Yeah, I owe some really good posts....I've been busy....
beaching it...
running it...
hanging out with kiddos (not mine)...
losing my car keys in the ocean when I don't have a spare set...
It's been a busy last few weeks!
I've PR'ed by 6 seconds on a new race course.
I've realized that my progress in running is only going to come when I learn to overcome these stupid fears that if I run too fast I'll just stop in the middle of the road.
I've been to the beach twice, which is evidenced by my unsightly tan lines (only on the front, of course).
I've quit my job and gone to work with Troy at his business and am loving it! Morning pedicures and afternoon naps...these are the days of my life.
Right now I'm sitting on the sofa, watching stage 8 of the Tour de France, drinking a beer....all at 11am...
Life is good peeps...life is good.
Promise to start posting more often, and better posts....for real.
July 11, 2009
June 17, 2009
Salute To Freedom 5k....Chasing the Rabbit...And Adventure Racer, I am Not
I told you'd I'd post more often, and lordy lordy it's hard to keep that promise.
At any rate, I ran my race last Saturday. I did not have a flying PR like I had hoped, but I did finish within 2 seconds of my last PR (24:35) which tells me that the last PR really was that...a PR..and not just a stroke of luck.
I ran most of the course prior to the race (RC racing strategy #1), and did 6 strides right before the start (30 seconds bursts...RC racing strategy #2). I maintained a consistent 8 min pace for the first mile (RC racing strategy #3) even though I really wanted to run faster and stop getting passed by all those people who go out too fast. I was good until the half-way point. And then I'm not sure what happened...it was a combination of turning around and realizing that we running into a head wind, and the sudden realization that trying to shave so many seconds off of my time just wasn't happening. And then I thought I wasn't even running my tempo pace because when I run a race my mind tends to play tricks on me...Saturday was no different, as my mind was telling me that my tempo pace was 7:45 and I was running an 8:01. Fortunately for me, RC has a much better brain than I do and laughed (and probably thought to himself that I probably used to be blond) when I explained to him that even though I didn't PR I was more mad that I didn't even use it as a good tempo run. Duh...my tempo run pace is more like an 8:20 something. So, I spent at least a good 1.5 miles beating myself up about it, when in actuality I rocked out a superb, controlled tempo run. Go me (after the fact, of course).
I found out after the race that one of our local super-star's Dad was chasing me the whole time...no, not like that! He and I run at relatively the same pace during the weekly track workouts, so he decided that his strategy for this race would be to chase the rabbit..or the Amy. And he PRed too! Fast forward to Tuesday (the next track work after the race) and Super-Star's Dad was instructed by RC to chase me on our 6 x 800's. To say it mildly, I was flattered. There used to be this time in my life where I felt like I was chasing everyone else and always pulling up the rear. Well, I'm still chasing everyone else but it felt good to know that I was finally...FINALLY...pulling someone along. Not sure what RC has in store for us tonight, but I wouldn't mind being chased again (that sounds weird....)
Since I've waited so long to post about a race 2 weeks ago, I'll fill you in on my racing adventures last Saturday too. Who doesn't love a 3 for 1 post? It goes something like this: Troy volunteered to be on an adventure race team with a former teammate...The Siego on Ft Yargo...some how or another, I agreed to be a part of that team not fully knowing what I was getting myself into. In other words, I was sick to my stomach everyday for a week leading up to and including the day of the race. Turns out I had reason to be scared. I've come to learn that every adventure race is different, and this one proved to be the same...different than what I thought. It consisted of 3 legs: a bike (mountain biking of course), a canoe, and a trek (I thought it was going to be a trail run...but it wasn't...more on that later). We had to orienteer through the woods on each leg and get at least 2 checkpoints on each leg. We had 5 hours in the blazing GA heat to find as many checkpoints as we could. We were randomly selected to do the trek first which I was excited about for the first 5 minutes because I thought it was trail run.
It wasn't. We made our way up the hill following the power lines (running...with a camelbak...and a life vest...which just made me feel like I was running in my own personal sauna). There were supposed to be two checkpoints at the top of the hill...just off in the woods...and looked relatively easy to find in the woods. They weren't. Actually, they were both misplaced and we spent almost an hour and a half looking for them. That wasn't the bad part. The bad part was tromping through knee to waist high brush and dead trees...and I couldn't see my feet...and I was getting stuck by thorny vines...and I kept thinking "what if I step on a snake?" NO, really what I was thinking is "4 more hours of this???" The other part of the trek that I wasn't looking forward to was a swim across the lake (guess that's why it's called a "trek" and not a "run"). I don't swim. I'd like to learn. I don't swim in lakes either. And I don't want to learn how to do that. Fortunately Troy cut his big toe trying to get a checkpoint in the lake and then with all the time we had already wasted, my team members decided to bag the swim (and they have no idea how grateful I was!)
Onto the canoe. No big deal except that there wasn't a 3rd seat so I had on knee pads and was supposed to sit on my knees the whole time so I could paddle. Sitting on my knees hurt my ankles so I opted to just paddle sitting on my behind...which wasn't really paddling at all. It was more of a "clank-clank...clank-clank" as my oars hit the side of the boat and never came close to hitting the water. At this point I didn't care because I knew I didn't have to "trek" through any scary brush anymore. I did feel bad for my teammates though because so far, on this adventure, I have been useless (and just so you know...I was pretty useless the rest of the race as well). We opted to just get the mandatory 2 checkpoints and move onto the mountain bike (I could hear angels signing in the background!). One important thing I did learn on the canoe: rowing would probably make my arms look really really amazing.
Back to land and oops! someone lost our checkpoint passport! Luckily a fabulous and wonderful team found it at the last checkpoint and brought it back for us. Thanks guys!
Onto the mountain bike. This was the part I had the most fun in because, well, I just like riding my bike. I thought I was pulling up the rear, but luckily we were with another team of all males for most of it, and I was better on the bike than one of those guys. Score one for Amy! Because we had spent so much time on the previous legs of the race we basically just had enough time to ride the course (you had to go all the way around the lake) and get a few checkpoints. The only part that really sucked was at the end we took some pretty hilly street roads. And I was out of steam. I ended up pushing my bike (how embarrassing) but I was so ready to be done with this race that I really didn't care what anyone else thought...
All in all, I liked my team (Troy and Dave) and my team name (Two Farts and A Tart) and that was about it. I'm not the adventure racing type. The tromping through brush and having to get checkpoints part really soured my taste for all things adventurey. I think (if I learn how to swim) I could totally do a trail triathlon? Is there such thing? Maybe I could be talked into another one? Who knows.
So, there are my adventures as of late. I'm really going to have to get on the blogging bandwagon as these posts are entirely too long!
Oh, one last thing: I quit my job last week to go pursue my dream of being an Olympic athlete. Okay...so that's not what I'm going to be doing! Actually, I'm going to work with Troy at the business he started 10 years ago (http://www.denttricks.com/). It's pretty exciting and not at all as scary as I thought it was going to be...and maybe...just maybe I'll have more time to post more often :)
Have a great week...I smell a beach trip in my future!
At any rate, I ran my race last Saturday. I did not have a flying PR like I had hoped, but I did finish within 2 seconds of my last PR (24:35) which tells me that the last PR really was that...a PR..and not just a stroke of luck.
I ran most of the course prior to the race (RC racing strategy #1), and did 6 strides right before the start (30 seconds bursts...RC racing strategy #2). I maintained a consistent 8 min pace for the first mile (RC racing strategy #3) even though I really wanted to run faster and stop getting passed by all those people who go out too fast. I was good until the half-way point. And then I'm not sure what happened...it was a combination of turning around and realizing that we running into a head wind, and the sudden realization that trying to shave so many seconds off of my time just wasn't happening. And then I thought I wasn't even running my tempo pace because when I run a race my mind tends to play tricks on me...Saturday was no different, as my mind was telling me that my tempo pace was 7:45 and I was running an 8:01. Fortunately for me, RC has a much better brain than I do and laughed (and probably thought to himself that I probably used to be blond) when I explained to him that even though I didn't PR I was more mad that I didn't even use it as a good tempo run. Duh...my tempo run pace is more like an 8:20 something. So, I spent at least a good 1.5 miles beating myself up about it, when in actuality I rocked out a superb, controlled tempo run. Go me (after the fact, of course).
I found out after the race that one of our local super-star's Dad was chasing me the whole time...no, not like that! He and I run at relatively the same pace during the weekly track workouts, so he decided that his strategy for this race would be to chase the rabbit..or the Amy. And he PRed too! Fast forward to Tuesday (the next track work after the race) and Super-Star's Dad was instructed by RC to chase me on our 6 x 800's. To say it mildly, I was flattered. There used to be this time in my life where I felt like I was chasing everyone else and always pulling up the rear. Well, I'm still chasing everyone else but it felt good to know that I was finally...FINALLY...pulling someone along. Not sure what RC has in store for us tonight, but I wouldn't mind being chased again (that sounds weird....)
Since I've waited so long to post about a race 2 weeks ago, I'll fill you in on my racing adventures last Saturday too. Who doesn't love a 3 for 1 post? It goes something like this: Troy volunteered to be on an adventure race team with a former teammate...The Siego on Ft Yargo...some how or another, I agreed to be a part of that team not fully knowing what I was getting myself into. In other words, I was sick to my stomach everyday for a week leading up to and including the day of the race. Turns out I had reason to be scared. I've come to learn that every adventure race is different, and this one proved to be the same...different than what I thought. It consisted of 3 legs: a bike (mountain biking of course), a canoe, and a trek (I thought it was going to be a trail run...but it wasn't...more on that later). We had to orienteer through the woods on each leg and get at least 2 checkpoints on each leg. We had 5 hours in the blazing GA heat to find as many checkpoints as we could. We were randomly selected to do the trek first which I was excited about for the first 5 minutes because I thought it was trail run.
It wasn't. We made our way up the hill following the power lines (running...with a camelbak...and a life vest...which just made me feel like I was running in my own personal sauna). There were supposed to be two checkpoints at the top of the hill...just off in the woods...and looked relatively easy to find in the woods. They weren't. Actually, they were both misplaced and we spent almost an hour and a half looking for them. That wasn't the bad part. The bad part was tromping through knee to waist high brush and dead trees...and I couldn't see my feet...and I was getting stuck by thorny vines...and I kept thinking "what if I step on a snake?" NO, really what I was thinking is "4 more hours of this???" The other part of the trek that I wasn't looking forward to was a swim across the lake (guess that's why it's called a "trek" and not a "run"). I don't swim. I'd like to learn. I don't swim in lakes either. And I don't want to learn how to do that. Fortunately Troy cut his big toe trying to get a checkpoint in the lake and then with all the time we had already wasted, my team members decided to bag the swim (and they have no idea how grateful I was!)
Onto the canoe. No big deal except that there wasn't a 3rd seat so I had on knee pads and was supposed to sit on my knees the whole time so I could paddle. Sitting on my knees hurt my ankles so I opted to just paddle sitting on my behind...which wasn't really paddling at all. It was more of a "clank-clank...clank-clank" as my oars hit the side of the boat and never came close to hitting the water. At this point I didn't care because I knew I didn't have to "trek" through any scary brush anymore. I did feel bad for my teammates though because so far, on this adventure, I have been useless (and just so you know...I was pretty useless the rest of the race as well). We opted to just get the mandatory 2 checkpoints and move onto the mountain bike (I could hear angels signing in the background!). One important thing I did learn on the canoe: rowing would probably make my arms look really really amazing.
Back to land and oops! someone lost our checkpoint passport! Luckily a fabulous and wonderful team found it at the last checkpoint and brought it back for us. Thanks guys!
Onto the mountain bike. This was the part I had the most fun in because, well, I just like riding my bike. I thought I was pulling up the rear, but luckily we were with another team of all males for most of it, and I was better on the bike than one of those guys. Score one for Amy! Because we had spent so much time on the previous legs of the race we basically just had enough time to ride the course (you had to go all the way around the lake) and get a few checkpoints. The only part that really sucked was at the end we took some pretty hilly street roads. And I was out of steam. I ended up pushing my bike (how embarrassing) but I was so ready to be done with this race that I really didn't care what anyone else thought...
All in all, I liked my team (Troy and Dave) and my team name (Two Farts and A Tart) and that was about it. I'm not the adventure racing type. The tromping through brush and having to get checkpoints part really soured my taste for all things adventurey. I think (if I learn how to swim) I could totally do a trail triathlon? Is there such thing? Maybe I could be talked into another one? Who knows.
So, there are my adventures as of late. I'm really going to have to get on the blogging bandwagon as these posts are entirely too long!
Oh, one last thing: I quit my job last week to go pursue my dream of being an Olympic athlete. Okay...so that's not what I'm going to be doing! Actually, I'm going to work with Troy at the business he started 10 years ago (http://www.denttricks.com/). It's pretty exciting and not at all as scary as I thought it was going to be...and maybe...just maybe I'll have more time to post more often :)
Have a great week...I smell a beach trip in my future!
June 12, 2009
I HATE FACEBOOK
I said it before (to myself) and I'll say it again (this time internet-outloud):
I H-A-T-E F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K.
Of course, I like the fact that I know where 200 of my not-so-closest friends live and work, and that they adore taking pictures of their kids and their pets. Yes, I do enjoy seeing that Sally really did become a success in the adult entertainment industry...and that she has a teacup chihuahua that occasionally likes to go shopping with her.
But, what I really loathe about Facebook is that it has totally taken away from my blogging time. I mean, really...after spending two hours rifling through the status updates and finding out that Johnny really did get drunk and get a tattoo on his rear end (and posted a mobile picture to prove it), I'm just too totally exhausted to come up with a meaningful and heartfelt blog post...or at least one that's remotely funny. So, in the last 6 months since I've officially become addicted to Facebook, I've resorted to posting fact-filled, boring posts about running. And that's it.
And I apologize. (even though I totally blame it on Facebook). (oh and I secretly hope that Facebook will eventually get old just all the other social networking sites have...there, I said it.)
And I'm going to try and do better. I'm coming up on my 500th post and I really don't want the next 29 posts to be filled with boring details of how I shaved another 5 seconds off of my marathon pace. I mean, yes, I think you should care that I can run at super-human speeds now, but I don't think it's fair to inundate you with such information.
So, without further ado, I give you the top 10 things that I've been up to over the last month that I think might interest you:
1. I quit my cushy government job. Well, actually my last day is July 1 but I'm on vacation and planned sick leave (yes, there is such a thing) so much between now and then that I'll rarely be there (read: I'm planning on attending my going away luncheon...and that's about it).
2. I quit my job to go work with Troy's company: Dent Tricks. I will be the Director of Operations (actually I'm the CFO but I just don't like the way that sounds). I fully believe that I will be alot busier than I was at my government job. Actually, as I just told my friend Scott: "I guess it's time I got back to work...." I'm a highly motivated, self-starter with excellent communication skills! In other words, I can powernap lunch with the best of them. (I'm sure Troy will read this post....so I want to make a good impression).
3. I have become super-humanly fast at running. Well, actually I've just become faster than I was before...any way you put it, it seems really really fast to me. I used to say it was fun and easy. Now it's just fun and hard. I haven't quite mastered 1200m repeats at a 7:20 pace but I'm getting close. As a matter of fact, I'm running a 5k tomorrow and I fully intend to meet or break 24 minutes. And yes, I'm still the Grasshopper (may David Carradine RIP).
4. I love my husband. We've been married for 8 months now and I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Wait. I am the luckiest girl in the world. He's great and wonderful and everything that I never thought I'd find. It's good to be Mrs. Troy Tarpley.
5. I'm still working on the CPA exam even though I think I told a few people (or a bunch) that I was quitting. I got my scores back for the first section and I passed, so I sortof feel guilty for not giving the rest of it a go. I plan on restarting my studying next week. Besides, I'll be downsizing to one job so it should be easier to get in a couple of hours of studying a day.
6. I think I want to learn how to swim. I went to a triathlon a couple of weeks ago and saw how hot those girls arms looked and I have decided that maybe I could have hot arms in my future too. Personal Trainer Rick has been working tirelessly to make me look like a goddess and while he's been quite successful, I think a little help in the arm area will never hurt.
7. I'm competing (rather, I'm participating) in my first adventure race. I'm on a team with Troy and another guy we run with. Our team name: Two Farts and a Tart. I think we should have been called: Two Guys That Know What They Are Doing and One Girl Who's Clueless, but Troy said that name was too long. I hate snakes, ticks, and fast-moving water so this little adventure should be quite interesting.
8. Troy and I went to another costume party last weekend. The theme this time was "Studio 54". I dressed up as a...well, I just wore a pretty dress, had my hair feathered, and sported some glam makeup. Troy wore a skirt. And yet I still love my husband.
9. I've been voluntold to be the registrar for the annual Race For the Cure 5k (the Susan G. Komen event). Ok, so maybe after a few cold beers I volunteered...at any rate, I'm excited to do my part to save the ta-tas. Race is in October and I expect all you blogger followers (who live in the Middle GA area) to be present and accounted for. I mean, really, who doesn't want to save 2nd base?
10. Troy just brought me a cold beer from the fridge and that just makes me love him even more.
Have a great weekend and expect a stellar race report after tomorrow's Salute To Freedom 5k!
I H-A-T-E F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K.
Of course, I like the fact that I know where 200 of my not-so-closest friends live and work, and that they adore taking pictures of their kids and their pets. Yes, I do enjoy seeing that Sally really did become a success in the adult entertainment industry...and that she has a teacup chihuahua that occasionally likes to go shopping with her.
But, what I really loathe about Facebook is that it has totally taken away from my blogging time. I mean, really...after spending two hours rifling through the status updates and finding out that Johnny really did get drunk and get a tattoo on his rear end (and posted a mobile picture to prove it), I'm just too totally exhausted to come up with a meaningful and heartfelt blog post...or at least one that's remotely funny. So, in the last 6 months since I've officially become addicted to Facebook, I've resorted to posting fact-filled, boring posts about running. And that's it.
And I apologize. (even though I totally blame it on Facebook). (oh and I secretly hope that Facebook will eventually get old just all the other social networking sites have...there, I said it.)
And I'm going to try and do better. I'm coming up on my 500th post and I really don't want the next 29 posts to be filled with boring details of how I shaved another 5 seconds off of my marathon pace. I mean, yes, I think you should care that I can run at super-human speeds now, but I don't think it's fair to inundate you with such information.
So, without further ado, I give you the top 10 things that I've been up to over the last month that I think might interest you:
1. I quit my cushy government job. Well, actually my last day is July 1 but I'm on vacation and planned sick leave (yes, there is such a thing) so much between now and then that I'll rarely be there (read: I'm planning on attending my going away luncheon...and that's about it).
2. I quit my job to go work with Troy's company: Dent Tricks. I will be the Director of Operations (actually I'm the CFO but I just don't like the way that sounds). I fully believe that I will be alot busier than I was at my government job. Actually, as I just told my friend Scott: "I guess it's time I got back to work...." I'm a highly motivated, self-starter with excellent communication skills! In other words, I can power
3. I have become super-humanly fast at running. Well, actually I've just become faster than I was before...any way you put it, it seems really really fast to me. I used to say it was fun and easy. Now it's just fun and hard. I haven't quite mastered 1200m repeats at a 7:20 pace but I'm getting close. As a matter of fact, I'm running a 5k tomorrow and I fully intend to meet or break 24 minutes. And yes, I'm still the Grasshopper (may David Carradine RIP).
4. I love my husband. We've been married for 8 months now and I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Wait. I am the luckiest girl in the world. He's great and wonderful and everything that I never thought I'd find. It's good to be Mrs. Troy Tarpley.
5. I'm still working on the CPA exam even though I think I told a few people (or a bunch) that I was quitting. I got my scores back for the first section and I passed, so I sortof feel guilty for not giving the rest of it a go. I plan on restarting my studying next week. Besides, I'll be downsizing to one job so it should be easier to get in a couple of hours of studying a day.
6. I think I want to learn how to swim. I went to a triathlon a couple of weeks ago and saw how hot those girls arms looked and I have decided that maybe I could have hot arms in my future too. Personal Trainer Rick has been working tirelessly to make me look like a goddess and while he's been quite successful, I think a little help in the arm area will never hurt.
7. I'm competing (rather, I'm participating) in my first adventure race. I'm on a team with Troy and another guy we run with. Our team name: Two Farts and a Tart. I think we should have been called: Two Guys That Know What They Are Doing and One Girl Who's Clueless, but Troy said that name was too long. I hate snakes, ticks, and fast-moving water so this little adventure should be quite interesting.
8. Troy and I went to another costume party last weekend. The theme this time was "Studio 54". I dressed up as a...well, I just wore a pretty dress, had my hair feathered, and sported some glam makeup. Troy wore a skirt. And yet I still love my husband.
9. I've been voluntold to be the registrar for the annual Race For the Cure 5k (the Susan G. Komen event). Ok, so maybe after a few cold beers I volunteered...at any rate, I'm excited to do my part to save the ta-tas. Race is in October and I expect all you blogger followers (who live in the Middle GA area) to be present and accounted for. I mean, really, who doesn't want to save 2nd base?
10. Troy just brought me a cold beer from the fridge and that just makes me love him even more.
Have a great weekend and expect a stellar race report after tomorrow's Salute To Freedom 5k!
May 29, 2009
PHASE II FOR GOAL II
Yeah, I know I shouldn't stay away so long...sorry about that. Got busy with life, running, and deciding to sell the house and I totally forgot that I hadn't posted to my blog until I got a friendly reminder at FitCamp (thanks Blake!)
Since I last posted, I have finished recovery, breezed through Phase I, and am now muddling through Phase II for my new goal: the Macon Labor Day Road Race - 5k. And the ridiculous goal of busting 22 minutes. Crazy, ain't it?
I last posted about being in recovery phase. I think I also may have bragged about how E-A-S-Y all of this has been. It is at this point that I would like to retract any and everything that I have ever said about this junk being easy....because Goal 2...well, it hasn't been so easy anymore...and secretly, I think that was RC's plan all along.
I was glad that recovery was over with a few weeks ago. While it was nice to get the "you can do whatever you want" pass, I'm really not that type of girl. I need the discipline and structure of a good challenging schedule. In other words, I think I ran like 12 miles during recovery. Recovery = lazy for me, and maybe next time I'm in recovery phase I'll remember that and plan better. At any rate, I was ecstatic when RC texted me and said "It's on for Goal 2...Wax on/Wax off". I was ready ready ready to be back in the game again.
Phase I for Goal 2 was fairly simple. Run my new easy pace (9:30) with a couple of marathon pace runs (8:47) thrown in for fun. The most daunting part about it all was that I had to run 5 miles at the 8:47 pace and I hadn't ever done that before. It turns out that running 5 miles at an 8:47 pace isn't so hard to do after all!
Things were going smoothly. I felt confident, empowered, and darnit I knew I could nail a sub-22 minute 5k!
...and then RC decided to get all snazzy and go to running school. In other words he got USATF certified and lost his mind on what he thinks I can and cannot do.
Upon his return from running school, he immediately moved me into Phase II. I tried to kindly remind him that I still had one more week of Phase I left and I think I faintly heard him say "suck it up buttercup".
Off to Phase II I go!
It started with a track workout of 200-200-800 x 4. My goal for the 200's was :53 and I pretty much nailed that, actually running most of them around :49. The 800's were a different story. My goal was 3:32 and 3:32 was all I could muster up. Each one was equally as hard as the one before it. I tried to rationalize with RC (yeah...I should have known better) by explaining that actually I'm running .50 mile splits at 3:18 but because I'm running on the 2nd or 3rd lane out on the track, but I'm starting and stopping in the same place, then actually I'm exceeding my goal of 3:32.
He just looked at me like I had a 3rd eye and said that he guessed I needed to run faster to pass the other runners and get in that 1st lane quicker.
Sometimes I think I should keep my mouth shut....
After the grueling workout at the track, I sortof took the next day, Wednesday, off. I did a few miles in Trained by Cain's FitCamp class and called it a day. My quads were killing me....Thursday Turbo Tim texted me and asked if I'd like to join him on his marathon pace run. I needed motivation, and his marathon pace is my new easy pace, so the stars were aligned for a run. But....we probably shouldn't have started our run at 4:00 in the afternoon GA heat. Not so smart, and we paid for it in the form of lousy paces. Oh well, at least we ran, right?
This is the part where RC begins to totally lose his mind.
He called last night to tell me that instead of running 5 miles at marathon pace (8:47) he wanted me to run 2 x 2 miles at TEMPO pace. TEMPO PACE? 2 MILES? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Tempo pace is 8:07...for 2 solid miles after a warm-up when I haven't sufficiently spent the week psyching myself up for it??? That Tempo pace? I also felt I needed to remind him that that is really close to my previous RACE PACE. And I prepared for that. Tempo pace? Not so prepared for.
But, I didn't want him to laugh and tell me to "suck it up buttercup" so I planned on meeting him at 6:45 for this dreaded run.
I dreaded it for the rest of the evening.
I dreaded it when I woke up this morning.
I dreaded it as I choked down my oatmeal.
I dreaded it all the way to our meeting place.
I was just scared. I hadn't run at this pace for almost a month. How in the world was I going to pull this off????
So we meet and run out a mile for a warm-up. I'm still dreading it all and secretly hoping that a stick or a rock would jump out in front of me and trip me and cause me to bleed so much that we'd have to cancel the run.
Yeah, I know...after having that REALLY happen before, you would think that I wouldn't wish such bad luck on myself.
At any rate, we get to the 1 mile mark and he says we are going to go back to the start and then run another mile out for the first 2 mile repeat. It's at this point that I wonder if he remembers that we just ran a slight downhill...and so theoretically, we will have to run back uphill? I didn't dare say anything, as am getting tired of that "you've got a third eye" look.
So, I just ran.
Goal was to run the first 1/2 mile at an 8:20 and then cut the pace so that I averaged an 8:07 for the entire 2 miles.
I met the first goal head on. Hit that first half mile split at 8:12...and one side of my brain was thinking "this isn't so bad", while the other side was kindly reminding me that I had 1.5 miles to go, plus another entire repeat. I figured I would just try to meet the overall goal of 8:07 and if I was totally beat I'd just wuss out on the second repeat.
It's funny the things your mind can convince you of.
2nd half mile split - 8:00
3rd half mile split - 7:46
I was sortof concerned that I may have pushed it too much with that 7:46 split, but being the good RC that he really is, he just kept encouraging me to go faster and faster.
So I did.
4th half mile split - 7:30
For an overall average pace of 7:52...way off from 8:07...and even more off from what I thought I was capable of.
We (I) recovered for a few minutes and then said "let's go for #2".
And then I got that crazy third eye look again as RC explained that I was only doing one 2 mile tempo run.
What? How and when did I miss that part?
But, being the good RC (that he really is) he said I could keep going if I was feeling froggy. So, I agreed to do one more mile at an 8:07 which actually turned into an 8:03. Not bad for a girl who didn't think she was prepared for it all.
Which leads me back to all of this EASY running business. I think RC is getting tired of hearing me spout off about how easy all of this is. I think he doesn't want his other grasshoppers-in-training to think that he's a softy and that it will all be easy. And I've tried to explain to everyone that will listen that the runs themselves typically aren't "easy", but it's that moment when I get back in my car and I realize that I actually did it...it's at that moment that I think about how easy it was.
But, I'm changing my terminology. Because none of it is "easy." Instead of saying 'this' or 'that' is easy, I should have been saying that it wasn't so scary. Because, really, that's the worst part. That dreading and anticipation and wondering if I'm going to make a fool of myself....that's a whole lot harder than actually starting the run and finishing it. You see it's not how easy or hard the run is, but it's at what level did I psych myself out at? Did I convince myself that it was impossible, that I couldn't do it, that there was a great possibility that I would fail? The answer is usually a resounding "YES"! We all do that. If we didn't get psyched out about our potential to bonk, we wouldn't keep doing this. If we knew that we were going to nail each and every run, then we wouldn't continue to run. I guess getting scared about all of this is our bodies mechanism to push us to keep going.
Being scared is okay. It pushes me to the next level. It reminds me that I've always got more work to do. It's that part when I get back in the car and I realize that I didn't die during the run, and didn't even come close to passing out, that I recognize the fact that that run wasn't so scary.
So, you won't hear Grasshopper saying that any of this is easy anymore...instead, I'll constantly remind myself that I have yet to run a run that was really as scary as I imagined it to be....
Now, have this talk with me again next week when RC pulls some more crazy runs out of his hat!
Have a great weekend!
Since I last posted, I have finished recovery, breezed through Phase I, and am now muddling through Phase II for my new goal: the Macon Labor Day Road Race - 5k. And the ridiculous goal of busting 22 minutes. Crazy, ain't it?
I last posted about being in recovery phase. I think I also may have bragged about how E-A-S-Y all of this has been. It is at this point that I would like to retract any and everything that I have ever said about this junk being easy....because Goal 2...well, it hasn't been so easy anymore...and secretly, I think that was RC's plan all along.
I was glad that recovery was over with a few weeks ago. While it was nice to get the "you can do whatever you want" pass, I'm really not that type of girl. I need the discipline and structure of a good challenging schedule. In other words, I think I ran like 12 miles during recovery. Recovery = lazy for me, and maybe next time I'm in recovery phase I'll remember that and plan better. At any rate, I was ecstatic when RC texted me and said "It's on for Goal 2...Wax on/Wax off". I was ready ready ready to be back in the game again.
Phase I for Goal 2 was fairly simple. Run my new easy pace (9:30) with a couple of marathon pace runs (8:47) thrown in for fun. The most daunting part about it all was that I had to run 5 miles at the 8:47 pace and I hadn't ever done that before. It turns out that running 5 miles at an 8:47 pace isn't so hard to do after all!
Things were going smoothly. I felt confident, empowered, and darnit I knew I could nail a sub-22 minute 5k!
...and then RC decided to get all snazzy and go to running school. In other words he got USATF certified and lost his mind on what he thinks I can and cannot do.
Upon his return from running school, he immediately moved me into Phase II. I tried to kindly remind him that I still had one more week of Phase I left and I think I faintly heard him say "suck it up buttercup".
Off to Phase II I go!
It started with a track workout of 200-200-800 x 4. My goal for the 200's was :53 and I pretty much nailed that, actually running most of them around :49. The 800's were a different story. My goal was 3:32 and 3:32 was all I could muster up. Each one was equally as hard as the one before it. I tried to rationalize with RC (yeah...I should have known better) by explaining that actually I'm running .50 mile splits at 3:18 but because I'm running on the 2nd or 3rd lane out on the track, but I'm starting and stopping in the same place, then actually I'm exceeding my goal of 3:32.
He just looked at me like I had a 3rd eye and said that he guessed I needed to run faster to pass the other runners and get in that 1st lane quicker.
Sometimes I think I should keep my mouth shut....
After the grueling workout at the track, I sortof took the next day, Wednesday, off. I did a few miles in Trained by Cain's FitCamp class and called it a day. My quads were killing me....Thursday Turbo Tim texted me and asked if I'd like to join him on his marathon pace run. I needed motivation, and his marathon pace is my new easy pace, so the stars were aligned for a run. But....we probably shouldn't have started our run at 4:00 in the afternoon GA heat. Not so smart, and we paid for it in the form of lousy paces. Oh well, at least we ran, right?
This is the part where RC begins to totally lose his mind.
He called last night to tell me that instead of running 5 miles at marathon pace (8:47) he wanted me to run 2 x 2 miles at TEMPO pace. TEMPO PACE? 2 MILES? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Tempo pace is 8:07...for 2 solid miles after a warm-up when I haven't sufficiently spent the week psyching myself up for it??? That Tempo pace? I also felt I needed to remind him that that is really close to my previous RACE PACE. And I prepared for that. Tempo pace? Not so prepared for.
But, I didn't want him to laugh and tell me to "suck it up buttercup" so I planned on meeting him at 6:45 for this dreaded run.
I dreaded it for the rest of the evening.
I dreaded it when I woke up this morning.
I dreaded it as I choked down my oatmeal.
I dreaded it all the way to our meeting place.
I was just scared. I hadn't run at this pace for almost a month. How in the world was I going to pull this off????
So we meet and run out a mile for a warm-up. I'm still dreading it all and secretly hoping that a stick or a rock would jump out in front of me and trip me and cause me to bleed so much that we'd have to cancel the run.
Yeah, I know...after having that REALLY happen before, you would think that I wouldn't wish such bad luck on myself.
At any rate, we get to the 1 mile mark and he says we are going to go back to the start and then run another mile out for the first 2 mile repeat. It's at this point that I wonder if he remembers that we just ran a slight downhill...and so theoretically, we will have to run back uphill? I didn't dare say anything, as am getting tired of that "you've got a third eye" look.
So, I just ran.
Goal was to run the first 1/2 mile at an 8:20 and then cut the pace so that I averaged an 8:07 for the entire 2 miles.
I met the first goal head on. Hit that first half mile split at 8:12...and one side of my brain was thinking "this isn't so bad", while the other side was kindly reminding me that I had 1.5 miles to go, plus another entire repeat. I figured I would just try to meet the overall goal of 8:07 and if I was totally beat I'd just wuss out on the second repeat.
It's funny the things your mind can convince you of.
2nd half mile split - 8:00
3rd half mile split - 7:46
I was sortof concerned that I may have pushed it too much with that 7:46 split, but being the good RC that he really is, he just kept encouraging me to go faster and faster.
So I did.
4th half mile split - 7:30
For an overall average pace of 7:52...way off from 8:07...and even more off from what I thought I was capable of.
We (I) recovered for a few minutes and then said "let's go for #2".
And then I got that crazy third eye look again as RC explained that I was only doing one 2 mile tempo run.
What? How and when did I miss that part?
But, being the good RC (that he really is) he said I could keep going if I was feeling froggy. So, I agreed to do one more mile at an 8:07 which actually turned into an 8:03. Not bad for a girl who didn't think she was prepared for it all.
Which leads me back to all of this EASY running business. I think RC is getting tired of hearing me spout off about how easy all of this is. I think he doesn't want his other grasshoppers-in-training to think that he's a softy and that it will all be easy. And I've tried to explain to everyone that will listen that the runs themselves typically aren't "easy", but it's that moment when I get back in my car and I realize that I actually did it...it's at that moment that I think about how easy it was.
But, I'm changing my terminology. Because none of it is "easy." Instead of saying 'this' or 'that' is easy, I should have been saying that it wasn't so scary. Because, really, that's the worst part. That dreading and anticipation and wondering if I'm going to make a fool of myself....that's a whole lot harder than actually starting the run and finishing it. You see it's not how easy or hard the run is, but it's at what level did I psych myself out at? Did I convince myself that it was impossible, that I couldn't do it, that there was a great possibility that I would fail? The answer is usually a resounding "YES"! We all do that. If we didn't get psyched out about our potential to bonk, we wouldn't keep doing this. If we knew that we were going to nail each and every run, then we wouldn't continue to run. I guess getting scared about all of this is our bodies mechanism to push us to keep going.
Being scared is okay. It pushes me to the next level. It reminds me that I've always got more work to do. It's that part when I get back in the car and I realize that I didn't die during the run, and didn't even come close to passing out, that I recognize the fact that that run wasn't so scary.
So, you won't hear Grasshopper saying that any of this is easy anymore...instead, I'll constantly remind myself that I have yet to run a run that was really as scary as I imagined it to be....
Now, have this talk with me again next week when RC pulls some more crazy runs out of his hat!
Have a great weekend!
May 13, 2009
RECOVERY....WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?
I've been doing this running thing for almost 4 years and the only time I've taken "active recovery" is when Physical Therapist Brian makes me do it, or post-marathon when recovery is just a way to get through each day.
So, when I emailed RC a week or so ago and freaked out because I didn't have a schedule to go by, he calmly told me: you are in recovery mode. That's what we do. We r-e-c-o-v-e-r after a hard effort....well, I was shocked to say the least.
Recover after a 5k??
Really??
Who does that?
Apparently Team POD (Pain of Discipline) does.
And it couldn't have fallen at a better time.
I've been TDY (temporary duty...or temporary duty yonder if you ask T-roy) for the last two weeks and there is something really really hard about getting a run in on unfamiliar ground. Part of it has to do with trying to cram 2 months worth of work into 2 weeks, and the other part has to do with safety. I'm sortof a safety freak. I just will not run anywhere that I don't deem safer than safe. The only place I've found around here is the same park I ran last time I was here (and I ran 44 freakin' miles around that stupid park). So, to say it mildly...I'm not very motivated to run that same 1.3 miles of park trail over and over and over and over again.
So, yippee for recovery!
I've substituted stupid-park runs for an hour on the elliptical at my goal HR. And I've just taken full days off. No running. No guilt. I keep expecting to get yelled at for taking another day off, and I just get the same "Grasshopper: you are in recovery mode. Wax on/wax off."
RC told me Saturday to look at it as a reward for all my hard work leading up to the PR of all PR's.
Btw, who shaves a full 2 minutes off of their PR time?? I do! I do!
He keeps telling me to get prepared for the next phases of training (new goals: PR in a 10k in August, and HOLD ON TO YOUR HORSES: a sub-22 minute 5k on Labor Day...no, that wasn't a typo. I said S-U-B-22 minute 5k). Holy cow.
He told me on these next phases he'd cure me of saying "that was easy." He said there would be no more "lah tee dah...that was so much fun..." posting on my blog. He said it would be hard and it would be no laughing matter (or something like that).
But guess what?
I don't think he can cure me of saying all of this is EASY.
Really.
Yes, doing 6 x 400m hill repeats at an 8:00 min pace on Saturday was hard. I even felt a little throw up in the back of my mouth on repeat #4. But, really...when it was all over with I was able to look back on that and say "that was easy."
No, not easy, like I could have done it 10 more times. But geez, I've spent the last 3 years of my running life thinking that all of this was IMPOSSIBLE...so doing it...finishing it...even if I do vomit...it's still ALOT EASIER than I ever ever ever ever would have thought it would be.
And until I convince myself that any of this is IMPOSSIBLE, I will still call whatever RC throws at me easy.
And he'll just have to deal with it.
I'm certain there will be many days that I'm running some insane distance at some insane time that I will wonder what RC's head would look like flattened on the pavement. I'm sure the thought of RC getting slugged by a girl may fall into my thought pattern. I'm sure at some point I will think about Facebooking his wife to tell her that she is a Saint for dealing with him. Yes, I'm certain all of those thoughts will, or have crossed my mind.
But...it's that moment when I get back in my car and I'm driving home...and I'm thinking about what to post on my blog...or how crazy it is that I just ran 3 straight miles at a 7:30 pace...it's those moments when I realize that it was all sooooo freakin' easy.
I did it. It was easy. And I can do it again. And next time I might even make it look easy.
So, when I emailed RC a week or so ago and freaked out because I didn't have a schedule to go by, he calmly told me: you are in recovery mode. That's what we do. We r-e-c-o-v-e-r after a hard effort....well, I was shocked to say the least.
Recover after a 5k??
Really??
Who does that?
Apparently Team POD (Pain of Discipline) does.
And it couldn't have fallen at a better time.
I've been TDY (temporary duty...or temporary duty yonder if you ask T-roy) for the last two weeks and there is something really really hard about getting a run in on unfamiliar ground. Part of it has to do with trying to cram 2 months worth of work into 2 weeks, and the other part has to do with safety. I'm sortof a safety freak. I just will not run anywhere that I don't deem safer than safe. The only place I've found around here is the same park I ran last time I was here (and I ran 44 freakin' miles around that stupid park). So, to say it mildly...I'm not very motivated to run that same 1.3 miles of park trail over and over and over and over again.
So, yippee for recovery!
I've substituted stupid-park runs for an hour on the elliptical at my goal HR. And I've just taken full days off. No running. No guilt. I keep expecting to get yelled at for taking another day off, and I just get the same "Grasshopper: you are in recovery mode. Wax on/wax off."
RC told me Saturday to look at it as a reward for all my hard work leading up to the PR of all PR's.
Btw, who shaves a full 2 minutes off of their PR time?? I do! I do!
He keeps telling me to get prepared for the next phases of training (new goals: PR in a 10k in August, and HOLD ON TO YOUR HORSES: a sub-22 minute 5k on Labor Day...no, that wasn't a typo. I said S-U-B-22 minute 5k). Holy cow.
He told me on these next phases he'd cure me of saying "that was easy." He said there would be no more "lah tee dah...that was so much fun..." posting on my blog. He said it would be hard and it would be no laughing matter (or something like that).
But guess what?
I don't think he can cure me of saying all of this is EASY.
Really.
Yes, doing 6 x 400m hill repeats at an 8:00 min pace on Saturday was hard. I even felt a little throw up in the back of my mouth on repeat #4. But, really...when it was all over with I was able to look back on that and say "that was easy."
No, not easy, like I could have done it 10 more times. But geez, I've spent the last 3 years of my running life thinking that all of this was IMPOSSIBLE...so doing it...finishing it...even if I do vomit...it's still ALOT EASIER than I ever ever ever ever would have thought it would be.
And until I convince myself that any of this is IMPOSSIBLE, I will still call whatever RC throws at me easy.
And he'll just have to deal with it.
I'm certain there will be many days that I'm running some insane distance at some insane time that I will wonder what RC's head would look like flattened on the pavement. I'm sure the thought of RC getting slugged by a girl may fall into my thought pattern. I'm sure at some point I will think about Facebooking his wife to tell her that she is a Saint for dealing with him. Yes, I'm certain all of those thoughts will, or have crossed my mind.
But...it's that moment when I get back in my car and I'm driving home...and I'm thinking about what to post on my blog...or how crazy it is that I just ran 3 straight miles at a 7:30 pace...it's those moments when I realize that it was all sooooo freakin' easy.
I did it. It was easy. And I can do it again. And next time I might even make it look easy.
May 02, 2009
THE DAY GRASSHOPPER TOOK THE PEBBLE FROM HIS HAND
If you've been following this blog, you know that I've been working with a coach over the last 15 weeks. It's been painful, and fun, and alot of work. It's taught me discipline I never knew I had and made me reflect on alot of things I never knew (or cared to recognize) about myself. It's been tough, and yet easy at the same time. It's been highs and lows and lots of places in between. Above all it's been setting me up for today.
Initially (15 weeks ago) my goal was to run a sub-25 minute 5k by the end of 2009. I quickly realized that I would meet that goal sooner than the end of the year so I focused my attention on an immediate goal....to PR in my goal race, The Run 4 Missions 5k. My then PR was 26:14 so a sub-26 minute 5k would have been awesome.
I smashed that goal 5 weeks into training, running the 2nd toughest course in our area in 25:49.
So, I continued on for the last 10 weeks not really knowing what my "new" goal would be for this race...just a PR....25:30 sounds good...even 25:29.
I smashed that goal 6 weeks after my first PR in a time trial. No, not a "real" race PR, but a PR none the less...25:20.
It was at that moment that I realized that 1) I wasn't going to die doing this and 2) I could possibly break 25 minutes in my goal race. So, I set my new goal at running a 24:59.
In between all of this I've done some pretty remarkable things. I've got my running base to 30+ miles a week and I've run 3 x 1 mile intervals at a sub-7:30 pace, even running one of them in 7:14. I've gained new confidence about running and even run some "easy" miles with all those fast girls. I've been able to do all of this because of my determination and RC's strong will to see me succeed.
Gosh, this has been fun!
At any rate, I ran one last time with RC this week and we discussed goals and strategies for today's race. We both knew I'd PR and he told me it was my decision to try and shave a couple of seconds off of my 25:20 5k time, or go for the gusto and break 25 minutes. I told him I wasn't a sissy and I was GOING to break 25 minutes. 24:59 to be exact.
This morning I got up early and started planning my strategy for pace times. RC told me previously that a 24:59 equated to an overall pace of 8:02. I ran the numbers and if I did a 8:10, 8:00, and 7:50 I'd be right at 24:59. Too close for comfort for me. At an 8:05, 7:55, 7:45 I was still pushing the 25 minute envelope. What the heck, try for an 8:00, 7:50, 7:40...that would give me a 24:30 but would also give me enough wiggle room in case the course was long, or heaven forbid, I bonked anywhere in the middle.
I arrive at the race an hour early to get in a 3 mile warmup, which included a 1 mile fun run with the kiddos. I saw RC and he told me that today was the day I take the pebble from his hand. I think, "okay. I really hope I don't do something stupid."
I ran 1.5 miles and then got ready with Pete and Brylie for the 1 mile. They both ran it last year and did well, and Pete ran his first 5k last weekend so I was hoping that it all wouldn't be too much for him. We got started and they took off...I was running a 7:45 pace and they were WAY ahead of me. I decided to back off and let them run their little hearts out...I was still in warm up phase and didn't want to do something stupid. Peter had a great race, coming in 5th (again) but this was the first race he ever ran the entire thing! I was so proud to see him keep going despite that horrible look on his face (that "why am I doing this???" look). He beat his time from last year by over a minute! And little Brylie...a little competitor at heart...she was struggling...had gone out too fast...stopping to walk, when another little girl comes bouncing up beside us, wearing sandals for heaven's sake! Brylie takes one look at her, and decides she's not going to let that little girl beat her. She would stop and walk until that little girl got beside her and then she would take off...she was crying by the time she got to the finish line, but she did beat that girl and also placed 3rd for the girls!
After their run, I proceeded on to finish up my 3 miles and added 6 strides at the end.
And then it was race time.
Yikes.
I wasn't really nervous. I already had noticed that my age group competition were all there so there was no hope of getting some hardware. I guess in a sense that was good. I just focused on me and my race and nothing else. My dad was at the start line and said "when will you be back?"
I have no idea why I said it.
I replied "in 24 minutes and 30 seconds."
What the heck? That was never in my race plan or strategy? Why in the world did I tell him that???
Luckily, my dad has a horrible memory so just as soon as I said it, I thought "thank goodness he's going to forget that I said that."
I line myself up in mid-pack and found myself standing next to Melissa R. and Stefanie S. They both comment about how I need to be closer to the front. I thank them but tell them that I've got a strategy and it involves pacing myself and not going out too fast. Then Stefanie says "there's some girl named Melissa R. that's beating me in the race series." I laugh and turn and say "Melissa R. meet Stefanie S."
How ironic, and how funny. It was a good way to start the race.
At any rate, race starts and I begin weaving in and out of people. I'm keeping a close watch on my times. Staying within an 8 minute pace. I leap a little over (like 7:45) and I start to back off. Then I look down and I'm at 8:20! Holy cow, I can't PR running that time! I pick it back up and notice that my legs feel like noodles. Oh dear...what's going on? Why am I feeling noodley? I start making a mental checklist in my head....did I do everything I was supposed to? Did I forget something? Did running that 1 mile screw me up? Oh crap. I pick it up on the flat part, but then have to contend with that hill. I start thinking about what RC and I talked about in this exact place. I can't remember, so I start making stuff up in my head. I realize I never prayed for the other runners (RC suggestion that I think is awesome). Finish up my prayer as I'm heading to the 1st mile marker. The split caller got screwed up and didn't have the time but my watch said it all: 8:05 for the first mile. I'm already 5 seconds behind.
I spend the next mile having a range of emotions. I begin to see the really fast people. I've never passed them this far in the race...we're almost half-way there and I'm already seeing them? I pass RC...he's in 2nd place. He yells "Go Amy" and I yell something back to him...it may have been profanity...I can't remember. I begin to scale hill #2 and am angry that I should be running a 7:50 and I'm at a 7:57...start adding...7 seconds plus 5 seconds is 12 seconds...holy cow! I've got to shave 12 seconds off of my last mile to make this happen? I decide I'll try and make it up on the down hill. I pass an arch rival...I did it just like RC told me to...with conviction. My watch is still not giving me a warm fuzzy about being able to make up 12 seconds and then I realize that even if I did, I've got 3 more hills and shortly I should be dropping it to a 7:40 pace. I hit mile marker 2 and the split caller says "17....something". Oh crap. I add 8 minutes to that and I'm busting 25 minutes. I start coming up with excuses for my craptastic performance. I contemplate walking. The only thing that stopped me was not wanting to get passed by the people I just passed. I keep on going....realizing that it's okay not to make my goal. You win some, lose some, right?
During mile 2 everything was a blur. I prayed alot. I tried to start picking people off that I could pass. I made up my mind that even if I wasn't going to break 25 minutes, I'd still go down with a fight...and negative splits to boot. I began to tell myself that if this was easy, everyone would be doing it. I even laughed at myself thinking that one day this tough pace would be my easy pace. All the while I was hoping that my dad didn't tell RC that I told him I'd be back in 24 minutes and 30 seconds....and then I get hit with reality. Those pace times I had for myself were for a 24:30, not a 24:59! How could I have gotten so tangled up? I'm about 1/2 mile away from the finish line and I decide to switch my watch over from lap pace to total average pace...I remembered RC saying that a 24:59 was an 8:02 pace. I'm scared to switch over to see how close I'm cutting it.
7:57 overall pace.
Holy moly!!! (I guess in a race put on by a church, it's okay to say Holy this and Holy that).
I've got 5 seconds to play with! A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
I begin to cruise up that last hill...picking out 6 poor souls that I was about to make it my business to pass. Pass #1, #2 and she gives me this crazy "why are you passing me on an uphill at the end of a race?, #3, and then #4 who decided he didn't want to get beat by a girl so just as soon as I passed him, he gave it right back to me. I crest the hill and see the clock says 23 something. There's some jackass standing in front of the numbers. I see it switch over to 24 minutes, my watch beeps that I'm at 3 miles...I calculate that it shouldn't take me any longer than 55 seconds to finish up the last .12 miles. As I get closer, I get a better view....
24:25
24:26
24:27
How did I do this??? I get a lump in my throat. I cross the finish line.
24:31.
A new PR, new confidence, and a completely new level of satisfaction at what I'm capable of doing.
Initially (15 weeks ago) my goal was to run a sub-25 minute 5k by the end of 2009. I quickly realized that I would meet that goal sooner than the end of the year so I focused my attention on an immediate goal....to PR in my goal race, The Run 4 Missions 5k. My then PR was 26:14 so a sub-26 minute 5k would have been awesome.
I smashed that goal 5 weeks into training, running the 2nd toughest course in our area in 25:49.
So, I continued on for the last 10 weeks not really knowing what my "new" goal would be for this race...just a PR....25:30 sounds good...even 25:29.
I smashed that goal 6 weeks after my first PR in a time trial. No, not a "real" race PR, but a PR none the less...25:20.
It was at that moment that I realized that 1) I wasn't going to die doing this and 2) I could possibly break 25 minutes in my goal race. So, I set my new goal at running a 24:59.
In between all of this I've done some pretty remarkable things. I've got my running base to 30+ miles a week and I've run 3 x 1 mile intervals at a sub-7:30 pace, even running one of them in 7:14. I've gained new confidence about running and even run some "easy" miles with all those fast girls. I've been able to do all of this because of my determination and RC's strong will to see me succeed.
Gosh, this has been fun!
At any rate, I ran one last time with RC this week and we discussed goals and strategies for today's race. We both knew I'd PR and he told me it was my decision to try and shave a couple of seconds off of my 25:20 5k time, or go for the gusto and break 25 minutes. I told him I wasn't a sissy and I was GOING to break 25 minutes. 24:59 to be exact.
This morning I got up early and started planning my strategy for pace times. RC told me previously that a 24:59 equated to an overall pace of 8:02. I ran the numbers and if I did a 8:10, 8:00, and 7:50 I'd be right at 24:59. Too close for comfort for me. At an 8:05, 7:55, 7:45 I was still pushing the 25 minute envelope. What the heck, try for an 8:00, 7:50, 7:40...that would give me a 24:30 but would also give me enough wiggle room in case the course was long, or heaven forbid, I bonked anywhere in the middle.
I arrive at the race an hour early to get in a 3 mile warmup, which included a 1 mile fun run with the kiddos. I saw RC and he told me that today was the day I take the pebble from his hand. I think, "okay. I really hope I don't do something stupid."
I ran 1.5 miles and then got ready with Pete and Brylie for the 1 mile. They both ran it last year and did well, and Pete ran his first 5k last weekend so I was hoping that it all wouldn't be too much for him. We got started and they took off...I was running a 7:45 pace and they were WAY ahead of me. I decided to back off and let them run their little hearts out...I was still in warm up phase and didn't want to do something stupid. Peter had a great race, coming in 5th (again) but this was the first race he ever ran the entire thing! I was so proud to see him keep going despite that horrible look on his face (that "why am I doing this???" look). He beat his time from last year by over a minute! And little Brylie...a little competitor at heart...she was struggling...had gone out too fast...stopping to walk, when another little girl comes bouncing up beside us, wearing sandals for heaven's sake! Brylie takes one look at her, and decides she's not going to let that little girl beat her. She would stop and walk until that little girl got beside her and then she would take off...she was crying by the time she got to the finish line, but she did beat that girl and also placed 3rd for the girls!
After their run, I proceeded on to finish up my 3 miles and added 6 strides at the end.
And then it was race time.
Yikes.
I wasn't really nervous. I already had noticed that my age group competition were all there so there was no hope of getting some hardware. I guess in a sense that was good. I just focused on me and my race and nothing else. My dad was at the start line and said "when will you be back?"
I have no idea why I said it.
I replied "in 24 minutes and 30 seconds."
What the heck? That was never in my race plan or strategy? Why in the world did I tell him that???
Luckily, my dad has a horrible memory so just as soon as I said it, I thought "thank goodness he's going to forget that I said that."
I line myself up in mid-pack and found myself standing next to Melissa R. and Stefanie S. They both comment about how I need to be closer to the front. I thank them but tell them that I've got a strategy and it involves pacing myself and not going out too fast. Then Stefanie says "there's some girl named Melissa R. that's beating me in the race series." I laugh and turn and say "Melissa R. meet Stefanie S."
How ironic, and how funny. It was a good way to start the race.
At any rate, race starts and I begin weaving in and out of people. I'm keeping a close watch on my times. Staying within an 8 minute pace. I leap a little over (like 7:45) and I start to back off. Then I look down and I'm at 8:20! Holy cow, I can't PR running that time! I pick it back up and notice that my legs feel like noodles. Oh dear...what's going on? Why am I feeling noodley? I start making a mental checklist in my head....did I do everything I was supposed to? Did I forget something? Did running that 1 mile screw me up? Oh crap. I pick it up on the flat part, but then have to contend with that hill. I start thinking about what RC and I talked about in this exact place. I can't remember, so I start making stuff up in my head. I realize I never prayed for the other runners (RC suggestion that I think is awesome). Finish up my prayer as I'm heading to the 1st mile marker. The split caller got screwed up and didn't have the time but my watch said it all: 8:05 for the first mile. I'm already 5 seconds behind.
I spend the next mile having a range of emotions. I begin to see the really fast people. I've never passed them this far in the race...we're almost half-way there and I'm already seeing them? I pass RC...he's in 2nd place. He yells "Go Amy" and I yell something back to him...it may have been profanity...I can't remember. I begin to scale hill #2 and am angry that I should be running a 7:50 and I'm at a 7:57...start adding...7 seconds plus 5 seconds is 12 seconds...holy cow! I've got to shave 12 seconds off of my last mile to make this happen? I decide I'll try and make it up on the down hill. I pass an arch rival...I did it just like RC told me to...with conviction. My watch is still not giving me a warm fuzzy about being able to make up 12 seconds and then I realize that even if I did, I've got 3 more hills and shortly I should be dropping it to a 7:40 pace. I hit mile marker 2 and the split caller says "17....something". Oh crap. I add 8 minutes to that and I'm busting 25 minutes. I start coming up with excuses for my craptastic performance. I contemplate walking. The only thing that stopped me was not wanting to get passed by the people I just passed. I keep on going....realizing that it's okay not to make my goal. You win some, lose some, right?
During mile 2 everything was a blur. I prayed alot. I tried to start picking people off that I could pass. I made up my mind that even if I wasn't going to break 25 minutes, I'd still go down with a fight...and negative splits to boot. I began to tell myself that if this was easy, everyone would be doing it. I even laughed at myself thinking that one day this tough pace would be my easy pace. All the while I was hoping that my dad didn't tell RC that I told him I'd be back in 24 minutes and 30 seconds....and then I get hit with reality. Those pace times I had for myself were for a 24:30, not a 24:59! How could I have gotten so tangled up? I'm about 1/2 mile away from the finish line and I decide to switch my watch over from lap pace to total average pace...I remembered RC saying that a 24:59 was an 8:02 pace. I'm scared to switch over to see how close I'm cutting it.
7:57 overall pace.
Holy moly!!! (I guess in a race put on by a church, it's okay to say Holy this and Holy that).
I've got 5 seconds to play with! A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
I begin to cruise up that last hill...picking out 6 poor souls that I was about to make it my business to pass. Pass #1, #2 and she gives me this crazy "why are you passing me on an uphill at the end of a race?, #3, and then #4 who decided he didn't want to get beat by a girl so just as soon as I passed him, he gave it right back to me. I crest the hill and see the clock says 23 something. There's some jackass standing in front of the numbers. I see it switch over to 24 minutes, my watch beeps that I'm at 3 miles...I calculate that it shouldn't take me any longer than 55 seconds to finish up the last .12 miles. As I get closer, I get a better view....
24:25
24:26
24:27
How did I do this??? I get a lump in my throat. I cross the finish line.
24:31.
A new PR, new confidence, and a completely new level of satisfaction at what I'm capable of doing.
April 22, 2009
THE DAY LITTLE GRASSHOPPER RAN PAST HER TROUBLES
These last two weeks have been really haphazard in the running arena.
I convinced myself that I had a stress fracture, when actually I just had a bad case of being a hypochondriac.
Then I traveled, and everyone knows how hard it is to get quality runs in while you're visiting friends...especially of the non-running persuasion (by the way, the score was: Running - 0, Partying Like a Rock Star - 1).
So, now I'm back trying to make a push to the first real running goal I've ever had (besides running a marathon): The Run 4 Missions 5k.
Less than two weeks to go...RC has given me a revised schedule to make this final push. He still thinks it's doable to finish the 5k in under 25 minutes. And honestly, up until last night, I wasn't so sure. I mean, really, do you know how hard it is to get remotivated after taking basically two weeks off from running with a purpose????
So, last night he texted me on the way to the track and said that he'd like me to change my workout from 5 x 1 mile Intervals at a pace less than Race Pace, to 3 x 1 mile Intervals at a Pace Faster than Race Pace, or another time trial. So, instead of being terrified to add one more mile repeat to my collection, I was going to run less but at a blistering (for me) pace - 7:45 to 7:50 to see if I've actually got what it takes to run a sub-25 minute 5k.
I often question his sanity, by the way. And I often want to remind him that Little Grasshopper doesn't run that fast.
I showed up. It looked like it was going to rain. It was sprinkling. And if I had of known that he wasn't going to be there in 15 minutes I would have gotten back in my car and headed home.
Yes, after all of this hard work and effort, I still struggle with running in the rain.
So, I begin my warmup and by the time I get done there are more people who have shown up to run in the rain. I'm thinking "Suckers" and "Great, 5 more people to see me not being to make this ridiculous goal RC has for me...."
I begin Mile 1. And after about 1/4 mile, I start realizing that this isn't so bad. I'm just cruising along, not rapidly breathing, listening to a little Kanye West (yes, I listen to crap when I run....). Hmmm....wondering when all of this got so easy. RC pulls up beside me at lap 3 and asks me how I'm doing, what's my pace....and with a big lump in my throat I say 7:30ish (and really it was 7:29 but we get in trouble for running too fast unnecessarily). He tells me to slow down, reminds me that I've got 7 more of these to go. I explain to him that I'm actually feeling great. My breathing is not out of control. My heart rate is steady. My legs don't feel like jello. I'm feeling F-I-N-E. And then it dawns on me that not only am I feeling fine, but I'm also carrying on a conversation at this pace. Crazy. He tells me to continue at this pace if I'm feeling so great but to finish strong.
Ok. Mile 1 - 7:32
Mile 2. I'm now dreading the fact that I ran so fast on the first mile. How in the world am I going to maintain that pace or faster? More than getting in trouble for running too fast, we get in trouble for not maintaining negative splits. How come I forgot to remind myself of that little fact when I blazed through Mile 1? I wanted to scream out to everyone that was there "Hey, come over here and watch Little Grasshopper bonk and deny all rules that RC has set before her!!!! But, I didn't. Instead I convinced myself that I could just run another 7:32....right....
Mile 2 - 7:19
At this point I'm wondering how in the world I've done this two miles in a row. And I'm still feeling G-R-E-A-T. I mean, seriously...where did this sudden sense of running extremely faster than instructed come from?!?!? Who did I think I was, and HOW HOW HOW was I continuing to get faster and faster? And as I thought about that, and tried to rack my brain for an answer it dawned on me.
Back here, when I did a time trial, I made reference to the fact that when I finished I realized I wasn't going to die.
I finally realized that with running comes a little pain. Okay, alot of pain. But up until that day I had never really experienced "running" pain. Yeah, so my joints ached, and my feet hurt, and occasionally I thought my chest was going to explode, but never had I experienced the pain that I felt that day. The pain of running...the pain of success.
And I made it! I didn't pass out! I didn't need medical assistance! I didn't die!
I just ran. Like a real runner. Like the runner I was always wanted to be, but never had the courage to see if I could do it.
And last night, as I began mile 3, I realized that all I needed to do was break through that mental block that said "YOU RUN SLOW. KEEP RUNNING SLOW. IF YOU TRY TO GO FAST YOU WILL GET HURT AND/OR DIE." (Yeah, my voice really told me I was going to die....stupid voices.)
I realized that the mental block was gone. I had successfully run faster than I had ever run before AND I DIDN'T DIE. (or get injured for that matter).
So, I began mile 3. RC told me I could run between a 7:32 and a 7:19, that I didn't have to run a negative split...because honestly, I'm already ahead of my "scheduled" pace by 39 total seconds. I just said "okay" but in my head those little voices had changed from saying "You can't do it...you'll be running slower than a 7:32" to "Hmmm....wonder if I could break 7:19?"
And with that, I was off. At the 1/4 mile mark I looked down and my watch said 6:35...holy moly...I've screwed up now. Way to go Cocky-McCocky....I slowed...and slowed...and slowed some more. I'm going to be in BIG trouble if I don't even make 7:32!!!! And as I kept running I could feel my legs start to slow...and slow...and slow...yet my watch kept saying times like 7:14, 7:12, 7:18...and the scariest part of it all: I felt fine. Around lap 3 I realized that something cooky was going on for me to be able to maintain these ridiculous splits and still keep running faster. So, I just ran with it (pun totally intended).
Mile 3 - 7:14.
7:14
I mean, really? I just did that? I just had three fabulous negative splits at three fabulously fast paces? I had a smirk going on (inside...didn't want to gloat in front of everyone else) that just wouldn't quit.
I just ran like a 22:30 5k. Did you read that clearly? A 2-2-:-3-0-5-k!
I DID IT!
I broke through that mental block that had told me for over three years that I'm not good enough, I'm not strong enough, and gosh darnit I can't do it. I just blazed right past it (probably at a 7:19 pace) and didn't even look back (except to make sure I wasn't going to blow a snot rocket on anyone.)
I FINALLY convinced myself that I am capable of this running fast stuff. I FINALLY broke through and at the same time I'm enjoying it all!!!!!
Thanks RC!!!!!! For without your training and encouragement I would have never pushed myself to the point where I would realize that this is fun and easy, and sooooo doable.
So, yes, I'm totally going to rock out a sub-25 minute 5k next week...yes I am....
Have a great Wednesday!
I convinced myself that I had a stress fracture, when actually I just had a bad case of being a hypochondriac.
Then I traveled, and everyone knows how hard it is to get quality runs in while you're visiting friends...especially of the non-running persuasion (by the way, the score was: Running - 0, Partying Like a Rock Star - 1).
So, now I'm back trying to make a push to the first real running goal I've ever had (besides running a marathon): The Run 4 Missions 5k.
Less than two weeks to go...RC has given me a revised schedule to make this final push. He still thinks it's doable to finish the 5k in under 25 minutes. And honestly, up until last night, I wasn't so sure. I mean, really, do you know how hard it is to get remotivated after taking basically two weeks off from running with a purpose????
So, last night he texted me on the way to the track and said that he'd like me to change my workout from 5 x 1 mile Intervals at a pace less than Race Pace, to 3 x 1 mile Intervals at a Pace Faster than Race Pace, or another time trial. So, instead of being terrified to add one more mile repeat to my collection, I was going to run less but at a blistering (for me) pace - 7:45 to 7:50 to see if I've actually got what it takes to run a sub-25 minute 5k.
I often question his sanity, by the way. And I often want to remind him that Little Grasshopper doesn't run that fast.
I showed up. It looked like it was going to rain. It was sprinkling. And if I had of known that he wasn't going to be there in 15 minutes I would have gotten back in my car and headed home.
Yes, after all of this hard work and effort, I still struggle with running in the rain.
So, I begin my warmup and by the time I get done there are more people who have shown up to run in the rain. I'm thinking "Suckers" and "Great, 5 more people to see me not being to make this ridiculous goal RC has for me...."
I begin Mile 1. And after about 1/4 mile, I start realizing that this isn't so bad. I'm just cruising along, not rapidly breathing, listening to a little Kanye West (yes, I listen to crap when I run....). Hmmm....wondering when all of this got so easy. RC pulls up beside me at lap 3 and asks me how I'm doing, what's my pace....and with a big lump in my throat I say 7:30ish (and really it was 7:29 but we get in trouble for running too fast unnecessarily). He tells me to slow down, reminds me that I've got 7 more of these to go. I explain to him that I'm actually feeling great. My breathing is not out of control. My heart rate is steady. My legs don't feel like jello. I'm feeling F-I-N-E. And then it dawns on me that not only am I feeling fine, but I'm also carrying on a conversation at this pace. Crazy. He tells me to continue at this pace if I'm feeling so great but to finish strong.
Ok. Mile 1 - 7:32
Mile 2. I'm now dreading the fact that I ran so fast on the first mile. How in the world am I going to maintain that pace or faster? More than getting in trouble for running too fast, we get in trouble for not maintaining negative splits. How come I forgot to remind myself of that little fact when I blazed through Mile 1? I wanted to scream out to everyone that was there "Hey, come over here and watch Little Grasshopper bonk and deny all rules that RC has set before her!!!! But, I didn't. Instead I convinced myself that I could just run another 7:32....right....
Mile 2 - 7:19
At this point I'm wondering how in the world I've done this two miles in a row. And I'm still feeling G-R-E-A-T. I mean, seriously...where did this sudden sense of running extremely faster than instructed come from?!?!? Who did I think I was, and HOW HOW HOW was I continuing to get faster and faster? And as I thought about that, and tried to rack my brain for an answer it dawned on me.
Back here, when I did a time trial, I made reference to the fact that when I finished I realized I wasn't going to die.
I finally realized that with running comes a little pain. Okay, alot of pain. But up until that day I had never really experienced "running" pain. Yeah, so my joints ached, and my feet hurt, and occasionally I thought my chest was going to explode, but never had I experienced the pain that I felt that day. The pain of running...the pain of success.
And I made it! I didn't pass out! I didn't need medical assistance! I didn't die!
I just ran. Like a real runner. Like the runner I was always wanted to be, but never had the courage to see if I could do it.
And last night, as I began mile 3, I realized that all I needed to do was break through that mental block that said "YOU RUN SLOW. KEEP RUNNING SLOW. IF YOU TRY TO GO FAST YOU WILL GET HURT AND/OR DIE." (Yeah, my voice really told me I was going to die....stupid voices.)
I realized that the mental block was gone. I had successfully run faster than I had ever run before AND I DIDN'T DIE. (or get injured for that matter).
So, I began mile 3. RC told me I could run between a 7:32 and a 7:19, that I didn't have to run a negative split...because honestly, I'm already ahead of my "scheduled" pace by 39 total seconds. I just said "okay" but in my head those little voices had changed from saying "You can't do it...you'll be running slower than a 7:32" to "Hmmm....wonder if I could break 7:19?"
And with that, I was off. At the 1/4 mile mark I looked down and my watch said 6:35...holy moly...I've screwed up now. Way to go Cocky-McCocky....I slowed...and slowed...and slowed some more. I'm going to be in BIG trouble if I don't even make 7:32!!!! And as I kept running I could feel my legs start to slow...and slow...and slow...yet my watch kept saying times like 7:14, 7:12, 7:18...and the scariest part of it all: I felt fine. Around lap 3 I realized that something cooky was going on for me to be able to maintain these ridiculous splits and still keep running faster. So, I just ran with it (pun totally intended).
Mile 3 - 7:14.
7:14
I mean, really? I just did that? I just had three fabulous negative splits at three fabulously fast paces? I had a smirk going on (inside...didn't want to gloat in front of everyone else) that just wouldn't quit.
I just ran like a 22:30 5k. Did you read that clearly? A 2-2-:-3-0-5-k!
I DID IT!
I broke through that mental block that had told me for over three years that I'm not good enough, I'm not strong enough, and gosh darnit I can't do it. I just blazed right past it (probably at a 7:19 pace) and didn't even look back (except to make sure I wasn't going to blow a snot rocket on anyone.)
I FINALLY convinced myself that I am capable of this running fast stuff. I FINALLY broke through and at the same time I'm enjoying it all!!!!!
Thanks RC!!!!!! For without your training and encouragement I would have never pushed myself to the point where I would realize that this is fun and easy, and sooooo doable.
So, yes, I'm totally going to rock out a sub-25 minute 5k next week...yes I am....
Have a great Wednesday!
April 16, 2009
MY OH MY! WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
Back to the physical therapist's office, that's where I've been....I hope they enjoy their job security, knowing that I'm still running day after day.
It all started after my A-M-A-Z-I-N-G run on Sunday...not last Sunday but the Sunday before that (see the post below this one). I ran the BEST time I have EVER run a 5k in. Just in case you didn't read the last post slow enough...I ran a 25:20! Holy Cow! That's fast for me!
And then on Monday I had a swollen ankle.
I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that I've been running around this fair city shouting to everyone that will listen: "I like to run. I can run fast. And I can do it INJURY-FREE!!"
Sometimes I should just learn to shut my big fat mouth.
So, I iced. And I rested. And I elevated. And I adviled. And I pouted. And over the course of the week I convinced myself that it was a stress fracture. And so I pouted some more.
But, Brian and Melissa and that really sweet intern at Piedmont Sports Medicine Complex poked and proded and made tears come out of these eyes that rarely cry to diagnose me with....drum roll plllllleeeeeaaaasssseee....
Tendonitis.
I'm such a wimp.
But a cautious wimp, at that.
So, I continue to ice and stretch and advil and torture myself with The Stick (http://www.thestick.com/).
And run.
Because that's what I came here to do.
I'm still on the "easy" side of running...trying to get the volume that I lost over the last week and a half BACK. And then next week it's back to ass-kicking quality workouts that make me realize why I am going to be such a good runner one day.
Until then...have a great weekend. And if you don't do anything else this weekend, go to Blogs Around Town (http://www.blogsroundtown.com/) and rate my blog. And check out other local bloggers too.
Ummm...and yeah...why aren't my hyperlinks working correctly???
It all started after my A-M-A-Z-I-N-G run on Sunday...not last Sunday but the Sunday before that (see the post below this one). I ran the BEST time I have EVER run a 5k in. Just in case you didn't read the last post slow enough...I ran a 25:20! Holy Cow! That's fast for me!
And then on Monday I had a swollen ankle.
I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that I've been running around this fair city shouting to everyone that will listen: "I like to run. I can run fast. And I can do it INJURY-FREE!!"
Sometimes I should just learn to shut my big fat mouth.
So, I iced. And I rested. And I elevated. And I adviled. And I pouted. And over the course of the week I convinced myself that it was a stress fracture. And so I pouted some more.
But, Brian and Melissa and that really sweet intern at Piedmont Sports Medicine Complex poked and proded and made tears come out of these eyes that rarely cry to diagnose me with....drum roll plllllleeeeeaaaasssseee....
Tendonitis.
I'm such a wimp.
But a cautious wimp, at that.
So, I continue to ice and stretch and advil and torture myself with The Stick (http://www.thestick.com/).
And run.
Because that's what I came here to do.
I'm still on the "easy" side of running...trying to get the volume that I lost over the last week and a half BACK. And then next week it's back to ass-kicking quality workouts that make me realize why I am going to be such a good runner one day.
Until then...have a great weekend. And if you don't do anything else this weekend, go to Blogs Around Town (http://www.blogsroundtown.com/) and rate my blog. And check out other local bloggers too.
Ummm...and yeah...why aren't my hyperlinks working correctly???
April 05, 2009
TIME TRIALS AND PHASE IV
So here I am. Comfortably moving into Phase IV of all of this training. If you had of asked me 12 weeks ago if I was capable of doing the things I'm doing today (and what I ACTUALLY did do today - more on that later), I would have given you a resounding HELL NO.
Here's where a recap of what I've been up to the last 3 months:
- In January I started and completed Phase I of this training: Foundation and Injury Prevention. I logged a pathetic 67 miles for the entire month. My average pace for those runs was 10:47. In other words, they were all very easy runs. But, it wasn't called "foundation" and "injury prevention" for nothing. The main goal was to get my HR under control, and to learn how to run consistently 5 or 6 days a week. The workouts may be changing during these phases, but there is one constant theme: CONSISTENCY. I made it through the whole month with not one single ache or pain....something I haven't been able to accomplish in the last 3 years. I attribute that to consistency. I finished Phase I feeling stronger than ever, and looking forward to the harder workouts of Phase II.
- Phase II: Early Quality began in February. During this phase I was introduced to the proper way to do speed training, and focused on 400m repeats at a "repetition" pace. Prior to this, I thought there were two speeds: fast and slow. I was shocked and amazed to find out that I should have been running at 5 different speeds for all the different workouts I should have been doing (easy pace, marathon pace, threshold pace, interval pace, and repetition pace...oh, and the 6th: race pace). Come to think of it, I am sure that in the past I ran some of my training runs at a speed faster than what I ran my races at...moron. I also ran two 5ks, and PR'ed on the first one, shaving over 30 seconds off of my best time (and incidentally, my "best" time was on a completely downhill course...my new "best" time is on the 2nd hardest course in Macon...you do the math). Unfortunately, I got so cocky about the first race that I ran another one and bombed in a big way. But, I'm learning through all of this and I got taught a very hard lesson in pace control. RC started telling me I was going to have to paint his fence if I didn't get my pace under control...and from the looks of my running lately, his scare tactics worked. For Phase II, I logged 174% more miles than I did in Phase I and shaved 6 seconds off of my average time for the phase. And I did it all 100% completely injury free.
- Phase III: Transition Quality began in March and I'll be honest: I was scared to death. I knew this would be harder than Phase II and it focused on something I've struggled with: mental toughness. I had to do runs with names like slicedowns, cruise intervals, tempos, 1000m repeats and as if those weren't daunting enough I had to start introducing 9min pace miles into my long run. In other words, RC really thought that I could run a 10:30 pace for a few miles, kick it up for 2 or 3 or 4 miles at a 9min pace, and then run another few miles back at a 10:30. I was certain that he was on something when he put that on my calendar. Did he not realize that just a few weeks earlier I was struggling in a 5k at a 9min pace???? And the 1000m repeats...terrifying....just terrifying. It didn't help that I was traveling for work, running in unfamiliar territory, never could find a track to run on so I measured all my runs a little longer than I was supposed to...oh, and I was sick as a dog. But, I made it through each and every one of those runs (even when I was sick) and I even became friends with the slicedowns and tempo runs. I realized that these runs showed me the progress I had been making (I'm going to guess that this was all part of RC's master plan for me). And those 9min paces right in the middle of my EASY long run? Well, I nailed em. Each and everyone of them. I ran a race that terrified me (all those hills...) and I beat my arch rival age grouper right at the end....something I never thought I was capable of doing. As far as consistency goes (because really, that's what it's all about): I continued to run as instructed and only took more than one day off in a row two times (for Phase I and II, I managed to find the time to run at least every other day...imagine that....). But, even with taking two days off in a row during Phase III, I still increased my mileage over Phase I by 210% and shaved 49 seconds off of my average time. The only pain I had was in my left shin, the day after the race. It was nothing a little ice and a good massage couldn't fix.
- Phase IV: Final Quality started today. In this phase, I'll be doing a couple of race simulations, continuing with cruise intervals, running more of my "easy" runs at marathon pace, and introducing hill work (yikes!). Today we did the first race simulation, or time trial. I started out at with a 3 mile warmup at the area where our local Track Club meets for their Sunday run. RC met me there early and we warmed up in anticipation of starting my race simulation with the rest of the group. Since most of them are 8min easy pacers (or better), I knew it would be a great way to learn self-control (ie, not trying to keep up with them once they warmed up and dropped the hammer) and it would be a better simulation than trying to just do it solo. Sortof like a race, minus the race bibs, the entry fee, and the bananas at the end. We finished the warmup in time to see the most beautiful sunrise...shades of pink and purple and blue in the sky...it made me think about Easter eggs for some reason! At 7:15 we promptly started the run. I know a few of the regulars were wondering what the heck I was doing running up there in the front of the pack, and RC quickly let them know that I was simulating a 5k and that I'd be running an 8:30 for the first mile. For some reason, hearing "8:30" seemed to calm any nervousness I might have. We finished mile one right on target, and as the other runners got warmed up they began to pick up the pace. I was proud of myself for saying "so long" and not trying to hang with them any longer. At this point I'm thinking about how great I feel, how easy this seems, and how completing this 5k in my current PR time (25:49 or better) is really attainable. Right before mile 2, as we are climbing the first of two small hills, RC tells me that at mile 2 we are going to move into an 8min pace and I should be running at closer to a "9" (on a toughness scale of 1 to 10). I think "crap. I'm so comfortable here. Why do we have to do this again?" And then the root of all my problems with running dawned on me:
I never push the envelope. I've got this fear in me that doesn't want to see what's out there beyond just being comfortable. Maybe I'm scared of getting hurt, or maybe I'm scared of what might happen. I always keep that little bit in reserve just in case I feel like I'm going to die. But in actuality, I don't really know what it feels like to be dying. Well, not yet anyway....
Mile 2 was brutal. We continued to crank it down from an 8:20 to a 7:45 pace. We climbed the 2nd and last hill of the course. I was constantly being encouraged by RC so much that I just wanted to take my shoe off and throw it at him. He kept telling me the time and I just kept thinking "why are we running this fast?" I didn't get it...a 7:45...what planet is he on??? Then we begin to catch back up with some of the faster long runners...he starts encouraging me to pass them..."pass them with conviction", he kept saying. When I passed Elizabeth and Leslie, if I had of had any breath, I would have shouted "I'M PASSING YOU WITH CONVICTION BECAUSE I CAN", but I didn't have the breath left. We are in the home stretch...I know the end is near...my chest starts hurting, but not like my heart. Where my HR monitor is...the strap...something is digging into me....I can't breath...I can tell that I'm slowing down...I starte repeating "Pain of Discpline" and a few short prayers (mostly just "God, help me to get to the finish without dying")...I've resorted to taking really short, fast breaths...maybe I'm hyperventilating...the only thing I was able to mutter was "Sam, I'm dying...." And within seconds of saying that, the race is over.
25:21 (according to my Garmin)
I just shaved 30 seconds off my current 5k time. In a time trial. In a simulation. In a training run that I'm not supposed to be able to PR on. And knowing now what I know (ie, that I won't really die) I could have maintained that 7:30 pace for the last .11 mile instead of slowing down. In other words, while I'm so proud of myself for accomplishing this, I know (I KNOW!) I will do even better on the next race.
And while I laid on the ground at the end (I just wanted to stretch my rib cage out), remarkably I felt fine. I didn't die. I didn't even come close to it. Within a minute of lying on the ground, my HR was in the 160s. I got back up. Walked for a few minutes and then began the 3 mile jog back to the car.
I did that.
Just like that.
The old Amy would have never ran a 7:30 for the last 1/2 mile of anything. The old Amy wouldn't have kept going in spite of pain. The old Amy actually wouldn't have shown up for the race at all because it was raining at the start. The old Amy would have continued to think that those fast runners are just fast because they've got good fast running genes. The old Amy may have crossed the finish line but she certainly wouldn't have gone back out and jogged another 3 miles to release that lactic acid buildup. The old Amy would have hated the new Amy for what she can accomplish.
I'm sure most of you want to know what the key to all of this success is. Well, even if you don't, I'm going to tell you anyway. While RC's training plan, encouragement, keen sense of knowing everything that there is to know about running, and his motivation sure have made me stronger, what's really fueling this fire is C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-Y (and yes, RC taught me about that too). Running 5 days a week. Not taking more than one day off in a row. Doing the runs that need to happen (long runs, quality runs, easy runs) each and every week. Not making excuses for why I can't go, shouldn't go, or won't go out for a run. On Sunday's I sit down and work on my schedule for the next week. The first thing I put on there is my runs. And then everything else gets scheduled around them.
I make training, running, and my health a priority, and in turn I'm reaping the rewards from it. Try as you might to figure out a "better, easier way" to do things, but I am living proof that there is no other way to do it. If you aren't anything else with whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, be consistent.
And have a good Sunday!
Here's where a recap of what I've been up to the last 3 months:
- In January I started and completed Phase I of this training: Foundation and Injury Prevention. I logged a pathetic 67 miles for the entire month. My average pace for those runs was 10:47. In other words, they were all very easy runs. But, it wasn't called "foundation" and "injury prevention" for nothing. The main goal was to get my HR under control, and to learn how to run consistently 5 or 6 days a week. The workouts may be changing during these phases, but there is one constant theme: CONSISTENCY. I made it through the whole month with not one single ache or pain....something I haven't been able to accomplish in the last 3 years. I attribute that to consistency. I finished Phase I feeling stronger than ever, and looking forward to the harder workouts of Phase II.
- Phase II: Early Quality began in February. During this phase I was introduced to the proper way to do speed training, and focused on 400m repeats at a "repetition" pace. Prior to this, I thought there were two speeds: fast and slow. I was shocked and amazed to find out that I should have been running at 5 different speeds for all the different workouts I should have been doing (easy pace, marathon pace, threshold pace, interval pace, and repetition pace...oh, and the 6th: race pace). Come to think of it, I am sure that in the past I ran some of my training runs at a speed faster than what I ran my races at...moron. I also ran two 5ks, and PR'ed on the first one, shaving over 30 seconds off of my best time (and incidentally, my "best" time was on a completely downhill course...my new "best" time is on the 2nd hardest course in Macon...you do the math). Unfortunately, I got so cocky about the first race that I ran another one and bombed in a big way. But, I'm learning through all of this and I got taught a very hard lesson in pace control. RC started telling me I was going to have to paint his fence if I didn't get my pace under control...and from the looks of my running lately, his scare tactics worked. For Phase II, I logged 174% more miles than I did in Phase I and shaved 6 seconds off of my average time for the phase. And I did it all 100% completely injury free.
- Phase III: Transition Quality began in March and I'll be honest: I was scared to death. I knew this would be harder than Phase II and it focused on something I've struggled with: mental toughness. I had to do runs with names like slicedowns, cruise intervals, tempos, 1000m repeats and as if those weren't daunting enough I had to start introducing 9min pace miles into my long run. In other words, RC really thought that I could run a 10:30 pace for a few miles, kick it up for 2 or 3 or 4 miles at a 9min pace, and then run another few miles back at a 10:30. I was certain that he was on something when he put that on my calendar. Did he not realize that just a few weeks earlier I was struggling in a 5k at a 9min pace???? And the 1000m repeats...terrifying....just terrifying. It didn't help that I was traveling for work, running in unfamiliar territory, never could find a track to run on so I measured all my runs a little longer than I was supposed to...oh, and I was sick as a dog. But, I made it through each and every one of those runs (even when I was sick) and I even became friends with the slicedowns and tempo runs. I realized that these runs showed me the progress I had been making (I'm going to guess that this was all part of RC's master plan for me). And those 9min paces right in the middle of my EASY long run? Well, I nailed em. Each and everyone of them. I ran a race that terrified me (all those hills...) and I beat my arch rival age grouper right at the end....something I never thought I was capable of doing. As far as consistency goes (because really, that's what it's all about): I continued to run as instructed and only took more than one day off in a row two times (for Phase I and II, I managed to find the time to run at least every other day...imagine that....). But, even with taking two days off in a row during Phase III, I still increased my mileage over Phase I by 210% and shaved 49 seconds off of my average time. The only pain I had was in my left shin, the day after the race. It was nothing a little ice and a good massage couldn't fix.
- Phase IV: Final Quality started today. In this phase, I'll be doing a couple of race simulations, continuing with cruise intervals, running more of my "easy" runs at marathon pace, and introducing hill work (yikes!). Today we did the first race simulation, or time trial. I started out at with a 3 mile warmup at the area where our local Track Club meets for their Sunday run. RC met me there early and we warmed up in anticipation of starting my race simulation with the rest of the group. Since most of them are 8min easy pacers (or better), I knew it would be a great way to learn self-control (ie, not trying to keep up with them once they warmed up and dropped the hammer) and it would be a better simulation than trying to just do it solo. Sortof like a race, minus the race bibs, the entry fee, and the bananas at the end. We finished the warmup in time to see the most beautiful sunrise...shades of pink and purple and blue in the sky...it made me think about Easter eggs for some reason! At 7:15 we promptly started the run. I know a few of the regulars were wondering what the heck I was doing running up there in the front of the pack, and RC quickly let them know that I was simulating a 5k and that I'd be running an 8:30 for the first mile. For some reason, hearing "8:30" seemed to calm any nervousness I might have. We finished mile one right on target, and as the other runners got warmed up they began to pick up the pace. I was proud of myself for saying "so long" and not trying to hang with them any longer. At this point I'm thinking about how great I feel, how easy this seems, and how completing this 5k in my current PR time (25:49 or better) is really attainable. Right before mile 2, as we are climbing the first of two small hills, RC tells me that at mile 2 we are going to move into an 8min pace and I should be running at closer to a "9" (on a toughness scale of 1 to 10). I think "crap. I'm so comfortable here. Why do we have to do this again?" And then the root of all my problems with running dawned on me:
I never push the envelope. I've got this fear in me that doesn't want to see what's out there beyond just being comfortable. Maybe I'm scared of getting hurt, or maybe I'm scared of what might happen. I always keep that little bit in reserve just in case I feel like I'm going to die. But in actuality, I don't really know what it feels like to be dying. Well, not yet anyway....
Mile 2 was brutal. We continued to crank it down from an 8:20 to a 7:45 pace. We climbed the 2nd and last hill of the course. I was constantly being encouraged by RC so much that I just wanted to take my shoe off and throw it at him. He kept telling me the time and I just kept thinking "why are we running this fast?" I didn't get it...a 7:45...what planet is he on??? Then we begin to catch back up with some of the faster long runners...he starts encouraging me to pass them..."pass them with conviction", he kept saying. When I passed Elizabeth and Leslie, if I had of had any breath, I would have shouted "I'M PASSING YOU WITH CONVICTION BECAUSE I CAN", but I didn't have the breath left. We are in the home stretch...I know the end is near...my chest starts hurting, but not like my heart. Where my HR monitor is...the strap...something is digging into me....I can't breath...I can tell that I'm slowing down...I starte repeating "Pain of Discpline" and a few short prayers (mostly just "God, help me to get to the finish without dying")...I've resorted to taking really short, fast breaths...maybe I'm hyperventilating...the only thing I was able to mutter was "Sam, I'm dying...." And within seconds of saying that, the race is over.
25:21 (according to my Garmin)
I just shaved 30 seconds off my current 5k time. In a time trial. In a simulation. In a training run that I'm not supposed to be able to PR on. And knowing now what I know (ie, that I won't really die) I could have maintained that 7:30 pace for the last .11 mile instead of slowing down. In other words, while I'm so proud of myself for accomplishing this, I know (I KNOW!) I will do even better on the next race.
And while I laid on the ground at the end (I just wanted to stretch my rib cage out), remarkably I felt fine. I didn't die. I didn't even come close to it. Within a minute of lying on the ground, my HR was in the 160s. I got back up. Walked for a few minutes and then began the 3 mile jog back to the car.
I did that.
Just like that.
The old Amy would have never ran a 7:30 for the last 1/2 mile of anything. The old Amy wouldn't have kept going in spite of pain. The old Amy actually wouldn't have shown up for the race at all because it was raining at the start. The old Amy would have continued to think that those fast runners are just fast because they've got good fast running genes. The old Amy may have crossed the finish line but she certainly wouldn't have gone back out and jogged another 3 miles to release that lactic acid buildup. The old Amy would have hated the new Amy for what she can accomplish.
I'm sure most of you want to know what the key to all of this success is. Well, even if you don't, I'm going to tell you anyway. While RC's training plan, encouragement, keen sense of knowing everything that there is to know about running, and his motivation sure have made me stronger, what's really fueling this fire is C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-Y (and yes, RC taught me about that too). Running 5 days a week. Not taking more than one day off in a row. Doing the runs that need to happen (long runs, quality runs, easy runs) each and every week. Not making excuses for why I can't go, shouldn't go, or won't go out for a run. On Sunday's I sit down and work on my schedule for the next week. The first thing I put on there is my runs. And then everything else gets scheduled around them.
I make training, running, and my health a priority, and in turn I'm reaping the rewards from it. Try as you might to figure out a "better, easier way" to do things, but I am living proof that there is no other way to do it. If you aren't anything else with whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, be consistent.
And have a good Sunday!
March 26, 2009
WHAT I NEVER LEARNED IN SCHOOL BUT TOTALLY WISH I HAD...
Wow. That's a long title.
Since I've inundated you with postings about how fast and wonderful my running life has been over the last 2 months, I figured I'd spare you with another post about how great and wonderful my running life is and give you a post about....
How great and wonderful my studying life is.
In case you haven't figured it out, I have a severe issue with being addicted to education. My mom had it too, and I always said I'd never be like my mom (or that part anyway)...and well, everyone says they aren't going to be just like their parents...and sadly we all are (including you Mom).
At any rate, in my never-ending quest to get a few more letters behind my name, I've decided to tackle the CPA exam (certified public accountant for those of you who live under a rock, or just don't pay your taxes). The exam is 4 parts, and extremely difficult. Current pass right for the first try (and I have met one person who took it 12 times) is around 30%, which I guess is a plus because it used to be around 17%. I've been studying my little heart out since January for my first section (Business Environmental Concepts...or what I commonly refer to as "Grad School All Over Again - But This Time Making Sense"). I take the exam next Friday and I can't believe I just told you that. I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't let everyone know when the exam was (so everyone didn't keep asking me "how'd ya do?" FYI: I won't get the scores until sometime in June...which is good because all of you will have forgotten by then, and I won't have to worry about that "email of shame" if I didn't pass).
Where was I?
Oh, so here I am...studying my little heart out...7 days to go. I even took a vacation day today to study. Side note: It is totally a bummer to know that I'm wasting perfectly good vacation time to do things that may or may not help me climb that corporate ladder (okay, so it will help me but I can't see the forest right now because of all the trees, if you know what I mean). And I'm studying....rereading formulas that I've already forgotten since January...and then it hits me:
Cost of Debt in the Cost of Capital Considerations = [I + (Pv - Nd)/n]/[(Pv + Nd)/2.
Holy moly how am I going to remember that?
And then it hit me: P for Priscilla, N for Ned (probably the only time in my life I won't refer to him as Jimmy Leg). P is Interested in FitCamp but Ned doesn't come to FitCamp. But, if he did there would be 2 of them there.
And just like that, I memorized the formula.
I moved onto the next one:
Cost of Preferred Stock = Dps/Nps
Jeff D's Nephew goes to Yale (I don't know that to be true, but it fit). Yale would be a Preferred school.
I could go on and on and on but I'm sure you don't want to hear about how I discovered the relationship between the CAPM and the girl I work with named Pam who is a self-professed cheapskate....
How come no one taught me this before? Two bachelor's degrees, an MBA, and a couple of certifications and now....NOW...I finally figure it all out!
Alright, back to studying...or trying to figure out how I can tie Troy into the formula for Return on Investment.
Have a great Thursday!
Since I've inundated you with postings about how fast and wonderful my running life has been over the last 2 months, I figured I'd spare you with another post about how great and wonderful my running life is and give you a post about....
How great and wonderful my studying life is.
In case you haven't figured it out, I have a severe issue with being addicted to education. My mom had it too, and I always said I'd never be like my mom (or that part anyway)...and well, everyone says they aren't going to be just like their parents...and sadly we all are (including you Mom).
At any rate, in my never-ending quest to get a few more letters behind my name, I've decided to tackle the CPA exam (certified public accountant for those of you who live under a rock, or just don't pay your taxes). The exam is 4 parts, and extremely difficult. Current pass right for the first try (and I have met one person who took it 12 times) is around 30%, which I guess is a plus because it used to be around 17%. I've been studying my little heart out since January for my first section (Business Environmental Concepts...or what I commonly refer to as "Grad School All Over Again - But This Time Making Sense"). I take the exam next Friday and I can't believe I just told you that. I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't let everyone know when the exam was (so everyone didn't keep asking me "how'd ya do?" FYI: I won't get the scores until sometime in June...which is good because all of you will have forgotten by then, and I won't have to worry about that "email of shame" if I didn't pass).
Where was I?
Oh, so here I am...studying my little heart out...7 days to go. I even took a vacation day today to study. Side note: It is totally a bummer to know that I'm wasting perfectly good vacation time to do things that may or may not help me climb that corporate ladder (okay, so it will help me but I can't see the forest right now because of all the trees, if you know what I mean). And I'm studying....rereading formulas that I've already forgotten since January...and then it hits me:
Cost of Debt in the Cost of Capital Considerations = [I + (Pv - Nd)/n]/[(Pv + Nd)/2.
Holy moly how am I going to remember that?
And then it hit me: P for Priscilla, N for Ned (probably the only time in my life I won't refer to him as Jimmy Leg). P is Interested in FitCamp but Ned doesn't come to FitCamp. But, if he did there would be 2 of them there.
And just like that, I memorized the formula.
I moved onto the next one:
Cost of Preferred Stock = Dps/Nps
Jeff D's Nephew goes to Yale (I don't know that to be true, but it fit). Yale would be a Preferred school.
I could go on and on and on but I'm sure you don't want to hear about how I discovered the relationship between the CAPM and the girl I work with named Pam who is a self-professed cheapskate....
How come no one taught me this before? Two bachelor's degrees, an MBA, and a couple of certifications and now....NOW...I finally figure it all out!
Alright, back to studying...or trying to figure out how I can tie Troy into the formula for Return on Investment.
Have a great Thursday!
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