Have I lost my mind?

Last week I blogged about my first experience with doing hill work. I honestly never thought that I would do it again without my friend that I did them with the first time but I guess I proved myself wrong. It has been a long week. I ran my 10 miles Sunday and did sprints Tuesday with a friend. I attempted to run Thursday but I just wasn't feeling it. We had a few things come up the day before that were really wearing me down so when I went out for my run it wasn't pretty. I didn't get in the distance that I was hoping for either.

It was really wearing me down that I wasn't able to push myself to do more that what I did. So I decided I would run yesterday. I normally don't run on Fridays because I take a water class and then take Saturday off completely to get ready for my long run on Sunday. At our local rec center, there are no classes this weekend due to it being Labor Day weekend. So I decided I was going to make up for not getting my miles in that I wanted to.

I decided that I would go out and run an easy 3 miles. Well I quickly decided that I would do hill work and started the first of four sprints up the first hill. At that point, I quickly thought to myself, "Have I lost my mind?" But I already started so I had to finish. I did 3 different hill sprints with each hill being a little steeper than the next one. I did the second hill four times and even set a PR sprinting up it. I was extremely excited about this because I usually slow down dramatically when going up hill and this time I actually was going faster than I normally do when I am running. Below is a picture of on of the hills that I sprinted up.  Even though it doesn't look steep, it is and it is one of the ones that I would easily slow down on but not anymore.  :)

Next comes this big hill that just about everyone I know that runs or walks doesn't like it. Including me. I dread that hill everytime I hear about a 5k or 10k going down that way. I learned the last time I did hill work that you don't need to let the hill dominate you. You dominate that hill. Even if it means you feel like throwing up once you get to the top which is exactly what I felt like doing after running up these hills repeatedly.

I am wanting to do this type of hill work until the week of the half and take that week off from running hills because I will get plenty of hills when I run the half. The course is the same as it was last year so I feel as though I have an advantage. I remember quite a bit about the course. Especially the hills. Even though I have heard that it isn't as hilly as it has been in the past. Don't even want to begin to imagine that.

I know last year I struggled quite a bit with the hills. Mainly because I didn't train properly. I feel that if I would have trained like I am now then I wouldn't have struggled so much. I am hoping that my training this time will pay off and I will be able to do a lot better.

Compared to last year I don't feel as though I am as nervous because I have trained well and I am trusting my training.  I know I have said it before but I feel that I was unprepared for my half marathon last year. I only ran 8 miles in training and then turned around and ran 5.1 miles longer to complete my half. I am very lucky I didn't permanently damage anything and make it to where I would be unable to run at all.

As I have said before, you need to do your homework. In running, it would be training properly. If you don't train properly, you will get injured. I only know one person right now that doesn't really have to train and she runs like she has been training for months. She ran a half marathon just because she felt like it and had an amazing time. Makes you wonder what the difference in time would have been if she had trained. I am saying this to all of you that read my blog so that you don't run into the same problem I did. So you are able to run your next race. I am still learning so I am just telling you based on my experience. I would love to be able to hear about your running experiences and if you don't run, tell me about what you do that brings you happiness.


So until next time.

One more down...4 more to go

I have completed another long run today and have 4 more to go before race day.  I have been on cloud nine since this morning for two reasons.  I ran 10 miles this morning and cut off 8 seconds off my average overall pace per mile!!!  I have been so tickled.  Don't know if you remember me saying in an earlier post that the farthest that I went in training last year was 8 so running 10 today was a huge deal to me. I am so excited and even more so looking forward to race day!!!

I did, however, have to get started earlier than most of the runners did.  The group was running 6 miles this morning and I needed to get in 10 so I started about 45 minutes before everyone else did.  Plan was to get 4 miles in and then run with the group, I only had time to get in a 5k so I had to run a little extra at the end.  That was hard in itself but I will get to that in a minute.  I did pretty good for the first part of the run and into the second round to start the six.  I was able to maintain a pretty good pace and was quite pleased with myself until I stopped at the first water station.

I paused my run to get a drink and didn't have anywhere to set my phone so I was like I will just stick it in my bra.  Bad idea!!!  At first, I thought that I lost my run altogether and that is just not even funny at all.  Turns out I ended the run so I was going to have to start over. It still saved my run but now my mile splits weren't going to be consistent and I was a little irritated.  I knew that if it didn't do that I would have beat my 10k time from the 4th of July race.  Oh well, it was already said and done and there wasn't anything I could do about it so I just tried my best to let it go.  I had 4.25 miles left to go when this happened and I needed to get it done so I could get home to get ready for church.

So I restart my running app and get my butt moving.  After about half a mile or more, we came to a hill that I did sprints up last Tuesday.  I am glad now that I did them because usually I get very intimidated by the hills which in turn makes me go up the hill slower.  Instead, I went full force up the hills and it felt good.  I think that has helped me with my pace and running with this group as well.  The last couple miles was the hardest.  I just had a hard time finding the motivation that I needed to keep moving forward so at times I was moving really slow and then there were times I felt great. 

Now we are down to the last mile and boy was it hard. I struggled so much during that last mile that I was ready to give up but knew that I needed to keep going because I needed to get my miles in today. The past 2 weeks I have been unable to get my miles in and today I was able to and I needed to take advantage of it so I pushed through that voice in my head saying, "It is okay to stop." I made it and adding my times together I had a great pace and like I said at the beginning of this post I took 8 seconds off of my overall pace from last week and even ran longer.  I am getting excited about next month's race and can't believe that I only have 4 more training runs to go and then the next weekend is race day!!! 

So until next time.

Goal...long time to train...well worth the wait??

Today has been my day off from running so it seems that my mind is all over the place. So let's talk about goals. One goal that I have had since I completed the Women's Half Marathong last year was to one day complete a full. Unlike most people, the first marathon that I run I want to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. For someone that has only been running for a year and a half, that goal can seem far fetched. To be honest it is quite intimidating to say the least. I mean to be able to qualify, my overall pace would have to be 8:12 per mile. For 26.2 miles!!

Sometimes I get down and out because I begin to let that little voice in my head telling me I can't do it. It would take a lot of hardwork and dedication to accomplish this. Right now my half marathon pace isn't where it should be, in my opinion, to help me reach my goal. I have a plan but life happens so it is always good to have a plan b as well.

Right now my plan is to work hard to achieve that pace and be able to maintain it for at least 13.1 miles then once I am able to do that I will slowly start adding miles to my long runs. This will take quite a bit of time as well as the hardwork and dedication and that is another thing that is holding me back right now.

I have two children that are six and three. They are only going to be young once so I don't want to spend hours and hours training and miss spending time with my family. Remember the plan I told you about? When my daughter is in school, that would be when I would start training. I wouldn't have to worry about trying to find a babysitter for the kids or being back by a certain time. It seems that the process of training for this is going to be tedious and on top of that I am wanting to qualify for Boston on my first marathon. I am not even sure if that has ever been done before. It is lofty goal but nonetheless it is a goal of mine. Even if I don't run another marathon after that, I know the memory and the feeling of crossing that finish line when I qualify and the feeling of crossing the finish line at Boston will stay with me forever. I am hoping that will also show my kids that if you want something in life, no matter how far fetched it may seem, that with hardwork and dedication, you can accomplish it.

I would like to hear what your goals are and how you plan to accomplish them. Let me know in the comments below or find my group page on Facebook, Focus on Your Own Race.

A little can be too much

I am not sure who all reads my blog but for those of you that do. Have you ever just had a day where it seems as though no matter what someone said or did whether it was intentional to be mean or not just bother you? Well today has been that day for me. It seems as though when I get really tired things tend to bother me more and I have definitely not gotten my rest.  Here is a recap of the last few days that I have had.  Keep in mind that I still have to get up between 5:30 and 6 in the morning to take my son to school so there is no sleeping in for me on top of my already busy days I have had this week.

On Wednesdays, I help cook at church for our Wednesday night meal. This particular day my husband had to be at work at 5 so he got up at 4. Usually when he gets up he doesn't wake me when he is getting ready. That definitely wasn't the case for me that morning. So on top if getting up early, I was cutting potatoes to make mashed potatoes and guess what? I almost cut off part of my finger. A friend asked if I wanted to use her ceramic knife and I was like sure. Then all of a sudden she showed me what my face looked like and said that I said I think I just cut the crap out of my finger. I don't even remember saying this so I got so tickled and was laughing until I couldn't breathe. It took a good hour and a half for it to stop bleeding. By the time I went to our Wednesday night class and had choir practice got home, I was up maybe 30 minutes and then was out. Felt like I had only slept maybe 10 minutes but I was out for 2 hours.

I had thought about running yesterday morning but because I didn't fully catch up on my sleep from Wednesday that I could barely walk a straight a line so I thought for my safety and others sanity, I would just do my normal classes.  My son had an eye doctor appointment originally scheduled for Monday but they called Wednesday afternoon to let me know that they had a cancellation and they could see him yesterday afternoon.  So after school off to the eye doctor we go.  I was already exhausted and we still weren't finish with our day.  We had a home group that we started at church last night that we were going to as well.  I am getting sidetracked now.  Back to the doctor appointment.  Turns out that he has to have glasses due to a stigmatism.  Both my husband and I were hoping that neither one of our kids would have to wear glasses but since we both due the odds definitely were not in their favor at all.  I guess the fact that he is excited about wearing glasses makes it a little easier. Oh well, can't get upset because the genes due have a greater pull than you do in this particular case.

Now on to today. I originally planned on running ten miles this morning but I thought that I would just do speedwork and on Sunday get up and run 4 miles before meeting the group and I can get my ten in on Sunday since they are planning on running 6 miles. My speedwork for today didn't go so well. I am not a fond fan of the treadmill. Not even on a really cold day. Staying in one place when running is BORING!!! Then on top of that, going around the track isn't any better. I get dizzy and feel as though I am going to throw up. I have gotten so use to running outside that when I try to run inside it just doesn't turn out well.  I did pretty good but didn't quite get the miles that I wanted to get.  My first mile was a warm up then my second mile was almost a minute improvement from the first one so I was quite pleased with that. 

I am just ready for the race to be here so I looked and we have only 36 days until race day!!!  I enjoy training but I honestly think that I have reached the point that I am just ready for race day to come.  I love the feeling that I get right before a race and I am looking forward to seeing what my results are going to be.  I have a feeling that I am going to PR on this race and just anxious to see how much compared to last year.  I have put in quite a bit of hard work with my training.  There have been days that I don't want to train like today but I still get out there and do something instead of doing other things with my time when in the end, I would just beat myself up over not running at all. A little bit is better than nothing at all right?  You also have to do your homework in running and that is training.  Like I have said before, there are very few people that can run long distances without really training. I currently only know one and she ran a half when she was 5 months pregnant without any training!!!  But for me that is not an option so I work hard week after week and month after month only to prepare for a race that I hope I will only be out there within my goal time that I have set for that particular race.  I am too determined not to train and I am afraid that if I don't, I will be injured and then I won't be able to run.  That would not be good for my sanity!!!

So until next time.

38 Days & Counting!!

That's right. There are only 38 days till the Women's Half Marathon and then 52 days before the Middle Half. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!!! I know I will be able to PR this time and with any luck cut at least 30 minutes off of my time!!! That would be awesome!!!

I am hoping to PR on the Middle Half as well since it is a flat course. To be honest, finishing within my goal time would be awesome but to be able to finish two half marathons two weeks apart is pretty amazing in itself.

The team captain actually told me that I should use the Women's Half as a training half and the Middle Half as one to PR on. That one is flat and let's face it, everyone usually runs faster when it is flatter. I am currently training on hills right now because the Women's has several hills along the course and I figured since that one was going to be first, I should do pretty good on the next one.

I already have a plan to take all of you on the journey of running the Women's Half. I am going to be taking lots of pics before, hopefully during and after the race. I am going to see if I can't get my husband to meet me at certain checkpoints along the course so I will be able tell you where I was at in the race. Maybe this time the camera batteries won't die.

I can't wait to share this journey with you. Looking forward to writing my blog on the day before and after. I hope you will check back then if not before. I do have several training runs planned.

Hillwork...a love/hate relationship

Today I had every intention of running speed intervals on the treadmill.  I wasn't really looking forward to it, therefore, I was in no big hurry to get upstairs.  Saw a friend and asked if she was running today.  She said that she was doing hill work.  Something I haven't done before.  I try not to run with people that are faster than me because I don't want them to feel as though they have to slow down for me.  Since when doing hills pace really isn't a factor, I decided to tag along. 

We got to the first hill and I have run up this hill before.  I went to sprint up it as fast as I could.  Oh my gosh!!!  I thought I was going to die.  My legs, butt and lungs felt as though they were on fire.  Finally get to run downhill and guess what??  Up we go AGAIN!!  I was thinking to myself, what have I gotten myself into?  I know I need to do this but I would like to live to run the Women's Half Marathon next month.  I stuck with it though and I am glad that I did.

We did this same hill 3 or 4 times and then continue to run.  We go down this big hill that we had to run for the 4th July race and when you go downhill, you HAVE to go uphill.  That uphill sucks, just in case you were wondering.  First, we had one more hill to do and yes we did it more than once.  It was probably 4 times.  I hated but loved every minute of it.  Then we ran a little bit on a flat surface and headed to go back up that massive hill.  I felt as though I was going as slow as molasses but I was going less than 10 minute miles up hill and I was thrilled.  As I stated in my previous post, I normally slow down dramatically when going uphill and make up time when going downhill. 

We get back to the first hill that we sprinted up and she wanted to do one it more time.  I was like you are killing me and honestly, I tried to get out of doing it one more time but she pushed me into doing it one more time.  I am so glad that I did too.  The rest was a breeze.  For once, I was able to keep up with her and it felt like it was easy. My pace was incredible.  I couldn't believe that I was going as fast as she was and able to keep up with her for the most part.  It felt amazing to do that because I never thought I would ever run that fast ever.  I just proved myself wrong!!!  I did a little victory dance!!  That was after I was able to catch my breath.  I will be out there again doing the same thing sometime next week.  It is definitely a good workout.  Thanks for letting me join you!!!

 

 

The above quote is what I was thinking each time I saw a hill that I knew I was going to have sprint up.  I didn't want to still be at the bottom wondering what it was like.  This got me through my workout today and will probably each time I do hill work.

 

So until next time.

Best long run...so far :)

Yesterday I had a long run planned with the running group that I ran with it last week. First let me say that I had a bad calculation on my part so my run was cut short by 4/10 of a mile. :( I was upset when I realized it but I really needed to head to church so it was going to have to do.

I decided that since I lived so close to where we were meeting at that I would just run from my house there and I would get half of the extra mile I needed but I said earlier that didn't work out but it was still an overall good run for the most part. The only thing that I feel that I did wrong was start out too fast. My first mile was less than 9 minutes a mile and then it started going downhill, not in a good way either. There were times that I had to stop because I honestly felt sick to my stomach. Just like Thursday morning.

On most of the hills along the course, I did excellent as far as running up them. All except one. It was a gradual steady hill for half a mile. I think that was the slowest that I ran all morning. It was terrible. Once I hit the top of the hill, I made up quite a bit of time going downhill. Even though my running app on my phone didn't register it, I beat my 10K time from the 4th of July race. It might have only been a few seconds but I will definitely take it. It means I made some type of improvement, right?
When I stopped to get water a little over 7 miles, I was beginning to think it was a bad idea. My legs just didn't seem like they wanted to hold me up. Bad thing was I was only standing there getting a drink. Could have definitely turned out bad but thankfully, I was able to push through it. I only had a little over a mile and a half left to go. This was before I realized that I miscalculated my run. Either way I made it back and was able to make to church on time after all. As I am sure most of you have realized, I am not okay with running on Sunday if that means I have to miss church. There have been several races I would like to do but because they fell on a Sunday I have chose not to do them.  There is even a half marathon that I would love to do but I would have to basically PR in order to make it to a church in time for morning services. That one is still up in the air. I need to get these two races I am already signed up for finished and then see how about that one. I have like 2 weeks before the race to sign up and the price doesn't increase either. Always a plus. :)

Below is right after I finished my run. Even though the shirt is suppose to be a dry wick shirt and pull the moisture away. You can still see the sweat and I have proof I worked hard. Lol

The next picture is of my inner thigh. Gross I know but I promise that I will make a point. Just hang in there.

Last year when I ran the Women's Half Marathon, I forgot to put on anti-chaffing cream. Despite the fact that they provided some in our goodie bag. Well, I actually I was so excited about running my first half marathon that I didn't notice that I forgot. Until mile 3. Yep you guessed. I had 10.1 miles to go. Which was very painful. I am telling you this because you would think I would have learned my lesson right? Apparently by the picture above, no. Believe or not, I did put some on. Obviously not enough.

I want to leave you with something to think about it. Next time you lace up your shoes to run, walk or bike, remember all those that can't do it. Consider doing it for them. If this is something that you would consider doing, please go to www.whoirun4.com. You will be matched with a child or adult with special needs or health problems. The form you will fill out should give more information. These kids and adults are more than tickled that you run, walk or bike for them. Just think about it.

So until next time.