Hills

Today's itinerary:

• 45-50 secs run up hill hard. 
• Turn, and immediately run hard back down. 
• 1 minute recovery
• Repeat 6-8 times

Sounds easy.

Its not.  It may have been a quick 20 minute workout but it was really difficlut. Sprinting up that hill though gave me a great pace. I ran 1.36 miles (all hill mind you) in 20 minutes. That gave me a pace of 14:49. I decided to run 7 intervals though the last one wasn't exactly sprinting.

It seems like day by day as I slowly inch closer to marathon weekend I'm getting more and more excited about it. The race is still months away but I know I'll be ready for it way before then. Joining the distance training program has really pushed me to reach new distances and do things I never saw myself doing before. 162 days to go! But who's counting?

Now it's time to recover from kicking that hill's ass 7 times. So what am I doing with the rest of my evening?

Reading a magazine and watching the Olympics of course.

Crushed

 

 Today I beat almost every personal record I've ever made. I know. I'm awesome. I ran 2 miles straight and I ran a total distance of 7 miles in 1:41:27. Pretty fabulous. I know. 

Let me break down the awesomeness for you.

• 2 mile record: Broken. 
• 3 mile record: Broken.
• 5 mile record: Broken.
• 6 mile record: Broken.
• Overall distance record: Broken.

 That's a lot of personal bests smashed out on the trail today.

I also did something else new today. I learned that I should be fueling myself every 45 minutes during a run so I decided to try one of the many fuel packs that =PR= stores sell. Is it the tastiest stuff in the world? Not really. Is it helpful? Yeah. It kept my stomach from growling out there this morning.

Even though I was properly fueled and riding on an accomplishment high, the sight of these red umbrellas is enough to make a runner cry. When these bright red finish flags show up on the horizon, I begin to tear up and sprint to the finish.

I also may have congratulated myself with a slurppee afterwards.

The Heat of the Moment

No track run today. Instead I went out on my own and ran the track workout on the trail.

Today's Itinerary:

• Run 1 mile
• Walk 3 minutes
• Run 1/2 mile
• Walk 3 minutes
• Run 1/2 mile
• Walk 3 minutes
• Run 1/4 mile
• Walk 3 minutes
• (Repeat 1/4 interval 3 times)

Wow. That's a mouthful. How did I remember all of that during my run?

 Well, It was written on my hand before the humidity got to it. When I left the house a little after 7 PM the heat index was still over 100. It made for a hot sticky run but it was still better than if I ran out on the track.

The trail is much shadier than the track. Today I went 4 miles in 59:11. Pace of 14:47. Not too bad. Its not as well as I have done in previous 4 mile runs but it was also disgusting out. That's my excuse because today I feel like I have one. I may need to invest in a fuel belt soon to stay properly hydrated during these long runs. Going for 7 miles Sunday!

And keeping with today's heat theme, here's something extra for you loyal readers:

No Excuses

Gorgeous weather this evening. Though as soon as I mentioned it to Meghan she replies, "So we can't use the heat as an excuse."

And she's right. I can't bitch and complain and say that I didn't run as well because it was to hot out. It really wasn't. There was even a nice breeze. And even though I was drenched in sweat by the end of it all, I never once thought it was too hot out. Thursday however may be another story. They're predicting another 100 degree day.  Meghan and I are going to try and meet at the same school Thursday for the =PR= track workout if it's not too disgusting out. If it is, I'll have an excuse.

As for today's run I think it went pretty average. 3 miles in 44:37. I probably could have done better but its definatly not bad. The training program said to go out for 45 minutes and increse your speed as you go along. I made a huge effort to increase my speed while I ran but that meant that I felt like I needed more walk breaks to compensate. So heres the ultimate question: Is it better to run slow and steady for longer periods of time? Or is it better to run shorter, faster bursts? Over all my pace worked out to be the same.

In other news, I think I finally know whats been causing my chronic knee pain. Its simply called "Runner's Knee" and its just an over use injury. CLICK HERE for an article on  it if you feel inclined to know more. My biggest symptoms are the pain when descending stairs or hills and the occasional popping or grinding. The funny thing is though, after I run the first mile or so, the pain goes away. My knee actually hurts more when I sit and try and rest it.  Of course it feels great now so I'm icing it as I write this and I guess we'll see if my muscles decide to help my poor knees out in the future. Until then, ice and a brace.

Tails I've Seen on the Trail

So I've seen quite a few animals in my few months on the trail. So I thought I'd share them all with you dear readers.

1. Horses and cows - These are a given in Loudoun County
2. Two chipmunks - One seen on the eastern side of Ashburn, one on the west. I like to think one is Chip, the other is Dale
3. A deer - Ran in front of me about 100 yards ahead.
4. Two Turtles - One hanging out on the side, the other trying to cross.
5. A beaver - I saw a beaver today. Yes I'm sure it wasn't a groundhog. He was swimming in creek in Ashburn and had a very flat tail. 

As I was mentally making a list of all the tails I've seen, I was getting my own tail down the trail. Today I made a personal mileage record. I ran 6 miles in 1:30:38. That's a 15:06 mile.

Yup. I'm pretty proud.

In other news, I've officially registered myself for the Disney Half Marathon in January.   I'm really going to do it. And I've already decided I'm going to wear my finishers medal for at least a week after the race.

Admit it. You'd do it do.

171 days to train!

What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

So Meghan and I decided to try out the track work out meet up today. The Potomac River training programs meet on Thursday evenings to run at various high schools in the area. So I show up for the first time today in Ashburn while Meghan decided to go to Reston. I guess we somehow didn't get the message out about which school to go to... oh well.

So how was the track work out? Fairly sucky. There are a lot of really fast people out there and then there's me. It really makes you feel like the slowest person on earth. It also makes you feel pretty dumb because the coaches throw out terms and numbers that I only vaguely understand.

I have to remind myself that I'm only out there to finish. I'm only there to get that 16 minute pace for 13.1 miles. Meanwhile I'm watching people run 6 minute miles. One thing I have come to learn is that I can walk an awful lot and still get under 16 minutes per mile. The only thing I have to worry about now is keeping that up for 13 miles.

So over all, I didn't like the track workout. I would have much rather just gotten out and ran/walked for as far as I could.

Shooting for 6 miles Sunday. Hoping to do it in 90 minutes. Wish me luck.

Sprinter

Today was an average run. The goal was to go as far as you can in 25-30 minutes, followed by 4-6 one minute sprint intervals. Meghan and I ended up running 2.5 miles in 40 minutes. That's a fairly crappy pace but given the fact that I'm pretty sure the devil has moved to Northern Virgina, I say its ok.

Its hot out.

Pumped Up Kicks

Meet my old shoes. They've lasted me for a quite a few months and I have basically learned to run in them. They've treated me well enough. But now after rubbing blisters and giving me ankle and knee issues, it's time to move on. I love you old shoes. But I've found someone new.

They are far more sexy and supposedly they will help my knee and my ankle. Also, I've now been told that my old shoes were half a size too small, hence the reason behind the blister.

They are very bright. I think that neon colors help you run faster. But I may have to continue my research on that. Its also nice that they are Nike+ ready so I don't have to wear the chip on my laces anymore.

So how did they do? Well today I got to give them a spin on the trail. I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the results. I ran 5 miles in 1:16:37. That's a 15:27 pace! Its a hell of a lot better than last week's 5 mile run.

So far I'm still sore from the workout so I'll have to get back to you on how much they help my knee issues.

So until then readers, if you're looking for me on the trail, I'll be the chick with the pumped up kicks.

Two For One

Welcome to a special edition of Tales from the Trail! I forgot to post about Sunday's run so this will have both Sunday's and today's run.

Sunday got started at 6 AM in Ashburn... For some reason that day I really wasn't feeling it so I did end up walking most of my 5 mile run. Maybe that's why I forgot to post? Because it sucked? Either way I walked/ran 5 miles in 1:22:24.

Pitiful. I know. But I only need a 16 minute mile pace for Disney and that was a 16:40 pace. So really its not all that terrible. And Meghan made me feel better about it when she reminded me that a mile is a mile no matter how fast it took you. So the bottom line of that day, I went 5 miles.

A friend of mine mentioned that Dolce looks like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. Now that's all I can see when I look at that charming smile. :)

Today's run was much more amazing. The weather has finally cooled off and I was able to steal Dolce. She didn't seem to mind though. Maybe things went so much smoother because the heat wasn't so stifling.

Today we ran 4 miles in 56:36. I had set out for a 55 minute goal but this is still a personal best for me and I'm still pretty freaking proud of myself! That's a pace of 14:09! We ran the first mile, walked for half, ran half, walked another half and finished by running the last mile and half straight through. That is defiantly the longest I've ever been able to run without stopping for a walk break.

We even got to enjoy a pretty gorgeous sky on our way back into town.

Hey Guess What?

Its been warm here. Very warm. But today dolce and I (Ms. Meghan has trusted me with her while she's on vacation. Silly woman I know.) ran 4 miles in 58:30. It wasn't the 55 minute goal but when its 100 degrees outside then I guess that's close.

Going for 5 miles on Sunday. My goal is to do it in 1 hour 15 minutes. Totally doable. And I'll be trying for the 4 miles in 55 minutes again.

So if I can do that then maybe I can even go 5 in 1:10:00?

Better stay tuned to find out!

Home of the Brave

Happy Fourth of July! How did I spend my holiday? Running a 5K of course.

I woke up this morning with 1,728 other runners and headed out to Reston Town Center for some patriotic racing. This was the largest 5K I've ever participated in.

Things were kicked off by singing the national anthem. Then the sea of red, white and blue made their way over to the starting line.

So how did I do?

AWESOME!!

I ran it in 43:58. Which I know sounds crazy slow but it's a personal best for myself. I averaged a 14:11 minute pace which is huge for me. Also, I wasn't last which is always a goal. I came in 873 out of 955 women.  Over all I came in 1618th place out of 1728.


That means I beat over 100 people to the finish line!!

This is why I'm still doing this. When you do something you never imagined you'd do, you have this enormous feeling of accomplishment. It really is a physical high. I got that feeling after I ran 4 miles for the first time and I got that feeling again today. I'm still in awe of how epic I am.

 

We were such a large group that we took up 2 lanes of traffic! It was amazing. I even found someone from =PR= Running 101 class that I had sat in on last week. I also saw my coach at the finish line!

They had photographers set up at the finish line and I can't believe I'm about to share this with the world but here it is:

Did I earn it? It sure looks like it to me. No Pain No Gain.

A very festive finish line was waiting for me. You can see by the time clock that I had already crossed and was very proud.

 Now it was time for the celebration party!

There was dancing.

An entire wedding party ran the race!

And there was a very hot and sweaty participant. I may have to wear my well earned race shirt to see some fireworks tonight.

Training Day Socks

I didn't write on Thursday because Thursday's "run" sucked. I started off but I didn't make it very far because I had a blister that ended up taking up my entire ankle forming throughout the day. But Thursday wasn't a total loss. I met up with some people for a Running 101 course in Leesburg. I was able to meet the head coach for the distance training program and get a feel for what the classes were like. I walked most of the run that day in 100 degree heat. As I was walking I was able to talk to the coach and tell her some about the blister and the on-going knee problems I had been having. 

You know what I learned that day? Socks matter.

She gave me 2 pairs of technical running socks to try out. I went out with them today and belive it or not, socks matter! 6 months ago when I came up with this crazy plan I thought, "Running should be cheap and easy right? You just gotta step out your door and go."

Nope. That's not how it is.

Fuel belt/Water bottles $
Arm band for your phone $
Socks $
Race registration $
GPS trackers/heart monitors $$
Headphones $$
Fitness clothes $$
Shoes $$$

It's beginning to get a bit ridiculous. But at least I got some socks to try for free.

And no, the stitching is not just there to look cool. (Which it totally does) When you put these socks on, it actually feels like there is extra support in the arch and wrapping around the top of your foot. They're kind of amazing.

So after my big blow out on Thursday, I was able to rest up some and rock it this morning. At 6am I met with the distance training group in Ashburn. I was able to run another 4 miles in 60 minutes. Thanks to my special socks of course.

And I got a new shirt.