Let's Try This Again

A 6-mile run was on the training schedule for this morning so I set out to run the same route that I attempted, with disastrous results, a couple weeks ago. Let’s see how the runs compared!

Timing: I learned my lesson last time and set my alarm to run in the morning. What was really nice about this was I didn’t have to get up until 8 a.m. because a cold front blew into Dallas last night!  So, I was able to sleep in a bit (which I love!) and still get up and get in a run. Better Run: TODAY!

Training: While I haven’t done any other fitness activities in the past two weeks besides run, I can tell my endurance is a bit higher. And, I’m going to start working with a trainer at my gym on Monday.  We had our assessment meeting last week and he told me to eat more carbs. The next day I ate two chocolate croissants and a banana nut muffin. So far I am really enjoying working with a trainer!  Better Run: TODAY!

Desire: I was definitely driven to run farther and faster today, but the one factor that hurt my desire to run was the weather. As I said, a cold front blew in last night at approximately 9:30 p.m.  (we were all very excited about this and counting down the minutes!). The temps were gorgeous but the wind was very blustery!  For about 2/3 of my run today I felt like I was running in a wind tunnel….which is very hard! My pace was slow, I felt like I was running through water, and it simply took more work to get through each half mile.  I found myself missing the heat that I’ve grown used to running in…go ahead, call me crazy.  Better Run: TIE. I like the cooler temps, but that wind kicked my butt and made it hard to stay focused.

Other thoughts on today’s run vs. the last run:

-I didn’t see a lizard but I did see a group of men playing cricket. I found this very charming.

-During one of my short walk breaks (after battling a particularly brutal burst of wind), a girl ran past me wearing just a sports bra and tiny, spandex running shorts. She may have been a Runners World model, she made running look so effortless. Why do girls like that run by me when I’m walking?! 

-It’s time for new shoes. A few months ago I complained about horrible shin pain, and at the recommendation of some of my blog readers switched back to an old pair of shoes. That worked for a while. But, the pain is back which means a trip to the shoe store is in my near future. Maybe I’ll get some of those $59 Saucony’s AJ mentioned!

Ask and you shall receive...GUEST bloggers

So, at the beginning of this journey, I posted that perhaps we should/would have occasional guest bloggers.  Well, that fizzled, sort of.  But, as my brother and soon to be sister-in-law and company were running 10 miles this morning, we had a lot of time to talk about random things...like blogging.  Side note, I think what I'm most excited about running a half marathon is all of the QT (2.5 hours by my current pace estimate) I will get to spend talking to and catching up with Erin.  So anyway, without further ado below are AJ & Megan's perspectives and insights on their training leading up to the 1/2 thus far. 

AJ:

Just  44 days and 122 miles of training before we can put the “13.1 Sticker” on our vehicles. I will start to park at the front of lots instead of the back parking lots after that so everyone knows I ran 13.1 miles!!!! Feeling good after this morning’s run…did 10 miles with Dru and Megan and still had 3 miles of gas left in the tank I believe. New running shoes are on my horizon…between the sides being blown out and retaining larger amounts of sweat in the soles, it’s time to splurge and get the $59 pair of Saucony’s instead of the $39 pair of New Balance’s.

MEGAN:

Dare I say, I love the irony in running 13.1 miles so that you can have a sticker that says “13.1” miles, so you can then park in the front of the grocery store parking lot and show it off. I’m pretty certain those people with “13.1” stickers on the back of their vehicles have no excuse for parking close to the front door. If you can run 13.1 miles, you can walk from the back of the parking lot J All joking aside…I had a great run this morning! You might be surprised to hear what constitutes a great run…I had a Charlie horse in the left side of my back, my sports bra rubbed two bloody holes in my back where the hooks are located, and my big toe nails appear to be pulling a “Dru Howard” and are bruised. And it was actually a good run. Do you want to know why?!?! Because neither of my knees or hips felt like they had gravel in them today and I could carry on a conversation while running. I really did have a great run, though. I kept thinking to myself after we were done…it is 7:00 a.m. and I just ran 10 miles before most people have gotten out of bed J



There you have it.  A great 10 mile run had by all.  And it felt better this morning because our friend Carol was back in action, after nursing an injury for the last week.  It was good to have her back...even if for only 2 miles (on Dr's orders).  But, we did miss Ken.  Hope he's feeling better soon and we'll have the whole gang back for our Friday morning long runs soon.

Timing is everything!

I seriously JUST got this email.  It seems that the writers/editors of WH are far more sure of my ability that I am.  Bravo WH, bravo!

Yes, You CAN Run a Half Marathon!

If you think runners are half crazy, you're right—they're crazy for half-marathons. And women are leading the pack: The number of people who've finished a half-marathon (13.1 miles) has more than tripled since 2000, and a whopping 59 percent of finishers are women, according to Running USA's 2012 State of the Sport report. So if you're looking to join these rockin' half-marathon-running women, here's your guide. Click to see the 10-week training plan, race-day advice, and more!

Sound the Alarm!

One of my most favorite things is when Dru and I actually get to talk on the phone. We email all the time, and have fun “liking” or commenting on each other’s FB pages, but to find the time when we are both 1. free and 2. able to answer our phones is pretty hard. For one thing, Dru is raising two tiny members of society, both of which started school this year (don’t even get me started on how old I feel knowing that her son Kash is in kindergarten now…I remember meeting that little guy in the hospital the day after he was born!!). Secondly, she’s got a whole household of people to pay attention to.  I just have my dog, but somehow I never pick up the phone and call her. Clearly I am a rotten friend.  But, a good dog owner.

So, it was a joyful occasion last week when we got to connect via phone!  That joy was quickly diminished when she proclaimed, “I’m so excited to see you in 6 weeks!”

WHAT?! HOLD UP!! OUR RUN IS IN 6 WEEKS?!?!  (This was my face...)

 Luckily Dru was off by 1 week. We had 7 weeks left to train. (This was my new face...)

So, with (now) less than 7 weeks left to train, I’m getting serious about it.  Instead of sleeping in one extra day, I got up and ran 4 miles on Labor Day. Ran 4.5 two days later. This Saturday I’m hoping to hit 6 and keep inching up so that by the weekend of the 15-16^th I am at 8, which will put me on track according to the training sheet Dru gave me.

The alarm has been sounded.  The run is in a month and a half.  I will be ready. Oh yes, I will.   

7 Weeks!

Okay, I will admit that I have been HORRIBLY inconsistent with my blogging, but please know that my running is much more consistent.  So, as I ran my longest distance to date this morning, I told myself I would also find 20 minutes to blog about it or something more interesting should there be something more interesting to happen.

So, getting down to business, the past few training weeks have consisted of me running about 4 days a week.  Shorter runs on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and a longer run on Friday.  Last Friday I cut my long run short but technically my distance runs are ahead of schedule so I didn't feel too bad about that.  This past Friday, Hurricane Isaac rained us out, so I did my distance run of 9 miles this morning instead.  It was still raining, but more of an annoying mist that, in the end, turned out to be not so bad for keeping me cool.  And if it's going to be humid, I would just as soon run in 100% humidity/rain than 98% torture. 

I got up an hour before our run and drank some coffee, ate some breakfast, and mentally prepared myself.  Not sure that was necessary as coffee sloshing around during a run does NOT feel particularly great.  But anyway, it was a fairly good run for me until about mile 6, when I got a side stitch (which doesn't ever really happen to me so it was a really weird feeling).  I actually got rid of my side stitch by walking for about 30 seconds and slowing down my breathing - thanks to some guidance from my running pal, Ken.  At 8 miles, my Nike+ Running app told me I had run 8.75 miles (grrrrr....the GPS on my iPhone is an entirely different frustration of mine, but one thing at a time) and by the time I REALLY got to 8.5 miles, I was ExHaUsTeD!!!  So, I did walk/run intervals the last 1/2 mile.  Again, I wanted to feel disappointed in myself, but I was too tired to care.  I still finished under 11minute/mile so mission accomplished.

It was also strange to run an hour later than normal, on a day that is typically my "off" day, and without 1/2 of my posse.  It is strange to me how accustomed my body has gotten to my routine so it's probably good to get it out of its routine. 

I'm still undecided about whether to run tomorrow morning or take Labor Day off, but for now I'm focusing on the ribs I'm about to eat, the 8 chocolate chip cookies I just ate, and the Boulevard Wheat that will really be the icing on my celebratory cake later this evening. 

Oh and the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis 1/2 marathon is only 7, yes 7 weeks from today.  That makes my stomach a little nervous just thinking about it!  Until I really looked at the calendar and realized 49 days is not far away at ALL, I was just feeling like it was going to just be like a little party and everyone would be cheering us on as we partied along down the street and we would look and feel like super athletic models crossing the finish line then we would party some more and it would be a great deal of fun.  However, today I picture this...

So, until my next blog...happy running and the official count down is on. 

Lessons Learned: Training Weeks 1 & 2

I started off the first week of training well. I had two shorter runs that were great but then we all know how disastrously the last run I blogged about went.  Since that last run I haven’t stepped a foot into my sneakers! I’ve been traveling for work, preparing for vacation and am just plain exhausted! It’s a horrible excuse – “I’m too tired to exercise” – because as so many of us know, once you get out there and just start doing something, you find the energy you thought you were lacking.  But, I’m almost halfway through Training Week 3 and don’t have any miles to show for it.  Disappointing?  Yes!  But, vacation starts in two days and luckily I’ll be with my mom and sister, who are both great at running with me or encouraging me to run.  I’m hoping I’ll get some good workouts in each day, in between beach time and sleeping!

Here are some lessons I learned these past two weeks:

Lesson 1: The Olympics are a great motivator! Never in my life have I watched the track & field events with such interest.  Those runners are amazing!  Not only the sprinters, who seem to get all of the attention, but the distance runners.  It kept me motivated to get outside and run.

Lesson 2: Watching the Olympics does not make me a better runner.  I’d be so excited to run while watching the Olympics and then I’d get on the treadmill or out on the road and realize I am not an Olympic athlete!  Those people train hard and I am sure that their training does not include sitting on the couch, night after night, watching other people running, swimming, diving, or playing beach volleyball.  If only fitness worked through osmosis.

My new role model!!



Running is Hard!

Ok, that might be the most obvious title in the world. But, something interesting happened to me today. I started training for the ½ again this week and got two 30-minute runs done fairly easily on Tuesday and Thursday. I knew I needed to get a longer run in this weekend and this morning I woke up determined to do it today. The weather was a little cooler (93 degrees instead of 107) and I thought a late afternoon run would be no problem whatsoever. After all, I ran 9 miles just a few weeks ago. Six miles would be no sweat, right??

Boy was I wrong!  That was one of the hardest, least enjoyable runs I’ve ever had! At one point in time I walked for such a long time that I was able to text my blog buddy Dru to tell her what a horrible run I was having!  The highlight of my run was seeing a lizard (I’m not kidding)! So, what went wrong?

Timing: I usually do my long runs first thing in the morning. I’m not a morning person, so I’ve always thought this was a bad idea. Now I wonder if it makes it easier for me to get more miles done because I’m too sleepy to give it that much thought!

Training: Not only have I not run since the 15K, I haven’t done a lick of weight training or yoga. I’m a firm believer that both of those activities help me be a better runner. Clearly I’ve got to get those back into the training routine.

Desire: I was giving myself a hard time about walking so much, and kept trying to push myself to run through one more song, or one more block, but I just kept stopping and walking. I realized I just didn't care to run the whole thing. 

I find it really interesting that Dru and I have both had hard runs in the past few weeks. But, we’re still getting out there and pounding the pavement. So, for all of you out there who don’t think you can run a mile, 5 miles, or a half-marathon, please believe me – you can!  What was it that fancy shoe company used to say all the time? Oh yeah, just do it!