Fast Four

Tonight I met up with Kim and Meagan for a run after work.  We were able to get out there early enough to run on the trail before the sun went down.  We kept a 10 minute pace flat and ran 4 miles in 40 minutes. We talked along the way, and it felt good to run four fast miles.  Tomorrow and Friday are rest days, and I'm grateful for it! :)

Monday Four

Did a nice interval walk/run tonight in the hilly neighborhood.  A little humid, but nice otherwise.  Fall is in the air!! :)

Miles: 4
Time: 47 minutes

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 35

Walking on Sunshine

We had a thunderstorm come through this afternoon, but the sun was back out in time for my evening walk. Tonight I just felt like a good walk.  So that's what I did.  I plugged into my audiobook and walked for an hour.  It felt good, and I really enjoyed being outside in my neighborhood as the sun was setting.  I love running, but walking is good too!  Tomorrow I'm planning to hit up the rec center for some treadmill speed and ab work.  Monday I'm planning on a longer-ish run.

Miles: 4
Time: 1 hour

Miles this Week: 10
Miles this Month: 7

I Like How You Carry Your Waterbottle

Today I ran in the heat of the day.  Before you feel too bad for me it was only 82 degrees outside, so I'm pretty sure I have nothing to complain about. :)  But it was still warm, and the SUN is what really made it hot.  The miles still felt pretty good.  It was SO nice to be outside and off the dreadmill.  I definitely did a lot of walking, especially on the hills.

The best part of the run was when I ran by a group of kids, and one of the girls yelled out, "I like how you carry your waterbottle!"  She was referring to my Nathan water belt, and it made my day!  I love kids and their sweet honesty.

I thought I'd snap a picture of myself post-run with my water bottle belt for good measure. :)  Even though I planned on running 5 miles and only ran a slow 4 I feel like I'm starting to get my running groove back, and it feels good!

Miles: 4
Time: 47 minutes, 40 seconds

Miles this Week: 6
 Miles this Month: 56

8 minutes, 13 seconds

The snow that came all this morning melted off during the day, and it turned out to be an absolutely BEAUTIFUL afternoon for GYRO.  The sun was out, and the temps were cold, but not freezing!

I'm so grateful Jess came out from Bburg to run with me.  We ran a solid 1.5 miles and walked another 1.5 to equal 3 miles overall.  It was so good for both of us to leave our schoolwork behind and soak up some sunshine and fresh air.

After Jess and I did our 3 miles I decided I wanted to run another mile on my own.  I've been curious for awhile now about how fast I could run a single mile if I really pushed it.  Today I got my answer.

I was so happy to see my time!!!!  I really thought I'd be closer to 9 minutes than 8.  Now I'm determined to get my time down to 8 minutes flat.  It felt so good to turn up the heat and sprint -- this is something I never do, and I think it'll be fun to do every now and then.  I'd love to work on speed over the summer and run a fast 5k... Anyways, Mathis says it's time for dinner so I gotta "run". :)

Miles: 4
Time: 50 minutes-ish

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 74

Wednesday Run

Tonight was the second GYRO meet-up of the week, and there were 6 of us!!  Three girls came from Radford and two from Blacksburg.  I ran with Jamie, Marcia and Beth who are also in grad school with me.  We did four miles together and ran most of the time!  I love having friends to run and walk with.  It makes the miles go by so much quicker. :)

One more run tomorrow and then it's the SHAMROCK HALF-MARATHON on Sunday!!!!!

Miles: 4
Time: 52 minutes

Miles this Week: 7.5
Miles this Month: 37.5

Last Run of November

I was so grateful when Hannah agreed to run with me tonight after work.  It felt good to be back running with her in the neighborhood.  I am so grateful for friends to run with!

The best part about tonight's run was the fact that we got to see so many Christmas lights!!!!  I am amazed that so many people already have Christmas decorations up when it isn't even December.  I have got to get ON it.  I still have pumpkins out, but I hope to trade them for snowmen this weekend! :)

Miles: 4
Time: 43 minutes

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 92

A New Addition

Tonight I ran the new addition to the Huckleberry Trail for the first time!  It adds on a good .40 miles, and it was a fun change.  It was so great to run GYRO again after some time away.  Jess did so well as she ran her longest distance of 4 miles.  Sarah and I did our best despite being really sore from yesterday's 10.  And Hannah kept the conversation going while wearing a really cute running shirt. :)

I feel so great after tonight's run, and I'm so glad to be running again!!!!!!!

Miles: 4
Time: 49 minutes

Miles this Week: 14
Miles this Month: 38

Ode to Fall

I'll probably be raving about the cooler weather for the next few weeks, but it makes SUCH a difference to me while running.  I absolutely LOVE it!!!!  This morning it was in the low 50s when I headed out, and to be honest at first I was pretty chilly.  But once you get over that initial chill, then it feels great.  I've found this to be true even in 30 degree weather.

Today's run was really great (thank you Fall).  My time was average, but I felt good about it.  I got in a lot of hills, and I tried to run most of them.  I think a lot during my running... mostly about the marathon, and it definitely still intimidates the heck out of me.  Some days I really don't know how I'll be able to do it, but I know that's a normal thought.  I had those same thoughts about the half.  I'm just trying to take the training one day and one week at a time.  Today I knew I could run four miles.  And I did it.  And it felt great!

Miles: 4
Time: 45 minutes, 8 seconds

Miles this Week: 7
Miles this Month: 54

You Can Come Anytime Now, Fall

Tonight's run wasn't pretty.  I walked about half of it, and it just didn't feel good.  I couldn't control my pace, and it was H-O-T!!!!!  I'm so ready for cooler temps and some real Fall weather!!!

Miles: 4
Time: 49 minutes, 36 seconds

Miles this Week: 7
Miles this Month: 39

Lessons Learned

I've already gotten a bit off-track with my marathon training this week, but I think I've also learned some valuable lessons...

1.  Don't try to pass today's run off on tomorrow.  I did this with Thursday's run... I thought I'd skip Thursday and just run Friday.  Needless to say, Friday's run never happened.

2.  Don't wait until the end of the day to run unless you absolutely have to.  I should have run this morning, but I didn't.  It's not that I mind running in the afternoon, but I always end up putting it off and then I typically feel worn out.  I also ended up with a terrible sinus headache and only managed to squeeze out 4 miles instead of my scheduled 5.

I'm not really pleased with my performance this week, but tomorrow's a new week.  I'll actually be running again in the morning, because we'll be leaving tomorrow to head to Washington DC for the VA Tech game Monday night.  I'm not sure I'll get any time to run on Monday so I plan on running tomorrow morning instead!

Miles: 4
Time: 46 minutes

Miles this Week: 10
Miles this Month: 7

Friendly Four-Miler

This afternoon I got out of class early which meant I got to run GYRO!  I was so excited, because it feels like a long time since I ran with these fun girls.

Even though it was hot, there was a nice breeze today.  We ran four miles, and it was a little tough.  I really enjoyed getting out there and I'm glad to have logged the miles.  It is tough running in the summer, but it's also my downtime, so I'm not really worried about it.  Right now I cannot wait for September and the fall to start my marathon training!!!! :)

Miles: 4
Time: 46 minutes, 25 seconds

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 40

Beautiful Weather

The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL the past few days!!!  The air is cooler and really crisp... almost reminds me of Fall.

Yesterday Mathis and I ran four miles on the Huckleberry Trail.  I tried to keep it slow (as required by my training program), but I still finished a little under their time requirement. :)  It was a great run.

And the berries are getting closer and closer to being picked.  We picked a few small ones that looked ready, and it was a nice post-run snack. :)

And just for my own record, today I weighed the lowest I've been all year.  I've officially lost 15 pounds since January, and it feels good!!  I'm not even trying to loose weight anymore, but it's still coming off because of the lifestyle changes we've made.  Yet another reason to love running!!

Miles: 4
Time: 45 minutes, 45 seconds

Miles this Week: 8
Miles this Month: 4

New Training Program

Since I won't officially start training for Disney until the Fall, this summer has been a lot about maintenance for me.  But I find that I do best when I have a plan.  Last week I downloaded the new Runner's World app on my iPhone, and I decided to set up a 5 week training plan for the GYRO 10K!!!

The app is pretty cool.  I really love the fact that it's customizable.  I entered my most recent 5K time, my goals, and voila! :)  I was surprised to see that it had me running most runs at an 11:56 pace.  Wednesday is set aside for speedwork, but the rest of the days keep me nice and easy.  I think I needed this reminder.  Tonight I ran four miles and was 3 seconds under my training pace of 11:56 a mile!  The run felt GREAT. It wasn't as hot as it's been, and running at a slower pace allowed me to be more consistent in tackling the hills.  I was a little rusty... my mileage has been next to nothing this month, but I know I can pick it up.  This program has me running 20-25 miles a week, and I'm really excited to see my mileage increase.  My goal at the end of this program is to run the 10K in 1 hour.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Miles: 4
Time: 47 minutes, 41 seconds

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 38

Garmin FAIL

Yesterday Mathis and I met up with GYRO, and we decided to run 4 miles.  I was feeling really good at the beginning.  In fact we hit mile one at 9:45!!  But shortly after the first mile my Garmin died and my motivation died right along with it.

I know it's pathetic that my motivation rests on a piece of technology, and Mathis really pushed me to keep the pace strong, but it was tough.  :(  I'm facing a lot of mental challenges in my running lately, and I'm not sure where it's coming from.  I'll be logging 13 miles between now and Saturday so hopefully I can practice some mental toughness along the way!! :)

Miles: 4
Time: ????? :(

Miles this Week: 7
Miles this Month: 31

Hi, My Name is Nicki and I Run a 12-Minute Mile

For awhile now I've been beating myself up about my running.  Let me rephrase that... I've been beating myself up about the speed of my running.  I've lost the joy of going for a run and lately I dread lacing up my shoes.  How did this happen?

I could blame a number of things, but ultimately I'm the one tearing myself down.  No one else has ever made fun of my running.  But I have.  No one else has said that running slow isn't true running, and no one else has ever said that running 10 miles isn't impressive.  But I have told myself these things over and over again.  I decided that unless I was running 10 minute mile or less it wasn't true running and anything over a 10 minute pace was just pathetic.

One of my best runs ever was my first 8 mile run.  I still dream about that run.  It was perfect in every way.  And you know what?  I ran the entire time, but it was actually slower than a 12-minute pace.  Yet this run was perfect to me.  Why have I lost sight of this????  I could probably get outside and aim for a faster pace, but what's the point if I'm absolutely miserable the entire time?  I think this is a time for me to enjoy the journey more than the end result.

When I first decided to start running I never said I wanted to run fast.  I only said I wanted to run.  When I signed up for the half-marathon my goal envisioned a finish line -- not a chip time.  Today I ran 4 miles.  And you know what?  4 miles is still tough for me.  And I think that's alright, because I'm not doing this because it's easy.  I'm doing this to fulfill a goal and to enjoy the JOURNEY of reaching that goal.  On Sunday I'm going to run my little slow heart out!  And I will be proud of my time no matter what.  I think I'm ready to accept where I am right now and who God has created me to be.  Hi, my name is Nicki and I run a 12-minute mile.

Miles: 4
Time: 47 minutes

Miles this Week: 7
Miles this Month: 35

4

My schedule today was a little mixed up.  I usually have Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday mornings, but we had it today this week instead.  And in addition to my prayer group, I had a doctor's appointment as well.  I could have totally used these two things as excuses to not run, but I didn't!!!!!

I had to rush around to make it work, but I got back from my doctor's appointment, ran, quickly showered and headed off to my afternoon class.  I felt sooooooo good for running today!  I ran two, stopped and stretched, and ran another two.  It was cold outside, but it felt really good.

I read a chapter of my running book last night that really encouraged me to keep a positive attitude when running, and I think that helped me today.  I also just ran the loop in my neighborhood rather than venturing out towards all the hills.

I will probably run some tomorrow night on the treadmill, and Saturday is another long run with my running buddies from GYRO!!

Miles: 4
Time: 45 minutes

Miles this Week: 8
Miles this Month: 42

4

Today I ran 4 miles around our neighborhood.  Hills + wind = not a fun run for me.  I stopped several times, but I got it done.  Mathis ran later tonight in the wind, and it started snowing on him. :)  But despite weather and high elevations we continue to stay dedicated!

Miles: 4
Time: 46 1/2 minutes

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 38

4

Yesterday I ran 4 miles, but I just never had time to post about it!  My knee pain from earlier in the week is gone -- it was fine after one day of rest.  Yesterday morning was cold for Texas standards (20 something), but Mathis and I suited up and we were on our way!  Although Mathis is faster than I am (who isn't!?!), he ran with me the whole time.  We didn't even have to stop -- it was great!  I know that having him with me really inspired me to push through.

I didn't run with the Garmin because it wasn't charged, so I'm not quite sure how fast we were.  We ran for 50 minutes so I think we ran a little over 4 miles.

We just arrived in San Diego for the week, and I'm not sure I'll be able to run outside here.  Don't get me wrong -- the weather is AMAZING, but we're staying in a hotel and I'm not quite sure if there's any good places I can run around here since I don't have a car to drive myself.  Oh well... the hotel has a treadmill so stay tuned........... :)

Miles: 4
Time: 48 minutes?

Miles this Week: 10
Miles this Month: 10

4 for the 4th

I've missed some days of training due to out trip to Houston for NYE and the fact that I've been dealing with allergies nonstop since leaving Virginia (I'm hoping that this doesn't mean I'm now allergic to Texas), but today I just knew I needed to get out there.

According to my training plan I was due for a 3-miler, but because I skipped out on a run over the weekend I decided to push for four miles.  This is the farthest I've run since beginning my training.  I was excited for the challenge, but I knew it might also be a little rough.

Unfortunately my first few miles went a lot like this: breathe, breathe, cough, breathe, breathe cough.  I kept going with the mindset of just run one mile, then run another, etc.  This worked well for me.  I would run a mile and then walk for a few minutes, and then run another mile.

I actually got a little warm on my run today, and I probably should have been more hydrated, but it went well.  It was a little tough still being sick, but I feel great for getting out there.  I love wearing my dad's Garmin while running -- I'm getting so spoiled by knowing my pace and mileage.

Miles: 4
Time: 48 minutes

Miles this Week: 4
Miles this Month: 4