Blah

 

This is kinda what I’ve felt like the last couple of runs…. blah. Right now, if I had to base the outcome of a half on the past week, the prognosis would NOT be good. I know that getting started again on a regular running schedule takes some acclimation, so I’ve giving myself a break and not feeling too bad, but I do hope things improve. I just completed day 2 of week 3, so that means I’ve almost been back on this pony a month…not too shabby. I’m hoping that the cooler weather that’s coming our way will help with the way I’m feeling on runs too. This morning it was incredibly humid and it felt like I was breathing in water, but Nike+ said my pace was 15 seconds faster than my three previous runs, so I’ll take it.

I still haven’t registered for the the Miracle Match yet. I’m waiting on the “okay” from the spouse. Not money wise or anything, but he’s entertaining the idea of attending a conference that he knows he won’t attend, but until he’s worked all that out in his head I told him I’d wait. If you understood all of that you win a cookie.

Other than that, life is pretty status quo. Nothing major to complain about, and everything to be thankful for! I have enjoyed reading various accounts of the Hood to Coast event on other runners blogs. I’m not sure I’d ever be up to that, but it makes for interesting reading.

Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

Feeling Good

 

Morning Run

I’ve just started the 3rd week of the C25K program, and am feeling good. The mornings, here in Texas, have finally started to cool down and getting out an running has been a pleasure (temp wise). I’m hoping that is a trend of weather to come…we’ll see. It is TEXAS after all. The shot above is one from my iphone, shot sometime last week.

I’m contemplating registering again for the Miracle Match Half. This is the same Half that kicked off this whole crazy adventure in my life. It will be Jan. 27th in Waco, so I have plenty of time to get ready, and I’ve decided, if I run it, I would do so only for fun. No A, B or C goals. No goal times. No nothing. Simply to run and have a good time on the course. Having run it before, I know what to expect (hill wise) and when to expect it. And I believe I can finish in a better place, physically AND mentally, than last time.

I’ve made no firm decisions YET, but hope to in the near future. It would be fun to have something to “work” toward with my running again….at least for a little while.

Besides all of this, I’ve been OBSESSED with my iPhone and Instagram (and all the camera/ photo editing apps I have on it). Here are just a few of my favorite shots, all shot and edited with my iPhone 4:

Some old Coke bottles at a local antique store

my nephew at the park

some old roller skates my son picked up at Canton

my daughter working on an art project

a SWEET old Thunderbird

my son spray-painting at Cadillac Ranch

Have a GREAT day!

Back to the Basics

Well, it’s been a while! I’ve been running on and off, but if I had to be completely honest it’s been more off than on…..but oh well. Also, tbh (I learned that little gem from my daughter) I haven’t felt like running for a while. So I set it aside for a bit.
But yesterday I went out for a run. It was good, and i think I’m ready for some more.
Yesterday, whilst perusing apps, I came across the C25K app. Since it was free, I decided to download it and give it a whirl. Now, I haven’t lost that much fitness, but I figured what could it hurt to go back to basics and in the long run (get it?) it could help me.
The app tells me when to walk and when to run, and slowly builds up your endurance, and I think that’s what I was missing the first time around.
Today was the first day and during the run portion I was able to maintain a 9:15 pace….of course were talking about a whole minute of running. But I hopeful that as I follow the program I can maintain this for longer periods of time, we shall see.
Well that’s it for now, I’m sure I keep you update very now and again. For now I will leave you will a random picture from my iPhone. I’ve had WAY to much fun with this thing (I wrote and posted this entry from it).

Cake Chase 5k

The gang (Phil and Sarah behind the camera)

Jude’s first 5k!

My kids and me! Rach did the 1 mile walk. Yes, I am now the shortest one in my family.

Jude and I coming in for the finish.

Across the finish line: 32:23 (10:22 pace). I’ll take it!

Running Feet

So, I thought I’d blog today. I enjoy adding a photo that goes along with whatever is in my head, so today I Googled “running feet”. Among the many images that were returned, this was one them. This is often how I feel I look like when I’m out there running…um… AMUSING, to say the least. You’ve seen the “This is what I think I look like”, “This is what I really look like” pics, right? If not, I’ll add it, so you know what I’m talking about:

That’s me, on the bottom… although, I don’t think I’m that cute.

 I’m glad any one can run, and it’s not based on how cool you look… I’d be out (I’m going by my race day photos here… all of which are pretty dorky).

Moving on to other things, my right butt-string (that would be my butt and hamstring combined) is hurting today. Nothing major or serious… just “from a good work out” kind of hurt. I’ve been focusing on my pace and it’s been improving, so I guess butt pain can be expected. Yes, running has become a pain in my butt. (I crack myself up.)

Today I was able to do some speed intervals outside on a soft, drizzly day. It was good and just a little different than on the treadmill, but I was happy with how I did. These are my splits from my Nike+ band:

The last mile was done at a relaxed pace…. WHAT?! that used to be my faster pace! YAY!

Next Saturday I’m running a 5k and I really hope to see a massive improvement on my time, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m sure I’ll post how I did.. and I know you can’t wait.

Hope this weekend is full of fun things!

All Hot and Sweaty

3.1 miles 32:08

That sounds like the title to a bad song, sorry about that. Well, I did my run for the Jelly Bean Virtual Race! I chose to run a 5k (since I have one that I’m getting ready for at the end of April) and finished in 32:08 for an overall pace of 10:22. MUCH closer to what I would like my “regular” pace to become! WOO! I did, however, start out WAY to fast, and had to try to recoup during mile 2, so I need to work on that.

It was a nice day, on the cool side but very, very humid. We had some bad storms move through our area last night, so it cooled things off, but whew… you could cut the air with a knife (so cliche, I know…again, my apologies). Later the kids and I headed to the gym and I ran another 2 miles, bringing the total for the day to 5. I’ll take it.

I hope you all (all 2 readers… Mom and Beth) have a GREAT Easter weekend!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Yay!

This is my run from yesterday. I decided to throw some fartlek training into my schedule, so I warmed up a bit for 3 minutes and then did 6 1 minute intervals, then ran at the slower pace for 5 minutes, then a cool down. This run was…. AWESOME! I felt great through out the whole run, and finished 3 miles in UNDER 30 minutes! It doesn’t take me much to make me happy.

Here’s a shot of my splits. Technically Nike+ said I only ran 2.99 miles (when I transferred it to Daily Mile it said 2.99887 or some number like that… REALLY Nike+??), so my last split would be around 9:44. Today my legs feel fantastic and am not sore at all. This really makes me think I can do this speed increase thing! I looking forward to try my shoes on a longer run. Hopefully I can fit that in Wednesday or Friday.

Hope you all have a great Easter!

Faster?

Okay, so I’ve realized something. While I recognize I will probably never place in my age group (unless of course I’m still running when I’m 99 and there are only 2 other people in my category), I can run faster than what I’ve been telling myself I can run.  I think I’ve been phoning it in lately, and I’m not sure that I like that. It’s been two years since I’ve started this journey, and I think I’m finally ready to BAM, Kick it up a Notch (but just so we’re clear.. NOT a Carl Lewis notch).

To help with this endeavor I purchased some new shoes:

After much research I went with Asics Gel-Neo 33. They are more along the minimal line than my current shoes, but are still in the Stability category. I’ve run about 6 miles total in them so far and gotta say, I LOVE THEM. I think they encourage a mid-foot strike much more than my Kayanos, and they are much lighter to boot (8.5oz compared to 10.4). Both runs were around 3 miles and I averaged 10:54 on Friday  and 10:13 today. While this isn’t jaw dropping, it is much faster than I usually run. I wasn’t sure how much I’d like the black, but it’s growing on me….plus it was my only color option. During and after my legs felt fantastic. I did feel a little more “tiredness” (for lack of a better description)  in the ball area of my foot, but I think that could be due to the whole mid-foot strike thing. The next day, my legs still felt great. So I’m taking that as a good sign. I’ve yet to wear them on a longer run, but will do so soon.

I’m running a 5k in April, and my goal is to train to feel comfortable at a 10:00  to 10:15 avg. pace. I’m also thinking about signing up for Longview’s Alley Fest 10k in May and seeing if I can PR. My overall goal is to have a faster “base” when I start training for the Tyler Rose Half in June (the half is in October). We shall see how all this goes.

In the end, my running has to be fun or I won’t do it. But at the same time I think I can give more than what I’m giving. I like the idea of pushing myself a little bit further (every 2 years isn’t too bad).

 

Happy Running (or whatever makes you happy)!

 

Oh, The Runs!

NO… not those kinds of runs…. these are FUN runs!

The Jelly Bean Virtual Race

The first one is a virtual 5-10k hosted by Jess. She lives in Peoria, which is right next to where my family lives. While I can’t be in Peoria to run with her, I will be running here in texas. Check out the link (her name) to get involved in this fun race. (it’s a super cute race bib!!)

 

Tyler Azalea 10k

Then there’s the Tyler Azalea 10k coming up THIS month! This is such a GREAT course through the Historic Azalea district of Tyler. The flowers are in full bloom and just beautiful. If you are in the area, you definitely need to check this run out. I ran it last year, and think I’m going to make it a tradition!

Kilgore’s Cake Chase

The last one, is the first annual Kilgore Historic Society Cake Chase. I’m automatically IN for anything to do with free cake! My son is thinking of doing this one with me. YAY! I haven’t checked out the course yet, but it sounds like it’s pretty much in my neighborhood (literally). And, well, like I said earlier… there is free cake. What more needs to be said?

Alpine Heart and Sole

I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to have the time to squeeze this run in as well. I did it last year, with my friend Pamela, and had a great time. For right now, it’s at the back of my brain.

Hope you have a GREAT week!!

It’s Friday!

Yes! I’m a winner!

I’ve been following this site for a while on Twitter, and had been thinking I needed to get over there and get involved but just never did. This past weekend they were having a contest and were giving away two Road ID eCards to the first two people to create a new account and post a new topic. Well, what more motivation did I need? I have been needing a new Road ID (my old one is pretty nasty) and I had been meaning to sign up anyway, so that’s what I did. And guess what…. I was one of the winners! They actually ended up giving away three because I tied with another person in setting up the second new account, that’s pretty cool.

I went with a new Slim Road ID in orange:

 I think anyone running, biking, hiking whatever should invest in some kind of ID product. It’s just a good idea. Thanks again, Twentysixtwo and Road ID!!

Tomorrow is the Virtual Run for Sherry spearheaded by Beth over at SUAR. I’m not going to be able to run on Saturday (rehearsal schedule interferes), but will be doing it Sunday. No family should have to go through what Sherry’s has. If you want to, head over and print out a bib and run, walk or bike in her memory. I know it will mean a lot even though the family doesn’t know you.

 

Hope you have a great weekend!