way behind!!

I've had a few runs since my last epic post! Right now I'm in 5K training mode...my goal is to run at least 4 miles so I keep building up the endurance. I've had mixed results.

Thurs 18th
I ran in the morning exactly 3 miles in 30 minutes so my pace was the "slower" 10 minute miles...it's really hard to run quickly in the morning, that's for sure. My legs were pretty sluggish.

Sun 21st
This run went surprisingly well as I had been eating massive amounts of food and drinking massive amounts of alcohol all Dad's day! I ran 3.5 miles in 33 minutes (9.5 min miles) in the refreshing rain.

Wed 24th
UGH!!! I ran first thing in the morning, at 6:30am, and it was already 81 degrees and muggy as hell. I REALLY wanted to go 40 minutes, and halfway through, I was like 30?? And then I reached the Jefferson hill and had to stop at 25. This was the first time I've had to stop running when I had a different goal in mind. It was just too hot and the air was so stifling after that hill I couldn't breath! So I did 2.5 miles in 25...really not bad for an 80 degree day. And I actually ran three more minutes on the walk home because I was bored with walking haha!

Mon 29th
I took a loooooong hiatus because I was in Peru, IL all weekend, and FINALLY did my 4 miles! 4.2 in 43 minutes though, so a little slowish. My legs weren't feeling that great and something's up because they hurt pretty bad all night post-run and into this morning. I think I just had too long of a hiatus. I'm hoping to run again Wednesday morning even though I'm starting to loath morning runs with the cold muscles and all that.

In any case, my run yesterday OFFICIALLY clocked me in at 100 miles since March 15th!!! SUPER stoked about that! Meanwhile, I signed up for the Storm the Bastille 5K Fun Run that's next week Thursday! It'll be my first 5K although not as much pressure because it's a pretty tight race in the streets of downtown...so it's not like you can get a very quick start or anything packed amongst a zillion people. GOOD though since in a normal 5K I'd probably start of way too fast anyway! I expect a lot of weavin and bobbin! I'm really excited though! Especially since I know I can run 5K without too much trouble nowadays. Good stuff!!

I still have to purchase my Nike+ iPod guy...I was going to buy it once I completed Stage One, but then I thought I'd buy it after my first race. I actually started out this whole thing anti-iPod. I liked listening to the 'sounds of the city' and all that rub. But after my runs started getting longer, I kind of like the distraction of music. To each his own I suppose. So yeah...I'll give it some thought after the race next week. I'm really not supposed to be spending extraneous moneys on stuffs....

End of Week 10 & Stage 1

And what a way to end Stage 1!!! For this last run, I felt a little rough at first...a little cramping and such, but I literally told myself it'd be gone soon if I just ran it out. And that's exactly what happened! After the first ten minutes, I felt great! And I didn't even bother stopping for my walk breaks. So basically I ran 44 minutes straight. And not only that, but I ran faster at an average of 9:39min miles!!! Gooooood stuff. STATS!

Week 10 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 10 Min (44 mins total)
Total Distance: 13.37 mi
Ave Distance: 4.46 mi/day
Ave Time: ~9:55 min mi

Ok above post will be a synopsis sorta thing...let's ponder running shall we??

End of Week 9

My other two runs for Week 9 were on Thursday and Saturday. Thursday's run was a little tough because of the humidity, but I felt like I was going much faster than usual. In actuality I was not, but that just means it was easier to go the pace I'm used to and that's always a good thing! I had some "angry fuel" for that run too which helped :)

Saturday I ran right away in the morning and that made for a tough run leg-wise...they were so stiff and it felt like I was on the path to shin splints! So I went super slow and just dealt with it.

Week 9 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 9 Min (40 mins total)
Total Distance: 11.21 mi
Ave Distance: 3.74 mi/day
Ave Time: ~10:46 min mi

My avg time was a little slower, so that's unfortunate, but maybe I'm hitting a weird plateau thing. I definitely feel better all around when I'm running. Better breathing and stamina and such. I can tell my knees aren't doing so hot right now, so I'm taking this two day break before diving into Week 10.

WHAT?? This week is WEEK 10!!! So it'll be the final week of Stage One and then I can decide whether or not I just want to keep running that time (1 off, 10 on for 44 minutes), or move on to Stage Two. I think perhaps I'll continue with Week 10 for several weeks to try to maintain my stamina and build on those ~4 miles. The two races that are on the horizon are June 25thish and July 9th, so I should focus on being able to run four miles pretty well, as they suggest for people running their first 5Ks. And THEN I'll start on Stage Two to train for Al's Run! Week One of Stage Two is running 15 minutes straight right away, so in my brain that feels pretty intense!

End of Week 8

I got two more runs in this weekend...Thursday night it was NOT 80 degrees. Some crazy front plowed through around 6:30 and dropped to a frigid 50 degrees!!! So it was actually perfect running weather. Although the run was far from perfect. I had some stomach cramps (maybe due to the beer I had right before at happy hour?!) and the last interval was almost entirely uphill in 30mph gusts! A little tough.

I ran again Sunday afternoon.....after two glasses of wine and a boatload of cheese, crackers, berries, and bean salad! I ran down by the lakefront where they were having a kite fest of sorts so it was a nice entertaining run watching all the people. Actually for part of the run I just shut my eyes because it's a straight path and I don't have to worry about crosswalks and cars. I found that to be super relaxing! Oddly enough, the run felt so good, I thought I was going much faster than I actually was. That was a little disappointing, but no big deal of course.

Alright, so...

Week 8 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 8 Min (36 mins total)
Total Distance: 10.17 mi
Ave Distance: 3.39 mi/day
Ave Time: ~10:36 min mi

So while I added a half mile to my run, I'm holding steady at 10:30 minute miles. That might just be my average time for awhile now until I start building up more endurance.

Week 8 - over 5K!!!!

Week 8's first run was Tuesday and HOLY HOTDOGS it was blazin' saddles out there!! Definitely near 80, but with pretty gusty wind, which at first was annoying, but after I started sweating profusely, it helped cool me off! But yes, as my subject line exclaims, I officially passed the 5K mark! AND I've officially run over 50 miles since I started! Now so I ran 3.4 miles in 36 minutes, so that means I probably would've done a 5K in 35 minutes. That's pretty slow. But it was like 80 degrees. And I did have my three 1 min walks in there. So I'm perfectly happy with that number! Tonight I'm going out again despite the current temp holding steady at 81 :\

End of Week 6

WHAT a good run this morning!!! Well first, I'll catch up with my last run on Wednesday. Like I said, I forced myself to take it really crazy slow...so my breathing was great the whole time, maybe a little labored toward the end, but my legs were awful! They hurt so bad the entire time, especially my upper inner thighs and my FEET for crying out loud! So I wasn't too excited about it, but I was happy that I didn't feel like crap at the end, due to the slower pace. The funny thing was that my minutes/mi time was only FOUR SECONDS longer!!! Four seconds longer than the run where I went "crazy fast" at the beginning. That just goes to show you that slow and steady really do win the race!

Now onto my run from this morning!! Once again, I started off really slow...my calf muscles still hurt from the Killers concert on Thursday haha! Too much thrashing around I guess. I thought it might be a problem, but I stopped after the first six minutes to stretch them out and it was just fine. After that, my legs were pretty good! AND my breathing was perfect...the entire time!! Even up to the end! Which is totally impressive because, get this, I almost ran a 5K!! I got to the 28th minute and I was way down by the lakefront. I really didn't feel like walking all the way back, so I turned my timer back on and did an other six minute interval which took me to 35 minutes!! It felt great!! After mapping it out and entering my time, turns out it was only 3.09 miles...so if I had gone a measly three more blocks, it would've been 3.3mi. But it feels really good to know that I could actually do it! Sure I'd have four 1 minute walking stops, but hopefully by the time the first 5K rolls around in a month and a half, I'll be way more ready. I've been running for a month and a half so far and look how far I've come!

Ok so here and the stats for Side A and Side B (the B sides are always better aren't they? haha!)

Week 6 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 6 Min (28 mins total)
Total Distance: 12.59 mi (A 4.76 | B 7.83)
Ave Distance: 2.52 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:47 min mi

I'm definitely glad I repeated Week 6...I needed the confidence booster for sure! Onto Week 7, walk 1/run 7 for 32 minutes!

Week 6 Side B

WOW what a run! The first half was like my best run ever. My breathing was absolute tops and my legs weren't sluggish AT ALL! I was super excited!!! ...sooooo I overdid it. BOO!!! I just felt like going fast because I was just gliding along! But I ALSO mixed in a TON of hills and I think that THIS isn't the point where I can mix fast AND hills. So then the second half of my run was completely brutal. My breathing has never been so labored!! I felt like I was either going to trip from exhaustion, pass out, or throw up!! GUH!!! But I just slowed it waaaaay down and kept pushing on. I couldn't help but smile to myself every so often because the pain was so bad...like "jeez this is a nightmare!"...funny huh? ;) But then the FUNNIER part is that ever since the run ended, I've felt like a half million dollars! My recovery time is seriously like 30 seconds for legs and maybe a minute and a half or so for lungs...then I'm golden. I feel totally great right now like that was the best run of my life! WEIRD!!! I don't know what's up, but I'll take it!

What is kinda bumming me out is my mile time. It's pretty much right under 12 minute miles and I feel like I'm never going to knock that down. I know I probably will though...it'll just take time. I can't let it psyche me into running too fast though. I know I keep saying that ;) I just have to keep it slow at the beginning, even if I feel like going faster. If I keep it slow, it'll give me more juice for the end of the run...rather than huffing and puffing and dragging my ass that whole last mile! I just need to SEE it to believe it, that's all. So I promise, my next run I will seriously slow it way down at the beginning and see where that gets me. Maybe it'll help to take a break from the hills too.

PS Run is star'd twice due to the drastic difference between first and second half!

Week 4!

I can't believe I got myself up to run this morning! When my alarm went off, these thoughts crossed my mind: I won't have time tonight if I go to the rents after work, I can't tomorrow evening either if I go out with Scott, but if I go tomorrow morning, that means I have to run on Thursday instead of Wednesday, and Thursday morning is Lostcap, but Thursday evening is church...GAH just GO!!!! So I got up :) But it was such a great run!! The four minutes were a breeze and again, I felt like I could keep going. I had absolutely NO breathing trouble at ALL which is seriously making me all kindsa stoked because that was the one thing I was most worried about when I started this extravaganza. I DID do 12 minute miles though so that totally has something to do with it. I'm slow as molasses! But for now it works and it's a good way to keep me from getting discouraged. I can always pick up the pace down the line. Endurance over speed!

End of Week 3

This was a light week for me. I felt like I needed to take it down a notch, so took the advice of fellow runners :) and took it easy with only three running days and no twist step. Obviously I burst through the gates with some intensity, but now is the time where I really wouldn't want to bite off more more than I can chew and screw everything up! Today's run was a good example of that. I slowed my pace way down and noticed a significant difference in my breathing (not labored at all!) and I definitely felt like I could've kept going at the end of the run. This was kinda sad too because I had walked about a third of a mile down to the lakefront to run that stretch, and then had 2/3rds of a mile to walk back to my apartment. I saw all these runners and wanted to start up again, but kept hearing my mom and didn't want to push it :) I mostly don't want to injure my shins because I can see those taking FOREVER to heal.

Week 3 Stats:
Walk 1 Min/Run 3 Min (16 mins total)
Total Distance: 4.40 mi
Ave Distance: 1.467 mi/day
Ave Time: ~11:25 min mi

My first two runs this week averaged 11 minutes, but this last one was 11:42 as I slowed my pace way down (as previously mentioned). In this next week of walk 1/run 4, I'm going to try to force myself to slow down. I have to get used to holding myself back, especially at the beginning of a run, if I want to do these long distance races. And now's as good of a time as any...before I get into the habit!

running at dawn

...is A'OK with me! I've always had a lot of trouble exercising in the morning. I think it has something to do with being a slave to coffee and the inability to do anything functional without it. I gave up coffee for Lent 3 weeks ago, however, so maybe that helped this morning. Again, this was a very invigorating run as it was probably around 45 degrees. I got a couple minor stitches though...I think because I didn't have Mandsi there to set a pace! But I did my little breathing trick and within 15 seconds it was fine. It's totally stupid, but I just have to remember to breathe when I run. You wouldn't think it'd be so difficult!

I know it's only the second day, but I'm still having a great time! I find myself VERY much looking forward to these little runs! Like I find myself bummed that I have to do boring Twist Step tomorrow after work ;)