Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Ask a Stupid Question…

Today I finished my run at lunch time (7 miles, 1:04:40) and was back in the locker room and a woman was in there changing, looked at me coming in, obviously dressed for outside and asked, “Is it cold?” with amazement in her voice…OK, it’s January, we live in Minnesota, what do you think? Of course it’s cold. The temp when I left my desk to go run said 22 feels like 18, it’s now 23 feels like 19. Not a big difference, but in most peoples minds, 20s, below freezing, that’s cold. I myself find that to be very cold. But I am having issues with the treadmill so I’m adapting. I dress for the weather. So another answer to the question is, that no, it’s not cold, because I dressed for it, plus I was running…you run, you create body heat, with no windchill and temps in the 20s and the right clothes, 20s can almost be balmy. So I made my announcement about Grandma’s yesterday. I have the registration form in the mail, now I’m trying to find a place to stay. Of course all rooms are sold out and have been for months, but they do open up as people’s plans change, I need to call hotels and get on a list to have a room reserved if something does open up. There are always the dorms as an option too. I have to call on them in March. The University of Minnesota has a branch up there and for Grandma’s weekend they offer the dorms for rent for the night for $20 or so I think, so that’s my back up option…that and camping. Another thought, there are campgrounds nearby, I do have a tent…doesn’t sound like the best sleeping conditions though for prior to a marathon, but it will do in a pinch. I also invited J2 to come up there with me, working on my support crew, maybe I can even get him to run in part of it with me, I might need the help later in the race.

I’m 20 weeks out. I have the training plan I’m going to use and it’s even in excel, if I can figure out best way to do it, I’m going to try to link it to my blog…I’m also still doing a few adjustments to it and figuring out exactly which plan I’m going to use because the first couple of weeks of the 55 miles plan is a little shorter on miles than I’m at right now, but maybe that’s good because today’s run still felt sluggish. My legs were just dead feeling. Is it because of the fact that I have run in so much slush and glop the last few days that I am more tired than I think? I have run everyday since last Wednesday (although I did just have a 7 day week and it felt just fine), but I haven’t been doing any “hard” workouts, no speed work, not hard hill repeats or anything, just running, so you’d think I would be fine. Anyway, I ended the run today with 10 x 100 meter strides with a 50 jog recovery on it…they were kind of hard…I was on at least dry roads (most of what I ran today was dry, but it was quite hilly, could be part of why I was feeling sluggish I suppose). It is nice though that the workout is done, means I can run errands after work, go home, do some ab stuff, clean up a bit and finally put my Christmas stuff away (yes, I’m one of those) and still relax for the evening. Tomorrow I think I’ll just cross and strength train and skip a run…or maybe I’ll take Thursday off…we’ll see what tomorrow brings…

6 comments:

JustRun said...

Wow, camping before a marathon is probably one time I wouldn't want to camp... but like you say, in a pinch it would work.

I'm looking forward to seeing your training plan.

MNFirefly said...

Let me know what you plan to do, Danielle. Depending on my odds with the half-marathon, I might come up there and join you.

Dori said...

Good luck with your training! I hope you get a BQ at Grandma's.

Kurt said...

I think you need two longer runs. Your plan only calls for 20 milers, you should hit at least one 22 and one 24 mile run in the time frame you outlined.

Make J2 rent the room for you and he can run the last 10K with you when you need it the most.

Camping out before a marathon sounds like a disaster waiting to happen to me.

Glad your thinking pink these days.

Ginger Breadman said...

The temperature discussion sounds like the ones I have with my kids when they complain that they're cold - in tanks and shorts in January. I should tell them about your runs and what you wear. For Grandma's, I say go for a cheap stay. I camped before a marathon in the summer, but I slept in a pop-up tent trailer, so it doesn't count. If it doesn't ever bother you to camp and sleep on the ground, then go for the adventure. (and where I camped in the pop-up, there were other marathoners in tents at the campground) The dorms sound pretty cool, too. It'd be fun to meet people, and it's really just a place to crash for the night, right?

Danielle said...

Yeah, I kind of agree on the camping before a marathon. I can probably borrow an air mattress and have something soft to sleep on, so that isn't as big of a deal, but I worry about being able to get enough sleep. I haven't camped in years...so not something I am used to (might have to test it out, camp before a long run one night prior to the marathon)...Dorms are a nice idea in theory, but I worry about people being quiet...which is why I'd prefer a hotel, but with limited options until some hotels maybe open up (need to call and get on waiting lists!!) those options are better than driving 3 hours to get my race packet, going home and then being up early the next day to drive 3 hours to the race...