Half way

This weekend I ran in my first half marathon.

After resting and icing my foot all week, along with taking several anti-inflammatories, I felt good enough to run on Sunday.

The race went well. It's a small race - capped at 350 people. I saw two friends from my training team before the race, Sarah and Noelle. The three of us paired up and ran together. It made the time fly.

By mile 3 my calves started feeling tight. But, not tight enough to make me want to stop.

Around mile 5 Noelle started to fall back. Sarah and I ran step-in-step together. I saw Ryan at mile 6. He was cheering from the sidelines and took a great picture of Sarah and I (I'll post later).

Sarah and I maintained a solid 10 min. mile pace together until mile 8. I had to use the restroom and had been holding it for about an hour. By mile 8, I could hold no more and made a quick stop in the woods that lined our course.

This put me five minutes and a half mile behind Sarah. So, the last five miles I was on my own. I felt pretty good.

At mile 10, my foot started to hurt. But, not bad enough to stop me. But it didn't help my already exhausted body and mind. I was counting down the last three miles.

Since it was a small race, there were few people lining the course, cheering you on. And, by the end of the race everyone was so spread out, I felt like I was running by myself a couple of times near the end.

Finally, at the last quarter of a mile people began lining the sidelines. Once I passed mile 13 and only had 1/10 of a mile left, I felt strong. I couldn't help but finish with a huge, cheesy smile. Ending the race with strong, long strides. Ryan said I looked like I could have run another two miles. Maybe...

So, I'm half way there. Our coach told us, if you can run a half marathon, you can run a marathon. I hope so, November 11 is just around the corner.

First half marathon - this weekend

I'm still running, I promise!

I have not been good about posting, and there's not excuse except that I haven't taken the time to.

But, I'm about half way through my training and I feel there's finally something worth posting about. This weekend I will be running my my first half marathon. I am literally half way to my goal.

This Sunday, September 3, I will be running in the Battlefield Half Marathon in Verina, Virginia - just outside of Richmond. It's a hometown race.

I am excited and nervous. I ran 12 miles last Friday, so I am not worried about the distance. What I am worried about is my left foot, currently wrapped in ice.

My 12 mile run went smoothly. I ran the entire thing, felt strong, mentally confident. Afterwards there were the normal aches, muscle exhaustion, etc. Nothing worth really reporting - until the next day.

The next day I started limping. My left foot ached. It still aches. It hurts on the left side as well as across the ball of my foot. Overuse, I'm sure. But what horrible timing.

I have laid fairly low since my foot started hurting. Icing it as much as possible, wearing comfortable shoes, etc. Today my foot felt better than it has, so I set out on my 6 mile run. I made it 1 mile, turned around and finished at 2. My foot is killing me.

I hope and wish and pray that it will heal before my first race this Sunday. I'm so excited for it, I hope it won't be ruined by uncharacteristic foot pain.

Wish me luck!

May 25-30, 2006

Thursday, May 25, 2006:

Planned: 3 mile run
Actual: Rest

Okay - so the post-kickball activites ran long. Feeling a bit hung-over on Thursday, I missed my run. Whoops, I'll make it up on Friday.

Friday, May 26, 2006:

Planned: Rest
Actual: Rest

Okay, so I didn't make it up - man, it's only my first week and I'm slacking already.

Saturday, May 27, 2006:

Planned: 3 mile run
Actual: 3 mile run

I didn't even wear a watch this time. But, I felt like I was running at a decent pace.

Sunday, May 28, 2006:

Planned: 30 min cross training
Actual: Ran/walk 1.5 miles

Okay, so I had the best intetions. I woke up early, I got dressed, and I jogged to the Y, only to find that the Y does not open until noon on Sundays! Argh! So, I ran/walked about a mile and a half and headed home - it was HOT!

Monday, May 29, 2006:

Planned: Rest
Actual: 3 mile run, lift back and biceps

I felt that I needed to work out even though it was a scheduled rest day to make up for my slacking at the end of last week.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006:

Planned: 3 mile run
Actual: 3 mile run

Okay, back on track...

May 22-24, 2006

The first week of training is focused on laying the foundation - which is good, because I did not do well attempting to do this on my own the weeks leading up to training. The focus is to get back in the habit of running several days of the week, so that it becomes like clockwork. This will help me get out on the streets when my assigned runs become longer and more challenging.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Rest

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Planned run: 3 miles
Actual run: 3 miles

I set my alarm for 6 p.m. instead of 6 a.m., so I woke up late - luckily in time to get to work, but late for the run. So, I ran after work. It was a good run, though hot. I didn't have my stop watch but my normal watch told me I did the run in under 30 minutes - likely 28.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Planned run: 3 miles, easy run or run/walk
Actual run: 3 miles, run/walk

I got up in time to run this morning, but my legs were tired from yesterday evening. I took advantage of the opportunity to walk a portion of the run today. I walked twice, but not for long. It did feel good to get up and stick to my schedule, though.

I have a kickball game tonight.

May 21 - Day 1

I met with the training group and did my first run Sunday, May 21. It was an early morning, even earlier than it needed to be, as I got there 30 minutes before everyone else. I apparently had missed an email saying the first run starts later than the rest of the training... oh well.

I ran into a friend from my kickball team, and it was nice to see a familiar face. The team seems promising and I'm excited. They gave us a workbook to keep track of our mileage.

After a half hour or so of information sharing, the group left for our first run - 3 miles. It was an easy run, and a lot of fun - I forgot how much fun group running can be. After about a mile, I fell into pace with another girl. We began talking and stayed together for the majority of the run. At one point she mentioned she had a soccer game after training - me too.

What time?

10:30

What field?

A middle school on the South Side.

Are you on MG United?

Yea.

I'm playing against you today.

Small town.


The last half mile I stepped it up. And ended up finishing the run in 28:28. Not bad. Much faster than I normally do on my own.

Soon after training I played my last regular season soccer game. We lost 1-0, and I was exhausted. This morning, my knee is tight. I'm going to ice and heat it at work.

3 days until training

I got back out there again today - go me!

This time, I actually ran. I have purchased two items recently which made my run more enjoyable.

1) A knee brace
2) An FM arm band radio

The first one helped for obvious reasons. My knee actually felt good through the entire run. And still feels fine now, as I sit and stand in the office - a great improvement.

The second helped because I was able to listen to my favorite morning show through the entire run - Elliot in the Morning. It made my 3 mile run fly, which is always nice.

I felt good out there today, so hopefully my first group run this weekend won't be that bad.

I also managed to work a quick 25 minute chest/tri workout in. I wasn't able to do everything I would have liked before work, due to my inability to get out of bed anytime before 6:15 a.m. But, it's better than nothing.

5 days until training

Okay, so I've been a huge slacker. Two weeks of not working out - that's pretty bad, isn't it? If it's any consolation, I did go to the gym to do cardio once, and I did run once since our last post. And this morning, I went to the gym to do cardio again.

Yea, you're right, I'm still slacking.

Well, not much longer and I won't have a choice anymore. Training starts this weekend. I'll be whipped into shape, like it or not.

It will be interesting to see how things go. My knees have decided to start acting like I'm not a teenager anymore. I used to be able to run all I wanted without any knee pain - well, they're getting me back.

Today I went in to the gym with the plan of riding a stationary bike for 25 mins. I made it to 7.5 minutes before the pain became unbearable. I shifted to the elliptical to finish out my workout, 20 more minutes.

Bikes have always made me feel like my knees are locking up. Today the pain was indescribable. It's not a good sign...

The knee brace helped. And standing exercises don't seem to hurt as much (thankfully).