Ten Things Thursday- Cheer Up Charlie Edition

This week's ten things Thursday is a "Things that are making me happy right now" list as I had a crappy week. Hopefully by the time the weekend comes, things will be better.

1. Last week my poem came out in the Persona Literary Journal! I read my poem out loud at the release party and people cheered and laughed! One girl even told me it was her favorite in the journal!

2. Last week, I ran 12.37 miles- my longest run of the year and my 3RD LONGEST RUN EVER!!!
It was almost 3 hours of running, but I got it done!

3. My personal essay on running/walking for my Magazine Writing class got an A! Really relieved as it was the first time I did this style of writing. 

4. As you may have guessed, I like me some television. Right now I am really into Everybody Loves Raymond. I use to watch it a lot when it was on the air back when I still lived at home. I never got to see the first season before. I was only 10 when it came out! 10! Seems like forever ago. I think Peter Boyle's character Frank is my favorite. Followed by Robert.

5. I am 1/3 done with my training for the marathon! I think this first third will be the easiest as it helped me build my base, the middle 1/3 will probably be my hardest as I ramp up the length of my long runs and by the time the last 1/3 comes along, I will probably really be looking forward to the taper!

6. A couple of weeks ago, I went with my mom to Goodwill and was crusing the books. I got the book Revolutionary Road for 1 DOLLAR! I saw the movie last year and I loved it so I am looking forward to reading the book as a lot of English majors say it's one of their favorites. 



7. If you like running documentaries, I would recommend checking out MY RUN. It's pretty cool. It's about a man who loses his wife to cancer and becomes a single parent. He decides to run 75 marathons, one marathon a day, ending at Atlanta, Georgia during the 1996 Olympic Ceremonies to raise awareness for the plight of single parents.

8. My pets. They continually do goofy things that make me laugh. Even when they aren't, just looking at them or playing with my dog makes me happier. I really am grateful for them.

9. Getting to sleep in at least one day on the weekends.

10. The continued support of my running group. Thank you for putting up with me!  :)

Five Things Friday

(This is a pic from the some of the stairs at school I ran up and down on today.)

Workouts so far this week:

Monday- REST DAY
Tuesday- 3.6 miles (Run Group- Tempo/Hills)
Wednesday- 900 yd swim
Thursday- 3.85 miles (Run Group- Track workout)
Friday- 2.48 miles (Texas State Campus)

So, normally I do a pretty regular post called Ten Things Thursday but I was really busy yesterday and so I am shortening it to five things and posting it today.

1. My runs this week have been good. I really enjoyed my track workout Thursday morning especially. For the workout, we ran the straights and recovered on the curves. I was worried I wouldn't be able to hang, but I think I did alright.


2. Right now I am reading Heart of Darkness for my World Lit class. I feel like it was a lot more enjoyable when I read in high school for some reason.

3.  It's starting to get to the point with the weather where I'm not sure when I'm running if I'm wearing the right clothes. I prefer to wear tank tops for as long as possible but I HATE being cold. However, I also tend to overdress. When it is really cold, I can be seen wearing a shirt, long sleeve shirt, thin jacket and thick jacket. Kinda of overkill.

4.  Lately I have been noticing that not just in my running life but at work, I have a lot of really encouraging people who want to help me learn that are just so supportive. It's really awesome because I have had jobs in the past that weren't nearly so enjoyable to work at.

5. I have my first long run in two weeks this Sunday. I hope it goes well!

Have a great weekend everyone!

10 Weeks In- Last Week in Review

(pic from my swim friday night)

Workouts for the Week:
Monday- Rest Day
Tuesday- 5.94 miles (Run Group)
Wednesday- Rest Day
Thursday- 3.39 miles (Run Group)
Friday- 21 minutes core workout
739 yd swim
Saturday- Country Roads 10k (Race)
Sunday- 2.84 miles (easy run)

Last week was pretty busy for me. So unfortunately, I did not get a lot of cross-training in. I did, however, finally get a core workout in for the first time in two weeks. Yeah for small success's!
I ended up going to bed at 6 pm on Saturday and was asleep until 6 am Sunday morning. I was pooped.

On another note, I think that I am going to rethink the way I do long runs. Instead of worrying so much about distance, I am going to look to keep my goal distance in mind, but focus more on time-on-feet.  So, getting used to being on my feet might help relieve the pressure of feeling bad about my pace. It takes a lot out of me physically doing long runs, but it also always feels good to get it done. I feel like every time I finish one, I am one step closer to the marathon! I also like to see how I have progressed. I am really excited for the first time I run more then 13.1 miles as I have never have before. Hitting a new run distance is always really exciting.

I am also going to try and keep a tab on my avg. weekly mileage. It's now at 16.25 miles up from last week's avg of 15 miles. Definetly still a very low base for marathon training, but I still have about 6 months to go so I think it'll be ok.

Week #10 in the bag- 22 weeks left of training- 31% done!

Race Recap- Country Roads 10k

So, yesterday I raced at the Country Roads 10k. It was a great day to race. The weather was cool, no rain, barely any humidity, extc. It did start to get a little humid later but overall, it was pretty great.

I don't know if you can tell from this course map and the elevation, but it was a pretty hilly run. Not a lot of steep hills though, which was good, more like consistent. I knew there were going to be a lot of hills though, so I probably should have slowed it down my first mile.

Mile 1: 11:06

I got sweeped up in the excitement of the race and started my first mile wayyyy too fast to be something I could maintain for 6.2 miles. I also noticed from the very beginning that it was like my legs were really struggling and felt stiff. Running on the road was really bothering me. Which is weird because that typically doesn't happen. So I started running on the grass whenever I could and my calves felt a lot better.

I had about 5 people behind me after mile 1, but slowly and surely pretty much everyone passed me as my calves were starting to hurt.

Mile 2: 13:50

My GU that I took before the race started to set in and I got use to the hills. My third mile was faster. My fourth mile was just a little bit slower. I felt pretty happy with those splits as generally speaking, I tend to fall apart in the middle section of most races. I also think the hills started to take a breather here. Plus, there was some nice houses and scenery to look at.

Mile 3: 13:19

Mile 4: 13:22

At this point, the miles were starting to roll together and I had another gel right after the 5k mark. My legs were feeling better and other than the humidity that was starting to kick in, I was feeling pretty good. I was also feeling pretty alone as the field had about 80 people and I was in the back. It was pretty similar to running a long run with a much more urgent sense to speed up and the refusal to give in to the need to pee.

Mile 5: 13:23

Mile 6: 13:24

Miles 4, 5 and 6 were all within 1 or 2 seconds of each other. Which I think is pretty great if I say so myself. I was sticking to my intervals for the most part and I think it helped a lot.

I tried to give it everything I had for the last .21 miles and did that in a 10.55 min pace.

Total time: 1.21.55- 13:11 pace. My second fastest 10k time ever!

 

Also, special shout-out to my husband who PR'd by over 3 minutes and broke 50 minutes for the first time, coming in at a 48 min, something for a 7.48 avg pace! Really proud of him!

 

 

Very, very good race. I would definitely suggest doing this if you get the chance!

 

Ten Things Thursday



This is a pic from my run on Tuesday.

 

Workouts this week: 

Monday- Rest Day

Tuesday- 5.94 miles (Run Group- Tempo/Twist)

Wednesday- Rest Day

Thursday- 3.39 miles (Run Group-Track)

 

 

1. It's been a rough week and I can tell because it's only Thursday and I have already taken two rest days! Lots of school work and car problems. Oh well, hopefully next week goes better.
 

2. Tuesday we did a tempo run where every 5 minutes we did a 30 sec 5k pace. It was really cool and my longest run during m-f  in the ten weeks I have been training.
 

3. There's a race I saw that I'm considering signing up for later- Rogue 30k. It's about a month before the Marathon and at 18.6 miles, I think it would be a  good way to see where I am with my distance training.

 

4. I talk a lot in this blog about how helpful my run group has been (and they have!) but my husband is also very, very helpful. In fact, in not for him, I definitely would not have made it to my track workout today. He is very disciplined and no excuses kind of runner. I hope one day that rubs off on me.

 

 





 

5. Yesterday I had a Cherry Coke for the first time in like a year. It was maybe the best thing that has happened to me this year! No, not really lol. But I do really like it, although I try not to drink caffeine that much.
 

6. Lately Atreyu's song "Honor" has been my favorite "keep going" run song. I really like the line "We'll wear our scars like medals of hope." I try to remember that this pain/tiredness will make me stronger and it usually helps me get through the run.
 

7. For my magazine writing class, I am in the process of writing a Personal Essay called, " On Letting Go of the Blankie." It's about the pro's/con's of doing walking intervals while running and how sometimes it can make you question your identity as a "runner". While describing to my professor (who by the way has run a marathon!), what my paper was about  this other guy (WHO WAS NOT ASKED AND HAD NOT READ MY PAPER) proceeded to tell me that I was not a runner as runners don't walk. At all. EVER. It really aggravated me. I know we all have our opinions but I wasn't even asking him. Plus, to tell someone they aren't a runner, when you don't even know them, is really insulting.
 

8. Parenthood started back up this week. I love that show. Really nice to see Ray Romano on it!
 

9. I can't believe I am in the 10th week of training for my first marathon!!! Seems so unreal. I can't wait for February! It's going to be so awesome!
 

10. Race in 2 days!

So far, these are my 10k race times:

9/26/2010-1:27:57- 14:12

3/27/2011-1:30:04- 14:32

9/25/2011-1:20:27- 12:59- PR

3/25/2012-1:23:42- 13:30

 

(Pic from our first 10k-Sept. 2010)

 

I'm not really sure what time to aim for, but I try to have 3 goals- minimum, happy and pie-in-the-sky.

So I'm thinking-

Minimum- 1:23:00

Happy-1:21:30

Pie-in-the-Sky- 1:20:00- this would be a PR

I'll let you guys know! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

 



End of Week 9- Last Week in Review

(from YourAustinMarathon.com website)



Hey, did I mention I am training for this marathon?! :)

Last Week's Workouts:
Monday- 1531 yd swim
Tuesday- 5 miles (Run Group- Tempo/Hill)
Wednesday- 850 yd swim
Thursday- 3.87 miles (Run Group- 800's)
Friday- REST DAY
Saturday- 11.50 miles (San Gabriel Park)
Sunday-2 miles (Recovery Run)


So last week was so once again my longest weekly mileage. In fact, I ran more last week then I did the entire month of May! I started the first week of training at 11 miles and at week 9 am at 22 miles. I average about 15 miles of running a week. Far from the amount I need to have a good base for running, but it is going up. I want to increase volume slowly to prevent injuries.
Once again, for the second week in a row, I neglected to do core work. Sigh. So I am going to try and do better. My runs this week were a lot better then last week, which I am happy about.
The swim on Monday was the longest for me this year and I had one of my faster paced swims of the year for the other one.
I also signed up for the Country Road 10k which is this Saturday. The last time I did a 10k was in March, so I'm curious to see how I will do. My friend Erin mentioned this had a lot of hills, so I am going to keep that in mind when I think about my time goals for the race.
Also, we went to Rogue's Running in Cedar Park. I love that track indoor. Really cool. He got some new bright orange shoes!
Some photos from my long run. I ran from San Gabriel Park, through Rivery Park, up to Booty Trail and back some. I went out about 6.20 miles and came back about 5.30 miles:

Week #9 finished -23 more weeks till the Marathon- 28% done with training!

Ten Things Thursday

This is a pic from my track workout today.

Workouts for the Week so far:
Monday- 1531 yd swim
Tuesday- 5 miles (Run Group- Tempo/Hills)
Wednesday- 850 yd swim
Thursday- 3.78 miles (Run Group- Track 800's)

1. Just signed up for this race next week! I am really excited! We have barely done any races this year, this will be our 4th one and it was a great deal! 17 bucks for Texas State Students, with timing and a long-sleeve tech shirt. Kinda nervous about that hills, but it should be good training for the marathon!

2. My work meeting last week went really well, I work on the Round Rock Campus so it was nice to meet the people that work at the San Marcos campus. I'm really lucky to have a great immediate coordinator and a great director that I work under. Tomorrow we have a conference that includes various people who work for student support. Should be pretty cool.

3. I have had a lot of really good workouts this week.My swim Monday was the longest this year ( by .01 mile but still). I ran exactly 5 miles on Tuesday (my longest run during the week this training period), I had a under 50 min swim pace Wednesday and with the help of Mick today at the track, one of my repeats was a whole minute faster then the other ones!

4.Tuesday we did a tempo run and then hill repeats. I only did one mile of the tempo run but I did all 6 of the hill repeats. It took me a while, but I did it! Everyone keeps talking about the hills in the Austin Marathon so I am trying to be pro-active.

5. I need a core-group. Do those things exist? I just am not a motivated person when it comes to doing weights. Perhaps the reason they do not work for me is I do not do them much...

(Has anyone tried any of their workouts before? I get magazines and I SAY I'm going to do these workouts, but it usually doesn't happen for me.)

6. I thought I needed new shoes ( and I still think so) but then I saw my husbands running shoes had holes in them! :( I really want to try and go shoe-shopping with him soon. I am trying to convert him over to the Mizuno side. So far he has had one pair and likes them. The problem is he wears like a 13 and needs a lot of stability and it seems like there is always more shoes for neutral whenever we go looking. 

7. These ads really irritate me. There is no one weird tip! Totally annoying and falls into that quick fix mentality thing which I think is really unhealthy. I started running mainly to lose weight 2 years ago. All I have done is gain weight as I eat more since I workout ( I have a bad case of the I-deserve-this coupled with the crippling disease know as Stress Eating.) but even I know that most of it boils down to genetics, diet and exercise! ( I know that is a huge generalization and that there are cases/ legitimate health issues that make it hard but I think for the vast majority of people it is lack of self-control and/or not working out. I never met a hot wing or a piece of chocolate I could turn down!) Sheesh!

 

8. I am reading one of Tolstoy's short stories for one of my literature classes and it is a slowww read so far. I love poetry and I love fiction/non-fiction, but in general, I am not so much a fan of the short story although hopefully this one will get better. This is my only straight literature class as my other English class is Magazine Writing and is very non-traditional in terms of reading, although there is a textbook it is more of a compilation of various magazine articles.

 

9. I haven't had a full rest day with no exercise since last Friday. That can't be smart training for me so I am definetly taking tomorrow off. I just have so many workouts I want to do and I am not in the mood this week for 2 a days. Not that I really even do a lot of those anyways so I don't know why I am complaining, lol.


10. I am really nervous about this long run Sunday. Although I have good workouts this week so far, the long run is a different beast and that last 10.7 mile is kinda making me worry. It only gets harder and longer from here, but one indiviual run does not define my whole training. I need to remember that.

Last Week- 25% done with marathon training!

The pics above are from my run on Sunday.

Workouts last week:

Monday- 1100 yd swim

Tuesday- 4.25 miles (group run- tempo run)

Wednesday- Rest Day

Thursday- 3.53 miles (group run- track workout)

1285 yd swim

Friday- Rest Day

Saturday- 4.76 miles (fartlek treadmill run)

Sunday- 6.06 miles (Lake Pflugerville run)

 The biggest thing about last week is we FINALLY REGISTERED FOR THE MARATHON! As far as workouts go, this was my recovery week, so I hoped to have 4 runs, 4 swims and 1 core workout. I got all four of my runs in but only two swims and no core workouts. I wish I would have got all my cross-training in but, I know that the most important thing is to get my runs in. Plus I was feeling really tired this week and knew I would benefit from some rest days. Towards the end of the week, I got more sleep and I woke up today feeling a lot better. I ate a lot better last week and really am enjoying my new classes for the semester. I'm kinda nervous about my upcoming long run this Sunday as the last one didn't go to well, but I think getting more sleep this week, eating better and not doing hard workout the day before should really make a difference. I hope everyone had a great labor day!

Week #8 of Marathon Training in the bag- 24 weeks left-25% done!!