And again, there's been a lapse in writing on the blog. But, I swear, I've been super busy and I HAVE been running!
I've run in two more 5K races since I last wrote - Ele's Race on July 22 and the Chemical Bank 5K on July 28. I was supposed to run in another race today, but it was cancelled, but I have one on the calendar for Saturday in Escanaba!
I've also run my two longest runs since then (thanks Shawn and Dave for getting me past the 4 mile mark - IN THE DARK!).
This past week, I was in Kansas City for a work conference, which took up most of my time there. However, I did manage to get two runs in during my time there, and holy cow, that city has hills! The hotel I stayed at had running maps, and both times, I tried to do the 3 mile run, but had to modify it (first time because I went the wrong way, second time because the hills were CRAZY). My feet were sore by Thursday though, with all the walking in dress shoes I was doing.
I'm going to try to do a 5 mile run on Tuesday this week...my goal is to do one by September 2. I also have about 28 miles left to hit 100 miles by September 1. I'm not sure I'll make it, but I'm gonna try!
Maybe one of these days, I'll end up doing a 10K...
Showing posts with label 5K. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5K. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Whoops - it's been awhile...
I realized a few days ago that I hadn't written on the blog for a bit. Life has been CRAZY since I last wrote and I've been trying to adjust to some new things.
1) I switched jobs. I was offered a great opportunity that I didn't feel I could pass up. Since the first 5K, I had to wrap up things at my previous position, start my new position, and I'm now in week 3, trying to get acclimated to the new job.
2) I've been traveling a lot - for work and for Jaycees. It's been fun, but I'm not so sure my car would agree. ;-)
3) I've been trying to readjust my schedule to get up in the morning (gasp!) and run. It's been so hot during the days that the best time to run is in the early morning. For those of you who know me, I have NEVER been a morning person and I love my sleep. So this has taken a little adjustment.
I did run another 5K on July 7 (temperature reported right after I finished was 85 degrees with a heat index of 90). I finished slower than my first 5K, but with the heat, that was to be expected. I also hadn't done much running up to that. I took a little time off after the first 5K, so had to get back into the habit.
In the next couple of weeks, I'm signed up for Ele's Race in Okemos on Sunday this week and the Chemical Bank 5K in Byron Center on July 28. I'm hoping the weather isn't too horribly hot for either of these! I have a couple more scheduled in August and September...
My next goals are to run a 4 mile run by the end of July and a 5 mile run by the end of August. In doing so, I'm hoping to increase my intervals (this morning I did 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking).
New reports on my running schedule coming soon (now that I'm getting back in the habit)!
1) I switched jobs. I was offered a great opportunity that I didn't feel I could pass up. Since the first 5K, I had to wrap up things at my previous position, start my new position, and I'm now in week 3, trying to get acclimated to the new job.
2) I've been traveling a lot - for work and for Jaycees. It's been fun, but I'm not so sure my car would agree. ;-)
3) I've been trying to readjust my schedule to get up in the morning (gasp!) and run. It's been so hot during the days that the best time to run is in the early morning. For those of you who know me, I have NEVER been a morning person and I love my sleep. So this has taken a little adjustment.
I did run another 5K on July 7 (temperature reported right after I finished was 85 degrees with a heat index of 90). I finished slower than my first 5K, but with the heat, that was to be expected. I also hadn't done much running up to that. I took a little time off after the first 5K, so had to get back into the habit.
In the next couple of weeks, I'm signed up for Ele's Race in Okemos on Sunday this week and the Chemical Bank 5K in Byron Center on July 28. I'm hoping the weather isn't too horribly hot for either of these! I have a couple more scheduled in August and September...
My next goals are to run a 4 mile run by the end of July and a 5 mile run by the end of August. In doing so, I'm hoping to increase my intervals (this morning I did 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking).
New reports on my running schedule coming soon (now that I'm getting back in the habit)!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
There are awards?
An interesting thought came up in a conversation today.
In my 5K race on Saturday, I placed 662 out of 779 people. I was 51 out of 63 in my age division.
This got me to thinking...why do runners race?
I can't speak for all runners, but I can speak for myself (and we'll use the term 'runner' loosely here). I entered this race not to win the overall race or to win one of the three awards given in my age division. I entered this race to REACH A GOAL. I entered to cross it off my bucket list. I entered it as part of the overall goal to lose weight.
But most of all, I entered it to know that I could race a 5K.
So often, we hear that people only enter a competition to win. And when they don't win, they're disappointed.
Of course you're disappointed - you had no other reason to enter the race than to win. And when you come in 662 out of 779, you're going to be extremely disappointed. When you come in 4 out of 779, you'll be disappointed because you didn't receive a little trophy.
But if you enter the race to finish; if you enter it to reach a personal goal; if you enter it to take a step towards a bigger goal, then there is NO WAY you can be disappointed if you finish. And the best part? Even if you didn't finish, you still tried and made the effort. And I bet you learned something from it.
For all of you who don't think you can do something, or think that since you're not going to win, you're not going to play, I urge you to consider to think again. I told myself for years that I wasn't a runner and I finished my first 5K this past weekend.
Show the world what you're made of, and go out there and do it. Learn from it. And do it better the next time.
"No, maybe I can't win. Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he's got. But to beat me, he's going to have to kill me. And to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he's got to be willing to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that. I don't know." - Rocky IV
In my 5K race on Saturday, I placed 662 out of 779 people. I was 51 out of 63 in my age division.
This got me to thinking...why do runners race?
I can't speak for all runners, but I can speak for myself (and we'll use the term 'runner' loosely here). I entered this race not to win the overall race or to win one of the three awards given in my age division. I entered this race to REACH A GOAL. I entered to cross it off my bucket list. I entered it as part of the overall goal to lose weight.
But most of all, I entered it to know that I could race a 5K.
So often, we hear that people only enter a competition to win. And when they don't win, they're disappointed.
Of course you're disappointed - you had no other reason to enter the race than to win. And when you come in 662 out of 779, you're going to be extremely disappointed. When you come in 4 out of 779, you'll be disappointed because you didn't receive a little trophy.
But if you enter the race to finish; if you enter it to reach a personal goal; if you enter it to take a step towards a bigger goal, then there is NO WAY you can be disappointed if you finish. And the best part? Even if you didn't finish, you still tried and made the effort. And I bet you learned something from it.
For all of you who don't think you can do something, or think that since you're not going to win, you're not going to play, I urge you to consider to think again. I told myself for years that I wasn't a runner and I finished my first 5K this past weekend.
Show the world what you're made of, and go out there and do it. Learn from it. And do it better the next time.
"No, maybe I can't win. Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he's got. But to beat me, he's going to have to kill me. And to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he's got to be willing to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that. I don't know." - Rocky IV
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Weeks 10-11 - Almost there
Not that I'm not going to still have work to do after I finish my first 5K next week, but I'm getting kind of nervous for the Kalamazoo Klassic. I'm just trying to accept that I'm going to be slow and that I'll be successful when I cross the finish line.
One of these days, I'll have something more profound to say. Right now, I'm getting ready to head to trivia (and hopefully our team will post a decent score).
Since the last post, I've run a total of 12 miles. Here's the breakdown:
Saturday, June 2 (run):
3.20 miles
40:54 minutes
358 calories
12:45 minutes/mile
Sunday, June 3 (run):
3.11 miles
37:59 minutes
346 calories
12:14 minutes/mile
Wednesday, June 6 (run) - this is an estimate since my GPS screwed up. Luckily, my running partner's worked.
2.59 miles
32:53 minutes
289 calories
12:41 minutes/mile
Thursday, June 7 (run):
3.13 miles
38:43 minutes
349 calories
12:21 minutes/mile
One of these days, I'll have something more profound to say. Right now, I'm getting ready to head to trivia (and hopefully our team will post a decent score).
Since the last post, I've run a total of 12 miles. Here's the breakdown:
Saturday, June 2 (run):
3.20 miles
40:54 minutes
358 calories
12:45 minutes/mile
Sunday, June 3 (run):
3.11 miles
37:59 minutes
346 calories
12:14 minutes/mile
Wednesday, June 6 (run) - this is an estimate since my GPS screwed up. Luckily, my running partner's worked.
2.59 miles
32:53 minutes
289 calories
12:41 minutes/mile
Thursday, June 7 (run):
3.13 miles
38:43 minutes
349 calories
12:21 minutes/mile
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Week 10 - Closer to the 5K
Since the last update, I've done a pretty good job of staying on schedule. But it was HARD. The heat this past holiday weekend was debilitating and made it harder to run. However, here's the update.
Thursday, May 24 (run):
3.10 miles
38:53 minutes
348 calories
12:33 minutes/mile
Saturday, May 26 (ridiculously HUMID/HOT run):
2.90 miles
37:07 minutes
325 calories
12:48 minutes/mile
Sunday, May 27 (walk):
4.10 miles
1:00:47 minutes
458 calories (though, not accurate since I didn't change the settings on the phone)
14:49 minutes/mile
Monday, May 28 (run):
2.16 miles
26:51 minutes
242 calories
12:24 minutes/mile
I've noticed that the first couple miles are fine, but anything after 2 starts to get slower. Obviously, endurance is an issue, but I know that will come with time in order to be able to do longer runs.
My goal with the 5K is to finish in 40 minutes or less. I think it's doable, but also don't want to push myself too hard as I build up to this.
Thursday, May 24 (run):
3.10 miles
38:53 minutes
348 calories
12:33 minutes/mile
Saturday, May 26 (ridiculously HUMID/HOT run):
2.90 miles
37:07 minutes
325 calories
12:48 minutes/mile
Sunday, May 27 (walk):
4.10 miles
1:00:47 minutes
458 calories (though, not accurate since I didn't change the settings on the phone)
14:49 minutes/mile
Monday, May 28 (run):
2.16 miles
26:51 minutes
242 calories
12:24 minutes/mile
I've noticed that the first couple miles are fine, but anything after 2 starts to get slower. Obviously, endurance is an issue, but I know that will come with time in order to be able to do longer runs.
My goal with the 5K is to finish in 40 minutes or less. I think it's doable, but also don't want to push myself too hard as I build up to this.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Getting Through - Week 9
Apparently, I'm now in Week 9 and just can't count. I blame it on the week that I took off at the beginning of May.
After taking the entire weekend off and losing my motivation, I endured enormous peer pressure yesterday and have decided to do my first 5K - in 3 weeks. June 16, Kalamazoo Klassic. I do not harbor ill will towards those that encouraged (making) me to do it. But I figured if it got me to see my friend Shawn herd us to the finish line, why not?
I have no delusions that I will run the entire thing. In fact, I'll probably run only about 50-60% of it. But, I'll finish. I know I can do that!
Meanwhile, in an effort to get my friend Dave (over at http://dqworthams.wordpress.com/) back on track with his Couch to 5K (and encourage him to run the Kalamazoo Klassic), we went for a run on the Lansing River Trail. This is the first time I've actually run with someone, so it was a little odd for me. But, I could still talk while doing so, so that's good!
While it was a little slower pace than what I left off with last week, it was still fairly good. It's been pretty humid and hot out over the past week and since I hadn't been out in a week, I'd say it was a success. Plus, Dave had his best pace so far!
Wednesday, May 23:
4.08 miles
56:41 minutes
458 calories
13:53 minutes/mile
I'll be out again tonight. Then taking Friday off and planning on going Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I've really got to try to keep to the 4 times a week schedule leading up to the race!
After taking the entire weekend off and losing my motivation, I endured enormous peer pressure yesterday and have decided to do my first 5K - in 3 weeks. June 16, Kalamazoo Klassic. I do not harbor ill will towards those that encouraged (making) me to do it. But I figured if it got me to see my friend Shawn herd us to the finish line, why not?
I have no delusions that I will run the entire thing. In fact, I'll probably run only about 50-60% of it. But, I'll finish. I know I can do that!
Meanwhile, in an effort to get my friend Dave (over at http://dqworthams.wordpress.com/) back on track with his Couch to 5K (and encourage him to run the Kalamazoo Klassic), we went for a run on the Lansing River Trail. This is the first time I've actually run with someone, so it was a little odd for me. But, I could still talk while doing so, so that's good!
While it was a little slower pace than what I left off with last week, it was still fairly good. It's been pretty humid and hot out over the past week and since I hadn't been out in a week, I'd say it was a success. Plus, Dave had his best pace so far!
Wednesday, May 23:
4.08 miles
56:41 minutes
458 calories
13:53 minutes/mile
I'll be out again tonight. Then taking Friday off and planning on going Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I've really got to try to keep to the 4 times a week schedule leading up to the race!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Motivation - Week 8
So, I started a more regular schedule last week. I had looked at my past outings and saw the pattern that I had improved from 15 minutes/mile at the beginning to somewhere between 13-14 minutes/mile recently. I decided to make a new short term goal to get to between 12-13 minutes/mile. I was actually able to get there the two times I ran last week. Mostly because I upped the amount I was running. I'll try to keep this up for a bit, then lower my time goal again.
Then the end of the week just got to me. I've lost my motivation - not just for going out to run but for some other things too. This isn't a good time for it either, as I have some deadlines to meet both personally and professionally in the next couple of weeks. I skipped my run on Saturday because I was gone most of the day. I skipped my walk on Sunday because my body was really sore and once I sat down from getting home from face painting at the East Lansing Art Festival, I couldn't talk myself into getting up again. Plus, I had laundry to do.
I'm really looking forward to this coming 3-day weekend. I have nowhere I'm planning to be except home. I have grandiose plans to work on paperwork, clean my apartment and make sure I run and walk. The main goal is to give myself a break (sort of a mini-vacation), since I haven't taken a long period of time off (unless you count that mono thing in the fall) in quite awhile. I'm also hoping to sit down and figure out when I may be able to take another longer weekend over the summer. I'm starting to think that lack of a break is having an effect on me and my motivation.
I just feel like there's something missing and I can't put my finger on it. I can see light in the future when I look ahead in about a month or so, but for the time being, it seems I'll just have to push through.
Recap time!
Sunday, May 13 (walk):
4.12 miles
55:35 minutes
327 calories
13:28 minutes/mile
Tuesday, May 15 (run):
2.08 miles
26:36 minutes
233 calories
12:47 minutes/mile
Wednesday, May 16 (run):
2.15 miles
26:43 minutes
241 calories
12:25 minutes/mile
Then the end of the week just got to me. I've lost my motivation - not just for going out to run but for some other things too. This isn't a good time for it either, as I have some deadlines to meet both personally and professionally in the next couple of weeks. I skipped my run on Saturday because I was gone most of the day. I skipped my walk on Sunday because my body was really sore and once I sat down from getting home from face painting at the East Lansing Art Festival, I couldn't talk myself into getting up again. Plus, I had laundry to do.
I'm really looking forward to this coming 3-day weekend. I have nowhere I'm planning to be except home. I have grandiose plans to work on paperwork, clean my apartment and make sure I run and walk. The main goal is to give myself a break (sort of a mini-vacation), since I haven't taken a long period of time off (unless you count that mono thing in the fall) in quite awhile. I'm also hoping to sit down and figure out when I may be able to take another longer weekend over the summer. I'm starting to think that lack of a break is having an effect on me and my motivation.
I just feel like there's something missing and I can't put my finger on it. I can see light in the future when I look ahead in about a month or so, but for the time being, it seems I'll just have to push through.
Recap time!
Sunday, May 13 (walk):
4.12 miles
55:35 minutes
327 calories
13:28 minutes/mile
Tuesday, May 15 (run):
2.08 miles
26:36 minutes
233 calories
12:47 minutes/mile
Wednesday, May 16 (run):
2.15 miles
26:43 minutes
241 calories
12:25 minutes/mile
Friday, March 30, 2012
Days 5 & 6 - Oh boy...
Yesterday, I did a walk/jog for Day 5. I had a committee meeting and then had trivia later, so I ended up going to the Lansing City Market to catch the River Trail.
1.92 miles
26:43 minutes
179 calories
4.3 miles/hr
Today is Day 6. Between long hours at work, making sure I stick with the Couch to 5K and a lack of sleep, I am looking forward to having most of the weekend to catch up on sleep and clean the apartment a bit. My body is a bit exhausted, and I'm trying to get used to being a bit sore.
I'll finish week 1 of the Couch to 5K tomorrow with another 1.5 mile walk/jog and then start week 2 with a 30-60 minute walk. I'm hoping the weather is somewhat decent over the weekend.
Eventually, the food intake will have to be addressed, because I seem to be going through a junk food phase right now. But, that's for another time.
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