You crazy, Girl!

This week has been full of holidays. I don't like holidays, they throw off my whole schedule. However, they do give for some interesting improvisation for training days. Friday was a regular running day. Sunday was the reinstating of Danielle into my training runs! (Yay!) Its insane how running with someone else makes the experience so much more enjoyable and easier. I did the same route on Thursday morning and it was torture. We went for an hour and a half, with a few pit stops along the way, some pushups and situps in Gan Sacher with the Yeminites and a really, not so bad, run up Betzalel. Monday I went for an hour run, after football practice, in my new neon pink running shoes. They happen to be really comfortable and if you spot some neon feet passing you buy in Italy, its me; I just have to get used to the color... Tuesday was rest day but instead I went on a hike with Noa, Danielle and Frayda

Nachal Katlav

We had a great time. First we met Zion who helped us decide which route to take (thankfully Noa took a picture of the map, otherwise I don't think we all would have made it home...), we got ourselves organized. Realized that other than the fridge, Frayda forgot to bring some crucial supplies, but thank god she remembered her neck scarf. May I also point out at this point that Danielle doesn't like hikes, just in case I forget to add it the million other times in which we were reminded of this fact. We started on the black trail, at a nice downhill pace, enjoying nature and marvelling at the fact that it wasn't that hot. We then hit a fork in the road. Which way to turn? I don't know, maybe we should have gone straight on the blue trail but I remembered distinctly that it was black, green, blue, black. After a civilized dispute we turned down the green trail and met a group of counselors preparing the hike for their campers. They were preparing plays about the nachal in which we were hiking and invited us to be their audience, but not before they asked us at least 50x what we were doing in Israel. The plays were funny and informative but the best part was the man who joined us in the audience. Halfway thru the plays I noticed he has this squiggly yellow bracelet on his wrist. I pointed it out to Danielle and Noa who have been sharing a similar stolen bracelet from Danielle's little sister. As we are trying not to laugh out loud the plays have come to an end and Frayda is yelling at the guy next to us: "Excuse me, sir, excuse me? Excuse me! Are you aware that you and her have the same bracelets??" Guy to Noa: "Well, is yours as cool as mine??" At this point they both take off their bracelets and show them to the audience and we have to vote on who has the cooler silly band. I don't think it could have been any funnier. We went on our way, followed the trail which took a turn uphill and Frayda decided that instead of hiking in flipflops, she was going to give it a try barefoot. As we passed a group of other hikers they asked outloud to themselves, 'is she barefoot?' to which we answered, 'yes, yes she is.' That lasted until she decided to sprint to the end of the trail, because, if she already had her heart rate up so high she wanted to use it till the end. We made it to the end, made it home and showered, ate and passed out. Or I should say most of us showered and most of us passed out. Frayda didn't shower but she did pass out on my couch when we were watching a movie later that night. I didn't pass out but I did shower, right when I got home.

Wednesday was a new day. I was a bit sore and a bit tired but my feet were fine. I went for my massage in the morning, worked a bit, gave my clothing for chag to Danielle and Eytan to take to Ramot and proceeded to make my way to Ramot on foot. Running there wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It took me 50 minutes to get there and I was prepared with my running belt filled with frozen gatorade which melted and warmed up by the time I got to my destination but it served me well while I was out there. The heat was semi-bearable. The run was good, my foot hurt a bit on the down hill but not as much as I thought it would. I was sweaty and hungry but I lasted till dinner without biting anyone's head off. (I was first in the shower...) I wasn't even that tired, I could have gone for more. It will be my new route in the winter those mornings I give the exercise group in Ramot, can't wait!

Today I have a 12km run with some intervals thrown in. I hope that I make it to the last bus to Tel Aviv on time...

Next week is Holiday free! Thank god. No more cramping on my style...

Peace.

Pass the weak, hurdle the dead.

I did it. I ran the 21.1km of the half marathon. It was on the treadmill though and it was in 4 segments and it was on 5 hours of sleep and lots of alcohol from the wedding the night before and it was between being at work for 4 hours and then going back to work for another 4 hours. It was intense. I was exhausted. Ask anyone who saw me after, I was a zombie.

BUT........

Nothing hurt! My back was a little sore and it was hard to get from standing to sitting to standing again but thats just because I was exhausted. My hip was good, my foot was good. I think it has to do with the shoes I was wearing. I have 3 active pairs of running shoes, meaning that I switch off between 3 pairs depending on my mood and what I wore for the previous run, but ever since I have started to pay attention to how my body feels after these long runs I have come to the realization that one pair of shoes makes my hip sore, the other kills my foot and the third, tfoo tfoo knock on wood, doesn't really bother me at all. (Now that I've said something, its going to start to bother me...) Now I just have to keep running with that one pair and I should be good. Its not like I have that long until the marathon, its in a month (!!!!!!!) but I have been thinking of getting a new pair, breaking them in a bit, wearing them for the marathon and then having them plated in gold and put with my first ever pair of shoes, I could make a collection of 1st shoes...

After the half marathon I had 2 days of rest scheduled. It was much needed just because I was exhausted and had no time to fit in runs. I had a full day Tuesday plus a wedding at night and then a full day Wednesday with chag starting at 5 leaving no time for an 80 minute run. I instead went for a run Thursday morning at 730, way before anyone was out and heading to shul, which was kind of nice, I had the streets to myself. I decided to expand my regular route a bit and went to the Central Bus Station and ran on the bridge. There was a guy taking pictures on it as I was up there and I should have asked him to take one of me and send me a copy but I found a picture that looks just like the one he would have been taking (the sun was a bit lower at the time), all you have to do is picture me running down the ramp...

Once I got to the hotel strip on Herzl, I took my regular pit stop and got something to drink since it was pretty hot out already. I continued down to the hospital, took a right and ran down to the botanical garden and home up Azza. As I was getting to my apartment I started to see the lulavs making their way to shul. What I needed was a nice hot shower and some ice cold water. After that was done and I ate some breakfast it was time to go to lunch. Boy was it hot. I brought water with me then...

Today I have a 15km run, done also in 4 segments. 20 min warm up, 3x (4km + 300 m). Next week I'll be doing my runs at night again when its cooler. We had cool weather, for like a day, and then it got hot again...not fun. I want snow!

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!! (Then I will officially be a marathoner...)

At first I was afraid, I was petrified...

But 3 days of eat, pray, sleep have come and gone and I have survived! It wasn't even that difficult. I think I slept more than I ate and prayed, which I obviously needed, but all in all it was a nice, welcomed long weekend of some r&r. Each meal was a little different than the last and most of them were dairy (so that means that I didn't eat much) and light, my favorite was Friday lunch that we boycotted and didn't sit down to eat which was great since Friday night we had yet another meal and we were actually hungry for it. I didn't go for a run on Friday like I thought I might, it was just too awkward to go out in Efrat and run when everyone else wouldn't do such a thing. Instead, I walked the dog 2x a day for 1/2 hour each time and by the time Shabbat afternoon came around she refused to go with me :) so instead of pulling, I let her lead and we went on a totally different route and it was actually quite nice. My foot was still not up to par and I have been using a homeopathic cream and massaging it into my foot 3x a day and after my 1:40 run Saturday night, it feels great. My quads on the other hand, are a bit sore... Thats what happens after not running for a week outside on the hills of Jerusalem. I am really hoping that the track of the Marathon isn't hilly, then it will be a breeze to run since I have been trying my best to tackle all the hills I can, no matter how slow going they end up being. The fact that my foot is better can be attributed to many things, who knows if the cream really helped, the foot massage I could use everyday, 3x a day, for the rest of my life, if my feet hurt or not, (preferably done by someone else...), and I'm sure that taking a rest helped the most. All that combined, I think I'm ready for the crazy schedule I have this week. I have an intense 18km run on Friday and since Saturday is Yom Kippur, I will be running the half marathon on Monday after loading up on food this week...

Where's Danielle when I need her???

I can handle running solo for long runs but to suffer thru the Jerusalem Half Marathon route solo is just depressing. Maybe it will build character...

Peace.

Um...Ok.

So, I have been patiently and religiously following the training workouts that I have been receiving ever since I signed up for the "My First Marathon Training Program" via the Venice Marathon. I read the introductory letter and believed that I understood it and accepted what they had to say. However, being a religious reader of Runner's World Magazine (for at least 4 years now) and building most of my philosophy on running and training by what they have been teaching me, I find it a bit hard to fully accept these new means of training for a marathon, especially since I have not run one before. Let me explain. A while back, I'm sure those of you who have been reading this blog will remember the frog like shoes, I purchased my very own Vibram Sprints. I was extremely excited to start wearing them and running in them and getting weird looks from innocent civilians and I guess I jumped into the whole running with them too quickly. Once my feet started to hurt I stopped running with the Vibrams but continued running, of course, my feet didn't hurt in my running shoes. Then my foot started to hurt all the time. I automatically went to see the sports medicine doctor in Jerusalem since I don't have the time or the peace of mind for an injury that will take long time to heal and I was envisioning the worst case scenario, stress fracture. Thank god I went to the doctor and he told me that I was ok to run the marathon and that there is nothing to worry about, I just don't have perfect feet like Zola Budd and I shouldn't be running barefoot. He gave me a little pod to put on my insole and told me to cross train for a week and then get back to my training. Phew, thats over, but my foot still hurts...And I am a little skeptical about the diagnosis but I am trying to accept that he was right and its not a big deal. In the meantime, I contacted the trainer from the Marathon and told her about the minor setback and proceeded to ask her about long runs. She told me not to worry about the week lost in training since my cross training has been pretty close to the runs that were scheduled and its just a week. The part about the long runs, which have been embedded in my mind as essential to being ready for a long distance race like the marathon, she wrote:
"My method does not use the long-slow running method. What we've been working on doing is building up your body so that your muscles are stronger and more elastic. In the following weeks we're adding intervals and a little longer distance, but the furthest you will run is on the 10th of October where I'll give you a two and a half hour workout. That said, in the ten years we've done this program, everybody that toed the line made it to the finish. With great times even."
I am usually not this skeptical but as a true Koenigson and true to being my Father's daughter, I go with my gut and my gut is telling me that something about this whole story is a little off. Maybe its just my nerves talking and telling me that I am crazy for contemplating a full marathon. Truth be told, I have improved my speed, I ran a kilometer in 5:12 minutes (11.5km/h!) at the end of a hard workout last week, even with my foot hurting. I am trying to keep an open mind and trust those who are leading me, hopefully, to the finish line.
I ran yesterday for the first time in a week, its slow going, still a little sore in the foot but much better. Some more acupuncture in the palm of my hand and I am hoping that my foot will be all cured. (No, that was not a joke, and yes, it hurts like a bitch.)

In the spirit of the new year, חג שמח ושנה טובה!

Peace.

This is all I have to post today...

My mantra.