Feed me, Seymour

Second week of marathon training.

* 14 mile run in heat = taking more breaks than I wanted, but FINISHED.  Then got in a car and drove for 4 1/2 hours to Mom's house, no break for lunch.  Me  =/= smart at that point.

* Mid-week runs - two around Mom's neighborhood, relatively hilly.  Still hot, still adjusting.

* Third mid-week run - on a nice very shaded path.  Meant to be 12 but started late enough that I didn't want to deal, swapped with 6 mile run.

* Yesterday's 12 mile run, same path mentioned above.  New experience - #1 and #2 trailside.  And I do mean trailside; about a foot before dropoff.  Luckily no one saw me.  Other new experience - running only in sports bra.  It was HOT.  I wanted to give up at 6 miles but didn't.  But - walking at some points.   Don't feel too bad about it, actually; I feel like I gave my all.

* Today = day off.  Yay!  First since Memorial Day, as I was finishing out the RW summer streak.

Notes from this week:

* I WAS STARVING.  Really, seriously, hunger hunger.  It's harder/awkward feeling this way in someone else's house.  My choices aren't here and it was one of those strange hungers that was hard to satisfy.
- Mitigation plan - Good snack planning when I get home because this is going to continue while in training.

* It was hot.  Hot hot hot.
Mitigation - Need to consciously ignore the Garmin and SLOW DOWN even more.  Consistent running > some walking > not finishing.  Let's get more in the first group, but second is still okay.  Time on feet.

Next week:
* Books on yoga for running on their way to the library - yay!

Overall still excited/happy with my training.  My butt belongs outside!  Running tan FTW!

(Tan, not burn - sun tan lotion also mandatory)

(Still starving)

I can fly!

I spent $30 bucks on this image - it's going everywhere.  That's me (duh) at the race this past Sunday.  Pros - both feet off the ground, which is good to see.  Not too much waist fat showing.  Pretty cool angle on the legs.  Arms look muscle-y.  Cons - I think I'm held up by the combo high arms/clenched fist action.  Need to work on that.

I started marathon training this past Monday. The first day was six miles - and it was hard.  What - I can't PR and then bounce right back?  Inconceivable!  After that first run, however, I have to say all the rest were super great.  The one that I had the most nervousness about was on Tuesday - 5 miles easy + 5 miles moderate = 10 miles total.  I've done 10+ miles multiple times but for some reason this was overblown in my mind.  Happily I really got into it and ended up with a great run - followed by a series of great runs all the way through this morning.  I'm feeling extremely confident about this training schedule - but talk to me in 19 weeks when I'm approaching the race!

I also am going to be finishing a running streak on July 4 - the Runner's World streak.  I am totally looking forward to it - I think I need a rest!  

Today's run was 4 miles - breaking in  new shoes!  Well, relatively new; they were a pair of orange Ravenna 2s that I got several months ago when I saw they were releasing a new model.  Wearing them really made me realize how beat down my three pairs I run in (Asics 2160, 2150, and Ravenna 2s) are.  They are all in the 250-300 mile range.

I want to get another new pair of running shoes, and right now I am drooling over the Mizuno Wave Elixir since I saw someone wearing them at the 10K.  I'm also thinking of the Inspires as a more day to day shoe.  I might get both.  I'm worth it!  Plus saving my knees is worth it.

Don't Have Much To Say

So I'm sick of having my "pee-5K" as my top post.  It's been a few weeks and I've been able to move on from that.  I will say that in telling my brother about the race he didn't stop laughing for literally 10 minutes.  He also suggested I talk to his 3 year old, as she is learning to potty train and could give me some suggestions.  Ha ha.

I'm over halfway to my 2012 goal of 1500 miles; at 790 as of today due to a lovely 11 mile run before work.  It's become a habit to swap my long runs from Sunday to Monday.  Way I figure is I have to get up on Monday anyway, so why not have two lounge-in-bed days on the weekend?  Of course since I'm a respectable working person, my inner clock has my "lounge-in-bed" time up to 8 AM.  Weak.  I have a cousin who will literally sleep from midnight to noon if you let her.  Have to get tips from her.

My next race is this coming Sunday - the BAA 10K (race two of three for the distance medley).  Not sure how I'm feeling about this race.  I've hit two of my three race distance/time goals (see right sidebar).  I haven't run a 10K in over a year so I expect to PR, but deep down I'm not sure this race will be the one where I break 60 minutes. I think I have it in me to do so, based on current race times and training runs. Partially I'm remembering the crowd at the 5K and wondering if it will be the same (although this race is only on its second year and is not as popular a distance as the 5K).  Maybe I'm still overthinking how I raced the Run to Remember.  Although my 5K is more recent (and successful) a 10K is not a grab on and hold race, there's some strategy involved.

At the end of the day all I can do is get out there and race.  I have goals of PRing (pretty much a definite), sub-60 (maybe...), and negative splitting.  The last is a goal that I think is fairly important as I want to learn how to hold back at the beginning but also have the mental fortitude to pick it up at the end.  I love that I've done several long runs (10-14) where I had to pick it up in the last 1-2 miles; it really does let me know that I have it in me to pick it up when needed.

I am looking forward to this race, but also looking beyond it - as the next day is my first day of marathon training!