Reflections on 8 Miles

This morning I woke up moving very slowly and feeling tight in all my muscles, but especially in my adductor, which was causing me some frustration last week.  I would have been very happy heading back to bed and sleeping for a few more hours, but I knew my running buddy Brooke was waiting for me.  Being felt that you are held accountable for your runs always helps on mornings like this.  The plan was to run just 8 miles because this is a recovery week so the milage goes down.  Even though the long run milage is low, this is when we practice running race pace.  So for the first 4 miles we were going to keep it nice and easy and then pick it up for the last 4 to a 9:13 pace.  Brooke and I both have the same goal to run our half in under 2 hours, in order to do it we need to keep a 9:13 pace for 13.1 miles.  So here's how the morning went...

Mile 1 - 10:12
Mile 2 - 10:08
Mile 3 - 10:11

These first three miles Brooke and I took time to catch up and discuss the fact that we are working on saving money.  We weren't really paying attention to our pace other than knowing that we needed to use these miles as a warm-up.  After about the first half mile I wasn't feeling nearly as stiff and felt like I could nail this run.  The miles went by fast and the time to catch up was nice because it has been a few weeks since we had seen each other.

Mile 4 - 9:06

After the first 3 miles I was feeling really good and unintentionally ran in-front of Brooke and before I knew it I was running at a 9:06 pace.  After mile 4 we took a quick break, drank some water, had a chew and decided for the next 4 miles we would stay together, but pick it up 15 seconds every mile until we got to our race pace.

Mile 5 - 9:26
Mile 6 - 8:58

The next two miles we pushed it more than we thought, but we were feeling really strong.  Around mile 5.5, I started to feel dehydrated so I wanted to break again for a water stop at mile 6.  There we talked about slowing down to about a 9:10 pace.

Mile 7 - 8:46
Mile 8 - 9:29

Once we got back on the trail though we just took each step in stride.  We started off together, but then I slowed down after mile 7 and let Brooke run about 100 feet ahead.  I think that when we started working on race pace today we were feeling so good that we forgot that we still had more miles ahead of us.  Although we seem to be doing great with pace, I think we need to be aware that pushing too fast too soon can slow us down in the end.  Overall though, it was a great run, with great company and both of us walked away feeling proud that in just over a month we have really improved in not just our race pace, but also in our own confidence that we can rock this race in a little over a month and a half.

8 miles - 1:16:19
Average Pace - 9:32
I was also really excited that 5 of the 8 miles I ran were under a 9:30 pace and I was only planning on doing 4 miles faster than that!

800s

As I left the track tonight my mind wondered back to high school and my thoughts on running 15 years ago...yes, 15 years ago!  I HATED running, I remember that stupid ticket run at Robinson and I would dread it each time it came around.  A ticket run is where the gym teachers would punch a ticket for each lap we ran.  I would always do the minimum amount of laps required to pass.  My miles now are not even close to what they were in high school.  I was slow because I didn't want to put effort into running, cause I just didn't like it. I would run around a 13 minute mile and that was if I was trying.  In high school, kids are able to excel much more than as adults or so I thought.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I started running just a few years ago, yet I keep improving and today was one of those days where I was really proud of how far I have come.  15 years ago I would have never said that my adult-self would be running 5ks let alone a marathon.  Now I am running the best I have in my life.  This morning I even woke up to run 2 miles at the gym before I went to work, just to get some extra mileage in.  Then tonight we ran 800s, I started with a mile and a half warm, did my 8 800s, and then had a half mile cool down.  Just one month ago we did the same workout and I wish I had done my splits the way I did tonight because then I would have a true comparison, but I can tell I did much better.

Here are my splits from December 21st:
1st and 2nd 800 - 8:55 (about 4:23 each)
3rd and 4th 800 - 8:25 (about 4:13 each)
5th and 6th 800 - 8:30 (about 4:15 each)
7th and 8th 800 - 8:36 (about 4:18 each)
Average pace - 8:34

Here are my splits from tonight:
1.5 mile Warm-up - 13:56
1st 800 - 4:09
2nd 800 - 4:12
3rd 800 - 4:11
4th 800 - 4:10
5th 800 - 4:11
6th 800 - 4:13
7th 800 - 4:20 (I wanted to take the second to last one slow so I could push it during the last one)
8th 800 - 4:02 MY FASTEST!!!
0.5 mile cool down - 4:57
Average pace - 8:44
Total mileage at track - 6 miles
Total mileage for the day - 8 miles

Although the average pace is slower tonight, that also includes my warm-up and cool down.  I have come a long way in a short period of time.  I can't wait to see what each race brings, most importantly the one on March 17th!  Bring it Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon!  Oh, and that ticket run...I'll do one of those again too ;)

Perfect quote for the night!

A Race a Month in 2012?

After the first three weeks of 2012 I have surpassed my goal of 20 miles a week and that puts a huge smile on my face!  The first week - 21.7, week 2 - 22.7, and week 3 - 30.5!  This is much better than I had originally expected myself to do.  That means in the first 21 days of the year I have averaged just over 3.5 miles a day, that includes days off!  So now for a new goal...at least one race a month for a whole year.

I already completed the New Years Day 5k for January.  Now the schedule for the rest of the year, here's what I m thinking...

• February 12 - Run Your Heart Out 5k
• February 18 - GW Birthday Classic 10k
• March 4 - Reston 10 miler
• March 17 - USA Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon
• March 18 - Run for Haiti 5k (Maybe)
• April 1 - Cherry Blossom 10 miler
• April 22 - GW Parkway Classic 10 miler
• May - Any suggestions???
• June - Any suggestions???
• July 4 - Firecracker 5k
• August 19 - Leesburg 20k
• September 2 - VA Beach Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon 
• October 7 - Chicago Marathon
• October 28 - Marine Corps Marathon
• November 17 - Marine Corps Turkey Trot 10k
• November 22 - Turkey Trot (Not sure which one)
• December 9 - Run with Santa 5k

That all being said...what races is everyone else doing?  Anyone want to join me at any of these races??

1600s, 800s, and 400s

This week has been an interesting running week.  Although I have continued to keep up with my miles, my left hip has been quite sore/stiff since Sunday.  I made an appointment with my great chiropractor Dr. Wong at United Wellness Center in Herndon to have him check it out, but couldn't get in until tonight before track.  Yesterday I had a lot on my mind and what started as a brisk walk ended up as a 5.5 mile run.  My body wasn't feeling right, but I still pushed myself a bit farther than I should have because I just needed time to think about life.  After the run I was a bit sore and looking forward to what Dr. Wong had to say.  The only thing I didn't want him to say was, "You need to rest."

As it turns out it actually wasn't my hip that is the problem, it is my adductor muscle.  It just needed to be stretched out really well.  Dr. Wong was just the person for it!  It felt great when I left and I feel like I ran better than I had in a long time tonight.  I really need to be sure I continue to stretch it so it continues to feel this good.  And he didn't tell me to rest, if fact as I left, I told me to have a good run tonight...that meant I was good to go for track!

The track workout was as follows a 1600, rest 3 mins, 2 800s with a 3 min rest after each, and 4 400s with a 3 mins rest between each.  I started off with an easy 1 mile warm-up and was ready to rock the workout tonight.  My running buddy Brooke and I ran together because we are planning on supporting each other throughout the USA Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.  She has been a great running buddy and an even better friend.  I am really looking forward to both of us PRing on March 17th!  Anyway, tonight we focused on pushing ourselves (although maybe if we talked less we could have done more, right Brooke?) and we did great!

I should have done my splits on my watch based on the track distances we were doing, but instead I allowed it to do the automatic splits at each mile.  So here's the break down:

Warm-Up Mile: 9:02
1600: 8:33
2 800s: 8:22
4 400s: 7:39
Cool Down Mile: 10:18
Average Pace: 8:47

Feeling FANTASTIC after this workout!  Thanks Dr. Wong and Brooke!  Looking forward to my 12 miles on Saturday!

Brooke and I after one of our long runs!

Treadmill Thoughts

Running for an hour on the treadmill can sometimes feel like an eternity...not today.  Today as I looked around the gym I didn't get lost in my own thoughts, in fact I couldn't stop thinking about everyone around me.  There were a lot of interesting people at the gym tonight.  We have all seen these people, you know the ones, they go to the gym, but they don't work out.  You would think that on the 11th of January you would still have the people that are committed to their New Years resolutions, clearly I am wrong.  Don't get me wrong, I support people that go to the gym and actually work out.  It's the people that take up my oxygen that drive me crazy.  Tonight I saw:

• Women with more make-up on than Lady Gaga before she goes on stage...you are at the gym, if you are truly working out, you'll be a mess with all that on your face by the time it's over
• A man sitting on the stationary bike watching TV, yes, just watching TV, no leg movement what-so-ever
• A couple that stretched for 15 mins ON the two treadmills in front of me...it's January, there's practically a line for the treadmills...come on people!
• A woman who had on such a low cut shirt she couldn't even wear a bra...no bra to the gym...that's not gonna work!
• A handful of women that gone to the salon to get their hair done minutes before stepping foot into the building...if your hair looks just as good on the way out as it did on the way in...you probably aren't working out
• Many, many people that decided to head to the gym to waste time because if you don't sweat, you probably aren't burning calories
• A woman reading the latest about Katy Perry while running a 10 min mile...is that even possible???  I've never been able to achieve it
• A woman who changed machines every 3 minutes...I think she may have been Goldilocks
• A man who thought he had a 6 pack and decided to show it off by taking off his shirt...he should have though about that one for a few minutes longer

This all being said, it was quite an interesting night at the gym.  Again, I support all those people who are really working at the gym, but it seemed like tonight there were an overwhelming number of people who were more worried about socializing and how they looked then the actual workout part of the night...not a sermon, just a thought!

Running and Illness

Sometimes we come across hurdles while we are training and have goals in mind.  My current hurdle???  Strep throat.  I woke up a few days ago feeling like I was fighting a cold so I kept taking vitamin C and echinacea in hopes that it would fight off anything I was catching.  No such luck.  Yesterday, I felt HORRIBLE, but had to pull through for a big presentation at work.  This morning, after I was unable to swallow and my throat felt like I had sandpaper surrounding it, I decided to head to the doctor.  He told me that it was strep (which I figured), gave me a Z pack and sent me on my way.  After just two doses, I am already feeling better so tomorrow it is back to the normal routine.  Even if I don't feel 100%, I want to at least push myself to see what I can do.  I haven't run since Saturday and am starting to feel a little out of sorts.  It has been a long time since 3 days have gone by without a run.

It's hard for me to give myself a break especially since I have my goal of at least 20 miles a week for 2012. I have to keep reminding myself that without this break I could be feeling a lot worse.  As runners, we feel like if we give ourselves a break to take care of our body we are taking a step back.  We have to get our heads in the right place to understand that if we don't give ourselves a break, we could actually be doing more damage.  It doesn't matter if it is a illness or an injury, sometimes we just need a break.  Hopefully tomorrow will go well, but I know I won't go overboard with training, just an easy run to see how my body is feeling.

I'm Baaaaack!

After a very long hiatus and a lot of life changes I am going to get back on the running blog streak.  Since my last post in September I have:

• Become single one month before my marathon
• Ran my first marathon in 4:43:12
• Ran my first 15k in 1:33:06 (very poorly organized...never sign up for a Hot Chocolate Race)
• Signed up for my second Distance Training Program with Potomac River Running
• Signed up for the National Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in March with a goal time of 2 hours
• Ran two 5ks one day after the next  PRing each time with 28:41 and 28:10 (I know I can do better because neither day was an ideal running day for me)

Jessica, Abby, and I before the News Day 5k

I am sure there have been a lot of other changes in my life, but one thing for sure is that I am the happiest I have ever been.  My running has helped me stay focused and in a great place.  If you had asked me a few years ago why I run, my answer would not have been to stay happy and now when I want time to self-reflect...I run.

As I begin the new year, I think about my goals for running.  I have two goals that I am going to focus on for 2012: 1-Run at least 1,000 miles and 2-Run National Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in 2:00:00 or under.  The first goal seems like a HUGE goal, but when broken down it is just a little under 20 miles a week on average.  This first week, I ran 21.7 miles without pushing myself at all.  I have to say I think I'm off to a good start.  My second goal is one that I will really have to work at.  I am not a fast runner and I enjoy just running at whatever pace I feel like for the day, which ranges between 9:30-10:30 on average.  In order to run 13.1 miles in under 2 hours, I will have to run each mile in 9:09 mins or faster.  I know I can do it, but I will just have to focus on my goal during each run.  The race is on March 17 so I have just a little more than 2 months to push myself past my comfort zone.

In the mean time, I have already put together my race schedule for the next few months:

• Feb 12 - Love the Run Your With 5k
• Feb 18 - GW Classic 10k
• March 4 - Reston 10 miler
• March 17 - National 1/2 Marathon
• March 18 - Race for Haiti 5k (Maybe as a shake out run)
• April 1 - Cherry Blossom 10 miler
• April 22 - GW Parkway 10 miler

Be on the look out for more blogs as I reflect on my running MUCH more regularly than I have in the past few months :)