Sunday, October 21, 2012
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy
Happy, happy, joy, joy! I have found the place for the new shoes! It is on the treadmill! Who would've thought, eh? WOOT WOOT!!!! Today I hit the mill and again I played with the speed button. I started out with the speed at 6.0 MPH which, in retrospect I probably shouldn't have done because after I ran one mile at that speed I was wiped out! It felt good to be running that fast though. I want to be able to do that on a regular basis. My side started hurting and I had to slow down. I kicked the mill down to 5.6 MPH and ran that for a bit but it was still too fast for me after running @ 6.0 MPH so I slowed down to 5.4, then 5.2. Unfortunately I was just worn out and I had to finally end up running at 5.0 MPH. This was a little disappointing for me but then I've always got high expectations for myself. I really need to get over that. I need to work on that!
Here are the details: Boring run today aside from messing with the speed. I didn't experiment with the incline today, just the default 1.5 incline. I ran for 3.16 miles and it took me 35 minutes. Had to stop quite a bit today. I wore myself out. My average pace was 11:04 which again, seems slow. I really need to work on my speed. I need to get back to reading my book on how to improve my speed.
Once again, sorry this one isn't more lively. Treadmill running is boring but I'm happy with my new shoes on the treadmill. They feel much better on the mill than on the trail. On another note, there's a 5k in my hometown for the grade school/junior high I attended. I signed up for it and I'm really excited for it! It's in a couple of weeks. Gotta get to training!
Happy Running!
KEA
Dirty Shoes, Uber Sad Face :-(
September 25, 2012
I've not been feeling well lately and I'm not sleeping well either. So this run didn't feel as good as the last one. I decided to give my new shoes another workout so I laced up and headed out to the cheer leading trail again. The sky was looking a little rough so I hoped to be done before it started to rain.
This run was uneventful except that somehow my shoes have gotten dirty! Somewhere along the line my shoes have gotten some kind of berry on them. It's very strange because the berry mess is on the top of the foot and that makes me sad, silly I know but still....You know how when you get a new pair of shoes you want to keep them clean as long as possible? Well, you get the picture. I mean, this is only the second time I'd worn these shoes and they are already dirty! Bummer....
So, anyway, this run was uneventful. It was just me grinding out my 3.1 miles trying to get done before the rain hit.
Here's the breakdown: I ran 3.11 miles. It took me 33 minutes to get it done and my average pace was 10:40. Just as I was hitting the end I saw lightening streak across the sky so I finished just in time for them to cancel the rest of cheer leading practice.
Not much else to say about this one, guys. Sorry I'm boring!
Happy Running,
KEA
I've not been feeling well lately and I'm not sleeping well either. So this run didn't feel as good as the last one. I decided to give my new shoes another workout so I laced up and headed out to the cheer leading trail again. The sky was looking a little rough so I hoped to be done before it started to rain.
This run was uneventful except that somehow my shoes have gotten dirty! Somewhere along the line my shoes have gotten some kind of berry on them. It's very strange because the berry mess is on the top of the foot and that makes me sad, silly I know but still....You know how when you get a new pair of shoes you want to keep them clean as long as possible? Well, you get the picture. I mean, this is only the second time I'd worn these shoes and they are already dirty! Bummer....
So, anyway, this run was uneventful. It was just me grinding out my 3.1 miles trying to get done before the rain hit.
Here's the breakdown: I ran 3.11 miles. It took me 33 minutes to get it done and my average pace was 10:40. Just as I was hitting the end I saw lightening streak across the sky so I finished just in time for them to cancel the rest of cheer leading practice.
Not much else to say about this one, guys. Sorry I'm boring!
Happy Running,
KEA
I Am a Beast!
September 13, 2012
I recently got a new pair of shoes and so many things kept coming up (and I kept using them as an excuse not to run) that I haven't had the opportunity to try them out until tonight. They are Addidas (my current brand of choice) Duramo 4's and the jury is still out as to whether or not I like them. They fit well and I guess they are okay but I didn't love them as much as I do my Addidas Marathon 10's. Perhaps I'm just more attached to the Marathons. We shall see as I intend to give the Duramo's the benefit of the doubt and will continue to break them in.
Tonight's run was the cheer leading practice trail. The loop is getting boring but the hills are getting easier. There's that big one at the beginning of my run and it's hard but it is less intimidating each time I run this route. That makes me happy.
Tonight I was just in a great place both physically and mentally. I haven't run much lately and I thought I would have a problem with the hills, with exhaustion and with lack of enthusiasm but I didn't. Tonight I just felt like the wind was in me and I was just "on". It felt great! (Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on the new shoes? LOL!) It came down to the last bit of the my usual 5k distance and I was listening to my iPod. I had recently added some new music to my "marathon mix" that I run to and I was listening to Amy Grant's "Sing Your Praise to the Lord". There's just something about that intro where the piano is playing and it comes to a grand crescendo and I couldn't help myself; I did a huge ballerina leap right on the path. I didn't care who saw me and I didn't care if anyone thought I was nuts. I just couldn't help myself. I felt great and my feet just left the ground. I know I probably looked silly but it doesn't matter because I felt great and when you feel great you have the right to do a ridiculous ballerina leap on the path of the trail! And, if I do say so myself, I don't think I looked as ridiculous as you might think. :-) Finally, to top it all off I ran farther than I have run in a very long time. All this makes me very happy....except for the shoes which didn't feel comfortable.
So, here's the break down: I ran 3.52 miles (GO ME) and it took me 40 minutes to do it. My average pace was 11:21 which seems slow but since I ran farther than I've run in a while and I was wearing new shoes I'm really content with this run. I felt great when I was done (as evidenced by said ballerina leap) and I felt like I'd accomplished something so at the risk of being made fun of by those who run double digits faster than I can run one simple mile; I am a beast!
Happy Running!
KEA
I recently got a new pair of shoes and so many things kept coming up (and I kept using them as an excuse not to run) that I haven't had the opportunity to try them out until tonight. They are Addidas (my current brand of choice) Duramo 4's and the jury is still out as to whether or not I like them. They fit well and I guess they are okay but I didn't love them as much as I do my Addidas Marathon 10's. Perhaps I'm just more attached to the Marathons. We shall see as I intend to give the Duramo's the benefit of the doubt and will continue to break them in.
Tonight's run was the cheer leading practice trail. The loop is getting boring but the hills are getting easier. There's that big one at the beginning of my run and it's hard but it is less intimidating each time I run this route. That makes me happy.
Tonight I was just in a great place both physically and mentally. I haven't run much lately and I thought I would have a problem with the hills, with exhaustion and with lack of enthusiasm but I didn't. Tonight I just felt like the wind was in me and I was just "on". It felt great! (Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on the new shoes? LOL!) It came down to the last bit of the my usual 5k distance and I was listening to my iPod. I had recently added some new music to my "marathon mix" that I run to and I was listening to Amy Grant's "Sing Your Praise to the Lord". There's just something about that intro where the piano is playing and it comes to a grand crescendo and I couldn't help myself; I did a huge ballerina leap right on the path. I didn't care who saw me and I didn't care if anyone thought I was nuts. I just couldn't help myself. I felt great and my feet just left the ground. I know I probably looked silly but it doesn't matter because I felt great and when you feel great you have the right to do a ridiculous ballerina leap on the path of the trail! And, if I do say so myself, I don't think I looked as ridiculous as you might think. :-) Finally, to top it all off I ran farther than I have run in a very long time. All this makes me very happy....except for the shoes which didn't feel comfortable.
So, here's the break down: I ran 3.52 miles (GO ME) and it took me 40 minutes to do it. My average pace was 11:21 which seems slow but since I ran farther than I've run in a while and I was wearing new shoes I'm really content with this run. I felt great when I was done (as evidenced by said ballerina leap) and I felt like I'd accomplished something so at the risk of being made fun of by those who run double digits faster than I can run one simple mile; I am a beast!
Happy Running!
KEA
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Treading the Mill but Feeling Good About It
September 11, 2012
Well, I'm back on the mill again today. It's hot and I didn't want to hit the road since it was so close to the time school gets out. Maybe I'm hiding from the hills that kicked my butt at the Popeye Picnic Race but I'll never admit it! Anyway, I hit the mill today.
Today I decided to mess with speed and pace. I ran today's workout with 30 minutes at race pace. I also ran one mile at the fastest I've ever run on the treadmill. There's not much to say about this run. The treadmill is BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING and so are my blogs when I write about it.
Not many details here today. I messed a little with incline but what with running faster I had to put it back down to the default setting. I was more interested in seeing how fast I could run and how long I could keep up a faster pace.
Here are the details: I ran 3.2 miles. It took me 35 minutes (I like to end the workout with whole numbers with no seconds). My average pace was 10:56 but I did run one mile at 5.8 MPH which according to the treadmill is a pace of 10:20! GO ME!
I'm pretty satisfied with this run. It was on the treadmill which is not exciting but I felt like I accomplished something and after feeling so crappy about my performance in the Popeye Picnic 5k I needed to feel better about myself. So I'm happy with this run and there's not much else to say about it so we'll just end it here.
Happy Running,
KEA
Well, I'm back on the mill again today. It's hot and I didn't want to hit the road since it was so close to the time school gets out. Maybe I'm hiding from the hills that kicked my butt at the Popeye Picnic Race but I'll never admit it! Anyway, I hit the mill today.
Today I decided to mess with speed and pace. I ran today's workout with 30 minutes at race pace. I also ran one mile at the fastest I've ever run on the treadmill. There's not much to say about this run. The treadmill is BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING and so are my blogs when I write about it.
Not many details here today. I messed a little with incline but what with running faster I had to put it back down to the default setting. I was more interested in seeing how fast I could run and how long I could keep up a faster pace.
Here are the details: I ran 3.2 miles. It took me 35 minutes (I like to end the workout with whole numbers with no seconds). My average pace was 10:56 but I did run one mile at 5.8 MPH which according to the treadmill is a pace of 10:20! GO ME!
I'm pretty satisfied with this run. It was on the treadmill which is not exciting but I felt like I accomplished something and after feeling so crappy about my performance in the Popeye Picnic 5k I needed to feel better about myself. So I'm happy with this run and there's not much else to say about it so we'll just end it here.
Happy Running,
KEA
Technical difficulties and DFL
September 8, 2012
It's racing day; it's racing day. It's racing day; it's racing day. It's not snowball chasing day! Today's the day we race! This is a song from the kids' show "The Back Yardigans" from the episode where they all have a big race. It goes through my mind every time I run a 5k. LOL! So.....if you couldn't guess today was racing day! It never gets easier to wake up early on a Saturday morning although I did try to go to bed early last night. I felt a bit jittery this morning, as usual for a race. We got to the race site (we could've walked we live so close) but I didn't feel like it. In retrospect I probably should've so I would've been warmed up. It was chilly today and my daughter was bundled up in a blanket.
It seemed to take a long time for the race to start. I don't know if that was just prerace jitters or if they were running behind but it just seemed like time was moving very slow. We started out by the Buena Vista bank and ran down to the high school. We circled through the high school parking lot then came back to the Buena Vista bank (where we started) past it then down to the Gilster Mary Lee factory, turned and ran down to the main drag. We ran down to the court house (familiar run for me). When we reached the court house we turned and ran back the way we came and ended up back where we started at the Buena Vista bank.
This is pretty familiar territory for me. Reading my past blogs you know I'm familiar with the run from my house to the court house. What was really strange about this run is that I was running on the opposite side than what I normally run. My normal run takes me from my house to Rte 3 up to State St to the court house then turn around and back again. So I run on the side of the street that keeps me from having to cross too many streets. The race came from the other direction so I was running on the opposite side of the street. It felt uncomfortable. It was like wearing a new pair of shoes; you know they are the right size and you like them but they aren't broken in yet. Maybe I'm just trying to make excuses for my poor performance but it didn't feel right running on the other side of the road.
When we started out I was in the front to middle of the group. It didn't take long for me to fall behind though although I didn't feel like I slowed down and my pace wasn't any slower than normal. I guess I was just being passed. About five minutes in my Garmin messed up for some reason and turned itself off. I lost a bit of time (on the Garmin, I didn't stop running) so the numbers put up by my Garmin weren't accurate. :-( I felt like I was doing well, personally but apparently I wasn't. It didn't take long for me to be far in the back. Like I said, I didn't feel like I was slow; I guess everyone else was just faster than me. The first part of the race felt good. The hills didn't feel too bad but I knew what was coming up over by the court house so I wanted to save my energy for that. By the time I got to that part of the race I was feeling it. I guess I didn't train hard enough before the race because I ended up having to walk the hills. I felt defeated by those stupid hills and what was worse was that I couldn't even pass the walkers! UGH!!!! This was a hard race for me and I was very disappointed in myself.
Today I tried out some new running shorts and a new shirt. I LOVED them! They were the shiny slick material and of course they were breast cancer awareness gear. Breast cancer awareness/support and research is my chosen charity. I will be running in this gear again.
Here's the numbers: The race was a 5k so with my Garmin messing up I don't have the exact distance but a 5k is 3.1 miles so we're going with that. It took me 34:44 (which at the time was a personal best). My average pace was 10:42. I came in 180th out of 205 and 7th out of ten in my age group. My husband told me later that if I'd run just three minutes faster I would've come in 3rd in my age group. Gee, thanks, Honey, LOL! Incidentally he backed out of running so I won the challenge by default. NOT how I wanted to win. :-(
As I said, despite my personal best I am not happy with this race. I am, however, humbled. I don't know why I thought I would do better but it just showed me that I can't get cocky. It also gave me the fire to train harder so that next year I will do better...and yes, I will do better next year. My goal is to come in first in my age group. GO ME!
Happy Running,
KEA
It's racing day; it's racing day. It's racing day; it's racing day. It's not snowball chasing day! Today's the day we race! This is a song from the kids' show "The Back Yardigans" from the episode where they all have a big race. It goes through my mind every time I run a 5k. LOL! So.....if you couldn't guess today was racing day! It never gets easier to wake up early on a Saturday morning although I did try to go to bed early last night. I felt a bit jittery this morning, as usual for a race. We got to the race site (we could've walked we live so close) but I didn't feel like it. In retrospect I probably should've so I would've been warmed up. It was chilly today and my daughter was bundled up in a blanket.
It seemed to take a long time for the race to start. I don't know if that was just prerace jitters or if they were running behind but it just seemed like time was moving very slow. We started out by the Buena Vista bank and ran down to the high school. We circled through the high school parking lot then came back to the Buena Vista bank (where we started) past it then down to the Gilster Mary Lee factory, turned and ran down to the main drag. We ran down to the court house (familiar run for me). When we reached the court house we turned and ran back the way we came and ended up back where we started at the Buena Vista bank.
This is pretty familiar territory for me. Reading my past blogs you know I'm familiar with the run from my house to the court house. What was really strange about this run is that I was running on the opposite side than what I normally run. My normal run takes me from my house to Rte 3 up to State St to the court house then turn around and back again. So I run on the side of the street that keeps me from having to cross too many streets. The race came from the other direction so I was running on the opposite side of the street. It felt uncomfortable. It was like wearing a new pair of shoes; you know they are the right size and you like them but they aren't broken in yet. Maybe I'm just trying to make excuses for my poor performance but it didn't feel right running on the other side of the road.
When we started out I was in the front to middle of the group. It didn't take long for me to fall behind though although I didn't feel like I slowed down and my pace wasn't any slower than normal. I guess I was just being passed. About five minutes in my Garmin messed up for some reason and turned itself off. I lost a bit of time (on the Garmin, I didn't stop running) so the numbers put up by my Garmin weren't accurate. :-( I felt like I was doing well, personally but apparently I wasn't. It didn't take long for me to be far in the back. Like I said, I didn't feel like I was slow; I guess everyone else was just faster than me. The first part of the race felt good. The hills didn't feel too bad but I knew what was coming up over by the court house so I wanted to save my energy for that. By the time I got to that part of the race I was feeling it. I guess I didn't train hard enough before the race because I ended up having to walk the hills. I felt defeated by those stupid hills and what was worse was that I couldn't even pass the walkers! UGH!!!! This was a hard race for me and I was very disappointed in myself.
Today I tried out some new running shorts and a new shirt. I LOVED them! They were the shiny slick material and of course they were breast cancer awareness gear. Breast cancer awareness/support and research is my chosen charity. I will be running in this gear again.
Here's the numbers: The race was a 5k so with my Garmin messing up I don't have the exact distance but a 5k is 3.1 miles so we're going with that. It took me 34:44 (which at the time was a personal best). My average pace was 10:42. I came in 180th out of 205 and 7th out of ten in my age group. My husband told me later that if I'd run just three minutes faster I would've come in 3rd in my age group. Gee, thanks, Honey, LOL! Incidentally he backed out of running so I won the challenge by default. NOT how I wanted to win. :-(
As I said, despite my personal best I am not happy with this race. I am, however, humbled. I don't know why I thought I would do better but it just showed me that I can't get cocky. It also gave me the fire to train harder so that next year I will do better...and yes, I will do better next year. My goal is to come in first in my age group. GO ME!
Happy Running,
KEA
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