Confessions of a reluctant runner, a DL 1/2 & PHM PTR. 7/5 race recaps and final thoughts

[KatMark]

Love the shoes.

for having your flights.

Congrats to Jeff again on his award.

 

[Pinkocto]

Yay for the flights!

Congrats to Jeff!!!

I hope the shoes work

 

[PrincessInOz]

We definitely headed in opposite directions in SoCal! Congrats to Jeff.

Love the yellow shoes. I think they are very bright and perfect for running.
YAY for flights and for having worked out a theme for you, Ann and Mary Ellen.

 

[MEK]

Love the new shoes. Very bright! But having cool shoes really DOES help on the running front!

Nice run times. That's a bummer about the 10K race, but your pace was really good. I would be thrilled with that.

I love all the costume ideas. I am seriously open to whatever. You know I like having someone else make the decision and all I have to do is write the check. lol.

I know what you mean about sluggish. I was feeling good about my running before vacation. I did a 8.1 mile run and then a 6.4 mile trail run right before going away, but my longest run on vacation was 3.5 miles.

On the upside, I got Denny to run a few times with me and we did the Castaway Cay 5K together. Let me just say that over-eating and drinking for a week straight and then running in the heat and direct sunshine was probably NOT the best idea ever. It was close to torture.

Tomorrow I am back on the road for a long run. fingers crossed it goes ok.

 

[eandesmom]

I can't comment on the running talk - it all sounds like a foreign language to me! But I love the yellow shoes! That would motivate me to run

I absolutely love the colors

Love the shoes.

for having your flights.

Congrats to Jeff again on his award.

Thanks! I am very happy to have the flights done.

Yay for the flights!

Congrats to Jeff!!!

I hope the shoes work

I hope they do too! Very happy to have the flights taken care of.

We definitely headed in opposite directions in SoCal! Congrats to Jeff.

Love the yellow shoes. I think they are very bright and perfect for running.
YAY for flights and for having worked out a theme for you, Ann and Mary Ellen.

Yes, we were in the reverse order of cities from you. It's fun to have some things settled on the PHM front.

Love the new shoes. Very bright! But having cool shoes really DOES help on the running front!

It does. I still had a little numbness with the new lacing last night so am going to try and tweak that a little tomorrow and see.

Nice run times. That's a bummer about the 10K race, but your pace was really good. I would be thrilled with that.

Thanks, I was pretty mad about the whole thing at the time though I tried not to be. I knew it wouldn't be a PR but I really didn't expect it to be my worst 10K ever. Which if they adjusted the time still would be. Oh well.

I love all the costume ideas. I am seriously open to whatever. You know I like having someone else make the decision and all I have to do is write the check. lol.

LOL! I do know that

I know what you mean about sluggish. I was feeling good about my running before vacation. I did a 8.1 mile run and then a 6.4 mile trail run right before going away, but my longest run on vacation was 3.5 miles.

You did better than I did! On our trip we didn't run once! The San Diego runs were more in the 3 mile category and San Fran was 4 miles both times so really since the half the ONLY long run I've had was the accidental 7.35. LOL!

I may try to do 6 tomorrow, we will see. Kind of depends if Eric runs with me. Jeff is out with his calf. Eric really wants to do a 10k but it freaks me out. I was at a party on Halloween chatting with my girlfriend. Her son is the one we see at a lot of races (he is Evan's age) that always wins his age bracket. The race we are looking to do, her son got lost on last year! Which doesn't make me that comfortable letting him do it. The course looks like it might be different than last year but...ugh.

On the upside, I got Denny to run a few times with me and we did the Castaway Cay 5K together. Let me just say that over-eating and drinking for a week straight and then running in the heat and direct sunshine was probably NOT the best idea ever. It was close to torture.

Tomorrow I am back on the road for a long run. fingers crossed it goes ok.

I saw that! I didn't know Denny ran at all. You sure look happy in the picture from it, hopefully you jumped straight in the ocean afterwards as a reward.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Love the yellow shoes. I hope that you finally get something to work for your issues.
You must love running to go through so much trouble with inserts, shoes etc. I'd probably make it an excuse to not do it. But that's just me.

 

[eandesmom]

Love the yellow shoes. I hope that you finally get something to work for your issues.
You must love running to go through so much trouble with inserts, shoes etc. I'd probably make it an excuse to not do it. But that's just me.

I honestly wouldn't say that I "love" it. There are moments for sure where I really enjoy it and I get that whole runners high/zen thing. Moments for sure where I really hate it. Moments where it's just a chore I have to do and I don't love or hate it if that makes sense. It's a bit of a pain but I feel better when it is done. The latter is probably 80% of the time. I have to do something and this seems to work on a lot of levels. the thought of not having it really means not having many options for exercise and that's a bit terrifying. So I am motivated to make it work. Otherwise well, I'd have to eat and drink a LOT less. LOL!

I think I am high maintenance though and that bothers me, I don't want to be!

I am hoping I had a bit of a breakthrough last night with the new yellow shoes. I tried another different lacing technique that seemed to really work. I won't know for sure until I get some longer tuns in but it is encouraging.

 

[Leshaface]

I like the green screen photo! And it looks like someone is spying on you like a perv in the background in neon

Woah the race director made a huge mistake. Think about the people who ran that for the first time. I'd definitely be upset but glad they were willing to offer a partial refund and discount. Still stinks though.

I'm with everyone when I say I love the shoes too!

 

[annmarieda]

It took almost 3 weeks to absorb. I don't mind the black, I mean it's not pretty but whatever. if they are "under" the callus then I don't feel them. Or I feel them but they aren't an issue at all, if that makes sense. When they are on top like this, it is at a bad spot for running and then can easily tear wide open. Having been through that, it's something I don't want again lol. I am amazed with how often you have them, that it hasn't impacted actually running but instead causes bigger issues with sleeping. Must have to do with exactly where they happen on the foot?

I think I know what you mean. I tend to not notice them much when I do get them if they are deep under the callus. Thing is that I need to keep that callus down or it causes more of them. (I think you know how this goes) I have yet to have one tear open though. I have had pretty good luck not getting them as often as I once did. I came away from a couple races with the bulging ones like you get. I think I am running slightly differently...maybe that is why? I have a tiny one right now though and it is of the "can feel it when I run" variety and not the "at night" kind.

The nice thing is that between getting a pedi on the cruise, then doing that crazy hike, all the swimming, and then having them touch up the pedi (as I cracked 2 toenails on the hike lol) it really all came off over the course of the trip and by the end my feet looked almost normal! Which of course has made it more obvious the difference the shoes and inserts make and has led me down the stress inducing path of different shoes... LOL!

Good that your feet were almost normal..but boo on the search for new shoes. That is not fun and I wish I had more to offer you when you were going through that.

I did ONE serious hike. One decent swim in distance and one decent snorkel with some current. That's the entire sum of our "active" part of a 12 day vacation. Not much.

I think that is still pretty active.

It's odd, it hasn't entirely cleared up but hasn't gotten worse either. Not enough to make me want to do another round of antibiotics but a bit annoying.

I really hope you get to be 100% soon. I have wonder if that is what started me on my poor summer season... I just struggled to get 100% after the nasty bug I had in January. I know that sounds odd...but it was like just about the time I was close - allergies hit... then the heat... I think once you go down it is hard to get fully recovered. At least the way I did it. I guess had I actually ever stopped to take a break from running maybe I would have recovered fully.

I would be SO happy if I can pull off one less bio break or even NO bio breaks. Heck, if I can avoid a blood blister that ought to gain me as much as 3 minutes! I figure my pace suffered a solid minute those last 3 miles thanks to the dumb blister. I also may try to avoid switching lenses at PHM, that took at least a minute too (and was a little stressful, I worried about dropping one with my sweaty hands!). Given it will be a bit later sunrise than DL, it may be very doable.

I bet you are able to make all of those things come together in your favor and you will rock a super PR!

I am NOT looking forward to speedwork, gotta get the shoe thing figured out soon, I figure I have about one month to mess around with shoes. Bleh.

I didn't care for it. I really did not. NOPE, not one bit! Now that being said... maybe it was just the way I did it. The 8x400 were just about my breaking point. I will have to update to my TR but I am taking a different approach to my training and I would say it involves a variation of speed work that is much more easy for me to handle.

This is a great photo! You look awesome for just having ran a half marathon!!!

San Diego Trip - You guys look amazing! I wouldn't sweat the lower miles in September because... THIRTY MILE BIKE RIDE??!!! Congrats to Jeff on his award, BTW. That is awesome that you were there to share his moment with him.

San Francisco Trip - How fun to do a networking run with potential clients! Way to go!

10K - I am so sorry this was such a flop. Especially when it was such a good race for you last year! At least they made it right.

Newtons - Yay for the awesome deal! I love RR for that very reason! I also love the way your newtons look. I think they have come a long way recently in making them look less like clown shoes and more contemporary. I will keep my fingers crossed that between the lacing technique and the trimmed inserts they work for you!

Red eye flight - Off hand I am not sure how far apart we are seated on that first leg. Did you want to try and get seats together? I am ok sitting by myself but if we were able to move I would be happy with that too. I plan to sleep on the second leg so the first would be the only one where I might be good company.

Extra night - I am so excited!!

DME - I will need to call ms to do that. Both trips will be associated with my membership, right? Since the arrival and departure night were reserved by me?

ADR's - Honestly I am good with whatever you want to do. We have to eat and almost anywhere is good. I can give it some thought between now and when I get back from CA. If you come up with something before then... I say go for it. If not then maybe once I get back we can decide. Course it is always possible I will have some grand epiphany before I leave for CA and have a brilliant suggestion as to where we could eat.

Costumes - I am pretty excited!

RoadID - That is awesome you got one. I keep thinking I should and then forget. I really probably should since where I run can be quite isolated. I may go an entire 30 minutes without seeing a single car. (but cow, horse, deer, elk... those I will see)

 

[eandesmom]

I think I know what you mean. I tend to not notice them much when I do get them if they are deep under the callus. Thing is that I need to keep that callus down or it causes more of them. (I think you know how this goes) I have yet to have one tear open though. I have had pretty good luck not getting them as often as I once did. I came away from a couple races with the bulging ones like you get. I think I am running slightly differently...maybe that is why? I have a tiny one right now though and it is of the "can feel it when I run" variety and not the "at night" kind.

Boo for having one right now. I actually don't have any, and minimal calluses. In an odd way I am anxious to get my miles back up on longer runs and see what happens. The tearing is pretty awful. I do think I am a bit of a paranoid baby about it!

However my shins are not all the way recovered from the combo of the rx inserts and the stability shoes. While I really don't think the new shoes are doing anything to my shins, until it completely goes away I am a little leery of going too far and I usually don't have "real' problems until 9+ miles. The training plan doesn't actually have me doing anything over 6 until 12/28! So...I dunno. I may or may not try to do a longer one between now and then. I will for sure do 6 but it may come down to weather and time and travel. I do think for me to improve the speedwork and tempo runs are probably as, if not more, important than the long run.

Good that your feet were almost normal..but boo on the search for new shoes. That is not fun and I wish I had more to offer you when you were going through that.

Ah well, it will work out eventually. I hope. LOL!

I really hope you get to be 100% soon. I have wonder if that is what started me on my poor summer season... I just struggled to get 100% after the nasty bug I had in January. I know that sounds odd...but it was like just about the time I was close - allergies hit... then the heat... I think once you go down it is hard to get fully recovered. At least the way I did it. I guess had I actually ever stopped to take a break from running maybe I would have recovered fully.

Yeah, I do know what you mean. I've been going non stop since I got back from the trip, and before. Hopefully being home for a solid month now after today will help resolve things.

I bet you are able to make all of those things come together in your favor and you will rock a super PR!

Well if I do just one of those things, hopefully it will be a PR. LOL! But I am not counting on it that is for sure. I do think it is likely many of those things may happen again, with the hopeful exception of the blister. I figure the timing was something like this.

Bio break #1. 1-2 minutes.
Bio Break #2 and glasses swap. 2-4 minutes. My hands were sweaty, it was hard to swap those darn lenses!
Selfies. 1 minute or less each
Slow down for the blister, 3 minutes.

So yeah, that's 7- 12 minutes I could potentially shave.

Or I can just try to run a little faster, which honestly is probably a better solution.

I didn't care for it. I really did not. NOPE, not one bit! Now that being said... maybe it was just the way I did it. The 8x400 were just about my breaking point. I will have to update to my TR but I am taking a different approach to my training and I would say it involves a variation of speed work that is much more easy for me to handle.

Well, it's only 10 weeks. I actually think the 4x1600 will be the worst and the 400's will be a pita to measure/track/record. Fortunately I don't have an 8x400...but then again a 4x1600 is the same distance, just measured differently. There is only one of those thankfully. But 10 times...that's what I keep telling myself. I can do it 10 times. Right? I do plan to try to do a tempo run at least once a week until the plan starts and have my "long" run be at the target plan long run pace,even if my long run is only 5-6 miles. Hopefully that will have me in a decent place when I officially start this one. Especially since I just realized that the plan actually starts while I am on another work trip! I may have to swap my interval with my long run for that week.

1. 4x400
2. 4x800
3. 3x1600
4. 6x400
5. 3x1600
6. 4x800
7. 6x400
8. 4x1600
9. 3x800
10. 4x400

This is a great photo! You look awesome for just having ran a half marathon!!!

LOL, so did you! Of course, as you know, we had plenty of cool down time before we took those pictures.

San Diego Trip - You guys look amazing! I wouldn't sweat the lower miles in September because... THIRTY MILE BIKE RIDE??!!! Congrats to Jeff on his award, BTW. That is awesome that you were there to share his moment with him.

It was fun. And SO much more fun than the last time we did it, not on a tandem!

San Francisco Trip - How fun to do a networking run with potential clients! Way to go!

It was really fun, and different. I will be less wierd about working out with and running with clients on future events.

10K - I am so sorry this was such a flop. Especially when it was such a good race for you last year! At least they made it right.

Well they didn't adjust my results but honestly I just don't see how they could. I did get my refund and coupon code for a future discount though. I was considering the Snoqualmie Woman's run but I heard it is the same day as Beat the Bridge. Need to check on that, Eric will definitely want to do beat the bridge again. I have to decide if I let him do a 10K next month or not, that's kind of freaking me out. Need to chat with Jeff about it tonight as I have to register all of us tomorrow before prices go up.

Newtons - Yay for the awesome deal! I love RR for that very reason! I also love the way your newtons look. I think they have come a long way recently in making them look less like clown shoes and more contemporary. I will keep my fingers crossed that between the lacing technique and the trimmed inserts they work for you!

I love the colors and overall look. I don't like the way the tongue looks with the high arch lacing so may try going through the tongue loop and want to try the runners tie on the back eye as well but overall I think they seem like a good fit. Interesting test of them today on a trail run.

Red eye flight - Off hand I am not sure how far apart we are seated on that first leg. Did you want to try and get seats together? I am ok sitting by myself but if we were able to move I would be happy with that too. I plan to sleep on the second leg so the first would be the only one where I might be good company.

Extra night - I am so excited!!

DME - I will need to call ms to do that. Both trips will be associated with my membership, right? Since the arrival and departure night were reserved by me?

Yep, you'll need to do DME. I will call Alaska this week, of course I would like to sit together! We are only 3 rows apart but next to each other would be far better.

YAY for an extra night and the overall cost was outstanding.

ADR's - Honestly I am good with whatever you want to do. We have to eat and almost anywhere is good. I can give it some thought between now and when I get back from CA. If you come up with something before then... I say go for it. If not then maybe once I get back we can decide. Course it is always possible I will have some grand epiphany before I leave for CA and have a brilliant suggestion as to where we could eat.

Costumes - I am pretty excited!

I don't think anything we might want to do will book up like crazy, maybe we can figure it out on the 21st when we meet?

Yes, costumes too, we can chat about those then as well.

RoadID - That is awesome you got one. I keep thinking I should and then forget. I really probably should since where I run can be quite isolated. I may go an entire 30 minutes without seeing a single car. (but cow, horse, deer, elk... those I will see)

You should! I am going to get mine set up this weekend, Eric's too and try them out on Sunday. Assuming they arrived that is. I will find out when I get home but I think they should be there.

 

[eandesmom]

Ok, let’s get back to business here!

As in literally, business. The business of figuring out how to get runs in while traveling on business!

I left off on Halloween. I did get a run in that night. Poor Jeff has been fighting a calf strain. Between that and me not wanting to overdo it in my new shoes, it was a short easy run. Which meant I ended the month with a whopping 35 miles logged for all of October. LAME!

November is a new month though and I was determined to get back on track, with my PHM training plan starting in Dec. I am doing "ok" with that plan. Here's a recap of the last week.

Sunday: 4.74 miles in the pouring rain @ 9:13 pace. I tried a different lacing method on my shoes and it really seemed to help, check it out.







Who knew! No numbness. It was also my first run this year wearing a heavier rain jacket. I have a lighter one but when it’s raining that hard, it gets wet. This one is pretty water repellent and has side vents. Between that, which is a very bright yellow, and the new yellow capri's I have (hey they were only $24 and are my favorite brand, that’s an incredible price) and the yellow shoes...plus a blinking light, there is NO way any one could have missed me in the dark, wet grey. It's funny. I know I will get over this but after what really feels like a very long summer, extended by work and personal trips and decent weather at home, I'd been looking forward to a cooler run. Not maybe quite that wet but still. It felt really good! Even if I did get my new shoes pretty wet and dirty. I had hoped to run in daylight but with morning commitments and the desire to actually find my fall wardrobe, I got out later than I had hoped and did lose light by the end. Darn falling back anyhow!

Monday: Rest day, I was supposed to go to my dinner club and was too wiped to do it.

Tuesday: Rest day, which really means run kids all over the place for stuff.

Wednesday: I had a noon flight to Phoenix for a work trip so was short on time. I did get 2 miles in and attempted a tempo run. My tempo run pace is supposed to be 8:54. It was only 2 miles but I was happy with it. I averaged a 8:38 pace, mile 1 at 8:41 and mile 2 at 8:30.

Thursday: Should have gone to the gym but frankly the one at the hotel, just looking at it, made me claustrophobic.

Friday: Snuck in a run in between sessions. Went to seminar stuff from 7-8, ran, then was back at it at 10 lol. I was able to run here:









With the time constraints it couldn't be a long run. I was able to get in 3.5 @ 9:29 pace.

It was interesting as you can see, it was on a soft dirt/gravel trail. My new shoes have these funky "lugs"

And one of the comments has been that they aren't good for trail running as things get stuck in between them. I did have one small pebble at one point (noticed on a flat sidewalk turnaround) but it came out and wasn't an issue. I was happy that they seemed to perform fine.

Running on work trips is a funny thing, but also a cool thing. I have learned over the last 18 months that it is FAR better than finding the lame tiny hotel gyms. It takes a little bit of work to figure out where to go and not get lost but you get to see some cool things. In the last 18 months I've gotten to run in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Hawaii, and now, Scottsdale. Kind of cool and a different way to see a city for sure.

So, while it is nothing earth shattering at only 10.2 miles so far this month, it was a lot better than the first week of October for sure. Kind of exciting though, in looking at the numbers I do think I’ll hit 800 for 2014 which is pretty mind boggling to me!

Work trips, and time on the plane can be good for plotting so I finally mapped out my full PHM training plan. Or...a BFP! It is quite different than the one I did last time and frankly, it makes me nervous as it seems short. I will be doing a plan based on a target half marathon finish time and has you run 3x a week with very specific time goals. One tempo run, one interval run and one long run. The difference between this one is actually focusing on a specific time goal for each kind of run, where the one I did last time, just had you do that distance but not really focus on time per-se. Granted, I didn’t do that plan the way it was written anyway (skipped the intervals entirely) but still, it didn’t give you a time goal to hit. This one does.

Tempo runs are basically runs at the pace you want to hit for your race. My target tempo run pace is 8:54

Intervals are shorter runs, done multiple times. So you might do .25 miles, 4 times. Timing each .25 mile. Or a half a mile 4 times, etc. You do take short breaks in between these intervals. Some folks also call it speedwork.

My target interval times (not pace per minute) are:

400m (.25 mile) 1:56 min to do each 400 m
800m (.5 mile) 4:02 for each 800 m
1600 (1 mile) 8:24 per mile

Long runs are just that, long(er). This one is pretty mild. Shortest long run is 6 miles, longest is 12. My target long run pace is 9:39. That works for me or at least seems possible. However it does have tempo runs as long as 6 and 8 miles so that's a bit intimidating.

Here is what it looks like all mapped out, it starts on 12/10. See if I put it down here....it makes me accountable to actually do it. Don't worry, you can skip over it, I know it's boring (confusing or both) and just a bunch of numbers lol!

• *Wednesday, December 10, 2014 Speedwork 4x400
• *Friday, December 12, 2014 Tempo 3 mile
• *Sunday, December 14, 2014 Long Run 6 miles
• Wednesday, December 17, 2014 Speedwork 4x800
• Friday, December 19, 2014 Tempo 4 mile
• Sunday, December 21, 2014 Long Run 6 miles
• Wednesday, December 24, 2014 Speedwork 3x1600
• Friday, December 26, 2014 Tempo 5 mile
• Sunday, December 28, 2014 Long Run 8 miles
• Wednesday, December 31, 2014 Speedwork 6x400
• Friday, January 02, 2015 Tempo 6 mile
• Sunday, January 04, 2015 Long Run 10 miles
• Wednesday, January 07, 2015 Speedwork 3x1600
• Friday, January 09, 2015 Tempo 4 mile
• Sunday, January 11, 2015 Long Run 6 miles
• Wednesday, January 14, 2015 Speedwork 4x800
• Friday, January 16, 2015 Tempo 8 mile
• Sunday, January 18, 2015 Long Run 10 miles
• Wednesday, January 21, 2015 Speedwork 6x400
• Friday, January 23, 2015 Tempo 6 mile
• Sunday, January 25, 2015 Long Run 8 miles
• Wednesday, January 28, 2015 Speedwork 4x1600
• Friday, January 30, 2015 Tempo 8 mile
• Sunday, February 01, 2015 Long Run 10 miles
• *Wednesday, February 04, 2015 Speedwork 3x800
• *Friday, February 06, 2015 Tempo 3 mile
• Sunday, February 08, 2015 Long Run 12 miles
• Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Speedwork 4x400
• Friday, February 13, 2015 Tempo 3 mile
• Sunday, February 15, 2015 Long Run 6 miles
• Tuesday, February 18, 2014 Tempo 2 mile

The * means I have work or other trip conflicts. The first set I will be in Hawaii and then Suncadia (local). I think I can pull those runs off ok though figuring out the speedwork ones will be weird. The second set I will be in Vegas. I despise Vegas. That one....UGH. Not a clue how I will figure that one out, need to do some homework there. I am not going to do it on a treadmill I will tell you that. It is possible based on flight times I can do the Wednesday one in the morning before my flight if I plan it right or I can do it on Tuesday.

Gah. There are some long, fast runs in there. Most of it seems possible with work but a few of those freak me out. It is not so much that I don't think I can do it, in any given run I think those times are possible. They are not however at all my average and to do them consistently like that for 10 weeks is a bit intimidating. On the flipside, if I can manage it, I do think I am likely to speed up. That said...I do not think it is likely that I will speed up enough to do a sub 2 hour race. Here is why. Let's take a look at the DL Half. I've not done a race recap and really won't until Ann and I do our TR (and I buy my pictures lol) but as it provides the base for the PHM training, I do have to look at how it played out in real life, not on paper. And you KNOW I had about a dozen scenarios on paper before I actually did it.

I went into the DL half with a plan. A plan for when I wanted to stop for water, when I planned to take fuel and what pace I wanted to run at. I actually wanted to attempt a "slower" mile, and then a faster mile, in alteration as to average out where I wanted to be. Kind of intervals, but not really at least in the traditional run/walk method. I also had a target time to be at, at the 10 mile mark.

None of it played out as planned.

I forgot something rather important.

It was pitch dark out

I had to start with my clear lenses on so I could see (which meant I’d need to swap lenses later)

I couldn't read my watch

Oh well.

Here is how it went!

• Mile 1: 9:24, I expected, given our corral, for the pack to start out at a faster pace. This surprised me.
• Mile 2: 9:19, We came around the corner, I saw World of Color in the dark and HAD to stop and take a selfie. I knew the minute I did that I was making a choice to not hit the lowest side of the target finish time I’d given myself.
• Mile 3: 9:14
• Mile 4: 9:52. I stopped for both water, and took a bio break here. I was supremely annoyed that I couldn’t make it more than 4 miles without hitting the porta potty! I had not expected to take water this early but it was wicked humid.
• Mile 5: 10:36, water stop, took fuel
• Mile 6: 11:08, stopped for another bio break and had to change the lenses in my glasses, water stop as well.
• Mile 7: 9:43, water stop
• Mile 8: 10:23, some walking in here
• Mile 9: 9:51, water stop, took fuel took another selfie in the stadium
• Mile 10: 10:39 water stop. About here is where my blister came into play and really started to hurt, I did run walk intervals for the remainder of the race.
• Mile 11: 10:27 water stop, walking intervals
• Mile 12: 10:36 walking intervals
• Mile 13: 10:00 walking intervals
• Mile 14: 9:48 pace (for a whopping .2 miles lol

Those are all according to my watch, according to Disney here is where I was

5k Split: 29:08
10k Split: 1:02:09
15k Split: 1:33:21

How did I stack up? Pretty well actually. I admit to taking it with a grain of salt. In a Disney race there is no doubt I am in the faster group which in and of itself is mind boggling but at most other races I am much more of a middle to upper middle packer. Still. I knew that going into it and darn it, I really wanted to be in the top 100 for my age group.

SOOOOOOO close!

Check it out, you can print out a race certificate. I thought both designs were cute so made both of them!





101st

Figures.

LOL!



I am ok with my numbers. The overall number, surprisingly, did match my bib corral placement. Not in terms of timed finish as I was lucky enough to be in the sub 2 corral but if you figure that corrals A-C had a total of 2723 runners...I finished above number 2723. Not by much mind you but still it did make me feel better even though at the end of the day I was a solid minute per mile off of what my corral placement indicated or at least in the general right area. It was my best percentage finish for gender so far so I will take that for sure. Obviously 999 would have been better. Princess will be different. It is likely I will do better in my age bracket, better overall in terms of placement but be quite a bit lower in my gender placement. I know I am a numbers geek but it's always fascinating to look at the dynamics of each race as they are different and the pool of people that race them are quite different. You can easily compare different years of the same race but comparing something like the DL half to Princess is different in the overall picture. I do think I have a shot at top 100 in my age bracket for Princess but top 1000 for gender..I'll need to be quite a bit faster.

I will be honest here. I gave myself a window of 2:00-2:15 for a finish time. My official time was 2:13:35. I am not thrilled with my performance. I am ok with it, but not thrilled if that makes sense. Not upset, just not overjoyed either. It was within the range of finish times I gave myself but overall I walked way too much, hit the bathroom far too many times and drank too much water. The water cups were HUGE and full and as a result I would drink more than I should every single time and I know that slowed me down. Because they were there. Half full would have worked so much better for me! I also know that despite the fact it was not wicked hot and we had cloud cover for most of our run, it was wicked humid and that was a factor for me. I had not factored in changing out the lenses on my glasses and that took probably 2 minutes, though it is easy to do, my hands were so sweaty I was terrified of dropping them as I did it.

I also think I gave myself too big of a range. You know what they say about giving an inch? I can't help but wonder if I'd told myself the top end was 2:10...if I'd have pulled that off.

However. I don't think it is realistic for me to think that many of those same factors will not be present for PHM. To that end I've identified 4 main goals.

1. Run a bit faster overall
2. Only go to the bathroom ONCE if at all and make it to the 10K mark before doing so.
3. Avoid blood blisters
4. Attempt to run without changing lenses on the glasses.

Number 4 is interesting. I really thought I needed to change them once the sun came up. The reality was is that I had cloud cover till the end, and once through the stadium was running away from the sun. I definitely could have skipped the lens swap. This time, instead of using the need to swap as an excuse for a 2nd bio break, I'm really going to try to take a wait and see approach if I can.

Don't get me wrong. I am not unhappy with how it went. I know I am very very lucky to have had it go as well as it did for my first. I feel blessed to have been able to do it at all. I had a BLAST! I ran 13.1 miles, didn't die, had fun more often than not and some really truly amazing magical moments during the whole thing. It was the perfect first half and I really wouldn't change a thing about it. Selfishly....I'd like to do just a little better next time.

That's all.

 

[PrincessInOz]

As I don't run, I am in awe at your numbers. The shoes look like they are performing well enough. Hope that continues to be the case.

Congrats on finishing in 101st place. So close......but yet still not what you wanted to do. If it's any consolation, I was really impressed by your gender placing. So close to being in the top 1000 as well.
Well done to you!

 

[jedijill]

I love the yellow shoes. I'm really embracing the bright color shoes...I'm wearing my hot pink NB shoes now...I love them!

I kinda of skimmed over the run numbers but the 800 miles in 2014 jumped out! Holy cow woman! That's a lot of running! Good for you!

Love the race certificates! Congrats on placing so well!

Jill in CO

 

[CarolynK]

Whew, it's impressive how organized you are!

You probably mentioned it, but why do you need to lace your shoes differently?

I'd probably not run in the rain if I knew my shoes would get dirty

 

[Leshaface]

I never considered changing the lacing up on shoes before. I'm always loosening the laces when I run because it tends to be a bit tighter in one area. Great idea thanks!

OT - what is a dinner club?

WOC during the race? Cool!

AW MAN! You almost did it! But 101 is tremendous, great job!

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, took me a while to get through this is some of the things are really "strange" for me. Shame on the "not runner".

Your numbers are SOOOOOOOOOO impressive and congrats on what you accomplished in your races.

 

[Pinkocto]

I know how it is to be your own worst critic, I am glad you can still be proud of yourself even though you wish you had done better. All you can do is aim for better next time which is what you're doing. And you still had fun, which is awesome!

I have no idea what those numbers mean but sounds like you've got a good plan.

Very impressive you ran in that heavy rain. This is why I never could get into exercising outside, can't take all the variables. I am very happy with all my equipment inside. I'm back into the exercise groove and losing pounds.

 

[eandesmom]

As I don't run, I am in awe at your numbers. The shoes look like they are performing well enough. Hope that continues to be the case.

Congrats on finishing in 101st place. So close......but yet still not what you wanted to do. If it's any consolation, I was really impressed by your gender placing. So close to being in the top 1000 as well.
Well done to you!

Yes, it was close to top 1000 which was exciting. It really is luck of the draw though often in a race, where you place, but overall I am happy with it. If I look at the results on a national average, versus a Disney race, it puts me in the top 30% overall which I am perfectly happy with!

I love the yellow shoes. I'm really embracing the bright color shoes...I'm wearing my hot pink NB shoes now...I love them!

Plus people see you coming! I admit I don't wear them outside of running but I love them for that!

I kinda of skimmed over the run numbers but the 800 miles in 2014 jumped out! Holy cow woman! That's a lot of running! Good for you!

Love the race certificates! Congrats on placing so well!

Jill in CO

In a million years I never thought I'd be able to say I ran 800 miles this year. Ann is going for 1000!

Crazy

Whew, it's impressive how organized you are!

ummm..there are other words for it

You probably mentioned it, but why do you need to lace your shoes differently?

My toes were going numb so rather than start over with a new shoe, I tried a lacing strategy instead, there are all kinds of tricks to try and lots of folks swear by it.

I'd probably not run in the rain if I knew my shoes would get dirty

I'd have a hard time running around here if i did that. Looks to be another soggy one tonight. The poor folks who did Wine and Dine Half at WDW last night got drenched. I never really thought about it till last night but should that happen (and in Feb is pretty unlikely I think), Ann and I might have an advantage

I never considered changing the lacing up on shoes before. I'm always loosening the laces when I run because it tends to be a bit tighter in one area. Great idea thanks!

Check out all the options in the picture above, it's kind of fascinating!

OT - what is a dinner club?

Dinner club, or gourmet club, as we call it is a group of about 12 women I went to college with (sorority sisters). We have dinner together twice a month. One person hosts and does all the cooking, another brings dessert. We typically do one girls weekend in the fall and then a big family party in the summer. Other than the summer event it's no kids, no husbands, just us girls.

I'm actually scheduled to host the holiday party this year and realized I'd booked a work trip on the night I am supposed to host so am scrambling today to either move the date, or my trip. OOPS! I have GOT to get a grip on my own schedule.

WOC during the race? Cool!

WOC was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cool, it was a major highlight for me. I kind of wished I'd gotten an official picture as my selfie is awful and it wasn't a spot where the photographers seemed to catch folks as they ran. I actually like the "running" pictures better in many ways than the posed ones but it will just have to live mostly in my memory versus on film. It's funny, I expected the castle to the the highlight but really it was WOC and the Stadium that were the most magical.

AW MAN! You almost did it! But 101 is tremendous, great job!

I know, so close!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly I was surprised at how well it ended up given my finish time. I'd have expected that time to have me down a bit lower than I was but I will take it!

Okay, took me a while to get through this is some of the things are really "strange" for me. Shame on the "not runner".

No shame! It's boring, skip over it, I totally get it (and apologize for including it, it is boring I know!)

Your numbers are SOOOOOOOOOO impressive and congrats on what you accomplished in your races.

Thanks Karin, they do look more impressive than they are based on this race pool but I still am happy with them and most importantly, had a blast!

I know how it is to be your own worst critic, I am glad you can still be proud of yourself even though you wish you had done better. All you can do is aim for better next time which is what you're doing. And you still had fun, which is awesome!

I have no idea what those numbers mean but sounds like you've got a good plan.

Oh they mean I over think everything. LOL! But it is a plan that will hopefully help me push myself as without it, I'll just keep doing the same and getting the same results. Which are fine results but then i will never know if I was capable of more.

I did have a blast,

Very impressive you ran in that heavy rain. This is why I never could get into exercising outside, can't take all the variables. I am very happy with all my equipment inside. I'm back into the exercise groove and losing pounds.

You are doing GREAT, that is so exciting! I actually can't do a lot of the equipment weight wise inside and get bored on the cardio machines so this does help mix it up. It is nice and flexible so it's helping me stay on track with travel when in the past I would not. That said, yeah, it can be soggy! Tonight looks like another wet one. The real question is, will Eric come out with us, or wimp out?

 

[ARmom30]

Great update! That is a lot of "technical" language about running, but I'm still learning so I tried to absorb it all.

I may need to try a new lacing technique for my running shoes. I hate the way shoes feel on the top of my feet, but thankfully I'm not having any other issues.

Congrats on your great race! I think your placing is fantastic, especially for that being your 1st half.

 

[MEK]

Great update Cynthia! Love all your tech talk and your impressive finish. That certificate is pretty darn cool and I think its actually cooler to be 101 then 100!

Your training schedule is pretty daunting. I know what you mean about getting the runs in. It's got to be really hard with traveling. I am pretty much resigned to having to do one run a week on the dread mill. In a way I don't mind because its only once a week and some times its just so hard to get out there after a day at work when its cold, dark, and damp outside.

We had wonderful running weather here this weekend. I wish I had felt up to a run today, but I did last weeks long run on Sunday and this weeks on Saturday plus two mid weeks runs. On the other days I did weight training. I was pretty much done by today.

Wasn't it hard to wear those pretty yellow shoes in the rain?