And Taper Begins...

Saturday was 26 on the schedule and I ran 3 laps of a 8 mile trail loop for 24 and am calling it 26.  Muddy Math.  I was on my feet for 5 hours and 33 minutes.  My heart rate stayed very consistently in my endurance zone. With a few stops to talk to Dave and the other folks doing trail maintenance, to pick up a lost iPhone and to step aside for the mountain bikers, my heart rate dropped quickly and came back up quickly.  All in all I'm pleased with this run, I've been pleased with most of my runs lately.  It is time to raise the bar. 

When Dave and I discussed weekend plans, Dave said he and Lennon would be out with a group doing trail maintenance at Burlingame on Saturday, I had planned on running there.  Hmm... do I keep with my plan or modify it.  I kept with my plan.  His work session started around 8:30 and I was up and out and on the trail around 8:15.  I knew where he was working, getting rid of a tree that had fallen across the trail and was in a its hard to go over or under it sort of position.
  

Plus most of the walkways (what are those wooden things over the swampy areas?  do they have a proper name?) were all tipsy turvey from the last few rainstorms allowing them to float around a bit.  

Lap 1

2ish miles in I hear a familiar voice "You're not running fast enough."  Dave and Lennon hauling in a chainsaw and a wheel barrow of stuff.  I stopped and walked with them up to the job site.  I wasn't sure when I'd see them, I figured I would at some point.  Lennon made a crack about "Meeting your lover in the woods." and Dave quick said "Shhh don't tell Beth."  ha ha ha

Dave & Lennon

Did a nice job trying to twist my right ankle in a way it isn't supposed to bend.  I sat for a moment or two with that one, wondering how bad is this really.  After a minute?  All seemed fine, a little tender and back on I went.

Otherwise lap one was as I expected, I walked hills and avoided some of the mud, I'd have two more chances to motor through the mud, why do it so early?  Saw a couple people and a couple of bikers.  There was a father and son biking, both looked a little not so sure about all of this.

Lap 2

This is when the voices of doubt start, but I had this prize waiting for me about 2 miles into lap 2, seeing Dave.  I had no idea this would mean so much to me, but it did.  I post on FB what my plans are and put it in my blog to help hold myself accountable and not come up with a reason to not achieve what I set out to achieve.  But somehow this live person there made it a little more meaningful to keep going on.  That helped. 

There were about 3 mountain bikers, Sandals was among them, curiously not wearing sandals though.   My thought at the time was "Was that Sandals?" and put it out of my head until I saw some pictures Lennon posted on FB and yep, that was him.

The crew were very busy sawing and moving and that tree across the path was gone, no more pondering do I go over or do I go under.   Got a little kiss from Dave, awww... I'm NOT big into that mushy stuff and neither is he, so this overwhelming PDA set me on my back foot!

L - R  Lennon, Dave, Bert

Others were busy putting the walkways back in order.  I stopped and let them do what they needed to do and thanked them for their hard work and time.  

Remember those voices, well they started up and wanted to convince me to just quit and run 10 on the roads later.  No! NO! NO!  You can't.  Maybe Dave is still working on the trail and wouldn't that be cool to see how much progress they've made?  Oh they are probably already done, it takes you forever to get around this loop...

I stopped at the car, hoped I had a candy bar or a diet coke in my purse, nope, damn.  In the immortal words of one of my besties  "I could REALLY use an icy coke right now."  This would now play on an endless loop in my head, replacing the doubting thoughts.  Poured some more water into my hydro-pack, burped it, took off my second shirt, and was off again.

Lap 3

Wow there are nearly white caps on Watchaug pond, that breeze really does feel nice.  It is such a pretty blue color.

Then the weird noises started, the trees talking to me?  I thought someone was behind me, nope.  I stopped.  Weird.  Guess I'm getting a little delirious?

Then I started hearing the chainsaw again.  They were still there!  Good grief when did I become such a teenage girl?  The area was all cleared and they were putting in a ramp up and over a downed tree, the one were there were sticks, if you know the trail.  And I figured out what they were re-purposing the downed tree with, it could be a bench but it really is a little ramp over a muddy area.  I wondered why there were saw tooth cuts in it when I ran by on lap 2.  It now makes sense, to cut off a section.  No one had an icy coke for me, but we all agreed that or rather a cold beer would hit the spot!

Then Bert asked "How many miles have you run?"  Lennon said "You've been running this whole time?"  I think they were a little stunned?  It was kind of funny when the 19 miles registered to them and they shook their heads.  (Dave kinda beamed, huh...)

Yeah, another kiss in public and I was off...  A bit delirious and didn't think to take a picture of what they had created.

The walkway thingys were all set up, and one was being leveled.  One of the workers made a wise crack about me making it un-level when I ran past.  HA!  Of course I thanked all of them and wished them a nice day.

And back to the trail and challenging myself to figure out what is coming next and not avoiding the water and the mud, because this was the last lap.  I pushed a bit up hills walked some.  Noted that my hips were a little achy, but not too bad but damn that spot in my back where Amy elbowed out a big knot was SCREAMING.  Huh...  And I couldn't feel anything in my ankle, so that must be all right.  My left knee has been grouchy and still was but more of a sarcastic I'm going to poke you kind of grouchy not a mean ornery pinch a sensitive spot sort of grouchy.  This was the LAST lap, so just keep moving forward. 

Saw the father and son again, looking a bit tired and WAY more confident.  Go guys!

A SLEW of mountain bikers.  Ah a great time to take a little break.  They were waiting for the whole group to gather back together so I waited with them and chatted a bit. We wished each other well.

And on I went and on they went.  Through one of the massive rock gardens there was a couple walking bikes.  They were just getting out of one of the huge masses of rocks in that area and commented that it was a nice day but the trail was way rockier than they thought it would be.  I said, it opens up in a bit, stick with it.  They had pretty much ended the worst of it.

Oh the last water crossing!  2 miles to go.  OH what is that, an iPhone, do I leave it or pick it up.  I picked it up shoved it in my pack and figured I'd fiddle with it when I got back to the car and see if I could find its owner. 

I ran out of water before I got back to the car so my only focus was Water and an Icy Diet Coke.   And of course to post my accomplishment on FB.  What is it with that?  A need for self-promotion?  To prove I did what I said I was going to do?  A little bit of both and it put a finality on the run.  Done and dusted.

After I got out of the shower (no chafing, yeah) and went to clean out my pack I remembered about the phone and tinkered with it.  No lock on it.  I looked at the last number dialed and dialed it.  Someone answered.  I explained that I had found the phone and the person on the other end was so thrilled.  They thought it was gone forever, they had retraced their route and nothing.   They lost it pretty close to the start of the trail and hadn't back tracked that far.  They told me what they were driving and where they were parked and they'd meet me.  Ok I said, 20 minutes. I found their vehicle and they weren't there.  I waited 5 minutes and the phone rang.  I answered it and they weren't going to be there so we agreed I'd leave the phone on top of the driver's side tire.  Plenty of thank you's and I'll pay it forwards.  Hey, no worries, glad I could help.

I wonder if this was the couple walking their bikes?  I'll never know, I put the phone in the spot we agreed on and went home.  I did copy down the phone number of the iPhone I could text her?  

Saturday I ran a little over 7 miles on the streets.  Meandering around with no particular place to go, figured I'd run along the Pawcatuck River as some sort of plan.  2 miles from home and this biker slows near me.  It takes me a second or two to get it all figured out.  Mike B!  He rode, I ran, and we chatted for about a mile.  Nice break.   The run felt good, got the last little kinks the ice and stretching didn't work out yesterday, and maybe I had a little Jack just to help me sleep, I rarely sleep well the night of a long run.

Sincerely,
Beth, thinking she may want to put some sort of contact information on the lock screen on her phone in the event she loses it and someone finds it and wants to return it.

Weekly Log - Week 17 of 50K Training – Last Long Run

Even though Johnny assures me I could cut back this run and be ok.  I’m still going out Saturday with my eyes on 26 miles, probably will take me damn close to 6 hours in Burlingame, or maybe I’ll try Big River?  If you happen to be there running or riding, please don’t startle me.  Well you could I may shriek like I did at the gardener snake on Shennecosett on Wednesday.  I think I gave the poor little guy a coronary.  Sorry.

Monday 

Usually a rest day for me but I didn’t run on Sunday so run I did.  Nice 6 miles at a pace I’m quite pleased with.  While Strava gave me an Epic Suffer score, parts felt tough but mostly it felt good and pretty even, and I, me, yes me, even passed someone.  I kept in mind Steve’s counsel on watching his feet to close the gap and slowly the gap closed, I hemmed and hawed, could I pass and keep up the pace?  I did, and said HI,  then it was up the little hill on the back side of UCONN Avery Point which gave me a little burst of energy (going up and into the wind weird, I know) and the space between us grew.  I checked back a couple times and satisfied I could maintain I went on my merry way.   The wind was at my back for the last 2 miles and that was nice.  

TRX was good I may need more work on my obliques.  The plank oblique crunches kicked my hips, huh…  more my right than left, then again my right has been sore for a little while.  I’ve been using the foam roller more religiously and that seems to be helping too.  So maybe it’s a combination of things.  It is a little early in the training process to be obsessing over a twinge, isn’t it?  Hmm, maybe not, 3 weeks till the race/run.  Step away from the panic button, step away from the panic button. 

Tuesday

It rained like a MoFo.   Work went bazonkers.  I got to spin class with minutes to spare, Ro took one look at me and said "You need this."  No shit.  Finally something I was in control of.  Yippiee!!   I figured I’d run Bluff Point after Spin class…  I got to the parking lot and sat for a few minutes it was relentlessly raining kind of in waves.  Do I really want to do this, do I really want to get that wet?  Wimp… I went home and Dave and I took turns chasing Jax around the house, the dogs were a little stir crazy with the rain.  Apparently there was just enough of a break to scoop poops in the back yard, thankfully.  

Wednesday

Seems like this is the windiest day of the week, and it was a little chilly.  Gloves would have been nice but I was able to pull the arms of my second long sleeved shirt over my hands and that helped, and also hid my watch.  Knowing I’d be half into the wind and half with the wind at my back it was good to not obsess over my pace. I could feel the vibration and hear the beep.  WHEN did that damn thing start beeping?  James noticed it during Big River and I kept saying but I turned that off, it wasn’t till I connected the vibrating of the watch and the beeping I thought I was randomly hearing that I thought, oh I must have turned it back on?  But then as I sit here and type this and think about the last couple runs where Pete would ask what mile we were at he did mention he could hear my watch beep.  Huh…  apparently I have tuned this out much like Dave can tune out me when I tell him dinner is ready and 15 minutes later he meanders through the kitchen wondering if we were planning on eating dinner. 

I decided to run out and back on Shenecosett, it is ‘in-land’ meaning not right on the water.  Mike B usually runs this route when it is windy.  I headed back to campus at an intersection after my watch vibrated (and beeped) 2 x, to get in 4 miles.  If I’m going to run why bother with anything less than 3 or 4 miles, right?  The wind at my back was great, and I knew to enjoy it because 17 MPH coming straight at me the opposite way was going to suck, but not as much as if I was running by the water (NNW wind).  A group of guys were running into the wind with that same look I must have had on my face last week when they were the ones running with smiles with the wind at their back and I was the one running with the wind in my face.  I’m sure I had that dopey, oh this feels nice smile on my face too…  wind at my back and a slight downhill, what could be better?  

Maybe it is the dread of the running into the wind that was worse than actually running into the wind?  It wasn’t too horrific and I kicked myself a little for not running all the way down to Jupiter Point to get in a full 5 miles.  

For Connie so she knows what I'm talking about with my route!!

This was also my last Swimming Lesson.  800 yards, with breaks.  I have come a long way and have a long way to go.  I'm pleased with my progress and will aim to get in a solo swim time once a week for a while and maybe sign up for another class when I feel more confident.  I have plenty of drills to work on and know where I need improvement.  Thing is with running I did that on my own and in the dark and off hours with no witnesses, so only I know where I was to where I am now, and what it took to get here.  Swimming isn't exactly a solo thing, there are always going to be people around and I just have to get in the water and practice, with people.  Will I try a Sprint Tri?  I might, I did put one on my race list... we shall see where I get with my confidence level.  As my Uncle Charlie said "Beth if you do a tri and you aren't going to win, get in the water last, it sucks getting kicked in the head."  My family is priceless.  

Thursday

So glad this is school vacation week for so many people and Passover and Easter so the number of people actually at work dwindled all week, I was finally getting my arms around a new project and slowly emerging from a battle over what constitutes the appropriate level of approval for a major change to a finance policy.  

Spin class followed by a nice 3.6 mile loop around Bluff Point (nearly forgot that L again).  My speed on the last down hill on the fire road was enough to grant me a QOM (Queen of the Mountain - for those not into the Strava lingo).  Whoop!   It is fun to wizz down that hill and also a little scary, if the gravel is loose or I kick a rock I've skidded to a stop face first, and well that kinda sucks.  So I try and keep it in control. Anything goes after the Ice Age 50 so maybe I'll see how fast I really can go?

Friday

Nada, nice easy day at work, not too many people in a couple things to cue up for next week and then lunch with the girls and a massage from Amy of the pointy elbows.  The pain in my right hip is pretty much gone, there was some stuff pretty bound up in my hip.  She did say she could tell that I'd been using the foam roller and stretching but what the heck was up with my calves, they had never been that knotty before.  Hmmmm  maybe that is why I've been getting charlie horses when I'm swimming?  

Sincerely,
Beth ready for tomorrow's last long run...

Recap Week #15 March 31 - April 6

Monday:  R: 0 / W: 2.4  / O: TRX

Rest day, although I did want to go for a run, something happened, oh work.  Seriously that crap just gets in the way.

Tuesday:  R: 7.6 / W: 2.0  / O: 0

Nice sunny day, sight breeze perfect for a run.  Walked into the gym to see nearly EVERY machine with someone on it.  Are you kidding me?  Go out side people...  Then I figured out it was some sort of thing for a lunchtime boot camp class when they were all crammed in the fitness room jumping around.  Accumulated some more freckles on my forehead, I really need to remember to put on the sunscreen. I could wear a hat but that makes my head too warm, too much hair or something.  Took a run up "The Bitch" after about a 2 mile warm up and a nice down hill to get some forward momentum.  Didn't go to badly, best time yet.   Then did the regular route.  Spied Mike B running on Shenncossett heading for the Juniper Point loop when I was running back up Bayberry.   By the time not so fleet of feet (me) finished up the 3 miles to get back to the gym he was no where to be found. 

Wednesday:  R: 8.2 / W: 0 / O: Swimming - 50 min

I felt like crap from the moment I got up, the sun wasn't out so much, some woman in the locker room was bitching about how cold it was and she didn't have her thermal tights to wear outside, are you kidding me? that just encouraged craptastic feeling me to honor my silent goal to my self to run the Gold Star Bridge and back and I did that.  Challenged my not so into it self by running up what I thought was a really steep hill on Smith St.  Didn't seem that bad, really.  Looks to be 100 feet of elevation gain over 0.4 miles (2,112 feet).  Rise over run gives 4.2% grade...  feh... Short and quick.  It wasn't cold, although I did grab a pair of gloves out of my bag just in case, I appreciated them on the run into the wind back to campus.  I did see this gal later in the week and mentioned, nicely, that it wasn't bad, shorts and long sleeved shirt weather. Not really sure what over came me, but there you have it.

Thursday:  R: 0 / W: 0 / O: 0

NYC for the day.  As coincidence would have it this was the day Claire was in to turn in her badge and computer.  Nice to see her one last time!

When I left for the train at the unspeakable hour of 5:30 a.m., I got in the car, turned the key, and nothing.  Old Vinny had been starting kind of weird for the last week, telling me all sorts of stories about Security System Failure / Power Steering Failure / Skid Control Failure.  Did I listen?  No...  Damn it.  Went up to explain this to Dave who said get the jumper cables then thought about actually getting out of bed to jump my car and said "Take my truck."  Oh goodie, heels, dress, and a truck.  Not my favorite combo… glad for long trench coats.  I made the later train, pshew!  Fortunately,  I was able to get the 5:03 train which gets me home about 8:15, just enough time to buy a new battery.  Don’t worry, Dave’s commute is very short, he doesn't have to leave the house and his biggest traffic problem is a three dog pile up on the basement stairs.  I manage to not burn out the clutch, yeah, and when I got back in my car I kept reaching for the shifter and putting my left foot down into nothing.  Amazing how quickly the motions come back.

Friday:  R: 0 / W: 0 / O: Bike 10.5 miles

Took the bike out for a spin, boy was it colder and windier than I expected.  Made it a quick 50 minute pedal, probably good considering I have a big day tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Beth who is kinda nervous for Big River 2x…  just keep running, right?