Running has consumed my life

I just realized my last post here was in January... it's now end of May and I thought I might at least provide the link to my running blog, which is where I spend the majority of my time these days. Since I'm not much of a writer or blogger, its likely impossible for me to maintain two... but I'll keep this one around just in case. Below is my running blog which I'm sure will prove to be much more interesting.

http://acupofrunning.blogspot.com/

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

Well, we are two full weeks into the new year and I'm back on schedule. I haven't missed a run OR workout since the start of the new year. Things are looking much better than they were just a few short weeks ago during the Holidays. I didn't expect to get pulled into the traditional holiday issues of over-eating and slacking on the exercise, but I totally did. Thankfully I didn't gain any weight, I actually dropped a pound the week of Christmas and have stayed at that weight now for 4 weeks. So, even though I slacked, I still did OK.

Unfortunately, these past couple of weeks have basically been indoor workouts/runs. I've become a little bit of a chicken to go outdoors and do my runs now that we have snow on the ground. I am so worried about slipping on ice or having to trudge through the snow that I've not been willing to go outside. If the roads are not completely cleared, I'm pretty much heading to the treadmill. While I was nervous the first couple times I hit the treadmill, I've found a groove and am already seeing improvements. So if nothing else, I'm still working and getting better, that is the goal anyways. I'm sure I'll be nervous once the weather clears and we are through the snowy months and I am able to get back outside again. I will likely see a week or two where I have to adjust and then hopefully I'll continue to improve.

Here's to a new year, a new training plan and new goals. My marathon training schedule starts a week from today!

Unintentional Break

With the Holidays in full swing, I had intended to fit in at least 3 quality runs a week in addition to my personal training sessions that were scheduled. Unfortunately cookie making always seems to take more out of me than I expect and I ended up with zero runs last week. So, after taking an unexpected break from running, I hit the treadmill yesterday and planned for a 2 x 3 workout. As soon as I started my warm-up on a measly 6.0 speed, I knew that 2 x 3 was not a good idea. I changed it to a 2 x 2 instead, which happened to be one of the workouts I missed last week. I'm glad I did. I barely managed to finish it without my heart rate going out of control. Even though I was able to maintain a faster speed than my last 2 x 2, I didn't feel like I was really in shape at all. My legs are a little sore today, especially my quads which is unusual... I'm chalking it up to pushing too hard and not stretching long enough after! I'm glad that run is over though, the first run back after a break is never fun for me. Whether the break is one week or many, its always a tough first run back.

26.2 on May 28, 2010

It's official! I've signed up to run a marathon!

Wow, how crazy is that?? I'm so excited about it though, and my training will start in about a month. It's looking like I'll be heading out with a goal of 9:00 min miles in the hopes that I can finish below 4 hours. Officially the goal will be to finish without walking, but I would LOVE to finish in under 4 hours as well :)

10K Race Results

The weather for the 10K on Turkey Day ended up being 100% perfect. It was about 40 degrees and dry! It stopped raining about 20 min before the race started, perfect timing. It was a very popular race, tons of people and it resulted in my first mile being about 9:00, slower than I wanted. I ended up picking up the pace to make up for it and that resulted in a 52:44 official time. I couldn't believe it, I averaged an 8:30 pace for the race. That is so awesome! 15 seconds faster than my goal pace! I was walking on cloud 9 after the race, it was a great day and nothing brought be down from the victory of my time. My confidence is really increasing and I'm starting to believe I just might manage a 4 hour marathon next year. Running really has become a passion for me and I'm so grateful for that. Happy Thanksgiving!

Final Training Run

I finished out my last training run for my Turkey Trot 10K race this morning. It was a chilly/windy day and I struggled to keep an accurate pace on my 400M repeats. However, I managed to get the run completed before the winds really picked up, I can hear the how nasty it must be outside right now. Trees are blowing, branches scratching the side of the house, and barely a ray of sunshine coming out... not nearly enough to warm anything with that wind. I believe the weather channel said it was about 42 degrees but with the wind it felt like 35. That I believed! For the first time my fingers were actually cold inside my running gloves for the first 10 min of the run. Eventually I warmed up once my heart rate increased from the first repeat, but the wind kept pushing me. It was nice when I turned around and it was pushing me from behind and I was going downhill, felt like I was flying! But then when I rounded the corner it was a huge blast in the face/chest and thought I hit a wall. I still managed to keep my pace below my goal, but it was rather annoying to deal with the wind. So far the weather is calling for a wintry mix for race day, doesn't that sound like fun.

Weekly Improvements?

Last week I ran my 2 x 2 and really struggled to maintain an 8:45 pace through that run. Yesterday I was scheduled for 2 x 3 with the same goal pace. I nailed it, it was easier than last week, I even went a little faster and 2 additional miles. Holy crap, really?!?!? I was shocked, didn't really believe it at first. Here I am moving along quite well into mile 3 of the first set and I'm surprised to notice that my heart rate is down and I feel strong. I do my 5 min recovery... stop to pick a rock out of my shoe... and then I'm back moving again for the second set of 3 miles. I knock it out with a faster pace than the first three and practically a lower heart rate. I felt GREAT! All the crappy runs I've had this year, they are completely forgotten when I go out and have an awesome run like this. I am so excited about my 10k next week and I have complete faith that I will hit my 8:45 goal pace, and maybe even a tad bit faster!