This week in running: week 11

I'm finally settling into that groove where I'm not panicking about my lack of progress. Why? Because I'm progressing! I'm finally at that point where all of the training clicks. Yay! It can get exhausting doubting yourself and your abilities.

Tuesday

Oh 800-meter repeats, you may be the first speed work that I haven't really cared for.

We only did four so that we could spend more time on stretching, and I'm thankful that we did. I didn't really feel like I needed extra stretching (although it can't hurt, right?), but I'm just glad we didn't have to run more of these things. 

I actually got progressively faster (as you're supposed to do ... shocking, I know)! And, I blew my last one out. Like it was WAY faster than the others. I get to the last one and know it's the last one, so I just go crazy. Maybe I should spread that craziness out over the other ones? 

Total: 3.4 miles

Thursday

Oh, the dreaded tempo run. We had to deal with 60 minutes of you (well, it actually ended up being 55 minutes ... oops). 

Not only do I have issues with tempo runs, but Sandy started causing gusty conditions in Florida this day. Like, really gusty. I'm not a fan of running in strong winds, I decided. This made for a difficult, slow run.

It's nice to have a waterfront running route – except when it's windy.

We ran out for 30 minutes and then back the same way. The only problem: a 5K was occurring on our route on the way back. It was an evening Halloween-themed race. Normally, I'd be all about it, but it was dark, and the runners had to run on brick roads. Clumsy me does not need to be running on brick roads in the daylight, let alone at dark. We stuck to the sidewalk, but it was still kind of crazy with water stations and additional people. I hate dodging people and things – it wears me out.

Total: 4.5 miles

Sunday

We had 11 miles on the schedule, but I did the Halloween Halfathon because I'm an overachiever. Not really. I just love Halloween, costumes and races.

It wasn't my best, but it wasn't my worst. I was hoping to do better, but I'll take it. You can check out my recap (and costume) here. 

My first running costume

 Total: 13.1 miles
  
How was your week? Have you ever done 400-meter repeats? Do you like them? Do you like tempo runs? How do you deal with running in windy conditions? Have you run a Halloween race? Did you dress up? 

The wrong food encourages randomness

Yesterday, some food item I ate made me sick. I'm not sure how to narrow it down and determine what it is so I never eat it again.

It could have been the Mexican food we ordered out for lunch. Or the chicken, black beans and rice sample I tried at the grocery store after work. Or the hummus and tomatoes I had for dinner. Or those five fun-size pieces of candy I ate (it was Halloween, you know). Ahem,  pretend you didn't read that.

I'm betting on the grocery store sample. No way it was candy. No way.

Whatever it was made me miserable last night into today. Thankfully, I'm feeling better. That is the only good thing about food poisoning: it's over quick.

While my body (and mind) recovers, I'll leave you with some bits of randomness.

• I'm the featured blogger at Fitblogger today! Check it out ... if only for the sole reason of seeing a picture of me with my hair down.  
• In a week, I'll be preparing to head to Texas to see my Alma mater (and No. 2 team in the nation), Kansas State, take on the TCU Horned Frogs. I haven't been to an away game since college (a LONG time ago). It should be interesting since both schools' colors are purple.

Victorious in enemy territory (I didn't wet my pants; it poured
the entire game).

• Then, on Dec. 1, my boyfriend and I will be in Kansas to see Kansas State take on Texas. Hopefully, they'll still be undefeated and in that No. 2 (or 1?) spot. It should be a fun game, if only for the fact that my brother despises the University of Texas and our seats are by the Texas ramp. Texas players and coaches walk by us each time they head on or off the field ... and my brother isn't afraid to taunt them. I'll do the horns down symbol, but that's about it. I despise other teams much more (hello, University of Kansas and University of Oklahoma).

Source

• I love holidays. I love traditions. So, I can't believe I let one drop. Well, yes I can. I got so burnt on carving pumpkins last year with this disastrous, difficult pattern that I didn't even bother this year. Kinda sad, but I can still feel the irritation so I figured it best to not have sharp carving tools in hand.

• After seeing all the costume photos (from friends and celebrities), I now have all of these ideas for costumes for next year. Unfortunately, I won't remember any of them and will start wondering what I'm going to be for Halloween next September. Oh, well. That's part of the fun, I guess.

How was your Halloween? Did you avoid the candy (unlike me)? Did you carve a pumpkin? What are your traditions? What was your favorite costume you saw this year? Do you like college football? Do you go to games (home or away)?

Happy Costumes!

I absolutely love Halloween ... mainly because it involves costumes. 

This year I had three costumes.

Black Swan-inspired ballerina

First up: a costume for an art show. I always feel some pressure at this event to not be something funny (my specialty) and be something more ... um, arty? 

I had big hopes and dreams for this costume, but they died when I saw it all together.

 
Hamburglar

Next up: a work Halloween party. We made this costume decision solely because we were Zorros the year before, and it was an easy switch (our work department kind of has a thing about dressing up as a group; try it — it's fun). 

Group costume #1 (only two participants, but this costume is
my favorite)

People realized the fun they were missing out on and joined our farm

Fun and easy costume encourages participation

Really simple conversion from fun and easy
costume doesn't encourage participation,
apparently

Mr. Potato Head

Final event: the Halloween Halfathon. It was a long thought process to come up with something that I felt was wearable while running 13.1 miles. 

I had Mr. Potato Head in mind for a regular costume, but thought I could modify it for running. It worked! 

This was extremely non-irritating (exactly what I going for), easy to make (another bonus), and I thought it turned out great.

 

Do you dress up for Halloween (or Halloween parties)? What is your favorite costume? Have you ever dressed up as a group? Have you dressed up for a race? Did it require a long thought process to determine what you'd be (and if it would be comfortable)? Happy Halloween!

Halloween Halfathon, Tierra Verde, Florida, Oct. 28, 2012: race recap

I love costumes. So when I heard the Halloween Halfathon encouraged costumes (and was part of a local Halfathon Challenge — four half marathons from October through March), I was so in.

I immediately began thinking of a costume ... and thinking. And thinking. It's tough to find a costume that won't get annoying while running 13.1 miles. 

I finally decided on this.
 

That's Mr. Potato Head. I cut out his parts from felt and used fabric glue to put them on a brown T-shirt. Cutting them out wasn't hard. Finding a brown T-shirt was. I finally found one online that I ordered last minute that fortunately worked out great.

I also found a mini bowler hat online. It had an elastic strap that went under your chin. I decided quickly that this would get annoying without running. So, I cut it and tied it on a headband. 

The finished product (please excuse my poor
self-portrait skills; it's my only pre-sweat
costume photo)

With my costume made and on, I was ready to race. Well, or do a training run. I really wasn't planning to "race" this race. I treated it as a long training run (I had 11 miles on my schedule). My training schedule is actually for the Women's Half Marathon on Nov. 18, so this was technically early for a half marathon. I can't resist a good opportunity to wear a costume, though.

After my pathetic self-portrait, I picked up my running buddy, Lori, and we headed to the race site.  It was early and really dark. I felt so disoriented (especially since the race is along a state park beach path, and it is super dark there — no street lights). 

I packed up my packet early, but needed to get a timing chip at the race site. We arrived at 6:30 a.m. (for a 7 a.m. race) and had plenty of time to get the timing chip, hit a porta potty and line up for the start. 

We couldn't find anyone else in our running group, though. Pitch black conditions don't lend to finding people. 

We started running in the dark, which was strange. I guess I've done it before, but in a city with street lights. It was really bizarre without any lights. But, it started to get light soon after the start, and we started seeing people in our running group.

The first part of the race follows the 5K course, which started 15 minutes after the half marathon. After running back by the start line, we headed out on a 5-mile out and back course.

At this point of the race, I was feeling good, but not great. We stopped to walk through water stations, but that was it. As we started out on the out-and-back portion of the race, the half marathon leaders were coming back. It is mind-blowing to me how fast these people are! I'm at mile 4, and they're almost at double-digit miles. Insane.

Anyway, the out-and-back portion is a path along the beach, but you rarely ever see the water. Because of that, it's pretty boring. Thank goodness this was a costume race! This provided entertainment. We saw angels, devils, cowboys, cats, bunnies, zombies, Forrest Gump, a Victoria's Secret angel (a guy) and many others. Thank you for dressing up!

Around mile 5, I took a GU gel. I still felt good, but not great. We kept up the same habit of running except for the water stations. 

Thankfully, it was mostly overcast for the majority of the race so it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been. One problem: the wind. Because of pesky Sandy and a cold front, it was super, super windy. I didn't notice it too much on the way out on the path. But, shortly after I made the turnaround, I noticed it. It took a lot of energy to run.

I kept running, though, until about the 9.5-mile mark. I stopped to take my first walk break (besides the water stops) at this point. 

From this point on, this race was a struggle. I was losing energy. Every time I tried to run, I couldn't run for long. I took another GU gel. This helped some, but fighting the wind was still difficult. 

Even though I was treating this as a training run, I was really disappointed. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I hoped to do really well. Even if it wasn't my goal to get a faster time, I kind of still wanted to do that. I can't help it. I always want that. Training runs were going well. My speed work was impressive (for a slow girl like me). I guess I thought I could sneak in a PR. Yeah, not this day.

I struggled the rest of the race, but managed to finish strong (thanks to support from Lori). My official time: 2:42:48. Eh, definitely not my best (2:33), but not my worst either (2:48).  

The good news: I finished, I had fun overall (at times I was bitter, but thanks to running friends, I quickly got out of that mode), I got a medal, and I see lots of room for improvement. 

 
Oh, also good news: beer at the finish.

Best beer EVER

More good news: my costume was not annoying (even the ears), and my hat did not move even in really gusty wind. 

Mr. Potato Head ended up being a sweaty potato.

And then, a couch potato.

I'm so using this idea for a holiday half marathon (minus the mustache and teeth, plus an antler headband). Yay! More race costumes! 

Do you secretly hope to PR every race? Do you wear costumes for races? What's your favorite costume you've seen? Do you enjoy beer after races?

This week in running: week 10

I’m noticing a trend. This is only my third half marathon, but I see a pattern in my training. I start out optimistic. I don’t run as well as I want. I freak out. Shortly after freaking out, everything comes together. Thankfully, I’m in the everything-comes-together phase now.

Tuesday

I’m not hip to the speed work and track lingo, so there might be a spiffy name for this that I don’t know. I just know I enjoyed it, even though it was tough.

• Descend 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes and 1 minute with 1 minute rest in between
• 2 minutes rest
• 1 minute hard; descend rest 1 minute, 50 seconds, 40 seconds, 30 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 seconds

I had single-digit mile (yep, 9:59), which is a huge deal for me. I can see fast waaaayyy in my future.

Total: 3.67 miles

Thursday

Tempo runs are never really my thing. I’m not great about picking a faster pace and sticking with it. I’m not really sure what my faster pace is or how to maintain a faster pace (without feeling like death).

But, somehow I managed to make it work this day.

My faster pace was at least 15 seconds faster than my warm-up pace (at times 30 seconds faster), which is a start for me – I’ll take it. I maintained it for 40 minutes.

Since I ran for 60 minutes, maintained my faster pace and did not feel like death, I consider this a success.

Total: 5.10 miles

Sunday
 
We ran the same route as we did last week since we ran the same number of miles.

So how did it compare? It was really about the same, actually. Our group was a little bigger – there were seven us running together for most of the run. But, that’s about the only difference. I felt really, really, really great (sound familiar?) while running about the same pace (just 2 minutes faster this week).

Oh, one other difference: when we were running over a small bridge, we heard a snort. When we looked down, we saw manatees! I’ve loved manatees for as long as I can remember, and this was my first time seeing them in this area. I LOVED it.

After our run and stretching, a group walked two blocks to Starbucks. I had the deliciousness known as the pumpkin spice latte (less syrup and no whipped cream). It was the most delicious coffee drink I had in my life. Lately, coffee is all I crave after a run. .. strange.

Later in the day, my boyfriend, Chloe and I went to Sarasota, Florida (a town about 40 minutes south of where we live). We spent the rest of the day walking, shopping and eating dinner.

Chloe refuses to be photographed with us.

I was expecting to be sore on Monday. Nope, not sore. I’d never have known I ran 10 miles (well, if I didn’t run it myself).

I think I must do the same things after each long run to replicate this feeling: walk to Starbucks, drink delicious coffee and spend the afternoon walking and shopping and eating.

Total: 10 miles

**Edited to add questions.**

Do you like tempo runs? Are you good at picking your faster pace? Have you ever seen manatees while running? Or ever? What do you crave after running? Is it weird to crave a hot beverage? What are your best long run recovery methods?

Combining two favorite things: costumes and running

I love costumes.

Any chance I have to dress up, I'll do it. This makes Halloween a pretty ideal time for me. Other times, people look at me strangely. I'm used to this, though.

But, I've never run a race in costume. So when I signed up for the Halloween Halfathon this summer, my mind started turning.

Could I run in a costume I already had?

I took into account heat and annoyance factors.

That ruled out Elvis, sadly. Elvis is my ultimate favorite costume, but it is HOT. I thought of ways to modify it, but it's just not exactly what I wanted. 

Zorro would be fun with the cape. But, I worried it could get annoying. Plus, is it really Zorro without the hat? Nope. Zorro is out.

Face paint and hair spray color are out, so there went the witch and zombie prom girl. 

I wasn't really a fan of the lady bug. Plus, I'm not really sure where all the parts are for it. The lady bug is out.

I'm not running in overalls, so no farmer. Plus, I don't have a cow. 

That left my most recent costume, Black Swan-inspired ballerina, and the duck. I didn't like the ballerina costume, so that was out (I do plan on running in the tutu some day, though). So, down to the duck.

I thought and thought about the duck. I wore orange shorts with orange tights underneath for the legs. I never run in shorts or tights (I'm a capris girl). This concerned me. 

But, the rest could be modified for running. Just a hat and a shirt. Not bad, right? But I just couldn't figure out the legs. As much as I love dressing up, I didn't want to compromise my running. So, I finally ruled the duck out, too. It might be a possibility for a 5K, but 13.1 miles is a long way to be annoyed or be hot (I manage to get plenty sweaty on my own). 

 What does that mean? New costume! Yay!

Well, yay until that at almost one week out, I still can't find a key component. Eeek!

So far, this is all of the costume I have.

Yes, those are six sheets of felt. No, those won't cover me.

I'm hoping the component I ordered off the internet will get here in time and will work. Otherwise, I'm in trouble.

This week in running: week 9

Remember all those weeks when I was not happy with my running? When I thought it would never come together? Yeah, me either. This week made me forget that. 

Tuesday

I know I usually get excited about speed work, but I wasn't feeling it this week. The 400-meter repeats seemed long ... and hard. But shockingly, I had a single-digit minute mile. I realize this is routine for some people, but this is a huge deal to me. I'm still not quite there in terms of pacing and negative split, but I'm getting faster.
 
How should the sets look?

 

How my sets looked.

 

I started smart, but things got out of control by my second 400 meter. I could feel myself going too fast, but I couldn't stop before it was disastrous. Sigh ... more work to do.

Distance: 3.8 miles

Thursday

The plan: a progressive run around a lake. Make each trip around the lake faster.

I was stiff and not into this run at all in the beginning. 

But, I eventually loosened up and had an OK run. Nothing to cheer about, but not terrible either.

Distance: 3.2 miles

Sunday

I was worried about my long run this week. They just haven't been going that great for me. The thought of 10 miles was a little overwhelming ... especially after having a glass of wine and only getting 4 hours of sleep on Saturday. But I was doing important things, people.

Ahem. 

I managed to wake up Sunday morning and not feel too terrible. A little sleepy, but that's every morning for me.

And I actually managed to eat a portion of a real breakfast (toasted sandwich thin, peanut butter and banana). 

The first few miles were pretty blurry. I barely remember them. I think I woke up around mile 3. Yay! Almost a third of the run done, and I didn't even know it.

The portion of the run I do remember was just pure awesome. We had a group of five running together, which makes me smile. It's so fun to run with people with the same goal. 

I took a GU gel a little past the 4-mile mark. I was solely a GU Chomps girl, but our coach handed these out (I can't resist free stuff). I'm really not a fan of the texture, but it seemed to do the job.

I felt really, really, really great this entire run. I never said "I hate running." I never said "I'll never run again." I never said "I want to punch running in the face" (thanks for the inspiration for this gem).  

I needed this. I didn't expect it this day, but I needed it. 

Now I'm furiously analyzing absolutely everything I did to replicate it for all of my long runs (including kissing donkeys). 

 Distance: 10 miles

How was your week in running? Did you find long run love this week like me? Have you ever gotten 4 hours of sleep before a long run? How did it go? Have you ever slept through a few miles? What's your favorite running nutrition?