So, it turns out, you CAN actually run a half marathon if you weren't a runner 3 months prior. How do I know this?
Because yesterday, I ran a half marathon.
I started out with the 2:30 finish time pace group, and stuck with them through mile 7. I knew miles 7-10 would be my demise, and I was right! I had to stop a few times to fix my knee brace, as well as walk through the water stations. So my pace did suffer as a result, but I am still nonetheless thrilled that I completed the task at hand!
It was hard, it was exhilarating. It was like nothing I have ever done before.
And I want to do it again. : )
My 2:41 finish time needs big improvement - that, will be my next goal to tackle! 2:20 anyone?
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
One less person to compete with on the running trails..
....the epitome of ridiculousness....
She had so much surgery she doesn't want to run anymore? Wow.
Guess that is one less person I have to worry about lapping me in the park!
She had so much surgery she doesn't want to run anymore? Wow.
Guess that is one less person I have to worry about lapping me in the park!
Bad Blogger...
It has been a full 2 weeks since I really felt the need to post to this blog. Perhaps it's the fact that I no longer needed it to make me feel accountable. It was the looming 13.1 on the calendar that made me feel incentivized to run! Alas, I will share the trials and tribulations of my last 2 weeks worth of runs.
3/26 - I ran nine (count them, nine) miles. It. Was. Amazing. I really could not believe I ran 9 miles, and felt like a million bucks. I met up with my hubby after the run, and he had done 11, and was hurting head to toe. We both went home, nursed our sore joints, and ate a much needed dinner!
After running 9, I really felt like the half marathon was doable. Sure, 9 miles was hard, but if I had to run another 4 to finish off the half, I could have done it! Enter: knee pain.
I have now been nursing knee pain on the inside of my knee (probably a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale), that has persisted ever since my 9 miler two weeks ago. I went to a meeting on Saturday after my run, wore kitten heels all day, and I think made my knee pretty ticked off that it was not only forced to run 9 miles, but then tackle 9 hours in heels, plus stairs. Fail.
I took last week easy (doing only 2 short runs and a cross training day), and I paid for it come long-run on Friday. I had to run 10 miles, and though I had diligently iced my knee, and stretched, it was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Oh - to add insult to injury, there was a 20mph sustained wind, and it was 80 degrees. We don't get 80 degree weather in late March here in the upper midwest - it's craziness. So, I was hot, pushed the other way due to wind, and exhausted from my constricting knee brace. My husband met me with the car at mile 8.5 and coaxed me into the vehicle. It was probably the best thing I could have done, as the sky opened up about 30 minutes later. I learned to listen to my body. I learned that sometimes it is better to just stop than to push it and get really injured.
I also learned the valuable lesson that cross training will save you from running hell if you have an injury. I didn't really cross train all that much, or anything close to the intensity that I run at during a training run. I needed to bike harder, or swim, or SOMETHING other than 30 mins at a HR of 100bpm. Ugh. My cardiovascular system hated me during that run - I had weakened it and it was angry!
So - this week, I am tapering my miles. I did a little under 4mi yesterday, and will do 3, 2, and 2 respectively through Thursday. Then, I get to rest Friday and Saturday - and RUN on Sunday!
Yup - 13.1 miles - here I come! Who knows? Maybe I'll actually finish the 13.1 in under 3 hrs, and then start looking to the marathon as another goal! : )
3/26 - I ran nine (count them, nine) miles. It. Was. Amazing. I really could not believe I ran 9 miles, and felt like a million bucks. I met up with my hubby after the run, and he had done 11, and was hurting head to toe. We both went home, nursed our sore joints, and ate a much needed dinner!
After running 9, I really felt like the half marathon was doable. Sure, 9 miles was hard, but if I had to run another 4 to finish off the half, I could have done it! Enter: knee pain.
I have now been nursing knee pain on the inside of my knee (probably a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale), that has persisted ever since my 9 miler two weeks ago. I went to a meeting on Saturday after my run, wore kitten heels all day, and I think made my knee pretty ticked off that it was not only forced to run 9 miles, but then tackle 9 hours in heels, plus stairs. Fail.
I took last week easy (doing only 2 short runs and a cross training day), and I paid for it come long-run on Friday. I had to run 10 miles, and though I had diligently iced my knee, and stretched, it was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Oh - to add insult to injury, there was a 20mph sustained wind, and it was 80 degrees. We don't get 80 degree weather in late March here in the upper midwest - it's craziness. So, I was hot, pushed the other way due to wind, and exhausted from my constricting knee brace. My husband met me with the car at mile 8.5 and coaxed me into the vehicle. It was probably the best thing I could have done, as the sky opened up about 30 minutes later. I learned to listen to my body. I learned that sometimes it is better to just stop than to push it and get really injured.
I also learned the valuable lesson that cross training will save you from running hell if you have an injury. I didn't really cross train all that much, or anything close to the intensity that I run at during a training run. I needed to bike harder, or swim, or SOMETHING other than 30 mins at a HR of 100bpm. Ugh. My cardiovascular system hated me during that run - I had weakened it and it was angry!
So - this week, I am tapering my miles. I did a little under 4mi yesterday, and will do 3, 2, and 2 respectively through Thursday. Then, I get to rest Friday and Saturday - and RUN on Sunday!
Yup - 13.1 miles - here I come! Who knows? Maybe I'll actually finish the 13.1 in under 3 hrs, and then start looking to the marathon as another goal! : )
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