Category: Run!

Low Tide + Running= Squishy shoes

Rock to Pier 10K

So I set out for this race this morning feeling like I usually do; a little green around the gills. Seriously, I should be past the nervousness by now. I didn’t even have a huge goal set for this race. Today’s goal was just to finish. I was really nervous about the sand, having never run on the beach, I was kind of freaking out. Also they said that the race was going to be a wave start, I had never done that before.

It didn’t help that even though we left with plenty of time we made it to the start line like 30 seconds before the gun. I wasn’t even in the chute when the starting gun went off, but luckily neither were another couple hundred people. Luckily it’s all based on your chip time, :). And as for wave starts, there were no pretty colored flags waving anywhere, so maybe next time.

The first hundred or so yards of the race were across the soft sand to get to hard pack exposed by low tide. I thought it was going to suck my shoes off, hehe. Once you got to the hard pack, it was so much easier. And a little softer than pavement, nice!! So then you just got to run along with the waves coming in at your left and making you sure you dodged clumps of seaweed or the random unattended fishing rod. Or the people who were still trying to surf through this crowd of runners.

Other than the overcast sky, the weather was perfect, about 58. Of course, I felt cold before so started out in a long sleeve shirt over my tank. At mile 2, I wanted it gone, but it wasn’t until mile 4 that I was slowing down to walk. I shoved my water bottle in sports bra and tried to lose the shirt and get it tied around my waist as quick as possible. Still took too long, next time no long sleeves! Or maybe just my arm sleeves, easier to lose while running.

Since my goal wasn’t to push it,and with my recent ankle twinges, I just took my time and tried to maintain my pace without taking another walk break. So other than the wardrobe issue, I ran the whole race:). It was nice not stressing too much, and the change of scenery was awesome too. Seeing the pier come into view at mile 5 was a great feeling, finish lines are usually that visible from far away. That was also about the time that people running the half marathon were coming back our way. So you go from feeling like “yes I ran a race this morning!” to “oh they are running more than me, now I feel lazy”. Hehe, mood swings at mile 5.

At the finish line, we left behind the sand dollars and crabs, and water getting into your shoes to cross another stretch of soft sand. Even harder when your shoes (and socks) are wet! Crossed the finish line at 58.21, Nike said 56:47 but it was being glitchy, so now I just have to wait for the chip time to be released. I am happy with that finish:)

Met up with my race photographer (my mother) at the end, where she always relays her people observations from the finish line:). It’s great having support there for you.

So now I have run my race, had a nap (slacker!), CPR done for my shoes, I think it’s time to celebrate yesterday’s birthday!!!

Maybe not so easy…

Ok, this was supposed to be up last night, so read it like it’s still Thursday:) Stupid power outage!

So, Thursday is here and as I previously mentioned, it is a day that I usually choose to be a Slacker:0 I am not sure if it is the fact that I have a race in 2 days (eek!) or that yesterday’s run was slow enough it should be called a walk. So this morning I packed my running gear thinking I may do an easy 2 miles after work if it went well.

Work was crazy and halfway through the day; I felt it, a little twinge in my left ankle. Umm, no thank you. I haven’t even worn heels in 2 days, ugh. I figured I would hit the park and just take it easy see how it feels and go from there. On a side note, I finally figured out how to get to the good parking lotJ

So I start with a little walk before picking up the pace. I feel twinges for the first half mile or so, and then it settles down. Woo Hoo! The plan was to do 2 laps and quit. Well, I settled for 3 and almost beating my 5k PR. Umm what? How did that happen? Feeling good now, only to see how it feels tomorrow.

As much as I like this running path, there is one section that tests me every time. It’s the 50 yard dash while holding your breathJ. There is about a 50 yard section toward the back of the lake which reeks!!!! It smells like something died and quite frankly, I don’t want to investigate. It’s a true test of your determination, you don’t want to slow down, but you really don’t want to breathe either!!!

So tomorrow will definitely be rest day, plus it’s my birthday so what better reason to be a Slacker? After work that is.

Squats, strollers, and a mini horse!!!!

So, three days into the week and I have stuck to the plan!

Monday’s run turned out to be a little less than 3 miles:). It was over 90, yowza! So on to cross-training, hehe, of volleyball went really well. Played harder than usual, getting out of bed this morning was so hard. I was so sore; not used to that. I have played almost every Tuesday night for the last 5 years, think I would be used to it by now. I also decided to complete a one of those squat challenges for July. Its starts you out at 50 and hopefully at the end of the month, you can complete 250… ummm, what was I thinking? Oh mama, my legs are sore. And I still have another 25 to do today.

So tonight I leave work planning to meet a friend for our Wednesday run. We like to run this trail around the lake in a city park. The town is halfway between work and home for me, so perfect! Turns out we were both dragging tonight, so it was great that she brought her daughter in her jogging stroller. Got to test it out and go a little slower. Yeah, not as easy as it looks, for as much as they look so easy to push, you can totally feel the burn in your calves. They may have been way slower than normal but it was still 3.5 miles. Forward motion counts right?

One thing I like about this trail is that there are so many people. Quite a lot of them are walking dogs as well. There is the cutest Chihuahua with sunglasses that I have seen a few times too. Tonight was a new record, though. There were huskies, labs, daschunds, border colliesL, schnauzers, etc. Now most who know me, know that I tend to have interesting animal encounters when out running. I have had run-ins with possums, snakes, cats and there is a valid reason one of my friends husband calls me “ass-bite”. Tonight I got to add a new one to the list. There was a couple walking a mini-horse!!!! It was so stinking cute, way smaller that I had imagined. I so wanted a picture but the owners seemed a little stand-offish:(. Anyone else have any interesting animal encounters?

So here’s to feeling inspired enough to do a couple miles tomorrow after work, now onto 25 more squats.

The Slacker Way

So, yeah the 4^th of July planned run didn’t happen, the weatherman lied! Over 100 again, too hot even for the chair, couldn’t even be a Slacker the right way.

So a little bit about the Slacker way:

My goal is to run 3 times a week, cross train twice and have two rest days. In the beginning I stuck to the training plan really well. Then come January, I was offered a promotion in a different town and began commuting every day. The plan took a hit 😦 I managed to stick to the running 3 times a week but the cross training took the hardest hit. I had been riding a stationary bike twice a week as my cross training. It was helping my running; I felt that it helped with my breathing which in turn helped my pace. Then the slacker-ness set.

Over the past few months, my training has looked somewhat like this- Run Monday, Wednesday and one weekend day. I play in a volleyball league on Tuesdays so I was treating that as cross training (ha!). As for my runs, I would aim for one speed-work and one long run and the other would just fall in the middle. Shortest run would be around 3.5 and my long run around 5.5 when not training. My running has at least stayed on pace and I can see improvement in my times, so woo hoo for that!!!

This week after posting and reading what everyone else was posting, I just felt like more of a Slacker than usual. I ran on Tuesday and Wednesday plus volleyball on Tuesday but not following through with a run on the 4^th just made me sad, hehe. So Saturday afternoon in the middle of a migraine and the nausea that came with it, I was like what the heck, let’s hit the track.

I love the track, for me it’s faster than a treadmill (boring!) and it’s a good place to go when you are feeling a little crappy. So much easier it walk back to your car than 3 miles back to your house :). Plus, when I run the track my mother joins me to exercise as well. It’s perfect, she does her pace and I do mine. Also good to have someone there when you are feeling wobbly. So my goal was to out run my headache. I figured an easy 45 minute run would help, bring on those endorphins! Forgot that I have troubles with the Easy part when on the track, oops! But even though I pushed harder than I should have (not the best idea) I defeated the headache!!!

As a reward for the 4.5 miles, the weather cooperated enough to make the comfy chair comfy again, yeah!!!!

And on Sunday, I followed through and got back on the bike! 8 miles done, heck yeah!!!! Now, if I can just keep it up:)

Heat = Lazy Runner

So my neck of the woods has just come off of an excessive heat warning. Perfect for running, right?

Five days of temperatures above 110 makes it really easy to be a slacker runner. It was so unbearably hot that even my comfy chair was a no go. Felt like a dang sauna for your backside, ugh. To make matters worse, I got sick last Friday. Seriously, who gets the flu in the summer? My body couldn’t decide if it was shivering with the chills or melting from the heat.

After the lovely knockout of heat and flu, I was forced to run even less than a slacker like me likes to. Being a commuter as well as inherently lazy makes running in the morning and avoiding the heat highly unlikely for me, I like sleep! With the drop in training and lingering icky feeling, I was forced to postpone a race that I had planned to complete on July 4^th. This totally bites as I was hoping for a new 5k PR there:(. I know the course really well and was very optimistic. Cue inner scream.

I did manage to go for a run this evening after work; if 2.5 miles counts as a run. Since I couldn’t do the race tomorrow, I did the course tonight instead. Turned out to be a hotter 86 than I felt ready for. It was almost 7:00 PM for crying out loud. I actually maintained a decent pace throughout the run but just felt so sluggish. I have a 10k a week from Saturday so I need to get it in gear! Less slacker, more of a runner!

Tomorrow is actually supposed to be below 100, so I am aiming for a good 5 mile run at the local track. Here’s to hoping for a good pace, good overall run followed by some good 4^th of July fun!

And maybe after all that, I can get back to the comfy chair.

Happy 4^th of July!!