How Much is Too Much?

I am a competitive person, and I like thinking of myself as a runner. Call me vain, but it feels nice to think "I'm a runner," whenever a run gets hard or I'm out there alone chugging away. And because of my competitiveness, I can never find the right middle ground. Races are often horrible (from pushing too hard), or not as fast as it could have been. For 5Ks, I usually try to give it my all. And so far for half marathons, I lose mental edge in the middle when it gets hard. Because I figure, why did I pay $40+ dollars to not have fun, so I slow down.

Definitely my problem for a half. 

Now the reason for my post. Whenever I start adding tempos and interval runs, I get the same nagging shin pain. It's not serious, but annoying and makes me wonder if I should cut back. But with school, I barely get in 20 miles a week, so I don't know where I could even cut back. And I figure that it's reasonable to have some pain and soreness with working out regularly. I guess I'm just not sure where to draw the line.

On a happier/stressful? note, I signed up for my second 5K. I signed up thinking that I would try to PR, but that thought was stressing me out last week, so I decided to shoot for a time around my last 5K's time or slightly faster. I will just give it my all and remember that I didn't do any speed intervals while training for my second half.

I WILL run like hell. And I WILL have fun with it. 

Fun fact: The race starts at a bar. And it will have six pack runners which are group of six runners all connected together somehow. If I had five more runner friends, I would have definitely been up for that.

I am excited. And I will now go contemplate whether the shin thing is too much and I should rest or not. And of course the first pic is from fb I <3 to run. Love that page!

Have a happy Monday tomorrow! And what should I do? Where do you guys draw the line when it comes to running pains?

And because everyone who runs/reads my blog is a sexy beast . . . 

Let's go eat some sexy beasts!

Random Things Thursday

1. Garmins are expensive
I had  24 hours of panic mode yesterday when the garmin refused to work after a 5 mile run. So I spent a good part of today looking at every website for a new garmin or a good timex stop watch that can lap. But magically, the garmin started working today in time for a good interval workout!
One garmin forerunner 405 costs about $200.
Forerunner 405 = 2 good pairs of shoes = about 1,000 or so miles of fun
Forerunner 405 = 3.5 moderately priced half marathons
Forerunner 405 = 8 reasonably priced 5Ks
Forerunner 405 = 100 cups of java chip frap from Starbucks.
You get the point.

2. There's a pretty tree on my way from classes that makes me want to run. 

It's a very pretty tree. And my phone did a decent job at capturing it. 

I don't know why it makes me want to run. But it does.

3. Running is good but training is even better.
When I don't have a training plan, I can't muster enough motivation to go out and run. I ran intervals today because I'm debating on signing up for a 5K next weekend.

Just think of my face instead of the cat's. Totally what I look like.

Found on google images for a lazy cat. Training rocks, because it makes me do speed workouts and while they hurt, workouts make me faster. And faster is always good.

4. I really want to run a 5K.
I am DYING to run a 5K. After two half marathons, I want to feel fast again. But since September has been a dismal month of no intervals or tempo, a fast 5K may not be possible. I want to try though.

5. I have thunder thighs.
But all the better to thunder down the course with. I've always had a body type with bigger thighs than my waist (annoying when buying pants), but lately I realized that when I look in the mirror, I appreciate them more than I used to. Especially true when I looked at my race photos from the bread run. My face was a scary grimace in the last sprint to the finish, and my legs are awesomely strong and springy looking.

Bam! Finishing strong. 

 I told you my thoughts. Your turn.What are you guys thinking about? 

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! 

Race Recap

I lost. And even though I expected it, it kind of sucked. Mainly because at this race, by losing, I was dead last. And this race was a huge mental struggle. In fact, I feel that I may have burned more calories from my neurons firing and me doing weird stuff than the actual run itself.

One good thing, some of my friends came to cheer me on.

She was the first to get here. She even wore a pretty dress to cheer me on. Although, she usually dons pretty dresses so maybe it wasn't all for me. This was also the starting line at my school's arts quad. 

And then we took some failed jumping photos of the atheletes. 

I've been the one on the left. If you were confused about my gender. And we spent the better part of last night looking for dorky white head bands and a baton for the boys. 

But then everything went downhill. The first leg guy ran the leg really fast. In the beginning, I sort of kept up with him. And then I saw my pace and realized I needed to slow down. but idiot me kept a fairly consistant fast pace. Let's just say that the first three miles were faster than my goal half marathon pace for a flat race (8:45/mile)  and that was me slowing down.

Then it was time for the second leg and I didn't see the second legger at all. This was the starting point of blisters! (For the record, I did go out and buy specialty running socks). And self doubt. I began to question why I was doing this when i should be logging my required 12 miles with my clif shot blocks to try out before the half and doing it at a consistent long run pace. I got so angry at myself, I didn't know whether to harness it to run faster or just sit down in the middle of the road and cry. I did neither. Then I started hating my bfriend who basically set me up to lose and do it so horrifically with blisters and chafing just because he wanted to run a relay with his friends. Yup, the
chafing started too. And this made me question why I signed up for another half in two weeks when it would just be discouraging and painful. But I kept on chugging along, albeit a lot slower, but my legs were pumping.

I guess misery loves company, cause then my brain went on to all the things I had to do for this weekend and how behind I felt in some of my things. And also how I haven't logged as many miles as i wanted this month. Then sometime, the second leg ended and I tortuously started the third leg, even though all I wanted to do was just turn away from the course and sleep. Third leg was where i really lost time, because I kept on having to stop and dry heave. Maybe it was the temperature or that I only had huge drinks of water every three miles, I started feeling like I actually had to throw up.

I am fairly certain that I went crazy somewhere in the middle. Because I took off my top and started running in my sports bra even though I never do that. I just wanted to cool down and keep on running. I figured it would just look ridiculous to walk in just a sports bra. Yup, told ya I went crazy. But I did finish out the race.

And despite everything, I am not dropping out of the half that I'm signed up for. I guess I will have a horrific run and it's better that I get all this out of my system now rather than in three weeks. And I'm proud that despite everything, I didn't stop and cry. I didn't turn around and go home. I didn't give up and just walk the entire thing. And my garmin caught from the beginning! And I guess what makes me a runner is that despite the fact that I sometimes wanna never run again, I do continue. And I do lace up my sneakers and go on the next run. Because not running is way worse than a terrible run. And I will always have friends that cheer me on no matter what.

Besides, that was the worst run possible right? How much horrible can my next half be? Oh, the course wasn't exactly 9 miles, it was more like 8.7 and I ran it in a slightly faster than 10 minute per mile pace thanks to the last leg. But I did round out to a 9.2 miles by running a little more at the end.

Race this weekend

Something shocking happened yesterday at lunch. I was innocently enjoying my five dollar foot long talking about my planned long run of 12 miles for the weekend when two boys challenged me to a race.

They thought they would be able to beat me in a nine miler against me by running it as a relay. Three miles per each boy, nine miles for me. I agreed. They probably could beat me. I mean I've never been a speed demon. I just chug along at an averageish pace and place in the middleish of the pack in age group and overall.

But somehow, I got dragged into agreeing to do my long run as a race. Their biggest seller was that if I lose, no big deal, but if I won, I could lord it over them for the rest of senior year. And thanks to facebook, it's now officially an event on Saturday at noon. There will be spectators and picnic food. And if fb events were good indicators, there will be at least 15 people in attendance.

So here are the athletes!

Challenger #1 Master Debater

He'll be running the first leg. He claims to not have run in a month. But I know that when he did run, he ran the mile sprint a little faster than I did two months ago. He's a policy debater so you know he can out talk anyone. He's also a gifted speed reader. So, if he can run as fast as he can talk, I'm screwed. 

Challenger #2 Adventure Racer

He's running the second leg. He competes in those mud race type events. You know, the kind where you have to run with heavy stuff or climb a wall or all sorts of craziness. Not a regular runner, but he strength trains regularly. I'm guessing just a road race of 3 miles will seem like cake after the races he's done. Look at those long legs. Then look at mine. Clearly running gods favored him more than me. 

Challenger #3 Farm boy

As you can see his childhood of being raised on a farm has resulted in super human strength , which he now uses to curl ducklings. He's been known to go on three mile runs with me about once a week. He's racing the last leg. I know he's super competitive, so he'll definitely won't give it up easily. Look at that game face. 

Person who's challenged (Totally sounds like I'm talking about a disability, but I didn't know what to call myself).

Hopefully, like this picture, I will crush them. Even though I did finish a half marathon like three weeks ago, I've been reduced to running once a week for my long run. I hope to at least get one speed work in this week. And if I do lose, lose with dignity by five minutes at most. 

Wish me luck! And stay tuned for the race this Saturday. As more information is available (as I decide on more race details), I will let you guys know.

And I looked like a total creeper at the library going through all the guys' photos and saving them to put on the blog.

Anyone know any good speed workouts? Or wanna advise me on race strategy?