I forgot to mention in yesterday's dispatch that I actually ran (Can you believe it?! Sometimes I really do go out there and run! :P) yesterday. I covered a total of 4.08 miles in 40:37, avg. 9:57/mi pace.
My original intention yesterday was to do a regular tempo run. But once I got past the first mile, I realized what I was actually getting was hillwork! It was hard, and I was slower because of the hills, which, by the way, weren't all that steep but still challenging enough because I became a flat-terrain wuss while I was training in Florida.
So I'm beginning to feel a tad bit more confident about my upcoming Austin Half-Marathon on Valentine's Day. While I doubt I'll be faster than the time I posted for the Palm Beach Half, I think I'll be able to tackle it now with more gusto.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I Should Get Better at Updating my Blog....
But alas, that won't be happening anytime soon, LOL. Anywho, here's a roundup of what has happened in my sphere for the last couple of weeks:
1. I moved. Again. This time, back to Texas. And even then, I'll only be there until the summer. This moving thing, while irritating at times, can have its perks, though. For example, I don't have face the folks I may have pissed off in the course of my stay at a particular location.
2. I decided to sign up for a marathon... And even more importantly, I finally made up my mind and decided on which one it'll be as my inaugural! It's the NJ Marathon in Long Branch. Gah, I hope the course is fast and flat!
3. Did I mention that it sucked moving? While I don't totally miss Florida (I'll get some hate for saying this, but the central and southern parts of it are pretty soulless - lots of stuff to keep you amused, but no culture), what made it nice was the people there, esp. my family and the very few friends I made there. Because I'm special that way. :P Also, the safety net of my running coach has been eliminated. That is a bit scary, considering I made incredibly awesome progress through her guidance and advice.
I think that's it, for now. I now have to finish the rest of the unpacking, stock up on protein powder, and get back into a dieting mindset. My weight really didn't go up by much since last year, but it did creep up by 6 pounds between November and now. I'd like to get rid of that, and possibly more. However, my initial plan of choice, the TNT Diet, doesn't seem to be completely compatible with my marathon training/ambitions. It's very low-carb, and while I love the food selections on it (Brats and sauerkraut! Taco salad! Salad with a ton of steak and cheese dumped on top!), I probably won't be able to run OK on this plan, especially when my mileage starts increasing again. *sigh* I need to look up nutrition plans for endurance weenies like me.
1. I moved. Again. This time, back to Texas. And even then, I'll only be there until the summer. This moving thing, while irritating at times, can have its perks, though. For example, I don't have face the folks I may have pissed off in the course of my stay at a particular location.
2. I decided to sign up for a marathon... And even more importantly, I finally made up my mind and decided on which one it'll be as my inaugural! It's the NJ Marathon in Long Branch. Gah, I hope the course is fast and flat!
3. Did I mention that it sucked moving? While I don't totally miss Florida (I'll get some hate for saying this, but the central and southern parts of it are pretty soulless - lots of stuff to keep you amused, but no culture), what made it nice was the people there, esp. my family and the very few friends I made there. Because I'm special that way. :P Also, the safety net of my running coach has been eliminated. That is a bit scary, considering I made incredibly awesome progress through her guidance and advice.
I think that's it, for now. I now have to finish the rest of the unpacking, stock up on protein powder, and get back into a dieting mindset. My weight really didn't go up by much since last year, but it did creep up by 6 pounds between November and now. I'd like to get rid of that, and possibly more. However, my initial plan of choice, the TNT Diet, doesn't seem to be completely compatible with my marathon training/ambitions. It's very low-carb, and while I love the food selections on it (Brats and sauerkraut! Taco salad! Salad with a ton of steak and cheese dumped on top!), I probably won't be able to run OK on this plan, especially when my mileage starts increasing again. *sigh* I need to look up nutrition plans for endurance weenies like me.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Being the Procrastinator that I am...
...leads to a lot of dead air in between blog posts, LOL. (My friend Leann, by the way, was the one who nudged me into writing this entry, ahem).
Things have been fairly busy, especially because of Christmas, work and all of the usual suspects. I'm not busier than the average person, just do a pretty lame job at balancing work/life/personal interests. That said, however, I accomplished the goals that I'd set for 2009 (one of them running a half marathon - done as of December 6), so overall, I'm satisfied.
I'll write about the HM in the next entry. And despite my grinchiness during the holiday season, I realize I have plenty to be grateful for. And even though it isn't apparent to those who know me in real life, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
Things have been fairly busy, especially because of Christmas, work and all of the usual suspects. I'm not busier than the average person, just do a pretty lame job at balancing work/life/personal interests. That said, however, I accomplished the goals that I'd set for 2009 (one of them running a half marathon - done as of December 6), so overall, I'm satisfied.
I'll write about the HM in the next entry. And despite my grinchiness during the holiday season, I realize I have plenty to be grateful for. And even though it isn't apparent to those who know me in real life, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
A Need for Speed!
Had a good time at Wednesday night's track workout, which was:
6x800m at 5K pace, 2 min. rest in between
I forgot to bring my Garmin with me. Instead, the coach timed my splits, and I got all circuits recorded, except for the fourth. Here they go:
4:02
3:53
3:53
Fifth split: Timed at 4:23, but the coach admitted she flubbed on the stopwatch, and said this split was probably closer to 4:00
4:01 for the last loop.
This is a PR of sorts, because the last time I did 800m repeats, they veered from 3:53 all the way up to 4:24, or something like that. I was fairly consistent this time around - a good sign!!!!
After track practice, I gave one of my friends some pumpkin-pecan bread. A lot of it, actually. :-) She was quite ace at polishing it off, too - it was gone in less than a day. However, I can't take complete credit for this production. My baking skills are rather iffy. Let's just say that without Williams-Sonoma, I wouldn't have pulled off this treat.
And my friend isn't the only one who can snarf down baked goods like there was no tomorrow, as evidenced by the above photo taken of me 2 weeks ago. That pumpkin turtle pie was worth it!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Fall "Blahs"
I thought that with me living in Florida for at least a year that my usual bout with the autumn doldrums wouldn't happen. That's definitely not been the case. Maybe because October was such an exciting and action-packed month, November now seems a bit of a let-down. The things that usually make me feel all pumped aren't doing the trick. Running is increasingly becoming more difficult, and staying focused at work is a job in itself. I'm usually not a very social person to begin with, either, but I feel even more introspective than usual. There definitely has been a change in the seasons and in my internal clock, even though the temps in Palm Beach County firmly remain in the 80s, and the sun still shines brightly during the day.
Going back to numbers, I realized that I am now 5 weeks away from the Palm Beach Half-Marathon, and that we're 8 weeks away from the new year. *gulp* It's kind of scary to think that 2009 is now, really, on its way out.
I hope I can turn a corner and regain some of my momentum and motivation for HM training. But on the other hand, sometimes I think motivation is also a bit overrated. Motivation helps, but it is, at least for me, sometimes just not enough to get me out there and going. I prefer to sometimes do things on autopilot because all the motivational stuff leads to self-questioning, which then leads to me to... not doing anything. So maybe going with the flow and not feeling too enthused about things is just the way it'll be from here until December. I'll just stick with my training plan as best as I can, and that is that.
Going back to numbers, I realized that I am now 5 weeks away from the Palm Beach Half-Marathon, and that we're 8 weeks away from the new year. *gulp* It's kind of scary to think that 2009 is now, really, on its way out.
I hope I can turn a corner and regain some of my momentum and motivation for HM training. But on the other hand, sometimes I think motivation is also a bit overrated. Motivation helps, but it is, at least for me, sometimes just not enough to get me out there and going. I prefer to sometimes do things on autopilot because all the motivational stuff leads to self-questioning, which then leads to me to... not doing anything. So maybe going with the flow and not feeling too enthused about things is just the way it'll be from here until December. I'll just stick with my training plan as best as I can, and that is that.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Another Race Notch on the Belt
The Race: Wellington Horse Country 10-Miler
When: Sunday, Oct. 25, 7:15 AM
Where: Around a lot of horse stables, apparently. ;) If you couldn't see them, you could most certainly smell them...
The past couple of weeks have been eventful for me, on the personal and athletic fronts. I entered my first 10K race, and a great one at that (the Epcot Race for the Taste 10K). I became a godmother to my nephew, and saw my husband for 2 weeks while he returned from Iraq for R&R. So now I'm quite happy to say that I completed my first 10-mile race bright and early today.
It was a fun and great event... And it felt so incredibly slow at times, unfortunately. I felt OK from a cardio standpoint, but every time I tried to go beyond a 9-min mile pace, my legs felt like 2 lead weights. Overall, I felt quite heavy and uncoordinated today. But that's a feeling that will pass soon enough, and it'll happen in the natural scheme of things.
I had pumpkin pancakes afterward at the Original Pancake House, and never has breakfast been so good. Something about running for a considerable distance makes food taste a million times better.
Until the next race!
When: Sunday, Oct. 25, 7:15 AM
Where: Around a lot of horse stables, apparently. ;) If you couldn't see them, you could most certainly smell them...
The past couple of weeks have been eventful for me, on the personal and athletic fronts. I entered my first 10K race, and a great one at that (the Epcot Race for the Taste 10K). I became a godmother to my nephew, and saw my husband for 2 weeks while he returned from Iraq for R&R. So now I'm quite happy to say that I completed my first 10-mile race bright and early today.
It was a fun and great event... And it felt so incredibly slow at times, unfortunately. I felt OK from a cardio standpoint, but every time I tried to go beyond a 9-min mile pace, my legs felt like 2 lead weights. Overall, I felt quite heavy and uncoordinated today. But that's a feeling that will pass soon enough, and it'll happen in the natural scheme of things.
I had pumpkin pancakes afterward at the Original Pancake House, and never has breakfast been so good. Something about running for a considerable distance makes food taste a million times better.
Until the next race!