I did great tempo runs last week. I shortened them to taper slightly because I was racing on Sunday. Thursday night's easy run felt like I had run the half marathon the day before. My legs were like lead from the start and never warmed up. I was a little concerned about Sunday.
In spite of my horrible Thursday run, I had a great run on Sunday. It was raining at the start of the race but I honestly couldn't tell you if or how long it continued to rain. A fellow coaster, Wendy, is also training for a big race and since we both had the same goal time of 2:15:00, we decided to run together. We spent the first half of the race chatting away even though we were doing a pretty good clip (for us). About 40 minutes in my GPS went crazy and by 1 hour it said we had run 95 miles. Needless to say, I had to do future pace calculations in my head. Not an easy task when the marker signs are in kilometers and I've trained in miles. We must have started to feel the mileage because the 2nd half of the race was much quieter. We really only talked during our walking breaks. There were quite a few times where I think I would have slowed down if I hadn't been running with Wendy. Especially the end where I think she booted it because we were passing people left, right and center. My chip time was 2:11:57 - over 4 minutes faster than the April Fools Run. And I didn't feel nearly as spent. It sure feels good when all the hard work pays off.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tackling the bypass.
Another week has gone by. I missed last week's 16 mile run. I was scheduled to run on Sunday but about 3:00 am Sunday morning, I had Dale taking me to the hospital with severe cramps. It was probably food poisoning. I felt pretty rough all day and after losing 3-4 hours of sleep that night I just wasn't up for a run.
The good new is that I felt rested on Tuesday night when I went for a Tempo run and average under 9 minutes per mile for 4 miles. I did well on my Wednesday Tempo run averaging 9:30 per mile. And even though my Thursday run was an easy 5 miler, my pace was faster than the guideline I'm using. I'm pretty happy with my progress. I actually feel quite fit, though I am physically beat quite often. It's all the rest of life that gets in the way :)
A group from Vancouver came up today to map out a course for their September race. They invited our group to join them for a run. Their course was 20K or 26K but we could turn back at any time. I went expecting to do the 20K as my long run this week (which is suppose to be shorter since I'm racing next week). However, as it turned out, we walked most of the way. I headed back with a couple of other women about 45 minutes in thinking I'd be better of cutting my losses and doing my long run myself. My GPS registered 4.66 miles. So, I went home, had a power bar and glass of water, dropped the van off at the fire hall and started my run. I decided to try a different route so I ran to lower Gibsons, then along Marine Drive to the ferry terminal where I stopped to use the facilities. Then I ran up the bypass. I took it really slow but I did it with no problems at all. I continued on my way and ended up with over 8 miles at just under 12 minutes per mile. Now, I think that is a great time considering the long steep hill of the bypass. I'm actually quite proud of myself. I was hesitant to attempt the bypass at first but now I feel confident that I can attempt more challenging runs and still be able to do it in a timely fashion. I'll never be an elite but I'm happy just to improve.
I'm really looking forward to going to town to watch Samantha run her first race (without me). I'm looking forward to seeing the boys as well. The 6:20 ferry - not so much! Good luck tomorrow, Moo!
The good new is that I felt rested on Tuesday night when I went for a Tempo run and average under 9 minutes per mile for 4 miles. I did well on my Wednesday Tempo run averaging 9:30 per mile. And even though my Thursday run was an easy 5 miler, my pace was faster than the guideline I'm using. I'm pretty happy with my progress. I actually feel quite fit, though I am physically beat quite often. It's all the rest of life that gets in the way :)
A group from Vancouver came up today to map out a course for their September race. They invited our group to join them for a run. Their course was 20K or 26K but we could turn back at any time. I went expecting to do the 20K as my long run this week (which is suppose to be shorter since I'm racing next week). However, as it turned out, we walked most of the way. I headed back with a couple of other women about 45 minutes in thinking I'd be better of cutting my losses and doing my long run myself. My GPS registered 4.66 miles. So, I went home, had a power bar and glass of water, dropped the van off at the fire hall and started my run. I decided to try a different route so I ran to lower Gibsons, then along Marine Drive to the ferry terminal where I stopped to use the facilities. Then I ran up the bypass. I took it really slow but I did it with no problems at all. I continued on my way and ended up with over 8 miles at just under 12 minutes per mile. Now, I think that is a great time considering the long steep hill of the bypass. I'm actually quite proud of myself. I was hesitant to attempt the bypass at first but now I feel confident that I can attempt more challenging runs and still be able to do it in a timely fashion. I'll never be an elite but I'm happy just to improve.
I'm really looking forward to going to town to watch Samantha run her first race (without me). I'm looking forward to seeing the boys as well. The 6:20 ferry - not so much! Good luck tomorrow, Moo!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Still Training
I've had a very busy week. I only got in 4 runs last week because of other engagements. Hopefully, I will be able to keep most weeks at 5 runs.
My achilles started bothering me again. However, I was also starting to get sore feet and I was suddenly feeling a little twing in my right knee. I came to the conclusion that I need new shoes. I remembered that I bought a new pair to wear at the rec centre but since I'm only doing circuit training there now, they are still fairly new. What I failed to remember was that after about 1/2 and hour they started to hurt the front of my feet. So off I went on Sunday with my "newer" shoes and a 15 mile run. That didn't work out so well. My achilles and knee was fine but my feet were so sore that I could barely walk the rest of the day. I finished the run but new shoes are definately on my shopping list.
I think my tempo runs are getting easier. Well, perhaps not easier, maybe faster. I still work as hard but I do seem to be able to go faster than my target pace for the entire run. My GPS still isn't working well, so I'm going on familiar routes that I know where the mile markers are and target a certain time for those markers. I still keep thinking that this is the pace that I'm suppose to run the marathon at but I can barely keep up the pace for the 4 or 6 miles. I guess that's why I'm starting so early - to get more fit each week so that I can do it.
I've got a half marathon on June 27th. I'm hoping to beat my April Fool's Run time of 2:16:09. I think I can do it because I'm more fit and its mostly downhill (UBC to Stanley Park).
My achilles started bothering me again. However, I was also starting to get sore feet and I was suddenly feeling a little twing in my right knee. I came to the conclusion that I need new shoes. I remembered that I bought a new pair to wear at the rec centre but since I'm only doing circuit training there now, they are still fairly new. What I failed to remember was that after about 1/2 and hour they started to hurt the front of my feet. So off I went on Sunday with my "newer" shoes and a 15 mile run. That didn't work out so well. My achilles and knee was fine but my feet were so sore that I could barely walk the rest of the day. I finished the run but new shoes are definately on my shopping list.
I think my tempo runs are getting easier. Well, perhaps not easier, maybe faster. I still work as hard but I do seem to be able to go faster than my target pace for the entire run. My GPS still isn't working well, so I'm going on familiar routes that I know where the mile markers are and target a certain time for those markers. I still keep thinking that this is the pace that I'm suppose to run the marathon at but I can barely keep up the pace for the 4 or 6 miles. I guess that's why I'm starting so early - to get more fit each week so that I can do it.
I've got a half marathon on June 27th. I'm hoping to beat my April Fool's Run time of 2:16:09. I think I can do it because I'm more fit and its mostly downhill (UBC to Stanley Park).
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