I Ran 19+ Miles Last Night

Yesterday afternoon, I made the executive decision to try doing my long run after work.  Why?

• I'm going to a lake house in Michigan this weekend with Angela and her family!  Angela and Olivia are training for the Chicago Marathon too so I'm sure we will get in some awesome runs up there together.  However, I know that alcohol will be involved this weekend, so I really don't trust myself to be 100% sure that I'd get in a run as long as I want to while I'm up there.
• I considered doing the long run Saturday morning, but I figured if I get it done during the week I could leave earlier for the lake house.
• What better way is there to spend a Wednesday night?  It was actually cooler out than it has been the past few days...definitely still hot though.

I figured I would start going and if I felt terrible I could always stop and just make it a regular distance or slightly longer mid-week run.  I probably shouldn't even give myself options like that and just do what I'm supposed to.  But, I ended up making it through all of my 18 planned miles, plus some!

First of all, here's what I had as a little pre-run meal:

(There was more Smart Start in there before I took the picture...)

I also updated my running playlist with a few new songs before I left.  Some of the songs that were really great during this run were:

Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners
Kokomo - The Beach Boys
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
That's My Kinda Night - Luke Bryan
Rollout - Ludacris
I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman - Britney Spears
Get Big - Dorrough
Alive - Krewella
Runnin's Out of Moonlight - Randy Houser

Normally I would just let you assume that Teenage Dream would always be on this list, but want to know something? I didn't listen to it at all during this run.  2 hours and 34 of my playlist on shuffle and it never came on.  I thought about putting it on near the end of my run, but then I was finished before I knew it!

It is about a mile from my apartment to the lakefront path.  I ran north just about as far as the path went and then turned back to head south.  I did not stop a single time during the whole first 1 hour and 30 minutes of my run.  When I got to North Ave Beach, I took my Gu and a bathroom break and then continued on my merry way further south all the way to Navy Pier.  By the way, the "Chocolate Outrage" flavored Gu tastes just like chocolate frosting.  It's like dessert combined with running!

I had to take a little 30 second break to get this picture in.  I also probably stopped each mile from miles 13-16 for a quick water break since there are fountains along the path.  The last half of my run was completely in the dark.  It was a little scary at times, but I made it home safely...obviously, or I would not be writing this.  I ran all the way to the end of Navy Pier and then back onto the lakefront path to head back home.  I was almost done!!  Once I got on North Avenue and had only 10 minutes left to run until I reached what I figured was about 18 miles (I didn't have the Garmin so I was just going off of time), I decided I felt awesome and was going to go for 20.  I kept adding on, just around the city streets.  This made me more nervous because of cracks/uneven sidewalks and I couldn't really see, so I was afraid I was going to trip!

I made it back home at 2 hours and 34 minutes, which I knew wouldn't be quite 20, but figured it'd at least be 19.  I mapped it out to 19.25 miles!!  That averages out to exactly 8 minute pace, which I am really happy with.  And I actually think I maintained that pace the entire time.  When I stopped at North Ave Beach, I was at 11.25 in 1:30, which is also exactly 8 minute pace.  So, no majorly slowing down at the end!  During the whole first half I felt like I was really cruising and doing very well.  Miles 12-16 were a bit tougher, but then I felt great again at the end.  I think this was the strongest I've ever felt on such on a long run!

After the run, however, I did not feel so hot.  I felt like I was going to pass out and needed to sit.  It was hard to prioritize between stretching, showering, and just laying to rest for a few minutes.  Erin came to pick me up to take me to Walgreens for some essentials.  She was a savior!  I needed chocolate milk and I needed sugar (not pure sugar, I mean in candy form).  I also considered getting ice to take an ice bath, but decided to hold off on that.  This was my post-run meal:

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got out of bed and watched an episode of Desperate Housewives and made pasta at 3am.  I was so hungry.  There was some cool stuff that I saw or thought about during this long run that I was going to write about, but this is long enough already and since I'm taking today off of running, I can just write about that fun stuff tomorrow!

Have you ever done a really long run or workout on a weeknight after work?

Do you like running at night/in the dark?

What do you like to eat before or after a run?

Guest Post: Erin's "17 Things About Colleen"

Today I have a special treat for you - a guest post written my by lovely cousin Erin.  We are like peas and carrots.  She is the one who got me into blog reading and encouraged me to start my own.  And now that I have been working hard on this blog and just yesterday finished my "About Me" page, Erin decided she would like to give my readers a little more insight...

Hey there! My name is Erin, and I am Colleen’s cousin. I am also a 20-something living, working, and working out in Chicago…I just don’t run insane distances like CSmith. I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2012, and the only other real things you need to know about me are that I am obsessed with Christmas, the Cubs, and the number 217. The last one usually needs a little explanation, and it’s pretty simple: I was born on February 17.

In light of the fact that today is 817 (aka halfway to 217!), I figured today would be an optimal day to write 17 things about Colleen that you cannot learn from her About Me page. I could probably come up with a full 217 list items seeing as I have known Colleen since the very first 217 that I celebrated, but I think that’d be a little much for you to read. So here goes!

1. Colleen and I once bought a sign at a craft fair that said “Forget the dog, beware of Colleen.” We hung it up on the door of her room. I think she still has it.
2. Pennellwood Resort is Colleen’s (and my) favorite vacation spot. I know she already posted about it, but it’s so important that it deserves its own list item here, too. There are plans in the works to perhaps open up our own Pennellwood one day.

3. Colleen loves Christmas almost as much as I do, and we both love Christmas music. I start listening to it on October 17 (aka 1017) each year and force her to do so also. Our favorite Christmas song is “Joy to the World,” by Neil Diamond. We – along with our cousin Katie – made up a dance to that song and filmed it in 2002. We all wore our matching pink North Face fleeces in the dance.
4. Colleen ran the 2010 Columbus Marathon all by herself and with no spectators. Most importantly, she was number 217 for this race.

5. Colleen loves bread, specifically Pennellwood bread. Pennellwood bread is just what you’d expect it to be – bread that Pennellwood Resort baked each and every morning. It was fresh and delicious, but no one loved it more than Colleen.
6. Plaid skirts are always in style on Christmas, and Colleen and I (accidentally) coordinated our Christmas Eve outfits one year to keep with the trend. Great minds think alike.

7. Colleen, our cousin Katie, and I have dubbed one night each year “D-Day.” We use this night to annoy Colleen’s dad, Don, and it falls during the week of Thanksgiving. Examples of past annoyances include putting post-it notes all over the kitchen walls, turning on every single light in the house, and filling his car with random objects so that it’s nearly impossible for him to get in let alone drive. They are harmless pranks, but they are fun. And he gets annoyed, which is the point.
8. Tubing on our uncle’s boat (we call him Captain Ron) is one of our favorite memories and things to do. Sometimes we both tube at the same time and then execute a mid-ride tube switch.

9. Nesquik is not called Nesquik when conversing with Colleen. It is referred to as “the Q,” because she used to drink so much of it that it was essentially her drug.
10. Colleen and I once made a commercial for Juicy Fruit gum when we were about 13 and 11 respectively. It had something to do with Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” as the background music I think.
11. Usually, for our birthdays, Grandma and Grandpa Smith give each of us cousins a bag of chocolate chip cookies as part of our gift. Going along with number 5, Colleen instead receives a bag of rolls for her birthday.

12. G-chat is where Colleen and I spend our time conversing every single day. We also text very pointless messages to one another, which occasionally include random Forrest Gump quotes.
13. Pizza Hut used to be a huge food staple in Colleen’s life. We spent many a Friday night sleeping over at her house and ordering from “the hut.” Their breadsticks are divine.
14. For about four years in a row (maybe more?), Colleen was a parrot for Halloween.

15. Acronyms are used far too frequently in our conversations. A few commonly used examples include: DTJ (“do the job” or “did the job”), BOG/GOG (“be on G-chat”/”get on G-chat”), YATWL (you are the weakest link”), CCC (“Colmone Country Club), LNPTDID (“Let’s not put the ‘duh’ in ‘dumb’.’’), and HIHACLY (“Happiness is having a cousin like you.”). That last one is a phrase we saw on a plaque at one of the Arlington Racetrack Craft Shows we attended.
16. The 4th of July is a big day for Colleen, although we typically call it “the FOJ” (gotta keep the acronym theme alive). A lot of our family members come to Niles to watch the Niles Parade, since it is pretty great. Colleen’s favorite part of that parade is the Little People.

17. Colleen and I enjoy making lists, and our best one was “CAEUSTDL 2010,” which was “Colleen and Erin’s Ultimate Summer To Do List.” It included a number of things that we never accomplished, but obviously we still have it and will cross everything off eventually. I hope you’ve enjoyed this list and keep coming back to CSmith Run to do just that!

Yasso 800s: Accomplished

Happy Friday!  It's been a good week of running so far (and a good past couple weeks of running), but I think last night's workout was my favorite in awhile.  I met Mac at the track to try the Yasso 800 workout.  Any of my past few attempts at speedwork have been short tempo runs or mile repeats on the treadmill, so it was definitely nice to get out to a track with and do this.

The Yasso 800 workout was created by an executive (the Chief Running Officer - doesn't that sounds like an awesome job?) at Runner's World, Bart Yasso.  The basic idea is that you can predict your marathon time based on how fast you can run 10 800 meter repeats with an equal time of active (jogging) recovery in between each.  For example, if I want to run a 3:20 marathon, I should be able to run 10 800 meter repeats in 3 minutes and 20 seconds with a 3 minute and 20 second jogging recovery between each one.  He specifies that you don't need to be able to do this the very first time you try it in training and recommends starting with 4 repeats and gradually building up to being able to do 10.  You should be able to do the complete workout of 10 repeats about 3 to 5 weeks out from your marathon to predict what time you could run the marathon in.

Here's how we did:

We did all 10!  The goal for each was 3:20.  I'd say we nailed it.  After the 4th repeat, we decided that if we did one over 3:20, we'd give ourselves one more chance to get back under 3:20 or else we would stop.  We never let it get to that point though!  After 7, it was pretty clear that we were going to finish the 10 repeats.  Repeats 7-9 felt the hardest and then we cruised on the last one to finish strong.  For the most part, this pace felt fairly comfortable (as much as it could) for the 800 meter distance.  It was definitely hard, but not to the point where I felt like I was sprinting or giving every single last ounce of my energy.  I don't think I could have gone much faster and still been able to do 10 though, so this 3:20 (or slightly under) pace was perfect.

I was curious to see if there was any research on how effective this workout is in predicting a marathon time.  In the video on the Runner's World website (linked to above), Yasso says that he travels to races every week and runners tell him how accurate it was.  I hit the Google machine and found a bunch of blogs and forums with stories of the successes or failures of the workout to predict a marathon time.  Some indicated that the workout should be used as a negative predictor, meaning if I can't run the Yasso 800s at 3:20 pace, I can't run a 3:20 marathon.  But even if I can run the 800s at a 3:20 pace, that doesn't mean that I necessarily can/will run a 3:20 marathon.  Most of what I read said that you should do the Yasso 800 workout during marathon training, but you should also do other types of speed work like tempo runs, mile repeats, and some shorter speed work instead of only relying on doing the Yasso 800 workout each week.

I'm glad this workout went so well and it definitely helped to have someone else to do it with!  I feel like I say all the time that I couldn't have done it alone so maybe I don't give myself enough credit for the workouts I am able to do alone, but it really is a million times easier to have someone there running the whole way with me to push through it and make it more fun...so thanks Mac!  We even got in a little core workout after the run!

I REALLY wanted chocolate milk when I got home after the workout.  After staying at home in los suburbios the past few days, I got used to this diet:

What is your favorite speed workout to do during marathon training?

What is your favorite thing to drink after a workout?