Yesterday morning I did something I wasn't sure I could do-- I jogged 7 miles!
It's amazing how nervous about it I was on Sunday night and even for the first couple of miles on Monday during the run.
7 miles is over half of the 13.1 mile distance of the half-marathon and is significantly farther than I've ever run before (last week's about 5.5miles being the previous longest).
I decided to get up early and drive down to the lake shore and run along the path there because it's really hard to find room to run 7 miles near my house, especially since I don't want to do hills on my long run days.
It was a beautiful place to run, but even with the beauty, 7 miles is a long ways to run. And miles 2 and 3 were definitely the hardest mentally. Even at my slow pace, I felt ready to stop after 3 miles and I wasn't even halfway done yet! It didn't help that my podcasts hadn't downloaded onto my ipod for some reason, so I only had 40 minutes left in "This American Life" from the week before and was saving it for the last 40 minutes of the run.
But I did it. I eventually got to 3.5 miles, then ran a bit farther (so I'd be more than halfway done when I turned around) and turned around and jogged back.
It took me 1 hr and 36 minutes to do it, but I did it! 12:23, 13:05, 13:45, 14:13, 14:37, 14:34, 13:16. Average: 13:42.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Why do I feel sick?
is what I was wondering a little over a mile into my run. I'd had a side stitch for blocks and was starting to feel like the workout was unusually hard.
Since it was hot out and I was running mid-afternoon mostly in the sun, I knew I'd have to pace myself for today's 5k run. It had been almost 2 hours since I finished lunch, so I figured I'd be ok on that front. Yet, at 1.2 miles I was not feeling great, so I stopped to rest for a couple of minutes in the shade.
After my rest, which seemed to help only somewhat, I gave myself permission to stop running at two miles if I felt I needed to. My first mile was 11:21, but I'd gone out too fast for the first 2/3 miles and had slowed down a lot for the half mile before my 1.2 mile break.
I slowed down more for my second mile. I wasn't feeling great, but I'd found a shadier route and was now ready for the slightly downhill portion of my run (the first mile being slightly uphill), so as my watched beeped that I'd hit 2 miles, I told myself I could finish off the 3.1 that I had to do.
Then I looked at my watch. Even though I'd slowed down a lot for my second mile, I clocked in at 11:29.
Something was wrong, I thought. How could I be running an 11:30 mile when I was feeling this crappy? (11:30 isn't fast for most runners, but it's one of my better splits on a day when I'm running a 5k, especially for the second mile, which is often my slowest.) Then it clicked. I was feeling that crappy because I hadn't really slowed down. This "workout mix" I have on my ipod now where every song is at least 120 bpms gets me running faster than I would normally run, so "slowing down" brings me down only to one of my brisker paces. SO, with the sun and heat and my going out too fast, I'd started to feel like crap, and then I'd never actually recovered from that because I never ran the 12 min or 13 min pace that might have allowed me to recover (even though I thought I was slowing myself down).
Having figured that out, I decided that I didn't have an excuse not to finish the 5k strong because it wasn't that I was actually sick (a worry I'd had early in the second mile) or that I was dehydrated or something. It was just that it was hot and I was running faster than I might otherwise on a hot day. So, with the last mile being mainly downhill and me no longer babying myself, I kicked out a 10:56 third mile.
All in all, my 5k (3.1 miles) clocked in at 34:52 (my fastest, I think), which is a not too shabby 11:14 average. (now, I did have that rest along the way during the second mile . . . but given that I thought I might quite before finishing two miles, I'm pretty happy with the way it all turned out.)
Since it was hot out and I was running mid-afternoon mostly in the sun, I knew I'd have to pace myself for today's 5k run. It had been almost 2 hours since I finished lunch, so I figured I'd be ok on that front. Yet, at 1.2 miles I was not feeling great, so I stopped to rest for a couple of minutes in the shade.
After my rest, which seemed to help only somewhat, I gave myself permission to stop running at two miles if I felt I needed to. My first mile was 11:21, but I'd gone out too fast for the first 2/3 miles and had slowed down a lot for the half mile before my 1.2 mile break.
I slowed down more for my second mile. I wasn't feeling great, but I'd found a shadier route and was now ready for the slightly downhill portion of my run (the first mile being slightly uphill), so as my watched beeped that I'd hit 2 miles, I told myself I could finish off the 3.1 that I had to do.
Then I looked at my watch. Even though I'd slowed down a lot for my second mile, I clocked in at 11:29.
Something was wrong, I thought. How could I be running an 11:30 mile when I was feeling this crappy? (11:30 isn't fast for most runners, but it's one of my better splits on a day when I'm running a 5k, especially for the second mile, which is often my slowest.) Then it clicked. I was feeling that crappy because I hadn't really slowed down. This "workout mix" I have on my ipod now where every song is at least 120 bpms gets me running faster than I would normally run, so "slowing down" brings me down only to one of my brisker paces. SO, with the sun and heat and my going out too fast, I'd started to feel like crap, and then I'd never actually recovered from that because I never ran the 12 min or 13 min pace that might have allowed me to recover (even though I thought I was slowing myself down).
Having figured that out, I decided that I didn't have an excuse not to finish the 5k strong because it wasn't that I was actually sick (a worry I'd had early in the second mile) or that I was dehydrated or something. It was just that it was hot and I was running faster than I might otherwise on a hot day. So, with the last mile being mainly downhill and me no longer babying myself, I kicked out a 10:56 third mile.
All in all, my 5k (3.1 miles) clocked in at 34:52 (my fastest, I think), which is a not too shabby 11:14 average. (now, I did have that rest along the way during the second mile . . . but given that I thought I might quite before finishing two miles, I'm pretty happy with the way it all turned out.)
Monday, August 9, 2010
the negligent blogger/runner
So, this week was not a good week for me either with sticking to my running schedule or blogging about the running that I did do. But tonight I'm getting things back on track.
I didn't do my first run of the week, which was supposed to be a 5k on Tuesday. (Well, I guess my first run was supposed to be intervals on Monday, but I'm not doing those yet because my legs are still trying to get used to this much weekly mileage and I've had 1-2 baseball games every week, which does include sprinting.)
I did do my Thursday 5k but I did it Friday instead of Thursday, which I think is ok, because I had a baseball game on Wednesday and couldn't go Thursday night, so I would have had to run Thursday morning right after playing. Also, I seem to be doing Sunday long games instead of Saturday long days, so a Friday run makes more sense than a Thursday run.
Anyway, I ran my 5k on Friday using my new ipod and using a workout mix where every song is at least 125bpm, which is supposed to help you work out harder. I think it worked because I pumped up my speed (and heart rate) and finished my 5k (3.1 miles) in about 35:12, with miles that were something like 11:17, 11:40, 11:12. I remember them being in that general range (about +/- 10 seconds on each of those splits) but I can't tell you exactly what they were because I have misplaced my fancy GPS watch!
This caused a real problem for today's "6 mile run". Not only did I have a day that was such that I didn't get to start my run until 10pm, but I also couldn't find my GPS watch anywhere. So I decided that I would just go out and run for a longer period of time than my longest 5 mile run (which was about 1hr 8 min). I decided I would run for 1 hr 20 min and even if I ran really slowly, it would definitely be more than 5 miles (b/c even at my slowest, I'm faster than a 16 minute mile). So, I ran for 1 hr and 20 minutes with a 20 minute break in the middle because I ran past my friend Liza's house and she was sitting on her front porch so I stopped to chat.
But there was actually 1hr and 20 minutes of running time. I'm guessing (and by guessing, I mean using google maps and doing some calculations of my own) that I ran about 5.5 miles. It's not 6, but it's a hell of a lot more than 0, which is what I came very close to doing. My legs felt like they were going to fall off by the end of the the run and then as soon as I started walking, they felt like they were going to cramp up along the entire backs of them!
10 weeks til half marathon!!
I didn't do my first run of the week, which was supposed to be a 5k on Tuesday. (Well, I guess my first run was supposed to be intervals on Monday, but I'm not doing those yet because my legs are still trying to get used to this much weekly mileage and I've had 1-2 baseball games every week, which does include sprinting.)
I did do my Thursday 5k but I did it Friday instead of Thursday, which I think is ok, because I had a baseball game on Wednesday and couldn't go Thursday night, so I would have had to run Thursday morning right after playing. Also, I seem to be doing Sunday long games instead of Saturday long days, so a Friday run makes more sense than a Thursday run.
Anyway, I ran my 5k on Friday using my new ipod and using a workout mix where every song is at least 125bpm, which is supposed to help you work out harder. I think it worked because I pumped up my speed (and heart rate) and finished my 5k (3.1 miles) in about 35:12, with miles that were something like 11:17, 11:40, 11:12. I remember them being in that general range (about +/- 10 seconds on each of those splits) but I can't tell you exactly what they were because I have misplaced my fancy GPS watch!
This caused a real problem for today's "6 mile run". Not only did I have a day that was such that I didn't get to start my run until 10pm, but I also couldn't find my GPS watch anywhere. So I decided that I would just go out and run for a longer period of time than my longest 5 mile run (which was about 1hr 8 min). I decided I would run for 1 hr 20 min and even if I ran really slowly, it would definitely be more than 5 miles (b/c even at my slowest, I'm faster than a 16 minute mile). So, I ran for 1 hr and 20 minutes with a 20 minute break in the middle because I ran past my friend Liza's house and she was sitting on her front porch so I stopped to chat.
But there was actually 1hr and 20 minutes of running time. I'm guessing (and by guessing, I mean using google maps and doing some calculations of my own) that I ran about 5.5 miles. It's not 6, but it's a hell of a lot more than 0, which is what I came very close to doing. My legs felt like they were going to fall off by the end of the the run and then as soon as I started walking, they felt like they were going to cramp up along the entire backs of them!
10 weeks til half marathon!!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Back to 5 miles
I haven't run 5 miles since June 22nd. After that week, I decided to start a training plan that started me out at a lower mileage. Then, three weeks ago on my 5 mile day, I hurt my knee and stopped at 4. But today I did 5 miles again!!
It's 11 weeks until my half-marathon. All I have to do is run 1 mile farther each week on my long run days to build up to the 13 miles of the half-marathon and then have a couple weeks to taper so I'm "fresh" for race day.
(Oh, I didn't blog about Friday's run because I got busy doing things. On Friday, I just did two miles. The second mile included a pretty long hill. My first mile was 11:14 and my second was 11:15).
Because today was my long run day (and a weekend), I decided it was worth going to find a pretty place to run. So I hopped in my car and drove up to Cedarvale Park, which is just a few blocks north of the apartment I've applied for and am hoping to get (this is apartment application #3). It's a beautiful park and it links up with the ravine trails.
So, I got to run in an area that didn't feel like the city at all, and at least half of the run was on trail instead of concrete (better for my joints!). The only problem is that 5 miles is actually a really long distance. And as big and long as the park and ravine are, they are not 2.5 miles long, so I threw in some neighborhood running and looping back along the trail to make my "there and back" 5 miles.
Ok, so the length isn't actually the only problem with the park and the trails and that are in general. The other problem is that they're really hilly! So, i did a lot of hill work today, which is really good for getting my heart rate up but is also exhausting for my legs!
I think I'll use that park and those ravines for some of my 5k days and find a flatter course for my long run days.
Here are my very slow (but who cares?) times and my heartrates for today's run:
Mile 1: 13:32 137bpm
Mile 2: 13:10 144bpm
Mile 3: 14:26 149bpm
Mile 4: 14:07 151bpm
Mile 5: 13:00 159bpm (this was my fastest mile because I picked up my pace significantly for the last 1/3 mile--nothing like knowing the end is in sight to help you speed up!)
Overall average: 13:39 147bpm
It's 11 weeks until my half-marathon. All I have to do is run 1 mile farther each week on my long run days to build up to the 13 miles of the half-marathon and then have a couple weeks to taper so I'm "fresh" for race day.
(Oh, I didn't blog about Friday's run because I got busy doing things. On Friday, I just did two miles. The second mile included a pretty long hill. My first mile was 11:14 and my second was 11:15).
Because today was my long run day (and a weekend), I decided it was worth going to find a pretty place to run. So I hopped in my car and drove up to Cedarvale Park, which is just a few blocks north of the apartment I've applied for and am hoping to get (this is apartment application #3). It's a beautiful park and it links up with the ravine trails.
So, I got to run in an area that didn't feel like the city at all, and at least half of the run was on trail instead of concrete (better for my joints!). The only problem is that 5 miles is actually a really long distance. And as big and long as the park and ravine are, they are not 2.5 miles long, so I threw in some neighborhood running and looping back along the trail to make my "there and back" 5 miles.
Ok, so the length isn't actually the only problem with the park and the trails and that are in general. The other problem is that they're really hilly! So, i did a lot of hill work today, which is really good for getting my heart rate up but is also exhausting for my legs!
I think I'll use that park and those ravines for some of my 5k days and find a flatter course for my long run days.
Here are my very slow (but who cares?) times and my heartrates for today's run:
Mile 1: 13:32 137bpm
Mile 2: 13:10 144bpm
Mile 3: 14:26 149bpm
Mile 4: 14:07 151bpm
Mile 5: 13:00 159bpm (this was my fastest mile because I picked up my pace significantly for the last 1/3 mile--nothing like knowing the end is in sight to help you speed up!)
Overall average: 13:39 147bpm
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