PR at my second Half marathon!

I finished my second half marathon!!! WOOHOOO!

It wasn't my fastest 13 mile run (I did that 4 weeks before the race,) but I finshed and dropped about 4 minutes off my official time - My new Half PR to beat is 2:45:12! L finished about a minute ahead of me with a time of 2:43:58! She rocked it! My legs were DEAD after mile 10, and she took off the last mile and a half. I couldn't go any faster! My brain wanted to sprint, but my legs were barely moving! I'm not sure what when wrong. Maybe too little food for breakfast? Too little GU? I'm guessing it was a combination of too little running the last 2 weeks before the race (I was sick for a week, then I had a quad strain) and lack of strength. My legs were so sore after the race I could barely lift them. I'm never THAT sore! So lessons learned from the second half marathon:

1. Cross train! Build strength in my quads and gluts.
2. Don't taper too soon - I had no choice being sick, then pulling my quad, but in the future I will only taper a week.
3. EAT! I need to experiment with more pre-race foods. The english muffin I've been eating before all my runs isn't cutting it!

So what's next? L and I are using a Runner's World "Smart Coach" plan to train through the winter. My only goal right now is to keep running through the snowy months!!

I'll try to blog more - I promise!

World Wide Half

L and I had a great fall run on the Seacoast Half Marathon course. It was just a training run, but we both got a half marathon PR at 2:43:51!! Hope a repeat performance at the real Seacoast Half in 4 weeks!

I posted my time to the World Wide Festival of Races that was held this weekend.....1500 people running all over the world...how cool is that!
http://www.worldwidefestivalofraces.com

I can't believe it.....

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a month!
I can't believe I've made it to Week 7(of 15) of Half Marathon Training with no major injuries!
I can't believe I finished the Saunders 10k, August 20, 3 minutes faster than last year!
I can't believe I finished the Fox Point Sunset 5 Miler, Sept 12, in just 53:28! I 10:40min/mile!
I can't believe my one year wedding anniversary is less than a month away!
I can't believe it....

Half Marathon training Week 4!

Yes it's true. I've made it to week 4 of my half marathon training! It's been VERY hot here in new hampshire, but I've managed most of my scheduled runs. This week is a 8, 4, 4 week, but I have a 10k race tomorrow so I'm shifting the schedule to a 4,6,4 week. I'll post a full race report by the weekend.

So the question of the week is, what to call our team of 2 (L and I) for the half marathon race? Some ideas are:
2 fast 2 fabulous
Super heros in training
13.1 Double L
Gu & Brew
Thoughts?

Half Marathon training has begun!

Yup, you read that right....I'm going to run a half marathon AGAIN!

This time I'm training with L and her husband using the training plan from Galloway's Book on Running by Jeff Galloway. Galloway has a pretty basic half marathon training plan that includes 3 days of running and 3 days of XT. The longest run in the training plan is 17 miles!! My hope is I will be able to RUN the whole half marathon, instead of running 10 miles and walking 3.1!

I just finished week one of training with a 2.6 mile, 2.8 mile and 6 mile run for a total of 11.2 miles for the week. I'm also walking 5 days a week (during lunch) and doing pilates twice a week. No wonder my legs are tired today!

If you are new to Jeff Galloway, check out:
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/half_marathon.html

If you are looking for a fall marathon or half marathon in New England, check out:
http://www.gfrcrun.org/marathons/halfm.htm

Later!

My 3rd Market Sqaure 10k!

Yes, It's been 10 days since my big 10k and I finally have time to sit down and write about it!

If you don't live in New England it has been raining for the last 40 days, BUT it didn't rain on June 13th, the day of the race! It was nearly 90, sunny, and humid. I haven't had a chance to train in humid weather because of the rain, so the race itself was a bit rough.

My best friend G and my goddaughter Iz, along with my DH, came to the race to cheer me on. The beginning of the race went well - HOT, but well. The course is out in the sun for 3.5 miles, then moved into some older neighborhoods with SHADE! I knew I needed to keep a 11:30 pace to get a PR and managed it until mile 3...then the heat started getting to me. At each water stop I would grab a cup and refill my handheld water bottle.....I think I drank 30oz of water in 6 miles! Even in the heat, the Portsmouth spectators were great - kids had hoses out we could run through and people had radios blasting "Rocky.....it made me feel like I could do this!

I did walk twice during the race, once over a highway overpass and once at a hill at mile 5. Mile 5 to 6 is uphill and I wanted to walk, but I walked just up the first bump and shuffled the rest. So I finished the race in my second best 10k time - 1:12:27.....last year I ran it in 1:12:24...3 SECONDS !! I've been kicking myself about walking, but as my husband said - "At least you're consistent!"

So I'm consistent! What's next....stay tuned!

Last week of 10k training!

Hello all!
This is my last week of my 10k training! This training seems different from previous training programs. One big difference is - NO PAIN! I've been diligent about trigger point massage on my left quad, which seems be helping my IT band issues. But, I think the biggest change is my attitude. I don't seem to care if I go fast or not. I mean, I'd love to run a 10 minute mile, but if I run a 12 or 13 mm, and I am happy doing it, who cares how long it takes me! I read somewhere having a positive attitude is better than having physical strength. Since I know I'll never have the physical strength of the elites, I guess that leaves me with the positive attitude!

So my 5th 10k is Saturday.....wish me luck!