Hoka 10k 2018

Hoka 10k 2018

Sunday, December 18, 2016

CTLR: 11 more weeks!!!

Countdown to Little Rock
 
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Celebrated my sweet boy this week.
Week 7 of training brought about a change in my mindset. TYPE A is the name of my game. Schedule oriented, can't slack off the intended program, must get ALL THE MILES! My main goal as I train for Little Rock has always been to train smart postpartum. I just want to be nice to my body and stay uninjured. The past couple of weeks, I've missed a few of my intended miles and it really got me down. I was so annoyed at myself. I mean, what is two more miles or one more mile?! Surely I can do that! Well, in those moments, those miles might have meant passing out or throwing up or something else completely stupid. This week, after my race pace workout and a conversation with a friend, I realized that those itty bitty miles aren't worth the fuss. I kept trying to figure out how I could fit them back in rather than sucking it up and just throwing them away. Everyone has a bad day...or two...or three.

So, from here on out (at least for this training cycle! LOL), I vow not to stress about missed miles. I vow not to feel like a failure when workouts don't go my way. I vow to continue to listen to my body and know that postpartum progress is a process.
 
  • 12/12: 7.04 miles, 8:38/mile. I knew I wasn't going to get up early to run after a weekend of travel. I also had no idea what my legs would be able to do after racing. I felt like I might be a little tired, but that doesn't mean you can't have a solid run. I headed out after work and decided not to look at my watch...not even for my mile splits. Based on how I felt, I fully expected something in the low 9s. Looking back at my splits, I ALMOST had a progressive run. [9:15, 8:44, 8:38, 8:30, 8:34, 8:27, 8:17]. Mile 5 included two uphills, so I wasn't shocked that it was a little slower. My last mile included a dog chasing me so I knew it would be faster. See bottom of post for my DOG STORY.
  • 12/13: 6.2 cycling miles, 30:02. What a horrible ride!! I had been up since 2:45 with Ruthie (and she had me up another time earlier in the night...and I didn't fall asleep until almost 11). Not only was I sleepy, I just felt plain fatigued. I mean, there are people that run a 10k faster than I cycled it! LOL!!
    Coffee is my friend.
  • 12/14: 8 miles, 8:35/mile; leg circuit. This is the workout that brought about my epiphany. Another rough evening with Roop made for another sleepy morning. Because I feared the slippery roads, I opted to go to the Y for my race pace run. The intended workout was 10 total miles with 8 in my goal race pace range. I ended up with a 2 mile warm up and 6 miles in the 8:20s. I just couldn't will myself to finish the last two miles. I JUST COULDN'T. I was pissed at first, but realized that I had a really good run despite missing two miles. Later that evening, I managed to fit in my leg workout.
  • 12/15: 8 miles, 8:51/mile. I planned to get up and run 7 miles with Meg, but it was stupid wickedly cold outside. Something like single digits with wind ?-teen mph and wind chill in the area of -8 or so. I've run in that crap before, but I'm just not ready to make it happen again. I hate it. Why get in the crap when I have the opportunity to run in a schweaty YMCA on the treadmill?! (something I'm also not a huge fan of...my max tolerance is about 4 miles). I did end up at the gym after work to knock it out. I started the mill at an easy 6.4 mph and pushed it up each mile until I reached 7.1 mph. I felt great the whole time and actually enjoyed it (which is why I did the extra mile!).
    Sun...but cold. So cold.
  • 12/16: 16+miles (accidentally turned off my watch and didn't realize for a while, but I had to make sure Garmin had 16!), 9:27/mile. I don't even know where to start with this run. I didn't intend to run this today, but the weather was looking sketch for Saturday, and Sunday wasn't an option. Fortunately, Gahanna did a great job clearing their trails and roads so the first 4-5 miles were mostly snow/ice free. Once I hit Hamilton/Morse Road area, it was all snow and ice from there. I thought for sure New Albany would have their paths cleared...WRONG! I was shocked. Because of that, I ran in the snow and ice for the next several miles (minus a small are in which I could safely run on the road). The worst part had to be the last 2 miles on Morse Road...awful, just awful. I did eventually find my groove and didn't fear falling. I was excited that the run felt very easy. It made me look forward to longer mileages. SIDE NOTE: 18 degrees, cloudy, light wind. I think I did a perfect job of dressing appropriately. I was never hot or cold. Fleece lined tights, tank, short sleeve and jacket; ear warmer and hat, gloves, buff.
    C'mon New Albany! Clear those paths for your people.
  • 12/17: CORE. I didn't get to it until 9:30 p.m., but I did it!! Busy day with Christmas festivities including Breakfast with Santa, last minute shopping, and Christmas at the in-laws.
    Breakfast with SANTA!!!

    I'm in love with this face.

  • 12/18: Leg circuit. It felt weird not to run over the weekend but also awesome because I didn't have to run in this icy mess.
    Angel wanted to get in on the action. I don't know what it is about my yoga mat that attracts these dang dogs.

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So, I finally locked down some goals for my marathon. I debated not having any
 goal except to finish, but I realized I can't really do speed work or race pace runs if I don't at least have an idea of what I would like to run. Even though I have my A, B, and C goals, I don't think there is any way I can be disappointed in the outcome. I just need some sort of structure to keep me sane.
 
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Dog Story:
 
I was less than a half mile from my house on Monday when it happened. I live on a semi-busy road and NEVER see dogs out (unless my beagle escapes and we are chasing her down the road in our underwear or without shoes...but I digress). They are either in their homes, in their fenced in yards, or on a leash while walking with their owners...normal, right?
 
Well, I was running on the sidewalk and looked over to cross a side street to the next section of sidewalk. When I looked over, I saw a dog chasing after me while barking. He was about 2-3 houses down when he started. There was what I assumed to be its owner putting something in or getting something out of her vehicle. I was immediately freaked out because it was coming after me with no intention to stop. My initial reaction was to stop (after turning off my Garmin, of course) and just stay still in hopes it would get the dog to leave me alone and maybe just sniff me rather than chase me. The owner yelled for its dog to come back. The dog didn't listen initially until the owner raised it's voice slightly. I was extremely startled and I told the girl she needed to have her dog on a leash so this would not happen. When I said this to her, she got super offended and yelled at me saying I was in her dogs territory and messing up its flow. Ummm, no lady.
 
First of all, you live 2-3 homes down from where I am currently running/standing. Second of all, I am on a pedestrian sidewalk where I'm supposed to be. Third of all, get your damn dog on an f'n leash or at least pay attention to your surroundings or simply control your pooch. (side note: I have dogs and I'm a dog lover. I respect other people by keeping my dogs controlled when appropriate AND leashing them).
 
Of course, I didn't say these things to her, but this is what I did say after she yelled at ME  (I was pissed and yelling at this point): "You need to control your dog and leash it." She did not like this and continued to yell at me. I was pissed and did NOT practice self control. In fact, I decided that the F-word was appropriate at this point. I just said "Control your f'n dog." As she continued to yell and finally had ahold of the dog, I just left her with a big "F you" and ran off. I'm sorry, y'all. I get so mad at irresponsible pet owners. I also get mad when stupid people make me feel like my life is in danger when I'm doing something as simple as running in the middle of broad daylight. I likely would have brushed it off if she had not blamed it on me, but she made the choice to yell at me so that was my response. You can at least be proud that I didn't pay her a visit after I finished my run. I'll try to behave next time.
 

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

HHH Week 6: RACE WEEK!!!

Hilly Half Hustle
 
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Race week should be awesome, right?! Lots of easy running, checking the weather app like a mad woman, packet pickup, etc. Well, well, well...let me tell you about my race week...
 
  • 12/5: 6 miles, 9:41/mile. I met with my lovely friends Ellen, Melissa, Jen, and Meg for a nice, fun run. All was good, and it was a great start to my week. Bonus: I finally found my beloved PowerGel at CRC that afternoon!
    The drama: I went to go see a patient earlier that morning and was bitten in the leg by their mouthy Chihuahua!!! Holy mother of *$%#. It was so painful. Fortunately, it did not break skin or cause me to bleed, but I bruised immediately. I was pretty sore the rest of the day and the following day.
    Darn dog!
  • 12/6: 6 miles, 9:15/mile. I was so excited about this run! I was planning to meet up with Theresa and Meg for 7 easy miles and was pleasantly surprised to see that Marion and Dani decided to come. Seven miles, nine minutes per mile, no problem. Oh boy. I'm pretty sure my lack of sleep caught up to me today. I crashed towards the end of the run. The group was going faster than planned so I decided I would turn around at 3 miles and stick to my original plan of 6. Meg decided to stick with me to keep me company. When we got to the start, Meg went to finish 7 miles and all I could do was bend over to recover. When I finally opened my eyes, I was so dizzy. I sat down and continued to feel like crap. I had no idea what was going on. When everyone finished, they said I looked pale. I was a cold hot mess. After tears and hugs, I tried to survive my day at work. My friends checked on me all day long and things were looking up. When I went to the office after seeing patients (it had been raining all day), I freaking slipped on the asphalt, crap flew everywhere, and I fell HARD on my left side. It was so painful. All I could do was cry. I was pissed, embarrassed, in pain, etc. I was limping the rest of the day. All I could do was pray that a night's sleep would allow the pain to go away.
    I'm an idiot. I spared you the butt shot.
  • 12/7: 7.8 cycling miles, 30:05; Upper Body Lifting. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do my workout today. I woke up to my hip being extremely tender, and I could feel pain in my butt with each step. My groin was still hurting as well. I decided to take it easy to see how I'd tolerate it. I think cycling might have actually helped my pain! When I finished, my groin no longer bothered me. I still had a sore butt the rest of the evening, but, again, hoping more rest will help.
  • 12/8: 3.1 miles, 8:32/mile. I was so nervous about running! I didn't want to get out there and have hip pain. I started off at what felt to be an easy pace. When my watch beeped and told me my first mile was [8:45], I decided to speed up and do at least one mile at my goal race pace to make sure this no pain thing wasn't a fluke. My next mile was [8:20] which is, basically, my goal. After finishing, I still didn't have any pain while running, but I did notice some fatigue in my hip while running. I'm hoping another day of rest will allow it to feel good race morning.
    P.S. That's 29 bags of leaves.
  • 12/9: REST. Explored my beloved city of Nashville and packet pick up!
    Roop turned 4 months old!
  • 12/10: 2 miles, 8:52/mile; 13.2 miles, 8:15/mile. RACE DAY!!! See race report HERE.
  • 12/11: Core workout followed by leg workout. I refuse to skip these!! MUST STAY COMMITTED!
 
So, basically, I can't elaborate on anything else because I'm super busy!!! Holidays are cray cray and work is keeping me on my toes with working on Sundays this month!

Monday, December 12, 2016

Panattoni Mt. Juliet Holliday Half Marathon


 
My "Hilly Half Hustle" came to an end, and the reward was SWEET! I usually have three goals per race, but I only had one this time around...1:50. In the beginning, the goal felt lofty. I really just based it off of a 5k I ran in October. A couple of people even questioned why I would go for that time after having a baby. My response was always some form of "why not?! "
 
As the weeks went on, and I did more runs with my friends, I was becoming more confident. Doubt started creeping in last week because all of my runs felt so hard (in addition to me being bitten by a dog AND busting my butt on the wet asphalt). After a day of rest and fun enjoying the city of Nashville, I felt refreshed. My body wasn't as sore from falling, and I felt rested (minus the whole sleep aspect! Those darn babies!).
 
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Lucky number 263!
The race was in a suburb of Nashville and didn't start until 10:45. That was actually a perfect time for me. I could sleep a little more, enjoy some coffee, and get ready without rushing. It is so crazy trying to get ready in a hotel room with a toddler and a 4 month old! A parade followed the race start which made for a lot of spectators in the first three miles. After that, it was pretty lonely minus the other runners. I was in a good time range that allowed a lot of my fellow runners to be around me at any given time. I liked that the course had a few turn-around areas in which you could see the runners ahead of you and then the runners behind you. It allowed me to see my friend Joy a couple of times! It also gave me a chance to cheer on the other runners.

Pre-race with Joy! This chick is so awesome. Her southern voice was refreshing!
I decided the night before I would wear capris, short sleeve shirt, arm warmers, ear warmer, hat and gloves. I wanted the hat to shield the sun (I need some new running sunglasses!!!). I did a two mile warm up and decided it was too hot for the ear warmer. Even though it was in the low 30's, the sun was shining enough to make it feel just right.
 
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Let's talk splits...
 
I had it in my head that I wanted to average 8:20/mile. I figured that would still give me my 1:50 if the course was a little long (which it was...13.2 miles). I wasn't intentionally trying to start too fast. In fact, I've been a lot better about controlling my pace at the start. I kept remembering what Amanda told me about running MY race and paying no attention to those around me. I felt like I was going an 8:20 pace, but mile 1 beeped in at [7:51]. Oops....that's ok...refocus.
 
Mile 2 was a gradual incline of approximately 100 feet. I could see it, but didn't feel it. I did intentionally slow down a bit to stick close to my goal pace...[8:23]. The next mile brought us back down 100 feet and gave me my fastest mile at [7:41]. I didn't get mad at myself about it because I knew I had hills ahead of me and wanted to take advantage of any downhill that I had. Legs still feeling good.
 
Miles 4 and 5 were fairly uneventful and mostly flat. The parade crowd was fading and we were getting onto country roads rather than city streets. The end of mile 5 had a little hill which made the difference in my splits. [8:00, 8:09].
 
Miles 6-10 were a mix of flat, small hills, and gradual inclines. I don't recall any significant declines to help my cause. It was during this time that I started getting tired. I was good until mile 8 and then I just wanted it to be over with. I spent most of my time trying to figure out why the hell I thought this was a good idea. The good thing was that I never felt lonely. I was always surrounded by runners because we were entering the section of the course with a few turn-arounds. [7:50, 7:51, 8:17, 8:43, 8:21] As you can see, mile 9 was a doozy for me. It was easily the most boring mile. I was also trying to take a gel and will myself up the incline. It was a dumb mile.
 
Mile 11...holy ish. This was the worst mile in the history of miles. At this point, I conquered the mental part of it. Mile 9 got me down, but I pep talked myself to make it to 10 because I would have only a 5k left to run. Even though I was struggling physically, I had my mind in check to give it my all.
 
Let's talk about mile 11 [9:09]. Yes, you read that...9:09!!! That's enough to ruin a race plan! This mile was fairly flat the first quarter mile, but it was all up from there. It sucked so bad. I didn't look at my watch. I knew it would mess me up. I just got my ass up that stupid hill and spent that time telling myself I had to make up for it the last two miles. I had no other choice. Fortunately, I had some sub 8 miles to help me out, but I pretended they didn't exist and ran like my goal depended on it.
 
Also, in that mile, my right calf started cramping. I thought it was my imagination, but it wouldn't stop! I semi-freaked out because I knew there were no more water stops for me to get Gatorade and I had no salt tabs. I mean, who cramps during a half marathon?! Never in my freaking running life has that happened. Halfway through that mile, my foot joined the cramping party. I spent the rest of the race dorsiflexing my foot and extending my toes to help decrease the cramping. UGH. It was the worst.
 
As promised, I made up for that craptastic mile by pulling out an [8:16] for mile 12. Fortunately, I had a small decline to help me out (but the decline made the cramping increase!). The last mile, of course, was tough. It was an incline, although gradual, I was tired, my cramps were getting worse, and I just wanted it to be over with. I literally gave it all I had left and only managed [8:40]. When I finally spotted the finish line, I developed my running neurological disorder in which I run like a velociraptor. I managed a [7:56] pace for the last 0.20 miles. I really hope they have a picture of that...it felt ugly.

The Garmin always speaks truth. Ha!!
My official time:
 
1:48:53!!!

 
I ended up being the 9th overall female and 2nd in my age group.

My prize for placing in my age group!
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You guys, I haven't been that proud of a race in a long time. Sure, it's almost 9 minutes more than my PR, but I didn't care! I thought 1:50 was a lofty postpartum goal. I was over the moon happy! It wasn't as much the result as the fact that I literally gave that race all that I had...there's no better feeling!

A tired racer equals a happy racer.
Thank you to all of my sweet friends who supported me and sent me sweet messages of encouragement! Love y'all!

Sunday, December 4, 2016

HHH: Week 5

Hilly Half Hustle
 
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 I was tired a lot this week. It was my first time in a while to run three days in a row. This post pregnancy body is just taking a lot longer to recover from runs. Sometimes I wonder how I ran 5-6 days a week and 45-60 miles a week all while feeling good. I've continued to stay committed to my strength workouts, and I'm ready for the day I reap the benefits of them!
  • 11/28: Leg Circuit. Once again, I waited until the last minute to do this and the leggies were tired in the morning. I can't be disappointed because it just means I'm working hard!!
  • 11/29: 8.02 miles, 8:25/mile. I had a short work day so opted for a daytime run. It was gorgeous outside (tank and shorts!!!). This was my tempo run day, but I also wanted to run sans looking at my watch. I didn't even look at my mile splits! So proud of my self control. LOL. I had a few inclines and hills on my route so I wasn't sure how I'd do. I was pleasantly surprised with my first 5 miles [8:58, 8:28, 8:28, 8:11, 7:58]. I knew mile 6 would be a doozy because it had the two uphills [8:29]. At that point, I was just straight up tired so mile 7 was [8:36]. My gel must have kicked in at that point and I ended with a nice [8:09]. Overall, today felt great minus miles 6 and 7.
    I have a feeling this might be my last run in shorts for a while!
  • 11/30: 7.01 miles, 8:51/mile. I met up with Amanda for an easy run. I knew my legs would feel tired after yesterday, so I was hoping not to slow her down too much. I was surprised I could manage sub 9, especially after a slow warm up mile. We were disappointed in the lack of Christmas lights, but my attitude turned around when we saw Debbie and Maria! It's always nice seeing other crazy people on the road.
    Amanda. She's like a sister. We even have disagreements and get mad at each other. Ha!
  • 12/1: 7.00 miles, 8:53/mile; CORE. I haven't run three days in a row in a LONG time. I knew I would need easy miles today. I was actually surprised at my average because most of the group was WAY ahead of Megan and me. Come to find out, they were running in the low 8's so I didn't feel so bad! I'm looking forward to a day at the gym tomorrow.
    The Thursday Crew! [Jeanne, Dani, ME, Marion, Allison, Megan]
  • 12/2: 8.9 cycling miles, 30:07; Upper Body/Core. I spent some time researching some exercises that are "good for runners." The anti-rotation press was of particular interest because I had never heard of that exercise before. I could definitely feel it in my core. I finished up with a half hour on the bike at moderate effort. I wanted a decent workout but didn't want to kill my legs. I can't believe I'm doing 14 miles tomorrow.

  • 12/3: 14.04 miles, 9:01/mile. I knew today would be tough. Not only because my legs were tired, but because I knew the first few miles would be on an incline. Fortunately, I had two declines in that first half to provide quick relief. As you guys have learned by now, I take FOREVER to warm up (usually 6ish miles). Today, it took about 7 miles before I had a decent mile [9:44, 9:19, 9:11, 9:23, 9:10, 9:07, 9:14]. I took a gel after 5 miles so it must have kicked in. I also saw a group of my friends as I was approaching 8 miles so that pumped me up a bit. My next four were [8:58, 9:02, 8:33, 8:52]. I took another gel after 10 miles. I think I was feeling pooped mile 12 and ran a 9:16. I must've been going uphill again. The last mile and a half were on a decline so I busted out two good miles at the end [8:20, 8:05]. I didn't look at my splits during the run and thought my average would end up between 9:10-9:20. I really wish I could get my pacing skills back!
    I'm smiling because I'm thinking about tacos and coffee.
  • 12/4: REST. I had to work most of the day but got off in time to spectate a 5k in Westerville that afternoon. Races are so exciting!! Everyone did awesome!
 
I'd be lying my face off if I said I wasn't nervous about this half marathon. I'm not sure why. I suppose I do have an expectation, but I also know that anything can happen on race day. I really just want to run my butt off and enjoy it at the same time. I love that part of racing! So cheers to race week and running really easy until race day!
 
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Side note: Let's quit with the negative comments about peoples' body type. I go through this every few months and it pisses me off every time. I've had two incidents in the past week with regards to me being thin. 1) Granted, this was last year, but I was informed this week that a comment was made that I looked anorexic in one of my race pictures from last year. How kind of someone to say that. Anorexia is nothing to joke about. It is also something that I have never struggled with, but I know people who have and it's not a joke. To say someone looks anorexic out of jealousy or just plain being mean is not something someone should do. 2) Someone I see a couple times a week commented on how skinny I looked after having a baby. As the conversation progressed, I was asked if I had talked to my doctor about my weight. This person is a kind person, but the comments were completely inappropriate. I literally went to McDonalds and bought a number 3.
I guess my point is to be careful what you say to others or about others. I don't think I need to elaborate more.