I haven't wanted to blog here since I was a big fat loser last weekend. I started running our long run, got to about 5 miles and couldn't go any further without gagging. I was so weak. My legs and whole body just felt ready to pass out. So, I called KT to come get me and turned out I had a virus that kept me down for 2.5 days.
I know that there was nothing I could do about it and that it's better to not run when you are sick but I still feel like a loser for not doing the 13 mile run that day. I'm going to beat myself up about it until I finish the half in one short week.
This week, I did 4 on Wednesday night all alone. Fine. it was hot. I ran too fast (10:30 mile!) I was still a little weak, whatever it was done.
Met the girls on Thursday morning for another 4 miler and I thought I might die during it. WTH?!
Saturday we went back to SL for a long run around the lake. I hate that lake. The run itself was fine but I just felt like it was hard. I hate running in a circle. Most people hate running out and back but I've realized that in a circle, I'm ALWAYS looking for the end. On an out and back AT LEAST I know where I am and when. Crazy, but true.
Anyway, I talked myself out of stopping the entire time and quite honestly, I still felt weak. Just blah. Not like the strong runner girl I felt like a few weeks ago. I think part of it is my attitude. I need to just get over myself and love running again. Get over the sickies, get over it all.
This week we taper which I'm happy about but totally nervous about. I'm definitely not very good at switching up my normal plan and short runs typically are hard because I think they should be easy when in fact, no run is ever guaranteed to be easy.
Lordy, running is such a wacked out mental game.
I'm going to focus on hydrating and eating healthfully this week. No beer!! Maybe..
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
thursday
Thursday, I woke up at 5:20 a.m.
I got dressed.
Popped in contacts.
Put on shoes and socks.
Ate a banana and a piece of bread.
Grabbed water, hat, flashlight, GU, cell phone, keys.
Walked out the door.
Quietly.
Realized I forgot to take my standard 3 ibuprophen.
Don't go back inside for fear of waking almost-2-year old.
Get to LR.
Meet girls.
Chat with girls.
Warm up.
But not enough.
Run.
It's hot.
Run.
Ew. Spider Web.
Run.
GU
Run.
My knee hurts.
Run.
This hill sucks.
Run.
I'm tired.
Take the turn to head back to the cars.
I'm tired.
Ask the girls if they might be done because I am done.
As in DONE.
We're at 5.5 miles.
I'm officially done.
They are, too.
We stop.
I'm drenched in sweat.
drenched.
Chat with the girls.
Always love chatting with the girls.
We leave to go home.
The End.
I got dressed.
Popped in contacts.
Put on shoes and socks.
Ate a banana and a piece of bread.
Grabbed water, hat, flashlight, GU, cell phone, keys.
Walked out the door.
Quietly.
Realized I forgot to take my standard 3 ibuprophen.
Don't go back inside for fear of waking almost-2-year old.
Get to LR.
Meet girls.
Chat with girls.
Warm up.
But not enough.
Run.
It's hot.
Run.
Ew. Spider Web.
Run.
GU
Run.
My knee hurts.
Run.
This hill sucks.
Run.
I'm tired.
Take the turn to head back to the cars.
I'm tired.
Ask the girls if they might be done because I am done.
As in DONE.
We're at 5.5 miles.
I'm officially done.
They are, too.
We stop.
I'm drenched in sweat.
drenched.
Chat with the girls.
Always love chatting with the girls.
We leave to go home.
The End.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
tuesday - 6-miler
Oh, lordy, gettin' up at 5:20 is starting to get old. Mama's tired.
I got up this a.m. and read my emails and saw a text from Susan saying she wasn't running. As soon as I read it, I thought, I should go back to bed but when else would I run?! There's not a lot of time to just run out and do 6 miles.
It was a long and hard run but it was good. It was muggy. SO muggy.
We did the LB Greenway which was a little sketchy because it was dark and the leaves were all over the trail. We got to 3 miles, turned around and finished. We made pretty good time and I was glad it was over.
I really think I need to start eating more before weekday runs although this Thursday is our last 6-miler before we start to taper. I just felt sluggish and my stomach was rumbling throughout the run. We DID GU at around 3.25, so that helped a little.
I can't believe we are just 19 days away from race day. 3 months ago, I couldn't IMAGINE actually finishing the race and now I can't wait for it to be here. Now, I can run 6 miles before work and not even think twice about it (besides the 5:45 start time).. my how things change. I really really just hope I can adequately put into words what this summer has meant to me and how I have loved it so. Training for this 1/2 marathon is going up on the list of one of the best things I've EVER done.
Whoo hoo!
I got up this a.m. and read my emails and saw a text from Susan saying she wasn't running. As soon as I read it, I thought, I should go back to bed but when else would I run?! There's not a lot of time to just run out and do 6 miles.
It was a long and hard run but it was good. It was muggy. SO muggy.
We did the LB Greenway which was a little sketchy because it was dark and the leaves were all over the trail. We got to 3 miles, turned around and finished. We made pretty good time and I was glad it was over.
I really think I need to start eating more before weekday runs although this Thursday is our last 6-miler before we start to taper. I just felt sluggish and my stomach was rumbling throughout the run. We DID GU at around 3.25, so that helped a little.
I can't believe we are just 19 days away from race day. 3 months ago, I couldn't IMAGINE actually finishing the race and now I can't wait for it to be here. Now, I can run 6 miles before work and not even think twice about it (besides the 5:45 start time).. my how things change. I really really just hope I can adequately put into words what this summer has meant to me and how I have loved it so. Training for this 1/2 marathon is going up on the list of one of the best things I've EVER done.
Whoo hoo!
Still
I still have nothing much to say about the 12 mile run we did on Saturday. It was really hard. I was starving around mile 4 and luckily our coach was prepared for that. We stopped at 7 miles and were able to eat a banana for the rest of the 5 mile loop.
Everyone keeps asking "did you run the whole 12 miles without stopping?" I kind of hate that question. I also hate the "did you run today?" that people give me EVERY day.
But, back to the did you run the whole time without stopping. I like to just say "yes" because I mean, I ran 12 miles! We did stop at the 7 mile mark to eat a banana and have a potty break but we were stopped for maybe maybe 5 minutes. There was no way in hell I could have run another 5 miles without that banana. Then, as we were going up a beast of a hill around 10.5, I ran maybe 5 yards and then again on the beast of a hill at 11.5 another couple feet. So, I don't really consider those few seconds of walking time as WALKING time.
I have no clue why this matters really.
What does matter is that I didn't feel great during the run. I was TIRED. I never thought "there's no way I can go another second" but it was just hard. I guess it WAS 12 miles so feeling tired, is okay, right? I sure hope so.
On Saturday we are doing 13 miles. Fantastic.
Everyone keeps asking "did you run the whole 12 miles without stopping?" I kind of hate that question. I also hate the "did you run today?" that people give me EVERY day.
But, back to the did you run the whole time without stopping. I like to just say "yes" because I mean, I ran 12 miles! We did stop at the 7 mile mark to eat a banana and have a potty break but we were stopped for maybe maybe 5 minutes. There was no way in hell I could have run another 5 miles without that banana. Then, as we were going up a beast of a hill around 10.5, I ran maybe 5 yards and then again on the beast of a hill at 11.5 another couple feet. So, I don't really consider those few seconds of walking time as WALKING time.
I have no clue why this matters really.
What does matter is that I didn't feel great during the run. I was TIRED. I never thought "there's no way I can go another second" but it was just hard. I guess it WAS 12 miles so feeling tired, is okay, right? I sure hope so.
On Saturday we are doing 13 miles. Fantastic.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
T W E L V E miles.
yes, 12. TWELVE. as in one point one less than race day.
holy crap.
It was hard. I felt weak. but I finished it.
I even stepped it up at the end and pushed it the last 1/4 of a mile.
12 miles in 2:14.
I will try to give more detail tomorrow. For now, I'm sleeping.
Friday, August 14, 2009
we just kept runnin' and runnin'...
Thursday was funny. It was the run that lasted forever.
Not sure why but we were all very quiet on this run, which was fine. There were 5 of us that stuck together and a few times, I wanted to pipe up but I've been worried that I'm "that girl" that doesn't shut up so I'm trying to be more aware of what others want. How crazy is that?! :)
So we ran and we ran and we were not getting anywhere it felt like. We turned around at 3.5 and GUed and just kept running. Somewhere around the 4 mile mark (or so I thought) I looked at my watch and saw 51 minutes. How in the WORLD would we do TWO whole miles in 16 minutes? How SLOW are we here?!?!
Because I figured we'd just been running really really slow (not that it felt like it), I picked up my pace because I just didn't want to have a slower time than Tuesday knowing I was in the back of the pack then. A girl I don't run with often was with me so we chatted a little but honestly, we were pushing it pretty hard, so it was difficult to talk.
We hadn't even gotten to the hill at GA yet (which we've all decided is basically the end of the route) and we were at 1:07 which was my same time from Tuesday. The girl I was running with looked at her watch then (I hadn't mention my worry about our time back at 4 miles) and was totally astounded at what it said. I agreed and so we pushed it the last stretch.
So we finished and waited for the other girls and were DELIGHTED when Susan said that her Garmin said 6.55 instead of 6. Whew! We weren't crazy afterall!
This has been very amusing to me ever since yesterday because you know, I'm a little anal about my distances and to be off by .55 was just funny to me. At least it's done, right?
Next up: 12 miles tomorrow. WTF?!
Not sure why but we were all very quiet on this run, which was fine. There were 5 of us that stuck together and a few times, I wanted to pipe up but I've been worried that I'm "that girl" that doesn't shut up so I'm trying to be more aware of what others want. How crazy is that?! :)
So we ran and we ran and we were not getting anywhere it felt like. We turned around at 3.5 and GUed and just kept running. Somewhere around the 4 mile mark (or so I thought) I looked at my watch and saw 51 minutes. How in the WORLD would we do TWO whole miles in 16 minutes? How SLOW are we here?!?!
Because I figured we'd just been running really really slow (not that it felt like it), I picked up my pace because I just didn't want to have a slower time than Tuesday knowing I was in the back of the pack then. A girl I don't run with often was with me so we chatted a little but honestly, we were pushing it pretty hard, so it was difficult to talk.
We hadn't even gotten to the hill at GA yet (which we've all decided is basically the end of the route) and we were at 1:07 which was my same time from Tuesday. The girl I was running with looked at her watch then (I hadn't mention my worry about our time back at 4 miles) and was totally astounded at what it said. I agreed and so we pushed it the last stretch.
So we finished and waited for the other girls and were DELIGHTED when Susan said that her Garmin said 6.55 instead of 6. Whew! We weren't crazy afterall!
This has been very amusing to me ever since yesterday because you know, I'm a little anal about my distances and to be off by .55 was just funny to me. At least it's done, right?
Next up: 12 miles tomorrow. WTF?!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
6 is the new 5
Oy. 6 miles is the new "easy" run in the training plan on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I always said I was only going up to 10 miles in the training run but I've done 10 miles. And like our running buddy said "once you go to 10, you can't go back!" so, I'm going up to 13 now. That means I have to run 6 the next two weeks. Two weeks, easy peasy.
We are in the homestretch now! I'm already thinking about the wonderful days of just running 4 miles during the week and maybe throwing in a 5 miler for good measure on the weekends. After this race, I'm planning to do a 10k at the end of September and a 5k at the beginning of October but other than that, I don't have anything planned. I'm sure I could get roped into a few races but I know once the cold weather comes, I will be not as willing to run as now. I hate cold weather. Hate.it. I really don't want to mess the good thing I have going though so maybe I should schedule a few races, even if they are just 5ks between now and the spring when it gets warm again? Hm..
Anyway, the 6-mile run on Tuesday was fine. Nothing about it really stood out as hard. I ended up waiting in the back of the pack with a girl I encouraged to come run with us. So, I was a little slower than I would have liked. But I felt bad leaving her since I talked her into the insanity of getting up early!
There was a point at around 3.5 that I took the time to think about how I was feeling and I remember thinking that there was not ONE sore part of my body. My legs were moving and I felt AWESOME. It was a nice experience.
Around 4.5, we were to split off to the "little park" to get in another .5 miles before our 1 mile stretch of GA to the end and my friend just kept straight which meant that I had 1.5 miles by myself. I didn't mind doing it but then I started thinking about all the freaky stuff that DOES happen in the parks and I got a little nervous. So I sped up until I could see my normal running partners in the distance. I knew if I knew they were there and I could see them, I could scream loud enough that they could hear me, should so crazy dude approach me.
So in the last 1.5 I just ran and did a lot of thinking. I had wonderful thoughts about KT and Will and just how blessed I feel to have them in my life. I know that's getting kind of deep for the running blog, but everything just seems so clear when I'm alone and can think without any distractions. My life is really great and I feel so unbelievably not worthy of all the good stuff. But, I'll take it while it lasts.
At the end of the run, I kicked it up a notch because I snapped out of my deep thoughts and wanted to get done at a respectable time. I felt good afterwards. It was hot as all get out, but fine all around.
Tomorrow, I need to remember to bring GU since 6 miles isn't 5 miles. Or 4. This is the real deal, y'all.
3.5 weeks until race day! Holy Shit!!!!!!
We are in the homestretch now! I'm already thinking about the wonderful days of just running 4 miles during the week and maybe throwing in a 5 miler for good measure on the weekends. After this race, I'm planning to do a 10k at the end of September and a 5k at the beginning of October but other than that, I don't have anything planned. I'm sure I could get roped into a few races but I know once the cold weather comes, I will be not as willing to run as now. I hate cold weather. Hate.it. I really don't want to mess the good thing I have going though so maybe I should schedule a few races, even if they are just 5ks between now and the spring when it gets warm again? Hm..
Anyway, the 6-mile run on Tuesday was fine. Nothing about it really stood out as hard. I ended up waiting in the back of the pack with a girl I encouraged to come run with us. So, I was a little slower than I would have liked. But I felt bad leaving her since I talked her into the insanity of getting up early!
There was a point at around 3.5 that I took the time to think about how I was feeling and I remember thinking that there was not ONE sore part of my body. My legs were moving and I felt AWESOME. It was a nice experience.
Around 4.5, we were to split off to the "little park" to get in another .5 miles before our 1 mile stretch of GA to the end and my friend just kept straight which meant that I had 1.5 miles by myself. I didn't mind doing it but then I started thinking about all the freaky stuff that DOES happen in the parks and I got a little nervous. So I sped up until I could see my normal running partners in the distance. I knew if I knew they were there and I could see them, I could scream loud enough that they could hear me, should so crazy dude approach me.
So in the last 1.5 I just ran and did a lot of thinking. I had wonderful thoughts about KT and Will and just how blessed I feel to have them in my life. I know that's getting kind of deep for the running blog, but everything just seems so clear when I'm alone and can think without any distractions. My life is really great and I feel so unbelievably not worthy of all the good stuff. But, I'll take it while it lasts.
At the end of the run, I kicked it up a notch because I snapped out of my deep thoughts and wanted to get done at a respectable time. I felt good afterwards. It was hot as all get out, but fine all around.
Tomorrow, I need to remember to bring GU since 6 miles isn't 5 miles. Or 4. This is the real deal, y'all.
3.5 weeks until race day! Holy Shit!!!!!!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
"don't stop, get it get it"
Heh. At about mile 9.2 we saw one of the cheerleader runners and that's what she said to us: "don't stop, get it get it!" She was so right and I so needed to hear that at the time!
Yep, so I totally ran 10 miles today. Not 9.99 or 10.1, but 10 miles. I told Susan there was no.way. I could go anymore than 10. and we didn't!
I woke up this morning and was totally nervous. Freaking out about 10 miles. I ate a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter and banana to give me a little extra fuel with a glass of water. I was thirsty when I woke up so I really wanted a second glass of water but decided that might make my tummy upset once we started running. Good call.
It seemed to me like we started REALLY slow. I almost thought we were going too slow but once we turned the corner and were headed downhill and broke up the packs a little, we were good to go.
There was a little confusion around mile 3 about which direction to go. Honestly, making decisions like that WHEN we are running makes me crazy! The thing of it is, MOST of us know our ways around the parks by now and so what if we add a few miles on in places that our coach didn't technically tell us to? I know we all have to be safe and all that jazz, but by 8:00 in the morning, in the most visited park in the area, I doubt we have much to worry about. AND, most of the smaller groups that are running together have Garmins so it's not like we don't know our mileage and can adjust accordingly. Right? So, I just told them where we should go and we did. No biggie.
After that, we GUed at around 3.6(?) and then all the sudden we were at 7.25. I have no idea where the miles went but they did. It was awesome!! I highly recommend finding a friend that you can talk nonstop to on these long runs. It is great for taking your mind off of what you are doing (RUNNING 10 FREAKING MILES!).
I'm worried I was too bossy when we got to 7.25 miles and I hope Susan will tell me if I was. ;) We were at the nature center and she asked if we needed to go to the bathroom or get water? And I said "NO!".. Of course, I explained to her that she could go if she wanted but I felt like the only reason she wanted to go was because it was there. Maybe I'm totally wrong on that but going up that huge hill to the nature center, going potty and then running again just seemed like too much. We only had 3 miles left! What is 3 miles when you've gone 7?
So, I got her past there without stopping. We just kept on moving. We decided that it might be nice to run out far enough so that we wouldn't have to run the massive hill up past the park, the nature center, the golf course, etc.. that we could end at the bottom of the huge hill if we were at 10 and then walk the rest of the way to the car. We said "take a leisurely stroll to the car", which is exactly what we did!
We ran the greenway out to 8.5 miles, turned around but STILL had to go up the huge hill to the nature center. But it was okay. At the bottom of the hill we were at 9.97. and then finally, we were at 10. And we stopped. Stopped. Stopped.
I tried to refill our water bottles (but the water was ICKY) while I waited and then we took our leisurely stroll up the hill.
Our 10 mile time was 1:52:26 which is faster than any of our previous long runs!! Yeah!
It felt great. I loved it but I'm exhausted tonight. My feet hurt, my shins are bugging me a little.
During the run, my back was hurting as were the balls of my feet. I hope it's not my new socks I bought! My legs were tired but other than that, my breathing was fine most of the time (minus the few hills we had on the course) and it was an all around good run. Tough, but good.
Glad it's over. Mama's going to bed.
Yep, so I totally ran 10 miles today. Not 9.99 or 10.1, but 10 miles. I told Susan there was no.way. I could go anymore than 10. and we didn't!
I woke up this morning and was totally nervous. Freaking out about 10 miles. I ate a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter and banana to give me a little extra fuel with a glass of water. I was thirsty when I woke up so I really wanted a second glass of water but decided that might make my tummy upset once we started running. Good call.
It seemed to me like we started REALLY slow. I almost thought we were going too slow but once we turned the corner and were headed downhill and broke up the packs a little, we were good to go.
There was a little confusion around mile 3 about which direction to go. Honestly, making decisions like that WHEN we are running makes me crazy! The thing of it is, MOST of us know our ways around the parks by now and so what if we add a few miles on in places that our coach didn't technically tell us to? I know we all have to be safe and all that jazz, but by 8:00 in the morning, in the most visited park in the area, I doubt we have much to worry about. AND, most of the smaller groups that are running together have Garmins so it's not like we don't know our mileage and can adjust accordingly. Right? So, I just told them where we should go and we did. No biggie.
After that, we GUed at around 3.6(?) and then all the sudden we were at 7.25. I have no idea where the miles went but they did. It was awesome!! I highly recommend finding a friend that you can talk nonstop to on these long runs. It is great for taking your mind off of what you are doing (RUNNING 10 FREAKING MILES!).
I'm worried I was too bossy when we got to 7.25 miles and I hope Susan will tell me if I was. ;) We were at the nature center and she asked if we needed to go to the bathroom or get water? And I said "NO!".. Of course, I explained to her that she could go if she wanted but I felt like the only reason she wanted to go was because it was there. Maybe I'm totally wrong on that but going up that huge hill to the nature center, going potty and then running again just seemed like too much. We only had 3 miles left! What is 3 miles when you've gone 7?
So, I got her past there without stopping. We just kept on moving. We decided that it might be nice to run out far enough so that we wouldn't have to run the massive hill up past the park, the nature center, the golf course, etc.. that we could end at the bottom of the huge hill if we were at 10 and then walk the rest of the way to the car. We said "take a leisurely stroll to the car", which is exactly what we did!
We ran the greenway out to 8.5 miles, turned around but STILL had to go up the huge hill to the nature center. But it was okay. At the bottom of the hill we were at 9.97. and then finally, we were at 10. And we stopped. Stopped. Stopped.
I tried to refill our water bottles (but the water was ICKY) while I waited and then we took our leisurely stroll up the hill.
Our 10 mile time was 1:52:26 which is faster than any of our previous long runs!! Yeah!
It felt great. I loved it but I'm exhausted tonight. My feet hurt, my shins are bugging me a little.
During the run, my back was hurting as were the balls of my feet. I hope it's not my new socks I bought! My legs were tired but other than that, my breathing was fine most of the time (minus the few hills we had on the course) and it was an all around good run. Tough, but good.
Glad it's over. Mama's going to bed.
Friday, August 7, 2009
catching up again
why do i not feel like blogging about running? I think i've hit a wall. a training wall. I am still running but i'm not all fired up about it like i was a few weeks ago. i'm still having great runs, don't get me wrong..just not excited like i was. apparently, this is completely normal and we'll start feeling better about it soon.
one thing that might make me feel better? this pretty young thing. on sale for only $129!! i might talk kt into an early birthday present. $129?! can't beat it!!
so wednesday we did drills, sprints and hill repeats. it was hard. we actually ended up doing 8 hill repeats. basically, you just run up a hill as fast as you can 8 times. it's hard and makes you really tired. we logged 2.39 miles.
on thursday (11 hours later) i got up and met my crazy girls for a 5 mile run. it was an out 2.5 and back. i looked down and realized we were making good time again but then remembered we were only doing 5, not 5.2 like tuesday. so our time wasn't as great but it was better than it had been the rest of the summer.
the good news is i don't feel like these 5 milers are a struggle anymore. it's just getting up and going to do them that's the struggle. it's not really the running that i'm tired about.
tomorrow my plan calls for 9 miles but i might just do 9.5 or 10 since my loyal partner has 10 on her plan. i can't promise anything but i think going into it thinking i'm going to do 10 will make it happen.
maybe if i get that garmin tonight, i'll never want to stop?! oh, here's hoping!
one thing that might make me feel better? this pretty young thing. on sale for only $129!! i might talk kt into an early birthday present. $129?! can't beat it!!
so wednesday we did drills, sprints and hill repeats. it was hard. we actually ended up doing 8 hill repeats. basically, you just run up a hill as fast as you can 8 times. it's hard and makes you really tired. we logged 2.39 miles.
on thursday (11 hours later) i got up and met my crazy girls for a 5 mile run. it was an out 2.5 and back. i looked down and realized we were making good time again but then remembered we were only doing 5, not 5.2 like tuesday. so our time wasn't as great but it was better than it had been the rest of the summer.
the good news is i don't feel like these 5 milers are a struggle anymore. it's just getting up and going to do them that's the struggle. it's not really the running that i'm tired about.
tomorrow my plan calls for 9 miles but i might just do 9.5 or 10 since my loyal partner has 10 on her plan. i can't promise anything but i think going into it thinking i'm going to do 10 will make it happen.
maybe if i get that garmin tonight, i'll never want to stop?! oh, here's hoping!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Nightmare
Well, it's begun. I'm freaking out about the race. Like, FREAKING OUT. As if my 171 miles already logged this summer is going to do NOTHING FOR ME when it comes to race time.
Last night I had a nightmare and woke up in a panic, went back to sleep and continued to dream about it. Here's a list of everything that went wrong in my dream.
First dream:
Last night I had a nightmare and woke up in a panic, went back to sleep and continued to dream about it. Here's a list of everything that went wrong in my dream.
First dream:
- I showed up wearing a cotton shirt. Not only a cotton shirt but the 1/2 marathon shirt from 2005. I was THAT girl all the sudden.
- I lost the group and was in the corral alone. All alone, just like in 2005.
- Jules had insisted on eating at Panera on the night before the run.
Second dream:
- I walked up to the registration desk on the day of the race (!!) and my stomach was grumbling.
- So I grabbed a banana. A peeled banana with finger marks in it. Blech.
- I didn't have my water belt
- Or GU
- I was wearing a string bikini to run in? Didn't have a sports bra.
- Susan had INSISTED that she should wear her number on her butt? And backwards? All I could respond was, "well then how are we going to search for your pictures after the race, Susan??"
Oh, what a terrible terrible dream. And I have another month of this!!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
catching up
Saturday, August 1, 2009
We set out on Saturday for our group run. We drove about 30 minutes to Salem Lake and got running pretty much as soon as we got there. We started out FAST.
So, I got all annoyed and pissed off because I could feel that we were running to fast and I was mad at myself for allowing it. Basically, I was just discouraged the entire time and had a crappy attitude about it. I shouldn't have let my mind be negative about the run!
My problem is that when I'm in a new place, running a shorter distance, or when I'm on a trail, I think that the run should be quick? Like, that it's no big deal to run 7 miles when I've been running 8 and 9 for several weeks? But 7 miles is a big deal and I needed to treat it as a big deal.
I didn't dislike the trail or certainly the company.. it was just that I was having a bad day. My knee was hurting, my back was aching a little.. blech.
At the end, there's a monster hill that like Susan has said, "You really need a ladder to get up that hill". I walked most of it because really, it was STRAIGHT UP. On the down part of it, we had to walk because if we ran too fast, we would have rolled right down it!
So whatever it was done. I was glad it was done and was ready for it to be done at mile 2. That's never a good thing.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
This run, I feel better about writing about. I definitely feel like a runner again and have restored my confidence after the crappy run on Saturday. Yesterday, we got an email from our coach that said something about blah, blah, blah, need to work on pace..blah, blah, blah, on a 5-mile run this week, do 1 mile warm up, 1/2 mile at race pace, 1 mile normal (easy) pace, 1/2 mile race pace and finish the run, blah, blah, blah.
So, I made sure my running partners knew what to do because I was a little worried about running hard knowing how 5 miles has been treating me lately. Well, we did the 1 mile run through GA and when we got to the "little park" (I'm sure there's an offiicial name for it, but that's what I call it) we kicked it up and RAN. Susan's Garmin said that our best pace was what? 8:45 and I am pretty sure it was while we were in the little park. We were kicking arse.
Then, we slowed it down and kicked it up again after almost a mile. (I didn't want to hit a hill at a hard pace, so I convinced the girls to start earlier than after a mile.) That was not as hard of a run as we did in the little park but we still had a good pace.
After that was done we were ON the big hill in MP so we slowed a bit.. Then, I don't know what happened to me. I just got the feeling of LET'S GO! SO I did. I really didn't want to kick ass on those hard runs and STILL come in at the normal time at the end. I wanted to improve SOMETHING with all that tiredness I was feeling and we still had 2 miles left to do.
So I just went with it. The second hill in MP was hard but I slowed a bit at the top to get my breathing right again. It never quite got all the way back down but once we hit GA, I was ready to step it up again.
After the big hill for GA, I looked at my watch and saw that we were at 52 minutes. I totally wanted to set a goal at that point to beat 55 minutes. So I looked at Debbie (who I never run with because she's speedy all the time) and said, "think we can finish before 55 minutes? This is the best time I've ever had this summer and I'm ready to kick ass." So we did. We ran hard and finished in 54:48. And, we did 5.19 miles according to Garmin. That means my pace was 10:34!!
WHOO HOO! I've been SO ready for a 10 minute mile all summer and while it wasn't 10 minutes, it was close, right?!
Maybe I can do this 1/2 marathon??
YAY! We have our MOJO BACK ladies!!!!!
Now that I'm 4 hours post-run my knee is hurting and my muscles are sore.. I need to be better about stretching afterwards. I think I might start bringing a towel to lay on the ground so I can stretch. There's something about those public parking lots that totally gross me out.. hehe.
I'm going to ice that knee tonight and keep taking the Glucosamine to see if I feel better. Knee pain sucks.
We set out on Saturday for our group run. We drove about 30 minutes to Salem Lake and got running pretty much as soon as we got there. We started out FAST.
So, I got all annoyed and pissed off because I could feel that we were running to fast and I was mad at myself for allowing it. Basically, I was just discouraged the entire time and had a crappy attitude about it. I shouldn't have let my mind be negative about the run!
My problem is that when I'm in a new place, running a shorter distance, or when I'm on a trail, I think that the run should be quick? Like, that it's no big deal to run 7 miles when I've been running 8 and 9 for several weeks? But 7 miles is a big deal and I needed to treat it as a big deal.
I didn't dislike the trail or certainly the company.. it was just that I was having a bad day. My knee was hurting, my back was aching a little.. blech.
At the end, there's a monster hill that like Susan has said, "You really need a ladder to get up that hill". I walked most of it because really, it was STRAIGHT UP. On the down part of it, we had to walk because if we ran too fast, we would have rolled right down it!
So whatever it was done. I was glad it was done and was ready for it to be done at mile 2. That's never a good thing.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
This run, I feel better about writing about. I definitely feel like a runner again and have restored my confidence after the crappy run on Saturday. Yesterday, we got an email from our coach that said something about blah, blah, blah, need to work on pace..blah, blah, blah, on a 5-mile run this week, do 1 mile warm up, 1/2 mile at race pace, 1 mile normal (easy) pace, 1/2 mile race pace and finish the run, blah, blah, blah.
So, I made sure my running partners knew what to do because I was a little worried about running hard knowing how 5 miles has been treating me lately. Well, we did the 1 mile run through GA and when we got to the "little park" (I'm sure there's an offiicial name for it, but that's what I call it) we kicked it up and RAN. Susan's Garmin said that our best pace was what? 8:45 and I am pretty sure it was while we were in the little park. We were kicking arse.
Then, we slowed it down and kicked it up again after almost a mile. (I didn't want to hit a hill at a hard pace, so I convinced the girls to start earlier than after a mile.) That was not as hard of a run as we did in the little park but we still had a good pace.
After that was done we were ON the big hill in MP so we slowed a bit.. Then, I don't know what happened to me. I just got the feeling of LET'S GO! SO I did. I really didn't want to kick ass on those hard runs and STILL come in at the normal time at the end. I wanted to improve SOMETHING with all that tiredness I was feeling and we still had 2 miles left to do.
So I just went with it. The second hill in MP was hard but I slowed a bit at the top to get my breathing right again. It never quite got all the way back down but once we hit GA, I was ready to step it up again.
After the big hill for GA, I looked at my watch and saw that we were at 52 minutes. I totally wanted to set a goal at that point to beat 55 minutes. So I looked at Debbie (who I never run with because she's speedy all the time) and said, "think we can finish before 55 minutes? This is the best time I've ever had this summer and I'm ready to kick ass." So we did. We ran hard and finished in 54:48. And, we did 5.19 miles according to Garmin. That means my pace was 10:34!!
WHOO HOO! I've been SO ready for a 10 minute mile all summer and while it wasn't 10 minutes, it was close, right?!
Maybe I can do this 1/2 marathon??
YAY! We have our MOJO BACK ladies!!!!!
Now that I'm 4 hours post-run my knee is hurting and my muscles are sore.. I need to be better about stretching afterwards. I think I might start bringing a towel to lay on the ground so I can stretch. There's something about those public parking lots that totally gross me out.. hehe.
I'm going to ice that knee tonight and keep taking the Glucosamine to see if I feel better. Knee pain sucks.
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