Missing the music

When I first started running, I loved going out late at night with my iPod. I’d run my three miles to Michael Jackson, Notorious BIG, Puff Daddy, MC Hammer, countless other rappers, boy bands and other poppy goodness. It was sweet. I saved my iPod solely for running, and I looked forward to it every other night.

One of those "countless other rappers," LL Cool J

Then, I started realizing that I was dancing while running (yes, it’s possible), doing the hand motions to “2 Legit 2 Quit,” and rapping or singing along to each song. All of that extra motion took its toll on my attempts at running. So, I quit the music. And, I got better at running.

Now, after months and months of running (and getting better) with no tunes (so I could listen to my coach and chat with running group members), I want to hear the music again. Not on training group days, but maybe just one day a week when I run on my own … or a day when I should be running on my own.

The progressive run has been a bit elusive. It’s on my training schedule; I’m just not good about following my schedule on that particular day. So, maybe the incentive of some old favorites, as well as some new additions (hello, Bruno Mars), can sway my legs to get in that progressive run. 

I can't wait to run to that ditty. I heart Bruno in a serious way.

I'm in charge, nerves

With four days until my first half marathon, I’m extremely nervous (and occasionally excited). My current stomach knotters:

• The weather: it’s hot and humid. I don’t run well when it’s hot or humid. Excellent.
• An illness: I’m afraid I’ll get sick before the race. Every sniffle, every cough, every ache or pain is cause for concern. Am I getting sick? I CAN’T get sick.
• Tripping: as in, tripping and falling or tripping and spraining an ankle, knee, leg, something. I'm clumsy. This is entirely possible.

Looking at these concerns, I'm realizing the ridiculousness of them. I can't control any of them. So, I'm going to focus instead on things I can control.

• Hydration: Our coach told us about the importance of hydrating two to three days in advance of the race. I can do this. I like water. I drink a lot of it anyway. Easy enough.
• Diet: I've read many, many articles (and listened to my coach talk) about race day (and night before) nutrition. Basically, eat things you're used to eating. Don't try anything new. Carbohydrates are an ideal form of energy. Same thing for the morning of the race. I can do this. I'm in charge of what goes in my stomach.
• Sleep: That's it. Sleep. Get good rest the night before, but more importantly, two nights before the race. I rock at sleeping! I need to sleep well Friday night? No problem! I'm always exhausted from the work week, and I have no problem whatsoever getting in some serious sleeping hours.

I am in control of this race. I trained. I know I can do this. I will hydrate, eat smart and sleep well. Bring it!

Day 42 (Nov. 14)

Since I spent this past weekend in Kansas, I didn't do my long run on Sunday with the training group. Instead, I spent time with my family and recovered from tailgating and a four-OT Kansas State football game (yes, FOUR). K-State won, but man. My nerves were shot.


Woo-hoo! Victory after four OTs!



Losers! I'd post a picture of the winning team, but I sat by the visiting team's ramp.



My sweet purple shoes that I am certain contributed to a Wildcat victory.

So, after recovering from the madness, I decided to run tonight with my best running buddy, Caroline. Since I hated my 11-mile run, my main goal tonight for our 6-7-mile run (we did 6.5 miles) was to enjoy it. I was hoping it would go well since it is the last long (taper) run before the race. And, it did! I wouldn't say it was the best run ever, but it definitely wasn't the worst either. I mostly enjoyed it, and I felt good throughout.

The only real issue was my breathing. Not an I'm-exerting-myself-too-much-and-I-can't-breathe feeling, but more of a the-air-is-thick-or-the-neck-of-my-shirt-is-choking-me feeling. It was really humid, so that probably played into it. Also, it was low tide, and the smelliness of the bay could have played into it, too. I've got some leftover allergy issues from Kansas, so that may have been an issue as well. But, my fear is: it's nerves. Yeah, I know I said I was ready to rock this half marathon, and I am, but I've started panicking. Among my many, many fears:

• What if I can't breathe during the race?
• What if I sprain my ankle, leg, knee, toe, some other body part I'm not thinking of?
• What if I get sick before the race?
• What if it's too hot (I'm obsessively checking the forecast, and it looks kind of warm)?
• What if I'm not hydrated?
• What if I'm not fueled properly?
• What if I completely bomb the race after almost four months of training? (This is my biggest fear.)

So, now I'm freaking out as opposed to being excited. I'm so happy I joined my training group because I'd be nowhere near prepared if it wasn't for the group and my coaches, but ... it adds another level of pressure. I feel like people expect a lot out of me. "This girl's been training for months. She better not suck." Ack! I'm nervous. And worried. And anxious.

Day 21 (Sept. 25)

The day: Sunday. The time: 7:30 a.m. My mission: run 7 miles.

Mission complete!

I'm so happy I made it to our group run on Sunday. It's so much better to run with a group and knock out the run early in the morning.

The first 2.5 miles of the run were really smooth, and then I hit a hill. I know I said Florida is completely flat, and it is. The hills are bridges. Since we added more mileage to our runs, we have to run a bridge across the bay (a very small portion of the bay) to get to an area to increase our mileage. Curses! So, I hit the hill, and I walked.

Once I got across the bridge, I wasn't sure of the route, and I lost the faster folks in front of me, and the slower folks were too far behind me. So, I had no idea where to go. I picked a route, which was a very bad choice (lots of street crossings). I ended up getting to an area where I could run along the bay fairly uninterrupted, but it was a frustrating process getting there. While frustrated, I walked. I managed to get my 3.5 miles in, took an energy gel and headed back. 

I missed the bridge entrance on my way back (argh!), but managed to realize it and correct myself in a  reasonable time. I walked the bridge again. Pesky, hilly bridge!

But, back on the flat land (and after a water refill — it was blazing hot by this time), I managed to run the last two miles without a walk break. I was super-impressed at myself, as was my assistant coach (who ran with me). Yay!

And, I'm super-impressed I felt as good as I did. My legs weren't sore. And, they weren't sore later in the day or the next day. I defnitely felt like I did some physical activity, but they weren't overly painful. Sweet!

I learned three things from this run:

1. I need a bigger water bottle. My baby bottle didn't cut it (despite its cuteness). Thank goodness there is a water fountain (with surprisingly cold water) along the route, so I could refill it.
   
2. Plan your route before heading out on your run. Kind of a duh!, I realize, but I never really experienced the misfortune of not doing this. It is extremely frustrating to not know where you're going or stumble on a bad route.
3. Training really works! I never thought I'd be able to say I ran 7 miles (with minimal walk breaks). And, not be in excruitiating pain from it. Mind-blowing!

Day 11

Best. Running. Day. Ever.

I ran the ENTIRE planned 45 minutes. Technically, I ran continuously for 46 minutes and 35 seconds. And, I felt awesome. This is the farthest I’ve ever ran. Yes, ever!

All of the negative thoughts I had about my suckiness at running disappeared. I rock at running, and if I can keep it up, I’ll rock even more.

I needed this day. I’m so thankful for the overcast skies and occasional sprinkles that made it possible. Oh, and those previous 10 days of training. Thank you, thank you very much!

August running schedule

This is my running schedule in August. Well, not exactly. I didn't get my training schedule until the end of the third week of August, so I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing before then. So, starting this week, I will follow this schedule. It seems completely doable, which must be why my coach is the coach and knows what I am capable of running. The Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday runs are with the training group; I'm on my own for the optional Monday run and highly suggested Friday or Saturday run.

Day 4

How was your run? Hot.

I feel like a robot because that is how I answer that question every time. Tuesday’s run was no exception.

The plan: run 40 minutes. I didn’t. I ran about 30 minutes, followed by walk-run intervals for the remaining 10 minutes. At one point, my coach ran by and asked if I still had water in my bottle. I said I did, and he replied, “Good.” That concerned me a bit. Did I look dehydrated and near death?

Again, I felt disappointed with my performance. But, after talking with some other girls in the group, I am attempting to not be so hard on myself. It is tough to run in the heat. When it cools off, it’ll be easy. I’m trying to believe them …

When we meet again on Thursday, we’ll have the same plan: run 40 minutes. I guess all I can do is keep trying. Even though I’m somewhat disappointed in my training runs, I still always have fun and enjoy running, which I guess is the important part.

A day of eating

Since I already write down what I eat, I figured I’d share that here. This is what I ate on Tuesday (a day I had a training run in the evening). I am by no means implying that I’m eating right. I’m trying to. I’m not sure that I am — especially in terms of fueling myself properly for a run. Our coach said we’d talk about nutrition in our group, so I’m looking forward to that. I think it will be interesting to see how his changes throughout the course of the training program.

Breakfast

Protein bar

Banana

Morning snacks

Plum

Pear

String cheese

Lunch

Generic version of Lean Pocket

Green pepper

Carmel rice cakes (2)

Pre-run snack (eaten about 2 hours before running)

Oatmeal (1/2 cup) with almonds (15)

Post-run snack

Small strawberry-banana smoothie (one of the perks of my training group — a free smoothie after each weekday run)

Dinner

Omelet (eggs, Chinese vegetable of some sort, curry powder) (Note: I’m not exactly sure how much I ate … bites of omelet but not an entire omelet. I’m also not even what the Chinese vegetable was. My boyfriend made it, so I was very happy to eat whatever he made)

Grilled zucchini (with olive oil and sea salt)

Baked tomatoes (with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and Splenda)

Carrots (raw, with vinegar and spices)

Watermelon

Tropical fruit bar (for a delicious end to the day)

Beverages

Coffee (two cups in the morning – each with two espresso shots, each with one packet of Sweet N Low and 1 T (?) of non-dairy creamer (I add this in a dumping motion, so I’m not exactly sure how much I use))

Water (four large bottles of ice water throughout the day)

Diet Coke (as an afternoon treat)

Iced tea (with dinner)

You can "oink" at me now if you'd like ... I feel like I deserve it.

My (short) running history

I made attempts at running my freshmen year of college. My roommate and I would go out most nights and just try to run farther than we did the night before. And, we actually had some success. In the Kansas winter. In our nylon pants that made the swish-swish-swish sound as we ran (why I thought those things rocked as much as I thought they did, I'm not sure). I'm also not sure why we stopped. Probably studying. Yeah, that's it.


So, here I am now in my 30s trying to get serious about running again (or maybe really for the first time). I tried to follow the Couch to 5K plan, but I ended up modifying it. I ran intervals for what seemed like forever, and then, one night it all clicked; I ran two miles without stopping, and I was hooked.


I ran my first 5K race in February, and I added two more to my collection by May. I ran the entire race each time, and I had a faster time each race. After my third 5K, I wanted a bigger challenge. So, I began looking for a 10K (what seemed like the next logical step). Problem: finding a 10K in Florida in the summer is difficult.


A friend (who is a running coach, motivator and person who believes in me when I don't) mentioned she wanted to do the Women's Half Marathon in November. I was adamant that I wasn't going to run that far. I couldn't do it. I just started running. She disagreed, but didn't push. Funny thing: I eventually came around. And, I can add to my short running history.

Rolling with my Hmph! moment

I started this blog in a Hmph!-I’ll-show-you moment. I don’t usually have these moments, so I figured I’d roll with it.

In May, I signed up to run the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Petersburg, Fla. To try and stay (get?) motivated, I liked their Facebook page. So, when they recently posted a call for a blogger to write about training for the half marathon, I thought “That’s totally me! I can write. I’m attempting to run.” Well, they didn’t think so. Instead of my usual I-suck-I’m-a-loser-no-wonder-they-didn’t-pick-me attitude, I went all egotistical and knew the Women’s Half Marathon was missing out on me. I’ll show them (and you).

So, this blog will chronicle my training for running my first half marathon. But, it’ll also chronicle life outside of this (although I’m beginning to wonder if there is life outside of training for a half marathon).