Shannon and I did the Wharf to Wharf today, with the intention of sandwiching the 6-mile race with 2 miles before and 2 miles afterwards to reach our 10-mile training run goal.
The first two miles to the start of the race went by quickly and was comfortable. We were both fighting mucus issues -- Shannon with her cold; me with my cat allergy.
The race itself was harder than I expected. There were more hills and less water than I would have liked. At mile 3 (our mile 5), I started to wonder if I was as trained as I had thought. I was sucking wind up those hills and was feeling defeated.
By mile 4, I realize my body was responding well but I was mentally tired. I wanted to walk. Better yet, I wanted to be in bed, warm and snoring.
By mile 5, I wanted to be done. I had to work at not quitting today. Was it the lack of food? sleep? sun? I pushed on, telling myself I needed to do this to be ready for Disney.
Given my water breaks and lackadaisical motivation, I was surprised to finish the race in 1:15 hours! That's a 12 minute pace! WOOT! I am so proud of my pace! WOOT! WOOT!
As for the last 2 miles of our 10-miler today...long story short...I lost Shannon, giving her bad directions because I didn't realize there are TWO Capitola "streets". We probably walked over 2 miles looking for each other and for Leland.
I'm still in happy shock at my pace. My body was booking it while my mind broke down today. I think this is why you do long runs, to train both the body and mind. Looks like I have some more work to do...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Damn fog
Since the long July holiday weekend, I've skipped all work-week workouts. It was partially due to injury but mostly due to laziness.
All weekend, I found reasons to skip the long run.
* Saturday morning: Shannon's sick so I'll sleep in and rest for the afternoon, when I do the long run.
* Saturday afternoon: It's too cold, foggy, misty, late, and I'm totally drained by the latest Batman movie. I'll do the run tomorrow.
* Sunday morning: I'm need to sleep in because I'm so tired. I'll do the run this afternoon.
* Sunday afternoon: I need to cook for the week. I need to do my part with the house budget. Ah...I'll do the run tomorrow?
Lame-o, Jessi is my name-o.
Today, I could procrastinate no more. I put in the 9-miles outside in the miserably cold, windy and foggy air. I loved that I was out running again but focused most of my energy fighting the damn weather. Negativity shrouded my run today like the damn fog.
Did I mention how horrible the weather was? ;-)
All weekend, I found reasons to skip the long run.
* Saturday morning: Shannon's sick so I'll sleep in and rest for the afternoon, when I do the long run.
* Saturday afternoon: It's too cold, foggy, misty, late, and I'm totally drained by the latest Batman movie. I'll do the run tomorrow.
* Sunday morning: I'm need to sleep in because I'm so tired. I'll do the run this afternoon.
* Sunday afternoon: I need to cook for the week. I need to do my part with the house budget. Ah...I'll do the run tomorrow?
Lame-o, Jessi is my name-o.
Today, I could procrastinate no more. I put in the 9-miles outside in the miserably cold, windy and foggy air. I loved that I was out running again but focused most of my energy fighting the damn weather. Negativity shrouded my run today like the damn fog.
Did I mention how horrible the weather was? ;-)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sidelined again
Sidelined from another week of workouts due to strained back muscle and general laziness.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
8 (but really 10) miles
Shannon and I started our long run today not in the best of spirits...we started off with reasons / excuses for not being thrilled for the 8-miler to come.
We did loops around the house so that we could come back for water and energy gels.
The first three miles were mild. A bit of shin pain but it went well. We kept a slow pace and took in each other company's and the foggy air.
A couple of Clif Shots later, we shuffled through our next two-mile loop. I had achy hips today, perhaps because it was a relatively hilly course for us. We inserted a few more walking breaks; it was getting harder to keep up a conversation and keep running at the same time.
After a final pit stop, we started off the last three miles with the intention of doing run / walk. It was a good decision for me. It helped with my fatigued and while those hills had me huffing like the big, fat wolf, I was able to finish well.
It was suppose to be an 8-miler but we actually covered about 10 miles. Those extra two miles are due to distances I normally walk for warm-up / cool-down. Since we took walking breaks and did runs / walks, I figured that I'd count all the mileage. (Shannon, forgive my math!)
Today's run proves to me that my body is able to handle this distance, especially at the slow pace we held today. I feel good mentally and physically. I feel I will be ready for the race if I keep up with the with training schedule.
I feel, dare I say it, confident in my legs right now.
We did loops around the house so that we could come back for water and energy gels.
The first three miles were mild. A bit of shin pain but it went well. We kept a slow pace and took in each other company's and the foggy air.
A couple of Clif Shots later, we shuffled through our next two-mile loop. I had achy hips today, perhaps because it was a relatively hilly course for us. We inserted a few more walking breaks; it was getting harder to keep up a conversation and keep running at the same time.
After a final pit stop, we started off the last three miles with the intention of doing run / walk. It was a good decision for me. It helped with my fatigued and while those hills had me huffing like the big, fat wolf, I was able to finish well.
It was suppose to be an 8-miler but we actually covered about 10 miles. Those extra two miles are due to distances I normally walk for warm-up / cool-down. Since we took walking breaks and did runs / walks, I figured that I'd count all the mileage. (Shannon, forgive my math!)
Today's run proves to me that my body is able to handle this distance, especially at the slow pace we held today. I feel good mentally and physically. I feel I will be ready for the race if I keep up with the with training schedule.
I feel, dare I say it, confident in my legs right now.
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