Well, crap.
After resolving to make the most of my last real week of training, I totally and utterly failed to do that. My new running shoes literally made my feet bleed. (I considered posting photos of my bloody shoe, but decided to spare you all. Imagine, if you will, a shoe, but with blood. Like that. Annoyingly, my actual feet look fine, with teensy little scabs and teensy little blisters on them, but I swear, they hurt like crazy and bled everywhere, and I feel wussy complaining about them, like I deserve to have more gruesome wounds to prove to you all how I suffered.) I ran 8 miles in the evil shoes over a few days early last week and finally just gave up. If I laced them tight enough not to abrade my ankle skin off, then they compressed the top of my foot and I got instant shin splints. If I didn't lace them that tightly, then the bleeding. Shin splints or bleeding... so many choices.
After I gave up on the shoes (screw you, shoes!) I was planning on giving my feet a day to scab over and then get back in the game in my old, decrepit, mud-covered shoes. But I got a cold, so I skipped another day to rest up. Then I went to the doctor and got a tetanus shot, which apparently I was overdue for, thinking I could do a short run later that day. But no. The cold + tetanus shot = DEAD.
DEAD. I literally (literally! Not figuratively!) slept from about 9pm Friday until 4pm Saturday. Then I was up for a whopping three total hours, with some intermittent napping, before calling it quits and heading back to bed on Saturday night. Sunday was also a day of much sleeping, but I managed a few short errands with the Husband in between all the napping and movie-watching and soup-eating. Sheesh.
So... yeah. I am still recovering from my illness/vaccination, I don't have good shoes, and I haven't had a good long run in weeks. I ran two miles today at the gym on a slow slow pace to see how recovered I am and to try to "taper" properly for a good race, as though that were still possible. Basically, this half marathon is looming at the end of my week with a dark malevolence and I am trudging toward it with a sense of bitter resignation.
No matter what, I am doing this thing. So I have to get my head and my feet ready for Sunday and make the best of the situation. Hopefully we'll have nice weather and I'll have some fun.
Half Marathon Training Update
This week we set out to do a 12 mile run, but after 11 miles, I just couldn't run anymore. My hips were aching, my knees hurt and I was so so so tired. So we walked the last mile, and I feel... defeated.
I have learned an important lesson, though, and one I hope it's not too late to apply to this race: DO NOT SKIP YOUR SHORT RUNS.
Running 3 miles a day or so, 3-4 times per week, is essential. Looking back at my training log, the long runs that went well, where we upped our pace, where I felt good, those were all at the end of a week where I'd put the miles in and trained consistently. In recent weeks, I've gotten lazy during the week and let myself skip some short runs, and man, that has been brutal on the long runs each weekend. So, lesson learned.
I've got two weeks left, and I'm going to be super diligent about the short runs this week, put in a solid 8 miles this weekend, and then taper down to race day on April 3.
In other news, I went to Road Runner Sports today and did their Shoe Dog shoe finder. I was really impressed and I really think I got a great pair of shoes and lots of great information. Here's hoping that the shoes work out well. I've only put 250 miles on my last pair, but I am starting to feel every stride in my shins, and that's really not good. Bonus: my new shoes are not pink, which was more of a challenge than one might think. Why are so many women's running shoes white and pink? Why?
I have learned an important lesson, though, and one I hope it's not too late to apply to this race: DO NOT SKIP YOUR SHORT RUNS.
Running 3 miles a day or so, 3-4 times per week, is essential. Looking back at my training log, the long runs that went well, where we upped our pace, where I felt good, those were all at the end of a week where I'd put the miles in and trained consistently. In recent weeks, I've gotten lazy during the week and let myself skip some short runs, and man, that has been brutal on the long runs each weekend. So, lesson learned.
I've got two weeks left, and I'm going to be super diligent about the short runs this week, put in a solid 8 miles this weekend, and then taper down to race day on April 3.
In other news, I went to Road Runner Sports today and did their Shoe Dog shoe finder. I was really impressed and I really think I got a great pair of shoes and lots of great information. Here's hoping that the shoes work out well. I've only put 250 miles on my last pair, but I am starting to feel every stride in my shins, and that's really not good. Bonus: my new shoes are not pink, which was more of a challenge than one might think. Why are so many women's running shoes white and pink? Why?
Chorizo Lentil Stew
We had a salad planned for dinner tonight, but it was cold and rainy and I felt like having something warm and comforting instead, so I put this together with what we had on hand. It was delicious.
Chorizo Lentil Stew
Nouns:
2 cups dry lentils
3 links chicken chorizo, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1/2 cup OJ
additional water as needed cover lentils
Verbs:
Drizzle some olive oil in the pan and add the carrots, celery, onion and chorizo, stirring over medium high heat for several minutes. Add the lentils, broth, spices and chili garlic sauce. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until lentils are done. Add more water if necessary. When the lentils are done, add the OJ and stir to combine. Simmer 1-2 more minutes, and serve.
Yummy!
Half Marathon Training Program Update
This week, we decided to do some hill training. There are some pretty decent hills on the half marathon course and we've been training mostly on the flat. So my running buddy and I, we agreed to tackle some hills. Fortunately, my running buddy lives in the middle of a whole bunch of hills, such that it's impossible to run more than a few blocks in any direction from his house without wishing you were dead. Yay.
Rather than mapping a route, we decided to just go on an adventure, with the GPS running program on his smartphone tracking our route, pace and mileage for us. Neat!
We set out in the rain, and I was immediately soaked. My feet and the last six inches of my pants were sodden after a mere ten minutes, and we planned to be out for two hours, so I was prepared for some real fun.
We were going slowly, because of the hills and the rain and perhaps because my running buddy was a teensy bit hungover. After about a half hour, we agreed that we didn't need to run all twelve of our planned miles. Maybe only 10? After another ten minutes or so, we were opening negotiations on perhaps stopping after 9. Or 8. It was a rough run.
Then, we turned a corner and came upon THE HILL.
I grew up in the foothills of the rockies and there is not a flat street in my whole hometown, but this hill, this was the most imposing urban climb I'd ever seen. It just kept going up and up and up. We stared at the hill. It glistened dully in the rain. I may have whimpered. Ever the optimist, Jared urged me on. He said some crazy things about how "we can do this!" and "this hill is our bitch!" He was, not surprisingly, wrong.
I tried. I ran. I ran and I ran. My chest burned and my legs were on fire and my butt muscles screamed. I slowed. Jared kept up a running monologue of encouragement. I think I managed to whimper, and somehow to say "how (gasp) can you (gasp) still (gasp) talk!?!" About two thirds of the way up the hill, I gave up. I surrendered. We walked the rest of the way up the hill and I stood at the top, recovering my breath, for a few minutes before we started running again. That hill kicked my ass.
We took a picture of the hill, in hopes that we could convey to others its sheer magnitude, but the picture doesn't really capture it. I found this picture on google maps:
View Larger Map
But it's all sunny and friendly looking, and you can't really appreciate the hilliness of this hill and the sheer evil it exuded in the rain. Still, look at the horizon at the top of the hill; really look at where the blue meets the grey. Maybe you will understand. Or maybe I have completely lost my mind about this hill. Probably the latter.
Anyway, so we only ran 9 miles. After the hill, I was toast. We never got up to a decent pace, and I never quite recovered. My knees were aching on all the downslopes and my chest was tight on all the upslopes. It wasn't my best run ever. I hope I get in some good ones before the race and get my confidence back and reclaim that sense of running empowerment that got me hooked in the first place. It's there; I know it is. I think the race will help me find it, and I think that this time, I've trained better, I'm more experienced and better prepared, and I'm going to find out what I can really do. It's exciting.
After the race, which is only a few weeks away now, I had planned to take the rest of April off from formal training and long runs, and then start fresh May 1 with Marathon training. My first marathon. What a goal! But now... now I have a new goal. And intermediate goal. Before I run a marathon, I am going to beat that hill. After the half, I am going to go over there, and I am going to run that hill, bottom to top, whatever it takes. Hear this, hill, it is ON.
Rather than mapping a route, we decided to just go on an adventure, with the GPS running program on his smartphone tracking our route, pace and mileage for us. Neat!
We set out in the rain, and I was immediately soaked. My feet and the last six inches of my pants were sodden after a mere ten minutes, and we planned to be out for two hours, so I was prepared for some real fun.
We were going slowly, because of the hills and the rain and perhaps because my running buddy was a teensy bit hungover. After about a half hour, we agreed that we didn't need to run all twelve of our planned miles. Maybe only 10? After another ten minutes or so, we were opening negotiations on perhaps stopping after 9. Or 8. It was a rough run.
Then, we turned a corner and came upon THE HILL.
I grew up in the foothills of the rockies and there is not a flat street in my whole hometown, but this hill, this was the most imposing urban climb I'd ever seen. It just kept going up and up and up. We stared at the hill. It glistened dully in the rain. I may have whimpered. Ever the optimist, Jared urged me on. He said some crazy things about how "we can do this!" and "this hill is our bitch!" He was, not surprisingly, wrong.
I tried. I ran. I ran and I ran. My chest burned and my legs were on fire and my butt muscles screamed. I slowed. Jared kept up a running monologue of encouragement. I think I managed to whimper, and somehow to say "how (gasp) can you (gasp) still (gasp) talk!?!" About two thirds of the way up the hill, I gave up. I surrendered. We walked the rest of the way up the hill and I stood at the top, recovering my breath, for a few minutes before we started running again. That hill kicked my ass.
We took a picture of the hill, in hopes that we could convey to others its sheer magnitude, but the picture doesn't really capture it. I found this picture on google maps:
View Larger Map
But it's all sunny and friendly looking, and you can't really appreciate the hilliness of this hill and the sheer evil it exuded in the rain. Still, look at the horizon at the top of the hill; really look at where the blue meets the grey. Maybe you will understand. Or maybe I have completely lost my mind about this hill. Probably the latter.
Anyway, so we only ran 9 miles. After the hill, I was toast. We never got up to a decent pace, and I never quite recovered. My knees were aching on all the downslopes and my chest was tight on all the upslopes. It wasn't my best run ever. I hope I get in some good ones before the race and get my confidence back and reclaim that sense of running empowerment that got me hooked in the first place. It's there; I know it is. I think the race will help me find it, and I think that this time, I've trained better, I'm more experienced and better prepared, and I'm going to find out what I can really do. It's exciting.
After the race, which is only a few weeks away now, I had planned to take the rest of April off from formal training and long runs, and then start fresh May 1 with Marathon training. My first marathon. What a goal! But now... now I have a new goal. And intermediate goal. Before I run a marathon, I am going to beat that hill. After the half, I am going to go over there, and I am going to run that hill, bottom to top, whatever it takes. Hear this, hill, it is ON.
Stuffed Shells
I made these for a friend who comes over for dinner a lot on weeknights because he's out of town every weekend. These are a great make-ahead dish, and I will keep them in my repertoire for entertaining for that reason, and because they are they perfect combination of delicious, easy, and impressive.
Stuffed Shells
Nouns:
1 box large shell noodles (I think a box is about a pound? I don't know. A box.)
1 large container of ricotta (in my grocery store, they have large and small options in ricotta, but I am dumb and didn't write down how many ounces, so you know, get the big one if there is one, and if there isn't, get two small ones.)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 egg
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 bag shredded Italian cheese blend, or a few ounces of shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan
Verbs:
Make the pasta according to package directions. Or how you normally make pasta. I assume you know how to make pasta. So make it. Okay.
Defrost the spinach and squeeze the liquid out of it by wrapping it up and gently pressing it with a clean kitchen towel that you don't mind dyeing green. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta and egg. Add some garlic or basil or parsley if you are so inclined. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease it with olive oil. Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells one by one, arranging them in a single layer in the baking dish. If you are making this dish ahead, then stop, cover the baking dish, and stick it in the fridge. If not, carry on with the rest of the directions.
Preheat oven to 375. Pour of the sauce over the shells. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top. Bake until bubbly and the cheese is slightly browned, about 25 minutes.
YUM!
Stuffed Shells
Nouns:
1 box large shell noodles (I think a box is about a pound? I don't know. A box.)
1 large container of ricotta (in my grocery store, they have large and small options in ricotta, but I am dumb and didn't write down how many ounces, so you know, get the big one if there is one, and if there isn't, get two small ones.)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 egg
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 bag shredded Italian cheese blend, or a few ounces of shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan
Verbs:
Make the pasta according to package directions. Or how you normally make pasta. I assume you know how to make pasta. So make it. Okay.
Defrost the spinach and squeeze the liquid out of it by wrapping it up and gently pressing it with a clean kitchen towel that you don't mind dyeing green. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta and egg. Add some garlic or basil or parsley if you are so inclined. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease it with olive oil. Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells one by one, arranging them in a single layer in the baking dish. If you are making this dish ahead, then stop, cover the baking dish, and stick it in the fridge. If not, carry on with the rest of the directions.
Preheat oven to 375. Pour of the sauce over the shells. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top. Bake until bubbly and the cheese is slightly browned, about 25 minutes.
YUM!
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