A 10K PR

What a day!  I am still floating somewhere up around Cloud 9......maybe there is a Cloud 10K PR that I am actually on?!  I can't stop thinking about what happened this morning.

I headed down to the Scioto Miles 10K this morning early and hit the streets for 4 miles.  I was looking for 5 but that last mile just eluded me.  My awesome friend Sarah even mapped out a route for me but I blew it and didn't print it.  Then the link in her email to it wouldn't respond on my phone.  Epic fail.  Somewhat glad I didn't get it because I needed all the steam I could get for the 10K.

I started out fast - probably too fast - clocking the first mile in 10:48.  I remember looking at the Garmin and thinking "whoa, that's fast" but I went with it.  Miles 2-4 were just over 11 and then I hit the sub-11 again for the last 2.  I think the transition from 3-4 was freaking the longest 11 minutes of my life. Ever.  I think we had some hills and other things mixed in there.  There was a bridge at one point that was bouncing as we moved across it.  As I realized that's what was happening, I released an "Ewww" not noticing the runner crossing in front of me.  I took out a headphone and clarified for him that he didn't cut me off & asked if anyone else felt the bridge bouncing.  We all had and were stumped by it.  Let's not plan on experiencing that again.  I was so concentrated on my efforts that I had to ask someone if we were heading back the way we just had come.  Somewhere in the middle of 3-5, we weren't in the same spot as the first 5K.  This entire race was my day.  As I passed the 5K mark, I saw a friend from MIT and had enough in me to breath to her that I was PRing and continue on.  I hit the 5K mark at 34 minutes which was a PR too.  Too bad this was all done under my friend Mandy's bib!  I spent most of the race looking at the back of a runner who kept complimenting my consistent pace & being amazed that I was walking as fast as he runs.  Now we know the reason for the title of my blog!  I passed him as we were entering the last .2 miles but he kicked in later then I did and managed to cross a few seconds ahead of me.  This was one hell of a PR for a race I wasn't planning to do!

652

1311

, Laurie

1:07:26

10:53

F

Sub-11?  I have 21 days until my goal race - the Earth Day Half Marathon.  Let's hope I can do the same there.  My realistic goal is to finish in 2:30 which would be a PR by 6 minutes.

In the last week, I have had 3 women tell me what amazing calves I have.  I am embarrassed!  I've always had these calves - they are actually stronger now then they ever have been.  Even when I was heavier, I had them.  Thank you, high school soccer!  Yup, as a good blogger this is where crazy pictures of my calves would appear.  I don't have any but I'll make up for it!  Promise!

I've officially registered for a fall half marathon!  Today the coupon code for the New Albany Walking Classic 10K or Half expired, so I went ahead, compared schedules on the MIT website and decided that I may need 14 or 15 miles that weekend so it is a good training race!  Now comes the question - will I be able to use it that way or will I push myself to PR again and place in my age group like I did last year??  It remains to be seen!

What is your best 10K time?  Did you race this weekend?

Can you just use a race as a training or do you compete with your own little brain too?

Let's repeat Wednesday over and over again

This had to be the longest week ever.  I swear. I think we repeated Wednesday a couple of times.  Maybe its just me.

I started out the week in bed at 8PM Sunday night (possibly earlier) after my Sunday night spin class.  I am not sure why but I did.  I woke up Monday at like 5:45 and went back to sleep.  Oh yeah, I've talked about this already but it was worth repeating because it became the story of my week.  Felt much better Tuesday and headed to a 5:30AM yoga at PAI with Kara.  This may just become my new Tuesday obsession.  I think I felt more awake then I ever have after getting up!  Signed up already for next Tuesday and I can't wait.  Of course, I couldn't ignore the fact that I missed 4 miles on Monday and headed out for 5 on Tuesday.  That is good math, right?  I know I am well trained and can miss a mile here or there but there's that nagging guilt!  I am sure you all have felt it!  Wednesday I took a day trip to Cleveland for work and got home in time to meet some awesome people at the top of the Olentangy Trail which, I discovered, by foot, is 1.66 miles from my house.  I had 6 on the schedule & since I walked to the workout, I ended up with 7.  My awesome group wanted to do hills so we headed up the Clubview Blvd. hill (starts at 772ft and increases to 858ft) and through a route I tend to walk on my own through the Hills since I live there.  It was awesome to have company!  I definitely am glad we got the hills in because I hear the Earth Day Half Marathon starts straight up a half mile hill and then is flat from there.  I can do it.  Right??

Let me in!! I am hungry!

Then, miracle of all miracles, I had company for dinner for once!  Since Biv works until like 8:30 every night, I rarely eat a meal with anyone else. I felt HUGE guilt that I came home, spent 30 minutes with the dogs, went to workout and then I was going to head to Chipotle to get dinner. I mentioned my plans to Lynne & Sarah who offered to join me.  I threw Annie & Riley into the car and they joined us at Chipotle.  The temperature went from 60s to 50s while we sat outside but we hardly noticed.  Riley was all about saying hi to everyone and really really wanted to go inside Chipotle.  He promised he wouldn't cause havoc but we know that's a lie.


In true "practice what I preach" fashion, I bought 2 new GU flavors to try out before my big race day.  If you haven't tried GU, it is an energy gel that gives you a little boost during a race.  So far, I am really partial to Chocolate Outrage (just like chocolate syrup) and vanilla bean.  This time I got peanut butter!  I am nervous about consistency but I love love love peanut butter so I am going to try it!  My other new flavor to try is Mint Chocolate.  I've also got GU brew to try out which seems to be very similar to Gatorade.  I've already popped one in a bottle of water for tomorrow's race so we'll see if it is any good!  Tomorrow's workout is a bit different then my usual LSD Saturdays.  I've got 11 on the schedule and since Mandy got an entry to the Scioto Miles 10K for free and is out of town doing a race, I took her entry.  So I'll head downtown tomorrow for the inaugural race.  I am looking forward to it - they did a bunch of redevelopment downtown and I haven't really seen it yet.  And I'd say I won't be racing it but I know me - put a bib on me and a B tag and I have to race..........

Have you tried the new GU peanut butter flavor?  Did you like it?


Are you racing this weekend??

Popcorn is not fuel

I've posted about this before but I am really beginning to think there is something to it.  Again, another weekend has gone by and I ate like crap.  Monday-Friday, 3-4 servings of fruit a day, veggies gallore.  Saturday?  A trip to Bob Evans with awesome friends, Kaya for Korean BBQ and Sunday?  Well, let's just not talk about Sunday.

Sunday there was the trip to see Hunger Games with Mandy.  Biv & I got up, I made Amish Baked Oatmeal for breakfast and then we headed to the movies where we proceeded to eat buckets of popcorn for lunch.  Healthy, right?  Thankfully this is not a nutrition blog or I'd be in big trouble right now!  We headed home and I had spin at 4:15 so I choked down a quick sandwich and headed out.  Sweated like I've never sweat before - maybe it was all the popcorn salt or something - then I headed home.  Dinner was ready so I ate and immediately started feeling sick.  Not sure what it was but it was terrible!  Never got sick but fell asleep on the couch no later then 7ish and finally headed upstairs to bed around 9.  I woke up a few times during the night but not for long!  Got up finally around 5:45 and just hung around with the pups.  For some reason, the idea of eating sounded so unappetizing!  I choked down some breakfast and then decided it was a bad idea to do my mileage.  Napping over my lunch break showed me I was not feeling well.  A rest day was well needed.  I did eat dinner and I felt amazingly better so I am pretty sure my theory is right - you do need proper nutrition to keep you going!

I've been delaying making my appointment with the nutritionist because I am supposed to keep a 4 day food log before I go.  I know writing out Amish Oatmeal, a bucket of popcorn, a sandwich & a tortilla will be bad.  Then again, she is not judging me, right?  I know she will be helping me but I have guilt.  You know, good old, Italian Catholic guilt.  I am good at it.  Again, just ask my friends!

Me, Sarah & Judi

I also forgot to mention that I paced a very awesome St. Patrick's Day 4 miler at Kinsdale Country Club in Powell.  I've done this race before and enjoyed it!  I totally had to do a repeat when I was asked to pace!  I got there a little early and was able to clock a mile at my pace and then I settled in for a 14:00/mile finish.  They changed up the course a little from when I did it in 2010 and I liked the change.  We were keeping people right around their goals and they were thrilled!  I had to take advantage of it and get dressed up as well.  The orange was our pacer singlet so I had to accessorize with some green to make it a bit more festive!  

Yup, that's the lead singer behind us.

After the race, they had one of my favorite local bands playing, The Reaganomics!  I always have fun when I go to see them.  Yes, this was my 4th time and yes, they play the same music each time but it is easy to pretend likes it the first time you've heard it.  Thankfully my friend Sarah was happy to oblige me on hanging out front row.  We had a blast!  I think my new favorite thing is races with bands after it!  You get the best of both worlds - exercise and a great band to be entertained by.

Do you have a favorite local band?  I realized later that I was screaming for them just like the cougars I was judging there.

What's the definition of an endurance athlete?

Source

Last Friday night, MIT brought in Tim Catalano & Olympian Adam Goucher to speak to us and promote their book, Run the Edge.  I'll be honest - my knowledge of awesome runners is extremely limited and I've learned what I know from the people Fleet Feet brings in for us - but I thought these guys were awesome!

Their presentation was entertaining and kept me interested the whole time.  At the beginning, they asked all the runners to stand.  Since I don't officially run - just walk fast - I chose to sit in my seat.  My awesome running friends kept trying to get me to stand up and I wouldn't.  I love my running friends and although I can keep up with a few of them, I don't consider myself a runner.  However, Tim & Adam surprised us all Saturday morning when they joined the walkers.  I got some pretty cool 1-1 time with Adam and we discussed whether or not I am an endurance athlete.  He felt that I should have stood with the runners because I train right along side them, I can keep up with a few of them (certainly not Adam who clocked a 3:54 minute mile - phew!) and I train for endurance events.  Okay, so maybe I do fit in that category.

Adam & I.  Source

I think some of it comes from how people perceive walking.  Whenever you say "I racewalk," to someone you meet - whether it be in business or personal - there is a different look on their face.  I've gotten everything from "I don't know how you do it" to "Why do you do it?"  When I first decided to get back into anything physical, I decided to walk.  I ran a lot in high school playing soccer and running track but I just never loved it and it made more sense to me to try my hand at walking.  I am nearing 3 years since I made that decision and I've not regretted it ever.  There have been times where I was frustrated because I wasn't getting any faster and my competitive little brain HATED that, but now that I am faster & getting faster each time I am out, I love walking. I love getting out there and seeing if I can do a mile faster than I did last time.  It just gets my adrenaline going.  I am assuming that this is the same high a runner feels.

Adam, me & Tim @ FF

Back to Tim & Adam.  A part of their presentation that really hit home was about toeing the line between stupid & tough.  I think I am on that line more than I am off!  Just remember what I blogged about here?  I succeeded in wiping myself out and going from 5 workouts to 0.  Zip. Nada. Nothing.  All because I stayed on the "Adam" side of the line more than I should have.  They mentioned during the presentation that Adam when fully training, would spend most of his time on the stupid line.  Tim recalled a time when he saw Adam limping after a 12 miler, basically dragging his leg along and Adam saying "I am just going to do 15 with Kara tomorrow.  Should be fine."  15? With his leg dragging?  That's just stupid.  How many of us do that though?  I am sure if we were all in a room right now, we'd all be able to come up with more examples then we can count on one hand.  Or maybe it's just me.

I am excited to start their book.  If it is anything like their presentation, it will keep me interested from beginning to end.

Have you ever met an Olympian?  I seriously never had before and I was clueless what to ask him!  Especially since I didn't know who he was originally! Note to self:  research next time MIT is bringing someone in to talk to us.

Would you have stood up when Adam & Tim called for the runners to stand up if you were me?  Adam said I should have but I still don't think what I do counts.

Inspiration or not?

An exciting week in my running/walking world!  Fleet Feet Columbus which sponsors the awesome group I am with, MIT, opened a new store.  The old store was about 200 yards away from where the new one is and has awesome new stuff.  Like tri gear!  Oh boy, maybe I need to buy a suit!

What I love about the new store is that they've incorporated pictures from our city and events around town.  What I am not in love with is that this picture of me still remains in the store:

I am the porky girl on the left.

This photo was taken of me during the Beerathalon race in August of 2010.  At least I think so.  I do remember this was a hot race and pretty dang miserable.  And I was slow.  I don't even look like I am moving in the picture.  Oh and yes, I was about 45 pounds heavier.  When I was in the store tonight, I saw the lovely picture - for those of you local - it is over the insoles near the shoes.  I'll admit that this picture hanging in the store has been an inspiration for me to celebrate my weight loss and the change I've made.  Seriously though, why couldn't they blow up something like this one and hang it:

I think we're a good looking crew!

Its exciting to be a part of their new store & it looked to me like there were a few places left for them to hang more pictures so maybe I'll get lucky and appear as I look today.  When I pointed out that the picture above was me to one of the people I met for a workout tonight, she couldn't believe it was me.  Inspiration to keep moving?  Heck yes!

Do you have a picture hanging around somewhere public you're not a fan of?

Too competitive? Is that possible?

I've been rather uninspired for blogposts lately.  How exciting is waking up, exercise, work, rinse & repeat?

This week I got to enjoy some time in Grand Rapids, MI for work.  If you've never been there, you should go.  I am looking forward to see how this sleepy little town wakes up this summer! Since I've been traveling a lot, I have started looking for races near my destination.  Maybe I'll get a chance to try some this summer!

The only drawback of my trip was the Hilton I stay at having 2 treadmills.  I know - the horror - but in a hotel with likely hundreds of people, you have to wait in line for your turn.  I am comfortable with the area and feel like I could safely walk outside but I hadn't planned for that so I waited.  Thankfully I could do some core work then I hopped on.  I cheated again and ran because I truly hate treadmill walks.  I think I've figured out why - when you are walking, one foot is always on the ground.  There's definitely a difference between running on one and walking.  I feel like I stop the belt from moving when I try to race walk.  Apparently, though, I can now run a 10:10ish pace on the 'mill but only if it is in the morning.  I tried to repeat the pace that night when I finished out my required 4 miles and could only handle a 5.7 on the 'mill which was like a 10:48 or so.  Now if I could only get walking that fast!

Shockingly enough, the Hilton had a great poster in their gym that I couldn't resist taking a picture of.  How many times do we push ourselves to be more like the person next to us in yoga or that runner/walker in front of us?  Time to revisit my own goals and remember that I should only be trying to do my best - not someone else's best.  I can even remember being like that as a kid.  This is why I failed many tests.  I'd sit there, see someone else finish their exams and think "I should be as fast as them."  Then rush through the questions.  I can still remember my favorite English teacher in high school telling me that she told her husband I'd be her best score on the Regents exam.  Alas, I was not.  English was always my best subject & I clearly remember that being why I finished so poorly in the exam.  I've always been my own worst enemy.

Ultimately, the running on the treadmill has gotten me thinking about my walking goals.  While I can run, I'll never win an age group award for running.  But, with my walking & speed, I get attention & have a chance of winning my age group.  I've proven I can do it and if I am honest, I am enjoying the attention.  My ultimate pace goal is 10:30/mile but this season, I will be happy finishing the Earth Day Half at 11:30/mile.  If I do better - woohoo but 11:30 is my goal!

My training schedule needs some tweaks!  With all this work travel lately, I've not been able to get in my TRX classes, spinning or yoga like I want to.  I think I cancelled 3 nights of being at PAI this week.  Boo!  Even with getting back late Wednesday night, I forced myself up for a Spin/TRX combo class with Jenny on Thursday and was thrilled to get to a second hot yoga class this week at PAI.  I am so excited to see what their new schedule is like now that they have all that space!  Maybe I can take more classes!  I am scheduled to be home most of the week this upcoming week and instead of killing myself like I did the last time I was home a whole week, I am planning my workouts wisely.  I even will get a chance to go to the information session MIT is holding on multi-sports competition on Tuesday night!  My mental goals include a triathlon but I don't want to enter into one without the proper knowledge, etc.  Yup, here goes my over-thinking & over-planning as usual but I want to remain injury-free while asking my body to do all these things.

Have you done a multi-sport race?


Are you too competitive too?

Wordle Friday

Thanks to Emily, I learned this week about a website called Wordle.  You go to the site, enter your blog address (or some other random website) and it comes up with a neat word cloud for you based on words that appear a lot in your blog or the text you provide. 

Apparently I need to stop talking about seeing my doctor & my blood pressure.  And Biv comes up a lot in my blog.  For those of you who didn't catch on Biv = hubby.  Wordle apparently KNOWS what is really on my mind.

What would your Wordle say?  Head out to the website and check it out!