Week 7 2010 / PR's All Round

Week 7 2010:

Week’s Running totals: 45

Running Total for 2010: 300.45

Weight training: 3

Swim: zero

Don’t get too excited, this isn’t the PR that most of you will wish you earned.

With (more) snow on the ground when I woke up Saturday, I knew I didn’t need to chance an accident and land me with more time off from my training; I’ve missed enough as it is and any more time off, I’d probably just have to resort to walking Boston. I checked the state park near my house and it looked snow-packed in places ... enough for me to go to plan B.

Treadmill time!

20 on my plan. Yep, 20. Still not felling that well but after yet another sick day off work on Friday, I went to the doctor and got an antibiotic which was starting to kick in some - yet another reason to not attack the great Arctic Tundra; I was fearful of some lung/sinus attack mid-run and would choke to dead as I hobbled 10 miles home. In the freezing cold. So to play it safe, the treadmill had to suffice.

I recruited people to help me, which isn’t an easy task. Jim, my neighbor whom I paced some of the Denver marathon last fall, was willing to go the first half of my distance and keep me occupied. Matt, whom did the Tucson marathon with me, agreed (reluctantly) to do the second half. Both wanted the miles and neither was too keen on ice either.

Off to the gym at 11:45 where I met Jim. He had already started running and scored me a treadmill next door to him. I decided I’d break up the 20 in increments of 6-7 miles where I’d then break and get more water and use the facilities. We chatted up a storm and time flew, I couldn’t believe I had just finished a little over 6 miles when I got a call from Matt, he was at the gym. Matt doesn’t live near me and is not a gym member at my gym so I used my charm (ahem) and got him in for the day. He is coaching diving at the Catholic high school near me so was in the vicinity. Anyway, I couldn’t believe how drenched I was - totally soaked! I had the basics of Hammer Gel and Perpetuem with me and thought that would suffice to get me to the end but I could tell I was weak due to the excess liquid escaping my body and probably from all the medication I’ve been on all week .. or two, so I bought some zero calorie Power Aid (I have problem digesting the sugar in anything when I’m running…major stomach owie), which if you haven’t had it before let me just tell you it tastes like total crap. Ok, whatever, I needed some electrolytes in, it will have to do. Back on to the treadmill where we scored another on the other side of me and now I’m sandwiched between my two posse and off we all go.

Suddenly, Matt’s talking to a chick on the other side of him. Remember, he knows no one so I am a little puzzled. This girl’s been running since Jim and I got there like over an hour and a half ago. She’s just running and running and running. Me, I’m running and stopping to drink water and checking my cell phone and getting gel and then run a little more. No, she’s just running. And running STRONG! I mean, she looks like total runner chick here; totally upright and perfect running posture and sporting less than 2% body fat and not sweating a drop. Me, I’m drenched! I can’t hear much of the conversation other than 50-miler, 100K, 7:30 pace. Oh Lordy! She’s not only running, she’s a total running stud!!

She exits the treadmill when I’ve done about 9 miles and starting to feel like I ran 20. Matt’s tell her about the running group he runs with downtown at noon and invites her to join them (Dennis, if you’re reading this, if some tiny little thing shows up to run with ya at noon, this is her. Careful, she’s fast!!). Being’s I missed most of the conversation but heard enough to intrigue me, I asked Matt what was up with her. Okay, get this: she is running a 50-miler in April in Madison, WI so needed to get in “some” mileage and also didn’t want to endure the nasty elements outdoors either so she ran 35 miles on the treadmill (cough!!). 35 miles??!!!?? And… at her “100K pace” of 7:30 (she figures she’ll run the 50-miler at about 7:20’’s)!! Good Gawd! I can run 1 mile at 7:20…two if I’m lucky! I told Matt to stop whining about the 2-hours he was planning on doing (he detests the treadmill…who can blame him!). Honestly, when I saw her finish, I thought she looked amazing. I’ve now finished 9 and look like a drowned rat.

So I stood up a little taller and I jacked up the tempo and I am now totally inspired. If she can do 35, surely I can do 20. But I’m starting to not feel so great. Keep going, Jilly! Jim departs at this point, too; he’s done 12 and since he’s never run on the treadmill more than a couple miles, he’s met his match and time to go. So I’m left with Matt and feeling totally inadequate after runner chick exits. I vow never to eat again – she looked so incredibly muscular and abs of steel! Mile 14 hits me and my back’s hurting. I know it’s my posture on this beast. Matt’s not very chatty and I’m really struggling. Just keep moving, just keep moving….thoughts of that movie about that fish (Nemo Something??? Gosh, it’s been so long since my kids have watched those, us A.D.Der's can't keep that stuff in our memory data banks for too long….) enter my head and it becomes my manta for about a mile. Put on my iPod, watch TLC’s “What Not to Wear” and get wrapped up in that awhile (since my daughter always used to swear she was entering me on that show) – doing whatever to pass the time. Exit treadmill, need more water…I’m downing so much water like it’s a thousand degrees. Cuz I think it was. Decide to do some downhill running now, complete opposite of what Boston’s like at the end. I really don’t care, the purpose is to keep on my feet running for 3 hours and that’s it. Matt hits 16 miles and says he’s done, I’ve done 19 (obviously, he’s running faster than me). He told me to keep going, he’d be right back. Huh? I run a tiny bit more but my stomach hurts, it feel like the insides are being punched around and my legs are aching and I decide 19 quasi-sick miles on a treadmill are pretty much equalivalent to 20 on the road. I'm done.

I don’t know my end pace, I varied it a lot and never really kept track. I kept all the miles under 9:20 and many were under 9. I varied the incline a lot, too. It felt hard, it felt forced, it wasn’t all that pretty. But I did it.

And that’s a treadmill PR for Jill by 1 mile, thank you very much! Last year, a few weeks before Boston, I did 18 (which felt better than this at 18. Oy!) .

Matt’s previous treadmill PR was 12, he PR’d by 4.

Jim’s Previous treadmill PR was 2, he PR’d by 10.

And runner chick next to Matt definitely gets the treadmill running award of the day (heck, I’ll even give it to her for the year): 35!

Who knew when we woke up this morning that so many PR’s would be broken by mid-afternoon. Matt and I celebrated with a banana blueberry protein smoothie. Ahhhhh, that was the best post-treadmill PR treat ever!

I woke up today with the hip flexors pretty sore. I’m sure it was treadmill’s fault. Also had a horrible sore throat. Errrrrr!! I went back to the gym and spied on the guy who was now invading my home for over three hours yesterday …. grateful I wasn’t there again today but kinda felt he was invading my territory. Ha! I warmed up with a couple extremely slow miles then spent well over 20 minutes stretching. Man, that felt so good! I got Mr. Foam roller out and just rolled out the sore hips flexors , which was about as excruciatingly painful as Nazi physical therapist used to do – with the added perk of being FREE! I felt so much better after…I am so glad I purchased one of these things when I was home sick a couple weeks ago! I then did an awesome core/glute workout and exited my beloved (cough cough) gym. No swim today, I was just too, too tired.

Let’s see if I can get in the actual miles and runs in this week as I hopefully continue to improve with the health.

Hoping y’all PR with something this week….anything. I think I need a no-sugar PR this week…… and a big "Run Matt, Run" as he enters his first 50K this coming weekend in Alabama!

Week’s End Gratitude:
- Awesome friends who will go to the gym and endure a sucky treadmill just cuz they know you need support.
- The ultra running chick at the gym because she has totally motivated me to push just a little harder. And get a little leaner. And run a little taller. And never whine about 20 on the treadmill.

- Team USA just beat Canada (well, I personally don’t really care that much about hockey but it's on tv right now I am happy that they are happy!)
- Banana blueberry protein shakes. They’re so amazing.
- Mr. Hard Foam Roller. He's definitely my new best friend!

- That I was tagged for a lot of sunshine this past week for the sunshine award! I will post on that later this week. Thanks to all for thinking my blog is so sunshiny :)!!!