Sunday, February 26, 2012
February 26th
V- Running today was hard. I underdressed and had to go back home to change- it took awhile to get warmed up. Then 2 miles in, my foot felt raw- the bandaid I had put on my blister had moved and got worse with each step. Took it off at that point and didn't feel like I could make it much further. Guess 4 miles is better than zero miles. Supposed to dust it off and try again.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
February 22nd
(Nick) Went to six tunnels today and ran the second half. It sucked! I was so freaking beat from my previous runs and I really felt it today. My legs are in horrible shape, my solius on my right leg seems to keep getting worse, especially after some speed sessions. My left shin it very sore to the touch, feels like shin splints.
The second half is really tough, lots of elevation changes and running in the dirt isn't very much fun. It was also hot today, 70 degrees I think, I was in shorts and short sleeves and still felt the heat.
(Vanessa) it seemed extra hot today. water is a must now that it's heating up but I didn't bring any. It was good to see the second half of the race. Discovering the hills on the day of the race is not a good time. I know exactly where I'll struggle and have my plan to take on those spots without walking. This course is not quite as easy as it seemed.
The second half is really tough, lots of elevation changes and running in the dirt isn't very much fun. It was also hot today, 70 degrees I think, I was in shorts and short sleeves and still felt the heat.
(Vanessa) it seemed extra hot today. water is a must now that it's heating up but I didn't bring any. It was good to see the second half of the race. Discovering the hills on the day of the race is not a good time. I know exactly where I'll struggle and have my plan to take on those spots without walking. This course is not quite as easy as it seemed.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
February 19th
Went to southern hills again solo this time to see how fast I could do it. Skipped the extra lap we usually do and kept it to 8 miles. 8 miles in 1 hour flat. I'm slowly getting better but my nutrition is still not where it should be and the weather is heating up so less clothing is now required.
V went to try and break her record mile before work but started out way to fast (5:40) pace and fatigued before completing the whole thing. She's gonna get down to the 7's in no time!
V went to try and break her record mile before work but started out way to fast (5:40) pace and fatigued before completing the whole thing. She's gonna get down to the 7's in no time!
February 17th
I had fun today. Great playlist. Body felt fantastic! My mind was really put at ease during this run, I really enjoyed it.
(v)- I also enjoyed getting out and running today. Seriously the easiest 9 miles we've ever ran. Time to start thinkin about shorts and shorts sleeves. It warmed up quickly!
Now my knees are sore and I need to figure out what to do about my new shoes giving me weird blisters. But I want to go again. :)
(v)- I also enjoyed getting out and running today. Seriously the easiest 9 miles we've ever ran. Time to start thinkin about shorts and shorts sleeves. It warmed up quickly!
Now my knees are sore and I need to figure out what to do about my new shoes giving me weird blisters. But I want to go again. :)
February 13th
Ran on the treadmill tonight. Just to try out my new shoes. Felt comfortable so I'm eager to try them on the road. quick two miles and went on the bike for ten minutes and used muscles that I obviously don't while running and I wonder if I should continue to as it helps with upper leg strength.
February 11th
Decided to quit smoking. 37 hours since my last smoke. I hope it helps in the long run. Ran through Sun City. Started getting really windy on the way back. Oh yea, first time wearing shorts. Felt good. Don't really care for this course tho.
February 9th
Finally got around to doing reverse anthem. I now that what ever way we choose to run this course I'll like it regardless. V's knee is still pretty messed up and by mile 4 her knee was ready to give in. It was a nice run, the weather is warming up and we could both feel it today.
Did reverse anthem today. The two hills that normally are hell, didn't seem so bad in the beginning, although my knees we're still extra sore. We made it almost to the top of Hampton before I stopped and since I had already fallen short of my little goal to make it all the way to the top of the hill without stopping, I didn't want to push through the pain anymore and ended up walking. Nick ran back to the car and was 10 seconds short of his best mile! Although I'm still concerned with my knee, I know that taking so much time off was the culprit and I don't plan on letting myself off so easy. Want to run again sometime this weekend.
Did reverse anthem today. The two hills that normally are hell, didn't seem so bad in the beginning, although my knees we're still extra sore. We made it almost to the top of Hampton before I stopped and since I had already fallen short of my little goal to make it all the way to the top of the hill without stopping, I didn't want to push through the pain anymore and ended up walking. Nick ran back to the car and was 10 seconds short of his best mile! Although I'm still concerned with my knee, I know that taking so much time off was the culprit and I don't plan on letting myself off so easy. Want to run again sometime this weekend.
February 8th
Learned two things today: that studying BEFORE our running is a bad idea and secondly, that nick knows more Mariah Carey lyrics than I do.
We went on a new route that was supposed to be 8 miles out and back but we stopped short. my knee started really hurting and since I wasn't sure what was going on with it, we decided it might be better to head back. We were music-less and gps-less and we decided to sing songs to keep us distracted. What felt like a 4 mile run was actually >5.5 miles. Thank you Aerosmith!
We went on a new route that was supposed to be 8 miles out and back but we stopped short. my knee started really hurting and since I wasn't sure what was going on with it, we decided it might be better to head back. We were music-less and gps-less and we decided to sing songs to keep us distracted. What felt like a 4 mile run was actually >5.5 miles. Thank you Aerosmith!
February 1st
Went out to the 6 tunnels again today to run the half-marathon course. Beat my 10k time and I am so happy to do something that seemed impossible a few weeks ago. There were a few distractions along the way and I stopped twice but overall it felt so amazing to have a run that I'm proud of. I want to work on my uphill speed and see if I can shave even more time off of my 10k soon. But for now I'll celebrate my little victory. Nick told me he'd push me and I felt it on the course today- and it paid off. Seriously cant wait to get out there again. We're more compatible running partners now than we've ever been- even though our capabilities are clearly different. I've also noticed that we're figuring out what works for us- we've adjusted our calorie/fluid intake to accommodate our running and a lot of our earlier running issues have worked themselves out- my knees, feet, nicks feet. Couldn't be happier about how things are going.
(Nick) Today was an awesome day! The first half of the marathon course is pretty tough, but fun. V has been waiting for a day when things would finally fall in place and she could prove just what she's capable of. One thing about V is that she doesn't give up until she's clear of certain defeat. We started out on the slower side and there was a time when she seemed to get momentarily frustrated but she always seems to pull it back together and keep pushin. The last couple miles were so damn exciting! Hearing the GPS click off the seconds that brought her closer and closer to her record were exhilarating! She was really moving the last 2 miles and was smiling the whole time :) its nice to see improvement within yourself, but it's sometimes a greater feeling to see someone else prevail and feel so proud of what they've done. Weve been working on communication and V shared with me what works for her and what doesn't and we've made some adjustments that have not only shown that we can get faster but also that we can have a great time doing it. Great day for V! So very proud of her!
(Nick) Today was an awesome day! The first half of the marathon course is pretty tough, but fun. V has been waiting for a day when things would finally fall in place and she could prove just what she's capable of. One thing about V is that she doesn't give up until she's clear of certain defeat. We started out on the slower side and there was a time when she seemed to get momentarily frustrated but she always seems to pull it back together and keep pushin. The last couple miles were so damn exciting! Hearing the GPS click off the seconds that brought her closer and closer to her record were exhilarating! She was really moving the last 2 miles and was smiling the whole time :) its nice to see improvement within yourself, but it's sometimes a greater feeling to see someone else prevail and feel so proud of what they've done. Weve been working on communication and V shared with me what works for her and what doesn't and we've made some adjustments that have not only shown that we can get faster but also that we can have a great time doing it. Great day for V! So very proud of her!
January 30th
Anthem run today. Haven't been running much lately so I was eager to make it a good run. For me that just meant not stopping. I like anthem because I can break it down into parts. The beginning is always hard 2.5 miles of uphill followed by an easy downhill for mile 3 and 4 then flat ground to recover before the two humps at mile 5. I wish there was a drink station at mile 5. I figured if I could make it to 2.5 without stopping then I could guarantee to run for 5 straight miles. Once I got to that point I had my 10k time in mind and that kept me going until I passed 6.5. I didn't beat my 10k time and I wonder where I could gain speed so that I could. I think I'll work on catching a little speed downhill to make up for the two humps that slow me down. Just realized that anthem became my 10k run. Running nicks 10k course tomorrow. :\
Officially been running for three months now and crossed the 200 mile mark!
Officially been running for three months now and crossed the 200 mile mark!
January 29th
I just realized its been 4 days since our last run, school is winding down with only 5 weeks left and is cutting into our training time.
V got stuck working this morning so I drove out to six tunnels by myself. Weather was ideal, very nice out. I started with the first leg of the course and did really well. Broke my previous 10k record with a time of 48 minutes flat. Exciting!
V got stuck working this morning so I drove out to six tunnels by myself. Weather was ideal, very nice out. I started with the first leg of the course and did really well. Broke my previous 10k record with a time of 48 minutes flat. Exciting!
January 25th (Recon Day)
Ran a portion of our Half marathon run. Only 7 miles of it. Took forever to warm up, like my body wasn't used to running. Besides some pukey problems along the way, I enjoyed the route and the run. Very peaceful and beautiful. I wouldn't mind running it again and possibly making it the whole way next time. Being able to know where the major landmarks are during the long runs makes them easier.
(nick) like V said, was a great run today. Weather was beautiful, course was fun and extremely peaceful. Pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves and got to take our time and learn the course as best we could. I really can't wait to get back out there and practice some more, really enjoyable course!
(nick) like V said, was a great run today. Weather was beautiful, course was fun and extremely peaceful. Pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves and got to take our time and learn the course as best we could. I really can't wait to get back out there and practice some more, really enjoyable course!
January 19th
Met at the park with intentions to run 9 miles, but school stuff was stuck on our minds. We opted for a short run threw the park, most likely a mile, maybe a mile in a half. Schools gettin in the way of our training lol.
January 18th (Nick)
(Nick) Focused on some speed work today, jogged down to the park as a warm up then tried my best to beat my best mile time. After one mile I was alerted that I was on a 7:36 pace. Started dropping that throughout the next mile. At the 1.75 mark I was down to 7:13. However fatigued kicked in and I wasn't able to finish the mile and snag a record time. I did however maintain my best mile for almost two which shows some progression.
Then decided to keep going and work on a pace that would allow me to continue and catch my breath. 8:30 feels pretty comfortable now. My goal for Saturday is to hit the 2.25 mark at a 7:15 pace. I wanna continue to stretch the limits of that pace without reaching exhaustion.
Then decided to keep going and work on a pace that would allow me to continue and catch my breath. 8:30 feels pretty comfortable now. My goal for Saturday is to hit the 2.25 mark at a 7:15 pace. I wanna continue to stretch the limits of that pace without reaching exhaustion.
January 18th
(v) ran 7.5 miles today. Started out thinking I'd run one of the routes nick and I first did- starts at the house and wraps around anthem east trail and park and then down anthem. I began with a light jog around my neighborhood to get a feel for the temps because it seemed colder than usual, but after one lap, I knew I would be fine without much gear. I left my gloves, water, and headphones.
This route that i hadnt done since we first started running seemed much easier than I remembered. IMPROVEMENT! Once I did the intended route and was on Eastern I felt like I should go further so I incorporated in a run that I'd been doing that goes next to the church. I kept a pretty slow pace although i didn't have my gps timing me so I dont know how fast I was going. Once I got to horizon and sandy ridge I decided to do a little speed work up the hill and increased my pace for two lights and rest for two then increased it to running for 3 lights and resting for two. I continued this home and finished with a walk around the block to cool down. I was happy switching it up a little at the end to fight boredom. It was a good one.
This route that i hadnt done since we first started running seemed much easier than I remembered. IMPROVEMENT! Once I did the intended route and was on Eastern I felt like I should go further so I incorporated in a run that I'd been doing that goes next to the church. I kept a pretty slow pace although i didn't have my gps timing me so I dont know how fast I was going. Once I got to horizon and sandy ridge I decided to do a little speed work up the hill and increased my pace for two lights and rest for two then increased it to running for 3 lights and resting for two. I continued this home and finished with a walk around the block to cool down. I was happy switching it up a little at the end to fight boredom. It was a good one.
January 17th
(V) We ran a 10k today on a course that seemed all uphill. Kicked my ass. Can't wait to do it again. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down.
(nick) 10k Tuesdays from now on, gonna keep attacking this till we get a good time. Tough course!
Notice the green area where I sped up, had to make a pee stop and then catch back up to V :)
(nick) 10k Tuesdays from now on, gonna keep attacking this till we get a good time. Tough course!
Notice the green area where I sped up, had to make a pee stop and then catch back up to V :)
January 15th
(V) ran a short 3 miles with speed in mind and an effort to push through my urges to stop. At 2 miles, my average pace had gone from 9:30 to 10:00 quickly and I felt like calling it a day. but on my 4 mile route, I was the furthest distance from home so decided I'd better keep going. I set my gps to give feedback every 1/4 mile & at 2.5 miles I decided I should run as fast as I can to the 3 mile point. But that lasted only 1/4 mile and at 2.75, I felt pretty spent and struggled to pull through the remainder of the 3 miles. I stopped the clock to find out that I hadn't maintained a pace under 10 minutes but I felt pretty good about not stopping. Then I walked a mile home.
January 14th
(Nick) went for a solo run today, hoping to beat my current 10k mile time. It didn't go well. I started out too fast, 7:39/first mile, last 10k I did an 8:42/first mile. By the time I got to the top of the hill my lungs were spent. My right lung has the same spot in the medial lower section that cramps up and prevents me from taking normal size breaths. I'm pushing hard in attempt to get better but realizing that my goals are unrealistic, I'm trying to progress faster than possible. My ambitions far exceed my ability at this point. I need to slow down and pace myself. I need to not get frustrated when I don't see dramatic progression. I was really bummed after this run but talking to V made me realize that I'm not super human and that these things take time.
Dirk did tell me on the run back home that I beat my 1 mile time. So atleast something good came from it. This is more mental than one would assume and I'm glad I have V to complain to and talk strategy with.
Dirk did tell me on the run back home that I beat my 1 mile time. So atleast something good came from it. This is more mental than one would assume and I'm glad I have V to complain to and talk strategy with.
January 12th
We ran yesterday and today. Although my knees didn't bother me too much yesterday, they ached a lot today from the hills in anthem and part of me is still concerned with overdoing it so early in our training. Our next marathon is in 9 weeks.
I'm sure I came off stubborn today when I decided I didn't want to push it and we stopped a mile early, and again when I decided I didn't want to cross major streets without stopping to use the signal. I see where nick is coming from and he's probably right. Ill use every excuse to stop, unless my partner calls me out on my shenanigans. Maybe I can hit the light while keeping in motion. Like I've been trying to drink my water. I am annoyed to add that to the list of things I'm trying to work on.
I have several goals in mind that I am going to focus on already.
1. I'm trying to stop less. This is a lot harder than I thought.
2. work on healing my knee. I'm doing what I need to and all I know to, I've iced and elevated it tonight and have taken ibuprofen for the inflammation.
3. I am going to try to incorporate some speed into each workout. Although I remembered today that when I do, it increases my chance that I'll want to walk after. Whoopsie.
4. Breathing. I don't exactly know where to start, as I've been breathing all my life and it's worked out fine up until this point. All I have figured out is that when I get into a rhythm jogging, I can breathe with that rhythm and it feels right. It becomes out of sync again if we speed up, cross roads, or work harder like go uphill. we ran a 10k today. Didn't hit my (nicks) goal time. Will try again Tuesday.
I'm sure I came off stubborn today when I decided I didn't want to push it and we stopped a mile early, and again when I decided I didn't want to cross major streets without stopping to use the signal. I see where nick is coming from and he's probably right. Ill use every excuse to stop, unless my partner calls me out on my shenanigans. Maybe I can hit the light while keeping in motion. Like I've been trying to drink my water. I am annoyed to add that to the list of things I'm trying to work on.
I have several goals in mind that I am going to focus on already.
1. I'm trying to stop less. This is a lot harder than I thought.
2. work on healing my knee. I'm doing what I need to and all I know to, I've iced and elevated it tonight and have taken ibuprofen for the inflammation.
3. I am going to try to incorporate some speed into each workout. Although I remembered today that when I do, it increases my chance that I'll want to walk after. Whoopsie.
4. Breathing. I don't exactly know where to start, as I've been breathing all my life and it's worked out fine up until this point. All I have figured out is that when I get into a rhythm jogging, I can breathe with that rhythm and it feels right. It becomes out of sync again if we speed up, cross roads, or work harder like go uphill. we ran a 10k today. Didn't hit my (nicks) goal time. Will try again Tuesday.
January 7th
Part of me wants to wait to blog until I've had awhile to reflect but I know ill likely become more positive and I figure it'll be good to remember this part too. At this point I'm pretty worn down and upset that I had to walk. I wonder if I could have run more, I think maybe a few minutes more between the 9-10 mile mark. At the end, I was truly messed up. I was as deprived as I'd ever felt. It made me realize that I never deprive my body of nutrients or fluid and have not trained my body in these rough conditions and should have eaten something a few miles earlier. my body was not happy, i felt white like a ghost, and had chills. My hands were so swollen that i couldn't make a fist. When I got home, I couldn't keep water down. I hadn't expected it to be so hard on my knees. When I drove it yesterday it didn't seem so sideways. it wasn't just up and down but the turns had a slant. let me rewind to the point where I felt it started going downhill. I didn't have gps so I hadn't noticed that we'd been going so slow and Nick let me know we'd have to work to catch up at the halfway point. Once we got to a point where nick told me Jp was finishing her marathon at that time, I felt pretty crappy. This wasn't nicks running pace or time but my time and I saw disappointment in his face. He'd be more better running with JP and finishing proudly. And he deserves to run with someone as good as he is. He told me that the time doesn't matter and I knew that if I was faster it would matter but at that point it no longer did. I thought about how many people of all ages and sizes had passed us, I've never run near so many people. but since time didn't matter anymore, I lost the little hope I had that I could make it in an okay time. I no longer had a time goal but just wanted to finish, and even that seemed beyond me. What did I do wrong while training? I relied on nick too much to keep us positive midrun and he'd lost hope in me, and I did too. I thought I may never run in another organized run to save myself this embarrassment and pain again. I was so much happier being naive and content with my measly two miles not knowing how fast or slow i was. but I know better and I will never be content with that again. I'm forever changed. This half marathon and training has pulled things out of me that I'm both proud of and not so proud of. And nick has seen it all and still shows up. He's a good guy.
Race Day!
The night before was extremely restless, I tried to read my book to get myself tired but that only lead me to get more engrossed with it. I finally fell asleep around 1 and woke at 430 ready to go. I met V at 648 (not 645) and we drove on down to the event. The first thing we noticed was that it was quite a turnout, alot more people than I had expected. I felt rushed as we assembled our things and made our way to the starting line. Turned out we had plenty of time to pee and stretch before we had to start. V was sure to point out that she won the bet and that I was the only person there smoking. One guy even made a comment about my smoking. I wanted to make sure to atleast beat him. We made our way to the starting coral and looked at each other nervously as we watched the approaching countdown. Before we knew it we were off! It was pretty exhilarating right from the get go, my adrenaline had kicked in I was very confident with myself. The crowd of people made it a bit uncomfortable at first but it seemed to fizzle out quick and we had our little group. The first mile went great! My GPS had alerted me that we completed mile one with a time of 10:03, ahead of our planned pace, I was thrilled. Soon after V seemed to slow down a bit and I realized that we had been pushing faster than our planned pace and was fine with slowing it down a bit. The next three miles were pretty hard on me. I kept seeing racer after racer slowly pass us by, what made it worse was that the guy that made the smoking comment was only a couple feet ahead, but gaining. I wanted so bad to start really pushing and reeling in my competition. My competitive drive kicked in and all I wanted to do was start passing people up. At around the 5 mile mark we started a pretty big hill and half way up I could see people slowing, I grabbed V's hand and tried to drag her up the hill, I wanted soo badly to pass up some racers. We got to the half way turn around and GPS had informed me we were over our planned pace of 2 hours 30 minutes. I said to V," ready for the reality check" and she replied with, "let's just run". That's when I started to get frustrated and discouraged. I still felt like I hadn't expended any of my energy thus far and never even started breathing heavily, I wanted to really start picking up the pace! Around mile 8 I could tell V was getting pretty tired as we started to approach another hill. I lied and told her we were on pace for a 3 hour 20 minute finish in hopes that it would give her some motivation to really start picking it up, I later found out that it had the opposite effect and really killed her moral. Instead of wanting to push it she felt defeated. A mile later I made a comment that JP would have been finishing her marathon already. Again in hopes that it would be a motivating factor to really wanna pick it up and finish strong, again I found out later that it had been in vain and caused nothin but a negative effect. By this time we were running for about 5 minutes at a time and walking for about 30 seconds, doing that in intervals until mile 10. I was getting very frustrated and I wasnt really doing my best to hide it. I could see that V was really fatigued but wanted her so badly to find her rhythm and really step on it. The last three miles were tough, she could tell that I was frustrated and felt like I was disappointed in her, which really dragged her down. The last half mile became somewhat scary. V didn't seem herself and seemed almost disoriented, she kept saying how cold she was, and when I touched her leg I came to find that she wasn't joking, her skin was ice cold! She looked dizzy and confused but kept insisting on running. She jogged through the finish and gave the guy a high five after being awarded her medal. The guy told me to make sure I look after her as she didn't seem right. We sat down and V drank some water and got a plate of food while I walked to the car to get my smokes. I came back and she seemed to be feeling alot better, even had a coffee in her hand, and V with coffee usually means shes doing well. V pushed herself to exhaustion, expended every ounce of energy she had and i couldn't of asked for a better effort from her. She pushed herself almost to the point of collapsing, she's gotta be the toughest person I know. She did great! We both did! We ended up finishing with a time of 2:42:06. We wanted under 2:30 but we wernt really too far off.
It was a really wonderful event, the weather was spectacular!! The racers seemed very kind and it was an amazing atmosphere to be in. I spoke with V about the race after I got to work and found out just how badly I had weakened her spirit with the comments I made. I felt terrible. I became so worked up and my competitive edge kicked in that all I wanted to do was win, or atleast run my best. I forgot about what was most important and the real reason we started running. My frustrations and selfishness ruined moral and really took away from the fun. The thing I love most about running is being with Vanessa, just being near her, not having to say anything at all, just running side by side for hours at a time and knowing that just being next to her is enough. Nothing matters, all calamity in my life seems to dissipate. It's so calming. I forgot about all that during the race, I forgot the reasons we started doing this in the first place, just to have fun and forget about the worries of life. I'm glad I learned what my mistakes were so I can avoid them in the future. I've learned so much about her and even more about myself during this experience. It's been a great milestone, I achieved something I never would have done on my own and gained a best friend and running partner for life. I've never been prouder of the two of us for coming this far. We've been through alot together and our friendship and running career has only just started.
I couldn't help but sign us up for our next event. Six Tunnels, March 17th.
It was a really wonderful event, the weather was spectacular!! The racers seemed very kind and it was an amazing atmosphere to be in. I spoke with V about the race after I got to work and found out just how badly I had weakened her spirit with the comments I made. I felt terrible. I became so worked up and my competitive edge kicked in that all I wanted to do was win, or atleast run my best. I forgot about what was most important and the real reason we started running. My frustrations and selfishness ruined moral and really took away from the fun. The thing I love most about running is being with Vanessa, just being near her, not having to say anything at all, just running side by side for hours at a time and knowing that just being next to her is enough. Nothing matters, all calamity in my life seems to dissipate. It's so calming. I forgot about all that during the race, I forgot the reasons we started doing this in the first place, just to have fun and forget about the worries of life. I'm glad I learned what my mistakes were so I can avoid them in the future. I've learned so much about her and even more about myself during this experience. It's been a great milestone, I achieved something I never would have done on my own and gained a best friend and running partner for life. I've never been prouder of the two of us for coming this far. We've been through alot together and our friendship and running career has only just started.
I couldn't help but sign us up for our next event. Six Tunnels, March 17th.
January 6th (Day before the race)
Well it's here! The race is tomorrow! I'm pretty nervous about it. Why we picked a full fledge half marathon as our first race is beyond my comprehension at this point. We've trained 3-4 times a week for almost two months, weve put in the time and energy and tomorrow we get to test how well prepared we actually were. The weather for tomorrow seems to be greatly in our favor, with the exception that it might be a little bit warmer than we're used to. It's been a hell of an experience, one that I've enjoyed immensely! I wouldn't of ever gotten this far without Vanessa, she's been the organizer of all our training, she's planned all the courses. She's been a huge motivator for me. Who would of thought that us talking about running one day would lead to us about to run a half marathon. Here's out final milage before our race.
January 4th
3 days until race day and we did our last short run of training. Nick is concerned about the hills of the course and I'm concerned about what to wear.
Today we did a little less than 2 miles at a quicker pace than usual. For me, this was just to stay I the mode and test out my lungs because I've been out for a couple of days- still got it. Nick wanted to run further today but I didn't want to push it. I forgot to bandage my feet and I figure at this point we are as conditioned as we're going to be so I felt pretty stress free. I still haven't decided whether or not to wear the belt I bought to hold my water and belongings. It was just bouncing around today and is already falling apart. Overall, I'm excited to see Saturday so close and sad to know we don't have anything else lined up quite yet.
Today we did a little less than 2 miles at a quicker pace than usual. For me, this was just to stay I the mode and test out my lungs because I've been out for a couple of days- still got it. Nick wanted to run further today but I didn't want to push it. I forgot to bandage my feet and I figure at this point we are as conditioned as we're going to be so I felt pretty stress free. I still haven't decided whether or not to wear the belt I bought to hold my water and belongings. It was just bouncing around today and is already falling apart. Overall, I'm excited to see Saturday so close and sad to know we don't have anything else lined up quite yet.
December 31st
1 week until race day:
Decided on a nice little stroll through sun city today. Didn't feel like pushing to hard and thought I was maintaining a pace around 9-10 but found out it was around 8:45. Wasn't too strenuous so I continued that pace up until the 2.5 mile mark when I was hit with stitches in both lungs, tried to push through but that led to muscle cramps in my stomach and I had to stop fully. Walked it off for 15 mins before continuing the home. I found a new stride that's alot shorter than my regular stride but lets me move quick without causing much fatigue. This run was frustrating and a bit concerning but after talking it over I was able to feel better and focus on our Anthem run for Monday. V is sick, she got a upper respiratory infection that hopefully turns out to be just a cold. Shes resting and sounds like she'll be good for Monday (not that she has a choice ha!) Race day is exactly a week away and I couldn't be more excited.
Decided on a nice little stroll through sun city today. Didn't feel like pushing to hard and thought I was maintaining a pace around 9-10 but found out it was around 8:45. Wasn't too strenuous so I continued that pace up until the 2.5 mile mark when I was hit with stitches in both lungs, tried to push through but that led to muscle cramps in my stomach and I had to stop fully. Walked it off for 15 mins before continuing the home. I found a new stride that's alot shorter than my regular stride but lets me move quick without causing much fatigue. This run was frustrating and a bit concerning but after talking it over I was able to feel better and focus on our Anthem run for Monday. V is sick, she got a upper respiratory infection that hopefully turns out to be just a cold. Shes resting and sounds like she'll be good for Monday (not that she has a choice ha!) Race day is exactly a week away and I couldn't be more excited.
December 29th
Started the morning off super motivated and that quickly subsided as we started making laps around Coronado high schools track. Vanessas extremely small bladder was causing some concern so we left and went to sunset park for a quick mile and a half. About 10 days till race day and the pressure is mounting.
December 27th
V-- Today was not my best run. But maybe I haven’t had my best run yet. Maybe it’ll be on January 7th. Some days (today) seem so much harder, but as long as we’re out there, I guess it should be considered a good day. I looked up ways to stay motivated during my run after Nick told me that physically he thinks I can do it but that I need to work on it mentally. A poor performance itself is a strong motivator for me, because I hate the fact that I didn’t do well and I can’t wait to prove that I can do better. There are plenty of reasons to stop: my blistered and bleeding toes, my knee hurt, my butt hurts, I need water, I need to pee but there are more reasons to keep going and thinking about them today after our run makes me want to try this route again.
One thing that was bothering me was my initial goal of under 10 minute miles that now appears unreachable that the race is coming up so quickly. We talked and changed our time goal for race day and I felt instant relief by our revised plan. I realized I am making it not fun when I keep getting discouraged and disappointed. Sometimes just scarfing down an energy bar and preparing my feet for the beating I'm going to give them is hard work.
I worry a lot about disappointing Nick, because he is constantly waiting on me. He told me today that he doesn’t care what pace we’re at as long as we’re not walking and that, too, is a reachable goal. Also, my breathing habits are not great, and I’m going to focus on breathing slower and deeper and practice “belly breathing” instead of chest breathing. It’s a simple change but I know I don’t currently belly breathe because, as a girl, we learn that sticking out our belly is not feminine. But neither is my potty mouth so I’m fine with sticking that girl out there if it means improvement. I got really winded today and almost marked it off as a bad day, but after a little reflection, I feel okay about my progress. I have seen improvement and should celebrate that instead of beating myself up. I am not changing my music much anymore and my knee and toes don’t stop me like they used to. I am grateful that I have such a strong running partner that keeps me in the game when I get discouraged. I look forward to improving my runs and mostly just having fun. Also, I'm super happy that it's not that cold out. Actually I'm going to start coming a little less bundled up because my shedding of clothes mid-run bothers some people. ;)
One thing that was bothering me was my initial goal of under 10 minute miles that now appears unreachable that the race is coming up so quickly. We talked and changed our time goal for race day and I felt instant relief by our revised plan. I realized I am making it not fun when I keep getting discouraged and disappointed. Sometimes just scarfing down an energy bar and preparing my feet for the beating I'm going to give them is hard work.
I worry a lot about disappointing Nick, because he is constantly waiting on me. He told me today that he doesn’t care what pace we’re at as long as we’re not walking and that, too, is a reachable goal. Also, my breathing habits are not great, and I’m going to focus on breathing slower and deeper and practice “belly breathing” instead of chest breathing. It’s a simple change but I know I don’t currently belly breathe because, as a girl, we learn that sticking out our belly is not feminine. But neither is my potty mouth so I’m fine with sticking that girl out there if it means improvement. I got really winded today and almost marked it off as a bad day, but after a little reflection, I feel okay about my progress. I have seen improvement and should celebrate that instead of beating myself up. I am not changing my music much anymore and my knee and toes don’t stop me like they used to. I am grateful that I have such a strong running partner that keeps me in the game when I get discouraged. I look forward to improving my runs and mostly just having fun. Also, I'm super happy that it's not that cold out. Actually I'm going to start coming a little less bundled up because my shedding of clothes mid-run bothers some people. ;)
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