The Human Race

Today we joined with thousands of others around the world in the Nike Human Race. Ours was held here in Allen at 7:00 AM. It was a little cool, around 47 degrees, and it was still pretty dark at start time - just the way I like it!

There weren't all that many runners here at our race in Allen - which was fine by me since the trail we were running on wasn't real wide - made for a "painful" start because if you got behind a group, even if it was a small group, you couldn't pass - you had to run at their speed until there was an opening.....this is always frustrating for me since I know I have to get my best times early in the race before I hit the wall...

It was really too dark for me to really look at my Garmin at the first part of the race, so I just went with how it felt, and it felt GREAT! There was water just before the 2 mile mark and I looked at my pace at that point and I was looking at under 30 minutes for the 5K mark...whoo hooo...well, it turns out looking and doing are two different things here. Mile 1, despite not being able to get around a few people easily, passed in 9:58. Mile 2, slightly faster at 9:52. Mile 3 was my slowest of the entire race 10:08. That put me at 29:54 for the 3 mile mark - and about 30:17 for the 5K. I'll take it - getting closer and closer to breaking that 30 minute mark!

The last half - for the first time EVER was actually better than the first half! NEGATIVE SPLIT COTTON! Mile 4 was completed in 10:02. This one I understood because I actually forgot to take my GU at the turn around and had to walk a small way to get it opened up and taken in....only a few steps - and I think mostly because my hands were so cold, and I slowed at the water stop too. Mile 5 was my fastest in the race - completed in 9:41! Mile 6 was nearly as good with a 9:44. I actually passed 2 people here in this mile...haven't passed people who were still running at this distance ever - I've passed walkers, but not runners :) I was happy!

The last .3 miles were pretty much up an incline. I chugged on up it, trying to pick up some speed and keep up with Rick. Just before I got to the finish line the girl I had passed in mile six came up on my left side. Luckily I caught a glimpse of her over my shoulder as she closed in and I thought to myself, "Oh no you don't" - I shot off like a rocket and crossed just a toenail ahead of her.

The last 3 miles were completed in about 29:29, and then of course you need to add the 2:59 for the last .3 miles, so my time for the entire 6.30 miles was 1:02:21! A NEW PR BY 5 MINUTES!
Can you tell I'm excited? Now I'm really looking forward to the 1/2 next month...hope I can PR that one too!

13 miles!

Today Rick and I got up about the same time as most Sundays to get on out to the Rock. It was a little cooler than normal, which makes me VERY happy. I simply do so much better in the cold! It was about 47 degrees when we started our run this morning.

Once we got "layered" up and stretched out we walked from the car to the road and Rick told me to take off - so I did! I felt like I started out pretty slow - it was feeling really good - but it turns out I did the 1st mile in 9:54, the second in 9:58...not bad times for this slow girl!! When we reached the 2 mile mark it was time to turn around and head back towards the car. This would give us 4 miles + the 9 miles around the lake so we could make our goal of 13 miles this week.

Like I said, I was feeling pretty good, and the 3rd mile proved it... another 9:58 pace - so the total for the 3 miles was 29:52. Pretty good for knowing we were doing 13! I just kept going....mile 4 passed in 10:14. At this point we were back where we started, so we went to the car and slipped out of the warm-ups - we were definitely warmed up! I had a little G2 - Rick took some as well - and we were off for the last 9 miles of the run.

Now it felt more real. We knew EXACTLY where we were and where we were going, as well as each stop along the way. In some ways that makes it a little easier. The miles slipped by pretty easily at first: 5 - 10:31, 6 - 10:40, (That gave us a 1:01:19 time here - just about where we were last week, and that made me very happy as well!) 7 - 10:32, 8 - 10:32, 9 - 10:47, (again - our overall time was 1:33:13 - 24 seconds faster than the week before - BONUS!).

At this point everything was icing on the cake...we had just matched our long run for the year...now it was a test to see if we could run the other 4 miles without walking. I was still feeling pretty strong, so I was pretty psyched that we could do it! Mile 10 - the 1st half - was just like the 1st 9 miles, then I guess I hit the proverbial wall! At about 9.45 miles out of the blue my legs felt like someone had added about 20 lbs. of weight to each foot! I just kept pounding the pavement and kicked that puppy out in 10:43:59. I was really glad Rick was there with me. It was at this point we stopped for our next-to-last water break. I was tired, but not yet tired enough to walk...and when I thought about how consistent our times were with the week before for at the 9 mile mark I just felt like I would be so disappointed in myself if I walked anywhere in the last 3 miles! Less than a 5K to go...we can do that, right? Off we went again. Still struggling mile 11 took 10:41:76. Certainly it wasn't like the heat was getting to me this time! Mile 12 - 10:44:17. We stopped again for water at the dog park water fountain. My thighs just above the knees felt like someone had tied double half-hitch knots in them - but we only had .73 miles to go...No stopping us now - right? As we came close to the car we tried to kick it up a little. We completed our last full mile in 10:55:77, and the extra little bit in 0:0:40.15 for a total time of 2:17:01. I was so happy with the run...no walking at all, and once we got to the car and I looked at the history, I was even happier....I told Rick - 13 miles, we finished STRONG, and not one mile took over 11 minutes!

I can not believe how well this run turned out. When I think back to when we made the decision we were going to try for a full marathon and started our training for the 1/2 next month and the full in December I hated to think about where we were then. We started with that 1st 2 mile stretch we ran today. We barely made it to the 2 mile mark! We had to run/walk back to the car because we were so tired and sore. To me this is an amazing adjustment our bodies have made to the rigors we are pushing them through. We are looking forward to our Human Race next week, and the DRC 1/2 in November. Since we will be running the 10K next week it will be the next weekend before our next real long run....we are going for 15 miles then...wish us luck - as always my #1 goal is to finish, #2 - finish with NO WALKING!

By the way - if you are looking for a smaller race to try...you might think about this race. It is a 5K race that was established after a 16 yr. old boy died of sudden cardiac arrest. The foundation was formed to help prevent SCA in youth through effective heart screening in student athletes. Just seems such a great cause I felt I should offer what little support here I could. Thanks!

Running with Angel

I don't know if you ever read the story about what happened during my 1st ever 1/2 marathon....but my angel helped me through that and allowed me to accomplish my goal. It was a totally amazing experience, one I will never forget.Today I had another amazing run, a run with Angel. Let me tell you about it!

Last night we took our son, Cotton, and his girlfriend, Angel, out for dinner to celebrate Cotton's 27th trip around the sun! While we were visiting we got to talking about running the "Rock". Angel mentioned that she would like to give it a try. She has only run a couple of times before, and I think they said her longest run had been about 3 miles. I told her that I would be happy to run with her if she really wanted to go. Cotton warned her that we get up REALLY early to go run, but she said she wanted to give it a try, so we all agreed we would meet there between 5:15 and 5:30 A.M.

I was really excited because, like most people, when I find something I enjoy as much as I enjoy running I like to share it. Angel was going to give me that opportunity. I found out later that she was worried that she would upset our training schedule for our marathon. Nah, our goal isn't the same as Cotton's! He is training to finish the marathon in a time that would qualify for Boston - so he has a very specific schedule that he needs to follow to accomplish that goal which includes long runs, intervals, hill repeats, track runs, etc. Our goal is to get across the finish line before they send out search parties looking for us! This allows us a bit more leeway in our training so I was happy to take a day to let her give White Rock a try!

We got to the meeting place at about 5:20 and they were there waiting for us. Cotton went ahead and took off and the rest of us warmed up a little and then we were on our way. Angel has a good form and she was running well. We got just about a mile and a half before she needed to rest a bit and walk some. This is what we had all told her she would need to do. She walked a little, ran a little more, and walked and ran. After that run she was feeling the effects of the energy drink she had that morning so we rested a little extra :) .... Then we were off again, in search of a good water fountain. We did the run-walk to the fountain and all got some water. Angel felt pretty good - so I continued letting her set the pace. I would just tell her when we hit each mile mark.

I really figured that we would get to the 3.5 mile water stop and she would be ready to turn around and head back to the car. That would give us a 7 mile round trip run - which is REALLY good for someone just starting out...but she said she thought if she kept doing the run-walk she could make it the entire 9.1 miles around the lake - so...off we went once again.

As we would come to different parts of the trail I would talk to her about our experiences running...like, "This is where I 'died' when I got ticked at some runners that passed me so I tried running really, really fast...I should have known better!", or "Oh, cool, we are nearly to the spillway - you'll like that, it is a great downhill for a pretty good piece!". After the spillway she needed to stop and adjust her socks...they had slipped down and bunched up underneath the arch of her foot and they were rubbing a little. OUCH...the beginning of blisters! NOT fun!

We got to the spot where I thought she might have some problems and I told her that we had gone 4 and 1/2 miles, so there was no turning back now, and that if she would run all the way to the next bridge I would tell her something really cool that she had just accomplished, besides run/walking the "Rock". She took off and we ran to the bridge. As we slowed to a walk I turned and grinned..."You just ran 1/4 mile UPHILL, after running half of the lake! What an AWESOME accomplishment!" I was just sooooo proud of her!

We made it to the next water stop and she pulled off her shoe and sure enough there was a blister on one foot and a hot spot on the other. She was still trying to run/walk, but Rick made her stop and walk when he noticed that she was really beginning to favor the foot with the blister. It was throwing off her gait, and that is a way to really end up injuring yourself. He told her not to try to be a hero, to just walk the rest of the way. I know she was feeling really good, and really wanted to run, but she listened and we walked most of the rest of the way.

For only her 3rd time running, to have run nearly a full 10K (6.1 miles) I was so impressed. We had a really good talk, she kept a pretty steady walking pace, and we completed the "Rock" in just over 2 hours.

I felt amazingly good through the entire run - I was able to run and talk, to push her just a little, and we got to watch the sun rise over the lake! What a blessing for me! I am so, so glad that we were talking about the run at dinner, that she said she would like to try it, and I am so VERY glad that she came out and gave me the blessing of being my running buddy today! Rick and I were talking on the way home, and we feel that we would love to run with her any week she wants to come and join us.....She'll probably end up speeding me up in the long run (pun intended, lol).....

Can you see how lucky I am? I have run with the Angels TWICE now!!!! Thank you ANGEL!!!

Labor Day 5K Complete

*********************************************UPDATE************************

The results are in: Rick and I both posted an official time of 31:35 for a 10:10 overall pace! He took 4th in his age group and I took 1st in mine....unfortunately, due to the length of time before ANY results were posted we weren't there when the awards were given out, so had to forfeit our medals......I am NOT a happy camper right now!!!!!!!

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Well, we finished the first in our series of races for this season, and as far as I'm concerned it was a success....I met the goal I had set for myself! I ran the entire race, did NOT walk ONE STEP! It has been a long time coming - since back in February when I ran the Cowtown 1/2....I don't know exactly what happened there, but I haven't been able to run a complete 5K since then without walking at least a little near the end.

We got up early this morning, since the run was at White Rock and parking is limited, and drove down to our regular parking spot at the Big Thicket. We walked from there to the Bath House to pick up our bibs and shirts - walked back to the car to lock up the shirts...(had them stolen at the last DRC race because we didn't have a safe place to store them!) and walked back to the Bath House to wait for the start. I was a little surprised when we got there and found out that the race wasn't chip timed - but more about that later! There were nice people setting up a drink station at the finish line, so we were able to hydrate a little with some gatorade before the start.

We walked over to the start area and got in the line towards the middle of the pack and waited for the "shout" - no gun - and off we went. I felt REALLY good...was into a good pace right away, feeling strong and not breathing too hard. The 15K racers peeled off at about .75 miles into the race so the pack thinned out pretty good there. At the one mile marker my Garmin beeped and told me we had just completed the first mile in 9:23 . This was quite the surprise becaue I just didn't feel like I was pushing that hard...I was still feeling strong and breathing easy! This is better than my first mile in any 5K I have run before by over 10 seconds! I did try to slow it down a little, knowing that when I start out that fast I generally can't get all the way through the race without walking and I REALLY didn't want to walk today!

We continued to run and just under the bridge there was a water stop where I grabbed a cup of Gatorade and swigged a bit down...didn't really even slow to a walk there - but jogged on through! Whoo hoo!!! The next thing I knew we were at the turn around. Still feeling good - where normally I would be starting to really labor with my breathing.

At the two mile mark my Garmin again beeped and told me we had just completed mile 2 at a 9:44 pace! Can you say AMAZ-Z-Zing!!! Still going strong...still able to talk (a little) to Rick to let him know I was OK. Then we hit the 2.5 mile mark....I guess that is where I hit the proverbial wall.....I no longer felt as good - Rick could tell I was lagging back and slowing down. He was very encouraging and kept reminding me to dig deep - that I was stronger than I thought and I could do this. We were going uphill at this point and I was really struggling to keep going, but I wasn't stopping!

We hit the 3 mile mark and Garmin let me know how much I had slowed down... this mile was completed at a 10:32 pace. (About my normal race pace) Still not bad, and I'm very pleased. I struggled up the rest of the hill gasping for air all the way and was sooooo happy to start running down the hill into the grass because that meant we were closing in on the finish line. Rick and I hit the cones leading to the finish line and we really kicked it up a notch and sprintedto the finish line (Garmin says we did this part at a 6:58 pace!) Once through we stayed in the chute to turn in our bib information to be recorded and headed over for fluids and bananas. After we cooled down a little we watched several other racers come across the line. I really wanted to stay and see what our official time was and how we did in the overall and age categories.

Here is the only place I really have a complaint - we waited at the finish for over an hour for the results! When we left at 9:00 they were still waiting! In this day of chip timing and computer mobility I really don't see any reason that the 5K results weren't being announced before an hour was up. As of this posting I still don't have official information.....It is for this reason that we will not run another Thurston Racing event until they get this fixed. It is a real shame too, because it was a nice event - well organized with nice volunteers....it was just the timing that made it frustrating. I guess we may be a little spoiled by the other races (even those that aren't chip timed) by having times posted by the time you get your water and cool down a bit. You can go check out the preliminary results to see how you did and leave if you need to.

Anyway....I know I reached my goal of not walking at all through the race, and my unofficial time, which will be a bit slower than the official time since I got all the way through the chute before I hit stop on the Garmin was 31:46...the best 5K time I've run this year!

Lovejoy Country Run 5K

Today was a good day for a run. We got up early to get ready. We were both really tired for some odd reason, but we had paid our money and we were going to go run darn it! We strapped on the ipods and the garmin and we were off! After a quick stop for energy drinks it was up the road to Lovejoy. It was really close to the house, and that alone was nice - but seeing the organization of the race made it even nicer!
When we drove up there must have been 8 - 10 people directing traffic through the parking lot making sure everyone got parked in the correct area. Then it was off to the center courtyard where pre- and post- race activities would be held. It was nicely set up - and made for an ease of race day registration, listening to music and announcements, etc.
When it came time for our run to start (after the 1 mile run) it was a very efficient start. There was someone at the start line reminding everyone that the very start was for the elite runners who would be running a 6:30 or less time, and to place yourself accordingly - to stay on the sidewalk until the elite runners got into place. Rick and I walked to the middle of the pack - which is about where I need to be :) .
The gun went off right on time and we were off! The course took us across the parking lot to the main road, up a mild hill to the turn, along this country road where you could see lots of trees, a pond, a few houses, etc. and back the same way. There was a good water stop with lots of volunteers placed about 1.25 miles in on both sides of the road so you could stop both going out and coming back. The course was pretty flat.
I started out a little faster than I normally do - probably because of the cooler temps. My first mile was completed in 9:33! This is one of my fastest mile times since we came back to running! The other nice part of this was that when I got close to the turn-around Rick wasn't too far ahead of me. I think he was really surprised to see me that close to the turn-around. We high fived as he went by and I just tried to keep my pace going. My second mile was done in 10:27 - and that was with a slow walk through the water stop...by that time I was starting to feel the run, but I was pretty determined that I was going to have a better time this race. I was still feeling it the last 1/2 mile, but I was plugging along when out of nowhere I got the "heaves"...I thought I was going to lose it on the track. within .2 miles of the finish I had to stop and walk...Rick caught sight of me and urged me on and I did jog over the finish and had a respectable 31:34 finish to take 5th in my age group. After I caught my breath we took our stuff back to the car. I asked how he had done because I lost him after mile 2. He finished with a great 28:27! He just keeps getting better and better - I am soooo proud of him! After we checked our times we headed to the cafeteria for a wonderful pancake breakfast that was paid for by our entry fee.
This was a well organized, very enjoyable race. Everything had been thought out in advance, the signage was well placed, but most important EVERYONE, from the folks in the parking lot to the volunteers serving the pancakes were very friendly and helpful! This is for sure a race I will look forward to doing again next year to see if I can get that time down a little more!

The Great Race!

This has to be a post about more than a run. It encompasses an entire weekend, so please be patient!

We left home on Friday evening just about the time we had planned, after leaving our home in the capable hands of our daughter and son-in-law. We had a pretty uneventful trip, the only snag being stuck in traffic on 75 for about an hour, which delayed our arrival in Temple.

We spent the night in Temple, got up and had breakfast, loaded the car and went on in to Belton to visit with Rick's mom and aunt. They live in a nursing home there. It was a pretty good visit overall, and Rick's mom looks much better than she did the last time we saw her.

Then it was off to Austin. We called and found out that we couldn't check into our hotel until about 3:00 pm so we needed to find something to do in the meantime. We drove around and tried to find Capital Camera - a favorite place of Rick's back when we lived a lot closer to the Austin area. After NUMEROUS calls to Google we were finally given the phone number of a store that sounded similar. When we called the conversation went something like this:

Us: "Is this a camera store?"
Them: "No, this is more like a photography studio. Maybe we can help you, what camera store were you looking for?"
Us: "Capital Camera."
Them: "Oh my, that store has been out of business for YEARS! Ummm, there is another store for professionals that might suit you, Precision Camera."

So....off we went. (After another chat with Google, LOL).

After the camera store we thought we would try to find Mellow Johnny's...Lance Armstrong's bicycle shop. Another call to Google....unfortuately, every time I asked for Mellow Johnny's they tried to find "Miller, Johnnys"! Pretty funny...I already knew where my Dad and brother were! We had been there one other time so off we went to find it from memory. After some driving around we were able to locate the store. We spent some more time looking around there and determined we were pretty close to the hotel, so we decided to go ahead and see if we could get checked in.

After FINALLY locating the hotel, we successfully checked in an hour early and got our room. We also got a map of the 10K route. The start line was right outside the front door of the hotel! That was BONUS!

We were then off to visit with my "Austin" family. We went on out to Jonestown where my sister and her husband live. My Mom and Dad park their RV there when they aren't off seeing the U.S. (and sometimes Canada by accident!). My niece lives right there as well, with her 8 year old daughter. My oldest brother and his family live in Cedar Park which is close by. When we got to my sister's house my brother was there, but unfortunately his wife and youngest son were up here in the Dallas area looking at colleges!

We had an awesome visit! My sister cooked baked spaghetti for us (our carb load!) with salad and toasted garlic bread and brownies for dessert. It was great. We sat around the table and visited for hours. I haven't laughed that hard and that long in a LONG time...it was AWESOME! We had a great time. We didn't get back to our hotel until almost 10:00 and it was off to dreamland.

We got up about 6:30 so we could have a light breakfast - after all, it was part of the package! Then it was back to the room to get ready, check out our mail and etc. and get ready to run. We knew it was going to be cold this weekend so we had packed all our cold weather gear. I wore my long sleeve pink shirt, long black running pants, pink headband, pink Tahoe cap, and of course my running shoes...also my iPod and Garmin...I was ready to go!

We walked out the door of the hotel about 8:20 so we could be in the start area by the time the wheelchair race took off at 8:30. The temperature was 38 degrees but there was NO wind. It didn't feel that cold at all - just a little chilly.

Just as the wheelchair division started I realized I needed to go! I ran back into the hotel - but forgot to get the room key from Rick...the line for the public restroom was all the way from the back of the hotel to the front door so I just turned around and went back but by that time the starting group was so packed in that I couldn't find Rick! I was going to have to do this one on my own!

They closed the gates for the timed run and started the countdown. The gun went off. We stood. Finally we started making our way to the startline as I watched the clock overhead tick, tick, ticking away. It was at 5:39:9 when I crossed the starting line. (One of 6,644 timed 10K runners starting!) The course started out over the congress street bridge at a very slight uphill. I was a little stiff, but we weren't going very fast because there were just so many people! The route starts out at an elevation of about 468 ft. to slightly above 500 ft. at mile marker 1. At the road in front of the capitol building we made a right turn, ran a little ways then made a left so we could get to the back of the capitol. This was a steeper grade and we were up to about 530 ft. We turned again around the backside of the capitol building and there was a rollilng hill here. Not too bad, but you were beginning to feel it. Mile 2 was great...downhill...so deceiving! At mile 2.25 you hit the worst hill in the race!!! You go from an elevation of 500 ft. to about 560 ft. in less than .25 miles. My legs were feeling the hills already, but I thought I'd be able to make it to the top when out of nowhere the group I was running in just stopped and started walking! I was right in the middle of the pack and they ALL stopped! There wasn't any way for me to get around them, so I walked too. I walked as fast as I could, and I was passing a few of them as best I could, but it wasn't easy. We reached the top of the hill and started running again. There was a pretty decent downhill here and that helped - although I have learned you just can't let yourself go on a downhill, you have to control your pace here too! At about mile 3.5 you get to the best downhill in the race. What a relief to let gravity do some of the work! I looked down and I was running at about an 8.5/M pace and it felt pretty good, although by now I was wishing I was in my short sleeve running shirt and shorts. When there isn't any wind at above 40 you really don't need all the cold weather protection. You should have seen all the cold weather gear along the course that people were discarding! Now we entered the flatest part of the course and here is where the burn hits. you know you are getting close, you are so tired, you've used so much energy on those hills it is hard to catch your breath... you just really have to push it on through. I kept running and made it through the 4.75 miles right on pace (right at about 10.5/M pace). I really felt like I might PR this one...after all I only had about a mile and 1/2 to go, right? Unfortunately for me mile 5 starts going up again! This is right on a major street, they only block off about 1/2 the street, so you have to stay within the cones, so it gets a little more crowded again and you have to do a bit more dodging of folks than you had been. From 5.25 to 5.5 is the worst of this part of the run... After that it is on a slight downhill to the finish. I was able to pick up my pace, but by that time I knew I was too far behind my goal to PR. The hill at mile 5 had done me in! I knew I was going to reach my first goal though - finish :) ! That I did! I actually did pick up the pace the last .2 miles to just under a 10:00/M and when I stopped my Garmin it read 1:07:45.32. My 3rd non-goal was to finish in around 1:07:45 so I was VERY happy. Rick was right there waiting for me too!

We got the official results when we got home. Rick finished in 1:00:14.5 for an average pace of 9:42/M! He was 104 of 182 in his division! I am soooooo proud of him!

I finished in 1:07:44.0 for an average pace of 10:54/M and was 83 out of 181 in my division, so in the top 1/2...I'm happy with that. I always look back and try to see what I could have done better, where could I have picked it up so I could have made that 7 a 6, but for this race, and those hills, I'm happy. I know I will get better with time, I'm just going to patient and it will probably come when I least expect it!

Sunday Run

Wouldn't it be great to enjoy a sunrise run on the beach like this?!?

It was HARD to get up this morning. It was hard, but we did it. 5:30 we were on the road to Arbor Hills. I was just hoping that it wouldn't be so hard to run today. We stopped for a small cup of coffee - so I could wake up, lol- then off we went.
We got there and parked, we were only the second car in the lot this morning, and got ready to head out. It was really dark, and I was a little concerned we wouldn't be able to really see where we were going good enough to run...that turned out to be an unfounded concern as we headed out in the gray light before dawn. We decided on the more uphill version for the first lap this morning. We started out slow and steady and I made it a decent ways along the trail before my legs gave out. I walked - for a VERY short amount of time and took off running again. One more stop and then off again. During the second stop I was going to look at the Garmin to see how we were doing and the silly thing shut completely off! Then when it came back on the timer didn't start back again. This really upset me because I knew this run was going better than the last two! After the first lap we stopped by the car so I could have some light and see what was going on. I got it all set up again and found that it had stopped at .87 miles (our first stop!) We drank some water and took in a little GU and headed out again.

For reasons still unknown to me this second lap felt GOOD! This is the first time I've felt good running since the first 10 miles of Cowtown! I ran the first mile at 10:42 and the second mile at 10:43, so my pace was nice and steady and Rick said I looked more relaxed than I have the last few runs as well. My legs didn't hurt (well, maybe just a little - but it was certainly manageable!) and I felt strong! We got back to the car without stopping once!!! After this part of the run Rick and I discussed how much better this was and came up with a couple of ideas. Our first theory is that I simply don't warm my muscles up and stretch out enough before we start - thus my leg muscles "locking up". Our second theory is that I simply run better in the cold...our last two runs have been in the afternoon when the temperature was in the mid 70's...I know that I run better in temperatures below 70. I also know that if I am going to participate in runs in Texas anytime after March I have to prepare my body to run in the higher temps. I'm hoping that we can better prepare ourselves this year, now that we have done one summer running season, and perhaps become better runners for it! We discussed changing our run next time and trying out the shorter inner loop before we add in the middle section of higher hills to see if I can get warmed up better, or if this just poops me out quicker, LOL...Time will tell!

After our talk we decided we had enough time for the shorter, inside loop so we took off running again. We hit the first downhill slope and my legs let me know I was doing more than I should! I kept going but about 1/2 way up the next uphill my left thigh just locked up! I walked a little and then ran as far as I could. I had to walk about 1/2 way up the last hill, but I finished pretty strong.

All in all we ran a little over 5.5 miles and I feel a little better about the run next Sunday in Austin. I was really getting worried that I wouldn't even get a good start on that one. I guess my goals are:

1. To finish

2. To finish without walking

3. To finish in about my normal time (1:07:45)

4. To beat my best time (1:06:03)....

Remember, this run really has no goals for me, LOL!!!

Why?

Why do I feel that every 5k I run will be "the one"? This will be the one where I will for SURE break the 30 minute mark...I know it! I'm always wrong! Today was no different. I felt so good this morning...I had a plan...I knew I was going to do it. I should have watched the weather channel!

We got up this morning and I was ready to go. I was excited. My feet had stopped hurting, even though I had to do 5 miles on the elliptical on Thursday because my toes hurt so bad I couldn't run on the treadmill. (I got some pretty ugly blisters from the Cowtown run!). I felt GOOD! We headed out the door and on the road to the race. I thought this one would go pretty good since I was familiar with the course and should know more about how to run it - take note of the word SHOULD.

We got there in time to pick up our timing chips and make our way to the start-line to watch some of our friends make the "fun run" start. We watched the runners and walkers take off and enjoyed visiting with some of my co-workers from school. They were there to walk the 5K. Once all the walkers were done we made our way for the start line. I asked Rick if he was going to run with me or "go for it". He grinned - I told him to go for it...I'd meet him at the finish - after all, I had my own plan for this one!

I felt like since I had done so well at the first 5k this year, that if I could do the first mile in just under 10:00/M I would make my goal. The gun went off and off we went. When we turned the first corner and headed into the downhill (that would be an uphill on the way back) I glanced at Garmin and knew I was in trouble...the first digit in my time was an 8! No way I could keep up that pace...no way I should be anywhere NEAR that pace, LOL. I tried to slow down a little and watched Rick get farther and farther ahead of me. At the end of the first mile I was ahead of the time I wanted, but I was still feeling pretty good. The 1/2 way mark of this race is the turn onto a major roadway, Exchange. I was feeling good here too, although the wind was blowing pretty good it was from the side. I was beginning to tire and my Garmin was telling me about it as I was seeing the number 10 way too often. Then it happened. We turned back in front of the Natatorium, on Riverside, I think, and we were running into the wind. It was a killer. I think it was blowing even harder than in Ft. Worth the week before. I was already slowing down too much and this certainlly wasn't helping...you'd think I'd learn eventuallly wouldn't you?!? I kept putting one foot in front of the other hoping against hope I wouldn't have to walk - after all, I had run 11 miles without walking just a week ago, I should be able to do a measly 3 miles today, right? WRONG! It did help when I glanced ahead from the second water stop to see Rick ahead on the bridge walking....I didn't make it quite that far. I walked the water stop, ran, walked, ran, walked, and so on for the rest of the race. I was on my pace all the way to 2.5 miles...I would have at least done a 30 minute race - but it was not to be...once again the hills and the wind were out to stop me from reaching my goal. It was a real bummer when I saw a co-worker from last year running. I said Hi, she asked me how I was doing and I told her I was running behind my pace...she told me this was her first race ever and I congratulated her. We stayed pretty close together for a while although I pulled away on the steeper part of the small hill. We were less than 1/10th of a mile from the finish when she passed me and made me look like I was standing still...very demoralizing, even if she is more than 20 years younger than me! I finished in about 32:23...even though at 2.67 miles I had a time of 26:41. The wind just takes it out of you, specially when you are going uphill at the end of a race!

My splits were unimpressive this race:

Mile 1 - 9:37

Mile 2 - 10:15

Mile 3 - 11:13

Can you tell where I was running with the wind, and where I was running against it? LOL

I told Rick that I think we didn't have nearly enough recovery time from the Cowtown either...my legs felt like lead after the first mile and a half...although that is better than the last time...maybe I am getting stronger. Anyway, after the race we talked about how we felt and we both agreed that we felt worn from the race the week before, we started out WAY too fast, and that the wind had a real impact for the run. I also decided that making goals for myself at least may be a mistake. I had no goal for the Cowtown other than finishing - and I had a PR...I think that I may keep myself from reaching a time goal subconciously, because I would just have to set another, faster goal if I met that one - so for the next few races I'm just going to go at it like it is just another run for fun, no goal in mind and see what happens....

wish me luck!

Great Day!

Today was a great running day for a couple of reasons! The first was that Rick and I both met our January challenge of running 75 miles in one month. Rick's doesn't show that he did it because his iPod gave up the ghost and it took him two runs to figure out it was shot before he got a new one. He is now the proud owner of a 4th generation iPod! Anyway, that being said Rick ran 77.04 miles in the month of January, and I ran 77.34 miles. It was a fun challenge and helped keep us focused through the blustery month of January.

The second reason was that today was the DRC Tal Morrison Classic 5K/15K. It is a run sponsored by the running club Cotton signed us up for as our Christmas present. It is for a really good cause - scholorships! We chose to run the 5K this time.
We got up about 5:45 this morning and got ready to go out to White Rock Lake. We got to the race start at about 7:15 or so and headed up to Winfrey Point to get our bibs and pick up our new members running shirts. Then it was back to the car to put the shirts away, LOL. By the time we got back it was time for the final rest break before the race. We ran into Cotton's first grade teacher again and said hello and then I stood in line for a bit. We got down to the start line just in the nick of time.
Unfortunately, this is NOT a chip timed event so I pretty much knew I wasn't going to break my 30 minute mark on this one, as bad as I wanted it and as hard as I've been working to get there it wasn't going to be this particular race today.
The temperature was in the high 30's by race time at 8:00 ~ pretty cold, but fairly decent running weather in all...no wind to speak of. The gun went off and we (along with the other 600 or so runners) headed across the line. It took us a bit to get there. I hit the Garmin at the start so I'd have a pretty good record of the race for myself anyway. It was a slow go at the beginning, as with all races. No one was walking ahead of us this time though - and that was nice! We all started off at a pretty gentle pace and by the time I got a chance to look at Garmin we had done about .25 miles and were on a 10:00 minute/mile pace. Not too bad - I actually wanted to start out slow this time to see if it would help me at the end of the race. Rick stayed right with me and we just kept chugging along. I felt really good and I was starting to warm up a little as we ran. I looked down at mile one and we ran the entire first mile in 10:10, even with the slow start! I saw a glimmer of hope to make my goal!
We kept running and before I knew it Rick was tapping my arm and telling me there was a water stop up ahead. I moved over, grabbed a glass, took a couple of gulps without stopping and caught up with Rick again. It was so funny because I came up on his left side just as he was glancing over his right shoulder to look for me. I tapped him on his arm so he would know I was there and we picked up the pace again. It was time for the turn-around...we were 1/2 way done and I was still feeling good ~ in fact my hands were finally warming up!
The second half was even better than the first. There weren't as many people in front of us and they were more spread out so it was easier to keep our pace up. I kept trying to find runners I thought I could pass and really focusing on doing that. As we reached mile 2 I looked at the Garmin and it told me we had just completed the second mile with a 9:38 splilt time! Told you I was feeling good! Our overall Garmin time now was now 19:50...we were under 10 minute mile pace! I was amazed to say the least...things were looking good!
At about this point the young man we were running behind (I figure he must have been about 10 or so) just hit his wall. He had been running with a nice steady pace - right at the same pace Rick and I were running - but all of a sudden he just shook his head and slowed down to a walk...I felt bad for him as we passed him and kept on going. This is one of the few times I have actually passed a "kid"...they are usually FAST and pass me like I'm standing still!
As we ran the final 3.1 miles I was able to appreciate the beauty of the surroundings. The lake was awesome, and the wooded areas as beautiful as ever. The day was perfect! I kept seeing landmarks that brought back memories of our early morning training runs for the 1/2 marathon we ran back in November. We really need to get back to running outside to train for our 1/2 next month...
We hit the 2.5 mile marker and I was feeling better than I have in any race I have run so far. My legs still felt good, I was still relaxed, I didn't feel like I needed fluids, and my breathing wasn't too labored. I knew this was going to be a good one! Our final full mile split was 9:13! I think that is about the fastest full mile I have run since we started! That gave us a time of 29:03 for the full 3 miles ~ SURELY I would finish the race at under 30 minutes....only 1/10 of a mile to go....We picked up the pace and kept going towards the finish. As soon as we crossed the line I turned off the Garmin and looked at my final result...30:25!!! How could that be??? I looked over at the distance and saw not 3.10 miles, but 3.16 miles...could .06 miles make that big a difference? As soon as I got the opportunity I looked at what we had run the last .16 miles at...1:20! So close! We think our "official clock time" was right at 31:00 minutes, but we aren't sure, and the results haven't been posted yet. When I got home I hooked everything up and checked our time on SportTracks. We actually did the 3.1 official miles in ~ drum roll please ~ 29:54! That is :03 seconds faster than my fastest recorded 5K race time! HAH! I KNEW this race felt good!!!
Anyway...it is back to training tomorrow. Now we are working on the cowtown 1/2 marathon, only 4 weeks away! I'm looking forward to that one too!

Just a runnin'

I'm still here, still chuggin' along. I think this running thing may be all about me learning patience with myself! I want to RUN...I want to run FAST! I know I'm going faster than I was at this time last year overall - even if it hasn't shown in my last couple races, I know my treadmill pace last March was 5.2 where now it is 5.5...so I have gotten a little faster. My problem is I want to be a LOT faster - and I want to be able to run as far as I want really, really fast...Now I ask you, is that too much to ask for??

On Friday we did our long run. Because it is winter we went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. (we've been doing this since the Rudolph run in early December). I was determined that I was going to do the treadmill for the entire 90 minute workout....not 60 on the treadmill and then move to the elliptical. So to change it up a little we decided to do 3 - 30 minute runs. Now on Thursday after our weight workout we went up and ran for 15 minutes on the treadmill and I had an awsome run...never went below 6.0 for speed...even went up to 6.5 for a while. I felt great! So of course I thought I could start out like that for this run, but nooooooooooooo! Let's just say the legs let me know in NO uncertain terms that was NOT going to be the case. I slowed the beast down to 5.8 and ran, then to 5.7 and ran. I did finish that run and I had done my normal 3.some-odd miles...Then we started our 2nd set. I slowed the treadmill down to a 5.5 pace and low and behold - it felt good! Even though I had already run a little over 3 miles, it felt good! I could breathe, it didn't hurt, I didn't have to stop running to breathe! Wow! That hadn't happened in a while! While I didn't run as far, I did run better this second 30 minutes. The final 30 was a real struggle. I did a run/walk interval type run just to get through the time. When all was said and done I had completed over 8 miles in 90 minutes, so I wasn't too awfully disappointed.

Now the point of all that was to say that I think I've been trying too hard to increase the speed again. I slowed down from the get-go for tonights run, started at 5.5, and felt good...so after 20 minutes I upped it to 5.6, and felt good...so after 20 minutes I upped it to 5.7...not so good. I did start to have problems breathing and had to hang on a bit so after 10 minutes I went back down to 5.6. In the 62 minutes we ran I completed 5.8 miles. Not the best mileage I've ever done in that time, but it felt better than it has felt since November.

I think I'll just slow down and smell the roses for a while and try to work on the distance rather than the speed. After all, my next race is a 1/2 marathon right now...Sure I'd like to finish in less than my 2:27 time...my hope is by increasing the amount of time I can run without stopping to catch my breath will decrease my real race time in the end. I guess we'll see in February!

Tomorrow I go back to school...back to the daily grind...back to some fun and friends....I have mixed feelings about this, I have really enjoyed my vacation time and for the first time in ages I wasn't antsy toward the end...I was still content to spend my days at home working around the house, reading, spending time with my husband - kids - and grandkids, taking care of the dog. Now it is time to get back...here is to wishing the best for the kids in 2009.... that it doesn't feel too much like this for anyone!

Run Rudolph Run!

Today was the Rudolph Run. Rick and I got up early and I got ready. Rick is still nursing his injury from the DRC 1/2 and wasn't able to join me for this run on the road, but he was there with the camera and in spirit once again as my greatest supporter!

It was about 33 degrees when we left the house, so I was in long sleeves and sweats...I think I need to get some running tights that aren't quite so heavy to run in. When we got there I was amazed! When we ran the Springfest run last spring parking was no problem, but today there just weren't any spots left. People were parking along the road and in the grass, in business parking lots, EVERYWHERE! We went on down and parked at the courthouse and walked back to the staging area. We went over to the tents and picked up our bibs and T-shirts - and I got my chip for the timing. Then we walked by the tents to see what they were giving away, or signing you up for. The annoucer told us at this time that this was the biggest Rudolph Run yet...there were over 3,000 runners participating! The milers were just finishing up and they were calling for the 5K folks to go to the start line, so - off I went.

I participated in the warm-ups and the time went pretty quickly. Before I knew it they were doing the 10 second countdown to start and the crowd started moving. I crossed the start line but still had to walk a little bit before the crowd really started to pick up the pace and spread out a little. It wasn't nearly as bad as some of the other races I've been in lately, I didn't see anyone really walking at the start - they were just packed in so tightly trying to cross the timing mats we couldn't get running very well. Finally the group spread out and we could get to our paces.

I really wanted to make the race a good one and so I was going for under 30 minutes. I've only done that one time so I know I CAN do it...just haven't been able to reproduce that one run. Since it was the same course I was very hopeful for today's race. At the 1 mile mark I checked Garmin and I was at a 9:33 pace - so that was really good and I was on track! I was still feeling good, and even got tickled as I passed a pack of young girls (elementary or middle school age) who were just slowing down to a walk. I heard one ask, "How much farther?" so I told her, "Only 2 more miles to go". I felt pretty good that I had enough air to talk going at that pace...hehehehe.

I kept running and recognized some of the landmarks from last spring. I knew where some of the tougher parts were and tried to prepare myself for them. The second mile wasn't quite as fast, but I was happy with a 9:53. So at the 2 mile mark I was at 19:28 - 30 seconds under a 10 minute mile...if I could keep it up, or speed back up just a little I would make my goal! I kept pushing. I was really starting to feel the run at about the 2.25 mark and I saw the water station and crossed the street to get some water - I think this was a mistake for me...if I had bypassed the water I wouldn't have slowed down and I probably would have been OK - but once I slowed for the water I couldn't get back up to the speed I needed. I noticed my stomach and claves were cramping up so I actually walked for about 30 seconds and then went back to running again. I knew Rick was waiting somewhere up ahead with the camera and I wanted to look good so I sucked it up and took off. I was really feeling the run but I kept looking ahead to see if I could see him - I saw 3 photographers standing just in front of the final turn and I KNEW one of them was Rick...I was right. He was shooting pictures of me and grinning from ear-to-ear!


See here I am leading those other 350 some odd runners to the finish!

Finally, I looked down at the Garmin and saw my 3 mile time was 29:43. I knew then I wasnt going to make my goal, but I was going to be close. This was just after I passed Rick. I felt like I was really dragging, but I was actually still running at about a 10:15 pace...This is pretty good for me - I feel best at about 10:30 on my really long runs. I rounded the corner where Rick was taking pictures and headed for the finish line. I still thought I could be close to my other times - right around 30:00 minutes....I actually finished in 31:18. Not my best, but not my worst either - and an overall 9:55 pace...

I KNOW I can beat that 30 minute mark - and I will, soon. Today just wasn't the day. I finished 7 out of 15 in my age group. I was relieved to see that even if I had PR'd and run under my best of 29:54 I still would have finished in the same place. Overall in the 5K there were 766 runners and I placed number 412. Not too shabby!

Next scheduled run right now is not until the end of February - the Cowtown 1/2....that is where I will be trying for my 2:20 time again. I think I can...I think I can...

Dallas Turkey Trot - in the bag!

Yep...we got up early this morning (6:30) and headed off to the DART rail station to meet Cotton. We rode the train downtown and walked to the staging area and only got there 1 hour early. We walked around and found some water and bananas and listened to the band and speaker, but mostly tried to stay warm in the 50 degree weather :) ... With about 10 minutes left before the start I headed to the porta potty lines and got back to the start area with about 2 minutes to spare. I handed my jackets to Rick, but decided to keep my sweat pants on...a decision I would regret around the 6 mile mark! (It DID warm up!)

They kept announcing that the 3 mile run would start 15 minutes after the 8 mile run - but that does about as much good as telling the walkers, strollers and runners with dogs to go to the back of the start area! They started the wheelchair racers at 8:59 and our gun went off at 9:00 - very nice! Just the way it was supposed to be. Keep in mind that there were supposed to be 34,000 runners this year - Oh wait, make that 33,998 - Rick and Chris weren't able to make it due to injuries :( ... It took me 5 minutes to cross the start line!

My goal was 10:30 minute miles and I did pretty good keeping to that pace. I wanted to finish the race in 1:25 and I needed to keep that pace to do that. The first few miles went without a hitch. I even made it throuh the first water stop without walking more than a few steps. It was amazing to watch the number of 3 mile runners that turned off at the split... Didn't surprise me too much simply by the number of families with wagons and little kids I was trying to get around.

By mile 4 I was starting to feel the hills a little and was about to stop to walk when I topped a hill and there was a water stop! I walked through that (OK because that IS part of my running plan! ) and took off running again. I was still on pace - whew! My next goal was the 10K distance of 6.2 miles in less than 1:07 ...when I looked down at my Garmin I did it in 1:04:44 - I was ready to dance in the street, but I was too worn out by then! HA HA! I looked up and the last 2 miles I had to cover included the two worst hills of the entire race! We had to run up to the bridge - cross over that, and then run up another part of the bridge! I did walk these two parts but I knew myself and I knew it would be better for me to walk a little up the hills than to crash and burn at the top. I followed my plan and I was doing pretty good time wise...

I crossed the 7 mile mark at about 1 and 1/2 minutes over the time I wanted so I knew I needed to pick up the pace just a tad. As I was running this part of the bridge I noticed a small pack of people at the curb - It was really scary when I saw that they were giving CPR to a man down on the ground! Just as I passed one of the emergency personnel on a bicycle came over to help, and as I rounded the corner a little down the road the emergency vehicle was coming the other way and the police were letting everyone passing know that help was on the way...There were a lot of concerned runners! My prayers are with him and his family and I sure hope that he is OK!

I couldn't believe the last part of the race was up a hill. I struggled a little, but I kept telling myself I had less than a quarter mile to go! As I ran across the finish line the clock said 1:30 and my Garmin said 1:25:53...I had made up some, but not all, of the time I was behind at the 7 mile mark. I was less than 1 minute over my goal time - so I was really happy with that. I just checked my official time and they have me at 1:26:02. Close enough :) .... Cotton just barely beat me this time...he ran the race in 1:02:57 - so I was within 30 minutes of him...

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

DRC Half Marathon

Today Rick and I ran our first Half! My goal was to complete the run in under 2:30.

Our day started out early. We were up at 5:00 AM to make our way to the DART Rail Park and Ride over in Garland. We caught the train and made it to the White Rock station, then caught the shuttle to take us to the race. Once we got out on the road we determined pretty quickly that we had made the right decision in choosing to Park and Ride. The traffic was backed up for miles with people trying to get into the limited parking area around the lake!

We got to the staging area and quickly found the bag drop off. We went to the side of the fence and removed our warm up pants and put those in the bag. We knew we wouldn't need those for the run, although I chose to keep my sweat shirt/jacket and Rick kept on his long sleeved shirt...it was still pretty cool (the upper 60's). We went over to put our bag in the check in area when I heard a voice from my past. I stopped, swung around and sure enough there stood Mary Lewellyn - Cotton's first grade teacher! I taught with her for 5 years at Northlake Elementary! She was one of the volunteers at the check in station! We backed away from the entrance into the tented area to catch up a little. We were so excited to see each other! I found out that she has been running for years and is a member of a couple of the local running clubs, including the Dallas Running Club which was the sponser of this event. Retired now, she still runs when she can, although right now she is on the sidlines with a torn miniscus on her left knee. After chatting for a couple of minutes Rick and I went on in and dropped off our bag.

We walked around the staging area a bit and found the merchandising tent where we would need to go after the race to see if we could exchange our shirts. (By the time we signed up they only had small and extra small left - I had gotten extra small thinking we might be able to give them to the girls but they were WAY too big for them! We were successful in this endeavor after the race and we each got a shirt that fit!) We found a tent that was giving away bagels so we each got about a third of a bagel and a swipe of peanut butter and headed for the start line. Didn't want to start off on a totally empty stomach!

We found the pacers for a 2:20 finish and got in behind them and just ahead of the pacers for the 2:30 finish. We were both hoping for the 2:20 time... The announcer kept us informed about the time left before the start and it seemed like no time at all when the countdown began. On your mark, Get set, GO! and the gun went off at exactly 8:00. A little over 4 minutes later we crossed the start line! It was pretty slow going at first. Of couse you had to dodge the walkers that always seem to get in line ahead of you, and there were some slower paced runners, but after about the .75 mile mark the pace was pretty good for me. Rick and I were pretty close and going just slightly slower than we had planned. About mile 2 or 2.5 we were running along when I saw a guy come running out of the bushes along the side of the trail. I yelled out "MEN CHEAT!" The runners around me cracked up laughing and a discussion of how to politely go to the restroom on a long run ensued. It was quite funny! It was just after this that I got stuck behind some slow runners running together across the path...Rick got around them. I was trying to catch up to him yelling his name to get him to slow down - he was running at a faster pace than he wanted - but he couldn't hear me over his Ipod and I knew if I kept going at that pace I would die at the end so I let him go. He would have left me at about the 9 mile mark anyway - we just parted ways a lot sooner than either of us had planned :( ...

I was finally starting to catch up to where I thought I should be a little at a time...my 5K time was just slightly slower than I wanted - 32:22, but I knew that was because of the start so I just kept right on plugging along. My pace would vary - quicker when I was in the open, slower when I got stuck behind people...but I was averaging between 10 and 11 minute miles which is what I wanted.

We veered off our normal White Rock running path into a neighborhood and that is where the running really got tough. There were several hills that I wasn't expecting! I shortened my stride, straightened my back and just kept on pushing. Just the way we had trained for them... Actually felt pretty good and at the 10K mark I was at my "normal" 1:06:16. Seems I just can't get that 10K time any lower in a race, LOL. At the 1/2 way point (6.55 miles) I was right on pace for my 2:20 race. They called out the time as I crossed the line painted across the trail as 1:14 - I looked at my Garmin and saw 1:10. Whoo-hoo...I might just be able to do this after all....perhaps even faster, after all they HAD said the last half of the course was fairly flat!

I still felt pretty good, but I was tiring. At about the 8.5 mile mark I really started feeling the heat. We weren't in the 60's any more, THAT was for sure! About the last hill out of the neighborhood a very nice gal was running next to me and she said something about them saying this was a flat course. I answered that I had seen hillier (Tahoe), but this was one of the hilliest I had run and I was sure ready for the flat part! She said she was running this as one of her training runs because she was going to be running the White Rock Marathon in December for 57th birthday. I told her I was running this one for my 53rd! We decided we were pretty "BAD" ladies and she started yelling out to the crowd "Look at these BAD running ladies!" The crowd cheered and yelled us on as we left the neighborhood and veered onto the bridge at the spillway.

At the 9 mile mark my time was showing that I was slowing again - it was a 1:37:04...about 3-4 minutes slower than what I had been running in the early morning hours lately with the much cooler temperatures. Mile 9 was one of my slowest - 11:40. I think this was one of the last hills and included the bridge and the spillway. I had to walk here, simply couldn't run up that steep incline. This is where I lost my "BAD" friend. As soon as I got to the top I started running again though. It was nice running back on the path I knew though. I knew what to expect, I just couldn't make my legs go any faster. I would look at the Garmin and want to pick the pace back up, but my legs weren't cooperating at this point. When I looked down at the 10 mile marker and saw that I would need to do 10 minute miles to cross at 2:20 I knew I wasn't going to make that time. I was disappointed, but I also knew that crossing before the 2:30 mark WAS still doable if I kept pushing. Even though they said the last few miles were flatter - which they were - they still weren't FLAT and any hint of an incline at this point almost made me want to cry. I kept watching my time get closer and closer to missing that 2:30 mark. I prayed that I would make that mark...I had been working so long..."Please God, I'm not asking for 2:20 anymore, just let me finish in under 2:30!" Seems silly huh?

The last mile I started my normal countdown. It was so nice knowing we were getting closer and I was just urging my legs to keep moving one in front of the other...It was nice to have people along the way cheering for the runners and just after the 12 mile mark there was a whole group of the Team in Training supporters with music and bells and clappers just yelling a screaming for every runner going by. It really does lift your spirits!

With about 3 tenths of a mile to go my legs just gave out. I looked at Garmin and I was running at over a 12 minute mile pace. I knew at this point in the race and at this pace I wasn't going to make my goal. I was going as fast as I could and I was crushed. I staggered and slowed even further - my run was barely more than a walk when this nice girl in a red shirt came up beside me. She patted me on the back and said "Come on, we'll finish this one together!" She was so sweet. I told her not to let me slow her down, but she said - "No, we'll finish together - we've come too far to stop now." and she just started talking to me. I glanced down at Garmin and sure enough, my pace had picked up a little. She told me that she had turned her ankle at about mile 7 so she wasn't going to make her goal time, but was shooting for under 2:30. I told her that 2:30 was my original goal and she said "Well, lets go for it together then, see, I told you we would finish together. We'll either make it or we won't, but it will be together!" We kept running and chatting...we saw the 13 mile marker so I knew we were withing a tenth of a mile now...we turned a corner and there was the finish line. Rick and I had been working on sprinting to the finish so I told my new friend that we were going to go for it..."You mean we are going to sprint it?" she asked in surprise...my answer was "YES!" and together we picked up the pace even more. All of a sudden she said "Girlfriend, look at the clock, you are going to do it!" I looked over and saw 2:29:50 and I pushed as hard as I could. I knew it still said 2:29 when I actually crossed, but at this point all I could see was Rick's grinning face! I ran to him and he said "YOU DID IT!" I looked for the girl in red but she wasn't there - and Rick said he never saw her. You think what you want, but I think she was my personal angel - sent as an answer to that cry out for help to finish in under 2:30!


Rick's official time was: Clock time - 2:21:03:00, Chip time - 2:17:32:19
My time was : Clock time - 2:29:53, Chip time - 2:26:21:12

Lesson Learned!

OK, OK...maybe I should have already known this, but I learned this one the hard way.

This morning I was determined that in our training run I was going to run the first 3.1 miles in UNDER 30 minutes. I've only done that once - during the Allen Springfest 5K, and I still don't know what happened except that it was very cold that day. I got up feeling GREAT and ready to go. The temperature outside was between 55 and 62 degrees, but it didn't feel that cold. I told Rick I wanted to stop and get an energy drink on the way to "the Rock". We stopped at Quick Trip and I got the energy drink. Rick thought he'd like some coffee and it sounded so good I got some too. I drank all the energy drink and about 1/3 of the coffee on the way to the lake. We started off and I still felt great. I ran the first mile in 9:37 and I was running smooth and not breathing too awfully hard - so I was right on the pace I wanted to do the entire 3.1 in.

Disclaimer: This part of the post is not for the faint stomached!

At about mile 1.4 Rick called out that he wasn't going to drink coffee before a run ever again - he was really feeling it. I turned my head to see if he was looking OK and when I turned back it hit...I said I'm going to have to stop for a second - we stopped and I walked onto the grass and immediately heaved and heaved and heaved - I lost a good portion of what I had consumed that morning in the grass on the side of the running path. Of course then I felt like carp as well! Oh, and by the way, for those of you that use the Garmin feature of auto-pause...your Garmin may pause when you stop - but as soon as you start barfing your guts out it senses the movement and starts the clock running again! It will sure mess with your pace!

End of Disclaimer

We went on running, but with the stop I knew I wasn't going to make my under 30 time. I pressed on, but after mile 2, and before mile 3 I had to walk some and let my tummy settle a bit. Even with the stop and the walk break we still managed a 31:30 5K time. Well, I thought, perhaps a negative split then....but it was not to be. We finished mile 6.2 in a respectable 1:03:13 which is about a 31:43 5K. So we kept on running...by mile 8 I was feeling good again and I actually ran the last mile at a 9:47 pace. I think that is the first time I've ever run the last mile and it felt halfway decent. I just wish this had been a bit better run.

I want you all to notice the new races posted in my upcoming runs list.

We got the news this past week that we may not get to go to San Antonio. Rick got transferred to a new group last week and they are scheduled to move their offices the weekend of the race. We should find out something for sure next week.

To stave off some of the disappointment we signed up for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot - an 8 mile run on Thanksgiving morning, and then we decided to go for broke and sign up for the Rudolph Run here in Allen - a 5K that some of my students have been talking about running as well. Then today when we were talking to Cotton on the phone he told us to sign up for the Dallas Running Club 1/2 marathon as my birthday present. He knew how disappointed we were to not get to go run our first 1/2 in San Antoino, and this one is already 99% full - so if we were going to sign up we needed to do so now. We were planning on running the distance that day anyway - now we'll just get a medal for doing it! He also thinks he might be able to come out and watch us run - that will be really cool! THANKS SON!

Guess we'll be tapering our running next week now for the newest race on our list. I'm not going to take San Antoinio off until we know something for sure...keep tuned in for more details to come!

Training Run

Today was another long run in our training for the San Antonio Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon. It is getting close and we are getting excited. We decided when we signed up for this run that we wanted to run the distance before the race just to make sure we could finish - Ha!

This was the second time we have run the entire 13.1 miles - and was by far one of my best runs. I've been saying all summer that the heat just kills my running and the run this morning is just one more item I have to prove that.

When we got to White Rock Lake this morning it was about 6:30. (We slept in since we went to church last night and wouldn't be driving over to see the kids after our run this morning!). It was also about 60 degrees! For me - that was heaven! When we started out it was with shivering muscles and chattering teeth, but that didn't last long! :) The first mile was a warm up in the most literal sense of the word. The longer I went, the better I felt. By the 2nd mile in I was really feeling good! I picked up the pace...I kept thinking, "This is going to kill me on the back side, but it feels so good right now!" Rick said there was a little way there that he had trouble keeping up with me! We finished the first 5K in a respectable 30:57. The 3rd mile of that was run at a 9:46 pace. Like I said - I was starting to feel good!

We stopped for our water break and then took off again. Hoooo wheeeee! After that stop I could really feel the thigh muscles start to tighten. I figured they would loosen right up....hmmmmm. We ran the next 5K in 30:48. If it had been a 10K we were running that would have been negative splits! We actually ran at 9:55, 9:52, and 9:56 splilts for the 3 miles! And one of those was over 1/2 up-hill!!!

I was still feeling good and I was pretty much keeping pace with Rick - a first on one of these longer runs. Well, not so much maybe. The first time we went this distance my goal was to keep the pace below 11:00 minute miles and he stayed with me because we didn't know how hard it would be and we didn't want to have to quit before we finished the distance. Normally when we just do the 9 mile loop he pretty much leaves me in the dust and waits for me at the water stops. :) He is always encouraging when I catch up!

We took off from our water break and I was determined that I was going to keep the pace up for the next 3 miles and beat our 9 mile PR. Our splits on this set were 10:07, 10:06, and 9:43. Can you tell where the fewest hills were, lol? We finished the normal 9.1 miles in 1:30:09. Only .03 slower than our best which was run when we knew that was the complete distance! Now we only had 4 miles to go!

The last 3 were pretty hard. Mile 10 was OK, although it did have a pretty good hill I was still feeling pretty good. I ran that in 10:09. Then the thighs finally locked up - they were screaming at me to STOP THE INSANITY!!!!! My head just kept telling them to pick 'em up and put 'em down. My goal was to not go over a 10:30 split and I almost made it. Mile 12 was my slowest at 10:34. Again, the hill got to me...thank heavens for the water at the top of that hill. Rick finally had to slow down and wait for me a bit at then end of mile 13...with only about .41 miles to go he slowed down and paced me to the end - encouraging me every step of the way to kick it up a notch. We finally finished the entire 13.1 in 2:12:15. Now this is Garmin time - not clock time. I still figure we did it in well under 2:30 - even with longer water stops than we would take in a race, so we are right on pace to meet our goal in San Antonio of finishing in under 2:30.

It is so great to have such an amazing running partner with me on these runs. Even when I can't keep up I know he will be there waiting at each stop for me with an encouraging word and a pat on the back. Keeps me going, and going, and going......

Flip a Coin

I don't know whether to be disappointed or ecstatic!?! The plan today was to run 11 miles. We keep trying to up the distance so we can get to the 13.1 mark of a 1/2 marathon before we go to San Antonio and have some time to build a little speed...not simply say we can make it. It is simply for peace of mind. Unfortunately it wasn't in the cards for today...we only made the loop, 9.01 miles today. But you know - it was a GREAT run for us. I thought we were going to slow the pace a little, since we were adding the miles, but last night I mentioned to DH that if we were going to beat our best 9 mile time going RIGHT around the lake that we would have to run a 9:30 mile at mile 5.(Yes, Dear Readers, I am STILL directionally impared and don't know the cardinal direction - it is either right or left!) Well, I guess he misunderstood me and thought I wanted to do 9:30 miles for the first 5K! (I think I said that about running the Liberty 5K this Thursday maybe?) We didn't even quite do that - but here is what we DID do.

Mile 1 - 10:10
Mile 2 - 10:03
Mile 3 - 9:56 --------- 5K 31:05
Mile 4 - 9:55
Mile 5 - 9:46
Mile 6 - 9:52 ---------10K 1:01:37
Mile 7 - 10:03
Mile 8 - 10:08
Mile 9 - 9:58
Entire loop --------- 1:30:06

This beat our old best time for this direction by 2:31!

Evidently during the run DH's foot and leg started bothering him, so he waited for me by the starting point and told me he wasn't going to run the extra today...I was dying by then, my thighs were like jello, and said I'd join him at the car for a nice ice cold G2! We called it a successful day and headed for the hot tub. Both my black toenails have finally called it quits and fallen off and when I took my shoes off today there was blood on the toe-box of my new really thick thorlo socks! Can't even tell where it came from - I'm thinking the same toenail I've been having problems with - guess I'll have to wrap it next time! Here is hoping for the 11 miler NEXT Sunday...we'll slow it down a little I think :) ...

School bells are ringing!

I'm baaaaaack! It has been a while and several runs since I've documented anything here. As most of my loyal readers (both of them) know, school is back in session and my time is very limited. In fact it is pretty much limited to getting ready for school, being at school, planning for school, attending meetings at school, getting home from school, running, working out, or sleeping! Not much time in there for blogging.

DH and I did manage to get in our regularly scheduled Sunday morning run last week. We determined that it was time to up the mileage - even though our training schedule for the 1/2 marathon in November has us at much less than we are currently doing. We got up at 4:45 and headed for the lake. DH let me take the lead since we were going to try to do a full ten miles. The lake is a 9 mile loop, so we knew we would have to add a 1/2 mile at the end of the run and loop back to make the 10 miles we were planning for this week. Since I wear the Garmin and usually finish behind him he needed to know where to turn around. I was really planning to slow the pace a little knowing we were going to try for a record length...don't exactly know what happened there though....Here are the splits

Mile 1 - 10:28
Mile 2 - 10:11
Mile 3 - 10:16 Stopped here and discussed that we were going too fast :)
Mile 4 - 10:50
Mile 5 - 11:00
Mile 6 - 10:49
Mile 7 - 11:06
Mile 8 - 11:06
Mile 9 - 11:09
Mile 10 - 10:46
finish - 0:26

I was pretty proud of the consistency of the run - and of the fact that we actually completed the 10 miles the first time we tried! We ran a 31:59 5K, a 1:05:52 10K, and ran the entire 10:04 miles in 1:48:12. Just a little over what we ran the 9 miles in when we first started. The amazing thing is that the entire run felt pretty good, and this was going around the lake where for mile 5 your are pretty much running uphill the entire mile...I much prefer running around the other direction...which is our plan for tomorrow - we'll have to see if we can improve our time! :) Wish us luck! The nicest thing is that we really did run together the entire 10 miles. I helped him pick up his beginning pace, he helped me finish strong! Hmmmmmm sounds like we might be a team!!!!

I Ran The Rock

Today in an effort to make it to church to see our sweet grandbabies DH and I hauled our booties outta bed at 4:30 AM to go out to White Rock Lake for our long run of the week. Now you may or may not remember that we ran the Rock last weekend for the very first time and I thought that I was going to DIE! I also have lost one toe nail and will probably lose two more for my trouble! Needless to say I went out there today with a LOAD of determination and two goals in mind.

Goal number 1: Run outside for a minimum of 6 miles WITHOUT WALKING!!! Now I have done this a few times indoors on the treadmill, but I had NOT accomplished it outside EVER!

Goal number 2: Beat our previous time of 1:44:22 (or an average pace of 11:32).

We got to the lake and actually started our run at 5:49 AM. It was already about 84 degrees outside and do you want to know something else about 5:49 AM...it is still DARK outside! Makes it kinda hard to pace yourself with your Garmin when you can't see it...and of course, despite reading a post earlier this week about the fact that Garmin does have a backlight I totally forgot to check and see how to USE it!

I ran the first two miles "blind", but that's OK I ran them. It was actually pretty awsome running because this time I wanted to make sure I saw something other than the pavement. I looked up as I topped one of the hills and saw a beautiful sunrise reflecting off of a perfectly calm and still lake! Breathtaking! There were fishermen out in boats, waders, and fishing from the shore. I saw ducks, geese, and squirrels.

At the three mile mark we stopped at a water fountain to hydrate and I was still feelin' pretty good. I hadn't been struggling for my breath as I had been on my last "Rock" test and my legs felt awsome. So off we went again. At 4.25 we passed DS going the other direction. He had left the house after us, started later than us, but wasn't tooooooo far ahead of us...another positive to put in my head for this run!

I knew I was going to make my first goal when I looked at Garmin at the 5 mile mark and it told me that I had just completed a 10:38 mile. Whoa! Didn't feel like a 10:38....cool. As it turned out that would be my fastest split - but it was between mile 4 and 5! NOT at the beginning of the run ~ AND I still felt GOOD!

I kept my eye on Garmin and suddenly there it was - 6 miles completed and I hadn't walked a step! I finished a 10K in my normal time: 1:07:45, but I had done it with no walking and I was still feeling fairly strong. This is encouraging that perhaps when I actually run my next 10K in October I can be a little faster. OK...now I simply had to see how far I could make it without walking and I would have a new "BEST". (The farthest I had ever run on a treadmill without walking was 8 miles...I was secretly hoping to be able to at least make that on an outdoor run as well.)

I felt really strong and good until about mile 7.5...here is when my legs started letting me know they were there, and my breathing became a bit more labored, but I pushed on. At mile 7.72 you have to go up this slow grade...a killer at the end of the run but I was determined. I was sooooo close to my goal. I finally reached the top of the hill and started down running as fast as I could. DH was at the bottom of the hill waiting for me patiently. As I crossed the "finish line" and stopped my Garmin he said, "Congratulations, you just ran the Rock". I was soooooo happy because yes, I. RAN. THE. ROCK. All 9.09 miles without walking once. A new record for me! I also did it in 1:39:28, a full 4:04 faster than a week ago.

We headed back to the car, then to the gym to shower and get ready for church. I checked out the temperature - it was up to 89 degrees. We didn't see the kiddos during church, through a sad miscommunication my DD knew we were going to go running but didn't understand we were going out so early so we could still see them at church. They were kind enough to go out to lunch with us after so we could enjoy the DGKs and we had a great talk about running. Looks like one of these Sunday's DSIL may make the trek out there and run with us.

As soon as I got home I hooked up Garmin so I could check out my pace and splits:

Mile 1 : 10:55

Mile 2 : 11:13

Mile 3 : 10:52

Mile 4 : 10:50

Mile 5 : 10:38

Mile 6 : 11:00

Mile 7 : 10:54

Mile 8 : 11:20

Mile 9 : 10:55

I learned so much from this run. I really need to just go at my own pace and not worry about it so much...I can do more than I think I can...Running isn't so bad when you can breathe!

Guess I need to apply these to my next run too, huh?