When I first started running, I was definitely of the "I only have one pace" school. It seemed short runs, long runs, all the time, I'd average around the same pace. It was more effort on the long runs of course, but even in training, my pace varied little.
After a few years of practice, I finally got to the point where I could run a 5k at a pace that was inconceivable for me to run a marathon. And while many of my training runs stayed at about the same pace, regardless of distance, that was the plan -- I was generally training for longer races, and frequently a 7 mile run and a 20 mile run would be at the same "easy" pace, about 60 seconds per mile slower than my planned race pace. And of course there would be some faster runs on the schedule, and my pace would differ there.
I think maybe the 4-5 months of training wearing a weight vest might have somehow put me right back where I started.
This morning, I finally got around to updating the old school "race results" spreadsheet that I keep. The actual entries start on line 3 of the spreadsheet, and when I entered my results from the last few races, I ended up listing this past weekend on line 137 of the spreadsheet. Wow. Those are all legit races that had entry fees, bibs, timing devices, the works.
But then I saw the pacing oddity.
The last 4 races I've run have all had an average pace with 5 seconds of each other. And those race distances have varied greatly -- 5k, 10k, 8 mile, 10 mile. There is absolutely no reason why my 5k time should be within 5 seconds of my 10 mile time. (Well, I'm setting aside that the 5k was based on donuts, and I ate one donut hole at each of the 5 donut stations, and I ran the race with my bestie.) (But the point is that I didn't feel like I could have gone much faster.) Disturbing.
Particularly disturbing since, as I said, my little 5 second pace window is about 30 seconds slower than my goal marathon pace. If I can't run the goal pace now for 5k or up to 10 miles, how do I have any hope of doing it in September? I'm definitely getting nervous.
My official speed training with a coach starts in a few weeks, I guess I just need to give it my best and see what happens. Thankfully I have more than 6 months to wrap my head around my goal, and hopefully by then I will have the numbers on my race results spreadsheet to convince me that goal is completely within reach.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thanks HRG!
I read on hungryrunnergirl.com yesterday that it was free fro-yo at Yogurtland. And there just happens to be a Yogurtland within a 60 second walk of my office. Seriously, down to the first floor, out of the office building, past 4-5 businesses (a couple restaurants, a Barnes & Noble, a couple specialty shops, a Container Store), and there it was. And even though our office has been in this location for a couple months now, I'd never actually eaten there.
Yum. Free small cup with any and all toppings.
I got there early and did some sampling, so when it was game time to fill my cup, I knew exactly what I wanted. I went with three flavors -- birthday cake, strawberry, and cookies and cream. And for toppings, I went with cookie dough balls, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi and a cherry.
So yeah, I think I'm giving up sweets for Lent. I haven't done that in many years because I don't usually eat a lot of sweets, but this year it's out of control. First it was finishing off what was in my Christmas gift baskets from counsel. Then it was finishing off what was in others' gift baskets from counsel. Then it was those darn flavored tootsie rolls. I can't keep going like this. Even if the caloric intake isn't significant (and it probably is more significant than I realize), it's a bad habit and I'd rather stop it. This is supposed to be my year to buckle down and get that dream PR in Berlin.
Of course I know there's more to Lent than giving up some vice, so I am going to add an affirmative component (current thoughts are something related to spirituality, daily kind deed toward strangers, reading the Bible (which I like never do on my own as an Episcopalian), complimenting someone substantively (not just on clothing or something superficial) daily, or reaching out to a family member daily to express love and value). But that part probably won't be determined until after we get back from Mardi Gras. Very excited for it this year, we fly to Mobile on Friday morning, bright and early!
Anyway, thank you very much Hungry Runner Girl for the announcement that there was free fro-yo yesterday. And thank you new parent company for moving our office into a space bordering a Yogurtland. And thank you Yogurtland for having so many delicious options.
Yum. Free small cup with any and all toppings.
I got there early and did some sampling, so when it was game time to fill my cup, I knew exactly what I wanted. I went with three flavors -- birthday cake, strawberry, and cookies and cream. And for toppings, I went with cookie dough balls, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi and a cherry.
Of course I know there's more to Lent than giving up some vice, so I am going to add an affirmative component (current thoughts are something related to spirituality, daily kind deed toward strangers, reading the Bible (which I like never do on my own as an Episcopalian), complimenting someone substantively (not just on clothing or something superficial) daily, or reaching out to a family member daily to express love and value). But that part probably won't be determined until after we get back from Mardi Gras. Very excited for it this year, we fly to Mobile on Friday morning, bright and early!
Anyway, thank you very much Hungry Runner Girl for the announcement that there was free fro-yo yesterday. And thank you new parent company for moving our office into a space bordering a Yogurtland. And thank you Yogurtland for having so many delicious options.
Monday, February 4, 2013
FMM: Five Things
These weekends seem to go by more quickly every week....
The big good news from my weekend was a PR! Finally!
But...
There's always a "but" when I PR lately, isn't there?
But ... this weekend's PR was at a weird race distance that I've only raced one other time and that time was Dallas in May (about 2 months after I stopped running with the extra weight). So not exactly a big accomplishment. I would sincerely hope I'm faster in early February when I've been running without an extra weight vest for almost a year, than I was running on an insanely hot May day two months after I took off the vest.
And the race wasn't great due to a rookie clothing mistake. It was about 37 degrees when I left the house, so I wore capris and a light long sleeve (and a racing tank over that), plus gloves and an ear band. Waaaay overdressed. There was no wind and it was sunny, and the race wasn't starting for another hour plus. Oops. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't look at an hourly forecast before I left the house.
So I pulled the earband down after about half a mile. By mile 3, I was carrying my gloves. And then, big score. My bestie had come out to mile 4.5 to cheer (and bring tissues! major runny nose at 45 degrees). So I threw her my gloves. I was running faster than I should have been, but was running with a friend, so it was going pretty well. About half a mile after we passed my friend, I started thinking that maybe I could ditch my long sleeves on the way back. I asked the friend who I was running with if she could help me strip while we kept moving and she said sure. So I gave her my water bottle, peeled off the tank, then peeled the long sleeves and put the tank back on. Not a bad deal! I'm sure we slowed some, but the overall mile time was just fine. And somehow I managed to stay upright during the five seconds that my sight was fully obstructed by one or more shirts going over my head. Sincere apologies to anyone who was in sight though, I'm sure it wasn't pretty -- the abs, the struggling with the arm holes, the pasty whiteness... Oh well. Much more comfortable without the long sleeves, particularly since I was still running too fast and rapidly losing steam.
When we hit the u-turn, I realized there was no way of picking up the pace as I'd hoped. In fact, I slowed down. Ugh. Miles 6 and 7 were the slowest of the morning (I passed off my nasty long sleeve shirt and earband to my bestie around mile 6, and grabbed more tissue), but the good news was that the last mile was the fastest of the entire race for me, which I guess counts for something. While I didn't pace well, at least there was something left in the tank.
But the really bad part -- that "fastest mile of the morning" was actually still about 3 seconds slower than my planned marathon pace. Yikes. I have a lot of work to do this year, and I'm not entirely sure I'll succeed...
Other weekend highlights -- volunteering with my bestie for a couple hours, spending a bit of time with hubby starting to plan our fall vacation (looked at guidebooks about Germany), a few other errands.
Now it's the start of an odd week. Two evening alumni events (one undergrad, one grad). One work dinner. And then one trip to Mardi Gras! Woo-hoo! But now, time for Friend Making Monday.
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
- Move to Italy (again) with hubby (last time was solo, and it was temporary, just for studying abroad)
- Have traveled to about half the 198ish countries in the world or more
- Attend an Olympic running event
- Run my super-secret goal marathon time
- Learn the "Dirty Dancing" finale dance and do it in front of people not expecting it.
2. List five things you love about yourself.
- My consistency and reliability, if I've committed, I'm there
- My interest in the world around me
- My willingness to work hard
- My wrists, the slimmest part of my body, which look nice but are not so good for push-ups
- I can usually see two sides to everything (and unfortunately, will sometimes argue one just for the sake of arguing...)
3. Share the five coolest things that you’ve done in 2013.
- Hosted a dinner party with one "new to our home" guest (one of my resolutions)
- Competed in three races already, varying distances
- Went to Pittsburgh to see my in-laws
- Worked out my arms once so hard that I was almost tearfully sore for more than 72 hours afterward
- Went on what would have been described as my "dream date" if I'd been asked in junior high
4. List five things that you always have in your kitchen.
- the square platter all our guests signed in Italy at our wedding reception
- spices and baking staples
- a microwave
- Moka Italian espresso pots of varying sizes
- way too many glasses -- juice, martini, beer (pints and pilsners), wine (red and white), margarita, hurricane, water, highballs, etc., I'm addicted to glasses, and I like full sets (at least 12) of each.
5. Share five places you would like to go on vacation.
- Egypt, it's been on the radar screen for a couple years, just doesn't seem safe
- India to see the Taj Mahal (2014 I hope)
- South Africa
- Bhutan
- Fiji
6. List five celebrities/public figures you’d like to meet.
- a sitting US President (thus far, just past presidents and candidates)
- a sitting Supreme Court Justice (I've gone to speeches, but never really chatted with one)
- Paul Tergat (marathoner)
- Mo Farah (runner)
- Alberto Salazar (runner, coach)
Yeah, I'm not really into celebrities or movie stars in the typical sense and have pretty much zero desire to meet any of them. If you'd asked me three months ago, Meb Keflezighi would have been on this list, but I met him!
7. List five bands or artists you’d like to see perform live.
- Aerosmith singing "Angel" (I've been to dozens of Aerosmith concerts all over the country, but have never heard my favorite song performed live, they rarely do it, I didn't happen to be at the one show in Connecticut where they've done it in the last decade or so)
- Jovanotti
- Shaggy (and hear him sing "Angel"!)
- Garth Brooks
- Phish (my college roommate followed them on tour for a couple years, I really wish I'd gone out to meet her for at least one show)
(I assumed this question was basically for artists I haven't seen before.)
8. List five TV shows that you don’t want to miss.
- Dallas
- The Office
- The Bachelor
- The Americans (haven't actually watched it yet, but on the DVR, might like it)
- Southland (new season starts soon I've heard)
9. Share five things you wanted to do as a child.
- eat dessert only for dinner
- beat up my brothers
- go to Europe
- drive a hovercar
- have a little person (smaller than the size of my hand) who was my buddy and would walk around on my desk at school
10. Share five things you hope to do in 2013.
- get a marathon PR by 11 minutes and 30 seconds
- go to Oktoberfest with my husband and friends
- go to Italy and spend a few days hanging out with my husband's family there
- visit a new-to-me country (that will be Liechtenstein I hope!)
- visit my brother in San Fran
Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to go back to alltheweigh.com and link up in the comments! Happy Monday, friends!
The big good news from my weekend was a PR! Finally!
But...
There's always a "but" when I PR lately, isn't there?
But ... this weekend's PR was at a weird race distance that I've only raced one other time and that time was Dallas in May (about 2 months after I stopped running with the extra weight). So not exactly a big accomplishment. I would sincerely hope I'm faster in early February when I've been running without an extra weight vest for almost a year, than I was running on an insanely hot May day two months after I took off the vest.
And the race wasn't great due to a rookie clothing mistake. It was about 37 degrees when I left the house, so I wore capris and a light long sleeve (and a racing tank over that), plus gloves and an ear band. Waaaay overdressed. There was no wind and it was sunny, and the race wasn't starting for another hour plus. Oops. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't look at an hourly forecast before I left the house.
So I pulled the earband down after about half a mile. By mile 3, I was carrying my gloves. And then, big score. My bestie had come out to mile 4.5 to cheer (and bring tissues! major runny nose at 45 degrees). So I threw her my gloves. I was running faster than I should have been, but was running with a friend, so it was going pretty well. About half a mile after we passed my friend, I started thinking that maybe I could ditch my long sleeves on the way back. I asked the friend who I was running with if she could help me strip while we kept moving and she said sure. So I gave her my water bottle, peeled off the tank, then peeled the long sleeves and put the tank back on. Not a bad deal! I'm sure we slowed some, but the overall mile time was just fine. And somehow I managed to stay upright during the five seconds that my sight was fully obstructed by one or more shirts going over my head. Sincere apologies to anyone who was in sight though, I'm sure it wasn't pretty -- the abs, the struggling with the arm holes, the pasty whiteness... Oh well. Much more comfortable without the long sleeves, particularly since I was still running too fast and rapidly losing steam.
When we hit the u-turn, I realized there was no way of picking up the pace as I'd hoped. In fact, I slowed down. Ugh. Miles 6 and 7 were the slowest of the morning (I passed off my nasty long sleeve shirt and earband to my bestie around mile 6, and grabbed more tissue), but the good news was that the last mile was the fastest of the entire race for me, which I guess counts for something. While I didn't pace well, at least there was something left in the tank.
But the really bad part -- that "fastest mile of the morning" was actually still about 3 seconds slower than my planned marathon pace. Yikes. I have a lot of work to do this year, and I'm not entirely sure I'll succeed...
Other weekend highlights -- volunteering with my bestie for a couple hours, spending a bit of time with hubby starting to plan our fall vacation (looked at guidebooks about Germany), a few other errands.
Now it's the start of an odd week. Two evening alumni events (one undergrad, one grad). One work dinner. And then one trip to Mardi Gras! Woo-hoo! But now, time for Friend Making Monday.
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
Five Things
1. Share five things you hope to do before you die.- Move to Italy (again) with hubby (last time was solo, and it was temporary, just for studying abroad)
- Have traveled to about half the 198ish countries in the world or more
- Attend an Olympic running event
- Run my super-secret goal marathon time
- Learn the "Dirty Dancing" finale dance and do it in front of people not expecting it.
2. List five things you love about yourself.
- My consistency and reliability, if I've committed, I'm there
- My interest in the world around me
- My willingness to work hard
- My wrists, the slimmest part of my body, which look nice but are not so good for push-ups
- I can usually see two sides to everything (and unfortunately, will sometimes argue one just for the sake of arguing...)
3. Share the five coolest things that you’ve done in 2013.
- Hosted a dinner party with one "new to our home" guest (one of my resolutions)
- Competed in three races already, varying distances
- Went to Pittsburgh to see my in-laws
- Worked out my arms once so hard that I was almost tearfully sore for more than 72 hours afterward
- Went on what would have been described as my "dream date" if I'd been asked in junior high
4. List five things that you always have in your kitchen.
- the square platter all our guests signed in Italy at our wedding reception
- spices and baking staples
- a microwave
- Moka Italian espresso pots of varying sizes
- way too many glasses -- juice, martini, beer (pints and pilsners), wine (red and white), margarita, hurricane, water, highballs, etc., I'm addicted to glasses, and I like full sets (at least 12) of each.
5. Share five places you would like to go on vacation.
- Egypt, it's been on the radar screen for a couple years, just doesn't seem safe
- India to see the Taj Mahal (2014 I hope)
- South Africa
- Bhutan
- Fiji
6. List five celebrities/public figures you’d like to meet.
- a sitting US President (thus far, just past presidents and candidates)
- a sitting Supreme Court Justice (I've gone to speeches, but never really chatted with one)
- Paul Tergat (marathoner)
- Mo Farah (runner)
- Alberto Salazar (runner, coach)
Yeah, I'm not really into celebrities or movie stars in the typical sense and have pretty much zero desire to meet any of them. If you'd asked me three months ago, Meb Keflezighi would have been on this list, but I met him!
7. List five bands or artists you’d like to see perform live.
- Aerosmith singing "Angel" (I've been to dozens of Aerosmith concerts all over the country, but have never heard my favorite song performed live, they rarely do it, I didn't happen to be at the one show in Connecticut where they've done it in the last decade or so)
- Jovanotti
- Shaggy (and hear him sing "Angel"!)
- Garth Brooks
- Phish (my college roommate followed them on tour for a couple years, I really wish I'd gone out to meet her for at least one show)
(I assumed this question was basically for artists I haven't seen before.)
8. List five TV shows that you don’t want to miss.
- Dallas
- The Office
- The Bachelor
- The Americans (haven't actually watched it yet, but on the DVR, might like it)
- Southland (new season starts soon I've heard)
9. Share five things you wanted to do as a child.
- eat dessert only for dinner
- beat up my brothers
- go to Europe
- drive a hovercar
- have a little person (smaller than the size of my hand) who was my buddy and would walk around on my desk at school
10. Share five things you hope to do in 2013.
- get a marathon PR by 11 minutes and 30 seconds
- go to Oktoberfest with my husband and friends
- go to Italy and spend a few days hanging out with my husband's family there
- visit a new-to-me country (that will be Liechtenstein I hope!)
- visit my brother in San Fran
Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to go back to alltheweigh.com and link up in the comments! Happy Monday, friends!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Weekend Plans
Okay, so last weekend, I think having a written and public list of what I needed to do actually helped me to be more productive. It's not like I got it all done, but I actually looked at the list a few times and thought I didn't want to report that I hadn't done anything. That's a major improvement from pretty much all other weekends lately.
So in the spirit of productivity, I'm going to try it again this weekend. Again, I have a fair amount of free time, so I really should get some of this stuff done.
Friday:
CLE (continuing legal education) all day
Dinner with friends
Saturday:
Library
Volunteer from 2-4
Sunday:
10 mile race in morning
Maybe yoga in the afternoon if I feel like it.
Maybe cook dinner from a recipe
Must do at some point:
Choose a hotel or apartment for Berlin in Sept. (since we'll be there for the marathon, things will be filling up fast)
Choose a hotel for Munich in Sept/Oct (Oktoberfest, so limited availability I'm sure)
Choose recipe for next week's night o' cooking (and make grocery list)
Stupid work stuff -- watch the HIPAA video, clear out admin emails
Get organized -- pack lunches for next week, assemble outfits to take in on Monday
Tackle homeowner's board emails and cast any necessary votes
Christmas cards. Yes, we have five left to write and send overseas. We can just claim the Italian post was slow, but I need to double checkup drafts and spelling before writing them out. Ugh. Must finish this.
Donate stuff in garage (was waiting for 2013 as we'd already maxed out our 2012 deductions).
Notice that a few things rolled off the list this week. I pulled together all our tax stuff, got my office phone speeddials set (turned out it wasn't my stupidity, as the IT guy couldn't do it either, and somehow it had to be programmed at corprorate), I started the wellness questionnaire for work for our health insurance program, and I decided what I'm wearing to Mardi Gras. Not bad, considering all those things had been on my "to do" list for a while.
Next week is going to be weird. I have an alumni happy hour on Monday, and a work dinner on Tuesday (so I might not get to run my commute that day, unless I can talk my boss or a coworker into taking me home after dinner), an (undergrad) alumni event on Thursday night, then on Friday we're flying to Mobile for Mardi Gras, flying home on Sunday.
So in the spirit of productivity, I'm going to try it again this weekend. Again, I have a fair amount of free time, so I really should get some of this stuff done.
Friday:
CLE (continuing legal education) all day
Dinner with friends
Saturday:
Library
Volunteer from 2-4
Sunday:
10 mile race in morning
Maybe yoga in the afternoon if I feel like it.
Maybe cook dinner from a recipe
Must do at some point:
Choose a hotel or apartment for Berlin in Sept. (since we'll be there for the marathon, things will be filling up fast)
Choose a hotel for Munich in Sept/Oct (Oktoberfest, so limited availability I'm sure)
Choose recipe for next week's night o' cooking (and make grocery list)
Stupid work stuff -- watch the HIPAA video, clear out admin emails
Get organized -- pack lunches for next week, assemble outfits to take in on Monday
Tackle homeowner's board emails and cast any necessary votes
Christmas cards. Yes, we have five left to write and send overseas. We can just claim the Italian post was slow, but I need to double checkup drafts and spelling before writing them out. Ugh. Must finish this.
Donate stuff in garage (was waiting for 2013 as we'd already maxed out our 2012 deductions).
Notice that a few things rolled off the list this week. I pulled together all our tax stuff, got my office phone speeddials set (turned out it wasn't my stupidity, as the IT guy couldn't do it either, and somehow it had to be programmed at corprorate), I started the wellness questionnaire for work for our health insurance program, and I decided what I'm wearing to Mardi Gras. Not bad, considering all those things had been on my "to do" list for a while.
Next week is going to be weird. I have an alumni happy hour on Monday, and a work dinner on Tuesday (so I might not get to run my commute that day, unless I can talk my boss or a coworker into taking me home after dinner), an (undergrad) alumni event on Thursday night, then on Friday we're flying to Mobile for Mardi Gras, flying home on Sunday.
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