Well, I’m officially back in training mode! A little tough to get back into the routine of running but it’s actually been going well. I expected it was going to be a little more difficult but I’ve been feeling good and have been able to build up my mileage faster than planned. I’m attributing this success to the shape I’m in from personal training and other non-running workouts.
This Sunday I will run in the My First 5k Race, which will be my actual first 5k (I’ve only run in a 10k and two half marathons to this point) and my first race of 2011! I’m excited and a little nervous as I know a lot of people run fast in 5ks. I’ve been working on speeding up my pace – easy to do with my new Garmin – but my worst nightmare is to go all out and then die before the end of the race.
Speaking of the Garmin – I absolutely LOVE it! So easy to use and really a “must have” for any runner (don’t know why it took me so long to get one). I love how easy it is to upload my running data so I can keep track of all that information.
After the race this Sunday, I’ll post a race recap and hopefully some pictures. I’m just hoping it won’t rain, but I survived the rain (which never stopped) at Disneyland last week so I’m pretty sure I’ll survive whatever happens.
As far as training for this week, I’m focusing on two things: (1) speeding up my mile pace for the 5k and (2) continuing to build up my mileage base for my half marathon training. Need to build up to 6 miles (for long run) for Fleet Feet’s half marathon training groups officially starts on 1/8 at 6:30 am.
Races update – added the Davis Stampede half marathon on February 6th to the race calendar. The half marathon training group will be up to 10 miles before that race, which is what I’ve usually done in the past, so I’m adding the half marathon as a warm up to the Shamrock Half in March.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holidays and here’s to a healthy and wonderful 2011!
Happy Running,
Suzanne
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Suzanne's Early "Running" Christmas Present: A Garmin Watch!
Oh yeah baby, Christmas came early! I'm at Costco doing my shopping and I just happen to notice a Garmin Forerunner 405 CX. Let's just say the price was one that I couldn't resist (we all know how expensive Garmin's are) and I snapped one up. Isn't it pretty? Ha!
To try out my new toy, I actually ran in the rain! That was a first and it was only a light drizzle. The watch is awesome - it tells you your pace, how far you've run and your time. You even can program it so you're running against a time and it will show if you're behind or ahead. And it all can be uploaded wirelessly so you can continue to track your miles and times. Can you say awesome?
This week marked the official start of my training. Three weeks until My First 5k Race. And four weeks until the training begins for the Shamrock half marathon. I have to build my base up to 6 miles by then which shouldn't be a problem.
It's been a struggle to get back into "running mode" but I have to admit I missed it. While I've been doing different types of workouts it still feels great to just get out there and run...and let my mind go free. Running really helps me de-clutter my mind, organize my thoughts and just think through whatever is going on. As many working moms can attest - we have way too much in our heads at any given moment, so I'm happy to be training again.
Wishing everyone a wonderful holidays - is anyone doing any Christmas/Holiday runs? Good luck if you are!
Happy Running,
Suzanne
To try out my new toy, I actually ran in the rain! That was a first and it was only a light drizzle. The watch is awesome - it tells you your pace, how far you've run and your time. You even can program it so you're running against a time and it will show if you're behind or ahead. And it all can be uploaded wirelessly so you can continue to track your miles and times. Can you say awesome?
This week marked the official start of my training. Three weeks until My First 5k Race. And four weeks until the training begins for the Shamrock half marathon. I have to build my base up to 6 miles by then which shouldn't be a problem.
It's been a struggle to get back into "running mode" but I have to admit I missed it. While I've been doing different types of workouts it still feels great to just get out there and run...and let my mind go free. Running really helps me de-clutter my mind, organize my thoughts and just think through whatever is going on. As many working moms can attest - we have way too much in our heads at any given moment, so I'm happy to be training again.
Wishing everyone a wonderful holidays - is anyone doing any Christmas/Holiday runs? Good luck if you are!
Happy Running,
Suzanne
Friday, December 3, 2010
Oh Right, The Pact
I saw the link to Suzanne's blog post in my Facebook feed and my first thought was oh good, Suzanne wrote a post. Then I thought, crap how long has it been since I've posted*. Then I read Suzanne's blog post and thought, oh right, the pact. We both said when we met in November that we would be better about the blog. Call it our early New Year's resolution. So here we are. I'm kind of lazy today (even though I worked out this morning, weird) so I'm going to loosely follow the format of Suzanne's latest post.
Chicago Marathon
I've been a bad blogger, but I did update why the Chicago Marathon dream was unrealized, once again, here. Somehow I also managed to position myself as the poster child for most unfullfilled marathon attempts via The New York Times.
Twitter
I haven't been blogging, but I've been tweeting! Follow me here.
Training
Started personal training again and so far, so good. I really like my trainer. She's friendly and enthusiastic but not annoyingly so, you know what I mean? And, even though she is much younger than me, I don't feel ancient around her.
WW At Work
Two work friends and I have started Weight Watchers at Work. Very convenient to have the meetings during Monday lunch. Plus, the meetings are providing the accountability that I desperately needed. For me, getting on the scale in front of someone keeps my eating in check much more so than getting on the scale in the privacy of my own bathroom. Three weeks in and four pounds down. Might not seem like much, but slow and steady wins the race. Plus that include one week of Thanksgiving, a family Christmas party and a get together with Suzanne and friends. Somehow I managed to lose 1.6 pounds the holiday week. Without WW, I most likely would have gained 2.6 pounds with all of that going on. My goal is to lose 40 - 45 pounds because let's face it, the "baby" from my "baby weight" is now 6 years old, not 6 weeks.
Running
Getting back to a consistent running schedule;ran a couple time last week, three times this week
2011 Races
I have a few:
Chicago Shamrock Shuffle (April 10)
This is a couple weeks later this year, so better chance for better weather. It's usually the Shamrock SlushFest.
CARA Lakefront 10 (April 16)
This is a maybe . . .
Chicago Spring Half Marathon (May 15)
Also a maybe . . .
Soldier Field 10 Mile (May 28)
This one more likely than the Spring Half.
Need to convince my husband to do this one too.
Playlist Additions
Not a heck of a lot, but I do like the Pink song Suzanne mentioned too.
I've been on a One Republic kick lately, but others are:
"I Want It That Way" - Allister (note, this is NOT the Backstreet Boys version)
"Evacuate the Dancefloor" - Cascada (this song is so atypical for me, but it makes me run faster every time it comes on)
"I'm Not Over" - Carolina Liar - - Still a favorite running song
"When You Were Young" - The Killers
"Missing" - Flyleaf
*By the way, I still haven't been able to bring myself to look to see how long it's been since I posted.
Jenn
Chicago Marathon
I've been a bad blogger, but I did update why the Chicago Marathon dream was unrealized, once again, here. Somehow I also managed to position myself as the poster child for most unfullfilled marathon attempts via The New York Times.
I haven't been blogging, but I've been tweeting! Follow me here.
Training
Started personal training again and so far, so good. I really like my trainer. She's friendly and enthusiastic but not annoyingly so, you know what I mean? And, even though she is much younger than me, I don't feel ancient around her.
WW At Work
Two work friends and I have started Weight Watchers at Work. Very convenient to have the meetings during Monday lunch. Plus, the meetings are providing the accountability that I desperately needed. For me, getting on the scale in front of someone keeps my eating in check much more so than getting on the scale in the privacy of my own bathroom. Three weeks in and four pounds down. Might not seem like much, but slow and steady wins the race. Plus that include one week of Thanksgiving, a family Christmas party and a get together with Suzanne and friends. Somehow I managed to lose 1.6 pounds the holiday week. Without WW, I most likely would have gained 2.6 pounds with all of that going on. My goal is to lose 40 - 45 pounds because let's face it, the "baby" from my "baby weight" is now 6 years old, not 6 weeks.
Running
Getting back to a consistent running schedule;ran a couple time last week, three times this week
2011 Races
I have a few:
Chicago Shamrock Shuffle (April 10)
This is a couple weeks later this year, so better chance for better weather. It's usually the Shamrock SlushFest.
CARA Lakefront 10 (April 16)
This is a maybe . . .
Chicago Spring Half Marathon (May 15)
Also a maybe . . .
Soldier Field 10 Mile (May 28)
This one more likely than the Spring Half.
Need to convince my husband to do this one too.
Playlist Additions
Not a heck of a lot, but I do like the Pink song Suzanne mentioned too.
I've been on a One Republic kick lately, but others are:
"I Want It That Way" - Allister (note, this is NOT the Backstreet Boys version)
"Evacuate the Dancefloor" - Cascada (this song is so atypical for me, but it makes me run faster every time it comes on)
"I'm Not Over" - Carolina Liar - - Still a favorite running song
"When You Were Young" - The Killers
"Missing" - Flyleaf
*By the way, I still haven't been able to bring myself to look to see how long it's been since I posted.
Jenn
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Sorry! Update! 2011 Races!
It's been awhile I know and I'm SORRY. Let's just say life got in the way! It's been a busy few months but I'm back and promise to get back to regularly blogging. Jenn promises too (we made a pact) but I'll let her do that in her own posting.
Speaking of Jenn, we actually got to see one another twice in the last month! The first was for dinner while I was in Chicago on business and the second time when we were in Chicago for Thanksgiving (an annual family trip). Always a treat to catch up with Jenn in person and eating fabulous food! Oh and guess what we forgot to do?? Take a photo so we could post on the blog - shame on us we know!
OK, so here's a recap of what's been going on:
TRAINER
As I mentioned in my last post, I joined a gym and started working with a trainer. She has kicked my butt and yes there were times I thought "I can't do this" but continued on. I'm proud of myself as this really pushed me outside of my "exercise comfort level" and the great news is that it's really made a difference. I feel stronger and this definitely (I would think) will only help with my running.
RUNNING
So have I been running? Yes and no. Yes, I've been running but not as consistently as I planned. This month my goal is to work back up into 8 mile shape. And the plan is to post a weekly update on how things are progressing.
TRAINING
I've decided to join a half marathon training group! Fleet Feet offers one where I live and I thought why not? So starting in January I will start training with a group on Saturdays (6:30 am for long runs) and Thursdays (6:15 pm for speed workouts). Last year I trained solo for my two half-marathons. While I will admit I prefer to run by myself I wanted to take my training to the next level and figured this made sense. It certainly can't hurt and I'm curious what impact it will have on my running. Time will tell. Anyone else have any thoughts/experiences with running groups?
2011 RACES
Research and identified some races for the first half of 2011:
January 2 - My First 5k
March 13 - Shamrock Half Marathon
May - Loop the Lagoon 10k
May - Fiesta Days Half Marathon
MUSIC
And here are some new songs that I enjoy working out to:
Pink "Raise Your Glass"
Katy Perry "Firework"
Taylor Swift "The Story of Us," "Better Than Revenge," "Mine" (note: I pretty much LOVE her new album)
Mariah Carey "Oh Santa"
Linkin Park "The Catalyst"
That's it for now. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is enjoying the holiday season.
Happy Running,
Suzanne
Speaking of Jenn, we actually got to see one another twice in the last month! The first was for dinner while I was in Chicago on business and the second time when we were in Chicago for Thanksgiving (an annual family trip). Always a treat to catch up with Jenn in person and eating fabulous food! Oh and guess what we forgot to do?? Take a photo so we could post on the blog - shame on us we know!
OK, so here's a recap of what's been going on:
TRAINER
As I mentioned in my last post, I joined a gym and started working with a trainer. She has kicked my butt and yes there were times I thought "I can't do this" but continued on. I'm proud of myself as this really pushed me outside of my "exercise comfort level" and the great news is that it's really made a difference. I feel stronger and this definitely (I would think) will only help with my running.
RUNNING
So have I been running? Yes and no. Yes, I've been running but not as consistently as I planned. This month my goal is to work back up into 8 mile shape. And the plan is to post a weekly update on how things are progressing.
TRAINING
I've decided to join a half marathon training group! Fleet Feet offers one where I live and I thought why not? So starting in January I will start training with a group on Saturdays (6:30 am for long runs) and Thursdays (6:15 pm for speed workouts). Last year I trained solo for my two half-marathons. While I will admit I prefer to run by myself I wanted to take my training to the next level and figured this made sense. It certainly can't hurt and I'm curious what impact it will have on my running. Time will tell. Anyone else have any thoughts/experiences with running groups?
2011 RACES
Research and identified some races for the first half of 2011:
January 2 - My First 5k
March 13 - Shamrock Half Marathon
May - Loop the Lagoon 10k
May - Fiesta Days Half Marathon
MUSIC
And here are some new songs that I enjoy working out to:
Pink "Raise Your Glass"
Katy Perry "Firework"
Taylor Swift "The Story of Us," "Better Than Revenge," "Mine" (note: I pretty much LOVE her new album)
Mariah Carey "Oh Santa"
Linkin Park "The Catalyst"
That's it for now. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is enjoying the holiday season.
Happy Running,
Suzanne
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