Long Evening Run

I ran 7.33 miles in 1 hour and 8 seconds. It felt really good. I ran the first 3 on my own and picked up Jason for the last 4, just in time for it to start getting dark. Afterward, we took the girls for a short walk. I did have some tightness in my right quad, but my butt did not get tight... yea! I think the tightness is slowly moving down my leg :-) Anyway, it was a good run. Have a great week!!

Average Pace: 8:12 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 7.33 mile loop around the neighborhood.
Aches and Pains: tightness in my right quad.
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: about 1.5 months

Beginning My 5K Training

Today officially starts my 5K training. It should have started last week, but I think I'm in good enough shape to start 1 week into the program, especially since my long runs have been longer than the required longs runs on the plan. I"m also going to begin counting calories again today. I want to be at my goal weight by my birthday (June 4). It shouldn't be hard, I don't have much to lose.

A coworker of mine is also a runner and told me about Hal Higdon. He was an awesome runner and coach and my friend says he has used his plans and likes them because they don't kill you. Laura, check it out he has a plan for all levels. Here's the link to the plan I am using. I started on the first Saturday workout. I am also posting the plan in my links section:
http://www.halhigdon.com/5K%20Training/5-Kadv.htm

Anyway, the run went well, a little slower than I wanted, but I got to run with Jason for the first time in forever! He ran the first 3 miles with me and I ran the last one alone. Altogether I ran 4.12 miles in 34 minutes and 9 seconds.

Average Pace: 8:17 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 3.03 mile loop and 1.09 mile loop around the neighborhood.
Aches and Pains: Felt nauseous after the run again. I was kinda expecting that because I felt ill after eating sushi last night.
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: about 1.5 months

Feelin Good

I ran 5.38 miles around my neighborhood today in 42 minutes and 46 seconds. It felt pretty good. My time was decent to, so that's good. I guess I really did need the break. Minor cramp just before the 2 mile mark and a slight tugging in my ankle around mile 2.5 that I will have to monitor. Well I'm off to plant grass! Talk to you later :-)


Average Pace: 7:57 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 3.03 mile loop and 2.35 mile loop around the neighborhood.
Aches and Pains: Nagging pull in my ankle (not painful, just felt weird)
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: about 1 month

Hitting the Roads after a short Hiatus

After burnt knees and slow runs, I decided to take a week off. Today was not as fast as I would have liked it to be, but it was much better than my last few. I ran 3.88 miles today, it would have been 4, but when I stopped to cross a main road, I felt as though I was going to vomit. I have never had that feeling before. I blame it on the funnel cake at midnight last night at Relay for Life. So, I offered my nausea up to cancer research and moved on.

Today I ran my usual 3.03 mile loop, then ran to Lee and Justin's to help Jason with their counter tops. It took me 32 minutes and 9 seconds. So, now I'm off to work on the counters! Have a great Saturday!

Average Pace: 8:15 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 3.88 miles in Valdosta, GA
Aches and Pains: NONE!!! I got my shoes back!!
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: about 1 month

Panama City

I went to the beach yesterday so of course I packed my shoes to run on the beach. Panama City is BEAUTIFUL, but incredibly difficult to run on. Most of the sand is very fine, but by the ocean it's compacted. So I decided to run along the ocean... what a great run right? Wrong. The sand along the ocean is very slanted and difficult to run on. Plus my shoes got soaked. So I decided, after 1.5 miles of slanted sand, that it was time to explore the city.

I ended up finding this really cute neighborhood of beachy cottages to run through and check out all the houses. There were some for sale and I so wanted to buy one. I also found some really cool shops to check out after hanging out on the beach. Running may be the best way to explore new cities.

Anyway, I ran 5.5 miles 51:41, not incredible, but I was running slower on the sand just so I would not fall or twist an ankle.

Afterward, I lounged on the beach and the backs of my knees got really burned (along with my back, but that doesn't hurt very bad). I want to run today, but might not be able to get my sports bra on or my knees to bend. Oh well, that sucks.

Average Pace: about 9:24 per mile, I really need to start working on my times again. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 5.5 miles in Panama City
Aches and Pains: my ankle wrap got wet and was rubbing on the back of my ankle - I have 2 blisters now.
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: < 1 week

So Cold!

OK, I'm officially a huge wimp! It was in the low 50s this morning so I decided to run indoors today. I was going to do a 400s workout outside despite the cold, but when I got there, the high school track team was about to practice. Anyway, I ran 30 minutes on the treadmill today. I walked 5 minutes then ran to 15 minutes at 7.0 then at 15 and 18 minutes, I ran at 8.0 for a minute each. When I got to 21 and 24 minutes I ran 8.5 for a minute each, and 9.0 at 27 and 30 minutes. At 33 minutes, I ran 9.5 for a minutes and back to 7.0 until I reached 35 minutes with a 5 minute cool down. It was a pretty good run followed by weight training targeting my chest and back and 4 hours of "back-breaking" yard work (I will post photos on our other Blog as well as Flickr when it is finishes).

I've decided my chest is shrinking because I am beginning to chafe in that area. I think I need a smaller sports bra.

In more exciting news, I have decided on a marathon!! I'm going to run the Disney World Marathon!!!!!!!! I am sooooo excited! In the meantime, I'm looking to run 1-2 half marathons. After the marathon, I'm thinking of a simple 26.2 tattoo. (I can't find what I'm looking for, just a 26.2 written really cool with a few swish marks coming off of it.) Anyone who wants to join me, or if you just want to check it out, here is the link: www.disneyworld.com

In the meantime, here are my stats from today:
Average Pace: about 9:09 per mile - that includes the first and last 5 minutes of walking. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 4.37 miles on the treadmill @ Moody AFB
Aches and Pains: pains in my arch (on and off throughout the day after running)
Breakthroughs: I am a WIMP!
Age of Shoes: < 1 week

If only I could run 2.34 miles in 5 minutes.

Then my time today wouldn't seem so bad. I don't know why my times are so slow lately. I took a week off after my last 5K, but I have been going again for a week and my times shouldn't suck this bad anymore.

I ran 7.1 miles today in 1 hour 9 minutes and 24 seconds. Sadly, I ran 9.44 miles in 1 hour 14 minutes and 4 seconds just a few weeks ago in FL. So now you are thinking "but that was a race; times are always faster when you are racing." True, but the week before my race, I ran 8 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes! Now your thinking "geeze that does suck." I would have agree with you.

There was nothing significantly crappy about today's run, it was just slow. I felt that I had a slow start, but after that, I really felt like I was moving. Oh well. I did decide yesterday that I would not let my times affect me until I'm training for a race. So, until then, today's run was pleasant.

Average Pace: 9:46 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 7.1 miles VSU loop
Aches and Pains: some pain in my left arch (can't wait to see my shoes again!! :-)
Breakthroughs: at a total loss...
Age of Shoes: 2 days

It's a Great Day to Run

Krissy called me last night to see if I wanted to run at 7am!! I said sure and got up before the sun on a Saturday to go run 45-50 minutes. It was a really nice run! Finally, I'm feeling like my old self again. We had a really great run and took it kinda slow. We ran for 46 minutes and 53 seconds and I think I calculated the distance correctly at a little over 5.5 miles (as long as I didn't miss any turns).

In other news: I miss my stopwatch!! :-( I used my iPod the other day, but it ran out of batteries and my computer did not recognize it when I plugged it in. Do not fret, it is charging now.

Average Pace: about 8:30 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: About 5.5 miles around downtown Valdosta
End Results: feel great
Aches and Pains: some pain in my left arch (can't wait to see my shoes again!! :-)
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: 1.5 years

Friday, April 4, 2009

Another crappy run. I would have blogged yesterday, but our internet was out. It still is actually, I am using Jason's Blackberry to get internet as a type. I don't understand why my last few runs went the way they did and I hope it changes soon. I ran my usual loop around the neighborhood in 24 minutes and 50 seconds (yuck)!

I left my good shoes and stop watch at school thinking I would be back on Wednesday/Thursday/Friday to get them. No luck. I got a new pair of shoes and they are really not that great. I am having pains in my arches again... ugh!

Oh well, I'm sure this will pass and I will be back to my usual happy running self.

Average Pace: about 8:17 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: 3.03 mile loop around the neighborhood.
Aches and Pains: sore arch
Breakthroughs: ----
Age of Shoes: 1.5 years

Still Raining...

It has been raining for 2 days now and I didn't want to go another day without running, so I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. I used to think that I ran faster on the treadmill, but that is not the case. Since I have been tracking my progress, I realized that running 7.0 on the treadmill is over 8 minutes miles. So I increased my pace to 7.5 which is only 8 minute miles and it felt difficult!!!! I did add in some surges which made me feel like less of a loser, but oh well.

Since I was at the gym, I also did some cross training (back, chest, and abs) and did a cool down walk on the treadmill (fun). I was, however, able to read my Runner's World while cooling down and it had some helpful hints for training for a marathon. Apparently, if you run more intense workouts during the week, you don't have to run the dreaded 20+ mile long run. Most runners on the plan don't run more than 16 miles at their peak and have shaved lots of time off their 26.2. I have no point of reference, but I would LOVE not having the dreaded 20 mile run hanging over my head.

Average Pace: about 8:00 per mile. Still looking for a metronome!
Number of Intervals: slightly over 3 miles on the treadmill at Moody AFB
End Results: shocked
Aches and Pains: none
Breakthroughs: I am much better outdoors than on a treadmill.
Age of Shoes: 1.5 years

Cross Training

Well, it rained all morning when I was planning to run. When it finally stopped, it was too late to run and have enough time to recover for spin class. So I didn't run today, but I did do an hour of spin class followed by an hour of Zumba. I think that counts as a workout. We have tomorrow off, so if it is raining in the morning, I will go up to Moody and run on the treadmill.