Last Long Run!

This morning, I whipped out my last long run before the half marathon!

12 miles!!!! I did a 13.1 mile run almost a month ago, but I think 12 miles is plenty a little over a week before my half marathon.

To reward myself for all my hard work, I purchased myself one of these little babies:

I have been running with my iPhone, but it's so bulky, 

and I'm sick of wearing an armband or having to buy shorts

with an interior pocket. 

I also refueled with some Starbucks treats!

Spinach, egg white, and feta wrap

Caramel Frappuccino-Sorry about the crappy image

I had dinner at Panera with two friends too!

Okay, well I'm off to finish off some work and hit the hey. I have to get up bright and early for my internship tomorrow.

What did you accomplish today?

13 DAY!

Hi all, 

I'm super busy with school and life in general at the moment, but I just wanted to pop into to say, I'm running my first half marathon in 13 days. 

13 DAYS UNTIL 13.1!

Unreal!!!!!

Any taper tips? 

Have other people gotten really nervous as the big day approached? I'm getting nervous already : /

The Difference Between Short and Long Runs!

Hello everyone,

Happy Friday!

Before I delve into today's topic, I just wanted to let you know that the haunted corn maze I talked about last weekend was legit the scariest halloween/haunted house attraction I have ever been through! I was like legit about to cry in parts. I had a great time, though. Traveling to a small Vermont town, going out to dinner, and completing a fall-ish touristy activity with two of my best friends was a great way to spend a Saturday night.

Anyways, this morning I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on how the distance of the run affects my perception of it....if that makes any sense at all...??? I hope it does.

Basically, I classify my runs into two categories: 1) Short runs 2) Long runs.

While my definitions of short and long runs have changed as I've become a better runner and dedicated my self to long distance running, I currently consider a short run to be between 3-5 miles and a long run is anything over 7 miles. So far, I have run up to 13 miles, so I guess a long run is currently between 7-13 miles. I know I left out 6 miles, but I'm not really sure in what category to place it. Sorry 6...I don't mean to make you feel excluded.

Anyways, when I plan a short run into my schedule, I really don't stress about it much. I think about a time I'm going to do it (usually in the morning) and never doubt my abilities to complete the run or dread it. I know I can crank a short run out in around 30 minutes, so it's no big deal in my mind. However, when ever I have a run on my schedule that is over 7 miles, I put so much mental energy into just thinking about it. In other words, I worry about it. I think things like.... Oh, I better go to bed early, so I can get up early and have time to mentally prepare myself for my long run. I better not plan anything in the hours immediately after my run because what if I can't finish it, I have to walk, and it takes me longer??? The worrying never ends.

Okay, this is where things get a little complicated. At least I don't understand it...

Although I worry about long runs and not short runs, I actually enjoy long runs a lot more. Well, the first few miles of any long run sucks, but after I get over that initial hump, I often feel like I can run forever. I also clear my head, get into a rhythm, and just experience a true sense of freedom. When I ran my 13 mile run a couple weeks ago, I was literally shouting out loud in glee (I'm not kidding) between the miles of 10 and 13. In other words, I rarely don't enjoy a long run.

However, I almost never enjoy short runs while I am running them. Once they are over, I'm glad to say I did them and feel good, but during the actual run itself, I'm constantly checking my milage and the time on my watch, wondering when my run is going to be over. I never get into a rhythm into these runs.

So, I'm not really sure where I am going with this....I guess I'm just confused as to why I dread long runs so much when I actually really love them! I should look forward to these runs and not fear and worry about them.

 
What are your thoughts on this? What's your relationship with short and long runs? 
Any ideas to deal with run anxiety? 
What are you doing this weekend?

Bikram Yoga and a Tough Run!

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

I'm running short on time, but I just wanted to pop into say hello.

Hi!

Anyways, I wanted to let you all know that I went to my first Bikram yoga class last night. Although I have been to many yoga classes in the past and used to do it regularly, this was my first Bikram yoga class. It was very intense, but in a different way than I thought it would be. I found that the poses weren't as difficult as ones I've done in power yoga or similar classes. However, the heat made everything seem 10x harder! One of my friends convinced me to go, and I'm glad I did! I felt like I really stretched my muscles out. Additionally, I think the class teaches patience and mental stamina which is super important for a distance runner like me. : )

This isn't me...I don't think I'm quite that graceful..haha

This morning I completed my first long run since my 13.1 mile run last weekend. Before I get into it, here's a recap of my runs and fitness activities over the last week.

Saturday: At home strength and stretching (I was going to run, but it was pouring, and I didn't have time to go to the gym)
Sunday: 13.11 mile run!
Monday: 3 mile recovery run
Tuesday: Rest!
Wednesday: 5.5 mile run
Thursday: 3 mile early morning run and Bikram yoga
Friday: 9 mile run

I'm not going to lie; this run was rather difficult, especially towards the end. Even though I got 9 hours of sleep last night, I was still pretty tired this morning and had to push myself out the door. Once I got running, I felt great still didn't want to go very far. However, once I got past the 3 or 4 mile point, I felt fine until I got to about mile 7. Here, my legs started to hurt a bit and feel like bricks. To be honest, I think my legs are still recovering a bit from my unexpected 13.1 mile run on Sunday. Additionally, I think the yoga thrown into my schedule made my legs a wee bit tired as well.

Although it was a hard run, I'm happy I did it, because it gives me confidence

that I can complete my half no matter what! (I just noticed my fluff ball cat in the 

background..Ain't he precious?)

Although my legs were tired, I pushed through because I know it's important that I do at least 1 long run a week to keep me conditioned for my half marathon which is less than a month away. I think I'm going to stay away from long runs until at least next Friday though, to give my legs some more time to recover. I'll probably do one 5 or 6 mile run early next week, but besides that I'm going to stick to short runs, rest, and cross-training.

I'm about to head to work before meeting up with some friends for dinner. Tonight, I'm going to a house party. I haven't been to a house party in a good while, so it should be interesting. I don't really want to "go out" tonight, but I know Ed is playing into that thinking. It's just one night, so I'm going to push myself and do my best to have a good time!

Tomorrow, some friends and I are driving two hours a way to explore one of the biggest corn mazes in the United States. Not only that, but we are doing it at night and they turn the whole cornmaze into a haunted house well...cornmaze. It should be a grand old time!

And on a random note, here's a nice lunch, I enjoyed last weekend:

Whole wheat bagel thin, cheddar cheese, scrambled egg,

carrots, greek yogurt veggie dip, and a 'nanner. Oh, and I

can't forget the ketchup : )

Has anyone tried Bikram yoga? Thoughts?
How do you handle "peaking too soon" in half marathon training? 
What are y'all doing this weekend?

13.1 Already!?!?!? How'd that happen?

Hello to all of you lovely blogeroos on this chilly and rainy Sunday afternoon! 

First off, I wanted to mention that I had a wonderful time at retreat this weekend with all my lovely sisters! I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I'll post some as soon as I can facebook stalk some of my sisters who remembered to bring cameras. : )

After retreat yesterday, me and a few of my besties stopped at a local cider mill and cheese factory for samples, samples, and more samples. It was a lovely way to end the retreat indeed! I was planning on going for a run when I got home, but seeing that it was pouring and only about 45 degrees outside, I decided to do some at home stretching and strengthening and take a rest day. I'm really glad I did too...I'll explain in a minute. 

Last night, I went to Panera Bread with some friends. It was yummy indeed! I got a thai cafe salad, black bean soup, and a big ol' piece of baguette. The hot soup was perfect for the cold and stormy day. 

Panera bread just opened in my town last week! I'm in love!!

I've been 3 times in the last week. No shame...no shame at all. 

Afterwards, I hung out with my friends for a while and then headed out. They all went out last night for round 2 of my friend's 21st birthday celebrations, but honestly, I was too tired to go out. After getting up at the crack of dawn on Thursday for my internship, interning all day with a bunch of 3rd graders, going out Thursday night, getting only a few hours of sleep, running five miles on Friday, staying up late Friday night with all my lovely sisters, and going all day Saturday, I wasn't up for another night out on the town. 

Although I didn't go out, I'm glad I hung around while everyone was getting ready to go out and pre gaming. I had a lot of fun, 100% sober : )

Last night I slept like a baby and didn't wake up until almost 9:00 AM. Note...9:00 AM is sleeping in for me. I'm usually up between 5:30 and 7:30. 

After fueling myself properly with a yummy breakfast, I set off on a run. I was pretty sure I wanted to do a long training run, but I was going to let my legs and energy level dictate how far I ran. I was hoping to do between 9 or 11 miles, but something amazing happened..... 

.....

.....

.....

I ran 13.1 miles!!!!!!!!!

Although I was a little bit tired at the beginning of the run and a wee bit chilly, my legs loosened up quickly and I warmed right up. For the most part, I followed the same loop I did for my 10 mile run last week, but I popped in and out of some neighborhoods and trails to add a little bit of distance. The route I chose was basically comprised of two loops--one big loop and one small loop. If I wasn't feeling the run, I'd opt out of doing the small loop. 

Once I finished the big loop and started tackling the small loop, which is about 2.5 miles, I heard my garmin click. I made a point of not focussing on my garmin for the whole run. About 9 minutes later it clicked again. I was guessing it was going to read 10 miles but too my surprise, it said I went 11 miles. At this point, I was about a mile a way from my house. I knew that my run would be at least 12 miles by the time I got home. 

When I neared my house, I felt great! Like really great, so I made the decision to go an extra mile just to say that I had run 13.1 miles. 

So, I ran 13. 1 miles and I feel great about it although I must admit my hamstrings are a little sore right now. 

The only problem is my half marathon isn't for another month. I know I need to back off a little bit, so I don't burn out before the big day. I think I'm going to continue doing one long run a week until the race but not do anything over 11 miles. I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think my long run schedule may look something like this: 

Week 1: 10 miles

Week 2: 11 miles

Week 3: 10 miles

Week 4: Race 

I would really love some suggestions about how to approach this, though! 

Anyways, I was originally planning on going to an intense power yoga class with a couple of friends today, but after running 13.1 miles, I figured that my body needs a break. Although I would love to stretch out my muscles, power yoga is not what I need right now. 90 minutes of intense yoga would drive me to the ground, so I skipped out on the yoga today. 

Now, I'm about to go get dinner with a friend and then go to my weekly chapter meeting. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekends everyone!

How do you deal with peaking too early when training for a big race? 

Do you ever have unexpected long or good runs?