I woke up to a sleep deprived hangover this morning, like Mt. Everest had landed on top of me. I am not sure what happened last night around 8-9 PM but Dorian suddenly became this crazed, over-energized monkey, like he had gotten hold of coffee or an energy drink and he was just nuts. He didn't start "powering down" until around 1 AM. Then he had a few restless disturbances around 4:30, 5:20 and 6 AM.... but I felt like crap so I wasn't even considering a run this morning.
I had a jolt of panic when I got onto www.runningahead.com and checked the dailies thread in our group (Beginners & Beyond), I knew Eric (the site/tech/administrator/creator guy) was doing maintenance on the log part at 9 PM last night but when I saw that people were downloading their logs just in case, I went to check my training log and at first everything looked okay but then I realized the annual and total stats were gone!!! After much freaking out, I was told to just go and modify my last run, then save it and sure even my stats were back. It was an issue with the "ticker". If I had ran this morning, I never would've realized the issue because I would have gotten back, logged my run and saved it and everything would've been back to normal.
I am having problems downloading my log to my computer so I am making a note right here, right now on my most important stats.
As of 12/31/2015
2015 mileage: 1,673.5 miles
Total Mileage: 5,405.4 miles
Monday was a rest day, and Tuesday morning I went for a 8 mile run. It was 43 degrees with a feels like 39, weather forecast said 13 mph winds but my garmin says 7 mph W winds.... honestly I can't remember what it felt like. I ran the 8 miles in 1:16:24 with an average pace of 9:33 min/mile, elevation gain of 154 feet. I think I had to make a couple stops but can't remember.
Laps/splits:
Mile 1 - 10:00
Mile 2 - 9:46
Mile 3 - 9:29
Mile 4 - 9:36
Mile 5 - 9:47
Mile 6 - 9:18
Mile 7 - 9:24
Mile 8 - 9:02
With this run I was at 181.6 miles for December, all I needed was a total of 18.4 miles Wednesday and Thursday to make 200 for December. I decided I was going to aim for 12 miles Wednesday and then 6-7 miles Thursday.
Tuesday night DH stayed up ALL NIGHT watching youtube videos and then talking with his older boys so he didn't come to bed until 7 AM Wednesday morning. Suffice to say I didn't get my run in that morning, which was frustrating as I really wanted to make sure I got my 12 in and I prefer to get it over with first thing in the morning.
I managed to get out the door just after 4 PM, as I don't like running the streets in daylight due to the punks out there... especially during Christmas break.
It was 39 degrees with a feels like 35, 6 mph WNW winds and 70% humidity... but humidity doesn't really matter when it is below 50 degrees. Around mile 7.6 I had stopped for a moment and then when I started up again I forgot to hit resume on my garmin so that was about .2 miles not timed. I had to add that to my end mileage and the minute that it took to run that. I was going to trace my steps but the house on this road has an invisible fence.... for a German Shepherd, a very BIG German Shepherd, and normally these owners only find out that their fence is weak or dead when a poor passerby finds out the hard way... I hate invisible fences!
After that scare... I was back to getting it done.
I ended up running 12.3 miles in 1:54:59, or 12.1 in 1:52:59 if you don't count the extra .2 and the extra minute. An average pace of 9:14 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 250 feet and a loss of 257 feet.
Laps/splits:
Mile 1 - 9:33
Mile 2 - 9:26
Mile 3 - 9:09
Mile 4 - 9:15
Mile 5 - 9:17
Mile 6 - 9:10
Mile 7 - 9:16
Mile 8 - 10:18
Mile 9 - 9:10
Mile 10 - 9:11
Mile 11 - 9:18
Mile 12 - 9:11
.3 - 9:02
That run gave me 193.9 miles, now all I NEED today is 6.1 miles and I'll have my second 200 mile month this year... and ever :)
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
A Cutback Week and Updates on Planning for Craziness
2016 is going to be a crazy, tough year.... especially if business doesn't pick up and do much better than 2015... I'm actually stressing over everything and trying to figure up expenses to make sure that LBLM happens, the Mark Twain Endurance 50 happens, AND our wedding.
I'll explain that last part - when we got married in November 20, 2006 we just went downtown in front of a judge person and married that way, at that time there really wasn't any point to have a big wedding as my family hated the fact that I was marrying a man 20 years older than me. Now things are much smoother and we figured (okay, more like my husband figured... a wedding was never something I cared about... as I am a tomboy) it would be a great idea to have a real wedding on our 10th anniversary. I don't plan on making it big, reserving a place (a lodge or events center at Burdette park) will probably be the 2nd biggest spending part, as I am sure the dress will be the biggest.... I am so new to this that it is going to be stressful but hopefully my sisters can help me as they are already married and went through the whole craziness. I have no plans of hiring a planner, I can do this by myself :) I want a platinum or white gold dress. Since it will be in the Fall I'd like a Autumn color theme for the bridesmaids' dresses while the theme color is going to be silver and a frosted/shimmering orange. I am not going to be a dictator on the bridesmaid's dresses, just the colors but the girls can pick their top types (halter, tube top, sleeves, etc)... anyways....
So the Land Between the Lakes marathon is still a go, although with all this other stuff going on I am really debating on whether I just have someone drive down there with me (a nearly 2.5 hour drive) and then drive me back up as I know I won't be able to drive after this, because the total cost is around $525 for the 3 night stay at a lodging that allows dogs. That isn't so bad except I've also got the cabin in Missouri for September which that will total around $1,300 for 6 night stay (broken up into 3-4 payments). It is a really nice cabin too, worth the money and not too far from the Berryman Campgrounds, it looks about a 10 minute drive but unfortunately I don't have the address to the cabin yet. But finding it on google map, and doing a little messing with directions it is about 24-30 minutes from the campgrounds - win win win.
With all the holiday chaos, I decided to make last week a cutback week and I only ran 3 days and just took it easy over the weekend. Now it's back to the grindstone, with hopes of making December my 2nd 200 mile month... I've only got 2 more days to so.
I'll explain that last part - when we got married in November 20, 2006 we just went downtown in front of a judge person and married that way, at that time there really wasn't any point to have a big wedding as my family hated the fact that I was marrying a man 20 years older than me. Now things are much smoother and we figured (okay, more like my husband figured... a wedding was never something I cared about... as I am a tomboy) it would be a great idea to have a real wedding on our 10th anniversary. I don't plan on making it big, reserving a place (a lodge or events center at Burdette park) will probably be the 2nd biggest spending part, as I am sure the dress will be the biggest.... I am so new to this that it is going to be stressful but hopefully my sisters can help me as they are already married and went through the whole craziness. I have no plans of hiring a planner, I can do this by myself :) I want a platinum or white gold dress. Since it will be in the Fall I'd like a Autumn color theme for the bridesmaids' dresses while the theme color is going to be silver and a frosted/shimmering orange. I am not going to be a dictator on the bridesmaid's dresses, just the colors but the girls can pick their top types (halter, tube top, sleeves, etc)... anyways....
So the Land Between the Lakes marathon is still a go, although with all this other stuff going on I am really debating on whether I just have someone drive down there with me (a nearly 2.5 hour drive) and then drive me back up as I know I won't be able to drive after this, because the total cost is around $525 for the 3 night stay at a lodging that allows dogs. That isn't so bad except I've also got the cabin in Missouri for September which that will total around $1,300 for 6 night stay (broken up into 3-4 payments). It is a really nice cabin too, worth the money and not too far from the Berryman Campgrounds, it looks about a 10 minute drive but unfortunately I don't have the address to the cabin yet. But finding it on google map, and doing a little messing with directions it is about 24-30 minutes from the campgrounds - win win win.
With all the holiday chaos, I decided to make last week a cutback week and I only ran 3 days and just took it easy over the weekend. Now it's back to the grindstone, with hopes of making December my 2nd 200 mile month... I've only got 2 more days to so.
Monday, December 21, 2015
2016 LBLM Training Week 3 - The Long Run
I honestly didn't think it was going to happen, lately my phone has been jumping an hour ahead for no reason (it's a Samsung Galaxy Edge S6) and normally does it in the morning...... and likes to really do it around my alarms. So this morning when it was really 3:30, my phone said 4:30 and so my alarm went off. I hadn't planned to get up until 5 anyways but my alarm screwed me up, screwed up my morning. By the time I got up at 5:05, I was tired and again I was making up excuses not to get up and run dang it.
It was 36 degrees, and all was going okay... I used the bathroom before going but then had to stop at the gas station around 2.4 miles. I thought that was it and I was good to go, but nope... it was not.
This morning was really tough, not easy at all and it had everything to do with my stomach and whatever I ate yesterday. I won't go into details about the ugly parts, but what should have taken me a total of 3 hours from leaving the house to getting back ended up taking me 4 hours (getting far back enough in the woods, untying my pants' string, getting attacked by thorns and then trying to sneak back out onto the road).
But, in the end I got the 18 miles done even with all the negatives and my wishing I hadn't started this run. I just told myself to make it to mile 6 before thinking about the distance, then to mile 9 and tell myself I am halfway done and then to mile 12 and tell myself only 6 more miles or an hour.
I ran the 18 miles in 2:45:42 with an average pace of 9:12 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 530 feet and a loss of 526 feet.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 9:55
Mile 3 - 9:50
Mile 4 - 9:31
Mile 5 - 9:34
Mile 6 - 8:57
Mile 7 - 9:23
Mile 8 - 9:03
Mile 9 - 8:57
Mile 10 - 9:03
Mile 11 - 9:14
Mile 12 - 8:51
Mile 13 - 8:57
Mile 14 - 9:04
Mile 15 - 8:58
Mile 16 - 8:56
Mile 17 - 8:46
Mile 18: 8:20
Let me just repeat the finish time was 2:45:42, this past summer when I was trying to train for the 2016 Monumental I ran one 18 miler before it went to hell and I had ran it in 2:57:51, and in 2014 I ran a 2:55:17, a 3:03:28 and a 2:56:51 and a 3:01:01 which I think was my first ever 18 miler so I was pretty surprised to see that I've gotten faster... even with the stomach issues I had.
This was a tough week no doubt, and with my Piriformis thingy acting up I didn't think the long run was going to happen. I seriously need to get in to see massage therapist, I figured out that I've been dealing with Piriformis Syndrome all this year which is what caused issues with my Adductors and Hamstrings.
All in all, I got in 51.6 miles for week 3, not much more than last week but what is more important is that I got the 18 miler in Sunday.
It was 36 degrees, and all was going okay... I used the bathroom before going but then had to stop at the gas station around 2.4 miles. I thought that was it and I was good to go, but nope... it was not.
This morning was really tough, not easy at all and it had everything to do with my stomach and whatever I ate yesterday. I won't go into details about the ugly parts, but what should have taken me a total of 3 hours from leaving the house to getting back ended up taking me 4 hours (getting far back enough in the woods, untying my pants' string, getting attacked by thorns and then trying to sneak back out onto the road).
But, in the end I got the 18 miles done even with all the negatives and my wishing I hadn't started this run. I just told myself to make it to mile 6 before thinking about the distance, then to mile 9 and tell myself I am halfway done and then to mile 12 and tell myself only 6 more miles or an hour.
I ran the 18 miles in 2:45:42 with an average pace of 9:12 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 530 feet and a loss of 526 feet.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 9:55
Mile 3 - 9:50
Mile 4 - 9:31
Mile 5 - 9:34
Mile 6 - 8:57
Mile 7 - 9:23
Mile 8 - 9:03
Mile 9 - 8:57
Mile 10 - 9:03
Mile 11 - 9:14
Mile 12 - 8:51
Mile 13 - 8:57
Mile 14 - 9:04
Mile 15 - 8:58
Mile 16 - 8:56
Mile 17 - 8:46
Mile 18: 8:20
Let me just repeat the finish time was 2:45:42, this past summer when I was trying to train for the 2016 Monumental I ran one 18 miler before it went to hell and I had ran it in 2:57:51, and in 2014 I ran a 2:55:17, a 3:03:28 and a 2:56:51 and a 3:01:01 which I think was my first ever 18 miler so I was pretty surprised to see that I've gotten faster... even with the stomach issues I had.
This was a tough week no doubt, and with my Piriformis thingy acting up I didn't think the long run was going to happen. I seriously need to get in to see massage therapist, I figured out that I've been dealing with Piriformis Syndrome all this year which is what caused issues with my Adductors and Hamstrings.
All in all, I got in 51.6 miles for week 3, not much more than last week but what is more important is that I got the 18 miler in Sunday.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
2016 LBLM Week 3 - Part 1
This has been a rough week, not sure where to start but I think the only day that went the way I planned was Wednesday - my mid-week long run. But first lets start at the beginning. Monday was a rest day and Tuesday.... I can't remember what or why but I ended up having to run 4.1 miles in the afternoon with Dorian and another 4.2 that evening with the dogs on the trails. Somehow miraculously I was able to get up Wednesday morning and go run 10 miles on the roads by myself. I ran 10 miles in 1:34:47 with an average pace of 9:28 min/mile and an elevation gain of 205 feet. It was 41 degrees, no wind and no kids.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:24
Mile 2 - 9:56
Mile 3 - 9:33
Mile 4 - 9:29
Mile 5 - 9:39
Mile 6 - 9:21
Mile 7 - 9:29
Mile 8 - 9:09
Mile 9 - 8:58
Mile 10 - 8:47
Wednesday afternoon is when things went crazy, thanks to DH keeping me at work late, Dorian got a good 4 hour nap from 1 to 5 PM so even though we ended up going to bed at 10:30 PM he woke up at 3 AM and happily stayed awake until we headed to work Thursday morning - 9:30 AM. So yeah, I was able to take the dogs out on the trails that evening. We ran 6.3 miles in 1:05:37 with an average pace of 10:25 min/mile.
I didn't get home until 9:50 PM and probably didn't get to bed until 10:45 PM so I felt like dog $h*t Friday morning when I woke up. I chose not to get up run, I was freaking tired and justified it by saying 2 days of rest out of a 7 day period isn't going to kill me as long as I get my long run in Sunday.
Saturday went a little more smoothly, I woke up at 5 AM and get dressed - probably underdressed a little up top but I am sure I learned my lesson. The dogs and I headed to the trails, my Tahoe's thermostat said 27 when we got there but my garmin said 32.... it was freaking cold.
The original plan was 7 miles Friday and 5 Saturday but for some reason I thought Saturday was 8 miles so we ended up running 9 miles instead. I was happy to realize that I ran an extra 4 miles this morning.
We ran 9 miles in 1:30:26 and average pace of 10:03 min/mile. It was cold, and the dogs were cold but Jetta loved it.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:32
Mile 3 - 10:33
Mile 4 - 10:09
Mile 5 - 9:43
Mile 6 - 9:40
Mile 7 - 9:43
Mile 8 - 10:04
Mile 9 - 9:25
Now lets just hope and pray that I can pull 18 miles out of nowhere tomorrow morning.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:24
Mile 2 - 9:56
Mile 3 - 9:33
Mile 4 - 9:29
Mile 5 - 9:39
Mile 6 - 9:21
Mile 7 - 9:29
Mile 8 - 9:09
Mile 9 - 8:58
Mile 10 - 8:47
Wednesday afternoon is when things went crazy, thanks to DH keeping me at work late, Dorian got a good 4 hour nap from 1 to 5 PM so even though we ended up going to bed at 10:30 PM he woke up at 3 AM and happily stayed awake until we headed to work Thursday morning - 9:30 AM. So yeah, I was able to take the dogs out on the trails that evening. We ran 6.3 miles in 1:05:37 with an average pace of 10:25 min/mile.
I didn't get home until 9:50 PM and probably didn't get to bed until 10:45 PM so I felt like dog $h*t Friday morning when I woke up. I chose not to get up run, I was freaking tired and justified it by saying 2 days of rest out of a 7 day period isn't going to kill me as long as I get my long run in Sunday.
Saturday went a little more smoothly, I woke up at 5 AM and get dressed - probably underdressed a little up top but I am sure I learned my lesson. The dogs and I headed to the trails, my Tahoe's thermostat said 27 when we got there but my garmin said 32.... it was freaking cold.
The original plan was 7 miles Friday and 5 Saturday but for some reason I thought Saturday was 8 miles so we ended up running 9 miles instead. I was happy to realize that I ran an extra 4 miles this morning.
We ran 9 miles in 1:30:26 and average pace of 10:03 min/mile. It was cold, and the dogs were cold but Jetta loved it.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:32
Mile 3 - 10:33
Mile 4 - 10:09
Mile 5 - 9:43
Mile 6 - 9:40
Mile 7 - 9:43
Mile 8 - 10:04
Mile 9 - 9:25
Now lets just hope and pray that I can pull 18 miles out of nowhere tomorrow morning.
Monday, December 14, 2015
2016 LBLM Week 2 - Part II
I think I stopped at Thursday for part one of LBLM Week 2, so I will start with Friday. I decided not to add any extra runs this week, mainly because I figured jumping from 46 miles last week to 51 miles this week was sufficient enough and anything more might be stupid.
So on to Friday – I took the dogs to the trails and we ran 6.3 miles in 1:06:08 with an average pace of 10:30 min/mile, I was feeling relatively slow after Thursday’s 10.1 miles on the roads. It was also 54 degrees and 94% humid, not awful for me but Rocky was definitely suffering.
Saturday morning the K9’s and I hit the trails for 7 miles, I wanted 8 but didn’t get much sleep and it was 64 degrees and 88% humidity, yeah it sucked. Going from 30 something degrees to 60 something degrees in the same week can throw you off. The dogs also hated it, so I was not alone with this thought, we ran the 7 miles in 1:09:45 with an average pace 9:58 min/mile. I wanted to take Dorian for a little run later that day, but it was really windy so I chose not to.
Sunday – the 16 miler.
I think I debated on getting up that morning, trying to excuse myself and say I could run it that evening but as I looked at the forecast it was going to be windy as hell and warmer so when my alarm went off at 5:30 I forced myself out of bed. Saturday night I had decided that I would run the roads, leaving the dogs at home as I just knew Rocky would suffer tremendously if I took him out to run 16 miles in this surprise weather. Hell, I didn’t even want to go out but I told myself I have ran in much worse conditions.
It was 63 degrees, 72% humidity, unbelievably windy… and my Piriformis on my left side was acting up again, this was going to be a long morning.
I took an old route that I had used for my 2014 training when I needed to run 16 miles and I had never realized until that morning just how hilly this damn route was. My Piriformis was hating me, but strangely the miles just kept clicking by. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I reached 13 miles, because I knew then that I only had 3 miles to go and anybody can do 3 freaking miles.
I’ll admit, I stopped many times – to try and stretch, to debate on roads as I hadn’t looked at my route before going out so I didn’t quite remember from mile 11 and on. But I managed to overlap a few spots to make up for it (I hate overlapping by the way)
I ended up running 16.1 miles in 2:25:24 with an average pace of 9:02 min/mile, elevation gain of 453 feet and a loss of 459 feet.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 – 10:09
Mile 2 – 9:30
Mile 3 – 9:15
Mile 4 – 9:11
Mile 5 – 9:10
Mile 6 – 8:56
Mile 7 – 9:08
Mile 8 – 8:54
Mile 9 – 8:44
Mile 10 – 8:56
Mile 11 – 8:57
Mile 12 – 8:38
Mile 13 – 8:45
Mile 14 – 8:59
Mile 15 – 8:39
Mile 16 – 8:38
Mile 16.1 – 8:44
And then later that morning my son put my mp3 player in the dogs’ water bowl……… destroying it and the ear buds with it so I had to go on amazon and buy me another, hoping they get here before next Sunday as I do not want to run 18 miles by myself with nothing but the voices in my head.
Friday, December 11, 2015
I Just Registered.... For the Mark Twain Endurance 50
Sometimes I honestly don't know if have multiple personalities is a good thing or a bad thing, I can seriously say there are times when I can't even get a word in or have a say in any decision making....
I didn't think registration opened until sometime next year, but when I went to their facebook page and saw that they had a $10 off going on and registration was in fact open... I didn't even hesitate.... yep I am that freaking crazy, or stupid... or both. Here is proof.
I didn't think registration opened until sometime next year, but when I went to their facebook page and saw that they had a $10 off going on and registration was in fact open... I didn't even hesitate.... yep I am that freaking crazy, or stupid... or both. Here is proof.
There it is, the confirmation that I paid and signed up for the 2016 Mark Twain Endurance 50.
Now that I've got the registration done and over with, I need to just focus on the present - either keeping building a great base while casually training for the 2016 LBLM, while not being obsessed about it.
I am not going to try and think too much about it, as right now nothing is certain and things can turn bad real quick but I've at least signed up and have saved my place if all goes well.
If I am about to toe that start line, this will truly, inevitably be an adventure like no other (yet).
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Week Two - LBLM Training - the Last 3 Days
I've got to think of a better title for this training cycle, something short and punchy lol.
Anyways, so at the moment the plan is to have Monday as a rest day even if I really want to run out of fear I might miss another day. That might not be an issue this week or next week as we're going to be having really nice weather, so even if I miss a morning's run I can still make some of it up in the afternoon pushing Dorian in the stroller. Maybe, just maybe they'll be right about the not so bad/cold weather this winter and I can get all the running that I need in.
Anyways, to the last 3-4 days.
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - I took the dogs out on the trails that morning and we ran 7.4 miles in 1:12:19 with an average pace.
I also did some glute/butt exercises - 3 sets of 12 of something where you lay on your side, one leg on top of the other and lift the top leg. I did 3 sets for each leg.Then a few butt lift/bridge things for about 30 seconds each and 3 sets of 12 donkey kicks.
Wednesday - Not able to get up that morning, but I did manage to take Dorian out for a 4.3 mile run that afternoon so I moved my 10 miler to Thursday morning.
Thursday - I didn't get to sleep until midnight, so I was pretty tired and was starting to make excuses but I got up at 5 AM. I didn't know if I would have enough time to run 10 so I aimed for 8.
Around mile 6 I got a tag along that came out of her backyard. A young Golden Retriever, I even knocked on the door but nobody answered so she followed me for 2 miles before I stuck her in another yard - I've seen the older couple that live here and they have a small dog so I hoped that either they would let her out and she'd go home or they would take her. She had a collar on with address, but I didn't want to risk her crossing the busy road with me and getting hit.
I did manage to get in 10.1 miles, even with some stupid kid between mile 8 and 9 yelling "Run Forest, Run!"..... I hate middle school aged kids, and I would've yelled childishly "Run, Fatass, Run!!!" but my mouth was numb. And there were a few close calls with cars... as usual.
10.1 miles in 1:34:11 with an average pace of 9:20 min/mile, with 229 feet of elevation gain.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:01
Mile 2 - 9:44
Mile 3 - 9:28
Mile 4 - 9:26
Mile 5 - 9:20
Mile 6 - 9:25
Mile 7 - 9:13
Mile 8 - 9:01
Mile 9 - 8:55
Mile 10 - 8:46
.1 - 8:45
We'll see how the rest of the week goes.
Anyways, so at the moment the plan is to have Monday as a rest day even if I really want to run out of fear I might miss another day. That might not be an issue this week or next week as we're going to be having really nice weather, so even if I miss a morning's run I can still make some of it up in the afternoon pushing Dorian in the stroller. Maybe, just maybe they'll be right about the not so bad/cold weather this winter and I can get all the running that I need in.
Anyways, to the last 3-4 days.
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - I took the dogs out on the trails that morning and we ran 7.4 miles in 1:12:19 with an average pace.
I also did some glute/butt exercises - 3 sets of 12 of something where you lay on your side, one leg on top of the other and lift the top leg. I did 3 sets for each leg.Then a few butt lift/bridge things for about 30 seconds each and 3 sets of 12 donkey kicks.
Wednesday - Not able to get up that morning, but I did manage to take Dorian out for a 4.3 mile run that afternoon so I moved my 10 miler to Thursday morning.
Thursday - I didn't get to sleep until midnight, so I was pretty tired and was starting to make excuses but I got up at 5 AM. I didn't know if I would have enough time to run 10 so I aimed for 8.
Around mile 6 I got a tag along that came out of her backyard. A young Golden Retriever, I even knocked on the door but nobody answered so she followed me for 2 miles before I stuck her in another yard - I've seen the older couple that live here and they have a small dog so I hoped that either they would let her out and she'd go home or they would take her. She had a collar on with address, but I didn't want to risk her crossing the busy road with me and getting hit.
I did manage to get in 10.1 miles, even with some stupid kid between mile 8 and 9 yelling "Run Forest, Run!"..... I hate middle school aged kids, and I would've yelled childishly "Run, Fatass, Run!!!" but my mouth was numb. And there were a few close calls with cars... as usual.
10.1 miles in 1:34:11 with an average pace of 9:20 min/mile, with 229 feet of elevation gain.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:01
Mile 2 - 9:44
Mile 3 - 9:28
Mile 4 - 9:26
Mile 5 - 9:20
Mile 6 - 9:25
Mile 7 - 9:13
Mile 8 - 9:01
Mile 9 - 8:55
Mile 10 - 8:46
.1 - 8:45
We'll see how the rest of the week goes.
Monday, December 7, 2015
2016 LBLM - and So it Begins.... Began
So as of December 1, my training cycle for the Land Between the Lakes Marathon has begun. This isn't going to be an obsessive training cycle, I am not going to get my hopes up and get all excited but I will plan for it to some degree and train nonetheless. Right now nothing in the future is certain and so as much as my OCD hates it, I can't really plan too far ahead.
To kick off the first training week - I ran a total of 46.6 miles with a 15 mile long run on the trails last night with the doggies. It wasn't bad, though 54 degrees and a bit humid - tough on the dogs toward the end but they handled it very well. I used a 18 oz bottle with some perpetuem in it, testing how I would handle it for much longer runs - other than still working on the amount for 18 oz it wasn't bad.... I could've used 3-4 more scoops of it. I have the Dream Cicle flavor.
I have a training plan on RA but I am not going to stress over it, I am going to do my best to get the mileage in and get my long runs in while trying to stay flexible... even if that means doing a lot of runs at night if I have to - even my long runs.
I hope to get at least three 20 mile long runs in, and four or five 18 milers in, but we will see. I am also going to try and focus on making my Saturday run just before the long run half the distance of the long run, building the endurance and stamina by wearing my legs out.
We will see how things go :)
To kick off the first training week - I ran a total of 46.6 miles with a 15 mile long run on the trails last night with the doggies. It wasn't bad, though 54 degrees and a bit humid - tough on the dogs toward the end but they handled it very well. I used a 18 oz bottle with some perpetuem in it, testing how I would handle it for much longer runs - other than still working on the amount for 18 oz it wasn't bad.... I could've used 3-4 more scoops of it. I have the Dream Cicle flavor.
I have a training plan on RA but I am not going to stress over it, I am going to do my best to get the mileage in and get my long runs in while trying to stay flexible... even if that means doing a lot of runs at night if I have to - even my long runs.
I hope to get at least three 20 mile long runs in, and four or five 18 milers in, but we will see. I am also going to try and focus on making my Saturday run just before the long run half the distance of the long run, building the endurance and stamina by wearing my legs out.
We will see how things go :)
Monday, November 16, 2015
Second Week of November
Unfortunately I didn't reach 50 miles for the week, I only managed 47.2 miles but that still put me at 100.5 miles halfway through November. Last week was tough because I decided to take Monday as a rest day assuming I'd get my runs in the rest of the week. Well, Thursday was ruined because our cat woke Dorian up and then Friday was ruined because Dorian was just restless and having bad dreams so I ended up running 7.1 miles that night.
Saturday I didn't get up early, DH has been working really hard on putting the walls up at the shop and it is really kicking his butt. There's was no way I could've kept up on my weight lifting and running for the last 2 months and him not really suffer from it. Maybe, just maybe once he is done with the walls and a lot of this hard, back-breaking labor and has a few days or a couple weeks of good sleep and not being worn out all the time, maybe then I can get back to the gym again. Not as obsessively as I was of course, because hopefully by that point I'll be preparing to run the LBLM and then preparing to train for my first 50 mile race (or 50k, depending on my training).
Anyways, so Friday I ran 7.1 miles that night and then Saturday I took Dorian out for a 5 mile run which I ran in 47:06 with an average pace of 9:25 min/mile, it's so weird that those paces feel like some effort by myself but when I run with the stroller it doesn't feel all that hard. I was hoping to get in another 4-5 miles later that night but DH didn't get home until 9 PM. Sunday was looking tough.
Sunday around noon I took Dorian for another run, hoping I could get in 5 miles while trying to take it easy and slow as I really wanted to hit the trails that night with the dogs to get in 9-12 miles. Those 5 miles ended up being pretty fast, even with the hills and I still really didn't feel like I was giving a huge amount of effort.
My splits looked like this:
Mile 1 - 9:35
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 9:06
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 9:16
The last 2 miles were slower than I wanted (but where I should've been) due to all the Sunday family walkers that like to take up the whole pathway and then other runners/walkers/cyclists coming from the other direction. It is a bit annoying to say the least but I ran those 5 miles in 46:06 with an average pace of 9:13 min/mile.
DH ended up coming home around 5:30 PM, after I got his and Dorian's dinner done me and the dogs were out the door and headed for the trails. I learned a lesson that night - don't eat whiskey fudge before a run.... on trails.... at night.... luckily I didn't trip but the first 2 miles were very tricky and I was sure that I was going to break something. Even after running 5 fast miles earlier that day, I ended running some of my fastest trail training splits....
I did choose to run only 9.1 miles as that would total 14.1 miles for the day and I just didn't think it was a good idea to add another 3 miles and end up with 17 miles as my longest run in the last few months was just 2 weeks ago and that was only 13 miles.
We ran 9.1 miles in 1:32:13 with an average pace of 10:08 min/mile, and spooked quite a few deer that were already laying down for the night.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:12
Mile 3 - 10:05
Mile 4 - 10:08
Mile 5 - 10:24
Mile 6 - 9:52
Mile 7 - 9:53
Mile 8 - 10:14
Mile 9 - 9:57
.1 - 8:49
This week is going to be pretty raining Monday through Wednesday, so far Monday turned into a no run day as Dorian was restless from 4:30 AM to daylight. If I can get out tomorrow morning, even in rain I am going to do it dang it.
Saturday I didn't get up early, DH has been working really hard on putting the walls up at the shop and it is really kicking his butt. There's was no way I could've kept up on my weight lifting and running for the last 2 months and him not really suffer from it. Maybe, just maybe once he is done with the walls and a lot of this hard, back-breaking labor and has a few days or a couple weeks of good sleep and not being worn out all the time, maybe then I can get back to the gym again. Not as obsessively as I was of course, because hopefully by that point I'll be preparing to run the LBLM and then preparing to train for my first 50 mile race (or 50k, depending on my training).
Anyways, so Friday I ran 7.1 miles that night and then Saturday I took Dorian out for a 5 mile run which I ran in 47:06 with an average pace of 9:25 min/mile, it's so weird that those paces feel like some effort by myself but when I run with the stroller it doesn't feel all that hard. I was hoping to get in another 4-5 miles later that night but DH didn't get home until 9 PM. Sunday was looking tough.
Sunday around noon I took Dorian for another run, hoping I could get in 5 miles while trying to take it easy and slow as I really wanted to hit the trails that night with the dogs to get in 9-12 miles. Those 5 miles ended up being pretty fast, even with the hills and I still really didn't feel like I was giving a huge amount of effort.
My splits looked like this:
Mile 1 - 9:35
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 9:06
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 9:16
The last 2 miles were slower than I wanted (but where I should've been) due to all the Sunday family walkers that like to take up the whole pathway and then other runners/walkers/cyclists coming from the other direction. It is a bit annoying to say the least but I ran those 5 miles in 46:06 with an average pace of 9:13 min/mile.
DH ended up coming home around 5:30 PM, after I got his and Dorian's dinner done me and the dogs were out the door and headed for the trails. I learned a lesson that night - don't eat whiskey fudge before a run.... on trails.... at night.... luckily I didn't trip but the first 2 miles were very tricky and I was sure that I was going to break something. Even after running 5 fast miles earlier that day, I ended running some of my fastest trail training splits....
I did choose to run only 9.1 miles as that would total 14.1 miles for the day and I just didn't think it was a good idea to add another 3 miles and end up with 17 miles as my longest run in the last few months was just 2 weeks ago and that was only 13 miles.
We ran 9.1 miles in 1:32:13 with an average pace of 10:08 min/mile, and spooked quite a few deer that were already laying down for the night.
Splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:12
Mile 3 - 10:05
Mile 4 - 10:08
Mile 5 - 10:24
Mile 6 - 9:52
Mile 7 - 9:53
Mile 8 - 10:14
Mile 9 - 9:57
.1 - 8:49
This week is going to be pretty raining Monday through Wednesday, so far Monday turned into a no run day as Dorian was restless from 4:30 AM to daylight. If I can get out tomorrow morning, even in rain I am going to do it dang it.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Thursday, Friday and a Trail Race
I feel like I should wait until after tomorrow's run before posting this week's final blog. But what the heck, right?
So far this week, with the trail 5k race this morning I have ran 40.8 miles and I am feeling well enough for maybe another 3 mile run later today with Dorian and possibly a 5-6 mile run tomorrow with the dogs out on the Angel Mounds trails.
Thursday morning I ran 6.3 miles in 1:00:25 with an average pace of 9:36 min/mile. And then another 4 miles in 38:53 with an average pace of 9:43 min/mile later that evening with Dorian.
Friday evening I took Dorian to John James Audubon Park for a 1.8 mile run/hike , I was so glad I took a flashlight with us as it got pretty dark real fast.
So let's get to the Columbia Hilly Chilly Trail 5k this morning, man was it brutal as hell. I saw quite a few ladies that made me question whether I could place well or not. Luckily they had two waves - those competing and expecting a pace 9 min/mile and faster, and the 2nd being those 10 min/mile and slower or not competing, and then the walkers.
Since I had never pushed myself hard on these trails, I decided to place myself near the back of the first wave of runners. Within the first .25 miles was the largest of the hills, the first .5 miles was on a paved road before we hit the single track trails.
The first mile was good and without any running with a pace of 9:46 min/mile, from that point on the final 2 miles were tough as heck. I think they were that hard because I was pushing myself so much, I only hiked 2-3 times on really tough spots.
My garmin finished me at 2.8 miles, just short of what their race course states so I'll go with their GPS lol, I finished at 30:26 with an average pace of 9:50 min/mile. Strangely my garmin says elevation gain of only 411 feet, though it wasn't on my usual route so who knows.
Now for my results:
Time: 30:26 - Average pace of 9:50 min/mile
Overall Place: 28/133
Female Overall: 5th/75
AG Place: 1st/10
So far this week, with the trail 5k race this morning I have ran 40.8 miles and I am feeling well enough for maybe another 3 mile run later today with Dorian and possibly a 5-6 mile run tomorrow with the dogs out on the Angel Mounds trails.
Thursday morning I ran 6.3 miles in 1:00:25 with an average pace of 9:36 min/mile. And then another 4 miles in 38:53 with an average pace of 9:43 min/mile later that evening with Dorian.
Friday evening I took Dorian to John James Audubon Park for a 1.8 mile run/hike , I was so glad I took a flashlight with us as it got pretty dark real fast.
So let's get to the Columbia Hilly Chilly Trail 5k this morning, man was it brutal as hell. I saw quite a few ladies that made me question whether I could place well or not. Luckily they had two waves - those competing and expecting a pace 9 min/mile and faster, and the 2nd being those 10 min/mile and slower or not competing, and then the walkers.
Since I had never pushed myself hard on these trails, I decided to place myself near the back of the first wave of runners. Within the first .25 miles was the largest of the hills, the first .5 miles was on a paved road before we hit the single track trails.
The first mile was good and without any running with a pace of 9:46 min/mile, from that point on the final 2 miles were tough as heck. I think they were that hard because I was pushing myself so much, I only hiked 2-3 times on really tough spots.
My garmin finished me at 2.8 miles, just short of what their race course states so I'll go with their GPS lol, I finished at 30:26 with an average pace of 9:50 min/mile. Strangely my garmin says elevation gain of only 411 feet, though it wasn't on my usual route so who knows.
Now for my results:
Time: 30:26 - Average pace of 9:50 min/mile
Overall Place: 28/133
Female Overall: 5th/75
AG Place: 1st/10
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
This Week, and Reaching Another Milestone
First off, the milestone was actually reached early last week... about 51.3 miles ago. Without my knowing because I was so focused on reaching 200 miles for October, I didn't realize that I had finally reached 5,000 miles since I first began logging my runs (2010 at some point). As of today I am currently at 5,051.3 miles and 1,319.4 miles for 2015... wonder if I can reach 1,500 by the end of 2015.
Anyways, yep so that is a cool milestone. This week I've got another trail race, on Saturday and at John James Audubon State Park.. in other words it's going to be really tough. I've checked last year's finish times for the top women at the fastest one was 27:16, and the fastest chick in my AG was around 30 minutes - those trails aren't easy and I've never pushed myself hard on those trails so we'll see where I place.
So far I've ran 27.4 miles this week with hopes that I can get past 40 even with the race. I ran 7.3 miles Monday morning on the roads in 1:10:12 with an average pace of 9:37 min/mile, then Tuesday morning I took the dogs out on the Angel Mounds trails for 6 miles - finishing in 1:04:25 with an average pace of 10:44 min/mile. Tuesday evening I took Dorian out on the Newburgh riverfront for 4.1 miles in 39:15 with an average pace of 9:35 min/mile. This morning I hit the roads for 10 miles, it was 54 degrees and 94% humidity... it was muggy but still better than 70+ degrees and that same level of humidity. I ran the 10 miles in 1:34:48 with an average pace of 9:29 min/mile.
I've got a massage appointment tonight but hopefully it won't leave me too sore to run 6-7 miles tomorrow morning and maybe another 3-4 miles in the evening as I would really prefer to take Friday completely off to rest and maybe not run on Sunday if possible as I am sure I will be hurting lol.
Anyways, yep so that is a cool milestone. This week I've got another trail race, on Saturday and at John James Audubon State Park.. in other words it's going to be really tough. I've checked last year's finish times for the top women at the fastest one was 27:16, and the fastest chick in my AG was around 30 minutes - those trails aren't easy and I've never pushed myself hard on those trails so we'll see where I place.
So far I've ran 27.4 miles this week with hopes that I can get past 40 even with the race. I ran 7.3 miles Monday morning on the roads in 1:10:12 with an average pace of 9:37 min/mile, then Tuesday morning I took the dogs out on the Angel Mounds trails for 6 miles - finishing in 1:04:25 with an average pace of 10:44 min/mile. Tuesday evening I took Dorian out on the Newburgh riverfront for 4.1 miles in 39:15 with an average pace of 9:35 min/mile. This morning I hit the roads for 10 miles, it was 54 degrees and 94% humidity... it was muggy but still better than 70+ degrees and that same level of humidity. I ran the 10 miles in 1:34:48 with an average pace of 9:29 min/mile.
I've got a massage appointment tonight but hopefully it won't leave me too sore to run 6-7 miles tomorrow morning and maybe another 3-4 miles in the evening as I would really prefer to take Friday completely off to rest and maybe not run on Sunday if possible as I am sure I will be hurting lol.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Tougher Than Last Week
This week ain't over yet, I've still got Sunday tomorrow but let's focus on the last few days since Monday. Somehow this week has been a lot tougher than last week and I somehow managed to get 50 miles without pissing off my hubby. This week I struggled through, not getting up in the morning to run so I would run in the evening which felt like I was trashing my legs on the trails. It was just a really hard week to get through, and maybe partially because my mind was constantly on reaching 200 miles this month.
I'm not really going to focus on the runs as far as laps/splits, just what I ran when.
Monday - 6 miles with Dorian in the evening
Tuesday - 6 miles on the trails with the dogs (morning)
Wednesday - 6 miles on the trails with the dogs (night)
Thursday - 4.3 miles on the trails with the dogs (night)
Friday - Full Moon Fever Trail 5k
Now for the race, it was at night and part of a series that I wasn't apart of until this race because over the last 5 months I had been training for a marathon that ended up not happening. So I registered for this race last week or the week before, figured I'd get a little competitive even though I loathe 5k's.
In short, I ran the 5k in 24:47 with an average pace of 8:00 min/mile, winning 1st place in my AG (20-29) and 2nd place overall female.
At this point I had a total of 25.4 miles and 186.2 for October, I needed at least 14 miles to reach my goal.... which would have been less had I not been so lazy and slacked during the mornings. And I wasn't sure what time Cameron would get home Saturday night, so I broke our deal (Saturday mornings he gets to sleep in) and was out the door with the dogs by 5:42 AM.
As soon as we got on the trails I realized just how sore and tired my legs were from Friday night's race.... I really didn't see 14 happening and that pissed me off. I kept going, even though I felt like crap and was struggling. In short by mile 6.3 we were headed to the Tahoe to drop my headlamp and hydration pack off (it was aggravating me, and I really didn't feel the need for it), that is when Cameron called. Of course my phone was in my hydration pack so I couldn't answer, once at the Tahoe I tried to call him back but he didn't answer. We headed home at that point, I was nervous that he was pissed off. We managed to run 6.3 miles in 1:06:09 with an average pace of 10:30 min/mile.
Lap/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:03
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 10:20
Mile 4 - 10:14
Mile 5 - 10:40
Mile 6 - 10:14
.3 - 9:34
Sure enough, he wasn't happy although he didn't show it for the first 15 minutes. Dorian woke him up at 6 AM, and then had a really poopy diaper, and kept him awake. We got home at like 7:40 AM, let's just say it wasn't a pleasant morning. I felt bad, yes I did... but I was more aggravated that Dorian does this, when the heck is he going to either stay asleep or figure out that he can go into the living room and turn on the Roku (netflix or amazon) and watch his letters/number movies without waking Daddy???? Or even just play in his room, if he would just stop waking up while I am gone, or be quiet when awake, this wouldn't be an issue. I mean, I am pretty sure that it's going to be another year or 2 before he is able to run with me dang it.
I still needed 7.5 miles, and it was going to have to involve Dorian in his stroller, this wasn't going to be easy. After grocery shopping and deal with a garage door being jammed (and my freaking out about it), I finally changed my clothes and we headed out to the Newburgh riverfront.
At first it didn't feel awful, but I could soon feel how tired my legs were.... this was going to be a tough run..... could I make it 7.5 miles and reach my goal of 200 miles for October? The temperature was 63 degrees, and 10 mph SSW winds, and 55% humidity. Dorian had fallen asleep on the way there and pretty much stayed asleep for the first 45 minutes... maybe an hour.
I drank all of my fluid from my 21 oz bottle, a first for me. I probably stopped and paused and gained what bearings I could each mile and sometimes half a mile. But after many stops and pushing myself and reminding myself why I was out there, I reached 7.5 miles in 1:11:40 with an average pace of 9:34 min/mile and with that I had reached 200 miles for October!!!!
With an elevation gain of 255 feet and a loss of 286 feet, I had struggled and fought for this modest goal, and this week was an extremely tough week.... if only I could repeat last week over and over again.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 9:29
Mile 3 - 9:26
Mile 4 - 9:34
Mile 5 - 9:22
Mile 6 - 9:27
Mile 7 - 9:29
.5 - 9:03
And with that, I've got 39.2 miles this week.. so if I am feeling well enough this afternoon I will try for 4-6 miles just so I can get over 40 miles.
I'm not really going to focus on the runs as far as laps/splits, just what I ran when.
Monday - 6 miles with Dorian in the evening
Tuesday - 6 miles on the trails with the dogs (morning)
Wednesday - 6 miles on the trails with the dogs (night)
Thursday - 4.3 miles on the trails with the dogs (night)
Friday - Full Moon Fever Trail 5k
Now for the race, it was at night and part of a series that I wasn't apart of until this race because over the last 5 months I had been training for a marathon that ended up not happening. So I registered for this race last week or the week before, figured I'd get a little competitive even though I loathe 5k's.
In short, I ran the 5k in 24:47 with an average pace of 8:00 min/mile, winning 1st place in my AG (20-29) and 2nd place overall female.
At this point I had a total of 25.4 miles and 186.2 for October, I needed at least 14 miles to reach my goal.... which would have been less had I not been so lazy and slacked during the mornings. And I wasn't sure what time Cameron would get home Saturday night, so I broke our deal (Saturday mornings he gets to sleep in) and was out the door with the dogs by 5:42 AM.
As soon as we got on the trails I realized just how sore and tired my legs were from Friday night's race.... I really didn't see 14 happening and that pissed me off. I kept going, even though I felt like crap and was struggling. In short by mile 6.3 we were headed to the Tahoe to drop my headlamp and hydration pack off (it was aggravating me, and I really didn't feel the need for it), that is when Cameron called. Of course my phone was in my hydration pack so I couldn't answer, once at the Tahoe I tried to call him back but he didn't answer. We headed home at that point, I was nervous that he was pissed off. We managed to run 6.3 miles in 1:06:09 with an average pace of 10:30 min/mile.
Lap/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:03
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 10:20
Mile 4 - 10:14
Mile 5 - 10:40
Mile 6 - 10:14
.3 - 9:34
Sure enough, he wasn't happy although he didn't show it for the first 15 minutes. Dorian woke him up at 6 AM, and then had a really poopy diaper, and kept him awake. We got home at like 7:40 AM, let's just say it wasn't a pleasant morning. I felt bad, yes I did... but I was more aggravated that Dorian does this, when the heck is he going to either stay asleep or figure out that he can go into the living room and turn on the Roku (netflix or amazon) and watch his letters/number movies without waking Daddy???? Or even just play in his room, if he would just stop waking up while I am gone, or be quiet when awake, this wouldn't be an issue. I mean, I am pretty sure that it's going to be another year or 2 before he is able to run with me dang it.
I still needed 7.5 miles, and it was going to have to involve Dorian in his stroller, this wasn't going to be easy. After grocery shopping and deal with a garage door being jammed (and my freaking out about it), I finally changed my clothes and we headed out to the Newburgh riverfront.
At first it didn't feel awful, but I could soon feel how tired my legs were.... this was going to be a tough run..... could I make it 7.5 miles and reach my goal of 200 miles for October? The temperature was 63 degrees, and 10 mph SSW winds, and 55% humidity. Dorian had fallen asleep on the way there and pretty much stayed asleep for the first 45 minutes... maybe an hour.
I drank all of my fluid from my 21 oz bottle, a first for me. I probably stopped and paused and gained what bearings I could each mile and sometimes half a mile. But after many stops and pushing myself and reminding myself why I was out there, I reached 7.5 miles in 1:11:40 with an average pace of 9:34 min/mile and with that I had reached 200 miles for October!!!!
With an elevation gain of 255 feet and a loss of 286 feet, I had struggled and fought for this modest goal, and this week was an extremely tough week.... if only I could repeat last week over and over again.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 9:29
Mile 3 - 9:26
Mile 4 - 9:34
Mile 5 - 9:22
Mile 6 - 9:27
Mile 7 - 9:29
.5 - 9:03
And with that, I've got 39.2 miles this week.. so if I am feeling well enough this afternoon I will try for 4-6 miles just so I can get over 40 miles.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
A Fifty Mile Week!!!!!
I am excited (and Happy, and Blessed) to say that for the first time this year I have logged a (Mon-Sun) 50 mile week!! I mean I've seen my log stating that I've ran 52, 54 and 56 miles in the last 7 days throughout this week but to actually have logged it successfully is another matter.
Monday I ran 4.1 miles with Dorian later in the evening, then Tuesday morning I ran 6.2 miles in 59:23 with an average pace of 9:34 min/mile. Wednesday morning I ran 10.2 miles out on the roads in 1:36:10 with an average pace of 9:26 min/mile. Thursday morning I ran another 6.2 miles in 59:21 with an average pace of 9:34 min/mile. Friday morning I ran 6.3 miles in 1:00:36 with an average pace of 9:37 min/mile, Friday evening I was able to take the dogs out on the trails for another 4 miles (it was still 75 degrees, the dogs didn't need to go much longer than 4 miles), running that in 43:02 with an average pace of 10:45 min/mile. At this point I had a total of 37 miles for the week, and I knew that I could either run 8 miles over the weekend to get 45 miles, 11 miles to get 47 or go for 13 miles to get 50.... it all depended on the weather and all other things.
It almost didn't look like it was going to happen at all, I didn't get any sleep Friday night and then DH didn't get home until 9 PM last night so all I did was take Dorian for a 2 mile hike at Audubon. I had made up my mind that I was going to get up early Sunday morning and take the dogs to the trails, hoping the bit of rain we got didn't mess the trails up yet. Dorian had fell asleep at 8 PM, then woke up at 11 something upset and crying, thankfully he willingly took some ibuprofen (he seemed to be in pain, headache or growing pains.. not sure). I still thought for sure that the run wasn't going to happen, but he fell back to sleep and slept pretty much the rest of the night. I was up by 5:04 AM and got ready, hoping and praying Dorian would stay asleep while I was gone.
We got to the trails at 6 AM, it was 54 degrees out, and since it was still relatively dark we were the only ones out there (for now). We started off, it was nice and I was feeling great. I had a 12 oz amphipod handheld bottle/flask with me and had to carry my cell phone (just in case). The first 5-6 miles we were completely alone and at this point it was becoming more light out and I stopped by the Tahoe to toss my headlamp into it and eat a Tri-berry gu. We started back out again, around mile 8 we ran into a woman with 3 dogs (two little ones, and the 3rd a pitty mix who Rocky has met and played with many times) then somewhere between mile 9 and 10 we passed a fellow runner. I knew it was getting busier, and we'd have to get done soon or it would take us forever to finish the final 3 miles. Just before mile 11 we saw another guy with 3 dogs, apparently he was another runner too. Right at mile 11 we ran into the lady with the other 3 dogs again, after that I don't think we ran into anybody else.
We ran 13 miles in 2:15:44 with an average pace of 10:26 min/mile, I didn't fuel too well before this run and I felt it about 2 hours into this.
Mile 1 - 11:24
Mile 2 - 10:52
Mile 3 - 10:39
Mile 4 - 10:13
Mile 5 - 10:19
Mile 6 - 10:29
Mile 7 - 10:19
Mile 8 - 10:03
Mile 9 - 10:20
Mile 10 - 10:10
Mile 11 - 10:16
Mile 12 - 10:41
Mile 13 - 9:57
It wasn't easy, but we got it done and I managed to reach 50 miles this week, I feel strong (sore right now) and great but I am not going to push it. Looking at my monthly mileage, I am currently at 160.8... if I was to aim for 40 miles or 39.2 miles next week, I could actually reach a really big goal I've been wanting for a while - 200 miles in one month, and that would be awesome. But I am not going to sweat it, my highest this year was 170 (August) and I've got a 5k race Friday night so my minimal plan is this:
Monday - maybe 3-4 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - 10 miles
Thursday - 6 miles
Friday - 6-7 miles in the AM, and then the 3.1 miles
Saturday - 5 miles if I am feeling it
That alone should easily give me 40 miles for the week, but again I am not going to fret or worry if I don't reach it, I am just happy that things are going so well and hope that I can keep this up.
Monday I ran 4.1 miles with Dorian later in the evening, then Tuesday morning I ran 6.2 miles in 59:23 with an average pace of 9:34 min/mile. Wednesday morning I ran 10.2 miles out on the roads in 1:36:10 with an average pace of 9:26 min/mile. Thursday morning I ran another 6.2 miles in 59:21 with an average pace of 9:34 min/mile. Friday morning I ran 6.3 miles in 1:00:36 with an average pace of 9:37 min/mile, Friday evening I was able to take the dogs out on the trails for another 4 miles (it was still 75 degrees, the dogs didn't need to go much longer than 4 miles), running that in 43:02 with an average pace of 10:45 min/mile. At this point I had a total of 37 miles for the week, and I knew that I could either run 8 miles over the weekend to get 45 miles, 11 miles to get 47 or go for 13 miles to get 50.... it all depended on the weather and all other things.
It almost didn't look like it was going to happen at all, I didn't get any sleep Friday night and then DH didn't get home until 9 PM last night so all I did was take Dorian for a 2 mile hike at Audubon. I had made up my mind that I was going to get up early Sunday morning and take the dogs to the trails, hoping the bit of rain we got didn't mess the trails up yet. Dorian had fell asleep at 8 PM, then woke up at 11 something upset and crying, thankfully he willingly took some ibuprofen (he seemed to be in pain, headache or growing pains.. not sure). I still thought for sure that the run wasn't going to happen, but he fell back to sleep and slept pretty much the rest of the night. I was up by 5:04 AM and got ready, hoping and praying Dorian would stay asleep while I was gone.
We got to the trails at 6 AM, it was 54 degrees out, and since it was still relatively dark we were the only ones out there (for now). We started off, it was nice and I was feeling great. I had a 12 oz amphipod handheld bottle/flask with me and had to carry my cell phone (just in case). The first 5-6 miles we were completely alone and at this point it was becoming more light out and I stopped by the Tahoe to toss my headlamp into it and eat a Tri-berry gu. We started back out again, around mile 8 we ran into a woman with 3 dogs (two little ones, and the 3rd a pitty mix who Rocky has met and played with many times) then somewhere between mile 9 and 10 we passed a fellow runner. I knew it was getting busier, and we'd have to get done soon or it would take us forever to finish the final 3 miles. Just before mile 11 we saw another guy with 3 dogs, apparently he was another runner too. Right at mile 11 we ran into the lady with the other 3 dogs again, after that I don't think we ran into anybody else.
We ran 13 miles in 2:15:44 with an average pace of 10:26 min/mile, I didn't fuel too well before this run and I felt it about 2 hours into this.
Mile 1 - 11:24
Mile 2 - 10:52
Mile 3 - 10:39
Mile 4 - 10:13
Mile 5 - 10:19
Mile 6 - 10:29
Mile 7 - 10:19
Mile 8 - 10:03
Mile 9 - 10:20
Mile 10 - 10:10
Mile 11 - 10:16
Mile 12 - 10:41
Mile 13 - 9:57
It wasn't easy, but we got it done and I managed to reach 50 miles this week, I feel strong (sore right now) and great but I am not going to push it. Looking at my monthly mileage, I am currently at 160.8... if I was to aim for 40 miles or 39.2 miles next week, I could actually reach a really big goal I've been wanting for a while - 200 miles in one month, and that would be awesome. But I am not going to sweat it, my highest this year was 170 (August) and I've got a 5k race Friday night so my minimal plan is this:
Monday - maybe 3-4 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - 10 miles
Thursday - 6 miles
Friday - 6-7 miles in the AM, and then the 3.1 miles
Saturday - 5 miles if I am feeling it
That alone should easily give me 40 miles for the week, but again I am not going to fret or worry if I don't reach it, I am just happy that things are going so well and hope that I can keep this up.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
IMM isn't Happening....
Well Monday's meeting went okayish.... our new CPA is able to fix a lot of issues but unfortunately not in time before this Thursday so we had to turn in what our old CPA had. We'll be able to get things amended and worked out before October is over but we're having to pay both our old CPA and our new CPA and other costs. Let's just say things are extremely stressful right now and will most likely be that way for the rest of this year. IMM isn't going to happen, we both agreed... not to mention I have been sick to my stomach since Monday's meeting.... and I cannot run when feeling like that, not to mention that during the runs I would be thinking of only one thing... how much owning your own business really sucks, I am just beginning to wonder what happened to the "American Dream"... screw that crap.
It sucks, but I am just going to try and look at the brighter side of things, getting over this hump and out of this dark hole... and learn from it. And try to keep running, with hopes of maybe running the Land Between the Lakes marathon next March.... although I'm done planning and hoping and trying to set goals, right now the future looks very dark and uncertain. The only bright side, the only good thing in my life right now is Dorian.
Honestly, I don't really want to talk about it anymore.
It sucks, but I am just going to try and look at the brighter side of things, getting over this hump and out of this dark hole... and learn from it. And try to keep running, with hopes of maybe running the Land Between the Lakes marathon next March.... although I'm done planning and hoping and trying to set goals, right now the future looks very dark and uncertain. The only bright side, the only good thing in my life right now is Dorian.
Honestly, I don't really want to talk about it anymore.
Monday, October 12, 2015
The Week Following the 2015 Half Marathon
I looked to see if I had blogged or blooped at all this past week, and apparently I had not... dang it, the blogging seems to be more work than the actual running.
In short, I'm coming to terms with not making it to the gym... it's just been hectic with trying to get my runs in. I figure I'll at least try to do some workouts at home, though it won't be the same. Hopefully I can get back to the gym after Thanksgiving or possibly the new year. And today is the day we see our new CPA with the results of his corrections (after our old CPA had tried to royally screw us), and this meeting will decide on whether we go to Indy or not... though I won't ask until this coming weekend. Wish me luck, and pray for me lol.
As for last week, my goal was to get in 45 miles and it was looking good until yesterday.... but I'll get to that in a minute.
Monday I did some abdominal strengthening and some other stuff.
Tuesday I morning I ran 5.3 miles with Rocky, he struggled. We ran it in 51:44 with an average pace of 9:46 min/mile.
Then later that evening I took Dorian for a 4.1 mile run, ran it a bit slower at 42:16 with an average pace of 10:19 min/mile. So for Tuesday I got in 9.4 miles total
Wednesday was crazy, wasn't able to run that morning then later in the day one stepson finally broke up with his girlfriend (she is a huge, mental, bratty, selfish hermit like human being..... ) and was kicking her out of our house, which had him broken and hurt as they had been together for almost 5 years and it was his first real relationship (if you can look at it that way). Anyways, by the time I would've been able to run, I was already tired and said screw it so Wednesday was a rest day for me.
Thursday morning I ran 8 miles in 1:17:46 with an average pace of 9:43 min/mile, it was 61 degrees and humid.
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:10
Mile 3 - 9:51
Mile 4 - 9:51
Mile 5 - 9:34
Mile 6 - 9:20
Mile 7 - 9:15
Mile 8 - 9:09
I wanted to get another run in that evening, but the ex-girlfriend had to come by and get the rest of her stuff so it was another very gloomy evening around the house.
Friday morning I headed out and ran 6.2 miles in 58:55 with an average pace of 9:30 min/mile. It was 64 degrees and a little humid, and the school buses were all over the place.
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 10:02
Mile 3 - 9:29
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 9:10
Mile 6 - 8:58
.2 - 8:21
Later that evening I took the dogs on the trails for 3.8 miles, it was night and windy and it just felt like Autumn. Haunting yet surreal and peaceful all at once, made me realize how I had taken so many of those runs for granted now that I feel so lucky when I do get the chance to go on the trails. So Friday I managed to get in 10 miles.
Saturday I wanted to get up and go to the gym but was sick to my stomach (financial troubles, which is the norm when you're part of a family business). Later that morning I took Dorian for a run on the Greenway, it was 64 degrees but sunny, no cloud in sight. I pushed that 60 lbs for 6.2 miles in 58:13 with an average pace of 9:23 min/mile.... oiy.
Mile 1 - 10:03
Mile 2 - 9:31
Mile 3 - 9:16
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 9:12
Mile 6 - 9:06
.2 - 9:23
Sunday morning, I decided to sleep in, then after breakfast, grocery shopping, playing with Dorian and the dogs outside, DH suggested that we go to a nature park or something and do a bit of hiking (it is rare that he does this anymore, so I was excited). So we probably hiked about 2 miles with Dorian and the dogs at Harmonie State Park (I didn't have my garmin going so I don't know for sure). Then we got home and ordered carry out from Cracker Barrel, by then it was already 7:00. I headed out the door by 7:19 PM and hoped I could get in 10 miles. I hate running the country roads at night, my imagination starts to get the best of me and I ended up running faster than I planned. I was worried about skunks and other shadow creatures. Blah, but I managed to run 10.4 miles in 1:38:21 with an average pace of 9:27 min/mile.
Mile 1 - 10:10
Mile 2 - 9:34
Mile 3 - 9:16
Mile 4 - 9:20
Mile 5 - 9:31
Mile 6 - 9:16
Mile 7 - 9:30
Mile 8 - 9:40
Mile 9 - 9:12
Mile 10 - 9:17
.4 - 8:59
So I managed to get in 44 miles total for last week, not bad considering all of my obstacles. Now, wish me luck on today and this week and pray for me.
In short, I'm coming to terms with not making it to the gym... it's just been hectic with trying to get my runs in. I figure I'll at least try to do some workouts at home, though it won't be the same. Hopefully I can get back to the gym after Thanksgiving or possibly the new year. And today is the day we see our new CPA with the results of his corrections (after our old CPA had tried to royally screw us), and this meeting will decide on whether we go to Indy or not... though I won't ask until this coming weekend. Wish me luck, and pray for me lol.
As for last week, my goal was to get in 45 miles and it was looking good until yesterday.... but I'll get to that in a minute.
Monday I did some abdominal strengthening and some other stuff.
Tuesday I morning I ran 5.3 miles with Rocky, he struggled. We ran it in 51:44 with an average pace of 9:46 min/mile.
Then later that evening I took Dorian for a 4.1 mile run, ran it a bit slower at 42:16 with an average pace of 10:19 min/mile. So for Tuesday I got in 9.4 miles total
Wednesday was crazy, wasn't able to run that morning then later in the day one stepson finally broke up with his girlfriend (she is a huge, mental, bratty, selfish hermit like human being..... ) and was kicking her out of our house, which had him broken and hurt as they had been together for almost 5 years and it was his first real relationship (if you can look at it that way). Anyways, by the time I would've been able to run, I was already tired and said screw it so Wednesday was a rest day for me.
Thursday morning I ran 8 miles in 1:17:46 with an average pace of 9:43 min/mile, it was 61 degrees and humid.
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:10
Mile 3 - 9:51
Mile 4 - 9:51
Mile 5 - 9:34
Mile 6 - 9:20
Mile 7 - 9:15
Mile 8 - 9:09
I wanted to get another run in that evening, but the ex-girlfriend had to come by and get the rest of her stuff so it was another very gloomy evening around the house.
Friday morning I headed out and ran 6.2 miles in 58:55 with an average pace of 9:30 min/mile. It was 64 degrees and a little humid, and the school buses were all over the place.
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 10:02
Mile 3 - 9:29
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 9:10
Mile 6 - 8:58
.2 - 8:21
Later that evening I took the dogs on the trails for 3.8 miles, it was night and windy and it just felt like Autumn. Haunting yet surreal and peaceful all at once, made me realize how I had taken so many of those runs for granted now that I feel so lucky when I do get the chance to go on the trails. So Friday I managed to get in 10 miles.
Saturday I wanted to get up and go to the gym but was sick to my stomach (financial troubles, which is the norm when you're part of a family business). Later that morning I took Dorian for a run on the Greenway, it was 64 degrees but sunny, no cloud in sight. I pushed that 60 lbs for 6.2 miles in 58:13 with an average pace of 9:23 min/mile.... oiy.
Mile 1 - 10:03
Mile 2 - 9:31
Mile 3 - 9:16
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 9:12
Mile 6 - 9:06
.2 - 9:23
Sunday morning, I decided to sleep in, then after breakfast, grocery shopping, playing with Dorian and the dogs outside, DH suggested that we go to a nature park or something and do a bit of hiking (it is rare that he does this anymore, so I was excited). So we probably hiked about 2 miles with Dorian and the dogs at Harmonie State Park (I didn't have my garmin going so I don't know for sure). Then we got home and ordered carry out from Cracker Barrel, by then it was already 7:00. I headed out the door by 7:19 PM and hoped I could get in 10 miles. I hate running the country roads at night, my imagination starts to get the best of me and I ended up running faster than I planned. I was worried about skunks and other shadow creatures. Blah, but I managed to run 10.4 miles in 1:38:21 with an average pace of 9:27 min/mile.
Mile 1 - 10:10
Mile 2 - 9:34
Mile 3 - 9:16
Mile 4 - 9:20
Mile 5 - 9:31
Mile 6 - 9:16
Mile 7 - 9:30
Mile 8 - 9:40
Mile 9 - 9:12
Mile 10 - 9:17
.4 - 8:59
So I managed to get in 44 miles total for last week, not bad considering all of my obstacles. Now, wish me luck on today and this week and pray for me.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
I'm Dreaming Again, Somebody Stop It.....
It's in my head again, the thoughts, the dream and next year. What am I talking about, you ask? The Mark Twain Endurance 50, held in September..... which about two weeks or so ago I figured was out of the question and something I should just forget about ever trying to train for and do.
But it just isn't in me to give up a dream, or change plans without looking at every possible alternative.... and if there is none, only then will I drop a goal or dream.
And so far I cannot find any reason to, my husband thinks I haven't thought this whole training for a 50 miler thing through all the way. He seems to think that one must run the whole distance or train with week mileage up around 100 mpw. But I've read enough articles and race reports to know that I could survive on as little as 40-50 mpw of running, while also including walks and hikes with my son that could easily add 10-15 extra miles of being on my feet. And that is what many articles and books about ultramarathons discuss, is that it isn't so much about miles and miles of running a week, but just time on your feet. And training for an early Fall race would be easier to get the mileage in because it will be warm enough to take Dorian out no matter what time it is, albeit it will be quite warm at times.
The only difficult part that I can think about is getting my long runs in on the weekends, I mean my training wouldn't begin until May next year so who knows, maybe Dorian will grow out of this waking up every time I leave or something.
I haven't asked my husband about the IMM yet, which is just over 3 weeks away, or 31 days, 15 hours and 50 minutes away. I feel that I am ready for it still, not for a PR or anything but ready to start it and finish it. But I don't want to get excited or nervous yet, a lot can still happen in a month and our new CPA's haven't gotten back with us on the results of their corrections which is due October 15. Being that it was my responsibility for the last 6-7 years, even though I had no idea what I was doing.... I am sure whatever happens will have some effect on Cameron's decision on whether we go to Indy or not.
I hate having these dreams/goals knowing that nothing is certain,
But it just isn't in me to give up a dream, or change plans without looking at every possible alternative.... and if there is none, only then will I drop a goal or dream.
And so far I cannot find any reason to, my husband thinks I haven't thought this whole training for a 50 miler thing through all the way. He seems to think that one must run the whole distance or train with week mileage up around 100 mpw. But I've read enough articles and race reports to know that I could survive on as little as 40-50 mpw of running, while also including walks and hikes with my son that could easily add 10-15 extra miles of being on my feet. And that is what many articles and books about ultramarathons discuss, is that it isn't so much about miles and miles of running a week, but just time on your feet. And training for an early Fall race would be easier to get the mileage in because it will be warm enough to take Dorian out no matter what time it is, albeit it will be quite warm at times.
The only difficult part that I can think about is getting my long runs in on the weekends, I mean my training wouldn't begin until May next year so who knows, maybe Dorian will grow out of this waking up every time I leave or something.
I haven't asked my husband about the IMM yet, which is just over 3 weeks away, or 31 days, 15 hours and 50 minutes away. I feel that I am ready for it still, not for a PR or anything but ready to start it and finish it. But I don't want to get excited or nervous yet, a lot can still happen in a month and our new CPA's haven't gotten back with us on the results of their corrections which is due October 15. Being that it was my responsibility for the last 6-7 years, even though I had no idea what I was doing.... I am sure whatever happens will have some effect on Cameron's decision on whether we go to Indy or not.
I hate having these dreams/goals knowing that nothing is certain,
Saturday, October 3, 2015
The 2015 Evansville Half Marathon RR
Last night I wasn't nervous, but I was restless and had a hard time falling asleep. I was a little worried about my legs and how they would hold up (pushing Dorian in the stroller has kind of stressed things again, not awful but tired), 5:15 AM came way too fast.
I was slow to move, I just felt weird overall while getting ready. I wanted to make sure everything was in place and I wasn't forgetting anything. Getting to downtown, I made sure to park about .6 miles or so from the start so I could get in a decent warm up run and use the casino bathroom.
It was 48 degrees, 12 mph NNE winds and cloudy. I had a sweater or long sleeve shirt over my race outfit... I've got to remind myself to buy DH another long sleeved shirt.... I took it off just before we crossed the start, wearing only a tank top and shorts, it really didn't feel too awful. I was immediately regretting starting near the 2 hour pace group, I should've gotten in front of the 1:50 pace group. I have no idea how many people I passed within the first half mile, but it was aggravating lol.
Mile 1 - 8:58
Mile 2 - 8:43
Mile 3 - 8:49
I grabbed a cup of gatorade somewhere in between mile 3 and 4, I decided to slow down and walk so I could sip it up rather than risk choking. Probably cost me a few seconds. I was still feeling pretty good.
Mile 4 - 8:37
Mile 5 - 8:32
Mile 6 - 8:43
Mile 7 - 8:54
At this point I realized that I seriously needed to use a port-a-potty but couldn't see one. Around mile 7.5 I figured there would be a port-a-potty, but when I got up there I saw the port-a-potty.... it was knocked over, yeah...
I was pissed off a smidge, I knew I would have to do something otherwise I was going to have a very embarrassing accident and would probably never run this race every again.
Mile 8 - 8:49
Mile 9 - 10:06
A FREAKING PORT-A-POTTY!!!!! Sure it was about 15 feet or 20 feet off the course, but it was a bathroom and I needed to use it. I didn't pause my garmin which is why mile 9 shows 10:06 min/mile, I knew this would cost me a new PR, let alone finishing close to my current PR of around 1:53:12 but I was okay with that as my biggest concern was seeing how my legs would handle this race as it would also help in my decision on whether to continue with plans of running the IMM or not. So far my legs were doing great, other than the slight soreness in my upper hamstrings and glutes but I will chalk that up to the donkey kicks, fire hydrants and the weird butt lift with alternating leg lifts yesterday morning.
Now to get back on course and head for the finish line.
Mile 10 - 8:36
Mile 11 - 8:39
Mile 12 - 8:50
It was getting tough at this point, my stomach was starting to act weird. I kept begging it to please let me finish and to not do anything stupid, I was getting tired though and felt hints of a few side stitches in various places.
Mile 13 - 8:49
.1 - 7:27
I was done!! Another half marathon finished and overall it really went well.
Garmin Time: 1:56:06
Net/Chip Time: 1:56:06
Average pace of 8:52 min/mile
Overall: 480/2,119
Gender: 130/1268
Division (F25-29): 16/155
5k Split: 27:29 (pace: 8:51, rank: 495
10k Split: 54:20 (pace: 8:45, rank: 464
14k Split: 1:15:36 (pace 8:42, rank: 453)
last 7k: 40:31 (pace: 9:19, rank: 487)
I was slow to move, I just felt weird overall while getting ready. I wanted to make sure everything was in place and I wasn't forgetting anything. Getting to downtown, I made sure to park about .6 miles or so from the start so I could get in a decent warm up run and use the casino bathroom.
It was 48 degrees, 12 mph NNE winds and cloudy. I had a sweater or long sleeve shirt over my race outfit... I've got to remind myself to buy DH another long sleeved shirt.... I took it off just before we crossed the start, wearing only a tank top and shorts, it really didn't feel too awful. I was immediately regretting starting near the 2 hour pace group, I should've gotten in front of the 1:50 pace group. I have no idea how many people I passed within the first half mile, but it was aggravating lol.
Mile 1 - 8:58
Mile 2 - 8:43
Mile 3 - 8:49
I grabbed a cup of gatorade somewhere in between mile 3 and 4, I decided to slow down and walk so I could sip it up rather than risk choking. Probably cost me a few seconds. I was still feeling pretty good.
Mile 4 - 8:37
Mile 5 - 8:32
Mile 6 - 8:43
Mile 7 - 8:54
At this point I realized that I seriously needed to use a port-a-potty but couldn't see one. Around mile 7.5 I figured there would be a port-a-potty, but when I got up there I saw the port-a-potty.... it was knocked over, yeah...
I was pissed off a smidge, I knew I would have to do something otherwise I was going to have a very embarrassing accident and would probably never run this race every again.
Mile 8 - 8:49
Mile 9 - 10:06
A FREAKING PORT-A-POTTY!!!!! Sure it was about 15 feet or 20 feet off the course, but it was a bathroom and I needed to use it. I didn't pause my garmin which is why mile 9 shows 10:06 min/mile, I knew this would cost me a new PR, let alone finishing close to my current PR of around 1:53:12 but I was okay with that as my biggest concern was seeing how my legs would handle this race as it would also help in my decision on whether to continue with plans of running the IMM or not. So far my legs were doing great, other than the slight soreness in my upper hamstrings and glutes but I will chalk that up to the donkey kicks, fire hydrants and the weird butt lift with alternating leg lifts yesterday morning.
Now to get back on course and head for the finish line.
Mile 10 - 8:36
Mile 11 - 8:39
Mile 12 - 8:50
It was getting tough at this point, my stomach was starting to act weird. I kept begging it to please let me finish and to not do anything stupid, I was getting tired though and felt hints of a few side stitches in various places.
Mile 13 - 8:49
.1 - 7:27
I was done!! Another half marathon finished and overall it really went well.
Garmin Time: 1:56:06
Net/Chip Time: 1:56:06
Average pace of 8:52 min/mile
Overall: 480/2,119
Gender: 130/1268
Division (F25-29): 16/155
5k Split: 27:29 (pace: 8:51, rank: 495
10k Split: 54:20 (pace: 8:45, rank: 464
14k Split: 1:15:36 (pace 8:42, rank: 453)
last 7k: 40:31 (pace: 9:19, rank: 487)
Friday, October 2, 2015
Frustrating Thoughts...... Today has Been Depressing
I didn't run today, Dorian was up at 5:30 AM so I couldn't get up and run an easy 3-4 miles (hopefully I can do it Saturday evening or Sunday).
Other than that, I woke up depressed.... not really sure how to describe it but I can't help feeling that if I don't run the IMM next month, it will be a very long, long time before I have the chance to properly train and run another marathon. :( :( :( :( as long as Dorian wakes up while I try to get out for a run in the mornings, there is no way I can try and get the proper mileage in for a marathon race. :( :( :( :( :'(
Especially through this winter, I don't think I could take him out in the stroller when temps get below 30 degrees, and even though I've heard rumors that this winter is going to be mild in my area...... I just don't have much hope. It really pisses me off because I signed up for the Land Between the Lakes Marathon next March.
It's frustrating, extremely frustrating as I've set quite a few goals through 2016 and the major one was the Mark Twain Endurance 50 in September 2016...... If I can't make it around 55-70 miles a week, I just don't know if a 50 mile race is possible.
I feel weaker already, I need the gym, I need the weight lifting.... I need a run of 2-3 hours...... damn it I a going through withdrawals and it is very bad, a very bad feeling.
This is freaking frustrating, it almost makes me not want to eat anymore... I feel no hunger whatsoever.... I just want to sit in a corner in silence, just silence. Ugh... I just wish I knew when things will start working out, I don't need to get up at 4 AM but I NEED to get up no later than 5, to give myself enough time to either run 10 miles on Wednesday or 5 miles and then the gym for 40-50 minutes other days of the week and maybe a 3-4 miles later in the afternoon/evening, and a 2-3 hour run on either Saturday or Sunday. That's all I want, all I need.
But I don't know when that will be, when Dorian will start to sleep through the night every night even when I get up and leave. He seems to notice when I am out of the house even when he is asleep :( and I honestly don't know how I am going to survive winter.
Other than that, I woke up depressed.... not really sure how to describe it but I can't help feeling that if I don't run the IMM next month, it will be a very long, long time before I have the chance to properly train and run another marathon. :( :( :( :( as long as Dorian wakes up while I try to get out for a run in the mornings, there is no way I can try and get the proper mileage in for a marathon race. :( :( :( :( :'(
Especially through this winter, I don't think I could take him out in the stroller when temps get below 30 degrees, and even though I've heard rumors that this winter is going to be mild in my area...... I just don't have much hope. It really pisses me off because I signed up for the Land Between the Lakes Marathon next March.
It's frustrating, extremely frustrating as I've set quite a few goals through 2016 and the major one was the Mark Twain Endurance 50 in September 2016...... If I can't make it around 55-70 miles a week, I just don't know if a 50 mile race is possible.
I feel weaker already, I need the gym, I need the weight lifting.... I need a run of 2-3 hours...... damn it I a going through withdrawals and it is very bad, a very bad feeling.
This is freaking frustrating, it almost makes me not want to eat anymore... I feel no hunger whatsoever.... I just want to sit in a corner in silence, just silence. Ugh... I just wish I knew when things will start working out, I don't need to get up at 4 AM but I NEED to get up no later than 5, to give myself enough time to either run 10 miles on Wednesday or 5 miles and then the gym for 40-50 minutes other days of the week and maybe a 3-4 miles later in the afternoon/evening, and a 2-3 hour run on either Saturday or Sunday. That's all I want, all I need.
But I don't know when that will be, when Dorian will start to sleep through the night every night even when I get up and leave. He seems to notice when I am out of the house even when he is asleep :( and I honestly don't know how I am going to survive winter.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Survived This Week.... I Think
It's been tough as hell, but so far I've managed 36.3 miles even under my circumstances.... six of those without Dorian. I cannot describe just how hard it's been pushing Dorian in the stroller, 65 lbs is just really hard. I am feeling it at the end of this week, and seriously thinking about taking tomorrow off from anything.
Thursday I ran 5 miles while pushing Dorian, and then Friday I actually got a lucky break and was able to run 6.1 miles on the Chandler roads without Dorian. I got the hubby fed and taken care of, got Dorian fed, bathed and busy with some words cards... so I got to go out and run 6.1 miles. I was extremely tired and ready for bed, yep it's been a tough week... but it wasn't over yet.
This morning I slept in until 7 something, then eventually I got Dorian and ready to go for a run. I cannot begin to describe just how hard and tough and painful the 8.1 miles was this morning while pushing that stroller. I was really beginning to hate running...... I need a week without running with that stroller, I miss my old life and wish I had seen this coming, I would have done something or said something to prevent it but sadly hubby had reached his breaking point with being interrupted and woken up. Maybe in a few weeks Dorian will be back to sleeping through the night, then I can at least get back to getting up at 5 AM or something like that.
I got my massage appointment, it was tough... hopefully it will help.
Anyways... if I do happen to get a run in tomorrow, I will let you know.
Thursday I ran 5 miles while pushing Dorian, and then Friday I actually got a lucky break and was able to run 6.1 miles on the Chandler roads without Dorian. I got the hubby fed and taken care of, got Dorian fed, bathed and busy with some words cards... so I got to go out and run 6.1 miles. I was extremely tired and ready for bed, yep it's been a tough week... but it wasn't over yet.
This morning I slept in until 7 something, then eventually I got Dorian and ready to go for a run. I cannot begin to describe just how hard and tough and painful the 8.1 miles was this morning while pushing that stroller. I was really beginning to hate running...... I need a week without running with that stroller, I miss my old life and wish I had seen this coming, I would have done something or said something to prevent it but sadly hubby had reached his breaking point with being interrupted and woken up. Maybe in a few weeks Dorian will be back to sleeping through the night, then I can at least get back to getting up at 5 AM or something like that.
I got my massage appointment, it was tough... hopefully it will help.
Anyways... if I do happen to get a run in tomorrow, I will let you know.
Monday, September 21, 2015
At a Loss, Everything Was Finally Looking Up........... (Long Rant Full of Tears)
My 11 miler yesterday went great, no pain or soreness or anything. I did get hunger pains around mile 9 but that was it, I was finally seeing that lining in the sky.... until later that morning.
Well, it's been building actually... for a few months now, Dorian will wake up while I am gone and wake DH up. Unfortunately DH doesn't like having his sleep interrupted but tolerated it for so long. Dorian is also behind in his speech development, little to no words up until about 4-5 weeks ago when he just started saying a few words and is now trying to say all the 10 primary/main colors, numbers 1-10 and most of the ABC's, along with other two letter words. It's been difficult for me over the last 3.5 years, not just because I was new at this parenting thing but I am not a natural teacher. Every time I would try and sit down with him and work with him on anything, he'd get up and run around, he wasn't interested in any of it, just running around. I felt lost and confused and I wasn't sure what to do, but apparently it is 100% my fault and I've been neglecting him. We tried a speech therapist earlier this year and another therapist but they stop at 3 years old so it was short, even though I am sure they would have made breakthroughs if they were given more time. Dorian was right on track with development until about 11 months old when he learned to walk and then run, then over the course of the next 2 years all he wanted to do was go-go-go, just run as much as he could. He didn't care about talking or anything, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. And so it is all my fault, because I should have a routine with him when he doesn't like routines. I try to work with him whenever he wants to work on things, which is a lot now, but.... I don't know.
My husband needs sleep, even though he could choose to come home at 7 PM and try to go to bed at 9 PM, but he usually stays up until 11-12 AM. And I have no idea why Dorian will wake up while I am gone, most times he will wake up in a good mood and then fall back to sleep but my husband's sleep is still interrupted.
Yesterday morning, after I had fixed breakfast and made sure Dorian and hubby were full and comfy even though hubby really wanted to sleep in but was woke up at 8:15 AM (I didn't get out of bed until 7:45 this time), he was okay about it. But then I decided to take a bath, well.... Dorian now uses his recliner and pushes it around to reach things normally out of his reach. No sooner was I in the tub for about 5 minutes but I heard him running back in forth down the hallway shaking something liquid. It was freaking charcoal liter fluid..... why on Earth it was in one of the hallway cabinets and not the kitchen or garage is beyond me, but he had gotten it all over our bed, our bedroom floor and the hallway, if somebody had dropped a match in there, the place would've gone up in flames. My husband had enough at this point, and was so enraged that he said no more running, no more working out, nothing. He was serious, even to the point that I might have to choose between him and running/working out.
After a few hours and when he was finally cooled down, we talked but my getting up so early was over and done. I could get up at 6:50 AM and go for a 45-50 minute run in the mornings but that was it (and even though it is nice enough out right now to take Dorian later in the day, pretty soon it will be too cold). And no more working out at the gym.....
I feel broken and full of despair, working out and running fought and smothered so many demons I have, both kept them quiet and hell they aren't even going to wait a week before showing their ugly faces now. I feel cornered, I feel like I am already dealing with that whole withdrawal thing.... I just want to start drinking, I've got a lot of whiskey here and it's looking real good right now :(
I don't know when Dorian will start sleeping through the night again, when he'll actually start speaking words and talking, but this winter is going to be the hardest winter I've had to deal with in 5 years.
I'll be lucky if I can run the Evansville Half Marathon next weekend, but it looks like IMM is out of the question sadly.......... how the hell can I prepare for a marathon on only 30-35 mpw????? And that is if I am lucky to get that :( :'(
With all that is going on, I won't be posting on the loop very often and for a while unless somehow miraculously things change...... but I doubt it.
I got 4 miles in this afternoon with Dorian, but Winter is on it's way...... so long loopsters.
Well, it's been building actually... for a few months now, Dorian will wake up while I am gone and wake DH up. Unfortunately DH doesn't like having his sleep interrupted but tolerated it for so long. Dorian is also behind in his speech development, little to no words up until about 4-5 weeks ago when he just started saying a few words and is now trying to say all the 10 primary/main colors, numbers 1-10 and most of the ABC's, along with other two letter words. It's been difficult for me over the last 3.5 years, not just because I was new at this parenting thing but I am not a natural teacher. Every time I would try and sit down with him and work with him on anything, he'd get up and run around, he wasn't interested in any of it, just running around. I felt lost and confused and I wasn't sure what to do, but apparently it is 100% my fault and I've been neglecting him. We tried a speech therapist earlier this year and another therapist but they stop at 3 years old so it was short, even though I am sure they would have made breakthroughs if they were given more time. Dorian was right on track with development until about 11 months old when he learned to walk and then run, then over the course of the next 2 years all he wanted to do was go-go-go, just run as much as he could. He didn't care about talking or anything, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. And so it is all my fault, because I should have a routine with him when he doesn't like routines. I try to work with him whenever he wants to work on things, which is a lot now, but.... I don't know.
My husband needs sleep, even though he could choose to come home at 7 PM and try to go to bed at 9 PM, but he usually stays up until 11-12 AM. And I have no idea why Dorian will wake up while I am gone, most times he will wake up in a good mood and then fall back to sleep but my husband's sleep is still interrupted.
Yesterday morning, after I had fixed breakfast and made sure Dorian and hubby were full and comfy even though hubby really wanted to sleep in but was woke up at 8:15 AM (I didn't get out of bed until 7:45 this time), he was okay about it. But then I decided to take a bath, well.... Dorian now uses his recliner and pushes it around to reach things normally out of his reach. No sooner was I in the tub for about 5 minutes but I heard him running back in forth down the hallway shaking something liquid. It was freaking charcoal liter fluid..... why on Earth it was in one of the hallway cabinets and not the kitchen or garage is beyond me, but he had gotten it all over our bed, our bedroom floor and the hallway, if somebody had dropped a match in there, the place would've gone up in flames. My husband had enough at this point, and was so enraged that he said no more running, no more working out, nothing. He was serious, even to the point that I might have to choose between him and running/working out.
After a few hours and when he was finally cooled down, we talked but my getting up so early was over and done. I could get up at 6:50 AM and go for a 45-50 minute run in the mornings but that was it (and even though it is nice enough out right now to take Dorian later in the day, pretty soon it will be too cold). And no more working out at the gym.....
I feel broken and full of despair, working out and running fought and smothered so many demons I have, both kept them quiet and hell they aren't even going to wait a week before showing their ugly faces now. I feel cornered, I feel like I am already dealing with that whole withdrawal thing.... I just want to start drinking, I've got a lot of whiskey here and it's looking real good right now :(
I don't know when Dorian will start sleeping through the night again, when he'll actually start speaking words and talking, but this winter is going to be the hardest winter I've had to deal with in 5 years.
I'll be lucky if I can run the Evansville Half Marathon next weekend, but it looks like IMM is out of the question sadly.......... how the hell can I prepare for a marathon on only 30-35 mpw????? And that is if I am lucky to get that :( :'(
With all that is going on, I won't be posting on the loop very often and for a while unless somehow miraculously things change...... but I doubt it.
I got 4 miles in this afternoon with Dorian, but Winter is on it's way...... so long loopsters.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Some Hope at Last..... I think
So the last few days have been interesting..... Monday I still woke up stiff and sore, Tuesday I went for a 5.3 mile run that was a bit sore and achy during the first 3-4 miles. I felt fine for the rest of the day, took Dorian for a hike/run that evening and was feeling it a bit afterwards. Wednesday was tough, I was feeling rather stiff and sore in the groin again... I only managed 4.3 miles on the trails with my doggies. It was a bit of a let down, I was feeling more stiff than I had during the last few runs.
Wednesday evening I went to see the massage therapist and got a deep tissue massage focused mainly on my right thigh - the Adductor, the groin and the quad. She also worked on my hamstrings and glutes. This morning I didn't wake up as stiff and sore but I was a little tender on the Adductor and groin area where she worked the hardest. I decided to head to the gym and not run this morning, figured I'd wait until this evening.
This evening I took Dorian to the riverfront for a very easy run, expecting soreness and didn't think I would get more than a mile or two.......
I am trying not to be excited, because the real sign will be how I wake up in the morning. But I felt no pain, no stiffness, no aches during our 4 mile run, hell my calves even felt great. For the first time in the last 2 weeks I felt like I could run my full (easy) stride without tearing my groin apart, like it was finally loosened up and feeling better. The areas she worked the most were still a tiny bit tender, just a tiny bit but not much at all. I am trying not to get my hopes up, as much as I want to. I tried to keep the run slow and easy, but it just felt so good to finally be running without any kind of discomfort.
We'll see about the next few days, my next deep tissue massage is September 26, and I plan on having my regular MT work me over from top to bottom.
Wednesday evening I went to see the massage therapist and got a deep tissue massage focused mainly on my right thigh - the Adductor, the groin and the quad. She also worked on my hamstrings and glutes. This morning I didn't wake up as stiff and sore but I was a little tender on the Adductor and groin area where she worked the hardest. I decided to head to the gym and not run this morning, figured I'd wait until this evening.
This evening I took Dorian to the riverfront for a very easy run, expecting soreness and didn't think I would get more than a mile or two.......
I am trying not to be excited, because the real sign will be how I wake up in the morning. But I felt no pain, no stiffness, no aches during our 4 mile run, hell my calves even felt great. For the first time in the last 2 weeks I felt like I could run my full (easy) stride without tearing my groin apart, like it was finally loosened up and feeling better. The areas she worked the most were still a tiny bit tender, just a tiny bit but not much at all. I am trying not to get my hopes up, as much as I want to. I tried to keep the run slow and easy, but it just felt so good to finally be running without any kind of discomfort.
We'll see about the next few days, my next deep tissue massage is September 26, and I plan on having my regular MT work me over from top to bottom.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
This Morning's Long Run
This morning I woke to it being 66 degrees in the house (you can't gauge my excitement through a keyboard lol, but I love pajama pants wearing weather ). It was about 52 degrees out at my house, but I decided to still wear shorts and a t-shirt. My Tahoe was cold, and the leather seats were worse lol, by the time we got to the trails my thermostat was saying 45 degrees (the Angel Mounds trails are right next to the river so it's always colder there). I went ahead and replaced the batteries in my headlamp, I think I only need to replace them like once a year so everytime I forget how to open the damn things.
It was still dark when we started, the first 4 miles were in darkness so I had my headlamp on. I was aiming for anywhere between 6-8 miles this morning, gauging how my legs were feeling and if the dogs would hold up well. This would be Jetta's longest run yet. She has a really easy, steady stride that she starts with and just keeps it all the way through (maybe it's a GSD thing?) while Rocky will start out really fast and then slow down in the middle and then get slower towards the end, which is why it's nice to hit the trails so I don't have to have them on a leash.
Overall the run went really good, the first mile was the slowest (which is usual for my trail runs, I don't really push myself towards my road pace when on trails). Actually, looking at my garmin it shows my 4th mile was 4 seconds slower than the first mile, understandable.
By about mile 5.3 we got back around the loop towards the parking lot and headed to drop my headlamp off at the Tahoe since it was light enough out that I didn't need it. So far my legs were feeling okay, tired and almost like I had already been out there for 6-7 miles but no pain. We headed back out for one more loop with hopes of reaching 8 miles.
I am happy to say that we finished 8.3 miles on the trails this morning, in 1:28:39 with an average pace of 10:41 min/mile.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:08
Mile 2 - 10:20
Mile 3 - 10:19
Mile 4 - 11:12
Mile 5 - 10:27
Mile 6 - 10:38
Mile 7 - 11:03
Mile 8 - 10:39
.3 - 9:34
I am feeling hopeful but I am not wanting to feel completely out of the woods yet, next week I am still going to take it easy and probably run my long run around 12 miles while leaving my mid-week long run around 8-9 miles just to be safe. I am also going to schedule a massage on Wednesday, hopefully a deep tissue massage will help me tremendously. Then if all goes well I can resume my training while staying cautious and sticking with foam rolling and stretching and icing.
It was still dark when we started, the first 4 miles were in darkness so I had my headlamp on. I was aiming for anywhere between 6-8 miles this morning, gauging how my legs were feeling and if the dogs would hold up well. This would be Jetta's longest run yet. She has a really easy, steady stride that she starts with and just keeps it all the way through (maybe it's a GSD thing?) while Rocky will start out really fast and then slow down in the middle and then get slower towards the end, which is why it's nice to hit the trails so I don't have to have them on a leash.
Overall the run went really good, the first mile was the slowest (which is usual for my trail runs, I don't really push myself towards my road pace when on trails). Actually, looking at my garmin it shows my 4th mile was 4 seconds slower than the first mile, understandable.
By about mile 5.3 we got back around the loop towards the parking lot and headed to drop my headlamp off at the Tahoe since it was light enough out that I didn't need it. So far my legs were feeling okay, tired and almost like I had already been out there for 6-7 miles but no pain. We headed back out for one more loop with hopes of reaching 8 miles.
I am happy to say that we finished 8.3 miles on the trails this morning, in 1:28:39 with an average pace of 10:41 min/mile.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:08
Mile 2 - 10:20
Mile 3 - 10:19
Mile 4 - 11:12
Mile 5 - 10:27
Mile 6 - 10:38
Mile 7 - 11:03
Mile 8 - 10:39
.3 - 9:34
I am feeling hopeful but I am not wanting to feel completely out of the woods yet, next week I am still going to take it easy and probably run my long run around 12 miles while leaving my mid-week long run around 8-9 miles just to be safe. I am also going to schedule a massage on Wednesday, hopefully a deep tissue massage will help me tremendously. Then if all goes well I can resume my training while staying cautious and sticking with foam rolling and stretching and icing.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
The Last Three Days
So it's been a few days, the massage was a weird one called Reflexology or whatever, mainly focusing on the feet. She found that I currently have Sciatica, which I had an awful case of it during pregnancy but didn't think it was still an issue.
Thursday I took Dorian and the dogs for a hike, it included a little bit of running as Dorian is getting more and more into it, I felt a little ache but not much. So I decided that if I woke up feeling good enough Friday morning, I would take the dogs for a run on the trails. Well I woke up feeling a tiny bit achy but nothing like earlier this week, so I took it as a sign and took the dogs for an easy 3.2 miles on the trails. There was a little bit of ache but nothing I felt I needed to worry about, and it even went away after a while and after getting home and out of the Tahoe I wasn't limping or hurting so that was a good sign. I headed to the gym after that.
Standing Barbell Curls: 60lbsX8reps, 45lbsX12reps, 60lbsX8reps, 45lbsX12reps, 60lbsX6reps, 60lbsX6reps
Triceps Overhead: 25lbsX12reps, 27.5lbsX8reps, 25lbsX12reps, 27.5lbsX8reps, 27.5lbsX8reps
Fly Delts: 80lbsX8reps, 75lbsX12reps, 80lbsX8reps, 75lbsX12reps, 80lbsX8reps
Standing Triceps Cable Pull Downs: 5 sets / 12 reps / 70 lbs
Concentration Dumbbell Curls: 22.5lbsX10reps, 25lbsX7reps, 22.5lbsX10reps, 25lbsX8reps, 27.5lbsX5reps, 27.5lbsX5reps
Thursday I took Dorian and the dogs for a hike, it included a little bit of running as Dorian is getting more and more into it, I felt a little ache but not much. So I decided that if I woke up feeling good enough Friday morning, I would take the dogs for a run on the trails. Well I woke up feeling a tiny bit achy but nothing like earlier this week, so I took it as a sign and took the dogs for an easy 3.2 miles on the trails. There was a little bit of ache but nothing I felt I needed to worry about, and it even went away after a while and after getting home and out of the Tahoe I wasn't limping or hurting so that was a good sign. I headed to the gym after that.
Standing Barbell Curls: 60lbsX8reps, 45lbsX12reps, 60lbsX8reps, 45lbsX12reps, 60lbsX6reps, 60lbsX6reps
Triceps Overhead: 25lbsX12reps, 27.5lbsX8reps, 25lbsX12reps, 27.5lbsX8reps, 27.5lbsX8reps
Fly Delts: 80lbsX8reps, 75lbsX12reps, 80lbsX8reps, 75lbsX12reps, 80lbsX8reps
Standing Triceps Cable Pull Downs: 5 sets / 12 reps / 70 lbs
Concentration Dumbbell Curls: 22.5lbsX10reps, 25lbsX7reps, 22.5lbsX10reps, 25lbsX8reps, 27.5lbsX5reps, 27.5lbsX5reps
This morning I woke up with somewhat of a hangover.... I might have drank a little too much Friday night lol. But my legs were feeling pretty good still, not 100% ache free or stiff free but I wasn't getting out of bed and immediately limping or feeling like my right leg had been in a strange position all night. So I got dressed and took the dogs to the trails, it was an amazing 57 degrees out.... I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to be out there. We ran 4.3 miles out there, and it took a lot out of me.... or maybe I was still feeling the effects of the whiskey from last night, so I got home and just went back to bed lol. Figured I could take a couple days off from the gym.
Later this morning I decided to take Dorian to John James Audubon State Park, having to leave the dogs at home. My little boy is becoming quite the trail runner, he handles those hills up and down so good. Especially compared to last year or the year before, I can't remember the last time I took him to JJASP but I know it scared me when I thought he twisted his ankle.
This was more like a run actually, this boy barely walked our 2.2 miles and the first mile was done in 16:42 (!!!!) which is a great PR for him, just a few weeks ago he did a mile in around 19 minutes which took 4-5 minutes off of last year's 23-24 minute miles. Of course that is his first mile, he does normally slow down quite a bit afterwards, usually around 22-23 min/mile. Our second mile was around 28 minutes as the hills got difficult and he needed to hold my hand a couple of times.... on very narrow trails. I am really going to enjoy watching him improve over the next few months and years, I cannot wait until he's out there running with me regularly.... I won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to run, I can wait until 6-7 AM and take him and the dogs running.
The elevation chart
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