Turkey Trot and 12 miler!

I had a big running week last week. I did my second Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. The weather was about the same...cold and threatening to rain. The rain held off for the run which was good! I wanted to break one hour (12/min miles). I felt pretty sore in the beginning...shins were not happy. The spectators were great. The kids yelling "Happy Thanksgiving" were precious. At around mile 4, I wanted to see if I could pick it up and not stop to walk. I think I ran the last mile in about a 10:30 pace. As I came into the finish, I knew it was pretty close to 1 hour. I finished at 1:00.30. That is ok by me!

On Saturday, we had our 12 miler. I had never done more than 9 miles in training last year. I had done 10 miles a few weeks ago, so was not too nervous about the 12 miler. I wasn't feeling that great (cold) and the weather was not good...windy, in the 30's. I said to myself...just see how you feel and you can always turn around and come in early. It was a 6 miles out and 6 miles back run. For the first few miles, my knee was not feeling good and it was a concern...wasn't sure if it would hold up for the entire run. I pushed through it and before I knew it I was at the halfway point. One of the TNT coaches, Rich, came up to me on his bike and biked with me for about 1.5 miles. That was very helpful as it took my mind off of the run and we just chatted. The last 3 miles were rough, but I was able to get through using a 3 min run/2 min walk ratio. Felt very proud of myself at the end!

We have 8 miles this Saturday. No problem! :)

2 x 8 milers and back pain

It has been a bit since I have updated my blog. Sorry! I ran 8.5 miles by myself Sunday 11/7(couldn't do the group training b/c I was managing one of the water stops). Felt pretty good. I have to admit that running with my ipod makes the miles go by much quicker! I ran 8 miles this past Saturday in Rock Creek Park. It was BEAUTIFUL. I have to say that 8 miles is becoming "no big deal" for me...never thought I would say that!

I got a massage and facial on Sunday and told the masseuse that my lower back was a little bit sore, I have a history of throwing it out, etc. During the actual massage, it was sore and I could feel it tightening up as she was loosening other muscles in my upper back and legs. By 5:00 that night, my back was a mess. I didn't technically throw it out again, but it is not in good shape. I am really, really frustrated!!! I hate having back issues. I don't think the running hurts it, but I also know that I can't run 10 miles this weekend and not expect to have some pain. I will see how it progresses and make a "game time decision" on Saturday am. I have 6+ weeks until the half marathon, so I am not too worried. I just need to be smart and take care of my back.

I am hitting the final stretch in my fundraising. I need about $900 more to hit my goal of $3,000.

Running 10 miles with wings is harder than it sounds

So, last Saturday's training was the "Halloween" themed training and we were encouraged to dress up and run in some form of costume. As a mentor, I felt the need to put in some sort of effort. I figured I could be some sort of fairy so I looked online for some fairy wings and a tutu.

This is the result:

I am proud to say that I won the halloween costume contest and got $50 towards my fundraising. Making a fool of yourself for a good cause is always a good thing :)

I started off the 10 miler with the wings on. I didn't really notice them for the first mile or so. After a bit, I good feel the one wing folding over onto the other one creating a not so aerodynamic aspect to my running. I did get a lot of looks, smiles, snickers along the trail. I am happy I was able to entertain everyone. The tutu was really classy with the water belt. Nice look, let me tell you! At around mile 4, I had to take the wings off. I was struggling. I knew I had 6 more miles and I was not feeling good. I ended up walking more than my normal 4:1 ratio and that helped. (probably ended up doing a 2.5/2.5 ratio for a solid 4 miles) At the water stop at mile 7, I gave myself a good old pep talk and said "you can do this". I did it. My first 10 miler. That is the most I have run since I ran the 13.1 miles last year at Disney!

I was pretty sore the rest of the day and on Sunday. I was actually worthless as far as productivity. Running KILLS me, but I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishing a goal!

11 miles this weekend!

An Autumnal 8 miles

Wow. What a beautiful day to run it was last Saturday. We ran in Rock Creek Park in DC. We started out at Pierce Mill and went North towards Maryland. It was a bit chilly, but we warmed up quickly! I was so happy about the views along the run...beautiful changing leaves, the sounds of the creek burbling, birds chirping. Here is what the majority of my views looked like:

There were the occasional "bee swarming" aka cyclist groups that whizzed by you making it a bit adventourous :) We also had to run up a killer hill at the turnaround point at 4 miles. But, what goes up, must go down!

We have 10 miles this weekend. I am a little concerned b/c my achilles tendon is sore (both legs). I think it is from my new shoes (grr!), but I am stretching and icing and will see how it feels on my 3.5 miler tonight.

New kicks make me happy!

Why is it that the purchase of new shoes, new gear, etc. make you so happy? Last night I picked up my new running shoes. I went with the Nike Lunar Eclipse...they are VERY soft/cushiony and I am super excited b/c they aren't men's shoes (b/c I am a size 11, I usually get stuck with ugly men's shoes!). Here is a cool pic of the construction of the shoe:

I am debating trying them out this Saturday for our 8 miler or waiting for a shorter distance. Such a dilemma :)

I had two great training runs this week. Tuesday night was with Katie (my fellow TNTer) along my "fav" route (http://danifrot.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-favorite-route.html) and Thursday night was from OAI in Georgetown through Rock Creek Parkway for 3.5 miles at a 11:50 pace (very fast for me!). Feeling good about my running progress thus far!

Last but not least, I am almost to $2,000 in my fundraising. Thank you to my rockstar friends and families. I so appreciate your support (financially and emotionally).

Just keep running...

...It has been a difficult week to stay motivated on running. The weather earlier on in the week had been cold and rainy. Blah! I actually got a mani/pedi on Tuesday evening instead of running (sorry, coaches, a girl has to do what a girl has to do :) I did make it out on Thursday night for a nice 3.3 miles along Rock Creek Parkway. That is such a great trail. I am so lucky to work and live so close to so many awesome trails...it is almost a sin not to run on them!

We had 5 miles this past Saturday. BUT, the coaches gave us "bonus miles" by having us do about 5.6 miles. I was not very happy about it when I started my run, but survived and felt pretty good afterwards.

I went for a swim on Sunday for my cool down workout. Felt great! I also went for a LONG walk in the woods with Molly. She loves it in there. I am really enjoying watching her grow up and get more and more confident in the woods. She is pretty good about coming back when I call her name...but, I know I need to ensure that she understands the "recall" command.

We have 8 miles this Saturday. I am hopeful that I am in a better "running mood" this week.

Eight miles!

I ran 8 miles this past Saturday and was pleasantly surprised that 1) it wasn't too painful and 2) I was able to do it with a 4:1 run:walk ratio. We ran on the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda. When I first moved to DC and was crashing on Pam's couch in Bethesda, I used to walk/bike along this portion of the trail. It goes all the way down to Georgetown. It is beautiful....here are some views from my run:
We ran downhill the first half and then uphill for the last 3 miles. Ugh! That last mile was p-a-i-n-f-u-l! I averaged about 12:30 miles which is pretty good for me. We have 5 miles this Saturday (yay!).

I am above 50% of my fundraising goal!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who is supporting me. It means a lot and helps me get through these long runs!