I haven’t run since Monday morning. That morning I meant to run about four miles.  Somehow, my thoughts got going and I ran into “the zone”, where miles fall away and the ol’ brainpan works out some problems.  I was figuring out characters and the plot of a story I am starting to work on, and suddenly realized that four miles had come and gone, while I was still three miles from home.  Oops.

My energy was good and being thoroughly entertained by the images floating through my head, I kept right on going.  What else was I going to do?  My one concern was that I had agreed to try a yoga class with a friend at 8:45, and I had to get home, shower, eat, and get out the door again.  The extra three miles truncated my timing, but somehow it all got done.

The yoga class at Core Power Yoga was “warm”, as opposed to “hot” yoga.  After my 7-mile run Murphy’s Law dictated that my friend was in the “C2” class instead of the “C1” (introductory) class, so the pace was fast, the temp was up, and within minutes my toxins were dancing on the mat in the form of sweat dripping from every crevice of my body. 

The thought crossed my mind that I shouldn’t push my body too far during the 75-minute class, given that I was technically in taper mode this week.  Keeping the concept of “taper” in the forefront of my head was difficult in the warm environment that was steeped with yogi’s and yogini’s that exuded suppleness, strength and fluidity.  I persevered though, and even came out of warrior pose when I felt my gluts and quads raise their little ruckus.  I’ve avoided injury thus far, and I really didn’t want to tempt fate by getting out of my “runner’s box” too much during the first yoga class I’ve attended in over a year.

I was thirsty, very thirsty, after class.  The rest of the day I guzzled water and peed buckets.  I slept hard that night and didn’t wake until 5:55 AM, possibly a new world’s record for me.  Tuesday I was tired and felt run-down, though rallied and kept to my busy schedule.  I put on a good game-face and made it through the day, though just barely.  I was cold all day as well, absolutely chilled to the bone.  The temperature was dropping fast in advance of the cold front that was to settle over the Front Range for the next two days; even though I wore a coat, hat and gloves, my extremities were numb with cold.  While Bill took Connor to Cub Scouts, I stood in the shower letting hot, healing water run over my body.  When I was finally warm I dove into bed with my new library book, “The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle” and proceeded to hibernate.  I drank three glassess of Emergen-C, a cup of hot tea, and went to bed by 8:30, feeling like a cold was upon me.

I woke Wednesday knowing I had dodged a bullet.  The “I have a cold” feeling had passed, my energy was up, and I was only cold whenever I went outside.  The temp never got about 20°.  Even with a warm sweater, coat, hat, gloves and boots, the cold permeated my body.  Bill and I canceled our evening plans in favor of putting up the Christmas tree with the kids and staying toasty warm in our cozy house.

The high today was 19° F.  The low this morning was 7°.  My running buddy didn’t want to brave the cold and ice at 5:30 this morning and frankly, neither did I.  The cold is hard on delicate bronchi; is it really so important to stick to a running date and time when the weather is dictating its own terms?  No.

Bill and I leave tomorrow morning for Las Vegas.  We’ll get the kids off to school then immediately head to the airport.  I’m sure we’ll do a short, easy run either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, but that will be the extent of it before the big race Sunday morning.  I meant to actually taper my training, but the circumstances of the week dictated a pure elimination from training.  That’s happened to me before and honestly, it’s a relief.  It’s nice to know that I can simply sleep, rest, eat, and hang out before a race, and then have the ability to get up on race day and give it my all.  I’ll have plenty of energy and reserves for the 13.1 mile course, and it’s been a gift to sleep in these cold, dark mornings.  Ahh, winter.  You change the gait of the training, but that makes the training all the sweeter.

Had Saturday fallen on a day other than November 21, I would have run at 7 AM with the ladies.  However, November 21 happens to be my daughter’s birthday, and this year it was her 10^th.  No way, no how, could I miss seeing her jump out of bed and attack her presents while Bill, Connor and I watched, bleary-eyed.  (She is currently obsessed with American Girl dolls, and her birthday list consisted entirely of items from the catalogue.  Bill and I bought her the main item, a Just Like Me doll, and parsed out the rest to relatives.  Thus, she received almost everything on the list and we didn’t go broke.)

The alarm was set for 5:30 so I could sneak in a short, 30 minute run before the birthday festivities.  As it happened though, Sophie couldn’t sleep; she snuck into the closet as I was pulling on my running tights and almost scared the pee out of me when I turned around.  I whispered that I was going out for a QUICK run, it was still too early to wake everyone else up, and to hang out in her room until I got back.  Being newly 10 years old, her shoulders drooped but she nodded anyway.

 It was just after 6:00 when I headed out.  I headed up the little hill of Lincoln to Hutchinson where I went left, circled Community Park twice, then returned home via Main Street, Lafayette Avenue and Griffith.  The Garmin had weak signal for a good ten minutes (that I was aware of), though the timer kept going.  Luckily I knew the mileage of the route and after plugging in the distance (3.6 miles) and the time (25 minutes), DailyMile.com (find me @smzrunner) figured out the pace (6:56/mile).  I was surprised by the pace, as I felt sluggish the entire run, but pleased just the same.

Sunday was my last long run before the Las Vegas Half on December 6.  I was concerned about the route because the recent snow hadn’t melted fully from the trails and I wanted to run the Coal Creek Trail for the last 3.5-4 miles of the run.  After unsuccessfully mapping my route on RunningMap.com, I decided to wing it, figuring that after 10 miles I would see where I was and decide on the fly how to finish the last 3-4 miles.

With that much of a plan, I headed out Sunday morning at 7:20 AM, already feeling rushed.  I was meeting a friend at 10 AM in Boulder for brunch and knew that I was pushing the clock if I wanted to get 13-15 miles in AND enjoy a shower, too.

I started from the house and headed up to Davidson Mesa, totaling 3 miles in the first leg.  According to the Garmin, the splits for the first three miles were 8:30, 8:01 and 8:19. 

Davidson Mesa is a flat loop on open space.  Unfortunately the ground was frozen in ridges from the recent snow and melt, so some sections were a little dicey.  Since it was flatter than the route UP to the Mesa, miles 4-6 were a little faster:  8:08, 7:48, 7:30.

From here I headed down the hill into Louisville.  I cut across the greenbelts to Cherry Street, jumped onto the Coal Creek Trail and hoped that the trail across Highway 42 would be manageable.  For these 4 miles the splits were relatively even: 7:34, 7:41, 7:23, 7:25.

At this point it was apparent that I couldn’t run on the Coal Creek Trail after it crossed over Hwy 42.  There was still ice on the frozen ridges of the trail, and I wasn’t interested in turning an ankle or slowing pace to finish the run with a loop.  I decided to turn back, retrace my steps around the large greenbelt, and return home via Lincoln Avenue near the Louisville Elementary School.  The last three miles looked like this:  7:47, 7:34, 7:41.

The Garmin says the average pace was 7:41/mile.

Here’s a map of the route.  You’ll notice some retracing of steps (off the Davidson Mesa on the left of the map, and at the bottom, where I had to come back from the Coal Creek Trail. 

 I really tried to maintain a fast pace, though I was confused when I looked at my Garmin because on Saturday I accidentally hit a button so that instead of showing minute-per-mile pace, I saw a mile-per-hour pace.  Not being able to quickly translate the new numbers in my head or fix the read-out, I instead tried to keep the miles-per-hour pace between 7.5 and 8.0, always trying for the upper number but acknowledging that on the hills, I might creep down to the 7.5 mark.  After I got home and Bill fixed my read-out I was totally surprised to see that I did this training run a full 5 minutes faster than my race pace for the Colorado Half Marathon in May (where I finished in 1:45:47, a pace of 8:04/mile).

I didn’t take water on this run because a) I hate carrying a bottle in my hand and b) I was worried water would freeze in the line of my camelbak, rendering it useless.  I completely forgot that I own a water bottle holder that clips around my waist.  Duh.  I was a little thirsty on the run, but the lower temps kept me from falling apart.  I drank two large glasses of water when I got home, and then drank tons for the rest of the day.  My face was pretty red for about an hour afterwards, though my muscles felt alright and I never sank into utter exhaustion.

When I was gearing up for the Colorado Half Marathon I kept track of my average paces and figured that I could probably hold an 8:00 pace for the duration.  I was so excited that I had read my fitness level correctly.  For this race, my second Half-Marathon, I originally wanted to finish in a sub- 1:40.  Given that I just did 1:40 on a training run in Louisville (at altitude and on hills), it’s probably feasible that on a flat course at a lower altitude I can shave another 0:15 seconds from my per-mile pace.

Hate to say it, but I don’t like speed work. I don’t like how my heart absolutely pounds, how my stomach starts doing six different dances, and my least favorite sensation; wondering if the speed workout is going to make me poop my pants.

I KNOW that speed workouts will make me faster. My goal is to be faster and I bow down to the theory that practice will bring results. But, LORD, I don’t like it.

Unfortunately, I’m probably not finished complaining. When I Finish the half-marathon in under 1:40, I’ll be all smiles and will be singing the praises of speed and intervals. Until then; I’ll do it, but I won’t love it.

Because the race is (now) less than three weeks out, I’m focusing on tempo runs and speed work.  I’m not worried about the distance; I can do 13.1 miles any day.  A few days ago, Kathy chose Bobolink Trail in east Boulder county for our Saturday run because of the forecasted snow; if we got a lot, Bobolink is relatively flat and a few miles from the Foothills, where snow means breaking trail and running on icy hills.  Bobolink is a better bet when you don’t know if there will be snow.

And, there wasn’t.  The snow held off until Saturday afternoon, giving us an overcast, cool morning.  I wore running tights and a pullover, as well as my SmartWool glove liners (I’ve mentioned my love affair with these beauties in pervious posts) and a new Nike skullcap that has a pony tail hole in the back.  Heidi, our “weather barometer”, arrived in shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt with her Nike skullcap (in a different color) and gloves.  If Heidi is in shorts, that means the temp is 40 degrees or above.

Heidi and I took off at the front of the group and stayed there.  She’s feeling mostly recovered from the Kona Ironman race in October and is finally ready for a little more speed work.  We chatted easily through the miles, and she was game for extending at the back end.  Bobolink is an out-and-back, so we went to the end of the trail (3.36 miles) and back to the parking lot (3.36 miles) and then headed out again, stopping at the underpass of South Boulder Road (1.25 miles) and turning around (1.25 miles).

On the third leg of our journey we started talking about iPods and music.  I asked if she listens to an iPod when she runs (answer: sometimes, and with only one earbud) and what she listens to (answer:  Coldplay, Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs).  I told her what my latest faves are (Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There”, Tab Benoit (Louisiana Cajun/Blues), Barenaked Ladies “If I Had a Million Dollars“, Cake, Cracker).  Glancing at my Garmin, I noticed we had mysteriously picked up pace while we were talking about music, and were now at a 7:30 pace instead of the 8:00/miles we had been holding for the first hour.  Heidi mentioned the marathon runner who was DQ’d at the Lakefront Marathon in October because she used an iPod between miles 19-21, some of the hardest miles in a marathon.  It’s illegal for elites to use iPods because of the “energy boost” you get when with music, so she was stripped of her winning title after some pictures of her with the iPod surfaced on the Internet.

Conversation ensued about the idea of finding your own mental reserves, and how racing pushes people to get away from the crutch of outside stimulation (an iPod, a training partner) and find personal inner strength.  Heidi has a lot to say on this topic, as she just went through ten months of training; first for Oceanside, where she qualified for Kona, and then training for Kona.  Sometimes she trained with people, going on runs or riding with someone.  Sometimes she trained solo.  Having a training partner broke up the monotony of seven hour rides, but it didn’t train her for being on the race course without a buddy.  So, she made an effort to fit in training runs and rides where she went out solo, thus preparing herself to get through the hard patches by dipping into her inner strength.

Mark Allen and Brant Secunda discuss this concept in their book “Fit Soul, Fit Body”.  Athletes (elite, average, and everyone in between) must train their brains and souls for the work that is required over the long haul.  This training spills into everyday life, where a person will inevitably come upon a situation where inner fortitude is the only thing there is to rely upon.  Us average folk look at elite athletes like Josh Cox or Lance Armstrong and sometimes wonder where they get their perseverance, tenacity, and drive, while also being flexible in the face of unforeseen circumstances that are out of their control.  Those qualities are attainable by every person, should they choose to give up the crutches that keep them stuck in second gear.

Athletes train hard, season after season.  Workouts are logged, miles are covered, sweat is shed.  The mind needs to be exercised and trained at the same time.  When one is comfortable with their own mind and solitude, the deepest reserves of inner strength are available to draw from during any time of need.

During the two weeks of ramped up tempo runs and speed work as I get ready for the Las Vegas Half Marathon, I’m going to spend equal time training my mind to plumb the depths of my inner strength and working on my physical capabilities.  This “inner training” will last eons after my muscles recover from any speed workout I do.

How about YOU??  How do you train your mind and soul for hard workouts, races, and the curves that life throws at you?  Does your athleticism distract you from digging deeper, or complement your efforts?