Last week was such a great week, and this week was....okay. I thought my allergies were getting the best of me, and it turned out that I was getting a cold. I think I'm on the other side of it now, so I hope that's the last I'm sick until race day.
Tuesday - I planned on a 4-mile run. I was feeling awful, though, so I set out to get 3 miles in. While running, I felt a little better so I finished with 3.65 miles. I still averaged under 11-minute/mile pace, so that was good.
Wednesday - 2 miles. This was supposed to be a cross-train or rest day. We had a company picnic, so I went running later in the afternoon to get something in. I ran in my brand new shoes (they're the same brand/style/etc. as my old shoes) and my calves hurt so much. I ate too much earlier in the day and it was around 83 degrees outside. It was an awful run.
Thursday - cross-train. I did the Shred workout, level 2.
Friday - I planned on four miles, and I ran just over 4 miles. I averaged a 9:47 pace. My splits were 9:05/8:52/11:04/10:02. That third mile was brutal. I had to stop and retie my shoe because the laces are still not right. My right foot was numb most of the third mile and part of the fourth mile. Good thing I have time to break them in and the old shoes aren't completely shot.
Saturday - Kind of a rest day as I moved my long distance run to Sunday.
Sunday - Surprise! I raced. On Wednesday, I signed up for the Biltmore 15k. I needed to do an 8-mile run this weekend, and most of my running friends are injured or not up for the distance right now. I hate running alone, so I joined 1100 other runners for the Biltmore 5k/15k. I ran 9.3 miles in 1 hour, 30 minutes (and one second). I felt great and I'm still feeling that runner's high. Full race report here.
Monday - Woke up a little sore, and I was home with the baby all day (all day cares were closed because of a training) so I cross-trained while he napped. I did Shred level 2.
We're less than two weeks from the half marathon and I'm feeling REALLY good about it! My new shoes are taking longer to break in, and I'm definitely not wearing them for the race. I can't seem to get the laces right and I need to compare my two pairs of shoes to see what I'm missing. Other than that, my legs feel great if I stretch enough, and I think having a real training plan this go-round (even if it was only for 5 weeks) has been a huge help.
--
Linking up for Training Tuesday!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Race report: Biltmore Kiwanis 15k
Last Wednesday, I received an email that there were a few spots left for the Biltmore Kiwanis 15k & 5k race. I thought about it, talked to my husband and decided to sign up. I needed to get an 8-mile run in this weekend, and I didn't really have any friends that could do that distance. I've done this race in the past, so I knew what I was getting myself into.
That said, when I ran it last time, it was the race's "last" year. They went away for one year and the race was back last year. I was kind of annoyed. I didn't want to run the race based on principle. (Um, I already ran the final race!) Huge sigh. Oh, and I'm still upset with the marathon held at Biltmore in March. This was the same event organizer, and I just wasn't happy with the way the marathon was run.
Needless to say, I gathered my stuff Saturday night and stayed up way too late. I wore pretty much the same outfit I wore at Nike. My race number was 765, which I thought was pretty brilliant.
I had a 5:00 alarm set. I woke up fairly easily and got dressed and ate my oatmeal for breakfast. I left the house around 5:40 a.m. and pulled up to the estate entrance at 5:54. That's fast if you know the route from my house to Biltmore. I left super early because the entrance for the marathon was such a mess. Yesterday, I ended up having an hour to hang out before the start. The 15k started at 7:15 a.m. and I was able to use the bathroom twice and get plenty of stretching in.
dark thirty.
I had a couple of goals in mind. I've been running 10-minute (or better) miles in my training runs. At one point, 1:30 was my goal for this race. At another time, 1:35 was good enough. So many things going through my head. I threw my iPod on shuffle, and thought I started my running app so that I'd have a cooler way of looking at my splits. (I later found out that despite hitting "start" it didn't actually start.) Since I've taken SO many pictures of Biltmore in races past, I decided not to take as many this race. I just wanted to run and get it out of the way. Honestly, now that I look back at it (and I thought this during the race), if I didn't stop to take photos, I definitely would have been many seconds faster. I almost regret stopping. Almost.
The weather was cloudy/drizzly/rainy. It was in the low 60s and when it wasn't raining, it felt really humid. Mid-way through my run, it was raining harder. The rain stopped for about my last 25 minutes.
My first mile was under 9 minutes. The second mile had a lot of hills and the course is described as having two challenging hills in the first half. Every time I got to a hill, I tried to remember if that was the "challenging" one or just another long hill. The second half of the course was truly rolling, downhill and flat. Honestly, I have trouble running miles of flat ground. I need an uphill or downhill.
I remember looking at my watch and making sure I was running at least a 10-minute mile pace. At the 6-mile point, I was under an hour (58 minutes, I think) and it was at that point that I knew I could finish in around 1:30 if I kept it up.
My Garmin says that I ran 9.48 miles. There were a lot of people, and I was weaving in and out and across the road a lot. Lots of wasted yards there, I think.
The course finishes on an uphill. I hate Asheville races because most finish on an uphill! I remember seeing the clock and realizing that I was going to finish in an hour and 30 minutes, and some change.
My watch time ended up being 1:30:02 and my official time was 1:30:01. That one second has been bothering me so much! But I'm so proud.
The last time I ran this race (in 2010), my time was 1:36 (and I think 48 seconds.) So I PR'd by over 6 minutes!
Now, for a few technical things. The packet pick-up was still kind of a mess. It was crowded, the lines were going in crazy directions. Thankfully they had the tickets to get onto the estate with the bib numbers. (I missed the ticket for the marathon. It ended up being a non-issue, but they did take the tickets this time.) The shirts are fantastic this year. I had to go up another size to get a shirt that fit me, but they let me get whatever size I wanted on Saturday. (Seriously. I love the shirt. I'll end up wearing it until it falls apart.)
There were water stops at around every two miles. I carried my on Gatorade, just in case, but there were plenty of water stops and port-a-potties. I took Gatorade chews at miles 4 and around mile 8. I plan on taking the chews during my half, and I wanted to continue to train for those.
Because of the nature of the course, there is very little spectator support. I'm glad I had my iPod. They were charging spectators $20 (I think) to watch the race.
At mile 7, my iPod played "Call Me Maybe" and I suddenly envisioned my newsroom flash mobbing the heck out of that song.
Will I run this race again? Possibly. It was a good day for me. I felt strong and I'm really happy with the outcome of the entire event. This race kind of made up for how awful my marathon experience was.
Biltmore, I kind of love you again.
That said, when I ran it last time, it was the race's "last" year. They went away for one year and the race was back last year. I was kind of annoyed. I didn't want to run the race based on principle. (Um, I already ran the final race!) Huge sigh. Oh, and I'm still upset with the marathon held at Biltmore in March. This was the same event organizer, and I just wasn't happy with the way the marathon was run.
Needless to say, I gathered my stuff Saturday night and stayed up way too late. I wore pretty much the same outfit I wore at Nike. My race number was 765, which I thought was pretty brilliant.
I had a 5:00 alarm set. I woke up fairly easily and got dressed and ate my oatmeal for breakfast. I left the house around 5:40 a.m. and pulled up to the estate entrance at 5:54. That's fast if you know the route from my house to Biltmore. I left super early because the entrance for the marathon was such a mess. Yesterday, I ended up having an hour to hang out before the start. The 15k started at 7:15 a.m. and I was able to use the bathroom twice and get plenty of stretching in.
dark thirty.
The weather was cloudy/drizzly/rainy. It was in the low 60s and when it wasn't raining, it felt really humid. Mid-way through my run, it was raining harder. The rain stopped for about my last 25 minutes.
My first mile was under 9 minutes. The second mile had a lot of hills and the course is described as having two challenging hills in the first half. Every time I got to a hill, I tried to remember if that was the "challenging" one or just another long hill. The second half of the course was truly rolling, downhill and flat. Honestly, I have trouble running miles of flat ground. I need an uphill or downhill.
I remember looking at my watch and making sure I was running at least a 10-minute mile pace. At the 6-mile point, I was under an hour (58 minutes, I think) and it was at that point that I knew I could finish in around 1:30 if I kept it up.
(This photo was over halfway through the race and it was raining harder. I look ridiculous, but I did not take the time to check the photo!)
The course finishes on an uphill. I hate Asheville races because most finish on an uphill! I remember seeing the clock and realizing that I was going to finish in an hour and 30 minutes, and some change.
My watch time ended up being 1:30:02 and my official time was 1:30:01. That one second has been bothering me so much! But I'm so proud.
The last time I ran this race (in 2010), my time was 1:36 (and I think 48 seconds.) So I PR'd by over 6 minutes!
Now, for a few technical things. The packet pick-up was still kind of a mess. It was crowded, the lines were going in crazy directions. Thankfully they had the tickets to get onto the estate with the bib numbers. (I missed the ticket for the marathon. It ended up being a non-issue, but they did take the tickets this time.) The shirts are fantastic this year. I had to go up another size to get a shirt that fit me, but they let me get whatever size I wanted on Saturday. (Seriously. I love the shirt. I'll end up wearing it until it falls apart.)
There were water stops at around every two miles. I carried my on Gatorade, just in case, but there were plenty of water stops and port-a-potties. I took Gatorade chews at miles 4 and around mile 8. I plan on taking the chews during my half, and I wanted to continue to train for those.
Because of the nature of the course, there is very little spectator support. I'm glad I had my iPod. They were charging spectators $20 (I think) to watch the race.
At mile 7, my iPod played "Call Me Maybe" and I suddenly envisioned my newsroom flash mobbing the heck out of that song.
Will I run this race again? Possibly. It was a good day for me. I felt strong and I'm really happy with the outcome of the entire event. This race kind of made up for how awful my marathon experience was.
Biltmore, I kind of love you again.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
weekend in review - parties, tv and races
Is it really almost Monday again?
It rained a lot this weekend. I was smart and mowed our yard Friday night, and it took all of Saturday for my body to recover from allergy overload.
We went to a neighbor's birthday party on Saturday afternoon and it was one of the first times we got to see our kiddo in action with other kids his age. (This does not include daycare or his birthday party last summer.) Three kids ages 2 and 3? Exhausting.
Over the years I've watched a few episodes of The Office. I've watched the complete seasons 1 and 2 and this weekend, I started on season 3. Thanks to Hulu Plus, I have all of the seasons at my fingertips. I've watched hours of the show in the past 48 hours.
Today I ran a race! I'll have more on that tomorrow (I hope.) It was a lot of fun and it was kind of a last minute decision. I substituted my training run with this race. Less than two weeks until my next half marathon.
During the race, and afterwards, it rained. During a brief non-rain period, we walked Sophie, but I spent all of nap time watching The Office.
As soon as I plow through The Office, I need new shows to watch this summer. Any suggestions? (They need to be available on Hulu or Netflix, that's my only requirement.)
It rained a lot this weekend. I was smart and mowed our yard Friday night, and it took all of Saturday for my body to recover from allergy overload.
We went to a neighbor's birthday party on Saturday afternoon and it was one of the first times we got to see our kiddo in action with other kids his age. (This does not include daycare or his birthday party last summer.) Three kids ages 2 and 3? Exhausting.
Over the years I've watched a few episodes of The Office. I've watched the complete seasons 1 and 2 and this weekend, I started on season 3. Thanks to Hulu Plus, I have all of the seasons at my fingertips. I've watched hours of the show in the past 48 hours.
Today I ran a race! I'll have more on that tomorrow (I hope.) It was a lot of fun and it was kind of a last minute decision. I substituted my training run with this race. Less than two weeks until my next half marathon.
During the race, and afterwards, it rained. During a brief non-rain period, we walked Sophie, but I spent all of nap time watching The Office.
As soon as I plow through The Office, I need new shows to watch this summer. Any suggestions? (They need to be available on Hulu or Netflix, that's my only requirement.)
menu Monday - (surprisingly) a couple of meatless options
Another week, another menu! This week we have a couple of new, or haven't been cooked in recent months, meals.
Sunday - baked barbecue pork chops (carried over from last week) and roasted red potatoes
Monday - macaroni and cheese! (I've been wanting to make homemade mac & cheese for a while. The husband hates this at a meal, and he's working late - and being served food at his meeting.)
Tuesday - turkey tenderloin (this was going to be pork tenderloin, but we found turkey tenderloin pre-marinated, so we're giving it a shot. Along with this, we'll have salad.
Wednesday - grilled chicken (marinated in Chiavetta's), side salad
Thursday - pita pizzas
Friday - chicken nuggets or chicken tenders. We have both (frozen).
Saturday - open
I'm hoping we can stick to the menu, even if the days of our meals change. Friday's options are good, easy options for any day of the week and it looks like it's going to be a strange week for us. My main goal is to not eat out.
Have you ever cooked turkey tenderloin? I'm a little concerned about that meal, but hope it's easy like the pork.
Sunday - baked barbecue pork chops (carried over from last week) and roasted red potatoes
Monday - macaroni and cheese! (I've been wanting to make homemade mac & cheese for a while. The husband hates this at a meal, and he's working late - and being served food at his meeting.)
Tuesday - turkey tenderloin (this was going to be pork tenderloin, but we found turkey tenderloin pre-marinated, so we're giving it a shot. Along with this, we'll have salad.
Wednesday - grilled chicken (marinated in Chiavetta's), side salad
Thursday - pita pizzas
Friday - chicken nuggets or chicken tenders. We have both (frozen).
Saturday - open
I'm hoping we can stick to the menu, even if the days of our meals change. Friday's options are good, easy options for any day of the week and it looks like it's going to be a strange week for us. My main goal is to not eat out.
Have you ever cooked turkey tenderloin? I'm a little concerned about that meal, but hope it's easy like the pork.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
Posts
