The Gambler

How does that Kenny Rogers song go?

You gotta know when to hold 'em,
know when to fold 'em...

Today I decided I'm not going to run the Philly HM.

I haven't kicked my five week-old cold. The week ended up being jam packed with "emergency" meetings for school, a presentation for my class, night stuff each night. And I haven't run this week...I guess I'm just sick (literally) and tired. And I want to cut my losses now without adding the expenses of staying over in Philly with the family and dragging them down with me.

I am proud that I actually made it through the 10 mile training run. I am actually ok with this decision.

So what next? I will run a Thankgsiving 8K and let my son run their Mile "Romp" on Turkey Day and make a true family affair of it. And now Saturday I can go to Rutgers' last home game this year with my family!

So thanks for the support in my training, I'll be back with some re-focused goals, probably a spring HM. And I'm still running, don't worry:-)

Imperfect 10 - But it's DONE

Got it done this morning.

Mile 1 - 14:24
Mile 2 - 15:21
Mile 3 - 15:10
Mile 4 - 14:05
Mile 5 - 14:37 (legs/glutes started getting sore)
Mile 6 - 14:03 (H20/Gu break)
Mile 7 - 13:55
Mile 8 -13:31
Mile 9 - 13:57 (started R5/W1)
Mile 10 - 13:48 (started R3/W1)

10 miles
2:22:57 (14:17/mile)
Temp: 37 up to 47; Humidity: 77% down to 57%

10 miles is far. 13.1 is even farther. 2 weeks and a trip to Disney separate me and the Philly HM. It will be interesting...

Went for 10...did 9

9 miles
2:11:32 (14:36/mile)
Temp: 55ish Humidity: Low, like 40%ish

Trying to pull this run apart. What went wrong?

• I did the run at lunch time (didn't eat beforehand, had waffles for breakfast hours before).
  
• Thought I drank enough H2O last night & this morning, guess not.
  
• Beautiful day, 55ish but WINDY!
  
• I ran around the track a half mile before I noticed I hadn't hit "START" on the Garmin, duh, bad omen?
  
• I am still nursing a cold (now with a cough)
• I missed my 3 miler in the middle of the week, so I suspect that too had an effect (my legs and gluteous were getting sore from the pounding early, like Mile 3ish, not typical)...

I dunno. Not a confidence builder with the Philly HM in 3 weeks. Hmmm.


The good:

• Well, I ran 9 miles straight. That's kind of cool, and I need to remember that.
• I did a butt-kicking HILL around Mile 5, still a new experience for me, oh yeah. I had this sick smirk on my face, telling myself "I LOVE HILLS. I LOVE HILLS" over & over, yeah!

The bad:

• Labored.
  
• Nature called loudly at Mile 8, hence the 9 (not 10) miler
  
• My mind was not in it (I just wanted to quit from the beginning, caught myself saying "What the heck have I gotten myself into2 signing up for this HM, what was I THINKING?" Definitely didn't have my head on straight today)
• Stood in the rain for two hours at Rutgers yesterday after traipsing a few miles to & from car. And RU lost. Probably not great for the cold, eh?
  

The ugly:

• Went for 10, made 9. Am doing 13 in 3 weeks. Not optimal.

One more chance next weekend as I see it. Because the following weekend I'll be in Disney with the fam. The weekend after that is the big day.

Midweek Gift Run

Found myself out of school just after 3 today after attending a late-day meeting at a different school. So I couldn't stay after to do work. So I found myself HOME AT 3:15! Here's what I did with my extra hour:-)

3.62 miles
46:49 (12:55/mile)
Temp: 75 Humidity: 52%
Labored run. Grrr
R10/W1, R9/W1, R9/W1.5, R8.5/W1.5

Took a lot of effort, could be because I'm getting over complete laryngitis, I mean NO VOICE for three days (had a cold then went to Rutgers game and yelled away what little voice I had Thursday night--great game, so worth it, could be our last amazin' game, but I digress....). It seemed super humid, what with my high HR the whole way. And grrr, Garmin didn't kick in for about 12 min, annoying. But the weather was beautiful, loved seeing folks' Halloween decorations in the daytime, and it was good to come out of my cold/laryngitis stupor and just get out there:-)


Less than 4 wks to the Philly HM!

9-Miles and a Mantra

I almost posted a quick note last night that would have gone something like this: "Am planning on doing at least 8 miles tomorrow: good weather, low temps, NO EXCUSES." Didn't get to post it last night, but NO EXCUSES was my motto last night & this morning and I just did it.

9.10 miles
2:09:55 (14:16/mile)
Temp: 49 Humidity: 90% (down to 72% by run's end)

I concentrated on keeping my HR low and felt good just about the whole run. I did not want to "race" this, I wanted to simply get in the mileage for the Philly HM--now just 7 weeks away! I was also taking it easy because it was the first time I've gone that distance in about 6 months. And I was ALSO taking it easy because I missed one of my midweek 3 milers this week and thought I might be rusty. So here's how it went down:

Mile 1 - 14:08
Mile 2 - 14:13 (potty and wardrobe change break--I way overdressed for 49 degrees)
Mile 3 - 14:36 (Miles 3.5-6.5 on HS track)
Mile 4 - 14:44 (CRUD--each mile is slower, TURN IT AROUND, GIRL!)
Mile 5 - 14:28 (tide is turning)
Mile 6 - 14:27
Mile 7 - 14:22 (H2O/potty break at hospital--only place open this early Sunday)
Mile 8 - 13:57
Mile 9 - 13:49 (yes, last 5 miles were negative).

I'm nearing the end of the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer, a great read for me, and tried out their trick of using a running mantra and positive self-talk. The girl in the book said something like "I am strong, I am awesome, and I love to run"--so that's what I said. Over and over. A lot. Interestingly enough, I started repeating that in my head along with the rhythm of my footsteps around Mile 5--and now I see that, according to Garmin, that is about when my splits started getting negative. Maybe there is something to repeating a Running Mantra while you run.

Long run

Just posting this today, but I ran yesterday morning (woo hoo early on a Saturday).

7 miles
1:36:23 (13:46/mile)
Temp: 62 Humidity: 90% (UGH)

The humidity was again a factor for me. On this run, I focused on keeping my HR in Zone 3 (60-79% of max) for the first few miles, to be sure I would have enough in the tank for a decent LR. Was hoping to do 8 or 9, but due to time crunch, "settled" for 7 (I still can't believe I can write that I "settled" for running 7 miles, incredible:-)).

Mile 1 - 14:26
Mile 2 - 15:06 (the longest mile. Took a BR & H2O break and felt better)
Mile 3 - 14:38 (negative! )
Mile 4 - 14:04 (negative! finally started feeling decent on this mile)
Mile 5 - 13:14 (negative! was at the HS track, nice & cushy)
Mile 6 - 12:52 (negative! )
Mile 7 - 12:00 (negative! )

Yay. Philly HM is 9 weeks from today.

HH Intermdiate 5K - Week 7, Day 1

Garmin didn't kick in for a mile, so I don't have accurate splits. But I DO know that my last mile was a smokin' 11:22.

3.25 miles
38:08 (11:44/mile)
Temp: 62 Humid: 90%

Oh, and with my husband's support (and almost blessing) I registered last night.
Philadelphia Half Marathon