Category Archives: Workout Recaps

Musings

Posted on May 17, 2012 by shelby| 20 Comments

One. Every so often, I have these moments where I see something that makes me inexplicably happy to be back in a big city again. Yesterday, I saw this guy casually cycling up Peachtree through the heart of Midtown wearing a leopard print unitard and…wings?

I can never articulate exactly why, but things like this always make me smile. Thank you, Flying Leopard Man.

Two. I really don’t get the big deal about Publix. It’s just a grocery store, and an average one at that. What am I missing here?

Three. At track this week, I had one goal, and that was to finish the workout faster than I started it. Bam:

I’m still a little frustrated at my inability to crank out 80-something-second 400s at the moment, but at least I was able to duck under the 90-second mark for a few at the end.

Also, half a mile of cool down is probably not enough. But our workouts don’t start until 7 PM, and by the time we finish it’s all dusky and buggy and I’m ready to go home. Oh well.

Four. I have been so good this week. SO GOOD. NO WEEKNIGHT BEERS. (Or wine.)

But Thursday is practically the weekend (at least it was in college…), and my husband and I have a playdate at a bar with some friends-of-friends tonight, so you can bet I’ll be enjoying a beer or two. As a reward. Or a means or not being an awkward mess when meeting new people. Or something.

Five. Speaking of messes. This has been happening on our roof all week.

I am so thankful that we don’t need a whole new roof. We do, however, need part of a new roof and it’s quite the ordeal, apparently. The roofers should be finished tomorrow, and then I get to finally execute on my portion of Project Roof Deck, which is the selection of patio furniture. I have a hard life, I know.

Six. My gym scam is bust. I finally joined yesterday. And celebrated this morning with a 6 AM workout date with Gesina, during which she introduced me to something called a one-legged squat. I’m going to go ahead and blame her in advance for my inability to handle stairs tomorrow.

Seven. At the grocery store the other day, this women grabbed my arm, pointed at a package of fresh lasagna sheets in my cart, placed her face uncomfortably close to mine, and yelled: WHAT ARE THOSE?

I explained what they were, and she gasped audibly and – still clutching my arm – told me that this was the best idea she’d ever heard of.

(Necessary for Sausage and Butternut Squash Lasagna, always a favorite!)

For a moment, I considered taking credit for the invention of lasagna sheets – hell, perhaps the entire concept of fresh pasta generally. This woman was obviously drunk or high or insane, she probably would’ve bought it. But instead I just pointed her toward the appropriate aisle, extracted myself from her grasp, and moved on.

Ah yes, city life. Crazy, but fun.

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Posted in Cross Training, Workout Recaps

Pretty sure that’s not what they mean when they say Free Weights

Posted on May 14, 2012 by shelby| 10 Comments

For the last two weeks, I’ve been unintentionally scamming the LA Fitness down the street from me. I keep trying to give them my money, and they keep refusing to take it.

As as example: today marked the sixth occasion on which I’ve been a visitor. So like a good honest citizen, I strolled in this morning with my credit card in hand, ready to settle up.

“I’ve been coming here on a visitor’s pass and I’d like to go ahead and join,” I said, tapping the card on the Lysol-scented counter. This wasn’t the first time I’d tried to get my application processed. Let’s keep this simple, I thought.

“Okay, what’s your membership number?” said the girl behind the counter.

UM.

“I don’t have one yet. I’m hoping you can give me one,” I smiled hopefully.

At which point the attendant began to tap extensively on her computer’s keyboard and frown at its screen, as if she were trying to rebook my missed connection to Timbuktu, or perhaps transcribe the IRS code in to Russian.

After several minutes of this, she stopped abruptly and informed me that her computer wasn’t working, and that I could go ahead and work out and we’d deal with it next time I came in.

Okaaaaaay. I tucked my method of payment back into my purse and proceeded toward the locker room. Is it just me, or have I entered some sort of bizarro LA Fitness Super Opposite Backwards World? Aren’t they supposed to be the ones harassing me about membership?

Anyway.

I had a good workout this morning, and maximized the value of the time I hadn’t paid for by spending a whole 75 minutes at the gym, with most of it in the weight room.

All of this strength training is sure paying off…

Gah. But I know. These things don’t happen overnight.

Here’s what last week’s workouts looked like:

Around 20 miles of running (some of it pretty slow, because I’m kinda sore from all of this other crap), two lifting sessions, and two yoga classes.

And one good beer:

Okay, I had more than one of these. Probably why that scale isn’t moving.

This beer was a worthy expenditure of junk calories, though! Sweetwater’s spring seasonal, the Road Trip Pilsner, runs right over (ha) the notion that the Pils is a boring style of beer. A nice bready backbone leads the way, then turns it over to more nuanced flavors (a touch of bitter lime? fresh cut grass?) before giving you a nicely carbonated finish. An excellent example of a quenching, warm-weather beer that isn’t totally watered down or wheated out. 5.2% ABV.

Bottom line: I’ll definitely be stocking this as long as it’s around! (Purchased at Target, $10/6)

Time to go make a healthy dinner (boring) and drink water (double boring).

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Posted in Beer Reviews, Weekly Running Recap, Workout Recaps

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Eight is enough

Posted on May 8, 2012 by shelby| 9 Comments

My feet were wrinkled and prune-like when I finally kicked off my running shoes after tonight’s track workout.

Welcome to the soggy summer running season here in the south. If the sweat doesn’t soak you, the humidity will, and if you’re lucky there will be an intermittent sun-filtered storm to drench you while you’re at it. Tonight we had all three.

I haven’t even attempted to untangle my hair yet. That’s a project for bedtime.

Ugh. Anyway.

Tonight’s assignment was a classic: 12 X 400M. Oh hey: it’s my favorite track workout! I’ll give you the spoiler and say that it wasn’t such a favorite tonight. But that wasn’t the workout’s fault. It was my first speed session in five weeks, and my legs were pretty torn up from a reintroduction to squats and deadlifts yesterday.

(You see? This is why I hate weight lifting. It makes me sore and slow. I know, I know: it’s good for me in the long run. And dedicating this summer to achieving better overall fitness might mean sacrificing quality running sometimes. But I’ll still pout about it.)

After a stiff 2+ mile warm-up, I coaxed my reluctant legs into finding something approximating a six-minute pace, as a 90-second 400 is sort of my benchmark for this workout.

I did the first one in 92.

From there it went: 93, 91, 93, 94, 95, 94, 93.

These were not fun intervals. They hurt. Every time, I’d start out and think I felt okay and then come through 200 meters and feel like I’d been hit by a truck.

My friend Gesina was along tonight for her first track workout since high school, and so naturally I was acting like some big expert on the whole subject, explaining things to her as we went along. (Not that she needed it – she did great!)

After the fifth repeat, I mentioned that it would be totally reasonable if she wanted to do eight. Because 12 X 400 is a lot to tackle your first time.

After the sixth, I realized that I needed to take my own advice. Eight was going to be enough for me today.

So as another round of chunky raindrops thudded on the track, we both aborted the assigned workout and started our cool down laps. I think it was the right call. For whatever reason, my legs were toast.

As if to confirm our decision, as we shuffled along the backstretch a gorgeous rainbow appeared, hugging the steamy track and its sweaty occupants through the haze of sunshine and dark clouds.

I know I’ll get back to a place where I can do loads of 400s in the 80-something-second range. I’m not there right now. And that’s ok. I’m going to be throwing a lot of different challenges at my body for the next few weeks, so of course I’m going to be sore and fatigued. That’s the whole point.

For now, it’s time to tackle the stairs up to bed. Ouch.

But that’s nothing on the pain I’m going to feel when I try to get a brush through this sweat-dredded mop on my head. Ouch indeed.

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Posted in Workout Recaps

Tuck in and hang on

Posted on April 4, 2012 by shelby| 19 Comments

This post is dedicated to my friend Dre – my college teammate, suitemate, poolside “study” buddy, drunk razor scooter-riding partner and so much more. I tried to find a picture of us from those days, but alas, we’re of the elderly generation whose college shenanigans predate digital photography. Probably a good thing.

(From my wedding a few years later. No razor scooters involved.)

Anyway, this post is for Dre because now I have managed to insert myself in to not one but TWO track groups by following in her (very speedy) footsteps.

First, when I lived in NYC, it was her encouragement from afar that made me sack up and start going to CPTC practices. Dre had lived in the city right after we graduated college and had run with the club during her years as a New Yorker. Even though I was on the CPTC D Team (D is for derriere…as in, bringing up the rear), I met some pretty cool people that year that I lived there and ran with the team.

And second, here in Atlanta. Dre connected me with one of her friends who lives here and runs with a group that does weekly track workouts (among other things). Last Sunday night, I met up with Faith and her boyfriend John for gelato.

…which was much more fun than running. They’re also fairly new to Atlanta, so we had lots to chat about.

And then Tuesday, I joined their track group for their weekly workout.

In my last post where I begged (shamelessly, I might add) for all of you to tell me what to write about, Cindy suggested I talk about making local running friends. That’s a process that I’ve been through a few times now, having lived in six different states in the last ten years.

The easy answer is that you have a friend like Dre, who hooks your shit up.

The hard answer is that you research, and you go to different groups, and you try a bunch of things out, knowing full well that you’re going to show up to group runs and be the odd (wo)man out. No matter who you are, there are gonna be people faster than you and people slower than you. The worst thing that can happen is you can’t hang (embarrassing, but whatever, runners are nice people) or you end up doing a really easy run at a slower pace (no harm in that). And just because you go once doesn’t mean you’re committed. I’ve done my share of showing up at running groups and knowing pretty quickly that it wasn’t a good fit. No big deal.

The lucky answer is that you show up to your first track workout with a new group and find a bunch of people who are friendly, fun, and happen to be exactly your pace.

I got lucky this week. Those 800s and 400s were, of course, challenging, but I’d forgotten how nice is it just to tuck in to a pack and hang on. I haven’t experienced that since my CPTC days. It really does make track work easier. There is no way I would have gone out and run a 3:04 800 on my own.

(And I probably shouldn’t be out running 3:04 800s right now, given that I have a marathon to run in a week and a half…so I tried to slow it down, a little, but eh…it was easier just to stick with the group. Those 400s were fun!)

So: thanks, Dre. And thanks, Faith and John, for welcoming me in to your running community. (And also reader/commenter Lisa, who runs with the group as well!) I’m happy to be here.

Tonight, I headed out for a recovery run. The air was extra thick and muggy. When I got home and showered, I could see why.

There seems to be a massive storm brewing out there. Tucking in (to bed) and hanging on (to my wine glass)!

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Posted in Workout Recaps

Around and around the Oval

Posted on March 22, 2012 by shelby| 20 Comments

Discovered: it’s exactly one mile from my apartment to the southwestern corner of Piedmont Park. I expect to become very familiar with this route over the next few weeks.

Atlanta’s Piedmont Park seems to be a miniature version of NYC’s Central Park. There are winding roads upon which one can run or bike, a lake, playgrounds, and tennis courts. There’s a dog park and a boathouse and a botanical garden. You’re never far from a drinking fountain or a bathroom.

And there’s a flat crushed gravel loop restricted to runners/walkers moving in a counter-clockwise direction. Yep, the “Active Oval” is Piedmont Park’s version of the Reservoir.

I decided to take my planned tempo run to the Oval yesterday, mostly because of its flatness. With 10K on the agenda, that would mean nearly 12 times around the roughly half-mile loop.

Looking back at my training so far this year, clearly I’ve been slacking on the tempo front. I used to try to work in both a track and a tempo session each week, but lately I’ve only been doing the track work. Primarily because that’s what my group was doing, but also because I actually enjoy track workouts while I generally despise tempo runs.

But sometimes you’ve gotta do stuff you don’t really enjoy. And even though it wasn’t exactly fun, I needed a long, grinding tempo to make me feel like I’m even a little bit prepared for this marathon next month.

Since Piedmont Park is a mini version of Central Park, I decided to do a mini version of the classic CPTC marathon pace/half marathon pace tempo, or as Megan recently called it, the 2 X 4 Mile Beast.

Meet the 2 X 5K Mini Beast.

I was pretty happy with how this went. Nice even splits! The last couple of miles were definitely hard, both on account of the faster pace and the fact that I was starting to get bored of looping the Oval. Total workout was nine miles and change, including warm up and cool down.

My new ASICS DS Trainer 17‘s felt great during the workout:

Before leaving my old job, I had to take advantage of my employee discount one last time. I almost picked up a pair of the new Brooks Ravenna 3, but given that I wasn’t totally thrilled with the mileage I got out of the previous version of the Ravenna, I decided to mix it up and go with a comparable shoe from ASICS instead.

Like the Ravenna, the DS Trainer is a light stability shoe, designed to provide a touch of support for mild over-pronators, while weighing in a bit lighter than a traditional stability shoe. (The DS Trainer is 8.8 ounces, versus 9.3 ounces for ASICS’s traditional stability shoe, the GT-2170.) Previous versions of the DS Trainer had run very narrow and had a weird puffy collar thing around the ankle; the new version released this year seems to be a touch roomier in the toe box, and the collar thing is significantly less puffy. So I decided to give them a try.

I’ve been running in them for a couple of weeks, and no complaints so far! It’s a nice soft shoe that doesn’t feel too clunky or heavy.

I’m still alternating with my Brooks PureFlows, but I think having a traditional cushioned shoe for longer runs is a good thing for me. When I had that weird foot pain a couple of weeks ago, I’d been running almost exclusively in the PureFlows and had done a 20-miler in them day the pain started. No idea whether the foot issue was in any way related to my choice of shoes, but I’m going to be a little more cautious just in case.

Recovery run on the agenda tonight. You’ll find me in Piedmont Park again, but I think I’ll be avoiding the Active Oval.

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Posted in Gear Reviews, General Running Chatter, Workout Recaps

Tagged

Nice rack, tough track

Posted on March 14, 2012 by shelby| 11 Comments

I forgot to tell you guys my favorite part of the flat tire story.

So I was sitting in the cab of the tow truck, waiting for the driver to finish hooking my car up, when the guy’s cell phone rang.

Now, this guy was about my age, super friendly, a little country…I don’t mean that in a bad way. So the phone, which was sitting face up on the center console, started to ring. I wasn’t trying to be nosy or anything but my gut reaction was to glance at it, and when I did, I saw a topless chick with a fantastic rack.

It was one of those moments where I wished someone had been there, because I was all like: OMG! Some hot naked chick is calling this tow truck guy! Check out her boobs! But alas, no one else was in the cab to share the moment with me.

A few seconds later, the driver hopped back in the cab and snatched up his phone, which was still ringing and flashing (literally). I buried my nose in my own phone, pretending I hadn’t even noticed it. As it turned out, I gathered from the ensuing conversation, it was his girlfriend.

Well played, tow truck guy.

Anyway.

I headed to the track tonight for my VERY LAST TIME working out with my Raleigh track group. On the menu were some spicy-fast 600s, which sounded like fun, if a little challenging in the 80-degree heat.

Oof. I don’t know if it was the heat, or the spring pollen, or just the fact that I hadn’t run that fast in a couple of weeks, but my lungs were burning as I did these! Everything else felt pretty good though, so I’ll take it.

I am going to miss you, track crew. I’m gonna need to find a track workout group in Atlanta ASAP!

Well, it’s bedtime…at 11 PM! I know – so early! This week, I’ve been trying to train myself to go to bed at a normal-person time. I’ve gotten hooked on this 1 AM bedtime thing since I’ve been living alone these last three months, but my husband is most definitely NOT on that schedule with his new job, and it would be nice to be on the same page, routine-wise, when we are reunited in a few days.

(In truth, I am probably going to lay in bed and play on my phone for at least another hour, but hey – I’m moving in the right direction!)

Good night!

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Posted in Workout Recaps

(Swim) Suit Up!

Posted on March 1, 2012 by shelby| 27 Comments

So my foot still hurts, but I’ve decided I’m not going to get mopey about it. As many of you said in yesterday’s comments, it could be something as dumb as user error on the shoelace front.

(Although, to those of you who have experienced bizarro foot pain on account of shoes being tied too tight: did the pain continue after you took your shoes off? My foot seems to be crankiest when I’m walking barefoot on a hard surface. So obviously, I’m avoiding doing that.)

Anyway. NO MOPEY FACE! Whether this hiatus ends up being a couple of days or a couple of months, I’m not going to sit around and watch my fitness level tank. Yesterday. I lifted weights for almost an hour (!). And today, I sucked it up and paid for a day pass at the YMCA so I could use the pool to get my heart rate going a little.

However, before I could do that I had to – as Barney Stinson would say – SUIT UP.

The last time I was in a pool that didn’t have a swim-up bar was probably 4 or 5 years ago. But I knew I had a two-piece speedo lap suit, cap and goggles somewhere, so last night I tore the apartment apart (always an awesome thing to do when you’re in the process of moving) until I found them.

Cap and goggles? Still fit fine. But that suit? Not so much. Apparently I have, ahem, expanded in the lower region. My ass in the bottom half of that swimsuit called to mind marshmallows and rubber bands. Together.

It was kind of mortifying, and made me further realize something I already kind of knew: that even though I’ve been logging a ton of miles and running great workouts lately, my overall fitness and body fat/composition could use some work. But that’s a topic for another day.

One trip to the sporting-goods store later, I’d procured an ugly lap suit from the clearance rack that fits much better.

My ass is totally a Monet.

And then this morning, I swam.

You know what? It wasn’t actually that bad. After a few awkward laps, I fell into a rhythm and although I’m sure I’m a slow swimmer with terrible form, it was a decent workout. Since swimming is pretty damn monotonous, I broke it up in to sections with a few “recovery” breaststroke laps thrown in:

  • 6 lengths easy breast
  • 10 lengths crawl
  • 2 lengths breast
  • 20 lengths crawl
  • 2 lengths breast
  • 20 lengths crawl
  • 2 lengths breast
  • 10 lengths crawl
  • 2 lengths breast
  • 6 lengths hard crawl
  • 6 lengths easy breast

The whole thing took about 55 minutes. Afterward, I asked the lifeguard how many lengths are in a mile and he said 66 so I guess with 86 lengths I swam about 1.3 miles? Swimming/tri people, does that seem correct?

Other observations from the pool:

  • I cannot swim straight. I’m either right on top of the big black line or brushing my elbows against the plastic lane divider thingy. (Why are swimming lanes so narrow? Someone should pull a Kramer on that shit.)
  • And hence: I am so glad I had a lane to myself today. I am only going to go to the pool during really weird off-peak times.
  • Because: I’m terrified at the prospect of having to share a lane with an actual swimmer. Seriously, every time I  approached the end of the pool I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t see a pair of legs hanging there, about to disrupt my crooked flailing.
  • And sharing with multiple swimmers? The circle thing? Absolutely terrifying.
  • For some reason, I can only breathe on my left side. It’s like my head won’t turn all the way to the right or something. (I’m not an ambi-turner!)
  • And since I can’t quite go two full strokes without coming up for air, so I end up breathing on every stroke, which, I believe, adds to the whole package: flailing, wandering around the lane, gasping for air. I’m sure I look awesome in the pool.
  • People can say what they will about running being intimidating. At least there aren’t LIFEGUARDS watching you make an ass of yourself on the track.

It’s a good thing I got a properly fitting swimsuit.

And finally, February stats:

It was a pretty good month. Well, aside from this foot thing.

(Which I’m still really hoping is a temporary thing.)

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Posted in General Running Chatter, Monthly Running Stats, Workout Recaps

In (and out of) a funk

Posted on February 23, 2012 by shelby| 24 Comments

Last Friday morning, I tweeted some whiny crap about how I had failed to complete my long run.

Yeah. That didn’t happen.

To be honest, I’d been in a running funk all week. It all started with this workout I did last Wednesday night, which included barefoot strides around a grass field. They were supposed to be strides, not sprints. But my little group was having so much fun racing each other around the goal posts…it was like being a kid again!

Unfortunately, my legs aren’t kids anymore. Come Thursday morning, I totally felt that shit. That day’s planned 10-miler became 6 and change. I figured I’d rest up for Friday morning’s long run.

But Friday morning, I still felt like a slug. I set out with a Gu shoved in my pocket and 18 miles on the docket. I shuffled miserably for a little over two before turning around and heading home.

So I tossed the Gu into my suitcase, along with my swimsuit and platform heels, thinking I’d carve out some time to make up the miles during Meg’s South Beach Bachelorette Extravaganza. And, of course, I tweeted that dumb tweet…as if that would make it more likely to actually happen.

AHAHAHAHAHA. Do you want to know how far I ran Saturday morning? THREE MILES. Not eighteen. THREE. Sunday morning, I felt a little better and managed seven. And looking back, those combined ten miles were really quite a feat.

A “splash of cranberry and soda” in vodka is not an appropriate way to hydrate for a long run. WHO KNEW?

(Also: guess how much a Heineken Light costs in a South Beach club? FOURTEEN DOLLARS. I did not drink much beer last weekend. I am sure that contributed to my crankiness.)

Anyway. Moving along, Monday was a travel day and a running rest day. Tuesday? I have no excuse. I just didn’t really feel like running. I managed five, but that’s a drop in the bucket during these weeks of peak marathon training and mileage. Meh.

That brings us to today. Wednesday: track workout day.

The worst thing about running funks is that they tend to self-perpetuate. The longer you’re in a funk, the harder it becomes to pull yourself out of it. As I set out on my warm up this morning, I was pretty sure that this run was going to go down in a funk as well; that I’d end up bailing.

But when I got to the track, I actually felt okay. On the agenda? Classic 12 X 400M. I’d planned to hit them around 1:35. When I ran the first one in 90 seconds and it felt like a jog in the park, I knew the funk was gone.

I’m running a local 5K on Saturday, so I hung back a little from that 90-second mark. This workout was definitely in the discomfort zone, but totally manageable. (Of course, that’s not really my 5K pace. I’ll be happy to crack 21 on Saturday, which would be 6:40 pace.)

Anyway. That’s the story of how a solo track workout made me love running again after a week of hating it. Scintillating, I know. Someone should make a movie.

Last week’s mileage. Roughly 18 miles short.

Oh well. Does it really matter? Of course not. I’m not an elite athlete and cutting a few workouts short isn’t going to change the course of my life. And sometimes, it’s nice to kick marathon training to the curb and live it up for a weekend. That’s what bachelorette parties in Miami are for.

Or so says my alter ego. His name is Peter. (Or Pierre, depending on my mood.)

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Posted in General Running Chatter, Travel, Weekly Running Recap, Workout Recaps

Twenty

Posted on February 13, 2012 by shelby| 15 Comments

You could definitely call it a love-hate relationship. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was flinging curses upon William B. Umstead State Park. Today, I fell in love all over again.

And when I skip town in a few weeks, I am truly going to miss the Reedy Creek Double Out ‘n Back, in all of its sinister glory.

Yes, it’s hilly as hades. I’ve hated on those hills so many times. But somehow, this morning, I ran a very respectable long run on this roller-coaster of a route.

With all of those hills, that’s a pretty good average pace for me! I’m usually closer to nine-minute pace on this route. I credit good company for the fact that the miles flew by. Thanks, Joe for distracting me with talk of craft beer, racing strategies, Crossfit, food, wine, travel, and everything in between. I think it was a pretty stellar run for both of us. Even though it was OMG COLD:

Ok, I know that this is not that cold. But I had a minor meltdown when I woke up this morning and checked my weather app. My Southern-living ass was unaccustomed to twenty-degree weather. Down here in the South, we haven’t seen a flake of  snow or a crystal of frost at all this winter. I’ve been wearing tights since it was 45* out. I know. I know. 

So of course I packed a bag full of all sorts of clothing and accessories. I was headed out for the 20-miler, and then straight on to work, where I’d shower and stuff before starting my day of retail shenanigans. I tried to pack a whole day of clothing suited for various activities and conditions on the “coldest” day of the year. It was completely ridiculous:

Although I’d packed an extra pair of tights, a thick fleecy jacket, and even a face mask (that I hadn’t touched since I lived in Ohio), I ended up being totally fine in a regular pair of tights and long sleeved top with a paper-thin jacket over the top.  A thin hat and gloves were nice to have, but I would have lived without them. (The gloves came off halfway through.)

Still, I have to unequivocally give credit to my running buddy for getting me out of bed and in to the cold. I wouldn’t have done it on my own.

This whole week was filled with a whole lotta social running, now that I look back on it:

Of those 63 miles, fewer than 10 were done alone. Three cheers for human interaction! And also, for logging 63 miles in just 5 days! I’m pretty happy with how this week’s training went.

An appropriate beer for today:

Most of the beers I’ve tried from Dogfish Head are quite good, but this Pearl Jam “Twenty” Faithfull Ale was just okay. To be honest…I was dying to try it more for the novelty factor than anything else. Because I had this giant crush on Eddie Vedder for much of my youth. But it wasn’t just a hot-guy crush; it was a music crush, which is clearly more meaningful. (Yes, it is.) Ten was one of the very first CDs I ever owned. And I still think it’s a damn fine album.

Anyway. The Twenty is a decent little Belgian, with a jammy berry backbone that’s perhaps a bit unique. It’s brewed with currants, which are tamely present. But at the end of the day this bottle didn’t knock my socks off. If it weren’t for the Pearl Jam association, it would be rather forgettable. 7% ABV.

Bottom line: Not a bad beer by any means…and certainly drinkable and smooth. It’s not disappointing – but its not a must-try, either. (Received in a beer swap; retails for around $13/22oz)

In other running news:

 - My friend and co-worker Bobby Mack is a beast! You can now call him the US National XC Champion. Come by our store and congratulate him if you’re a Raleigh dweller.

- For more racing news, check out Writing About Running. Author Pat Price, a self-described hobbyjogger, brings a fan’s  keen interest in the elite side of the sport to his blog.

- The Brooks Ravenna 3 is here! As a wearer of the Ravenna 2, I’ve been anxious to check them out.

(old Ravenna 2 on the left; new Ravenna 3 on the right)

I love the fit of the Ravenna 2, but my one complaint (through two pairs) has been that they don’t last as long as I’d like them to. Both of my Ravenna 2′s started to break down around 300 miles. And I’m not the only one who had this beef; I’ve fielded several complaints from customers about their Ravennas breaking down early.

So the new Ravenna 3? It’s…more shoe. Compared to a pair of brand-new pair of Ravenna 2 (above, left), the Ravenna 3 (above, right) seems to have much more cushioning, especially in the forefoot.

I haven’t actually run in them, so I’ll save further review until I do.

For now, though, I’m loving my PureFlows for pretty much everything:

The black ones have 250+ miles on them and are still going strong! And I did 20 in the white ones this morning, pretty much confirming to me that there’s no reason a lower-heel-drop show cannot be a long-run shoe, if you work in to it properly. (Which is something I’ve been working on since October…)

Hope y’all had a good weekend! What did you do?

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Posted in Beer Reviews, General Running Chatter, Weekly Running Recap, Workout Recaps

To hell with hills

Posted on February 11, 2012 by shelby| 5 Comments

I’ve been keeping a list of things that have become noticeably more difficult for me – and specifically, the runner in me – since we hit the other side 30 a couple of years ago.

Warm-ups: need to be longer.

Recovery from a hard effort: seems to take forever.

Hills: have become steeper.

I used to be kind of okay at hills – at least on a comparative basis. It was the one place on a race course where I had a shot at chasing down my more willowy counterparts. Something about a low center of gravity, I guess.

Well, my center of gravity hasn’t changed, so I’m going to go with: the hills have become steeper. That’s clearly the only way to explain the pain and suffering of this week’s speed workout.

Eight times up a stretch of neighborhood blocks, amounting to a quarter mile and about 80 feet of elevation gain. My speedwork group from last fall is back in action (yay!), so I had a nice pack to work with. (For the first six, anyway. It’s fun being the only person working on full marathon this spring…)

Our coach told us to shoot for 15 seconds slower than we’d normally run 400 repeats on a track. If I were going to do 8X400 on a track, I’d like to think I’d be down in the low 80s, so I plugged 95 seconds in to my head for this hill workout.

But my splits were: 100, 100, 99, 99, 98, 97, 102, 99. (Obviously, I lost a little steam when I had to do the last couple on my own…)

Apparently I was optimistic. Still, I guess there’s nothing wrong with that workout. It just felt kinda crappy. Meh.

Anyway. On to the next one. I’m hoping to hit 60 miles this week and as I am sitting here sipping some Friday night wine, I’m at 34. I have some work to do this weekend.

Which means I should probably put down the wine glass. 

This South African outfit’s Rose has long been a favorite, but I’d never tried the simply-named Red 2010 from Goats Do Roam before. It’s mostly Syrah (72%) and Cinsault (13%) with a little Grenache and some other stuff mixed in. Very bright and berry-forward, it was sweeter and lighter-bodied than I expected it to be, and very smooth. A respectable choice if you’re looking for something on the grocery store shelf that will be widely enjoyed, with food or without. 14% ABV.

Bottom Line: I received this from a friend, but I’d buy it again! Retails for around $10.

Time for me to chug some water so I don’t wake up feeling like I slept with a cotton ball in my mouth. And give my teeth a good cleansing. Don’t want to show up to morning running group with a headache and purple lips.

Add that to the list of thirtysomething woes….

Red wine: kicks my ass if I’m not careful.

To hell with getting old.

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Posted in Thirtysomething Angst, Wine Reviews, Workout Recaps