I am well on my way to 500 miles.  I won’t say that it’s been easy – in fact the first two runs this week were hard.  I felt tired, I woke up dreading my runs, each one going exactly as I had predicted.  Funny how much running performance is connected to my mental attitude.  I got through both runs.  That’s about all I can say about them.

I feel pretty good since starting the 10k program (if we can just forget about this week’s training for a moment).  I’m on week 3 of the base training (15 miles/wk).  It’s supposed to feel easy, and it was – until I started thinking gee this is pretty easy!  Now I’m being punished for my positive thinking.  I only have to do 2 miles today and then I have tomorrow off.  My plan as of Monday was to bump myself up to regular training and begin the 12 week program.  Now I’m thinking that completing all 4 weeks of base might be best.

On a more upbeat note – the weather here has been wonderful.  The last week has been in the 70′s and even yesterday the high was above 60.  I haven’t had to worry about going to the gym at all this winter – which is a good thing because treadmills are the devil.  The only way you’ll get me inside a gym is to go swimming, or do a workout class.  Running inside is a necessary evil – and were I forced to do it I would be holding off on my training altogether until spring and doing classes 3 times a week.  So yeah basically I still wouldn’t do it, even if I were “forced” to.  You can’t make me nah nah, nah nah, nah naaaahhhhh!

Happy Friday my friends!

So of course I got roped into another new years resolution.  It all started because of my cousin, Andrew.  He decided that his resolution was to run 500 miles in 2013.  And then he wanted to know if I wanted to do it too.   Ummm…Sure!

So on top of the volunteering thing I also have to run an average of 9.62 miles per week.  So far I’ve been doing well.  My 10k training plan has me doing a base mileage of 15/wk.  This means that I’m ahead of the game for the time being.  I know at some point that I’m going to get behind, I’ll get sick, busy, or just lazy and decide not to run.  That’s why it’s important that I log extra miles now.  I have two more weeks of base training before I start increasing the mileage, and then I will be really ahead of the game.  I should probably pick out a 10k race to actually enter.  I love training and then not competing – no pressure for my speed training!  I’m really lazy…

The resolution feels like a lot of pressure.  Last year I was going to run every day for a year and then I kinda decided not to do that.  Basically it was too hard, and when your top priority is horses and riding, exercising comes in at a far second.

So yes, I’m nervous that this may be too big of a challenge for me.  Luckily I have Andrew to keep me on track.  We have been buddying up to study for the GRE together also.  The buddy system is important for staying on top of things that you don’t really want to do.  It’s all about peer pressure!

Does anyone else have an exercise related new years resolution?  Are you using a buddy system for your toughy resolutions this year?

Please share, I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Friday!

It’s just the logical thing to do.  You have immediately accomplished your goals for the first day of training no matter what you actually do that day.  As soon as you have put your training calendar together you can just check off day 1 – COMPLETE!

And normally this is what I do.  Except this time.  This week I started my 10k training program on a day which required 2 miles.  I guess I just lucked out because the only thing better than starting on a day off, is starting on a day that requires you run less than a 5k.  I WIN!

Today is my first long run.  The schedule calls for long runs on Saturday’s; however, Saturday is about to become the only day that I work a full day, so it didn’t make sense to try to fit an hour+ run on top of work.

I have been running a time-based workout for the past few months because I didn’t have a good way to track the miles.  Sure I could go on Mapmyrun.com and try to plan a specific route, but the lack of roads and landmarks around my house make that difficult.  Running to the third slight bend on a road can sometimes be complicated especially on a long run when your brain is already getting fuzzy from the exertion.

Thankfully when Andrew visited we actually went on a run together.  It was quick and we never made it to mile 2 of the run, but what I learned is that there are apps you can use to track your route, pace, and length of your run.  May My Run has a free app that I downloaded and I’m pretty happy with it.  I keep all of my logged workouts private because I don’t want them being shared on Facebook every time I go for a run, but there is an option to share on social networking sites.

The problem that I am having with using this app is that I race myself the entire time.  I can’t stop thinking about keeping my pace consistent and pushing myself even when I’m tired.   My competitive nature doesn’t allow me to relax and just go out for a run when I know that I am being timed.  I am going to try to tame myself today.  I shall not race my long run!

Wish me luck as I will probably be hyperventilating the entire time trying to keep up my sub 9 min pace while I chant in my head “It is only my first week of training, it is OK to run slow.”

Today is the first time I have run a hill since my wedding.  Eastern North Carolina is flat.  After taking my Dad to the bus station this morning I conned my brother into biking with my while I ran with the yahoos.  The loop that my parents live on is 2 miles if you also run down two small side roads.  It was a nice easy workout – my legs felt good and I recovered quickly from the three steep long hills.  I don’t know why I feel so good – I don’t think I’m in particularly good shape.

My motivation for running seems to be returning.  I bought a new running outfit at the saucony outlet yesterday and yes, new running gadgets and clothes definitely inspire me to exercise.  The thing is I actually ran in my moms running capris and an old tank top and sports bra…nothing really new or fancy.  I am still riding a slight exercise high – though it has been a few hours since the run.  I tend to be a passionate person and running tends to even the keel a bit for me.  I feel  relaxed and steady – ready to take on the day.

The summer after my successful season as a freshman, several things changed.

1.  My cross-country coach left abruptly to teach at another school.

2. We had a new top runner on the team.

So of course after I write a post about how “on track” I am with the running program, I decide not to run today.  I should have run this morning but I didn’t and now I’m exhausted and sitting in bed, so guess what…it ain’t happenin tonight.

The thing is that I really haven’t seen the physical change that I was hoping for.  Running is great but bodies adapt quickly to work outs and running alone is not going to get me as fit as I would like.  So while I will still be running a lot I have decided to add yoga and kickboxing to the new routine.

What do you think? Can I satisfy all my fitness needs with running or does cross training have its place in a runners life?

The farmers have been harvesting wheat this past week and as soon as they have it loaded up, they burn the field down completely.  I can’t walk out of the house without breathing in a big breath of smoke.  As soon as I head out on a run, my lungs fill with hazy thick air and the back of my throat dries instantly.  My legs have felt fresh and I always start out feeling fairly good, but it doesn’t take long for my lungs to start slowing me down.  When I finished my run the other night I actually thought to myself that this must be what smokers feel like when they attempt to exercise.

I’ve been running at night more and more now that it’s been getting hotter during the day.  The problem is that I either need to run early and ride late, or ride early and run late.  It doesn’t start to get significantly cooler until around 7:30 which doesn’t leave me enough time to do both.  Lately it’s been ride early, run late.  I can always motivate myself to get up and ride; however, I have a harder time running early when I’m still feeling sleepy.

This week I ran a total of 19.5 miles.  Not bad considering the hazy smokey runs.  My body has finally started to accept the daily runs.  My legs feel nice and fresh each day and I have noticed that I can run 6 miles and continue the same pace the entire time.  My quick and dirty 1 mile runs barely feel like I’ve exercised at all.  All in all I’m still on track with my runs.  I’ve been told that due to wild fires in the summer here, it can become extremely smokey for days on end, but I hope that this summer, that doesn’t become too much of an issue for me.  I always have the option of driving on base to go to the gym, but if severe weather becomes an issue I may substitute an indoor work out for my runs.  Let’s hope that it doesn’t.

The past few runs have been pretty tough.  I was feeling really great at the end of last week and did a few more 30-20-10′s.  After about 7 of them I jogged home.  The next day I was extremely tight on the inside of my thighs.  Doing the butterfly stretch was excruciating.  Three days later I am still in a bit of pain.  I ran a short 1 mile and then 3.5 with Michael and another 3 today.  My legs are still killing me.  I’m hoping that my pain will lessen soon because my legs feel so heavy with each step that even the short runs seem endless.

I’ve been making an effort to run on the sides of the road instead of on the pavement.  The sides of the roads in the area are taken care of my the owners so some sections are a little more like jungles rather than nice short grassy sections.  My knees haven’t been bothering me, but I don’t really want to wait until they start to fix that.

Here’s hoping that my legs that feel as though they weigh a ton EACH will relax and I can run like the wind again soon!

The rain finally stopped yesterday afternoon, but not after dumping almost 3 inches of rain on us.  The culverts in our front yard were almost 3/4 full and I even postponed my trip to the Social Security Office, which is over an hour away, because there was so much water on the roads.  When the sky finally cleared I decided to head out for a run.  I didn’t make it very far, I ended up chatting with my neighbors for a little while before starting my run.

When I was finally out of the neighborhood I set out at a pretty good clip.  I planned to run at least 3 miles, which is exactly what it came out to, but I didn’t have any specific goals for the run other than that.  By the time I reached the turn around point I was feeling really good. I was able to pick up the pace even more as I headed back to my house.  When I got back to the last road before the neighborhood I was suddenly possessed to run a few tempos.  I decided to do 30-20-10′s because I had recently read an article about them and since I didn’t have a watch I knew that I could probably count them off in my head.

I was amazed at how far doing the tempos took me.  I was only able to fit 3 in a half mile.  I slowly  jogged the last 1/4 mile through the neighborhood and called it a day.

This morning I decided to do a long run.  Or at least longER.  Since I have to at least get 14 miles in before Sunday I knew that I needed a few runs longer than 3 miles.  I decided to run past Tia’s barn to the end of the road and back which is between 5-6 miles.  I haven’t mapped it out yet but I know that running just past the barn and back is 4, so running out at least another .5 miles would put me at 5 and I know that it’s a little further than that.

I started out pretty slow today.  I didn’t want to over exert myself and turn around before I reached what I believed would be a 5 mile out and back.  Even with the slow pace I stopped after .5 mile and stretched before continuing.  When I started out afterwards I was feeling a little stronger. I continued the nice easy pace and made it to my turn around, on the way back I started picking up the pace a little bit again.

I was nearly striding out the last mile of the run.  I felt strong and as I made my way back into the neighborhood, I was even jogging easily for my cool down.  I felt that I could have continued running much farther.  As I cooled down I was remembering 3 specific races in which I finished strong and picked up the pace naturally as I was able to give a greater and greater effort.

#1    Runner-Up State X-C Championships – my freshman year I was seeded somewhere in the top 25% of the pack, but I had no real goals for the race.  I knew the competition was tough and I just tried to run my best.  Somewhere after the first mile I realized that I was picking off the competition one by one, slowly picking up the pace.  By the time I reached the last mile a parent or coach on my team yelled that I was in the top of the pack.  I picked the pace up even more, it wasn’t until I was within a quarter mile of the finish line that I knew  I was doing very very well.  I finished second!  I was incredibly happy and knew that I had just had an amazing run

#2    4th in the 2 Mile High School Invitational – also during my freshman year, I was being pushed into the 2 mile during track meets.  I wasn’t particularly happy with this as I was already running the 800, mile and 4 x 800 relay.  Adding the 2 mile into the day meant that I was racing 4 miles.  This, to me at least, seemed like a lot.  Mostly I was only added to the 2 mile at the end of the day if the meet was close and I could either push my team mates in the event a little faster or score a few extra points for the team.  At this invitational I was pushing team mates to qualify in the event.  I was having a good time, smiling and waving at my friends as I maintained a steady pace for my team mates.  With less than a mile to go I left my teammates and went after a few points for the team.  I honestly didn’t even know that I was running really well until I passed under the finish line and was told that I was 3 seconds away from breaking the high school 2 mile record which had stood for over 20 years.  After that I actually started racing the 2 mile a few times but never came as close to the record as I did that day.

#3    4th State Outdoor Track Championships 800 Meter – Freshman year of high school.  I had just blown the mile by starting off way to fast.  I was running a 5 minute mile pace which was quick for me.  I sputtered out at the end and I was upset at my race.  Then came the 800, I was seeded in the middle of the pack and had nothing to lose in this race.  We had a false start which was lucky for me because I didn’t get off the line fast enough.  My second start wasn’t much better but I pushed right to the front of the pack, jumping over and in front of a runner to make up for the time I had just lost.  I stayed right with the top runners through the first lap, when I heard the gun I was off like a shot.  This had always been the way I raced the mile, somehow the gun always got me going, I would get an intense adrenaline rush and sprint the last lap.  I was hard to stay with and usually I won or was top 3.   When the gun went off signaling the last lap in the 800 I sprinted, I literally can’t remember any other time when I have laid it all out on the track.  I hit the wall as I came down to the wire, I was in the second place and in the last few meters 2 girls came up behind me and passed just before the wire.  It was exhilarating and I was thrilled.  The 800 had always been tough for me, I wasn’t usually seeded well in the races but I was quick and usually finished a few places up from my seed.  This was the most spectacular race I had run to that point, and still today.  Putting it all out there, risking showing everyone your best performance, that takes guts, because at least for me, I was scared that I would never get any better than that.

In the 800 that was fine, but to this day I know that I never ran the mile with every ounce of effort that I possessed.  I ran races fast and well, but I never truly gave any other race 100% of my effort.  In part because I was never so angry at myself until just before I ran that 800.  I ran that race for myself and  I am most proud of that performance.  Winning meant a lot to me in high school, but I was always trying to prove something to myself and it wasn’t until that race that I knew what I was truly capable of.