Workouts this week: April 24-30

Monday: April 24
I had to miss yoga because of a work meeting.

I did go to BodyPump. I had an asthma attack in the middle of the class. (The first time that's happened.) I took my inhaler and finished the class out. I was supposed to run after, but I felt bad. I went home and went to bed early. (9:30 p.m.)

Tuesday: April 25

I wasn't crazy about the speed workout for today's group run AND the weather is supposed to be awful Thursday, so I did my hill repeats today, figuring I can do speed indoors on Thursday.

Workout was two easy miles, 6 hill repeats and 2 easy miles.

Today I focused on my breathing. Really thought about breathing through my mouth AND nose and being conscious of breaths in and out (instead of mindlessly running.) And I felt great. Even on the hills. And when my thoughts drifted to the cute dog I passed or the girls walking past me, I could tell a difference. I did six hill repeats. I ran them all. There was no walking up the hill. And I ran father up the hill to get my two minutes in. My times were about the same as last week, but my fastest one was four seconds faster. But overall, I felt great and ended up running 7 miles.

(Note: I turned the heart rate monitoring back on my Apple Watch. It said my heart rate got up to 213. Which is why I turned the HRM off in the first place. I felt great. I wasn't dizzy—and isn't 213 IMPOSSIBLE for a 34-year-old who is not dying. My Apple Watch is so stupid. I'd believe 150. But I don't trust wrist based heart monitoring because my wrist is small, has freckles, and my watch jiggles when I run. We'll see if my Garmin gives those results.) 

Wednesday: Gymnastics
I ran two miles before gymnastics (slower than last week). I was running a little late since I had to drop my husband off somewhere.

But I did my gymnastics class: I played some on the bars, the trampoline, did a handstand forward roll on the mat with no extra cushion. I played around some with headstand and forearm stands. Afterwards, the group went out for tacos.

Thursday: speed work
This is the speed work I was supposed to do Tuesday. The weather actually was nice so I could have done hills. Oh well.

My training plan had called for 10 x400s, but I liked the workout from last week, the mix of 800s and 400s so I did that instead. I did very little breaks in between. I walked a half a lap (about 100 meters) and then ran.

Times: 3:45. 1:48, 3:35, 1:44, 3:32, 1:44, 3:32, 1:44, 3:35, 1:48.

Then I needed to make mileage for the week, so I ran a mile. 7:48 (which is not bad for dead legs. I would have liked 7:40)

Then I played with some 200s (1 lap around the track), just for fun: 48, 45, 42, 44

Friday off: 
I was at a conference in Atlanta so this was a scheduled off day. This was also my cheat day. I've been eating way too healthy lately

Saturday: Long Run
Long Run at Sandy Creek Park. The goal was to run 8-9 miles. I showed up at the same time at the university cross country team. But they didn't warm up. They just ran. So I started about 5 minutes after them. I was glad for some to clear the spiderwebs away for me.

The course was as brutal as I remember. I still had to walk in sections. I tried to concentrate on my breathing and run easy. But I ended up running the course start to start 5 min faster than two weeks ago. And the course start to finish near the beach was 3-4 minutes faster than I've run before. I'll take that for progress.

The last mile or so I had nothing in my tank. It was a run/walk. And it's totally fine. I'm training for a 10k, so my first 6.5 miles were okay. (I ran 8.59 today, so right in between 8 and 9. I couldn't have done 9.)

As for the course, there were still 2-3 muddy sections. One muddy section was replaced by a bridge (yay!). It smelled new. But in the back half there were at least two fallen trees that I had to climb carefully over.

Almost confident to run in a sports bra.
Thankfully really no one saw me. 

I tried to walk around a ton afterwards. I took a quick shower and headed to the farmer's market for breakfast. I ordered a crepe that wasn't very good and got some chocolate almond milk. I wanted a biscuit, but the line for that cart was too long. I went home and made myself eggs on toast. And I wore compression socks for the rest of the day.

Sunday: Yoga
I ran 1.8 miles to make my miles for the week. I love running first thing in the morning so I can mark that off as done.

Then I went to yoga. I've been feeling achey all week since I missed yoga this week. I felt so much better after yoga. I was stretched and relaxed. I love that feeling when you walk out of yoga class and you feel so much better than when you walked in. I think there must be a special place in heaven for yoga teachers.

Miles this week: 24 (think I'll do a separate post about miles this month)
Workouts: 8: 5 runs, one body pump, one yoga, one gymnastics

Workouts this week: 4-16-17

Sunday: Off (maybe some course scouting) 
Today was my day off (kind of) after my long run. Also the gym was closed for Easter, so.....I made it an off day.

I did want to get in 1.2 miles to get my Boston Badge on Strava (run 26.2 miles in 10 days) and I needed to run .3 miles to get to 20 miles for the Monday through Sunday week. So I headed to the Bot Garden to scout the course for Saturday's race.

L handstand? I'm weird.

I started in the middle and ran up the hill, and turned right for the white trail and then left for the red trail, then right, and then to the access path, and then I ended up where I started. And then I guessed wrong and ended up on the far end of the trail. And had to walk a mile back to my car. (BTW: I can run/walk forever. I probably should have just run this after I finished my mile.)

I got home and compared MY route to the route online and figured out I tried the course backwards (the end and the start are the same color. Haha). So now I need to walk the course again to see how hilly it is. I HATE HILLS.

I looked up race training plans, and the Hal Higdon has me doing a 5k this Saturday. So Hooray. I'm right on track with that plan.

Monday: Crazy Day
I decided to make today my first three-a-day. What was I thinking?

There wasn't class on Sunday so I felt like I MUST make up for Sunday yoga and BodyPump.

So I went to noon yoga. Yay.

And then the craziness starts. I had a 4 p.m. meeting downtown. I couldn't figure out the logistics. I could get there, but how was I going to get to my 5:30 p.m. BodyPump class across campus. Traffic is insane and I didn't know how I'd make it.

So....I laced up my shoes and ran to my meeting. (Seriously, I didn't even stretch.) It took me 6 minutes to get to the restaurant. Which is way faster than driving and parking. And then I ran to the gym from the restaurant.

(Also this meeting. It was a brainstorming session. There were 6 pizzas for the 6 people who showed up. 14+ said they'd come. So I was sitting in front of pizzas while I am allergic to dairy. It was a torture session. I basically refuse to go to pizza restaurants for this reason.)

So I ran to the gym after the restaurant. Took me 12.5 minutes. I would have taken me 20+ in the car because of 5 p.m. traffic. Hooray.

So I ran .6 mile to the meeting. 1.5 mile to the gym. Then I did an hour of BodyPump.

Then I rank 1.4 miles back to my car. (I walked a hill. This was a slower pace. My legs were tired.) So I racked up 3.68 miles today going here, there and everywhere. And saved some gas. It was a cool experiment.  

Tuesday: Speed work at the track
Yay for trying new things. (Matt loved it)

Wednesday: Running + gymnastics
I ran two road miles before gymnastics. 2 miles in 15:55 on the road. It was hot, but I need to practice running on the road more. I was tired at the end of gymnastics, but I needed to get my miles in.

Thursday: Hill repeats

Friday: off

Saturday: Trail 5k 
I ran a trail 5k in a decent time. My splurge meal for lunch was Keba. (No fries. Look at my will power!!) Then I went shopping. I went to the Nike outlet. I was looking for another pair of road shoes. I found a pair of fly knits I liked okay, but not for $80. I got some tanks at Under Armour. That's about it.

Side rant:
Wednesday, my back hurt. (Running is jarring to the spine and used to make my back hurt in high school.) I decided it was time for a chiropractor visit. I told Matt was going to the chiropractor. He told me I should probably strengthen my back and that he never sees me doing anything to strengthen my back.

1. I lift weights for an hour a week. I do a back workout with weights. Big weights.
2. Yoga. I do lots of yoga, with lots of planks and side planks. This is really good for my back.
3. Gymnastics. I do a ton of body weight exercises in gymnastics.

I was kind of annoyed he said that. Since I take a ton of strength classes. And I NEVER see Matt do pushups or anything other than run these days.

Anyway, my back is great because I strengthen it. I hadn't been to the chiropractor since last year (so 4+ months). And it was much needed. She got some great pops in my back and I felt immediately better. I listened to my body and it was the right decision.

Week in review:
Runs: 6 (counting Monday as one run), so 6 days running. (yay! up from 3)
Miles this week. (19.4 for Sunday through Saturday, With Sunday's run I made 22, which was my goal mileage.) I think  I'm going to start counting my mileage Monday through Sunday, since that's how Strava does it. Otherwise
Workouts this week: 6 runs, one speed work, one hill workout, one yoga class, one gymnastics class, one weights class

Tarantula trail 5k

My goal was to run more races this year—and I've run my third race in four weekends.

Today's run was a trail 5k. And I signed up because I wanted to run a trail race. (It was the Tarantula 5K, a fundraiser for the UGA insect zoo. They actually had some tarantulas you could look at in cages.) 

I've been training for a 10k, so I wasn't really looking forward to this race. I usually do long runs on Saturday, and I kind of felt it took away from training (and that's too many races.) But trail races aren't that frequent so I got up and raced it.

My race prep was my usual workouts for the week. I ran 6 miles on hills Thursday. I took Friday off. I did try to walk the course Friday (And once before) and got turned around, so I never successfully walked it. I've been eating pretty clean in general, but didn't go out of my way to eat clean for this.

I got up Saturday morning and got ready. Since it was Earth Day, I decided on a ridiculous outfit: A green tank top and Werkshop crops in a raindrop pattern.

I showed up, got my number and sprayed myself in bug spray they had provided. (The bugs tried to eat me alive on Friday and even that morning. Gnats and mosquitos galore.) I got my bib attached and generally hung around awkwardly since I didn't see anyone I knew.

We lined up to race. We ran down a hill—the three runners from Athens Running Company took the lead and I let them. I focused on running easy, but strong.

There was a girl who was HOLDING her iPhone out in front of me. She tried to pass me. My watch said 7:30 pace. I thought ha,ha and let her ahead. I'd catch her in the hills. Less than 20 seconds later, she fell hard onto the side of the trail (because she wasn't watching her feet.) I heard the crash and kept going. There were lots of runners hot on my tail.

A 20-year-old in a long sleeve pullover past me going at a fast pace. I let her lead. She led me up the hill on the red trail. (I didn't walk!) This was a good pace. We got down to the river at about halfway through the course and the course was narrow—one person wide. I wanted to pass this girl, but couldn't. So I used it as recovery. Meanwhile the girl kept pulling at her booty shorts. I don't know how long this lasted 1/4 mile, maybe more. Finally I stepped quickly to the right, stepped in front of her and took off. I actually looked back several times to see if she would catch up. She was fading. (At least two more girls past her before she finished)

And at the 2 mile the course is flat and along the river (very pretty). And I was feeling strong. I felt as though my 6-mile runs had made me strong.


(And looking back, I did NOT training for that 5k last August right. I thought because I ran 3 miles a few times a week and occasionally a 4-miler I could do it. Haha. That’s why I died.)

I got to the fence that means one more mile until the end. From there, it’s ½ mile of river and ½ mile up a hill. (I usually run this part of the course, but in the other direction.)

And finally it was the last climb to the finish.

At this point I was feeling strong—I hadn’t walked a step (which is a goal—to not have to walk at the hilly botanical garden.) And I died. My heart was pounding. I had nothing left. I walked 10 steps and started again. I ran. I walked another few steps and the plunged up the hill to the finish line. I flexed for the camera (because I am a dork) and then I was done.

26:38, which isn’t bad for a hilly trail course.

I got fifth place overall. Second place female. The girl from the running shop beat me. (I knew she would. She is fast.)

I signed my card and then ran/walked until my Apple Watch said 30 minutes so I could get this Earth Day badge.

Strava said I averaged about 8:22 pace.

My splits were
7:39
8:16
8:13
And then 2:30 for the climb up the hill.
It was 5:58 for that last ½ mile or about 9:27 pace. That last hill killed me. My heart was beating so fast. I recovered quickly since it was only three miles.

And turns out I did know someone there. Yay!

Maria, who I know from yoga and classes at Ramsey, was 15 seconds behind me. She finished third place female.

And when I got the results there were five 20-something women who finished within 45 seconds of me. I like that I beat the youngsters :) Maybe I was leading the pack? (I certainly didn’t see them behind me. They probably caught up as I was dying at the end.)

Overall, I guess I’m glad I did the race. It was nice to see Maria. I liked that I felt so strong in the middle. The course was pretty great (except the end).  Not a bad way to start a morning.

So now I just need to figure out what to do with all of my race bibs and medals.

My next race will be the Marigold 10k May 20, which I haven’t registered for yet. Let’s see if I can get tougher before then.

Hill repeats

I used to run hill repeats in high school. Tuesdays and Thursdays. I HATED THEM. We ran up a super steep long hill. It was torture. Then I did like running down the hill. The undoubtedly made me strong and a better trail runner.

I've really avoided hill workouts as an adult. I run the hills in the trails I run and call it running hills. Because ugh hills.

But hills have been killing me in races lately. I definitely need to be a stronger hill runner. So when hill repeats came up in my weekly running plan, I decided I would actually do them. The workout was 2 easy miles, 5 hill repeats (of 2 minutes each, so 2 minutes up the hill and then jog down) and 2 easy miles.

I went home after work and took a nap before trying this workout and then headed out to try it. (In my mind I was saying that if I did four that would be good.)

I ran my two miles. I felt good. And then I opted for a side hill instead of the hill I've dubbed HORRIBLE hill. And this hill ended up being a good length. It was about .2 miles with a 6% grade. (Which I was looking for a .25 mile hill was a 5-8 percent grade.) This hill took me almost 2 minutes to climb (like the workout said) and it killed me. One minute in the first one, I was dying. The second hill was faster. The third one was okay (feeling strong), four started feeling rough and five I finished. (I finished the hill in 1:54, 1:44, 1:45, 1:48 and 1:53).

So I finished all five. And I felt great on mile two of the cool down. When I'm running 9-minute mile pace, I feel like I can run forever. It's just hard for me to find that speed.

So hills—I'm really glad I did this workout. I felt stronger for doing it. And I swear the grade seems steeper than 6 percent. I didn't do the workout as fast as the directions said. I was supposed to do the hills at race pace. I did them at survival pace, 9:20-ish pace, I think. They got faster actually. Miles 2-3 were at 9:14 place and miles 3-4 were at 8:38 pace. I am not good at hills (yet) and I feel like my heart rate gets too high when I do them. So, I can learn to NOT WALK on the hills then it's progress. Speed will come later.

First group speed workout at track

Track selfie.

Today I finally tried speed workout at the track with some of the other Athens runners. Yay.

Going in to this, I had this first day of school feeling. This was my first track workout with a group since high school.

I showed up at the track and didn't know quite where the group met (by the 200 meter start, not the big starting line.)

We found the coach, did a lap for a warm up, did some stretching (not guided). There was four or so other guys there. One was a tall bodybuilder who said he wanted to run 3 miles in under 15 minutes. I just said I wanted to do well in the Marigold 10k in a month.

The workout was 400, 800, 400, 800, 400, 800, 400, with 1-2 minutes of break between each rep, more after the 800s, less after the 400s.

I told the coach I wanted to run 7:40 pace, so 1:55s for the 400s, and 3:50s for the 800s. He said to run the 400s a little faster and the 800s 5-10 seconds slower.

And we were off. I was at the very back of the pack. I was telling myself to run easy and consistently, and NOT go out too fast and burn myself out too early. (And NOT run with the boys though I wanted to. It was my first workout. I can be slow. And they can be thankful for the extra break.)

The coach did say to keep moving in the recovery. If others were walking, I did too. I should have been better about that.

The result: almost identical splits (which I'm super proud of.) I can usually do this in practice (yes, I do speed workouts by myself, the group is new for me), but not in a race. My pacing tends to be all over the place in a race.

Splits: 1:43, 3:40, 1:43, 3:42, 1:43, 3:40, 1:34

Which I think is 7:20 pacing. And I think I can sustain that for 2 miles. I want to get my 5k time, so maybe it's good to practice faster than race pace?

I ran a cool down lap. And honestly felt strong afterwards. (Also, it rained lightly during the workout. Very lightly. ) 

Today I tried a track workout, which was one of my goals for the year. I'd like to make more running friends. (I don't really remember people's names, except there was a fast girl name Sally and a redhead named Jean. More people showed up to practice late. I was happy for the company. Maybe 8 people? So not super intimidating.)

Running buddy.

As we were walking back to the car, I told Matt I wanted Grindhouse burgers (it's about a block away from the track. I love their turkey burgers). He told me I didn't deserve Grindhouse. HARSH.

He then clarified, that I didn't work that many calories, that maybe after one of our long runs, I'd deserve it.

Whatever. I was hungry and it's delicious. I went home and had salmon and kale, which is not nearly as fun.

Workouts this week: April 9

Sunday: Bodypump
Went to Bodypump. Still died in lunges. I did half of lunges without weights. (What is wrong with my legs?)

There was no yoga class tonight. They had a staff training.

Cute runners at the IM Fields, where I run. 

I did a 1.5 mile recovery run afterwards. It was painful and I walked a lot. But trying to stretch out my legs.

Note: Saw a couple walking a fluffy black cat on a leash. (It was pretty awesome.)

Goofing off after I saw the cat.
 (My calves look ripped because they are. So sore.)

Monday: Lunch yoga
I missed Sunday night yoga so I tried Alex's Monday noon yoga class. It was small. I liked it.

I'm trying to up my mileage, so I wanted to run two miles tonight. It was painful. I ran the 2. Barely. I was limping and almost crying as I walked back to my car. (My calves are so tight from Saturday's race.) I could have taken painkillers, but it's good for me to know what's going on with my muscles. (Tiny muscle tears.)

I went to the gym for the power plate machine (It has a 60-second massage feature). Lately there's always been a line. It's mostly people doing calf raises or single leg dips (which you can do on any machine.) Today it was two of the guys, who were working with a sour annoyed trainer. The guys look like they'd both come out of full body casts. They were pale. Their arms were atrophied and they were greasy. (I'd guess serious gamers.) They were having trouble with a medicine ball. (I wanted to snatch it from them and show them how to workout.) It's rare I see people so out of shape. Maybe it's good they were working out. Except they weren't trying and the trainer was annoyed by that.

Tuesday: OFF
Today was supposed to be my track workout, which I was REALLY looking forward to. I'd already gotten my clothes ready.

Only, my calves are still shredded. I can feel it when I walk. Speed work would have been the worst possible thing to do. So I rested instead.

I went home and walked the dog. I did a little cooking. Not as much as I wanted, but still.
It's so nice how much time I have when I don't workout.

Walking Mojo

Wednesday: Gymnastics
I picked an awful week to try and up my mileage. I tried to get 2 miles in on my lunch break. My calves are still sore. I took some painkillers so I could run. I was hoping they'd be better today. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Monday? I run clumsily. I walked more than I'd like. I'm eating protein and hoping my calves heal soon.

I went to gymnastics and tried to avoid jumping. Learned a forearm stand. I have trouble finding my balance and don't know how to fall out of it. That will come with practice.

Forearm stand

Also, they aren't having gymnastics this summer. I'd decided to run more miles this summer, so this works for me.

Feeling strong after gymnastics. 

Thursday: Easy run
I wanted to get a longish run in this week, so today I was shooting for 5 miles. But I was worried about my calves.

I read somewhere online that I should try some compression sleeves for my calves. So, I ordered some from Amazon. Today I wore compression crops for my run. That plus rest and taking it easy and I finished my 5 miles! I did go slowly. I did walk more than I wanted to. I don't know if I'v ever been so happy to run slow. But I logged my miles. I didn't cry. I didn't limp. Hooray!

CWX compression crops. 

Friday: Pilates
Went to Pilates. There were no classes at the gym for the Easter weekend.

Logging miles. Always logging miles.
This wasn't supposed to be a shot of powerlines. Oh well. 

Saturday: Long run
Today was my husband's birthday. To celebrate we went on a long run. No, really, that's what he wanted to do.

We did the big loop around Lake Chapman. It's 6 and change miles. It's really pretty, very hilly and full of roots. You really have to watch your step. I stayed with him for the first 3 or so and then I took two wrong turns (it's been more than a month since I've run here, so oops), so I got further behind.

The rain washed a bridge out, so there was a small river to ford. This involved strategic hopping on logs and picking the highest part of the mud to highly tread through. My shoes still got dirty, but not wet.

I walked way too much on this course. The hills kill me. They make me feel so weak. But I was trying to keep it slow and my times were within what my training plan said. So I did it. I finished 8 miles. (I added some to the beginning and end of the course.)

I drank all of my water after the run. I ate a granola bar dipped in peanut butter and an orange.

We went home and cleaned up and went and got tacos.

Miles this week: 21
Runs: 6
6 days running
Workouts: 10 (workouts + 1 and 2 mile runs)

Running rant

There's this Buzzfeed video about a girl training to run a marathon in 10 weeks. And this girl not only does it but qualifies for Boston with her amazing time.

And this video just makes me mad because it is not realistic.

That wouldn't happen for 99% of the population. And it makes me mad because I have so many friends who have trained so hard for years and not qualified for Boston. It's hard work.

I think about 75% of the population wouldn't have been able to do this. Well over half of people would have gotten injured. It's so tough on the body.

I honestly would have expected her to walk part of the course, or finish in 4+ hours. I would have liked the better if she struggled but did it, and did an okay time. I would have liked it if it was more realistic. Or if there were more disclaimers at the end, how her training was under strict supervision, how this isn't normal. How she did amazing and better than anyone expected.

There's so much that's not included in this video.

How did she have enough base to do a 35 mile week at week one. I can't even do 20 without getting hurt. Has she secretly been running for two years? Did she lie about never running more than 3 miles? I think that's the most realistic.

What was her nutrition?

How did she not get injured? Did she see a physical therapist daily?

And I just really want someone to call this girl out for course cutting or having someone run part of the race for her.

You don't go from non-runner to elite in 10 weeks.

The comments have said she's a pro cyclist so had a good cardio base. So she's not honestly going from couch potato to best of the best runner. She's simply switched sports.

I get hurt bumping my days running up by two days a week. I don't understand how she didn't. Maybe she's one of those rare people who never get hurt.

If she did this race and time honestly, good for her. That's awesome.  Girl should try triathlons and get some sponsorship deals.

I think there should have been more disclaimers on the video. I don't want people thinking they can run a marathon in 10 weeks and stay healthy and qualify for Boston. That's not what will happen to most people and to me, this video isn't inspiring.

Race Recap: Moving for Montessori 10k

Second Saturday in a row for a 10k. It might not have been my brightest idea ever. I was worried about my calves a lot going into this race. My right calf was absolutely shredded after the CFA race. Sunday I was limping and it would twinge on occasion. It was sore after Thursday's run.

But this race was right across from my house, so I signed up. (And then switched registrations.) I signed up for the 5k, but again the temperature dipped down to 38 so I changed my race to the later 10k. (Thanks race organizers for changing me.) It was still in the 40s when I started running, but I'm ALMOST getting used to these cooler temperatures. I was fine when it warmed up to 50. I think I need arm warmers. So I found some for $6 online and will see if that works. That will be easier to layer than a longsleeve.

Race Prep
This was a recovery week for me. I did yoga Sunday, weights Monday, two runs Tuesday, exercise bike, arms and abs Wednesday, short run Thursday and off Friday. I kept my mileage low to save it for Saturday. (I run a laughable 15 miles a week.)

I generally ate healthy. I did eat some pasta Thursday. On Friday I went out to eat with my family and ordered French fries, I ate maybe 5 fries, which I thought was enough to indulge but not sabotage my race. AND I had part of a nutella quesadilla (which was amazing!).

I was seeing how I felt day-of. I was wondering if I could finish—if my calf would cramp half way through. So I took some ibuprofen and put some voltarin gel on my calf. Voila! Problem solved. It was tight during the race, but I was fine. I also wore my Asics. They've got well over 100 miles on them. I did not wear the racing shoes from last week, which Matt said my calves aren't used to yet.

I went to bed early the night before the race. (Before 10. I was exhausted.) I set my alarm for 7:15, but I woke up at 6:20 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and ate a Kind bar, did my chores. I ran the dishwasher, took the dog out, paid some bills, ate another granola bar, did some exercise bike to wake my legs up and then walked across the street for the race.

The race started at 9:15 a.m. and I started my apple watch, Strava, and then started music about a mile into the race.

It was a small race. I felt bad for how many people showed up. But it was a busy weekend for races. Six races. And they warned us that this was a HILLY races. Six miles of hills. How bad could it be?

Mile one: I felt good. I tried to run slow. (I didn't look at my watch.) I tried to run 8:30s. I needed to walk a hair after mile one. There was a hill. Ugh. (I did not run slow. Haha)

Mile 2: Still good. There are course monitors at every turn, to tell me which way to go. I have NO IDEA.

Mile 3: Starting to feel it. Telling myself I'm allowed to walk once every mile. It's that bad. I've still got a super fast time. 24 minutes for 3 miles. I'm cruising at 8 flats despite the hills and walking.

I know at this point I have second in the race if I don't completely crash and burn. I'm pretty sure I'll win women.

Mile 4: I take my long sleeve off and re pin my bib. I'm starting to falter.

I turn into the next neighborhood of the race and see the leader guy coming out. He's beat me by at least 10 minutes. It's okay though.

I run this entire race alone. Which I like to run alone, but a race? I wanted more people to run with.

At this point there are no course monitors. They used to be at every turn. Now, there aren’t even signs. I guess which way to go. Thankfully, earlier this week I found a course map online (it took some digging) and ran/walked the last two miles on the course. I would have gotten lost if not for that. So points for race prep.

I see the sign for mile 5 and am glad I'm on track. (Seriously, I almost asked some dog walkers where the neighborhood entrance was.)

I come out of the neighborhood and cross the street. Now I see a guy running going in the neighborhood (like I saw the leader). I stupidly walk up the hill to the light (no mental toughness) and then run the entire flat sidewalk back to the finish (yay, flat road I can do this.)

I see the finish and try to get there before it hits 50 minutes. (Turns out I had some left in the tank, I could have sprinted more.)

So I finish almost the exact same time as last week.

First place female. Second overall.
No medals for this race. 

I tell the leader congrats on the race. And then my husband is there. I didn't see him at all. He's brought the dog to the finish line (like I asked).

They hand me my place card. I walk around. They really want me to fill out the card. I'm too braindead, but I do. They give me a swag bag. I walk some more.

By this time, the third place guy comes in (well second place male).

Eventually I find the bananas. I really wanted a banana. I eat some blueberry crumble from the snack room. I give Mojo half my banana. He loves bananas.

And Mojo is having an absolute blast hanging out with the race people. He's so extroverted. And the kids all want to pet him. They all love him. He has the best time.

I know the guy operating the timing. I know him from gymnastics and acro yoga. His mom owns the business. (Which I think is super cool! I love hanging out at races).

Eventually we walk across the street to the house.

My time was 49:48 (what the timer told me—same as last week). The email I got said 49:54, still under 50.)

I look at my splits for the race
7:03 (this was me trying to run easy, trying to run 8+. This is my fastest mile time.)
8:00
8:15
And then my miles are around 8:30s because I don't have the endurance yet.
Time: 49:54

Thoughts: My first three miles are always great. I can run a 5k thanks to high school. My second three are crap. I need to run more longer distances.

I’m happy with my times. It was a hard course.

I burped a lot after this race.

I raced hard and I thought my calves weren’t as trashed as after my last race. I wasn’t limping like I was last Sunday. BUT my legs were sore for the rest of the week.

I tried running Sunday just to get the lactic acid out of my legs. My calves were tight. I couldn’t do it. They hurt just walking around. On Monday, I was practically crying on a limping two mile run. I ended up skipping speed work that I was excited for. I need my calves. I took Tuesday off running. Tried two miles again on Wednesday (and with pain killers it was better). Thursday I wore compression crops and on Friday my compression sleeves came in. And that’s what I needed to recover (that and time and time off).

I love compression anything so I’ll have to write more about the compression sleeves. I like them. My legs feel better with them on.

Workouts this week: April 2

Sunday: Recovery
My calves are shredded. My right one especially. I can't walk right.

This is what it's like to race hard. I haven't done that in forever. Not sure if it was running the longest race of my life, running on pavement. Matt think it was running in new shoes. I had 20 miles on them. They were comfy. They were also racers with no support. Either way my calves are awful. I spent most of the day stretching, rolling them out, massasging them, using a back massager on them.

I saw a Facebook post for Runner's Recovery yoga at Athens Running Company for a $5 donation. So I went there. I wasn't sure what to expect.

It was a small class, maybe 6 people. The class lasted an hour and 15 minutes. It was very similiar to the yoga class I take at Ramsey, with some leg stretches like they do at the end of Pure Barre thrown in. (Calve stretches with a strap.) I liked meeting some of the other runners.

I liked it okay. Definitely an option for when there aren't classes at Ramsey (which I've already paid for.) I like that it's earlier in the day.

Monday: BodyPump
I did BodyPump to make up for missing it Sunday. My calves were still sore but the class was fine. (I went easy on lunge weight. I suck at lunges.) I stuck around to use the vibrating plate machine for my calves. I had to wait FOREVER while some skinny dude did calf raises off it. (Yes you can use anything else to do your workout!). Just to use it for 60 seconds. But that's what I needed. It melted the tension out of my calves.

I was going to run a mile after class, but didn't. Laziness.

Tuesday: Run day
I was supposed to run before work, but was sleepy and it didn't happen.

I did run on my lunch instead. The goal was slow miles, maybe 9 minute miles as recovery. I tried to run slow. Didn't look at my watch. I did have to walk a lot. After the run I look at my splits and I'm still running 8:18s. My first mile was 7:40. So I have two speeds: 8 minute miles and sprint. To get in a slower gear, I have to run for a really long time. It's hard to find that slower mode that I should be running in.

That evening I ran an extra 2 while I ran/walk and scouted the course for this weekend.

Wednesday: Home workout
I was going to go to gymnastics, but it was canceled because of severe weather in the area. I went home and did some exercise bike, arms and abs. It's always amazing to me how much free time I have when I don't go to the gym.

Thursday: run
I ran 3 slow miles after work. My calves are still tight and I felt some bad twinges at the end of my run. Ow.

Partial rainbow.
Apparently there was a double rainbow over the Coliseum. 

Friday: off
I took today off. We went to my inlaws and did our taxes. We owe the government $800. Sadness.
We always owe. We both claim 0 and we always owe. I don't know who actually gets refunds. Not us. Ever. I was hoping it would be less, but it wasn't.
My mother-in-law made me a turkey burger, which was nice.

Also, my mom and sister came to lunch with me (belated birthday lunch). I had about five french fries and one section on a nutella and banana quesadilla, which was warm and gooey and amazing. (Sugar, I miss you!)

Saturday: Race day
There was a race across the street from my house so I decided to run it. And hoped to be done before Matt woke up. I knew he'd tell me it was a bad idea to race on consecutive Saturday. (Races 2 and 3 of my adult life.) And it was, but oh well. (I paid for this the week after)

Will do a separate race recap.

Workouts this week: 7
Runs: 4
Miles run: 15.58
1 yoga class, 1 body pump

Race Report: Half the Half (Chick Fil-A Half)

PRS and swag

Race prep
For years I've wanted to do the Chick Fil-A Half (well part of it anyway. I can't run 13.1!). Two years ago I didn't find out they had a relay option until the day before the race and it was too late to sign up. Last year they maybe they didn't offer the relay (there was a reason I didn't sign up), so I finally signed up this year.

I had intended to do the relay with my husband and we each run half of the the race. However, this year when I went to sign up, it was $10 cheaper for us each to do half the half. The same amount of running for $10 less? That's what I signed us up for.

And I've been training for this race since January. I've been gradually bumping up my mileage and following my own version of the Hal Higdon plan. I say it's my own version because I only run three times and week and do something between beginner and intermediate. I do speed work and I do a normal run, usually hilly trails. I did more than 6.5 a few times, I definitely trained for this race well and knew it could go really well.

The week of the race I cleaned up my diet. I ate a tad healthier than normal. No chips. Limited sweets. I didn't go out to eat. I didn't eat fried foods all week. (Even when we went to the new taco place that apparently has great fries.) There was even a baby shower at work the day before the race. I got a plate of cucumbers and grapes. I passed over cake and cookies. And let me tell you baby showers aren't as fun without cake and chips and dip. I even hydrated so well I almost peed my pants in yoga. Seriously, the last 15 minutes of class all I could think about was how much I had to pee and should I run out of class early. I took more off days with my workout too.

I did NOT eat this cake.

The morning of I got up at 5 a.m. and ate a Kind bar. I did a few minutes on the exercise bike to wake up my legs. I stretched. I got dressed. I decided on a hat that matched my crops. Maybe it was too matchy? I did my morning chores and we were out the door my 6:20 a.m. We walked to the race start. It was still dark. And I got really nervous.

There were 1500 people running this race. I HAVE NEVER run a race this big. I have never run a race this long. My running is high school track and cross country. 5ks are the longest thing I've run. And I've only run ONE since high school. I didn't see anyone I knew. There were so many people and I didn't know where to stand.

I ran into a few people I knew. Trae from Aerofit and the Lululemon runners. I had planned to run with the Lululemon girls. They were trying to get a PR for one of the girls at 8:15 mile pace. I figured that's about what I would run. I can run 8:40s on trails. 8 flat on the road for 3-ish. Maybe a tad slower for 6? I was somewhere between pace groups 1:40 and 1:50 so I decided to run with them. And that made me feel less nervous. Matt lined up more to the front.

7:15 a.m.
And then it was race time.

I didn't know how to start all my devices. #firstworldproblems

I wanted to run with Strava for splits. But the Strava app on my apple watch is the worst. You have to touch it to wake it up. The Apple watch has a run app—that's less accurate. So I turned on Strava on my phone and let it run as soon as the national anthem was done and then started the workout on my watch, paused it, and then resumed it when they said GO. Then a half mile in I told Siri to play run playlist and that was all of my million connections. For this race my Apple watch was dead on. It would buzz me exactly at the mile marker signs, so it tracked the distance identical to whoever set the course.

My goal was not to start the race too fast. Like I always do. Flat eight minute mile. I started to run with the Lululemon girls but then took off. Mile one was downhill and awesome. Mile two had a hill. It was okay.

I took some water on mile three because my throat was dry. (Who needs water in a 10k when it's not even hot!?)

On mile three I started feeling a little barfy. A girl in front of me walked. It planted that idea in my head. I didn't walk. I started thinking about barfing.

I saw my brother at around mile 3.5. The gave me some positive energy. He's a cop and was directing traffic. I yelled "HI LITTLE BROTHER" at him.

And then I hit a wall. I started feeling really bad. I felt barfy and wondered if I could drop out of the race for an injury. Did I need help? I just felt bad. I walked a few steps. People passed me. I started again. I hated myself for walking but I needed to.

And this was the part of the course I'd run before. The baby hill that was nothing on NEW legs, but on halfway tired legs, it was too much. I walked again when the hill was the steepest. I kept going.

I had barely glanced at my watch at all during the race. I glanced a few times and it looked like I was running 8 flats until that awful fifth mile. I didn't even glance long enough to see my elapsed time. (Didn't check my time until the end).

Once I topped that hill near Sanford and East Campus I was fine. I knew I only had a mile and change to go and I could do it. And it was all flat or down hill. Hooray! Bonus: They were parachuting cows off a bridge at mile 5 so I got one. And stuck it in my bra and ran. I kept watching my watch and planned to open it up at my 6 to finish strong my last .5 mile.....only I missed the end of the race.

There was a relay exchange zone at mile 6.1. I passed through a timer. The race clock wasn't operational and I was looking for the end of the relay exchange zone or another timer. So I ran to 6.55 and by that time I saw Matt running back telling me there wasn't the end of the race ahead. So I ran/walked back to the 6.1 marker.

(Matt was ahead of me the whole race. Maybe about 20 seconds? The plan was to catch him in the end and finish at the same time, but walking put him further ahead of me, so he finished in front of me.)

GRIPE
The end of the race wasn't marked. There was no sign that said END OF HALF THE HALF. There was no one yelling that the space was the end. There was no finish chute. Nothing. I was saving some speed I never got to use. Ugh.

There was also no shuttle. No one knew where it was so we walked back to the finish line to cheer on the runners. Which is fine. I needed to stretch out my legs.

But we got our medals. Yay!

RESULTS
I didn't know what time I ran because the clock over the "finish" wasn't operational. They didn't have place cards. There was some glitch with the chip timing. So I don't know what time I ran. I stopped my watch at 53 minutes and 6.66 mile when Matt told me to turn back.

I looked at my splits and Strava told me 7:58s for moving time. 8:05 when you figure in the time after I started Strava but before I started running.

My goal was just to finish the race. Under an hour would be nice. 8:15s would have been nice. But 8s. I THOUGHT maybe I could run that on a good day.

I was SUPER HAPPY with my time. I set all kinds of PRs.

This was
MY FIRST BIG RACE
MY FRIST ROAD RACE
MY FIRST 10K

My records:
Fastest 10k: 49:24 (I've run 10ks in practice before.) 
Best 2 mile: 14:49 (UNDER 15. This is something I've been shooting for!)
I ran a 7:15 mile today.
I ran a 5k in 23:27.

I did indeed go out too fast, but wow. The training really paid off. If I'd mentally been a little tougher, I could have taken at least 60 seconds off this time (for not walking). I hit that wall because I was pushing my limits. I was really pushing. (It's my first 10k so now I know I can do it.)

(Also it was cold. I have never run in weather this cold before. I kid you not. I'm super sensitive to cold weather. Apparently I can run in the cold. Yay! Not that I want to. I ran in long crops and a long sleeve shirt. At about mile 4 the long sleeve started to annoy me, so arm warmers maybe for another race this temperature?)

Splits: (look at all of these under 8!!)
7:16
7:32
7:49
8:09
8:57 (WALL. I walked. Ugh. I need to do more hills. Though I do a ton every week)
8:09
7:52 (Sigh, I saved up for an 800 meter sprint I never got!)

The race is huge. I didn't think we'd place. I didn't think there was any point for staying for the medal ceremony. And the kiosks with race times (which were cool) didn't have the half the half time on them forever. Matt thought he placed though. Finally right before the ceremony started, I put my bib in and it said 49:47. THIRD OVERAL. SECOND PLACE FEMALE.

You can see Matt grinning in the reflection.
And 7:36 is way off since the timer was at 6.1 or 6.2 not 6.55

"Fuck," I had to stop myself from saying. There was a nice old couple standing by us.

And then Matt put his time in and his was 48:11. Second place overall. First place male.

That, I didn't expect. But I've had good luck in picking races lately.

Pro tip: If you want to finish well in a race, pick a race with two length options. Sign up for the shorter length. The serious runners will take the longer route, and you'll place better in the shorter race. This has worked three times for me. (Last year's trail race, the trail race two weeks ago and today).

There were ~150 people in the 10k. And we did pretty darn good. (It's kind of fun beating the students. Not bad for two 30-somethings.)

I got my cowbell. And some coupons for free Chick Fil-A.

And there was a huge difference between first and second prizes.

Matt got a insulated bag, a lunch bag, $100 to Fleet Feet, 52 chicken sandwich coupons, a cow, gloves, a towel and probably some other goodies.

So overall a good return on our investment.

I'm super happy Matt had such a good race and raced so well. Yes, I'm a tad jealous he won all that stuff (without training as hard as me.) And I'd really wanted to reel him in at the end. But I raced my hardest (except for the walking. That was probably mental) and I'm happy having done the second race of my adult life and the longest distance.

The aftermath
I walked a ton after the race so I didn't stiffen up. My calves were still stiff and sore a few hours later. Matt said he thought it was from racing flats. They're super light weight. So minimal with no real support. I tried rolling my calves, exercise bike, vibrating massage, walking the dog. Still a little stiff. I forget what it's like to be tired after a race.

My splurge was a pizza from Your Pie and some strawberry M&M's.

Workouts this week: March 26

Blooms near the gym

This week was all about prepping for my race Saturday. So definitely different that my usual week.

Sunday: Bodypump + yoga
Finally back to Sunday Bodypump. I'm still awful at lunges. Then it was yoga—where I kept it really easy and skipped a lot of the flows.

Monday: Off
This was my scheduled off day after many days of workouts.

Tuesday:
I did a 3 mile run before work. (That I should have done Monday according to my running plan, but needed a day off).
After work, I did 5 x 400s that was my speed work for the week. And I walked a mile.

Breaking in my racing flats. 

Wednesday
I skipped gymnastics so I didn't bruise or hurt myself before the race. I ran 2 miles at the Bot Garden. My goal was to find the blue trail. I found it. The hill is super steep! I'll do better next time I run the trail.

Weird pose on two walls. Because why not?

Thursday: Off
Resting for race. I used the time to get my haircut, something I otherwise don't have time for.

Haircut!

Friday: Yoga
I went to yoga and picked up my race packet. I'm not sure if you're supposed to do yoga before a race but I love Friday yoga.

Saturday: Race Day.