In Every Run That Must Be Done; There is an Element of Fun (comments welcome)

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 20

Just 2 rounds of yoga tonight, I didn’t want to overdo anything before the race tomorrow. Speaking of, I’m equal parts excited and nervous. I think the rain is going to hold off long enough for me to finish, but the humidity is going to be insane. I’ll write up a race report after I get home tomorrow—my grandma has promised me a special treat to celebrate my first real race






2021 workout data to date: 168h 12m 54s of exercise; 60,770 active calories burned; 77,333 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 21

Today was the day—my first in-person race: The TC 10K!!

The day started shortly before 5am, I got up and got ready and was on my way by about 5:15. After dodging some construction detours, I made it to the starting area and got my bib, shirt, and a nifty ear warmer that might come in handy once winter comes. Then I got to pace around until starting time, and take a couple pictures. The temp wasn’t too bad at 68°, but the humidity was 90%




A little before 7, I got into the starting corral, positioning myself at the very back of the 12-13 minute pace section, and just ahead of the walker/stroller section. The start was sort of awkward, since we had to mask until we crossed the start line. And since I wear over the ear headphones, I had to leave them around my neck until I could take my mask off. And I wanted to start the run workout on my watch right as I crossed too, so it was just a lot happening all in one spot.


The race starts out going up a big dang hill, which is just cruel, IMO. It’s like, cross the start line, go 20-30 feet, and start going uphill. But somehow, I don’t know how, this ended up being my fastest mile. Not just my fastest mile of the race, but my new fastest mile ever.

There were a number of hills in this race, and I still set a new personal best for this distance. I actually don’t even know how much I beat my previous 6.2 mile run by since my watch measured this race at 6.37 miles. My official finish time was 1h28m58s, and my watch time was 1h28m57s, so that was pretty accurate. My previous best was 1h34m58s.

It was kind of fun having spectators (so much cowbell ) We even had a priest from the cathedral out cheering us on at the top of the big dang hill, and I’m pretty sure I saw the governor hanging out on the front lawn of the Governor’s Mansion when I went by. Since this was an out-and-back course, we got to see the lead runners on their way back to the finish. It was kind of cool, but also a little disheartening when I hadn’t even gotten to the 2 mile marker yet and the leader is already more than 2/3 of the way done.

Other than almost choking to death on water when I decided to take a cup at the water stop (even though I still had plenty of water in my bottle) the race was pretty uneventful. I had my intervals running at 30s run/60s walk, and mostly stuck to it, but I skipped one or the other a few times as the situation played out.

One thing I would change, if I were the race organizers, would be to have someone go down the course beforehand and clear out all the dead squirrels. There must have been at least a half dozen, and that’s just the ones in my path. I did see an albino squirrel getting chased up a tree by a normal-colored squirrel, so that was kind of neat.

I had read in reviews of the marathon route (the last 3.1 miles of which is the out-and-back course for the 10K) that the view of the MN State Capitol from the top of Cathedral Hill (the aforementioned big dang hill) was pretty nice, and it was true.


I crossed the finish line, got my medal, and hit up the food tables. Sadly, there was nothing there for my picky-eater self. Why couldn’t they have plain flavored tortilla or potato chips?! But I got some water, collected my gear bag, and grabbed a finisher pic before heading home. Look at me all not dead and stuff!!






Look at the awesome cookie my grandma got me!



To conclude this very long post, here’s my official race results, as well as the Apple Fitness data. I wasn’t in last place in any category! This is just mind-blowing to me; I never would’ve imagined I was capable of anything like this.






Oh, one more thing: my wonderful race morning was followed up by some non-Dis-friendly family drama that necessitated a 6+ round trip drive about 3 hours after I got home. 0/10, would not recommend. I stopped twice on the way to walk around a bit, and eat a little something. Sadly, on the way home (after dark, of course) there was major rain, which just sucks to drive through. But we all survived, and things will be better tomorrow.

2021 workout data to date: 169h 41m 51s of exercise; 61,497 active calories burned; 78,219 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 22

I’m feeling good the day after my race. I can feel it a bit in my thighs, but I think if I’d been able to do proper aftercare yesterday, instead of sitting in a car for 6 hours, I wouldn’t even have that. I’m still a little bit awestruck by the fact that I actually ran in a race and finished, and that I’m still functional. Three years ago I walked 6.5 miles at a casual pace and was practically crippled for a week. I’m actually starting to really believe doing a half marathon isn’t going to kill me

Today, I mostly took it easy. I visited with a few of my chipmunks, but most were staying underground because it was a bit windy and they don’t seem to like that. I did a round of stretching, and then hopped on the stationary bike. I kept the pace slow and easy, going 8.24 miles in 34m7s.

2021 workout data to date: 170h 15m 58s of exercise; 61,653 active calories burned; 78,436 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 23

Took it easy on the yoga today, just did 2 rounds with 20s poses. I’m still feeling good physically, but I’m more tired than usual. I need to do better on going to bed early on days that I’ve gotten up early

I wish Disney would tell us something about Springtime Surprise, the suspense is killing me!

2021 workout data to date: 171h 13m 34s of exercise; 62,038 active calories burned; 78,881 total calories burned

 

[avondale]

Princess Half Training: Day 21

Today was the day—my first in-person race: The TC 10K!!

The day started shortly before 5am, I got up and got ready and was on my way by about 5:15. After dodging some construction detours, I made it to the starting area and got my bib, shirt, and a nifty ear warmer that might come in handy once winter comes. Then I got to pace around until starting time, and take a couple pictures. The temp wasn’t too bad at 68°, but the humidity was 90%
View attachment 609651

View attachment 609648

A little before 7, I got into the starting corral, positioning myself at the very back of the 12-13 minute pace section, and just ahead of the walker/stroller section. The start was sort of awkward, since we had to mask until we crossed the start line. And since I wear over the ear headphones, I had to leave them around my neck until I could take my mask off. And I wanted to start the run workout on my watch right as I crossed too, so it was just a lot happening all in one spot.
View attachment 609650

The race starts out going up a big dang hill, which is just cruel, IMO. It’s like, cross the start line, go 20-30 feet, and start going uphill. But somehow, I don’t know how, this ended up being my fastest mile. Not just my fastest mile of the race, but my new fastest mile ever.

There were a number of hills in this race, and I still set a new personal best for this distance. I actually don’t even know how much I beat my previous 6.2 mile run by since my watch measured this race at 6.37 miles. My official finish time was 1h28m58s, and my watch time was 1h28m57s, so that was pretty accurate. My previous best was 1h34m58s.

It was kind of fun having spectators (so much cowbell ) We even had a priest from the cathedral out cheering us on at the top of the big dang hill, and I’m pretty sure I saw the governor hanging out on the front lawn of the Governor’s Mansion when I went by. Since this was an out-and-back course, we got to see the lead runners on their way back to the finish. It was kind of cool, but also a little disheartening when I hadn’t even gotten to the 2 mile marker yet and the leader is already more than 2/3 of the way done.

Other than almost choking to death on water when I decided to take a cup at the water stop (even though I still had plenty of water in my bottle) the race was pretty uneventful. I had my intervals running at 30s run/60s walk, and mostly stuck to it, but I skipped one or the other a few times as the situation played out.

One thing I would change, if I were the race organizers, would be to have someone go down the course beforehand and clear out all the dead squirrels. There must have been at least a half dozen, and that’s just the ones in my path. I did see an albino squirrel getting chased up a tree by a normal-colored squirrel, so that was kind of neat.

I had read in reviews of the marathon route (the last 3.1 miles of which is the out-and-back course for the 10K) that the view of the MN State Capitol from the top of Cathedral Hill (the aforementioned big dang hill) was pretty nice, and it was true.
View attachment 609649

I crossed the finish line, got my medal, and hit up the food tables. Sadly, there was nothing there for my picky-eater self. Why couldn’t they have plain flavored tortilla or potato chips?! But I got some water, collected my gear bag, and grabbed a finisher pic before heading home. Look at me all not dead and stuff!!

View attachment 609652

View attachment 609657


Look at the awesome cookie my grandma got me!
View attachment 609656


To conclude this very long post, here’s my official race results, as well as the Apple Fitness data. I wasn’t in last place in any category! This is just mind-blowing to me; I never would’ve imagined I was capable of anything like this.
View attachment 609654

View attachment 609653
View attachment 609655


Oh, one more thing: my wonderful race morning was followed up by some non-Dis-friendly family drama that necessitated a 6+ round trip drive about 3 hours after I got home. 0/10, would not recommend. I stopped twice on the way to walk around a bit, and eat a little something. Sadly, on the way home (after dark, of course) there was major rain, which just sucks to drive through. But we all survived, and things will be better tomorrow.

2021 workout data to date: 169h 41m 51s of exercise; 61,497 active calories burned; 78,219 total calories burned

Congratulations on your great race finish and a new PR! And that cookie - OMG!!! I need one of those after my next race!

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 24

I did my first post-race run today. I only had 2 miles on the schedule, but I did 2.54, with an average pace of 13m54s. I was super close to finishing the mileage for my next Yes.Fit medal and didn’t feel like waiting until tomorrow to get the last little bit. The run felt good, and I’m glad the weather cooperated in not being too hot or humid so I could run outside.

2021 workout data to date: 172h 5m 5s of exercise; 62,409 active calories burned; 79,346 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 25

I did my workout early today, because Broadway shows are finally back in MN and we get to go see Frozen tonight (only a year and a half later than we were originally supposed to!)

So I took an hour for lunch, instead of my usual half hour, and did 32 minutes on my poor, neglected rowing machine .

2021 workout data to date: 172h 36m 58s of exercise; 62,562 active calories burned; 79,556 total calories burned

 

[StacyStrong]

I'm late, but congrats on your race!!

 

[GollyGadget]

Congrats on your new PR! I'm new to your journal but have no doubts you can run a half. If you can do that well at a 10k and keep up your training, the half will be no problem.

Also, good job on doing yoga! A lot of us runners just focus on running. I always tell myself I'll start yoga but it never lasts very long. I know it'd be good for me but that's still never been enough for me to keep at it.

 

[Naomeri]

Congrats on your new PR! I'm new to your journal but have no doubts you can run a half. If you can do that well at a 10k and keep up your training, the half will be no problem.

Also, good job on doing yoga! A lot of us runners just focus on running. I always tell myself I'll start yoga but it never lasts very long. I know it'd be good for me but that's still never been enough for me to keep at it.

I started yoga way before I even thought of running, so it’s easier for me to stick with it.

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 26

I barely got my run in before the end of the day today. I didn’t have time between the end of work and the start of cooking dinner to do it, and then I had a project that needed to be finished by tomorrow that ended up taking longer than I thought it would, and then my grandma distracted me with a cupcake and ice cream (Mackinac Island Fudge, impossible to resist), and I’m not such a newbie runner to try running immediately after eating that, so it was about 10:45 by the time I finally got on the treadmill.

I did a .5 mile warmup, followed by 2 miles run/walk, and a .37 mile cooldown (I would’ve done a bit more, but the YouTube video I was watching ended and I can’t navigate YouTube and walk on a treadmill at the same time, so I quit a little early.

Rather than using a timer for my run/walk intervals tonight, I used the treadmill mileage, doing .15 mile running and .1 mile walking. I ended up with a 14m20s average pace, so that worked out pretty well, and I didn’t have to try to hear my interval timer over the sound of the treadmill and whatever I’m watching.

Tomorrow I’m waking up an hour early to pre-order the new Apple Watch. I have a series 4 and it’s not charging as well as I’d like anymore. And having more updated tech to track my workout data can’t be a bad thing.

Oh, one other thing from today! I perfected a new chipmunk feeding move: the double standing feed It involves having nuts in each hand and cooperation from 2 chipmunks that have mastered climbing up my pant leg to get to my hand. Unfortunately, I can’t get a picture of this, for obvious reasons. But here’s my little buddy Rocky eating out of my hand the other day.



2021 workout data to date: 173h 21m 9s of exercise; 62,848 active calories burned; 79,921 total calories burned

 

[SheHulk]

You sure have the whole "friends with animals" part of the Princess thing nailed down!

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 27

3 rounds of yoga tonight, 15s poses. Tomorrow morning is The Arb’s Fall Color Run 5K, with my chosen start window being 8am. This will definitely be a slower run, since it’s on mulch and grass instead of pavement. But there’s no timing requirements, or any element of competition at all, really, so that’s ok. And then my grandparents and my great aunt and uncle will be joining me to wander around The Arb a bit before we go out to lunch. I’ll try to get some good pictures of the fall colors to brighten up my training journal.

2021 workout data to date: 174h 8m 5s of exercise; 63,174 active calories burned; 80,297 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 28

This report will be all about my first (and last) trail run: The Arb Fall Color Run (5K distance)

The day started off well, with a pretty sunrise over the lake by my house.


I got to The Arb and got checked in, and got started on the run. It started ok, since it went downhill almost right off the bat. And the trail at the bottom of the hill was in decent shape, so I was able to slow run for a few minutes. Eventually though, the trail got very uneven, tilted, and soft, so I had to start walking. Whenever it seemed like the trail was level enough, I tried to run, but I ended up having my left arch and right outer ankle getting really sore, so I stuck to walking until I got to a section that ran through a parking lot.

After that, the trail ran through the Dog Commons area, which was a wide grassy trail. This was both better and worse than the mulch trail. Better because the ground was more solid and I could run a little more; worse because it was much more uneven, and the grass was super super wet. My feet were completely soaked after the mile loop through that area, and I never knew if my foot was going to land higher or lower than it was when I lifted my foot.

Then it was back to the first part of the trail, just in reverse. So there was a lot of walking, but my foot and ankle were feeling better, so I could do a bit more running (at least until I got to the giant hill, which was so steep it might’ve been easier to crawl up. The run ended up being 3.45 miles, and my time was 56m23s.



I did get a few nice pics.

Looking out over Wood Duck Pond




And a couple trail shots





My poor shoes



After the run, I went back to my car and dumped half a bottle of water on my head, toweled off, and grabbed my change of clothes before my family arrived.



With the entry fee, I got a coupon for The Arb gift store, so I grabbed a magnet.



2021 workout data to date: 175h 4m 28s of exercise; 63,603 active calories burned; 80,827 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 29

I did almost 36 minutes on the bike tonight, and made it 9.07 miles, which is a faster pace than last week. I really shouldn’t let myself do more than 30 minutes on the bike, because there is no worse non-injurious pain that I’ve experienced than the way my butt feels when I first get off that bike seat

2021 workout data to date: 175h 40m 10s of exercise; 63,792 active calories burned; 81,080 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 30

I only did 2 rounds of 15s pose yoga tonight. I got my flu shot after work, and my arm was unhappy about the workout, so I did just enough to close the rings on my watch. Hopefully it will feel better soon.

The weather looks like it will be nice for outdoor running after work tomorrow. Thursday also looks nice, but that will depend on how much it rains on Wednesday.

2021 workout data to date: 176h 12m 10s of exercise; 64,010 active calories burned; 81,336 total calories burned

 

[GollyGadget]

Princess Half Training: Day 29

I did almost 36 minutes on the bike tonight, and made it 9.07 miles, which is a faster pace than last week. I really shouldn’t let myself do more than 30 minutes on the bike, because there is no worse non-injurious pain that I’ve experienced than the way my butt feels when I first get off that bike seat

2021 workout data to date: 175h 40m 10s of exercise; 63,792 active calories burned; 81,080 total calories burned

Bikes really sneak up on you like that. I only ride a few times a year so I'm sure that doesn't help but I'm always surprised by how much my sitter hurts afterwards.

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 31

So, all day today I felt slightly lousy. I didn’t sleep well because I couldn’t sleep on my left side (stupid flu shot—being responsible sucks sometimes) and then my grandma had to run the self-cleaning cycle on the oven because our cinnamon roll monkey bread oozed all over the other day (but it was so so good ) and the fumes always make me me cough. I wasn’t sure how much I really wanted to do my workout, but I decided to suck it up and get going as soon as I got off work (so I would get back before dinnertime).

The weather stayed cool, and the clouds stuck around long enough to keep it shady for an after-work run. Once I was outside and moving, I really started feeling better. I did a half mile warmup walk, and then started my 2.5 mile run. I kept my intervals at 30s run/60s walk because that’s been feeling good. I’m really happy with how steady my pace was today. And I made it home right on time for dinner!



2021 workout data to date: 177h 4m 33s of exercise; 64,387 active calories burned; 81,807 total calories burned

 

[avondale]

Princess Half Training: Day 28

This report will be all about my first (and last) trail run: The Arb Fall Color Run (5K distance)

The day started off well, with a pretty sunrise over the lake by my house.
View attachment 611626

I got to The Arb and got checked in, and got started on the run. It started ok, since it went downhill almost right off the bat. And the trail at the bottom of the hill was in decent shape, so I was able to slow run for a few minutes. Eventually though, the trail got very uneven, tilted, and soft, so I had to start walking. Whenever it seemed like the trail was level enough, I tried to run, but I ended up having my left arch and right outer ankle getting really sore, so I stuck to walking until I got to a section that ran through a parking lot.

After that, the trail ran through the Dog Commons area, which was a wide grassy trail. This was both better and worse than the mulch trail. Better because the ground was more solid and I could run a little more; worse because it was much more uneven, and the grass was super super wet. My feet were completely soaked after the mile loop through that area, and I never knew if my foot was going to land higher or lower than it was when I lifted my foot.

Then it was back to the first part of the trail, just in reverse. So there was a lot of walking, but my foot and ankle were feeling better, so I could do a bit more running (at least until I got to the giant hill, which was so steep it might’ve been easier to crawl up. The run ended up being 3.45 miles, and my time was 56m23s.
View attachment 611623


I did get a few nice pics.

Looking out over Wood Duck Pond
View attachment 611624

View attachment 611625

And a couple trail shots
View attachment 611628

View attachment 611630


My poor shoes
View attachment 611631


After the run, I went back to my car and dumped half a bottle of water on my head, toweled off, and grabbed my change of clothes before my family arrived.
View attachment 611627


With the entry fee, I got a coupon for The Arb gift store, so I grabbed a magnet.
View attachment 611629


2021 workout data to date: 175h 4m 28s of exercise; 63,603 active calories burned; 80,827 total calories burned

Great race and photos! I love how you describe the trails because I prefer trail running, LOL.

In reference to your latest post...mmmm, cinnamon monkey bread.

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 32

I did 2 rounds of my light dumbbell workout today (as opposed to my easy dumbbell workout or my ordinary dumbbell workout ) and stuck with using the 3 lb weight. I didn’t want to overdo it with my flu shot arm, which is still slightly tender.

My grandparents and I went to see No Time To Die, which was good, but longer than I expected, so I didn’t get to my workout until past 10. It was super windy and slightly rainy all day today, so I’m glad it wasn’t a running day. Tomorrow looks good for it though, and Saturday too. I want to get as many outdoor runs in before the inevitable winter forces me indoors and onto a treadmill for everything.

2021 workout data to date: 177h 34m 25s of exercise; 64,630 active calories burned; 82,074 total calories burned