Race Schedule Update

As of 11/12/2014. (So much for slowing down next year!)

November: 

15th- Las Vegas 5K

16th- Rock N Roll Las Vegas Half

27th- Thanksgiving 5K

December:

14th- Santa to the Sea Half

28th- San Diego Holiday Half

January: 

8th- Tracy's Dose of Dopey 5K

9th- Tracy's Dose of Dopey 10K

10th- Tracy's Dose of Dopey Half

11th- Tracy's Dose of Dopey Full

March:

15th- LA Marathon 

28th- Chesebro Half 

April:

19th- Gator Run 10K

26th- Ojai Half

May: 

24th- Mountains 2 Beach Marathon

June: 

21st- Mammoth Half

Hill Repeats

The last time I've consciously gone out to specifically run hills for training was a long time ago. Like, so long ago that I can't even remember. It's probably been the same amount of time since I've gone out to work on speed too.

I'm comfortable. I like my 30:1 intervals. I like my 12:30-13 minute mile pace per mile. I like knowing what I can do.

I push myself with distance. I like pushing myself to go farther. 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon (and hopefully at some point a 50K). I find that when it comes to distance I can go at my comfortable pace for longer periods of time.

But, that doesn't mean I should not try to improve in other areas. 

That includes speed and hills... 

The speed will be worked on next year, at least that's the plan. I want to increase my intervals over time and possibly set a goal to attempt another PR for both my half and full marathon times. 

That leaves hills to work on. And there isn't a better time than now to work on that.

I recently signed up for the RAD 10 miler. A race I've had my eye on to complete due to the mental and physical challenge the course provides.

I signed up this past week and the race is two weeks away. Not much time to train the way I would like or even recommend, but I will be doing everything I can to be as prepared as possible. 

Hills are my friend. I love hills. Hills, hills, hills.. 

So, hills do prove to be a challenge. They're physically exhausting after a certain point and it does take more out of you, but I don't mind hills. I actually prefer going uphill moreso than downhill, if for no other reason than for the safety of my knees. 

I went for my first attempt at hill repeats last night. 4.26 miles total, just under 3 of those miles going up and down an incline. The first of three times up hurt and I wanted to cut it short, excusing it as my first attempt in too long. But I pushed on, and the smile on my face after I finished probably said it all. 

I surprised myself by getting up early this morning to go for my long distance training run. 3 miles scheduled, 3.2 miles completed. Since it was a lower mileage week (and next week I jump up to 15!!!) I chose to not plan a course but instead to wing it, making sure to add in hills. Lots and lots of hills. 

Worse case scenario on race day is I do more walking than planned. And there's nothing wrong with that. My goal? To finish, and I know I can do that.. 

Two weeks!! Bring it!

Where Do I Begin?

I don't know what happened, other than I needed (and am still in the middle of) a mental reset.

I felt as though I had nothing interesting to say. Then I felt like I wasn't reaching any of my goals so what was the point. I didn't want to just post failure after failure. Then I realized that I wasn't failing if I was still putting one foot in front of the other. Then my priorities changed. Then I fell into a rut. Then I decided that I have a full race schedule and need to pull myself up and get back to focusing on training. Then, today, I decided that I missed writing about my running. I missed having a place to vent and brag and share. I missed posting my mileage and feeling proud that I'm accomplishing something I set out to do.  

September was a difficult month for me with running. It was also a difficult month for me weight-wise. 

Let's start with the weight thing..

This is what I weighed in at on Wednesday:  

Want to know something weird? I'm accepting that number. I'm 20 pounds over weight and I think I'm finally starting to love and appreciate my body at this size. I'm not unhealthy and a little extra weight can be a factor of a lot. I'm not watching my food intake as closely as I could, but I am slowing down and enjoying the foods that I do choose. There are other factors (stress) that aren't helping matters, but I'm not focusing on the scale and it is freeing.

Then there's running.. 

I've gone for 5 runs this month. That's it.. 5. Five.. Two of these were races. Whoops! 

I felt like I was in a rut for a while. I wanted to run, but when I could I would make excuses to not go. I've been in a funk and doing one of the things that makes me happy was just too exhausting to think about. It's not a fun place to be and I'm still working on pulling myself out from that place.

As mentioned, I did complete two races this month, bringing my total number of half marathons for the year up to 10. Four more races scheduled. I can't believe it and I'm starting to get really excited about what I've accomplished so far and what I'm going to be finishing in December. This is the first time I've ever attempted a goal like this and I am determined to finish it.

In other running related updates, I've come to accept my pace and speed as part of who I am. I highly doubt anyone is judging me for my comfortable 12:30-13 minute mile pace. I'm pretty sure I was the only one judging myself. I see it all the time, from my own choice of words and from so many others. Even from people who run faster than I do. I annoy myself when I say it, like I'm embarrassed or have to justify it. No more! I'm owning it now..

 

My mom got me the bracelet as a reminder. The charm says "for the journey" and that's what I need to remind myself. I'm sure I'll find myself going back to those dark places and I will hear myself talk about slow paces and not being fast enough, but now I have a physical reminder to look at and see that it's not about the speed, it's about the whole journey from start to finish. I'm getting back into remembering why I run and why I set these goals for myself. It's for me. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I enjoy running, I enjoy racing. Bottom line. The goals push me to be a better me and I like where it's taken me so far and I'm excited to see where I'm going...

In an attempt to pull myself out of my running rut I have done two things. I joined a walking challenge at work with five of my coworkers. Running and other physical activities are allowed as well. The goal? To beat the other teams of course! Well, in a friendly competition.. But it felt good to be asked to be on someone's team. In fact, the team leader said "I want to win, and when that competitive side kicks in there's no stopping me." That's why he asked both my best friend and I. He sees us walking daily and knows we're training and it's possible we have a shot at doing this. 

The second thing was signing up for a 10 mile race in October. In about two weeks actually. It's a race I've been wanting to do for a couple years, but either the timing wasn't right or I talked myself out of it because of the course. This year I received an email with 15% off and already inexpensive price and I didn't hesitate. It's going to be tough, but I'm not going in with any expectations other than to finish.

Time to train for some hills!! 

There were a few other things I was focusing on while I took this little break. Some financial stuff and a new way to budget we're trying out, some house stuff and finding that owning a house is both a joy and a stress, work stuff and doing my best to prepare for the next three months as October-January is the most stressful/busiest time of year for us, among other things. 

Mostly, I used this time to work on myself and my mental health. I am not quite where I want to be yet, but I'm making progress. I'm working on choosing things that make me happy while still being responsible. I'm working on quieting the negative voices in my head that tell me I can't do something or shouldn't even attempt it because I will fail by proving them wrong and allowing myself to celebrate when I do accomplish what I've set out to do. I'm allowing myself to choose to do things that relax me, like the simple joys of reading and crocheting. 

I've said it before and I'm sure I will say it again, I'm a work in progress. And I finally feel like I'm taking some major steps in the right direction. 

Ventura Pier 2 Pier Half

Today was half marathon number 9 for the year. 5 more to go. 

This was my first time participating in the Ventura Pier 2 Pier half marathon, however I have completed a few half marathons this year that started around the same place and ran part of the same course. 

The race started at 7am and was already pretty warm at that time. It ended up being a pretty hot day, but I stuck to my intervals and pushed through when it got difficult. It helped that a runner coming the opposite direction had a friend directly in front of me as she yelled "keep with your pace, do not allow your head to get in the way! You got this!!" I used it as motivation for myself and pushed hard.

I thought I had started my GPS watch at the start line, but looked down at about 0.2 and realized it never started. It was at that point that I decided to not keep track  of mile times, but instead to check my average pace at the end. My goal was to have an average pace of less than a 13 minute mile. 

Avg pace- 12:33

Waiting for an official time, but I believe I finished around 2:45. I'm happy with that time. That's around my normal finishing time when I'm not going out for a PR, and since I did that in February and have no goals to increase my pace until next year then I have no reason to not be proud of myself. 

Worst part of the race- the heat

Best part of the race- seeing the lead runner for the marathon pass by. So strong.

Monthly mileage goal: 105 miles
Monthly mileage as of 9/6: 20.64 miles

  

Yearly mileage goal: 1250 miles

Yearly mileage goal as of 9/6: 884.61 miles

70.76% complete
  

Total mileage recorded to date (1/1/12-9/6/14): 2634.62 miles
  

This week's mileage: 20.64 mile week
Sunday 8/31: n/a
Monday 9/1: 3.05 mile interval run
Tuesday 9/2: 2.04 mile walk, 1.34 mile walk
Wednesday 9/3: 2.04 mile walk, 1.34 mile walk, 2.24 mile interval run
Thursday 9/4: 2.04 mile walk, 1.34 mile walk
Friday 9/5: 2.04 mile walk
Saturday 9/6: 3.17 mile walk

This week's workout schedule (workouts may be rescheduled as needed)

Sunday 8/31: walk 3 miles, cross training

Monday 9/1: run
Tuesday 9/2: strength training
Wednesday 9/3: run
Thursday 9/4: strength training
Friday 9/5: cross training
Saturday 9/6: walk 3 miles, cross training

Actual: 

Sunday 8/31: rest

Monday 9/1: 3.05 mile interval run
Tuesday 9/2: strength training- 30 Day Shred Level One
Wednesday 9/3: 2.24 mile interval run
Thursday 9/4: strength training- Body Revolution phase 1 workout 1
Friday 9/5: cross training- 45 min stationary bike
Saturday 9/6: 3.17 mile walk, cross training- 30 min stationary bike

Next week's workout schedule (workouts may be rescheduled as needed)

Sunday 9/7: Ventura Pier 2 Pier Half

Monday 9/8: run
Tuesday 9/9: strength training
Wednesday 9/10: run
Thursday 9/11: strength training
Friday 9/12: cross training
Saturday 9/13: long distance run- 3 miles

Pre-Race Jitters

I went to packet pick up this morning.

 

I have done many races (all this year) that have been by or near the Ventura Pier. All have been amazing experiences with beautiful views of the ocean. All have started with pre-race nerves.

I will not lie, but for me, it does not get any easier. I still get nervous, I still have doubts, the negative voices still creep in telling me I'm not good enough, I will be last or I won't finish at all. 

The night before race night is usually a late one. I try to go to bed early, I try to get enough sleep, it rarely happens. I try to lay out my race outfit as best I can so I'm not scrambling in the dark before 5am waking up Patrick, Isabel and the animals. I still usually forget something. I try to relax, remind myself that this is not my first rodeo and good or bad it will be just another run, another bib, another medal. 

I have never run this particular race before, but I am pretty excited about it. It seems like it's going to be a good crowd with lots of support along the course. I never know if it's going to be a good run day or not, but I'm going to go into it with positive thoughts that I can do this. 

Plus I get to wear this on Monday..

And, of course, I get to add more memories, more motivation to my new garage/gym. 

We owe a huge thank you to my brother-in-law for spending some time yesterday working on the electrical in the garage. Now that it is done, we are able to set up our spaces. Isabel's art room is ready to be decorated and used. My gym is set up and ready for the stationary bike (which I'm on now) and hopefully one day a treadmill. I am looking forward to getting a nice fan to use while I workout and get some cross training and strength training done. And Patrick's "man cave" has some work to be done, but the tv is set up and ready to go.

I am really excited to have my own space to workout and am hoping to get good use out of it. I plan to at least.. 

But for now I'm going to finish my workout, finish getting my stuff ready for tomorrow and try to rest and get to bed early. 

Race recap will hopefully be posted tomorrow!

You Can't Outrun a Bad Diet

I've had the long, ongoing internal debate about which is more important- nutrition or exercise. I go back and forth in what I find to be the better of the two and I go all or nothing with whatever I feel is going to provide more success.

Sometimes I'm focused on one of the two for awhile, most of the time I go back and forth weekly. 

I'm finally starting to realize that for me I need, and can have, both.

I am addicted to running and have been enjoying getting in some other types of exercises as well. I know that I need to work more on the nutrition side and eat healthier foods, but I'm figuring that out slowly.

I'm also realizing that I don't need to throw the whole day out the window just because I'm still making unhealthy food choices. I had a terrible day food-wise. Sugary cereal, snacky foods, pizza, popcorn, candy, ice cream.. I came home and was ready to just call it a night. I didn't have the energy, sun was going down, I already ruined the day and therefore the month with my bad eating so there was no point, blah blah blah..

Then my husband told me that it was all bullshit. That I told him I had to run tonight no matter what and I was just making excuses. He was right. So I got dressed and I went. 

3.05 miles at a 12:27 pace.

I realized on my run that I can turn any day around at any point. I don't have to wait until the next day, or the next Monday, or the first of the month. I can start with the next meal or the next workout. 

That's what I'm focusing on now. Self control and one meal/workout at a time. I've got a long way to go, with both weight loss and running. I'm not going to get there by thinking about future milestones if I can't celebrate the successes along the way.

So here's to making good choices and being proud of those good choices no matter what happened before..