Phase 2 ?

It seems that congratulations are in order. Maggie sent us an email last Friday saying that we've successfully completed Phase 1 of ATP. Phase 2 began this morning at a track a few blocks from my house. A track looks easy (albeit boring) enough to the naked eye. How much evil could really lurk in 400m? Today, I learned that in the seventh circle of hell there is a track waiting for a group of very unfortunate sinners.

We started the morning off with a new addition --- the two mile warm up. It seems that one mile just isn't enough warming up for this phase and as an added bonus, we get two miles to cool down. In between that little sandwich of good times were endless push-ups, sit-ups, lunges and cherry pickers. The theory is that these strength exercises will improve our stamina/strength and that the running intervals will increase our speed.

So far, I'm not faster or stronger. I don't think I said a word during the entire workout this morning --- which, as most of you know, is a rare occasion. I should have taken up bowling.

Panic Monday

Panic. That's exactly what I did this morning. My legs nearly staged a walk out. 12 miles on Saturday, 4 miles last night and 7 more this morning. They've had about enough of this little adventure. In the middle of our lunges, Maggie announced that this was our last week of "base training" and we'd be switching locations for training starting next Monday.

The first part was good --- she said we wouldn't be running as far in the next phase of training (Yay!) and the location is the track at Lovers and the tollway which is a 5 minute drive from my house (Double YAY!). Then, she dropped this little bomb. The next phase of our training is called "gut buster training" and she said it is "more intense" which made me vomit a little. What could be more intense than this? Count me as afraid. Very, very afraid.

On a positive note, I wore my skinniest skinny jeans this weekend. Perhaps there's a silver lining in all this sleep sacrifice.

An Inconvenient Truth

Oh, 12 miles ---- I thought we were friends. We had so many good times together. I remember when I used to see 12 miles on my schedule and rejoice. Not so yesterday. I saw your dark side, 12 miles and I don't know if our relationship will ever be the same.

I was dragging myself through the end of the Saturday run. It is just wrong to have so much humidity at that hour of the morning. I had to **wring** out my running skirt a few times. Still, the real problem this week was my lack of sleep. My tendency to over-schedule my life combined with my usual insomnia nearly did me in. People in my group are so peppy.

KC: **Yawn**

Peppy Runner: [insert annoying voice] NO yawning. Think how much you've accomplished already today. Only 5 more miles to go!!!!

KC: It is just so hot already.

Peppy Runner: But think how hot it would be if you waited until later to run! What a great day!

KC: [insert angry involuntary hiss]

I'm not saying we can't be pleasant, but please don't bust out the pom-poms before 7:00 a.m.

This week, I'm going to renew my commitment to sleep. It is an inconvenient truth that I can't do this with only a few hours of sleep under my belt every night. There's no substitute for rest. So, I'm going to stay home more during the week .... um ... right after I see Tokyo Police Club and Passion Pit on Monday night...

TCB

What's that you say? How was your Saturday run? Well, if I hadn't been working (not kidding) in conflict with my 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning run, I could tell you.

I am a slave to the schedule. I love the schedule. The schedule and I have a deal. I run exactly what's written on the paper and the schedule makes sure I'm ready. I once got up and ran 21 miles before a full work day at the firm just to make sure I ran the miles that I needed to run that week. So, I was in mild OCD panic when I realized there was no way I could run on Saturday. This is my black and white world where there are rules and plans and things work just the way they should.

A good lesson for me. Sometimes you have to adjust. I could probably stand to apply this lesson to my life as a whole (no comments from the peanut gallery, please). Baby steps. In any case, Sunday morning I got up for my long run of the week despite the fact that I knew crazy Maggie would be ready to kick my butt very early on Monday. I'm not going to pretend I was pleased about this turn of events, but I did it anyway. TCB.

Give It Up

As most of you know, I have committed to running the NYC marathon again in November. Last year, I ran the NYC marathon for me. This year, I'm running it on a mission with Fred's Team to help raise money for a worthy cause. Fred's Team is a dedicated group of runners who participate in athletic events to raise funds for cancer research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center--- the world's oldest and largest cancer treatment center.

How can you help? If you are in a position to provide financial support, your money will go to fund important research and new treatments to those affected by cancer. You can make a gift to my Fred's team run at the website listed below:

http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1310&px=1760252

If you can't provide financial support, please know that your emotional support will be just as important during the next 6 months. For every dollar that you give and every conversation about running that you endure, I am truly grateful. Thank you (in advance) for both.

The 4:40

This morning, Maggie announced on our warm up run that this week in ATP was all about "running when your legs were tired." I said, "What if ALL of you is tired, lady?" She explained that we'd be doing a tough boot camp BEFORE our run to recreate the feeling of the last few miles of a marathon when your legs are really exhausted, but you have to run through it. We proceeded to do a series of squat exercises for 30 minutes or so before running an "easy" 4 miles (her title, not mine).

I will admit that I have a hazy memory of the last four miles of the marathon last year. I *was* tired and my legs did hurt. Definitely. However, there are no other similarities between that glorious day in NYC (see picture) and this morning at White Rock Lake. Today, there were no crowds. No signs. No delicious carb-fest and beer binge waiting for me. Instead, I had a dog walk and full day of legal work on my post run schedule.

On a side note, I've decided that my blog should have been called the 4:40 ---- like those clever police codes. I told Tim and MK that the code would be a "4:40" to stand for "grumpy" or "painful" ... or both.

And Miles To Go Before I Sleep

Last weekend, Central Park and I met again. I ran what my friends call the "Baby Loop". Every 2 miles or so, I ran passed the finish line area for the marathon. Each time, I was reminded of how little hills add up. Exhausting doesn't cover it. Lucky for me, it works the other way too. All the training adds up. Every mile you put in ... every day you run, it gets easier. The program works. The hard part is sticking to it. Can someone please remind me of this tomorrow when I have to wake up before dawn on a Saturday?

We're running 7 miles in the group on Tuesdays and Thursdays now. Tomorrow is our first official loop around the lake. Many, many loops to go before November. The day will come when 10 miles will seem like a breeze. Did I actually write that?