fastest 5k, sore hammy & some beer pong

It's crazy what a little sunshine will do for you! This week's running weather was completely awesome. I ran 21 miles this week...which was more than what was on my schedule, but I'm just trying to go with how I feel.

Thursday was a beautiful day out, so I took out for a lunchtime run. During the week I've been trying to do some speed work on the shorter runs. I kicked out my fastest 5k on thursday :) a 4 minute PR! That's big for me. I giggled and smiled the whole way back to my office.

For anyone new following this blog....I had knee surgery last year, started back to running with 11 minutes miles, so a 25 min 5k is honestly something I never thought I would ever do.

Friday - should have been a rest day for Saturday long run, but wow, it was so nice out I just couldn't stay in. Lunchtime run again, 4 miler, 3 minutes faster than I've ever run 4 miles. Something has just clicked this past week and I LIKE IT!

Saturday - well, this is where I didn't do a very good job of listening to my body. I was tired Friday night (probably from 2 days of all out), but Saturday was going to be the nicer of the weekend days....so I got up early Saturday for my long run.

Feeling really good during the run, but after my hammy is hurting. Stretching & rest for me for a few days. I have a race next weekend, so I'm going to take it a bit easy this next week.

Anyway, Saturday run - I saw :

A guy in his silky pj pants taking his dogs out. He tried to hide behind a tree when he saw me coming, but just so he knew that I saw him, I yelled a big 'good morning!' lol

A packet of GU 1/2 gone on the sidewalk. First thought : Ah, cool. Runners are out there everywhere. Second thought : Dude, pick up your trash you literbug. Third thought : I wish I had one of those right now. I forgot to buy any fuel so I was going without today.

Plus a whole lotta drunk, drunk, drunk people heading to Aggieville for 'fake patty's day'. Ahhhh ... to be 21 and drunk at 8am.

A group asked me to come along with them, another asked if I wanted to take a beer pong break (I really DID), and I got a passerby honk (but it was a car of girls so I'm not sure if that one counts? Or maybe it counts double?) I resisted the beer pong and kept on running.

Saw several people doing the Saturday morning 'walk of shame'. You know, the 'still in my Friday night clothes, hair a mess, walking home from the hook up' walk. Cracks me up sometimes to live in a college town.

OH! And the coolest thing I saw today :Hello Spring!

Long Run Saturday

ahhhh....Saturday. Maybe my very favorite day of the week. Not because of the usual things people love Saturdays for - no work, sleeping in - but because Saturday means I have time to run long.

I'm in full swing of 1/2 marathon training now, so I've been focusing during the week on the shorter, faster runs - trying to build my speed a bit. GAWH I hate those. Mostly because I've been stuck on the treadmill, but speed work in general sucks. I'm pretty convinced that I'm not built to ever be much faster than I already am....but I will keep trying!

Saturday long run is a much different run. I get to slow it down a bit, not focus on speed, zone out to my tunes and take it easy. I have tons of 'think' time, which I love.

I come up with all kinds of things to blog about on those runs, but I'll pick one for today.

When I first started running, I was about 45 pounds heavier, didn't own a single piece of dri fit clothing (or even knew what it was), & I ran around the old track at my gym just because I knew noone ever used it. I could run without anyone seeing me. Funny how I thought you should be completely fit & skinny before showing your face in the gym! Ummm, isn't that what the gym is for??? How silly.

Here's my experience at the gym yesterday.

I'm on the treadmill....for 1 hr, 40 min. Plenty of time to see lots of people come & go. We have two rows of treadmills & I always take the back. Ok there is still some vanity there (the back row means less people to see your butt shake when you run!).

A woman got on a treadmill right in front of me - heavy set woman, & started to walk. Shortly after I see her take it up to a jog, then a walk, then a jog....of course that looks just like the Couch to 5K plan to me, & I right away want to see if that's what she's doing.

If you know me, you are not surprised here, I will attempt to convert anyone I know into running - even if they really don't want to. Of course I go talk to her. She was in fact working on the Couch to 5K plan & Saturday was her 2nd week. We talked for awhile, then I let her get back to her workout & I to mine. I know how much time she had left in her workout.....

In walks 3 completely hot girls in those little boy shorts, full on makeup, tan, legs as long as my whole body....you couldn't help but notice them. They pop on the treadmill right next to this lady in front of me. But not before stretching right out in front of the whole gym. (um, ok, if I had an ass like that, I'd probably bend it over in front of the whole gym too...)

They get right onto the treadmill & start a warm up at what looks to be a comfortable pace for them. You know, just jogging along leisurely & chatting. Since I am behind them I can clearly see their pace. This leisurely warm up was at 7.0.

Now, let me tell you that I know who one of these girls is - she is a body builder - so I secretly was thinking when she hopped on the treadmill that there was no way she was a runner too.....but an 8:30 pace for a warmup? Yeah, thinking she's a runner too.

Then....she kicks that up to 10.5. That's a 5:40 pace. Then to 12. Yeah, that's a 5:00 pace. Holy crap, this woman is now running twice as fast as me.

I was jealous, felt like I needed to pick up my pace some - but only for one second - then I knocked it back down again. I was there to run 10 miles slow & easy....I wasn't going to mess that up.

But the sad thing is, the lady I had talked to earlier, turned off her treadmill & left. I know she wasn't done with her workout. I know why she gave up yesterday. I've been her & I felt sad for her. I truly hope to see her again at the gym.

Long story to get to my point of the post.

It's really hard not to compare ourselves to others. VERY hard. I used to do it. ALOT. From that time in my life I can tell you that comparing yourself to anyone else is the most unproductive use of your time & energy. I will never be taller than a 28" inseam. And you know, I'm ok with that :)

When I feel myself going there - like yesterday - I do two things.

First, think of what I would say to my little sweet one if she came to me with thoughts like this. I would NEVER let her feel inadequate to another girl.

Second, I try my hardest to acknowledge the work that other person has had to do to get to that point. That girl is at the gym every single time I am there. I know you don't get an ass like that eating pizza & drinking beer. She worked hard & for a long time. Those abs didn't happen overnight.

This post is a reminder for me, & for my friend(you know who you are!)

The best advice I could ever give you is to celebrate your accomplishments for what they are. YOURS. On this running journey, you will find out more about yourself than you ever thought possible. This is YOUR path that you are making for yourself. You can't worry about who's faster than you, who's slower than you, who has a smaller butt than you.

Oh & plus, that chick was only on the tready for about 10 minutes. I was there for an hour & 40 min. :) ooops, there I go again!

Quote of the Day

via Runner's World:

When you put yourself on the line in a race and expose yourself to the unknown, you learn things about yourself that are very exciting.

Doris Brown Heritage, Five-time World Cross-Country Champion

1/2 Training here we go!

Ok, so it's time to get a bit more serious about 1/2 marathon training. I have Lincoln 1/2 scheduled for May 1, and up until this past week have been mostly spinning and running just kind of whenever I wanted, and for however long I wanted.

But I'm thinking I'd better get to following a plan....officially. I have a pretty tough goal (for me) for this upcoming 1/2. But I'm a little lost about what plan I should be following.

For my first 1/2 I followed marathonrookie.com, but if I go back to that - I'd be going backwards on mileage. So I wonder if I just press forward and add mileage each Saturday like I normally would in training?

For example, last week I ran 3 on Wed, 6 on Thur, 11 on Sat. I have 2 1/2 months until this 1/2 marathon. I think I could do some speed work during the week, but I have no idea what to do on my long weekend runs?!

Anyone have tips?

Oh, and here is a pic from my long run last weekend - what a beautiful, perfect day.

Runners are freaking awesome

I'm always amazed...again and again...at how supportive and great runner friends are. Thank you all so much for the support & confidence on my Chicago post. Some from friends that I actually know....but for the most part, runner friends that I only know from blogging. So cool how strangers can come together with running. Runners are freaking awesome!

Yep.

Well....I did it. I registered for the Chicago Marathon in October.

Holy moly! I've waited a whole 15 days to blog about this - trying to get my head wrapped around 26.2 miles, wondering what I can even say about this decision!

When I first started this blog it was 'Countdown to 13.1'. After doing a few 1/2 marathons, I thought maybe I would attempt a full. Blog name change to 'Countdown to 26.2'.

After knee surgery, recovery, crappy first 1/2 marathon back....I said - screw that. Why would I ever run a full?! The thought of 26.2 miles is completely crazy.

My life would be consumed with training (1/2 training is hard enough to schedule)... everything else in your life goes second...every Saturday is committed to the long run...every Sunday recovering & limping down the stairs...no Friday night beers...not to mention the black toenails.

Two 20 mile training runs...tapering week consists of more mileage than I've ever done in a week - and that is tapering! 10 miles on a Wednesday? Really? Who has time for that???

I just didn't think it was for me. Blog name change to 'Happy with 13.1'.

But....here we are, back to the full again. I'm indecisive and kind of crazy.

$145 reg fee...hotel booked...I've told way too many people, it's done. And now the obsessive behavior begins.

I keep telling myself....
'it's your next natural goal'
'Four 1/2 marathons - you are ready for this'
'you're just scared of the mileage, but you were scared of 13.1'
'if you don't go for it, it will hang over your head forever as a wonder if I could have done it'
'when it's time, you'll be ready'
'all the miles, the crazy schedule, it will be worth it on raceday'
'oh lord, what if it takes me 6 hours?'
'you are strong enough to do this'

It is going to be a looooong 8 months my friends!

Groundhog Tunnel Run

This past weekend we ventured to Kansas City for the annual Groundhog Run. This was such a fun race! Seriously one of the best I have ever done.

Kansas City has these underground tunnels/caves whatever they are - I dunno - but I had never heard of them before. Strange. Apparently it is a place where businesses reside, storage spaces are kept, etc. Temps are a consistent 60-70 degrees all year long. Sounds like the perfect weather to run in when it's super stinkin' cold out!A race is always more fun with friends, so we got the gang together to run. There was a 5 & a 10K, we were all running with different goals.
* Russ would run the 5K with his sister Stephanie & nephew Joshua - his first 5K.
* Russ then planned to run with his wife Jaime for her first 10K.
* Rachel & I planned to rock the 5K - her graduation day from the Couch to 5K program.
* Scott was going for a big 'ol 10K PR.I have to say this race day weekend started off nice and calm - picked up Rachel on my way to Kansas City, stopped by the mall for a visit to Nike (that is a no brainer...my car just automatically turns off the interstate when I see the Legends Mall).

We got to Russ's house & got our awesome brand new Thunder Road Racing shirts to wear for the race. I had planned to just stay a few minutes....several hours later...we are still talking about running, diet, running, knees, running, shoes, running. I have a tiny tendency to talk too much.

We headed to my friend's house for dinner, then settled in for bed. I was feeling a little bad because it seemed to be complete chaos from the time we got to Kansas City (which is what I love about race day and my friends) but this was Rachel's first race, and it was really....well....kind of alot to take in.

Bedtime. Only after an hour of obsessing over what to wear.

5:30 am, wide awake & ready to get going.

I was feeling excited....but confident about this race. There is something strange about running a race as kind of the coach (even though I am NOT a coach!) but I knew going into the race what my time was going to be. We had a goal of 30 minutes and that was what we would do (secretly I was hoping we'd pull in just a *tad* under 30).

If you know me at all....you know it's completely against every fiber of me not to get super competitive on race day. I spot someone in front of me, and it's not over until I have passed them. Holding back was going to be a little hard - or at least I thought it would be. It wasn't. I was so happy to be running for Rachel & so proud of her for this accomplishment.

We hussled over to Russ's for breakfast, then onward to the tunnels. My goal was to contain my race day excitement....settle in, get Rachel ready to go, get my head on straight and RUN.

There is something I love about standing in a big group of runners, all anxious, awaiting the start of the race. I can't describe this feeling, but it's special. I think my very favorite part of the day is standing in complete quiet listening to the National Anthem. Brings tears to my eyes every time. I feel so lucky to be healthy, running, have such an amazing group of friends, and my family is beyond awesome for supporting all this crazy running. All of that comes to my mind in those few seconds before the gun.

The race was awesome. We had a little trouble at first finding enough room to run - it was really crowded. It was hard to get a pace going, but that's pretty much like any race.

Mile 1 - right on track. Mile 2 - right on track. We were right on pace, but not a second to spare. I knew mile 3 had to be dead on for us to make the 30 minutes.

That's when we passed someone barfing....that's pretty normal to see....but Rachel lost a little gumption there.

At about 2.5 we passed a volunteer that told us we had a mile left. Rachel looked at her watch....(dang it, I should have NOT let her wear that!) She knew at that point that if we had a full mile left there was no way we were making 30 minutes...and she lost a little more.

I KNEW we didn't have a whole mile left - dang that person whoever you were! I KNEW we could still pull this off, but only if we kicked it a bit. It was hard for me to know at this point how to push her. You know, what kind of encouragement did she need? I know what works for me - I need someone to be a little mean - what, are you going to quit? What are you, a sissy? Geez, you're acting like a girl. Yeah, that kind of 'encouragement' lights a fire in me. But I didn't know if we'd be friends if I said that to her....so I just tried gentle encouragments :)

We got to mile 3 and I knew it was over - no way we were making it. I sprinted to the end with Rachel right on my tail - but there were lots of people crossing at that time - I couldn't get passed them. I about mowed a few over right at the finish (I'm sure those finish line pics were BAD! My face was pissed I'm sure)

When we crossed, my watch said 30:22. I'm not sure what is worse - missing the goal, or missing it by 22 stupid seconds! But here we are, all smiles, after the race.Ok so we're over it. We had such a great day. Scott killed his PR, Joshua ran his first 5K, Stephanie had a PR day, Jaime finished her very first 10K, Rachel is now an official raceday addict -- overall a race day filled with awesomeness!

When's the next race!?!? I wish it was next weekend!