WhistleStop Half Marthon Recap

Well, I officially did it and did it well!  I ran my first half marathon last Saturday.  The weather was cool and drizzly, which could have been better, but at least it wasn't downright raining.  Brian's dad was nice enough to drive us out to the start so we didn't have to stand around freezing for an hour before the start.  In fact, we barely had time to make it to the potties before it was time to go.
Brian and I started off together at about an 8:30 pace and once he warmed up, Brian decided he needed to do an 8:00 pace and sped off.  My typical pace for long runs has been around 9:15-9:30, so I was hoping to keep it closer to 9:00 for the whole race.  Running in a group really is inspiring.  I would find someone that I wanted to catch and work at it for a mile or so.  Amazingly, while I remember getting bored during the 10k last year, I was never once bored this year.  Maybe it's just more experience running, maybe it's that I managed to keep a faster pace, I don't know, but I had a great time.  The farther I'd gone, the faster the miles seemed to go by too.  However, when I hit about 10.6 miles, my legs started to realize that I'd never gone that far before.  Around 11 miles, my right ankle started hurting.  Well, there's no way I was going to slow down with 2 miles to go, so I changed my stride, sucked it up and kept going.  I loved having the garmin so I could keep my pace consistent.  I noticed a lot of people slowed down around 10-11 miles and I think I naturally would have too had I not had the garmin to keep track of my pace.  Getting into town was fantastic because I'd run that path so many times.  I knew exactly where I was, exactly how far I had left to go, and I was ready.  I even managed to sprint at the end and was flying into the finish, passing the girl ahead of me.  I finished with an average pace of around 8:35!  (Looking back at my post from last year, I see that I did the 10K with a 8:33 pace.  Wow am I consistent, eh???)

Brian was done ten minutes earlier, which gives him an average pace of just around 7:50 I think?

I felt AWESOME after the race.  I immediately gulped down a cup of water and an applesauce cup and we changed into dry clothes and headed home.
At home, I finished my nuun (I had consumed four tropical punch shot blocks, 6 oz of water, and about 3 oz of nuun during the run), had some pb toast and more water.  I tried to keep things light and drink a lot of water all day.
We went out to the Blues fest that night, but I was sooooo tired, I stayed for an hour and a half and headed home to watch Shark Tank and go to bed.

The boys also ran the toddler race on Saturday!  Everett did amazing.  He was super speedy!  I'm pretty sure if they had actually kept track of winners, he would have been it.  I mean, the form!  The speed!  :)

When it was time for Callum's race, he wasn't so sure.  He didn't cry.  He didn't even look scared.  Just a little confused.  So he walked.  :)

Running Update

Today, we ran ten miles, which is about 3.8 miles farther than I'd ever made it last year and 1.8 farther than I've made it this year.  I finally veered from my training plan this week, when I was supposed to have a four run week.  I cut out a two miler scheduled for the day after my seven mile because I was sore, I was busy, and I was kind of nervous about the ten for this weekend.  I'm happy to report that I made it through the entire ten miles today, feeling great.  After a shower and some lunch, I completely crashed though.  My legs are just exhausted, I'm dead tired, and very much looking forward to bed.
Brian decided he didn't like some aspects of the plan (like a long run mid-week and weekend) so we made some adjustments and here's what the rest of the plan looks like now:

Next week: T-3 miles, W-5 or 5.5 miles, Th-2 miles, Sat-10 miles (the original plan had a seven mile on W)
Oct 1 week: T-3 miles, Th-6 miles, Sat-9 miles (we took out a two mile from this week)
Race week: T-5 miles, Th-2 miles (we flipped these two from the original plan), Sat-13.2!  Eek!

It's definitely coming up and with how nervous I was for today's run, I wonder how I'll get any sleep on Oct 12.  I am feeling more confident now that I managed to do ten miles after having only done 8.2 before.  I figure if I can do that, I can manage 13.2 after having done ten miles twice before.  I'm still trying to convince Brian that he should run WITH me rather than speeding past me.  :)

Half Marathon Training - Day 1

Well, I'm officially signed up for my first half-marathon.  gulp.  It's not until the end of October, so I'm not totally absolutely insane, but still.  Right?
I signed up for the Whistlestop Marathon that takes place right here in town every year.  You might remember that last year, I did the 10K race in the same setting.  Doing the 10K again seems like I'd just be at a standstill in my running progress and I'm pretty sure I'm physically capable of running 13 miles (at what pace is an entirely different matter).  Brian is also signed up for the same race, so I have a constant running buddy.  I'm going to attempt to go off the schedule set in Runner's World for a beginner to do a half marathon (which I can't find on their website, so I don't really feel comfortable posting, but you'll see it as I go along....if I keep up with the blogging on it....).
Yesterday's run was a 2 miler.  Since I hurt my hip early this spring, I had taken a huge break from running and just started back up last week.  I had done a 2 mile and a 2.25 mile last week, so yesterday was back to the beginning.  Because of this, I decided I'd try out my five fingers for the first time.  I've worn them around town but not yet running in them.  Let me tell you, that was something else.  It didn't hurt but I definitely had to adjust the way I was running.  As soon as I started, my right heel was sore.  Odd.  Maybe that is why my right hip had been hurting?  Had I been heel striking on just one side and didn't realize it?  That's the beauty of these shoes.  You have to run correctly or it hurts right away.  Besides my feet feeling hot, it wasn't too bad.  Until this morning.  Can you say sore calves????  But sore in a good way, not a bad way.  I'm definitely going to keep using them for short runs and use my Brooks for the long runs.
I'm supposed to do three miles tomorrow and 4 miles Sunday.   I'm still trying to decide if I make Sunday's run part of our town summer festival, which has a 5 and 10K on Saturday.  If I do, I should probably only do the 5K which makes me feel like a slacker.  We shall see.

My first "real" race

This (quite chilly) morning, I completed my first "real" race.  Like, not a training team run and it had real timing chips and everything.  :)
It couldn't have been a more beautiful morning for a 10K run.  I got to watch the sunrise, see the beautiful colors on the trees, it was just the right temperature to wear tights, my zoot, headband and gloves and start to get a bit warm toward the end.  My goal for the race was to keep my pace under 9:00 miles and I am very proud to say that I made it!  In fact, my average was 8:33!  At first I did my math wrong and thought I had averaged 8:58 and was kind of sad until my husband the engineer did his math right and made me smack my forehead.  How did I graduate from college?  :)
I probably could have pushed it a bit more, but I didn't want to push too hard and end up feeling like crud afterward or feeling like I had to throw up or anything like that.  I think I must have paced it just right because I am totally motivated to go for the half-marathon next year!  Who knows, maybe my hubby would even run WITH me instead of trying to PR it.....yeah right.
Auntie J and Uncle J stayed overnight and got up early with the boys, made them pancakes (!), and strolled them down to the finish line for me.  Seeing my little boy with his stegosaurus hat waving to me at the end was just what I needed and I flew into the finish!  Seriously.  I was down to like 5:00 miles at the very very end (for like 10 seconds).
We went home so I could change and feed Callum then walked down to get a Black Cat coffee and check out the awards back at the finish.  Now we're home again for lunch and a rest and then it's back to the civic center for Everett's race, The Little Engine that Could Toddler Run, at 2.  Phew!  Then I think we'll go OUT to dinner because I don't feel like cooking. :)

In which I talk about running

I haven't talked much about running here, but my facebook friends have been bombarded with runkeeper updates for the past ten weeks or so.  Sorry guys!  So now I'll bombard the whole world.  Or those who read my blog.  Who are likely the same people who are my friends on facebook.  Umm...sorry again guys!
In July, I joined a 5K training team intended for those sedentary folks like me who couldn't run 4 minutes without gasping for air.  The team was sponsored by our local outdoor supply store, Solstice Outdoors, and it was a pretty sweet deal.  You paid $20 and for that tiny fee, each participant received: a training plan, a coach, people to run with and keep them accountable, an awesome wicking t-shirt emblazoned with the Solstice logo, and entry into a little 5K race.  If you completed the race, you got some gatorade, a smoothie, and a $20 gift certificate to use at Solstice.  Like I said, sweet deal.  (I bought these super comfy, uber cute shoes with assistance from my gift certificate.)
The best time I'd had before the race had been just over 3 miles at a 8:58 pace.  Since my original goal had been to do the race at under 10:00 miles, I was stoked about this.  Brian said that he was betting I'd be closer to 8:00 miles for the race and I laughed in his face.  That was a week away and he thought I was going to cut off :30 a mile or more!?  Ha.
Well, race day came and I was feeling awesome.  Had some pre-race jitters, but nothing terrible.  And then when we started running, I realized I was going to go faster than most of the others.  So I got in line behind two other girls (who had been way ahead of me in trainings) and kept up with them to the halfway point.  They both stopped to get some water, but since I hadn't been drinking water during my runs, I just kept running.  As a result, I finished the race in 2nd place (behind the son of the high school's cross country coach who was by no means a new runner so he totally doesn't count) at 25 minutes, 24 seconds.  That's an 8:11 pace.  I should really stop doubting what Brian says in regards to running...

Now as my little brother so kindly pointed out, that's still not unbelievably fast.  (Thanks Sam....ya stinker.)  But it was better than I ever could have imagined.  I mean, I was doing over 13:00 miles the first day and literally could not run 4 minutes without feeling like I was dying.
After the race, I decided I could keep going.  So I signed up for the Cruisin' the Corridor 10K a mere four weeks later.  Then I got a nasty cold and didn't run for 6 days.  Luckily, when I did run, I made it to 4 miles.  Then two days later, I got up to 4.25 miles.  All while still keeping my pace under 9:40.  So I have hopes that I'll make it.
Here's the training plan I've concocted (and Brian approved) for the remaining time before the race:

Phew!
I'll let you know how it goes.  Thanks for reading (if you actually did read and didn't skim.  If you skimmed, well, thanks anyway.)

-Everett is 2 years, 9 months and Callum is 7 months, 2 days