Posts Tagged ‘10 mies’

Hi Everyone

Expect a series of posts this week regarding my reflection on 1/2 marathon training.  I am just way too excited about it, and I’ve got a lot to say.  Everyone at my job is asking me about it, Jared told me I’ll do fine, my fellow bloggers have sent their words of support, and I know I can finish, finish with a time that I feel good about, and I cannot wait to cross the finish line.  I’m going to spend some time this week calculating the time I hope to finish by.

Early in the training (week 1-4)

Early in the training, I was concerned more with my work-week (M-F) training than my weekend training.  I could sleep in on the weekends and not miss a run or risk being late for work.  I had been sleeping in a lot during the work week and feeling very frustrated with myself, coupled with the hills, I wasn’t feeling totally confident.  The hills around my house are tough (excited to see what my newly-running sister says), and I had the frame of mind… “Well if I can’t run 3-5 mi training runs on these hills, I will never be able to finish the half”.

Middle of training (weeks 5-7)

Jared and I ran the Run Around the Square.  I still haven’t checked my finish time.  I guess it’s not that important to me at this point probably because a.) I know my side stitch threw my real time way off and b.) A 5k time is never a half marathon time.  But I noticed through this race that I ran the flat part fast and quick and the hills were good to me.  I just happened to get a side stitch going downhill.  That’s my luck though.  Also, I don’t expect my heart rate to be anywhere near 190 BPM (thanks Garmin) during my half marathon.  Though, I haven’t been able to find my HRM chest strap since the race.

Training after the race has been great.  As I’ve said, every long run distance at this point is a new distance.  So today, 13 miles is a new distance, and next week, 13.1 miles will be a new distance. See why I’m running today

My training the last two weeks has been great.  I running longer than usual during the work week (let’s not ask what time I am getting to work, but I blame it on driving Jared as well), and when the half is over, I am going to focus on getting back to where I was in college.  This won’t be terribly challenging, I’m 3/4 of the way there now.

End of training (week 7-now)

Everyone says taper, taper, taper towards the end of training, but I am feeling so good I am literally going to have to force myself to taper.  I am so close to being back to where I was during the work week that I am apprehensive to taper knowing that next week, race week, may be the time that I am finally back to where I was before the training started.  This training has done so much good for me.  I need to remember that once this is over, I won’t be done.  I can start back up where I left “off”.  I am also excited for winter runs and seeing the same people waiting for the bus along my running route.

I also need to realize that I wanted to train for a half to get myself back to where I was before, but it has evolved into much more!  I was always secretly proud of myself for losing the weight, but I guess over the past few years I felt somewhat disappointed that I let myself gain some of it back.  The motivation here is two-fold.  It’s easy (??) to not eat a lot to stay skinny, or exercise to compensate for what you’ve eaten, but it’s different when your motivation is to push your body.  That is always what my motivation has been, and that is why I am only successful when I take that approach to weight loss/maintenance/healthy living.

General Observations:

I can’t believe it took me six years of running to run a half marathon.  I was interviewed for work some time ago, and the reporter asked me what I would accomplish in a few years, personally & professionally, and aside from the obligatory Carnegie answers, I said I want to run one marathon a year.  A marathon is a lot different than a half marathon, and I get anxious to think about running double of what I am going to do today.  That still scares me.  Then again, 13 miles scared me.  I think because when I was “running at my best” I was just trying to run as fast as possible on the treadmill to make sure I got my caloric burn.  I’m not doing that anymore, so I don’t feel restricted.

Also, I realized that you cannot run on a treadmill and expect to train for a race.  Or, at least I can’t.  When I was at my best, I was scared to run on the street.  A million excuses.  I’ve heard them before. But I’m not that person anymore.

I was shocked to realize I could run, having been overweight, I got myself to the point where I could run.  Sure, it was on a treadmill, and it took dedication, and it was hard, but this feels really different.  This is just you, without knowing the incline as you are running it, pushing yourself to maintain a pace (rather than a button on the treadmill).  I’m glad I’m not that person anymore.

Running Goodies I’ve Discovered Along the Way

• Body Glide.  After an 8 mile run, horrible chafing, I invested in this stuff.  Chafing gone
• iPod holder.  Plastic ZipLocks will not keep your iPod dry
• Handheld Water bottle.. These will be great if you can prevent death grips (I discovered I cannot)
• Nike Air Pegasus.  If you were to tell me at the beginning of “this” that I would be running my first 1/2 in a shoe other than Mizuno (hell, or even New Balance), I would have laughed at you.  These are the shoes for me.  I can feel it.
• Hydrabelt.  I don’t know if I’ll be taking this with me along the route or not yet.

Combing years of experience with a new approach

I think a lot of what is driving my success right now is a combination of factors.  I have a new job which I consider a major life change and a great opportunity to change other aspects of my life.  Another factor is weight gain I’ve experienced the past 2-3 years from my other job (and let’s be honest, my body has not reacted well to birth control).  Another factor is not having a treadmill (and being okay with that) or a gym membership to put me on machines.  At this point, considering these circumstances, I have every excuse NOT to exercise when you think about it.  And some days I don’t exercise at all.  But I know that this is the right time to make these changes. Some things stay true through my running:  I need music to start.  I need at least 30 minutes in the morning to sip some coffee and prepare myself mentally.  I sweat =).  I have to run in the morning.  I enjoy Peanut Toffee Buzz Clif Bars before my runs.

At this point in the game, I don’t care if the 5-10 lbs come off.  Sure, I may not be at my ideal racing/running weight, but I am still doing it.

Told ya I was reborn, right?  =)

Whew—it’s been a tough week at work.  It has probably been the hardest week of all, because I had one large event happen and some mini-emergencies in between.  As a result, I’ve been working from home several nights this week…

I’ve got a bunch of (self set) deadlines to meet at work today including:

• Finish meeting minutes
• Assemble Council packets
• Copy Council packets
• Go through 1,500 possible rental properties
• Send scope of work to other townships for a joint project

My sister and her fiancée will be in tonight, around Midnight for the long weekend so as soon as I get home from work tonight, I will be going on a cleaning spree.  Whee!

 

My to-do list for tonight includes:

• Laundry
• Clean living room (dust, clean floors, put stuff away)
• Clean dining room (vaccum rug)
• Clean kitchen (clean, scrub floors, put dishes away)
• Clean bathroom (all those fun things)
• “Red-up” guest bedroom
• Clean-out car*
• Run to grocery store to get a few items
• Take dry cleaning(!!!)
• Sleep
• Clean office

I will be so happy tonight knowing that everything from work & here is done.  And I’m exciting for my 13 mile run tomorrow!!  Last long run before the big race (I get butterflies just thinking about it!)

At this point in my training, every long run is a new distance.  I did not do my 11 miles last week as promised, so the last long run was the 10 miler. 

 

 

My personal theory on long runs is they ought to be flat (grin) and done at a pace that allows the body to adjust to working for long periods of time.  If I’m done today in around 2:10, I will feel happy.  Then again, I glance at my Garmin just to make sure I’m doing okay pace wise, but I usually let me body even itself out.  Some moments in the run will be better than others… 

 

I plan to re-fuel at the halfway mark.  Since I don’t have any oranges per Michelle’s advice, I am going to take a mini clif bar and go from there.  Water fountains are available along the trail but I tend to sip along the way.  This also helps prevent me needing to go to the bathroom =)  I hate hate hate to stop running to use the restroom. 

 

I’ve been looking forward to this run since last week, so it was easy for me to get up.  This is also the second to last weekend before the 1/2, so this run is very important.  I also love the Montour trail.  I’m glad I decided to cheat using this trail =)

 

Happy Saturday, I will be back after the run, the Best Buy hoopla, but before the family par-tay.

Note to self:
-Run up grade, then run down. Not vice versa. 10 miles was rough because of this
-Lululemon No-Slip headbands just soak up water then fall off
-Goos/gels turn my stomach

Ten miles done, it was a fight because the elevation looked like this…

Overall, it’s not like I was running the hills outside of the house, but when you go down, you must come back up… By the time I realized I was going downhill (ever so slightly the whole time), it was too late. So I just fought it out and went slow on the way back…

I don’t mind the elevation, and in all I am as happy with my run as I can be, I would rather tough it out at the beginning, so that by the time I am into mile 7, 8, or 9, I can get a better sense of how I am feeling. Yes, it sucks going up hill, but I’d rather not have it twice as bad when I am getting towards the end of my run.

PS–I was one sweaty lady at the end. Heating packs on knees and quads, cuz they are tight as all get-out!