To be honest, I’m not feeling very good about my upcoming race. Tuesday I bailed on a 5 mile run in order to enjoy spaghetti (prepared by Jesse) and a few games of pool. I was planning to run, but by the time we ate and I let everything digest, it was pretty dark out. Despite how many times I look at this lighted running band http://www.goneforarun.com/LED_NiteBEAMS_Arm_Leg_Bands_p/nb-ab01.htm I still haven’t ordered one (or more). Of course I regret not running now…
Wednesday I put in three miles, but not before finding an hour and a half worth of things to do in order to procrastinate. I ran 10 minute miles and felt good … except for this knee pain I have developed over the past few days. It all started during my 8 mile run on Sunday and it hasn’t gone away. It is weird because it is the outside of my knees that hurt.
Thursday I was supposed to run two miles, but it was dark by the time I made it home from work, and my knees were hurting pretty bad. John even offered to run with me, but I decided to rest and not run anymore until the race.
So I’m sure you can see why I’m a little nervous for the race. Hopefully the training I have put in will be enough to get me to the finish line without walking. I know I’ll have lots of family and friends out to support me, and my Co-Race Director from Ele’s Race, who is the 10 minute mile pacer is coming back to run the last two miles with me after he finished the race! Thank goodness so many people believe in me when I’m doubting myself!
On a side note – have you ever seen one of those stickers on the back of someone’s car that says, “13.1”? I want one of those…it just might be the driving force for me to finish!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
One.More.Week
On Thursday I headed out for my 5 mile run and was feeling very good. The weather was cool and by the time I finished mile 1 I realized I was running way too fast – under a 10:30 mile (typically, this is not considered ‘fast’, but let me call it what I want!). I kept telling myself to slow down, but it wasn’t working so I stopped looking at my watch and just ran. In the end, I ran an overall 11:00 minute per mile pace – a whole minute per mile faster than I am planning to run the race. I was impressed!
My last “long” run before the race took place on Sunday, and the weather was beautiful again. I didn’t feel quite as good as I did on my last 5 mile run, but I kept moving. During the first four miles I was chased by five different dogs. Seriously? I obviously have a problem with dogs. I started thinking that maybe in a previous life I was a dog catcher or the leader of a dog fighting ring... Ok, maybe that is a little extreme, but I had a lot of time to think!
I also had several thoughts on how I could potentially stop these dogs from chasing me:
1. Get a bigger, vicious dog and take him along on runs
Let’s face it – I’d rather be chased than have a dog at home to take care of!
2. Carry a club/stick/cane
Animal cruelty – I know, I know
3. Pepper spray
Will it work on dogs? I doubt PETA would approve…
4. Place notes in each of the dog owner’s mailboxes asking them to control their pets.
The Post Office seriously frowns upon putting items in other people’s mailboxes - ok, maybe they consider it a Federal Offense...
5. Call the township and report each resident that is not following the leash law.
Considering I’ve only lived in the area about 7 months and still don’t know most of the neighbors, maybe I shouldn’t make them mad just yet!
Maybe I should look into alternative running routes for the time being…
Runs in review:
Miles: 5
Pace: 11:00
Miles: 8
Pace: 11:55
Upcoming Week:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 Miles
Wednesday: 3 Miles
Thursday: 2 Miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest (attend wedding and TRY not to injure self in heels)
Sunday: CAPITAL CITY RIVER RUN
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Pet Peeves
Yesterday I put another 5 miles on my shoes – and right on schedule this time! After work I decided to run the Lansing River Trail, which I assume with be part of the half marathon course. There were numerous walkers, runners and bikes on the trail enjoying the beautiful weather, which was nice to see. I really wanted to focus on just running and not thinking too much about my pace or mileage, but within seconds of turning my IPod on, the battery died. Without the distraction of music, I was obsessing about the details again. Fortunately, this run went better than my last 10 mile run. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that great about it either. I feel slow and heavy, like I have cinder blocks strapped to my feet.
To the lady in the neon pink shorts riding her bike: Just because I run on the far right side of the walkway giving you access to both your lane and 75% of mine doesn’t mean you should ride on MY side of the yellow line. You have at least 4 feet of your own space on YOUR side of the yellow line. Maybe we need a class to teach bikers what the yellow line means. Come on, respect my personal space lady – PERSONAL SPACE!
To the numerous community members out walking their dogs: Dog + River Walk = LEASH! No, your dog is not so fantastic that he doesn’t need to be on a leash. Honestly, I’m glad your dog isn’t overly wild or aggressive – but all dogs should be on a leash when walking on a public trail where there are tons of other people and animals going in multiple directions at different speeds. No, I don’t want your dog to chase after me – even if he is friendly and you assure me he won’t bite. Trust me, I’m not just concerned about my own safety – I’m concerned about the safety of your dog. If he licks me when I’m stretching or chases me down again, your dog’s life will be in danger. Consider this your warning.
To the four young men running without shirts: Thank you for distracting me long enough to get me through the last mile of my run. Could I possibly hire you to run about 10 steps ahead of me during the CCRR? Talk about motivation!
Run In Review:
Miles: 5
Pace: 12:00
To the lady in the neon pink shorts riding her bike: Just because I run on the far right side of the walkway giving you access to both your lane and 75% of mine doesn’t mean you should ride on MY side of the yellow line. You have at least 4 feet of your own space on YOUR side of the yellow line. Maybe we need a class to teach bikers what the yellow line means. Come on, respect my personal space lady – PERSONAL SPACE!
To the numerous community members out walking their dogs: Dog + River Walk = LEASH! No, your dog is not so fantastic that he doesn’t need to be on a leash. Honestly, I’m glad your dog isn’t overly wild or aggressive – but all dogs should be on a leash when walking on a public trail where there are tons of other people and animals going in multiple directions at different speeds. No, I don’t want your dog to chase after me – even if he is friendly and you assure me he won’t bite. Trust me, I’m not just concerned about my own safety – I’m concerned about the safety of your dog. If he licks me when I’m stretching or chases me down again, your dog’s life will be in danger. Consider this your warning.
To the four young men running without shirts: Thank you for distracting me long enough to get me through the last mile of my run. Could I possibly hire you to run about 10 steps ahead of me during the CCRR? Talk about motivation!
Run In Review:
Miles: 5
Pace: 12:00
Monday, September 13, 2010
Bad habits die hard…
I waited until Sunday to do my long run that was scheduled for Saturday. Instead of getting it out of the way early though, I decided to wait until after I shot 35 targets at a local 3-D archery shoot – which took several hours. Why do I always wait until the last possible minute to begin? The run started off slow, and I wasn’t feeling all that great about my stride, pace or energy. Luckily, I ran my standard 5 mile loop twice, and left a bottle of grape Powerade at the end of my driveway, so that motivated me enough to finish out the first five and grab a drink.
The next two miles went by fast and I was feeling good. There was even a group of people having a bbq and playing horseshoes that I passed at mile 1 and then again at mile 6. The first time around they waved. The second time around they asked “Are you lost?” When I told them “no”, they asked if I wanted a ride. Although I really DID want a ride – to my house, to Detroit, to Kansas, really I’m not picky after 6 miles - I answered “no” again and they proceeded to ask me 3 or 4 times, “Are you SURE you don’t want a ride?” I’m thinking I must have been looking pretty tired at that point.
The last three miles were brutal. Every part of my body was hurting including my left ear where my IPod ear bud was. By the time I finished, I had chafed in multiple places that I didn’t think chafing was even possible. My legs felt like Jell-o and I swore to myself that I would NEVER train for a marathon (despite all the thoughts I’ve had over the past month that if I can run a half marathon, I can run a full marathon before I turn 25).
Prior to posting this today, I read Beth’s blog (http://bethlablance.blogspot.com/) which talked about the big goals she has put in place for herself – including running a marathon next year. Although my body still aches, I am reevaluating the thoughts I had of never running a full marathon. Thanks for the inspiration, Beth!
Hopefully the rest of my runs this week go better and I can get back to that positive state of mind!
Run in review:
Miles: 10
Pace:
First 5 Miles: 11:36
Second 5 Miles: 13:00
Upcoming week:
Tuesday: 5 Miles
Thursday: 5 Miles
Saturday: 8 Miles
“In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reason why not.”
-Anonymous
The next two miles went by fast and I was feeling good. There was even a group of people having a bbq and playing horseshoes that I passed at mile 1 and then again at mile 6. The first time around they waved. The second time around they asked “Are you lost?” When I told them “no”, they asked if I wanted a ride. Although I really DID want a ride – to my house, to Detroit, to Kansas, really I’m not picky after 6 miles - I answered “no” again and they proceeded to ask me 3 or 4 times, “Are you SURE you don’t want a ride?” I’m thinking I must have been looking pretty tired at that point.
The last three miles were brutal. Every part of my body was hurting including my left ear where my IPod ear bud was. By the time I finished, I had chafed in multiple places that I didn’t think chafing was even possible. My legs felt like Jell-o and I swore to myself that I would NEVER train for a marathon (despite all the thoughts I’ve had over the past month that if I can run a half marathon, I can run a full marathon before I turn 25).
Prior to posting this today, I read Beth’s blog (http://bethlablance.blogspot.com/) which talked about the big goals she has put in place for herself – including running a marathon next year. Although my body still aches, I am reevaluating the thoughts I had of never running a full marathon. Thanks for the inspiration, Beth!
Hopefully the rest of my runs this week go better and I can get back to that positive state of mind!
Run in review:
Miles: 10
Pace:
First 5 Miles: 11:36
Second 5 Miles: 13:00
Upcoming week:
Tuesday: 5 Miles
Thursday: 5 Miles
Saturday: 8 Miles
“In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reason why not.”
-Anonymous
Friday, September 10, 2010
Oops!
I failed to run last night, but I have a number of good excuses as to why not. Not buying it? Darn.
This morning I managed to get out of bed early enough to put in my 5 miles. I drove to the gym but decided to run outside, so I headed towards the MSU campus. Only three people were awake on the entire campus – two landscapers and an unhappy professor - so it was pretty quiet for the first 45 minutes.
There is a huge rock on campus that different student groups spray paint with different messages during the year. Today the rock was all white and in red and blue it said “9/11/01 – We will never forget” and there were hundreds of miniature flags in the lawn behind it. Very cool.
When I was a half mile from the gym, I stopped at a cross road to wait for the little blue man to light up indicating that it was safe for me to cross the street. Waiting to turn left onto the street I was crossing was what I assume to be a young, inexperienced, under caffeinated, late for work college kid. I made eye contact with him as I was starting to approach the road so he knew which way I was going, and he nodded as if recognizing my intentions and giving me the ‘go ahead’ – then when I was in the MIDDLE of the road, he suddenly turned and I had to jump out of his way. Surprisingly, I did not chase him down, yell at him or flip him off. Shocking, I know! Seriously though, if you see a runner crossing the road and you make eye contact with them and you nod your head acknowledging they are crossing and non-verbally saying that you will wait for them to be out of the way before turning, THEN LET THEM CROSS THE STREET WITHOUT PUTTING THEIR LIFE AT RISK. If the guy wouldn’t have made eye contact and nodded, I would have just waited for him to turn or signal me to cross. Arg.
Saturday I’m scheduled to run 10 miles, but am hoping I feel good enough to run 11. Then next week I’ll run 12 and the following week will be the race. I think I’ll stick to back country roads where the biggest threat is a herd of cows!
Run in Review:
Miles: 5
Pace: 12:00
This morning I managed to get out of bed early enough to put in my 5 miles. I drove to the gym but decided to run outside, so I headed towards the MSU campus. Only three people were awake on the entire campus – two landscapers and an unhappy professor - so it was pretty quiet for the first 45 minutes.
There is a huge rock on campus that different student groups spray paint with different messages during the year. Today the rock was all white and in red and blue it said “9/11/01 – We will never forget” and there were hundreds of miniature flags in the lawn behind it. Very cool.
When I was a half mile from the gym, I stopped at a cross road to wait for the little blue man to light up indicating that it was safe for me to cross the street. Waiting to turn left onto the street I was crossing was what I assume to be a young, inexperienced, under caffeinated, late for work college kid. I made eye contact with him as I was starting to approach the road so he knew which way I was going, and he nodded as if recognizing my intentions and giving me the ‘go ahead’ – then when I was in the MIDDLE of the road, he suddenly turned and I had to jump out of his way. Surprisingly, I did not chase him down, yell at him or flip him off. Shocking, I know! Seriously though, if you see a runner crossing the road and you make eye contact with them and you nod your head acknowledging they are crossing and non-verbally saying that you will wait for them to be out of the way before turning, THEN LET THEM CROSS THE STREET WITHOUT PUTTING THEIR LIFE AT RISK. If the guy wouldn’t have made eye contact and nodded, I would have just waited for him to turn or signal me to cross. Arg.
Saturday I’m scheduled to run 10 miles, but am hoping I feel good enough to run 11. Then next week I’ll run 12 and the following week will be the race. I think I’ll stick to back country roads where the biggest threat is a herd of cows!
Run in Review:
Miles: 5
Pace: 12:00
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Gulp....
I registered for the race today... No turning back now!
17 days & 20 hours until the start - not that I'm counting or anything!
17 days & 20 hours until the start - not that I'm counting or anything!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Treadmill Trouble
Today I decided to run before work so I can be productive once I get home tonight. This was my second time running on the treadmill since I started ½ marathon training and it wasn’t fun. I think I focus too much on my pace and everything else when there is information continually popping up on the screen. It was probably the worst 5 miles I have put in ever. Tomorrow, I’ll be back on the roads.
Run Review
Miles: 5
Pace: 12:00
Foot pain: my right foot hurts in the front where my shoe ties. It has hurt since the 9 miler on Sunday and is getting worse. Maybe I have been tying my shoes too tight?
Run Review
Miles: 5
Pace: 12:00
Foot pain: my right foot hurts in the front where my shoe ties. It has hurt since the 9 miler on Sunday and is getting worse. Maybe I have been tying my shoes too tight?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Looooonnnngggg Run
On Saturday I was supposed to run nine miles, but the cold weather, excessive rain and strong winds were a good excuse to put it off until Sunday. Sunday morning and afternoon were busy at the campground so I was able to put the run off even longer. Finally around 6pm I suited up and headed out the door. The first mile wasn’t bad, but the second was terrible. My feet, legs and stomach hurt. By the time I started mile three I was heading down hill and feeling better.
Before I left, I mapped out my run on mapmyrun.com and knew exactly what roads I was looking for. Somehow, I missed my left turn (I’m still convinced there isn’t really a road there) and headed up a very steep hill to the right. I ended up coming out at Glovers Lake Rd. which puzzled me because that was north of where I started, and my plan was to run west and then south. I turned around and headed back the same route figuring it was at least nine miles, if not further. The remained of the run I felt pretty good, and I’m sure I could have run further if I wanted to. But, I REALLY didn’t want to. In the end, I was proud I had run a quarter mile further than I anticipated.
Run Review:
Miles: 9.25
Pace: 11:55
Dogs that almost ate me: 1
Shoes: My new Asics felt pretty good. A few times my heel and shins hurt, but it didn’t last long. We’ll see how they hold up this week.
Upcoming week:
Tue: 5 Miles
Thurs: 5 Miles
Sat: 10 Miles
Before I left, I mapped out my run on mapmyrun.com and knew exactly what roads I was looking for. Somehow, I missed my left turn (I’m still convinced there isn’t really a road there) and headed up a very steep hill to the right. I ended up coming out at Glovers Lake Rd. which puzzled me because that was north of where I started, and my plan was to run west and then south. I turned around and headed back the same route figuring it was at least nine miles, if not further. The remained of the run I felt pretty good, and I’m sure I could have run further if I wanted to. But, I REALLY didn’t want to. In the end, I was proud I had run a quarter mile further than I anticipated.
Run Review:
Miles: 9.25
Pace: 11:55
Dogs that almost ate me: 1
Shoes: My new Asics felt pretty good. A few times my heel and shins hurt, but it didn’t last long. We’ll see how they hold up this week.
Upcoming week:
Tue: 5 Miles
Thurs: 5 Miles
Sat: 10 Miles
Friday, September 3, 2010
Week 9 of 12 in Half Marathon Training
I knew my motivation level was not very high, so I stopped at Playmakers, the local running store, and bought two pair of Smart Wool socks. Runners keep telling me that these socks are the best, and after experiencing blisters on the end of every toe for the past few weeks, I thought they would be worth a try.
By the time I made it home, it was no longer raining. So I procrastinated for a good 45 minutes before putting on my running clothes, which I can always stretch out for at least a good 20 minutes. Procrastination is my specialty, and I have found that running has helped me become an expert. John assured me there was more rain on the way as I headed out the door and I told him to come get me if it started raining hard. Then I changed that to “Only come get me if it’s a torrential downpour.” The rain started to fall around the one mile mark and got increasingly heavier as I ran the second and third. By that time, I was really hoping John would consider it “torrential” and as each car approached I was sure he was coming to pick me up. Needless to say, he never came, and so I ran.
Then I saw the coolest thing…two sets of double rainbows. They were the brightest, most vivid rainbows I have ever seen. I ran anther mile just staring at the rainbows and not even thinking about how bad I wanted to walk. When I finally remembered I was running, I was only a mile from home and actually felt really good. I managed to pickup the pace for the last half mile and just as I reached the end of my driveway the rain stopped. Go figure.
Wed, Sept 25 – 5 Miles
Sat, Sept 28 – 8 Miles
Tues, Sept 31 – 5 Miles
Thurs, Oct 1 – 5 Miles
Saturday I am supposed to run 9 miles…we’ll see!
By the time I made it home, it was no longer raining. So I procrastinated for a good 45 minutes before putting on my running clothes, which I can always stretch out for at least a good 20 minutes. Procrastination is my specialty, and I have found that running has helped me become an expert. John assured me there was more rain on the way as I headed out the door and I told him to come get me if it started raining hard. Then I changed that to “Only come get me if it’s a torrential downpour.” The rain started to fall around the one mile mark and got increasingly heavier as I ran the second and third. By that time, I was really hoping John would consider it “torrential” and as each car approached I was sure he was coming to pick me up. Needless to say, he never came, and so I ran.
Then I saw the coolest thing…two sets of double rainbows. They were the brightest, most vivid rainbows I have ever seen. I ran anther mile just staring at the rainbows and not even thinking about how bad I wanted to walk. When I finally remembered I was running, I was only a mile from home and actually felt really good. I managed to pickup the pace for the last half mile and just as I reached the end of my driveway the rain stopped. Go figure.
Wed, Sept 25 – 5 Miles
Sat, Sept 28 – 8 Miles
Tues, Sept 31 – 5 Miles
Thurs, Oct 1 – 5 Miles
Saturday I am supposed to run 9 miles…we’ll see!
Here we go...
Following the completion of my first week of actually completing EVERY workout on my training schedule, I decided it was time for a blog. Welcome to my journey to complete the Capital City River Run Half Marathon on Sunday, September 26, 2010 and beyond!
*I should probably mention here that ice cream is one of my favorite things. Often times, ice cream is the only motivation that can get me out the door to run, and running makes me feel less guilty eating that big bowl of ice cream. I figure if I can convince myself that I like running as much as I like ice cream, I'll be successful.
Running History:
I figured I would include my running background so that in the future when you see my race times, you will know I am NOT an experienced runner, and therefore excuse my extremely slow pace! Over the past several years I have decided to start “running” numerous times. Each time I would get myself excited, find a good plan to follow and head out the door. After a couple weeks, I would come up with the best excuses to miss my runs and the plan would soon fail. In May of this year, I started taking a fitness boot camp class and over the course of three months realized how much better I feel every day that I workout. I also shaved 5+ minutes off my 5k time after the first month of the class which motivated me to keep going. With lots of support, encouragement and crazy ideas from my co-race director and other race committee members, I decided to train for the Capital City River Run Half Marathon. So here we go…
May 2009 Survivor 5k in Howell, Michigan - Time: 38:22
June 2010 Linden Summer Happening 5k in Linden, Michigan - Time: 32:48
*I should probably mention here that ice cream is one of my favorite things. Often times, ice cream is the only motivation that can get me out the door to run, and running makes me feel less guilty eating that big bowl of ice cream. I figure if I can convince myself that I like running as much as I like ice cream, I'll be successful.
Running History:
I figured I would include my running background so that in the future when you see my race times, you will know I am NOT an experienced runner, and therefore excuse my extremely slow pace! Over the past several years I have decided to start “running” numerous times. Each time I would get myself excited, find a good plan to follow and head out the door. After a couple weeks, I would come up with the best excuses to miss my runs and the plan would soon fail. In May of this year, I started taking a fitness boot camp class and over the course of three months realized how much better I feel every day that I workout. I also shaved 5+ minutes off my 5k time after the first month of the class which motivated me to keep going. With lots of support, encouragement and crazy ideas from my co-race director and other race committee members, I decided to train for the Capital City River Run Half Marathon. So here we go…
May 2009 Survivor 5k in Howell, Michigan - Time: 38:22
June 2010 Linden Summer Happening 5k in Linden, Michigan - Time: 32:48
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