How did you do?!

I thought the race was great.  My only complaints were the weather (too humid) and the first mile being so narrow that there was no room to spread out.  But since I had trained on the same course in similar weather conditions, I was totally prepared.

I painted my toenails earlier in the week so that I would just stop worrying about them.  That seemed to do the trick.  In fact, they didn't bother me at all until mile 12 or so.  I got "fitted" for shoes by a running professional last year and was shocked that he gave me a size 1.5 up from what I normally wear.  I don't think the shoes are the problem but maybe my socks are.  They are moisture wicking, but the toe area seems extra thick (they might be more for workouts than running).  I'm going to look at other options.

My goal was to finish in under 3 hours, and I did it!!  My official time was 2:49:59.  I love that it ends in 49:59 and not 50:01.  Otherwise I probably would have beat myself up over those extra seconds.  In fact, my husband surprised me by being at mile 13 instead of the finish.  He was taking pictures then sprinting ahead to take more.  I was actually slowing down just so he'd have time to take them.  I would have been mad at myself for slowing down if the time was different.  Glad it didn't matter.

I'm hoping to do the same event with my sister next year.  I really thought it was well organized and all the volunteers were great.  I love that it was a women only event too.  Can't wait for my next race (whatever that may be).

Congratulations Jeanine and Brina on pushing through all that heat and getting such great times on your HMs! Time to rest on your laurels and your butts. Whoo Hoo!!

Andy, good to hear you are still up to big things. Amazing!

C25K = Couch to 5k

It's a beginners running program for people who have never run before, or haven't been active in a while.  It starts with short running intervals.  It's the program I used to start running last year.  I have it on my signature to remind me when I started running.  And my first 5k was my "graduation" from the C25K program.

Hi everybody,

I finally find some time to reply to your messages. It is a busy summer....

Thanks, Jeanine, for your soap box talk :-))) and your input about weight. Congratulations on losing so much weight, too!!! Well, you are right, 3-4 pounds shouldn't make too much of a difference... to me it does though.... those pounds do show in my belly fat.... and honestly I just feel better around 142/143 lbs.... luckily I did lose some weight now on a road trip. I couldn't run but hiked a lot and due to the fact that food was not very good - my body just doesn't do well with restaurant food, fast food and all of that (luckily there was Subway most of the time, plus lots of fruits and healthy snacks, plus I had brought self-baked bread - that saved many breakfasts ;-)  ) as I am used to a very healthy diet. Speaking of diets and food, I am having a very healthy diet overall and there is not much to change about it in the sense of leaving out unhealthy foods. But I will look up the book you recommended!

Regarding my workouts, I did have that powerful phase where I had that fast pace when running up to 4 miles. Then my hormonal phase hit me.... this is always bad as it totally affects my performance, I often feel without energy and/or weak during that time.And I am not speaking of a few days here, it often impacts me up to two weeks of the month!  I often only can run shorter distances. I am trying to get this treated by my acupuncturist, hopefully it will work. Those past two weeks I didn't do too much running due to being busy, and being on the road trip. Yesterday I finally ran again - a nice 6+1 run at the beach for 4.7 miles, my longest run post-injury. Speaking of my hip injury, I finally got discharged by PT :-) My hip is healed well, the only issue I still have a bit is a tight IT band (totally can feel it in my left thigh), I am trying to roll it out with my foam roller and do all the exercises my PT had prescribed me. Otherwise I am happy and hoping to increase my mileage soon.

Mary Kay, thanks for the speed demon :-)))) Yes, at that time I was really fast.... lately rather slow (yesterday a pace of 11min per mile on 4.7 miles, but hey I did the 6+1, plus it was warm weather) than fast.... weird thing is that although for a while my runs on shorter distances (up to 4 miles) were stronger, better, and faster  for a while I didn't feel strong at all. Sometimes my legs even would feel weak.... and I would feel anything but strong. Not sure if it is a physical thing or a mental block! So far I have been running in my neighborhood (for the shorter runs) and it gets really boring esp as I wasn't allowed to run hills yet, so I was stuck on pretty much the same route. Yesterday I finally went running at the beach, much better! 

Penny, I will be careful not to overdo things.... I do not want to be injured again! Oh and Baby Kahuna - two weeks ago I went to my favorite town in the mountains and spent the weekend there. I went mountain biking, ti was an amazing day bike riding in some wonderful and picturesque canyon and the mountains. Awesome! The second day there I went on a spectacular hike high up in the mountains. A fantastic weekend! :-) I also went bike riding with Baby Kahuna on the beach board walk those past weeks, a totally different experience. I liked it! I was more focusing on going really fast and that was fun! :-)

Regarding the HM in November, I hope I will get there! Being at 4.7miles it still seems to far away! Can anyone recommend good training plans? When I first started training for the HM pre-injury I never used one and didn't feel like wanting to use one... now as I still don't feel like a successful runner I think it might make sense to motivate me more and to train the right way. I cannot use one with lots of cross training though.

I hope everybody is well and would love to hear from you guys! Seems that everybody is really busy this summer!

Happy runs to everybody!

Britta

Hi all.  It has been awhile since my last post.

Mary Kay - have fun on your training for your fall races.  Omg, 3 HMs in 3 months.  Wish I had your discipline in training.

Britta - looks like you and baby kahuna are doing great. Fresh mountain air and beautiful scenery, you and baby kahuna can go on forever.  check Hal Higdon and runner's world basic training plans online.  They are free or you can order a more comprehensive program too.

Mtrunner - we are in the same boat, 2-3 days before my period starts, my legs feel heavier, gets fatigued more easily, and everything seems more difficult from breathing to even doing a slow jog. But soon thereafter even on my third day of my period, things start getting easier. 

Andy - Thanks for the link.  Right now, I am enjoying my Tri training particularly swimming.  Doing 1.5 km right now though at a regular pool.  Tried open water one weekend which was a nice change.  No black line to follow, got disoriented a bit but got to practice on keeping calm in the deeper part. 

As for race goals, I am scheduled to run a HM on sept 23, then a sprint Tri on oct 13 if I remain injury- free.  I alternate weeks for running, then another week for Tri.  Not sure if this plan is correct.  Got to do brick training, cycling then run.  My legs just felt weird for the first 5-7 minutes.  It was like my legs were still doing the circular motion of cycling on the ground.  Just felt different.  There are some days that it is so hard to get up early in morning to squeeze an hour of workout.

Btw, got to watch running the sahara.  It is a documentary of 3 men who run the sahara desert for 110 days.  If you can get a copy of this film, try to see it.  It is very inspiring. 

Run safe, run strong, run fierce

MountainRunner, thanks for your input... I always do slow down my training during those hormonal times... I just would not (or only rarely was) be able to run my regular long runs during that time. It is just that I have no energy, i have very heavy legs, I feel weak etc. during that time. This time around I went to acupuncture three times and it did the trick! Hardly any PMS, almost no cramping and nothing too bad overall... but still I felt weak. I only could run a 1.7 mile run and a 2 mile run during that time. But at least it was much better than usual!

Penny, thanks for the advice about the training plan. I printed out the Novice 1 plan and it seems to be the right one. It is weird I was so far ahead in my training in February and now although being back at running I still seem to struggle. Even the novice 1 plan seems to be a struggle! 

MM2U, good luck for your training for the HM! How did your 11 mile run go?

Update: Good news overall is that I am pain free and have no more hip problems. :-) Also this week I officially started my HM training :-)))) And I also finally lost that weight that bothered me - for some reason I all of a sudden lost a lot of weight in one month - about 5-7 lbs... And I do have to say, it makes me feel better, it is such a difference to me!

Only thing that bothers me at the moment is that my running feels weak and not strong and that I seem to struggle with it a bit. I have to say though I couldn't run as regularly as I used to as I had my dad visiting and we were constantly busy (although I went walking and hiking a lot). Also I am suspecting that the weight loss might make me feel weaker? And I definitely have to pick up the exercises again that my PT had prescribed me.

Question about the training plan... can I replace some of the runs with bike riding? As long as I am still on summer break I would love to do more bike riding as I won't be able to do so after school starts again.

Happy running to everybody!

Britta

Britta, I'd actually advise you to take advantage of your swings in energy levels.  It will be much better for you to have some time off from heavy exercise because most training plans will build you up but at the same time you're getting stronger you're also wearing yourself down.  The nagging injuries we get are because of this and adding in some extra recovery time will go a long ways towards stopping these.  Don't feel you have to keep doing more each week, it really isn't required. 

The 10k run I last mentioned was a wild day out.  I hadn't done much for about 5 weeks to get over my pair of HM's and I had a cold too which had slowed me down for 2 weeks.  I figured I'd just do what felt 'not too strenuous' and enjoy the run.  I was stunned when I reached the 3 mile mark in 25 minutes while feeling I was cruising.  I thought my watch was wrong.  Then the fun started because the course wasn't marked right and most of us ran way too far so it ended up being a 8 miler instead.  I didn't mind but after 5 weeks of not working out I was faster than when I'd had to stop.  The side effect was that my right ankle started aching again which has been a nagging injury since the half ironman last year.  So now I'm letting it recover while doing low impact therapy before my olympic distance triathlon on Sunday.  After that race I'm going to focus more on the bike which brings me to your question.

Cycling will help your running in several ways.  It will strengthen several lower leg and foot muscles that will help prevent shin splints and planar fascitis(the tendon in the arch of the foot).  It will also be good cardio work which is universal for all exercises.  Feel free to add in some rides or replace some runs.  If running is your main focus then a ride or 2 each week will certainly help and are ideal for your weeks when you don't or can't run much.  I intend to let my cycling help rehab that ankle over the rest of the summer while enjoying it too.

MM2U, it sounds like you're all set so keep us up to date on your great results.  I use Asics Kayano 17's for my long runs.

Penny, you'll do fine at your tri.  You're right about the open water swimming being very different.  The trick of navigating by popping your head up every few strokes is made easier if you're still close by the other racers.  Try to look for tall landmarks too, they tend to be the best references.

Mary, you're going to have an awesome set of race results this year!  4 weeks between races is good but I wouldn't work too hard during that time either.  The way you're going you'll sail through them and collect more hardware at the finish for your collection. 

So, keep up the great work everyone and we can keep inspiring each other to more great personal achievements.

Andy