Half Marathon Training Week 8

Preface: I had a really hard time debating what to write today. I went back and forth about actually going on with my half marathon training week 8 post since I've missed a few of weeks, but I felt really guilty considering what happened on Friday. 

There's so much to say about gun control or lack thereof, especially because of the completely differing opinions on the subject in my old home and my new home. But to be honest, I prefer keeping my opinions to myself. With any tragedy, whether it be personal or global, I tend to stay away from the internet for expressing what's on my mind. I always have. Others have posted beautiful words all over blogs and social media sites, but it really is not my thing. All I know is that words just aren't enough.

My heart goes out to Newtown, CT and everyone affected by the shooting.

That all being said, I had a great week for running but I'll make it quick.

Monday - LRR group run. I believe we covered about 4 miles of just slow circuits around the park. Nothing fancy.

Tuesday - OFF

Wednesday - 6 miles

Thursday - OFF. I had planned to do a short run but my hip had been bothering me for a while. I decided to rest instead so it was okay for Saturday.

Friday - OFF

Saturday - 7 miles in total starting with the park run 5K. I pushed myself a bit but I knew I could have done better. I started getting lazy because I knew after the 5K I'd still have about 4 miles to cover. Nonetheless, I came out with a PB of 31:13 which I was proud of. Still in the 31:XX funk which I've been in for about a month or more... Anyone want to pace me? When I say "pace me" I mean chase after me violently with a stick so I can sub 31:00?? Thanks in advance.

Sunday - OFF

What motivates you to do speed work or go faster during a race?? Do you enjoy going beyond your comfort zone or would you rather stay at your "happy pace"?

Half Marathon Training Week 5

Week 5 is now in the books! Despite everything the world and the weather threw at me, I made it!

Last week, if you recall, I had a kind of tough long run. Mentally I was done, and it was taking a toll on me.

But also, if you recall, I PR-ed in Saturday's park run last week. So clearly I had a fire lit under me that my mind just didn't want to deal with.

(Don't let your head give up before your legs give out)

(Pic taken in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

I've learned recently that running is a mental game. It's easy to make excuses as to why something didn't go as planned. 

But most of the time it's your mind and that tired voice in the back of your head saying how much easier it would be if you just stopped or slowed down.

Maybe my crappy 7 mile run would have been better if I didn't keep complaining about it in my head. Because at the end of the day, I finished those 7 miles. That's 7 more miles than I was running a few years ago. It's 7 more miles than a lot of people ran that day. And it's 7 more miles of preparation for the half marathon.

So from now on I'm going to try to be more positive! It can't hurt!

Anyways, time to run off all that pumpkin pie I've been eating.......

...and when I say "run off" I really mean "go run and then eat more pumpkin pie"

Side note: This is the first week where I've felt really achy and sore from training. Maybe it was that 7 miler last week. But I'll tell ya, I feel it! 

Monday - LRR group run. I loved every bit of this run, but sadly my stomach did not (TMI?) Seriously, it was really great and I wish I could have done better. We just did a long, consistently paced run (which are my favorite) around the park. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of eating a whole bunch of olives before I went to meet up for the group run. OLIVES?! WTF was I thinking eating olives!!? I pushed through the pains until the last ten minutes and finally decided to walk. It was frustrating, but I felt infinitely better once I stopped jumbling up my stomach even more.

Tuesday - OFF

Wednesday - 4 miles through the rain, mud, and puddles! Other than that, a very good run!

Thursday - 5 incredibly windy miles

Friday - OFF

Saturday - 5 miles (technically just a bit over actually). I did one mile before the park run 5K and one mile after.

During the park run, I was trying to focus on my mentality. Not my pace, not everyone around me, not how ridiculously rainy it was, but my own thoughts.

Here is my thought process throughout the whole 5K:

"Okay, you can do this, Tay. No negative thoughts like last week. You PRed last week and you were a negative ass so just imagine what you can do if you really stay positive. Keep up with these people now and when we get to your little Florida Girl Hills we will slow down and reassess how you feel. 

Just get to the hills. The hills are not your enemy anymore. Don't even call them hills. Call them ant piles. Yes, stupid little ant piles. Think of how hard these hills were a few weeks ago. Now you do them in your sleep. 

Wow it's really raining hard. Rain is good. Oh, I'm over the hills! I mean ant piles. That wasn't so bad! 

Keep it going. There go the fast runners. They're almost done and I'm just getting halfway. No, no negative thoughts. You are a rock star. Oh crap, the fast runners are splashing mud on me. Where did they get all that mud from?? Oh well. Positive thoughts. Thanks so much for the mud; it goes great with my sweat! Goodbye fast runners, I have another loop to do. 

Focus. You're over halfway done. And don't forget, you ran a mile before the park run. You can still do this. Oh here's the mud. There is SO MUCH mud. Ohmigod this sucks. 

Okay no more mud. Back to focusing. When you get back to that road, think about how you want to finish the race. DAMNIT MUD! THIS IS WORSE THAN THE LAST BIT OF MUD!! MY SHOES ARE GETTING STUCK!!! Ew. Ew. Ew. Stop saying ew, Taylor, you're acting like a wuss. 

Okay back on the road with no mud. Right, there's the 4K sign. Less than a mile to go. You're nearly there! Yayyyy! You're doing great. You ran a mile, you're nearly done with 5K, and you have to run another mile when this is over so don't exert all your energy. 

Just keep this up. 2010 Taylor would have passed out 3.75 miles ago. 2012 Taylor can do this! And likes it! No no, you LOVE it! If you didn't like endurance you would have taken up tiddly winks instead. 

Okay, when you turn this corner, you'll see the finish. If you don't start sprinting when you see the finish.... Wait that sounds harsh. Okay, if you'd like to sprint to the finish, that's great! But you've done fantastic today! So if this pace is what you wanna do, do it! Nearly there! Mmm, more mud with a side of mud, andddd I'm done!"

Hilariously, I completed the park run in 31:32, which is my exact time of last week's park run! I was initially disappointed (seriously, I couldn't have run one second faster?!) but then I thought how much better this week felt. It felt more natural this week and I definitely wasn't as winded when I was done. So I'm going to count this week as a personal win!

Sunday -OFF

Side note, if you follow me on Twitter you know I got a case of the crazies Saturday night. I promise I only get like that once a year. FSU vs. UF game. And I'm not happy about the result.

Garnet and Gold forever!

 Hope you all had a great weekend!! 

Runners - What are you currently training for?? Certain race? Certain pace? Do you tend to like it better when you've got a goal in mind?
Non-Runners - What motivates you to reach your goals? Rewards? Self-fulfillment?

Half Marathon Training Week 4

Hello! Hope everyone had an amazing weekend!

Let's see how my half marathon training is getting on!

I read something earlier in the week. It's a well known quote so forgive me for sounding like a teenaged Tumblr account. (I don't actually have a Tumblr, is that the sort of thing people post?)

(If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough)
(Side note: this picture was taken in Hawaii.)

I've seen this quote time and time again.

But this week when I saw it, it just really hit home. 

Every time I see a longer distance on my training sheet or look up at a hill (read: Florida Girl Hill), it makes me nervous for failure. I don't want to have to stop running during a long run. I don't want to huff and puff my way up an incline that many people could probably do in their sleep. And come February, I don't want to see 13.1 miles and feel dread.

But the truth is, if your dreams don't scare you, you should be aiming for something bigger then, shouldn't you?

And right now, 13.1 miles scares me. But that just means I've set my sights on something big instead of settling for something easy.

That's as deep as I'll be getting today; let's see what went down this week! 

Monday - LRR group run. We did hills. Lots and lots and lots of hills. We did 3 laps up and down this long hill that circled a sports center. That was difficult, but it was nothing compared to "Golf Course Hill". Forgive me while I have a moment to settle my PTSD from this godawful hill. It started off okay. And then it just went up. And up. And kept going up. Then it flattened out a bit, which was a joke, because then it got even worse than it did before! I swear there was a point where my feet were moving and I was trying to run, but I was going literally nowhere. I was just stomping in place like a mad person trying to run my way up this beast. THAT'S how steep it was. I hate you, Golf Course Hill. You suck. 

(At the end, someone with a Garmin said that we did between 5.75 and 6 miles that night. Not bad for a Monday!)

Tuesday - OFF

Wednesday - 4 miles

Thursday - 3 miles

Friday - OFF

Saturday - 7 miles, which is a new personal distance! Too bad I felt miserable throughout the whole run...

I started off with the park run 5K. I was absolutely positive that it was my worst park run yet because I have never felt so exhausted or fed up with a run in my whole life. I literally couldn't wait for it to be over. Happy to say that I got a surprise PR of 31:32 for the park run! That's 10:10 per mile I somehow managed. I can't complain about that; however I wish I didn't exhaust myself as much as I did because when it was over I was like "ughhhh 4 more miles to go now!"

I spent the entire 4th mile constantly stopping and going, and doing a sort of old lady power walking through the mall maneuver. That was my attempting "running". Once my pity party was over, I tried to get into a good rhythm. Thankfully (and reluctantly), I finished the 7 miles feeling kinda sorta accomplished, but also incredibly tired and happy that my running for the day was OVER. 

Sunday - OFF

Also while we are on the subject of workouts, read this article if you get a chance. I couldn't stop reading it; I was so intrigued! I even re-read it! It's about 12 and 10 year old sisters who are endurance runners/triathletes. What are your thoughts about it? Too much for such a young age? Or it's okay because they are passionate about it?

Runners - How to you stay positive when you have a "bad run"? Do bad runs put you in a bad mood or do you just not dwell on it?
Non-Runners - Would you ever spectate a race that a friend or family member was doing? Does that appeal to you or do you find it boring?

Half Marathon Training Week 3

I'm doing Meghan's link up for the first time to do a "Weekly Workouts Roundup" and I'm a hella excited! Although, I'm a day late because I had my 11/11 wishes planned for yesterday, so this is LAST WEEK'S workout schedule. 

As I've said before, I'm an expat and everybody knows it. But I'm also a half marathon training, pavement hitting, slow runner with lots and lots of goals for these upcoming months!

This week that just passed started Week 3 of my 17 week plan. Weeks 1 and 2 went completely as planned and were very mild. My training only really calls for 3 running days, but I normally do 4. This week, however, I did 3 just because I was busier than anticipated.

As far as time/pace goes, I'm running absolutely blind. And that's how I like it.

When I used my Nike+ app, I would just obsess over my time/pace and get really discouraged. My iPod touch broke a few months ago and I think it's the best thing that ever happened to me. Now I just run for feel. I don't even look at my phone to check the time when I start running anymore. The only day where I know my time/pace is on Saturdays.

But let's get to the week now shall we....

Monday - These are the nights I spend with the running club I just joined! (Check that off my expectations list!) Honestly, joining the running club (called Lordshill Road Runners; LRR for short) has been a great decision not only for my running but for meeting new people in the area. I was nervous at first because I'm not so great with the whole "group setting" thing. Everyone there was beyond nice and helpful. Every week has been something new and challenging that I definitely wouldn't have done myself. And the best part is, everyone is really supportive throughout the run, saying "well done" or providing extra motivation.

Getting back on topic, this week we did sprints because it was freezing outside! We took turns sprinting to and from different posts at different distances. Also got to see loads of fireworks since it was Fireworks Night! It was such a blast (no pun intended), and now I always look forward to my Monday night runs with the LRR!

(I don't know specifically how far we ran this night. I'm guessing around 3 miles in total.)

Tuesday - OFF (since I just ran Monday night!)

Wednesday - 3 miles in the park. Nothing fancy!

Thursday - OFF

Friday - 6 miles and I haven't stopped talking about them since! This was my "long run" day. I know 6 miles isn't really considered a long run for lots of people, but it was for me!

I decided to do 2 laps of my normal 3 mile run (I'm a math genius over here, I know) which meant 2 inclines.

(When I say inclines, I mean "Florida Girl Hills".)

To be honest, this was probably one of the best runs I've ever had. I keep goofy smiling through the middle and at the end because it just felt really great to have accomplished something I never thought was possible. Not once did I need to stop, nor did I ever feel like death in the middle or do my usual "BECOME A RUNNER?! WAS THAT A JOKE, TAYLOR?!" internal monologue. I just ran.

And the best part was, I felt like I could run more when I was done. That just blew my mind. Because sometimes after I do 5K I'm like, "Well, crap. If this was a half marathon I'd still have 10 more miles to go!!" (Replace crap which a more colorful word actually.) But I didn't feel like that.

For the first time, 13.1 miles actually felt possible.

Saturday - OFF this week. Normally I do the Southampton Park Run on Saturdays which is absolutely amazing. It's a free, timed 5K in the park. (These runs are held all over the UK so look out for them in your area!) All you need is to register online and print out your unique bar code. These are my only runs in which I know my time.

(2 weeks ago, my time was 32:24. 1 week ago, my time was 33:18)

Saturdays are my targeted "long run" training days. So I've been either adding some miles before and/or after the 5K. It's been working out really well for me to get up and motivated, especially on a Saturday morning. This week I obviously did the long run on Friday instead.

Sunday - OFF

Now I have some random questions for you...
Runners - Do you smile or do a courtesy wave at people walking/running towards you when you are out on your run? Or do you just focus ahead of you and not make contact?
Non-Runners - If someone is running past you and smiles or waves politely, do you think "Aw how nice"? Or do you think they're weird/creepy/someone put too much sunshine in their cereal this morning? Are you inclined to smile/wave back?