Sunday, June 24, 2012
End of the week review
Finally, a full, solid week of training and I lived to tell about it! After weeks of sluggishness and funk, it felt amazing to get in some good training runs and end it with today's "long" run. Last week's total mileage was 20, while this week's was 31 miles plus two days of lifting, a little on the "overdoing it" side, but it all felt so good.....finally.
Monday: 6 mile run on the hilly trail
Tuesday: 3 miles of hills plus Active Edge
Wednesday: Oh my LORD!! 2 mile warm up, 10 x 400's (jogging inbetween each one) at ridiculous paces for me (1:33-1:48) plus a 3/4 mi cool down. Thanks to Kara and Jennifer, this training day was the worst and greatest of my week! I struggled to keep up with these ladies (wasn't actually able to keep up with them) but the extra push really helped me see where I'm at and where I'd like my training to go from here. I nearly lost my breakfast on that last 400, but I sucked it down and all ended well.
Thursday (Active Edge session) and Saturday were "off" running days
friday: 6 miles again on a hilly course
Sunday: 9 mile long run.
One of these days I will sit down and make a training plan, but since I don't have any marathons on the calendar yet this fall, I'm in no big hurry.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Lack of posting does not equal lack of running, promise!
Since racing on June 2, I've kept up some sort of consistent running but just haven't kept up the posting. I promised myself years ago that this blog would be a person journal, a tool for me to use so I can look back when I need to be reminded of how far I've come, how I've conquered challenges and how this running journey is full of ups and downs. I haven't kept it up lately, mostly due to this lull in my running schedule, but writing now should be a necessity because I will need to look back at this time period and see how I made it through successfully.
With running totals like Jan (156 mi) and Feb (164.8 mi), it makes April (109.5 mi) and May (just 73 mi) seem like a bit of a running failure. On the upside, June has been more promising and upbeat despite the added heat/humidity! Finding other runners to buddy up with has also helped me swing out of this running funk and I'm beginning to once again find joy in training. I have no race schedule on the calendar for the fall and I'm quite content with that knowing that the spring will be chock full of half and full races, including another attempt at Boston!
Goals for this upcoming season? Set new PR's in the 5K, 4 mile, 10K and HM. I'd love to PR in the marathon at Tobacco Road (March) again, hoping to break 3:40 this time. Finish races in top 5% in age group. Run an international race while we are in Europe next July. Inspire someone new to running. Volunteer at more local races. Less time running solo (I need the push). :)
This is our 2 yr old, Mateo. He can foam roll like nobody's business, all body parts yet too! He is a ball of energy, and Energizer bunny, a spit-fire little boy who happens to enjoy running already. I'm hoping to enter him in the little kid races at local events I already run, so watch out!
With running totals like Jan (156 mi) and Feb (164.8 mi), it makes April (109.5 mi) and May (just 73 mi) seem like a bit of a running failure. On the upside, June has been more promising and upbeat despite the added heat/humidity! Finding other runners to buddy up with has also helped me swing out of this running funk and I'm beginning to once again find joy in training. I have no race schedule on the calendar for the fall and I'm quite content with that knowing that the spring will be chock full of half and full races, including another attempt at Boston!
Goals for this upcoming season? Set new PR's in the 5K, 4 mile, 10K and HM. I'd love to PR in the marathon at Tobacco Road (March) again, hoping to break 3:40 this time. Finish races in top 5% in age group. Run an international race while we are in Europe next July. Inspire someone new to running. Volunteer at more local races. Less time running solo (I need the push). :)
This is our 2 yr old, Mateo. He can foam roll like nobody's business, all body parts yet too! He is a ball of energy, and Energizer bunny, a spit-fire little boy who happens to enjoy running already. I'm hoping to enter him in the little kid races at local events I already run, so watch out!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Race or not to Race.
Even though I feel as though this giant "wall" has come down, it doesn't mean I'm in a good mental state for racing. When I race, it means I'm putting forth 100% effort, looking forward to a great finish, going over the stats with my dad, and finishing up with a splendid race report. I knew I wasn't ready to race, but this run on Saturday was looming over my head and I wasn't sure if I should follow through with it.
On Friday, I had planned on doing two 3 mile loops with Jamie but after the second loop, I had to back down. The humidity was a killer and I felt as though my body was made of concrete. I had decided not to race on Saturday if the weather was going to be the same, and even if it was better, I still wasn't sure I wanted to put myself into race mode.
Later that afternoon, I noticed a post on my FB page from Kara asking if I was running the race and volunteering to run with me! It was just what I needed to hear. Maybe running with someone would allow me to run this race and come out with a positive experience, further destroying that wall? So I decided to participate in Running of the Bulls 8K with Kara.
I've never been more thankful for the opportunity to run a race with a friend, it was exactly what I needed and Kara was more than willing to push me through it!!!!!! I'm so grateful! The plan was to start near closer to the start line but not get caught in those paces, stay around an 8min/mi pace, no walking allowed, and for Kara to talk while I huffed and puffed. This pace was a walk in the park for her, so she had no trouble chatting away. The first mile went well, I felt pretty good and positive. The second mile my legs began to feel a bit heavy and I struggled to avoid walking through the first water stop (who even needs water in a 5 mile race??) The Boston marathon and the 25K totally burnt me out, it became more obvious as the minutes past by. I questioned myself by mile 3, but Kara kept us going, up and down hill after hill. I knew we were slowing down by this point but I didn't care, I wasn't sure I would actually finish at this point (if I had been alone, I would have walked the last 2 miles). I had to stop twice during the race, my heart was racing so fast it felt like it was beating outside of my ribcage, literally. I kept glancing at my Garmin to make sure our pace wasn't 10min/mi because that's what it felt like we were doing, thankfully we weren't. Once we got to that last turn, last downhill, onto the race track, I felt like I could push to the finish. With the finish line in sight, it was a mad dash to beat the clock and get this race over with (and get rid of the puking sensation that was about the level of my esophagus by now).
Finish time 38:24, that's officially a PR for me by 1:10sec. I'm still in disbelief. This made for a second place age group finish for me, all thanks to Kara! I am sharing my winnings with her!
I left feeling like I had just won gold in the Olympics, not that I know what that feels like, but it's that good euphoric feeling that you just pushed yourself harder than you thought you could and you were rewarded for it. Now to see if I can continue to work on shorter distances for the summer and perhaps get faster.
On Friday, I had planned on doing two 3 mile loops with Jamie but after the second loop, I had to back down. The humidity was a killer and I felt as though my body was made of concrete. I had decided not to race on Saturday if the weather was going to be the same, and even if it was better, I still wasn't sure I wanted to put myself into race mode. Later that afternoon, I noticed a post on my FB page from Kara asking if I was running the race and volunteering to run with me! It was just what I needed to hear. Maybe running with someone would allow me to run this race and come out with a positive experience, further destroying that wall? So I decided to participate in Running of the Bulls 8K with Kara.
I've never been more thankful for the opportunity to run a race with a friend, it was exactly what I needed and Kara was more than willing to push me through it!!!!!! I'm so grateful! The plan was to start near closer to the start line but not get caught in those paces, stay around an 8min/mi pace, no walking allowed, and for Kara to talk while I huffed and puffed. This pace was a walk in the park for her, so she had no trouble chatting away. The first mile went well, I felt pretty good and positive. The second mile my legs began to feel a bit heavy and I struggled to avoid walking through the first water stop (who even needs water in a 5 mile race??) The Boston marathon and the 25K totally burnt me out, it became more obvious as the minutes past by. I questioned myself by mile 3, but Kara kept us going, up and down hill after hill. I knew we were slowing down by this point but I didn't care, I wasn't sure I would actually finish at this point (if I had been alone, I would have walked the last 2 miles). I had to stop twice during the race, my heart was racing so fast it felt like it was beating outside of my ribcage, literally. I kept glancing at my Garmin to make sure our pace wasn't 10min/mi because that's what it felt like we were doing, thankfully we weren't. Once we got to that last turn, last downhill, onto the race track, I felt like I could push to the finish. With the finish line in sight, it was a mad dash to beat the clock and get this race over with (and get rid of the puking sensation that was about the level of my esophagus by now).
Finish time 38:24, that's officially a PR for me by 1:10sec. I'm still in disbelief. This made for a second place age group finish for me, all thanks to Kara! I am sharing my winnings with her!
I left feeling like I had just won gold in the Olympics, not that I know what that feels like, but it's that good euphoric feeling that you just pushed yourself harder than you thought you could and you were rewarded for it. Now to see if I can continue to work on shorter distances for the summer and perhaps get faster.
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