It's Time

The 10k is next Saturday and I think I'm ready for the race. Yesterday was another 5 miler and my time was significantly faster than last Saturday as I did the run with a 12.75 avg pace. My last mile was faster than the fourth mile, which is what's suppose to happen. I usually just get slower and slower. My foot is hurting a bit, so I hope that doesn't hamper me. I think it's because where I run, the road slants and my foot doesn't like that. So probably two more runs this week and then rest for the race.

Look what I found for next year's goal!! City to the Sea half-marathon! The race starts in San Luis Obispo and finishes in Pismo Beach. If they do the race at the same time every year, it should be October 9, 2011. What a perfect birthday present!

5 Miles

Today was a five mile run and while I'm getting more used to doing that type of distance, it is still a stretch for me to run that far. Last week's five miles seemed really hard and so I wasn't sure how today's run was going to pan out. Well, it was a good run, if you can say any run is a good run lol. I didn't feel so exhausted during the last mile. As I neared home I decided I needed to go a little further, so my "head" would know I can go past the five miles I've been doing as I'll need to do six in just a couple of weeks for the race. I ended up running 5.10 miles with a 13.23 average pace. I'm really hoping to run the 10k with a 13.30 average pace. Luckily the gps tracker I'm using broke down the miles, so I got a picture of my average pace for each mile. Mile 1 was 12.43, mile 2 was 12.38, mile 3 was 12.55 (starting to get tired), mile 4 was 13.58 and the last mile was 14.26. That last mile is my problem. I'm worried that if I add another mile and I'm slowing down even more, that my time will dip past the 13.30 pace. Although when I run with Camie my pace is much better, so I will project that running with her and my other peeps at the race, I'll be able to keep my pace up and finish at least a 13.30 average pace :)

This is probably not very interesting for most people to read I realize. A bunch of numbers and times and miles. Who really cares? Well, the thing is, I've never done this before. I've never had goals that take such a long time to achieve, that I've had to put such effort into them and that I've had to commit long term to them. This is new ground for me and things that I learn are transferring into other areas of my life. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Not stopping is the accomplishment. That's what I do when I run, one foot in front of the other. I appreciate those of you who read my blog and please leave a message every now and then. I like"hearing" from you.

Improvement, One Step at a Time

It takes time and distance to gain improvement in running and it's a good (and sometimes inspiring) idea to look back on previous workouts to see how far you've come.

Camie told me our average pace for our first 3 mile run on August 11 was 12.31, which actually means, she had a 12.31 pace and I had a 12:45ish pace. She's faster than me :) Since I downloaded the mapmyrun app on my phone, I've been tracking my runs and recording my times and I've gone from 13.35 minute mile (I run slower without Camie), to a 13.16 minute mile, then 12.24, 12.05 and last Wednesday we broke the 12 minute mile! I ran 3.5 miles with an 11.52 minute mile average (yes, Camie was faster)! Holy cow! Who would have thought I could do that?! Certainly not me. I guess that just goes to show you, don't say you aren't able to do something until after you have put forth time and energy in achieving the goal. When I ran the half-marathon in June, my time average pace was a 14.46 minute mile. I'd say I've made huge leaps so far in my training. I'm very happy and proud of that accomplishment as running is not something I've done all my life or is even a natural occurrence for me. You know I'd rather be sitting on the couch reading a book lol.

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins' trilogy that begins with The Hunger Games is a disturbing, but compelling series that has the reader rooting for the heroine, Katniss, who against all odds is able to win at the Capitol enforced Hunger Games. Together, with Peeta, she is able to return to her family, but her tenacity and determination inspires a revolution and change comes to their world. This is a great young adult series that could spark interesting conversations on the media's influence, how social norms in society occur and the value of life among other topics.

Count Down

Three weeks until the Smokey Bear 10k at Bass Lake! I'm running three miles pretty well now, but it's so much better when I run with Camie. The run just goes by faster, I go faster and I go further! I still love being able to see my time and distance results on mapmyrun.com. It's so cool and I found out it can break down my speed for the different miles. I'm really excited by the gains I'm making in my pace. Randy started running outside this past week and he's doing a 10 minute mile! Wow! The dude is totally quick! My goal would be a 12 minute mile. I can start out at that when I run with Camie, but as I near mile three, I begin to slow down. I'm hoping for a 13.5 minute mile or better at Smokey Bear. We'll see :) It's all good anyway.

Toys for Running

I'm two weeks into my training program for the Smokey Bear 10k run I'm doing at the end of September and it's going really well. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my runs. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I do the Shred workout.

Mondays I'm running at the gym. I'm going to work on interval training, so I can work on my pace. I'm also going to do some hill work to get ready for Bass Lake. Wednesdays I've been running a three mile loop with Camie and that's awesome, because she has a Garmin watch that actually can track our run and show us our mileage and pace. She's a bit faster than me, so it gives me incentive to pick up my pace. Wednesday I actually ran at a 12.2 pace if I remember correctly. That's amazing! I ran the half-marathon at a 14.45 minute pace, so that's a huge increase. Today I increased my run to four miles and was able to do it without stopping (except for lights). I slowed down to a 14 minute mile, but that's ok because Friday are for endurance, not speed. Randy told me about mapmyrun.com. The have apps you can download for your smart phone. I've been using the app the last two runs and it gives me my mileage, speed and shows a map of my run. All of the data is uploaded onto their website and then you're able to track your workouts. Really cool.

My goal for the Bass Lake run is to: 1. finish  and 2. complete it at a quicker pace than 14.45.

My next goal is to run around Central Park in NYC when we go visit Maddie and Dan in November. It's about six miles around, so I just need to continue my training and I should be fine. The NYC marathon takes place the day after we arrive, so that will be really exciting to watch. Can't wait!

Now Reading...

I have been residing most recently in J.R. Ward's world. Her series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, is filled with six warrior vampires who will do anything to keep their partner safe from their adversaries. Ward spins a great tale full of drama, stealth, intrigue, passion and romance. Each book takes one of the six brothers as it's main focus, but she weaves stories of one or two of the other brothers in at the same time. That way as one story concludes she has set you up for the next brother and his story.

I have been dodging reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for over a year. I've picked it up and put it down so many times at Costco. I borrowed the book on cd to listen in the car and just finished it. The book does not start well. In fact, it wasn't interesting until you meet the character Lisbeth Salander. She really moves the story along as she's a fascinating character. We find out some of her secrets in the first book, she might have Asperger's disease, she has a photographic memory, is a genius computer hacker and has had a significant life altering event occur when she was around 12 or 13. She is horrible at developing relationships and has virtually no friends. She meets Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist who has been tasked to solve a 40 year old mysterious disappearance of a wealthy industrious' niece. Together they solve the mystery and develop a relationship in the process.

This is not a book for everyone as there are some very mature themes. Larsson states horrific Swedish statistics regarding women and abuse, which is one underlying theme. What captured my attention was the interaction between the two main characters and how Salander's character and her secrets were revealed. There were times when I shut off the cd, because I guessed what was going to happen and I became mad at how a character was treated. When I calmed down enough to listen again, I found out I was right in the direction the storyline took, but there was one or two twists I didn't see coming that made the book enjoyable. Bottom line, if you can handle intense subject matters and are willing to get past the first section until you meet Salander, you might enjoy the book as I did.

I started listening to the second book, which continues the story of Salander and Blomkvist and it's very intriguing, but with stronger themes.