I can run on water!

My Garmin whacked out this morning when locating satellites.  I guess because it was so overcast.  Anyway, I looked down at my watch when I knew I was at about the half mile point just to see how I was running and it said I had already gone .75 miles and my pace was 5:20!!!  I was rockin!!!  LOL!  So I walked ... slowly ... for about a quarter of a mile just til it got back up to a normal pace for me.  Then when I got home I had to laugh because it put my starting point in the water in the lake by my house.  Funny!

The run this morning was just ok.  I was feeling pretty sluggish but still felt like running more than the 4 miles I was supposed to.  With all of the adjustments I had to do for the messed up starting point, I think I ended up going a little over 5.25 miles.  Average pace was 9:05.  The weather was a nice and cool 59° but I was sweating like crazy because of the humidity.

Tomorrow is an easy 4.  Then a rest day Saturday.  Then my back-to-back long runs on Sunday and Monday.

Don't Drink and Run!

Maybe I should clarify here.  Drinking fluids that hydrate you (water, Gatorade, etc.) while running is definitely a good thing.  However, drinking rum and tequila-based drinks the night before running is a very bad thing!  Ugh!  Especially for someone that doesn't drink much.  But this tasty key lime pie martini was just too tempting (yes that's graham cracker crust on the rim!).  Luckily we got home at a half-decent hour so I got some sleep.

But 5:30am still rolled around pretty quickly and I did not want to get up and run!  But once I was dressed in my running gear, everything felt good.  The run actually went well although I was sweating like crazy!!  I totally blame the humidity and not the alcohol leaving my body!

Today was just a quick 4 miles.  Splits were good: 9:34, 8:57, 8:45, 8:39 (8:59 average).  The rest day yesterday helped and I wasn't feeling sore anymore.  My training plan calls for 4 miles tomorrow but I may bump that up to 6 if I'm feeling good.  :)

El Scorcho = Insano!

I've officially lost my mind!  I signed up to run a 50k race (yes I said FIFTY) in the heat of the summer ... at midnight.  LOL!  Thank you to Ben and Erin for talking me into this one.  :)

Fifty kilometers is just over 31 miles.  No problemo!  Ha!!!  Just gotta start training NOW.  And training is a little different than training for a marathon.  Instead of 6 days a week training, I only need to do 5.  But the runs are longer and the biggest difference is back-to-back long runs.  I did that this week and I can tell it will be difficult.  The reason behind back-to-back long runs is to make you physically and mentally tougher.  I know the last 6 miles of a marathon are killer so I can only imagine what miles 26-31 will be like in this race.  Really all a mind game because your body is shot by that point.  Sounds fun, right?!

I just need to whip myself into shape and that shouldn't take that long with the amount of running I'll be doing especially since it's getting hot outside.  Average weeks will be 40-50 miles.  Not too bad.  The longest run I'll do is 24 miles followed by a 10 mile run the next day.  That should be interesting.  I'll try to keep you posted on most of the training runs.  To be in top race shape, I need to lose about 10 pounds and about 4-5% body fat.  Totally do-able in 3 months.  Right now my goal time is about 5 and a half hours.

So here is my training so far.  My long runs aren't very long just yet but will ramp up quickly.  Sunday I ran a medium-paced 12 miles.  And it felt good.  I ran one of my favorite routes and took a detour through this really cool cemetery then out past my donkey friend.  He usually won't come over to see me but he was in a good mood that day!

Splits were surprisingly good with little effort.  I was extremely happy with my pace and the negative split.

Then came Monday.  Monday has been my rest day for over 3 years!  So to get up and run on a Monday was just too weird!  But it actually felt pretty good.  Here's a happy runner after a very early Monday morning 8 miles.

And, unbelievably, the run felt good, my pace was good and I had another negative split with enough energy left to push it the last mile.  Who knew?!  :)

So today is Tuesday which is now my rest day.  And you know how I feel today?  SORE!!!!  OMG!  So glad it's my rest day!!!  Tomorrow's 4 miles will be interesting.  See ya then.

Out 'n' Back to the Windy City!

Actually that should say out 'n' back THROUGH the windy city.  Yep ... more wind today but either it is dying down a little or I'm getting used to it.  I looked and it said winds out of the south at 18-20 mph.  I ran out to the ballpark and had to take a picture of the Chicago sign since Chicago is supposedly "The Windy City."

It was a good 6 mile run.  Another nice negative split.  Split times were 9:38, 9:27, 9:09, 8:59, 8:50, 8:39 (9:07 average).  The last mile was pretty tough but I felt good again today.  :)

Tomorrow is Fartlek Friday.  Always a good time!!

Blown Away!

OMG!  This wind is terrible!  And it's been this way for days.  It's a constant 20 mph wind with gusts of 40+ mph.  Let's just say that it makes for an interesting run.  When the wind is at my back, it's great.  But then I turn the corner and man ... feels like I'm running in place!  Look how hard the flags were blowing this morning!

But it was actually a pretty good run today. Just went 4 and my splits were 9:30, 9:04, 9:03, 8:40 (9:04 average).  I always love a good negative split.  And I felt good the whole way and that made for one happy runner when I got home.  :D

Tomorrow I'm going to go either 4 or 6.  I haven't decided yet.  I guess that depends on how early I get up.  I need to figure out my next race and set up a training plan so I'm not just running whatever I feel like.  Tomorrow is supposed to be another windy one and I'm ready!  Glad my hat has some good velcro on it!

A Nice Spring Run!

I love this time of year.  The bluebonnets are so pretty and the weather is nice.  So today after a very windy 7 miles, I stopped and took a picture in the bluebonnets.

It was a really good run.  Just a quick out and back with the wind at my back the first half and a pretty difficult second half because it was really gusting out there. But it felt good!  And it really felt like a new beginning for me.  It's Springtime and my head was clear and I can just feel a change.  I'm ready to get back into my regular morning running again now that everything is settling down.

Average pace today was 9:45 with a slower second half.  Usually that would irritate me because I like to have a negative split but with the wind blowing as hard as it was, I'll take it!

Tomorrow is my off day then Tuesday starts my new morning groove!!  :D

A steady 10.

So this was my first long(ish) run in 3 weeks.  Hard for me to say 10 is a long run when it really isn't.  But I wanted to ease back into the long runs and decided not to go too far today so I didn't hurt myself.  And I was sufficiently tired by the end of the run today.  LOL!  I'll bump it up to about 15 next weekend.

My legs felt good but I could tell that these new shoes are making me work harder and that is a good thing.  Trying to decide if I am going to run Big D on April 10th.  I ran the half last year and if I run it this year, I'll do the half again.  With taking these last 2 weeks off, there is no way I could run a respectable full less than a month from now.

Not too bad of a pace today.  I like to keep my long runs between 9:15 and 10:00 and I had a 9:47 average today.  On the higher end but I'll take it.  But for only 10 it could be so much better.

Tomorrow is my rest day then I'm back in training mode Tuesday.  Tuesdays are my fast days and I can't wait!