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!

Where have I been?

Well it's been almost three weeks since I blogged last. Where have I been!
Well, after the Gettysburg trip, I had a another work trip to Portland ME. I ran a 5 mile loop around the Back Bay (or Back Cove as they now call it - someone explain that to me please!) while in Portland. I ran with a colleague of mine who is a FAST runner and it took me 4 days to recover! I was so sore!
I've been keeping up with the 10k plan for the the most part. I've been trying to run 3 days a week at the minimum. It's been going well. No major IT band issues. I feel a twinge on runs longer that 5 miles, but no ice pick pain (knock on wood!) My pace seems slow, but looking at my logs for last year, I seem to be about the same. I think everyone else in my running group just got faster! I blame the 15lbs I can't seem to drop since my wedding! I think once I lose that, I will be a speed demon!

Last Sunday was the start of the race season with the Red Hook 5k. It was my 3rd running the race and the 2nd best time (last year I got a 5k PR.) The weather was perfect for running - 70 degrees, overcast, and a slight breeze. I was on pace for another PR this year, but I "bonked" on the last 3/4 mile, which is the only hill in the race. Hills have been giving me trouble lately!

Tonight I finished my longest run since my half marathon 2 years ago. 6.6 miles! It felt good even in the rain! 2 weeks until the 10k!

Run Gettysburg

So last week I was in Gettysburg for work. If you have to travel for work, Gettysburg isn't half bad. It was like a mini-vacation/school trip combined with 3 days of meetings and 21 hours in a van. Sounds like fun, doesn't it!

I managed one run while I was there, and I thought I'd share my run with all 4 of my readers. From my room at the good ole Travellodge (highly recommended!), it was just a few steps to the Battlefield. I hit the road at 6:15 AM along Cemetery ridge. I vaguely remembered from my last trip to Gettysburg (1989 or so) that there were a few ridges and hills that were part of the battle. Yup, there are a few hills in Gettysburg! I climbed for about a 1/2 mile then down, down, down to the Pennsylvania Memorial (the big dome.) On the way down the hill,I ran into a couple out for a morning run (And I thought I was the only one with this brilliant idea!) They waved and asked if I knew where the trail was. I shrugged. They gestured for me to go ahead of them, and I smiled and said, "I'm sure I'm slower than you." Boy was I right....in a flash, they were gone!
I ran around the dome and up the road towards this rock that caught my eye.....it was actually a monument(to the left of the barn). I have to say it was the strangest and coolest monument I saw in Gettysburg(and there are 1,300 on the battlefield!) I later found out it was Roxbury Puddingstone placed there for the 20th Massachusetts Regiment. Now that's a cool use of a "Rock"

It was getting late (and I'm slow,) so I turned and headed back to the Travellodge so I could get ready for my day of meetings. I cut through the site of the old Visitor's center and Cyclorama. The visitor's center has been demo'ed, but the Cyclorama is still standing (something about a lawsuit because it has some historic architectural significance - it was built by a pupal of Frank Lloyd Wright.) A new visitor's center opened last year - it's very cool!
Instead of heading back the way I came, I jumped the fence to the Gettysburg Cemetery for the last part of my run. It was here Lincoln spoke the Gettysburg address. So surreal. What a quiet, peaceful way to start my day.

Track workout basics

I got a little track workout 101 today. My running group jogged a mile to the high school track where the Coastal Athletic Association (our local running club) hosts track workouts from the day after the Boston Marathon to the middle of October (26 weeks.) First, Mr "Bob" went over some track etiquette, which is good because frankly, except for high school marching band, I had never been on a track!!
Rule #1. Run counter-clockwise
Rule #2. Warm-up on the outside of the track (the outer lanes). The inner lanes are for workouts
Rule #3. Learn one word - "TRACK!" If you are doing a workout (in the inner lanes) and someone faster comes behind you, they will yell "Track" - this is your queue to MOVE OVER! - towards the right.

That's the basics....After we warmed up, we did a very simple interval workout.
- 3 laps(3x400m) of jogging on the curves and sprinting on the straights.

Simple but effective. I managed a 8 min/mi on one of my sprints! Now, I couldn't breathe after that, but it was fun!

Overall I ran 4 miles, 0.75 on the track, 3.25 on the road. A 11:43 average pace! Yeah!