Finishers medal!!!!
--Melissa
Monday, April 26, 2010
Race Recap Teaser
We did it!!! Vic and I ran the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon yesterday and it was amazing!!! Race recap to come once I get all of the pictures back and our chip times, etc. But it was such an incredible day.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Birthday
Today Dad would have been 51 years old. It's a weird day for all of us. Weird to think that a year ago we were celebrating Dad's 50th birthday with a big, fun party at our house.
The 4 of us at Dad's 50th birthday party, April, 2009 <3
Today would be an excellent day to go for a head-clearing run. Too bad we're in rest mode. Tomorrow we have the race expo and some other race related events. Then Sunday is the big day!
Happy Birthday Daddy!
--Melissa
Thursday, April 22, 2010
So Close
It's official. I am DONE with training for the half marathon which is THIS Sunday!!! So crazy. I woke up this morning not really feeling like getting up. I knew I could have technically skipped this run and it wouldn't have mattered, but I have this irrational fear that every time I go out for a run I won't be able to do it. I have no idea why I think this, because I have run regularly for quite some time now. Whatever the reason for my irrationality, I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do these last 4 training miles.
I got up and decided to head down to the trail because it's easier to run on and today was not supposed to be a difficult run or anything. As I headed out I kept repeating in my head "nice, easy 4 miles, that's it" because I didn't want to over do it today. My first mile was slow and steady, the next one was a little faster, and the third mile was slightly faster than the second. Since I knew I had negative splits for the first 3 miles I couldn't let that slip away and I just let my legs do their thing for the last mile. So much for nice and easy. Here are the splits:
Mile 1: 10:30
Mile 2: 10:07
Mile 3: 9:59
Mile 4: 9:06
Mile 5: 18:02 (cool down)
.04: 44 seconds (cool down)
I've said it a zillion times, but this race is not about time, and so I'm trying to relax about that for Sunday. But, when it comes to running, I am pretty competitive against myself (not really against other people) and I do have a goal in mind for Sunday. I would like to run the race exactly how I ran today, with the first 5 miles at a steady pace, the second 5 at a medium pace, the last ~3 at a fast-ish pace and the last half or quarter of a mile as fast as my legs are willing to go. We'll see how things go this weekend, but this race is about so much more than just time and I'm really excited about running with my sister. That being said...I have my eye on another half marathon in September...but let's get through Sunday first!
Happy Earth Day!
--Melissa
I got up and decided to head down to the trail because it's easier to run on and today was not supposed to be a difficult run or anything. As I headed out I kept repeating in my head "nice, easy 4 miles, that's it" because I didn't want to over do it today. My first mile was slow and steady, the next one was a little faster, and the third mile was slightly faster than the second. Since I knew I had negative splits for the first 3 miles I couldn't let that slip away and I just let my legs do their thing for the last mile. So much for nice and easy. Here are the splits:
Mile 1: 10:30
Mile 2: 10:07
Mile 3: 9:59
Mile 4: 9:06
Mile 5: 18:02 (cool down)
.04: 44 seconds (cool down)
I've said it a zillion times, but this race is not about time, and so I'm trying to relax about that for Sunday. But, when it comes to running, I am pretty competitive against myself (not really against other people) and I do have a goal in mind for Sunday. I would like to run the race exactly how I ran today, with the first 5 miles at a steady pace, the second 5 at a medium pace, the last ~3 at a fast-ish pace and the last half or quarter of a mile as fast as my legs are willing to go. We'll see how things go this weekend, but this race is about so much more than just time and I'm really excited about running with my sister. That being said...I have my eye on another half marathon in September...but let's get through Sunday first!
13.1 here I come!!!
Happy Earth Day!
--Melissa
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
What's next?
This morning I did a "trial run" of what I'll wear for race day. I had pants on the bottom, even though I love my shorts, the weather has been a bit more chilly lately. On top I wore a long sleeved UnderArmor top, with my purple TNT race singlet on top. If it's not too cold on race day I will ditch the UnderArmor, but this morning it was cold-- I even wore my gloves! I was only supposed to run 4 miles today, but when I hit mile 4 I wanted to keep going. So I did 4.5...shh don't tell. I was excited to do that last half mile because I finally figured out how to work the lap button on my Garmin, so I didn't have to do any mental math to figure out that split! Then I cooled down with a mile of walking. The splits:
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 9:56
Mile 3: 9:31
Mile 4: 9:43
4.5: 4:53
Cool down mile: 17:27
This run felt really great. I can definitely see myself continuing to do 4-5 mile runs in the morning before class (for the next week)/work (once I start). Which brings me to..."what's next?!" I wasn't going to talk about this until after the race, to see how that went, but I'm sure I will have a lot to say after the race, and I'd rather cover this now...
People have been asking me what I plan to do after the race in terms of running. I will definitely, 100% keep running. I'll probably take a week or 2 off to let myself recover, but then I plan to get back at it. I probably won't run on consecutive days like I used to do in the fall, but I can see myself running 3-4 times per week (every other day).
I'm assuming I'm going to love the racing atmosphere and unless I'm wrong, I would like to sign up for another race at some point. Since I'm not doing this race for time, and I plan on crossing the finish line hand-in-hand with Vic, I think I would like to do a half marathon for time at some point. I'm pretty burnt out from training, but it's also been a lot of fun, so I would do it again.
While I'll never say never, I just don't think a full marathon is in the future for me. Doing training runs of 10, 11, and 12 miles was time consuming enough...imagine the time commitment for 18, 20, 22 mile training runs!! Ah! I think I'd enjoy doing shorter distances...like 5k and 10k...for fun or for time.
The big one, that I can't believe I'm even going to mention, is that I've had in the back of my mind...trying a triathlon. I know I could handle the run, I think I could handle the bike, and with a little practice/ getting over my fear of open water (or the Schuykill River) I could probably, maybe do the swim? Again, I never say never, and this may or may not happen at some point in the future.
Obviously, I still have to get through this Sunday, and then we'll see from there! Whatever it is I end up doing though I know Dad will be with me through every mile!
--Melissa
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 9:56
Mile 3: 9:31
Mile 4: 9:43
4.5: 4:53
Cool down mile: 17:27
This run felt really great. I can definitely see myself continuing to do 4-5 mile runs in the morning before class (for the next week)/work (once I start). Which brings me to..."what's next?!" I wasn't going to talk about this until after the race, to see how that went, but I'm sure I will have a lot to say after the race, and I'd rather cover this now...
People have been asking me what I plan to do after the race in terms of running. I will definitely, 100% keep running. I'll probably take a week or 2 off to let myself recover, but then I plan to get back at it. I probably won't run on consecutive days like I used to do in the fall, but I can see myself running 3-4 times per week (every other day).
I'm assuming I'm going to love the racing atmosphere and unless I'm wrong, I would like to sign up for another race at some point. Since I'm not doing this race for time, and I plan on crossing the finish line hand-in-hand with Vic, I think I would like to do a half marathon for time at some point. I'm pretty burnt out from training, but it's also been a lot of fun, so I would do it again.
While I'll never say never, I just don't think a full marathon is in the future for me. Doing training runs of 10, 11, and 12 miles was time consuming enough...imagine the time commitment for 18, 20, 22 mile training runs!! Ah! I think I'd enjoy doing shorter distances...like 5k and 10k...for fun or for time.
The big one, that I can't believe I'm even going to mention, is that I've had in the back of my mind...trying a triathlon. I know I could handle the run, I think I could handle the bike, and with a little practice/ getting over my fear of open water (or the Schuykill River) I could probably, maybe do the swim? Again, I never say never, and this may or may not happen at some point in the future.
Obviously, I still have to get through this Sunday, and then we'll see from there! Whatever it is I end up doing though I know Dad will be with me through every mile!
Dad and Me before my prom, April, 2006
--Melissa
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Poker Face
This weekend one of Daddy's doctors, Dr. Weber, and Vic planned the Robert Berenholz Memorial Poker Tournament. Dr. Weber and Daddy bonded over their love of poker and Dad had planned on going to Atlantic City to kick his butt haha. Friends of Dad, some of Vic's friends from Puerto Rico, and some family came together to play in a poker tournament with the money going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
The tournament was a huge success! We had 27 players, and we ended up raising over $3,600 for LLS!! And...as if we didn't know it before, the tournament kind of showed that I am my father's daughter. Dad taught me everything he knew about poker, and I guess it payed off because I WON! Daddy would have been proud :)
After the tournament, Vic, her friends who were in town, and I went out in Philly sporting our awesome new tee-shirts!
This morning, Vic and I went for our last team run. Since we were staying in a hotel in Philly we got to have a "practice run" for race day. We got dressed and made some hot water in the coffee pot in the hotel room to make pre-run oatmeal. Then we headed down to Kelly Drive for an easy 6 miles. Before we set out, one of the guys who works for TNT, Andy, announced the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon fundraising total-- I think it was about $40,000! Since other TNT team members are running in different races later in the season Andy wanted to get them jazzed about fundraising and he gave Vic and Me a shout out for having the highest fundraising total on the team! So thanks to everyone who helped us get to our fundraising goal and more!!
After that, we set out for our run. My iPod battery died so I ran part way without music, which was actually kind of nice and since there are going to be 14 bands on the course for the race I might run without it next Sunday. My Garmin memory was also full, so I turned it off because it makes a really annoying beeping sound every tenth of a mile when the memory is low. I'm glad I had these 2 tech glitches this week rather than next week. I will definitely charge my iPod if I decide I want it for next week and I already cleared my Garmin's memory.
Since this was a taper week, the TNT coaches instructed us to just take it easy and not try to PR or anything today. There was one point around mile 4 where I was itching to pick up the pace but I held back because I know it will be worth it come Sunday.
Since I ran without my Garmin and Vic left her's in the car I'm not quite sure what our splits were. But that's ok, because next week we are definitely going to go slow and steady, and I'm trying not to get caught up with time.
After the run, Vic and I got a bunch of info about the race for next weekend, our race day shirts, and lots of other cool TNT stuff. Then we chatted with the coaches for a while about this upcoming week. I told one of the coaches that I was planning on doing 5 miles both Tuesday and Thursday (as usual). The coach told me to only do 3, but I negotiated and she said 4 would be fine. So just 8 miles stand between me and the starting line! I can't believe that the race is finally upon us!
--Melissa
The tournament was a huge success! We had 27 players, and we ended up raising over $3,600 for LLS!! And...as if we didn't know it before, the tournament kind of showed that I am my father's daughter. Dad taught me everything he knew about poker, and I guess it payed off because I WON! Daddy would have been proud :)
That chip is worth $500! I'm wearing Dad's "I knocked out a pro" tee shirt
After the tournament, Vic, her friends who were in town, and I went out in Philly sporting our awesome new tee-shirts!
This morning, Vic and I went for our last team run. Since we were staying in a hotel in Philly we got to have a "practice run" for race day. We got dressed and made some hot water in the coffee pot in the hotel room to make pre-run oatmeal. Then we headed down to Kelly Drive for an easy 6 miles. Before we set out, one of the guys who works for TNT, Andy, announced the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon fundraising total-- I think it was about $40,000! Since other TNT team members are running in different races later in the season Andy wanted to get them jazzed about fundraising and he gave Vic and Me a shout out for having the highest fundraising total on the team! So thanks to everyone who helped us get to our fundraising goal and more!!
After that, we set out for our run. My iPod battery died so I ran part way without music, which was actually kind of nice and since there are going to be 14 bands on the course for the race I might run without it next Sunday. My Garmin memory was also full, so I turned it off because it makes a really annoying beeping sound every tenth of a mile when the memory is low. I'm glad I had these 2 tech glitches this week rather than next week. I will definitely charge my iPod if I decide I want it for next week and I already cleared my Garmin's memory.
Since this was a taper week, the TNT coaches instructed us to just take it easy and not try to PR or anything today. There was one point around mile 4 where I was itching to pick up the pace but I held back because I know it will be worth it come Sunday.
Since I ran without my Garmin and Vic left her's in the car I'm not quite sure what our splits were. But that's ok, because next week we are definitely going to go slow and steady, and I'm trying not to get caught up with time.
After the run, Vic and I got a bunch of info about the race for next weekend, our race day shirts, and lots of other cool TNT stuff. Then we chatted with the coaches for a while about this upcoming week. I told one of the coaches that I was planning on doing 5 miles both Tuesday and Thursday (as usual). The coach told me to only do 3, but I negotiated and she said 4 would be fine. So just 8 miles stand between me and the starting line! I can't believe that the race is finally upon us!
--Melissa
Thursday, April 15, 2010
No run
Ok, ok I know I said I wanted a break from running...but I swear I didn't mean it (although a no-pressure-3-mile-run does sound pretty fabulous). The running gods are punishing me for saying I was burnt out. I also know that I probably sound like the biggest hypochondriac in the world...
First my IT band, my ankle (which now feels fine), my toe (which I've never mentioned on the blog...but I have "runners toe"...it's gross, believe me, you're glad I haven't talked about it), and now this...
On Tuesday night I was at work when my left knee started to feel funny. I thought nothing of it...I may have been sitting with my knee locked out and my laptop on my lap? Or maybe it was from Tuesday morning's run? Anyway, I woke up Wednesday morning and it hurt to even walk. I took some Advil and it ended up feeling good enough to go to Spinning class. I felt completely fine throughout my spin, but then last night my knee started to hurt again. A lot. I'm guilty of "running through pain" which ALWAYS is bad news. Last night I decided to make absolutely sure my knee felt okay before going on a run this morning. When my alarm went off I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I went back to bed (poor me! haha) and when I woke up an hour and a half later my knee was still hurting...so I popped some more Advil. I headed off to class and again my knee felt fine. I didn't feel much pain for most of the day, and after work as I was driving home to Philly I thought I saw a run in my future!
When I got home, I was mentally plotting a 5 mile route for myself when I felt a twinge of pain in my knee. "It's not there, nothing's wrong, I'm fine, etc, etc, etc" were the thoughts that flew through my head....but I couldn't ignore it. No run :( Since the team run isn't until Sunday I can technically go for a run tomorrow and still get a rest day on Saturday, but I'm only going if my knee feels 100%. The "old" me would have pushed through the pain, but with the race just days away I'm trying to do anything and everything to make sure nothing happens to me before April 25. I know skipping one 5 mile run will not make or break the race, so I'm okay with skipping one of this week's runs, but I really hope giving myself the extra rest is worth it!
In class today I swear every single person around me was hacking up a lung coughing or sneezing. My professor even claimed that she had some weird stomach bug on Tuesday and asked us not to leave if she had to uh...toss her cookies. I can get sick on April 26, but until then...keep your germs to yourself!!
Ok, rant over. Send good knee and germ free vibes my way!
--Melissa
ha.
First my IT band, my ankle (which now feels fine), my toe (which I've never mentioned on the blog...but I have "runners toe"...it's gross, believe me, you're glad I haven't talked about it), and now this...
On Tuesday night I was at work when my left knee started to feel funny. I thought nothing of it...I may have been sitting with my knee locked out and my laptop on my lap? Or maybe it was from Tuesday morning's run? Anyway, I woke up Wednesday morning and it hurt to even walk. I took some Advil and it ended up feeling good enough to go to Spinning class. I felt completely fine throughout my spin, but then last night my knee started to hurt again. A lot. I'm guilty of "running through pain" which ALWAYS is bad news. Last night I decided to make absolutely sure my knee felt okay before going on a run this morning. When my alarm went off I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I went back to bed (poor me! haha) and when I woke up an hour and a half later my knee was still hurting...so I popped some more Advil. I headed off to class and again my knee felt fine. I didn't feel much pain for most of the day, and after work as I was driving home to Philly I thought I saw a run in my future!
When I got home, I was mentally plotting a 5 mile route for myself when I felt a twinge of pain in my knee. "It's not there, nothing's wrong, I'm fine, etc, etc, etc" were the thoughts that flew through my head....but I couldn't ignore it. No run :( Since the team run isn't until Sunday I can technically go for a run tomorrow and still get a rest day on Saturday, but I'm only going if my knee feels 100%. The "old" me would have pushed through the pain, but with the race just days away I'm trying to do anything and everything to make sure nothing happens to me before April 25. I know skipping one 5 mile run will not make or break the race, so I'm okay with skipping one of this week's runs, but I really hope giving myself the extra rest is worth it!
In class today I swear every single person around me was hacking up a lung coughing or sneezing. My professor even claimed that she had some weird stomach bug on Tuesday and asked us not to leave if she had to uh...toss her cookies. I can get sick on April 26, but until then...keep your germs to yourself!!
Ok, rant over. Send good knee and germ free vibes my way!
--Melissa
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pushing through
I'm choosing a pretty bad time to want a break from running. With just TWELVE days til the race I'm starting to feel a little burnt out from training. I know I can push through and I'll make it to race day, but today's run was a challenge for me. First, I overslept....again...it's a good thing my roommate goes to work early because I would have kept sleeping had she not opened our front door (which beeps) when she left for work. It was after 7 which is over a half hour later than I usually wake up for my early morning runs, and I almost talked myself out of going. But I knew I would feel a lot better if I went for my run than if I didn't. Even if I didn't have enough time for my full 5 miles, I knew a short run would be worth it. I got ready really quickly and ended up having enough time for my full run.
Today's run showed me the perks of blogging about my training. I felt like quitting a few times (see above...burnt out...) but then I knew I would have to write about how I only ran X number of miles instead of the 5 miles I had planned. I would have to write about how I was a quitter...which I certainly am not! I powered through my run as best I could and even though it was a really tough run, my splits were respectable (for me):
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 10:03
Mile 3: 9:51
Mile 4: 10:00
Mile 5: 10:02
.4: 7:15 (cool down, cut short in the interest of time)
Total time: 57:01, 5 mile run time: 49:46
My ankle felt funny around mile 3 (it started hurting Sunday morning but then felt okay on Monday). This concerns me, since I haven't had any ankle pain throughout training, and I will be keeping a close watch on it and stretching (my favorite is the spider walk...but the images you get when you google image search that are kind of scary haha).
On Sunday my roommate and I both had the thought to go take pictures around campus. We did this when it was snowy out, and wanted to get some good spring shots.
Today's run showed me the perks of blogging about my training. I felt like quitting a few times (see above...burnt out...) but then I knew I would have to write about how I only ran X number of miles instead of the 5 miles I had planned. I would have to write about how I was a quitter...which I certainly am not! I powered through my run as best I could and even though it was a really tough run, my splits were respectable (for me):
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 10:03
Mile 3: 9:51
Mile 4: 10:00
Mile 5: 10:02
.4: 7:15 (cool down, cut short in the interest of time)
Total time: 57:01, 5 mile run time: 49:46
My ankle felt funny around mile 3 (it started hurting Sunday morning but then felt okay on Monday). This concerns me, since I haven't had any ankle pain throughout training, and I will be keeping a close watch on it and stretching (my favorite is the spider walk...but the images you get when you google image search that are kind of scary haha).
On Sunday my roommate and I both had the thought to go take pictures around campus. We did this when it was snowy out, and wanted to get some good spring shots.
Pretty flower
Walkway through campus
The UC
After my run this morning I quickly got ready and went to class where I found out that I rocked the test I had last week. It was just what I needed to turn my mood around after my lackluster run! I also don't have to go into work until an hour and a half later than I usually do! I'm off to stretch and relax a little since this morning was so rushed.
--Melissa
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Last Long Run
Today was my LAST double digits run until the race! I'm officially tapering! Next weekend I'll be home to do a final run with TNT, it'll be 6 miles and since I'll get to do it with Vic I think it will just be a fun, relaxing run. Then, the weekend after that it's race day--I can't believe it's SO soon! I decided a little while back, to cut back my mileage, so even though TNT's schedule for the week said to do 12 miles, I just did 10 miles of running plus 2 miles of walking with the warm up and the cool down. I felt great during the run, and I definitely could have pushed through and done a couple more miles, but right now my goal is to make it to the start line (and then hopefully the finish line)! Today's run felt unbelievably natural. It's so strange to me how 10 miles can feel so normal! I tried not to focus on time too much because, again, I just wanted to finish uninjured. I always aim for negative splits, which I definitely didn't hit today, but that's okay. Here are my splits:
Mile 1: 17:13 (warm up)
Mile 2: 9:30
Mile 3: 9:56
Mile 4: 10:04
Mile 5: 10:11
Mile 6: 10:07
Mile 7: 9:51
Mile 8: 10:35 (I walked the stairs from the trail back up to the bridge to prevent killing myself)
Mile 9: 10:13
Mile 10: 10:16
Mile 11: 9:16
Mile 12: 17:41 (cool down)
Total time: 2:14:59, 10 miles of running 1:40:05
I was glad this morning to find that it wasn't 90 degree outside, but it was SO windy today. I know I've said that before, but I think this might have been the windiest! After mile 8 (7 miles of running, plus the warm up), I stopped home for some water and 4 grapes. The grapes didn't upset my stomach at all, so maybe that will be my fuel of choice on race day? I really didn't want to stop because when I did 11 miles a few weeks ago it was pretty difficult for me to start running again after my water break. But, I know hydration and proper fueling is really important, so I stopped anyway. When I headed back out after my ~2 minute water break my legs felt completely fine! It was nice to know I only had 3 more miles to go after the water break too. For my last mile I tried to really pick up my pace, I ran mile 10 a whole minute faster than mile 9, I'd say that was success!
Time for some R&R (which Daddy was a pro at)!
--Melissa
Mile 1: 17:13 (warm up)
Mile 2: 9:30
Mile 3: 9:56
Mile 4: 10:04
Mile 5: 10:11
Mile 6: 10:07
Mile 7: 9:51
Mile 8: 10:35 (I walked the stairs from the trail back up to the bridge to prevent killing myself)
Mile 9: 10:13
Mile 10: 10:16
Mile 11: 9:16
Mile 12: 17:41 (cool down)
Total time: 2:14:59, 10 miles of running 1:40:05
I was glad this morning to find that it wasn't 90 degree outside, but it was SO windy today. I know I've said that before, but I think this might have been the windiest! After mile 8 (7 miles of running, plus the warm up), I stopped home for some water and 4 grapes. The grapes didn't upset my stomach at all, so maybe that will be my fuel of choice on race day? I really didn't want to stop because when I did 11 miles a few weeks ago it was pretty difficult for me to start running again after my water break. But, I know hydration and proper fueling is really important, so I stopped anyway. When I headed back out after my ~2 minute water break my legs felt completely fine! It was nice to know I only had 3 more miles to go after the water break too. For my last mile I tried to really pick up my pace, I ran mile 10 a whole minute faster than mile 9, I'd say that was success!
Time for some R&R (which Daddy was a pro at)!
Hanging out in Puerto Rico, May, 2009
Getting a massage in Puerto Rico, May, 2009
--Melissa
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sleep Running
I have 2 "Dad stories" to tell today:
Story #1: Yesterday in my spinning class the warm up song was All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow. If I had to choose one song that I grew up on, it would be that one (with Melissa Ethridge's Come to my Window as a close second). I distinctly remember car rides where Dad would play All I Wanna Do over and over at Vic and my request. This past 4th of July Daddy drove me and some of my girlfriend's downtown for a free Sheryl Crow concert and fireworks. I don't have any pictures of Dad from that night, and the pictures of Sheryl are pretty weak, but here's a shot of the fireworks!
Story #1: Yesterday in my spinning class the warm up song was All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow. If I had to choose one song that I grew up on, it would be that one (with Melissa Ethridge's Come to my Window as a close second). I distinctly remember car rides where Dad would play All I Wanna Do over and over at Vic and my request. This past 4th of July Daddy drove me and some of my girlfriend's downtown for a free Sheryl Crow concert and fireworks. I don't have any pictures of Dad from that night, and the pictures of Sheryl are pretty weak, but here's a shot of the fireworks!
oooh aaah
Story #2: Dad had this crazy ability where he could sleep anytime, anywhere. My cousin Jamie used to call him "the man who sleeps with his shoes on" because he would nap with his shoes on (but no socks of course). When I was little and couldn't fall asleep he used to say "just close your eyes, it's easy!". The past few days, I've been lacking in the sleep department. I've been playing catch-up because of my exam on Tuesday, so I've stayed up later than usual.
This morning I almost overslept too! I always give myself a ton of time in the morning so even though I slept 23 minutes later than normal I knew I could still fit in my planned 5 miles. I hustled to get ready and was out the door! Since I got outside mere minutes after waking up I think I was still half asleep. My leg were moving but I hardly even knew I was running! It was kind of nice to just totally zone out. I started with my usual route on the roads but at mile 4.67 when I got to the stairs on the bridge that lead to the trail I decided I wanted to go for an extra mile today. I made it to the trail right when I hit 5 miles, by this point I was aware that I was running and not zoned out anymore, but I only had to push through 1 mile...nothing to it!
I went out half a mile and back half a mile. But then I thought..."why not go for a 10k?!" As I was running the last little bit I couldn't remember whether a 10k was 6.2 or 6.4 miles, so I decided to run 6.5 :) (I just googled it...it's 6.2 miles) I did the 6.5 miles in 1 hour 3 minutes and 3 seconds. Then I walked a mile home. I made it back with just enough time to get ready for class--perfect! Since I was zoned out during my run, I barely glanced at my watch, which was sort of refreshing. When I got home and plugged my Garmin in I was pretty happy with my splits:
Mile 1: 10:09
Mile 2: 10:16
Mile 3: 9:39
Mile 4: 9:27
Mile 5: 9:55
Mile 6: 9:06 (!!!)
Mile 7: 13:52 (half of this mile was running, half was cool down)
.53: 10:08 (cool down)
Pretty good considering I almost slept through it! After class I had a nice phone chat with Mom who had lunch with Carol, a family friend, yesterday. I heard that she reads the blog...so Hi Carol!
This weekend is my last double digits run before the race!!
--Melissa
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
March Madness
Saying Dad was a sports fan is a gross understatement. Daddy loved to watch football and baseball and play golf but he didn't discriminate against other sports too. He was a hard core Eagles and Phillies fan. He passed at least an interest in sports onto me. Every year when March Madness rolled around, I would fill out a bracket haphazardly and convince Dad to pay my way into his office pool. I really didn't pay much attention to who was the best, and I usually picked my teams based on which name I liked better--with one exception. Every single year, for as long as I can remember, I would have Duke winning it all. Once when I was little Duke won, and ever since I have always picked them as the champs regardless of their standing.
This year I got an email about Dad's office pool, but it just wasn't the same without Dad (and his buy in), so I didn't fill out a bracket. Of course, Duke had to go and win this year!!!
Oh well! Anyway, this morning I woke up even earlier than usual to get a run in before my exam. It was definitely a mental game over a physical one today. My legs felt pretty good (hopefully I don't jinx myself), but I was preoccupied with getting in some last minute studying before my test. I still managed to do a 5 mile run and a mini cool down all before 7:35. Today's splits:
Mile 1: 9:55
Mile 2: 10:03
Mile 3:10:03
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 9:46
.48: 8:42 (cool down)
When I saw that I was 2 seconds over a ten minute pace at the end of mile 4 I was determined to finish mile 5 in 9:58 or less. The last half mile was across the bridge though and so it was really windy, but I finished strong and managed to keep my total time less than a 10 minute pace. I love giving myself little goals like that and then beating them! Then I cut my cool down a little short so I could study a bit before my exam. Which thankfully is over!
--Melissa
This year I got an email about Dad's office pool, but it just wasn't the same without Dad (and his buy in), so I didn't fill out a bracket. Of course, Duke had to go and win this year!!!
Mile 1: 9:55
Mile 2: 10:03
Mile 3:10:03
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 9:46
.48: 8:42 (cool down)
When I saw that I was 2 seconds over a ten minute pace at the end of mile 4 I was determined to finish mile 5 in 9:58 or less. The last half mile was across the bridge though and so it was really windy, but I finished strong and managed to keep my total time less than a 10 minute pace. I love giving myself little goals like that and then beating them! Then I cut my cool down a little short so I could study a bit before my exam. Which thankfully is over!
--Melissa
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Blood, Sweat, and Dirt
I have to try to make this post quick because I should be studying for my exam this Tuesday, but I had a pretty extreme run today, and would rather procrastinate and write about that instead. This morning I laced up the sneakers, slathered myself with sun screen and headed down to the trail. I decided to bring a water bottle today because I try not go more than 6 miles without hydrating and I had 8 miles planned for today. I also I don't like stopping back at my house for anything less than 9 miles. I wanted to experiment with steady hydration throughout my run, because that will probably be more what the race will be like with more frequent water stations. I was surprisingly not annoyed by holding the water bottle the whole time.
It was really nice outside, except once I started running I realized just how HOT it was. I was sweating after one mile. I was glad I had the water because it helped me get through the heat! Then after I had been running for a mere 2 miles, I ran passed 2 women on bikes, I waved as I usually do when I pass people and so I wasn't look at the trail in front of me. Suddenly, I went flying forward and skidded across the ground. I had tripped over the tiniest little rock sticking out of the ground :( My legs were all scratched up. I was covered in blood, dirt and sweat. After I stood up, I poured some of the water from my water bottle on my legs to try and clean them off but it didn't really help much and I wanted to save the water to drink. A man came over to ask if I was okay, and I said "yeah I'm fine, only 6 more miles to go!" he looked at me like I was insane and then I started to run again, I wasn't going to let one little fall stop me! There were a ton of people on the trail today and everyone kept looking at my shins as I ran by. I must have looked so hard core :)
I ran 4 miles out and 4 miles back on the trail, which is further than I've ever run on the trail because when it was snowy I usually only made it out 2 miles before the trail ended. It was fun to see more of the trail and it was really beautiful. My only complaint about today is that there were a ton of people fishing (that part doesn't bother me...to each their own) but they were all smoking!
When I hit the 4 mile turn around, I was in for a rude awakening, it was SO windy going in the other direction. It slowed me down a ton, but I powered through. Then at mile 6.18 (1 of which was the walking warm up), I got such a bad stomach cramp that I had to stop. I waited about a minute, and then started running again. I think stopping was key here rather than running through it. I get stomach cramps fairly often when I'm running, and usually can run through it, but this one was really bad-- I was practically doubled over. Let's hope that doesn't happen on race day! I think drinking the water might have had something to do with it (but maybe not). So for the rest of the run, every time I took a sip of water, I spit it out. I was pretty thirsty from the heat today that I needed to take little sips, but I didn't want to aggravate my stomach, this helped me get through the rest of the run just fine.
I thought about going running for an extra mile, but I was so hot, and I figured I'd had enough with my fall and everything. I also didn't want to overdo it, so I called it quits when I got to 8 miles running. Then I walked 1.08 miles home for a cool down. On my walk my stomach started hurting again...ugh! When I got home I took pictures of my legs haha, and then I finally showered and cleaned myself up. The shower hurt so so so much! The water hitting my cuts was super painful. But I feel better now that I am nice and clean!
Today's splits:
Mile 1: 17:45 (warm up)
Mile 2: 9:26
Mile 3: 9:49 (I fell at 3.03)
Mile 4: 9:42
Mile 5: 9:41
Mile 6: 10:06 (hello wind!)
Mile 7: 10:25
Mile 8: 10:18
Mile 9: 9:55
Mile 10: 18:23 (cool down)
.08: 1:33
Total time: 1:57:09, run time 1:19:28
Yay sub 10 minute pace! I looked back at my blog post from when I ran 8 miles back in February and even though that run was very snowy, I beat my run time by more than 4 minutes! It's pretty cool that I can look back and see how I've improved.
Time to study!
--Melissa
My hand after the run, and Daddy's wedding ring
My legs after the run
When I hit the 4 mile turn around, I was in for a rude awakening, it was SO windy going in the other direction. It slowed me down a ton, but I powered through. Then at mile 6.18 (1 of which was the walking warm up), I got such a bad stomach cramp that I had to stop. I waited about a minute, and then started running again. I think stopping was key here rather than running through it. I get stomach cramps fairly often when I'm running, and usually can run through it, but this one was really bad-- I was practically doubled over. Let's hope that doesn't happen on race day! I think drinking the water might have had something to do with it (but maybe not). So for the rest of the run, every time I took a sip of water, I spit it out. I was pretty thirsty from the heat today that I needed to take little sips, but I didn't want to aggravate my stomach, this helped me get through the rest of the run just fine.
I thought about going running for an extra mile, but I was so hot, and I figured I'd had enough with my fall and everything. I also didn't want to overdo it, so I called it quits when I got to 8 miles running. Then I walked 1.08 miles home for a cool down. On my walk my stomach started hurting again...ugh! When I got home I took pictures of my legs haha, and then I finally showered and cleaned myself up. The shower hurt so so so much! The water hitting my cuts was super painful. But I feel better now that I am nice and clean!
Today's splits:
Mile 1: 17:45 (warm up)
Mile 2: 9:26
Mile 3: 9:49 (I fell at 3.03)
Mile 4: 9:42
Mile 5: 9:41
Mile 6: 10:06 (hello wind!)
Mile 7: 10:25
Mile 8: 10:18
Mile 9: 9:55
Mile 10: 18:23 (cool down)
.08: 1:33
Total time: 1:57:09, run time 1:19:28
Yay sub 10 minute pace! I looked back at my blog post from when I ran 8 miles back in February and even though that run was very snowy, I beat my run time by more than 4 minutes! It's pretty cool that I can look back and see how I've improved.
Time to study!
--Melissa
Thursday, April 1, 2010
I'm back!
The past few days, I have been seriously freaking out about whether or not I would even be able to do the race. Sunday's run went horribly and I was really worried that I was going to be out of commission. But, I spoke with my best friend from home, who is a seasoned half-marathoner, and she said to just take a couple rest days and to see how I felt after that. She also said that when she trained for her half, she never ran more than 10 miles. So I took Monday and Tuesday off from any form of exercise and I've decided to eliminate my 13 mile training run that I had planned for this weekend and run 8 miles instead.
Taking 2 days off was not easy, I was pretty antsy and really wanted to move! But, it was worth it. I realized that while I thought I was okay after the 12 mile run, my IT band was really acting up. It was just a different kind of pain than before. Before, it was sharp and kind of felt like it was on the "surface". The pain I felt after the 12 mile run was deeper and duller, but still constant. I think that's why I thought I was fine. I'm sure those descriptions don't make a ton of sense, but instead of pain, it's more like an intense tightness now.
The 2 day rest definitely helped though, because my legs felt fresh and ready to run this morning! I decided to take it easy and planned on only running 4 miles. When I got up this morning the sun was shining and I knew it was going to be a beautiful day for a run!
Since it was so nice out I decided to take my new running shorts and singlet for a spin. When I was home before my trip to DC, I went to Target to get some running clothes for warm weather since I only have cold weather gear. I got 1 pair of shorts and 1 singlet (tank top). I actually prefer wearing Target work out clothes compared to my Underarmor or Nike stuff for some reason. And it's much cheaper, so that's kind of awesome. When I put on my new shorts this morning I almost screamed with delight...my shorts have a little pocket for a key!!! It's the little things in life, right?!
I left for my run, (with my key in the little pocket!) and decided to start with a warm up mile just to loosen up my legs a bit. I headed down to the trail and set out to do my 4 miles. I could tell as soon as I started running that this would be different than Sunday's sucky six (I have a thing for alliterations...) It felt SO good to run! I think those days off really, really helped. Which, when you think about it makes perfect sense. I mean I ran 10, 11, and 12 miles in consecutive weeks with only 1 day of rest BEFORE the long run, not after. What was I thinking?! Sometimes I need some sense knocked into me, unfortunately it's usually after I suffer some sort of injury.
As I was running, and hitting fantastic splits (for me), I thought why not push for 5 miles? I know I should be taking it easy, but I felt so good and it was so nice outside I just couldn't help it! So 5 miles it was! And then I cooled down with a 1 mile walk home. Here are today's splits:
Mile 1: 16:38 (warm up)
Mile 2: 9:09
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 4: 9:25
Mile 5: 9:11
Mile 6: 9:07
Mile 7: 18:07 (cool down)
.09: 1:40 (cool down)
Total time: 1:22:30
I ended up doing the exact same distance as my run on Sunday (by accident, because I took a different route). Only on Sunday I ran 6 and walked 1.09, whereas today I ran 5 and walked 2.09, but the crazy thing is that I finished today's run FASTER than Sunday's! I don't know if there was ever a bigger sign that I needed those rest days! When I got home I had to hustle off to work because I was running late, so I didn't have time to stretch or ice. But I think I also really need to step that up in the last few weeks of training, in addition to maybe taking it slightly easier on myself.
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring day!
--Melissa
Taking 2 days off was not easy, I was pretty antsy and really wanted to move! But, it was worth it. I realized that while I thought I was okay after the 12 mile run, my IT band was really acting up. It was just a different kind of pain than before. Before, it was sharp and kind of felt like it was on the "surface". The pain I felt after the 12 mile run was deeper and duller, but still constant. I think that's why I thought I was fine. I'm sure those descriptions don't make a ton of sense, but instead of pain, it's more like an intense tightness now.
The 2 day rest definitely helped though, because my legs felt fresh and ready to run this morning! I decided to take it easy and planned on only running 4 miles. When I got up this morning the sun was shining and I knew it was going to be a beautiful day for a run!
Since it was so nice out I decided to take my new running shorts and singlet for a spin. When I was home before my trip to DC, I went to Target to get some running clothes for warm weather since I only have cold weather gear. I got 1 pair of shorts and 1 singlet (tank top). I actually prefer wearing Target work out clothes compared to my Underarmor or Nike stuff for some reason. And it's much cheaper, so that's kind of awesome. When I put on my new shorts this morning I almost screamed with delight...my shorts have a little pocket for a key!!! It's the little things in life, right?!
I left for my run, (with my key in the little pocket!) and decided to start with a warm up mile just to loosen up my legs a bit. I headed down to the trail and set out to do my 4 miles. I could tell as soon as I started running that this would be different than Sunday's sucky six (I have a thing for alliterations...) It felt SO good to run! I think those days off really, really helped. Which, when you think about it makes perfect sense. I mean I ran 10, 11, and 12 miles in consecutive weeks with only 1 day of rest BEFORE the long run, not after. What was I thinking?! Sometimes I need some sense knocked into me, unfortunately it's usually after I suffer some sort of injury.
I need to do more of this
As I was running, and hitting fantastic splits (for me), I thought why not push for 5 miles? I know I should be taking it easy, but I felt so good and it was so nice outside I just couldn't help it! So 5 miles it was! And then I cooled down with a 1 mile walk home. Here are today's splits:
Mile 1: 16:38 (warm up)
Mile 2: 9:09
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 4: 9:25
Mile 5: 9:11
Mile 6: 9:07
Mile 7: 18:07 (cool down)
.09: 1:40 (cool down)
Total time: 1:22:30
I ended up doing the exact same distance as my run on Sunday (by accident, because I took a different route). Only on Sunday I ran 6 and walked 1.09, whereas today I ran 5 and walked 2.09, but the crazy thing is that I finished today's run FASTER than Sunday's! I don't know if there was ever a bigger sign that I needed those rest days! When I got home I had to hustle off to work because I was running late, so I didn't have time to stretch or ice. But I think I also really need to step that up in the last few weeks of training, in addition to maybe taking it slightly easier on myself.
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring day!
--Melissa
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