Fleet Feet Turkey Trot 8K

Whoever said it was a good idea to be up and at it for a 7 a.m. race in Ridgeland, MS when the weather for the day is to top out at 24 degrees at that point...was not nice!! I was FREEZING that morning! So, here I am about to freeze for the next oh say hour of my life, but I did it! I also did not start out too fast and I maintained a good pace. You can view my route here.

It was quite amazing! I got to run down...I mean UP the Natchez Trace. It was beautiful as it wove through the trees...up, and up, and up! I finally had to walk right before the 4 mile marker for about 0.1 of a mile and a lady ran past me and said, "Come on now, you are almost done! Don't walk now!" That was the motivation I needed to get back up and finish my run! I did the 5 miles in 52:17, which gave me a pace of 10:27 per mile. Not too bad! 

Here is the breakdown of my run:

Mile 1: 9:57

Mile 2: 10:07

Mile 3: 10:18

Mile 4: 11:33

Mile 5: 10:12

As you can see, mile 4 was my worst! It literally was up hill the whole time! I only walked for 0.10, but I don't think it would have mattered if I had run it to be honest. I did do a better job maintaining my speed though. Even with the 1 minute slower mile, had I maintained the 10 minute pace I could have dome the race in about 1:20/30 faster. Not to fret though, I finished and that is what matters!

Above are myself, Megan, and Laney before and after the race. We literally had ice in our hair when we finished! Ha This race also completed my 10 race goal for this year. Here is a recap on the 2013 year for me:

February 10, 2013: Joe Cain Classic 5K

March 23, 2013: Azalea Trail Run 10K

April 6, 2013: Hollywood Half Marathon 13.1 miles

June 14, 2013: Ride Yellow bike ride 10 miles

September 20, 2013: Color Run 5K

September 21, 2013: Heart Walk 5K

October 12, 2013: Mighty Magnolia Triathlon (1/3 mile swim; 16.5 mile bike; 3 mile run)

October 19, 2013: Gulf Coast Spartan Sprint 4.65 miles obstacle mud run

November 2, 2013: Rockin' for Ronald 5K

November 28, 2013: Fleet Feet Turkey Trot 8K

I don't think December will hold anything more than some training for the new year. I do hope to get in a few more races next year :) Scott and I have talked about doing the Super Spartan in Miami on April 12th, which happens to be my birthday! Also, I want to do the Chicago Triathlon in June!! We shall see :) Here's to the next workout! Until then...

Keep Smiling, you do it for a reason!

April :)

One more run before the "Trot" 8K

After running such a great interval run, I decided to go for one long run before the Turkey Trot 8K I planned to run on Thanksgiving morning. So, I went to the front of campus with a friend and I was off. Man was I flying down the road! I was running about an 8:30 pace and felt great...until I hit about 1.5 miles! Then, I hit a wall...a 2 minute slower wall! This would be why you should not start out too fast. It can catch up to you and hurt you if you are not careful. My plan was to run 4 miles...but I could tell by the time I got to mile 2 that it was not going to happen. I finally got in 3.5 miles before I had to stop and get ready to go back to work. Here is my route. 

My breakdown is as follows:

Mile 1: 8:39

Mile 2: 9:30

Mile 3: 10:59

1/2 mile: 5:05 (which is a 10:10 pace)

I finished in 34:21, which was a 9:49 pace. If I would have just started out at a 9:30 pace, then I could have finished a little quicker than I did. Instead, I expended too much energy on the front end. I got a good run in, but it could have been better. Here's to the next run! Until then...

April

Interval Training

Question: Have you ever done interval training, better known as speed training? 

My answer: No, I don't think that will work for me. If I want to run faster, I just need to make myself push harder. I have done my training for the last 6 years by myself and done fine, I don't think I need it.

Reality: I was WRONG! 

Today I did my first ever speed training session. I got the training basics from reading an article in my Triathlon magazine. This is what it recommended:

Run a warm up mile
Run for 3 minutes at a faster pace than the warm up mile
Jog/Walk for 3 minutes at a slower pace than the previous 3 minutes to recover
(Do the 6 minute segment 3 times)
Finish with a cool down mile

The suggested time span for this workout should be about 35 to 40 minutes with the assumption that your warm up mile was at a pace of 10 minutes. 

I knew I would not have enough time to do a 40 minute workout, so I went to the track in the Payne Center and told myself I would run the first mile, do the 6 minute segment twice, and finish whatever mile I was on. Here is what I did:

The track is 8 laps for a mile. I ran 8 laps and tried really hard to run slower to warm up...I ran the first mile in 8:55 (WHAT?!) 
So, I had to speed up right...my first 3 minute fast section I ran 3 laps, which is a pace of an 8 minute mile.
My 3 minute slower pace I ran 2.25 laps, which is a pace of about a 10 minute mile
Again, I ran 3 laps on the 3 minute fast section 
And, again, I ran 2.5 laps on the slower 3 minute section
At this point I had run 18.75 laps and I only had 5.25 laps left to get to 24, or 3 miles. Since I was coming off of a slower pace I decided to pick up the pace and finish the last 5.25 laps strong. Here is the breakdown of my times:

First mile: 8:55
Segment runs totaled 10.75 laps, or 1.34 miles: 12 minutes
Last 0.66 of a mile: 5:07
Total time: 26:02!

I have NEVER run 3 miles that fast! The best part of it all, I could have kept going but I ran out of time! I hope to be able to do the whole routine next time with a mile warm up, 3 time segments then a mile cool down. At the rate I was going, and adding one more segment, I could have done 4 miles and 1 lap in 35:36...that is outrageous! And, I hope to be able to attain that goal! 

I am very proud of myself for pushing and trying something new. Don't get stuck in a rut and keep running the same course, or at the same pace just because you are "used to it". If you are interested in fartleks, interval training, or the like I have included a link below to give you some insight on methods and techniques. 

http://running.competitor.com/2013/05/training/speed-training-for-beginners_8047/4

Here's to the next workout! Until then...

April 

First training run for my first 8K

So, an 8K...seems funny huh? I know I have run many 5K's and a few 10K's, but I have not participated in an actual 8K. How far is that, just 5 miles! No big deal, right? I have run that before in training. But, this time...I am going to quit thinking of 3 miles as a minimum. And stop thinking about 10 minutes as an acceptable pace! 3 miles has become my new 1 mile run. I "know" I can run 3 miles. Just like I used to "know" I could run a mile. 

Well, today was day 1 and for the next 3 weeks I will be training for an 8K. I ran 2.32 miles today for 2 reasons. 1) I did not have enough time to run more and 2) I did not want to over exert myself since I had not worked out in about 3 weeks! I needed time for my body to rest after the Triathlon and Spartan race!

So, 2.32 miles...I ran it in 22:25, which gave me a pace of 9:39/mile. The real break down is this: mile 1 - 9:11, mile 2 - 9:49, 0.32 - 10:14. I started out too fast; a problem I have often! You can view my route here. My goal is to become more of a 9:00 to 9:15 per mile runner, which is a very attainable goal. This will also help me with my Triathlon next year. I have to shave minutes off somewhere and the best place is my running! I was glad I got up and actually went today...I almost talked myself out of it! 

Remember...if you want to be lazy, workout instead. It may just be your best workout! Here's to the next workout! Until then :)

April

Rockin' for Ronald 5K

Hey there! After taking off for about a week I decided to do a 5K to get me back in the swing of things. I participated in the Rockin' for Ronald 5K that my sorority sponsored and it was great! I had Khloe with me, so she got to go for a ride :) The race wasn't quite a 5K, it was more like 2.59 miles, but still a good easy run after the Spartan Sprint! I ran 2.59 miles in 26:10, which gave me a pace of 10:06. You can view my route here. Boy she sure is getting bigger! It is amazing how you can really feel a hill when you are pushing 50 pounds of child and stroller in front of you! We had a good time and it was for a good cause. Here we are after the race...Khloe did her best to be as silly as possible!!

Soon I will begin training for my next race. What will it be...I'm not sure! But, when I know...I will let you know! Here's to that next race! Until then...

April