114 Days Left

 



After spending 3 days in the house with my family while Hurricane Sandy blew outside, I was determined to run today.  I knew that it wasn't going to be fast and I knew that it wasn't going to be far, but I was going to do it.  I got up and put on my running clothes to take the baby to the Little Gym.  Since hubby had the big boys who were home from school for yet another day, my plan was to basically run home.  As we got to the end of the class, I looked out to see it raining....again. 

 

Well, I was already dressed and I learned at the Neptune Festival 8K that contrary to popular belief, I will not melt in the rain.  I learned at the Wicked 10K this weekend that it will take quite a bit for me to blow away, so I got out of the car and started running.

 

I have been eyeballing an overpass about a mile from my house as a prime place for some hill training.  (You see, there is a pretty nasty man made hill in Florida.  Disney thought it would be a fun joke to put this hill at mile 11 or something equally as evil.  Since I can't get up my driveway after a 5 mile run, I am very concerned about getting up an exit ramp at mile 11.  To overcome this problem, I am going to find some hills around my sea level house and start adding them to the end of my long runs and working them into my short runs.)  Anyway, I could come out of the back of the shopping center where we were and pick up the sidewalk that would take me up and over the mini mountain.

 

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your perspective), I was running into the wind on the way out, so on the way back, the wind and rain were at my back instead of smacking me in the face.)  Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your perspective), I hit the overpass during my walking interval both times.  That made the first attempt at the mini mountain pretty easy.  I walked up and ran down.  Luckily, the rain did finally stop. 

 

All in all, it was a pretty good run.  I'm glad I got out there and did it, even with the rain.

 

Today's Stats:

2.66 miles in 32:29.  (12.12 minute miles)

 

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days, so I'll throw one in every so often.....

 

Fast People Problems

• You never get to see the amazing sight of hundreds (or thousands) of heads bobbing when the pack takes off at the starting gun.

116 days Left

Bib#:    7428 Overall Results Time: 1:22:06 Place: 5748 Finishers: 7264 Age Group Results Group: Female 30 to 34 Place: 611 Finishers: 791 Gender Results Gender: F Place: 3443 Finishers: 4689 The official results from the Wicked 10K were sent via e-mail today.  Seeing these numbers really changed my outlook on my run.  Yep, I was slow.  Yep, I wanted to be faster.  Yep, a lot of people finished the race before me.  But, I finished the race before a lot of people.   I finished faster than 1516 people overall.   I finished faster than 180 women in my age group.   I finished faster than 1246 other women.   When I first started running in races, my whole goal was to finish and not be last.  Now that I am running with a time pressure, my goals have changed a little bit.  But, I still consider a run to be a win if I am not last.    Now I am setting my sights on the Turkey Trot.  Maybe the thought of getting home for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be all of the motivation I need to get going faster.    Today's Stats: No running....recovering from yesterday's race.  Went to bed with a swollen knee and pretty sore legs.  Woke up with a knee back to normal size and a slight, lingering soreness that reminded me that I worked hard yesterday.   

117 Days Until the Disney Princess Half Marathon

This morning I ran the Wicked 10K.  I was hoping to be able to submit my time to Disney to help my corral placement.  This was a bit of a hindrance:

 

 

Maybe you are wondering what that is.  It's Hurricane Sandy.  The storm was worrisome enough that the after party was moved inside, but not worrisome enough to cancel the race.  So, at 8:00 this morning, we were off....one corral at a time until all 8 had crossed the start line. 

 

But, let's back up.  The race started at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and ended about a mile away on the Oceanfront Boardwalk.  The after party was supposed to be at the finish line, but was moved BACK to the Convention Center because of the weather.  One of the biggest concerns for me was where to park.  My plan was to pay to park down by the finish line and then do a warm up walk to the start.  With the change, I decided to park at the start.  There are just over 2000 free parking spots at the Convention Center.  There were 7264 people who finished the race today.  To make sure that I was NOT one of the 5000 that had to find alternative parking, I got there VERY early.  I think that I pulled into the dark parking lot just after 6:30.  I went inside to use a real bathroom and then headed outside to find a local running group that I have joined on Facebook.  I met some really nice girls, most of whom are serious runners.  Most of them are WAY faster than me.  I am looking forward to joining them for some other events.

 

The weather this morning was decent.  It was cloudy and cool.  It was a little breezy at the start, but it wasn't raining.  (I did decide before I got out of the car that it would be a good idea to leave my cute little fascinator in the car so it wouldn't blow away.  This turned out to be a good idea.)  I found my way to my corral through all of the crazy costumes and waited for the start.

 

I ran for the first 1/2 mile or so because the crowd was still a little too thick to stop and walk.  Once things started to thin out, I tried to find a pocket when it was time to walk.  I can only imagine how crowded it will be at Disney if it was this crowded with 7264 runners.  There will be at least twice as many in Florida.  There was no wind really because we were running towards the east.  We had some wind when there was a break in the hotels every couple of blocks, but it wasn't terrible.  Things stayed pretty calm and easy until the Mile 2 Marker, where we made a turn that had us running north on the Boardwalk.  We proceeded to run north for 40 blocks..  Those were the hardest 40 blocks I have ever run in my life.  We were running right into the wind.  According to the Weather Channel, we had sustained winds of 15mph with gusts that were higher.  There were places that were like wind tunnels and I thought I was running into a wall.  It took my breath away a couple of times.  After the 40 blocks of headwind, we turned back onto the Boardwalk to the finish at 19th Street (so, 21 more blocks).  By the time we made the turn, I was tired.  It was hard to get motivated to run again when the watch beeped.  But, eventually I saw the finish line.  I made it!  I got my medal, my finisher Tervis Tumbler, a  bottle of  water, and a banana and made my way through the crowds to head back to the starting line again. 

 

 

Here's the thing about being new to this whole running thing.....it doesn't matter how slow you go because EVERY run is a PR!  I wasn't fast enough to submit this time to Disney.  I needed to finish in 1:14 to submit to Disney.  I didn't do that.  But, I set a personal best for a 10K.   Now I have something to try and beat when I run my next 10K on Thanksgiving Day.  I'm going to do it.....as long as I don't have to compete with a hurricane!!

 

 

Today's Stats:

6.2 miles in 1:22:06 (clock time)
13.15 minute miles
Finished in 5758th place (that means I finished faster than 1516 people)
Finished 611th in my age group
Finished 3443 of all of the women

From my watch:
1:21:50
Mile 1:  11.49
Mile 2:  12.11
Mile 3:  13.03
Mile 4:  13.34
Mile 5:  14.05
Mile 6:  14.32

 



119 Days Left

 

I woke up with grand plans. (I also woke up with a headache, but that is irrelevant to the story to follow.)   I was going to run my 3.5 miles and then come home and start my day.  Well, life happens while you are busy making plans.  The school bus, which is always so early that I am like a drill sargent in my house, was SUPER late because of a substitute driver.  (Karma....be careful what you wish for!)  So, instead of coming at dark 05, the bus came at 7:30.  I am usually finishing up my run at about 7:30.  So, I got a super late start today.  Because of the late start and the need to take a shower, my medium distance run turned into a super short run.  Like 20 minutes short.  Like 1.72 miles short. 

 

But, something is better than nothing.  I didn't want to give up on the run altogether because I am racing this weekend.  (By racing, I mean running in a race, not contending for a victory.  My idea of winning this race is finishing in about an hour and 15 minutes.  If I can do that, then Disney might mistake me for an actual runner and move my starting corral up a little.  The earlier I start, the more time I will have to stop and take pictures on the big day.  See the logic??  Hard work now so I can stop....when the clock is ticking and the slow mobile will be picking up the people who can't keep pace.  Run fast(ish) now to have a time buffer later.)

 

Anyway, I didn't want today to pass without running, even if it was just for a little bit.  I don't want my lungs and legs to forget what they have to do!

 

Next up:  Wicked 10K Expo tomorrow and Wicked 10K on Saturday!!

 

Today's Stats:

1.72 miles in 20.31 minutes (11.8 minute miles)

120 Days Left

Look what got released today!  This is the medal for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  It's rather perfect. 

However, the great medal reveal means that this sucker is getting closer.  4 months from now, I will be running 13.1 miles....for fun....with 15,000 of my closest Princess friends.  

4 months seems like a long time.  120 days is a lot, right?  WRONG!  Let's put the next 4 months into perspective, shall we??

2 of the months include Thanksgiving and Christmas and we ALL know that time fast forwards as soon as the little ghosts and goblins go to sleep after trick or treating on Halloween night.  November and December have the least amount of school days than any other months of the school year...even February and it has 2 or 3 less days.  And then there is Thanksgiving and Christmas craziness to worry about.  It seems like a long time from now...heck, it's not even Halloween yet.  But it's coming and I am going to wake up and it's going to be New Year's Eve and this race will be THIS year instead of NEXT year.

I don't have plane tickets yet.  This trip is 4 months away and I don't have a way to get there.  I check the Southwest website every single day.  Sometimes twice.  I keep hoping to see an amazing drop in ticket prices.  I realize that I am kidding myself.  Prices are expected to go up.  I will probably end up paying out of the nose for my plane tickets if I keep waiting.  Yet, every single day I check.  The prices need to get falling....they only have 4 months left. 

My longest run to date is 7 miles.  7 miles is NOT 13.1.   7 miles is a little over halfway to 13.1.  I have 4 months to DOUBLE my mileage.  That's 16 weeks.  I have to get from 7 to 13.1 in roughly 48 runs.  I only have 48 runs left.  

There are 5 races on my running calendar before I can worry about this race.  I have to rock the Wicked 10K this weekend so I can submit a time to move me on up in the corrals for the Princess. (Cue the theme song to the Jeffersons....you know you were humming it in your head.) If I am not happy with that time, I am going to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, which is a 10K.  I am also running the Busch Garden Christmas Town Dash 8K to prep me for running through a theme park and the Surfin' Santa 10 Miler because I am crazy (10 miles, really??) on consecutive weekends.  I have a racing break to build up some more mileage until February, which is the Virginia Is for Lovers 14K and then it's off to Florida to FINALLY become a princess.  That's a lot of racing in 4 short months.

The only thing I have for a costume is an idea.  I have been registered for this race for 4 months.  I have been thinking about this race for longer than that.  My costume should be done.  Where are the cute singing mice that are going to turn my tattered running clothes into a costume fit for a princess??   Maybe Santa will bring me a costume.

There is a lot to do in the next 120 days (or 16 weeks or 4 months).  It makes me a little frazzled to think about it.  It makes me want to go for a run....only 48 more until race day.

Today's Stats:

I looked at the course map for the Princess Half Marathon.  That was a mental 13.1 miles.  That has to count for something.

121 Days Left

 

 

Today was a short run.  I woke up and it was a bit brisk outside, so I threw on my new long sleeved running shirt with the super fun finger holes and got started as soon as my boys got on the bus.  I always forget that I start to get warm after about a mile, but I was stuck with my wardrobe choice once I got started. 

 

I did my 3 laps around the neighborhood at the same time that one of my neighbors walks.  I passed him coming out of a one of the courts while I was starting into it.  My goal was to get past him.  (Yes, I know that he was walking and I was running and walking, and that I should have passed him.)  It took me 2 intervals and about 1/4 mile to get by him, but I was really excited when I did! 

 

The other big excitement is that I got my virtual goody bag for the Wicked 10K in my email yesterday.  There are some great deals that I am looking forward to using - a FREE bowl of tomato and cheese soup from The Baker's Crust, $20 off a Big Night Out at The Melting Pot, Buy One/Get One Free BBQ sandwich from Beach Bully BBQ.  Yummy!!  There are also come yoga coupons and $10 new running shoes.  The virtual goody bag is a great idea!  I can print what I want and save paper by leaving the rest on the computer.  Friday is the Expo for the race and I am looking forward to getting my bib and seeing what they have to offer.

 

Today's Stats:

2.58 miles in 30.0 minutes  (11.6 minute miles)



124 Days Until the Disney Princess Half Marathon

 

Be proud of every step....that's a hard thing to remember when you are trying to remember to breathe or to run with good form, or even to put one foot in front of the other.  But, when I was looking for a gem to put at the top of this post, I came across this and realized that THIS is how I felt during my run this morning.

 

I thought back to the day that I got lost on the same route that I ran today.  I thought back to all of the times when it was hard or when it hurt.  I thought back to the days when I couldn't wait for the watch to beep. 

 

Today was not one of those days.  Today it was "easy."  I mean, it's never easy, but today it wasn't hard.  I got up when it was still dark.  I don't like to run in the dark.  I run alone and it's just not a good idea to run alone in the dark.  So, I waited a bit for the sun to come up.  I had a bagel and a glass of water.  I walked out of the door to the sounds of my family waking up.  I set out for 4 miles.  I decided to tackle the route that I was too stupid to figure out when we first got home to Virginia .  It was cool and quiet and peaceful.  I had a hard time hearing my watch beep for some reason today, so I broke my friend's first rule of running....I looked at my watch.  I did it.  I'm sorry.  But, in my defense, I missed the beep twice in a row.  Anyway, the run felt good.  I saw a hawk land on a branch and then fly away right in front of me.   I passed an older man coming and going.  It seems that his Saturday routine is to walk somewhere for a cup of coffee and then walk home.  I enjoyed seeing the Halloween decorations on all of the houses.  It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed being out, even if I was running. 

 

This coming week is a race week.  I will get my 2 runs in before the 10K on Saturday.  My past couple of runs have been pretty slow.  I am hoping to find some speed this week.  I intend to submit the time to Disney for a better corral placement.  Hope springs eternal.  Even if I am slow, it's going to be a great run.  I have a cute costume and I will be out there with 9,000 of my closest running friends!  What more could you ask for??

 

 

Today's Stats:

4.37 miles in 55:58 (12.7 minute miles)