Hill Running in the Hill Country

Running on hilly ground takes it toll on my back. My relay training plan requires that I "run hills" on Tuesdays, which so far has consisted of me driving to the Far West area and tearing loose. After week two, my back has suffered for the remainder of that day, but afterwards, as long as I sleep right, is back to normal. This is because I slouch. It is a never-ending battle to stand up straight when I run. I've made some progress running on flat roads, but hills are another story.

Can hill running make you faster?
Apparently, if you stick with it, it can. Common sense tells me if I train of varying levels of terrain I will be better prepares, in endurance and strength, to handle any slight variations in a course on actual race day. Plus, running on challenging terrain is difficult, and I can only assume that the more you train on challenging terrain, the stronger you can become. That's true, but what also is true is to make sure the training terrain is a mixed bag of hills, straightaways, etc.

In a sort of sick way, I look forward to 'hill running day' because it is a healthy challenge. It's painful, but every time I make it to the top of a hill I feel, and this is going to sound cliche, a sense of accomplishment. Look what I did there! I'm hurting something awful, but I just ran up that!

Now, if only I can nail down a technique to running up hills. I know I have to remember: back straight but lean forward, tread lightly on toes, take shorter steps, pump arms forward not side to side, steady breathing. Dang, I think I need to write all this down on my arm when I'm going at it...

Hustle and Bustle

Ugh, being too busy to run is cramping my style. It has been a nonstop action fest since Thursday, and I missed my long run over the weekend. I thought for a minute that I might make up for it today...but no. I got an invite to the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, featuring The Eggman. Now, how could any self-respecting Beatles fan pass that up?! Too tired to run now, I am left sitting on my floor and staring into my computer screen. Guilty--yes. Ready to get back on the running wagon--yes. Ready for tomorrow--no. Another busy day since it's suppose to be my last day of work before my holiday. At LEAST my Christmas shopping is pretty much done...

Deep Fried Diet:
Oh yeah, so I was planning to transition into a "runner's diet" starting this week. That's happening...slowly. I had a slice of Sock-it-to-me cake and a grilled cheese today. I'm pretty sure those two things aren't on any diet, but I also had a salad! Anyway, I have made an effort not to buy any junk food from the grocery store, so that's my first step. What I consume at work and at restaurants will take a little more effort to put a dietary restriction on. Plus, I haven't actually identified a solid runner's diet; only that I am weening off of fried foods, most dairy foods, desserts, butter, and alcohol....not that I drink that much, but beer isn't a friend to me when I train.

Creative Running

Running in Week 2 is more time-based than mile based. I probably haven't ran over five miles this week, but I can say I've ran about an hour so far. I find myself creating little running paths throughout my apartment complex, simply because there is no where else to run at night. Treadmill? Not if I can help it! Only way I would do that is if it was freezing outside, which I'm sure that time will come...oh yes.

Figure eights, outlines, zig zags, and stair running are all part of my apartment-running regimen. It actually wears on my knees more than just trail running. My knees are on the top of my worry list, as far as running is concerned. It's the joints that cause me trouble...and, I haven't gotten back into the routine of glucosamine.

Anyway, I think next week I will start working on my "runner's diet" and just in time for Christmas! We'll see...these days, I haven't been as strict about my eating habits as in years past, so this will be a hard task to tackle. I need to look up good runner's diet plans. Not "diet" in the sense that I need to lose weight, but I need the kind of diet that gives me energy! Hazaa!

Amateur Does Not Mean Intermediate

As much as I wish I had the "runner's spirit" in me this time around, I haven't found it yet for this race. The natural ability that most marathon and ultramarathon runners have... not clue what that feels like. After week one with the Intermediate Training Plan, I've decided to scrap it and start midway through the Beginner Training Plan I used for my first Texas Independence Relay (TIR). I'm still going to keep track of how many miles I run, but the Beginner Training Plan is driven by how many minutes you run rather than miles. Somehow, that just sounds better and seems easier to slide into. Having a set amount of miles to look forward feels so daunting to me right now. With the winter weather at my heels and knowing I still have something like 84 days until the race, doesn't spell "encouragement."

Snap out of it:
Ok, looking at it with the glass half full...I've identified a back-up in case I don't make it through training! Heh...Oh, and even as I'm going through this, it is a workout that I have benefited from before. I hear there's a good documentary called "Ultramarathon Man" or something like that. I think I'll check it out to gain inspiration. Like "Hoosiers" was to basketball for me, so shall megaman be my guiding light for running...

Ye Olde Training Plan

Technically, this is day three of training. I feel like it's day -3. I ran three miles today, as I did on Monday. Tuesday was my "rest" day which really means exercise that's not running, but I took that precious time to wrap Christmas presents. 

Recycled Training Plan

I'm using a maimed training plan....for now. At least until someone tells me it's wrong. It's maimed because by the time I found it, I had already missed three weeks, but it is the sort of schedule you follow when running a 203 mile relay, so I just lopped off a few of the weeks. Annnnd, it's at the "intermediate" level, which should have me running five miles right off the bat, but I've settled for three. Since I've already ran in this relay and used the "beginner" plan, I thought I'd kick it up a notch. You know things aren't really ever difficult enough...I'm keeping track of the miles I run vs. the miles I was suppose to run to see if I accidently create the best plan of all time. We'll see.

I've already noticed my knees aching at the last 800 meters of the run, so that will be my #1 challenge. My knees were my #1 worry the last time I did this race, and while I took exceptional care of them during that time, I have since neglected them, and they hate me. My only real line of defense at this point is taking glucosamine and use ice packs. Oh, and not falling on them. That helps. I've fallen pretty bad twice this Fall, so I have some pretty gnarly scars forming. 

Knee Pads?

I've had several people, those who care about my general well-being and know my klutzy ways, tell me to invest in knee pads. When it comes to running, they are the most vulnerable part of my body. All I can think about is wearing big, thick, white pillow-like pads around my knees like the ones they gave me in High School gym class. They really did look like mini pillows. And, felt nice. But, I wouldn't be caught dead running in those! I have an image on Ladybird Lake to think about! Anonymous runner #56. And, I always run into someone I know when I do weird things.

Anywhooo, if my Frankenstein training plan starts to work after a month or so, I'll post it on here, thus immortalizing it. 

One Year to Run

An Introduction:
I've never ran a marathon. I can wear the half-marathon runner crown, and I've ran in a 203 mile relay race, but my desire to push my limits past the point of sanity has never made itself known...until now. To scratch my writing itch, and combine one of my newer pastimes, I've decided to blog about my running experience for the upcoming year. Does that mean marathon? If I play my cards right it does. We'll see how this goes...I'm an amateur but not a complete stranger to the running world.

Run One for the Gipper:
I feel like I've been running competitively for years, when really, I ran my first adult competitive race (I think it was the Austin Zilker Relays) in Fall 2008. I've ran all my life...and it is a love/ravenous hate relationship. In high school I loathed cross country, and in college I had my running down to a science. I would run a mile a day and combine with mixed cardio. Running in small portions is doable...running in large doses can be downright detestable. Now, I run to be healthy and to reach goals that somehow seem a little more realistic than say...writing a novel, which is still a goal of mine on the topmost pillar.

So with that:
Officially, today was my first day to train for my first race of 2011, the Texas Independence Relay (TIR) that will occur during the first week of March 2011. This is the 203 mile relay that I ran in March, and got talked into it doing again!