I think that should be my new motto, at least when it comes to Saturday runs. But it was only partially my fault. I'd decided to do a short race on Saturday but was going to run it easy with a weekday running buddy, Kiran. We'd kind of agreed on a 30 second pace range, but I know he's substantially faster than me, but I figured we stick together during the week so it would be fine. We emailed about it once on Friday and he mentioned again, easy pace and just referenced the faster end of our 30 second range. Fine. We met up Sat morning, and hooked up with Luis from my weekend group. And the race started and we were going too fast. I confirmed it at the half mile mark. Instead of being at the faster end of our 30 second range, we were an additional 30 seconds faster by the end of the first mile. I mentioned that I wanted to slow it down. We did, very briefly. Second mile was basically the same and I just wasn't interested. I stopped to grab a cup of water at the stop and told them I'd see them later and they pushed on. I saw them at the u-turn and I was about 6-8 seconds back, but on the way back, there was a severe uphill mile and I slowed (and the two of them separated). I was still too fast though, faster than I wanted, faster than I'd planned.
But with one mile to go, the damage was done so I decided to push a bit more over the last mile. I was proud of myself. I ended up with a PR by almost 30 seconds, but still not fast enough to place in my age group unfortunately. But the good news is that I put my time into my fave pace predictor (McMillan), and it predicts me at a BQ, with a few minutes cushion actually. I still can't get my mind around that.
I gave Kiran some grief about bailing on our plan. He said running a minute faster than the slower end of our range in the great weather we had Sat was the same as running at the slower end of our range in the heat. I said that may be true for our lungs but isn't the case for my legs! We hung out for a while after the race with Luis and his family, and one of my best friends (who actually did run it at an easy pace, I should have stuck with her!) and her family, including my sweet godson. My hubby finished some extra miles after the race and then we all sat around while the kids played in the sprinklers. The rest of the day was similarly relaxing. Fun tasks like my car inspection, but we had our neighbors over for dinner and games, which was fun. We played Scopa (Italian cards) before dinner and then chinese checkers before dessert.
This morning I saw Kiran and told him that if he saw me walking or struggling on the 18 miles, he should feel guilty! I wouldn't say it went well or felt good, but I finished and stayed with the middle of the pack pretty much. It was cooler, which was nice, but my feet were sore. Fortunately hubby bought me some of those blister bandaids and they actually stayed in place much better. So I have sore heels but that's the most serious problem it appears. I still wish I'd felt stronger or faster, but oh well. Another 8 miles would have been ugly. I'll be more careful to relax next Saturday before the 22. I really need that run to go well.
Planning to do some stuff around the house now, then going to see a movie this afternoon!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
One Month to Go!
Full steam ahead! One month from now I should be approaching the halfway point at MTCM!
As far as good omens go, I got a big sign this morning. We had to do the PT test at boot camp and for the first time in probably a year or so (didn't check my records yet, but definitely over 6 months), I scored 300. My push-up form still needs some work, but I managed to get about 3 more than I needed and then I quit, even though I probably had 30 more seconds. I completely rocked the sit-ups, getting about 20 more than necessary and going the full 2 minutes. But the run was where I was happiest. I ran the first mile pushing fairly hard but not crazy. Got my one mile split and knew I could relax and add a full 60+ seconds on to my second mile time and still hit the max. So I passed one guy who was also dialing it back (we were on a slight uphill and I just wanted it to be done). Then I hit the south end of our loop and passed 2 more guys, then I just held steady but felt good. By the time I had about 600-800 meters to go, I checked my watch and figured I was safe, but I could hear someone fairly close behind me. I figured it was one of those guys, so I didn't look back but kept going. I finally hit the last quarter mile or so and the person sounded closer. Some of the guys at camp seem to struggle during the longer runs (longer at camp is about 2 miles) but somehow they come up with all kinds of energy over the last 400 meters and will sometimes blow past me like I'm standing still, which sometimes is a real blow to my confidence. I was bracing for it, but I figured if I kept my effort steady on the uphill, even if my pace slowed a bit, I'd still be okay with my time. Well, I kept chugging and hit the finish line with a negative split by about 15 seconds! I turned around to watch the person finish and it was Joy! I wish I'd looked back earlier b/c it would have been fun to run it in with her. I think it was the fastest 2 mile camp time for either of us ever. And we both turned 35 in the last 10 days, so woot!!! Here's to getting stronger! I know you're not supposed to look at running as a competition against yourself (that whole inevitable slowdown with age would otherwise make you stop all together), but wow, I love getting any kind of PR, especially this year when I can't seem to PR to save my life.
It was a completely awesome run. The temps have dropped a bit and it was low 70s this morning with very low humidity and a bit of a breeze. I swear, it almost felt cold! Of course, since I can find the downside to anything, one of my first thoughts was I wish it had been a certified 5k this morning. I think I would have had a PR in the bag, and might have even been able to make a serious run at Adam's PR. Oh well. It makes me think maybe I should throw in a 5k sometime in the next couple weeks. If the weather was right and I felt good, maybe it could happen! Of course beating Adam's current PR wouldn't mean too much since I'm sure he could easily beat it himself, but it would be nice to reclaim the title for the record books before MTCM.
After the 2 miles I waited for hubby to finish. He wasn't pushing hard but wanted a negative split, which he got. We relaxed a bit and then I decided to walk toward home and meet up with our neighbor, who was walking toward me. I had thought about running, but didn't want to do too much today given the race tomorrow and the 18 on Sunday. So I got on the trail and started walking, messing with my ipod, trying to decide what to listen to. I got passed by a couple people running or jogging and then settled on something to listen to and started to pay a bit of attention to my surroundings.
I was walking behind the people who had passed me and I realized one of them was one of the guys I'd passed early in the second mile (at the south end of the loop). I don't know his name, but he's been coming to camp for quite a while. I knew it was him b/c he wears a bandana, which is pretty distinctive. I decided to run and catch up to him, being the miles whore that I am. I got him within a couple minutes and asked how far he was going and if he wanted company. He was planning to do 7 round-trip and said he'd love the company.
So we jogged and chatted, very easy pace -- crazy easy, but it felt good. He's training for his first half, White Rock in December. He should have no problem doing it. He said he lives near the lake and runs a loop there pretty regularly (about 9 miles) in 1:40. I didn't ask if he had a time goal, since I figured he didn't for his first. One of the most interesting things was that he's from Dallas and has actually never been north of St. Louis. Wow! It was fun to talk to someone new and after about 1.6, I saw my neighbor and parted ways with the guy as she u-turned and we walked home together. We're having them over for dinner tomorrow night, which will be fun.
What a lovely morning though. One month to go, and I just PRed at 2 uncertified miles. Wooooooo!!!
As far as good omens go, I got a big sign this morning. We had to do the PT test at boot camp and for the first time in probably a year or so (didn't check my records yet, but definitely over 6 months), I scored 300. My push-up form still needs some work, but I managed to get about 3 more than I needed and then I quit, even though I probably had 30 more seconds. I completely rocked the sit-ups, getting about 20 more than necessary and going the full 2 minutes. But the run was where I was happiest. I ran the first mile pushing fairly hard but not crazy. Got my one mile split and knew I could relax and add a full 60+ seconds on to my second mile time and still hit the max. So I passed one guy who was also dialing it back (we were on a slight uphill and I just wanted it to be done). Then I hit the south end of our loop and passed 2 more guys, then I just held steady but felt good. By the time I had about 600-800 meters to go, I checked my watch and figured I was safe, but I could hear someone fairly close behind me. I figured it was one of those guys, so I didn't look back but kept going. I finally hit the last quarter mile or so and the person sounded closer. Some of the guys at camp seem to struggle during the longer runs (longer at camp is about 2 miles) but somehow they come up with all kinds of energy over the last 400 meters and will sometimes blow past me like I'm standing still, which sometimes is a real blow to my confidence. I was bracing for it, but I figured if I kept my effort steady on the uphill, even if my pace slowed a bit, I'd still be okay with my time. Well, I kept chugging and hit the finish line with a negative split by about 15 seconds! I turned around to watch the person finish and it was Joy! I wish I'd looked back earlier b/c it would have been fun to run it in with her. I think it was the fastest 2 mile camp time for either of us ever. And we both turned 35 in the last 10 days, so woot!!! Here's to getting stronger! I know you're not supposed to look at running as a competition against yourself (that whole inevitable slowdown with age would otherwise make you stop all together), but wow, I love getting any kind of PR, especially this year when I can't seem to PR to save my life.
It was a completely awesome run. The temps have dropped a bit and it was low 70s this morning with very low humidity and a bit of a breeze. I swear, it almost felt cold! Of course, since I can find the downside to anything, one of my first thoughts was I wish it had been a certified 5k this morning. I think I would have had a PR in the bag, and might have even been able to make a serious run at Adam's PR. Oh well. It makes me think maybe I should throw in a 5k sometime in the next couple weeks. If the weather was right and I felt good, maybe it could happen! Of course beating Adam's current PR wouldn't mean too much since I'm sure he could easily beat it himself, but it would be nice to reclaim the title for the record books before MTCM.
After the 2 miles I waited for hubby to finish. He wasn't pushing hard but wanted a negative split, which he got. We relaxed a bit and then I decided to walk toward home and meet up with our neighbor, who was walking toward me. I had thought about running, but didn't want to do too much today given the race tomorrow and the 18 on Sunday. So I got on the trail and started walking, messing with my ipod, trying to decide what to listen to. I got passed by a couple people running or jogging and then settled on something to listen to and started to pay a bit of attention to my surroundings.
I was walking behind the people who had passed me and I realized one of them was one of the guys I'd passed early in the second mile (at the south end of the loop). I don't know his name, but he's been coming to camp for quite a while. I knew it was him b/c he wears a bandana, which is pretty distinctive. I decided to run and catch up to him, being the miles whore that I am. I got him within a couple minutes and asked how far he was going and if he wanted company. He was planning to do 7 round-trip and said he'd love the company.
So we jogged and chatted, very easy pace -- crazy easy, but it felt good. He's training for his first half, White Rock in December. He should have no problem doing it. He said he lives near the lake and runs a loop there pretty regularly (about 9 miles) in 1:40. I didn't ask if he had a time goal, since I figured he didn't for his first. One of the most interesting things was that he's from Dallas and has actually never been north of St. Louis. Wow! It was fun to talk to someone new and after about 1.6, I saw my neighbor and parted ways with the guy as she u-turned and we walked home together. We're having them over for dinner tomorrow night, which will be fun.
What a lovely morning though. One month to go, and I just PRed at 2 uncertified miles. Wooooooo!!!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Mile Repeats in the Lightning
I was up much later than usual last night, which was a major bummer b/c we had 8-10 on the schedule for this morning and the group had voted to start at 5. So when I got in my car to head home from my husband's godson's 8th birthday party, knowing I had a long drive and then a bunch of crap to do at home ahead of me, I just wanted to groan. But I set the alarm for 4:28 by mistake (instead of 4:35, which is usually okay to start at 5) and finally got to bed around 11.
I woke up and got my butt in gear and headed out. As I was pulling onto the highway, I saw a huge flash of lightning. It had stormed yesterday afternoon, but I'd thought it was finished. The only reason our group runs are ever cancelled is for lightning or a major ice storm. Well, at that point I was on my way, and since it's highway driving one exit, there was no way I was going to try to check my email. I got there and it was pretty deserted, but since it was early and most people start at 5:15 instead of 5, I thought maybe it was normal. But then it got later and a few more cars came but not many. Turns out class had been cancelled, but Luis, one of the guys in my weekend group, was there, and we decided to live on the edge and run anyway.
We headed to the track to follow my weekend group schedule, which included 4 mile repeats. And I realized I'd forgotten my watch. I almost u-turned and gave up. What's the point of speedwork if you can't make sure you're hitting the right pace? Fortunately Luis had a watch that he hates (his garmin is in the shop), so he just gave it to me to wear. That was what I needed. I felt like I was struggling on the first one and Luis was way in front of me (or so it felt, really about 10 seconds by the end of the mile). Then Rich, another weekend guy, showed up. There were still occasional flashes of lightning but no real rain and a long pause before thunder. We ran the second one and I again was at the back, behind both of them, and really felt like it had been a struggle. I was quite surprised to see I was only 5 seconds slower than my first one, which was actually still a bit faster than I wanted. Luis, who had wanted to go the pace of my first mile, had actually beat his first one by 5 seconds. So basically, I was 5 seconds slower on the 2d repeat, and he was 5 seconds faster, making us about 20 seconds apart.
But since he actually wanted to run the pace I was hitting, the three of us ran the 3d repeat together. I slowed a bit on the last lap and ended up 2 seconds slower than the 2d repeat, but still a couple seconds faster than goal.
Then we all ran the 4th one together again, at least until the last lap. During the 4th repeat, I had 2 recurring thoughts. First, I was predicting my finish time and I guessed that my good news blog report today would be that I'd run 4 repeats all within a 10 second spread, but my bad news blog report would be that my first repeat was the fastest. And my second thought was thinking, well, at most we'd have to run 1200 meters plus the cooldown in a downpour. It had started raining, but it wasn't pouring, and actually, it didn't really start pouring until a couple minutes after I got in my car to go home.
And even better, my first thought was also wrong! I did not do all 4 in a 10 sec spread with number 1 being the fastest. Instead, I did all 4 in an 11 sec spread (worse than planned) but number 4 was the fastest (optimal). I wish I'd dialed it back a couple seconds more on the last mile so that I could have kept all my final times within 10 seconds, but if one of them had to be too fast, obviously it's best for it to have been the last one.
What a surprise after thinking I couldn't hold my initial mile pace for 3 more, and thinking maybe I'd just quit to avoid getting struck by lightning. There were a few major flashes that really lit up the sky. I readily admit my choice was not the wisest and could have seriously compromised my safety, but I'm proud of myself for the times I posted and the fact that I got it down, when I easily could have gone back home and gone back to bed! So shorter mileage than planned today, but solid!
A nice first official trip to the track for marathon season. And Luis is a great running buddy. He was really happy I kept the pace so steady and even though we didn't really talk during the repeats (you're not supposed to), it was a companionable silence. Nice day! And I'm walking with my local bestie tonight, which will be fun! I haven't gotten to see her in far too long.
I woke up and got my butt in gear and headed out. As I was pulling onto the highway, I saw a huge flash of lightning. It had stormed yesterday afternoon, but I'd thought it was finished. The only reason our group runs are ever cancelled is for lightning or a major ice storm. Well, at that point I was on my way, and since it's highway driving one exit, there was no way I was going to try to check my email. I got there and it was pretty deserted, but since it was early and most people start at 5:15 instead of 5, I thought maybe it was normal. But then it got later and a few more cars came but not many. Turns out class had been cancelled, but Luis, one of the guys in my weekend group, was there, and we decided to live on the edge and run anyway.
We headed to the track to follow my weekend group schedule, which included 4 mile repeats. And I realized I'd forgotten my watch. I almost u-turned and gave up. What's the point of speedwork if you can't make sure you're hitting the right pace? Fortunately Luis had a watch that he hates (his garmin is in the shop), so he just gave it to me to wear. That was what I needed. I felt like I was struggling on the first one and Luis was way in front of me (or so it felt, really about 10 seconds by the end of the mile). Then Rich, another weekend guy, showed up. There were still occasional flashes of lightning but no real rain and a long pause before thunder. We ran the second one and I again was at the back, behind both of them, and really felt like it had been a struggle. I was quite surprised to see I was only 5 seconds slower than my first one, which was actually still a bit faster than I wanted. Luis, who had wanted to go the pace of my first mile, had actually beat his first one by 5 seconds. So basically, I was 5 seconds slower on the 2d repeat, and he was 5 seconds faster, making us about 20 seconds apart.
But since he actually wanted to run the pace I was hitting, the three of us ran the 3d repeat together. I slowed a bit on the last lap and ended up 2 seconds slower than the 2d repeat, but still a couple seconds faster than goal.
Then we all ran the 4th one together again, at least until the last lap. During the 4th repeat, I had 2 recurring thoughts. First, I was predicting my finish time and I guessed that my good news blog report today would be that I'd run 4 repeats all within a 10 second spread, but my bad news blog report would be that my first repeat was the fastest. And my second thought was thinking, well, at most we'd have to run 1200 meters plus the cooldown in a downpour. It had started raining, but it wasn't pouring, and actually, it didn't really start pouring until a couple minutes after I got in my car to go home.
And even better, my first thought was also wrong! I did not do all 4 in a 10 sec spread with number 1 being the fastest. Instead, I did all 4 in an 11 sec spread (worse than planned) but number 4 was the fastest (optimal). I wish I'd dialed it back a couple seconds more on the last mile so that I could have kept all my final times within 10 seconds, but if one of them had to be too fast, obviously it's best for it to have been the last one.
What a surprise after thinking I couldn't hold my initial mile pace for 3 more, and thinking maybe I'd just quit to avoid getting struck by lightning. There were a few major flashes that really lit up the sky. I readily admit my choice was not the wisest and could have seriously compromised my safety, but I'm proud of myself for the times I posted and the fact that I got it down, when I easily could have gone back home and gone back to bed! So shorter mileage than planned today, but solid!
A nice first official trip to the track for marathon season. And Luis is a great running buddy. He was really happy I kept the pace so steady and even though we didn't really talk during the repeats (you're not supposed to), it was a companionable silence. Nice day! And I'm walking with my local bestie tonight, which will be fun! I haven't gotten to see her in far too long.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Unsteady 6
So I ran 2.65 at camp this morning, and at least 2 was quite unsteady. I ran with my husband and he is not a steady person when he's tired. It's like we're moving really slowly and then he's sprinting. It was tough for me. When we ran the second mile he was more worn out so I ran ahead and did a courtesy loop for him, which worked well, then I ran toward home with Joy and my first two miles were exactly even, and my third was 5 seconds faster, so still quite close. The last quarter was too fast, but I'd met my neighbor during that quarter so I hurried up to finish it out so I could u-turn and then walk with her. I ended up walking just over a mile with her.
Blisters are still bad, plantar's is not as bad as it has been but not even close to gone. Need to start working on my mental game and imagining really pushing hard at MTCM, rather than running to run. I almost think I did too many marathons where I was just aiming for a PR instead of a really challenging goal. Oh well, it's a whole new ball game now!
I'm kind of ready for it to be done. Adam is also getting burnt out. He was joking the other day about maybe just starting to taper and having a really long taper. I think he's planning to hit 20 for the first of two times this weekend. I told him to stick it out, really just 4 more long runs. It's just all these weekday miles that are bogging me down. And the long runs. I'm just ready for a weekend and a few weekday mornings OFF. Maybe if the blisters don't get better, I'll end up with days off not competely by choice.
In non-running related news, I've decided to follow a fave blog's September (or should I say Sittember) challenge. NewlyWed, NewlyVeg is going to try to eat zero dinners on the couch for the month, and I think I'm going to try as well, except possibly on Monday nights (which is my night for trash tv).
Blisters are still bad, plantar's is not as bad as it has been but not even close to gone. Need to start working on my mental game and imagining really pushing hard at MTCM, rather than running to run. I almost think I did too many marathons where I was just aiming for a PR instead of a really challenging goal. Oh well, it's a whole new ball game now!
I'm kind of ready for it to be done. Adam is also getting burnt out. He was joking the other day about maybe just starting to taper and having a really long taper. I think he's planning to hit 20 for the first of two times this weekend. I told him to stick it out, really just 4 more long runs. It's just all these weekday miles that are bogging me down. And the long runs. I'm just ready for a weekend and a few weekday mornings OFF. Maybe if the blisters don't get better, I'll end up with days off not competely by choice.
In non-running related news, I've decided to follow a fave blog's September (or should I say Sittember) challenge. NewlyWed, NewlyVeg is going to try to eat zero dinners on the couch for the month, and I think I'm going to try as well, except possibly on Monday nights (which is my night for trash tv).
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