I have very little blogging time these days but I wanted to keep up so I didn't get behind! This week I have been ditching my apps and such and just enjoying familiar routes.
Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 4.5 miles
It has been great to not have the pressure of a particular pace or whatnot, it has really helped me relax and just enjoy my runs. I will time myself again later, but I figure that as I get really back into running from a pretty inactive summer, I need to give my body to get back into the swing before I start puting pressure on it. That being said, I'm just impressed I have gotten 2 runs in this week so far. School is super busy!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
A Much-Better 3 1/2 Miles!
I am a textbook shotgun runner. The race starts and I blow out of there way too fast, pooping out when I still have 3/4 of my race left. Worst case scenario, I get a horrible gut-wrenching side-ache that has me walking most of the rest of the race. It is a living nightmare. So...in the interest of running more efficiently, and more intelligently, I'm working hard to pace myself and focus on earning negative splits. Until just recently I didn't have a clue what that meant. Here is my definition:
Negative Split: Running subsequent mile splits faster than previous mile splits.
It is your basic acceleration run. You start out slow, as slow as you need to be able to run each mile a tad faster than the previous. In the end you finish strong, building stamina and confidence as you go.
I tried this out today. I still started out too fast, even though I felt like I was taking it easy. The challenge is that everything feels easy at mile 1! So I think what I will try to do (while it can be annoying) is check my pace every block or so for now, to learn how to keep it slower. I really need to learn this badly.
So after my first mile, I felt myself pooping around mile 1 1/2. I literally felt the glycogen stores being used up and my muscles starting to feel weak. So I slowed it down. I just didn't want to stop. Around mile 2 I felt a bit of a burst as I took a slightly different, more scenic route. I blasted the last straight-stretch and earned a negative split for mile 3! Yay!!
So I am getting this gradual thing figured out. Moral of the story...there is always something to learn in the sport of running!! Always!
** By the way, I updated my Nike+ app and today I had Tim Tebow congratulating me on my run. I can't wait to see what other athletes they added! It's kind of cool that some are athletes besides elite runners.
Negative Split: Running subsequent mile splits faster than previous mile splits.
It is your basic acceleration run. You start out slow, as slow as you need to be able to run each mile a tad faster than the previous. In the end you finish strong, building stamina and confidence as you go.
I tried this out today. I still started out too fast, even though I felt like I was taking it easy. The challenge is that everything feels easy at mile 1! So I think what I will try to do (while it can be annoying) is check my pace every block or so for now, to learn how to keep it slower. I really need to learn this badly.
So after my first mile, I felt myself pooping around mile 1 1/2. I literally felt the glycogen stores being used up and my muscles starting to feel weak. So I slowed it down. I just didn't want to stop. Around mile 2 I felt a bit of a burst as I took a slightly different, more scenic route. I blasted the last straight-stretch and earned a negative split for mile 3! Yay!!
So I am getting this gradual thing figured out. Moral of the story...there is always something to learn in the sport of running!! Always!
** By the way, I updated my Nike+ app and today I had Tim Tebow congratulating me on my run. I can't wait to see what other athletes they added! It's kind of cool that some are athletes besides elite runners.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Melanee's 10 Running Answers
I'm playing along with Run Like a Mother's 10-question game started last week
1. Best Run Ever:
Dimity was right, this is a tough question, especially if you have been running for a pretty long time. I think I have to say a 10-mile training run I did up near Sequim, WA on the Olympic Discovery Trail. Everything was just right: Perfect Temperature, Beautiful ever-changing scenery, 10 miles that seemed effortless...and oh did I mention it was my 31st birthday?
2. Three words that describe my running: Exhilarating. Challenging. Gradual
3. My go-to running outfit is: Nike dri-fit running capris and older Nike sports bra, Bright blue Portland Rock n Roll Brooks dri-fit t-shirt, thin Nike running socks, black LunarGlides and last-but-certainly-not-least: Hair in a pony braid, otherwise the underside balls up into a horrible rats nest by the end of my run
4. Quirky habit while running: checking my reflection in the shop windows I pass. This is mostly because I'm constantly checking my form but I probably look like I'm just checking out how fly I am ;)
5. Morning, midday, evening: My running sweet spot of the day is around 8:30, but in reality I am trying to be flexible and run on my lunch break and maybe in the evenings. If I want to run in the morning with my upcoming schedule it is going to have to be somewhere between 5-6 o'clock and I don't like running outdoors in the dark!
6. I won't run outside when it's: Like I said, I hate running when it is dark and I will most likely turn around if I walk outside into Oregon's sideways rain.
7. Worst injury-and how I got over it: Over a year ago I was into a great training mojo and feeling like Superwoman as a runner. Well as fate would have it, I had kissed my kids goodnight and while walking out of their room, I stepped on a Hot Wheels car and turned my foot-not my ankle-my foot. So I totally messed up the bones and tendons in the top of my foot which led to tendinitis, which seemed to linger on forever. All I could do to get over it was baby my foot and take good care of it. I stayed in decent shape by utilizing the elliptical at school. Needless to say, that was the last time the kids didn't pick up their room before bed. They felt almost as bad as I did about it!
8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when: I broke 2 hours in my first half marathon (1:57:04). I had wished I would have been wearing a shirt that said, "Mom of 3" on the back.
9. Next race is: Barefoot on the Beach 5K in Gearhart, OR
10. Potential Running Goal for 2013: Reach the 1,000 miles I have been working toward. Keep running in general! I am starting nursing school so just keeping running a part of my life will be a huge accomplishment!
1. Best Run Ever:
Dimity was right, this is a tough question, especially if you have been running for a pretty long time. I think I have to say a 10-mile training run I did up near Sequim, WA on the Olympic Discovery Trail. Everything was just right: Perfect Temperature, Beautiful ever-changing scenery, 10 miles that seemed effortless...and oh did I mention it was my 31st birthday?
2. Three words that describe my running: Exhilarating. Challenging. Gradual
3. My go-to running outfit is: Nike dri-fit running capris and older Nike sports bra, Bright blue Portland Rock n Roll Brooks dri-fit t-shirt, thin Nike running socks, black LunarGlides and last-but-certainly-not-least: Hair in a pony braid, otherwise the underside balls up into a horrible rats nest by the end of my run
4. Quirky habit while running: checking my reflection in the shop windows I pass. This is mostly because I'm constantly checking my form but I probably look like I'm just checking out how fly I am ;)
5. Morning, midday, evening: My running sweet spot of the day is around 8:30, but in reality I am trying to be flexible and run on my lunch break and maybe in the evenings. If I want to run in the morning with my upcoming schedule it is going to have to be somewhere between 5-6 o'clock and I don't like running outdoors in the dark!
6. I won't run outside when it's: Like I said, I hate running when it is dark and I will most likely turn around if I walk outside into Oregon's sideways rain.
7. Worst injury-and how I got over it: Over a year ago I was into a great training mojo and feeling like Superwoman as a runner. Well as fate would have it, I had kissed my kids goodnight and while walking out of their room, I stepped on a Hot Wheels car and turned my foot-not my ankle-my foot. So I totally messed up the bones and tendons in the top of my foot which led to tendinitis, which seemed to linger on forever. All I could do to get over it was baby my foot and take good care of it. I stayed in decent shape by utilizing the elliptical at school. Needless to say, that was the last time the kids didn't pick up their room before bed. They felt almost as bad as I did about it!
8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when: I broke 2 hours in my first half marathon (1:57:04). I had wished I would have been wearing a shirt that said, "Mom of 3" on the back.
9. Next race is: Barefoot on the Beach 5K in Gearhart, OR
10. Potential Running Goal for 2013: Reach the 1,000 miles I have been working toward. Keep running in general! I am starting nursing school so just keeping running a part of my life will be a huge accomplishment!
A Better 5K
This morning I got out there and made myself proud! I ran a simple 5K, and took it easy. I consider myself re-training after my summer of lacking. My body has backtracked a bit and I'm not quite in the shape I was back in May. But the key is increasing the number of days I am running, and getting out there regularly!
I wore my Disneyland half SWAG t-shirt and it really doesn't fit very well. I still love it though!
I wore my Disneyland half SWAG t-shirt and it really doesn't fit very well. I still love it though!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
A Redeeming Sunny 4-Miler!
After my crummy 6-miler attempt Monday, Wednesday I hit the streets again to run. I went ahead for 4 miles and it went well! The weather is pretty and I felt great! It has been a few days now but I am planning on a good run tomorrow and Tuesday, and hopefully Thursday and Friday. A few small races have come up and I'm hoping to jump in on at least one of them!
Happy Fall everyone!
Happy Fall everyone!
A Lousy Non-6-Miler
After getting back from vacation, I was motivated to hit the ground running, literally. I figured I had just knocked out a half marathon, what was a 6-miler? Piece of cake! Well not so much. I bit off more than I could chew. I got half way, which was the top of the great big hill and I walked some. Then I got a sideache that would not go away. I stopped my Nike+ and called it done. I enjoyed walking back on the beach on that sunny morning. So maybe I can run/walk a half marathon but I am not quite to 6-milers-are-a-piece-of-cake shape yet ;)
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