Where I Run

Susan from Arkansas has a great blog - I run for my Life. She did a "where I run" post recently that I heard about on the 4feetrunning podcast. I thought it was a great idea, so here is this evenings run.

Here is the road outside my house, my usual starting point.


My house, as well has this whole area, was the old King's Grant Farm back in the 1600's. Here is one of many barns I pass.


There is a 45 acre horse ranch at about .6 miles into my run - I love to watch the horses!


Dover Rec football has started - it's great to see so many kids out playing!


Then I pass the County Farm, which is the Strafford County Correctional Facility (aka prison.) There is also a nursing home, day care, courthouse, animal shelter, and hospice facility here...NH sure knows how to consolidate!


After I pass the County Farm, I have a nice open road! After this, the hills begin!! I didn't do a hill run today, but maybe I can capture it next week. (I ran a little late tonight - it's getting dark - time to turn around!)


Final pic before it gets too dark to see! I love running at sunset -


So that's where I run. I have to say, it was fun to run with the camera. I see all kinds of cool stuff when I'm out there, and it's fun to share it. I'll try to remember my camera on one of my New Castle lighthouse runs...

My first shout-out!

I want to thank Dan and Nik from 4 Feet Running for the shout-out (is that what it's called in the podcasting world?) on Episode 6 of their podcast.

For those of you who haven't checked out their blog or podcast, please do! These two are a riot! They bring a great new voice to running podcasts. Dan is a beginner runner (like me!) and Nik is an intermediate runner training for a marathon. They bring great prospective to life and running, with a humor and sarcasm that just makes me laugh from start to finish. Check it out!

great run, still a slowpoke

I had a great group run today. I came in dirt last, but kept up an 11 minute mile - what's up with that! Ah well, I'll just keep on running! I did get a side stitch - I hate those things!

This week's plan:
4 mi - Tuesday
4 mi - Wednesday
3 mi - Thursday
5 mi - Saturday

Luna Bars are bad

So, I'm starting week 4 of my 14 week Seacoast half-marathon training. Today's long run was not as pleasant as I hoped. Enter the Luna Bar.

I love Luna bars. I have consumed them before - while hiking, for a quick snack - but never for breakfast. So today, I decided to try a Luna bar as a pre-run breakfast. I did this against my better judgment, but a runner in my group swears her morning energy on Luna bars.

So I ate a Luna Bar, Lemonzest flavor, at 7am or so and started out for a 5 mile run at 8am with my running group. It was, I should explain, about 80 degrees at 8 am - with 100% humidity! So we started running and at the one mile mark, I started feeling funny - like I had a brick in my stomach! I started to think about turning around, but I really wanted to do 5 miles! At mile 2, the cramp in my stomach was so sharp I had to walk, so I turned around and started walking back. I jogged for a few minutes, but the funny feeling in my stomach made me stop - I did catch up to some other women in my running group who were also walking back as well - come to find out, one of the women I caught up to had some almonds for breakfast and they did not agree with her. I could totally relate! Lesson learned: Luna bars are a bad pre-run snack. Almonds are a bad pre-run snack. I should stick to what works - plain toast or english muffin with butter. I wanted to try something with protein to keep up my energy over an hour run. I think I'll have to try some of that gu or cliff blocs or something mid-run.

New mp3 playlist this week:
“Outrageous” Paul Simon
“Life Less Ordinary” Carbon Leaf
“When I’m up” Great Big Sea
“Vertigo” U2
“What’s the Frequency, Kenneth” R.E.M
“Ants Marching” Dave Matthews Band
“Says in Mexico” Toby Keith
"Would you go with me" Josh Turner
"Hills of Connemara" Gailic Storm
"Slide" Goo Goo Dolls

I must be possessed!

I just ran my regular Cross Rd run in 26:36 – a 10:22 minute mile! And to think, I was psyched with my 10:50 minute mile! I think I did the first mile in like 9 minutes and then slowed down because I thought I might be running too fast. I felt great!

Since I started running, 4 ½ months ago, my goal has been to run a 10 minute mile. I have no great hopes of ever winning a race (well maybe when I’m 80 I might be able to win in my age group), but I want to be able to sustain a 10 minute mile. I don’t know why 10 minutes is in my head – but now it actually seems like an attainable goal.

I was reading “No Need for Speed” by John “the penguin” Bingham last night, and he says that adult onset runners don’t peek in their performance for 7 to 10 years. This is probably the best thing I’ve ever read about running! I thought that once I started running regularly, that I would peek in a season, and that would be it – forever! But that doesn’t seem to be the case. I have 7 to 10 years! There is hope!

Fast group run

Did a group run today out to New Castle - made it to the second bridge and back in 30 minutes - a sub 11 minute mile!!

I was trying to keep up with the mid-level runners and I did for about a mile - then I died! But I did have a good run!

We had a guest speaker at our running group tonight - a chiropractor who talked about streching; recovery; and injury prevention. Here are some of the highlights:

* 10% rule - increase your longest run by 10% a week, not more.
* F.I.T. - Frequency, Intensity, and Time. Do not increase 2 of these things at a time when training.
* Have a recovery drink or food within 15 minutes after a run for maximum carb absorption.
* Some recovery drinks : recoverite; ultragen; powerbar recovery drink; chocolate milk.
* Take a total rest day every 7-10 days.
* Use the stick (I love mine!)
* Consume a high quality glutamine enhanced whey protein isolate with water at bedtime (do not mix with a carb)
* Try active isolate stretching (AIS)
* Stay hydrated throughout the day
* Drink 4-6oz of water every 15 minutes
* Practice using the sports drink you will be using at your race
* Use proper running posture - chirunning.com

New Castle BLAST

good run this morning - did 4 miles out to New Castle and back - with a BLASTING headwind. On the way out to the island, there was a great tailwind - like a little hand pushing me faster! But on the way back, it was like a fist on your forehead! My eyes were watering it was so windy! I felt like I was in one of those endless pools - working hard, but not going anywhere!

The run from downtown Portsmouth to New castle is great - I highly recommend it. Just check the wind forecast first!

Saunders at Rye Harbor 10k Race

So I didn't get a PR, like I'd hoped. I had been running well this week and thought I may be able to hold dowm 11 to 11:30 min/miles - NOT! It was 82 degrees at the start of the race with very little wind. By the end of the first mile there was NO wind and I was drenched in sweat. I knew from last weeks run that the course was pretty flat, so I could just cruze along at the fastest pace I could muster. The residents of the little town of Rye, NH were out, lining the streets, cheering us slowpokes on, which was nice to see at a 6pm race. Many residents put out hoses and sprinklers to run through (very much appreciated!)

I managed the first mile in 10:43; second in 12:02; third in 12:43(a hill!); fourth in 12:50; fifth in 12:29; and sixth in 13:41. I kept with my plan to walk a minute every mile and with the heat, I needed the rest. I felt fine up to the fifth mile - very hot, but in general, felt good. I noticed I was slowing down as people behind me started passing me. I had been running on and off with a guy dressed as superman, and he passed me walking! And then, 5.5 miles, I thought I might be having a heart attack. I'm only 29, so a heart attack wouldn't be normal! My chest felt tight and I couldn't catch my breath. We were running into a pretty stiff headwind, so that might of contributed to the feeling. I stopped to walk and felt better instantly. I walked around a tight cornor near Rye Harbor State Park, passed a cop directing traffic and though, it's only .7 miles - RUN! So, I ran the rest of the course - around rye harbor, and up the driveway to Saunders Resturant. So many people were already leaving the race, there was just a thin corridor for me to run up the drive. I did manage to kick it up the last 100 yards to finish in 1:17:something seconds - (I'll update this when it's posted to coolrunning.com)

I saw Matt at the finishing coral, and he asked if I was ok - I actually felt pretty good - tired, but good. I was a bit disappointed with the race, both in my time, the lack of water at the end of the race (the food and drink tent was EMPTY!), the lack of chip timing, and the lack of t-shirts! They did have beer and cake, so I filled up on some carbs and headed for home. Next race comes in September....run on!

Rest Day - Big Race, Big Mountain!

We went to Mt. Washington with our DC friends yesterday.....we didn't actually hike up it, but we did drive the 8 miles to the top and then scrambled the whopping 25 feet to the summit!! Here we are!

It was a ton of fun running around the summit buildings. There is a ton of stuff to see up there - I haven't been up there in over 10 years! My last trip up Mt. Washington was on foot - but I have to say the autoroad is nice! Plus, I have a big 10k race tomorrow - wouldn't want to get hurt!

Race report coming tomorrow!

Fastest Cross Rd Run

Just finished my fastest Cross Rd run to date - 10:50 min/mile. I must of been the man who honked at me and pissed me off! Taking tomorrow off to spend the day with DC friends up on Mt Washington.
Later!

Slowpoke

Ok, I'm slow! I finished my group run today with the runner's alley group. Nice, slow 3 miles, at a 12 min/mile pace. I think I may be the slowest person in the group! I just can't seem to run any faster!

On the bright side, no pain in my knee today. I was a bit worried yesterday beacuse I woke up in pain Friday morning. I iced it at work and elevated it for a couple hours - took some aleve. It seems to have worked!

Saunders at Rye Harbor Run

My knee! I haven't had knee pain in months and its back. L, her husband, and I ran the Saunders 10k route today as a practice for next weeks race. It's a beautiful course through Rye, NH and Rye Harbor. I finished 6.1 miles (we cheated a bit) in 1:15. By mile 4, my left knee started aching - not good. I've iced it and stretched. Used the stick - we'll see how it is tomorrow. I haven't been this tired in a long time!

It should be a fun race!

Wednesday Easy Run

Did 2.6 today. First Run since Saturday's group run. I had a horrible cold since Sunday - I couldn't breathe! I'm still pretty snotty - so I took it easy with a 2.6 @ 11:35 pace.

Bought a Timex Sleek today to replace my old Casio. It's a sweet little watch. I still need to figure out all the functions! After much research, I decided this one had all the bells I wanted (interval timers, countdown timers, and alarms) and still looked good enough for everyday wear.

Sick

I thought I had bad allergies - but no, it's a full blown COLD - in AUGUST! When Matt came down with it, I knew it was actually a cold....a very snotty cold. I lost my voice on Saturday night and it's still gone. I missed my sunday run, and I'm taking today off too. I took a sick day and slept 4 hours this afternoon.

I missed my group run - but I figured I should get better, rather than run my miles. I think I may be able to get on the road tomorrow!

Seacoast Half Marathon Group

So I am still running!

I haven't been blogging much, but I'm still running! I took my craze to a new level this week by signing up for the Runner's Alley Seacoast Half Marathon Group. This is a 14-week training group to gear beginner runners to run their first 1/2 marathon.

Here's the schedule:
Sa - Group Long run (starting at 3 miles and increasing to 12 miles)
Sun - Easy Run (2-4 miles)
Mon - OFF
Tuesday - Group Run (3-7 miles)
Wednesday - XT
Thursday - Easy Run (2-4 miles)
Friday - XT or Easy Run

Not too tough. I've been running 4 miles once a week and 3 milers twice a week, so this should be pretty easy. Yeah right! I'm going to move from 10 miles to nearly 30 miles a week over the next 3 months. I'll try to keep up!