Butler

Hello!

Here's a picture of my dog, Butler. He is a rescue and has been with us since July 2007. We think he might be a German Shorthaired Pointer and Black Lab mix, but we obviously don't know for sure. We also didn't give him his name. I wish that we would have asked the shelter why they named him that. We were going to name him Miles or Milo, but once we had him, it just seemed like he'd been through enough already without having his name changed again. Everyone thinks we should teach him to fetch a beer since he's supposed to be a butler and all. So far he has no marketable skills, which is too bad since I really do think it's about time that he stops laying around all day and contributes to the household coffer.

It's only tangentially related to running in that he is sometimes my running partner. I bought him this monogrammed jacket from Land's End. He hates wearing it, but he looks absolutely precious, doesn't he?

Thanks for looking and happy running!

Jen

This Week in Training

Here's a quick note on my training for the week.

M: Rest
T: 8 miles with 10 x 100 meter strides on the dreadmill (~9:30 min/mile pace for the generally
running portion).
W: 4 mile recovery run on the dreadmill (~10 min/mile pace)
R: 9 mile general aerobic-dreadmill again (~9:30 min/mile pace)
F: Rest
S: 4 mile recovery dreadmill run (~10 min/mile pace) + 3 mile dog walk (~20 min/mile pace)
Su: 14 mile long run...outside!!! (8:39 min/mile pace)

So, we had a bit of a cold snap and so I ended up on the treadmill a lot this week. It's certainly better than not running at all, and I get to watch cable at the gym while I do it, but it's just not the same as pounding the pavement. Luckily it warmed up to tolerable levels (13 degrees F, with a windchill of 1 degree F) today for the long run. Actually it was supposed to be even warmer today (low 20s) according to weather forecasts from earlier in the week, but we didn't make it up there.

You may notice that my long run was significantly faster than any of my other runs this week. This probably irks some. Although I don't run my long runs as slow compared to race pace as some suggest, this is still an oddity for me. It's because all of my other runs were on the treadmill. I am always slower on the treadmill unless I'm doing some sort of speedwork. It may have something to do with the calibration of the treadmills at my gym. It also may have to do with the fact that the treadmill bed is a bit cushiony and therefore it is a bit harder than running on pavement. I'm sure this has an effect, although even in the summer when I can run on dirt trails, I am still faster outside. Finally, there is the boredom factor and the fact that I can watch the seconds and hundredths of miles tick (slowly) by on the display. This is probably the biggest problem of all. I do like that I can watch television while running, but I find my mind is constantly drifting to how much time I have left. Oh how I miss the warm, non-icy days of spring, summer and fall!

Happy Running!

Jen

Running Philosophy & the Quest for a BQ

Hello Again!

As a further introduction, I wanted to talk a little about my general running "philosophy" and also my hope to eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon. I put philosophy in quotes because I don't really take running that seriously. I do think it can add a lot to a person's life, but I don't think it's any sort of path to enlightenment. I mostly think of a it as a hobby, good exercise and some time to think. I guess that in and of itself can be significant.

Runners are known for being a bit obsessive. They obsess about split times, speed workouts, training plans, PRs, etc. I do not. I guess I am very "zen" about running. I don't really care about data when it comes to running. I do own a Garmin Forerunner GPS, which I love especially for long runs on trails where it's difficult to estimate the mileage using other methods. However, for shorter runs I often run routes for which I know the approximate mileage and then generally I don't wear a watch at all. If I do, I tend to take a very brief and cursory glance over the splits. They definitely don't get logged. Hell-most of my running never gets logged anywhere.

I also do not enjoy gut busting, nausea-inducing workouts. I know they work, but that doesn't make me want to do them. I LOVE running. I love being out on a trail on a Sunday morning with the gravel and dirt crunching under my feet and the cows mooing "Hello!" as I go by. I love the feeling after a long training run. I do NOT love running repeats on a track. Actually, I do not love running on a track at all. It's pretty much the antithesis of my idea of a perfect run. I guess this is why I like marathons so much. Although it definitely helps to do these sorts of workouts, the longer the race distance, the less they seem to matter. So, I avoid them a good deal of the time. I figure, I don't get paid to run. It's a hobby. Why should I do workouts that I don't enjoy?

But....

I have the burning desire to one day qualify for and run the Boston Marathon. I have to cut 8 minutes and 5 seconds from my PR (which, if you remember, was my first marathon and was almost 4 1/2 years ago at this point). Why do I want to run Boston so badly? Well, because it's probably the best marathon is the world. How's that for reasoning? :) In April 2003, my then boyfriend and now husband, Joe, ran Boston and I spectated. It's such an exciting atmosphere and a really special event. At the time, I was a runner, but had never run a race and probably had never run over 3 miles at a crack. The Boston athletes seemed so gifted to me. Joe is "retired" from marathoning now, but he is a speedy one. His PR is 2:37:35. I definitely thought Boston was out of my realm of possibilities.

When I finally completed a marathon in October of 2005, I wasn't actually too far off from qualifying. This was much to my surprise. Although I would need to take 20 seconds per mile off of my marathon pace, a BQ somehow seemed possible now. I haven't really felt in a place to make a serious go at a BQ until now. I don't know that I will accomplish it in June, but I will be training like I can.

I'll talk more specifically about my training plan for Grandma's Marathon and the steps that I will be taking to improve my marathon time in my next post. Until then...

Happy Running!

Jen

Marathons Past

Hello!

I'm just in from a decent 13 miler. It was my longest run since the Lakefront Marathon on October 4th. I was typing up a long blog entry and somehow I managed to lose it. So, I am going to go for something a bit more succinct this time. I figured I would explain a bit of the history behind my "marathons past" as a bit of background information. I have run 4 marathons so far. My first was in the fall of 2005 and my last was just last fall (2009).

Chicago 2005
Chip time: 3:49:04
This race went awesome! My training had gone relatively well although I did have some gluteus medius pain that caused me to change one of my 20 milers into a 16 miler. Also I had abandoned all speedwork pretty early on. Still, my training was very solid, especially for a first marathon. I felt great throughout except for a bit of "foggy brain" near the end.

St. Louis 2007
Chip time: 3:59:17
Notice how I got 10 minutes slower? This is not the way it is supposed to go! But, it really wasn't too much of a surprise. My training was not great. One week I ran a 20 miler and then didn't run a single day until my next 20 miler the following week. That's clearly not ideal. I was in my last semester of engineering school, working on senior design projects, buying a house, etc. and was just busy and exhausted. Excuses, excuses, I know. Basically, I am lucky to have done this well on such crap training. :)

Austin 2009
Chip time: 4:09:06
Notice the time. I got 10 minutes slower again! WTF? Well, my training was much better for this one, but much of it was on a treadmill. Now, I am not afraid of the cold and am generally ok running in any temperature once I get myself out the door. But, the streets and trails around my house became utterly impassable due to freeze/thaw cycles. Also, my training started out super strong, but I was not taking the rest days called out by Pfitzinger. Bad idea. About half way through, I came back from a cutback week feeling tired, not rejuvenated. I was forced to cut back a bit or else risk completely crashing and burning. Still, I would have expected a better time, but Austin was hillier than my previous marathons.

Milwaukee Lakefront 2009
Chip time: 3:54:24
You were guessing a 4:19, weren't you? Luckily, I bucked the trend! My training for this one was pretty solid, although I wasn't completely faithful to Pfitz, especially in the later weeks. My speedwork was also quite spotty (I loathe it-but that's a topic for another entry). The Lakefront course is also notoriously flat, which couldn't have hurt.

That brings us up to now. As stated, my next marathon will be the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN in June. I plan to talk more about my training for this one and my running philosophy in general in the near future. For now, I need to get going.

Happy Running!
Jen

New Blog!

Hello!

I've decided to start a running blog (and hopefully stick with it). I plan to mostly write about marathon training, racing, running nutrition, etc. But I reserve the right to digress. :)

My name is Jen and I am a Wisconsinite, marathoner, engineer and dog mom, among other things. I'm sure all of these things will come up in the future.

Currently I'm training for Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN on June 19th. Registration was on Thursday and so now I am officially in it. My last marathon was Lakefront in Milwaukee last October. Today I'm scheduled for a long run of 12 miles. It will be the longest I've run since Lakefront and it should be fun as long as I don't take a digger due to ice and hurt myself!

Ultimately, I need to qualify for the Boston Marathon. My first marathon (Chicago 2005) was actually my fastest at 3:49:04. So, I need to shave about 9 minutes off my PR. I realize that many have cut off much more time than this, but it's still quite a challenge. I'll explain my "marathons past" more thoroughly in the future. Right now, I need to get going and get ready for the run.

Happy Running!
Jen