What its all been for

Today was the 1/2 marathon. I was a little nervous going into it because it was storming pretty bad. I was nervous it would either be canceled or we would have to run in the rain. It ended up being perfect weather. The gun went off and the rain stopped. It was nice and cool until the last mile or two.

This race was way better than the 10 miler. I felt good, I was in the right mental state, and I ran well. I ran at least 95% of the time. I ran a little slower but slow and steady is better than pushing it and not being able to complete it. My unofficial time is 2 hours 30 minutes. I keep checking the race site to find out my real time but it has not been posted yet.

I have to admit I didn't see my time when I crossed the finish line cause I was a little teary eyed. I was so happy I was finishing strong and my knees hurt so bad. So my watch is what I have to go by.

Dad did end up running with me and it was very nice. I did listen to my headphones (an audio book) to make sure I was not in my head like the 10 miler so dad and I didn't talk much but it was nice to know he was right there.

And I am already planning to run it again next year. Although I can barely walk right now.

Next month I am not running any races but in August I am doing a 5K with my husband, August I am running the 8 miler I was supposed to do in May, and September I am going to do a 10K. So although the 1/2 marathon has come and gone I am still going to be a runner.

Sitting and waiting

The race starts in an hour. I am waiting for my dad to pick me up. Its storming. Thunder, lightning the whole works. A little nervous. Not to run but because of the weather.

tomorrow is the big day

Tomorrow at 6:00 am I will be leaving my house for the race. The race begins at 7am and I plan to be at the finish line between 9:15 and 9:30. I really have no idea what my pace will be since I have been al over the place with my times.

I hope that my dad will be running with me but he is still sore from his full marathon he did last Saturday. But if he can't run it at least I have ben training by myself so that part of it won't change.

So if you are in Cedar Falls tomorrow at 9:15 I will see you at the finish line.

Best laid plans of mice and men

Yesterday I was going to take the morning off so that I could run a longer distance than my 3 miles at lunch. Well it rained. A LOT! So I didn't run, not even at lunch.

Today I was going to run for lunch. I forgot socks. I thought about running without socks but I knew that with my luck I would get a blister and with the run in a few days. So I used the recumbent bike - 30 minutes 5.75 miles.

Tomorrow I am going to try to run before work but I will have to see how sleep goes first. If I can't get a run in then I probably won't get one in prior to the race.

Swim and run

At lunch I swam 1/2 a mile. It was nice. Then I ran tonight. I had a meeting so I ran to the meeting. Had an hour long meeting. Then ran home. It was a total of 2.05 miles in 23 minutes. Pretty good.

Errands and running

I am trying to get as many miles as I can this week without overdoing it prior to the race. Today I had errands to run so I literally ran them. I went to the Y, changed to my running stuff, and RAN my errands. I ran 2.61 miles in 28 minutes. And my to do list became shorter.

Tomorrow I plan to swim at lunch. Then I have a meeting after work that if I run to it then I will log two more miles.

One week left

In one week I am running in the Sturgis Falls 1/2 marathon. Am I ready? I'm gonna have to be.

I ran somewhere around 10 miles today. I don't have a way to get a completely accurate mile count since I ran the trails. I did it in 1:46:20. I really wanted to get 12 miles in but my knees really started to give so I gave up. I would rather not run enough today then not be able to run next week. Then this evening I swam laps at a hotel pool.

On a side note my Dad ran the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth today. He did it in 4 hours 26 minutes. Which is his personal best. YAY Dad! (see his results here) Great Job! Can't wait to run with you next weekend. (and Happy Father's Day too!)

another crappy run

I did 3 miles at lunch. 2 outside and one inside at the arena. the inside mile was a 10 minute mile. The rest not as great. The total time was 36 minutes.

I walked...

I left work and was so excited to run today. I was going to do 5 miles before dinner. Well I now know that I am a morning runner who is not a fan of the heat. I ran the first 15 minutes then thought I was going to die. I felt like crap. I ended up doing just over 3 miles and it took just about 50 minutes. I think it had to do with a fullish stomach (I didn't eat anything 2 hours before) and the heat. I typically do my best runs right away in the morning after eating a granola bar when the day is still cool.

I am going to try to get up in the morning and run 5 miles.

Update - I did just calculate that in the first 15 minutes that I was running so well I did 1.5 miles. That's pretty good. Also my son did not sleep well last night. Which means I didn't sleep well. So I did not run this morning.

Yesterday

Yesterday I spent the lunch hour doing some serious stretching. I set my watch to 1 minute intervals and held each stretch for that long. I felt 100% better after that 40 minutes of stretching. Today I didn't get a workout in since we were working on our son's room tonight and I had to let the carpet guys in at lunch time.

Tomorrow I am going to run 5 miles. Hopefully I will be running outside but if the weather doesn't cooperate I can always run at the ice arena.

I can't run faster than rain.

I tired to run the same path I ran on Wednesday but due to the rain I cut out 1/2 mile loop. I did 10.5 miles in 1:56:20. Which is faster than last time since that missing 1/2 mile would not have taken me 10 minutes. The best part is I ran continuously the first 50 minutes. Of course my knee and hip were less than happy with me so my second half of the run was not as good.

Then the rain came. I was not quite 3/4 done with the run when I heard thunder. First I thought it was my music since some of the songs have thunder in their intros. But then I realized I was in a middle of a song that had no thunder. I tried to pick up the pace to beat the rain but I did not make it. However I did make it to my car just as the really hard rain started.

The race is 2 weeks from today. I hope to get a 3 mile run and a 5 mile run in during this next week. Then I will do 12 miles on Saturday or Sunday. Then the following week I will try to get a 10 mile run in one evening plus some 3 mile runs in.

Then the race is on Sunday June 28th. Anyone who wants to meet me at the finish line I should be there by 9:30 am.

thoughts from the pool

Why is it that I can run a 1/2 mile in 5 or 6 minutes but it takes a 1/2 hour to swim a 1/2 mile?

It just seems odd since when you run just your legs propel you and when you swim its your entire body.

Also why doesn't the smell of chlorine wash from your skin?

Well as you can guess I swam today for my cross-training. I did 1/2 a mile.

A year-to-date summary:

I have run a total of 216.2 miles. 67 of those were in the month of May. WOW. This month I have done 18 miles and it is only the 10th. In January I only ran 22 miles the entire month. Wow what an improvement.

This weekend I intend to run the same route I ran yesterday to see if I can manage any improvement. The race is in 3 weekends. So this weekend I will run 11 miles again. Next weekend I will do 12 miles. Then the race is the following weekend and is 13 miles. I figure if I am able to do 12 what is one more... right?

My day off work

I took the day off like I said in my last post. I woke up and took the kids to daycare. Then drove to the park so I could run. I ended up running just over 11 miles in 2:06:27. A whole mile more in the about the same amount of time as the 10 miler. Yay! The run was pretty good. I ran continuously the fist 30 minutes. The first hour I only walked a total of 10 minutes. The second hour was a little rougher. But I did it and I made good time.

After I ran I went to the store then headed home. I painted my son's room, showered, then cleaned the house. I then did a second coat of paint. I was go go go. I even kept track of the number of times I went up our stairs; 15 times since my run.

Then a church meeting, dinner with the family, and we topped off the day with a walk (1 mile total) to Dairy Queen.

It was a very productive day. It wasn't a dream vacation but I got a lot done and now I am ready for bed (its only 9:45)

painting

No workout today since I had to take Zoe to the dentist which meant working through lunch. However I have been remodeling my son's room which requires manual labor (painting, rearranging, sanding, etc.) Does that count? Tomorrow I am taking the day off so I am going to try to get 10 miles in then I am painting the rest of the day. Now that I said that's the plan I suppose I have to get up and do it. :-)

I am competitive.

Today I didn't feel like running. Actually for the last week I haven't felt like running. I have been in a funk since the 10 miler. But I ran today. I did 2.32 miles. Not a lot of distance but since I didn't want to be out there I think its pretty good.

About an hour after my run my motivation came back. Some friends ran a 20K this weekend. I saw their speeds. All I can think now is I can do better than that. I know I shouldn't be this competitive, but I am. And hey if it gets me motivated to run again then its worth it.

I'm not lost I swear!

So life is kinda getting in the way again. Friday was a rest day. With the way my Friday schedule works out it almost has to be that way. Then I was going to do the my waterloo days 5k on Saturday but as I headed out the door it was raining pretty good. And since I had not paid yet I decided I should stay home and run later. Well I should have run then because later never happened. And today is turning out the same way. I hope to get a least a few miles in at some point even if it is not the long run I need to do. Now back to cleaning, yard work, and painting.

Total Body workout

Yesterday my joints needed a change of pace. So I swam 1/2 a mile at lunch time. It felt great. I can feel many of my muscles today. I think I need to get swimming back into my regular routine.

5 miles

I ran after work today. I knew I needed to more than 3.5 which is about all I can fit in over lunch so I arranged with my husband for some running time. I did 5.1 miles in 59 minutes 50 seconds. So just over a pace of 11.5 minutes per mile. This is a slow pace but I took Dad's advice because, "running slow is a lot better than walking fast". I ran 95% of my run today. I was in the right place mentally too. And I didn't eat anything for 2 hours prior to running. :-)

I also decided to run the My Waterloo Days 5K on Saturday. I need to do something to get in a better mindset after last weekend. A 5k should be a breeze and really boost my confidence and competitive edge. Plus the race is close. To get more miles in I plan to run to the race and home. By taking a direct path its just over 1 mile from my house. Then I will take an indirect path home.