Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug. That is how I have felt about running lately. Bah Humbug, Blah, Whatever (or Whatevs since that seems to be the cool term now), Ugh, or any other apathetic term will sum it up.

I have been running, and sticking to the schedule for the most part, but I really haven't wanted to. It has been a half hearted effort and the bare minimum. Mediocre has been good enough for me these past few weeks.

I think part of it is the weather. It is really hard to get excited about a 10 mile run when it is -10 degrees outside and your choices are a treadmill, an 1/8 mile indoor concrete track, or a .40 mile padded indoor track that is 45 minutes away. I have come up with every excuse in the book to put off some of these long runs. In the end I have done them but not well.
I think the other part of my blahness is that my body just doesn't do well over 7 miles. You would think that with my body shape I would be made for running but that just isn't the case. Anything under 6 miles and I am fine but over that becomes a real physical struggle. My hips hurt, my feet hurt, I have IT Band issues, Hip Flexor issues, Plantar Fasciitis, and lower back pain. I feel like I am always taping, stretching, and strengthening just to stay ahead of the issues.

My countdown clock says 26 more days until the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and I have such mixed feelings about the race. I am very excited to go to Disney, to run in the park, to run with Chris again, and to experience what is sure to be an awesome time. On the other hand I am just ready for it to be over with.

It really stinks and I hate feeling this way. I'd really like to have the running warm fuzzies again.

HM Training - Week 8 Day 3

HM Training - W8, D3. Run 7 miles at 2 minutes slower than 5k speed

It was cold with 20 mph winds so I was forced to run inside. I couldn't face the Dreadmill and didnt have time to drive to the base so I went to the indoor track at the Community Center. The facility is fantastic but  track is only 1/8 of a mile.

8 times around for 1 mile x 7 miles = 56 mind numbing laps. I also had to run super slow so I was there forever going round, and round, and round..

I'm still dizzy and leaning to the left.

.

Turkey Trot 5k

A week and a half ago (Where has the time gone? I knew I was late in writing this but not a week and a half late!) I ran in the Turkey Trot 5k at the Common Ground Community Center.

 

Holy hill (s) running man!

The course was pretty nice, except for the monster hill on the way back. I was running in a group of people when we started down the hill in the beginning of the race. One lady said "Hey, this is nice to run downhill. I am going to do great!" Not really thinking I said "Yeah, but we have to run UP the hill on the way back". Boy, if looks could kill!

There were quite a few people, they allowed you to wait inside for the start, and there were plenty of bagels and drinks. It was nice to see a policeman on the course since it wasn't closed, even if it was mostly in a neighborhood. The start was well done but the ending and after was quite strange. 

There was no time clock, just two people with stop watches. One for the girls and one for the boys. The finish line even had two lanes. One for the girls and one for the boys. The person with the stop watch called out your number and time as you crossed and someone with a clip board wrote it all down. 

I have been to a race without a time clock but never have I seen the finish line separated and then even the results totally separate. The results were only by age group and on two sheets of paper. One for the girls and one for the boys. Even as addicted to numbers as I am, I dont have the effort to take all the times and figure out where I am overall and female. 

But I do know that I was 11th of 17 for my age group and I got a PR! WOOT!  

32:19!

Boy was I shocked when I realized that my PR was by 1 minute and 36 seconds! I had only run once that week and it was my 4th consecutive weekend to run a race. I thought for sure I was getting close to burn out with all that racing. There was also that aforementioned hill that I had to walk quite a bit of and the fact that I was by myself without Chris pushing me. 

Chris was out of town and Addison was with a babysitter so this was the first time I was completely by myself. It was a bit strange not to see my family at some point during the race. I realized how much I like having them there.. even if I have to listen to the complaining about the early morning get ups!

I wasn't totally alone though..I did meet Monica (who had found this blog before the race) and her husband. They were super nice and great fun to hang out with before and after the race.  It was her first 5k and she did fantastic! ..and smoked me by about 5 minutes. Good job to her! I hope to run with them again sometime.

Taken after I got home from the race. Got to love a 6 year old with a camera.

Halloween 5k

Addison and I were supposed to run in the Monster Dash and Little Goblins run at Valas Pumpkin Patch last weekend but we were out of town for Grandma Greats funeral. I heard it was a great race but challenging due to the hills. I would be interested to see the elevation of the race since I know how tired I am after spending the day at Valas.
Will, the President of Team Nebraska, was kind enough to save our tee shirts for us so we still have a memento.

We found a Halloween 5k in Illinois while we were there. The course had a pretty big hill with a few baby hills so I wasn't all that sure about doing it. I really was looking for a super flat 5k to get a new PR. Race season is coming to a close and I really wanted to get a great time to make up for not pushing it on the last 5k I did. Knowing me and hills, I didn't think I would do all that well on this course.  My training plan called for me to run 5k anyway so Chris and I decided to do it and see what happened.

There were no kids events so it was just me and Chris. My Fickle Fan Club ditched the race for a warmer environment so there are no photos for this one.

It was pretty cold so I wore my new Nike half zip jacket over another compression top. Apparently I get really hot when running and half way through started to overheat and then tried to take the jacket off while running. We were making good time so I didn't want to slow down to do it. Besides, how hard could it be to take off a top while running?
 For me.. HARD. Part of the problem is that I had put my Garmin on over the sleeve and then forgot that fact when I was trying to get the top off. I got it over my head, one arm out and then got stuck. To make matters worse the jacket had thumb holes, which I also forgot about. To make maters even worse, my racing numbers were pinned to the front of the jacket and partially to my shirt.I was determined to get it off and not to slow down.

But have you ever tried to run with your vision partially blocked by a thick jacket, your thumb bent backwards, your hand tied up across your body unable to swing, layers pinned together, all while going up hill?
Chris said I looked like someone in a straight jacket who is running from the mental ward while being stung by bees. Harsh.. but yet so true.

 I picked someone to keep up with and  try to pass and was able to do so. We were a good pace behind her most of the way and only caught up at the end when we had to sprint up the hill to the finish line. By the way.. steep uphill finish lines are just plain cruel.

My time to beat was 34:14. With the hills and Jacket Drama I knew it would be close, if not a little over my PR. Chris knew our time and was really pushing me up the hill to the finish line. Imagine my surprise to see my official time of 33:55!
I haven't been able to find the results on line but the race director told me that we were 60 and 61 of 135. I don't know how that falls out for my age group or women but I will be interested to see. Regardless, I'll take a 19 second PR any day!

Swamp Stomp Cross Country 8k

This screen shot sums up the 8k XC race. 270 feet of elevation gain. At one point I thought I was mountain climbing. Holy Hills Running man!

Team Nebraska, the competitive elites who go to championship events, hosted this run. Needless to say I am not elite, not semi elite, and not even .00000001 elite.

To prove my uber non eliteness,  I came in dead last in my age group and 2nd to dead last overall. I was leading the back of the pack right from the start.

Could I be any more ungraceful?

Addison had a great time in the Gator Gallop. She ran this race last year and it was fun to see her run it again. I have to give Team Nebraska props for putting on awesome kids races. All kids get really nice finisher medals, tee shirts, and a huge fuss made over them. It is great to watch how excited they are about running. Start them early!

Even with being 2nd to last overall I still got an 8k PR with a time of 59:01
I probably could have been a minute or two faster but at the end I had to pee, badly, and was afraid to run too much. Last thing I wanted to do was come in last with the added bonus of wetting my pants. Since no one was around I thought about going in the bushes but just couldn't bring myself to do it.

All things considered, I am pleased with the time.

Catching Up

Life has gotten in the way.. I am still running but have not had time to blog about it. Chris's Grandmother died so we traveled to Illinois last week and then my Father had a medical emergency that took up a lot of time (Ever tried to get someone from Calgary, Canada to Omaha, NE without them being able to rent a car or fly in an airplane.. and have ER visits along the way??)

In order to catch up quickly I am going to combine some posts.
HM Training - W5 D3 - 3.5 miles
HM Training - W5 D4 - Swamp Stomp 8k XC. New 8k PR! WOOT!
HM Training - W6 D1 - Skipped pool running
HM Training - W6 D2 - Traveling

HM Training - W6 D3 - 5 mile run with Chris in Illinois. Our route makes me giggle
HM Training - W6 D4 - DH Homes Halloween 5k in Illinois.. New PR of 33:55. WOOT!
HM Training - W7 D1 - Traveling, skipped pool
HM Training - W7 D2 - 3 mile run.

Race reports and photos coming soon.

Race to the Holland 5k results

Time: 34:14  - A new PR!

51/95 Overall

12/43 Women

1/4 Age Group

Can you believe? A PR and 1st in my age group! I could not believe it when I saw that I was 1st. Granted, there were only 4 of us and only 95 people overall but whatever! 

1st is 1st!