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Monday planned 4 miles; actual just my arm challenge. It was day 11 (not counting rest days) and I did 29 push-ups, 55 chair dips, 80 bicep curls, and 65 punches. I skipped my run because I got home later than I had other days recently, totally lost track of time while getting supper ready, and before I knew it, it was after 6. I was starting to feel tired and just decided to skip it and make it up later in the week. Huge mistake. By 7:30 or 8, I remembered Chad had a work meeting Wednesday night and wasn't going to be home, so I knew by Monday night it was going to be two missed runs this week. Blah.
Tuesday: planned Interval Conditioning; actual Interval Conditioning (kettle bells). The class had a different instructor this week, but she did well filling in for a very good one. The workout used many of the same types of moves, just a different intensity level. She did intervals of jumping rope or running in place, with some swings, targeted moved (mainly squats or lunges, arm work, etc.), and some yoga moves. I am not a huge yoga fan - mainly because I've probably never given it a fair chance, but all in all, it was a good class. I totally forgot about my arm workout. Oops.
Wednesday: planned 7 miles; actual "rest". I don't mean that in the sense of rest was earned or needed. Chad had a work meeting, Ava and I had a bunch of errands to run when I got off work, and it was raining. And the first two not been going on, I could have worked with the third one. Regretted forgetting how busy this night was going to be, but working really hard to not let the bad/off nights get to me.
Thursday: planned 4 miles and Interval Conditioning; actual Interval Conditioning (kettle bells). Aside from packing and getting ready for the weekend, there is no great reason why I didn't get my run in. I did make it to class - we did some ab work, some swings, cardio intervals of course, squats, etc. Typical class, really. I love this class though and couldn't imagine not keeping it in my routine!
Friday: planned rest; actual rest. Unless you count running with Ava while she finished her first-ever 1k. What a fabulous experience! She was adorable. We were about a third of the way through when she says, "Momma, I don't know if I can run this far." So, I encouraged her by saying we should take a walk break. Five steps later, she was back at it! As we were nearing the end, she says, "I'm getting so tired!" But she kept going! And at the end, you could tell she absolutely loved the excitement of the crowd and knew she was nearing the end. She finished so strong. Chad wasn't in a great position for this picture, but we were so, so lucky that this picture ended up in the gallery by the St. Cloud Times. I am so excited to have this picture to help this memory last forever!
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| Ava and I with Blizzard, the SCSU Husky mascot! She was actually looking for Elmo, who lined up with the 4 and under age group; but was willing to take a picture with Blizzard instead. Maybe some day this will be her alma mater, too! |
Saturday: planned Earth Day Half-Marathon; actual - obviously, the half!
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| 2014 finishers medal! |
Overall, this race couldn't have gone much better than it did. I had a couple of goals for this race: yes, I wanted to PR with a 2:30 or faster -- I really, really wanted between a 2:20 or 2:25 -- but knew that would be tough and not necessary! However, more importantly, I wanted to finish without feeling like I hit a wall. My first two half marathons ended rough, and I didn't want that experience. I am so proud to say they both were accomplished. I started at the end of the pack near the 2:30 pacer. I think this was one of the best decisions I made. Starting near the back, I believe, totally helped me avoid going out too fast. From the beginning, it was a comfortable pace. There were actually times I felt like I could have pushed it, but I kept holding back. I was not going to hit the wall! I really didn't know where to pick it up if I had anything left in the tank without risking "the wall" before the end. That is something I would like to try and figure out; but in reality, by the end there wasn't much left anyway. A few details:
Even before the end of Mile 1, I did find myself slightly in front of the pacer. I stayed slightly ahead of her until, I think, the 4 mile water stop. From there, I was slightly behind her until right around mile 11. This was frustrating for me, because according to my Nike app, I was around a 10:55 average the majority of the race. (more on that in a little bit, too). I had to keep reminding myself I was feeling good, go with what I had and what I was being told by Nike, and not let it get in my head. I did see her in the refreshments line and she told me she was slightly ahead of the pace, and she does that to have a cushion at the end. Makes sense.
Another piece that I had to work to not let get into my head was the mileage markers. The first one was almost right on. From 2 forward, Nike was telling me I was hitting the mile markers before I hit them; and each one was more off than the previous. By mile 7, I started checking when I was hitting the mile markers. 7.14, 9.22, 10.24, etc. My battery on my phone ended up dying at 12.97 miles so I didn't have final stats for myself, but my friend that was also running ended up texting me and telling me Run Keeper told her 13.46 miles. That is a little frustrating in and of itself. If it was truly 13.46 miles, my time was even better ;) - and my battery died, so I have no idea! Oh well. It really is minor.
Really, I have no big stories from the race. I felt like I did a really good job of staying constant. That was huge. I never used my Shot Blocks, but did take half of the Gu they handed out. I need to start working with fueling. I didn't feel the strongest at the end, and am going to have to feel stronger at 13 to make it to 26! I did take an orange slice at the 12 mile water stop; while it tasted good, I think it was the culprit for the sick feeling in my stomach the rest of the race. Too acidic maybe?
Anyway. Here are my stats from Nike:
| Mile | Time | Change | Avg Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
1
| 10:35 | -- | 10'35"/mi |
2
| 21:21 | + 0:11 (-2%) | 10'46"/mi |
3
| 32:19 | + 0:12 (-2%) | 10'58"/mi |
4
| 43:55 | + 0:37 (-6%) | 11'35"/mi |
5
| 54:54 | - 0:36 (5%) | 10'59"/mi |
6
| 1:05:42 | - 0:11 (1%) | 10'47"/mi |
7
| 1:16:32 | + 0:02 (-1%) | 10'49"/mi |
8
| 1:27:27 | + 0:05 (-1%) | 10'55"/mi |
9
| 1:38:11 | - 0:11 (1%) | 10'43"/mi |
10
| 1:49:12 | + 0:17 (-3%) | 11'01"/mi |
11
| 2:00:23 | + 0:10 (-2%) | 11'11"/mi |
12
| 2:11:15 | - 0:20 (3%) | 10'51"/mi |
13
| 0:00 | - 2:22:06 (1309%) | -132'0-16"/mi |
So, this doesn't quite make sense. I edited the distance to what my friend told me it was. My app quit at the 2:22 - the splits up to that should be accurate.
Here are the official results; that I will go with even if I don't know if the distance was accurate!
11:24 per mile 
44 percent 
1102 out of 1248 
572 out of 679 Females 
107 out of 129 Females in the F3034 Age Group 
| Location | Race Time | Time of Day | Overall Place | Division Place | Sex Place | Age Graded Place | Passed / By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 2:27:51 | 10:59:54 | 1102/1248 | 107/129 | 572/679 | 1109/1248 | 80/36 |
| ChipStart | 1:49 | 8:32:04 | 1149/1248 | 111/129 | 612/679 | 612/1248 | |
| GunStart | 00:00 | 8:30:15 |
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| that is me on the far right, turning the corner into the finisher's chute! Thankfully Chad doesn't zoom in, but if he did you would see the dirty look I am giving in due to his comment about going faster! |
Sunday: planned rest; actual rest.
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Totals:
1 run for (approximately) 13.1 miles - 2:27:51
2 Interval Conditioning classes - 80 minutes
Total Training: 3:47:51 + 1 arm challenge routine. (With being gone and the screwy routine, I sort of forgot about the arm challenge. On to a new week!)
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I am so ready to have a week where I have some consistency back, reach some goals, and feel strong. Not that all has been bad or difficult, but it has come and gone in phases. I am about to embark on the second half of marathon training -- and want to go into it -- and end it -- at the top of my game.
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