Race Report: Seasons 5.2K

Jason, mom, dad, and I ran the Seasons 5.2K in Winter Park yesterday. While initially cold, it proved to be great weather for a race. I did not do as well as I expected, but it was nice to race again. Even though I felt like I was running fast, I guess it took a toll on me and the walk breaks were slower than usual (I ran the first mile, then walked for 1 minute, then walked at the water stop and probably every 1/2 mile thereafter). I attribute my slow overall pace to the massive crowds and the fact that I have been slacking on my running a bit since being on vacation and moving. Either way, this is a PR since I've never run a 5.2K race before ;)

Splits (from Garmin)

mile 1: 11:15
mile 2: 11:25
mile 3: 10:53
Finish (.2): 1:58 (9:43 pace)

My Official results:

5K chip time: 35:02
5.2K clock: 37:58
5.2K chop: 36:02
pace: 11:08.9

Dad: 31:07 (9:37.6 pace)
Jason: 32:54 (10:10.8 pace)
Mom: 46:39 (14:26.0 pace)

I'll be making another post later today outlining my running goals for 2009, and maybe reviewing my accomplishments in 2008.

Race Report: Reindeer Run 5K (1st sub-35 5k!)

I finally ran a sub-35 5K! I am so excited!

Clock time: 34:28
Watch: 33:50.

This was not a chip-timed event, and the start was not clearly marked, so my watch time may be off a few seconds, but not by much. However, I crossed the finish line before the clock turned 34:30! According to the pictures, at 34:28 I was already across the finish line :)

The weather was in the low 40s, so it was a pretty chilly start. I wore long pants and a long sleeve shirt over a tight-fitting tank top. On my head, I wore a headband, a hoodie, and a christmas hat :) , which I lost somewhere before crossing the finish line :( And of course, jinggle bells on my shoes :)

I planned to run 5 and walk 1, but I missed the first beep because of all the jingle bells so I just kept running. I ran most of the race non-stop and just walked for a minute after mile 1 & 2, a few seconds at the water stop, and somewhere around 2.5 to work out a stitch, then ran to the end and sprinted to the finish. I was so fast that Jason missed me at the finish line. Hee hee :) It was a great race!

This is likely my last 5k race of the year and those my smooth time for the Shave Your 5K Challenge. For a little perspective, this is over 10 minutes faster (even by the clock time -- almost 11 by my watch) than my first 5K 8 months ago on April 12, Windermere Run Among the Lakes 5K, where I clocked a time of 44:38 by my watch (it was not chip-timed either) and in which I only ran a total of 14 minutes.

At the first race in which I ran more than I walked (at least 2 miles), Disney's Go Red for Women 5K on May 3rd, I clocked a chip time of 41:46 and a clock time of 43:02. So compared to that clock time, I've shaved over 8 minutes off my time in 7 1/2 months. WOW! Re-read these old reports to see how far I've come :)

Next year my goal is to run a sub-30 5K and I know I can do it after I have a few more longer runs under my belt! :) My 2nd 1/2 marathon is Feb 8, and I can't wait. I am extremely tempted to run the Disney half in January but I am not sure I really want to spend $115 on the entry fee right now. Plus Jason would still be in California and I really think his support was instrumental in getting me through the finish line. We'll see :)

Race Report: OUC 1/2 Marathon (my first!)

Words can't possibly do justice to the amazing feeling I experienced when I crossed the finish line of my first 1/2 marathon. I was afraid that, since I had already covered the distance in training, it would feel anti-climatic. Boy was I wrong. It was a very emotional time and I even shed a few tears.

So onto the race report. It's a little long and full of pictures, so bare with me. A lot of the pics are best viewed large, so click on a picture to see a bigger version. Or view the whole set as a slide show.

Friday night, I met my group for a pasta dinner at Il Pescatore and had a blast. It was nice hanging out in our normal clothes :) When we got home, I got everything ready, set the alarm, and was in bed by 9:30ish I think. I tossed and turned most of the night. I am sure I slept at some point, but every time I looked at the clock it seemed only 5 minutes had passed. I think I finally managed to fall asleep and dream a little around 3 or 4 and magically woke up only 15 minutes late since I forgot to actually turn ON the alarm. D'oh! I sprung out of bed cursing to myself, got ready, and we were on the road by 6:15 ish.

We quickly and effortless made it downtown to the parking garage next to the library. It was a bit chilly when I left the house, but it certainly did not feel as cold or windy as our recent training runs. I wore shorts, a short sleeve shirt with arm warmers, gloves, headband, and fleece vest (see pic). Since we were running late to meet my Galloway group, and I needed to warm up, I jogged from the parking lot to the timing chip table and Jason biked along. When I finally found it, there was a huge line and I worried the race would start before I could even get my chip or find my group. I really did not want to run this by myself. I finally got my chip, quickly fastened it to my shoe, found my group and Jason, and immediately shed the fleece vest. Thankfully, the race start was being delayed 10 minutes while the rest of the late comers got their timing chips, so we had a little breathing room and time for a group photo.

There were no pace signs, so we just lined up where we were at the back near the timing chip tables. Jason biked ahead to take pictures as we took off. Our group runs 2:1 intervals, but a girl from the 2:30 / 1 group was with us and we decided to try that interval instead and kept it up for most of the race (more on that later). We finally crossed the start line and I realized my Garmin was not giving me a pace or distance--it had lost the satellite signal! I restarted it in hopes of speeding up the process and nearly missed Jason taking our picture at the start. I tried to get a signal several times to no avail and finally gave up and turned it off. I was not as bothered by this as much as I thought I'd be. I actually think it was the best thing that could have happened. It took the pressure off and I really focused on having a good time and just went with the flow.

Mile 1 was upon us before we knew it. Despite starting in the back, we still went out too fast and completed the first mile in less than 12 minutes. About a half mile later, we saw the first water stop, and I was pleasantly surprised to see my co-worker Amy cheering me on just before that. I opened the first pack of sport beans, ate a few, drank some water, and we were on our way. I followed this same routine at every water stop.

The weather was great, not too hot or humid, yet not too cold, so I quickly shed my arm warmers and gloves somewhere between mile 2 and 3. People lined the streets throughout and somewhere before mile 2 or 3 (I think), a group of 3 was cheering on runners with such enthusiasm that before we saw them I thought there was an Obama rally going on. We were on a walk break as we approached them, but quickly decided that we just had to run past them so we cut that walk break short. It was so mcuh fun and we were sure to thank them as we passed.

As we approached mile 3 and Leu Gardens, I started looking for Jason and it wasn't long before I spotted him. I was so happy to see him. We were all feeling great and looking very happy. He snapped a ton of photos of us as we ran by. I tossed him my arm warmers, gloves and watch. He quickly gasped at seeing the watch. I laughed, knowing how neurotic I am about data, and pleasantly surprised that I didn't even care. I was having too much fun. We were happy and encouraged to have the first 5K out of the way and we pressed on. We were making great time. From this point on, clocks were only every 2 miles so I had to improvise for my splits (more on that at the end of the report).

The 2nd water stop had a live band. At the 3rd water stop, around mile 5, they were playing "Eye of the Tiger" and that really got me pumped. Silly signs lined the course as well as spectators and on-course entertainment. The support was simply awesome. On our way to Mile 6, we crossed Colonial Dr. (a major road) where cops had stopped traffic as we crossed. We were greeted by a barrage of honking cars and wondered if they were encouraging us or beeping in annoyance at being stuck in traffic. We chose to believe the former. Jason greeted us once again near the next water stop by mile 6 and took some video of us running by.

By mile 7, my feet were starting to hurt and I felt like my right foot was blistering. Otherwise, I still felt pretty strong. Jason met us again near mile 8, where Michelle's dad surprised her with her daughter. Jason caught the touching moment as she ran to embrace her in a sequence of photos. She had been debating whether she could run the last mile straight and seeing her daughter gave her the strength she needed and she determined right then that she would do it.

By mile 9, my legs were feeling tired, but I was in awe at how much we had already accomplished. We were making great time and still smiling. By this point (sooner but I don't recall exactly when), Brenda, Michelle, and I had broken away and ran ahead from the rest of our group. We knew they could not be far behind us, but we could no longer see them. As we approached mile 10, we took comfort in knowing we only had a 5K left. I was again in awe at myself but really feeling the toll it was taking on my body. It was getting harder to start running after each walk break. This mile seemed like the longest as we searched for mile marker 11. We saw Jason one last time and I was still smiling. We started feeling rain drops, but were thankful they never materialize into anything more.

After one more water stop, we reached mile 12 and began running to the finish line. It seemed really daunting and my calves were killing me. Brenda had fallen back a little, but was only a few seconds behind Michelle and me. I was afraid I would really slow down and not be able to sprint to the finish, so I took one last walk break then ran the last 1/2 mile to the finish. As I rounded the corner and saw the finish line, I tried to pick up the pace. No matter what, the finish line did not seem to get any closer until finally it was right in front of me. When I saw that the clock was nowhere near 2:45, I really gave it my all and crossed the finish line chocking back tears. Since I knew it took us at least 2 minutes to cross the start, a clock time of 2:41:50 meant that my net time was in the 2:30s! I could not believe that I had finished my first 1/2 marathon, still felt relatively great, and had beat my goal time by that much. I could not help but cry tears of joy at how far I'd come in just 9 months.

After getting Jason my 2 free beers at the finish for being such a great support, we headed to the car as it started to drizzle again. I was aching and wanted to get into some dry clothes. I changed in the car into my now fully earned race shirt :) and we headed to the farmer's market for some veggie chips, fresh produce, and an omelet where proudly displayed my shirt and medal. I think I wore the shirt all day, to the celebratory dinner at Shogun, to sleep that night, and in the morning until I showered and headed to my massage :)

Now for some number crunching. Since I did not have my Garmin, I had to improvise my splits.



I tweeted the times for the miles where they had clocks and calculated net times based on the official race results. After mile 3, they only had clocks every 2 miles so I just clumped those 2 miles together and averaged out the time difference to get the average pace. Clearly, we started out too fast, but it worked out because my average pace for the last 2.1 miles was faster than the first so I was still able to finish strong. How awesome!!

And here are the rest of the results:

chip time: 2:38:56
pace: 12:21.1
clock time: 2:41:49
overall place: 2062 / 2249
age group place: 167 / 187
gender place: 983 / 1126

In conclusion, it was an incredible experience and I could not have asked for a better 1st 1/2 marathon. I absolutely could not have done this without the support of everyone who has been following my efforts and encouraging me along the way on this blog, LJ, the daily mile, and twitter. I could not have done this without my amazing Galloway group, and especially Brenda and Michelle who were with me to the end. And of course, I HUGE thank to Jason, who supported me and put up with my crazyness and believed in me throughout this whole ordeal and who was there throughout the course more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you everyone!! I can't wait for the next one and to do a full marathon next year.

Preliminary OUC 1/2 Marathon Race Report

I'll post a full race report later but here is what you really want to know anyway ;)

Results: 2:38:56 (official chip time)

Photos on Flickr - Jason was amazing and biked throughout the course taking pictures of us.

In lieu of a full race report, here are the live updates I posted during the race to my twitter account via TwitterFone. These have been edited to correct mis-transcriptions when it couldn't make out what I was saying (probably because I was breathing too hard =P).

• (6:15) Driving to the race site. Will try to tweet my splits with Twitterfone.
• (6:21) Maybe not every mile, but at least each 5k or so. I may be too distracted though :)
• (7:10) About to cross the start line. Here we go.
• Mile 1 14:50 clock time. Garmin's in the fritz, so no net time.
• Mile 2 27:08 clock time.
• Mile 3 39:15 clock time. weather's great.
• Live band at water stop 2; saw Amy at water stop 1 and Jason just after mile 3. Thanks guys.
• Mile 5 1:03:40 "Eye of the Tiger" playing at water stop. Support is awesome.
• Mile 7 1:28:12 Think my right foot may be blistering. Feeling good though.
• Mile 9 1:52:40 tired legs.
• Mile 10 Only 5k to go. No clock so I don't know what's the time.
• Mile 11 2:16:52. May be last tweet. Will try to run last mile straight. Bye.
• It's done! 2:41:50 clock time. Wow. I can't believe how emotional I feel.
• I can't believe I cried. I feel amazing!
• Chip time 2:38:56!!
• Free beer at the finish. Great reward for Jason who gave great support; he biked the course & took pics
• Going to the farmer's market for some veggie chips and an omelet :) oh yeah, I guess we'll get some produce while we're there.
• Yup, got a blister on my right foot. Battle scar! =)
  

Pre Race Checklist

I am making my final pre-race perparations before going to bed in a few minutes. I'm posting this here to remind myself for next time and in case anyone spots something I forgot :)

Night Before

• lay out race clothes: sports bra, shorts, singlet, socks, shoes
• back up Garmin and erase older lap memory
• charge Garmin
• charge iPhone & turn off pass code access
  
• pack pre race bag (see below)
• pack post race bag (see below)
• panic
• remind myself I've trained for this and I can do this. YES I CAN!
• triple check every item on the lists
• set alarm with beep
• turn ON alarm D'oh!
  
• go to bed
• toss and turn for several hours
• finally fall asleep about 1-2 hours before alarm is supposed to go off.
  

Race Morning

• wake up before alarm goes off because I am too excited/nervous/anxious to sleep any longer (or because I forgot to actually turn it on)
  
• use facilities
• eat something (banana/bagel/luna bar)
• drink water
  
• use facilities
• drink more water
• get dressed
• use facilities
• make sure Jason is up
  
• apply body glide
• put on socks and shoes
• double check contents of pre race bag
• double check contents of post race bag
• triple check that I have Garmin
  
• grab purse and bags
• OMG where is my BIB?
• quadruple check I have everything and get in the car
• drive to race (by this I of course mean Jason)
  
• Park
• Pick up timing chip and place securely on shoe
  
• Meet Galloway group (6:45 am at timing chip pick up table)
• Take group pictures
• Line up at the back of appropriate pace sign (12-13?)
• START RACE!
• HAVE TOO MUCH FUN! =)
• Smile for camera as I cross the finish line feeling and looking great ;)
  

Pre Race Bag
(aka what I'll carry on person/shorts during the race)

• Garmin
• Garmin strap
• hat
• arm warmers
• headband
• body glide
• sunscreen
  
• fleece vest (maybe)
  
• sport beans
• iPhone
  
• ID
• BIB!
  

Post Race Bag

• Crocs
• sports bra
• race t-shirt / tank top
  
• shorts / pants
• jacket
• oyster crackers :)

I think that's all. Shout if I forgot something!

OUC 1/2 Marathon Eve (+Running Dreams & Wishes)

Tomorrow is the big day, and I am ready! I just wish it would hurry up and get here already as the anxiety of waiting is killing me.

Yesterday I went for my last run before the race. Jason came with me and I left my watch at home. We just ran and talked and walked whenever we felt like it (about every 1/2 mile). It was really nice and liberating. I think we were actually going at a pretty fast clip so I wish I had it timed, but it did not matter. The weather was perfect and I really enjoyed just running. It made me feel great because I can actually keep up with Jason now. I've come a long way since April when I could barely run for 1 minute at a slug like pace.

I guess at this point I should make some kind of predictions about my performance or set some goals. I know I can cover this distance (I've already done it in training), but anytime you go out for a run there are many variables you can't control. What if this is a bad run day? What if the weather takes a turn for the worse? No matter, I shall focus on the positive and do my best. I've been training for this and I know I can do it; it is just a matter of how well. However, just getting to that starting line and crossing the finish line is a huge accomplishment and I will be damn proud of that fact.

Goals for OUC 1/2 Marathon:

1. Finish!
2. Run across the finish line.
3. Pace myself well to be able to finish strong and run at least the last 1/2 mile without walk breaks and be able to sprint to the finish. The plan is to run with my Galloway group using the 2:1 intervals at least through mile 7, then assess how I feel for the last 10k. If I am still feeling strong, I'll speed up or increase the run intervals to 3:1 & maybe 4:1 for the last 5k.
   
4. I know with this being my first 1/2 marathon race, I should not be setting any time goals, but I am confident I can finish in under 3 hours. I've averaged this pace or faster in training, and I don't plan to walk as slowly during the walk breaks.
   
5. Not-so-secret time goal: Finish in under 2:45. According to Galloway's magic mile predictor, this is well within my reach. I haven't done a magic mile timed trial since the end of September, but I don't want to set too fast a goal and be disappointed. After all, this is my first 1/2 and I don't want to set the bar too high since I want to show a significant improvement at my 2nd in Feb.
   

Yesterday's TIART at the Runner's Lounge Blog was Dreams & Wishes. I am a day late, but I think this goes well with this post.

My Running Dreams & Wishes:

• Finish the OUC 1/2 Marathon tomorrow feeling strong and above all have fun!
• Finish the Melbourne & Beaches Music 1/2 Marathon in February with my dad and show a significant improvement over the first.
• Finish the Gasparilla Marathon Relay in March with Jason, Dad, and Mom. I think this will be so fun and a great bonding experience, so I hope happens.
• Run a sub-30 5K.
• Run a sub-35 5K with no walk breaks (except for water stops).
• Run a 10k in under 1 hour.
• Finish a marathon in 2009.
  
• Continue to enjoy running for the rest of my life. This is part of the reason I am taking this so slowly and taking my time. I do not want an injury or bad experience to turn me off to running because I am so grateful that I finally converted myself into a runner and I want to continue to improve, be fit, and maintain my new healthy lifestyle.
  

Distance PR: 13.1! Let the Taper Begin!

Last Saturday was my last long run before the OUC 1/2 Marathon. The training schedule called for 14, but none of us really intended to run that far. According to my Garmin and Ascent, I ran 13.1 miles with a moving time* of 2:59:39 / 13:42 pace . Hell yeah!

It was really humid and we started out too fast, so I was already tired after the first 6-mile loop. Because of the heat and humidity, our water breaks were plentiful and long, and our walking slow, so I am hoping to do much better than this at the actual race. Hopefully the weather will be better too on race day.

My Garmin read 12.5 when we were done with the last loop, so a few of us ran a few laps in the track to get to the 13.1 distance. We decided to run it non-stop instead of using the intervals. I have no idea where I got the energy (probably the magical sports beans or the adrenaline of having come this far) to run straight at a pretty fast pace for .6 mile after running for 3 hours, but it served as good practice for the sprint I hope to do at the end of the race. :)

I was sore all over for the rest of the day (even in places I didn't even know existed) but thankfully I had no blisters or chafing. I felt great at my accomplishment and signed up for the OUC 1/2 Marathon that day. I now have 2 weeks to go and I am losing motivation for my mid-week runs. I just want race day to be here already! I guess this most be the famous taper madness.

***

PS - During the run, I found out that the Garmin has a limit on how many laps it can hold and when it reaches that it just stops. I knew it had a limit, but I assumed it would just delete old workouts to make room for the new ones. That is not the case so I had to keep deleting old workouts during most of the run because I wasn't going to risk not having a record of this run. I later found out I can delete all but the last 1-3 months in one fell swoop. It would have been nice to know that then so I would not have to keep doing it over and over.

* the total time was actually 3:12 if we count all the breaks between loops and at the water stops

Running Green

This week's topic for Take It and Run Thursday at the Runner's Lounge Blog is Running Green.

I try to live a pretty green life, even though I know there is a LOT more I can do. Some of the green things I do on a regular basis include biking to work (and anywhere else I can instead of driving), bringing my own canvas bags to the grocery store/farmer's market, and using my Kleen Kanteen water bottle instead of buying bottled water. I am sure there is more, but those are the big ones.

The November 2008 Issue of Runner's World was all about running green and they now have a Green Running section on their site. I am going to use one of their articles, How to Be a Greener Runner, as the basis for this post and a sort of meme. Below is a the list of "30 things even a busy, sane person (i.e., you) can do" and how my own habits stack up (written in green and italics below the items from the article).

Get to Workouts

• Good: Bike to all group runs and track workouts.
• Better: Run to a local farmers' market to buy produce.
• Best: Start all your runs from your home or office.

What I do: I drive to my long runs with the Galloway group because it is too far, and too early, to bike there. However, I make it a point to make the most of the drive and run errands in the area, such as going to the farmer's market. Most of my other runs I do around my neighborhood so I do not have to drive to run. From time to time, I will run to or from work or bike to a local park to run.

Race

• Good: Participate in eco-conscious races (check out page 74 or go to runnersworld-greenteam.com)
• Better: Carpool or take public transit to get to and from events.
• Best: Race in your hometown as much as possible.

What I do: Most of my races are within 30 minutes of my home and I carpool to them with Jason. We recently ran a race at UCF, where we work, and we biked there and to brunch after. It was awesome and I wish they had more races close enough to do this more often.

Hydrate

• Good: Buy powdered sports drinks and mix them yourself.
• Better: Wave away plastic race cups by carrying your own water in a secure container (like Amphipod's Hydraform Handheld Pockets).
• Best: Use reusable bottles instead of throwaway plastic water bottles.

What I do: I don't drink sport drinks, so the first does not apply. I used to carry my own water bottle when I ran, but I find that it started to hurt my shoulder as I got faster. I guess this means I need to work on my form or get a fuel belt. I hardly ever buy bottled water any more and refill my own instead, but I do grab bottled water when at races. I do try to find the recycling bin to dispose of it. Now that I think about it, I will bring the bottles home and recycle them if I can't find a recycling bin at the race.

Buy New Shoes

• Good: If you run on trails only occasionally, buy one pair of shoes that can handle light off-road use.
• Better: Pick shoes that are made with fewer nasty solvents and recycled components, such as the Nike Air Pegasus 25 and END's Stumptown.
• Best: Buy the Brooks Trance 8. Its midsole is made out of BioMoGo, a material that reportedly decomposes 50 times faster than conventional midsoles.

What I do: I have no idea how environmentally friendly my shoes are. I should look into this.

Buy Apparel

• Good: Buy shirts, outer layers, and especially socks made with merino wool, a natural and renewable resource.
• Better: Buy clothes made from recycled postconsumer polyester, like Patagonia's Capilene 1 T-shirt. And when you're done with it, Patagonia will recycle it into other apparel.
• Best: Hold off on new purchases and wear your existing apparel as long as you can.

What I do: I have no idea how environmentally friendly my clothes are, but I do recycle my clothes by giving them to my mom or the local thrift store. Since I just started running, I've been buying a lot of gear, but I am going to try to make do with what I have for now. I do need a few things for winter running, but after that I am done! :)

Make a Difference

• Good: Donate to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, local parks boards, or other organizations that create and promote new trails or running paths.
• Better: Volunteer to clean up a local trail, or adopt a road you like to run on.
• Best: Organize a recycling drive at a local race where participants can bring old gear.

What I do: None of these apply, but I should look into getting more involved in making my running community more green.

Care for Your Gear

• Good: Restore the breathability and repellency (and extend the lifespan) of your waterproof gear by washing it with McNett's ReviveX.
• Better: Reduce your consumption of plastic and water by switching to superefficient concentrated forms of laundry detergents.
• Best: Wash your apparel in cold water and hang dry. (Bonus: Your clothes won't pill, and they'll last longer.)

What I do: I always wash all my clothes in cold water. I do not even know when was the last time I washed anything in warm or hot water. We recently installed a clothes line in the backyard, and I am actually enjoying hanging all our laundry to dry every weekend.

Fuel Up

• Good: Recycle energy-bar wrappers with the Energy Bar Brigade (see terracycle.net), which up-cycles them into other products. For each wrapper you save, sponsors give 2 cents to a charity you pick.
• Better: Make your own energy bars. You can buy mixes or see page 41 for a recipe.
• Best: Eat one less serving per week of meat, which requires significantly more fuel and water to produce than other sources of protein.

What I do: Ever since I started losing weight, I've been trying to eat less meat as well. I go through phases, but I am definitely eating way more veggies than I used to and my meat portions are a lot smaller. I need to get back to Meatless Mondays.

Cross-Train

• Good: Run outside whenever you can (rather than inside on a treadmill).
• Better: If you need snowshoes, a bicycle, or a set of weights, purchase gently used equipment rather than new gear. Try buying it from someone local through a resource like Craigslist.org.
• Best: Leave your car in the driveway and bike or run to the gym once a week.

What I do: I hate the treadmill, so running outside is a given. I am in the market for a new bike and plan to check out our school's bike auction next week. I bike to work at least 4 times a week and to run errands whenever possible.

Deal with Old Shoes

• Good: Wear them casually afterward. They may lack cushioning for a long run, but they're fine to walk the dog.
• Better: Donate them to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program, which recycles the shoes to help surface new tracks and for other uses.
• Best: Donate them to Soles4Souls, Shoe4Africa, or One World Running, outfits that give shoes to needy people. For more information, check out runnersworld.com/donate.

What I do: I just bought my 3rd pair of shoes, but still using my 2nd pair. I mainly bought these new shoes now to break in a bit and wear at my first 1/2 marathon. I am using my 1st pair to bike and other non-running activities. I am going to look into donating shoes once I start accumulating more.

Weight Update

I haven't posted about this in a while, mainly because my focus has been on running and I have mostly just been maintaining and slowly losing, but this has been an incredible week. I've only gone out to eat once so far, I've run or biked or both every day this week, I've been drinking water and eating fruits/veggies like crazy and it has really paid off.

I've shown a loss in weight every day this week. Yesterday I finally weighed 123, my lowest weight ever ... until this morning when I weighed 122.4! OMG! If I keep this up, maybe I won't ever see 125 again! At least 130 is long long gone :) The most I've seen lately was 128, and that was after a particular late night eating out. I am sure I will gain a little of this over the weekend because I plan to eat out at least twice, but I now know I can counter it with really clean eating and exercise the rest of the week.

I am so excited. I am only 1/2 a pound away from my goal of 122, which means I would have lost 30 lbs in about 9-10 months. When I started this journey, I had no idea I even had 30 lbs to lose. I went from a size 12/14 to a size 2 and I am now a runner training to run my first 1/2 marathon in 4 weeks! I feel so good!

Distance PR: 11 Miles!

I ran my longest distance of 11 miles this morning in 2 hours and 33 minutes. I was so exhausted after the run that I was falling asleep on my drive home. As soon as I got home, I feel asleep for about 3-4 hours, but I am glad I did it and it wasn't too bad of a run.

I knew this would be rough for serveral reasons: 1) I went to a party last night and only got 3-4 hours of sleep (plus 1-2 hours nap before the party; 2) my longest run before this was 9.6; 3) it was a chilly and windy morning; 4) I felt like I had to go during most of the run.

I was supposed to run 12 miles, but the group was divided between those running 8 miles and those running 12. Somewhere along the way, probably when I went to the bathroom, I missed the folks doing 12 so I did a few extra miles at the end on my own. This worked out better because I didn't think I should be jumping to 12 miles anyway. I still have one more long run in 2 weeks; as long as I can run at least 12 miles then I should be fine (we are scheduled for 14 but I don't think that is necessary).

I wore my RaceReady shorts with the mesh pockets and tested out running with my phone, camera, and several bags of sports means. It was too much and my pants were falling down until I remember they have a draw string and I tighten them a bit. Still, I think I will forgo running with the camera during the 1/2 marathon. I'll have my iPhone and can take pictures with that if I really want to (but I doubt it). The wind was really kicking and I ran with my long sleeve shirt the whole time. After lunch, I went to Ross and found a running jacket for $6 that I think will work much better since it has a hood and a full zipper so I could open it if I get warm but still keep my arms covered.

The OUC half marathon is only 5 weeks away, but I am confident that I can do this. This being my first one, I plan to take it easy, do my 2:1 intervals and just focus on finishing. I'll kick it up a notch for the 2nd one in Feb/March. I'll probably run a 10K next weekend, then take it easy until the 1/2. I need to fit in a 5K some time before the end of the year but I think I'll worry about that after the 1/2.