Jan
25
2012

Testing the Waters

By Theresa on January 25, 2012

Last night I went for a test run of sorts.

My legs were still feeling a bit tired from Saturday’s race so I knew I was going to take it super easy. Plus I picked up some new shoes (same model, just a new pair) a few weeks ago but hadn’t started breaking them in yet. An easy run sounded like the perfect time to give them a shot!

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I also “crafted” a solution for my night vision problem & wanted to see how it would work:

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Yep – that’s a LIGHT held onto the brim of my hat with BINDER CLIPS!

I won a clip-on LED bike headlight on Friday night at a women’s cycling clinic & just knew I could find a way to make it work for running!

Sure, it looks clunky, but I figured it wouldn’t be much heavier than other headlamps & hat-clip-lights out there!

THE VERDICT? 

The shoes were not so good.  Sure, my new pair is exactly the same as what I’ve been wearing for years…but they didn’t have the heel wedges I’ve gotten used to running in. (They are literally stuck in my current pair.)

My feet actually felt fine, but my Achilles tendons were screaming by mile 1 so I decided to cut my run short & only go 2 miles instead of my intended 3.

I’m thinking the irritation was from the extra “reaching” they had to do to get to the ground when normally the heel wedges make contact about a half inch sooner.

I’ll be sticking to these beauties until a new pair of inserts (ordered post-run) arrive!

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Current shoes with about 200 miles on them.

And the LIGHT. WAS. AWESOME!

I could see SO much & didn’t feel unsafe at all during what’s usually the darkest part of my run.  (I still wore my reflective vest too, and a red blinky light on my back)

I could see every little divot and hole in the pavement and I’m sure everyone saw me coming!

Honestly, my only “complaint” about the light was that I could see all of the bugs in the air, which was gross and slightly disturbing. 

And the extra weight on the brim of my hat didn’t bug me at all once I got used to the feeling of it being there.  The movement of the light with my stride didn’t bother me either.  (I’m guessing it would be a whole different story if I used it on the blinky setting – just standing still that one made me dizzy!)

And now, just for fun,  here’s a video of Miss Dottie going to town on her “birthday toy” earlier this week!

If you can’t see the video, click here.  I’m still not sure I embedded it correctly!

We get her the same stuffed bone year after year for her birthday. She loves them and squeaks them like a maniac for a few days, then rips all of the stuffing out.  She’s had one every year since the day we brought her home 6 years ago!

Happy Wednesday!

I’ll be back tomorrow – hopefully – with a recap of my first weekday long run!  9 miles starts at 5:00am! Eeek!

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Jan
24
2012

Ringling Bridge Run 2012 Recap

By Theresa on January 24, 2012

Well, the Ringling Bridge Run came and went without a hitch.  The morning started with a 4 mile “pre-run” in the pitch dark.  We started & finished at the race’s starting line, but didn’t run over the bridge.

Pre-Run

My usual running partner from the Karna group was out of town so I was huffing it on my own…trying like MAD to keep up with the rest of the ladies in the group.

I partially succeeded – they were only about 30 yards in front of me  the whole time (whereas on regular runs they end up anywhere from .25-.50 min in front of me).

I kept thinking, ”What kind of assistant coach am I if I can’t keep up? What a JOKE!”

In the end, I kept an average pace of 11:56/mi which is super considering most of my long runs are in the 12:15 range. 

But I was feeling super frustrated and honestly, on the verge of tears because I felt so inadequate. 

For the race, instead of “chasing” the group the entire time, I let them start about 3 min ahead of me & I jumped in towards the back of the pack for my trip over the bridge & back.

RBRCourse

This let me have my “own” race – instead of obsessing over how far away I was (or wasn’t) getting from the rest of the team.

I rocked out to some techno – hello Skrillex and Swedish House Mafia – and tried not to let my mind get the best of me.

When the race first started, my legs felt like lead weights.  I guess running for fast-ish miles then standing around for 30 min waiting for the race to start took its toll. So it took me about 10 min to loosen back up.

I eased off going up the bridge, and then let myself sail down the other side.

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I’m actually in this picture, I promise! (Source)

By the time I hit the turn around & made my way back up the bridge I was feeling a bit better. 

I hadn’t looked at my Garmin once & at that point my time was at the bottom of my list of concerns. All I was concerned about was not finishing the race in a funk.

Although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited when I saw 24:00 on the clock at the 2-mil turn around point!

In the end, I didn’t PR (last year my chip time was 45:51) but I came super close with a chip time of 46:20 for an average pace of 11:33/mile! So much for worrying about hitting a 12:10 pace, huh?

It felt really good to know that I can PUSH for 8 miles – I guess that’s the whole point of a “race”, isn’t it?

So I’m feeling better about things – and resting up for this week’s long run, a 9 miler which may or may not take place on Thursday morning before work. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU: Do you “race” races and push harder/run faster than your weekly long runs? Or do you simply get through the miles at the same pace you would for any other run?

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Jan
20
2012

Running in Circles

By Theresa on January 20, 2012

I’m still slightly amazed at myself for this, but I made it to yet another Thursday morning track workout this week!

This is amazing because we meet at 5:45am…and I live 40 minutes away from the track…you do the math on what time I need to get up…

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That’s what the track looks like at the END of our workouts!

This week was a GREAT workout – once I got moving.  We walked 1 lap to start & boy was I dragging ass!

But then we started running – and I felt pretty darn good!

We’re pretty casual about our workouts & don’t do exact “measured” or “timed” intervals on the track.  Instead we have a few “landmarks”  (like the goalpost, the gate in the middle, the sign at the end) that we use as a guide for when to start & stop each effort and we alternate between “running” and “jogging” and walking – so all perceived effort.

And you know what?  I think it’s paying off!

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Really?!  3.76 miles at an average pace of 11:33??  At 5-effing-45 in the morning?? And that includes the final lap of walking to cool down!

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I’m noticing that my run intervals on “regular” run days are getting a bit quicker too – instead of being in the 12:00 range I’m wavering between 10:30 and 11:00 now!  Which means my overall pace during “regular” runs is averaging about 12:15.  (Although I would be remiss without mentioning that I still walk far too slowly during my walk intervals – bringing those up would help my overall pace SO much!)

All of this hard work is being put to the test tomorrow morning.  Me & the other ladies from Karna will be running 4 miles together then running a 4 mile race.

RBR

(source)

I don’t have any wild and crazy goals for the race…In fact, I don’t even know what my current PR for the race is (I’ve ran it 2 or 3 times before…seesh, I can’t even remember THAT). 

But I will admit, a 12:10 overall pace would be sweet!

Until then, I’ll remember all of the hard work we’re putting in on Thursday mornings. 

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Dare I say I’m already looking forward to next week’s track session?!?!

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Jan
18
2012

Turn It Up Some

By Theresa on January 18, 2012

Tonight’s spin class was…a challenge…

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The stereo system in the spin studio was on the fritz majorly…which meant we could hear NOTHING during the entire class. 

Scratch that.

We could hear things – just not MUSIC.  The sound system was like a pendulum that caused us to go from “hearing nothing but the sound of the spin bikes” to “hearing only loud crackles and fuzz coming from the speakers”.

It. was. rough.

I’ve never had so much trouble getting into the zone during this spin class.  I mean, the playlist was GREAT, we just couldn’t hear it! The instructor even added a song especially for me!

Request

Granted

But alas…it was not to be. She played it – but it sounded like absolute gobbledygook!

Honestly, if Kristen (the founder of Karna Fitness and my running group) wasn’t instructing I would have walked the eff out. (I have no problem walking out of a class if it’s not working.) For me, it’s the music that makes spin class so good.  A great instructor is a bonus, but bad music is a total buzz kill!

My fingers are crossed that things are fixed by next Wednesday!

WHAT ABOUT YOU: Would you leave a group fitness class if the sound system was out of whack? What’s the “final straw” for you?

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Jan
17
2012

21 Days

By Theresa on January 17, 2012

December 27th.  <— That’s the last time I was in the effing pool. 

(I may or may not have had to look that up because I couldn’t remember when my last swim actually happened…)

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What happens to me after 21 days of not swimming? My body basically forgets how to swim!

From my very first stroke I could tell it was going to be a tough swim.  My legs kept sinking…my breathing was all over the place…I kept getting mouthfuls of water…

So instead of stressing myself out focusing on freestyle tonight I decided to do a mixed interval workout, switching strokes every 100 yards. Here’s the breakdown:

Warm Up: 1 x 100 Easy Freestyle
     
Main Set: 1 x 100 Kick Board
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Backstroke
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Pull Buoy
  1 x 100 Kick Board
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Backstroke
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Pull Buoy
     
Cool Down: 1 x 50 Freestyle
  1 x 50 Easy Freestyle

Using the “other strokes” as a sort of rest (instead of actually stopping at the end of the lane and taking a breather), I managed to swim the 1200 yards in 34:11. 

Sure, I didn’t get in very much work on freestyle – but by the end of my last free interval, I could feel that I was getting then hang of my stroke again. 

Was it pretty?  Most certainly NOT. 

But was it better than nothing?  YES.

Are my arms and back muscles already sore only 2 hours later?  YES!

I really need to keep on track with swimming – if nothing more, once a week.

From this point onward, Tuesday night = my standing date night with the pool.

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