Tag: miles

Training Win?

You know summer has arrived and it’s hot outside when you are the only person outside. I don’t just mean outside running, last week on a few of my runs I was the only person outside period. No one in their front yards, no one in backyards and no kids playing. And with the town/ state on water restriction, no lovely sprinklers to cool off with. I know hotter temps are coming so I figure I may as well get used to it. I love the heat but I am not adjusting as well this year. Maybe I’m getting older? 😬. Or three years working in a town that averages 30-40 degrees cooler a day is just confusing my system. Who knows, but I did complete my first week of training last week.

Monday–

Rest day. I wanted to run but the plan said rest. Still I packed my running stuff for after work. My stomach is usually a little iffy on Mondays (too many carbs on the weekend) and this day was no different. Since I needed to pick up a prescription after work and there was no way I could run then make it to the pharmacy, I decided to take the rest day. Halfway there it dawned on me that I could have changed at work, picked up the prescription then run in home town. Duh. I briefly considered changing in the Target bathroom but hell no, I’ve seen porta-a-potties cleaner than that place.

Tuesday-

This was supposed to be a 40 minute workout with pace intervals in the middle. The first kink in the plans was that Community BBQ nights started at the lake park where I like to do my speed work. Everywhere else is hilly or on busy streets. I avoid the park during the BBQ nights, no need to run around 100+ people having a party. I headed towards hometown knowing it was hot. It was 94 when I parked my car and that was with a pretty good wind. I reassessed the pace workout to an easy 40 min. I felt like I was crawling. I’ve noticed that it’s taking me longer to warm up during these hot runs. I usually walk for 5 minutes, the last few runs have been 10 minute walks. Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Ugh. 3.55 miles in 40 minutes.

Wednesday–

Yeah, short- hot panic fest. But we’ve talked about that already. 2.31 miles in 30 minutes.

Thursday-

I was supposed to have a meeting about a race so it was a planned rest day. The meeting was at the high school and my mother had tennis practice so we planned to meet for dinner after. However, the other party did not show up so after walking around the school wondering if I had the wrong meeting place, I waited for her in the front of the school in the shade. A nice janitor told me I shouldn’t have waited that long. 🙂 I told him I was now waiting for my mother and at least the shade was cooler than sitting in my car. But yes I was the one sitting out front like a sad puppy. Oh, high school- I don’t miss you. I mostly typed last Thursday’s blog post on my phone and took a cranky selfie. So it was moderately productive. Then I drowned my irritation in Mexican food. #sorryatkins

Friday-

I got to come in later than my new normal of 7:30 and I briefly considered running with that extra hour of sleep but nah, I hit snooze. Work was a usual crazy Friday and once off I headed home. I was tired, it had been a long week but for some reason that “motivational” quote popped into my head.

I made it home by 7, changed and was out the door 20 minutes later. Say what?! My stomach was cranky, partially due to the previous nights indulgence and the cookies on Friday, and I had been in high-heeled boots all day and I knew it was going to be less than pretty. But even with all that it was awesome. It was a good way to end the week and I was glad to see that there wasn’t any residual issues from Wednesday. 3.75 miles – 40 minutes.

Saturday-

Turns out running the previous night was a good thing. Saturday started with work followed by the usual errands. I try to do all my shopping on Saturday. Then the family headed down to SLO for an early Father’s Day Dinner at Olive Garden. I mean early, we were there by 4. I may have indulged in too many bread sticks. Oops, #sorryatkinsagain. It’s been 3 months since I’ve eaten pasta and I really don’t miss it. Luckily my usual go-to at Olive Garden is their Garlic Rosemary Chicken. So yummy. Dinner was followed up with frozen yogurt for desert. My poor stomach but it was all so yummy. 🙂 I pushed my long run to Sunday.

Sunday-

The plan called for a 50 minute long run. Ummm, that’s not long. I realize it’s only week 1 of 17 and most half marathon plans are 12 weeks but still. I wanted some structure to my summer runs so I picked 17 weeks. But, yeah, those 50 minutes kicked my ass. I actually headed out around 10am since I knew it was going to be hot. It was already in the 80’s. I huffed and puffed my way through 5 miles in 56 minutes. Yes miles 1 and 2 had times where I met up with my mom and the puppy and walked more but what was with the other 3? I have to figure out this heat thing or I am never breaking 2. I did like having the run done earlier though.

So, week one done. Bring on week 2. And maybe some speed? *sorry about the random picture sizes, I am having troubles figuring out Dropbox. 😦

How was your weekend? And Father’s Day?

How long do you usually train for a half marathon?

What do you consider a long run?

Finally

Is Sunday already over? Boo. Weekends need to be 3 days long, they really do. EDIT- read this as if I posted Sunday evening- I was having internet issues- and then WordPress erased half of it- grrrr.

I finished the week out with a short 4 mile run on Sunday afternoon. I think I am finally ready for this lackadaisical approach to training to go away. Getting ready for City to the Sea starts tomorrow. I will probably stick to the 3x a week plan until mid July. By then we should be fully staffed and my hours can get a little shorter. Fingers crossed. But going forward I plan to have my runs be something of substance rather than just phoning it in. Speaking of substance, I had hoped that Sunday’s run would be between 6-8 miles but I held off too long. I headed out late afternoon when it was close to 90. Oops. I also didn’t have enough time as I had Sunday dinner to get to. Another reason I have been trying to rearrange my long run days. The run was warm but not too bad. I walked the first 10 minutes though, it took awhile to get my head and legs into it. 😬. After that I averaged a 10:30 pace which for the temp and it only being my second run in that warmth, I say is pretty good. Heat and slow pace aside, this run felt good. I was dripping in sweat by the end but smiling. It was the first run in a month where I was just happy to be running. Yay! And these might have helped too- I decided to buy another pair of 17’s. I know they are being phased out but I figured it made more sense than running in shoes that made my feet cranky. Yes, I still felt the odd little niggles but overall they felt like slippers on my feet. 😃 Truthfully, I didn’t even try them on the store, I just told them my size and paid. The Warehouse did let me know that they have about 100 in my size so I might be able to get another pair in a few months. If only I had unlimited funds and a place to store them, I would seriously stock up right now!! Orange wasn’t my first choice but it grew on me. I think I was obnoxiously bright when I ran today- In non running news- Friday was a sad day at work. My fish died!! I always greet him in the morning and my greeting turned into a shriek! I was sad and didn’t know what to do. 😢 Customers asked where he was throughout the day and we had to tell them the sad news. He had been a little under the weather for awhile but I was hoping he would pull through.

Saturday saw a family tradition when we went to see Jurassic World. I really liked it, my brother was meh about it. My mother liked it even though she made fun of parts of it too. This also meant I decimated a movie popcorn but I was ok with that. I also realized that I can no longer tolerate candy. I was on such a sugar high, I felt ill. Score one for Atkins. I also had a similar revelation to pizza last week, boo.

I am finally eager to get back to training. I really would like to break 2:00 in a half this year. In order to do that, I have to put the work in first. This also means that I am reconsidering my July race. I keep going back and forth about what to do. But that’s for another post. I may need your help. 🙂 I also misplaced my training so I am trying an app this time.

How was your weekend?

What are you training for? Do you train during the summer or just run?

Ever had a fish? How do you take care of them?!

Cold and Windy

California is confused. The weather has been cold and windy for a month. It’s May and it’s California, what gives!? I have run in pants and long sleeves more in May than I did all “winter” long. Plus I put away all my “winter” clothing except for 2 pairs ofcapris so I have to keep washing them. Grrr. It was cold, windy and rainy tonight so I decided to stick to my original running schedule instead of trying the new one again. I am so over the wind. Wind aside, I did have a couple of pretty good runs this week.

I headed out Monday after work to get started on the whole 3x weekday running. Running on Monday seems so much harder but it wasn’t as rough as it was last week. I headed to the lake with my new shoes to get in some easy miles. You’d think the cold would make the gnats less annoying but no such luck. Every third mile or so, I ran with my arms flailing around my face trying to keep them away. But no such luck, again. After finishing my run, 3.5 miles at 10:04 pace, I stopped to stretch and take a pic or 2. I tried to get a selfie showing that I was actually wearing a race shirt- Surf City, long sleeves for the win!- but I failed. However I noticed a speck on my face later. I zoomed in and there was a gnat stuck to my sweaty forehead- gross!!!Sometimes I have to work on Saturday and when I do, I usually get a half day during the week. I love half days. 🙂 To me they seem like an invitation to run more miles. Sweet! I had a half day on Tuesday and I was looking forward to at least 6 miles after work. Thanks to a training meeting in my hometown that went 3.5 hours, I didn’t even have to drive to work town so I had even more time to run. However, my stomach laughed at my plans and I eventually gave up trying. I felt like it was a waste of a half day. 😦 But I did get some laundry done and took a small nap.

Work ran late on Wednesday (it started!) and then I spent 10 minutes looking for myFitbit. When I was changing into my running gear I realized that it had fallen out of my sock at some point during the day. Crap! Luckily I found it by the front door. I headed to the river path hoping for less wind. Ha! Luckily I found a headband in my car to cover my ears. I can’t stand cold ears.

I look kind of scary in a headband. :) — I look kind of scary in a headband. 🙂

I spent the first mile trying to talk myself out of running. I was cold, tired and my stomach hurt. And apparently feeling very whiny. 🙂 But I trucked on telling myself to get over it. I kept my watch covered with my sleeves since I really didn’t have a pace goal, my only goal was to finish 4 miles. I walked when I needed to and did pause for a break at one point for my stomach. Overall the run felt comfortably hard and I felt that was more due to the wind than the actual running. Then I checked my splits.

Say what?! My last mile came in at 8:15 and I didn’t feel like throwing up? My fastest mile since high school was 8:05, set last fall in broken down shoes, running in a straight shot, going downhill. I thought I was going lose my cookies after that mile. So how did 8:15 seem fairly comfortable? Still mostly downhill, but across 3 intersections and a couple of streets. Huh? How did I do that? Actually the last 3 miles were pretty speedy and didn’t feel horrible. Sweet! Can I do it again though?

As exciting as that last mile was, I was also very happy that I did not have to deal with any gnats. 🙂

Happy Friday!!! How was your week?

What’s the weather like where you are at?

Who is racing this weekend? Good luck Charissa, Jessica, Molly and Hanna! Did I miss anyone?

Adios April- Recap

May Day!!!! I am in total denial that tomorrow is May Day. How does this keep happening?

April, while all over the place, was a pretty dang good month. So, here we go-

Races-

Firehouse 5K

SLO Half Marathon

I wish that my miles were higher but with the dietary changes during the month, I am still pretty happy with that number. The first couple of weeks were a little rough. A full post on what changes I made… or was supposed to make will be up this weekend. I still feel proud of how I handled everything thrown at me during me SLO. I feel like using an actual training plan and following through 85% of the time gave me the confidence I needed in myself. The last half of last year kind of kicked my pride and confidence in the gut. I know I can and will break 2 and when it happens, it happens. 🙂 Plus those hills at SLO didn’t seem very big this year. 🙂

My body seems confused this week. SLO was my last big race for a while and though it’s only been a few days, I feel a little lost. I am sure the Slacker in me will kick in sooner or later and embrace the laziness but this week I just wanted to run. Monday, I was sore from the fall. My legs felt great after the race but my knees hurt and I suddenly knew how hard I had landed on my right shoulder so I rested. I had Monday and Tuesday off and I indulged by being lazy. On Tuesday, I set out for a slow recovery jog. Ha ha! 3.5 miles in 47:51. It was in the high 80’s and I loved it. I wore my new Wave Inspires since I am still trying to break them in. I just can’t, I’ve never met a pair of Mizuno’s that I didn’t like but these are leaning towards hate. They still feel huge and I can feel the insole on the inside of my right foot. I’ve tried moving it around but no luck so far. A coworker described it perfectly- it’s like when you are wearing boots and short socks and your sock keeps slipping down inside the shoe. I finally just gave up and walked most of it. I figured I didn’t make it through 4 months of training and 5 races to hurt myself on a short recovery jog. I am planning on trying the shoes one more time but I am afraid that we may have to break up. 😦

Today’s run was a farce. My head is in the game but my body is not. I did one lap of the lake. One lap. 1.2 miles. And the Garmin registered it short so it doesn’t even show as that long. My mother called part way through the lap asking if I wanted to meet her and a tennis player at Chipotle. It didn’t take too much convincing. So, that brought me to 79.3 miles for the month. Yes, a tiny part of me considered running up and down my driveway to hit 80 but I didn’t.

On to May. I have decided to pass on one of the 10k’s but I would like to up my training. I want to bring my base mileage up so that I when I start training for fall races, I feel stronger. Also with temps hitting the 90’s again, I would like to transition to running 3x a week after work and a long run on the weekends. That would mean a little less heat and sun exposure, plus an entire weekend day off. That sounds kind of nice. 🙂 Or who knows, this could be the start of me transitioning to running 5x a week. Ok, let’s not get that crazy yet… I’m still a Slacker. I also want to get back out on the trails, I miss them. I should also add cross training. Or at least try.

Oh and I finally figured out what to do with my medals!! –Non running goals for May are a little up in the air. I would like to read more, and hang out with friends. There are some movie nights coming up too. I need to focus on the diet a little more as well. And I really need to start that project for the craft swap I signed up for. Oops!! Running may also turn into stress relief because work is about get insane for a month or two.

How was your April? Goals/ plans for May?

Anyone racing this weekend?

Ever been unable to break in a pair of shoes? Any suggestions?

Happy Friday!!!

Dress Rehearsal

It was the weekend before SLO, so of course I made sure to get in all my workouts right? Ummm, no. I had good intentions but was feeling tired on Saturday. Even after sleeping in. I ended up helping my mom move a bunch of rocks. After multiple buckets of lifting rocks and carrying them, my hamstrings were cranky again. I decided that counted as cross training and was good or the day. 🙂

When too tired for miles, Mizuno make great yard work shoes.

Sunday though was going to happen. Last longish run before SLO. My training plan called for a 75 minute 2/3 progression run, each third progressively faster. On race days, 75 minutes could mean 8 miles, however on long run days, that would be more like 7. Having not run on Saturday, I was internally hoping for 9 at an easy pace. Since I know the likelihood of breaking 2:00 this weekend is small, I was fine with longer, slower miles.

I was a little sore from the rocks, oops, so I headed to the lake path for a flat surface. I headed out before lunch!! Who am I? My mom came with me, she was going to walk laps of the lake while I was running. I walked my usual warm up and just got to running. I didn’t feel up to the 2/3 plan but I thought maybe I could run the first have around 10:45 and the last half around 10:00. That sounded like a solid plan to me. That’s what I thought I could do, I was wrong. But in a good way for once! I didn’t feel like I was moving faster but according to my splits I was. I’m not sure how I hit those when I was feeling super tired but no complaints from me! Mile 6 was a little slower as I had run into my mother again and walked a bit with her. At that point, she was planning on only one more lap and I was torn between 2 or 3 more miles. It was a warmer day than planned so I decided to be smart and call it at 8 miles. It was in the 70’s by the time we were done. Last longish run done! Bring on the taper- oh wait, my plan doesn’t have one!It’s crunch time for the race now, so I set out on Sunday in a potential race day outfit. I had purchased a new skirt at Lululemon the week before so I wanted to test it out. SLO has a Lululemon now, well kind of, it’s only open 3 days a week, and my first time there cost me some money. I love their shorts so I bought a new pair and a skirt. Oops! I think I am a skirt fan now. If I could have an unlimited budget at Skirt Sports and Lulu, that would be awesome. Well, there and Mizuno too. 🙂 Endless shoes and skirts!!

I also hope it is partly the shade. :) — I also hope it is partly the shade. 🙂

Over all the outfit worked well. I am still not sold on the shirt and I will be wearing full compression socks but the skirt is a go. It turned out to be super comfy for 8 miles and that was without any Body Glide. I figured that was the only way to figure where the hot spots might be. 🙂 Since my mom was with me, I asked her to take a pic. I think another goal of 2015 is to finally get a decent race pic. Seriously, the pics from Surf City and Wine Country were so bad. So bad. Actually breaking 2:00 might be easier than a good race pic. Ha! My sock tan makes me laugh. I don’t wear full compression socks that often, just long runs and races but check that out!

Does moving rocks count as cross training?

What do you like to race in?

Do you take good pictures?