April 2010

Track Workout on the Street?

by blueeyedrunner on April 30, 2010

After this past weekend’s two races, I decided I was doing well on tempo runs but needed to incorporate more track sessions into my training. After 2 days of adequate rest, on Wednesday, my dad and I attempted to hit the track. I scoured Run Less, Run Faster and found the perfect workout:

10-20 min warm up
1600 @ 6:17
1200 @ 4:36 (6:04 pace)
800 @ 3:00 (6:00 pace)
400 @ 1:28 (5:54 pace)
10 min cool down

We jogged to the track, but when we got there, it was being used! There was track practice, lacrosse practice, baseball practice, etc. I was truly bummed! We decided to continue jogging and try again the next day.

Yesterday we knew better. We looked up the high school schedule and found that the track was being used. So we decided to jog to our regular tempo spot and map out the distances on the Garmins. My dad did a regular run and I attempted my planned track workout. (Attempted = key word!)

My excuses:
1.) It was hot! The temps hit the 70s yesterday and I haven’t been used to running in the warm weather.
2.) Since I wasn’t on a track, there were hills to take into account.

The workout seemed easy enough on paper. I figured worst case scenario I would run the splits slower than planned. Here’s how it went down:
Track Workout – Details

5.00 Miles
7:44 average pace
1.5 mile warm up
1600: 6:03 pace
400 RI: 8:08 pace
Here’s where it went down hill.
800: 6:22 pace
400 RI: 8:42
400: 6:22
Cool down.

I was supposed to do the 1200 after the 1600 but it wasn’t happening, so I skipped to the 800, fully expecting to go back to it but it never happened. Being that I have a 5 Mile race this Sunday I decided to roll with it and try again next week.
Happy Friday All!

{ 5 comments }

Gym Insecurities

by blueeyedrunner on April 28, 2010

I went to a Pilates Reformer class yesterday after being away from it for awhile and boy did I miss it! I love how I feel after a Pilates session- so refreshed and energized. Very similar to the feeling you get after a yoga class, but different. I feel stronger and more focused. I think this has to do with the breathing. And yes, I know, yoga is all about breathing but, for me, during a yoga class I focus all my energy on alignment and posing that I forget to breathe correctly!

While I was waiting outside the Pilates studio, I had a nice view of the weight room section of the gym. I joined my gym last July and since then I have attended a ton of group fitness classes, but have yet to use a single machine. Literally. I never use the treadmills because I run outside and I used an elliptical one time when I brought a friend with me to visit the gym. I am terrified of the weight machines…not a good thing since I am studying to become a personal trainer. I much prefer group fitness classes. The funny thing is I actually know how to use many of the machines. I read so much about this stuff and have no problem working out in the privacy of my own home, but when it comes to the crowded weight room, I panic!

I’m sure I am not alone in this. I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard people say they have to lose weight before they can join a gym. Or dress up and put make up on. Trust me, I find myself doing this too. I like to look nice but it is a bit silly. My goal for the next couple of months is to develop a fitness routine that I can do on my own. I don’t want to be restricted to working out on days when certain classes are offered. I don’t want to have to take a class designed by the instructor for what she wants to work on. I want to feel more comfortable doing the workout I want to do. I don’t know why I feel so insecure about workout out in the gym. I mean, hellooooo, that is what the gym is there for! I know how to do the exercises, I know what I want to do, I just have to not worry about what else is going on there and do it. Whew…thanks for listening

Okay onto something I am less insecure about…

Running. Today my dad and I planned to go to the track but it was being used to the speed work got pushed until tomorrow. We ended up doing a quick(er) 3 miler with negative splits. Here’s how it turned out:

3.1 miles
24:56
8:01 average pace
Splits: 8:22, 8:21, 7:13

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The Runner’s Body – Part 4, The Central Nervous System

by blueeyedrunner on April 27, 2010

Running long and hard is an ideal antidepressant, since its hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time. Also, there are those hours of clear headedness that follow a long run.
~Monte Davis, Runner
Taken from Runner’s World Quotes of the Day

Part 4 – The Central Nervous System

Chapters

Mind Matter over Body Matter: This chapter discusses the role of the brain during running. Basically, the brain serves a protective function over the body so that we don’t get injured. It is amazing how much unconscious control the mind has over the body. While the body can override mind, it is usually not in our best interest to do so.

It’s All about Style: This chapter was actually kind of boring to me. There was a lot of talk about running gait and the most efficient way to run. How to hold your arms, where you should land on your feet, etc. Boooooring. I love running and I love to read about running but there are somethings written about running that just bores me to tears: running gait and reading about sneaker models. This chapter does say that just because one way is theoretically the most efficient way to run, does not mean this way works best for everyone and that sometimes quirks in our gait may be the most efficient way for us to run. This is good news because the lower half of my left leg turns out when I run and I do not want to change it for fear of injury.

The Joy of Running: This chapter validates the infamous “Runner’s High” that so many of us are addicted to. While we have endorphins to thank for this, they do not deserve all of the credit. Researchers have proved this in studies where the runner’s high occurred even when endorphin receptors were chemically blocked. “Beyond endorphins, exercise increases brain levels of entirely different classes of neurotransmitters that positively affect mood in other ways.” Exercise has also been used (in conjunction with anti-depressants as well as without) to treat various forms of depression and anxiety effectively. Furthermore, running reduces the negative affects of stress on the body both immediately and long term. I always joked that I run for stress relief and now there is scientific evidence to back this up!

What I learned:
~The Runner’s Low exists, just as the Runner’s High does and is at least in part attributed to over training.
~”Repeated physical exertion makes our brains generally better able to learn, function, and adapt by stimulating the growth of new cells, increasing the brain’s fuel efficiency, and stimulating other changes that are very much like the exercise induced changes we are familiar with in other organs, such as the muscles.” I actually read an article about this in Women’s Health a few months ago. I will have to dig it up and look into it further because I find it fascinating.
~Running treats mental illness so effectively because depression is actually associated with atrophy in the pre-frontal cortex and hippocampus due to brain cell death. Exercise has the ability to stimulate new brain cell growth while, anti-depressants have only a limited capacity to grow new cells.

Next up: The last part of the book: The Immune System

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Lincoln Tunnel 5K Race Recap!

by blueeyedrunner on April 26, 2010

Lincoln Tunnel 5K Challenge
April 25, 2010
No Garmin because it didn’t work inside the tunnel!

Official Time: 20:16 (Chip Time: 20:13)
Pace: 6:31
In a Word (phrase): Thank God for the tunnel!

Stats:
59th Overall
5/943 Females
3rd Place Age Group

Weather:
*46 degrees and down pouring

This was my 3rd time running the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge. Every time I tell someone (usually a non-runner) that the run goes through the tunnel they look at me in shock and ask how you breathe down there. The race is actually really fun (and yes you can breathe completely fine!). They close one tube of the tunnel down and break the group into two heats. When you register you indicate if you plan to run under 25 minutes. These people are in the first heat.

The race started at 8am so my dad picked me up at 6:30 and we planned to stop at Panera for bagels, but they were closed! I started to worry because I hadn’t eaten anything, knowing we were going to stop, I just had coffee. Luckily, my dad had a couple of GUs in his bag so we each had one of those. Not the most nutritious breakfasts ever but at least it was energy.

The bad news about this race was that the weather was horrible. Cold, rainy, all around miserable. The good thing was the race itself was through the tunnel. Of all races for it to rain, this was definitely the one I would choose. I was so thankful that we got beautiful weather for Saturday’s race and the crappy weather this one! Unfortunately, even though we didn’t really warm up much, we still had to stand around before the race started and were soaked by the time the gun went off. People were troopers though. A little more than 2,000 people finished the race in all. I think last year closer to 3,000 ran.

The mile splits were not marked in the tunnel, but I started my watch for time and lapped it at the halfway point (the NY side of the tunnel) and again when I saw a sign that said one mile to finish. It was obviously a pretty fast course with the start going down under the river and back up again about halfway through and of course the reverse going back. I beat last year’s time by 6 seconds so I was happy.

After the race the rain felt great for about 5 minutes and then it was just cold. We each grabbed a banana and some water and headed to the car to change, planning on going back for the awards ceremony. Once we got to my warm, heated car I did not want to walk back up to the awards site. We still had to wait for the second heat to finish and I kept remembering last year how they took foreverrrr to do awards and I convinced my dad I didn’t have to stay. At this point I didn’t even know if I won anything and at that point a shower = much more rewarding. When the results were posted a few hours later I saw that I did place 3rd in my age group. Oh well, I stand by my decision I usually love hanging out after races but I just can’t take the cold rain. Overall, it was a great race, for a great cause and I had a blast.

Here are some pics:

Warming up in the car after the race
Dad’s Stats:
22:47
7:20 pace
7th Age group

My bib…I swear I have shorts on

Cute shirt, but very similar to the last couple of years…

I hope you like race reports because I am scheduled to race every weekend in May except for one!

{ 8 comments }

Clinton Township 15K Race Recap!

by blueeyedrunner on April 25, 2010

Clinton Township 15K – Details
April 24, 2010

Garmin Stats:
9.36 miles
1:06:05
7:03 average pace
5:02 best pace

64 overall
8/159 Women
3/20 Age Group (25-30)

Weather: 65 degrees and sunny

In a word: Beautiful.
Beautiful day, beautiful course.

Race Recap
Saturday was a beautiful day for this race. It was about 60 degrees at the start and went up to 65 by the time the race was over. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. I woke up around 6:15am and my dad picked me up at my apartment around 7:30. That gave me plenty of time to wake up, get ready, and eat something. I drank a cup of coffee and made a small bowl of oatmeal. I was doing fine until my dad picked me up. As soon as I got in the car I started to get nervous. I don’t know what made me so nervous but I was freaking out and had to calm myself down. Probably because I have been training pretty hard lately and I wanted to see it pay off. I told myself to stop thinking about the race because we had a 1/2 hour until we got there. We stopped at Panera and each got a bagel for the drive.

When we got closer to the park the race was held at, the nervousness came back, but as soon as we got out of the car and went to pick up the race packet, I started to calm down. We got our stuff together, warmed up a bit and headed over to the start. I anxiously waited the start and told myself this would be the worst part of the race. I knew once we got going I would be fine. I lined up towards the front around some other women I knew I could keep up with. We started and the first entire mile was down hill. I remembered parts of the course from last year. The beginning of the course was residential and then we ran on a beautiful trail for a couple of miles. I had forgotten how scenic this course was. My goal was to finish with a 7:00 min pace overall. Of course, my first mile was way to fast. I don’t know why I think I have any business going out that fast, but it was down hill so I just went with it. My second mile was much better and by the 3rd mile I basically settled in. At a little after half way we came off the trail and looped back around to the street, heading back to the start. This is when the rolling hills started. They were small but I felt them. I held my pace pretty well until mile 8 when I slowed down. The last mile was uphill back up the first mile down hill, and back into the park. I had intended to pick it up for the last .3 but thought I had nothing left. I was very close behind another girl and gave it everything I had to catch her. I crossed the finish line about a tenth of a second before her. Overall I am happy because I came very close to my goal pace and I beat my time from last year. Being that this is only the 2nd 15k distance race I have ever run, I guess that means I set a new PR.

Here are the splits:

Splits
Mile 1~ 6:25
Mile 2~ 6:55
Mile 3~ 7:03
Mile 4~ 7:09
Mile 5~ 7:06
Mile 6~ 7:03
Mile 7~ 7:08
Mile 8~ 7:21
Mile 9~ 7:26
9.1-9.3~ 6:39 (pace)

The race was well organized and had tons of drinks, snacks, food, etc. for the runners and volunteers. They had water, gatorade, coffee, rita’s water ice, bananas, power bar snacks, bagels, donuts, basically anything you could want

We also got a shirt, but it is in the wash When I went to pick it up, the man asked me what size I wanted and I told him the smallest size they had. He offered me a kids large and it fit perfectly! I hate getting really cute shirts at races that I never wear because they only have enormous sizes. I also received a medal for my age group finish and a 10$ gift certificate to Sneaker Factory (the club/store i run for) yay! We used my dad’s fancy camera to take pics for this race: