why yes, i am still running!

I last left off at Week 8 of our Goofy Challenge training plan. It’s still going really well, and I’m excited about our progress.

Week 9
Tuesday: 4
Thursday: 3.5

Saturday: 9
Sunday: 12
Total: 28.5 miles

Saturday’s run was a little different in week nine. We were scheduled to run a five-mile race that day. We decided we’d do a two-mile warm up before the race, and another two after.

The only other time I did some warm-up running before a race, I set a new 5K PR. Would it happen again?

I wasn’t really planning on it. I hadn’t done speed work since the summer, and a lot of our long training runs have been slower Galloway runs.

Still, I started out kinda fast, and was a little concerned!

1. 8:44 -  it was 8:38 when I passed the mile marker. Legs — what are you thinking?
2. 9:07 – still fast but better. I didn’t think I could hold it.
3. 8:53 – and we’re speeding up again. Waiting to crash and burn …
4. 8:51 – huh.
5. 8:32 – how about that!

This race takes place in paved trails in a park, with lots of curves. I always measure a little off — this year was no exception. Close enough …

New 5-mile PR by 1:09. The old one was on the same course, set in 2005!

Back to Goofy training …

Week 10
Tuesday: 5.3
Thursday: 0 (couldn’t run, but our mileage jump would have been too high anyway)
Saturday: 9
Sunday: 19
Total: 33

That 19 was tough, but it felt really good to be getting close to our 13.1 / 26.2 goal! We had a great time running through DC (pictures soon!). My friend/training partner may call herself the Lazy Runner, but I’m going to be the Lazy Blogger and send you over to her run report for details!

goofy update

For anybody that’s new here, I’m currently training for something ridiculous.

In January, I’ll be running Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, part of the Disney World Marathon Weekend.

Goofy participants run the half marathon on Saturday (13.1 miles) and the full marathon on Sunday (26.2 miles). That’s a lot of running!

Well, I won’t be running the whole time. There’s no way I’d attempt to race nearly 40 miles in two days! I will be using the Galloway run/walk method.

The last time I wrote a training update, we had just completed the third week. I suppose I should write these more often; we’ve now in week nine!

Week 4
Tuesday:  3
Thursday: 3
Sunday: 16.3 (Metric Marathon. We were only supposed to run 13, so we took Saturday off)
Total: 22.3 miles

Week 5
Tuesday: 3.6
Thursday: 2.75 (A short run was OK here, my increase was a little high this week)
Saturday: 5
Sunday: 14
Total:  25.35 miles

Week 6
Tuesday: 0 (Couldn’t run!)
Thursday: 3.27
Saturday: 7.51
Sunday: 10
Total: 20.78 miles

Week 7
Tuesday: 0 (Busy again! But needed to cut a day this week, anyway)
Thursday: 3
Saturday: 8
Sunday: 16
Total: 27 miles

Week 8
Tuesday: 1.19 (Testing new shoes on treadmill. Needed to cut mileage here, too.)
Thursday: 3.81
Saturday: 8
Sunday: 17
Total: 30 miles

Even though it’s totally something I would do, I did not make the Tuesday and Thursday distances add up to exactly five miles on purpose!

Training is going well, and I’m happy with our progress. I’m actually really enjoying these long runs!

happy halloween!

It seems I really enjoy Halloween.

I got to add to my collection of costumes this year, running my favorite Halloween 5K on Sunday. Since I’ve had two years of award-winning costumes, I needed something good. And when I saw Mir’s son’s idea, I simply had to make it happen!

Before the race, people kept asking if I was going to run in that. Yup! And it actually went pretty well!

• Mile 1: 9:15
• Mile 2: 9:10
• Mile 3: 8:52

I tracked the course a little short — my third mile beeped just before I crossed the finish line. Clock time: 27:25.

Even though I tracked at only 3.01, I’m pretty sure the course was the same as in the past. As Mr Potato Head, I ran the same race in 28:16 (Garmin said 3.02). As a refrigerator (a more-comparable costume!), I couldn’t find my official result, but my Garmin time was 29:00 for 3.07.

I’m pretty happy with my race! As I was headed towards the bagel table, I heard another woman talking to a friend, remaking how the “lady in the house” beat her. A friend just loudly exclaimed, “Aw, man!” as I passed her. I taunted back, “You can’t let a house beat you!”

But she didn’t catch up.

I was able to wear my costume to work to our party last Friday too, and won the costume contest. At the race, I came in second. Yay!

I wonder what I should be next year?

race report: metric marathon

My running club sponsors a Metric Marathon every fall — 26.2K (16.3 miles) through scenic rural roads. I’ve run this race four times, and I really enjoy it. Though everyone I’ve spoken to that has run it always wonders why.

It’s very small (usually around 150 people, but there was a big jump this year, nearly 240!), and very low-key. No chip timing, no T-shirts, no medals.  And because of the distance, you only get the hardcore runners. Usually, that also means fast. Most folks that usually keep me company in the middle of the pack don’t show up for this one. Last year, I feared I would be last as I surveyed the crowd at the start line. I ended up beating only 10 people.

Oh, and it’s not just long. It’s challenging. Most runners are quite familiar with the term “gentle rolling hills.” That usually means “really hilly!” Well, let’s step that up. Paraphrased from this year’s description:


The Metric Marathon is a 26K (16.3 mile) loop course on paved roads through gently rolling hills. There are significant hills at miles 12 and 14.

Now that’s just evil! (Actually, now that it’s fresh in my mind, mile 12 isn’t so bad. But 14 just keeps going. You think you’re at the top, and then you go up again.)

But I still love it!

Since it’s over 16 miles, it really spreads out and can get lonely. But even alone, it’s just such a beautiful course. We run by farms with horses and cows. We pass cornfields cut down for the season.  And for as many wide-open spaces, there are shady tree-lined streets. At one point, I noticed a small creek running along the side of the road.

We had perfect weather — cool and crisp, not a cloud in the sky. But you’ll have to use your imagination, because I didn’t bring a camera. I guess it would have slowed me down, anyway. Let’s just say I did better than I expected!

I haven’t run 16 miles since this race last year.With Goofy training, my long runs have been 10-12 miles every weekend for the last month, and I ran a half marathon Labor Day weekend. I wasn’t really worried about the mileage jump. But I’ve been run/walking most of those long runs, and was planning on running the 16 miles straight. I didn’t know what to expect. I was just hoping to beat three hours — something I hadn’t done since my first time on this course in 2005, 2:57:08.

I accidentally hit the lap button on my watch while trying to take off my jacket so my times are a little off … (I knew I’d warm up fast. It was just so chilly at the start!)

• 10:11 (Mile 1)
• 10:20 pace for the next .38
• 10:06 for the next mile
• 10:17 pace for the next .62 (manually reset to fix the auto-lap)
• 10:09 (Mile 4)
• 10:11 (Mile 5)
• 10:01 (Mile 6)
• 10:19 (Mile 7)
• 9:53 (Mile 8) 
• 10:19 (Mile 9)
• 9:59 (Mile 10)
• 10:08 (Mile 11)
• 10:11 (Mile 12)
• 11:18 (Mile 13 – walked through the water stop!)
• 10:39 (Mile 14)
• 11:25 (Mile 15 — had to loosen my shoelace; my foot was getting numb!)
• 10:15 (Mile 16 — much better)
• 8:52 pace for the last .21

Finish time: 2:47:15. That’s nearly a 10-minute PR!
(And actually, 16 minutes better than I did last year. Woo-hoo!)

I felt great the whole time, and was only a little sore after the race. It was mostly in my calves/ankles, probably because of the hills and the slope of the road. (We had to run in the shoulder; the roads weren’t closed). 

But I wasn’t sore at all yesterday. I recently bought some OxySox and wore them all day after the race. I’m sold!

weekly winners and running update

September 20-26, 2009

I didn’t take too many photos this week. Last Sunday I was doing some yard work and tried to snap a shot of this cardinal that was chirping overhead. The sunlight through the trees wasn’t working with me, though!

I initially had grabbed my camera because of this squirrel that kept freaking out.

Visit more Weekly Winners at SarcasticMom.com!

Or keep reading if you’re interested in finding out where my legs have taken me lately …

My training partner and I based our plan off of Hal Higdon’s Intermediate II marathon training schedule. The high-distance Saturday/Sunday runs are perfect for what we’re going to do in January — with a half marathon on Saturday and a full on Sunday.

We’ll always skip the Wednesday workout because we also sing together and have rehearsals that night, and there are some weekends where we may not get both days in. But we’ll fit in as many as we can!

We just completed our third week … not completely to plan, but still doing well. I’m keeping a close eye on my weekly mileage to make sure I don’t increase by more than 10% each week.

Here’s how it’s worked out so far.

Week 1
The first week started just after my half marathon (race report still pending), so I took Tuesday off.
Thursday: 4.39
Saturday: 5
Sunday: 10
Total: 19.39

Week 2
I had a meeting on Thursday and couldn’t run. Though about making it up on the treadmill but then decided I didn’t really need the mileage for the week.
Tuesday: 4.58
Saturday: 5
Sunday: 12
Total: 21.58

Week 3
I was thinking about doing a short run on Saturday, but it was a really busy day, and my legs felt heavy and sore on Thursday. I’m guessing the 12-miler on Sunday followed by a kind of fast five-miler on Tuesday tired me out!
Tuesday: 5
Thursday: 4
Sunday: 10.6
Total: 19.6

And actually for Week 3, the mileage was supposed to be lower, with a six-mile run on Saturday and an eight-mile run on Sunday. We just swapped out the Saturday run with a slightly longer Sunday run.

So far I’m feeling pretty good! We’re taking it slow on the long runs, opting to use the Galloway run/walk method. It’s all about covering the distance for this challenge!

virtual race report: fall five miler

It’s time for another virtual race hosted by RunningLaur, the Fall Five Miler!

I didn’t “pre-register” since I wasn’t sure where today’s run would take me. I’m a mentor in a 10K class that meets on Tuesdays. I usually run with the class, but sometimes I end up helping along the course. But it all worked out!

The class ran almost three miles today. I found a couple ladies doing a good pace and ran with them most of the way. I turned back a little bit to make my Garmin hit 3.1 miles — I wanted to at least finish 5K!

After a quick Gatorade break, I joined a fellow mentor to get at least another mile. We didn’t have much time because it was getting dark (no lights on the trail!), but by the time we started about turning back, we were almost at a mile. We pushed it until my Garmin beeped, and turned back to finish my five miles.

The first three were with the class, so I wasn’t really racing. After all, I was trying to stick with our class members!

1. 9:22
2. 9:52
3. 9:46

The last two miles are a different story. My friend is quite a bit faster than me. For the first mile, I think she was taking it easy. But we ran into another (fast) friend on the way back who joined us the last half mile. They pulled away; at one point my Garmin said the pace was 7:45. I can’t do that! I tried, but couldn’t keep up. Still, that last mile is faster than my 5K race pace!

4. 8:51
5. 8:26 

Total time: 46:17, average 9:16/mile.

Hooray for fall!

race report: iron girl (finally!)

A long, long time ago — August 23rd — I completed my second sprint triathlon – Iron Girl in Columbia, MD. And just like last year, I had a really great time. Let’s see what I remember …

We arrived in the dark, set up our transition area, and went to the swim start where we waited for our waves. The start was delayed 15 minutes, which made it even longer. At least it gave me a chance to hit the port-o-pots one more time before getting in the water!

When we were getting close, I joined my fellow pearl-yellow capped 30-34-year-olds in the lake. Rather than waste energy treading water, I conveniently found a rock to stand on. The actual ground was kind of icky. The girl I was chatting with, standing in the squishy grasses, was jealous.

Once they started counting down, I swam closer to the group, and thought I seeded myself well. I seemed to have room to swim right at the start, but then we all bunched up again. Not as stressful as the trial, but it still took me a little while to get comfortable.

When I did relax, though, I felt really good. I felt like I was actually paying attention to my stroke, trying to remember what I should be doing. I took my time and kept a steady pace. Sure, some of the faster swimmers from the next wave passed me. But I also passed slow swimmers that started ahead of me.

A friend was at the swim finish and snapped that shot. I’m glad — the race photographers didn’t get any of me alone!

Once out of the water, I took my time walking to my transition spot, and got ready to bike! No missing-helmet problems like last year, I found a spot to hang it. Everything was ready where I left it!

I have a road bike now, and it made a big difference. Sure, the course was just as hard and hilly as I remembered, but I cut nearly 10 minutes off my bike time. (I think. More on that later.) While it’s a hard course, I felt strong.

After racking my bike, trading helmet for visor, and dashing out of the transition area, I was feeling great. I just remember thinking how awesome it was to be able to do this — to drop off my bike and just start running!

I really didn’t do enough bike/run brick workouts, though. Ouch. I didn’t have much speed left, and I walked some of the uphills. But I still managed to finish the run about 30 seconds faster than last year (I think), so I’m OK with it!

So now we get to the results. Which I don’t really know.

My chip apparently didn’t work for any of my splits. I only have a finish time!

This is a pretty big disaster to a girl so obsessed with her stats that she runs with both a Garmin and Nike+.

I’ve been able to piece things together for the most part, but it’s not the same. I can’t see my standings! I don’t know my transition times! (Not like I practiced transitioning, but still …)

I used my Garmin for the bike and run portions, so I roughly know those times Once the pictures came out, I was able to figure out my swim time by looking at my age group’s results and figuring out who finished before and after me. My swim time should be between 30:42 and 30:45.

While that’s a little slower than my 29:57 last year, it’s not too far off. And there’s been some talk on the race message board where quite a few women felt like the course was longer this year. If so, that could mean I actually did better!

I know my bike time is a little off, because I started my watch when I got on the bike, not when I crossed the mat. But it should only be a few seconds. I clocked 1:14:43, average 14.1 mph. A big difference from last year’s 1:24:16 (12.5mph). I was very happy with this. The bike makes all the difference.

My Garmin run time should be pretty close; I clocked 34:16 – a little over 10-minute miles. But with all the walking I was doing, that’s pretty good. I was happy being able to beat last year’s 34:44, even if I was faster at the trial. I hadn’t biked that day!

Overall (the only official time I have), my time is 2:28:15. Last year? 2:38:58. Woo-hoo!

Registration for next year opens on Nov. 3. I’ve marked my calendar!

wrightsock challenge – final

By now, I’ve tried all of the socks graciously provided by WRIGHTSOCK and the Runners’ Lounge.

The last two:

I took the Running II pair out on a 10-mile run a couple weeks ago. It was warm, humid, and hilly so I really put them to the test. I was still recovering from the 10 miles I did while at the beach, but those trouble spots weren’t too bad considering the conditions. My feet were comfortable and I barely noticed my socks.

I tried the final pair for the first time a few days before the triathlon. I was mainly going for a bike ride, but knew I wanted a short run as well, so I put on the SLX. These felt great! But I only ran for a mile.

I tried them out again this weekend on a 9-mile run. It wasn’t too warm out, but really humid. I was quite pleased with the socks. Despite the sticky conditions, my feet were feeling good. By the end, I had trouble again with the callous-blisters that have been bothering me for a couple weeks, but I can’t really blame the socks for that.

Overall, I’ve really liked all of these socks!

My favorites are the Coolmesh, which will be coming to Virginia Beach with me for my next half marathon on Sunday. The SLX, SLR and Running II are quite comfortable as well. I especially like fit of the SLX — no annoying toe seams!

The thin SLT, which I thought I would like the best, come in behind the others. I found I preferred the slightly thicker socks, and got a better fit around the toes with the others.

That leaves the DLX as the loser. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like them! It was just too hot for thick socks. I’ll be happy to break those out again in a couple months!

Thanks again to the Runners’ Lounge and WRIGHTSOCK for inviting me to this challenge. While it is technically over, I’m going to continue to test them against my old socks as the weather changes. I may have to start investing more in my socks!

wrightsock challenge – three and four

Wednesday was not a good-weather day here at the beach. When I woke up to gray skies, I stayed in bed a little longer. And when I finally did arise, it hadn’t improved.

Clouds, light rain, and grumbles of thunder continued throughout the day. We would occasionally see flashes of lightning across the sound. I settled onto the couch with a book, and waited for the storm to pass. I wanted a short run that day, and don’t mind the rain. It’s the thunder storms that concern me!

Well, the storm seemed to be stalled. The sky would get brighter and I’d get hopeful, and then a crack of thunder would shake the house. Back to the book.

I did start, and finish, an entire book that day. And I even did get my run in by the late afternoon! Finally, the thunder stopped.

I wasn’t planning on going too far, about three miles, so I chose the WRIGHTSOCK Cushioned DLX.

They’re much thicker than what I usually wear this time of year, so I was concerned about them being too warm. Like all the others, they felt good when I put them on. Less bulky than I expected. I think I’m going to like these in the fall and winter.

With the so-called storm, the weather cooled to 75 degrees that day, but with 89% humidity, it still felt pretty warm out there. And the socks were kind of hot as expected. I can’t really evaluate them otherwise since my feet were still recovering from Monday’s 10-miler. No new problems, just re-irritating the old ones!

Today was a bit cloudy, but nothing that would stop us from sitting outside on the deck. (We just didn’t want to drag all our stuff out to the beach, just in case). A little after lunchtime, it started to sprinkle a little bit, and then a light rain started. No thunder — perfect! I got changed for another short run.

This time, I picked the SLR.

It was 80 degrees and 74% humidity according to weather.com, but since they didn’t realize it was raining I’m guessing it was a bit more humid. Yuck!

The rain would have been refreshing, had it lasted. It stopped completely within my first half mile, and only sprinkled lightly for the rest of my four-mile run. It was a tough one today. I was really hot. My feet were really hot, too.

I’m pretty sure they would be at least a little hot in any socks, but it is possible that the cushioning may have made them a little warmer than a thinner sock. Otherwise, they were comfortable, and my problem areas felt fine. Much better than Wednesday, actually.

I can say with certainty this is the most I’ve ever run while on vacation. I biked 12 miles yesterday, too. And kayaked a mile. (Uh, yeah, I wore my Garmin kayaking.)

It’s been a great trip. I’m sad to head home tomorrow!

wrightsock challenge test two – slt

This morning I actually set an alarm — while on vacation — to get up and run. It was going to be a hot one, and I really wanted to get a 10-miler in.

I hit the road a little after 7 a.m., and chose the WRIGHTSOCK SLT since they are the lightest and most similar to the socks I usually use. It was 80 degrees / 84% humidity when I started my run.

Much like the first pair I tested, the fit was perfect and the fabric felt better than my usual cheap socks. During the first few miles of my run, I kept forgetting to pay attention to my socks so I could review them, so I guess that’s a good thing.

The happy feelings didn’t last, unfortunately. My already-calloused right toe rubbed a couple of small blisters by the end, and I was feeling a hot spot on my left heel.

I can’t really blame the socks, though. I was asking a bit much of them.

I’m positive that the heel hot-spot is related to my orthotics. I’ve temporarily switched back to my older pair, since I’m having new ones made based on the others. I used to get blisters on that heel, and never linked it to my old inserts. Until now. I actually noticed the difference in the heel as soon as I laced up. Despite the irritation, I didn’t get a blister there.

The callouses were already pretty bad, so it’s not surprising that they rubbed after 10 miles. (Note to self: buy a Ped Egg.) Also, I was using old inserts. Hopefully my new ones arrive before the sock challenge is over so I can compare.

These new socks were still pretty good, though. Even with the blisters, my toe is less-sore than it was the last time I used my cheap socks. So that’s something.

I guess I should have tested one of the double-layer anti-blister socks today, but they’re a bit thick and I was worried about the heat. I’ll save those for the shorter runs!