GWB Conquered!

This morning I completed the GWB 10k Challenge. I have to say it was an awesome experience and had something to offer for every athlete.  There were cyclists, runners, and walkers with 5k and 10k options. It wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be, but there was still a good turnout. I encouraged my mom and godsister to walk the 5k, and they were up and ready to go this morning at 6:30.

This race was all about raising money for the American Cancer Society.  The event was not timed, and there was a good vibe across the masses. I decided to give my tech 4 0 watch one last try today.  I set it so I could see my distance, speed and time run.  I have to say that I was ready to return the watch because I felt it was a little off on the speed, but then a few people mentioned that just because the treadmill said I was going let’s say 6.0 doesn’t mean I was running 6.5, I could still be using more effort and running faster than that. Not sure if this is true but I figured why not use it and see how I feel during the race.

The race started off great! We started at a ramp right near where you merge on the lower level after the toll booths.  It was pretty cool running where I have driven my car countless times thru the years. The view could have been better as it was a cloudy morning, but it was still cool.  I looked down and saw the water and boats below, it’s not everyday you get to do this.  I trekked at my 5.6ish pace as I glanced at NYC.  I told myself that it’s not about the time it’s about finishing the race.

After I looped the GW and was headed out up a ramp, slight hill by the way, I looked at my watch and I completed about 2.5 miles.  I was doing great and was almost halfway there, it was a great feeling. Up the ramp was the first of two water stations, where the race split into 5k and 10k. I had to do a u-turn because I went to the 5k section but luckily figured it out after a few sections BECAUSE I drove the route on Friday.  And it was weird, because I saw someone from Medco, some guy I see at the gym, he was cheering someone on. Small World!

So back to the race. Let me tell you here is where the hills began in Englewood Cliffs.  The first was running UP Hudson Terrace about .75 miles, this is when I rested for about a tenth of a mile.  We ran down Bayview and then unfortunately had to run up castle drive.  Long hill! I probably stopped off and on for a half mile or so. My watch really got me through this part.  Since the race wasn’t an official timed event, there were no mile markers.  People were running without knowing where they were in the race, unless you had a shnazzy watch like mine! At this point my watch told me I was 5 miles into the race, this helped me stay motivated. Once I got up the hill I knew I only had a half mile to go, I was very happy at that point.

The race didn’t have an official finish line, which was a little disappointing. The race ended in Allison Park.  Luckily my watch told me that I hit 6.2 miles just after entering the park, but it wasn’t until another .25 miles that the HS cheerleaders were cheering at the finish line.  It was fun and cute and put a smile on my face! Even better was the view of the bridge I had while I enjoyed my banana and powerade.  As I sat here i overheard some HS volunteers talking to some of the runners. They said oh my 10km, I can’t even run for 5 minutes.  I smiled as I tought of my story, a 35 year-old who started running 4 months ago and just completed her first 10km. 🙂

Oh, you’re probably wondering how I did.  I ran a 6.39 mile in 66 minutes, and I feel awesome that I ran this race. I only walked for .75 of the entire race,not bad for a chick who just started running in February. GO ME!

I am gonna rest this week and start training again for another 10k in July or August.  Then I may do the half-marathon in September.Happy running to you all and just remember that anyone can run!

Running Euphoria

Toenail is still hanging on. Thank god! Today after having dinner with my mother-in-law (who is visiting from MA), I headed to gym.  I was excited to go and hoped that my foot pain(neuroma) wouldn’t act up.

Today’s workout was to warm-up and do 5 sets of .5 mile at a fast speed and .25 mile at a slow speed.  For my fast speed I alternated between a 7.0 to a 8.0 speed.  It’s funny because my first set: my slow speed was 5.5 and I had to speed it up to 6.0 because I felt like a turtle again. The whole purpose of the training is to alternate the type of running so it benefits your running time in the long run, so I followed my instructions.

I did my 5 sets and I was running a little out of breath during my fast bursts, but was still maintaining.  Tonight I did a total of 4.5 miles and felt fab afterward. I am noticing that I am feeling awesome after every workout. I feel great that I can run so many miles. I look forward to the next run, and feel like I can do anything. I even started looking at the race catalog for half marathons, crazy I know. But I know it’s attainable.  I keep encouraging my family to join in on this running kick and feel the euphoria, but no one seems to want to join.  They don’t know what they are missing!

Achy joints, Bloody toes, frozen corn…all in a day’s work!

As I sit here writing from my sofa my joints are being soothed with the help of frozen corn.  My husband doesn’t like my new relationship with the frozen veggies; it’s not like I am opening the bag dropping the corn on the floor and rebagging it to eat another day. It’s doing it’s job 🙂 .

So I was suppose to run 6 miles yesterday but my lower back was killing me from the tubing we did on the bay this weekend.  So I ran the 6 today at long tempo pace.  Long tempo pace  is  30 seconds slower than your race time. Even though my short tempo pace was 9:13/mile;  instead of running a 9:43 mile I decided to run at a slower 10:10 pace which was a 5.9 speed for me.

It felt great to breeze through the run. Although I did have some pain, which I will discuss later, I was still able to complete the 6 miles in just under 60 minutes. I ran my first 4 miles at 5.9, then I upped it to 6.0 for the next half mile, then6.1, 6.2 and then I gradually ran from 6.2 to 7.0 for the last half mile. My lungs felt great, my body was another story.

Between mile 3 and 4 my knee starting hurting, after mile 4 my left hip started hurting, then after the 5th mile the right hip kicked in.  I worried that if I continued I may be hindering future training, but I just couldn’t stop. Call me the running fool who should listen to her body, but I had to see if I could complete the 6 miles. I did it under 60 minutes!  Since the treadmill doesn’t let you put in more than 60 minutes, I upped it at the end to finish the 6 before my time ran out. It felt like a game.

So I am sweaty and loving it, I am feeling like an athlete,  a pro. Then I got home, and removed my socks to find  my bruised toe from a few weeks ago BLEEDING!!!! UGH!!! I was so grossed out and afraid that my toe nail would fall off, ugh!!! It still may fall off, I hope not I am praying to the toe gods. I have heard a few stories in the last few weeks of people who had to get their toe nail removed, OMG I hope it doesn’t come to that point.  So I put some hydrogen peroxide on it and hope that does the trick.

So what caused my poor toe to bleed? From an article on cbs.com:

Although you can get a black toenail from a sudden, painful trauma that causes bleeding under the nail, for runners it is more likely a chronic, repetitive trauma to the nail caused by short shoes, running downhill, or wearing loose shoes. This repeated micro-trauma causes only a light amount of bleeding and minimal pressure buildup, so little or no pain is felt. In many cases, you only realize this is happening when you notice your toe is discolored. But don’t ignore it. The nail can gradually become thicker, and more problems develop.

OK, so I am really not looking forward to my toe falling off. UGH UGH!!!I hope it will get better. If anyone has any ideas to help me save my toenail, share please.

Pace Yourself, It Does The Body Good

I JUST RAN 4 MILES!!!! I ran the whole entire thing, with ease at that! OK had to get my excitement out!

So my assignment today was to run 4 miles: 1 mile warm-up, 2 mile run at short tempo pace, and 1 mile cool down.  Before I even started the workout, I didn’t expect to run for more than 10 minutes at a time.  Ever since I started running I was always huffing and puffing at the 6 -7 minute mark and have to push myself past 10 minutes. Well today I focused on pace, I had to look up what short tempo pace meant because I didn’t know how fast I was suppose to go. Short tempo pace is basically race pace, since I normally run my first mile at a 10:45 pace I was going to stay at about 5.0. That was the plan.

Warm-up:  I was suppose to warm up at a slightly slower pace than my race pace which would have been below 5.0, too slow for me as I walk a 4.0 pace.  So I warmed up at 5.5 slowly inching toward 6.5. I was moving like a turtle, but I was following instruction.  It’s funny because I felt like a turtle, but according to the treadmill I was moving at a 10:10 pace.

Short Tempo: I made it through my first mile with ease and was kind of dumbfounded that I wasn’t gasping for air, I was just a chick strolling. I kicked it up to 6.5 for the next 2 miles, a 9:13 pace, unheard of.  I ran through the next 2 miles without a care in the world. I was breathing and I could have carried out a conversation.  Then came my crowning moment when I reached 3.1 miles at 29:49 minutes. I was cheering on the inside with the soundtrack of Chariots of Fire in my head. I ROCK. I just beat the time I put in on Sunday and I was running like a turtle but running consistently without stopping, unbelievable. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that I was running a faster pace but at a slower speed.  I think that was my problem I was running too fast and then running out of breathe. Who knew all I needed to do was run slower for me to last longer and have a better time.

Cool down: I ran for a mile at 5.9 pace because 5.5 was too slow for me. I ended up clocking all 4 miles at 39 minutes.

I really wish I got this book sooner(Run Less Run Faster).  It is amazing how I was running wrong. Another thing I want to bring up is how am I suppose to determine how fast I am running when I’m off the treadmill. I think I will have to get one of those Garmin things to tell me how fast I am going so I can pace myself. Will research this weekend. I am sooooo looking forward to the next workout.

Tomorrow is a rest day, Sunday I will run 6 miles at long tempo pace, Monday I will do my 2^nd cross train which will be stationary bike. Enjoy your weekend, and I will write back on Monday.

Make sure your balls are inflated

Last night I had the night off from running, so I tried some on demand exercise shows.  First up, 10 minutes of Dancer Abs.  I was doing the moves properly, just didn’t feel anything last night or this morning. Next was the 10 minutes of Arms with Attitude. This is where I had a little snafu with the exercise ball, I think I need a bigger one.  When it came time to lie over the ball and balance one arm and opposite leg off the ball I rolled off the ball and my hip banged on the hard wood floor. I am sure I will get a bruise from that. Then I went to the basement to inflate the ball, but that didn’t really seem to help.  I finished with 6 minutes of yoga, i couldn’t do the whole 20 out of boredom and wanting to see American Idol, poor Lee choked. Anyways,walked around the neighborhood with the stench of grass clippings in the warm air. That was my evening.  Today I plan to do some running and not sure if i want to check out the new gym nearby for a class. Off to work in the 94 degree heat, yummy!

35:47 Run for Rachel 5k

As you all know I have done minimal training since my last 5k in April. I won’t go into the excuses, since some are legit and most are just that  E-X-C-U-S-E-S. I don’t even want to hear myself talk about the excuses so I know you all don’t want to hear my excuses. Last night I went to a friend’s house for a party, and it was the first time I was asked by many who were following my blog “how is the running going?”  Wow, it hit me that I was using the blog to be accountable, but have been lazy with the blog and the running and now I have people asking me about it and calling me on it, god bless you Eddie! So I went into my rendition of excuses and the fact that the next day I had a 5k run. I told everyone since I hadn’t really trained I was using it as a training session. I also announced that I really wanted to do the GWB challenge in June. So it seems that I have a new-found motivation, a new group to hold me accountable…FRIENDS.

Before I go into my race I will be training for the GWB 10k (I know hard to imagine) Challenge on June 13th. I challenge all my local friends to push themselves and step up for a good cause, Cancer. The challenge is for everyone: walkers, cyclists and runners. So let’s get out there and move and kick-start a lifestyle!

Run for Rachel:  I woke up this morning ready to go with my poncho, cap, watch, tunes. The good thing is it was cloudy, a little breezy and no rain during the race.  I kind of liked the course because we did a loop in the park and then trekked on to the nearby neighborhoods so it was boring.

During my first mile I was pushing myself to jog as long as possible I made it to about 9 minutes then had to speed walk and catch my breath. Was concentrating on the breathing, I read that if you take one breath and are able to take 2 strides your controlling the breathing it is when you’re huffing and puffing and cant last 2 strides that you have a problem. So after that long 9 minutes I did what I could to get me through the race, running, jogging, walking.  First mile clocked in at 10:39, I was really surprised at that just because I haven’t been training.

I hit a few hills and ran the downhill like a skier to catch up on time. I was approaching the second mile marker and saw the time was ticking closer to 22 minutes. I had to make it there at 22 minutes to keep my pace somewhat normal to what I have been used to. I ran up the hill and hard as i could and clocked 22 minutes. I was feeling really good at that point running an 11:20 second mile.

The rest of the race was a combo of sprints, walks and jogs. I focused on a couple of people who were running my pace to help me stay on track. I kept searching for the 3 mile marker and couldn’t see it. I continued to look at my watch as it ticked past 32 minutes, 33 minutes. I didn’t want to hit 40 minutes, or worse have one of the walkers who started 10 minutes after us pass me be, THAT would be totally and utterly embarrassing. I pushed myself and jogged back into the loop we started the race in, walking a few steps here and there. When I saw we were turning out of the park again I wanted to die, but then as I turned I saw the FINISH LINE.

I was like ok I can do this! I saw the clock with 35 minutes on it and knew I had to try to beat my old time. I ran super fast pushing myself, just thinking about that time. Passed a few people and clocked out at 35:47. UNBELIEVABLE, how could this time be possible? I haven’t really trained since the last race. Makes me wonder what I am capable of with some training. I am totally going to do the GWB challenge and I am hoping you all support me and hold me to it. Eddie, your pool party is a week after the race so ask me how it was and hopefully I won’t disappoint. Til tomorrow everyone!

Kickstart My Engine!

So this weekend is my second 5k run. As you have noticed my entries have been far and few between, which means my training has been crappy with injuries, laziness, loss of motivation and vacation. So I am using this race on Sunday as a training day, I know I will struggle but I will show up push through and complete the race. I know my goal was to run the whole thing but I guess we have ups and downs to work through before we kick ass on top. 

So tomorrow and Sunday I will use to kickstart my training for the GWB challenge. I still have to decide if I am doing the 5k or 10k, but I still have time to decide.

Cleaning the rust off my body…ck

I went to the chiropractor after yesterday’s run because the lumbar pain came back  slightly, he told me it takes about 4-6 weeks to recover from a sprained lumbar so i shouldnt expect to run great on my race next week. I am ignoring and trying to push on, but not overdo it. Tonight, 10 hrs before my car service comes to pick me up i went for a run. I took it easy per my hubby, and ran 5 minutes then walked 5 minutes and then ran 5 minutes and walked the rest of the 30+ minutes. A little discouraging that a month ago i was running 15 minutes straight and now at best i can run 9 minutes without any hills. But i know i have to take it slow and have had a few injuries. so easy it does it. My plan is to try and run on vacation in AZ, we shall see how my back and foot are doing.

Rock-Bottom

So i think I hit rock-bottom. I seem to have NO motivation to run. I don’t know if it’s the heat and the recent injury to my back. I also think not having the daily emails from about.com is killing my motivation. Receiving those emails was like having a trainer telling me what to do, and i did it. I need to research and find another emailing program that can train me for the 10k in june.

I feel like my belly is super huge, yet i am more motivated to eat the chocolate chip cookies we got for a bbq that never happened this weekend then crunch the fat out of my stomach. I told you guys i was having a bad day, bad week i guess with exercise. I am walking and putting in 10k steps a day but not pushing myself, granted I can’t run until friday or saturday but anyways.

Confucius said, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”

And the Journey Continues…

I signed up for another 5k on 5/23. My goal is to run it without walking.  Since i want to run the George Washington Bridge challenge in June I started the about.com 10k training program. They have one for beginners and one for advanced beginners. Since I can’t run a 3mile straight, I am starting with the beginners and if it gets to easy I will switch to the other.  So those are the running goals for the next 2 months. 

Since I have a good running base under my belt, in the coming months I will blog about the running but focus my time on abs and diet. if you don’t know I hate abdominal work, but they are important to running.  When I looked at my running photos I was hunched a little, granted I was trying to survive and finish but that area needs improvement. Stay tuned…