Rocky and I were out the door around 9:15 a.m, and boy was it cold! It was twenty-seven degrees with a feels like 20 degrees, burrr! Rocky loved it though, didn't bother him at all. I started out with a face mask that covered my nose and around to my ears (and of course my mouth and neck), along with my hat, gloves and tights and two layers of shirts, and a pair of dry max socks. Around 2 miles I ended up taking the face mask off as it was getting too warm, I stuffed it in Rocky's doggie pack (thankful I brought it with us). The first 3 miles I felt kind of sluggish, my feet didn't want to move but I trudged on telling myself at 10 miles we'll see how we feel. Made it to 5 miles and was feeling much better, my legs had decided to cooperate. I did stop to give Rocky some water as all puddles and other flooded areas were frozen, so I knew Rocky wasn't getting any water.
The next 6 miles went really well, had to stop twice for a nature call so other than that it was a great run. Heck as we were edging near 11 miles I was honestly tempted to try and get as close to 20 miles as I could...... thankfully logic was louder and I decided to leave it at 11 miles. I will reach 20 miles soon enough, when it is time. We ran 11 miles in 1:53:32 with an average pace of 10:19 min/mile and an elevation gain of 196 feet and loss of 207 feet. Pretty good over all for a trail run.
Laps/Splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:54
Mile 2 - 10:49
Mile 3 - 10:29
Mile 4 - 10:28
Mile 5 - 10:01
Mile 6 - 10:12
Mile 7 - 9:48
Mile 8 - 10:30
Mile 9 - 10:07
Mile 10 - 10:24
Mile 11 - 9:48
Another milestone for Rocky, 11 miles is his furthest yet and I know he can go even further so I am really excited as we progress. And I think this is the first 30 mile week for me, of just running so that is a great milestone!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Our 6 Mile Run on the Trails...... at Night
Last night was a long and restless one, Dorian was dealing with constipation and just didn't seem tired at all so in other words I didn't get any sleep. I honestly didn't know if I would even have the energy to run later today, but luckily I found some energy. Rocky was excited, he wore his doggie pack again and looks so good in it. The temperature was 45 degrees with 8 mph winds, and I could have sworn at some points I saw snow.......
I did much better than I have lately, didn't trip too much though I did slip and trudge through a lot of mud. It was still a good run with mile 3 being my fastest mile as that was on top of the levee, I just wanted a little break from the roots so I ran that mile on the levee which was flat. We saw probably 4 or 5 deer, or more but I can't remember. Running the trails at night after the sun goes down is a lot creepier than running them before dawn and as the sun comes up.
Rocky and I ran 6 miles in 1:05:13 with an average pace of 10:52 min/mile, an elevation gain of 111 feet and loss of 100 feet.... and lots of mud. It was pretty windy on the levee and during times I was close to the edge of a field. Overall it was a good run, both Rocky and I really enjoyed it.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:07
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 9:59
Mile 4 - 10:56
Mile 5 - 11:06
Mile 6 - 11:17
I was thinking about going to Hoosier National Forest to run a little bit of the Indian-Celina Challenge, but after a thinking about it for a bit I decided I'll wait until next weekend. I don't know the elevation changes and I want my legs to be fresh and ready for the 24th Annual Turkey Dash 5k next Thursday, I want to place well in my age group and maybe even in the overall female area. It would be nice :)
I did much better than I have lately, didn't trip too much though I did slip and trudge through a lot of mud. It was still a good run with mile 3 being my fastest mile as that was on top of the levee, I just wanted a little break from the roots so I ran that mile on the levee which was flat. We saw probably 4 or 5 deer, or more but I can't remember. Running the trails at night after the sun goes down is a lot creepier than running them before dawn and as the sun comes up.
Rocky and I ran 6 miles in 1:05:13 with an average pace of 10:52 min/mile, an elevation gain of 111 feet and loss of 100 feet.... and lots of mud. It was pretty windy on the levee and during times I was close to the edge of a field. Overall it was a good run, both Rocky and I really enjoyed it.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:07
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 9:59
Mile 4 - 10:56
Mile 5 - 11:06
Mile 6 - 11:17
I was thinking about going to Hoosier National Forest to run a little bit of the Indian-Celina Challenge, but after a thinking about it for a bit I decided I'll wait until next weekend. I don't know the elevation changes and I want my legs to be fresh and ready for the 24th Annual Turkey Dash 5k next Thursday, I want to place well in my age group and maybe even in the overall female area. It would be nice :)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
A Slow 7 Miler on the Trails - I Broke 1,000 Miles!
I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, a restless night's sleep after having a cup of coffee before I went to sleep. After seeing 30 degrees on the forecast, I decided to wear my tights instead of the capris - thank the running gods I did that. I had to layers of long sleeves, my warm gloves and a head band and some really warm socks.
Rocky was excited, and the doggie pack he has started wearing during our runs this morning didn't even slow him down. I even put two bottles of water in it so he can get used to carrying weight as our runs get longer.
It felt like I was going fast, but looking at my garmin said otherwise - didn't matter though as I am supposed to take it easy a day for every mile I race so 9 days of easy for the most part. Within the first mile I tried to navigate around a flooded section and ended up in ankle deep (freezing) water, thankfully my socks kept my feet relatively warm. Things were pretty sluggish up until mile 3 when I dropped my headlamp and flashlight off at the Tahoe as the sun was up enough and the trees bare enough for me to see without a light. Things got a little better after that, and faster. I freaked out though when my phone alarm went off saying it was 7:20 and I wasn't even halfway done. My Garmin said 6:20 though, and I knew that I had gotten to the trails at 5:40 and there was no way it took me an hour and 40 minutes to run 3 miles. I kept running, praying my phone was screwed up and my garmin was right. Just before mile 5 I stopped and called my mom, asked her what time she had and luckily my garmin was correct - she laughed saying maybe I ran through some time warp except my watch would have changed too.... oh well.
Nearing the end of our run, we ran into a man and his four dogs - one on a lead who seemed a bit aggressive while the others were relatively friendly, I had to "drag" Rocky away as he wanted to go with them. Overall it was a good run, better than some and could have been worse so that is good. Rocky and I ran 7 miles in 1:15:32 with an average pace of 10:47 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 126 feet and a loss of 121 feet.
Laps/Splits were:
Mile 1 - 12:29
Mile 2 - 11:30
Mile 3 - 10:34
Mile 4 - 10:28
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 10:12
Mile 7 - 10:09
This morning's run put me at 1,006.9 for 2013!! My goal was 1,000 for this year and I am going to surpass it, I'll be even more beside myself if I can reach 1,200 miles by the end of the year!
Rocky was excited, and the doggie pack he has started wearing during our runs this morning didn't even slow him down. I even put two bottles of water in it so he can get used to carrying weight as our runs get longer.
It felt like I was going fast, but looking at my garmin said otherwise - didn't matter though as I am supposed to take it easy a day for every mile I race so 9 days of easy for the most part. Within the first mile I tried to navigate around a flooded section and ended up in ankle deep (freezing) water, thankfully my socks kept my feet relatively warm. Things were pretty sluggish up until mile 3 when I dropped my headlamp and flashlight off at the Tahoe as the sun was up enough and the trees bare enough for me to see without a light. Things got a little better after that, and faster. I freaked out though when my phone alarm went off saying it was 7:20 and I wasn't even halfway done. My Garmin said 6:20 though, and I knew that I had gotten to the trails at 5:40 and there was no way it took me an hour and 40 minutes to run 3 miles. I kept running, praying my phone was screwed up and my garmin was right. Just before mile 5 I stopped and called my mom, asked her what time she had and luckily my garmin was correct - she laughed saying maybe I ran through some time warp except my watch would have changed too.... oh well.
Nearing the end of our run, we ran into a man and his four dogs - one on a lead who seemed a bit aggressive while the others were relatively friendly, I had to "drag" Rocky away as he wanted to go with them. Overall it was a good run, better than some and could have been worse so that is good. Rocky and I ran 7 miles in 1:15:32 with an average pace of 10:47 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 126 feet and a loss of 121 feet.
Laps/Splits were:
Mile 1 - 12:29
Mile 2 - 11:30
Mile 3 - 10:34
Mile 4 - 10:28
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 10:12
Mile 7 - 10:09
This morning's run put me at 1,006.9 for 2013!! My goal was 1,000 for this year and I am going to surpass it, I'll be even more beside myself if I can reach 1,200 miles by the end of the year!
Monday, November 18, 2013
Our Slow Recovery 6.2 Mile Run
Due to yesterday's rain I figured it would be best to avoid the trails since I didn't feel like slipping and sliding on already sore legs, so Rocky and I ran on the roads out in Chandler. The first 3 miles were a bit difficult, my legs were definitely sore from Saturday's race and my ankles were feeling it too, I was half tempted to call it off at 4 or 5 miles but we ended up running 6.2 miles in 1:06:19. My hands were freezing, the forecast said 48 degrees but it was 40, I didn't have my gloves so that was a bit miserable. Running these roads reminds me how much I hate roads, and love the trails..... I hate having Rocky on a leash especially on a road with cars constantly driving past us. Trying to keep him off to the grass is just as irritating, he will stop and jerk me back every minute or so because he smells something interesting. Not only that, but sometimes he will actually try to trot towards an oncoming vehicle which can be very stressful, even more annoying was when a garbage truck waited to let me pass in front so I tried to hurry across only to have Rocky run right into my left knee. He was too busy staring at the truck and ran right into my path as my left knee was coming up and right into his ribcage, he yelped of course. I appreciate the trails even more after this run, I hate that they are so far away and will probably be muddy for the next few days, but I don't care and will run them Wednesday and Friday anyways.
Laps/Splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:57
Mile 2 - 10:56
Mile 3 - 10:46
Mile 4 - 10:46
Mile 5 - 10:46
Mile 6 - 10:07
.2 - 9:25
Laps/Splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:57
Mile 2 - 10:56
Mile 3 - 10:46
Mile 4 - 10:46
Mile 5 - 10:46
Mile 6 - 10:07
.2 - 9:25
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Get Dirty Fall Trail 15k Race
I was a little nervous this morning, but my main plan was to enjoy the race and finish it. My big goal was to place in the top 3 in females, so I was hoping there wasn't a whole lot of women in the 15k distance. It was 55 degrees when I got up so I wore my shorts, short sleeves and my new shoes. Mom came over to watch Dorian, even though it was warm enough it was still damp and I didn't want him out in it.
It was about 57 degrees when we got to Angel Mounds, but the windchill definitely made it a bit nipply. I was looking around, there wasn't a lot of runners so I was hoping and praying that I might place in the top 3.
We started off at 9 a.m for the first 5k lap, I didn't want to go too fast because I figured most people were doing the 5k and very few were running the 15k (I was hoping).
Mile 1 - 8:50
Mile 2 - 9:06
Mile 3 - 9:12
I saw quite a few people dropping off at the 5k mark, the two women who had gotten in front of me were still ahead but I think one of them had dropped at the 5k mark. Around 3.5 on the levee I saw the other woman up ahead about 50-75 feet but I was still hoping she was doing the 10k. I was still doing really good, the trails were awesome and I pulled my shirt off around 3.3 miles.
Mile 4 - 9:00
Mile 5 - 9:17
Mile 6 - 9:15
A lot more people had dropped off at the 10k finish, so I was feeling more and more positive that I was going to place well. I could no longer see the other woman so I hoped and prayed she had dropped at the 10k distance. I was feeling a little more tired, as I got back into the woods I walked for a few seconds before saying screw it and started back up with running. I told myself I only had one more lap to run and I would be done, I could keep this pace and not let anybody pass me. I was thinking to myself "I could run a 13.1 mile race out here", I could hear someone way back behind me but I didn't see this other girl until after mile 8 but luckily she was in the relay so she wouldn't count in the overall 15k distance.
Mile 7 - 8:50
Mile 8 - 9:23
Mile 9 - 9:13
.3 - 8:02
It took a lot to keep going even when I wanted to walk, as I came up on the finish I kept wondering where I had placed but felt great to finish. I finished the 9.3 miles in 1:24:04 with an average pace of 9:02 min/mile.
Finish Results:
Chip Time: 1:24:18
Overall in 15k: 5th out of 19
Female: 2nd out of 8
The woman who had stayed ahead of me from the start had won 1st place overall in the female group for the 15k distance, DH said she finished about 10 minutes before me. I am still happy that I placed in the top 3, I placed 2nd for women and 5th out of 19 runners in the 15k distance. Awesome.
I'll post pictures at some point.
It was about 57 degrees when we got to Angel Mounds, but the windchill definitely made it a bit nipply. I was looking around, there wasn't a lot of runners so I was hoping and praying that I might place in the top 3.
We started off at 9 a.m for the first 5k lap, I didn't want to go too fast because I figured most people were doing the 5k and very few were running the 15k (I was hoping).
Mile 1 - 8:50
Mile 2 - 9:06
Mile 3 - 9:12
I saw quite a few people dropping off at the 5k mark, the two women who had gotten in front of me were still ahead but I think one of them had dropped at the 5k mark. Around 3.5 on the levee I saw the other woman up ahead about 50-75 feet but I was still hoping she was doing the 10k. I was still doing really good, the trails were awesome and I pulled my shirt off around 3.3 miles.
Mile 4 - 9:00
Mile 5 - 9:17
Mile 6 - 9:15
A lot more people had dropped off at the 10k finish, so I was feeling more and more positive that I was going to place well. I could no longer see the other woman so I hoped and prayed she had dropped at the 10k distance. I was feeling a little more tired, as I got back into the woods I walked for a few seconds before saying screw it and started back up with running. I told myself I only had one more lap to run and I would be done, I could keep this pace and not let anybody pass me. I was thinking to myself "I could run a 13.1 mile race out here", I could hear someone way back behind me but I didn't see this other girl until after mile 8 but luckily she was in the relay so she wouldn't count in the overall 15k distance.
Mile 7 - 8:50
Mile 8 - 9:23
Mile 9 - 9:13
.3 - 8:02
It took a lot to keep going even when I wanted to walk, as I came up on the finish I kept wondering where I had placed but felt great to finish. I finished the 9.3 miles in 1:24:04 with an average pace of 9:02 min/mile.
Finish Results:
Chip Time: 1:24:18
Overall in 15k: 5th out of 19
Female: 2nd out of 8
The woman who had stayed ahead of me from the start had won 1st place overall in the female group for the 15k distance, DH said she finished about 10 minutes before me. I am still happy that I placed in the top 3, I placed 2nd for women and 5th out of 19 runners in the 15k distance. Awesome.
I'll post pictures at some point.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Our Very Slow 4.2 Miler this Morning
I only went out for a run this morning to try my new shoes out before race this Saturday, I wanted to make sure that they will be comfortable to run in during the race. I didn't want to do too much running, I really wanted my legs fresh for the race but I just had to make sure they would be good for me.
We only ran 4.2 miles very slowly in 47 minutes and 17 seconds, it was definitely slow and I rolled my right ankle inward really bad twice but the pain only lasted a minute or 2. I went ahead and taped it up but I am not sure if I did it right so once I get home I am hoping that I can find the ankle brace thingy and use it. I don't suspect an injury or anything serious but it is sore in the middle of my foot. Hopefully some wrapping and stuff will do the trick, and I'll definitely have to be more vigilant on the trails and watch my step. All the leaves on the ground make it really hard to see the roots, I'll be so happy when they start decomposing and stuff. I think I have a new reason to like running trails during the summer, no leaves on the ground which will be a nice change from right now.
Anyways, I decided to wear my tights and they didn't feel as constricting this time which could be thanks to getting used to my capris. A summer of wearing shorts definitely makes tights feel extremely annoying. It was 30 degrees, no wind but I was definitely dressed for it.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:46
Mile 2 - 11:41
Mile 3 - 11:05
Mile 4 - 10:54
.2 - 9:16
It looks like Saturday morning is going to be like 50 degrees so I'll be debating capris or shorts depending on the wind. Hopefully not too many women (fast women) will be running the 15k distance, and I will be sure to line up a bit closer to the front so that I can pick out a position before the single track begins as it is very difficult to pass people on a single track and I want to be able to hear any instructions this time.
We only ran 4.2 miles very slowly in 47 minutes and 17 seconds, it was definitely slow and I rolled my right ankle inward really bad twice but the pain only lasted a minute or 2. I went ahead and taped it up but I am not sure if I did it right so once I get home I am hoping that I can find the ankle brace thingy and use it. I don't suspect an injury or anything serious but it is sore in the middle of my foot. Hopefully some wrapping and stuff will do the trick, and I'll definitely have to be more vigilant on the trails and watch my step. All the leaves on the ground make it really hard to see the roots, I'll be so happy when they start decomposing and stuff. I think I have a new reason to like running trails during the summer, no leaves on the ground which will be a nice change from right now.
Anyways, I decided to wear my tights and they didn't feel as constricting this time which could be thanks to getting used to my capris. A summer of wearing shorts definitely makes tights feel extremely annoying. It was 30 degrees, no wind but I was definitely dressed for it.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:46
Mile 2 - 11:41
Mile 3 - 11:05
Mile 4 - 10:54
.2 - 9:16
It looks like Saturday morning is going to be like 50 degrees so I'll be debating capris or shorts depending on the wind. Hopefully not too many women (fast women) will be running the 15k distance, and I will be sure to line up a bit closer to the front so that I can pick out a position before the single track begins as it is very difficult to pass people on a single track and I want to be able to hear any instructions this time.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Our 5 Miler Yesterday
Forgot to blog about it, but yesterday morning was 34 degrees with a feels like 27 degrees. It was freaking cold out there, but I was determined to wear my capris because I just do not want to wear the darn tights yet. I feel so constricted in them when on the trails, but shorts would be insane in this kind of weather so. We got to the trailhead around 5:58 a.m, I had plans to run the course of the race this Saturday morning so I could make sure that I don't get lost. It was very well marked, there just isn't any possible way that you could get lost on this course but I am sad that it stays pretty much on inner trails rather than going along the outer trails which are a lot funner and more technical.
It was cold, I mean after being used to 80 degrees and stuff all summer with horrible humidity, this run was tough. I started warming up around mile 3 though, and even though I am determined to wear my capris for as long as I can, I think I will start wearing my wool socks or whatever fabric they are. They are warm, and I think perfect for anything 35 and below.
We ran 5 miles, I had to stop about 5 or 6 times because Rocky was going insane (enjoying the cold) and I was a feeling a bit eh. With just a quarter of a mile left we had to stop and wait for 5 minutes on the levee, some guy and his dog were just meandering on the levee ahead of us towards the direction we were heading and his dog was off leash. I didn't have Rocky's leash so we just waited until they were gone. We ran the 5 miles in 47:31 with an average pace of 9:30 min/mile, hopefully I can pull that pace off at the race Saturday but I seriously need to stop thinking about speed and winning if I am going to get into trails and ultras.
Splits/laps were:
Mile 1 - 10:05
Mile 2 - 10:03
Mile 3 - 9:30
Mile 4 - 9:06
Mile 5 - 8:44
It would still be great if I can place in the top 3 of this race, races at distances 15k and less I think could be about pace and speed and placing in the top 3.... even on trails. But races with distances longer than 13.1 will definitely have to be more about surviving and finishing the race strong rather than in a certain time frame or thoughts of speed. If I am ever going to dip my toes in the 50k distance and beyond, I am going to have to forget about getting faster and worry about getting stronger and enduring the distance.
Other than that - I got my new trails shoes in yesterday, Brooks ASR GTX (10) and they a sexy black and reddish/pink color which will be my race shoes. I'll try them out tomorrow morning, but only for 3 miles as I am still feeling a bit blah and I would really much rather rest the next couple of days but I need to make sure these shoes will work before I wear them to the race.
It was cold, I mean after being used to 80 degrees and stuff all summer with horrible humidity, this run was tough. I started warming up around mile 3 though, and even though I am determined to wear my capris for as long as I can, I think I will start wearing my wool socks or whatever fabric they are. They are warm, and I think perfect for anything 35 and below.
We ran 5 miles, I had to stop about 5 or 6 times because Rocky was going insane (enjoying the cold) and I was a feeling a bit eh. With just a quarter of a mile left we had to stop and wait for 5 minutes on the levee, some guy and his dog were just meandering on the levee ahead of us towards the direction we were heading and his dog was off leash. I didn't have Rocky's leash so we just waited until they were gone. We ran the 5 miles in 47:31 with an average pace of 9:30 min/mile, hopefully I can pull that pace off at the race Saturday but I seriously need to stop thinking about speed and winning if I am going to get into trails and ultras.
Splits/laps were:
Mile 1 - 10:05
Mile 2 - 10:03
Mile 3 - 9:30
Mile 4 - 9:06
Mile 5 - 8:44
It would still be great if I can place in the top 3 of this race, races at distances 15k and less I think could be about pace and speed and placing in the top 3.... even on trails. But races with distances longer than 13.1 will definitely have to be more about surviving and finishing the race strong rather than in a certain time frame or thoughts of speed. If I am ever going to dip my toes in the 50k distance and beyond, I am going to have to forget about getting faster and worry about getting stronger and enduring the distance.
Other than that - I got my new trails shoes in yesterday, Brooks ASR GTX (10) and they a sexy black and reddish/pink color which will be my race shoes. I'll try them out tomorrow morning, but only for 3 miles as I am still feeling a bit blah and I would really much rather rest the next couple of days but I need to make sure these shoes will work before I wear them to the race.
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