26 miles in the Year of My 26th Birthday

11:18PM - reached for the moon, landed among the stars

well, i've been aiming for 5-day running weeks (the moon), but so far i've only been pulling off 4-days (the stars). works out well, i guess since i was progressing from 3-days. i'll get there one day. i'm happy since i used to struggle with trying to do 4-days.

i can't run for awhile though. i've been sick since monday and can't imagine myself running until friday at the earliest, but more like saturday realistically. i hope i don't lose too much fitness.

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7:04AM - almost a 10 minute mile

it's hard to motivate yourself to go out for a 1 mile run. So I used the the following George Sheehan quote to "inspire" me to get out there.

I run each day to preserve the self I attained the day before. And coupled with this is the desire to secure the self yet to be. -George Sheehan

it worked and i ran. hopefully the quote will still be working 2 years from now come marathon time.

1.07 miles
10:07 pace

i'm really proud of that  pace

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2:08PM - 2 miles, check

so i'm actually really not all that behind. today's even easier than i thought if i try to pull a double. i thought it was 2 yesterday and 3 today, but it's only 2 and 1. so if i get to the gym tonight i can quickly do a mile on the dreadmill as a waarmup, but if don't i'll just skip the workout since it's really inconsequential in my opinion.

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7:01AM - already behind

didn't run yesterday morning, so i had to do it in the evening. but this was after a human rights reception and when i got home i laid down for a 3 hour nap until florian woke me up to brush my teeth and whatnot. i want to pull a double run, especially since i'm still low mileage (2 miles + 3 miles), but i have a nonstop full schedule today so i'm skeptical.

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3:51PM - rest day

i read my schedule wrong. mondays are a rest day. so i didn't have to run this morning. fine with me :)

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8:08PM - A New Endeavor

In preparation for a Turkey Day 4-miler, I am embarking on a new training period tomorrow. The program is based off of http://www.cararuns.org/training_programs/8ktraining.html#schedule . I like it because it's simultaneously a step forward and backward with my running. It's a step back because it's a lower mileage race. But it's a step forward because it'll bring me from 3 days a week to 5 days a week of running. It's good to do this in preparation for a 4-miler because most of the training runs are from 2-5 miles. Nothing overly ambitious, which I think will be a nice way to ease into it.

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7:23AM - Libby Brakeley Memorial 10K - Race Report

obviously the gentleman that replied to my email regarding whether or not it was hilly never actually RAN the course. i was so so not prepared for a hilly 10K :( . i'll be honest, while i am glad to have a 10K under my belt (no walking either), it was actually a pretty demoralizing experience.

turns out barely anyone did the 10K. i would say less than 50. within 3 minutes, i couldn't see any of them anymore and there were only two behind me. i was struggling with those hills so bad. near the end, i was freaking out and cursing the race organizer. every time i got up one, i looked ahead and saw another.

things started off strong and it totally looked like i was going to do it. but then mile 3 really took a downward turn and i was never able to recover. it was a very boring and at times dangerous course. i couldn't believe some of the roads they had us running. the cars were uncomfortably close. and it was so isolating running by myself in a race. i occupied my mind by remembering my splits.

i was really upset at the end. i had nothing left in my legs and i couldn't pick up the pace at all. they had already started shutting the finishing lanes down and there was no one to greet me at the end. there was a collapsable chair that had a handwritten sign on a piece of paper that said 10K. but then there was one lane that was still ahead of me. i really didn't know where the finish was. i asked a guy who was carrying off cones if i was done yet :( .

florian was there to meet me at the end so that was nice. but i was really upset and frustrated and was holding back tears :( . well, i couldn't hold them back at first. i was just in general pain and i was so annoyed with those gawd foresaken hills and i was unhappy with my time and i was just BLAH!

but, on a positive note, it can only get better from here. i did it and i didn't walk. i ran a 10K three weeks sooner than i had originally been scheduled for. so yes, there are some things to be happy about :)

FINISHING TIME (based on the collapsing chair): 1:18:19

MILE_____________________SPLIT________________________PACE
1________________________11:55________________________11:55
2________________________23:53________________________11:58
3________________________36:35________________________12:42
4________________________49:37________________________13:02
5_______________________1:02:58_______________________13:21
6_______________________1:16:00_______________________13:02
FINISH__________________1:18:19

Avg HR: 196
Cals burned: 983
% from fat: 10%

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9:34AM - According to the HR Monitor

                                    Long Run (8/25)           Tempo/Race Run (8/27)            Regular Run (8/29)
                                 --------------------------       -----------------------------------       ------------------------------
Time                                    65:00                                     27:07                                        35:00
In Zone                               58:53                                     00:46                                          9:56
Average HR                       177                                         203                                            189
Kcal                                    701                                         361                                             419
% from fat                          35%                                      10%                                           20% 
Distance                             ~4.5                                        ~2.5                                           ~2.8                       

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6:52AM - Fresh Pond

Yesterday was my second fastest Fresh Pond Race of 4 attempts thus far. 27:07 with limited shade and lots of heat. Oh and I had to stop and tie my shoe once too. So I'm feeling good and it's not that far away from the 26:43 PB. Well, it kind of is, but I think PB day was also a perfect weather day and I didn't stop to tie my shoes :)

Sticking to the abbreviated 10K plan I made is going well. I made a plan for the two months following the race and I'm really looking forward to it. It will be my umpteenth attempt to run 4 days a week. Last summer it wasn't hard, but I think it was because I was on summer holidays and Florian was always at work. Running took some of the boredom out of my day so I did it all the time.

The plan after the race is something like

20/30/20/30 = 100
30/30/21/30 = 111
40/30/22/30 = 122
50/30/24/30 = 134
60/30/27/30 = 147
60/35/35/30 = 160
60/43/43/30 = 176
75/45/45/30 = 195

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7:56AM - I've come a long way this summer

I don't know why I never really realized this before, but I've come a long way this summer. I mean, I know I've made tons of running progress, but it wasn't until my run around Fresh Pond that I was really able to put it together. The first time I went all the way around Fresh Pond, it took me so long because I walked so much of it, that Florian was 5 minutes away from starting his own search and rescue to come find me. Then I started biking to the pond, but I never dared go all the way around. I'd go 10 minutes in one direction and then 10 back. I always wondered what the other side looked like. And then when I was doing C25K, I was always trying to make it all the way around. I couldn't do it even on the 30 minute run days and this was without the extra quarter mile loop around the small hill.

But now! Now I race Fresh Pond every Saturday in less than 27 minutes without walking and I do the extra quarter mile loop. Yesterday was my easy run and I comfortably went around in 30:18 without walking, of course with the extra loop. In fact, I feel confident that I could go around the thing twice without walking, loop included :)

I'm feeling great and I'm so happy to see how far I've come over these past few months!

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10:34PM - 10K in 4 weeks!

So travel plans forced me to bump up my 10K race by an entire month! So that means I'll be racing in 4 weeks. It's exciting and slightly nervewracking. I can't believe I'm up to 10K races now. I can't believe I feel I can reasonably be ready in 4 weeks, rather than my original plan of 8 more. I'm excited that it's so soon though :) I like the plan I have. It's only 3 days a week still. I don't know, one of these days I'll go over the hump and be up to 4 days a week regularly again, but for now, this is working for me so whatever.

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5:52PM - I'm still at it

I have to may online accountability mechanisms and for some reason, my LJ always seems to go by the wayside. I really should focus on this one more because this LJ is dedicated only to me and it's a nice way of being able to track my progress. I really need to make a bigger effort to journal in here more often.

So, I did my second run for the week today. I'm behind schedule of course, but I think traveling on Wednesday and time of the month hassles on Thursday are a fair enough excuse. Tuesday's run was my first time with the running club for the 10K I'm going to do in October. It was kind of lame since there were only four people and the other two might as well not be in the club because they are so fast I only saw them in the first couple of minutes. I'm not sure if I'll stick with it. We were out there for 52 minutes, but it was a really crap run for me and I took a ridiculous amount of walking breaks.

My run today was much better though. I didn't cover a lot of distance or at a decent pace, but I got out there and I felt good. I ran a little over 3 miles in 36:40. I then thought about all the junk food I've eaten since coming home to visit my family and threw in and added 23:20 of walking at the end of my workout. I'm feeling good now and plan to do a long run on Sunday.

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1:18PM - Day Before the Race

The weather here has been nasty hot. But tomorrow, oh tomorrow, it's going to be PERFECT race weather. The high temp is dropping nearly 20 degrees, woohoo! Today I'm focusing on hydrating myself for tomorrow. I plan to do a very easy 15 minute run today. This also means this will be my first week of 4 days of running in who knows how long. It'll work out perfect too because the 15 minute run can be the "extra" day and then I have 2 days of 30 minutes (Monday and Saturday) and one long run (the race tomorrow). That means next week, I'll just add 5 minutes to the short run. Whatever, it'll work itself out :)

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8:23AM - Ich drucke die Daumen

Well, I had wanted to run my goal race time once before my race, but that didn't happen. And then I was satisfied to run goal race time less 10 minutes, but that didn't happen either. So this morning I set out to run 30 minutes easy. I really emphasized the easy part after reading yoga kitten's suggestion. I'm glad I did because I just learned what my lower limits are. I had no idea I could run so slow and that it would feel so easy. I mean, it's always nice to know how far you can push yourself, but now I know I have a lot of long run potential in me at the moment. At the pace I was going, which was slowww, I felt like I could have run forever. It certainly helped that the weather was absolutely perfect with a nice overcast and a cool breeze. Anyways, according to the mile markings on the minute man trail,  I ran 12:13 the first mile and 12:36 the second mile. I ran for a total of 30:25. I normally run 11:37 minute miles when I go on a slow run, so this was definitely slow.

Oh, and the really amazing part to me was my heart rate. Maybe I'm just overly fascinated by this stuff, but I didn't know I could run and have a heart rate so low. Granted, I was slowww, but I still did not know I could maintain a heart rate in the low 180s for more than 20 minutes while running! In the last few minutes, I was mid-upper 180s, but otherwise I was at the low end. That's encouraging actually. It makes me feel like I can finally start to have more variety in runs. I can do long slow runs and short fast runs. It's not like I couldn't physically do that before. But I never felt like I could do the fast runs since my heart rate was at a range that I thought could be dangerous. Well, I did hit 205 on Saturday, but still...

Okay, I'm off to stretch while I'm still warm...

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11:19AM - Race Report - Fresh Pond 2.5-Miler

I AM BESIDE MYSELF WITH EXCITEMENT HERE

I found a local running club that holds a race by my house every Saturday. I decided to check them out. I was totally nervous and then I was like :ohboy:  :suspect: when I arrived and saw everyone there. All the men were lanky, tan, and very runner-looking like. And then all the women (like all 3 of them) didn't look slow either :liar: . And then I overheard some talking trying to explain the mile markers to someone and he was talking about 7 minute miles casually. So then I'm thinking to myself "crap, I'm screwed". I mean, I am no Speedy McSpeederson with my 11:37 miles I run training days.

So I line up at the very back and could only keep up for like 100m. And then I got passed by a couple slow, but still fast guys if that makes sense. Adnd then came grandpa. Grandpa was quick. For 18 minutes and 17 seconds I struggled to keep grandpa less than 2 meters ahead of me. And then I couldn't take it anymore and I walked for 1 minute. During which time my heart rate dropped from 204 to 179.

And then I was off again, but I couldn't believe it, I was almost done with the loop. I mean, I figured I must have been reading the markers wrong because I passed the first mile marker at 10 something. I was like, I don't run 10 something miles. So I crossed the finish line and they called out my time of 27:25 (27:21 on my watch).

Okay, I know you're all thinking that's not all that fast, but I'm seriously shocked, amazed, thrilled, delighted with that time. I didn't know I could run that fast for longer than 1 mile. That's 10:57 per mile (40 seconds quicker than I thought I could go) or 5.48 mph (.4 mph faster than I thought I could maintain) AND this includes a 1-minute walking break.

After the race, grandpa told me he finished in 26:11. My goal for the end of the summer is to keep up with him and then surge at the end to beat him  :alien: .

Alright ladies, this is Speedy McSpeederson checking out for the day .

I'm so happy :embarrased:

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7:42AM - i missed my window of opportunity

to run in cool temps this morning. i either have to suck it up and go when it's hot or go on the treadmill. i don't want to do the treadmill. i never did any of my C25K on the treadmill except for some of the first week or two. so it's been about 2 months now. i don't want to, but i don't think i want to run in oppressive heat either...

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12:09PM - A Pure "30" - The end of one stage and the beginning of another

GO ME! I'M DONE WITH C25K!

So I just got back from running a "pure 30" (no walking breaks taken) and I'm really proud to be done with the C25K program. Even though it's a beginner level program, even though I've run three 5Ks in the past, and even though I was running up to 45 minutes in one stretch a little less than a year ago, I AM PROUD :) This is the longest stretch of consistency I've had since last summer. For the past 11 weeks (I repeated one week and stretched the last week over 2) I have run 2-4 times a week. Today's run marked the end of one stage of training and also marks the beginning of another. Funny how worked up I'm getting over 30 minutes of running, lol.

Anyways, I think I'm still on target for the original purpose of starting this journal - a marathon in 2007. So here's what the general plan is going to look like.

• Marathon - Fall 2007
• Half-marathon - Fall 2006
• 10K - Fall 2005

Of course it's very possible to progress faster than that, but I'm not in a hurry. I know some people who've never run before just pick up and go, but I want to do this right. It also gives my body plenty of time to get used to running and to avoid injury.

Now that I've finished C25K, I'm looking forward to keeping up with this journal more regularly :)

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3:57AM - Still truckin'

Well, I guess I've definitely got to a point where I might as well update this thing more regularly than as of late. I should be able to complete my C25K program this Sunday or Monday. Wow, I can't believe it. I committed to a program for over two months, stuck with it, and now I'm nearly done. Yay me :) In the process, I achieved my goal of lowering my heart rate. At the end of my runs, I am in the low 190s. This is a major accomplishment for me signifying a 10+ bpm decrease from when I started. Theoretically, it should be lower based on calculators, but I find it nearly impossible to scoff at it since I've been a low 200s kind of girl for-seemingly-ever. I'm talking high school ever. I am reasonably confident that I, in general have a high heart rate, and that this is a good level for me. Although, I have noticed that it's taking me longer and longer in my runs to hit the 190s and I have been flirting with sticking around the high 180s.

This weekend was my first real experience with running hills. It was by no means on purpose, but it was a great and encouraging experience. I was visiting my friend for the weekend and managed to throw in 2 runs during the 3 days I was there. (That makes me proud!). That place was HILL-Y! Both runs were supposed to be 28 minutes. On the first day, I end up having to take a 2-minute walking break. I made up for that time in the end though and still ran a total of 28 minutes. The next day I did the same thing. My knees were hating me for it on Monday, but I took today (well, yesterday since it's AM Wednesday) off completely.

Race is in 22 days. In that time I need to up my mileage by approximately 1.5 miles. Yikes. That's a lot. I'm nervous. I'm going to do that by making one day a week my long run. I'll add the 10% increases for the week to one run instead of spreading it out.

I'm praying the adrenaline will kick in...

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5:49PM - knees are sore

i need to stretch better and i need to start hosing my legs down after my runs again. ouch, i'm cold just thinking about it, but i don't want anything to get in the way of my running. i'm up to 25 minutes straight. next week 28 and the week after that is 30. i'm super excited :) .

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10:11AM - C25K Progress

Well, looks like I might be ready to have workouts worthy of being mentioned in here real soon. I ran the first prescribed "longer" run for the C25K program yesterday, a whopping 20 minutes. But I was seriously impressed. My heart rate is staying down even though it was hot and humid. I felt comfortable and I wasn't too slow. Not fast, but not too slow. For week 6, there are 2 run/walk workouts prescribed and then a longer run of 25 minutes. After that it's all running without walking breaks. Wow, I can't believe I finally got back here again.

After I finish the program at the end of the month, I'll have to decide what I want to do. I'm really not sure. I can either add more time to all the workouts so I'm running about 3 times a week for 40+ minutes or just keep adding to one of the runs so I'm running for an hour once a week. I kind of feel like I should go with the latter since I've got the 4-miler at the end of July. I don't know if I could "slowly" add enough time to all of the runs so I was running 4 miles by then.

I'm hoping to do the Tufts 10K in October. I'm even trying to get Florian to change our Switzerland visit to a week later so I can do it. It looks like it's a great race, especially for a first timer :)

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