Cloud 9

That’s pretty much where I spent the day – way up on cloud 9.  It was glorious!

To begin with the weather was absolutely perfect this morning.  I didn’t have to wake up super early to beat the heat, so I set off around 6:30.  It was still only about 65 degrees at that point.  The most perfect running weather I’ve had so far. 

Once I got going – you should really see me when I first start running; it starts off as a gimpy limp/run – I could tell I would definitely be able to make it the full 9 miles on my training schedule.  The weather was brisk so I wasn’t sweating to death for a change, and my legs felt great.  I felt mostly comfortable the whole time – just enjoying the day and the fact that I was actually running this far and little to no pain in my shin(s).

By the way, it seems I’ve come up with a solution to my shin splits.  The equation goes something like this:

Icing + Bio Relief + Zensah calf sleeves + more icing + Bio Relief again + shin brace for at least a few hours

It’s a lengthy process but totally worth it because I have zero leg pain right now!  I finally cracked the code.

I’m so incredibly proud of myself.  I finished up in about 1:56.  Not fast by any means, but my goal isn’t to run for time at this point.

I love getting up for my long run and actually achieving my goal – it makes the rest is the weekend so much sweeter.  Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and enjoying a lazy day!

Did you run long today or was it a rest day for you?  If so, how far and how did it go?

Dare I Say It?

Folks, I’m very happy to announce that this past week Heather got her groove back.  Oh, yes, she did!

After I wrote my last post about being in a bit of a slump, I ended up taking a week off from running.  And I actually think it helped rather than hurt me.  Halfway through my journey to 13.1 seemed like a logical breaking point.  So take a break I did.

Last week I skipped my weekday runs and attempted to make my comeback with 8 miles on Saturday morning.  Note: it was completely, disgustingly hot and humid in the Dirty Jerz last weekend.  No matter how early I woke up, it was going to be bad.  I hit the road around 6:15 or so but ended up only running 4 miles.  I guess I shouldn’t have expected to take a week off and jump in with both feet for 8 miles, but at least I tried!  I don’t consider this a failure.

The real magic started to happen on Monday of this week.  Not only have I gotten back on track with my training plan, but I’ve also cleaned up my act where eating is concerned.  I have to admit that I’ve not been making the best food choices of late.  This week, however, I’ve been a rock star, and I really think I’m back in the groove food-wise.

And since they say one good decision follows another, I ran 4 miles on Monday (outside), rode 9.5 miles on the stationary bike at the gym on Tuesday (and my sore backside is proof positive of that!), ran 4 miles Wednesday, and another 3 yesterday.  This is super for me – this is actually the very first time I’ve cross-trained since I started running back in May.  I’m not sure biking is the way to go for me, but I’m going to try some other things as well – yoga’s been tempting me for a while, and I’m also kind of itching to check out the aqua aerobics class at my gym! 

Finally, I’ve even discovered the mood-altering effect running/exercise can have on a person.  Wednesday happened to find me in a very foul mood.  I was down pretty much all day (I’m blaming hormones) and didn’t want to do anything – sit at my desk and do work, go outside at lunch and read a book, and especially run.  Despite all of that, I took myself to the gym after dinner and ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  It was hot and humid again, and I knew I wouldn’t make it outside given my mood.  I felt tons better about myself as I walked back to my car that night. 

And yesterday I got mucho tired in the late afternoon.  I fell into a pretty deep sleep on the bus on my way home from work and didn’t even want to rouse myself to get off!  When I got home, I really just wanted to take a nap.  But did I?  No!  And not just because Darcy would never allow that after being cooped up all day!  I went on autopilot, changed into my running clothes, and headed out.  I ended up running what was possibly my fastest 3 miles yet in 36:25.  Once I stopped sweating, my energy was renewed!  I had dinner, took Darcy out by the pool to hang out, packed up my lunch for today, and then waited for my friend Alyssa to come over to catch up and go for a walk.  I felt awesomely productive last night.

In a nutshell, this is the kind of week I’m going to hold onto and make myself think of in the future when I’m wanting to slack off and skip a training run.  For now, though, life is sweet and the running is good.  What more can I ask for?

12 Week Itch

Confession time: I’ve been a bit of a slacker lately when it comes to sticking to my half marathon training plan and weekly mileage.

In the week leading up to the Belmar 5, I don’t think I ran at all.  Not one step.  The week after that (last week) I ran my usual Monday/Wednesday/Thursday and completed all of the scheduled mileage (4/4/2), but then this past weekend I never did my long run of 8 miles.  It’s now a brand new week and despite all of my good intentions to get back on the horse, I’ve already missed my Monday run.  And while I could just move those 4 miles to tonight, I’m not sure that will happen either.

What is my problem?  I think I’m experiencing the 12-week itch.

This is a term I made up myself – don’t go looking for it in any dictionaries!  Essentially I have been training for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon since the first week of May.  The actual race is in mid-October.  When you do the math on that, that is 5 months of continuous training for just one single event.

I realize that I really do need that amount of training, having not run a step in a few years prior to signing up with Team in Training.  But halfway through the timeline, it’s all starting to wear on me.  Especially when I see other bloggers only just starting to train now for fall half marathons!

But that’s only one reason, I think.  Other excuses reasons?

• The heat.  I’ll be the first one to tell how big of a baby I am when it comes to excessively hot weather.  Which to me means 90 degrees+ and any kind of disgusting humidity.  I hate it.  If I was a serial killer (and I assure you I am not), this kind of weather would be when I would strike – that’s how crazy it makes me.

• Lack of time.  Because of the heat, I need to run either early in the morning or later in the evening.  You may remember a few posts back when I talked about giving early morning runs a try.  That lasted about three days until the mileage got too high to complete in the limited amount of time I have to run before leaving for work.  I liked running pre-dawn, but anything over 4 miles is just not doable for me.  That would require me to wake up at 4 am and get my butt out the door.  So far I’ve set my alarm countless times for 4 am and changed it back to 5:10 sometime in the middle of the night.  If I run after work, I prefer to do as soon as I get home a little after 5 – when it’s still too hot/humid (at least right now).  After I eat dinner, digest, and give Darcy some quality puppy playtime, I have nothing left.  Add in any extra errands I need to run during the week or visits to my nana in the nursing home (a new development), and you see what I mean. It’s a problem.

• Shin splints.  Lately I’ve been getting pretty bad shin splints (particular in my left leg) after running.  This is partly due to the fact that I’ve been doing many of my weekday runs on the treadmill (see above re: excessive heat/humidity!).  I just run differently on a treadmill.  But I’ve also been getting them after running outside.  They hurt so much that it often even hurts to walk for a day or two after running.  As I’m reluctant to injure myself while training, this is throwing off my entire schedule.  However, my Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves (in Team in Training purple!) are on their way – I’m hoping they’re going to help.

So that’s where my head is at right now.  Frustrated, but most of all, disappointed in myself.  I feel like I’m being lazy (and I probably am).  I need to straighten myself out now before it’s too late, and I end up walking the entire half marathon.

Consider this my cry for help….any suggestions?  What do you do when you’re lacking motivation or in a running rut?  Anyone have a good 3-day-a-week running plan for a beginner half marathoner?

Race Recap: Belmar 5 Mile Run

On Saturday morning I ran my very first race since I took up running about 10 weeks ago.  I was marginally excited to run – my anxious nature tends to make me more nervous for events like this as opposed to excited!  I can’t even imagine what I’ll be like the night before my half. 

In any case, I set my alarm for 5 am Saturday morning and went about my morning routine, eating a blueberry waffle with peanut butter before heading out the door with my mom at 6:15 to pick up Jill.  After that we were on our way for our 45-minute drive to the beach!

The weather was pretty overcast that morning.  Humid too, but I was grateful for the lack of sun beating down on us as we walked to the pavilion and tents to pick up our t-shirts and complimentary tote bag and mug.  After that we took the obligatory “before” picture. 

It wasn’t long after that, however, while we were stretching and waiting to head to the starting line, that the skies opened up.  It started as a steady, light rain and quickly escalated to a full-on downpour.  At that point we weren’t really anywhere where we could seek shelter, so Jill and I basically stood in the deluge for the next 20-30 minutes getting completely soaked.  You can’t really tell in the picture below, but it’s pouring there and we both look like we’ve just gotten out of the ocean!

The rain finally let up about 15 minutes or so before the 2,182 runners lined up at the starting line.  This was by far the largest race I’ve ever run in – the one 5K I did almost 3 years ago was way smaller at less than 200 participants.  Oddly enough, though, it didn’t seem that big when lining up to start!  I kept trying to make sure I was way in the back since I’m slow, but even the back of the pack was not too far from the start. 

I was a bit worried at the start since I’ve never run any considerable distance while soaking wet – shoes and all.  I really feared that I was going to end up with blisters due to wet socks/shoes.  Not the worst thing that could happen but a minor setback nonetheless.  I pushed all of that out of my mind and took off.

I saw my mom on the side of the course within the first quarter mile and waved like a crazy person, but she didn’t see me.    After that I was on my own as far as my personal cheering section went.  I should also mention here that were some crazy-fast runners competing in this race.  As I approached the time clock at the first mile (around the 12-minute mark), the lead runners were already running back in the other direction toward the finish line.  The male winner finished in 24:40.57 while the female winner crossed the finish line in 28:35.72.  Unbelievable!

For the most part there weren’t too many people cheering once you got through the first mile on Ocean Avenue.  The course took a turn onto back roads after that, and every once in a while there would be people outside their houses cheering us on.  Some of them even had their hoses out to keep us cool!  You can bet I ran through as many of them as possible.  I mean, I was already wet, what difference would a little more water make?

I started out using my 9:1 run/walk strategy for this race, the same way I do for all of my long runs.  I didn’t stick to it exactly due to some side stitches after drinking at the water stops and other times when I just couldn’t run anymore.  I think it averaged out about the same though based on my finishing time. 

Around the 3.5 mile mark I really wanted to be done!  The course was deceptively hilly.  It didn’t necessarily appear to be full of hills, but there were more than expected.  I know I really need to get used to hills as I’m running my half marathon in San Francisco, but it was so humid (still!) and they were sucking the life right out of me.  But I just told myself that I only had 1.5 miles to go and carried on. 

I’m not gonna lie – that last 1.5 miles seemed like it took forever!  But eventually the finish line was in sight.  I picked up the pace a bit to get there a little faster, and it wasn’t long before I heard my mom, Aunt Debbie, and Jill yelling my name.  I pasted a smile on my face for the photographers (the professional race pix being all important) and crossed the finish line.  My longest race to date was behind me! 

My chip time ended up being 1:00.50.  I had told my mom that I would finish in about an hour, and I was right.  I’m nothing if not consistent!  My previous 5-mile training runs had all been completed in that same time almost down to the second.

A photographer from The Examiner got a picture of me just as I finished – one that will live on forever as one of the top 10 most unflattering pictures I have of myself.  It’s on page 12 of the Photos of Finishers page (first one in the second row) if you feel like sharing in my humiliation.  I look rather…squishy, I would say.  In my defense, I was really wet and all the wicking fabric in the world couldn’t keep it from getting a bit misshapen!

My personal photographer – a.k.a Mom – got these shots of me as I slowed it to a walk.

And then Jill and I got together for the “after” shot.  Jill finished in 43:27.94.  This was her very first race ever!  She did an awesome job.

Seconds after those pictures were taken I took off my shoes and put on my flip flops.  I actually poured water out of my shoes, that’s how wet they were!  Disgusting.  Then it was back to the car to make the trip home.

I have to say that I’m pretty darn proud of myself for completing this race.  I really only had one goal going into it – to finish the 5 miles in an hour.  And I did.  My mom and I were talking on the drive home, and I said, “Who would have ever thought that Jill and I would run a 5 mile race together one day?”  The answer is probably no one.  And my mom replied, “And that you would be the initiator!”  True enough.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I was so not into sports as a child.  So to run consistently and participate in races the way I am now is really amazing to me.  I can’t believe how far I’ve come since the day in early May when I signed up with Team in Training.  I am constantly surprising myself and running these long distances is still a little bit surreal to me.

I still don’t really see myself as an athlete, but I think I’m getting there.  It’s just a mental thing, I guess.

What is your proudest racing moment?  Have you always been an athlete or is it something you’ve come into later in life?

Racing Day

Have you ever heard this song?

Probably not, if you’re over the age of 5.  But since I happen to spend a fair amount of time with little kids, I’ve stumbled across this little tune.  And I have to say it’s pretty catchy!  I’m willing to forfeit any cool factor I may have to tell that I’ve actually downloaded it from iTunes to play on some of running playlists.

All of this to say that tomorrow is actually a racing day for me.  My first, in fact, since I started training for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon with Team in Training.  Tomorrow morning TNT is getting together state-wide to run this race:

 

Since my cousin Jill is training to run the Atlantic City (Full) Marathon (on the very same day as my half!), I asked her if she’d like to join me tomorrow.  The two of us will be heading down to the beach bright and early tomorrow morning.  I have to be there at 7 am to meet my event coach who will be traveling with us to San Francisco for the half marathon in October.

I’m looking forward not only to the race itself but being able to share the experience with with my cousin.  Jill has always been an athlete – she grew up playing soccer, softball, and basketball.  Me?  Not so much.  I was a dancer for about 10 years and played piano and flute.  And read a lot of books.  Call me artsy, maybe.  Basically, the two of us didn’t have much in common.

We’ve always been friends since we grew up together, living just blocks apart, but I feel like now that we’re both trying to achieve a similar goal, we’ve gotten even closer.  It’s pretty fun to chat about how many miles we ran on a particular day and what routes we’re taking.

Our moms are planning on coming also to cheer us on and play paparazzi!  I’m excited to finally have some pictures of myself running.  Although I may regret that later when I look like I’m dying in every one.

Are you running any races this weekend?  What does your summer race schedule look like?