Garmin love

Haakan got me a Garmin 205 for my birthday and I seriously think I'm in love with it.  I'm totally geeked out about how much info that snazzy little thing stores.  Though I do wonder how accurate it is because my pace seems to jump around a lot according to it.  I did my nice 3.5 miles today, trying to follow my new "run slower to run faster" plan, but I can't say I felt a whole lot different running slower than I did running faster.  But I guess I've got to give it some time, right?

I'm very much looking forward to the Pittsburgh Half Marathon this weekend, and really really REALLY hoping that the weather cooperates.  It's supposed to rain all week, so I'm just hoping that it finishes up before Sunday, since running in the rain isn't really something I want to do, and I'm sure Haakan doesn't want to do 26.2 in the rain, either.  It's pretty exciting, though, that they've painted the feet on the road on the route now, and put down the mile markers, too.  I love driving around and seeing "hey, here's the half marathon marker!"  Gives me a little thrill somehow.  And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there was some tiny part of me that wishes I was doing the full marathon instead of the half, but it just wasn't a good idea given how hard Phoenix was.  I wonder when I'll be able to run it, since next year probably isn't in the cards, but hopefully at some point I'll get to run the Pittsburgh Marathon, since it comes so close to my house and all.  And in other fabulous news, my sister is able to watch the kiddos so that we don't have to investigate any other options, which would likely prove to be a logistical nightmare, and instead can do what's easiest for everyone.  Well, everyone except my sister, of course, but I'm eternally grateful that she's able to watch the boys.  And maybe they'll get to see Haakan run past, too.

Long time, no post

So, it's been a long time since I posted anything, and in the meantime I've completed a full marathon (I'll get the report for that from the other laptop), another half marathon, and a 10K today.  Come to think of it, all three of those races were HARD, like way harder than they should have been.  And I think I've begun to figure out why.  I think I've been running my training runs much too fast, and I think this is something that I need to rememdy as soon as possible.  I've just been pushing too much, and when it comes time to run a race, there's nothing left to push.  So here's what Runner's World tells me I should be doing in order to run a 2 hour half marathon (which will not be happening next weekend, unless I run through a wormhole or something like that).

10:34  easy run training pace

8:50  tempo run training pace

7:58  maximum oxygen training pace

7:23  speed form training pace

10:34-11:54  long run training pace

4:04/800  Yasso 800s training pace

So just looking at that list, I see right away that my easy pace is too fast, my tempo pace is too slow.  So I really need to start being more aware of what I'm doing when I go out and run.  I think I could run MUCH farther if I pull back my easy pace.  And I need to reel it in by at least 40 seconds, since I've been averaging under a 10 minute mile for the easy stuff.  I just wish I'd figured this all out earlier, I might have had a shot at a sub 2 hour half marathon next weekend.  Now I'm just hoping to maintain a steady 10 minute mile and set a PR.  Oh well, live and learn, right?  Good thing I'm young, I've got plenty of years of races ahead of me.

Today's 10K, the Burgh's Pizza and Wings 10K, was miserable.  Like beyond awful.  My last half marathon was pretty pathetic, but I still beat my previous time by a good 2 minutes +.  This was my slowest 10K ever, a good 10 minutes slower than my fastest.  I think the biggest problem was that I got really dehydrated.  It was hot, there wasn't a ton of water on the course, and I was too stupid to think to bring my own.  So, lesson learned, when running in the heat, port own water.  I'll also not make the mistake again of wearing glasses and a headwrap, because every time I had to fix the damn thing, I had to stop and take my glasses off.  So, lesson learned, which may redeem the day.  At any rate, I got in a run, and I was 12th in my age group (12th out of 20, but shhhh! don't tell anyone).

Narrowed it down

So, I've got two contenders for a first marathon - either the Breast Cancer Marathon in Jacksonville, Florida in February or the Washington D.C. Marathon in March. Here are the pros and cons for each:

Breast Cancer Marathon
Pros:
Raises money for a good cause
Warm weather
I'd get to travel for it :)
Cons:
I'd have to travel for it
Might not be enough time to train
More expensive than DC with travel and lodging, etc

Washington D.C. Marathon
Pros:
I could drive and stay with Byrno
More time to train
I know D.C. so the course wouldn't be a total surprise
Cons:
D.C. in March? Potentially really icky weather
March might be a little late, I might like to do one sooner

So I'm kind of stuck right now, I don't know which to choose. If anyone actually reads this blog (and I don't think anyone does, lol) go ahead and weigh in on which one you think I should sign up for. Obviously I'm not insane, so I'm not going to do both, but I am going to do the Pittsburgh Marathon the first weekend in May (mile 19 comes right past my house, I'd be crazy NOT to run it!).

In other news, I got an email that my photos from the Great Race are online. They suck. I'm not even in the foreground of the finish one! Haakan's got like 5 photos, all of him looking like a runner. And they only got 1 of me, and I'm in the background. Guess you need to run with a much faster time in order to get a decent photo.

Lots has happened

So, since my last post months and months ago, I've run the Ikea Half Marathon AND the Pittsburgh Great Race, and I'm very pleased with my performance in both. The half marathon I finished in 2:14:35, which works out to 10:17 minute/mile. Not super fast, but I finished the race fairly easily and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Actually had a very nice chat with the woman running next to me from miles 7 through 13.1. I'm definitely looking forward to doing another, since I know I can run it much faster now, as my whole pace has improved a great deal.

The Great Race was the weekend before last, and I smoked my previous 10k time by a good 6 minutes, finishing in 55:17, which shocked the hell out of me since I had to stop and take a walking break right near the end. I just felt like I was going to throw up, it was not pleasant at all. I think I just pushed myself too hard, since my pace was 8:54 minutes/mile, which is pretty freaking speedy for me. Had I not had to stop and walk, I think I might have finished in under 54 minutes, but alas, I'll never know.

So now I'm on the lookout for a marathon to run in January or February. Haakan is going to run the Harrisburg Marathon in November, but there's no way I'll be ready for that (though I probably could do it if I had to, I think it would suck big time and I'd probably injure myself), so I'm looking for something a little bit later in the year. I want to do one before I do Pittsburgh in May, just to have one under my belt. I don't really want Pittsburgh to be my first, given that it's a pretty challenging course, but I haven't found a warm-weather one that I want to run yet. Maybe there's something in the Bay Area or something like that.

On the way to my marathon goal, I ran 10.25 miles yesterday, and I felt pretty good at the end, though I was seriously cold! I definitely need to get some cold-weather running gear - more long sleeved shirts and such, because it's ridiculous for me to be out running and get chilly like that - really puts a damper on the whole thing. I'm fighting some kind of annoying stomach bug, too (Haakan has the same thing), so that's also not helping things. I had miserable cramps the other night after I did 6 miles, but I felt pretty good after my 10 yesterday.

Hitting the wall?

On the edge of my first half marathon (next Saturday), I feel like my get up and go has gotten up and went. My milage this week is shaping up to be very sad indeed. Didn't do my long run the past two weeks in a row, both because of timing issues. This seems to be a crucial problem for me - go too early in the day and I'm still tired, too late in the morning and it gets too hot, too late in the evening and it gets dark on me. It's just so hard to fit it in with kids and dinner and other things I need to get done during the day. And I want to make running a priority because I enjoy it, but I have so many other priorities already, how can I really put anything else up at the top of my list? And I know another part of the problem is that I've been staying up much too late at night, waking up multiple times with the kids, and I'm just exhausted. No wonder I'm ready to throw in the towel after 3 miles, I'm just absolutely beat! My pace isn't suffering all that much, though, which is nice, but jeez, I need to figure out how to work things better so that I have time to run, time to sleep, and time to do everything else I need to do in my life.

5k number two under the belt

Well, I did indeed improve on my last 5k time - 32:20 - but didn't come close to breaking 28 minutes. Finished the Run Around the Square in 29 and short change (let's just say 29:00 since it took a little bit to get across the start). The first mile was super fast - 8:50 - but then the second mile and a quarter was ALL up hill and it totally sucked. I mean it sucked BAD. I had to stop and walk for a little bit right after the second mile marker because I was just beat. And the signs said there was going to be a water stop, but there wasn't! I might not have slowed down to a walk had I not thought there was going to be water (which I had to stop to drink, anyway, otherwise it just ended up on my face). The last bit was all downhill, and in retrospect I really could have floored it and probably finished at least 30 seconds faster, but hey, what did I know at the time? It'll be better next year, right?

With only two weeks until the Ikea Half Marathon, I'm in a little bit of a panic. 13.1 miles is a LONG way to run, way farther than I've ever run before. I probably should still do it, just to see if I can, but wow, it's not going to be pretty. Definitely there will be no records set at this one, at least not by me.

5K tomorrow

So, I've stopped putting my stats in every post (obviously, since I haven't posted in a while), but anyone who's curious can see them here, thanks to the good folks at Runner's World.

Since I smoked my first 10K a few weeks back with a finish time of 1:01:26, which is like 9:58/mile (also known, by me, as wicked fast), and some of the fastest splits I've ever run, I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow's Run Around the Square in Regent Square. I did the Race for the Cure back in May, my first 5k, with a finish time of 32:20, and I definitely run my regular runs at a faster pace than that, so I'm shooting for at least 28 minutes tomorrow. Haakan's shooting for under 20, but he's crazy like that. I like to keep my goals attainable. By me, anyway.

We're kicking around the idea of running a marathon in Harrisburg at the beginning of November. Can't decide if this is a good idea (sooner marathon, don't have to wait until May, not too far to drive, my aunt and uncle can probably watch the kids) or a bad one (it'll be November in central PA - not a time I usually think about going outside to run really long distances for fun in the snow vortex that is Amish Country). Either way, I'll at least be doing the Ikea Half Marathon next month, though I'm not sure how great of an idea that is. My longest run to date is 9 miles, and I failed miserably at my long run yesterday, barely slogging through 3 miles before I gave up and came home. I did much better today - a fast 4.7 miles - but having had such a bad run kind of freaks me out. Guess it's not worth dwelling on, though.