26.2 Half way

2006-09-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend I ran in my first half marathon.

After resting and icing my foot all week, along with taking several anti-inflammatories, I felt good enough to run on Sunday.

The race went well. It's a small race - capped at 350 people. I saw two friends from my training team before the race, Sarah and Noelle. The three of us paired up and ran together. It made the time fly.

By mile 3 my calves started feeling tight. But, not tight enough to make me want to stop.

Around mile 5 Noelle started to fall back. Sarah and I ran step-in-step together. I saw Ryan at mile 6. He was cheering from the sidelines and took a great picture of Sarah and I (I'll post later).

Sarah and I maintained a solid 10 min. mile pace together until mile 8. I had to use the restroom and had been holding it for about an hour. By mile 8, I could hold no more and made a quick stop in the woods that lined our course.

This put me five minutes and a half mile behind Sarah. So, the last five miles I was on my own. I felt pretty good.

At mile 10, my foot started to hurt. But, not bad enough to stop me. But it didn't help my already exhausted body and mind. I was counting down the last three miles.

Since it was a small race, there were few people lining the course, cheering you on. And, by the end of the race everyone was so spread out, I felt like I was running by myself a couple of times near the end.

Finally, at the last quarter of a mile people began lining the sidelines. Once I passed mile 13 and only had 1/10 of a mile left, I felt strong. I couldn't help but finish with a huge, cheesy smile. Ending the race with strong, long strides. Ryan said I looked like I could have run another two miles. Maybe...

So, I'm half way there. Our coach told us, if you can run a half marathon, you can run a marathon. I hope so, November 11 is just around the corner.

First half marathon - this weekend

2006-08-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

I'm still running, I promise!

I have not been good about posting, and there's not excuse except that I haven't taken the time to.

But, I'm about half way through my training and I feel there's finally something worth posting about. This weekend I will be running my my first half marathon. I am literally half way to my goal.

This Sunday, September 3, I will be running in the Battlefield Half Marathon in Verina, Virginia - just outside of Richmond. It's a hometown race.

I am excited and nervous. I ran 12 miles last Friday, so I am not worried about the distance. What I am worried about is my left foot, currently wrapped in ice.

My 12 mile run went smoothly. I ran the entire thing, felt strong, mentally confident. Afterwards there were the normal aches, muscle exhaustion, etc. Nothing worth really reporting - until the next day.

The next day I started limping. My left foot ached. It still aches. It hurts on the left side as well as across the ball of my foot. Overuse, I'm sure. But what horrible timing.

I have laid fairly low since my foot started hurting. Icing it as much as possible, wearing comfortable shoes, etc. Today my foot felt better than it has, so I set out on my 6 mile run. I made it 1 mile, turned around and finished at 2. My foot is killing me.

I hope and wish and pray that it will heal before my first race this Sunday. I'm so excited for it, I hope it won't be ruined by uncharacteristic foot pain.

Wish me luck!

May 25-30, 2006

2006-05-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 25, 2006:

Planned: 3 mile run
Actual: Rest

Okay - so the post-kickball activites ran long. Feeling a bit hung-over on Thursday, I missed my run. Whoops, I'll make it up on Friday.

Friday, May 26, 2006:

Planned: Rest
Actual: Rest

Okay, so I didn't make it up - man, it's only my first week and I'm slacking already.

Saturday, May 27, 2006:

Planned: 3 mile run
Actual: 3 mile run

I didn't even wear a watch this time. But, I felt like I was running at a decent pace.

Sunday, May 28, 2006:

Planned: 30 min cross training
Actual: Ran/walk 1.5 miles

Okay, so I had the best intetions. I woke up early, I got dressed, and I jogged to the Y, only to find that the Y does not open until noon on Sundays! Argh! So, I ran/walked about a mile and a half and headed home - it was HOT!

Monday, May 29, 2006:

Planned: Rest
Actual: 3 mile run, lift back and biceps

I felt that I needed to work out even though it was a scheduled rest day to make up for my slacking at the end of last week.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006:

Planned: 3 mile run
Actual: 3 mile run

Okay, back on track...

May 22-24, 2006

2006-05-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

The first week of training is focused on laying the foundation - which is good, because I did not do well attempting to do this on my own the weeks leading up to training. The focus is to get back in the habit of running several days of the week, so that it becomes like clockwork. This will help me get out on the streets when my assigned runs become longer and more challenging.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Rest

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Planned run: 3 miles
Actual run: 3 miles

I set my alarm for 6 p.m. instead of 6 a.m., so I woke up late - luckily in time to get to work, but late for the run. So, I ran after work. It was a good run, though hot. I didn't have my stop watch but my normal watch told me I did the run in under 30 minutes - likely 28.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Planned run: 3 miles, easy run or run/walk
Actual run: 3 miles, run/walk

I got up in time to run this morning, but my legs were tired from yesterday evening. I took advantage of the opportunity to walk a portion of the run today. I walked twice, but not for long. It did feel good to get up and stick to my schedule, though.

I have a kickball game tonight.

May 21 - Day 1

2006-05-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

I met with the training group and did my first run Sunday, May 21. It was an early morning, even earlier than it needed to be, as I got there 30 minutes before everyone else. I apparently had missed an email saying the first run starts later than the rest of the training... oh well.

I ran into a friend from my kickball team, and it was nice to see a familiar face. The team seems promising and I'm excited. They gave us a workbook to keep track of our mileage.

After a half hour or so of information sharing, the group left for our first run - 3 miles. It was an easy run, and a lot of fun - I forgot how much fun group running can be. After about a mile, I fell into pace with another girl. We began talking and stayed together for the majority of the run. At one point she mentioned she had a soccer game after training - me too.

What time?

10:30

What field?

A middle school on the South Side.

Are you on MG United?

Yea.

I'm playing against you today.

Small town.

The last half mile I stepped it up. And ended up finishing the run in 28:28. Not bad. Much faster than I normally do on my own.

Soon after training I played my last regular season soccer game. We lost 1-0, and I was exhausted. This morning, my knee is tight. I'm going to ice and heat it at work.

3 days until training

2006-05-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

I got back out there again today - go me!

This time, I actually ran. I have purchased two items recently which made my run more enjoyable.

1) A knee brace
2) An FM arm band radio

The first one helped for obvious reasons. My knee actually felt good through the entire run. And still feels fine now, as I sit and stand in the office - a great improvement.

The second helped because I was able to listen to my favorite morning show through the entire run - Elliot in the Morning. It made my 3 mile run fly, which is always nice.

I felt good out there today, so hopefully my first group run this weekend won't be that bad.

I also managed to work a quick 25 minute chest/tri workout in. I wasn't able to do everything I would have liked before work, due to my inability to get out of bed anytime before 6:15 a.m. But, it's better than nothing.

5 days until training

2006-05-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been a huge slacker. Two weeks of not working out - that's pretty bad, isn't it? If it's any consolation, I did go to the gym to do cardio once, and I did run once since our last post. And this morning, I went to the gym to do cardio again.

Yea, you're right, I'm still slacking.

Well, not much longer and I won't have a choice anymore. Training starts this weekend. I'll be whipped into shape, like it or not.

It will be interesting to see how things go. My knees have decided to start acting like I'm not a teenager anymore. I used to be able to run all I wanted without any knee pain - well, they're getting me back.

Today I went in to the gym with the plan of riding a stationary bike for 25 mins. I made it to 7.5 minutes before the pain became unbearable. I shifted to the elliptical to finish out my workout, 20 more minutes.

Bikes have always made me feel like my knees are locking up. Today the pain was indescribable. It's not a good sign...

The knee brace helped. And standing exercises don't seem to hurt as much (thankfully).

19 Days to Training

2006-05-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Nineteen days to training.

I'm trying to step it up a little on my own in preparation for training.

This weekend I was pretty lazy except for a soccer game on Sunday (we lost 0-4). I've been playing soccer for the past couple of months, which has caused what I believe is tendonitis in my left foot. It flared up again after Sunday's game.

I also came out of Sunday's game with a very sore right knee. I has been bothering me all day today, reminding me I'm not in high school anymore.

This morning I had a hard time getting out of bed early, so I put my workout off until after work. I didn't leave the office until 7 p.m., but still managed to make it to the gym to do a leg workout.

It's 10 and I'm off to bed. I plan to wake up early tomorrow to run and do back/biceps because I'm not a big fan of the evening workouts.

Before picture

2006-04-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Every large physical challenge needs a before picture.

So, a link to my Monument 10K pictures are below. All three were taken at the end of the race. There's one of me actually in stride - red faced (it was HOT! and I was running into the sun), eyes closed (but really, I think they're open, just lazily focused on the ground), struggling to make it to the end (I did successfully run the entire way).

The other two are of me immediately after I crossed the finish line - yes, I went into an instant walk.

My official race time for the Monument 10K was 1:04:38 (a.k.a. an hour and four-and-a-half minutes). Hey - I smoked that old, out of shape lady running closely behind me - smoked her...

Before pictures

Got to start somewhere

2006-04-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

So, the last time I really ran was at the Monument 10K April 8. Before that, I had not ran in almost two weeks. (But - before that I was running 15-20 miles a week)

I know, lately I've been slacking...

Today I decided to break my lazy streak, laced up my shoes and hit the pavement in preparation for training which starts May 20. I don't want to be that girl on the first day of training - sucking wind at 2.5 miles. I'd like to be able to hold my own, at least on the first day.

I ran 27 minutes - about 3 miles. I had aimed to run 25, and tacked on the extra two minutes because I was literally running late for work and could not afford to walk the last few blocks.

All-in-all, the run kinda sucked. I am out of shape. My legs felt heavy, my stride laborious, my mind unfocused. But, I have learned from past experience, this passes in about a week or two of continuous running.

Point is, I broke my lazy streak and I actually got out there today. It's a start.

Running scared

2006-04-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today I decided that I am officially going for it.

I have been toying with the idea of running a marathon for a little over six months now. It's a feat that I would love to take on, tackle, conquer. But, I'm not exactly sure how to begin. The farthest I have run in the past several years is 6.25 miles - which I did at the Monument 10K about a month ago... and have hardly run since.

As you can see, I have a long way to go.

So, today I made it official. I signed up for a local training group which prepares everyday runners for an extraordinary experience, their first marathon. My first marathon will be the Richmond Marathon, to take place November 11, 2006.

Training starts May 20 - that's 6 months of preparing. I'm nervous. Actually, I'm f-ing scared. But, it's something I really want to do, and something I know I can do with a lot of hard work.

And thus, I have created this blog to chronicle my experience as I train for my first marathon.

Wish me luck!