Hollandfest 10K Wrap-Up

This will be short, I did the right thing in the race, but I still don't like it. 

It was a tough, hot run.  I was ahead of my pace until about 4.5 miles.  I had been cramping and struggling for about 3 miles and then I started feeling light-headed and dizzy.  I made the right decision and slowed down to a walk.  I walked for a few minutes until I felt better and I was able to finish running.

I finished with a time of 1:06:10 and accomplished 3 of 4 goals, but I am disappointed with myself.  I wasn't fully committed to my training.  I didn't have a set schedule and I let the weather become an excuse.  If I had done more in the three weeks leading up to the race, I would have done better in the race, or at least I would feel better about how I did.

Well, no more excuses.  After this is posted, the next thing I am going to do is set my training schedule.  Tomorrow morning I'm getting up early and going running to get those miles in that will make my next race a success.

There was one bright spot in the race on Saturday.  I ran with my friend Amy and she was awesome.  This was her first race.  She trained her butt off and beat her goal by 6 minutes!  She's my hero and I'm going to train my butt off to run my next race as well as she ran this one.

Hollandfest 10K Race Goals

Hello Friends,

It's been too long. My week and a half of vacation turned into a month off of my blog. I'm sorry, I would say I won't do it again, but who knows. Sometimes I just need a break from something to get myself recharged.

Alright, enough about that, let's move on to my goals for tomorrow.
I'm running a 10K tomorrow with a friend from work, and I am excited for two reasons. First, this is going to be her first race, which is awesome. I remember my first race and how good it felt to finish and be able to say I did it. Second, we are also going to run a half marathon together, so really this is just the appetizer to my next two months of training. As seems to be my pattern, here are my four goals for the race.

1. Just finish, enough said.

2. Stay safe. My leg is back to 95%, I feel good, but it has been very hot and humid around here for the last few weeks. In my last race, I think I got a little heat stroke and this is prime weather for it to happen again. I run to be healthy for the rest of my life, so I need to stay safe to enjoy the rest of my weekend with my family.

3. Finish in 1:15:00. That would be a slow pace for me, but it is a good goal knowing that I may be better off just taking it slow instead of pushing myself.

4. Finish in under an hour. This will be pushing it. I'm going to see how it goes tomorrow. If the humidity isn't too bad and I feel good, I'm going for it!

Wish me luck and watch for results on Sunday!

2 Week Plan

I know I'm behind on getting this posted, but the plan isn't that complicated.  I just finished my race, I'm home for a week and then I'm on vacation for a week.  I'm going to recover, get my leg as healthy as possible, and just do what I can when I can.

So I took two days off, then got the itch to get some good exercise in.  I decided to go do abs & weights before a volleyball game.  It took about 20 minutes for my arms to recover, so the start of the game was shaky, but I felt good when it was done.  I played basketball today with no major injuries, and I am going to try to get abs & weights in again tomorrow.   If everything works out I will probably get 7-8 workouts in over this time.  If get that in good, if I do more that is good, if I don't get it in, that's good too.

My real work over the next two weeks will be to lay out my training program from the end of my vacation until September 22, which is when I'm going to do my first half marathon!

Rock & Sole 10K Race Recap

Hello Friends,

It's been a few days since the run, and it was another good one.  There is one bit of bad news though, I didn't meet all my goals.  At first it was disappointing, but after thinking about it I'm OK with it.  If I always met all of my goals, I wouldn't be setting my goals high enough to really challenge myself.

Before I get to that though, check out this picture from the start of the race.

Downtown was fogged in that morning, which gave the start of the race a creepy feeling.  When I reached the top of bridge, I was above the fog.  It was clear at the top, but then I couldn't see the ground, just the top of the fog a few feet below the bridge.  It was one of the coolest things I've seen, and I should have stopped to take a picture, but you know me, I kept running. :)


Goals

Just finish.

• I did it, I crossed the finished line.  I probably read it somewhere when I signed up, but I was a bit surprised when a woman handed me a medal.  

Be proud of myself.

• I am very proud of myself.  I trained hard and it payed off.  It was a tough run, but I did it and finished strong.

Finish in 1:12:00

• Done!

Finish under 1:02:15

• This is the goal I didn't get.  I finished in 1:04:34.  This puts me at a 9:50/Mile pace, which is 20 seconds/mile behind the pace I was shooting for.  This sets up my next goal nicely though, I want to get this time under an hour, or a half marathon under 2 hours.  It sounds a little crazy when I put it out there, but then again 6 months ago a 10K was a little crazy and now I've done it!

Rock & Sole 10K 2012 Race Goals

I can hardly believe it.  In less than 36 hours from now I should be done with the race I had in mind when I started this blog.  I haven't actually counted, but I know I have run over 100 miles, fought my way through injuries, and followed through on my training to reach this point.

I'm ready.

I've never run a race over 5K.  I have no idea what the uphill running on a bridge is going to be like.  All I know is Saturday is going to be awesome!

Alright, I've thought long and hard about it and here are my goals for Saturday.

• Just finish. 
• I just need to cross the finish line and I will set a personal best of the distance.
• Be proud of myself.
• I set a tough goal, I've worked hard, and I've done something not everyone can do.
• Finish in 1:12:00
• I've thought long and hard about if I wanted to list to time goals, and I finally decided that I do.  this would be about an 11 minute mile pace.  I know I can run this, even dealing with the uphill on the bridge.
• Finish under 1:02:15
• This is a little crazy.  I normally run my long runs at a 10 minute/mile pace and this is a 9:30 minute/mile pace.  The key is going to be reaching the top of the bridge on this pace.  If I can do that, I have two downhills to recover and only one uphill to deal with before I hit the last mile that is mostly flat.  

That first uphill to reach the top of the top of the bridge is what I am fixated on.  I just feel like if I can do that, the rest is going to be easy by comparison.  I've put in the time and training, I've done everything I need to do to be ready.  Now I just need to go out there and do it.

Ahnapee State Trail Run

This weekend we went up north to our cabin, which is the perfect place to get in some running because the Ahnapee State Trail is right across the street.  The plan was for me to get up early, then when I was ready to go, wake up Kris & Abi so they could meet me in Kewaunee for breakfast.  I had looked at a map and estimated it would be a 7-8 mile run.  Turns out, it was my first 10 mile run and one of the best runs ever.

I left around 6:30 on a beautiful morning for a run.  It was in the 70s with a thin layer clouds to keep the sun from making it too hot.

About a mile into the run, I knew it was going to be tough.  My legs were tired from the race and basketball earlier in the week, but I had a goal in mind, and it was a nice day, so I just kept going.

Most of the trail is like the picture above, crushed limestone winding through the woods.  This makes it a great place to see wildlife.  I saw a deer, cardinals, blue jays, geese, wood ducks, a beaver and this guy.

I figured that even on tired legs, I'd be faster than her.  Now I figure it was a her, and that a race wasn't really fair, after I saw another turtle about a quarter mile later.

Turns out the turtles were laying eggs, which was cool to watch.  I took a little break to catch my breath and watch, then kept heading down the trail.

This was another part of the trail I liked, which lead me to think of something that is probably good to keep in mind in life.  Sometimes you have to run into a tunnel...

...To be able to run into the light.

This was the last picture I took, a nice view of the Kewaunee River, because after this, the run got really tough.

When I stopped to take the picture above, I checked where I was on map and saw I still had about half the run ahead of me.  At this point, I realized a few things.  

First, if I finished, this was going to be a much longer run than I initially estimated.  

Second, I was going to need to take it slow and walk for parts if I was going to make it.  

Third, for the rest of the run, I was going to have a choice.  I could keep running or I could call Kris for a ride.  

I kept running.

I ran for a while on the trail and eventually found my way to County Road C.  I knew that if I followed C into Kewaunee it would save an extra loop on the end, so I started running on the road.  It wasn't as scenic as the rest of the run, but it was worth the shortcut.  

I kept running.

At some point I realized that I was walking for about one minute in every five.  I decided I needed to recover  more and walked for a full 5 minutes.  I drank some water.  Stopped and stretched my legs.  At the end of 5 minutes I was still beat, but I started running again.

I kept running.  

Around 8 miles I got a phone call from my dad.  I took it as another good time to walk for a minute and catch my breath again.  We talked for a couple minutes, said bye, and then I started running again.

I kept running.

Pretty soon I saw what I can only describe as what appeared to be the biggest hill in Wisconsin.  Now really, it is probably a normal hill that you wouldn't think anything of under normal circumstances, but after all that running, it was the worst thing I could imagine.  I decided I would run as hard as I could to the base, then walk up.  If I tried to run, I knew I wouldn't have anything left at the top.  I know that while I was walking I talked to Kris on the phone.  I honestly can't remember if I called her or if she called me, all I know is I used a lot of words to describe the hill that I won't repeat here.  As I reached the top, three things happened all at once.  

First, Run Keeper went off that I had covered 8.75 miles and I was at a 12 minute/mile pace.  

Second, I saw a sign marking the city limits of Kewaunee.

Third, I put it together that I was so close to my goal and that if I pushed myself for 15 more minutes, I would make it to 10 miles in under 2 hours.  That was all I needed to get the extra strength to finish.

I kept running.  

Around 9.5 miles I saw Kris driving with Abi waving at me.  That lifted my spirits a little more and I just waved for her to meet my down by the lake.  At this point I wasn't going to stop for anything until I hit 10 miles.  Thankfully, heading toward the lake was mostly downhill, so I even managed to pick up my pace a bit.  As I hit the last block before the lake, I checked my phone, and I had done it.  I hit 10 miles.  

I stopped running.

I couldn't believe it, even an hour before I didn't know that I could do 10 miles.  There was a lot of walking involved, and it certainly wasn't my fastest pace, but I did it.  I've been training for this 10K with the thought going for a half marathon in September.  Before Saturday the 13.1 miles for a half was a distance I couldn't imagine.  Now, I know that it only a 5K more than what I have run, and I know that with just a little more training, I can do it.  

It is strange to think about it, but I know that this run is going to stick with me for a long time.  It is one of those rare moments in life where a switch flipped inside of me and suddenly my perspective on what I can and can't do has changed.  It was awesome, and I can't wait until my next chance to do the run, and see how much faster I can run it the second time. :)

Week 6-11 Wrap-Up & 6-18 Plan

Another week done, and it was better than I ever could have imagined.  I have a new personal best in a 5K and then two days later I did my first 10 mile run!  A great week to lead into the week before my 10K, which means this is going to be another great week.


Week 6-11 Wrap-Up
Monday: 2 Mile Run & Strength Training - Done!
Tuesday: Volleyball & Strength Training - Done!
Wednesday: Rest - I ended up doing a 1 mile run to test out running with a compression sleeve on my leg.  Turned out to be great for the strained muscle and swelling.
Thursday: 5K Race for the Bacon! (Look for a Race Goals post tomorrow) - My "gun time" is a personal best at 28:42.  I'm still trying to get my net time, which I think is under 28:20 for a official personal best.
Friday: Basketball - Done
Saturday: Rest or Run - Decided to run from our cabin to Kewaunee to meet Kris & Abi for breakfast.  I thought it would be 7-8 miles, turned out to be 10 miles and a great run.  I'll write more about it this week.
Sunday: 6.5 Mile Run - Decided this would be a rest day.
Total Miles: 16!


Week 6-18 Plan
Monday: 2 Mile Run & Strength Training
Tuesday: Cross Training & Strength
Wednesday: 3 Mile Run
Thursday: Strength & Stretch
Friday: Rest
Saturday: RACE DAY!
Sunday: Rest

Check back later this week for my 10 mile recap and race goals.