Running in the Burrrrggghhh

Hmm, I'm not sure the "Brr" element I was trying to get across in "Burgh is clear especially because the last photo I have of Pittsburgh is from September, but I wanted to share it anyway. But I will be spending the holidays in my hometown of Pittsburgh and getting some runs in while I'm there. It's even colder there than it has been in Philly lately and they've already seen snow fall (Philly had a snow fake-out last week with only about an inch that cleared by the next day).

Running at home is always interesting because I'm from a really, really small town. So small in fact that it's actually a borough. Needless to say, the second you leave the house, you run into someone you know/your mom knows/your neighbor knows, etc. So I try to make sure I don't look like a complete mismatched disaster when I train there (seriously, I look like a box of Nerds running--lime shorts, fuchsia shirt and many variations of these colors).

Aside from trying to match, home presents two real running challenges. The first is hills. Pittsburgh is full of 'em. I live on a massive hill so every workout involves at least a trek up one and a trek down another. I know the hills are good for me, but the hills here crush me. The second challenge is that my town is small so I run out of neighborhood very quickly and end up on highways, which are not conducive to pedestrians. I either end up running laps or back at my old high school track (also running laps).

Despite those challenges, I am so excited to be going home! I'm also crossing my fingers Santa may have brought me a Garmin for Christmas:)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! I hope your running resolutions for 2011 are ready to roll!

Running Wardrobe Malfunction

Nothing is more irritating than too-big running tights on a run. I think I must have stretched them out in the washer or something because the Nike pair I wore on Thursday were falling down the entire time I was braving the cold and all I did was hike them up with every step. I think I need to invest in the drawstring kind. I didn’t give anyone a show, but had I not hiked up those tights, I definitely would have been showing waaayyyy too much skin!

Aside from the running tights, this run was tough! The wind was whipping and it was about 20 degrees. I just never seemed to get my breath. I ended up only staying out for a mile and going home.

Today is a treadmill run after work. I haven’t done more than 3.5 miles in all of December, so I need to bang out 4 today at more of a comfortable pace for me (11:30). I’ve been really focused on speeding up my 5k time before I start half-marathon training in January.

Speaking of the half, if anyone can point me to any training programs you liked, please do!

Tired of Being a Turtle

Last week I was in a complete funk about my running pace. I had a bit of an epiphany on Friday afternoon. I realized that I  never run races like races--meaning that I just roll along at my usual pace with no focus on time at all. So that might be part one of my running plateau problem. Part two is that I just need to pick up the pace and push myself with some speed work and tempo runs.

So Saturday afternoon, I found myself on a university track ready to run a 5k like a race. I finished in 34 minutes, which is faster than my last official 5k race, but not as quick as I would like. My Nike iPod chip tells me I averaged a 10:59 pace, which is faster than I usually run (don't roll your eyes at me you speedsters) but still not where I want to be.

Where do I want to be? At a solid 10-minute mile in 2011. I know, that's not quick either, but it's a pace I think I can live with. Ideally, I'd like to kick it up to a 9-minute mile or so, but progress can be slow (much like my running) so I want to keep things realistic. Needless to say, the treadmill and I have a date after work tonight.

Lunchtime 5k

Ah the treadmill. How I both love and loathe you. You keep me warm on an inside run on a freezing winter day, but you also bore me to tears and running even 3 miles feels endless. Today we got along pretty well. I was happy that I could catch both The Daily Show and Colbert Reportduring my workout. And the fact that I got it in during my lunch hour was even more awesome because now I can go straight home when work ends!

Perhaps what annoys most about the treadmill is that I own one, yet can’t always use it. Why, you ask? Well, first, I live above a pet store with the meanest women who run the store ever. Once I was running on a Saturday and one of the trolls came upstairs (seriously, I don’t even know how she got in) and pounded on my door and told me the lights were blinking on and off downstairs. Oops. The other issue is that the ‘mill isn’t new. The belt shifts all the time and it constantly needs readjusting, which I generally don’t have the patience for.  So I end up at the gym at work. It’s usually OK, though I am often stuck watching Everybody Loves Raymond and the King of Queens, neither of which I ever watched when it wasn’t reruns.

So despite all this complaining, I ran a 5k during lunch. Woot!

Halfway Back on the Wagon

So with Thanksgiving last week and having run that darn 10k at the start of November, I was a complete running slacker for the past two weeks. I ran once last week and it was only 3 miles. I had plans of starting half-marathon training ASAP, but after realizing that both races I was looking at (Longbranch Half and Pittsburgh Half) didn't occur until May, I thought I could maybe blow the start of the training off until January and concentrate on picking up my pace.

So today I decide to wake up early and get in a quick (and I mean quick) 2 miles before work. Getting up when it's cold and cloudy was beyond devastating. So much so that I almost didn't go out even after I my running gear on. So I drag myself outside and I plan to warm up slowly for a half mile and then run faster for a mile, cool it down for a half and then pick it up for a half. Well, the picking up part did work, but the recovery part deteriorated into a walk instead of a job. I swear it ended up taking me like 25 minutes to go 2 miles-GAH!

I am seriously someone who always needs a training plan. Left to my own devices, I complete weird runs in weird times. But I did run, so I already matched last week's best effort.

10k Complete; Bring on the Half

On Sunday, I finished my first 10-k race! Not at a fast time, but kept running the whole way--even on the big hill at the start of the race. The race was held in Madison, N.J., and called Giralda Farms Run, yet it's not a farm. It's an industrial office park, but it's got a nice trail and it's near some amazing houses to ogle.
There is both a 5k and 10k race run simultaneously and about 1,300 people participated this year. This seemed OK to me until I passed the turnaround for the 5k-ers. I was so jealous. My fiance, who is a marathoner, ran with me and kept me motivated, so I appreciate him slowing things down for me.
My time ended up being 1:15:09. Slow and steady for sure, but I'll take it! I can only go up from here, right? Plus I love a good long-sleeved running shirt and that's exactly what we got.

You can find photo links here: http://www.mondphotos.com/events/101114-giralda/5k10k/showlargehtm.asp?startImage=3996&orgstartImage=3996&image=101114132627_2363_MM.jpg

A friend thought she had gotten a photo of me, but it ended up being of the grass. Sigh.

Catch-Up

Eek, I am so behind in both my running and documenting my running! I was a complete slacker. On Saturday morning I ran a quick 5k (quick relatively speaking). I forgot my ipod so I actually have no idea what my time was. On Sunday, I was supposed to bang out a 10k (last one before the race), but I had a ton of school work to catch up on and work to get done, so I blew off that run until Monday morning.

Did I run 6.2 miles yesterday? No, I did 4, and the plan is to squeeze in 2 miles tomorrow, a 5-miler on Friday and then await the run on Sunday.

And I still owe Christina at Lace it up and run a birthday run photo. 

Getting Nervous

In less than two weeks I'll be completing my first 10-K (well, as long as I don't end up wimping out). Last night I just did a quick 2 miles to keep my muscles loose. Tomorrow I'm going to try to run 7 miles and according to the Runners World training plan I've been following for months I should be doing 10 miles on Sunday. I'm not sure if that's too smart considering that's 1 week before the race and the most I have done is 9.25 miles. More experienced runners, what are your thoughts? Will this 10-miler help or hinder? I was considering just doing a 10-K for prep.

I also realized that as the weather cools, I need to get some more fall/winter running gear. I'm good with a windbreaker and a jacket, but I only have 3 long-sleeved shirts and 2 pairs of tights. I loathe laundry, so I think I need to stack my Christmas list with running gear. Headlining that last is a Garmin! My Nike ipod chip is nice and all, but I want to get all teched out about my running.

What's on your running holiday wish list?

Spooktacular 6.2

After a week of less than inspiring runs on the river trail near my apartment, I was dreading this long run all week. On Thursday I was supposed to knock out 6 miles, which I completed, but ended up having to walk home (about 1.5 miles) because my knee was killing me. So I rested, and on Sunday I compromised on what was supposed to be a 9-miler and decided to just do a 10-k, since that the race I'm training for (eek, 2 weeks away!).

The run ended up going OK. Slow and steady, beautiful weather and I got to check out kids' Halloween costumes since my run coincided with trick-or-treating in the city.

Tomorrow I need to do an easy 2 miles. I think I may route my run around my polling place--don't forget to vote! Women worked hard to earn it for us.

A Tough Return

The past few runs I have done have all felt so...blah. Two weeks ago I ran 9 miles, which is my longest distance ever. I was on such a high for about a week, just feeling so surprised I was even able to accomplish this (and I know this isn't a big deal for the good runners out there, but we all start somewhere, right?). However, last week I was working 17-hour days and didn't run at all until the weekend. I went out for 4 miles on Saturday and struggled and ended up walking for a bit, which was completely depressing. So I went out for a second go Sunday. Yet another struggle to complete.

On Tuesday I went for an easy 2-miler with a friend who is even more of a beginner than me (so it was run one mile, and then run a block, walk a block for the second--fine with me, this was my easy day, and after my crappy progress over the weekend, I thought this might be what I needed to buck up my running spirits).

Today was another story. I needed to do 6 miles. It was supposed to contain some speedwork. That didn't happen. I was dragging, but making my way through the run, but around mile 4 my knee just started aching and wouldn't quit. I tried to run through it for a bit, but ended up having to walk about every eight of a mile and walked most of the way home in pain. I'm icing now, and hopefully this pain quits. The 10-k is only a little more than 2 weeks away. I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew with this race?

What do you do to pump yourself up after a bad run? Any and all motivational tips are welcome!

Inaugural Running Post!

Hello my fellow runners! I have been reading running blogs of many of you for several months now, and from all the inspiration I was able to draw from many bloggers out there, I wanted to (hopefully) give a little of that inspiration back to the running community.

I've been running for about a year now, but I am NOT one of those success stories you read about in Runners World where I miraculously trained for three months and then qualified for the Boston Marathon during my very first marathon. I am a beginner, and I haven't even run a marathon yet! I've been a 5K-er, and I am signed up for my first 10-K at Giralda Farms in New Jersey on Nov. 14. Fingers crossed I actually finish!

As I've been running more, I found so much comfort and support in reading about other beginning runners. The two ladies whose blogs I frequent are Christina from Lace it Up and run and MJ from Girl Running. Since they have been so kind to share their half-marathon journeys, I'm hoping to do the same.

Oh, and one last thing. I am not shy about complaining about my runs, be it the weather on the run, my slowness--you name it, I'll tell you about it:)

XOXO,
Cheryl