I’m a Cheater

Or at least that’s what I feel like when I run on the treadmill. It wasn’t always like that, though.
Clueless and feeling shamefully slow, I “enjoyed” running on a treadmill. There was safety in running in the controlled environment – it won’t get too hot, nearby access to water and toilets, a lot less likely that the sidewalk will jump up and trip me. It was safe. Comfortable. Time and again, I would have real runners tell me I needed to take it outside. Sure, I would agree, but never do more than the occasional jaunt around my block. Not to mention the first time I ran 10k outside was tragic.
Somewhere over the past year few months, however, I’ve had a change of heart and running outside is a no brainer. One of my aha moments came when running my first half with this view:

Safari Park Half, May 2012

Of course, not every run is picture perfect next door to a winery, but I distinctly remember thinking, this is why running outside is sooo good. It was perfect weather and completely peaceful just listening to my breathing and the footsteps of the other runners around me. 
Running outside is harder. There’s the whole coordination factor (read: do not trip and fall), weather (because we get all kinds of it in SoCal), and the variety of safety issues between drivers not paying attention to the potential ax murderers lurking. I have to be more mindful of making sure my asthma is in check, and I should have to stick with the route I told the hubs I was going in just in case I turn up MIA. But it’s so much more rewarding to know I put in a tough run outside than in the comfort of space with my fellow gym rats. Most of my 130 miles (woo hoo, triple digits!!) for the Runner’s World Running Streak were completed outside, as are just about all my runs these days.

Thanks Pavement Runner for the sweet crest!

So when it came time to get in my long run yesterday, I wasn’t super thrilled with doing it indoors on the ‘mill. The group that I run with on Saturday mornings was doing a drop down week, which was great because I was able to have my friend meet up with me and not be the middle of the pack solo runner for once. I headed to the gym with just enough time to knock out my miles before they closed. I really wanted to get my Hot Mama Virtual Half done since the next few weeks I need to increase the miles on my long run. There are a few local mamas looking to run this together, which I would still like to do, but I know I may will want to take the easy route and finish when we hit 13.1 rather than tacking on the few more miles to keep me on schedule. 
Can I just say that 2+ hours on a treadmill leaves much to be desired? I was digging the pace that I was able to keep, and added some inclines to keep it going, but there was only so much thinking, praying, and goal setting I could do in my head especially when the dude got on the treadmill near me and started running like a herd of elephants.

Just a run of the ‘mill half marathon

At the end of my thinking and running, I came to this conclusion: I just ran 13.2 miles. There is nothing in Running 101 that says a treadmill run “doesn’t count.” Whether my legs covered the distance inside, outside, running, walking, or crawling, it was done. I wasn’t “cheating” or short changing myself. The point of a long run, especially when training for a first time marathon, is to cover the distance. done. Looking at my training log, if I can run inside at a sub 10 min pace for 13 miles compared to an 11 min pace for 3.5 miles back in February, that’s progress!

It felt good to check this workout off my list. I know these runs are not ideal, and they won’t happen often. I know there are definitely benefits mentally and physically in getting these runs done outside (like keeping my sanity), but I was able to head home, put my feet up, and start planning for the week ahead without feeling guilty.

Rockin’ the Team Tough Chik goods

Lesson of the day: My goal is to run the Nike Women’s Marathon in October. I realized I was putting limits and conditions on how that goal is going to come to fruition, and what I consider as successfully achieving that goal. There is definitely wisdom in pursuing a plan of action to make something happen, hence setting SMART goals. However, I don’t want to be self-sabotaging and rob myself of enjoying the moment.

• If I make it to the starting line, that is success
• If I finish in the allotted time, that is success
• If I show up on race day with no regrets, that is success

Question: Do you find yourself thinking in a way that’s self-sabotaging?
How do you get past that and turn your thinking around? 

BOOM!

Well, it took all of one day thirty seconds to find out I need to alter my July fitness goals. I can’t shake this shoulder tendinitis, so bearing any weight on my right arm just ain’t happening. Planktacular, really. I’m not jumping ship altogether, but will just have to modify as I’m able and increase the sets that I’m able to do. This will be interesting, but clearly not impossible. Here’s today’s workout. Don’t her abs just make want to at least try to give it a go?

Trust me, I know my abs won’t look like hers after thirty days ever, but it’s all about making progress and having a proper perspective.

I decided at the last minute to run a local 10k for 4th of July. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I recalled seeing that they were taking walk up registrations before the race and something about being shuttled from that point to the starting line. I woke up, oh, about 15 minutes before I wanted to get there and debated skipping it altogether since I hadn’t told anyone I was going to do it. Except for a few hundred peeps in the Twitterverse. Oh look, tweeps “cheering” me on. Don’t think, just go.

@melissyk Go for it if it fits! All of mine are at least 40 min drive, so not helping the situation there.
— Paulette F. (@paulettezf) July 4, 2012

@melissyk go get it tmrw morn!#bandit #outoftheoffice #nowhammies
— Matthew Kenaston (@bocpartner) July 4, 2012

I ended up parking behind a string of other cars, assuming they were parked farther because it was already late in the morning. It was a grossly long nice walk that I chalked up to being my warm up. Twenty minutes to go and I had no clue where I was going, and kept seeing people already running. the. course. Mass confusion going on in my head.

Oh, right… these guys are actually warming up. No joke, part of the walk to the start line covered the course, and there were so many of them running, I thought maybe a men’s wave started early. Clearly I wasn’t awake yet. I got to the start line, but didn’t see any registration tables. There were a TON of people (about 3,000+ including the spectators) and I couldn’t tell who the volunteers were verses spectators. I finally found a guy with a walkie talkie and he told me to go past the start line (read: cut through the couple thousand people ready for the race to start in fifteen minutes), down the street until you hit the cul de sac and turn left. Good grief…

The clouds parted for a brief moment (or maybe my Asian sense of direction wasn’t awake yet) and I rounded the corner to late registration. NINE minutes til race start and this is what late registration looked like? Maybe I should’ve stayed in bed.

But, since I was already there, a little bob & weave action and I was bibbed and ready. Eh, this was as patriotic as we were gonna get, but whatev. I brushed my teeth and my clothes are clean. What’s up?

It was go time and once the crowd thinned a little, I was able to settle into a pace. I accidentally turned off my run app my GPS failed again, so my pace was, keep up with the race walker. No joke, this is what I saw for about five miles of the race (did I mention it was only a 10k?)

I’ve heard of race walkers, but seriously, she was on cruise control, cruising right past me in the early blend of bodies, and I could not get in front of her without picking up my pace and burning out. My goal was to shoot for a negative split and use this as a training run without any walk breaks. Or at the very least, keep them around 20 seconds (two of them, not so bad).

Thankfully, the last .75 mile was mostly down hill. Props to the speed walker, but personally, I know that would have irked me into all kind of unpatriotic thoughts if I finished after her. I picked up speed and then realized it flattened out the last little stretch heading into the finish line. Hmm, so this is what it means to run until you puke? totally. fully. nauseous. Dude, you can’t stop with all these people lined up at the finish. Race walking chic will totally pass you. I managed to hustle my way to the end and felt pretty good that I put it all out there, at least in that last mile or so. Unfortunately, my iPhone pulled that iPoop on me just after 4.25mi, so I have no idea how the second half of my race went.

I do know, however, that I set a new PR! 1:01:28 BOOM! As I mentioned earlier, it’s all perspective. After looking at the posted results, I could have been bummed that I finished in the bottom third, or that I was 84/139 in my division, but that would be lame. The thing with that I’ve learned to love about running is that even on race day, you’re running with other runners, not against them (unless they are race walkers. Then it’s just implied that you’re racing them. Hello, race walkers). I am my own competition. My race, my pace. At the end of this, I could see where I was pushing, and where I was holding back. I could see where I was getting in my own head, how I was breathing, how my feet were landing, how my stride was – everything I wanted to be mindful of as a training run with the little ticker in mind. No regrets.

It was a good, solid run, and the PR was a total bonus. I knew the hubs and my mini-me would be lounging, if not asleep, so I headed to one of my favorite spots and spent a little time lounging and enjoying the moment.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. It was cold and gloomy, and the Big Bay Boom was a bust (click here for the epic 15 second fail). I was all the more thankful my morning started off with a bang. 🙂

Question: How was your 4th of July? 

Hot Mama Abs

I’ve finally had a solid three months or running without injury or illness-the longest stretch of being healthy since I started running last year {this is huge, people}.  I still feel like someone who runs, as opposed to a runner. I don’t have the discipline, desire, or drive more days than I would like to admit, and I always often want to believe I would love it more if I had more support in my little circle of life. If you follow my tweets, you’ll notice I use #noexcuses pretty regularly. If I want to hit my goals, I can’t make excuses. Don’t think, just go.I know AFC is just a month and a half away (gasp!) and I would love to shave some minutes off my last half (2:15 to be exact, but that could be a bit too ambitious).

With that said, it’s a new week, a new month, and a new challenge! I couldn’t seem to get my running mojo going last week,  but rather than dwell on it, it’s time to put on my big girl panties running shorts and get to it. I’m part of a few groups online since everyone else in my reality doesn’t like to run or things I’m crazy and it’s been great way to network with other women and finally test the waters of running with others, and keep myself challenged, motivated, and accountable. 

I have a few races coming up, so when someone was looking for anyone planning to run the Hot Mama Half Marathon, I quickly asked for the deets because it sounded familiar. OH GOOD GRAVY. Yes, it sounded familiar because I signed up for it last month. The premise behind this virtual run is to knock out 13.1 at some point during the month of July and be entered to win some pretty sweet goods. My long runs have been ok, but mentally I’ve allowed myself to settle on covering the distance without pushing myself too much. This is the kind of motivation I need.

Secondly, I’ve signed up for a 30 Day Ab Challenge (and YOU should, too!). I’m 87.6% sure that my child bearing days did enough havoc to my body that even if I could pull of a smokin’ six pack, it would still look a little wonky with all kinds of unsightly skin hanging. More importantly, I have an uber weak core. Being the all or nothing person that I am, once I started running last year, I completely fell off the wagon with any core training and weight training was definitely side lined as well. I know the string of physical issues I had could have been minimized, or decreased significantly if I had a better balance of strength training with the running.

I’m not a huge fan of online challenges this way, because I tend to fall off the wagon. I’m actually not sure how this one will pan out since my shoulder is still not 100% up to par. I still haven’t figured out how I got shoulder tendinitis, but I know my doc cleared me to do some strength training exercises to build it up and avoid more injury/soreness. Either way, it’s a challenge to be met killed, so let’s do this!

Goals for July:
– Ready for AFC, no ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’ thinking by taper time
– Complete the 30 Day Ab Challenge
– Don’t miss any Monday night or Saturday morning group runs
– At least three morning runs per week (not including Saturday long runs)

Question: What’s on the list of things you need to ‘kill’ this summer?
What motivates you to get after it, #noexcuses?

Beautiful Blogger

What a great idea! In the slew of blogs out there, I’ve seen this little gem passed right by me around, so now it’s my turn to use the line, “It was an honor just being nominated!” by the rock star Tough Chik. 

The Beautiful Blogger Award has a great premise: recognize our favorite bloggers for their hard work and inspiration. You are either a follower or being followed. Being followed and inspiring others is awesome.

There are some obligatory rules and responsibility that goes with this, and here they are:  

• Copy the Beautiful Blogger Award logo and place it in your post.
• Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog. 
• Tell 7 things about yourself. 
• Nominate 7 other bloggers for their own Beautiful Blogger Award, and comment on their blogs to let them know. 

Seven things (in no particular order):

See the Nuun? All. Day. Long. Yes, please.

1. I really don’t drink as much coffee as everyone thinks. Case in point, this is usually what my very large venti cup looks like at the end of the day:

2. I have more books than hours in the day to read them. You can tell what I’m obsessed with studying based on what piles of books litter our home are neatly stacked on our coffee table.

3. I have a tattoo. Stupid is as stupid does (at 18). Enough said.

4. I’m not a girlie girl by any means, but I almost hit was a little surprised by my husband when he said, I didn’t know you liked pink.

Pink makes you faster. True Story.

5. I’ve had work done. LASIK, people! I was the uber nerd with glasses since 4th grade. I wish I had it done sooner. If you’re on the fence, do it. Life. Changing.

6. I’ve never had a passport (See factoid #5. That would be sheltered uber nerd). I keep joking that if I ever get a tattoo again, it’ll be on the nape of my neck like a shirt tag and it will read: Made in the Philippines because my mom was el prego when we moved here.

7. I am looking forward to turning 40 next year. Maybe that might make me feel like a grownup? Nah…

Drum roll please… Seven Beautiful Bloggers not on my blogroll that you should know (hmm, time to update said roll):

Holly from Leaps of Faith

Kim from Run Kimmie Run
Bari from Live Laugh Run Breathe
Debra from Miles to Run
Kelly from According to Kelly
Bang from Run Bang, Run
Toni from Running, Loving, Living

One more just for fun to follow is Pavement Runner, since “beautiful” may not be the best most manliest description.

Question: Who inspires you? 

Go, Go, Girlie Goods!

The other day my friend and I were talking about how much we hate shopping. After a split second, I had to take it back and tell her that wasn’t 100% true. There are definitely some must have items for this running mama. You know I can’t leave home without my Sparkly Soul bands

Yes, I went back in 2 change my @SPARKLYSOULINC so it matched my tank b4 going out on a solo run. #perfectlynormal #RunHappy
— melissyk (@melissyk) June 9, 2012

and Team Sparkle skirts fall under race day essentials for good reason! 

Sparkles make u faster. True story. Took 13:10 off my last half! 2:26 PR @RnRSD @runteamsparkle @sparklysoulinc twitter.com/melissyk/statu…
— melissyk (@melissyk) June 3, 2012

Now that I have run a couple of half marathons on a whim with no consistent training with a semi-structured training plan, I’m trying to train smarter, not necessarily harder. This means getting out of my comfort zone and running with others so I actually run out on the streets instead of my neighborhood. This serves two purposes: my neighborhood is relatively flat (no bueno for hilly races which are on the calendar) and as my mileage increases, there is safety in numbers.

When I run alone, which is most of the time, I try to tell the hubs what route I’m taking, but that doesn’t always pan out since I often don’t decide until I head out the door. I think there’s a way to find me via an app on my phone, but he’s not so much on the tech savvy side of things.

Insert the Bia GPS Sport Watch for Women. In the last few months, there have been a couple of women out on their usual runs that have been kidnapped and murdered. All aesthetics aside, safety has to be at the top of the train smarter list. In a three second button press, an audible alarm as well as your location sent to a loved one and emergency services. MUST HAVE. Enough said.

On the flip side, here are some additional deets:

***NO OTHER GPS SPORTS WATCH CAN DO THIS:***

• Safety alert for peace of mind on solo workouts
• Quick-connect GPS; no more time wasted “finding satellites” 
• Data to your online training log; no more time wasted “sync’ing”
• iPod-like ease of use; just one button and a touchscreen
• Water resistance to 100M; full GPS tracking when you swim

I currently run with my iPhone for the tracking, GPS, and ability to stay connected to humanity. I’m looking forward to leaving it home:

Can I use the Bia sports watch with my iPhone instead of the GPS Go Stick?

No. The point of the Go Stick is NOT to have to use your $600 sweat-adverse, Gu-hating, battery-guzzling, kid-interupting smartphone as a sports device. Here’s what we think of bringing our smartphones with on workouts:

• It’s too heavy to feel good in your pocket during a run.
• The tan line from strapping a phone to your arm is unforgivable.
• A phone near the ocean or pool is a recipe for disaster.
• If you need your phone in an emergency on the bike, you don’t want it low on battery because you’ve been using it to track your route.
• Workout time is too precious to risk email and text interruptions. The world can wait.

With interchangeable bands, feminine friendly size, and an itty bitty GPS Go Stick that clips on, this bad boy girl weighs less than a third of my iPhone and I can ditch the ugly arm band tan line.

In a perfect world, this would be in my hot little hands, or at the very least, on my birthday must have list. However, like all good things, it is a work in progress. But YOU can make it happen.
This little beauty is the on its way to being funded and produced. In just a few short weeks, this project needs to be fully funded in order to go into production. Watch the video, read the additional FAQ deets here, and back this project!

I can’t say enough good things about Bia as mothers, athletes, and business owners that know their audience. What a great opportunity to support a small company and know exactly where your money is going.

Question: How do you stay safe when you’re running?

Hell and Back

Not really, just Palm Springs. But I expected it to be wicked hot. And it was. 
With the kids out of school, I was stupidly thinking life would slow down a bit. Yeah, not so much. Last week was a funeral, a day spent with another friend who recently lost a parent, and getting ready to spend a weekend away in Palm Springs for a conference. The theme was The Church, and there was a ridiculous amount of crazy good teaching, singing, and books. Lots of books. I got the hookup from a vendor needing someone to work their book table in exchange for hotel & registration. Heck. to. the. yeah. I’m still digesting everything, but if you relish solid preaching and teaching, click here to listen or watch the sessions. Way worth it.  

Did I mention it was hot? Actually, it wasn’t nearly as hot as I expected. But then again, we stayed in the conference center most of the weekends. The couple of times we braved the heat, we walked down the street and opted for the first place we saw.

It was a Jewish Deli (though I’m not sure why Yelp had it listed as a bodega as well. Weird.) The food was pretty alright, but the desserts looked amazing. No pictures. No dessert. That was because we had one of these bad boys back at the hotel.

It ended up being the birthday of one of the girls that came with us, so I picked this up on the way because a birthday celebration sounds way better than I just wanted to eat half a cake.
Every morning I woke up before my alarm went off. Why can’t I do that at home? Two of us worked out each morning, but I kept it light. I worked it out so my long run would be before our trip. I’ve been spared from hell; no way I wanted to run in it. Since I’m just a few weeks into my marathon training, knocking out my 20 or so miles meant I could keep it relatively easy throughout the weekend. 
I ate pretty good all weekend with lots of salads we brought, and didn’t go overboard with the snacking even though I considered hoarding these chips. 

One serving=about 18 chips, not just a handful of crumbs. Why yes, I would like a serving. Or five. 

All in all, it was a great weekend and much needed. It was better than great, I just can’t think of a better than great word at the moment. Somehow I ended up losing three pounds as well. Bonus.

Now it’s time to get back on schedule. 52 days until my next half and the hills are calling. More like mocking and taunting, really, but who’s keeping track.

Question: How do you eat healthy when you travel?

I Had a Face Lift

Ok, not a literal face lift. I’m playing the Asian card, and don’t plan on needing one of those. Ever. Kinda like my grandma.

Nearly 80 when this was taken & not a wrinkle 🙂

I’ve been wanting to update the blog for some time now. Back when I started it, I settled on the first template that was cute. Meh… I wasn’t blogging as consistently, and I just got used to it. Funny how that happens. Not really. Life kinda just ‘happens’ that way sometimes, doesn’t it? We’re not content, but we’re not discontent enough to do the work. When we finally do, it’s not nearly as hard as we expected, and we come out relatively unscathed, hopefully with a few lessons learned.

When I started running a year ago, it was with the purpose of shedding some unhealthy weight. I didn’t expect my 13-14 minute mile of huffing, puffing, and wheezing to turn me into a runner. Yup, I said it. Who knew? I’m a runner and a half marathon runner. Crazy. Funny. Seriously.

As I was updating things, I read through my “about me” blurb again. One of the things I wrote was my plan to run a half marathon back in January. While that didn’t happen until just last month, my rationale was 

Because it’s something I never thought I could do, but I can do so much more than I thought. 

That still rings true, but now I’ve got my sights on a full marathon. It’s a scary thought, especially when I’m doing it alone. We won’t talk about the kind of crazy my family thinks I am. Forty is slowly coming around the corner, so I think it’s about time to kick scary in the face. 14 minute mile to under 10 minutes these days. There but by the grace of God I go, and go quickly. I hope.

So there you have it. A little lighter, a little cleaner, and ready for what’s next. The blog, and me. 🙂

Today’s Run:
Mile 1: 9:54
Mile 2: 9:43
Mile 3: 9:54
Mile 4: 9:24

Question: What goals are you working toward? 

Wedding and Working it Out

Week one of my marathon training plan, done. It was a relatively smooth week with the kids wrapping up school and a(h-mazing) wedding on Friday. Amazing is an understatement, really.

How sweet are these kids?!?!

First kiss. Ever. Enough said.

If you’ve ever been to a Middle Eastern wedding, it’s kind of a big deal. Even for something a bit “low key” like the wedding we went to. I can keep slapping photos on here, but it’s just one of those things you experience, not just attend. This ran well into the night with dinner served around 10pm. Nope, not a typo. We left around midnight, you know, when the party was just getting started. Or something like that.

I was able to sleep in a little, but knew the previous night’s menu of things that aren’t normally on my dinner plate was not going to bode well. I had an 8mile run scheduled and while it started off ok, I got a half mile out before having to turn back home for a bathroom break. Oh well, just seven more miles after that pit stop. I could not get into a groove of any kind, and ended up stopping by the office once I hit mile 5. I had a few things to take care of, so that ended up being an extended break. I eventually knocked out the last few miles and made it home. 

This seemed like a good idea. Just not today.

After-nuun hydration

I got home and laid down in the only cool spot I could find. My kitchen floor. Gross. But necessary. I have a thing about feet. And surfaces. Laying on a surface where all the not-so-clean feet have been all over is not the norm.

Source

But, the June gloom had burned off by the time I was wrapping up my run, my stomach was not happy with me, and there is a ceiling fan directly above the spot I picked on my floor. I actually fell asleep for a few minutes. Relief. Then a shower to wash off all the cooties crawling on me. Long run done, and it was time to take a look at the week ahead.

Things I made a note of to focus on in the coming week:

• Settle on a training plan. I’m still bouncing back & forth between a couple of programs
• Hydrate well. Always. Not just chug-a-lug then hope I don’t pee myself.
• Meals need to be better planned. Appetite is ramping up and I need good fuel, not handy bars & shakes.
• My foam roll is my friend. I need to spend some quality time with it. Maybe I should name it.

Saturday Splits
Mile 1: 10:22
Mile 2: 10:16
Mile 3: 10:48
Mile 4: 11:11
Mile 5: 11:41 {insert 1/2hr break}
Mile 6: 10:05
Mile 7: 10:36
Mile 8: 11:03

Question: What do you do to get past the mental anguish battle to keep running?

Sad Goodbye

128 more days. In just over four months, I’ll be running my first full marathon. I’ve read time and time again the value in respecting the distance. While I was able to run my first two half marathons this last month with a kinda-sorta training, there’s no way I would try that with a full marathon, much less my first, much less with the hills of San Fran. 

I still haven’t fully settled on a training plan that I’m sticking with for NWM. My next half is mid-August, which falls right into my long run schedule. I’m bouncing between Higdon’s Marathon (for October) & Train Like a Mother – Own It plan (for August). Either way, today   was a five mile run on the calendar. I haven’t been planning my meals like I should, so I hadn’t eaten enough and was not feeling it. Respect the distance.

I got a quick bite and that helped, but I really just wanted a nap. Instead, I found a sample of some pre-workout drink that I got a few weeks back. It had some caffeine, green tea extract, and some other stuff. I tried the mango tea version. It tasted super sweet even though it had 0g of sugar. Not good. I chugged it anyway because I didn’t want to waste it. After I got home, I read the fine print. Sucralose (read: fake sugar) was the way they got over on “no sugar.” Not. A. Fan. 

It did what it was supposed to, though. I was ready to get my run going and I didn’t have the jitters or any crash afterwards. The hubs has been great about coming with me to the gym, so that’s been good. But that means on my run days, I either need to hit the road earlier, or settle for the treadmill. Parking at the gym is always a bear because apparently no one knows what the white lines are for or that your vehicle belongs IN the space, so as I squeezed out of my car, I dropped my favorite water bottle. Boo. I know I’m not the only one who has quirky issues, and my bottle was one of my must haves. It’s pink. Duh. It’s leak proof and not bulky. I liked the little twisty dealio at the top that lets you mark how many bottles you drink throughout the day. Minor feature, but I need these reminders otherwise I tend to chug when I remember, then spend the next hour peeing. A lot. So I said goodbye to my bottle. It was sad. But I was hungry, so I got over it quickly.

Bye, bye, favorite bottle

At least I didn’t notice it was broken until after we left the gym. What a trooper… It hung on for one more run. And it was a good run:

Splits:

Mile 1: 9:20

Mile 2: 9:31

Mile 3: 9:24

Mile 4: 9:30

Mile 5: 8:37

I threw together a quick dinner – ground turkey burritos to go with the crazy good salsa the hubs brought home, courtesy of a really nice lady who loves me that remembered he liked her salsa.

I skipped the tortilla and had a few chips instead.

It’s almost the weekend, and tomorrow is a rest day. I decided these were the carbs of choice to go with dinner tonight. I promised not to eat the whole bag, or even half the bag like last night. 

Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day, though I’ll get in a mile for my run streak. Good timing as we have a wedding tomorrow. In the last week, we’ve had three deaths, a memorial service for a baby, and an assortment of life traumas and trials. Celebrating at a wedding will be good. 

Including the long run scheduled for Saturday, I’ll be at 20 miles for the week. That’s double what I’ve been averaging the last few weeks (apart from the half mary I threw in the mix), so I’m definitely ready for a rest day.

Question: Do you have any favorite accessories that you would hate to part with? 

National Running Day

After hearing about everyone’s early morning runs today, I was looking forward to a run hosted by Lady Footlocker. Olympian distance runner, Deena Kastor, was doing a fun three mile run. After hearing Ryan Hall and Chrissie Wellington over the weekend, the chance to run with another amazing athlete was right up my alley. Office. Kids. Dinner. Check. Go.

I didn’t really take into account the logistics of running with a marathon runner, nor am I a big group runner. It was just going to be a short run from the mall downtown, to the water, then back around. I knew right away that we were going faster than I normally would, and my quads were a little tight still from the weekend. I was keeping up though, so that was ok. By the time we hit a mile, I knew I wasn’t going to hang, but couldn’t stop because I wasn’t sure what route we’d taken or how to get back or how to jump ship without them sending out a search party, if that was in the waiver I signed didn’t want to quit.

I would guess there were around 25 or so that went out for the run, and with a half dozen of them behind me, I got out of my head and got over my whining. I met up with one of the Foot Locker girls who’d done several walks, but hadn’t run much. I probably should have eaten a little something than the half bagel I had three hours earlier, so I was pooped. We ran/walked the last mile and made it back to the store for some freebies, massages, and face time with Deena.

Splits:
Mile 1: 9:40
Mile 2: 9:38
Mile 3: 12:02

I realized that I have been holding back when I run. I run in my comfort zone, in what I know I can do (usually closer to a 10-10:30 mile). I wasn’t tired or dying in those first couple of miles, but let my head tell my body that I was tired. It’s easy for me to keep this pace on a treadmill where I can control everything, but once I head outside, I spend more time checking my pace than running by how I’m feeling. Last weekend, Ryan Hall made the comment that he runs, prays, and doesn’t let science determine his training pace. If he feels good, he goes. I realized I feel good, and I can go. Today was supposed to be a five mile pace run, but ended up being closer to a 3.5 mile run. Tomorrow is another day, and I’ll be ready for it!

Question: What did you do for National Running Day?