A Practice in Patience

...which is what I need, really.  I'm one of the more impatient people you'll encounter, as I believe I've already made kind of evident by this blog.  But, Lord oh Lord, am I trying hard to change that!  This running journey of mine is one of the ways I'm trying to train myself to learn patience and lately, it seems like final exam time!  My runs lately have been pretty sad, to say the least.  I went on one today and got home only to feel: 1) not successfully de-stressed and 2) about as slow as I was in Week 3-4 of my original training!  How?!  Why?!  Argh!!!  But, it's okay, I tell myself.  Have patience, I plead with myself!  It will get better!!

Tuesday's run was absolutely nothing to write home about: I ran 2.5 miles in about 30 minutes.  Correction: I run/walked 2.5 miles in about 30 minutes.  Today's run was even worse, despite running more of it.  I ran the same distance as Tuesday (which is still short-changing myself a half mile, by the way) in 36 minutes.  I did make a change today that I wanted to try and see how it was: I listened to a book on my iPod (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) instead of heart-pumping headphone-thumping music.  Apparently, it was a bad idea since I went waaaaaaay slower than before.  However, I won't assign blame to my listening choices.  No!  This whole blog is about accountability, so I take responsibility that maybe I didn't push myself as hard on the downhill segments like I usually do.  Or, perhaps, I was just trying to see if I could run a longer amount of time consecutively without stopping.  (I'm still falling short on this goal of mine, too.)  I've gone from running anywhere between 20 and 30 minutes at a time to only running about 10 minutes before I stop to walk and, y'know what?  I'm not stopping because I'm tired, I'm stopping because I'm letting myself!  Bad girl!  I don't know where my moxy has gone, but I need to find it again and soon!!  I have a feeling once this grad school application process is behind me (which it soon will be), I'll be able to focus on normal stuff, like: the holidays! Family get togethers! Buying gifts! Wrapping gifts! Cleaning the house for family get togethers! Making cookies! Cleaning up the stuff that I make the cookies with! And much, MUCH MORE!!  Wait, no, aaack! This wasn't the way to go in terms of stuff that won't stress me out and allow me to focus on running...whoops!

All kidding aside though, I do need to really buckle down in the coming months and push myself harder on the running front.  I have let myself get by much too easily in the last month and I'm going to pay for it come February! Bad Stephanie!

I recently signed up for another race, which will serve to be the first one of the new year for me: Seasons52 Park Avenue 5.2k in Winter Park, FL.  My friends who ran each part of the 15k with me are doing this race too, so it should be lots of fun! I'd like to better my PR, even by a tiny bit, so I need to really get cracking this holiday season and run my butt off!!!

TO DO: Push myself this weekend on the 4 mile run

UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday doubles with some friends of ours

RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER: Reindeer Run, Dec. 10th!

A Trotful Turkey Day

I know it's the day after Thanksgiving...but I was pretty busy yesterday so I didn't have time to post!  My day started out with the 22nd Annual Turkey Trot, which was just a 'fun run' so there was no official chip timing or anything.  I did try to keep my time on my watch and I think I ended up with a time not far off from my best Maitland 5k time of 38:30!  Considering the fact that there were over 5,600 runners in this race and most of them definitely did not line up according to pace times as they should've (argh!!), and that the run was through the narrow and uneven brick streets of old-downtown Orlando with cars parked on each side of the street randomly (fun little obstacles to try and get around) and that people were running with strollers and dogs on long leashes just looking to trip runners, I think I did pretty good!  I was actually pretty surprised that I made it in the time that I did, I was fully expecting to be slower than that, especially given how my last run went on Tuesday.

Tuesday, Rob decided to run with me.  I think I've decided that I'm not a fan of Rob running with me because I tend to want to talk to him rather than just kind of tuning out and running.  The run was a struggle for me, and I ended up shortening it to just 2.5 miles instead of 3 since it was getting dark and I didn't bring any reflective gear or a head lamp for light.  I was disappointed with the performance, but just figured that I at least got out there and did something instead of finding yet another excuse to stay home. 

On Wednesday, I was supposed to do a 2 mile run but I didn't end up getting the chance.  I was baking pies for Thanksgiving yesterday and I just never had the window to get out there and run.  All of this being taken into account, I think I did pretty well on my run yesterday after all!  If nothing else, at least I did it.  My next race to look forward to is the Reindeer Run on December 10th.  I think it's going to be another 'fun run' so it won't be a big event, but it will still be good exercise and should be a lot of fun!  I think I'm going to wear my reindeer antlers!  Yesterday, there were so many people in costume!  Tons of people wore turkey hats or feather headdresses, some dressed up as turkeys and one chick (who I used as a pacer) dressed up as a piece of pumpkin pie, complete with a whip cream hat strapped to her head!  It was hilarious!  I'm not sure if I'll do next year's Turkey Trot since it was a huge mess with that many people and parking would've been a disaster if my parent's hadn't come to watch my brother and I and dropped us at the start, but it was pretty fun and definitely a beautiful morning to run!

Back to the Beginning

I've found that it's no so easy to just get back into the habit of running once you've managed to get out of it.  This is evidenced by the fact that I have been giving into every little excuse I come across not to run.  Take today, for instance.  I was planning on starting my half-marathon training today using Hal Higdon's novice guide.  Despite the fact that his schedule starts on a Tuesday, I was going to start today and just shift everything else up.  Normally, I prefer to have my long runs on Saturday mornings to get them over and done with for the weekend whereas his schedule calls for long runs on Sundays instead.  Sticking to the normal schedule Mr. Higdon outlines, however, I was supposed to "Stretch and Strengthen" today, but I ended up not doing much of either (read: any of either).  I don't even know why this is, it's not like I was doing anything more important in place of this.  I was wasting time, for the most part, so I don't even have any decent reasoning to stand behind.

Alas, it's time to regroup, let myself off the hook and take the attitude that tomorrow is a new day!  I will start my training tomorrow with a 3 mile run followed by some ab exercises.  While, in my off time, I thankfully haven't gained weight back, I have noticed my mid-section become a little softer again, which is disappointing to me and serves as a gentle reminder that I need to get back out there and get my butt going!

I've also been thinking about my running future beyond the half marathon.  I'm starting to wonder if it indeed will be an every other day type of thing as I had hoped it would when I began this quest.  I'd like to think so and it is certainly an optimistic outlook, realistically though I have to wonder if I have the staying power.  This goes especially for the summertime.  Will I really go out and run when it's like a steam room outside with levels of outlandish humidity that can suffocate a person??  I have to tell myself that I will run, even occasionally, because I don't want to think that I'm doing this for nothing.  I've always wanted this to be a healthy lifelong habit to get into, so I must tell myself that this will stick, even through the tricky summer months when there are few races to keep me going.  It's definitely been a great self-esteem booster, helping me to realize that I am capable.  It sounds so simple, and it really is, but it's also very true.  Running even for just 3 out of the last 4 months has helped me to feel better about myself because I'm doing something: something for myself and my body and just that one simple little thing a few times a week has really helped me see myself differently!            

TO DO: 3 mile run tomorrow!!

TO DO #2: Add new music to iPod Running mix

ON THE HORIZON: 22nd Annual Turkey Trot on Thursday with my brother, so excited!

Press Reset / 15K Race Review

Okay, okay, it was more than a week off...I know.  Though I think this is a perfectly good reason (no, not "excuse", per se...), I ended up taking about 3 weeks off to study for and take (and ACE!) the GRE.  I'm totally aware that I could've very easily run in the morning before going to work and studied in the evenings, but, it's all in the past now anyway, so why bother rehashing it, eh?

So this is how the last 3 weeks went, after my Boston trip: Week 1: study, work, relax. Week 2: Halloween, study, work, take GRE, celebrate by going to Naples for a few days on vacation with Rob (where I went to the gym and lifted weights, thankyouverymuch!). Week 3: Give myself the "reward" after the GRE was over of not doing much, besides work, of course.  Oh yeah, and freak out when coming to the realization that the 15K was, in fact, the weekend of  11/13 and not this coming weekend (as I previously thought).

Week 3 was a tough week for me, mostly because of all the fretting.  I'm a fretter.  I fret.  I was so freaked out that the 15K was at the end of the week that I went back and forth between wanting to run to get back out there so I wouldn't be totally green come race day and being infinitely scared to even try.  I was really worried that I would get back out there and I would be so far behind what I had previously achieved that it would be discouraging for me.  So, I would find little rationalizations for not going running.  Finally, after a little bit of attitude and judgment from Rob and a whole lot of fretting, I forced myself to go out and run the Friday before my race.  I kept it simple, I didn't want to overwhelm myself with the mileage or beat my body up before the race.  I went to my favorite back loop near my house and ran about 2.5 miles.  The run was really amazing: the weather had just turned crisp and daylight savings had come and gone so the sun was now deeper in the sky than usual during my evening runs and, well, it just completely reaffirmed my ability to run.  I didn't keep track of time, I didn't really care.  I just wanted to be happy with the run and not come away from it dejected or disappointed because I didn't meet some goal.

Our approach to the race, met with hot air balloons!

 And...onto the 15K rundown!  The race was held in Celebration, FL in honor of the founding of the Florida Hospital within the community.  From what I've heard, the neighborhood was built by Disney to showcase a picture-perfect community, almost everything is perfect within it and everyone has to abide by the strict HOA rules and regulations (lest Old Man Mouse get upset!).  These include things like what shapes your hedges may be made into, what type of furniture is allowed on your front porch (they prefer painted rocking chairs with a small side table, but will accept some other matching sets).  You get my drift.  Very Mickey Mouslandish...notice how that's only one letter away from M-outlandish!?  Yes, yes indeed.

Not a leaf askew

Anyway, so the race! (We'll get there eventually, don't worry.) As we were driving up around 7am, the hot air balloons were just beginning to make their descent into the area.  (Since Celebration is near Disney, the hot air balloonists take their clients up near Disney to get even the slightest glimpse of the parks, if the wind is just right.)  The balloonists are at the mercy of the winds though, so they could end up anywhere in the area and, as it happened, it was Celebration on Sunday! So pretty with the waning full moon still out!  I know it sounds weird, but I took the hot air balloons as a sign of comfort going into the race.  They're these serene and brilliant objects just peacefully floating through the air, and that was exactly what I needed to take my mind off the task ahead!

Going into the race, I already knew that I wouldn't have any goals for it other than to just finish and take hold of that sweet, sweet medal!  I thought the 10K went really well actually, much better than I figured it might since I had taken so much time off.  Since this was through Celebration, the neighborhood was absolutely beautiful to run through.  Very Disney-utopia!  There were several people either sitting on their front porches or standing just outside their front doors watching the runners and wishing them well, which was a great boost throughout the race!  At around mile 4.5, a particularly humorous family stood outside with  a set of speakers blaring the "Rocky" theme.  As I passed, I threw both of my fists into the air AND did the full spin around, like he does in the movie at the top of the steps!  The family all cheered and said I was the first one to do the spin so far.  I laughed most of the way through the rest of mile 4 and into mile 5 (those were definitely my golden miles, where I felt my best and happiest!).

I'm in there somewhere...

The good thing about this race, I found, was that it was split into 2 distinct segments.  I knew that once I got done with the 10K, I would have a little break to refuel and rehydrate before starting the 5K.  It was also really nice to know, when I passed the mile 5 marker, that I only had 1 mile left before the finish line and break!  That thought kept me going happily onward!

I finished the 10K and grabbed a banana, a water and my GU gel to help carry me through the 5K still to come.  My friend Paula ran the 10K with me (though she's super fast, so she was WAY ahead of me) and she said she was absolutely exhausted at the end and not feeling very well.  I took heart at this since I actually felt pretty good still.  Her revelation was pretty helpful though, because it reminded me to stretch relatively well between races so I wouldn't cramp up.  Another friend ran with me on the 5K, which was actually kind of nice because it meant I wasn't alone.  It's not that I would've had a problem being alone, I do it all the time, but on this particular day, it was nice knowing that there was a friendly face running with me.  (That makes it sound like the runners are usually not-so-friendly, which is absolutely not true.  Oh well...)

Finishing the 10K

 It was a good thing that the 5K was at the end and not the beginning because I don't know that I would've made it through the race otherwise.  That last race was definitely a weird one for me, an odd mixture of emotion for the accomplishment I was performing and an incredible desire to find a short cut to the finish line and just BE DONE ALREADY!  I didn't run a whole lot of the 5K, maybe the first mile and then I did the combo run/walk thing with more walking than running.  By the time I neared the finish line, others were walking back toward me with medals around their necks cheering on others, like me, doing the "Distance Dare" of both races.  It was a really sweet moment for me to see these two ladies pointing to their medals, then pointing to the finish line and yelling all sorts of positive things, "You can do it!  You're almost there!  Great job!"  I realized that my very first race medal was close-at-hand and all of these emotions came up again and I was grinning like a crazy lady through the last 1/8 mile.  As soon as I crossed the finish line, one of the volunteers handed me my medal and I put it on so fast I didn't even realize that it was backwards until my friend told me!

Being silly at the start of the 5K with my friend

It was also as soon as I crossed the finish line and strung that medal around my neck that I realized how utterly exhausted I was and realized just how FAR away the car was from the race area.  I said a quick goodbye to my friend, grabbed another banana, another bottle of water and headed to the car.  I swear the car had to be about 1/4 mile from the race area at least, I'm not exaggerating!  And 1/4 mile, on top of the 9.3 I had already run, just seemed to break me completely.  By the time I got to my car, my body felt broken and I had a massive headache.  When I touched my brow, I found it caked with salt crystals.  I'm guessing that I was dehydrated, but I'll need to do some research on this so I can avoid this disaster come the half in February!  On my way home, I couldn't decide whether I should just go straight home or stop by my parents' house (which was on the way) to show them the medal and rest up a little more.  Ultimately, I decided to go to their house and I'm glad I did!  I didn't realize how horrible I really felt until I got there.  Lucky for me, my mom's awesome and she practically forced me to eat the fresh pear she fixed for me and some warm beef and vegetable stew she made.  I tell you, I hope one day I'm as good a mom as she is because I felt like a million bucks when I left their house!  My headache was easing and I just felt tired from having run the 9.3 but, man!  I felt SO much better!  Thanks Mom!!!! 

And, no, I never took a picture of the medal (but I did wear it to work the next day!).  Maybe next post I can get that up there along with the official times (again, not that I really care what they were) and some of the professional pics if there are any good ones!

Ha!  I took a picture of it with my cellphone for Facebook!  Yes!

I dared to go the distance...

A Week Off Indeed

Sunrise on Nantasket Beach, MA

 It turns out that I took a week and a day off from running (so far).  I did go for a walk on the beach one morning during the trip and did a whole bunch of walking around Boston, so I'm relatively content with that.  I kind of have to be though, there's no turning back time!  I'm a little worried now though because of just how easy it was for me to take that week off.  Naturally, I had some guilt early on, but now I'm just kicking back and thinking about how nice it is to not run right after work.  Hmm...something tells me I should probably start getting up and running before work so that I can avoid this feeling in the future.  (I think I'll make that my new routine.) 

Every now and then throughout the past 3 months of running, I get into a rut.  I get bored and just kind of don't want to keep doing it.  At these points, I find that changing up this routine makes it easier for myself to keep going.  I fancy myself a creature of habits and routines, I like them very much.  They make me comfortable.  However, I apparently also get restless at times too.  Making subtle changes to my routine: changing the route, trying the new trail, playing tennis, putting new music on my running mix, almost any little change helps get me out that door.  So for now, I guess, my change of routine will be to start running in the mornings.  This will also help allow me more time in the evening to finish up my grad school application and study for the GRE that I'm taking in less than 2 weeks.   

Lately I've been thinking about life beyond the half marathon.  Wondering what I'll do with myself once I check that item off my life's little 'to do' list.  At first I thought, 'Well, I'll just sign up for more half marathons, of course!'  But, I'm coming to the very likely conclusion that I don't altogether enjoy running distances very much.  Maybe this will change (I'm hoping this will change!), but if it doesn't, I think I'll probably keep my runs to about 3-4 miles at a time for the health benefits and just be happy with that.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't like this feeling that I'm letting myself off the hook so easily.  However, I'm still going to run, I'm just not going to be training on a rigid schedule and running as far.  I'll run to be fit and I'll run for enjoyment and that's all that matters anyway.  I'm sure I'll still do in-town 5K's throughout the year with my running pal Paula, but I think I won't sweat it so much after this half is done.  This is all up for reevaluation afterward, of course, but for now this is what I'm pondering. 

Side notes: I schedule the new IV infusion treatment for my MS.  I'll be going in on Monday morning to get it.  I'm hoping it works fast because I've had numbness on my right stomach and trunk for over a week now and it's really driving me crazy!  It feels so weird when my clothes rub against my skin on that side, it's creepy and kind of hard to explain.  It kind of feels like that pins and needles sensation of a leg falling asleep, but it turns to pin pricks when touched directly.  Needless to say, I don't like it and want it to stop pronto! 

A Week Off, Maybe?

The title of this post should be, "See Steph Sit Around" but, I'm trying to be kind to myself.  I did get out and run on Saturday (a very rough 4 miles with a 28 min run segment at the beginning), which I was proud of myself for doing.  Not only was I contemplating putting the run off until Sunday morning, I was actually weighing the pros and cons about putting it off altogether for the weekend.  It was tough though because I had to wait until around noon to get out there and it was quite warm, of course.  I was supposed to run 5 miles, but I was running out of energy so I cut it down by a mile.  I assumed, at the time, that I would just do a better job on my runs this week but it doesn't seem that way, at this point since I didn't do my run today like I was supposed to.  I'll be going out of town toward the end of the week, (Boston, yeah!!) so between preparations for that and trying to get my grad school application finished up, I'm not sure if I'm even going to have time to do much running.  I'm not going to let it stress me out either! 

Lastnight, I had a terrible dream (sort of) about the Disney half marathon and it definitely gave me a little bit of panic.  It was the first 'oh crap, what exactly did I get myself into with this Disney half marathon' dream that I've had.  (Hopefully the only one!)  Not fun!!  I think the increase in mileage is starting to worry me a little bit since I was kind of camped out around that 3 mile range for so long that increasing it is making me second guess myself and my confidence is flagging.  For this reason though, I will not let myself freak out about missing a week of running, if it ends up happening!  Get over it and move onto the next week, no big deal!!  I had an extra week built into my training anyway before the 15K, so it should be just fine!  Whenever I get back out there is just fine by me!  No panicking, no pressure, just fun!!     

Trail Run Part 2

After tennis yesterday, Rob asked if we were going for another tempo run today.  I quickly answered 'no' and told him that I had planned on doing a longer run today instead.  I lied, well, sort of.  I mean, I don't really like lying...but, at the time, it was easier than to admit to him that I can only take one of his tempo runs every two weeks.  They really are a great way to condition, but they also kill me!  And, to be fair, I did run longer today than my run on Monday...so, it wasn't completely a lie, right?

I hit the trail again today, eager to punish myself with some of those long, drawn out hills I mentioned in my last trail post.  This time, I was paying closer attention and I noticed the long drawn out, consistently climbing hill that I was running up before reaching the turnaround point.  I kept telling myself not to think about the steady incline, get lost in the music!  Relax your shoulders and neck, keep putting one foot in front of the other!  That's pretty much how I was even able to keep going.  It wasn't that I was tired, it was more that I know that if I allow myself to focus on the hill, then my mind will continue down that dark path and keep going with the negativity...and that won't get me anywhere!  I have to keep infusing my thoughts with some sort of positive energy to keep my legs moving!  It works really well for me, which is all that matters! 

I kept the trail greetings simple today, no double wave/smile/what's up nod/thumbs up/double dream hands/whatever.  Just a simple little 'hey' and a brief smile.  I did have a brief music breakdown where I went full-on air drummer along with the music I was listening to.  I was running next to a busy road and thought it must have been pretty funny to the cars passing slowly by.  There weren't as many people on the trail today.  I did run into a guy on one of these recumbent bikes.  I passed him while I was on my way up the hill and he was on his way down, he was just cruising, lovin' life.  For a moment I thought, "Man, wish I were that guy!  He looks like he's having so much fun, just laying back and relaxing!" but I just kept jogging on persistently.

Picture a Florida Gators flag instead of the fish thingy

 BY THE NUMBERS:

Total Distance: 4 miles, at least!
Total Time: 57 minutes
Longest Run: 32 minutes

I tried mapping out the trail before my run today to make sure that I hit the 4 mile mark.  It's tough to do from the satellite maps available since the trail is largely tree-covered and the trail kind of disappears into them.  But, I mapped the distance via guesswork as well as I could and I think I may have actually run an extra half mile.  I won't count it though since I don't know for sure.  I did pretty well in the long run segment and pushed myself to go almost 2 minutes longer than last time.  It's all about steadily building, right?  That's my goal!  The only problem was, once I stopped to allow myself a little walking break, I had a whole lot of trouble restarting again.  It felt like my legs were lead and my right knee was a little stiff and painful.  So, though I did try to run again after about 5 minutes, I didn't make it very far and probably ended up walking the last 3/4 of a mile or so.  That part is disappointing, but I guess my overall goal is just to run as far/long consistently as I can so I don't have to worry about the issue of restarting and then getting discouraged when I'm tired and have difficulty. 

I'm happy with how things went today!  It was tough for me, but I made a bit more progress and that's just fine by me! 

Favorite Running Mix Song of the Day: Gwen Stefani, "What You Waiting For?"

A Lesson In Patience

Today was a recovery/40 minute cross-train day so I decided to play some tennis with Rob to avoid the boredom of walking.  I probably shouldn't say bad stuff about walking since that's where it all started for me and I should be kind of grateful, but I'm just too impatient.  This is actually a perfect segue into my other topic of discussion for the day...

While browsing around various running websites yesterday, I saw a banner ad for the upcoming Florida Hospital Marathon in December and I actually started thinking about trying to do it.  I got taken in by both my impatience and the fact that I'm incredibly gullible.  The ad noted that the course was "a completely flat 26.2" and the high temps would be at a max of 72 degrees: "The easiest race you'll ever run, Fast times guaranteed!"  I actually thought about doing it!  The thought: "Wait, this is a marathon!  A MARATHON!" was but a fleeting one for me. 

This leads me to the observation that I need to slow the heck down!  I am getting so far ahead of myself it's not even funny!  I've done a total of two 5K's and all of a sudden I think I could do a marathon by December??  What possesses me to think this way?!  Honestly!  It's the same way with the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and the Run To Stop MS Team!  I wanted to run that race so badly to support MS research, but I didn't think of the reality of having to raise $1,200 by January 3rd to be on the team.  Not only is it difficult to fundraise in general, but that's prime holiday time!  How did I think that I could make that happen in the middle of holiday season?!  This is exactly what I was talking about in an earlier post about finding something I'm interested in and putting myself 1000% into it.  There are no brakes with me, it's full steam ahead without regard to the pragmatism of the situation.  At least I've realized this now and can accommodate my thinking accordingly.

Patience is something I'm trying to learn through running.  I'm trying to teach myself to take the time to put the effort, heart and soul into something I really care about and watch it develop into something really beautiful and rewarding over time.  For once, I'm trying to make an earnest investment in myself and my well-being.  This is a valuable lesson in life and I think it's about time that I learn it!  So far, it hasn't been easy for me.  There are often times that I start running way too fast because I just want to get to the end of the block already and it comes back to bite me at the end of the run with much pain and frustration.  It's times like these that I try to gently remind myself to have patience, that I'll reach the end of that block eventually with a simple, steady gait and the end of my run will feel that much better for having held back. 

It's a tricky thing, this patience.  It's a balancing act.  On the one hand, you don't want to burn yourself out by going too fast too soon.  However, on the other hand, you really do want to keep improving your times and pushing yourself forward.  This is something I'm clearly still struggling to figure out, but I'll get there eventually.  Just have to have a little patience along the way!        

A Change of Scenery

The view for most of my run

Today's run is a perfect example of why I can use that Nike+ Sportwatch!  On my way home from work today, I decided that I needed to change my running route.  The 4 mile route near the house that I had mapped out last week was definitely not thrilling me.  So, in the spirit of the football season, I called an audible.  I decided to run along the West Orange Trail here in O-town.  The trail itself was pretty great, but it was the lack of distance markers that was a little frustrating for me.  That's why the GPS on the Sportwatch could've really helped me so I would know just how far I had run.  If I had that watch, I could just keep running along the trail without thinking about it until I saw the 4 mile distance indicator pop up!  Oh well, I tried to estimate the distance as best I could.

BY THE NUMBERS:

Total Distance: 4 miles?? (I hope?)
Total Time: 50 minutes
Longest Run: 30 minutes and 40 seconds

Running the trail was definitely a change of pace.  For one thing, I definitely had more to look at than I usually do just running around the neighborhood.  I mean, it was a veritable animal kingdom: I saw roosters, yes ROOSTERS!!!  So random!  I also had the pleasure of running alongside a couple of ladies riding horses. (Not so random, there's a horse trail that runs alongside the running/biking trail in that area.)  There were some dogs that were running alongside their owners.  All in all, it was just nice to see something different!

Today's plan was to run 4 miles.  Well, okay, to run/walk 4 miles.  As the numbers above indicate, I ran for a little over 30 minutes.  That wasn't an easy run for me either.  I kept having to convince myself to keep going.  The music wasn't inspiring me, I ended up running uphill the entire first half of my run, it was just tough.  At the beginning of the run, I started running faster than usual.  I wanted to try and lengthen my stride, to condition myself to run at a faster pace.  However, after a very short distance, I ended up reverting back to my former "comfy" pace.  While I wasn't content with this, I thought about it and realized that I wouldn't be able to keep that faster pace up for an entire 30 minutes or so and what I really wanted was to run the entire time, so I slowed down.

See? These ladies know what I'm talking about with the double-hand wave!
(Or maybe they're just doing the wave...hmm...)

As I was running, I thought it was funny that I got a chance to practice my 'trail greeting' to others passing by.  It's funny because I'd switch it up.  At first I tried the 'what's up bro' head nod and then the reverent/knowing head nod but I wondered if that just made it look like I wasn't really looking at the others on the trail.  I then changed to the double-hand wave, smile and a quick 'hi'.  After doing that twice, I thought maybe that was too much, too cheesy?  Then, I started to think...maybe I'm just thinking too much about this whole waving thing!  So, I just let it go and did whatever seemed to strike me at the moment.

NEXT RUN: Run for a minimum of 35 minutes, if not more! (Incidentally, I feel like this is a lame goal, by the way)

NEXT RACE: November 13th, Florida Hospital Celebration Founders' Day 10K & 5K

Greater Maitland 5K

The results are in for the race!  (Well, actually, they were in about 2 hours after the end of the race on Saturday...and I'm just slow to post this, but still!)  It was definitely a ridiculously soggy mess of a race!  When my alarm rang at 6:30am on Saturday morning, I slowly sat up and listened to the sound of the rain pounding onto the rooftop.  That's pretty much what I had been dreading since Thursday night when I started seeing news breaks indicating that there may be some 'major rains heading our way'.  I tried convincing myself that if I didn't listen to the weather reports, it wouldn't happen.  I could squeeze in my 5K before the worst of it started...little did I know!  It was pretty well torrential and I kind of thought it was going to be miserable, but it actually wasn't bad! 

Not having run in the chilly rain before, I wasn't really sure what to wear.  (Yeah, yeah, yeah, such a girl, I know!)  I figured I'd just wear a light rain jacket and call it a day.  If it weren't for the fact that I was worried about my iPod getting wet, I probably wouldn't have worn a rain jacket at all.  But, I don't have the money to replace a water logged iPod, so I figured I needed to go ahead and protect the hardware I've got!

Flashing my bib number

Standing at the starting line, I noticed there weren't a whole lot of people like there were at the 9/11 5K.  I thought maybe it was the rain that discouraged people from showing up, but I didn't really care.  I was just happy to think of how open the race course would be!  Rob snapped a couple shots of me waiting to start and then walked up to the side of the start line and I tried to just concentrate on relaxing, having fun and not allowing myself to get too carried away in the adrenaline rush.

As the horn blew, I definitely felt that rush and I tried to just let myself go with it a little bit but not to let myself get caught up in it.  I needed to make sure to not get ahead of myself early in the race so that I would suffer later on.  I think I did a pretty good job of this since I felt good pretty much the entire race. 

Going into the race my goal was to try and run the entire thing.  Well, I'm sorry to say, I wasn't able to do that.  However, I ran all but about 5 minutes of it.  That felt pretty good though, especially since there were a few pretty long and pretty nasty hills involved.  The race was an out and back, which meant that you ran out to a mid-point and then back along the same course.  This wouldn't have been a big deal except for the fact that you encountered the downhill segments in the first half of the race and so you knew exactly what to expect on the return trip!

I forced myself to run as long as I could, which ended up being less than my longest run time in the evenings (probably a total of about 26 minutes), which was a little disappointing.  I let myself walk a couple minutes to catch my breath a bit and then ran a few more minutes up the hills before walking a bit more.  I finished strong though with a pretty decent 6-7 minute run segment and I tried to kick it out at the end to finish a little faster. 

My official race time was: 38:37

Official race time for 9/11 5K: 39:41

This means I bettered my 5K time by about 1:04, which I should be happy about and I sort of am I guess.  I mean, I am.  I just know I can do better and I should do better.  While I was very comfortable running this race (even despite the ever-present rain), I don't think I should be content with just being 'comfortable'.  I think I should really push myself and that's where the mental aspect comes in.  Also, I think I really and truly need to work on lengthening my stride more and I'm not entirely sure how to do this.  I'm not quite sure how this happened but I'm pretty sure my running stride is barely more than a shuffle, which I think sucks.  I need to research how to flush this out because I really don't like running like a granny at the races just to be comfy.  I'd rather go for it and run like an actual athlete!

No, that's not sweat, it's rain! :-)

The race went great though, I have to be happy with the outcome!  I ran an entire minute faster than my first 5K and I almost was able to run the entire way!  Also, my 1 mile split time was about 11:30, which is definitely a personal best for me!  The rain didn't even come close to dampening my spirits and I finished in a great mood!  It was Saturday at about 8:15am, I ran 3 miles and I still had the rest of the day and weekend ahead of me!  

   

After the race, Rob and I went into the gym where all the food and festivities had been moved.  There, I enjoyed what was probably the best tasting smoothie of my life.  I'm sure it was the fact that I 1) just finished a 5K at my best time, 2) was out of the rain and 3) hadn't had any breakfast yet.  Whatever the real reason, that thing was so good, I had two of them!  Yum!  I love me some smoothies (though I rarely have them)! 

Before the race: Test shot that happened to catch my nice straight hair...

Interesting thing about the rain and the coldish weather, it does funny things to my hair.  I started the race with very straight, smooth hair in a ponytail and ended up looking like a got a perm mid-race.  Seriously, it was insane!  I didn't even realize it until I got home and went to shower!  Then I told Rob he had to take a picture of my curly hair, it just had to be documented! 

After: Did I get a perm?  I don't remember stopping at the salon...

So, there you have it: my race summary!  Great race and definitely one I'll do next year!  The hills were kind of rough, but the course was really nice!  Though the race was only about 10 minutes from our house and I used to work in Maitland (for about 2 years!), I didn't even realize all of those houses were back there and they were really nice!  There was this really cool lake to run along and it was just, well, peaceful.  I don't know if it was because of the rain or what, but the race was just really calming.  Race 2 under my belt and I'm definitely looking forward to the big one: Race 3: a.k.a. the 15K!!  At the end of the race as we were driving home, I just kept thinking: I'm ready to step up my training!  I'm ready to add more miles to my routine!  Let's go!

A Post on MS

It happened again...I received another postcard from the Mid Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society offering me the opportunity to be on the Run To Stop MS team at the Walt Disney World Marathon.  This happened to be particularly poignant timing since I just met with my neurologist today to discuss new treatment options for my MS and the option we decided on kind of scares the crap out of me.  All of the things she kept telling me about: that I need to think about a future with children and the quality of life I would have, the very real probability that I will end up disabled, etc...all of it was an all too real reminder of what I may one day be facing and it's frightening to think about.

In addition, this therapy option is frightening too.  Currently, I'm on a platform therapy that doesn't seem to be modifying my relapses enough as I've had several additional enhancing lesions on my last MRI, after being on this treatment.  So she decided that I needed a change and gave me two options: either the new daily oral medication that just came out or the monthly IV infusion.  The IV infusion is a nice alternative to what I do now as I'll only have to go once a month to the doctor's office for a couple of hours to get the infusion done.  As it stands now, remembering to take my three shots per week is a little sketchy.  Also, it's become quite the pain in the butt for me, for some reason.  Needless to say, the infusion will be a welcome change.  The treatment scares me though.  Though the findings aren't clinically significant, there have been patients who developed PML from this treatment, a disease that isn't reversible and is either severely debilitating or lethal.  That is the scary part for me!  The 'what if' factor will always be there!

All of this emotional stuff leads me back to the race.  I really want to sign up and join.  I feel really strongly about being part of the MS community and getting involved to help raise awareness and funds for it.  In a way, my quality of life kind of depends on it.  I think it would be amazing to combine two things that I care very much about and it would certainly be an extremely emotional race for me to finish!  For that to be my first major race would be absolutely amazing I think.  I think I'll check on some more information about this to see what it's all about.  I'm not really even sure that I could swing it, financially, but this is something that's really important to me, so I would find a way!

In other news, I picked up my race packet today for the race Saturday!  I was really excited to see the tech shirt for the race!  The color is about as day-glo pink as you can get, but I love it!  (And I'm sooo not a pink person!)  The shirt is an awesome material and is really cute, so, yay!  I also got an Orlando Magic window flag for my car.  If the season ever starts up again, then I've got one to proudly display!

All set for Saturday and really excited to get going!  Can't wait!

Tempo Training (Take Two!)

Rob really kicked my butt today!  I asked him if he would work me out with some fartleks again and he ever so kindly obliged.  Y'know, I should really know better than to ask someone who's in WAY better shape to run with me...he makes it look so effortless!  Jerk.  (Just kidding!)

The back loop's reputation for being my favorite got a little tarnished today as the run was really challenging for me.  As I passed all the usual spots that would help me feel encouraged or lifted up in some way, I felt exhaustion and the ever present concern of "how much farther do I have to run at 70%"??  I don't think it helped that, since I was running with Rob, I didn't have any music to listen to.  Altogether, I think the tempo run went pretty well, but it certainly wasn't easy.  Rob definitely did his job and gave me one heck of a work out!!  When I got home, I could barely stretch I was so exhausted!  I had that sick feeling you get after a really tough work out, which Rob reassured me would leave me feeling better and stronger for my next work out.  I hope he's right!

NEXT RACE: 2 DAYS AWAY!!!

The Greater Maitland 5K is coming up on Saturday morning and Rob said he would come to take pictures again, which is really sweet of him!  I'm lucky to have such a supportive guy!  My goal for the race is to try and make a 38 minute time bracket (which means anything from 38:00 to 38:59).  Anywhere in there and I'll be happy with my results!  My alternative goal is to run the entire thing and go as slowly as I want to.  I'm not entirely sure which one I'm going to do yet, I guess I'll decide for sure on Saturday morning!

Lazy Bones

This is pretty much how I spent my evening yesterday...and I was darn glad to do it, too!  Yes, I did have a little bit of guilt about not going out to walk...but, what's done is done now!  I think the whole reason I didn't end up walking was because I get SO bored just walking anymore.  I tried to think of alternative cross training activities, but Rob didn't want to play tennis and I couldn't go for a bike ride.  My only option was Wii Fit and, well, I'll be honest: I don't really feel like that's much of a workout, despite me doing a bunch of reps and different stuff...I guess I'd just rather do nothing, which doesn't really make much sense!

The plan for today is to do another tempo run with Rob.  It will be 2.5 miles of total distance with about 2 of that being the run.  I'm taking him on my favorite back loop today, which I'm really excited about since he's never been back there before.  It's always kind of been my secret little place to run around and enjoy!  I'm looking forward to the run and mixing it up a bit today!    

This Is Why I Run

Truly, there are many reasons why I run.  However, today was the perfect example of specifically what I'm hoping to reach.  Hopefully it's just the beginning of what's to come for me!  I wish I had time to write this when I had just returned from running because it would be much more befitting of my mood afterward.  I'm not sure I can adequately describe it.  I was ecstatic, jovial, giddy...I was laughing and grinning from ear to ear.  When I was telling Rob about the run, I was like a schoolgirl describing her first crush.  I couldn't contain myself!  I was just SO overjoyed and excited and giggly!  I think I finally got a taste of that runner's high and do I ever want some more!  I mean, I've played sports most of my life, but I don't think I've ever worked this hard for anything athletic!  This is mine!  I'm doing it for me and it feels so rewarding!  This is why I run!

This week is a step down week for me so it's back to 2 miles, per Hal Higdon's 15K training schedule!  Since I'd worked up to consistently running a little over 1.5 miles, I thought I would increase the distance to a full 2 miles running.  I opted for a route where I could walk almost .5 miles to warm up and then just run the rest of the way until I was done.  When I created this plan, I honestly wasn't entirely sure that I would make it.  It can really be such a struggle for me, but the weather was nearly perfect today, the music was upbeat throughout and away I went!  As I neared the part of my run that I usually dread because I have the most difficulty there, today I was in the zone.  In addition to getting a taste of that runner's high, I also found that elusive 'zone out' mode that everyone talks about.  That time when you just get lost in your thoughts and forget completely about what you're doing.  Yes, your legs are moving, but your mind is elsewhere...miles and miles away.  It was sublime!  I finally felt that joy of running!  I had...(gasp)...FUN!!! 

BY THE NUMBERS:

Total Distance: 2.5 miles
Total Time: 35 minutes
Longest Run: 28 minutes/2.13 miles

5 minute warm-up walk
2-3 minute cool down walk

Today was a great day for running!  I only hope that I find more days like this in the future!!  (Especially as the miles start to stack up!)  It certainly gives me hope going into the race weekend!  The 5K this Saturday will be another test for me to overcome and today's run makes me feel like I've really prepared well for it!

Fall Has Arrived...for now at least...

If there's one thing I've learned from living in Florida all these years, it's never to take the first hint of cooler temperatures and lower humidity too seriously, it probably won't stick around for long!  However, for today at least, I had the pleasure of doing my morning run in about 65 degree temps and staggeringly low humidity!  It felt wonderful for a change and I spent much of my run through "the anchor" distracted by just how cool it was outside!  I had to stay at my parents' house lastnight, so I ended up finding a loop to run at their house.  Upon mapping the route, I noticed that the first leg of it looked distinctly like a boat's anchor.  So, there we go.  The only thing with the anchor, besides it being fantastically tree-lined and shady, is the large number of hills.  I had run this route once before and I guess it was long enough ago that I completely forgot about all of the hills the anchor holds in store.  Ugh.  But, I kept telling myself that these would make me a stronger runner and to just keep going!  And so I did!

BY THE NUMBERS:

Total Distance: 3.5 miles
Total Time: 1 hour
Longest Run: 22 mins/1.62 mi

Walk Break
2 more (approximately) .5 mi segments

The run today was sort of split up.  As usual, I did my 5 minute warm up walk and then ran my longest consecutive time of 22 minutes before walking again.  I'm not really sure how long my walking break was after that, I forgot to track it.  But I started running again once I hit the main road and ran for about .45 mi to the front of their subdivision and the tennis courts where Rob was playing with a friend of his.  This is where the run splits.  I stopped to watch them play tennis for a little while. (That's why my time was so slow today.)  When I started realizing how badly Rob was doing, I decided I better leave in case I was distracting him or something.  So, after a nice little rest break, I ran the rest of the way to my parents' house (about .6 mi).

Since starting to run these longer consecutive distances, I've noticed that I've had trouble starting to run again afterward.  I'm taxed and I have very little will to continue running again once my body has stopped.  However, today was different!  I'm sure this is entirely based upon the fact that the weather was perfect!  I found that I could restart and just kind of zone out and keep chugging along.  This is encouraging for the 5K next week.  While I have no illusions that I'll be able to run the whole way (if only!), my goal is to beat my chip time from last month's race.  I don't care if it's only by a few seconds, seconds count, y'know!   

With a great run under my belt, it's time to get cleaned up and enjoy this football Saturday!!  Saturdays are my favorite during football season, I can't get enough of college football!  While my Terps aren't much of a force, Rob's Gators are usually pretty fun to watch.  (At the very least, they don't make me want to smash my head against a wall like my beloved Terps do!)

Tennis Cross Trainer

I was in a pretty foul mood when I got home from work today.  I think it's because I've cut my calorie intake at lunch and, despite trying to eat almonds and dried apple and cranberries to supplement a bit in the afternoon, I was still hungry when I got home.  A hungry Steph is a cranky Steph! 

Rob and I planned on doing some studying before playing tennis today and, let me just tell you, I was SO not feeling it!  I'm not really sure why exactly, the math problems weren't difficult, I just think it was that ugly mood (and maybe some of that hunger) rearing its head again.  Needless to say, after about 20-25 minutes of trying to struggle through the lesson, Rob gave up and we ended up just going to play tennis to work out that...well...whatever it was. 

It was an easy easy day.  I did try to make a concerted effort to catch the shots before they'd double bounce (unlike last time), but if he hit an incredible shot that I probably wasn't going to get to anyway, I didn't stress it.  In terms of fitness, a really good cross training work out for about 40 minutes.  In terms of my tennis skills?  Not so good!  My forehand shots would either hit the net or come off the end of the racket very flatly.  I'm pretty sure I kept trying to hit the ball when I was still too far away from it, which is a little weird.  And my backhand, usually my best shot, was totally off today!  I did have a couple of sweet backhands, but for the most part, it was not a good day to try and display my tennis prowess!  Still, I got out there and had some fun and got a little workout in!  I'll take it!     

A Weighty Issue

I'm so excited this morning that I just had to share!  While my main goal for this running venture I've embarked upon is fitness and a healthy lifestyle, a secondary goal is weight loss.  When I started out, I had a good 20 lbs that I should lose with an added 10 lbs that would bring me to my ideal weight.  I have to stress this, I haven't been super absorbed with the scale since I know my weight will fluctuate due to muscle mass increase (thus adding weight), water weight, etc.  I've been trying to eat better (and lighter) lunches than I used to and just generally make better food choices to help fuel this new activity.

When I have checked the scale lately though, I've noticed that I've lost about 14 lbs in the last 2 months of running.  When I do the math, I'm actually pretty surprised!  I didn't realize that I'd lost that much already! Alright!!

Well, today I finally fit into a babydoll t-shirt I've been dying to wear since I got it for free from work!  It's a really goofy Japanese Popeye t-shirt but it's always been too snug in my mid section so I couldn't ever wear it.  But today!  That's what I've got on!  Woohoo!  And it actually looks really cute!  I need to remember moments like this for the future whenever I get discouraged.  It's little things like this that make it all worthwhile!

Going the Distance

Pertinent Stats:

Distance: 3.08 miles
Time: 42-44ish minutes?
Plan: Run 2.5 miles straight with no walking breaks

Today's run was about proving something to myself.  After what felt like an awful run on Saturday, I had to come out of the gates on fire.  While I wasn't exactly on fire today (note my time above), I just tried to be as consistent as possible while running as long as I could without stopping.  I'm still unsure about my actual time since I completely forgot what time I left the house by the time I got home, which is too bad.  Also disappointing is the fact that I do know that it was over 40 minutes.  I don't really understand how, when I'm running longer than I've ever run without breaks, I still manage to go slower than when I take a good amount of walk breaks.  I know I'm no speed demon out there, but do I really run slower than I walk??

Let's break it down, shall we?  I started off by walking 5 minutes as a warm-up.  I then ran for what I'm guessing was about 18.5 minutes, which equates to 1.5 miles and a little over a 12 minute mile.  (That seems about right, for what I've been running so far.)  I took a walking break for about 4 minutes, though it could've been longer I guess.  I ran this uphill segment for about a minute and slowed to walk again for another 2 minutes before finishing with a 6.5 minute running segment and 6 minute walk back home to cool down.  I guess that really does work out to that time total.  That seems a little discouraging, but I need to keep focusing on the fact that I ran farther today at one time than I have since I was probably 19 or 20.  When you think about it that way, it's pretty uplifting!  If nothing else, it's progress!  (I know I also need to keep in mind the fact that I'm incorporating both the warm up and cool down walking periods into my time, which probably shouldn't be.) 

It certainly wasn't easy though.  I wasn't but probably a minute or two into the run when my right shin started burning.  I figured I just didn't stretch it enough and I hadn't run in a couple days so it probably just needed a little time to settle in.  The shin pain eventually went away only to return toward the end of the first long running segment (which was actually the reason I stopped short of the goal distance).  I also had to keep distracting myself again.  There were segments that I had to keep inwardly reciting, "Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other, one foot IN FRONT OF THE OTHER!!"  At times, I would catch myself feeling really tense and really just loathing what I was doing.  It was then that I would gently remind myself, "Steph, this is supposed to be fun!  Remember?  You like this!  This is fun!"  Once I did, I would relax my shoulders and arms as well as my legs and I would feel better for a little while.  I guess this is an initial really major thing that I'm learning: that I really can talk myself through the run and push myself farther.  I know I still have a long way to go with this, but I think that may be the most encouraging part about today's run for me.  I'm starting to learn to handle the mental aspect better!  Hooray!  If I can conquer that, then I can conquer this running thing after all!

Oh yeah, and just in case anyone's keeping track, Moby is not good running music!

COMING UP: Greater Maitland 5K (11 days!)      

TO DO: Buy Nike+ Sportwatch (Just found out my company will reimburse me for it! So excited!!)

Rain Delay

My plan for today was going to be to try and run 2.25 miles straight, as well as I could.  However, mother nature has other plans.  On my way home, I noticed some ominous dark gray clouds to the west of our house and was worried about the run being scrubbed.  Sure enough, while sitting at the traffic light right before our house, there was a pretty huge lightning strike not far away.  I was initially disappointed but figured I would get home and wait a little bit to see if maybe the storms went in another direction or simply didn't materialize at all.  Waiting proved to make things even worse.  So...I guess my training for the week will be pushed back by a day, unfortunately.  I mean, as much as I was dreading the run today, part of me really wanted to get through it so I could put the crappy run of Saturday behind me.  Now, I'll just have to wait another day to make that happen, ugh!!  I'm not good at waiting! 

Dead Legs

Well hello again, blogosphere!  Haven't updated since Wednesday, so here we go!

Since I've been under the weather lately, I decided to give myself Thursday to just relax and rest up.  This proved to be a fortuitous decision as yesterday (Friday), I ended up walking for a little more than 3 hours as my husband and I went to the opening night of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights (HHN)!  Since this year marks the 21st year that HHN has been going on, the theme was Lady Luck:

A gem, ain't she?!

We had a great time as we were led through a tour of all of the haunted houses, scare zones and shows available.  Because we were with the media, we had access to the media lounge that had tons of delicious free food and beverages!  It was definitely a great time!  However, as we dragged our tired butts (and my very dead legs) into the house around 1 a.m., I kind of figured my run would be postponed to Sunday morning instead so I could get some sleep.  But, no!  I ended up waking up ridiculously early for some reason, so I went running this morning to get it out of the way for the weekend!  Yay me!

I don't know if not getting much sleep, being sick or all of the walking last night has anything to do with it, but today's run was an absolute struggle.  During my runs, I often think of what I might say in the blog afterward.  It usually starts out as something hopeful and encouraging, however, by the end of the run, it's all doom and gloom, hellfire and brimstone.  Today was every bit of that, if not more!  I started my run this morning later than I would like for a Saturday morning run, which meant that the sun was well above the horizon when I started and the heat was becoming oppressive.  It didn't help matters that it rained really hard last night, which created a nice thick steam blanket to run through.  Miserable!

I did a tad over 3 miles today, total.  Total time was a very sluggish 44 minutes.  My plan for today was supposed to be to run 2 x 10 minute segments with 3 minute walking breaks in between.  Unfortunately, that ended up changing a little as the run progressed.  To warm up, I walked briskly for about 4-5 minutes.  I did the initial 10 minute segment, feeling really good and as if I could run longer if I had wanted to (though the 10 minutes ended in the middle of a long uphill segment, so I chose to stop and walk).  In retrospect, I feel like maybe I shouldn't have stopped because I was doing a really good job in that initial segment and stopping kind of helped me lose steam.  The progress ended up being pretty much downhill from there.  My next segment was only 6 minutes before I needed to stop and walk and the following running segment was even shorter at 4 minutes.  I did a 2 and a half minute run segment and then shorter 1 minute run segment before doing a walking cool down the rest of the way.  All told, I have to admit that I'm disappointed in myself today.  Yes, I got out and ran.  However, I don't like the fact that I couldn't stick to my training plan.  I'm also discouraged by the fact that I was unable to push through the wall that I hit in that second running segment.  It's a similar wall to what I hit during the 5K.  It felt like the sun and heat were getting to me, my legs were tired and my breathing was uncontrolled and strained.  It was just not a good feeling at the finish and, frankly, it made me feel like a pansy.  I'm tempted to justify it away as stemming from sickness, HHN, etc.  But, if I'm to go down this running path even further, shouldn't I take responsibility and own up to the fact that maybe I just let myself off the hook too easily today?

I'm not really sure what to make of this.  Regardless, I'm still satisfied that I got out there and ran.  Next time, I'll just have to do better!  Training's never going to go exactly as planned, but there's always the next run to improve and prove to myself that I can do better!    

Back In the Habit

After some time spent away at my favorite beach, I have returned!  And what better way than to do a tempo run today?!  Let's start with where I left off before the trip...

Pretty much the exact view from our room! I miss it already!!

Last week got all kinds of messed up toward the end of it because of a few things (including the trip).  I ended up taking both Thursday and Friday off but I ran 3 miles on Saturday morning with my husband and little brother just prior to heading out.  It was a good run -- I was able to make it to 8 minute segments with just 3 minutes in between for walking breaks.  I spent the rest of the day on Saturday and almost all of it on Sunday at the beach swimming around and just generally relaxing.  It was such a nice time with beautiful weather that coming back was a tough reality check for me.

Would you really want to leave this place either?! It's heaven!!

I ran on Monday evening, another 3 miles.  Not having a clear training plan in mind, I kind of just tried to stick with what I had done Saturday.  According to my previous training plan, I was supposed to run a full 2 miles on Saturday and then walk/run the final mile.  However, since I took both Thursday and Friday off, I decided to go with the plan that should've happened on Thursday if I hadn't skipped the run.  I'm pretty sure I just made something up to justify not having to face trying to run 2 entire miles straight.  That prospect really makes me nervous to even think about trying, what if I fail?  I have a bunch of friends of varying fitness levels but they all still tell me that they are running consistently without having to stop to walk, which kind of intimidates me.  It makes me wonder if I'm just weak or, worse, not really a runner after all?  I'm trying to put those thoughts out of my mind and tell myself to be patient, the running will come in time.

Today's run was fantastic!  Despite being sick with some sort of cold/flu/yuckyness and not wanting to do anything but sleep, I got out there and did a tempo run!  Rob (my personal trainer and, ahem, husband!) took me through a series of fartleks over 2 miles.  I had never done fartleks before so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I pretty much just tried to go as hard as I could.  I really want to elongate my stride and help my pace.  We started by doing a brisk 4 minute warm-up walk, then I ran at about 70% for 3 minutes before walking for 3 minutes.  I then did a set of 3 fartleks for 30 seconds with slow jogging breaks in between before walking again for 3 minutes and doing a second set of fartleks with jogging breaks.  All told, it was a great workout and really helped me feel that I can make progress on my stride and pace!   

I finally got the official chip results from the race and I ended up coming in under 40 minutes which was really exciting for me!  My goal was 40 minutes and to come in under that was really gratifying for me!  It can only get easier from here, right?  I also got a couple of pictures of me crossing the finish line from the front, which was fun to see!

 And last, but not least, I signed up for another race on Monday!  I registered for the Seniors First Turkey Trot here in Orlando on Thanksgiving.  It's a fun run, which will be nice for a change.  I'll just have to make sure to remember to check out the time clock as I pass through it.  I may not really care about my time, but I do like to keep an eye on my pacing as I get closer to the half marathon!   

TO DO: Rest and strengthen a bit

ON THE HORIZON: Saturday easy 3 miler