Tag Archives: running amuck

the need for speed

March 26, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuck, take it and runLauren @ mostly i run

I’m not a particularly fast runner. I’m usually finish races somewhere in the middle of the pack. And generally, I’m fine with that.

But it would be nice to be just a little faster.

This week at the Runners’ Lounge, we’re discussing tips to satisfy the need for speed. We’ve been asked to share “a tip, technique, training idea or magical potion” to get faster.

While a magical potion would be nice, I have found there is a simple trick to running faster.

Are you ready?

The secret to running faster ….. is to run faster!

I often find myself getting a little lazy with my running. Sure I’m out there putting in the miles several times a week, but I’m not always challenging myself. I’ll just plod along at a comfortable speed.

Sometimes I run with a friend much faster than me. I can’t keep up with her, but she turns back whenever she pulls too far ahead. And even though we can’t run together, I always have great runs with her. I push myself a little harder, and run a bit faster.

I shocked myself the first time I “chased” her last summer, finishing four hilly miles in 36 minutes. At the time, I didn’t think I could run that fast for that long. And it wasn’t even that hard!

Not all of my training runs are speedy, but I’ve been motivated to push myself more often now that I know I can do it.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been running hill repeats once a week. It’s part of our team runs — for a racing team started by my local running shop. We ran seven hills this week (200 meters up a bridge), and we’re working our way up to 12. And then it’s time for speed work on the track. Surely this will help my speed as well.

I’m looking forward to all the spring and summer races to see if there’s a difference!

hooray spring!

March 21, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuck, virtual raceLauren @ mostly i run

When I got up to run this morning, the sun was shining. Flowers were blooming. Pollen in the air was making my throat itch.

And it was 35 degrees.

Well, at least it looked like spring. And it did start to warm up while we were out there. I lost the gloves and earband early on, and tied my jacket around my waist after the halfway point.

Today I ran six of my miles for the Hooray Spring 6 Miler virtual race, hosted by RunningLaur.

My total distance was 10 miles, in 1:45:34. That’s about 10:30 pace — and I’m very happy with that for a training run. Actually, I just checked my stats. My last 10-mile race (last April) was 1:45:11. So it was a very good run today!

And I suppose it was really a bit better. While I did pause my watch for a water break for my running buddy (I always bring my own!), I kept it running the few times we had to wait for traffic and the one time we waited at the bottom of the bridge for the rest of our group to cross. (We needed to see how long they’d be sticking with us. There were three people running three miles, two running six, and two running the full 10.)

I stopped my iPod/Nike+ when it said I had run six miles (well, I caught it at 6.09), and my time was 1:00:59. However, I’ve found that while it paces me correctly when I’m running 10-minute miles or faster, it’s always off when I’m running slower. That’s why I run with a Garmin as well. Or maybe it’s just because I’m that big of a dork.

My Garmin was only at 5.72 miles at that one-hour mark. It hit six miles at 1:03:24. This will be my official race time, since I’m pretty sure it was closer to the actual mileage.

Certainly no speed record for me for a six-miler … but I felt great today!

Oh, and I tried a new-to-me Gu flavor during the run — Tri-Berry. It tasted mostly like raspberry, which I found delicious. I’ll be adding this flavor to my usual rotation of Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Outrage!

spring training

March 19, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuck, take it and runLauren @ mostly i run

A friend recently mentioned in an email that racing season has begun.

Huh? It ends?

Sure, there are fewer races during the winter (I had none in January), but I’m always running and racing year-round.

Thankfully, it is no longer dark out during on weekday-evening runs. We can finally stop running loops around the community college parking lots — unfortunately one of the only places to run when it’s dark. Boring, but safe.

Today we’re talking about spring training tips for Take it and Run Thursday at the Runners’ Lounge

And to kick off my spring training, I’ve joined a racing team coached by the owner of my favorite running shop.

Tuesday nights, he’s having us do hill workouts. Last week, we ran 200 meters up a bridge at 5K race pace, five times. (Though, we were actually a bit too fast. It was more of a sprint or one-mile race pace!)

This week, we did six, and we’ll add a hill each week until we get to 12. (I’m predicting we will no longer be sprinting at this point.) We will then move to the track for speed work.

In the past, I’ve done occasional hilly runs. Or occasional track work. This is the first time I’ve attempted to add them to my schedule regularly. I’m interested to see if it works!

For people that are just starting to run, look for beginner programs in your area. It’s much easier to start when you’ve got lots of company.

Look up running clubs in your area. It’s likely they’ll have a ‘start to run’ program in the spring. Our club’s program starts at the end of April, and gradually takes class members from walking to running, with a graduation 5K in July.

Come on … anybody can do it.

Get out there, and enjoy the spring weather!

run like a princess

March 10, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuckLauren @ mostly i run

I just got back from a fantastic weekend in Disney World!

My friend Page and I headed to Orlando on Thursday night to give us time to enjoy the parks for a few days before the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon.

On Friday we hit the race expo and spent the day in Epcot exploring the countries and rides. We probably should have taken it easy on Saturday so we could run on fresh legs. But that didn’t happen. We both love Disney World too much!

We hit Animal Kingdom Saturday morning, Magic Kingdom in the afternoon, and went back to Epcot to finish a few countries and eat dinner in “Italy.”

We did manage to get back to the hotel and in bed at a reasonable hour. Though, it was hard to get more than a few hours of sleep. Not due to nerves — but to my 3:30 a.m. alarm! (And yes, the clocks changed that night, too. )

Disney wanted us on the buses by 5a.m., so we headed to the bus stop at 4:30. Didn’t want to cut it close!

The race didn’t start until 7, so we had a lot of time to kill wandering around the parking lot and hitting the port-o-pots. Eventually they had us start walking to the start corrals — which a race volunteer told us was a half mile away! And then we still had 40 minutes in the corrals until the race start.

I needed a picture. Because this may be the first time I’m ever in the first corral! (We got the impression there were a lot of first-timers and fewer serious racers at this event.)

Finally, though, it was time to go. It was chilly at the start, but I warmed up quickly. I brought an old fleece as a throwaway jacket, and tossed it after about a mile. I was glad to be warm before the race!

I had a camera with me because I knew I’d want to snap photos along the way. At first, I tried to shoot while running, but that didn’t work too well.

Well, you get the idea. It was dark, and lots of people were having fun with their outfits!

As we got close to the Magic Kingdom, I pulled over to try to get this shot:

Well, that didn’t work too well either. But I didn’t stop trying.

The best part of the race was running through the Magic Kingdom.

So much fun running through the empty park. Though I did want to get on the rides with no lines!

I put my camera away and thought I’d just stop with the running/snapping, until we got to the castle. There was a line of princesses and a volunteer taking runners’ cameras. And no wait — another runner just left. I couldn’t pass it up!

I stopped to pose for a photo in front of the castle by the race photographers, too. I doubt I’ll buy it, but I guess it’ll depend on how it comes out!

It wasn’t until I had about six miles to go that I realized how well I was doing. I had a chance at breaking my half marathon PR of 2:13:11, set in 2005.

And then I looked again, and thought I didn’t have it. But I would surely beat my 2:20 at VA Beach this past summer.

And then I looked again, and realized I really could be close to my best half marathon.

My feet hurt, my legs were tired (I’m blaming all that time in the parks. I was prepared for this race!), but I tried to pick it up as we ran through Epcot near the end.

It was going to be close.

I stopped my watch at 2:13:22 — but I knew it was probably a few seconds long. I started at the first mat and stopped it after the last. But I doubted it would be 10 seconds.

And … it wasn’t. 2:13:17. But this race did snag the second-fastest position. My previous second-best was 2:13:19, from early 2006.

So really, I did run my best race on Sunday. I clearly took more than six seconds taking and posing for photos!

I don’t care. It was worth it!

a goofy plan

February 26, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuck, take it and runLauren @ mostly i run

I may have mentioned that I signed up for the Goofy Challenge taking place January 2010.

For anybody that doesn’t know … this is the “Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge” event that is a part of the Disney World Marathon Weekend.

Goofy participants run not only the full marathon (26.2 miles) on Sunday, they run the half marathon (13.1 miles) the day before.

That’s just goofy. But I’ve signed up for it. (And you can too — hurry, it’s 85% full!)

I don’t really have to start training until late summer, but it’s something I’ll be thinking about until then.

This week at the Runners’ Lounge, the Take It and Run Thursday theme is Backwards TIaRT. So it’s time for me to ask my fellow runners a question.

This question is for past Goofy participants and ultra-marathoners.

How do I train for this challenge?

I’ve been thinking about merging half marathon and full marathon training plans, with the shorter run on Saturday and the longer run on Sunday. I probably won’t do double runs every weekend, but since full marathon training takes a lot longer I have some room to space them out.

Though maybe I should start getting used to running twice in a row before the distance gets too high?

What do you think?