This week is gonna rock!

Im really looking forward to this week. Not only because L will return from a nearly 2 week business trip, or because CB will go to the vet for a checkup post surgery (so he can get the all clear to run again), but also for Thanksgiving and it being the only excuse I have to make 30 side dishes (unless we go out- after all its only L, CB and I), but also because my Tribu is coming to visit!. You might remember Tribu from the huge disaster that was the 2012 Miami Marathon where she so unselfishly stuck by my side the entire race, while I hobbled/limped through 26.2 miles with a hip flexor strain in 90 degree/ 100% humidity after training in 30-40's in Chicago all winter long. She put aside her possibility of a 2nd BQ for a PW. If that's not friendship, I dont know what is. Best 4:30 spent. Ever!


We will be tacking the Grant Park Turkey Trot this Saturday for our first race together since that dreadful January day in Miami. Im struggling with a "plan" for this race. Im so much of a freaking planner that I like to go into races with some semblance of a goal, but ever since the Fox Valley Marathon and the injuries I've incurred, Ive been taking running lightly while I heal. While i'm confident my 5K PR (22:18) from last years "Hot to Trot" is in no danger of being broken, I do wonder what I am capable of for this Saturday. Had I not gotten the ITB and the Ankle issues, I would have been shooting for a mid 21 something. That's out of the question for sure.

 The 3 other 5Ks I've done this year were 23:34, 23:37. and 23:41. Pretty damn consistent! So i'm thinking of going for  a 23:30 and see how that kind of pace feels.






I went for a run this Sunday and it was absolutely gorgeous out.The path is pretty empty this time of year post Chicago Marathon, which is a welcome change from the chaos that is the trail during the summer with all of the training groups.

It's really nice to not have to worry about passing a large herd of runners, or getting hit by a cyclist. I can just run and enjoy the moment. Since i'm not running a Thursday Turkey Trot, I plan on hitting the lakefront  in the morning for a nice mind clearing run.

I will happily be rocking out my new leggings (on right) which I got from Target this weekend in Saturdays race. I had been obsessing over the $80 pair on the left from sweatybetty.com for a few days, but they didnt have my size. When I saw the knit pair in target for $20, my heart skipped a beat... I plan to wear running tights under them since they are not made of a spandex/athletic material. My legs will be happy and warm in their new tacky leggings :)

Finally, I made vegan chocolate pudding from scratch. And it turned out delicious. Thank you Kim for the recipe! 

How do you make a "goal" for a race?

What are you looking forward to this week?
-Im definitely looking forward to spending time with my family and Tribu and also a 3.75 day workweek :)



----XAAR

Some "off" season goals

Goals for the "off" season:

A "Perfect day"

I ran outside today and "Popcorned"**  the Perfect 10 race which happened on the lakefront on my usual running route. It was a beautiful day to run with perfect running weather of around 50 degrees.  During the short 4  miles I was out there (maybe 2 miles actually within the race) I felt fat and slow which got me thinking about how to change that- especially after seeing Tera Moody fly by me with a considerable lead over the entire field of runners (she won the race and beat all the guys too!) I decided to make a list of goals and ways to become stronger and more well rounded.....

**Popcorn- Brasilian Portuguese Slang word for "Race Bandit" because you "pop" into and out of the race.

Goals:

I want to roll into 2013 feeling stronger than ever. I also want to do my best to "prevent" any more injuries, since I believe my neglect has caused a majority of them.

What I need to remember is what happened during my first year of High School Cross Country.

• I ran the first 3 mile race of the season (injured) in around 30 minutes. I spent the next 2-3 months being a gym rat  doing strength training, treading water in a pool, and not running at all until a week or 2 before the final race The last race of the season I dropped my 3 mile time to 24 minutes. BAM!  Proof strength training works. Why I always skip it is beyond me... [Insert comment about being lazy]

In order to prevent/ correct existing injuries and become a faster runner I will finally listen to the advice my wonderful  coach for the marathon told me multiple times and....... begin to strength train.

• Continue with strength training after nearly every run. Which means about 3-4 days a week.
• I've come to realize that you get out of running/working out what you put into it. Yes, I dropped my marathon time by 25 minutes because I was running a lot, but I also wasn't strength training, so I got an ITB issue and ankle issue out of simply running and not nourishing my muscles with other activities to keep them balanced.
• Incorporate other fitness activities into my routine. 
• Like Nike Training Club (because it gives a set of exercises to do with demonstrations which I find interesting), or Bikram Yoga, or even swimming (just never in lake Michigan. never). 
• Eat a bit healthier, drink less craft beers to lose the muffin top.  I've gained weight and gotten "doughy" after my marathon. 
• I've taken weeks of rest post marathons, and am no longer running 40+ miles a week- i'm lucky these days to break 10 miles total for a week. Something's gotta give. Balance is where it's at. Portion size is my vice. So is craft beer.
• Keep my running mileage on the low side, and mix in some speed work here and there.
• 20-30 miles a week tops until the injuries have sorted themselves out which gives time for strength training and much needed rest. 
• No stretching.. OK limited stretching. (For Kim)  :)
• My bad hip flexor injury was caused by stretching. I over did it. POP. Instant pain for way too long. Ever since January 2012, I no longer do static stretches.(like bend over and touch your toes). Its so easy to over do it and not realize until its too late and then youre in pain and cant lift your leg at all. (That's a lie, I'll do static Soleus muscle stretches and a few other specific area "stretches" only because I'm confident there is no way to strain whatever it is im stretching- which those end up being more like yoga poses anyways...)
• I use the first parts of my runs to warm up if im going to run fast. I never just decide to run a fast 800 'cold." After 15 minutes of easy running, Im confident I wont tear a muscle while doing a tempo run or 800 because I wasn't properly stretched out. Hasn't happened yet and I doubt it ever will.
• If I must stretch, I do dynamic stretches.  I'll do these before I hop on the tread, or sometimes after a warmup and before a half marathon or 5K. I find it would be difficult to strain something while doing a dynamic stretch, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure many people would disagree and say stretching is so incredibly necessary. To each his own.
• I want to be in the best shape of my life.
• A lean, mean, running machine haha I just want my "nice" jeans to continue to fit me. Oh, and to be able to beat all of my Daad's PR's from the past 10 years... I doubt i'll ever come close to his 16 minute 5K  from 30 years ago. Bust seriously, I just want to continue to improve and drop my times for as long as possible. Im competitive with myself.

Other Goals

• Remember to not let running take over my life.
• Hard, when I have a "running" themed blog and enjoy the sport so much. But seriously there is more to life than running, especially when it is not paying my bills.
• Keep exercising and running fun.
• Take the pup for runs more once he's healed, go for runs with friends, participate in running clubs or other fitness events in the city. Continue to take photos during my runs. 
• Challenge myself outside of "fitness."
• Become much much much better at Portuguese so I can communicate with my future in-laws Mae & Pai, and friends when I visit Brasil next year in a few short months.
• Cook more often
• Keep our apartment cleaner and better organized.
• Play with the CB dog more on days we don't run.

Injury Update:

"Off" season because Im still somewhat injured and not training for anything. After 2 weeks of half-assed strength training (consisting of squats, reps of leg extensions, some upper body weight lifting exercises I dont know the names of and the Myrtl routine) after each run, Ive noticed a HUGE difference in the way my ITB is responding on runs and in life in general. *The ITB never gave me any problems until the Fox Valley Marathon in September.*  My longest runs have topped out around 5 miles since then (with most around 2-3 miles), and now Im not experiencing the tightness or stiffness in the ITB during these runs, yet it is still present in different forms. (Like getting up after sitting with my legs crossed- it is cranky)

The ankle is still swollen and has some minor discomfort when walking in flat shoes, and while running. I've recently tried to "provoke" it (I don't recommend this. I know my limits and listen to my body and won't ever put my self in a place where I will injure myself further. No workout is worth it.) to see if it will get worse, stay the same, or even get better.**I did this with my hip flexor strain a few months after it happened because it was consistently achy even if I didnt run for a month. I had to know if running would make it worse- at that point running did not aggravate it**  Basically I start pushing the pace to do fast 400's or 800's to see what will happen during/after a run. So far it doesnt get better or worse. Maybe after a few beers I'll massage the hell out of it to see what will happen. A massage which focused on digging into my hip flexor nearly 7 months post injury finally made the achy feeling go away- also made me cry in pain at the time. So maybe a good massage is all my ankle needs. I do some peroneal tendon exercises a few times a day, but i'm not feeling any benefit so far.

I now need to print this out and post it everywhere- my office, my bathroom mirror, the Churro Dog, etx so I make good on these goals. 

-Xaarlin

How bad do you want it?

1 week post marathon and here I am sitting on my couch planning out my training schedule for the next 15 weeks until the ING Miami Marathon.

My original goal for Chicago was lofty- and had to abandon it early on due to some sort of calf/shin issue that sidelined me for months. When I was able to run again I was constantly scared that the injury would flare up and knock me off my training again. So I took it easy and created a good base mileage. I did what I had to do to get to the finish healthy. Now begins the journey of hitting an amazingly lofty goal I have set for my next marathon.

(Somewhere around mile 22-24? I make it look too easy!)

Getting in the way- What are you scared of? Success??

I find myself getting in the way of my progress. I notice being complacent or comfortable running at a certain speed. When I think that i'm going to have to break the next barrier (of 8:00/mile)  for most of my runs, I'm nervous. WHY?? There is no good reason. I know my body can handle it (I've gone sub 8 for many of my runs- if only for a mile or 2), but my mind is too set and comfy running 8:30+ a mile. I found this to be true earlier in the year when I was training for my sub 2:00 halfs. I was super complacent running at 9:30/mile and found it difficult to turn up the speed to finally train in the 8's. I needed to tell my mind to back off and let me do what I was capable of doing. During most of my runs, I would do negative splits and end up running in the mid-low 8's. Finally came the day where I would just start running sub 9's for my training.

Im confident that "running faster, will make you run faster" as well as more consistent running, and running more miles.  This is how I went from a best of 2:00 in a half in 2010 to a new PR of 1:48 this year. I had to tell my mind to shut up and let me run. It is truly amazing what the body can accomplish when you dont let your mind get in the way. I've also found that the fear of success is almost as great as the fear of failure.

How bad do you want it?

A year  ago I ran the Nike Women's Marathon without a time goal in mind. I just wanted to finish healthy. My best friend Tribu also ran the race- it was her first marathon and she was determined as hell to qualify for Boston. She trained during the hottest days of summer, waking up super early to run at 4am to get some relief from the oppressive heat. She ended up qualifying for Boston on her first try- an amazing accomplishment and an even more amazing feat to have been on the hilly NWM course. She didn't let excuses get in the way, instead she put in the hard work necessary to achieve this goal. Another friend of ours ran his first marathon today in 3:18 and got his BQ. He just started running not more than 2 years ago. Folks, anything is possible if you are willing to put in the hard work.

With any goal- it might seem ridiculous or out of reach. But if you break it down into small pieces it will seem much more attainable. You cant expect to teach a dog to roll over in one step- instead you must break it down into much smaller steps- like sit, down, lay on side, etc in order to get the singular goal of rolling over. If you want your goal bad enough then you will do everything humanly possible to achieve it. I'd rather have a crazy (albeit *somewhat* attainable just out of my reach) goal that I must work hard for than one that will come easy. I want to push myself to see what I am made of while my body is still willing to cooperate. While i'm happy with every PR that I achieve, I always want more and know I can do better. I might not ever be the fastest runner, but I can try to be.

(Celebrating the Chicago Marathon at Fleet Feet where we waited to get our medals engraved the day after the race)

How I plan to be successful

• No excuses. Saying no is hard, but how bad do you want your goal?
• Pushing myself to new frontiers in my running and not giving in.
•  Training smart. Every run has a purpose. 
• Strength training. Core training. (core/ upper body felt weak during Chicago. )
• Having the full support of my wonderful, wonderful to achieve my dream.
• Researching proper nutrition and post run refueling. and putting it to use.
• Living my dream because I can. Failure of this dream due to MY laziness is NOT an option.
• "Virtually" training with Tribu to keep on track and stay motivated.

How do you achieve your goals? What are your secrets to being successful?

The biggest surprise ever, well kind of

I got bit by the marathon bug last year. After doing a bunch of half marathons, I figured it was time to tackle a full. After Rock n Roll San jose 2009, Meb was kind enough to take a photo with me. (he won the NYC marathon a few months later) This was the first spark towards completing another full. (My first full marathon was the 2002 NYC marathon. That experience is a story for another day. SUAR, you've totally got the Boston with your current level of fitness. I know what it is like to "run" a marathon without any training whatsoever. I finished and didn't die. You are in much better shape now than I was then...)

In January 2010 my dad and I went to Phoenix to do the Rock n Roll Arizona half and full marathons. This race was his BQ. I was so lucky to have finished the half in enough time to run over to the car, get my good camera, and then run back to the finish area for the marathon and wait for my dad. I got nervous when the 3:40 pace group went by. A few minutes later I saw him run the final 200 meters to the finish- and I knew he had BQ'd.

 We were both so happy he could fulfill his life dream/goal of running Boston.
He is from the Boston area and was always into running- he just fell short of the crazy qualifying time standard to get into Boston 30 years ago. (he needed a 2:50 marathon) Again, watching him finish made the urge to run another full very present in my mind. I ended up getting into the Nike Women's marathon for 2010. My goal was to go balls to the wall in training and BQ too. My best friend Tribu was also going to run the Nike and try to BQ.

Long story short. I had to abandon the BQ training very early on. I was working full time, going to school full time for my second bachelor's degree, and had to have some time for my wonderful, wonderful and my puppy CB. I trained, but not hard enough. My goal was to remain healthy- and that was achieved. I finished my 2nd marathon with a smile on my face and Tribu BQ'd. I remember seeing her on the course as she only had 2 miles to go, and I still had about 6. I screamed at her "TRIBU TRIBU! You're going to BQ!!!!!!!" I was so happy for her. (it was her first marathon. She is a badass!)

So what does all of this mean? Well, this april 18 I had planned to go cheer for my dad and Tribu and everyone else at the 115th Boston Marathon. Change of plans.
Back in February Beth at SUAR held a contest- and I was one of the lucky winners. I entered it thinking I had nothing to loose, and everything to gain if I was picked. Regardless, I had to enter. I wrote my heart out and meant every word. It was a surprise up until a few weeks ago when my dad searched the entrant database for the Boston Marathon and found me. (We are the only 2 with our last name running it) I had to come clean and tell him that I would be running the Boston Marathon with him this year. He was/is shocked. (Im glad he found out so we could talk about training and share in the pre boston excitement together)

I went to Boston for July 4 last year. I took a photo of the Boston finish line for my dad to motivate him because he was having knee trouble and was going back and forth about even doing Boston, His dream. Little did I know or even dream that a little less than a year later I would be joining him in Hopkinton. This is  a dream come true and the best gift I ever could receive. I do feel a little weird about not qualifying. But my dad has reassured me I am no "Bandit" I am forever grateful to Beth for picking me and making this a reality. 8 weeks is short for marathon training, but Im in better shape now than I was in for Nike after 16 weeks of training. (and I graduated with my second degree- well finished the coursework. I officially graduate with my accounting degree in 2 weeks) I was able to train hard and put more miles in because I finished the classes for my 2nd degree about 2 weeks in. Timing could not have been more perfect.

This Monday my dad, Tribu and I along with 27,000 others will descend on Hopkinton to take on this sacred course. Everyone of us has a different story on how we got there and our reasons for doing "Boston." For me, I get to share my dad's lifelong goal of running the marathon that was in his backyard for so many years. He is proud of me and I am proud of him for making his dream a reality. Now only if I could get him to join me in wave 3 so we could run it together... Or perhaps I will just have to catch up to him and his 20 minute head start! :)  

I am so excited for this moment. It has been a journey the past 8 weeks, but well worth it.

See you in Boston!!