First Run After

Yesterday I had my first run after the half marathon. It was 5 miles and went really well. I was kind of expecting to be a little sore from pushing so hard the last few miles of the half but everything was fine. I also tried to speed up a little since I had such a good time. I was able to but I was not as fast on the hills as that nice flat road.

 

I was supposed to run 10 miles tonight which would take me about 2 hours. I got home from work late but still got dressed and ready to run. Once I was totally ready, it was only an hour before sunset. I got my head lamp out but decided it was too risky running for an hour in the dark. There is a lot of traffic on the roads where I run with only about 6 inches of shoulder,  and lots of trees and curves. I’ll get in the 10 tomorrow.

Saturday is my 20. That is going to be interesting!

Last Run Before the Half

My last run before my first Half Marathon.  After my Tuesday run I had decided to skip my mid-week run. I had to decide whether to run the 9 miles I missed or stick with the scheduled 5. I was feeling a lot better as were my knees. So I figured I would go out and play it by ear.  I took it nice and easy at first to see how things were. Everything seemed fine. The only problem was it was super humid, almost like a fog had rolled in. Visibility wasn’t that great. Luckily, it wasn’t hot but it sure didn’t feel cool either. After the first couple of miles I decided 5 was going to be enough.

 

After the run, I felt great. A teeny bit of soreness in my knees but much better. I’m feeling much better about the Half Marathon now.

This Sunday will be my very first road race, the Surftown Half Marathon!

 

I’ve never even run a 5K or 10K. I’m super excited and can’t wait. Of course, I’ll let you know how it went.

Not My Best 5

Yesterday I went for my 5 mile run and it didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped. I think I still needed to recover from my 18 miles on Saturday. Even though I had a nice long pre-run stretch, my legs were stiff and my knees were not happy. I hadn’t hydrated as much as I should have during the day either. So I took it kind of slow. I didn’t want to have a bad half marathon on Sunday. Here is how it went.

 

I guess it was faster than I thought I was going.

Tylenol and naproxen, hydration  and rest were in order today. I struggled with whether to run my scheduled 9 miles. I really wanted to not miss out on the run but in the end I decided it would be better to skip a day and rest up some more. I have 5 scheduled for tomorrow and I will decide if I’ll do my missed 9 or stick with the 5 based on how I feel.

Longest Run Yet

Today was my scheduled 18 mile run. I expected it would be about 3 1/2 so I wanted to get an early start. I woke up at 5:30 and started getting ready. Sunrise was at 6:19 and I didn’t want to run in the dark. I stumbled into the kitchen and had my breakfast bar, a GU,  and some water.  I looked at the weather and it was 43 degrees with 98% humidity with a windchill of 41 degrees. It was supposed to get up to about 63 so I wasn’t sure whether to wear my regular shirt or my long sleeve thermal shirt. I didn’t want to be too hot. So I chose my regular shirt. I fed the dog and went out to walk her. COLD! After coming back in I changed my shirt.

I headed out and wanted to take it nice and easy since the was going to be the longest run by 2 miles, my knees bothering me, and with the scare I had on Thursday with almost rolling my ankle. Everything went great. My breathing was like I was just walking fast, not running and my knees and foot were good to go. My pace seemed pretty good too. I decided I would take a GU every 4 miles and only drink every 2, something I have been working on all week, to sort of simulate race day.

I felt really good during the run and turned around at the 9 mile point which was my furthest turn around point so far and was still feeling great! The temperature was increasing but I was comfortable since there was a nice cool breeze. I guess I made the right call to change shirts. At 11 miles, I stopped at the store to refill my water. It only took about 2 minutes and I didn’t want to stop the clock because it won’t stop during the race on water breaks.

Back on the road, I got right back into the groove and felt great. Everything was going good. Pace, foot, knees, and breathing were all good. At about mile 15 I started to feel a little pain in my left hip where I’d had some ITB trouble several months ago and my Glutes were getting tired. I kept going and made a silent cheer at mile 16, now it was all new territory. Up that last big hill during the last mile then the final turn toward home. Mile 18! I felt really good and my hip was fine now  too and I still wasn’t breathing hard. Here are the stats:

 

Pace was right on track, fastest max speed ever, over 1200 feet on hills, longest run ever, and something I didn’t expect or even try to do…

 

FASTEST Half Marathon!

Today was definitely a win for me.

Decent Run with a Little Scare

Today was my 5 mile run. The weather was nice and I was looking forward to it. Starting out on the route with the biggest hill, I went at a nice and steady pace up the first hill.  Rounding the corner the hill grade isn’t as steep so I was able to pick up the pace a bit. Steadying my breathing and getting into the groove I was just trucking along. Then all of a sudden a stepped on a rock or something and almost rolled my left ankle. It went over pretty far but not completely over. I have rolled my ankle before, the right one, so I know what it feels like and how far over is too far. At first I thought “OH CRAP! My half marathon is a little over a week away and my marathon a little over a month!” while I ran hopped on one foot for a few steps and started assessing the damage. I stepped down lightly and it wasn’t too bad. Limped a few more steps, still running mind you to see if I could continue. A little more pressure for a few steps, I probably should be walking by now but no, still running. It seemed ok, just a little sore across the top. I figured at this point I could keep going and just be ready to stop if it start really hurting. It was ok for the following 4 1/2 miles so I guess it will be ok. No bruising but it is still a little sore on the inside between my ankle and heel. Naproxen and rest for tomorrow.  Here is how it went today.

 

I have 18 on tap for Saturday.

Great Weather, Great Run

Tonight’s weather was about the best ever. Mid 70s and 50% humidity makes for great weather to run in.  Good thing too since this is my mid-week 9 mile run. Wow, I remember when 9 miles was my Saturday long run. Here is how it went.

 

I like that my runs are consistently under a 10:30 pace. Maybe soon, I’ll be consistently under 10:00. I’m seeing more and more sub 10 minute miles. 🙂

I’m starting to feel a little pain in my knees. I don’t know if it is my mileage or that my shoes are starting breakdown, or a little of both. The last time my knees started getting sore, I replaced my worn out shoes and that did the trick.  I only have a little over 300 miles on these shoes though and I only use them to run in. I think I’m going to start taking some glucosamine and replace the insoles. We’ll see how that works.

Good First Run of a Challenging Week

Today’s run was 4 miles, the shortest of the week. The humidity was much better than it was on Saturday, still humid mind you, but better. The run felt good and nice and quick. Here is how it turned out.

 

Miles  Time   Split

1          10:52  10:52

2          09:56  20:48

3          10:35   31:23

4           09:08  40:31

Every mile under 11 minutes and two under 10 minutes! Awesome.

Super Soaker

Today is the day for my LSD run. Since this is a cutback week for me, I only needed to run 12 miles. I figured it would take about 2 hours based on how I have been running this week. I got up a little after 6 and had some water and a breakfast bar, got dressed, filled my water bottle, had a gel, stretched, fed the dogs and headed out to walk them. Uh Oh, huuummmiiid! It’s only about 68 degrees at this point so it should be fine. Finished with the dogs and headed out for the run. The air was thick and I could see the moisture in the air. It was hard to get going. “This should be a slow run anyway” I told myself so I would feel better. Plus, I kind of needed to take it easy on my left knee. It wasn’t hot but it sure seemed like it should have been. Right away I started sweating, much more than usual it seemed even though I was running about a minute slower than I had been. It was overcast and I wished it would just rain! But no such luck. The humidity was just so oppressive, I couldn’t get going. The thought crossed my mind a couple of times to bail and take a shortcut home. But I hung in there and kept going. By the time I hit 2 miles, my shirt was completely wet. By 4 miles, it was soaked through as was my hat. It made it look like Dri-Fit was false advertising. Plenty of sweat but no evaporation! 😛 by the time I got home, every stitch of clothing was literally dripping wet as if I had been caught in a downpour. I wish. I’ve never experienced anything like it, even on the hot and humid days of this summer. So, my time was a little off but I made it through the whole run. I know you guys in the the southern states are probably thinking “really?”

8 Miles and 2 PBs

My 8 mile run today was supposed to be yesterday but I had to switch it to today. It turned out ok though because it was a very good run.  The only thing was a little twinge in my left knee.

 

And on top of that, I got two more Personal Bests.

 

Things are looking up!

Three New Personal Bests

I had to change up my runs this week. Instead of my long midweek 8 mile run, I did my 5 mile run scheduled for tomorrow. The run was fantastic. Everything clicked. My breathing, my pace, everything. I even held back a little so I wouldn’t use everything up too soon. I was feeling so good I went all out on the last mile. Here is how it turned out.

 

I was super happy to break the 10 minute average pace barrier for a whole run. And along with that, I ended up with three new PBs.

 

That gave me the idea to put my PBs under my profile picture over there on the right.

My runs are really improving quickly and that sure keeps me motivated! 😀