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

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

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

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

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

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/

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.