Time: 6:00pm
Location: Eastside Track
People: Dee, Clemmie, Dave, Mandy, and Ruth
Weather: Cool, but definitely not cold
Workout: 1 mile MGP, 400 at 10k, 1 mile MGP
Comments: Since I've been feeling a little defeated the past week, Ruth adjusted my workout and boy, it made a huge difference. On the warm up to the track, I was having my same issues and all my mind could do was race all the what if's, should've's, and mantras. I stayed close, but was behind Dee and Clemmie as we took off to the track. Calves felt tight (my fault for not rolling), legs felt heavy... again. I kept telling myself it's mental, its mental, snap out, but kept in mind that normally it takes me 3-4 miles to warm up anyways so I needed to not look into how I was feeling yet and be over dramatic.
We get to the track and everyone is figuring out paces, when to flip around, etc. I was a little envious at Dee and Clemmie for doing the actual Burn workout, but I was relieved at the same time that Ruth had other plans for me. They took off, and I let them get about 50 meters ahead before I started. 1 mile MGP felt pushed, but thankfully I hit it, right on the dot. 8:47, PERFECT! My breathing was a little labored and I started thinking negatively, that my MGP shouldn't feel like this, and blah blah blah. Then I decided to just quit it. If this was mental, I need to fill my head with positive thoughts and so I started. The 400 meters at 10k directly proceeded the MGP, and I picked it up. It felt ok, and once I hit the 100 meter mark, I realized I was a second or two slow, but wow, I was running a sub 8:00 mile. No way in hell I could have done this on Wednesday when trying to run 10:44 was a struggle, so the positive thoughts started. I kept repeating, as corny as it sounds, "I can do this, I can do this!" Seeing Dee and Clemmie on the track helped. They reversed every 4 laps, so I was running towards them and their positive energy was felt every time I passed. I thought to myself, "They're doing it, I can do it." 1 mile back to MGP felt much better. It took me 200 meters to dial back into the rhythm, but I felt like I was back in my groove. 2nd mile at MGP was 8:41, 6 seconds too fast. Halle-freaking-liehja!!! I stopped, reported to Ruth and asked if I should repeat... and she told me no. "Really?? I feel better, I think I can do that again..." Ruth said, "Nope, you're done." "Alrighty then... I did it." It was a little wierd being done so early before everyone else, I'm soooo used to be the last one, especially on track workouts. So I hung out with Ruth while Dee and Clemmie finished.
They did AWESOME!! So inspiring to see friends do well. They completed 8 miles of the actual Burn workout, and would have done the full 10, but Dee had to get back for a call. I'm so proud of them. It's amazing how much I feed off other people's success, I hope this is a good thing. When Clemmie and Dee do well, it makes me happy and I want to be right there with them :)
Good job, guys! I heard all the southies rocked it. I'm looking forward to Saturday's run, no longer scared. I started taking my Iron pills, sleep will no longer be an issue (gonna make sure I let my body rest) and I've got the mental demons slayed. This is my race and I've worked too hard to become a whining baby. I've got this!!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I'm TOUGH!
In the mornings I listen to the Bobby Bones Show. Yes, I'm that wanna be teen that listens to goofy teeny bopper morning shows, I also watch reality MTV still. Anyone watch the season finale of The Island :) Anyways, a caller called in and was asking for advice about a bad breakup. Bobby Bones told her...
"Tough times don't last, but tough people do."
I like that quote, especially now when I'm struggling with my running. I'm tough, I'll make it through this rut, no matter what :)
"Tough times don't last, but tough people do."
I like that quote, especially now when I'm struggling with my running. I'm tough, I'll make it through this rut, no matter what :)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Caught in a rut
Time: 6:00pm
Location: ART on Anderson
People: Cookies - Dee, Lori, Linda and I
Weather: Chilly, but not cold
Comments: I had some car problems yesterday, so left work and went to pick up my car. The sweet boyfriend let me drive his big ole' Xterra, and I had forgotten my parking garage card, so I picked that up. I am proud to say I talked myself out of having the pay the $18 my parking garage charges, when parked all day, since I already pay an arm and a leg monthly. Whew!
I picked up my keys, and got to the workout pretty early, around 5:15 so went to the Weight Watchers meeting. My current goal weight is, what am I thinking... I'm not posting that! At my lightest, I was two pounds under. I have found over the months, I just don't have the discipline to stay there. I toggle back and forth like every woman does and have come to terms that unless I put in more hard work, I'm just not going to get those rock hard abs like Lori has :) I weighed in a 3 pounds over my goal weight. Not bad, but should probably lose a pound, maybe 1.5 by the marathon for my mental being. Thank goodness the team outfits are black, maybe they'll make me look 1.5 pounds lighter :)
The run started, and of course we were gabbing away. When we first started, I thought to myself... this is too slow, we need to pick it up. 10 seconds later, I was thinking, "Wow, this feels pushed." I kept up, but mostly ran the entire run about 5-10 feet behind them. I don't mind and have never minded being the caboose. Sometimes I enjoy it, cause it pushes me. This past week, it's starting to create some mental havoc and I need to figure out what the heck is going on. I stayed within range until we hit mile 5 and I gave up trying to push and tried to run what I felt was relaxed, but the slower I ran didn't seem to make it any easier.
My mind started racing. How in the world could I be on top of the world two weeks ago at IBM and now I'm struggling to do an easy run that I would have done in my sleep previously. I started doing a checklist of all the things I've changed. I'm not going to lie, but the getting back together with the boyfriend has been beyond wonderful, but I'm the first to admit, it's thrown me off my routine. Tonight for instance, I was exhausted when I got home and ended up falling asleep before 9. I probably should have stayed asleep, but I woke up briefly to make the daily, "How was your day, Dear?" phone call and now it's almost 11pm and I'm still awake.
So here's my list of things that I can think of that have slightly changed, that I might revert back to.
1) Addition of boyfriend - Catch 22 situation, but I need to make sure I don't hinder my sleep. I'm a sleeper. I need to not skip my usual naps and make sure I'm getting what I consider normal (friends might consider too much) sleep.
2) I quit journaling my food intake - I was doing so good at writing down EVERYTHING I ate for Meredith, and for some reason I got into the, "I know how to do this." mode and this week have caught myself eating a chocolate piece here, one there, instead of making the healthy decision. My nutrition could also be a source of my lack of energy.
3) I quit poker on Wednesday's to stay dedicated to the training - maybe I need to play more poker?? (Although, out of all of these, I doubt this is a cause, but it would be nice to think it was!)
I've been dying to go to Sisson's office hours the past two weeks, and now I need to make sure I go on Monday and if he's not having them on Monday, I need to be late or start my workout early on Tuesday to go. Two weeks of feeling like this, and it's starting to mess with me mentally. I can't possibly be breaking down a month away from the marathon I've put my heart and soul into. I need to figure it out NOW! Am I too tired, because I peaked at a stupid 10k?? Was I getting sick, and I fought it off, but I might still have some residuals?? Does it really take this long to recover when you push as hard as I pushed at IBM?? How in the hell do I get it back???
Tomorrow's workout on the track should be interesting.
Location: ART on Anderson
People: Cookies - Dee, Lori, Linda and I
Weather: Chilly, but not cold
Comments: I had some car problems yesterday, so left work and went to pick up my car. The sweet boyfriend let me drive his big ole' Xterra, and I had forgotten my parking garage card, so I picked that up. I am proud to say I talked myself out of having the pay the $18 my parking garage charges, when parked all day, since I already pay an arm and a leg monthly. Whew!
I picked up my keys, and got to the workout pretty early, around 5:15 so went to the Weight Watchers meeting. My current goal weight is, what am I thinking... I'm not posting that! At my lightest, I was two pounds under. I have found over the months, I just don't have the discipline to stay there. I toggle back and forth like every woman does and have come to terms that unless I put in more hard work, I'm just not going to get those rock hard abs like Lori has :) I weighed in a 3 pounds over my goal weight. Not bad, but should probably lose a pound, maybe 1.5 by the marathon for my mental being. Thank goodness the team outfits are black, maybe they'll make me look 1.5 pounds lighter :)
The run started, and of course we were gabbing away. When we first started, I thought to myself... this is too slow, we need to pick it up. 10 seconds later, I was thinking, "Wow, this feels pushed." I kept up, but mostly ran the entire run about 5-10 feet behind them. I don't mind and have never minded being the caboose. Sometimes I enjoy it, cause it pushes me. This past week, it's starting to create some mental havoc and I need to figure out what the heck is going on. I stayed within range until we hit mile 5 and I gave up trying to push and tried to run what I felt was relaxed, but the slower I ran didn't seem to make it any easier.
My mind started racing. How in the world could I be on top of the world two weeks ago at IBM and now I'm struggling to do an easy run that I would have done in my sleep previously. I started doing a checklist of all the things I've changed. I'm not going to lie, but the getting back together with the boyfriend has been beyond wonderful, but I'm the first to admit, it's thrown me off my routine. Tonight for instance, I was exhausted when I got home and ended up falling asleep before 9. I probably should have stayed asleep, but I woke up briefly to make the daily, "How was your day, Dear?" phone call and now it's almost 11pm and I'm still awake.
So here's my list of things that I can think of that have slightly changed, that I might revert back to.
1) Addition of boyfriend - Catch 22 situation, but I need to make sure I don't hinder my sleep. I'm a sleeper. I need to not skip my usual naps and make sure I'm getting what I consider normal (friends might consider too much) sleep.
2) I quit journaling my food intake - I was doing so good at writing down EVERYTHING I ate for Meredith, and for some reason I got into the, "I know how to do this." mode and this week have caught myself eating a chocolate piece here, one there, instead of making the healthy decision. My nutrition could also be a source of my lack of energy.
3) I quit poker on Wednesday's to stay dedicated to the training - maybe I need to play more poker?? (Although, out of all of these, I doubt this is a cause, but it would be nice to think it was!)
I've been dying to go to Sisson's office hours the past two weeks, and now I need to make sure I go on Monday and if he's not having them on Monday, I need to be late or start my workout early on Tuesday to go. Two weeks of feeling like this, and it's starting to mess with me mentally. I can't possibly be breaking down a month away from the marathon I've put my heart and soul into. I need to figure it out NOW! Am I too tired, because I peaked at a stupid 10k?? Was I getting sick, and I fought it off, but I might still have some residuals?? Does it really take this long to recover when you push as hard as I pushed at IBM?? How in the hell do I get it back???
Tomorrow's workout on the track should be interesting.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
No Stratford, bummer... NOT!
Time: 6:00pm
Location: The Rock
Workout: 2 loops of NOT Stratford :) Robert E Lee, Barton Hills and some other streets I can't remember the names of
People: Ruth's Group, ran with Clemmie and Dee
Weather: Uh... cold!
Comments: So it was my first workout back from having three days off from no exercise and four days off from not running. And what a day I decided to come back to!! Ruth decided that doing Stratford at 6pm was too dangerous due to the traffic so we had an altered route, yay!! I learned a ton today and had a great run. Before the workout started, we were told to attack the hills, relax on the downhills. Interesting.. different from what I've known in the past. I'm always up for trying new things to make me a better runner. We take off and almost immediately Clemmie is in the lead, with Dee following and me in the back. Wow, we're running FAST! The last moment before I let Dee go, I asked her to check her Garmin... she said 8:48, wow, that's my MGP! I let her go and try my hardest without having to struggle too much to keep up. I keep my eye on her. It's amazing how much Dee motivates me and how Clemmie motivates her. It was the perfect train. The BSSW have the 3:10 train and I'd say after today, we have a 3:59 train :)
2nd loop was interesting cause we tried a different climbing technique and I loved it. Felt more natural and I think I actually like charging hills :) Good workout. Dee's overall pace was a 9:21 (YAY, Dee!!!) so I probably averaged 9:30's... good workout. Loved the route, loved the flags that showed the way, loved everything about the workout.
Looking forward to tomorrow's girl run with the Cookies :) Let's see if they leave me in charge of another run, hehehe.
Location: The Rock
Workout: 2 loops of NOT Stratford :) Robert E Lee, Barton Hills and some other streets I can't remember the names of
People: Ruth's Group, ran with Clemmie and Dee
Weather: Uh... cold!
Comments: So it was my first workout back from having three days off from no exercise and four days off from not running. And what a day I decided to come back to!! Ruth decided that doing Stratford at 6pm was too dangerous due to the traffic so we had an altered route, yay!! I learned a ton today and had a great run. Before the workout started, we were told to attack the hills, relax on the downhills. Interesting.. different from what I've known in the past. I'm always up for trying new things to make me a better runner. We take off and almost immediately Clemmie is in the lead, with Dee following and me in the back. Wow, we're running FAST! The last moment before I let Dee go, I asked her to check her Garmin... she said 8:48, wow, that's my MGP! I let her go and try my hardest without having to struggle too much to keep up. I keep my eye on her. It's amazing how much Dee motivates me and how Clemmie motivates her. It was the perfect train. The BSSW have the 3:10 train and I'd say after today, we have a 3:59 train :)
2nd loop was interesting cause we tried a different climbing technique and I loved it. Felt more natural and I think I actually like charging hills :) Good workout. Dee's overall pace was a 9:21 (YAY, Dee!!!) so I probably averaged 9:30's... good workout. Loved the route, loved the flags that showed the way, loved everything about the workout.
Looking forward to tomorrow's girl run with the Cookies :) Let's see if they leave me in charge of another run, hehehe.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday and Monday Recap
Sunday, I slept in till about 8:30am. Adrian started to immediately do yard work and I was going to meet Sabrina and Matt at T3 for an information session about the Couer d'Alene training that starts in January. Good stuff, but in all honesty, my mind is still in marathon mode. By Sunday, it had been 3 full days of not running and I was feeling extremely guilty for this. Sabrina, Amber and I went for a bike ride. We only went 20 miles and the wind was brutal. I'm sure it wasn't as bad as I say it was, but for someone that doesn't like the bike already it felt defeating.
I felt ok, but afterwards I was extremely exhausted again. I stopped by the grocery store and got some things for dinner and Adrian cooked up some yummies! We had steak, some potatoes, fresh broccoli, grilled corn on the cob, and he had a salad. We watched a movie and we were in bed by 10pm. It felt like a long day, but I really didn't do that much.
Monday morning, I woke up, and still felt tired, so I called into work and told them I'd be in after lunch. I passed out! I was asleep until 10am. I've been drinking hot tea all day and coughing up phlegm (yummy) and feel alot better today. I don't have any "real" symptoms other than feeling 100% fatigued along with a headache that won't seem to go away. My throat has been sore over the weekend, but I think the worst is over. I'm planning to do the Tuesday workout and suck it up. Too close to Cali to start slacking now. I think the run will do me some good.
Workout for Tuesday calls for "loops of Stratford", lovely. Should be fun, kinda nervous where this loop ends on Stratford.
I felt ok, but afterwards I was extremely exhausted again. I stopped by the grocery store and got some things for dinner and Adrian cooked up some yummies! We had steak, some potatoes, fresh broccoli, grilled corn on the cob, and he had a salad. We watched a movie and we were in bed by 10pm. It felt like a long day, but I really didn't do that much.
Monday morning, I woke up, and still felt tired, so I called into work and told them I'd be in after lunch. I passed out! I was asleep until 10am. I've been drinking hot tea all day and coughing up phlegm (yummy) and feel alot better today. I don't have any "real" symptoms other than feeling 100% fatigued along with a headache that won't seem to go away. My throat has been sore over the weekend, but I think the worst is over. I'm planning to do the Tuesday workout and suck it up. Too close to Cali to start slacking now. I think the run will do me some good.
Workout for Tuesday calls for "loops of Stratford", lovely. Should be fun, kinda nervous where this loop ends on Stratford.
Friday, October 24, 2008
OFF Days
Thursday - I took off. I got stuck at work, it was one of those crazy, crazy workdays and I ended up working an 11 hour day trying to get some proposals out for a morning meeting. I also decided that the extra day off would do my legs good since they were still feeling crappy. I also think I'm starting to come down with a cold or something. Extra day off.
Friday - Already an OFF day, but I was tired all day again. I went to bed the night before at 8pm, slept the entire night and was at work at 7:30am. Got two big insurance proposals out, found out we got both accounts :) Yay!!! I still wasn't feeling 100% so I'm on the fence about running tomorrow's run. My ego tells me that I haven't missed a long run since Team Rogue started, why now?? Other part, thank you Dee, says that I need to look at the bigger picture. I think my body is telling me that I need the rest. I'm going to bed here soon and depending on how I feel at 4:30am, I'll make my decision. I'm leaning towards taking another day off, but not sure if my ego will let me. I might just show up and try. I can do the 4 mile warm up, do 1-2 loops at easy pace if I'm not feeling it and head back. We'll see. Or I might take the responsible route and let my body rest. Ugh...
Friday - Already an OFF day, but I was tired all day again. I went to bed the night before at 8pm, slept the entire night and was at work at 7:30am. Got two big insurance proposals out, found out we got both accounts :) Yay!!! I still wasn't feeling 100% so I'm on the fence about running tomorrow's run. My ego tells me that I haven't missed a long run since Team Rogue started, why now?? Other part, thank you Dee, says that I need to look at the bigger picture. I think my body is telling me that I need the rest. I'm going to bed here soon and depending on how I feel at 4:30am, I'll make my decision. I'm leaning towards taking another day off, but not sure if my ego will let me. I might just show up and try. I can do the 4 mile warm up, do 1-2 loops at easy pace if I'm not feeling it and head back. We'll see. Or I might take the responsible route and let my body rest. Ugh...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Humbling Recovery Run Part II
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Burnet Rd
People: Dee and Lori
Weather: Cool, kinda chilly standing still
Workout: 5 miles easy
Comments: Ouch again. I can't figure out if my pains are from racing IBM or my sports massage on Monday. Either or, it's messing with me mentally. During our run, which I must admit I was in charge of the route :) I had to fall back towards the last mile. I had the same pain in my right ankle and a twinge in my left calf. Not gonna lie, I shouldn't be complaining because I got stuck at work late and didn't roll before the run. While struggling to keep up, I decided that maybe I shouldn't race the San Antonio half. I don't want to have to take a week to recover, although I'm not even sure if we have the green light to race it anyways. Lori had a good idea that I could use it to run my MGP. I might do that! We'll have to see what Ruth has to say.
The run was fun. I took us into territory that we haven't run in a long time. Got to look in a renovated house, got to let Lori reminisce about some AIA homes, got to run without knowing where I was going. I had mapped out a 5 mile course on the USAT site, and even made a trip ticket. Only a few minor mistakes :) This lead to lots of, "Foho, are you sure??" Hehehehe, it was fun. I'm debating on taking tomorrow off, I have an ART appt on Friday and I really want to be 100% on Friday. We'll see.
Soul Buster #3 this weekend :)
Location: Burnet Rd
People: Dee and Lori
Weather: Cool, kinda chilly standing still
Workout: 5 miles easy
Comments: Ouch again. I can't figure out if my pains are from racing IBM or my sports massage on Monday. Either or, it's messing with me mentally. During our run, which I must admit I was in charge of the route :) I had to fall back towards the last mile. I had the same pain in my right ankle and a twinge in my left calf. Not gonna lie, I shouldn't be complaining because I got stuck at work late and didn't roll before the run. While struggling to keep up, I decided that maybe I shouldn't race the San Antonio half. I don't want to have to take a week to recover, although I'm not even sure if we have the green light to race it anyways. Lori had a good idea that I could use it to run my MGP. I might do that! We'll have to see what Ruth has to say.
The run was fun. I took us into territory that we haven't run in a long time. Got to look in a renovated house, got to let Lori reminisce about some AIA homes, got to run without knowing where I was going. I had mapped out a 5 mile course on the USAT site, and even made a trip ticket. Only a few minor mistakes :) This lead to lots of, "Foho, are you sure??" Hehehehe, it was fun. I'm debating on taking tomorrow off, I have an ART appt on Friday and I really want to be 100% on Friday. We'll see.
Soul Buster #3 this weekend :)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Humbling Recovery Run
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Rogue Equipment
Weather: Nice
People: Clemmie, Dee, and I on the run, Ruth's group that passed us, haha!
Workout: 8-10 miles easy
Comments: OUCH! I had a conversation with Dee today and told her that my confidence has never been higher. I'm still on cloud 9 about my huge PR from Sunday. I've been running 4 years, and never in a million years did I think I'd be able to run what I ran on Sunday. Neat stuff. I've been gloating about it all week.
Over dinner last night with my honey, I asked him what he thought the possibility was of me running a race (any distance, 5k even) at a pace under 7:00. Just barely, a 6:59. I wondered if it were possible, if I kept working as hard as I have been if it would take 2-3 years... and he said, "I bet you could do it in 2-3 months". So sweet, but this comes from a guy that just got into triathlons LAST year and now he's training with Brandon Marsh and he's placing in the top 3. This is a guy that when we first started dating last year, hated to run and I convinced him that marathoning is like nothing he's ever done before. And he runs a 3:27 for his FIRST marathon with just regular Rogue training. His potential has gone through the roof and I believe he still has the best to come. So after running for 4 years, I think I'm tapped on my speed, then this Team Rogue comes around and shows me I actually can get faster. The possibilities are endless and I'm extremely excited about running, more than I've been in a long time. I can honestly say I'm genuinely excited about what I have in store, and this is without the pressures of friends doing programs or feeling like I should do something.. it's genuine from the heart, excitement to find out my potential.
As for the run, Clemmie and Dee were on fire. My legs felt like bricks and I blame my race on Sunday and my massage I got from Martin yesterday. He worked pretty hard on my legs, and within the first few minutes of running, I felt new pains in my lower legs. Walking around now, hours after the run, I'm a little worried that he might have worked too deep. I have an ART appt on Friday, so I'll have Dr. Fluitt check out the new soreness and just make sure I haven't done something stupid this close to California. I'm planning to wake up early tomorrow before work and rolling it out.
Looking forward to running tomorrow with the girls, nice slow easy run. Let's hope my legs are a little more accomodating to a faster pace.
Location: Rogue Equipment
Weather: Nice
People: Clemmie, Dee, and I on the run, Ruth's group that passed us, haha!
Workout: 8-10 miles easy
Comments: OUCH! I had a conversation with Dee today and told her that my confidence has never been higher. I'm still on cloud 9 about my huge PR from Sunday. I've been running 4 years, and never in a million years did I think I'd be able to run what I ran on Sunday. Neat stuff. I've been gloating about it all week.
Over dinner last night with my honey, I asked him what he thought the possibility was of me running a race (any distance, 5k even) at a pace under 7:00. Just barely, a 6:59. I wondered if it were possible, if I kept working as hard as I have been if it would take 2-3 years... and he said, "I bet you could do it in 2-3 months". So sweet, but this comes from a guy that just got into triathlons LAST year and now he's training with Brandon Marsh and he's placing in the top 3. This is a guy that when we first started dating last year, hated to run and I convinced him that marathoning is like nothing he's ever done before. And he runs a 3:27 for his FIRST marathon with just regular Rogue training. His potential has gone through the roof and I believe he still has the best to come. So after running for 4 years, I think I'm tapped on my speed, then this Team Rogue comes around and shows me I actually can get faster. The possibilities are endless and I'm extremely excited about running, more than I've been in a long time. I can honestly say I'm genuinely excited about what I have in store, and this is without the pressures of friends doing programs or feeling like I should do something.. it's genuine from the heart, excitement to find out my potential.
As for the run, Clemmie and Dee were on fire. My legs felt like bricks and I blame my race on Sunday and my massage I got from Martin yesterday. He worked pretty hard on my legs, and within the first few minutes of running, I felt new pains in my lower legs. Walking around now, hours after the run, I'm a little worried that he might have worked too deep. I have an ART appt on Friday, so I'll have Dr. Fluitt check out the new soreness and just make sure I haven't done something stupid this close to California. I'm planning to wake up early tomorrow before work and rolling it out.
Looking forward to running tomorrow with the girls, nice slow easy run. Let's hope my legs are a little more accomodating to a faster pace.
Monday, October 20, 2008
IBM Stats/Adrian's race results
I’m still in shock at well I did. Check this out!!
Male Average: 51:00
Female Average: 1:00:00
My Time: 50:10 = below average of even the males, WOW!
Place after 1st 5k: 559 out of 1589 = Top 35%
Place after 2nd 5k: 536 out of 1589 = Top 33%
Place OVERALL: 550 out of 1589 = Top 34%
Gender – all the females: 116 out of 723 = Top 16%
Age Group Place: 26th out of 139 = Top 18.7%
Adrian rocked this weekend too! He was doing the 24 hour mountain bike race out at Rocky Hill this weekend. He placed 2nd in Solo Sport :) He rode 20 hours out of the 24 potential hours of riding. He only took 4 hours off, unbelieveable. He cranked out 16 laps for a total of 160 mountain bike miles. I'm so proud of him. This is his last year to race in the Sport class, next year he'll be going with the big boys in the Expert class. The Paul Mitchell team was out there and they're wanting to sponsor him :) He's getting big and elite on me and I couldn't be more proud of him. Way to go, honey! This also qualifies him for Worlds in Mohab.
http://www.grannygear.com/Races/Moab/index.shtml
Congrats honey, I'm so proud of you!
Male Average: 51:00
Female Average: 1:00:00
My Time: 50:10 = below average of even the males, WOW!
Place after 1st 5k: 559 out of 1589 = Top 35%
Place after 2nd 5k: 536 out of 1589 = Top 33%
Place OVERALL: 550 out of 1589 = Top 34%
Gender – all the females: 116 out of 723 = Top 16%
Age Group Place: 26th out of 139 = Top 18.7%
Adrian rocked this weekend too! He was doing the 24 hour mountain bike race out at Rocky Hill this weekend. He placed 2nd in Solo Sport :) He rode 20 hours out of the 24 potential hours of riding. He only took 4 hours off, unbelieveable. He cranked out 16 laps for a total of 160 mountain bike miles. I'm so proud of him. This is his last year to race in the Sport class, next year he'll be going with the big boys in the Expert class. The Paul Mitchell team was out there and they're wanting to sponsor him :) He's getting big and elite on me and I couldn't be more proud of him. Way to go, honey! This also qualifies him for Worlds in Mohab.
http://www.grannygear.com/Races/Moab/index.shtml
Congrats honey, I'm so proud of you!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
IBM 10k - Hell Yeah!!
Time: 6:30am for a race start of 8:00am
Location: IBM
Weather: Chilly cold, but perfect
People: All of Team Rogue was either racing or cheering
Workout: Race this B!! 4 mile warm up, 4 mile cool down.
Comments: I didn't sleep too well, because it was a race. I went to bed around midnight, popped right up at 5:30. I rolled my calves, ate some grapes, got ready and was out the door. I got there early and lingered around while most of the people started their warm up. I warmed up with Melodye. She turned around and I kept going, I got close to 3.5, but decided to stop while my legs felt good.
I found Clemmie and ran into Amy Garza from past Rogue classes and we decided to try and stick together! Goal in my mind was to run sub 8:00's. Dream goal was to finish under 50 minutes. Realistic goal was to PR as best as I could. Current PR stood at 59 minutes, a 9:30/min mile, I can smoke that! My stomach was in knots as we lined up. I went to the restroom before the race, but at the start line I had to go again. Too late, so I figured I'd just deal with it. Clemmie and I were talking and the last race I had done was the marathon last year. Wow, too long! I did Cap Tex, but that doesn't count. Running races and triathlons are completely different. My heart lies with running, and I think that's why I get so nervous. I never have that same anticipation as I have with tri's.
Gun goes off and we're weaving through the field. Clemmie and I notice that we probably started too far in the back, because we were stuck behind alot slower people. I kept on her and we hit mile 1, an exact 8:00 min mile. Whew.. but yikes. I was planning on taking mile 1 a little slower since it was slightly uphill. Mile 2 was nice. We finally found our nitch, but Clemmie was slowly inching away from me. Mile 2: 7:37. Holy shit! I noticed I've never run this fast before in any race and decided to let Clemmie go. Amy was still in front on me, and I decided to keep her as my rabbit to chase. My breathing felt labored, but not hard. I decided to try and keep this pace. I saw Amber on the side and she shouted out for me, thanks for coming all the way from south Austin to cheer!!! Mile 3 felt awesome, I was in the high 7:00's again. (not sure of the split, I didn't have my 2nd Garmin set for that for the race, DOH!!) Mile 4 was a B. I remember before the race Mike was telling another runner that there was a hill, but I assumed it was a roller. NOPE, it was an actual hill. Nothing bad, and nothing we haven't trained on. I charged that bad boy and tried not to slow my pace down but by the time I peaked it, realized maybe I shouldn't have charged. My breathing was crazy and all the conversations I had with fellow runners started creeping in my head.
99% of all the runners I talked to HATE with a passion, the 10k distance. I never had a problem with it, till I heard all the death stories. I heard, "It's like two 5k's.", "You go out too fast, then can't hang on." Lori was in the perfect place and gave me the hoo-yah that I needed to not let the demons in. I thought to myself alot, and I was doing it, mile by mile as Sisson said. I got my breathing back under control and an older guy passed me and said, "Run your own race." How neat. That's EXACTLY what Sisson yelled at me ten million times on the track. Run my own race. So I did just that. I took back my race, slowed my breathing down with longer exhales and got back in my rhythm. Mile 4 was an 8:30 and that was mentally hard because I thought I gave up too much time that I had made in the beginning miles. I kept thinking to myself that it's only 2.2 miles to go, I can do that in my sleep. If I can just make it to mile 5, it's downhill after that. I hit mile 5 and whew, my pace was back to the low 8:00's and this is where I dug. I tried to remember my rhythm from the beginning of the race, mentally went through my form with my arms, my legs, etc. I saw several Rogue's cheering which was encouraging. I kept looking for the finish. I went down Burnet, which was nice and downhill and picked it up. I glanced at my Garmin and saw 7:35 pace. Wow... I thought to myself, I'm doing it, just hold it, just hold it. I couldn't come this far, within a mile and let this slip away. I noticed at the end of Burnet, the runners were coming back up in the parking lot and I thought CRAP! I needed to push it down hill in case the back portion slowed me. I made the turn around and decided to go based on my feel rather than stress myself out on what my Garmin said. I could feel my pace slowing, but I didn't think it was that much. I went fishing. There were some Tough Cookies ahead of me and they were yelling for friends every 2 seconds. Annoying. I was trying to breathe and here they were running my pace and screaming and waving. I reeled them in, and passed them. I was on the home stretch, I could hear Evil. I saw Rogues at the end of the road and decided I had to be close and picked it up and gave everything I had. "only a quarter mile!!" I hit 6, and holy crap, .2 is far!!! I picked it up, heard the Northies shout out, then passed the Rogue tent and heard Mike and his gang scream for me. I picked it up and was hauling, then realized holy shit... the finish line is further away than I thought. I saw Dee, but was already giving it my all, and crossed the finish line.
50:10 - holy shit, that's fast for me! Bummer.. I was 10 seconds shy of reaching my dream goal, but not gonna let it ruin my day.
PR before Team Rogue: 59:00 - 9:30/min mile
PR after Team Rogue: 50:10 - 8:05/min mile, I must have forgotten to factor in the .2 and I never looked at my mile 5 split so I must have slowed down, because I know for a fact mile 2, 3 and 6.2 were in the high 7's.
I'm super proud of myself and a little nervous that I did so well. McMillan says I should have run a 49:01 with a 7:52 pace for a 3:50, but oh well. I'm super happy with the leaps and bounds I made, screw McMillan. I'm not a sprinter and short races just aren't my thing :)
My past goals for races, since I have always been back of the pack material has been to reach 50%. I finally did it today!!
Age group: 26th out of 139 = top 18.7% (WOW)
Overall: 550 out of 1589 = top 34.6% (Double WOW!)
Location: IBM
Weather: Chilly cold, but perfect
People: All of Team Rogue was either racing or cheering
Workout: Race this B!! 4 mile warm up, 4 mile cool down.
Comments: I didn't sleep too well, because it was a race. I went to bed around midnight, popped right up at 5:30. I rolled my calves, ate some grapes, got ready and was out the door. I got there early and lingered around while most of the people started their warm up. I warmed up with Melodye. She turned around and I kept going, I got close to 3.5, but decided to stop while my legs felt good.
I found Clemmie and ran into Amy Garza from past Rogue classes and we decided to try and stick together! Goal in my mind was to run sub 8:00's. Dream goal was to finish under 50 minutes. Realistic goal was to PR as best as I could. Current PR stood at 59 minutes, a 9:30/min mile, I can smoke that! My stomach was in knots as we lined up. I went to the restroom before the race, but at the start line I had to go again. Too late, so I figured I'd just deal with it. Clemmie and I were talking and the last race I had done was the marathon last year. Wow, too long! I did Cap Tex, but that doesn't count. Running races and triathlons are completely different. My heart lies with running, and I think that's why I get so nervous. I never have that same anticipation as I have with tri's.
Gun goes off and we're weaving through the field. Clemmie and I notice that we probably started too far in the back, because we were stuck behind alot slower people. I kept on her and we hit mile 1, an exact 8:00 min mile. Whew.. but yikes. I was planning on taking mile 1 a little slower since it was slightly uphill. Mile 2 was nice. We finally found our nitch, but Clemmie was slowly inching away from me. Mile 2: 7:37. Holy shit! I noticed I've never run this fast before in any race and decided to let Clemmie go. Amy was still in front on me, and I decided to keep her as my rabbit to chase. My breathing felt labored, but not hard. I decided to try and keep this pace. I saw Amber on the side and she shouted out for me, thanks for coming all the way from south Austin to cheer!!! Mile 3 felt awesome, I was in the high 7:00's again. (not sure of the split, I didn't have my 2nd Garmin set for that for the race, DOH!!) Mile 4 was a B. I remember before the race Mike was telling another runner that there was a hill, but I assumed it was a roller. NOPE, it was an actual hill. Nothing bad, and nothing we haven't trained on. I charged that bad boy and tried not to slow my pace down but by the time I peaked it, realized maybe I shouldn't have charged. My breathing was crazy and all the conversations I had with fellow runners started creeping in my head.
99% of all the runners I talked to HATE with a passion, the 10k distance. I never had a problem with it, till I heard all the death stories. I heard, "It's like two 5k's.", "You go out too fast, then can't hang on." Lori was in the perfect place and gave me the hoo-yah that I needed to not let the demons in. I thought to myself alot, and I was doing it, mile by mile as Sisson said. I got my breathing back under control and an older guy passed me and said, "Run your own race." How neat. That's EXACTLY what Sisson yelled at me ten million times on the track. Run my own race. So I did just that. I took back my race, slowed my breathing down with longer exhales and got back in my rhythm. Mile 4 was an 8:30 and that was mentally hard because I thought I gave up too much time that I had made in the beginning miles. I kept thinking to myself that it's only 2.2 miles to go, I can do that in my sleep. If I can just make it to mile 5, it's downhill after that. I hit mile 5 and whew, my pace was back to the low 8:00's and this is where I dug. I tried to remember my rhythm from the beginning of the race, mentally went through my form with my arms, my legs, etc. I saw several Rogue's cheering which was encouraging. I kept looking for the finish. I went down Burnet, which was nice and downhill and picked it up. I glanced at my Garmin and saw 7:35 pace. Wow... I thought to myself, I'm doing it, just hold it, just hold it. I couldn't come this far, within a mile and let this slip away. I noticed at the end of Burnet, the runners were coming back up in the parking lot and I thought CRAP! I needed to push it down hill in case the back portion slowed me. I made the turn around and decided to go based on my feel rather than stress myself out on what my Garmin said. I could feel my pace slowing, but I didn't think it was that much. I went fishing. There were some Tough Cookies ahead of me and they were yelling for friends every 2 seconds. Annoying. I was trying to breathe and here they were running my pace and screaming and waving. I reeled them in, and passed them. I was on the home stretch, I could hear Evil. I saw Rogues at the end of the road and decided I had to be close and picked it up and gave everything I had. "only a quarter mile!!" I hit 6, and holy crap, .2 is far!!! I picked it up, heard the Northies shout out, then passed the Rogue tent and heard Mike and his gang scream for me. I picked it up and was hauling, then realized holy shit... the finish line is further away than I thought. I saw Dee, but was already giving it my all, and crossed the finish line.
50:10 - holy shit, that's fast for me! Bummer.. I was 10 seconds shy of reaching my dream goal, but not gonna let it ruin my day.
PR before Team Rogue: 59:00 - 9:30/min mile
PR after Team Rogue: 50:10 - 8:05/min mile, I must have forgotten to factor in the .2 and I never looked at my mile 5 split so I must have slowed down, because I know for a fact mile 2, 3 and 6.2 were in the high 7's.
I'm super proud of myself and a little nervous that I did so well. McMillan says I should have run a 49:01 with a 7:52 pace for a 3:50, but oh well. I'm super happy with the leaps and bounds I made, screw McMillan. I'm not a sprinter and short races just aren't my thing :)
My past goals for races, since I have always been back of the pack material has been to reach 50%. I finally did it today!!
Age group: 26th out of 139 = top 18.7% (WOW)
Overall: 550 out of 1589 = top 34.6% (Double WOW!)
10 Miles with Cookies!!
Time: 6:00am
Weather: Cool
Location: Team Rogue
Workout: 10 miles easy
People: ALL Cookies!! Lori, Dee, Linda, Nemo, myself, and we even had a bonus of having Amy with us :)
Comments: The run was enjoyable. Lots of catching up with Nemo and Amy and lots of story telling. We did our own thing once the directions got confusing, stopped at stores for hydration and enjoying running through downtown campus. I thought the game was at noon, because there were a ton of tailgaters out already!! We took it REALLY easy, which seemed to almost be just as hard as running at a faster pace. I think one of the Garmins's on the run showed a 13 minute average, yikes!! Funny how it was harder to run slower that it was to run faster. It was all good though, because I had my race the next day.
I came home and napped as if it were another 20 miler, relaxed and enjoyed friends for the rest of the evening. Super excited about tomorrow's run!!!
Weather: Cool
Location: Team Rogue
Workout: 10 miles easy
People: ALL Cookies!! Lori, Dee, Linda, Nemo, myself, and we even had a bonus of having Amy with us :)
Comments: The run was enjoyable. Lots of catching up with Nemo and Amy and lots of story telling. We did our own thing once the directions got confusing, stopped at stores for hydration and enjoying running through downtown campus. I thought the game was at noon, because there were a ton of tailgaters out already!! We took it REALLY easy, which seemed to almost be just as hard as running at a faster pace. I think one of the Garmins's on the run showed a 13 minute average, yikes!! Funny how it was harder to run slower that it was to run faster. It was all good though, because I had my race the next day.
I came home and napped as if it were another 20 miler, relaxed and enjoyed friends for the rest of the evening. Super excited about tomorrow's run!!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
I'm hot, hot, hot!!!
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Rogue Equipment
Weather: Nice and cool, I think summer is finally over!
People: Mandi, Tim, Dee, Clemmie, Peter, and some other girl.
Workout: 2 mile warm up, 4 at tempo (HMGP - 8:20), 2 mile cool down
Comments: What an awesome day! Work couldn't have gone any better. I have been working on a few pieces of new business and I got 3 of my quotes in early today!!! I'd probably need to do more explaining on how this all works, but long story short, it made for an excellent day :) Also, my HR boss wanted to talk to me at the end of the day and she let me know that I can start working my old hours. Not the same exact hours, but close. Before we all transferred, I used to work 7:30am to 4pm. This was awesome, traffic was still bad, but the extra hour to get a workout started made a world of difference. Especially now when it's getting darker soon. When we moved over, since I'm the single (meaning not married) with no kids, I got volunteered to do the 8:30 to 5pm shift. Ugh. That one hour in the morning eats up about 30 extra minutes of drive time. It was ok, but I really missed getting off early, especially when everyone around me had the earlier shift. So I'm back to getting off at 4:30. Woo hoo!!!
Met Ruth and group down south, ahhhh, 2 second drive from work, I'm really enjoying that. We start off and I made friends with Peter. Super nice guy and we have tons to talk about, as most marathoners do. We talk about our firsts, our PR's, our future goals etc. He really doesn't have a set goal yet. He was aiming for 3:45 with his wife for Houston, but his wife backed out, so he hasn't figured out if he wants to "race" it and try and PR, or just have fun. We got to the Congress bridge and we were off. 8:20 pace, holy crap. My Garmin was jumping all over the place. At some points it was showing 7:47, then it'd jump to 9:34's, so I just followed Peter. The pace felt forced, but I wasn't struggling as bad as I thought. I looked at our average pace, and that was a better indicator. Our first mile was 8:22, not too bad! Our second mile we stayed around the same and as we hit the 2 mile mark our pace had dropped to 8:24. I made the mistake of telling Peter on the turnaround that we slowed, but I didn't tell him it was just by 2 seconds so he picked it up. Thankfully I had the Garmin and knew he was running too fast so I stayed back. We definately picked up the pace and I'm proud to report that I averaged for 4 miles... dum dum da dum.... drum roll, please....
8:19's!!!
Woo hoo. What I learned was, ouch. I think I can pull off this pace for longer, like say a 10k, but going faster than that, like 23 seconds per mile faster to get me to my 10k pace might be a long shot. But I also have to remember we were running and dodging people on the trail, so I'm backing my expectations down for IBM. I'll be happy if I can run low 8:00's and if the moon and the stars align, maybe I'll have enough gas in the end to pick it up and make up some time.
IBM here I come!!
Location: Rogue Equipment
Weather: Nice and cool, I think summer is finally over!
People: Mandi, Tim, Dee, Clemmie, Peter, and some other girl.
Workout: 2 mile warm up, 4 at tempo (HMGP - 8:20), 2 mile cool down
Comments: What an awesome day! Work couldn't have gone any better. I have been working on a few pieces of new business and I got 3 of my quotes in early today!!! I'd probably need to do more explaining on how this all works, but long story short, it made for an excellent day :) Also, my HR boss wanted to talk to me at the end of the day and she let me know that I can start working my old hours. Not the same exact hours, but close. Before we all transferred, I used to work 7:30am to 4pm. This was awesome, traffic was still bad, but the extra hour to get a workout started made a world of difference. Especially now when it's getting darker soon. When we moved over, since I'm the single (meaning not married) with no kids, I got volunteered to do the 8:30 to 5pm shift. Ugh. That one hour in the morning eats up about 30 extra minutes of drive time. It was ok, but I really missed getting off early, especially when everyone around me had the earlier shift. So I'm back to getting off at 4:30. Woo hoo!!!
Met Ruth and group down south, ahhhh, 2 second drive from work, I'm really enjoying that. We start off and I made friends with Peter. Super nice guy and we have tons to talk about, as most marathoners do. We talk about our firsts, our PR's, our future goals etc. He really doesn't have a set goal yet. He was aiming for 3:45 with his wife for Houston, but his wife backed out, so he hasn't figured out if he wants to "race" it and try and PR, or just have fun. We got to the Congress bridge and we were off. 8:20 pace, holy crap. My Garmin was jumping all over the place. At some points it was showing 7:47, then it'd jump to 9:34's, so I just followed Peter. The pace felt forced, but I wasn't struggling as bad as I thought. I looked at our average pace, and that was a better indicator. Our first mile was 8:22, not too bad! Our second mile we stayed around the same and as we hit the 2 mile mark our pace had dropped to 8:24. I made the mistake of telling Peter on the turnaround that we slowed, but I didn't tell him it was just by 2 seconds so he picked it up. Thankfully I had the Garmin and knew he was running too fast so I stayed back. We definately picked up the pace and I'm proud to report that I averaged for 4 miles... dum dum da dum.... drum roll, please....
8:19's!!!
Woo hoo. What I learned was, ouch. I think I can pull off this pace for longer, like say a 10k, but going faster than that, like 23 seconds per mile faster to get me to my 10k pace might be a long shot. But I also have to remember we were running and dodging people on the trail, so I'm backing my expectations down for IBM. I'll be happy if I can run low 8:00's and if the moon and the stars align, maybe I'll have enough gas in the end to pick it up and make up some time.
IBM here I come!!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Way to go, Blondie!!
Time: 6:15pm
Location: Old School, Burnet Rd
Workout: 4-5 miles easy
Weather: humid, but sprinkly, nice, and cool
People: Cookies! Lori, Dee, and I
Comments: Ahhh, what an enjoyable run. We met on Burnet Road where we used to meet two years ago when we were in the regular marathon training. We would run these roads over and over and over. It was nice going back. It the back of my mind, I was reminiscing about how much I've grown since then. I've become a better person in just a short amount of time. I've learned to stand up for what I want, I've learned to do what I want to do, I've got all the joy I can possibly contain right now.
Over the last 6 months, I've gone from being on top of the world to being lost, unsure of myself, and within the last few weeks, I've really felt like everything in my life has fallen into place. Work has been stressful with our transition, but in the last week, I've found my stride. I'm making headway and moving forward with work. The love of my life has re-entered as I dreamt of and we're taking things slow, but it's amazing how much joy we were both missing from each other. He's my everything and I'm looking forward to our future filled with laughs. My friends couldn't be anymore kick ass. From poker friends, that are finally realizing that when I say I can't go because I have a run, they understand and wish me well. To my running friends, that have become my life. To making new friends, to becoming closer to ones I don't know, and etc.
Ok, to the good stuff. The run was excellent. We ran almost 7 miles because we were talking, talking, talking. Dee and I have since moved to Ruth's group and so far we're really enjoying it. Blondie was on fire tonight. She didn't even realize how fast we had her running, we just need to remember to talk Obama and she keeps up without any fight. I think 3 out of 4 of us let out some toots, and that was hilarious. I won't get into details, but we all shared some much needed girl talk and it was awesome. I love them!!
Totally stoked about IBM coming up this weekend. PR city, here I come!!
Location: Old School, Burnet Rd
Workout: 4-5 miles easy
Weather: humid, but sprinkly, nice, and cool
People: Cookies! Lori, Dee, and I
Comments: Ahhh, what an enjoyable run. We met on Burnet Road where we used to meet two years ago when we were in the regular marathon training. We would run these roads over and over and over. It was nice going back. It the back of my mind, I was reminiscing about how much I've grown since then. I've become a better person in just a short amount of time. I've learned to stand up for what I want, I've learned to do what I want to do, I've got all the joy I can possibly contain right now.
Over the last 6 months, I've gone from being on top of the world to being lost, unsure of myself, and within the last few weeks, I've really felt like everything in my life has fallen into place. Work has been stressful with our transition, but in the last week, I've found my stride. I'm making headway and moving forward with work. The love of my life has re-entered as I dreamt of and we're taking things slow, but it's amazing how much joy we were both missing from each other. He's my everything and I'm looking forward to our future filled with laughs. My friends couldn't be anymore kick ass. From poker friends, that are finally realizing that when I say I can't go because I have a run, they understand and wish me well. To my running friends, that have become my life. To making new friends, to becoming closer to ones I don't know, and etc.
Ok, to the good stuff. The run was excellent. We ran almost 7 miles because we were talking, talking, talking. Dee and I have since moved to Ruth's group and so far we're really enjoying it. Blondie was on fire tonight. She didn't even realize how fast we had her running, we just need to remember to talk Obama and she keeps up without any fight. I think 3 out of 4 of us let out some toots, and that was hilarious. I won't get into details, but we all shared some much needed girl talk and it was awesome. I love them!!
Totally stoked about IBM coming up this weekend. PR city, here I come!!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
10k PR
My 10k PR is 59:00 even, run back on 3/10/07 at the SW Go for the Gold 10k. Average 9:30/min
OMG, that's gonna get a spankin' this weekend!!!
OMG, that's gonna get a spankin' this weekend!!!
Whoops!
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Rogue Equipment, Eastside Track
People: Dee and I, with Mandi and Tim and Bobby's Group and Panthers Group.
Weather: Humid
Workout: 200 meters at your 5k pace, 100 meter recovery, repeat up to 20 times
Comments: I got stuck at work till around 5:45 and since I wasn't going to make the drive in bumper to bumper traffic (that's what happens when there's a drop of water on the ground) I decided to crash Ruth's group.
Dee and I ran to the track, and whew, felt slow and my legs felt heavy. I remembered my 10k 200 meter split, but forgot my 5k. I knew my pace should have been a 7:37, but couldn't manage to do the math. I thought it was 57 seconds, but after arguing with Dee, decided to go with 55 seconds, to be on the safe side. Workout started, and I was too fast. 52 seconds. Next one, 53 seconds. I didn't keep track of all my splits, but I ran probably 15 of them at 52 seconds. I felt like I was slowing down towards the end, but would have enough kick to end up at 52. I have one at 51, and one at 50. All of the others were 52.
Disclaimer: 52 seconds = 6:58 per mile pace, WAY TOO FAST! (But holy crap, that's awesome!)
I get home, look up my paces and WHOOPS! I was running my one mile to two mile pace!! YIkes... but I'm happy that I did 20 of them. I thought for a split second of stopping at 18, but continued on. I'm proud that Dee and I both did 20 repeats. We rocked it.
I'm super excited about IBM 10k. I'm going to try and hit my 10k pace, and if I do I'll have a huge PR. I can't wait!! I need to look my current 10k PR, I bet it's really slow :)
Good job us!!
Location: Rogue Equipment, Eastside Track
People: Dee and I, with Mandi and Tim and Bobby's Group and Panthers Group.
Weather: Humid
Workout: 200 meters at your 5k pace, 100 meter recovery, repeat up to 20 times
Comments: I got stuck at work till around 5:45 and since I wasn't going to make the drive in bumper to bumper traffic (that's what happens when there's a drop of water on the ground) I decided to crash Ruth's group.
Dee and I ran to the track, and whew, felt slow and my legs felt heavy. I remembered my 10k 200 meter split, but forgot my 5k. I knew my pace should have been a 7:37, but couldn't manage to do the math. I thought it was 57 seconds, but after arguing with Dee, decided to go with 55 seconds, to be on the safe side. Workout started, and I was too fast. 52 seconds. Next one, 53 seconds. I didn't keep track of all my splits, but I ran probably 15 of them at 52 seconds. I felt like I was slowing down towards the end, but would have enough kick to end up at 52. I have one at 51, and one at 50. All of the others were 52.
Disclaimer: 52 seconds = 6:58 per mile pace, WAY TOO FAST! (But holy crap, that's awesome!)
I get home, look up my paces and WHOOPS! I was running my one mile to two mile pace!! YIkes... but I'm happy that I did 20 of them. I thought for a split second of stopping at 18, but continued on. I'm proud that Dee and I both did 20 repeats. We rocked it.
I'm super excited about IBM 10k. I'm going to try and hit my 10k pace, and if I do I'll have a huge PR. I can't wait!! I need to look my current 10k PR, I bet it's really slow :)
Good job us!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
98% Platinum, Baby!!
It's been bugging me and bugging me that I had made the wrong decision on Saturday when Dee and I got to the track. My Garmin died around mile 6, (piece of sh*&) and Dee's showed 14.1 I opted to start the track workout, rather than run the extra two miles because I was already cooling down and the rest of the Team was about to arrive and I didn't want to be doing my track workout alone.
Wiley sent an interesting article regarding GPS's. Thank goodness, thanks Wiley!! I emailed Andrea because I knew her and Clemmie ran the 16, and BAM! We ran 16, so I'm 98% Platinum and it was a huge confidence booster to know that I did the workout as I was supposed to and I didn't have "extra" energy because I only ran 14. Whew... thanks Andrea and thanks Wiley!!
Wiley sent an interesting article regarding GPS's. Thank goodness, thanks Wiley!! I emailed Andrea because I knew her and Clemmie ran the 16, and BAM! We ran 16, so I'm 98% Platinum and it was a huge confidence booster to know that I did the workout as I was supposed to and I didn't have "extra" energy because I only ran 14. Whew... thanks Andrea and thanks Wiley!!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Recovery Run after Soul Buster
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Home/Jollyville
Weather: Warm, but not hot
People: Me
Comments: OUCH! I woke up this morning around 9am. I felt ok, but ended up napping on and off until 3pm. No joke, 1-2 hour naps until I could finally not sleep any more. I got up, did three loads of laundry, put fresh sheets on the bed, vacummed, swept, mopped and cleaned. After reading the post that Steve put about "Exhaustion" I was pysched to say I was a 2, for sure! After doing this run, I'm changing it to a 2.5. OMG, incentive to stay eating healthy!! It felt like I was running with 20 lbs of extra weight. My legs felt like big ole bricks. Quads were sore, calves were sore, and my breathing was erratic from the start. This is what I remember the last of the marathon feeling like. When you know your body can go, but everything is telling it not to. I gutted out 4 miles, and tried my hardest to keep it under 11:00 minute miles. Looking forward to tomorrow's day off.
4 miles at 10:42/m - yuck!
Location: Home/Jollyville
Weather: Warm, but not hot
People: Me
Comments: OUCH! I woke up this morning around 9am. I felt ok, but ended up napping on and off until 3pm. No joke, 1-2 hour naps until I could finally not sleep any more. I got up, did three loads of laundry, put fresh sheets on the bed, vacummed, swept, mopped and cleaned. After reading the post that Steve put about "Exhaustion" I was pysched to say I was a 2, for sure! After doing this run, I'm changing it to a 2.5. OMG, incentive to stay eating healthy!! It felt like I was running with 20 lbs of extra weight. My legs felt like big ole bricks. Quads were sore, calves were sore, and my breathing was erratic from the start. This is what I remember the last of the marathon feeling like. When you know your body can go, but everything is telling it not to. I gutted out 4 miles, and tried my hardest to keep it under 11:00 minute miles. Looking forward to tomorrow's day off.
4 miles at 10:42/m - yuck!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Soul Buster II + Electronics = Mental Mess!
Time: 5:00am
Location: Runtex to Track
Workout: 18, changed to 16 changed to 14 due to map + 6 miles of track work
People: Dee for long run and rest of Team for track!
Weather: perfect, not too cool and not humid as the forecast claimed
Comments: Dee and I started at 5am since we were originally planning to run 18. After getting to Killer's water stop, we were given a choice of running 16 instead, since the track workout was in fact the goal for today's SB. Andy and Javier passed us during the run and we found out they were doing 18. So that made sense that we did 16. Nothing too eventful happened on own run, we didn't have anything new and exciting to talk about. I noticed I'm 100% used to running without my iPod finally, so I'm proud of that.
What I'm not proud of is that for some reason me and electronics can't seem to get along. I have two Garmin's. I have a 305 and a 405. This morning, I woke up extra early since we're mimicing race day and I wore my regular stopwatch on my right wrist and my 305 on my left. The battery was low last night, so I stuck it on the charger. At mile 6, Garmin died. WHAT THE HECK?? No biggie, because Dee had hers to gauge our miles and average pace, but irritated that I can't see the paces myself. I shake it off and continue on. Thankfully, I have my watch to pace my splits on the track.
We followed the directions with perfection, but when we ended at the track, we were only at 14.1 miles, what the heck?? I noticed I have an ego problem with miles. I'm ok with being a 50 mile per week person on the Team, which is the lowest miles per week, but I really struggle with doing workouts that are shorter than everyone else or even for what was originally prescribed. I want to go through what everyone else is going through at my own level. We got to the track and only Sisson and Ruth were there, no Killer. I was in a mental panic. Should I run one mile out somewhere and back to get to 16, should I just start the track, what do I do?? I asked Sisson, but he's not my coach and gave me the same type of speech Killer did, that the track is the important lesson in this, so I disheartedly started the track workout.
Workout on the track: 2 miles at MGP (8:47), 2 miles at HMGP (8:20), and 2 miles at 10k (7:52)
According to what I saw and can remember, I did my first mile at 8:37, 10 seconds too fast. My 2nd mile was too fast, but I dont' know what it was. My HMGP miles were perfect according to my 400 meter splits, I was never over my 2:04. The 10k, it was hard to hold on to that pace. I know I was pretty darn close to hitting it on my 1st mile, but the 2nd mile fell apart in the first 800 meters until Sisson told me to do HMGP. For some reason, it translated to reverse pyschology in my head and I did a, "Half, forget that, I can do 10k, leave me alone!" and it worked. I sped up (not exactly to 10k, but way faster than the slowing pace I was cratering to) then the last 400 I blew it out. I was supposed to run my 10k 400 in 1:58 and I remember my watch saying 1:52, so I made up 6 seconds in the last 400.
Lori and all the PP peeps were out to cheer and it was soooo incredibly helpful. It's amazing how much energy and love you can feel when the ones you love are out there. I truly appreciate having Lori there, she's injured and I know it took alot to come cheer us on, knowing deep down she should have been out there with us. There's a reason Sisson is the owner of Rogue. That guy, no matter what comes out of his mouth, inspires me. I'm envious of his students that get to have him on a weekly basis. He would shout words of, "You can do this", to "Gut it out, put in the work", to "You're going too fast, it's gonna hurt later!". No matter whether it was nice and encouraging, or in your face, you suck, it pushes me to not want to disappoint. Good stuff. Next year when I'm done with this Ironman stuff, I want to be coached by him. Maybe I'll be fast enough by then...
Soaked in Barton Springs, came home, showered, and sat down at my desk with a fresh piece of paper to write down all my splits. My watch said, FULL. Son of a (*^&%!!! It only recorded 3:00 minutes of my entire flipping workout. I almost came to tears. How completely irritating to try and be soooo prepared and have two backups fail on me. I called Dee to get our average on the 14 miles, but the track stuff, there was no way I could gauge myself off hers, because we lost each other after the first mile.
Lessons and things I learned from the Soul Buster:
Location: Runtex to Track
Workout: 18, changed to 16 changed to 14 due to map + 6 miles of track work
People: Dee for long run and rest of Team for track!
Weather: perfect, not too cool and not humid as the forecast claimed
Comments: Dee and I started at 5am since we were originally planning to run 18. After getting to Killer's water stop, we were given a choice of running 16 instead, since the track workout was in fact the goal for today's SB. Andy and Javier passed us during the run and we found out they were doing 18. So that made sense that we did 16. Nothing too eventful happened on own run, we didn't have anything new and exciting to talk about. I noticed I'm 100% used to running without my iPod finally, so I'm proud of that.
What I'm not proud of is that for some reason me and electronics can't seem to get along. I have two Garmin's. I have a 305 and a 405. This morning, I woke up extra early since we're mimicing race day and I wore my regular stopwatch on my right wrist and my 305 on my left. The battery was low last night, so I stuck it on the charger. At mile 6, Garmin died. WHAT THE HECK?? No biggie, because Dee had hers to gauge our miles and average pace, but irritated that I can't see the paces myself. I shake it off and continue on. Thankfully, I have my watch to pace my splits on the track.
We followed the directions with perfection, but when we ended at the track, we were only at 14.1 miles, what the heck?? I noticed I have an ego problem with miles. I'm ok with being a 50 mile per week person on the Team, which is the lowest miles per week, but I really struggle with doing workouts that are shorter than everyone else or even for what was originally prescribed. I want to go through what everyone else is going through at my own level. We got to the track and only Sisson and Ruth were there, no Killer. I was in a mental panic. Should I run one mile out somewhere and back to get to 16, should I just start the track, what do I do?? I asked Sisson, but he's not my coach and gave me the same type of speech Killer did, that the track is the important lesson in this, so I disheartedly started the track workout.
Workout on the track: 2 miles at MGP (8:47), 2 miles at HMGP (8:20), and 2 miles at 10k (7:52)
According to what I saw and can remember, I did my first mile at 8:37, 10 seconds too fast. My 2nd mile was too fast, but I dont' know what it was. My HMGP miles were perfect according to my 400 meter splits, I was never over my 2:04. The 10k, it was hard to hold on to that pace. I know I was pretty darn close to hitting it on my 1st mile, but the 2nd mile fell apart in the first 800 meters until Sisson told me to do HMGP. For some reason, it translated to reverse pyschology in my head and I did a, "Half, forget that, I can do 10k, leave me alone!" and it worked. I sped up (not exactly to 10k, but way faster than the slowing pace I was cratering to) then the last 400 I blew it out. I was supposed to run my 10k 400 in 1:58 and I remember my watch saying 1:52, so I made up 6 seconds in the last 400.
Lori and all the PP peeps were out to cheer and it was soooo incredibly helpful. It's amazing how much energy and love you can feel when the ones you love are out there. I truly appreciate having Lori there, she's injured and I know it took alot to come cheer us on, knowing deep down she should have been out there with us. There's a reason Sisson is the owner of Rogue. That guy, no matter what comes out of his mouth, inspires me. I'm envious of his students that get to have him on a weekly basis. He would shout words of, "You can do this", to "Gut it out, put in the work", to "You're going too fast, it's gonna hurt later!". No matter whether it was nice and encouraging, or in your face, you suck, it pushes me to not want to disappoint. Good stuff. Next year when I'm done with this Ironman stuff, I want to be coached by him. Maybe I'll be fast enough by then...
Soaked in Barton Springs, came home, showered, and sat down at my desk with a fresh piece of paper to write down all my splits. My watch said, FULL. Son of a (*^&%!!! It only recorded 3:00 minutes of my entire flipping workout. I almost came to tears. How completely irritating to try and be soooo prepared and have two backups fail on me. I called Dee to get our average on the 14 miles, but the track stuff, there was no way I could gauge myself off hers, because we lost each other after the first mile.
Lessons and things I learned from the Soul Buster:
- I need to double check battery level on Garmin (since I have two!) and clear all memory for track workouts on my simple watch.
- I need to run my own race. I think I was more pre-occupied with how my friends were doing than 100% concentrating on what I was doing.
- Seems the more I prepare, the more things go wrong.
- It's in the past, I can't control that both of my geek-o-meters failed and I need to move on and think of the positives. I finished the workouts, I ran my ass off for the 10k and I'm proud of that.
- I need to remember what the 10k pace felt like during the last 10k of the marathon. When I thought I was done, I wasn't, it was mental. I need to engrave that into my brain. WHEN I THINK I'M TOAST, I HAVE IT IN ME TO FIGHT THROUGH IT AND I CAN DO IT!!!
- I'm grateful to be healthy. I have some minor heel pain and calf issues, but overall, I'm healthy. My heart goes out to those that have put in the same effort and work as I have and are plagued by injuries. I can't imagine those mental demons...
- This program is working. Never in a million years did I think I'd be capable of the possibility to run a sub 4:00 marathon and my goal of 3:50 is so close I can taste it. I need to stay focused for the remainder of the program.
- My friends and teammates are making this an experience I could never forget.
Friday, October 10, 2008
We're superstars!!
Time: 7:45am
Where: Fox News Station
Workout: Try and strike a pose without laughing!
Comments: OMG, what fun!! We were a little nervous and definately didn't know what we signed up for when we said "yes" to Ruth. I couldn't help but laugh cause Dee and I were flaunting it like we were the shiznit!! Check it out and see for yourself :)
http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=7619488&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1
We got a free entry into the Shirt Chaser 5k, but it's on Saturday night, AFTER our Soul Buster #2, so we'll see....
Where: Fox News Station
Workout: Try and strike a pose without laughing!
Comments: OMG, what fun!! We were a little nervous and definately didn't know what we signed up for when we said "yes" to Ruth. I couldn't help but laugh cause Dee and I were flaunting it like we were the shiznit!! Check it out and see for yourself :)
http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=7619488&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1
We got a free entry into the Shirt Chaser 5k, but it's on Saturday night, AFTER our Soul Buster #2, so we'll see....
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I have ISSUES!
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Rogue/Trail
Workout: 10-12 miles easy
Weather: fine, but then cool and nice!
People: Dee and I
Comments: So I'm not sure what Ruth was smoking, but she sent Dee and I an email last week asking if we wanted to model some running skirts. OH LORD!! The two biggest wise cracks of Team Rogue and she wants us representing Rogue... on local tv... LIVE?? So we had to get "fitted and styled" and today was the only day that worked out for the 4 of us that were doing it. I got there first, and thank goodness... I got to pick out my outfit first. I match, which is rare. Tracy, an IronChick got there 2nd... and Dee. Well... she got there last. She's going to kill me for this, but I couldn't resist. Check out this H-O-T outfit of hers :)
OK, ok.. I can't. As much as I'm giggling over here, I just can't post the picture. But I can explain it. It was a running skirt with capri tights and the pattern on those tights were LOUD, and she had a matching long sleeve shirt in the same awful pattern as the tights. It was hilarious. And if you know Dee.. she was profiling in that outfit. Flauntin' it.. making it look good. Before too long, I was thinking she was cute in it!!
So long story short, we're gonna be on the morning news tomorrow, please Lord, help us get through 3 minutes of live taping without cracking up and making them switch it to commercial!
Run: This is where I have issues. Dee and I have been running together off and on all season. We have the agreement between each other that if one is feeling it, they run ahead, if one is not, no hurt feelings and you drop back. We want the best for each other, and this is genuine. Well... except on these runs where it starts to get darker earlier and we're not with the group. We take off from Rogue after our fittings and we're off. We run into Blondie and take her back to the Mopac bridge for her to complete her 5 miles, then it's Dee and myself... alone. We sight some dogs (uh hum..) and a squirrel (double loud, uh hum) and it's giggles to the point of stopping, hunching over, and praying that it stops so I can breathe.
ISSUES: We're running a pretty good pace... and by that I mean for us. We're decent, low 10:00's. My legs still feel the fatigue from rocking it on Tuesday's Texas 10k. This fool turns on her Billy Goat. And there I am... I can see the wrong when it's happening, but there's something about Dee that unless you know her, know her, you just won't understand. She has this power. So for instance, we're running. Light is red, it's okay to run.. but I yell out, "Watch out for the cars turning!!" and there I am... right on her heels oblivious to what's coming out of my mouth. There we are again, Congress... red light, but it's about to switch and not only do we have to cross the road, we have to cross 5 WIDE lanes of traffic. I scream out again, "Fool, we won't make it, STOP!!" but there I am... Billy Goatin' it across Congress at our 5k pace. And I'm the one that gets screamed at.
I've got issues...
Cookie Run
Time: 6:00pm
Location: ART on Anderson
People: Cookies, the cookie - Dee and Lori and the creamy center - me and Linda
Weather: kinda humid, but nice
Comments: Well, we are getting closer to having a full on reunion. We were only missing our Nemo (Courtney) or this would have been complete. We originally had planned to run at 6:15, but I had a hot date with the boyfriend, so I got it moved up to 6:00, thanks guys!! The run was nothing short of fun, fun times. Dee and I talk on a regular basis, against my better judgement, so Lori and Linda had some catching up to do. We had to tell them about Dee's awesome Silicon Labs Relay, we had to talk about husbands, girlfriends, new/old boyfriends, haa! I had to tell them all the mischieft Dee and I were getting into on our runs and it was just a grand ole time. I miss runs like these where we can just run, talk, and laugh.
Friends are awesome and we've seen each other through more than just running ups and downs. I've said this numerous times, but I really can't imagine my life without Rogue and the friends I've made through all the programs we've done. We should get a gold circle for all the ones we've done. Between the four of us, we've done regular marathon training, Performance Project Marathon Training, Team Rogue marathon training, Trail Series with Joe, Iron Chicks, Iron Chicks II, 5k/10k class, Summer Running Program, Long Run Program, Program before the next Program Program, we've done it all. It's been fun and we've got soooo many more years to come.
Awesome run, and Lori... thanks for the shout out in the parking lot!! I think the security guard even heard your gift to me :)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Mail Goggles??
How funny is this?? I'm not going to lie, I got this off another blog and thought it was too funny to not share. Gmail has come up with a program to help eliminate late night emails!!!
From Google: "Google strives to make the world's information useful. Mail you send late night on the weekends may be useful but you may regret it the next morning. Solve some simple math problems and you're good to go. Otherwise, get a good night's sleep and try again in the morning. After enabling this feature, you can adjust the schedule in the "General" settings page.""
How's that for funny?? I can't talk, my ex-boyfriend and I got back together two weeks ago, YAY US! But it was definately not because of a late night email :)
From Google: "Google strives to make the world's information useful. Mail you send late night on the weekends may be useful but you may regret it the next morning. Solve some simple math problems and you're good to go. Otherwise, get a good night's sleep and try again in the morning. After enabling this feature, you can adjust the schedule in the "General" settings page.""
How's that for funny?? I can't talk, my ex-boyfriend and I got back together two weeks ago, YAY US! But it was definately not because of a late night email :)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Texas 10k with a Sidestitch Party!!!
Time: 6:15pm
Weather: Nice and cool
People: Team Rogue, PP, and Southie Keith
Workout: 1 miles warm up, 4x400w/100m jog, 400 recovery, 2x800m w/200m jog, 1x1600m and back up! All paces at 10k pace, which is a 7:54 for me!
Comments: I was a little nervous about this one. Dee had a conference call so I couldn't go off of her positive energy and I ate a cheeseburger yesterday so my diet got a little sidetracked. I couldn't resist the urge, but I'm back on! Warm up was nice. Josh decided to go the other way around, so I ran with him. I'm tired now, so I'm just going to post my times and call it a night. On the 2nd half of the workout I was plagued with side stitches. I've been getting them alot more frequently, not sure what causes them, but need to do some research, cause that could be a major mental block if it happens during the marathon. I spent the 2nd half stopping my watch and waiting for them to subside, but they never really went away.
1 mile warm up
400m/100m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 1:58 1:55 -.03
2) 1:58 1:54 -.04
3) 1:58 1:57 -.01
4) 1:58 1:56 -.02
400m recovery
800m/200m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 3:57 3:56 -.01
2) 3:57 3:56 -.01
No recovery
1600m Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 7:54 7:51 -.03
Water break
800m/200m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 3:57 3:58 +.01
2) 3:57 2:57 Messed up
No recovery
400m/100m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 1:58 1:58 Perfect!
2) 1:58 1:57 -.01
3) 1:58 1:57 -.01
4) 1:58 Whoops!
1 mile cool down
Weather: Nice and cool
People: Team Rogue, PP, and Southie Keith
Workout: 1 miles warm up, 4x400w/100m jog, 400 recovery, 2x800m w/200m jog, 1x1600m and back up! All paces at 10k pace, which is a 7:54 for me!
Comments: I was a little nervous about this one. Dee had a conference call so I couldn't go off of her positive energy and I ate a cheeseburger yesterday so my diet got a little sidetracked. I couldn't resist the urge, but I'm back on! Warm up was nice. Josh decided to go the other way around, so I ran with him. I'm tired now, so I'm just going to post my times and call it a night. On the 2nd half of the workout I was plagued with side stitches. I've been getting them alot more frequently, not sure what causes them, but need to do some research, cause that could be a major mental block if it happens during the marathon. I spent the 2nd half stopping my watch and waiting for them to subside, but they never really went away.
1 mile warm up
400m/100m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 1:58 1:55 -.03
2) 1:58 1:54 -.04
3) 1:58 1:57 -.01
4) 1:58 1:56 -.02
400m recovery
800m/200m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 3:57 3:56 -.01
2) 3:57 3:56 -.01
No recovery
1600m Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 7:54 7:51 -.03
Water break
800m/200m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 3:57 3:58 +.01
2) 3:57 2:57 Messed up
No recovery
400m/100m jog Projected Pace Actual Pace Difference
1) 1:58 1:58 Perfect!
2) 1:58 1:57 -.01
3) 1:58 1:57 -.01
4) 1:58 Whoops!
1 mile cool down
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Longhorn 70.3
Time: 7:00am - 5pmWeather: CHILLY, then HOT
People: Sabrina, Amber, Steve, a ton of new T3 friends (Dionne/Erin), Matt, Amy, Nemo... and a ton of others!
Workout: 4 miles easy and LOTS of cheering
Comments: What a fun day!! Dee and I had planned to go cheer and since Steve got there early to get ready, I picked up Ms. Thang on my way. We got there with about 10 minutes to find Steve and others.. and could only find Steve. We wished him well and he was on his way.
It's amazing to see all the shapes, sizes, colors, and ages that do these things. I usually get a little envious when I cheer, cause I want to be out there.. but not today! The thought of riding for 56 left me feeling just fine that I wasn't out there.
Dee and I had fun cheering. A guy was trying to hit on Dee and gave the "You look familiar, I think I know you.. did you grow up here??" line.. and I was giggling so hard, cause I was egging him on.. and this fool busts out with, "I'm in from Chicago." with the straightest of faces. Then she goes over and get a chair and manages to sit in the middle of... nothing. Please refer to pic.
Vendors had to drive around her, women were giving her the, "Oh no, she didn't!" look. It was funny. Oh, and yes.. I was sitting right next to her :)We had a great time, and it was awesome seeing everyone out there. We saw old running friends from previous Rogue groups, elites from other countries, new friends, old friends, and a mix of others. Good day.
Everyone in our small group that we were out there for PR'ed! Way to go to first time Half Iron'ers Nemo and Amber!! Way to go to Matt and Amy, is it time for a break yet?? Sabrina cut over 50 minutes off her Vineman time and it was awesome to be a part of it!!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Mt Bonnell who??
Time: 5:30am
Weather: perfect and cool
People: Team Rogue, but for the run just Dee and I
Workout: 22 easy
Comments: I was nervous about this run for some reason. I'm not sure if it was because my nutrition has changed over the past 2 weeks and I was anxious or because with each long run, we're that much closer to Sacramento. Dee was late, as usual and getting lost together seems to be a thing of normalcy with us. All I have to say about that is that I'm glad that the marathon course will be marked in California, cause we'd for sure get lost on roads we've never run as opposed to us always getting lost on the roads we've been running for 4+ years!!!
I've been pretty adamant about rolling and I'm finally seeing the results in my runs. I'm no longer having tight calf issues, although my heel pain is still there and it seems to be gradually getting worse, eek! The beginning was funny, cause we immediately went the wrong way. I had printed out the 24 mile route before Killer sent out the email saying we were only doing 22. I was tempted to go farther, I wanted to go farther, but I didn't. I figured this would be a stupid weekend to try the longer distances with the next Soul Buster on the horizon.
Before we knew it we had "billy goated" up Mt. Bonnell, Exposition, and Balcones. The pace felt awesome, we were running faster than we normally do, but it felt just fine. The intramural fields reminded me of trail running and the loop around the golf course was a nice change from the roads. I really miss trail running and can't wait to incorporate some more after Sacramento. I think this morning was one of a very few, if not only times I've run up Mt. Bonnell without slowing down or stopping. I think I've done it non-stop before, but I've never done it running full speed and not letting the pace slow, so I was super happy about that.
I always enjoy seeing the other runners. We borrowed some water from the Gazelles, and made sure it was offered before we took. We met three sisters that are training for New York. We met a small group of women on Hancock that Dee "saw a dog" before saying "Good Morning" to. We saw a rabbit/giant squirrel/donkey cross the street. We giggled more than once about goofy things. I got to do my fair shoutouts of "good jobs" to fellow runners, sitters, smokers, and workers :)
Good run... looking forward to the Soul Buster... and I'm super happy to report that if Dee and I would have kept the "easy" pace that we were running and continued it for the full 26.2, we would have both PR'ed with around a 4:27. That's crazy to think about. I talked to more than one person today that was in the same type of shock. A PR on an EASY run, that's unheard of. Team Rogue is working and we're all seeing the benefits.
Woo hoo!!
Now here's a shout out to all my peeps doing Longhorn tomorrow, go kick some ass!!!! Go Steve, Go Nemo, Go Amy, Go Sabrina, and Go Lil Amber!!!!
Weather: perfect and cool
People: Team Rogue, but for the run just Dee and I
Workout: 22 easy
Comments: I was nervous about this run for some reason. I'm not sure if it was because my nutrition has changed over the past 2 weeks and I was anxious or because with each long run, we're that much closer to Sacramento. Dee was late, as usual and getting lost together seems to be a thing of normalcy with us. All I have to say about that is that I'm glad that the marathon course will be marked in California, cause we'd for sure get lost on roads we've never run as opposed to us always getting lost on the roads we've been running for 4+ years!!!
I've been pretty adamant about rolling and I'm finally seeing the results in my runs. I'm no longer having tight calf issues, although my heel pain is still there and it seems to be gradually getting worse, eek! The beginning was funny, cause we immediately went the wrong way. I had printed out the 24 mile route before Killer sent out the email saying we were only doing 22. I was tempted to go farther, I wanted to go farther, but I didn't. I figured this would be a stupid weekend to try the longer distances with the next Soul Buster on the horizon.
Before we knew it we had "billy goated" up Mt. Bonnell, Exposition, and Balcones. The pace felt awesome, we were running faster than we normally do, but it felt just fine. The intramural fields reminded me of trail running and the loop around the golf course was a nice change from the roads. I really miss trail running and can't wait to incorporate some more after Sacramento. I think this morning was one of a very few, if not only times I've run up Mt. Bonnell without slowing down or stopping. I think I've done it non-stop before, but I've never done it running full speed and not letting the pace slow, so I was super happy about that.
I always enjoy seeing the other runners. We borrowed some water from the Gazelles, and made sure it was offered before we took. We met three sisters that are training for New York. We met a small group of women on Hancock that Dee "saw a dog" before saying "Good Morning" to. We saw a rabbit/giant squirrel/donkey cross the street. We giggled more than once about goofy things. I got to do my fair shoutouts of "good jobs" to fellow runners, sitters, smokers, and workers :)
Good run... looking forward to the Soul Buster... and I'm super happy to report that if Dee and I would have kept the "easy" pace that we were running and continued it for the full 26.2, we would have both PR'ed with around a 4:27. That's crazy to think about. I talked to more than one person today that was in the same type of shock. A PR on an EASY run, that's unheard of. Team Rogue is working and we're all seeing the benefits.
Woo hoo!!
Now here's a shout out to all my peeps doing Longhorn tomorrow, go kick some ass!!!! Go Steve, Go Nemo, Go Amy, Go Sabrina, and Go Lil Amber!!!!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Running Friends = Friends for Life
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Advanced Rehab, Anderson Lane
Weather: Kinda warm
Workout: 4-5 miles, easy
People: Blondie, BFDee, and Foho
Comments: I was looking forward to this run. P-lic was supposed to join us, but double booked herself by accident. It was her woman's birthday so she had a special dinner to cook. We got started on the run and it was all about catching up. I talk to Dee on a daily basis, but Blondie has been doing her own thing and just recently started getting back into it. I'm so proud of her, she's doing such a good job!
Blondie ran 6 yesterday and told us she would only run 3. We started off and immediately I forgot about the big glass of water I had before I left work and had to potty. We stopped for a potty break. We ran through our old neighborhoods. Two years ago, we trained religiously on these roads, because it was part of the Austin marathon course. We caught Blondie up on all the recent gossip. I filled her in on my new big news :) Blondie got us up to date with all her recent news and it was talky talky the whole way. Dee kept doing her, "Let's go this way..." and Blondie was oblivious to the distraction. At one point, we were going to turn around to go back to the grocery store to use the restroom and she convinced Blondie that it was shorter to run BACK than to go forward, hahaha!! She's sneaky.
We had a nice run.. I miss those runs where we just talk, talk, talk. I wish P-lic could have been there... and Nemo. 2.1 miles later.. Dee conned Blondie into running 5.1.
These crazy girls are girls that I know will be lifelong friends... another reason why I run. Where else will you find friends like this???
Run for my sanity
Time: 11:15pm
Weather: Perfect
People: Me
Workout: 4 easy
Comments: I couldn't wake up this morning in time to get the run in this morning, so I opted for the evening. I played poker with the guys. Out of 20 guys, I made it to 6th. Not bad, but it was mine own fault for a stupid play. I got home around 10pm and got hooked on my reality shows. I've got some personal things going on, and my mind has been racing the last few days. I needed to run to get some of the anxiety out. I went out and ended up doing 5.4 miles, nice and easy pace. I was running nice and slow because my mind was going ten million miles a minute. On the way back, I saw a guy running his dog. First thought was, "how nice, he's running his dog", then he turned behind me... which I guess it was instinct made me pick up the pace. Before I knew it I was 100% spooked and I swear he kept getting closer and closer. I made it home ok, but I need to not do this. It's not worth risking getting mugged or something. I had to run though. It's stupid of me to run this late, alone. Oh well, glad I'm safe at home.
Weather: Perfect
People: Me
Workout: 4 easy
Comments: I couldn't wake up this morning in time to get the run in this morning, so I opted for the evening. I played poker with the guys. Out of 20 guys, I made it to 6th. Not bad, but it was mine own fault for a stupid play. I got home around 10pm and got hooked on my reality shows. I've got some personal things going on, and my mind has been racing the last few days. I needed to run to get some of the anxiety out. I went out and ended up doing 5.4 miles, nice and easy pace. I was running nice and slow because my mind was going ten million miles a minute. On the way back, I saw a guy running his dog. First thought was, "how nice, he's running his dog", then he turned behind me... which I guess it was instinct made me pick up the pace. Before I knew it I was 100% spooked and I swear he kept getting closer and closer. I made it home ok, but I need to not do this. It's not worth risking getting mugged or something. I had to run though. It's stupid of me to run this late, alone. Oh well, glad I'm safe at home.
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