My apologies for the rather generic, un-creative blog title. However, my previous "running after mono" blog brought a mono-inflicted runner here, and I made a new friend! She just started blogging and has had the misfortune of getting mono. When I was Googling "running with mono" all I found were horror stories. I figured I would post some encouraging stuff for people searching for the same answers I was. Of course everyone is different and the illness affects people in different ways. But here's a snippet from me.
It's been two weeks since my last update and three weeks since I took my first "jog". September 1 marked my official return to running. It did not go well, but things have improved since. One thing to keep in mind when returning to running post-mono is that it's not as if you simply took a break from running. The immune system is compromised, fatigue lingers, the entire body has been beat up and there is always the worry of getting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or never being quite the same. These last two are the horror stories I've read when searching Google for post-mono running. You have to be extremely careful, taking it day by day and seeing what you can handle. The tough part is, even if you are responding well to increased physical activity, the illness can suddenly rear its ugly head without warning.
My approach here has been to rely heavily on my heart rate to indicate whether I am pushing too much. Based on my recent VO2 max test, I know where my heart rate should be for the run to be "easy". 150-162 beats per minute. I've been extremely disciplined in this area, even though it feels like I am barely getting a workout. However, if I were to just run by feel I know my legs would take me faster than I should be going, and I would risk tiring too early and bonking at the end. Zone 2 training is also the best for building endurance, and that's where marathon training starts anyway. I don't plan to add any speed until early October and even then, it will be "lite" speedwork-- short tempo runs based on keeping my heart rate in zone 4.
September has been all about regaining my health so that I can return to proper training. I don't consider the running I am doing now to be actual training like it was before. Rather, this is what I need to do in order to recover properly, so that I will ultimately be able to train at full capacity sooner rather than later. My sports psychologist reminded me that I should be making comparisons only to my recent past, and not to my pre-mono self. Otherwise, every run would feel like a failure.
When I first started running again, I used the jog-walk approach. I found that I wasn't able to keep my heart rate in zone 2 for more than two miles, so I needed to take periodic breaks. Now, I am still jog-walking, but the jog portions are longer. I think I could keep my heart rate in zone 2 without the breaks now, but it's nice to let it come down a little every so often, so I'm not constantly having to back off the pace to maintain the desired heart rate. My paces have been gradually getting faster, but the lack of speed work means that I probably won't be anywhere close to my prior pace for a long time, and I am okay with that.
Here is a recap of my week. I'm including the paces so that I'll be able to come back a month from now and see some progress. A month ago, I was struggling just to walk at a normal pace, so I've made outstanding progress in the past month.
Monday: Rest. I had planned on running, but I decided not to because I expended a fair amount of energy cheering for Greg and my teammates at the Philly half marathon the day before.
Tuesday: 5.1 miles on the treadmill due to stormy weather. 10 minutes jogging, 2 minutes walking. Treadmill was set to 5.7 (10:30 pace)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 6 miles. 10 minute jog, 1 minute walk. Jogging portions averaged a pace of 10:30.
Friday: 5.9 miles. 12 minute jog, 1 minute walk. Jogging portions averaged a pace of 10:43.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 7 miles. 12 minute jog, 1 minute walk. Jogging portions averaged a pace of 10:11.
Today's run showed some nice progress because the average pace of the full 7 miles was 10:30, and that includes the walking! Also, it was a post-mono distance PR.
4 days of running, 24 miles covered (includes the walking).
In addition to this, I've been consistently doing strength training. I'm heavily focused on my hips and glutes because I know that's an area of weakness for me. But I'm also doing squats, lunges, planks, various forms of crunches, push-ups, and light weight lifting for the arms and shoulders.
I hope that I continue to feel good during my runs and throughout the day. My greatest fear is a relapse or setback. I think I'm being really cautious here, but it's hard to tell for sure. My body is responding well, so I take that as a positive sign. I'm also very focused on eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and loading up on vitamins. Health, you will be mine!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Choosing Where to Focus
I was registered to run the Rock 'N Roll Philadelphia half marathon this past Sunday. However, due to having mono all summer, I was not in any shape to race this one. More importantly, I am being strategic about my build up and even jog-walking the 13.1-mile distance would not at all be prudent for my health.
Thus, I went to Philadelphia to cheer for Greg and my Capital Area Runners teammates.
Before I even left the house on Saturday, I told myself that I was going to remain positive all weekend. I did not want to spend the weekend depressed about my circumstances. I wanted to truly enjoy the weekend, truly support my husband, and not compare myself to anyone running. Once again, mono has provided me with the opportunity to work on things that are challenging for me. Even though I'm not at a point where I can improve my physical ability, I certainly can work on some of the key areas that I often struggle with.
It really comes down to focus. Where do I choose to focus my attention and my mental space? I could choose to focus on things that would only make me miserable. Examples of this (things to steer clear of) are speculating on the time I would have run if I had been able to train all summer, my current inability to cover a half-marathon distance, and what times I will run once I start racing again. I told myself that I would not think about these things during the weekend. But in order to NOT think about something, you need to have a focus point to replace those negative thoughts. I chose to focus heavily on:
It worked like a charm! I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, Greg ran a fantastic race and I got to participate in the event by cheering and taking photos! And actually, it wasn't hard to do. Once I told myself that I would focus on the four things mentioned above, it was pretty easy to get wrapped up in Greg's race, the enjoyment of spectating and the task of taking photos.
Unfortunately, the fully-charged battery on my good camera died early on, so most of the "action" photos were taken with my cell phone camera. But they still came out okay and my coach used them in the weekly team newsletter. That made me happy.
Some of my teammates offered me condolences and sympathy for not being able to race. They assured me that they knew how hard it was to not be able to be out there racing. I really appreciated how supportive these particular teammates were being. And the way I felt when they said these things really solidified something for me. I'm okay with it. Yes, it's hard not being able to run, but actually not that hard. I have felt a greater sense of despair with other injuries and illnesses far less severe than mono simply because I didn't have the tools to cope effectively with them. I actually enjoyed the entire weekend quite easily because my focus was exactly where it needed to be.
I learned that you don't have to be running in a race to be a participant in the event. And you don't have to be physically training to improve yourself as an athlete.
Thus, I went to Philadelphia to cheer for Greg and my Capital Area Runners teammates.
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| Pre-Race |
It really comes down to focus. Where do I choose to focus my attention and my mental space? I could choose to focus on things that would only make me miserable. Examples of this (things to steer clear of) are speculating on the time I would have run if I had been able to train all summer, my current inability to cover a half-marathon distance, and what times I will run once I start racing again. I told myself that I would not think about these things during the weekend. But in order to NOT think about something, you need to have a focus point to replace those negative thoughts. I chose to focus heavily on:
- Supporting Greg throughout the entire weekend and doing whatever I could to help him.
- Cheering for Greg, my teammates, and other random runners during the race (I love cheering for randoms. The look on their faces is great when I call them out as looking strong!)
- Taking photos of Greg and my teammates that I could later send to them
- Getting to know my teammates better during the pre-race dinner on Saturday night.
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| Greg at mile 4.2. |
Unfortunately, the fully-charged battery on my good camera died early on, so most of the "action" photos were taken with my cell phone camera. But they still came out okay and my coach used them in the weekly team newsletter. That made me happy.
Some of my teammates offered me condolences and sympathy for not being able to race. They assured me that they knew how hard it was to not be able to be out there racing. I really appreciated how supportive these particular teammates were being. And the way I felt when they said these things really solidified something for me. I'm okay with it. Yes, it's hard not being able to run, but actually not that hard. I have felt a greater sense of despair with other injuries and illnesses far less severe than mono simply because I didn't have the tools to cope effectively with them. I actually enjoyed the entire weekend quite easily because my focus was exactly where it needed to be.
I learned that you don't have to be running in a race to be a participant in the event. And you don't have to be physically training to improve yourself as an athlete.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Running After Mono
I think I am finally coming out of this illness. I've had many ups and downs throughout this experience with mono, but I devoted the entire month of August to resting in the hopes of preventing relapses and returning to my normal, pre-mono self. With the exception of two weeks in July when I thought I was recovered, I was suffering from this thing for the entire summer. I've never had an illness last this long and I've never had a summer when I was indoors for the majority of it.
Getting Healthy
This illness basically came to me in 4 phases: initial sickness (severe sore throat), temporary recovery, relapse with original symptoms, and then dizziness + general weakness and fatigue. The 4th phase lasted the longest and I am still not completely out of the woods. I still occasionally get dizzy and feel tired, but these periods don't last for longer than a few hours.
August was tough. I worked from home for the first three weeks, logging sick hours here and there when I needed to sleep or get away from the computer. August 17 was actually my worst day of the entire illness in terms of fatigue. I woke up, got out of bed, and felt like I couldn't even walk to the bathroom. Even sitting up in the bed was exhausting so I took conference calls lying down and logged the rest of the day as sick. It was the only day of this entire illness that I asked Greg to bring me breakfast in bed. I did make my way downstairs for lunch, but it wasn't easy. Thankfully, I woke up the following day feeling worlds better. The illness is so unpredictable that way. Since then, things have been progressing in the right direction.
When I returned to work, I did nothing aside from work. No running. No going out to dinner. No errands. Just to work and home so I could make sure I had the energy to continue going to work. I ended the week feeling decent so I gradually started adding in normal activities like going out to eat and doing the laundry. A very experienced runner advised me to not start running again until I had a sustained period of feeling good and healthy. I resumed my strength training during the last week of August and I seemed to handle it well. Nothing too intense-- just some planks, push-ups, and working with dumbells.
The First Run Back
On Saturday, September 1, I thought I would celebrate the new month by trying to run. I had felt great all week, and the week before had been pretty good, although not perfect. I set out to run three miles. Goal: three miles, keeping heart rate in zone 2.
I was sooo happy to be out there again. I was enjoying the run so much for the first mile. Greg was with me and it was good to be running with him. It was a snail's pace but that didn't matter to me. I was just happy to be able to run. The second mile didn't feel all that great. I had to slow down even further to keep my heart rate in zone 2. By the end of the mile, I knew I was done. I walked the rest of the way home.
Initially I was extremely frustrated. I couldn't even run three miles at an 11:xx pace. I could accept that I had lost fitness, but what I couldn't accept was that I wasn't at a spot with my recovery where 3 miles was realistic. That run left me feeling extremely tired and crappy, so I spent the rest of the day on the couch. On the plus side, I did get out there and complete 2 miles without stopping. And instead of spending the day depressed, I just accepted that I wasn't ready to start running again.
The Second Run
I explained to my sports psychologist that I had a crappy first run back. At this point, he suggested the run/walk approach, which I had considered initially, but I didn't want to accept as reality. He gave me a reality check and told me that I'm not on the same path I was before the illness. I would get back there, but I'm not there, and I have to first work through the illness before I can get back there. I have to deal with my current circumstances, and spending my time wishing I was my old self again doesn't do me any good. He urged me to make comparisons only to the recent past. I'm doing much better now than I was three weeks ago. Comparing to how I was three months ago doesn't help me.
I did the run/walk thing after my stress fractures and tolerated it well, so I accepted that it would be the best approach to being "out there" and feeling good for more than just 15 minutes. I arbitrarily decided on 8:00 running, followed by 2:00 walking. I figured that the walk breaks would allow my heart rate to come down so that it wouldn't be such a struggle to stay in zone 2.
On Thursday (5 days after the first run) I felt well enough to test the run/walk approach. It worked! I felt good the whole time, and good for the rest of the day. I ran a total of about 2.2 miles and covered a distance of about 2.6 miles. This is slightly more running than the previous attempt, and I felt a lot better.
Runs 3 & 4
I woke up feeling good on Friday morning, which hopefully means that the Thursday run wasn't too much for me. However, I decided to save up my energy for my Sunday run, in which I would attempt to cover a distance of 4.8 miles. I joined Greg for the first 8 minutes of his long run on Saturday, and then turned around and came home. Today (Sunday) was a big day for me. My team was meeting at Burke Lake to run the 4.8-mile loop. They were all running multiple loops as part of their long runs, but my goal was to simply complete the loop, even if it meant a substantial amount of walking.
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| 4.8 miles completed! |
I had my trusty Garmin programmed at 8:00/2:00 intervals, so I heard a beep whenever it was time to transition from running to walking. Greg was with me, even though he just ran 18 miles the day before. I was so grateful to have him there, because part of me was worried that my body wouldn't react well, and I'd need help. Thursday's run left me feeling pretty confident that I would be okay, but mono is highly unpredictable.
It was a beautiful morning. 62 degrees with low humidity. And most of the trail was shaded. This was such an enjoyable run for me! Running somewhere that I don't normally go, with my husband, and feeling healthy. Such a nice feeling.
We ended up doing 5 x (8:00/2:00) for a total of 4.1 miles. I had to really slow down on the last one to keep my heart rate down, so I decided I probably shouldn't try for a 6th one. We walked the rest of the loop for a total of 4.8 miles covered. Afterwards, we waited for the other groups to finish their second lap so we could say hi and talk to the coach.
Greg and I had a celebratory breakfast and then returned home. I felt good for awhile, but then I started to get a slight headache and some dizziness. I'm still a bit dizzy as I type this, and I hope it passes. Mono recovery is just so unpredictable. It's hard to know what's okay to do and what's not. And there is no established timeline for a full recovery. I've heard it can take up to a year. I've heard some people say six months. All I can do is try to get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, eat healthy foods and minimize stress.
No race plans for me-- I'm completely focused on getting back to 100% health. Once I get back into the groove of normal training, I will start to think about spring racing.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
On Hard Work . . .
Despite not being able to run, I've been doing a great deal of thinking about my approach and mindset.
I've always defined myself, in part, by my work ethic. I work very, very hard at things in which I care to succeed. "Working hard" is part of who I am at my core. But now I am realizing that there's more to hard work than what I thought.
People work hard at things they are good at. When I was 12 years old and taking piano lessons, I never wanted to practice the pieces my teacher gave me. I didn't have the patience to read the music and figure it out. Instead, I was really good at playing music by ear and even composing my own songs. It was easier for me to work with this natural gift than it was to learn the assigned pieces. I would practice the piano for about an hour a day-- but only a small percentage of that time was spent on what the teacher wanted me to do. Most of it was playing songs I was already good at, or playing songs by ear. Thus, piano lessons only lasted a few years and I didn't progress very far in my ability to play complex pieces. (This doesn't really bother me, because I would still prefer to play by ear!)
To be truly successful, you need to work hard at things you are not good at.
I consider myself "good" at marathon training because I'm very motivated to get out there and do the prescribed workouts. I'm good at making plans and following through. I enjoy structure and following the rules. These are all things that are very easy for me to do because I enjoy them and I've been doing them for a long time. And therefore, it's easy for me to work hard at simply doing the training.
Things that I'm good at, which I work hard at:
But there are also a whole host of other things related to marathon training that I could really improve upon. Things that are not easy for me-- that may seem like they aren't even possible. So when I start training again, I plan to continue to work hard at the things I mentioned above, but I also have a list of other things I need to work hard at that aren't easy.
Things that I'm not good at, and need to work hard at:
Making comparisons-- I have a tendency to look at other people's race results and immediately compare them to my own. Or look at my results and immediately compare them to other people's results. This is not good for me! Although I am happy for others when they succeed, it's coupled with an "I should be able to do that." When hearing about other people's runs, I need to be happy for their successes and keep that completely, 100%, totally separate from my own running. When I run a race, I should be 100% focused on my performance, what I did well, and not letting other people's times come into the evaluation of myself.
Learning from setbacks and moving on-- I've gotten better at this over the years, but I am nowhere near where I want to be. It used to be that I just wouldn't learn anything from a poor performance. I'd be upset and it would last for awhile. Then I started learning from setbacks, so although I was upset, at least I had something to takeaway for next time. The problem has always been the moving on part. If I have a bad race, I tend to dwell on it all day, or sometimes even for multiple days. This is not good for me and it will only serve to diminish my confidence. Confidence is critical for good performance, so I can't get caught up in the negative emotions.
Patience-- I am not a patient person. I will work hard for a long time to get good results, but when I know it's time for those results, I can't bear to wait any longer. I have the patience to work through a 16-week training plan, but come race day, I'd better get those results! The thought of doing another 16-week cycle to get the results that I should have gotten this time just pains me beyond belief. After each of my "bad" marathons, my first order of business has been to pull out a calendar, find a marathon in 4-6 weeks and get my result! And during those 4-6 weeks my entire focus is on how I will redeem myself in that next race.
I absolutely hate not knowing when I will get results. In college, I couldn't stand having to wait to receive grades on my essays. The worst part was not knowing when the teacher would get the grades back. I would go to class, hoping that this would be the day we'd get our essays returned, but it wouldn't be. I was always the one asking "when will we get our papers back?"
And right now, I am trying to recover from mono and I have no idea when I will be able to start doing regular training again. Next week? Two weeks? Next month? I would be much better at coping if I had a date that I could count on. I have to work hard at being patient.
Tempering Emotions-- I consider myself to be a very passionate person. It's a part of my personality that I like, but it's not good when negative emotions just consume me. I have always attached emotions to results and outcomes, no matter how hard I worked. I realize that not getting a good result doesn't diminish the hard work, but the disappointment that comes from not getting the desired result always overshadows the pride from doing the work. I need to work hard at attaching pride and positive emotions to the process and the work. A sub-par marathon time doesn't change the fact that I spent the past 16 weeks waking up at 5:00am and running my butt of every day!
Expecting that I will make mistakes-- Whenever I make a mistake, I feel the need to fix it immediately. I am not okay with making mistakes. I apologize profusely at work or to other people if the mistake somehow affected them. And I try hard to make up for it. Where I used to work, mistakes weren't tolerated and I was there for so long that it felt normal to me. But at my new job, people don't make a big deal out of mistakes. It's expected. We're just human, we're working on a hundred things at once under tight deadlines, so mistakes happen. I'd love for my "internal culture" to shift along with the way my work environment culture has shifted. Work hard, expect great things out of yourself, but also expect to make mistakes and not make a huge deal out of them.
I am going to focus on these five things (maybe not all at once) and I think that once I do, I will be a happier person overall and I will find more success in anything I strive for-- not just running marathons.
Speaking of marathons, every single marathon I've run since March 2008 has been a huge struggle for me and has not ended well. And I've run a lot of them since then. I've constantly asked myself why this keeps happening and now I am honing in on the answer.
Even though I've been doing very well at the first list of bullets, which includes executing the physical training, I've not worked at all on the second list of bullets. I really need to start thinking more about that second list, using my discipline to work hard at each one, and accepting that I will be out of my comfort zone. I will have to correct a lot of bad habits and mentally train myself to have a different outlook. The byproduct of NOT working hard at this second list is a great deal of anxiety, which is ultimately which comes back to bite me come race day. Telling myself to simply relax won't cut it. I need to work hard at the things I'm uncomfortable with.
I've always defined myself, in part, by my work ethic. I work very, very hard at things in which I care to succeed. "Working hard" is part of who I am at my core. But now I am realizing that there's more to hard work than what I thought.
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| I enjoy playing the piano by ear and composing. |
To be truly successful, you need to work hard at things you are not good at.
I consider myself "good" at marathon training because I'm very motivated to get out there and do the prescribed workouts. I'm good at making plans and following through. I enjoy structure and following the rules. These are all things that are very easy for me to do because I enjoy them and I've been doing them for a long time. And therefore, it's easy for me to work hard at simply doing the training.
Things that I'm good at, which I work hard at:
 |
| I'm good at pushing through tough runs! |
- Carefully planning runs in advance
- Being disciplined about following the training plan and doing workouts as prescribed
- Taking good care of my body- being aware of potential injuries, planning rest and recovery
- Mental toughness, both in terms of pushing through hard workouts and not giving up on my goals
- Solving problems, learning from mistakes
- Being strategic about running races
But there are also a whole host of other things related to marathon training that I could really improve upon. Things that are not easy for me-- that may seem like they aren't even possible. So when I start training again, I plan to continue to work hard at the things I mentioned above, but I also have a list of other things I need to work hard at that aren't easy.
Things that I'm not good at, and need to work hard at:
- Making comparisons only to myself, and not to other runners.
- Learning effectively from setbacks/poor performances and quickly moving on.
- Patience.
- Tempering emotions, and attaching them to "the process" rather than the outcome.
- Expecting that I will make mistakes, and being okay with them.
Making comparisons-- I have a tendency to look at other people's race results and immediately compare them to my own. Or look at my results and immediately compare them to other people's results. This is not good for me! Although I am happy for others when they succeed, it's coupled with an "I should be able to do that." When hearing about other people's runs, I need to be happy for their successes and keep that completely, 100%, totally separate from my own running. When I run a race, I should be 100% focused on my performance, what I did well, and not letting other people's times come into the evaluation of myself.
Learning from setbacks and moving on-- I've gotten better at this over the years, but I am nowhere near where I want to be. It used to be that I just wouldn't learn anything from a poor performance. I'd be upset and it would last for awhile. Then I started learning from setbacks, so although I was upset, at least I had something to takeaway for next time. The problem has always been the moving on part. If I have a bad race, I tend to dwell on it all day, or sometimes even for multiple days. This is not good for me and it will only serve to diminish my confidence. Confidence is critical for good performance, so I can't get caught up in the negative emotions.
I absolutely hate not knowing when I will get results. In college, I couldn't stand having to wait to receive grades on my essays. The worst part was not knowing when the teacher would get the grades back. I would go to class, hoping that this would be the day we'd get our essays returned, but it wouldn't be. I was always the one asking "when will we get our papers back?"
And right now, I am trying to recover from mono and I have no idea when I will be able to start doing regular training again. Next week? Two weeks? Next month? I would be much better at coping if I had a date that I could count on. I have to work hard at being patient.
Expecting that I will make mistakes-- Whenever I make a mistake, I feel the need to fix it immediately. I am not okay with making mistakes. I apologize profusely at work or to other people if the mistake somehow affected them. And I try hard to make up for it. Where I used to work, mistakes weren't tolerated and I was there for so long that it felt normal to me. But at my new job, people don't make a big deal out of mistakes. It's expected. We're just human, we're working on a hundred things at once under tight deadlines, so mistakes happen. I'd love for my "internal culture" to shift along with the way my work environment culture has shifted. Work hard, expect great things out of yourself, but also expect to make mistakes and not make a huge deal out of them.
I am going to focus on these five things (maybe not all at once) and I think that once I do, I will be a happier person overall and I will find more success in anything I strive for-- not just running marathons.
Speaking of marathons, every single marathon I've run since March 2008 has been a huge struggle for me and has not ended well. And I've run a lot of them since then. I've constantly asked myself why this keeps happening and now I am honing in on the answer.
Even though I've been doing very well at the first list of bullets, which includes executing the physical training, I've not worked at all on the second list of bullets. I really need to start thinking more about that second list, using my discipline to work hard at each one, and accepting that I will be out of my comfort zone. I will have to correct a lot of bad habits and mentally train myself to have a different outlook. The byproduct of NOT working hard at this second list is a great deal of anxiety, which is ultimately which comes back to bite me come race day. Telling myself to simply relax won't cut it. I need to work hard at the things I'm uncomfortable with.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Music Organization Issues
Having mono and not being able to run or do much of anything else has given me the opportunity to address my iTunes Music Library issues. I've been meaning to tackle this project for a long time now, but I've never had the time. Just this weekend, I've spent over five hours doing this. Not to mention time spent in previous weekends.
The problem: I had a computer virus back in 2009, which caused me to lose a large chunk of my songs. Many were backed up to "the cloud" but many were not. The problem was identifying which ones were lost, if I had them backed up on data CD's anywhere (I used to play MP3 CD's in my car), or if I would need to re-download them. I have an iPod with most of the songs on it, but I have never been able to figure out how to transfer songs from an iPod back to a computer. So the process is going through the iPod, song by song, to see which ones are not on the computer.
To complicate matters, I got a new computer back in May and not all songs made the transfer. It took me several tries to get what I thought was all of them, but now I am noticing I am missing some songs that were on that old computer. It sounds straightforward-- just copy everything over. But for some reason, it just was not that easy. Part of the problem was that my music was stored all over the place, not just in "my music". I've been using my computer to store music since 1999, before iTunes and before computers were really setup that way. So stuff is scattered.
Another problem: I would really like my iTunes library to have the correct album and year for each song. The year is very important because songs represent eras in my life. I organize my physical CD collection by date, so it's like a timeline of my life. Related to this, I would like accurate play count data. The 2009 virus wiped out everything, so I had to start from scratch. But then for awhile I couldn't properly sync my iPods because they had pre-virus music on them, so no play counts were being recorded. Accurate play count data is important because it tells me how obsessed I was with each song. Unfortunately, the data has just started to become accurate this year as I begin to address these issues.
My time on this music project has been spent:
I'm going to guess that a lot of people have similar problems as their libraries have expanded, they have upgraded computers, they have moved from CD's to strictly digital, etc. I inspired Greg to get his library organized, and he's just in the early stages now. It's very addictive, especially if you are a perfectionist. Greg has been avoiding this for awhile, just listening to Pandora primarily and not downloading new music. But now he is realizing all the music he doesn't have that he wants to have.
One problem with this list is that some of these songs are actually the same. For example, the two Duran Duran songs off of the same album sound a lot alike. I can't decide which I like better. It's kind of like saying "I like Duran Duran's sound on these songs" versus two totally different songs. The same is true of the Five For Fighting songs. Those two are very similar, but it's impossible to pick which one I prefer. So they both make the list. On the other hand, the Red Hot Chili Peppers songs and the Tori Amos songs are different from each other.
Anyway, I'm almost done with this project, but still very annoyed at the amount of music that disappeared that I have to purchase again. It's been extremely time consuming, but since I haven't been able to do much else with my mono, it's been a good thing.
The mono seems to be slowly getting better. I'm going to work, but minimizing anything else away from the house. I'm basically just slow and weak. I don't walk as fast as the average person and my head feels dizzy sometimes. But it is getting better. I just need to continue to be patient.
The problem: I had a computer virus back in 2009, which caused me to lose a large chunk of my songs. Many were backed up to "the cloud" but many were not. The problem was identifying which ones were lost, if I had them backed up on data CD's anywhere (I used to play MP3 CD's in my car), or if I would need to re-download them. I have an iPod with most of the songs on it, but I have never been able to figure out how to transfer songs from an iPod back to a computer. So the process is going through the iPod, song by song, to see which ones are not on the computer.
Another problem: I would really like my iTunes library to have the correct album and year for each song. The year is very important because songs represent eras in my life. I organize my physical CD collection by date, so it's like a timeline of my life. Related to this, I would like accurate play count data. The 2009 virus wiped out everything, so I had to start from scratch. But then for awhile I couldn't properly sync my iPods because they had pre-virus music on them, so no play counts were being recorded. Accurate play count data is important because it tells me how obsessed I was with each song. Unfortunately, the data has just started to become accurate this year as I begin to address these issues.
My time on this music project has been spent:
- Going to Wikipedia to verify album title and release date
- Entering that data into iTunes
- Uploading songs from regular CD's and MP3 CD's
- Managing duplicates
- Going through the iPod to see which songs are missing from the computer
- Going to Amazon.com to purchase songs that are missing (and I have made the mistake twice of buying songs and then finding them just minutes later! Very frustrating.)
- My music library is too large for my 16G Nano, and they don't make them larger, so figuring out what songs I want on the Nano.
Throughout this process I have run into so many iTunes problems like "you aren't authorized on this computer" for stuff I bought through iTunes years ago. I followed the directions on how to fix, and it didn't work. So I still have about 20 songs I can't play, even though I bought them. This is why I have been buying from Amazon.com for the past few years. Plus, it's less expensive.
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| My Favorite Songs |
As frustrating as this may sound, it's a fun project! I am really enjoying listening to everything, analyzing my music taste and trying to get as many stats on my music preference as possible. I'm not done yet, and I still have a list of about 20+ songs to download. But for now, here are the stats: 2,832 songs for 15.32 Gigs, or 8 Days worth of music. This does not include any of my Broadway collection, because I find I need to be in a particular mood for that, and I don't want those songs appearing in shuffle. Those are all on CDs still.
As a side project, I wanted to identify my all time favorite songs. Ever. This is tricky because songs I was obsessed with a long time ago aren't ones I am as in love with now. But I loved them so much then, I feel like they should be on the list. So, I made a playlist of all the songs that I really, really liked. I went through all 2,832 songs and pulled out each one. This list is 168 songs or 1 Gig. So about 6% of my songs are ones that made the "all time favorites" list.
Within this list, I pulled out a few that are the timeless best songs ever. Songs that every time I hear them, I just want to play them over and over and marvel at how good they are. There are 35 songs that fall into this category. The top 1%. I used the rating feature to rate them 5 stars. Everything else on the list got 4 stars. Eventually I will go through the rest of the library and assign 3, 2, and 1 star songs. I do like most everything I have, so a rating of 2 or 3 isn't bad. It's just that the song isn't as amazing as the 4's or the 5's.
And then. . . I tried to infer my favorite all-time albums. That's a hard one because some albums have songs with lots of 4's, but no 5's. And some albums have two 5's, but no 4's. Hmmmm. Same problem with favorite artists. Take the Counting Crows, for example. They have 3 songs that I rated in that top 1%. But they don't have many others that I really like. Same with Coldplay. Neither of these bands have come out with anything good lately, so I certainly wouldn't call them my favorite bands.
I really wish iTunes would let you download to Excel for a thorough music analysis.
I really wish iTunes would let you download to Excel for a thorough music analysis.
Most of the 35 songs are slow. Although I enjoy a mix of upbeat/fast and slow/ballad songs but I think that it's difficult for a fast/upbeat song to really tug at the heartstrings. And when I love a song, it's because it tugs at the heart strings. This list is NOT a good "sample" of my library. Most of the library is modern/alternative rock. I might go into serious depression if this was my whole library.
Without Further Ado, here are my top 35 songs:
Without Further Ado, here are my top 35 songs:
| Date | Artist | Title | Album |
| 1993 | Counting Crows | Perfect Blue Buildings | August & Everything After |
| 1993 | Counting Crows | Omaha | August & Everything After |
| 1993 | Duran Duran | Ordinary World | Duran Duran |
| 1993 | Duran Duran | Come Undone | Duran Duran |
| 1994 | Lauren Christy | Vanessa's Father | Lauren Christy |
| 1994 | Stone Temple Pilots | Interstate Love Song | Purple |
| 1994 | Toad the Wet Sprocket | Something's Always Wrong | Dulcinea |
| 1995 | Collective Soul | The World I Know | Collective Soul |
| 1996 | Counting Crows | A Long December | Recovering The Satellites |
| 1997 | Live | Gas Head Goes West | Secret Samhadi |
| 1997 | Live | Lakini's Juice | Secret Samhadi |
| 1998 | Tori Amos | Jackie's Strength | From The Choirgirl Hotel |
| 1999 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Californication | Californication |
| 2000 | Coldplay | Spies | Parachutes |
| 2000 | Lifehouse | Breathing | No Name Face |
| 2001 | Live | Overcome | V |
| 2001 | Puddle of Mudd | Blurry | Come Clean |
| 2001 | Tantric | Mourning | Tantric |
| 2002 | David Gray | The Other Side | A New Day at Midnight |
| 2002 | Dishwalla | Somewhere In the Middle | Opaline |
| 2002 | Jason Mraz | The Boy's Gone | Waiting for My Rocket to Come |
| 2002 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | By The Way | By The Way |
| 2002 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Midnight | By The Way |
| 2002 | Tori Amos | Sorta Fairytale | Scarlet's Walk |
| 2003 | Muse | Hysteria | Absolution |
| 2003 | Tori Amos | Angels | Tales of a Librarian |
| 2004 | Five For Fighting | NYC Weather Report | The Battle for Everything |
| 2004 | Five For Fighting | Devil in the Wishing Well | The Battle for Everything |
| 2004 | Keane | Bedshaped | Hopes and Fears |
| 2005 | David Gray | Nos Da Cariad | Life In Slow Motion |
| 2005 | Jason Mraz | Plane | Mr. A-Z |
| 2007 | Fall Out Boy | Fame < Infamy | Infinity On a High |
| 2007 | Foo Fighters | The Pretender | Echoes, Silence, Patience |
| 2007 | Jimmy Eat World | Dizzy | Chase This Light |
| 2011 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Even You, Brutus? | I'm With You |
One problem with this list is that some of these songs are actually the same. For example, the two Duran Duran songs off of the same album sound a lot alike. I can't decide which I like better. It's kind of like saying "I like Duran Duran's sound on these songs" versus two totally different songs. The same is true of the Five For Fighting songs. Those two are very similar, but it's impossible to pick which one I prefer. So they both make the list. On the other hand, the Red Hot Chili Peppers songs and the Tori Amos songs are different from each other.
Anyway, I'm almost done with this project, but still very annoyed at the amount of music that disappeared that I have to purchase again. It's been extremely time consuming, but since I haven't been able to do much else with my mono, it's been a good thing.
The mono seems to be slowly getting better. I'm going to work, but minimizing anything else away from the house. I'm basically just slow and weak. I don't walk as fast as the average person and my head feels dizzy sometimes. But it is getting better. I just need to continue to be patient.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
6 Things I Learned From The Olympics
One of the few up sides of having mono is the opportunity to watch plenty of the Olympics. I've never been as engaged in the Olympics as I have been this year, and I've made some good observations.
I've been working with a sports psychologist and many of the things I'm learning from him have been demonstrated by these athletes. I doubt I would have picked up on any of these things without his guidance. But the fact that I did pick up on them shows that I am really beginning to evolve my thinking and attitude about my own running.
1. Don't compare yourself to others.
I would assume that all athletes are competitive by nature, so how do you not compare yourself to others? How do you stay focused on your own performance, your own training, and your own goals when the sport is, by nature, competitive? Surely once you get to the Olympic level you are comparing yourself to others constantly, right? Wrong.
I was watching the men's synchronized diving, and there was an interview with one of the divers shortly after his dive. (I think it was Troy Dumais.) He said that usually once he finishes his dive, he doesn't watch the other people dive or watch for their scores. He just waits to see how things play out. He was just very focused on his own performance and not at all concerned with the other divers in the competition. I thought to myself, "What a healthy approach! If that were me, I would probably have my eyes glued to those diving boards and the divers' scores."
2. Focus on the race itself, not a time goal.
More generally speaking, focus on the process, not the outcome. One of the things I have been trying to overcome for years is focusing too much on my time goals. I've tried hard to not think about about time goals, but my sports psychologist says that that approach is just avoidance, without a real strategy for what else to focus on.
After one of the track semi-finals, a reporter was interviewing one of the runners. She said that his times were close enough to potentially beat the world record and was that something he was aiming for in the finals? His response was that he was not focused on beating on the world record, but just to run the best race that he could. (I forget who this was and if he did actually beat the world record, but regardless, he's very much on target with being focused on the process, not the outcome).
3. Your sport is not who you are. It's something you do.
It's plastered all over running magazines and Facebook walls: I AM A RUNNER! According to my sports psychologist, it's a much healthier attitude if your sport is not who you are, but rather something that you do. Separation. You cannot let your sport consume you and determine your mood 24 hours of the day. You focus on running when it's time to run or to work on a training plan. Otherwise, you should be focused on whatever else you are doing-- working, spending time with the family, relaxing, getting together with friends.
I could write a whole blog post on this (and I will at some point) but for now I'll stick to the Olympics. If you're at that level, how can it not consume your whole life? I mean, what else is there if you are training 10 hours a day and are at the top of your sport!?
I saw some interviews with Katie Ledecky's friends in Bethesda, MD. For those of you who haven't been following the Olympics, Katie is a 15-year-old who won gold in the 800m freestyle. Her friends all said pretty much the same thing about her: "If you were talking to her, you wouldn't even know she was a swimmer. She's really down to earth and modest about it." It sounds like that when Katie is socializing with friends, she's focused on her friends and not telling them all about her swimming. I would guess she's done a great job at keeping her swimming life in the pool and other elements of her life separate.
4. If you look for failure, you will be sure to find it.
Very similar to "you can't please everyone all of the time." For some reason, people are so quick to judge these Olympic athletes. As a perfectionist, I hate the idea of anyone thinking that I did something wrong or that I failed at something. But the reality is that we can't control other people, and there will always be critics.
Gabby Douglas won the individual all-round gymnastics gold medal. And yet many people were criticizing her hair. I was shocked to learn this because a) who cares about her hair-- she's fantastic! And b) what's wrong with her hair? It's pulled back like everyone else's! Even if you win a gold medal at the Olympics, there will still be critics. External critics are a fact of life, we can't control them. But we can make sure that we aren't our own internal critics.
5. Performance is dynamic. You aren't a machine.
One of my largest frustrations as a runner (and I'm guessing most runners share this frustration) is when you run a race significantly slower than what you know you are capable of. You have an off day. I tend to really beat myself up when this happens, but my sports psychologist is constantly reminding me that performance is dynamic, I'm not a robot, and there are no guarantees that I will be able to perform at my peak on race day. In fact, he said that among the world's top marathoners, most of them say that only 1 out of every 5 marathons is a good race for them. Bottom line-- you cannot expect peak performance at every race, and sometimes it's just not there. No further explanation other than some days are simply better than others.
Gymnast McKayla Maroney performed a near perfect vault in the team competition and was expected to easily win gold in the individual vault competition. But she fell on her butt-- something that she had never done at a competition before. Does this mean McKayla suddenly became any less of a gymnast? Did her abilities disappear overnight? No. She just had an off day, and it's normal for something like that to happen. Of course the poor girl was a target for criticism and joking when she was seemingly unimpressed with her silver medal (okay, I had to laugh at this too), but at age 15, can we really expect her to just pretend like she's thrilled after such a disappointment? She learned the "performance is dynamic" lesson the hard way.
6. It's okay to wear Jewelry.
This is one that my sports psychologist did not point out to me in advance. Growing up as a dancer, you weren't supposed to wear jewelry. This translated into my opinion that jewelry interfered with performance and was really unnecessary. I would actually get a little annoyed with women who showed up to races with earrings, necklaces, bracelet, etc, thinking "it's not a fashion show, it's a race". But there I would be in my zebra print skirt and matching gloves, still insisting that it wasn't a fashion show!
Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher both wore earrings during the marathon. And nobody's arguing that they aren't "hard core". So I guess that means it's okay!
Even though I am not doing any physical training at the moment, I am certainly exercising my mental muscles by watching these athletes perform and listening to their interviews. I think it's going to be a long road back for me, so I need to keep all of these things in mind once I am able to train again.
I've been working with a sports psychologist and many of the things I'm learning from him have been demonstrated by these athletes. I doubt I would have picked up on any of these things without his guidance. But the fact that I did pick up on them shows that I am really beginning to evolve my thinking and attitude about my own running.
1. Don't compare yourself to others.
 |
| Kristian Ipsen and Troy Dumais |
I was watching the men's synchronized diving, and there was an interview with one of the divers shortly after his dive. (I think it was Troy Dumais.) He said that usually once he finishes his dive, he doesn't watch the other people dive or watch for their scores. He just waits to see how things play out. He was just very focused on his own performance and not at all concerned with the other divers in the competition. I thought to myself, "What a healthy approach! If that were me, I would probably have my eyes glued to those diving boards and the divers' scores."
2. Focus on the race itself, not a time goal.
More generally speaking, focus on the process, not the outcome. One of the things I have been trying to overcome for years is focusing too much on my time goals. I've tried hard to not think about about time goals, but my sports psychologist says that that approach is just avoidance, without a real strategy for what else to focus on.
After one of the track semi-finals, a reporter was interviewing one of the runners. She said that his times were close enough to potentially beat the world record and was that something he was aiming for in the finals? His response was that he was not focused on beating on the world record, but just to run the best race that he could. (I forget who this was and if he did actually beat the world record, but regardless, he's very much on target with being focused on the process, not the outcome).
3. Your sport is not who you are. It's something you do.
It's plastered all over running magazines and Facebook walls: I AM A RUNNER! According to my sports psychologist, it's a much healthier attitude if your sport is not who you are, but rather something that you do. Separation. You cannot let your sport consume you and determine your mood 24 hours of the day. You focus on running when it's time to run or to work on a training plan. Otherwise, you should be focused on whatever else you are doing-- working, spending time with the family, relaxing, getting together with friends.
 |
| Nope. Running is something that I do, which is important to me. |
I saw some interviews with Katie Ledecky's friends in Bethesda, MD. For those of you who haven't been following the Olympics, Katie is a 15-year-old who won gold in the 800m freestyle. Her friends all said pretty much the same thing about her: "If you were talking to her, you wouldn't even know she was a swimmer. She's really down to earth and modest about it." It sounds like that when Katie is socializing with friends, she's focused on her friends and not telling them all about her swimming. I would guess she's done a great job at keeping her swimming life in the pool and other elements of her life separate.
4. If you look for failure, you will be sure to find it.
Very similar to "you can't please everyone all of the time." For some reason, people are so quick to judge these Olympic athletes. As a perfectionist, I hate the idea of anyone thinking that I did something wrong or that I failed at something. But the reality is that we can't control other people, and there will always be critics.
Gabby Douglas won the individual all-round gymnastics gold medal. And yet many people were criticizing her hair. I was shocked to learn this because a) who cares about her hair-- she's fantastic! And b) what's wrong with her hair? It's pulled back like everyone else's! Even if you win a gold medal at the Olympics, there will still be critics. External critics are a fact of life, we can't control them. But we can make sure that we aren't our own internal critics.
5. Performance is dynamic. You aren't a machine.
One of my largest frustrations as a runner (and I'm guessing most runners share this frustration) is when you run a race significantly slower than what you know you are capable of. You have an off day. I tend to really beat myself up when this happens, but my sports psychologist is constantly reminding me that performance is dynamic, I'm not a robot, and there are no guarantees that I will be able to perform at my peak on race day. In fact, he said that among the world's top marathoners, most of them say that only 1 out of every 5 marathons is a good race for them. Bottom line-- you cannot expect peak performance at every race, and sometimes it's just not there. No further explanation other than some days are simply better than others.
Gymnast McKayla Maroney performed a near perfect vault in the team competition and was expected to easily win gold in the individual vault competition. But she fell on her butt-- something that she had never done at a competition before. Does this mean McKayla suddenly became any less of a gymnast? Did her abilities disappear overnight? No. She just had an off day, and it's normal for something like that to happen. Of course the poor girl was a target for criticism and joking when she was seemingly unimpressed with her silver medal (okay, I had to laugh at this too), but at age 15, can we really expect her to just pretend like she's thrilled after such a disappointment? She learned the "performance is dynamic" lesson the hard way.
6. It's okay to wear Jewelry.
 |
| Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan wore earrings. |
Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher both wore earrings during the marathon. And nobody's arguing that they aren't "hard core". So I guess that means it's okay!
Even though I am not doing any physical training at the moment, I am certainly exercising my mental muscles by watching these athletes perform and listening to their interviews. I think it's going to be a long road back for me, so I need to keep all of these things in mind once I am able to train again.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
It's STILL Mono!
I have turned into the biggest couch potato in the history of couches. And potatoes.
This is the phase I am currently in, and have been so for just over a week. The couch potato phase. When I am sitting down or laying down, I feel good. No sore throat (just an occasional cough) and relatively normal feeling. However, getting up and trying to walk around the house just feels completely off. I actually fell down while trying to do the laundry (and have since ceased trying to do any house work). I saw black spots in the shower. I am not sleepy or exhausted feeling like I was in Phase III. I am definitely more tired than I am when I'm healthy, but the tiredness is secondary to feeling completely spacey and off balance when I walk around.
I have not left my house in over a week. (Actually, I tried to go to work last Thursday and was promptly driven home by co-workers). I have not done a single plank or lifted a single weight. I have not run a single step. The only walking I have been doing is from the couch to the bathroom to the bed to the fridge and back to the couch. And yet my appetite is completely intact, complete with cravings for foods that will do nothing to advance my recovery- particularly chocolate and ice cream.
A lot of people have been asking me if it's contagious. The answer is that Mono is spread through saliva, so you won't catch it unless you kiss someone with it or share food with them. Greg still does not have it and I really hope he doesn't get it. I have no clue how I got it because I don't know anyone with it. All I can think of is that I must have eaten food somewhere that someone coughed directly on. Ew. And then there are some people who come right up to me and hug me without thinking twice about if it's contagious!
I think my experience with Mono has been somewhat unique. It's gone through distinct phases, which I will outline for your reading pleasure.
A lot of people have been asking me if it's contagious. The answer is that Mono is spread through saliva, so you won't catch it unless you kiss someone with it or share food with them. Greg still does not have it and I really hope he doesn't get it. I have no clue how I got it because I don't know anyone with it. All I can think of is that I must have eaten food somewhere that someone coughed directly on. Ew. And then there are some people who come right up to me and hug me without thinking twice about if it's contagious!
I think my experience with Mono has been somewhat unique. It's gone through distinct phases, which I will outline for your reading pleasure.
Phase I: Textbook Mono (but I didn't know it)
This phase lasted for about two weeks: June 18-30. My main symptoms were a severe sore throat and swelling of the lymph notes. This was the worst sore throat I've had in my entire life, and I am really glad it seems to have gone for good. I went to the doctor and all of my tests were negative, including the mono spot test, so I figured it was just some nasty virus. I wrote extensively about this phase in my June 25 post.
Phase II: The Glory Days
This phase lasted for about two and a half weeks (July 1-18). I thought I was 98% better. In fact, the only reason I knew I wasn't at 100% was that my runs were still extremely slow. But they felt good, so I wasn't really worried. I even ran a 13-miler one weekend, and then a 14-miler the following weekend. The 14 miler was a 9:24 pace, all in zone 2, so I figured that I must be getting back to 100%. But then the trip to Chicago really did me in and all my symptoms returned on July 19. I really think that if I hadn't gone to Chicago, I would have made a complete recovery within the next week!
Phase III: Ups and Downs
I returned to the doctor and got the Mono diagnosis. They said I was in the "convalescent" (recovering) stage, so I figured it shouldn't be too long before I was truly 100%. Greg and I thought "wouldn't it be great if this relapse just lasted a few days and then I went right back to where I was before the relapse!" I kind of told myself that's what would happen, so after taking just three days off of running, I made another attempt. I felt decent for three miles, but then when I turned around to come home, the last three miles felt tough. During the day, I felt off and on. I would feel great in the mornings, but when the afternoon hit, I would feel completely zonked, like I had to go to sleep instantly. I could barely hold my head up at work and had to leave early twice to go to sleep.
Greg and I took our planned mini-vacation to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Toronto, which I knew would be an immune system buster. I felt great for parts of the trip, but not so good for others. I had plenty of energy for walking around Niagara falls, going bowling, and even some easy treadmill running. But I also would get tired very easily and took naps. This "ups and downs" phase lasted for nearly two weeks (July 20-31).
Phase IV: Lack of Energy, Strength and Balance
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| Zebras keep me company in bed while I recover. |
Also, I was able to do planks and other light strength training in the earlier phases. Now, I cannot do anything that is physically taxing. I feel too weak and spacey for that. I've been working from home for the past week and feeling alert while doing so, just as long as I stay seated. I get occasional dizzy spells, where I cannot look at the computer. I have an appointment with my sports medicine doctor on Tuesday. I am going to ask for more blood tests to see if my levels indicate that I am getting better.
My biggest fear is that this is turning into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I've learned from Dr. Google that this can develop if you don't recover fully from mono. This lasts six months to a year. Whenever I have started to feel the slightest bit normal, I have tried going to work and running. And I've taken two trips. Obviously these were not smart choices but a) I didn't know I had mono for a lot of the time and b) I didn't really have a choice about the Chicago trip. There's no real test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, you just get that diagnosis once everything else is ruled out.
I would just really like for this whole thing to be over and done with.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Toronto
As I mentioned in my previous post, Greg and I spent a long weekend up north. Having recently learned that I was recovering from mono, we tried our best to get the most out of this trip without overdoing it.
Buffalo
We started in Buffalo. My friend Todd, who I have known for over 10 years, was getting married. I was so happy for him! It doesn't seem like that long ago when we were both complaining to each other about being single and doing the online dating thing. It's just so hard to meet the right person! But when you do, the payoff is huge.
We flew in on Friday evening. The trip was off to a rocky start when we learned that there was no air conditioning on the plane. We sat there in the heat sweating bullets for at least 20 minutes before they told us to get off the plane. An hour later, we re-boarded and finally were on our way. After a quick shower, we were on our way to Bacchus Wine Bar and Restaurant. I enjoyed a beet salad followed by a delicious Mahi Mahi dish. I knew that beets were a super food and I was trying to give my immune system every advantage I could.
After Bacchus, we went to The Chocolate Bar, conveniently located inside our hotel. I took one look at the menu and was instantly obsessed. The Martini options were endless and unique: chocolate pretzel, sweedish fish, wedding cake. . . the list went on and on. There were so many fantastic looking desserts that I couldn't bear the thought of just choosing one. Eventually, I chose the brownie sundae with homemade dark chocolate ice cream and hot fudge. Yummy! One of the many things that sucks about mono is that I don't share desserts with Greg. This means I know exactly how much I ate and a little guilt creeps in. But it quickly passes when eating something so delicious.
The next morning, it was time for a long run. For Greg, that meant 14 miles. For me, it was 6 miles. We opted for the treadmill because we were running different distances and we weren't sure what routes there were in Buffalo. Greg was just killing it at 7.3 miles an hour, staying in his "easy" heart rate zone. I was steady at 6.2-6.3 (about 9:30 pace), keeping my heart rate in the easy zone and feeling pretty decent.
After the running, Greg took me on a drive through the University at Buffalo campus. He showed me all the places he used to live, and where he used to go to class. It was really cool thinking about Greg as a college student!
Afterwards, it was lunch at the Chocolate bar, where I had a flat bread with chicken, accompanied by a Salted Caramel Frozen Hot Chocolate. This drink was incredible!!! I know that frozen hot chocolate sounds like an oxymoron, but it was just like hot chocolate, only cold.
Afterwards I took a nap while Greg watched the Olympics. Naps were key during this trip! Then, it was off to the wedding. The ceremony was at 3:00 and the reception was at 6:00, so there was some downtime in between for me to take another nap or pseudo nap. The ceremony was beautiful and very well done. I just love this couple!
The reception was awesome. I refrained from dancing, with the exception of one slow dance with Greg. It of course reminded me of our wedding, which doesn't seem like that long ago.
Niagara Falls
The next morning, we watched the women's Olympic Road Race and then hopped in the car for our trip to Niagara falls. Greg had been here a bunch of times in college, but I had never been.
We crossed the border and were immediately at the falls. We parked and walked around for a little bit. It wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting it to be more like Great Falls where there are waterfalls scattered throughout an expansive area. But instead it was just one major waterfall. Don't get me wrong-- it was highly impressive, just not what I was expecting.
We walked into the "town" area which was like one big carnival. We had lunch there and then came upon an arcade/bowling alley. We decided to bowl a game. This is something we've never done together, so it was nice to have a "first". Greg bowled a 122 and I managed a 70. Bowling is a good recovering-from-mono sport because it doesn't require that much energy but it still gets you out and doing something!
We then hit up a candy shop where we procured some authentic Canadian Maple Nut fudge. This would be my between meals snack for the next few days. We walked past the falls again, bought some souvenirs, and then got back into the car.
Toronto
We didn't really have a game plan for Toronto. We mainly just wanted to check it out. When we arrived, we basically just wanted to relax at the hotel. We stayed at the Old Mill Inn and Spa, which was very nice. It wasn't in the downtown area, but it was on a metro stop in a nice area. We walked around the property, had dinner there and then fell asleep watching the Olympics.
It was interesting to get a Canadian commentator and hear the perspectives of the Canadians. We got to hear the human interest stories of the Canadian synchronized divers, who were essentially that country's heroes while we were there.
We slept horribly that night. Greg was too hot, which meant tossing and turning. That kept waking me up, and then I was up for awhile coughing, which kept Greg up. I also have a skin rash, which is apparently a side affect of mono, which was itching and keeping me awake. The result was that we slept in until 8:00. I don't think I've slept in until 8:00 in over 10 years. Probably not since just after college. Even sleeping in until 7:00 is pretty unheard of me. It threw our whole day off because we wanted to get our run over with early, but we made the best of it. I also managed to hurt my upper back by sleeping with my neck in an awkward position. Gosh, I am just a mess!
We couldn't have been more pleased with the running options. Toronto seems to be a very fit city with cycling paths and cyclists everywhere. Our hotel was situated on a trail that brought us right out to the waterfront. It was beautiful scenery and an interesting comparison to the Chicago Lakefront Trail I ran two weeks earlier.
Greg was kind enough to go slowly with me. Since we started at 9:00a.m., the sun was high in the sky and it was hot. We averaged a 9:51 pace for 7 miles, which was really discouraging for me. My pace on the Lakefront Trail had been around 9:25 for the same heart rate zone and 9 miles. Plus, it was even hotter in Chicago. I know recovery is not a straight line and I'll have my ups and downs, but it's just super frustrating for two weeks to have passed and I'm doing worse. Yes, I relapsed. Yes, it set me back. I have accepted it, but I do not like it.
Afterwards, I was exhausted. I probably overdid that run. I just felt really great for the first half, so I thought 7 miles would be doable. We ate breakfast and relaxed in our room for awhile, of course watching the Olympics. This was the worst I felt during the trip. The rest of the trip was pretty good, except for getting the occasional "I need to rest now" feeling.
Finally, we got in gear and headed out for the Toronto Zoo. This is a huge zoo with a wide variety of animals, but there was really just one type of animal I cared about-- the zebra! After paying a shocking $60 admission fee ($25 each plus $10 parking), we headed towards the zebras. It was hot and I knew my energy wouldn't last for long, so we didn't stop for long at any of the other animals.
Seeing the zebras was totally worth it! They are so cute and exotic. There are just no other animals that can even compare to this combination of cute and unique.
They don't let the visitors get too close to the zebras, so Greg really had use the zoom feature on his camera here. At first, they didn't do much of anything, but eventually they started playing around with each other and it was great to watch! If you really want to get close to a zebra, you need to go through a drive-through safari park. Ever since that trip, I've been spoiled with getting up close and personal with the zebras.
Of course we couldn't leave the zoo without taking home a new member of our family from the gift shop!
We drove back to our hotel, quickly changed and headed out to dinner in downtown Toronto. We went to a swanky place called Brassaii, recommended to us by the front desk staff. I enjoyed yet another beet salad which was good, but couldn't top what I had a Bacchus in Buffalo. My main course was a Halibut dish that was just spectacularly done.
Dinner took awhile, so we didn't really have time to explore Toronto afterwards. I was, of course, tired. We took a cab back to hotel and feel asleep pretty quickly.
The next day, we drove back to the states, and flew home to DCA. It was a quick trip, but we packed a lot into it. A precursor to our anniversary celebration in two weeks!
Buffalo
We started in Buffalo. My friend Todd, who I have known for over 10 years, was getting married. I was so happy for him! It doesn't seem like that long ago when we were both complaining to each other about being single and doing the online dating thing. It's just so hard to meet the right person! But when you do, the payoff is huge.
We flew in on Friday evening. The trip was off to a rocky start when we learned that there was no air conditioning on the plane. We sat there in the heat sweating bullets for at least 20 minutes before they told us to get off the plane. An hour later, we re-boarded and finally were on our way. After a quick shower, we were on our way to Bacchus Wine Bar and Restaurant. I enjoyed a beet salad followed by a delicious Mahi Mahi dish. I knew that beets were a super food and I was trying to give my immune system every advantage I could.
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| Dark Chocolate Sundae at The Chocolate Bar |
The next morning, it was time for a long run. For Greg, that meant 14 miles. For me, it was 6 miles. We opted for the treadmill because we were running different distances and we weren't sure what routes there were in Buffalo. Greg was just killing it at 7.3 miles an hour, staying in his "easy" heart rate zone. I was steady at 6.2-6.3 (about 9:30 pace), keeping my heart rate in the easy zone and feeling pretty decent.
After the running, Greg took me on a drive through the University at Buffalo campus. He showed me all the places he used to live, and where he used to go to class. It was really cool thinking about Greg as a college student!
Afterwards, it was lunch at the Chocolate bar, where I had a flat bread with chicken, accompanied by a Salted Caramel Frozen Hot Chocolate. This drink was incredible!!! I know that frozen hot chocolate sounds like an oxymoron, but it was just like hot chocolate, only cold.
The reception was awesome. I refrained from dancing, with the exception of one slow dance with Greg. It of course reminded me of our wedding, which doesn't seem like that long ago.
Niagara Falls
We crossed the border and were immediately at the falls. We parked and walked around for a little bit. It wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting it to be more like Great Falls where there are waterfalls scattered throughout an expansive area. But instead it was just one major waterfall. Don't get me wrong-- it was highly impressive, just not what I was expecting.
We then hit up a candy shop where we procured some authentic Canadian Maple Nut fudge. This would be my between meals snack for the next few days. We walked past the falls again, bought some souvenirs, and then got back into the car.
Toronto
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| The Old Mill Inn and Spa |
It was interesting to get a Canadian commentator and hear the perspectives of the Canadians. We got to hear the human interest stories of the Canadian synchronized divers, who were essentially that country's heroes while we were there.
We slept horribly that night. Greg was too hot, which meant tossing and turning. That kept waking me up, and then I was up for awhile coughing, which kept Greg up. I also have a skin rash, which is apparently a side affect of mono, which was itching and keeping me awake. The result was that we slept in until 8:00. I don't think I've slept in until 8:00 in over 10 years. Probably not since just after college. Even sleeping in until 7:00 is pretty unheard of me. It threw our whole day off because we wanted to get our run over with early, but we made the best of it. I also managed to hurt my upper back by sleeping with my neck in an awkward position. Gosh, I am just a mess!
We couldn't have been more pleased with the running options. Toronto seems to be a very fit city with cycling paths and cyclists everywhere. Our hotel was situated on a trail that brought us right out to the waterfront. It was beautiful scenery and an interesting comparison to the Chicago Lakefront Trail I ran two weeks earlier.
Greg was kind enough to go slowly with me. Since we started at 9:00a.m., the sun was high in the sky and it was hot. We averaged a 9:51 pace for 7 miles, which was really discouraging for me. My pace on the Lakefront Trail had been around 9:25 for the same heart rate zone and 9 miles. Plus, it was even hotter in Chicago. I know recovery is not a straight line and I'll have my ups and downs, but it's just super frustrating for two weeks to have passed and I'm doing worse. Yes, I relapsed. Yes, it set me back. I have accepted it, but I do not like it.
Afterwards, I was exhausted. I probably overdid that run. I just felt really great for the first half, so I thought 7 miles would be doable. We ate breakfast and relaxed in our room for awhile, of course watching the Olympics. This was the worst I felt during the trip. The rest of the trip was pretty good, except for getting the occasional "I need to rest now" feeling.
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| Grevy's Zebras at the Toronto Zoo |
Seeing the zebras was totally worth it! They are so cute and exotic. There are just no other animals that can even compare to this combination of cute and unique.
They don't let the visitors get too close to the zebras, so Greg really had use the zoom feature on his camera here. At first, they didn't do much of anything, but eventually they started playing around with each other and it was great to watch! If you really want to get close to a zebra, you need to go through a drive-through safari park. Ever since that trip, I've been spoiled with getting up close and personal with the zebras.
Of course we couldn't leave the zoo without taking home a new member of our family from the gift shop!
We drove back to our hotel, quickly changed and headed out to dinner in downtown Toronto. We went to a swanky place called Brassaii, recommended to us by the front desk staff. I enjoyed yet another beet salad which was good, but couldn't top what I had a Bacchus in Buffalo. My main course was a Halibut dish that was just spectacularly done.
Dinner took awhile, so we didn't really have time to explore Toronto afterwards. I was, of course, tired. We took a cab back to hotel and feel asleep pretty quickly.
The next day, we drove back to the states, and flew home to DCA. It was a quick trip, but we packed a lot into it. A precursor to our anniversary celebration in two weeks!
Friday, July 27, 2012
It's Mono.
As it turns out, the illness that I was suffering from during the last two weeks of June was actually Mono.
I thought I had made a complete recovery and I was proud of how I eased myself back into training. I was feeling 100% during the day (no lingering fatigue) and my runs, although slow, felt good. I really thought I was out of the woods because this healthy feeling lasted for nearly three weeks. I completed a 13.1-mile run in extremely hot weather and that didn't set me back. And the following weekend I ran 14 miles and felt great for the next few days.
But then I went to Chicago for business. The first few days were great. I went running on the Lakefront trail and I was feeling very energized during my business meetings. But by the third day, my throat felt scratchy, and by the forth day, the sore throat and all symptoms returned with a vengeance. I realized that my Chicago trip was about the worst thing for my immune system:
I thought I had made a complete recovery and I was proud of how I eased myself back into training. I was feeling 100% during the day (no lingering fatigue) and my runs, although slow, felt good. I really thought I was out of the woods because this healthy feeling lasted for nearly three weeks. I completed a 13.1-mile run in extremely hot weather and that didn't set me back. And the following weekend I ran 14 miles and felt great for the next few days.
But then I went to Chicago for business. The first few days were great. I went running on the Lakefront trail and I was feeling very energized during my business meetings. But by the third day, my throat felt scratchy, and by the forth day, the sore throat and all symptoms returned with a vengeance. I realized that my Chicago trip was about the worst thing for my immune system:
- Being on a plane stresses the immune system due to all the germs you are exposed to and have to fight off.
- The first night, I was extremely restless and got only 3-4 hours of sleep (this often happens to me the first night of a trip)
- There was a time zone change of 1 hour, which meant everything was off schedule
- Healthy food wasn't readily available during the day, and I wasn't eating dinner until much later than I was used to
- I had two glasses of Sangria at one of the work dinners-- alcohol is a big No-No for the immune system.
- I was going to sleep later because the work dinners lasted so long. I ducked out early for two of the nights, but that still caused me to go to sleep two hours later than normal.
- The weather there was hot, and I did a faster-than-normal run my second day there
These are all immune system busters! And had I known I had mono, I would have been a lot more careful.
Anyway, on Friday I went to the doctor, who was highly suspicious of mono. I received the results on Tuesday and they were positive. Basically this means I will be feeling fatigued for a long time. Recovery takes 2-3 months. (I am hoping that my start date for this is June 18, and not the date of the relapse). I can run as tolerated, but I am steering clear of speedwork. I attempted to run on Sunday, but I had to stop after just 3.5 miles. I tried again on Tuesday and lasted for six slow miles, but I felt pretty tired by the end of it. Nothing since then.
I'm not going to speculate about what this means for all the races I have lined up this fall. There is no question that they will all be impacted, including the November marathon. I just don't know to what extent yet. I have already had to drop out of two races in the past month due to this illness, so I hope that's the end of it.
My strategy now is to minimize stress (which is tough with all the stuff at work that has to get done) and try to get as much rest as possible.
I am boarding a plane for Buffalo, NY later today (I know-- bad idea) for a wedding. After that, Greg and I are renting a car and driving up to Toronto for the fun of it. This was supposed to be like a mini-vacation for us, and now I think I'm going to have to take it easy while I am there, instead of doing all the exploring that I wanted to. We've pre-paid for the Toronto hotel and our flight comes back on Tuesday, so we can't really change plans at this point. I would just love to get back to where I was two weeks ago! Why can't that come back!?
In the absence of running, I have been keeping up with my strength training. No heavy lifting-- just planks and other toning things for my glutes, hips and upper body. If I wasn't doing this, I would feel like my body was turning into jello.
Well, it's time to pack for my trip. I hope to keep the sore throat at bay and that I have enough energy to enjoy it!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Chicago Lakefront Trail
I'm in Chicago this week for business which means I get to explore running in a new city. I've been to Chicago quite a few times in the past but I've never run on the Lakefront trail. Most recently, I came here in February and I just didn't feel like packing all the layers and gloves and hats, etc. required to run outside. I resorted to the treadmill. And in my previous trips here, I stayed just outside of the city and wasn't close enough to the trail.
I didn't know much about the Lakefront Trail prior to this trip other than that it existed and it was a path for running, walking and cycling along the lake. Some things that I was curious about that I eventually discovered:
Much to my surprise and dismay, it's warmer here in Chicago than it is back home in the DC area. At least in the mornings. On Monday morning it was 79 degrees at 6:00am and yesterday it was 82. With the humidity, the "real feel" yesterday was 86 as I started my run. The only saving grace was the breeze, which felt good on my face.
Monday: 9.2 miles (easy)
So, how did my runs go? On Monday morning, I set out for 9 miles. I looked at a map and figured I just needed to turn right from my hotel and go straight and I'd hit the Lakefront in less than a mile. That was kind of true, only I hit dead ends, twice. I was too high up and the water was below me. I finally asked a woman walking her dog how to get down to the lakefront and she pointed out an elevator. So, another first for me, I have an elevator ride during my run.
I decided to go south, which was a good decision because I later learned that there are no trees or any kind of shading in the other direction. I had my trusty heart rate monitor with me, so I just made sure to keep it in zone 2, no matter how slow that was. I think I am finally starting to come back from that darn illness so my paces weren't as ridiculously slow as they have been for the past two weeks, considering the 79-degree heat. I filled up my water bottle a few times during the run and I had pre-hydrated the day before so I felt pretty good throughout the whole thing. The total run ended up being 9.2 miles, and I really enjoyed it. One of the best parts about the run was when I turned around and got a great view of the city with the lake. So beautiful and amazing!
Tuesday: 7.3 miles (moderate)
Yesterday morning, the plan was to try to incorporate some kind of speedwork in lieu of the hill workout I would otherwise be doing back home. Well, it was a "real feel" of 86, so I didn't do the speedwork exactly as planned. I started out running with two guys from my company. Once we got to the Lakefront, one of the guys (who is an Olympic class runner with a marathon PR of 2:20) ran ahead of me and the other guy, so the two of us continued on at around an 8:30 pace.
This was too fast to be a warmup, but too slow to be considered a tempo run (which I am planning for Friday), but I just went with it because it was nice having someone to talk to. He turned around after 2.5 miles, and I continued on. I figured I would just slow down and make this an easy run but it was really hard to do that once I had established a cadence at the faster pace. I slowed down slightly, but not to the point of it being a truly easy run. So, I'm going to log this as a marathon pace run on the books! Keeping in mind, if it hadn't been so hot, the pace would have been easy, but I usually slow down abut 30-45 seconds per mile when it's this hot.
I got back to my hotel and was just dripping with sweat. I got out of the shower and was still sweating, and my face was still bright red. I tried drying my hair after the shower and I just kept sweating. Not the greatest for having to give a presentation in front of 30 people!
Today is a scheduled rest day (although I did lift weights in the hotel fitness center), and tomorrow I plan to run about 7-8 miles on the trail again. Friday I will be back home on the track with my teammates for a tempo run.
Other Chicago Things
The meetings that I am attending are taking place in the Wills Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). It's the second tallest building in the world, depending on which standard of height you are using. Apparently their are four different definitions of height when it comes to buildings. After we were done with work, all 30 of us went to the top of this building and looked out. It was incredible. It was 110 stories up, and I have to admit it was a bit scary being that high at first.
My hotel is situated very close to the Magnificent Mile. When I got in on Sunday night, I tried to explore to see what was so Magnificent about it, but I didn't find any shops or anything. I later learned that I was looking down the wrong street. I'll have some time tomorrow before my flight leaves to check it out!
It's been a great trip so far. I've enjoyed meeting many of my co-workers in person who I previously only knew from conference calls and emails. I also gave a presentation to the group which went well and received many compliments afterwards. Having only been with this company for six months, the positive reinforcement is nice!
Anyway, if you ever come to Chicago, I highly recommend the Lakefront trail as a scenic, safe place to run!
I didn't know much about the Lakefront Trail prior to this trip other than that it existed and it was a path for running, walking and cycling along the lake. Some things that I was curious about that I eventually discovered:
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| I took this photo from inside of a cab |
- There are plenty of water fountains along this trail
- I didn't notice any bathrooms
- The part that I ran on was concrete as opposed to asphalt, so it's not ideal
- However, part of the trail has a gravel-like side area that you can run on that's softer
- If you are in Downtown Chicago, you have to find stairs or an elevator down to get to the lake level
- The trail had quite a few people on it, but wasn't nearly as crowded as the Embarcadero in San Francisco.
- If you start in Downtown Chicago and go south, are there are some trees and shading. If you go north, there are no trees whatsoever.
- The trail has mile markers, and half mile markers.
Much to my surprise and dismay, it's warmer here in Chicago than it is back home in the DC area. At least in the mornings. On Monday morning it was 79 degrees at 6:00am and yesterday it was 82. With the humidity, the "real feel" yesterday was 86 as I started my run. The only saving grace was the breeze, which felt good on my face.
Monday: 9.2 miles (easy)
So, how did my runs go? On Monday morning, I set out for 9 miles. I looked at a map and figured I just needed to turn right from my hotel and go straight and I'd hit the Lakefront in less than a mile. That was kind of true, only I hit dead ends, twice. I was too high up and the water was below me. I finally asked a woman walking her dog how to get down to the lakefront and she pointed out an elevator. So, another first for me, I have an elevator ride during my run.
I decided to go south, which was a good decision because I later learned that there are no trees or any kind of shading in the other direction. I had my trusty heart rate monitor with me, so I just made sure to keep it in zone 2, no matter how slow that was. I think I am finally starting to come back from that darn illness so my paces weren't as ridiculously slow as they have been for the past two weeks, considering the 79-degree heat. I filled up my water bottle a few times during the run and I had pre-hydrated the day before so I felt pretty good throughout the whole thing. The total run ended up being 9.2 miles, and I really enjoyed it. One of the best parts about the run was when I turned around and got a great view of the city with the lake. So beautiful and amazing!
Tuesday: 7.3 miles (moderate)
Yesterday morning, the plan was to try to incorporate some kind of speedwork in lieu of the hill workout I would otherwise be doing back home. Well, it was a "real feel" of 86, so I didn't do the speedwork exactly as planned. I started out running with two guys from my company. Once we got to the Lakefront, one of the guys (who is an Olympic class runner with a marathon PR of 2:20) ran ahead of me and the other guy, so the two of us continued on at around an 8:30 pace.
This was too fast to be a warmup, but too slow to be considered a tempo run (which I am planning for Friday), but I just went with it because it was nice having someone to talk to. He turned around after 2.5 miles, and I continued on. I figured I would just slow down and make this an easy run but it was really hard to do that once I had established a cadence at the faster pace. I slowed down slightly, but not to the point of it being a truly easy run. So, I'm going to log this as a marathon pace run on the books! Keeping in mind, if it hadn't been so hot, the pace would have been easy, but I usually slow down abut 30-45 seconds per mile when it's this hot.
I got back to my hotel and was just dripping with sweat. I got out of the shower and was still sweating, and my face was still bright red. I tried drying my hair after the shower and I just kept sweating. Not the greatest for having to give a presentation in front of 30 people!
Today is a scheduled rest day (although I did lift weights in the hotel fitness center), and tomorrow I plan to run about 7-8 miles on the trail again. Friday I will be back home on the track with my teammates for a tempo run.
Other Chicago Things
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| I took this photo from the top of the Willis Tower |
My hotel is situated very close to the Magnificent Mile. When I got in on Sunday night, I tried to explore to see what was so Magnificent about it, but I didn't find any shops or anything. I later learned that I was looking down the wrong street. I'll have some time tomorrow before my flight leaves to check it out!
It's been a great trip so far. I've enjoyed meeting many of my co-workers in person who I previously only knew from conference calls and emails. I also gave a presentation to the group which went well and received many compliments afterwards. Having only been with this company for six months, the positive reinforcement is nice!
Anyway, if you ever come to Chicago, I highly recommend the Lakefront trail as a scenic, safe place to run!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Beat the Heat: 13.1 in 79 Degrees
Is it odd that someone like me who absolutely hates running in warm weather, was really excited for this morning's long run? Instead of dreading it like I typically do for hot runs, I was really looking forward to the challenge.
The high for the day is forecast to be around 105, and this morning's low was 79. By 8:00 it was forecast to be 85. This meant that even starting early would still mean a ridiculously hot run. My coach, who hates treadmills with a passion, suggested that these conditions were hot enough to make the treadmill a viable option. For me, however, it was not a viable option because I was afraid of getting injured. I attribute my three stress fractures to running a 20-miler on the treadmill after not having run on one in a year, so I wasn't about to risk that again. Plus, it's just not at all enjoyable.
Greg, on the other hand, opted for the treadmill, so I was alone in my long run this morning. This didn't bother me because I enjoy running by myself. I rarely run alone, so it's a great opportunity to have "me" time.
In order to tackle this weather, I needed a strategy. I've run 13+ miles many, many times, but never in this kind of heat. Today might even set the record for the hottest day that Washington DC has ever seen. Not just the daily record high, but the record high of all time (or at least since they started tracking these things). I struggle with the heat more than most runners. In hot races, my ranking/placing is significantly lower than it is in cool or mild races-- which I interpret to mean that I am more adversely affected by heat. In the past, I've done runs in the heat where I have seen black spots afterwards and felt dizzy/spacey for the rest of the day. I wanted to avoid this at all costs.
Yesterday, I planned out what I would do to be able to run safely in the weather. My strategy consisted of these elements:
Adjust Mileage if Necessary: The original plan called for 14 miles this weekend, but I figured that with the marathon being so far off, I could certainly afford to knock that down to 12 or even 10 if necessary. I'm also still recovering from being sick for so long that even if it was perfect weather, 14 might be a stretch. I decided I would go out planning to run 10-14, based on how I felt.
Hydrate: Yesterday, I drank water throughout the day and threw in a coconut water for electrolytes, plus some Pedialyte. I am not a fan of most hydration tablets because they contain sugar alcohols which upset my stomach. I prepared a handheld bottle of G2 to carry with me for the first six miles, and then I would stop home and get another bottle of water. (I am not fancy-- I use Deer Park 24oz sports bottles as my hand-helds). Before leaving the house, I would put the refrigerated water bottle in the freezer, giving it about an hour to get really, really cold but not frozen by the time I needed it. If I did decide to run 14 miles, I would stop at mile 10 and fill up at a McDonald's, which is conveniently located 4 miles away from my house.
Route: In order to execute this hydration strategy, I needed to plan a route that would bring me home after six miles, and then to the McDonald's after another four. I knew of a 6-mile route throughout a neighborhood near me that's not shaded. I figured that would be perfect for the early miles because I wouldn't need shade. I also have a standard 8-mile route which does not go through that neighborhood, but through a shaded one and has a McDonald's at the halfway point. I figured I would head out that way, but if I didn't want to do the full 14, I could turn around early in which case I probably wouldn't need a refill on my bottle.
Timing: I set my alarm to 4:30 and hit the start button on my Garmin at 4:47am. This allowed me to run the first five miles before the sun had risen, and the rest of the miles while the sun was low in the sky. I finished a few minutes after 7:00-- just as Greg was starting his treadmill workout. :-)
Being "Cool": I recently purchased a pair of Be Cool Bands which are designed to keep your body cool in hot conditions. They are wrist bands which contain an ice pack thingee that touches the inside of your wrist. Apparently, ice on the inside of your wrist is one way to keep your entire body cool because of the veins there. Or something like that-- I don't really know why, but putting ice inside your wrist is a very efficient way to cool the body. Luckily, these bands came with two sets of cooling packs. I planned on swapping them out when I stopped at my house at mile six so that I would have a new, frozen pair. They felt amazing!!!! It also felt great to be holding that water bottle which had been in the freezer. These are my equivalent of the "hotties" I wear in the winter to keep my hands warm. :-)
Pacing: Very slow! This was not a race and I didn't want to make the mistake of trying to run a certain pace and then getting to exhausted to finish. I've been running in the 10:00's all week due to the heat and my recovery from being sick, so I was fully prepared to continue that trend.
Music: I usually don't run with music, but for solo long runs it's nice to have. Yesterday I downloaded a bunch of songs from the DC101 playlist as well as the new Linkin Park album (only $5 on amazon.com) and the new Shinedown album. I figured new music would make the run more enjoyable.
My excitement came from wanting to see how all of this would come together for me. So how did I execute all this and how did it go?????
Fantastic! I couldn't have been more pleased with this run. I did everything according to plan. As I started the run, I realized that I wasn't getting a heart rate reading because I had forgotten to put on my heart rate monitor! My first instinct was to go back inside and get it, but then I realized that it might actually be better to not have it. I have been running in zone 2 all week and I know what it feels like. Plus, my heart rate was bound to get above that zone, even at a really slow pace just because of the heat. I was prepared to be in zone 3 for a lot of this run, but not wearing the monitor left me free to run by feel. I'm really glad I forgot to put on the monitor and didn't go back for it. I was able to run without looking at my heart rate the whole time, which I know I would have been doing. And. . . I had one less piece of "equipment" to wear, which was nice.
I ran in the dark for the first 3-4 miles and then the sun began to rise. I kept the pace very slow, didn't look at the Garmin very much and just enjoyed the music and the feeling of running. I had missed it so much while I was sick! I returned home after six miles, traded water bottles, drank the leftover G2 that didn't fit into the first bottle, swapped out my "Be Cool" ice packs and was out of there in less than two minutes!
Back on the road I was mentally prepared for the second leg. I had the ice packs on my wrists and the water bottle from the freezer felt awesome. I figured I probably wouldn't need to go to the McDonalds because I drank all that extra G2 at home, so I wouldn't need to drink from my water bottle for the first 15 minutes-- leaving me more water for the end of the run.
About 8 miles into it, I started to think about how many miles I would run. 10 would be no problem, and 12 also definitely doable. But 14 was an unknown and with the sun rising quickly, I didn't want to take the risk of heat exhaustion. So I settled on 13.1-- a half marathon!
I turned around at the point on my route that I knew would get me back home at 13.1 and was so pleased that the run continued to go well. I felt really good! After so many bad experiences in the heat, this kind of surprised me. But then I realized that I had all the "tools" I needed to deal with the heat, so there was no reason to have expected it to go poorly. With one mile to go, I picked up the pace just a little bit and it felt awesome!
I came home and my face was bright red and my clothes were dripping with sweat. I was drenched! I immediately got into the shower and let the cold water hit my face. HEAVEN! I also checked the weather to discover that the temperature was still 79 degrees, but now with a "real feel" of 90!
I think the fact that I paced this really slowly prevented me from ever feeling tired, sluggish, or overheated. I had fully expected those last few miles to be very difficult, but they weren't. This run was actually relatively easy. I did not push myself, but that wasn't the goal. My goal was to run 10-14 miles safely and I accomplished that. I attribute my success to:
Just goes to show what a little planning can do. Yeah-- I beat the heat!!!!!!
The high for the day is forecast to be around 105, and this morning's low was 79. By 8:00 it was forecast to be 85. This meant that even starting early would still mean a ridiculously hot run. My coach, who hates treadmills with a passion, suggested that these conditions were hot enough to make the treadmill a viable option. For me, however, it was not a viable option because I was afraid of getting injured. I attribute my three stress fractures to running a 20-miler on the treadmill after not having run on one in a year, so I wasn't about to risk that again. Plus, it's just not at all enjoyable.
Greg, on the other hand, opted for the treadmill, so I was alone in my long run this morning. This didn't bother me because I enjoy running by myself. I rarely run alone, so it's a great opportunity to have "me" time.
In order to tackle this weather, I needed a strategy. I've run 13+ miles many, many times, but never in this kind of heat. Today might even set the record for the hottest day that Washington DC has ever seen. Not just the daily record high, but the record high of all time (or at least since they started tracking these things). I struggle with the heat more than most runners. In hot races, my ranking/placing is significantly lower than it is in cool or mild races-- which I interpret to mean that I am more adversely affected by heat. In the past, I've done runs in the heat where I have seen black spots afterwards and felt dizzy/spacey for the rest of the day. I wanted to avoid this at all costs.
Yesterday, I planned out what I would do to be able to run safely in the weather. My strategy consisted of these elements:
Adjust Mileage if Necessary: The original plan called for 14 miles this weekend, but I figured that with the marathon being so far off, I could certainly afford to knock that down to 12 or even 10 if necessary. I'm also still recovering from being sick for so long that even if it was perfect weather, 14 might be a stretch. I decided I would go out planning to run 10-14, based on how I felt.
Hydrate: Yesterday, I drank water throughout the day and threw in a coconut water for electrolytes, plus some Pedialyte. I am not a fan of most hydration tablets because they contain sugar alcohols which upset my stomach. I prepared a handheld bottle of G2 to carry with me for the first six miles, and then I would stop home and get another bottle of water. (I am not fancy-- I use Deer Park 24oz sports bottles as my hand-helds). Before leaving the house, I would put the refrigerated water bottle in the freezer, giving it about an hour to get really, really cold but not frozen by the time I needed it. If I did decide to run 14 miles, I would stop at mile 10 and fill up at a McDonald's, which is conveniently located 4 miles away from my house.
Route: In order to execute this hydration strategy, I needed to plan a route that would bring me home after six miles, and then to the McDonald's after another four. I knew of a 6-mile route throughout a neighborhood near me that's not shaded. I figured that would be perfect for the early miles because I wouldn't need shade. I also have a standard 8-mile route which does not go through that neighborhood, but through a shaded one and has a McDonald's at the halfway point. I figured I would head out that way, but if I didn't want to do the full 14, I could turn around early in which case I probably wouldn't need a refill on my bottle.
Timing: I set my alarm to 4:30 and hit the start button on my Garmin at 4:47am. This allowed me to run the first five miles before the sun had risen, and the rest of the miles while the sun was low in the sky. I finished a few minutes after 7:00-- just as Greg was starting his treadmill workout. :-)
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| Wrist bands with mini ice packs |
Pacing: Very slow! This was not a race and I didn't want to make the mistake of trying to run a certain pace and then getting to exhausted to finish. I've been running in the 10:00's all week due to the heat and my recovery from being sick, so I was fully prepared to continue that trend.
Music: I usually don't run with music, but for solo long runs it's nice to have. Yesterday I downloaded a bunch of songs from the DC101 playlist as well as the new Linkin Park album (only $5 on amazon.com) and the new Shinedown album. I figured new music would make the run more enjoyable.
My excitement came from wanting to see how all of this would come together for me. So how did I execute all this and how did it go?????
Fantastic! I couldn't have been more pleased with this run. I did everything according to plan. As I started the run, I realized that I wasn't getting a heart rate reading because I had forgotten to put on my heart rate monitor! My first instinct was to go back inside and get it, but then I realized that it might actually be better to not have it. I have been running in zone 2 all week and I know what it feels like. Plus, my heart rate was bound to get above that zone, even at a really slow pace just because of the heat. I was prepared to be in zone 3 for a lot of this run, but not wearing the monitor left me free to run by feel. I'm really glad I forgot to put on the monitor and didn't go back for it. I was able to run without looking at my heart rate the whole time, which I know I would have been doing. And. . . I had one less piece of "equipment" to wear, which was nice.
I ran in the dark for the first 3-4 miles and then the sun began to rise. I kept the pace very slow, didn't look at the Garmin very much and just enjoyed the music and the feeling of running. I had missed it so much while I was sick! I returned home after six miles, traded water bottles, drank the leftover G2 that didn't fit into the first bottle, swapped out my "Be Cool" ice packs and was out of there in less than two minutes!
Back on the road I was mentally prepared for the second leg. I had the ice packs on my wrists and the water bottle from the freezer felt awesome. I figured I probably wouldn't need to go to the McDonalds because I drank all that extra G2 at home, so I wouldn't need to drink from my water bottle for the first 15 minutes-- leaving me more water for the end of the run.
About 8 miles into it, I started to think about how many miles I would run. 10 would be no problem, and 12 also definitely doable. But 14 was an unknown and with the sun rising quickly, I didn't want to take the risk of heat exhaustion. So I settled on 13.1-- a half marathon!
I turned around at the point on my route that I knew would get me back home at 13.1 and was so pleased that the run continued to go well. I felt really good! After so many bad experiences in the heat, this kind of surprised me. But then I realized that I had all the "tools" I needed to deal with the heat, so there was no reason to have expected it to go poorly. With one mile to go, I picked up the pace just a little bit and it felt awesome!
I came home and my face was bright red and my clothes were dripping with sweat. I was drenched! I immediately got into the shower and let the cold water hit my face. HEAVEN! I also checked the weather to discover that the temperature was still 79 degrees, but now with a "real feel" of 90!
I think the fact that I paced this really slowly prevented me from ever feeling tired, sluggish, or overheated. I had fully expected those last few miles to be very difficult, but they weren't. This run was actually relatively easy. I did not push myself, but that wasn't the goal. My goal was to run 10-14 miles safely and I accomplished that. I attribute my success to:
- Careful planning
- Positive attitude (excited for the challenge vs. dreading it)
- Very conservative pacing
- Smart hydration
- Having been conservative with my return from illness earlier in the week, so I wasn't beat by the time today arrived
- Letting myself enjoy the run and the new music with no pressure to run at a certain pace or heart rate.
Just goes to show what a little planning can do. Yeah-- I beat the heat!!!!!!
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| This was actually faster than I expected, given my recent illness and the heat! |
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