Adrienne Langelier Racing

While I'm still keeping the racing calendar light and low key, I will challenge myself to do go a little faster for foster children in Montgomery County at the First Annual Run For Hope Event. Market Street Start and Finish, Jazz Quartet at the post-race party, flat and fast course-sounds like a good event! I have the link in my sidebar for those interested in running on 4/16.

According to RD Cindy Mericle, the number of kids in foster care has gone up in excess of 100% in the past decade-definitely a staggering statistic. Proceeds go towards helping those less fortunate have a better future. In the meantime, I may do more than one "speed" workout in preparation!

Run Happy!

"Do what you can." Arthur Lydiard.

It was just your typical Saturday morning 5k. Or was it?

This morning I ran my first race since August! Seven. Whole. Months. Later. It was to me the closing of a challenging chapter, one full of injury, false starts, funky bloodwork, and overtraining. Months of watching others do what I longed to do. Today, I got my turn again in Conroe, TX. It was one of my slowest 5k's ever, but that's beside the point. I crossed the line and left the venue smiling.

For starters, I had my first and only "fast" workout, not counting the 30/30 diagonals I would do once per week this past Wednesday. It was short and sweet, but awesome at the same time. Coach suggested I not wear a watch through my intervals and I happily obliged. I received a pleasant surprise of running a comfortable-hard mile in 6:03 and 400's in 1:23 and 1:24. I actually was making a conscious effort to keep the quarters dialed back. I was nervous about being timed at first, but the race set up I did gave me a new sense of confidence and optimism for the seasons to come.

Fast forward to this morning, I arrived at the Conroe Eye Clinic (the race funded eye surgeries and glasses for the underpriviliged) picked up my packet and tried to just say relaxed and enjoy the morning. I knew a great deal of the participants and had some good conversation beforehand-which kept the nerves down some (seriously, who gets this jacked! LOL). As for the race start, I took off my Garmin after warming up and felt as if my arms weighed nothing. I didn't want much data or feedback from this one, just running with what I can do currently and  with no pain (except burning lungs!). This was about just getting my feet wet again.

We get off to a relatively fast start but luckily I resisted my customary overly fast start. I get into a comfortable rhythm and am in the lead pack of women. Within the first mile, I am overtaken by a HS runner and am the second female. Hey what can you do when you're outta shape? I'm wearing my Brooks Uniform, there's racing flats on my feet and life is good:). I have no idea what my first mile split is... Meh, just keep running!

Halfway through I start to feel the burn. I want to go faster but the lungs say no- Ok, I'm fine with that. I focused on form and just doing the best I can, because after all, I'm racing (see quote above). And only my lungs hurt. I see my clubmates at the turnaround on the out and back and just focus on running a consistent pace, perhaps save a little something for the final stretch. I even smiled a time or two out on the course just for the heck of it.

Just after mile 2 another woman passes me, and I'm now in 3rd. Not what I wanted, but its all good. I tell myself I'm doing great and just keep rolling. And I still have no idea what my pace is!  That's how the rest of the race went, we retained our positions, I got a little ground on the HS girl but not enough. Next time, old lady is coming for you!! (j/k) Finally in the last .1 I can see the clock: 19 and something, at this point I am breathing harder than I'd like to admit but I surge in. I didn't quite break 20:00 on this one, and this was my first over 20 5k in ages and ages, but I was satisfied with the effort. Two months ago, I was too hurt and sick to even run two miles! (the false start :/) Currently, coach has only had me doing 20-25 miles per week over 4 days. I've come a long way, with some of the smartest and safest training I have done probably ever.

Final stats: 3rd OA Female, 1st AG, 20:10/6:30 avg.. No watch, Garmin, or excuses!

Afterward, I did religiously did my stretches, went to breakfast with the gang, and took my now customary ice bath. Total mileage today was just over 6. I think I may go into double digits for a long run next weekend!

Final thought: It's good to be back. With the minimal to no fast training I've done, low miles, and recent history. I'm very pleased-looks like everything goes right I have a lot to work with this season. I can't wait to continue on this journey see my fitness improve and my times go down. Exciting stuff. As for the event itself, everyone did a really nice job: nice plaque awards, the course was relatively fast feeling, and timing of everything was great.

Til then, Run Happy!

I'm sure you all have been at the edge of your seats in anticipation of receiving a goody bag full of PowerBar awesomeness! ;) After a highly unscientific process, I found speedy Mr. Mark Manz's (his snazzy blog can be round here: http://runningmanz.wordpress.com) comprehensive and relatively detailed recovery routine. Here's some of Mark's staples (couldn't help but like the improvised ice bath!):


"Right after long runs and workouts I'll pound a nonfat chocolate milk. When I get home I make a homemade ice bath. I don't have enough actual ice so I use something similar to you -- a combination of those blue plastic ice packs that go in lunch boxes and stuff and plastic bags of ice cubes. When the ice melts in the bags I put it back in the freezer and it's just a big block of ice next time! While I'm in there, I'm likely eating a big bowl of Trader Joe's nonfat plain greek yogurt with a TON of blueberries added. Occasionally I'll get fancy and mix the yogurt, fruit, and some whey protein isolate together into a delicious smoothie. Later in the day it's a hot shower and some foam rolling/stretching and that's basically it."

Congrats, Mark, and there we have it! Of course, nobody's protocols are exactly alike, but the themes are common ones: protein, ice, stretching, and some form of (often painful) muscle release technique. All I need is the winner's mailing address and the pack is yours! There should be more giveaways in the future, so stay tuned.

Here's me representing last year!

Ever have racing dreams that are frustrating, frightening, and just really weird? Makes you wonder if a rival is planting such madness in your head in order to psych you out! I have had several racing dreams in my day, and most of them have been unfortunately more frightening than feel-good. Last night I had one such dream, this one felt like a scene out of 'Inception':

I am planning on running a 5k here in the upcoming weeks to slowly dip my toes back into the water. I think it may be time to grin and bear it and run a Personal Worst but enjoy every minute of it-I've come a long way to just make it to the line, after all. But I digress...the scenario went something like this: I arrive at the event, which is oddly enough, indoors in corridor-like fashion. I stretch, talk to coach, and am dressed in my Brooks ID nightlife; then I start warming up and my warmup goes too long. I have missed the start of the race and am at least two minutes behind everyone else. "I'll just go faster, I can catch up" I tell myself and run to the first cone. I see nobody but a woman in a vest directing me and I still can't find the others. I run harder, but the scenery does not change and still haven't caught up to the pack. Ok this is getting messed up! I run harder, looking around but still am behind. Eventually another person tells me where the other racers are and I start to run them down, I even pass a bunch of people I guess this is the "kick" , this went on to continue for a while longer.

Wishful thinking as dream goes on, with as hard as I'm running, I think I will still run a good time, but no such luck. I don't recall the result, but a guy at the finish line saying "a lot of people just beat you, try again next time". Ugh! Time to wake up already!  Where's my alarm clock? Where's my coffee?! Of course, this was just a dream, but I hate it when I have those loopy, always-behind running dreams.

Now that the sports psychologist has let you all peek under the lid and shown how crazy I really am, I processed bits of this vivid experience on my 5 miler this morning, oddly enough, was planned on a loop-type route along The Woodlands Waterway. Whenever I have these crazy racing dreams, there are a few things that seem to always be the same: typically, the course does not change much and is narrower than a real one (just like what Leo and Co. experienced!), I'm typically by myself for quite a bit of time, and I always can't seem to run in a different gear until the end. Hmmm....I guess it is what it is electrical activity and synaptic spasmming in the unconscious-just as long as this doesn't happen in real life! And for the record, my 5.3 miles were actually quite pleasant this morning, but I still have much work to do!

Now that I've opened myself up for analysis by all, have you ever had racing dreams that were just whacked?!

Lucky for you all, this may be one of my shortest posts yet. I made some observations (perhaps insights, but that may be a little strong) a little bit ago, and thought I'd share some of my reflections. I also have a couple thoughts to add from my previous post:

1. As I started my 45-minute run this morning, I couldn't help but notice how my stretching routine has made my body feel almost "Gumby-like" (that's for you, Chris!), I may need to slowly add a little more tension back into the legs. At any rate, it felt weird!

2. When I think I don't have the time to get the ice bath in, it helps to compare fresh legs to fresh meat (or veggies, whatever). Would you let something good just go bad, or keep it fresh on ice?

3. I may be close to nailing 180 strides per minute. It really is more comfortable once you get used to it.

4.ALSO: I see few entries for the PowerBar giveaway guys-who wants free stuff!?!

Clearly, I need more things to occupy my thoughts. Til then, Run Happy everyone:)

"It's what you do when you're not running that make all the difference for your next run". 

I've turned over the new leaf and stuck a pin in it when it comes to the things that I have overlooked too often in the not-so-distant past. Now that I am sick and tired of being bit in the backside for all the little things I have neglected, I have incorporated a few different things into the routine. First, while I have always done some "stretching", most of it was ADDish; as my hold counts were too short or hurried due to poor planning. Nowadays, I am timing my holds, using dynamic stretching such as leg swings before easy runs (ok, right now everything is still easy) and am reaping the rewards-like less soreness and being able to almost palm my feet when my legs are fully extended. With a little guidance from Jarrett at Body Mechanix, I've improved a ton. This is good news, folks, if I can get flexible, anybody can!!

The other thing is ice baths. After suffering months of chronic "trash legs" I have had enough! For me,
it actually isn't the frigid temps of these endeavors that turned me away, but my laziness/inconvenience of having to go buy ice all the time. All excuses went out the window when Coach Dana Lyons suggested a great idea: the home ice bath kit. All you need is some used lunchmeat or yogurt containers, about 8-12 depending on size, freeze them over night, and you have some giant ice blocks in the morning! 10-15 minutes in the bath = legs feeling like money all day:). Here's a pic of my set-up....

Take that, trash legs!

 Now for the goods. My nutrition sponsor PowerBar and I are giving away a drawstring backpack full of goodies to fuel and recover from your workouts. It's pretty darn tasty too! To enter, all you have to do is email to [email protected] a quick synopsis of your go-to recovery tricks (feel free to be creative) including: nutrition, stretches, etc., etc. The winner will be announced on 3/19 with their "secret sauce" made not so secret anymore;).



Til then, take care of those running legs!

My version of the ABC's of me....

A. Age: 28, Mental and physical age varies and depends on the day!

B. Bed size: Queen for a queen (j/k!)

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the shower-I force myself.

D. Dogs: Nicky, a 6-year old, 5-lb good-natured Chihuahua. People always seem surprised that I own a dog like that, but he needed a home when I was in college.

E. Essential start to your day: Run or some kind of workout, stretching, coffee, and oatmeal. Before any of that, I pray and read a chapter from the Bible.

F. Favorite color: Blue

G. Gold or silver: Silver, but really prefer platinum

H. Height: 5' 4

I. Instruments you play(ed):Many years of piano as a kid but sadly can no longer play, I can play a little guitar.
 
J. Job title: I technically have several, but am officially a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern. Typically I describe myself as a counselor or Sport Psychology Consultant (my area of passion)

K. Kids: Not really the motherly type. I'm currently figuring out what the aunt thing is all about with my 8 month old nephew!

L. Live: The Woodlands, TX. A little pricey, a lot postmodern, but full of great people and a very, very active community. I plan to stay a while.
 
M. Mom’s name: Anna, but goes by her middle name, which is Grayson.
 
N. Nicknames: Some call me A or Adrie. Anything to shorten it!

O. Overnight hospital stays: Fingers crossed, none at this time.

P. Pet peeves: People who seem to stand against a whole host of things, but stand for little.

Q. Quote from a movie: "What is this, a learning center for ants?" Ben Stiller in Zoolander

R. Righty or lefty: Righty. 

S. Siblings: One younger sister, age 25.

T. Time you wake up: Usually around 5:30 to 6:00. Getting more and more automatic and losing the ability to sleep in!

U. Underwear: Seriously!? Next question...

V. Vegetables you don't like: Haven't met one I didn't like yet!
W.  
What makes you run late: Running a tad too far or taking too long cooling down. It's important, ya know!

X. X-rays you’ve had: Both feet, multiple times, hip, jaw, hand.

Y. Yummy food you make: Red Beans and Rice. It's awesomeness in a pot

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Although these animals are definitely better off in natural habitats, the Jaguars at the Houston Zoo are majestic to behold. 

Have you completed this survey? If so, link it up in the comments and share the ABCs of you, with me!