10 Miles: Frustration Rears Its Ugly Head

Another mentally tough week for me, although it was nice to see the scale go down three pounds. I earned my five pound loss badge from FitBit.

Monday's two mile run was a full on disaster. I walked it all and was insanely slow. I stopped my Garmin at thirty-five minutes. I iced a lot more this week and was looking forward to my long run.

I woke up on Saturday and things were already going to crap. My water bottle tasted how my dogs smell, I forgot to defrost my Uncrustable and had to microwave it (helpful tip...don't do it) and I forgot to Body Glide a few lower body parts.

I got to Umstead and was in pretty foul mood. My husband and I had a argument about running injuries the other night and it was stuck in my head. I was distracted by that and the fact a woman about seventy passed me.......walking. WALKING. I slowed down to a walk because when I run angry, I push too hard and then I actually do get injured. I didn't want to risk it, so I slowed down. I got a second wind at six miles and put on my music. Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters and Stevie Wonder got me thru the last few miles. At eight miles, I realized that I miscalculated and had to run out another half mile and back. I wasn't pleased at all. When I finally finished, I looked at my Garmin and it read 2:28:16. My goal was 2:15, I drove home frustrated and pissed off.

This weekend I thought about my running and how frustrated I got. Everyone has bad runs, but I have felt lately, that I've had more bad runs than good. My goal of a 2:30 half marathon is fading further away every week. I'm really going to focus on relaxing and enjoying running and be out in the cooler weather. I still have the dream of at 2:30 half marathon, but I think anything under 2:53 will make me happy as well. I just want to do better than my best time. I'm definitely going to have to work on relaxing and enjoying the run....a lot. I'm going to try really hard, but c'mon. Let's be real-haha!

I checked out a video of the Manchester City Marathon half marathon course and it's hilly. Hills are tough, but luckily they are rolling hills. I can handle those. I'm a bit concerned about the River Road section, but I'm happy that the last part is downhill.  I'm excited because the course runs behind my parent's house, which is pretty cool.

Last week's interview with Kasie was my highest viewed blog ever! I want to thank Kasie again for the great interview. In honor of the Carolina Hurricanes Opening Night, I have a interview with Pete Friesen, the Hurricanes Head Athletic Trainer/ Strength and Conditioning Coach coming up on Wednesday. 

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Interview with Kasie Wallace Enman

When I first thought about contacting runners for interviews, Kasie was the first person I thought of. Kasie and I went to Manchester Central High Scool together (CHS) and graduated in 1997. I don't know how she has time for all she does, but she is so inspiring.  I have been following her on Facebook and her racing career is impressive:

• 2 Time Olympic Trials Women's Marathon Qualifier 2008 & 2012, PR of 2:37:14
• Runner-Up in the 2014 SkyRunner Ultra Series (1st place at Trofeo Kima 50k, 2nd place at Speedgoat 50k, 2nd place at The Rut 50k)
• Winner of the 2012 Vermont City Marathon (1st Vermont woman to get the title there)
• 2011 World Mountain Running Champion
• All-American and NCAA team champion while at Middlebury College

She is preparing for the NYC Marathon on November 2nd and hoping to clinch her third Olympic qualifier. I hope you enjoy my interview with her!

What are you currently training for now and what are your goals?

I just finished up a season of long distance SkyRunning (high altitude, technical mountain racing) and am turning my focus to the New York City Marathon.  It will be a short training block, but I have a huge training base behind me so my hope is that with enough rest and a little tuning up, I'll be able to get in an Olympic Trials qualifier there.  If it's a really good day and everything lines up perfectly I'd love to give a PR a try.  It's kind of a big experiment as I've never entered a marathon off of so much endurance and so little speed.

How do you balance training, rest, friends, family etc?

How to find balance is a constantly evolving question for me.  I have two young children now, age 1 and 4, plus a pile of other commitments so it's all too easy to get run down with too little sleep, too much stress, or just lack of ability to focus.  My personal athletic goals are more easily lost in the fray than they used to be.  My current strategy is to stay in the moment as much as possible and remember that, while everything I'm trying to do can seem overwhelming, it's all good.  

Do you have a philosophy on diet and nutrition?

Eat the food that's healthy for you first, then whatever else you want after that.  I eat lots and often.  Of course, I've been either pregnant or breast feeding continuously for the past 5 years on top of lots of running, so my metabolism is through the roof.  Oh, and I also have a major addiction to chocolate.  Ghiradelli's 60% Cacao chocolate chips to be specific.

What was your lowest point in running and how did you learn from it?

This is an interesting question because what comes to mind is actually the lull that came after each of my biggest highs.  The focus is always on setting a goal and striving toward that goal, but we sometimes forget to think about what comes next when you actually meet that big lofty pie in the sky goal.  It can been a bit disorienting.  I associate as being the underdog or always the bridesmaid never the bride, so the few times when I've come out on top I've had to go through a period of feeling lost and unmotivated before getting my bearing back.  It all evens out in the end, I guess!

What is your favorite cross country memory from CHS?

After my last race at Derryfield Park, I remember getting together with the other Seniors on the team, laying down, and rolling down the hill from the finish line to the starting line.  I was go happy to never have to run up that again!  It's funny, I actually ended up coming back to Derryfield quite a few times with the high school team that I coached from Vermont and have finally gotten to a point where I think it would be fun to race there again, just to see how fast I could run there now.  I heard there is a new citizens race on the course.  Maybe I'll put it on my race schedule for next year!

Favorites:

Race: Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, NH

Running shoe: Salomon Sense 

Running store: Ski Rack in Burlington, VT

Way to relax: jumping in a lake or river on a hot summer day

Athlete: That's a hard one.  I get a little bit of inspiration from a ton of different athletes, plus all my runner friends and teammates.  

Recovery meal:  A burger

TV show: The Voice

Movie: A Christmas Story

Book: Unbroken

Singer/Band: Brett Dennen

Places in Manchester: Dorrs Pond

Places in Vermont: Sleepy Hollow Ski & Bike Center (full disclosure - I live there & it's my husband's business)

Mantra: Hmmm.  Depends on the circumstance.  

Guilty pleasure: Chocolate.

You can follow Kasie on Twitter and Facebook. 

Thanks again to Kasie for letting my interview her, I know she is busy and I appreciate her time. Good Luck in New York, we are all rooting for you! 

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20 Miles Done!

This weekend was pretty uneventful bc I had my first 20 miler ever. It is my last double digit run before my marathon.

I spend Friday hydrating and eating. Matt made my usual pre long run dinner and it is always so good! I had hot tea the rest of the evening bc I was freezing and Jager agreed.

I woke Saturday and had my usual salted cashews and a packet of Welch's fruit snacks and was on my way to Shelley Lake. I was very overwhelmed about doing 20 miles, so I broke it up in my mind into four five milers and that helped. I also did short videos for every five miles on instagram (JenHaught) and that was kinda fun.

I was doing decent the first 15 miles, but then I got very tired and my legs were heavy. I think I pushed too hard in the beginning. I'm VERY nervous bc I'm super slow and I have a six hour course limit. I'm a super slow runner and my finishing time was concerning: 

I have a few weeks to make adjustments but I will be livid as myself if I get disqualified. Fingers crossed for me, but I'm worried. I think I will change my intervals from 3:1 to 2:1, maybe I'm tiring out bc of that? 

I will share some pictures from my run. I saw a group of people in kayaks cleaning up the area and I thought that was great. The last picture is a picture of McDonald's and man it was hard to pass that place FOUR times and not stop. I was over cashews and fruit snacks and ran out of water at mile 15.

Here are my five mile times, I just got slower and slower and slower: 

All and all I felt well on my 20 miler. My knees didn't bother me, but I had a issue with the inside of my left foot, my right ankle and finally a killer cramp in my left calf. At the end of my 20, I felt that I could go further, but I just don't know how fast.

I treated myself to an amazing dinner and it was cooked by my very understanding husband:

Matt also hung up my poster while I was gone on my run and I love it. My ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston by the time I'm 40, so this is a great daily reminder.

I can't believe this marathon is only a month away! Wish me luck! 

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Six Weeks Til Half #1

This was a pretty good week. I got in all my training runs and ST (strength training) sessions in. I had my best time for two miles this week, which was cool.

 



I struggled with week with plantar fasciitis and I have been rolling it out with my Thera-Band Foot Roller and a frozen water bottle.I have been stretching as much as I can and it is helping. Matt has also been massaging my foot which is super nice of him but super painful.

Our long run was at Cary North Park and I was surprised how great I felt afterwards bc after last week's long run, I felt awful! My Garmin lost signal but luckily Rachel did Map My Run and we didn't lose our stats. We did 5.5 miles in 1:20:49, which is an easy 14:42 minute mile and burned 658 calories! I logged in the most steps ever on my FitBit as well...14,647 steps! That's 7.1 miles! I haven't lost a lot of weight but my clothes are looser and I felt good.

 



After our run, we took the dogs to the vet and found out that Guinness gained five pounds! Fatty MCSausage Dog will be going to on more walks and we are cutting back on his food. Jager passed with flying colors. We will hopefully be getting their teeth cleaned soon but man, it is EXPENSIVE!

So, that's it! Hope everyone has a great week! I want to give a shout out to my niece, Claire, who turned six on Friday! Happy Birthday, Claire! 

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I've Been A Bad, Bad Girl

Yeah, this past week was a major DISASTER!

Yeah, I GAINED 6.9lbs in a week! Disturbing and impressive. It truly shows what happens when I don't work out, eat insane portions and eat crap. I don't think I saw a fruit or veggie (unless you count the pizza sauce I ate) all week. I barely drank any water and I felt sluggish and nasty all week. I gain so fast bc well, duh I ate insane portions but also bc my metabolism is super slow and it's probably due to my thyroid. I did a metabolic breath test at my nutritionist office and she confirmed that my metabolic rate is crap, below average. So, it just means I have to work harder to get the results I want. 

So, I'm training for my sixth, seventh, and eighth half marathon. I'm doing the Raleigh Triple Crown and I'll be doing a race in April, May and June. I really needed a new challenge to get going again. Rachel and I had our first training run on Saturday and it was pretty chilly. We are starting with intervals of 2 minutes walking and 1 minute running. We went to Shelley Lake and did 2 miles nice and easy. 

After the run, we headed to Panera and I got a Breakfast Power Sandwich with egg whites for 7pp and it was great! I LOVE Vermont sharp cheese!  I stayed contently full until lunch time. 

In health news, I got my MRI done on Friday for my 6 month check of the pituitary mass I have and hopefully I'll get the report/results tomorrow. I also got the results from my CIMT tests and I have the arteries of a 28 year old, so that is good to know. Just gotta keep watch on those cholesterol numbers! 

OK, so I've got to do a quick mile run today and then will get my meals ready for the week. The only other plans I have today is watching JT in the Grammy's! I AM SO EXCITED to see him! 

Here's to a successful week!  

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