Where have I been?

It's been a long time since I have posted anything here...obviously. But I have been doing some running. I won't drone on about everything that has happened since I last posted, mostly because I don't want to try to remember it all.


So - current stuff. I am in the midst of a streak. Nothing too exciting, 14 days at less than 3 miles per day. But at least I am running consistently.

Plans/goals for the year - I'm planning to focus on improving my short distance PRs in the spring. Hopefully, by the fall I will be able to finally make a solid attempt at a sub-2:00 half marathon.

Grand Old Day "On the Go" 8K Race Report

This wasn't a goal race for me...I chose it mainly because I wanted to find a race that the kids could do this summer, and they had a 0.25mi kids run (most of the kids runs around here are at least a half mile, which I thought was probably too far for them).

So, I hadn't trained specifically for this race, although I have been training for half marathons recently. I had also been feeling under the weather - I had a cough and some congestion the last couple weeks that just won't go away. So, I didn't go into this race with too high of expectations. My A goal was to break through 45:00, but I wasn't counting on that. My real goal was to set a new PR (which I thought I should be able to do reasonably easily based on other recent race times) by going sub 47:00.

I ran this race 2 years ago. At the time, it was my first 8K and my first race longer than a 5K. I actually ran it because I was hesitant to go straight to a 10K and I thought it would be a good stepping stone.

On race day, the family all got up early and headed out to the races. This was a bit different, as I usually go to my races solo. We were running a little late, so I jogged over to pick up my packet then met the family near the start line as I got prepared. A couple minutes later I had to go get lined up.

As we started I realized that I had started too far back - we were going way too slow, but I took advantage of that and made sure I ran close to the area where my family was standing so that I could wave wildly at the kids. Then, it was time to start weaving around a bit. When we got to the mile 1 marker, I realized that I was going way faster than I thought and figured that I would regret it later...oh well, this isn't a goal race anyway. So, I just kept going at what felt like a reasonable pace for 5 miles. I lost some time pushing my way up one of the hills which I remember thinking to myself on the way down the other side - gotta take that time back! At the turn-around I started to feel pretty tired and my side started cramping...weird, that doesn't usually happen. Then I realized that I wasn't breathing as deeply as usual, due to the congestion issues. I forced myself to take some deeper breaths and the cramp went away. Around this time is also when I suddenly decided to care about my finish time. I realized that I was exactly on pace to finish at 45:00 even. The 'back' part of the course was a little tougher than the 'out' part because of the hills, but I was now determined to keep up this pace. I somehow managed to keep it up, but had almost nothing left for sprint into the finish (I guess that is a good thing, right?) I ALMOST hit that 45:00...missed my a whole 3 seconds! But I beat my previous PR by exactly 2 minutes and did much better than I had anticipated, so I am very happy with the result.

About 15 minutes after my run it was the kids turn. We went to line up and I put us all the way at the back of the pack because I knew my DD would get freaked out by all the kids around her running all of a sudden (she gets scared of people quite often). We took off all hand-in-hand (too cute, I know) and both of them just kept laughing. As we got going, DD kept running ahead and getting in front of DS then slowing down - she wanted to beat him! We were the last finishers, but of course, no one cared. They both ran the whole distance - no walking at all! I am so proud of them!! I am especially glad that they had fun - they had smiles on their faces the whole way!

Stats
Race: Grand Old Day "On the Go"
Date: June 6, 2010
Distance: 8K
Official Time: 45:03
Average Pace: 9:04
Overall Place: 222/411
Place in Age Group: 28/61

Cheering Section

I went out to the Stillwater Marathon & Half Marathon course with the kids last weekend to cheer for some friends that were pacing the event. The kids were pretty excited about cheering for the runners that morning. In fact, since it was pretty early, I didn't feed them breakfast before we left, but instead stopped in Stillwater to grab something to take and eat 'picnic-style' while cheering. When we pulled into the Starbucks (is there not a 'Happy Meal' in Stillwater, people?) the kids got upset because there weren't any runners. Then, when we pulled up to park they saw a playground and DD said "no play, cheer runners". How cute!

So, found a good spot right around the corner from the water stop around mile 12 and laid out our blanket. The kids and I ate our breakfast while cheering "Go Runners!" and playing with our noise-makers etc. **I would like to officially apologize to anyone who ran Stillwater and took a walk break after the mile 12ish water stop...for the little girl who was pointing out everyone walking and saying in that loud 3 year old voice "People not running!"** Anyway, they made it about 30-45 minutes before the playground lured away from the runners. After playing a while, we headed over the finish line to cheer in some runners and hang out with some running friends.

It turned out to be a tough day to run a marathon - besides the Stillwater hills, the runners had to contend with some hot weather and lack of shade along the course. Congrats to everyone out there who finished!

This weekend I get to both run and cheer! The family is going to the Grand Old Day races. I am doing the 8K again (I ran it a couple years ago) and the kids are signed up for the quarter mile race. It is technically their second race since they did the 50yd toddler trot at the Twin Cities Marathon last year, but it is their longest race ever! Hopefully they have fun!!

First VFF Run

I made it out for my first run in the new shoes...a very short run. Everything that I have read about barefoot running (which this is as close as I plan to get to actual barefoot) says that you should start with really short distances and increase very slowly because it uses different muscles than regular running. So, I did my regular run this morning and finished it off with a quick run around the block in my VFFs...total VFF distance = 0.30 mi, whoo-hooo!

Honestly, it didn't feel as weird as I expected. I thought that since the foot strike is different and there is no cushioning that I would struggle to make it feel comfortable. But, I guess my body just automatically adjusted for all that because I just fell into a pretty natural feeling stride. One thing I noticed was that I felt a little bouncy at first. I'm not sure why that was, but it got better by the end of the run. Also, I could feel the difference in my calves.

So far, so good.

I have been wearing them around when I can, and they really do make my foot feel better. I wore some reasonably comfortable shoes to work yesterday and my heel was bothering me all day (not painful, just bothersome). I changed into the VFF when I went out to be chauffeur to my 3yr DS in the evening and my heel actually felt better when I got home! I still have high hopes for this experiment working...

Toughest run in a long time :(

I can't pinpoint an exact cause...because there were so many contributing factors. Luckily there wasn't any sun (early AM) but the temp was already 74* and the humidity was 73% when I left the house. My legs were tired from all the biking I did last week (instead of running). I stupidly ate at the casino buffet the night before. It was my first time this year actually carrying water on my fuel belt. I chose a hilly route. Breathing still not back to normal after a brief cold early last week.

I could tell it wasn't going to be pretty as soon as the run started. But, I decided that I was going to make my way around Medicine Lake even if I had to walk half of it. Since I knew it was going to be tough, I decided to allow myself to rest now and then - that ended up happening once a mile!!

My legs are still tired today. I ran 2 recovery miles and hopped on the bike for a couple miles. Hopefully they are feeling better for my 5 miler tomorrow.