Crim 10 Mile Race

Sorry I haven’t been around for a while, but if you read my weight loss blog then you heard that life has been getting in the way. It was either find time to blog or find time to run and I picked running :)

This Saturday was my first big race – The Crim 10 mile. It was a great race!  The course ran through downtown Flint and had a good balance of hills and flats.  I was really glad that I have been training on hills since many times I was the only person running up the hills at my pace level.  I made me feel strong and accomplished.  I didn't even realize we were going up hill a few times until the trip back down :)

Me after the finish line.  I felt like I could have done a few more miles - until about a half an hour later!

I was a little worried about completing the course in a timely manner since our 10 mile training run was canceled several miles short due to a tornado warning. The longest run I had done to date was a 8.5 mile run and my time STUNK! Something like a 19 minute mile. I thought my time was because of how hard the trainers were pushing me (I was completely toast at the 6 mile mark), but of course they believed I just wasn't trying hard enough - I even caught them mocking me the next week.  The people that I am paying to help me get through this.  The people who said every week how good I was doing... grrrr.....

Race day I just completely put them out of my mind.  I did the intervals that worked for me and pushed myself, but not to the point that I wouldn't be able to finish - which is the whole point of the Gallaway program, right?  I was was very happy to not only beat my 8.5 mile pace and my personal goal of finishing before the roads open (18 min/mi), but I was also able to pass my "ultimate" goal of a 16 minute mile - ten 16 minute miles. I think my official time was at 15:25 mile, but since I didn’t run the inside track the whole way my gps had my route a little longer and just a few seconds under 15.

Now some of you out there might not be happy with that time. In fact, you might be able to walk that speed, but I am very ecstatic!! This year is not about being the fastest runner out there - or even close - it is about finishing.  About doing something that I have never felt like I could actually do.  It was a wonderful feeling and I loved the fact that I wasn’t last. I wasn’t even close to last! 

My Parents caught up to me at the 2 mile mark. I am on the far left.

The start line - It took me over 8 minutes to get to the start. 

6 Mile Run

Yesterday was the start of week 5 of my training and we kicked off the week with a 6 mile run. 6 miles… I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would run 6 miles. That means that I have run almost half of my half marathon distance and over half of the Crim (10 miles). My dreams of doing both this year don’t seem as far fetched as they used to.

The run itself was pretty close to perfect. We were on a heat advisory, but it started raining right as I arrived at the meeting place. A light steady rain that was just enough to cool you down without making things harder. The only bad part was my cheap waterproof sunblock was running into my eyes. That will teach me to forget my good sunblock next time.

My group was pretty small this time – just me and my trainer. One of the other members moved up a group and the other didn’t show up. We started out with 45/30s which is 45 seconds of running and 30 seconds of walking, but 30 seconds was a little too short of a recovery time for me so we upped it to 45/45s.

I absolutely love running intervals! I can do so much more and actually end up faster than without them. I also find it funny that even though I am slower than everyone else and do the smaller intervals the other groups don’t end up that farther ahead. We started a few minutes earlier than everyone this time, but it took almost 4.5 miles for all the groups to pass us. And even then they were in our sight line for a long time after they went by.

It is a little depressing to be the slowest in the group – so slow they made a special group just for you. However, I keep telling myself that it isn’t the speed that matters but the mileage. I have plenty of years to focus on getting faster, but this year it is all about finishing!

Here are some stats from the run. The total time includes waiting at several lights so I am guessing my pace was closer to 16:25. Also before I modified the GPS path to be more accurate each mile was about the same pace – which is great!

 

Rebellion

After my 5 mile run on Thursday I felt absolutely wonderful. I was tired, but didn't have any pain anywhere. Nothing. The next morning still nothing. I couldn’t believe it. About 24 hours later I started feeling a little sore, but not much. The shorter intervals and paying attention to my posture must have made a huge difference.

Or so I thought. I had company over the weekend so I did a lot of walking, but nothing strenuous. On Monday, I met with my personal trainer for a strength workout. Before my appointment I did my 25 minute run and a nice easy 20 minute walk. I felt great. Then my personal torturer trainer came in.

My body just stopped working. Some things, like squats, I physically couldn’t do. My legs refused. My upper body also went on strike. Things that I normally do with 12 pound barbells, I had to do with a 3 pound barbell. Even then my muscles quivered like jello and I had to put in extra rests. The worst part – I am STILL sore. Still. After 4 days. You would have thought my trainer went all out and tried to kill me I am so sore.

That of course made my Tuesday run very interesting. I felt every muscle. I considered skipping the workout since I was traveling and so sore, but I figured in the long run I would be worse off if I didn’t keep my muscles working. The strange part was even though I was incredibly sore, I had more stamina and endurance than normal. I did a few 1 minute intervals and a even a few 30 second 6 mph intervals. Considering the fact that the last time I did 6 mph I almost fell off the treadmill, I consider this a huge win. I finished up the day with a short and easy session on the recumbent bike to cool down. I could have done much more (and the hotel gym was great!), but I didn’t want to regret it in the morning.

Today is the beginning of week 4 of my training. Our group run is only three miles tonight and I can’t wait. It is strange to think of three miles being an easy run. I wasn’t that long ago that 3 miles was my goal distance. It will be interesting to see how I do. Even though we are supposed to do these long runs slower than normal I am thinking that since this is “only” three miles we will up the pace some. My goal is to beat my 5k pace – hopefully by 30 sec/m. Since it has been 5-6 weeks since that race I am guessing that goal is very doable.

Week Three - Five Miles!

Last night was the beginning of week three of my training program and our group run. This week we were scheduled to do 5 miles. I have never run five miles in my entire life. Never even wanted to – until now. For some strange reason I wasn’t worried about completing the run anymore. When I finished the four miles last week something clicked into my mind that if I could do this I can do anything – with the right training :)


Luckily when I got there they had divided the slow group into 2 sections. Last week I just about killed myself with the pace and was blown by the last mile. The faster 15 started out with 2-1s (run 2 min/walk 1 min) while the slower group did 1-1s. According to Galloway’s method for my pace I am supposed to do even smaller intervals so I was a little concerned about keeping up, but luckily one of the trainers started a small group of us out in 30-30s.

Now you would think that doing such smaller intervals would have really slowed us down, but for the first mile we were within a few hundred feet of us. It was probably about 2.5 miles before they got completely out of sight, but they still only finished a few minutes ahead of us. But doing the 30-30s was so much easier. Well not easy – it was still hard, but I didn’t feel like I wanted to puke after so I consider it much better.

The best part of the run – I didn’t finish last! Only because the other runners with me took a bathroom break, but still it was nice not to finish last for once.

Here are a couple snapshots of my run – from a numbers point of view. The first is my stats from runkeeper.com. I logged every mile in around 16:30 – except the last, but I forgot to turn it off right away. The second is my calorie burn for the day. The long high peak is the run of course. You can see that I did 80 minutes of vigorous activity (I have defined at >4.8 mets). That is almost my entire run. Even though I am walking during part of the run, the way it happens (frequent but short) allows my burn to stay steady.

My Story

7 months ago when I began my journey to lose weight, I never thought my life would change so much. I knew I could only dream about how different I would feel. One of those dreams was to be a runner and to run a half marathon. It was one of those things that I didn’t really think would happen, but I knew that if I got there I would have overcome every one of my self imposed fears and limitations.


Fast forward to mid March and I my dream of becoming a runner was starting to get real traction in my mind. I was half way to my first goal weight and had started to love my long walks (with a little jogging thrown in). I signed up to do a 5k in May and began looking at half marathon training programs. I had begun to love running and wanted to see how far I go.

In May I ran my first 5k. It was a wonderful experience and even though I ended up walking a good portion of it I hit a personal best. It was a great experience and I finished knowing I wanted to do it again and that I could do even better next time.

Today, I am starting week three of my half marathon training. I am still obese (I HATE that word) and am the slowest runner in the class, but I am there and doing my best. Last week we ran 4 miles and there were a few points when I thought I had made a big mistake. I finished last, but I made it through and by the time I got home I was looking forward to the next run. Secretly, I wonder what alien took over my body, but honestly the feeling of accomplishment is so wonderful that it is very addicting. Tonight we run 5 miles. I know I will be last, I will finish.

Tonight I will remember the woman who 7 months ago had deep dark secret desire to run a half marathon. I will remember the woman who couldn’t run mile if she had to. I will remember and I will finish – for her and for me.