Intervals and Race Results

I am very motivated by goals. Since my 10K is over, I needed to find something to work towards to keep myself going. After reading my 10K race results, I decided speed is my next thing to work on. After running for a little over a year, I have gained perspective. In the beginning, finishing a race was good for me-I was competing against myself only. I still feel that way, but after seeing that only 11 people out of 450 finished behind me in the 10K, I have decided to try to increase my pace rather than my distance. I think I will eventually try a 1/2 marathon, but for now, I want to just get better, faster and stronger.

To begin this, I started doing intervals this morning. I was nervous (as usual when I get ready to run) mainly because my feet have ridiculous blisters on them that have been hurting really bad after the 10K. I have the same shoes, so I am not sure why, but they are really bad. I found a pyramid interval workout that goes like this:

	5 minutes - walk/slow jog
	1 minute at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 1 minute.
	2 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	3 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	4 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	5 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	4 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	3 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	2 minutes at 5K race pace
	Recover (easy pace) for 2 minutes.
	1 minute at 5K race pace
	Slowly jog for 5 minutes.

Since I ran the first half of the 10K at an 11 minute pace, I decided to run the "race pace" intervals at a 10:30/mile pace. I know this is slow for a lot of runners, but for some reason it is my pace at which I feel like I am pushing myself. I followed the plan using a treadmill, and it was great. I don't even know how many miles I went because it was all about the time. I think it was a bit over 3 miles. I am glad it didn't end up being a super long distance because my feet are still recovering from the 10K, and I did not want to make them worse with another longer run. I think I will make interval running a normal part of my routine, and possibly sign up for a 5K that I will race to see how fast I can go. I can't believe that a 5K seems like a short distance! My goal is to be able to comfortably run a 10 minute mile, and race around a 9 minute mile. Then maybe I will look to increasing my distance again...

So, my photos from the 10K were available online a couple of days ago. I died laughing when I saw them. First of all, I wore black compression shorts and a black top, which is comfortable for me. However, it looked like I was wearing a unitard to run in. Second, my habit of wearing my headband over my ears to keep my headphones in resulted in me looking like I was wearing a shower cap. Lastly, they took most of the pictures at the top of the huge hill, when I was walking and breathing hard, making me look like a wuss. I had a good laugh, and then showed Warren. He started laughing, which set me off. We were both in tears. I haven't shown anyone but him, and we laugh every time we look at them. I have since tried new headphones, which allow me to keep my headband in a normal spot on my head. I thought of this photo when I saw my photos:

10K!

Today was the big day! Niki and I met before the race so she could get some coffee, and so we could take one car to avoid trying to find 2 parking spots. We got there, walked up the big hill to the start line, and right as we got there, the race began. I was surprised at how few people there were, but then remembered that the last race I was in was HUGE, so maybe I was expecting the same.

I felt great for the first mile, despite the heat. It was nearly 70 at 7:30am, and really humid. As always, I struggle from on mile 2. I felt better at mile 3, then I hit the "hill". One of the main features of this race is the "hill". The 5kers don't do the hill, but the 10kers do...right after mile 3, in the middle of the race. What they fail to tell you, is that there is another hill, right before the "big hill". I ran the pre-hill, and was really winded. As I approached the big hill, I knew there was no way I would make it up if I ran it. So I walked it; I was glad to see that almost everyone else around me was also walking. Unfortunately, they were taking photos of the runners right at the top of the hill-right where everyone is walking, winded and tired. Bad spot.

After I got past the hill, my motivation picked up. I knew the hardest part was over, and I just needed to run 3 more miles to finish. I had a Gu, and felt really energized. At mile 5, my feet began to really irritate me-they had both blistered pretty badly over the past few weeks, and they were killing me. I told Niki after that I was sure my socks would be soaked with blood-thankfully I was just being dramatic, because they weren't. :) I had set a goal to finish within 1 hour 15 minutes. I was excited to be beating that pace for the first half of the race, but walking the hill ended that. I still finished in my goal time though, which made me really excited.

Here is a pic of Niki and I after the race.

I am so happy to have finished in a decent time, and am really proud of myself for only have to walk the hill. I celebrated by spending time with my family-this is me with my sisters:

Now all I have to do is try to figure out what goal to set next...there will always be another :)

Bad Timing

According the website countdown clock, there is T-minus 2 days and 20 hours until the Kalamazoo Klassic, which is the 10K I have signed up for. I am terrified and nervous. My timing for this was terrible.

My past two weekends have been a blast. I celebrated the upcoming wedding of one of my dearest friends, and rolled right into a week of intense prep for Warren's daughter's open house, which was this past Saturday. We had a great time celebrating her accomplishments with our friends and family. On Sunday, I felt like I got hit with a truck. Monday, it felt like 2 trucks. When I get that tired I can't sleep well and my stomach just turns upside down. On Tuesday morning, I decided to take a day off work to try to reset myself after another sleepless night. I slept all morning and part of the afternoon, and then decided to get my weekly allergy shots in the afternoon.

I have been taking allergy shots for 6 months without incident. Yesterday, I moved up to my highest level of dosage. Twenty minutes after my shots, I felt like my underarms, ears, and back of my head were on FIRE. They itched like crazy, and I started getting hives. I was taken back to a "reaction room", given several pills to take, and stayed under observation for about an hour. Thankfully Warren was with me to keep me company and to make me laugh. After the medicine they gave me kicked in the itching went away pretty quickly, but my hives stuck around for most of the night. If I wasn't already drained, this totally did me in. Thankfully I was able to at least sleep last night, but I still don't feel caught up.

So, even with all that, I knew I needed to get a run in since I am expected to run 6.2 freaking miles this weekend. I recently bought a new hydration belt that I want to wear for the race. Being the control freak that I am, I don't want to wait for the water stations during the race because it is going to be really hot (almost 70 at 7:30am). I knew I wanted to get used to it, so I wore it out tonight. I also had some Gu, which I am still trying to figure out if I like or not. Because I was tired after work, I had 1/3 of the Gu before my run, wrapped it in foil, and stuck it in the little pouch on my new hydration belt. I planned to do 5.5 miles tonight.

As soon I started I knew it was going to be a rough one. My legs felt like they weighed 100 pounds each. The belt was tough to get used to, and my brain was telling me to stop the minute I started. I stopped to stretch my sore left leg muscle at .75 miles in (this has been a nice trick that has helped my hurting leg after about 1 mile); at 1.5 miles I stopped to go to the bathroom (which I have never done during a run before); at 2.4 miles I decided to have the rest of my Gu. I zipped open the zipper, and saw that it had gone everywhere, and that stuff is STICKY. I felt so defeated, I nearly quit. After walking for a few minutes, I decided to keep going for a while longer. I made it 4.5 miles, not my goal for the day. To keep it in perspective, me a year ago would be very proud of me today for running that far, walking breaks or not. I am trying to stop being so hard on myself :)

Please send your good thoughts my way for this Saturday. Given the chance to do it again, I probably wouldn't schedule a race after two weekends with major events. I know I will finish the race, but I want to do better than finish-I want to run the entire thing, and finish in a decent time.