WARNING: Gross pictures of black toenails to ensue, so if that isn't your thing, leave this post now!
Friday, March 25, 2011
The State of my Toes
Since training for the last two half marathons, my toes have endured some brutal bashing. I have been thinking for a while now that I think I may need a little more room in the toe box area due to the beating my toes take on long runs. I just bought a new pair of shoes in a half size larger, but I don't think they are for me, they're causing some ankle pain and I think they are going to have to go back to the store. I think I may end up with a half size larger in my beloved Mizuno Wave Inspire 6s or try something new again. But anything that can help stop the pain of my poor toes are enduring will be fabulous!
WARNING: Gross pictures of black toenails to ensue, so if that isn't your thing, leave this post now!
WARNING: Gross pictures of black toenails to ensue, so if that isn't your thing, leave this post now!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Running Reflections
Now that my third half marathon is over, and I've got the PR I've been chasing, it's given me some time to reflect on my running up to this point. I've learned a lot from running. I've learned a lot about what works for me and what doesn't. But, I still beat myself up after every race about everything I did wrong. Looking back on Sunday's race, I know I am capable of more.
So, what works: running with a handheld water bottle. This is my number one. I get thirsty, I need water. It doesn't seem to matter the distance, but especially now that the heat is setting in, even if it's just an easy 3 miler, and maybe it's a crutch, but I need my handheld. Fueling every 40-45 minutes or about every 4 miles. I thought I was pretty set on Chocolate Outrage GU as my fuel of choice, but I'm starting to think I may need to start testing some others, but the time frame is a definite keeper. Also, pre-run, I always need to fuel with an english muffin topped with natural peanut butter and some water. This seems to work best. Sweaty Bands over BondiBands, the BondiBands are just too thick and make me too hot. Lululemon Ta Ta Tamer sports bra. It's the best bra I have ever found and I now own 3 of them and I want a million more if I could afford them. I also find I like to stay as cool as possible, so good running shorts, I love my Mizuno Ascends, are a must. As well as wicking shirts/tanks.
What I need to work on: boinking out during a race mentally. This is always where I lose it. During training I am alone, I run my long runs, and I push myself to keep going and zone out to my music, and push myself to finish the distance left. During races, I lose it, I can't sustain my mental strength. I give in to fatigue and the old me in my head that says it's okay to walk, "you are tired," or "you've already gone so far, you need a break," then I see a bunch of other people walking, and I just follow them. I hate myself for it. I hate that I look at my Garmin and feel a false sense of security sometimes, like I did on Sunday, I knew I would get my PR and my goal, and that was good enough then when I was feeling so tired and achy, but today, it's not good enough, because I'm not happy with my performance, especially when I know I was capable of more.
So what can I do? I can work on fighting the "bad" voices and desires to slow down, to walk, to give in. Training is as much a mental aspect as a physical one and I obviously still have a way to go. I think a lot of factors also influence how well I do or don't do. Heat definitely is a big factor. I don't do well with heat. I also think I need to try a hat or visor maybe, something to shade my face when the sun is blazing, not just sunglasses. Also, I think I need to get refitted for shoes or go up a half size in my current Mizuno Wave Inspire 6s. While I love my shoes, when the temperature increases, and I am running longer distances, my feet seem to be swelling a lot more, and my second toes are hitting the top of the toebox and giving me black toenails and blisters on my left foot near the inner ball/toe area, despite my fancy Injinji toe socks. I'm also going to work on pacing better, not going out too fast, reserving energy, and all that jazz.
Hopefully, my new strategies work, and I can look back at a race and not be so critical of myself, however, I guess that's the point of racing right? To always improve and try to beat your previous PR. Next time though, I can definitely say, my #1 goal for the race will be to run a "smart race," and then PR of course!
So, what works: running with a handheld water bottle. This is my number one. I get thirsty, I need water. It doesn't seem to matter the distance, but especially now that the heat is setting in, even if it's just an easy 3 miler, and maybe it's a crutch, but I need my handheld. Fueling every 40-45 minutes or about every 4 miles. I thought I was pretty set on Chocolate Outrage GU as my fuel of choice, but I'm starting to think I may need to start testing some others, but the time frame is a definite keeper. Also, pre-run, I always need to fuel with an english muffin topped with natural peanut butter and some water. This seems to work best. Sweaty Bands over BondiBands, the BondiBands are just too thick and make me too hot. Lululemon Ta Ta Tamer sports bra. It's the best bra I have ever found and I now own 3 of them and I want a million more if I could afford them. I also find I like to stay as cool as possible, so good running shorts, I love my Mizuno Ascends, are a must. As well as wicking shirts/tanks.
What I need to work on: boinking out during a race mentally. This is always where I lose it. During training I am alone, I run my long runs, and I push myself to keep going and zone out to my music, and push myself to finish the distance left. During races, I lose it, I can't sustain my mental strength. I give in to fatigue and the old me in my head that says it's okay to walk, "you are tired," or "you've already gone so far, you need a break," then I see a bunch of other people walking, and I just follow them. I hate myself for it. I hate that I look at my Garmin and feel a false sense of security sometimes, like I did on Sunday, I knew I would get my PR and my goal, and that was good enough then when I was feeling so tired and achy, but today, it's not good enough, because I'm not happy with my performance, especially when I know I was capable of more.
So what can I do? I can work on fighting the "bad" voices and desires to slow down, to walk, to give in. Training is as much a mental aspect as a physical one and I obviously still have a way to go. I think a lot of factors also influence how well I do or don't do. Heat definitely is a big factor. I don't do well with heat. I also think I need to try a hat or visor maybe, something to shade my face when the sun is blazing, not just sunglasses. Also, I think I need to get refitted for shoes or go up a half size in my current Mizuno Wave Inspire 6s. While I love my shoes, when the temperature increases, and I am running longer distances, my feet seem to be swelling a lot more, and my second toes are hitting the top of the toebox and giving me black toenails and blisters on my left foot near the inner ball/toe area, despite my fancy Injinji toe socks. I'm also going to work on pacing better, not going out too fast, reserving energy, and all that jazz.
Hopefully, my new strategies work, and I can look back at a race and not be so critical of myself, however, I guess that's the point of racing right? To always improve and try to beat your previous PR. Next time though, I can definitely say, my #1 goal for the race will be to run a "smart race," and then PR of course!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
New PR - Germantown Half Marathon Recap
Third half marathon in one year is now over and in the books and I have finally broken my PR that I set last year at this same race. The PR I have been itching to break since setting it 364 days ago. Today's race was the polar opposite of last year's, last year it was pouring down rain and 44 degrees and dropping when the race started, and continued to rain and get colder as the race went on. This year it was sunny and 60 degrees at race start, perfect weather, except then it got really hot, really fast
My day started at 5 am when the alarm went off, I groggily got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to make myself some coffee and a peanut butter english muffin. Race mornings I always worry about getting my digestive system going so I don't have to take any unexpected bathroom breaks during the race, unfortunately this doesn't always work out so well, as I learned at Disney Princess 3 weeks ago. I drank my coffee and ate my muffin and then got dressed in my new favorite tech tee (the Disney Princess Half race shirt), running shorts, Injinji toe socks, my good luck sparkly Sweaty Band, my favorite lululemon Ta Ta Tamer sports bra, and my Mizuno Wave Inspire 6 running shoes. I packed my SPIbelt, iPod, and Garmin, along with my Nathan Quickdraw handheld water bottle, and my favorite Chocolate Outrage GU, and we set off.
Last year we drove around for like 20 minutes looking for parking near the race, this year, we zipped right in. Last year, I stood in a port-a-potty line for 15 minutes and started the race 5 minutes late, this year, I found a real bathroom in a park on my way to the race start. What a difference a year makes! So this time I actually got to line up at the start and not be so stressed out. I chatted with some other racers and tried to get my head ready to run a good race and PR.
7:30 a.m. came and we were off! The first couple miles I was flying, I had to keep reminding myself to slow down or I was going to run out of steam. Mile 4 I decided to take my first GU and my first little walk break to eat the GU and refill my water bottle. I was feeling great though, I had conquered the major hills of the course, I had maintained sub-10 minute splits for all 4 miles, and I was right on target for a 2:10 finish. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 my lungs started to bother me and I started having a tight feeling in my chest and the feeling like I wasn't getting enough air. I slowed down, got out my inhaler and used it. The heat was starting to kick in, and the sun was in my face even with my sunglasses on. I could feel it burning. But I pressed on. My lungs continued to bother me on the trek and I again used my inhaler at some point.
I got to Mile 6 and the aid station, I grabbed some Gatorade and more water to refill my bottle. On the opposite side some spectators were passing out beer, I didn't take any, but I thought it was funny, usually beer is reserved for after the race, not during it! Once I passed the aid station I noticed my shoes were coming untied, so I ducked to the side to retie them. I set off again, but then my shoes were too tight, so back to the side I went to adjust. Finally I passed over the midway timing pad (6.55 miles) and according to the official results, I crossed it at 1:07:27, running a 10:18 pace. When I got to mile 7, I told myself, "okay, only 6 more to go." By then though it was starting to wear on me and get pretty hot out. Somehow though, I kept going and I ran next to a girl who started talking to me, even though I had my headphones on. She was nice and she was saying now was when it started to get hard, and I said I know, I really wanted to walk, but I wanted to PR so bad. She told me to do it. That I could and that she'd run with me some. She was awesome! I ran my fastest mile then, 9:06, and took my GU again when I hit mile 8 and the next aid station. I again got some water to refill my bottle at the aid station and went on my way. Mile 9 we entered another park, and it was pretty uneventful except that it's the first time I finally gave in and walked for real a couple times, just for rest. No asthma, just plain tiredness and the feeling like I needed to stop for a little while.
Mile 10 I hit the wall, hard. I always seem to hit it there. But it was so hot, and by then I could feel my face burned. I should have put on sunscreen this morning. I dumped some of my water from my bottle on my face, and it helped a little, but not a lot. I tried to keep my mind off things, I tried to say, only 3 miles left, I tried to look at my watch and remind myself of my impending PR that I so desperately wanted. But my right hamstring was hurting, my left foot was hurting, I could feel a blister, and I just wanted to be done. I was at 10.40 miles and walking when I saw my friend from a few miles back again. She caught up to me and said come on, no walking, it's time to PR! She told me we could push each other to the finish. I was never more grateful to have someone. She told me her name was Ann and she was from Chicago, and it was her first time running this race. I told her about last year's and the horrid weather. We stuck together until we got to mile 11 and then I was feeling good again and she urged me to go on. With 2 miles left I was feeling like I could do it. I was trying to get back to my frame of mind from my training runs, where I always try to zone out for the last 2 miles and just let them click by, but still giving good effort. I managed to do pretty well, until I got to about 11.85 miles, I started getting a chill. It scared me. It was brutally hot out, about 75 degrees, yet I had goosebumps on my arms, and was actually cold. I was starting to think maybe I was getting dehydrated. I walked for a second to see if that helped me and sipped my water some and rubbed my arms. The chill went away and I kept going.
I hit the 12 mile mark and I knew I was in the home stretch now, only 1 mile left and time to give it all I had. I tried to go all out. My legs though couldn't go as fast as I wanted them to, but they kept going. Finally I rounded the corner and I saw mile 13 in sight and all the spectators. My legs hurt so much, especially the right hamstring and the darn left foot. I wanted to collapse. I didn't want to do the extra .1 mile. I started tearing up. The look on my face must have scared some spectators, because they were looking at me with such pity. I seriously was crying while running. But the flood of emotions just came out. I was in pain, but I was also finally breaking the PR I had worked so hard for. I sprinted from the mile 13 sign to the balloon arch and the finish line timing pads. My aunt was there and was yelling "GO, GO, GOOOO!!!" My watch said 2:14:24 as I crossed the finish line. Not the 2:10:xx I had hoped for, or the 2:08:xx I thought I was capable of at the beginning of the race, but still a PR and a decent time. Amazingly, my legs didn't feel like jello after crossing the finish line like they did last year, or even 3 weeks ago. I felt strong. Tired, a tad sore, but not completely flat out. More than anything I just wanted my shoes off. I made my way to the snack table and took 2 banana halves and 2 chocolate sandwich cookies and refilled my water bottle. Ate my snacks, then made our way to the car to finally get my shoes off.
Sure enough, I have 2 black toenails and a monster blister on my left foot. Taking off my shoes and putting on my flip flops never felt so good. My left knee also felt achy and clicky after the race. I made sure to rest and ice it. Overall though, I still feel good! Much better than expected.
Official results:
Garmin Splits:
My day started at 5 am when the alarm went off, I groggily got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to make myself some coffee and a peanut butter english muffin. Race mornings I always worry about getting my digestive system going so I don't have to take any unexpected bathroom breaks during the race, unfortunately this doesn't always work out so well, as I learned at Disney Princess 3 weeks ago. I drank my coffee and ate my muffin and then got dressed in my new favorite tech tee (the Disney Princess Half race shirt), running shorts, Injinji toe socks, my good luck sparkly Sweaty Band, my favorite lululemon Ta Ta Tamer sports bra, and my Mizuno Wave Inspire 6 running shoes. I packed my SPIbelt, iPod, and Garmin, along with my Nathan Quickdraw handheld water bottle, and my favorite Chocolate Outrage GU, and we set off.
Last year we drove around for like 20 minutes looking for parking near the race, this year, we zipped right in. Last year, I stood in a port-a-potty line for 15 minutes and started the race 5 minutes late, this year, I found a real bathroom in a park on my way to the race start. What a difference a year makes! So this time I actually got to line up at the start and not be so stressed out. I chatted with some other racers and tried to get my head ready to run a good race and PR.
7:30 a.m. came and we were off! The first couple miles I was flying, I had to keep reminding myself to slow down or I was going to run out of steam. Mile 4 I decided to take my first GU and my first little walk break to eat the GU and refill my water bottle. I was feeling great though, I had conquered the major hills of the course, I had maintained sub-10 minute splits for all 4 miles, and I was right on target for a 2:10 finish. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 my lungs started to bother me and I started having a tight feeling in my chest and the feeling like I wasn't getting enough air. I slowed down, got out my inhaler and used it. The heat was starting to kick in, and the sun was in my face even with my sunglasses on. I could feel it burning. But I pressed on. My lungs continued to bother me on the trek and I again used my inhaler at some point.
I got to Mile 6 and the aid station, I grabbed some Gatorade and more water to refill my bottle. On the opposite side some spectators were passing out beer, I didn't take any, but I thought it was funny, usually beer is reserved for after the race, not during it! Once I passed the aid station I noticed my shoes were coming untied, so I ducked to the side to retie them. I set off again, but then my shoes were too tight, so back to the side I went to adjust. Finally I passed over the midway timing pad (6.55 miles) and according to the official results, I crossed it at 1:07:27, running a 10:18 pace. When I got to mile 7, I told myself, "okay, only 6 more to go." By then though it was starting to wear on me and get pretty hot out. Somehow though, I kept going and I ran next to a girl who started talking to me, even though I had my headphones on. She was nice and she was saying now was when it started to get hard, and I said I know, I really wanted to walk, but I wanted to PR so bad. She told me to do it. That I could and that she'd run with me some. She was awesome! I ran my fastest mile then, 9:06, and took my GU again when I hit mile 8 and the next aid station. I again got some water to refill my bottle at the aid station and went on my way. Mile 9 we entered another park, and it was pretty uneventful except that it's the first time I finally gave in and walked for real a couple times, just for rest. No asthma, just plain tiredness and the feeling like I needed to stop for a little while.
Mile 10 I hit the wall, hard. I always seem to hit it there. But it was so hot, and by then I could feel my face burned. I should have put on sunscreen this morning. I dumped some of my water from my bottle on my face, and it helped a little, but not a lot. I tried to keep my mind off things, I tried to say, only 3 miles left, I tried to look at my watch and remind myself of my impending PR that I so desperately wanted. But my right hamstring was hurting, my left foot was hurting, I could feel a blister, and I just wanted to be done. I was at 10.40 miles and walking when I saw my friend from a few miles back again. She caught up to me and said come on, no walking, it's time to PR! She told me we could push each other to the finish. I was never more grateful to have someone. She told me her name was Ann and she was from Chicago, and it was her first time running this race. I told her about last year's and the horrid weather. We stuck together until we got to mile 11 and then I was feeling good again and she urged me to go on. With 2 miles left I was feeling like I could do it. I was trying to get back to my frame of mind from my training runs, where I always try to zone out for the last 2 miles and just let them click by, but still giving good effort. I managed to do pretty well, until I got to about 11.85 miles, I started getting a chill. It scared me. It was brutally hot out, about 75 degrees, yet I had goosebumps on my arms, and was actually cold. I was starting to think maybe I was getting dehydrated. I walked for a second to see if that helped me and sipped my water some and rubbed my arms. The chill went away and I kept going.
I hit the 12 mile mark and I knew I was in the home stretch now, only 1 mile left and time to give it all I had. I tried to go all out. My legs though couldn't go as fast as I wanted them to, but they kept going. Finally I rounded the corner and I saw mile 13 in sight and all the spectators. My legs hurt so much, especially the right hamstring and the darn left foot. I wanted to collapse. I didn't want to do the extra .1 mile. I started tearing up. The look on my face must have scared some spectators, because they were looking at me with such pity. I seriously was crying while running. But the flood of emotions just came out. I was in pain, but I was also finally breaking the PR I had worked so hard for. I sprinted from the mile 13 sign to the balloon arch and the finish line timing pads. My aunt was there and was yelling "GO, GO, GOOOO!!!" My watch said 2:14:24 as I crossed the finish line. Not the 2:10:xx I had hoped for, or the 2:08:xx I thought I was capable of at the beginning of the race, but still a PR and a decent time. Amazingly, my legs didn't feel like jello after crossing the finish line like they did last year, or even 3 weeks ago. I felt strong. Tired, a tad sore, but not completely flat out. More than anything I just wanted my shoes off. I made my way to the snack table and took 2 banana halves and 2 chocolate sandwich cookies and refilled my water bottle. Ate my snacks, then made our way to the car to finally get my shoes off.
Sure enough, I have 2 black toenails and a monster blister on my left foot. Taking off my shoes and putting on my flip flops never felt so good. My left knee also felt achy and clicky after the race. I made sure to rest and ice it. Overall though, I still feel good! Much better than expected.
Official results:
Garmin Splits:
Garmin Readout:
Some race photos:
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Disney Princess Half Marathon Recap
I did it!! I completed the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday February 27th in Orlando, FL, and what a race it was! First off, I ended up coming down with the beginnings of a chest cold on Wednesday night. I knew something didn't seem right, and I felt "off." Thursday it turned into a full blown mess and only went downhill from there. I immediately started sucking down Emergen-C packets on Thursday, hoping to head the sucker off, but I was too late. I still managed to run 2 miles on Thursday around a park not far from my mom's house in the 85 degree heat. It was horrible, considering I was so phlegmy and congested and all around nasty. Friday I was still feeling pretty miserable, and decided the Emergen-C and Mucinex I had begun taking weren't doing too much, so I switched over to Zicam every 3 hours and continued with the Mucinex hoping for some relief. I knew the constant hacking wasn't going to be good for race day. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help. Saturday was more of the same, I was tired, achy, and so very sick. I started to question whether or not I should run, but I had come all this way, and paid so much money, I had to run. My mom was so worried about me, she didn't want me to run, but I assured her I would be okay and would walk when I needed to, and take it easy. I knew my PR I had set my sights on wasn't going to happen this race, not under these conditions.
Saturday morning my aunt and I headed out from our hotel, Disney's All Star Movies, and hit ESPN Wide World of Sports where the Disney's Fit For A Princess Expo was taking place. I had to go pick up my bib and race packet, plus even though I wasn't feeling great, I wanted to look at what the vendors had to offer since this was the largest race I had ever registered for. The expo was insane. The line to get in was super long and we waited in it for at least 15 minutes. Then I waited in line for about 35 minutes to get my bib and D-tag. Finally, it was time to shop! The only thing I knew I wanted to look for at the expo were Sweaty Bands. I have some Bondi Bands headbands, but I find they get very hot on my head, so I wanted to give the Sweaty Bands a try and see if the thinner headband helps alleviate some of my heat issues. I found my Sweaty Bands, purchased a few and was on my way. I also ended up with an awesome new pair of super lightweight anti-fog running sunglasses. I've been running with my bug-eye Kate Spade usual sunglasses and they are heavy and tend to slip off when I get really sweaty, so the new sunglasses are much needed. Other than that I didn't find much else worth purchasing at the expo and we left. It was just too crowded. I did have some fun playing with some pink princess Mickey ears though! I also wasn't impressed by the "goody bag" given out. It was a green mesh bag, and inside was a nice Champion tech tee and a mini Luna bar, and a bunch of advertisements. Seriously? That's it for $130?
Sunday morning my alarm went off at 3 a.m. I had laid out all my gear the night before and got to getting dressed. I ate 3/4 of a multi grain english muffin with some natural pb on it that I had brought with me. Aunt Tara and I then set off for the shuttle bus. We were supposed to be on the bus by 4 a.m. but the lines were ridiculous. We ended up not getting on the bus until about 4:15 a.m. The bus got us Epcot, we walked a little ways into the finish line/family reunion area where I used a port-a-potty and said my goodbyes to my aunt. I then set off on the 20 minute trek to the starting line. There was a wall of people. It was so incredibly crowded, I could not get around anyone. I wanted to walk a little faster, but no one was moving out of the way, so I just went along with the crowd. Finally I made it to my corral, Corral B, by about 5:20 a.m. Finally at 5:45 a.m. it was time to begin with the wheelchair start. The Fairy Godmother wished the racer luck, the fireworks went off, and the race began! Two minutes later, they did it again for Corral A, and seven minutes later at 5:53 a.m. it was our turn!! It took me a couple minutes to cross the starting line even though I wasn't that far back in the corral, but it was so crowded. I tried to run that first mile, but I could not get to a good pace and it was so dark. It continued like this for the first 4 miles or so.
I quickly made my way to the post race refreshments and grabbed a water and a banana, and found my aunt. The only time I want a raw banana is after a race, I think my body seriously craves the potassium. In the end, I crossed the finish line in 2:25:50 according to the official results, including the bathroom break. I'm still proud of my time, even if it wasn't a PR like I had wanted, I realize now that even if I had been in good health, it would have been very difficult with the crowding to get the time I wanted. I ran a pretty strong race, I just need to work on the mental aspect at the end where I fell apart. I feel as though I can mentally get through most long runs though, as I've been getting through them just fine during training and maintaining a steady pace, I have to think that this was an isolated incident due to the conditions and my sickness. We'll see in 2.5 weeks when I run my next half, and hope I can finally get that PR!
Saturday morning my aunt and I headed out from our hotel, Disney's All Star Movies, and hit ESPN Wide World of Sports where the Disney's Fit For A Princess Expo was taking place. I had to go pick up my bib and race packet, plus even though I wasn't feeling great, I wanted to look at what the vendors had to offer since this was the largest race I had ever registered for. The expo was insane. The line to get in was super long and we waited in it for at least 15 minutes. Then I waited in line for about 35 minutes to get my bib and D-tag. Finally, it was time to shop! The only thing I knew I wanted to look for at the expo were Sweaty Bands. I have some Bondi Bands headbands, but I find they get very hot on my head, so I wanted to give the Sweaty Bands a try and see if the thinner headband helps alleviate some of my heat issues. I found my Sweaty Bands, purchased a few and was on my way. I also ended up with an awesome new pair of super lightweight anti-fog running sunglasses. I've been running with my bug-eye Kate Spade usual sunglasses and they are heavy and tend to slip off when I get really sweaty, so the new sunglasses are much needed. Other than that I didn't find much else worth purchasing at the expo and we left. It was just too crowded. I did have some fun playing with some pink princess Mickey ears though! I also wasn't impressed by the "goody bag" given out. It was a green mesh bag, and inside was a nice Champion tech tee and a mini Luna bar, and a bunch of advertisements. Seriously? That's it for $130?
Sunday morning my alarm went off at 3 a.m. I had laid out all my gear the night before and got to getting dressed. I ate 3/4 of a multi grain english muffin with some natural pb on it that I had brought with me. Aunt Tara and I then set off for the shuttle bus. We were supposed to be on the bus by 4 a.m. but the lines were ridiculous. We ended up not getting on the bus until about 4:15 a.m. The bus got us Epcot, we walked a little ways into the finish line/family reunion area where I used a port-a-potty and said my goodbyes to my aunt. I then set off on the 20 minute trek to the starting line. There was a wall of people. It was so incredibly crowded, I could not get around anyone. I wanted to walk a little faster, but no one was moving out of the way, so I just went along with the crowd. Finally I made it to my corral, Corral B, by about 5:20 a.m. Finally at 5:45 a.m. it was time to begin with the wheelchair start. The Fairy Godmother wished the racer luck, the fireworks went off, and the race began! Two minutes later, they did it again for Corral A, and seven minutes later at 5:53 a.m. it was our turn!! It took me a couple minutes to cross the starting line even though I wasn't that far back in the corral, but it was so crowded. I tried to run that first mile, but I could not get to a good pace and it was so dark. It continued like this for the first 4 miles or so.
I wasn't feeling so great, especially around mile 3-4, my stomach started hurting and I thought maybe I was going to be sick. As you can see, I carried my handheld bottle filled with water, so I just sipped on it and tried to relax. I saw my aunt at mile 4.5 and it lifted my spirits a lot! Mile 5.5 brought with it entry into the Magic Kingdom! Before that the race was being run along connector roads, in parking lots, and on back lots, with plenty of Disney entertainment along the way, characters out that you could stop and take your picture with (I didn't want to waste time, the lines were super long), and music blaring. Mile 5.5 opened up and we began running onto Main Street U.S.A. finally! Crowds were in full force cheering, it was awesome! We ran towards the castle and then veered off into Tomorrowland towards Space Mountain. Kept going, through Fantasyland, and finally right through Cinderella's Castle! It was so magical, but went by so very fast. After the castle, we headed right into Frontierland and did a small portion towards Splash Mountain before ducking out a side entrance onto a back lot not far from Pirates of the Caribbean and it was back on to the connector roads for the rest of the race. I decided to take a Chocolate Outrage GU now since we were officially at the halfway mark.
Miles 7-11 were really pretty boring. There wasn't a whole lot of crowd support, only near the Polynesian Resort when we finally ran passed it. There were characters set out to do photo ops, but the entertainment wasn't as good. Between miles 8-9 my stomach really started to hurt, and I knew I needed to find a bathroom stat! I knew there would be port-a-potties at every mile/aid station, and I knew there had to be one coming up at mile 9, but that mile took what seemed like an eternity to get there. I slowed way down because of the stomach pain and the blaring sun and heat didn't help much. Finally, the aid station and the port-a-potties came into sight and I couldn't have been happier to run to the grimy things. I ducked into one quickly and tried not to lose a whole bunch of time. I stopped at the aid station to refill my bottle and was off again. Mile 10 was hard. It was the first time that I finally gave up and began walking. I just couldn't do it anymore. I was tired, the sun was getting too hot, I was overheating, I couldn't breathe, and I was mentally exhausted. Plus, there was a huge hill in the form of an on ramp and it was steep and hard to climb. I knew I wasn't going to PR, so I decided I would just walk as needed from there on out. At mile 11 I tried to reinvigorate myself and give myself a pep talk, "you've done this before, think about your training runs, 2 more miles, that's it, you can run 2 more miles, the last 2 miles are always the easiest for you." It didn't work. I couldn't breathe. I had to stop and use my inhaler finally.
We hit mile 12 just as we reentered the Epcot parking lot area. I told myself I could do it, "come on, you always finish strong and gun it the last mile" so I started trying to give it all I had. I ran, ran, and there was about half a mile left, and I just couldn't do it anymore. My legs hurt, my thighs hurt, everything hurt. I had to walk. I told myself I couldn't do it, then I told myself "why are you being a baby? Yes you can do this!" I ran a little more, then walked a little more, then I rounded the corner and I could see the finish line and the crowds, can't walk then, so I started running again. Finally, sweet relief as I crossed the finish line! I went up to a fairy godmother who sprinkled me with pixie dust, and then received my tiara medal!
I quickly made my way to the post race refreshments and grabbed a water and a banana, and found my aunt. The only time I want a raw banana is after a race, I think my body seriously craves the potassium. In the end, I crossed the finish line in 2:25:50 according to the official results, including the bathroom break. I'm still proud of my time, even if it wasn't a PR like I had wanted, I realize now that even if I had been in good health, it would have been very difficult with the crowding to get the time I wanted. I ran a pretty strong race, I just need to work on the mental aspect at the end where I fell apart. I feel as though I can mentally get through most long runs though, as I've been getting through them just fine during training and maintaining a steady pace, I have to think that this was an isolated incident due to the conditions and my sickness. We'll see in 2.5 weeks when I run my next half, and hope I can finally get that PR!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Half Training Week 11 Complete
This was my penultimate week before the Disney Princess Half, which is coming up so soon, Sunday February 27th. This was my highest mileage week, 22 total miles, and also included my longest run this training cycle, 11 miles. I'm still thinking after this race it will be time to replace my shoes, it's probably time now, but, I don't want to run the race in new shoes, silly I know, but they always tell you not to run a race in new gear, so I'll be abiding by this and making the half my last race in my trusty lime green Mizuno Wave Inspire 6's before I switch over to my new pink Inspire 6's that I bought on discount a couple months ago that are now waiting for me under the bed.
Monday began with an easy 5 miler, but it was anything but easy. My legs felt tired and heavy, my left shin was especially tight and achy still, I had to stop a mile into the run to stretch and massage it a little. Other than that I tried to keep the pace slower and mellow and just try to get it done. I was very happy when it was over and I could check it off my calendar this week.
Thursday I ended up doing my long run due to traveling over the weekend. I had 11 miles on the schedule and it seemed overwhelming at first, but I knew I could do it, I've done it before, I could do it again. The weather was about 67 degrees out and cloudy, but incredibly windy. Nothing hurt on this run and I felt great. I ended up taking one and a half Chocolate Outrage GUs, one at 3.37 miles and one at 6 miles. I carried my handheld water bottle, which I have been doing on most outdoor runs longer than 3 miles lately, and I refilled it when I took the GU at 6 miles. I love the handheld, I love being able to sip on water whenever I need it and not having to worry about finding a water fountain or ducking into a store or gas station or the gym. Overall, I think I kept a pretty steady pace, and I walked away from the run feeling like a bad ass, definitely confident that the PR I am so lusting after at Disney is possible! Here's hoping I have a good day that day!
Totals:
Monday: 5.06 miles, 51:38, 10:12 av pace
Tuesday: 6 miles, 59:34, 9:55 av pace
Thursday: 11 miles, 1:50:17, 10:01 av pace
Monday began with an easy 5 miler, but it was anything but easy. My legs felt tired and heavy, my left shin was especially tight and achy still, I had to stop a mile into the run to stretch and massage it a little. Other than that I tried to keep the pace slower and mellow and just try to get it done. I was very happy when it was over and I could check it off my calendar this week.
Tuesday was tempo day, Tempo Tuesday! I'm still unsure how I feel about tempo runs, part of me likes them, part of me loathes them. The goal for this one was 1 mile warm up, 4 miles at a 10:12 tempo pace, and 1 mile cooldown. I blew it out of the water! My left shin was still achy and tight, I stopped after mile 2 and stretched and massaged and loosened up and was fine. I kept the tempo miles at a fairly consistent pace (just look at those 9:4x splits) and mellowed it out for the cooldown. Overall, a great tempo!
Thursday I ended up doing my long run due to traveling over the weekend. I had 11 miles on the schedule and it seemed overwhelming at first, but I knew I could do it, I've done it before, I could do it again. The weather was about 67 degrees out and cloudy, but incredibly windy. Nothing hurt on this run and I felt great. I ended up taking one and a half Chocolate Outrage GUs, one at 3.37 miles and one at 6 miles. I carried my handheld water bottle, which I have been doing on most outdoor runs longer than 3 miles lately, and I refilled it when I took the GU at 6 miles. I love the handheld, I love being able to sip on water whenever I need it and not having to worry about finding a water fountain or ducking into a store or gas station or the gym. Overall, I think I kept a pretty steady pace, and I walked away from the run feeling like a bad ass, definitely confident that the PR I am so lusting after at Disney is possible! Here's hoping I have a good day that day!
Totals:
Monday: 5.06 miles, 51:38, 10:12 av pace
Tuesday: 6 miles, 59:34, 9:55 av pace
Thursday: 11 miles, 1:50:17, 10:01 av pace
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza
I've been meaning to blog this recipe for a while now. My obsession with this pizza began on Christmas Eve when my family went to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner, the Cheesecake Factory, my aunt decided to order the Roasted Pear and Blue Cheese Pizzette from the small dish menu as her entree and let me have a bite. From that bite I was smitten. I knew I had to have more and find a way to make it at home and make it healthier since I know the one at Cheesecake Factory is probably loaded with calories and fat and I could lighten it up quite a bit at home. First things first, we begin with a homemade whole wheat crust. I use my breadmachine to make the pizza dough, I'll include my recipe for that in the case you may have a breadmachine, if you don't any pizza dough will do, but a thin dough seems to be the winner with this pizza or pizzette. I decided to keep it small, using my smallest cookie sheet as the baking pan, the sheet measures 13 1/4" L x 9 1/4" W x .625" D, it's the perfect size for two people or makes two meals for one it seems.
Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza (Hot Housewife Original, adapted from Cheesecake Factory menu item)
Ingredients:
1/2 of 1.5 lb whole wheat pizza dough recipe (see below) or any pizza dough of your choosing that will fit in pan
3/4 cup Italian Style Six Cheese Blend Shredded Cheese, Divided
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 D'anjou pear, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1 tsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2.Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to desired thickness, I prefer it thin and with my dough recipe and this amount to fit in the pan, the dough ends up being fairly thin.
3. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Shape dough into pan.
5. Drizzle and then brush the EVOO on the dough.
6. Peel and mince garlic and then spread on dough.
7. Sprinkle half the Italian cheese on dough.
8. Arrange sliced pears on pizza.
9. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles on top of pizza and especially on top of pear slices.
10. Sprinkle remaining half of Italian cheese on top of pizza.
11. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
12. Cut and enjoy.
I cut into 8 slices and each slice is roughly 95 calories, 3.5 g fat, 12.5 g carbs, 1.7 g fiber, and 3.5 g protein using the whole wheat dough recipe below.
Breadmachine 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (1.5 lb):
Add to machine in order listed
1 cup water (80-90 degrees F)
3/4 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp yeast
Set breadmachine to pizza dough cycle and 1.5 lb loaf size and let it do it's thing. When it's done, for the pizza recipe above you will only need half, so divide the dough in half (I use my food scale to ensure I make my dough balls equal halves by weight) and then use half and tightly wrap the other half in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer Ziploc bag and freeze for another time.
Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza (Hot Housewife Original, adapted from Cheesecake Factory menu item)
Ingredients:
1/2 of 1.5 lb whole wheat pizza dough recipe (see below) or any pizza dough of your choosing that will fit in pan
3/4 cup Italian Style Six Cheese Blend Shredded Cheese, Divided
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 D'anjou pear, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1 tsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2.Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to desired thickness, I prefer it thin and with my dough recipe and this amount to fit in the pan, the dough ends up being fairly thin.
3. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Shape dough into pan.
5. Drizzle and then brush the EVOO on the dough.
6. Peel and mince garlic and then spread on dough.
7. Sprinkle half the Italian cheese on dough.
8. Arrange sliced pears on pizza.
9. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles on top of pizza and especially on top of pear slices.
10. Sprinkle remaining half of Italian cheese on top of pizza.
11. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
12. Cut and enjoy.
I cut into 8 slices and each slice is roughly 95 calories, 3.5 g fat, 12.5 g carbs, 1.7 g fiber, and 3.5 g protein using the whole wheat dough recipe below.
Breadmachine 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (1.5 lb):
Add to machine in order listed
1 cup water (80-90 degrees F)
3/4 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp yeast
Set breadmachine to pizza dough cycle and 1.5 lb loaf size and let it do it's thing. When it's done, for the pizza recipe above you will only need half, so divide the dough in half (I use my food scale to ensure I make my dough balls equal halves by weight) and then use half and tightly wrap the other half in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer Ziploc bag and freeze for another time.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Half Training Week 10 Complete
Another week done, glad it's over. This week was harder to get through thanks to 2 days of snow being dumped on us in my area, which in turn closes down the city, and I ended up doing some traveling which interfered with my long run plans. It was a hard week to get my mileage in and while I was supposed to get in 21 miles this week, I only ended up getting in 16 miles.
Tuesday I had a hectic day of running all around town, but I had to squeeze in 4 miles, so to the treadmill I went and pounded it out, 4 easy miles with negative splits.
Wednesday I got up early and needed to beat the snow and get in 7 miles of speed repeats. Holy moly was that hard! My left shin started aching and the gym was a sweatbox, I was literally soaking wet. I had to stop once during the run to stretch and adjust my shoe and rub my leg a little. I'm wondering if my shoes are starting to go, they only have around 200 miles on them, but the wear pattern on the outside of the left heel is pretty bad, the soles are pretty slick, and the left is what is bothering me, the right is fine and the right shoe is fine as well, so that's what's making me think maybe it's the shoe. The repeats were really a mental battle. It was supposed to be 1 mile warm up, half mile recovery jog, then 3 miles of speed repeats at 9:33 with half mile recovery jog between each, and then 1 mile cool down. I pounded it out though and victory was mine in the end.
Saturday I was supposed to take on 10 miles, it didn't happen. I was out of town and didn't pack the proper clothes to run outside, so my only option was a treadmill. Ten miles on a treadmill in a hot gym is just torture, plus my shin was still achy and truthfully, I wasn't properly fueled or in the right mindset to do such a long run. I made a deal with myself, crank out 5 miles, half the scheduled mileage, and call it a day. I did it and was just happy it was over, and even managed some negative splits, woohoo!
Tuesday I had a hectic day of running all around town, but I had to squeeze in 4 miles, so to the treadmill I went and pounded it out, 4 easy miles with negative splits.
Wednesday I got up early and needed to beat the snow and get in 7 miles of speed repeats. Holy moly was that hard! My left shin started aching and the gym was a sweatbox, I was literally soaking wet. I had to stop once during the run to stretch and adjust my shoe and rub my leg a little. I'm wondering if my shoes are starting to go, they only have around 200 miles on them, but the wear pattern on the outside of the left heel is pretty bad, the soles are pretty slick, and the left is what is bothering me, the right is fine and the right shoe is fine as well, so that's what's making me think maybe it's the shoe. The repeats were really a mental battle. It was supposed to be 1 mile warm up, half mile recovery jog, then 3 miles of speed repeats at 9:33 with half mile recovery jog between each, and then 1 mile cool down. I pounded it out though and victory was mine in the end.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
19 Miles Wrapped
This training week is now logged in the books, and it was an awesome week for the most part! I had 4 runs scheduled for this week, 2 easy 2 milers, a 6 mile tempo, and 9 mile long run to close out the week. I decided this week that even though I would be forced to do most of my runs on the dreadmill, I would still pull out the Garmin and use it to time my splits. Why this never occurred to me before that I could do this I have no idea, but this makes a number obsessed runner like me very happy, especially when I can see the negative split I so know that I am logging when I am toying with the treadmill speed. So I set off this week with all gear in hand and ran my little heart out.
Tuesday an easy 2 miler was on the schedule, I love running 2 milers. They are so easy and I feel like I can just go. I always tend to be pretty conservative throughout the first mile though, as I want to sufficiently warm up, and I don't want to deviate too far from an "easy" pace, after all it's not supposed to be a speedwork session, but still, I find them quite fun. My training plan says my "easy" pace should be 11:56 or something ridiculous like that, I think that is way too slow for me, so I always tend to go quite a bit faster than that, but using the Garmin to time the splits was awesome because now I was able to see just how much faster, something the Nike+ never allowed me to by just giving me the average pace. There was a bit of a conflict this go round with the Nike+ and the Garmin, and I don't know if it's because I was late on pushing the start on one of them, or because the Nike+ ended up needing to be recalibrated at the end of this run, but Nike+ says the run was 20:27 and an average pace of 10:13, Garmin says the run was 19:54 with 10:13 and 9:40 splits, making the average pace 9:56. Big difference there. But alas, I think it's because the last time the Nike+ was calibrated it was outside, not on the 'mill.
Thursday was a 6 mile tempo run, and it was the worst run of the week. I could not focus, I just could not get my head in the game or zone out. First off I had my right contact lens in inside out, so every time I would look out the corner of my eye, everything was blurry, plus it was pretty scratchy. Every mile was a struggle. I stopped several times to stretch, catch my breath, fiddle with my eye, towel off, finally at mile 4 I couldn't take it anymore and went into the restroom and fixed my contact.
Friday was another short and sweet 2 miler with a negative split. I accidentally hit the lap button on the Garmin twice, so that :06 should be added to the 9:58 for a split of 10:04. Felt awesome compared to yesterday's disastrous tempo attempt.
Today's 9 miler was probably the best run I have ever had! It was a cool 54 degrees out and partly sunny out, perfect running weather! I wore capris and a short sleeve Under Armour tee, it was a little cool at first, but I warmed up a few minutes in. I also ran with my hand held water bottle filled with water and took my Chocolate Outrage GU at halfway, 4.5 miles, and learned it is very difficult to try to eat the GU, chug down water, run, and breathe all at the same time, especially while your nose is clogged. I finally gave in and ending up walking for a few seconds after eating the GU at about 4.70 miles so I could fish my tissues out of my SPIbelt and blow my nose. I'm proud to say I paused only once, for about 15 seconds at about 6.25 miles or so to try to refill my water bottle at a water fountain, but the fountain did not work, so disappointed I went along with my almost empty bottle. Lesson learned, during the half I will need a larger bottle or I will need my aunt to switch out my bottle at about 6 miles, and maybe again somewhere else along the way, better have her carry two just in case. Also, check out those negative splits! Most of the run was comprised of negative splits, except for lap 5, which is where I had the brief walk break where I had the GU and blew my nose. Other than the water situation, the run was amazing and I felt great, I could have gone on for a few more miles, my legs felt great, I was in a zone, I credit it mostly to the weather, I think the weather definitely influences my run more than I think. I can't wait for this week, I'm hoping we have nice weather again when I tackle my 10 miler next weekend.
Tuesday: 2 miles, 19:54, 9:56 av pace
Thursday: 6 miles, 1:02:56, 10:29 av pace
Friday: 2.01 miles, 20:40, 10:17 av pace
Sunday: 9.01 miles, 1:30:42, 10:04 av pace
Total Miles: 19.02 miles, 3:14:12, 10:12 av pace
Tuesday an easy 2 miler was on the schedule, I love running 2 milers. They are so easy and I feel like I can just go. I always tend to be pretty conservative throughout the first mile though, as I want to sufficiently warm up, and I don't want to deviate too far from an "easy" pace, after all it's not supposed to be a speedwork session, but still, I find them quite fun. My training plan says my "easy" pace should be 11:56 or something ridiculous like that, I think that is way too slow for me, so I always tend to go quite a bit faster than that, but using the Garmin to time the splits was awesome because now I was able to see just how much faster, something the Nike+ never allowed me to by just giving me the average pace. There was a bit of a conflict this go round with the Nike+ and the Garmin, and I don't know if it's because I was late on pushing the start on one of them, or because the Nike+ ended up needing to be recalibrated at the end of this run, but Nike+ says the run was 20:27 and an average pace of 10:13, Garmin says the run was 19:54 with 10:13 and 9:40 splits, making the average pace 9:56. Big difference there. But alas, I think it's because the last time the Nike+ was calibrated it was outside, not on the 'mill.
Thursday was a 6 mile tempo run, and it was the worst run of the week. I could not focus, I just could not get my head in the game or zone out. First off I had my right contact lens in inside out, so every time I would look out the corner of my eye, everything was blurry, plus it was pretty scratchy. Every mile was a struggle. I stopped several times to stretch, catch my breath, fiddle with my eye, towel off, finally at mile 4 I couldn't take it anymore and went into the restroom and fixed my contact.
Friday was another short and sweet 2 miler with a negative split. I accidentally hit the lap button on the Garmin twice, so that :06 should be added to the 9:58 for a split of 10:04. Felt awesome compared to yesterday's disastrous tempo attempt.
Today's 9 miler was probably the best run I have ever had! It was a cool 54 degrees out and partly sunny out, perfect running weather! I wore capris and a short sleeve Under Armour tee, it was a little cool at first, but I warmed up a few minutes in. I also ran with my hand held water bottle filled with water and took my Chocolate Outrage GU at halfway, 4.5 miles, and learned it is very difficult to try to eat the GU, chug down water, run, and breathe all at the same time, especially while your nose is clogged. I finally gave in and ending up walking for a few seconds after eating the GU at about 4.70 miles so I could fish my tissues out of my SPIbelt and blow my nose. I'm proud to say I paused only once, for about 15 seconds at about 6.25 miles or so to try to refill my water bottle at a water fountain, but the fountain did not work, so disappointed I went along with my almost empty bottle. Lesson learned, during the half I will need a larger bottle or I will need my aunt to switch out my bottle at about 6 miles, and maybe again somewhere else along the way, better have her carry two just in case. Also, check out those negative splits! Most of the run was comprised of negative splits, except for lap 5, which is where I had the brief walk break where I had the GU and blew my nose. Other than the water situation, the run was amazing and I felt great, I could have gone on for a few more miles, my legs felt great, I was in a zone, I credit it mostly to the weather, I think the weather definitely influences my run more than I think. I can't wait for this week, I'm hoping we have nice weather again when I tackle my 10 miler next weekend.
Tuesday: 2 miles, 19:54, 9:56 av pace
Thursday: 6 miles, 1:02:56, 10:29 av pace
Friday: 2.01 miles, 20:40, 10:17 av pace
Sunday: 9.01 miles, 1:30:42, 10:04 av pace
Total Miles: 19.02 miles, 3:14:12, 10:12 av pace
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Another Running Week Down
Today officially marks 4 weeks until Disney Princess, and with that I wrapped up my 8th week of training, although it was really only my third complete week, even though I've trained over the last 8 weeks, before the last 3 weeks I had been skipping at least one run per week, and it was usually my scheduled long weekend run, I would just find myself too busy to complete it and life would get in the way. But, with crunch time and no more distractions, I've been able to really focus and just run. This week my training plan had me doing 16 miles, two easy 4 milers and a long run of 8 miles, but I decided I needed to add in some speedwork to make up for some lost time, so I turned the second easy 4 miler into a speedwork 5 miler, and ended the week with 17 miles.
Wednesday I began the week with an easy 4 miler on the treadmill, it was still pretty cold out, so I retreated indoors. I played my usual game of increase the speed at every mile and then go all out and sprint at the end. It works well for me and keeps the run interesting.
Thursday, the weather decided to become warmer, 50 and sunny and I just had to run outside. I miss running outside so much. As much as I am making peace with the dreadmill, and trying to keep it interesting, nothing beats being outdoors and having the fresh breeze on your face and seeing the trees and grass. I knew I had to go outside for my speed repeats. I was supposed to do 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at 9:45, 0.5 mile recovery, 1 mile at 9:45, 0.5 mile recovery, and 1 mile cool down. Well as you can see from my splits, I decided to go all out and ignore the recoveries and cool down. I tried, I really did, I slowed down, but I just had so much, momentum I had to keep going. And holy moly do you see that second mile split?! 9:14! What?!
Saturday it was 67 degrees, sunny and downright warm for running, I almost wish I had worn my shorts and tank top instead of capris and tshirt. But alas, I had an 8 miler on tap and there was no better way to get it done than outside in such awesome weather. When I got in my car it said it was 67, and the sun was bright and high in the afternoon, by the time I finished the run my car thermometer said it was 71 outside, which I believe, it was quite warm, like I said, shorts weather! Glad I had the sense to take my handheld water bottle with a Powerade/water mixture in it, I still downed it all and had to refill at about 6 miles, I was just so hot. I also refueled with my favorite Chocolate Outrage GU at mile 4, which is why you see that mile 5 split is so high, because I decided to walk to eat my GU and drink my drink, that was my only walk break, which I really didn't want to take, but at that point I was just so hot and my legs were getting really heavy/tired.
I had some weird potty issues going on too, I desperately needed to pee 1.5 miles in, which considering I always drink a ton of water, especially the morning before I run, but I always make sure to empty my bladder before beginning, but I guess it wasn't enough, so I had to stop, luckily I run in a place with plenty of public restroom facilities. When I started back up again I restarted the Nike+ but forgot to unpause the Garmin, I realized after I had gone about .35 miles that it wasn't ticking along and finally unpaused it. But I know that I'm stubborn and I wouldn't be quitting until the Garmin said 8 miles, so I would have to run that extra 0.35 mile. I kept along my merry way going along and sipping on my Powerade/water mix when I needed it, even though it was warm and not very thirst quenching. Finally at about 6.10 miles according to Nike+, 5.75 miles according to Garmin, I stopped again because I needed to pee again, plus I was having some left sided abdominal/ovary pain, no doubt caused by my endo, and my bottle was empty and I wanted to refill it with some water. So I ducked into the restroom and also refilled my bottle with some cold water from the fountain and then kept going. I ran another 1.25 miles without incident while chugging down the water, finally when I hit the last mile I decided I was going to push my limits and go all out. I've heard it's good to practice sprinting, especially at the end, that this can help you power through to the finish line, so I've really been trying to incorporate this into my runs lately, to finish strong instead of finishing feeling dead like I used to. So I turned on some fast paced music and just ran as fast as I could. You can see from the split, this strategy worked, as it was my fastest of all the 8 miles at 9:47. All in all I think it was a great run. I just wish I didn't have to stop those two times for restroom breaks and that my left side abdominal hadn't have been bothering me during the run, then I think it would have been perfect. Pacing was great though, if I can just go a couple seconds faster on race day, I will meet my goal of PRing the race at 2:15:xx.
So wrap up for the week:
Wednesday: 4 miles, 41:34, 10:18 av pace
Thursday: 5 miles (speed repeats), 48:49, 9:46 av pace
Saturday: 8 miles, 1:23:25, 10:25 av pace
Wednesday I began the week with an easy 4 miler on the treadmill, it was still pretty cold out, so I retreated indoors. I played my usual game of increase the speed at every mile and then go all out and sprint at the end. It works well for me and keeps the run interesting.
Thursday, the weather decided to become warmer, 50 and sunny and I just had to run outside. I miss running outside so much. As much as I am making peace with the dreadmill, and trying to keep it interesting, nothing beats being outdoors and having the fresh breeze on your face and seeing the trees and grass. I knew I had to go outside for my speed repeats. I was supposed to do 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at 9:45, 0.5 mile recovery, 1 mile at 9:45, 0.5 mile recovery, and 1 mile cool down. Well as you can see from my splits, I decided to go all out and ignore the recoveries and cool down. I tried, I really did, I slowed down, but I just had so much, momentum I had to keep going. And holy moly do you see that second mile split?! 9:14! What?!
Saturday it was 67 degrees, sunny and downright warm for running, I almost wish I had worn my shorts and tank top instead of capris and tshirt. But alas, I had an 8 miler on tap and there was no better way to get it done than outside in such awesome weather. When I got in my car it said it was 67, and the sun was bright and high in the afternoon, by the time I finished the run my car thermometer said it was 71 outside, which I believe, it was quite warm, like I said, shorts weather! Glad I had the sense to take my handheld water bottle with a Powerade/water mixture in it, I still downed it all and had to refill at about 6 miles, I was just so hot. I also refueled with my favorite Chocolate Outrage GU at mile 4, which is why you see that mile 5 split is so high, because I decided to walk to eat my GU and drink my drink, that was my only walk break, which I really didn't want to take, but at that point I was just so hot and my legs were getting really heavy/tired.
I had some weird potty issues going on too, I desperately needed to pee 1.5 miles in, which considering I always drink a ton of water, especially the morning before I run, but I always make sure to empty my bladder before beginning, but I guess it wasn't enough, so I had to stop, luckily I run in a place with plenty of public restroom facilities. When I started back up again I restarted the Nike+ but forgot to unpause the Garmin, I realized after I had gone about .35 miles that it wasn't ticking along and finally unpaused it. But I know that I'm stubborn and I wouldn't be quitting until the Garmin said 8 miles, so I would have to run that extra 0.35 mile. I kept along my merry way going along and sipping on my Powerade/water mix when I needed it, even though it was warm and not very thirst quenching. Finally at about 6.10 miles according to Nike+, 5.75 miles according to Garmin, I stopped again because I needed to pee again, plus I was having some left sided abdominal/ovary pain, no doubt caused by my endo, and my bottle was empty and I wanted to refill it with some water. So I ducked into the restroom and also refilled my bottle with some cold water from the fountain and then kept going. I ran another 1.25 miles without incident while chugging down the water, finally when I hit the last mile I decided I was going to push my limits and go all out. I've heard it's good to practice sprinting, especially at the end, that this can help you power through to the finish line, so I've really been trying to incorporate this into my runs lately, to finish strong instead of finishing feeling dead like I used to. So I turned on some fast paced music and just ran as fast as I could. You can see from the split, this strategy worked, as it was my fastest of all the 8 miles at 9:47. All in all I think it was a great run. I just wish I didn't have to stop those two times for restroom breaks and that my left side abdominal hadn't have been bothering me during the run, then I think it would have been perfect. Pacing was great though, if I can just go a couple seconds faster on race day, I will meet my goal of PRing the race at 2:15:xx.
So wrap up for the week:
Wednesday: 4 miles, 41:34, 10:18 av pace
Thursday: 5 miles (speed repeats), 48:49, 9:46 av pace
Saturday: 8 miles, 1:23:25, 10:25 av pace
Sunday, January 23, 2011
20 Mile Week Wrap Up
I did it, I ran my highest mileage week so far during training and I feel invincible! I began the week making up the 6 mile long run that I missed on Sunday on Monday, it was a really rough day for me for various reasons that I won't go into on here, but I found it incredibly cathartic to "run it out." The treadmill hasn't been easy for me lately, in fact it's been pretty rough, but Monday it was all clicking and I felt like I could just go for miles and miles and that I did as the miles kept clicking by on that red treadmill screen. To break up the monotony I played a game with myself, every mile I increased the speed by 0.1, worked well for the most part, except the last mile I was exhausted and decided to cool down by mostly speed walking. Only downside? I got some chaffing in a pretty painful/unmentionable area thanks to my shorts. I'm telling you, running is not the sport for the faint of heart or those easily embarrassed.
Wednesday I got back at it and tacked an easy 2 miles, this time to break up the monotony again I started off the first mile at a slower pace, and then increased my speed by 0.2 when I hit the first mile, then another 0.2 when I hit 1.5 miles, I held that pace until 1.75 miles, and then increased my speed by 0.1 every 100 meters until the end. It was quick and fun and I felt like I could keep going, but I didn't want to overdo it.
Thursday was tempo day. I usually suck at tempo runs. A tempo run is where you start off slow and build your pace into the run, which come to think of it, I guess that's kind of what I've been doing the last few days with my little "games" on the treadmill, but then you are supposed to hold the pace for a set number of miles, according to my training plan, today I was supposed to do 5 miles, 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at 10:19, and then a mile cool down. So that's what I did. Holding the pace for the third mile was tough, I wanted to quit, I wanted to walk for a second, just a second. I was hot and sweaty and the snow was coming down outside and I knew the roads were going to be getting bad to go home, but I pressed on, and I fought the "wall" and I won.
Today wrapped up my week with a long run. My training plan always tells me my long run pace should be something like 11:56, which I think is ridiculous, if I'm supposed to run the race in 5 weeks at a 10:23 pace, how the heck am I supposed to train doing long runs at 11:56?! It's absurd. So I always decide to go faster and push myself more. I again decided to go to the gym and get on the treadmill, but I wish I would have checked the weather outside first, because it was a balmy 47 degrees, perfect for running, I never thought in a million years this Florida girl would think 47 degrees was warm to run in, but seriously, 47 is like awesome, 55 is ideal though, but oh well, I was already dressed for the gym and I didn't have my Garmin or my hand-held water bottle, so off to the gym I went. I started off slow and steady, clicked off 3.5 miles and then took a break to eat my Chocolate Outrage GU, drink some water, refill my water bottle, stretch a little, use the bathroom, and reset the machine since I knew it would reset at an hour anyway and I was already at a little over 38 minutes. Then I started back up and increased the speed for the second half. I hit the wall somewhere around 4.5 miles. I wanted to walk so bad. I wanted to quit, 4.5 miles was enough right? Who cares that I was supposed to do 7? I had already run 13 miles this week, plus the 4.5 I had just done, why should I keep going? It was so hard, my legs were fine, physically I was fine, but mentally, I was struggling. I decided to distract myself with thoughts of a baby and creating a nursery in my head even though this is still months and months away for Hubs and I, that lasted for about half a mile and got me out of the slump and then I had a mile to go, and usually when I hit the last mile I can power through. I hit that last mile and decided to start cooling down, so I lowered the speed back down to about 5.6, but then I had to walk for a second. I didn't want to walk. I felt a brief twinge for having to walk for a sec. I kept telling myself "you're a runner, not a run/walker" but then I hit 5.5 miles, so with half a mile left I kicked the speed back up and decided I was going to finish strong. I played the same game I played the other day, when the voice on the Nike+ told me I had 400 meters left, I bumped the speed up 0.1, and I kept increasing it every 100 meters until I was flying at the end and it worked, I was up to an 8:12 pace at the end, that's sprinting for me! I'm glad I finished strong.
I came home and noticed the top of my second toe on my right foot is incredibly bruised, and the same toe on the left ended up with a giant blister, which is odd considering I wear special running toe socks to prevent blisters. My quads and hamstrings were incredibly tight too, so I stretched and foam rolled and feel so much better now. But I am so proud of myself for getting in 20 miles this week! And I am really happy that next week is only a 16 mile week ;-)
Monday: 6 miles, 1:07:33, 11:14 average pace.
Wednesday: 2 miles, 20:50, 10:22 average pace.
Thursday: 5 miles (tempo), 52:27, 10:29 average pace.
Sunday: 7.09 miles, 1:15:51, 10:41 average pace.
Wednesday I got back at it and tacked an easy 2 miles, this time to break up the monotony again I started off the first mile at a slower pace, and then increased my speed by 0.2 when I hit the first mile, then another 0.2 when I hit 1.5 miles, I held that pace until 1.75 miles, and then increased my speed by 0.1 every 100 meters until the end. It was quick and fun and I felt like I could keep going, but I didn't want to overdo it.
Thursday was tempo day. I usually suck at tempo runs. A tempo run is where you start off slow and build your pace into the run, which come to think of it, I guess that's kind of what I've been doing the last few days with my little "games" on the treadmill, but then you are supposed to hold the pace for a set number of miles, according to my training plan, today I was supposed to do 5 miles, 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at 10:19, and then a mile cool down. So that's what I did. Holding the pace for the third mile was tough, I wanted to quit, I wanted to walk for a second, just a second. I was hot and sweaty and the snow was coming down outside and I knew the roads were going to be getting bad to go home, but I pressed on, and I fought the "wall" and I won.
Today wrapped up my week with a long run. My training plan always tells me my long run pace should be something like 11:56, which I think is ridiculous, if I'm supposed to run the race in 5 weeks at a 10:23 pace, how the heck am I supposed to train doing long runs at 11:56?! It's absurd. So I always decide to go faster and push myself more. I again decided to go to the gym and get on the treadmill, but I wish I would have checked the weather outside first, because it was a balmy 47 degrees, perfect for running, I never thought in a million years this Florida girl would think 47 degrees was warm to run in, but seriously, 47 is like awesome, 55 is ideal though, but oh well, I was already dressed for the gym and I didn't have my Garmin or my hand-held water bottle, so off to the gym I went. I started off slow and steady, clicked off 3.5 miles and then took a break to eat my Chocolate Outrage GU, drink some water, refill my water bottle, stretch a little, use the bathroom, and reset the machine since I knew it would reset at an hour anyway and I was already at a little over 38 minutes. Then I started back up and increased the speed for the second half. I hit the wall somewhere around 4.5 miles. I wanted to walk so bad. I wanted to quit, 4.5 miles was enough right? Who cares that I was supposed to do 7? I had already run 13 miles this week, plus the 4.5 I had just done, why should I keep going? It was so hard, my legs were fine, physically I was fine, but mentally, I was struggling. I decided to distract myself with thoughts of a baby and creating a nursery in my head even though this is still months and months away for Hubs and I, that lasted for about half a mile and got me out of the slump and then I had a mile to go, and usually when I hit the last mile I can power through. I hit that last mile and decided to start cooling down, so I lowered the speed back down to about 5.6, but then I had to walk for a second. I didn't want to walk. I felt a brief twinge for having to walk for a sec. I kept telling myself "you're a runner, not a run/walker" but then I hit 5.5 miles, so with half a mile left I kicked the speed back up and decided I was going to finish strong. I played the same game I played the other day, when the voice on the Nike+ told me I had 400 meters left, I bumped the speed up 0.1, and I kept increasing it every 100 meters until I was flying at the end and it worked, I was up to an 8:12 pace at the end, that's sprinting for me! I'm glad I finished strong.
I came home and noticed the top of my second toe on my right foot is incredibly bruised, and the same toe on the left ended up with a giant blister, which is odd considering I wear special running toe socks to prevent blisters. My quads and hamstrings were incredibly tight too, so I stretched and foam rolled and feel so much better now. But I am so proud of myself for getting in 20 miles this week! And I am really happy that next week is only a 16 mile week ;-)
Monday: 6 miles, 1:07:33, 11:14 average pace.
Wednesday: 2 miles, 20:50, 10:22 average pace.
Thursday: 5 miles (tempo), 52:27, 10:29 average pace.
Sunday: 7.09 miles, 1:15:51, 10:41 average pace.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Running Updates
I haven't updated in a while, mostly because I was slacking, badly, on my training plan for my upcoming half marathon. I was slacking so bad, I began to question if I would in fact be able to run the race, let alone PR it. When I registered back in October, I designed myself an 18 week training plan, but thanks to procrastination, weeks came and went and I wasn't sticking to my mileage goals. Soon enough I was 12 weeks out and decided it was time to get serious, worst timing ever though, right before the holidays, let's just say, I skipped out on quite a few runs in those first 3-4 weeks. Now, the race is less than 6 weeks out, and I have finally found my groove again these last couple weeks. Between the cold, snowy weather, and coming down with a nasty cold, I never thought I'd get my running legs back, it's been such a struggle, but this week was definitely the turning point. This week I found my renewed motivation. I'm even running with ease on the "dreadmill." So far this week I'm up to 13 miles, including a 6 miler on Monday, a fast 2 miler on Wednesday, and a 5 mile tempo run today, still on tap is a 7 mile long run this weekend, and my speeds are finally creeping back up and getting back up to where they need to be on race day. I'm feeling confident and renewed. I can totally do this! I'll be back at the end of the week with a full week recap.
Monday, January 03, 2011
2010 Running Recap
I debated doing this post or not, but since 2010 really was my year of running, I decided to go ahead with it. As most of you who read this blog regularly know, I love analyzing numbers when it comes to my runs, so it should be no surprise that at year's end I had to know where I stood numbers-wise. Unfortunately, my iPod had been having some battery issues for the last several months, it would die about 10-15 minutes into a run, making it difficult to keep track with the Nike+, which even though I use my Garmin on all outdoor runs, I was still using the Nike+ as well since that's how I kept track throughout the year prior to September. But have no fear, Santa, brought me a brand new iPod Nano for Christmas, so I'm all set for 2011 in utilizing both Nike+ and Garmin in all my running adventures! Anyway, thanks to my awesome Garmin, plus using the data from January through June (since I took the summer off and resumed running in September after I got my Garmin) from Nike+, and some simple math, I was able to come up with some totals, yay!
Distance: 271 miles
Average Pace: 10:48 min/mi
January
January was a pretty strong month, lots of half marathon training, and the fastest month pace wise.
February
February was my highest mileage month, almost 87 miles! It was also the height of half marathon training and my knee began acting up, signaling overuse and the reg flag that I probably needed to be professionally fitted for shoes. Which I did the next month and haven't looked back since!
March
March led me to my first half marathon, I finished in 2:21:53 in brutal conditions, pouring down driving rain and about 40 degrees the whole time, not fun, but I did it! And I felt like a rock star after crossing that finish line!
April
April was another pretty strong month, I began training for the Inaugural Navy Ten Nautical Miler but also began working, so trying to find a balance became a bit of challenge. I also ran the Spring Stampede 5K and set a new PR for that distance which I was unable to beat the rest of year, it still stands at 29:05.
I didn't run at all in May =(
June
June brought with it the Inaugural Navy Ten Nautical Miler, which was about 11.5 statute miles. I was severely undertrained for this race. After I began working in late April and the flood our town experienced at the beginning of May which shut down the gym, and then traveling, it was difficult for me to get back on track, it was a huge regret of mine that I did not do better in this race. Granted it was hot out, but if I had trained better I think I could have come in sub 2 hours on this one, but alas, I finished in 2:24:20, 12th out of 15 in my age group, pitiful. I walked so much of this race it's embarrassing, and I ended up with a nasty blister and my first ever black toe nail thanks to this race. Still, the medal was awesome and I hope to PR it in 2011.
I took the summer off, what a mistake that was. Life just seemed to get in the way, plus my endo pain always seemed to derail my good intentions of wanting to run, and physically did not allow me to. September came and brought with it my Garmin and new motivation to get back on track, but I only seemed to have run 2 miles in September according to my Garmin.
October
October I got back into the swing of things, but still wasn't full steam. I also registered for the Disney Princess Half Marathon and began running with my Garmin and compared it to the Nike+ and learned the joys of negative splits.
November
November was a tough month, I got my endo diagnosis and didn't feel much like running. I did run one disastrous race, a Turkey Trot 5k, which has been my worst race to date. It was also cold and rainy and not very conducive to running outside, and I hate the treadmill.
December
December was a busy month, like it usually is. Unfortunately it wasn't filled with as much running as it should have been. I'm already slacking on my Disney Princess training plan. But alas, I closed out the year with 15 miles for the month and a super hilly 3 miler on the 30th.
All in all I'm satisfied with my running accomplishments in 2010. I would have loved to have seen a higher total mileage for the year and a faster pace, but then again, I know I didn't put forth my best effort, especially after taking off the entire summer and not being as dedicated as I was the first half of the year. So what's the plan for 2011? I plan to increase my mileage, I'd like to at least see that total for the year doubled. I also want to work on getting faster, and the only way to do either of these things is to truly dedicate myself to running more. Here's to setting some new PRs and wearing out a couple pairs of shoes in the next 365 days!
Distance: 271 miles
Average Pace: 10:48 min/mi
January
February
March
April
I didn't run at all in May =(
June
I took the summer off, what a mistake that was. Life just seemed to get in the way, plus my endo pain always seemed to derail my good intentions of wanting to run, and physically did not allow me to. September came and brought with it my Garmin and new motivation to get back on track, but I only seemed to have run 2 miles in September according to my Garmin.
October
October I got back into the swing of things, but still wasn't full steam. I also registered for the Disney Princess Half Marathon and began running with my Garmin and compared it to the Nike+ and learned the joys of negative splits.
November
November was a tough month, I got my endo diagnosis and didn't feel much like running. I did run one disastrous race, a Turkey Trot 5k, which has been my worst race to date. It was also cold and rainy and not very conducive to running outside, and I hate the treadmill.
December
December was a busy month, like it usually is. Unfortunately it wasn't filled with as much running as it should have been. I'm already slacking on my Disney Princess training plan. But alas, I closed out the year with 15 miles for the month and a super hilly 3 miler on the 30th.
All in all I'm satisfied with my running accomplishments in 2010. I would have loved to have seen a higher total mileage for the year and a faster pace, but then again, I know I didn't put forth my best effort, especially after taking off the entire summer and not being as dedicated as I was the first half of the year. So what's the plan for 2011? I plan to increase my mileage, I'd like to at least see that total for the year doubled. I also want to work on getting faster, and the only way to do either of these things is to truly dedicate myself to running more. Here's to setting some new PRs and wearing out a couple pairs of shoes in the next 365 days!
