Saturday long run!

Saturday afternoon Melissa and I ran 11 miles! We averaged a 12:09 pace, and did two-four mile laps and one-three mile lap in the park. Felt pretty good, even with the pull in my hip.

Run Log

Four miles on the Trinity Trail with Melissa. 12 minute average pace, felt good and not weighed down.

Run Log

Sunday, January 10, 2010 - 9 miles, the first 8 with Melissa. Felt pretty good, but a little stiff towards the end. We ran loops in the park.

The Plan

An update on the plan: my goal is to run a half marathon each month. I've committed to January and February: the Texas Half in Dallas on January 30, and the Cowtown Half on February 28 in Fort Worth. I think Dallas Rock'n'Roll will be my March race, on March 14. I just can't get over the entry fee. I'm feeling a little excited but mostly fearful of a year's worth of running. If I can do it, I think it will transform me, physically and mentally. But it's a really big commitment. I have some ideas on how to improve my running and times as the year goes on. For now, though, I am concentrating on getting through my first race as a run rather than a race.

Goodnight!

New Year, New Goal

So I haven't been very good at keeping up with my running (or my running log) and that has to change. All of the sudden I'm looking at crunch time for my first race of the year on January 30. I have challenged myself, and asked the RB to hold me accountable, as she does so well, to log all of my runs. So! The first two runs of the year:

January 1, 2010, Trinity Trails, four miles, 46 minutes and some change. We ran in the afternoon, and it was bright, sunny and beautiful. We kept up a pretty good pace. Run felt good.

January 3, 2010, Trinity Park, six miles (three two mile loops!), 1:14. We ran in the dark and wind, and in the street rather than on the sidewalk, since it's better lit. My knees bothered me for a while afterwards, and the run felt like sloshing through mud. But! we took 20 seconds off our average for the first four miles by the time we completed the sixth. I like those negative splits.

Can't believe it's been a month!

I have been a negligent blogger, bad girl! It's been a busy month of running since I last updated, with lots more to come.

I completed my summer series with not only multiple first, second and third place finishes in my age group, but I won third overall in my group as well! I was quite surprised. I suppose my triumph is a testament solely to perseverance, because I most certainly wasn't fast. I was a little disappointed that I only met my goal of under 30 minutes once; it was in the middle of the summer, and on the coolest day of the summer. I will have to run a 5K sometime this fall to see how the cooler weather affects my pace.

The new RB (running buddy) and I are making some progress! Speaking of cooler weather, we had a great six mile run a few weekends ago early while it was still cool. It felt great outside, and we really improved our pace. I'm hopeful that when it really cools off, we will be going gangbusters. It helps that I finally got my hands on a Garmin wristwatch. If you're looking for a running GPS, the small Garmins are great. They have a lot of useful functions, including keeping your pace and heartrate for a more accurate calories-burned calculation. I have mine set to sing at me every mile, which is a morale booster on long runs. When we get into running a more consistent pace, I may set it so that it beeps if we fall under a certain pace.

This past weekend I got a little ahead of myself. I signed up for a Labor Day 15K - and it was brutal. It was almost all on the trail, which means no shade, and it was quite steamy and sunny that morning. I kept an average pace of 12:05, but it felt a lot slower than that. The three mile jump from six to nine miles was more than I was ready for.

I'm going to be on vacation for the next few weeks, so I won't be running or posting much. I have made some decisions about races, though: I'm thinking pretty seriously about going to Phoenix for the PF Chang's Rock'n'Roll in January. I will do the Cowtown in February, and Rock'n'Roll Dallas in March. I am looking at a race in Nashville (with my cousin Kate!) in April.

Happy Running!

First five miler in a while

Ran the first five mile run I've done in a while this morning. It went well - I powered up a few hills and got my heartrate up, but most of it was at a steady pace. My new running buddy is still trying to pick up speed. She's doing great! And I think we will be faster once it cools off some. You know, in October.

I have to admit, I think I've enjoyed being a mentor. Up until now I've been the mentee (or at least I have allowed myself to remain in that role.) But it does make me a bit nervous. I hope I am giving good advice and not leading her astray or being too big-sisterly. Sometimes I fall into that trap all too easily.

I've noticed lately that some of my running clothes, especially the tops, are not coming clean anymore. The sweat smell seems to be trapped in the shirt. I wonder if this is a failure on my part to wash them appropriately - with no fabric softener - or if they just have a shelf life. It does seem to be the older ones, some of which I've had for at least two years. For the record, my favorite clothes are Mizunos, with New Balance a close second. The Mizuno gear seems to fit me really well, I like the cuts and the colors, and they tend to HAVE POCKETS. Note to fitness wear designers: include pockets in women's wear, too, not just men's. Both the New Balance and Mizuno shorts are so soft and comfy to wear, and they dry very quickly. If only the tops didn't snag so easily...

I'm getting to the point of no return for next year. I need to register for the first few halves to make sure I get in and I'm starting to wonder if I can do this. Will my feet hold up? Will I get tired of it or bored? I'm nervous.

Finally, I got some good advice last week. (Thanks Dee!) The greater the goal, the greater the preparation must be. No brainer, right? For some reason that tidbit caught my attention, and I think this is the inspiration I finally needed to get back to Weight Watchers. My weight isn't really out of control, but I'd like to have some of my clothes fit more comfortably. Like my sister says, "you work out all the time!" But I don't feel like I have the body to show for it. There are muscles under there! I want to let them out. So I'm going on Wednesday whether I can con anyone from work into going with me or not.