full 3.1 miles. I plugged the route into Gmaps Pedometer, and according to that, it was either 3.07 or 3.08 miles, so I can't really boast a new PR. If I factor in my pace for that distance, however, I was still over a minute faster than any other 5K I've run so far this year, so I am very pleased with the result.

The three-loops gave us a lot of opportunity to pass spectators in the parking lot, and the crowd support was encouraging, but I have to say, it almost broke my spirit to have to do the loop 3 times. My favorite courses are there-and-back routes. For some reason I just find them psychologically easier to run. I guess that I was lucky this time, though, because I had forgotten my watch at home, and passing by the clock twice during the race let me know how I was doing with my pace.

There wasn't much excitement to report as far as trying to pass people or racing someone to the finish. I was shocked though when I came down the final stretch and saw that the clock read 24:5x. I tried to put a little more into my kick to try and come in under 25:00, but it wasn't enough. I ended with a time of about 25:05 or 25:06, I think. Times will be posted by the end of the week, so I'll have to find out for sure then.

Unfortunately, my weekend has been a whirlwind of activity, and the race seems to have been the final blow to my immune system. My nose was a little runny during and after the race, as it usually is after running in the cold, but by the time I started heading home, the floodgates unleashed and I've been glued to a tissue box ever since. I can't say that I regret doing all that I did this weekend, which included a holiday party hosted by one of my college friends on Friday night and then going into New York with her yesterday to see the King Tut exhibit. If anyone has the opportunity to see the exhibit before it closes (or when it moves to a new location), it was absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend it. I learned so much and was awed by the beauty of the artifacts and the fact that they were so well preserved after thousands of years.

Well, right now it's time to curl up on the couch with some tissues and that heating pad. I hope that after some rest I'll feel better and that later this week I can get back to running.

Oh, and here's a video for the song that I was rocking out to before the race to get pumped up and then after to celebrate. It was a beach theme, so I couldn't help it! ;-)

Race report: NJ Winter Trail Series: Race 1

I started off yesterday thinking "So this is the meaning of an epic fail." It must not have been that epic, though, because in spite of some very fail-worthy moments on my part, the Winter Trail Series 5K was amazing.

The weather was great, the trail conditions were perfect, everyone was courteous on the course, I felt great, and there was soup and hot chocolate waiting for us at the end (among other much-appreciated refreshments). If there are any pictures of me out on the course, I'm probably unnaturally smile-ly in them, because I was having a blast.

Who would have known that just 2 hours before, I was cursing my unbelievable stupidity and trying to find some sufficiently-angry music to listen to for the remainder of my drive. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but I was pretty annoyed at myself. Even though I had laid out all of my gear the night before, I forgot my wallet at home. I was alone and driving about an hour away with no driver's license, personal identification, or money of any kind. When I went home to get it, I set myself behind by about half an hour. Then I remembered that there would probably be twice as many people at this race as there had been at the one I ran last year, and all of the parking lots within half a mile of the start would be taken. Then, I realized that I really had to go to the bathroom. I started weighing options like "Will it be better to be late for packet pick-up or the beginning of the race?" to determine when to go to the bathroom, and my spirit was almost crushed.

The gods smiled down on me, though, because -- even after one of the roads I needed to use was closed and I had to take a detour -- I ended up not being the only one running late. There were so many people waiting to register/pick up their packets at the time registration was supposed to close that the organizer decided to push the start time back a little! (Cue "Hallelujah Chorus".) So I parked in Timbuktu, ran to pick up my packet, received my bib and a fleece blanket (which is an awesome give-away for a winter race), ran back to Timbuktu, drove to Antarctica where I knew that there was an unoccupied porta-potty, drove back to Timbuktu, and ran to the start, where I was actually able to get some stretching in before the race began.

The fleece blankets came in neat little bundles with the event logo printed on them.

I did not have any time goals or expectations for this race, so I started at the back of the pack and took it fairly easy while everyone was bumping and jostling for position. I knocked elbows with a girl in a red sweatshirt and NY Giants hat, and after running near her for a little, thought that I'd try and pace myself off of her for a while. Then my next fail moment came when I noticed that my shoes weren't laced tightly enough. They were securely double-knotted, but my heel lifted too much out of them, and they were uncomfortable. I don't know how I hadn't noticed that when I was running to and from my car. I didn't really want to stop and re-lace them, so I kept going as we followed a dirt road around a pond. On the other end of the pond, the course turned onto a single-track trail, and when I saw how bottled up it was from 300 runners trying to squeeze on one-at-a-time, I figured that I might as well stop to fix my shoes. By the time I finished and hopped onto the trail, I was almost dead last. Honestly. Out of 300 runners in the 5K and 10K combined, I was probably 296th. And so I started passing people.

The course was largely how I remember it, but my experience feels so different this year. Last January, when I ran this race for the first time, it felt like the hills would never end. I remember being exhausted and needing to walk to get through the first half of the race. This year I was focused on regaining lost ground and carefully balancing the amount of energy I used. I'd wait until my breathing was even and I felt that I had a lot of energy and that the footing was secure to pass as many people as I could. Then I'd tuck in for a little while until it was time to move up again. I usually tried to announce myself with an "on your left" before passing. I slowed down on the hills but kept jogging, which in itself let me pick off a lot of people, and I was rewarded when we finally reached the downhills. I was pretty winded at that point and used some time to coast and get my breath back before passing anyone. I ended up getting my breath back at a kind of flat section where I saw some spaces where I could pass, and I took off. I abandoned a rhythmic running cadence and hurdled over the rocks and roots as quickly as possible, landing wherever had the best footing. This was so much fun! The trails I've been running on my own are so rocky that I rarely have the opportunity to open up like that and get a lot of speed. I eventually caught up with someone and got stuck behind her as the trail moved very steeply downhill. I followed her for a while until the next opportunity to pass, and I took off again and was pretty much alone from that point until the end of the race.

If I've ever experienced runner's high, today was it. In the car on the way home, I was singing made-up lyrics along the lines of "I feel amazing" to the tune Josh Kelley's "Amazing" and was in a great mood for the rest of the day. I had such a good time running this race, both with how I felt physically and mentally, since moving up as far as I did was a big confidence booster.

So, thank you to the gracious gods above and to the planets for aligning in order to turn my bad day into such an amazingly great race. I'd also like to give a big thank you to the volunteer who was ladling hot water for the soup and hot chocolate. It didn't seem like a fun job, but we all appreciated it!

Stats:
Time: 35:51
Place Overall: 72/128
Age Group: 9/21

Lexie approves of the new blanket and has already tried to make a puppy nest with it on the couch.