Half Marathon Weekend Recap!! :)
Saturday: 60 mins slow flow yoga, got my first speeding ticket on the drive to the expo :/ (too bad it wasn’t AFTER when I could have been all casually like oh sorry officer just ran 13.1 miles and my blood sugar is way too low so i was just you know going 75 in a 60 cuz i’m being responsible and speeding off to get some pancakes…), race swag & got my sisters to sign up as volunteers, visited an adorable roadside ice cream stand and carboloaded with no sugar added fat free french vanilla froyo, tv and nap time at the hotel, whole wheat linguine alla marinara at olive garden, mcdonalds mostly to steal the free wifi but also for a small vanilla cone that i put in a bowl and mixed with mini pretzels for one last high-carb snack, back to hotel, 10 min ab workout app, then quick to bed at 11pm…well so I thought. HUUUUUGE storms. Like actually the thunder and lightening was so severe that it set off an alarm in the hotel at 2 am. Anddd then again at 4 am. The whole building was shaking, it was literally like the thunder and lightening were RIGHT THERE, and I slept from 11pm-12am and that was about it.
Sunday: After lying in bed awake and miserable and stressing from 12am-4am as the storm raged on outside, I was super anxious and seriously hoping the race was cancelled and I could just get it done on the treadmill later in the day. Luckily the storm passed over and I got a solid hour of sleep, bringing my pre-race rest to a total of 3 hours :/ I woke up at 5am very tired and nervous and my legs did not feel fresh at all. Ate my banana and 55 calories of mini pretzels and then got some rest again until 6:30 when it was time to get to the race. THERE WAS NO ONE THERE. My last (and first) half had somewhere between 700-1000 runners, and this one had A LITTLE OVER 100. Maybe 125. So this freaked me out even more because not only was there no organized pacing or line up at the start, but also a good probability I’d be running totally alone the whole race which made me really nervous because I knew I would not be happy with my time. Luckily I had the two cutest cheerleaders ever at the start line :) My sisters are NOT morning people, and it meant so much to me that they were up and out there (it probably had more to do with the free tshirts and food perks than it did with wanting to wake up and watch a race, but whatever). 7am and it was time to start.
Race Recap: The race start required a lot of maneuvering because no one was lined up according to pace. I started out and felt fast, worried a little that I was going out too hard as I passed runner after runner, but settled into a nice spot and just ran along until the 1 mile mark. Here we went into a TINY (like one-tire-track-wide) path through the woods for about 1.5 miles. I don’t run on trails EVER so this was really nerve wracking and I could feel different muscles being engaged and generally psyched myself out a lot but tried to hold my pace. It was tricky because there were rocks and other obstacles to watch out for, but looking back on it definitely could have been worse especially considering the storms last night—the race directors put cones over big holes and roots to eliminate those hazards and the trails weren’t muddy at all. Got out of the woods near the three mile mark and got passed by some random man. Decided to try to stick on him. After about 5 minutes we started making conversation which seriously made my race. My new BFF Ty and I kept each other motivated mile after mile (he turns 50 next week and this was his first half so I felt like some random responsibility to make him do his best and finish strong haha), pushed each other, and just had a great time. He’s a local so he knew the whole course which was nice. Like always, the race FLEW by. Shortly after the 6.5 mile turnaround it started raining, which I was nervous about but it was refreshing and not too heavy. The downside was lots of puddles which started giving me really bad blisters but luckily they’re fine and just callused now. Even one or two more miles and my feet would have been seriously in trouble though. The only one that still hurts is on the bottom of my left baby toe- ow. Anyway just kept running along. Got water at one stop and Gatorade at two but honestly didn’t really “get” any because I didn’t want to stop running so it mostly just went down my shirt and in my eyes. FYI Gatorade in the eyes stings, a lot. Around mile 10 the inside of my right knee started really hurting, but luckily we were nearing the entrance to the dreaded trail and once I got back on the softer surface it felt fine. The trail was single-file so I went ahead of my running buddy Ty, and without realizing it REALLY picked up the pace. I passed a lot of people, got out of the woods in no time, powered through the last mile on the pavement and on the freaking grass on the hotel grounds and sprinted to the finish to be done in 1:53:43.8 (technically a few seconds faster because of the confusion at the start and not starting right at the start line). AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I beat my time from my first half 5 weeks ago (2:04:20) by over ten, close to eleven minutes!! I was just hoping to get the same time since this course was hillier (though still pretty flat), no sleep, been injured, and trail running was involved and then secretly hoping in the back of my head to finish under 2 hours and ajsdfkljalskdfj I’M JUST SO HAPPY :))) I also got stronger and stronger towards the finish, and my last mile was my fastest at 7:39. There was a photographer at the finish so I can buy a pic if it’s not too horrible, which is awesome because my huge regret from my first half is not having a picture. I got an awesome medal, guzzled water and inhaled a banana and a peanut butter cookie, took a quick shower which hurt SO BAD because my spandex scraped off the skin behind my left knee, then went to the awards ceremony and I won first in my age group which was a total surprise and I got to go up and shake hands and get a pic and got this cool glass sculpture and just cherry on top of a perfect race :) When all the runners came in and my sisters were done with refreshment duty we checked out and went to Bob Evans for a post race recovery brunch. The waitress must have thought I was a freak because I got the Be Fit blueberry & banana french toast (which isn’t exactly great if you’re trying to be “fit,” pretty high in sugar but I needed some of that!) and then asked for “4 scrambled egg whites too, please.” I survived the ride home with my little sister driving, inhaled a Pure Protein bar and then went right to bed. My dad made breakfast (my FOURTH of the day) for an early dinner and now I’m just relaxxxinn and soaking up the endorphins :) And coming up with high-protein things to eat every two hours until bed :)
Mile Splits: 8:36, 9:02, 8:42, 8:43, 9:56 (don’t remember slowing down thaaat much ha idk what happened here!), 8:54, 8:39, 8:56, 9:03, 17:15 (miles 10-11 combined so about 8:37 each), 7:43, 7:39, + whatever my .1 was :)
50 States Challenge: PA, OH
Half Marathon/Sibs Weekend Itinerary <3
*Pic is at the cottage with the sibs when we were just little babes :)
Sat: breakfast, 60 mins slow flow yoga, lunch, leave for expo, expo, find a cute ice cream place with froyo for afternoon snack (carbs!), check in to hotel, pool, shower, walk on the golf course?, olive garden for dinner, stop by gas station and get bedtime snack, watch movies and cuddle at hotel, try to relax
Sun: up at 6, banana, race, shower, check out of hotel, breakfast somewhere fun with lots of carbs and protein :)
Packed: So I’m not normally this organized at alll, but the stress made me just go all out and I’m so proud of my organization haha. In my bag for tonight: swimsuit, shorts and tank for dinner, race tshirt and sweats and shorts for pajamas. In a plastic bag labeled “race”: compression spandex, coral-ish awesome spandex tank, sports bra, underwear, 2 pairs socks. In a bag labeled “post race”: leggings, sports bra, underwear, gonna wear my race shirt after :) Also gonna bring some bananas, a big water bottle AND DRINK FROM IT ALL DAY, maybe granola bars or cereal, laptop + charger, ipod + charger, phone + charger, camera.
AHHHHH STRESS BUT SO EXCITED and at the very least it’ll be a fun weekend with lots of sisterly bonding :)
7.5 Mile Hill Race Report, Weekend Recap, and Other Things
Saturday: Did the abs and the pushups. Went to the movies instead of stretching (worth it) and decided to take a rest day instead of doing an easy 3 miles. I can’t decide how to feel about it because on it means I didn’t follow my training plan, BUT I also hadn’t put ANY rest days in the plan and I know they’re necessary blah blah blah so I guess it’s okay. And 6/7 days following the plan in it’s first week isn’t too bad!
Today: Soooo I didn’t die!! There were a lot of hills but it wasn’t as horrible as I was expecting :) I felt really weak at the start, probably a combination of a lot of running this week and not enough sleep last night (got home from a movie date with my mommy at 12, up at 6…oops) but luckily as I kept running I started feeling progressively more AWESOME. I took it really slow and aimed just to finish because I had no idea what the hills were gonna be like, so if I run next year I will definitely push harder and maybe aim for 7:30-8:30 mile splits throughout? Anyway here are my (ALL OVER THE PLACE) mile splits.
Mile 1: 9:22…shitty
Mile 2: 18:59 / 9:37…feeling very unmotivated and just exhausted
Mile 3: 29:54 / 11:05…beginning to feel better but two .25m hills
Mile 4: 39:22 / 9:28…boom boom boom boom
Mile 5: 48:20 / 8:58…GETTIN IT
Mile 6: 57:05 / 7:45…Much better :)
at finish/7.5: 1:09:19 / 12:14 so roughly 8:10 and 4:04
Overall: Started out really slow and miserable but ended strong :) Although I kept picking up the pace towards the end I still finished feeling like I could have kept running for several more miles, which is awesome because it shows me my distance/endurance base is really paying off. After mile 4 I really got that “distance runner” feeling, and it was awesome passing everyone during the second half of the race as they slowed to a crawl up the hills and I just flew by :) I’m still really frustrated by how much faster I go on the treadmill than outside, which I know is partly do to incline, no resistance, easier movement, etc., but still I should be able to do 7:00-7:30 miles with moderate effort outside but oh well. Part of the problem was that it was a small race and I was never really running with a pack, but just chasing people at the end payed off and I GOT A PLAQUE FOR SECOND IN MY AGE GROUP. Lol because my time was not at all great but I felt pretty cool going up and getting my freaking plaque. Still to do today are an ab workout and 50 pushups but I should definitely be able to get that done :)
Exercise Log Monday-Sunday
Monday: 10 miles in 83:81 + 1 mile walk at incline, abs, “everyday” (lunges, squats, planks, wall sit)
Tuesday: strength, mile warmup @ 8:00, 3 miles moderate @ 23:30, more strength, “everyday,” mile @ 6:08 (SCORE), abs
Wednesday: speed day. 10X114m with 10s rest in between each repeat, rest 3 minutes then 10x64m jogging 64m between each repeat, cool down 2.1 miles IN A SPORTS BRA (personal challenge yay) for a total of 3.6 miles, abs, butt, “everyday”
Thursday: 5 mile fartlek. Mile warmup @ 7:13, .25mile @ 6:44 then .25mile @ 7:13, repeat for 3 miles, .5mile @ 15:00 @ 12% incline, .5mile @ 5:56 :) Killer ab workout, intense yoga sesh :)
Friday: yogaaaa, moderate treadmill 5k @ 7:03 pace, 3x tone it up arms video
Saturday: abs, 50 pushups
Sunday: 7.5 miles of hills @ 1:09:19, still to do 50 pushups, abs
Total mileage: 34.2 miles :)
Other: Loved doing yoga again, writing a DAILY plan for myself made me better at all the small things like drinking more water, and in general writing down a training plan was so necessary and such a good move :) It made me so much more accountable and I’m so proud of myself for following it (minus skipping Saturday’s easy run). I challenged myself and set up awesome rewards as added encouragement, and hopefully this week goes as well as last because 2 weeks of following training plan = school supplies :))) (I loooove school supply shopping way too much!)
yesterday: “Sweaty Express” vinyasa flow yoga class (1:00), moderate treadmill 5k @ 7:03 pace, 3x this Tone It Up arms video (I only used 6.5lb weights and I still DEFINITELY felt it! Try it!!!! Seriously!!!)
plan for today: 3 miles easy (race tomorrow), “Awesome Abs 2.0”, 50 pushups (1 2 3 4 5), stretchhhhh
plan for tomorrow: 7.5 mile hill race a.k.a DEATH. if still living, 50 pushups and an ab video
beating a lot of the guys during the run today proved that being 6 feet tall or 12% body fat or having more muscle isn’t what makes you competition. want to win? train more, run harder, and believe in yourself more than your opponent.
Adventure Race Report!
This morning I successfully completed my first “adventure race.” 2 mile run, 10.5 mile bike, 5 mile kayak. The run was incredible. I really pushed it, felt so strong that I sprinted the last quarter mile, and came in at the front of the pack. Unfortunately there were no splits, but a girl i came in about 40 seconds behind runs xc and had her name on the back of her shirt so I can stalk and get a rough estimate ;) The biking was horrible and incredible at the same time. When I got to the race I began to freeaaaakk out because it was full of hard.core. cyclists. As in, all the guys shaved their legs. Yummmm. Anyway, I’m just glad I survived! At the .4 mile mark, the chain fell off my bike (which is actually not mine, but my mom’s, a Comfort Bike with tires in desperate need of air). Luckily a 20something guy was stopped 100 yards ahead of me trying to adjust his helmet so I took care of his helmet while he fixed my bike. Yay teamwork! Unfortunately the chain fell off TWICE MORE during the race, but by then I was a pro and fixed it all on my own :) THE HILLS. SUCKED. On three of them even the best bikers got off their bikes and pushed them up the hill because they were literally just too steep to keep pedaling up. Doing this hurt my calves a LOT, but was still much more doable than actually trying to bike up the hills. I still can’t believe I actually did it. Even the skinny, spandexed, silky-legged guys were talking about the hills before and after the race, and how tough of a course it was, so I feel really strong for being able to finish, albeit slowwwwlyyy. The race was on rural country roads and BEAUTIFUL, passing a lot of farms and creeks, and made me really want to start cycling more—feeling the wind on the (rare) downhills and flying past all of these breathtakingly beautiful scenes made me want to get better at biking so I can hop on and just ride for miles <3 When the biking was finally over there was a quick obstacle course (jumping jacks, hopping through hoops one-legged, walking the plank, agility ladders) and then it was into the river for kayaking. Kayaking hurt my hands and arms and I’m pretty sure I bruised all my fingers whacking them against the boat, but it wasn’t horrible, although the last 2.5 miles seemed a lotttt longer than the first 2.5. Anyway I passed four boats and then sprinted from the shore to the finish :) Beautiful day, beautiful race, and a great experience. Absolute highlight though, other than my potentially awesome 2 mile time, was actually getting passed by people on the bike portion. Number 1, runners/bikers are so freaking NICE and encouraging and it’s awesome. Number 2, it was great seeing people who might not look that fit or in shape or like they go out and bike/run all the time completely kick my ass. All the more motivation to keep working to be strong and fit and not just to “look” like a runner or a biker. Not that I’d mind looking hot in the spandex BUT I want more than that! I want to win races in that spandex too!
TOMORROW/ every day
Race this Saturday: 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 5 mile kayak. Excited and terrified but most of all just looking forward to an awesome race shirt!
summer goal: night run! <3
Some days we don’t give it our all, don’t push our hardest, or just can’t be the best. But at the end of the day, we are still runners
Mixed Feelings
Ran a 5k this morning with my best friend :) She’s that girl who’s perfect at EVERYTHING, and I wanted to run with her so I’d stick on her pace and get an awesome time. Butttt she started out sprinting and I couldn’t (or just didn’t) keep up and she beat me even though I’ve been running since March and she runs once or twice a week. Frustrating. Anyway, the race was a tough course because it started out with a gradual downhill and the last mile was a long, gradual uphill. My first mile split was 7:15, which I was happy with and hoped to maintain for the rest of the race. My 2 mile was 15:02, which was awesome because that’s 30++ seconds faster than my time at the 2 mile race last weekend. My third mile…I DIED. Which SUCKED because I had it all calculated in my head, like omg I can run a TEN MINUTE mile and still come in under 25:00, which I did, but I came in at 24:40something. The GOOD: Outdoor PR! My fast 5k in April was a PR at 27:28, so it’s good to know I’ve shaved two and a half minutes off my time since then. The bad: I can run high 21s on the treadmill and based on my 2 mile could have come in at 23 or even 22. Ughhhh. I’ve been MAJORLY slacking on running this week though, and haven’t done ANY runs greater than 5k distance in like 2 weeks, and I can definitely feel it. Moral of the story: strategy of training just by pounding out speedy 5ks on the treadmill isn’t working. I NEEEEED to work on pacing outside, and on doing distance runs for endurance in that third mile. This week I WILL do a 5 mile and 10 mile run, break 21:30 on the treadmill, do mile repeats OUTSIDE, and run outside with kate (the bff) on the same course we ran today. And break 24:00. And get hawwwt abs :) Going to the mall now for some post-race shopping but have any of you ever been in this annoying situation? Xoxo, M
Rise and Shine (and a prize!)
Woke up bright and early this morning to WIN MY FIRST EVER 2 MILE RACE!! I ran the Marlene Watt Memorial 2 Mile Race and finished 2nd overall, 1st out of the women!! My goal was really just to stay at the front of the pack, and a lot of the girls looked like serious runners, so I had planned to just try to keep up with one of the leading women. But when the race started, my pace was on par with that of the three boys in front of me, and the nearest woman was 50 yards behind me, so I told myself, “I’m not slowing down yet!” I was nervous about this strategy because the boys were about 12 years old with no body weight to carry, and as I predicted two of them went out too fast and faded back about 5 minutes in. The kid in front of me held a steady pace though, so I caught up to him and pushed it. It was a beautiful morning and a perfect course, with a slight downhill on the way out and a gradual uphill on the way back. We ran out of the high school parking lot, down the main street, 1/4 mile down a path alongside train tracks, and BOOM before I knew it we’d already reached the 1 mile mark and it was time to turn around! Maybe because I’m used to running 5ks, but the mile felt like it came SO fast. At this point, I was nervous because I knew the uphill was coming, but felt strong enough about my mile split (7:15, i think) to keep pushing it. I alternated as the leader with the kid in front of me, but in the last 1/4 mile he picked it up and passed me. I WISH SO BAD I HAD PUSHED IT THE WHOLE WAY. Once I passed him after the 1 mile mark, I definitely slowed my pace a little, and if I’d really kicked it in I might have won the whole thing. Still, 1st woman to finish?! I feel great. I think this was definitely the strongest race I’ve run, and although my time, 15:39, wasn’t where I want it to be, my last road race (a 5k) was 27:28 so I know I’ve made a ton of progress since April. Overall the race was awesome and I would definitely do it again. It was a unique, small town experience with a tiny field (approx 40 runners, I’d guess) and great cheerleaders (since we just turned around at the 1 mile, I got a lot of high fives on the return, and the high school cheerleaders were at the finish line cheering us on!). I also got my dad to do the race with me, and it was a special experience cheering him on after I’d finished. Beautiful morning, course, race, time. And who would have ever thought I could win a race?!? Time to go do some abs, lay out on our boat (I’m at the cottage with my family this weekend), and relaxxx!
xoxo,
M
