A new PW for 5km but a nice run anyway

A beautiful morning for running today. When I got to the race I still couldn't work out whether to run the 5km or 10km. I ended up deciding not to push things too much and do the 5km. I'm glad I did - whilst I felt ok before hand, once I started running I knew I just didn't have the energy to go too hard. It's my worst result in a 5km race ever. So I'm pretending it's not a race - I'm counting it as race pace training for my half, since I'd like to do just under 7 min kms if its humanly possible! Oh well, a nice morning for a run, and a few more kms under my belt.

Second time's a charm

Todays' run: 18.75km, 2 hrs 38 mins 13 secs

After 13 straight days of rain... it held off this morning although it was very overcast. A lovely cool but not cold morning, perfect temps for running.

Mentally it was a much better run than the last couple of weeks - got up just knowing it would be ok. It was a long run, mind you, and my ankles, knees, hips etc are a little creaky now. Calves were tight to start with, but aside from those few little things, I'm just so pleased and relieved to have completed this run... I thought it was going to haunt me! I managed to keep my mind focussed on what was going on around me, rather than the route or distance I had to run.

As I said though, the best thing is that now I feel like I'm in a position to finish a half marathon, whatever happens in the next few weeks. The plan is for one more long run next weekend and two weeks to taper. On Sunday I'm planning on a race, but I'm not sure at the moment whether a hard 10km race after today will be too much, or whether I should go for a more realistic 5km. We'll see.

Yeah - it's done and the monkey is off my back!!!

Getting slightly better

Today's run: 9.6km, 1 hr 15 mins 49 secs

Well it's getting a little bit better. My legs felt better today than they have over the last few runs, which was pleasing. My head was in a slightly better space today too, although it wasn't quite where it needed to be to completely get my mojo back. It was raining quite steadily during my run too, so I think the fact that I didn't pack the run in earlier was quite positive too.

I'm worried I've lost interest too much to get in the last few long runs I need for the HM I have planned. I don't want to lose interest... I want to be a runner, but I've been struggling with enjoying running for the last week or two. In the meantime, I'll keep trying...

Where has my mojo gone?

Todays' run: Dreadmill - 37 mins 30 secs... I think only about 4 kms

Shocking run today. Was supposed to run this morning but it was pouring. Didn't really feel like it anyway. Went to work to get some marking done and took my running clothes with me. Even though it wasn't raining I didn't feel like running outside once I had finished at school - in fact I didn't feel like running at all, but for some stupid reason I thought that going to the gym and running on the dreadmill would be ok. Hah! What a stupid thought is that! It was shocking. I was very slow, and just didn't have the heart or stamina to keep going. It was hot and stuffy inside too. I'll try again tomorrow... I really need a good run right about now.

I threw in the towel

Today's run: 5.8km, 46 mins 20 secs

Today I was meant to run 18km. As you can see from the above, I didn't make it. My lungs were fine and my breathing was nice and easy. I didn't even get particularly sweaty on the run. It wasn't raining like I had feared. I got up early to have breakfast a couple of hours before my run, so everything should have been good.

Currently I have two voices in my head that are giving me different opinions on why the run didn't go so well. Here are their opinions...

Voice 1:
The last two weekends have been very long runs for me... 15km and 16.6km. I've never run that far before. My legs just needed a break and a cut back week before I attempt an even further long run.

Voice 2:
I got soft on myself. My head wasn't in the right place and I could have kept going if I wanted it bad enough. Just because it got slightly hard I gave up.

The truth of the matter is probably somehwere between the two. Worst part was, not only did I cut the run short, I also stopped about a km from home and walked the rest of the way. So pretty disappointed.

Not so hot...

Yesterday's run: 4.8km, 37 mins 38 secs

A slow, heavy run yesterday after a great run on Wednesday. I suppose that's the way it goes - you can't run well all of the time. It was raining too, which never makes me feel like being out there for too long. (Although I continually surprise myself that I get out for a run in the rain in the first place - it would be so easy to stay indoors).

Looking at my total kms for each week, month etc... I am amazed at how far I have come. I may still be slow, but to be running these sort of distances is amazing. My goal for tomorrow is 18km. It will probably take me about 2 and a 1/2 hours. I can't believe that that sort of distance is achievable for me!

I think I have been too easy on myself...

Today's run: 9.6km, 1 hr 9 mins 59 secs

Many of you will probably look at the time it took me to do today's run at scoff at how slow I was. But I am very happy with this run for a couple of reasons.

1. 9.6km is my longest midweek run yet. One of the benefits of school holidays is that I now have time to do these longer runs midweek, plus I can do them in the morning rather than after a busy day chasing after several hundred kids, when it's sometimes all I can do to get up the three flights of stairs to my apartment.

2. Slow as it may seem, the pace for today's run is one of the fastest regular training runs I've done in ages. My pace was 7:17 - often my runs are between 7:30 and 7:50 for a regular training run - on the weekend my long runs are over 8:00 a km. And considering the length of the run, I'm pretty happy with that!

My run was 3 laps of a 3.2km loop... the first lap my shin on my left leg was a bit sore... I hadn't run yesterday because it was sore then too. I started to get a bit worried, wondering whether to pull the pin and rest up, but just before the end of the first lap it felt a bit better, so I kept going. And during the second and third laps, it actually felt good! I managed to get a longer stride going for the second and third laps, which was great, and my shin is only a little sore now.

Yeah for me!

Cut short

Today's run: 6.4km, 47 mins 11 secs

Today's run felt good. When I left the house it was sprinkling, but it soon stopped. Everything felt ok today... I didn't feel like I was running particularly quickly, but my pace was better than it has been for a while. I could have run further today, and I wanted too, but I had to get home for an appointment so that was the only disappointing part. Whilst I don't seen to be getting very quick, running these sorts of distances used to be my long runs, and are now not so much of an effort. Nice to see that sort of change happening.

Confidence building...

Today's run: 16.6km, 2 hrs 16 mins 50 secs

After some cruddy running during the week, I managed to make up for things with a new longest long run. Whilst once again it was a pretty slow plod, it's confidence building in that the Hal Higdon Half Marathon plan only has 16km as its longest run. So now I figure any further I can do in training is just a bonus.

I didn't feel too bad today - no real niggles or anything. Thought I might feel worse because I didn't have breakfast before I left (it's the first day of the school holidays and I couldn't face getting up too early) plus I'm due for my time of the month and I often feel like rubbish on those days (sorry if that's TMI).

So all in all I'm pretty happy with those efforts. In fact at the moment, I seem to be struggling to increase the distance of my midweek runs more than I am with weekend long runs. Hopefully during the holidays I can rectify that.

A new worst. run. ever.

Today's run: 3.2km, 25 mins 27 secs

I just didn't feel it today. Within 50 metres of starting, I could feel my shin playing up again, and so I contemplated walking. But then the shin was ok, and I still wanted to walk. I had a toilet break, mostly so I could stop for a moment. I kept going, but at a snails pace. And it was such a mental battle today. The only reason I kept running instead of walking was because it would have been so humiliating to think that I couldn't even do 3.2km. Even so, considering I'm going to attempt a half in 5 weeks, 3.2km as a midweek run is just weak.

School holidays for 2 weeks now... I'm hoping to get some good solid training in. Only problem is that I started getting swollen glands and an earache today so I' hoping I don't come down with something.

So-so midweek run

Yesterday's run: 5km, 37 mins 22 secs

Yesterday I was struggling for time to run... I had to stay late at school for a meeting and I was going to Mum and Dad's for dinner (Dad had cooked and was extremely proud of himself!) So I combined my run with the last activity and ran over to Mum and Dad's, which is 5km away. Now that daylight savings has ended it was pretty much dark when I started, and it had been raining off and on all day, so the road was a bit wet and slippery.

The moment I started the run though, I didn't feel very comfortable. The whole way I had niggles. First my shin hurt, then my knee, and back to my shin again. This has happened before, but after a few minutes, the niggles seem to go away and I start feeling good - but not yesterday. Perhaps part of the problem was that since I was only doing 5km, I had gone out with the intention of trying to make them fairly quick kms. Of course the time it took me will show that was not the case in the end - part of the is because of the niggles, but also partly because I stopped to stretch and had to wait to cross quite a few roads.

So unhappy in that it was not a great run. Happy in that I managed to sneak a run into the busy last week of term.

Getting chilly...

Today's run: 6.4km, 49 mins 20 secs

After the clocks changed last night for the end of daylight savings, I got to sleep in for an extra hour this morning! However after a long nana nap yesterday, I wasn't really tired enough to sleep in this morning, so I got up at 6:20am. Now for me, on a weekend, when I didn't really need to, that's early! Anyway, it meant that by the time I got myself organised and out the door for my run, and back, it was still early!

My run today was pretty good. It's started to turn pretty cold in the mornings now - there is a definite 'freshness' in the mornings and evenings, although it's still lovely during the day. My calves were pretty tight after yesterday's effort, but aside from that I felt pretty good. I guess it should tell me I should stretch more after my runs, but at the end of the day I am a pretty lazy girl. Maybe one day I will get into that habit - so for now, my stretching routine is a bit sporadic.

As I said before, when I got home, it was only 8:15am, so I decided to treat myself to bacon and scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast, which was lovely. So by 9am, I'd had breakfast, cleaned up, showered and dressed - again, unheard of for the weekend! Particularly when I run it usually means I'm not ready to go until much later.

Now to decide what to do with my day!

Another longest long run

Today's run: 14.9km, 2 hrs 3 mins 39 secs

After a cut back week following my 14km race, I thought it was time to up the ante again as far as distance was concerned, so my goal for today was about 15km. Last night I was playing about on my computer trying to map a nice route for myself on gmaps-pedometer, and I started to get a bit worried by just how far I would be running... it's a long way!!!

This morning I got up early and had my usual breakfast. Up until now I hadn't eaten before my long runs, but they weren't really all that long, so that was ok. I know that if I enter a half marathon though, I'll be up for quite a while before I run, and will get hungry, so I wanted to see how my stomach would cope with breakfast then a run. After breakfast I actually curled up under a blankie on the couch whilst I waited for that to digest - I had had to wake up too early on a Saturday to east breakfast for my liking! After a short nap I finally got moving and organised my fuel belt with 2 bottles of gatorade and 2 bottles of water, along with some jelly beans.

Once I got going I was surprised by how easy and comfortable the first 5 kms were. I was running quite a bit slower than I usually would over 5kms of course, which obviously helps it be more comfrtable, but I guess it just made me think about how far I've come. The second 5km were also not too bad, but they involved crossing quite a lot of roads so that meant stopping momentarily to look for traffic etc and that was a bit of a pain. Around 8km - 12km there were a number of quite big hills, which considering how long I'd already been running for, I handled pretty well. My ankles were actually the part that complained about them most, due to the camber of the road. The last few kms seemed to go reasonably quickly too, and it certainly didn't feel like I'd been running for 2 hours when I got home. Made it the whole way without stomach discomfort after breakfast or any loo stops too, which was great. Each time I had a drink I did walk though - I just can't coordinate myself to run and drink!

Mentally, I was pretty pleased with how I handled it. My runs always suck when I spend my time thinking about how far I have to go, and whilst I try not to do that, sometimes I just can't help myself. Today, however, I managed to amuse myself with all kinds of other random thoughts!

So as I sit here, clean and warm on the couch, I'm pretty pleased with myself again. It's amazing to me that a half marathon is seeming like a more realistic achievement every day...

Midweek

Today's run: 8.1km, 1 hr 2 mins 30 secs

Today was one of those days. You know, the kind where you just keep getting one thing after another to deal with, and just when you think you can't handle anything else, there's another 3 things landing on your desk. The worst part of my particular role (I'm a teacher but also responsible for a year group of students) is that when you're dealing with people, you just can't put some things off - they have to be dealt with.

So by the time I got home this afternoon, I was very happy to go for my run to have some time to think things through... not that I solved a thing, but it gave me a break at least. My goal for this afternoon was to do a run of a decent length - ie not pike part way through and cut it short! And I was very happy with 8.1km... that's my longest midweek run to date. It is a bit of a pain because of course these longer runs take longer amounts of time, especially at my pace! I was a little less enthusiastic about this run compared to plenty of other afternoons, but I figure at the stage of my training that I can't afford to be piking on things - if my program says to run, then I need to run. I kept repeating to myself this afternoon "If you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk, then crawl." And funnily enough, I managed to run the whole thing.

A good way to start the month.