Busy Day

It's been a very busy and productive day. It started at 5 am and just now at 7 pm am I getting around to writing about it.

I got to sleep in for a Saturday and ran with my group at 6 am. Yes, that is sleeping in for us :) It was pretty cold for us Floridians, around 55º, so I had to break out the arm warmers and wind breaker, but I still wore a running skirt. I shed the jacket within the first 2 miles, but never the arm warmers. The temps felt awesome once I warmed up and I was shocked to see we ran 8 miles at my target marathon race pace (11:15) without really trying. We even threw in some hills at the end. It was a solid run with great company and it felt great!

I paired the skirt with Saucony Elite compression knee high socks because I wanted to test them out during a run (instead of for recovery). I read some reviews that they were not tight enough to stay up, but they didn't budge for me. I was more concern that they were too thin and my feet would slide around my shoes, but that was not a problem either. I love these socks because they keep my legs warm without making my feet hot, and they feel wonderful with just the right amount of compression. I think I'll wear them during the marathon since it will be a bit cold at the start and they make my legs and feet feel awesome.

I forgot to eat anything during the 8 miles, so was starving at the end. As soon as I got in my car I devoured a banana and half a luna bar. After a quick stop at Target, I took the time to do almost 20 minutes of yoga to make sure I'd recover well from this run since I pushed harder than I intended and I have a race in a week. I finished refueling after a warm shower with some eggs, then began to tackle the laundry. It was a marathon laundry session today, including sheets, bedding, towels and a ton of running gear. (Laundry tip: to help your clothes dry faster on a lower setting throw a dry clean towel in the dryer. It soaks up the moisture from the wet clothes. I'm always amazed at how well this works, specially when drying other towels or bedding that always seem to come out damp otherwise.)


I spent the morning between loads of laundry tracking my running group as they ran the Savannah Rock n Roll half and full marathons. Everyone did a great job! I also got to play along from home with others who were doing the Urban Dare this year. It was fun to look up the clues for them, and they seemed to have a great time.

My sister and her kids went to Lake Eola for the Fiesta in the Park and stopped by after while I was making dinner (Quiche!). The kids are getting so big! I love that they both love lego and she recognizes them right away (I have some on my fridge) though she still refers to them as blocks. Bella eventually stop begin shy and asked to play with them, but I think her dad had more fun building a taser lol It was a fun afternoon and the perfect end to a great day. We ended the evening with Quiche, Mythbusters, and homemade ice cream. Tomorrow will be another lazy day as I track others from my group at the New York City Marathon.

Writing Process

Today I'm going to answer a few questions and prompts about my writing process. 

When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer? (NaBloPoMo prompt) 

I prefer to write on a computer because I am a bit of a perfectionist and I constantly edit everything I write. Everything you see posted here has gone through many revisions, and sometimes rewritten from scratch. There are times when the feel of putting pen to paper is nice, but I don't care for my handwriting and I don't feel I can write nearly as fast as I can type. If I were to write by hand, I'd probably use a pencil because I can erase it quickly, but I do like the feel of writing with a pen much better than a pencil.

What is your favorite part about writing? (NaBloPoMo prompt) 

My favorite part is when I start writing a piece without much direction, only a vague idea, and in the process of rambling I have an epiphany and the post writes itself. This blog gives me an outlet to process the crazy thoughts a runner deals with during intense training, and most importantly a place to share my struggles with others going through the same thing. It's therapy for me, and hopefully inspiration and motivation for others. Knowing that jotting down my thoughts could help someone else get through a rough patch or be the catalyst that finally gets them on the path to fitness motivates me everyday.

Your blog posts are very well-written and photographed. How long, on average, does it take you to write one of them? And do you have any tips to make the process easier? (from Rachel) 

Thanks Rachel! :) This varies greatly, but I would say a minimum of an hour. Even what may seem like a simple post, usually goes through several iterations once I actually start writing, but I often spend time researching too if it's something more involved. It may not be research in the academic sense, but I may need to pull stats from my own fitness data to illustrate a point, or find just the right photo for the post. Photography is one of my other hobbies, one I've been neglecting lately, so that makes it a little easier if I can just find a photo within my collection or go snap one quickly. 

A few tips:

• I try to use the weekends to begin drafting several posts, but I rarely finish them ahead of time and queue them. I find that I always have last minute changes or if they are not that time sensitive they'll get posted later if something "newsworthy" happened that day that I would rather blog about. 
• When I get an idea for a topic, I'll begin a new draft and at least post an outline of what I'd like to cover with links to any supporting material I may want to include. 
• Sometimes I get overwhelm by everything I want to say, such as when writing a race report, that I get writer's block and can't get it written for days or even weeks. What usually helps is to just start writing fragments and details, without much thought to how everything flows. Eventually those fragments fill the page enough that the gaps don't seem so big. I can quickly narrow the gaps and before I know it the post is done. 
• I try to remember that not every post has to be lengthy or profound. Sometimes jotting down some bullet points is enough to get me going for a more in depth post or there are enough items to just make a list post.
• I use relevant memes to help me draft a quick post in a pinch, such as Friday Five or Three Things Thursday.
• Lastly, I also use Evernote to collect topic ideas and write drafts while on the bus using my iPhone. It's nice because I can then access those notes from any device. 

Got a question or topic you'd like me to address in an upcoming post? Leave me a comment!

Three Things Thursday - Running and Eating

#1 - Running Bonds - I love how running brings people together. Last night I met a friend for a fun run and dinner who I've only known online, but because we share a love for running as well as similar fitness journeys, it felt like I was hanging out with old friends. We've been motivating each other via Dailymile and Facebook for a long time, and it was nice to finally meet in person. I love how comfortable it felt, and it was nice to enjoy a fun run then share race stories over a meal.

#2 - Short Work Day - We had a half day at work today because UCF has a home game tonight and they needed us out of the parking lot. Since we would spend almost as much time on the bus as we would be at work, we drove. I got to sleep in, do 30 minutes of yoga, go out to breakfast and still be the first one at work. I got to enjoy a relaxing afternoon at home and great solo run tonight.

#3 - Taper Nutrition - I planned to eat really clean the entire month of November in preparation for this marathon, but only 3 days in is already not going so well. The abundance of Halloween candy everywhere is making it difficult, and I've already gone out to eat a few times, but I'm still going to do my best to limit my intake of processed foods (which I don't eat all that often anyway) and cook at home as much as possible. I want to feel great and full of energy come race day, so I need to put premium fuel in my body if I expect it to perform at its best. Maybe I'll be a little lighter too :) I've been hovering under 125 lately, which is about as low as my body likes to go, and I'd like to keep that way or maybe even shed a pound or two before then. Not eating meat makes this so much easier.

Recovery after 50K Training Run

I was amazed at how good I felt after running over 30 miles on Saturday. What seemed like unending pain during the last few miles of that run, was almost gone as soon as I stopped. The usual lingering soreness remained, but it only lasted about a day. In fact, I felt better after this run than my 26 miler 4 weeks earlier. The main difference this time was the ice bath, but I think it's worth noting everything that may have contributed.

• Ran most of the 30 miles at an easy training pace (13+) using 1:1 intervals. I did the same for 26, but I remember getting cut up at one point with those that were running short and speeding up early on before I realized I still had double digit miles to go. This time I ran a steady easy pace the whole time.
• Walked an entire mile after the run before getting in my car and driving home. This was partly because I wanted to cross that 31 mile mark, but it actually felt really good to just let my legs cool down and loosen up. Thankfully my ride home is not very far.
• Sat in an ice bath for 20 minutes as soon as I got home. I never thought I would do this because I am a wuss when it comes to cold, but I also never thought I would run 20+ miles in the rain. You do a lot of things on your never list when you train for a marathon and it doesn't phase you. The ice bath was actually nowhere near as bad as I expected and I will certainly be doing it again.
• Spent the rest of the day, about 8-10 hours, wearing my compression capris and socks. I've been doing this after most of my runs since I bought them, but usually only for an hour or two while I iced. 
• Spent the majority of those hours relaxing in bed, watching tv, with legs elevated. My knees and ankle joints on top of the foot where the most sore.
• When I finally took off the compressing off before bed, I put on biofreeze on tender areas.
• Did an hour of yoga the following day. The fact that I was even motivated to do this is amazing. I'm usually too sore to even try it.
• Had a 90 minute massage the following afternoon. I've been getting hour massages after every long run (20+ miles) all season, but I think this one went even better because I wasn't as sore and I had an extra half hour to enjoy it. 
• Leading up to this run, I took care of my body all week. My hamstring had been bothering me, so I iced it after every run, use my heat pad, and used the stick all week. It didn't bother me at all during the entire 30+ miles or after.
• Went for a short walk on Sunday and Jason had to tell me to slow down. That's how good I felt but it helped to continue my recovery because I had a great run on Tuesday without any soreness.

I'll be following this place after the marathon to ensure quick recovery. What else do you do to recover after a long run or race?

October 2011 Recap

October was an amazing month. I had 2 great marathon+ long runs and 2 race PRs. I ran 129 miles! That is most I've ever run in 1 month and 27 more than last month. That puts me at 735 total for the year so far, and with 2 months to go I've already exceeded my 2011 goal. I wonder if I can make it to 900 :)

November is going to be just as awesome because it is marathon month! I'm beyond excited! I am officially on taper, so I'll be taking it easy for the next 4 weeks. I'll probably go a little nuts, but I'm happy 3 am wake up calls are behind me ... for now :) I have a half marathon in 2 weeks, which I'll use as a tune up race to practice my marathon race pace (which will still be a half marathon PR for me), so that will give me something to obsess over in the meantime :)


I'm once again going to blog every day this month as I did during the previous taper because it was a great way to keep me distracted, give me a venue to let out the crazy, and document the process. So if you have burning questions for me or topics you'd like to see me address this month, please comment and help distract me :)

Stats & Goal Progress (83%)

• ran 129 miles; 735/700 (Goal Exceeded!)
• biked 35 miles; 846/2000 (42%)
• walked 42 miles; 325/400 (81%)
• yoga/core/strength = 12 sessions; 4.2 hours
• total = 206 miles; 47.5 hours; 1906/3100 (61%); 361/365 (99%)

October Accomplishments

• 26 mile LSD Run (in the rain!)
• 5 Mile and 2 Mile PRs
• 50K LSD Run in the Rain

Goals for November

• taper! :)
• NaBloPoMo - blog daily 
• sub-2:25 half marathon
• sub-5 hour marathon 

Upcoming Events

• 11.13 - 13.1 Fort Lauderdale
• 11.19 - Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011
• 11.27 - Space Coast Marathon

Marathon 2 Training - 50K in the Rain

Today was, without a doubt, the best run of my life. It was also the most difficult, but that's what makes it so rewarding. I set out at 3:30 am to run 29 miles, my last long run before beginning a 4 week taper and countdown to my 2nd marathon (although by now I've completed or exceeded that distance a total of 3 times). When all was set and done, I had run/walked a total of 31.5 miles and been on my feet for over 7 hours. It's hard to put into words what transpired within myself during those long hours, but I'll give it a try.

It was already drizzling when we started and I could not believe we once again had to tackle a long run in the rain. I thought I had already paid those dues, but apparently I still had a remaining balance. Thankfully it was warm, so the rain felt mostly refreshing. It rained lightly on and off, and at points it felt like an annoyance. Whenever it was not raining, it was really humid so I struggled from the beginning with my breathing. My body got used to 2 weeks of nice cool weather and had already forgotten what it's like to run in the warmer temps.

Knowing this was the longest run ever for Kirsty and I, we took it easy and ran with 1:1 intervals the entire time. For the last 4 mile loop (which turned out to be 4.5), we switched to 2:1 intervals because it hurt more to walk, and were in awe we were still running strong. Yes we were hurting, but our speed was not suffering. For the last 2 mile stretch, we gave up the walk breaks all together and just brought it home at a steady easy pace. Every fiber of my being was screaming for me to stop. My entire body ached and every step was painful, but I knew nothing was broken and I just had to soldier on.

Those 2 miles were the most important in my entire 5 months of training. I had to dig SO deep to keep moving forward and not give up when my body just wanted to quit. There were times when I really could not believe my legs had not already collapse from under me because they sure felt they would any minute, but they didn't. My co-leader Kirsty could tell I was really struggling and kept my spirits up and would not let me quit -- not that I was going to let myself stop after coming this far. She started asking me what I was going to do when I finished, and had me describe in great detail my post-run meal. It was amazing! It really help distract me, forget the pain, and give me the strength to keep pushing. There is NO WAY I could have done this without her and Stephanie by my side, as well as the rest of the Sole Mates that joined us earlier.

When we got back to the school, we went for a cool down walk around the track, then I begin to do the math. My iPhone app and Garmin watch both had issues during the run, so I had tracked half on each device plus tried to keep track of the inconsistencies from the other's devices. When I realized we were close to 50K, I talked Kirsty into walking a few more laps at the track. I could not believe it! I had done a 50K! Sure there was no t-shirt or shiny medal at the end, but I don't need an entry fee to say that I am an ultra marathoner. I did it because I wanted to; because I could. And that is the greatest reward ever.

I cried all the way home because I could not believe what I had just accomplished and because it finally sunk in that I can do this. As soon as I saw Jason, I broke down in tears again. I was still doubting my math skills since my brain had stopped functioning, so when I got home I manually mapped the entire route and we ended up with 31.5 miles. This includes 1 mile or more of straight walking, very slowly, and even with that mile in the calculations our average pace was 13:30 min/mile. That is incredible! We probably ran 30.5 in something closer to 13:15.

Despite what felt like excruciating pain during those last 2 miles, most of it went away as soon as I stopped. Sure, I'm still a bit sore all over, but nothing unusual after running for 7 hours. When I got home, I did another first and sat in an ice bath for 20 minutes. It was not as bad as I expected, specially when I spent 5 minutes prior to adding the ice sitting in the bath tub letting it slowly fill with cold water. It felt great!

Today I transcended pain. During those 2 miles, as I struggled to keep moving forward and battle the roller coaster of emotions in my head, I knew I would finish. I accepted the pain as normal; it became background noise. I learned to suffer and that my body can handle a lot if I my mind lets it. Running this marathon in 4 weeks in under 5 hours will be tough, and a LOT of hard work, but I KNOW I can do it. I just have to believe that I can and be ready to work for it. I will hang on to that feeling I had when I pushed through what I thought was my limit because I came out the other side unscathed and a better person. And even if I come up short, it no longer matters because I KNOW that I've done my very best and that is all that counts.

Thanks again to my entire Galloway group for making this possible! I cannot wait to share Space Coast with all of you, whether you are there in person or in spirit, I will carry each and every one of you with me as I complete this amazing journey.

See Kitzzy Build

When I'm not running, I'm likely building with LEGO. I've loved LEGO bricks since I was a kid and never really stopped. I still have some of my original bricks and I'm constantly adding to my collection. I recently brought them out and have been building again regularly, so I started a new blog to share my creations one photo per day.

Check it out at http://kitzzybuilds.tumblr.com/

Below are two examples, but there is a month's worth on that blog. This week I'm featuring Halloween themed builds and next week I'll begin posting my Doctor Who creations.

This is the oldest photo of a LEGO build that I have, so I thought it was fitting for my first post and this blog. I built it and took the photo on September 10, 2004 for a photo challenge. The theme was to take a photo inspired by the quote “Racing is a matter of spirit not strength.” I only had one day left, so I thought the easiest thing to do was create something in LEGO that fit the bill and this is what I came up with.

This is how you write the word “LEGO” in braille. My initial thought for this theme (Less is More) was to take a photo of a single bright lego dot on a white lego base plate, but that wasn’t satisfying enough. I wanted the photo, the dot, to mean something, and that’s when I thought of braille. I wanted to write lego with white dots on a red plate (like the lego logo), but I didn’t have enough. I’m glad because I think black on white has a better effect and lets the message be the focus of the photo in the true spirit of minimalism :)

Race Report: UCF Distance Dare 2011

It was a perfect morning for a race, and I added 2 new PRs to my collection at the U Can Finish Distance Dare (5 miler + 2 miler)! Not only did I PR, but I exceeded my expectations/goals for both races and had a blast!

Pre-race: I was around 60º when I woke up, so I debated what to wear. I knew I would warm up quickly, so I still wore a running skirt and short sleeve shirt, but decided to wear leg compression sleeves as they would help keep my calf muscles warm and could only help my performance. It was quite cold when we got to UCF, so I put on my arm warmers and windbreaker jacket for the warm up. I ran an easy mile around the memory mall, and got warm enough to shed both the jacket and arm warmers before the start. I'm really glad I did or I would have overheated during the race. The temperature was perfect for both races and greatly contributed to my performance.

5 Miler: I lined up behind the 10+ pace sign as I was aiming for a 10:30 average pace and didn't want to go out too fast. I wore my dad's Garmin, and I have to say I don't really miss it. Having it in my hand is so easy to constantly check my pace, and I spent the entire race looking at it. I started faster than my planned 11:15 pace, but I was feeling good and not struggling, so kept it up as long as it felt comfortable. I took a gu roctane at the first water stop, just before mile 2, then gradually kicked it into high gear for the last 5K and pushed hard as you can see from my splits: 10:53 - 10:55 - 10:07 - 9:56 - 9:27. Seeing that my last 2 miles were sub-10 gave me hopes of a PR at the 2 mile race. I used 3/1 intervals the whole way.

I used the virtual partner feature to stay on pace, but it stopped the watch when it got to 5 miles, which was just short of the finish line. As is the norm, I ran more than 5 miles since I've yet to master the tangents, but I only have my time for the 5 miles. I was thrilled to finish 15s per mile faster than planned and yet I didn't feel destroyed. My official finish time was 52:06, which is 10s per mile slower, but still a PR by almost 3 minutes. I'll take it! 

5 Miler Results:

• garmin: 51:19 @ 10:15 pace
• chip time: 52:06 @ 10:25 pace
• clock time: 53:10
• overall: 958 / 1436 (67%)
• ag: 56 / 116 (48%)
• gender: 414 / 771 (54%)

*****

2 Miler: I had about 20 minutes between the 2 races, so I hung around the finish line with Jason for a bit. It was just enough time to catch my breath and regain my legs, eat 2 shot blocks, and drink some water before walking over to the start of the 2 milers about 5 minutes before the start. I noticed there was a huge crowd and no starting mat, so I lined up pretty close to start - within the first 5 rows. My goal was sub-20, which I thought would be hard to do on tired legs and no walk breaks, but the weather was just amazing and the adrenaline was still pumping from the 5 miler. 

My plan was to go out hard and try to hang on for dear life. When the horn went off, I took off at a hard pace. I looked at my watch and to my surprise I was averaging 8:30 for at least the first 1/2 mile. I knew I couldn't maintain that the whole time and slowed a bit, but kept pushing to stay sub-9. I ran the whole 2 miles, minus a few seconds at the water stop, and had to talk myself into staying strong and not walking the entire last mile. I just kept telling myself to keep pushing because the faster I ran the sooner I could stop :) As you can see from my splits, my pace was pretty consistent: 8:56 - 8:55. 

My official time was 18:04 @ 9:01 pace, which is a PR by almost 3 minutes, but my pace by my watch was 8:55. Furthermore, I finished 6th out of 65 in my age group (top 9%). I'm in complete shock!  I've come a long way since I toed the line at my first race 3.5 years ago. It was the Winter Park 2 Miler, which I ran in 28:54; today I finished almost 11 minutes faster than that. It's amazing how easy it is to run fast in cooler weather, and how big of a difference a little speed work and consistent training makes on performance. I really need to find 5K to run soon because if I can pull this off for 2 miles without any walk breaks, I can easily run my coveted sub-30 5K.

2 Miler Results:

• garmin: 17:51 @ 8:55 pace
• clock/chip: 18:04 @ 9:01.7 (there was no starting mat)
• overall: 195 / 807 (24%)
• ag: 6 / 65 (9% - holy crap!)
• gender: 68 / 490 (14% - wow!)

*****

Below is a screen capture of my PR collection so far from my running history spreadsheet (http://bit.ly/kitzzyrunprogress). Legend: orange = PR in 2011; light green = sub-12; dark green = sub-11; blue = sub-10. My goal is to have all dates in orange (except the 12K because I didn't run one this year), and the pace column be green or blue by year's end :) I'm well on my way!

Marathon 2 Training - Week 20

I'm on the home stretch now. Only 1 more long run left, 6 weeks until marathon day, and 4 weeks until the tune up half marathon in Ft Lauderdale. This was a great cut-back week, and despite skipping a run due to a cranky hamstring, I still ran 18 miles and everything feels good. This week I'll be racing the UCF Distance Dare in hopes of collecting 2 more PRs. I'm pretty confident about the 5 miler, but the 2 mile PR will be a tad harder. I plan to give it my all at both races and see how it goes, but if any body part protests I'll be pulling back. I don't want to get hurt the week before a 29 mile long run.

This week's stats:

• Ran 18 miles
• Biked 19 miles
• Walked 9 miles
• 2 Yoga sessions
• Total: 46 miles; 9 hours

Half Marathon Streak

After my marathon in November, I want to run a half marathon per month until at least April/May. This will be a great way to keep up with my running, have some fun soaking up the race atmosphere, and qualify for level 2 of half fanatics. Who's up for the challenge?

So far, these are the races I'm considering.

1. November - 13.1 Fort Lauderdale (registered)
2. December - OUC (Downtown Orlando) or NTC (Clermont)
3. January - Ocala
4. February - BCM (registered)
5. March - Orange Blossom
6. April - Iron Girl
7. May - Flying Pig? (Cincinnati)
8. June - 
9. July - San Francisco?

I need suggestions for the rest of the year, preferably in Florida but I am willing to travel for a 1 or 2 of these.