2014: What I’m Excited For

Posted by hellyontherun in Race, Running and tagged with Challenges, Goals, Marathon, New Year, Running December 31, 2013

I love having things to look forward to. As a stay-at-home-mom, it’s these things that help get me through the day. It can be simple things like knowing we have a play date in the afternoon or even General Hospital signaling that the day is at its mid point. (I know, I know, I do like my GH).

It’s the same thing with running. I love having things to look forward to. Here are a few as I know the list will grow as we go through the year:

I’ve been planning my first half of 2014 race wise and I’m 6 races in through April. There are some races I’ve done before and new races I’m sooo excited to finally be able to do one being the Lost Dutchman in February. I was hoping to do the ½ marathon but this race is two weeks before my first full marathon. Even though my training plan calls for a long run around that distance, I didn’t want to do it at race pace. So, I signed up for the 10K. I’m still super excited about this race. It’s got a great reputation for its organization, scenic views, and overall atmosphere.

I’d like to complete 14 races in 2014. I chose this as something to look forward to because I think it’s something I would’ve gotten close to any way and there’s quite a few races I’ve wanted do but haven’t been able to for some reason or other. (I don’t know how much my husband’s wallet likes this lol!)

Completing 2014 kilometers in 2014 is a lofty something I hope to work towards. I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself to accomplish this as I don’t want to force any runs. I think the main thing I look forward to with this is just tracking miles. I love tracking my miles and seeing how I’ve done each month. If I reach 2014, awesome. If I don’t, I’m still awesome : )

Time related things I’m excited about: I’m looking forward to breaking 25 minutes in a 5K. I’m going to do it! I don’t do many 5K races so this will be something I’ll have to work on. I’m not a speedy person and 5Ks for me=speed.

I’m excited about the challenge of completing a 1/2 marathon under 2 hours and most of all, I’m so, so, so excited about finishing my first full marathon in whatever time!

Finally, what I’m looking forward to the most is seeing my husband grow as a runner. He’s been doing some mini training for the ½ marathon we’re both doing mid-January. I’m so proud of how well he’s doing. He was a track guy in high school and never thought he’d ever do long distance. I love that he’s challenged himself and is working towards something outside his comfort zone—and doing awesome at it! I’m excited to see what his running future looks like this new year and in the future.

I want to wish all of you a happy 2014 and I’m so excited to see what it brings you!!

—What are you looking forward to in 2014?

Week One Marathon Training Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Marathon, Marathon Training, Running November 17, 2013

So I officially started my marathon training this week J After reviewing a few plans and talking to a close friend who has run a marathon, my husband and I whipped this bad boy up. I had to modify from what the original plan looked like because of the races I have leading up to the marathon but am satisfied with what we went with.

This particular week was modified because of World Run Day which was “supposed” to be a cross training day. But, I’m not going to follow the plan like law. If things come, things come up.

Fifteen miles in the books for the week!

Sunday’s run was a 3 miler. That was my first run since resting my legs from the shin splints—which are still achy but I’m able to run through it. My time was 28:43 with a 9:33/avg pace. I was really pleased with this time considering I had taken 10 days off. I think continuing to work out kept my legs fresh as this is the pace I’d like to keep in the half marathon I have in January.

Tuesday I switched the days to make this one the 4 miler on the treadmill. I started off at a warm-up speed and then transitioned to 9:20/mile. I wanted it to be slightly faster than what I’d like to average at my half marathon but not a pace I couldn’t maintain. This was perfect. My end time was 38:11, 9:32/avg.

Wednesday was speed day. I met up with my gym’s run club for the first time! This was especially exciting because I had been lurking their Facebook page throughout both of pregnancies and loved everything they would post. It is a really close knit group and that intimidated me at first; but, they kept encouraging new people to come out and after a few weeks of debating, I finally did it. Best decision ever. There’s something about being around people who love doing what you love. You feed off of their energy.

The plan that day was speed work. We did 200m surges around the track for 3 miles. This was so perfect for me as I never really concentrated on speed work specifically since high school. I was never a fan of track or running in circles jaja!

I timed myself but wasn’t expecting anything spectacular: 3.14 miles, 29:39, 9:26 avg. Yay!! On the easy 200m, I tried to stick to a 10:30 pace and then speed up to 8:30 in the 200m surge. I felt great and actually enjoyed circling the track.

Today, Saturday, was long run day, 5 miles. I met up with my gym run club again J at 6 a.m. and got started. The agenda was an up and back loop. So basically I’d run 2.5 miles and then turn around and come back. We were running along a canal near where I live and as I reached the 2.15 mile mark I noticed a bridge that would take me to the other side and then I could just run back. I figured this was a good place—even though in retrospect, I could have just turned around where I was when I reached 2.5. I wanted to maintain my 9:30 pace and was doing great until I got back to my car and I was only at 4.4 miles. Ugh! I proceeded to run to the stoplight and then into the parking lot again and then resorted to running a few laps of the parking lot. I was mad at myself that I hadn’t thought ahead. 50:13, 10:03/avg. I was a little bummed. Not the way I wanted to end the week but I’m thinking positive and am excited to have completed week one of marathon training. I still can’t believe I’m actually doing this!!

–How do you plan for races?

No Running: Day Four

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Injury, Marathon, Running, Training November 2, 2013

Longest four days ever. Okay, I’m exaggerating but I really am starting to feel that emotional craziness that happens when I don’t run. It’s different this time than when I was pregnant. When I was pregnant…well, I was pregnant. Right now I feel like I can run, but I know I shouldn’t. I still feel pain in my shins but not intense to where I couldn’t run through it. However, I’m practicing restraint. I have my very first marathon in four months and I really want to train well for it.

I’m starting to think that maybe I jumped the gun with this marathon. This injury really threw me a curveball and has made me feel nervous about being able to do it in what to me is a short time. My goal is to finish and finish with a feeling of accomplishment. I know that will happen because I always feel good when I finish a race but I don’t want to feel any coulda, shoulda, wouldas. I could have done better. I should have trained more/better. I would have felt better about the race had I not been injured.

I don’t want to feel any of that.

I’m not an excuses person. I hate excuses. I know that whatever happens is what happens and I’m owning it. I know these next two weeks (11 days but who’s counting?) will be tough because I’m not running but I’m also not going to be sitting on my ass all day doing nothing. Since Wednesday, I’ve been incorporating more strength training and core exercises. I’ve also been icing and stretching my shins every day.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fast runner. I’m not going to kid myself in to thinking that I’m going to all of a sudden become a speed demon these next four months. I plan on training and being consistent—basically continuing what I’m doing now except with a plan specific for that marathon. I think the biggest thing I need/want to work on is my diet. I figure there is no better time than now to start eating better. I know I can’t/won’t go cold turkey—I gotta drive thru something every now and then—but I can definitely make some small changes here and there that can really help me in the long run (ja! see what I did there?!?)

Ultimately, I hope that I start to feel like I can get back in the game. I’ve contemplated seeing my doctor but I’m not certain my injury is that severe it warrants a visit. I’m going to continue to give it these next few days and go from there.

In the meantime, I was so glad for Halloween. Not only is it my favorite holiday, it was the perfect distraction from my injury. Here is a pic of me and my lil superheroes : )

How do you cope with injuries?

What gets you out of a funk?