6.3 miles at an 11:30 pace today. after running last night too.
i will do dexter-aa. i will.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Racing Again
It's been a while, I know. But I'm back in action!
The 5k of a couple of weeks ago, along with my ability to stick to a workout schedule, gave me the confidence to do a half marathon yesterday. I know it would be a scenic route (through a park in Dearborn), plus the theme was AWESOME (Martians! http://www.martianmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1), so I figured that even if I had to walk half of it, it would be worth it.
Kate and I got up at 5am and pulled on some layers. It got down to the 30s on Saturday night, and it was still chilly. We drove to Dearborn and parked the car, then hurried, shivering, to the building where the expo was being held.
I felt a strange combination of excitement and nervousness. I was almost worried by how I wasn't really that concerned with what I was about to do: run a half marathon after almost no training since October. It made me realize how much my mindset has changed over the past year. It was a good feeling, but I was worried that I was too confident.
Finally the race started, and Kate soon left me behind. I intentionally kept a very slow, steady pace. My runs lately have mostly been faster than I intended, and I wanted to be sure I had a fair shot at getting some distance before my muscles gave out. At the halfway mark I started to feel tired, but I kept telling myself "ok just one more mile and then you can walk." Instead of stopping at mile 9, I just ran the whole frigging thing. In 2:44, which gave me a pace of 12:33. Which is faster than I was doing training runs of this distance last fall. What. The. Eff. I'm starting to wonder if taking a long break was exactly what I needed. While I've definitely gotten squishier and heavier than I'd like, clearly my strength is not an issue.
So now I'm contemplating registering for the Dexter-Ann Arbor half. Pros: cool medal (http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/halfmarathon.htm), nice run, something to keep me going, part of my fee will get picked up by the grad school program. Cons: 12 min pace minimum or they chase you off the course. Kate thinks I can do it. I think it's hypothetically possible, but finals, graduation, moving, and vacation occur between now and then.....
The 5k of a couple of weeks ago, along with my ability to stick to a workout schedule, gave me the confidence to do a half marathon yesterday. I know it would be a scenic route (through a park in Dearborn), plus the theme was AWESOME (Martians! http://www.martianmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1), so I figured that even if I had to walk half of it, it would be worth it.
Kate and I got up at 5am and pulled on some layers. It got down to the 30s on Saturday night, and it was still chilly. We drove to Dearborn and parked the car, then hurried, shivering, to the building where the expo was being held.
I felt a strange combination of excitement and nervousness. I was almost worried by how I wasn't really that concerned with what I was about to do: run a half marathon after almost no training since October. It made me realize how much my mindset has changed over the past year. It was a good feeling, but I was worried that I was too confident.
Finally the race started, and Kate soon left me behind. I intentionally kept a very slow, steady pace. My runs lately have mostly been faster than I intended, and I wanted to be sure I had a fair shot at getting some distance before my muscles gave out. At the halfway mark I started to feel tired, but I kept telling myself "ok just one more mile and then you can walk." Instead of stopping at mile 9, I just ran the whole frigging thing. In 2:44, which gave me a pace of 12:33. Which is faster than I was doing training runs of this distance last fall. What. The. Eff. I'm starting to wonder if taking a long break was exactly what I needed. While I've definitely gotten squishier and heavier than I'd like, clearly my strength is not an issue.
So now I'm contemplating registering for the Dexter-Ann Arbor half. Pros: cool medal (http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/halfmarathon.htm), nice run, something to keep me going, part of my fee will get picked up by the grad school program. Cons: 12 min pace minimum or they chase you off the course. Kate thinks I can do it. I think it's hypothetically possible, but finals, graduation, moving, and vacation occur between now and then.....
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Back At It
It's been an intense time since my last post, and there has been very little running or physical activity. I've gotten kind of (a lot) out of shape.
But today I ran my first race since December and the results just came up. I'm pretty proud of myself. For the past couple of weeks I've been making an effort to be active at least 5 days a week. Today I ran a 5k in downtown Ann Arbor in 31:56, which is a pace of 10:17. Not too shabby for being out of shape...
Here I go again!
But today I ran my first race since December and the results just came up. I'm pretty proud of myself. For the past couple of weeks I've been making an effort to be active at least 5 days a week. Today I ran a 5k in downtown Ann Arbor in 31:56, which is a pace of 10:17. Not too shabby for being out of shape...
Here I go again!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Continuing on
Not sure when I'm going to get to posting about the race, but I think I've become a runner for life.
I'm going to do a half marathon in the spring (probably the Martion Marathon in Dearborn - http://www.martianmarathon.com/), and I'm gearing myself up to be serious about some things in the months until then: losing weight and doing more cross-training.
There is something amazing about having the strength to finish a marathon, and I want to continue feeling that way. At the same time, I think the other demands in my life led me to make some choices about how I proceeded that were less than ideal. Not that I had a whole lot of leeway, but I prioritized what I thought would get me through the run. Now I want to shift a little bit and focus more on maintaining whole-body health. I feel like this is combining the marathon training with some of what I did to lose weight initially back in 2005. I don't think I'll run a full marathon again, but I want to improve everything.
The Sunday a week after the race, I ran 2.21 miles, and did the same route again on Thursday. My Thursday run was in 22:40 - a 10:15 pace. I was definitely pushing it, but it felt good. Today I did 5 miles in 55:38 and didn't feel like I was working hard. I'm going to continue to take shorter runs when I can get to them, and try to get to the gym occasionally. I'll ramp up soon, but right now it's just nice to know that I can still put one foot in front of the other.
I'm going to do a half marathon in the spring (probably the Martion Marathon in Dearborn - http://www.martianmarathon.com/), and I'm gearing myself up to be serious about some things in the months until then: losing weight and doing more cross-training.
There is something amazing about having the strength to finish a marathon, and I want to continue feeling that way. At the same time, I think the other demands in my life led me to make some choices about how I proceeded that were less than ideal. Not that I had a whole lot of leeway, but I prioritized what I thought would get me through the run. Now I want to shift a little bit and focus more on maintaining whole-body health. I feel like this is combining the marathon training with some of what I did to lose weight initially back in 2005. I don't think I'll run a full marathon again, but I want to improve everything.
The Sunday a week after the race, I ran 2.21 miles, and did the same route again on Thursday. My Thursday run was in 22:40 - a 10:15 pace. I was definitely pushing it, but it felt good. Today I did 5 miles in 55:38 and didn't feel like I was working hard. I'm going to continue to take shorter runs when I can get to them, and try to get to the gym occasionally. I'll ramp up soon, but right now it's just nice to know that I can still put one foot in front of the other.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I Did It!
I'll write more about the race when I get more caught up with the rest of my life, but for now:
It was a dark and cold day, a little too cold for me. Despite some other sub-optimal conditions, I finished in 5:41 (pace of about 13 min) and aside from some residual soreness in my hamstrings, I'm feeling pretty good.
Race results broken down here: http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/race/nwm08.html#/graph?user=4695
Photos from the official photographers here (though one is of the wrong person...): http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=41309&PWD=&BIB=4695
It was a dark and cold day, a little too cold for me. Despite some other sub-optimal conditions, I finished in 5:41 (pace of about 13 min) and aside from some residual soreness in my hamstrings, I'm feeling pretty good.
Race results broken down here: http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/race/nwm08.html#/graph?user=4695
Photos from the official photographers here (though one is of the wrong person...): http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=41309&PWD=&BIB=4695
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Purple Hair!
Anya dyed her hair purple and it looks AWE-some! I forced her to go outside and let me take some pics to post here.
She flies out to San Fran tomorrow morning super early. Be sure to send your good vibes her way this Sunday!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Less Than One Week!
One of the more illuminating aspects of doing something totally out of your normal lifestyle (like, say, training for a marathon) is you start finding out all kinds of things about your body's weak points.
For a couple of weeks I've been getting headaches after running for a while. I assumed it was something to do with the cold, but they've been getting worse. My worst one was on Saturday. I was supposed to do an easy 6-mile run and quit before I'd finished 5 because my head was hurting so much it was making my teeth ache. It was 75 degrees. I was a little suspicious of the headaches because they're always concentrated in one part of my head, more or less where there are sinus cavities on the right side. I was also getting worried that after all this work, I wouldn't be able to finish the race because of some random headache that appeared out of nowhere.
I finally did a little research and discovered that sinus headaches sometimes manifest as dental pain because there is a sinus cavity underneath your eye that reaches almost to your teeth. To make matters more fun, that particular sinus has to drain upward, meaning that it's very difficult to drain while standing up. I hadn't been feeling congested, so I didn't think sinus problems could be wreaking that much havoc on my head, but when I saw the location and the possibilities for pain it made sense. I have a long history of sinus problems, so I immediately attacked it with a combination of claritin, sudafed, and use of a neti pot. Yesterday I ran 4 miles and not only did I not get a headache, but I could tell that my breathing was much more effective so I wasn't nearly as tired as I'd been during my recent runs. Fingers crossed. I'll pack a lot of medication and hope it continues to work.
I have three more runs before race day: Tuesday, Thursday, and a 20-min run with the team Saturday morning. Homestretch!
For a couple of weeks I've been getting headaches after running for a while. I assumed it was something to do with the cold, but they've been getting worse. My worst one was on Saturday. I was supposed to do an easy 6-mile run and quit before I'd finished 5 because my head was hurting so much it was making my teeth ache. It was 75 degrees. I was a little suspicious of the headaches because they're always concentrated in one part of my head, more or less where there are sinus cavities on the right side. I was also getting worried that after all this work, I wouldn't be able to finish the race because of some random headache that appeared out of nowhere.
I finally did a little research and discovered that sinus headaches sometimes manifest as dental pain because there is a sinus cavity underneath your eye that reaches almost to your teeth. To make matters more fun, that particular sinus has to drain upward, meaning that it's very difficult to drain while standing up. I hadn't been feeling congested, so I didn't think sinus problems could be wreaking that much havoc on my head, but when I saw the location and the possibilities for pain it made sense. I have a long history of sinus problems, so I immediately attacked it with a combination of claritin, sudafed, and use of a neti pot. Yesterday I ran 4 miles and not only did I not get a headache, but I could tell that my breathing was much more effective so I wasn't nearly as tired as I'd been during my recent runs. Fingers crossed. I'll pack a lot of medication and hope it continues to work.
I have three more runs before race day: Tuesday, Thursday, and a 20-min run with the team Saturday morning. Homestretch!
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