Run Three Times In The Hood If You Love Me

Ahh... Tony Orlando and Dawn... Yes, people have asked me where Tony is before.

I ran three times since I last blogged. You see, my laptop doesn't like it when you pour water on it, apparently. I think that's kind of ridiculous, selfish and just wussy of it, but whatever.

Two runs (on Wednesday and Friday) were with Frieda. And she was Friedalicious! We did 5k. She stopped to poop after 1k both days. She looked at me, mortified as she did it, but she did it. Wednesday is garbage day in the hood, so I picked up the poo with a bag and put it in someone's garbage can. I don't know if that's bad Poop Etiquette, but that's what I did. Hopefully the owner of the garbage can was none the wiser.

The second time she did it, I was forced to run for 4k holding a Target bag of turds. That was fun. She did great both runs, though, and I think she's almost ready to go 4 miles. I wish I advanced in running skill as fast as her! On Friday, she required no encouragement to continue running... she just loped along the entire time.

Planning the long run can be tricky for me. Most people have Saturdays and Sundays free, so they have the freedom to run either of those days. I work almost every Saturday (unless I've requested it off for another activity), and a large portion of Sunday is spent at church. I don't mind that, it just makes things a little trickier. I prefer to run in the morning, before the sun is too high and it is too hot. In the winter, I prefer to run in the midday, when it's the warmest. Unfortunately, we're heading into summer. But hey, if doctors can find time to train for marathons, surely I can.

Speaking of doctors, I was talking to one the other day. Dr. H. has run Detroit many times, and ran Boston twice. This man knows running. I told him my plans to run my first marathon - I was looking forward to telling him, because runners are usually so supportive to each other. And he was. He asked me if I was going to do the Brooksie Way Half Marathon again (this was my first half marathon (and only) last year). I told him how horrible the race was, how hilly, how I missed a few long runs during training, and had gotten the flu a few weeks before... and I also told him how I had stomach issues during the race, all of which made for a not-so-amazing race. I love that I ran a half marathon, but I hope if I run another one, my experience is drastically different. He did not react. Surely he should have said something like, "Oh. Well, don't bother. That race is HORRIBLE! Enjoy your marathon!" But no, he encouraged me to run it again. He said it would be a good way to gauge where I'm at. I responded, "But it's only TWO WEEKS before Detroit!!" He responded, "I bet you have a 12 mile run on your schedule for that day anyway... you might as well run a race for it. Check your training schedule." I did. There's a 12 mile run that day. I think I just ran out of excuses.

A few things have to happen if I run the Brooksie Way again (although I should do these even if I'm not going to do a half):

1. Eat healthier, and as a result, lose weight. I think I have 10 pounds to lose. It's hard to say... I bet 15 would be even better, but I don't want to set myself up to fail. I run much better now than I did when I was 15 pounds heavier, and I'm sure I'll run even better when I lose 10 more. Laying off the sugar will surely help. You know how those super fit people eat? I'd like to be like that. I get comments at work as it is that I eat healthy and the look of shock on one coworker's face after telling her I went to Cold Stone Creamery the day before tells me I'm on my way.

2. RUN HILLS! The Brooksie Way is one ginormous hill after another at the 7 mile mark. Last year, I ran one hill on my treadmill in training. It didn't help. I ran during the half until the 7 mile mark. Then I walked and ran the rest of the way, disappointed, since I'd run 12 miles straight before. Though they were 12 flat miles. If I do the BW, I'm going to go to that stinkin' 7 mile hill and run it during training. Over and over again.

3. Cross train! Hey, there's an idea. I'd love to say I came up with it, but really, it's not my idea. I was reading in Hal Higdon's Marathon book that you should not begin cross training during marathon training. I start marathon training at the end of May, so I should begin strength training now, so that it's not new by then. Strengthening my core, and being stronger overall will help me be a better runner. And lose weight!

4. Morning runs before work. As much as I hate getting up any earlier than required to get to work, I'm just going to have to do it. I'll have to keep my long runs on days when I don't have something to do, but I'll have 3 other runs each week. I'll just have to go to bed earlier.

5. Become hardcore...er. 'Nuff said.

6. Change my last name. Perhaps to Prefontaine, Rogers, Benoit Samuelson, or Keflezighi (you could call me Kefi for short).

Today:
Distance: 8.07 miles
Time: 1:23:30
Pace: 10:21

Wednesday:
Distance: 3.11
Time: 33:04
Pace: 10:36

Friday:
Distance: 3.12
Time: 32:07
Pace: 10:16

I Ran Today

I'm having a hard time coming up with clever titles for blog entries. Can you tell?

Boy, I was sore today at work. I sat quite a bit, and when I would get up, from my hips down to my feet... I was sore. It was good to get out today and shake the soreness out. This is the least amount of time I've taken off after a race - one day.

I decided to do an easy 5k today... however, I set my iPod for 10k. I thought, I'll go easy, not worry about my pace, and run as far as I want. If it's 5k, then great. If it's 10k, good! I didn't want to push myself.

I ran the whole 10k and didn't check my pace once! That is a record for me! Too bad Tiger Woods didn't tell me so through my earphones. Harumph. I had a great run. Still some pain in the front of my legs (not shin splints) for a couple of miles, but it worked itself out. Things felt good, though, for the most part, and it was truly freeing not worrying about my pace. I had to tell myself a couple of times that it was ok if I had a slower pace than normal... it's two days after a race, I was bound to be slower.

After I finished my 10k, I listened to the recap on the iPod. I had a new record for the 10k!! How did that happen?! That doesn't even make sense!! I beat my last record by almost a full minute. Fifty-four seconds to be exact. That is exciting.

Distance: 6.23 miles
Time: 1:03:09
Pace: 10:08

Race Day!

Me and Susan after finishing an AWESOME 5k!

I had a great 5k race today! I was purposeful in drinking extra water yesterday, in hopes that my calves would not hurt. It worked! I did not sleep very well on Thursday or Friday night however, which may be why I'm so exhausted right now!

The temperature on Thursday was record breaking... I think it was in the 80's. I woke up today at 5 am and had to put another blanket on me. It was in the high 30's - low 40's. I would have bee ok with 50's or 60's! It was pretty chilly!

Two friends ran with me. We started out together and each ended up on our own pace. We all did great! I'm proud of all of us. :)

Personally, I enjoyed it! At about 2 miles, I felt like I could use a walk break, but refused to do it. I loved passing people- that made me feel fast! They changed the course a little this year, and I liked it better. I did ask myself at about that 2 mile marker, "Is this fun?" I didn't have a real answer at the time, but once I crossed the finish line, I had a resounding, "YES!" as a response!

The only thing I didn't like about the race was that they stopped you IMMEDIATELY after the finish line to remove your little tag for the prize drawing. I wanted/needed to cool down and walk around for a minute, but they stopped you about 10 feet after the finish line. That's my only complaint. Other than that, it was great! My friend, Susan, also did fantastic!! This is the first race we've both done where we haven't stopped at all. That is a great achievement!

I had a personal record today!! Though I would have loved to shave 12 more seconds off of that time, and get under 30 minutes, I beat last year's time by over 3 minutes, and over 1 minute off my previous personal record. So I am very happy with my time.

As is normal, we went to Panera afterwards. I had a delicious sandwich! I'm not a big egg fan. I'm not a big meat fan, especially bacon and ham. I'm not a big bagel fan. But for some reason, this looked like the perfect sandwich after such a great race, so I had it. It was SO good!!

My official results: 30:11 (Pace 9:44/mile). I must have entered my age incorrectlly - I'm only 33!

Now, onto the 10k for June 5th!

Long Run? Yeah, right.

I really wanted to get a long run in today. I chose not to get up early enough to do it before the sun got too high in the sky. When I went out, it was so bright I nearly died! Ok, well, maybe not, but it was bad.

My sunglasses broke a couple of weeks ago. I loved them... they were perfect for running, and would stay put, and they looked cute (which is very important). So sad. I do have a really nice pair of sunglasses for the car, but I can't wear those running, lest they fall off my face and break and I cry. I was at Wal*Mart the other day too... yet I didn't look for any new ones. Sigh.

I managed to do 5k today. I should have brought Frieda. I'll have to do that tomorrow.

THREE days until the 5k race! Woo hoo!

Distance: 3.11 miles
Time: 32:23
Pace: 10:23

The Ice Cream Truck

I went out for a 10k today, looking forward to running more than 3.1 miles like I've been doing this week.

The first mile and a half was brutal. It always seems to be. I ask myself if I'm really a runner; I have to convince myself to continue each step; I test my resolve to complete my run. After a mile and a half or so, I get loosened up and things start to feel more natural. Things felt so much better after that.

And then I saw it. The Ice Cream Truck. Actually, I heard the music first. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" blared through the subdivision, drowning out Coldplay on my iPod. I wondered what on earth was going on... I looked around and saw the truck. I grumbled to myself... figures! It literally followed me down three blocks, taunting me the entire way. "You know you want to stop and at least look!! Did you bring any cash? You could stop, have an ice cream and then keep on your run! Hey fatty - I'm talking to you!!"

I thought about how funny it must have looked to the neighbors... seeing a girl run down the street being chased by an ice cream truck. I ran faster and turned a corner. It didn't follow, but I saw it again a few miles later. I really think it was trying to sabotage me.

I didn't get any ice cream, but I did have a personal record, which totally cracks me up!

Distance: 6.21 miles
Time: 1:04:05
Pace: 10:19

Another 5k

I managed to do the 5k today! My calves were really sore nearly the whole run again. I need to take time to stretch them out before going. If I run more than 3 miles, it works itself out, but when 3 miles is the whole run, it sure makes for a painful one!

My first race of the season is in 9 days. I'm excited! I don't know how fast I'll run, or if I'll get a personal record, but I'm going to have a great race, regardless!

Distance: 3.12
Time: 33:03
Pace: 10:35

Rough Run

I hoped today to go to the beach and run 10 miles. Instead, the forecast was thunderstorms. I waited all day for the storm to come, and it didn't, though it was very wet the whole day. I finally managed to get on the treadmill, but I just wasn't feeling it! There are days when no amount of talking to yourself is going to get you motivated.

I tried to do 5k but just couldn't manage it. I tried to go faster than normal to make up for the fact that I was doing 5k instead of 10 miles. It didn't work, and I chose to stop. I should have just slowed down and finished what I started, but I didn't. I still consider it a successful run, though, because I actually got on the treadmill. I could have just skipped the day!

Distance: 2.62 miles
Time: 27:01
Pace: 10:18

New Runners!

I've been needing new sneakers for a while now. Maybe over a month or two. The experts say you should replace your running shoes every 300-500 miles. It was time.

I went to Nike's website and did a test that determines what shoe is right for your foot type. What Nike shoe, that is, of course. It asks what type of terrain you usually run on - trails, road, track. It asks what your arch is like - high, low, medium. And it asks if you overpronate, underpronate or are neutral. I have high arches and overpronate slightly. I also mostly run on the road (and apparently treadmills count as roads).

The people at Nike determined what three pairs of shoes would best suit me. I made a note on my phone and went to the store. I tried two of them, and didn't like them. They are newfangled and just don't "feel" like running shoes to me. That's not to say they aren't good - perhaps they are fantastic, but I wasn't adventurous enough to try.

My sister told me about her Nike Vomeros that she loves. Considering we are pretty much twins, I thought I'd check those out too. Turns out, they felt fantastic. The guy at the store said they were better shoes than the other pair I was debating also. Plus, they have PINK accents, instead of the blue or green I've had in the past. Normally, I'm not a big fan of super-girly colors like pink. I've recently discovered, however, that when it comes to running, pink is it! I love wearing feminine colors when I run. Maybe it's because I sweat and sometimes grunt and feel unattractive when I run, I think I might as well wear colors like a girl.

I purchased the Vomeros, and some BOGO socks and happily went home. Then I took four days off from running. Um, oops. I should have been excited to go try out the new sneaks! The mistake was putting them in the guest bedroom, in the bag. I didn't see them, and forgot about my new purchase!

My legs started yelling at me on Saturday, and I should have listened, and gone out for a 5k, but chose not to. I need to start listening more to my legs!

I went out tonight to do 5k. I always walk to the end of my block as a warm up before running. I didn't even make it to the next house without realizing the difference in the shoes. I felt like I was bouncing, there was so much cushion! My shoes felt like suction cups on the pavement, gripping then releasing, springing my foot toward the sky.

My calves, however, were not happy with me. Skipping two runs causes pain. The first mile and a half were rough. My feet felt great, but my calves felt so tight, and each step was painful. After the mile and a half, it seemed to work itself out. I stopped to do some stretching for a few seconds too.

I read an article in Runner's World a while back that said something to the effect of: When you buy a new pair of sneakers, before you take them out of the box, you should smell them. Stick your nose right in there and smell the possibilities, the excitement, the chemicals. Well, don't inhale too deeply. But smell!

Distance: 3.76 miles

Time: 38:54

Pace: 10:20/mile