Yes, once again I will be out of town and slacking on my blog.
I don't even think I will be near a computer until Thursday.
But I will still be running! :)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Turkey Day Run
OK, I must admit that when I was sitting in the car ready to go to the Thanksgiving Day 10k I was feeling a little nervous. Not nervous like I used to be nervous before a race (getting to the start an hour early, stretching for like an hour etc). Well, maybe I was nervous in the same way, but I just dealt with it in a different way.
The truth is, I was feeling VERY undertrained. Because really, since the marathon, I've probably only been running twice a week, on a GOOD week. It is just too easy to blow it off. Plus, I've also been slacking by running on flat courses, even though I knew this thing was fraught with hills. So I was a little nervous. But also, I knew there was nothing I could do about it at this point. Either I was going to be sore and do poorly, or not.
I also had an audience of my husband Bill (of course), my parents AND my sister and her boyfriend from England.
My friend Jen, met me at the start line too, but I knew we wouldn't be running together for long (even though we both have this habit of taking off too fast. Her fast is faster than my fast).
And actually, when I crossed the start line, I didn't take my usual strategy of weaving in and out of everyone, running up on sidewalks, cutting people off, etc. I figured the slow start was actually a good way to make sure that I did not take it out too fast. I decided to just smile and have fun.
And I did.
I realized how much I just really really ENJOY racing. It is so fun. I said something to my mom about that afterwards and she said something like "no kidding. You are always smiling and waving..." and then something about just thinking about it makes her tired.
And it DID seem like a much shorter race than the two past ones that I have done. I guess that's because after 6.2 miles I was actually DONE. (Which doesn't make sense, because 5Ks are tremendously long for me).
Anyway, I also had a PR. A 56:29! Hurrah, that is a 9:06 pace.
Oh, AND I also had a "last mile PR". This is a big thing for me, because I ALWAYS take things out way too fast and die at the end.
My last mile? An 8:30!!!
As I said to my family afterwards "that's crazy, because I just don't run that fast!"
:)
The truth is, I was feeling VERY undertrained. Because really, since the marathon, I've probably only been running twice a week, on a GOOD week. It is just too easy to blow it off. Plus, I've also been slacking by running on flat courses, even though I knew this thing was fraught with hills. So I was a little nervous. But also, I knew there was nothing I could do about it at this point. Either I was going to be sore and do poorly, or not.
I also had an audience of my husband Bill (of course), my parents AND my sister and her boyfriend from England.
My friend Jen, met me at the start line too, but I knew we wouldn't be running together for long (even though we both have this habit of taking off too fast. Her fast is faster than my fast).
And actually, when I crossed the start line, I didn't take my usual strategy of weaving in and out of everyone, running up on sidewalks, cutting people off, etc. I figured the slow start was actually a good way to make sure that I did not take it out too fast. I decided to just smile and have fun.
And I did.
I realized how much I just really really ENJOY racing. It is so fun. I said something to my mom about that afterwards and she said something like "no kidding. You are always smiling and waving..." and then something about just thinking about it makes her tired.
And it DID seem like a much shorter race than the two past ones that I have done. I guess that's because after 6.2 miles I was actually DONE. (Which doesn't make sense, because 5Ks are tremendously long for me).
Anyway, I also had a PR. A 56:29! Hurrah, that is a 9:06 pace.
Oh, AND I also had a "last mile PR". This is a big thing for me, because I ALWAYS take things out way too fast and die at the end.
My last mile? An 8:30!!!
As I said to my family afterwards "that's crazy, because I just don't run that fast!"
:)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Running on Empty :)
OK, so my life has certainly gotten LESS hectic although that would still be considered hectic for most people.
Luckily though, I DID get some running in last week even though I was working from 6am-7pmish (including the commute) AND even though I was in New York. And its a good thing because I really pigged out on food that I really shouldn't have.
I have to admit, it was the girls on my team who really motivated me. We were sitting in sessions all day and they kept saying how they HAD to go to the gym, no matter how long work took and no matter how much they really didn't want to go.
So I got in some treadmill running (yuck). I absolutely hate treadmill running. I swear the settings are always wrong. Like, I was DYING but I was only going 6 mph. A ten minute mile? Come on! I'm running MUCH faster than that right now. Especially since I could only really take 2 miles on the treadmill.
I also got to run in the neighborhood I was in, the West Village, which is my all-time most favoritest area in New York.
Then, when I got home, I begged Bill to go running with me last night. We did about 4 miles in the neighborhood (where I HATE running). I took the first mile out WAY too fast at 8:51. Whoops. I felt like I was dying the rest of the time as a result, but then one of my favorite running songs came on at the end, "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. I must have really picked up the pace because I left Bill in the dust (and he is speedy). I didn't even realize it because I was in "the zone". Bill came up and was like "did you like, really pick up the pace?" ZAP! Out of my zone. So I listened to the song again to get back into it, but really, it didn't work (it never does). And besides that, we were really too close to home at that time.
I finished with a 9:06 overall pace. Hurrah!
And THAT's without the excitement of running in a crowd!
Luckily though, I DID get some running in last week even though I was working from 6am-7pmish (including the commute) AND even though I was in New York. And its a good thing because I really pigged out on food that I really shouldn't have.
I have to admit, it was the girls on my team who really motivated me. We were sitting in sessions all day and they kept saying how they HAD to go to the gym, no matter how long work took and no matter how much they really didn't want to go.
So I got in some treadmill running (yuck). I absolutely hate treadmill running. I swear the settings are always wrong. Like, I was DYING but I was only going 6 mph. A ten minute mile? Come on! I'm running MUCH faster than that right now. Especially since I could only really take 2 miles on the treadmill.
I also got to run in the neighborhood I was in, the West Village, which is my all-time most favoritest area in New York.
Then, when I got home, I begged Bill to go running with me last night. We did about 4 miles in the neighborhood (where I HATE running). I took the first mile out WAY too fast at 8:51. Whoops. I felt like I was dying the rest of the time as a result, but then one of my favorite running songs came on at the end, "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. I must have really picked up the pace because I left Bill in the dust (and he is speedy). I didn't even realize it because I was in "the zone". Bill came up and was like "did you like, really pick up the pace?" ZAP! Out of my zone. So I listened to the song again to get back into it, but really, it didn't work (it never does). And besides that, we were really too close to home at that time.
I finished with a 9:06 overall pace. Hurrah!
And THAT's without the excitement of running in a crowd!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
MIA
Sorry I have not been posting this week. I am on a business trip without access to a computer. I'll be back next week.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Best Laid Plans...
So all of my good intentions to jump-start my training again were once again foiled by work. It is a vicious cycle. Working late means I will have to wake up early to get my running in. But working late also means that I am way too tired and too unmotivated when the alarm goes off in the morning to work out, much les go back to work.
The last time I was at the gym or working out was Monday.
All right, Tuesday was my fault, because I went to a They Might Be Giants concert. I had planned on counting that as a workout, because those concerts are CRAZY. But I guess their audience has gotten a lot older (OK, I figured out that I've been going to their concerts for 10 years) so there is not as much moshing and jumping around as there used to be. Therefore, I cannot count it as a workout.
So with working last night until 11:30, a probable repeat tonight and tomorrow night, a Saturday workday, and flying out for a business trip that will last a week on Sunday I REALLY don't know when I am going to run again.
I am soooooo tired.
I have this theory that it is not the stress of work that kills people (or not ONLY the stress)...but the sleeplessness, the not-being-able to workout and the junky nasty food that we order for late-night work sessions.
I can already tell that my time is going to suffer incredibly for the Thanksgiving Day 10k. :(
The last time I was at the gym or working out was Monday.
All right, Tuesday was my fault, because I went to a They Might Be Giants concert. I had planned on counting that as a workout, because those concerts are CRAZY. But I guess their audience has gotten a lot older (OK, I figured out that I've been going to their concerts for 10 years) so there is not as much moshing and jumping around as there used to be. Therefore, I cannot count it as a workout.
So with working last night until 11:30, a probable repeat tonight and tomorrow night, a Saturday workday, and flying out for a business trip that will last a week on Sunday I REALLY don't know when I am going to run again.
I am soooooo tired.
I have this theory that it is not the stress of work that kills people (or not ONLY the stress)...but the sleeplessness, the not-being-able to workout and the junky nasty food that we order for late-night work sessions.
I can already tell that my time is going to suffer incredibly for the Thanksgiving Day 10k. :(
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Whoo-hoo Team CdLS!
Despite the fact that our team was a LOT smaller than some of the other charity teams running Chicago we EXCEEDED our fundraising goal of $50,000!
Our final team total was $55,935!!!
Thank you to EVERYONE who donated!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Yay for Me!
This weekend did NOT look promising for getting my run in. My original plan (of running before I got into work and then working in my sweaty running clothes) fell through when I realized the DWR Warehouse Sale was this weekend. Since I am a sucker for inexpensive designer furniture and the sale didn't start until 10, and I had to be at work at 12, things looked grim for my run.
I decided to "Plan B" it, and took my clothes with me, praying that I would get out of work early enough to get my run in. I guess I didn't expect to actually BUY anything at the sale. We got a huge table, which of course didn't fit in my tiny VW or Bill's also tiny Honda. So then we had to make arrangements to borrow my parent's SUV, which made plans all the more complicated, but gave me a reason to leave work and not stay there all day. (You have to pick up your furniture by 4pm).
OK, I KNOW this is a running blog, not a blog about my personal life (ok, well it is a little bit). But the point is, after all of that (and more, I won't go into every detail), I went home, and Bill and I ran.
This is a huge deal for me, because if I have something better to do on the weekends, or heck, even the week (i.e. DWR sale) I will most definitely choose that over running.
This is also the reason my gym membership has sat inactive for so long.
But I'm bucking up and sticking to my workout plans. Even without a group!
It's so stupid too, because running really does make me feel great. And when I'm doing cross-training in the gym it makes me antsy to run. But something inside of me is like "forget it".
Tonight is weight training and some biking. Tomorrow is some sort of speed work. :)
Oh, and just in case you were wondering...my time for my three mile run was 29:59. Roughly a 9:39 pace! Whoo hoo! My marathon pace (10:45) is coming down! (And it is much harder to get that down than you would think. I guess that's because I have been running at that pace since July.)
I decided to "Plan B" it, and took my clothes with me, praying that I would get out of work early enough to get my run in. I guess I didn't expect to actually BUY anything at the sale. We got a huge table, which of course didn't fit in my tiny VW or Bill's also tiny Honda. So then we had to make arrangements to borrow my parent's SUV, which made plans all the more complicated, but gave me a reason to leave work and not stay there all day. (You have to pick up your furniture by 4pm).
OK, I KNOW this is a running blog, not a blog about my personal life (ok, well it is a little bit). But the point is, after all of that (and more, I won't go into every detail), I went home, and Bill and I ran.
This is a huge deal for me, because if I have something better to do on the weekends, or heck, even the week (i.e. DWR sale) I will most definitely choose that over running.
This is also the reason my gym membership has sat inactive for so long.
But I'm bucking up and sticking to my workout plans. Even without a group!
It's so stupid too, because running really does make me feel great. And when I'm doing cross-training in the gym it makes me antsy to run. But something inside of me is like "forget it".
Tonight is weight training and some biking. Tomorrow is some sort of speed work. :)
Oh, and just in case you were wondering...my time for my three mile run was 29:59. Roughly a 9:39 pace! Whoo hoo! My marathon pace (10:45) is coming down! (And it is much harder to get that down than you would think. I guess that's because I have been running at that pace since July.)
Friday, November 2, 2007
Back on the Bandwagon
DESPITE the fact that I worked until 12:30 am last night, I STILL went to the gym!!!
Hurrah! I am into cross-training now. I was on the bike last night and whoa, does my butt hurt today! I guess that's why cross-training is good for you.
They also have this cool thing at my gym where they have these monitors on all of the weight machines. You enter in your ID number (which I don't have, since I haven't really been in like 4 months) and it keeps track of your weight, your reps, etc. I guess I will have to ask more about that the next time I go.
This weekend I am going to try and run the Thanksgiving Day course. I really enjoy this course and think it is really fun. Plus, I've run it a ton in all of the training groups so it is a nice familiar run. (It was funny, I was telling Bill last night that you actually run some of the course during the Pig. But during the Pig you are like "wow, that was a nice little warmup" after you are done with that part of the course. When you run the Thanksgiving Day 10k you are like "WHAT?!!! That was only 2 MILES?! But I feel like I'm going to die!")Anyway, since it looks like I am going to be working this weekend as well I might try to get my run in starting from my office and then going to work in my stinky running clothes. :) At least I will be comfortable. It's just too bad for my team. (OK, really, I don't sweat that much. I'm not that mean.)
Oh yes! and did anyone catch that NOVA special on Tuesday? It was called Marathon Challenge . They basically took 13 people who were not runners and trained them for a marathon. They talked about everything that goes on with your body in training and followed these thirteen people through 9 months of training. It was pretty good. AND they explained why I didn't lose any weight from my 2 marathons (none of the other women in the group did either, except for the one lady who was 70 lbs overweight and changed her diet and went to an additional bootcamp.) Anyway, it was good, and if you missed it you should try to catch it (they run all of those PBS shows multiple times...and with all of the channels you are bound to catch it sometime.)
Oh well. Back to the grind.
Hurrah! I am into cross-training now. I was on the bike last night and whoa, does my butt hurt today! I guess that's why cross-training is good for you.
They also have this cool thing at my gym where they have these monitors on all of the weight machines. You enter in your ID number (which I don't have, since I haven't really been in like 4 months) and it keeps track of your weight, your reps, etc. I guess I will have to ask more about that the next time I go.
This weekend I am going to try and run the Thanksgiving Day course. I really enjoy this course and think it is really fun. Plus, I've run it a ton in all of the training groups so it is a nice familiar run. (It was funny, I was telling Bill last night that you actually run some of the course during the Pig. But during the Pig you are like "wow, that was a nice little warmup" after you are done with that part of the course. When you run the Thanksgiving Day 10k you are like "WHAT?!!! That was only 2 MILES?! But I feel like I'm going to die!")Anyway, since it looks like I am going to be working this weekend as well I might try to get my run in starting from my office and then going to work in my stinky running clothes. :) At least I will be comfortable. It's just too bad for my team. (OK, really, I don't sweat that much. I'm not that mean.)
Oh yes! and did anyone catch that NOVA special on Tuesday? It was called Marathon Challenge . They basically took 13 people who were not runners and trained them for a marathon. They talked about everything that goes on with your body in training and followed these thirteen people through 9 months of training. It was pretty good. AND they explained why I didn't lose any weight from my 2 marathons (none of the other women in the group did either, except for the one lady who was 70 lbs overweight and changed her diet and went to an additional bootcamp.) Anyway, it was good, and if you missed it you should try to catch it (they run all of those PBS shows multiple times...and with all of the channels you are bound to catch it sometime.)
Oh well. Back to the grind.
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