After almost 6 weeks off I am back in action. Thats the longest break I have taken since I started running and it was hard. A couple of weeks is no problem for me but 6 is a bit much. Since I'm a race junkie and had some previous commitments on my schedule I jumped back in pretty quick and ran 3 "races" in the span of a week around Memorial day. I ran a 10 miler on Saturday, a mile on Monday, and a 5k the following Saturday. Running hard felt incredibly awkward especially in the road mile. I figured I would blink and it would be over but it felt like I was running through sand in slow motion. I'm pretty pumped about the time, 4:46 (with a decent downhill), but getting last wasn't the most fun I've ever had.
Now I'm just trying to get back into the swing of training again and get my race schedule lined up for fall. I'm really trying to find people to train with. I used to do everything on my own but realized in the last year or so how much it helps to have someone else there. Its hard to coordinate since everyone has different coaches and schedules, I like to run early, and sometimes I'm in Boulder. I met up with Amanda a couple times this week and today we warmed up and cooled down together since we had different workouts. It was nice to at least have someone there.
Other than that life has been busy as usual. No major tenant disasters lately but I'm trying to rent a condo in Boulder. And my best friend is getting married this weekend and its going to be an awesome wedding!
Boulder Running Company/adidas Race Team Blog
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Long time, no see.
Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Ok, a long while. Well, since then much has happened and I will just give a brief summary of my running since then. Last I posted was just before I ran the Cherry Creek Sneak. I ran this race as a tune up for the US 25k. It did not go well. I trained right through it and had no legs that morning. I felt good in the race for about a mile and then had the pleasure of suffering in no man's land for 4 miles. I was happy to be second but very disappointed that I couldn't even manage to hit my 25k goal pace for just 5 miles. Needless to say, I did not get the confidence boost for the 25k i was looking for but rather just the opposite.
At the 25k things went much differently. This race is held in Grand Rapids MI and is a homecoming for me. I grew up nearby and have watched this race my whole life so I really wanted to have a good one. I felt good the days before and the morning of the race. The conditions weren't ideal for most but I do love me some nasty weather so I didn't mind one bit. It was about 45 with light rain when I was warming up but at least the rain stopped by race time. I had hoped to run 5:0x for the race and set out from the gun to do this. I chose not to chase the lead group from the gun as they went out in 4:45ish and I didn't want to get in debt too early in a 15 mile race. I was out with the chase group at 5:10. This chase group was lead by myself and old college teammate Nate Peck. During the second mile we let some others control the pace into the wind hoping to get some rest in the draft. This was a mistake, we hit a 5:22. What a joke, we wasted 12+ seconds for no reason as hitting another 5:10 would have been no problem. At this point Nate and I went back to the front and started dropping 5:04's which served to shatter the group. By mile 5 we were alone and this wouldn't change for the duration. We continued to hit solid miles by ourselves all the way until mile 13. At this point Nate dropped off me a bit and I thought he was done. This was not the case as he regained me by 14 and by 14.5 he had a gap on me. Shortly thereafter I caught him again and we finished shoulder to shoulder. We were 12th and 13th (they gave me 13th) and I was very happy to have this place in a US Championship. We had run 1:20:03 which was a 5:09/mile average. I had achieved my goal but hadn't quite cracked 1:20:00 as I had hoped (curse that 2nd mile!).
From the 25k I tried to hold my fitness through the Bolderboulder. This did not happen. I tried to go out with the front knowing that if I could hold my 25k I would be around top 5. Turns out this was true, however I didn't have the legs to do it. I got the 'pleasure' of going backwards in a race but I don't regret my choice to try to hang up front.
After Bolderboulder I took a break and I am just going to build a big base of mileage over this summer. My next big race will be the Chicago Marathon in October. My goal for this race is clear, qualify for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. 2:18:59 or better here I come.
At the 25k things went much differently. This race is held in Grand Rapids MI and is a homecoming for me. I grew up nearby and have watched this race my whole life so I really wanted to have a good one. I felt good the days before and the morning of the race. The conditions weren't ideal for most but I do love me some nasty weather so I didn't mind one bit. It was about 45 with light rain when I was warming up but at least the rain stopped by race time. I had hoped to run 5:0x for the race and set out from the gun to do this. I chose not to chase the lead group from the gun as they went out in 4:45ish and I didn't want to get in debt too early in a 15 mile race. I was out with the chase group at 5:10. This chase group was lead by myself and old college teammate Nate Peck. During the second mile we let some others control the pace into the wind hoping to get some rest in the draft. This was a mistake, we hit a 5:22. What a joke, we wasted 12+ seconds for no reason as hitting another 5:10 would have been no problem. At this point Nate and I went back to the front and started dropping 5:04's which served to shatter the group. By mile 5 we were alone and this wouldn't change for the duration. We continued to hit solid miles by ourselves all the way until mile 13. At this point Nate dropped off me a bit and I thought he was done. This was not the case as he regained me by 14 and by 14.5 he had a gap on me. Shortly thereafter I caught him again and we finished shoulder to shoulder. We were 12th and 13th (they gave me 13th) and I was very happy to have this place in a US Championship. We had run 1:20:03 which was a 5:09/mile average. I had achieved my goal but hadn't quite cracked 1:20:00 as I had hoped (curse that 2nd mile!).
From the 25k I tried to hold my fitness through the Bolderboulder. This did not happen. I tried to go out with the front knowing that if I could hold my 25k I would be around top 5. Turns out this was true, however I didn't have the legs to do it. I got the 'pleasure' of going backwards in a race but I don't regret my choice to try to hang up front.
After Bolderboulder I took a break and I am just going to build a big base of mileage over this summer. My next big race will be the Chicago Marathon in October. My goal for this race is clear, qualify for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. 2:18:59 or better here I come.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Change of plans, psychoanalysis, and Mid-Year Resolutions
So lately I have been thinking about how to approach training and racing from perhaps a bit of a different angle. After all, they say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result....so maybe I should stop doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.
I keep training logs, and have since my sophomore year in high school. As incredibly nerdy as that sounds (I am pretty sure that as a sophomore in high school I was supposed to be writing in diaries about boys and aspiring to be a cheerleader. But I didn't.), it can be awfully handy at times. Not to mention when I'm feeling a little sentimental I can look over various entries and sigh and remember all those great (and sometimes not so great) runs and workouts and all the ups and downs and what lead to what and so on. But anyhow, I've been looking over the last four to five years in particular--since I would think of those as the years where I think I most developed as a runner and also experienced a vast array of differnt training approaches--to try and figure out where some of the glitches are and what I can do to turn things around and stop getting de-railed every three months or so by some silly hang-up. Since I always wrote down what I felt like and a lot times what I thought about, then it's easy to pick up on where the mindset was at the time too (that's the psychology degree talking right there).
In that regard, the biggest change has been that somewhere along the way there was a switch from basically having the willingness to charge headlong into anything without really wondering whether or not I could do it (which only occasionally proved to be not very advantageous), to having almost too much trepidation and hesitation and doubt in regards to being able to accomplish a certain goal or to tackle a certain training regimen out of fear of another poor outcome (which has never really proved to be very advantageous). Basically a mindset of feeling like that one greek guy Sassafrass or Sisyphus or Syphillis or whoever, who was in Hades doing all that work rolling that giant rock uphill for all eternity even though he knew it was going to roll down again as soon as he got it to the top, and he'd have to start all over at the bottom (I will accept compliments for that freaking awesome metaphor in the comment box below).
That's the first huge piece of garbage that has got to go.
As far as just looking subjectively at training, I'm no coach or exercise physiologist, but I think my main focus is just going to be mixing things up a lot more. More things at different speeds for the most part. I think I have kind of gotten it in my head that I can do less than I used to be capable of and don't do certain things well, so I don't do them. As the great Dr. Jack Daniels says, until you get old and start to decline the human body does not get worse, it only gets better. Well I'm not old so logically I'm getting better. Training though is always a process of trial and error, so I think those pieces will fall into place once things get back on track from where they are now.
As for getting back on track, things are going in that direction. I've gotten some okay runs in over the last week and a half, so hopefully I'll be able to keep weaning myself off of the bike/pool and get more solid workouts in on land. As for races, I've decided that if I can get at least four solid weeks of training in, then the Bix 7 Miler (U.S. 7 mile championships) will be next on the list. Anything in between will be icing on the cake.
Till then, best of luck to anyone competing in the Garden of the Gods 10 miler this Saturday! I'll have an eye on the results.
I keep training logs, and have since my sophomore year in high school. As incredibly nerdy as that sounds (I am pretty sure that as a sophomore in high school I was supposed to be writing in diaries about boys and aspiring to be a cheerleader. But I didn't.), it can be awfully handy at times. Not to mention when I'm feeling a little sentimental I can look over various entries and sigh and remember all those great (and sometimes not so great) runs and workouts and all the ups and downs and what lead to what and so on. But anyhow, I've been looking over the last four to five years in particular--since I would think of those as the years where I think I most developed as a runner and also experienced a vast array of differnt training approaches--to try and figure out where some of the glitches are and what I can do to turn things around and stop getting de-railed every three months or so by some silly hang-up. Since I always wrote down what I felt like and a lot times what I thought about, then it's easy to pick up on where the mindset was at the time too (that's the psychology degree talking right there).
In that regard, the biggest change has been that somewhere along the way there was a switch from basically having the willingness to charge headlong into anything without really wondering whether or not I could do it (which only occasionally proved to be not very advantageous), to having almost too much trepidation and hesitation and doubt in regards to being able to accomplish a certain goal or to tackle a certain training regimen out of fear of another poor outcome (which has never really proved to be very advantageous). Basically a mindset of feeling like that one greek guy Sassafrass or Sisyphus or Syphillis or whoever, who was in Hades doing all that work rolling that giant rock uphill for all eternity even though he knew it was going to roll down again as soon as he got it to the top, and he'd have to start all over at the bottom (I will accept compliments for that freaking awesome metaphor in the comment box below).
That's the first huge piece of garbage that has got to go.
As far as just looking subjectively at training, I'm no coach or exercise physiologist, but I think my main focus is just going to be mixing things up a lot more. More things at different speeds for the most part. I think I have kind of gotten it in my head that I can do less than I used to be capable of and don't do certain things well, so I don't do them. As the great Dr. Jack Daniels says, until you get old and start to decline the human body does not get worse, it only gets better. Well I'm not old so logically I'm getting better. Training though is always a process of trial and error, so I think those pieces will fall into place once things get back on track from where they are now.
As for getting back on track, things are going in that direction. I've gotten some okay runs in over the last week and a half, so hopefully I'll be able to keep weaning myself off of the bike/pool and get more solid workouts in on land. As for races, I've decided that if I can get at least four solid weeks of training in, then the Bix 7 Miler (U.S. 7 mile championships) will be next on the list. Anything in between will be icing on the cake.
Till then, best of luck to anyone competing in the Garden of the Gods 10 miler this Saturday! I'll have an eye on the results.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Super Kara
I have officially started the next phase of the progression of me turning from master shuffler and compensator to "Good Kara" as Jon kept calling it today. In my mind, though, I will call the new me "Super Kara", and I will be able to recover faster, run more miles, run faster than ever before, and maybe even fly! While all that may happen (well probably not the flying part but everything else) I am going to have to work hard to get there first. And the worst part is while working hard I am going to have to endure the giggles of the professionals around me as my body tries to forget old habits and learn new, proper ones. Today, I started doing a few drills and while some my body will never forget from the college days (like the good old grapevine) the others I looked foolish and had to listen to the laughter of Jon and his wife, Kim, while I attempted to do the drills. Jon and Kim both had to show me how they were done and I am sure neither has done any of these drills in years, yet they were both models of perfection. They would search for ways to describe what they were wanting to see in an effort to trigger some spontaneous reflex where I would immediately start doing them correctly. Unfortunately that didn't happen and I have a lot of work ahead of me to get it figured out (shocking, I know). I also made a trip to my physical therapist today to let him know what I had observed in the morning, what Jon observed and some revelations I had after looking at some photos of me running. So, I again endured laughter and sarcasm as I attempted the progression of exercises that we will use to help reinforce proper mechanics. I was sarcastically offered a helmet due to my propensity of losing my balance and was also laughed at by the PT and the person shadowing him. We did discover that the lack of balance and control with my left leg and my core is astounding but I feel like I can only get better from here.
On a side note some major life changes have happened for me: I officially finished up my master's degree--I got my diploma in the mail yesterday!!, I was offered a job (contingent on my passing my board exam), I turned 30 (back in April but I am just coming to grips with it), and I can do pull ups and chin ups again!!!!! Well, that last one might not be a major life change, but I felt I had to share. I am so proud of myself. I haven't been able to do them since college but thanks to rock climbing my upper body is actually semi-strong now. Although I am sure no one can tell that I have any strength at all since I don't really build muscle (see attached picture).
That is all for now, hopefully in the next blog post I will have some more news about my transformation into a super hero.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Bolder Boulder
What to say about the Bolder Boulder...it's a race that has unpredictable outcomes and each year brings a different element. Some years its been wind, rain, or blazing heat, others years its been a stomach ache or being placed in the wrong heat. This year's element...surprise!! I knew I was in good shape, I was excited to compete, and I was prepared to fight for one of the top three positions in the citizen's race. I surprised myself, and a few others, by winning!!
Here is a summary of the race...
I started back a few rows to let the many young guys that want to win the first half mile go for their dream. For once I went out conservative and at the mile Russ (husband) and David (coach) were screaming that I was in 3rd and the other girls were within reach. I told myself to get them by mile 2, sure enough I did and hoped for some help with the pace. No such luck, so I moved on ahead and kept trekkin. There was plenty of guys to catch and a good group of guys running with me. At mile 3 I realized "I'm in the lead and I can win this." The crowd was amazing and boosted my adrenaline and confidence with each cheer. With a mile and a half to go a guy next to me, who had been with me for a few miles, turned and said "girl you are very inspirational." I was shoked to hear this and it gave me the final boost I needed to keep the pace. Russ and David cheered me on with a mile to go. The last hill...it got me again, but I held on tight and picked up the pace in the stadium to finish with a smile and excitement.
I think the best part was that my dad, stepmom, and Russ' parents and friends were all in the stands to be a part of a wonderful day. Some years I detest the BB, this year everything was just right.
Here is a summary of the race...
I started back a few rows to let the many young guys that want to win the first half mile go for their dream. For once I went out conservative and at the mile Russ (husband) and David (coach) were screaming that I was in 3rd and the other girls were within reach. I told myself to get them by mile 2, sure enough I did and hoped for some help with the pace. No such luck, so I moved on ahead and kept trekkin. There was plenty of guys to catch and a good group of guys running with me. At mile 3 I realized "I'm in the lead and I can win this." The crowd was amazing and boosted my adrenaline and confidence with each cheer. With a mile and a half to go a guy next to me, who had been with me for a few miles, turned and said "girl you are very inspirational." I was shoked to hear this and it gave me the final boost I needed to keep the pace. Russ and David cheered me on with a mile to go. The last hill...it got me again, but I held on tight and picked up the pace in the stadium to finish with a smile and excitement.
I think the best part was that my dad, stepmom, and Russ' parents and friends were all in the stands to be a part of a wonderful day. Some years I detest the BB, this year everything was just right.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
No Marathon for Me
Yesterday I emailed the elite coordinator at Grandma's and pulled out of the marathon. It was a hard email for me to write because once again I failed; I didn't reach any of my short term goals and again didn't finish a training cycle. But pulling out of the race was the only choice I could have made. I have shown up at races not completely ready to race and not sure if my body would allow me to compete at the level that I wanted and have had mixed outcomes. Occasionally I would surprise myself and run well but more often than not the race ended in disaster and I would be left feeling broken and discouraged. Interestingly enough, it is very similar to how I am feeling now! The last 4 cycles I have started have all ended in me having to abort the cycle and take a little bit of downtime (either a complete layoff of running or easy jogging). The first I stopped because of low ferritin, the next one I was having hamstring and hip flexor issues from slipping on ice, the 3rd cycle was cut short due to adrenal fatigue and now this one.
I have been thinking about the cycle so I could figure out what went wrong, what I can change and also what my plan should be. And I can't figure it out. I keep a training log for this reason, among others; but even looking back there is nothing that I can pinpoint that I did wrong. And to be really non-creative--it sucks! So in the near future, I will be running really easy/slow runs, working on my mechanics and trying to get the hamstring under control. I hope my little plan works!
I have been thinking about the cycle so I could figure out what went wrong, what I can change and also what my plan should be. And I can't figure it out. I keep a training log for this reason, among others; but even looking back there is nothing that I can pinpoint that I did wrong. And to be really non-creative--it sucks! So in the near future, I will be running really easy/slow runs, working on my mechanics and trying to get the hamstring under control. I hope my little plan works!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
In one of my earlier blog posts I wrote about my curse with cars...and yesterday the curse struck again. I was driving home from a run and really wanting an ice cream cone. I happened to look down and see that the temperature gauge was registering the temp as past Hot. So, I aborted my plans (temporarily) and pulled the car off the main drag and into a parking spot. I called my husband, who asked me some questions and then told me to go ahead a drive it home and we would deal with it later. So, I decided that meant I could also get my ice cream cone but would do something quick and one the way home instead. So, I turned into the McDonald's drive-thru and my car started making really funny noises. So, I pulled up to the order window, ordered my cone and then turned the car off so it would cool down while I waited. I made it home thankfully with my ice cream cone (!!!) and was able to drive it to the mechanic this morning. He discovered a melted radiator cap (I saw him discover it, very interesting) and a non-functioning radiator, interesting, since the day before it worked! The mechanic worked his magic and presto 4 hours later and only $58 spent my car is ready for me to pick up! I realized after hanging up with him that like my car needs a good, reliable magician (errrr, I mean mechanic) I need one too.
My marathon build up has had some pretty rocky patches especially considering I am usually very consistent and healthy. But this build up has been plagued with illnesses and now injuries. A couple of weeks ago I was running a short, anaerobic type workout to propel my body into a half marathon and I hurt my hamstring. What should have been a few days easy has turned into 2 weeks of frustration and inconsistent training. The hamstring itself healed quickly, it was a pretty minor strain, but then the muscle kept feeling the need to protect itself and so the muscle was TIGHT! I couldn't hobble faster than 9 min pace and it was getting to me mentally. But my team of magicians pulled through and today I ran an hour with no pain, no tightness and at a normal pace of 7:30s and just 4 days ago I ran 15 mins at 9:20 pace. I worked with my physical therapist to correct a slight mechanics issue that likely lead to the injury; my massage therapist who helped relax the muscle, stretch it out and get rid of all the other gunk in there; my coach who had to wade through the endless emails and figure out the best approach with training, and finally my husband who kept reminding me that using a shovel to work on my vegetable garden probably wasn't the best way to help heal the hamstring. But with everyone's help I think I am back and hopefully will be running strong soon. As far as the marathon goes, I have lost 3 weeks of training to a cold/flu and the hamstring injury. Those 3 weeks were right in the most important part of the cycle--when I would be doing miles and some pretty challenging endurance style workouts.
Now with 4 1/2 weeks left, I am feeling unsure whether I should toe the line for this race or if I should figure out a new plan that will allow me to continue building some fitness, get comfortable racing and propel me into a fall marathon. I'll keep ya posted!
My marathon build up has had some pretty rocky patches especially considering I am usually very consistent and healthy. But this build up has been plagued with illnesses and now injuries. A couple of weeks ago I was running a short, anaerobic type workout to propel my body into a half marathon and I hurt my hamstring. What should have been a few days easy has turned into 2 weeks of frustration and inconsistent training. The hamstring itself healed quickly, it was a pretty minor strain, but then the muscle kept feeling the need to protect itself and so the muscle was TIGHT! I couldn't hobble faster than 9 min pace and it was getting to me mentally. But my team of magicians pulled through and today I ran an hour with no pain, no tightness and at a normal pace of 7:30s and just 4 days ago I ran 15 mins at 9:20 pace. I worked with my physical therapist to correct a slight mechanics issue that likely lead to the injury; my massage therapist who helped relax the muscle, stretch it out and get rid of all the other gunk in there; my coach who had to wade through the endless emails and figure out the best approach with training, and finally my husband who kept reminding me that using a shovel to work on my vegetable garden probably wasn't the best way to help heal the hamstring. But with everyone's help I think I am back and hopefully will be running strong soon. As far as the marathon goes, I have lost 3 weeks of training to a cold/flu and the hamstring injury. Those 3 weeks were right in the most important part of the cycle--when I would be doing miles and some pretty challenging endurance style workouts.
Now with 4 1/2 weeks left, I am feeling unsure whether I should toe the line for this race or if I should figure out a new plan that will allow me to continue building some fitness, get comfortable racing and propel me into a fall marathon. I'll keep ya posted!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Winter's Last Hurrah...
At least I hope so. I got up this morning to go out for a run...in the snow. Not horizontally-blowing-massive-drifts-to-plow-through type stuff but white stuff falling from the sky nonetheless. What the heck. I am ready for sweltering runs where you end with a lovely crusty salt layer of lost electrolytes coating the skin. There is something weirdly satisfying about finishing a run in that state. Ah, but there is never a dull moment during springtime in Colorado. But enough about the weather.
Training has been going fairly well lately, not too much to tell at the moment though. A couple of weeks ago I hopped into the Take 5 In the Garden race totally spur of the moment to get an idea of where I was at fitness-wise, and to mix things up with some competition since sometimes racing myself in workouts doesn't always give particularly legitimate feedback. In this race there was the option of either doing a 5k on the roads that snake through the Garden, or you could branch off at a point along the 5k course to do the 5 miler. I didn't actually decide to do the race until that morning about an hour before the race started, and I didn't decide to do the 5k until I was in line to register at the race. I thought a 5k would give me a better indication of the kind of shape I was in and I thought it would be great to roll out a quick race--silly me...I didn't anticipate that eight tenths of the race would be uphill. At the same time I felt pretty decent throughout the whole race, good enough to even consider veering off of the 5k course at the branching point to the 5k versus 5 mile courses (about 1.5 miles into the race) to follow the folks doing the 5 miler. I was feeling good, why not tack on another couple miles? Then I realized that I had a 5k timing chip on my shoe and that I just couldn't bear to look at the finishing times and see my time in the 5k results with some time in the mid-30's. I don't have much of an ego, but that'd be rough. Still, it was a good up-tempo type workout and it's a great race to run if you're looking for something hilly and challenging combined with some awesome scenery. Plus it kind of re-lit the competitive flame that was kind of flickering for a while. So I would say it was worth doing for sure. It was also good to see some of the BRC crew there--Wendy, Amanda, and Christy-Marie, who turned up to do the five miler.
Right now I am gearing up for the Bolder Boulder that is going down in a little over two weeks. I am very excited given that I've never actually run the race, but have watched it half a dozen times, so I'd say it's about time I got in there to mix it up. Till then, the miles ain't gettin' any shorter so just keeping the nose to the grindstone and enjoying every day of it, and hoping to see a good pay-off in a couple weeks.
Training has been going fairly well lately, not too much to tell at the moment though. A couple of weeks ago I hopped into the Take 5 In the Garden race totally spur of the moment to get an idea of where I was at fitness-wise, and to mix things up with some competition since sometimes racing myself in workouts doesn't always give particularly legitimate feedback. In this race there was the option of either doing a 5k on the roads that snake through the Garden, or you could branch off at a point along the 5k course to do the 5 miler. I didn't actually decide to do the race until that morning about an hour before the race started, and I didn't decide to do the 5k until I was in line to register at the race. I thought a 5k would give me a better indication of the kind of shape I was in and I thought it would be great to roll out a quick race--silly me...I didn't anticipate that eight tenths of the race would be uphill. At the same time I felt pretty decent throughout the whole race, good enough to even consider veering off of the 5k course at the branching point to the 5k versus 5 mile courses (about 1.5 miles into the race) to follow the folks doing the 5 miler. I was feeling good, why not tack on another couple miles? Then I realized that I had a 5k timing chip on my shoe and that I just couldn't bear to look at the finishing times and see my time in the 5k results with some time in the mid-30's. I don't have much of an ego, but that'd be rough. Still, it was a good up-tempo type workout and it's a great race to run if you're looking for something hilly and challenging combined with some awesome scenery. Plus it kind of re-lit the competitive flame that was kind of flickering for a while. So I would say it was worth doing for sure. It was also good to see some of the BRC crew there--Wendy, Amanda, and Christy-Marie, who turned up to do the five miler.
Right now I am gearing up for the Bolder Boulder that is going down in a little over two weeks. I am very excited given that I've never actually run the race, but have watched it half a dozen times, so I'd say it's about time I got in there to mix it up. Till then, the miles ain't gettin' any shorter so just keeping the nose to the grindstone and enjoying every day of it, and hoping to see a good pay-off in a couple weeks.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Year of Having Fun
It's been too long since I've written on the blog, sorry. First, congrats to everyone on the team for the amazing race results everyone has had.
Since the last post I have had some wonderful workouts and races. At ASU I raced a 5k at 10k pace and hit 16:42 (goal was 16:40). It was such a fun meet with a college-basketball-like atmosphere with music playing, t-shirts being thrown to the crowd, and a golf cart driving around the track to videotape some of the events. Back here in Colorado I race a couple 1500m races during the most windy days we've had. Then last weekend the best thing happened, I hit the 'A' standard time for the 10k to qualify for USA Nationals. It all happened at Stanford along with Nicole and Ali. I feel so blessed to have met this season goal that I thought was a bit of a reach since I've only been training seriously again for one year. I knew I'd do it eventually, but not so soon. It's been an incredible ride and I need to give much thanks to those around me helping each step of the way.
I have been fortunate enough to truly be having fun during all of it. In the past there were some many times my running was a chore and I looked forward to it being over. There were so many times running wasn't fun and I wanted to quit, but I continued on for variety of reasons. This past year has made me realize why I really get out there every day and enjoy each step I take, even when it seems torturous. I do it for the competition, team atmosphere, testing of limits, traveling, and fitness. But ultimately I do it for fun, to spend time with Russ and Chubbs and friends, and to grow spiritually. I've learned to love the journey as much as the destination. Ok, enough of my sappy-ness, it's been an emotional week and weekend for me so don't mind me.
Other random things to blog about:
Since the last post I have had some wonderful workouts and races. At ASU I raced a 5k at 10k pace and hit 16:42 (goal was 16:40). It was such a fun meet with a college-basketball-like atmosphere with music playing, t-shirts being thrown to the crowd, and a golf cart driving around the track to videotape some of the events. Back here in Colorado I race a couple 1500m races during the most windy days we've had. Then last weekend the best thing happened, I hit the 'A' standard time for the 10k to qualify for USA Nationals. It all happened at Stanford along with Nicole and Ali. I feel so blessed to have met this season goal that I thought was a bit of a reach since I've only been training seriously again for one year. I knew I'd do it eventually, but not so soon. It's been an incredible ride and I need to give much thanks to those around me helping each step of the way.
I have been fortunate enough to truly be having fun during all of it. In the past there were some many times my running was a chore and I looked forward to it being over. There were so many times running wasn't fun and I wanted to quit, but I continued on for variety of reasons. This past year has made me realize why I really get out there every day and enjoy each step I take, even when it seems torturous. I do it for the competition, team atmosphere, testing of limits, traveling, and fitness. But ultimately I do it for fun, to spend time with Russ and Chubbs and friends, and to grow spiritually. I've learned to love the journey as much as the destination. Ok, enough of my sappy-ness, it's been an emotional week and weekend for me so don't mind me.
Other random things to blog about:
- Yesterday I ran at Three Sisters in Evergreen and it was one of those runs you hope never ends. If you ever want a beautiful place to run go to this park, it's wonderful and links to other great trails. The air was cool and crisp, the trails were snow-free, and the landscape was turning green. I could run these trails everyday.
- I'm going to be an aunt for the first time!!! One of my younger brothers' (who is in the Marines) wife is 7 weeks pregnant. I'm super excited and wish they lived closer rather than in LA. I'm going to have to go buy a running and soccer outfits to be sure the correct influences are occuring.
- Took my PE Exam and now I get to wait until July to learn if I passed or failed. It was mulitple choice, not sure what takes so long to send out results.
- Next races...1500m next weekend and then Bolder Boulder!!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Marathon Runner through and through
So you know you are a true marathon runner when you run a 5k at only a slightly faster pace than your half-marathon/marathon. Yep, that was me today. After running the Platte River half-marathon two weeks ago, I ventured down to the 5k this weekend. I got up this morning at 5:00am to head to Boulder to race at the Boulder Distance Carnival. It was a great morning for a race with the sun shinning and a mild wind. I was pumped to start the race! The race started and I was feeling pretty good. As I came up on mile one I looked at my watch and was relieved and shocked all at the same time. Whoo, only 2miles to go-not 12 or 25.2- but man I'm running slow (6:20) I better pick it up. So, I start moving up passing a few people and ended up leading a small pack into the wind through mile 2. Sorry to those of you in that pack. I know there wasn't much to draft off of seeing as I'm only 5'2''. With about 800m to go, I was able to see this guy in red about 150m ahead of me and I started gunning for him. I had a flash back to college and imagined he was from Western State -GO Adams!- Anyhow, I made some ground on him going up a hill with about 300m to go but then he turned it on. My small marathon stride just couldn't keep up. I crossed the line and looked at my splits. Well, I ran pretty much even between 6:20 and 6:30 for 5k, just like a true marathon runner would. Although 5k was a bit of a stretch for me right now with my longer training and miles, it was a fun race to run. Boulder Running Company did a great job putting the race together and all the people there were very supportive in cheering for their fellow competitors as they came through the line. It was nice to pretend to be a 5k runner for the day, but I should probably stick to the half-marathon/marathon:)
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