Three Things Thursday

1. I was cranky. And tired. And kind of hungry. And did I mention I was cranky? But you know what? Even though all I wanted to do was go home after work, throw on some comfy sweats and not deal with people until I go into work at 1 p.m. on Friday I didn't. Nope. I got in my car and pointed it towards the YMCA. Because I knew even though it was going to hurt, I knew once I started running I would feel better. And I did. For 6.2 miles I lost myself. There was no more work drama. No more work frustrations. And while I'm still tired, the run did exactly what I needed it to. It made me feel better. More relaxed.

2. Anyone ever run a race with a Portsmouth start? I'm running a 5K this weekend, the St. Joe's 5K, and it's got a Portsmouth start. According to the race brochure each runner is assigned to a wave based on their age and gender and the wave is determined by the USATF 5K single age road race records. The clock counts down to zero, with the slowest waves starting first, and once the clock hits zero, it starts counting up. Your finish time is clock time plus wave start time. Hmmm. Sounds like it could be interesting. But the race course looks like it'll be pretty neat. There's an old railroad trestle that goes over a lake that's been converted into a rec trail that we'll be running over. Should be a nice course, but there is the possibility the trail could be a bit crowded.

3. Now that the run is out of the way and I'm in my comfy pajamas, I'm planning on settling into my recliner, turning off the lights, popping Dear John into my DVD player and losing myself in a movie. Sounds like a good way to end a not-so-good week to me.

Moving the long run to Monday

There was no running this weekend. But there was a weekend-long babysitting gig. And I'm beginning to think chasing after two boys (ages 4 and 5) was more tiring than the 7-mile run I had planned.

There was time spent playing Mario Kart on Wii and I was told numerous times by my 4-year-old nephew that I was going the wrong way. Who says you have to go in the right direction around the track? What if Yoshi wanted to go from the finish line to the starting line? That's what he wanted to do. But the 4-year-old? He wasn't having any of that. Then a sleep over. And a daylong trip to two parks where we played on the playground, played on the beach, played on the rocks, took a small hike through the woods and climbed the observation tower.

While my Mom took sleep over duties Saturday night, I went out with my Dad for a bit. He told me we weren't going to be out late. Which was fine by me, I was running on fumes by the time we left to go listen to the band. But apparently my definition of late and my Dad's definition? Not the same thing. I could barely stay awake by the time we got home. And I had good intentions to get up and run my 7 miles before meeting my Mom and the boys for lunch.

The alarm went off. I did get out of bed. But only to throw a pair of capris in the wash so I'd have clean pants to wear. Then I went back to bed for an hour. Had some food, went back to my parents' house with intentions to watch the Packer game and promptly slept through the second and third quarters. Oops. But I was tired.

So no running this weekend meant I had some miles to make up tonight. Since I didn't want to become roadkill, I headed over to the running track at the YMCA for my 7 miles. And you know what I realized tonight? I actually like the track. Yes. I'm running in circles. A lot of circles. But I like that more than the treadmill. And at least on the track I can run at my own pace rather than the treadmill where a machine is telling me how fast to go.

And tonight? Everything was clicking. Seriously. I felt good. Effortless almost. There were multiple sub-10 minute miles (I swear that's a first for me) and there was only one mile that was over 11 minutes - the final mile and that's because I took a very brief walk break during that mile. I'm actually pretty proud of my splits:

9:36
9:46
9:54
10:05
10:30
10:56
11:06

 I've got goals for Las Vegas in December. I'd love to run 11 minute/miles and finally get a 2:30 half marathon. And I know tonight was only 7 miles and I was starting to get tired by the end, but looking at those splits tonight? It makes me feel like my goal is definitely reachable. Eight more weeks.

Three Things Thursday

1. I'm a slacker. I should have just gone for my run after I got done with work today. But I didn't. I decided to come home and have dinner first. The plan was to wait until about 7:30ish and then head over to the YMCA for a run. Well 7:30 rolled around and I just didn't feel like leaving my apartment. So I didn't go. Oops.

2. Mother Nature's confused. Or just mean. Last weekend? It was barely breaking 50 degrees and super windy. This weekend? It's supposed to be in the mid- to upper-70s. What happened to the fall-like mid-60s? Not that I'm going to complain. Because there will be running and biking this weekend.

3. Speaking of running, it's about that time to buy a new pair of shoes. I'm toying with trying out a different kind this time around. Maybe it'll help with my black, bruised toenail issue I've been dealing with. Not sure though. I'll talk it over with the fine folks at Fleet Feet.

Let's get the Vegas training started

Nothing like starting off a training cycle for a half marathon by skipping a run.

That's exactly what I did.

This weekend (while I was watching somewhat painful football and avoiding running) I put together a training plan for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. It's nine-weeks, features two 10-mile runs and an 11-mile run and has me running 4 days a week. I think it's doable and hopefully it will get me to that 2:30 half marathon time I've been chasing all year.

I was supposed to start off with a 6-miler on Monday. And since I'm super dedicated when it comes to following a plan...I bailed. Skipped it. I ended up working later, was pretty hungry and starting to get a headache. So I skipped the run. But I figured I could do it on Tuesday instead. Because after all, it's all about flexibility. Then I remembered I had dinner plans after work on Tuesday and wouldn't be able do it. So I was set to start off the cycle by skipping the first run.

Lucky for me, my friend who I had dinner plans with tonight sent me a text message early this morning canceling our dinner plans. Suddenly I had a free evening. Which meant I'd be able to get that run in. Yipee!

Now it was a gorgeous day outside. Perfect fall running weather. And I ended up indoors at the YMCA. See I really didn't want to run the risk of becoming road kill since there are no sidewalks in my neighborhood, people drive about 45 miles per hour or faster down my road and it was going to be getting dusky by the time I could start my run. So it was indoors for me.

I avoided the treadmill though. Remember a few weeks ago when I did a majority of my nine-mile run on the running track at the YMCA? The track where 11 laps equaled a mile? That's what I took advantage of tonight. Me, the track and 66 laps. That's a lot of running in circles, but it was so much more tolerable than running to nowhere. I know, I know. At least with the treadmill I'd have TV to distract me. But still. That's hard.

So circles it was.

Of course I started too fast (but it didn't feel like I was running fast!) and got slower as the miles wore on. But actually with the exception of the last mile (where I threw in a short walk break), I was happy to keep my miles under 11 minutes. Which if I could do that for 13.1 miles in Las Vegas in December? I'd be a happy girl. According to my watch my splits were 9:30, 10:14, 10:30, 10:45, 10:45, 11:30. I finished the six-miles in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 14 seconds. Not too shabby. I'll take it.

After I was done with the six miles, I tacked on an extra 0.2 to make it a 6.2 mile run so I can use it for Running Diva Mom's virtual 10K in honor of 10-10-10. With the extra distance, my time ended up being 1 hour, 5 minutes.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how Run No. 1 went. Even if I was running around in circles.

Three Things Thursday

1. After the Fox Cities Half Marathon on Sept. 19, I took a brief break from running. I didn't quit completely. I've run twice since then, but nothing much. A few miles here. A few miles there.

2. That break? It's stopping this weekend. Why? Because the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon is approaching quickly. As in 65 days quickly. Yikes! And that 2:30 goal I originally had for Fox Cities? Yeah. It's what I'm shooting for. I took today off, but I was sitting in a courtroom today reading my Runner's World to pass the time. And I finally got around to reading the trail running guide in the October issue. Let's just say it left me craving a run at High Cliff State Park. So this weekend there will be a run on the trails at High Cliff and hopefully one more longer run on the road.

3. Of course any running I do this weekend will have to be worked in around football. There's Wisconsin's Big Ten opener at Michigan State on Saturday and the Packers hoping to redeem themselves against Detroit on Sunday. Plus all of the other college and pro games on the slate. Football. One of the reasons I love fall!

A reading recap

I know. I know. There's still technically 24 hours left in the month. Plenty of time to get some reading done. But in all honesty? I currently have no book in progress and unless I pick up a 50-page book, chances aren't so good that I'll actually be able to finish it by the time I rip another month off the calendar.

I did manage to read in September though. I finished five books for a total of 1,371 pages. Wait a minute. Did I just say five books? That's got to be a new monthly high for me this year. Let me check the records. Yup. The previous high total for books in a month was four in June. The last time I managed to read five (or more) in a month? December 2009 when I was trying oh so hard (unsuccessfully) to finish up 40 for the year.

But I got off track. So 5 books this month and 1,371 pages. That brings the yearly total to 26 books and 9,362 pages. That's a bit ahead of where I was at the end of September 2009 when I had finished 25 books and 8,828 pages. I'll take it.

So what'd I read in September? Take a look:

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela & the Game that Made a Nation by John Carlin
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Do you detect a theme? Yes, I'm still going strong on the Sookie Stackhouse series. Love them. Such quick reads. And interesting. And guess what? Tomorrow I pick up the next two installments from my local library. Needless to say there will be at least two books read in October.

The third one on the list, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela & the Game that Made a Nation, is actually the book that the movie Invictus was based on. After watching the movie earlier this month, I knew I had to read the book. And while the book was interesting, I liked the movie a lot better. A movie better than the book? That's got to be a first for me. Oh and the Yann Martel book? If you're thinking about reading it, I'd probably skip it. Not as good as The Life of Pi.

So three months to go in the year and 14 left to read. I think that's a doable task. Especially since there are six more Sookie Stackhouse books on my "To Read" list.

Fox Cities Half Marathon Race Report - Part II

While meeting up with old friends at the expo was a good time, there was still the matter of running 13.1 miles the next morning.

And figuring out what to wear? Not easy. The weatherman told me it was going to be in the low 40s when the race started, overcast and the temperatures would warm up to the lower 60s by mid-day. Considering the summer we just had - high humidity, lots of days in the 90s - I wasn't used to this. The last time it was 40? Probably back in April. Not kidding. No wonder I was having a clothing crisis.

I ended up getting two outfits ready: The shorts and tank I wore for the Green Bay Half Marathon in May and a pair of knee length capris and a green short sleeve shirt (appropriate considering I'd be leaving the park right around kick off for the Packer game). I also pulled out a long-sleeve tech shirt that I planned on wearing at the beginning of the run and would take off and tie around my waist when I was warm enough.

At 5 a.m. my alarm started blaring. Since I had the window open in the bedroom I knew it was chilly. Clothing crisis solved. I was going with the capris and shirt. I took a quick shower to wake up a bit, had some breakfast and ready to head out the door by 6 a.m.

When Mom and I got to the starting line area, I met up with Jennifer and Heidi. A port-a-potty visit was made (but for the life of me I could not go!), some pictures were taken and next thing we knew the national anthem was playing and the starting gun was going off.

Fox Cities Half Marathon, here I come.

Since my training was less than stellar, I planned to just run this for fun. That meant the water stops would be walked through and walk breaks would be taken. And of course I'd remember that I was supposed to be having a good time.

Miles 1 -5
I tried to keep the first miles slow. I didn't want to start out by killing myself. The first mile was pretty congested, so it wasn't too hard to follow this plan. The first 2.5 miles were run along the same course as the marathon (no marathon runners though since they started an hour after the half marathon) and we split off onto a half marathon loop right before the 3 mile mark. Still feeling pretty good. This chunk of the course was through a residential neighborhood. What stands out? The woman standing at the end of her driveway hula hooping. I wonder if she ever stopped or if every runner saw her? Made me smile.

Just before hitting the Mile 5 flag, I had to run through two roundabouts. Shortly after the water stop in this mile I decided it was time to ditch the long sleeves. I think this mile time including pulling over to the side of the road and taking my shirt off. Also up until this point I had been really good about just walking through the water stations. Those water station walk breaks started getting a bit longer at this point.

Miles 6 - 9

This is where it started to get tough. Not only physically, but mentally. I had that voice inside my head, "Tell me again, why did I decide to do this?" I wanted to just stop at some points, but I knew my Mom was waiting for me around Mile 6.75. So I kept running. When I got to her I was struggling. I stopped for about a minute. She was a bit worried. Asked me I was going to be able to finish. But even though there was doubt in my mind, there was no question about it. I was going to finish this. I took my mint chocolate Gu and I started running again.

There was a huge walk break around Mile 7.5. But even after seeing my Mom, I was still struggling. While I was walking (at a somewhat decent pace), I was thinking. You hear about The Wall in a marathon happening around Mile 20. I think I've determined my half marathon wall? It comes right around the 8 mile marker. Looking back at all three half marathons, that's the point where I've struggled the most. And looking back at this run, maybe this break could have been shorter. But maybe it's a good thing I walked as far as I did.

You hit the Mile 9 marker just as you enter Jefferson Park in Menasha. I mustered up enough energy to run into the park, but once I got to the water station, I slowed to a walk. And it was kind of scary. I felt a little light headed. My vision was a bit wonky. I took my time. Drank some water. Grabbed a Fig Newton. By the time I got to the end of the park pathway, my vision wasn't so wonky and I was feeling a bit better. So I started to run again.

Miles 10 - 12
After seeing me struggling around Mile 7, Mom must have thought I needed a bit of encouragement. I hit 10 miles at the top of the Racine Street Bridge in Menasha. I was kind of in my own little world as I was coming down the bridge, and all of a sudden I heard my name. There was Mom standing at the end of the bridge. I got a little bit of a pick me up. Waved as I ran past with a smile on my face. Only 3 more miles to go. More residential neighborhoods, kept alternating walking and running.

Neenah lined with gorgeous houses. The Mile 12 marker? Right next to the harbor. The course is a bit evil, since you run literally a quarter mile past the finish line, but you've really got about a mile to go.

Mile 13 - 13.1
The last mile is run all along the lake. I took a short walk break to gather up the strength to finish strong. Was planning on walking just a tiny bit farther, but I passed a cheering section. And one guy? He was holding a sign that simply said RUN. I decided I should obey. So I started to run.

There's a lighthouse on the point and as you round the final curve and hit the last straightaway, some of the Wisconsin Marching Band was playing. A little "If You Want to Be A Badger" as I approached them. And then they just stopped. What? Didn't they know it was me, Badgergirl, running past? Sigh. I ran. And once they were behind me they broke out in "On Wisconsin." Sigh.

But it was OK. Because I could see the finish banner. It's far though. Seems to take forever. So I planned one last brief walk break so I could run down that finish chute strong. The next thing I knew a guy wearing his military fatigues with a big ole backpack on his back passed me. No way. I'm not getting beat by him.

So I ran.

He still finished a few seconds before me, but I finished strong. Was happy with my finishing time considering the lackluster training and the mental and physical struggles during the mid-point of the race.

I ended up crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 43 minutes and 58 seconds. Not the 2 hours, 30 minutes I initially hoped for back in May. But given my summer training? I'll take it. And of course I can't be too upset considering it was still a new PR! Yes, it's only 1 minute, 9 seconds faster than Green Bay, but it's 1 minute, 9 seconds that I earned. I'll take it!

And yes, even though it was hard I still had a good time.

Three Things Thursday

1. I know. I know. I owe you readers a Part II of my Fox Cities Race Report - the part that actually talks about 13.1 mile journey. I'll get to it. Tomorrow.


2. I went for my first run post-half marathon tonight. It was raining. And hot. And humid. So I jumped on the treadmill for a quick 3.5 miles. The run felt pretty good. Well, except for the bruise on my foot I managed to get during Sunday's race. But after a half mile or so even that pain went away.


3. I've revamped my running goal. At the beginning of the year I set the goal to run 1,000 miles. Silly Badgergirl. I was somewhat on pace up until May. Then running kind of took a backseat. I've gotten back on track a bit, even though the training leading up the Fox Cities was less than stellar. As of tonight, I've logged 422 miles. Tonight I made a decision, I'm aiming for 750 miles by Dec. 31. That's only another 328 miles. And with another half marathon looming at the beginning of December, that should be do-able. I hope.