another goal accomplished!

In my first running blog post, my "third goal" was to run with my step-dad. Now despite the fact that he's pushing 50 and regularly feels pain in places we didn't know existed, he still hauls ass!! A few weeks ago, he ran the Badgerland Striders Cudahy Classic 8K and placed second in his age division (M 40-49) with a time of 38:33 (7:43)...I think that's pretty freaking good!!

In any case, when I first started running, I figured it would be awhile before I'd run with him. Obviously he can slow it down for me, but I didn't want him practically tripping over his feet in an effort to slow down. Well with my own 8K race coming up, I figured it might be a good idea to try it. Perhaps David would speed me up a little. Meanwhile, he wanted to run the race himself, but to avoid injury, he needed someone a little slower to run with. It's a match made in heaven!

So Sunday afternoon, he met me at the apartment. This was my "long run" day and since I went 6.6 miles last week, I decided to up to to 7 miles. I know...7 miles running with a veteran?? Was I biting off more than I could chew?? Well I mapped out a 7 mile route, and we took off into the slightly mild temperatures, but HOT sun. Aaaaand how did it go??? Well basically it couldn't have gone any better!!! Right away I knew I was going faster than I typically do in the first couple miles. At first it made me nervous because of the length of the route...was I going to totally pass out like four miles in? Nope not at all! I just kept plugging away. I'll tell you that runs go SO MUCH FASTER when you're running WITH someone! Talk about a way to beat the long distance boredom! And it's not like we were talking or anything. We probably exchanged like three sentences total the whole way, not including "turn right here." But I guess maintaining your focus on the person next to you is enough distraction.

The two hotspots in the run were the two big hills I made sure to incorporate: one at mile 5 and one at mile 6.75 or so. So yeah, right at the end of course! I told David I needed to slow down to prepare for the first hill and that worked ok. And actually after the hill was over, I usually slow waaaaay down to recover, but because I was with David, I just pushed on. After the second hill, at the end of the route, I gave 'er hell, per usual, and sprinted the final 2 minutes (roughly four blocks or so). I think David was pretty surprised I had it in me!!

Ok enough of that...what about STATS?!? I love me some stats!! Well, when I recorded our time (1:07:10) into mapmyrun, turns out I did the 7.2 mile route averaging 9:18 min miles!!! That's WORLDS...WORLDS away from 10:10 min miles from last weekend's long run. So yeah, consider this girl very proud of herself!!! Meanwhile David ALSO said that this was one of his favorite runs! He said the pace was excellent and definitely a good way to avoid re-activating his injury. So basically, while he may not earn himself another awesome 8K time in the upcoming race, he'll be helping ME get a better time than I would by myself. Basically if I can run 7 miles at that pace, I can certainly do 5 miles at that pace!! Add in the energy and adrenaline of Race Day, and I could stand to get a really solid time! I'm so stoked now!!!

In other news, last night I did another "fartlek" type interval run. Only 2.2 miles again, but I did it in 18:28 instead of 20:00 like last week! That's a solid 8:30 min mile average!! I do believe that's my best time yet. Granted "only" for 2 miles, but still...I think all the varying in training is seriously helping me. I'm so glad I really buckled down in these past few weeks!

However, with that said, I noticed during my long run, and especially in my interval run yesterday, that my legs are feeling pretty rough. I could feel sharp pains in my right leg from my quad to my knee to my shin to my ankle to my big toe. It went away about 3 minutes in, but still, it's got me a little worried and I don't want to overdo it just two weeks before the 8K. So I'm going to see what happens on Thursday morning...whether I should do the 4 miler or not. On the one hand, more long distance will really prepare me for the 8K, but on the other hand, am I pushing it with these 6-7 mile runs? It's so hard to say.

OK END OF LONG ASS POST! I'm sure YOU could've run 7 miles in the time it took you to read this jeez!

this morning's run

So my 4ish mile runs have been landing on mornings (instead of after work) several times now and I always kind of dread them because I feel really sluggish and my time is always slower. Well I actually woke up like 5 minutes before my 6am alarm went off, so perhaps I was already psyching myself up for a better run.

I started trotting away and I immediately noticed two things: a. why aren't my legs working right and b. I dressed waaaaay too warm for what I thought to be a cold morning. But I didn't let these things get me down. I pulled up my pant legs and focused on trying to get my pace/footfalls right. I was totally clopping like a horse out there!

Sure enough, I started hitting my stride, but approaching the two mile mark I started getting tired per usual. But just yesterday I read someone's something-or-other on Facebook talking about Jillian from Biggest Loser and the concept of Mind over Matter. So I started telling myself: hey now, this is ALWAYS the part of the run that sucks...body will wake up in just a few minutes, so right now brain has to take over. And I went faster.

I started setting little goals for myself like "get to those trees way down there in 30 seconds." Now because I'm technically unsure of how far away the trees are, I have no idea whether 30 seconds would be a fast pace or not, BUT simply the act of "setting a goal" makes one run faster! So I kept doing this throughout my entire run...five minutes on this next leg, 30 seconds to the next block, get to Point B before time hits 40:00. It worked like a charm. Additionally, when I'd feel tired, I'd just tell my body to go harder, no ifs/ands/buts about it.

Nearing the end of my route, I was *hoping for something like 9:45 minute miles, MAAAYBE 9:30. What did I do? Not only did I run 4.78 miles (when I thought I'd barely get to the 4.2 mile mark), but I did it averaging 9:10 minute freaking miles!!!!! 9:10?!?!? What the?!?!

So there you have it! I think I seriously gained a TON setting the small goals (sort of like doing intervals/speed work, but *tricking your body into thinking they're just fun quick little games). Although I think my speedwork 2 mile runs are meshing really well with my hour+ runs as well.

Maybe it's all coming together? Maybe I just had a really good running day? Maybe I ate the perfect combo of food the night before (uhh pizza/wings/238021408234 tortilla chips???)...I don't know, but I like it. And it gives me fuel to keep getting better. I'll be prepared for the off days like any other runner has to be. But hopefully this physical AND mental training is really paying off!

OH!!! And I totally forgot to mention it Day Of, but my SIX MONTH RUNNING ANNIVERSARY was on Tuesday!!! Six months and look how far I've come...I mean WHY would I ever consider doing a half marathon?!?!? And here I actually am! Spooky!!!

Less than a month!!

I've got less than a month until my 8K race. In the last two weeks, I've adopted the following regiment:

Beginning week: 2-2.5 mile "intervals" in which I run three 45 second burst every five minutes. It's much more difficult than it seems! Undoubtedly because I'm not used to it. Despite the 20 minutes I'm running which is ridiculously short, this is the hardest run of my week.

Midweek: 4-4.5 miles. I try to pick this one up so I get at the 9:30 min mile range.

Weekend: Hour run. Last week I only did 52 minutes because it was so hot, and apparently I was running 9:30 min miles which doesn't seem right to me, but I guess math doesn't lie! Yesterday I ran from my house to my boyfriend's house, which is actually "only" 4.5 miles, so I had to tack on an extension which bumped it up to 6.6 miles!! I did it in 1:07 though which was actually incredibly disappointing. I seriously thought I was haulin' out there, especially because a large chunk of the run is a. downhill and b. in a slightly sketchy neighborhood so you HAVE to run a little quicker!! I don't know where I went wrong. But this actually gives me some fuel to repeat it this weekend and try to beat that time. Maybe Sunday night again, but perhaps NOT after dark?? I was honestly a bit frightened at certain points haha!

In any case, the main reason I was disappointed was because I am extremely determined to beat 50 minutes in that 8K. Obviously doing the 8K in the first place is a goal unto itself, but now that I know I can clearly run five miles plus, I want to get a good time. So since I'm starting a new running week, I just really have to step it up a notch and push even though it hurts. NPNG and all that fun stuff ;)

Anyway, I'm still loving to run!! My knees aren't loving anything right now, but they're just gonna have to deal with it.

PS I just realized that with my 6.6 miles I ran yesterday, I ran over 10K!!! So there's my next goal all set to go: 10K race! :)

still running!!

So there's been a bit of a hiatus on this blog, but that doesn't mean I've quit!! I have been struggling for time, however. I was down to only running a couple times a week. But it is summer and in addition to the tons of social engagements, the hot weather, and the additional exercise I get from walking around fairs and fests, the lakefront and neighborhood, and Vegas (oh that's right Vegas), I've balanced things out quite a bit.

In ANY case, I decided to post today for various reasons! One, I received two comments in the last week from random passers-by thanking me for encouraging them to get out there! This, in turn, encourages ME too!! When I first started running, I read quite a few beginners' blogs and it was really neat starting at their first entry and seeing how far they had come. To provide that for someone else is the main reason I starting this blog and even if I inspire just one single person, it's worth every letter I type!!

Secondly, I rocked another milestone last week! I ran for an entire HOUR!!!! Obviously I've got an 8K coming up in about a month and a half. And as I just mentioned, my days running per week have not only decreased, but so have my miles...clocking in 3.5miles at most. Not good when you're trying to get up to running 5 miles comfortably ("comfortably" being the operative word here). So on Wednesday evening, I started out with the intention of trying to run for at least 40 minutes to try to build my stamina back up. Well, as I approached the first mile, I hit a major wall. My upper abdomen cramped up and I could barely run. I stopped for a minute to stretch my legs and it died down. But I ran for another minute and it came back with a vengeance. My mind was racing...I was down by the lakefront park and I thought to myself: I should just go back. I'm barely going to make it two miles, let alone the 40 minutes I had planned on. But something inside my brain clicked and I knew I was just going to have to force myself. And not the kind of force where your alarm goes off at 6am and you "force" yourself out of bed to go for a morning jog. The kind of force where, with every step, you feel the most painful blood curdling stab in your side and you barely breath because that just makes it worse. But off I went...

After mile two, I started "getting used to" the pain...in the sort of way where I basically tried very VERY hard to zone it out. I felt like a zombie running up the lakefront path merely focusing on the breath going in and going out of my lips in short bursts. And then...suddenly at about 3.5 miles, like MAGIC, the pain was gone and I was golden. And every five or so minutes after that point it just got better and better. Basically my body decided that apparently this is what she and I were going to be doing for the next chunk of time, so we might as well feel good about it. Like a pouting infant whose mom won't let her have the toy at Target, so she just gives up and moves on. Somewhere at this point, I think it was at the 40 minute mark, I decided to go the whole hour. As I rounded up the last ten minutes, the only part of my body that really hurt were my hip flexors, as they aren't used to the ongoing forward/back motion.

When I returned to the apartment, my sister and her BF came downstairs and were all "where were you this whole time?!?!" It was a GRAND feeling showing them my watch and saying: No, that isn't a minute and two seconds...HOUR AND TWO MINUTES!!!" Awesome! In any case, I'm going to try very hard to run an hour once a week. It's very difficult to find the time and the weather to do it in (Wed night was a cool 65 or so...very atypical for August in Wisconsin!). But I think at this point, if I can get through the awful stabbing I endured on Thursday and still run for an hour, this 8K in October is totally ON!

Here's to second winds!!!

My first 5K race!!!

I did it!!!!!!!

My running pal Drew got to my apartment around 7ish. We watched Friends reruns (while I was trying desperately to ignore the huge flapping birds in my stomach). We headed down to Cathedral Square Park around 8pm to find my family hanging out by the bar Bad Genie. For the next hour, I, again, tried to ignore the massive birds, as well as the blaring music which was supposed to be "motivational" but more so intensely nerve-wracking! Chris arrived a little before start time, and I will admit that it was an incredibly sweet gesture!! I will ALSO admit that it didn't help my nerves too much, as it was the first official Meet the Parents moment yeesh!! Ironic too since the first time Nate met the parents was at Mandsi's first 5K last October! Running brings people together, I'm telling you! Davie, Drew, and I headed into the throng of runners with ten minutes to go. Davie headed to the front and Drew and I discussed weird things like peeing out of your mouth?? I blame nerves.

KAPOW!!!! START TIME!!! I was in the middle front of the 5000 runners, so I waited until I crossed the official start line to start my watch (about 30 seconds after the big clock began). Ok, talk about surreal guys!! Obviously I've been in crowds of people all heading in the same direction, but there's something about the RUNNING in the same direction that made me feel very Cloverfield! Like we were all running from some ginormous monster thrashing about the city! It was truly bizarre and not something I was expecting!

Most people passed me up for most of the time ;) But I definitely didn't want to go too fast. Interestingly enough, I checked out my time at the first mile mark and it was around eight and a half minutes!! So I was definitely going faster than typical which obviously makes sense in a race atmosphere. Midway through the race, since I knew the course, I was like: jeez this is going super fast!! Just flying by! I did feel tired throughout, just because of the quicker pace, but it wasn't debilitating by any means. The final half mile was the point where I was going to "pull out all the stops" and "haul ass"...and despite the fact that it was ALL UPHILL, I really did! I started to pass more people and just gave it my all! I definitely felt a very strong burning sensation in my chest, but in my head I just kept yelling C'MON KATIE, KICK IT INTO HIGH GEAR!!!

Right ahead of me I saw the clock at 28 minutes and as I crossed the finish, I stopped my own watch at 27:53!!! Sounds a lot better than 28:00 which was only seven seconds away ;) I was TOTALLY winded as I put on the breaks, but honestly, within a minute, I was good to go! Like I hadn't run at all! Even my mom commented on it! "I have a fast recovery time" :) I did feel great though, SO excited, as shown in this pic haha!

So we hung out for awhile, I did some stretching (glad I did because, this morning, I can vaguely feel what it WOULD'VE been like if I hadn't!!), purchased a beer, and discussed some details. David ran it in 21 minutes or so INSANE!!! Drew had an asthma attack halfway through and actually SAW me pass him by!!! He came in maybe 20-30 seconds after me.

Everyone dispersed and Chris and I chilled with our beers outside Genie for a little while. After taking him home, I eagerly updated my Facebook stuff and hit the sack around 1am ha!!

Overall it was very much an intense and exciting experience to say the least! I don't think I would've done anything differently. I think maybe my favorite part was watching the other runners continue to stream in AFTER I had crossed...NOT to be some big ol' bitch or anything, but it really made me feel like I have something here with this running thing. I'm not amazing or some running prodigy, but if I put my mind to it, I think I can just keep building...whether it be a faster time or a longer race. At the end of the day all that matters is that it was FUN!!! I felt like I was really part of something, but at the same time, it felt very personal. I noticed the runners around me, but it also felt like very much my OWN private race just like my every-day runs.

So onward and upward!!! I'm going to really start to focus on the 8K now and come up with some kind of schedule combining strength training short runs and one slower long run each week.

One final note, as I said on Facebook, I couldn't have done this without my stepdad. I look forward to future days of mutually impressing and motivating one another for as long as we can (barring knees, hips, and other rough spots due to our old age haha!!)

Thanks Davie for everything!!!

Major Goal!!!

I ran 5 miles!!! I can officially run an 8K! Maybe not amazingly well--the run was VERY inconsistent starting off pretty rough and slow and ending perfect--but I can do it! Man I remember when I first started and 5 miles seemed pretty freaking impossible!! Like when I looked at Stage Two and was just totally bewildered at running straight for one whole hour. Now these 5 miles I did took 51 minutes, but I imagine that on a good day I could potentially run for an hour if I went a little slower. I'll work up to that...it's definitely another goal of mine. In fact, it's times like these that make me wonder if I'd actually be able to do a 15K. Maybe not anytime soon, but within the next year or so? Like the Lakefront Discovery next fall? Well I guess anything can happen if you keep at it. My knee just needs to hold up and actually lately it's been hurting less and/or the recovery time is shorter. So I bet it's a combo of building strength and wearing that knee brace bandage thing (thanks again Davie!!).

So next up, my first 5K on Thursday!!! I'm not nervous now, but I know I probably will be day-of. I'm going to take an easy run tomorrow (yesterday I think I walked like six miles total and my legs, or rather my FEET could use a break today) and then nothing till Thursday. Wish me luckies!!!

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....