My run last night was a perfect example of my love/hate relationship with running. My shins and calves were sore for the first mile, but everything loosened up after that and felt pretty good. But by mile 3 (with 2 to go), I didn't know how I was going to finish. I was running with lead feet and legs of stone. Oh my goodness the pain! How am I ever going to do 13.1 miles when I feel this awful during a 5 mile training run? It just doesn't seem possible........
For this run I think I finally found my ideal run/walk interval of 7-1/2 minutes to 2-1/2 minutes. With this interval, I don't have to do a bunch of math in my head, however rudimentary it may be. I can see that within a ten minute timeframe I am running 75% of the time and walking 25% of the time. Doesn't take a genuis to figure that out, but that's what I like about it.
So a quick recap of the last (and only other) time I ran 5 miles: Total time = 1:16:42 / Avg pace = 15'20".........
Last night I did the exact same route and distance 4 minutes faster! My time last night was 1:12:26 at an average pace of 14'28"!!!
I'm sure it seems odd for ANYONE to be excited about a 14 minute mile average on any run. But this is pretty quick for me. You also have to take into account that I'm walking 25% of this "run" at or above a 20 minute mile. The other 75% of running is usually between 12 and 13-1/2 minute miles. The walking clearly drags my average down, so don't think I'm out there running at almost 15 minute miles all the time, because I'm not. I don't know why I just explained all that, I'm only in competition with myself. And last night, I won!
All that being said, I am hurtin' for certain today. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few nights and I'm concerned that it has something to do with overtraining (something I read on the internet so it must be true.....HA)! My legs are super sore and I'm starting to have trouble with my left knee again. Soreness in my legs I can handle, but knee issues are a different story. Up until about two weeks ago when I started to increase my mileage, my knee was giving me ZERO problems. Now I can "feel" it everyday and it's starting to worry me.
Is 13.1 miles even possible for me?
MIND OVER MATTER
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Weekend Run / 12'00" Pace?
Put in 4 miles on Saturday, even though I absolutely did not want to. I fought with myself for 30 minutes before sucking it up and heading out the door. I decided I didn't want to have to blog about how I was a lazy bum over the weekend and didn't get my mileage in, so I ran instead!
I drove to Riverside to get out of the rut that I've been in with running the same ole routes. It really did help.
My total run time was 56:27 at an average pace of 14'06" (last time I ran 4 miles my average was 14'09".....yay for small victories)
I checked my pace about 1/2 a mile in and was shocked to see that I was running below a 12 minute average. This has NEVER happened before and I'm not sure what came over me. For a few seconds I thought there might be something wrong with my app even. Fat girls do NOT run this fast......what the heck is going on? The really weird part is that I didn't FEEL like I was running any faster than my usual snails pace.
I purposefully slowed down because I didn't want to expend all my energy up front. I'm so glad I did because around the 3 mile mark I didn't know how I was going to finish! Makes me wonder how in the world I'm ever going to be able to make it 13.1 miles. All I know is that somehow, I will make it.
Slated for 5 miles this evening.
MIND OVER MATTER
I drove to Riverside to get out of the rut that I've been in with running the same ole routes. It really did help.
My total run time was 56:27 at an average pace of 14'06" (last time I ran 4 miles my average was 14'09".....yay for small victories)
I checked my pace about 1/2 a mile in and was shocked to see that I was running below a 12 minute average. This has NEVER happened before and I'm not sure what came over me. For a few seconds I thought there might be something wrong with my app even. Fat girls do NOT run this fast......what the heck is going on? The really weird part is that I didn't FEEL like I was running any faster than my usual snails pace.
I purposefully slowed down because I didn't want to expend all my energy up front. I'm so glad I did because around the 3 mile mark I didn't know how I was going to finish! Makes me wonder how in the world I'm ever going to be able to make it 13.1 miles. All I know is that somehow, I will make it.
Slated for 5 miles this evening.
MIND OVER MATTER
Friday, October 4, 2013
My experience with Runners World forums
Allow me to rant for a bit here................
Creating this blog has been a very good thing for me. I publicly state what I am going to do, and then I do it. Prior to this blog, it would have been easy to just stop at 1 mile and say "screw it, I don't feel like it". But the thought of even 5 people reading this thing and seeing that I'm supposed to run X miles that day is enough to get me moving. Even if nobody EVER reads this blog, it's out there and it's possible for someone to read it some day, so it's just a little extra motivation for me.
So running is going well and I decided to check out the forums at Runners World to see what that community is all about. I like the blogging community, so forums might be pretty cool as well. OH EM GEE was I wrong!!!
Rather than copy and paste the 10 blog posts I had already made to that point, I decided to just put my blog link on the "beginners" forum so people could "get to know me" and read my story thus far. I figured moving forward they would know where I'm at in my training without having to re-post stuff into the forum. BIG MISTAKE! Apparently I committed a cardinal sin and they called me a "troll" and said I was just trying to direct traffic to my blog. HA! I don't care about blog traffic.........you think I get paid or something? Good gracious!
So long story short, I will not be going back to the Runners World "community", because it is not a community at all. A few people came to my defense, but at the end of the day I just don't have the time or patience to deal with all that negativity and downright rude behaviour. To those of you that do frequent the Runners World forums, especially the "beginners" forum, you might want to check your people here. Not a very warm welcome and I was turned off by it so bad that I lasted all of two whole days. I posted the same thing in two other forums on Runners World and got ZERO negativity.
I will keep on keepin' on, just wanted to share this with anyone who might be thinking about joining any type of forum. Lesson learned, DO NOT post your blog on your first go-round. Take the time to painstakingly copy and paste everything on your blog until all those nasty rude people are caught up. Then MAYBE they will welcome you and not treat you like complete SHAT. No promises though..................
Creating this blog has been a very good thing for me. I publicly state what I am going to do, and then I do it. Prior to this blog, it would have been easy to just stop at 1 mile and say "screw it, I don't feel like it". But the thought of even 5 people reading this thing and seeing that I'm supposed to run X miles that day is enough to get me moving. Even if nobody EVER reads this blog, it's out there and it's possible for someone to read it some day, so it's just a little extra motivation for me.
So running is going well and I decided to check out the forums at Runners World to see what that community is all about. I like the blogging community, so forums might be pretty cool as well. OH EM GEE was I wrong!!!
Rather than copy and paste the 10 blog posts I had already made to that point, I decided to just put my blog link on the "beginners" forum so people could "get to know me" and read my story thus far. I figured moving forward they would know where I'm at in my training without having to re-post stuff into the forum. BIG MISTAKE! Apparently I committed a cardinal sin and they called me a "troll" and said I was just trying to direct traffic to my blog. HA! I don't care about blog traffic.........you think I get paid or something? Good gracious!
So long story short, I will not be going back to the Runners World "community", because it is not a community at all. A few people came to my defense, but at the end of the day I just don't have the time or patience to deal with all that negativity and downright rude behaviour. To those of you that do frequent the Runners World forums, especially the "beginners" forum, you might want to check your people here. Not a very warm welcome and I was turned off by it so bad that I lasted all of two whole days. I posted the same thing in two other forums on Runners World and got ZERO negativity.
I will keep on keepin' on, just wanted to share this with anyone who might be thinking about joining any type of forum. Lesson learned, DO NOT post your blog on your first go-round. Take the time to painstakingly copy and paste everything on your blog until all those nasty rude people are caught up. Then MAYBE they will welcome you and not treat you like complete SHAT. No promises though..................
Gaunlet Conquered! But........
So yesterday I publicly stated that I was going to run for 2 miles without stopping. That would be 0.9 miles further than I have run without stopping during this training. I'm not sure what possessed me to do such a thing, but I did it nonetheless. And it helped! During my run I kept thinking "you can't stop, you told everyone you were going to do this, now do this!"
I am happy to report that I ran the 2 miles without stopping! As soon as Nike+ girl said "2 miles completed", I let out a sigh of relief and started to walk. Something happened during that walk though; 30 seconds in I thought "why are you walking......move your legs and RUN!"
I had just run 2 miles of a 3 mile run without walking, why not just keep running and see how far I could go? So after 1 minute of walking, I began to run again. I made it to the 3 mile mark before cooling down with a walk.
Mentally this felt really good. Physically this was a nightmare. My average pace of 14'35" was faster than normal, which isn't surprising. What surprised me is that it wasn't drastically different than when I run for 10+ minutes and walk for 2-3 minutes. This, coupled with the fact that I felt like my legs were going to fall smooth off, tells me something. I need to stick with the run/walk thingy-ma-jig until I get stronger. The last time I ran 3 miles was 9/25/2013, where I ran 17 minutes and walked 3 minutes until I finished. My average for this run was 14'53", and let me tell you, it felt way easier than last night where I decided I was Lolo Jones and ran all but 1 minute of my 3 mile run. Running the whole thing (less one minute) only took 18 seconds off my average and I felt like poop when I was done. I think I will be sticking with the run/walk method from now on to save my legs, especially for long runs. It was nice to prove to myself that I could do it though.
It's funny how you learn something from each run. Did I prove to myself that I could run 2 miles straight without walking? YES! Do I want to do it again anytime soon? NO!
MIND OVER MATTER
I am happy to report that I ran the 2 miles without stopping! As soon as Nike+ girl said "2 miles completed", I let out a sigh of relief and started to walk. Something happened during that walk though; 30 seconds in I thought "why are you walking......move your legs and RUN!"
I had just run 2 miles of a 3 mile run without walking, why not just keep running and see how far I could go? So after 1 minute of walking, I began to run again. I made it to the 3 mile mark before cooling down with a walk.
Mentally this felt really good. Physically this was a nightmare. My average pace of 14'35" was faster than normal, which isn't surprising. What surprised me is that it wasn't drastically different than when I run for 10+ minutes and walk for 2-3 minutes. This, coupled with the fact that I felt like my legs were going to fall smooth off, tells me something. I need to stick with the run/walk thingy-ma-jig until I get stronger. The last time I ran 3 miles was 9/25/2013, where I ran 17 minutes and walked 3 minutes until I finished. My average for this run was 14'53", and let me tell you, it felt way easier than last night where I decided I was Lolo Jones and ran all but 1 minute of my 3 mile run. Running the whole thing (less one minute) only took 18 seconds off my average and I felt like poop when I was done. I think I will be sticking with the run/walk method from now on to save my legs, especially for long runs. It was nice to prove to myself that I could do it though.
It's funny how you learn something from each run. Did I prove to myself that I could run 2 miles straight without walking? YES! Do I want to do it again anytime soon? NO!
MIND OVER MATTER
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Throwing Down the Gaunlet
So I realize that to some people, running 2 miles may seem like a walk in the park. Well not to this fat girl!!!
I need to start pushing myself. Up to this point, I have not run more than 1.1 miles straight without walking. Today I am giving myself the challenge to run 2 miles before I take a walking break. I'm only scheduled to run for 3 miles total, so I feel like this is a good training run to do this with. On my longer runs (long for me anyway) of 5, 6, and eventually 10 miles, it will be wise for me to alternate running/walking so I don't make myself miserable.
Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this blog so far. It is a good way to hold myself accountable. Knowing that I put this goal on here will help push me tonight so that I can come back tomorrow and not have to tell you that I wussed out. Your comments keep me pushing so keep them coming.
MIND OVER MATTER
I need to start pushing myself. Up to this point, I have not run more than 1.1 miles straight without walking. Today I am giving myself the challenge to run 2 miles before I take a walking break. I'm only scheduled to run for 3 miles total, so I feel like this is a good training run to do this with. On my longer runs (long for me anyway) of 5, 6, and eventually 10 miles, it will be wise for me to alternate running/walking so I don't make myself miserable.
Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this blog so far. It is a good way to hold myself accountable. Knowing that I put this goal on here will help push me tonight so that I can come back tomorrow and not have to tell you that I wussed out. Your comments keep me pushing so keep them coming.
MIND OVER MATTER
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
New schedule and some stats.......
So I've got a revamped training schedule now. I decided to look at my mileage so far and adjust my mileage moving forward. I also pulled some stats together just to see how far I've come. It helps to look back and compare where you are now to where you started. I know you're just dying to know what I found out, so here ya go......
July:
Total Runs = 9
Total Mileage = 15.28 miles
Overall Average Pace = 17'17" per mile
August:
Total Runs = 12
Total Mileage = 26.86 miles
Overall Average Pace = 15'45" per mile
September:
Total Runs = 11
Total Mileage = 31.64 miles
Overall Average Pace = 14'58" per mile
I'm going to look back at this post periodically to keep myself motivated. Even when I have a crappy day and only manage 1.5 miles when I'm supposed to do 3, I know that I'm improving. As I said before, I'm in competition only with myself. Looks like I'm winning!
MIND OVER MATTER
July:
Total Runs = 9
Total Mileage = 15.28 miles
Overall Average Pace = 17'17" per mile
August:
Total Runs = 12
Total Mileage = 26.86 miles
Overall Average Pace = 15'45" per mile
September:
Total Runs = 11
Total Mileage = 31.64 miles
Overall Average Pace = 14'58" per mile
I'm going to look back at this post periodically to keep myself motivated. Even when I have a crappy day and only manage 1.5 miles when I'm supposed to do 3, I know that I'm improving. As I said before, I'm in competition only with myself. Looks like I'm winning!
MIND OVER MATTER
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
I ran 5 miles last night!!! 5 MILES Y'ALL.................
It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast, but I made it. I decided to reduce my running time to 10 minutes before taking a walking break for 3 minutes. This made the run way more manageable (and enjoyable). I'm glad I can do that and still feel accomplished. There is still a small piece of me that thinks it doesn't count if I walk, or that I have to run for 30 minutes straight to even qualify myself as a runner. I know that's ridiculous...............but that's how I feel sometimes. Someday I will be able to run a 5k without walking, but today aint that day! I just have to stick to it and gradually increase my running time.
I know you're just dying to know the stats for my 5 mile run; total time of 1 hour 16 minutes 42 seconds, pace of 15'20", total running time = 60 minutes, total walking time = 16 minutes and 42 seconds. Nothing record breaking here, but not too shabby considering that 3 months ago I was on the couch and never would have dreamt about running 5 miles. The best thing about it is that I'm only in competition with myself, so my pace doesn't really matter, as long as I finish!
I shall leave you now with my thoughts and reflections from this run:
Mile 0.5: My back actually feels pretty good, this might not be so bad......
Mile 1.0: For the love of all things holy my shins and calves are killing me!
Nike+ app says 3.5 miles to go
Mile 1.5: What?!?!?! 3.5 miles? This is so not doable for me. What was I thinking?
Mile 2.0: In another 2 miles, I will only have 1 mile left.....pssshhhhh, that's nothing!
Mile 3.0: I can't feel my legs anymore and my feet are numb. Is that a good thing?
Mile 4.0: Holy crap I'm actually going to make it!
Mile 4.5: Is that guy shadow boxing up there? Oh my, now he's sprinting! And stopping to shadow box again......interesting
Mile 5.0: I did it!!! Where in sam hill is my water?!?!?!?!
MIND OVER MATTER
It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast, but I made it. I decided to reduce my running time to 10 minutes before taking a walking break for 3 minutes. This made the run way more manageable (and enjoyable). I'm glad I can do that and still feel accomplished. There is still a small piece of me that thinks it doesn't count if I walk, or that I have to run for 30 minutes straight to even qualify myself as a runner. I know that's ridiculous...............but that's how I feel sometimes. Someday I will be able to run a 5k without walking, but today aint that day! I just have to stick to it and gradually increase my running time.
I know you're just dying to know the stats for my 5 mile run; total time of 1 hour 16 minutes 42 seconds, pace of 15'20", total running time = 60 minutes, total walking time = 16 minutes and 42 seconds. Nothing record breaking here, but not too shabby considering that 3 months ago I was on the couch and never would have dreamt about running 5 miles. The best thing about it is that I'm only in competition with myself, so my pace doesn't really matter, as long as I finish!
I shall leave you now with my thoughts and reflections from this run:
Mile 0.5: My back actually feels pretty good, this might not be so bad......
Mile 1.0: For the love of all things holy my shins and calves are killing me!
Nike+ app says 3.5 miles to go
Mile 1.5: What?!?!?! 3.5 miles? This is so not doable for me. What was I thinking?
Mile 2.0: In another 2 miles, I will only have 1 mile left.....pssshhhhh, that's nothing!
Mile 3.0: I can't feel my legs anymore and my feet are numb. Is that a good thing?
Mile 4.0: Holy crap I'm actually going to make it!
Mile 4.5: Is that guy shadow boxing up there? Oh my, now he's sprinting! And stopping to shadow box again......interesting
Mile 5.0: I did it!!! Where in sam hill is my water?!?!?!?!
MIND OVER MATTER
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