Half Marathon Training - Week 2, Day 1

After Friday night's ice storm left the roads and sidewalks covered in snow, sleet and ice which made them impossible to run on, I had to reschedule my long run for today. For the most part, the roads were pretty much clear, dry in most places, wet in some and ice patches here and there but Wadsworth Trail (asphalt) was a different story. It still was covered completely in snow/ice/slush in areas where you couldn't even see the pavement. But I went on my run anyway.

The first mile and a half which was on Wadsworth Trail, was a bit tricky. I had to watch my step on the slushy snow and ice as well as jump over large puddles to avoid getting my feet too wet. Once I got onto the roads of Woodrigde, things became much easier since the road was pretty much clear. I did my usual run 4 min/walk 1 min intervals and at 70 mins, this would be my longest and furthest I've ever ran. I ended up going 6.21 miles...whoohoo...a 10K! Finishing under 70 mins is actually my goal finish time and I will keep it at that since race nerves and adrenaline actually make racing a lot harder than training runs.

Today's run felt great but the balls of my feet did start to hurt during the last 3 intervals so that concerns me as I will be increasing mileage for the half marathon. Other than that, I finished pretty strong. I pushed it the final 5 mins which was completely uphill and that took a lot out of me. I was quite surprised at my average pace given the wintry conditions and because I felt like I was running much slower than usual. Guess the hills on Thursday paid off.

Today's Workout: 70 min run (run 4/walk 1 intervals)
Weather: 40°F Sunny, Winds Calm

Half Marathon Training - Week 1, Day 4

I decided to do a 1.5 mile out and back route of the most hilly part of my neighborhood. The first mile felt fantastic, I made it up both the smaller steep hills and even up the long 1/2 mile gradual hill which is the first time I ever was able to do that without walking. I passed the park and then started heading up the first long steep hill. I made it up 2/3rds of the way before I had to walk. A short rest and then continued on to run another 1/2 mile to hit my 1.5 miles before turning around.

At this point, I was realizing just how tired my legs were becoming already. I was ready for the run to be over but had another mile to go. At 2.75 miles is what I nicknamed "heart attack hill", a steep hill that by the time you get to the top, you feel like you're going to have a heart attack and that's just walking up it! Jogging up it is an entire differently story and I only was able to jog up about half way. Walking up the last half on tired legs took everything out of me. I walked slowly for about 30 secs to recover and then jogged until my 3 miles were complete. Wow, was I tired! I probably couldn't of gone another mile.

Today's Workout: 3 Miles - Hills
Weather: 46° F Sunny, Wind WSW 6 mph

Half Marathon Training - Week 1, Day 3

I started out with a very slow warmup jog. I always tend to start out with a fast pace and I'm trying to keep myself from doing that. The first tempo run felt really good. I got into a nice pace and rhythm and kept it there. I focused on my form and breathing. The 2nd interval felt really close to the first but I was on the rolling hills so it was a bit tougher but still managed to keep a consistent pace. The third interval started with an uphill and into the wind and that wasn't fun. My body wanted to stop and walk but my brain said no so I pushed myself to keep going even if it was a slower pace. Once I got to the top of the hill and turned back onto Caldwell, it got much easier and was back into my 9:40 tempo pace.

The weather was beautiful. It was sunny and yes it was windy but compared to yesterday, it really wasn't that bad. And it sure didn't feel like 38° with the sun out, more like 48°. I finally didn't overdressed and had my running tights, a long/sleeve tech tee and a light jacket, gloves and headband. It was perfect and I never got too hot.

Today's Workout: 10 min warmup, 3 x 5 min tempo with 5 min recovery in between.
Weather: 38° F Sunny, Wind W 12 mph.

Half Marathon Training - Week 1, Day 2

Wow, it was windy and I was expecting it to feel cold so I wore track pants and a jacket. Bad idea, after 1/2 mile, I was already hot and wishing I wore capri tights and a long/sleeve tech tee instead. But I didn't bother going back home since it was just a 2 mile run.

From the moment I started running, I knew it was going to be a tough run into the wind and it was. I did my best to keep my heart rate in zone 3 and had my FR305 HR alert set for 160 so I would know when to slow it down or walk. It went off a several times, mostly in the very beginning since I always start out too fast and when I was near the top of a hill which is expected. I'm hoping this teaches me my "true" easy pace so I'm not going all out every single training run. Overall it was a good run...wind and all.

Today's Workout: Run 2 miles while keeping HR in Zone 3 (133 - 152 bpm).
Weather: 52° Partly Sunny. Wind WSW 16 mph, gusting up to 28 mph.

Half Marathon Training - Week 1, Day 1

I'm planning to run in the Greer Earth Day Half on April 25. It will be my very first half marathon. But on March 6, I will run the Reedy River 10K as a way to gauge my progress and make sure I really want to do the half... 13.1 miles still scares me at this point.

I'm somewhat following the 13-week training plan by iRUN Greenville but with my own modifications. For my long runs, I'm using a run 4 min, walk 1 min ratio and plan to use this same ratio for the half marathon itself. I'm doing my own tempo intervals and will be running hilly routes instead of speed or track work since there really isn't a running track near where I live. I may throw in an occasional trail run for fun once the trails dry out...it's been a wet winter.

I met iRUN Greer at Greer Memorial Campus and no surprise that I was the only one that is currently using this method so I was on my own this morning. Maybe more people will show up next week but anyone in the Greer/Spartanburg area is welcome to join us...and it's free. There is a walk-to-run group already in progress (they did week 3, day 3 today) and a few others training for the half that are up to 7-8 miles, so there is something for everyone.

But back to my training run which was for 1 hour using the 4/1 run to walk ratio. The first 4 intervals or 20 mins felt great. I never had any difficult breathing with my 10:00 - 10:30 pace or had any pain in my legs, hips or ankles as I sometimes do. Then all of a sudden, it started getting really hard and the 4 min interval started to feel longer and longer and the 1 min walk break felt shorter and shorter. Around 50 mins, my hip flexors started to hurt but I only had 10 more mins to go so I just pushed forward. Beth, the coach of iRUN Greer, joined me at that point and she pushed the pace a little faster which is never a bad thing. The last 30 secs of the last interval was uphill so I decided to give it a final push up the hill knowing the end was near. It actually felt better in my hips and legs, probably because running uphill forces me to use proper form but my breathing was quickly becoming out of control. Overall, it was a pretty good run, still a bit too cold for me with temps in the high 30s and a light breeze. I'm so ready for spring and warmer temps...but not the humidity.

Race Report: Race for the Grasshopper 5K

I woke up to extremely cold temperatures...well for upstate South Carolina. It was about 19° but felt like 9° according to the local news channel. Brr..I was prepared for this race to suck. I told myself, no sense on trying for a PR, it's too cold and with so many layers on, highly unlikely. I arrived at the Battlefield around 9:00am, an hour before race time, picked up my packet and sit in my car for about 30 mins trying to stay warm. At 9:30 I started my pre-race ritual and at 9:50am, jogged my way to the starting line. It was cold standing their waiting for the gun to go off even though it was only for about 5 mins.

Runners, ready set...bang! And we were off! At a very fast pace too. At the 1/2 mile mark, I glanced down at my watch and saw I was going an 8:30 pace...wow! I never run that fast unless I'm doing speed work, so I decided I better slow my pace down to 9:30 if I want to finish this race strong. I also noticed how quickly I warmed up and was so glad I shed those top layers I had on during my warm up jog. I would of been way too hot if I kept them on. At 22° with a real feel at 17° at the start, it's hard not to overdress but glad I resisted the temptation to layer more than I did.

At mile 1, I was feeling pretty good but my legs were a starting to get tired from going out too fast. I wanted to maintain a 10:00 pace but I was slowing down to more like a 10:30 pace but still managed to do a 9:30 first mile.

At mile 2, my split was 20:21. About 90 secs faster than I expected to be at this point so I just continued on with a 10:30 pace, taking 30 sec walk breaks when needed which was only two. Around 2.8 miles, I decided to give it that final push, knowing the end was near. It was a downhill then an uphill the final tenth of a mile. Once I could see the clock and watched as it went from 31:59 to 32:00, I knew I had a PR and was really able to savor those final yards and finished in 32:25...about 90 secs faster than my previous PR of 33:57.

At the finish, they had apple slices, bananas and coffee although I really wish they had hot chocolate as I'm not a coffee drinker.

It felt great to finish this race. In the cold and with two layers on and still able to PR! Although I wasn't sure if I would win a "grasshopper" (a cannon), I thought I may have a slim chance but wasn't sure so I stuck around to find out.

At 11:30, they finally tallied up the results. It felt like forever standing out in the cold for so long and not really moving much. I was tempted to just forget it and leave but I didn't. To my surprise, I came in 3rd in my age group. This is my first age group award and a new personal record so I was ecstatic! So despite it being so dang on cold, it was a great race! I can't wait for next year...I just hope it's a bit warmer.

Winter Running

It's cold! It's not suppose to get this cold in South Carolina. The thermometer read 32° yesterday but it felt like of 26°. To make matters worse the wind was around 10 mph with 15-25 mph gusts. I braved the cold temperatures and wind and went on my first real cold run of the season. Yes, it sucked. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. It was brutal, lung burning, butt freezing, face numbing cold. I seriously regretted my decision after just 1 mile when I went from being comfortable chilly (as the "experts" always claim you should feel at the start to avoid overdressing) to downright cold (apparently I don't produce that much heat when I run so if I'm chilly at the start, I'll be cold at the end). I had on tights, fleece pants, long sleve tech tee, fleece jacket, two pairs of gloves, two pairs of socks, a headband and scarf and still got cold. And yes, they were all moisture wicking.

After about 2 miles, I finally started to feel my fingers again and shed one pair of gloves but my legs kept getting colder as they always tend to do during sub 40° runs and my pace slowed to a crawl. Jogging uphill became impossible as breathing heavily in the cold wind became painful. After mile 3, I had no energy left and was pretty much jogging slower than my walking pace. That was it. I had enough and cut my 5 mile run short. I headed back inside the warmth of my 70° house. Took a hot shower to thaw out my legs and face so I could feel them again.

I'm still not sure about this winter running, it's going to take some time to get used to. I don't find it fun while I'm out there and only can come to appreciate it after I'm back inside and warm again and say "Yea, I ran today. The cold weather didn't stop me".

Oh and now my Saturday 5K. The forecast is a high of 31°, low of 16° and windy. Great! I can't wait! (saying with sarcasm). If I set a new PR, it's only because I'm racing to get back in my car and turn the heater on!

2010 Running Goals

Well 2009 was my first year of running, well 8 months considering I started in April. I stuck with it and didn't give up even though at times I wanted to. So it's a new year and with that comes new goals.

1. Sub 30 min 5K - Right now my PR is 33:57 for a race and 32:37 in training. 
   
2. Reedy River Run 10K - This will be my first 10K road race. I did an 8K on November 21st and finished in 53:56 so I hope to finish a 10K under 70 mins.
3. Greer Half Marathon - I'm still scared about this one as my longest run so far is 1 hour or 5.5 miles. I feel confident I can finish as long as I go with the run/walk approach on all my long runs. Time is not important.
   
4. To run 700 miles this year.