I set a PR at the Independence 5k!!

I totally crushed my goal time in the 5k yesterday evening, completely surprising myself! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my goal was to run it in 27:30, maintaining an 8:50 min/mile pace. Till now my PR was 27:55, which was on June 13th, about 3 weeks ago. I beat my old PR by 1 whole minute! My unofficial time was 26:55! Woot woot! I guess my increase in mileage and long runs have paid off. I cannot believe that I bested my last 5k by a whole minute. I'm still in shock right now, please excuse me, lol!

There were about 250 people running this 5k. I showed up about 40 minutes early to check in. I absolutely love the people who put the local races together and really appreciate the work they put into it, but I have to complain that they always run out of small and medium shirts. That makes me mad sometimes. I usually end up getting an XL for my husband. Anyways, so I warmed up a little bit, only a half mile. My good friend Andrew, who runs the hills with me, was there. He is really fast and his summer goal was to run a 5k in under 19 minutes. Good luck with that! We wished each other luck and headed toward the pack of racers at the start. The gun went off and there I went. I had my Garmin and my iPod all charged up. Of course, everybody starts off so fast, which used to be my problem. The Garmin has fixed that. I made sure I wasn't running too fast and of course ended up near the back. "That's Ok," I told myself, "I will be passing these people later when they run out of steam." I looked at my watch frequently and noticed I was running between 8:15 and 9:00 min/mile pace. I was running faster than I should, but I felt good, so I kept with it. At the halfway point, I started to question my ability to keep my pace up. My earbuds and the cord was bugging me and I was pulling on it, and messing with my watch. I started to freak out. Then I calmed myself down. I started to focus on my running form and my breathing, ignoring my stupid earbuds. "Smooth and steady," I told myself. I started passing people one by one. I passed a couple of really fit guys and it made me feel good, lol. When I had one mile left, I realized that I was going to be ok. I knew I could maintain my pace and make it, so I just kept focusing. I got into view of the time clock and it said 26:48 on it! Holy crap! I was going to beat 27 minutes!?!?! I kicked it in, as the people at the finish were yelling at me to bring it home. I estimate I finished in 27:55, but we will see the official time on Monday or Tuesday.

I was so happy! Plus, Andrew said he thinks he finished in 18:59. Sweet!! We both achieved our goals! The only problem was I noticed my right shin was really sore. I felt it when I stopped running at the finish. It was really bothering me. I think I stopped too abruptly at the end. I was worried, but not too much. I knew today would be a rest day and this coming week is a recovery mileage week, so I would be able to rest it. I didn't make top 5 in my age group, but there were so many runners I didn't expect to. I did get a cool orange towel for participating in all 4 runs in the summer race series, so that was cool. I came home after the race and ate, my shin still noticably hurting.

This morning when I woke up, it wasn't hurting anymore. Good stuff. But, I'm going to stay off of it today and test it on Sunday when I run 5 miles. I'm sure it will be fine!

I set a PR at today's 5k, yay!!

My goal for the 5k today was 27:30. I think I was over-shooting, but I thought I could pull it off. My best time to date was 28:15. It ended up being pretty humid this morning. I didn't realize my Garmin's battery was running low, so this morning when I turned the GPS on, I got the low battery message. Sick burn!! It had 15% battery left. I thought it would be enough to get me through the race, but it ended up dying on me at about the 3/4 mile mark. It said my pace was 9:00 min/mile when it died, so I tried to keep the same speed after it died and hope for the best. The clock still worked on it, so I had an idea how I was doing. I was running out of steam with a half mile left. My lungs felt like they were going to explode! I could finally see the finish line and when I got close enough to see the time clock, it said 27:40 on it. At that point I realized I didn't reach my goal, but I was determined to finish in under 28 minutes, so I used what little gas I had left and kicked it into high gear and finished with a time of 27:54-ish. I'm not exactly sure what my time was, but I know it was under 28. So, I was bummed I didn't reach the goal I set for myself, but when I turned my popsickle stick in, I realized that I was 2nd place in my age group. They did the age groups different at this race. Usually they do 20-29, but this race they did a 20-24 age group and a 25-29. I will be 25 next month, so I was still in the 20-24 group. I got a trophy! A real trophy! I was so excited that I got second in my age group and got a trophy that it didn't matter to me that I didn't reach my goal time. I still set a PR, which is great. I'm really proud of myself. My first 5k was last year in August, and I have improved since then. I'm starting week 5 of my 16 week training plan for the CDR, so I know I will continue to improve. I have several more 5k's and a 10k on my schedule before the CDR, so I'm hoping to improve each time. Yay for a trophy!!!

Long run #2 - another 6 miler

Today was another 6 mile long run. I was supposed to run it yesterday, but the family reunion took up the whole day, and I ate too much. I started my run about 2:00 on the Kanawha Boulevard. I was worried because it was 80 degrees outside, but the sun wasn't really out so I thought I would be ok. I made sure I was well-hydrated and decided I would just slow down if the heat got to me. Surprisingly, I felt great the entire run. I didn't stop to take a walk break at all, and I didn't have to stop for water because I took a full bottle with me. This run was a lot different from last Sunday's 6 miler. Last Sunday I thought I was going to die! Today I felt great the entire time, and even felt better the last half. There was a 60% chance of rain, but I took my chances. It started to sprinkle the last 1/2 mile, and I had enough in me to increase my pace to beat the rain. Good timing too, because once I got on the interstate to go home, it started to pour the rain. Bottom line is I felt really good after my run, and that's how you're supposed to feel after a long slow run. This run really motivated me! That's why I like running - you really get to see yourself improve from week to week.

Next run: Wednesday - easy 2 miler
Total miles for the week: 6

Thursday's Tempo Run

Thursday was a good day overall. Wednesday evening I ate very poorly for dinner because I was helping with the pharmacy move, but Thursday I got right back on track. I even had a Frosty-cino from Wendy's and still managed to stay under 1800 calories for the day. The Frosty-cino was sooo yummy! But, me being somewhat lactose intolerant, I should've known better. Basically dairy gives me horrible gas and bloating. Add a run to the mix and I get cramps and frequent trips to the bathroom. I know, I should've known, but I had been avoiding dairy for a long time and thought I'd give it a try.

I went home after work and grabbed a ham sandwich, waited around for an hour, then went to the gym at 8 PM for my run. I can't wait till my Garmin gets here so I don't have to train on the treadmill on beautiful days. Word to the wise - don't select the free Super Saver Shipping on Amazon. It literally takes forever. Just suck it up and pay the shipping. Anyways, I did a mile warmup at an 11 min pace, then 3 miles at a 9:45 pace, then a mile cooldown at an 11:20 pace. I felt good through the run, but was exhausted by the end of mile 4. Not to mention, I started getting random cramps halfway through from the Frosty I had eaten after lunch. Not doing that again! Overall, it was a great run. Now, I get 2 days off! I will probably go to the gym Saturday and get some strength training in. Sunday is another 6-mile run. Here's the problem with Sunday - family reunion with tons of yummy food. The goal is to get up and run before the family reunion....but I may end up pushing the long run back to Monday! Another goal for Sunday is to not eat so much that I am miserable and have to go home and sleep it off! Wish me luck!

Next run: Sunday (or Monday): Long run 6 miles

Total mileage for the week: 13! woohoo!

Long day, bad eating!

So I worked 15 hours today. I finally made it home at 12:30 AM and will be back at work at 9:00 AM. I normally don't do this, but the pharmacy I sometimes work is remodeling, so we had to move everything out of the pharmacy into a temporary pharmacy shack. This was a nightmare, and we had Taco Bell. I ate so well all day long, and have been for a couple of weeks now. I even had a bag of chocolate candy at work earlier today and only ate 1 piece! Well dinner was a disaster....I ate a bean burrito (fresco style), 2 tacos, and cinnamon twists. Then I ate a donut!! Ouch. Oh well. I hope one day I will learn not to be so weak during stressful situations. I will be back on the good diet in the morning. I don't feel too horrible because I have a nice tempo run to do after work. Hopefully I didn't ruin my weight loss effort for this week.

Easy 2-miler

I ran my 2-miler this evening after work around 8:00PM. It was so nice outside....a little on the cool side. I ran on the Kanawha Terrace in St. Albans. I enjoy running the Terrace because I can run right out my front door and end up on my route in less than 2 minutes. No driving anywhere to run. From my house to the high school is a little over a mile, so I ran to the high school and back.

Today I realized how much I enjoy running. When you're actually in shape, these runs are very pleasant. I used to blow these small runs off, but I know how important they are for building my mileage and clearing my head. These are the runs that take very little effort, and give you a chance to focus on just being outside enjoying your surroundings. A nice change from crawling to my car after my 6 miler on Sunday.

Next run: Thursday - Tempo Run
Dist: 5 mi - 1 mi warm-up; 3 mi @ 9:45; 1 mi cool-down

Total miles so far this week: 8

Long Run #1 - 6 miles

I went on my first long run of my training plan on Sunday. It was 6 miles. First, I did a walk at the State Capitol for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. They raised over $120,000! It was a lap around the Capitol complex, which is actually pretty long. Anyways, I walked to the Kanawha Boulevard from the Capitol to do my run. Running on the Blvd is so amazing and beautiful. The Blvd is a stretch that runs from the eastern end of Charleston (past where the Capitol is) to the west end of Charleston at Patrick Street. A running marker to start at is the 35th Street Bridge. Once you reach the west end, you go over a bridge to the other side of the river into South Charleston and end up on MacCorkle Ave. This ends up being a 4 mile run from point to point. From there you can either run the other side of river back to Kanawha City, or you can continue into South Charleston.

Anyways, the river route is amzing. Here's a picture of part of the run:

photo courtesy of http://family-images.com/wv/index1.htm

The State Capitol is that little blob in the upper right on the left side of the river right above all those trees. This view shows about 2 miles of the Blvd. I think this is a fairly old picture, as things on the right of the river don't look nearly as developed as they are now. I will have to find a newer picture for you guys. But, anyways you get the idea of how pretty this run can be!

So, I felt good most of the run, till about mile 5, then I was struggling with it. I stopped at a couple water fountains for a few seconds to refill my little water bottle. I was going to make it! I started looking for the big green Greenbrier Street interstate sign. Greenbrier street was my final destination. About 1/2 mile out I could see the sign. A sigh of relief!! But this last 1/2 mile was really testing me. I passed someone I knew walking her dog and shouted "hi" at her. Almost there....1/4 mile left. I'm thinking, "come on, Tammy, you can do it". Elizabeth street. Just one block away! When I finished my lungs felt like they were going to explode. I was panting. So much for an easy run. I have no idea what pace I was going at the end....I started off at a very comfortable pace...probably around an 11 minute per mile pace. I'm not sure if I sped up or was just not in shape enough for that long of a run. I am waiting for my Garmin Forerunner 405 watch to come in, then pace won't be a question. I staggered back to the Capitol, collapsed under a tree and stretched for a few minutes. Then I staggered to my car, stopped at 7-11 and got a G2, and went home to rest.

Next run: Tuesday - Easy run, 2 miles