Let's Get Physical

Yes, that song is running through my head now.

The girls are still sleeping horribly (and so am I). I am still failing a class even after a second attempt at a quiz. The class is hard! However, one thing going well for me is running.

I am taking advantage of having grandma here to help, and filling my racing schedule. When E is home, we either have to take turns running a race or find one that allows strollers. Since it is just me running right now, it makes it easier to register for a race. I have a 10 miler in October, a half in November (and maybe a 10K), I am still deciding about December, a half in January, a full in February, a 15K in March, and a half in April (Star Wars at Disney World). I know I will add a few more before the season gets into full swing. I was following Jeff Galloway's plans, and it was a great way to ease me into running, but I wanted to work on my times. I decided to try Hal Higdon's plan for my next half. Training started a few weeks ago, and it seems to be working. I went from running 3 days a week to 5 days. My legs are responding to the fatigue. Some runs start off a bit sluggish, but I finish strong. I am starting to see faster times more consistently despite the wretched heat and humidity we still have here. I have no clue if it will translate to longer runs, but I am excited to see if it works. My biggest hurdle is still the mental aspect. The minute I decide I am tired my body shuts down. I have to yell at myself not to slow down or stop. I start playing the "run to each lightpole" game. I am working hard on fighting the mental fatigue that has always plagued me. Some runs end up emotional runs because I feel like it is the only time I can truly think about everything going on. I consider it free therapy. I have set my 3 goals for the half in November. I am still not sure if I want to share them at this point, but I am going to fight to meet my A goal. 

On the upswing

I am afraid to say it out loud (or write it down I guess), but I think my shin splints are healing. The horrible pain on the side is gone. I have tightness in my calves still, but with rolling and ice it goes away. I have been doing leg strengthening exercises as well as rolling every night. Plus, I think those few weeks off helped (as much as I hate to admit it.) I have been back to my regular schedule, and I am working on safely running without intervals. The last few runs have produced this:

 These are new records I set this week. I don't know if it is the new watch (I love it!), the rest, or the compression sleeves, but I feel like I am flying now when I run. I have a 15K in 12 days. I had a time goal set for it which I quickly dismissed when the shin splints hit. I am still reluctant to go for the goal because of the bridges on the course. I am trying to find all the hills I can to work on it, but nothing can really prepare me for the bridges except running on a bridge. At this point, though, I am happy that I can run it.

Did I mention that the NYC marathon lottery is tomorrow? I am going to be pretty antsy waiting to hear from them.

Virtual 5K

This past Saturday I participated in the #djv5K hosted by Macke Monologues. My goal for this was to run a 5K in 27:49. It did not happen on Saturday. I woke up feeling off. I just didn't have it in me that morning. I had a good run, but not the run I planned. I did break the 27:49 time on a run earlier in my training so I will count the training as a success.

My time on Saturday was 28:43 so I missed it by a full minute. However, I like the pace so I will take it. The top right was from a week ago. I meant to run a full 3.1 miles, but I was so excited when I saw the miles turn to 3 that I stopped early. I realized after I hit 'end run' that I meant to do another tenth of a mile. Oh well. I am very pleased with that time. That is the first time I sustained a pace under 9 minutes for a run over 1.5 miles. The bottom right picture is from 2 weeks ago. I ran 5 miles that day, and I set my PR for a 5K during that run.

During this training, I did learn a few things about myself. I always thought I was better when I ran solo. My fastest 5K time came during a run with E. We decided to do our run together, and he could push the stroller. I told him to start out, and I would try to keep up. I found it helped chasing him. It gave me something to strive for. He kept pushing me when I was tired, and it worked. I was able to maintain a pace I was happy with. If I had been by myself, I probably would have slowed down a lot. I know there are times to slow down, but there are times when you need to push it. Which brings me to my second point. My biggest hurdle with running isn't the physical aspect, it is the mental part. I screw myself a lot thinking I can't do it. I need to train my mind to think like I can instead of just telling me to give up. When the marathon training starts pushing into those long runs, I am going to need to be physically and mentally strong.

Am I the only one that struggles with the mental aspect of running?

Almost Fall Racing Season

37 days

That is how much time I have left until my first big race of the season. I added this one so I can use it as a (hopefully) better proof of time for the marathon. I wasn't too thrilled with my last half time, and so I am hoping I can better it to move up in the corrals. My goal is to shave 10 minutes off my time, but if my training runs are an indication, it won't happen. I am becoming faster with my runs of 6 miles or less, but anything over that and I am still struggling to keep my pace under 10:30. I tell myself it is the heat, and once it cools off I will run my target pace. (It felt like 88 degrees at 6:30am when I left for my 9 mile run Saturday morning.) Or it could be this is the pace my body is set to run and I won't be able to change it. Either way, I will keep pushing and see what the cooler weather holds for me.     

Life lately

I am closing in on the final weeks of the deployment. I am ready for my husband to be home. I told him once he comes home, I am running far away for a few days. I need it. Here's a quick recap of what is going on lately.

I still haven't closed on the house, and I have no clue when I will. The seller hasn't fixed the wood rot, and the VA won't give me the loan until it is fixed. So I wait. Meanwhile I found my closing costs are going to be more than I expected because of that whole problem earlier with my agent. She is claiming it is because my insurance premium is too high. My quoted closing costs are a few grand. I don't see how a few hundred dollars really changes that number.

The girls really miss their dad. I am doing my best to keep them entertained, but I am failing. It is hot so if we don't make it outside before lunch, we are screwed. Trying to get them going before lunch is a huge battle that I am tired of fighting. Meeghan takes a 2-2.5 hour nap (thank goodness!) which cuts into our afternoons. I took them to the play area at the mall the other day, and I had to carry Hannah out of there as she was screaming. I tried to calm her, but she wouldn't stop so I just ran out of there as fast as I could. Yes, I was one of those parents with the out of control child. She has been doing that a lot lately. I dread going out in public because I never know which version of Hannah I will have.

Running has sadly taken a backseat. I tried going to the family gym on base. I hated the treadmill. Hated it. Plus Hannah wouldn't stay in the play area. Finally, I gave up. I now push the girls in the stroller. I hate it, but I still like it more than the treadmill. My pace has taken a huge hit because the stroller just wears me down. It is heavy on its own, then add 60 pounds of kids, and it becomes very heavy. I tell myself that it is making me stronger by doing this. I was able to run without the stroller a few weeks ago when my mother-in-law was visiting. It was nice, and I ran at my normal pace again. This is my first week of training for the marathon. I am glad the hard miles don't start until next month so I won't have to worry about pushing the stroller or finding a babysitter.

This last week has been tough, but I repeat to myself that I only have a few more weeks. Just a few more weeks.

Race for the Cure

On Saturday, E and I participated in Race for the Cure here in Jacksonville.  It was crazy how crowded it was, and how people can't follow directions. Anyway, E runs at a much faster pace than I do, but he chose to stay with me. I think it was killing him to run slow. I told him to go on without me, but he said no. He had run 17 miles the day before, and he was pushing the double stroller (the only double I saw), so I guess it was enough to keep him at my pace (although after he saw the results I think he was mad he didn't run at his pace because he may have placed in the top 3 of his age group.) Despite having to dodge all the walkers who started at the front of the pack even though they were supposed to move to the back, I managed a personal best (if you go by chip time). I finished in 30:01 with a pace of 9:39. I shaved 30 seconds off my 5K time. If I go by the Nike app, my 5K time was 28:48 with a pace of 9:15. It also had my fastest mile at 8:51. I like the Nike app times. I thought I was going to die because at one point I was running at a pace much faster than what I am used to, but I held on. The last mile I had to slow down a lot if I was going to make it although now I wonder if I was mentally breaking down. Hannah was starting to get antsy and she wouldn't stop saying mommy. It was hard to concentrate on running and her.  Either way, I am happy. I beat my previous times, and so in my book it was a success. Unfotunately, I didn't take any pictures. Hopefully I can find some online to share. I saw a ton of news stations out and many took pictures of the girls. After the race, we ate about 1000 calories. It was this fun, little restaurant that specializes in biscuits. I had a biscuit with chicken breast and bacon covered in maple syrup. It was delicious. Thank goodness this place is not near my house because I would be there every day.

Running (or my version of it)

Saturday I will run in my first competitive 5K since I started this training. E is running with me which means he gets to push the double stroller to slow him down. There is no way I can run at his pace. I am pretty sure I would have a heart attack. I ran my fastest 5K the other day during my weekly training run. I ran a mile in 9:27. I cursed myself the entire time for running that fast. I didn't think I would make it, and I had to slow down, but I did finish the 3 miles in 30 minutes. I usually curse myself during my runs anyway because I wonder why I voluntarily went out to run. However, I do feel myself getting stronger every week. What used to be hard to accomplish is now easy. When I first started, I was happy if I ran a half mile before walking. Then it stretched to three quarters of a mile, and then a mile. I remember the first time I ran two miles without walking I started throwing my hands in the air out of excitement. I am pretty sure the people driving by thought I was crazy. This past weekend I ran 5 miles without walking. I never thought I would see the day. There were times I wanted to walk, but I pushed myself. It is nice to actually feel my body responding to the training. I am going to run a 10K in a few weeks so I can change my corral for the half marathon. Since I didn't have a previous race for proof of time, I will be placed in the last corral. If I run the 10K by December, they will change my corral so hopefully I am not in the back of the pack. That means I can stop a bit more to take pictures and not be picked up for a slow pace. I am not sure if I will ever be a die hard runner, but I do feel healthier and stronger than I did a few months ago.

*Disclaimer: If this post doesn't make sense, I apologize. I was writing it with a 3 year old talking constantly next to me even though I asked for 2 minutes of quiet while she ate her breakfast. My old brain sometimes struggle with multitasking.  

I am definitely not Forrest Gump

Running. I have decided that I mostly hate it, but I still do it. I signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon that is in February. The last half marathon distance I did was in August of 1999 when I ran the Pikes Peak Ascent with my mom. I was 19 and full of energy. I didn't train for it at all. I had a job where I walked for 5 hours a day during the hot, Midwest summer day so I figured that was good enough. It wasn't. That race kicked my ass. My mom was kind of enough to stay with me and it took about 6 hours to finish. I told my mom I would never run again. The last race I "ran" was a 4th of July 5K in 2005 which is in memory of my mom. I walked that race with my family. I was hungover and feeling horrible so those 3 miles were brutal. I spent most of early and mid 20s drinking and dancing as my exercise. After that exercise consisted of walking to the kitchen to get chocolate and walking the dogs. Luckily, I do enjoy vegetables and healthy food so that balanced the lack of exercise and chocolate. E (who is my husband. He didn't want me to use his name and I am tired of referring to him as "the husband") has to stay in shape for the Navy. He started getting into running about a year ago. After we learned that Jacksonville would be our home this winter, he signed up for the Disney Marathon. I thought he was crazy. He challenged me to do a 5K. For some odd reason, I decided to take it a step further and here I am training for a half marathon. Some days I am pretty sure I made a huge mistake. However, last night I had a breakthrough. I ran for 30 minutes. No walking. This is a big deal for me. I usually have to walk at some point. I ran at a slow pace, but I did it. I know I will never win an award for time. My pace last night was around 11 minutes/mile, but I didn't walk. Plus I actually enjoyed it a bit. It was nice to have 30 minutes to myself listening to music that is not kid friendly. I almost ran 3 miles last night. Here is hoping I can an additional 10 after that in a few months.