I've written a recap of the weekend and hopefully I'll post it soon! I need to add pictures and I haven't had a spare second to do that. So, hold tight and it'll be up soon! Promise!
Until then, I have to post about this morning. It's Wednesday and I like documenting my track experiences!
I woke up this morning super tired and not excited for track. This is not typical of me. I got up and made myself go, though! I didn't want to have to go tonight.
I warmed up a mile and then allowed myself to look at the workout. Had I known prior to track, I probably wouldn't have gone.
1600 800 400 400 800 1600
It was a backwards pyramid and there was like 1 minute rest in between everything. Not fair!
My expected times: 6:36 3:12 1:33 1:33 3:12 6:36
1600 - Holy Cow! Super hard and my legs were like lead! I couldn't keep up and was behind the entire time. I sprinted a little at the end and came across in 6:38. I was pretty discouraged after this and thought there was no way I could do this workout. My friend, Jen, who was also in my group said some amazing words after this rep. She told me to quit thinking about the entire workout. It was like she was reading my mind. She said to only focus on what we were running then. We had an 800 to run. Don't think about it the rest of it.
800 - Still feeling tired but I was determined. I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to die so I should get over myself and just run. 96, 95. I ran a 3:11. Perfect!
400 - 90 seconds. Oops! A little too fast. I love 400's though!
400 - 95 seconds. Oops! A little too slow. We averaged perfectly though! We had tried to slow it down to the right pace but came across a little slower than planned.
800 - We were at 1:41 at the 400 mark. We were supposed to be at 1:36. Oh well. We picked it up and ran a 1:30 for the second lap finishing right at 3:11! Score!
1600 - Holy cow. I was petrified. 99 seconds per lap. That was the goal. I didn't want to start too fast. I knew that would be tough. First lap: 1:40 Second lap: 3:20 (2 seconds off goal) Third lap: 4:56 (NICE) Fourth lap = fastest for a total time of 6:31!
It felt so good to push through when I thought I couldn't. Jen and I ran a cool down mile and I called it a day! :)
I've never regretted a track workout! The key is just getting there. I just have to keep remembering, I am tougher than I think I am!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
PF Changs then Track?
I slept in yesterday morning! I've been pretty tired the past couple of weeks. I was looking forward to morning track on Wednesday, but after a few glasses of wine with a girlfriend on Tuesday night (I've gotta have a life, too:)), I decided to just sleep in and go to night track.
It worked out well, too because David had dinner plans with some people from work! Score! Or so I thought . . .
I've been trying to do lunch with a girlfriend from work for weeks now. We finally agreed on yesterday so I decided to still go and went to PF Changs. I knew I had six hours until track, but figured I'd be okay. We had the lettuce chicken wraps as an appetizer and then I had one of the lunch bowls as my entree: brown rice, grilled salmon and asparagus. It was delicious!
I think I chose all of the right foods - I just ate TOO much! I could have probably laid off of the lettuce wraps, but oh well! By 6:30PM, I was still stuffed!!
Somehow, I still managed to complete the workout:
10x400, 1600
Rest: 1:15 minutes in between
Goal times: 93 seconds for the 400's, 6:52 for the mile
I think the goal was to not push the 400's and for it to make the mile pace to feel slow and easy. 6:52 pace is 1:43 per lap (so we were able to slow down 10 seconds per lap).
My times:
90 91 90 92 91 91 92 91 90 91 6:47
The mile was tough and I seriously felt like a complete failure. I had nothing left and felt like I had given up but still managed a 6:47. I think that was the point. Had I continued my 400 pace, I would have run a 6:00-6:10 mile - which clearly, I did not. My stomach was so full and I had no appetite for about two hours after this workout!!
It worked out well, too because David had dinner plans with some people from work! Score! Or so I thought . . .
I've been trying to do lunch with a girlfriend from work for weeks now. We finally agreed on yesterday so I decided to still go and went to PF Changs. I knew I had six hours until track, but figured I'd be okay. We had the lettuce chicken wraps as an appetizer and then I had one of the lunch bowls as my entree: brown rice, grilled salmon and asparagus. It was delicious!
I think I chose all of the right foods - I just ate TOO much! I could have probably laid off of the lettuce wraps, but oh well! By 6:30PM, I was still stuffed!!
Somehow, I still managed to complete the workout:
10x400, 1600
Rest: 1:15 minutes in between
Goal times: 93 seconds for the 400's, 6:52 for the mile
I think the goal was to not push the 400's and for it to make the mile pace to feel slow and easy. 6:52 pace is 1:43 per lap (so we were able to slow down 10 seconds per lap).
My times:
90 91 90 92 91 91 92 91 90 91 6:47
The mile was tough and I seriously felt like a complete failure. I had nothing left and felt like I had given up but still managed a 6:47. I think that was the point. Had I continued my 400 pace, I would have run a 6:00-6:10 mile - which clearly, I did not. My stomach was so full and I had no appetite for about two hours after this workout!!
Monday, February 7, 2011
The wrong way to run 49 minutes . . .
Holy cow! I had the hardest workout today! It was a HUGE fail, too! Well, kind of!
After driving for almost 9 hours yesterday and then watching the Superbowl, I opted to sleep in this morning and tempo later. I was forced with either a lunch time tempo or an evening tempo and for whatever reason, my friend Nate and I decided upon lunch time.
I even met him at Bayshore to set myself up for success. My schedule said 7:15-7:45-7:15-7:45-7:15-7:45 I was actually secretly excited about this run because I thought I could nail it. I've been doing my tempos around the 7:20 pace, but have only been running around 3 miles at a time at that pace. This stretches it to six miles - even though 3 are slower! Not to mention, this workout is supposed to make the 7:45 mile feel slow. Who doesn't want "easy" to be 7:45? Anyway, I thought this would be a great workout mentally for me, especially if I nailed it.
It's 75 degrees, sunny and pretty humid! The wind was blowing, but I didn't realize how much until we began.
After half a mile warm up, we restarted our Garmins and took off. I was surprised. .25 in and we were running at a 6:19 pace. Weird! I knew that 6 miles was a long way though, so we tried to slow it down.
It was SOOOO hot for the first three miles. I seriously haven't been that hot in at least 4 months! Occasionally, we could feel the wind behind us. Well, it was always behind us but at some points it was pushing us forward. In retrospect, I should have ran faster but I didn't want to exceed the times too much in fear of not finishing.
After a speedy start, we finished the first mile in 7:01. Mile two was slower - as planned - but still ahead of pace: 7:33 Mile three was dead on: 7:14. 3 miles in 21:49!! Not a bad way to begin a tempo . . .
Until we turned around. It was windy. Like you cannot move any faster and easy=hard kind of windy! Really, really windy! I made up my mind that I couldn't finish the workout but that I would run at a little faster than "easy" pace. Okay, so my next mile: 9:32. I'm not even kidding, not even a little. I felt like I was running up hill and into wind. Most the way back, my eyes were shut, too. There was dirt and leaves flying everywhere. The good? It wasn't so hot, the wind was keeping me cool. But, seriously, it would have been hard to even walk in this!
I didn't stop for water. I told myself I didn't deserve it. Afterall, Nate decided to finish the workout, no matter what the effort was. I decided to give effort and not worry about the pace. Hmmmm. Mile 5: 9:07 and Mile 6: 9:06.
Those were three of the hardest miles I've ever run. It took everything out of me to not walk, not stop for a mental break and not get water. I forced myself to keep going telling myself I didn't deserve water! I guess that was the positive.
I'd say that those last three miles were equivalent to an 8:15-8:20 pace effort. No joke.
Nate finished and hit the times. We decided that he really ran 6:20-6:30 pace to hit the times.
So, after a 3 mile start in 21:50ish, I finished 6 miles in 49:32. Crazy! When I got back to my car, I checked the weather. 75 degrees with 24 mph winds - and we were running on the Bay, so they were probably even worse than that!
Jaime = 0
Wind = 1
Let's just hope we don't face this kind of wind during my next half that is on that course!!
After driving for almost 9 hours yesterday and then watching the Superbowl, I opted to sleep in this morning and tempo later. I was forced with either a lunch time tempo or an evening tempo and for whatever reason, my friend Nate and I decided upon lunch time.
I even met him at Bayshore to set myself up for success. My schedule said 7:15-7:45-7:15-7:45-7:15-7:45 I was actually secretly excited about this run because I thought I could nail it. I've been doing my tempos around the 7:20 pace, but have only been running around 3 miles at a time at that pace. This stretches it to six miles - even though 3 are slower! Not to mention, this workout is supposed to make the 7:45 mile feel slow. Who doesn't want "easy" to be 7:45? Anyway, I thought this would be a great workout mentally for me, especially if I nailed it.
It's 75 degrees, sunny and pretty humid! The wind was blowing, but I didn't realize how much until we began.
After half a mile warm up, we restarted our Garmins and took off. I was surprised. .25 in and we were running at a 6:19 pace. Weird! I knew that 6 miles was a long way though, so we tried to slow it down.
It was SOOOO hot for the first three miles. I seriously haven't been that hot in at least 4 months! Occasionally, we could feel the wind behind us. Well, it was always behind us but at some points it was pushing us forward. In retrospect, I should have ran faster but I didn't want to exceed the times too much in fear of not finishing.
After a speedy start, we finished the first mile in 7:01. Mile two was slower - as planned - but still ahead of pace: 7:33 Mile three was dead on: 7:14. 3 miles in 21:49!! Not a bad way to begin a tempo . . .
Until we turned around. It was windy. Like you cannot move any faster and easy=hard kind of windy! Really, really windy! I made up my mind that I couldn't finish the workout but that I would run at a little faster than "easy" pace. Okay, so my next mile: 9:32. I'm not even kidding, not even a little. I felt like I was running up hill and into wind. Most the way back, my eyes were shut, too. There was dirt and leaves flying everywhere. The good? It wasn't so hot, the wind was keeping me cool. But, seriously, it would have been hard to even walk in this!
I didn't stop for water. I told myself I didn't deserve it. Afterall, Nate decided to finish the workout, no matter what the effort was. I decided to give effort and not worry about the pace. Hmmmm. Mile 5: 9:07 and Mile 6: 9:06.
Those were three of the hardest miles I've ever run. It took everything out of me to not walk, not stop for a mental break and not get water. I forced myself to keep going telling myself I didn't deserve water! I guess that was the positive.
I'd say that those last three miles were equivalent to an 8:15-8:20 pace effort. No joke.
Nate finished and hit the times. We decided that he really ran 6:20-6:30 pace to hit the times.
So, after a 3 mile start in 21:50ish, I finished 6 miles in 49:32. Crazy! When I got back to my car, I checked the weather. 75 degrees with 24 mph winds - and we were running on the Bay, so they were probably even worse than that!
Jaime = 0
Wind = 1
Let's just hope we don't face this kind of wind during my next half that is on that course!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Mountains - Okay, maybe just Hills!
I didn't run my long run this weekend. I was on a semi vacation and decided to just run hard for an hour instead. It felt good! An hour of fast running is probably just as good for me as 10-13 miles of easy running, right? It was a beautiful day - 45 degrees and sunny! Perfect running weather.
I was in southern Indiana and it wasn't quite the sea level flat running that I'm used to. I was surprised that I didn't climb more than it says ... oh well, the numbers don't lie.
1) 8:18
2) 8:24
3) 8:00
4) 7:45
5) 7:40
6) 7:49
7) 7:31
8) 4:31 (7:41 pace) for .59 miles
7.59 miles in 1:00:00
Total Elevation Gain was 255 feet (Total loss was 255 feet, too). I guess that is what happens when you start and end at the same place! Ha!
This was a great run though. It started off being an easy 4 miler that turned into a 5 miler and then into a 6 miler and then into a 7 miler ... finally finishing at a "I think I'll just run for an hour." Ha!
I was in southern Indiana and it wasn't quite the sea level flat running that I'm used to. I was surprised that I didn't climb more than it says ... oh well, the numbers don't lie.
1) 8:18
2) 8:24
3) 8:00
4) 7:45
5) 7:40
6) 7:49
7) 7:31
8) 4:31 (7:41 pace) for .59 miles
7.59 miles in 1:00:00
Total Elevation Gain was 255 feet (Total loss was 255 feet, too). I guess that is what happens when you start and end at the same place! Ha!
This was a great run though. It started off being an easy 4 miler that turned into a 5 miler and then into a 6 miler and then into a 7 miler ... finally finishing at a "I think I'll just run for an hour." Ha!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Post Half Marathon Track
Gotta make this quick ...
Track workout yesterday:
800 1600 1600 800
I hate when we have 1600's in the workout. I don't know why! I'm getting better about mentally preparing for them, but I just don't like them.
Goal times: 3:18 and 6:44
We rested 1:30 after the 800 and 3 minutes after the mile.
My times: 3:09, 6:34, 6:30, 3:12
I actually felt pretty good!! My legs are a little tight from Sunday - but, why wouldn't they be? Those were killer HILLS!!!
Work is crazy and super busy!! Wedding planning is finally in FULL force! I'm starting to narrow down some things, so that's good! We're even getting pretty close to nailing down a date - at least we've got it down to a two week span in June! :)
Track workout yesterday:
800 1600 1600 800
I hate when we have 1600's in the workout. I don't know why! I'm getting better about mentally preparing for them, but I just don't like them.
Goal times: 3:18 and 6:44
We rested 1:30 after the 800 and 3 minutes after the mile.
My times: 3:09, 6:34, 6:30, 3:12
I actually felt pretty good!! My legs are a little tight from Sunday - but, why wouldn't they be? Those were killer HILLS!!!
Work is crazy and super busy!! Wedding planning is finally in FULL force! I'm starting to narrow down some things, so that's good! We're even getting pretty close to nailing down a date - at least we've got it down to a two week span in June! :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Clearwater Half Marathon: RR
It's been a busy week. I've not been a great blogger at all. Not only have I not written regularly, but I've raced twice (10K last weekend and half today) and didn't take my camera with me to either race. I did; however, go out with Penny one night and happen to take pictures then. I even bought my wedding dress and had a camera then ... just not at the races :/
Dinner and Wine at Penny's!
Sadly, I think we finally got this picture right on take 100!
Posed, but cute, right?!
We thought we should go "out" even after all of that wine! :)
PR and good enough for automatic entry into the NYC marathon!! No more lottery for this girl! :)
The 10K website will not let me save the pictures from online (even with the copyright sign across them), so if you'd like to check them out, you can go here. While warming up, Jackie, Luis and I ran on the 5K course and so the photographer took our pictures then, too! Ha! :)
Before I get to today's race, here are some other pictures from this week. I never post pictures and I feel like I owe you guys more than a lot!
Dinner and Wine at Penny's!
Sadly, I think we finally got this picture right on take 100!
Posed, but cute, right?!
We thought we should go "out" even after all of that wine! :)
Okay, so onto the race!!
After the Holiday Half, I vowed to taper before my next! I stuck to my normal schedule through Wednesday track and then took Thursday and Friday completely OFF! I ran two miles yesterday to loosen my legs. One easy, one at "goal pace." 8:24, 7:19 Perfect! :)
This morning came early. The alarm went off at 4:45AM. I immediately checked the weather on my phone and it was 44 degrees. It wasn't supposed to warm up! I didn't really know what to wear. It was freezing, but I wasn't sure how much my body would warm up. 44 degrees and windy!! I was nervous.
I got to the race almost an hour early and was able to park about 200 feet away from the Start/Finish line. It's the small things that make me happy! :) Sadly though, I was freezing and sat in my car until about fifteen minutes before the race started. I just didn't want to be cold. I warmed for about five minutes and then made my way to the start line.
My only race strategy was to feel good the entire time. I had an amazing half on Nov. 21st (1:37:35) running and feeling better than I've ever before! Three weeks later, I ran another half in 1:41:54 and was miserable from mile 5 on. This week I analyzed the splits to both races. By mile 4 of the miserable race I was over a minute faster than I was on my PR race. I started TOO fast and it caused me not only misery, but 4+ minutes later in the race. I've never crashed and burned so badly in a race before and was determined to not let that happen!
So, race plan! The first five miles cannot be faster than 7:30. Then, if I feel good, I can pick it up! I kept it that simple.
The problem ... it was windy and the course was HILLY!! My coach had already written on my schedule that this wouldn't be a PR course. By the way, when someone from FL says "hilly" it means that we're running bridges. It's usually .25-.35 miles worth of climbing 75-100 feet followed by an equally steep downhill.
I can honestly say that I felt very good the entire time!! .25 miles into the race and I was running at an 8:07 pace. I didn't start too fast!!! I started about 14 seconds back which worked!! This course was absolutely beautiful and I would definitely recommend this race!
7:39 - first HILL
7:22 - first downhill
7:26
7:35 - second HILL
7:19 - second downhill
7:21
7:23
7:32 (horrible wind)
7:31 (horrible wind)
7:40 - third and hardest HILL
7:24 - third down hill
7:22
6:58 - fourth HILL + fourth downhill
6:10 pace
Total Time: 1:35:53
PR and good enough for automatic entry into the NYC marathon!! No more lottery for this girl! :)
12th overall female 12/261
57th overall place (men and women) 57/600 (exactly 600 finishers)
1st in age group 1/32 FINALLY!!!
Monday, January 17, 2011
St. Pete Beach Classic 10K
I have officially raced and finished a 10K. It is one of the few distances (normal distances at least) that I have yet to race!
I don't know that I love the 10K distance. It's kind of weird and I wasn't quite sure what pace to run. My 5K PR pace is 6:36 and my 1/2 marathon PR pace is 7:25ish. So, I was secretly hoping to be around 7:00 flat, but also didn't want to crash and burn with 4 miles left ... so I decided to aim for 7:15 to "play it safe."
Well, let's just say that it was good to play it safe, because these little legs would have definitely crashed and burned. Playing it safe wasn't as easy as it sounded ...
I was determined to practice pacing and determined to run the first two miles no faster than 7:30! Then, the plan was to run 2 miles at 7:15 and aim for 7:00 for the last two.
So, the gun goes off and I begin. The first mile feels like cake and I keep slowing myself down. Don't you just love that feeling. I came across mile one in 7:18 and I was happy with it.
I continued the pace for the next mile. By 1.5 it didn't feel "easy" anymore, but it certainly didn't feel horrible! Mile two: 7:17 I was happy to be consistent!
Around mile 3, I decided that pace was good for the rest of the race. Another girl that I run with throughout the week kept passing me. We literally passed each other maybe 10 times throughout the race. Everytime she would pass me, I would tell myself to keep up! Then, I would end up passing her. I would keep checking my watch though and I was pretty consistent .... Hhhhhmmmm Mile three: 7:19 I hit the 5K mat in 22:45. Only 15 seconds slower than I hoped.
The back and forth non sense continued. Mile four was the slowest, but it had several curves. The rest of the race was on a complete, flat straightaway. Mile four: 7:22
At this point, despite the back and forth running, I knew I could push for two miles. I kept telling myself that I always end strong and that on Monday the last two miles of my tempo were 7:14 and 7:06 so there was no reason I shouldn't be sub 7 in a race.
But, I couldn't run any faster. I just felt weird. I literally never zoned out and remember every single second of the race! Bizarre!
Mile 5: 7:20
I tried to pick it up during the last mile. I knew it would be over soon - but, soon wasn't coming fast enough. With half a mile left, I picked it up but with .2 left, I had zero kick. I just couldn't run ANY faster. Mile 6: 7:14
I usually have a great kick at the end, but sadly I ran the last .24 (according to my Garmin) at a 6:46 pace. At least I picked it up a little. The girl from my group beat me by three seconds .... UGH! I'm happy for her, but I was mentally defeated and tired of playing chase (YES, I realize that this was a race). Next time ....
I crossed the finish line in 45:24 (7:17 average pace). I was relieved it was finished. It was funny because a minute later I'm 100% fine and thinking isn't it crazy how we push so hard and can't wait for it to be finished. Then, not even a minute after we finish all of the pain is gone!!
That's going to be my new mantra on these short races .... the pain seriously is temporary!! I am stronger than I think!
I'm not disappointed in myself. Sometimes we have great runs, other times not. Sure, I wanted a sub 45, but this was my first go at this distance. I'll get it. I'm faster! For having a blah day, I'd say I did okay!
5th place age group/38
16th overall female/280
63rd overall/584
Hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon!
**My younger sister, Amber, has decided to create a blog. She is trying to change her lifestyle and needs some encouragement!!** I plan on devoting an entire post to her later this week, when I can take some time to write it and post pictures! I can't access my pics from work. Anyway, head over her way and say hi!! http://ambercody.blogspot.com Thanks!!
I don't know that I love the 10K distance. It's kind of weird and I wasn't quite sure what pace to run. My 5K PR pace is 6:36 and my 1/2 marathon PR pace is 7:25ish. So, I was secretly hoping to be around 7:00 flat, but also didn't want to crash and burn with 4 miles left ... so I decided to aim for 7:15 to "play it safe."
Well, let's just say that it was good to play it safe, because these little legs would have definitely crashed and burned. Playing it safe wasn't as easy as it sounded ...
I was determined to practice pacing and determined to run the first two miles no faster than 7:30! Then, the plan was to run 2 miles at 7:15 and aim for 7:00 for the last two.
So, the gun goes off and I begin. The first mile feels like cake and I keep slowing myself down. Don't you just love that feeling. I came across mile one in 7:18 and I was happy with it.
I continued the pace for the next mile. By 1.5 it didn't feel "easy" anymore, but it certainly didn't feel horrible! Mile two: 7:17 I was happy to be consistent!
Around mile 3, I decided that pace was good for the rest of the race. Another girl that I run with throughout the week kept passing me. We literally passed each other maybe 10 times throughout the race. Everytime she would pass me, I would tell myself to keep up! Then, I would end up passing her. I would keep checking my watch though and I was pretty consistent .... Hhhhhmmmm Mile three: 7:19 I hit the 5K mat in 22:45. Only 15 seconds slower than I hoped.
The back and forth non sense continued. Mile four was the slowest, but it had several curves. The rest of the race was on a complete, flat straightaway. Mile four: 7:22
At this point, despite the back and forth running, I knew I could push for two miles. I kept telling myself that I always end strong and that on Monday the last two miles of my tempo were 7:14 and 7:06 so there was no reason I shouldn't be sub 7 in a race.
But, I couldn't run any faster. I just felt weird. I literally never zoned out and remember every single second of the race! Bizarre!
Mile 5: 7:20
I tried to pick it up during the last mile. I knew it would be over soon - but, soon wasn't coming fast enough. With half a mile left, I picked it up but with .2 left, I had zero kick. I just couldn't run ANY faster. Mile 6: 7:14
I usually have a great kick at the end, but sadly I ran the last .24 (according to my Garmin) at a 6:46 pace. At least I picked it up a little. The girl from my group beat me by three seconds .... UGH! I'm happy for her, but I was mentally defeated and tired of playing chase (YES, I realize that this was a race). Next time ....
I crossed the finish line in 45:24 (7:17 average pace). I was relieved it was finished. It was funny because a minute later I'm 100% fine and thinking isn't it crazy how we push so hard and can't wait for it to be finished. Then, not even a minute after we finish all of the pain is gone!!
That's going to be my new mantra on these short races .... the pain seriously is temporary!! I am stronger than I think!
I'm not disappointed in myself. Sometimes we have great runs, other times not. Sure, I wanted a sub 45, but this was my first go at this distance. I'll get it. I'm faster! For having a blah day, I'd say I did okay!
5th place age group/38
16th overall female/280
63rd overall/584
Hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon!
**My younger sister, Amber, has decided to create a blog. She is trying to change her lifestyle and needs some encouragement!!** I plan on devoting an entire post to her later this week, when I can take some time to write it and post pictures! I can't access my pics from work. Anyway, head over her way and say hi!! http://ambercody.blogspot.com Thanks!!
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