Elliptical Finally!

Yesterday was the first day I was able to work out since the Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday. I know it was a long time, trust me I was ready to run on Wednesday but for two reasons I didn't. The first reason being that I had some trouble with working out too soon after the Berlin Half marathon and didn't want that to happen again. The next reason being that there are 5 LARGE blisters on my feet. Two are on my toes (one was underneath the toe nail... nasty... I wont go into detail on how I dealt with it.) Then there are a couple more on the ball of my foot, one about the size of a nickel. The third reason I guess would be that I broke my blackberry and am still upset about it, I have no music to listen to.

So today my host mom took me to the gym! The Turkish one that actually super expensive to be a member at and as much as I love the stationary bike, elliptical , and the stair stepper, I refuse to pay the ridiculous price. I have not been able to use them... until NOW! It was so nice to use the elliptical for 45 minutes and watch TV not having to worry about running back home, or who was watching, staring at me.... and all that outside running nonsense. PLUS my joints and tendons are really thanking me today for giving them a rest of impact on the nasty cobble stones. I think in the future I will try and use the track paved road in Emirgan park more often. 

I don't have anymore half marathons or races planned so I am feeling a bit lost.  

What do you do when you have nothing (no upcoming races) to train or look forward to? 

 My nothing to look forward to I mean in the immediate future. I am going to start my marathon training here within the month. My first one will be Portland Oregon October 10th! Which is the day after my birthday! WHOOP!

Golden Horn Half Marathon

This last Sunday, April 25th was the Golden Horn Half Marathon here in Istanbul! Here is a detailed blog about the race! Unfortunately since I run with my blackberry for music, and since I didnt bring my camera for fear of it getting stolen, I took pre race photos with the blackberry. Which I continued to then dump water all over myself (due to the heat I will get to in a minute) and therefore ruined my blackberry, leaving me picture less..but worse blackberry-less which means no more music for me....damn it. Here is a photo I just snapped of the race shirt, my bib number and my medal!

Pre Race- Sunday morning was a crispy fresh morning, one of those morning that just smells good, looks good and feels good. I woke up at 5:00am to the morning prayer call from the local mosque here in Istanbul. Which is the most important prayer of the day so to me this was a good omen! A good luck charm if you will for my day to come. I had some coffee, got dressed, waited for the sun to come up and light the roads then went on a short 2 mile warm up run just like I did in Berlin. I was trying my hardest to mimic what I did in Berlin since it worked so well for me last time. After the run I decided on what to wear - it was already warm outside so I picked my pink shorts, black tank top and sports bra with a pull over to keep warm until the race. Then I packed my race bag with extra clothes, shampoos, deodorant, my flip flops and other essentials. I made sure to stretch for almost 20 minutes this time. Lots of leg kicks and crosses which are my favorite. Then I had my breakfast, as I have said before its a bad idea for me to eat within two hours of a run, my stomach cant handle it so its 6:45am and I have one hard boiled egg, some Gatorade, and a banana with toast. I was listening to come calming music while doing this, sitting on the couch to try and relax my body. Then at 7am I was off to Feshane, where the race starts!

Feshane is an expo center now right at the starting point to the Golden horn. Quick bit of Info: the Golden horn is the body of water that extends inland from the Bosphorous Straight and the Marmara Sea creating the peninsula that is Sultanahmet Square where you can see Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque as well as Topkapi palace. (Click on those links and you can see my other blogs info about those places and what I did when I went there!) Here is also a fun interactive little map that the race website had, so you can see what I mean when I describe points in the race! Click here for map! 

So once at the main center awaiting the start of the race I was immediatly shocked at the amount of people who were there, I mean mouth dropping shocked.... No there was not thousands, in fact there was not even one thousand! It was so small! Only about 700 runners 63 of which were women. So see why I was shocked!! It felt empty, it felt like there was not this huge even taking place but rather a bunch of gym buddies decided to put together a show and name it a half marathon. I guess I just expected something more like Berlin. 

The Race- After trying to focus my nerves and think, visualize the race, get my head in the game. I took a short lap around the parking lot, did some butt kicks, knee highs and such. Then I got into place in the start area. I was at the front.... realizing this is NOT where I wanted to be I started stepping backwards only to bump into some American Army guys who were there running and thought I was crazy (not for running but for coming to Istanbul, never having seen the place, and deciding to stay/work for 8 months) It was nice to distract my mind which was racing with nerves. Then just like that the race started and I was off running. With such small amounts of people and with everyone so spread out it was difficult to really judge my pace (compared to others.) There were the obvious athletes passing me, the ones who will no doubt finish in under 1.5 hours. Then there were the seasoned group of teams who have been training all year for such events. They seemed to pass me as well, I started to realize that my energy was missing, the music I was listening to was not helping me to run in anyway. I started to sing songs, and remember stories to distract my mind. I was able to hit some bursts of energy here and there which was supposed to be my plan to come in under 2 hours. Then we left the Golden Horn and started running along the Seaside at about kilometer 7.5. 

This was the hardest part of the race, not only is it that middle part (7.5-12.5KM) but it was 75 degrees along the seaside at 10am! They had water stations for us with sponges as well (this is how my blackberry got broken, in my stress and rush to cool off I dumped the sponge all over my body before removing my blackberry from my shirt... it was soaked...) I am even a bit sunburnt on my shoulders from the sun which I wont complain about, but my nose being sunburnt I will. Its peeling a bit and it hurts! After we came out of the seaside area and back along the Golden Horn the wind really picked up, a head wind that was making me feel like I might blow over! Add this to the fact that they didn't do the best job of making sure that pedestrians stayed out of the crosswalks and I defiantly had to dodge an old grandma trying to cross the street. 

The scenary was gorgeous however, we started in the oldest district of Istanbul you could still see the old Constantinople city walls. Once out of this area we hit Eminönü a lovely district with the New Mosque and the spice bazaar on out left. The sunny seaside gave way to views of the seaside wall of Constantinople and the old 6th century port gates. As well as the Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque minarets. The end was lovely because you were facing the oldest cemetary which has the Pierri Lotti cafe at the top. This Pierri fella was a famous poet that I don't know too much about, but apparently that face is where he wrote most of his poetry. Its a huge hill and that turned out to be great motivation or me. I was thankful we didn't have to run up the hill!!!

Post race- In the end I was not able to beat my time in Berlin. I crossed the finish at 2:15:58 about 8 minutes longer then last time. At first I was a little disappointed but then I realized that I did my best, the sun was not a factor I had anticipated and neither was the wind or the hills. I made my other goal of never walking, never slow jogging, but to keep the same pace which I am very proud of. I think my body deserves a bit of a rest and some relaxation (chocolate is where I will start). One thing about the post race was my stomach did not agree with the bananas and the water I was given. I had the worst stomach ache for the next 3-4 hours and sleep was the only thing I could manage on my day off... somewhat of a disappointment again since I only get one free day to explore. Until next time!! I wonder where my next race will be.....?

Pre Istanbul Half Marathon

So Its only four days away, Istanbul's Half Marathon around the Golden Horn, and I wanted to make sure that I got a good record of how I was training up till the day. As I mentioned in the last blog this Icelandic Acid rain thing has got everyone kinda freaked out and by freaked out I mean really freaked out. Although I don't really believe there is much harm that can come from it here in Istanbul, the government thinks differently. State schools were shut down today and probably other public buildings. The news was talking about how all the sulfuric ash in the sky will damage the monuments and corrode the bridges, telling people to not take their kids outside and to not darn go outside in the rain which of course it rained off and on all day. 

So with all this tension over it in the air (I mean they are canceling flights and such as well.) I decided that I would not run today. (I think it qualifies for a good excuse which was a topic of a blog i read recently but I am blanking o whose blog it was.... sorry) 

This means that I will run short 3-5 mile runs Wednesday (5 miles), Thursday (3 miles), and Friday (3 miles). Saturday will be my rest day as well as find the building where I am supposed to pick up the information packet day. Its crazy to me that they have this packet pick up the day before the race and only the day before, in a very not obvious place that is almost impossible to fine and even harder to get to by public transportation so wish me luck....

Speed Training like NEVER Before

All you need is a somewhat nice day, your best running shoes, 6-15 boys ages 8-11 and  A LOT of space! No I am not kidding. I went for my weekly English lesson for two twin boys and they didnt have much homework to do so we went outside to play. They gathered up all the neighborhood boys and we played a game called Cops and Robbers. There was a ton of sprinting involved, lots of running up hills, around corners, and even stairs as I tried to dodge the kids or catch them depending on which position I was at the time. We were in this apartment complex that was all hills, hardly any even straight patches and the boys wanted to take the scenic routes through the yards. Tons of blackberry bush dodging as well as a near fatal fall off a ledge.... it was probably the most fun I have had with that many children in a long time. We continued this game for, no joke, an hour and a half! I was so tired. The funniest thing happened to make the games actually stop, it had started to rain and since that crazy Icelandic volcano has been spraying ash all over Europe of course these kids have heard of it. They all assumed it was acid rain and wanted to go home after that. Oh well. I will be suggesting this game next week for sure! It was a great workout!

One week till Istanbul Half Marathon... I am focusing on relaxing and short runs Tuesday-Friday then all rest on Saturday!! I want to break my PR of 2:07:58!

Hypochondriac....?

So first of all read my post before this, OUCH!  if you have not done so already, since this is an off shoot or rather an add on to it. So I was having a hip issue that was rather scary since it was in an odd place and very painful for no reason at all. I had not gone running that day, didn't fall or otherwise injure myself. I did walk around for several hours but took breaks here and there so it was a little frightening. I did what every well educated college graduate would do.... I GOOGLED  the problem. I found this article on Hip Pain, which described my pain fairly accurately and is actually part of a blog I follow. I took some great advice from some of my fellow blog friends and did some hip flexor stretches which made it feel better after a bit. 

I was however digging deeper into the best-running-tips.com blog and low and behold this article crossed my screen, Sleeping Foot. I am not kidding when I say that I have a bad circulation problem, it starts with my fingers and only recently have my toes been going numb. I did what the fellow in the blog post did and switched everything yet it still happens.... creepy right? Well I shrugged it off and continued reading when yet again... another coincidence? Swollen Calf Muscle. Ok so I dunno if any of you remember this but a while back I wrote about THIS EXACT SYMPTOM which eventually went away without me wondering what it was but now I am so freaking curious as to if this is what I have... so you see I think I have become a hypochondriac.

On the bright side though, I have stayed off the hip and iced it and the pain is gone. Tomorrow I start my taper down since the Istanbul half Marathon is in two weeks. I am going to stick to easy 3-5 mile runs every other day or so. Nothing to serious. I think one thing that really helped me a lot was that I spend the three days leading up to the half marathon hydrating myself. I drank water like crazy! So I will do that again was well. I am getting pumped! 


PS  I love people who bribe me to read! Check out the 3 Changes Challenge and you will know what I mean! I have even fallen into this bribery Idea and it seems to work pretty well. 

OUCH!

Yesterday was an AMAZING day! First of all it was a no running day, Saturday I did a long run and therefore rested on Sunday. But, technically no rest was really given and today I am feeling it big time. I spent the entire day walking, uphill, downhill, under bridges, over bridges, through Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, and all over the Spice Bazaar. If you want to read more about my adventures at these places (and see the pictures) you will have to read my other blog Ashley Renee Perry

Well all this walking was probably great for me since I ate like 3 simits (Turkish form of a bagel) but it did a toll on my hip. Literally the joint of my hip is sore, like its been rubbed raw or something. I tried taking a break and stretching a bit but it still hurts this morning. Which means no running today for me... bummer. Regardless I still think that I will be able to run tomorrow I don't think its took serious just a bit sore. My fingers are crossed! Anyone know of some good hip stretches? besides the obvious hip flexor one?

Steppin up My Game

Ok so two weeks to go till my second half marathon here in Istanbul. (April 25th.) Today I am off on my last long run (13+ miles to the Bosphorus Bridge and back.) Today I want to finish it as it it where a real half marathon I was running. I want to time myself and see how close to 2 hours I can make it. 

There is this website I follow called Active.com and here is an article I got in my email today; 5 Ways to Run Faster I am going to focus on these things for the next 2 weeks.

Stamina, Endurance, Tempo, Speed, Power.  

All words I love!

Basically the article wants you to focus on the stamina you have to finish the race, without stopping. The Endurance to make it through the middle "hard" parts of the race, the Tempo to run comfortably, Speed to get that time you aim for and the power to do this while feeling relaxed, not exerted. Pretty easy goals right? They are mine for the next race, or rather the training ones for the next race!

Anticipation

In Anticipation (as well as excitement from my Berlin race.) I wanted to start running and training again so that the next half marathon (April 25th) I can run better, faster, stronger. I gave myself 3 whole rest days thinking that was enough, and it really seemed that way. Long story short the Thursday after by race I ran 2 miles, Friday I ran 5 miles and on Saturday I attempted 8 miles. 

It didn't go so well. About 3 miles in to the run I got these sharp pains in my legs that made running impossible and walking almost unbearable. I was on the point of tears as I walked the rest of the 8 mile loop all the way. I hate turning around and I hate going through the same crowed of people here in Istanbul, one long mysterious stare from each person is enough from me. This pain was nothing to freak out about I had a feeling it was just too much running too soon. I dont want to drag out the details of my death walk home, I was pretty upset and my facial expression showed it. 

I then took another 3 days off. I also tried out an ice bath (which was really just cold water in the tub). I stretched a lot, walked a lot. Yesterday I ran again, 6 miles and it went fine so we will see what today brings!

Ok So I started this post, then ran, and am now adding my run for today... another 6 miles which I am tempted to just say is really like 5 miles. Google earth might be off cause I sure can finish it faster then I should be able to. Who knows maybe I am improving drastically but I really doubt it. I can do the whole "6 miles" in 40 minutes... so ehh.... Regardless I felt fine and I even finished up with some intervals. 


I have been looking for a good Marathon training program to start to follow and this is what I have found. So far I like it... tell me how do you train for a marathon? Remember this is my first one and its in October 2010.

The Winner is....

Kristin!!

Keep watching the video of Joy and her interiew for Fox... here is the link again...or rather the link to my blog that talks about Joy and her interview which also includs the video to watch!! Watch it as much as you can so she gets as many votes as possible!!! Thanks again guys!

Kristin shoot me an email of our address so I can send you a super cool awesome post card from Istanbul! ashleyreneeperry@gmail.com

So a quick review of my first run post half marathong, It was great... no problems, not one soreness or cramp... couldnt have asked for a better 2 mile run after such an amazing race. Training continues starting today with a 5 miler (hopefully this afternoon if not in the evening). Oh and I found an awesome forest type trail with track turf paths so I will be using that a ton since its so much nicer on my knees!!! Keep reading and tell your friends and family!