Oh My.

Chicken bag.  Really?  Oh Amazon, how you amuse me.

Less then a week...

Less then a week to my next half marathon. I’m running the American River Parkway Half on Saturday, On Saturday, April 28. I think I’m going to do great but I’m nervous because the girl that has been pacing my for all of my long runs isn’t running the race with me. I love running with her because I can run a nice steady 11 minute mile that I feels like I can run that speed for a million miles. Also I missed one of the long runs, 11 miles, because I was sick.

Goals for this race:
-Finish (as always)
-Finish under 2:30, even better if I can finish in better then 2:29:30 which is what I ran Shamrock’n last month. A new PR would be nice.
-Feel good after the race. I was half dead after Shamrock’n and hurt for days afterward. I don’t want to feel like this again.

This race will be the first race I have ever run where I will be listening to my iPod. I don’t normally run with one but I’m wanting something to distract me from thinking about it. Our temps here have jumped over night into the 80’s and I’m worried about the heat. It’s supposed to be cooler this weekend but I don’t trust the weather guy. They’re just guessing. I’m praying they’re right but I’m trying to plan for the worst.

I’m also planning on carrying my water with me, which I don’t normally do but I want to make sure that if it’s hot, I have enough water. I also want it because it will give me a more convenient way to carry my fuel then just pockets. I’m also planning to fuel more often than I have in the past. I’ve noticed that the more I fuel the better I feel. So no fueling at 5 miles and again at 10. I’m going to fuel every 40 minutes no matter the mileage.

I’ve already run almost the entire course at one point or another with my training group so there shouldn’t be any surprises on this course.

Happy First Day of Spring!

Source

Happy first day of Spring! I'm really excited about spring this year. I've already got a jump on my garden and have a few more ideas that I'm looking forward to doing this year garden wise. Today is also the first run of week 2 of my Parkway Half Training Group...easy fiver, no sweat. Going out to lunch today with my team and one long lost member of my team. I'm looking forward to seeing my girl!

What are you plans for the first day of spring?

Weekend Recap & Training Update for the Week of 3/12 – 3/18/12…

First off, weekend recap…Saturday was very chill around my house. Never got dressed, never left the house, never did anything but hang out all day, take a nap and knit. I’m still working on Lustro Cardigan. I have finished the back and right front and am working on the left front. Let me say that I really like Berroco Ultra Alpaca, it’s soft and lovely but it sheds like a mother. It leaves little bits of, what I’m assuming is alpaca all over me. Not really a deal breaker. But I chose black to knit this cardigan…I need a black cardigan and I haven’t been able to find one to purchase that I like. So being a knitter I figured I just knit one…of course. But black’s hard to knit with, it’s hard to see…in case you need the obvious stated for you. But I’m determined to finish this sucker and I really do need a black cardigan.

Training update…I took Monday & Tuesday completely off from running. I was so sore from my Half on Sunday that I wasn’t moving too good. Wednesday was my first run with my new American River Parkway Half training group (now known as the Parkway Half because American River Parkway Half if just too long). I ran 4.85 miles in 49:56 with a 10:17 pace. I keep checking to see if my stats are right because I struggled so hard for this run and it seems like a 10:17 pace is way too low. But I had a couple of very fast miles in under 10 and two slow miles at about 10:30 so it’s right. But it was a hard run for me. I had pain in one of my hamstrings and just a general feeling of yucky which comes with getting the migraine earlier in the day

I took Thursday as a rest day and ran on Friday…ran 4.01 mile in 40:50 at a 10:11 average pace. Again, I keep checking the stats because this was a tough run for me. I struggled and had to walk at least once that I remember but maybe it was a struggle because I was running to fast.

Saturday was either a 4 mile run or a rest day according to the training schedule. Since Sunday was a long run with the group and I’m still recovering from my Half I decided to take it as a rest day. I really wanted to be fresh for the long run with the group. Sunday we met at 7:30am on the American River Parkway, ran 7.15 miles in 1:18:14 at an average 10:56 pace. Not bad really. I was nervous about the long run since it was 7 miles but I ran with three other ladies, one of which works with a very good friend of mine, and it really made the miles tick by. It was nice to run with other people, it helped me do an actual slow warm up, but it didn’t help me with a slow cool down. The last mile was supposed to be slower for cool down but I just kept speeding up. I tried to slow down but every time I checked my Garmin, I was going faster. But I was really glad to be done when it was over.

So far I’m really liking the training group. I am meeting some really nice people and I’m more motivated for the long runs. It’s not as boring for those long miles when you’re in a group, even if you’re not talking, versus running alone. I was surprised at how fast this first week of training went. Today is rest, which is good. After the long run yesterday we stretched out and then did some core workout that included pushups and planks. My arms hurt today! Ouch. I already know I have no upper body strength, it’s not news…I’m built like Olive Oyl.

No kidding. String like arms, no muscle. Serious. I hate it but there is just no bulking up the noodles. I couldn’t plank for 30 seconds, I couldn’t do pushups for 30 seconds…I couldn’t do much for 30 seconds. But that’s ok, in 6 weeks I’ll be stronger then I was last week. Looking forward to that part. I really need to find a core workout that I can do at home to help build the upper body and my core.

First Training Group....

My first training group meet up/run was yesterday...and look at this weather! It started raining Tuesday and hasn't quit yet.

Tuesday didn't not start off good...I got all the way to work fine but once there I went to the ladies room and realized that I couldn't see out of my right eye. I had a blind spot. Generally this is a precursor to a migraine so I took my migraine meds and hoped for the best. About 30 minutes later the blind spot was gone. About 30 minutes after that, I had to tell the big boss that I needed to leave. My head hurt so bad that I could barely think. I got home and went straight to bed. I slept for a couple of hours and then finally was able to get up. The migraine was gone but I still had a lingering headache.

Not sure what the migraine was about since I generally only get them when I'm under tons of stress. Right now work is slow, home is good. Stress is not really an issue. I have no idea. Maybe I was just over due.

So anyway, training group. Got there early, the rain had slacked some so it was cold and wet but not raining. Got my packet with my training plan and my $20 Fleet Feet gift card. We had an orientation meeting and then split off into groups; Runners, Run/Walkers and Walkers. Got an additional orientation for our groups and headed off for the workout. The workout was a 45 minute easy run. I made three loops of the course which was on the levy behind Sac State and along the American River and actually ran for 50 minutes, did 4.85 miles at a 10:17 pace. I went out way too fast for a 9:35 mile and finally had to reign it in. I was pretty tired and I think, still under fueled and I had some pain that was left over from Shamrock’n in my right thigh. Afterward there was a group cool down/stretch and next time there will be some core exercises to do also. Not looking forward to that part but I know that I needed.

All and all the group was good and I think I’ll get a lot out of it. Hopefully I make some cool friends.

Yes, I do need therapy. Why do you ask?

Since my Shamrock'n 1/2 wasn't all I wanted it to be I decided today to sign up for a 1/2 marathon training group that will be training for the Parkway Half Marathon. The Half is coming up on April 28...about a month and a half away. The group is through my local Fleetfeet store and meets twice a week. It meets Wednesday nights at 6pm and Sundays at 7:30am.

I really want to kill this marathon since Shamrock'n didn't go exactly as planned due to being sick and being unable to sleep the night before. Hopefully I'm doing the right thing here. I don't want to wait to try to race again either in the fall or next spring. I don't want to race in the summer because me and the heat don't get a long. The end of April is really pushing it for me in terms of how hot it's going to be the day of the race.

I'm really hoping that I will meet some cool runner people in this group. I don't know anyone else in real life that runs and all my friends swear up and down that they only run if they're being chased. Plus I'm hoping that with the training group it will help keep up my motivation to train. Last time I crapped out twice and had a really hard time getting going again. Fingers crossed this goes well.

Shamrockin' 1/2 Marathon...

I ran my 1/2 Marathon yesterday morning and boy am I sore this morning. I got sick last week and I never really recovered before the race but I ran it anyway. I finished in 2:29:29 with an average 11:25 mile. Obviously it wasn't what I thought I would do but my goal was to finish in under 2:30 so I did make my goal.
That's me in the raspberry shirt, I was nervous.

After I crossed the finish line. I couldn't find Hubbs anywhere but it turns out (he took the picture) that he was just a few rows up from where I was standing but I couldn't hear him yelling over all the people.

After...I was so sore I could barely walk back to the car. But I finished. Now I have to decide if I want to try to run another one so I can get a better time.