Training Week #13 - Let FALL begin

So week 13 has turned out to be quite the week let me tell ya! After a beautiful sunny weekend with 85 degree weather in San Diego I returned to 60 degree weather (sometimes chillier) and rain.....oh. yay.

Needless to say our beautiful summer (or lack thereof) is gone, and we're now in full swing of Fall weather. Gotta get used to it though. Vegas in December...at NIGHT...going to be CHILLY..frigid even. So as much as I am tempted to go run on a treadmill inside (although I HATE treadmills), I will refrain and suck it up. Get tough!! It's all for the greater good right?!

Other than the chillier weather though the week went pretty damn smoothly. Monday evenings training was somewhat difficult as I'd been up since oh 4am getting ready to get on a plane return to Seattle, and put in a full days work. BUT I sucked it up and did a 6 mile bike ride. Not the original plan (I was GOING to run but that thought was somewhat painful as I sludged through my work day). The quads got a GREAT workout, and I felt good that I'd at least gotten a cross train in. Tuesday and Thursday were my run days. Getting in two great 4 mile runs. My pace on both days were sub 9 minute miles. Pretty damn good if I do say so myself! My timing seems to be getting better, but its not by anything that I'm specifically trying to do. I'm not forcing a faster pace it just seems to be coming in on its own. Wednesday and Saturday were hot yoga days....again I have to give my love for hot yoga a major shout out. I mean it really just cleanses me mind, body and spirit (Am I becoming a hippie? Has Seattle gone to my head????)

Sunday was the long run. First 7 miler of the training series. Jenny and I went out to Alki Beach (my most beloved spot for a run I must say), and somehow I pulled off one of the best runs I've EVER done. It was a pretty decent evening out. Not really too cold or windy (Thank GOD!). I had some pretty stupid stomach issues to deal with along the way but it didn't hinder my pace. I ended up at an 8:51 pace....ummm HOW?! No idea. It was my first 7 miler and yet somehow I managed to pull out a better average time than I had with any of my previous long runs.....will I take it?! YES!

Vegas looks so close yet so far still, but as I have no surpassed the halfway point in mileage I'm feeling more and more comfortable and confident at how the race will go.

Training Week #12 - 2 months till VEGAS!

This week's training did not necessarily go as well as I would've hoped. It didn't necessarily go BADLY, but I think my expectations were a little higher. I had planned to have 4 run days (totaling 18 miles) and a cross train day, with the long mileage being 6 miles. And those 6 miles were being run in San Diego.

Well I only had 3 run days and one walk day. After doing our 8 mile hike on Saturday, a 6 mile run on Sunday, I woke up Monday and decided that it was going to be a rest day. The body (and knee) needed some recovery time and I didn't want to push it too hard. Tuesday I set off as planned and ran my 4 miles. Feeling good but definitely could tell I was still tired from all the weekend activity. Wednesday was my walk night and just did a nice walk around the lake with mom. Thursday was supposed to be another 4 mile run, but around 2pm my body tanked on me. I was dizzy, lightheaded, and feeling sick to my stomach. I thought maybe I just hadn't eaten enough. Took down a granola bar. No help. Got home, took a little nap, and woke up still feeling the same. By about 6pm when nothing had changed I thought I should TRY to get something down. So I had some ground turkey meat and veggies I'd cooked the night before. Not kidding, two minutes after I took in the turkey I started feeling better. Apparently my body needed protein FAST! 

Needless to say even though I felt better I wasn't going to push it and try to run. But the next morning I woke up feeling great and didn't have to get into work until a little later so I did a quick 3 mile run. It was still rough. Given it was at 6:30 in the morning and very very cold. Probably shouldn't have pushed it so soon but that's a lesson to learn! 

Saturday was my attempted 6 miler in San Diego. I pulled out 5, which I have to say I'm pretty proud of. SD was WAY different than running in Seattle. Probably a lot of it was the mental factor. I'd been prebuilding that it was gonna be a rough run. So I think i MADE it rough. But it was also at 6:30 in the morning, after going out the evening before and having a few cocktails. It was also VERY humid that morning. By 6:30 there was no marine layer at the beach and was bright and sunshiny. I loved it don't get me wrong, but made for a more interesting run. 

So the week was not as successful as it could've been, but overall still pretty good. And given that I seemed to have exhausted myself the weekend before I think I was wise not to push it too hard and risk injury. This week also marked the end of basically 3 months of consistent training. WOOT WOOT! 2 months (and a week technically) to go!! Vegas baby!

The runner's bug....have I caught it?!?!

Now I have to start this post off by reminding everyone that when I started this venture into running a half marathon I HATED RUNNING...I mean I pretty much LOATHED it. I used to watch people running by me around Green Lake thinking, "No one running ever REALLY looks happy to be doing it. That's just STUPID. I will NEVER think to myself at the end of a days work...wow I really wish I could go run 5 miles right now. That would feel GREAT!"  Well....3 months into my training I'm sitting here eating my own words. Typical.

I should've KNOWN never to say never. It's like when I used to say "I will NEVER say that all I want is a nice cold beer right now." (Yeah that one was stupid too)...or "I will NEVER like coffee! It tastes like crap!".....Now here I sit an avid coffee drinker, who on a hot Saturday or Sunday afternoon while watching football, or at a baseball game, or just sitting at my house will think DAMN a nice cold beer would be AWESOME! Pass me one please! Yeeeahhhh...obviously I should realize by now that things I say NEVER about ALWAYS go the opposite way.

So here I am now and I'm pretty sure I've caught that runners bug...I've got the runners high. I'm sitting here still 2 months away from my first half marathon and I'm already planning my NEXT races. I'm adding to the list of what can I do next, where will I run?! And it changes on a daily basis at this point.

I've OFFICIALLY signed up for my second half marathon. The Cleveland Rite-Aid Half Marathon on May 20, 2012. I'll be running it with my Uncle Bill, cousin Lizzie, and any of the other cousins/fam that decide to participate :)

But as for the other races..those things are all still being tossed around in my head. Currently the races I'm considering are as follows:

Disney Princesses Half Marathon (Orlando, FL) - February 2012
Nisswa Marathon (Full - in Minnesota) - end of April 2012
Seattle R&R Half Marathon - end of June 2012
Las Vegas R&R Full Marathon - December 2012

Yeah.....lots of races....lots and lots and lots. I'll either stick with the half marathons for the first part of 2012, and then branch out to the Full Marathon NEXT December in Vegas, or I'll eliminate the other half marathons and do the Full in Minnesota...tough choices.

NOT to mention the fact that I'm trying to figure out when I will do my first triathlon now....crazy CRAZY CrAzY!!! The Seattle TriRock (put on by the same crew that does the Rock & Roll marathon series) is Summer of 2012....

Anyway. Needless to say I think the verdict is in and I'm officially addicted. Katie was right...she told me before she left that I would love it. That I just needed to get started and I would be hooked. Well Katie...congratulations on your prediction! It came true! :)

Now the question is...what's next?!