Week 1 Day 2 of 10K Training

I felt GOOD today on my run! It's been a darn long time since I finished a run not feeling spent and cranky, so that is good! I did 3 miles, per my program, and did .25 to warm up and .25 to cool down. So, I know this wasn't a long distance, but my speed WAS a little faster than it has been, AND I felt good. I'll take it!

I ran 58 miles in the month of June, so that makes me feel good too! I really needed this, so I'm glad. I hope the miles I have to do tomorrow feel as good!

Week 1 Day 1 of 10K Training

I ran on a treadmill yesterday morning for Day 1 of my 10K training program, starting at about 5:10am. It was a very very busy day, so I didn't have time to post about the run. I went 4.5 miles total yesterday, and .75 of that running. I walked .25 to warm up, .25 to cool down, and then about .25 in the middle. My hip, ankle, and foot were uncomfortable right after the halfway point in my run, so I walked for one song on my iPod.

It is hard for me to admit that sometimes I need to slow down a bit, now that I've been actively running for four months. However, I don't want to get injured and I need to listen to my body. I realized on my long 6 mile run two weekends ago that taking a quick walk break can actually make the rest of my running feel better. It is my secret dream to run the whole half marathon, but is it better to be able to say that, or finish feeling good?

Let me tell you all a secret: I am very tempted to try to run the Vermont City Marathon in May 2011. The thought is both intimidating and invigorating. I did the math- I can do the half marathon in January and rest for most of the remained of the month, doing just easy runs and long walks to stay conditioned. Then I can train February, March, April, and most of May for the full marathon on Memorial Day. It sounds perfect to me- and I'd only have to drive 40 minutes to compete! We shall see. I need to focus on the task at hand.

Working Up to the 10K

Below is the schedule I plan to follow (more or less) to get to the point of completing my 10K in October. I probably will stop around Week 8 and switch to a half-marathon training program, because at that point I'll be 16 weeks out from the Disney Half, and a lot of half-marathon training programs run 16 weeks.

I took out the fartleks and hills, because I don’t care about getting faster yet. I just care about finishing and feeling ok. I am not sure why this program has me running more in the middle of the program than the 6.2miles that make up a 10K, but oh well.

Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun.

1 Off 4M 3M 4M Off 4M 4M
2 Off 4M 4M 3M Off 3M 5M
3 Off 4M 4M 3M Off 3M 6M
4 Off 4M 3M 4M Off 4M 7M
5 Off 5M 4M 5M Off 4M 6M
6 Off 4M 4M 5M Off 3M 5K Race or 7M
7 Off 5M 3M 5M Off 3M 8M
8 Off 5M 3M 4M Off 3M 5K Race or 7M
9 Off 4M 3M 6M Off 4M 6M
10 Off 5M 3M 5M Off 4M 5M
11 Off 5M 3M 4M Off 3M 5M
12 Off 4M 3M 3M Off 2M RACE DAY

Women Helping Battered Women "Run for Empowerment" 5K and 10K

It was a cloudy, humid morning. It is great that the sun wasn't scorching me, and also nice that the rain held off until after I was done running. I slept fairly well last night, although the dog woke me up for the first time at 4:30, and I never really got back to sleep.

I had my normal pre-run breakfast (unsweetened applesauce, English muffin with a little PB, water) in plenty of time to let it settle before start time at 9am. I drove to Burlington and had to stop on the way (a 40 minute drive) to pee! I guess I hydrated well yesterday!

I found parking on the street, which was way cheaper than the parking lot with the attendant ($8?!? No way!). I got out of the car, made sure I had my car key and proof of registration, and walked down to the tent. I had pre-registered, and the line for "M-Z Last Names" was very short, so checking in was a snap. I got a t-shirt, bib and safety pins, and entered a raffle. I located the bathroom (again), and then cheered on the little kids who did the 1 Mile Fun Run. I saw several people I graduated from high school with, and some other acquaintances, and chitchatted with them. Bonus!

Then, a lady came over the bullhorn and told us all to line up. I went waaaaay to the back of the pack: just after the elderly women and just before the stroller pushers and dog walkers. It was here, as I tied my car key onto my shoe laces, that I realized I had never put money in the parking meter. Oh well- I couldn't do anything about it at that point! When the siren went off, I stood in place for a moment before the crowd got moving. I hit the timer on my stopwatch as I crossed the start line, since I was a little bit behind the actual race clock.

The path was lovely- mostly flat (two hills), right along Lake Champlain, and staffed with volunteers to ensure runners didn't go the wrong way! They also cheered on our efforts, which was nice, since parts of the course were quite isolated. I was only doing the 5K, of course, but about 1 1/2 miles in, the 10K people peeled off to go on a longer route, and we did a turn around to head back to the start. My strategy of starting at the back of the pack worked really well. I was very rarely passed, and I passed quite a few people who went out too quickly. It made me feel like I was running my own race, which is of course the entire point.

When I rounded the last corner and saw the straightaway to the finish, I looked at my watch. I already knew I wasn't going to get under 34 minutes as I had hoped to. Still, I tried to push it, but my legs felt really heavy. There was a small crowd along the last 50 feet, cheering loudly. Since I didn't cross the line with anyone else, I knew all the applause were for me :-) The time on my watch was 36:16. That's about my 12 minute mile pace that I've been clocking on average. I can live with it, but man, I better get faster, otherwise I'll be out running my half marathon for nearly two hours!!!

I tore off the bottom of my race bib as I went through the chute, walked to get some water, and then watched a few more people finish- including the first 10K finisher who crossed at just over 40 minutes. Sheesh. There was a gorgeous array of homemade baklava, empanadas, and bread for finishers, but I was worried my stomach wouldn't look kindly on a lot of rich food. Still, I snuck in one yummy treat. I didn't linger after the race, however, because I was afraid I would be greeted with a ticket on my windshield when I got back to my car.

God must've taken pity on me, though, knowing I was doing a race to help battered women this morning, and a walk to help cancer survivors and cancer research tonight. No ticket! I traded my shoes for flip flops, opened my second bottle of water, and drove home.

I have mixed feelings about this race. Of course I'm proud that I finished it, glad I didn't need to walk at all, amazed that 3 months ago I never could've done this, and happy that I saw friends and acquaintances all out exercising for a good cause. I was also a little sad, though, that I didn't set an amazing time. By default, 36:16 is my PR, because I haven't done another 5K race, LOL! But, hopefully in August I will set a better time. Just gotta keep plugging along.

For some reason Blogger won't let me upload a photo right now, and it won't let me do a hyperlink either, but here is a link to my photo on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=13039453&l=a328aeaaba&id=543035360

Whine Whine Whimper

It was humid tonight, and pretty hot. I wasn't well hydrated. My right hip is very tight. STILL. 36:43 to do a 5K on a fairly flat course?!?! I am really discouraged. My legs felt like lead and I was exhausted by the end. I did the same distance 2+ minutes faster on Monday. My race is Saturday. Ugh ugh ugh.

I have realized that whatever my new aching body part is, it trumps the one that was formerly hurting "the worst". First my right knee was "the worst", then my left knee, then my right Achilles, then my calves, then the bottom of my left foot, and now my right hip. Each new complaint makes me feel like a wuss for whining before, because this time is hurts really bad.

I am just in a dark place tonight. I would expect things to only be getting easier the longer I've been training, but they aren't. It makes me doubt that I'll be able to handle the Disney Half in six months. My apologies to those of you who have told me that you follow this blog for running inspiration- you won't get any from me tonight.

Oh Deer!

Sorry about the terrible pun, but the highlight of my run this morning was certainly seeing a beautiful white-tailed deer no more than 10 feet from me. It was drinking in a small stream off the road to my left, and I didn't see it. It certainly heard/saw/smelled me, though, because it flagged its tail and took off. It was so lovely, graceful... and about 10X more energetic than I was feeling. A rough approximation of what I saw:


So, what can I say about today's run? The outside of my right hip (the muscle/tendon you can feel engage if you jut your hip out like a model) is really sore, and has been since my run on Saturday. I took yesterday totally off, hoping it would help, but it hurt on the run today, which is new. Usually it only hurts afterwards. I think I'll be icing that today.

My first 5K race is on Saturday, so I thought I'd run a 5K today and time it, to know roughly what I can expect on race day. With a few small hills, my time was 34:33. That means I was moving faster than a 12 minute mile, which is good, and I certainly went faster than I would've 3 months ago. I just hope that in the race I'm not last!!!! I also hope my hip starts to feel better.

I think Wednesday I'll go a bit longer (4 miles?), then a really easy short run on Thursday then my race Saturday. We'll see how it goes. I feel like if I go more than 2 days without running, I'll lose all my fitness and desire.

I want to take it easy this week because on Saturday after my 5K I am doing the local Relay for Life. I don't know at what time or for how long I'm walking yet, but I know I will need whatever energy reserves I have left after my race to do that. Therefore, I don't want to push it this week with my other runs.

On a slightly related note, my parents bought me a half-POUND block of a cheese I love when they were in Montreal yesterday. I am in heaven, but this cannot possibly help my running speed.

SIX MILES!!

Well, hot damn! I decided that this morning would be my first really long run. I have done 5 miles once (with some walking), and have been doing 4 and 3 mile runs on a regular basis. Justin and I got up early (5:40am) and headed out to the local 1 1/2 mile paved path to run. Obviously 4 loops would equal my 6 mile goal. I should've known that Justin wouldn't keep pace with me. It didn't work before when we ran together, and it didn't work this time. So, although I had the suspicion we wouldn't actually run and chitchat, I left my iPod headphones at home. I had the iPod on with my Nike + so I could track my mileage and speed, but no way to listen to music once Justin left me in the dust. So as if it weren't impressive enough that I did 6 miles, I did 6 miles without music or podcasts!

I walked .25 miles to warm up and .25 miles to cool down. I also walked about half a mile in the middle of the six miles, because I needed to drink some water, and my legs were feeling really heavy. But I ran the rest! I felt a little slow, but at least I was jogging. I am very proud of myself and satisfied with my effort. And since we're hitting the beach today with chips, hot dogs, and beer, I really needed to burn those calories.

Jenn S., are you reading this? I was attacked by a red-winged blackbird on my running loop. Obviously she had a nest in a tree near the path. I ran under the tree and felt a tug on the hair on the top of my head. I thought I had brushed my head against a branch, but when I raised my hand I hit a bird! I jogged on, looking back at it hovering by the tree. Then, as I turned back to look in the direction I was running, the little shit attacked again! I could feel her claws (talons? digits? what do you call little bird feet?) pulling at my hair. Let's just say that in the moments shortly following this attack, I hit one of my peak speeds on my run.

I didn't have very much leg or foot pain at all today, and my breathing was pretty good. I just got tired/heavy legs in the middle. I got a bit of a sunburn yesterday, so maybe I was a little dehydrated. Or maybe it was just that this was my longest run yet. I'm not sure. At any rate, I feel somewhat reassured that I ran *almost* a half of a half marathon today.

Runner's Haiku(s)

It is garbage day.
It is also raining out.
It smelled like dead fish

On my run today.
4.3 miles of stink,
And slugs everywhere.

Pouring so hard that
When I breathed in through my nose
It felt like drowning.

At least it's over.
To get rid of chills and stank,
Hot shower needed.

June 15th- School's Out!

Today is the last day of school for the year. My 8th graders already graduated, but the rest of the school finishes today. I am going out to breakfast with my co-teachers, then cleaning my classroom and having meetings all day. Thus I figured I'd better run this morning, since I knew the weather would be nice, and I figured I wouldn't feel like it this evening.

My first mile and a half I felt SO GOOD. No pain anywhere, beautiful sky and sunshine, cool temperatures, and a quick pace- I could tell. Then I couldn't sustain it. My time overall for a 5K today was 38 minutes, which isn't so terrible, considering I did 10 minutes total of warm up and cool down walking. Looking at the graph, though, I can see that all my speed was in the beginning, then I tapered off. I need to get a little more consistent, or learn how to regulate my pace. I was told about a website that will convert your running pace (say, 11 minute mile) into a beats per minute pace, and give you a list of songs that will keep you are the right pace/beat. I think I need to look into that.

Food Fight

I last ran on Thursday, which means Friday was not a scheduled run day. Friday was, though, the day that my 8th graders "graduated" from middle school. That meant a field trip during the day (potato salad, cookies, Rice Krispie treats, Cheez Its), a ceremony at night (strawberry shortcake), and an after-party at my house (3 beers, bean dip, cheese). That meant that yesterday morning- Saturday morning- when I woke up, I was not feeling especially energetic. "Sluggish" would probably be the word. Luckily for me, it was raining, so I couldn't head right out on my run. Then I got my last injection in my right knee at 9:15am, so I wasn't allowed to run for the rest of the day.
Yesterday's meals involved leftover bean dip and cheese, as well as some Ben and Jerry's. It's sinful to waste food, right?

But this morning, I KNEW I had to get up early and run before church, because we are meeting my parents for brunch afterwards. This weekend has been nothing but bad (good) food, and I needed to at least attempt some calorie burn beforehand.

Speaking of SLUGGISH: I counted no fewer than 50 slugs on my run this morning. The rain yesterday brought them all out, and part of my run involved avoiding stepping on the disgusting little orange things. The rest of my run involved gasping for breath and wishing my right calf and left heel would just relax. 3.66 miles in 45 minutes (with 10 of that warm up and cool down) isn't anything to celebrate with bean dip or anything, but at least it's done.

Nothing to Report

I ran today. 3.5 miles. At the gym. It's done. My heel didn't hurt during the run, but does now that I'm done. I sweat like a hog. The end.

Tricky...

I think my body is very, very tricky. During the first almost 2 miles of my run, I felt like dog crap. True, it was an early morning run, and true, I had pizza for dinner last night, but still. At this point I've been a runner for going on 3 months, and I feel as if I'm entitled to go for a 3.5 mile run without wishing a car would take me out.

After I hit the 2 mile mark, I started to fall into a rhythm. It wasn't the best running I've ever done, but my breathing was regular and my ever-present right Achilles/calf pain faded into a dull throb. It is possible that mentally at that point I knew I was over halfway done and so I psyched myself up. It is possible that at 2 miles I was fully warmed up on this chilly morning and therefore running better.

However, my hypothesis is that my body prefers almost ANYTHING to running. It would rather sleep, eat, deal with the stomach flu, be attacked by a dog... ANYTHING. So, it refuses to cooperate at the beginning of a run, hoping I will give up and go home. "She won't want to be this miserable for 4 miles," my body thinks. "She will pack it in." But I don't. And I won't. So hopefully my body will give up its tricks and release the good vibes from the start.

Purple Rain

Well, it was just rain, really, but a lot of it. It's humid here, and yet sort of chilly. I just couldn't bring myself to run outside, but I knew I needed to run. So, I packed up and headed to the gym to use the treadmill. 4 miles later- suckity suck suck suck.

I was pouring sweat and my dog-attacked wrist started hurting as I ran, although it was fine on Friday. I also felt really tired, really quickly. I ate a big breakfast, but 2 1/2 hours before. I slept ok, but woke up feeling overtired. I don't exactly know what was up. I do know that it's boring as hell to run inside on a treadmill, though, and not as "fresh"; I could distinctly smell sweat (not mine) and just a carpet/inside/metal sort of scent.

I wore my Nike Plus and also, of course, was looking at the treadmill read out. The 'mill said I was at a 12 minute/mile pace, but my Nike Plus said I was at a 10:30minute/mile pace. Is the truth somewhere in the middle? Maybe the reason I got tired quickly is because I set the treadmill at a 12 minute/mile pace, but that's faster than I actually usually run? Or what the treadmill said was 5mph was actually closer to 6mph? Anyway, WHEW!

I am off to a retirement party now, in this wet and dank weather. BOOOOOOOOO

Dinner Dance

A big victory for me today in my run was that I did it at all. I had a meeting after school, then a quick appointment, then I had to run home and feed the pets and shower and change before I went back to school to chaperone a dinner and dance for my 8th graders. I knew I wanted to run... kind of. More like I knew I'd feel guilty if I didn't. So, I did a quick 45 minute venture, including warm up and cool down. I went 3.66 miles, and maintained an 11 minute mile pace for all three miles, which is super great! I was sweating like a hog and feeling a little faint by the end. I hadn't hydrated well today and it was pretty warm out. Still, it's done and I feel good about it.

I hate black flies and horse flies, though. They are the bane of my existence. There was one horse fly that followed me for about a quarter of a mile near the turn from one road onto another, and then he was there WAITING for me when I circled back around to that spot. Bugs are so annoying and distracting. Whine whine whine whimper.

I have noticed some lingering pain my right Achilles/calf again, and I'm just not sure what's up. It's fine when I'm not running. I will do what I'm best at and ignore it for now, LOL!

Enumeration

Lots of stuff to report, so it's number time.

1. I got my tattoo touched up as a reward for successfully completing the C25K program. I think it looks great. Thanks Brenna @ Tattoo Works!

2. I ran/walked 5.3miles today. That is almost all the way from school (work) to my house. I felt really proud of that. Justin came to pick me up before I quite made it home, because it was getting dark, and thunderstorms were threatening.

3. Even though I was dragging (stomach cramps b/c I ate less than 2 hours before, and I didn't hydrate enough today), I maintained a 12:30 pace average, which includes my walks.

4. I saw a very dead, very flat raccoon on my run. Icky.

5. I spoke at a beginner's running class today. Dave V. invited me to talk to the group he's coaching, and I told them all about my experience and process through the C25K program. I said something I really liked, even though I hadn't consciously thought it or planned to say it ahead of time. I observed that I am someone who tends to exaggerate problems and lump all my troubles together until they overwhelm me. I never take things one step at a time. Tonight I said that running helps me because "you can't run mile 3 before you've run mile 4". I saw people nodding, and it really resonated with me.

6. As I was running tonight, I felt the need to spit. As I move along, my mouth dries out and my saliva gets gross and thick, so I spit it out. This was around mile 5, and I was starting to drag. I lethagically turned my head to the left and the saliva left my lips, but without the power required to make it onto the road. It landed on my left wrist, against my watch. Sweeeeeet.

7. If you sweat profusely enought, it is hard for black flies to latch on and bite you. I discovered this tonight as they slid right off me as I ran.