The Training Blog of newbierunner

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/07/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Distance: 16 miles

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 10/26/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 00:39:10.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 9:47.28/mile

I love taking the squirts on a race, and today was an illustration of why. It was in support of a parochial school in town, and they had a big spread of goodies for runners, which always goes over well with my crew! The 5K and 10K are a little much for my small kids, but they also offered a 1K, which meant I could include my kindergartener (he can be tough to keep on the race route!) The race had a Halloween theme, so they got to dress up…and waiting for each of them at the finish line was a ribbon and a little prize envelope. Stuff like that makes the whole thing a lot more meaningful for little ones who could give two rips about cardiovascular status and building endurance. Hand them a ribbon and a slip for free bowling, and they have had a good day! My daughter won a free spaghetti dinner once and was just tickled…and she doesn’t even like spaghetti! “I won Mom, look!” Race organizers around here really do a nice job making it special for kids. Hopefully it will keep them running when they grow big!

A 5K! It feels great to have come back this far, and also weird to think how far I have to go. Right before surgery in August, I was running fair distances and feeling good. Once I’d gone under the knife, I couldn’t get my own socks on and off. This marks my first 5K since those days. It’s a little unsettling to have this level of afterburn in my muscles with a run of this length, but then…why do any of us engage in endurance sports? Is it a mad need to prance around in skin tight running gear? A compulsion to rack up a monstrous collection of race tees? Alright, that’s one that spurs me a lot…but I think most of us have some need that runs along the same vein…the adrenaline buzz is what many call it. The need to push, to achieve, to see just what we’re capable of. What bigger rush than to strive for that next level, and have your efforts greeted with success? “Yeah, I *can* do this!” My little setback gives me a chance to relive those earlier milestones. That’s not such a bad deal. I think I’ll keep running the 5Ks for a couple weeks until I get better acclimated, and then start training hard. The marathon is in June!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 10/03/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:31:00.00
• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Average Pace: 10:00/mile

Tempo run today. I have to research more about what my max pulse should be. Turns out I’m not 18 anymore (oh crap, when did that happen?)
:0)

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/06/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:35:05.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 8:46.32/mile

How the mind dictates what the body can do…as I’ve slowly gone further and further distance running, I find that getting into the right headspace is as important as warming up the legs. If I set out to run three miles, then I gasp and huff across the three mile mark. If I run twelve miles, then that’s when I huff and moan (so I’m a drama queen, sue me!), and I barely notice the three mile mark. But there is another facet to the mental part of endurance sports, something my kids have taught me.
I love the little things dearly. We feed and clothe them, read to them, spend the day at the fair with them, and get them involved in running. We do our best by them, but dangit…when Mommy is on the treadmill, Mommy needs to pay attention to what she’s doing! Bless their little hearts, we usually spend the first 30 minutes or so of a run with little squirts walking right by Daddy to bring Mom such emergencies as fort building, crayons, and fighting over the remote. Augh! Most of the time it’s not a big deal, but there are days when there is no peace to be had! After three or four interruptions, I find that it’s hard to get my head back where it belongs.
I know…one day I’ll miss all this. They are interrupting because they are sweet, busy little things, and they forget that running time is Mom time. I just keep reminding them, and try to keep my mind on my run.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/02/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 1:37:25.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 9:44.42/mile

Tempo run….hope I’m doing this right! I keep picking up the speed and looking for the upper limit. Don’t want to increase too much too fast.
The kids are training for the two mile run in a couple weeks. So cute!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/30/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00
• Distance: 3.41 miles
• Average Pace: 8:47.86/mile

Well, Jen  and I met up this morning and ran the park!  It wasn’t a showstopper by any stretch, as she was getting back into running, and I had done my long run yesterday, so neither of us was 100%.  It was fun to get out, though…we took a route that I had run on a couple 5K races, but went a bit further.  Good times!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/27/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:37:00.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 9:14.7/mile

Well, the big race is done, and training continues for the next big race! I’m shooting for a full marathon next June, so increasing my distance is going slower now. I had decided to run the half marathon with *just* enough time to train for it. Made for a bit of pressure, but it was worth it! Now there is lots more time, so I’ll mix the distance running with more speedwork and hill runs. Still, it feels good to log a new distance record.
I wonder…is it a good idea to have one weekly run of near-marathon distance as an ongoing thing, or is that too much for the average runner? Anyone out there with input on that one? I was thinking about working up to 20 miles and running that distance once a week or so over the winter.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/26/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 2:28:00.00
• Distance: 15 miles
• Average Pace: 9:52.11/mile

Made it through, though it went a little rough today. Not quite feeling myself! My daughter is working on running two miles, though. The local track club has a youth thing for running…they list a handful of local races, and kids get medals, depending on how many races they run. How cute is that! She’s been kind of focused on the finisher medal that I got, so if she could win one of her own, I think that would be just the bomb! I’ll try and get my son involved too, though he’s not as warmed up to running as Princess and I are….I’ll keep working on him….

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/23/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:27:28.00
• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Average Pace: 8:51.76/mile