2009, A Look Back...

With four full days left of the year 2009 I might as well go ahead and do a little year end analysis.



I’m almost embarrassed to post my 2009 running goals, seeing as how I didn’t quite meet them all. Although, I guess I didn’t do too bad.


These are the goals that I wrote into the front cover of my training log book:

Plan- Run 900 miles in 2009

Actual- With 4 days remaining of the year, I am currently at 1190.81miles.

Plan- Complete my entire “manual” running log book.

Actual- Yep, it’s full and complete. There’s just something in me that can’t rely entirely on a computer log. I like writing it all down!

Plan- Run at least 1 Race every single month.

Actual- I ran a total of 20 organized races this year, running at least 1 each month.

Plan- Run my 1st Half Marathon (In 2 hours or less)
Actual- I completed the Jacksonville Marine Corps Half Marathon on Oct. 3, 2009… although it took me 2 hours, 5 minutes and 56 seconds.

Plan- Explore Trail Running

Actual- Easy enough. We ran a total of 73 miles of trail running and 2 XTerra trail races.

Plan- Beat Race PR’s on my 5,10,12 & 15K distances.

Actual – Not a single PR this year. Although I did get very close to PR’s I set in 2007 and never quite got close to again in 2008. This is going to be a focus on my 2010 plans, seeing as how I failed on this one! Thanks to RC, now I know HOW to do this one.

I am going to wait a few days and ponder my 2010 goals. One problem I’m having is that I got a sudden injury in my heel and ankle area last week. Very bad timing for an injury. It is hard to be optimistic and goal oriented when I am not even sure how long this problem is going to have me out of running. I might see a Dr. and get some more definite answers. That will be another post.

Go With The Flow

I've accepted the fact that I am injured.  It has fully sunk in and I'm OK with it.  Really, I am.  No, I'm not lying.  Ok, maybe a little.

Since the painful slow Christmas Eve run at the loop on Thursday, I rested all day Friday, Christmas day.  I soaked my foot in ice water & applied heat in 20 minute increments.  Chuck massaged my heel a lot too.  We went to my Mom's for Christmas dinner.  In between soaking & heating my heel, I ate and we watched movies on HBO all day.

Saturday I bucked up and took RC's advise.  Which was to spend equal planned running TIME on the elliptical at my desired Heart Rate.

Meet my new buddy.  The Arc Trainer!

See, I hope this sweaty fling is short lived.  I don't want it to turn into a long term affair.  Although I am thankful to have a gym membership and access to cross training equipment.

Saturday I spent 1 hour total with an Avg. Heart Rate of 162 on this bad boy.  Sunday (today) I managed 2 hours total.  My equivilant running time should have been a 2.5 hour workout, but I couldn't manage another 30 minutes. 

Thanks to Shyenne's new Kindle.  The two hours of cardio went by as quickly as I could have hoped.  I'm reading Midnight in Madrid.  Pretty good so far.  Shy's grandpa got her new nifty electronic book for Christmas.  But she's sweet enough to share with her Mom!

This week's training hasn't been totally wasted.  I still got out and burned some calories.  Hopefully I'll be back up and running soon enough.  With the cross training I should be able to pick up where I left off.  I might even take advantage of the running break and get some swimming practice in.  One of these days I am going to do a sprint Tri.  Maybe sooner than later. 

Christmas Eve 2009.... Long Post

This holiday season has been less than stressful for me.  Simply put, we decided that we were only going to do Christmas shopping for our kids.  We set aside a budget.  In November we went out one friday and spent that budgeted amount on the kids presents.  What do ya know, we were done shopping.

The next weekend was Thanksgiving.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went and bought a tree and wrapped all of the presents.  We decorated the tree, placed the presents underneath.  What you ya know, we were done with decorating and wrapping presents as well.

I havn't given a second thought to the holiday hussle and bussle since then.  I am very thankful to not work in retail anymore.  Oh, how that made me hate the holiday season.  That's behind me now.  All I've done this year is sit back and enjoy.   Well, maybe I threw in a lot of running in there too!

A month has gone by and Christmas will be here tomorrow.  In the morning I'll get to watch my sweetheart Shyenne inspect her loot from Santa and open her gifts.  The rest of the day's plans are to eat a lot of food and relax.  Ahhhhh. 

As for running.  I could whine and complain on this one.

I decided on Tuesday, two days after an amazing 16 mile training run for my Half Marathon in 4 weeks.... to run my first Marathon.  I decided that instead of running the Snickers Half Marathon on May 6th, I'm going to bite the bullet and run the FULL MARATHON!  So, I emailed RC about my decision.  I asked for some advise and reassurance that I'm not insane for wanting to do such a thing. 

His answer was simple.  Yes, I could do it.  Although, if I want to do the full marathon in approx. 11 weeks, I would have to commit NOW.  He gave me a few training tips and a long run plan.  As soon as I read the email I was all in.

THEN... wouldn't you know.  Tuesday night's track workout came around.  We got there really early because I got off of work early and I didn't want to drive all the way back to Bryon then come back to Macon.  Amy showed up early so me, Amy, Chuck & Mom did some slow laps to pass the time. I ran about a 2 mile warm up. During the warm up my left ankle and heel was hurting, pretty darn bad.  RC finally showed up and gave us the game plan.  Which sounded super fun.  4 x 400's then a 2 mile "race".  Everyone was to guess their 2 mile time at tempo pace and then run it with no Garmin for pacing help.  There were even prizes involved for the winner who runs their actual time closest to their planned time!  What a cool "speed workout". 

I started running my 400's and immediately my heel and ankle was hurting SO bad that I couldn't hold even an 8:30 pace.  It was just the pain, not my breathing or my legs holding me back.  I did 3 400's and stopped and told Chuck how much pain I was in.  I'm not a baby, I'm pretty hard headed and will stick through a lot of things that hurt.  But this hurt REALLY BAD!

He told me I should really sit out the 2 mile run, that I should hold back now and not hurt anything any worse.  I knew he was right, and against everything in me, I didn't do the race.  I had tears in my eyes watching everyone else participate.  I just DONT like to quit.  I felt like a quitter, even though enough of me knew that I was not running for the right reasons.

I didn't run at all on Wednesday.  I iced/heated/rested/alieved... and used our TENS unit on my heel/ankle area. 

Thursday morning was the Macon Tracks "Christmas Eve Loop Run".  There was plans for everyone to bring treats and we would enjoy hot chocolate after our run. 

I was apprehensive about the pain in my foot.  I decided that I would run 2 to 3 miles out and back, getting around 4 to 6 miles in depending on the pain.  I told Chuck that I WOULD NOT cry and get all bent out of shape if I had to stop and walk. 

At the begining of the run Michelle Archer asked if she could run with me, we were running about a 10:20 pace.  She hasn't been running for about a month and wanted to start back slow.  We were perfect company.  We chatted and ran, slowly.  The pain in my foot kept on nagging.  It wasn't getting any better or worse as we ran.  A few times I stopped and walked with Michelle because her stomach was bothering her.   Walking hurt more than running.  I eventually ran a total of 5.28 miles.  Not bad I guess.  I would have loved to run a tempo run.  But that was out of the question.  My pace ended up being aound 11:00 min miles. 

I talked to RC and he is pretty sure that I developed achilles tendonitis.  I didn't realize that could come on so suddenly.

I'm worried that this is going to seriously interfere with my Marathon training plans.  Although there is no need to worry.  There is nothing I can do to make it disappear.  I can just do the RICE and see what happens.  Hopefully I'll be able to run some quality runs and my long runs soon.  I don't want to miss too much. 

We will see what happens???????????????

Reindeer Run 5K 2009

The Turkey Trots are behind us, bring on the Christmas holiday season! I started out right with my 3rd running of the Reindeer Run in Macon. To be extra festive I put together a little elf costume to wear for the race.

My Step Mom Michele was in town for the weekend so we were able to bring Shyenne and Chuck’s little boy Chase to the race. Michele was there for moral support and to keep an eye on the kids. The kids ended up being excellent race photographers.

As for performance expectations on this race, I wasn’t geared up for a PR. Having run the race before I knew there were a few challenging hills. My goal for the race was to at least get close to my PR, in the 24 min. range would suit me fine.


Chuck, Mom, Michele, Shy, Chase & myself got to the race about an hour early. Chuck and I headed out to warm up. We needed to warm up our muscles for the race, plus it was just COLD out and I didn’t have much covering my legs. We got in about 2 miles before the race started.

RACE TIME! I wasn’t nervous for this one. Just excited and jumping around. The race started on an incline, and stays on an incline…. For what seems like the first 2 miles! I had a hard time keeping my pace anywhere below an 8:00 pace. But I held it steady. Around mile 2 I saw my fellow age grouper Amy and decided that if I could keep her in my sight than I would end up with a decent time.


Running the final stretch of the race I saw Michele, Shy, & Chase cheering and taking pictures. It was great to see them at the end like that. I saw the time clock up ahead, I was in the 24 min. range. I pushed out all I had left in me to keep it under 25. My Garmin read 24:47, the official race results say 24:51.


I am very pleased with this race. It was a strong effort. It was a hilly course. I came in very close to my old PR… something I’ve done twice since I started training under RC’s guidance.

A little Inspiration

I have such an optimistic view today.

Although it’s raining outside, and according to the forecast, it should be raining like this for the entire day.
That’s ok though. Work is slow right now. I have one project to take care of by the end of the day. It shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes to complete. So, what am I to do?
I’ve gone ahead and printed a 2010 calendar to plan for some races for the upcoming year. This gets me all excited and in the mood to run! I went online searching for all sorts of races, 5K’s to marathons, road races to trails. Anything fun, new, different, same old favorites…you name it.
I quickly realized that one year is not enough time to do everything I want to do. For example if I pick a 5K that I’d like to PR on, I can’t expect to run a Marathon the weekend before. Chuck and I also have our kids every other weekend, so I have to keep in mind that if we want to run a race on the weekend we have kids, we would have to arrange for a babysitter. So you see, it’s not wide open to run whatever we want to run.
This fun search for races around Georgia and maybe even Florida, got me all in the mood to run… I was feeling my mojo.
Last week was a down week for me, running and otherwise. I was just not feeling it. I’m past it now and feeling wonderful.
I decided to go through the blogs that I follow and just randomly read over everyone’s past year of blogs. I came to the realization, that even though we say it to each other as a comfort when a fellow runner is down… but we ALL really do go through the same things.
Each and every runner that blogs goes through the same cycles.

• The “Oh my, I’m going be the best runner ever, I’m going to hit every workout, every pace, run every day, I’m a beast”
• Then the, “Ok, I’ve been running a lot, now what"
• Then the, “I hate running, I havn’t run in X amount of days, weeks, I wish I had the will to go out and run, what’s wrong with me?”
• Then the “OK, I’m through whining about this, let’s get out and run, do my best, be a strong runner, eat right, and hit every planned workout”

We all go through the same cycles. The beautiful thing is, that we always end up back where we started. Fully motivated, recharged, ready to go out and conquer the world.
Not only that. By reading all of my fellow runner’s blogs I remembered one reason I love running so much. It is such an individual experience. We can all be runners, but we all have our own goals. We can be at so many different levels of ability, yet compete in the same event. We don’t have to win the race to meet a goal. We just go out there and do it, do our best, and set our own bar higher and higher as time goes by.
All of this may have been inspired by the amazing speed workout at the track last night.
RC posted the workout on the Macon Tracks site, he called for a 1 mile warm up, 6 / 20 second strides, 2000m – 1600m - 1200m – 800m – 400m all at interval pace followed by a 1 mile cool down. It sounded tough, then I thought about the fact that after the first interval, it would only get easier. Sure enough, we got to the track early since we wanted to get started to get back to Byron. Mom was watching the kids for us so we didn’t want to be out too late.
We warmed up for our first mile, easy. We did our strides. I did NOT want to start that first 2000 meter interval – 5 laps on the track at a goal pace of 7:38. Ugghhh. Regardless, we started it. The first lap I ran a little too fast, so I slowed my roll a bit. Then I settled into the 7:30’s.
2000m – 7:37 Pace, complete.
Then we walked a 400m and geared back up to do a 1600 interval, one mile at a goal 7:38 pace. The pace felt good, I felt strong, and my stride felt very steady.
1600m – 7:35 pace, complete.
During our 1600m the regular group was meeting up for a briefing from RC about the night’s workout. I was already into the workout and I didn’t want to cool back down so I just ran through it. After finishing the 1600 meters (at a 7:35 pace) the meeting was just finishing up, and I looked at RC’s dry erase board where the workout is always written out. He wrote “Killer Intervals”. Ha Ha. The cool part is I knew I had already completed the first two and the last 3 would be a piece of cake!
I ran the 1200m interval at a 7:31 pace.
The 800m at a 7:38 pace, and the 400m at a 7:27 pace.
Overall I stayed under my planned pace of 7:38 so I considered the workout a success. Now I’m ready to tackle the Reindeer Run on Saturday. Hopefully I’ll have a good report from that race. PR or not, it will be fun!

Bartram Forest Winter Run

I just had a good feeling about this race from the beginning. I had heard a few things here and there from other Macon Tracksters about this race. I had planned to participate in it from the very first time I heard about it. After reading the race information I knew it was going to be a good one.  Of course, I was right.

I’m not even sure if it should be called a race, maybe more of an event. The whole idea is that you can run a 50K, a Marathon, or a “Fun Run” completing as many of the 5 mile loops as you wish. My plan was to do the Fun Run version of the event, to complete 3 loops running approximately 15 miles.

Not only was the event extremely laid back as far as which distance you wanted to run, but there was no definite start time, you could stop after each loop and indulge on a wonderful spread of homemade cookies and treats, grilled cheese sandwiches, water, gatoraide, coffee, and more. Sounds good doesn’t it?

We arrived in Milledgeville in plenty of time to get ready to run. Only to discover that there was only one bathroom and the line was very slow moving. Not using the potty was NOT an option. After that we still had to go back to the car and get our Garmins and stuff. Once we got back down to the start line, the race had already started. This is the first race I’ve ever missed the start of. Guess what? It didn’t matter. You could really start whenever you wanted to. So we started the Garmin and off we went.


The loop went something like this:

For about a mile we ran on singletrack trails. It wasn’t too technical. I just wore my regular road shoes. Not too hilly, not hard at all. Then we wended up on some kind of crazy newly made trail that seemed to be freshly bush hogged. It was grassy and uneven. There were holes everywhere and these nasty little small tree stubs that kept trying to grab my shoes. This lasted about a mile or so. Then for a good mile and a half we were on service roads with decent packed surfaces. I remember 1 GOOD hill and another not too bad hill up a power line road. The last mile and a half was back on a double track trail that was pretty easy to maneuver.

I ran loop #1, felt great. Stopped for a few minutes for a cookie and some fluid. Then headed back out for loop #2. On the second loop Chuck’s ankle and Achilles was bothering him really bad. So I kept up with my pace but he slowed down so he wouldn’t hurt himself any further. After loop #2 we stopped again and I ate a rice krispy treat and drank some more gatoraide. Chuck decided to sit out the last loop because he was really hurting. Mom and I took off for our final loop around the forest. The last loop felt the best for me. I ran it faster than each previous loop. While running the last section of trails back to the finish line I saw Chuck up ahead. He decided to run the course backwards to the water station then turn around to get about 3 miles. I finished my “fun run” strong and felt like I could handle two more loops and do a marathon. I have good sense so I quit while I was ahead. We snacked on some of FM’s fudge then headed back to Byron.


I finished with in a total of 2 hours, 30 minutes and some seconds. Not too bad.

Sunday morning when we got up I felt like I had been beat with a really big stick. My whole right side was sore. I guess “good” sore, not injury sore. Today is Monday and I still have some soreness in my calves, quads, and hips. Wow, those hills and uneven terrain really did me in.


Next year, I plan to do the Marathon.

Thanksgiving Week

Last week was a test for me. It all started with my Long Run Half Mile Hell Run that I’ve already written about. As far as running goes, the day was just bad. Not only did my running suffer starting on Monday, but my healthy diet did as well.


Monday-
About 10 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts greeted me when I arrived at work. I had no will power to deny them, so I ate 4 stinkin’ donuts for breakfast. Then, to make things worse, we celebrated the Warden’s birthday by ordering pizza and we all brought homemade treats. Unfortunately I participated in the celebration. Uhhhhh…
That night, thinking I was all past my blunder of a run on Sunday, I was just going to run on the treadmill, 5 miles. Yeah right. I had a tummy ache and ended up only running 3 easy on the treadmill. I was still in my funk apparently.

Tuesday- Track workout. I did the workout RC posted, which looked something like this:
3 Sets of (2 x 200, 2 x 400, 1 x 800), with the exception of the last 800 on the last set. I did horrible as far as hitting my goal times. My stomach hurt because once again, I ate too much at work… too much of the wrong food!
Wednesday- Rest Day. I worked until about 2 then we headed over to Brunswick for Thanksgiving. We ate dinner out and I had massive amounts of fattening food at the restaurant.

Thursday- Turkey Day! For breakfast we had Pecan Pie! Then we sat around and watched T.V. until noon. Then my mom and I went out (in a strange neighborhood, where apparently the dogs arn't used to runners!) and ran and "easy" 4.5 mile run. We didn’t eat dinner until after 4 because Chuck’s Mom had to work. Once we finally ate, I ate so much I was in pain.

Friday- I planned to run my tempo run, but we slept late, ate pie for breakfast, then drove back to Byron. By 5 PM I knew a run was not going to happen! I didn't even stress about it.

Saturday – Bartram Forest fun run. I think I’ll post a whole separate blog for this one! As far as food goes, I ate whatever I wanted at the race. Later we went out and had Mexican for dinner.

Sunday – RESTED AGAIN! We were so sore from the forest run that there was no way I was going to run. I spent the whole day cleaning the apartment. We also went and got our Christmas tree and decorated for the holiday. I finished off the bad eating / slack running week with Pizza Hut pizza and a Yuengling lite. No more junk for me!

I still managed to sqeak out just over 29 miles for the week.  Which wasn't the 40 I had planned on, but far better than I was doing 6 months ago.  If 29 miles is my lazy week, then I think I might be OK with that!

I blew out the candles!

Blew out what candles? Nope, it's not my birthday. It's not my daughter's or Chuck's birthday either. Then what cake am I talking about? It was the cake for my freakin' pity party!


As I type this I think I'm pretty much over it. Party's over, the mess is cleaned up.


I know we've all had our horrible accounts of "the worst run ever". They don't come very often. When they do it's like it's the worst it's ever been. Then a few days later you run again, your legs are light, your lungs are clear, your thoughts are free and easy. It's like the bad run never happened. Sort of like the pain of childbirth. You just forget.

Today I'll just share with you my pitiful almost long run from yesterday. Only because I know, in just a few days, I'll be able to post again about a much, much better run.

It all started Saturday night. Chuck and I went out to dinner with one of his old high school friends. I ate greasy fattening wings and steak quesadillas, drank (just one) beer and had a big chocolate peanut butter dessert. My tummy can be very sensitive anyway when it comes time to run. But eating all that crap the night before, never helps.

I woke up Sunday morning at 5 to get ready for the 14 mile run I had planned to run out at the loop. I had my paces all planned out for each mile. But honestly my heart just wasn't in it. I looked at the temp on my computer. It read 52 degrees. I'm thinking, we usually run in the low to mid 40's. In that weather I can handle shorts and a long sleeved shirt. It's warmer today so I'll just wear shorts and a tee-shirt. Little did I know, it was windy and raning. Both conditions I know I'm perfectly capable of enduring. This morning however, I was NOT feeling it... at all. Chuck and I walked downstairs and I just stopped before we went out into the weather and said "do we really want to do this?". See, Chuck had not run for about 4 days due to his achilles tendon bothering him. He said lets just go and get it over with.

We get to the loop, I still am only wearing shorts and a tee shirt, but I had grabbed a jacket since it was so windy. We get out, suck it up and start the run. Nothing really hurt, except a little twinge in my shins that has been bothering me for about a week. Once I started to get warm my jacket was really getting on my nerves. It wasn't a running jacket, it was loose and baggy. I didn't want to tie it around my waist. I didn't want to throw it on the ground. I was thinking, I can't handle dealing with this stupid jacket for two hours. Then, during the middle of a great pointless hip hop song with a great beat... I dont know... a good one about stippers and $500 in ones. Yeah, during the song my MP3 player stops. I glance down. The screen is blank, it won't come on. Uggghhh..dead battery. I do not want to run for the next two hours with an annoying jacket and Nothing to listen to. I'm griping to Chuck and wanting to stop. Wanting to but knowing that I really wont. I run on for a few more minutes. Then glance down to check out my pace. Guess what? My garmin screen is blank. I fidget with it and manage to press the right combination of buttons to get the stupid thing reset. It restarts, only to show that I'm running a 1 minute mile pace. Ok, I know I'm training to run faster and all, but come on.

Then the screen goes blank again. I just stop, turn around and start walking. Fuming a the stupid garmin. Chuck realizes that I've dipped and he turns around and says he's at least going to run back to the car. I don't. I'm going to walk. I'm pissed. I take off my Garmin and throw the stupid thing in the street. Chuck hears it hit, turns around, picks it up and fusses at me for being immature and keeps running.

I spent the next half mile walking back to the car. Feeling sorry for myself. Feeling embarrased to have thown a watch that cost over $150.00 in the road. Wanting to run my 14 mile run. NOT wanting to run my 14 mile run. Then, while I was at it I just started crying. I kept this thought process going until Chuck had gotten the car and headed my way to pick me up. I got in the car and not a word was spoken all the way back to Byron.

The rest of my Sunday consisted of me laying on the couch and reading a VERY good book. It's called "the Help". Great book. I iced my shins every hour or so and was a lazy bum.

I topped it all off with eating donuts for breakfast this morning and then pizza for lunch today. Not only did I forego my planned long run yesterday, I managed to eat probably 3 days worth of calories in about 6 hours. Go Me!

Now that it's written, and shared. I can say I'm over it.

Thanks to Chuck, my Mom, RC & the Grasshopper for the support & encouragement.

Younglife Turkey Trot 5K 11-14-09

The 7th Annual Griffin Younglife Turkey Trot 5K was held this Saturday.

I learned of this race from a post on the Macon Tracks Forum and decided I wanted to run it, just for a fun 5K to do on a weekend that our kids aren’t with us. I went ahead and registered, only to learn that 2 more 5K’s were being held much more locally on that same day.

Even though it was an hour drive, I figured the race would give us something different to do… a change of scenery at least.

Saturday morning we sacrificed yet another morning of sleeping in (do I even know what that is?). We were up by 5, of course I needed my prerace “warm up” shower and Me & Chuck needed or pre-race fuel: coffee, a bagel & peanut butter. We left the house soon after 6 in order to get to Griffin at least an hour before the race started (8:30). I wanted make sure we could find the place and be able to do my warm up for about 20 minutes.

Chuck was in charge of directions & driving, so of course we got there with no problems. The race was held at the Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park. It was a beautiful park and a beautiful morning to run. The temp. was in the mid 40’s, the sun was out, and the wind was calm.

We got our race numbers and tee shirts, which were surprisingly technical tees. I didn’t expect to get a Segoi tee with a $15 entry fee! Even though they didn’t have any small size tee’s, they said they would mail me one when they came in.

I asked the race organizers if they had a course map anywhere. A guy on a mountain bike showed us the course, turns out he just rode the course and would be leading the runners on the course during the 5K. TURNS OUT this is a TRAIL/ CROSS COUNTRY 5K. OOPS. I was under the impression that this was somewhat off road, but I didn’t know it was ALL off road. At this point I was sure this wasn’t going to be a PR course. Who cares right? It would be fun.

After a quick trip to the potty, Chuck & I were off to run our warm up, and sort of scout out the area. We finished jogging and waited a few minutes until start time.

The course was CRAZY! We started off on a paved golf cart trail uphill. Went straight down a steep hill and ran into the grass. Wet, uneven grass with ruts all in it. We ran around the edge of a soccer field (some sort of soccer tournament was being held that morning) and up another hill in the grass. We made a left turn and entered a trail like area where the ground was covered in about ankle deep leaves. We couldn’t even see the ground or the possible roots & ruts under the leaves. At this point it was KILLING me to keep an 8:40 pace. This isn’t even my tempo run pace! I tried to high step it over the leaves, the last thing I wanted was a twisted ankle!

Chuck managed to get up ahead of me very early in the race, probably from back when we first started running on the grass. He gradually pulled away further and further. I didn’t even let that bother me, he’s always been faster and more confident on the trails.

After running on the leafy trail, we came back out onto some grass UP hill only to turn right again onto another trail. This one was much clearer, as far as no leaves on the ground. Only now there were visible roots to contend with, wooden bridges, switchbacks, hills, and mud puddles. Fun Stuff.

At about 2.5 miles we came out of the trail (which was beautiful yet painful) and back onto an open grassy area. Only to do what? Run up another hill in the grass. Ahhhh. Only to be lead on a deceiving wet pea gravel driveway. It seemed that running on the gravel would be better than running in the grass. Nope. The gravel was saturated and just sunk under your feet like sand. So, I hop off the gravel only to sink in water in the grass and soak my shoes completely. Back on the gravel. I was huffing and puffing and dying, only to look at my pace. 10:15??? WHAT? This is bad. I knew my time would be horrible, but the terrain was sucking the life out of me. By now, where is Chuck? I don’t know, I can’t even see him anymore!

Completing the torturous pea gravel hill, we are rewarded with SIDEWALK at a decline, yes. It was wonderful. I picked the pace up a little, only to turn left and go again up a hill, but still on sidewalk so I was thankful for that. I know where I am, and I know the end is probably .25 of a mile away. Sweet. I see a young girl in front of me. I’m not betting on having a great time. I did pass quite a few people in the middle of the race on the trail. A few of which might have possibly been in my age group. So, I decided that my last effort would be to pass the high school girl in front of me and not be passed by anyone else.

I trudged up the sidewalk, we cross a road and get back on the golf cart trail we started on. There is a guy in the road stopping cars for us to cross. Behind me I hear foot steps. I hear the guy say “Go {insert female name?}” . I didn’t turn around. I had no idea how old this chick was. Although I decided she would not pass me. I revved up the speed… mentally I was doing track work and I was just going to go for a 400 meter interval. Give it all I had. I passed the girl and never even heard the footsteps behind me again. It was a blonde girl that came in behind me was wearing black tights with blue shorts over the tights.

My finishing time was 28:25. I was disappointed. Thinking I should have done better than that. I do felt like my effort for the whole race was as good as I could give. The course was very tough.

Chuck managed to finish a good 30 seconds before me. Punk : )

We waited around for the award ceremony. My mom got 2nd place Masters Female.
I got 1st in my age group, which they did by 10’s (30 – 39 Female). And guess who walked up to get her 2nd place medal???? Blonde girl with the black tights and blue shorts! Ha!

Poor Chuck, beat both of us, but didn’t bring home any hardware… His age group is tougher. He wouldn’t let us live that down all the way back to Byron.

Chuck and I ended the day with dinner at the Mellow Mushroom. We ate the best Pizza and drank delicious cold beer. I even had desert, white chocolate macadamia nut cookie sundae. After dinner we went to a movie and ate popcorn. I ate so much that I was in pain.

We ended the evening by watching the Bulldogs play, and actually WIN! Well, I didn’t make it through the end of the game. The early morning, the run, the food, and the beer put me in a coma. What a wonderful Saturday!

Improvements?

4 Weeks of serious focused training down, 11 Weeks to go… until my next half marathon.

I have mixed feelings about my training at this point. I’ve been following my prescribed paces, doing my easy runs, my quality runs, and my long runs. For some reason I still wonder it that’s enough?

I know that it’s probably just self doubt. If I did any more, it would probably be classified as overtraining.

I still can’t help but feel that I’m missing something. Yet when I go back over my log book and my run paces I can’t find any thing that I think I’m doing wrong either?

Maybe I’m just being impatient. I ran aimlessly for 6 years. Now that I am concentrating on really being a better runner, I want it to happen RIGHT NOW!

Even after typing that last paragraph, I know that I am a better runner, now than I was 4 weeks ago. So, I’ll just calm down, continue doing what RC says, be strong, be focused and meet my goals.

Two runs this week proved to me how much I have improved already.

***Pic of Chuck & me, looking not so happy to be up early on a Saturday.***

Jay’s Hope 5K:
I went into this race not expecting to come out with a new PR. Most likely because I knew that a portion of the course would be off road. I’ve run trails enough to know that being off the asphalt SUCKS time off your pace. I did however, want to run a race, preferably with negative splits… and run the race knowing I did my best on that particular day on that particular course.

As for negative splits, can I say “kinda”?
Mile 1 – 8:02
Mile 2 – 8:09 Hmmmm???
Mile 3 – 7:56
.15 – 7:26

The beginning of the course was a gravel road that went at least a half mile down hill slightly, then we turned around and went right back up the hill on gravel road. Yuck.

Did I run the race that morning, the best I could considering the course? I think so. No need to beat myself up about my performance, because at no point while running did I just ease up because it hurt. I pushed as hard as I could push that day.

As far as my finishing time, unofficially being 25:16 (according to my Garmin). Well, it’s slower than my Race for the Cure time last weekend. BUT BUT BUT BUT… it’s faster than every other 5K that I’ve run all from Jan to Oct this year. That’s something to be happy about right?

Regardless of my time, split paces, etc… I had a great time. Chuck, Mom & me enjoyed the whole event. From our crunchy pre-race warm up and strides (that I have to MAKE them do). To the race itself, to hanging out afterwards eating Chick-Fil-A biscuits talking with friends. It was great! OH, and let me not forget that I placed second in my age group!

My race, although not spectacular by any means or a PR did, in my opinion show an improvement in my running over the last 10 months. My long run the next day was more telling.

We (Chuck, Mom & Me) met out at the loop with the Macon Tracks at 7:15 in the cold windy weather to get our long run of the week in. 11 miles were on tap for the morning. My plan was to run the first 6 at my new easy pace of 10:20 – 9:40, starting at the slower end and ending toward the faster end. Then I would run 3 miles at marathon pace, which is now 8:53. Finishing the last two miles at a 9:40 pace, or possibly less. Giving me a negative split run.

I did it, exactly as I planned. I couldn’t be happier to have run 11 miles at a 9:36 pace overall. Not to lose my steam at the end of a long run like I used to. This shows that my efforts are producing results.

I can’t wait to see what the next 11 weeks have in store. I’m ready though!

Race For The Cure 5K

My third official week of training under RC wrapped up nicely. The weekend held a wonderful race and a long run that packed a punch

The Race for the Cure marks an anniversary of my running. My first 5K was the Race for the Cure in 2003. I can’t believe that it’s been 6 years since I started running. I only wish that I had known all that I know now back when I started. Knowing it now is all that matters and I’ve enjoyed it all the same.

My training week last week consisted of a few easy runs, one night of serious speed work (4 intervals of 1200 meters each! Wow...), one tempo run (That, dare I say, wasn’t very hard?), an extra quality workout being my race, and a long run of 11 miles.

As for Race Day, everything went as well as I could expect. I asked RC what to shoot for as far as pace or goal finishing time. According to my handy dandy little training chart, my “projected” 5K time would be 25:20. RC said that I could pace myself to hit that finish time OR I could go for a PR.

I’m thinking to myself… my PR for 2009 just so happens to be 25:22 at the Cantrell Center 5K. In 2008 my fastest 5K time was in the 27’s (ouch). In 2007 I hit my lifetime PR at the Race for the Cure. So, let’s see, this means I hit a peak back in 2007 that I havn’t gotten very close to in TWO WHOLE YEARS! No time to dwell on being lazy for two years, let’s do something about it… let’s get back to where I was in 2007 at move forward from there!

My plan on race morning was to run an 8:10 pace for mile 1, 8:00 pace for miles 2, and 7:50 pace for mile 3. This should at least get me to beat my Cantrell Center 5K time. I actually ended up running:
Mile 1 – 8:07
Mile 2 – 7:41
Mile 3 – 7:46
.15 – 1.05
My finishing time being 24:40

I am very very happy with my time for this race. Not a PR, but pretty darn close after only 3 weeks of serious focused training. I’m also a little happy that I didn’t PR since I didn’t pay for chip timing, my results wouldn’t have been posted anyway! But I have my garmin data as my own proof, and that works for me!

The day after the race (which I never thought I’d do) I ran my long run of 11 miles. I threw in 3 miles at marathon pace, seeing as how my next goal race is the Mus. of Aviation Half Marathon. It’s time to start getting ready for how it’s going to feel running at that speed for 13 miles! My long run yesterday went well. I ran my first 6 miles at an easy pace averaging 10:30. Then I kicked it in a higher gear for 3 miles averaging a 9:12 pace. The last two miles I really wanted to get in at a faster average pace than the first 6, which I did, with a 9:33 avg. pace. My total time for 11.4 miles was 1:50:19. I couldn’t be happier!

This upcoming week is going to be another tough… high mileage (high mileage to ME) week. I’m going to run the Jay’s Hope 5K on Saturday. I know nothing about the race course at all, so I’m still not sure what I think I’m going to do. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Recovery Week... I tried

Monday, Monday… No, wait. It’s Tuesday. Sure feels like a Monday though, being back to work after a 4 day weekend. Regardless of how if “feels”, today is the 2nd day of my 2nd week of my more structured and goal oriented training under Sam.

Let’s recap last week:

Chuck & I were told from the get-go to “take it easy” this week due to the fact that we “ran an 1.5 hour tempo run” (Sam's words) on Saturday. But, being all excited about the new training program it was SO hard to hold back. So hard that I didn’t really listen well on Tuesday night’s track workout… although I wised up and took it easier on my tempo run Thursday.

Here’s how Week 1 Turned out-

Mon. 10/5 – Easy run on the treadmill, 4.4 miles in 45 minutes
Avg Pace 10:22 - Avg. HR 158

Tues. 10/6 - Speed work @ FPD
(100M Run & Recover, 200M Run & Recover, 800 Meter Run & Recover) x 3

Wed. 10/7 – Rest Day (Taught Body Blitz Class)

Thurs. 10/8 – Easy Run outside, 4.4 miles in 45 minutes

Fri. 10/9 - Tempo Run (1 mile warmup/1mile cooldown)
20 Min. at a little less than tempo pace – avg. 9:01

Sat. 10/10 - Long Run 9 miles @ 10:30 pace Avg. HR 164

Sun. 10/11 - REST DAY… Did NOTHING..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

After forwarding all of my data to RC… for the most part it was a great training week. I just didn’t cool down enough after my tempo run, my heart rate was still too high. I’ve also been given the OK to start hitting my VDOT chart paces for speedwork. Woo Hoo. I am ready to start challenging myself in that area.

I’m planning on running 2 races in October, both being 5K’s. They are, the Race for the Cure & Jay’s Hope. I’m interested to see how those two races turn out.

I’ve got a good mental plan for the rest of October. RC has been so nice and answered all of my questions about what to do and how to do it. I feel positive and like I’m on the right track.

Oh, one other cool thing…
First off, I think I’ve already mentioned how cool I think it is that I get the opportunity to train with my Mom. Maybe due to the fact that I get to run with her a lot, I don’t think much about how cool it is. (Mom… it’s cool!)

This weekend I got the opportunity to run with my Dad. He was in town briefly this weekend. He had been a runner for a long long time… 30+ years. He had intended to run the Jax Half with us, but his knee started bothering him and he reduced his mileage too much to do that distance. Well, during my long run on Sat… Chuck & I ran past his hotel and he picked up 2 miles with us. It was great to run and chat alongside my Dad. I had not seen him in over a year. We got to catch up a way you only can while sweating out the miles!

It was also cute later on when we took off our shoes and socks and compared foot issues. We have almost the exact same problems spots on our feet. Each have a bunion on the right foot, and the 2nd toe toenails get beat up and turn black, fall off, and the tip of those toes are callused. Interesting…

I plan on another update by next week. Let’s see how training goes for Week TWO???

3 Down, 1 To Go

Quarters of the year that is.

I started the year 2009 with some pretty firm “resolutions”.

*I wanted to be more consistent with my running than I had ever been previously, and completely fill out my training log.

*I set a mileage goal for myself, which seemed steep at the time.

*I even set a few time goals for race distances I knew I’d be running this year.

Now that 3 quarters of the year have passed, I have 1 left to go to fulfill my ambitions. I decided to reflect on what’s happened so far and make sure I’m on track for the last 3 months of the year.

*As far as consistency, I give myself an A! Taking a quick look at my 2009 log book shows runs about 4 to 6 days per week. From the beginning to now, I’ve averaged 15 – 25 miles per week.

*My mileage goal was 900 miles for the year. As of today (10/7/09) I am at 820 miles. I give myself a A+ on this one.

*My time goals / PR’s for races. Well…… See, this is where I’m lacking. My fastest 5K for the year was a good 2 minutes slower that my PR 5K. I hit a 10K at 30 seconds slower than my 10K PR. And on and on and on… my race times aren’t spectacular by any means for 2009.

Although, if I were to grade myself on the fun and experience of all the races I’ve run in 2009 I would definitely go for the A range. That part of my running IS important and I have enjoyed all of it to the fullest.

That’s where I started pondering some things….

Do I want to get faster and see better race times? Yes….

Am I getting any faster on my own? Nope, it doesn’t look that way.

I’ve managed to go FURTHER, by simply adding mileage to long runs slowly week by week. That’s easy. But, how do I get any faster?

That is the weak link in my chain. The way I was plodding along was something like this: I’ll decide to run faster tomorrow during a run. Then the next week I don’t “feel” like doing anything but logging the miles. Then the next week I would forget I even wanted to get any faster. I was getting very good at logging the miles. Sure, that is hard for some people, but for me I would just write down how many miles I planned to run each day of the week and do it. Although looking back, they were mostly what I think are called “junk miles”?????

Here I am today, in the first week of October. What Now?

Chuck and I both have been talking about wanting to get better, faster, and stronger with our running and race times. Last week we did something I am so happy we decided to do. I am also grateful that the opportunity was there for us. We met with RC for the first time and were pleasantly surprised and highly impressed by his knowledge of the sport, his passion about the sport, and his willingness to help others with a mutual desire to improve as a runner.

We’ve officially been schooled:
Learning very specific information and given some pretty clear rules to follow. He gave us guidelines on creating weekly training and plans all the way down to what paces to run specific distances and HR levels. Not to mention some AMAZING spreadsheets to pour over. I love spreadsheets!

Although I have this huge resource now, I think I have even MORE questions. Luckily Sam is very helpful and so nice about giving advice. I’m sure before I know it I’ll be confident in my training and have a clear plan and direction from the big picture down to my planned mile split times.

I CANT WAIT!!!!

More to come……

I Did It!

On Saturday October 3, 2009 at 7:00AM the gun went of and I started to run my first Half Marathon.

The Jacksonville Marine Corps Half Marathon!!!

The race weekend began on Friday morning. Chuck, my Mom, and me piled into the car and headed to Jacksonville, FL. The 4 hour trip flew by since we were all hyped up, talking and having fun. We arrived in Jax right at lunch time and went by the 1st Place Sports running store to pick up our packets, race shirts & goodies.

Then we embarked on the adventure of finding lunch. We wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes, but I had no idea how to get there. Finally getting directions, actually GETTING our car into the parking lot of the restaurant was a different story… but we did make our way there. Sweet Tomatoes is a delicious salad bar, soup, bread, potato, pasta, and dessert buffet style place. It is sooooo yummy. Perfect for pre race carbs, but not too heavy either.

After filling up on a late lunch/early dinner we headed to the hotel to check in. We stayed at the Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel, which was the host hotel for the race so the rates were reasonable. The hotel is nice and clean too.

It was early to bed for us Friday night. We were in bed by 7:30 and asleep by 8PM. The alarm was set for 4:30 and I wanted to be sure to get plenty of rest.

4:30AM came dark and early. We got up, showered to wake up and warm up our muscles, drank some coffee and had a protein bar. We drove over the river to the start line by the Jax Jauguars stadium. We were at the starting area soon after 6AM. Picked up our champion chip timers and wandered around waiting for 7:00 to roll around. Sure enough… it did!

After very recently having an introductory lesson from my new running coach Sam… I had a very simple race plan for finishing today’s run in right at 2 hours. I wanted to start off at a 9:30 min/mile for approx. 4 miles. Then go to a 9:15 min/mile for approx 4 miles. Then run the last 5 miles at a 9 min/mile. That SHOULD have put me in right at 2 hours like I wanted. Simple, Right?

Well…. Let’s see. Starting off, I felt WONDERFUL and FANTASTIC. Downtown Jacksonville is neat and pretty and the race atmosphere was fun. So, I had to MAKE myself SLOW DOWN for the first mile. Then we ran over the Main Street Bridge, which I had to slow myself down going up, and of course running back down. Not too much further down the course we ran over the Acosta Bridge, which is quite a higher bridge (81 feet over the water). That one wasn’t easy, but not hard either. After coming down the second bridge I just set myself on “cruise control” and focused on maintaining my planned paces for each mile.

Things were looking good… really just mile after mile passing by. Until about mile 11 my pace slowed and there wasn’t much I could do to make myself speed up to my goal of the 9 min/mile. It was getting Hot. I was getting Tired. Nothing impossible, I just could feel the amount of time I had been running wearing on me. Then we had to run over a “cat walk” to cross over the river under a big bridge. It was at an incline, then we had to run down four flights of a spiral ramp which zapped some energy. At mile 12 I knew my hopes of getting the race finished in less than 2 hours was O-V-E-R…. unless I was going to push out a 6 minute mile. Uh, nope… the sun was glaring in my face, I was soaked with sweat… and just plain Tired. So I concentrated on the last mile telling myself “In 9 minutes you’ll be able to say you ran a half marathon”….. “In 8 minutes you’ll be able to say you ran a half marathon” and so on.

The finish line was hidden. Most of the last mile was down a straight street that you could see all the way down to the end of. But at the last minute the course turned and you are guided onto a grassy park area where the finish line awaited.

The finish line was neat, they had tanks set up as an archway to run under and Marines were putting the medals on our necks. We got a very nice glass with the USMC emblem on it. Let’s not talk about how I though for about 10 minutes I was gonna puke up Gatorade and a GU pack. But, the nausea passed and I ate a granola bar. Unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy the free post race beer. No Way could I stomach that! I think Chuck had my share.

Our official times were: 10K Chip Gun
(Age Grp-32 out of 97) Kathy Wilkins, 31, Byron, GA 58:20 2:05:30 2:05:56
(Age Grp-16 out of 63) Cheryl Coody, 52, Byron, GA 59:08 2:08:16 2:08:43
(Age Grp-63 out o f 88) Chuck Whitaker, 43, Byron, GA 1:00:13 2:13:14 2:13:40

We didn’t stick around the post race celebration long. I was soaked with sweat and I wanted to pop a few blisters on my toes that were killing me. Back at the hotel I had the BEST hot shower and then relaxed on the bed for about 15 minutes.

Later that day we went to the Jacksonville Running Company to visit Josh Myers. After getting some new running gear, we went to Wild Wings for lunch/dinner. We ate tons of food and wings and drank some great cold beer!

Saturday night we walked from the hotel to the Jacksonville Landing across the river. It was a nice night out, they had a band playing and everyone was outside enjoying the weather and beautiful scenery.

We still managed to get to bed early again, since we were worn out from the race. Sunday morning we were up early to run a 4 mile recovery run, before checking out of the room then heading back to Byron.

Sore Hamstrings

Why are my hamstrings sore??? Maybe it has something to do with the great track workout I got last night.

After we got off work at 5PM yesterday we rushed to Byron to pick up our kids, swing by the apartment, change clothes, grab the kids a snack and get right back in the car. The MTRC track workout starts at 6:30PM and we got there right on time.

Sam informed us that we would be running 400 meters at an effort of 8/9 out of 10. Then we would walk 200 meters to cool down completely. He was suggesting that more experienced runners perform 10 reps of this workout and that newbies do 6 to 8 reps. Then we were to end the speed work with one mile of running.

This being our first speed work in A LONG TIME we decided at the beginning that we would try for the 6 to 8 reps depending on how we felt. I have no desire to try and show off and end up hurting myself! After the first 400 meter fast interval we laughed and said “yeah, let’s go for six”. I feel like we put in an honest 8/9 effort! I kept glancing at my Garmin and seeing the miles per minute around 6:30 and 7:00. I’m not sure if that’s what I’m supposed to be doing or what??? But it felt good.

Now, not only do I have my nifty Garmin, but I’ve got the heart rate monitor to give me even more training info. Still not 100% sure on where exactly I need to be in this area, (plenty of time to learn right?)… I just glanced at my heart rate at the very end of the speed interval, every time is was right at 190 bpm. Then at the end of my recovery walk it was always back down to 125 bpm. I guess this is alright?

I also learned that my new Garmin is quite a bit smarter than me! I wanted to press lap at each new interval. Well, the Garmin would start a new lap all on it’s own after I had pressed lap at that location. The book said that it can remember a location and auto lap. I don’t know, I’ll figure it all out soon enough. I thought it was funny though because I ended up with about 40 laps because I was manually pressing the lap button and my Garmin was creating laps all together. WEIRD.

Tonight I plan on resting from running. I have to teach a “Body Blitz” class at the gym. It is a weight training class that works upper body, lower body, abs, and I focus a lot on stretching. Sometimes I make everyone jump rope between weights, but they don’t like that so much. All the more reason to do it right! The thing I like most about doing the class is that it forces me to get some ab/core training in, which I tend to get lazy on.

Oh yeah, and did I mention my hammies are tight???

Jacksonville Prep

Somehow or another, time has had a way of sneaking up on me and suddenly here I am. Less than 2 weeks away from my first Half Marathon. On Oct. 3rd we will be in Jacksonville, FL running the Marine Corps Half Marathon.

For some odd reason I am not nervous in the least bit. Not one bit. Maybe because I know I can run 13 miles. I have not figured up a strict mile split plan yet. The only guidelines that I’ve given myself for this race, is to run it in 2 hours or less. This averages out to a 9:10 – 9:15 minute mile. I think I’m just going to get out there on race morning and see how I feel and go with the flow. It will be my first half ever so I’ll be proud of myself as long as I finish and I know I did my best.

Since the Labor Day Road Race I have been making my weekly running plans and following them for the most part. I’ve taken a few extra rest days due to some tightness in my right hip. It isn’t painful so I’ve just been icing it some and not pushing too much.

Chuck and I finally joined the Macon Tracks Running Club. We got to meet a lot of the people that keep the club “running” while working with them on the LDRR. They are all so friendly and we’ve all got common goals, we figured it only made since to join up officially.

We’ve also committed ourselves to join them every Tuesday (as schedules/kids allow) and push ourselves on the track doing speed work to see how our race results can improve. I’m really looking forward to that.

Secondly, for the camaraderie as well as a change in scenery, we are going to join the running group for their long run out on “The Loop”. Well, this won’t be an every week thing for us since we will always have our kids every other weekend. But, on the weekends we are childless, we will be there to run!

Our first run of The Loop was yesterday. Our intention was to run the whole 12 miles, in preparation for the ½. We did it, although we weren’t expecting quite so many hills. Did I mention that we were the “slow pack” of the group? Oh well, that’s what the Tuesday track sessions are for right?

One more bit of exciting news!!!! I got a new goodie for my birthday coming up. Michele sent me a Garmin 305 with a heart rate monitor. I’ve been drooling over a new one and I used it for the first time yesterday. Well, I didn’t hook up the HR monitor. I didn’t want to run 12 miles for the first time with something strange strapped around my chest!!! I was scared it would rub on me. I’ll give it a try for the first time on a much shorter run!

Plans for tonight are an easy 3 on the treadmill. Gotta get the crunchies out of my body from yesterday’s workout.

2009 Macon Labor Day Road Race

Ok, so I have been picking on Steve about not updating his blog in, um... Forever, but then Chuck informed me that I havn’t posted on MY blog since August. So, I guess I should get busy.

The biggest deal in my little running world would have to be the Labor Day Road Race. The whole weekend ended up being wonderful!

I have wanted to help out with a race for a long time. I’ve been running in races for 6 years now. I know I should at least help out when I can. And for now, my schedule has me off on Friday’s. That left me with no excuse… I had the time to do it now. I ended up (dragging Chuck along too) helping out with the packet pick-up on Friday afternoon. I had a really good time and it was so nice to actually meet some of the people I had been in contact with online from Macon Tracks. Chuck was all cute about it too, he just though he was going to hang out with me till I was ready to go, but he ended up helping out too and really enjoyed it as well. We had no plans on Sunday so we offered to come by again and of course the race organizers were willing to accept the help.

One more thing about the Macon Tracks group… I’ll just have to say that I’m shy. Chuck is my personality opposite, so he brings me out some. But the people of Macon Tracks were so nice and friendly that I just immediately felt comfortable being around them. I was intimidated at first thinking I would feel like an outsider or something. It wasn’t like that AT ALL! That’s just my little neurotic self thinking though. I’m just happy that I made myself go and get over that little fear I had.

On to the BIG deal: The race! The Macon Labor Day Road Race was the first race I ran that really impressed me. I ran that race for the first time in 2004 with my Mom. It was my first 10k as well. The whole time we were running the race I remember saying to her “we have to do this race EVERY year”. It was nice that it is a big race, well organized, and the point to point is always fun. I’ve only missed the LDRR one year, due to having the flu. Plus, when I picked up my packed that year I swear my number was #666… I was NOT wearing that in a race!

This year’s race was just as great as I hoped it would be. I got my 10K PR on this course in 2007. Ok, yes that was 2 years ago. I was beginning to think it was a fluke. My goal this year was to at least match my time of 52:38, or hopefully beat it. I planned out my mile splits just like I did for this years Jim Herrin race and I wrote my goals on my arm with a Sharpie. (Hey it worked once!) My average mile pace was planned to be 8:27.

I won’t go into all the tiny details of the race. I’ll just say I enjoyed the course, the weather was nice, my tummy wasn’t a mess, and I wasn’t sick. So, all was good. I ended up finishing in 52:56 (chip time), being 18 seconds short of my goal. OK, I’m not even upset now. Because at least I know my PR from 2007 wasn’t a fluke. I can really run a 10K that fast (fast to me anyway). Woo Hoo!!!!

After the race we stuck around for the award ceremony. My Mom & my Aunt placed in their age groups. Go Them!!!!! And we said Hi to our new friends from the Macon Tracks. Monika gave me a copy of the club’s newsletter that ……………GUESS WHAT???? Featured MY Blog!!!! I was so silly and excited about that. For about 10 minutes I was all giddy like I was a Supa-Star! (Thanks Amy for picking my blog!)

We hopped on the trolley shuttle back to the start of the race. Since we parked by RunFit Sports and the store was having a celebration for Labor Day as well as their anniversary, we decided to stop by and see what was going on. To our delight, they were giving out FREE COLD MICHELOB ULTRA and hot dogs. What could be better? We sat around and talked to Steve and ate before we headed home to shower and relax for the rest of the day.

Relax is exactly what we did for the rest of the day. I went to bed at 6PM! I guess the race took a lot out of me, and it had been a long weekend.

August Record

Not much new to post for now.

I've been planning my training each week, and following those plans pretty close. Good, but sorta boring for the most part.

I just entered my miles for last week into my online log, and noticed that I ran 115.80 miles for the month of August. This is a record for me! I guess it helped that August is a long month, but I am not complaining.

My two biggest goals are Labor Day and the 1/2 Marathon on Oct. 3rd. I am doing tempo runs in an effort to do good at Labor Day for the 10K. I have been running long runs on the weekend to get my mileage base up for the 1/2. So far I've gotten to 10 miles, but not really anywhere close to my 1/2 pace time. I guess we will see on race day.

This coming up weekend I wont do a long run, since the LDRR is on Monday and I dont want to kill my legs before the race. Then the next two weekends after that I will run 11 then 12 miles. After that rest a weekend then the 1/2 will be on me. I can't wait.

I have been going to the pool at least once a week. Focusing on a base for swimming training. I'm trying to get the basics down, work on technique. Then after the new year, start focusing on endurance for a tri. And I WANT A ROAD BIKE so bacd I can't stand it. But I will be patient.

Chuck has been nursing a bad shin splint for a whole week. He only got 5 miles in last week. I wish he'd get better. Running isn't nearly as fun without him around. Hopefully he'll be "back up and running" soon. I miss his company.

Make it Go Away!

This feeling as if I'm coming down with a cold. I dont wanna get sick, I dont wanna...I dont wanna... I dont wanna. Make it go away. I've been taking my multi vitamin/ vitamin C & D later in the day. I'm eating very good (somehow my willpower has been top notch lately?). I dont wanna get sick.

I just feel sorta tired, scratchy throat, like my head is too heavy for my neck to support. I'm trying to tell myself that it's allergies. That my head feels heavy because of the swimming I've been doing... that my shoulders & neck are just adjusting to the new workout. I dont want it to be a cold. Tonight I am going to TRY to go to be extra early and get some rest. Before all that can happen I still have 8 more hours left of my work day and a 5 mile tempo run planned for tonight. Hmmmmm??????????? Chuck is going to tell me I need to rest, just go home and lay down... (but I know he secretly wants to get in more miles than me, and I can't let him beat me... muuaahhahahah).

To pick up from last week's post: I did my 5 mile tempo run on the treadmill. Hitting my 3 hard effort miles at between an 8:45 & 8:30 minute mile, as planned. I'm leaning towards an 8:35-8:40 m/mi for Labor Day 10K. I think this is doable... IF I DONT GET SICK!!!!

Thursday I rested... Good Girl! Friday morning I was off, so I waited until about 9 and went outside to run 4 miles. I ended up finishing in 35:16! Wow, I wasn't planning on hitting it that hard, but it felt good... despite the 100% humidity and frequent inclines on that course.
Friday afternoon I went to the Cantrell Center and swam 800 meters! I even went 100 meters STRAIGHT without stopping. I just did 25m freestyle, 25m breastroke and alternated to get to 100 meters. I was quite happy with that swim.

Saturday I went to the apartment treadmill to get in some junk miles, just 3. Ran 1 mile slow, one at a 8:50 pace, and one mile slow. Then got in the apartment pool and played around swimming laps, just focusing on technique and breathing, not going for distance or time.

On Sunday I got up EARLY and met with my mom for our weekly long run. We ran 8 miles starting at 6:15AM. We ran down Watson Blvd, turned into the C'ville mall, circled the parking lot once, down Houston Lake, turned on Thomson Rd, then into Eagle Springs, back out of E.S. onto Gunn Rd & back to the Apt. It was a good run, very warm & VERY humid. But luckily the sun never came out. I kept the pace slow (avg. 9:56) that's all I had in me that morning.

As for the Ab/Core training. I am keeping up my end of the bargain! I've done some training at least every other day. I've been scoping out all my magazines and getting some new moves to try. I've got a good workout I'm probably going to try tonight.

I mentioned earlier that I've been eating good lately. For some CRAZY odd Insane Unrational reason... I have had incredible willpower and not been cheating on my diet. I've been good with portion control and not eating many sweets at all. That settles it... I AM SICK! No, but really, I hope I can keep up the good nutrition because I can run so much better when I feed my body right.

With any luck, I will not get sick and continue on my training... next goal: Labor Day Road Race!

Runner out of Air

After resting on Monday, aside from an easy spin class.... cool thing about being the teacher ( I can cheat)...

Last night I hit the treadmill and ran 3 miles of hill intervals. It was a better run than I anticipated. I just did .25 warmup, then went to a 3% grade for .25, recover for .25 then 4% for .25, recover 2.5, 5% for 2.5, recover .25, and repeated 3%, 4% & 5% each for .25 with an equal recovery. The workout went by real fast with all the incline changes.

We hit the weights quickly last night. I just did a little chest work with dumbells. I have vowed to do abs/core work 3 times a week. I did that Monday and plan to hit it again tonight. I have made this vow several times this year and have yet to stick with it.

Finally, Chuck and I went by my mom's & dropped of my sweet little pumpkin (Shy) and went over to the Cantrell Center for our 2nd free visit to the pool.

My ATTEMPT of a swim workout went something like this:

25 meters freestyle (then rest 15-20 seconds) x 24
Total of 600 meters, but I had to rest every 25 meters.
Not too bad I guess, considering I'm trying to teach myself.

I know HOW to swim and my form is lacking somewhat. But with practice I know that will come as well.

Next time I swim, I think I'll try for 5o meters straight without a rest. My biggest problem is not relaxing while I swim. I kick my legs too hard and too fast & it wears me out. It's like I'm trying to run underwater... I need to change modes and use my ARMS. Hopefully I will adapt to the water...

Tonight's plan is a 5 mile tempo run on the treadmill. Fun stuff!

Jim Herrin 10K 2009

Yesterday was my 2nd 10K of the year, and I did something I had never done before.

Before I tell you what I did, I guess I'll go back and tell why real quick. I like to read a couple of local runner's blogs as well. A few of them use a coach and follow specific training programs. I think it only makes since to not only read the information they post, but to use it as motivation, AND pull tid bits of information and learn something as well. They speak of techniques and race pace training runs and such. A lot of that confuses me to be honest, but I think I get the overall idea... maybe? So, after reading a post last week, I dediced to plan out 1/2 mile split times for my race on Saturday and have a goal finishing time.

That shouldn't sound so crazy. I've been doing a lot of racing this year, and yeah, I even had some PR goals written down in my training log. I havn't met a single PR goal, I think I set them too high!

So, on Wednesday I decided that I was going to run my 10K in 55 minutes. Not being a PR (52:26) but a few minutes faster than my previous 10K this year (57:4?). Reasonable right? I thought so.

Saturday morning I got up at 5:45, showered, and got on the running gear. Ate my mini bagel with peanut butter and drank a half cup of coffee. Then I got out the fine tip sharpie and wrote my goal split times down on my arm... I felt like a REAL runner... neat!

So that's what it looked like.

I got to the race and I was so stinkin' nervous. I NEVER get nervous before a race, because I never really worry too much about how I do. I like races because they are fun. It's a chance to get out, run a different course, and be around many other peeps who also enjoy running. If I feel fast, I go fast. If I feel slow, I go slow. I never intended to PR on races where I did so before, it just happened that I felt great that day and I went with it.

The race was great! I started off at my goal 8:50 pace, and pretty much floated from 8:30 to 9:00 min. miles. I had moments in the run I felt like I was flying, and moments when I wondered why I was even there... as usual.

As the race wore on, I was noticing I was consistenly beating my mile split plans. I felt good, so I didn't slow down. I figured I'd keep the pace, and use the extra time later if I had any problems. Problems never occured. Once I finally came into view of the Finish line timer, it read 53:25.... Heck Yeah, Obviously I was going to break the 55 minute goal I'd set for myself. Finished in 53:57, a whole minute faster.

After fininishing the race I was a very happy girl for achieving a goal. And I tought myself a lesson. I can train to go a little faster. I can set goals, and not be scared of not meeting them. I think I was resisting goals in fear of not meeting them?

My goal for the Labor Day 10K is to beat my all time PR (Labor Day 2006 52:26).... I am sure I can do it, if not at least try. If I don't, there is always another race day!

Oh, and I placed 2nd in my age group.