You Live and You Learn

As we have now integrated feeds into our runs, I have been experimenting with gels, drink mixes, protein bars, etc. to see which ones I like.  So, when Hubey and I schedule our 20 miler for 8:30am this morning I set got up at 7:30 to grab a light breakfast and hydrate.  I had this pre-workout drink mix sample and decided what better time than now to give it a try?  The other option I had were these gels that make me unbearably thirsty.  I followed the directions, poured half the powder into my water glass, and started to drink 35 minutes before we were to depart.  I had accidentally poured too much powder in, so I refilled my glass with water to consume the rest of the powder.  Hubey met me (after already running 10 miles) and we departed on our 12 miler, before our feed, and final 8.

Off we went.  I guess I still haven't perfected this eating before running because I got some cramps as my body was telling me "what are you doing? I am trying to digest here" but I pushed on because I have to get used to it.  Then I felt drunk.  It was in the eyes.  My head was really light and my vision did not move smoothly. I thought, "wow, I haven't been drunk in a while." Four miles in I made Hubey walk.  I need to walk off this drunkness.  The drunk phase passed and we continued on.  I felt good.  Legs felt good and I wasn't drunk anymore so my vision was solid.  Then bam.  Insides cramped.  Hit me like a car hits a deer frozen in its headlights.  I made Hubey walk for two minutes.  Then we continued on.  As we were running we could hear the train blowing its horn in the distance as we were approaching a railroad crossing about 600yds away.  Hubey looked at me and asked "How's your leg speed?" That's when I put two and two together with sound I was hearing together and the railroad crossing ahead.  I immediately yelled "oh no!" while simultaneously taking off in an almost sprint.  Hubey caught up in a split second and we were in a race against the train.  Staring at the railroad crossing arms, we continued in an almost sprint hoping we'd get there before the train.  Sure enough, we ran faster than the train and easily made it across.

Then the cramps came back.  I was hunched over and made Hubey walk for another couple of minutes before realizing there was a dog park ahead, which was bound to have water we could consume.  We ran to the dog park, where there was a huge white jug of water with a hose at the bottom.  Probably not for human consumption, I tried out the water anyway and deemed it consumable for the state we were in.  Once Hubey saw me consume some he came over for a drink before we continued running into town.  I made it another couple of miles, including up the hill on Broadway.  But, at this point I had hit the next stage in my disastrous run and was now unbelievably high.  I was a bit light headed, the chemicals flowing through my veins were making me shaky and I was living on a different planet.  It probably wasn't really this bad, but at the time it felt this bad.  So I stopped.  I sat down in the shade for a couple minutes.  I told Hubey to finish out the run as we were only a couple miles from home, but obviously he didn't.  After a couple minutes, I got up and ran the rest of the way home.  At the very end I felt nauseous, but that was just as I was coming up on the apartment where I chugged two and half glasses of water in five and a half seconds.

All in all, I didn't go back out for the final eight and deemed this run a failure.  And then more closely looked at the pre-workout mix I had consumed... AC(insert lightning bolt here)G3.  High Voltage Pre-Workout drink mix with Creatine Magna Power and Carnosine Synthesizer.  I looked it up online and this is the description for this product: "Fully loaded with a potent blend of actives, ACG3® Charged+ works harmoniously to provide extreme anabolic results, trigger more explosive muscle pumps, increase muscle volume and strength, and provide the endurance necessary to maximize your workout." With one review stating: "It's got a lot of stims in it, so you'll feel it more. More than anyone should actually need."

AKA - this is for sure a product for meatheads who are looking to max out in the weight room with the quickest shortest bursts of anaerobic exercise.  NOT for endurance running.  I had so much fake "energy" in my veins I went through a drunk phase, to a middle of the night dehydration, ending with the horrible hangover that leaves you with the shakes, unable to get out of bed, moments of nausea, and intense intense thirst.  We named this product the devil.

I guess you live and you learn. I did in fact live and I learned that I will never consume that product again.

Skip the Marathon

Most people train to run a marathon.  They build their base, start increasing their long runs and then when marathon day hits they run the furthest they've run at 26.2 miles.  I skipped that.  My previous long run was 20 miles.  I was supposed to run 21, but had to pull up short (see previous blog post).  Then I was scheduled to run 24 miles, however I was in South Beach for a Bachelorette party, and while I got a 12 miler in, it wasn't even close to 24 miles.  But, training must go on.  So, on Monday, May 12th, 2014, in the light rain, I left the office early and went for a casual 27.2 mile run. Skipped the marathon and just went for a 27 miler.  No big deal, I mean that's pretty normal.

So, I started with my fellow runner KP as we ran two miles from the office to our apartment where we picked up Hubey.  From there we ran back to campus to drop off KP, then continued on to Kasota via bus farm.  We looped around and headed back to campus after 15.2 miles for a feed.  Yes, our first feed mid-run!  We are finally at the point in training where we need to get accustomed to consuming gels, liquid, and bars and then heading back out to run without having time to digest.

After a 20 minute break where we changed clothes, since it had been raining the entire run, we headed back out for another 12.  We planned an out and back towards Ottawa.  A couple miles down the road Hubey felt a bit light headed so we had to stop for a moment.  It was actually quite a sight to see as he was squatting down on the side of the road and I was frantically taking off my clothes because it had stopped raining and thus the long sleeve under my tshirt was completely and utterly unnecessary.  We walked for the next couple of minutes until Hubey felt better then continued on.  This is where things got weird.

Runners are a strange breed.  They are different.  They think up strange and unusual stories, sayings, rituals...whatever you would like to call them in order to keep them entertained during their long runs.  They sing songs.  They talk about penguins.  They spend so much time either by themselves or with each other that they have no other choice.  I had yet to get to that point.  I heard Hubey talk about this "state", he told me stories, talked about songs they sang, yada yada yada but I had never actually gotten to that point...until this run.  When we were six miles out on our final leg of the run, we started singing, at the top of our lungs mind you, "WHOAHHH WE'RE HALF WAY THERE, WHOAHHH LIVING ON A PRAYER, TAKE MY HAND WE WILL MAKE IT I SWEAR, WHOAHHH OH LIVING ON A PRAYER."  We alternated lines. We repeated it multiple times. It was fantastic.

Then, once we turned around and started heading back to campus I realized, and exclaimed out loud over and over and over and over and over... "this is the furthest I've ever run... nope, this is the furthest I've ever run... nope, this is the furthest I've ever run..." This commentary continued for a good couple of minutes.  Then Hubey started to tell me stories and I would chime in a say, "you know what?!?!" He was say, "what?!?!" and I would respond, "this is the furthest I've ever run...this is the furthest I've ever run..." Also at this point, I started to slow down, so in hopes to get me to pick up my pace, Hubey ran a good 15 yards in front of me so a couple miles, still chatting the entire time though.  It worked...slightly.

Once we hit 26.2 miles we high fived.  Boom first ever marathon done.  But we were still a mile away from campus with one large hill in the way.  I will admit, although it hurts my soul, I became a little dog and walked up the large hill before finishing the run with a smile on my face.  There you go, I skipped the marathon and ran 27.2 miles.  On to the next accomplishment.

Reason to Run

My running coach started sending me a "Reason to Run" each day -- one a day for the 100 days before the big race.  This blog post will be an on-going one, so feel free to check back for the updated list.  Most recent will be at the top.

Reason to Run #8 - Run for the road ahead.

Reason to Run #7 - Playing in the Rain: Because the kid inside of you wants to jump in puddles.

Reason to Run #6 - Keep Calm and Run On.

Reason to Run #5 - Boston Strong: "At the end, I just kept thinking, 'Boston Strong. Boston Strong. I was thinking 'Give everything you have. If you get beat, that's it." - Meb Keflezighi after winning the Boston Marathon.

Reason to Run #4 - Count your Blessings: We have a good life and should enjoy it.

Reason to Run #3 -  "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa (Tanzanian winner of the 1989 New York City Marathon).

Reason to Run #2 - Adventure: Seeing where your legs can take you.

Reason to Run #1 - Run for Yourself. You have to start somewhere, might as well start with yourself.

Just for a Second

Just for a second I thought I might be a real runner.  Then that thought quickly passed.

This has happened to me on several occasions so far in this 100 miler journey.  Let me share some of these "almost" moments with you:

1.  Have you ever notices "real" runners don't listen to music when they run?  Watch a marathon, the top runners don't listen to music.  Well, I ran twelve miles by myself with no music.  For a moment I thought I might be a real runner.  Then I realized I was thinking about listening to music the whole way....

2.  I was leaving work thinking about how I wanted to get some extra mileage in and run for a second time that day.  Then I parked my car in my garage, walked in the door and sat down on the couch with a book instead...

3.  I wore the correct amount of clothing for a run one day -- didn't over dress and sweat profusely, didn't under dress and have to run with my hands in my spandex.  Then the next two runs outside I overdressed...

4.  I looked forward to running 20 miles on Monday.  I thought, "wow, maybe I'm starting to love running." Then I started running and wanted to stop... I realized my running is still fueled by the fact I'm a meathead...

5.  On my day off, it felt weird that I was not running... like there was a void in my life.  But then I realized I liked the void, rather than feeling incomplete...

6.  I am proud of the mileage I put in each week and want to increase the number.  But I'm still much more worried about how quickly I can run for short distances and getting in speed work during the week...

That's all for now, however I'm sure I'll think of a few more points.  Now to end with one reason why I am turning into a "real runner":

1.  When my peers ask me how far I have to run on a certain day, I genuinely respond, "oh, only 13."  I guess you have to be a quarter "real runner" if 13 miles is easy.

Happy 100!

100 days until race day!  Happy 100! 

100 miler packet arrived too.  12 pages of maps for the route.  Time to get serious.  

Where would I be if...

Where would I be if I still lived in warm climate?  Would I be a true runner?  Would I find that "runners high"?  Would I wake up in the morning and want to go for a run?  Would I be looking forward to going for a run in the evening after work?

I was down in South Beach for my wonderful friend Ali Art's Bachelorette weekend and the warm weather was glorious.  First morning there, after a relatively early return to the hotel the night before (3:00am I believe), I got up to go for a run.  It was awesome.  The sun was out.  The boardwalk was relatively clear.  The beach sand was runnable, although still required a level of athleticism I did not have.  I ran along the boardwalk/beach until the end, then cut in to run along the canal.  The buildings, green water, puppies being walked and expensive yachts were all much more entertaining to look at than farm land being prepared for the warmer weather. Before I knew it 11 miles were completed and I would have gone for more, but the nervousness of my face burning held me back... I put it on my shoulders, legs, and neck but not face.  No excuse for that one.  But seriously, in all honestly, how can you not want to run with a view like this:

The weekend is now over, so I am back to the windy windy world of St. Peter, MN.

Because I'm a Meathead: Part 1

As we have already established multiple times in my Be a Big Dog blog, I'm running this 100 miler because I'm a meathead.  It's one thing to say over and over, it's another to prove it to you with past meathead moments.  As my college friends will contest to, I never turned down a dare... we do not need to get into the details of those, just yet at least, since they don't necessarily help paint the best picture of my intelligence.  Despite that, I have decided to start a series called "Because I'm a Meathead" to hopefully build your belief in me that I'm a big enough meathead to succeed at this 100 miler.

When I worked at Gettysburg College my second duty was a strength and conditioning coach, which meant I had the wonderful opportunity of helping put together and run the off-season workout programs with most of the sports programs.  The head strength and conditioning coach, Shaun Weaver, and I would monitor the weight room while athletes would come in to complete their workouts.  The football team was one of them.  And every three weeks we would run the players through a range of tests to mark their progress, or lack their of.  One of the tests we ran was a wall sit with a 45 pound plate weight on their legs.  These "big, tough" football players would come in and barely muster a 3 minute wall sit.  The longest was 6 minutes and change. I kept telling them they weren't trying very hard.  They tried to convince me it was harder than it looked.  I told them to be a big dog.  They said they were.  As you can tell, we went around and around in circles.  Finally, when the second round of testing came, I attempted this wall sit just to show them it wasn't that hard.  First attempt, I made it 7 minutes, purely because I had to prove to them it was all about mental toughness and being a big dog.  Then, my meathead self came out and I told them that in three weeks when they tested again, I would really show them how it was done.

Awesome.  Because that's exactly what I wanted to do in three weeks.  As a 23 year old, I really wanted to be challenging 18 year olds to a wall sit while holding a 45 pound plate weight.  I mean, seriously, who wouldn't be up for that challenge?  I found a new hobby and, man, I was elated.  Thrilled.  Jumping out of my pants excited.

Fast forward three weeks.  It was testing day.  I had done no real training besides my normal lifting routine, but I wasn't worried, it was all mental toughness anyway.  The word had been spread, there were volleyballs girls, football players and couple of my soccer players there to watch.  No point in wasting anytime, so I just jumped right into it.  Sat down agains the wall, placed the 45 pound plate weight on my legs and just let the time tick.  Eight minutes in my calves started to shake.  Still it was all mental toughness.  Ten minutes in all of my legs were shaking and the thought that I could stop and still hold the "record" crossed my mind but the volleyball girls told me to get to 12 minutes.  Insert more mental toughness here.  At 12 minutes, I figured what's the difference between 12 minutes and 13 minutes? Just sixty seconds.  If someone told you you only had 60 seconds to turn on and watch tv, would you even try?  Probably, not.  That's how little time I had to make it through.  At this point a decent number of athletes had come to observe.  13 minutes turned into 14.  One more minute.  I mean 15 minutes sounds so much better than 14 minutes, don't you think?  And just like that 15 minutes hit.  I dumped the weight off my legs, slid my back down the wall into a sitting position.  I. had. crushed. the. football. wall. sit. record.

Proud moment or meathead moment?

Unfortunately, I think it's the latter.

First Failure

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know when you read this post you will be thinking "seriously? you consider that failure?" but remember I'm a meathead.  That's the reason I'm running this 100 miler because why shouldn't I be able to run 100 miles?  I don't particularly enjoy running. I haven't experienced that "runners high" yet... I am waiting for it, but have not experienced it yet.  Instead, I am sticking to my mileage plan, planning my week around the amount of time I have to run, and ultimately running this 100 miler because I would be upset if I was not able to run a 100 miler.  I understand it is a physical feat that will push me to my physical and psychological limits over and over again.  I will have to sacrifice a lot in order to fully train for this race.  AND, no matter how much I train, nothing will fully prepare me for the actual race.  BUT, in my head, I just don't see why I should fail at this.  Why can't I run a 100 mile race?

So this brings me to my first failure in my training so far.  At Gustavus, the coaching staff plays different sports at noontime.  In the winter when the ice hockey rink is in we play noon-puck; there is noon-hoops; and when the indoor turf is put in (in replace of the hockey rink) or when it's nice enough outside, we play noon-time boomtime which is soccer.  We have dubbed it boomtime because when people who don't know how to play soccer play the sport they "boom" the ball.  We have played twice so far this spring, once last week and the second time was this past Tuesday.  I haven't played soccer in a while, thus, I knew I would be sore.  If you're not used to shooting a ball then your groins and hip flexors are overused and become tight.  To be honest, I shot the ball way more than I needed to, which meant my right hip flexor was feeling it going into my long run for the week.

Usually, my long runs are on the weekend.  However, this past weekend I was recruiting and coaching in Vegas and quite frankly was not going to have sufficient time to run 21 miles.  So, we altered my training program so I would be running 21 miles on Tuesday.  After boomtime.  My mileage leading up to it was minimal... Thursday I ran 7.5 miles, Friday was a day off, Saturday was a day off, Sunday I ran 4 miles, and Monday I ran 4 miles.  Then I boomed at noon on Tuesday and at 4:00pm I set off for my longest run yet of 21 miles. But I didn't make it 21 miles.  In reality, I only made it 19 miles.

Two miles in my right hip flexor/groin was hurting.  10 miles in when I met up with Hubey to run I was in a good amount of pain.  13 miles in I was performing the superman stretch on the side Old Minnesota (the main street through St. Peter).  16 miles in I thought we only had a mile to go.  17 miles in I found out we had two more miles to go and hit my first "wall" in running, which I'm very happy only lasted about 1 minute before I came around again.  18 miles in my coach said "I'm happy this is happening to you, you need to experience some adversity while running."  19 miles in we finished and I was barely able to complete a lap walking around the track I was in so much pain.

At the end of the day, my coach told me it was not a failure.  I completed my single long run for the week and even though I was two miles short, it's more important to take care of myself and avoid injury than to get so caught up on numbers.   Another runner friend tried to put it in perspective and stated "when you are running your 100 mile race, you won't be thinking, 'if only I had been able to run 2 more miles on Tuesday, March 25th, this would be so much easier.'" But in my mind, I was suppose to run 21 miles and I was unable to do so.  Failure. Failure and I are not friends, which meant I moped for an entire evening. I'm slowing getting over it, but most likely it will be my motivation going into my next long run. On the bright side, minus my hip flexor, I wasn't sore the next day, so I guess that's a small victory.

Another Milestone, #ImProud

Now, what you have to understand is milestones are important...especially when training for a 100 miler.  Think about it.  If you only compare your mileage and long runs to the ultimate goal of 100 miles then you'll never be close.  My longest training run is 30 miles.  That's not even a third of my actual 100 mile race.  However, 30 miles of straight running is the longest many believe you need to train in order to successfully run a 100 miler.  If you want to succeed in ultra-marathons then, as I am beginning to learn, you have to be proud of what you accomplish and remember that EVERY run counts.  All in all, when I run my first 30 miler I am going to be PROUD of what I accomplished, rather than what most people's response to me which is but you still have 70 more miles to run!!!  #it'sallaboutperspective

  My milestones so far:

1.  Five mile runs became easy; the minimum of what I run daily.
2.  I ran for more than two hours straight and didn't hit the infamous "wall".
3.  Back to Back long runs of 12 and 13 without being tired or sore.
4.  Felt strange when I had two days off in one week -- almost like I was going through running withdrawal.

After Monday, I can officially say I hit another MILESTONE.  I ran 18 miles.  It's my longest run yet, but I ran it after a 10 miler on Sunday.  I'll tell you briefly about my two and a half hour run, where you will see where I am still a naive runner trying to find my way...  It seems as though everyone here in the athletics department at Gustavus is training for some race.  As my one roommate, Dre, claims: we are all drinking the koolaid.  What's funny about that comment is that Hubey and I signed up to run our 100 miler and then KP another coworker and roommate decided to run a half marathon.  Dre laughed at us, telling us we were all drinking the koolaid.  Well, she started drinking it too as she is running her first half marathon this weekend in Washington D.C.  (GOOD LUCK DRE!)  My other roommate, KP, who is the assistant women's hockey coach here is training of for a half in June.  She's a hockey player.  Not a runner. #hockeysyndrome.  So she's easing into this running deal with long runs each week of 4-5 miles.  This week she has a long run of 6 miles.  How does this relate to my milestone you ask? Keep reading.

Monday it was gorgeous.  42 degrees and sunny.  Everyone was outside in Minnesota.  KP and I decided we were going to run together for 3.7 miles and then she would stop and I would continue on for another 14.3 miles alone.  We started out on our run and KP asked if I was tricking her into running more than 3.7 miles.  I said "no"... at which point there was a silence on her end.  I then asked, "do you want me to trick you?" and she said, "well, sort of, yeah..." So I told her I would.  The issue was, I was in fact already tricking her but didn't want to confess after her initial question.  All in all, she went from her longest run previously of 5 miles to 7.4 miles at her fastest pace yet.  #stud.  This was great because that meant I only needed to run 10.6 more miles by myself.

Before we left, I knew I was going to be running for 2.5 hours and needed to dress accordingly.  I started out with 3/4 length spandex, a very very light running shirt and a light running jacket.  After the first 400 yards I was sweating.  I had my jacket sleeves rolled up and less than a mile in I stopped to remove my light running shirt to tie around my waist.  To get a picture, 42 degrees, after the Minnesota winter we had, is absolute heaven.  We ran past my senior soccer players house, where they were outside in sports bras hanging out on lawn chairs on the 4 feet of melting snow.  So, when KP and I finished our 7 miles loop, I dropped off my jacket at the apartment and left in just a t-shirt for my remaining 11 miles.  Two miles in I realized this was a poor decision.  The clouds had rolled in, winds were picking up and the sun was setting.  Four miles in my hands were becoming very cold and I was leaving town for the countryside where there was no cover from the wind, which was by no means blowing heavily, but just enough to cause a slight wind chill.  #stpeterwind

Six miles in, with the wind chill below freezing, I was alternating putting one hand at a time down the side of my spandex to warm it up before removing it to warm the other.  Eight miles in I was running with both my hands down the sides of my spandex in attempts to regain feeling and warmth, except when a car came, when I would remove them and run like a "normal" person.  Nine miles in my arms and hands were tingling, similar to pins and needles.  Ten miles in I decided to BE A BIG DOG, picked up pace and ran the last mile and half completely normal, which meant when I returned to my apartment I needed KP to untie my shoelaces as I lacked enough dexterity in my fingers to do so on my own.  #naf

Ahh, my running naivety...it's always hard to judge what you should wear.  But, all in all, I completed my first 18 miles, and despite having to run with my hands in my spandex I ran the last 11 on my own at an 8 minute pace.  #boom

What I've Learned from my Garage Door

It's amazing where life lessons come from.  Especially those lessons that come from where you least expect them... such as a garage door.  Honestly, what life lessons could you possibly learn from a garage door?  Most lessons a garage door teach you are common sense, for example: 1. Open the garage door before trying to drive in or out. Or 2.  Don't lie underneath a closing garage door without a safety sensor because you will be crushed.  So, what could I possibly learn from my garage door that would help me in my 100 miler training?

My first garage in Minnesota did not have an automatic door opener.  Worst decision ever.  Who in their right mind would want to get out of their car to open or close the garage door when it's -50 out?  Granted, I didn't have a choice as all the garage's at my apartment complex are manual unless you decide to add an automatic door opener yourself.  Lucky me, someone decided to move out and I snagged their garage which was closer to my apartment building AND had an automatic door opener.  Woop woop, talk about awesome, I was planning on fist pumping for a week until I realized I needed to move all my belongings from one garage to the next (about 50 yards so not far, but rather an awkward distance... do you walk your stuff over? Do you drive your stuff over?).  The killer is... it was January... in Minnesota... so it was bitterly cold.  Another character building moment.

Now, a year later, my hands are finally warmed up and I don't have to get in and out of my car every morning and evening to manually open or close my garage.  Instead, I find myself sitting in my car in the parking lot or standing right inside the building watching my garage door go rogue.  When it's in the minus degrees prior to windchill my garage door has a mind of its own.  I will press the button for it to close and it obeys.  Then when it hits the concrete floor, it opens again.  I close it again.  It opens again.  I stop it halfway up, then close it.  It opens.  I wait for it to completely open then close it.  It still opens.  I try using my Prius button to close the door.  It opens.  I use my in-hand clicker to close the door. It opens.  I get out of my car and press the button on the inside of my garage door, WHICH DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF HAVING AN AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR, and it still opens.  I literally look as thought I have obsessive compulsive disorder and have to open and close my garage seven times every morning before I go to work and every evening before I return to my apartment.  Then finally, after whatever reason, my garage door stays closed.  For a while, I figured its just rebelling against the brutal Minnesota winter and putting in a request to be moved to Florida, but still, come on garage door, just be normal and let me get on with my life.

However, after tapping into my emotional intelligence and really thinking about the situation, I have realized that my garage door isn't actually going rogue.  Instead, it's taking care of me.  My garage door cares about my well-being.  It knows I'm running a 100 miler.  It knows I hate running on treadmills.  It knows I'm a meathead. And with this knowledge, it's teaching me a life lesson.

So, what is the life lesson, you ask?  When it takes 7 times to close my garage door, it's too cold to run outside.

Eating Toast in the Shower

It all started when I blew a fuse in my bathroom.  Then yada yada yada happened and before I knew it I was eating toast in the shower.  You try to explain that one.  Fine, I'll give you a run down of how these two events are connected.

I was meeting my 100 miler coach, Brenden Huber, to go for our Sunday long run.  We were supposed to meet at 2:00pm.  It was 1:57 and I was scrambling; I ran into my bathroom and flipped on the light.  BOOM.  A flash of light and then blackness.  The fuse had blown.  So I shot a quick text to Hubey telling him I was going to be ten minutes late, went over to the breaker box and reset the fuse.  This is seems so unimportant, yet turns out to be the heart behind this blog post.  Ten minutes late, at 2:10pm, we started our 16 mile run in and around St. Peter.  For those of you who know the area, bare with me while I give a brief run down of the location of this wonderful town.  St. Peter is in a river valley with the Minnesota River flowing through.  You have Gustavus Adolphus College on the top of one side and farmland on the top of the other side.  It's a gorgeous location minus the hills in the winter and the wonderful St. Peter wind that, as my mom states, "cuts through your soul" and reminds her of "walking to school in Detroit in skirts (since she wasn't allowed to wear pants)." #NavyBratLife

For our run, we started by headed east on 99 up the side of the valley towards Faribault, before turning off to head to the golf course, then dropping back into St. Peter on 22.  We then headed out 99 to the west up the other side of the valley towards New Ulm, then cut across on some back road, parallel to 169, towards the little town of Traverse, before, for all intents and purposes, meeting back up with 22.  Now, there is snow on the roads so the footing wasn't fantastic but we made it up both sides of the valley and on this unnamed backroad where we were feeling really good, both physically and mentally.  Granted, we had to run down the double yellow line to avoid the snow drifts, but in the grand scheme of winter runs in Minnesota this wasn't so bad.  Ultimately, for this long run we had picked a pace where we could chat the whole way without breathlessness so it was the equivalent of hanging out for an afternoon on the couch.

For those of you who do not run outside much, it's definitely amazing how few clothes you need to wear in the winter.  For this run, the weather was a balmy 23 with a 10-15mph wind and I wore long spandex, an underarmour long sleeve, a tshirt and a very light running jacket with running gloves, a fleece neck warmer and a winter hat.  By mile 6, I had already sweated through my running jacket. By mile 7 I took off my gloves storing them away, inside out and in a small sweaty ball, in my jacket pockets.  By mile 8 there was nothing acceptable left for me to take off so I just kept running.

 Now, on this unnamed backroad, we were cruising.   We could have run for another ten miles but didn't say it out loud to each other in hopes of not jinxing it... too late, I guess thinking the thought was enough to shift the universe.  As we turned to meet up with 22, a mere two and a half miles from The Rock (our apartment complex), the sun disappeared, the wind  picked up to a constant 25mph and shifted directly at our faces and the yellow line we were following to avoid the snow drifts, was now buried underneath them.  It got cold.  My face hurt.  My hands started to freeze, so I quickly snatched my gloves out of my pocket but they were crumpled into a frozen ball of sweat.  Awesome.  Leaving my hands out to the elements, I desperately tried to de-ball these gloves while avoiding snow drift after snow drift that made me, at times, look and feel quite unathletic.  Eventually, I shoved my now frozen, dry and wind burned hands into these gloves, which were frozen themselves so I'm not sure how much good they actually did. With our heads down we plugged away, one foot in front of the next, singing "I'm coming home" by JCole until we finally reached The Rock, happy those last 2 1/2 miles were done and over with. #characterbuilding

2 hours 14 minutes later, our longest run together was completed.  We averaged a relaxed 8:15 minute mile.

Following our quick cool down, it was about 4:40pm and we were supposed to be at a co-workers house to make homemade pizza at 5:30pm and we still needed to swing by the grocery store. Eeek.  We were docked to leave The Rock at 5:10pm. I was shivering from sweating and now walking in below freezing temperatures so immediately ran inside thinking about all the things I needed to do in a mere 30 minutes...  Eat during my diminishing 30 minute window of post-run time, shower, blow dry my hair, get dressed and stretch.  I quickly realized multi tasking was going to be necessary.  I threw some bread in the toaster, while that was crisping up I chugged some water, quickly buttered the toast then ran into the bathroom to warm up the shower (which is only a stand up shower, so it's a small confined space).  Alas, the point of the story you have all been waiting for, once the water was hot, I hopped in, bread in hand, to warm up, clean up and eat up, thus the title "eating bread in the shower."  This is one more event I can add to the list of reasons why I am now a true runner.  I so wished that bread was a beer. #whycan'trunnersbenormal

In conclusion, we didn't make it to our co-workers house until 5:40pm, but you can't dispute the effort.

Breaking News: Running Causes Dandruff

Yes, you heard it correctly.  There is a direct correlation between running and dandruff.  And I am the proof.  I'm sure the other factors could be the fact that it's the middle of winter and the air is extremely dry, taking a hot shower every day, or the fact that Herbal Essence is no longer suitable for my scalp, however the underlying issue here is running.  I mean I never had to deal with dandruff before training for this oh so wonderful 100 miler. I've survived extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme wind, extreme rain and yet ever had dandruff.  Now I say hi to it every day.  Here's my rationale...

It's a Burnett trait to sweat... alot. Much more than the average human being.  So, when I run I dehydrate myself and moisturized skin comes from the inside out.  See, I sweat out every ounce of liquid I have in my body within the first four miles of my daily run and then have to use my reserves after that -- and the reserves apparently are used to keep my scalp moist.  No reserves equals dry scalp. Dry scalp equals dandruff.

Plus, due to my excess sweating, it is pertinent that I take a shower immediately following the completion of my workout.  And since it's winter, obviously that shower is going to be hot.  Not only do I take a shower, but I have to wash my hair everyday and I already have dry hair. On top of all this, I have to blow dry my hair every time because it's negative thirty degrees out, which does not pair well with wet hair. All in all, not the best combination of ingredients.  Dry hair, daily hot showers and blow drying my hair equals dry scalp.  Dry scalp equals dandruff.

The worst day for my dandruff is Tuesday.  Tuesday equals dry scalp. Dry scalp equals dandruff.  No but seriously, Tuesday is the worst day for my dandruff because it's my double day.  Meaning, I run twice... for example yesterday I ran seven miles in the morning and five miles in the evening.  After my morning run on these days I shower but don't wash my hair.  I mean, why would I wash my hair when I am just going to work out again in five or six hours.  But since I'm a Burnett my hair is wet from sweat, so it dries and gets all crusty (so appealing, I know) which dries out my scalp.  Then I sit with crusty hair and a dry scalp for six hours before hopping back on the treadmill, running for 45 minutes then taking a hot shower where I wash and blow dry my hair, before walking out into the -35 degree dry Minnesota winter air.  Double days mean hanging out with sweaty crusty hair which equals dry scalp.  Dry scalp equals dandruff.

Bottom line, there is a direct correlation between running and dandruff.

It's Called Character Building

     Character Building is known as any task, activity or event, that contributes to our personality, maturity, assertiveness, etc...The idea that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It's often used as a sarcastic phrase as most people believe that difficult events in our lives build character. Here are a couple prime examples: 

Parent to Child Convo 1: "Cleaning the dog pen out builds character" 

Convo 2: 

Child: "Mom, there's no more hot water and I need to take a shower"

Parent: "Looks like you'll have to take a cold shower"

Child: "But I have to wash my hair" 

Parent: "It'll be good character building for you honey" 

     These are all well and good, but let me tell you, true character building is training for a 100 mile race in MINNESOTA during the WINTER.  And no, you can't avoid running outside in -35 degree weather because do you realize how many days are -35 in Minnesota?! Most.    Which means if you avoided it, then you would be running 50 miles a week on a treadmill for five months... which is even tougher character building than running outside.  

Here is a myth buster too: It's not true when people say at some point cold is just cold.  There is a drastic difference between -20 and -35 and -50.  Each one is much colder than the previous. Negative twenty is where you can walk outside with your arms casually by your side instead of folded in front of your chest trying to keep the warmth in.  Negative thirty five is where you put your head down and walk as quickly as possible from point A to point B; some people even decide it's worth it to yog from point a to point b, but full out running is not necessary.  Negative fifty, on the other hand, just flat out hurts; everything about the air hurts, which means mouth breathing is painful and nose breathing is just simply out of the question. With this being said, I AM PROUD to say that I have decided against running outside when it is -50 and opted to have my cutoff be at -40.  Now that's intelligence.  

I think my icicle mascara is the next thing... don't you?  

Elbow Sweat and One More Tenth of a Mile

I played collegiate soccer at William Smith College in upstate New York.  When I arrived on campus for preseason, I was a wide-eyed little ginger weighing a buck twelve and wearing these bright yellow sneakers.  We started out preseason with the fitness testing, which to be honest wasn't very difficult. I believe I told some of my fellow teammates, "I'm not so worried about the running, I'm more worried about the soccer part." Which, my teammates will attest to this, is the exact opposite of the majority of players trying out, but hey, I'm built to run.  At one point, I actually slowed up in one of the fitness tests to look around at my fellow teammates to make sure I was completing the test correctly because it was so easy.  In truth, I was completing it correctly, just finished well before any of my teammates.  Thus, from day one, I was known at the little freshman with yellow shoes that could run.  

   

But here is the catch... I'm a sprinter. I don't do distance.  A long run for me is four miles.  I prefer to hop on a treadmill, as stated in my earlier blog, and sprint as fast as I can for a few miles then call it a day.  I usually judge my sprinting workouts by the amount of sweat flying off my elbows on the treadmill.  One of my favorite treadmill activities is to run a warm up mile at level 8 (about a 7:30min/mile), then increase the speed by one level every tenth of a mile.  You run until you can't run any faster.  It's mind over matter, because in all reality you just have to run one more tenth of a mile. You can always run one more tenth of a mile. That's how my brain works. I'm a meathead when it comes to competition.  

Now, my mentality has to change from running just one more tenth of a mile, to, oh I don't know, just running 20 more miles to get to my 30 miler for the day.  And the distance isn't even the hardest part of my 100 miler training. Nope.  The hardest part is the fact that I have to train myself to run SLOW.  No matter how quickly I want to get done with my run, I have to have the mental toughness to keep the treadmill at a steady 7:30min/mile... and as we get further into our training, we will have to train to run 10:00min/miles.  Talk about painful.  

Taking a Stroll Summer 2014

Here's the scoop: I am running a 100 miler this summer, July 26th, 2014, in Grand Mesa, Colorado.  Yes, you heard me correctly: 100 miles.  Now, as I am sure you have several questions floating through your head, let me attempt to predict the future and answer them for you...

Question and Answer Sesh with Me

Q: Why are you running 100 miles?
A: Why not?  But seriously, why not?

Q: Why? 
A:  Because I, for some strange reason which I am still attempting to understand, added it to my bucket list several years ago.  So, since I'm not getting any younger and I'm still in decent shape in comparison to the average person (although very very washed up), I figured I better check it off the list sooner rather than later.

Q: Why though?
A: Umm, let's see, I also have a "coach" who is very knowledgeable about running who is crazy enough to run it with me.  Shout out to Brenden Huber!

Q: What's the furthest you've ever run?
A: Before my training started, I accidentally ran 13 miles once.  But that's it.  I'm a sprinter... I like to run really fast for short periods of time and sweat as much as possible... not particularly a fan of this slow and long thing we have happening.

Q: How long is it going to take you? 
A: Basically, I just want to finish the race so time is not a big factor, however I would like to finish in 30 hours or less.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Q: Are you going to sleep?
A: Nope, it's 30 hours of straight running/hiking with short stops at the first aid and crew stations along the way.

Q: How are you going to keep your mind busy/entertained? 
A: I'm going to become very weird.  That's the only way to entertain yourself on long runs.  Why else do you think cross country runners are a bit strange?

Q: Can I write you mail? 
A:  Yes.  I love mail.



All in all, this blog will be made up of short posts that keep you informed on my transformation from being slightly strange to flat out weird.  I hope you enjoy.