Allow me to Reintroduce Myself...

I'm currently in the midst of my half-marathon training, about to start week 8. This weekend, training took on the form of a 10K, specifically, the Run Austin Run 10K (there was also a half-marathon and a 5K). I'd run the 10K distance before, but not in a race, and it was only my 3rd race ever, so I was interested in the outcome. The race was slated to start at 7AM on Sunday morning, so I got up at about 5:15, got dressed, ate a banana, got my stuff together, and drove to the race site. Now, here in Central Texas, we are actually having a fall this year (which we rarely ever have--it usually just sort of stops being hot sometime in November), so it was quite chilly. Chilly enough for me to endlessly debate with myself the previous day about whether or not to wear a long sleeve shirt. After talking to my dad (the uber-runner--and running purist), I decided just to wear a short sleeve shirt, since I would definitely warm up once I got going. Once I parked my car, I sat inside for about 30 minutes because I didn't see any point in standing around being cold for an hour (it was about 55--not cold, but chilly enough for our neck of the woods). About 25 to 7, I got out, put on my race number, reluctantly took off my jacket, and walked over to the starting area.

The start of the race was to be staggered--the half-marathon would start at 7, the 10K would start at 7:10, and the 5K would start at 7:15. However, the police officers working the route ran into a few delays in securing the route, so the half didn't actually start until about 7:15. So, I actually stood outside for about 45 minutes before the 10K actually got going. I put myself towards the back since I know I'm fairly slow. For about the first half mile, my feet were kind of hurting since we had been standing so long prior to starting, but that went away after a little while. Though I started at the back, I managed to begin picking off people that started too fast, so that was kinda fun. At one point, I think I passed a girl I knew in college who was doing the half marathon. However, I really hadn't seen her in about 4 or 5 years, and only knew she had taken up running due to that great bastion of social networking known as Facebook, so I didn't really want to say anything in case she thought I was a weird stalker or something. And I didn't want to slow down and talk (I might send her a message today and mentioned that I saw her and congratulate her).

So, the first 3 miles went by pretty well. I felt good and had warmed up, so I was glad I hadn't worn long sleeves. However, at about mile 4, we got into a hillier, residential section of town. I kind of expected the hills, but didn't really think they'd be that bad. Ha. I do most of my training on relatively flat routes or on the treadmill, so I haven't really dealt with hills too much. But these definitely made me walk more than I wanted to. There was one steep downhill that my knee definitely wasn't happy about. And it didn't help that cars were zooming around us in the neighborhood. I guess they didn't appreciate having a race course on their streets. :-p But there were a few folks outside cheering, so that made up for it.

Once we exited the neighborhood and headed for the last stretch, I remembered someone saying near the race start that it was supposed to be downhill. NOT. It wasn't brutal hills like those in the neighborhood, but it was definitely a steady incline. I ended up running a good portion of the last couple of miles with a lady pushing a stroller. She mentioned she'd never run this far with a stroller, so props to her! I'm sure she would have finished way ahead of me without it. Right before she crossed the line, however, she took her kid out of the stroller and they crossed together--I assume it was adorable, but I was too busy gunning for the line to see it. :-p Overall, my pace was slower than I wanted it to be, but I'll attribute some of that to the hills, and some of it to my slacking-off-in-training (which I'll talk about later). After they cut my chip off, I went in search of water, but couldn't find any (wtf?!?). So I grabbed a random protein drink and headed to my car, since I had brought water with me. It's probably lucky that I left when I did, since it started to pour shortly after I arrived back at my apartment. Very unfortunate for the half-marathoners. I took a quick shower, dressed, and headed out to a brunch with some friends who gave me all sorts of kudos for the race. :-D Then I went home, made chili, and vegged out on the couch for the rest of the day.

I had all sorts of outcomes from this race, other than the soreness in my glutes and hamstrings from those hills. A major thing I learned is that I need to be more focused on my training. A confession: I've been slacking off a bit during the past few weeks--and it definitely showed during the race. It would have been great to been able to tackle the distance with fewer walk breaks, and consistent training definitely would have helped with that. Training has been starting to feel like a bit of a chore, but now that I have a gauge of my current fitness level, I feel excited about where the remainder of my training will take me. I now understand the importance of completing the four weekly runs in my plan (especially the long run!), and also need to work on strength and resistance in both my lower and upper body (those hills!).

I also found out that I enjoy racing. Not necessarily being competitive, but running with other people who have the same goal as me. It inspires a sort of, "We're all in this together" feeling in me, which is fun. Normally I just trudge along on my own, but it was great to be out there with other runners, and not just fitness buffs at the gym. I'm looking forward even more to RNRSA, especially to the camaraderie I'll get to experience with thousands of other runners and spectators. Running really is a community.

Making Room for Real Life

The week before last (first week of August), I managed to get in my first double-digit week in a few months. Sad, yes, but I take my little victories as they come. I was on track to continue the trend last week (in preparation for my half-marathon training that starts next week), but alas, life got in the way. I planned to do 3 miles on Friday and 4 on Saturday morning before my fam came into town. However, not long after I got up on Friday, I found out that one of my friends had been hit by a car the previous night and was in the hospital. She fractured her sternum and left kneecap, and may or may not have done something to one of her upper vertebrae. Luckily, the car was only going about 15 mph at the time, so she wasn't hurt worse (remember guys: be careful walking home at night!). She's at home now and seems to be feeling a bit better, and her mom flew in to be with her. Needless to say, most of Friday was spent in the ER waiting room, and Saturday I slept in.

Later Saturday morning, my parents arrived to drop of my brother while they took a weekend trip to nearby Fredericksburg for their anniversary. Now, my brother's 15, so I suppose he could have stayed home alone, but would you trust a 15 year old boy to stay home alone? Not this one, I wouldn't. :-p So I played the nice big sister and we hung out at the mall and got pizza and ice cream for dinner. Somewhere in there I managed to sneak to the gym to crank out 4 miles on the treadmill. Not as terrible as it sounds, since I broke it into three segments: 2 miles, water break, 1 mile, water break, 1 mile. However, my knee wasn't too happy at the end, so I made sure to ice it afterwards. It's still a little cranky today...

Yesterday, my brother and I got breakfast at a pancake place and I had this epic green chiles and swiss cheese omelette that had to have been made with about 5 eggs. I ate half, along with 3 pancakes, and I was pretty much full for the rest of the day. Though, later in the day, I did have a bag of Sun Chips. My knee was still bothering me yesterday, so I didn't do anything. I'd rather let it rest than aggravate it and have to sit out for 2 weeks.

I've mentioned this before: I'm not a morning person. I've decided to give running at sundown another try this evening, just to see if I can tolerate the heat. It seems to be about 95 around sundown. Although it is nice running in the morning when it's cooler, I'm not sure I've been feeling this alertness you're supposed to feel from getting your physical activity in before your day starts. Mostly, I'm just tired. So, I plan to set out around 8:30 PM for 3 miles, to test my heat tolerance and my cranky knee. If the heat's too much, then mea culpa, and it's back to 5:30 AM (at least until late September)!

So...though I didn't maintain the double-digit base last week, I was able to be there for a friend in an emergency, and I definitely think that's more important. You have to remember to stop and make room for real life, and just be grateful to have the ability to run when you can.

Motivation and Four-inch Heels

So, I seem to keep losing motivation to run on Saturdays, when I've tentatively scheduled my long runs for half-marathon training. Everything's fine during the week, but then Saturday comes and I have no desire to get out of bed, let alone run in the morning. If I only had to do a short run that could be done on a treadmill later in the day, I don't think there'd be a problem. Or if it wasn't like the surface of the sun by 8AM, and I could just run outside later than 6... I guess I'll keep working on the scheduling of this training business, and we'll see how it works out. This week I'll either do my long run on Wednesday or Friday, with Saturday as cross-training. We'll see...

I was going to run this Saturday, but ("what had happened was...") my Dad was in town buying me a new car (!!!), and I figured I'd just stay in and make pancakes for him. After he left, I thought I might hit the treadmill at the gym, but...yeah. You get the picture. Later that night, I went out dancing for a friend's birthday. I haven't been to a club in ages, so I was kinda of excited to get all dolled up--which happened to include a rather fierce pair of four-inch heels. It was a fun night, with lots of hip-hop, dancing, and perhaps a few too many drinks. Since it had been so long since I'd been out to a club, I'd forgotten that my feet feel fine while I'm groovin', but the pain kicks in as soon as I slow down. Actually, it wasn't too bad, but I did decide to let my feet (and my knee, which also probably has a beef with the heels) a rest. Not to mention the fact that I didn't get home 'til about 3:30...

This week got off to a good start with a nice 3-miler this morning (would have been nicer if that lady's dog had been on a leash--who walks their dog at 6AM?!?). This week, I'll concentrate on getting my miles in before the weekend to avoid the end-of-the-week malaise.

How do you stay motivated during the weekend, when the temptation of laziness (or greediness?) sneaks up?

So I lied...

...about using the Runner's World beginner's half-marathon training plan. After doing a bit more research, I decided that I liked Hal Higdon's Half-Marathon Training Plan for Novices (like myself) better. It's still 12 weeks, but it's rather simplified and flexible, allowing you to focus on mileage. I don't get to start until August 24, so in the mean time I'm working on building my base and cross-training.

In my inaugural post, I mentioned that I developed runner's knee back in February. Due to financial reasons, I was never able to have it treated by a physical therapist, so I've just been kind-of working through it on my own. For the most part, it rarely hurts anymore. But, as I've been upping my mileage, I've been noticing a twinge every now and then. Not enough to stop, but enough to say "hey, I remember what that feels like...it sucks." Hopefully strength training will help my quads become stronger, which will in turn help to support my knees. I don't want to be 25-going-on-75.

This morning I did 2 miles on the treadmill at Gold's while listening to the Runner's Lounge half-marathon podcasts. Wasn't sure how I'd do listening to people talk whilst running, but it didn't seem to pose a problem. And gave me something else to think about other than "in 2, out 2." Tomorrow I plan to do my "long run" of 4 miles, though I haven't decided if it'll be at the lake or near my apartment complex. Then, on to Nordstrom's! SALE!!! Lucky I got those gift cards for graduation...

There's No Turning Back...

On Saturday afternoon, I finally did it. I took the plunge. I signed up for the Rock n' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon on Nov. 15. Holy cow! I'd been playing around with the idea for a couple of weeks, and had pretty much made up my mind to do it, but I just hadn't made the commitment and signed up. Then, on Saturday afternoon I was messing around on Facebook and saw someone's status message, which noted that the Aramco Houston 1/2 sold out in ONE DAY. I knew that the RNRSA was prone to selling out (though maybe not in such epic times), so I just decided to go ahead and seal my place. I put my estimated time as 2:30, so hopefully I can make that happen. My family plans to come and cheer me on (we've spent years doing the same for my dad at marathons), so that should be fun. It claims to be "fast and flat," but San Antonio is kind of in the Hill Country, so we'll have to see about that. Luckily there are plenty of hills around here to train on, just in case.

I've decided to largely use the beginner's plan outlined in this month's Runner's World. It's a 12-week plan and consists of 2 or 3 easy-moderate runs during the week, with a long run on the weekend, and 2 days of crosstraining and one rest day. This is about what I do right now, so it shouldn't be too difficult to officially call it training. The long runs start with 6 miles, but I'm not quite there yet (the longest I've gone is 4), so I'm starting out with 4 and I should be at 6 by the time the 12 weeks starts in August.

I was at my parent's house this weekend because my mom treated me to a spa day on Friday(!). She got a manicure and I got a pedicure, then we both got massages. Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon. ;) Later, we pick up my brother (in all of his 15-year-old perpetual summer laziness), went to Chili's, then went for ice cream. That morning I'd gone for a nice two mile run through our neighborhood (where I was spotted by one of my dad's coworkers, who later mentioned that she'd seen me--I think he got a kick out of that), so I felt ok about my ice cream treat. I can never feel too bad about ice cream...

I meant to go out on Saturday morning (and on Sunday morning, for that matter), but my body wasn't feeling it, so I went to the gym yesterday when I got back in town and got on the elliptical for a while. This morning I guess I started training (ooo, doesn't that sound hardcore), and went for 2.5 miles. It felt pretty easy, and there were a few other people out. Pre-sunrise really is the only good time to do anything outside right now, IMO. It was kinda windy, but the wind did feel really good. I was planning on going to the gym tomorrow for cross-training, but since I'm taking Wednesday off (hair appointment--don't want the sweat screwing with my relaxer!), I think I'll do another morning run tomorrow.

Let the training begin!

Traditional vs. Circuit

I recently received an email from Gold's for a free PT session, so I went in today to use it. I wanted to see if I could learn anything about using the weight room and performing exercises using free weights. However, like the last trainer I worked with, he showed me how to do a circuit. He assured me that it would burn fat quicker than doing traditional resistance training, which involves doing 2 or 3 sets, then moving to a different exercise. As in the circuit that the previous PT demonstrated for me, this circuit involved small bursts of cardio. I'm sure I would have appreciated this more...had I not already done 25 minutes on the elliptical prior to the PT appointment. We did about 8 different exercises, doing one rep of each, moving quicking between each exercise, and did the circuit 3 times.

Overall, he was helpful, and did show me how to do a barbell squat (though I had to ask him), but I still really wanted to work more with the free weights and learn how to do traditional resistance training. I don't really see anyone in there doing circuits on their own, so are circuits truly where-it's-at? It makes me wonder if the trainers are supposed to tell all the free clients the same thing, then maybe cater more to their requests once they become paying clients. Or maybe I'm just thinking about that too hard. Conspiracy!

Anyway, I've been reading a couple of resistance training books geared towards women. The first, New Rules of Lifting for Women, gives you specific exercises to do in specific stages. The other book, Sculpting Her Body Perfect, recommends three different stages, but gives you a number of exercises to choose from in order to design your own routine. You do your whole body three times a week, using one exercise per area of the body. At the moment, I'm leaning towards Sculpting to get started, and maybe continue on with NROLW when I become more comfortable in the weight room.

I'm visiting my parents in the town where I grew up, so I'll get in a couple of runs on FLAT ground, which will be nice. I'll also get to run through our neighborhood, which is always an adventure, and kinda nice. And maybe, after these runs, I'll announce something BIG! Whoosh! Such a tease...

Catch-Up

Stating the obvious: it's been a while. I keep thinking of things I'd like to say in a post, then neglecting to actually post them. I'm real lazy about the Internets (I often forget what I mean to do immediately after sitting down to my computer). Here's what I've been up to:

• Went to the beach
• Went to New Orleans to visit family (and eat a whole lot of seafood)
• Due to the obnoxiously high temperatures as of late (consistent 105s, anyone?), have largely moved my running indoors--which I will address shortly
• Have stopped eating bread daily (except for the occasional whole-wheat bagel)
  
• Have started having smoothies for breakfast and soup or tuna for lunch
• Am trying to eat more vegetarian dishes (hello, lentils!)
• Weights!

I'm not a morning person. But, I do like working out in the morning. It's much less crowded, it's cooler outside, and I like not having to think about working out throughout the day. So, last week, I mainly went to the gym in the morning. It was nice, and would have been nicer had I been able to get more sleep at night (I've always been a bad sleeper). I ran on the treadmill or used the elliptical, and did weights, then came home, showered, and got ready for work. Hopefully my internal clock will adjust itself and I can sleep better, so I can continue this business. It's not like I have to study or anything... :-p

I live in Texas. It's hot. It's always hot in the summer, and I accept this, but this is the first summer I've had to try to run around said hotness. It's even gross in the morning. I made an effort up until about a week into June, then decided to move indoors, not unlike our Northern friends do in the winter. It was alright for a while, but last week I realized how bored I get on the treadmill after about 20 minutes. There's TVs and everything, and the treadmills at Gold's are on the second story, so you get to watch people weightlifting (which is always a hoot), but it still gets old. And when I get bored, I tend to get tired, which leads to me quitting early...no good. So this morning, I decided to venture out for an easy jog, just to see if I could handle it. At 6, it was about 78F and not too humid. There was even a breeze (!!!). I was slower than usual, but I chalk it up to waking up my outside legs (much different than my treadmill legs). So...I think I'll try to get outside at least 3 times a week, especially for a long run, and continue cross-training and doing weights at the gym. Weights!

So, I've been thinking about doing something, running-wise. It kinda depends on how this week goes, but I've mostly made my mind up. But more on that another time. :)