Peak Week, CIM

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Jen

I made it through my biggest week of marathon training! After a short buildup, very few workouts (especially marathon specific workouts) and a grand total of 2 “long runs” (meaning 20 miles or more) I hit my biggest week of training for CIM. I’m going to run it! I’m going to finish it! It is going to be fun!

great long run weather, let's do this tweet

~DID IT!

thanks to sisters in sport and roadkill racing

Thankful for running support, always!

It will be great to run a marathon very well rested. During marathon training I’m usually getting really tired at this point, feeling like I need a daily nap and like my body is SO READY FOR TAPER. Right now, I’m feeling rested. I’m not exhausted every day. I’m feeling pretty normal. It will be fun to see how this plays out on race day.

Thankfully, things went well last week and I’m feeling optimistic about the race being a good experience. I did 6 miles of speed on the track last Wednesday and it felt pretty darn good until the last 800 meters when it got a little hard. I did 21 miles on Sunday (3 weeks out) with an average pace of 7:20 and felt good. After the long run I did a few hours of museum time with Currie, some stroller walking, and some leaf raking so I’d say it was a good day of endurance training. I ended the week on 67 miles, and no problems. Very happy with that, considering where I’ve come from!

Buddy (from the PBS Kids show Dinosaur Train) was at the museum! Currie is blurry because she was jumping up and down with excitement.

In normal marathon training, I would usually do 2 workouts a week plus a long run, but since I jumped from 30 miles a week (at the 7 weeks til race day point) to 60 miles a week, I’m just doing one workout and one long run per week. The rest is easy running, to make sure I don’t get injured.

So now the beginning of the taper is here! I’ll probably run 50-55 miles this week. I’m racing a 6k cross country race this Sunday and will probably get 14 miles in total on that day to count as my long run.

Can’t wait to see how this marathon goes!

Something to thing to add to this post: if you still want to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy and aren’t sure how, please check out the virtual race, Race for Recovery 5k/10k. Michele has secured some great prizes that are up for grabs. Sign up now!

Do you get excited or angry when it’s time to taper? A little bit of both maybe?

Cold Weather Commando

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Jen

This summer, I realized that pretty much EVERYONE goes commando when running. I’ve always worn underwear, even with shorts that have a great liner, because:

I had a bad experience many, many years ago when running shorts weren’t made so well.
It never occurred to me to try commando again.

Pre-marathon 2011, wearing my “race rundies” from Oiselle under my shorts.

Once I realized commando was the way to go (through a long Twitter discussion about it) I decided to join the commando crowd the very next day. I haven’t looked back and have been freely running ever since.

But… that was in the summer. When it was warm! What do you do in the winter, when extra layers are NEEDED?! How do you protect your lady (or man) parts in freezing cold temperatures? I was less than comfortable in my “sensitive region”, if you know what I mean, on my run yesterday morning and think I have to bring the undies back.

What do YOU do?

Less Than 4 Weeks to CIM

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Jen

It’s now less than 4 weeks until CIM.

I bought my flight last night…

What about my training? My strength training is great! My actual running = less than ideal.

Take this weekend for example. I was all set to do 20 miles. Then lack of sleep led to lack of motivation which led to lack of long run. I did 15 miles instead of 20. I had 60 miles for the week, but was feeling ~~a little~~ VERY nervous about not getting the last 5 miles in.

I’ve done a handful of long runs in the past few months (and by long I mean anything 15 or longer). I did a slow 20 miler last week and it’s looking like that might be my one and only true “long” run. So, when I think like that, I’m feeling quite nervous about the pain I’ll be experiencing in less than 4 weeks.

homemade face mask, cocoa, corn meal, honey, water

I was always very nervous about letting Currie paint a chocolate/honey face mask on me last night but it was fun and she only spilled a few times. :)

But … when I think of how this marathon is going to be fun, and how I know I can finish and finish fairly fast since I’m not starting with nothing here, and how I’m setting myself up for great marathons of the future (my ultimate 3 year goal) I’m feeling just fine about it.

I guess you can say I go from “oh boy, this marathon was a crazy, expensive, decision” to “it’s all going to be perfect and fun and probably my favorite marathon ever”. And those thoughts both pass through my head multiple times per day.

We will see how it all shakes out in just a few weeks!

Give me some positive thoughts here please! Help me keep thinking “it’s all going to be perfect and fun”! Share some of your own lack-of-training-but-still-fun-marathon stories.

Let’s Talk about the Positives

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Jen

Not to be a downer, but I’ve had a really bad week. Last Friday through this Friday was probably the roughest week of my life. That’s all I’m going to say for now. I’ll fill you in someday. Until then, I’ll leave you (and myself!) with some good things that happened this week!

Positives:

Currie (2 years old) has successfully learned to race. She’s always been a runner, but she’s tactical now. She’s particularly interested in cutting people off and boxing them in if they are likely to beat her. I can see this helping her perform well in her college conference championships and also in the 2032 Olympics. (Heh…)

The kid loves to run!

We live 2 blocks from Starbucks and some combination of Jeff, Currie or I go there every day. When I walked in alone on Tuesday and ordered a pumpkin spice latte my barista asked, “where’s your Short Blonde?” I went into a long story about my mother-in-law being in town and all the reasons Currie was staying at home with her. I had to blush when I realized she was asking about my normal drink order… short blonde (veranda blend).

Short Blonde. Cue heavenly music… ahhhhhhh!!!!

My mother-in-law brought gifts, including an OSU shirt, some dark chocolate covered pretzels, and a pumpkin cookbook. She has also been complimenting all of my outfits and hairstyles. Flattery works, people!

Just a simple braid I wore this week. Thanks for the inspiration SarahOUaL!

If you follow me on Twitter (@jenbigham) or know me IRL, you may know that I see deer on my trail runs almost daily and love to shout out “Go Bucks!” when I see a male deer. (Cheesy Ohio State humor, always funny to me!) Yesterday, I FINALLY got to share that cheesy joke with Jeff as it was happening. We ran past a buck and a doe together on the trail and I shouted “Go Buck(s)” about 7 times. I pretended Jeff was laughing along with me. You were, right honey?
Trader Joes opened here in Rochester! When we moved here 3 years ago, one of the first things I did was email Trader Joes, asking them to come to town. I obviously have a lot of influence (ha) because they came! YES! I’ve been there 4 times in this first week. I had to stock up on grains, freezer goods, oils, and of course, Halloween Joe Joes.

Opening day groceries!

If you haven’t had these, you are not living a full life. Please go buy some. Now.

And finally, this isn’t exactly positive, but it’s something to laugh about. Jeff and I went out to dinner at Good Luck on Wednesday night and one of the specials was sweetbreads. Being the crazy-running-carb-lovers that we are, we eagerly ordered them, thinking cinnamon bread style goodness. Boy were we surprised when we (a couple who rarely eats meat) bit into the sweetbreads. We called the waitress over to say there must be some mistake, these weren’t sweet and they weren’t breads. “Oh yes” she said. “Sweetbreads are cow thymus gland.”

Not sweet, not bread. Cow thymus gland. Barf. Yes, we ate it all.

And with that, I’lll ask…

How was your week? Ever order something at a restaurant and find out later it was VERY different from what you expected? Tell me some good stuff about YOUR week! Any racing this weekend?!

TMI – The World is My Restroom

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Jen

I pee outside every day. I know, to some people this is TMI. However, to a runner, I think this is pretty normal. Right?

I don’t know. It took me 29 years to think it was ok to pee outside. That was about 15 years of my running life. It all started because I had my daughter who I wanted to spend EVERY SINGLE moment with (new mom hormones, I suppose). I also wanted (NEEDED) to run.

Sweet Currie, 4 month birthday. How could I not smother this one with love? Wow, my hair was really long there. Should I go back to the long locks or keep it shorter?

So, I would wake up super early, down 40 oz of water, a cup of coffee, and an almond butter sandwich and head out the door within 45 minutes, before the little angel or husband awoke. You can imagine what 40 oz of water and coffee will do to a person, and I was lucky enough to run on wooded trails every day, so it was easy to find a secluded place to squat.

Peeing outside is sort of like dropping out of a race. It’s hard to imagine doing the first time, but once you do, it’s sitting in the back of your mind any time you feel the urge. -Me (Yep, write that one down in your book of inspirational quotes!)

The only marathon I didn’t finish. Mentally and physically finished at 16. Not a proud day.

Before you know it, I was peeing outside every day. This has been going on for 2 years now and it causes some interesting moments.

With husband, on the rare occasion that we get to run together:

“Seriously? We JUST left the house.”
“It took you 30 years to learn to pee outside, now you do it every day for fun.”
“Is that really necessary?”

At races:

Men seem to claim the obvious hidden pee spots, takes awhile to find some privacy.
People who haven’t opened their mind to peeing outside (yet) will always be the ones to see me and give me rude looks, loud sighs, etc.

General family and friends:

“Mommy let’s just pee outside like you do when we run.”
“Oh, there’s no restroom at this playground? I’ll just go back in the woods.” (Awkward stare from adults present…)

I know I’m not the only female who pees outside (or at least thinks about doing it) regularly, especially in the marathon/ultra marathon scene. In fact, check out this tweet from Emily, the amazing distance runner, who just placed 1st female and 3rd overall at the Can Lake 50.

I could go on, but it’s time for a run. So…

Tell me about your outside restroom adventures! Do you pee (or poop!) outside on a regular basis? Would you scowl if you saw someone doing it? Any other gross runner habits? Aren’t you happy I didn’t include a pic of me squatting? Ew, hope no one caught that on camera!

Evening Bugs Make Squinty Faces

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Jen

On my run on the local trails last night, I tried to show passersby how I’m a joyous, friendly, enthusiastic runner. I ended up making all sorts of strange, ugly, squinty faces as I tried to keep the bugs out of every hole in my head.

squinty face after bugs on face during a run

Reenactment of one of my squinty run faces – probably not necessary.

I like running in the morning and in the evening but prefer morning for a few reasons:

Know I’ll get the run done
Only have a safe, boring breakfast in my stomach instead of a day of food that potentially ruins my stomach for the run
So many bugs in the evening!

Bugs were out of control last night.

Talk about a short, random, post!

Tell me about your worst encounter with a bug on a run! Big one down the throat? One in the eye that stayed around for days? Any bug avoiding advice? I usually wear sunglasses to protect my eyes, but this was too close to dark for sunglasses.

Feel Like I’m Training for a Marathon

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Jen

I’m at the beach this week on a family vacation. Right now it’s my in-laws, Currie, and me. Jeff arrives later in the week. I love my in-laws like my parents so it’s a fun and relaxing way to vacation.

I keep thinking I’m training for a fall marathon here because:

I’m always hot and sweaty
Showering is rare – just going to get dirty again soon
I’m eating like it’s my job. Hello beach buffets!
I’m wearing as little as possible
My running legs feel heavy
Nothing can get in the way of a run

It’s interesting to compare this trip to our trip this time last year. Last year I was super fit, very lean and in AWESOME marathon shape. This year I’m in “ok” shape for any given distance, but not super shape in anything. I’m about a minute slower in the 5k, I’m guessing I’m a few minutes slower in a half marathon, and a marathon would probably be considerably slower.

Hanging out poolside with my little lady on our beach trip 2011.

Last September, at this same vacation spot, I was tearing up multiple sub-6-min-mile repeats with just 2 minute jog between and felt totally comfortable. This year, I’m doing easy runs and taking the more relaxing route. It’s interesting to look back at my training log and see the difference in my training. It’s not good or bad, just different.

I think we all need up and down months/years. What do you think? I have big goals for the next 4 years and I think the best way to get there is to hit it hard when I feel the urge, and keep it relaxed when I’m feeling low key. For now, I’m enjoying some nice, quiet time beachside.

My Sad News – No Jen Bobblehead

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Jen

In March, I won a 5 mile race where the award was $500 and a bobblehead made in my likeness. While I wouldn’t personally purchase a bobblehead, the thought of winning a “Jen Bobblehead” made me really excited. In fact, I had the stomach flu for 5 days the week of the race, with only a day to recover, and I decided to race at the last minute just to win that darn bobblehead (the cash was an attractive prize as well)!

After the race, I was told a photographer would be contacting me to set up a time to meet and take photos of me to be sent to the bobblehead makers. A month passed and I heard nothing so I contacted the race director. We emailed back and forth during the next month. Finally, I found out the photographer was dealing with a family emergency, but he would be able to meet me the next week.

The photo shoot was quick and took place in my back yard. The whole time I wondered what my bobblehead was going to look like – would a stranger be able to tell it was me? Would the artist be able to replicate my Oiselle singlet?

The Oiselle singlet is a detailed work of art! This is me racing the bobblehead race, at just a half mile in. I was already hurting and swinging my arms across my body. Thanks, stomach flu.

As the months rolled by, I tried to be patient, but every now and then I wondered when I would get my bobblehead. The answer came in the mail this past week, right when we returned home from our summer in Seattle.

The letter essentially said due to the family emergency in the photographer’s family and another family emergency in the race director’s family, the bobbleheads were NOT going to be made. Instead, the winners were going to be given $150, the budget for each bobblehead, as long as we agreed to it.

I was upset at first. Well, I’m still a little upset, but I understand family emergencies, and I understand the race director wanting to get our prizes to us and get planning his next race. Honestly, $150 is great and probably a better prize, but I really want the bobblehead! I’ve talked to my family about this bummer and everyone thinks I should just have one made if I want one so badly. The thing is, I don’t want to use my $150 to buy myself a bobblehead, I just wanted that unique race prize. If I have to get it made myself, it’s just not as special in my mind.

So, it looks like there won’t be a Jen Bobblehead afterall. I emailed the race director tonight and told him to go ahead and send me the $150. Big Bummer!

What would you have done about not receiving the bobblehead? What’s the most unique race prize you’ve ever won?

Weekend of Races

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Jen

Someone please stop me from racing 3 days in a row this weekend.

There are 3 options for races this weekend and a small part of me wants to do all three. I’ve done it before, but I had a much better base, many more workouts under my belt, and different goals. At this point, racing 3 days in a row is asking for an injury. The races are as follows:

2-ish miler on campus where Jeff works on Friday night. Pushing Currie in stroller.
12k on Saturday which goes towards the local runner of the year series (I won’t have enough races to count toward the Runner of the Year title since we were gone all summer, but it’s fun to do these races).
5k on Sunday to win free bagels for a year. I won this race the past 2 years and have happily devoured the prize. What runner doesn’t love free bagels?

The Friday evening race is a definite. This was going to be my only race until I started looking at the local racing calendar. Then I saw the 12k and thought it would be a good effort to do some miles before and after and make it a fast middle portion long run. Then my friend mentioned the bagel race last night and I looked it up today and saw it falls this weekend as well. I feel like I need to do the bagel run for tradition if nothing else. Plus, they have free childcare during the race so Jeff and I can both race!

With all these things in mind, I think I should forget the Saturday race. I guess that’s where I’m leaning… but something is telling me to do all three…

What would you do? Have you ever raced multiple days in a row? How did it feel?

We’re Home!

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Jen

We are finally back in Rochester and it feels so great to be home. We had a perfectly wonderful summer in Seattle and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to live in such a beautiful city and spend time with so many wonderful people! Still, we have our lives, our friends, and our home here in New York and I’m so happy to be back and ready for Fall!

After leaving Seattle, Currie and I spent a few days in Ohio with my parents, where I watched my sweet little 9 month old niece while my sister worked. I was able to run a few doubles, but nothing to brag about. My dad has been injured (achilles) for the longest time ever – around 12 weeks – and he’s just getting back into running. Usually, running with my dad is one of my favorite parts of being home and I’ve missed running with him. He’s doing 2.5-3 miles a day so I joined him on a few of those runs.

We also did some fishing in my parents’ pond:

First time fishing and she got a big one! She was wearing one of my old t-shirts in size 6 or so!

Although my running was nothing to brag about, I did get an extremely short but solid workout done, and will log a little over 60 miles this week (thanks to short doubles with dad). I ran my long run this morning since my parents were still in town so I could have my husband, Jeff, as a training partner. I ran on long grass for the majority of the run (found a few new trails-woohoo!), and pushed the pace in the middle (by pushing the pace, I mean 7:00-7:10 pace). In the past, I’ve never done super fast long runs. I usually keep them right around 7:45-8:00 pace but I am switching things up, keeping it fresh. My legs are tired but my mind is fresh. It’s a great feeling.

I’m running a little race this coming Friday, more on that later in the week. It’s a small 2-ish mile race on campus where Jeff works. I’ll be pushing the stroller. Jeff will be going for the win and I’m hoping for 2nd!

Are you having a nice Labor Day weekend? Any exciting plans? Any fun races? Any cute toddler fishing stories?

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