Ilinois Marathon Group Training Runs

I'm cross posting this as it appears on my new Illinois Marathon Group Training Blog found here.

ATTENTION ALL RUNNERS!!

Are you planning on participating in the first ever Illinois Marathon? Or maybe you're still on the fence, intimidated by winter training? Will this be your first marathon, or just one of many? Whether you are running the full mary, the half, or going for a team relay, this blog is for you. Join us here, in internet space, for virtual 2009 Illinois Marathon training!
We know how hard it can be to train for a spring marathon here in Central Illinois. What with the open prairie wind tunnels blowing arctic air through to your very bones and the propensity for icy, treacherous conditions, winter training in Illinois is a daunting endeavor at best. It's easy to convince yourself it's not worth the effort. Why put yourself through the hardship of winter training when you can wait out the weather to run a summer or fall marathon?
Because the U of I marathon is in April, that's why. And this is the premier year!! You can't miss out on being a participant in the first ever marathon in Central Illinois. And it's in Champaign, home of the Fighting Illini! Even if you're not an alum, you gotta love the home team. And let's face it, if it were easy, everyone would do it. This blog is aimed at those of us who are hungry for a challenge, heck-bent on tackling the toughest of conditions in order to win the most coveted prize.
Imagine the thrill of finishing 26.2 on the 50 yard line of glorious (and newly remodeled) Memorial Stadium where Chief Illiniwek performed countless half time dances. If you're a U of I alum, imagine strolling down memory lane as you run the old neighborhoods, remembering all the good times of your college career: frat houses, pizza places, dormitory life, tailgating, the strip! It promises to be an extravaganza not seen in this part of the state. And you can be a part of it!
OK, so maybe you're still not convinced of your ability to withstand those cold, early winter Saturday long run mornings by yourself. The intent of this blog is to capitalize on the power of the group. By bringing individual runners together via organized local group runs, or through virtual encouragement and networking, we aim to make tough winter training more tolerable. For those in or around the Springfield area, weekend long run routes will be posted here for anyone interested in joining us. The chances of various pace groups forming is directly related to the number of people involved. The more variety, the better for all! For those outside the immediate area, join our team in virtual space so we can provide encouragement and accountability through weekly training challenges.
Group training can be particularly beneficial to those new to running or new to marathon training. Take advantage of veterans in the group to ask questions, get tips on how to train safely so your first marathon experience is the best it can be. Avoid common beginner mistakes on race day by learning from those who have gone before you. Aside from weekly long run support, during the week, I'll post relevant topics and/or articles to inspire discussion or provide food for thought. You can't have too much information!
THE PLAN
Frank and I will be using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Marathon Training plan. If you find another training plan to be a better fit, you can customize your training and still be part of our group. Most marathon training plans are eighteen weeks in length making the week of December 8th the first official starting week. Our first long run of eight miles will be December 13th. For the most part, weekend long runs are consistent in mileage across all Hal's plans, varying by a mile or two, however various plans may differ in weekly volume. This blog is intended to be a casual association of runners from different backgrounds and abilities. Post your weekly customizations here, there are bound to be others who are running longer or shorter in any given week. Use this blog to find people to run with you on alternate days or various mileages. Because schedules and needs differ so vastly, it's impossible to organize group runs that appeal to everyone on a daily basis. Therefore, we will only be organizing and posting weekend long run routes. During the week, it will be up to you to find the best time or place to get your runs done, but we will be here on-line to help you stay motivated.
If you are interested in doing the Illinois Half Marathon, you can also benefit from the group by joining in at the halfway point of our training. The Illinois Marathon training group will most likely merge with the HalfWits training group in January as they begin preparation for the 45th running of the Abraham Lincoln Half Marathon on April 4th. the HalfWits have wonderful, well-established routes and their massive numbers will allow even more camaraderie, motivation, and encouragement for everyone. Marathoners can tack on extra mileage either before or after the HalfWits route, or take an extra loop in the middle somewhere. Heck, you could even double dip and run back-to-back half marathons in April! Sounds like an interesting twist to me!
So come on! What are you waiting for? Do you have what it takes to weather the storm? Let us know your intent by posting your story. Who's with us?

Race for the Cure

Frank and I traveled to St. Charles, Missouri this weekend to participate in the second annual Race to Cure Lymphoma. This race used to be in Chatham until two years ago when the race director, Gary Chatham (I know, weird coincidence), relocated to Missouri. When we decided to do the Heroes Run for Hope, Gary was instrumental in guiding us through our first year of directing. Our causes are related, and we both have stories to tell about loved ones affected by blood and bone cancers. I wanted to not only thank him for all his encouragement, advice, resources and support, but also to see how my mentor puts on his own race.

The race has a 5k, 10k, and a 1 mile walk. I signed Frank up for the 10k. I really wish I was running the race with him, but alas, I'm only just beginning to get back into the run thing again slowly. We went down Friday night and stayed at a hotel, which the kids always love to do. Race morning was FREEZING! I came prepared to stand around in the cold, except that I forgot my own gloves! The wind was what made it so uncomfortable. Despite the frigid temperatures, the race had a great turnout! Gary said he had 300+ signed up prior to race day. The runners and walkers were all in good spirits for having to brave the first of what will be many cold, blustery mornings. The smiles and good natured ribbing I heard from the crowd indicated that the weather was not the motivating factor for being out there that morning.

Here is the lead bike guy dressed as some sort of skeleton devil configuration. J-man got quite a kick out of this. Notice he is on a MTB. The course is a trail that surrounds an industrial park and winds around a man-made lake on the edge of suburbia. Frank said the trail included a grassy part, as well as some rough gravel.

Maddie was pretty miserable in the cold, so she stayed in the car with her nose in a book the whole time. James walked with me and Frank to the start line to see him off. Then, James and I headed for the car and blasted the heater while we waited for Frank to run by. The course was an out and back loop, and the 10k ran the loop twice. We saw Frank go by a few times and we waved from inside the toasty warm car. I got out to snap a few pics, but quickly retreated once he was past us.

This is the one snapped from inside the car. Hi Frank! Half way done!

I got several great ideas from Gary this weekend. A few I'm outright stealing (with his permission) and I had some strokes of inspiration while down there, too. I like how he communicates with his volunteers, and I like his organization skills. He did a great job and had the weather been more friendly, we would have stuck around longer. As it was, we needed to head back to get on with the rest of our weekend, but not before I had a chance to talk with him while he was waving in the finishers.

Thanks, Gary! Great job out there this weekend!

Its funny how the mind works.....

Yesterday morning's conditions beckoned to me. I just HAD to get outside for what was supposed to be a nice, brisk walk in the early morning fog. I realized as I hit the road that I was pretty much dressed in my usual running gear. Not that that's unusual really. I have just as much running/exercising clothes as I do casual and work attire, so to exit the closet looking like I'm heading out for a run instead of a walk is not that out of the ordinary. What's strange is that I hadn't put any thought into what to wear for my walk. I was on auto pilot and I ended up succumbing to habit. Before I left the house, I taped my feet. Taping my feet had been on my mind lately as the first official training day was fast approaching. I thought it would be a good idea to tape my feet for a walk seeing as I intended to walk for an hour and wanted all the support I could get to avoid further damage.

As I began my stroll down the block, I remember thinking what a great day for a run this would have been. Too bad I'm still on my self-imposed hiatus until next Monday. There are only nine days left before I attempt a run again. It's in my schedule, carefully planned out. What's nine more days when I've managed to not run for seven weeks? "You don't need to run today" I told myself. "Stick to the walk, run stronger later"

I was into my walk for about 30 minutes when other folks began coming out to enjoy the weather. No one was running. Everyone I saw was walking, alone or in groups of two or three. I waved and smiled, being neighborly and all. I was of course wearing my mp3 player and ear buds, cranking my music as I kept an aggressive pace, just like on a run. I kept waiting for my feet to protest. They never did. My promise to keep my walk to an hour kept me inside my hood, and I found myself following the same old path I always take during my short morning jogs. The same route. The same music. The same running shoes. The same time of day. I couldn't take it any longer.

I glanced at my garmin (that's right, I took my GARMIN on a walk! I wanted to see how fast I could get in 4 miles. I was also wearing my heart rate monitor!) and briefly considered just how far I should test a short little jog. Then, my feet just took off. It was slightly uncomfortable at first. I was poised to feel the familiar sharp pain at each step. Nothing. Soon, I felt the groove click into place and I started to relax. Shoulders dropped, forward lean, unclench the hands. I kept the pace slow and easy, about a 10:30-11:00 mpm. I told myself to stop at 1 mile if I could make it that far. At one mile I did stop to walk. WOW! That was so great! It felt so good to stretch it out again after so long!

For the rest of the outing, I walked/jogged off and on and jogged the last 5 minutes straight. I ended up with over 5 miles in a little over an hour. I didn't want to stop at all. I wanted to keep running and running. I decided that I had already tempted fate by running before scheduled and I should take my yummies and call it good. I noticed walking home that my feet were just the tiniest bit achy. Nothing sharp or painful, just sore. But they've been slightly sore for seven weeks so no biggie.

I didn't say anything to Frank when I got in about running. I commented how nice of a morning it was out there and went in to shower. I knew he would hassle me about running again so soon. I didn't want to hear it. I was flying high on my secret. I RAN ONE MILE TODAY AND IT FELT GREAT! HA!

Know what? I think I knew in the back of my head that I was going to try to run yesterday. But I didn't let on to myself to avoid bitter disappointment. I think had I psyched myself up by proclaiming today was the day and then got out there and realized my feet were still not ready, the blow would have been crushing. So instead, I told myself that it was only a walk, then subconsciously prepared for a run and kept it a secret from myself. Clever little rascal.

I knew I wouldn't know whether I made a mistake by running too soon until today or Monday. When I over do, it usually catches up to me a few days later. Today, I am having same achiness as always. Nothing unusual. I wore my most comfortable casual shoes to church. I noticed they felt sort of uncomfortable, like my feet were swelled and they pinched. When I got home to change into house cleaning clothes, I donned my running shoes and found instant relief! My feet fit the best and feel the most comfortable inside my running shoes. I NEVER clean house in my running shoes!! Today I did.

***************

OK, I gotta throw this out to all the mommies with pre-teen daughters. My daughter and me are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to being neat. All summer, her room has been a pig sty and it drives me CRAZY! You can't see the floor at times. She can't find anything. Important papers get lost. I finally couldn't stand it any longer and set aside this weekend to purge the kid's bedrooms. After two and a half hours, I finished my daughter's bedroom and I wanted to show before and after pics. These pictures don't show the magnitude of the situation as I don't have a wide angle lens to appreciate the complete destruction. Nor can you see into all the corners where she stuffs things in the dark. I'm not even going to mention what I found under the bed when I moved it, but it made me suck in air and I think I said a cuss word.

BEFORE

This is supposed to be her desk. Who wants to do homework on that?

AFTER

You can see the floor!!

Ahhh. I feel so much better. We created six sacks of garbage which will take us three weeks to get rid of at our two cans a week quota. So, I didn't purge my son's room, only cleared the floor so I don't wound myself on any more floor bombs of sharp little legos.

Extreme Pumpkins

More pumpkin madness at the Gardners. Here are the latest creations....

ANGRY MOB - BENIGN

ANGRY MOB - EXTREME!!

ZOMBIE - BENIGN

ZOMBIE - EXTREME!!

PROBLEM CHILD - BENIGN

PROBLEM CHILD - EXTREME!!

MY HEADS NOT ON FIRE

AHHHH!!!! MY HEADS ON FIRE!!!!!

Wineaux

Yesterday, Frank and I visited Mount Pleasant Winery in Missouri with a group of friends. We all caravaned down on what turned out to be a fabulous fall Saturday morning. The foliage display was gorgeous and the view was spectacular along the valley ridges. Mount Pleasant is one of many wineries nestled along the hills of southern Missouri. Since we weren't staying the night, we only had time to visit one winery before heading back home.

We took our cue from the rest of the group and packed a picnic basket of crackers, cheese, sausage and other assorted goodies. Once we found our spot on the terrace, we unpacked the food and headed inside for the tasting. For the next 30 minutes or so, we picked out our favorite selections, purchased a few bottles and headed outside to enjoy the scenery and camaraderie. And food. Don't forget the food!

Here's the bountiful spread against the background of the valley below. The terrace was on a hillside that looked out on a great view!

We made a startling discovery yesterday. Lisa was up late Friday night baking in preparation for our trip. She made delicious chocolate chip cookies, loaded with extra chips for good measure. As we were chomping down the first of many of those little beauties, she pulled out a cache of extra cookie dough that was left over from her batch. I had to snicker when she promptly dipped her cookie into the raw cookie dough and scooped out a big wad and popped it into her mouth. Now that's brilliant! Let's make sure we got this straight....she used a baked cookie as a spoon to shovel in raw cookie dough!!! Frank watched this display carefully and said "Let me try that." He grabbed a cookie and plunged in. A look of nirvana crossed his face and he smiled broadly, revealing smeared chocolate across his teeth, "That's pretty good!" and into the vat of raw dough he dipped again. On and on this went. Sip of wine, dip of dough, sip of wine, dip of dough. Now, I didn't try this myself, opting instead to gorge on fattening cheese and sausage, but the crew seemed to truly enjoy the taste combination. I challenge you to try it and let me know your reviews.

While we were pigging out, a blues band was setting up. Pretty soon, we were all moving and grooving to the beat and having a grand ole time. Here's Emily and Eric thoroughly enjoying the afternoon's delights.

Before it got dark, we decided to move on. Frank and I purchased a few more bottles of our favorites to save for Thanksgiving dinner before embarking on the long drive back.

I'm pretty much worthless today, having enjoyed my adventures yesterday with maximum effort. I blew my diet yesterday, too. But, I got some play time out of my system and I'm ready for the work week ahead.

Today, the kids and Frank started carving their pumpkins. Heres Maddie's first choice from "Extreme Pumpkins."

More pumpkin madness to follow!

Off Season Struggles

I've been meaning to post on this topic for a while, but well, life gets in the way sometimes. Anyway, I've been thinking about how I'm going to design a fitness maintenance schedule while waiting for the 2009 season's training to begin. Many of the athletes I follow are also in their "off season" and struggling with the same issues I'm facing. I say struggle because the rest period is not always welcomed with open arms. For many, including myself, it's difficult to transition to decreased volume especially when you are feeling in top form following your last race. What's so difficult about taking a few weeks off? Fear of WEIGHT GAIN and DECREASED FITNESS.

Naturally, as training volume decreases, your daily caloric intake must also decrease or you may find yourself struggling to get into your jeans. That's not an easy thing to do for those of us who love food. Following a big race, our metabolisms are humming along like a freight train bound for glory. I get used to eating what I want. Although the decreased training volume may feel great, my body is still screaming for calories until my metabolism slows down. After my last big race at the end of July, my training volume didn't just decrease. It STOPPED. I was in full-on focus mode to get the Heroes race organized and off the ground. I'm also a stress eater. To say directing a race is stressful is like saying Bill Gates has a few extra bucks laying around. Plus, the Plantar Monster took away my running fix. I've spent the last three months closet gorging chocolate and beef while getting virtually no exercise. Yup, I've put on a few pounds lately. I'm working on it! (25 points if you can name this reference) Joe Friel says in his latest post that Kenyan athletes gain up to 10 pounds in their off season. Pfffftt. Ten pounds. Please. They got nothing on me! I past that point a few weeks ago. And look! Here come the holidays!! Terrific.

Some athletes fear a decrease in volume means decreased fitness. We've worked hard all season and don't want to backslide. But one cannot maintain peak form forever. The very word "peak" indicates there is a downhill side that follows. Otherwise, wouldn't it be called a plateau? From what I understand of the periodization philosophy, your body needs the rest and recuperation between seasons or between fitness peaks. You HAVE to have an off season, not just for your body, but for your MIND! Six to ten hour training weeks for us age-groupers is tough and wearing. Juggling full time careers, children, household chores, and a host of other life obligations is hard enough. Stuffing in adequate training around the edges takes it's toll on our beans after a while. Taking a mental break from the rigors of training helps refresh our outlooks and allows us to try new hobbies, spend needed time with friends and family, clean out those pantries and sock drawers, whatever.

But all that doesn't mean you have to lose fitness during your mental break. My trainer says you have to shake up your exercise routine repeatedly so your body stays in adaptation mode. What happens when we repeat an action over and over? It becomes habit. The activity becomes easy because your mind or body has reached an adaptive state - no more growth. Good for learning the multiplication tables, bad for exercise. So the idea is to get away from routine and try new sport activities. Here in central Illinois, that could mean cyclocross, mountain biking, skiing, sledding, ice skating, football, or a host of other indoor sport activities that you didn't have time for during the summer; tennis, basketball, kickboxing, volleyball, and racquetball, for example. I'm sure there are many others I haven't thought of.

So ok, adding a few new activities here and there sounds great. But what about my endorphin fix? What if you like the S/R/B routine? My blogger friend Carol likes to maintain doing 2x each sport each week. I like this plan. I'm doing something similar, but customizing it by working on my fitness limiters (anaerobic endurance in the run) and highlighting my weakest sport - swimming. My exercise plan for the next three weeks is to go heavy on the weight and core training, work on swim speed, and attempt to keep up an hour of cardio on most days using the bike and elliptical machine. For variety, I'm going to try out a few of the new classes at the Y. They have names like "The Ultimate Workout" and "Power Pump" and "Boot Camp Challenge" that look like fun. I've been trying to get to a few of those yoga classes, too, to help with flexibility and stretching.

I'm also devising an off season nutrition plan to shed the muffin top before the holiday debauchery hits full force. The Paleo diet looks intriguing. I may be leaning away from wheat and flour in favor of beans, legumes and seeds as a test.

My strategy to get through Thanksgiving is to:

• Spend the holiday in Chicago with friends. The plan is to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a nice restaurant with their family. This almost ensures (for me) to NOT overeat that day. I don't know about you, but I tend to gorge less in the presence of people I hardly know.


• Hubby and I signed up for the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot in Elmhurst. Even if I can't run by then, I can walk. Plus, the adventure of a new race in a new city will keep my nose out of the refrigerator for a few more hours - an added benefit!
  

I don't have a Christmas strategy yet. Its clear I can't ditch my family again for Christmas. I'm already treading a thin precipice by denying grandma her grandchildren on Thanksgiving! Besides, who knows where I'll be in December. By then, training will have resumed and quite possibly, it will be a moot point.

That's my off season plan. What do all of you do in the off season? Sound off, let's help each other out with ideas.

Back in the Swing of Things

Today Annie and I met up with a new group for an epic bike ride. I had been looking forward to this ride all week. Annie had mentioned these guys were good bikers and I desperately wanted a challenge. The weather was perfect! Not too hot, not too cold, just right!

We met at Chatham's South Park, the site of last week's Heroes run and headed south. We went to Loami, through Lowder, over to Thayer, over to Auburn and back up to Chatham. We finished with 35+ miles under our belt and I feel great! Annie mentioned during the ride about remembering when a 20 mile ride seemed like a long ride? We've come a long way, baby!

Here's a map of our route today.



View Larger Map

This time of year, the farmers are harvesting the crops. Way out in the boonies between the corn fields, some of the roads are narrow. A few times our crew had to stop and pull over into the ditch to let a combine convoy pass by.

These types of rides are the ultimate soul refreshing moments that make you glad you are alive. As we spun down country roads, enjoying the sights and sounds of the world, I couldn't help but smile to myself. The corn right now is dry and brown. In the early morning breeze, it sounded like it was talking to us in a low rustling voice as we cruised by. In the small towns along the way, people were out doing yard work and home repairs, or just sitting on their front porch enjoying a cup of coffee. We waved to everyone we could and they waved right back. This is what life is all about - experiencing the world, pushing your limits, enjoying good company. I didn't want the euphoric feeling to end.

I was surprised at my heart rate during this ride. I averaged 141 and hit 160 on some of the hills. It was a great substitute for a run. Speaking of running....

DOCTOR VISIT
On Thursday, I made an appointment to see my favorite GP about my plantar issues. Today marks four weeks on the bench from running. My feet are still very tender and sore. I wanted to hear what he had to say about the healing time and what else I might do to speed up the recovery process.

My GP is also a runner. And I have been in to see him numerous times before with running related overuse injuries. He asked me what I was doing to self heal. I ran down the list. I brought in the shoes I have been wearing. I showed him my arch supports. I showed him the stretches I do. I explained my icing, stretching routine and schedule. When I finished he said "Well, that's pretty much what I was going to tell you to do. Keep doing that."

I said "What about the cortisone shot?" He smiled slightly and started to slowly shake his head as he said "Weeeeeellllll, I will give you the shot if you REALLY want it, but I don't recommend it. Especially for runners." I knew what was coming next. He had my number, clear and simple. "It gives them a false sense of healing and they go right out and run on it before its completely healed and end up right back where they started" he said. That's why he is the best doc around. He prescribed for me the perfect treatment. Wait it out. Trouble is, I've been known to be less than patient, especially when it comes to recovering from overuse injuries. Which is why I'm where I am right now anyway. Humpf.

He also mentioned that the shots are known to weaken the fascia tissue and could cause problems down the road. Well, that cinches it, then. I don't have that many good athletic years left in me. Each year, it gets harder and harder to remain injury free as it is. Nope. No cortisone shot for me. I couldn't get a good timeline from him on how long the healing normally takes. Apparently, it depends too much on the individual. Fine. I like a challenge. I bet I can heal in another 4-5 weeks and be able to inch my way up to the first six mile long run in time for the first week of training. I hope. Wonder how much praying weighs into it?

The good news is I think I have the elliptical thing down where I can keep my feet firmly planted enough to avoid re-tearing my plantar. I'm relying on the elliptical, circuit weight training, biking, and swimming for my cardio endorphin fix. I'll be fine.

My Strasburg night socks came today. Can't wait to test those out!

In other training related news.....

SWIMMING GADGET REVIEWS
This last week I was able to finally get back to the pool to test out my new swimming gadgets; the Finis lap counter and my Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player. WOW! First of all, I LOVE the lap counter. I placed it on the pool deck, rather than on the wall under water. I'll try the underwater position tomorrow. The pool deck placement worked just fine, except you can't read the numbers unless you stop and look, whereas, on the wall you can instantly see your time because its right in front of your line of sight as you swim up to the wall.

I hadn't had my 100s timed since coach Joe from the Y timed me several months ago. At that time, I was at a dismal 2:00 per 50. When I got to the pool on Tuesday afternoon, I didn't really have a plan, just to get reacquainted with the water and test the gadgets. So, after a short warm-up, I just started swimming laps.

I didn't pay any attention to my pace during the workout, I was too busy listening to my music. I have to say, swimming with music is everything I thought it would be. It distracts me enough that I don't think about how long I've been swimming. The beat of the music also helped me keep a rhythm without really thinking about it. It will take some getting used to though. The player attaches to your goggle strap behind your head. The buttons are easy to find because of placement and they have a raised surface like braille so you know which one is which. Really, all you need is on and off. The ear plugs could be designed a little better. They have to be positioned just so, or you loose the clarity. They do keep water out of your ears. That's a definite plus.

Back to pace. So I didn't have any idea what pace I am currently swimming at. When I reviewed my laps stored in the lap counter, I found out I was pretty consistent at around 1:20 per 50. IMPROVEMENT! Hurray!! My short term goal is to swim a 500 in 12:30, which is around 1:15 per 50. During Tuesday's swim, I was going at a leisurely pace, one I thought I could maintain for 30 minutes. I am encouraged that I will be able to achieve my goal of 12:30 very soon. Tomorrow, I'll go for it! Wish me luck!