More New Years Goals

I know that everyone's been beating this horse to death already. But I've thought of some really important resolutions that I felt bad not having on my blog at all. After all, I would want accountability this year for my goals so that I can actually achieve some of them. Shoot for the moon, right?

So here's a very late, but important resolutions.

1. Break 2 hours in the half marathon. 
In my last post, my marathon plans sort of drove all other racing goals from my mind. But marathon training won't take the whole year, so I still will have a good 6 months to work on speed. This goal probably won't happen in my nearest half marathon, which is in a week. But it WILL happen.

2. Learn to do this. 

Source I would love to be able to do this. 

Originally it was this:

But clearly, this isn't happening. Maybe in 2013. 

This means, I need to make stretching a regular part of training. It'll also help my running and recovery, or so I hear.

3. Hold a plank for more than a minute. 

I would like to get abs some day. And at my current core fitness level, it's not going to happen. I have a hard time holding it for 30 seconds which is pitiful. 

4. Break under 6 minutes for a mile time. 

I would really love it if this happens. It will also probably lead me to getting a PR for a 5K, which is always great. 

5. Run more than 1000 miles this year. 

My A goal is to run 1500, because 15 is my lucky number. But I will say at least 1000 miles since I have no idea how busy I will be once I graduate. 

Have a great weekend everyone? Does anyone have any last minute resolutions that you want to be held accountable for? I do a great guilt trip. 

Bread Run Half Marathon Recap

I finished my second half marathon! 

I don't know why I'm twisting so hard. But that was me sprinting to the finish. 

Unfortunately, I was mislead into believing that I'd get a medal for the half. Nope! I got a lapel pin with the 5k finishers. But at least my bib says half marathon. 

A photo with everyone that I know who ran the 5k. the small thing that i'm holding up is the lapel pin. 

But the race was excellent. Despite no medals. There was post race chocolate milk handed out by a pageant queen. Milk tastes better when it's handed to you by a pretty person. :) And I also got a post race massage, which ended sooner than what I needed (all afternoon). And despite it being a small race, 85 people ran the half, the organization was excellent. There were digital time displays at about four locations, and I was able to run and drink because they handed out small water bottles rather than cups. The course was also completely closed to traffic. One bad part was that because the race was so small, I was mainly alone most of the time. 

So coming in to the race, my main goal was to have fun. I would have liked to beat my time from the Oak Tree, but I had no high hopes since I barely got in one day of running per week in the days leading up to the race. But I finished at 2:07:23 which is 9:44 min/mile  and a PR by about 6 minutes. I was very surprised since the day was so hot and the race started at 10:30AM. Running 13.1 miles in the blazing sun with no shade = not so fun. 

Look at all that sun. And see my bike shorts peeking out from underneath my usual running shorts? Best idea ever! No chafing. 

Did I mention that I started off slowly than I normally do? That was frustrating but awesome. I started wishing I was dead a lot later than I did at the Oak Tree. It started getting super hard around mile 9.

Look at the girl right behind me. She was also in my age group and came in 3 seconds behind me. 

Overall, I feel awesome and can't wait to do another one. I even feel less sore than I did after the Oak Tree. Actually, yesterday, I started getting a headache (probably from exerting myself in the heat) so I took two Advila. After an hour or so, I noticed that I had no soreness in my legs. I was so happy, thinking that my foam rolling and my superior physical shape has reduced the soreness. But that night as the soreness came back, I remembered the Advil. :( One day, I will be fit enough to run a strong half and also not feel sore. 

And to help you guys have a great Monday, here's a pic from I<3 to run on facebook. It's the story of my life. 

Long Run Sunday

For some reason, I seem to always need an extra day to get used to the idea of a long run. I schedule all long runs on Saturdays. Then I make up excuses, go back to sleep, and have to do the long run Sunday. Yesterday, I planned on getting a 12 miler in the morning, then going to the apple festival to reward myself. Well, it was very cold and rainy all day, so I convinced myself that I was getting sick.

But that clearly did not stop me from going to the apple festival and getting pumpkin funnel cake and deep fried oreos. 

As a side note, I wasn't a big fan of deep fried Oreo. The Oreo gets too soggy, but the funnel cake was awesome. 

Then I got some veggies and fruits to make a balanced diet. 

I would have taken picture of my corn and hot chocolate, but it was gone too quickly.

For fruit, I chose to have caramel coated apple with white chocolate chips, m&m's and nut toppings. 

Great fueling for the long run. And it must have worked, because despite the chilliness, I logged 10 miles in 9:06/mile pace with the last two miles at my Oak Tree Half goal pace.For the Bread Run, I am just aiming for something less than 10:10/mile. It was a great confidence booster that maybe I would be able to finish the half marathon this coming weekend despite a sad lack of training. 

Oh and I finally got to try cliff shot blocks. I didn't get that magical boost in energy, but it didn't disagree with  me. A step in the right direction!

All in all, it was a great way to start October. A great run along with tons of junk food. Hopefully rest of October stays awesome. 

And just to start your October with awesomeness, here's a picture from i<3 to run on fb. I found this sacrilegious since I'm Christian, but it still made me smile. And I sort of think of it whenever I do a long run on Sundays. 

Please don't be offended. 

Things that made me run

September was a terrible month for me running wise. It's a month of my lowest mileage since I started running this year. But now October and cool weather are here. I plan on getting my runs in during the middle of the day so there's nothing stopping me. But I did get in one last run of the month today. I got in 4 miles at 9:02 pace.  And now as per the title, here are the things that made me run.

1. New clothes. I am not a big clothes shopper, but new running clothes are the best!

I am pretending to run really awkwardly. You can tell by how my left foot is completely flat on the ground. 

I thought it would be a good idea to break out the winter running pants, since it was slightly chilly. I opted to wear my shorts over the tight running pants, because I am not a big fan of tight clothes around my crotch area. Unfortunately, it was a little too warm during the run.

2. Errands to run.(pun intended)

Nothing calls for a run more than having to go to the post office that's a good half a mile away. 

I ran with a giant white envelope a dollar to go mail my rent check. Although, it was totally unnecessary since I found place that sold stamps 0.1 miles from where I live. But my garmin was on and I couldn't go back after 0.1 miles of running.

3. Apple festival
Picture for this will probably come later. Apple festival is tomorrow. Pumpkin funnel cakes. 'Nuff said.

4. Halloween
While, I've never been the one to dress in a risque costume like my fellow college mates who walk the streets of collegetown, I'd like to keep the option open.

Yes, I even wore an undershirt underneath my respectable doctor costume. 

In my defense, it snowed a little in the morning, so it was freezing.

5. Bread Run
What? I signed up for a half marathon and it's in a week? I really messed up this one. I have no idea how I will complete a half marathon in a week with dismal training. But I will get to add a shiny new medal to my collection if I'm not found dead on the side of some good ol' rolling hills.

Here's to a new month and getting back up to 30+ miles a week! And funnel cakes! 

Rookie Mistakes

So, I have less than 12 hours before my first ever half marathon. I feel like the opening line of Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. You know the line that goes along something like it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, etc etc for five lines or so. It's one long sentence full of contradictions. If you've never read the book, you should read it. I've read the first half about a dozen times but never got around to finishing it . I can assure you that the first half is quite good.

And one other thing about this race, I keep on making these rookie mistakes. I do things that every running blog I've ever read keep on warning me against. First of all, I went to the running store and bought a whole bunch of things that I should not be buying for the first time before a race.

Exhibit A

For the first time ever, I will be trying out the GUs. I know that I should have tested it out on a long run to make sure that my stomach can handle it, but I opted to be cheap and didn't take any during training runs. Then I realized that i had nothing to carry the GUs with. I briefly considered stuffing them in my sports bra, but then i didn't think the massive chafing would be worth it. So I shelled out some more dollars for a sprint handheld, that I've never tried before. This way, I can take the GUs next to a porta potty as opposed to a water station just in case . . . I decided to also purchase a foam roller. I've heard so many good things, but not so much about it hurting like h**l. But now I can squat without my calf muscles being on fire.

This morning, I also picked up my race packet. My bfriend drove me forty minutes. Then I promptly remembered that I forgot my wallet right in front of the registration area. He was not happy. In a typical Rena fashion, I wanted to cry and turn back home. But he had sense and made me go in and try to register without an ID. It worked. They did not ask.

Yes, that is fertilizer next to the peanut butter. 

The shirt was too big, but slinky and nice. Peanut butter, I will use, probably exclusively once homework gets overwhelming and I can't be bothered to cook. And the fertilizer will be a gift to a lucky person. Probably to my bfriend's dad. Although he owns a farm, so I don't know how much use a tiny bottle of organic fertilizer will do for him.

I've also laid out my clothes for tomorrow and pinned my bib.

Yes. I am wearing the same outfit as in that 5K I ran a month ago. I hope it's lucky since I did better than my goal time then. Don't judge. I promise I washed it since then. I am not the person who believes laundry will wash the good luck off. 

So to  make it suckier for me, I am going to tell all of you my goals for the race. This way, I can't just decide to walk the whole thing. I am more accountable. Also, 80% chance thunder storm tomorrow. I hope everyone drops out and I can take first. :P Actually, being a Californian girl for a good chunk of my life, I've never run with water falling from anywhere other than my sweaty clothes. It will be an experience. 

Goals: 1. To finish under two hours. According to a vdot calculator, with the level of fitness I had at the time of the 5K, I can finish under two hours. I am highly mistrustful. My long run has never been at the half marathon pace. It's always been ran at the prescribed long run pace. and My last long run was three weeks ago, which seems like a long time. Also, I'm doing all the random stuff that I'm not supposed to do. Oh and apparently, the course is HILLY! Hills are my enemy. It's the Lois to my Stewie. (Family Guy reference). And race directors were mean and put a mother of all hills that's a mile long in the last two mile from the end. Clearly, they should have leveled the ground just for the race this year. 

2. To finish the half and run the whole time excluding possible GU potty break and water station mayhem. 

This way if I don't meet goal 1, highly doubtful at this point, I can at least meet goal 2. 

Wish me luck!!

What do you guys do before a stressful event?