| Location: Fort Worth,TX,USA Member Since: Jul 15, 2010 Gender: Female Goal Type: Age Division Winner Running Accomplishments: I started running in 2008 while I was a stay-at-home-mom. I discovered this blog in July 2010 and followed the advice from the blog to gradually improve my distance/speed. I achieved various PR's in 2010/2011. I went back to work part-time in 2012-2015 and switched to mostly running trail runs. When I got prego with my third child in 2016, I stopped running and started work full-time. After a 7 year hiatus, I returned to running in 2022. I have alot of work to do to get back in shape, but looking forward to the challenge!
P.R.'s
5K - 21:15 on 11/25/10 (6:50 pace) Overall Female Winner! (local Fort Worth race)
10K - 45:08 on 4/16/11 (7:17 pace)
15K - 1:11:17 on 11/20/10 (7:39 pace)
10 Mile Race - 1:14:28 on 2/12/11 (7:26 pace)
Half Marathon - 1:35:21 on 10/15/11 (7:17 pace) and 1:35:48 on 3/27/11 -Dallas Rock 'n Roll, Qualified for NYC Marathon with this race!
Marathon - 3:35:10 on 11/14/10 (8:12 pace) - Fort Worth Marathon. Qualified for Boston with this race!
NYC Marathon 2014 - 4 hours, 9 minutes - about 9:30 pace. Best race ever! So much fun and energy! Short-Term Running Goals: - Gradually increase mileage
- Gradually increase speed
- Get my body back in shape - add muscles, lose excess fat
- Run a half-marathon in Fall 2022 Long-Term Running Goals: - Stay injury free
- Become age division winner again!
- Stay in the habit of running for as long as I possibly can
- Travel to run fun trail runs across the country
Personal: Married Mom to three kids - Jake (14), Ryan (12) and Avery (5) - and two dogs. Work in Procurement for the Aerospace Industry. |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 749.60 | 144.25 | 278.01 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 1174.86 |
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| Brook's Ghost Miles: 159.20 | Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 144.70 | Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 43.60 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 229.00 | Nap Time: 6.50 | Total Sleep Time: 235.50 | Weight: 115.85 | |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
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Today is 6 weeks to the day after c-section with Ryan. Ran 2.5 miles total. Could only go .8 miles before walk break. Took 3 walk breaks total. Avg pace = 11:47 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
| 2.5 miles at a 11:44 pace. Stopped only once at the 2 mile mark. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
| 2.5 miles at 12:06 pace. Ran 1 mile without stop, stopped twice. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.20 |
| 3.2 miles without stopping at all... 35:40 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 135.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles without stopping ... 12:05 pace. In my defense, there are lots of hills around my neighborhood. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 miles at gym |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.70 |
| 10:45 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.75 |
| 3.75 miles non-stop at 11:00 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles at 10:00 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
| 8 miles at 10:34 pace. Felt great! Cool weather morning. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
| 3.1 at 10:34 pace. Beginning to feel shin split pains |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles at 10:26 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.30 |
| 3.3 miles at 10:02 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles at 9:19 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.70 |
| 4.7 miles while pushing Jake. HOT afternoon. 12:00 pace avg... because I took a couple walk breaks. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
| 4 at 9:15 pace, 6 at 10:30 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.70 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles at 10:30 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 12.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.80 |
| 4.8 miles at 10:09 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.70 |
| 4.7 miles at 10:14 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 13.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.20 |
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13.2 miles. Mostly at 10:00 pace. Ran with some girls who took long walk breaks.
This is the day that I finally hit my pre-pregnancy goal weight of 122 pounds! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 122.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.50 |
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3.5 miles at 5pm when it was almost 100 degrees. Walk breaks. Got blisters. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles at 9:00 pace. 1 hour strength training workout afterwards. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles at 10:30 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Wounded Warrior Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 02:15:00 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 13.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.10 |
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Race started at 7:30 am. It was cloudy, humid, very hot. Sun came out later... it felt oppressively hot to me. Got major blood blisters on left foot. Right foot got regular blisters. Felt like crying last 2 miles but didn't stop running!
First 5 miles did a 9:00- 9:30 pace. Middle miles did 9:30 - 10:00 pace. Miles 10-12 did over 11:00 miles. Got faster last mile. Averaged 10:18 pace.
Really bad race overall... but I completed the goal I set for myself when baby was 2 weeks old. 3.5 months after giving birth, I ran a half marathon and I had lost ALL my baby weight. I'm pretty happy with that! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.50 |
| 7.5 miles at 10:00 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.20 |
| 4.2 miles at 10:10 pace |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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6:30 pm with group. 3 miles at an avg 8:50 pace. 100 degrees. HOT!
1 hour strength training workout afterwards |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
| 5:45 am at Trinity River. 7 miles at 10:00 pace. Finished strong - last half mile at 7:30 pace. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
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6:00 am at Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TX. Ran with Gilbert's Gazelle's!
5 miles at 8:40 - 9:20 pace with group going up several hills. Peeled off from group to get back on flat trails after 5 miles. This experience demonstrates that I need to add more hill workouts to my routine! They should be called Gilbert's Mountain Goats instead! Ran last 5 miles on trails at 9:45- 10:00 pace.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 8.00 |
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5:00 am 5 miles at 10:00 pace
6:30 pm 95 degrees 3 miles pushing Jake with my running group around Trinity River at 9:30 pace. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles at 10:17. Side stitches... don't know why? |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 11.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.00 |
| 11 miles at 10:00/pace. 6:30 am with group at Trinity. Felt great. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Flagpole 8K (5 Miles) 00:43:50, Place in age division: 1 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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5 mile race. Started out at about 8:30 pace. Stopped at 1.5 mile water station for less than a minute to swallow goo and quickly drink water. Continued at about 8:45 - 9:00 pace through several hills. Finished strong- beat out a guy I'd been following the whole race. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.50 | 0.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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6:30 pm with group. 100 degrees outside. Ran 3 miles. First 2.5 miles at 9:15 pace, but then I felt like I had a ton more energy so I ran last half mile at a 7:30 pace. Felt like I had more energy and could run longer but the strength training workout was next.
Strength training class for 1 hour. Core, legs, arms |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.20 |
| 5:30 am. Went the 5.2 route on streets around my house. Watch wasn't charged so I don't know pace. Started sluggish, finished strong. Felt great! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.30 |
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Awesome run! 5:30 am.
Ran 5.3 total. Avg 9:28 pace
Humid and cloudy
Carb loading the night before really works!! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 11.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.00 |
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Great run with my running group! 6:30 am at Trinity River. Very humid at first but then started raining second half of run and cooled me off.
Ran 11 miles total. First 2 miles I went about 10:15 but I felt like I had a ton more energy so I caught up to a faster group. Ran about 9:15 for miles 3-9. Then I felt like I still had more energy and with only 2 miles left I ran them in 8:15 each. Felt like I could've run another 3 miles but decided against it because I didn't want to push it and get hurt. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 miles pushing Jake. New running stroller pulls to the left... very annoying! I slipped on slime in the road and skinned knee. It was hot. Jake was screaming because weeds were too tall along this one section of sidewalk and were slapping him in the legs. Stopped a couple times. Pitiful, pitiful run. I don't even know if I should count it. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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6 miles at 5:30 am - avg 9:55/mile
First mile was at 11:00, miles 2-5 were between 9:30/10:00 pace, 6th mile was at 9:00 pace
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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6 miles at 5:30 am, averaged 9:55 mile.
Cramps! Finished strong... last mile was at 8:56 pace. Waking up early is working out great! Less hot outside. I'm figuring out some great routes to take around my house. Best of all, babies asleep so I don't feel guilty about my husband babysitting.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 6 miles. Forgot to charge my watch so I don't know how fast. Felt great though... I bet it was less than 10 minute a mile. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.80 |
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Milage Total: 6.8
Started at 5:15 am. Felt sluggish first mile going up a big hill but got faster every mile. Feeling stronger every day.
Splits:
11:20
10:21
10:20
10:13
10:10
9:34
9:02 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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Ran 8 miles at 6:30 this morning with my group. I'm so excited about this run because I felt so strong and I did so well. Averaged 9 minute pace, but the first two miles I was 10 minute pace... so I was in the 8's the majority of the run. I think increasing the milage this week really helped me get faster even though I pretty much kept my pace at 10 minutes all week. Also, I went to bed last night at 8:30 pm, so I think that helped.
The first two miles I hung with the 10 pace group. I like to do this as a warm-up. Then at the 2 mile water stop I peeled off with a girl who has a 3:33 marathon PR. She and I ran between 8:00 and 8:45 the remaining 6 miles. I was surprised because it wasn't that difficult for me. We talked most of the way. However, the last couple miles felt like a tempo to me where I could only get out a sentense here and there. I still felt like I could have kept running more when we finished.
Here are my splits according to my garmin. I don't ever stop the watch for water breaks or anything because I figure they won't stop the clock in a race either.
9:54 (stayed behind 10:00 pace leaders)
9:59 (stayed behind 10:00 pace leaders)
9:28 (including a water stop -maybe 25 seconds. Peeled off from pace group after that)
9:44 (including about 1 minute stop for goo and water)
8:43 (big long hill but held the pace)
8:45 (actually we were faster, but had to cross busy street which held us up about 10-15 sec)
8:47 (another busy street had to wait another 10 secs or more to cross)
8:04 (felt really effortless to speed up at the end)
GREAT RUN!!! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
| Ran 8 miles at 5:10 am. Just took it really easy. My left calf muscle ached a little while I was running. Didn't even look at my watch until I got back. Splits 11:16 10:19 10:25 10:09 9:53 9:49 9:44 8:52 |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 115.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
|
Ran 6 miles at 5:30 am. Since I've been increasing my milage these last couple weeks, most days I try to keep it easy. I've noticed that what feels "easy" seems to get faster as I run more and more. I just don't want to get injured as I ramp up my miles. This week I'm planning to run 40 miles. Last week I did 35. The week before 29. Prior to that I was ranging between 20-27 miles each week.
Splits
10:33
9:59
9:42
9:47
9:51
9:01
|
| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 116.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
|
Easy 6 miles at 5:30 am.
I was feeling a little achey this morning. I think the extra miles is making my muscles sore. My left leg especially. The calf and the hamstring... maybe the IT Band too... it's not bad pain, just kind of an ache. That left knee makes a popping noise every once in a while when I walk too.
Not sure if I should take a rest day tomorrow or run less miles tomorrow or just stick to the plan and keep running easy 6 milers every morning this week. Sasha's article on training mistakes says I should stick to the plan. Maybe I should and just try to run it slower.
Splits
10:36
10:05
10:12
9:52
9:55
9:05
|
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.60 |
|
My left leg was a little achey yesterday. I decided to take it slower than normal today but keep the plan to do 6 miles. I went a slightly different route though and it ended up being 5.6 miles. I averaged 10:26 a mile. I also went to bed at the same time as my 3 year old last night around 8 pm... so I got roughly 9 hours of sleep (minus all the times I woke up to readjust the sleeping position or give a bottle to my 5 month old).
There are several hills around my house where I've been running lately. Several steep ones of around .3 miles long and one long gradual big hill of .65 miles long around mile 3-4 of my 6 mile loop. Now keep in mind--> when I used the word "steep", this is relative to where I live! Ha, ha! I live in Fort Worth, TX. This is mostly just flat praire land here... but around my house there are some rolling hills... but I'm sure people who run in Austin, TX (hill country) or especially Colorado would just laugh at what I'm calling "steep"... Hey, for what I'm used to, it's challenging, ok! Ha, ha!
I used to drive to the Trinity River to run on the crushed limestone and generally flat path there... but that's a 15 minute drive each way. By running around my house and at 5 am, I can get in more miles, more days a week without getting a babysitter. It really works out.
It's just now that I think about it, the hills around here might be the reason my legs are sore. I haven't only been increasing my milage and frequency of running, but (by running around my house instead of by the river) I've been increasing the amount of hills I run. If I can just take it easy as I'm increasing my aerobic base (as to avoid an overuse injury), over time this is going to really going to help make me faster!
Splits
11:24
10:37
10:29
10:13
9:40
10:01 |
| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 114.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.20 |
| Started out at 7:30 this morning instead of 5:30 like usual. Much more humid and hot. Earlier this week I was having some muscle aches in my left leg which had me worried about my IT Band. Two years ago I had an IT Band injury which made me have to stop running for 2 months. I thought about not running as much as planned but instead I took it easy yesterday and I got 9 hours of sleep these last two nights in a row. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I felt great today. My legs were fine. I did 7.2 miles at a 9:47 avg pace. Thought about doing more but the sun was a beat down and I figured I save some energy for tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm running 12 miles with my group at the river. Tomorrow I'd like to see about running with the 10 min pace group for the first 2 miles and then speeding up to a 9:15 pace for the remainder of the run. If I have energy during the last two miles, I'll speed up and do a tempo 8:15 or so. We'll see... sometimes it all depends on who's there for me to run with. If there's no one around that is game for what I want to do, I may just end up with the 9 minute pace group the whole 12 miles. |
| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.00 |
|
Ran 11 miles with my group this morning. I thought we were going to run 12 but I misread the schedule. It was a good run. Alot of people weren't there today because they are running a race tonight. My running store, The Fort Worth Running Company hosts a 25k and 50K starting at midnight called El Scorcho. Would be fun, but I've got babies so I can never participate.
I ended up running with a pretty dang interesting woman for the first 8 miles. We averaged between 9:00 and 9:45 a mile. She is 65 years old! But I would have guessed she was in her 50's if she hadn't told me that! It took her a couple of miles of nonstop talking to explain to me all the sports activities she does during the week. Wow! She plays tennis, does weights, sprint track workouts, racquetball... she runs half and full marathons all the time. Her marathon PR was 3:20 something. She's run Boston and NY. Pretty cool lady! She also recently went on a missionary trip to Africa.
Then the last three miles I told her I wanted to speed up to a tempo run because I wanted to be able to say that on my FastRunningBlog! Ha, ha! Really, I said that!
So I caught up to this 22 year old girl who agreed to run 8:30 with me. We did 8:30 for two miles and 8:06 for the last mile (which included a big hill). Felt Great!
I felt strong the whole run. When I was running in the 9 minute miles I really felt held back. I honestly think I could have run 8:30 the whole thing and talked the whole time! On Saturdays I just have so much addreline, I run so much faster than normal. I look forward to it all week. A- I get to run with other people. B- I get to run at the scenic river. C- There's electrolites and water every 2 miles and on my normal daily runs I run without anything.
Splits
9:46
9:34 (included quick water stop)
9:39
9:47 (included water stop)
9:15
9:56
10:03 (included water stop)
9:04
8:55 (included water stop)
8:33
8:06 |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 miles this morning at 5:30 am. I woke up Sunday with a sore throat. I think I have a minor sinus infection. I didn't feel like getting up this morning but I convinced myself by saying I could go as slow as I wanted and I would only do 6 miles. I went really slow for the first 4 miles and then I just started feeling much better so I sped up and decided to run an extra 2 miles than I had planned.
Splits
11:31
10:35
10:28
10:28
10:03
10:01
9:59
9:12 |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
| 8 miles at 5:10 this morning. Took it slow and easy. I'm going to try to run 8 miles every morning this week and then 12 on Saturday. That will be 52 miles for the week, which is another increase from last week... so I'm just taking it nice and easy so I don't get an overuse injury. Kinda funny thing happened today... I always encounter alot of bugs as I pass through this park on my route. 1/3 of my morning runs I either get a bug in my mouth or my eye. So today I was running through it on my way out and I decided to keep my mouth closed... but then after a mile, I started getting a stitch in my side. I guess not opening my mouth affected my breathing. It took me another mile to get the stitch to go away. So on my way back home when I was going through the park again, I decided to just take my chances and breath normally. Of course, I get a bug in my mouth. Yuck! So it's either stitches in the side or bugs in the mouth. Or maybe.... hmmm, I wonder if other people saw me running with a surgical mask through the park if they would think I was weird. Splits 10:59 10:45 10:45 10:40 10:30 10:17 9:51 9:03 |
| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.50 |
|
6.5 miles at 5:30 am. Was planning on doing 8 again but I decided to cut run short and just take the final miles faster. Still have this minor sinus infection... feels like my sinuses are clogged. Legs felt great though.
Splits
11:23
10:22
10:05
9:43
9:20
9:18
8:09 (last 1/2 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 114.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 miles at 5:15 am. I didn't get much sleep. I've been going to bed at 8 pm with my 3 year old these last several nights. Yesterday he took a 3 hour nap and he wouldn't go to sleep at 8. I didn't get to sleep until 10. Then I woke up several times with the 5 month old. I had to change a diaper and give a bottle at 4:30 am so I was wide awake at that time and I considered skipping the run this morning to try to get more sleep.
What got me out of bed was thinking that through... It's not like "sleeping in" is truely an option for me. It would be very disruptive sleep that would ultimately end with me being jolted awake by either a crying 5 month old or a wimpering 3 year old with a poopy diaper. It really wouldn't satisfy my desire for more sleep... so I would end up starting my day resentful about not getting enough sleep and feeling guilty that I didn't run... Then I'd spend the whole day trying to arrange it so I could go run that evening. I would spend the whole day thinking about whether I felt like running in the heat.
OR I could decide not to wimp out and go run this morning my planned 8 miles. I would be back in time to make breakfast for everyone. I would wake up under my terms and after the run I could start my day feeling happy. I wouldn't have to worry about fitting any run in later in the day.
Funny! There was a time that I thought having 2 kids would be an impediment to me running... when actually it's what making me run more than I ever have.
Splits:
11:37
11:06
10:46
10:12
10:04
9:50
9:50
9:10 |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.00 |
|
Today's run was awesome!! It's runs like today that make me LOVE running! I ran 12 miles all between 8:00 and 8:45 pace (which is really fast for me). The route included a very steep hill. I plugged it into www.mapmyrun.com to see what the elevation was. It was about 1/2 mile long hill that went up 250 feet. The grade was 8%. It was a tough hill... But last year, I thought it was alot tougher. Today I did the mile that included that hill in 9:45. My legs felt strong the whole run. Even the hill didn't wear them out. I must say I am really impressed with myself. My best race before I got prego last year was a 20K (12.4 miles), in which I ran 8:34 per mile... today, I did almost as good as that and I felt great! I can't wait to see how I do at the half marathon in a couple weeks.
I did all this while running all by myself and without an ipod (it broke today)! There was no one running my pace in the group today. There were a couple girls doing 7:45 miles and a group of 4 guys who were running 7:00 or 7:30 miles... and then the next fastest was the 10 minute group. I was in between. I kept doing a slinky thing with the guys. They were taking longer at the water stops because there were 4 of them so I'd catch up with them there... then we'd start out again and I'd fall behind and catch up with them 2 miles later at the next water.
The advice I got from Sasha's article about increasing my daily miles and frequency has made a tremendous difference! I can't believe how much faster I am now. During the week I just run easy 6-8 milers everyday. Then I show up on Saturday long runs with my group and run faster and faster.
Splits:
8:41
8:52
8:50
8:40
8:29
8:45
9:45 (included the HUGE hill)
8:23
8:10
8:44
8:40
8:13 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
| 8 miles at 5:20 am. I took it slow today because I felt achey and low energy. I haven't been getting good sleep these last few nights. My 3 year old has been fighting his 8pm bedtime and keeping me up later than I want. My 5 month old has a cold and is waking up more frequently. My theory about muscles aching more when I get less than 8 hours sleep is holding true. Splits 11:21 10:23 10:35 10:19 10:25 10:36 10:25 9:31 |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 113.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 1.00 | 3.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.60 |
|
I got a new ipod yesterday because my old one broke. I stayed up later than I wanted putting together a playlist. I forgot to set my alarm. So I didn't get out the door until 6am this morning so I had less than an hour to run. After the first warmup mile, I did 3.6 miles at a little faster pace than normal... comfortably "hardish" but not as hard as I would have done a 5K.
Splits
10:32 warmup mile
9:17
9:08
8:59
8:22 last .6 mile |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 6 miles at 5:30 am. Got good sleep two days in a row. Theory about sleep and muscle aches is still holding true... whenever I get good sleep, my legs feel great. Just decided to run by how I felt today. I'm finding when I do that I start out slow as a warmup and just get faster with each mile. Splits 11:22 10:18 9:52 9:47 9:36 8:42 |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
First of all, FYI, in case anyone is interested... the high today here in Fort Worth, TX is 107 degrees. It's been over 104 all week. It's awful, awful hot!!! I run at 5 am when it's only a cool 85 degrees, thank goodness. Today was a GREAT RUN! Legs felt strong. I felt great the whole run. Just kept the pace comfortable. I'm thinking that my goal of running a 4 hour marathon may be realistic.
Some interesting things that happened this run:
- Every morning I pass an old man whose out walking. This morning he asked me how much I run when I passed (I was just finishing my 5th mile). I told him usually between 6-8 miles each morning. He told me I had great form. Made me feel good and I sped up after that.
- Yesterday it was still dark and I was running along the sidewalk dodging some low hanging tree branches when I heard a booming man's voice yell... it startled me especially when I felt a dog attack my leg... I looked down and saw a puppy boxer dog. My scream scared the dog away and the man apologized. Well, today... those tree branches were all cut so I didn't have to dodge them at all. I guess the man with the dog lived at that house and fixed them.
- While it was still dark outside, I saw 3 women exercise-walking along in the middle of a lane on a 4 lane road. I couldn't believe they'd do that. Seemed very dangerous. They weren't even walking against traffic so they could see cars coming... and when a car came driving down the lane they were on, they didn't even look behind them ...or move. They were spread out over the whole lane and they just seemed to assume cars would go around them. People are still half asleep at that time, it's dark, and who would expect to see 3 women in the middle of the road. I almost said something to them as I passed on the sidewalk but I didn't think they'd appreciate my input.
Splits
10:37
10:07
9:52
9:39
9:21
9:05
9:04
8:22 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
|
AWESOME RUN! I'm just getting faster and faster each week. I can't believe how much I'm improving! It's fun. I ran with a group of guys today. We averaged less than 8:30 a mile the whole way... but I didn't stop my watch at water stops so it messed up the time. The schedule had us running 12 miles but we cut the run short because it was 90 degrees and over 80% humidity. I think I coulda done the whole 12 but I was just following the group. The last mile I felt like I had way more energy left so I left the group and caught a guy in front of me and we sprinted the last part which was also uphill. Woo Hoo!
Splits
8:12
8:40
9:35 (time includes water stop)
8:26
9:21 (time includes water stop)
8:28
8:24
10:07 (time includes water stop)
9:08 (time includes water stop)
7:48 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 miles at 5:30 am. I was really tired this morning and didn't want to get up. Felt sluggish the whole run. The top of my left foot is hurting. I need new shoes. I didn't eat breakfast and I seriously missed not having any caffeine. It was just one of those days... I wouldn't let myself cut the run short but I compromised and allowed myself to go super slow. Consider this a super recovery run.
Splits
1131
1053
1024
1037
1034
1033
1030
1029 |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Woke up today at 5 am. Even though I went to bed at 8:30 last night, still feeling dead tired. I think about how sluggish I was yesterday, the left foot that was starting to hurt, the fact that I'm running a half marathon on Sunday... perhaps I should take a rest day today. I think I need to let my body recover more from the hard Saturday run. I slept an additional 2 hours and I still felt tired. I was really needing sleep! |
| Night Sleep Time: 10.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 10.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.40 |
|
6 miles at 5:30 am. The day of rest yesterday did my legs good. My hamstrings felt a little tight still but I could barely feel any pain in the top of my left foot. The problem I had this morning was that my chest felt tight and I felt like I couldn't get a deep breath.
Yesterday was kinda a stressful day with my 3 year old. I had anxiety all day. I figured it was because I didn't run yesterday that I felt like that... but then here this morning, my chest felt tight again. Weird. Could my heart be sore from the extra hard run on Saturday? hmmm... I mean it is a muscle, right? If it is, I'm going to consider it a good thing.... it'll be better by my race on Sunday... and it'll be stronger.
Splits
1107
1025
1004
952
951
942
927 (last .4 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
| 8 miles at 5:30 am. Got my mojo back. No pains to speak of. No chest tightness. I don't think I was eating enough calories... I found out I lost 5 pounds in less than a week... maybe I was dehydrated too. So I pretty much just ate all day yesterday and drank lots of water. Made a veg soup with every color of the rainbow, had a big fruit yogurt smoothie, nuts, an avacado, ate salmon for dinner. Today I was a new person. I felt great. Took it easy. Listened to slow songs on the ipod and just thought about stuff. Didn't even look at my watch until I got home. Â
Half marathon is Sunday morning. I think I'll do 6 tomorrow with some faster miles in the middle. Then I'll either take Sat off or do an easy 3. Want to be fresh.
Splits
1139
1047
1011
946
950
951
1013
902 |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 113.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
|
6 miles at 5:30 am. Charged a few hills this morning and 1 long flat.4 mile stretch. I tried to go around 8 minute miles or less. The hills were only 100 feet or so but a 2% grade according to mapmyrun.com. I didn't want to overdo it too much because my race is on Sunday.
I'm nervous. I can't decide what my goal should be. Two years ago I did a half in 1:54 (8:45/mile). A year ago I did a 20k in 1:45 (8:34/mile). But then I took 9 months off while prego. I started running again in April. Just two months ago I ran a half marathon in 2:15 (10:18/mile) I've improved quite alot since I had my baby and started running again. I've been running more than ever before lately. Last Saturday I ran 10 miles mostly under 8:30.
I would be estatic if I could break 1 hour 50 minutes (about 8:20/mile)... but I guess I'd be happy if I just beat 1:54 (8:45/mile).
No one is coming to my race to watch me finish... but I'm at least glad to have this blog and my running group to report my results to. I'm a part of the charity team RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN this race. I raised $175. They haven't sent me a shirt though... there was some confusion which didn't get cleared up until it was to late to mail it. Maybe the good charma will help me in the race nonetheless.
Splits
111
952
948
926
918
915
|
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 114.00 |
| |
| | Race: |
The Hottest Half (13.1 Miles) 01:57:49, Place overall: 182, Place in age division: 10 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.10 |
|
The race today was HOT... it sure lived up to it's name "The Hottest Half". It was 85 when we started and 95 when I finished. By 11 am, they said it was over 100. Today's high ended up being 108. So it was HOT!!! and HUMID! I've been doing most of my running at 5:30 in the morning in the dark... Today's race started at 7:30. I have to say the sun today really hurt my feelings!
I wrote a Plan A splits on my left arm for running an 8:23 pace to finish 1:49:49 and Plan B splits on the right arm for running an 8:45 pace to finish 1:54:30. Well, I didn't end up with A or B.... I ended up finishing in 1:57:49 which was 8:54 pace.
Actually, I mostly did run between 8 and 8:45 pace the whole way. What happened was I stopped at every single water station at every mile. At first I only gulped and continued on. But by about mile 6, I started walking a little while I drank... As the race progressed, I took longer and longer at the water stops. So that was my problem. I was freaking HOT!!!! When I'd go through long stretches in the shade, I'd look at my watch and I'd be going along 8:25 pace or so.... even at mile 9, I was doing that. Then in the sun patches I'd look and it'd be 8:45 mostly... my slowest pace was 9:15 in mile 12.
I did have a very powerful kick at the end. I started sprinting in the last hundred yards and I was going SO fast! I'm sure I have gone that fast in HS but that was the fastest time I ever recorded on my watch... at my fastest I registered 4:49 pace. I can't wait to see the photos... I bet they are hilarious!!
I'm a little surprised that I didn't PR today. Two years ago I ran this exact same race and I got a 1:54:45. I feel like I should be in better shape now than then.... However, the winner of the 2008 race was the same guy who won the 2010 race today. In 2008, his time was 1:10:37. Today, his time was 1:15:01. So maybe it was just a more brutal hot day this time. I think that's the story I'm going to tell myself! Ha, ha!
Also, in 2008 I ran the first 8 miles at a 9:00 pace, then I cranked it up and passed tons of people in the final 5 miles. This year I started out at a 8:00 pace and my times got slower and slower. I'm just not sure if going out slower would have helped me though... I think it was the heat... I'm thinking I would have slowed down either way. In 2008 I was running alot in the evenings. This year I'm running in pre-dawn dark. Who knows.
Splits- included water stops in each mile
mile 1 - 8:02
mile 2 - 8:29
mile 3 - 8:32
mile 4 - 8:39
mile 5 - 8:31
mile 6 - 8:57
mile 7 - 9:02
mile 8 - 8:56
mile 9 - 9:07
mile 10 - 9:14
mile 11 - 9:35
mile 12 - 9:45
mile 13 - 9:20
final .26 miles (according to my garmin, the remainder was .26 - not .1) - 7:09 BEST 4:49 |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Rest day after race. No aches or pains to complain of. Feeling pretty darn good considering I raced a half marathon yesterday. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
|
My 3 year old had nightmares and I laid down with him in his room at 4 am... and overslept without my alarm. So I didn't run this morning.
But when my husband got home, I went out for a run about 5:30 pm. It was 104 degrees. On the plus side though, only 10% humidity. I decided to only run 3 miles in the heat. I was only running 9 min miles but it felt tempo speed in the heat.
Splits:
853
845
920
|
| Night Sleep Time: 10.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 10.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
| 7 miles at 5:30 am. Averaged about 10:30 a mile for all of them. Just taking it easy today. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 miles at 5:30am. Really slow and easy today.
There are alot of fields and undeveloped land by where I live. We kinda live on the edge of a city. If you go only 2 blocks to the west of my house you'd think you were in the middle of nowhere. There are no more neighborhoods and just fields as far as you can see... an occasional farm house maybe.
There's this dog that I see sometimes on my runs. I’ve decided to name him Sam. I've been seeing him at random times around my neighborhood for the 4 years I've lived at this house. I started seeing him more often ever since I started running in the dark at 5:30 am. I think he comes out mostly at night. He's a mutt about the size of a lab, mostly black with some white markings. He has kind eyes... when I look at him, he just seems like an old soul to me. I don’t know what it is about him, but that’s what I think every time I see him. He has a dirty old red collar on his neck so I think he used to be someone's pet. He's always pretty dirty himself so I'm pretty sure he doesn't belong to anyone anymore.
I'm impressed with what a smart dog Sam is. He runs whenever a person approaches but he seems interested in watching people from a safe distance. He creeps close to houses and cars kind of like a cat-- not out in the open like a most dogs. Sometimes I don't even notice him until he runs away from me. I bet it'd be hard to catch him. I’ve seen him cross busy streets: He crouches down low where no one can see him and waits until there are no cars and then runs across. So smart!
I love when I run into him on a run. I'll turn a corner in the dark and there he is... he'll run away but then stop and turn around and look at me. Sometimes I stop too and we will just stand there looking. A couple of times, I saw him when I was in my front yard and I got food out and made a big effort to get him to come eat it. He stops and looks from a distance and then runs off. The food will be gone the next day… I hope he came back and got it before the neighbor’s cat did.
Occasionally, I'll think it would be neat to catch Sam and make him my pet and running partner... but then I think that would be like catching a bird and putting it in a cage. Four years at least Sam has evaded capture and is successfully living on it's own. He just seems like a free spirit.
The other morning I saw him with another dog for the first time. I thought what a great thing that Sam has found a friend! The other dog looks like a German Shepard mix but he isn't as stealthy as Sam and acts more like normal dogs, frolicking around sniffing and peeing on things. He also doesn't seem to be as scared of people.
They were together a second morning too. It was dark out and I had just begun my run. I turned a corner and the two of them were eating something in the middle of the road. As usual, Sam immediately ran away to a safe distance, stopped and turned around to look. The German Shepherd mix was reluctant to leave the food. I could tell this made Sam nervous... he wanted his new friend to follow him. Sam seemed to linger longer than usual waiting on his friend. I waited too because I didn’t know whether the German Shepherd mix was as friendly as Sam… but he seems like he’s a nice dog. Now I'm always looking for them when I run.
Splits
1112
1044
1021
1004
1001
1004
1012
948
|
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 14.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 14.50 |
|
Ran 14.5 miles this morning with my running group. The first 5.5 miles I ran with a woman and we were doing about 8:45 miles. Then she turned around to go in and I started running with another group. The new group was going slower.
The new group's pace started fluctuating between 9:15 and 10:30 and then we stopped in both miles 9 and 10. I never could get a good rhythm going because the group's pace was all over the place. Somewhere in there I got a bug stuck in the back of my throat that kept tickling my thoat and making me cough. I think the bug and the getting slower and faster and slower and faster triggered a stitch in my side. By mile 12, it felt like a stabbing pain. I stopped at the water stop and walked about 3 minutes... I hate that!
I think I should have just left the group and maintained a steady pace and I would have been fine. Oh well. It was a good workout anyways!
Splits:
mile 1- 852
mile 2- 849
mile 3- 927 (time includes water stop)
mile 4- 837
mile 5- 915 (time includes water stop)
mile 6- 1026 (started running with new group)
mile 7- 1033
mile 8- 927
mile 9- 1051 (time includes water stop)
mile 10- 1042 (time includes water stop)
mile 11- 928
mile 12- 1305 (walked for 3 minutes because of stitch)
mile 13- 944
mile 14- 943
last .5 mile- 909 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
|
6 miles at 5:30 am. Easy. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 112.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 6 at 5:15 am. Having a blister and black toe nail problem. Wore thicker socks today and it helped. I think I need to start buying bigger shoes. I think this last pregnancy made my feet bigger! Splits 10:45 10:15 10:20 10:06 9:16 9:43 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.60 |
|
My husband is out of town on business so I am unable to run as much as I'd like. Thankfully, a cold front came through and dropped the temperature down to the 80's!!!! I went to the park with my sister and nephew. First, I took Ryan and Jake for a 2.4 mile run in the double jogging stroller. Then I took Jake and my newphew for a .7 mile run in the double. Then I took Ryan all by himself in the single jogging stroller for a .5 mile run. Then it started raining so I had to stop for the kids. It was perfect running weather though, I wish I could have kept going. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 2.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
|
10 miles at 6:30 am. Averaged 8:46 pace including 4 water stops.
My husband was out of town this week so I was unable to run as much (no babysitter). Today's group run went really well though. I was feeling fresh from the extra rest and it was cool weather with low humidity (such a nice change).
I'm thinking I'm doing this backwards but the way I've been training... I run 6-8 miles weekdays at an easy 10:00 to 10:30 pace... and then on Saturday's with my group I run long runs of 10 or more miles much, much faster. I can't help it. I am so competitive. It's so much fun running with people and pushing myself. Is this a bad way to train???
With marathon training ramping up milage, my group on Saturdays's is running 15 miles and 16 miles the next two Saturdays... then we do a 8-10 miler the following Saturday... then it's 17 and 18 miles... another 8-10 miler and then we max out at 19 and 20 mile runs... then it's a two week taper... then marathon day.
Splits - I tried something different today with my watch. I never stopped it the entire run, but I hit the lap button at each water stop and then again we we started again. This way my actual running pace average was not affected by the water stop but ... since the clock doesn't stop in a race, I didn't want to stop it when I stopped for water in training.
8:39
8:55
(41 sec water stop)
8:37
8:44
(50 sec water stop)
8:40
8:52
(1 min water stop)
8:29
8:14
(1 min water stop)
7:59
7:49 (best 5:32)
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 112.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.40 |
|
8.4 miles at 5:30 am.
I'm trying to get back on the running wagon. I'm feeling less than motivated lately... kinda down actually. My husband being out of town last week prevented me from running in the mornings. It's been 100 degree temperatures here which really sucks for running in the afternoons... but even then, when he's gone, I don't have babysitters.
Then Saturday night I went out with my husband to celebrate our anniversary and drank too much. I would have had just as much fun drinking half what I did... I don't know why I kept going. Sunday and Monday I was hungover and feeling guilty for drinking so much so I didn't run. Ridiculous. I don't need to drink again until after the race.
It's also depressing because once I get back on track... it's just going to be messed up again in two weeks. My husband is going out of town on business again for another week. Then the week right after that we are going on a week long vacation with my in-laws. So I'm looking at 2 weeks in a row of my routine being interupted... and right smack in the middle of marathon training where I'm supposed to be running 15, 16, 17 miles on Saturday long runs.
So today I forced myself to get up and get out of the house to run 8 miles even though my 6 month old kept me up alot last night. I also tacked on an additional .4 miles to my planned run this morning because I felt like I deserved it for complaining.
I'm going to try to get as much as I possibly can done off my to-do list today. Hopefully, between these exercise endorphins and getting things done today I will start to feel better and get me out of this funk.
Splits
10:54
10:10
10:03
9:45
10:00
9:15
10:16
9:53
9:03 (last .4 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 6.50 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 114.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.10 |
|
8.1 miles at 5:30 am.
Splits
11:02
10:39
10:19
10:00
10:21
9:34
9:43
9:12
9:43
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Thunderstorms overnight and into this morning. My 6 month old did not like the noise and cried all night... exhausting! It was still storming at 5:30 am... So I didn't get to run in the morning. I thought I'd run in the evening instead but I got busy getting the house ready for my 3 year old's birthday party and didn't get around to it. Sometimes life gets in the way. Oh well. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.10 |
|
Cool and windy this morning. Ran 9.1 miles at 6:45 am. It was nice because of the weather but also because it was light outside. My husband is off work today so I could run a little later in the morning. My blister problem seems to be going away too. I figured out to wear thicker synthetic socks and I've been using a pumice stone every day in the shower. So feeling pretty good today. No aches of any kind. There was alot of wind resistance (had to hold my hat in my hands instead of wearing it on my head) but I still ran pretty good pace without feeling like I was working too hard.
Tomorrow I'm running 15 miles with the group and then coming home and having 25 family and friends over for lunch/birthday party for my 3 year old. Then on Monday I'm running the Fort Worth Running Club's Labor Day 15K. When I ran this 2 years ago, I averaged 8:15 a mile... I'm hoping I can at least do that again this time... but I'd be estatic if I get a PR.
Splits
10:03
9:41
9:24
9:02
9:01
8:44
9:07
9:08
8:14
8:09 (last .15 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.10 |
|
15 miles with my group at 6:30 am. The weather could not be more perfect!! It was 63 degrees when we started and it only got up to 68 by the time I finished. Nice. I was feeling really good. I got faster and faster as I went. I started out running with two guys at around 9 min miles... but I was kinda pushing the pace. One of them fell behind after mile 6 and the other fell behind around mile 11. So without anyone to talk to, I just kept getting faster. It didn't feel too challenging though.
My son's birthday party was later in the afternoon and I didn't even feel like I had been running that much during the party. I remember the last time I got up to running 15+ miles on my long runs I felt totally wasted the rest of the day... however, I wasn't running as much during the week as I am now. This high milage training is really paying off.
Splits
mile 1 - 8:52
mile 2 - 9:00
mile 3 - 8:59
mile 4 - 8:58
40 sec water stop
mile 5 - 8:55
mile 6 - 8:46
53 sec water stop
mile 7 - 8:47
mile 8 - 8:38
mile 9 - 8:38
mile 10 - 8:27
50 sec water stop
mile 11 - 8:23
mile 12 - 8:10
53 sec water
mile 13 - 7:57
mile 14 - 8:11
mile 15 - 8:20
|
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Rest day after Saturday's 15 mile run |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Race: |
Fort Worth Running Club's Labor Day 15K (9.3 Miles) 01:15:36, Place overall: 25, Place in age division: 6 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 9.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.30 |
|
THIS 15k TODAY WAS THE BEST RACE I'VE EVER HAD!! I PR'd 3 times in and during this race.
When I passed the 5k sign, there was a timer and it was the best 5k time I've ever recorded... 24:30. If I were really running a 5k, it would have been much better because I would have been going faster. (I don't run alot of 5k's because I like the longer distances better).
Then I passed the 10k sign with a timer and it was the best 10k time I've ever recorded... 50:00. If I were really running a 10k, I would have sprinted my heart out to get it under 50 minutes. The best 10k before this was 53 minutes. I have a stated goal to run a 10k in under 50... so I felt so elated that I did that.
But then the pressure was on. I just PR'd in 5k and 10k during the race... so I had to make sure that I PR'd for the actual 15k that I was running too. I was thinking that I wanted to be able to say that I PR'd 3 times. My previous PR for a 15k was 1:17:07.
Well, I finished in 1:15:45 according to my garmin (which also said I ran 9.4 miles). The race results showed my chip time to be 1:15:36. I am so excited!! According to my garmin, it was an 8:03 average pace. Chip time was 8:05 pace. I've never run that fast for this many miles! I thought I might get a medal or something... but then I found out that the 3rd place girl in my age group finished in 1:08:something.... so maybe NOT. Ha, ha! I got 6th out of 49 in my age group. So I'm still proud. I like that running quote that says something about how I like the sport of running because everyone can be a winner. You're only in competion with yourself.
This running blog is the reason I am doing so good. The advice of running more miles during the week more days of the week has made all the difference. I've only been training like this for 3 months... and I just started running again in April after a 9 month break while pregnant. I am just wondering what I could accomplish if I keep at it.
Splits
mile 1 - 7:46
mile 2 - 7:47
mile 3 - 8:00
mile 4 - 8:07
mile 5 - 8:13
mile 6 - 8:11
mile 7 - 8:13
mile 8 - 8:11
mile 9 - 8:14
Final .42 mile - 7:25 pace (my garmin said it was .42 instead of .3) |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 112.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Rest day after race. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
|
It was raining all night and this morning so I wasn't able to run at my usual 5:30 am. My sister came over at 1:30 pm and watched the kids so I could go run. According to www.weather.com the temp for Fort Worth at this time was 88 degrees, humidity 69 percent, wind 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.
I thought I'd do 6 or 7 miles but the sun was brutal. I felt the sunburn coming on. The wind was the only relief from the sun but it was so hard I felt like I was running in place when I was going against it and up hill. I cut it short to only about 4.5 miles because I started worrying about sunburn but when my husband gets home, I think I might go run another 3 this evening to make up for it.
This run felt like a high resistance workout on a stairmaster... so I guess good workout! My watch wasn't charged so I don't know my splits.
It didn't work out running again when my husband got home. My son got stung by a bee and it was just too hectic at my house to leave. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.75 |
|
8.75 miles at 5:30 am. Tonight at 6:30 pm my group has track workout at the Texas Christian University track. I've been in the past and it's really fun... really nice track too. I want to go but it's so hard with my two kids to find the time. I have to get my husband to babysit and then if I run in the evening the kids and myself go to bed much later than usual. We'll see if it works out for me to go tonight. Tomorrow the plan is that I'll do another easy 8 in the morning and then Saturday I'm running 16 miles with my group.
Splits
11:06
10:16
10:07
9:49
10:02
10:10 (a cute small dog "attacked" me and I had to stop)
10:19 (dog still following me jumping in front of me slowing me down)
9:56
9:18 (last .75 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.30 |
|
Was lazy this morning and didn't get up to run. At 4:45 am when my 6 month old was waking me up I managed to convince myself that I could take the day before the long run as a rest day. Then I spent the rest of the day feeling guilty and I looked over my log. I realized that when I run the day before a long run, I actually have a great long run. So when hubby got home, I went out. Probably the hottest part of the day... 5pm. It was 95 degrees and 55 % humidity. I thought I'd do 6 miles... but I was actually surprised that I felt great! I ended up running 7.34 miles.
Even in all this heat and humidity and sun beating down on me I managed an average 9:10 pace. Every time I race, I get faster. I think I need to start incorporating some tempos and speedwork weekly. To qualify for Boston I need an average 8:23 pace. I really think that is doable... maybe not for my first marathon on Nov 14th... but certainly at some point I think I could pull that. This 8:03 pace I just ran for a 15k has got me thinking ambitiously!
Maybe I shouldn't be this cocky since this is my first marathon... but I'm thinking I could at least pull a sub 4 hour (faster than 9:09 pace). Last week I ran 15 miles at an average 8:45 pace (getting faster the whole way). We'll see... I've got 16 mile run tomorrow morning. I hope all this ambitious talk doesn't jinx me.
Splits
9:15
8:56
9:10
9:33
8:58
9:37 (had to run though grassy median for 50 feet which slowed me down)
9:05
8:12 (last .34 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.16 |
|
My running coach cut our run short today because of the humidity. It was 83 degrees and 75% humidity. We were supposed to run 16 but we only did 10. He said next week we're supposed to run 10 but we'll do the 16 instead... so he just switched the weekends.
It was a big difference from last weekend when the weather was perfect. Today it was like you sweated and it never evaporated. I was soaked completely when I finished. An 8:30 pace felt like an 8:00 minute pace. I didn't feel that bad but I did go slower. I ran with this guy and we did 8:45 pace for the first few but then he started fading. I stayed with him longer than I might have otherwise, but we started talking politics and we got a good conversation going. Ha, ha! I finally left him around the 8th mile and I ran the last 2 miles at 8:30. I thought about running more but my socks were soaking wet and I didn't have another pair. I'm not messing with any more blisters. Note to self: bring extra socks when it's humid.
There's 3 girls in my group who run faster than me. They run long runs at 7:30 to 8:00 pace. One of them told me she averaged 7:55 per mile for last week's 15 miler. It is my goal to get up to their pace.
I love picking people who are better than me and trying to catch up or even beat them. I like challenges like that more than just trying for a specific time. A couple years ago this rude cocky guy told me I shouldn't try to keep up with him because I'd get hurt. He was serious. Ha, ha! In my mind I was like, "Thank you. You have given me a little extra motivation to push it when I feel tired". He had a target on his back for every run after that. I had to beat him every time. It was fun.
Splits
8:53
8:43
9:06
8:48
9:15
9:34
9:23
9:08
8:32
8:27
5:09 (last .16 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Race: |
Gro Bait Ice 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:23:49, Place in age division: 1 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 3.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
|
I wanted to see if I could break 24 minutes for a 5k so I signed up for this race last minute. I did it! 23:49 is my new PR for a 5k. This was a hilly course and it was hot and super humid (over 70%)... so that makes me even more proud. It was an out and back course. The first half went downhill alot... which meant the second half was mostly uphill.
Splits
7:18
7:38
7:41
7:22 (last .1) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| My husband is out of town AGAIN. Today, my sister watched the boys so I could go run today at 11 am. It was HOT (almost 90 degrees), HUMID (over 70%) and sunny. I ran at a park by her house that has a 2.4 mile sidewalk path. It's a great flat path but at this time of day there was absolutely no shade. My plan was to do 3 laps but I only ended up doing 2 laps plus an additional .2 miles to make it an even 5 miles. I just felt like I was melting in the sun. I feel so guilty for quitting. Next week we're going on vacation. We're staying at a house on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico in Tx. So stay tuned if you want to hear about running on the beach in the Texas heat and humidity. I did find a running group that is running 12-20 miles on Sundays, which is good because I will be there 2 Sundays. I emailed the group and they said for me to come on out to run with them. So I'm determined to keep up my training on vacation. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get over to my sister's by 8am so I can run earlier and hopefully more miles. Splits 9:25 9:25 9:43 9:52 9:50 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
This was a tough one. It's been hot all summer but this last week it's started to get horribly humid too. It's awful. I'm still depending on my sister to babysit while I run this week. This time I tried really hard to get over to her house early so I could start when it wasn't as hot. The best I could manage with my 3 year old and 6 month old was getting there by 9am.
It was a little better than yesterday. The first mile was against a wind - not so windy that it slowed me down but just enough that it really cooled me off - which is the reason the first split was so good. I didn't even feel like I was going that fast that first mile and I was surprised when I saw it was 8:19. ...But that first mile was all south with the wind blowing toward, then the path turned and went the opposite direction and I guess because I was running in the same direction as the wind, it had the effect of feeling there was no wind at all so I felt like I was in a sauna. When I went in that direction, the sweat just soaked me. I figure with the humidity sweat just wouldn't evaporate until I got going toward the wind again.
So that's how it went around this 2.4 mile loop... one way felt great, the other way was torture. You can kinda see the yo-yo affect in my splits. After two laps I was pretty hot and miserable. I stopped at my car, drank some cold water and sat in the a/c for a couple minutes... then I told myself that if I ever thought I wanted to run a marathon I had to make it at least 8 miles today. I ran until my watch said 8.1 miles and then I quit... most of the way I was reminding myself to not be a wimp.
I actually had some good times considering how miserable I was.
Splits
8:19
9:00
9:08
9:28
9:13
9:50
9:47
8:55 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.50 | 2.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
|
I went to the gym today to beat the heat. I hate treadmill running. It's soooooo boring. So I decided to have fun with speed today and just ran a 5k.
I put the incline at 1.0 because I've read that it has to be at that incline to make it at all comparable to running outside.
I started out first 1/2 mile on 6.8 speed which felt pretty easy. (about 8:45 pace)
Then I ramped it up to 7.2 for the next 1.5 miles. (8:20 pace)
When it said I was at the 2 mile mark, I started increasing speed every 1/4 mile. So I did a quarter mile at 7.4 (8:06 pace), then another quarter at 7.6 (7:54 pace), then a quarter at 7.8 (7:42 pace) and a quarter at 8.0 (7:30 pace).
When it said I was at the 3 mile mark, I increased speed to 10.0 (6:00 pace) and ran the last .1 mile of my "5k" at that speed.
My final time was 25:10 for the 3.1 mile run... but that included my 1/2 mile warm-up. Looks like I averaged 8:10 a mile. I wish I had time to do it again and see if I could do better without a warm-up but I had to leave to get my kids. Maybe I'll do it again tomorrow.
Wanna hear something funny? I used to run in college on my apartment gym's treadmill all the time. I didn't race back then... I just did it to stay in shape... BUT I do remember that I would run on a 5.5 speed most of the time and I thought 6.0 was fast. When I was in really good shape and wanted to show off to a cute guy in the gym, I'd crank it up to 6.5 but I couldn't hold that for long. Ha, ha!
It still kinda makes me nervous putting the speed on the treadmill higher and higher... even though I know I can do it... I don't know why. I also get nervous when I see on my watch that I'm running "too fast"... even if I don't feel bad at that speed, if I look down and see a 7 something, I freak out a little... and then I have to talk myself out of being nervous. I think I've got some kind of mental block I've got to get passed. Maybe if I keep doing tempos at track or treadmill I can overcome this.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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My husband's back from his trip so I was able to run in the morning today. SOOO much nicer! I'm glad I got a taste of running in the heat and humidity this week because it made me appreciate the cool weather that much more. My Garmin was not charged, but I used a timer and went my normal 8 mile loop. I ran it in 1:12:20... so right at a 9:00 pace. Felt pretty great!
Tomorrow I'm running 16 with the group. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.70 |
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Had a GREAT run this morning with my group. It was humid again but I think running in the heat prepared me for that better than if I had been running in the early morning all week. Also, the speed workout might have helped.
I ran with my friend, Brenda, who has a 3:31 marathon PR. She and I were right behind these other two girls who usually smoke me. Today we decided to keep up with them. We were only about 150 feet behind them when she had to turn around at mile 6.5 to go back.
So on my own I caught up to the two girls in front at the mile 11 water stop. I ran with them the rest of the way. I couldn't believe I could hang with them... but I did! One of the girls and I started speeding up in the last 3 miles... but I just had a second wind or something. I got up to 7:35 a mile and left her in my dust!!
So I was the first girl in my whole running group to finish today. I was 3rd overall behind two guys who run 6 minute pace in marathons - they told me they ran it today at 7:20 pace because it was so humid.
Splits
mile 1 - 8:17
mile 2 - 8:11
mile 3 - 8:25
mile 4 - 8:17
mile 5 - 8:09
mile 6 - 8:31
mile 7 - 8:21
mile 8 - 8:30
mile 9 - 8:19
mile 10 - 8:06
mile 11 - 8:25
mile 12 - 8:05
mile 13 - 8:19
mile 14 - 8:30
mile 15 - 7:35
mile 16 - 7:38 (last .7 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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We're visiting my in-laws here in Conroe, Tx before we head to Galveston, Tx for vacation at the beach. I met up with a running group in the neighboring city called The Woodlands and I ran 6 miles. This area of Texas is the piney woods with 100 foot pine tress. It seems like your in the middle of the woods but behind the trees are every kind of business you can think of. They have a great running club in The Woodlands! Lots of people and very friendly.
I was wanting to run less than 10 miles because I ran 16 on Saturday... also I wanted to run about 8:30 pace. Based on that, it was suggested I run with this young girl. There were several routes and trails we could take. She said she was running 7 miles and told me there would be water stops so I didn't need my belt. I thought she might be about 20 years old but it turns out she was 16. Sweet girl and very dedicated student and athlete... but she did not know the trails and she got us lost. We ran 4 miles at 8:30 or better but then we started back tracking and getting lost. She was panicky because we didn't have water and then she started getting upset because she had shinsplints. She wanted me to leave her and go on... but A. I wouldn't know any better which way to go than she would and B. I'm not leaving a 16 year old lost girl in the woods!
So we made our way to a main street (with no sidewalks) and were running along doing about a 9 or 10 min pace for a couple miles and then one of the running group people spotted us and offered us a ride back to our cars. Thank goodness!
So it was an interesting day. I'm running with this group again next Sunday for my long run. Their schedule has them doing 14 but I'm supposed to do 17 according to my schedule. I met a guy who is the cross country coach at the high school there and next week I'm running with him and his pace group... he says they do 8 or 8:30... so I'm looking forward to it. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.30 |
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We're out of town for the week. Ran 7.3 miles around my in-laws neighborhood here in the piney woods of Texas. So beautiful! It's really humid here near Houston... but the trees are sooooo tall (100 feet) so it is completely in the shade. This was a wonderful run. I wish I could have kept going but I said I'd only be gone a hour so I had to get back.
Tomorrow we leave for the Texas coast to stay for the rest of the week. I've never run on a beach before. I've heard I should still wear running shoes so I've brought some old ones that can get dirty.
Splits
8:59
9:05
8:58
9:04
9:04
9:06
8:41
8:04 (last .3 mile) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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Ran on the beach this morning!!! It was alot more fun than I thought it would be. The sand was packed down. Great view! There was a great breeze at my side. It felt a little like running on grass but without the potholes to roll my ankles. I'm going again tomorrow but I'm going to do 8 miles.
In case anyone was wondering about the Texas gulf coast... I was surprised but there were no signs of oil from the big BP spill... I guess all that just went in different directions... lucky for Texas. There were lots of shards of plastic, plastic bottles and other debris... it's so sad to me that people pollute the ocean like this.
Splits
mile 1 - 9:13
mile 2 -9:30
mile 3 -9:36
mile 4 -9:05
mile 5 -8:30
mile 6 -7:58
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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Today was more difficult than yesterday at the beach. I woke up this morning and I was actually a little sore from yesterday. Sand running is a good workout. The difference today was that the sun was out whereas yesterday it was cloudy most of the time... also yesterday it even rained a little toward the end of my run. Today the wind was also blowing toward me... whereas yesterday it seemed to be blowing more to the side of me. I went 4 miles out in the direction of the sun and against the wind.... then 4 miles back. The sun makes a big difference... really zaps your energy. The return trip was much easier but I was really worn out from the first 4 so I still didn't speed up much. This was a difficult workout but I'm feeling pretty good now.
Splits
10:11
10:27
10:14
10:22
10:33
9:56
10:00
10:01
9:28
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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Beach running again this morning. There was less wind today but it was very sunny. Saw a 4 foot long dead fish on the beach. Found a cool sea shell to go along with the sand dollar that I found on yesterday's run. I'm going to keep them with my race medals as I think the universe must have put them on beach on these mornings in these exact spots in order to reward me for running... because it occurs to me that I found them both at the turn around point.... so I wouldn't have found them if I had wimped out and ran less than I had planned.
Splits
10:23
10:11
10:17
9:59
9:17
8:53
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
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Last day at the beach. There wasn't as much wind as there has been but it was sunny. Overall, I like beach running! It's alot more fun than I imagined it would be. After a few days of this I bet when I get back on concrete, it'll feel like I'm running on air. I Tomorrow I'm running with The Woodlands running club again. I think we're doing 14 miles.
Splits
9:56
10:09
10:01
10:20
10:02
9:47
9:01 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 13.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.70 |
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Great run today!! Amazing, in fact. This is the last day I'm out of town. I'm at my in-laws house so I ran with The Woodlands Running Club. This town has an amazing running community. There are miles and miles of trails that curve through the woods. Runners are everywhere! I got there a little late because I got a little lost trying to find the meeting place in the middle of all these hundred foot tall pine trees.
I got there just in time to tag along with this group. I didn't even get to ask their pace before we left. Turns out they are the 7:30 per mile group. Oops. That was a little faster than I was looking for. Luckily, we were only doing 4.2 miles, then we were coming back to the parking lot to pick up more people, get our water belts and go out for another 9.5 miles.
Last week I got lost with this runner's club so this time I didn't want to lose anyone. I hung with these guys the four miles... The first two miles, my garmin couldn't find satelites so I didn't even know the pace (but I knew it was fast and challenging for me)... when my watch finally started giving paces and distances, I was looking down seeing times of 7:00 pace... and even 6:50. This was a little scary to me. Amazingly, I did it though. I finished right with everyone else... didn't fall behind in the least! Oh, and there was no stopping for water or anything... The guy next to me said his watch had us at a 7:25 average pace for the whole 4.22 miles. Wow. That's a PR for me.
Ok. So now I knew I couldn't keep THAT up for the next 10... so I tried to find a slower group. The next group I got with did an 8 minute pace... which was still pretty ambitious of me even without considering I ran the first four so fast. BUT I DID IT! I stayed with them and even talked the whole time. It was hard but thank god for caffeine gu which I consumed every 3 miles.
In this group, there were 5 guys who were all in super good shape. One ran a 10k yesterday in 44 minutes. He said he'll get better when it gets cooler. There was one girl other than me... she said her marathon PR was 3:15... but she mostly runs Ironmans and her marathon just recently in an Ironman (after she swam 2 something miles and biked 112 miles) was 3:49. Wow. I can not believe I hung with them. It was fun though. Oh, and also, they told me the route we were taking was the hilly course... they considered it a hill workout.
Splits for the 4.22 miles
First 15 minutes had no pace because my garmin couldn't find satelites.
Mile 3 - 7:23
Mile 4 - 7:26
We stopped for about 5-10 minutes and then...
Splits for the second part 9.5 miles
Mile 1 - 8:27
Mile 2 - 8:14
Mile 3 - 8:15
Mile 4 - 8:10
Mile 5 - 8:11
Mile 6 - 7:57
Mile 7 - 8:09
Mile 8 - 8:04
Mile 9 - 7:53
Last .5 mile pace - 7:39 |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.25 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.25 |
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My sister watched the kids so I could run around the park by her house. It's only 80 degrees and 40% humidity today. It was much cooler this morning but I didn't get to start running until 11 am.
I was thinking today about what I would call threshold miles, marathon miles, easy miles, etc. I have improved so much these last three months since joining this blog... what I used to consider threshold is now relatively comfortable... and what I used to consider impossible to sustain for longer than maybe one mile is now something I can do for at least 4.22 miles (Sunday's run) ha, ha! It's so much fun to improve this much! I feel so blessed to be healthy and able to run like this.
So here's what I came up with:
EASY are miles at an 8:45 pace or slower.
MARATHON are miles in between 8:00 and 8:45.
THRESHOLD is anything faster than 8:00 pace.
TRACK speed is going to be below 7:00.
Splits
9:08
9:01
8:44
9:00
9:05
9:07
9:21
8:27
7:07 (last .25) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.20 |
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5.2 miles pushing Jake in the running stroller... 10:30 was the average pace. We spent an enormous amount of time discussing why there were lanes in the street and why people can't run in the street, and why you have to use your blinker to change lanes... he kept asking me "why", "why", "why"? And if there was any car that didn't use their blinker... oh boy! Three year olds are funny! Entertaining run. I think now that the weather is getting better, I'm going to start taking him with me to the evening runs with my group. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.30 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.30 |
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8.1 miles at 5:50 am. The previous two weeks really messed up my running and sleeping routine... it was difficult to wake up early and I started later than I wanted. I'm so glad I woke up and ran this morning... I am now in such a great mood! I have run 8 miles and now cooked breakfast and the kids haven't even woken up yet. It's going to be a great day! (I'm trying to psyche myself up to tackle all the laundry and unpacking from the vacation... ugh!)
I'm supposed to run 19 miles with my group on Saturday. There's something really intimidating about that. I did 16 miles and 14 miles the previous two weekends ... both of which had average paces in the 8:00's... I shouldn't be worried... I can handle this! Still, I'm nervous. This will be the most I've ever run in one day. Two years ago I got injured on the 18 mile training run. I think I'm in MUCH better shape this time... and I've been logging so many more miles.
.... ok.... back to the positive thinking... It's going to be GREAT! I know it.
Splits
Mile 1 - 9:58
Mile 2 - 9:57
Mile 3 - 9:50
Mile 4 - 9:20
Mile 5 - 9:36
Mile 6 - 9:37
Mile 7 - 9:29
Mile 8 - 8:32
Last .1 mile - 7:47
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Decided to do a tempo run this evening. I ran 3.2 miles at a comfortably hard pace. I would have thought it would be faster than this but then it occured to me that I didn't warm up at all before I just started running fast. I got a stitch in my side - how odd as that never happens anymore - probably also because I just started running at an 8:00 pace off the bat. Ah well, learning experience...
I am being precise on my times below because I want to race myself on this same route next time.
Splits
mile 1 - 8:23
mile 2 - 8:25
mile 3 - 8:28
.1 - 43 seconds - 6:40 pace = making my 5k time 25:59
.1 - 32 seconds - 6:28 pace = making my 3.2 time 25:31 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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I'm considering this a cross training day.
What did I do to cross-train? That would be hard manual labor cleaning house, moving furniture around, doing mass quantities of laundry, sorting boxes of clothes that no longer fit my kids and boxes of hand me down clothes they can now wear. I didn't sit down all day.
I intended to run 8 miles but once I got into working in the house I decided I might just take an day off to be fresh for the 19 miler on Saturday. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 1.45 | 0.00 | 17.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 19.20 |
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I ran 19.22 miles this morning. The longest I've ever gone. This was a good and a bad day.
The good was the times I recorded were pretty awesome.
One bad part was my watch messed up in the beginning and I didn't have satelites the first 17 or 18 mintues. I had to turn off watch and turn it back on again... and wait for satelites to be found. I was able to figure out that I was exactly 2.4 miles "off". This confused me the entire run as I tried to do math in my head. I found out that I'm not all that great at math while doing 8:20 miles. Ha, ha!
But the REALLY bad part was that I hurt my IT band on mile 16.5. I ran through the pain a mile or so... then I ran/walk for the remaining 1.5 miles. I'm so mad!
I started out too fast I think. I was running the first 6 miles with my friend, Brenda, and we were trying to keep up with one of those "fast girls" from two weeks ago (the other "fast girl" wasn't there today). After Brenda turned around to head back, I tried to catch the "fast girl" ahead of me but she was out of my sight for the first half of the run. She must have slowed down or stopped alot because after the turn around, I started closing in on her. I caught up to her around mile 13.5... I actually even passed her for a few miles (although she was not too far behind).
Then BOOM going downhill on concrete around 16.5 mile... my IT band on my right leg just started hurting. It really sucks because at the time when this happened, I was really feeling great aerobically... I was thinking I would have no problem coasting in at a pace under 8:30. Ugh! This was the same pain as two years ago that prevented me from running a marathon that year.... only that was on my left leg. Did I mention that I was mad?!!
So I kept running but slowed down to a 9 min pace for a little over a mile... but eventually, the pain got so intense I had to walk/run. At this point the "fast girl" wizzed past me... I guess she thinks that's what I get for trying to hang with her. LOL
Any advice would be appreciated. Should I take time off? Should I reduce mileage? I had planned on running my first marathon on Nov 14th... should I scrap that and try for another marathon in Dec or Jan. I'm just so upset right now I don't know what to do.
People in my running group told me to go to the sports chiropractor for our team. He's like a genius wonder worker who can fix anything... but I don't really have the money. Buying new shoes all the time and running races about breaks me. I'm a stay-at-home mom on a budget.
Splits
First 2.4 miles I recorded no pace or distance because -and I didn't realize this right away because it was dark - my watch couldn't find satelites. I think I did them in around 18 minutes. I'm not exactly sure because the timer was shut off when I re-started watch to locate satelites. Since I don't know for sure I'll say the pace was approx 8:00 a mile but honestly, I think it was faster.
Because of the above screw up, during the below miles I actually didn't know exactly what mile I was on while I running them. So these were fun miles! Ha, ha! At least I started getting paces though.
mile 3.4 - 7:59
mile 4.4 - 8:09
mile 5.4 - 8:14
mile 6.4 - 8:23
mile 7.4 - 8:13
mile 8.4 - 8:14
mile 9.4 - 8:30
Turn around at mile 9.6 ... reset watch but forgot to re-start right away. Messed me up AGAIN. User error. The fun continues.
mile 10.4 - 8:25 ish (a guess because 1/2 this mile was not recorded based on the user error above)
mile 11.4 - 8:17
reset watch again at water stop because I was told it was exactly 7.5 miles back to the store from this location. Woo Hoo! I finally know how much farther!!
mile 11.75 - 8:33
mile 12.75 - 8:22
mile 13.75 - 8:27
mile 14.75 - 8:23
mile 15.75 - 8:09
mile 16.75 - 8:46 (IT band first started hurting)
mile 17.75 - 9:16 (I tried to slow down this mile to see if I could hold pain off)
With about 1.5 miles left I finally started walk/running. It took me about 16 minutes to get back... I was running about 10 min pace but with the walking it averaged out to 11 min pace.
Final mileage today = 19.22 miles but I guess technically I should only count 17.75 ... sigh... |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
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So after my IT band flared up on my 19 miler, I took 3 days off. I took IB profen, stretched, got 10 hours of sleep each night, and took about 3000 mg vitamin C spread out over each day. I got one of those foam rollers as was suggested to me by Jody and Nicole. I'm still learning but I can see how useful this would be to make it a habit.
I also went to my running store and bought 2 new pairs of shoes. I am going to start rotating shoes. My previous pair only had 360 miles on them but they felt really worn out. I could really tell when I tried on the new shoes how bad my other ones had gotten. No wonder I got hurt.
So I went running today to try out the new shoes. I took Ryan in the stroller. He was awesome! I can't believe how good he was. I like taking him more than Jake ... mainly because it seems I can go farther.
I only intended to run 3-6 but Ryan was so good I decided to just kept going until he got fussy... but he never did so I ran 10 miles and quit. My IT band never hurt at all. YAY!!!!
I'm going to keep my pace slow these next couple weeks because I don't want to risk more injury. I'm running 10-12 miles on Saturday and 10-12 miles on Sunday. The group is doing 20 miles not this Saturday but the next. It's the last long run before the taper for the marathon. If I make it through all that with out any more pain in the IT band, I'll pick up the pace here and there.
I just have to finish a marathon. I think I've been getting too ambitiuos and getting ahead of myself thinking I could qualify for Boston... I don't need to be thinking about that. I need to just finish one first. A 9 minute per mile pace for my first would be great... especially if I didnt get injured doing it.
Splits
10:23
10:01
10:08
9:46
9:40
9:42
9:57
9:38
9:55
9:43 |
| Night Sleep Time: 10.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 10.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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My plan this morning was to take it easy and do 6 miles. I'm still worried about my IT band. I just ran according to how I felt. It was really cool this morning... in the upper 50's. The first couple miles I felt little twinges around my right knee similiar to what I felt on Saturday but less intense. I kept slowing my pace and they went away... but then they'd come back after a downhill.
Finally at 2.7 miles I was deciding whether to head home to not risk any more injury... I was thinking maybe doing 10 yesterday wasn't such a good idea afterall... but before I made the turn to my house, I stopped and stretched my calf muscles again. I had stretched them before I started running but this time they felt SUPER tight. After I stretched them, my legs felt brand new. I didn't have any pain any where what so ever. So I kept running.... and actually even speeding up... and my knee/leg felt fine.
Weird. My calf muscles also feel really tight after I've been sitting for a while and after I wake up. I'm a forefoot runner so they get a big workout everytime I run. Maybe tight calfs are to blame for the issues I had on Saturday?! Hmm... something to look into I guess.
Ended up doing 6 miles as planned. Even got down to 9:12 in the last mile and felt pretty comfortable.
Splits
10:49
10:55
10:49
10:19
10:08
9:12
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 1.00 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.00 |
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Ran with my group this morning. I started out saying I wanted to do a 9 min pace... 8:45 at the max I said. I just can't control myself around these people though. My friend, Brenda, and I ran the whole way together at an 8:15 average and we talked non-stop except for the last two miles... So I was feeling pretty good. Amazingly, my IT band didn't flare up at all. I concentrated on keeping my knee bent at all times and not over-extending it. I also too downhills very slow. I feel great today! I'm so happy!
Splits
mile 1 - 8:22
mile 2 - 7:59
mile 3 - 8:17
mile 4 - 8:24
mile 5 - 8:26
mile 6 - 8:26
mile 7 - 8:38
mile 8 - 8:21
mile 9 - 8:14
mile 10 - 8:04
mile 11 - 7:37 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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Met up with my friend, Stephanie, to run Trinity River trails. I brought Jake and pushed him in the jogging stroller... and I talked the whole time... so it was a workout for sure! Jake was good because I let him listen to my ipod the whole time. After 6 miles we stopped at the duck pond and let Jake feed ducks... although his favorite thing was actually chasing the birds who were trying to steal the ducks food.
Splits
10:08
9:59
10:06
9:50
9:37
10:02 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
|
7 miles at Trinity park pushing Jake and Ryan in the double stroller. I haven't run this far with the double stroller before. It went well. The weather was perfect - in the 70's. The kids were good. It was difficult to push on the trails... a little easier on concrete. I think part of what makes the double stroller more difficult is that I have to hold on with both hands whereas with the single stroller I can push with only one hand. However, it wasn't too bad... I'm looking forward to taking them both with me more often.
Splits
10:19
10:28
10:02
9:58
10:15
10:06
10:00 |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
|
I was planning on waking up at 5 this morning to run 12 miles. My group run this Saturday is a 20 miler so I wanted to get in a 12 mile run today. However, when the alarm went off I was SOOO tired. I could not get up. I negotiated with myself that I'd be able to pull off 12 miles with the kids in the jogging stroller.
What was I thinking?! Today's run was so stressful... THE most stressful run I've ever had. I only made it 4.5 miles but I do believe it felt like 3 times that amount.... hey, maybe I did get 12 miles after all.
The main problem today was my three year old, Jake. He cried because he wanted to go this way or that way... he cried because he wanted to stretch, which I stopped and let him. He cried because he didn't want the sunglasses I brought him, he wanted another pair that were at home.... but he wanted them NOW. He wanted to know why a river was called a river.... no, but, WHY? He repeated, "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy...." He also managed to get the harness straps off and he leaned forward in the stroller the whole time... which made it very difficult to push. He'd go back and forth and back and forth... it was killing my momentum.
When he finally settled down around mile 4, the 7 month old, Ryan, started crying. By this point, I was so stressed. I found it odd to feel anxiety while running. The last half mile I ran as fast as I could to the car, which was about a 9 minute pace. The overall average pace though was 10:33... however, I had to stop about 5 times to deal with Jake...
This should not even be counted as a run, but it was a workout... I guess this is what I get for being lazy and not running this morning. I will remember this the next time I try to skip a morning run. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 4.50 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 10.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 10.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 9.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.15 |
|
9 miles this morning at 6 am. It was colder than I expected... in the 40's. I didn't dress warm enough. It's amazing that it could be this cold in the morning considering yesterday it was in the upper 80's during the day.
Splits
10:17
9:35
9:28
9:26
9:14
9:28
9:43
9:43
8:46 |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 9.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.50 |
|
7.5 miles at 5 pm today. It was hot and sunny. My IT band didn't hurt at all, but now my knees are hurting right below the knee cap... mainly on my left leg. weird. It was my right leg that had the IT band issue last week.
I'm starting to think it's these asics shoes. I vaguely remember that a couple years ago, I bought asics nimbus but only wore them for a month because I thought I was starting to get knee pain with them... then I went back to Brook's Defyance and the knee pain went away. I like the way the asics feel because they feel extra more cushioned than the Brooks in the forefoot... but maybe the gel cushion is changing the way my legs are absorbing shock.
Well, my group run is tomorrow. It's 19 miles. I'm wearing my new Brook's Ghost. I'm going to take it slower than I did last time I ran 19 (when I hurt my IT band). Last time I averaged 8:05 for the first 9.5 miles.. and was averaging less than 8:30 for the second half until I got hurt. The "fast" girl who I normally try to keep up with isn't going to be there tormorrow because she is getting married. So my plan is to try to keep it to 8:45 the whole way. We will see.
Splits
9:02
8:59
9:05
8:42
8:49
9:06
9:14 (had to stop waiting on traffic to cross busy street)
8:46 (pace last .5 mile) |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 7.50 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 19.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 19.20 |
|
I DID IT!!! I ran 19 miles without any injury issues. Farthest ever. 8:33 average pace for all 19 but I did run negative splits. First 11 miles average 8:38. Last 8 miles average 8:25.
I had to run by myself the whole way which was lonely. The good part about running by myself though was that every time I felt even the slightest leg pain, I slowed and concentrated on my form. I found that when I did that I was able to get back up to speed quickly enough and the pain would go away. I also took the downhills very, very slow so as to not aggrevate my IT band. I was running very careful the whole way.
I was cold for 2 hours. My face felt frozen and I couldn't make a fist. I didn't dress warmly enough. I've got to figure out what to wear for my marathon so I'm more comfortable. My muscles did feel tight during the middle and the last part of the run... I don't know if that was because of the cold or because I had been running so long.
I tried to imagine if I could pull off continuing this pace for another 7 miles at the end of today's run.... It was scary to think about. Cardio speaking I felt GREAT. I felt like I definitely had more energy... But my legs... I just wondered if they would be able to carry me another 7 miles.
After today I do think it's feasible that I could maybe pull off a 3:45 or 3:50 for my marathon on Nov 14th. Since this is my first marathon, I'm just not going to give myself the added pressure this time to try to qualify for Boston. Maybe next time.
Today was a great run. I am so happy!! I wish I could sleep now though. When you have two babies, you have to come home and go right to work.
Splits
mile 1 - 8:18
mile 2 - 8:33
mile 3 - 8:51
mile 4 - 8:36
mile 5 - 8:36
mile 6 - 8:35
mile 7 - 8:35
mile 8 - 8:42
mile 9 - 8:49
mile 10 - 8:42
mile 11 - 8:41
mile 12 - 8:24
mile 13 - 8:20
mile 14 - 8:25
mile 15 - 8:35
mile 16 - 8:27
mile 17 - 8:28
mile 18 - 8:34
mile 19 - 8:06
mile 19.2 (last .2 mile) - 8:27 |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 19.20 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
|
4 miles pushing Ryan. There were alot of hills and I had to take the double stroller even though I had only one child today because the single stroller has a flat tire. So it was kinda a strength training workout.
Splits
9:56
9:24
10:09
9:45 |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 4.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 1.00 | 9.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
|
Ran 10 miles at 6pm. 85 degrees outside but it felt perfect. Ran further than I was planning. I didn't stop at all, didn't have water with me, and didn't even look at my speed, only distance. I just ran how fast I felt like going. It was comfortable but maybe a little faster than 'easy'. It's amazing how much faster I am now than I was when I started on this blog in July.
My knees are still bothering me a little. I'm thinking I'm developing runner's knees. Probably increased milage too much too fast. Ah well... It's just too late to worry about that now ... Nov 14th is the marathon... and I'm in the final stretch of my training. Saturday morning I'm set to run 20 miles with my group. My focus this week is to get lots of sleep and about 30-35 miles in before Saturday.
Splits
9:12
8:54
9:05
8:38
8:50
8:50
8:48
9:04
8:38
7:49 |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 10.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.50 |
|
Only had time to run 3.5 miles this morning. I got up to do 6 miles but my 7 month old woke up and I had to feed him before I left. My left calf muscle felt a little tight no matter how much I stretched. I took it very easy.
Splits
10:58
10:14
10:05
9:19 (last .5 mile) |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 3.50 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
|
I ran an easy 6 miles. My left calf / achillies tendon was bothering me so I slowed down.
Splits
9:37
9:34
9:34
9:36
9:43
10:05 |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
|
I'm taking today off. Yesterday when I ran, my left calf was bothering me. It first started bothering me on Tuesday. It feels like the pain is coming from my achilles tendon.
All I'm doing lately is just having one pain after another. First it was IT band, then runner's knee, now this. Every problem seems to have happened after that first 19 mile run on Oct 2nd. I think I ramped up to 19 miles too quickly but I was just doing what my group was doing.
So I'm taking IB profen, vitamin C and resting. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run 20 miles with my group. I'm prepared to cut the run short if my legs hurt too much... Above all I don't want to be hurt for the marathon. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of pain is "too much" during a long run. This 20 miler is important for the marathon training but it's pointless if I get so injured during it that I can't run my marathon. It's the last big run before the taper.
I'm really looking forward to the taper because I feel like my legs are ready for a break. My marathon is Nov 14th so this will be a three week taper. I think my plan is to run 4-5 days a week but less miles than I have been... also to run some shorter races. There's a 10 mile race on Oct 30th I was thinking about doing. Then either a 5k or 10k on Nov 6th. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.00 |
|
My first 20 miler! Averaged 8:32 pace.
Splits: 8:57, 8:51, 8:37, 8:20, 8:04, 8:04, 8:10, 8:01, 8:09, 8:14, 8:09, 8:07, 8:11, 8:01, 8:10, 8:06, 9:04, 10:04, 10:05, 9:04
I ran with "super fast girl"... found out her name is Laura and her PR is 3:33. She's running Boston this year. We also ran with a new guy to our group named Monty. He's a 3:00 marathoner. It was a great run. We talked the whole way.
First 4 miles we got lost through this neighborhood and it was dark so our splits were a little slower because we kept turning around. Around mile 5 we made it to the trails and it was light out. Our pace was challenging from miles 5 thru 17 but I didn't feel like I was in over my head. I was feeling pretty good actually.
Mile 17, my IT band started acting up and I had to slow down. I let them go on. BUT it was really good because I figured out exactly what I need to do in this situation. I didn't stop but slowed to a pace where it didn't hurt...about 10:30 pace. I kept telling myself not to panic. I took deep breaths and concentrated on my form. I started telling myself that it was only a cramp and nothing serious. I thought about how great I had been running today and how proud I was. In other words, postive thoughts. And it worked.
I was able to speed up a little bit and then a little more... and by the end I was back up to a 8:30 pace and my IT band was barely hurting. Weird!!? Is this common, I wonder? I even caught back up to within maybe a 150 yards of the two I was running with the whole way.
So I'm actually most proud of the last 3 miles. Running through that pain and coming out ahead, I think I have finally gotten the confidence to run 26. If my legs would just hold out for another 6 miles I felt like mentally and aerobically I could handle it.... although I think I was in the middle of a "runner's high" when I finished... so I might have crashed after that. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 20.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
|
7 miles at 6:30 pm. Splits (9:59, 10:10, 9:26, 9:07, 9:03, 8:27, 8:16)
This was a crazy run! I made a deal with my husband that I would take both kids in the double stroller for 2 miles to give him a chance to eat... Then I would go out for solo run for another 5 miles.
First mile was downhill with the stroller with baby crying and 3 year old whining about the sun. Second mile was uphill with both kids now happy and me struggling pushing it thinking this was possibly the hardest mile I have run in a long time.
So then I started solo run... was going easy just listening to my music around mile 4.5 at about a 9 min pace when all of a sudden I get passed by another runner. Thing was this guy that passed me did so on an pretty big uphill and he was about as unlikely of a person to be going faster than me that I could imagine. He was maybe 40ish with a pot belly and a strange gait and he wasn't wearing running shorts or shoes. He was thrashing his arms accross his body when he ran.
I thought he'd slow down before the top of the hill. But no. He sped up. Then I thought he'd stop at the top of the hill. But no. He kept going. I followed him for another mile or so and he kept getting faster. The gap between us got up to 150 ft. Finally, I decided I would try to catch him. I had to get up to 8:03 a mile going uphill to catch up. Then he turned one way and I went another. I guess you can't judge how fast a person is by how they look!!
Then as I was turning the other direction, I saw another runner ahead of me about 200 ft. I thought... ah well, why not. So I tried to catch this guy. He had a pretty good pace and there were some more rolling hills so it was tough... but I got within 20 ft of him before I turned to go another way.
So I guess good workout. I didn't even know my splits til I got home. One problem with running at night is my stomach was cramping the entire run. I don't seem to ever have that problem in the morning. It's just so dark and cold in the mornings now, I have been opting to sleep in and do evening runs. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 7.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 1.00 | 0.00 | 5.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.40 |
|
I'm loving this cool weather. Legs feeling great!
Splits (9:13, 8:56, 8:57, 8:36, 8:33, 8:30, and 7:25 pace for last .4) |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.40 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 4.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.40 |
|
Same route as yesterday. Felt a little more tired today. After the first couple miles, I charged every hill and tried to run them in under 8:25.
Splits (9:31, 9:00, 8:41, 8:29, 8:37, 8:39, and 8:02 for last .4)
Tomorrow my running coach has the group doing 10 miles. My plan is to do another 4-6 afterwards. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.40 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
|
Ran 10 miles with the group this morning. 7:56 average pace.
Splits (8:10, 8:14, 7:48, 7:51, 7:56, 8:03, 7:59, 8:03, 7:39, 7:35)
All the girls were there today. I ran with Brenda, Laura, Ashley, and a new girl whose name was Amy (I think). It was challenging and fun to run with so many fast girls! I'm calling the whole thing a tempo - threshold miles. The first 4 miles I was seriously doubting my ability to hang with them but I pressed on. If I had been by myself, I wouldn't have gone so fast. But that's why I like running with these girls! They are making me a better runner. By around mile 4.5, I got into a great rhythm and started feeling great at that pace.
Then around mile 8, I started having some IT band "tweaks", so I put in my ipod and zoned out to Lady GaGa concentrating on my form... and I ended up getting faster and faster. I didn't even look at my watch until the end. I got ahead of everyone else in the last two miles. I wasn't trying to "win" but I just wanted it to be over and I got totally into the zone!
It was cold -about 45 degrees. Last time it was cold, I underdressed and was cold the whole run... so this time I might have over-dressed. I wore a headband and hat over my ears, long tights, a short sleeve tee, a long sleeve tee, and gloves. Actually, the only thing that I was annoyed with was the long sleeve tee. I ended up taking that off at 2 miles and had to endure it wrapped around my waist the rest of the run (which was super annoying). Good to know, if my marathon day is this weather. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 10.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
|
Yesterday's 10 tempo run wore me out! How I felt afterwards was just as bad, if not WORSE, than after I ran 19-20 miles. My guess is that it was mainly the last two miles when I did 7:39 and 7:35... I think that was in the anaerobic mode for me. I'm thinking I had major lactic acid build up afterwards. That's the only thing I can think... because 10 miles is normally not that big of deal for me.
I'm a little confused about what to do the next two weeks leading up to my marathon. This is my first taper. I've read so many different theories... I don't know if I should run fewer days a week than usual but keep it at 6-8 miles each day that I do run... or to run 5-6 days but only 3-5 miles each day... |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
|
7 miles at 6 pm. It was raining. Major cramps on theleft side of my stomach the entire run. It was especially bad the last two miles. Didn't stop, though. Nope. The mantra of the run today was "Pain is just weakness leaving your body." This happens often when I run at night and never in the morning.
Splits (9:14, 9:12, 9:28, 9:05, 9:07, 9:30, 9:26) |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 7.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.40 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.40 |
|
6.4 miles this morning. Temp was in the 40's and it was windy. I was pretty comfortable with what I wore - capris, technical tee, jacket, gloves, headband and hat. I'm still trying to figure out what works for me in cold weather.
Splits (9:48, 9:33, 9:03, 8:53, 8:28, 8:06, 7:04 pace for last .4) |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.40 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 2.00 | 4.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.40 |
|
6.4 miles at 5:30 pm. Splits (7:41, 7:40, 8:05, 8:15, 8:05, 8:10, 7:19 pace for last .4)
I started out faster than I had planned and it's kinda funny why. At the beginning I had to cross some traffic and get on another sidewalk. I was paying attention to the cars so I didn't notice there was another runner on the sidewalk that I nearly ran into as I got there. It was a tall, maybe mid-twenties guy who looked like he ran alot. By that, I mean that he had big calf muscles, was wearing short running shorts and a runner watch.
So he passed me going fairly fast and I thought I'd match his pace and hang back about 20 yards behind him. He seemed to be going 7:45 pace. I figured I would hang with him until the end of this street until I turned on another street. But after about a half mile of this, he started wavering his pace slowing down and speeding up again. Then he ran into a small tree branch. He clearly wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him. It was kinda funny. I started thinking that maybe this wasn't his real pace... maybe he was just going this pace to ... impress me? maybe? Hmmm... as I was considering this... He had an ankle problem and moved into the grass. It looked kinda fake. Poor guy.
So I continued with the 7:45 pace for 2 miles and then I considered whether to turn around and go back home continuing that same pace the whole way (4 miles total).... or slow down and do my 6.4 mile route that I had planned. I decided to do the longer route. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.40 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.20 |
|
9.3 miles this morning with my group. Splits (8:48, 8:51, 8:48, 8:55, 8:05, 7:50, 8:10, 8:13, 7:59, 7:09 pace for last .2 mile)
It was so cold!! 35 degrees. Somehow it's supposed to warm up to 68 today... I find it facinating that the temperature can change this much in one day.
Anyways, back to the run... Started out with Brenda and she wanted to stick to 8:45 pace because her race is next weekend too. She also wanted to only do 8 miles so she turned to go back at 4 miles. I was thinking I'd do 10 and I'd speed up after she left. Then I ran into Laura at 4.6 miles and she was on her way back to the store doing an 8:00ish pace so I just went with her.
I never warmed up. My legs felt soooo heavy!!! I wore tights and Laura said she never races in tights because she thinks they slow her down. She says she'll wear shorts unless it's below 30 degrees. Hmmm... I don't know about that. I'm relunctant to try something new on race day. I so hope it's not this cold next weekend. Coach said this is perfect marathon tempature but I don't think it is for me. I think perfect for me would be in the low 60's. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 9.20 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
|
4 miles at 6 pm. It was dark. Splits (8:47, 8:43, 8:37, 7:50)
My first marathon is now less than a week away! I'm in the final week!! I can't believe it. When I signed up for the race today, the organizer said a marathon is really a 6 mile race with a 20 warm-up.
I'm thinking that I'm probably capable of a 3:45 marathon based on my paces for my long runs--if I don't have any injury with my IT band. I'm not sure about 3:40... would be nice to BQ, but I'm not sure if I'm there yet. I think I'm going to go out with 8:30 per mile being the plan. I worried about being overly ambitious and being disappointed... I've worked so hard... and I've had this goal for 2.5 years... I'm just so scared it's going to be a let down. I should just say that if I do it in under 4 hours, I will be happy. That was my goal at the beginning of all this... it's only recently that I've started thinking a better time would be possible.
|
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 4.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
|
Wanted to run today... but my husband had to go into work at 5 am so I couldn't in the morning... and then I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, which sucked up all the babysitting time available to me for the day.
Feeling very guilty for not running. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 7.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.60 |
|
7.6 miles at 6 am. This taper is driving me CRAZY!!
My watch wasn't charged so I don't know the pace. It felt challenging... like as in I couldn't catch my breath... and I think it was about a 9-9:15 average pace. This freaked me out because a 9 pace shouldn't feel challenging at this point!!!
I spent the whole run trying to figure out why I was feeling this way... maybe I've lost aerobic fitness from running less during the taper?... maybe I'm taking too many days off during the taper?.... maybe my sports bra was too tight? It felt very tight... maybe it's anxiety about the marathon?... and if nerves are bothering me now, how much worse are they going to be during the actual race??... maybe I didn't eat or hydrate enough yesterday?... I notice my lower back feels like it has a pinched nerve everytime I run lately - maybe there's something wrong that is making it difficult for me to run? -OH NO! Maybe a back problem will ruin my marathon??!! But then again, no watch... so maybe it was faster than it felt.
I will say this for the taper: I'm seeing some improvement in how my legs feel. My left achillies tendon starts out most runs feeling tight but it goes away during the run, which I think is an improvement from where it was prior to the taper. Knees feel great, whereas before the taper they were starting to bug me. No IT band problems (but that never popped up until I've gone at least 17 miles).
Here's my plan for the rest of the week: (By the way, thank you ROB MURPHY for the taper advice!!) I'm going to run a 5-6 mile tempo tomorrow... maybe a mile warm-up followed by some sub 8:30 miles. Friday off-day. Saturday I'm going to run a 2 miles at goal marathon pace which I think should be 8:30. Sunday is race day. Weather is supposed to be perfect. Morning in the 40's or 50's and high is in the 60's. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 7.60 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 1.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
|
5 miles at 6 am. It was windy (11 mph) and in the 50's or 60's. First mile warm-up felt really sluggish. Then 4 mile tempo - marathon pace. Splits (10:29, 8:24, 8:34, 8:22, 8:01)
At one point in the run, I was thinking it was feeling difficult ...but then I realized I was going uphill against the wind at an 8:30 pace so I decided to cut myself some slack. I think yesterday's run when I was freaking out about my preparedness for the marathon, I must have been going faster than I realized... I was just in panic mode because I'm nervous. So today I've been thinking that I just need to calm down and get my game face on. It's amazing how much your mental state can affect your performance. Physical fitness is only one part of this sport... another big factor is mental. I need to really work on my confidence these next two days before the marathon... I've done all the training I can do at this point... right now there's no point to worry if it was enough ... if it wasn't enough training, the time to analyze what I should have done better is after the marathon.
I'm still trying to figure out what to wear in cooler weather. I wore a long sleeve tee today... not good. I was HOT. I'm hoping this is the temp for the marathon. If it is, I'll wear a tank and shorts... but I'll start out with arm warmers. I hope it's not as windy though. One thing that did work out today is that I wore a headband over my ears... not for the cold but for the wind. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 5.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Race: |
The Fort Worth Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:35:01, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 1 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 26.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 26.20 |
| The Fort Worth Marathon. My first.  3:35:01. Average pace 8:12. My average pace for the first half was 8:10 and for the second half it was 8:13.  I'm qualified for Boston!! Only needed 3:40.Â
Now that I've had time to rest a little, I'm including some more details that I am remembering.Â
| mile 1 |
7:57 |
| mile 2 |
8:17 |
| mile 3 |
8:18 |
| mile 4 |
8:19 |
| mile 5 |
8:15 |
| mile 6 |
8:10 |
| mile 7 |
8:05 |
| mile 8 |
8:05 |
| mile 9 |
8:24 |
| mile 10 |
8:11 |
| mile 11 |
8:02 |
| mile 12 |
8:13 |
| mile 13 |
8:01 |
| mile 14 |
8:07 |
| mile 15 |
8:04 |
| mile 16 |
8:14 |
| mile 17 |
8:03 |
| mile 18 |
8:14 |
| mile 19 |
7:56 |
| mile 20 |
8:07 |
| mile 21 |
8:34 |
| mile 22 |
8:15 |
| mile 23 |
8:10 |
| mile 24 |
8:24 |
| mile 25 |
8:43 |
| mile 26 |
7:59 |
| final .2 |
7:22 |
It's surreal. I did so much better than I thought possible. I had a "realistic" goal of 3:45 (8:34 pace) and what I considered "highly optimistic" goal of 3:40 (8:23 pace), which is my Boston qualifying time....  BUT NO.... I did it in 3:35:01 (8:12 pace). I can't believe it.Â
I felt great! The weather was great! My ipod kept playing the exact perfect song at the exact perfect time. I had a half marathon PR at the half ... 1:47:something. My plan was 8:30 a mile. I went out faster than the plan because 8:15ish just felt like a jog!  Â
I thought I might pay for it later, but really I felt great the whole way.  At mile 1, I thought it felt like I'd only run about a quarter mile. At mile 8, I would have guessed by the way I felt, I only had run 3 miles.  As I approached the half, I was thinking I couldn't believe how much energy I still had.  I've run 4 races that were over 12 miles and in all of them I was going slower than this... and in all of them I thought I was about to die at the end...  Amazing.  Â
Kept waiting for "the wall" and it never came.  Miles 18-21 were probably the worst miles of the race for me but mainly because they were boring... they weren't by a road and there were no spectators... also it was into the sun... but I just concentrated on how great it would be to get in the final miles. After the race, I was surprised to see I had a 7:56 mile right in the middle of those hard miles.  OK... I now believe in the taper! I was really doubting before, but now I'm a believer.
I used 6 caffeine gu's during the race. Four 25 mg, two 50 mg. I had to take most of them without water.  There was some kind of issue with the water stops.  After mile 2 there wasn't another one until mile 11!!  The race director and spectators got people out there at water stations in the second half but I didn't know where the stations would be since they weren't there in the first half.   Luckily for me, I had arranged for my husband and Dad to meet me at mile 8, 18, 21 with Nuun. I only did this because I thought drinking sugary gatoraide would give me stomach issues.  So good thing I planned ahead like this, because the water station issues didn't affect me... Â
I really need to figure out how to drink while running. I only stopped for 10-15 seconds to drink but stopping also cost me some momentum. There was a girl who I passed at mile 7 and she passed me back at mile 15. She finished in 3:33. I can't drink and run like she could. I think we were going close to the same pace but everytime I stopped to drink, she would get further ahead. Â
The second half of the marathon was on track to be faster than the first... I was thinking that I had energy for a big kick that I was waiting until 2 miles to go to unleash... but then at mile 25, I had some kind of nerve issue in my left leg.. sharp pains streaking up along behind my knee and toward my back. I had to stop and stretch because my leg stopped responding to me and I thought I was going to fall over ...that was the reason mile 25 was 8:43 .... I started thinking that maybe I would have to truck it in at the 8:45 pace the rest of the way....  but then I got pissed and said No Way am I slowing down for THIS... so I sped up! ...and then Lady GaGa came on my ipod... and then this girl tried to pass me... all of it just happened at once and it was perfect... I got so determined and at first I was running through the pain but then... the pain went away. I totally smoked that girl who tried to pass me.  Then I hit the final .2 miles and I smoked everyone in sight. I have never felt so powerful before in my whole life.Â
I can't believe I did this well.  I'm so proud. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
|
Feeling pretty good after my first marathon. My quads are still very sore. My right leg hip flexor feels sore too. Just feels like the day after a hard sprint workout.
I'm thinking I'll take off today.... maybe tomorrow I'll do an easy, slow run. I'm just going to listen to my body and take it very easy. If I feel up to it, my running group is having an 8k and 15k race on Saturday. I'm thinking I want to do the 8k. Then on Thanksgiving I'm running an 8 mile race. I hope that's not too soon after my marathon.
I'm excited to run some shorter distances and PR. When I started running, my goal from the start was to run a marathon. I've never really concentrated on any other distance... I would run them from time to time but haven't really put the emphasis on them. I think it might be fun to do that now. Maybe I'll run another marathon in the spring.
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.70 |
|
4.7 miles at 6:30 pm. First run after the marathon. Dark, windy, and cold. My left knee bothered me a little toward the end of the run but that was it. I'm surprised... my legs actually feel like they're less banged up than before I began the taper.
Splits (9:35, 9:10, 9:14, 9:16, 9:12 pace for last .7) |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 4.70 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
|
4 miles at 6:45 pm. Felt pretty good today. Rob Zombie came on my ipod and it made me want to run fast. Splits (9:06, 8:05, 8:06, 8:00)
|
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 4.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Race: |
Fort Worth Running Company 15K (9.3 Miles) 01:11:17, Place overall: 11, Place in age division: 1 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 9.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.30 |
|
My running group held a 15K race today. Average pace 7:39 a mile.
Splits
mile 1- 7:35
mile 2- 7:40
mile 3- 7:46
mile 4- 7:57
mile 5- 7:40 (included turn around and water stop)
mile 6- 7:28
mile 7- 7:36
mile 8- 7:42
mile 9- 7:41
Last .3 pace- 7:02
I was thinking maybe it wasn't a good idea to run a race less than a week after my first marathon, but I just couldn't pass it up. I was feeling pretty good, so why not?
In September I ran a 15K in 1:15:45 ish (8:05 pace) and it was the best race ever for me! I was so proud. And today I improved on that by like 4 and a half minutes. Wow! I can't believe how fast I'm getting. (I'm knocking on wood right now). I think maybe I'm getting too cocky! Ha, ha!
I was the second placed girl overall. Really cool. There was this young girl with a giant bow in her hair who finished 1 min 30 seconds ahead of me. When the results were posted, I found out she was 16. I'm double her age... ! When she passed me around mile 2, I thought she'd fade before the end of it... as seems to be the case with younger runners in longer races. I kept waiting to see her sputtering but she never did. I wish I had gotten into running longer races when I was her age.
I ran with Ashley the first half and then I sped up. She finished 1 minute 30 seconds behind me. It wasn't long ago I referred to Ashley as "the fast girl" and Laura as "the super fast girl". I'm glad I know their real names now. Yeah, I'm getting too cocky.... : ) |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 9.30 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
|
My plan this morning was to run 6, but both my kids woke up at 5:45 am. I was not defeated. I made breakfast for everyone, I fed the baby and I changed two diapers... all in record time. I put everyone in front of their favorite show to eat and I was out running by 6:30.
My garmin wouldn't turn on. Still not defeated... though this really discourages me. I took a stopwatch instead and did my 4 mile route in 36:30 minutes. I guess about 9 min pace. Easy~ish except on the hills, I charge the hills.
I'm running a 5k on Thursday. I really want to do 7:20 pace or better... so 22:45 or under. Prior to this my PR is 23:45 but that was hot weather in September and I didn't get much sleep prior. I've gotten much faster since then too.
I haven't run alot of 5k's... I don't know of any strategies -if there is such a thing in this short of a race. I'm thinking I'll maintain a 7:20 pace until the turn around and then I'll crank up the music and start getting faster and when I only have a mile left I will do as close to a dead sprint as I can muster.
I think before Thursday I need to go to the track to do a few 7:20 pace 400's to practice. Also some faster than that. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 2.00 | 0.50 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.50 |
|
6.5 miles at 6:15 am. I'm trying to prepare for the 5K on Thursday. I figure tomorrow I need to rest or run easy so today was my last day to work on speed.
First 6 miles - there are 9 hills on this route (some short and steep, some long and gradual) and I tried to run them all 8:15 or better.
mile 1- 9:45
mile 2- 9:08
mile 3- 8:30
mile 4- 8:20
mile 5- 8:36
mile 6- 8:23
Then I just did some speed stuff .... First I ran .35 miles at 7:30 pace.
When I got to my street, I pushed the "lap" button on my garmin and I sprinted from the stop sign to my house, which is about the length of a football field... then I jogged back and did it again... and then again.
Sprint 1 390 feet at 6:00 pace
Sprint 2 390 feet at 5:27 pace
Sprint 3 390 feet at 5:24 pace
-Note: Around mile 5, my left knee cap started bugging me. When I started sprinting, I didn't notice it anymore. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.50 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Race: |
Holiday 5000 Series - Thanksgiving Day Run (3.1 Miles) 00:21:15, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 3.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
| I was the overall female winner at the 5k this morning!! I got a big turkey trophy. My three year old is very impressed. Ha, ha!Â
Splits
First few seconds of race - I had trouble pressing start with my garmin for the first few seconds of the race because of my gloves...  I was going REALLY fast.Â
mile 1 - 6:45
mile 2- 7:13
mile 3- 7:08
Final race clock time 21:15
I was going to be happy if I did a 7:20 pace average... deep down I thought I could do better... but I was surprised that I did THIS well.   I never even looked at my watch the whole race. I just ran by how I felt.  Â
Either the race was slightly short of 3.1 miles or my Garmin's distance was off.Â
I recorded exactly 3 miles on my watch. I was delayed pressing start on the timer at the beginning of the race, however, I doubt I covered the remaining .1 mile during that time... I think I only missed 15 seconds. If this is the case, I was running an average 7 min pace and I probably would have finished in 21:45 if the course was a full 3.1 miles.
The other possibility is that my Garmin's distance calculation was off and the race was the full 3.1 miles. Sometimes maymyrun.com is different from what my Garmin says.  If the race clock and distance were accurate, I did 6:51 per mile.Â
What should I go by in this situation?  The race clock or my garmin?
It was pretty miserable weather today. A cold front came in and dropped the temps to 40's or 50's. It was windy about 18 mph. There was a slight rain. The second half of the race was against the wind.
I was thinking I could have probably gone faster if my leg muscles were stronger. Towards the end of the race, I was trying to get my legs to pump faster but my quads felt like they just couldn't move any faster... Aerobically, I felt fine... but my quads felt like they were out of energy. I usually have a bigger kick at the end of a race than this. It reminded me of what my legs used to feel like during the last set of lifting weights.. I bet I could get faster if I strengthened my muscles. I need to add some weight/strength training.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!  Time to go pig out! |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 3.10 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 2.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.40 |
|
8.4 miles at 8:30 am.
Splits (9:09, 9:06, 8:47, 9:06, 9:10, 9:01, 8:29, 8:15, 8:07 pace for last .4)
Visiting the in-laws this weekend so I'm running in the piney woods of Conroe, Tx this morning. It's so beautiful. Different landscape than the Praire-like Fort Worth. I've always enjoyed it here but never so much as I do now that I run when I'm here.
Tomorrow morning I'm running 12 miles with The Woodlands Running Club. I'm going to jump in the 8 minute pace group that I ran with last time. It was challenging last time... there were lots of hills. Thre are about 7-8 people that run the 8 minute pace... which is alot more than I'm used to running with so I think it's fun.
|
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 8.40 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.00 |
|
12 miles this morning with The Woodlands Running Club. I ran with a large group of people who claimed to be the 8 min pace group, however, the only mile they ran at 8:00 was the first... all the rest were in the 7's. IT was challenging and fun. A man and his teenage son were part of the group... The son was second place in the state of Texas High School CC championship. I was able to find out that most of the people running in this group were 3:00-3:10 marathoners. This was like a tempo for me... but for some of them, it was just a jog.
Splits
8:03
7:53
7:44
7:25 (H.S. kid took the lead)
7:41
7:34
7:41
7:17 (I don't know how but I got in kind of a race with another guy prior to a water stop.)
7:46
7:46
7:45
7:52 (Had to stop to wait for traffic on busy street) |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 12.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
|
6 miles at 5:45 pm. Very cold, windy and dark. The plan was to do an easy run today but I started out too fast because I was so cold. I finally started warming up halfway and I decided to relax and slow down. So normally I do negative spilts, but today I did positive.
8:18, 8:09, 8:11, 8:27, 8:39, 9:00 |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 6.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 3.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.50 |
|
Splits (8:46, 8:44, 8:41, 8:36 pace for last .5 mile)
Three miles was all I could manage today. My 9 month old is teething and went all day crying without a nap. Then I had an epic battle of wills with my 3 year old. He was on a rampage making mess after mess and totally ignoring me. I tried bribes and threats. Nothing worked. It was like he was determined to get in trouble.
After he got into the diapers and spread them all over the house, I told him he had to clean them up or I'd start taking toys away. He told me it was too hard to clean up-- that Mommy should do it. Ha, ha! Spiderman was mine! This did nothing to inspire him to pick up. Nope, the little sh#$T is just as stubborn as Mommy. I tried to get him to sit in time out but he kept running off. Finally, I had to strap him a stroller for time out until my husband got home a little while later. I know it sounds awful, but Super Nanny wasn't around and it was the only way I could finish cooking dinner and tend to a crying 9 month old. Whew!
When my husband got home, we discovered that while in the middle of the temper tantrum, Jake had locked our bedroom door and we didn't have the key to get in. My husband had to remove the door knob for me to get my running clothes.
So by the time I started running, it was dark and cold. I only managed 3.5 miles because I was cold. I just cannot figure what to wear in this weather! Either I overdress and am annoyed to have to carry around extra clothing or I underdress and I'm freezing. When I got home, Jake had picked up all the diapers with Daddy's help and he said, "I'm sorry, Mommy". I gave him back his beloved spiderman and it was like it never happened.
|
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 3.50 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 6.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.50 |
|
6.5 miles at 6:30 pm. Easy. Didn't look at my watch until I finished. Funny how easy running in the 8's is to me now. Could be the cooler weather... could be that I'm more fit.
Splits (8:32, 8:25, 8:38, 8:35, 8:32, 8:22, 7:53 pace for last .5 mile)
The last several days I have hated running in the dark and cold. Today I decided to get over it and stop complaining. I decided to tell myself that I like it this way. Maybe I can brainwash myself? It seemed to work somewhat. I think there's something to this positive thinking thing.
The thing is... there's always some reason NOT to run... If I didn't run every time my mind came up with a "reason", I would never run. They aren't really reasons, actually, they're just excuses. It's always better to run. I have never finished a run and wished that I hadn't run. OTOH when I have skipped a run, I have wished I hadn't skipped. I like Nike's slogan, "Just Do It." I say that to myself all the time. That, and "Don't be a wimp!"
So in tonight's run, I got to put some of that to use. I had stomach cramps that started at the end of mile 5. I could have taken the short cut home and finish in 1/2 mile but I decided to not wimp out and go the long way home. I think the stomach cramp was because I cooked dinner before I left and I was sampling while I was cooking. Usually, I do better in the evenings if I don't eat right before I run. Anyways... Since the positive thinking thing was working for the dark and cold, I just decided to tell myself the cramping was not a big deal. I decided to speed up and see if that helped... worth a try. In the marathon, I was surprised that speeding up helped a leg cramp! Speeding up is not the most intuitive thing to do when you have some kind of cramping pain... but I'm finding out that sometimes it works. Tonight I found that it at least lessened the pain. I'm thinking speeding up helps me to relax, focus, restore my breathing and form, and increases my oxygen intake. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 6.50 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
|
4 miles at 5 pm. Splits (8:22, 8:18, 8:37, 8:27) Windy today but I ran before sunset so it wasn't dark and cold. First two miles were with the wind at my back and mostly downhill. Second two miles were the against the wind uphill. Running 11 miles with my running group tomorrow.
Funny story: I bought some new running shoes today from my running store. Mizuno Wave Rider 13. I'm going to try them out tomorrow. Afterwards, I took Jake and Ryan to the park to feed the ducks. As we pulled up, the ducks were coming out of the pond in droves. They swarmed us. There was another man and his son there who warned us that this one goose attacked them. Just then, the goose they were warning us about started running towards us. He was the fastest and the fattest goose I'd ever seen. I guess being a bully pays off.
He saw we had bread and he was very aggressive about getting it. It wasn't long before he bit Jake on the knee and Jake started screaming. While holding Ryan, I threw my bread at him but there were so many other ducks and geese around, the bread kept getting gobbled up by others. I kept throwing bread at him and he kept chasing me... all while Jake is screaming. Finally, I chucked the whole bag at him as hard as I could and I screamed.
Well, that man standing there must have had some kind of male "protector" thing kick in because all of a sudden, he got visciously mad at the goose and charged it, grabbed it by the neck and raised it up off the ground... feathers flying everywhere. It was quite shocking to witness! Jake's mouth dropped to the ground! I thought he was going to ring it's neck right in front of us! I said, "TIME TO GO!!!" and we loaded up in the car as fast as we could. The other ducks were chasing us to the car... but they weren't trying to bite at least... My Gosh, those ducks were hungry. I have never seen anything like this.
When I drove by, I saw that the man let the goose free and it was waddling Super Super FAST away. I rolled down my window and thanked him... he said that the goose will think twice before it attacks another human. I would think so!! Ha, ha!
I called my mom and sister and told them that we need to send word out that the Trinity River ducks and geese were starving so much that they are swarming and attacking people... people need to get out there fast and feed them... BUT might want to take protection. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 4.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 1.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.00 |
|
11 miles with my running group this morning.
Mile 1- 8:50
Mile 2- 8:27
Mile 3- 8:16
Mile 4- 8:14
Mile 5- 8:01
Mile 6- 8:02
Mile 7- 7:56
Mile 8- 7:40
Mile 9- 7:36
Mile 10- 7:06
Mile 11- 7:11
Alot of people weren't there this morning because they are running Dallas White Rock Lake Marathon tomorrow. I got asked to pace the 9 minute group at the last minute. There are 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 minute pace groups. There isn't an official "pace" group for the people I run with... we range between 7:30 and 8:30 usually. I use Saturdays as a combo tempo/long run... I look forward to it all week. I was kinda disappointed to do the 9 minute group. I couldn't say no because I was asked in front of the pre-run meeting with everyone there... I could just imagine everyone's reaction if I had said, "No, I want to run an 8 minute pace, thanks"
But it turned out ok... It ended up being Brenda and I and then two other guys who I've never met named Brooks and Miquel. They told me that they actually ran right behind me at the 15K when I was a 7:39 pace. So I asked them if they wanted to do a progressive run today and they said they'd be ok with that.
A couple miles into it, James started running with us. He and his father own the running store. I don't know his PR but I looked him up on Athlinks.com (which only has race results since 2000) and his best marathon on that was 2:40. His best 5k was 16:09. He's in his mid-forties and been running his whole life so I bet he had some faster times prior to 2000. It was kinda interesting that he ran with us the rest of the way. I don't think any of his normal sub-7 minute runners were there.
Everyone ran together the first 9 miles. The last couple miles, I sped way up... James kept up with me and everyone else fell behind. It was super challenging for me... a mere jog for him. It was polite of him to not leave me. Only real problem I had was that with 1/2 mile to go, my ipod started playing slow songs... I started feeling like I couldn't hold the pace and I realized that the beat was not fast enough. I had to fiddle with that stupid thing for 1 minute before I found Lady GaGa. After that I finished strong but with nothing left. James looked like he just finished running 1 mile. Miquel caught up to us at the end in a sprint. I'm impressed with Miquel... he had a big kick!
I've been thinking that I am going to do this progressive run thing on Saturdays and keep driving my pace down. A few weeks ago, if I really pushed myself, I could get down to a 7:30 pace at the end. Today, I'm getting down to 7:06 and 7:11. I'm getting faster and faster! I think progressive runs really help. |
| Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 11.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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8 miles at 6 am. Slowest run in a while. Avg pace 9:12
Splits (9:32, 9:25, 9:09, 8:48, 9:12, 9:08, 9:15, 9:07)
32 degrees. Even though I was going slow and I didn't have any aches or pains to complain of, the effort felt really difficult and I spent the whole run thinking about why it was hard. I really need to stop complaining.
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| Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 8.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.60 |
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5.6 miles at 9:04 average pace at 6:30 am. 35 degrees.
Splits (9:39, 9:13, 9:02, 8:42, 8:49, 8:58 pace for the last .6)
I didn't even look at my watch and I really didn't care how fast I went. It was all I could do to drag myself outside to run in this cold. I like the 100 degree summer weather better than this. Ugh! I've been trying positive thinking... telling myself to stop complaining and toughen up... but I just really, really hate the cold!
I am determined to find a solution. It's the coldest in the morning and the sun rises at 7:15 which is when I have to be back in order for my husband to leave for work. It gets cold pretty fast after the sun sets at 5:30 which is when my husband gets home. However, it has been in the 50's and 60's during the day and usually sunny. I need to run during the day.
My sister is my only hope. I'll have to work out bartering and babysitting exchanges with her so I can get her to watch my kids during the daylight. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 5.60 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 1.00 | 2.50 | 8.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.10 |
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AM Workout
8.6 miles at 10:30 am. 8:23 average pace. 45 degrees. Sunny. Very windy -20 to 25 mph according to weather site. Some miles were difficult because I tried to maintain pace against the wind... but most of run I would consider easy effort. It's so much better running at this time of day!! My sister came over to babysit my kids so I could run. Now she's leaving to do her errands and I'm babysitting her 3 year old. It's win-win.
Splits
Mile 1- 8:42
Mile 2- 8:21
Mile 3- 8:43
Mile 4- 8:27
Mile 5- 8:23
Mile 6- 8:30
Mile 7- 8:10
Mile 8- 8:18
Mile 8.6- 7:52
-----------------------------
PM Workout
Decided to go to my running group's track workout tonight at 6pm. We did 1 mile warm-up and five Yasso 800's. We walked 100 yards and jogged 100 yards in between each 800. I skipped the cool down mile because I had to get back to my kids.
I did the first two 800's in 3:25 and the next three at 3:21. It was fun. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 8.60 | Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 3.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 12.00 |
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Great run this morning with my group. 12 miles - 7:35 average pace
| Mile 1 |
7:48 |
| Mile 2 |
7:45 |
| Mile 3 |
7:31 |
| Mile 4 |
7:44 |
| Mile 5 |
7:47 |
| Mile 6 |
7:30 |
| Mile 7 |
7:09 |
| Mile 8 |
7:11 |
| Mile 9 |
7:26 |
| Mile 10 |
7:37 |
| Mile 11 |
7:47 |
| Mile 12 |
7:37 |
A new girl ran with the group this morning. She's actually run one other time with us (the week before my marathon), but last time she ran with the 7 minute guys. Today we were the fastest group so she ran with us. Her name is Emily and she's 27. She just ran a half marathon last weekend in 1:34:something... which is a 7:10 pace.
So today I started out trying to keep up with her... She said I was driving the pace but I felt like she was... I guess that's what happens when competitive people run together. Anyways, around mile 3 the 7 minute guys caught up to us (I think they started later than we did) and she started off with them. I'll admit I got spooked going 7:30 in mile 3 with 9 more miles to go... so I let them go on. Then the guys turned around at mile 4 because they ran a marathon last week and were taking it easy today. So she ran alone and ahead of me until the turn around. I made up my mind to keep up with her the second half - no matter what!
I started running with her again at mile 6. We went so fast! It was challenging! The water stop was at mile 9.5. I had to slow down after that. I stayed about 50 yards behind her until the finish. Mentally, I just couldn't hold the pace. I am disappointed with myself that I couldn't keep up the last 2 miles but also kinda excited that I have found a challenge.
I hope she keeps running with us because she'll make me a better runner. She told me that she has a group she does track workouts with at TCU campus on Monday mornings at 5:30 am. She said it is very challenging! Coming from her, I'm sure it is! She invited me to join them. She said they finish by 6:30 or 7 am, which works for me because I'd have to be home by 7:15 for my husband to leave for work. I think I'm going to try it out!
Today's average was 7:35 pace. If I ran that pace for 13.1 miles, that would be a sub 1:40 half marathon! That's just crazy to think about! Next week my running group is doing a half marathon race... so I guess I have a goal time now. If Emily is there, I'm sure I can do it. Maybe even better! |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 12.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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8 miles at 1pm. Average pace 8:27. 65 degrees and windy -15 mph. Did positive splits... ugh! I was just running how I felt and I started getting hot and slowing down... plus, I was running against the wind the second half.
Splits
mile 1- 8:03
mile 2- 8:12
mile 3- 8:26
mile 4- 8:20
mile 5- 8:40
mile 6- 8:38
mile 7- 8:40
mile 8- 8:33 |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 8.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.50 |
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5.5 miles at 6:30 am. Average pace 8:58. It was cold and very windy. Felt Blah today. I intended to run 8 miles this morning, but I procrastinated getting out the door and then I only had time for 5.5 miles. Blah, blah...
Splits (9:31, 9:13, 8:57, 8:48, 8:40 pace for last .5) |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 5.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 2.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.40 |
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6.4 miles at 6:30 am. 32 degrees but not windy.
Mile 1- 9:12
Mile 2- 9:02
Mile 3- 8:49
Mile 4- 8:37
Mile 5- 8:03
Mile 6- 8:10 (but I had to cross traffic twice this mile)
Mile 6.4- 7:22
Tomorrow I'm running a half marathon race. Last week's 12 miler (which was basically a "race" with Emily) I did a 7:35 average... so I'm hoping I can do 7:35 average for 13.1, which would be a sub-1:40. We will see. If Emily is there, I know I'll push myself hard!
My PR for a half is 1:55 (8:45 pace) in 2008. So even if I have a bad day tomorrow, I should still easily PR. ...Knock on Wood!!!
These next few months, my plan is to concentrate on half marathons... I intend to run the Benbrook Half on January 29, the Cowtown Half on February 26, and the Dallas Rock 'n Roll Half on March 27. If I can run a sub-1:37 (less than 7:30 pace) at one of these, then I qualify for the NYC Marathon.
As for tomorrow's goal of running sub-1:40, I'm a little nervous.... This week I've run less and gotten less sleep than I would have liked. Nights have been difficult because my 9 month old has had a cold and is waking up frequently. Also, my days and evenings have been busy with Christmas shopping. Shopping is 100 times more time consuming and stressful when you have to take babies and toddlers with you. Oh well. Life happens. I'll do my best tomorrow. |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 6.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Fort Worth Running Company - Countdown to Cowtown Race Series - Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:41:30, Place overall: 6, Place in age division: 3 | | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 13.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.10 |
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30 degrees. No wind.
| Mile 1 |
7:13 |
| Mile 2 |
9:13 |
| Mile 3 |
7:50 |
| Mile 4 |
7:43 |
| Mile 5 |
7:46 |
| Mile 6 |
7:39 |
| Mile 7 |
7:48 |
| Mile 8 |
7:24 |
| Mile 9 |
7:25 |
| Mile 10 |
7:38 |
| Mile 11 |
7:38 |
| Mile 12 |
7:29 |
| Mile 13 |
7:24 |
| Mile 13.2 |
7:02 |
My garmin actually had 13.2 miles, so I used that for calculating averages.
Overall average pace (ap) = 7:42
First half (6.6 miles ) total time= 52:05, ap=7:53
Second half (6.6 miles) total time =49:30, ap=7:30
-Miles 1-2 ap =8:13
-Miles 3-7 ap =7:45
-Miles 8-13 ap =7:29
In one word: Bittersweet. I'm disappointed with how I executed the race, but I'm proud that I recovered so well especially after mile 8... heck, I'm proud I just finished considering at one point I thought about quitting!
This week I started thinking I wanted to do a sub 1:40 which would have been 7:30 pace. I still think that would have been realistic had I done a better job with strategy in the beginning. Basically, I started out WAY TOO FAST the first 2 miles and ruined my first half. I met up with Emily and decided to run with her. Stupid. We ran together last week's 12 miler at 7:35 pace... which was like a race for me and easy for her. She ran a half marathon 2 weeks ago at 1:34:17 (7:10 pace). Today her time was 1:33:50. She's just out of my league at this point in time. Maybe one day I'll get up there with her....
Anyways, I ran the first 1.75 miles ranging between 6:45 and 7:20 pace. What was I thinking? It wasn't my goal to run 1:30 to 1:35 and I knew I wasn't capable of that! Why did I do this?! Regardless, even at that pace, all these women were passing me... It was freaking me out. Maybe some were the 10k people, but there were really alot faster women in this race than in many of my previous races. I kept watching my watch and seeing fast times and it wasn't good enough to keep up with Emily or these other girls.
Then all of a sudden, I became aware that my heart was beating too fast... scary fast. My legs felt like they were made of lead too. It was hard to move. Maybe in actuality, the issue with my legs was the cold weather, but at the time my mental state had me convinced that my body was shutting down. I was spooked. I tried to slow down but even at an 8:30 pace, my heart still was going crazy. I can't remember ever feeling this way before... it was scary. I should have done a warm-up! Idiot! Why didn't I just stick to the 7:30 plan? I really thought I was going to throw up.
So I decided to stop and "stretch" at mile 1.75. Embarrassing. Not even mile 2. Not even to the first water stop! Amateur. I stopped for maybe 2 minutes... maybe longer... and caught my breath. I considered quitting. My car was only 1.75 miles away.... Then I thought about how much I'd beat myself up if I did that. How would I explain to my friends about why I quit? A fake injury? How stupid. So I decided that even if I have to run a 9 min pace the rest of the way, I'm finishing this thing. I just had to calm down and relax. I never looked at my watch again for the rest of the race.
When I rejoined the race, I figured I was now running with the people who were going about an 8 minute pace. It was much less stressful back there. No one else passed me the rest of the race. Actually, I was passing tons of people. No matter what the pace, passing people is much more enjoyable than being passed... BUT I still felt ruined and uncomfortable aerobically until around mile 8.
Mile 8 - I would say I kinda felt like I "woke up". All of a sudden, I felt like myself again. I started noticing the scenery and I started thinking about speeding up. My times after mile 8 got much better. Around mile 12, I started really hurting. I pushed on. I struggled with my ipod until I found Lady Gaga. I've got 3 of her songs in a row and in the past they've been motivating in crutch time. Today, I decided the songs are losing their effect... I need to change my ipod.
Literally, the only thing that motivated me during the last 1.1 miles was that I told myself that as soon as I finished I could throw up. The thought of that was really exciting. I kept saying to myself... just 1/2 mile until you can puke... just the distance of one lap around a track until you can puke... it was my mantra. But I finished strong in the end. The final sprint into the chute was 6:12 pace. I didn't end up throwing up after all. However, here I am 4 hours after finishing and I feel awful.
So overall, a painful race. Technically, the time wasn't too bad. I just got way too ambitious and ruined it. I think if I had started at 7:40 pace, I would have improved my overall time by at least 2 minutes... probably would have gotten sub 1:40 like I wanted. Live and learn I guess.
I ended up as the 6th place overall female. The first place girl was 1:31: something. Emily was second with 1:33:50. I was 3rd in my 30-34 age group... 1st in my age group had a time of 1:39:something.
Honestly, I'm confused about why the pace those first two miles did that to me. I didn't feel like I was going to throw up during my 5k on Thanksgiving where I running 7:00 pace. Maybe the cold today just got to me. Maybe I haven't been training enough lately. I've got think about it some more. |
| Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 13.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.50 |
|
5.5 miles at 2pm. HOT!! Sunny and 79 degrees. Windy 20 mph. Running against the wind second half. Average pace= 8:18
Splits
8:15
8:17
8:30
8:00
8:21
8:32 pace for final .5 mile
Husband is off work for 2 weeks! I decided to run in the middle of the day because I'm tired of the cold weather in the morning.... However, once I started running in this 79 degree sunny day... I was SO HOT!! Should have worn a tank top! Texas weather is SO weird! It's just funny to me that I can run one day in 30 degree temp and then the next day in 80 degrees. |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 5.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
|
Easy 4 miles at 9:30 am. Average pace 8:58. 65 degrees. Sunny. Windy.
Splits (8:41, 8:52, 9:24, 8:53)
Felt difficult today, not sure why... I think I'll try to run again later today.
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| Brook's Ghost Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 5.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.20 |
|
Tough week for running. I didn't run for three days in a row. Busy with Christmas and family. Santa came to our house on the 24th because three year olds don't know the difference and it was easier since we had all day family functions on the 25th.
I finally got to run this morning at 9:00 am. It was 36 degrees and 21 mph wind, but after three days of not running I'll take what I can get. Splits - 9:24, 9:05, 9:16, 9:02, 8:17
I went slow and I wore layers. As I was running past all the houses in my neighborhood I imagined all the families inside houses opening gifts. Probably the happiest single morning of the year. All the stress of the season, the shopping and the cooking frenzy, is all worth it on this one morning when you see children open their presents and become manically happy.
I felt much better after I ran... like the stress just melted away. I love running... even if I have to do it in this stinking weather.
I figure this week I have definitely lost fitness only running 14 miles for the week. This winter I just haven't been getting the miles in that I want. I'll have to build it back up. Oh well. I still am focused on breaking a 1:40 half.
I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!! |
| Brook's Ghost Miles: 5.20 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 easy miles at 2:30 pm. 50 degrees, sunny, wind 18 mph. 8:28 average pace.
Splits
Mile 1- 8:32
Mile 2- 8:17
Mile 3- 8:36
Mile 4- 8:27
Mile 5- 8:34
Mile 6- 8:22
Mile 7- 8:39
Mile 8- 8:25
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| Brook's Ghost Miles: 8.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Got dressed to go run the first chance I got today but it started raining. I couldn't muster up the will power to go running in 40 degree rain. I need a treadmill!!! I got some Christmas money which I'd love to use to buy one, but it looks like we need a new washing machine instead. Ugh! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
|
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 miles at 1:00 pm. Average pace 8:28. 70 degrees, sunny, wind 16 mph gusting to 23 mph. The 5th mile was pretty challenging because it was uphill directly against the wind.
Splits
Mile 1- 8:42
Mile 2- 8:23
Mile 3- 8:19
Mile 4- 8:18
Mile 5- 8:46
Mile 6- 8:30
Mile 7- 8:35
Mile 8- 8:07
The holidays are finally over. My in-laws left yesterday. It was a great Christmas this year! Ryan's first and Jake really understood this year which made it really fun! They had several days in a row of opening gifts because we had many different family functions. They were so tired when Mimi and Pawpaw left yesterday, they both fell asleep at 4:45 pm and didn't wake up until 7 am!!
Now that everything is done, I hope to be able to get back into a regular running routine. |
| Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 8.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
|
8 miles at 9:30 am. 55 degrees, sunny, wind 15 mph. Beautiful day. I am so grateful that I am healthy and able to be outside running on a day like today!
I decided to just go really easy today, which is to say that I didn't charge any hills. I'm saving myself for tomorrow. The plan is to run 15 miles. I'm going to have to do it all by myself since my running group isn't doing one. I guess most people will be celebrating tonight. Not me. No babysitters. Tomorrow morning I think I'm going to go to the river and run 3.75 miles in one direction and 3.75 back to my car for water and gu, then run 3.75 miles in the other direction and 3.75 back to my car again.
Splits
Mile 1- 8:56
Mile 2- 8:44
Mile 3- 8:45
Mile 4- 8:40
Mile 5- 8:48
Mile 6- 8:43
Mile 7- 8:51
Mile 8- 7:59 |
| Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 8.00 |
|
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 |
| |
| | Easy Miles | Threshold Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Track speed mileage | Hill mileage | Total | | 749.60 | 144.25 | 278.01 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 1174.86 |
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| Brook's Ghost Miles: 159.20 | Asics Cumulus- Teal Miles: 144.70 | Mizuno Wave Rider Miles: 43.60 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 229.00 | Nap Time: 6.50 | Total Sleep Time: 235.50 | Weight: 115.85 | |
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