Beer Run

My running buddy and I goofing off before it was time to line up for the race.  

*Please excuse the cheesetastic smile on my face.*

Overall, this was a really fun race that I plan on doing again next year.

It was a little warmer than anyone imagined it would be for a 5.2 mile race in March.  The high temp reached 78 degrees with a humidity of 78%.  It was warm, humid, and sunny which all combine for a beautiful day as long as you have not planned to run hills at 3pm.

About those hills.  According to Runkeeper, the total elevation gain was 293.  Lots of hills.  Rolling hills, long hills, and every so often a downhill.

And we were off.....

The plan was to run together as long as possible. 

My paces were mess.  The only mile I was really happy with was the first one.  Mile 2 wasn't bad.  Miles 3-4 were when the wheels starting falling off. As the number of hills grew larger and the temperatures climbed so did my paces.

12+ minutes miles.  Where did that come from?!?

Final time was 59:28 for 5.2 miles.  An overall pace of 11:31.  Incidently, this is about 2 seconds per mile slower than my pace at RNR Savannah back in November.  It is also slower than I've been running as of late so I'm blaming this one on the heat and the hills.

All of that aside, I felt like I ran a solid race but it was tough.

Next up...Cooper River!

	Pace (min/mi)
	10:26
	11:16
	12:07
	12:13
	11:40
	12:09

Let's Tally It Up, Shall we?

As I reflect on closing out 2011, I think it is fair to summarize where I've been and where I'd like to go in 2012.

No resolutions on this train. Goals are the most efficient way for me to measure my progress throughout the year.

January 1, 2011 is when I finally threw out the resolutions and started down the path of goals.

On a high level, I think it was productive. It gave me the breathing room to pull back some if needed, in order to direct my focus elsewhere.

For example, when I was at the peak of my running this year, there truly was not room to squeeze much else into my schedule between training and my daily life. During these times the other goals often sat idle until I could direct more attention to them.

How did I do in regards to my 2011 goals?

• 
  
  To learn Photoshop Elements.

Progress = 2% maybe? There is still a lot to learn here although I have learned how to adjust lighting, download/use actions, and of course crop. I've barely scratched the surface on this one so it will remain for 2012.

• 
  
  Continue to learn my camera.

Progress = 75% I took some amazing "for me" pictures this year. This one will remain on my 2012 list because there is still room for improvement specifically metering.

• 
  
  Run this half marathon.

Done with a bonus disaster for good measure just one week later.

• 
  
  500 in 2011.

Finishing the year with 350 miles.

• 
  
  Finally get my red Kitchen Aid mixer.
  

Done. Isn't she pretty?

• 
  
  
  


• 
  
  Decorate the walls in my house.

Lots of progress. The hallway is almost 100% complete. My office is also well underway. We have also added 2 new prints to the living room.

• 
  
  Not least to not be pregnant nor to have an additional child :)

Done. Whew!

• 
  
  Start reading again.

This is definitely the one item where I can say I 100% failed this year. I am alone in saying I didn't read not even 1 book for the 1+ crowd? Unless you count Dr. Seuss I did not make any progress on this goal. Must regroup for 2012.

All in all, I'm really proud of 2011. At times, I felt like I was on balancing on a tight rope with no net below but in the end I can really see the progress I have made. It was hard yet fun and rewarding.

On to 2012......

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Just 7 short days after coming away from Savannah with a shiny new PR, I decided it would be wise to run another 1/2 marathon locally with my brother-in-law.

The results were posted just a little bit ago and it is official.

A new PR! Or maybe we should call it a PW?

Either way, by 53 seconds I was able to take my worst 1/2 time and beat it. How is that even possible?

My worst time ever had been held by my 1st 1/2 ever back in 2007. It was 2:49:05. My time on Saturday was 2:49:58.

It was as painful as it sounds.

This was on a course where I had trained EXCEPT I had not trained on the hilly portion in the middle. My ego was slightly inflated so I figure why not right? Bad idea.

The race started off pretty swell but things went downhill (or shall we say uphill) pretty quickly as soon as I hit mile 6.

As soon as I reached the first hill I literally stopped and laughed. This was not going to be good.

It wasn't. 3 miles of hills. I'm not sure what the actual ascent was but my brother-in-law said it was about 400ft. Those my friends were not hills. They were mountains.

Actually, we were running on the mountain bike trails part of which was gravel. Fun times!

Either way, I finished. It took every fiber of my being not to get on the golf cart I saw at the bottom of the hill at mile 9.

Are there any positives? Sure.

• 
  
  I finished.


• 
  
  It was a beautiful run. The entire course was on the greenway which runs along the river and then up through the hills before returning to the greenway to finish. I'd do the race again just because it was so pretty.


• 
  
  By finishing, I can see that I am stronger than I was 4 years ago. My time was worse but I can tell you right now that back then there would not have been a PR race the week before nor would I have been able to finish this race at all. Progress.

As for the rest of the year? I'll run some on my own to try and complete 500 in 2011 but no more races for me.

My goal for the rest of the year is to start integrating some swimming and other cross training to come away with some new PRs next year :)

Bling

This one can be checked off of my 2011 goals.

As I said in the recent post, I knew I was ready both physically and mentally.

The race truly went well from start to finish.

It was a little chilly at the beginning of the race, but I quickly got warm once they released my corral to start.

I'd decided to follow the 4:45 marathon pace group knowing that I could just stick with them until the half marathon split off at mile 11. This would be about a 2:22 1/2 marathon which I still felt would be stretch.

I was able to hang with them until at least mile 6 that I remember but somewhere after that is when I dropped back. I'm thinking it was just before or after mile 7 because I'd lost them by the time I arrived at mile 8.

Miles 6-9 were the toughest for me for some reason. I'm pretty sure I got distracted looking for Steve and Lauren. They never saw me and I never saw them. It was a really crowded race both on and off the course. I'll save this information for a post about the race itself.

By mile 9 I had regained my focus, had taken a Gu on top of my Honey Stingers and was ready to push to the finish. I remember thinking "only 40 more minutes".

After that the course also got more interesting as we headed towards the finish in Forsyth Park.

Around mile 10, I saw the 5 hour marathon pace group beside me and realized that I needed to pick it up if I was going to beat my goal of coming in under 2:30.

I kept pushing to the finish but those last few miles felt long. It wasn't that I was struggling but I was so ready to be at the finish line to celebrate my hard work and the fact that I knew I had already had a huge PR.

There was one last turn followed by 2 rolling hills and then the finish.

Looking at the clock I was pretty sure I'd just barely snuck in under my goal.

Official time: 2:28:15.

I'd rocked Savannah!

Training for Savannah. Mission Complete.

With 323.7 miles behind me for the year, I am definitely stronger than I was when I wrote this post. On January 2nd, I did expect to meet those goals, however I have been pleasantly surprised to see what else I have learned along the way.

My last long run before Savannah was yesterday. As I ran, I had many thoughts meandering through my head. After all, I had over 2 hours to think about what I had learned during my time spent training for this race.

The main thing I have learned is that, not only am I stronger now that I was in January, I am also much stronger than I was in 2007 when I ran my first and only 1/2 to date.

I merely survived training and racing that time. This time that has not been the case at all. My runs have been more productive because I understand how my body is going to react most of the time.

Last time, I also trained with a group and truth be told pretty much just did what everyone else did in regards to mileage and fuel.

This time, I trained alone and listened to my body. I took days off or even weeks to let my body recover when needed.

Yesterday, as I pushed through 12 hilly miles I did everything exactly as I plan on doing it in Savannah. I'd examined the course map so I ran with the knowledge that there would be a water station here, a Gu station here, and finally the finish line there.

Mentally and physically I am ready.

Bring on RNR Savannah 2011!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 5 and a PR!

A couple of weeks off appears to be just what the doctor ordered for my knee. This past week went very well in terms of running.

Early in the week, I decided to go out for a 4 mile run around the neighborhood to test the waters. Some friends and family and I were registered for Miles for Matthew so I needed to see how things felt.

It was a smashing success!

On Saturday, the entire team of 10 of us met up at the race. It was cool and overcast with the threat of rain. Incidentally, I had run this race on a different course just 12 weeks after I had MG. Last year I skipped it due to the fact I was 37 weeks pregnant with L.

Tell me again why I was running a 10k just 12 short weeks post c/s? Crazy. Either way, my time in that race was 1:10 with rumors that the course may have been a tad short so my goal was to beat that time.

And I did! 1:06:05 which is also a PR for me! Coming down the last stretch and seeing that I was going to beat it was the best feeling.

My hard work is paying off!

The focus now truly turns to Savannah. There are a few loooong runs ahead of me that need to go well so I feel confident when morning dawns on November 5th.

Here we go!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 4

With my knee still feeling unstable last week, I decided to take another week off. It was hard! The cool, crisp temperatures were perfect for running and I felt great but my knee did not.

On Saturday, I spent some time in the pool at our niece's birthday party hoping that would help however, the ache was still present.

The good news is that I have been running all year. My training schedule also has some 11 and 12 mile long runs built in so if I have to cut those it is not a huge loss. The last time I trained we maxed out at 10. On race day you just figure out those last 3.1 miles with the adrenaline of race day.

Once I get back on track, I plan on adding some strength training. Lack of strength in my large muscles seems to be the root of the problem right now. Hopefully, if I can strengthen my super awesome thigh muscles then my knee will feel better!

On to week 5!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 3 = FAIL

Bum knee :(

Ever since my 7 mile run a couple of weeks ago something has been off. My knee just does not feel stable although it also does not hurt. The run went well so I have no idea how or why this is happening.

I'm giving it some additional time to rest in addition to having an appointment with an ortho soon if I am not seeing any progress.

The good news is I still feel like I'll be more than prepared for Savannah. The bad news is I'm ready to be back out there running. It is making me crazy!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 2

Week 2 is in the books!

It actually went fairly well, except for that fact that I am still having difficulty getting my cross training workouts in each week.

This was how my week was supposed to look plus how it actually looked:

Monday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Rest.

Tuesday ~ Calendar: 2 miles. Reality: 2.1 miles on the dread mill.

Wednesday ~ Calendar: 3 miles Reality: 3 miles through my neighborhood.

Thursday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Rest.

Friday ~ Calendar: Rest Reality: Rest.

Saturday~ Calendar: 5 miles Reality: 7 miles. Yay!

Sunday~ 1-2 miles or Rest. Reality: Rest.

Week 2 = Success!

My goal for Week 3 is to do my cross training.

1/2 Marathon Training Week 1

Last time I ran a 1/2 this blog did not exist. Also, at the time I just kind of said I'm going to run this race and did it.

My training was all done in a group setting so I pretty much just did what the other ladies in the group did to train. It worked well but I think while I may have been physically prepared, mentally I had no idea what to expect.

Over 4 years later, I am more educated on running etc. although I'm far from an expert. I'll leave that to everyone else.

Since I do not plan on this being my last half, I am going to document my training here so I can look back at it next time. Hopefully next time is less than 4 years from now!

My first week of training officially started this past week while I was on vacation. Good timing huh?

I ran with it and got all of my workouts in (sort of). My runs got completed but cross training was a termed I used loosely since we were on vacation.

This was how my week was supposed to look plus how it actually looked:

Monday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Walking through the water of the sound and attempting to dig for clams.

I told you the cross training was a term I used loosely this week :)

Tuesday ~ Calendar: 2 miles. Reality: 2.8 miles. Good job!

Wednesday ~ Calendar: 2 miles Reality: A busy day of being tourist plus a 50 minute massage. That has to count for something!

Thursday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Spent the day at the beach. Did spend quite a bit of time in the water jumping waves. Climbed the tallest lighthouse in North America.

Friday ~ Calendar: Rest Reality: 3 miles. Good job!

Saturday: Calendar: 6 miles Reality: 9 hours in the car. Fail.

Sunday: 1-2 miles or Rest. Reality: 5 miles in hot sun at 2pm. My body felt great the entire run but the sun started baking me at mile 5 so I headed home. I'm actually really proud of my run though because it was the middle of the day and I never run during the day.

All in all a pretty good week! The plan was not followed exactly but I felt like I moved my body quite a bit each day as well as completing my runs. Week 1 = Success!