Wells Branch and I go long for the first time!!

Never fails. When i run with my husband, I ALWAYS run better. We usually try and run together at the same place, but we typically run our own pace.But about once a month, he runs with me. Now, I am pretty sure this is the FASTEST pace I have run all at once EVER( I have had faster pace, but it was intervals, where i did short speed workouts with lots of breaks) and it is also, the 2ND longest distance I have ever run!!! And actually, if you include the warm-up/cool downs, it is the longest mileage I have done all together( 10.25 miles) but in the interest of not being misleading, I am not counting warmup, cool down as a part of my run because in a real race it wouldnt count.
But yeah, this was really hard for me, I didnt feel like I had much left to give, especially since I didnt go to sleep until like 2.30 in the morning. Im really happy with this run because there was lots of times I felt like giving up, but I didnt!
Below are my splits, they are kinda weird because they include my warm-up, cool down, which is why the distance is a little different as well as the time:
Mile 1- ( including the 6 minute walking warm-up)- 14.59 minutes- 8.59 minutes to run .65 of a mile
Mile 2- 12.37 minutes
Mile 3- 12.25 minutes
Mile 4- 12.29 minutes
Mile 5- 11.45 minutes
Mile 6- 11.43 minutes
Mile 7- 10.53 minutes
Mile 8- 10.50 minutes
Mile 9- 10.28 minutes
Mile 10- 10.23 minutes- .75 miles running in 7 minutes, 23 sec- .25 mile cool down in 3 minutes walking( the last quarter mile of this was a part of my cool down, my cool down was a half a mile total, so the last quarter of this mile, plus an additional quarter mile)
Mile 10-10.25- remaining part of cool down- 3 minutes walking
Thank you for everyone who said my runs would get better and especially thank you to my husband for running with me!







View Training Run in a larger map

End of the Month Recap- October

The symbol above is for Austin's 3M Half-Marathon in January 2011. We have been on a training program for this for now going on 6 weeks.The race is in about 10 weeks!! I really hope that we do run this, although I am really nervous not just about the distance, but also the cold. I havent done a long distance run in a while, so we will see! We are saving up for it in the meantime!

April-
12 runs,34.5 miles,
average run= 2.88 miles per run
************************
May-
15 runs,43.3 miles,
average run=2.89 miles per run
*********************************
June-
12 runs,39.2 miles,
average run=3.27 miles per run
*******************************
July-
11 runs, 38.0 miles
Average run= 3.45 miles per run
*******************************
August
13 runs, 44.6 miles
Average run= 3.43 miles per run
*********************************
September
12 runs, 49 miles
Average run= 4.08 miles per run
*********************************
October
16 runs, 59.3 miles
Average run=3.71 miles per run

Last Long Run before the race!

I really wanted to do 8.9 miles. But I am very satisfied with 8.6!!! I didn't go as fast as I went with my husband last week but a. I always go faster with someone there to coach me and b. I had no way to tell the distance, I was running until I hit 2 hours. Also, I know I havent been feeling well this week.
At first I was thinking this run was going to go horrible. My shins were hurting and everything. Plus the longest I have ever run was about 1 hour, 46 min before. But as I ran, the run got better! I stuck to my intervals the whole time!! ( My current intervals are 2 min's walking, 1 min, 10 sec running!)
Im really happy that I increased my distance almost a mile from last week and all by myself!
I did feel like I didn't go as hard as I did last week, and my pace certaintly reflects it. Next week, I will need to run more than 1 mile and half of what I have ever run.
One thing I know for sure, I will not let this long distance lap happen for my first half marathon. We are on week 3 of a 16 week plan for a half. We haven't signed up for the race yet, so I can not fully commit to saying I am doing it. But we are training for the 3M half. I'll let you know if we decide to do it!
I feel relieved and proud of myself, even if I was .3 miles short of my goal! I really believe I can now at least finish the 10 mile race!

With the NYC marathon only a little over 2 weeks away, this photo blog complimation is really cool. The writer of the blog had people send in pics of the marathon at different points to show what it looks like!

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/running_dialogue/2010/10/marathon-photo-project-looking.html

Race Day-5k in Pflugerville, part deux!

At our race, they gave us some coupons for this place called Dick's Sporting goods. I hadnt really been there before, but they do have a wide variety of sporting brands for women. We are trying to buy some bits and pieces for cold weather so that we dont have an excuse not to run. Cause I hate the cold and will look for an excuse, even where there is none. At any rate, I bought some Nike cold weather running tights. They were already 20% off the orignial price, plus the coupon gave me an extra 20% off and so the price basically came out to about 20 less after the coupons. Sweet deal! So check them out if you get a chance.
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp

Sore Legs, Bad Run, Its getting cold, Im grumpy!

This was not really a good workout. I was so sore. After the last workout I did, I thought for sure this one would be better. But Old Settlers Trail is really hard. Its pretty rare to ever have a really good run here, I don't know why. My husband doesn't like running here because of it. Although it's a really nice park, with a forest and soccer fields, pavilions and a lake. We even had our wedding rehearsal here. I think it's because its a varied course, with hills at weird spots and a length that's not quite long and not quite short that makes it hard. Either way, I started to get shin splits and was struggling to be able to keep up my new intervals. I just hope the next run goes better.



There's this website that is really cool for using to quickly keep track of your runs that has nice colorful graphics and tells you your calories burned. I use the Runners World Training Log more religiously ( since April) but it's always cool to try new things:
www.dailymile.com

An unusual bit of luck, wind or I guess I didnt need a jacket

So, my husband called it the home field advantage. And maybe it is, but on this coming up race, we are actually pretty lucky because it will be the first time I have run a race where I have run the course before. And not only have I run the course, but I have run it multiple times. Its the Lake Pflugerville Trail, which we typically run at least once a week.
I was worried at first about this run, as it was cold and I thought that I would need my jacket. Hence the picture. But as it turns out, I didn't need it, it ended up getting hot. Right now we are in that weird transition weather, where it goes from being coldish in the morning to hotish later on.
Then, although it wasn't cold, it was really windy. If it ain't one thing.... however, I ended up having a really good mock run. I did 3 miles in what I would like to run the 3.1( 5k in). So I was .10 off, but hey, you know, that's not that bad. Overall, it was one of my more successful training runs and it definitely had me feeling like I was more prepared to run this next 5k.

So, on Sunday while we are running at the 5k in Pflugerville, the CHICAGO MARATHON!!! will be happening!! Ever since I watched the Spirit of the Marathon, I have been pumped up about this race!! They say it stands to possibly break the world record time for a marathon!!
For a great article on the subject, I recommend:
http://peakperformance.runnersworld.com/2010/10/oct-5-a-mens-world-record-at-chicago-this-weekend-probably-not-but-maybe-so.html

Fresh Shiny New Month!!

I really like the beginning of the month for running. It makes me feel like anything is possible. Sorry for the cliches. :) Last month, September, was my best month for running so far. I ran the most amount of miles in a month that I have EVER run ( almost 50!) and ran the longest race I have ever run( a 10 k, 6.2 miles, 2x the length what I raced in April and May!) and was pretty consistent in increasing my long runs and also having training runs in different lengths.
So, anyways, today we ran at Brushy Creek. It was a pretty good run. Because we are going to be running a 10 mile race at the end of the month, I am hoping to run a good amount of 5 mile runs as my in between runs to get an idea of how it would feel to run twice that amount. Also, today was the first day of my new running intervals. For this month, I am now going to be trying to do 2 min's walking and one minute and ten seconds of running. If I run over the one minute and 10 seconds, I count it as a credit that I can use to take a longer break later if need be. ( for example, instead of just running 1 minute, 10 seconds, I run 1 minute and 15 seconds, that is 5 extra seconds. So I was waiting in this run until I had 60 credit seconds so that I could take a 3 minute walking break instead of just a 2 minute walking one.)Im hoping that this slight increase will help improve my overall time and also help with my endurance as I try to increase my longer runs.


This is the race we are hoping to do at the end of the month, it is called the Run for the Water 10 mile race. As you know, the most I have run is 6.62 miles. So I'm really worried about my ability to do this, however, there are still about 3 and a half weeks. I doubt that I will have gotten my training up enough but hopefully then my mileage will have increased so that doing the actual race wont be such a stretch. At least it will make it that I dont have a goal time, just a goal: FINISH THE RACE!
http://gazellefoundation.com/runforthewater2010/

Race Day- 10k Race

I really liked today's race. I had a much better experience today then I had at our last race on July 4Th. I think the it's because:
-because we didn't work the day before the race. Usually we both have to work.
- we went to bed earlier. Still to late for how early we had to wake up, but still earlier then normal.
- I had a lot more practice for this particular race.
- I had a goal for what I wanted to do as far each mile.
- I had stuck by my interval training as best I could in the last month.

So, here's my recap for today as far as the good, the bad, and the ugly:

So, today was race day.
The good:
1. We were able to pick up are packets the day before so we didn't have to worry about it the day of.
2. We got some free samples like lotion and Luna bars. I also bought some cute pink tech socks that had the race organizations logo on it.
3. This was the first race event that we went to that had so many participants because there were four different races involved in it: the half-marathon, the 10k, the 5k and a one mile fun run.
4. We got a cool tech shirt. Its black and blue.
5. They had tacos and bananas after the race.
6. I was really proud of my husband! He did so good! He did the race in 58:21 minutes.
7. It was so cool because while I was running the race, so were the half marathoners. At one point the winner of the half marathon passed me up with the police motorcade. It was so cool to see how fast he was still able to go after ( what had for him been 12 miles already).
8. We actually got to travel to go to a race, which was a first. It was a 3 hour trip to Irving, which is where we have some friends and it was the first time I had ever been there and it was very pretty. Lots of trees.
9. It wasn't hot at all.
BUT MAINLY, AND I HAVE SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST:
10. I IMPROVED MY 10K RUN TIME 4 AND A HALF MINUTES FROM MY TRAINING RUN!! I DID 2 MINUTES FASTER THEN I WANTED TO DO!!!


The Bad:
There really wasn't that much bad about the race.
- they did not have any water bottles at all before the race. So it was 2 miles before I had any water because I left my water in the car. However, they had 2 water spots that we passed by 2x in route, so basically there were 4 stops to us to get either water or Gatorade.
-There was no 4 mile race sign that I saw. So i was starting to freak out because i was wondering what was taking me so long to reach the 4 mile mark. every previous mile before that i had exceed the goal i had for my self. But when i FINALLY saw the 5 mile mark, I FELT SO RELIEVED when I realized it was not in fact me.
- I seriously probably could have shaved at least 2 minutes off my time if I hadn't had to tie my shoelaces 4 freakin times throughout the race.

The Ugly:
First, the annoyance. That Gatorade was GAWD AWFUL. I appreciate them giving it us, but it tasted horrible. Like soap. Maybe it's just that flavor. But it was horrible.
Secondly, the blow.
I was so, so, so excited to see that they were going to be having free professional sport photographers. That is until I went to the website and saw the proofs of my picks. I look enormous. It is so embarrassing. My husband, who was not at all interested in the sports photos, looks awesome. He has great runners legs. Figures.
I need to be more disciplined in what I eat, because it's brutal to see those thunder thighs of mine. :(

The Lessons Learned:
I don't really know what lesson I learned from here. Other then, tie my shoes better and lose weight. The reality is that if I lost weight, that besides the DUH! benefits of being healthier, would make me faster. I also know that the only way to increase my speed is to increase the amount of time I spend running in my intervals. However, I have become pretty comfortable with my walk 2 minutes, run 1 minute ratios and it will be hard to move on from there.

We are planning on doing another race, just a small 5k in 2 weeks, which we still need to sign up for. I'm still hoping we do that 10 mile race at the end of the month, but like always, it just depends on how far along I have gotten in my long runs( current longest distance run is 6.62 miles, 3.38 miles short of 10 miles, which is a lot)
I really recommend this race. It was awesome. Pretty course, nice weather, nice amendments, the whole works.

This is a YouTube video that was on the NEW YORK Marathon's facebook page about a man who lost 120 pounds through running and eating healthier. Its really inspiring and beautiful and has coldplays " fix you" song,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbXgQqbOoU

Eva and me and a new trail

So, today was the first time Vince and I have ever gone to the Wells Branch Trail. I'm not even sure if that's exactly what it is called, but we had both seen it separately while we were out at work making deliveries. Its in the Wells Branch subdivision, and not far from our home.
Because it is a new trail route that we weren't familiar with, we wanted to run a short run. Since I had just run 6.62 miles 2 days ago, and we have the race in ONE WEEK, we are taking these next couple of runs until the race easy. No long runs.
Which is why we decided we should take our Scottish Terrier Eva on the run with us.
Now although Eva has run with us twice before in the last 5 months, once at Old Settlers Trail and once at Lake Pflugerville Trail, Vince was the one walking her. We were doing training runs with me because Eva is like me and out of shape and can not keep up with Vince's pace.

But today was the first time I walked Eva by myself while Vince did his own run. And it was HARD. First off, in one hand, I had a water bottle full of Gatorade, my cell phone, and in the other, her leash and my ipod. And of course, my running shorts have no pockets. And also I forgot doggie bags. I must of had to stop for a total of 6 minutes with all the Eva interruptions: stopping to smell other dogs on the trail, pooping, looking and running away from the ducks, sniffing the dead turtle :(, and extc.
Now, to her credit, I was proud of her because she kept up with me the whole time and did not have to be dragged at the end or carried like the last 2 times. I think it is mainly because she did not stick to one side of me while I was running with so much in my hands that made it hard.
But the trail itself was very cool. I ran past a park, a lake, ducks, a lot of people mainly walking ( very different from Town Lake, way more beginner friendly and laid back) and some really nice houses.
Also, if you notice from that picture on top, at one point me and Eva ran through a tiny tunnel that was underneath the street and when you came out of it, it had this big mirror that you could see yourself in, it was really random.
Mainly, I just ran out at first not knowing where the trail went and then just decided to do this same loop around the main park about 5 times. The first 4 times I did it with Eva, and then Vince was done with his run and I did it my self. It definitely feels freer ( is that a word) to be able to run without a 23 pound dog.
I'm happy we found a new place to run and I'm glad Eva was able to hang with us this time. Maybe one day we will do a race with her!
Oh and that was the first time I ever ran with Gatorade and not water, I thought because it was a short run and I didn't want or need gels, that it would be a good idea, but it wasn't. I don't recommend it. If you are concerned about electrolytes, just do what we usually do and bring Smart Water/gels and then follow it up with Gatorade when you are done and a cold glass of chocolate milk when you get home for the muscles.


This half marathon isn't even until the end of January, a little over 4 months away, and already 700 people have registered for it. It's one of the top half marathons in Austin and it's one I hope me and Vince will be able to run. Considering I just barely ran more then 6.5 miles, Im a LONG way off from 13.1. But still, I like to think I could one day be able to do one, if not this one. My sister did one last year and Im very proud of her for it.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/HalfMarathon/Home/

Town Lake and me, the long awaited reunion.

I haven't run on Town Lake since May. Its been a little over 4 months. And oh how I have missed it! To be honest, this is only the 2nd time I have run there. It takes a while to get there from our house, about 45 minutes and especially early in the day, the traffic is bad. But if you wait to late, you have to deal with the heat.
The reason why I love running Town Lake is cliche and has been stated so many times, but still, I love how Austin it is. There is so much diversity! So many people walking with their dogs and baby strollers. People that are crazy in shape, women in their forties with abs that i would give my husband up for and men in their sixties with abs, pregant women running. We've run in several places and never have we seen so many people that we're in such good shape. Man, did I feel fat. But anyways, its the most similar environment to a race that I have been to so far which I guess is why I like it so much. Also there is so much to look at. I walked/ran past bridges, rails, kayaks, and the lake! They also have two water stops that have water and some sort of gatorade drink. I wish I would have planned my route more along the restroom as I only saw one and after 2 stops at the water stops and drinking about 16 oz of my smart water and 2 gels, I REALLY had to pee.
But yeah, I love town lake! I just hope next time I can go even further and hopefully, it won't be 4 months before we return!!!






Back when this list of the best things in running came out in Runners World, I wasn't really running. I didn't know anything at all about running. Now, I barely know anything... :)... but still, barely is better then nothing at all. This list is really cool and is kind of like a crash course in running:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-281--13339-1-1X2X3X4X5-6,00.html

Sometimes it takes two, but not today!

Last week, I ran what had, up till the point, been the furthest I had been able to run. I was finally, finally able to run a full 10k distance( plus. 6 extra) and it was all thanks to my husband running with me the whole time and keeping me on track.

It ended up being the fastest I have ever run in 5 months of running, even faster then all of my race paces. So, of course, I was really thankful and happy for his help. But also, because I am a pessimist by nature, I had to view this sucess as a cause to worry about my chances of succeding on my own.

If my fastest pace and furthest amount run was when I had someone running with me the entire time, how would I succeed on my own? Because I have always been the type of person who runs from discomfort, pain and discipline, Im sure it is easy to understand how I severly improve when someone is next to me saying, " Run. Walk faster. Let's go. Start running. don't stop." So, even if I do want to punch him in the face because Im tired, my husband is an excellent training partner. He doesn't stray from the plan and tries his best to help me achieve my goals.

Which is why when I ran my run today, I was really relieved. Although I wasnt able to maintain as good a pace as when Vince ran with me, I ran longer! Six and a half miles may not be a lot to most people, but it took me so long to get to 6.2 miles that I am just relieved I was able to run further then that on the very next long run! I took Vince advice and tried to walk faster on my walking breaks, and I think it definetly helped!

Disclosure: In the interest of being honest, let me say that I did run on Friday. And it was a gawd awful run. It was late at night, only 3.48 miles and I had a horrible pace. I didn't want to write a blog on it cause it put me a bad mood. But reading the post I mention below helped put things in perspective. But no one needs to tell me Im whiny. I pretty much got that :)



This is a post I came across through Runners World's Other Voices Blog. It may be the most elegantly, emotionally heartbreaking post I have read on running. It's hard to read this and complain about the heat, a bum ankle or blisters, or whatever.
health interrupted- Post," I still remember running"
http://katehooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-still-remember-running.html

Out with the Rain, In with the Treadmill

This is what the weather was like today. I wanted to run, but not in sloppy, hard rain in the dark with cars and apartments that are doing a bad job of keeping the lights lit!!! grrr!
So, I was resigned to using the treadmill.Although I don't like the treadmill, it is handy when the weather is 100 degrees or in this particular case, just horrible. I am definitely not looking forward to when the weather gets brutally cold. Will I woman up and just put on the layers and run? Or will I be so chicken that I do nothing but treadmill runs? As Enya says, only time will tell. Hmm. I have been noticing that a lot of my pop culture references are outdated, but who knows what those crazy kids are listening to nowadays?
Anyways, maybe I trash talk the treadmill in haste, because today was actually a pretty good run. I feel like maybe we have reached a new level in our relationship. I'm serious. It could be that.
Or it could also be that I listened to my husband's advice from our training run on Sunday and tried to walk faster on my walking breaks. I'm still doing my intervals of walking 2 minutes, running 1 minute and for a while I was reaching a standstill with no real improvement. So I thought I need to do something else. But actually having the discipline to strictly adhere to your intervals, even after an hour, can be harder then it seems. Or maybe it's just me.


I thought this was interesting because runners usually bemoan running uphill, when actually you need to be careful running downhill. But I think because running downhill feels so good, you are more inclined to not think about how you need to be careful. And it's weird because i was just talking with my husband about the plus side of treadmills being that you can increase the incline and in a sense it's almost like mock hills. And he was saying he read it's actually better to decrease the incline to make it more like a decline because the impact of running on the road is harder then on the treadmill and if you run a lot on the treadmill that your feet will not be prepared for the beating it will take when you do road races. Either way, that is a mute point with me because i do most of my running ( out of like 67 runs, Ive run now about 3 on the treadmill) outside.Still, read Nike's running tips, they are pretty cool:
http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikerunning_training-en_US/2010/09/07/tip-be-mindful-on-the-downhill

The Best Run Ever- 6.26 miles!!!

View Brushy Creek Training in a larger map

This title for this post was not chosen lightly. Nope, it sure wasn't. Not only was it the longest I have ever run, not only did I finally run the full 10k distance, not only did I actually run a tiny bit further, not only was it about .75 longer then last weeks LDR( Long Distance Run) but it. was. my. FASTEST. pace. ever!!!!!
And the only reason why I was able to do it was because my husband ran the whole race with me!
He trained with me on this whole run and helped me keep on target the entire time. He said the biggest way to improve my time was to walk faster on my walking breaks. We did an interval run of 2 minutes walking, 1 minute running, except for the last 4 minutes I just did a fartlek. But what I liked was that he made sure sure that I ran the FULL minute and that I did it the ENTIRE time.
Im really grateful but also feel a little spoiled. Its not like I can have Vince with me for all my runs. Eventually when I do races and for most of the practice runs, I will be myself. Will I be able to push myself as hard as Vince does when he runs with me? Probably not. So then how will I be succesful if I do not have much discipline? I won't. Sigh.
But I don't want to be negative and not acknowledge how big of an achievement today was for me. And though I don't think I could have done it without Vince, hopefully I will remember what he tells me and continue to improve!!

This is a pair of shoes I designed for myself on Nike+ website. Yes, they are 185.00 dollars before shipping. No, I would not spend that much money on shoes. Yes, my last pair were 35.00 dollars, orginally 90 dollars on sale from RunTex. No, I don't know if the cushioning on these particular pair are the best for me, especially considering my current pair have way too much stability (its made more for overpronators like my husband, whereas im more of a neutral). But most importantly, I don't care! These shoes are pretty and I WANT EM! Go design yourself a pair, I promise its cool!
http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/commerce/nikeplus?ll=en_US&ct=US&pid=345202&cid=1&pbid=INSPI_207490_v9_0_20100505&path=AMPlu0908&piid=16820&p=PDPiD&metricsId=216911791

One of those misleading runs...

So, after a pretty good run yesterday, perhaps I got a little ahead of myself. I thought that despite the rain today, it was going to be a good run. The temperature was cool and I was happy we were running at Old Settlers Trail which we haven't run in forever. Plus my pace was better yesterday then it had been for most of last week. I think I just thought today would be a better run because of that.
Well, it started out fine and then started to fall a part bit by bit. My calves started to feel stiff, my ankles started to hurt and as the elevation increased, I just felt so tired. I think a large part of it was obviously not drinking enough water the day before and the fact that lately I haven't been doing as many runs back to back because I got tired of being so sore. But the easiest way to get more runs in is to run more and so I figured I should try to run 4 times a week if I can from now on. But I still have one more run, my long run tommorow, so hopefully I can improve my pace. Its 23 days from now and I still haven't run 6.2 miles yet! grrr!! the aggravation!




So, if any of ya'll have ever heard of the social networking site, FACEBOOK, as Im sure you have, there is a page called Run Austin that you should add as your friend. It has good advice on running, events and input from other runners in the area.

http://www.facebook.com/RunAustin

The little run that made 200 miles!

Who would have thought that 1.83 miles would make 200 miles?! Sound odd? Well, before today's run, I had exactly .5 miles to go to make 200 miles run since April 12th, 2010 when we first started running. And I wasn't to sure about today's run because it was before I had to go to work early in the morning and I've haven't run before work ( when I had to work in the morning specifically) in a while. But I was pleasantly surprised by the run. The weather felt great, it was about 75 degrees, which is the nice thing about running at 7.50 in the morning, the traffic wasn't too bad, although I did get stuck at a light for about a minute and thankfully, my ankle wasn't really hurting me. I felt kinda guilty about today's run to tell the truth because it was the first time I had run all week. And not running monday, tuesday and Wednesday is not like me. I strive to do at least 3 runs every week and that's hard to do when your first run of the week is on a Thursday. I know I will be running tomorrow morning (friday) and have a long run planned for Sunday. Still, Im a little disappointed in myself because I wanted to run 4 days this week like I did last week. I was able to get 13 miles last week, which is my general goal. I've only had that or around that distance like 2 or 3 times. Although Im not really a fan of running around our block, it is by far the most convenient. Without the drive, it makes starting early way easier.
Since Im not going to put a map up of where I ran because it's by where we live, I thought I would put a running memory pic up. The pic below is one of me and my husband right before our very first race ever!


So, I don't know how many of you are from and or live around Austin, but we've got a pretty cool sub place called Thunderclouds. The first time I went was in the one in Round Rock where we live. Then I use to go to the one by ACC campus when I was a student there a lot. More recently, I would frequent the one by airport when I use to work by there. At any rate, they are famous for having a race every thanksgiving. Im thinking about maybe doing it. Its a 5 mile race, which we have never run before and is ( according to their website) the LARGEST 5 mile race in texas:
www.thundercloud.com - look under Turkey Trot

End of the Month Recap

The picture above is from the 10k that we are going to be doing at the end of the month.

April-
12 runs,34.5 miles,
average run= 2.88 miles per run
************************
May-
15 runs,43.3 miles,
average run=2.89 miles per run
*********************************
June-
12 runs,39.2 miles,
average run=3.27 miles per run
*******************************
July-
11 runs, 38.0 miles
Average run= 3.45 miles per run
*******************************
August
13 runs, 44.6 miles
Average run= 3.43 miles per run

If you only have 1 MINUTE, check out this video that Runners World Daily Blog put up the other day. It's so cute!! TWO CORGIS RUNNING ON A TREADMILL! Nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjdQa-yc0QM&feature=player_embedded

Getting Closer

So today was a run that I really needed. I know that sounds weird, but after a week of runs where my ankle was hurting me, it was nice to have one where the pain wasn't that bad. Also, it was nice to have one in which my pace improved by over a minute versus all other runs of the week! Also, I have noticed I say "also" way tooo much in my blogs and I need to nix that.

But back to the run.
We ran at Lake Pflugerville Trail which has become our defacto run place. Mainly because running the block around the house is a harder 5k route and less scenic, Old Settlers Trail my husband doesn't like that much, San Gabriel Park in Georgetown which we last ran at is far away, Town Lake Trail ( WHICH I REEEEEALLLY want to go back to and run because we have only run it once) is really far from the house and Brushy Creek is a little bit further away too.

Im worried we are getting spoiled by running at Lake Pflugerville though because it is a generally flat course although there is not shade, so that does make it harder then the way more hilly Brushy Creek in that sense. Still Brushy Creek is harder, but that makes it cool. We have kind of been in a running trail rut but after 4 months, I guess that is to be expected. Its hard to find new trails that are close by. The good thing about races, especially if it is a hard course like that 4th of July race, is that it makes you appreciate your regular training places.

So, for the third time, getting back to the run. Almost all of my long runs have been here, so when Im shooting to increase my distance, this is probably the best place to do it. I don't have GPS on my phone or a Garmin ( sp?) so it's good to know that the trail is in general a 3 mile loop. Its marked sporadically, but generally in quarter mile increments.

I was so happy to finally go 5.5 miles because it has been so long since I have run that distance. I have less than a month to increase my distance because not only do we have the 10k in September, but there is a 10 mile race that we would like to do October 31st.My husband thinks we will be fine and we will have trained enough to do that. I am less confident because the furthest I have ever run is 6 miles. Which would mean that i would need to boost my running by 4 MILES in 2 months so that I am well prepared to run 10 miles and not kill myself. I don't think I will be able to do it and I don't want to let my husband down. :(.

So what Im thinking is that I will just continue training and trying to increase my long run every Sunday to the best of my ability and we will see. If I can increase my mileage to 8 miles by our 10k race date, then I will feel confident in my ability to do 8 miles. But like I said, I will have to see. I only have 3 more long runs or so before that race so it seems highly, highly unlikely I will increase my mileage that much. I generally try to follow a loose form of the 10% rule in that long runs are usually only about 10 minutes more then the week before.
Man, I have rambled!



For those of you who like running and tattoos, this is a pretty cool websites. Especially, if you are like me, and hope to one day have a running tattoo it's good for some ideas of inspiration, although most of the tattoos are some form of the running wings which I feel is a little overrated:
http://www.columbusrunning.com/tat4ever.htm

The Week of Ankle Pain

This week marked less than 30 days till our 10k race. And for the most part, the week of ankle pain. I don't know what I did, but every time I have run this week, my right ankle has been hurting so bad. My pace has been horrible.
But on the good news, I was really happy that we were able to run in Georgetown. We haven't run there since we did the relay race in June. The park is really cool, and I actually got to run some of the same route as our very first race back in April. That was like a weird de ja vu. Also, this was one of the first times since like May where the temperature felt really perfect for running. We were sweating at the end, but it wasn't a typical August run where you feel like the heat is perpetually slapping you in the face. Also, this is one of the first weeks in a while where I have already run 3 times and still have plans to run at least once more. Im hoping by increasing the amount of times I run, I will get a stronger overall mileage base. Right now, for 20 weeks of running, I average approx. 9.53 miles a week.





This is a really cool blog I found the other day while looking around on, you guessed it, RUNNERS WORLD. Its called "Shut-up and Run." and I love how this woman writes about running. She has spunk, attitude and a strong writing voice. I wish I could make my blog this good.
http://www.twentysixpointtwoormore.blogspot.com/

More Sleep, Less Wind

So, as you can probably tell by my status, I barely got any sleep and the wind was bad. I have one month and 11 days until the 10k ( 6.2 miles) and the furthest I have run in 2 weeks is 4.75 miles. Oi vey! Should I be concerned by my lack of distance? I don't know. All of my last 6 runs were continually longer then the last. Normally, we switch back and forth between medium runs, speed runs, and long runs. But these last 2 weeks, I have been trying to play catch-up and have been laying heavy on the longer end of runs. However, I think this is having an adverse effect on my runs because I am pushing my legs too much, too fast. So I think I need to cut back my distance a little bit, restagger and try again. Plus, definetly getting more sleep couldn't help. We stayed up way to late to get up and go run.
Here's a map of where I ran:


Man, Im trying to expand my horizons and look outside of Runners World for links to interesting running related stuff. But it's tough because the Runners World website has a lot of interesting stuff! At any rate, ( ugh, such a lazy expression!), I saw some info on this DVD that Im going to try and see if I can Netflix:
http://www.runlikeagirlfilm.com/synopsis.php
It is a movie called Run Like A Girl and as well as telling the personal story of three girls, it also talks about the history of women and running.

4 MONTHS OF RUNNING TODAY

It feels good to blog again. Some updates: I have still been running, although the new interval method I have been trying is HARD, also, I finally reached 6 miles not that long ago! Which made me really happy, BUT, the 10k race is in 44 days and I still have not run that .2 more. Also, I have only run that 6 miles one time.
I need to increase my long distances and get some practice in before the race because I know I will feel more comfortable with the distance if I do that.
But anyways, back to today. Me and the Brushy Creek Trail have had our differences in the past. Its a hard trail. But it's a good, scenic trail. Todays scenary included a snake! At any rate, I felt better at this run here then the last time I ran, I could feel some improvement. It wasn't as fast as a run as my last run on Tuesday, but it was .6 more, so that is something.
I feel like Im dragging in this blog. Probably cause Im hungry. I hope I can keep this running thing up. Im happy that today marks 4 months that we have been running. We (my husband and me have had a habit of starting running and stopping for the last 2 years, but we've never run as much or as dedicated as we have in these last 16 weeks) really like it, even when it is hard.

Here is a map of where I ran today:






John Bingham, a.k.a the Penguin, no longer writes for Runners World, he writes for the Competitor now, but long ago, he wrote this really inspiring piece called, " I am not a Jogger." For people like me, who often feel slow, it's pretty awesome.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-332--12126-0,00.html

IM BACK!!! End of the Month Recap!!

I can't believe I fell off the blog wagon!!! I was doing so good for a while there!!! Hopefully I can return to my former glory and kept it up, although, I did notice that towards the end, I was starting to get sloppy and not being as thorough in my run descriptions.

April-
12 runs,34.5 miles,
average run= 2.88 miles per run
************************
May-
15 runs,43.3 miles,
average run=2.89 miles per run
*********************************
June-
12 runs,39.2 miles,
average run=3.27 miles per run
*******************************
July-
11 runs, 38.0 miles
Average run= 3.45 miles per run

This a link for this movie, Run for your life, which is about Fred Lebow, the man who started the New York City Marathon. It's a dream of mine to one day run that marathon and it's really a cool movie to see how the marathon has grown. Unlike Spirit of the Marathon, which I have talked about before and linked to, which was about the Chicago Marathon, and 5 runners, this is more about Fred, then the marathon persay. ( Is that a long-winded sentence? Sheesh, runon much. ) I really love it!
http://www.fredlebowmovie.com/

If Life was like Running....

Then things would be a lot better.
The thing with running, is yes it sucks when it's slow and its hot.
But if you keep at, eventually, things will get better. and even if there's blisters, chafing, slow race times and the like, theres also
the moment when the cool breeze hits me, the wave other runners give you like " hey, we are in together", seeing the finish line.
But life isn't that easy. You can't practice life to make it better. Wow, that was a cheesy line. But you know what I mean.
Today I greatly improved my time. We took Eva, our scottish terrier, to the lake Pflugerville trail. The idea was that this would be a training run, with Vince walking with Eva and running with me. I was going to start out first, so Eva wouldn't have to run as far and they would catch up with me.
Only, Eva couldn't take the heat and was pooped after about a mile.
So I ran 2.25 miles and then walked back a quarter of a mile to catch up with them and then walked Eva for a mile till the end of the trail. And by walked Eva I mean walked, poured water on her, gave her water, and carried her some. So my back kinda hurts and stuff. Poor Eva. Its hard being a black dog in Texas.
And poor Vince. He ran/walked with Eva over 2 miles with no water because I had the water cause the focus was on my run. I was going to share it with him, because I thought he was going to be running with me, but he never caught up. So I ended up just giving him the water when I went back for them.
At first I didn't know what to think of it, cause I ran only 2.25 miles when I had wanted to run 4 miles.
But:
a. It was too damn hot. We shouldn't have took so long getting ready. ( But we were finishing an episode of Dexter as we were getting ready and eating our cereal. That series is SOOOOO GOOD!! We have one more episode of Season 2 right now, so don't ruin anything for us)
b. I still did one of my fastest times.
So, yes, I didn't run 4 miles, but I really didn't have it me.
But also yes, I improved my time.
And I'll take all the improvement/good news I can get.

Here's a map of where I ran:
( I'll post later)


Also, this is the link for the 10k race I registered us for! It's going to be our 1st 10k and it's in late September. Im really excited/nervous for this one because it's the first race so far where I haven't even done a run that long! eee!! The furthest I have practiced run is 5.25 miles. So I need to be able to run almost a mile more, and run it well at that. Definetly going to need to increase my long runs!
http://www.heelsandhills.com/

The Heat Returns

I don't care what Vince says about it not being that hot, it WAS.
Lately we've been spoiled by running later in the day and it being either raining or overcast.
Yesterday we ran in Del Rio at Star Park. We just left today. We were there visiting his family.
Star Park is a block that is about .22. So if you run it a little over 5 times, it's a little over a mile.



Above is a picture I took from the car.
I only ran 1.72 miles. I wanted to run a little over 2 miles, so I was kinda bummed about that.
I haven't had any improvements in my time for a while now. But maybe this week will be better... :(
Still, it was nice to have a change of scenery. Now, we can add Del Rio to the list of cities we have run in, which include:
-Round Rock
-Georgetown
-Pflugerville
-Austin
-San Antonio
-Live Oak
-Del Rio

Here is a map of where we ran:


Also, today was the 2010 Boilmaker 15k Race in Utica, New York.Its a race that looks really cool and is one of the rare races that Ive seen that is not the typical distance of 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon. Heres the website, although it doesn't have the usual info on an upcoming race right now because there was just a race:
http://www.boilermaker.com/

The Rain and me go the distance

So... today I went the furthest I have ever gone!!!! :)
I was still slow!!!
But it was the furthest!!!
And not only that, it rained the WHOLE time I ran the 5.25 miles, except for maybe 5 minutes.
My pace was even slower then the race pace. Ugh, I don't know what it is up lately.
I have been so slow. The good news is that I was really proud of myself for running so far in the rain. I know that in the past I would have just given up.
I am really looking forward to the day when I can run the WHOLE way. But until then, I am working on my intervals. Specifically, I think for this month I will continue my intervals of walking 2 minutes, then running 1 minute, except when after 10 minutes, this month I will only give myself a 1 minute walking for every 10 minutes. So basically it will be like:
2 minutes walking, 1 minute running, 2 minutes walking, 1 minute walking, 2 minutes walking, 1 minute running, 1 MINUTE walking ( then repeat all over every 10 minutes for as long as I am running)
Today I ran 1/8 of a mile without stopping. Which I know a lot of you are like WOW, a whole 1/8th of a mile. MAN, STOP THE PRESSES. To which I say, were YOU OUT RUNNING IN THE RAIN FOR ALMOST AN HOUR AND A HALF?!
To which some of you might say, yes, I was actually. and I actually RAN the whole time.
But nobody likes a show-off. :)

Here's where I ran today:
(I will post the map later)


Also, I came across these statistics and this article while reading a blog on Runners World, it's pretty interesting:

http://www.runningusa.org/node/57770#58231

Race Day- 4 mile Race

So, today was race day.
The good:
1. There were a LOT of people!
2. The Tech shirts we got were really cool and also we got a nice cold runners cloth for our neck at the end.
3. The course was very good and difficult. It was very scenic and not at all boring.
4. The volunteers and hosts of the event were very nice.
5. They had hot dogs, watermelon, water, soda.
6. This was the first race I have done so far where I actually INCREASED the distance raced( previously the furthest I raced was 3.1. So it was only .9 miles more but still)

The Bad:
For the first time in my races( I've only done 3 before) I did not do better then I thought I would. I actually did worse.
However, even though I kind of feel bad about that, I do know that some of it was not under my control.
The race was labeled " flat and fast". There were at least 3 MAJOR hills which I was not at all used to because ( our mistake) we NEVER train on hills. I could really feel the burn.
Also, we had to get up at 5.50 in the morning, so I was tired and not used to that.
And for my final excuse, it rained partly in the race.
I think those 3 factors help explain why I did over 5 minutes worse then I wanted to.

The Ugly:
Despite all the reasons given above, I really think the main reason I did bad was because, from the very beginning, my legs were sore. In fact, they have been sore on and off since wednesday. This week has been the longest amount of miles I have run ( 12.75) since I started running, which may be why they are so sore but still. I feel like I didn't have fighting chance.

The Lessons Learned:
STRETCH MORE!! GET MORE SLEEP!!
PRACTICE HILLS!! CROSS -TRAIN SO MY LEGS WON'T BE SO SORE.

And the wag of the finger goes to not keeping up my intervals. I have been pretty good since the beginning of June of doing my intervals and I was doing them for about the first 75% of the race. But my legs just started to hurt so bad, I walked for like 8 minutes straight and then started back on my intervals.

I hope I do better next time. We will be doing a 10k which is 2.2 miles longer so I am starting to get annoyed with how long it is taking me to run races because the further the distances, the even LONGER I will end up running.

But, I would highly recommend the San Antonio Running Club to people instersted in running races in the San Antonio area.
Here is their websites:
http://www.saroadrunners.com/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=736866

2 days till race day

And I ran 2 miles. My pace was not great, but what can you do?
My legs were soreeeeeeeee. It was raining. I felt dehyrated. Some other complaint, lol.
I have been feeling disheartened lately about my running. Last friday I had a great run and I haven't been able to capture the magic again. :(
However, I am happy that despite not feeling well this week, I still ran. And even though I am really nervous about this race on Sunday, I know I have prepared. Ive ran the distance about 5 times in the last month and a half, so I know at the very least I can finish it.
I am also happy because this is the first race that my mama will be at! I hope I make her proud!

Heres the link for where I ran:


Oh and this is a link for the website that talks about the movie Spirit of the Marathon, which is a REALLY good movie we bought about a mohttp://www.marathonmovie.com/

I shoulda listened to the man... :(

You know how my last entry I said it was one of my best runs?
Well, today was HORRIBLE and it was all my fault.
We went to the Stoneybrook High Track to do a training run. Vince, my husband, was going to help me. It was our 3rd training run. I wanted to do 2 miles at the pace I wanted to run on Sunday for our 4 mile race.
The promblem was I sprinted right from the start, which was a big mistake. Vince told me to slow down and go steady. So I did until I didn't. So I SPRINTED AGAIN!! GRRR!!! DO I EVER LEARN!!! So after that 2nd sprint, I did horrible. I still did my intervals, but I was so worn out from those 2 sprints that i could barely run a minute at a time.
Why didn't I listen to him?
We only have 2 more training runs left this week. Wednesday we have our long run and then friday we have another short run. I hope I learned my lesson and remember to be have a steady pace.

Here's where I ran:



By the way, if you live in the Austin area and like to run, the RunTex stores are really cool and helpful. Their websites have calculators to help tell you your pace and they also have a list of events in the area:
http://runtex.com/web/4-9.asp

My first Runners High

Im writing this late, because I just got home from work a little while ago.
But today was hands down the best day since I have been running.
Did I magically get fast?! No. Did I run as fast as my husband?! No. Did I...
well, ok, it was nothing major.
Except, to be cliche, it actually was.
We went running at Lake Pflugerville like normal. And i could barely run, like normal. I have been doing intervals. I walk 2 minutes, then run for a tiny bit, then walk 2 minutes, extc since June started.
But this time, it was so cool because after running 3 miles, I felt GREAT! I actually smiled while running for a bit. I looked at the lake and the gravel and the grass and felt so happy and fortunate to be outside. I hope to have that feeling again because I know that it won't be happening much I have been running for about 10 weeks and I haven't felt that.
So, anyways, here's where I ran today:



Oh and check out my husbands blog:

http://vincerun.blogspot.com

This is a good blog to check out. And Im not just saying that because he's my husband. Ok, well, maybe.

Here We Go

So, me and my husband started running on April 12th of this year.
So far, I know this:
1. I don't know much... ( but i know i love you, JUST COULDN'T RESIST!! )
2. I don't really RUN so much as I walk and run at very small intervals.( hence rawk)
3. Im kinda embarrased by how slow my times are, but Im hoping this blog will help me get over that.

So today we ran Brushy Creek Trail in Cedar Park. I was hesitate to run this trail, we ran it when we first started running at like 1 pm and the heat was horrible. So i was kinda worried, but actually it was pretty good. I actually made it in my top 10 times.

Here is the link for what I ran:


So, basically I ran 3.83 miles. I really need to run some more 4+ miles, but last week I hurt my foot and barely ran. This week I have run 6.83 miles, so that's something at least. Tommorow will be a rest day, so friday I will hopefully go longer! There is only 10 DAYS till my first 4 mile race!!!

The heat, though, is what is really getting to me. In order to combat the heat, I have to get up early and im not a morning person. But I think the more I sweat it out, the more intititive I will have to get to up.

Oh, and here is a link to blog that I saw mentioned on Runners World that I think is really cool:

http://runningandeating.wordpress.com/

I wish I was as fast as this lady.
But mainly, I wish I lived in New York!!