Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
NYRR Gridiron Classic 4Mile Recap
Saturday morning I did a shorter long run before heading up to the city for Sunday's 4 Mile Gridiron Classic.
I'm pretty sure those are negative splits! Not very fast, but on average exactly at my long run goal pace of 12 minute miles. Also exciting - I ate real food before the run with no GI consequences! I think white toast with peanut butter might be my new pre-run fuel. Much tastier than my usual clif shot bloks.
After the run, I took the train up to the city to prepare for Sunday's race. By prepare, I mean eat my weight in chili cheese fries and vegan sandwiches with my sister. Delicious. After dinner I headed to Jill's to enjoy a little wine and tv. Another wild Saturday night in the city.
Sunday morning, my legs were still a little tired from Saturday's run. Jill and I sort of talked about goal pace, but didn't really commit to anything. I had 9:30 miles in my head, since we had just done 9:44s at the Joe Kleinerman 10k a month earlier.
We met up with fellow 9+1er Brad and took the subway up. The race was really well organized and we had no problem finding Jill's friends Sarah and Kate. Sarah and Kate are way faster than us, but they graciously started in our slow corral.
And then we were off! The course was hilly, but we were feeling good. At first my garmin was showing 10:30ish pace and I was not happy. Pretty soon our pace started dropping... and dropping... and finally we were at 9:45.
And then we got faster:
I'm pretty thrilled, especially since there were some nasty hills in that 3rd mile. I would have majorly slowed down if I had been alone. I love having a friend who runs at my pace.
Our official time was 37:00, meaning 9:15 min miles - aka my fastest pace in any race to date. And also technically a PR, since I've never run a 4 miler.
After the race, the five of us enjoyed a carbilicious brunch and I discovered my new favorite morning drink - grapefruit mimosas. So good.
A train ride later, I was back in Princeton. I headed to the gym for some strengthening and, of course, foam rolling.
Perfect weekend!
I'm pretty sure those are negative splits! Not very fast, but on average exactly at my long run goal pace of 12 minute miles. Also exciting - I ate real food before the run with no GI consequences! I think white toast with peanut butter might be my new pre-run fuel. Much tastier than my usual clif shot bloks.
After the run, I took the train up to the city to prepare for Sunday's race. By prepare, I mean eat my weight in chili cheese fries and vegan sandwiches with my sister. Delicious. After dinner I headed to Jill's to enjoy a little wine and tv. Another wild Saturday night in the city.
Sunday morning, my legs were still a little tired from Saturday's run. Jill and I sort of talked about goal pace, but didn't really commit to anything. I had 9:30 miles in my head, since we had just done 9:44s at the Joe Kleinerman 10k a month earlier.
We met up with fellow 9+1er Brad and took the subway up. The race was really well organized and we had no problem finding Jill's friends Sarah and Kate. Sarah and Kate are way faster than us, but they graciously started in our slow corral.
 |
| Me, Jillian, & Kate |
And then we were off! The course was hilly, but we were feeling good. At first my garmin was showing 10:30ish pace and I was not happy. Pretty soon our pace started dropping... and dropping... and finally we were at 9:45.
And then we got faster:
 |
| Woohoo! |
Our official time was 37:00, meaning 9:15 min miles - aka my fastest pace in any race to date. And also technically a PR, since I've never run a 4 miler.
After the race, the five of us enjoyed a carbilicious brunch and I discovered my new favorite morning drink - grapefruit mimosas. So good.
A train ride later, I was back in Princeton. I headed to the gym for some strengthening and, of course, foam rolling.
Perfect weekend!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
A Weird Running Week
The past week was sort of a weird, disappointing one for running.
Last weekend, I was so excited to run the Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park. First half of 2012! My roommate Lisa's first half ever! Yay!
Saturday morning I woke up to a very snowy city. The race wasn't exactly cancelled, but it was nonscored, which I took to mean, "Show up if you really really want to, but we wouldn't if we were you." There was also a food poisoning situation, so we all decided to skip the race. The sidewalks were terrible and super slippery and I figured I shouldn't take a chance with my ankle still being weird. Plus who really shows up to run when it's snowy and slushy and gross?
Well apparently a lot of people. My work friend told me that his friend said it was his most fun race ever. Sort of feeling like I missed out. Bummer.
Monday I went to a tradeshow aka spend the whole day on my feet. My ankle swelled to disgusting proportions, so I figured I should take it easy on Tuesday (supposed to be 5 miles) and spend an hour on the bike at the gym. I hate skipping a run, but I figure it's better to take it easy than push it too hard and get injured. Then I foam rolled... DAMN that feels good!
Wednesday my ankle was still huge, so I did my 5 miles on the treadmill. I sprinted(ish) 1/4 mile repeats with 1/4 mile recoveries. Followed by foam rolling. So good.
Thursday I finally got back outside and it felt amazing. As much as I hate getting out of bed, I think running outside is the only thing that fully wakes me up. I did an easy five and felt awesome all day. Went to the gym after work and foam rolled some more. Addicted.
Yesterday was my longest run to date - 19 miles. It felt surprisingly good, and as usual my first few miles were the toughest. A lot of firsts on this run - nature called while I was running through the woods, and I made a pit stop at Wawa to use the ladies room and refill my water bottle. Very classy.
My Garmin started dying around mile 11, so I reset it to make sure that data saved, and started again. It eventually died, so I tracked myself on mapmyrun... until my phone died too! Weird. Here are my splits for the first 16 or so miles:
As usual, my pace was all over the place. Hoping to smooth that out on next weekend's 20 miler.
Last weekend, I was so excited to run the Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park. First half of 2012! My roommate Lisa's first half ever! Yay!
Saturday morning I woke up to a very snowy city. The race wasn't exactly cancelled, but it was nonscored, which I took to mean, "Show up if you really really want to, but we wouldn't if we were you." There was also a food poisoning situation, so we all decided to skip the race. The sidewalks were terrible and super slippery and I figured I shouldn't take a chance with my ankle still being weird. Plus who really shows up to run when it's snowy and slushy and gross?
Well apparently a lot of people. My work friend told me that his friend said it was his most fun race ever. Sort of feeling like I missed out. Bummer.
Monday I went to a tradeshow aka spend the whole day on my feet. My ankle swelled to disgusting proportions, so I figured I should take it easy on Tuesday (supposed to be 5 miles) and spend an hour on the bike at the gym. I hate skipping a run, but I figure it's better to take it easy than push it too hard and get injured. Then I foam rolled... DAMN that feels good!
Wednesday my ankle was still huge, so I did my 5 miles on the treadmill. I sprinted(ish) 1/4 mile repeats with 1/4 mile recoveries. Followed by foam rolling. So good.
Thursday I finally got back outside and it felt amazing. As much as I hate getting out of bed, I think running outside is the only thing that fully wakes me up. I did an easy five and felt awesome all day. Went to the gym after work and foam rolled some more. Addicted.
Yesterday was my longest run to date - 19 miles. It felt surprisingly good, and as usual my first few miles were the toughest. A lot of firsts on this run - nature called while I was running through the woods, and I made a pit stop at Wawa to use the ladies room and refill my water bottle. Very classy.
My Garmin started dying around mile 11, so I reset it to make sure that data saved, and started again. It eventually died, so I tracked myself on mapmyrun... until my phone died too! Weird. Here are my splits for the first 16 or so miles:
As usual, my pace was all over the place. Hoping to smooth that out on next weekend's 20 miler.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Marathon Training - Week 8
This week's training was supposed to look like this:
Sunday: cross
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 4 mile speedwork
Wednesday: 8 mile pace
Thursday: 4 mile
Friday: carbs
Saturday: Manhattan half marathon
I did my hour of cycling on Sunday. Monday I rested. Tuesday it rained, and I considered staying in bed again. I like to tell myself I shouldn't run in the rain. I could slip and slow my ankle's recovery. I could catch a cold. If I'm being honest though, I just like to stay in my warm bed.
Anyway, instead of being the pansy I was last week, I got my butt to the treadmill. I even did 1/4 mile intervals with 1/4 mile recoveries. I was so proud of myself for getting in my run and doing something good for my ankle. I even watched the news while I ran. So productive.
I was having a great morning... only to get home and slam my toe into the sink. My toe is looking a little broken, so I took today off. Hoping tomorrow I can buddy tape that friend and get back on the treadmill.
Sunday: cross
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 4 mile speedwork
Wednesday: 8 mile pace
Thursday: 4 mile
Friday: carbs
Saturday: Manhattan half marathon
I did my hour of cycling on Sunday. Monday I rested. Tuesday it rained, and I considered staying in bed again. I like to tell myself I shouldn't run in the rain. I could slip and slow my ankle's recovery. I could catch a cold. If I'm being honest though, I just like to stay in my warm bed.
Anyway, instead of being the pansy I was last week, I got my butt to the treadmill. I even did 1/4 mile intervals with 1/4 mile recoveries. I was so proud of myself for getting in my run and doing something good for my ankle. I even watched the news while I ran. So productive.
I was having a great morning... only to get home and slam my toe into the sink. My toe is looking a little broken, so I took today off. Hoping tomorrow I can buddy tape that friend and get back on the treadmill.
Monday, January 16, 2012
A Long, Cold Run
I never made it out for a run Thursday morning. It was raining when I woke up... plus I'd had a few glasses of wine the night before. Extra rest days are good now and then, right? That's what I like to tell myself.
Saturday morning I drove up to the Catskills for a ski weekend with my friends. I'm more of a hot chocolate at the lodge girl, so I skipped the slopes and went for a nice long run in the afternoon. I had a long, slow 17 on the agenda.
It was cold. Painfully cold. I think my fingers are still thawing out.
The first 15 were pretty but hilly. I'm not used to running in the afternoon, so I definitely felt breakfast jostling around in my stomach a little. Soon enough everything settled, and by mile 4 or 5 I was feeling awesome.
Around mile 10 I got excited - 2/3 of the way done! Yay! Oh wait... today is 17 miles, not 15. So I have 7 left. Great.
I can usually keep myself motivated on long runs, but on Saturday, I just wanted it to be over.
By the time I got back to the lodge, I had two miles left. The roads were way too icy to keep running on the sides of the road, so I did the last two miles by doing laps around the parking lot. Definitely not recommended - my fingers were burning and my legs were achy and I really just wanted to go home. Running laps around parked cars is super boring and the miles just drag on. I started to get cranky - apologies to my running partner Jillian.
When I got back to the house, I just wanted to lie down and sleep. My legs were really sore and I just kept thinking, "That was hard and somewhat miserable, but you signed up to run 9 miles further than that!" I wanted to run 12:00 miles, but I was way slower:
Overall not the best run, in terms of my morale or speed.
I'm fine with that though. While I was running, I started thinking about the last time I was at the resort. Last year for New Year's Eve, I went up to the same resort celebrate with my friends. All I wanted to do was party and have an epic night. And look decent in my skintight dress, which I knew I hadn't lost enough weight to wear.
My biggest priority last New Year's was to take a new profile picture. My biggest priority this year was to finish 17 miles. I might not be running very fast, but at least I'm running - and that's a big improvement over last year.
Saturday morning I drove up to the Catskills for a ski weekend with my friends. I'm more of a hot chocolate at the lodge girl, so I skipped the slopes and went for a nice long run in the afternoon. I had a long, slow 17 on the agenda.
It was cold. Painfully cold. I think my fingers are still thawing out.
The first 15 were pretty but hilly. I'm not used to running in the afternoon, so I definitely felt breakfast jostling around in my stomach a little. Soon enough everything settled, and by mile 4 or 5 I was feeling awesome.
Around mile 10 I got excited - 2/3 of the way done! Yay! Oh wait... today is 17 miles, not 15. So I have 7 left. Great.
I can usually keep myself motivated on long runs, but on Saturday, I just wanted it to be over.
By the time I got back to the lodge, I had two miles left. The roads were way too icy to keep running on the sides of the road, so I did the last two miles by doing laps around the parking lot. Definitely not recommended - my fingers were burning and my legs were achy and I really just wanted to go home. Running laps around parked cars is super boring and the miles just drag on. I started to get cranky - apologies to my running partner Jillian.
When I got back to the house, I just wanted to lie down and sleep. My legs were really sore and I just kept thinking, "That was hard and somewhat miserable, but you signed up to run 9 miles further than that!" I wanted to run 12:00 miles, but I was way slower:
I'm fine with that though. While I was running, I started thinking about the last time I was at the resort. Last year for New Year's Eve, I went up to the same resort celebrate with my friends. All I wanted to do was party and have an epic night. And look decent in my skintight dress, which I knew I hadn't lost enough weight to wear.
My biggest priority last New Year's was to take a new profile picture. My biggest priority this year was to finish 17 miles. I might not be running very fast, but at least I'm running - and that's a big improvement over last year.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Marathon Training - Week 7
I'm just about seven weeks into training for my first marathon.
This week's running plan:
Tuesday: 4 miles Done! 4 miles with a track workout
Wednesday: 8 miles It wasn't fun to get up this morning, but DONE!
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 17 miles
Seventeen! Saturday's run will be my longest ever. I'm heading up to a ski resort with my friends, so I'm looking forward to a beautiful, snowy run in the hills. That, or a few numbingly cold hours.
The marathon is 2 months and 2 weeks away. Long enough that it feels pretty far away, but it really isn't. I feel like I'm on track - my current plan has me running three 20+ mile runs so I know I'll feel prepared.
My only concern? I sprained my ankle four weeks ago, which is why I've been wearing this cool brace.
I haven't mentioned it because I keep thinking that if I dont make a big deal of it, then it won't be a big deal. I do my rehab exercises and ice it religiously but for some reason it isn't back to 100%. Probably because I'm training for a marathon and increasing my mileage every week. Duh Lauren.
Tomorrow I take my new Garmin watch out for a run!
This week's running plan:
Tuesday: 4 miles Done! 4 miles with a track workout
Wednesday: 8 miles It wasn't fun to get up this morning, but DONE!
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 17 miles
Seventeen! Saturday's run will be my longest ever. I'm heading up to a ski resort with my friends, so I'm looking forward to a beautiful, snowy run in the hills. That, or a few numbingly cold hours.
The marathon is 2 months and 2 weeks away. Long enough that it feels pretty far away, but it really isn't. I feel like I'm on track - my current plan has me running three 20+ mile runs so I know I'll feel prepared.
My only concern? I sprained my ankle four weeks ago, which is why I've been wearing this cool brace.
Tomorrow I take my new Garmin watch out for a run!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10k
This weekend I ran my 2nd 10k with my friends Brad and Jillian. I was super excited for two reasons: 1) it was my first 9+1 race for the 2013 NYC Marathon, and 2) it was the same course as my upcoming half marathon in Central Park.
This race was really well organized, and I'm pumped to do the same course in 2 weeks for the Manhattan half!
  |
| So excited. |
I'm pretty new to running, so I'm always surprised to see how many runners show up at a race. Who are these people? And why did I join the cool wake up early and run club so late?
 |
| So many runners. |
I had a great race. I ran with Jill the whole time, and we beasted Central Park's hills. Jill sprinted up a hill around mile 4 and I got really nervous that I was going to fall behind and have to finish alone. We finished together though, PRing with a time of 1:00:25, 9:45 miles.
After the race, I was so thirsty that I drank some of this weirdly brown water they were handing out.
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| Gross |
We felt so great that we planned to run another 6 to make 12 for our long run. A mile in, our legs were dragging and our stomachs rumbling, so we ditched that plan and headed over to peacefood.
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| Me and my sweaty friends. |
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