Still pushing through...

Being back in the swing of life is exhausting! Yesterday, I was a little busy getting some things accomplished before my softball game (that got rained out. we're three for three on rain outs... Go us!), but I was still able to get a 4 miler in. Today, all I had planned was homework, job searching, and my run, but it was rough! (tomorrow is another run and class.) It's been tough to manage my time since I got back from California. It doesn't help that my body had just gotten used to west coast time when it was time to come back to Florida.

Today was a 9 mile run. It was hot. Miserably so. I really didn't feel like being out there the entire time that I was there. It was a little awful. I wanted to quit the entire time. There's something inside of me that doesn't give up, though. I continued to push forward throughout the entire run and ended up with a just under 15 minute mile pace. Normally, I'd be disappointed, but today, I just wasn't interested in running, so it was okay.

Sometimes, what counts the most is getting out there and doing it. Today was one of those days. Tomorrow may be better... I hope.

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 557.04 miles/249 days
To go: 442.96 miles/117 days

Disneyland Half Marathon Recap

I have been AWFUL. I didn't run for a little over a week... after all of this time living by my training plan, I just stopped. Ugh. I'm extremely frustrated with myself, but trying not to beat myself up about it too much. I know that I can just deal with it and move on.

SO. Disneyland Half Marathon race report!
I have officially added a third state to my "states that I've raced in" list. (Indiana, Florida, and California! ...and Illinois is next!)

My mom, sister, and Katherine came to California. We have dubbed ourselves "Team 3 Catholics and a Protestant." We've been planning the Disneyland Half Marathon trip since January, when we decided that we wanted to do the Coast to Coast Challenge. Basically, to participate, a person has to run in a RunDisney half or full marathon in both California and Florida. Back in January, Kath and Kailey (my baby sister) ran the "Donald" half marathon, while my mom and I participated in the "Goofy Challenge" (half & full in two days). (to be honest, I did the 5k, too, so I'm, unofficially, "Dopey". I also ran the Princess half in February.) So yes. That's when we decided to do the Coast to Coast.

We had so much fun! None of us had ever been to Disneyland, so it was fun experiencing the parks and the surrounding areas. We got to do so many fun things. But the most fun... was running.

We got up at 4:00 California time (7 my time) for the race on Sunday morning. We all whined and dragged ourselves out of bed to depart at 4:30.. or that was the goal. I don't think we left the hotel until closer to 4:45. Then my mom realized she forgot her parfait, which is her traditional race morning breakfast. Then she realized she forgot her Minnie ears, which she was looking forward to wearing. The last straw was when she realized that she did not have her ipod, either. That's when she went back to the room. The rest of us trudged onward without her. (my mom ended up catching a shuttle to the start while the other three of us walked! not even fair.)

We all started together in Corral D and planned to run together to the first character photo opportunity. Then the race started and we started running. Somehow, I got into a really nice groove and then realized that I was running without anybody on my "team". Oops. Then Kath caught up with me and we ran together to the first photo stop.

Green Army Men! A RunDisney picture tradition.

After that, Kath ran ahead and I stayed in my groove. I felt really good and didn't really have to take walk breaks at all, which really surprised me. It is really the first race that was like that for me. When we got into Disneyland Park, I saw Katherine in line for a picture and jumped in with her. 

How could I resist Tiana, Naveen, and Louis?!

We decided to run through the rest of the park together and stop for pictures when we could, knowing that the majority of the race did not take part on Disney property. So we did. We had to run through some pretty intense crowds, but overall, we did pretty well and passed a lot of people. (I feel like my pace has really improved and I didn't really know until Sunday.) 

The rest of the race was really fun! (I didn't get many pictures, but that's okay.) We ran through the Anaheim Angels' baseball stadium, which was awesome. It was really crowded, though, and on the way out, I twisted my right ankle trying to pass people. (Yep. The one that I've hurt countless times in the past.) I decided to walk the rest of the race and throw out all hope of getting an awesome finishing time. I knew I had to be careful, because I REALLY want to do well in Chicago. As much as I wanted to finish strong, I knew I shouldn't push it. So I walked. For three. Long. Miles.

The Team!

The race was fun though. I had a fantastic time! (the vacation part was great too!) I want to go back! 

I'm back to Chicago training though. Kath and I did four easy (EASY) miles today and it was fun. It's nice to be back in the swing of things. (sort of. I still want to go back.)

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days

So far: 547.8 miles/248 days

To go: 452.2 miles/118 days

...something to say about motivation.

I don't really have time to write. I have to leave for work in five minutes or so. Blah. (Did I tell you that I don't like working at night? Because I don't. It annoys me.)

Today Kath and I ran together. We did a little over eight and a half miles. It was really tough. For the first time outside of a race, I thought I was going to throw up. I've never felt sick during a training run before. I didn't even push myself too hard. I'm not sure what the problem was with my body. My breakfast was healthy and pretty light (a bagel with peanut butter and a slice of turkey ham). Ijust felt miserable. The. Whole. Time.

There's something to say for motivation though. I pulled it out in the end. I cut my average pace from 16 to 15:30 in the last three miles. (I'm really unhappy with that pace.) I'm glad I found the motivation to push past my barriers and move forward. I think that's pretty awesome.

I just wish I didn't have to dig so deep sometimes.

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 479.34 miles/225 days
To go: 520.66 miles/141 days

positives and negatives on long run day.

Long run day recap. Again.

Let's start with the positive things that happened during my run today... First, I ran the distance that I needed to. Though my toe is still swollen, it doesn't hurt at all when I'm running and only hurts some when I'm walking around. (I think that it mostly depends on what shoes that I am wearing. My work shoes are awful at squishing my toes. Ugh.) I'm ecstatic that I'm running again. I'm pleased that I only had to take a week off before I could run again. I'm glad that I did fourteen miles today. It takes a lot of mental strength to push it that hard and for that long. Yay for me.

I just wish that it was easier. I struggled a LOT today. My legs felt heavy and slow from the very beginning. I'm not sure how I ended up getting all of the miles in. I guess that I pushed it pretty hard, but my pace was way slower than I would have wanted it to be. ...frustrating. I KNOW that I can run faster and better than I ran today. I just don't know why I didn't do it today. I know that I should be pleased that I got the mileage that I needed, but I feel like my pace is pretty important, too.

I'm less than two months away from Chicago. I'm about three weeks from Disneyland. Then Tower of Terror 10 miler, then Chicago, then Wine & Dine, then the Jacksonville Distance Classic, then the Orlando Half, then Goofy (Dopey)! This is crazy. I just really want to make sure that my body is ready for all of this. I'm not sure that it is, because of tough runs like I had today. Frustrating...

I know that I can run the distance. I just want to get my pace to where I need it to be. I'm just feeling a little stuck right now, I guess. I don't know what the answer is... the magical motivation that I've been looking for.

I'm at a completely different sport than where I was last year at this time. My body is different and my training is so muh better. Frankly, I have no idea what my race pace might be. It has to be something better. I feel like I'm looking PRs in the face, I just don't know what they would be.

I'm also planning on adding personal training back into my regimen. I need it desperately. I can't find the motivation to strength train on my own. Another frustration...

Kath & I at 13 miles. Today was her furthest run in the history of her life!

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 470.74 miles/224 days
To go: 529.26 miles/142 days

motivation means improvement

I had a really fantastic run today. I think that the new shoes really helped. A lot. They're super light and my feet felt light and like they weren't really doing anything. It was fantastic. I ran at about a 13:30 pace for the majority of my run (like... all but one mile), which is my racing pace, so I was (and am!) really excited about it.

I was supposed to do 8 miles today. I ended up doing nine. I felt good enough to do an extra lap around my apartment complex when I got home, so I did. I walked it so that it was more of a cool down, which is where my pace really slowed down a lot. That pushed me to almost nine miles. I figured that I might as well finish out the nine, since I was already almost there. So I did.

I ended up with just over nine miles and at a 14 minute pace. I know that, under many standards, that is extremely slow, but I'm pleased. Sometimes I don't feel like going running, I don't always feel like pushing myself, but I still do it. I do feel like that is an accomplishment. I pushed it out there today. I know that I could be faster and I know that my racing speed is at least a minute quicker than my training pace. I think that if I continue to hold onto it like this, continue to push through, I'm going to improve exponentially into a runner that I want to be. I've been really focused on improving that I haven't noticed the improvements that I've made. A few months ago, an eight mile run would have made me cry and I would have run it at a 15-something pace, just because I would have taken it easy.

I'm proud of who I am becoming. I do feel like running is shaping me.
(and I kinda like it.)

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 444.6 miles/214 days
To go: 555.4 miles/152 days

Finishing Week 4 of Training!!

I just got home from this week's long run! Woo! It was ten miles, so a little shorter than last week, but went okay. But hey, let's backtrack!

Friday was a 6 miler. It was ROUGH. I feel like my legs were pretty tight and that I really just struggled to get through it. I ended up with a just over 13 minute pace, which I guess isn't awful. I was disappointed, because I did so well on the 6 miler I had done earlier in the week that I thought I could continue on at that pace. Unfortunately that didn't work out on Friday. It was definitely hotter on Friday, too. I did persevere and finish, though. I didn't really want to during some of the run, buuut... I did it. I finished at just over 6 miles at a 13-something pace. Not terrible.. but not incredible either. Oh well.

(Shout out to Kath though. I sat down and called her and asked her to say encouraging things in the middle of my run. She came out and met me to keep me company on the run back home.)

Today, I had 10 miles! First, I worked this morning, which made me more tired than I anticipated. I got home and got changed to run without being too mopey about it. (I'm actually starting to get excited about this running thing, which is SO cool. and unexpected.) Kath went with me! We usually go out and back on a path near our apartment, but this time we decided to keep going when we got to the end of the path. We went around and back on the sidewalks rather than the path, which was fun. Sometimes, it's exhausting going out and then turning back. It was fun to change it up!

We had a great pace (about 14:30 for the first 7 miles) Then we slowed to a walk. My left hip was starting to bother me a little. It almost felt like it was tight and that it needed stretched out. I stopped and stretched a handful of times, but it only would get better for like fifteen minutes and then tighten up again. I'm a little worried about it, but tomorrow is a rest day and then on Tuesday, I'll just see how it feels when it's time to run again. I'll make a decision on Tuesday about whether I should run or not. Fortunately, this week at work should be pretty easy. I don't have stocking shifts and the shifts that I do have are pretty short. I won't be straining my muscles, that's for sure.

I'm really sore right now. It's weird how achy my muscles get after a long run. I'm really not accustomed to it, considering how awful I have been at following through with training for races. This is the first race that I've actually trained properly for. Crazy.

And with that... Week four of training is now complete. Oh SNAP!

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 361.44 miles/197 days
To go: 638.56 miles/169 days

(almost in the 400s! Wooo)

Exciting Run!! (Chicago Training Days 16 and 17)

I'm so excited about my run today!!! (I'm also not sure I have ever actually written that in a blog post before.) Bear with me, though, because I have two training runs to write about.

Let's start with yesterday, because, chronologically, Tuesday comes before Wednesday. I do kind of enjoy being chronological from time to time.

Yesterday was a 4 mile "easy" run. I really struggled with it for some reason. I think that my muscles were pretty tight from work. I probably should have stretched before I went out to run. Actually, I generally should stretch more than I do.

Anyhow, yesterday was a really tough four miler. My pace ended up being close to 15 minutes per mile, which was awful, because it was such a short run. I walked almost the same amount as I ran. I'm a little disappointed in myself, but I am glad that I got the mileage in. I know that I took so much time off of running for several months, which is much of why it is so difficult to get myself back to where I was before. (Although where I was before really wasn't so impressive either.)

I guess that it wasn't terrible and I didn't only walk the entire time. I switched it up a little. I'm going to try adding some stretching into my routing.

--

Today was a 6 miler. I went into it with a little bit of a pessimistic attitutde. I thought that I would probably be too slow and actually spent several hours putting running off this morning. (the threat of thunderstorms did not help push me out the door.) Eventually, after I ran out of excuses (and bad television to watch. ha.), I got dressed for my run and went outside.

My first mile was just over twelve minutes which was decent. I can (and usually do) run my first mile in a little over ten minutes and then continuously slow my pace for the rest of the run. I decided to try to push it a little bit more than usual today. When I checked my average pace again, when I was at about two miles, I was at about a 12:20 pace, so I had cut some time off. That wasn't too bad, so I kept pushing it. At three miles, I had slown down a little and was at a 12:58 pace. That's when I decided that I'd finish in under 13 minutes.

I don't believe that I've ever run a training race longer than 3 miles in under a 13 pace. Even my fastest half marathon is at just OVER a 13 minute pace. I just checked and the only 10k race that I've done was a 12:08 pace. I think that's the only time I've actually run a decent distance at that pace.

Anyways, I finished in a 12:55 pace. I slowed down a lot during the last mile. I tried really hard to continue pushing it, but just had to slow down. I am definitely a little disappointed in that, because, at 5 miles, I was at 12:45.

However, I'm really excited that I finished in the time that I did! I feel like I'm starting to finally improve in ways that I was beginning to give up on.

The only major change that I need to make is that I  need to crosstrain and that I need to start lifting weights more. I haven't lifted in a long time. ...and I miss it. Just a thought...

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 341.24 miles/193 days
To go: 658.76 miles/173 days