Tuesday, December 13, 2011

My upcoming half marathon

won't be quite what I hoped.

I had hoped for a decent time after training properly for it.

Unfortunately, I hurt my knee before I even got a chance to start my official training plan. I finally started physical therapy last week and my physical therapist is confident I can complete the race.

Last week I was able to do some running and walking without too many problems, but this week I've got a nasty cold and can barely keep from hacking up a lung, let alone spend time on the treadmill.

With the race three and a half weeks away, I guess I'm going with the "better to under-train than over-train" school of thought. My goal is to not get picked up for going too slow- if you can't keep up a certain pace, they won't let you finish.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

2011 Turkey Trot

Thursday Mr M, LMS and I ran the Turkey Trot that LMS and I did last year.

Awhile ago I bought LMS some running clothes to try to encourage her to run and be excited about it. You can find exercise clothes for girls at Target for fairly reasonable prices. I found a cute pink non-cotton shirt, a running skirt, and running tights. Isn't she adorable?
This year LMS was old enough to participate in the half mile kids' run. Here she is, already to go.

Lined up at the start line.


 Heading back after the turnaround.

 I'm tired, mommy.
I don't blame her. The kids' run is a quarter mile out and a quarter mile back. The problem is that going out is down hill and coming back is uphill. Needless to say, LMS didn't enjoy the return trip, but she finished! This is the second race she's done. The first one was almost three years ago and was only 25 yards :)

Mr M hasn't been doing much running lately so he walked and pushed LMS in the jogger in the 5k, finishing in 47:24. I ran the race and then walked back and finished again with them.

I finished in 32:44, which is faster than I thought I did. I thought I finished in the 33 or 34 minute range. I was only 16 seconds slower than the Halloween race last month, which is really good, since I had to stop and walk more on this race because my knee was bothering me.

About a month and a half ago I tripped going up the stairs and whacked my kneecap on the edge of one of the stairs (which really, really hurt) so I've been taking it easy since then. Sometimes it hurts when I walk, but this was the first time it hurt when I ran. And it didn't hurt in an I-can-ignore-this way, it was definitely in an I'm-going-to-have-to-go-to-the-doctor-and-get-this-checked-out way. I was hoping to avoid this, especially since I've got a half marathon to run in a month and a half. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

I'm proud of Mr M for finishing his first 5k (and doing it while pushing the stroller!) and of LMS for finishing her half mile run.

Hope we can keep up this tradition :)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Halloween 5k

Yesterday I ran my first race in costume :)

Since it was a Halloween race and costumes were encouraged, I figured, why not?

It snowed Friday night so before we went to bed we dug out our snow gear so we'd be nice and toasty. I woke up Saturday morning and it was raining (and all the snow was melted). I knew the race was going to be cold and miserable and I almost rolled over and went back to sleep.

Instead, I got up and got dressed (and woke up Mr M and LMS too) and we headed out.

I'm glad we did, since it was a fast race- the fastest 5k I've run in years!

1st mile was just under 10 minutes (fastest mile I've done in quite awhile)
2nd mile was about 10 and a half minutes
3rd mile was just under 12 minutes (I had to stop and walk twice-my endurance isn't quite what it should be yet and my lungs were not liking the cold)

I think my finish time was 32:28, which I'm very happy about :)

Warning: some crappy pictures ahead
Me running to the finish line. It wasn't really that dark- Mr M was having problems with the camera settings. 
But it's the only pic of my costume in action :)

 LMS escorting me through the finish chute.

Me, wet and cold, but happy to be finished.

It was a nice course through a gated community with some good hills that I didn't have too many problems with since I've been pushing LMS up and down the hills in our area in the jogger. It rained the whole race, so I got soaking wet (which the cotton shirt and skirt just sucked up) and my glasses were covered with raindrops which did make it a bit difficult for me to see where I was going. There weren't a lot of runners- only about a hundred- and it was nice to not have to jostle with lots of people. I even started pretty close to the starting line! Despite the cold and rain, it was a fun race :)

My Costume
When I decided to wear a costume in the race, I decided it needed to be simple so I could run in it, but still fun and unique.

I remembered the awesome tree costume my mom made when I was in 3rd or 4th grade- out of paperbags. We'd seen the idea in a magazine, and she copied it and it looked great, though it was hard to sit down in :)

 I realized I could make something similar, but since I would use fabric, it would be a lot easier to move in.

I bought a lightweight, long sleeve cheap-o brown shirt at wallyworld, and another brown shirt in as large a size as I could find.

I looked through the silhouette library, thinking I'd use a simple oval leaf shape. Then I found oak leaves and acorns. I knew I had to go that direction, even though it would be more work :)


I used the Silhouette to cut out three different leaves and an acorn out of cardstock. I used them to trace designs on the felt I'd bought at Joanns (on sale for half off!), then started cutting- about 50 or 60 leaves and a couple dozen acorns. 

 Little Miss Sunshine helped cut out a couple of leaves.

I cut the green leaves, LMS cut out the yellow one :)
(the leaves are on the farmhouse table I built- the top had to be stripped, but I hadn't sanded it yet- but that's a story for another post)

I used variegated green/gray cotton yarn to sew the leaves to the sleeve hems and neckline and add a little bit of detail to the leaves (LMS insisted that they needed lines, and they do look better with them).

I also cut out an owl shape from cardstock with the silhouette and traced it onto felt. I was going to sew the pieces together, but I ran out of time so I used an owl I cut from a piece of fleece.


I cut off the top part (from the armpits) of the large brown shirt, then made a simple casing and added elastic, giving me a simple brown skirt. I like running in skirts, so I went with a skirt instead of pants. I ended up wearing it over my skirt/capri set from Athleta (love it) so I didn't have to worry about what the brown skirt did or didn't do.

I used the sleeves to make ankle cuffs that I sewed 'fallen leaves' to (another thing LMS insisted was necessary, also a good idea).

I used some of the cut-off shirt to make a headband and I sewed leaves and acorns to it.

I was looking online for costume ideas and saw something similar for kids, though they had brown sweat pants and a stuffed squirrel in a pocket (and they used boring oval green leaves).

The Results
Overall the costume worked well- I was able to run in it without any technical difficulties, though there are a few things I'll change for next year (I'm not going to make another running costume, though I might use the costume I wear at the Disney half in January).
** shorter leaves around the ankles- they dragged a bit on the ground
** different brown Tshirt for the top- I thought the lightweight fabric would be ideal for running in, but I didn't like the low neckline and it stretched out weird after just one wearing (getting wet didn't help, either)- I'll use a regular crew neck t for the top when I re-do it.
** I may not put the owl back on- the fleece owl worked, but I'm not sure I like the overall effect. Maybe the felt owl will look better, or maybe I'll do a squirrel. It's hard to get a 3D applique on a t shirt, though, so I may just leave it off.
Do you have any ideas for running costumes?

Thursday, September 22, 2011

My Half Marathon Training Plan

Yesterday I woke up at 6:30 am, planning on going for a run. Planning to, until I heard the rain and looked outside and saw it was still dark out. There are some very quiet neighborhoods nearby that I can run in, but I have to run on a narrow road with no shoulders to get there, and visibility isn't that great, so I'm kind of worried about cars seeing me, especially if it's still dark and it's raining.

So instead of going for a run, I put in an exercise dvd and did a 20 minute workout.

Last night I rethought my half marathon training plan. I had planned on running in the mornings before Mr M heads off to work, but since it's only September and the mornings are already getting darker, I don't think that's going to be a good solution for a fall/winter training plan. Summer, yes. Winter, no.

There's 14 1/2 weeks till the half and I found a 9 week half marathon training plan on RunnersWorld.com, so I have 5 1/2 weeks to build my mileage base before starting the training plan. While my original early morning training plan is out, I think my new one should work.

Monday through Thursday mornings we do schoolwork, with extra activities Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons (we leave right after lunch each day). No activities Wednesday afternoons and Friday is reserved for fieldtrips and other fun stuff.

The training plan calls for 4 days of running with 3 days of rest each week. After looking over the schedule, I figured out a schedule that should (hopefully) work.

Monday
get up early and run on the treadmill (looking on craigslist now) before Mr M leaves for the day
do schoolwork as planned before lunch
Tuesday
get up early and do an exercise dvd before Mr M leaves for the day
do schoolwork as planned before lunch
run around with the kids at soccer practice in the evening
Wednesday
first thing in the morning after Mr M leaves go for a run with LMS in the stroller
come back and do schoolwork, continuing after lunch if needed
Thursday
get up early and do an exercise dvd before Mr M leaves for the day
do schoolwork as planned before lunch
run around with the kids at soccer practice in the evening
Friday
first thing in the morning after Mr M leaves go for a run with LMS in the stroller
then do fieldtrip activities
Saturday
first thing in the morning go for a run without LMS
come back and run around with the kids at soccer
Sunday
rest day

If I'm having an off week, I can skip the dvd workouts and get a little more sleep, and my training plan won't be disrupted. Soccer ends the middle of October, just before the 9 week training plan starts, which will lighten the training load a little. In the meantime, the soccer really is a great workout- playing keepaway with the kids gives some good sprinting opportunities.

It does change the school schedule a little (specifically on Wednesdays), which I had hoped to avoid, but I couldn't figure out any other way to fit the training in.

And here's another reason to change the schedule:
Mr M was leaving for Scouts this evening when he saw a bear (the same one as before?) walking through the trees in our yard. If that bear has decided to hang around the area I'd rather not make his/her acquaitance while on my own.

I especially have no desire to have a run-in with a bear in the early hours of the morning. I carry pepper spray, but I don't carry bear spray. Maybe I should....

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Women's Four Mile Race

Sprinting past Mr M and LMS on the way to the finish line

This year I ran the race in 43:55, which is about a minute and a half slower than when I ran it last year. Not bad since I didn't train enough and I walked a  lot more this time. I haven't run more than 2 miles since Thanksgiving, so I really didn't train properly this year.

I got a good start running the whole month of June, but taking 5 weeks off for our road trip, plus missing last week due to an allergic reaction (even a few fumes of paint give me massive sinus pain and congestion) that had me feeling less than wonderful did a good job of derailing my training schedule. Despite that, I felt pretty good during the race. I did have to walk because my endurance is fairly non-existent right now, but my shins didn't give me problems and my asthma didn't give me issues like it did last year. Though that's probably due to the ratio of walking:running, which kept my lungs from spazzing out.

This race was a good reality check for the half marathon I'm running in January. I must run more often and buy a treadmill so I can run when the weather is crappy since let's face it, I wuss out when the weather gets crummy. I need to work on building my mileage and strengthening my lungs and building my mileage. Definitely have to make sure I get my longer runs in :)


Walking past Mr M and LMS to the starting line.

Monday, August 15, 2011

I've signed up for my next half marathon

It's been 3 years since my last one, and it's time to get back on the wagon. I started running again consistently in June and while I didn't do much running in July, I did quite a bit of hiking, so the month wasn't a total wash. Now that we're home I'm running again- even getting up early to do it first thing in the morning before Mr M goes to work, so it's the first time in 5 years that I can go running without also pushing LMS in the jogger :) This is good since I can now venture out on our narrow no-shoulder street on the way to surrounding neighborhoods, which isn't something I would do with LMS in the jogger.

The Saturday before Labor Day I'm running a 4 mile race (the same one I ran last year) and I'll do the 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I need to find one or two more races to do before the half, which is the first weekend in January.

I had a lot of fun running the Disneyland half marathon, so I've been looking for another Disney race to run and I finally found one. I'm doing the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, which is actually on a Saturday. Do you know how hard it is to find a Disney race that's not on a Sunday? This is the only one. Five years ago when I did the Disneyland half it was on Labor Day- a Monday. Every year since, it's been on Sunday. Why??

The only reason this half is on Saturday is because the full marathon is on Sunday and they give people the option to run both races, so they have to be on different days.

I'm just happy to have finally found another race (I'm not crazy enough to do a half and a full back-to-back). And hopefully Florida in January won't be too stinking hot, unlike Anaheim in early September, which was miserably hot and muggy.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Winter running

ice on one of the ponds in our neighborhood

Despite weather in the mid-20s this week, I've actually gone on walks 4 times! Why didn't I manage this in previous winters? I blame it on the frigid arctic wind blowing across the open fields and right through me. All the trees around here block most of the wind, so while it's still cold, I'm not being blown all over and I don't have to deal with the wind chill factor.

Monday: 1.5 miles
Wednesday: 2 miles
Friday: 2.5 miles
Saturday: 3 miles

No running yet- I haven't run since the race on Thanksgiving, but the walks feel good.

How does LMS stay warm? I bundle her up, wrap a warm fleece blanket around her, then put the water proof rain/snow cover on the stroller which blocks any stray wind and keeps her body heat in. She stays nice and toasty :)