On track? Ehh, kind of...

Today's was the first serious track-style workout of the plan. I will say this Koch before my report: the Hanson brothers do not mess around. 

The workout: 1.5 mile warm up; 12 x 400m repeats at 30 seconds under marathon pace with 400m recovery; 1.5 mile cool down. Just about 9 miles.  

The gear: Nike PROCOMBAT sleeveless v-neck, City Sports 4" compression shorts, Puma bra.  PowerSox, and Newton Distances on the feet. Special shout out to Oiselle's rather apropos unders. 

The outcome: Encumbered by my own hubris, I stared off feeling pretty great, but had trouble adhering to the pace rules. By the time I hit my 11th repeat, I definitely felt the speed in my arms and legs, and felt Harrisburg's swampy heat hamper my lungs. Making matters more interesting, we don't have a readily accessible track in our neighborhood, so the Riverfront Park path works as a reasonable, distance-marked  alternative. It undulates just a bit, making for a couple of interesting feelings in my hamstrings, but the vistas and river breeze make up for it. 

This was by far the toughest track-style workout I've ever done.  Mr. Run on Sentences, long-legged speedster of the family, agreed, so you know it must be true. These guys are so serious about whipping you into shape and after today, my expectation for quick fitness gains have grown. I really like the idea of building significant speed at the beginning of the plan and having it work to build endurance as the weeks progress. It seems like it might be a (tiring, somewhat painful) good change. 

On the work front, we are into the long days and nights that come with negotiating a state budget, so running becomes the highlight of my day as much as work zaps my quippy snark (that's a lot for those playing along at home). I've been writing this during elevator waits and rides -stairs are treachery in heels- so you can sense how crazy it is. The sense of accomplishment, control over circumstantial outcomes, and catharsis of a good sweat help to make the days just a bit more manageable. Sometimes. 

That's all for now.  

Hello, Old Friend.

Well, hello. It's been a while.

For the last six months, I've spent hundreds of hours and thousands of words discussing the world of representations of female candidates and athletes. I've run hundreds of miles and two marathons.  I've watched as dear friends transitioned beautifully into parenthood. Did I once post here? I'm afraid not. And for that, I'm deeply sorry.

But let's press on, shall we?

May 5, 2013:  Pgh Marathon
My mum and I share a few
strides. She was a little warm
in her Penguins sweater,
but we all bleed Pittsburgh's
black and gold!

After finally conquering Pittsburgh*, I'm so pleased to report that Mr. Run on Sentences and I will be taking a trip over Columbus Day to run the Chicago Marathon. And eat our way through the city. And, with any luck, catch fellow marathoner Peter Sagal at a taping of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! if it's in town.

It goes without saying that our excitement is rivaled only by unhinging frustration that was the registration kerfuffle for the race.

That aside, this race marks a particularly interesting departure in training orthodoxy for us. We thought it fitting that for our first Marathon Major - and, since our performances have seemed to plateau a bit - we thought we would use the opportunity to jump into the Hansons Method.

For the uninitiated, the Hansons Method is based on the premise of residual fatigue to maximize performance. This means longer weekday runs and shorter weekend long runs and a lot more miles over the 16 weeks leading up to Chicago.

The somewhat masochistic perfectionist in me is very excited for this. For my grocery and gear budgets? Maybe not so much. That's a lot of food. And a fair few pair of Newtons.

But here's the thing, in athletics as in life, complacency with the comfortable is never a smart idea. And as we embark on this new journey of more than 850 miles, I'll be sharing my workouts, what I wore, what I ate (yes, that means recipes), and how it feels.

Next time on Run on Sentences, a postmortem on Pittsburgh and what I hope to get out of training. (Other than faster, natch.)

In the meantime, have you used the Hansons Method? Run Pittsburgh or Chicago? Have horror stories from a particularly scarring race? I'd love to hear from you!
_____

*My first attempt to run Pittsburgh didn't go so well. Like, pass-out-at-mile-17-and-get-rushed-to-the-ER not so well. I may have puked just a few hundred yards from the finish line, but blowing by where my race ended the last time and finishing was a really transcendental experience. Oh, and that's my mum in the Penguins sweater. We bleed black and gold.