Jan
2013

Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon

categories: Race all 50 states, Race Recap, Rock 'n' Roll Race, Running

Done, state #12 and my second race of 2013.  This is the first of many Rock ‘n’ Roll races I will be doing this year.

I arrived in Phoenix on Saturday morning and took the light rail to meet up with my friend L at the motel. From there we went to the expo.  I love, love the expo!!  As mentioned in a previous post, I bought lots of goodies.

Race morning came and I was up at 5:30 am.  I got dressed, made coffee, and ate a Clif Bar.  I was still hungry so I also ate a waffle.  Doesn’t it look delicious?

It was dark when I arrived at the start line.  I got in line to use the port-a-potty and then checked my bag. I was cold.  But ready or not, I was going to rock ‘n’ roll!!  It was such a beautiful morning once the sun was out.

My goal was to set a PR (2:20:00).  I got a little ambitious and decided to run with the 2:15 pace group. See, I even had a cute wristband to help me stay on pace.  I was doing good until about mile 4.25 when I stopped to eat a Gu.  I then tried to keep up with them but they were about 15 seconds ahead of me.  Do the pace leaders ever stop to drink water or gatorade or eat a Gu?  I ate another Gu at mile 8 but by then my legs felt like lead so I decided to take a walk break.

See the cute Bondi Band headband?  It fell off at mile 6.  Yeah, I was disappointed.  I felt it slide down and then turned around to pick it up but by then there were other runners coming towards me and I was not about to cause an accident there.  On the website it is advertised as “no slip”.  Hmm, that was not the case here because it did slip.  Oh well, I think for next time I will secure it with bobby pins.

The course was flat and I was very happy about that.  There was a slight and long incline around mile 8 but I hardly felt it. The sun was shining but it wasn’t hot at all.  I don’t remember much about the course except that it was flat.  I wish I had taken more pictures but I guess I was focused on staying on pace.

Did I PR?  Nope.  My finish time was 2:20:49.  I missed it by less than a minute.  I am disappointed but yet happy at the same time.  However, I did run faster than the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon.  I know that I ran strong and I will PR this year in another race.

Overall, it was a great race with perfect weather.  Flat course which is always a plus!  The volunteers did a great job and the crowd support was AMAZING!  I am not  a big fan of RnR races because of their prices but I purchased a TourPass which gives me “free registration” for their races this year. Next race is in St. Petersburg and it is advertised as “flat and fast”.  Looking forward to it!

Just Keep Running!


Jan
2013

Weekly Workouts, January 14-20, 2013

categories: Half Marathon Training

Workouts this week:

Tuesday – 6 x 400 (400 RI)
Done.

Thursday – 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ mid tempo, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @  mid tempo, 1 mile easy

Did not do this.  I had a meeting at school till 8:30 and was too tired to run afterwards.

Saturday – Half Marathon
Done but ran on Sunday instead of Saturday.Total ran this week was 18.17.

The speed workouts were easier than my warm up.  Weird!  I set the treadmill at 5.8 to warm up and had to stop and walk because I could not keep up with it.  I ran the next 6 x 400 repeats alternating between 6.9 and 7.0.

Yesterday I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon.  Great race and awesome weather!!  I will write a recap in the next day or so.

Right now I have a cold.  🙁  Thank goodness I have the day off so I can rest, grade papers, and watch the Presidential Inauguration.

Just Keep Running!


Jan
2013

Rock ‘n’ Roll Expo in Arizona

categories: Race Recap

I LOVE their expos!!!

I bought a Brooks shirt, Pro Compression socks, two Bondi Band headbands, SnuggBuds headphones, and a pink Fellow Flower.

I saw Frank Shorter but almost did not recognize him because of his beard. I think he is a handsome man but the beard is a no no.

For the first time I had the Gatorade Cucumber Lime flavor. Delicious!!!

For sure I am looking forward to the next expo in St. Petersburg next month. Let’s see what I buy there.

Just Keep Running!


Jan
2013

Weekly Workouts, January 7-13, 2013

categories: Half Marathon Training

Thanks to my new book, Run Less Run Faster, I’ve developed a training plan for this year.  Yes, this whole year.  In this plan I am supposed to run 3 days a week, cross train 2 days a week, rest or cross train one day, and take one day off.  Pretty easy huh?

For now I am doing my training on the treadmill because it is either too cold or too dark to run outside.  Plus, the treadmill keeps me stay on pace.  This is what my schedule looks like:

Monday-cross train
Tuesday-speed workout
Wednesday-cross train
Thursday-tempo run
Friday-off
Saturday-long run
Sunday-cross train or rest

Workouts this week:

Tuesday – 5 x 1000 (400 RI)
Done.

Thursday – 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ mid tempo, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @  mid tempo, 1 mile easy
Done.

Saturday  – 8 miles at HMP + 10 minutes walking
Done but ran on Sunday instead of Saturday.Total ran this week was 20.20 miles.

I have been doing speed workouts for a few weeks and like them.  I like mixing them up so I am not doing the same ones every week.  So far my favorite is 400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400 (90 sec RI). Maybe I am crazy or ambitious for developing my plan for this whole year.  However, I feel that it will help me with my training for my upcoming races this year.  Of course, I will play it by ear and listen to my body.  Also, I know that I will adjust the speed on the treadmill as I go along with the plan.

Just Keep Running!


Jan
2013

Mississippi Blues Half Marathon

categories: Race all 50 states, Race Recap, Running

Done, state #11 and my first race of 2013.

Check out the course and elevation maps.  Yikes!!

I arrived in Jackson at 1:30 and took a cab to the hotel.  I was meeting some friends at the hotel.  They had already picked up their packets but were nice enough to walk again with me.

After packet pickup we went to the Elite Restaurant.  Nothing fancy but the rolls were DELICIOUS!! We asked the waitress to keep bringing out rolls.

Race morning came and I was a bit nervous because of the weather.  It was 36 degrees with 40% chance of rain.  I decided to wear a long sleeve shirt underneath a short sleeve shirt, biker shorts, and compression socks.

We were off at 7:05.   By mile 2 I was already warm.  Did I mention it was a hilly course?  Very hilly.  But not as bad as the race in Minnesota.  I walked most of the hills but also tried to jog through them.  I need to make them my friends.

The split off between the full and half marathon was around mile 5.  I was so glad I was not running the full marathon.

I took an ibuprofen at mile 6.5 and a Gu at mile 5 and 10.  I felt good through much of the course.  I did take some walking breaks but kept pushing myself to keep on running.

A little before mile 11 the first marathon runner passed me.  Dang!   He was running fast!  Then another passed me.  And another.  A total of 4 marathon runners passed me before I crossed the finish line.

Now let me tell you about the finish line.  I had to run up a hill to get there.  Not fun.

I knew I was not going to PR but am happy with my finish time of 2:29:29.  I know that if it was a flat course then I would have definitely PRed. 🙂  I guess all of my speed workouts have helped me run a teeny tiny bit faster.

The best part was the medal!   Don’t you love it? Also, I loved the post race food spread.  Yummy!!

I am so glad I ran this race.  Oh by the way, it rained just a little bit during the race. But by then I had showered, changed, and on my way back to the hotel after eating pizza again.

Next race is the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Arizona.

Just Keep Running!