I am a runner #4

After a few 5Ks (here and here and here) last year, I decided it was time to up my game this fall and try my first 10K run (that's 6.2 miles).

Training: I stuck with my pal (not really my pal) Hal Higdon and his novice 10K running plan.  Check it out in more detail HERE.  This plan followed a general training schedule of long runs on Sundays, a short run once a week, and a medium run that increased over the 8 week plan once a week.  It also recommended strength and stretching and cross-training.

I did almost all of the running on the training plan, but basically none of the cross-training or strength exercises.  This wasn't a disastrous mistake for my 10K, but I'm sure I would have done better with it in, and I'll definitely work on following all of the plan next time.  My longest run was the Monday before the Saturday race, a 5.5 miler.  So, not terribly bad.

Location is also tough for me.  I don't live in a run-friendly area, and to run on base outside, I have to use the track if I want to use headphones.  I tended to just hit the gym and treadmill and knock out some mileage AND watch an episode of Homeland or House of Cards while I did it.  I should probably focus more on outside runs, though, at least for my weekly long runs.

Race:  For the race, I picked the Arundel Fire Department's 5K/10K rescue run in Crofton, Maryland.  This was a great charity to raise money for, and this race raised $10,000.  The equipment of the fire department has to be purchased, so they need a lot of cash (the county will maintain it, however).

It was a nice, cool, but humid day when I got there, and they had everything all set up nicely, including a bagpiper standing in a field.  I got my number (6!) and then saw a former paralegal of mine, so we chatted for a bit.  She was running the 5K, so I was on my own.

Avery had lost my iPod so I had to run with no music, which was not ideal.  The route was through an entire residential area and randomly double backed and crossed paths with the 5Kers.  I basically didn't stop for fear of getting lost and never finding my way out.  It was HILLY.  Ugh, lots of ups and downs.  I only walked for about 30 seconds, at a time when I just COULD NOT GO UP ANOTHER HILL.

I ended up running 57:59 which I wasn't excited or bummed about.  Since it's my first 10K, it's a good starting point for me.  I don't know what is a good/bad score, and I was almost dead in the middle of the entire pack of runners, time-wise (54th out of 100).  The 1st-3rd places in my age group were down in the high 40s, low 50s, so I have an idea of where I would like to get to.

To improve, I'm going to work more on the strength/cross training stuff, and, of course, keep running!

Anyway, another race, and a new distance in the books!  Until next time!!!

I am a runner, #3.

Long overdue, but another 5K in the books!  This run wasn't a timed train-up run, but part of being a runner is being able to get out and run a 5K with no training!  My family and I decided to run the Ugly Sweater Run 5K in St. Louis, which was a lot of fun!

Bright shoes ready to race!

Our family was admittedly more into keeping warm and dry (it was barely in the 30s and pouring down rain most of the time) than we were dressing up, but some people went all out!

The fam

I ran mostly with my brother-in-law Lee, my nephew, Sawyer, and my niece, Savannah.  We all got these awesome hats as well as mustache tattoos and free beer (for me, not the kiddos)

In the warm car

The "race" was long and slow and I basically just trotted for 5K, but the kids were awesome!  Sawyer got a few lifts from his dad (and was pretty exhausted that night) but everyone finished strong!  A great time had by all!

Lee giving a lift to Sawyer

I am a Runner, #2.

Yes, yes, I'm still running.  After a successful train-up and first 5K race, I decided to do my second!  I used the same training program, and got great results again, even though I skimped a bit on training.  As you can see...

 

So you can see from the chart that I initially missed the first two weeks of training, but that was because I started training only 6 weeks out from the 5K.  As for week 4 and 6....well, I got pretty sick one week, and flat out ran (or didn't run) out of time the other week.  Needless to say, I was worried I wouldn't do as well or better than the last race, although my times always got faster and faster.  Here's a side by side.

 

As you can see, even though I didn't stick to the training like I should have, I improved every time - yay!

As for the race, I picked a local 5K that benefited Carpenter's Shelter, which is a local homeless shelter here in the DC area.  It was a really good set up event, a 10K, 5K, and 1 mile fun run all in one.  We got sweet wick-away purple T-shirts, which was pretty nice.  It was brrrr cold, but I had recently purchased some new runnning gear.  I wore a long sleeved warm/moisture wick shirt, a t-shirt on top of that, long tight running pants, and shorts over that.  I wish I had worn thin gloves that would stop the wind from whipping my hands, but lesson learned. 

The route was straight out and back, but had a hill (in the form of an overpass) we had to go up and over.  I felt like I was running super super slow because of all the runners starting at the same time, the hill, and the windy cold.  As I hit the turnaround, I was in the top 50 or so to do so, so the route really cleared out as the 10K runners kept going and I got some distance from the 5K pack. 

As I was coming in, I couldn't remember if I ran the last one in 25:37 or 26:37.  Since my only goal was to beat the previous tiem, I was freaking out a bit, cause I knew I wasn't going to beat 25:37.  I just pushed as hard as I could, and, as you can see, ended up with a 26:03 which I discovered WAS faster than my last race.  Overall, I was 51st out of 335.  The top female finished at 21:11, so I have a ways to go, but it was a fun event, for a great cause, and I felt fantastic afterwards!!

I need to bring someone to take photos of me!

Next race is a Santa race in St. Louis with my family over the holidays!!

I am a Runner, #1.

I've always wanted to be a runner, but my body (albeit I'm rather tall and thin for a girl) tells me otherwise.  I've never been a GOOD runner.  I read a great quote somewhere that says something along the lines of there not being prerequisites to being a runner.  If you run, you are, by definition, a runner.  There's no minimum race requirement or time hack you have to make.  If you run, you are a runner.  So, I guess I'm a runner.

But instead of just running a few months out of the year in order to make sure I pass my yearly physical fitness test for the Air Force, I decided I really wanted to run some races.  So, I started with a 5K.

Note:  The weekend I ran my first 5K, I had friends that ran 1) a marathon, 2) two half marathons and a 5K, and 3) a 10K, so if you are one of those people, feel free to stop reading or laugh at my piddly little 5K.  But for those of you are intrigued at what I did, read on!

I decided to use Hal Higdon's training plan for the novice 5K runner.  I've run 5K and much longer (I have a vague memory of a horrible half marathon in Berlin many years ago), but never 5K as a race.  Since that makes me a 5K novice racer, I started with his novice program.  I printed it out and began running in accordance with it, tracking my times each time.

During the program, you can see that you run between 1.5 and 3 miles, and you often run the same distance.  My goal was simple:  The first time I run a distance, I just run at a good pace, whatever feels good to me.  The next time I run that distance, I have to beat the time I ran it in the last time I ran it.  That was my only personal goal in this.  You might be able to tell from my filled out plan that I made my goal every day but one day, where I ran 2 miles slower than I had the last time I had ran it.  To be fair, that was a 3-mile day, but I wasn't feeling great, and decided to make it a 2-mile day on my last lap, but couldn't speed up enough to break my previous 2-mile time. 

You can also see there were a few days that I just didn't run.  One week I wasn't feeling good, the week after that, Avery was in the hospital the night before and neither of us got decent sleep for a week.  I can only run during lunch or if I take off of work early, because I don't have anyone to watch the kids if I want to get up early and run or run in the evening.  That week of the ER trip, I used my lunch hour to sleep, I won't lie.

So, race day.  At the start of my 8-week training program, I randomly picked a nearby 5K 8 weeks out, which turned out to support a fund in memory of a guy that died when hit by a drunk driver a few years ago.  Good people, good cause.  It was a bit chilly, so I wore shorts, an Army t-shirt, a lightweight long sleeve over that, and my hat to keep my silly hair from flying all over the place and to keep any rain/mist from annoying me.

Racin' clothes

 I wish I had convinced someone else to come with me, or that Jon and the kids had been there to cheer me on, cause I was honestly just bored sitting around waiting for it to start.  I got my number, went to the bathroom, checked out the silent auction, played Candy Crush on my phone, stretched, and drank a little water to pass the time.  Some people did some jogging to warm up, which I might try next time.

#1001 reporting for racing!

Finally the race started (right on time, yay!) and we were off!  The course was interesting.  We ran past the finish line down a straightaway, turned around, ran back down, past the finish, past the start, then turned around AGAIN and then ran past the start and to the finish.  Although there was an official time clock and a sensor on my number, I carried my iPod and clocked myself.

I opted not to listen to music, which I regret.  I've ran this whole training program with tunes and for some reason decided not to do it this time.  But, the adrenaline got me going.  I ran the first mile in 8:19, which is pretty fast, and the second mile (slightly uphill) in 8:48.  There wasn't a three-mile sign, so I don't know what I ran that in, but I finished the whole race in 26:37.  This was under the 27:00 mark that I was shooting for, so I was very happy.

When the official results came out, I was 49th out of 154 runners, and 12 out of 49 for my age group.  (NOTE:  The girl ahead of me in my age group had the exact same time, so maybe there was a tiebreaker I am unaware of). 

I had a really good time, and the great thing about the race is that it didn't wipe me for the rest of the day and didn't exhaust me into saying "If I say I'm going to do another one of these, punch me in my face," which may or may not have been said after Berlin to my then-new-boyfriend, Jon.

I've already signed up to do another one next month, and it's in just 6 weeks.  I'm going to stick to the same training plan (but start on week three since I only have six weeks until the race) and hopefully keep improving.  My goal is just to run faster than 26:37 this time, and I'm sure I can do it!

My heart's a-racing

And hopefully my body is, too, because I signed up for a 5K at the Alexandria Running Festival!

Now, I know some of the things going through your mind:

1. A 5K?  Really?  That's all?
2. Don't you run all the time anyway for your job?
3. You're actually "training" for a 5K?
4. Didn't we run a 5K last week for PT?

Fair enough, and the answers are:

1. Yes, Yes, Yes
2. No
3. Yes
4. Probably....but I likely skipped PT

So I have a few pounds of baby weight to lose, I need to get into good bathing suit weather, and I would like to be able to run without feeling miserable (and NOT feel like passing out running through the parking lot of my building during an active shooter exercise).  So, I signed up.  Free T-shirt and all!  I'm doing a training plan that I found online, my friend Gabe is running with me, and it should be a good time.  AND, since I already signed up, I can't exactly back out without looking stupid :-)

Sunday Linky Dinkie

 As I think about getting back into shape now that I've got the ok from the doc to exercise, I'm inspired by training programs.  What can I say?  I love a regimen.  One of my faves is Hal Higdon, the god of marathon who provides training programs for every level and every length race.

Check him out! 

Sunday Linky Dinkie

It works, I swear!  My pushups dramatically improved by doing this workout, and it really wasn't that much effort at all?  Magic?  Maybe.

Give it a shot at http://hundredpushups.com!

My secret desire

No, it isn't to be on Broadway or to even have a leading role in community theater.  Or to have a blog that people actually read.  Or bigger breasts and a smaller nose.  Or get carded again at the liquor store.  I said "secret", not desperately apparent.

I want to be a runner.  I love love love the idea of running.  I hate to run.  But, I want to do it.  I want to run longer and faster than my husband so I can be better at something than he is.  Besides spelling.  I also want to lose my last 11 pounds of baby weight, run in races for fun, and did I mention lose that baby weight?  I want a hobby that makes me feel good, look good, and one I can do anywhere.

So what's stopping me?  Um, I hate to run.  My shoes are pretty crap, but I won't pay a bunch of money to buy new ones when I could buy a great pair of heels.  It's cold in Boston and the only thing worse than running is, you guessed it, freezing my ass of while doing so.  Hold on, I have more excuses.  It's bad for the knees.  I look funny when I run because my knees are slightly crooked and my lower leg kicks out a bit.  The only time I can do it is at 5am (that's true).  I can't take the dog because he stops every 10 feet to spray something, but I can't leave him at home because it's wasted dog-walking time.  I'm in the Air Force now, and it's not like I HAVE to run fast.  I just plan on trying to get pregnant again at the end of the year, so why get in good running shape?  I don't like the songs on my iPod shuffle and my iPod mini only has 30 minutes of battery.  I don't have a jogging stroller. I hate being sweaty.  I hate being sore.  I hate being tired.  I don't believe in endorphins.

But I also have an odd motivation.  Someone I really dislike is a runner, and I hate the fact that someone I dislike is doing the hobby that I want to do and I am not. 

So, in the saddest of traditions, pure old-fashioned jealousy is motivating me to get up and start moving again.  If I can keep it up, I'll post about it.  If you never hear anything about running on the blog again, you'll know I've failed and we'll never talk about it again.

Ok, this time I mean it

Next year, if everything goes according to plan, is the year that I start popping out kids. As many as I can in four years, which means I'll be spending the next 4 years getting chubby or recovering from getting chubby, rinse and repeat. Which also means that it's time to get serious about diet and exercise. It's TIME TO GET SERIOUS! (Legally Blonde: The Musical - anyone? Just me? Awesome.) Relying on the joy that is my high metabolism is just not enough anymore, and I need to put a real effort into getting into the best shape I can.

I figure if I put it on my blog, then I'll have to follow through, because I'll feel accountable to the three people that read this. I don't really have a plan, even though I'm a plan-person, because all my plans fail and I feel worse. So there WILL BE NO PLAN, just hard work and discipline and self-flogging when I fail.

My New Favorite Thing

Anyone that knows me knows I am very fickle when it comes to activities, as I enjoy so many different things. I like to work in theater, dance, play the flute, read, play my Nintendo, watch movies, do yoga, etc.

Well, for the last 5 months, I've stuck to ONE activity that gives me energy, helps me run faster, and keeps me in shape - swimming!

When I was a wee little Ali, I was terrified of the water. I stayed in the "Whales" beginning swimming class for years because I couldn't go in headfirst. I literally cried and begged my instructor not to take me underwater, which of course she did. Eventually I grew to love it, but just as a recreational thing to do.

However, I'm fortunate enough to have a nice indoor pool here on base in Iraq. My very first day here, I was exhausted, jet lagged, hungry, I had been yelled at for missing a meeting that I didn't know was taking place, I had lost my thumb drive with all my important files, and I was doing the 'bag drag' taking my bags from one place to another looking for a home. That night, all I wanted to do was crash, but I decided to find the pool instead. I swam five laps, taking long breaks between each one - you could say I was out of shape.

But, I kept at it, and last night I swam 30 laps freestyle. Thanks to my handy dandy waterproof MP3 player that my boyfriend got me for my birthday, I can listen to my own tunes while I swim. I've found that doing this helps me sleep better, makes me feel more fit, and has helped me lose about 8 pounds. I also run faster, due to the help swimming has given my cardio.

Anyway, a rather dull posting, but I was pretty proud of my 30 lap night, and I'm amazed at how much happiness swimming has given me. I encourage all of you stuck in a workout rut to give swimming a try - or try something different in general. Your body will thank you.