Lisa's Running Away from Excuses Journey....Please Comment

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Well, its official! I have my first race under my belt, so to speak. I was so nervous at the start, but once things got under way, I felt pretty good. The weather was gorgeous- warmer than what I have been running in lately, but nice and sunny. There was a breeze going, but not so much that it felt like you were running into the wind.

The course itself was pretty difficult- a few runners before the race told me not to expect a great time. The 2 mile course was an up and back, and was rather hilly- the whole first half was basically an incline uphill, with a couple of short downhills along the way. The coming back was downhill, and the finish line was at the end of sort of a downhill spiral. Downhill doesn't always equal easy I soon found out- my quads were tired from doing the hills, and so controlling my speed going downhill was really challenging.

My son got to run the last little bit with me, which was great! He had a blast cheering me on, and it was really nice. The girl I work for also came out with her family, and ran the last little bit with me too, which was nice.

Ok, so now for the good part- I had a couple goals for this race:
1. Finish the race.
2. Don't stop to walk, even on the hills.
3. Complete the course in under 26:00 minutes.

Here's what actually happened-
1. I finished......and ended up getting 3rd place in my age group!!!!! (of course, there were only 5 of us)
2. I didn't stop to walk! (even though a few times I reallllllllly wanted to)
3. My official time was 23:38 !!!!

I am going to upload a couple pics, and see if I can post them. It was a great experience- I met a lot of great people, and loved how everyone supported everyone else- people were cheering for you everywhere you looked, which really helped when your mind is telling you that you are insane for doing this, lol.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

A couple of pics- coming down to the finish (that is the girl I work for in the yellow jacket pushing the stroller)-

On the medal stand afterwards to get my 3rd place medal:

And, showing off my medal with my son when we were all done....

 

[hockeygirl]

Awesome job today!!!!

I know the feeling of being nervous...last weekend I was really nervous before my race, but once i got going i calmed down.

THat is so great that you reached all three of your goals!!!

And you had a great time!!

Keep up the good work!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Laurie, thanks for the encouragement! I saw your post on your race last weekend, but the boards went down when I went to reply to you- AWESOME JOB! Don't you feel better with the first race over and done with? It certainly is a confidence boost for the future, huh?

Again, thanks for checking in on me!! Keep up the good work!

 

[toystoryduo]

Awesome Job Lisa! You met and surpassed all 3 of your goals for this race and you came in third place! I am so proud of you! Keep up the good work!

Great pictures too! The one with your son is precious.

Have a great week!

 

[hockeygirl]

Hey Lisa--Just checking in to see how you are doing! I hope all is well with you and your training is going well!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Lisa,

Stopping by to see how you are doing.... Hope all is well with you!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Laurie and Tracy, thanks for checking in on me- I have found myself so busy, that it is hard to get on here to journal. I have been keeping up on my runs. I am having a hard time right now getting past that 2 mile distance. I feel like it is all I can do to get the 2 miles, and can't get over the hill to go further. So, I have been trying to work on speed a little bit, and hopefully that will help me get over the next obstacle.

Here are my runs since my race:

Tues 3/27: 1.1 miles in 11:00 (10:11 pace)
Thurs 3/39: 1.33 miles in 15:42 (11:48 pace)
Sat 3/31: 2.0 miles on a track to work on pacing in 22:54 (11:27 pace)

Mon 4/2: 2.1 miles with hills in 24:47 (11:48 pace)
Tues 4/3: 1.08 speed workout in 12:08 (11:14 pace)

Today I am scheduled for a longer run, but it is really windy and freezing cold here, so I am not expecting much! We will see how it goes.

Lisa

 

[toystoryduo]

Lisa,

You are doing a great job! I know that you CAN run past that two mile mark... Keep on keeping on!

Hope your family has a Happy Easter and a wonderful weekend!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Well, let's see- Thursday I ended up doing some big hills at the start of my run, and then finished the rest of the run with some long slow hills. It was a challenging course, so I wasn't really expecting too much because it was really cold outside. I ended up doing 1.92 in 22:51, for a 11:54 pace. Not too bad.

I took yesterday off to get some things done around the house, and to reevaluate my running schedules to see how I want to tackle getting over that 2 mile barrier I seem to be having. I decided to try and increase the number of days I run each week, and add some more track workouts to hopefully help my knees from getting sore. The last time I increased the days that I ran, my patellofemoral pain started up, so I will slowly increase this time. I also decided that instead of worrying about distance necessarily right now, I will focus on running a certain amount of time, and increasing that each week.

With that in mind, today's goal was to go slow (running in windy snow squalls this morning!) and complete 30 minutes. I was able to do that, even though my legs felt terrible- I felt like I couldn't loosen up the whole time. I ended up completely 2.5 miles in 30:03, for a 12:01 pace! My legs are actually pretty sore now from it, but I think coming home and getting a shower right away was not a great decision- I didn't even stretch. I know, I know.....lessen learned. I probably won't get out tomorrow with Easter activities, but I hope to get back out Monday and complete another 30 minutes.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Well, I did take yesterday off since we were out of town, and because we had a bit of a scary experience. We were coming home from my in-laws, and since it is about a 2 1/2 hour drive, we always stop at a certain convenience store about 30 minutes into the drive to get drinks/snacks/etc for the rest of the ride. Well, we had started on the road, and had to go back for something, so it got us a little behind. Well, once we got on the road, we were coming down the ramp to go to the store, when we were passed by a car with flashing lights....as we got closer, we saw lots of police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, etc in the parking lot of the store. The police were laying a tarp down next to 2 cars, and next to something covered in a sheet. Turns out that there was an estranged couple who met every week at this store (its in a college town, so fairly large, and very busy), and exchanged custody of their 3-year-old. Well, yesterday, the husband didn't bring the child, and lured his wife to his car, where he proceeded to shoot her, and then killed himself too.

We were completely in shock, and I was so scared that I just started shaking. Had we not gone back to my in-laws, we would have been there when this was happening, and it was exactly where we always park. My ds and I always wait in the car while dh goes in and gets what we need, and when I think about the two of us in the car and what could have happened it just makes me sick. It certainly made me hold Josiah a little tighter last night, that's for sure. It breaks my heart that these people's child now has no parents left after this- at only 3 years old. It is so sad. We read today that the woman had a restraining order against the man for abuse, so she probably thought she was safe to meet in a crowded public place. The whole situation has just weighed very heavily on me even though I had never met these people in my life. I think part of it is just the shock that something like this could happen somewhere that I have been hundreds of times, kwim?

Ok, so sorry to be such a downer today; I did get a run in today. I didn't get started until really late, so even though I wanted to get in 30 minutes, I only got 26:55 before it was too dark to see, so I had to call it quits. I made it 2.2 miles in that time, for a 12:14 pace. I don't feel too bad about the pace, because it was a lot of rolling hills in the course I took. I feel like I need to find some new routes here soon, because I am starting to get bored doing the same ones all the time- I will have to check around and find some new places.

Have a good Tuesday everyone, and remember to give all your loved ones a hug and kiss today!
Lisa

 

[hockeygirl]

Hey Lisa----That is crazy about the incident at the convenience store. I would have been so freaked out. I am so glad that you were not there when it happened.

On a happy note, you are doing awesome with your training. WTG for putting in the 30 minutes and getting over the 2 mile hump!! Keep up the good work! You are doing awesome!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Well, today my legs were a little sore, so I thought I would head to the track and do just an easy workout- I decided to do a mile for time, and then just jog to finish out 1.5 miles.

I finished the 1 mile in 10:58!!! I was really happy about that. I think I could have done even better if I wasn't all bundled up because of running in 30 degree windy weather. I just jogged out the rest of the way, and finished 1.5 miles in 17:10, which was an average pace of 11:26. Not too bad; I felt like I took it really easy after my mile was in, so I probably could have pushed a little more, but I didn't want to overdo it. My goal is to run again tomorrow and on Thursday, then take Friday off, but we will see because we are supposed to have bad weather the rest of the week. Plus, my knees are a little sore from 2 days in a row, so I have to watch what I am doing. I would like to work up from running 3 days a week to going 5-6 days a week, but we will see how it goes- I may need to find some sort of cross training to do in between if my knees don't hold up, lol.

Lisa

 

[toystoryduo]

Oh my goodness, Lisa! That is so scary what happened at the convenience store! I'm so sorry to hear about that.

Great job getting your run in! Your times are looking good, Lisa! Keep up the good work!

Have a great Wednesday!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Ok, time to update; I took yesterday off- I had a softball game, and it was freezing rain/sleeting during the game, so by the time I got home I felt like a popsicle! lol I figured there was no way to loosen up my legs, so I threw on some nice fuzzy warm sweats, and called it a day!

Today it was cold again, and raining off and on all day. I was a little nervous about the weather, but as soon as I got off work, the sky cleared, and the sun peeked out. It was still under 40 degrees and windy, mind you, but seeing the sun can do wonders for the spirit!

My goal was to go 30 minutes, and I finished up in 30:17. I ran a new route in a neighboring town, and was grateful for the change of scenery. I went a total of 2.7 miles!! It ends up being an 11:12 pace! I was really surprised. There were a couple of hills, but nice and rolling hills rather than the steep ones I usually run closer to home. I ate 2 Clif Shot Bloks before I ran, and I felt like they did help me stay good through the finish.

My plan for tomorrow is to maybe get an easy track workout in- maybe 1.5-2 miles tops. Then Saturday I would like to do a nice long run- I am thinking of trying for 40-45 minutes and see what happens.

Hope everyone has a good Friday!
Lisa

 

[toystoryduo]

Way to go, Lisa! You did it! I knew you could run over the 2 mile mark and you did it with a great time! I am so proud of you! Keep up the good work!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Wow, am I ever excited to write this one down..... I ran a total of 3.1 miles today!!!! Whew! I mapped out a 5K route near my house with some rolling hills on it, and went out nice and slow, just hoping to finish. I finished it in a time of 39:13, which was a pace of 12:39 per mile.


Just for kicks, I went back into my running journal that I keep on Coolrunning- I started running on December 17th- the first day I completed 1 mile in 25:00!! How far I have come. On January 7th, I walked/ran a 5K course so I could get a time for myself to compare to on the first day that I completely ran a 5K course. Here is the comparison:

January 7, 2007- Completed 5K course in 47:49. Pace of 15:25 per mile.
April 14, 2007- Completed 5K course in....39:13. Pace of 12:39 per mile.

Yeah!! I am just bursting with accomplishment right now- I bettered my time by 8 minutes and 36 seconds! Plus, I just feel good that I completed it without stopping. Of course, I may regret it tomorrow, lol, but for now I will bask in the satisfaction of it all.

Tomorrow I don't know how much I will do- we are gearing up for a strong Nor-easter that could give us over 15 inches of snow!! What month are we in again??? So, if anything, I am hoping to get out for a walk maybe.

Lisa

 

[hockeygirl]

Isn't it so awesome to see how far you have come!! You are doing great!!! That is one of the reasons I like keeping this journal and my own running log, it is so great to look back and see where I started and where I am now! It is funny how when we first start we never think we will be able to run a particular distance, whether it be 5, 13 or 26 miles.......but we can definetely do it with training!

Keep up the good work, you are doing awesome!!!

 

[toystoryduo]

Way to go, Lisa! I am so proud of you for all that you have accomplished! Are you feeling sore today? How has your weather been?

Hope you have a great week ahead!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Thanks you guys for the words of encouragement- I am always grateful for the kind words you give me!

Well, I took Sunday and Monday off because of just miserable conditions outside. I was feeling antsy today, so I knew I wanted to get out there and run.....ugh, mistake number one. It was freezing and WINDY today, so I decided to wear extra clothes today.....mistake number two. Then I was waiting for hubbie to get home from work so I could go run, and I thought, "I can just map out a new route to take for something different today".....you got it, mistake number three. Oh, and to top it all off with the biggest mistake of them all- I got hungry while waiting for dh, so I ate an egg salad sandwich.

Let me just say that the wind felt like it kept changing directions on me so that it was coming straight at me the entire run- the route I picked was terrible- some of the roads were narrow, and to avoid traffic, I had to run halfway in the mud, which was making my legs tight- then about a mile into it, I got soooo hot from the extra layers, but I had a vest on, and the ls layers under a tee, so I couldn't take anything off! Oh, and I think the heat/strenuous conditions combined with the egg salad didn't make my stomach too happy- I spent the last mile just trying not to throw up!! All in all, not such a great run, lol.

I ended up going 2.62 miles in 31:33, which was a pace of 12:02- much faster than I expected! I just WISH for warmer weather with a nice cool breeze (vs gale force winds) to run in.....I think I am getting the winter blues all over again- and it's April for goodness sake!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!