04.25.09
Posted in Run
at 6:15 am
by luluorange ·
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I had a lot of doubt in my mind as to if I can do this on my own…
My long runs before for my first marathon had all been with my running club, running with a group of 20 is very different from doing it by yourself. I do enjoy running alone most of the time for training miles below 12, something about running solo is freeing.
But a long training run close to marathon date of 22 miles is not something I was mentally prepared to do on my own. Unfortunately, all of my people in my group flaked out on me with one excuses or another… I realized on Friday night that I was have to do figured out the route, pay attention to my watch to know my pace, time and miles instead of just following the group and let them pull me through.
I went off Saturday morning, early, mentally mapped out where I am going to go that will complete a 22 miles round trip route and off I went. I often ran too fast and had to slow myself down at a controlled pace and take scheduled walk breaks during the first 12 miles. Boy… did that really pay dividens after mile 18, I had to really rely on good music to pump me up, the stiffness and soreness in my quadriceps are very uncomfortable and was reminding me of it’s existence on every stride. With no one to talk to and no one to pull me through, I tried to focus my mind on other runners and bikers on the road, wondering what their stories are…what races are they training for…anything I can do to not think about what I was doing and how I felt.
I did remind myself before I start that this will be a huge test of my readiness, if I can finish this run on my own and finish strong, then I am really ready for the marathon. I asked myself how confident I would feel if I could do this; I tried to envision that feeling and it did help at the end to think about this and pull myself all the way to the end of mile 22.
I was so stiffed and sore, I stopped at the park and stretched till I was loosen enough to walk without limping. Wow, I can’t believe I finish and in good time 3 hours ad 51 minutes, at this rate, I should be able to run the marathon in 4 hour and 30 minutes which will be a huge improvement from the last time of 4 hours and 56 minutes. I am so elated about my improvement!!!
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 04/25/2009
- Time: 06:15:00
- Total Time: 3:50:35.00
- Calories: 2719
- Distance: 22.01 miles
- Average Pace: 10:28.27/mile
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04.21.09
Posted in Run
at 6:30 am
by luluorange ·
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After about 20 minutes on the treadmill, a girl and a guy both joined me on the treadmills next to me, one on each side. It was kind of strange but I guess you end up running about the same rhythm with the person next to you. It’s like….synchronized running, three of us in a row, LOL! It was fun till they both got off the treamill after 30 minutes… oh well.
I do noticed that most people does not stay on the treadmill for too long. I guess the borden factor sets in after about 30 minutes.
Good workout.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 04/21/2009
- Time: 06:30:00
- Total Time: 1:07:00.00
- Calories: 877
- Distance: 6.84 miles
- Average Pace: 9:47.28/mile
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04.20.09
Posted in Cycle
at 2:15 pm
by luluorange ·
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My spinning instructor went to Cochela Music Festival this weekend. She brought back some really awesome music and shared with us. I don’t know why, but music makes all the difference in a spinning class. We had a blast, great workout.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 04/20/2009
- Time: 14:15:44
- Total Time: 00:45:00.00
- Calories: 707
- Distance: 12 miles
- Average Speed: 16 mph
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04.14.09
Posted in Run
at 6:30 am
by luluorange ·
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Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 04/14/2009
- Time: 06:30:00
- Total Time: 00:57:00.00
- Calories: 671
- Distance: 5.57 miles
- Average Pace: 10:14.33/mile
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04.11.09
Posted in Run
at 6:40 am
by luluorange ·
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I should be doing a 9 mile recovery run according to my training schedule but my group is going to try for a 20 miles, this is after 18 miles last week. I felt pretty good after my 18 mile run last week, so I thought, what the heck! I’ll rearrange my training schedule after this run, given I still have 7 weeks before my marathon, I’ll still need to push through at least 2-3 more 20+ miles runs before tapering.
There were 7 of us today, the weather is perfect, so many people are out running, the LA marathon training is in full swing. So good to see all the runners out, we waved at all the groups. I like running with the group because I don’t have to worry about where I am going and when to talk walk breaks, all I have to do is get lost in my music and run. This is why I decide to alter the schedule, I’ll take group run for long miles any day where I can get it, doing 20+ mile is no fun by yourself. It’s too easy to be defeated.
A long distance run like this, your body goes through all kinds of negotiation. The right brain is the gong-ho, go go go team, the left brain sends out all the negative messages to tell me why I should stop. It really doesn’t have anything to do with how I feel physically, my body can handle the run but my left brain starts to act up from about mile 17 on, saying things like “you can walk, you don’t have to run”, “why don’t you call honey to come pick you up, so you don’t even have to walk back”, “got any money? let’s go get breakfast!”
I hung in with our pacer, we encouraged each other along the way, at mile 18.9, I told him “we only have 1.1 miles left, let’s push it through, we can do it!!!” I put on the trance music at 165 beats per minute and match my foot strides to the tempo, and the rest is history.
What a glorious run, I love it, two consecutive high mile weekend and I feel great! A little soreness of the muscle, of course but otherwise, all is well.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 04/11/2009
- Time: 06:40:00
- Total Time: 3:32:00.00
- Calories: 2494
- Distance: 20 miles
- Average Pace: 10:36.04/mile
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04.09.09
Posted in Run
at 6:00 pm
by luluorange ·
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I was supposed to get up early in the morning to run but since I didn’t sleep well the night before; I rolled over when the alarm went off and told myself that I will run after work instead. After a stressful day at work, I had a big headache at the end of the day which makes even thinking about running hurt. As much as I wanted to pass, I told myself “Running never takes more than it gives back.” I have never never regretted a run and have always felt better at the end of the run than at the beginning.
So I went, the first two miles was a struggle, then my headache went away. I started to push my pace, as I crossed Santa Monica Blvd, a bunch of Nike Run club runners pass by me and were running really fast. This route is mostly uphill and gets more steep as you go, then drops the elevation in a steep downhill back to Sunset Blvd. I needed a good hill workout and this is just what the doctor ordered.
As I finished my run and headed back to my office, I felt great and prove to myself once again that moving forward is always the right move. Indeed, my run gave me back a whole lot more than I gave it.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 04/09/2009
- Time: 18:00:00
- Total Time: 1:05:00.00
- Calories: 849
- Distance: 6.55 miles
- Average Pace: 9:55.04/mile
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04.04.09
Posted in Run
at 6:30 am
by luluorange ·
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I haven’t run this kind of distance since Surf City marathon on February 1st. I hit double digits almost every weekend since February but not over 13 miles. For the most part, I felt pretty strong all the way till the last 1.5 miles, I just wanted to stop and take a nap and I was seven ways uncomfortable. I ran with my group and there were 5 of us to start and one dropped out. Thank God they were there, I think I would have talked myself into stopping if I wasn’t with the group.
Funny how the mind works, I certainly didn’t feel better physically, my feet felt like they were on fire, my ankles were sore; but at the last 0.75 miles, I just decided that I was going to go all out and get it over with. So I did, my fellow runners were kind of surprised by me picking up the pace at the end and just gun it all the way back to the senior center were we started.
I am so glad to finish, we ended the run with a long group stretching session. All is well. :)
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 04/04/2009
- Time: 06:30:00
- Total Time: 3:08:21.00
- Calories: 2214
- Distance: 18 miles
- Average Pace: 10:28.27/mile
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