Running Again!!!

I am so excited to say that I am now back in training!  I simply don't do well just "running"...I just seem to need to have a race that I am training for.  So......since I am officially starting all over, I just registered for a 5K to train for.  I have set it up to have plenty of time...It isn't until October 27th....I should be plenty ready by then!  (In fact don't be surprised if I don't sign up for a race or two before October if I find another I really like!)

This will be the inaugural run of this race and it will be run at Texas Motor Speedway - with a NASCAR type theme for the entire race.  The course is actually a little over two laps of the 1.5 mile mile oval.  There will be lots of Race Themed activities going on as well. The folks from the Cowtown Marathon Series are helping out so ... THIS should be FUN! 

Now - I have already started my Couch to 5K training program.  (C25K) and it has been going pretty well.  Week 1 Day 1- 5 minute warm-up walk, then I ran/walked for 15 minutes at a 1-1:30 ratio, 5 minute walk cool-down,  for a total of 1.76 miles.  This morning I did W1D2 ... messed up a little as I didn't know I had to change the days myself - so I did a 4 minute walk warm-up before I realized I was doing Day 1 over again!  Re-started 5 min walk warm-up, 20 min run/walk at the 1 - 1:30 ratio, cool-down walk for a couple of mins. for a total of  2.50 miles in 31:55.  I was pleased that I already saw some progress, AND that it wasn't too difficult - even ramping it up a little.  Hope that continues to be the case...we'll see.

I'll try to faithfully post about the training and how it is going...as well as if I decide to try some more races in between...if only for my own historical perspective!

Would love to have some of you join me - we CAN do this!!!

Run on!

My first KoKo workout

So, last night I was totally exhausted and ended up going to bed at about 8:00!  Couldn't believe it, but I did sleep ALL NIGHT.  We got up early and went to the club for our first workout.  The Smarttrainer placed us on an Intermediate Foundation workout to build our strength and endurance.  This should be about 6 sessions - then the "real" training will begin... Let me tell you... this was quite the workout - even though they call it the foundation, and even though we've worked out for years, the break we've taken took it's toll - even though we have worked out off and on I was taking it quite easy because of the surgery and now I'm "pumping it up"! 

I have quite a bit to learn...especially about the timing of the workout.  I had to change out bars and such several times - then put them right back on again...hopefully I'll get better about knowing when I can leave them on to shave some seconds off the workout.  It times you the entire time.  Today's workout took 43 minutes when the goal is 30.  I had a couple of sets that took WAYYYYY longer than they should have because I stopped to get water, LOL.  I did keep an accuracy of 94% overall - not to bad for a start...This is how you do staying on pace while you lift.  My KoKo score for the session was 968 out of a possible 1000.  That made me happy! 

Overall, I was very pleased with the session.  I'm excited to be trying something new...I'm excited to have the machine keep track of what I've done each session and make the adjustments to help me reach my goal...and I'm excited to be active again - FINALLY! 

I'm still cautiously optimistic that we can keep this going strong - I'll let you know how that works for me :)  .....

Strength Test accomplished

Rushed home from a LONG day at work, changed clothes, hopped in the car and off to the gym we went.  Lindsay was there to meet us and handed us our new keys. (She wrote our names on them so we could tell who's was who's since they are identical - wouldn't want Pepaw's workout on my USB key now would we, LOL).  She showed us how to insert them into the machine and the machine pretty much walked us through everything!  It shows you how to set the machine up for the exercise, how to perform the exercise with the correct form, and had a pace bar to make sure you stay on track.

Today was just the strength test so we only had a few different exercises to measure strength and range of motion on the machine.  I did fairly well.  92% accuracy with the pace bar, and I lifted over 4600 lbs. overall.

After we finished the strength test we went over to the treadmill and walked for an extra 15 minutes and we were done.  It felt really good, the only thing I think I'll change next time is remembering my iPod so I can listen to my own music :)  .... other than that it is full speed ahead.

Oh, yeah, by the way - a perfect eating day too!  I have a feeling I'll be feeling better and more in the mood for a run in no time!

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!!!

DRC Rock and Roll 5 mile run

Today was a pretty good day to run. A little warm - a LOT humid, but OK. At 73 degrees it was warm for me - I do best in the mid 60's. There were a couple of glitches along the way but we made it!

We got there in plenty of time, but the parking lot was full and because of the rain they weren't letting anyone park on the grass - so we parked in the church lot on Garland road where they club had gotten permission for overflow parking. We walked on down to the clubhouse and picked up our numbers and shirts. Then it was to the porta-potty line. With three minutes to the start I gave up! (They had THREE potties for 600 people!) We went on down to the start line only to find that they had delayed the start of the race 15 minutes! I was about 6 people back in the line when I left - had ANYONE bothered to send word up to the potties then I could have stayed in line. I was NOT a happy camper! I really wasn't happy after the race when we got back to where we left our bag of goodies and someone had stolen it! Yeah - we had to leave the bag because the car was about a 1/2 mile away and we couldn't walk back and put the stuff away and then walk back to the start line again. There has GOT to be a better way to do that!!!

We finally got started and I tried to just run and not worry about anyone or anything around me. I looked down when Garmin beeped at me and I had completed the first mile in 9:57! This was my first under 10:00 mile in FOREVER! I couldn't believe it.. I just kept on going at about the same pace and figured I'd see what happened.

Well, hills are what happened! We came to this big hill and I ran up it, then we had to make a right turn and there was MORE hill. My legs were not happy, and I was having trouble breathing - so I walked to the top and then took off again. It seems I always have trouble breathing in the heat - so my strategy became run as much of the hill as I could then walk to the top and start running again. Finallly at the three mile mark we were pretty much done with the hills....that is a mile and a half of hills!

Back on the flats and I was good to go again. I felt OK, but I could tell I was wearing out. The last mile was really tough...at about .25 to go I had to go back into walk run mode. At about .10 this gal passed me up and I struggled to get back by her. I was successful and I was pretty proud that I had enough steam to pass at that point. Just at the finish line this guy came running out to her to tell her to "finish strong" and he was going to run with her...well I wasn't going to let her pass me - so I put on the after burners and took off. I DID IT....I beat her and passed another 1 or 2 before the line as well. Whoo hoo! My Garmin time was 54:50. Not incredibly fast - but about my average. I think if the course had been a little less hilly I would have made my 52:00 goal time...ah well, there is always next year, right?

Soreness

Rick and I started a new training program about a week ago with our weights...you know, they say you need to shake it up every once in a while because your body adjusts to what you do all the time. He found this program in a magazine called the Tabata program. You lift the weight as many reps as you can for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds and do it again. In the magazine they work one or two body parts and do 8 sets! We tried it with our regular routine - I can only do about 1/2 the weight I was doing, and we can only do 4 sets - BUT believe me when I say this is a heck of a workout!

We started this last week. This week we did weights on Tuesday and after the weights we did 15 minutes on the elliptical (I finished 2.2 miles in 20 minutes), then ran Arbor Hills on Wednesday ( that is the one I blogged about earilier). It wasn't a bad run, but I did have to walk a LOT more than I normally would and the 4+ miles took me 52 minutes to get through...my legs felt like chopped liver!

Thursday was another weight workout. I could really feel the leg machines and for the first time in a long time actually had to stop because of some muscle cramps!

Yesterday it was back out to Arbor Hills to run the hills again. All I can say is OUCH! My legs were soooooo bad! Jello has more consistency than my legs after this run. I did finish much quicker, but I still had to walk. Rick was patient (as always) and stayed with me to coach me along. We are trying to get some more speed out of me, LOL. I did one really good sprint, but boy did it take a while to recover. I'm also getting a little better at speeding up when I feel myself tiring.

After the two loops that we call our normal run we walked over to one of the hills, walked down and ran back up...walked across the park to the other hill and walked down and ran back up. The last hill was actually the best part of the run for me! Sheesh!

Next week we will be going back to our "old" workout and still running Arbor Hills...we need the hill work to prepare for the Capitol 10K next Sunday and I won't have a good run at all if my legs are burned from the weights...so we will break from that until after the 10K.

We are both looking forward to Austin - we last ran this race in 1988...it will be nice to see how close to the time we ran "back when" we can get to now, LOL!

Just bloggin'

Today we will run Arbor Hills again. We've been a little remiss in our training the past week. Seems life has been in the way...again! You know how that goes, you plan on running - someone comes over, you plan on running - there is a good show on TV, you plan on running - you take a nap, etc...

Nah, it hasn't been quite that bad, I call it more of a recovery time from our back to back weekend races, but we haven't run as much in March as we normally would have. We do have a race a week from Saturday and we took a look at the elevation map - thus the trip to Arbor Hills to practice our "elevation running". It starts out uphill!!! It goes uphill for a long time!!! I think we need to practice on some hills again!!!

Seriously, I do think that our practice there helped me a LOT at the Cowtown, and it certainly can't hurt, so off we go. I may even try a few intervals to help with my speed. We will be going to the hills today, Sunday, and hopefully at least one day next week to prepare. I'm going to try to improve my time over the three runs. We did elect to be chip timed for the race, just for our own information. I would so LOVE to finish the race in around an hour. (My best is 1:06). BUT I'm NOT going to set a goal time this race. As I mentioned in my last post I think that this is hampering me in the long run (pun intended) because I think that my subconcious mind keeps me from doing my best when I do that...so my goal will be to complete the race without walking. Of course a lot of that will depend on how bad those hills are! We ran this race MANY years ago (around 1985 or so) and it didn't seem that hilly, but then I was a lot younger and not nearly so wise in the ways of hills either, LOL...We'll see how it goes...wish us luck!!!

One week to go

We have only one more week to ready ourselves for the Cowtown 1/2 marathon. I don't feel ready this time. We haven't run as far as we did for the DRC 1/2 last November. We have been doing a lot of hill running this time, so I feel a little more prepared if there are hills...I also feel a little faster on the shorter runs. THAT will remain to be seen.

I am excited about the run next Saturday - it will once again be a family affair with Chris, Candy, the grandkids, Cotton, Rick and I all going to the race. Cotton, Chris, Rick and I will all be running and Candy and the kids will hold our gear and enjoy the festivities until after the run. Tradition says we then go out to lunch together.

My goal for this race is to simply finish. As I said above, I don't feel real ready - I know I probably won't be as fast - but I also know I can go the distance!

You'll notice that I added another run after this one. The Allen Eagle 5K. This is to support the Allen Foundation of schools which benefits students and teachers of the school district I teach in. They give scholarships to both students and teachers, as well as grants to teachers to help with the expenses of teaching... A wonderful organization and one that I continue to support! Rick will be running with me too, and my goal in this one is (of course) a sub 30 minute time. It is chip timed this time, so a good possibility for me to be successful and show it!

That's all for now - I'll post again after the race!

We're Still At It

Yes we are....we are still running several times a week. We did have a little break last weekend, but we were right back on the treadmill last night! Now it is VERY crowded right now at the gym - all those New Year's resolutions - so we decided that we would run for 30 minutes and then determine what we needed to do after that.

I've been feeling pretty good running for a full hour and completing about 6 miles in right around 62 minutes...so I decided that last night I would challenge myself. I haven't run a decent time for a 5K distance since last May. I've really been struggling with this. I honestly beleive it is because I've been really trying to add distance and make a longer distance feel really good and keep a steady pace. I've also been working on slight negative splits on those longer distances which means I need to run the first few miles at a little slower pace. Anyway - back to my challenge. I WAS going to complete this 5K in under 30 minutes! Darn it! I WAS!!! Off I went.

I started out a little slow - warming up...then I saw Rick ramp his speed up to a 10 minute mile and I knew it was time to speed it up if I was going to make my challenge to myself. I started running some intervals at 6.0 for 400 meters, then 6.2 for 400 meters, then 6.0, then 6.5 and reapeating that. When all was said and done I had completed the entire 3.1 miles in 29:53!!! My overall finish was 3.27 miles in 32 minutes....I was elated!!!

After a quick "potty" break we looked around and there were still a few treadmills available so we decided to try another 30 minutes. As you can imagine my legs were pretty much shot, so I did the "run/walk" thing. Of course THAT is what is showing on my mini....not my beautiful sub 30 minute 5K...THAT's why I had to TELL you about it!!!

Of course ALL that mileage was added to my challenge miles - I'm now up to over 50 miles for the month and the 75 miles looks like it might just happen! After all, I still have 9 more days and I only need about 20 more miles!!!

Now, Rick and I have joined the DRC (Dallas Running Club) and one of our first races is coming up on 1/31. We decided to do the 5K instead of the 15K since it is pretty close to our first 1/2 marathon of the year. I'm hoping that I can finish that one as well as I did on the treadmill...problem is the sidewalk doesn't require me to keep moving my feet at a certain pace to remain standing, so unfortunately I tend to slow down more when I get tired, LOL....I'll let you know how that goes!!!

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!

And Still I Run

I had no idea that running could be so habit forming! As you know I got up early on Thanksgiving Day along with about 30,000 others to run the Turkey Trot. (Just in case you are wondering - this is what it is like to start with 30,000 runners.)


After the race we came on home and got ready for the kids to come over. They all showed up about 3:00 and we ate our Thanksgiving meal of Honey Baked Ham and Turkey with most of the fixin's at about 5:00. Everyone was in high spirits and we had a great time.

Yesterday Rick and I just kind of rested up. Ran a few errands and such - but when it came time to work out I chose to run intervals! Did you get that? I CHOSE to run intervals. I'm going to try to break the 30 minute barrier (well, it is a barrier for ME anyway) at the Rudolph Run next Saturday, so I ran like the wind on the treadmill last night. Today I'll be doing the weight training. We'll see how everything goes.

Better "run", we have places to go and things to do...and I still have to run :)

Slugdom. Fun? - NOT

One would think that once a half marathon is completed you would be on a runner's high. Such is NOT the case! I finished the race, and yes, I was on a high for a day or so...wore the nice shiny medal and the shirt to school for my kids to see. They follow my "racing career" and ask every Friday if I'm racing that weekend. They are BIG supporters! They love to see the medals that hang on the wall behind my desk. I think they can't believe someone so old can still run!

Anyway...I was excited about the race for those first few days and then, as usual, life got in the way once more. We've had a bizzare few weeks here. Between my school schedule and Rick's schedule at work we haven't been able to run like we were just before the race. Rick messed up his knee during the race. We don't know if it was the new shoes he got or the hillier than expected course, all we know is it messed it up pretty good. We didn't get to run at all that week after the race, which is probably a good thing, because our research shows you should take some time off after - although we had been doing the distance every other week and running between all along. We got up early last Sunday morning to go run and the plan was to go to church right after we showered, etc. Well, you know what they say about those best laid plans, right? Just as we started running I felt a "pop" in my ankle - no biggie, I thought... I've done that a million times and I just keep running and it relaxes and I'm fine. Well - this time at about the 5 mile mark it wasn't fine! My ankle was really hurting - Rick's knee was killing him and we ended up walking the last 4 miles! And this after I finally did my 5K distance in under 30 minutes! We were really bummed. It took us over an hour and 45 minutes to get around the lake so we called Candy and let her know we weren't going to make it to church, but we stopped by and dropped off what we were taking and then came home and hobbled around like a couple of "old folks" for the rest of the day!

We haven't run since. Well, I did run last night - a short run for me, but it was a run. It didn't feel as good as it did before the DRC Half - but I'm sure it'll come back quick. Perhaps part of this feeling of "sluggishness" is simply being so sad that we aren't in San Antonio this weekend. It is really a downer that Rick is working this entire weekend - and I have to go into school to finish this six weeks grades as well. We were both really looking forward to running the inaugural race in San Antonio and I think it simply adds to the "blues" we were already feeling. Just to make sure we didn't continue to be slugs I signed us up for the Cowtown Half this coming February. It will give us something to keep working towards in the cold months of December and January! (Although I'm going to be looking for a January Race too!) We are also looking at the Capital 10K in March...I'll keep you posted on that!

I think I'll go have a cuppa coffee now...and return to the land of slugdom for just a little longer. I'll probably run a 5K tonight just to make sure I still can and to keep from sinking too deep in the slug pool! Keep safe and keep running!

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......

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!!!!

Beating your time from last week ~ Priceless

OK...it is getting kinda scary around here. I'm starting to do things like track my pace...compare my splits...try to beat the time I did last week....think about speeding up...work on hills...What is going on?!? Is this some weird disease? I think it might be the disease called RUNNING!

We went back out to White Rock Lake again today. I was really tired. I didn't sleep as well last night, and we certainly weren't as well prepared this week as we were last week. We actually hit the snooze once! By the time we both got ready and got on the road it was already 5:30 instead of 5:00, so we had lost a half hour of cool time.

We started our run at about 6:00. There was more wind this week and the temp was in the mid-80's. There were also a TON of gnats out for the first couple of miles! GROSS!

My main goal this week was to improve on my 11:00 mile goal from the week before, so I set myself up to try to keep at a 10:45 pace. I think if I can just inch it up from week to week I will have to keep improving, right? DH took off pretty quickly, and I did a fair job of keeping up with him for the first couple of miles. But I started to worry about dying at the end so I slowed my pace a little. Now, for those that don't know - DH is 6'6" and I am 5"5 (if I stretch a little, lol) so my stride just isn't quite as long as his normally...I have to stretch it out to stay with him!

I checked our time at about the 5K mark and we were doing OK...about 33:05. Not good if all we were running was a 5K, but pretty good when you are doing 9 miles! I checked again at the 10K mark hoping that we would be a little under our time of 1:07:45 from the week before. There it was! 1:06:09, we had shave off a minute and a half! We were doing better!

I grinned at DH and told him we only had 3 more miles to go. Once again my goal was to simply beat our time from last week of 1:39:28. I was again trailing DH, but holding my own...specially after I thought I was going to have to stop and walk around mile 7. I just tried really hard to keep him in sight. He finished and kind of looped around and came back to get me. (He really didn't have to come back very far at all.) He helped me pick up the pace to finish strong and I stopped the Garmin at 1:37:37. A full 1:51 faster than last week. That works out to 48:06 for the first 4.55 miles, and 49:31 for the last 4.55 miles...pretty consistent. Now I'll have to start working on a negative split!

I did notice a few more things this week as well. This week we went forwards around the lake as opposed to going backwards like we did last week. Last week I was amazed at the split for Mile 5 ~ a 10:38 time. Well, this week I found out why...It was almost all downhill! The very last part of that mile, going that direction, is the spillway which is a pretty steep climb. This week we had the steep drop at the beginning of that mile, then the LONG climb for the last part of the mile...and we still did it in 10:26! I guess I did learn something from those hills last week. I'm anxious to get back out there next week and see if I can improve that mile split even more!

I do seem to be getting much quicker on the hills but the flats sometimes drag me down. I'm very glad I have the Garmin, it really keeps me focused. I did feel my toe swelling about mile 5 but toughed it out. By the time I got to the car I had a blister that had popped. This new one is on my fourth toe on my right foot. I think DH and I are going to our favorite running store today to check and see if they can recommend some socks for me so I can stop this toe damage before it gets any uglier!

Next week...goal 10:35 splits (at least 3 - 4 of them!!!)

Tough Enough

Yesterday was our LCWO...I knew we were going to run for about an hour, so I set a mini goal for myself...5 miles. I wasn't going to speed through this one. I learned last Sunday that my "comfortable pace" is about 11:00 minute miles so 5 miles should have been WAY doable.

We started running on the treadmill...set for 60 minutes...and I was trying a 5.7 pace (not 5.7 minutes, but 5.7 mph :) ... I ran that for about a mile (10:35) and then dropped to a 5.6 pace. I stayed there...about 2 miles in I wanted to walk soooooo bad. I had to really kick myself mentally...

OK, you KNOW you can run a 5K without stopping... There is NO excuse for you to be walking before you get to 3.1 miles girl, so just kick it and put one foot in front of the other and GO! At 3.1 miles again I wanted to just stop and walk, but I told myself that I could at least go for 4 miles...by the time I had done the 4 miles I convinced myself that there just wasn't that much more time - I should just gut it out and finish.

I did! I ran the entire hour, 5.75 miles... not the best I've ever done, but the first time I've been mentally tough enough to talk myself through the run. That was a major mental victory for me and I'm hoping that it will help me through some of the early morning, or hot runs I have coming up...and if I can continue that mental toughness I know it will come in handy for some of my races I have coming up too!

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?

Hmmm, am I a REAL runner now?!?

I'm trying to decide if losing your toenails defines you as a real runner! In a previous post I mentioned that after my 9 mile run my two middle toes were swollen and turning black and blue under the nails with blisters at the end of each toe. Yesterday I was sitting at the computer and bumped my foot. I reached down to massage my aching toes and one of my toenails came completely off - the toe right next to my big toe! So now I have 1 toenail off and two black toenails....quite attractive, NOT! I've just about decided that this could be a break even proposition....the extra money I'm spending on good running shoes and bandaids will be recouped because I will not pay for a pedicure when I only have 6 toenails! I'll probably save money by wearing tennis shoes all the time too, no need to buy flip flops or pretty sandles to show off your pretty toes either, LOL!

Tonight I learned a hard lesson about hydration. I spent the day at my DD's (Dear Daughter's) babysitting my grandson while she and the girls went to Vacation Bible School. We went to lunch and then when we got back to her house we were looking at her homeschool curriculum until my DH called and told me it was time to pick him up from work...we had totally lost track of time! I didn't drink any water at all all day. DH and I went straight to the gym and hit the treadmill...I died at 2 miles...and I was doing so good too...9:50 pace - feeling pretty good...but at two miles I couldn't breathe and my legs were starting to cramp up, because we hadn't stopped anywhere I had no bottled water and I was dry, dry, dry. I ended up walking and running to finish out my 45 minutes (47 with cooldown) and could only manage 4.51 miles. Before I run on Sunday I will for sure and certain hydrate well before the run and hydrate during the run and hydrate after the run. Lesson learned!