Mountains = sore quads

Well, internet access isn't the best ever up here, but will let me post a quick 'hello!'.

Instructed the house sitter, and left for Davos last Saturday. Arrived Saturday evening. Those mountains never fail to take my breath away. It's absolutely gorgeous up here. The trails are amazing. Weather...isn't so amazing. ;) But, hey, that's all in the game. Four more sleeps till the Swiss Alpine Marathon. Taper madness.

I'm starting to feel the 'every single participant trained harder for this thing than I did' taper nerves. Oh yeah, I'm in 'that state' already. ;)

Will try to post some photos later this week!

Foto Friday

Enough said. :)

Three Things Thursday - the 'Travel' edition

Quickie quickie 'need to start packing' version.

1. Pack your bag, hun: Plan is to leave for Switzerland in less than 36 hours. Yet, I still need to start packing. Busy day at work doesn't really help. I just know that I'll forget something. Feel free to leave a list of things I shouldn't forget in the comment section. Will try to update the blog as often as possible.

2. Zen: I'm surprised to find that I still have to begin freaking out over the Swiss Alpine Marathon. I'm in some sort of serene state of mind that is unlike me on all different levels. Weird...

3. Lesson learned: Do NOT eat Indonesion food right before you should head out for a 5 mile taper run. Ergo, rescheduled run for tomorrow...

Peace of mind

31 miles last Sunday, and 61 miles for the week, and that's a wrap. Only runs left in this training cycle are shorter and taper runs.

Number of days left till the Swiss Alpine Marathon (if everything goes according to plan): 9.

Which distance I plan on participating in? Still have my hopes set on the 50 miler, but will let my legs decide in race week. If they say 'go for the marathon instead of the 50 miler', I'll listen. I think. ;)

Shirts just got back from the printer and I must say they look great. And thanks to this lovely lady I'm now all set on the extra gear to change into.

I haven't started packing yet, though, so there's a bit of stressing out on that part. Snow kicked in on the high alpine trails, so I should probably bring some winter gear. ;)

Desk at work is still filled with case files that need to be looked into. I'm working on it. And stressing out over it. Hey, well.

Training wise: there really isn't anything I can do now to get some extra mountain skills or long run skills. I'll have to work with what's in the bag. Looking back at my training in the last couple of months doesn't really work for me. Somehow makes me doubt every run and my ability to finish a race.

Realizing that this is what I'll have to work with, somehow gives me some Zen-like feeling. Peace of mind.

9 days. 6 more training runs. Those beautiful mountains to look forward to.

Fingers crossed. Just in case. (You'll never know what might happen in those 9 days.)

What (not) to wear...

...when planning on hitting the mountains to do a bit of this:

Swiss Alpine Marathon


And yes, by the looks of it, there WILL be snow on the high alpine part of it. Oh yeah. :)


A. This Moeben Running Dress I reviewed: here.


B. This skirt and tank combo: here.


Don't worry: I plan on pairing either of those with a windbreaker/waterproof jacket. :)


Start voting! :)

Manic Monday - Epic fail

Multitasking. Trying to get some work done while dogsitting for my mom. Epic fail. This little 3 1/2 months old monster-to-be seems to have a weird fetish for my roommate's feet...

Let me formally introduce you to...

...Lordie and Diddy. Running buddies extraordinaire. A long due formal introduction. It's about time! Here we go!

Lordie

Come on, let's go already, woman!

Nickname: Bunnychaser.

Favorite distance: 25K+.

Day job: sidekick to Silly Girl Running. Keeps him busy 24/7.

Favorite running gear: Zero DC blue/orange harness.

Favorite recovery food: Dried beef.

Favorite recovery drink: water.

Quote:

"10 miles? That's my warm up."

"I have Greyhounds for breakfast."

"Running is better than chasing cats."

"Poodles do it better."

Diddy

I'm going that way. You'd better follow...

Nickname: Birdchaser.

Favorite distance: Anything up to a Half Marathon. Loves the sprint.
Day job: service dog (seizure alert dog to my mom).
Favorite running gear: Zero DC blue/orange harness. And Musher's secret paw cream.
Favorite recovery food: Pedigree brand Schmackos.
Favorite recovery drink: water. Well...you can't really give him a protein shake, can you?
Quote:

"Ha! That's what you call fast?"
"Eat my farts."
"I'm with stupid." (Yep, he's referring to me...)

"Service dog by day. Superhero by night."

Lordie doing what he loves to do. Drag me across the trails.

Who's your #1 running buddy?

Three Things Thursday

1. Pre-workout food: Note to self (and to the rest of you): peas do not qualify as great pre-workout food. Cramps. And everything that goes with the cramps. Enough said.

2. Shoes: On top of my beloved Newton Lady Isaac's leaving me for shoe heaven, and not finding a single retailer that still has a pair in my size left, my long distance pair (Asics GT-2160's) are walking towards the light. Or, at least, I'm afraid they are. I did find a new pair online, but now the retailer won't respond to emails when they'll ship. What the bleep! I plan on leaving for Switzerland in just a couple of weeks and I do not want to conquer those mountains barefoot! Freaking out in...3, 2, 1...

3. Potter Bonanza: The New Harry Potter is in theaters NOW. Yep, I'm a nerd. And a geek. And a weirdo. But apparently I'm not the only one: the Redhead is with me on this one. Well, at least the love of her life is. ;) Oh yeah, I'm off for a night of fun at the movie theater this weekend. :)

Things you do not want to have to deal with when already freaking out over a mountain race

1. The weather forecast for the Swiss Alpine is...challenging. At least. I already knew that there might be still snow up at the Sertig Pass area, but now the forecast shows chilly 'need to wear a hat and gloves' temps and rain. Equals: very slippery trails. At a 15-20% incline and a 27% decline. Recipe for disaster for this clumsy frog. Hmmmpppffff......

2. Your favorite trainers just died on you (Newton Lady Isaac). Out of the blue. And no single European retailer seems to have them in stock. Hmmmmpppffff...

3. Doubt creeping up on you. I've been checking my training stats a gazillion times a day in the last couple of days. And the doubt thing is getting worse by the day.... Hmmmmmppphhhh...

4. Sudden dead-lines at work. Enough said. Stressed out...completely. Hmmmmpppfffff....

5. Thunder storms (serious thunder storms) in the weekend that you'd planned to do your last long long run in. Hmmmmpppffffff...

6. Ongoing headaches in the last couple of days. 3 days and counting. Jeugh... Where's the Tylenol? Hmmmmppppffff...

7. Outfit bonanza. Too many choices. What the bleep should I wear on race day? Hmmmpppffff... (although, this isn't a real 'hmmmmppffff'', since picking an outfit isn't a non-fun thing to do. ;))

8. Lack of sleep due to all of the above. Hmmmppfffff...

9. No time to hit the grocery store for fresh veggies due to all of the above. And this should be the moment to work on your veggie and vitamin intake. Hmmmmppfffff....

10. Plain 'malaise' due to 'that time of the month'. Enough said. ;) Hmmmpppfffff.....

Okay...I'm done complaining now. ;) I know, I know...hardly worth complaining over, but still...let me have this. ;)

What did you have to 'deal with' in the weeks leading up to a race?

Redhead's delight - Moeben UV protective arm sleeves

I seriously believed that Runningskirts.com was the one and only love of my love.

But...along came Moeben. And their UV protective clothing. And now...Moeben has turned me into a polygamist (yup). Moeben is right up there with the Runningskirts.com skirts.

UV baby!

However, when this summery sun is out, I'm sticking with Moeben. I'm a natural redhead, and blessed with some seriously freckled and pale skin. Sunburn is my middle name. I literally had the sun leave me with blistered shoulders on several occasions. And yes, I do apply sunscreen. Apparently 'just sunscreen' won't cut it for this girl. Sigh... Sometimes I really do wish that I was born resembling one of those tanned surfer chicks... I'll just have to learn to live with that...

A little while ago Moeben hooked me up with a pair of their arm sleeves (among other things - seriously...amazing customer service!). In summer. Hmmmm... And this girl sweats a lot. Did not sound like a great plan to head out wearing arm sleeves... But...I caved and did try them on. In some seriously hot summer weather. And I was surpised to find that I did not feel the need to push them down to my wrists. Not even after 25 miles. And...no sunburn. At all! Halle-bleepin-lujah!

Ergo: I won't go out in sunny weather without these babies. I care about my freckled skin just a tad bit too much! And so should you! :)

Skirtastic

As for their skirts: comfy. Very comfy. Enough said. :)

Moeben skirts are a bit shorter than the runningskirts.com ones... Enough said.

Those arm sleeves are a life saver!

Bonus: Moeben has amazing customer service. And I like that. :)

Doubt - the 'I've got you under my skin' post

Doubt.

Doubting myself has become a second nature to me in the last couple of weeks. Doubting my body. Doubting my diet. Doubting the training plan.

Doubting the hillwork.

The weird bone scan thing a couple of weeks back was hard - mentally. Then again, while waiting for the sports doc to figure out what to do, I did end up with a new love for cycling. And jumped right into that cycling thing - I made some serious miles on Trixie. :)

I've spent hours and hours and hours on the treadmill set at 15% incline in the last couple of months. And learned to appreciate the burning quads.

I loved running 3 marathons this Spring. Loved every minute of it. My body loved every minute of it. Or, I'd like to believe it did. ;) Got 20 minutes off my marathon PR by the third marathon. And could not have been happier.

I've changed my diet. Vitamins: up. Sugar and greasy food: down.

Doubt.

50 miles with an 8,000 ft elevation profile isn't exactly what I'd call a walk in the park (then again, I'm very well aware of the fact that this race is nothing more than a training run for most runners - but it's quite a big deal to me). The same goes for a marathon with a 7,000 ft elevation profile. I'm still not sure which distance I'll pick - time (or the next 2 1/2 weeks) will tell. Fingers crossed that I'll at least be able to participate in one of these babies.

And I do understand that mileage and hillwork in training are the only thing that will get you to that finish line. Unless you're a natural at this mountain marathon thing. And I'm not. I'm one of those people that has to work hard to get there. Very hard. And now I'm worried that 49 - 60 miles (78-100 km) a week with long runs of up to 31 miles/50 km won't be enough.

Doubt.

Doubt is a nasty little bugger. And it - no doubt - did squeeze itself under my skin. How the heck will I get it to move out... ASAP?

Trust.

Trust your body.

Trust your diet.

Trust the training plan.

I might have to repeat this one to myself...a million times... I'm getting there - eventually. Just don't expect me to do so overnight.

Foto Friday - new doggie distance PR

Just took my mom's dog with me for a run (well, Lordie and I did that), and Diddy ran a new distance PR: 25K. Can you say 'one fit pup'? ;) Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

Three Things Thursday

1. Double fun: Guess who pre-registered for Edinburgh Marathon 2012? Yep, moi, but also... Rebecca! Woohoo! Can't wait to check out those kilts together! :) I won't make you try Haggis, Becka, promise! ;)

2. I'm so vain: No, not really. Not at all, actually. It's just that I'll have to have some shirts at the printer, since I still hope on running one of the distances of the Swiss Alpine Marathon. But...mountain weather. I remember last year: it was freezing cold and raining the days leading up to the 2010 race, only for it to be perfect sunny mountain weather on the day of the race. So...tank top, short sleeve, long sleeve, maybe even a jacket. Not to mention what to have the printer print on that whole pile of technical gear.

Any ideas on a funny phrase to have printed on the shirts? :)

3. Merrell Pace Gloves: Will post a review soon, but for now...I love these shoes. I honestly couldn't have figured out that these shoes would be that comfortable! I even find myself walking around in these babies on Casual Friday at work, and I keep telling myself that that's okay. ;) My co-workers don't seem to think so. ;)

Any Pace Gloves' lovers out there? I'd like to add your thoughts on the gloves to my review!

Wordless Wednesday

Shameless self-promotion? Or a weird attempt to get more than 2 people to read this blog? ;)

I have no arm. Apparently.

Sick day

Am neglecting the blog today. Bloody old kidney is misbehaving again (damn chronic disease). On top of it, I'm pretty sure that I now have snot coming out of my pores. Enough said.

Any tips on how to get rid of the snot, are more than welcome!

I'm obsessed

Found myself watching Swiss Alpine Marathon clips on YouTube for the whole of last night. I'm obsessed. Enough said. (And yes, the comments are in swiss. ;))

What's your 'I'm obsessed' race? Please share!

June Recap / Stats

What? Rewind! It's July? Already? What the...

Miles / Km planned / ran: 230miles / 368 km planned 150.5 miles / 240.8 km ran - due to the whole bone scan thingie and waiting for the results/outcome. Did cycle a lot (a lot lot), though!

Rest days planned / taken: 8 / 9 - Took an extra rest day off: sick day.

Highest mileage / km week: 1/6 - 7/6 : 58.1 miles / 93 km

Long runs planned / ran: 4 / 3 - due to the bone scan thingie

Pace / speed work outs planned / ran: 3 / 2 - due to bone scan thingie

Cross training work outs planned / done: 6 / 20

Donuts burned: 137.9

Current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: Mojitos...

Current obsession: Getting Zombierunner.com to deliver to Europe!

Current drink: Still fennel tea, water and diet coke. And Gatorade. Bo-ring. Oh, and Mojitos. Not so boring.

Current song: Melissa Etheridge - I run for life.

Current need: Sleep. Still sleep. And - still - my body to stay on track. Come on, babe!

Current triumph: Getting a race bike and loving it!

Current bane of my existence: Lower legs and being scared to injure them to a point where I won't be able to run...

Current blessings: Being able to run today and cycling my butt off. :)

Current excitement: Having found the perfect pair of running shorts: the North Face GTD shorts. :)