I feel good!

This morning I drove to the Race for Pace in chilly temps, some gusts of wind, and a drizzle. Fortunately, the rain stopped about 30 minutes before the race started, and you could even almost make out the sun behind some clouds. But the wind did blow off and on.

I ended up wearing the Superman shirt and cape with a long-sleeved pink Under Armour shirt underneath (it clashed, but I figured the pink made it more Supergirlish). I wore navy leggins/tight-like capris with gray shorts with teal borders over the leggins. It was a look, let me tell you. I had a windbreaker on, but I decided just before the gun went off, that I did not need it, so I tied it around my waist.

This was the first 5k I had run with an iphone playing music. I think it helped. I was singing (mouthing the words) for first mile or so. Eventually that ended. I also started off smiling, because I felt good. Maybe it was the Superman shirt or cape...

My family was supposed to be waiting near the end of the race, just before the final (awful!) hill, but they actually got there just before the race started, so I got to see them during my first minute too. That was great. If they had not been on the other side of the road, I would have thrown them my windbreaker, since it was serving no purpose.

Throughout the race, I tried to run a little faster down the hills to try to make up for how slowly I run uphill. I am 95 percent sure I can walk up a hill faster than I can run, but I refuse to walk.

When I got to the halfway point, I checked the time and was shocked to see it was only 9:13 (the race started right on time at 9 a.m.). I knew there was no way I could ran back as fast, but at that moment, I was pretty sure I could run the race in 30 minutes, maybe less. That really helped propel me.

The final 1/2 mile (maybe even less than that, but I felt like a mile) was brutal, up the biggest hill. My family was not at the bottom, but I figured they were just close to the top.

Even though my pace was super slow, I saw that it was 9:25, so I figured surely I could make it up the hill in five minutes. Seeing my family within a minute or two helped, and I pushed as much as I could, considering I was running faster than I normally do during my weekly runs.

When I reached the top, I only had to run down the driveway, which is probably a couple hundred feet. I had almost nothing left to give, but I could see the clock at just over 28 minutes, so I ran (which was more like a fast jog).

I ended up finishing in about 29:21. I was smiling (and panting, and sweating, and could barely walk).

But I had a good race. I am really proud of myself.

And, almost best of all, I got a medal for first place in my group.

Yeah, SuperGirl. As a friend on Facebook said, it must have been the cape.

Did I say the Flash? I meant Superman(girl)

It turns out that Target sells Superman shirts with a small cape attached to the back. I found this in the men's department yesterday, so of course, I had to buy one. Just in case.

Here is this little gem.

When I ran this afternoon, which will be my final run before the race, I started off, as I typically do, feeling good. And, just as typical, within a couple of minutes, I wondered how I will ever run 30 minutes. During the first 10 minutes, I often wonder how I will hit 15 or 20 minutes.

Eventually, I got through it, and inevitably, I felt decent enough to make the 30 minutes (I am often propelled by a good song on the iPhone). I am guessing I ran about 2.8 miles. But I know I did run about 1.4 miles in just under 14 minutes, so I am satisfied with that. I am still somewhat disturbed by the fact that every time I run up this crazy steep hill in my neighborhood, that my heart rate hits 180 bpm. My heart rate has always gone high when I ran up hills. But 180 bpm in your 20s seems less scary than in your 40s.

In any event, I am still torn about what will happen next week at the race. Most of me just wants to wear that caped beauty and have fun. But a tiny part of me wants to see how I can really do.

I have six days to figure it out.

Getting ready for the Race for Pace

The Race for Pace is now less than two weeks away. I have been running once a week for the past month (I think!). When I ran a week ago, I timed myself at various points along the run, but I was not sure how far each point was, so that was kind of pointless. Well, I know the distance from my house to one point and back is about 1.4 miles. But I had timed myself from my house to that point and then back to my street (not quite to my house), and I kept going. I did that in 12 minutes. Which meant that I ran about 1.2 to 1.3 miles in 12 minutes. So not bad.

Yesterday, while at my mom's, I ran a route around her neighborhood and into a nearby one. I stopped my timer when I got back to her house, at just over 21:29 seconds. I ran around her cul-de-sac for another 10 minutes. Early that afternoon, I decided to drive the distance. It turns out I ran 2.1 miles. So I ran just over a 10:30 mile. Even better than last week. And, did I mention that it was about 45 degrees?!

Knowing that, a big part of me really wants to do the 5k in 33 minutes. If I am being really honest, I want to do it in just over 31 minutes. But not likely.

We will just have to wait and see.

Oh, and I have decided to go as the Flash. Sort of. I bought a red shirt, and I will put a lightening bolt on it. Should be fun/interesting. And ironic, because I am so not the Flash when it comes to running.

Actually (kind of) running again

The final line of my last blog post was this: Here's hoping I don't go too long before blogging again.

And I wrote my last post on May 17, 2014, which was over four months ago. Sigh.

Soon after I wrote that post, I must have been inspired to start running again. I wish I had kept better track of when I started and how often I did. But my best guess was right around four months ago, though I guess I could have started as late as June. I do know that by the time we went to OC MD the last week in June/first week in July, I had had a few runs under my belt, and I did manage to run twice while at the beach (once along the sand and actually into the ocean at some points).

About a month or so ago, I decided I want to try to run the Race for Pace, which was the last race I ran in, two years ago. Back then I think I was running about once per week, but don't recall. I do know that I was swimming and doing Zumba regularly. Now, I run two to four times per month. Yeah, not that good.

But I am running. And I think if I keep this up, I can run in that race and hopefully do it in around 35 minutes.I just checked my time two years, and I did it in under 28:55. The competitor in me is sad to read that, and I now want to run the race in around 30 or 31 minutes, but I just don't think I can realistically do it.

My best run since I started running again was around 20 minutes for two miles (I think I probably ran a little less than two miles). One would think I could translate that into a 31-minute 5k, but since that was my best (again, I think; I have not measured the distance of my runs over the the past two months), I have to be realistic. Even though the longest I have run is 30 minutes, and most of the time, I have been running about 25 minutes, I am optimistic that I can finish the race without having to walk. And most of me thinks that should be my goal. So in that respect, 35 won't be so bad. But if I don't walk, maybe I could do it in under 35.

Clearly I am just thinking out loud here.

Here is the other wildcard: This year, the Race for Pace is having a super hero theme. So I could totally forgo the competitor in myself and just have fun.

Wonder what I will do...

Race for Pace

I completed the Race for Pace in 28:55.

If I would have run the race about three weeks ago, when I was working out like crazy, that time time might have been a little disappointing. But I have to keep telling myself over and over that I am 40. Unfortunately, saying it does not help me accept it all that much. Not that I am 40; I am cool with that. But that I am past my running prime. But proof of that was right before me: I ran into a former student whom I beat by about two and a half minutes when I ran the race two years. This year, he bested me by seven and a half minutes.

I know I should be focused on my finishing the race in under 30 minutes, which is great, considering I have been running about once a week. And I am absolutely proud of myself, particularly considering that I struggled a bit during my runs lately. I was not convinced I could do it in under 30 minutes. But I did it.

A few other notes:

It was cold, probably about 35-degrees at race time, but sunny. My running gear consisted of a long-sleeved t-shirt, a windbreaker, yoga pants, socks as gloves, and a flexible knee brace I used to wear at the beginning of this century when I ran several times a week. I unzipped the windbreaker during the last 2/3 of the mile, and maybe even took it off. The socks on my hands also came off about that time (I did not have gloves, but those babies worked great, even for nose-wiping purposes, as gross as that sounds, but it was cold).

I am happy to report that I was almost pain-free the entire time (the knee brace was a good call); even my feet hurt very little, though during the first mile, two of my toes were numb from the cold! I have this odd breathing pattern, which I tried to replicate when I was lying in bed, but couldn't. Regardless, it seems to work for me, and, almost as important, I am not wheezing and gasping as I seem to always notice some people do during these races.

I started off strong, kept a pretty steady pace, struggled a bit near the end up the last hill, but "kicked it in" as best as I could the last tenth of a mile. Having my friend Diane there cheering me on really helped. As I was struggling up the last hill, she made me laugh (or at least smile as I was out of breath) when she yelled, "Go, Faith! Don't embarrass me." 

During the last mile, a woman who I determined was somewhere near my age (which impressed me, because I am lousy at figuring out ages) passed me. I thought about pushing myself even more, in case she was going to be the difference between my getting third place and fourth place. But in the end, the last hill was too much for me, and I could not go any faster. I convinced myself to just keep going as I was so I could finish in under 30 minutes

When the time came for my age group awards, the person they announced for third place was that woman who passed me. I could not believe it! Oddly enough, when I checked my results online that evening, I was listed as being in third place in my age group. I emailed the race director about it, who just emailed me a bit ago saying she would look into it. I admit the competitor in me is disappointed to think they made a mistake that cost me getting my name mentioned and a medal, but the mature gal in me is going to keep telling myself this:

I am 40, I finished the race in under 29 minutes, and I am proud of this body!

My feet hurt

There are so many thing I want to cover in this post, so expect something quite disjointed.

I will start off listing what physical activity I have done since I last posted a week and a half ago:

• Zumba the last two Tuesdays
• Swimming last Wednesday, Saturday, Monday, and yesterday (Wednesday)
• Running on Monday and Wednesday of this week
• Short (just over 15 minutes round trip) walk on Monday
• Lunch duty two days both last week and this week

Although I am satisfied with the amount of exercise I have gotten, I don't feel as if I am making the gains I want to. Normally, I would not care, but on Saturday, I am planning to run in the Race for Pace. As it stands now, I am not sure that I will be able to finish it in around 30 minutes. When I ran this race two years ago, I did it in 27 minutes. There is no possible way I could come close to that considering how my times have dropped off in the last year or so. :-(

On Monday, I had a really good run, and based on that I would think I could finish Saturday's race in under 30 minutes. But I have a bigger problem, which is impeding me greatly: my feet. Unfortunately, my latest pair of Asics Gel Enduros have proven to be worse than my previous pair. My feet were so uncomfortable during Monday's almost three miles (after I did my normal two miles, I ran around the outside of the gym and up the steps a handful of times), I ended up buying Dr Scholl's athletic foot insoles to try to help. Those babies cost an insane $19.99, which is more than half of what my running shoes were on sale (yes, the fact that I paid less than $40 should be a good indicator that I am not buying good shoes!). Anyway, the insoles were little help. They feel good on my feet when I walk, but the bottoms of my feet, particular the balls of my feet, continue to hurt once I hit the pavement. I won't completely blame my Asics; as it turns out the Gel Enduro 7 shoes are apparently trail shoes and I run on pavement. But the Gel Enduro 5 was awesome, and I would assume it was also a trail shoe. Anyway, on both Monday with the old insoles (three miles) and Wednesday with the new ones (two miles), I got through the runs, so I am pretty sure I will make it on Saturday. Just not sure how I will end up. Hopefully, there is not some other issue going on...

I am taking a break today, other than a brief (five minutes one way) walk I have to do as part of a volunteer thing. And if I swim on Friday, I will take it easy and try to swim no more than 10 laps (I swam 18 on Monday and 15 on Wednesday, which is pretty good after a run on those days).

Monday's run
Mile one: somewhere over 9 minutes and under 11 (I forgot to turn on the stopwatch); it was a pretty good run, so I am thinking and hoping it was around 10:30)
Mile two: 8:30

Wednesday's run
Mile one: 10:55
Mile two: 9:17

No idea why Monday's run was better, but it was. Hopefully, I can get back to better times soon. And, more importantly, here's hoping the feet feel better soon. Those babies still hurt a little today.

What I did this week

There was no way I could keep up last week's pace, so I did not even try. Here is what I did instead:

Monday: The kid and I took a walk, probably about 30 minutes, maybe 25.
Tuesday: I did Zumba
Wednesday: I did lunch duty (two hours of standing and walking around) and then we went swimming. I did about 30 laps plus some jogging around.
Thursday: I did lunch duty again. Other than walking about four minutes one way to pick up some kids for an after-school program, that was it.
Friday: Swimming again, with another 25 laps plus jogging around.

I am happy with the amount of activity, though I wish I had gotten a run in. I hope to next week, as I am planning to sign up for the Race for Pace, which is two weeks away. Not sure how I will do in that as I have not run over two miles in quite awhile, but we shall see.

Slacking a bit

Since I last blogged, I have not been as physically active as I had hoped. I did Zumba on Thursday. I pretty much just sweated for hours on Friday, thanks to the oppressive heat and humidity. Saturday, I swam, though I don't recall how many laps. Sunday I did very little, other than running some errands. Monday was a bit fat nothing (besides lunch duty). Tuesday was Zumba, and yesterday was swimming. Only three laps but much treading water and moving.

I have been so busy lately that I have not had as much time to workout. Today was the first day I had almost five hours to myself. I really should have gone back to the pool or went running, but I was just so happy to have no meetings, appointments, volunteer work, or errands, plus I am down on sleep so feeling lazy (which is a great reason to exercise, I know!). Unfortunately, I have to pick my kid up from school early before taking my dad to a doc's appointment, so I won't be able to run (i.e., get sweaty). Tomorrow, if all goes well, I should be able to run after lunch duty and before I go swimming. I vow to at least get some steps in.

After all, I have lots of eating to make up for.

Oh, and a little part of me wants to run in the Race for Pace in four weeks. Not sure if that will happen, though.

I did, in fact, wimp out of the 5k.

When I woke up Saturday morning, at around 7:30, I knew if I jumped in the shower right away, I could make it to the Race for Pace in time for the late registration. But the weather and my aching thighs had a different idea.

When I ran steps on Thursday, although it went well, for some reason, it left my thighs extra sore for a few days. I could not see putting my nearly 40-year-old body through a three-mile run, with hills. On top of that, it was quite windy on Saturday, and the temps were in the mid to upper 40s. I was just not ready to face my November run in the middle of October. So that was that.

As for recent exercise, I swam on Friday, though only about 15 laps, thanks to my soreness. On Monday, the kid and I took an almost 30-minute walk, and then yesterday I ran the steps. Feeling a bit pathetic about wimping out on the race, I decided to push myself on the steps and try to beat my time from last week. Time to complete 20 trips: 16:41. So, yes, I did beat last week's time. And my thighs actually feel pretty good today.

Now if only I could motivate myself to run three miles and actually run in a race. If only...

And that makes two

I managed to get a run in today, which means I have fulfilled my "requirement" to run in the Race for Pace this coming Saturday. Still not sure I am going to do it, though. It has been months since I have run three miles, and I am not sure my two-mile timed runs, followed by anywhere from a couple tenths to a half mile of jogging will be adequate preparation.

That notwithstanding, today's run went pretty well.

Mile one: 9:54
Mile two: 8:21

I was pushing pretty hard to try to get that first mile at 10 minutes, which I did. So, yeah, me! But, as usual, I was huffing and puffing. I sometimes wonder how smokers run. I have to think they would be wheezing uncontrollably if I breathe the way I do.

If nothing else, it was nice to get out there an enjoy the good weather. The temps were in the upper 60s, maybe 70, and there was just a little sun. This might have been my last run in 2011 in that kind of weather, which is kind of sad, but I do like to run in 50-degree temps just fine.

Stay tuned...

Not so bad

I managed to get out there and run yesterday. So this means that running the Race for Pace is not out of the question. Good to have something to push for.

But back to the run. When I first started out, I literally felt pain with my first stride. As I typically do when I run, I was contemplating what this post's title should be, and at that point, I am pretty sure they included phrases like "never-ending pain" and "you've got to be kidding me." But once I got past that slight knee pain (or did the side stitch come first? I really cannot remember) and was making my way up the killer hill, I realized I did not feel awful. In fact, I decided right then and there that I was going to make it through the two miles in a decent time. How could I not give it my best shot when the weather was sunny and the temps were in the 60s?

The rest of the run went okay. Some pain, a little bit of difficulty getting up that last hill, but ultimately I finished it and did not feel as if my lungs were going to burst or as if I was in my 40s (which, to review, I am not yet).

Mile one: 10:19
Mile two: 8:18

Not too shabby.

Honestly, I expected my first mile to come in around 10:10, but my second mile was pretty darn good. Now that I look at it, I have to wonder if wrote down the wrong time. I don't think I ever completed my second mile in that amount of time. But let's just assume I did.

Until next time...

15 >> 45

The Race for Pace is just 11 days away. In the past four months, I have run about six times. In the past 30 days, I have managed about three runs. Sure, I have run up and down the steps a few times. I have also been swimming two or three times a week, but as for running at least two miles, on the road, well, that is just not going well.

As I was swimming today, I decided that if I don't run at least two times between now and next Saturday, I should probably skip the race. If I run three times, then I should be able to make it through, though undoubtedly with a time much higher than last year's (27:01).

On a positive note, today, I spent two hours at the pool. The title above refers to my workout there. I swam 15 laps, then I jogged around the pool for 15 minutes. I did that two more times, for a total of 45 laps and 45 minutes of jogging (it took me about 55 minutes to swim the 45 laps).

When I was barely into my second lap, I felt tired and unconvinced that I would accomplish much today. Not wanting to waste this alone time, I decided to break things up and alternate between swimming and running. Well, when you have the resistance of water fighting your arms especially, it is nothing close to running. But I am hopeful that makes the workout even better.

All in all, it was great exercise. It was probably not my fastest, but that I managed to get in the jogging and swimming along with some water exercises such as walking lunges, squats, and push ups, in a two-hour workout, I say bravo to me! (And let's just pretend that when I came home, I did not eat a brat, some cookies, a banana with PB, some tortilla chips and salsa, and a few gingersnaps.)

Hopefully, I will be able to write a post on Thursday or Friday, saying that I manged to get a run in on Thursday.

Stay tuned.

That was pretty productive.

This morning after I dropped the kid off at school, I decided to go swimming. As I have probably mentioned before, the laps I do at the pool are between time spent playing with the kid at the pool. Typically I swim about 10 laps before taking a break to splash around. Some days, I may only manage six or eight before I am summoned to "play with me."

This morning, I decided I would swim at least 30 laps before calling it a morning. My last two times at the pool, I swam 20 and 25 laps respectively, so I figured I, being alone, should be able to surpass that.

I ended up swimming 45 laps, so yeah me! Most laps were at a medium speed, and some were even slow. I ended up doing only about a half dozen fast laps. As I have stated on this blog before, I could probably swim way more laps than what I normally do, so long as I go slowly; I have a lot of endurance.

When I finished lap #45, in about 55 minutes, I decided to run around the pool for 15 minutes. Before I started my swim, I considered going running this afternoon. But once I hit 40 laps, I figured it might be best to skip the run. Jogging back and forth the length of the pool is so much easier than pounding the pavement, and it still counts!

Since I was feeling pretty good, I spent the last under-10 minutes doing some walking lunges, split squats, regular squats, and push ups. All in all, it was a good workout.

But if I expect to run in the Race for Pace, which is two and a half weeks away, I better get myself motivated to run soon.

In conclusion, swimming does not keep you in really good running shape.

After three months and about 20 days, I finally hit my usual, two-mile running route, thanks to school's being back in session.

Almost immediately, my right knee hurt. My feet (stupid new Asics) were not far behind. Fortunately, the pain mostly subsided after about a half mile. Unfortunately, I had some side stitches to deal with after that.

I am not going to lie (not that I ever do in this blog or in general, actually): it was a pretty tough run. It took a lot out of me, and not surprisingly my time was not great (but not awful, either). At least I did it.

Mile one: 10:15
Mile two: 8:45

Total run time: 19:00

Because I felt I should have done better with such a short run and because I had time to kill, I ran the 65 steps 10 times after that. I have to say, running those steps made the two-mile run seem easy. It took everything for me to finish, and during the last trip, I was pretty much walking. I did manage to finish in 9:30, which is pretty good considering it came on the heels of my run (with a 10-minute break in between). And those stupid shoes...

Since I am subbing Wednesday through Friday and there is no way I would put my 39.5-year-old body through two runs, two days in a row, I am going to have to call it a week at least as far as running goes.

All that said, based on today, I am thinking I won't be running in the Steelers 5k this coming Sunday, as I had recently hoped (even though I had done little in the way of running this summer). I am just not sure I can do it in under 30 minutes, which would greatly disappoint me. I am still planning to run in the Race for Pace again. We'll see.

I made it through the pain

For only the second time all summer, I ran just over 3 miles. I ran the same 3.1-mile route I did a month and a half ago, in Indiana County. This time, however, my time was just under 32 minutes; when I ran on 7/1, I did it in just over 30 minutes.

On the one hand, considering I have run so little the past four months, I should be happy running a 10-minute mile. But on the other, much more competitive, hard-on-myself hand, I am disappointed. Since May, I have been swimming three days a week, except for one, maybe two, weeks. Because of that, I feel as if it should not be a struggle to run three miles.

Today's run included some discomfort in my right foot (either my feet have grown or Asics has made this Enduro size 9.5 slightly smaller than last version's 9.5), some chest pain (hopefully not my ticker!), and a little thigh annoyance. Fortunately, no pain was consistent the whole time, and nothing was too strong.

In the end, I could have run more, but I pushed myself the last few tenths of a mile when I realized I could complete this run in just over 30 minutes. Since my heart rate was over 170 bpm, I decided to walk around for a few minutes and call it a day.

I am pretty sure I will not be Running Around the Square in two weeks, but I would like to get a 5k in at some point, whether I run the Steelers 5k Labor Day weekend or Race for Pace in October. Stay tuned.

Sucking wind (or Why I should not let so much time lapse between runs)

I last ran on Saturday the 9th, in the Race for Pace, clocking in around 27 minutes AND beating a sixth grader on the cross-country team, in case you forgot!

The weather was crappy several days last week, and the one day that it was nice, I was just not feeling it, so I walked for about 20 minutes instead. Today, however, I knew I had slacked off long enough, so I set out for my usual run.

Of course the beginning hill was awful. I was panting like a dog in the summer and cursing myself for letting nine days go by since I last ran. But I soldiered on, and even forced myself to pick up some speed as I started the final uphill near the end of the first mile. I was not about to let the half dozen guys paving the road think that I was out of shape!

I finished the first mile in just under 10 minutes, so I can't be disappointed. The second mile I ended up in about 8:15, so also a pretty good pace. I ran at a more leisurely pace for most of the third mile, speeding up for the last two minutes of my run.

All in all, despite my feeling out of shape at the beginning, I have to call it a good run. I managed to get in about three miles, in about 28 minutes. But the important thing is I actually ran.

On a funny note, as I was waiting in my car after school (about 15 minutes after I had finished my run), one of the teachers asked me if I had gone tanning, as my face looked "different." Yeah, no hiding when I exercise; even if I have stopped sweating, the red face remains for quite some time. :-)

Race for Pace

I ran in the Race for Pace this morning. I decided since this was, in all likelihood, going to be my last race of the year, I should "leave nothing on the field" as Hines Ward says. So from the get-go, particularly since the beginning has a slight downhill, I started off at a pretty nice pace. Within the first minute and a half or two, I ran up to one of the seventh graders that I sub. I think he runs (or at least ran) cross-country, and I did notice he started the race at the front of the pack, something that "good" runners tend to do. When I reached him, I asked what his pace was, thinking if it was around 9 minutes, maybe I could run with him. He told me he had no idea, and I realized that I was slowing down a little to talk to him, so I left him in the dust, never to see him again until after the race.

So how was the race? The course has some up and down hills, nothing as steep as what I normally run, as well as some flat sections. I did my best to pick up speed any time I went down a hill, which helped with my timing. The unfortunate thing was there was no one shouting out times or mile markers, at least not when I ran by, so I had no idea how far I had run at any point during the race.

During the last just over 1/2 mile (or thereabouts), a woman behind was saying to her running buddy that they needed to pick up the pace going up this last hill. Personally, I was really struggling, having given it pretty much my all so far, but when I heard her say, "We run 10-minute miles normally; we run 9-minute miles for races," it seemed as if she was talking to me. So I decided to push it as much as I could, which was not easy. I also looked at my cell phone stopwatch at that point and was both surprised and excited to see I had been running for just over 21 minutes. Even though there was a good crowd at this race, I started to believe I could finish it way under 30 minutes and maybe even place.

I gave it pretty much all I had as turned the corner into the long driveway to the school, and I crossed the finish line at what I remembered as 26 minutes. Unfortunately, as I later discovered, I actually crossed the time clock at 27 minutes; no idea why I remembered it as 26.

I ended up finishing in 5th place in my age group out of 15 and 138/300, at a time of 27:01. For comparison's sake, when I ran this race in 2002, I finished 1st in my age group out of 8 and 75/195 at a time of 26:20. I am pretty happy considering I am eight years older than when I last ran this race, I had to run with an extra 100-plus people, and I ran only once this week, on Monday, and no times last week thanks to being sick.

Do you hear that sound? It is I, giving myself a high five and a pat on the back.