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!

Country Road Run

This morning I went out for the first time on a country road to complete an 8 mile run. I was at a friends house for the night and got up first thing in the morning. The sun was just coming up and I enjoyed a great run down several dirt roads. It was quiet, light traffic and very refreshing. Such a great change of pace from the city neighborhoods. I would love to do more of those runs, I wish I had more places like that around me. I will need to investigate some new areas to run in order to keep things interesting and fun!

800M Repeats

Another tough workout! My goal was to maintain an 8:00 min pace for all 8 repeats, I came pretty close to it. I did run into some shoulder cramping again, but I think the issue is directly connected to breathing, so if I can just get control of my breathing when I'm over-exerting myself I might be able to keep that pain in check. We'll see how things progress. I was planning to do a little swim this afternoon, but I'm feeling pretty exhausted already today so I might just skip the swim and try it another day. Yesterday I did a bike/run brick, went to 40 min of spin and then charged on the treadmill for 20 min. It was a great workout and likely contributing to my feeling tired and a bit lazy to go for a swim.

2 x 2 Tempo Run

Wow, today was a tough workout. I went out with a goal of maintaining 8:45 for each set of 2 miles, this is the first time in a while I actually stayed with the pace I set and did not exceed my expectations. That tells me that I finally pushed myself hard enough in a training run, and I'm actually pretty proud of myself. It was a hard workout, but it felt great after it was over. Also, the weather today was very nice, about 57 degrees, 10 degrees warmer than the last time I ran!

Play it safe or push yourself?

Earlier today I went out for a 5 mile tempo run. My goal was to run it at a 9:10 pace and over the course of the 5 miles I ended up averaging 9:02. I realized during the run that each time I set out with a goal in mind, it's usually a relatively safe goal that I would tend to always meet and even exceed. Case in point today, my first mile was 9:08, then each one after was just a little faster, ending the last two miles below 9. How did it feel? Well, it felt pretty good, not seriously hard and not seriously easy. Two weeks ago I ran my last tempo run with a goal of 9:20 and I ended up averaging 9:15. I tend to do this a lot, I pad my running goals to allow myself the opportunity to exceed my expectations. I'm not sure if this is the best approach, and I didn't even realize I was doing it until today, but I'm pretty convinced that this is my tendency. I also noticed this yesterday while climbing at the gym. I tend to pick easier climbs I know I won't have any trouble with, or I'll go in the opposite extreme and get on something I know I can't climb, so there is no pressure to succeed. With me finally realizing what I do to ensure I succeed, I'm not sure how I want to handle it. I definitely think that I'm doing really well with the running the way I manage my goals, but sometimes I wonder if I could have excelled even more had I pushed myself further. With climbing though, I think that I'm holding myself back from excelling because of this fear of failure. I try to embrace the fear of failure to some degree, because it was the fear of not being able to run a half marathon that pushed me to lose 70lbs. I wouldn't never have gotten here had it not been for that fear. I can see positives with it, but there are some things where this fear holds me back. Definitely something I need to continue to watch and think about for the future.

400M Repeats

Today was my first 400M repeat workout, it actually went really well and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. It was a relatively short workout, but the speed bursts were challenging. I used to do speed work on a treadmill in my previous training plans, 2 min on and 2 min off, this was very similar. The only difference was trying to keep a steady pace, not having the treadmill to set the speed made it difficult. Sometimes I think I miss running on the treadmill... not having to deal with weather factors, clothing, etc. Unfortunately my mindset has changed in that I am starting to feel like treadmill running is kinda like cheating and that I shouldn't really do it. My other problem though is that I'm doing an indoor triathlon soon and I'll have to run on a treadmill for that. My plan is to do some bricks on non-running days, incorporate short runs after spinning and swimming. We'll see how it all goes!

2 x 3 Tempo Run

Today was my first 2 x 3 tempo run... last week I did my first 2 x 2 run and I really liked it. Today however, was quite a bit more challenging and I think maybe that's why I didn't like it AS much as the previous one. It might take some getting used to as well. It was chilly today also, I'm still working on figuring out the best way to dress as the temps continue to drop. I ran all last winter, but its amazing how bad my memory is because I can't seem to remember what I would wear when I went running in the dead of winter! Today I had a headband covering my ears, gloves, tank top, long sleeved top and long pants. I would say for most of the run I was in good shape, but there were some times where I was pretty cold. After my run I did some stretching for about 10 min, that was all it took for my fingers and lips to turn purple! It's amazing to me how cold I can get, inside, after running. I took a nice long, hot shower and then layered up in some comfy clothes for the rest of the night.

Next run is 400 meter repeats on Thursday, I've not done these before either, so this will be interesting!

Windy and Cold

So the temps were about 43 degrees and windy when I went out for my 8 mile run today. I was planning to head to a local park to make the miles go by faster but I opted to save drive time and just run in the neighborhood. Bbrrrr! The sun barely peaked out from behind the clouds and I felt forever in a head wind that chilled me to the bone. I was going for an easy run, about an 11 min pace, just to get the miles in and feel good. I ended up averaging a 10:35 just to keep my heart rate up and hope for an increase in my body temp. It sort of worked, I was still pretty cold during the run, but better than if I had stuck with the 11 min pace. I think its going to take some time for me to get used to the winter weather running again. I remember enjoying it last year as long as I dressed properly. It's been a mild fall so far, but this was a pretty chilly run. All that said, I finished and I feel great. Looking forward to stepping up my intensity next week as I charge into my 10K training and prepare for the Detroit Turkey Trot!

A Running Blog?

I was out running today, one of my new favorite things to do, and a thought crossed my mind. Maybe I can blog about my running?! Sometimes I just want to get a bunch of words out on "paper" but I feel like my Facebook page probably isn't the best place for it. I'm sure all my FB Friends are sick of hearing about all my running, training, etc. So anyways, maybe I'll try to start writing a blog about my running. I will update my calendar with reminders so that I actually do it. I think it will be nice for me to go back later and review how I felt a year ago versus now, etc. So anyways, here's to running and blogging!! ~Cheers :)

A New Look

I decided to give my blog a new look to go along with my "new look". It's very summer-ish, which I like, and 'tis the season! MY new look isn't quite done yet, but I'm getting close. Going strong for about 6 months now, a couple more and I should be there. I'll have to go on a mini shopping spree once I am there, to help me fully transition into the new look ;)

Trying this out again...

I am so NOT consistent when it comes to this blogging thing. Sometimes I think it would be a useful place to get all my irritations out, other times it seems like it's more work than it's worth. I don't know. Today probably isn't the best day to try and jump on the wagon again either... I've only got a couple hours left at the office before it's time to hit the road. Finally going on a climbing trip, it's only been like a year since the last one due to my newly diagnosed wrist tendinitis. And, to top it off, the darn thing is acting up again in the last couple of days. I've had no problems with it for 2 full months, then two days before a climbing trip it has to get sore? Oh well. Even though it's a 3-day weekend/trip I'm only planning one day of climbing anyways. And of course I'll be getting in a couple runs and other workouts while we are there. Maybe go swimming, do some hiking, lay around, etc. Ok, maybe laying around isn't a workout, but it's still something I plan to do. Maybe I'll even bring a book to read. It should be a nice and relaxing weekend. :)

Other generic info to update the world about, I ran my first half marathon last month and participated in my second indoor triathlon as well. A couple weeks ago I got a PR in a 5k, that was pretty awesome too. Next month I've got a 10k planned, hoping to PR that one. Then, I'll be doing what I said I wouldn't... train for another half marathon! This one will be in October, likely it will be relatively warm still, so that kind of sucks. I'm not a huge fan of warm weather when it comes to running. I rather enjoyed my winter runs, nice layers, cool air to breathe in! This warm weather sucks, it makes me go slower than I want to and feel more tired than when I run faster in cold weather. I read another blog earlier and he was talking about warm weather blues as well, and the consensus from other runners was to simply suck it up and just do it. :) So I guess I'll shut it for now and just do the damn runs. lol.

Next week will be busy after we get back from climbing. We'll be going on another trip, celebrating our 10 year anniversary (holy crap!). Then we come home to get ready for a graduation party on saturday and then the mother-in-law's 50th on sunday, of which I'm making the cake. Busy, busy, busy!

Time to get back to work... 2 hours and 8 min before I get to leave...