Better Get a Move On

We're 5 days into the new year and time is a-wasting. 
I better commit to some goals or I'm gonna end up in Regretsville.

A few thoughts before I construct my 2013 goal list:

* I don't think it's wise to try and beat my total mileage from last year. It was hard enough getting that # under my belt. I feel like if I try and top it, I'm asking for injury.

* I think I'm finally, after 3 years, coming around to understanding what running means to me and my body.

* I'm interested in cross training more and attempting to tone all those flabby areas (and there are many) and I'm realizing running is the only way there.

So, here goes:

1. Run 500 miles - or about that. Also would like to log another 500 miles on the bike (indoor and/or out). 

2. Complete another 1/2 marathon. Main goal with this is to finish feeling like I gave it my all but also feeling OK. I might try and PR, which wouldn't be hard to beat 2:08:39 if I play it smart.

3. PR in the 4th of July 5k. I mean PR on this course. My goal will need to be 27:09. I think I might strive for a sub 27 on that.

4. Help someone get started running. I'm by no means an expert, but I've failed and succeeded enough in the past 3 years that I can probably help someone else get a running goal initiated. My boys always talk about running - maybe I'll help them run a race?

5. Attend the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) coaching certification course. I know I'm not the ideal person to be 'coaching' other runners, but I'd like to someday and I know this certification course will help. These courses fill up pretty much as soon as they're announced, so if I don't meet this goal this year, it'll go on next year's list.

6. Cross-train more regularly. I think this is key to keeping me injury free. Fortunately for me, I have access to an excellent cross-training class at work. Everyday from 12-12:30! I just need to make sure I get there!

7. More water and better nutrition. This will always be on the list.

I don't think there's anything unreasonable in here. It's not an amazing list, but I am going to look at this year as my recovery year - I've gone 3 years pushing and pushing from one race/training right into another. So if you were hoping to read that I was throwing in the hat and going for the BIG 26.2 this year, sorry to disappoint. I'm thrilled with these goals and know I'll enjoy attaining them - that might just be the best part of it!

Any BIG goals for you? 

How about little, but satisfying goals?

Any crazy, like "I'm out of my mind for even thinking this," goals?

Good luck and remember to enjoy the ride (or run)!

Looking Back and Ahead

I just finished my 3rd year of my 'getting healthier' adventure!

2012 was a good year for me. 1 year ago, I set some goals (written in black) and now it's time to see how I did (written in blue)!

 

1. Run more than 600 miles. If I keep up my miles as I did this year, I should accomplish this goal, no problem! Success! I logged (if I counted correctly) 761.76 miles running and 260.49 on the Expresso bike at the gym! Signing up and training for those longer distance races is how I was able to meet this goal.

2. Finish a 'bigger' race. This would be anything longer than a 10k, since that's the longest run I've done up to this point. Will it be a 10.1k? Maybe a 15k? We'll see. The key word in this goal is finish. Check! I ran a total of (6) 5Ks, (1) 2-miler, (1) 10K, (1) 15K, and 1 half marathon in 2012! That's a huge accomplishment for me!

3. PR in a 5k. This is a goal that, a year from now, I might be re-reading and think, "What was I thinking?" But by putting this in writing, I know it will encourage me to incorporate speed work into my training - that's the reason it's in here. Fail! I really didn't think this would happen, but it did encourage me to put some speed training into my workouts. I did, however, PR on the SFU 5k course in April (with a time of 27:25). I guess I can also say I PR'd in a 1/2M in April :)

4. Increase my # of group runs. I usually run alone, but in the few times that I've run with someone or a group of people, I realized how much fun it is, so I want to do it more. Check. I also ran my 1st race with a race buddy - Amy! Thank goodness for her or I don't think I would've finished the 1/2M.

5. (Most important for me) Be smart. I need to keep in mind that more is not better and that I need not take myself so seriously. After being out of the running circuit for almost 2 months in 2011 because of my knee injury (due to me being an idiot and over-training), I realized that I need to have balance in my training (enter my Hal Higdon training plans - which I will follow this time). Check! I really feel like I'm starting to come into my own wisdom with running. By the time 2012 ended, I really started to feel like a runner - someone who knows what's best for their own body and mind!

 

So - this only leaves 1 question - what's next?That'll be in the next post (read as 'I haven't solidified 2013 plans yet') - maybe I should work on procrastination ;)

In the mean time, enjoy the picture of the bling I earned, to my surprise, at last evening's Twilight Race with a time of 24:25 - 2nd best time on this course!

2nd place in my age category - not too shabby :)

 

 



2012 - Year in Review (in photos)

This is the time to look back and review all the successes and failures of the year. 2012 brought me a fair share of both successes and failures, as far as fitness and running goes.

I am working on analyzing my 2012 goals  -that will be a different post.

For now, I decided to post 12 pictures - 1 for each month of 2012 that highlight (or low-light) the year.

 

Healthy waffles with homemade fruit puree

Half marathon training with Sandy

Saint Patty's Day run with friends

HUGE accomplishment - 13.1 - CHECK!

Finishing Cresson 5k

Beautiful morning run before work

4th of July 15k - I look happy but it's only b/c I was done. This one went down as my worst run e-v-e-r

Looking tough

Leaving for a run from my parents' house

DiSepio Fitness Challenge 5k Halloween weekend

2 mile Turkey Trot - earned a 2nd place finish (lost 1st place by 1 second)

And finally, the Twilight 5k - that's tomorrow!
 

 

SFU 5K Race Report

Yesterday was the annual DiSepio Institute's 5k challenge.

I thought it would be great to pass the challenge along to my class of senior OT students - I got all "this would be a great health and wellness activity for us to do as a group" on them.

About 12 (out of 38) took me up on it! I was thrilled. So I was pretty pumped to run this race, even though it's my least favorite race course to run (4 significant hills) but one of the best organized and everyone gets a ribbon upon crossing the finish line. Yesterday was also World Occupational Therapists Day - so it was perfect!

 

An elevation map of the course -notice how it ends - UP!

 

I was also thrilled because Jude wanted to run the kids' race. I signed him up and he got a bib and an official race tee shirt (which is one of the best race tee shirts ever)!

 

Before our races



 

There were about 12-15 kiddos in Jude's race. They ran it twice since it was just a couple hundred yards. Jude finished 3rd both times. Kids ranged from 3-9 years of age.

 

Look at him go (man, does he love this picture)!

 

 

The 5k started on time. Once again, I was chatting and being oh-so casual when the gun went off and caught me off guard. I really gotta work on getting my head in the game and keeping my yapper shut.

Although I claim to not like this course very much, there are certain things I do like about it: Jeremy and the boys get to see me for the entire 1st mile (we run 2 laps around the campus mall), so that's always comforting and motivating. Another thing I like is that the course is pretty and offers lots to look at along the way.

 

Here I am all smiles. Maybe I was enjoying myself? Maybe I was trying to look 'good' since I was in front of the chapel (hey, every little bit helps). Notice my 'outfit' - it's Halloween weekend. I knew running in costume wasn't a possibility, so I donned arm tattoo sleeves and fun socks. I really think it helped!

 

And there I go

Oh sweet Jesus, my favorite part of the race - finish line!

I crossed in 27:54

Obviously not my best time, but anything under 28:00 on this course is a success in my mind.

One of my habits (whether it be good or annoying) is standing near the finish line and cheering other runners in, especially friends. I stood and cheered in all of my students (those few who didn't finish before me) and also some of my friends who were running their 1st 5k. My friend, Missy, was one of those 1st-timers. Her kiddos were excited to see her come across the line!

 

Me with 2 of my friends - Sherri and Missy - both of them got their 1st 5k under their belt! Congrats girls!

 

Me with 2 of my students - also 1st timers on the 5k race circuit.

 

Race stats:
Time: 27:54

Age category (Female 31-40): 4th out of??? (need to figure it out)

 

10k Race Report

Last big(ger) race of the year is in the books!

Saturday was the Hollidaysburg 10k/half marathon race. I picked the 10k because I knew all of my training would have to share time with the start of school (and semester for me) and soccer season. My training went well and I was excited to get to the race Saturday morning.

After fretting about the weather all week, I woke up Saturday morning to almost perfect race conditions - cool (mid 50s), overcast but dry. It was pretty windy, but not a worry.

My A goal for this race was 56:00-56:59 minutes. I was pretty sure I could pull that off. Arriving at the race, I got to catch up with a lot of familiar faces in the local running community- that totally calmed my nerves (and boy, let me tell you they were riding high that morning - it's like I never raced before).

Somehow, through all my chattiness, I ended up pretty close to the front of the line-up (1st mistake). 8:00am hit an we were off! The course is fairly hilly the entire route but starts with a slight grade - to which many runners passed me (duh!). My mapmyrun app was on, so I was getting pacing updates. Mile 1 hit and Chica (that's what I named the voice that updates my paces through the app) told me I was running an 8:14 pace. Wow! I would've never guessed. That's way too fast for me (I could keep that pace for a 5k, but not so much in this race). I knew I needed to slow down or I'd crash and burn. So I slowed a little. The rest of the course was pretty uneventful - I managed to keep a decent pace, mixing in some walk breaks (thanks to bolting out at the start I seemed to lose steam, not to mention the hills).

The elevation lay out  - I'd call that a little more than 'rolling' hills

Hey Amy (there in the center of the screen with the grey shirt)! 

Maybe you'd be more effective if

#1 you turn around to face the right direction and

 #2 stop chatting! 

Fact check: I'm not in there :)

Before I knew it, I was cresting the last hill (with a few choice words for it) and making my way toward the finish line - always my favorite part of the race because I always see my guys there waiting for me! I could see the time clock and knew that I could hit my time goal - so of course, I picked up the pace a little. I crossed in (officially) 55:33! Score, check! Under my A goal! I ended up scoring a 3rd place finish in my age category and earning some bling by way of a medal :) Yay!

Here I come ( a big shout out to my sister who bought me the awesome tee shirt I was wearing - you can buy it here - the front has a list: Run Happy, Run Grumpy, Run Speedy, Run Slow, Run a little, Run a lot. The back says: Just Run)

There I go

Note the guy in the yellow shirt in the 2 pics above. We followed each other for about the last 2 miles - I'd be in front, then him. When we hit that last hill, I looked over to him and said, "Dude, this hill is our bitch - let's do this thing!" (sorry for the swearing - remember that I was 6 miles in and starting the steepest climb of the race).

Happy!

Me with 2 running friends from work who also earned medals in their age categories!

Final Official Results:

Time: 55:33

3/9 female 35-39

The rest of 2012 brings 3 more 5k races - October 27th is up next!
Thanks for reading!

Race Week

It's the last day of September! What?!?

My last post was mid-August. Since then, well, life has been busy. We started soccer season and school. The days are getting shorter, as is the year.

 

For the past 8 weeks, I've been training for a 10k in Hollidaysburg. And now it's race week.

The race is Saturday. I ran this race 2 years ago and totally shocked myself with my time (54:25), taking 1st place in my age category. That is not my goal this time, rather, just run!

 

I've been following Hal Higdon's intermediate 10k plan and well, I'll be honest, it's been tough. I'm used to running 3-maybe 4 times per week. This plan is M-Th runs, Fridays off, Sat long run, and Sun cross training. Wow!

I've done OK following the plan.

My goals for this race:

A: 56:00 - 56:59

B: 57:00 - 57:59

C: 58:00 - 59:59

I really don't want to take more than 60 minutes to complete this race.

 

Some photos to prove that the past 2 months have been busy and that I'm not just dodging blogging!

 

1st day of school!

Soccer!

 

 

 Open house @ school

 

Ag Progress Days at Penn State (also known in our house as tractor fest)

 

College soccer games

 

 Sleepovers

Jackson turned 10! P-a-r-t-y!

 

Whew! It's a wonder I have time to run!

 

It's taper week :)

Exactly What I Needed

I've kinda been MIA on here if ya haven't noticed.

I've been in a running slump (spoiler alert: I'm gonna whine and complain for a sentence or two - I won't be offended if you decide to click off the post now or just skip to the next paragraph). The 15k that I ran in July not only kicked my butt physically, but mentally. I've just felt defeated in my running - every run has been hard, distances have been short, pace has been slow, I missed quite a few days of running due to a house full of sicknesses(including my own respiratory virus).

I needed to get OUT of that slump.

So I showed up at a 5k race today, registered on site (it seems many of the runners had the same idea I did this morning and I barely made it through the registration process and to the start line in time - there's a lesson in here!), and ran my heart out - this was my chance to prove to myself that I'm ready to get back into the swing of things!

Gun went off, we were off, and I was moving pretty good. Nothing big to report - it all went pretty smoothly. Had to stop and tie my shoe(my new shoes - Brooks Ghost 5 - I'll comment on in another post) but other than that, I cruised in to the football stadium, rounded the last lap, and crossed the finish line in 26:40, earning me a 3rd place finish in my age group! And as the title of this post says, that's exactly what I needed!

No photos to show....just imagine me with a smile ;)