Week 3
Its 5 o'clock in the morning... my shoes are laced, my music is on, and I am headed out the door to cover the miles dictated to me by the paper that hangs on my kitchen cabinet. My biggest problem with running in the last year has been consistency. This is why I have not been able to improve my running ability. But now, because of that silly piece of paper, I feel like I am being pushed out the door every morning! And every morning, I am thankful to see the sun rise in the peace and quiet.
I think more important that the running this week was the decision that I have made to turn this run into a fundraiser. I will be running to benefit the children of Variety Child Learning Center. Please check out the info!
Monday 7/22/13
3.00 miles 44:10 mins 14.43 average pace
TERRIBLE! I had to fight for every step. I did my
usual 3mile loop because I felt like I needed a change, so my big hill was in
the beginning. Side stitches started almost immediately and my pace was
abysmal. I wasn't able to settle into a comfortable gait until well
into mile 2. The temp was in the mid 70s (yay!). But the humidity was at
85% (boo). A couple times it started to drizzle and I was so thankful.
This does not give me much hope of getting through 4 miles tomorrow.
Tuesday 7/23/13
4.40 miles 1:00:00 13:38 average pace
I am actually floored!! I took more than three minutes off of my
previous 4 mile time and this was on a treadmill where I am always
slower. I ran the whole thing with no walk breaks! I feel like I
floored it but I still had some gas left in the tank! This was great!
What makes this even more shocking is that I have been taking Zicam for
the last 24 hours to stave off the ick that has a hold of our family!!
Wednesday 7/24/13
30 mins Cross Training
I just didn't have it in me today. I still went and did my boxing. I didn't enjoy it, and I didn't have very much power in my swing. I was just pretty much going through the motions and I got very very frustrated when I couldn't get my pivot down.
Thursday 7/25/13
3.00 miles 41:40 mins 13:55 average pace
Today was dramatically different than Monday's 3 mile run. New route,
new music, new confidence. A wonderful 67* with 97% humidity but a 16mph
headwind. There were ZERO walking breaks. This was by far my best pace
and a better 3 mile time by at least 2mins. I really needed this run!!
Saturday 7/27/13
6.00 miles 1:23:31 13:55 average pace
I am really happy with how this went! I am surprised that 6miles was
easier than 5miles. I can't believe that i ran negative splits almost
the entire way! Floored at the pace that I maintained and I only took
one walk break to eat some Shot Blocks. Overall I felt great! The more
surprising part is more than 50% was with no music!!! My headphones died
at mile two!
The Goods - As I am preparing for the big day, I will be trying out gear and nutritional goodies to see what gear works for me. Gear and nutrition are both a very personal choice and there are oodles of options. I hope that I can shed light on a small percentage of them!!
This week's goodies: Yankz! - This weeks "goodie" is again courtesy of the RunningNerds and the "Virtual Half Marathon & Treadmill Challenge 5K". These awesome custom laces we part of the swag pack that the participants in this race received. I was thrilled that they were black with orange and green lettering so they matched my shoes.
The concept behind these laces: Set them and forget them!! Once you lace up your shoes and get the fit perfect, you are done!! Your shoes will slip on, stay snug, but also adjust and stretch to accommodate your foot as it swells during a long run. I love that I don't have to worry about my laces becoming untied. I also feel like my shoes fit even better now!!
The "Sure Lace System" is available in 26 colors and they can do customization. The price for these specialty are a reasonable $7.50-$8.00 a pair and they offer options for those that would like to continue to use their traditional laces..
