Happy Birthday Present

     It's official.  I'm in the Nike Women's Half Marathon.  Besides being a fantastic race with a really cool finisher necklace from Tiffany...this year it's on my birthday!  This has got to be the best birthday present ever. Usually, I'm not one to look forward to birthdays but now I have a great reason to be excited.  
     I'm in SoCal this weekend for a conference.  I know there won't be an opportunity for a long run, so I managed to do 5 miles on the treadmill in the hotel fitness center.  I don't think I have ever sweated so much.  I tried doing the walk run intervals but those don't work so well on the treadmill so I ended up just keeping the thing at a pace that I could easily jog or briskly walk.  As much as I was bored out of mind, it is nice to know that I can tolerate 1 hour and 15 minutes on the treadmill.  Who knew?

Hills, Hills, Hills

So after starting hill trainings on Thursday about six weeks ago, I finally got someone to come out and join me tonight.  It was a good thing too.  If it wasn't for my trusty running buddy I probably would have headed home after 2 hill repeats.  Instead, I managed to do 5 hill repeats and a total workout of 2.5 miles.  Not bad for just finishing my 10th half marathon.  I keep saying 10th half marathon because it's so unbelievable to me.   I never would have thought in seven months I would have completed 10 half marathons.  Double Digits!!  Incredible.  The hill workouts are definitely responsible for helping me become stronger and be able to push harder for longer.  They aren't the most fun thing to do, so it's great to have a partner in crime to push me forward.  I probably will take a break from the long run this weekend to aid my recovery (plus I'm at a conference all weekend) so I can be ready for my next half, #11, in a little over a week.

Extra Time

Who hasn't wished for additional time in the day?  Haven't you wondered what it would be like if you could find more time?  Today, I found time!  I looked up the official results for the River City Half and my chip time was much lower than my watch time.  The two are usually pretty close but in this case, not only did I complete a sub 3 hour half marathon, but I finished a sub 2:59 half marathon.  My final time was 2:58.25.  A full forty seconds faster than what I thought yesterday!  That 3 hour mark was obliterated!!  It is so rare that one actually finds time so this provoked great excitement.  Now, I'm only 11 minutes off my best time set in 1999!  I only need to gain about 50 seconds per mile.  With continued speed work, hill work, and dropping some pounds, I think that is totally within reach by the fall.

Sub 3 Hour Half

     The 10th time was a charm.  I finally reached my goal of a sub 3 hour half with 56 seconds to spare.  Final time was 2:59.04.  The River City folks put on a great race.  It was a no-frills race along my favorite training spot, the American River Trail.  We started at William Pond Park and ended at Discovery Park.  With the point to point format there was no chance of getting bored.  The aid stations were well stocked with water and HEED which tastes like a meal.  There was even pretzels and M&Ms which taste much yummier when running.   My pace was fairly consistent throughout the race with 4 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking.  I knew after 4 miles that I had a good chance of a sub 3 hour time if I could maintain my pace.  With the heat, I wasn't sure at times if I was going to make it but I did it.   So far, eight hours after finishing, recovery is going well.  My knees and shins are a little sore but they have been iced and I've taken my vitamin I.  I'm surprised with how hard I was running throughout that I'm not sore or tight (yet!).  The body is an amazing adaptable gift that it can change to accommodate all these half marathons I've done.   Two more races are on the books for the remainder of the school year and then I'm thinking it's time to tackle the next goal--besting my previous best half time, set in 1999 of 2:47.  I just have 12 minutes to gain.  I've already gained 43 minutes so what's 12 more, right?

Warm-Up Run

Tomorrow is Half Marathon #10 for me.  I met up with folks this morning to run and did a 4 mile warm-up run.  I was just planning to walk but got talked into doing 1 minute of running with 3 minutes of walking.  I had decided since I was having so many issues with my calf, maybe it was time for new shoes.  Just got them in the mail and it provided a chance to try them out.  It was also an opportunity to try running in shorts.  It is supposed to be quite warm tomorrow so I really want to wear shorts but it has been a REALLY long time since I've run in shorts.  Not sure how my skin would handle it.  I loaded up on the Body Glide and it wasn't too bad.  I think I'm going to try the shorts tomorrow.  The best part was that the run was entirely pain free!  No tightness or aches whatsoever.  Yeah for new shoes!  It is such a wonderful experience to be able to meet up with friends on a Saturday morning and run 4 miles like it's no big deal even the day before a big race.  It's such a nice change of pace.

Confession

Dear Friendly Gym Gods,
     I have a confession to make.  It has been a very long time since my last gym visit.  It has been so long I have forgotten the combination to my lock.  I am deeply sorry of this transgression and will repent at the alter of digital workout displays and suspended televisions.                      
                                               -callipides


     Even though it has been a really long time since I set foot on an elliptical machine my progress is amazing!  My goal was always to complete 2 miles during the 28 minute weight loss workout and a couple times I made it in the past.  Looking through notes on my calendar from over a year ago, I was completing about 2.3 miles with the cool down phase.  Well tonight is definitely a new chapter in my fitness journey.  I did 2 miles on the same program and still had 5 minutes left and that didn't include the cool down!  After the 33 minutes were up, I had completed 2.85 miles!!!  A full 1/2 mile further than what I was doing before.  It's unbelievable.  Absence has definitely made the heart grow fonder (and stronger!).  I need to make the gym a part of my regular routine.

Tuesday Track Edition

     Third Tuesday Track Turn-out.  I was going to say workout but liked the alliteration.  Not much to report but I showed up.  I had high hopes following my run on Sunday which despite the rain went really well.  I was surprised to have no soreness on Monday.  But my left calf was super tight and although it did loosen up, it never felt quite right when I pushed hard.  So I did lots of walking and slow jogging.  Not much of a track workout.
     Two milestones to report.  I broke the hundred mile total mile mark since logging miles on www.dailymile.com AND my total miles on my Garmin is 225 miles since November.  Not bad.  I'm 1/4 of the way to my thousand mile goal.  I wear a ring that reminds me every day that "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  Completing my 10th half marathon this weekend  will help put me a little closer toward that goal.  I can't wait.  I only hope my calf loosens up by then.  I really want that sub 3 hour time.

April Showers

Today was a Winnie the Pooh Blustery Day.  My run started off with a Happy Winds-day.  The winds were out but nothing too bad.  Then, they proceeded to get worse.  I had to pull my hat down several times for fear of it flying off my head.  It was just a put your head down and keep moving forward kind of run.  Around mile 6, the rain started.   Lightly at first but then a steady rain fall for the remaining 6 miles.  The wind mixed with the rain led me to question at times if it was actually hailing.  It sure felt like it with the cold rain hitting my skin.  But no hail.  Even though running in the rain is not exactly my favorite thing to do it felt like I had the entire trail to myself.  For the last six miles, the number of wild turkeys I saw outnumbered people.  I don't know what that says about me if I'm out in weather that only wild turkeys will endure.  There were even geese flying overhead that appeared to have difficulty maintaining their course.  I finished.  I felt pretty good even though I was cold.  If it's raining next Sunday for the race, I'll be ready.  If it's not raining, I'll be ready and smiling!

Hills: Two Weeks Later

It's Thursday and Thursday means hill repeats.   I missed out last week due to moving and overall soreness and wasn't really sure how I would do tonight.  Last time I did four hill repeats and this time I wanted to do more but a late start meant I essentially repeated the workout from 2 weeks ago, allowing for comparison.  Unlike last time, I felt soooooooo much better!  My lungs did not feel like they were going to explode and I recovered fast enough to actually jog down a portion of the hill.  The best part was after my LAST hill climb I continued running for about 1/2 mile after!!  Amazing.  What a difference two weeks can make.  Not sure if two days made a difference, but one of my mile times was 10 seconds faster than the presidential mile which was run on a flat track.  I'm full of hope both for my next half marathon (PR, please!!) and the first Tuesday of May for the rerunning of the presidential mile.

Presidential Mile

     Does anyone remember those presidential fitness tests from elementary school?  Or, is it just me?  I remember the preparation for those with practice miles around the track, pull-ups (which I could never do!), sit-ups to Rocky music, and the balance beam.  Those activities seemed to happen every year.  The sit and reach test and the shuttle run were other events that sometimes seemed part of the whole festivities.  I never earned a patch because I couldn't do any pull-ups and my mile time wasn't the best either.  So with such wonderful memories of this yearly torture, who would of thought that I would come up with the idea of running the presidential mile the first Tuesday of the Month?!?  
     I showed up at our track workout location today and no one was there.  So, I thought why not?  I'll see how fast I can run a mile.  It shouldn't  be too difficult since I've run 13.1 miles 9 times in the last 6 months, right?  I was in for a rude awakening.  I started off at a nice slow pace and tried to keep that pace for as long as possible.  My long as possible was 8 minutes before I needed to walk and recover.  After recovering, I started off again but only lasted 4 minutes before walking to recover.  Then, I didn't bother to keep track.  I was just waiting for my timer to let me know I had run 1 mile.  Final time?  15:39
     I found the norms for the presidential mile:

    There I fall.  Somewhere between the 0 to 5th percentile for ages 17+.  I could be in the 10th percentile if I was 8 or 9 years old.  Which I am not!  The 25th percentile is the highest I could be if only was six years old.  Wow!  I'd have to be six to be considered just low average and not significantly below average.  Just when I think I'm making progress I get confronted with this!  At least it provides a baseline and there's only room for improvement.

Polka-Dot Legs

     Managed to do 7 miles today.  I took an epic fall yesterday over a mattress onto my knee and then did a roll and tuck maneuver until I landed on my feet again.  Both knees and shoulder hurt for about 3 minutes from the shock and then I was totally fine.  I don't think that would have been the case only 9 months ago.  If I had fallen the same way I'm sure there would have been something broken or torn.  Yeah for improved health and flexibility.  However, I do have the bruises to show for the fall.  They have joined the collection of bruises I already have from moving boxes.  I would describe my legs as polka-dotted with bruises.  Not the most attractive look but they still worked hard for me today.
     A couple of long runs ago, my running buddy and I began plotting to form a running group with some of our coworkers.  She's in charge of recruiting and did a bang-up job!  Five additional people showed up this morning to run/walk with us.  It was awesome.  I walked/ran with someone and we did almost 3 miles which was one of her longest runs ever.  Then I headed back to the trail to find the next group of folks and finished with them.  Then, I headed out again to find the last group and my plan was to run in with them.  I caught up with them 2 miles out on their way back and managed to run one interval with them at an 11:22 min/mile pace, but that was the last time I saw them until the end.  They were running 10 miles and were super fast until the very end.  Next time, I'll need a bike to "run" with them.  That's what makes running fun...there is always room for progress and what better time than now.

Stairs & IKEA Furniture

The training calendar calls for a hill workout tonight and it looks like the last day of decent weather before a storm rolls in, but no workout for me!  I feel like I've done about a million squats.  My legs and back are screaming.  Not to mention my knees.  I figure I've spent about 5-7 hours putting together various IKEA furniture (and that's using power tools), and all the bending and maneuvering  is enough of a workout for me at this point. And don't forget going up and down a ton of stairs!!  No hills for me tonight.  One more day of moving tomorrow and still some remaining assembly to finish.  Hopefully my body will be recovered for a long run on Saturday.