April in Review

Miles Covered: 61.2 miles
2.9 miles walking
58.3 miles running

If I were travelling from Bag End to Rivendell, not a lot would be happening beyond travelling away from Bree toward Weathertop.

All the more reason for Elevenses, I suppose.

Races:
Hetherington Fun Run

Reflection:
The cruelest month? Well, it certainly had its ups and downs.

First off, the weather has been just plain drunk--we go from 40s to 80s with whiplash speed. I keep thinking that I can put away my long pants and long sleeved shirts, and I am so very wrong every single time. At least I've got pockets with my cold weather clothes. Warm weather, not so much.

Secondly, my moods have been a little on the wacky side as I have been training for my first 10K. One minute, I'm feeling confident. The next minute, I'm brooding over my mental block on sustained runs. I know that most of running is actually in your head, and my Black Dog barks pretty loudly these days. I just keep at it, and try to remind myself how far I've come both figuratively and literally. Over five miles on foot, no matter how fast, is still an impressive amount all things considered.

There was Boston. And West.

There was this very nice feature story.

Mister has learned to make green smoothies which look weird but are most tasty.

And there was this totally non-running moment of complete Nerd Bliss that I'm gratuitously leaving right here simply because I can.

That's Neil Gaiman. If you don't know who that
is, then there's no explaining my crazy fangirl
joy in this moment.

Race Report: Hetherington Fun Run

Sponsor: Texas Library Association

Finish Time: 0:38:24 (it wasn't quite a 5K--2.97 miles according to Runkeeper)

I took the opportunity to run my April race at a professional conference. It was also the opportunity to run with my Running Mama (aka the friend who talked me into this whole running mess). I confess that I went in feeling vulnerable: no WW trappings (which is really a disguise for my insecure self), no color gimmicks, just my raw self.

It was really hard not to feel like I sucked.

Running Mama is a great coach--she just wouldn't let me settle into walking. As a result, I was spitting all kinds of obscenities at her. It was not pretty, certainly not professional, definitely not kind. She pointed out that I really let my adrenaline get the better of me at the beginning and start out waaaaay too fast. I also underestimate how much running that I can actually do.

So, in other words, there's my flaws.

Still, it was fun to go with her. The weather and trail was pretty. I'm proud of my sprint across the finish line.

I'm trying to absorb and apply the advice as I train for the my 10K ... which is 2 weeks away.

10K Week 7

What a week.

I'm sure I was like most of you--I'd listen to the news until I couldn't bear it; I'd turn off the news until I couldn't bear not to know. I've been thinking a lot about the Ring Theory--comfort in, dump out. I'm watching the running community react to the Boston bombing--creating t-shirts/bracelets/bands/sleeves (with a donation going toward relief), creating running opportunities ... trying to figure out how where this all falls on the Ring. Trying to figure out if it's enough.

And then there's West, TX, too.

Sometimes the world is so big, and it's tough to know what to do and how to serve. Another reason to go for a run ... and micromanage those runs.

So this is Week 7 in the 10K program. While I've been making all my training runs, cross-training has been a wash. My legs felt wonky after Tuesday. I gave blood and plasma on Thursday, but I felt nauseous for the rest of the morning--so much so that I ended up going home from work. It's a Reserve weekend, so I'm putting off my long run until this evening. The three minute intervals are still pretty rough. Thankfully, the weather is milder than usual, but my legs and tummy still feel a little odd. We'll just see how it goes.

Less than a week until my next 5K race at Texas Library Association annual conference. I was hoping for a PR, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

We Remember

Less than a year ago I started running.
This was something I never thought I could do. Ever.
But now I do.
And now I will until I can't anymore.

I am one of you. I will remember.

I will keep going.

Prayers of peace for Boston.

10K Week 4 Complete

Finished week 4 of the training, which was a 2 minute run/1 minute walk combo. I did this Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday, I worked the heavy bag and did some core work. Thursday was a fail; I meant to pull out one of my videos, but ended up sleeping in instead. Today is official Rest Day. I'm actually pretty okay with all that plus PMS. (Totally TMI here. You've been warned.)

Ideally, I know I should slow down my run intervals so that I'm completely running them all. I did this at the beginning of the week, and my average page sucked. Later in the week, I completed the beginning run intervals at a much quicker pace, didn't complete the ones in the middle (but at least ran at least half of each interval), and completed most of the end run intervals. The result was a faster average pace and more mileage. I'm really not sure how this all plays out in terms of overall race strategy. I don't imagine it would work all that well for a half.

At least for now, however, I'm sticking with it. Friday, I finished 3.5 miles in 43 minutes. If I keep this up, I'm going to totally kick ass at my race end of this month at my professional conference!

And, no, it's not about the weight. HOWEVER, even premenstrual, even retaining water, I seem to be maintaining 189lbs. I'm hoping I can be solidly in the 180s soon. I've gone down another pant size too. I wish I was less spare tire around the middle, but Mister commented that my arms are noticeably smaller. I know I'm in denial about the eating-running connection. I really don't want my focus to be the weight, but I know I will be a better runner without the extra baggage.

Here's to starting Week 5 tomorrow--running interval increases to 3 minutes. Eek!