My Latest Training Schedule (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

My first race of the year is coming up in a few weeks.  I started training back in January.  Because my knee is still in a fragile state, I have been very careful with how much I run and how fast.

The race I'm getting ready for is the Ukrop's 10k, which is on April 13th.  Because I have had many relapses with my knee, I wanted to make sure that I did this training right.  I really didn't want to have to work up to a 10k at this point, but I have done this race for many years.  In fact this will be my 10th year running it (not in a row).  And it's the third race to complete the circle.

What is good about taking it slow on my training is that this race is the most friendly walker's race I have ever participated in.  They have several waves that are dedicated to just walkers.  My friend last year led her blind friend to finish the 10k.  I know if I have issues and just need to walk it, I will be in good company.

I pushed it too much during a 5k last fall, and at the beginning of the year I was ready to start running on a regular basis, mostly 2 1/2 mile runs a couple times a week.  I kept it slow with a 30s run / 1m walk.  At the end of January I knew I was in a good place, so I started to look to create a training schedule.  Looking that I had 3 months and knew it would take me awhile to feel comfortable with upping my mileage, I had a decision to make.  I couldn't both up my mileage and make my walk breaks shorter.  Because Ukrop's is so walker friendly, my decision was easy.  Up my mileage slowly and keep my run/walk time where it is.  This will be one of my slower 10ks, but I will be happy if I can just finish with no pain.

So far it hasn't been bad.  Over the first few weeks, I got my runs to 3 miles, 3 times a week.  I started a new cross training class (post to come), which gave me a couple set backs with soar muscles, and being just so tired the next day.  My long run last week was 4 miles, with no pain, so that was huge.  This week I'll attempt 5 and next week 6.  Then a drop back week and then the race.  It's really weird to be excited about a long run of 4 miles. 

My next race will probably be the King's Dominion Run and Ride 5k.  I did it last year and loved it.  With the 2 months between the races, I want to keep to low mileage, and work my way to 30s run / 30s walk.  Even if I just get to 30s run / 45s walk, I'll be happy.  I like my 2 1/2 to 3 mile loops in my neighborhood.  With the weather getting nicer and the days longer, an early morning run before work is a good way to start the day.  And sometimes I'll even see a beautiful sunrise.

Then after that, there are no plans.  Along with a run or two, I'd like to get some biking in throughout the summer.  I do kind of miss having a race a month, like I did last year, but this is defiantly what my knee needs right now.

What's your race calendar like this spring?  How are you training for it?

I’m linking up with with Join Kookyrunner and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-up.

What Does 2019 Hold For Running (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I don't make New Year resolutions.  Mostly because I do not want to make a promise to myself if I'm not sure I'll follow through.  I will make resolutions throughout the year when I know I have the motivation to do my best.

For example, I didn't make my resolution to do a race a month for 2018 till I was half way through the year.  It was a spontaneous one when I realized that I had done 6 months of that without even trying.  It allowed me to keep up with my running and rehabbing my knee because I wouldn't do any more than 5ks.  What I learned from this is that there are a lot of local races out there that are a ton of fun.  Most of the races I did last year were new to me races.

This year, I only have the Ukrop's 10k on my list.  I have done this race 9 times in the past - but not sequentially.  I'll also get the third medal in this streak to go with these two.

I have nothing else planned.  I'm not even planning on doing any runDisney races.  I've done at least one a year for the last five years and while I will miss the good times, I need to rest.  I have found that the weekends were just exhausting.

I'd like to try a few new races out this year.  But my real goal is to make sure my knee holds up as the year comes up.  This means more cross training on my calendar.  And making sure I do my stretches and exercises 5-7 days a week.

I think I'd also like to do the Ride and Run race again at Kings Dominion. That is a mini-runDisney race that was a lot of fun.  Who knows what the year will bring, but I hope it will be fun and my knee holds up.

I’m linking up with with Join Kookyrunner and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-up.

 

2018 Races in Pictures (Friday Five Edition)

In January all I had planed race-wise was two runDisney events and Ukrop's 10k.  By June, I had done at least one of each of the first 6 months.  I then decided to continue and do at least one per month for the rest of the year.  I sort of accomplished that.  All except December.  I signed up for one, but it was cancelled due to the foot of snow we got that weekend.  I still may be able to do one in December, on the 31st.  It's one right before midnight and the plan is to do it unless it's raining. 

I found that because of this, I did a lot of new to me races.   Except for Ukrop's and the runDisney races that I had already signed up for at the beginning of the year, I have not done any of these races.  All of them I would do again.  I don't know the plan for next year, and probably won't do the one a month race (though I still may), I want to continue trying new races out.  There are plenty out there that I haven't done yet.

January

Frostbite 15k

February

Princess 5k

Princess 10k

Princess Half

March

Lucky Charm 10k

April

Ukrop's 10k

Star Wars 5k

Star Wars 10k

Star Wars Half

May

Uncorked 5k

June

 Run & Ride 5k

 

July

Pony Pasture 5k

August

Pink Power 5k

September

Speak Up 5k

October

Ashland Harvest 5k

November

Donut Run 5k

December

Run-a-Latke

I'm linking up with Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness and other healthy lifestyle bloggers.

Big Hairy Audacious Goal (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

Currently I don't have any Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) for running.  Or really anything grand like that.  Well except for retirement, but I don't think that was the intended for this topic.  I have done most everything running wise that is on my bucket list.  Except I'd maybe like to do a 70.3 or commonly known as a half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).  I don't see that happening any time soon.  So I thought I would recap some of my BHAGs from the past.

My First 10k
When I first started running, thoughts of running anything more then a 5k was something I never thought I would do.  While I had walked the Ukrop's 10k a few years in the past, running it was nothing I thought I wanted to do.  In 2011 I joined the training team and each week I surprised myself and ran the whole long run.  And three months later I ran my first 10k.  It's funny reading back at that post as I said that I didn't think I would want to do something that long again.  I love the 10k distance now.  In fact I do the Ukrop's 10k almost every year now.

My First Half
I actually had a different blog when I wrote up my recap of my first half marathon in 2012, the Richmond Half Marathon.  I honestly don't remember what made me want to run a half marathon, but I joined the training team and stuck to the plan.  The funny thing about that is I didn't think I would want to do that distance more then once a year.  Since 2014 I don't think I've done less then 2 half marathons a year.

My First Tri
The next year, in 2013, I did my first triathlon.  It was the Pink Power Sprint, which was an all women pool tri, which is very first timer friendly.  This is another one that I don't remember why I made it my big goal.  I just knew that I had been swimming and biking since I was little and now that I had been running for a couple years putting all three together might actually be fun.  While I could run, bike, and swim with no problem, putting all three together was something I just knew nothing about.  I joined a local tri training group which helped conqueror my fear of doing something so daunting.  I was glad to have the training group as they showed us things that we would need to know, I also still have great friends that I met through it.

My First Marathon
In 2014 I had run a couple runDisney half marathons and started eyeing a new challenge.  I was one of those that said I would never run a marathon.  Never say never!  I had signed up to run the 2015 WDW Marathon as my first.  Despite having food poisoning and going to the ER the day before, it actually was a great race.  I followed my training closely and that really paid off.  Should probably remember that next time.  lol

First (and only) Dopey
In 2014 runDisney announced a new challenge, run the 5k, 10k, half, and full in one weekend.  They called this the Dopey Challenge, because you have to be, well, Dopey to do it.  I had always been intrigued with Dopey and after I ran my first marathon I knew it was something I wanted to do.  And in 2016 I did.  Luckily I am a stubborn person.  Training for this race was long and it was hard.  It was the hardest weekend I had ever experienced running.  By Sunday I was done.  I had pain in my calf before I started the marathon and just did everything I could to finish.  This is one that I don't think I want to do again.  I'm glad I did it cause now I know I can do anything as long as I put in the training and commitment.  


And then of course I went to Disneyland the next weekend to participate in the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend.  Yes, I did 7 races in 11 days covering 71 miles.  I didn't plan it that way.  They had announced the Star Wars Weekend after I signed up for Dopey and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to be part of the inaugural race and well it's Star Wars.  The funny thing is the Star Wars Half was the most fun race of all of them. 


Back to Back Marathons
After I finished Dopey, I knew the next marathon I wanted to run was the Marine Corps Marathon.  Since the Richmond Marathon is just two weeks after MCM I decided to join the Richmond Marathon training team.  This would be the first time since my first Half Marathon that I would be training with a group.  I was very excited to not have to worry about fuel since they would have SAGs.  And I would have the chance to run with others.  I knew that I would probably change my race distance at the Expo and just run the half or 8k.

The MCM was HOT and the last 8 miles were miserable as we were out of the fun part of DC and there was no shade.  While I am very proud of that race and did PR, I knew with the great training I had had, I could have done better if it weren't for the heat.  I left changing the race distance for Richmond at the Expo.  By then I felt great.  So I decided to run the Richmond Marathon 2 weeks later. I am now a Marathon Maniac. 

MCM Accomplished

Richmond Accomplished

We will see if I have any other crazy goals at some point.  You guys will be the first to know!

What have been some of your BHAG?  Do you have any coming up?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Ukrop's 10k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I decided to do the Ukrop's 10k, in April, this year as it was a week before Star Wars and a good warm up.

The expo is usually at the Author Ashe Center, but this year it was moved to the Raceway.  I headed to the expo on Thursday and once I got in there, it looked like the exact same setup as before.  I assumed that it was moved to the Raceway because it had gotten too big.  But it turned out that it was because there was a Squirrel game (baseball) on Friday (the second day of the expo) and both share the same parking lot.


I picked up my bib, shirt, and bag and ran into one of my running friends.  It turns out that she was being a blind guide for her cousin during the race.  The story is very interesting.


I bought a shuttle ticket and headed to the expo booths.  The only thing that interested me was the Roo Sport.  I had the original one and it did nothing but chafe me.  After running the Princess Half without my big belt, I wanted to give this a try.


I was done and started to look for the exit.  For the life of me, I couldn't find it.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in the direction of it, and I still couldn't find it.  All of the booths and frame of the area, you couldn't see doors or the exit signs.  I finally wandered around and found the exit.

The race was on Saturday and I planned on meeting a friend at the shuttle parking lot.  When I got there she had run into a coworker of hers.  The three of us got on the bus and headed to the race.  We did all the pre-race items: port-a-potties, bag check, and a little stretching.


I walked to the start to find my corral and got there just as they were about to leave.  As I waited for them to set us off, I realized I never turned on my Garmin.  I hoped it would find the satellites fast.  If not, I'd hang back and go with the next wave.  I was in no rush.  But it synced just as they let us go.


The start was close to 70 and just getting hotter.  A lot of the course is shaded by trees, but not all of it.  Even though that's hot for runners, it was great weather for the crowds to come out and cheer us on.  One of the great things about this race is that it brings out tons of spectators.  There were the group that comes out every year to do Tai Chi, marching bands, cheerleaders, and college students handing out beer.


I passed the Richmond Police Trainees running in formation.  I had read an article about how each county had entered in their police trainees to run the 10k.  This was to promote comradery and cooperation with the different counties.


I was really worried how my knee would hold up for the race.  It had really been bothering me a lot during my last runs.  It was tight the whole time, but I never had any sharp pain.  I was also paying close attention to my steps so I would not hyper-extend it again.


Even with the heat and my knee tight, I felt very strong through the whole race.  I kept up my walk/run intervals without any deviation.  As I crossed the finish line I realized that I had a very even pace through the whole race.  Almost the same time for each mile.  I got my medal and had them put some ice on my knee.


My Roo Sports worked well and didn't chafe me at all.  Defiantly something I will be using in the future.  I did notice that the earphone hole was fraying.  Thankfully they were going to be at the Star Wars Half Marathon Expo a week later.  I also noticed that the corners of the pocket pokes out.  Functionally it was fine, but just pointed out that you had it under your shirt.

I met up with my friend from before the race and we met others for a fun brunch.  We go to the same place every year and every year we complain that they don't staff very well and everything takes forever.  But we keep going back. :)  This is one time I get to catch up with a lot of my running friends, so if it takes longer to get brunch, I'm fine with it.

This is a race I’ll do most years, but I’ll have to do it again next year. In 2017 they gave out medals that will click together with magnets and create a big medal with the 2018 and 2019 medals.  A great marketing technique to get runners to continue for the next two years.

Do you like when races do things to encourage you to run more races, like challenges, or themed medals?  Have you ever used the Roo Sport?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a crazy week for me!

Monday I was supposed to run before work but it rained.  I even saw snow flakes in the air as I drove to work.  I don't run when it rains and it's below 50 degrees.  Too miserable.

Someone at my work has gotten a standing desk.  I was going to wait till I was full time to ask about it, but she said that she could get one, but the company wouldn't pay for it.  I had a standing desk for years and loved it, so I checked Amazon just to see what they had.  I wasn't planning on buying one right away, but I found one that had a 25% coupon.  That deal was too good to pass up.  It arrived Monday and got it all set up.  Love it!

Tuesday I went to my FT class at the gym.  Just a normal class.

I got a call the day before from my eye doctor who said that I was going to have to reschedule my May appointment I made last year.  Either I could go Tuesday to the office across town or wait till the end of June.  Since my contacts have been crazy dry, I opted to go on Tuesday.  I schlepped across town in the middle of the day for my appointment.  He has me trying new daily contacts (my last ones were monthlies).  These are of the latest technology and a lot more expensive then the ones I've had for years.  We will see how they work for me.

That evening I went to a meetup for those that do the same thing I do.  I don't know if they have it for other industries, but in IT there are monthly meetups for everything from .Net to SQL to Networking.  Mine is about the Agile community.  Each month there is a different speaker to discuss different aspects of the community.  The topic interested me, and while I didn't feel like I learned anything new, it made me feel better that I was on the right track.  I also saw someone there from my last job.  It was interesting to catch up and hear what's happening over there now.

Wednesday I got out and did my 5 mile run.  It was around freezing again and I wore my new fleece tights I had gotten a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been cold enough when I ran to wear.  I was worried that the waist was a little loose and I'd just spend the run pulling them up, but it never did that.  They also had a draw string that helped as well.  These are definitely a keeper.

While my knees started feeling better on my runs last week, Wednesday it felt tight again.  No sharp pain to make me stop running, but it nagged at me the whole run.  I probably shouldn't have done the full 5, but I haven't been running much lately and felt like I needed to get them in.  I had a PT appointment that evening and he worked a bit on the same area as last week and found some interesting spots around the same place, but on the outside of the leg.

Wednesday night I had another bad night's sleep.  I hadn't been able to sleep through the night and am up for 2-4 hours in the middle of the night.  My mind is just racing so much that it wakes me up and I can't get it to stop to be able to fall back asleep, even with all my little tricks.  I still dragged myself to the gym for my class.

With the Ukrop's 10k on Saturday the Expo is held Thursday and Friday with no packet pickup the day of the race.  I headed there after work on Thursday.  They had changed venues and I had to go across town to get there.  I understand why they changed venues as the race has grown and where they normally have it, there isn't enough parking.


Of course I got there after work with most people, and I knew it would be a pain to get in and park.  I have done several events there and knew that there was plenty of parking.  What I didn't understand was, with several entrances, why they had the cars come in where people had to cross the traffic to get into the building.  So there was a lot of stopping to wait for pedestrians as well as when you were walking to the building a lot of waiting for cars to pass.  That could have been done a lot better.

The expo itself looked identical from the last venue.  I got my bib, shirt, and shuttle ticket.  I ran into a running friend and said hello.  I didn't see anything interesting at the official merchandise section.  And all the other booths were the same.  I dropped off a pair of used sneakers.  Looked to see if anyone had my shoes with a good discount (they didn't).  And then I couldn't find my way out!  This was not a very big Expo, just everything was high enough not to see any doors.  And there were no signs for exits.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in a direction.  I still couldn't find it and eventually after looking around a corner I saw a door.  I was free!

Thursday night was another horrible nights sleep.  It even got to the point where I just got up and started getting things ready for the race on Saturday.  Awake for another 3 hours in the middle of the night and falling back asleep just in time for the alarm to go off.

Friday I did get up for my run.  It was now in the mid 50's which meant shorts and a shirt.  So different from Monday and Wednesday.  I wanted to get another 5 miles in, but I told myself that if my knee hurt I would stop.  And if it was tight I would only do 3 miles.  Within the first 100 feet it was tight, just like it was on Wednesday.  So 3 miles it was.  As I was heading round to finish the second mile I kept thinking of the fact I had a 10k the next day and a weekend of running next weekend.  I looped around the block and called it quits at 2 miles.  This close to races I'd rather rest then get the miles in that I need and hurt myself further.

That afternoon I had to take my old lady cat to the vet for more blood work.  While a month ago we found her kidneys are doing wonderful, her liver numbers were very low.  She doesn't act like a cat that has something wrong, as she has just been her normal self.  The vet has her on a daily pill and wanted to see how the numbers were as well as check her thyroids.  Well the pill was helping and the issues is definitely her thyroid.  So she doesn't have to take the daily pill anymore, but has a daily liquid now.  We will be back in a month to see how that is doing.


After the vet I dropped her off and headed downtown to meet my parents for dinner.  We have a yearly subscription to local plays around the city.  This play was Romeo & Juliet and it was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which also has a really good restaurant in it.  We had a good dinner and a wonderful bottle of wine.  We were taking our time as we thought the play started at 8 and by the time we made our way down a little after 7:30 we found that it did start at 7:30.  Thankfully the people there know us and there were no assigned seats so we made our way down the side to some vacant seats.  I've seen this play many times, but I have to say the lead actors were very good.  And looked very young.

Saturday morning I got up and headed down to the Ukrop's 10k.  I met up with friends before the race.  I ran it on my own and while it was very hot, I felt very strong for the whole race.  My knee was a little tight the whole time, but nothing like it was Wednesday or Friday on my training runs.  There might be hope for the knee next weekend.  We all met up after the race for brunch and to catch up with everyone. 


I went home and showered and took a nice nap.  After a long week, a hot race, and a few mimosas at brunch I really needed it.  Then I went out to dinner with a friend.

Sunday I did nothing!  Well I did get my laundry done, but really that was about it.

See what a busy week I had?  I get to turn around and do it all over again, but this time heading down to Florida for a runDisney race weekend.  I'm going to need some time off when I get home just to rest from these last couple of weeks.

How was your week?  Did you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Was it hot or what?  Have you seen Romeo and Juliet before?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!