Make Yourself Monday

 

Powerful...

March 2012: In which I hit my highest mileage in a month.

For a month in which I felt like I was just not getting it done, I actually pulled off a monthly mileage PR. Crazy....since my last couple months peaked out in the high 80's. So that tells me that I despite my perception, I managed to step it up and get back to consistently nailing my training plan--for the most part. I beat myself up so much when I miss a day or don't quite get the mileage in...so this is a good motivator to head into training cycle #3. Every month from now until the last Half Marathon in my series (Seattle RnR in June) calls for over 100 mile months. Since spring is also slooowly getting here in the NW, I am ready to take it on!

March's weather on the other hand, definitely came in like a lion. Tons of rain, wind and grey skies...even a bit of snow in the middle of the month. My long runs in March were really enjoyable even so. Varying the route is really important because it helps to stave off boredom and keeps things challenging. And the varying the timing of the hills in each run ultimately helped me do much better than I expected at the MI Half.

March also brought my first ice bath. Ever. It wasn't too awful, and actually felt pretty good to get my sore legs completely numb. And even though I had a less than stellar training cycle, I decided to chalk it up to the luck of the season and move on.

I closed the month out with a 9 min PR a the MI half and a new monthly mileage high. All in all, it ended up being a great kick off to race season.

Mercer Island Half Marathon Recap

 

Official results posted. The time I saw when I crossed the finish must have been my gun time; official time- 2:13:01. Woot woot! That is pretty cool - PR by 9 minutes! 

There were races of all distances - Kids dash, 5 and 10K's and Half Marathon Walk and Run in this one. They staggered the times and the run didn't start until 9am--which is later than normal for these kinds of races. I was glad--we got there early in plenty of time to watch my best friend's son run the kids dash. He had fun and I think I've been successful in pulling in a new recruit! 

So I may have mentioned- this was a super hilly course. The course followed Mercer Way around the island, which is heavily wooded and really just one rolling hill after another. Up and down. Up and down. The weather was perfect though. It was sunny, in the high 40's and was just really beautiful, especially when you could see the lake. 

Things started to get a little more exciting around mile 9-10. There seemed to be more people out and I just got a surge of energy when I started seeing the mileage get higher and higher. The hills towards the end were no joke though. Last half mile to the finish was uphill. And there was one huge one - much steeper grade and longer it felt like - around mile 11. I kept running up the stupid hill and was pretty excited to find a Gatorade station at the top. 

Until, again, I pulled a rookie mistake. Didn't slow down enough, nor did I pinch the cup at the top and ended up literally inhaling it. Face full of Gatorade. Just like I did in the Seattle half...won't be doing that again...I hope.

Even with the hills, I enjoyed this race a lot. I felt strong the whole time and really ended up doing much better than I thought I would. A 9 minute PR. I have visions of a sub 2 hour half in my future!

 

Splits below--you can definitely tell where the biggest hills were!

Mile 1 - 9:38

Mile 2 - 9:29

Mile 3 - 9:43

Mile 4 - 10:11

Mile 5 - 9:38

Mile 6 - 9:58

Mile 7 - 10:04

Mile 8 - 9:52

Mile 9 - 9:57

Mile 10 - 10:26

Mile 11 - 10:26

Mile 12 - 10:43

Mile 13 - 9:30

Last bit - 12:32

Pictures are up now. And I look like a total weirdo  b/c I decided to wave like a cheeseball when I finally crested the top of the last hill.

Make Yourself Monday

 

Fierce. 

Hills. Oh the F'in Hills.....

Had a really amazing time running this race. I planned to take it easy on this one considering there are 3 more coming up in the next 3 months. But I ended up with a nearly 8 minute PR. And it was super sunny and really beautiful out. Perfect conditions for sure.

Um. Except for one thing. Well more than one. There were some serious hills in this race. I mean no joke- I must have said out loud at least two or three times "you have got to be f'in kidding me." Take a look at the elevation...

Full recap to come tomorrow. I am seriously beat tonight. So tired that even though I've been getting super excited about the return of Mad Men tonight, I am not even going to stay up. I can barely keep my eyes open right now and it's only 6:55pm.

It's Here. 1 Day until MI Half

I think I am ready. Too busy squelching pre-race nerves to think about it too much. I had a shit training cycle. Much less than ideal. Which is one of the reasons that I have no goals for this race at all. Other than having fun. Also, since this is the first race in a series of 4, I know that I need to go out slow and steady so that I am still upright and strong by #4. And the elevation on this race kind of scares me just a bit.  So no time goals. Just want to finish with a smile on my face.

Map of the course

I've tested out the outfit, created my playlist and am charging my camera battery. Resting my legs, carb loading and hitting the expo today to pick up my race packet. Here we go!

Very excited. Can't believe it's here! Lots more to come this weekend!

Make Yourself Monday

Week 11 in Review - 7 Days until MI Half

This week started strong and then life got the better of me. Ended up with super extra special crazy weather, was busy at work, etc etc. Excuses excuses. But I'm ok with it. It's just turned out to be an unlucky season. And that is ok. Next week I taper, officially. Then Race and move into Cycle #3.


Monday - Made it out as planned for an easy 3 miler.
3.46 mi; 34:23; 9:57


Tuesday - Yay. Two days in a row I got it done. Small victories...since the rest of the week was a bust.
3.22 mi; 31:35; 9:49

Wednesday - Woke up to super crazy bad weather. And just couldn't motivate myself to get out there. Planned to make it up after work, but felt like I was going to puke all afternoon for some reason....
8 mi Speed workout
Rest

Thursday - Also planned to do a make up today. Best laid plans....as they say.
3 mi Easy
Rest

Friday - I am so lame. That's all I can say.
Rest

Saturday - Long run. I psyched myself up for my longest long run before the race next weekend. And got all dressed then looked outside. It had started SNOWING. AGAIN. So I decided to wait it out. I had a feeling things would clear up and I needed it to since I wanted to test out my race outfit on a long run. It ended up clearing up within the hour and I added a jacket and headed out. I ended up having to shed the coat about 2 miles in and it was a beautiful afternoon. Sunny and everything! Got that 13 miles in too. Full Stop. No cheating this week either. Small victories, I know. After the week I had, I'll take it. Had a nice ice bath when I got home.
13.03 mi; 2:24:52; 11:07

Sunday - Rest. Plotted out my next cycle- which officially has three half marathons in it while I was waiting out the snow yesterday. Excited to tackle this next cycle in the spring. Light in the mornings and warmer! Yay. I am ready to move on and get my mojo back. About damn time.
Rest

One week from today, I'll be running the perimeter of Mercer Island. Woot woot!

Luck of the Season

This training cycle has been rough. And I've been beating myself up over it. Last cycle, there seemed to be a momentum and I ran every single one of my scheduled runs when I was supposed to except for a couple when I was traveling for work at the very beginning of the plan. Every.Single.One after the first week. Cycle number 2 has not been that way. At all. And it's made me feel pretty damn crummy. But then I came across a post in Runner's World Daily that changed my mind. Or at the very least, is allowing me to let myself off the hook so I can move on.

The post was a question to "Coach Jenny" regarding how long your longest run should be when training for a half. The answer was long, but this paragraph made me stop and think for a second.

"The luck of the season.  In the event of a perfect training season -where everything goes right.  You log all your planned workouts.  You feel good during many of the workouts.  You run stronger and faster towards the end of the season.  And your running apparel matched even when you got dressed on those dark mornings.  When this happens you can continue to follow the planned long run progression.  However, there are seasons where it seems nothing goes right.  The dog eats your right shoe.  It snows, sleets and there is a headwind during every long run.  You catch your son's cold...three times.  And, your running buddies inform you at the end of the a long run that there is a big hole in your tights on your backside.  Things happen.  And you can't play a mad game of catch up in long running.  That's not how it works.  You have to progress based on where your body is to avoid overload , fatigue and injury.  In this case, you may get up to 9 miles once - and that will always trump catching up to get in 12 miles and toeing the line exhausted or worse yet, hurt and not even able to race at all."

My nemesis has been a combination of a wet and snowy winter, my kid's crud, which I got at least twice, and a multitude of other little things that added up to a season in which I lost my mojo a little bit. Ok, a lot. So instead of continuing to dwell on it and beat my self up, I've decided to just chalk it up to the Luck of the Season and move on.

My race is next weekend. I don't feel ready. I ended up tapering this week. In a big way. Work was a little crazy, weather was super extra special crazy and I just didn't get it done. Was supposed to be my peak week. Oh well. Hitting a full 13 today. Mapped out a new long run that has lots fewer hills and I got 4 more ice trays for the planned ice bath afterwards. Should have enough this time!

Next week is official, in the plan, taper week. I'll take it easy, rest and fuel up...and plan to toe the line with fresh legs and a renewed sense of purpose. Next half after this is about a month away. So I'll take a few days of rest and then pick right up where I left off. This cycle, I am determined to build momentum and keep it going until the Rock and Roll in June.

And have a luckier season.

Make Yourself Monday

Week 10 in Review - 14 Days until MI Half

This week was a tough one. I did better for the first half of the week in terms of getting up early. I did it 3 out of 4 days. But I didn't do the 8 mile speed workout I was supposed to, so was again, off on total mileage for the week. Next week is it. Last full week before a week of tapering. Hitting 30 miles...Hope it doesn't come back to bite me- increasing that much over this week. I'll will make sure I am paying attention to my body.

Monday - Got up early and headed out the door. Only to find that it was POURING out. Got soaked from head to toe but it was a nice quick 3 miler.
3.44 mi; 33:41; 9:47

Tuesday - Another nice 3 miler. No rain this time though. And guess what? It's starting to get light when I'm out early! Yay!
3.08 mi; 29:47; 9:41

Wednesday - Had a migraine when I woke up so decided to run at night and swap workouts.
8 mi Speed
3.22 mi; 31:38; 9:50

Thursday - Intended to do the speed workout today, but just wasn't feeling it. Took an unplanned rest day.
Rest

Friday - Woke up in a terrible mood so I went for an angry 3 miles and ran it pretty fast. Which I think made me a little more tired for the long run Saturday.
3.05; 28:36; 9:23

Saturday - Long run. Did the Madison to bridge to home route and covered 12 full miles. Didn't cheat with distance AT ALL. Yay me. I also did my very first ice bath when I got home. It was cold as hell but effective. My legs were so sore and making them completely numb felt good!
12.01 mi; 2:11:26: 10:57

Sunday - Rest. I bought my first pair of compression socks Friday. Not the fancy $60 running kind, but a pair of old person kind at the drug store. I wore them basically from Friday on with the exception of the actual run and I do think they made a difference in recovery. 

Make Yourself Monday

                                                 Watch out, folks.

Week 9 in Review - 21 Days until MI Half

 

Not bad. Not quite the 27 on the plan but I'll take it. Missed one planned day. It's really tough for me to run 4 days in a row. My body gets too tired and I inevitably skip one. But I am going to make sure that I keep myself accountable and keep ramping up. I'll be designing my next phases soon that will take me through the next three half marathons April-June. Can't wait till it starts to warm up!

Monday - The plan calls for a lot of 3 milers from now until the race. Two tough workouts (Tempo or Speed and Long Run) tempered with 3 easy short ones.

3.47; 34:09; 9:51

Tuesday - Was supposed to run today but decided to take a rest day. 

3 miles

Rest

Wednesday - Long tempo run. This is usually a tough one for me. This one was no exception. Have been running at night after work and have been having a hard time figuring out what kind of lunch to eat that I can digest quickly and not feel like I am going to throw up the whole time.

7.23 mi; 1:14:03; 10:14

Thursday - Another nice easy 3 miler. Was glad because I was a little sore from the tempo run the day before.

3.38 mi; 34:01; 10:04

Friday - Rest day. Felt good.

Saturday - Long run. Had 11 on the books and tried to map out a new route on Map My Run but got so frustrated. Thought I ended up doing an ok enough job and was just going to fudge the rest. But I ran what I thought would be the majority and was only at 6 miles. I was at the I-90 bridge anyway so I just headed across and back to add a couple miles on. When I finally got home, I was well over 11 miles. Was very sore though. Like completely wiped for the rest of the day. Crashed out for a nap-hard.

11.17 mi; 1:59:44; 10:43

Getting so close- 3 weeks out!

 

February 2012: In which I get sick. Twice.

This month was rough. I've got a month till the Mercer Island Half. I don't feel ready. I have been slacking...feeling lazy and so not motivated. Plus I got sick. More than once. Not loving the winter training all that much. But all was not lost. I did a fun 5K for Valentines Day, and got a new pair of shoes.

 

 Crappy Race Pic

I also introduced Make Yourself Mondays....Partly because I just plain love this Nike campaign and the other part is because I am in serious need of motivation at this point in time.

 

Finally, since I was getting really bored with my normal routes, I mapped out a new long run loop that is both hardcore, very pretty and not boring at all. Need to keep switching things up so they are fresh. Hopefully will stave off any burn out that I fear might creep into a full year of training.

Total miles for the month 84.25. Not what I had planned but not terrible either. Hitting the build up for a few more weeks then a week taper until race day!

 

Make it Count

      I'm in....

Week 8 in Review - 26 Days Until MI Half

A week on and then, inevitably, an off week. Was just getting that momentum back last week and the first few days of this week started strong. Then I got that crud again....the same one my kid has now had a couple times in the last month. Felt like I was going to die on Wed and Thurs...so forced myself to take another rest day Friday so I could hit it strong on Saturday.

Monday - Started off the week with a easy 5 miler. Nothing crazy. Felt good.
5.09; 50:57; 10:01 min/mile

Tuesday - Kept it going for an easy 3....
3.22; 32:17; 10:01 min/mile

Wednesday - Woke up feeling like death. Felt progressively worse the rest of the day and conked out early.
6 mile Tempo
Sick - Rest 

Thursday - Same. Bleech.
3 mile Easy
Sick - Rest

Friday - Really wanted to get some make-up miles in today but forced myself to take another rest day so hopefully, I'll kick this crud fo' sure.
Rest

Saturday - Long run day. Did my new route - backwards this time. Still very challenging (OMG- running up Madison sucked big time) but a little easier I think...Plus I was wearing my brand new shoes! Woot woot!
10.37; 1:53:13; 10:55

Sunday - Rest. Felt good. Was a little sore but less so than last week! 

Gonna do it this week. Hit every day without excuse and after today- doing it in the morning. Getting my ass up. 4 weeks till the half...gotta 'er done.

Make Yourself Monday

         This week's inspiration brought to you by the letter U....as in You.

 

 

Mama's Got Some Brand New Shoes.....

Funny how I thought my old ones still looked pretty clean...next to the new ones, not so much. The shoes on the right were officially retired last night with over 470 miles on them. This is kind of a big running milestone for me.

See, I've never really stuck with anything. I have a hard time finishing stuff. I can't tell you how many times I started running again over the last 5 years only to stop after a few weeks. Never could get over the 'ohmygod-Iamsosore' thing on my own. When I ran track and cross country when I was (much) younger, I always had a coach and teammates to push me over that edge. So when I started up again in July of last year, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. On my own. That I could push past the point where I always quit before and actually complete a half marathon. And a full after that.

I bought these shoes last August and they have been a huge part of making my feet happy enough to keep pounding the pavement since then. Happy enough to put over 470 miles on them. Damn. That is more than I've run in my whole life before now. It makes me incredibly proud and strangely, a little sentimental about the shoes that carried me over the finish line of that first half--that got me PR's for the 5 and 10K. Shoes that protected my feet and kept my legs moving and relatively injury free.

I was set on getting the another pair of the same. It was love at first wear with those but I did try on a pair of Saucony's that admittedly had me torn for about 10 minutes. I even ran on the treadmill in the store with one on each foot to be sure. In the end, I went with the Brooks again. For the money, they really last for me. I probably should have replaced them about 75 miles ago, but they still felt better than the Ghost 3's I tried out last week, even with over 400 miles on them. So I knew they'd hold up and get me through my series of half's this spring and I wasn't sure if the Saucony's would. Decision made.

So now, I am gonna get up and put them on. It's long run Saturday. Off I go. Doing my new route from last week but backwards this time. Gonna tackle the hills and stairs earlier - which means I'll be running up Madison. Good thing I've got some new shoes!

Make Yourself Monday

I really love this campaign from Nike....In honor of my goal of finishing a full marathon this fall, and because Mondays generally suck, I present to you some motivation.

 

The Grand Shoe Experiment....

....Total FAIL. I need new shoes. Badly. So I did some research and decided that the previous version of my current shoe might be a good bet. Especially enticing since the price was a lot less online. Couldn't really try them on since they aren't widely available in stores anymore...So took a leap of faith and ordered them.

They came Tuesday and I was so excited to take them on a test run. Went down to the running store a few blocks from my work and picked up a new pair of inserts and was ready to go. Changed quickly when I got home and headed out. Was just planning to do an easy 3 mile loop but by mile 1, the shoes were really hurting my feet.

Like one foot was numb and the other was just in pain. Ankles and knees were next. Sharp pains. They just didn't feel right. I kept telling myself that I just need to break them in and that I should continue on and finish the run. By the time I got home, I was pretty miserable. Had to ice the knees and my feet really hurt. No bueno.

So I spent a painstaking 30 minutes trying to remove all traces of said 3 mile run from the soles of the shoes and packed them back up. Sent them back the next day.

Lesson learned. Try shoes on in person. And also, good shoes feel good right away. When I got the Brooks Ghost 4's, I fell in love at first step. They felt dreamy from the get go and I didn't want to take them off.  No amount of breaking in was going to make the Ghost 3's wearable. Will be getting another pair of 4's this week sometime. Not a moment too soon. Just updated the tracker and these puppies have 463 miles on them.

Week 7 in Review - 35 Days Until MI Half

                                  Much better week..

This week was...normal. The most normal in a few weeks it felt like. Got that mileage back up and did a long run in the double digits. First one since the half and I was pretty nervous. Especially after the shoe debacle of this week. But I plotted out a new route and had a pretty great run.

Monday - Nice easy run to start off the week. 4 easy miles.
4.09 mi; 40:32; 9:54

Tuesday - This is the week that I added a short easy run on Tuesdays...Did it after work since I thought my new shoes might arrive and they did. So I most definitely had to take them on a test run. Thought about turning back after 1 mile or so but kept telling myself the shoes didn't hurt that bad. So I did the full loop but paid for it later. More on that later....
3.18 mi; 32:26; 10:12

Wednesday - Really didn't want to miss the tempo run this week and I was really looking forward to running in comfy shoes again. Pretty good one. Stayed within range for most of it.
5.9 mi; 57:01; 9:40

Thursday - Planned to get in the short 3 miler today but didn't end up doing it. Just wasn't feeling it and my knees were still sore from the bad shoe run.
3 miles
Rest

Friday - Was thinking about trying to get in the missed run from yesterday but it Rained. All.Day.Long.
Rest

Saturday - Long run! Was feeling a little nervous for this one. 10 miles on the plan. Decided I really  needed to do a new route. Kind of sick of doing out and backs on my long runs anyway so I created a new loop...ended up being a little longer than 10 and there were some killer hills and stairs. So was very sore the rest of the day....but it felt good.
10.79 mi; 1:58:29; 10:59

Sunday - Rest. Felt good today too....very little soreness. Ready to tackle next week. Supposed to be a light week keeping it regular since last week ended up being really light.

Long Run Saturday - New Route

Tried something new today. Instead of the out and backs I typically do, I did a big loop. Mapped out a nice 10 mile loop from my house to Capitol Hill, down Madison to the Lake all the way to I-90 and back to the house. Turned out to be closer to 11 but that could have been because I got a tiny bit lost  in one part...

                                         Mile 1- Downtown Seattle

                                   Mile 5- Madison Park on the lake

                        Really windy today...whitecaps on Lake Washington

                                             Almost home....Mile 8.5


A pretty good run. I really need new shoes.....hopefully later this week. So I was definitely feeling it in the ankle and knee by the end, even with new inserts to hold me over. Pretty sore still and fixing to ice both knees now. I definitely need to do a better job of switching up the routine and do new routes. I think I'm definitely feeling a little burned out and bored. Good splits on this route, especially since it included both killer hills and a bunch of a$$ kicking stairs.

10.79 miles; 1:58:29; 10:59

Splits
1 - 10:01
2 - 10:38
3 - 10:12
4 -11:16
5 - 10:16
6 - 10:13
7 - 10:23
8 -10:31
9 - 14:41
10 - 11:33
Last .79 - 11:07

Race Recap: Love Em or Leave Em Valentines Day Dash - 5k

Had a pretty good time at this race. My racing buddy was still feeling the funk in his foot so was taking it easy and didn't end up running. But he and his super awesome wife still came out to the course to cheer me on. What great friends!

For a race that I figured would have a lot of costumes....there weren't that many. Only saw a few cupids and nothing too outlandish. Boring.

I've never run around Greenlake before and certainly not with 3,000 other people. For that amount of people, it really felt good and not too crowded. The course alternated between the streets around the lake and the paved path. Since it was a loop, it started and ended in the same place....which meant there was a nice little mini-expo and things were easy to find. There was plenty of refreshments and food post race and a very cute kids dash.

ProMotion races are always well run in my opinion and I wasn't disappointed with this one. My only complaint is the t-shirt. I really hate when they are white and long sleeve. At least pick a color for the love of pete....I didn't PR but that is totally fine after the week of non-running I had.

Yes

                                                    Even yesser.....

Week 6 in Review - 41 Days Until MI Half

                                                                       Sad, right?

This week sucked. Big time. I finally got the sick I was fighting off and ended up being off work for two days. Was so tired and just had no energy. Very lackluster week with a whopping 8.5 miles. Total. For the whole week.

Monday - Ran! Woot woot. I actually got up early even.
4.11 mi; 41:58; 10:12

Tuesday - Rest day...started to feel the crud getting worse. Plus my kid stayed home sick. Awesome. Foreshadowing? Probably.

Wednesday - Felt cruddy when I woke up. I was supposed to do 7 miles of speedwork. And was seriously nervous about it. The longer weekday runs really kill me. And they are always hard workouts. Was going to do it when I got home but ended up leaving work before lunch.
7 Mile Speed workout (3x1600 with 800 jogs in between; warm & cool)

Thursday - Still sick.
4 mi easy

Friday - Rest day. Really wanted to run today but decided one more day of rest was in order.

Saturday - 5K- Valentines Day Dash. Really planned to run the full mileage today...but after the race I was just not feeling it. So I took a nap instead.
10 mi long - 5K plus 7
1.27 mi; 12:10; 9:34 Warm Up
3.12 mi; 28:18; 9:05 Race

Sunday - Rest.

That was a rough one. This week I start adding Tuesday runs until tapering in race week. I feel better and ready to take it on. Got my new shoes coming this week too so I am getting excited!

Week 5 in Review - 49 Days Until MI Half

Still slogging through. Looking forward to getting my groove back. I've decided instead of waiting for it, I just need to do it. It reminds me of this quote...."You are more likely to act your way into feeling, than feel your way into action. Whatever you know you should do, do it."

Monday - This week, I was really tired. Maybe it was my body going into overdrive to avoid the nasty cold germs I've been around all week but I ended up sleeping in a few mornings and doing my runs after work. It's not my favorite, but it's not that bad. Doing it in the 6pm hour is similar to doing it in the 6am hour, except for more traffic.
5.01 mi; 49:47; 9:56

Tuesday - Rest. Having a hard time getting the yoga in. Maybe I really do need this to be a rest day. Although, week after next, I start doing a slow easy 3 miles on Tuesdays....so I need to suck it up!
Rest

Wednesday - Again, slept in....Did my 6 mile Tempo run at night and it was somewhat pleasant but tough -- I've never done a tempo run for that far- 1 mile each warm up/cool down pace and 4 solid miles at a fast clip. I was sore the next day for sure but am pretty proud of my splits, even though they weren't as low as I'd hoped.
6.18 mi; 1:02:16; 10:05

Thursday - Woke up not feeling well. Decided to try to run after work, but as the day progressed, a full blown migraine developed. So I came home early from work and slept all afternoon. Felt better by that evening so planned a makeup run for the morning.
Rest

Friday - Actually got up in the morning and ran! Boo ya. Forced myself to get up and do it. Really need to do that everyday. Fake it till I make it, right?
4.3 mi; 42:51; 9:58

Saturday - Long run day and it was perfect! Actually super sunny, warm (had to take off my jacket after a few miles) and the view....Damn it was amazing. The downside of warm sunny weather means more bikes on the bridge. More than a couple passed way too close to me, jackholes. But I didn't get hit, so that's good!
8.55 mi; 1:35:13; 11:08

Pretty good week. Looking forward to putting in a more consistent performance next week. And next Saturday, I will be meeting up with my race buddy for the Valentine's Day Love 'Em or Leave 'Em 5k at Greenlake. Which also happens to be the same day as the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold. More info can be found at Shut Up and Run's blog, complete with a bib that can be printed out to wear...I'll be wearing mine!

Happy Running this week...

January 2012: In which there is snow, ice, and more snow.

It was tough to get back into it after the holidays. Was finally starting to get my groove back and then this happened:

 

That week really screwed with my momentum and I've been feeling it ever since. This week has been...blah. I've been having a hard time waking up in the morning and have been forgoing my morning runs in favor of sleep. Doing them at night isn't my favorite thing but I guess for safety's sake, it's good to change up the routine. Don't want to get too predictable.

It's groundhog day today and apparently we are in for 6 more weeks of winter...hopefully we won't be getting any more of this...

 

Month officially concluded with a total of 84.42 miles. Not a bad way to start off the year....Not SkinnyRunners 220 miles....but not bad. Not bad at all.

Week 4 in Review - 56 Days Until MI Half

Much better week--still not entirely back to normal due to weather...but way better than Snowmageddon last week. And I got to do my long run with my running buddy. Good week all around.

Monday - BLACK ICE everywhere. It was really bad. I even went with shorter, slower strides and still didn't have sure footing. Was NOT digging this run at all. After gauging conditions on the first part of my out and back normal route, I knew trying to run on the asphalt path part would be even more treacherous so I just did the 3 mile circle and headed home. Really didn't want to start the week off in the emergency room...
3.2 mi; 33:33; 10:30

Tuesday - Rest. Still haven't started doing yoga yet. I am lazy.

Wednesday - Tempo run. Love these b/c I get to push myself in that 9 min/mile range. And the roads were much better today....so I got my full run in and stayed on pace! Great run.
5.11 mi; 49:54; 9:46

Thursday - Woke up intending to run. Got dressed and everything. Then I looked outside. There was crazy wind and sideways rain. So I decided to drink coffee and catch up on a show I missed the night before. And then of course, it promptly stopped raining an hour later when I would have been getting back. So.Lame.

Friday - Instead of sleeping in, per my usual rest days on Fridays.....I made up the run I missed Thurs. A nice and easy 5 miler. Great way to end the week.
4.92 mi; 48:24; 9:50

Saturday - Long run. Got to run with my race buddy on my favorite badass route- the I-90 bridge. Great to catch up and talk about running without worrying about boring the sh*t out of his non-running, but still super awesome wife. Kept a nice easy conversational pace and the run was nice.
8.7 mi; 1:32:12; 10:36

Sunday - Rest

Great week....ready to start adding on some mileage again. Will start yoga this week and in a couple weeks, I start running a 5th day each week. Woot woot!

Long Run Saturday

Today - I've decided to do the Bridge again. Love that route. It make me feel so badass running across with all the cars flying by and the bikes almost killing me. Well not really-most of them are nice-ish. But it can be a little nerve wracking to have them zoom around you so close.

Excited to do this one with this guy. Met up with him and his super awesome wife for happy hour last night and it worked out for us to get our long run in together today. And I've been trying to get him to come do the bridge with me...so we are gonna kick its' ass together! I love running solo...but also love running with people too-which I don't do enough of. It's so much easier to stay at long run pace when you have someone to talk to! Alright, time to put down the coffee and go get ready!

How today felt......

                                                             9am.....

Week 3 in Review - 63 Days Until MI Half

This week was a little off, to say the least. Since next week was supposed to be a light week and this week turned into a light week--I've decided to swap them instead of beating myself up too much...I could have tried to salvage the weekly mileage by doing the long run today....then I would start this week off a little tired. So switching weeks it is.

Monday -- got in a very slushy and slippery 4.82 miles. Felt good but was sore the next day due to dodging all the slippery spots.
4.82 mi; 54:20; 11:17 pace

Tuesday -- got in another one before the storm hit. Conditions were much better on this one. For both of the last two runs, I broke regular schedule by doing them after work. I much prefer running in the morning on an empty stomach.
4.91 mi; 48:42; 9:57 pace

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday -- Did not run due to snow/ice and super slippery, possibly death inducing conditions. It was a smart move but still makes me feel slightly guilty.

Saturday -- When I left the house, I fully planned to do the full 9 miles I was supposed to. But after getting out there, I discovered that the snow was a lot less melted than I initially thought. And I couldn't breathe through my nose and felt like I was going to throw up the very ill advised doughnut I'd eaten an hour before....So needless to say, I called it a day after a bit.
3.47 mi; 39:24; 11:22 pace

Sunday -- Rest

Ready to get back to normal! Let's do this...Week 4 here we go!

Snowpacolypse 2012: Just Melt Already...

This week has been a little wack. Got in my runs on Monday and Tuesday then it dumped several inches of snow Wednesday.

It warmed up briefly towards the end of the day and turned into a nice little ice storm on Thursday. Then it started snowing again...few more inches on top of the ice, snow, ice layers. So no running for me. Planned to do yoga but ended up eating doughnuts and sitting on my ass. Terrible. Friday, things warmed up enough to turn to rain and everything finally started melting.

Even more melted this morning so conditions are starting to look more favorable that I'll get my 9 miles in today at some point. May have to wait until afternoon when there will be even less of it left.

Snow is so pretty the first day or so. Then it turns into nasty grey sludge. We had fun though...the Girl spent a grand total of 2.5 hours in school this week...so they'll pretty much be in school until 4th of July probably. But oh well....not much we can really do about it!

As things melt, we'll officially go on Flood Watch 2012. Good times.

             The Girl and a snowman we passed on our walk...

           I love my panoramic camera...kind of why I bought it! So pretty...

            Finally. A picture that I don't look totally ridiculous in...

Week 2 in Review-69 Days Until MI Half

Good second week. Long run felt a lot easier, I hurt less the rest of that day and was only minimally sore on Sunday. Feeling good going into week 3!

Monday -- Love my loop in the mornings...I see about a half dozen other runners and it feels pretty safe. For easy runs, it's a real effort to stay above 10 min/miles on the pace. I am supposed to be doing it slower, but if I stay in the 10 range, I feel pretty good. This one was a good easy run-stayed in the groove the whole time.

5.08 mi; 51:46;  10:11 min/mile

Tuesday-- Rested. Again, not ready to start the yoga. Perhaps this week.

Wednesday -- This was supposed to be a speed day. I thought about doing it at Jefferson but it was a little slick and frosty out so decided to stick with the my usual route. Hard to tell from my split stats on the Runkeeper, but I think I did pretty good. Did 2x1600 at 10:00 with an 800 recovery in between.

5.08 mi; 51:21; 10:06 min/mile

Thursday -- Nice and easy 4 miles. Almost stayed over 10 the whole time-first mile was fast and the rest were good.

4.09 mi; 41:33; 10:09 min/mile

Friday -- Rest. Felt good to sleep in. First five day week in three weeks so it was one long one. 

Saturday -- Long run. Felt good. Decided since there was freezing rain and it was windy that I wasn't going to do the bridge. Did my usual out and back and it felt good. Was sore and tired the rest of the day but I felt pretty good the next day.

8.04 mi; 1:21:42; 10:10 min/mile

Sunday -- Rest.Walked about 2 miles in the snow with the girl so actually got a little active recovery in. Felt good! Ready to take on the week and be creative since there will be SNOW!

Got one in after all....

Waking up to ice and snow deterred me from running this morning. It was crazy slippery out and even I am not that stupid. Maybe if I had those shoes with the little spikes on them...then I'd be good to go. But alas, like the city of Seattle having exactly 7 snow plows, I am not geared up for this sort of shit. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find significantly thawed conditions when I left work this evening and decided to go for it. Changed real quick and headed out. Overall it was a pretty good run. Mostly thawed in some places, crunchy and slushy in others. But I dodged around slick spots and it was a really good workout. Not quite 5 miles but it was an easy run....I finally found something that can force me to effectively slow down when I am supposed to--conditions that could effectively end my running career with one wrong step! 

Was a really nice wintery run and it may be the only one I'll get for a couple days. Forecast says we could get 7-14 inches in the next couple days. Rest day/yoga tomorrow and we'll see about Wed. I'll just have to work with what I've got this week! 

Snow: Pretty but....

Wreaking havoc on my training schedule. Too chickenshit to run in the snow/ice so yoga it is today....

Representing

Here they are. Team USA going to London- Olympics 2012.....Way to go guys!

Desi Davila, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman, Shalane Flanagan, and Kara Goucher. Some of the world's best marathoners. Can't wait to see them representing the USA this summer!

Week 1 in Review-77 Days Until MI Half

 Overall, this first week of training went well. I got in my first long run of the year, and it wasn't too painful. I mean it was, but I am recovering nicely today. Could barely walk yesterday and took a really good nap after eating a huge breakfast....Today, I will do a little gentle stretching and ice the knees a couple times and I should be good to go tomorrow.

Monday- I did an easy 4.15 miles. I am not really sure why, but my RW Smartcoach has my easy run paces at 12:15. I feel like I am walking when I go that pace. So I definitely am trying to make a focused effort to have my pace be slightly slower than my normal pace, but not too much slower. If I can stay in the 10 min/mile range, I think that is good. My body tries to go at 9 min/miles so I have to make a concentrated effort to go easy. I made up a new rule on yesterdays long run-I need to stay conversational. And since I don't usually run with someone to talk to, I am going to sing what I am listening to. I may look stupid but maybe it will help.
4.15; 40:37; 9:47

Tuesday - Rest Day. Intended to start my cross training with this rest day and do yoga. But I really needed some extra sleep so I didn't get up early to do it. And as per usual, if I wait until the end of the day, it's really hard to make myself do it...So I actually rested. It was much needed.

Wednesday - 5.04 Miles Tempo run. For some reason my legs felt really heavy today. I had to really push hard to stay in the 9 min/mile range and I did it for the entire run until the last mile when I slowed down to 10:10. 
 5.04; 49:22; 9:47

Thursday - 3.99 mile easy run. Felt really tired on this one-again. Knees hurt a bit and just really wasn't feeling it. But I pushed through and finished....and really took is easy like I was supposed to. 10:27 average pace and stayed over 10 the entire time. 
 3.99; 41:40; 10:27

Friday - Rest day. Since I've been feeling so tired the last two runs, I decided I am going to wait another week or two before starting with the cross training. Slept in today and it was really nice.

Saturday - Long Run Day. Was a little psyched out for this since I hadn't run anything over 6 since the half...but it actually felt pretty good. I think my ending average pace was a little low due to some GPS issues when I went through the I-90 Bike tunnel before hitting the bridge. Based on the splits, the pace was probably in the 9 min range, rather than the 8:49 RunKeeper has recorded. But overall, it was a good run. The hills in the last mile really are killer though. 

8.81; 1:17:39; 8:49

Sunday-Rest. Sleeping in, catching up on stuff and tracking the week's training stats. 

Good first week. Ready to jump into Week 2. Happy running this week!

2012 Goals

I am new to this running business. Used to run in high school and college but that was over a decade ago....I've tried to start running again at various points in my adult life, only to quit after a few weeks. It was always hard to get over that 'getting into shape' hump. It's tough to build a base when you start out so out of shape....it's easy to see why people who are overweight have a hard time keeping at it. It's painful. And it takes some commitment to get past that on your own and get to a place where it's habit, where it gets easier and where you start to have fun.

When I made the decision to start running again this year, I wanted to set a goal and accomplish it but I also wanted to make a lifestyle change that would stick. 6 months now and I am sticking with it. That is something pretty big for me. Challenging myself and accomplishing things I set out to do-big ones and little ones along the way-brings more self confidence and erases some of doubt I carry around.

In 2011- my goal was to train for and finish my first half marathon. I not only finished- but I met my A goal of doing it in 2:22. I also met my goal of setting up a training plan and sticking to it-every day. 

In 2012- I want to run my first full marathon. And accomplish a few other things as well....

• Train year round - for the entirety of the 2012
• Run 1 race per month- 12 races for 12 months
• Run at least 3 half marathons
• Run my first full marathon
• Become more social with my running- join a running club, go to Fleet Feet group runs, connect with other runners to train and race with

First two half marathons will be the Mercer Island Half on 3/25/12. Following that 12 weeks later is the Seattle Rock and Roll Half on 6/23/12. Full marathon is slated for the fall. Entered the lottery for NYC so that is choice number 1. Next is Portland and if all else fails, it will likely be Seattle. Keeping my fingers crossed for NYC.....what an excellent first marathon that would be. 

Already have January's race taken care of with the Resolution Run....have March and June covered as well so next up is looking for Feb, April and May races....will probably do either 5 or 10k's those months. 

Not only is all this totally doable, I am going to try to meet some micro- goals as well.

• PR's throughout the year
• Working on pacing- staying consistent throughout a run, and pushing the pacing down to 8-9 min/miles consistently
• Doing more consistent speed work
• Incorporating cross training into my training cycles-yoga to start, perhaps spinning or swimming later in the year. 
• Blogging-I want to figure out all this stuff so I don't suck too much at it.
• Getting better at cooking nutritious meals so my body gets the fuel it needs to stay healthy and perform efficiently
• Taking better care of myself-getting enough sleep, vitamins, stretching, using foam roller and stick, getting massages when I can...

Well that is quite the list...I'd better get busy!

Let's Do This Again--AKA Adjustments to the Training Cycle

I had intended to start training for the Mercer Island Half on 12/19 but the holidays, a pulled quad, and too much eating thwarted my attempts to stay on schedule. I still got a few runs a week in and did another race so I readjusted the plan. Instead of 14 weeks, I'll be doing 12. Which is actually 2 more than I did in the first cycle. So I feel pretty good about making this one tougher. About 5 weeks in, I bump up to running an additional day each week. And I'll be incorporating some cross training- yoga- into two of my rest days. Sundays will stay for purely rest, although some stretching will probably happen.

Adjusting the plan and staying flexible are key ingredients in keeping at this and staying injury free. I have to listen to the boss. Totally ok with making changes along the way. Did my first long run since the half in November and it felt pretty good, although my pacing was off and I am going to be pretty sore tomorrow. Already feeling it.  But overall, a good first week. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow before tackling week 2.

Resolution Run 5K & Polar Bear Dip 1/01/2012

I am officially a wuss since I didn't choose the polar bear dip option. The sign pointing folks to the "dry finish" had a little blurb underneath-"AKA the John Curley Route of Shame". Ha! So.Much.Fun. This race had it all. Beer. Chili. People dressed up in costume. Some awesome, some cringe-worthy. And the weather was sunny and surprisingly warm. Not a bad way to start off the year.

The costumes. Chicks in swimsuits. Dudes in 'banana hammocks'....plenty of masks and snorkels. There were way too many guys sans shirt. Many of whom probably should have been wearing them. I loved the two guys in matching shorts, no shirts, and hunting hats. And they were sharing a pair of arm warmers. Mental note- run with camera in hand next time. 

The very best was the group of guys that started in back and weaved their way up front shouting "Doughnuts!!" They were shirtless, had unlit cigars and each had a few boxes of Top Pots they were handing out to anyone who could stomach them mid-race. Which turned out to be teenage boys, mostly. They.Were.Awesome. 

And the finish...near the end it split off and if you were brave enough to take the detour into frigid Lake Washington, you went left with the other badasses. If you were a wuss, you stayed right to finish via the John Curley Route of Shame. Loved every minute of this one!

Didn't go full on race mode this time....not a good idea to start off the next training cycle with an injury. So I stayed with my running buddy and finished with a nice pace. And we got him a PR to start off the 2012. Good times.

Stats: 3.11 Miles; 30:51; 9:56 Pace

Splits

Mile 1 9:31

Mile 2 10:10

Mile 3 10:11

Last bit 9:04

It's ON Bitches

I felt pretty good after yesterdays run...only did 3.42 miles at an easy 10:03 pace and felt great the whole time until the last .4 or so. Then my thigh muscle started cramping up and my knee started hurting. Immediately iced when I got home-both knee and thigh-and repeated several times the rest of the day. Drank lots of water (and only ONE glass of wine last night) and I got a greats nights sleep. 

All that to say--It's ON Bitches. I am running my 5K this morning and am so excited. Still going to take it easy and not "race" it for myself....My awesome friend -who I used to work with at my last job and who kept me sane- has a husband who runs. So he's been my 'race buddy' for a few races now. I'm excited for this particular one with him - so I'll report back later on that in my recap.

Until then--Let's kick off 2012 the right way--with a race!