Today marks the last of my long runs before I start to taper for the January 29, 2012 ING Miami Marathon. Twenty miles. 2-0. I felt up to it. I downloaded a couple movies last night on my iPad and decided, as usual, to do my run on the treadmill. Yeah, I know. Very flat. Very pounding. Same ol' muscles get no break. Plus, I'm living -- for the time being -- on a beach. Gorgeous weather outside.
Thing is, I don't have a fuel belt (I should buy a fuel belt) and I don't feel equipped for an outdoor run. In NYC when I run Central Park, I know exactly where to find the water fountains and bathroom (Boathouse) should I need it. When I lived in LA, I ran the strand from Playa del Rey into Hermosa Beach, and again, knew exactly where to find water and water closets. Besides, check out my condo gym that no one is ever in because I'm renting in Myrtle Beach during the off-season:
I see dolphins playing pretty much every day from this view. There's usually a wedding ceremony to watch on weekends, too. Joy!
Here I've got my treadmill all set up with a dry towel, coconut water in my water bottle, regular water (which is so good after you've been pounding the coconut water), a little bag of two peeled clementines and dates, a chapstick and a 5-hour energy drink, which I swigged just before my run.
I wanted to experiment with a rolled oats oatmeal breakfast for raceday, so I made 1/2 cup for breakfast with a squirt of agave nectar for energy and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for simple beauty. Wow! It looks like a Quaker Oats ad.
I'm very happy with this breakfast and my 5-hour energy drink because, alas, I did indeed have enough energy for my run today.
However, as I was stretching, cracking my knuckles and otherwise getting ready to board the treadmill, I felt a serious pang on the outside of my left heel. Never had that before - and it kinda hurt in an I'm-being-overly-cautious sort of way.
Heel spur? Need to research that. If a heel spur feels like a spur in your heel, well, then I have it.
I ran the first 10 miles at 5.4 (11:07 pace) on the treadmill with no problem. Seriously, forgot I was even running. Just zoned and listened to a few free podcasts from "This Running Life" a one-time fat middle-aged guy named Gordon who lost the weight, started running and went vegan. He's a 3:20, 3:30 or so marathoner. Not bad, fat man.
I popped on my movie around mile 9. I like all the actors in this film. Very sad to see Gwyneth Paltrow dead on the poster. She died pretty early on, but at least did a really good job with that scene.
I was a lot more aware of the second half of my run. Mile 15 lasted forever. I kept checking the display. I held the same pace. Why was this mile taking so long? At mile 16.4, I slowed down for a minute to walk and pour more coconut water into my water bottle. I was starting to feel it. I walked till 16.5 and only upped the speed at that point to 5.1. At 17.5 miles, I felt a little guilty about the 5.1, so I pushed myself all the way up to 5.2.
Again, my energy was fine. It was my feet. I was very aware of that heel spur as well as several new blisters forming on my right toe and foot. Mile 19-20 felt easy because I knew it was the end.
I walked half a mile to bring my heart rate back down. I got it to 122 or so (I usually aim for 105 before quitting), before I decided the heart rate monitor must not be working, so I got off. It may have been working....but....anyway. I was tired.
I stretched like an old woman and came back up for the rest of my pomegranate and a recovery smoothie, which turned out really nice today.
Smoothie: one frozen banana, bunch of blueberries, almond milk, orange juice, tbsp each of maca and acai powder, two tsp of Green Lightning (green powder) and an eyeballed half cup of hemp protein. I should've thrown some flaxseed in there for extra health, but I forgot.
I'm tired now. Need to pack for busy one-week trip to NYC tomorrow morning. David is going to come to Myrtle Beach and cover assisted-living duties for my step-son (with autism) on Wednesday. I'll be back on Saturday.
I haven't been home in six months. We rented this place because it's more affordable than NYC and we needed some time to figure out a longer-term living situation for Tyler. He's going into a program for specific training toward independence in March. So, I'll be off the grid helping him out till then (a total of 8 months!)
I'm flying back home to do hair, nails, claim my about-to-expire groupons for brunches and massages with my girlfriends, renew my driver's license and be a guest on the Nate Berkus show! He's going to give me some free expert design advice. I have no clue really what to expect, but look forward to learning and growing and doing whatever it takes to "live my signature style" (one of my 3 resolutions).
Thing is, I don't have a fuel belt (I should buy a fuel belt) and I don't feel equipped for an outdoor run. In NYC when I run Central Park, I know exactly where to find the water fountains and bathroom (Boathouse) should I need it. When I lived in LA, I ran the strand from Playa del Rey into Hermosa Beach, and again, knew exactly where to find water and water closets. Besides, check out my condo gym that no one is ever in because I'm renting in Myrtle Beach during the off-season:
I see dolphins playing pretty much every day from this view. There's usually a wedding ceremony to watch on weekends, too. Joy!
Here I've got my treadmill all set up with a dry towel, coconut water in my water bottle, regular water (which is so good after you've been pounding the coconut water), a little bag of two peeled clementines and dates, a chapstick and a 5-hour energy drink, which I swigged just before my run.
I wanted to experiment with a rolled oats oatmeal breakfast for raceday, so I made 1/2 cup for breakfast with a squirt of agave nectar for energy and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for simple beauty. Wow! It looks like a Quaker Oats ad.
I'm very happy with this breakfast and my 5-hour energy drink because, alas, I did indeed have enough energy for my run today.
However, as I was stretching, cracking my knuckles and otherwise getting ready to board the treadmill, I felt a serious pang on the outside of my left heel. Never had that before - and it kinda hurt in an I'm-being-overly-cautious sort of way.
Heel spur? Need to research that. If a heel spur feels like a spur in your heel, well, then I have it.
I ran the first 10 miles at 5.4 (11:07 pace) on the treadmill with no problem. Seriously, forgot I was even running. Just zoned and listened to a few free podcasts from "This Running Life" a one-time fat middle-aged guy named Gordon who lost the weight, started running and went vegan. He's a 3:20, 3:30 or so marathoner. Not bad, fat man.
I popped on my movie around mile 9. I like all the actors in this film. Very sad to see Gwyneth Paltrow dead on the poster. She died pretty early on, but at least did a really good job with that scene.
I was a lot more aware of the second half of my run. Mile 15 lasted forever. I kept checking the display. I held the same pace. Why was this mile taking so long? At mile 16.4, I slowed down for a minute to walk and pour more coconut water into my water bottle. I was starting to feel it. I walked till 16.5 and only upped the speed at that point to 5.1. At 17.5 miles, I felt a little guilty about the 5.1, so I pushed myself all the way up to 5.2.
Again, my energy was fine. It was my feet. I was very aware of that heel spur as well as several new blisters forming on my right toe and foot. Mile 19-20 felt easy because I knew it was the end.
I walked half a mile to bring my heart rate back down. I got it to 122 or so (I usually aim for 105 before quitting), before I decided the heart rate monitor must not be working, so I got off. It may have been working....but....anyway. I was tired.
I stretched like an old woman and came back up for the rest of my pomegranate and a recovery smoothie, which turned out really nice today.
Smoothie: one frozen banana, bunch of blueberries, almond milk, orange juice, tbsp each of maca and acai powder, two tsp of Green Lightning (green powder) and an eyeballed half cup of hemp protein. I should've thrown some flaxseed in there for extra health, but I forgot.
I'm tired now. Need to pack for busy one-week trip to NYC tomorrow morning. David is going to come to Myrtle Beach and cover assisted-living duties for my step-son (with autism) on Wednesday. I'll be back on Saturday.
I haven't been home in six months. We rented this place because it's more affordable than NYC and we needed some time to figure out a longer-term living situation for Tyler. He's going into a program for specific training toward independence in March. So, I'll be off the grid helping him out till then (a total of 8 months!)
I'm flying back home to do hair, nails, claim my about-to-expire groupons for brunches and massages with my girlfriends, renew my driver's license and be a guest on the Nate Berkus show! He's going to give me some free expert design advice. I have no clue really what to expect, but look forward to learning and growing and doing whatever it takes to "live my signature style" (one of my 3 resolutions).
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