Eight Miles Out

I ran eight miles outdoors on Sunday, December 27 at 3p with my brother. Temperature was a balmy 51 degrees Fahrenheit in late December! At the time, I knew it was unseasonably warm, but I dressed like it was winter anyway. I would later pay for it during the run, because I started to overheat. I wore a long sleeve wicking shirt with my orange puma pullover and running gloves and cap. I wore running shorts, and nylon socks. I ate a big lunch about an hour or so before the run, and brought two gels of GU with me.

I really only needed the long sleeve wicking shirt and the shorts. The cap, gloves, and pullover all came off during the run. My brother took my gloves, and I held the cap in my hand and tied the pullover around my waist. Clothes will need to be better coordinated with weather conditions, because it was annoying to have so much clothes during the run.

I really felt the big lunch during the run, and will not be doing that again. I also had run five miles the previous day on a treadmill, and my muscles were still sore. I needed to stretch longer and didn't do that.

All this (the weather, the full stomach, the clothing, the soreness) did not contribute to an overall good start. I really felt it from the get go, and did not start strong. I was running with my twenty-one year old brother EU who has bundles of energy (I'm an infirm seventy-five, lol), and we started out at a leisurely 10 minute and a half pace. At least, it should have been leisurely, but I was hurting from mile one.

My other brother AU gave me a runner's watch for Christmas, and this was my first chance to use it. It was really neat, and helped me to regulate my pace. It has GPS so I could track my distance as well as my average mile pace. The watch is a bit bulky but it really came in handy, and I will enjoy using it and figuring out some of its advanced features. Thanks, AU!

Thanks to mapmyrun.com, here is a map of the up-and-back course that we took:



So at the four mile mark in Lexington center, my brother and I turned around, and I gobbled a chocolate gel. I think it helped? I don't know, but it was kinda tasty. My brother had a vanilla one, and he said it gave him gas. Kekeke.

So at that point, I think I had done a 10:30min/mile pace, and I was aiming for a 10 minute pace, overall. I was hurting for all the aforementioned reasons, but around the six or seven mile mark, I started to feel stronger. I was telling my brother at the time that I would be happy to average a ten minute pace for the rest of the run, because that would still mean a negative split. But for whatever reason, my brother and I decided to kick it up a notch, and though I was about two minutes or so behind the ten minute pace, I made it up in the last three miles, by doing about a 9:10 min/mile pace, because I finished the eight miles in exactly 1hr19min30sec.

Sweet! A negative split! And I accomplished my goal of finishing the eight miles in a ten minute pace/mile or better. I even beat it by thirty seconds. My brother EU had a big kick in the end and finished strong. Me, I gave it my all for eight miles, and didn't have anything left. So, although I met my goal of a ten minute pace, I still have a lot of work and training to do, if I want to do that for a half-marathon (13.1 miles!). But, I'm on track. I'm on plan. So far.

A few things: pay closer attention to weather and clothing. Diet is important. The gels were okay, so I'll need to experiment more with it. My stomach didn't reject it. I probably shouldn't have pushed my body so early in my training to run two days in a row. My muscles and body needed to recover, and I felt it during my long run. However, I'm pleased with how things are going. I still have a long way to go, and I know I couldn't have done the ten minute pace if my brother wasn't there. It is soooooooo much easier to run with a partner. I cannot even describe how motivating it is to run with someone rather than do it myself.

Anyway, even though I did runs two days in a row, I probably could fit in another treadmill run during this week. I probably need it from eating so much at home. ;)

Happy trails, running giraffes.

Half-Marathon: January 24th

Yikes, running giraffes, I've signed up for a half-marathon, never having run more than eight miles at a time, even during practice! What am I thinking?!

I'm thinking awesome thoughts, that's what. I'm stretching my limits, and saying, YES I CAN! (props to Bob the Builder and some guy named Obama).

2010, or Bust!

So, I really have no idea what I'm doing, but I've been running about once a week for awhile now. So, I'm not in bad running shape, overall. However, half-marathons are a completely different story. I remember running eight miles or so when I went back home to Concord, and my body just stopped working after a while. I had to walk the rest of the way. I think it was my body's way of telling me to re-fuel, or quit, or else!

So, I have to gear my body up for running long runs. This is totally an amateur way of looking at it, but I have about four weekends left before the January 24th, Sunday half-marathon. I'm going to build up my long runs until I can run about 11 or 12 miles the week before. I'm going to try and fit in three long runs, outside, and a short race on the weekends leading up to the half. During the week, I'm going to fit in a short three-to-five mile treadmill run during the week. In short, I will run twice a week, up to the half. I don't know if this is enough, but that's my plan. I'm also going to squeeze in some other physical activity during the week too, to keep up my workouts and mix it up a bit (spin class, anyone? hula dancing, anyone?).

Suh-weet!



So, here's the (running) plan:

Week 1:
Weekend Dec 26 or 27: one 7-8 mile run, outside
Weekdays Dec 28 - Jan 1: one 4-5 mile run, treadmill

Week 2:
Weekend Jan 2 or 3: one 9-10 mile run, outside
Weekdays Jan 4 - 8: one 3-5 mile run, treadmill

Week 3:
Weekend Jan 9, Saturday: one 5-mile race, NYRR, Central Park, outside
Weekdays Jan 11 - 15: one 4-5 mile run, treadmill

Week 4:
Weekend Jan 16 or 17: one 11-12 mile run, outside
Weekdays Jan 18 - 22: one 3-5 mile run, treadmill

Race Day: Sunday, January 24th, Manhattan half-marathon, 13.1 miles, Central Park

Gulp!

So, I bought some gels, GU, to go on my long runs to make sure my body gets used to eating it. I'm supposed to have them every 45 minutes or so. I'll need a watch (hopefully I get one for Christmas). I'm planning on drinking plenty of water and eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich an hour before my long runs. Hopefully, that will help. I don't plan on investing in utility belts, and just plan on having the GU in my pockets and holding onto a water bottle during my runs. Idk. I haven't figure this part out yet.

The dress will be interesting too, as I don't know how cold it will be. They say to dress coolly, because your body warms up about 10-15 degrees once you get into your run. I'll have to experiment with this. For now, I plan on ear warmers, gloves, three layers on top, and one or two layers below. Sadly, the cold has knocked out my awesomest running buddy SLG for this training, but SLG will be cheering me on in spirit! I may be able to run with Yin instead, who's also signed up for the half, so I'll have to coordinate with him.

My goal is to finish the half. I'd be happy with a 11 minute pace, nothing crazy, just as long as I finish, and my body doesn't give out. I'll be monitoring my dress and my nutrition for the next month. I'll try to report it here, but this blogging takes work! This should be fun though.

Okay, let's see. Anything else? Setting goals and working toward them. That's my 2010! Keep on running, running giraffes!

Oh yeah, and merry Christmas, and happy holidays! Happy new year, and may it all be safe and happy!

NYRR Update

So quite a few running giraffes since the last October post. I've been on three NYRR races:
1. The Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff, October 25, 2009, 5M.
2. Race to Deliver, November 22, 2009, 4M.
3. Joe Kleinerman 10K, December 6, 2009, 6.2M

I won all three races! Of course, my definition of winning is not first place, or not even first place in my age group or whatever. My definition of winning is showing up and finishing. So, in conclusion, I'm awesome.

Of course, SLG ran all three races with me, so it's inspiring to run with an awesome person like SLG. Let's see, some memories from each run. I think I felt pretty crappy on the Poland Spring run because SLG and I hadn't run a race in September, and I missed some practice runs on the weekend because September was so crazy. However, I still managed a 9:19 pace per mile and an overall net time of 46:37. Nice to get back in the swing of things! After the race though, it was quite cold, and SLG and I decided after this race that we would bring bags for a change of clothes for our next race.

The Race to Deliver was awesome, as I managed a PR of 8:48 pace per mile and overall net time of 35:14 for the four mile run. I remember taking breaks for water and still feeling strong. I don't think I had a strong kick toward the end, but the water breaks were a revelation for me. (I can take water breaks, walk for a bit, and still get a PR! Amazing!) I also remember starting out slow and building toward a faster pace, so an overall pace of 8:48 is stupendously amazing to me. I think I wore a long sleeve wicking shirt, and shorts - I think. Maybe I wore two layers on top, but I don't remember. Note to self: update running blog when my swiss cheese memory is not so swiss cheesy.

The Joe Kleinerman race was super awesome. Joe Kleinerman I think is the or a founder of NYRR, and this 10K was in honor of him. I don't know if he's still alive or what, but hip, hip, hooray for Joe Kleinerman and NYRR. NYRR is an awesome organization, and I'm proud to be a member. 10K is about 6.2 miles and the longest race I have ever done. It was really cold, and we had a third member join our merry band during the race. PD aka RB ran with SLG and I, and we all decided to run together, kind of organically, because I usually like to run off and go and try for my PR. However, it was a lot of fun that we ran as a group. We would sing songs together, and talk about random stuff like what kind of breakfast we want to eat after the race. It made the 6.2 miles go by really fast, and it was actually a lot of fun. It was really cold, and we had to bundle up. I ran with a headband thing-y to keep my ears warm, running gloves, and two layers on top (short sleeve and long sleeve wicking shirts). I also decided to run with long pants over my shorts. I probably could have run in shorts, but not really. Note to self: need to buy running pants or tights. I read somewhere that you should dress cooler than you feel, because after running, your body temperature rises 10 to 15 degrees. Since we all three ran together, my time for the 10K was not super fast, but it was still super cool!

Since the Joe Kleinerman, SLG and I ran with another special guest star: Yin. We've done an outdoor run and a run on a treadmill. The treadmill run for me was diff, because I tried doing a fast-slow thing, where I would run fast for five minutes, run slow for five minute, run faster for five, and then run slow, and et cetera, et cetera. It is an interesting way to switch things up, and shock the body!

So far, I've kept up my practice by running about 4 or 5 miles once a week, including a treadmill run today and a midnite run last Sunday (after a NYC rain, no less, the air was so crispy fresh!). However, a few days ago, I registered for the Manhattan half-marathon on January 24th! I'm kind of freaking out, because I don't think I've run that far even on a practice run. It's about a month away! and I've made a spur of the moment decision to just run, run, run. Who knows if I have enough time, but sometimes, you just gotta do it. Just do it, baby! Who's with me?

(crickets)

Who's with me in spirit?

(Cheering crowds)

Good enough. Note to self: need a soundtrack for my so-called life.

Keep on running, running giraffes.


P.S. I asked for a lot of running stuff for Christmas! Hopefully, I'm on the nice list, never mind that I'm older than time. I can still be on the nice list... kekeke.