Nice 5 Miler

Not too slow, not too fast.  Juuuuuust right.  I'm going to start my new schedule next week, so I need to get as much relaxing done this week as I possibly can!

Short Heat Training Run

I know, if I really wanted to do heat training, I'd have done the fourth mile.  But, as I was squeezing this run in between men's prayer group and worship practice, I stopped at three.  If the two meetings were reversed, I would have totally shown up all sweaty and smelly...you know, manly!

But as the more delicate sex is in attendance at worship team practice, I decided to shower before I went.  How kind of me, I know!

Current temp: 76 F
Current humidity: 76%
"Feels like": 82 F

I need to make sure I do plenty of runs in these conditions to try to get my body to adapt; thankfully, Indiana has plenty of days like this and hotter!  Oh lucky me!!

Recovery run

It was 80+ degrees and sunny for this run.  I was feeling pretty good, so I pushed it a bit.  Like I said before, I'll be concentrating on shorter, faster runs for the summer with my longest run being 8 miles.

I'll be doing plenty of speed work with quarter, half, and mile intervals in my training.  In fact, here is what coach Kent is proposing for me:

Monday:  8 miles with pickups lasting 30 seconds to 2 minutes (you decide as you progress)
Tuesday:  OFF
Wednesday:  6 miles with 4-8 quarter miles in 2 mins (start with 4 and then increase to 6 and then to 8 over a few weeks)
Thursday:  OFF
Friday:  4 miles easy
Saturday:  8 miles easy

Of course, race weekends, I'll take it easy on Wednesday and take off Friday.

Giest Half Marathon

There it is.  TL:DR version: 7 mins faster, heat got me around mile 11, walked but did not stop.

Ok, so I did stop to relieve myself, but I don't count that.  This course was much hillier than the 500 Festival mini.  I've always said that Indiana has two colors on the topographical map, and let me tell you, they were well represented here.

I kept a good pace for 10 miles, then the heat started to get to me.  I didn't flame out as bad as the last mini, but I still walked a bit.  Early on, I walked through some water stations on purpose so that I could get some water in me (and gatorade every other station), but as soon as I hit the last trash can, I picked up running again.

That 12th mile was mostly up hill and mostly walked.  As I approached the 12 mile marker, I started to psych myself up to run the last 1.1 miles.  I threw down my cup of ice and water and took off!  I maintained what I thought was a fairly quick pace and was somewhat disappointed to see that it was just under 12 minutes.  HA!

As I passed the 13 mile mark, I broke into a sprint and charged across the finish line.  When I stopped, my head started spinning, big time!  Thankfully, I didn't pass out or need medical attention.

I think this is going to be my last half marathon for a while, and I am definitely rethinking this whole full marathon business.  I'll focus on speed work and shorter races for the summer and maybe reevaluate come Sept; that will give me enough time to get in shape for a half marathon the first week of Nov, if it strikes my fancy.

Practice

I purposely ran this run slow as practice for this Saturday's race; I want to keep between 11 and 12 min miles (maybe 13 even) for the first 7 miles.  After that, I'll let the chips fall where they may and ignore the "too fast" pace alarm.

There are two reasons for this plan:  The weather is supposed to be warm (hot by my standards) and the course is a bit hilly (I don't have any hills that I run on.)  I figure that I can also adjust my second half to what ever I wish; I just hope that I can maintain a somewhat faster rate than 11 min/mile.

But I'll be happy if I:
1. Don't stop
2. Don't walk.
3 Don't die.

...and beat 2:47:13...

Now the hot comes...

Sure, I would have complained if I had to train in mid to high 70's weather before my mini marathon on the fifth, but I would have been grateful if it would have resulted in my running the whole race.

So, I won't complain about today's warm weather as my mini marathon this weekend is supposed to be fairly warm to hot.  Oh, and hilly.

Heat Training

Let's all say the Cardinal Rules of Running:

1. Don't stop.
2. Don't walk.
3. Don't die.

It was only 70 degrees out, but I got a good lather up working in the yard before heading out on this run.  I kept repeating the Cardinal Rules of Running during the middle of this run.

Now this run was cathartic!  It was sunny, a bit warm (65 degrees), a bit breezy, and nice.  I was pushing it at the end to make it under 50 minutes, but I feel just fine.

I'll slow it down for my 8 miler on Saturday, however, I may just set my pace alarms at 11:30 and 10:30 just to keep me up to speed.

Two for One

Ok, it was not cathartic to document that race.  I don't feel any better about it, but, after talking with my father-in-law just now, I was reminded that he had a worse experience in the biggest race of his life, namely, the Boston Marathon!

It seems that he injured himself around mile 11 and had to walk 15 miles to finish (of course he had to finish to get his medal.)  I reckon that puts my little sniveling story to shame, now doesn't it.

I was supposed to wait until Wednesday to run, but I had to rearrange things so my wife and I could work out tomorrow night.  I still have runs of 5 and 8 miles for this week and 5 and 3 miles next week before my next half marathon on the 19th.

Keep pushin'...just keep pushin'.

Disappointment

I have been in a deep funk over my race on Saturday; such a funk that, I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't posted my results.  To tell the truth, I haven't even transferred the numbers from my watch to my spreadsheet (and subsequently to a post.)

The day wasn't too hot, but it was very humid.  I maintained my target pace (10:30) for the first 5 miles; then the wheels fell off.  As most of you know, I have three cardinal rules when racing:

1.  Don't stop.
2.  Don't walk.
3.  Don't die.

Sadly, I broke two out of the three rules in this race.  I stopped at around the 6.75 mile mark and then walked for a good portion of the rest of the race.  My friend Brad stayed with me the whole way, and he finally convinced me to run the last 2.1 miles, which we did.  I finished on a high note of a 10:09 minute last mile, but that was the only bright spot in a race of misery.

My official time (I just got the courage to look it up this morning) was around 2:53; my unofficial time was 2:47:13, more than 32 minutes off my target and 27 minutes off last year's time.

I need to suck it up, though.  Geist Half marathon is May 19th, and I've already paid for it.  So that means I'm going.  Note to self:  "Pull it together, Nancy."

Three easy miles

There it is: Training completed!

I'm glad I got this in this morning instead of what is looking like a scorcher this afternoon (forcasted high of 86!)  I took today off to head down to Evansville to pick up Trace from USI; that's about a 6- 7 hour round trip - ugg.

But I suppose it's worth it as I'll have my dishwasher, lawn mower, dog walker, and general cleaner back for the summer; I'll have more time to train for that marathon in the fall.

Oh, and I guess I get to see my son too; that's a bonus...*grin...