I did it!

The purpose of this blog was to chronicle my 8 week training from just barely able to complete 5 miles to a half marathon.

This weekend, I completed the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon.

My time? 2 hours 28 minutes and 57 seconds - a full 1 minute and 3 seconds faster than my goal.

How did it feel?

Stylin' in my Pacers' Jacket!

Incredible.

Woke up at 5am, and had my Starbucks VIA coffee, and a full egg, bagel, and cheese. I figured, it was 5am, and the race didn't start until 7:30, so I would have plenty of time to digest.

The day before, I had stopped by Pacers to get some expert advice on clothing. My buddy Lindsey pointed me in the direction of an awesome jacket set that was really a vest with magnetic sleeves from Sugoi. I thought, hey this could be useful. Armed with that, my new running hat, some thin running socks, and my trusty Nike Lunarglides, I was all ready to go.

Hopped in the car and headed over to National Harbor to grab the bus down to Mount Vernon. The traffic was pretty bad, which was understandable for the event, but I got on the bus pretty quick and sat next to a great chit chatter and soon enough I was hopping off the bus on Mount Vernon.

Freezing, but still good

Now here in Virginia, we decided to skip fall this year and head straight into winter. So we're all mulling around George Washington's house, in 49 degree weather. Luckily, there were space blankets being handed out, which actually worked very well in keeping you warm. I also had my trusty gater, which always keeps my asthmatic lungs in check in cold weather.

I decided to pop into the port-o-potties prior to the start of the race, and I am glad that I did. However, the line was ridiculous I was getting nervous that I wouldn't have enough time to get everything done, but I was able to do that, take my Clif Shots, and drink some water prior to the start of the race.

I ended up grabbing a banana too, and keeping it in my pocket. More on this later :)

So we all queued up around the circle at Mount Vernon and then....RUNNERS READY...GO!

Ok, that was for the Virginia Institute for the Blind Visually Impaired Runners (really freaking cool, btw, and one of the blind runners actually won 2nd place overall women).

Then it was RUNNERS READY...GO!

It took all of my Pacers Fun Run experience to not go running like a bat out of hell out of the start and down that hill. All around me, I saw people flying past me going their fastest down that first hill.

Amateurs! All Amateurs!

I had some good easy jog music and before I knew it, mile 1 had passed. Then mile 2. Right around mile 2.5 was my first water stop, which I remembered from all of my half-prep training, to actually slow down, walk, take the water, and then go again.

I also had the express pleasure of ripping off my sleeves and stuffing them in the back of my jacket. That was teh!coolz.

Mile 3, Mile 4 were great, and then, I hit mile 5, which was the turnaround point for my every day non-training runs. I loved it - this was MY turf. My neighborhood, and I could run this backwards and forwards. I was so hot now that even though it was still 50 degrees, I took off my vest and let it hang over my aqua belt, running in only my tank top.

I am so badass.

But at mile 6, I remembered I would be hitting my wall soon. So I slowed down to a walk and began eating my (by this time, very cold) banana. I only had about half of it, and then I figured I'd be ok until I took my gel.

Between mile 6 and 7, I passed by my house, which I briefly thought perhaps to stop in and see puppy for a minute. Then I realized, hey, my house keys are 7 miles away in national harbor. Whoops.

Took my 2nd Clif shot at mile 7 and did not realize how gooy the chocolate gel was. Only had about half of it, and then kept going.

Looked up to my left, and saw - no joke - a rainbow.

My bub was supposed to meet me at mile 8 right at the bridge foot, but I completely underestimated how fast I'd get to that point, and he hadn't even left his house by the time I was there. Would have been nice to see him, but it was ok that I didn't :) (<3)

Then it was bridge time.

Now, if I do this one again (of course I'm doing this again), my focus is not on just finishing, but finishing STRONG. Right around the bridge, I started to lose my focus, and feel myself needing to walk. It started to get really windy and cold again, but I kept going, thinking that I would warm up if I started running.

Nope.

Finished the bridge and was up the ramp to the pedestrian bridge, and by this time, the wind was really blowing and I decided to not only put my vest back on, but my jacket. Now the wind was just awful, but we continued on, starting to jog/walk a little bit.

Around mile 10, my stummy started to tell me to find a port-o-pottie. Normally loathe to stop and do anything, I had to listen to my body. And happily - no wait.

Let's just say the break was worth it ;)

Back on the trail, I passed mile 11, and started to feel like this race was almost over, reveling in the fact that I was already at National Harbor, and I had begun 11 miles away in Mount Vernon. I figured, what was two miles?

Boy, did I underestimate those two miles.

Uphill

Then Gravel

Blargh.

Needless to say, I walked more of miles 11 and 12 than I would have liked. But I still kept going, through awful wind and cold.

By now, Runkeeper had stopped giving me signals for where I was, and so the final mile, I knew I was somewhere close. I thought, ok, after this corner! Ok, after the next corner! Ok, I see people lined up! Ok, what's next? Ok!

Finally, saw mile 13, and that meant only .1 miles left.

Round and round and round through a throng of people and there was the finish line.

Bling!

Not going to lie, let out a scream of happiness when I crossed that finish line.

Got my bling, got my gatorade, and then walked the (very long and windy and cold) whole way back to my car. All I can say is thank GOD for the OnStar app.

So, obviously, this is not my last half marathon. But I will say that I am impressed that I blew through 6 miles no problems. Really, blew through almost 9 before really starting to feel it.







What's next for Half-Whit? Well, ob. I have some new goals:

1 - Work on speed this winter. That is, be able to consistently run 9:30s - not just at race time. I'd like to be able to do Pacers Fun Runs at 9:30s by next April - including HILL OF DOOM.
2 - Complete another half, and try to get under 2 hours 20 minutes. That's an improvement of either 1 min/mile or 30 sec/mile without a pitstop.
3 - Look at a full marathon - don't look at me like that Mom ;) New York maybe?

NERVOUS.

I'm so antsy I can't even make a playlist for tomorrow.

I have to do laundry

And clean

And vacuum

And do dishes

And work on some actual work

And make a playlist for tomorrow

And relax

BUT I CAN'T EVEN SIT STILL.

GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

Ten Miles - take 2

The plan this weekend was going to go a little like this:

Saturday - Clarendon Day, run ~10 miles
Sunday - Rest
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 3 miles (tapering off)

However, in light of my non-starter on Clarendon Day yesterday, my schedule shifted to the following

Saturday - Clarendon Day, ~4.5 miles
Sunday - 10 miles
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 miles

This morning, I pulled myself out of bed and went for my 2nd 10 miler. For breakfast, I switched it up (more later) and had a smoothie and a Starbucks VIA.

Side note: Starbucks VIA are phenom. for runners. I do not want to make an entire pot of coffee before I run because I will not drink it when I get back.

So out I went with two gatorade aqua pods - hoping that National Harbor would have water fountains, like the Mt Vernon trail does every 2.5 miles or so. More on THIS later too.

The first two miles were good - I have run that trail at least three miles a week. Then I went up the bridge. I always forget how long the bridge really is - mostly because when I'm driving it, I'm going about 75 miles an hour on the beltway.

The bridge incline is higher on the Virginia side, and so it was easy trails going downward. However, I started to feel dizzy and not really energetic. I drank some of my gatorade and pushed through.

At the end of the bridge is a ramp to take walkers across the beltway to the other side towards National Harbor. It's not that bad going the way I'll be running on the WW1/2, which is great.

The one thing I'm really concerned about during this half is the shell path that leads to National Harbor. It's about .25miles, and I'm not very good at running on non-asphalt. Good to report, however, that the shells are pretty densely packed, and it wasn't so bad running. So yay on that.

Now I'm in National Harbor, and looking around for any kind of a water fountain. For future reference, THERE ARE NONE. Stupid national harbor. Passed by a restroom, though.

I had pre-mapped my course to make sure I did the full 10, and ended up going around an unfinished park with a muddy trail, and around back of the Gaylord (the big hotel there). Not going to lie, afraid I was going to get kidnapped. Real sketch.

Here, I decided to walk. I was thirsty, my stomach was upset again, and I was really grumpy.

Knowing that there would be no more water fountains, I decided to head back over to that restroom, pause my workout, regroup, and fill my water bottles with nasty water.

Don't judge, I was really thirsty.

I also opted to take my goo here, with the availability of water. Note I did not take my goo prior to the beginning of the run, and I don't think I'll make that mistake next weekend. I can really tell a difference in performance and energy level.

So I looked at myself in the mirror and said, "Snickle, you have to run home, you know. You have your water, you have your goo, and you are good to go."

Out I went, super stoked to finish!

Then BAM.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMP.

Not the muscle kind, either.

It was so bad, it nearly made me cry. But I said, Damn you, I will run this. I have three miles to go. Screw you, pain.

Pushed through it and was back on the up ramp to cross over 495. Going the opposite way is a lot harder than going to National Harbor, but I did it. And I forced myself to smile.

Then I got back on the bridge, and realized that running close to the bridge wall (it's more like a fence) makes me dizzy. I have this same problem when driving near trees where the sun is filtering through them - the blinking lights make my head spin. Good to know for the race, I guess.

But I heard on my little run keeper that I was at mile 8 - which meant only 2 more miles to go. Well that put me in a DAMN fine mood, and I hit my runner's high (and the goo probably kicked in finally). So, like last week, I sauntered along, grinning like an idiot, and singing along to my music.

Hitting mile 9, my body started to slow down, and I walked a bit to find a pick-me-up song. Lately, I'm into Britney.

Ran/walked the final mile, and ended up with the following:

Runkeeper Result: 

Total Distance: 10.07 miles
Total Time: 2:01:48
Avg Speed: 4.96
Elevation Climb: 394 feet

All in all, I'm very proud of this run. Considering my stummy wants to kill me, and I ran a race yesterday, and I didn't have goo this morning, and all of that, I still managed to finish at an acceptable pace (my goal for my half is to finish with a 12 min/mile pace).

Not to mention that I feel fully prepared for my race now. I've gone most of the way down to the starting line, and I've gone to the finish line. Now just have to put them together.

This week is tapering. I love tapering.

Milestone - 10 miles

Last Sunday, I ran for 10 miles.

You got that - Ten Miles.

My very first double-digit run.

Not only that, but I ran it at an 11:30 pace.

RunKeeper Result

I'm not going to go into super detail on this,but I will say a few things:

- My proverbial "wall" is around 7.5 miles.
- Eating goo at 5 miles is too early - need to do it around 6 to prepare for proverbial wall.
- I grinned like an idiot the last two miles
- Napping is essential post-run (HAH!)

Tomorrow I will go north - over the bridge and into National Harbor on the actual path I will be running next Sunday. This is good, because that's the part that I'm most concerned about (the bridge and the final loop around). I should be hitting the bridge (going back) right around the same mileage as during the real race.

My First Failure :'(

So I'm being melodramatic. It wasn't a failure, and I got a PR, and it's not super important.

BUT I'M SO BUMMED OUT.

Backstory:

Clarendon Day Race   is a 5k/10k double race. I thought, oh, you know I can do a 5k, and I can do a 10k. So I can do both! Besides, that, plus an additional mile back to the starting point, is about 10 miles - right where I need to be doing!

The thing was, you have to run the 5K in about 30 minutes or so, then run back to the starting line, and be ready to go at 9:05. So basically, 45 minutes to run ~4.5 miles.

To begin with , I did not have coffee this morning, did not have any sort of bread-carb (just a smoothie), and did not sleep very well. Had sushi last night (what was I thinking), and my stomach hurt.

I think you know where this is going.

BOOM - Like a crazy jack-rabbit, I go flying out of the start line, going a cool 9 minutes/mile. One mile down, feeling awesome, one and a half, feeling....meh... Two miles in...oh my god what did I do. Two and a quarter, walking. Two and a half, slow jogging. Two and three quarters, walking. Three miles, I really have to run teh rest of this.

But I was still ok, time-wise, and jogged my way back.

Up a hill worse than the Hill of Doom.

Actually, let's just be frank here, I was walking.

By the time I was almost back, the race had started, and people were jogging. By now, I was feeling just the worst, and was looking at another 6 miles.

So I did what I have been so good to not do recently - I gave up.

Here's my 5k result - a personal record of 30:07.

I've been kicking myself all day for giving up, wondering "what if I had just done x or not been so y." But, you know, this was really outside the box of anything that I have ever done before, and I am always energy conscious (trying not to do too much too fast too early). And to get a PR on a 5k is really awesome - and then to walk all the way up the hill again is pretty cool too.

Besides that, doing 10 miles today would not have been a good training exercise for my half. Quick bursts of speed are not the way (for me) to complete my race (in one week YIKES!). Slow and steady is my strategy.

So in the morning, I will drag myself out of bed for my very last "long run" prior to my half marathon, where I will run my second 10 miler (did my first last week, didn't blog about it, oh well :P).

There is a reason for everything, I guess. I'll take this as a learning experience, and do even better next year.

Interval Make Up

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 5.9 miles
Total Time: 1:09:07
Avg Pace: 11:42

This morning, I had one final run to do before I made my mileage this week. And that was the make-up intervals from Thursday. I let myself sleep in an extra hour this morning, and ended up getting out at 8:30. But luckily it was cool and I ran through a shaded route so the heat wasn't that big of an impact.

Out I went, and immediately, my legs felt like lead. Great start....

I promised myself at the first mile, I would stop and stretch. I really regret not doing yoga these past few weeks - I've got a 20 class pass, I need to get my ass over there and do it. I did the mile, and stopped to stretch out my IT band and hamstrings, and then I felt better.

Between miles 2 and 3 of the 3 mile first section, I started to feel the SIML - that is, the S...chtuff In My Lungs. Usually happens when I've recently had a sinus headache (ahem, Wine Festival on Saturday), or I haven't taken my inhaler in a while. And it usually results with me coughing up narsties on the side of the trail like a pack-a-day smoker.

But I muddled through to 3 miles and stopped to catch my breath before heading out to do intervals. I knew run keeper was off by about .25 of a mile, because I had passed the 4 mile marker - and I started before the 7 mile marker. But no matter, I kept going until it told me to start intervals.

Let me just tell you - intervals are my least favorite part of training. I hate running uncomfortably, and intervals push me out of my comfort zone. However, I know they're good for me, so I have to do them anyways.

Today's intervals were 2:30 minutes, 3:00 minutes, and another 2:30. Blargh! I hate intervals. I had to stop at the end of my last one to cough up another lung.

Once I got into the grove of my 2 miles back, I honestly felt a lot better. Probably because I was lost in my thoughts. But before I knew it I was done!

Although I hate intervals, I know they are good for me, and will help me increase my speed and stamina. I foresee doing a lot of them over the winter, when I focus on getting up to 9:30/avg for 4 miles and under. So I might as well get used to them.

Early Mornin' With Pacers!

In addition to the Tuesday and Thursday runs, Pacers also has a fun run early on Saturday morning. These are designed for those who need a long run - either preparing for a marathon or half like me. I, however, chose to run with Pacers butt-crack early on Saturday morning because my training called for running a 10k race on Saturday. With no 10ks to speak of (and I didn't want to spend any money :P), I opted to run out with them.

The long run this week began at Gravelly Point and worked its way up the Potomac. Talk about the most gorgeous view of DC you can get! I passed the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument (of course, I can see that from my house, it's so damn big), and the Capitol.

I also began my experimentation with CLIF Energy Shots. Pacers had them out for sampling, so I took four. For this run, I tried the Mocha one - simply because it had caffeine in it, and I didn't feel like breaking out my coffee. I was a little nervous because sometimes too much sugar or caffeine - combined with my inhaler - can give me the shakes, but surprisingly, I had no real issues. Not even a digestive issue! So I'll look into these.

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 6.22 Miles
Total Time: 1:11:41
Avg Pace: 11:32 min/mile

The first half I actually ran at a race pace - 10:44/mile. Then I decided to call my folks (why? I dunno, just because). Unfortunately, that slowed me down a bit, because I had to be able to talk and run at the same time. Oh well - got a good 30 minute talk in with my parents anyways!

I definitely felt the 4 miles I had done the night before, but the GU stuff actually helped keep me not braindead. Definitely only going to be used for the longer runs - it's hard to eat, actually.

All in all, pretty good run!

Oh yeah, and while I only did 6 - the rest of the group did 15.5. One day Snickle, one day...

Monsoons = Not Good

So, in addition to the earthquake, hurricane, and threat of terror attack that Washington DC has experienced in the past month, we also had a monsoon the past few days. The remains of TS Lee were stuck over us for three days - causing widespread flooding and road issues and such. Living in a  flood plane (why, oh why did I do that again?), I was concerned for my home and property, so I teleworked for three days.

After three days of staying indoors - no running, no nothing, this is what happens:

And also, you get crappy runs.

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 4 Miles

Total Time: 47:22

Avg Speed: 5.08

I was supposed to do intervals on Thursday with Pacers, but, as with last week, schtuff got in the way. AKA it was flooding and monsooning. By the time I got out, it was already getting dark, and I didn't have time to do a full 6 miles. So I switched around Sunday's and Thursdays, and opted to do 4 miles instead.

Let's just be short and sweet with this and say this was not a good run. I tried to go super fast on the outset - still feeling good from Tuesday's run - and it completely screwed me over. In addition, I brought no water, didn't fully hydrate, and was supah!hungry.

However, I did end up jogging halfway up the WW bridge, which is the path I'll be taking on my half. I hope to run that at least three or four more times prior to my race.

I did walk some of it, which was, you know, not what I'm supposed to be doing here, but I forgave myself.

It had been a weird week.

Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Last night was Tuesday, and Tuesday means the Russell Route for Pacers.

So I start out, back of the pack, running my merry way. Right around the normal point - about 1 mile in when it starts to get a bit hilly - I lose the rest of the group - as they are much better at running up the hill.

Then my music stops and I hear my phone ringing.

"...This is Whitney..."

"HEYYYY!"

".... Hello?"

"HEY WHITNEY!"

It's my baby cousin.

"H-Hey bubs, how are you?"

"I'm bored."

(Starting up the Hill of Doom (R))

"That's cool, how's school going?"

"It's good, I like my classes."

"(puff puff) That's awesome! What classes are you taking?"

"Oh, you know...." (tells me his classes)

"(puff puff puff puff) Uh-huh!"

(Continuing to talk)

"(puff puff puff puff puff puff puff puiff) That's wonderful!"

(Continuing to talk)

"Hey bubs, I'm going to have to call you later, I'm at the top of the hill."

"Oh Ok."

"Love you KIDDO!"

---

Yeah, you read that right, ran to the top of the hill, still able to talk.

Not only that, but the awesomeness continued with running with a couple of fun runners all the way home.

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 5.4 miles
Total Time: 56:41 (new record!)
Avg. Pace: 10:30/mile (new record!)


I also read an interesting article today that talked about lactic acid build up. It basically said that you have to train to increase your ability to exercise without lactic acid build up, and that everyone's body had a different threshold. I can honestly say though that I did not have any pain or soreness after this run.

Hooray!

Sunday Runday

I attempted to take a picture at the 4 mile halfway point and it killed my run keeper. So I had to do two separate run tracker thingies, but here they are:

Part 1 - 4.18 miles
Part 2 - 3.86 miles

Total Distance: 8 miles (New distance!)
Total Time: 1:36:53
Total Elevation: 84 feet
Avg Pace: ~12 min/mile

What I ate: 3/4 of a Balance Bar, Starbucks VIA coffee + Chocolate milk (as I was out of regular coffee and regular milk; Ingenuity!), half a banana

So I wanted to try and fall asleep during the first mile, but no such luck this week. I opted to head south this time, following the trail of the WW1/2 to get intimately familiar with it. Now, of course on Friday, I had some issues with run keeper, but for the meantime, it appeared to be working this time.

I felt some tightness in my thighs in the first mile, so I stopped for a minute and stretched it out. Afterwards, no real pain, so hooray! After the first two miles, then we got into "new territory." At this point on Friday, I was starting to get all sorts of annoyed, so I didn't really have time to enjoy the scenery. Today was different, though, and I went along my merry way!

The last time I had been this far south on the Mt Vernon trail, I was on a bike, so all of the hills and valleys were great - use the speed from the valley to push me up the hill. Unfortunately, running has no wheels, so everything was manual :P But it was still nice - there are a lot of bridges and gorgeous vistas of the Potomac river.

Happily, I hit the four mile mark just outside of Fort Hunt Park, where I stopped to take pictures!

Sadly, that's when my Runkeeper died. Or rather, it showed my progress in all 0's, which scared the bejesus out of me. Silly Snickle, you should know that you can't expect your phone to do three things at once right now. It's delicate.

After screwing with it for a minute, I finally decided to give up and start a new run. On the way back, it didn't give me any audio cues, but I knew I had turned around at the halfway mark, so I was ok with it!

Around mile 5, I started to really wish I had brought NUUN or Gatorade or something other than water. I didn't drink any NUUN prior to my run, which in hindsight was a mistake. Although I think that I might just do a hybrid of Gatorade and NUUN as my hydration strategy - sorry, but those NUUNs still make me feel ill.

I stopped at the 6 mile mark water station and refilled and poured water over my head. Then I kept going!

So I felt like I hit "the wall" around mile 6.5 and 7 - just felt my energy go downhill fast. But I kept up my strategy of giving myself three "I want to quits" before quitting, and I am happy to report that I did NOT quit period. It's amazing what you can do if you allow yourself.

So the lessons learned from this run are as follows:

1. Drink NUUN/Gatorade before
2. Bring something to eat during the run if I'm doing over 7 miles. I saw on the WW1/2 course that they will be providing ACCEL Gels at the 7 mile mark. I might have to go invest in some so that I can make sure they work for me.
3. Bring Gatorade in one of my bottles - I need that extra something. Water is great, but isn't going to cut it. Especially if I've got a water stop on the way (which I do).

Overall, this week was full of technology malfunctions, and I did not run my 3-4 miles on Saturday. However, I'm learning more about what my body needs in order to complete this half marathon, and I am starting to feel more and more prepared.

Technology is teh worst sometimes

I live in an area where AT&T fails miserably at times. Today was one of those times.

So my run yesterday was postponed in lieu of helping a friend move, so this morning after doing a few hours of work and study, I headed out for my interval training. 

I'm beginning my run and wondering...gee...these quarter mile alerts are coming pretty fast - and its saying I'm running super fast. Wonder what's up?

But hey! I went with it!

Until about a mile and a half in, I wondered why I hadn't been hearing ANY audio alerts. Looked at my phone and run keeper was stuck on 1.05. 

Brilliant. 

I fiddle-faddled with it and did the usual shenanigans, but to no avail. So I quit the run and re-started.

Except my freaking AT&T signal wouldn't work. Thanks dude, will be moving to VZW when Steve Tim (Cook) releases the new iPhone. Kthxbye

So I said, Ok, I'll run another quarter mile (lucky for me I've done this route a lot, so I know about where the markers are), time it, and then add it. 

Long Story Short - I spent about 10 minutes trying to get a freaking signal before it finally worked. 

By this point, I was all flustered - not the least bit because I had almost been run over a bunch of times by rude bikers. Then Boo called, and I snapped at him for calling, then I had to go do intervals, and my freaking thing wasn't still working and oh yeah, my inhaler is on empty, so I wasn't getting any medicine when I puffed. 

Add all of that together, and I pretty well damn near had either an asthma attack or a panic attack. I pushed myself into a little wooded area and told myself to Calm The $^#T$ Down. Took some time to catch my breath and then continued. 

Although RunKeeper says I didn't do but 5 miles, I know I turned around after the 3 mile point, so I'm going to say I fulfilled my obligation of my intervals today.

The intervals were not the worst, if I do say so myself. They were 2 x 2 minutes and 2x 2:30 with a minute slow in-between, and I believe I did a fairly good job on the majority of them! 

The biggest accomplishment today was that I was able to recognize an impending panic/asthma attack and stop it before I got hysterical. Even before it was anything more than a tingling in the chest. I also was able to push myself to keep running for around 80% of the run - which isn't bad considering all of the freaking issues.

I also repeat that unless AT&T improves service in my neck of the woods, I'm switching back to VZW. It's 2011 kids, should not be dealing with this issue. 

Oh Yeah - and no joint pain - period :D

Hill of Doom and Increasing my Mileage? Am I Nuts?

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 6.19 Miles
Duration: 1:13:49
Avg Pace: 11:56
Avg Speed: 5:03
Elevation: 202

Today's schedule called for 5-6 miles plus some AIs and GPs. I figure if I just run up the Hill of Doom it'll be enough. But even the full course, I would still be only at 5.4 miles. So I had the bright idea to park at my boo's house and run up to Pacers. So that gave me an additional .8 miles.

It was an awkward run because I had a bag with me, but I muddled through.

Once the real fun run started, I found myself actually keeping up with people for the first mile or so (bonus!). This was even up the hill a little ways. Unfortunately, due to my allergies flaring up and my failure to push myself to keep going, I ended up walking up the last part of the Hill of Doom. But even so, I couldn't talk at the top and was coughing up narsties, so perhaps it wasn't so awful that I walked.

By the bye, can I just say Allergies Fail?

I ended up running downhill with a friend at ~10 min/mile - which is technically an AI for me :) but then my stomach was cramping and I just had to walk for a bit, so I let her run on. Then I delved deep into my reserves and ran for the majority of the way back.

As per usual, last one to finish - but I finished :)

After wine tasting, it dawned on me that if I ran .8 miles to get to Pacers, I would have to walk the .8 back to my car. And I was sad. But I did it.

I did get a bit of stretching in and I'm icing as a precaution, but I feel pretty good - just exhausted. No awful pain during the run - just tiredness. It was about 75 degrees at run time though - which helps.

I will say though that I feel myself progressing each week - and every time I run a little bit farther with somebody, or push myself a little bit more, or find myself running for a longer distance at a faster pace, I can't help but celebrate a little bit.

But now it's 10:00 and I am ready to climb into bed and watch some more nerd!tv.

I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!

This is an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal: 

Coffee Break? Walk in the Park? Why Unwinding is Hard

The first half isn't really pertinent to running, but the second half was very interesting: 

"While we seem to need a break from focused work at some point, people can push themselves beyond what they might think they are capable of, according to a study published in Psychological Science in September.

The notion of willpower as a resource that people can strengthen with exercise has gotten recent attention with the publication of "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength," by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney.

In the September study, Stanford University researchers showed that people who believe they have an unlimited amount of willpower were able to work longer—without performing worse—than people who believe that they have only limited willpower.

Both groups reported feeling tired. But researchers subtly suggested in questionnaires to some participants that they had stamina that could be replenished, and this group appeared to overcome the fatigue. A possible reason is that forcing themselves to not think about being tired freed up some additional cognitive resources to work longer on the task at hand, says Veronika Job, a study author now at the University of Zurich.

The message, says Dr. Job, is that you can power through a period of high concentration, such as a final exam, if you believe you have unlimited willpower. The researchers are currently studying whether people can make lasting changes to their lives, based on their belief in their willpower. Such research could eventually help people, for example, stick to healthy diets or better regulate their emotions.

"When you have a limited mindset, maybe you'll be able to push yourself through a task, but in the evening you'll think, 'Now I'm done,' " says Dr. Job. Having a sense of increased willpower might make it easier for a person to say no to indulging in candy bars, even after a long day, she says."

Final Run, Hurricane, and the End of Week 3

Wow, what a week.

Left Sunday for Tampa.
Missed the Earthquake Tuesday, but ran in a Monsoon.
Massage on Wednesday
Hot, awful run on Thursday
Flight home and final Lost Dog 5k on Friday
Hurricane Saturday
And gorgeous, albeit windy, Sunday

So today's schedule called for pulling back a little on the mileage (for that I am thankful). It said to do 4-5 miles, so I compromised (since I had Zoe) and did4.5.

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 4.51
Duration: 56.52 - This has to be off by at least a minute or a minute and a half. It didn't pause when I told it to pause, and I didn't realize it until it had been there for a minute.
Climb: 117 ft

For some reason, the urge struck me to bring Miss Priss with me on the run today. So out we went!

The first mile was rough - I had some lactic acid build up in my calves which I had to run through. But blessedly, no knee pain. I guess sleeping all day Friday and all day Saturday was what I needed to repair my body.

I also seemed to hit my stride just as we were coming up on the last mile, going about 10 min/mile. I honestly felt like I could have kept going.

So this week was not the best week, but it wasn't the worst week. I'm looking forward to returning to a normal schedule next week so I can focus on my fourth week of training.

Next Friday will be one month until my half marathon!!!

Lost Dog 5k #4!

So I got back from my conference early Friday morning and then proceeded to sleep for the rest of the day. Then I got up, did NOT go to yoga like I was supposed to (bad me) and went to go do my LD 5k.

RunKeeper Result

Distance: 5k
Duration: 33:12
Avg. Pace: 10:31

Race was hot and muggy, but I still think Zoe and I did a fairly good job. I came in 9th of 21 overall - not a bad score anyways.

Tampa Run the Sequel

Sequels are never as good as the original. Thus is the same with this run.

I had been canvassing the Tampa Convention Center all day, trying to rid myself of the 1200 pamphlets I had brought down with me. Around 4:30, I decided to go out for my run - seeing a big black cloud in the distance and hoping I would have a repeat of Le Monsoon.

No such luck.

So not only was I exhausted from running around a conference for four days, but now it was supah!Hot and sunny outside. That and I had a 6pm dinner date with my clients. So I decided to rein it in early, and only did a little bit:

Runkeeper Result

Total Distance: 4.29 miles
Duration: 53:50 (yikes)
Avg. Pace: 12:32
Avg Speed: 4.79
Elevation: 178
Avg heart rate: 157

My immediate comments were "Blargh - Exhausted from Conference." Think that sums it up.

Going for a swim in Tampa!

So I'm down here in Tampa and swore to myself that I would continue with my half training in the middle of this conference craziness.

So last night, I had the brilliant idea that I would get up at o-dark-thirty and go for a run in Tampa.

O-Dark-Thirty came around and I was like, "blargh." Not to mention it was pitch-black.

Let's see, go for a run in the dark in a city that I am not familiar with? Ok sureeeee!

So I rolled over (and was not able to go back to sleep) and went along with my day, keeping in the back of my mind how awful it was going to be to run.

Around 6:30, I decided to head out, just as a black cloud decended over Tampa. And then it monsooned.

Now, I'm actually the kind of person who loves to run in the rain. I get overheated really easily and the rain is always there to cool me off.

So out I go into the rain shower. And it was a shower, indeed. My hotel shower has less pressure than the rain coming down.

Here's my runkeeper result:

RunKeeper

Total Distance: 5.0M
Duration: 1:01:28
Avg. Pace 12:17
Avg Speed: 4.88
Climb: 108ft

So not the worst, considering my shoes were soaked, I was running through about an inch of water and being unable to see for the second half due to rain pelting me in the eye.

What was odd was that I wasn't even focused on the run. Yeah, my knees hurt, and yeah there was a little soreness at the end of it, but I ran it and did pretty well for running through rain!

So I've had a glass and a half of wine, so that's all for now. Main points of the run: Rained like hell, didn't really feel good or bad (or even feel like I ran five miles), and now I'm icing my ankles, then my knees.

That's all for now, folks! More running on Thursday :)

Long Run #2 and Lost Dog 5k #3

Wait a minute, you may ask, where's the race report from the LD Race #3?

Here it is....

Long Story Short - Rained out. Not heartbroken about it or anything because I think I needed an extra day off. Not that it did any good....

Long Run #2

Yesh, I got like 7 more of these don't I?

RunKeeper Result

Distance: 7.00 miles
Duration: 1:28:48
Avg. Pace: 12:41
Avg. Speed: 4.73
Elevation: 113ft
Avg. Heart Rate: 162
Peak Heart Rate: 186
Weather: Breezy and Hot - last mile was intense :P

I knew this run would be rough because A) I started an hour later than previous B) My boo spent the night and so I didn't get to bed on time C) It was hot, sunny, and not raining

I hate half a balance bar this morning, and half a cup of coffee, which were not digesting easy for me. So I opted for some yogurt too and downed almost 20 oz of water.

The first .75 miles I must have slept through because I don't even remember getting that far.Knees started to hurt around that time, but I kept going. Took basically the same route I had taken last time, though I didn't take as many detours so it was a little farther. Knees started to really kill me around mile 2, so I stopped and stretched for a minute, letting them shake out a little bit.

Hopped back on it and kept going, all the way to 3.5 miles. Stopped again in the shade and stretched. Felt my second wind and then turned to go home. I took a small detour by the water, but I did stop to grab some water (and didn't turn off run keeper, so there's at least half a minute  of me standing around). Headed back the same way and felt the sun starting to beat on me, which slowed me down.

Like I said above, the last mile was rough, and I even allowed myself to walk some of it because the sun was really starting to bear down (it was around 10AM at this point).

But the bottom line is that I did my full mileage today, and even though it was bad, I am still proud of myself.

Now, we'll see how I feel on the plane tonight. :P

I also decided that the next long run that I do I'm going to go south on the GW parkway, so I can actually practice on the route I will be taking.

Pacers is Teh Awesome

Run tonight was awful, but ended with a piece of good news that means I can continue my march towards Marathoning.

Run first:

RunKeeper Result

Total Distance: 4.56 (more on this later)
Duration: 52:32
Avg Pace: 11:31
Avg Speed: 5.21
Elevation: 118
Heart Rate: HAVE NO IDEA B/C I FORGOT THE DAMN MONITOR.

This run was awful - no bones about it. I was tired, cranky, and hoping that the blob of rain hovering over DC would shift down to Alexandria so I could have a good reason not to run. No such luck.

So the run started out bad because I lost the group immediately. I tried to catch up with them, but was unable to make the lights they were making, and thus had to run it alone. Sad. :(

I made it through my first batch of intervals and felt like awful, and then number 2 and so on and so forth. Then I made it to the halfway point where I stopped and stretched a little bit because my knees were starting to ache (more on this later).

On the way back, I caught up with the dude guy leader of the fun runs who was sprinting with a couple of gazelles. I was on my "fast" interval, so I joined up with them, running a good portion of the "fast" minute at 7 minutes/mile (!). Then I dropped back and started to feel AWFUL.

Not sure if it was a combination of not having NUUN (though I did have gatorade for lunch) and not having an egg for breakfast and having a salad for lunch (which actually filled me up quite nicely), but I just had no energy to run with and my knees hurt, and my head got light and I made the command decision to cut my run short.

I still was the last person to finish, but oh well.

Now, onto the piece of good news!

So from time to time, Pacers has a physical therapist stop in to make sure we're all functioning correctly and to listed to us whine about what hurts. She is my buddy :)

So I mentioned to her that my knees hurt and she did a few things with me, and determined that when I get tired, the mechanics of my run get lazier and my knees start to press inward, which causes pressure on the knee. So she told me to do some squatting exercises on one foot to get stronger.

But even better, she also told me that I do NOT have runner's knee - which means I don't have to stop running!

Hooray for small miracles!

So tomorrow is the Lost Dog 5K number three, and I'm starting to long for a day off. Just have to get through tomorrow, and tomorrow night, and then I (kind of) get a day to myself.

I'll be going on travel to the big city of Tampa next week, so we will see how my runs stay up. Not looking forward to the long run on Sunday....:(

Hill of Doom (R) Part Deux

I did it!

I ran up the Hill of Doom (R)!

It was awful and my heart rate peaked at 188, but I did it!

Runkeeper Result

Distance: 4.05 M
Duration: 47:22
Avg Pace: 11:42
Avg Speed: 5.13
Elevation: 159
Avg BPM: 165
Peak BPM: 188

So I did a fairly consistent pace, and actually got a bit faster in the last part! What worked for me today was looking down and keeping focused on the completion of all of the areas that normally I don't do well on (hills, and the last quarter mile). The problem was my knees began to ache in the last mile, and I started to feel sluggish.

So I'm icing with my friend the bag of corn, and hoping that it's just my body adjusting to longer miles. I'm very proud of myself for running up that hill today, and as I told Carson earlier, now I have to do it every week.

Kind of exhausted now, so I'm going to let my chocolate milk chill, have that, and then go watch nerd!TV and fall asleep.

No yoga tomorrow, as I will be up the street in Baltimore all day. So we'll see how Thursday goes...:/

Sunday Long Run and the End of Week 1

Runkeeper is down and so I cannot post my results. But here are the basics:

Distance: 7.15 miles
Time: 1:26:11
Avg Pace: 12:03/mile
Avg. BPM (New!): ~166 (more on this later)
Peak BPM: 181 (I think)

So today was my first "long run" - on schedule to do 6-7 miles. I've done 7 miles previously, when I was training for that 10K-that-became-a-5K, so I knew I could do it.

This morning was mercifully grey, rainy, and windy - a miracle for August. I woke up at 6:30 to the glorious sound of my coffee being ground and brewed, and took Miss Priss out for a morning walk to loosen up the joints. Came back and alternated a cup of coffee and water, along with my balance bar. Around 7:30, I strapped on my brand new heart rate monitor, turned on my tunes, and headed out.

So that heart rate monitor is a new acquisition. I've been concerned with my hill work that I'm over exerting myself, and wanted to check and make sure. So I invested $35 and bought a real simple one on Amazon, the  Timex T5G941 Heart Rate Monitor Watch. It comes with a watch and a chest strap to keep track.

Now, I goofed and accidentally started it again when I quit running, so I don't know if my average or peak are right. What I do know is that every time I looked at my watch, I was somewhere around 160-165, and when I did run up the one hill, I did see a 181 at one time.

But I digress, back to the run!

The first mile was awful - I was creaky, I was sore, my left knee was bothering me, and I wondered if I was going to finish. I run this mile at least three times a week as part of my normal 5k run, so it's pretty familiar to me. I tried to quiet down and just run, and before I knew it I was at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and turning downwards. Glorious wind, GLORIOUS WIND blew in my face, and it started to rain. I love running in the rain; it's so cooling and refreshing.

I turned into Old Town Alexandria and was reminded again why I love where I live. Beautiful old townhouses greeted me as I jogged on, right around 5mph. Down on Wilkes St, there is a small tunnel that takes you under the big hill in Old Town Alexandria that runs the length of the city. I think it might be an old railroad thing, but I've never gone to look. Should probably do that.

During this point, my left earbud crapped out on me, which was very sad, but I kept going anyways. Really, Steve, can we please hurry up with that iPhone 5? My 3GS is dying over here.

Then I was on Union Street, right by the water. I took a detour down a gravel path and ran right up the water, which was high from the rain. Then, back on Union, I crossed King Street, and headed towards Oronoco Bay Park, taking another detour on the gravel. Surprisingly, I had gone about 3 miles at this point, and was still feeling good. I went up my first hill from Oronoco Bay Park back onto the Mount Vernon Trail, and watched my heart rate spike from 165 to 175. Definitely felt it in my head as well - something to keep an eye on.

Kept going all the way to the 3.5 halfway mark, and then took a minute to stretch the knees and drink some water. I had filled my two water thingies with NUUN-water that had been diluted (not intentionally, but it was dark and I was filling all of my water bottles and didn't realize it until it was too late). I actually liked having just a little bit of NUUN; it was so cool out I wasn't sweating nearly as much as I have been.

Starting the long 3.5 miles back, I felt a bit sluggish getting back, but worked through it. My one working earbud was floating easy slow running music, which is the best for longer runs. I had run a little farther than 3.5 miles, just in case I took a shorter route back. I hate having to run past my house in order to get a full mileage in.

Back on Union Street, past King Street, and into the residential area. I passed these two guys who I think I had passed on the way in, and they were walking, up to the point where they saw me, then they started running again. They turned up hill, and I decided to take a detour closer to the water around Ford's landing.

That's my favorite spot in Old Town and I am reminded again of how much I miss living near the beach. Around the townhouses I went, taking stock of the WWB nearby, and gauging the slope of the bridge for the race. I also decided that I need to figure out exactly where the race is going to end, and run at least three times past that point.

Up ahead, there was a  muddy, unpaved hill, and I made the strategic decision to walk up it. Not worth destroying my ankles. Then I continued past Lee street back to Royal , and back to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

To get back to the Mt Vernon trail, you have to climb up a big ol' hill (not as bad as the Hill of Doom (R)). I made the decision to run up the hill, watching as my BPM went from 165 up to 180. But kept going!

Then it was an easy run, and I realized that I was actually .25 miles farther than if I was running a 5k, which meant that I could run 7.25 today if I were to run the whole thing. That makes the last mile and a half a lot easier when you realize it's only 1.25 miles instead.

It wasn't until I was at 6.75 that I started to feel myself dragging al little bit, and it was the first and only time I had to tell myself to not quit. That, in and of itself, is an accomplishment for me.

I saw those two guys again, walking, and took great pleasure in passing them as I dashed to victory.

All in all, I did 7.15 miles today, and then came home and was licked to death by Miss Priss. Did perhaps 15 minutes of stretching afterwards, and put on the ankle brace, as my right ankle felt like it was swelling a little bit.

I feel incredible about my run today, and after this entire week, I feel like I can do this half marathon. I won't be the fastest, but I will be able to run the whole thing. I also have decided that I kind of like longer runs. I can get into a rhythm and just let my mind wander.

So that's all for today, friends. I'm feeling a little sore in the joints, but working to stretch them out (probably put some ice on the knees as well).

Actually thankful for tomorrow's rest day.

/W

My old friend...the bag of frozen corn

Tonight was the Lost Dog 5K#2 race. We'll get to specifics in a hot second, but I would like to take a moment to state that my old friend, Mr Frozen Bag of Corn, has re-appeared.

Knees began to tweak a bit during the race today - might need new shoes (can't remember when I bought these) or most likely new inserts.

So for now I am icing as a precaution. Hopefully Sunday's run will be less painful as I will be resting all day tomorrow.

On to happier things :)

LOST DOG RACE #2!

Zoe and I got there late because Mommy took a nap and then watched Stephen Colbert and then said, "oh snap!" and Route 7 is teh awfulz. But we got there before the race started anyways, so that was good.

First mile was pretty decent, I think we ran it under 11 minutes (full pace thingy once Pacers gets it uploaded). They moved the race 600M south on the trail in order to give us more room to race, and the race actually went a lot better.

I had a smoothie on the way to the race this time (and a Panera brownie around 4pm) but didn't drink as much water. Felt it, but pushed through anyways. I'm learning that when I want to quit, I have to keep going. Then, when I want to quit again, I keep going. The third time in succession that I want to quit, I can walk. That's how I ended up running 5 miles yesterday at 10:30.

I think my finish time tonight was around 33:30, which is a full minute and a half better than last week's. I'm happy with it - Zoe still didn't win for her size group. Sad :(

That's all for now, and here's hoping my knees can rest up during rest day tomorrow.

/W

-----

Here's the official results

104  16/28     119 Whitney   25 F 33:28.9 (GUN) 33:01.2 (NET) 10:38 (PACE)
105            329 Zoe          D 33:29.7 (GUN) 33:01.8 (NET) 10:38 (PACE)

---

Here are some pictures:

I can haz intervals?

I am feeling fairly proud of myself tonight!

Not only did I run 5 miles with somebody else (bonus!) but I ran five miles (even more bonus!) and I even did the right workout for my training (ding! ding! ding! extra super bonus round!)

On with the run report....

RunKeeper Result

Distance: 5.13 Miles
Duration: 53:55
Avg Pace: 10:30 (!!!!! more on this later)
Avg Speed: 5.71 mph
Climb: 113 feet
Weather: Balmy 83 degrees, low humidity

What I ate:
- Pasta for lunch, NUUN around 5pm, then water and two mozzarella sticks during happy hour, and a banana on my way to run - though I felt the banana around mile 3.5. 2 full bottles of water, starting around noon.

Tonight's run was 2 miles steady, then 7 1 minute intervals of run fairly fast, then rest, then 2 miles steady. I began running with a Pacers friend for the first two miles and mentioned that I was half training. She indicated that she too was training for the same race, but was without her GPS watch. I told her I was running intervals and she obliged to join me.

Hooray!

Well her "running steady pace" was probably an aerobic interval for me (oh well) so the first two miles we averaged about 10:23 per mile - which is pretty awesome for me! I think I goofed on the splits, because looking at the pace, it's all over the place, but we did seem to get two splits of under 10 (even an 8:11!) Finally, the last 2 miles was run at a pace of 10:40/mile.

I would just like to point out that this is the fastest I've ever run a pacers run - let alone a 5M pacers run.

<-- Gold Star

So that's all for tonight - I'm rightfully exhausted and ready to sleep. Tomorrow is Lost Dog 5k #2, so you'll see more about that tomorrow.

Wednesdays are for Yoga

Short blog tonight.

Did not drink NUUNs today - figured, oh hey, not running, no need.

WRONG.

Had major dizziness/light-headedness at yoga, and it had nothing to do with going up and down. Too much water + Not enough salt = Low Blood Pressure

I actually had to stop at the BF's house and cry for some gatorade to make it home (Biked it ~3.5 miles roundtrip). He happily obliged and let me pick at his pasta dinner. (<3)

Moral of the story: Eat More Salt!

Run #1 - Up, Up, and Ergh

So today was the official kick-off for my half training. According to my Runner's World Half Marathon Schedule, today was supposed to be 2 miles, with 7x1:00 (minute) Aerobic Intervals, then another two miles.


Tuesdays are also Pacers Fun Runs, which include the Hill of Doom © (more on that later), which doesn't lend itself to doing intervals, as you're just trying to make it up the hill. 


So looking ahead to Thursday, I noted that there was a 4 miler scheduled, with four "gentle pick-ups" (slowly running faster until you can't run anymore). 


Ah-ha! 


So I'm switching up the routine, much like I'm switching Saturdays' 3-4 miler to Friday as the next Lost Dog 5k. Looking forward to my first long run on Sunday though.


So back to today's run:


RunKeeper Result


Total Distance: 3.91 Miles
Duration: 45:10
Avg Pace: 11:32
Climb: 175 Ft


If you click on the RunKeeper result, you can see that smack-dab in the middle of the run is the Hill of Doom ©. I have been able to run up this hill once in the 5 months I've been running with Pacers, and that was the first night I attempted it. Tonight's running buddy, Carson, said that it might be a mental block - now that I know how bad it is, I psych myself into not doing it. 


So I'm telling you, internets, that I will run the hill next week. 


Today's run was smattered with a random asthma flare-up, which may have to do with the fact that I took my inhaler about five hours early, and didn't puff again until I was in the middle of running, which meant I didn't get any medication. Not to mention the intense burning in my boot-ay from the Hill of Doom ©. 


However, running with Carson on the way down proved to be a good way to keep going, so barring any more random asthma attacks, I will run the hill next week.


You hear that? I will run the hill next week. 


Two other points of note from tonight's jaunt:


1. I think I need to hang back and run slow and not get caught up in all of the supah!runners that go springing off towards the hill like antelope. Looking at my pace, for the first half mile I'm running a good 9 minute mile - which is waaaaaay too fast for me. 


2. I also am flirting with the idea of trying the hill by myself, and seeing what I can do without the self-inflicted pressure of having to run "fast." If I can prove to myself that I can run up and down the hill with no problems, then I think I can do it with the group. 


So, all in all, first "training" run was ok. A long way to go to get to 13.1, but I feel like I'm on my way!

Important things for half marathon preparations

Probably the hardest thing to get used to on this marathon schedule thingy is the rest days. I'm used to running Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays (sometimes), and Saturdays (sometimes). Now I'm relegated to Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I'm going to fill some of those rest days with my yoga practice, but today, the very first Monday of my 8 week course, I found myself antsy. 

That, and my feat still hurt from walking around on Saturday. 

Let's see - nothing to do, feet hurt....I think that says pedicure.

Nice and Clean!

What? If I'm going to destroy my feet, they might as well look gorgeous before I do.

Yoga for Runners

(Last Post tonight, I promise)

So the other thing that I make sure I do on a weekly basis is to attend a yoga class. I developed a bout of runner's knee last October due to lack of stretching, and have been working a Wednesday class into my routine since March. But I saw a class that caught my eye:

Yoga For Runners!

Oh heck to the yeah!

The two hour class was awesome. My legs haven't felt so loose in forever, and I was even able to sit cross-legged without pain. None of the poses were anything I hadn't done before - and happily, I was one of the most limber people in the room (hooray for being good at something!). But to be honest, I was thankful to have been practicing yoga weekly, because I could tell the pain that everyone else was in, and remember the first yoga class I had taken after a while.

Learned some things too, like how to take a tennis ball and work tension out of your butt, thighs, calves, and ankles. Also learned that I need to stretch the tops of my feet, as it means I have ankle tightness. Most importantly, I had a good two hours of intense stretching.

I asked dude-girl teacher about doing yoga on my "rest" days, and she said to make sure I take a class that doesn't do too much, and that twice a week would be great. I think I might double up on yoga classes over the next two months, just because I will be increasing my mileage so much. Won't hurt, anyways!

I also told dude-girl teacher if she'd consider teaching a yoga for runners as a weekly class - I would totally sign up for that!

Lost Dog 5k #1

Miss Priss (Zoe)

(So I'm a few days late on this post....)

Ever since I rescued Miss Priss in Feb 2009, I've been a little nutso about animal rescue. Yeah, I've turned into that person who will give you the evil eye if your dog is not spayed or neutered (for serious people, just do it. there are plenty of dogs out there who need homes, we don't need your litter of puppies too).

I digress.

So, Zo-bo came from Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation, and therefore, they are my "charity of choice." Every Sunday, from 1-4, I hang out with some pooches in need of good homes. It's a great way to spend an afternoon, if you have nothing else to do.

I digress again.

So, I had been going a couple of weeks, running with Pacers Running Stores on Tuesday, volunteering with Lost Dog on Sundays, happy to have my two organizations separate.

Until I saw this:

Lost Dog 5k Series

FOR SERIOUS? ANIMAL RESCUE AND RUNNING? SIGN ME UP!

So we had the first one last Friday, and Zoe and I were so ready! Well, I was ready, Zoe....has not been running with Mommy as much because it's been so hot (seriously, the DC metro region has been slammed recently). But realizing that we sort of had a 5k coming up, Mommy started dragging Zoe out with her late at night to run.

Race Report
We got there super early because I'm my mother's daughter. LDCRF was doing a cool thing called "Rent-A-Mutt" where we had 10 of our own dogs available for runners who either did not have their own dogs, and they went like hotcakes before the set up had even finished! Dogs of all different sizes and shapes were there - and everyone was happy to be out with their pooches.

The only problem seemed to be that the race was held on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail - which they did not get the permits to shut down the trail.So we had to deal with some obnoxious bikers (one who used colorful language. I proceeded to scream back at him that he was a tool). But the weather was mercifully beautiful, and with Zoe strapped around my race, we were off!

There were only 250 runners in the race, and, looking around, I heard lots of people say things like, "I haven't been training" or "It's so hot!" So I was all, "Hey, maybe I'll actually get a decent place in this race!"

Final Stretch!

Psh, fat chance.

I was so excited about all of the excitement that I forgot to eat close enough to the race. So before we even started, I was hungry. And Zoe was totally more interested in smelling everything on the side of the street. So I had a 18 pound dead weight for a lot of the race, and was hungry.

Off to a good start. /sarcasm

We did the first mile pretty easy, and the trail was pretty. Towards the end was a rather large hill, and somebody lying to us that water was right around the corner (it was, just not RIGHT around the corner). Zoe with her bottle nose drank straight out of the cup, and I was actually feeling fairly hydrated - just HUNGRY.

We looped around and came back, and I started to feel the pangs in my stomach turn into light-headedness (damn physiology). I was running with one of Lost Dog's Foster Moms (of which I am one, just not right now), and she started to pull ahead of me by a while.

Perhaps the most annoying thing were these two girls. So I am slow and steady running, running, running, and these girls would run, then walk, then when I either just passed them or was about to pass them, they'd put on a burst of speed and start running for a minute. Then repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

Look, I'm sorry my dog is 18lbs and faster than you. Just let me freaking pass you.

ANYWAYS, we made it to the end, and got some good pictures! Not to mention I looked hott in my Lost Dog "Ask Me About My Fosters" Shirt (no picture of that yet - will post when I find it).

So here are our results:

135        329 Zoe         D 35:06.8 (GUN) 34:26.7 (NET) 11:06 (PACE) 
136  19/34 119 Whitney  25 F 35:06.4 (GUN) 34:26.7 (NET) 11:06 (PACE)

RunKeeper

I'm not  super thrilled with 11:06, but I'm not horribly upset by it, considering I was hungers and Zoe was more interested in sniftering. 

Besides, I have 3 more races to improve - and dang it, we will get that medal !

Zoe and Me Before the Race

Week 1 - Here We Go!

Ok, so I think I'm going to start a blog to track my 8 week half marathon progress. Why? Because I think my boyfriend/mother/friends/facebook friends are tired of hearing me talk about my running progress. And I have to talk to keep myself motivated. And I kind of miss having a blog. So there.

For those who don't know, I'm an asthmatic/formerly fat kid with lots of excuses as to why I "couldn't" exercise as a child. In January of 2009, I went to a new doctor that wasn't my best friend's dad (love ya Richard :)). I told him I was running inside, on the treadmill. "Why can't you run outside?" he queried. "Oh, because I'm an asthmatic." I replied. "Bull shit, here's an inhaler, get your ass out there and run."

Well ok then.

Since then, I've completed five 5k races, I run with Pacers Fun Runs every Tuesday, and have *gasp* signed up for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half-Marathon on 2 October. And thus we get to the point of this blog.

8 weeks from today, I will be running 13.1 miles from Mount Vernon to National Harbor. To date, the longest I've ever run was 7 miles in preparation for a 10K the day before my 25th birthday (jerks changed it to a 5k due to "high humidity"). So we've got some work to do.

We can do it!

Half-Whit ho!