School’s Out For Summer!

Nicely put by my fellow Arizonan Alice Cooper! So summer is here, and I have some changes I am making as I train for shorter distances. (The banes of my existence!)

I plan on going to the gym almost daily to get my strength back up and to do some swimming for cross-training.  I don't start marathon training until July, and although I am still eating gluten-free and  very healthy, I am not going to stress out about having a glass of wine with friends, or enjoying a happy hour with Matt.  I only have one month before high mileage hits again and I am going to enjoy it! I also have a new nutrition find that I will share next post! So excited about it!

I am still running daily, my mileage for June is about 57-65 miles per week.  I am now a zombie runner again as the heat is coming strong. We are supposed to hit 105 degrees by Friday, and that is nothing compared to what lies ahead! So,  4:30am runs for me it is. Once that sun comes out, the furnace is on full force!

Here is a video I shot today of where I run. I am such a goof, being in front of the camera makes me nervous lol!

Sooo.... about that race I had yesterday. Didn't go quite as planned.  I could sit here and make excuses about it, but bottom line is I went out too fast and blew up. My goal was to break 18 minutes for the 5k and I was super confident about it. I had a great workout with coach last Saturday that really built up my confidence. I was SO excited I could barely sleep on Friday night.  Saturday morning I had a piece of rice toast with honey, gatorade, and a banana. I took Tank for 2 miles and I felt great! We headed to the race and started to warm up. My warm-up stunk! My legs were feeling heavy and I just wasn't into it. I think I was just getting nervous and working myself up.There were SO many people there!

This first ARR summer series race is a handicap start by age/sex.  I started running at 7:53. Blazing hot! A little birdie told me that he thought I could pass all the females that started ahead of me and finish first and also finish first with my chip-time. ((hugs))  So I had that in my head and I really wanted to accomplish that.

I ran out like a bat out of hell. Ugh, I am such a rookie when it comes to that!! I get so caught up in getting out there! I am embarrassed about my splits but I'll share. My goal was 5:50's or right under. My first mile was 5:37. I was still feeling good. Got to the turn-around, tried to grab some water but it fell. I slowed a bit on the curve, which is something you should NEVER do.  (hmm... maybe I shouldn't be sharing my secrets ) I hit mile 2 at 5:59. That middle mile is awful. I seriously thought about stopping 3 times. I was feeling bad in a major way. I had a lot of cheerleaders going past the other way, so that was helpful, I think I would have actually stopped if I didn't have that encouragement. Thanks guys! Negative thoughts kept creeping into my head though. I tried to remember to lengthen my stride like Don told me to do when I get tired. I tried swinging my arms more, it was brutal.  (luckily I am not dramatic at all!) Mile 3 was 6:03.

I hit mile 3 and tried to muster up all I had left to get to the finish line. My official time was 18:30. My Garmin said I was a touch faster, but I could have started it late as well. My average pace was 5:58 according to ARR results.  I was the first female to cross the line, and first overall female, so although I am happy about that, I am really mad at myself for the way I raced. Lesson learned, I know what I have to do to fix it and I am going to try my darndest to get that sub-18 this summer.  Luckily all of the other races in the series start earlier to avoid that heat. I poured 2 bottles of water on me after I finished!

Results here

So, about 10 minutes after the race, the sneezing began. I always thought people that had allergies were maybe exaggerating it a bit. (sorry, I was so ignorant!)I had never had them until about a year ago when I started getting them very mildly. Post-race I could feel that my sinus infection was majorly flaring up and I had 3 new prescriptions for it that I needed to take ASAP. But I seriously thought my sinuses were going to slide right out of my nose. It was INSANE! My nose was running uncontrollably and I would not stop sneezing! We went to breakfast and I was miserable as it wasn't stopping. So I had all these grandiose plans made post-race such as sipping wine at Postinos', heading to one of my sweet student's music performances, and I ended up inside in bed all day and evening. It was seriously awful. I am about to turn 30 and I am falling apart!! Today I woke up still sneezing, but decided to try to get in my 15 miles. I took it nice and easy and it was the first time in 24 hours that I did not sneeze. Ugh. My poor little nose is so red!

Wow, that was long and rambling! Sorry, no pics from the race, my paparazzi (re:Matt) also ran the race easy as he is running the San Diego Marathon next weekend. GO MATT!!!!!

Happy running!

8k… check!

So I completed the Arizona Road Racers' Rio Vista Luck Of The Draw 8k on Saturday. It was Carol's birthday and we all went out to run and have breakfast! Fun!

I ran a 29:49 which is a 6:00/mile pace. Happy with that! Results Page

Last year at this time, my 8k was a 34:xx!!!!

My friend Jenny from DailyMile was out from Ohio visiting family, so she came to the run to cheer us on and take pics! How awesome is that! She is just the cutest!

Birthday Girl Carol (who PR'd and won 2nd in her age group!) with DK

Me crossing the finish line.

With fellow Bandido Lisa- She is just adorable!!

Ter and I

Terri, Jenny, and I! Can't wait until she moves back to AZ!!

OK, I know I am super cheesy, but I have to share. I was on the contents page of a local (free) magazine last month! Check out page 4! Sweat Magazine