Blogging: 1 year Anniversary!

61°,  SW 5,  93% H,  UV 0,    Dp 59

It was not as nice a running morning as it was on Tuesday. The sleep I got, despite the fact that it was dandy - didn't help. All my joints were achy this morning - especially my right knee.  I think I'm going to attribute that to the Carvel hot fudge sundae I had at work yesterday. Sugar OVERLOAD. I had a huge panini also, which was delicious - but I stopped eating that much bread at one time a while ago. I'm wondering how much of an effect it had on the way I'm feeling today.

Most of my paperwork for the week is done, except for the 10 or so papers I have to 'grade' for Monday. I think I'll take care of that after my race on Saturday.

I was feeling pretty unmotivated this morning, probably because of the way I felt physically. I wore a sleeveless shirt, and I still felt warm. My BT headset crapped out in the middle of the run. I was planning for 3 miles, didn't quite make it. I was feeling that lousy.

I just want the blue line on these graphs to be in a somewhat straight line. Is that even possible? I don't think this one is too bad today, however, except toward the end, when I realized just how HUMID it felt.


Happy Anniversary to me!   1 full year of blogging.. 
1 yr 7 months of running!

I'm still not as fast at shorter distances..

45°,  ESE 2,  99% H,  UV 0,  57° Dp

This morning's weather felt quite perfect - I was surprised to see when I came back that the humidity was so high. It certainly didn't feel that way. I chose to run 4 @ 70%, but alas, I am fickle. So, I just ran as I felt, slowing down when I needed, and speeding up when it felt good. I wished I could just conjure up someone to pace for me - I'd decide, "I think I'd like to do 5 miles at a 9:00 min/mile pace, please.." and >*poof*< - I'd have someone appear out of the ether who knows what the heck they're doing and just let me follow. 

I've got nothing but work on the brain, and soo much paperwork to do today and the rest of the week, so this isn't going to be much of a post. I'm hoping to get out again Thursday morning, maybe slow it down a bit, as I have the 5k in Oyster Bay on Saturday, and that long incline to deal with. 

Although I felt like I was running fast this morning, the numbers don't lie. I would like to get back to training at 8:45 -8:30 as an easy pace. Today, at between 45 and 1 minute slower, I was working and breathing HARD on roads that I do on a regular basis. My heart rate was very high, and it bums me out. I guess my biggest fear is not injury, but that I will just stop improving. Be it speed or endurance. I often times ponder on how I'll feel about that when the time comes.

Congrats to my sister for PR'ing her half marathon over the weekend - and to fellow blogger and speedster SheisOutRunning who PR'ed 4 minutes faster in her marathon this past weekend - and who ran her own race. (For details, go check it out..) That's got to feel awesome when it comes all together like that!

What do you folks fear most about your running career, I wonder..?

Realizations

58°,    NE 10,   80% H,   UV 0,    Dp 47°

This was my second time running the Selden Hills, this time, with the self appointed "Hillbillys". It so happened that today was 'newbie' day. And although I had run these hills before, I still felt like a newbie, because I had yet to meet the group.

I managed to get lost on the way there, so all those hillbillys had already left without me. There was, however, a gentleman waiting in the parking lot. A tall and lanky man with a friendly face. He was dressed in his red Selden Hills shirt. We exchanged pleasantries while waiting just a few minutes more to see if anyone else would show.

Even though I had my all my electronics, I didn't start any up.  The conversation was non-stop - mostly on his end. He asked me what he thought my pace would be, I told him anywhere between 10:30 and 9:30. He seemed good with that, and told me that we would run the entire course together. He explained some of the history, described the course, explained the philosophy of the group, and everything in between. I tried to be gabby, but I found it was wearing me out. I explained that I always run alone, so talking while running was not easy for me. He totally understood, and told me I did not have to participate in the conversation, but - he would keep talking anyway. He was awesome! What a great introduction into this hard running group!

The hills were just as challenging as before, and I had to walk several times. My guide and escort, K.C., slowed his pace down for me while I recovered. Only once he went on ahead, and that was to scout a dangerous section of the route that was blind to both drivers and runners, and he would wait for me at that crest.

It was nice to have him prepare me for each of the hills that were coming up.
"OK, this is the second to last, and then it's down hill and a right at the stop signs"
"OK, we get a decent break here, about a half mile of flat"
"And here's the halfway point, but now we've got to go up again for a mile and a half" - and so on.

I had asked him our time on the way back. He told me that we were about 31 minutes at mile 3, and we were 38 minutes out as the answer to my question.
I was surprised. It felt fast, but I thought it was because I had company, and that it was an illusion. I was really running these hills faster than I thought.

First important realization: In order to get faster, for me, I need to run with someone faster than myself. I let myself get away with too much slacking during training.

By the time we were about 2 miles out from the finish (10k) we had come up on two runners from the back of the pack of the original group that started about 6 minutes ahead of us. The woman was going to run in Brazil in a few weeks. Her longest run had been 4 miles - and it was her first run on the hills, too! She had an escort in the gentleman who was running with her, as well.  We ran together for about 400 meters until K.C. and I pulled away from them to continue on for yet MORE hills. At the end of the last hill, we had 1.2 miles of flat. It was a straight line back to the parking lot. Marty let the woman he was with finish at her own pace, and he caught up to us before the final quarter mile. As we turned right into the parking lot, K.C. mentions that we have 30 seconds to go to finish in exactly 60 minutes! We had to haul ass.

Ugh! I was exhausted! But, to the left - about 200 meters away, was a sea of red shirts, about 20 or so folks, waiting. And when they saw us break into a sprint, they must of realized we had a goal. The cheers and encouragement where amazing! I was genuinely moved.

So, Cow Harbor had just become a docile, familial pet.  Selden Hills is the untamed, relentless beast. And, running with a coach of sorts, it took me only 3 minutes more to harness the potential power in not only myself, but those hills as well.

Realization #2: Hills are your friend. In order to build endurance, besides cycling as cross training, hills can't be beat.

I met only a handful of the group. We were talking about fueling, how long it takes us to get to the hills from where we live, tackling the declines, etc. I was told they will be running every Wednesday at 4:30 pm and Sundays at 8:00 am.
I will try to get out there at least 2x a month. I have a feeling it might be 3. (But I'm still a little high from the morning!) Economically speaking, it took a quarter of a tank to get there and back. The good news is that gas prices are dropping. 4.09 for premium last week to 3.97 last night. How serendipitous! And now that I know the correct way to get there, I'll be shaving miles and time from the ride.

Realization #3: There is power in camaraderie. And THIS is coming from a self-proclaimed introvert.

No pictures, not much data. I had the sense to start Magellan up about 2 miles into the run. It's not as elegant as Runmeter's data, but I'll post the link nontheless.

Magellan Data

Hey. Did you hear about the new Garmin 620? It's coming soon.. and it looks AWESOME. I'll be trying that baby out, and maybe put the Magellan up for sale.

Back at it..

55°, ENE 11,  84% H,  UV 0,  Dp 50

After taking a well needed rest for the first part of the week, I decided to get out there this morning. I really had very little discomfort. I was just weary.  I could not keep my eyes open past 9:00 pm each night, and I went back to eating bread and ice cream, like it was going out of style. Yesterday and today I've moderated more toward healthier eating, and I really needed to see how I felt running. When I woke up this morning, it hadn't started raining yet, and as a matter of fact, it felt pretty good out there. I had lots of things to do before I left for work this morning, so I decided to make my first run since my half marathon a shorty. I'd only do 3 miles at 70%. I did the 3 miles, but it was more like 80-85%. Oh well..

My heart rate shot up pretty high soon into the run, and although I tried to bring it down without having to walk, it didn't work. So, I just went with it, and ran by how I was feeling.  I believe I could have run a bit faster, but I kept waking up with a mild headache all night, and by morning, it hadn't changed. As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, I still feel pressure and a bit of lethargy. I really don't want to take a decongestant. I know it's probably sinus related, but I'm hoping it will resolve on it's own.

My sister asked if I took any 'selfies' during my HM, and I said no - I never really like the way I look in them. So, I took one this morning. She says it's a good idea to remember how you're dressed for the weather, and it helps a lot to do this. So, here is the pic before I went out. I guess I should have also shot below the waist. Another oh well. I wore my Under Armor compression capris, compressions on my calves, and my Brooks Ravenna 4.

I love my new cap I got from the Diva expo. It's stretchy, and it really stays snug to my head. I should have bought another.

Fall is here..

I will probably do 5 slow miles on Saturday morning, weather permitting, then on Sunday, I'm going to attempt to get back out to Selden and run with the 'Hillbillies'. The group organizer recognized me during my packet pickup at the Diva expo and introduced himself to me. It was so weird to hear my name called out, when I really haven't met anyone I know devoted to running on a personal basis yet. There are still so many people I know because of blogging/Facebook that I've yet to meet! We talked about my first half, and that his wife was running her first half too, (the Entenmanns) and even though I live an hour away from the hills, they would love to have me run with them. So, I will make it out there by 8:00 am on Sunday. I hear that there will be at least another newbie to the group there also.

You know, they are talking about this being the 'off season' on their Facebook page - but I consider this my 'on season'! Fall and early winter last year is when I made most of my progress as a runner. The cool weather does this for me. I raced into December, and then February into March. I PR'd a 5k then in April. Does anyone also feel that this is off season? Maybe I was fortunate that the weather was mild last year? 

Right now I've got the voices of the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona as ambient noise. They are doing sound and video tests in one of my browser tabs. I imagine pretty soon there will be an Internet press conference. The race is this Saturday, starting at noon eastern time. They will be broadcasting online here. I'm going to watch as much as I can. I think I would one day like to do a tri. I can swim. I can bike. And now I know I can run. I find it much more appealing than a full marathon, at least right now in my short running career. I already know someone who has done a tri, so if I ever feel compelled, I can get some great advice.

I have to run, as I'm going to take my daughter out for sushi tonight for her birthday.  I still can't believe I have a 28 year old daughter. Sheesh.