Some Serious Bragging Rights Earned

Seven days without running. It sucked. The main reason was that I took care of my mum's dog for a few days while she flew to Paris with her friend. Babetka (the dog) got really frustrated and she literally didn't move from my lap. I wanted to distract her by taking her for a run to the forrest (which she used to love) but I could not get her out of the sight of the house.

It cost me my goal to log 160 km in November for the platinum trophy but life is about priorities and happy puppy tops some virtual medal any time.

The bright side was that my hip which was bothering me for a few days finally got some rest. Well, I was all ready for a long-ish run and felt adventurous so I planned some city run for myself. The route was Chodov - Krč - Braník - Podolí - Výtoň - Smíchovské nádraží. Right, not only I ended up at a place where I would have to travel for 45 minutes by public transport, but I also crossed the river (aaah!). Let me tell you something, this psychologically seems to be a very distant place to travel to, moreover to run there. 

And yes, I had to take the express bus back home :)

Prague really is a small town once you start running it. I can't believe it was "only"11,6 km.

One Stinky Run

I had to change to another pair of shoes to avoid blisters. Umm, that brown spot does not look like mud. Is that a dog poop on my shoe? So that was the weird smell for the past few days. Not all the sweaty clothes in my bathroom (because, you know, you can not put the wet clothes to the laundry basket, they need to dry first).

Today I aimed for 7,5 km and I meant it. I really really really wanted those 7,5 km. Whatever it takes. These 7,5 km would mean I achieved the goal of 120 km in November which seemed so unattainable just 3 weeks ago.

It didn't really matter that the dog poop started to stink bad when it got wet. Though I admit that at one point I tried to clean it with a stick (with no luck). It bothered me a bit that apparently it was "the heavy machinery operations" in the forrest today. These machines are at least 30 years old and their diesel engines are anything but ecological. Usually I enjoy the smell, it reminds me of my beloved Yerevan with all the old zhigulis, but not while running.

I logged 8,89 km. This was the first three-day cycle where I actually increased my mileage day by day. Nice!

Back on the Horse

I spent the last evening lying in bed, watching The Biggest Loser and eating ice-cream. (I especially enjoyed the parts about self-sabotage.) All the fat people seemed to run better than me.

First thing in the morning, before I opened my eyes, I heard the sound of rain drops hitting the window. Oh crap, this really did not make me feel more enthusiastic about "getting back on the horse". Maybe postponing the run till the afternoon could do the trick.

I digged really deep to actually get out there again. Luckily it stopped raining. I knew I could not run the same trail as yesterday even if it meant taking the more difficult hilly path. I kept repeating to myself: "it is a new day today". And guess what ... it was. I gained my confidence back in the first four km. I was so proud of myself that I pushed some limits. I ran hills and I ran them strong. I had this picture of Jillian yelling at me at the bottom of the hill and as I approached to the top Bob rooting for me (yes, it was a lot of The Biggest Loser last night).

It was very muddy and slippery 8,36 km but the most important was that I got not defeated by the failure yesterday. On the contrary, I won some battles I have never won before.

Back to Day 1 again

I decided to take another unplanned day off on Monday because I felt like I got a groin strain (is this the term?). Getting injured would be the last thing I would need right now and I am well aware that the quick start I performed in November is just asking for it.

Today I set off on "fresh" legs intending to keep it easy. First 2km were fine, but then it all went to hell. Seriously, I added one more km and I was done. Just when I started to feel comfortable and confident, there is this huge setback. But hey, I met two deers and had a little staring contest with them :) They cheered me up a bit so I figured I could at least stop by at the shopping mall before I give up. Eh, being all sweaty among other people and having to ask the shop assistant for the directions was kind of embarassing, I must say. Also, running the last one km with the light bulb in my hand was just weird. To sum up, this 5,39 km was as terrible as the first day I got back to running. Well, it is a new day tomorrow.

This hill will not defeat me

To be honest, I am getting kind of bored with my regular running trails. So today I took another direction ready for a long-ish run. The thing is, when I run new places there is so much to see and so many decisions to make (at the crossroads) that I feel like I ran much more than I actually did. I was kind of surprised that it took me only 4 km to be back at the "old" trails.

There is this one hill that I dread on km 6. It is short but very very steep. I have trouble walking it, especially in autumn weather when it is all muddy and slippery. I call it "the killer". It always throws me off my pace, and makes my heart rate go nuts. It pretty much kills my run for next 1-2 km. On my previous run, I applied my newly found mantra "this hill will not defeat me". And guess what ... I ran it all the way up just to find out that the trail gives you some 10 meters of slight descent that allows you to catch your breath and immediately goes upwards again. This time not so steep but long enough to kill the rest of your spirit (and the trail turns so you don't even see the end of it). How come I have never noticed that before? Yeah, I know, because I used to walk that part. Well, today I was ready for the fight. My thights were burning, feet heavy as stuck in concrete and heart rate all the way up to 192, but I did it. For the first time, I was the winner of this battle.

At the end, it was spectacular 10,56 km.

Somehow this was not the end of my day. I subscribed to go for a walk / hike with a few other people and because it was supposed to be short I had the bright idea of breaking in my winter hiking shoes before I set off for a whole day 20-25 km track in them. They are so f...ing heavy! Especially compared to the running shoes. I was pretty much exhausted when I came to the meeting point. It took me another one km to accept the fact, get used to it and start thinking about other things than those heavy shoes. Which brings me to the queston ... is hiking a good cross training for runners? I really wonder.

Well, I ended up falling asleep at the sofa at 8:30 p.m. That's how tired I got. And all this in a totally shitty weather - such a fog that you could not see 50 meters ahead.

It's on!

Week summary

My schedule is to run for three days and then have a day off. I also decided that if I have one of these miraculous runs where I feel all wonderful and run significantly further than expected I earn another day off and then start a new three day cycle. From past I know that the next run after magic is just pure crap so let's just skip it. I don't need any crappy runs when I have just returned. It is hard enough as it is.

This week was totally worth it and I am sooo glad to be back to running. Monday was supposed to be just a regular run but the magic happened. After 2 km I still felt very fine so I decided to explore some new trails. I had the freshly washed clothes, I felt confident and adventurous. The sun was shining. I met some running group so we smiled, jumped and waved which was so energizing that I ran up the hill I usually just give up and walk (also I didn't want to lose face in front of the "real runners"). Later on I was still all for adventure so I actually left the forrest and ran to a nearby village Kunratice for some sightseeing (baroque church, palace and palace gardens). At this point I got quite tired so I internally discussed the option of taking the bus home when I realized ... I don't have the public transport card with me! (You see, the freshly washed clothes ... I was smart enough to empty my pockets.) Well, yeah, running home it is. All together I logged 11,37 km which is huge, because I didn't run anything over 10K since my half marathon in April. I am so proud. I totally deserved the Tuesday off.

Wednesday was all foggy and the forrest felt really gloomy so I took the first exit possible and went for a city run instead. I passed the villa destrict Spořilov, checked my old grammar school, was kind of pleased that the sport field was turned into a parking lot (I hated that place), climbed to Košík, passed Agrofert and Chodovská tvrz and then back to Chodov. I was kind of surprised how "short" the trip was. 8, 65 km.

Thursday was another magic run (two in one week? beginner's luck I guess). I took the chances, went for the longer + harder track but in the opposite direction than usual to have some diversity. I was already about to head home and felt quite tired on km 6 when I got this sudden flush of energy and for the first time I was FAST as I used to be. (Ehm, by fast I mean 6:30 min/km instead of my current 7:00 min/km, ehm ehm). I was so happy! I know I keep it slow for a reason, but still, I had so much fun :) I even passed the exit gate from the forrest I planned to take and ran some extra just because why not. At the end it was 8,89 km.

Today was a different story but what else to expect from the last run in the set, right? Before I leave the flat I decide what is the minimum to go and what is the distance that I will be happy about. The minimum is usually 5 km (or 4,5 km if I feel especially tired) because anything below that is just not worth all the laundry :) My "happy about" distance was 5,7 km for today. The beginning was good, I was even bold enough to get to the trail outside my comfort zone, but then the crisis came. I stopped at one point deciding which way to take next, I was just stuck there and the Sportband was blinking 3,12 km. Well, I walked back up the hill, gave myself time to recompose, changed my music playlist, took a few deep breaths and decided to finish this damn run. From this point it was all about my special power songs that keep me going. But you know what? 7,07 km it is. Ha! Well deserved rest day tomorrow.

From zero to this in two weeks

Next goal: PLATINUM.

Goals and Plans

Before talking about the future, let's just have a look at the past (to get the perspective, you know). This chart presents my total km ran each year. Nothing hard core as you can see.

Well, in January 2013 I was in the running mode, preparing for my half marathon, so I set my goal for 2013 to double the 2012 figures, that is to log 1105 km. It seemed to be a very reasonable and realistic goal, just 92 km per month or 21 km per week. I made this supercool Excel spreadsheet to track my progress (mind you, I'm an analyst by profession) but unfortunately Excel doesn't get you out there for a run. And after I finished my first half marathon at the beginning of April I was done. No motivation at all. I went for a run now and then but never sticked to it ... until now.

I reevaluated my goal for 2013 because there is no way in hell I would run 740 km in less than two months. Right now I will be happy to top my 2012 total. Let's say 555 km would be ok. It still means almost 200 km in rain, wind, snow and hopefully some sunny days (I hate treadmills).

As I understand myself better now I made following plans that should keep me in the game:

• 120 km in November for the Facebook challenge
• 160 km in November to get the Nike+ platinum high mile trophy (for the first time!)
• unknown km in December for the Facebook challenge
• 12,21 miles on Dec 21 (that's like 20 km in one day!)
• 555 km in 2013
• Prague half marathon on April 5th
• and most importantly ... I will become a marathoner in 2014.

The Great Comeback

So here I am again, starting running for a tenth time or so. I jumped in to a Facebook challenge to run 120km in November, after logging exactly 0 km in the previous 100 days. I thought it would be hard. 120 km in a month, that is 30 km per week, that is running 5 km six times per week.

Five kilometers can be really long after doing nothing for such a long time. And running six times per week? Come on! I need to have more rest days. I remember pretty well how the legs feel the next day after a run. Well, I accepted the challenge anyway, with no respect and on November 1st I put on my Nikes and headed to the forrest.

I must say, it felt pretty awesome to be back in the game. But the run itself ... well, the first two kilometers are great, the third one not so much and then it is just a struggle to get back home. Anyhow, after a few crappy runs like that, two days ago the miracle finally happened. That run, when you zone out, feel adventurous and yet confident to explore the unknown and easy like that you log 11,3 km. Ha! It seems I am still a runner after all. It is not even half of the month and I've done 73 / 120 km. Suddenly it feels pretty easy and I start peeping at the 160 km per month milestone to get my Nike+ platinum high mile trophy. As I said, no respect :P