Fun Run and Beer

Today's run was supposed to be at the gym.

As you can see, the promise of socializing with fun runners drew me to the Port City Brewery for a Beer and Run fun run. Which is ironic as I don't drink beer, but you know, I'm single and I have to be "out there" I guess. 

And, of course, my buddy was there leading his crossfit run of doom. And because I am a pushover, I went along until I could do no more. Then got lost for a bit. Then found my way back.

All in all, it was a fun night with my buddies. 

Round and Round We Go....

Wednesday night is Speed Work at TC Williams (Remember the Titans!)

Today I was only on the schedule to run 2 miles, since I'm trying not to go too nuts with increasing mileage while I play catch-up.

And my friends over at Pacers told me that today we were running 400m repeats. Which, if you've never run track (and, let's face it, I haven't), means 1 lap.

1 lap running hard (ish)
1 lap jog
1 lap running hard (ish)
1 lap jog

And so on and so forth.

Now running on a flat surface is just the bee's knees. So, naturally, I'm busting out 10 minute miles (and even one 8 minute mile loop). Although, as happy as I was about it, I was doing my "tough" jog at the same pace the other folks were doing their "easy" jog. But at least we finally got to run together!

Total today was just over 2 miles (you'll see I forgot to turn on my damned watch for a minute). I could have done a few more, but, like I said, the focus now is to slowly build mileage.

I will say that Mother Nature is going to be oh so kind the rest of the week, and give us some nice weather. So perhaps that'll do something with my heart rate.

And speaking of heart rate, took it VERY easy tonight, pausing after each loop. Average was 162/84%, maximum was 180/93%.

I picked up my Flovent and took my first puff of it tonight, after the run. I also picked up some more Allegra, so we'll see if that helps with any of the crap in my lungs.

I'm really getting tired of having to deal with this - at what point can I just RUN without all of this shenanigans!!!

In other news..........I really want a big, juicy steak.

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!

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...:/

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!