IT'S HARD TO RUN....

..... when you can't move your leg backwards or forwards.

Nevertheless, I just got in an hour's worth, probably a little sort of 6 miles, with teeny little short steps that weren't all that uncomfortable or even any slower than my usual.

But I'm behind in my distance plans now, and I can't do the speedwork in the FIRST program as I had hoped for an April marathon. In fact, I might not make an April marathon at all.

Thanks to Vickie and Sheila for tips and links to fixing my butt :-) And runr53 for suggesting massage therapy -- I called one and left a message, but she must be away for the holidays. I'll try her again. I think the piriformis muscle is the one complaining. I think it would complain less if I spent less time sitting on it, too, in front of the computer.....

MY NEW HERO

Meet Ruth Thomas, and marvel at her Journey Of The Ages.


Here she is studying her route in Hawaii.


She's 25 years my senior and this past spring she finished a voyage that makes my dream of a Pacific-to-Atlantic bike trip look like a training ride. She rode her bike to the smallest town in EACH of the United States. Not just coast-to-coast on Rte. 50 or the "Northern Route" or the "Southern Route" but into every single state to that state's smallest town.

It took her about 8 years. I love her!

Here's another, earlier story. Senior Cyclist A Bit Battered, But Not Blue

Old ladies of the world, unite!!!

AMEN! AGAIN

Now that people are reading my blog again (maybe because I'm posting again?) I want to say more about what I posted a few days ago in "Amen!"

Here's what my trusty online dictionary
has to say:

Main Entry: amen
Pronunciation: (')ä-'men, (')A-; 'ä- when sung
Function: interjection
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek amEn, from Hebrew AmEn
-- used to express solemn ratification (as of an expression of faith) or hearty approval (as of an assertion)

Most of us know the translation as "So be it." Depending on use, it has nuances of "May it be so," or "It is indeed so," a word of general agreement and belief.

I noticed, when I heard someone say it on the radio, how much it sounds like "I'm in!" -- either way it's pronounced. This made me think.

I thought about what "I'm in!" means.

"I'm in" for the long haul. I won't back out. I'm committed.

I'm promising my contribution.

I've entered the race.

I will be an active participant.

I'm part of the team.

You can count on me.

I will give whatever it takes to achieve the hoped-for result.

I will do all in my power to keep what we have accomplished.

In a way, it's not all that different from, "So be it." "Amen."

I thought about what I would mean if I said "I'm in!" instead of "Amen."

It charges me to continue what I have begun, or, more properly, what the Lord has begun.

The prayer is not over. It's just getting started. It's ongoing. I have footwork to do, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, when I "end" a prayer with "I'm in!" I am not done with this prayer or this endeavor.

"I'm in." It's my new "Amen."

BUSTED MY BUTT

Yup. Doing speedwork. Going along at a perky pace, put the hammer down some more, got a sharp pain deep in my mid-right-cheek that caused a simultaneous yelp and mid-stride stop, and a discouraged slow limp home.

Been on the Internet. Blinding flash of the obvious: Gluteal strain. Internet wisdom reveals that it's commonly suffered upon a sudden increase in speed or stride for which the body is not prepared.

So today I'm stiff. And limping. My butt cheek hurts. My hamstring is tight. I'm frustrated.... will I be able to pick up my 16-week-marathon-training program (which was officially to start with a 10-miler today) in time for an April 15 marathon?

Maybe I better go down a rung to a 12-week program.

Don't forget to read my previous post, in which I ask for opinions on reading/study material....

WHAT BOOKS WOULD YOU GET?

I'm cruising amazon.com for running books. I got a $50 gift certificate there from my husband for my birthday (I turned 55 on Dec. 22.)

Recall a couple of my goals and dreams:

• Run a 4:15 marathon to qualify for Boston (and then run Boston)
• Run a marathon in every state
• Dabble in ultra-marathoning

These are some of the books I've been considering. I can also get magazine subscriptions there. Thinking about Marathon and Beyond (although at $34.95/6 issues it would use up over half my gift allowance; all of the books below are available used at discount prices.)

Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon by Neal Jamison

Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger

Daniels' Running Formula by Jack Daniels

Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running, Second Edition, (Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running) by Robert G. Price

The Competitive Runner's Handbook: The Bestselling Guide to Running 5Ks through Marathons by Bob Glover

Four Months to a Four-hour Marathon by Dave Kuehls

Running Past 50 (Ageless Athlete) by Richard Benyo

Ultra Running With Scott Jurek (Robbie Readers) (Robbie Readers) by Jim Whiting

Running Until You're 100 by Jeff Galloway

What would you get? Any choices from among these? Any I haven't listed?

Workout Stats

Pursuing my goal of running a Boston-qualifying marathon next fall (2007), I put in this workout today. Oh, yeah, I've forgotten to post: I'm eyeing an April 15 marathon in Indiana as a time-trial, then rest a couple weeks, and start the program over again aiming for a late-Sept. hopeful-qualifier, with maybe a November one as a backup in case something screws up the Sept. one.

Qualifying time at my advanced old age of 55 is 4:15, which is 9:45/mile.

I'm using this program and these paces. Nancy steered me to it. What would I ever do without her? The "official" 16-week build-up won't start till next week; you're supposed to be able to run 10 miles. I'm sure I can; after all, I just did a frickin' Ironman. But I took time off and then time easy and I'm building up again, so I won't hit 10 miles till next week.

My HR goals, I got from some other running article.... I'll have to look it up. I did a 10K time-trial a couple weeks ago; my time was 57:30, which is 9:16/mile, and the max HR I was able to provoke was 183. I tried to inch it upward but it stuck there. I could only maintain that for about 0.2 mile. The HR formula I'm using is based on Max Rate - Resting Rate (mine is usually 60) X % effort.

So here's what I did today, in case anyone is interested:

Type of workout:
Pace/intensive endurance, approaching aerobic threshold; week's long run
Purpose:
Increase endurance at quicker pace (I've been doing long runs at 11-13min miles training for Ironman's the last 2 years.)

Goals:
A. 9 miles at 10K pace + 60-75 sec./min (= 10:15 – 10:30)
Met? Distance - Y; pace -N

B. Keep steady pace
Met? N

C. Keep steady perceived effort
Met? Y

D. HR 75-85% (152 – 164)
Met? Y

Notes:
OK, explaining the “No’s”:
A. Overall pace quicker than expected
9 miles at 1:31:28 = 10:13/mile
B. Not steady at all, but terrain varied.
Mile 1 – 10:28 (warm-up mile)
Mile 2 – 9:56 (mostly downhill)
Mile 3 – 10:02 (rolling, predominantly downhill)
Mile 4 – 11:10 (long slow upgrade)
Mile 5 – 11:01 (turnaround in middle; upgrade till then)
Mile 6 – 9:19 (downgrade)
Mile 7 – 9:51 (rolling w/ uphill trend)
Mile 8 – 10:29 (mostly uphill)
Mile 9 – 9:38 (rolling, mostly downhill)

C. Actually HR reached 170 (90%) on a hill; otherwise within range. Perceived effort was quite steady.

AMEN!

I noticed the other day....

How much the word "Amen" (either way you pronounce it) sounds like "I'm in."

Try ending your prayer with "I'm in!" and see if it has the same effect on you that it did on me.

I'm in.

HAMILTON THANKSGIVING

We had everyone together at son Jon's house, except our youngest daughter Avery's husband Scott, who had work conflicts. Our get-together was Saturday after Thanksgiving, the most do-able for the most people. Daughter-in-law Jamie had worked all night (NICU nurse) ans spent the day sleeping at her mom's, but came over later in the afternoon.

It's rare to have all 4 generations together, every single one of my mother's direct descendants.


The oldest and youngest of our clan: My mother, Ellinor Benedict, 85, and our granddaughter, Abigail Hamilton, 3 yrs. 10 months


Our three grandkids being goofy: Abbie; Gracie, 8; Collin, 10



The whole family!
Left to right:
My husband Steve; grandson Collin Clevenger; daughter Avery Elefante; daughter-in-law Jamie Hamilton; son Jon Hamilton; granddaughter Grayson Clevenger; me, Ellinor Hamilton; daughter Valerie Hamilton; Val's husband Anthony; Anthony's son Bradley; granddaughter Abbie Hamilton; matriarch/mother/grandmother/great-grandmother Ellinor Benedict

And as if a humongous turkey dinner topped off with 2 kinds of pie, 3 cousins to play with, and all her family together (Abbie LOVES her family, especially her grandpa and her great-grandmother), here is what her daddy found in their garage after dinner.


He had seen a stray cat in there a couple times but had no idea there were offspring. For an almost-4-yr-old, Thanksgiving doesn't get any better. His name is Walrus -- Abbie's new word of the week. Walrus hissed and spit and bit when Jon caught him, but calmed down remarkably within just a few minutes. After some tuna, which he gulped like a dog, he got a bath, a nap wrapped in a warm towel, and then was deemed fit to play with. Within a couple hours after capture, he was purring in our laps and playing with strings the kids dragged for him.

Thanksgiving is about so much more than the food. Although that was good, too...

MY "SLEEP" THEORY

Maybe I should call it more a "rule of thumb."

We know lots of "rules of thumb:"
When you race (running), no long runs or speedwork for as many days as there were miles in your race.
After a race or long run, calories don't count for as many hours as there were miles run.

And so on.

I have a theory that I think I will develop into a new personal rule of thumb:

For each hour in a hard effort (i.e., long run or ride, race, speedwork), an extra hour of sleep per hour of effort will enhance recovery.

Thus:
For the 16 hours and 20 minutes I was on the course at IMFL, I needed to "replace" 16 hours of sleep. Not all at once. Maybe an hour a day for 16 days. I didn't do this religiously, since I thought of it about a week later, but I had been going to bed earlier each night just because I was tired. This was when the "hour of sleep per hour of effort" idea dawned on me.

A 6-hour marathon, then, would suggest 5 days of sleeping an hour extra per night (or day.)

For a hard 10K effort, extra sleep for however long that took.

Maybe, any training effort that we're still tired from an hour or so later, or the next day, should trigger the "sleep alarm" -- however long that effort lasted, get its equivalent in extra sleep.

It might not always be possible.
It might not be indispensable.

But it couldn't hurt.

JUST SOME CLUELESS OLD LADY

Well. I left a comment on Dean Karnazes' blog about how great it was to talk with him, and how I decided that if this campground customer could run 20-30 miles a day after just doing 50 marathons in 50 days, certainly I could go out and run for half an hour 2 weeks after an Ironman. And that I ran faster than usual because I was thinking about this daily-ultra-runner I'd talked to. And how excited I was later in the day when I discovered who he was. How I'd been on the web all evening learning all about him and feeling high.

Comments are subject to moderator approval.

Mine didn't get in.

Nor did I get a mention in his descriptions of people he'd met that day.

When he asked if I was a runner, and I showed him my IMFL mug, and he said, "Great! Congratulations!" he was probably thinking,

"Oh, you did an Ironman. How cute."

He probably was thinking, some woman goes through the motions of being a runner, and calls herself an Ironman, and doesn't know who I am???

Really, I didn't know. I don't surf running websites, I don't do forums or chatrooms, I only read an occasional couple fitness/athletic magazines other than Triathlete, I don't read running books. The magazines and books haven't changed much over the last 20 years, and I don't pay much attention to them anymore. I just do it.

I'd have known Jeff Galloway. Or Frank Shorter. Or Bill Rodgers. Or Ingrid Kristiansen. Or Joan Benoit Samuelson. Or Grete Waitz. Runners who were in the news when I was into the news.

I'd have known Lance Armstrong.

I'd have recognized the names of Tim or Nicole DeBoom, Natascha Baddman, Heather Fuhr, Lisa Bentley, Laurie Bowden. I'd have known Andrea Fisher by sight, since she was my neighbor for the week in the campground at IMFL.

This man.... somehow he just slipped through the cracks.

Like I told Nancy.... the Lord must have been so appalled that I hadn't heard of or read about Dean Karnazes, He just had to send him to me in person. And then get my friends to tell me who he was.

At least I noticed his thighs.

Back to my safe place under my rock.
______________________

Update: 21stCenturyMom has commented that I am, indeed, there in his comment section. I'm finding what I wrote in this blog but not the one she quoted (correctly!) from Dean's Run Home.

Why should this whole thing even matter to me? I have my friends. Why do I need feedback from some celebrity who never heard of me and whom I'll never meet again?

THE CELEBRITY AND THE BLONDE

Remember to be hospitable to strangers, for you never know who you're entertaining unawares.

This morning at work at the campground office, I was talking to my mom on my cell phone (slow day at the office) and told her, "Oops, gotta go, got a customer coming. He's dressed for running. He's got awesome thighs." She laughed and wished me luck and I hung up.



The man brought in a little bag of garbage and asked where the dumpsters were. I told him, but said, "That's small, just give it to me, I'll throw it in the trash can right here," which he did, and I did.

"How far you running today?" I asked. "Oh, 20 or 30 miles I guess," he said. "Great!" I said. "What are you training for?" He said, "Actually I'm running across the United States."

"Cool!" I answered. "So you're almost done?"

"No," he said, "I'm just starting."

"You're going east to west against the prevailing winds in late fall at this latitude? You're going to have fun when you get to Colorado!" We both laughed and he said he hoped Colorado wouldn't be too bad.

So he says, "You must be a runner. You didn't go blank or do a double take when I said how far I was running." I lifted my M-Dot Florida mug in a toast gesture and took a sip of my coffee. "Great, congratulations!" he said. "I barely survived, but it was fun," I observed. "I haven't run since, but I might go out today."

Then he says, "I just took a break from my trip, flew down to Texas, and did a 24-hour ultra. Plus I just finished running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days."



"Awesome!" I said. "I want to do all 50 states. Except I don't think I'll make it in 50 days :-) Another thing I want to do is cross the country, not on foot but on a bike, Pacific to Atlantic."

"That's a great goal," he said.

"You better go run, you've got goosebumps on your thighs," I said, thereby letting the cat out of the bag that I'd been ogling his thighs.



He laughed. "Well, we gotta break camp first.... my dad is driving the camper, he's my support crew."

"Well, good luck!" I said, and he said, "You, too!" and he left. I watched them disconnecting their utility hoses getting ready to leave. Another customer came in. "See that rig leaving?" I said. "The guy was just in here.... he's running across the country east to west on Rte. 50." "Hmph," said the man. "Wonder if he knows what he's getting into as he gets into West Virginia and Western Maryland. I hear they've had snow in Garrett County already, and you know what the hills are like out there."



I was wishing I'd given the runner guy my email address so he could let me know when he got there, like the guy I met on the bike trail last summer. I was wishing I'd had my camera so I could email his quads to my friends.

So I told some of my email friends, including Nancy, about this encounter, and told them they missed some great quads. Nancy emailed me back, "Uhhhhhh, Ellie.... did he look like this guy? (Gave me this link) Dean Karnazes????" I emailed back, "Yeah, that was him! I just put his registration info in the campground computer this morning!" So then I went to the link to see who he was.

Geez.

Dean Karnazes. I guess every runner in the world except me knows about him. He has a blog (actually several) and I left a comment on this one. On his Daily Archives page, you can see that he was staying in Winchester, VA (except they listed it as WV.) That was before he left for the ultra in TX and he just got back yesterday. That was here! That was Candy Hill Campground, Winchester, VA! I threw away his trash for him!



I'm glad I had my eye makeup on :-)

OH, NO....

I'm not really thinking of doing this, am I?

It's February 17.

I worked backwards on the calendar and determined that I could get in the lon runs. It's not like each increase would be new territory I haven't entered before.

The timing would be the same as last year, when I ran RNR Arizona in January after doing ChesapeakeMan the end of September.

I was very pleased with how I did at RNR AZ.

Oh, no.

What am I saying?

I'm not even running yet following IMFL. I'd have to do long winter runs in northern Virginia.... not southern Arizona.

Oh, my.

I can't afford it. $$$$ The main costs being travel and lodging.

A $52 entry fee, after an M-Dot race, feels like scoring a terrific pair of jeans for $6 at Goodwill.

What started this? I signed on to a Shenandoah Valley Runners list and someone told me she's training for MBM. She did IM AZ last April. Her pace is similar to mine and we could train together. I'm calling her..... maybe we could drive and room together.

I can't fly. $$$$$

I am really afraid I am going to try to do this. I made a training calendar. Here we go again....

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD

Yeah. Another one of those religious posts.

I don't sleep well. I have hot flashes and sweats and then when I throw the covers off I get cold. I'll wake up and find it still nearly dark but I hear birds and think or say out loud, "Are those damn birds at it already? Why can't I have a couple more hours?"

So this morning I woke up in the dark, looked at my watch. 4:30. I said a silent "Thank you, God! I get another 3 more hours of sleep."

Nope.

Awake. Not stewing over anything in particular, just wide awake. Couldn't get comfortable. Too hot. Too cold. Bed too hard. Thinking about music.... how to adapt the theme from "Legends of the Fall" to play as a waltz that would sound old-timey on the fiddle, like "Tenessee Waltz" or "Beautiful Dreamer." What a stupid thing to be thinking about trying to sleep.

No sleep.

I said prayers. Lord's Prayer. Psalm 23. Both generally have a hypnotic effect on me. I rarely get all the way through Psalm 23.

Nope.

I said silently, "Lord, what do you want?" (And I didn't say it nicely.) "I'm trying to sleep here. I'm going to be tired. My whole day will be a mess if I'm tired. I'll feel crappy and I'll mess things up and I won't be any good for anything. If you're so great than make me sleep."

And I got..... "We never spend any time together. You're so busy during the day, we hardly cross paths." So I brought up all the things I'm worrying about. It just got me riled. I said, "So, this isn't helping me any. What do you want to talk about?" I got...."Who said we had to talk? I just want to keep company with you." So I stopped but my mind just went into uncomfortable-silence mode. After a few minutes, I volunteered again, "This isn't helping me. I'm going to be tired." I got, "Would I wake you up to keep company with you and let it hurt you? Be still, and know that I am God."

And after a spell of dwelling on that verse.... well, I seem to have slept. I woke up before the alarm feeling rested and ready to get up.

Gotta go take the dog out now and get to work.

I RAN!

It's so long since I've run, it's like I've forgotten how. I couldn't find my running shoes. I put my socks on upside down.

I wore the dusty-rose long-sleeved running top my Calgarian friends, Dianne and Dawn, gave me as an IMFL present when they sprung their surprise visit to Nancy and me, as if their visit wasn't gift enough.

I ran a little over a mile, measured afterwards with my bike at 1.1. Whoopee. Time was 11:14.

Then I went on the bike and measured a real-mile course out to the road and back through the campground, in case I don't want to get out on the trafficked roadways during the winter. I can do laps. And I can also measure my mile-pace progress, although it's not flat. I might go to a track for that.

It feels good to have gone running again.

WHY DID HE DIE?

I just did a search hoping for news on the cause of the death of Barney Rice, whose hopes for everything ended during the swim at IMFL. All I'm finding is "cause of death was not immediately evident, but an autopsy will be performed."

He had 3 young sons. The youngest is 6 months. And a young wife, who went through his year of IM training like every other Iron Spouse. He had, the same as all of us this whole past year and that cold race morning, anticipation, excitement, a sense of adventure, and high hopes for a grand achievement. He had his bike shoes and helmet in his transition bag, his water bottles and GU packs on his bike. His ready bike waited in the transition area and.....stayed there all day.

I felt glad to make it out of the swim alive. When I reached the finish line 14 or so hours later, I found out that one man hadn't.

I'm still having dreams.

Last night it was being on the bike leg of the Ironman and finding, not hills, I don't know what you'd call them.... rock dunes, or something. They undulated up out of the ground like mountains, as high as a 3-story house. I was thinking, this is no place for a road bike; I need a mountain bike. They rose one after another. I saw a dip between two "dunes" coming and thought, oh, no, here it comes..... got my speed up and almost, but not quite, made the jump between them. My bike was bashed between the two rocky swells, all bent up. The wheel rims were creased into mere slits. I was unhurt, but finishing the race was out of the question. Even if I could get a mountain bike, there wouldn't be time afterwards to make the cutoff.

I've dreamed about being in 20-foot seas in a tiny boat; about crying as I tried to resuscitate a drowned cat; about being rejected from a music program and offered violin bows made of glow-necklaces instead of carbon fiber; and now about rocky swells coming like ocean waves destroying my bike.

I need closure. I hope they make it public when they find out why he died. And if it was simple drowning.... why??? A 35-year-old triathlete shouldn't have just gone and drowned out there, 2/3 of the way through his swim. It doesn't make sense.

I KEEP THINKING ABOUT BOSTON....

I started a Yahoogroup, Boston Bound, and a blog, Boston2008 (Boston Bound wasn't available, darn), for people trying for a Boston qualifier. We've got such a huge triathlon brigade here.... there have to be Boston hopefuls as well. Maybe even Boston-repeat hopefuls.

Let everyone know, 'K? People in Blogland, people "out there." Ship 'em to Boston Bound , Boston 2008, and/or here.

I think I'm serious about training for this..... think so? :-D

Except right now I'm still in my self-enforced 2-week no-training recovery period after IMFL.

Man, I REALLY want to get out there and run. I need to be careful not to go out too fast..... take this training year like a marathon, sensibly paced so I can hang in there the whole time.

SERVING

On our trip back from Florida, we passed a big Salvation Army HQ building. On it were the large sculpted letters:

"Serving others through Christ."

I don't know whether this is the Salvation Army motto or not, but I was thinking, shouldn't it go:

"Serving Christ through others" ? That is, you serve Christ through serving others?

IRONMAN DREAMS

1. I'm in a small open boat, tossing and heaving in 20-foot seas. I'm thinking, "At least I'm in a boat."

2. I'm fishing and feel a bite on my hook. As I'm reeling in my catch, I discover it's not a fish, but a cat. I have to reel it in to save it, but reeling it in drowns it. I'm crying as I try to resuscitate it. (Probably most readers know, a man drowned at IMFL.)

3. In real waking life, I am learning to play the violin, self-taught, country-fiddle style. In this dream,I'm accepted at a large university music department, to major in violin performance. I show up for my first session with my professional private instructor, who finds that I'm slightly better than Vera Violet Vinn (you have to know Dr. Seuss to get that.) After hearing me play a couple measures, she signals me to stop, shakes her head, and says, "Do not finish your piece. You should not have entered this institution." I yell, "That's what I'm HERE for! To LEARN HOW!!" She senses how much I want this and says, "Well, let's see what I can do to help you perhaps a little." She starts by saying I need a better bow. The one I have is about 6 inches long. But all the ones she offers me are useless: floppy, not rigid. One is made out of a straightened-out glow-necklace. None are wood or carbon fiber (even violin bows are carbon fiber nowadays.) I appreciate her (condescending) gestures but realize I am simply not prepared to play the violin; I don't even have a bow.

OFFLINE

We're about to take the satellite dish down to start our trip back north. Probably won't bother putting it up for overnight stays. So I won't be able to send or receive, unless we're somewhere that Steve's computer can pick up a Wi-Fi signal (mine's too archaic for that.)

 

Catch ya later!

A QUESTION

Do you think it's reasonable to combine these goals during one year?

1. Dropping about 45 minutes from current marathon ballpark time, to hopefully run a Boston Qualifier in the fall, and

2. Continuing through that same year to run a few other marathons to add to my 50-state quest?


Background: In 2001 (before I started doing triathlons and was just a runner) I ran a 4:21 in late April and a 4:12 in October. The 4:21 inspired me to try for a BQ, which would have been 4:05 at the time. I went out too fast and blew it, walked a few miles, and still made 4:12. This was 5 years ago.

My qualifying time at my age now is 4:15.

Do you think I could do the necessary speedwork AND get in a number of marathons to increase my state tally?