Long way, but not long enough

Each week I'm scheduled to run further than the week before in order to properly train for my half marathon.  This past week I kept putting off the long run..  I was very nervous to do it.  I had major anxiety towards it.  Every time I would think about it, I quickly thought of better things I could be doing and then did them.  I cleaned my room and closet so well that I was able to get 3 garbage bags of clothes and other items to either donate at Goodwill or consign at STUFF.  So one could say my room looks awesome.  When I finished cleaning my room on Friday afternoon, Jason said to me, "Aren't you going to do that long run?"  I told him I could still do it on Saturday and it would be in the week.  He suggested I just get it over with because Saturday could be full of things to do as well.  I already knew the route I'd run because I planned it out on the computer on a site called www.mapmyrun.com   It's fun to plan your routes and it's also fun to just go running and come back and see how far you actually went.  Last week I did 8.5 miles so I had to run further than that to meet my goal.  So I left on the run.  My run included Mormon Trek Blvd., Melrose Ave., Westgate St., Benton St., Camp Cardinal Blvd., and  2nd Ave.  It seemed at one point that I was running forever and I guess I kinda was because it took me an hour and a half to run the 9.5 miles.  There are parts of the run I don't quite remember so I guess that means I was focused.  I know I was paying attention to my right knee and trying to land lighter and not strike so hard.

I'm so glad the long run is over and I hope that next week when I have 10-10.5 miles that I can get through it without problems.

8.5

Another week another long run. I had a hard time around mile 4.5, but kept plugging on. At mile 6 I was ready to be done, but still kept going. Somehow I did it. I had to keep telling myself, "you can do it, only 2 miles left."

Next week is 9-9.5 I hope I feel this wonderful next week after the long run cause it's getting so hard.

Did I miss anyone?

I have finally gone in and added all the blog addresses that are in the family and a few of my friends as well. At least I think I have. Did I miss anyone? Did I spell names wrong?

Just let me know and I'll add it, or change it.

Or is there someone that reads this blog on a regular basis that would like their blog displayed on the right side?

it's getting harder

Today was a long run again, this time 7.5 miles. It was so hard and I wonder how I've ever ran further than this.

I feel blessed to have run this far and hope that I'm able to continue to increase my mileage each week.

A few goals for the upcoming racing season

Unlike Michelle who is a bit nuts, I don't like running outside when the temperature is below freezing and there is ice/snow on the ground. Actually, I don't like to run very much. However, I do like to compete.

I will do a few 5K's this year but they will be secondary to my real races. I have two triathlons planned for this summer. The first one will be the Lake Geode Challenge. It is an Olympic distance race (1500 meters swim - about 0.9 miles, 40k bike - about 25 miles, 10k run - 6.2 miles). Last year I did the Okoboji Triathlon which was a near-Olympic distance race so this year I thought I would jump in with both feet and really challenge myself. I did the Okoboji race in 2 hours and 9 minutes on a 97 degree day. My goal for Lake Geode is to be under three hours and hopefully do so with the temperature under 90.

I've done a lot of cross training all winter but now it is time to start stepping it up and get back in the water and actually hit the pavement. My other triathlon is the Crossroads Triathlon. I have done this one twice already and really enjoy the race. It is a sprint distance race which is a 500 meter swim, a 15 mile bike ride, and a 5k. My goal for that race is to break 1 hour and 25 minutes. That will be 5 minutes faster than my best time. There are two things (besides overall fitness and weight management) that I need to work on. First, and this will be particularly true for Lake Geode, will be race management. Since cycling is the strongest part of my race, I tend to push too hard in the bike portion and leave nothing left for the run. I am very competitive on the bike and am always trying to catch the rider in front of me - even during training rides. If I can find the fine line between too hard and just right, I will be much more successful. The second thing I really need to work on is my transitions. I am pretty slow and could potentially save a couple of minutes by speeding up the time between each event.

The last race I am really looking forward to is the Flying Pigs Duathlon in Washington, Iowa. We did it as a team last year and took 2nd in the team category. It is a fun race and gives me the opportunity to really focus on going as fast as I can on my bike without having to worry about running.

Zumba

All of us from Left to Right:
Kim, Holly, Sandra, Jason, Me, Allison



Back in January the club that Jason and I both work for had a Zumba party. I was put in charge of it since I've been teaching Zumba the longest out of the 6 instructors that teach it.

I planned a 2 hour event complete with snacks and lots of prizes!

One girl took pictures of me teaching and just barely sent them to me, here are a few. I'm not sure if I like the look of the mic on the side of my face, either I look funny or like a rock star, not sure which.







I love teaching Zumba and currently teach at 5 different locations on every day except for Sunday. To find a Zumba class in your area just go to www.Zumba.com and then click on Find a class, then put in your zip code.

Starting to get serious

It's the end of February and I'm well on my way to my half marathon training. I was due a 6 or more mile long run by this week. Since I have a small 5K race this Saturday I knew that day couldn't be my long run so I did it today.

I ran 6.5 miles today!!

AND

it felt great. It was one of those days that running just goes well and everything about it feels right.

Next week is 7 miles and I hope I can report great news that time as well.

Far from home

As some of you know I'm training for a Half Marathon. That's 13.1 miles just in case. I only mention that because years ago I wouldn't have had any clue how far a Half or Full Marathon was.

Anyway yesterday I should have ran 6 miles because that's what I'm up to as far as mileage goes. I asked my son, Brenden to run with me. He was more than excited to run and started to put on his running clothes.

I put on my colder weather running clothes since it was only 44 degrees out, this included dri fit long running skins, a sport tank covered by a long sleeve dri fit running shirt, followed by a long sleeve running jacket.

Brenden asked me how long we would be running. I told him I really needed to do 6 miles, but would run however far he felt comfortable and then we could either turn around towards home or call Jason (my husband) to pick us up. I made sure I had my cell phone in my pocket.

Brenden was excited to run with me. So we set out and ran for a while. When I checked my stopwatch it had only been 30 minutes and it seemed like 45 or more. Brenden was a trooper and continued to run. When we got to Coralville we both needed a break and were walking for a short bit. It had only been 42 minutes.

Brenden then decided he was done and we were no where near home.

I then saw a lady who was my boss at Curves. She was in the back of her store loading stuff in her car. She spotted me and said, "What are you doing over here?" Knowing I was far from home. I mentioned to her I was out running with my son and we were going over to HyVee to get a drink of water and then continue running.

She said we both looked worn out and then Brenden said, "I sure am and I'm ready to be done."

So she offered to give us a ride home. So nice of her. She clocked the drive home to see how far we had run. I was bummed to find out we had only ran 4.1 miles since it seemed like so much farther. However I'm glad I was able to run with my son. A special memory.

2011 Winterfest Amana, Iowa Freezer 5K Run

One of my goals this year is to run 1 race every month this year. Here is my race for January:

http://lewisnclark.blogspot.com/2011/01/amana-iowa-winterfest-5k-freeze-run.html

I hope the next race is in much warmer weather.

2011 First on the First 5K--Columbus, Ohio

I went to my parents home in Columbus, Ohio right after Christmas.

While there I received an e-mail from Premier Races that said that they were doing a 5K race on New Year's Day. The weather said it was going to be an awesome temperature of 52 degrees.

So I thought, "What a great day to run and start the year out right!"

So I registered for the race.

As the week was ending the weather wasn't as nice as it has stated it would be on weather.com

By Saturday morning it was pouring rain and in the high 40's. I was bummed out because I don't like to run outside in less than 50 degrees and I can't stand running in the rain. Every person at my parents house mentioned it was raining outside hard. Yes I could see that.

But since I registered for the race I went anyway. It started at 11a.m.

The entire way to the race (which was a half hour North of my parent's home) it poured rain.

By the time I arrived at the race the rain had slowed down a bunch.

I went inside and grabbed my packet complete with my racing number and timing chip for my shoe. Then I just waited around for the race to start. I warmed up and stretched.

By the time 10:50a.m. came along (time for us all to line up) the rain had stopped completely and it was so nice out. A little cold, but I knew once I started running, I would be fine.

Along the way of my 3 miles there was a slight misting thing going on. It felt wonderful.

This was my best race to date because I achieved a Personal Best!

My official time was 28:31 and this means I ran a 9:12 minute mile pace.

I was 4th out of 44 in my age group. #158th out of 537 total people and 52nd out of 298 Women.

The only bummer was nobody came to the race to cheer me on or take pictures, so there are none to post. Either way it was my best race ever and I loved it. I'm so glad I did a race on New Year's Day to start the year out right with fitness goals! Can't wait till my next race.