We run every Friday morning together. It's a great time to talk about times, aches and pains, races etc. Jim, my trainer, has had to miss the last couple of weeks due to other commitments so Mike has been running with us instead. Mike is a speedy guy....LOL...at first he was KILLING me because he keeps a steady 8 minute mile and I'm SUPPOSED to be training on a MUCH slower pace for the marathon training. But being the competitive woman I am, I try to keep up. This is so wrong of me on so many levels. It proves I have no self control. Sighhhhhh....yeah, so anyway...Maria decided to join us this morning too. She's even faster than Mike. She can run so fast she's like a blurr. I knew all week I was running with these two maniacs. (I'm saying maniacs in a loving way) Here's the conversation I had with myself on the ride over to the gym.....
SELF: Ok, now you know those two are fast.
KIM: Yes, yes I know!
SELF: This is your chance to stay true to your pace time.
KIM: Yeah, but how about we TRY to keep up and see what happens??
SELF: Don't be ridiculous. PRACTICE YOUR PACE TIMES!
KIM: Jim won't even know, he has a training. (snicker, snicker)
SELF: PFFFTTTT....you know I'll tell, I have a big mouth. Besides, if you can't control yourself NOW, you won't in the marathon either. Then you'll fizzle out in the 5th mile.
KIM: I hate talking to myself, you drive me crazy. (turns up the radio)
So I get to the gym and stretch out. I kept telling Mike and Maria I was going to do my pacing. I told them not to wait for me. I emphasized how slow I was going to go. What a joker I am. I ran right beside them. SIGH, no self control.
By the time we got 1/2 way there I could feel my body asking me ever so politely why we were not doing our pacing. I ignored myself. I'm really good at that. I told Mike and Maria I was only doing 2 miles at this pace and they decided to stay with me. On the run back I did do the power walks. I had to, my lower left leg muscle was killing me. I pulled it on my 14.4 mile run last Saturday. Oh, did I mention I ran 14.4 miles last Saturday????? (HA!!!, still feeling proud) Also, I saw Jim on his way past us....LOL. I wasn't too far behind Maria so I'm sure he knew I wasn't doing my training. The sweet man never said a word...LOL. I think he knows by now I'll tell him anyway.
By this time Mike had pulled up ahead of me. Just for kicks I decided to sprint past him. OH THE SHEER SATISFACTION of passing Mike!!!! Hahahaha!!! I guess I should confess one thing....Mike had sprinted in the beginning to catch up to us, we started at the back of the gym, he started in the front. So in his defense he did his sprint earlier, which makes it harder. Maria used this time for the warm down, so in reality (my own of course) I also sprinted past MARIA! YEAH BABY!!!!!!! This is why I love the Friday morning runs (OK, that's sounds so gross....) I love these Friday morning practices. Yeah, that sounds better, but I'll leave in the weird sounding remark for your reading enjoyment. I love it because it's fun. These people are so nice. I have been enjoying every minute of training for this marathon.
Mike is going to come by my house in the morning and run 5-7 miles with me, depending on my leg muscle. I'm seriously going to do my pace training, I swear. I have a pace band for the marathon that should get me finishing the marathon in 4:59 (thanks Joe) I'm going to use it in tomorrows run.
I'm going to promise to run my pace training times tomorrow with Mike. There. I put it in print. Now I have to do it. I haven't broken a promise to my blog friends yet, have I? No, I haven't.
Thanks for being here guys. I'll be back!!!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
14.4 Mile Run
Oh, just typing in those words puts joy in my heart! Yes, it's true....I ran 14.4 miles last Saturday! And lived to tell about it....LOL
I had taken about 10 days off and had only run a few short runs because of the dog bite. I was worried I'd missed so much time and had fallen off the schedule a bit. I had run 11 miles 14 days before and did very well, so I decided I'd try the 14.4. If I couldn't do it, then I'd have to rethink the marathon.
I worked the night before and didn't get to bed until after 1am. I woke up about 8am and immediately wanted to stay in bed. I woke my husband and told him that. He told me I'd be very unhappy with myself if I didn't give it a shot. He said he'd come out and meet me here and there to give me drinks and encouragement and if I wanted to give up he'd drive me back home. Which he knew I wouldn't like either. He knows me too well...lol.
Jim told me to try to keep to a 12 minute per mile pace. It seemed like a very slow pace but he explained that it was the best way to conserve enough energy to finish such a long distance. When you're running a long distance, he said by running too fast in the beginning, trying to "bank" some time would only make me "bankrupt". There is no banking time because time is energy used. Use too much too fast, you won't have any near the end when you'll need it the most. His words of wisdom stayed in my head. Jim has given me so much valuable information, it's because of him I've gotten this far, so how could I ignore his advice now?? I couldn't!! I listened and went sooooo slowwww in my first 3 miles at about 31 minutes. After that I was just tired enough to be able to stay on pace without too much effort. I watched my time only to do the 30 second power walks every 10-12 minutes.
At about 6.5 miles I saw my husband's car up ahead. I ran up and he gave me some gatorade. He said he saw me running and I looked like an athlete!!! LOL I was glad to know I didn't look like I was about to fall over. He couldn't get over that I wasn't out of breath. I hadn't even noticed that! I felt great. Not too tired either. I got back into it and looked down Salford. UGH....it was such a long road. I kept picking out spots up ahead to run to so I wouldn't pay so much attention to the distance. It seemed like within moments I was at the end and taking a right toward the turn around point. And then I heard it. A dog. Oh no. I stopped short and waited but it stayed on his porch. I walked slowly by and it didn't bother me. I got out of it's sight and ran to my turn around spot. I called Bobby to let him know where I was. I still had my gatorade so I was good, but he got worried when I told him about the dog. We stayed on the phone as I passed by it again, then off I went.
The run back seemed easier than the run out. I felt very tired but overall I felt great. I was walking about every 8 minutes for about 1.5 minutes by about mile 10. Then my left calf started cramping up. I could hear Jim's voice telling me to walk it out. So I walked until it didn't hurt as much, then ran until it hurt again. I probably walked the entire last mile but in a power walk.
I was SOAKED and very salty. I had salt chrystals all over my arms and face. It was so weird. Bobby met me in the driveway. It was surreal. I had run 14.4 miles. I felt like I was in a dream. He said he was so proud of me, that he felt a degree of awe. That means so much to me. He hugged me even though I was soaked (that's true love)...When I got in the house I looked at the stop watch and I'd finish in 2:43. That worked out to a 11:24 minute mile. Just 30 seconds faster than Jim said to go for! I started to cry. I was so completely overjoyed. It seemed like I had walked so much, I really didn't think my time would be good. I wanted to come in at 2:30, but I'm happy with 2:43. Even 5 months ago I couldn't have run one mile.
First thing I did was shoot an email to Jim. I hadn't run into him lately so he didn't know I was running 14.4 that weekend, I knew he'd be surprised. He was very happy too, and in the same sentence told me when to run my 20 miler....LOL...oh, he's such a TRAINER!!!!! LOL
Feb 9th, I'll be running 20 miles. my husband and kids are going to set up water stations along the way and yell out words of encouragement. I'll have my own little mini marathon....LOL...I'm shooting for 4 hours, wish me luck!!!
I had taken about 10 days off and had only run a few short runs because of the dog bite. I was worried I'd missed so much time and had fallen off the schedule a bit. I had run 11 miles 14 days before and did very well, so I decided I'd try the 14.4. If I couldn't do it, then I'd have to rethink the marathon.
I worked the night before and didn't get to bed until after 1am. I woke up about 8am and immediately wanted to stay in bed. I woke my husband and told him that. He told me I'd be very unhappy with myself if I didn't give it a shot. He said he'd come out and meet me here and there to give me drinks and encouragement and if I wanted to give up he'd drive me back home. Which he knew I wouldn't like either. He knows me too well...lol.
Jim told me to try to keep to a 12 minute per mile pace. It seemed like a very slow pace but he explained that it was the best way to conserve enough energy to finish such a long distance. When you're running a long distance, he said by running too fast in the beginning, trying to "bank" some time would only make me "bankrupt". There is no banking time because time is energy used. Use too much too fast, you won't have any near the end when you'll need it the most. His words of wisdom stayed in my head. Jim has given me so much valuable information, it's because of him I've gotten this far, so how could I ignore his advice now?? I couldn't!! I listened and went sooooo slowwww in my first 3 miles at about 31 minutes. After that I was just tired enough to be able to stay on pace without too much effort. I watched my time only to do the 30 second power walks every 10-12 minutes.
At about 6.5 miles I saw my husband's car up ahead. I ran up and he gave me some gatorade. He said he saw me running and I looked like an athlete!!! LOL I was glad to know I didn't look like I was about to fall over. He couldn't get over that I wasn't out of breath. I hadn't even noticed that! I felt great. Not too tired either. I got back into it and looked down Salford. UGH....it was such a long road. I kept picking out spots up ahead to run to so I wouldn't pay so much attention to the distance. It seemed like within moments I was at the end and taking a right toward the turn around point. And then I heard it. A dog. Oh no. I stopped short and waited but it stayed on his porch. I walked slowly by and it didn't bother me. I got out of it's sight and ran to my turn around spot. I called Bobby to let him know where I was. I still had my gatorade so I was good, but he got worried when I told him about the dog. We stayed on the phone as I passed by it again, then off I went.
The run back seemed easier than the run out. I felt very tired but overall I felt great. I was walking about every 8 minutes for about 1.5 minutes by about mile 10. Then my left calf started cramping up. I could hear Jim's voice telling me to walk it out. So I walked until it didn't hurt as much, then ran until it hurt again. I probably walked the entire last mile but in a power walk.
I was SOAKED and very salty. I had salt chrystals all over my arms and face. It was so weird. Bobby met me in the driveway. It was surreal. I had run 14.4 miles. I felt like I was in a dream. He said he was so proud of me, that he felt a degree of awe. That means so much to me. He hugged me even though I was soaked (that's true love)...When I got in the house I looked at the stop watch and I'd finish in 2:43. That worked out to a 11:24 minute mile. Just 30 seconds faster than Jim said to go for! I started to cry. I was so completely overjoyed. It seemed like I had walked so much, I really didn't think my time would be good. I wanted to come in at 2:30, but I'm happy with 2:43. Even 5 months ago I couldn't have run one mile.
First thing I did was shoot an email to Jim. I hadn't run into him lately so he didn't know I was running 14.4 that weekend, I knew he'd be surprised. He was very happy too, and in the same sentence told me when to run my 20 miler....LOL...oh, he's such a TRAINER!!!!! LOL
Feb 9th, I'll be running 20 miles. my husband and kids are going to set up water stations along the way and yell out words of encouragement. I'll have my own little mini marathon....LOL...I'm shooting for 4 hours, wish me luck!!!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Spirit Of A Marathon
I went to see this movie last Thursday night. I bought the tickets for it in December and I couldn't wait to see it! My husband came along and we saw some people from the Zoomers running club I belong to. I saw "blue sneakers" there too! Her name is Josephine. I was very happy to see her there because I met her at the Lamarque 5K, but never got her name. What a sweet lady she is. Joan and Ed were there, they're very special to me, I saw some familiar faces from past races too. We met some new people as well. New to me anyway!
This movie is a documentary on 6 people who were running the Chicago marathon a few years ago. It began with meeting them and seeing them train. They all had different reasons for running, some of them I felt a connection to. I especially understood how important running a marathon had become for them. I only recently realized just how badly I need to run this marathon. NEED. It began with me thinking it would be a "fun" thing to do, it has quickly become one of the most important things I'll ever do.
This movie hit on all the points I have thought about. Interest, learning how to run, desire for speed, worrying about injury, wanting to be good at SOMETHING and feeling a connection to my fellow runner. When Deena Koster said she'd run marathons but had never won, that winning one was her new goal, I understood exactly what she meant. I feel that on a smaller scale. I'd LOVE to win a race, but for now I'll be happy to place in my age division. For now.
Another runner that sticks out in my mind was a woman named Katherine. She ran a marathon that had banned women. This was in the 70's!!!! She ran it anyway and a man tried to physically remove her from the race. She almost did quit, but decided to keep going. I felt a proudness for her determination, as a runner and as a woman.
I don't want to give too much away about this movie. I want to see it again, that's how good it was. Although, my husband fell asleep, yes, even snored a little....LOL...but in his defense he'd worked a 12 hour day and was exhausted. This movie is emotional, I felt excitement, joy, sadness and pride in all of the runners. I wanted to talk to them in person and tell each one what a fantastic accomplishment they had made. I wanted to go out and run beside them! Well, behind them. Really far behind them....LOL.
At the end of the movie I felt very emotional. It's amazing how strongly I felt about watching those runners. I was proud, excited even a little scared. I walked out of the theater knowing one more thing about myself....I will be one of them. At the end of the day on March 2, 2008, I will have run my first marathon.
This movie is a documentary on 6 people who were running the Chicago marathon a few years ago. It began with meeting them and seeing them train. They all had different reasons for running, some of them I felt a connection to. I especially understood how important running a marathon had become for them. I only recently realized just how badly I need to run this marathon. NEED. It began with me thinking it would be a "fun" thing to do, it has quickly become one of the most important things I'll ever do.
This movie hit on all the points I have thought about. Interest, learning how to run, desire for speed, worrying about injury, wanting to be good at SOMETHING and feeling a connection to my fellow runner. When Deena Koster said she'd run marathons but had never won, that winning one was her new goal, I understood exactly what she meant. I feel that on a smaller scale. I'd LOVE to win a race, but for now I'll be happy to place in my age division. For now.
Another runner that sticks out in my mind was a woman named Katherine. She ran a marathon that had banned women. This was in the 70's!!!! She ran it anyway and a man tried to physically remove her from the race. She almost did quit, but decided to keep going. I felt a proudness for her determination, as a runner and as a woman.
I don't want to give too much away about this movie. I want to see it again, that's how good it was. Although, my husband fell asleep, yes, even snored a little....LOL...but in his defense he'd worked a 12 hour day and was exhausted. This movie is emotional, I felt excitement, joy, sadness and pride in all of the runners. I wanted to talk to them in person and tell each one what a fantastic accomplishment they had made. I wanted to go out and run beside them! Well, behind them. Really far behind them....LOL.
At the end of the movie I felt very emotional. It's amazing how strongly I felt about watching those runners. I was proud, excited even a little scared. I walked out of the theater knowing one more thing about myself....I will be one of them. At the end of the day on March 2, 2008, I will have run my first marathon.
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