Nagging knees and future planning

October 18, 2010 by 4 Comments

I’ve been babying my left knee following Monday’s race. I did go to my usual Pilates class on Wednesday and ventured out for a comfortable 3 mile run on Thursday. All seemed well, until Friday morning when my overly excited German Shepherd came charging down the hall and right into my knee — the good one! Are you kidding me?! My goodness does that dog have a hard head!

So there was more ice and rest. And yes, I admit that standing most of the evening at the party we went to last night probably didn’t help any! There was no run today but I will get back out to see how things feel tomorrow and hopefully do my planned runs this week. I’m signed up to run a local 5k in a couple of weeks, but I’ll have to see how things go.

Despite my current knee woes, I can’t help but start to think about future plans and I’ve been eyeing 2011 races. I know for sure that there’s at least one half marathon on the horizon for me…hopefully more than one…but which one will be my first? That I don’t know yet. But, maybe the first question should be how long will it take me to train for one cause that will certainly factor into the “when” of the race. Time to check training plans!

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Filed Under: goals, injuries, race, training

A random Wednesday…

October 6, 2010 by 2 Comments

Is it just me or is this week crawling along?

It’s still raining in the northeast, and over the past couple of days I’ve wondered if we should start pairing up the animals two by two?

But I’m trying hard NOT to diss Mother Nature because the forecast for this long weekend looks fantastic! (May the weatherman be right for a change!)

I didn’t do my scheduled run yesterday because my tweeky knee is seriously acting up, so I figured extra rest and ice was a better choice. Hopefully I can get tomorrow’s run in.

I’m trying to put together a playlist for the race — my last few long runs have taught me that the tempo of the second 5K needs to be faster than that of the first 5K.

Is it crazy that this race isn’t done yet and I’m already thinking about running another one?

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Filed Under: general musings, race, training, weather

My Virtual 4 Miler

August 26, 2010 by 1 Comment

Actually the miles were real  — it was the race that was virtual!

A couple of weeks ago MCM Mama announced her “Mama Goes Masters” virtual race in honor of her 40th birthday. Options were to run 4.0 miles, 8.25 miles (her birthday) or….for the truly insane…er… hardcore, a 40K. Needless to say I selected the 4 mile option!

I’ve been trying to get this run in all week but Mother Nature had not been cooperating – read non-stop rain! Seriously, I thought it was time to start pairing up animals two-by-two….but finally this morning she finally took pity on us! My training plan called for a tempo run and my hubby announced that he was taking the car to the shop this morning so I needed to get out and back quickly…. sounds like the planets were aligning for my virtual race! So with clear skies, training in mind and a pacing husband, I set off.

My route was a simple one – a straight out and back – and at this early hour I figured it was unlikely I’d encounter much traffic – so no games of Frogger with cars…always a plus! In my new effort to focus on what is working, I kept my goals simple — to run in the mid to low 10s and try to keep a consistent pace. 

Mile #1 felt really good, sun was just starting to brighten up the sky and the streets were quiet. Hit the first invisible mile marker at 10:19 – so far so good! Most of Mile#2 was a steady climb up and about mid-hill I could feel a twinge in my left knee – I refused to go negative here so I gave myself 30 seconds to walk it off and kept moving. Finally the end of Mile#2 was in sight. I hit the corner at 11:02 and turned around to head back. Now the good thing about going up hill is that at some point you get to go back down hill! Hello Mile#3! The slow climb I had cursed just minutes earlier was now my new BFF and I crossed the mile marker in 10:08. The final mile was pretty uneventful though I did do a lot of positive mental chatter through the last half mile to help drown out the returning knee pain. I crossed the finish line (my driveway) – final mile was 10:45. Overall I did the 4 miles in 42:15, averaging 10:33 and felt good when I finished…always a plus!

So my first virtual race is done! Thanks again to MCM Mama for hosting and providing a little extra motivation to this morning’s run! Happy Birthday and welcome to the Masters division!

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Filed Under: race, race report, tempo runs, training

Motivation in the dog days of summer

August 2, 2010 by 2 Comments

Well Hello August….you sure did make an appearance quickly!

So it’s the beginning of a new month –  what’s on deck for August?

I’ll be working through weeks 4 – 7 of my 10k training program. That means a minimum of 54 miles, a fair amount of cross-training, Pilates, and weights, plus the introduction of my first tempo run and speedwork! THAT should keep me busy 🙂

But since the theme around here is usually “Motivation Monday” – I decided to add a little extra incentive and today signed on for MCM Mama’s “Mama Goes Masters” Virtual Race! MCM Mama has come up with a fun virtual race to celebrate her 40th birthday – check it out HERE I’ll be doing the 4 mile option which fits nicely into my training plan and should help push me to pick up the pace a little!

What have you got on tap this month?

Happy Running!

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Filed Under: Monday Motivation, race, training

New Motivation – New Race

July 5, 2010 by 4 Comments

Instead of an inspirational quote for this week’s Monday Motivation, I chose to register for another race….and this time it’s a 10k! After years of hearing so much about the spirit and camaraderie of this event, I decided this morning to register for the Tufts 10k for Women!

I am once again both psyched and nervous! As I went for a run this morning in 80-plus degrees, I wondered how in the world I’m going to double my mileage to comfortably finish the 6.2 miles while training in the summer’s heat. On the good side, the race isn’t until October 11 so there is time…but training in the heat will be unavoidable.

So now I’m trying to decide on a 10k training plan to follow, cause the one thing I definitely learned from working up to my 5k is that my running is much more productive when I have a game plan. But the question is, which plan to follow? I’ve looked at Running Planet’s 10k program for Beginning Competitors and their 10k for Recreational Runners ; and then there’s Cool Running’s Beginner’s 10k . These are free programs, then there a whole host of fee-based programs. So how does one decide? And how long do you need to train – some of these programs are 12 weeks while others are 8? I’ve got 14 weeks til race day so I’ll need to figure all this out fairly soon.

In any event, it’s nice to have a new target and new motivation!

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Filed Under: Monday Motivation, race, training, Tufts 10k

July already?!?!

July 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

July already?!?! I know everybody seems to be saying that but it really does feel like the first half of this year flew by in a blink…especially the month of June.

When I laced up for my run yesterday I realized it was my first run in two months without a target – I’ve been focused on getting ready for my first 5K and completing the C25K program. Now the race has come and gone and as I headed out I thought….ok, now what?

So the mid-point of the year seems like a good time to set some goals to carry me through to the frosty days of December.

  1. Run two more 5k races, improving my time with each race. The beauty of being a newbie runner is each race is a PR!
  2. Run a 10k race
  3. Increase my monthly mileage each month. I added 10 miles in June over May so with goals 1 & 2 this one shouldn’t be a stretch.
  4. Embrace hill repeats into my training. I loathe hills so this one will be a real challenge!
  5. Continue to improve my eating habits and find the food/drink that works best for me both pre- and post-run.
  6. Continue the weight training routines I started with the trainer. The trainer sessions are done but I feel like I was making progress, especially with my “angry” left leg and I do not want to regress.
  7. Identify races for 2011….including….dare I say it….a half marathon!

That ought to keep me busy and challenged! 🙂

Would love to hear what others goals are for the rest of 2010! Happy running everyone!

 

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Filed Under: C25K, goals, race, training

First Race Report!!!

June 28, 2010 by 6 Comments

My first race report — feels so good to say that!

Quite simply, I had so much fun this morning!

The whole family was up and out fairly easily this morning. The boys were really excited to go cheer on mom and while I was initially a little nervous when I first woke up, I quickly got swept up in their enthusiasm. My goal for the day was to just enjoy the whole experience and have fun! This sentiment was summed up in my choice of t-shirt which said “Breathe Deeply. Appreciate the Moment.”

Once we got to the race, I kissed the boys & hubby goodbye and joined the masses heading to the starting line. While waiting for the race to start I chatted with several runners – whenever they heard I was a newbie runner everyone was so encouraging and positive. It was a great atmosphere! They were a little slow getting the race started but when the start was finally announced, everyone let out a big cheer and we were off!

I was really worried about going out too fast, especially with such a flat course, but it didn’t take me long to get into a comfortable pace (thank goodness for the playlist I created last night!).

It was great seeing my guys cheering as I reached the first mile marker. I swear there’s no better sound than the kiddos yelling “Go Mommy Go!”

I was psyched about how good my left leg was feeling – the kicker for me was the heat. The sun was so intense – it was pushing 80 degrees already! About half way through I was wishing I had worn my visor just to help keep the sun from beating on my forehead.

When we made the last turn, I could see where we had parked and knew I was close to the end – time to push. I had promised myself to finish strong!

 (I love that my hubby caught me smiling here – I had just spotted my guys near the finish)

(The only other minor negative of the day apart from the heat, was that the race timer was not working properly so the “official race times” were off — good thing I kept my own time on my watch!)

After the race, I milled around chatting with other runners in the food line and with some of the sponsors. I ended up talking with reps from EAS Myloplex about what makes a good post-workout drink.  I had brought the new Gatorade Recover 03 with me to the race but it was unbelievably sweet and I just couldn’t drink it! I tried the Myloplex Lite Chocholate Cream and really liked it.  The reps even asked me if they could take a picture of me holding the product in front of their booth – of course I said yes! How fun!

As we headed home, I just felt very satisfied. It was so cool to set a goal like this and have it realized in a few short weeks! So I have my first finisher medal and must admit I’m thinking about my next race….I might be hooked!

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Filed Under: product reviews, race, race report

Final week in the books

June 20, 2010 by 1 Comment

Finished my last run of the C25K program. I wish I could say it was a great run but let’s just say humidity, hills and an angry stomach made for a very l-o-n-g three miles! Note to self — choose what you eat the night before a run wisely!

On the good side, there’s been no knee pain at all this week. I’m feeling fairly confident that since they’ve held up on the hills this week they should feel fine on the flat course of the race.  Just one week to go till race day!

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Filed Under: C25K, race

Another first – a rain run

June 13, 2010 by 1 Comment

I am seriously what you could call a “fair weather” runner and have used the weather as my excuse for why I couldn’t run. “It’s too cold,” “It’s too hot”…or (the most often used) “It’s raining!” That is until this morning. I had planned to run at 6 but woke to the sound of steady rain which easily justified me rolling over to go back to sleep. I clung to my pillow for as long as possible until Thing 1, Thing 2 and the dog made that impossible — time to escape the chaos and go run!

When I came downstairs to head out, my hubby informed me that according to weather.com’s hourly forecast I had a break before the next showers were to begin. Sounded good to me so out the door I went – but I decided at the last second to leave my iPod behind just in case I didn’t want it soaked.  Well… let’s just say Mother Nature has a sense of humor cause I was no more than 2 minutes into my run when the rain started again. As I hit my first hill, it was now a steady rain and I was quickly getting soaked. But instead of turning for home, as I might have done in the past, I decided to just embrace it. Besides I kept telling myself, you can’t control the weather the day of the race so you might as well see what you can do in the rain! Without my iPod (another first for me!), I just listened to the rain fall and my own breathing — it was very peaceful. And as I hit my second hill I was feeling oddly good, my pace was still steady and my left leg was cooperating. The rain subsided and the rest of the run felt good…I even managed to shave a little time off from my previous runs this week! And….drumroll please….I actually didn’t mind running in the rain!

So week 8 of C25K is in the books – final week coming up and still 2 weeks til race day!

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Filed Under: C25K, general musings, race, training

Signed up for my first race

June 1, 2010 by 2 Comments

OK I did it – I bit the bullet and signed up for a 5K!

On Sunday, June 27th I’ll be running in the 2010 New Charles River Run! It’s a nice flat course around the beautiful Charles River in Boston. After reading others’ race reports, I was inspired to get out and try one. I figured there’s no time like the present, right?

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. In fact as I was finishing my 2.5 miles this morning I was thinking I may have jumped the gun on this whole thing!  But I have to remind myself that I’m right where I’m suppose to be on the Couch to 5K plan  (week 7) and I’m just going to go in to it to have fun! So here we go…26 days and counting…..

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Filed Under: C25K, race