Nike+ Human Race 10K PLUS 4.8 more

Winkly has the Nike+ stuff so on this mornings run we decided to do things differently than normal. Last week we ran 5 miles then stopped and rested/stretched and then ran 5 miles back. Well it turned out to be a lot harder than both of us thought 10 miles would be. So today for our 11 mile run, we ran out 9 kilometers, turned around and then stopped at the 10km mark. The Nike+ Human Race was today so we "participated" and ran it in about 1 hour 5 minutes.

After a nice snack, Winkly really picked up the pace for about 2 miles but then slowed down again, so it looks like for the half marathon we will have to make sure to eat at about 6.5 miles, 8.5, 10, 11, and 12 just so we make sure to finish. We also decided that we are going to try and run at least 6-7 miles in to the race before stopping. Plus we also found that stopping and stretching really helped (for me especially). My knees hurt at the end but now after icing and some stretching i feel fine. I actually think I could run tomorrow but I wont. I hope to get to the pool!

11 miles - 1 hour 54 minutes

After the run, we went to fleet feet and got her some new shoes and some fun clothes but we didn't find anything we could agree on to wear for the race. Next weekend, I think it was supposed to be a 12 miler but it might turn out to be 10 miles instead. After that run next Sunday, full taper will be in affect!

Month of August Stats:
2008: 84.6 miles
2007: 65.3 miles

what a difference a year makes ; )

Are you Crazy??!!

Of course I could have slept in this morning but now I feel so much better after getting a short run in.

3 miles - 21:24 - It hurt like a mother.

Morning Conditions = Foggy and Humid

Today's Adventures = Reading, napping, shopping, eating!

Tomorrow's Adventures = 11 Miler, buying race clothes, BBQ

Monday's Adventures = NO WORK!! (or school!)

Moving Out

I woke up at 5am and snoozed till 520 then popped out of bed and into the bathroom. As soon as I had my contacts in, I heard the rain start and then heard it just let loose and pour. I walked upstairs to my parents room and my mom said "You are not going out in that; come lay here!"

So for probably the last time (except maybe when I get married) I slept at my house, in my bed, and then got into bed with my parents till 615 and just giggled and talked. Its sad to think that this might be the last time i live with them. I am now back at school and very excited about it but still I am growing up which means I am leaving things behind and making changes in my life.

I had packed my car last night but there were still some things to add this morning. I thought I had everything but I soon realized that I had forgotten my two pillows! Needless to say I am in a very optimistic mood this morning. I was listening to a radio show this morning on the way to work and dancing to the music. Traffic was ULTRA light which was awesome, plus I saw tons of women running this morning, of couse i was jealous but hopefully i will get to run after work. My knees are being fussy and I feel like they want to run. Anyway I am just in a fantastic mood so I wanted to share and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Golf Course Run

I feel that my morning running may soon be coming to an end. It is getting colder and colder out in the mornings and as I prefer it over hot and humid the cold does seep into my knees. I felt like a "fun run" was necessary this morning. We used to have fun runs during soccer practice in high school. We would run all around the grounds of the school and go to the "secret place" way back in the woods. It actually was a very cool place; right past the old pine tree was a clearing with just a single stand alone tree. Anyway, of course now stupid developers have bought the land and mowed down all the trees so secret place is no more : (

This morning i started off slow and ran over to the golf course. I decided it would be fun to run the golf cart trails as I had never been on them and it was 5:20 and no one would be playing golf. First trail - dead end, second trail - dead end, third trail - dead end. It was still fun but its hard to run on a golf course in the dark so i was trying to stay on the trails. I finally found a trail that was longer, it seemed like it was in the middle of the course. So i ran on that for a while and it actually twisted and turned and went over a very nice little bridge. I ended up by the club house which was about 2 miles away from my house. I ran across two more holes then finally got back on to the path and then headed back to the road. These paths go right by peoples houses, so I was running along and I could actually see inside the houses. I could tell who was awake and getting ready for work and who was still dead alseep. It was actually weird because i felt like a stalker.

I finally made it home - my watch accidentally got turned off so I just went by my watch time and it was about a 56 minute run. I didn't want it to be that long but thats what happens when you get lost in the golf course and the sun isn't up yet, and there is no moon! The sunrise was beauitful this morning thought and it was amazing to see. Running in the morning like this always helps me to appreciate nature and the simple beauty. After using wondering Gmaps-pedometer I have found that my run was 4.98 miles (give or take a few).

Side note: I finished the Ultra-marathon Man book - It was really good, some parts were incredible and some parts I was like "gross!" He makes it sound all so easy, even though it obviously was extremely painful at points. I wonder though, if he has had any injuries from running so much. It doesn't seem like he takes days off, or gives his body time to rest?

Out and Back before the Sun was Up

Last night I stretched instead of reading my book - I know i have to make some sacrifices so I dont kill myself and get injured. My legs are feeling good today. I did a decent 3 mile jaunt in 22:52 all in total darkness. I walked out the door this morning and just stared at the sky. I have never seen it so beautiful at my house. Usually due to the lights from the city, they dim out the stars and moon but not this morning. The sky was rich navy blue with bright shining stars and a vibrant cresent moon. It was so clear and cold (brrrrr); I could see the shaded part of the moon. The sun rises so late now that I went out and came back in pretty much complete darkness (except for the occassional car + headlights). I couldn't find the big dipper this morning but I have been regularly seeing Orions belt I think. Something i really liked this morning was when cars would drive up behind me with their high beams on, I could see the shadow of me running. It was interesting, I wish I had a camera that could take a picture and actually capture the image.

About two and a half years ago my mom went to Borders and they were giving out free books and so she picked up Ultra Marathon Man by Dean Karnazas. I really didnt know who he was back then but it seemed like a good book. Now that I know more about Dean through reading other peoples blogs I decided to start reading this book and then hopefully move onto his new book. Im about 100 pages in and it is really good. I really like memoirs because they are very personal and real yet also a story. Anyway time to get work done!

10 Miler

Winkly and I ran 10 miles this morning!! The longest distance i have ever run (and the longest she has ever run too!). We ran it on the canal which was fun - they should really pave that whole thing! My knees felt decent, they were tight in the beginning but loosened up and then at mile 8 my hips and knees were like "hey 8 miles we are ready to stop!" but we kept going. I could tell that Winkly was not feeling the last two miles but she pushed through to the end. Next week is an 11 Miler, then the following week is a 12 Miler then the half marathon. I think we will be ready and I am excited because we are going this week (hopefully) to pick out matching outfits!! Now i need to stretch and ice and drink lots of water!!

Last night I finished a great book - Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. It was a very quick read but it was engaging and sweet; now I am onto The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I am on a roll with reading plus I am busy trying to pack and organize and also finish up all the little projects i started this summer.

Anyway, I know there is more I want to say but I have a ton of stuff to do today and I am already pretty tired! Tomorrow will most likely be a rest day. Other than that I don't know what my training will consist of this week.

Running Scared

I can't believe that only one more week before it is September, I can feel the difference in the air and it has made running easier. Sweating less, breathing easier, enjoying the cool temperatures. The past few mornings the moon has been super bright. It is kind of erie though, the white lights makes shadows everywhere and I am always on the lookout that sometimes I freak myself out. I mean serioulsy would there be people hiding in the bushes at 5am in the morning?? Probably not.

I ran from home to the grocery store this morning and then got picked up. I really like these type of runs because I know that I wont have to "run up this hill" on the way back. This running route has to be one of my favorites because although it has two hard uphills, it has three wonderful downhills! This week I have been taking it slow as my legs have been tight. Not this morning though - I didnt intentionally go fast but after logging my time in I saw that I was going super fast!! It felt really good though because I pushed myself. I still can't beleive i ran over 4 miles at about a 7 min/mile pace! Thats crazy...but its good, now with interval work ill be ready for the 800m come track season.

I am sore this morning (in my arms and shoulders) and I think its from the mile time trial and sprints. I am taking tomorrow off and then will go for a long run (hopefully with Winkly) on sunday. Things have been crazy lately - I am trying to finish my scrapbook of pictures from the pervious year and this summer but there are alot of pictures and it gets overwhelming. Everybody likes a nice picture - I found this one this morning. Interesting concept in the caption. Lately, through all the blogs I have been reading and my books I have been thinking alot about running and life, etc. Maybe its because this is a transistional time of year for me. The start of a new school year is always a time for a fresh start even if you are not going back to school.

Timed Mile

I have been looking for some spice in my workouts this week so I decided to try a timed mile and see where i am at. I woke up at 5am, pulled on my pink shorts, gray tshirt and over-sized high school soccer sweatshirt. I waved to the dog as she eyed me oddly and got into my car and headed down to the high school track. They have been putting in a new turf feild where the football field is and once i arrived i noticed that the gates were all still closed. I was unwilling to admit defeat so i hopped the fence and started my two warm up laps. After the curve on the straightaway I could see there was something on the track. They were still doing construction and the "bridge" of sorts to allow for the construction vehicles to cross the track was still in place. It was about 10 feet wide and a foot up so i knew that i would have to step up and run over it in the mile. How lovely.

The first two laps were good - about a 3:10 time but i knew i could have gone faster if a) that stupid bridge thing hadn't been there and b) i could have seen my watch in the dark. I didnt even feel winded as I completed the first two laps. The second two laps were more intense and i finished in a time of 6:32. I know i can run faster than that as about a month ago i ran the first mile of the 3000m (in the summer track meets) in 6:26 and i was dying! It is very difficult having to step up onto a platform of sorts and run over it! Once i get back to school i will do more time trials to see how my training is progressing. After the mile i did 5 - 100m sprints just for good measure and to help me sort of cool down. I have found that especially in track its more important to cool down.

I just finished reading The Laminators blog about age and running. It really made me think...I have noticed in myself that I became a better distance runner after i turned 20. But i am not sure it totally has to do with my age. I know that some places it says that women peak in running between the ages of 21-25 but that doesnt seem right. Maybe because I didnt train as much in high school for running I wasn't able to run like i am now. Maybe its all about time and place and will power not necessarily age. Maybe its because now i have a desire in me that i didnt have when i was 17 or 18 to run fast and for a long time. Maybe its just luck in the sense of preperation meeting opportunity.

Of course one day i will reach a point where I cant run like i am now, and I cant force my body to run as fast but for now I am taking this opportunity to push myself and make the most of every moment. I will not sit back like I did in high school - I will run in Track aggressively because i have been given a second chance to make the most of the time given to me.

Food Obsession!

This morning my mom scared me half to death. I came out of my room (bed hair everywhere) and she was sitting on the bottom steps of the stairs just waiting for me. Of course i couldnt see cause i didnt have contacts in but still it made me jump. Apparently she could not sleep so she got up and waited for me to leave for my run and she took the dog for a walk.

It had rained that night - I of course woke up at 11:30 and thought it was 5am and was like "oh yay its thundering, i can sleep in!" but then a quick look at the clock told me it was not time to get up yet. Since i am going to bed when its dark and waking up before the sun rises, I often get confused about what time it is.

Last night i made salad for dinner with chicken, tomatos, peppers, blackberries, onions, broccoli and lettuce of course. It was quite good and I seem to be on a recipe/cooking streak as I have been collecting new recipes to use when i get back to school and start cooking and buying food on my own.

Since I am on the subject of food - I went to a pig roast on saturday (my first one!) and they had raw and cooked clams. Now I LOVE clams...like love love love them! I hadn't had them in forever so i took this chance to have about 2 dozen!! I also had to bring a dish to pass and so that has added to my cooking abilities as I made a family classic - Jello mixed with whipped cream and fruit!

Two other minor notes - I watched the movie The Bucket List a few weeks ago and have decided to make a bucket list of sorts for myself. Its more of a life list, things that i want to do before 25, 30 and beyond. Sometimes i think that after i am dead all people will find are lists of things i want to do or need to do!! Also my company is having a blood drive tomorrow and I was thinking about giving blood. I have never done it before because in high school i always had sports and in college i had basketball. I'm not sure if i should do it though...?? I don't want to faint.

Haha i almost forgot - My running this morning - It went well, i ran slow because of the knee. I should name my knees...maybe later when i have more time! I have found that cars often give me temporary blindness due to their bright lights while running in the dark. I wont get into how much i hate other peoples driving.

Moonlit Run

Good Morning! I had a very special run this morning. The moon refused to set and shown brightly for my whole 30 minute run. It was beautiful to see the full moon and have it light my way through the darkness. Sometimes i get scared during my runs because of all the shadows. I always enjoy the peacefulness and sometimes i am so focused or caught up in my thoughts I dont take in the scenery. Its the perfect time to daydream for me - helps me get my creative juices going. The run was good, i didn't feel winded at all until the last mile and my knees were good but i could feel that my legs were tight from the hiking yesterday. The hiking was alot of fun though and its a good thing i didn't run before hand because my knee was a little aching with the up and down hill climbing. It was a beautiful hike though - very peaceful and well worth it since the weather was great.

I got to work today and slowly woke up with my coffee and my left knee started to ache really bad. I took some pain killers and it seems to be better and i am trying to stay off it. It is just really weird as it didn't hurt during the run, only my right knee felt interesting once, not the left. So i am not sure what is up. (same old, same old...blah, blah, blah - im sure the interesting stories will come when school starts again!)

I am excited to go back to school and i think this year will be one of the best. I have always firmly believed that you cant chase happiness you have to create it for yourself! There just is not enough time in the day for me to do everything i want. With running, working, trying to keep up with all my hobbies plus cleaning and trying to stay organized and fitting in some reading time the day goes by too quick!

Saturday Morning

I woke up this morning at 8:30 and saw that it was super sunny out but after a check of the thermostat saw that it was still only 61 degrees! I headed out for my 5 miler with a little bit more energy than i had yesterday. I decided to take yesterday off which turned out to be a good idea. I was exhausted last night at about 8pm . With all of last weekends excitement and then trying to catch up with J this week, it was non-stop and then the Olympics kept me up late every night.

The run went well except now i feel sick and a little tired. Tomorrows run is planned to take place at the canal path which is flat so hopefully that will be nice and fun. I think i am just going to run and see how i feel. I know i would like to do about 6 miles but if i feel like i can handle more then ill keep going.

My knees didn't hurt which was great - but my back and abdominal muscles began to feel funny with about a half mile to go. It was quite sunny out so i think i am dehydrated. You know what that means - Rehydration Nation!

I'm Sad : (

So i just talked to Winkly and she is having issues with her legs, specifically her calves. That means no long run with her sunday. This is two weeks in a row we haven't run together. I hope that she will be ok for the race otherwise I am running this thing alone and it might be very interesting that way. I took today off beause i was preparing for a long run saturday and sunday so now i dont know what to do. I know i want to get in at least 10 miles this weekend between the two days. We will see what happens!

Thursday Run

This morning I woke up at 5am and dragged myself out of bed once again. My mind said to go back to sleep but I am trying to stick with my scheduled runs. For the first time in a while the sky was clear and not cloudy and I could see the stars. I am still pretty tired and once again 17 minutes into the run my lower abdomin started to feel queezy. I am ready to head back to school because there will be new places to run. I have been finding that I need to change my runs often and find new places (like trails and paths and sidewalks) to run so that i stay motivated. Its a little different feeling this summer - I don't feel the urgency I felt last year. I know that I am running because I want to as well as for track. Its hard to have the same mindset that this is my senior season of track when I haven't been competing it in for 4 years. i have looked at my class schedule and it looks like I wont have to take on a tough load during winter and spring! I am hoping to be able to enjoy and relax during Spring so that I can put in the training time to track and reach my full potientail.

I weighed myself for the first time in a few weeks last night and again this morning. It looks like I have lost a few pounds (not that I have been trying) but i have lost most of my muscle mass from basketball and have leaned down considerably. I know that since i will be competing in Shot Put i need to get back on the weights. I think i will be able to keep a 7 days cycle of running/lifting etc but not running all 7 days. As long as I keep a good balance I hope that i will stay injury free for the two track seasons.

Game plan for fall training -
Cross-training 2x a week (mostly swimming, but may include biking)
Weight lifting 2-3x a week (depends on what coach says)
Interval training

My Tribute to Men's Olympic Swimming

Question: Do men's bodies get any better than a swimmer's?

Answer: No!

Ok so now that i have wasted half an hour looking at pictures of swimmers maybe i should try to focus! I really have enjoyed watching the mens and womens swimming in the olympics. I dont know what it is but i love to watch swimming. Maybe its because i am not very good and i envy all those athletes because they make it look so easy!

Running Schedule

Well things are coming along here. My knees hurt yesterday and this morning slightly; I just was not motivated during my run today. I think the lack of sleep was the culprit for my pain and they haven't hurt today at work so I will just have to see. I missed my run with Winkly on Sunday due to changes in my plans but it was worth it and I'm glad i took the extra day off. Hopefully we will be able to meet up this week and run.

I am hoping to take tomorrow off from running then do some sort of workouts on Thursday and Friday. I feel like i should start doing some track workouts - which means i need to put in some thought about this. The local track was under construction at the beginning of June and I am not sure if it is available now. If it isn't that kind of puts a damper on my morning track workout idea. I have some basic ideas from what we used to do in basketball like 4-400s and 2-800s or intervals (sprint straightaways, jog curves) but i also found some other intense workouts which I might try. I love the feeling after finishing a run, but also i love how i feel after finishing an intense track workout.

The wedding this past weekend was amazing - the rain held off which made outdoor pictures possible : ) Overall everything went really well and I had a great time!

Countdown:
33 days until the Half Marathon!

Silence

After a very great weekend, with three days off i am still exhausted. I ran this morning in the total darkness with lightning flashing in the distance. I thought it would make me feel better but as the day goes on I just feel worse and worse. Theres really nothing else to say at this point, i dont have any words.

Reverse Psychology

You know when you are excited about something so you wake up early in the morning? Well i woke up this morning at 5am wide awake! I know I am excited about this wedding tomorrow especially since i got a pedicure AND a manicure yesterday! It looks really good and i am very happy. I love getting pedicures every once in a while as a treat and a thank you to my feet for all the running they have let me do. I didn't get out of bed until 5:20 though because i was debating about whether to go running or not. I didn't want to mess up the nail polish but from past experience i knew that my little tosies would be fine.

I ended up just doing a small little 3 mile jog thing. The sky was red when i was heading home (red in the morning, sailors take warning) so hopefully today wont be too bad weather wise. My knees haven't been hurting me lately but today they did. I think they don't like going slow because when i go fast they feel ok. Its really weird - i know i need to start that cross-training asap. I did consider jumping on the bike in the basement this morning. I've got another long run planned with Winkly for this Sunday - her training plan calls for 7 miles which should be fun (and i wont be as tired as i was after the 9 mile run).

Happy Thursday : )

Just Do It

Life's complicated. Running's simple.

Take...Luck!

It always amazes me the thoughts I have while running in the morning. Its like stream of consciousness and everything just flows along jumping from one subject to the next. Today it was super foggy and dark out because of the overcast clouds and slight sprinkling. I like running like this because it makes me think "no one else is out in this weather, they all slept in. I am going to be better because I am running in the elements" or something like that. I wanted to push myself a little bit this morning and I did which felt great. Joanna: 1, Hill: 0. HA i got you hill, i beat you, I WIN!!

Anyway on to other stuff...I was trying to think of six words that described my running, at least for the summer months.
"The road never lets me down" - ok ok this is kind of depressing
"Morning runner - watching the world awake" - better but not my best. I guess ill have to keep working on this.

On to my weird thoughts while running. I was almost home when all of a sudden a thought popped into my head. It was a joke by Brian Regan, heres the script of the part that played in my head as i finished the last part of my run:

Do you ever start to say something and in the middle of what you’re saying you decide to say something else completely? There’s already words out there. These friends were leaving the other day and I started to say “Hey, take care,” and I decided to say “Good luck” instead like half way through, so it came out neither.

“See you later, Brian.”

“Take…luck! Take luck and care. Take care of the luck. Good luck taking care of the luck that you might have…if you have luck, take it, care for it. TAKE LUCK CARE OF IN IT WHEN YOU TAKE LUCK CARE OF IN IT…[continues to yell nonsense words – lots of ‘em].” You’re sure to see them again.

Obviously I am crazy! Only a few more days until the Olympics start - I have been waiting 4 years for this. Watching the athletes has always inspired me, since i was a little girl and watched Kerri Shrug vault on a broken foot. Seeing the VISA commercial of her for the Olympics still gave me goosebumps. I hope that in 2012 I can go to London and watch the Olympics in person and be inspired by the competition and spirit of the games.

Ordinary

This mornings run was uneventful - I worked on going at a modest pace the whole time instead of sprinting down the hill at the start from my house. Since I am going to a wedding this Friday, I get to run in a new place which should be fun. Other than that I am going to try to keep my runs to 3-4 miles per day so that I don't aggregative my knees. I think i will sign up for one more 5k before the half marathon to see where I am at in my conditioning levels. Last year at this time I was going to the track about 1-2 times a week to do speed workouts. Since I have more time before the track season, I think i wont get into those until it starts to cool down. One thing i wanted to mention now that i think of it is that last year there was this great meteor shower and my mom and I just happened to be at the track at 5am one morning and saw a few falling stars. That has to be one of my favorite running memories - seeing a falling star. Apparently there is another meteor shower this year from August 11th-13th, and apparently it happens every year in August : )

I am trying to come up with my six word running memoir, I haven't really had that much time to think about it. I guess its something to mull over on my run tomorrow morning.

Run with Winkly

Today is a great day! I woke up and went running with Winkly for 9 miles. She really impresses me; in high school we used to try not to sweat in gym class but still get an A. Now shes on a half marathon training program and shes sticking with it. I am really excited to run this race with her. The rain held off for the run which was nice, and we had a nice jaunt around the town. I am used to running on the roads so it was nice to switch things up and be on designated paths/sidewalks. She has the Nike+ system with her ipod nano and it is really sweet. It tells the mileage, total time, and time per mile which is really nice because usually i have to use gmap-pedometer.com to find the mileage. I feel really good after this run, but I am tired. Yesterday was a pretty exciting but busy day so maybe I will have to take a nap this afternoon.

Eye Candy

I took the quiz posted by Frayed Laces to see "Which type of Running Eye Candy Partner is right for you!" I answered very honestly and ended up with....Lance Armstrong! This is the type of guys I like according to my answers - "Chances are you like a man with a very large......heart of course! You are such a go-getter that you need a man who excels in multiple sports. Just be careful--I hear he is known to skip town for French trysts."
Very Nice!

This morning I woke up and went for a nice slow run in the rain! It was peaceful but it seemed like everyone was out running or biking. I passed the local running club that meets at a neighbors house. I would love to get involved with a running club, maybe next summer. I have been trying to get a balanced eating plan together, making sure i get enough salt to help absorb the water i am drinking.

I am concerned though, I wonder if I am over-doing it. I didn't run Friday because of the pain in knees and slight soreness in my quads. I haven't increased my mileage drastically or anything or pushed my body. I have been running more this year than last year. I looked back at my running log yesterday and compared. For July 2007, i took 11 days off, for July 2008, i did the same. I ran 68.96 miles while this year i ran 84.98 miles. For August 2007, i took off 10 days and ran 65.3 miles. We will see what this August is like. I am really enjoying the running but i am trying to listen to my body because i still have a lot of time before track starts and its a six month season where ill be pushing my body to be at its peak by the beginning of May 2009.

I have had a few people tell me that I will eventually get into marathoning. I'm not sure i will, I'm starting into the half marathon thing but with this knee thing I don't know if my body can handle it. Maybe i need to get into cross-training more. Its so much easier to XT when I am at school because the pool is right there and the big gym. I starting swimming this last spring because of B-rabbit and I really enjoy it. Its a totally different kind of exercise but I think it helps develop the whole body and lean muscle.