Monthly Archives: March 2014

03.17.14
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Week of 3/10/14 – 3/16/14: Country Music Half Training, Week 9

It’s week nine! That means this is the first of four weeks of 5k pace intervals for speedwork, and the last week of training to consist of four days of running (well, if I had actually run four days this week). Every week after this will have a bonus goal pace run smushed between my easy three on Tuesday and my speedwork on Thursday for a total of five runs per week until race week (when the goal pace run gets cut out again). That must mean we are getting closer!

week of 3/10/14 to 3/16/14

Tuesday

Despite what I said last week, I made it out to run with the Mt. Juliet group again this week. It was nearly 80 degrees outside (yeah, let that sink in since I was running in the snow less than a week prior) and daylight savings meant the sun was still out. I love spring! No more treadmills for me (until the thunderstorms show up). They are a super convenient group to run with because I can take my time getting home after work since they don’t start till 6:30pm, and they usually run 3-4 miles. Perfection for Tuesdays. A lot easier than my Wednesday/Thursday group who start at 6pm and are in the complete opposite direction from my house, so I have to change clothes at work.

Anyway, I ran with the same two ladies doing 3:1 intervals. I actually had my Garmin with me, but failed to turn the GPS on. *facepalm* We ended up doing a little over 4 miles in under 50 minutes. Nice and easy, but my legs were still tired from Sunday’s tempo run! They were sore and heavy the next day, which is unusual after a Tuesday run.

Thursday

So speaking of my Thursday group, this was the week. The speedwork was being done on a track, and I have no access to a track otherwise. (Except for the gym’s indoor track, but you have to go around that thing like 20 times to get a mile, and I don’t really trust its accuracy.) So this probably makes me a terrible group member that I am just using them for their track access and have failed to show up every other week. To make it even funnier, someone commented that people always start dropping out when the track workouts start. I commented, “Drop out? This is the first week I showed up!”

So this week we did six intervals of 800m at 5k pace (between 10:15 and 10:45 min/mi for me) with 400m jogging recovery. Warmup consisted of a 0.35 run to the track. We all started the first interval at the same time, so I was lumped in with everyone else, the majority of which ran 7-8 min/mi pace. This means that I started at 7-8 min/mi pace because I got excited (7:40 min/mi to be exact). I recognized this and tried to slow down, but after the first 400m I was still doing a 9 min/mi pace. I ended up doing the first 800m in 4:34, which equates to about a 9:13 pace. *facepalm*

Then I hit the stop button on my watch instead of the lap button and didn’t realize it for 0.6 mile, so my first recovery interval looks short and my map looks like I cut across the field.

I calmed after that. The next four intervals were all done within my 5k pace. My times were 5:11, 5:11, 5:05, and 5:02. On the last one, I pushed it, hoping for my fastest and came up with 4:40. Six seconds slower than my first one, but not too shabby! That’s still about a 9:30 min/mi pace! And I did jog (no walking!) all of my recovery intervals. I actually ran them faster than I meant to, with the fastest one being “jogged” at an 11:45 min/mi pace. Yeah, that’s faster than I run my easy runs.

One of my running-with-groups fears came true though: I was the last to finish. To be fair, I only had about a lap further than the next to last person, and a few people said they cut theirs short and only did five intervals. So I can be proud that I completed all six, even if everyone did have to wait on me.

Saturday

Woohoo, race day! I love race days. Especially those where the race doesn’t start until 10:30am. Take that, 3am Disney wake up call.

I had decided that I was going to put in my 11 miles on Saturday, instead of Sunday. This mainly had to do with the fact that there was a 70% chance of rain all day Sunday, and I would rather do five miles in that rather than 11. Yeah, it would probably be better to do the miles all at once, but I still have three +/- 13 mile runs in the next three weeks. Plus it’s not like there were hours between the miles. Just a couple 30 min breaks or so.

The first of these miles was a warmup mile in the half hour before the race started, which was an easy peasy 13:30 mile.

The next three were the race itself. I’ll have the full race report up soon, but I’ll just say, for now, that, yes, I PRed, and I PRed big. Speedwork works, people.

I then attempted to finish off the remaining seven on the downtown greenway following the race. This didn’t really happen. First of all, I ran the race way harder than I had originally planned on (hence the PR). Second, I ate lunch after the race and then attempted to go run immediately afterwards. This is a Bad Idea.

I started off okay, figuring I’d take walk breaks every 4-5 minutes or so. My legs were still trying to be kind of speedy, so I ended up doing the first mile in 11:46, despite the walk breaks and trying to be slower. It all really went downhill from there. My walk breaks shortened to every 3 minutes. Then every 2. By three miles in, I was needing a walk break every 30 seconds. I can only imagine this is what hitting the wall in a marathon feels like. My legs would just not run. On top of that, I was having mad stomach cramping from not waiting to run after eating. 3.2 miles in, I called it quits. Unfortunately, I was doing an out and back route, which meant I had to walk 3 miles back, and the cramping never let up. In fact, a shower, a nap, and a Predators game later, I could still feel the cramping. Not a good run. But I couldn’t be too upset about it, considering I just had a major PR.

Sunday

You can probably imagine that after six miles of 5k pace running over the past few days plus an additional however many easy miles that my legs would be shot. And you’d be right. They actually weren’t terribly sore, but I wasn’t really in the mood to do a long run, especially not one in 40 degree rain. So I ended up taking a rest day. I don’t feel too guilty about it, since I had two quality speed days this week. Next week can be more about the mileage.

03.13.14
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13 Tips for Your First 5k

My friend Chris, who I’ve known for about eleven years now, will be joining me at the start line on Saturday for his first 5k race. He started Couch to 5k earlier this year and finished it a few weeks ago. I’m so proud of him! Considering how long it took me to get through Couch to 5k, he has done such a better job starting out than I did. 🙂

He messaged me and said he was nervous, so I told him I’d write up some tips for him. Here ya go!

nashville predators fangtastic 5k

Photo from 2013 Fangtastic 5k
Source: Nashville Predators

  1. Pay attention to what you are doing a couple days out from the race.
    Eat well in the days before the race. Drink lots of water! And don’t stay up too late; get plenty of sleep.
  2. It’s okay if you don’t sleep well the night before, though.
    Nerves, anxiety, and excitement can keep you up the night before a race. Early start times don’t help (though, thankfully, that’s not an issue for this race). Studies have shown that the sleep the night before a race is not really important. Just try to get some sleep the night before that!
  3. Lay out all the stuff you’ll need on race day the night before.
    You’ll be less likely to forget something, and you won’t have to figure out what to wear while rushing around early in the morning. If you go to packet pickup before the race, go ahead and pin the bib on your shirt and attach the timing device to your shoe (not all races use these, some timing devices are attached to your bib). Not sure what to wear? A good rule of thumb is to add 15-20 degrees to the temperature it will be for the race and dress like you’re going for a walk in that weather.
  4. Study the course map before the race.
    Most race websites will post the course map, along with the location of any water stops. Check it over before the race so you know what to expect. If you think you’ll need to hydrate more than what they provide on the course, bring your own water. Make sure you check the elevation map too; if there’s a large hill right before the finish, you’ll need to conserve some energy for it!
  5. Don’t do anything new on race day.
    Race day is not the day to wear new shoes, new clothes, or eat anything new for breakfast. That is what training is for. The only thing new you should be doing is pinning a bib to your shirt.
  6. Get there early, especially if you are doing packet pickup the day of the race.
    I’ve seen packet pickups with no wait and some that I’ve had to wait 20 minutes in line for. It all depends. So if you are doing packet pickup the morning of the race, I’d aim to get there an hour early. That will give you plenty of time to park, pick up your things, attach your race bib, use the restroom, and get in some warm up time without feeling rushed.
  7. Don’t start in the front.
    Unless you are in a larger race with corrals, it’s going to be up to you to pick where in the crowd to start. The people in the front are the fast ones. The people in the very back are the walkers. Middle of the crowd is your 8-10 min/mi group. Pick where you think you would fall in. If in doubt, choose further back.
  8. Don’t start too fast.
    You will start too fast if you aren’t consciously thinking about it. Adrenaline will naturally make you run faster than you do in training. This, coupled with the fact that you are running with a bunch of people who are passing you, will make you want to take off faster than you have ever run. And you will get worn out quickly. Be conservative when starting out. You can pass all those people later when they realize that they’ve started too fast.
  9. Run the tangents.
    Race courses are measured by using the shortest distance possible to finish them. This means on curvy roads, the shortest path is straight down the middle and not following the curves. When you run a race, usually a watch or any other run tracking software will probably say you ran further than the race distance. This is because it’s nearly impossible to run all the tangents, due to other runners. But try to save yourself from adding too much extra distance to your race by running all the tangents you can.
  10. It’s okay to walk.
    Plenty of people run/walk or just walk races. That doesn’t just apply to 5ks either, as I know plenty of people planning to walk the Country Music Half next month. People aren’t judging you, and you aren’t a failure if you feel the need to walk. Sometimes it’s the little boost you need to get to the finish line. However, make sure you follow race etiquette: if you decide to walk, make sure there’s no one directly behind you and move over all the way to the right!
  11. Don’t worry about your time; it’s an automatic PR!
    This goes for every race of a new distance that you do. If you’ve never raced it, you don’t have a time to beat! Enjoy your first race and don’t be concerned about numbers.
  12. Don’t stop after you cross the finish line.
    Keep walking around for a bit to cool down. I know you are tired and probably want to sit, but get in at least 5 minutes of walking so it’s not a shock to your body when you stop.
  13. Eat something right after you finish.
    They offer you free food for a reason. Your body needs protein and carbs after you run (the sooner after you finish, the better), so grab a banana, a doughnut, or whatever else they are offering.

Most of all, have fun!

03.12.14
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Highly Sensitive Runner

outcast lego runner

This is what happens when it’s after midnight, and I can’t find an appropriate stock photo. I break out the minifigs.

I was casually browsing around the web one day when I came across an article that talked about Highly Sensitive People or HSPs. I’d never heard of this label before, but after doing some reading, it was ridiculous how much of it applied to me.

I’ve always been really emotionally sensitive. I’ve always explained to people that I feel all emotions at a more intense level than other people seemed to, both the highs and the lows, and I’m empathic almost to a fault. In fact, I cried for like an hour after an episode of “Dexter” a few days ago. But the HSP trait also applies to physical sensitivity, like noises, busy and chaotic situations, and pain tolerance. In short, it’s really easy for HSPs to get overstimulated. I’ve never been one for crowds (I am so thankful for Amazon during the Christmas season…going to a mall in the month of December is just asking for panic attacks) and my mom can attest to my annoyance of noises, like ice being crunched on. In high school, I had to hide my wristwatch under a towel in my bathroom with the door closed just so I couldn’t hear it ticking as I was trying to fall asleep. And I basically shut down whenever my schedule gets too hectic (especially with stuff that involves groups or is unplanned).

While most HSPs are also introverts, they are not always. However, I am. Being around groups of people exhausts me. I was reading an article entitled 16 Habits of Highly Sensitive People on HuffPo and one of the traits was listed as, “They prefer to exercise solo.”

I thought about this.

In elementary school, I played softball for one season. Hated it. Every time we had to play kickball at recess, it was misery. The main reason? I felt like I wasn’t good and that I was going to let the team down. (HSPs tend to be people-pleasing types.) Most of the time in softball, I was stuck in the dugout, so I would clean it. I preferred this to actually playing the game, and, if you know me, you know that I don’t particularly enjoy cleaning.

batting in softball

Proof that I did, in fact, play a team sport once. (Also, you can see my brother, grandmother, and mom in the bleachers and, boy, do they look thrilled.)

I always thought I was just not athletic. People, especially those closest to me, were very surprised when I started running. I had never showed any real interest in sports. But the reality? I just don’t like team sports.

Think of all the times I have mentioned that I was going to run with the group this week but something came up. Or my plans to go to a yoga class. (I bought a Groupon for 10 yoga classes in December, and I have yet to go to one despite the fact that it expires next Tuesday.) I always have some excuse to not go. In reality, I’m scared that I will do something wrong, and everyone will notice. Or I fear people having to wait on me and inconveniencing them. While it’s true that I don’t mind (and actually LIKE) running with close friends one-on-one, such as when I run with Amanda, I need to face the facts: I don’t always enjoy running with groups. And that’s okay.

Sure, I will still push myself to do it occasionally because I find it good to push myself out of my comfort zone from time to time. But it’s okay if I don’t do it every week. And, yes, I would like to go to yoga classes because I don’t know if I’m doing anything right when I do it at home by myself. But it’s okay if I just go to a few every now and then.

There’s things about running that frustrate me as an HSP. I don’t like that I’m slow, but I really don’t like when people point it out. I don’t like criticism, especially when it’s something I already know. Honestly, I don’t know if I would have continued running if it weren’t for the great support of friends and family that constantly told me that it didn’t matter my speed. I know there’s some people who hate when people post about their workouts on Facebook like they are bragging, but, for me, it is so beneficial because sometimes I need to hear praise in order to keep going. I want to go to form clinics so I can become a more efficient runner, but I’m terrified that I’m doing everything wrong and don’t want people to tell me that. It’s very catch-22.

Still, it’s nice to have confirmation that, not only is there nothing wrong with not enjoying these things, many other people feel the same way. I’m not the only one. I can stop being apologetic about not running with the group every week. It’s okay to be sensitive, and that’s not something that is said a lot in today’s society. In fact, it’s an inherited personality trait.

Any other highly sensitive runners out there?

03.10.14
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Week of 3/3/14 – 3/9/14: Country Music Half Training, Week 8

You’ll notice some of my runs got swapped around this week. My grandmother sadly passed away early Wednesday morning after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, so I was in Clarksville for most of the week. I decided to do my longer runs on Thursday and Friday, since the funeral was on Saturday, and I wanted to get out during the weekdays to get my mind off of everything.

week of 3/3/14 to 3/9/14

Tuesday

I went to the gym Tuesday night. I had left my Garmin at Jonathan’s accidentally, so I decided to do a ladder workout.

“What is a ladder workout?” you ask. Ladder workouts are comprised of intervals that vary in length, either increasing or decreasing in incremental steps. They are usually used for speed training and can be done on a treadmill, a track, or anywhere. I was just using them to break up treadmill monotony so I just ranged from easy to tempo pace.

Here is how my ladder workout worked: I started at 4.8, which I ran at for 6 minutes. Then I took a 1 minute recovery at 3.5. Then I ran at 5.0 for 5 minutes. Then recovered. 5.2 for 4 minutes…you get the picture. I went up to 5.8 for 1 minute, then went back down the ladder (stopping at the end of the 5.2 interval since I reached my 3 miles at that point).

(A track ladder workout, on the other hand, might look something like: run at half marathon pace for 1600 meters, recover, then run at 10k pace for 800 meters, recover, then run at 5k pace for 400 meters.)

I watched “Dumbo” on Netflix while I did this. I had no issues. No aches. No side stitches. It was actually kind of fun. I might start doing them more.

No strides this week since I’m being ginger with my training at the moment.

Thursday

Thursday’s run was supposed to be my usual 5 mile easy run, but the route I like to run around where my parents live is closer to 6.5 miles, so that is what I did. I still didn’t have my Garmin, so I set up Strava to record my run and report my progress every half mile. So I took walk breaks at the start of each half mile that lasted usually a minute or less. I didn’t have any issues other than a nasty blood blister that I developed. I’d post a picture, but I don’t want to gross anyone out.

Friday

Since I had done 6.5 instead of 5 on Thursday, I subtracted 1.5 miles from my long run, making it 9.5 miles instead of 11. My legs were very tired going into the run, which was the point, and they were extremely exhausted after I was done. But I did it!

Sunday

Time for that 30 minute tempo run that didn’t go well last week. I was also going for it outside, which meant I didn’t have the treadmill to ensure I was keeping pace. We all know that I suck at pacing.

I started off with an easy mile to warmup, which I did in 12:45. Just where I wanted. I took a brief walk break right at the end of the interval before the start of my 30 minutes. Then it was time: half an hour at tempo pace, which is, for me, 10:45-11:15 min/mi. I had set up Runkeeper to give me audible feedback on my pace every three minutes, so I was excited when after the first three minutes, it said I was at 11:09 min/mi. Perfect. It was a comfortably hard pace, just like a tempo run is supposed to be. And I maintained it (well, actually got a little faster) for the entire 30 minutes. I ended up going a little faster than my tempo pace towards the end, which I could tell I was doing, but I felt good. So maybe I finally learned how to pace?

tempo run pacing

03.04.14
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Week of 2/24/14 – 3/2/14: Country Music Half Training, Week 7

Almost halfway through the training cycle (although only about a third of the mileage), and less than two months to go until the half marathon! Unfortunately, this wasn’t my best week.

week of 2/24/14 to 3/2/14

Tuesday

I was feeling a little discouraged after Sunday’s run, so I decided to forgo my strides and just do my easy three. This week’s intervals were 15 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. I completed this with no issues while watching “Lilo & Stitch” on my phone.

Afterwards, since I wasn’t doing strides, I did ten minutes on the recumbent bike. This is one good thing about going to the gym; I would have no other way to crosstrain without it. I don’t like this gym’s recumbent bikes nearly as much as my last gym’s. I slide off the seat a lot and it says I don’t go as far (like an entire mile less), even though I’m putting in the same effort (like it says my rotations per minute are the same). Weird. But I’m not concerned about mileage on the bike, just trying to give my legs something else to do. I could definitely feel it the next day!

Thursday

Back to tempo runs for a couple of weeks! I thought about buying the digital download of “Frozen” to watch while I did this run, but I really wanted to wait for the Blu-ray. I compromised by downloading “Let It Go” to add to my running playlist. Best running song ever.

I started out with a ten minute warmup, then started at 5.2 with the goal to speed up to 5.6 over the course of thirty minutes. Two minutes in I got a terrible side stitch. I took a sip of water and tried to control my breathing and push through it, but it only got worse. So five minutes after starting my tempo pace, I stopped the treadmill and took four minutes to try to massage it out and stretch.

I hit the lap button on my watch to signify that I was starting my 30 minutes over and started back at 5.2. I made it seven minutes this time before the side stitch made me stop again. Frustrated, I took a two minute walk break, drank some more water, and focused on my breathing. I can usually get rid of a side stitch by either: massaging it, making sure I’m hydrated, or timing my breathing so my exhales are on the opposite foot of the side of the pain. None of these things were working.

I switched my music over to play “Let It Go” to focus my mind on something. I managed to get through the song three times (nine minutes) before I had to walk again. After another two minute break, I gave up and decided I was not going to get in a solid thirty minutes of nonstop tempo pace, but I could at least do thirty minutes over intervals.

I wasn’t sure exactly how long I had ran so far, so I gave it my best estimate. I ended up doing about 32 minutes total of tempo pace, broken up into six different intervals.

I was really frustrated at myself and the stupid side stitch that refused to go away. But I have another thirty minute tempo next Thursday, so hopefully I can knock it out then.

Saturday

I was hopeful going into Saturday’s run that it would be better. It wasn’t. The side stitch decided to make a reappearance. I ended up taking a couple extra walking breaks during my intervals. The side stitch finally went away (mostly), but it was replaced by some fantastic stomach problems! So I cut the run short after three miles because I wasn’t really in the mood for throwing up in the middle of a public park.

Sunday

With three out of four of my last runs being less than stellar, I was really lacking motivation on Sunday. Oh yeah, and it was 33 degrees and pouring rain. And lightning. I ended up going to the gym. I knew I was not going to be able to pull out the planned 9.5 miles, but I hoped to make it through at least three.

My head was so not into this run. I took one extra walking break in the middle of both my first and second 15 minute intervals. After that, I told myself I was almost to three miles and could stop after that. That placated my head enough to make it through the third interval with no extra walk breaks. I had almost been running for an hour at that point, so I decided to make it a nice even 60 minute run. Except when 60 minutes came, I was less than a tenth of a mile from doing a nice even five miles, so I ended up doing that.

I’m debating on what I should do for the upcoming week. I’ve thought about cutting my mileage a little and seeing if that helps, since I’m scared of overtraining. (Maybe I should have taken some more days off after the 15k?) But what I think I’m going to do is drop my intervals down to 5:1 and see if that helps with the head games. If I still can’t make my mileage, I’ll consider cutting that down in the following week.