changing my blog

I'm changing my blog because I thought it was weird to have one that was titled kristenweber when that isn't my name anymore :) The new one is http://eyesontheprizekb.blogspot.com/

You'll notice it's quite similar..just a different name. That was my attempt at being kind of creative :)

11/19 gym time

Went back to Gold's today for the first time in awhile. I really wanted to run with the train this morning but I knew that wasn't the smartest thing. So I tried the whole "listening" to my body thing and decided to go spinning instead. My legs felt a lot better afterwards. I haven't been as sore as I thought I would be, but felt tightness in my quads and hips. After the spinning class most of that has gone away. I also did some core work and stretching which needs to become a more regular thing for me.

pluses: dinner and a massage with Laura!

minuses: staff mtg

11/16 Race Report

So I figured I should write this today while many of the details are still fresh. Once we got to SA yesterday things just seemed to fall in to place...I got to eat at my favorite Italian restuarant without a wait which was a huge suprise. I called for reservations but they were booked, and when we got there they had 1 table left! Woo hoo. So once some things started to fall in to place, I started to feel more confident. I got a decent nights sleep (slept well until 3am which was better than expected). Steve picked up my mom and I this morning at the hotel and Brian and his mom, Robin, were following behind. I was a bit late to my corral, but right when I walked in the corral I saw Ron, Larry, and Angie. What a relief! I knew I'd have a better shot at staying controlled early if I went out with Larry and Ron who were dead set on 3:15 pace. The race started fine. My legs were a little stiff but I think it was due to the short shorts and cold weather :) I started out the first 5k right on 3:15 pace. It took about that long for my legs to feel like they were working again. We started to get a little quicker...and in the next three miles dropped the pace about 3 seconds a mile...no big deail. At mile 10 I wanted to still be at 3:15 pace...but we were a little closer to 3:12:30. Ron had to stop for a bathroom break so I started to pull away a little bit. I felt really controlled and started focusing on the 3:12:30 paceband. I figured if I stayed right on that until 16-18, then I'd have a good shot at meeting my goal (3:10) by the end of the race. So far on the course I'd seen Brian, Robin, Tim, my Mom, Steve, Foho, Dee, Roger, Julia, John, Laura...so lots of support. It was great. I was smiling the whole way! Around 16 miles I realized I was actually under 3:12:30 pace but I still felt good. At 18 miles I had a bit of a dip in the run, just was feeling a little tired. I was debating if I should try to go for the 3:10...I had yet to look at my 3:10 pace band because I didn't want to chase that too early. I finally looked down and realized I was 60 seconds off of 3:10 pace. I decided I'd go for it and at that time I threw off the 3:12:30 band...it was kind of a mental way of telling myself there was NO looking back. At mile 19 I was only 45 seconds slow for 3:10 pace so I knew this was a good sign. I saw Steve here and told him where I was at and he told me to keep going and I'd run them down. With some renewed confident, I took that to heart and started pushing a bit more. I'm not really sure how this happened, but by mile 22 I was alread 1 minute AHEAD of 3:10 pace. I never saw the pace group so I was kind of confused on how this happened, but I figured I'd take it :) Then I just had to bring it home. Brian, Robin, and Tim were all riding with me on the course on their bikes. I started getting a bad side stitch at 24 and kept thinking about how I needed the Train. Right about then Brian rode up on my left, Tim on my right, and Robin right behind me. It was like I had my own escort and it was a HUGE help. At mile 25 I took my watch off and gave it to Tim and just told him to get me there. I kept looking down at it like every 30 seconds which was not helping time go by quickly. So they rode me in to the chute and I crossed the line with clock time of 3:09:32. I was hoping this meant I broke 3:09 but either way I knew I nailed my A goal. I was so happy! Later I found out my actual finish time was 3:08:47 and I placed 2nd in my age group and 16th overall for the women. Not bad :) Some random pace breakdowns from the website are below:
first 5k: 7:26
from 5k to 6.1 miles: 7:23
from 6.1 to 10m: 7:12
from 10m to 13.1m: 7:15
from 13.1m to 17:m 7:02 THIS MADE THE DIFFERENCE!
from 17m to 20m: 7:15
from 20m to 24m: 7:10
last 2.2 miles: 6:48

BOOM!

Looking back I learned A LOT from this race. First of all, I learned that marathons are more fun when you train :) Something I missed out on my last few go arounds. The next thing I learned is that I am good at closing on a race. Steve told me if I went out at 3:10 pace there wasn't any way I'd meet my goal but I HAD to run negative. That is something I was really bad at in college so I was a little bit nervous and I really didn't beleive him that I could make up 5 minutes in the last part of the race. I'm glad I trusted his plan...cause he was right! I also learned that running with friends makes a huge difference. I have a lot more confidence than before because I really doubted the 3:10 goal. My previous PR was in Austin 2007 at a 3:29:52 and the last marathon I ran was around a 3:42 in Boston. I also learned some things I could do to help me out more next time around. First of all...I HAVE to add weight training and core to my regime. My back has been bothering me a lot lately and today wasn't much different. I didn't notice it during the race, but it's not feeling too good now. That and I need to be more consistent with my long runs early in the training period.

So while today was a HUGE success, I look at it as a new beginning. It is a learning experience and something that I will grow from. I am happy now but am already contemplating the next goal that lies ahead.

pluses: race high, no more distractions before wedding

minuses: moving tomorrow and still have a paper due :(

11/13 easy 7

Great run today. We took off from Rogue and went down to the lake. Angie and I ran out for 25 minutes and then turned around and headed back. It went by really fast...which was a great sign. Angie and I talked about the race for most of the run, and then just like that we were done. I'm feeling good. Confident, focused, and good :)

pluses: ruth has an extra pair of shorts for me!!!

minuses: meetings all day

11/12 25 min easy

The main point of the run today was to wear my racing shorts for the first time. I'm not going to lie, they're definitely not my favorite shorts...but oh well. My favorite shorts are old mesh-like cross country shorts that I got from Trinity. I'd like to wear them this weekend...but I'm not sure the maroon would go too well with the rogue top. My legs felt fine today and I tried to ingore any phantom pain I may have in my back :) I am really ready to get this marathon checked off of my list. I want to run well, and fast...but more than that I want to start the new training cycle and improve on the things I know I lacked this last time around. I know I'll need to be consistent with weights, core, yoga, etc...all things that I completely let go about 2 months ago. Life is hectic...but in the next two weeks, hopefully some of the craziness will die down.

pluses: no Bible study tonight so i have time to pack up my room

minuses: shorts suck

11/11 quality

Today we did 3x 2k at critical velocity pace. I ran the first one, and felt ok. My back has been really tight in the morning...but that may just be mental. I feel like I'm looking for something to go wrong before the race. I spent a few minutes talking to Steve after the first rep...so I missed running with the train on the next two repeats. The next repeat was about 10 seconds fast and I didn't start my watch on the third one. I loosened up and felt fine. I just need to block out all of the other craziness that is going on and really focus on the race!

pluses: productive at work

minuses: another paper coming up

11/10 easy run

I ran about 4 miles today just to make sure my legs still worked. My goal was to get in a least one run on the retreat over the weekend, but that didn't really happen. The good news is my legs felt fine when I ran today. I want to run just a little bit each day so my legs don't start to feel too heavy. I'm ready to race.

pluses: retreat went well and is over...get to focus on marathon

minuses: packing and organizing isn't fun

11/7 long run (not really long anymore!)

Today was the last "long run" before the marathon. I went around 12 miles from Barton Springs, around the lake, and back. It was a really nice and easy run. I went with my friend Tim. We had great conversation, great weather...couldn't have asked for a better run. I think it was nice that this felt so easy. It was a good reminder that I really may be ready for the race next weekend!

pluses: trip to Red Bud Isle with Brian, Mason, and Bailey

minuses: ate way too much tonight

11/6 tempo

Today was a 2 mile warm up, 4 mile tempo, and about a mile cool down. The tempo was a little tricky because the ground was slippery. I felt like I was having to give a bit more effort than usual. I would guess I was around 6:35 pace. It did take a bit of time to loosen up but all in all I felt fine. I took yesterday off because I was pretty much busy all day with getting ready for things for the retreat. I'm looking forward to the weekend being over so I can really focus on the race. Obviously it's in the back of my mind all of the time...but I can't really make it a focus right now.

pluses: first thursday happy hour and shower with work friends

minuses: still a lot to do for the retreat

11/4 20 x 200m

Today we ran over to the east side track to do 20 200m repeats with a 100m diagonal recovery jog. My legs felt really good. We were supposed to be going 5k pace but I did each of mine more like a build/stride. I love running fast. So on a workout like this, it feels great to open up my stride and just run. I felt comfortable the whole time and was glad that my legs felt much stronger than yesterday.

pluses: new blinds at the house

minuses: have to listen to the class i missed last week, and go to class too

11/3 easy run

Today was my first day back running after my two slacker days over the weekend. I thought about going for an easy jog on Saturday or Sunday, but just never got around to it. I was in the middle of the hill country hunting...and that seemed more enjoyable than running :) I think it was smart to take the two days off though. After last week my body was feeling pretty beat up. The race is still 13 days away, but I did not like the direction things were heading. I was feeling worse than I had in awhile, but I think taking the weekend off was a huge help. I felt fine on my run today. I took my usual 5 mile loop through my neighborhood. My legs were a little lethargic but that was kind of expected. I didn't have any aches and pains, so that is a good sign. I'm looking forward to the upcoming week of running...which means the break was worth it!!

pluses: time to hang out w/ Brian today

minuses: lots of little details to take care of in the next three weeks

10/31 long run

I met up with a friday long run group today to run 16-18 miles, closing at mgp. I think we ended up closer to 16, but I was ok with that. We ran from Jack and Adams to the 10 mile loop on the trail, but then cut off under the scary tunnel by the dam and ran that back part of the trail. Mandy's GPS had us at about 15 when we parted ways. Angie and I were supposed to close the last 6 miles, but it probably ended up being closer to 4.

I was pretty worn out today from the workout yesterday. The closing part actually didn't feel bad, it just felt like the rest of the run was really dragging on slowly. Good company and conversation, but really heavy legs. I went for a massage at 11am and that was probably a smart choice. My left calf muscle was pretty knotted up...and having that worked on was a less than pleasant experience. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow but I'm hoping my legs start to feel like they're ready to race within the next 16 days!

pluses: going to Mason today to go hunting

minuses: not enough sleep this week

10/30 The Burn

The goal was 40 laps on the track alternating mgp pace and 10k pace. If we were 2.99 seconds slow or 2.99 seconds fast on any of the laps, you're done. I'm pretty sure Steve's words were "If your slow, I'm pulling you off the track. If you're fast, I'll pull you off the track and shoot you." And he said he didn't want to motivate us...

I started the run pretty sore. My shins, calfs, and ankles are still feeling kind of beat up from the hill running. I really appreciated the opportunity to run on the track instead of pavement. I knew we'd be successful as a group because no one wanted to fail. The "train" has really turned into a strong team...and it's great to be a part of. Whenever I felt like quitting, I knew there'd be one other person in our group that was feeling strong and could carry us. Sometimes I was the strong person, and sometimes I was the one being carried.

Are splits are as follows (and yes, I did steal these from Mike. I wore a watch, but, uh, had some problem with it).

MGP ... 10K1
1--1:48 ... 1:38
2--1:47 ... 1:35
3--1:43 ... 1:35
4--1:44 ... 1:37
5-- 1:43 ... 1:37
6-- 1:45 ... 1:38
7-- 1:45 ... 1:37
8-- 1:45 ... 1:37
9-- 1:44 ... 1:38
10- 1:45 ... 1:38
11- 1:45 ... 1:37
12- 1:44 ... 1:37
13- 1:46 ... 1:37
14- 1:45 ... 1:37
15- 1:46 ... 1:37
16- 1:46 ... 1:37
17- 1:46 ... 1:37
18- 1:47 ... 1:34
19- 1:45 ... 1:36
20- 1:46 ... 1:36
total:
35:13 ... 32:23
7:02Pace ... 6:28Pace

Feeling great about the workout...but need to get myself in gear for the long run tomorrow. 16-18, closing the last 6. It doesn't sound hard at all...but I know my body is tired and sore.

pluses: new sunglasses

minuses: sick of spending time in my car

10/29 recovery run

Today I did the 7 mile loop at town lake. My ankles, shins, and feet are feeling really stiff from all of the pounding on the concrete downhills yesterday. I started to notice that a bit on the long run on Saturday. Yesterday just seemed to make things worse. It felt good to run on the trail today. I went a little under 8 min pace and feel like I got a good recovery. Looking forward to the burn tomorrow...

pluses: feeling positive about racing

minuses: feeling torn about big decisions

10/28 Stratford Loops

Today was pretty interesting. I started out the run with a pretty negative attitude. I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't feeling it. I think I am still in recovery mode from yesterday, where I did a whole lot of nothing. I had a pretty slow warm-up and then almost immediately got dropped by the 3:10 train on the first loop up the hills. That's when I started getting really down on myself. We recovered on red bud, mostly steep downhills. Then we hit tempo pace on Lake Austin. Actually, it was way faster than tempo pace. Geezer told me he was trying to drop me the whole time...and I was trying to hang on. We ended up at 6:31 pace. On the second round of hills I was a lot more positive. It felt easier. I was running by myself so I wasn't thinking about who was behind me or ahead of me...which was nice. I just kind of hit a nice stride, and stopped thinking. That seemed to solve the problem with the negative mind-set. On the second tempo I spotted Ramon so decided to try and catch up to him. I caught him towards the end of Lake Austin. I'm not sure what my pace was, but it felt like 10k pace, but felt good.

So although things didn't start out well, I think I ended things on a positive note. Now I just need to keep that positive thinking going for the next 3 weeks. I see the light at the end of the tunnel!

pluses: great weather

minuses: teens stink at turning in paperwork

10/26 pumpkin run

I went to help out at the pumpkin run this morning...and was very thankful that I didn't have to do the 7 or 10 mile run :) My legs are really feeling that back to back quality workouts on Thursday and Friday and then the long run yesterday. I ran an easy 4-5 with the pumpkin run crew and was glad to call it a day. I think I'm going to take tomorrow off. I don't have to work...so I'm envisioning a day with a lot of rest. My body feels tired and I'm a little overwhelmed with wedding stuff, etc. I'm looking forward to the much needed recovery and I'm hoping that puts me back on track for the rest of the week!

pluses: easy night at church

minuses: too much to do and not enough time to do it in

10/25 mgp long run

Today's run was meant to help me determine whether I'd go out at 3:15 pace or 3:10 pace in SA in three weeks. Unfortunately, I don't think I have my answer. My goal was to run right on 3:10 pace (7:15 a mile) and see how that felt. If things felt good, then my plan was to go out at that pace for SA. I ran with the "3:10 train", but somehow we turned into something closer to the 3:06 train. I'm waiting for some splits from Bruce to see what they really were. Every mile was about 5-10 seconds fast, with the exception of mile 5 on the loop (uphill). We did a 5 mile loops x 3 with about a two minute rest between each set. The rest was a nice time for lactic acid to build up before we started running again. After looking back on the run I'd say it was kind of up and down. Sometimes things felt pretty easy, other times I felt myself fading. I'm not sure where this leaves me as far as the marathon. Yes, the run was a bit harder then I'd like for it to have felt, but there was more than one factor affecting how I felt. First, I ran back to back quality workouts on Thursday and Friday. Second, I've only had 10 hours of sleep combined in the past two days. Next, I went to bed at 1am and had a few more drinks than I should have...and lastly, we were running faster than 3:10. So in a way I think all of those sounds like excuses, but when I think about it, those are all things to consider when figuring out my goal. Hopefully some office hours on Tuesday will help me decide...

10/24 CV, again

Being a good friend won out over being a smart runner today :) Angie missed the workout yesterday and was looking for someone to run it with her this morning. My legs feel totally recovered, so I figured why not. We were shooting for 1:45s per a quarter. We weren't totally consistent...but that probably ended up being our average. We started at Jack and Adams and ran to the Austin High track (about 14 min warmup) and took the long way back (20 min). I felt good. I was a little worried about feeling tired by the end of the workout but fatigue never set in. I'm going to aqua-jog this afternoon and hopefully that'll get the legs ready for tomorrow's long run!

pluses: corey morrow concert tonight, weekend!

minuses: can't find my cell phone

10/23 quality workout

I loved today's work out. We did 4 x 2k at critical velocity pace (15k pace). I didn't time anything, because I figured Bruce and/or Mike would do that. I ran with Mike basically the whole time, so I'll just copy and post his splits:
1.38
1.41
1.38
1.37
1.38
-- 1.15 rest
1.33
1.37
1.37
1.37
1.36
-- 2.0 rest (water was far)
1.34
1.39
1.37
1.35
1.37
-- 1.15 rest
1.35
1.36
1.38
1.38
1.35

I think I was a little faster on the last set because Damon and I pulled a way a bit. I felt great. I definitely could've kept going. The weather was nice and all in all, it was a good day!

pluses: lunch w/ a good friend

minuses: stepped on glass

10/22 recovery

Easy 4 with Brian this morning. Nice weather, nice company.

pluses: getting married in 1 month

minuses: drove like 200 miles and didn't really go anywhere

10/21 short/medium long run

I ran 9.4 miles around my neighborhood today. It was nice to sleep in a couple of hours later than usual. I decided I'd run for 75 minutes and then when I got back to my house I put my course in to mapmyrun and it told me I ended up with 9.4. I felt really good on the run. The weather was good and my attitude was a bit better than it has been the past few days. I think I've gotten over being frustrated with myself for a poor mental performance on Sunday. I'm getting really excited about the marathon and I feel like every run I do by myself ends up being a visualization exercise of race day.

pluses: finished my paper...yesss!

minuses: my desk is a mess

10/19 IBM 10k

Inconsistent is the word of the day for my race. All in all, I can't be upset with the end result, but I know I did not run smart or tough. My first mile I went out at a 6:17 which was a bit faster than the plan, but not too bad. Steve said before the race that this should feel hard because we haven't been training for too much speed. So in the 2nd mile when I was feeling good, I figured that meant I wasn't pushing hard enough because I thought it would feel harder...so the 2nd mile ended up being a 6:08. Not really a good idea for the first third of a 10k, considering my original plan was to go out at 6:30s. So the next split ended up being inaccurate because I hit my watch at the 5k marker...so my 6:47 was really for 1.1 miles. If you convert that to miles/min it is about a 6:10. So for the first 5k I was about 15-20 seconds faster than I was planning. The fourth mile I was a headcase because I thought my previous mile had been really slow...I ended up not slowing down too much, running at 6:20 pace for the 4th mile. The 5th mile was the same pace...but much harder. I had people passing me instead of gaining momentum. Jason ran by me and told me this was where the race started...and another woman passed me who I wanted to run with, but I was just feeling really defeated. I also started feeling kind of light-headed...most likely b/c I didn't eat before the race, bad choice. The last mile avg out to about 6:40 pace...so that is where the mental toughness completely lacked. I really don't think there was any excuse for running my last mile 20 slower than I ran on the track at the soul buster II last weekend. That kind of ticks me of in retrospect b/c I know I was capable of a better performance. I want to train myself to actually run even/negative splits, but I still have a lot to learn. I did place 1st in my age group which was nice. I'm pumped I got $50 to Rogue as a prize as opposed to the 2nd place jump-drive :) Lots of running things on my mind...ok with where I'm at now, but I am curious and uncertain about how far the bar needs to be raised.

pluses: gift card, REALLY succesful youth night...about 400 kids from 4 churches...yes!

minuses: tired, really really tired

10/18 not so long run

We left from Rogue and did the 7 mile loop. It felt fine...I just wasn't in the running mood. Usually when I feel stressed out, running helps...but yesterday was just one of those days where I knew I had stuff all day and I could've used the time I was running to be productive with my paper I'm supposed to be finishing up. I should've run another couple of miles...but I was in a rush to get to a middle school youth rally. I have know idea what the pace was. It felt comfortable and I was trying to save my legs for the 10k.

pluses: ut game was a lot of fun, ms rally was a success

minuses: way behind on paper

10/16 4 mile tempo

Steve mentioned last week that we may not realize how tired we were until we tried the tempo today. I was pleasantly surprised. My legs felt pretty good and I was faster than hmpg...not sure how much, but Bruce said him and Keith were a little fast and I was a bit ahead of them. It was windy on the first mile, then hilly, but I felt good and things were clicking. My mileage has been low this week (only at 26) so I feel like I should run tomorrow. This weekend should bring about 22 miles total which will put my at 48. I guess that's not too low. I have been hitting about mid-high 50s each week. Maybe I'll take it off and just push hard at the 10k on Sunday.

pluses: took a two hour nap after the run, feels great out

minuses: still have to write a paper

10/15 recovery run

Today was supposed to be a medium long run, but I whimped out and made it a recovery run. The main reason was that my body needed sleep. If I wanted to get in the whole 12 miles, I would've had to get up earlier than I wanted to. I finally got up, only to realize it was pouring out. I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill (another reason a medium long run was NOT going to happen). I ran 7 miles on the treadmill and then called it a day. It's weird that was almost as mentally hard as anything we've done on the track so far. I hate treamills.

Pluses: first teen Bible study went well, get to go to UT game this weekend!

Minuses: friend upset at work today, have to write a paper

10/14 speed day

The workout for today was 20x 200 at 5k pace at the east side track. We were supposed to go until we felt tired, so if we didn't make 20, no big deal. The recovery was 100 diagonal across the field back to the start. I treated these more as strides rather than worrying about a particular pace. I wanted each one to feel smooth. I was running faster than 5k pace, but as long as my stride felt good I was ok with that. I ran the first 15 with no problems. Then I was feeling a little tired so I grabbed some water, and finished with the group. I think I ended up with 19. I felt good, but the cool down was a bit of a struggle.

pluses: rogue people are coming to the SA marathon!

minuses: skipped class...but in a way that is a plus

10/13 recovery run

This is the run I should've done yesterday...but didn't find the time to do. I did an easy five. My stomach felt like crap, but my legs weren't too bad. They were a little stiff to start, as I was expecting. I am still feeling pretty positive and I'm looking forward to the remaining weeks of training before the marathon. Track work tomorrow...yesss. Steve made one comment in office hours today about how I should've run track in hs/college. I never did because I was always playing softball and aau basketball. In high school, I just ran the 1600m and 3200m because we didn't have anyone else to run them. I didn't train all season, and just ran the races in districts and regionals. Obviously, I wasn't in shape for them...so I really never knew if I had any potential. In college, we had a decent distance team and I was really focused on softball so I didn't even consider track. Of course, looking back, we often have questions about how things would've been if we'd made different choices. I really wonder what kind of track athlete I would have made. I guess I won't know...but I do know I had a lot of fun playing softball and made some really great friends and memories. I remember my senior year of high school the track/xc coach from Sam Houston called the house to offer me a full ride...I didn't even want to talk to him because all I wanted to do was play basketball in college. Then, as it turned out...I played bball for half of my collegiate carreer and ending up way more focused on softball...obviously I had some trouble making up my mind :) But who knows...maybe I wouldn't enjoy running as much as I do know if I had completely focused on it all through out college. I guess I've missed my opportunity to see what kind of track athlete I could have been, but I definitely don't want to miss the opportunity to see what kind of marathon runner I can be....

10/11 Soul Buster II

Nailed it! I've been so nervous about this run all week! Steve told us on Thursday he didn't think any of us could run 10k pace for the last two miles. I took it as a challenge, but was hesitant to voice that because I didn't know if I could back it up. I started out running less than most of my teammates...just going 16 to the track. Then on the track we did 2 miles at 7:15 pace. Nailed it. Then we did 2 miles at 6:48. Nailed it. Then comes 10k pace. I ran the first mile at 6:23 and the second at 6:18. I was really happy with the way things went. I was tired, but felt mentally focused the whole time we were on the track. Having Mike there talking crap about letting Sisson "break us" was really helpful. I was able to stay focused and run exactly what I wanted to. All in all, great day. I feel better about this workout than any of the other ones I've run in the program thus far.

pluses: it's 3:26 and OU still sucks, bachelorette party tonight

minsuses: need some sleep!

10/9 speed

We did the texas 10k at the east side track today. Again, I felt like I was taking the easy route as far as pacing. I just stayed right on the "3:10" train. We did 96 sec quarters for basically everything. We started the ladder with 6 400s, then did the 2 800s, 1 mile, 2 800s, and ended with 8 400s. I definitely felt like I could've kept going. The pace felt smooth and comfortable. I noticed I do like going a little slower on the recovery then the others I was running with...but it was easier to skip out on the slow recovery and run the repeats with them than to run by myself.

pluses: going to Mason for the day, lunch with grandparents tomorrow

minuses: tired

10/8 recovery run

Today I ran an easy five miles. It felt good to get some of the kinks out from the medium long run. The weather was amazing and I enjoyed the run.

pluses: no work on Thur and Fri

minuses: have to go to meetings all day

10/7 medium long run

Left from Barton Springs and ran 15 miles this morning. The run was a little tougher than I wanted to be...and it was not because Angie and I were pushing the pace. My legs were tired from the long run and long bike ride, but I guess that is expected. I was really glad we were doing the medium long run as a group because I know I'd have little motivation to do it by myself tomorrow. I've been trying to run them on Mondays, but yesterday was a much needed day of rest. I'm looking forward to the next two workouts, although I know they'll be a big challenge.

pluses: new running shoes, no cavities!
minuses: slept horribly last night, wedding details are annoying

10/4 & 10/5 MS 150

Wow. I survived the weekend! I was so worried about the 25 miler and then 157 miles of biking. My body handled it a lot better than expected. The ride was a two day ride. We rode 97 the fist day, spent the night in Beville, then rode 60 today. My legs felt much better than expected. I really thought the whole 97 miles would be miserable...but I didn't have any problems with my legs being tired. The biggest issues were my neck and shoulders being really tight...most likely because I've only ridden my bike twice since the same ride last year. Today was tough because the wind was very strong heading in to the coast. The last part of the ride was the best. We rode over the huge bridge going into Corpus. It was really hard...but the whole time I was struggling up the bridge I was thinking about the people who have multiple sclerosis who suffer from much more pain than that every day. I'm feeling accomplished for getting through the last three days...and I'm exhausted. I'm bummed I missed the team meeting but I'm looking forward to meeting up with someone on the team to see what's in store for the last phase...

pluses: finished the ride, lots of time with Brian, great dinner at Trudy's
minuses: exhausted, lots to do in the week ahead

10/3 long run

Angie and I ran somewhere between 24 and 25 today. It felt really long, but overall I feel positive about the run. We started out a little faster than I wanted to and I felt like I hit a wall about 9-12 miles. Steve told Tausha and I the other day to try to avoid fueling up unless you absolutely need it. That way, you don't use goos as a crutch and you can teach your body to fight through that empty feeling. At around 12 I started to feel better on the run. We ran from Barton the long way to the mopac bridge, then we did the 7 mile loop, the 10 mile loop, and the 4.5 mile loop and headed back to the springs the same way we came. I was anticipating that the last loop at the lake would be hard...but I actually felt pretty good. The only hard part was stopping for water and then having to get started again. Overall, I feel good about things. It took us about 3:35 (Angie has the exact time). Once I get the time from her, I'll be able to look at the pace. Some time throughout the run it felt like we were at or below 8min/mile but others I could tell we slipped above that.

pluses: long run done for the weekend; great post-run breakfast; get to see Brian today and for the weekend

minuses: 150 miles on a bike still to come over the weekend....

10/2 speed work

Today we did 4 2k repeats at 15k pace. I wasn't really sure what to expect for the workout, but it ended up going very well. We were warned to stay focused and disciplined on this run so we would blow up towards the end. I feel like I almost cheated on the disciplined part because I just followed Bruce the whole time. There was very little thought on my part with regards to pace. I felt fine after the fourth repeat and felt like I could have kept going. My 2k splits were 8:19, 8:19, 8:17, 8:11.

I'm still a little worried about the long run tomorrow...but in 22 hours I'll be done with it :)

pluses: ice cream party with the 5th grade girls I'm mentoring, happy hour at work today
minuses: had to fill my gas tank for the 4th time in 9 days :( and i need new running shoes

10/1 recovery run

I ran 5 miles this morning. Although it was a relatively short run, it felt kind of long. I ate a pretty late/crappy dinner last night, so that most likely added to the trouble on the run. The weather was nice...and I spent most of the run worrying about the speed workout tomorrow, 24 miles on Friday, and MS150 over the weekend. I question whether I can do all of that without feeling bad all of next week, but I guess I'll figure it out. Also, I thought a lot about how I should do a better job of keeping my nutrition in check. My best friend just passed her RD exam so I can use her as a resource...but the real problem is a lack of discipline. I do want to be a lot stricter with myself with regards to training and nutrition as I prepare for the next marathon. As of now, I only have 6 and 1/2 weeks left until the marathon so I'm not going to make any drastic changes in the way I've been training. I do have much higher hopes for the next time around though.

pluses: nice weather, relaxing morning
minuses: tired, lack of motivation regarding grad school work

9/30 run

I ran 7 miles today. The first 3.5 loop I ran with my sister. We were going relatively slowly (close to 9s), but it was a good warmup to loosen up my legs. On the second loop I ran right at 7 min miles. My legs felt good and the weather was great. It was nice to sleep until 6 instead of 4:45. I'm feeling well rested and ready for the next phase. I'm a little nervous about the long run on friday and bike ride over the weekend, but I know I'll feel accomplished when the week is over. I'm going to steel from Kamran and start doing pluses and minuses for the day....
pluses: slept in; great weather; have a new adult volunteer for youth group
minuses: wasn't prepared for class, again; nutrition (didn't eat dinner until 9:45pm)

9/29 medium long run

Today I ran 11.8 miles. I had intended to go closer to 13, but when I got back and mapped the route online I came up short, oh well.

The run was so-so. I didn't run until 1:30 so it was pretty hot. Despite the heat and bad allergies/sinuses, I survived. My legs actually felt fine, I just wasn't feeling really too great overall.

Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

9/27 long run

Campus loop extended to 18 today. My legs felt pretty heavy at first but I expected that after the massage on Thursday. After about 10 miles I really felt good. Miles 10-16 felt great. I was in a rythm and felt like Angie and I were pushing the pace. The last two miles were fine too...just a little harder to get started again after the bathroom/water break at 16 miles. I ended the run feeling very positive. I rolled out when I got home and I'm feeling good. Pace for the run was a bit over 8 min/mile.

9/25 run

We did the Enfield Loop 4 mile tempo run today. I was much smarter this time around than when we did the run two weeks ago. My first mile was 6:49, second 6:48, and mile 3 and 4 combined for 13:43 (I didn't get the split). So each mile was around the same pace which was a big improvement from last time where I started with a 6:20 and then died after that. I was pleased with the consistency and even more so than that, I know I could have comfortably kept running. I felt smooth and my leg felt good. I noticed it a bit on the hills but it was more of an annoyance than actually pain. I went to Lisa today to get a massage and got good news from her. She said I look more like someone who's had a lot of marathon experience just b/c of the way my body is taking the mileage. Considering I have little actual marathon training experience, this was a pleasant surprise. She worked on my vmo because basically of that tissue was just sticking together b/c it's a muscle and tendon insertion point. It already feels looser, but will probably be sore tonight. I'm looking forward to a day off and the long run on Sat.

9/24 medium long run

I went about 12 miles today (12.3 according to map my run). I didn't wear a watch, but I'd say I was running a bit below 8 min/mile. I felt a little tight the first few miles but then I was able to loosen up and felt good for the rest of the run. I didn't notice my leg bothering me at all which was really positive. I'm kind of tired, so I need to make sure to actually go 75% tomorrow for the tempo.

9/23 run

Back to some speed work. Today we did a min on and a min off on the way out to steve's truck...then came back at tempo pace. My goal was to go about 75% as to not push it too hard on my leg/knee. I felt fine on the warm-up and the on/offs were not too bad. It took me 21:57 to make it out to the turn-around. I kept finding that I was pushing it too hard, then I'd ease up until it didn't hurt...and as soon as it'd feel good I'd push it again. Finally, I just realized I needed to swallow my pride and take it easy. I was pretty conservative on the way back. I kept a pretty steady pace because I knew accelerating below 7 min miles would not be smart. I made it back in 20:26. My leg is kind of tight...but that's kind of what I expected. I really need to learn that it isn't worth it to push it on a Tues/Thur workout if that means I won't be able to run the next few days. I need to be more disciplined and listen to my body. After talking to Steve during office hours I have a better understanding how important my medium long runs and long runs are going to be from now until the marathon. I need to back off on Tues/Thur so I can get the most out of the other workouts....

9/22 run

Today I ran about 7 miles...probably a little short of that. I went at a comfortable pace (8:15s). I ran in the Twin Creeks neighborhood which was really nice. Great weather, great views, and my leg is feeling a lot better. I only noticed it when I was trying to pick it up towards the end. It feels a little tight when I stop...but not too bad.

9/21 run!

I decided to test out my leg and go for a run today. I ran 7 at TL and it actually felt pretty good. I went at a very easy pace (no watch, but I'd guess aroun 8:45s). When I did try to pick it up it didn't feel great, so I figured it made the most sense to keep things easy. I was glad to be back to running...and I hope to do all the workouts with the team this week.

9/19 cross-training

Today I went to an early morning spinning class. I still stayed seated the whole class...but my leg was feeling a little bit better. Went to the AR Clinic at Rogue and found out that basically my VMO is just really tight and strained...so hopefully a few more days of taking it easy will do the trick. I know this sounds a little crazy, but I'm really frustrated about missing the Soul Buster tomorrow. I've heard some crazy things about the run so I was looking forward to the challenge. Maybe I'll be able to do it next Saturday instead....

9/18 cross-train

Today I joined a couple of senior citizens in the pool for some aqua-jogging at Gold's. I only lasted about 30 minutes and then I hopped on a spinning bike for about 30 minutes. I had a lot better range of motion on the bike which was positive. I'm still pretty tight/sore, but I think things are moving in the right direction.

9/17 cross-training

So today was a fun day at Gold's instead of getting to enjoy the beautiful weather...
I started with 30 minutes on the elliptical. My leg felt ok...but the range of motion was limited. Then after that I went to a 45 minutes spinning class. Same thing...I couldn't really put much pressure on my right leg on the bik and my motion felt limited. It felt a little looser after the class but it was frustrating to not be able to push it.

I have realized that since starting w/ Rogue my whole perspective on running has changed. I remember in high school and college I was always the runner that celebrated when practice got cancelled or a work out was cut short. I am really bummed out about not being able to run right now. I don't think I've ever felt like this in my running life. I guess that's a good sign. It's finally becoming a consistent part of my life and something that is defining who I am as a person.

While these are all good things...now they're just making me anxious about falling behind....

9/16 run

So I started out today pretty excited to run. It's gorgeous out and I wanted to push myself and see if today's run could be better than the same one we did two weeks ago. The warm-up was a little rough because my right leg, above my knee, was killing me. I was hoping to get it worked out by the end of the warm-up but instead it got progressively worse. From mile 3 to the water stop was horrible...I don't think I've ever been so happy to see Steve's truck! Unfortunately, I ended up riding back with him...and now I have to take it easy for the next few days. I guess I'll be on a bike or in a pool instead of enjoying the beautiful weather :(