10 miles!

Since I didn't get to do my 9 mile run last Saturday and since my last long run of 7 miles was 3 weeks ago I definitely felt the miles today.

My goal pace was a 10 minute mile and I ended up with a 10:43 pace. I started off easy at a 10:39 and was able to maintain that pace pretty well throughout the run. 

Any of these longer runs can feel daunting. Taking that first step and knows you're going to be on the road running for hours can be intimidating out the gate. As I moved through the miles I tried to focus on my goal, knowing to make the full 26.2 I needed to stay strong and steady. I was thinking "I'm going to run how many miles?" The gravity of the task and commitment gets more real as I'm just starting off with these over 10 miles runs. "If 10 feels like this, what will 14 feel like, or 18 or 20!?"

I'm definitely going to have to start getting up earlier too. When I first set out this morning just before 8 there was a strong breeze and no direct sun. It didn't take long before that changed and I was feeling the sun and looking forward to any shady spots I could find. 

My run lasted an hour and 48 minutes and afterward I got myself a smoothie as a treat at the Tilted Cup. Smoothies are my number one favorite post run reward! Indulging felt so refreshing,  so good for a job well done!

Mindset is going to come more and more into play moving forward so I'm sure I'll be trying out different things, tips, tricks, techniques etc. If anyone has any recommendations or suggestions please let me know. 

19 sessions down and 69 more to go!

Running under the stars

I got out early for my run today. Early enough to clearly see the stars in the sky! It was so dark and so quiet running along the river. This is one of many early morning runs I'll be doing so I think it may be a good idea to get some sort of light to alert cars, people or critters of any sort that I'm on the road.

The run felt good, steady and smooth. Pace was in line with my run last Thursday.  I was hoping for a bit quicker, but there will be plenty more opportunities for speedwork.

I'm planning my next run on Saturday morning to get in 10 miles. After that who know what the hurricane has in store for us all. I hope everyone had a great day. Looking forward to my rest day tomorrow 😊

18 sessions down...70 more to go!

Back on the treadmill!

Back to interval training today. My original plan called for a 5 mile run. I didn't want to do 5 miles of intervals so I did a warm up and then went into my base pace of 6.5 I ended up doing about 6 intervals.  My two were at 7.5. Then I dropped to 6.6 and pushed at 7.6 then next push 7.7 and dropped to 6.7 all the way up to an 8.0 push.  Once I dropped back to 7.0 I held that for 2 minutes and the dropped to 6.9 for 2 minutes and so on until I got to my base of 6.5. Yes, lots of numbers. I just made this up as I went, it's not an actual plan,  but it was mine today!

This took me to the 4 mile mark at which point I slowed down the pace and increased the incline. I played with different paces and incline levels until the last tenth of a mile or so and finished my workout at the 5 mile mark. Mission completed!

I ran after teaching Bodypump so my body was warm, but my legs sure were heavy! I did listen to music so the good beats and inspirational songs helped push me through until the end. I'm definitely open if anyone has any recommendations for songs to add to my marathon training playlist. 

When I'm on the treadmill for any length of time music definitely helps. I mean, who wants to exert all the energy running in the same spot without getting anywhere!

Anyway, it was a good workout and I'm past the 60 mile mark for training miles on the plan so far. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

17 sessions down...71 more to go!

Back at it!

Did you miss me?! I missed running on Saturday :( I wasn't feeling well so I know taking the weekend of to work through my cold was the smart thing to do. I'm still not 100%, but I know I'm turning the corner.

Today was the start of Week 5! My run today was 3 miles. I must have pushed a button on my phone because I stopped hearing my notifications and when I looked the screen was no longer tracking me :( I know my route was 3 miles so I started my tracker back up and finished my run. After my first mile I was at an 8:54 pace. My last mile was roughly a 9:33 pace, so overall pace in the lower 9's. I'm definitely happy with that! The weather cooperated with no sun and no rain, just the Florida heat lol.

Definitely happy to be back in the swing of things. One thing I reflected on this weekend was health. We never quite appreciate our health until we don't have it or don't feel 100%. Take care of your bodies and do some self care activity this week to say thank you 😊

16 sessions...72 more to go!

Health is Wealth!

I was feeling a bit under the weather this morning. I think it was a combination of the people coughing and sneezing at the airport and on the plane. That exposure is never good, plus getting soaked in the rain on my Tuesday run didn't help any.

Anyway, this morning I got my 3 miles in. I would have liked it to be a bit faster, but I'll take the 9:30 pace all things considered. 

I'm thankful tomorrow is a rest day. Looking to get some good sleep tonight and ride out the waves of this yuck that's trying to grab me.

My next run is scheduled for Saturday morning. 9 miles! I really have no idea how I'll be feeling then. Will I do the full run? A shorter run? Or skip it altogether?

I know it's important throughout this experience to honor my body and keep it as healthy as possible. When I feel this way rest tends to work better for me than trying to "sweat it out".

Send me all your good and healthy vibes!!

15 sessions down and 74 more to go!

Treadmill day!

I'm back on the treadmill this week for interval training. The plan called for a 4 mile run. I started with a 2 minute warm up and then got right into my 2:1 intervals. I started with a 6.5 base and 7.5 interval then bumped it up to 6.7 and 7.7, 6.8 and 7.8 and my last push was an 8.0. 

I did a total of 10 sprints and finished with my 6.5 speed and gradually stepping down to a walk.

As the training plan moves forward I think I'm going to keep my Wednesday runs shorter with more intense bursts of speed. My original training plan did not incorporate speedwork or intervals so instead of scaling up to 10 mile straight runs I think I'll keep them around 3 or 4 miles with sprints.

Feeling good about how week 4 is going so far and happy that my interval runs feel so much better than week 1!

14 sessions done, 75 more to go!

Squishy Squishy

Rain has a way of motivating people. Today was my day. I was trying to get out before the rain, but just 5 minutes after I started the sky opened and the rain came down.

I really don't like running in the rain and so far I've been very fortunate to avoid it. As soon as the rain started I took the quickest route back to the house. I was going to call it a day when I got to the house at 1.75 miles, but I was so soaked and I'm not a quitter so I just sucked it up and finished the 3 miles running around the neighborhood staying closer to the house. 

Thankfully I'm a pretty good planner and brought a plastic bag to put my phone it. No phones lost today! 

Things don't always go our way. Things don't always go to plan. We can do our best to live in the moment and that's exactly what I did.

Also after my run when I was leaving my house I got stung by a wasp. I haven't been stung since I was a child!

So needless to say I've had an eventful day. Now I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening 🧘🏻‍♀️

13 sessions down, 76 more to go!