Hoka 10k 2018

Hoka 10k 2018

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Week 10: The Bursting of My Bubble

Did I just make up a word? Grammar isn't my thang :)
 
 
My weekly workouts went well without major complaints...and this week I decided on a goal time for my race! In my last post, I told you all about my goal time of 4:15:00. I was so excited when I made this decision. I thought the time would be attainable yet challenging all at the same time. After my 14 miler on Saturday, I'm thinking it will be more on the challenging side and less on the attainable...EEK!
 
I started my 14 miles with an insanely positive attitude. I was so excited about it...I knew I could finish it without needing to walk. When I was approaching 4 miles, my knees were already bothering me a little. It wasn't pain, more like a pressure in my joints. I got to my house for a quick water break at 6 miles (I've been leaving water and gatorade in my yard to drink every 6 or so miles). I knew when I was taking that water break that I was in for a challenge.
 
The next 6 miles were even more challenging. My goal this run was to do the whole thing at my marathon race pace (bad idea, I know). I did the first 12 miles at the 9:44 pace but just had to walk after that...I was so pooped! It took every ounce of mental strength that I had to finish this run. Because of all the walking I did in mile 13, I felt like I was sprinting the last mile.
 
I'm being way too time focused but I can't help it. That's what keeps me going. This run bursted my bubble of excitement about my goal time. I'm going to try to put this run in the past and look toward next week's challenge. My weekday mileage is increased this week (cross train, 6 hill repeats, strength workout, 6 miler, and 7 miler). My goal for weekdays are to go the pace the training program tells me to go...I have a hard time with easy pace runs and tend to go faster than I should. Saturday will be a doozy: 16 miles but my last 4 miles must be at race pace which means I will need to chill out that first 12 and not kill myself. Wish me luck!

Friday, August 24, 2012

My Marathon Goal

 
I've been struggling with setting an appropriate goal for my marathon. I want it to be realistic AND challenging at the same time. My first, and only, marathon time is 4:35:57 (back in 2005). I feel like I'm a better runner now than I was then. With that being said, I decided that I want my goal time to be:
 
4:15:00
 
This would make my average mile pace 9:44. I would like to think that I could hold that pace the entire race but I know from previous race experience that certain areas will pump me up (crowd cheering, music blasting, etc.) and some areas will be less exciting. If I crushed my goal, I'd be ok with that :) But I certainly can't be slower or I'll be disappointed. So come out and cheer for me so I can meet my goal!
 

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Week 9: Another Rough Week?!

Is it possible to have 3 bad training weeks in a row?! Training has been SO TOUGH lately. First a little injury (my fault), then I was sick, and, this week, I was mentally drained! I thought about this picture a lot this week:



Looking back on my workouts this week, I did a lot better than I felt. I've been so bummed about a work situation this week that I let it affect the joy I feel after finishing a run/workout. For cross training, I found a love for Hip Hop (thanks to my co-workers). This was my second week to attend the class and I plan on going again this Monday :) SO MUCH FUN AND SWEAT!

This week, I began hill workouts for the first time. It was actually fun and a good change of pace. I haven't discovered many appropriate hills in Gahanna but I remembered one from the 10-miler I did in April...I just had to find it! I went on an adventure down a trail on Tuesday and, fortunately, the hill was only a 4 minute jog from where I started! Yay for me!

The rest of the week involved workouts to prep me for my BIG run on Saturday (4 mile easy run, 6 miles at marathon race pace, and a rest day). How long was my big run, you ask? 18 MILES!!! Oh-em-gee! I almost sharted in my pants when I saw that in my training program! I was nervous, fo sho...didn't know what to expect from my body. I did take notes from my 14 mile run from a few weeks ago (the one that caused the knee owie) and decided that I wasn't above walking if I needed to...and I knew I would need the walking. Not only was walking part of it, but stretching was a must. I did the first 12 miles at a 9:47 pace and was actually able to run most of the remaining 6 miles (final pace for 18 miles was 10:09). At mile 15, I started feeling some hip pain that was really getting to me (that's when I had to stretch) but I remembered the picture above and knew I had to keep going...DON'T GIVE UP! I finished the 18 and I'm still alive today!

I still have 9 more weeks of training before my big race and I'm excited to see what my improvement will be as training comes to a close. I'm still trying to decide on an appropriate goal for my marathon. Based on the 10-miler I did earlier this year (time was 1hr 29min), I should be able to do my marathon in 4:10:23...but I'm not confident I can keep this pace. My 2005 marathon time was 4:35:57...so I at least want to beat that time. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this next week being a better training week for me!

Love you all!


Monday, August 13, 2012

Chi-town


I had the BEST time this past weekend in Chicago! Jimmy and I went with our friends Dan and Becca (both Chicago regulars) and their friends Ryan and Jen. We stayed in a hotel downtown and had a great room (minus the drama of the hotel jacking up our reservation). Here is one of the views from the 29th floor of the Fairmont Chicago (what you see is part of Millenium Park):


After waking up and working out Friday morning, we started our day by going to Millenium Park. We got to hear an orchestra rehearsing for a concert later that night. We then headed down Michigan Avenue. I've never seen so many expensive stores in all my life! The city is so beautiful and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We then had lunch at Gino's (yummy Chicago style pizza) and headed to the Hancock building where we had a drink on the 95th floor! My drink of choice? The Chicago Martini:

Later the night we went out on the town and ate at Hub 51. I would definately recommend checking it out if you ever go to Chi-town. They had amazing tacos and I tried my first Gin and Tonic!


The next day, we went to the beach, went to a BBQ at Dan's brother's house, and came back to the suite to play "The Game of Things" (the single most amazing game I've ever played!). After waking up the next morning, we hit up the breakfast buffet, drove to Indy and ate at Mug N Bun, and passed by Lucas Oil Stadium :) GO COLTS!
Thanks Dan and Bec for showing us a great time!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Week 8- Sick Week


Yes, I just went there. I survived my injury week and had a great long run last weekend...then I decided to follow that up with a week of feeling sick. The beginning of the week was amazing. I did Hip Hop class for the first time as my cross training and had a good interval workout on Tuesday. But, Wednesday, I started feeling sick at work...and that continued through Thursday.
Being sick sucks! I felt like total crud through the entire workouts. We went to Chicago this weekend (which I will post about later this week) so I didn't do my long run. I did strength training on Friday and A LOT of walking the entire weekend! I'm ready to get back at it tomorrow! I'll start with returning to Hip Hop :) I want to leave you all with a link to a 5 minute video about my race in October...It got me pumped up:

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Lookin' like a fool with my body on the ground...

This is how I felt today after the 12th mile of my run:


 All I wanted to do was give up and collapse on the ground. Luckily for me, the weather couldn't have been better, considering it's August. The sun was hiding and there was a cool breeze. It felt so great...but I still sweat my you-know-what off. I get so sweaty and nasty when I workout...EWW!

Before I go on, I have to admit that I skipped my strength training workout this week :( It's usually my favorite workout of the week. The craziness at work has just made me so exhausted that I decided to take it easy yesterday. I think that decision really helped my knee and hip. They didn't seem to bother me during my long run today.
I averaged a 9:thirty-something pace for the first twelve miles (map my run application on my phone wasn't calculating the mileage correctly so I had to estimate mile times based on my stopwatch...I can only do so much math in my head while running!). Mile 13 is when it all came crashing down. I knew that, if I didn't walk, I would hurt myself like I did last week. So I decided to do a little walking. I probably walked 1/4 mile or so and jogged again. I made it to mile 15 and had to stretch my back. My back was bothering me like crazy! After stretching, I walked a little and finished up as strong as I could the last 1 1/2 miles.
I'm beyond exhausted. I took a nap and still feel so tired. But I know that it will all be worth it when I make it to the finish line of the race without dying.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

My first owie :(


I'm experiencing my first "owie" since I began running again. I think it's from my 14-miler on Saturday...stupid knee pain! Part of me feels like I ran too hard. I did the whole 14 without stopping at a 9:35 pace. I felt great for at least 11 miles. After that, I just remember wanting to finish ASAP!!
Since the long run, I've done cross training, 400m intervals, Tempo run, and an easy 5 miles. At the beginning of these workouts, my knee was bothering me a little but the pain would go away 1/2 mile into it. I'm just hoping it will be better before Saturday's long run!

Favorite part of my training so far this week: putting Ludacris into Pandora :)
What I have to look forward to: Strength work out tomorrow (I must somehow accomplish this after going to happy hour with some co-workers!) and a 16 miler on Saturday!