Thoughts on 2013

2014 is fast approaching, so here are some thoughts on this year:

I'm stronger and faster at the end of 2013 than I began the year.
I didn't set any goals for 2013 so I didn't know I'd end the year with 4 half marathons under my belt and shaving 10 minutes off my half time between May and November.  I'm also slowly learning to stop obsessing about data.  At the beginning of the year I was constantly looking to see progress and now I'm just checking in to see where I am.  It's actually liberating to run without constantly checking the pace.  That being said, I did get a Nike+ Sportwatch for Christmas (yay!) so I've been playing with that (and still figuring it out) so now I'll have immediate feedback instead of using my phone (and draining the battery).

I will be a kind runner.  
If you read my Princeton Half recap you'll know I was on the receiving end of some crappy runner etiquette.  I didn't like the way that felt,  and I've decided I will not make anyone else feel that way.

No judgement.  
Before I ran my first half marathon, I had a "goal" of not finishing last.  After running lots of races this year, I've decided finishing last is better than not starting at all.

You never know who is watching.
My daughter has run 2 kids races this fall and always asks me if I'm going to go for a run when she sees me in my running clothes.  The second question is: can she go too.  How can you say no to that? I'm thrilled my whole family is getting the running bug.

Helping mommy get ready to run

Pushing kiddo in the jogger.  Can definitely do this for more miles than I started the year.

Losing your toenail(s) is not so bad. 

Never thought I'd actually type that. After losing one on my left foot this summer and having a cracked big toenail and a black toenail on my right foot right now, having it fall off is not a huge deal.  I've taken to doing my own pedicures to spare anyone else from seeing what they look like so I will spare you from photos of my feet (I barely want to look at them myself). 

Races (of all lengths) are fun.

In addition to the half marathons I ran this year, I've done a 10 miler, a 5 miler, a 10k and some 5K's.  I loved each of the races for different reasons and am looking forward to the variety of 2014.  I love race day and approaching the start, but pre-race jitters are not fun.  One thing I'm working on for 2014 is not stress out as much pre-race.  That is definitely going to be a work in progress.

At the start of the Spring Lake 5

No cotton socks. 

I know this, however I get suckered into running socks that are cotton blends.  I got lulled into a false sense of security on training runs wearing them and my feet felt fine, however on race day I got blistered pretty good (which I'm sure is a contributing factor to the state of my feet right now).  So I plan to take better care of my feet in the coming year. 

Say Thank You.

Volunteers, race organizers and spectators are what make races awesome.  Also what I've learned this year is races are made exponentially better when you have your own cheering squad.  

Family and friends cheering me on at the Trenton Half

Pack smarter.

I have a very difficult time packing lightly and will pack what I like to call "options". I'm learning to strike a balance in being prepared for race day and having too much stuff.  I really hate being cold, so I tend to pack layers in case it's cold and then I can take something off...

I had a bag full of running clothes for an overnight, and this is the only thing I wore.

Cross training is your friend.

I totally look forward to yoga days to get a good stretch and strength training days.  I've been not as good lately about going to yoga, so I plan to get back on a regular schedule in 2014. 

Kiddo doing yoga on her "yellow" 

So we'll see what 2014 holds for us and I'm looking forward to the journey!  What are some things you've learned in the past year? 

Happy New Year!

Princeton Half Marathon Recap (11/3): A race do-over

Last year, this  race was supposed to be my first half marathon.  Initially the race was postponed until the spring and then cancelled.

We still collected our medals after the race was cancelled.

When the email came to register again I thought, ok I get to do this over. Having already done 2 half marathons this year (the Long Branch Half in May and the B.A.A. Half last month), I definitely felt more prepared than I did last year, and knowing what to expect was definitely helpful. Typically I don't look at the course too much ahead of time (because it is what it is) but I'd heard from a lot of people how hilly the course was so I decided to make note of where the hills where to better prepare myself for the race. I was feeling pretty good going into race day, I had my clothes laid out from the night before and set 3 alarms since it was Daylight Savings Time.

layers, layers, layers.

I should have gotten another hour of sleep.  Instead of was a ball of stress trying to make sure I didn't oversleep.  I got up that morning and started to get dressed and decided on some last minute wardrobe changes. The final race day instructions said to be in town and in the parking garage by 6:30am at the latest (the race was scheduled to start at 7:30) since the roads were going to be closed for the race. I got to the garage at 6:15am because I wanted to make sure I could park, which in hindsight was too early because there was no bag check.  So I sat in my car trying to keep warm. At 7am cars were still pulling into the garage, so I totally could have left later. I settled on the number of layers I was going to wear (a short sleeved shirt and long sleeve shirt plus my hat) and headed over to the start line at 7:10.

Yup, I'm cold and ready to go.

I don't know the best way to describe the mood at the start.  Stoic. Quiet.  I was trying to keep my legs warm, but after a while I just couldn't feel them anymore because I was cold.  Which works out to my advantage because then I can't feel how much they hurt at the beginning of the race before I settle in.

At the start.

And then we were off.  I was feeling good, around mile 3 my legs started to warm up a little bit and we hit the off road portion of the race.

Off road portion. Photo from Princeton Half website

As you can see there isn't a lot of room to pass, from here we ran into the woods where the following happened.  There was a guy running with a backpack who kept pulling leaves off the trees. Behind me I could hear a lady yelling.  Then it became clear she was yelling song lyrics and cheering herself on. Loudly. At mile 6 two ladies passed me and then high-fived each other. (p.s. who does that?) But then something awesome happened at Mile 7 when a group of spectators chanted "Green Skirt! Green Skirt! Green Skirt!" which made me feel pretty good and definitely put a smile on my face.  My sparkle skirt got lots of love along the way.

I re-focused back on my race and looked at my watch to see I was running sub 11 minute miles, as long as I kept going, I was going to beat my previous time. The course was seriously hilly.  A lot hillier than Boston and felt like they were going on forever, uphill. By the time we got back into town at Mile 12 and into the home stretch, I really didn't have anything left to dig deep and pick up the pace to the finish.  A couple of people passed me in that final stretch including Yelling Lady (YL), I was focused only on the clock I could see in the distance...2:28 and I crossed the line with a time of 2:28:11.  YL turns to me and says, "I can't believe I caught you".  I'm certain this photo was taken right after that moment:

What does my face say?

I just didn't know what to say to her, so I just smiled at her and went to find my family.  That was about all the energy I could muster in that moment. I'm choosing to take her comment as "wow, thanks for being such a good motivator!" (because if I don't this comment is just odd.)

This year's bling!

This half experience was definitely different than the previous 2.  The big news is: I shaved 6 minutes off my time from Boston 3 weeks before for a new PR!  

Do you have a memorable race?  How do you block out other runners around you?

Weekend activities & a long run do-over

Yesterday, kiddo came with me to see the trainer where she watched me (but she had to make sure I was only an arms distance away) at first.   Slowly she started to become more interested in the equipment and what I was doing.  After we were done, she wanted to check out the equipment.

She really wanted to do the row...

Since I didn't get my long run in last weekend, today was my 10 mile run day.  As I was preparing to run, I was thinking a lot about the last 10 mile run I did last fall to prepare for the Princeton Half Marathon (which was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy).  That 10 mile run did not feel good at all, my right started to hurt at mile 6 and I miscalculated my route so when I finished my run, I had to walk a mile home.  Limping home is never a good time especially after a run that didn't feel good. Fast forward to this run.  I decided I was going to work on a couple of things: 1-not start out too fast 2-work on negative splits and 3-finish under 2 hours. This run felt a lot better than last year's run.  I was able to run without feeling like I needed to walk and my hip didn't hurt at all. So I checked my stats for this run against last year's run to see the difference:

10/06/12

Today!

So I managed to meet all my goals for this run!  I had enough energy at the end to push the pace to finish under 2 hours and I shaved over 12 minutes off last year's 10 mile training run.

How did your weekend run go?

Trying new things this week

I'm continuing my training for my upcoming fall races, but there's always room to change some things up.  After I ran my 10K last Sunday,  I took my dog to doggie yoga. Because why not.  The challenge of doing yoga with your dog in a room full of other dogs is making sure that all the dogs will be relaxed enough to make the class enjoyable for everyone.  Luckily once everyone got to smell each other and feel each other out, we were good to go. 

The Happy Girl-Photo courtesy of Four Paws

I'd say our class was a success.  

This month has been hectic with work and traveling schedules, so I had to take my daughter to the appointment with the trainer.  I thought she might want to sit and watch, but she instead surprised us that she wanted to do the workout with me!  Although I pick her up regularly (as toddlers ask to be picked up a lot), doing targeted exercises while holding her in various positions definitely made it more challenging and fun. Getting to workout with my daughter and her seeing me being active is hopefully  setting a good example for her to be active as she gets older.

Bench presses with my 33 pound little one (feeling the burn)

Today was my long run day, so I had 8 miles on my schedule.  I downloaded the Road ID app but hadn't used it yet.  Since I was running solo, I figured this would be a good day to try it out.  It was incredibly easy to set up and I was glad to have found this app.  

Especially on solo runs, it's always a good idea to let someone know how far & where you'll be running.  

I felt pretty good on the first four miles and my splits were comparable to last week's 10k splits so I figured  I would be able to keep up that pace. I was feeling pretty confident about my pace, until I got 6 1/2 miles in and my legs started to tighten up.  What kept me going was knowing I was not far from home and I really didn't have much further to run.  

Another training run in the books.

I have a couple of weeks left before my next half marathon so I have a few more longer runs left before I begin my taper and packing to enjoy Boston.  I'm definitely feeling more confident about the upcoming races, in part because I have a half marathon under my belt. I mostly know what to expect and although every race is different,  I feel less apprehensive about upcoming races..

How is your training going?

Back in the saddle, and a breakthrough!

I've been away a while from my blog (about a month), I hit a writing rut in mid-August and I'm getting back in the habit of writing regularly.

Some things that I've done since my last post:  started working out with a trainer and continued my running and cross training to get ready for fall races (with the B.A.A. Half fast approaching!).  Finding a trainer that you trust is really important. I've experienced trainers that try to sell you on packages without selling you on themselves and how the two of you can work together to accomplish you goals.  For me, embarking on personal training is not about filling someone's monthly quota, it's about finding the next level. For me, my current goals are to be an injury free, faster runner and learn how to eat better for myself and my family. Last weekend the trainer took the workout outside (it was a beautiful day) and in 30 minutes, she really kicked my butt.  I could feel my quads tighten as soon as we finished.

View from the ab work & stretch, sometimes it's about the beauty around you too.

After working out with the trainer on Saturday, I ran a virtual 10k on Sunday.  I woke up with really tight quads but figured a good stretch and listening to my body while I ran, it would be fine.  The first mile felt alright, miles 2 & 3 I could really feel my quads but then I heard the splits on my RunKeeper:  Sub 12 min miles. So I decided I was just going to keep up the pace and keep my splits down. I felt pretty good when I was done and I realized I didn't start the RunKeeper when we started running, so my data was not going to show the full 10K (which is another reason to look into a GPS watch).

Feeling Accomplished

So I realized that I had just ran over six miles at sub 12 minute miles. I checked my data from the last 6 mile run...

8/17 Run

9/8 run

I shaved 3 minutes off my last 6 mile run and with sore legs!  I may have experienced a running breakthrough, I just have to remember how that felt to keep it going on upcoming longer runs.  Did you have a running breakthrough?  How did you keep the momentum going?

Back in the saddle

Last week did not go as I planned for workouts.  I did get to extreme sculpt on Monday and yoga on Wednesday morning.  Getting runs done was harder than I expected flying solo with hubby at Army training. I didn't get any short runs in last week. In addition I fell behind on the full body challenge last week. I'm managed to stay on schedule with the squats, but the full body challenge fell by the wayside.  Saturday I was finally able to get a run in.  This run was faster than previous 5 mile runs, but it definitely hurt being the only run I got in last week.  It probably didn't help that I didn't hydrate as well as I should have Thursday and Friday. Lesson learned.

It's really easy to get bogged down in what I should/could have done better, but I'm learning how to accept what happened and move forward. This week will be better.

1 Vacation, 1 5k, 1 lost toenail

We just got back from our annual trip to Wisconsin to see family, I didn't do as many official workouts as I planned, but I did carry my 30+ pound toddler around a lot (so that has to count for something, right?)

About a month ago, I started looking for a 5K to run while we were there and came across the Oshkosh Sawdust Days 5k.  My husband signed us up (along with my brother & sister-in-law). I thought since it was in the morning it would be cooler than the last 5k I ran the week before. It was a little cooler, but more humid.  There was a surprisingly small group of runners (90-100 max).  I thought I could finish the race in under 30 minutes, since it was along the water and flat.  My 1st mile split was 9:30 and doing a quick calculation in my head, I thought I could do it.  Then the thirst and heat hit me.  I quickly regretted that I did not bring water with me. I hit the first (and only water station) and I felt ok, and then I started to feel myself overheat.  Instead of running on the road, I started running on the sidewalk to try to catch some shade by the trees.  I decided to walk a little to catch my breath and cool down a little, so my mile 2 split was 10:45.  I abandoned all plans of a sub 30 min 5k, instead I re-focused and thought about the last 5k time and decided I just had to finish ahead of that. My husband was feeling better than I was so he finished ahead of me and then met me at about 500m out to run it in with me and push me to the finish line. I ended up finishing it 4 minutes ahead of of the previous 5k but most importantly, I finished.

As I was getting my socks on to head to the race, my toenail peeled 90% off.  After I ran my first half marathon in May, it definitely was discolored and I had a nice blister to go with it.  I had been keeping an eye on it, so I wasn't so surprised that it decided to part ways with my toe and it didn't hurt.  So I taped it up and ran the 5K and then the next day I peeled it right off. So I met 2 of my three goals for the run (1. finish, check. 2. don't finish last, check.  3. don't lose toenails, at least the new one is starting to grow back...)

More muscle, check!

The gym I belong to offers free health assessments with the nurse every 6-8 weeks, and I finally booked my appointment with the nurse.  Since the fall, I've put on 3 pounds of muscle and lost 2 pounds overall.  My body fat percentage has dropped 3.1%!  

Since I began training and running again last July, I've lost approximately 15 lbs (I didn't do an assessment when I first started so I don't have a full data summary of where I was). I feel better and my clothes fit better. 

In addition to any workout routine, nutrition plays a huge role in your results. A quick search will bring you a plethora of information on what to eat and what to avoid you can start here and here.  

For me, the added bonus of seeing results is also not being complacent about where I currently am. I like the challenge of figuring out what to do next to continue to build muscle and strength while keeping up endurance and avoiding injury going into the fall racing season.  My racing goals are always 1. Finish and 2. Don't lose any toenails but now that I've done a Half Marathon, I want to challenge myself to see how much faster I can become.

This summer I will be doing a lot of cross training in addition to runs to continue to build muscle and strength.