5 Miler

I'm totally stoked! Ran 5 miles last night without stopping! The first couple miles were a bit of a struggle, but after that I found my groove and had a fantastic run. In fact when I was almost home, I was thinking what it would feel like to run another mile. How funny is that??? I was a little tired, but felt very confident that I could have run an extra half mile if I had to last night. That is just so exciting to be able to accomplish a milestone like 5 miles and still have some left in the tank!

I'm kinda thinking my runs in December should be 3 mile, 3 mile, then 5 mile for each week. We'll see how that goes for a couple of weeks and then increase the long run to see if I can get to 6 by the end of the year. That would be an excellent base to start training from in January, when I start my half marathon training.

Turkey Coma

I survived the Turkey Trot this morning! But now I am ready to slip into a coma after the massive energy exertion followed by huge lunch.

I'm extremely pleased with how it went this morning. First, we had a couple of sprinkles of rain during the race, but managed to miss any really bad weather which was a huge relief. It was pretty nippy this morning after the torrential downpour we had last night. But perfect for running a race! We were bottlenecked at the beginning which actually helped me from going too fast at the start as I usually tend to do. I was able to keep a really nice, slow, steady pace throughout the entire race. Pace was 11:16 mile so just over what I did in the last 5K. But I was able to run the entire course, stopping only briefly at the water station at the half way point. I had enough left in the tank to speed up the last 1/2 mile, and then sprint to the finish. I thought a realistic time would be 55 minutes but thought how great would it be to get in closer to 50. So my actual finish time was 50:43 and I couldn't be more thrilled.

I thought this was really good for my first time out especially since I had only run 4 miles in training and the course today was 4.5, my longest distance to date. I could totally run 5 miles!

Next Up: I am going to continue to build my base mileage and then start training for the half marathon in mid January. 5 months to reach 13.1 miles-- no problem! :)

Turkey Trot tomorrow!

Okay, so I've been really slacking off this week. I could give a bunch of reasons (excuses) but I guess it wouldn't matter. This just means I will be very well rested for tomorrow's turkey run!

The weather forecast is now saying it will be 37 with windchill of 28 around the time the race starts. It looks like we will miss the snow but it's coming later in the day. I was mostly concerned it might rain which would totally bite! But this weather will be perfect because it's what I've been training in the last couple of weeks. Chilly!

I'm getting very nervous & excited! I think about 4-5,000 people have signed up so it should be a good time. I would love to finish in 50 minutes but I think realistically, I will probably wind up around 55.

Brrr....

My pedometer was not working right this morning. Rather frustrating because I didn't have a clear course laid out for my run, just a general idea of where I would go and about how far it was. So I guess that's a lesson learned to not depend on the pedometer!

So I ran 3.8, not 4 like I'd planned. I'm still really happy about that because it's still farther than i've gone before. I really felt strong, like I could have run forever this morning, so I'll definitely be ready for next week's race. One thing is that I really took it slow. This is the biggest challenge because I tend to get to the race and just run way too fast the first couple of miles (too excited!). So hopefully I can keep my wits about me and reign it in!

I gotta say, the cold wasn't too bad. (37 with windchill of 27) Coldest I've ever run in, but I think I handled it pretty well. I did wear ear muff thingies which definitely helped. My legs were the only thing that bothered me, so I gotta look into getting some thermal running tights!

p.s. Ankle is holding up beautifully!

4 miles?

Well, tomorrow is the big test! I am running 4 miles which is farther than (further than?) I have ever run. I'm actually kind of excited about it! Looks like tomorrow's forecast is mostly cloudy and 37. Nice & cool! Hopefully I'll miss the rain showers.

I'm a wimp!

Well, this morning I really wanted to run outside but it was lightening and pouring rain so again I was stuck on the treadmill. Last night I knew there was a chance of rain, but I thought if it was just sprinkling I would go out anyway. But, so sorry, an actual pouring thunderstorm is a little beyond what common sense will allow me to do. So, I won't run at night and I won't run in a thunderstorm... What a wimp! Wow, I'm going to be hurtin' for certain when winter gets here.

I told my mom that I had heard the optimum temp for running long distance is 41 degrees. I'm not sure who said this or if it's even correct, but it seems to make a lot of sense to me. I think the cooler the better, but then again I have never run when it's 20 out. Anyway, she thought that 41 sounded way too cold for running. Kinda funny! People are starting to look at me like I'm a little crazy! Wait til it's 30 out and she hears I went for a run!

Night Running? No Way, Jose!

I haven't run or done anything at all the last 2 days, so I felt like a total slug today! Ankle is still a little funky, but today my running buddy said, "oh, go run you big wimp!" which made me laugh. So I took her advice and went for it tonight. I was finishing up some work and kinda let the day slip away, and since we've gone to daylight savings it got dark before I realized it!

So I was stuck on the "dreadmill". Sorry, but I just can't bring myself to run at night. Maybe in the summer?? But it just looked cold & cloudy so I wimped out and opted for the treadmill instead. Good news is, I ran the entire 3 miles without stopping at all. woo hoo, go me!

Definitely icing the ankle tonight. Definitely popping the Advil. Definitely not running the next 2 days. But hey, I got my mileage in this week, and I'm all set for my "long run" next week which will be 4 miles. gulp.

Ankle Woes

I'm sorry to report that after running 2 miles on the treadmill last night, my ankle has decided to start hurting again. Why this is happening now, I have no clue. It had been feeling really good, but the previous 2 runs were 3 milers and those went pretty smooth. But I will ice it today and not run for a couple of days to see if that helps. I had really planned on another 3 miler on Friday, but I'll have to wait & see how it's feeling. Just over 2 weeks until the next race, so not exactly good timing!

GO COLTS!

okay, really quick post before the Colts beat the pants off the Patriots... haha

I had a really great run this morning. It was cool (low 40's) and a little windy but got in 3 strong fast miles, and I'm feeling fabulous! Okay, okay. So for most runners, I wasn't quick. But for me, I was quick.

Anyway, I am feeling much better about the Thanksgiving run and feel like I will definitely be ready for it. The thought of doing the mini marathon is still freaking me out a little, but I will get over it.

I saw a really cool special on Nova where they took 13 people who were not working out at all, and in 9-10 months they trained for and completed the Boston Marathon. So listen, if these couch potatoes can do a marathon in 9 months, I can do a half marathon in 6 months. Right? Okay, and I'll admit at the end of the show I cried as they crossed the finish line. Is that silly or what? I guess I could just really relate to their struggles, and I know what an amazing accomplishment it is for someone who never thought of themselves as a "runner".

The Colts game is on and I'm missing it because I'm getting all sappy! GO COLTS!

I did it!

I did it! I just signed up for my first ever mini marathon (that's 13.1 miles for you non-runners). Wow, all of the sudden I'm a little freaked out! The good news is, I have plenty of time to train. The bad news is, it's 13.1 miles! Holy Crap! What have I gotten myself into?

First things first! I have to get ready for the "turkey trot" aka Drumstick Dash coming up in 3 weeks so I gotta work up to 5 miles first! I think I'll run 3 miles tomorrow morning.

*sigh* What am I thinking?!?!?!