My running blog

Sunday, May 28, 2006

S May 28, 2006 11 miles don't remember the time. more than two hours

This was another "start in Sequim and run home"run. I am getting a bit bored of always needing to fit in a run. Especially these long runs. I feel confident that I can finish the half if I don't hurt myself. It will be nice to have it behind me. I have a plan that doesn't give up running all together but does cut down on the mileage for a few months. Maybe some 4 - 4 - 6 weeks taking a break any time I want. In February I can pick up the training again and get the long runs going.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

W May 24, 2006 6 miles 1:03

Unremarkable run. Mile times+/- 10:30. My trail is open again. I guess it has been open for a few days but the last time I ran on the trail was a week ago. My mind is at ease preparing for the half marathon now that I have my familiar terrain back. I am thinking of having Andrea drive me out to the course again for my long run on Sunday. I am thinking of running for 11 miles just to see how it feels. If I can do 11, I am sure I can do 13 because as you know, anyone can run two miles.
Andrea has me listening to books on my iPod now so I don't have many interesting thoughts to keep my blog entertaining.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

S May 21, 2006 Rhody Run 12k

Mile 1: 11:05
Mile 2: 11:00
Miles 3: 12:37 obviously up a hill
Mile 4: 10:37
Mile 5: 10:29
Mile 6: 9:35 Obviously back down the hill
Mile 7: 10:37
Extra: 5:37 but I forgot to stop my watch so not really this long

there were over 2,000 people in this run. Many of whom were walkers. There was no discernable location for the runners to start so I found myself stuck behind groups of walkers several times before I even got to the start. But as it was a chip timed race I guess that doesn't matter. Check out my official stats at:
http://www.olympus.net/community/rhodyrun/index.html (2/9/65)
We thought there would be a beer tent. I was thinking that it would be in conjuction with the rhododendron festival. No, I recived one free beer along with my shirt as part of the running perks but runners had to stay in the enclosure. Team Tamara remained outside the enclosure with their own beer, making jokes about East Berlin.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

T May 18, 2006 6 miles 1 hour 5:37 minutes
Time: 6:30 pm Temperature: 65° Perfect sunny day

MP 13 to MP 14: 10:52
MP 14 to MP 15: 10:32
MP 15 to MP 16: 11:00
MP 16 to MP 15: 10:48
MP 15 to MP 14: 10:58
MP 14 to MP 13: 11:24

I ran along the same bit of trail as last time but ran it out and turned around. This trail is very flat through the farmer's fields. It is at the start of the half but going east rather than west. I am disappointed in my time but not enought to want to make any changes. I am just in it for the run, not to go faster. Suzie says this is okay. She also says that I should make another goal right after this one so I don't lose my momentum. I was thinking that I could aim for the half marathon again but this time have a goal in mind. I am hoping to finish in 2.5 hours but I don't know if that is realistic if I plan to walk though the aid stations and up that huge hill. My Rhody Run is Sunday. My name should be on the internet in the results.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

T May 16, 2006 6 miles 1 hour 6:22 minutes
Time: 5:00 pm Temperature: 65° Perfect sunny day

my trail is closed so Andrea took me out to the trail near Sequim and sat at the coffee shop while I ran into town. I did not get attacked by a cougar.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

S May 14, 2006 8 miles 1:29:40 minutes
Time: 5:00 pm Temperature: 65° Perfect sunny day

MP 1 to MP 0: 11:39
MP 0 to MP 1: 10:58
MP 1 to MP 2: 10:53
MP 2 to MP 3: 11:13
MP 3 to MP 2: 11:19
MP 1 to MP 2: 11:03
MP 2 to MP 3: 11:19
MP 3 to MP 2: 11:12

I still didn't want to go running. but I went anyway because I don't want to ruin the efforts of the past 3 months. I did not accidentally run 13 miles. I was all set to run 8 miles. I had no plan I just wanted to get it over with. I figured that attitude might change once I get two miles into the run. I get all gussied up in my apparel, walk down to the trail and ...what the heck is this?...the gate is locked. I am locked out. It's the MAN tryin' to keep me down. Do I take this as a sign that I am not supposed to run? or do I just suck it up and go the other way. My trainer would be very disappointed if I gave up running at this point. "A" would be impossible to live with and Keri & Joe Electron wouldn't be able to go to Port Townsend to drink at the Rhody Run. But going the other way means running through town where people can see me.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

T May 11, 2006 5 miles 53:40 minutes
Time: 7:00 pm Temperature: 53° Precipitation: none,

MP 1 to MP 2: 11:32
MP 2 to MP 3: 10:28
MP 3 to MP 3: 10:28
MP 3 to MP 2: 10:45
MP 2 to MP 1: 10:23

I didn't want to go running today but I went anyway because if i didn't go today I may never go again. Interesting collection of times. It was windy. I am going to try to go running tomorrow and rest on Saturday, 8 miles on Sunday. I saw the ducklings that I have been waiting for all Spring. There were 6 of them all trying to cross the highway. Two spots in the road may have indicated that there had been 8. It was very sad.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Monday May 8, 2006 - my traditional rest day.
Andrea wrapped me up in a burlap sack, drove out to the country and tossed me along the roadside to find my way home. She very conveniently tossed me out of the car at Mile Post 10 on the trail. You could just imagine her shock when I straggled in the door after running the 9 miles home. Okay, so maybe there was no burlap sack, but everything else is true.
Drove to MP 10
MP 10 to MP 9: 10:20 There was a huge hill at Seibert creek so I got off my pace and started too fast again. Or is that PHast?
MP 9 to MP 8: 11:29 This was recovery from the up hill and just general warming up.
MP 8 to MP 7: 10:56
MP 7 to MP 6: 10:05 + 2:00 I walked up the hill for 2 minutes. I have included a link to the profile of the race. I think this is in Bagley creek. (My parents had a cat named Bagley)
MP 6 to MP 5: 11:12
MP 5 to MP 4: 11:01
MP 4 to MP 3: 12:16 Can you tell that this is where I hit the wall of wind? It was like wearing one of those resistance belts.
MP 3 to MP 2: 11:54
MP 2 to MP 1: 11:31
So these are some concerns I have. Tell me again why I am doing this? I was getting to the point where running 6 miles was not a big deal. 6 miles isn't 9 miles. 9 miles was difficult. This Half-Marathon I am running is more than 4 miles longer than the 9 mile run I just did. And it is on the same course, meaning the same huge hills. I am really glad that I went on the course. It was interesting to be running along in totally unfamiliar territory knowing that I would get to my regular route, and then I would be almost home. I used to think my old route had some hills. I have revised that to slight inclines. Even the big hill from MP 5 to MP 6 isn't as steep as the creeks I encountered today.

I didn't have water with me on this run. What do you do about water on your long runs? During the race it shouldn't be a problem. (Actually, one of the reasons for my race on Saturday was to practice drinking my water while walking. I wanted to see if I could resume the jog after slowing down.) I was wanting some water after about 6 miles and if I do an even longer run it may become important. But I really don't want to carry anything with me. If I have Andrea meet me part way with some water that might work.

Did I say that I enjoyed the new terrain? For the most part it was picturesque with nice rolling berms. On top of that, today was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a run. Until I got to Bobcat Hollow. How do you suppose that got its name? I remembered someone talking about having a cougar in the neighborhood. Cougars are common in this area. All of a sudden my idyllic landscape was a menacing obstacle course with silent and unseen dangers lurking in the overhanging boughs. And I thought it was bad when I was afraid of the ticks in Maryland. Do you think that if I am attacked my a huge cat, I would have time to dial 911 on my cell phone? Of course I would have to quick run home and get the cell phone first. Maybe I could fashion a quick heiroglyph with the cord from my ipod as a clue.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

S May 6, 2006

So I have a little surprise for my trainer. I didn't run on Thursday because I was on the phone until 8:00 pm and after the last after-dark run I don't like to go out late. I ran on Friday, just under 5 miles. As you may know, Fridays are my traditional dining and drinking days, not so much with the running. But I was able to squeeze in a few miles in preparation for today. Today I ran my first race. I found a race on the internet, registered, found the registration table, pinned my number on, followed the crowd to the starting line and ran a 10k. Is it a personal best if it is my first 10k? My unofficial time was 1:05.49. You can go to www.athleteschoice.info to find my official information. You would have loved it. I was thinking like an actual runner. (I was going to say "acting" like an actual runner but as they don't stay out drinking beer until 1:00am the night before the run...) I had a running plan: 1) start out slow - as slow as you can possibly go and still be moving forward, 2) speed up. This running plan may seem fairly sophisticated given my beginner status, but I had it well thought out. However, I had an immediate problem invoking the plan. It is impossible to run slowly in a pack of runners. I even started in the back. I knew I was going to end up in the back and being the overacheiver, the sooner I got there, the better. My first mile was 10:20. I knew that was too fast for me but now I was alone with two other women and I figured I would just try to keep up with them. Mile 2 was 11:13 that was a bit too slow, and I was warmed up so I could go a little faster but was hesitant to run too fast because the terrain was unfamiliar to me and I knew we would hit some hills. Mile 3 10:59 Better. Mile 4 10: 26. This is where we hit the hills and where I started to pass people. I actually passed people. "People" means more than one person. Mile 5 10:48; Mile 6 10:01 This is where Andrea was waiting with friends to cheer me on. Finish about 2:08 but I forgot to turn off my watch until I was at the end of the chute. Just before the finish I was overtaken by a guy that I had passed previously. After the race I talked with a woman who used me as someone to keep up with. That was interesting.
Here is what I learned from my first solo race experience:
*Center your number as you pin it on.
*When they say no headsets that might not include earphones.
*Don't go out drinking into the wee hours of the morning the night before.
*Drink water.
*Use the porta-poties 11 minutes prior to the start because at exactly 10 minutes before race time everyone else will line up for them.
*Start slower, finish faster. start your finish with two miles left to go.
*After the race, write your times on your number to remember what they were.
*Bring a change of clothes if you are going to a craft fair afterwards.
I really just thought of this as one of my regular runs. I didn't try to go any faster than normal. It was just interesting to run with others and have diffent scenery.
My big concern now is when to fit in my long run. I don't want to do it tomorrow because that would be three running days in a row. Maybe Monday because I work at home.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

T May 2, 2006 run 5.5 miles 59 minutes
Time: 7:00 pm Temperature: 53° Precipitation: none,

Route: House to MP 1: walked
MP 1 to MP 0: 10:47
MP 0 to MP 0.5: 5:10
MP 0.5 to MP 1: 4:37
MP 1 to MP 1.5: 5:41
MP 1.5 to MP 2: 4:43
MP 2 to MP 3: 11:00
MP 3 to MP 2: 10:38
MP 2 to MP 1.5: 5:32

So I tried to warm up and then at the 1.5 mile mark I tried to run fast. On the scale of difficulty I was thinking I was doing a 3 out of 6. Which for my legs I was, but for my breathing it was more like 5 out of 6 so I just tried to keep it up for the half mile and then rested for half a mile and tried it again. And then for the rest of the run I just tried to keep going as fast as I could without getting a cramp or out of breath. It seems my breathing needs some work. I guess this is the point of not always plodding along at a snail's pace. I am going to concentrate on the running for awhile and skip the soccer. My toe is not at all recovered and I think that is going to take some time. Right now it only hurts at the end of the run, doesn't bother me at all during the run. I don't want to aggravate it.

I was more tired at the end of this run than I have been on my other short runs. (Isn't it odd to consider 5.5 miles a short run?) I think that is due to the level of exertion. I liked it.

Notable observations: I saw a heron come in to land on a rock about 10 yards from me. It was very impressive. When it saw me it took off again and circled around until I passed. It was quite the nature lesson. I have undertaken an advanced raptor identification process. I am no longer satisfied with the eagle/sea gull division. I have come to notice many more eagle type birds and will not rest until I can put them into hawk/ falcon/ Merlin/ Osprey/ Kestrel/ Harrier categories. What ever a Kestrel or Harrier is... the Bald Eagle is now easy for me to spy, and the turkey vulture also doesn't stump me often.