OCTOBER 22, 2011 10K

This morning was a very early and chilly start, but a beautiful day to run. About 40 degrees F. The Big 8 10k Race had a late start due to a fender bender on the course.  The 8am start was 30 minutes late. Not much fanfare other than an air-horn to begin it.  This was definitely a challenging race.  Small uphill, downhills to start, and then mile 3 and mile 4 were totally uphill. It seemed like it would never end. At one point I had to do a little bit of race-walk; then I regained my uphill pace. I read somewhere that you should just try to maintain on the uphill and then use the downhill to make up time. When we finally got to the downhills, I certainly felt the speed increase. I just wish I could have kept it up!! The last mile was uphill! It was a bit of a grind but I decided to dig in a bit.  Some one on the sideline was shouting..."Don't quit! Keep it up! Dig in and turn it up!" I know it was not my coach....but I was encouraged to try and turn it up some more. Overall, it was a great race and totally satisfying to see my time as I reached the finish line!! Because...my last race (flat course)  was 1:04:04 and today I got a PR!!  1:02:15  That is a minus 2 minute difference on a challenging course. Yes...it was a great day for a race! I am more than pleased!

It's still September!

So, today is the last day of September. This month was exceptionally busy since the work/school year has started again. Training has been a bit of a juggle to try and find a rhythm. The summer was great. Get up early (later than a work day) run, have a leisurely breakfast and get on with the day even when it was hot and humid. But my work day means up at 6am out the door by 7ish. For me, personally, I cannot get up earlier to run. I know me, it would not work out at all.  So, now it is trying to get mentally prepared at the end of the day to go out and run after standing on my feet all day.  I know I will have to try to work on leaving school a bit earlier whenever possible!  

And now for the September running report.....

Overall, some how September has added up to 58.5 miles of running. It amazes me! 

September 11th I ran a 10k. A bit more hilly than I expected. The route was behind Jericho HS in Brookville. It was really pretty with beautiful homes and rolling hills. My time was actually better than I expected: 1:04. I was totally satisfied. I realize that a 10k does take a toll on me. I was extremely tired the next day and yoga was difficult as well. I absolutely need rest time to refresh my legs, refresh my mind and repair the muscles. Somehow, in the midst of a busy start to the school year I have managed to put my miles in and stick (almost completely) to my coach's plan. Training, I have surmised, is always a work in progress. 

So, now I am gearing up for October. I plan on doing 2 races this month: 5K and a 10K.

I certainly feel ready but I know that after the 10K I will need that rest, refresh and repair and then continue to run. Today, the last day of September I ran 4 miles in beautiful temperate conditions this morning. Clear, minimal humidity, about 65 degrees. I think I'm looking forward to Fall running. Lots of Halloween decorations and fall colors to view as I run through my neighborhood.

August...even tho it's September!!

August is gone.......and September is here already. I had a busy running month in August. My coach and I finally have a cadence with training. Every week I send a schedule with my work/personal commitments and he sends me back a training plan for the week. I think we have both learned to be flexible to find the right combination.  It has worked well for the past 5 weeks. 

Altogether this past month I ran a total of 66 miles! And I way surpassed my goal this month to run 50 miles in 30 days. I am getting close to my previous all time high mileage of 75 miles. And that was about a year ago. I feel like I am definitely in a better place with my running.  I practice stretching pretty religiously; almost always before or if not, then afterward. This month was full of weather issues; an earthquake, awful heat and humidity; oh and a hurricane with torrents of rain!  It is amazing how I got 66 miles in; but I did.

I also realized that I cannot run and do yoga in one day. It took a toll on my body when I did that in August. Lesson learned! Rest day are for rest and/or yoga not to add in a long run! I can't believe I'm looking forward to some nice fall days to run. After our horrendous winter of tons and tons of snow I thought summer would be refreshing.  I only ran 2 races this summer. One in July......I had to actually wallk for a few minutes it was so hot......and one August 13th.  Sprint for the Sands Point Preserve 5k. This was a trail/paved path race. My first race with trails. It was definitely challenging! I ran on paved paths, sand, dirt, grass, rocks, dirt paths with roots and lots and lots of uphills...funny there seemed to be very few downhills!!  Not my best 5k time but satisfied with it since it was a new terrain to contend with during a race. Time: 33:55.6  My coach said to find something different to run...and this was it.  I did enjoy it alot especially because the vista was so beautiful looking either out on the Long Island Sound or at the beautiful grounds of the 'castle' at the preserve.  With all that said, August shaped up as a pretty good running month as well as an interesting one. Hopefully, all that training will help with making my 10k race tomorrow an enjoyable one! I'm looking forward to it! 

Now, I am officially ready to begin week #6. My 19th year of teaching has begun and my 3rd year of running.  I can truly say I am a runner; a runner for life. No matter how fast or slow, how long or how short I will always be lacing up my running shoes and going out for a run. I love it. It is a wonderful feeling of freedom. Oh! and besides yoga...it's a wonderful way to "take out the trash." I'm truly lucky to have my son as my coach. Adam...you're the best!

Stay tuned for my September running updates!!

JULY 31st

I can hardly believe it is the last day of July.....where did this month fly? A grad class, visits from the Colorado family, a bad cold from my grandson, an injury and some redecorating...of and of course running. July proved to be a very very hot and humid one. Temperatures up to 100 plus and humidity that made it unbearable to even venture outside let alone run.  I did accomplish one running goal this month; I ran 40 miles in 30 days. I wasn't sure I could do it...but it proved easier than I thought. 30 miles in 30 days last month was actually easy! An that's interesting because there were a lot of non-running days because of a variety of issues.  So, starting tomorrow I'm on to the next goal:  50 miles in 30 days. July I ran 41 miles so I really think I can get to 50. This month was also fraught with an injury, albeit, short lived, heat and humidity and a bad cold. I decided to ride my bike...for 45 minutes. Not a good idea since it really does not fit me properly and I used muscles that were not properly stretched or used in quite awhile! I spent 4 days convalescing. But........with that said.....I'm back on track. Today I ran 4 miles early in the morning. That is the longest I have run in awhile. I've been kinda stuck on the number 3.  I'm now waiting for my coach to come up with a plan for the month of August. I need to improve my endurance. I have been running at what seems to be a slower pace. Improvement is an important component to my running now.  I say...bring it on. I'm looking forward to it!

OMG...It's June 30th!!

I thought I'd better get a short blog in today.....as it IS the last day of the month. I truly am trying to keep up with my goal of one blog a month. Running has been great.....up until yesterday. Got up early...7am... to run...but 1.5 miles in my leg got a cramp...my foot also!! I just stopped and started to walk...felt better and then after about 5 or 6 minutes ran the rest of the way home...LOL that was only about 1/2 mile.
I think it was a combo of not enough hydration for an extremely hot, humid morning. Running in the summer....when it is humid is awful. So, I'm taking off 2 days to rest and recover to get ready for perhaps a nice easy long run on Saturday or Sunday. I also pulled a muscle in my shoulder trying to coax a big bag of mulch into the car! Not so smart of me! Other than yesterday, my runs have been really nice and relaxed, albiet, a bit hot and sweaty!! Duh...it is summer. I plan a route by every available sprinkler! I find it amazing how the sweat just pours out of runners AFTER they stop running. So...the plan for July is to find a race or 2 and enjoy the runs! Oh! And hope for some less humid mornings!

Gotta get a plan

Yes, it really is May. I can't believe for 2 months I've had trouble posting in the right month just once!  May 1st was my 2nd ever 10k race. Even though my coach says,"ok..get over it" it still is a big deal for me that I ran it.......and ran it well. I was 9th out of 31 in my age group, and 688 out of 1,260 people in the race. Not too shabby especially since this was my first race after 3 months of PT for my piriformis muscle. The continuing training since the race has been sort of sporadic. I haven't run any long distances but more or less 2 or 3 mile runs. This past week was the not great; and I'm not really sure why. Last Tuesday my usual 2+ mile easy run was awful. After about 1.5 miles Marlena got a stitch and my legs felt like lead weights were attached to my ankles!! Finally, we both looked at each other and simultaneously said.....let's walk. I guess some days you just chalk it up and plan for a better run. And that run was yesterday! I needed to prep my room for a AU  visit on Monday. But, the dog needed to be walked first...so home I went. I decided I'd better put on my running gear before I went back to school;  no matter how long I was going to be at school, I was determined to get a run in that day. It was 5:45pm.  I told myself: ok.....2 miles for sure and then see how you feel.....I felt great and was cruising. I ran about 3.5 miles and cut my pace down to 10:30 from the usual 11:15 or 11:30.  It didn't even matter that I ate dinner at 8:30pm it was a really enjoyable run. I definitely was a happy runner on Friday. Of course, the weather for tomorrow, Sunday looks dismal..... thundershowers all day.  No matter, we will see how it goes. Since after the 10k, nothing felt great about any of the runs I had done; I just feel so much better now about my training. 

So, are you there coach? Next up for training? Gotta get a plan! 

APRIL FOOLS...IT'S REALLY MAY

April, is the first month I did not write a post! But, nevertheless I will do it now, in May.
April was not a particularly nice weather month. Cold, chilly, and lots of rain. At least one week of it was spent in Denver, Colorado where it was certainly warmer than New York. I tried to keep up with the miles this month, but the weather was a big factor. (Note to coach: no matter what torrential downpours are not for running) Even with that said, I racked up about 39 miles so I'm not disappointed at all. Running in Colorado was great. I was surprised that I acclimated so well so fast. In the past, it would take a day or two just be able to climb the stairs in my sister's house. This time, on the second day, I ran about 3 miles, and not too breathlessly. The fact that it was warm was even sweeter. Once I got home it was right back to work and some how got the energy to run on Thursday even after getting home later than I had planned. I was determined to get 4 miles in as preparation for the 10k race on Sunday. So stay tuned for the next installment:  LI Festival of Races 10K and the race day report!