Thoughts on Racing – Why I Run Races

March 26, 2014 / Amy / 7 Comments

It must be that time of year where people start waking up from their running hibernation and start getting out to races, because almost all of the running blogs I read have had a race re-cap sometime in the last week or two. Am I the only one who isn’t out running races?

See? No races here.

This has prompted me to think about my race schedule for the year, look back on all the races I’ve run, and think about my motivation for signing up for them. All this is too much for me for one post, so I’ll start with….

MOTIVATION:

There are three main reasons I sign up for races:

1. It’s Fun*

2. It’s a holiday

3. To push myself

*The second two aren’t reason enough without the first. I think races should be fun, and I don’t think I should sign up for them otherwise. In the past, there have been occasions when I’ve signed up for a race that I did not think would be fun, but I don’t want to do that anymore. It’s silly. This isn’t to say that every race IS fun; I have certainly done races that turned out not to be fun, but sometimes that just happens. One of my main goals with running is to have fun, so signing up for a race I don’t think is going to be fun, well, that’s just dumb.

“This race is going to be so much fun!”

Sometimes I have different ideas of what’s fun. Sometimes, I think it’s fun to push myself in a race and shoot for a PR. Other times my goal is to go slow enough to chat with my sister and cousin during the Turkey Trot or wear something crazy in the Devil’s Chase. On rare occasions, different goals can overlap, like in last year’s Reindeer Run – where I was able to push myself for a 5k PR while running w/ my husband and wearing a ridiculous Reindeer hat.

However, getting a PR in a holiday race is usually the exception, not the rule. Despite this fact I really do think that holiday races are the most fun races. I’ve come to think that holidays need to be celebrated with road races, and at this point, Thanksgiving would be incomplete without a Turkey Trot. I really find holiday races irresistible. Probably because I get to dress up, and I’m able to convince family members to join me…

Devil’s Chase 6.66 miles…obviously we will dress as devils.

Just a couple of 90’s Bills fans ready for the Turkey Trot

If cousin Jeremy can’t run this year, the least we can do is put a funny picture of him on our shirts!

With that said, as much fun as holiday races are, I rarely use them as a reason to push myself. However, challenging myself is an awesome part of running, and racing has a role here too. Most of the time, when I sign up for a race “to push myself”, the pushing isn’t the primary goal on race day. If I’m trying to PR, that can be the exception, but mostly my motivation in signing up for longer races is to get myself out and running long distances on a regular basis. I love long runs, but I seem to forget that fact in the 30 min or so before I’m supposed to actually do one. Silly, brain. Once race day comes, I usually have a time goal in mind, but first and foremost, I try to enjoy myself.

When the “push myself” goal relates to a new PR or tough time goal, I need to be careful. Getting a new PR is awesome, and can quickly make a difficult race feel worth it. However, the flip side is that if I’m shooting for a PR and I miss it, the whole race might feel terrible. I want to be better about that as I shoot for my sub-two hour half marathon this year. Last time I tried this, I ended up with a 9 minute PR, but because I didn’t finish in under 2 hours, I was miserable. I thought the whole race was stupid and was disappointed and mad at myself. After that, I took a nice long break from time goals. And, hopefully, I’m better for it. I should never forget that my main motivation is to HAVE FUN.

What about you? Why do you run races? Are you capable of celebrating a holiday without a race? Do you pressure yourself to PR at every race?

Spring 1/2 Training: Week 9

March 24, 2014 / Amy / 2 Comments

Week nine and feelin’ fine!

Monday: My friend was in town, and it was St. Patrick’s day. We went out to lunch and then to an Irish Bar! Fun times, but no running.
Tuesday: 40 minute tempo run, starting at 10 min/mile speeding up to 8:30/mile. I held each pace longer this time, and I think that was a good choice. Also, I got two 24 packs of energy gel – Chocolate Cherry Clif gel and Salted Caramel Gu.

The box said you win something if you find the “golden yeti”, so of course I dumped the whole box on the floor immediately. Alas, no golden yeti, just normal yetis.

Wednesday: 4.5 “easy” run. I put the word in quotes because it didn’t feel very easy. I think my legs were a tad tired from Tuesday’s speed work.
Thursday: Easy run outside w/ Jeff, my favorite runny buddy. No Garmin, it was nice. Covered just over 3 miles in the fresh air.
Friday: Attempted a 5 mile pace run, outside again. I started out slightly above race pace, and then just fell apart. Honestly though, I don’t even care! I am so psyched about passing my test, that I was grinning ear to ear the entire time. Even though I averaged 11 min miles…nothing can get me down today. I passed my TEST!!! Also, it was very windy.

Can you see the wind? (ooof, this pic is terrible)

Saturday: Rest Day w/ stretching and foam rolling
Sunday: 11 mile long run. First long run outside during 1/2 training. My pace was a little disappointing (10:38/mile) because I’ve been faster on the treadmill, but I still had fun. I did run/walk with about a 3.5 to 1 ratio. I thought this would be a good idea today because my legs didn’t do very well on Friday and I need to get reacquainted with running on pavement and over hills. I ran the last 2.5 miles without walk breaks and it went well. There’s nothing more encouraging than finishing strong on a long run.

I don’t want to go outside, but I will, because it’s 32F and that is WARM.

Last week, I set my goals as:

~~Long Run: 11 miles~~ – Check!
~~Speed work – 40 min Tempo~~ – Check!
~~Easy Runs: (2) – 3 mile + 4.5 mile~~ – Check!
Pace Run: 5 mile – Intentions were there, execution was off – 4 miles not at race pace
Strength – Twice – Big fail*
Stretch + Foam Roll – 3 times – Only twice

*I woke up on Tuesday with an unexplained wrist injury. I have a bump, and it hurts to bend it certain ways. I really don’t know what happened. I can’t think of a single thing I would have done on Monday that would cause it. It’s not that bad, but it’s preventing me from doing push-ups, and push-ups are the backbone of my lame at home strength workout. So, I flaked out on the hated strength work. This week, I’ll try to at least do the exercises that don’t hurt my wrist.

This week, I’m hoping to:

Long Run: 12 miles
Speed work – 9x400m
Easy Runs: (2) – 3 mile + 5 mile
Strength – Once
Stretch + Foam Roll – 3 times
Spinning Once

Again, I’ll miss some spinning this week. I’m traveling during spin class time, and I’ll be attempting my 12 mile run in Buffalo this weekend because I’m visiting for my sister’s baby shower on Saturday! Woo!

#100HappyDays – Days 1 – 7

March 22, 2014March 22, 2014 / Amy / 1 Comment

Last week, I told you all about my 100 Happy Days Challenge. Here’s how the first week went:

Day 1: Running 11 miles before breakfast. Running makes me happy, obviously, especially Saturday morning long runs. I don’t know what it is, but there’s a great feeling about finishing a long run first thing on a weekend morning. I think it’s that I feel so accomplished, even if I do nothing the entire rest of the day.

Day 2: Reading in bed. I love reading, and there’s something even better about waking up without an alarm and spending a little time reading in bed. Good thing the weekend has two days, so I can spend one morning on a long run, and one sleeping in and reading in bed.

Day 3: Visiting with an out of town friend. Today was a happy day. I got to have lunch with my friend from high school, Fay, who was in town to see the Veronica Mars movie. I also met (apparently for the second time.) her grad school friend who also lives in the area. We all had lunch (including milkshakes) and then hung out at the nearest Irish Bar for some drinks to celebrate St. Patrick’s day.

Day 4: Getting a package. I love getting mail! Who doesn’t? I get excited to check the mail every day; who knows what’s going to be there? I’ve been lucky enough that people have recently sent me surprise food-filled packages in the mail, but the one that I got today was one I ordered myself – from Amazon, filled with necessities – two 24 packs of energy gel and a 4 pack of steel cut oats. 🙂

Day 5: Grilled Cheese for lunch. I made it all the way to day 5 before using food as one of my happy things! I’m sure this won’t be the first. It might not even be the only time I mention grilled cheese. It’s one of my favorites.

Day 6: Running outside on the first day of Spring. It was a short run, but good news, I didn’t suck at hills, and it smells so nice outside, not at all like sweaty gym smell! Hurrah!

Day 7: I passed the first actuary exam! Next up, job search and test 2, but for now I’ll just be happy that this one is behind me. It was a lot of studying and relearning calculus, and I’m glad all the hard work paid off. Man, I really like math. 🙂

1st Seven Days!

The Friday 5 – 3rd Edition

March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 / Amy / 1 Comment

We’ve made it, it’s Friday! And, it’s SPRING! Here are five things I decided to write about, have fun reading them:

1. It’s TEST day. Yup, today’s the big day. I’m posting this nice and early before I head out for my test, so hopefully I’m doing well, send me some good vibes! I’ve already got some coming my way, but the more, the better. Next time I post, I could be an aspiring actuary who’s passed the first test! UPDATE: I passed my test!!! Thanks for sending your good vibes my way!

2. I’ve been thinking about racing a lot lately. Reading a lot of race ads and race re-caps will do that to a person. And, all this thinking is going to be turning into blog posts. The first will probably be out before the next Friday Five. Hooray!

3. This is my mini figurine of Dr. Teeth. He’s the lead singer of the band “Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem”. I wonder if he’ll be in the new Muppet movie? (That comes out TODAY, by the way) I think the band’s most famous song is “Can You Picture That?”

“Everybody’s lover, everybody’s brother, I wanna be your lifetime friend.”

Fact is there’s nothin’ out there you can’t do
Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you.
Beat down the walls, begin, believe, behold, begat.
Be a better drummer, be an up and comer.

CAN YOU PICTURE THAT??!!

4. They are building this monstrosity next to our condo. It’s a garage. I don’t love it. But, on the bright side, construction is on schedule to finish this June! They started last February, so yeah, I’m ready for it to be over. I don’t want to live in a construction zone. Construction kinda makes me want to puke.

Monstrosity, or garage, whatever.

5. I ran outside yesterday! It was the first day of Spring and was nearly 50F, and all the snow and puddles are gone. How nice. I don’t mind running outside in the winter (but don’t love it), and I also don’t mind the treadmill (of course, there are also drawbacks). What I have a problem with is change. Switching between the two is not my favorite. Once I get in a routine, I’m fine with either and don’t want to switch back. Today’s run was good, though. Hopefully, the warm weather sticks this time.

Also, it’s 6:30PM and it’s light out!

Have a good weekend! I hope you run long, eat delicious food, and see the Muppet movie – or whatever you do for fun! 🙂

Spring 1/2 Training: Week 8

March 17, 2014 / Amy / 1 Comment

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t have any plans for celebrating yet, but who knows what will come up.

For now, here’s a picture of Ireland:

Ancient dwelling on the Aran Islands

Now sweetly lies old Ireland,

Emerald green beyond the foam,

Awakening old memories,

Calling the heart back home.

And, totally unrelated to the holiday, my weekly recap:

Monday: 3 miles easy before Spinning. The run went great, I averaged 9:17/mile and it felt pretty easy. Spinning, on the other hand, was tough! It wasn’t just me either, everyone was struggling with the workout today. I think it was a tougher one than last week.
Tuesday: Rest Day, and bought new sneakers!
Wednesday: 3 miles easy to break in the new sneakers.
Thursday: Did my weekly speed work at the gym, 8x400m w/ 2 min rest between interval for a total of 4 miles. Also, did my at home strength work. It wasn’t as bad as last week, and I got a new push-up high: 28! 50 push-ups here I come! I also stretched and foam rolled.
Friday: 3.5 miles and Spinning! Also, stretched and foam rolled, again. My legs are sore from the lunges that were part of my strength workout yesterday, but keeping up the stretching and foam rolling should help.
Saturday: 11 miles! (Treadmill, but still.) I’m hoping that the simulated hills are going to be enough to get me through a real life half marathon.
Sunday: Thought about how I should be stretching and foam rolling, as well as doing my strength stuff, but didn’t. Bad Amy.

Last week, I set my goals as:

~~Long Run: 11 miles~~ Check!
~~Speed work – 8 x 400m intervals~~ Check!
~~Easy Runs: 2-3 runs at least 3 miles~~ Check!
~~Go to spinning twice~~ Check!
At home strength work – 2 times – Just Once
Stretch + Foam Roll – 3 times – Close, only twice

This week, I’m hoping to:

Long Run: 11 miles
Speed work – 40 min Tempo
Easy Runs: (2) – 3 mile + 4.5 mile
Pace Run: 5 mile
Strength – Twice
Stretch + Foam Roll – 3 times

Spinning is only a maybe this week. I’ve got plans during both my “normal” spin class times. I might try and go to a different class, but it’s not going to be a priority.

Have a good week!

100 Happy Days

March 15, 2014 / Amy / Leave a comment

Have you heard of the 100 Happy Days Challenge? Maybe I’m a little behind because I just heard about it, but I think it sounds pretty neat. For 100 days, you do something that makes you happy and then acknowledge it by taking a picture and posting it to one of the many social media sites. You can also email it somewhere. Here’s where you can find the official explanation and registration info: http://100happydays.com/

At first, I wasn’t a big fan of the whole picture taking/posting aspect and was considering just doing it “unofficially” without that bit. However, after thinking it over, I’m now convinced that it will be neat to have a collection of photos from the whole experience. Unfortunately, posting to a blog doesn’t count for the challenge. Instead, I’m going to sign myself up and post the pictures to twitter every day. I do really want to blog about this challenge, though, so I’m going to do that, too. I’m not sure exactly how often I’ll post, and I might not post every picture, but for now, I’ll shoot for once a week.

Why I want to do this:

I’m happy. I’m not doing this because I need to find ways to be happy. However, it’s sometimes too easy to focus on things that make me unhappy or stressed and overlook things that make me happy. I’d like to use this challenge to shift my focus and get more joy out of all the things in my life that make me smile.

I hope you enjoy following my 100 Happy Days!

*A note about the twitter posting: I’m choosing twitter specifically because I do not normally post to twitter (twice ever, and I’ve had it for over a year), and I don’t have any followers. I don’t want to subject my facebook friends (or blog followers for that matter) to one of these posts every single day, so twitter seemed like a good alternative. If however, for some reason, you do want to follow me on twitter, you are more than welcome: @magicjello729.

The Friday 5 – 2nd Edition

March 14, 2014 / Amy / 4 Comments

Happy Friday! Interested in some randomness? Yes? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Enjoy my Friday Five:

1. When I do intervals on the treadmill, I change the setting to kilometers. I know that 400m is almost the same as 1/4 mile, but it’s not quite, so using the kilometers setting makes more sense to me. Of course, the entire time, I have no concept of what the numbers on the screen mean in terms of distance and speed. It’s kind of fun. I’ve figured out what the equivalent km/h setting is required for my interval pace, and that’s all I really need to know. Last night, the woman on the treadmill next to me kept looking at my screen; I’m really hoping she was confused/impressed by how fast it said I was going (even though I wasn’t – haha). Also, maybe this will help me get a bit of a handle on the metric system, I’ve always wanted to be better at that.

2. It’s Pi Day! I’m thinking of making something pie related to celebrate, but I just made chocolate chip cookies yesterday, so maybe not. I made these: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/05/27/the-best-healthy-chocolate-chip-cookies/ and they’re quite delicious. They don’t look great, though. And they are thin, wafer thin. Ha!

3. Jeff and I have one car. Her name is Betty, but admittedly, we don’t refer to her by name very often. One of the best little features that our car has is a saved seat position button. So when I get in the car, I just need to push “2” and the seat automatically goes to my preferred position. It’s a really awesome feature in a shared car. I still have to adjust the review mirror, but that’s not nearly as irritating as adjusting the seat would be. Whoooa, black Betty, bam ba lam!

4. I’m really freaked out about my test next Friday. I’ve been doing practice tests for a few weeks now, and I have only completed one that I feel confident would be a passing score (the grading is complicated, and there is not a predetermined percentage that would indicate a pass, so I don’t know for sure). I’ve really put it out there leaving engineering and pursuing this, and pretty much everyone I know knows I’m taking this test. I think that having to tell everyone that I’ve failed would be worse than actually failing. I’m generally a good test taker, and I know that people expect me to be able to pass. The test is so hard, though! The pass rate is less than 50%, more than half of the test takers fail…ugh!

5. While I’m terrified of next Friday, I’ve reserved a little piece of myself to be excited for the new Muppet movie. I’m a HUGE fan of the Muppets, and Muppet movies, and I can’t wait to see it. I’m hoping it will be playing at 9AM like the last Muppet Movie. I like going to the movies in the early morning – it’s cheaper and there are less people. (Yes, I still get popcorn).

Me and my Muppety Friends, Mupbert and Princess Muppette:

And, that’s it for the second edition of the Friday Five. Enjoy your weekend.

Welcome to the Family!

March 12, 2014 / Amy / Leave a comment

I made yesterday a rest day, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t spend a bunch of time thinking about running!

I had some stuff to do in Boston, so I took advantage of my time in the city to do some running errands and have lunch with a long lost friend. (Okay, technically, she’s not long lost, but when we were working together I got used to seeing her every day, so even though it’s been less than a month, it still feels like forever.)

First, I headed to the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Could there be a cooler location for a running specialty store? (I doubt it, but let me know if you’ve heard of one.)

What came in this bag?

And after much debate and running up and down Boylston street, I picked out these bad boys:

My new kicks!

That’s right, I’m back in Brooks! You’d think after 8 years of running, I would have settled on a shoe by now, or at least a brand. But, I haven’t. I don’t have any significant issues with my feet or stride that requires a special shoe, so I feel good in a lot of different models, and I like to mix it up.

My running shoe history:

I ran in Nike for the majority of my early years, starting with a traditional shoe. I eventually switched to the Nike free, and liked it a lot (mostly for the flexibility and low heel to toe drop.)

From there, I bought a pair of Brooks Pure Something (Cadence I think?) I liked the cushioning of those, they were still light, flexible and a low heel to toe drop like the Nike free, but they were so soft! I really enjoyed them. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem to hold up quite as long my previous shoes.

Next, I moved to Newtons. I was really excited about trying those. I’d read a lot about them and thought they were pretty interesting, so despite the price tag I decided to go for it. I liked them a lot! I’ve tried 3 different models. The first ones, the Gravity, lasted 500 miles, and felt great. I then moved to the Distance. These are lighter and slightly cheaper, and I like them, but they haven’t lasted quite as long as the Gravity. I was surprised recently to start feeling the need for new shoes when these just eeked past 300 miles.

I’ve been running in my “trail” shoes – also Newtons – the last week to make sure that the slight pain in my foot/leg was from old shoes and not something else, and that did the trick. Time for new shoes!

*Note about my trail shoes: They are actually called “all-terrain” shoes, I do not run on trails (maybe someday?), so really the terrain they see is the same as all my shoes – the streets of Beverly. I just like that they’re water resistant and a tad warmer for winter running.

And back to today:

I like the Newtons, but I also liked the Brooks, so I went into the running store thinking Newtons, but also having Brooks in the very back of my mind. I brought an old pair of my shoes so someone at the store could take a look at the wear pattern and make any suggestions. I run slightly on the outside of my foot, and I start to feel pain because of that when my shoes wear out, but it’s not so pronounced that I need any kind of correction. That’s good news. Aside from the wear on the side of my shoes, the expert noticed wear on the front near the toes, which led her to suggest a larger size than I normally wear. This is something I would not have thought to do myself, so I was glad to get that advice.

I tried on both Newtons (Energy and Gravity) and Brooks (Pure Flow). I ran around in all three pairs, and narrowed it down to two. I ended up choosing the Brooks because they were slightly more cushion-y (I love soft shoes!), and also slightly cheaper. Plus, I like to alternate between a few pairs of shoes, and will still be running in Newtons part time – so I have the best of both worlds.

Another picture of my new friends.

After all the excitement of the running store, I met up with my friend Christine for lunch. We talked about lots of things, but as with most conversations I’m involved in, running did come up. Christine is running her first 1/2 marathon in the fall and she asked me to make her a training schedule! Or I may have asked if she’d let me make one for her, I love them! I’ll be working on that this week/weekend, woo! She’s also doing a few triathlons this summer, and she keeps hinting that I should do one too. Especially since I started going to spin class (“That’s 2/3 there, right?” she says). I keep declining, but secretly I think I will try a tri someday. Someday when I have a bike, and less fear/disgust about the swimming portion.

All in all, it was a pretty fun day, and I can’t wait to give my sneakers their first run today.

Isn’t getting new sneakers just the best? Have you ever thought of running a triathlon? Or done it?

Spring 1/2 Training: Week 7

March 10, 2014March 10, 2014 / Amy / 1 Comment

Now that I started this last week, I’m going to do my best to keep it going.

Monday: 3 miles easy + Spinning, this time I ran 2 miles, went to spinning, and then ran 1 mile. I liked doing the single mile afterwards. It got my legs feeling semi-normal again after that weird feeling they get when I’m on the bike.
Tuesday: Did not run, ate pancakes instead.

Yum!

Wednesday: I finally sucked it up and did my at home strength workout. It was ~~terrible and I hated it~~ awesome, and I beat my current best for push-ups! New high: 26! I also ran 4 miles on the treadmill at an average 9:21 pace. How will I shave 21 seconds off that for 13.1 miles?
Thursday: 40 minute tempo run. Built to 2 min at 8min/mile. Average 9:11/mile. Felt like I paced myself correctly for the first time. Probably shouldn’t have run so fast on Wednesday, though.
Friday: 3 miles easy + I went to spinning again. I’m starting to really like spin class. I ran 3 miles, then went to spinning, then walked/ran a mile to “reboot” my legs. That’s what I’m calling it, a reboot. Although, it might really just be crazy, I don’t know.
Saturday: First outdoor run in a month, or more? It was..well, not great. Ended up being 6 miles instead of the originally planned 10.
Sunday: Rest day. Recognized that today would have been good to do strength exercises a second time, but didn’t.

Last week, I set my goals as:

Long Run: 10 miles – ran 6 miles
~~Speed Work: 40 minute tempo run~~ Check!
~~Easy Runs: 2 or 3 runs @ 3 to 4 miles~~ Check!
~~Go to spinning twice~~ Check!
Do at home strength exercises at least twice – did exercises once

I didn’t get everything on my list done, but I still feel good about everything I did. I’m kind of surprised that I’m not more disappointed about cutting my long run short, but I’m not. I think it’s because I had just done 10 miles the week before without a problem. I like that I put two of each distance in my long run schedule, takes some pressure off.

This week, I’m hoping to:

Long Run: 11 miles
Speed work – 8 x 400m intervals
Easy Runs: 2-3 runs at least 3 miles
Go to spinning twice
At home strength work – 2 times
Stretch + Foam Roll – 3 times (Taking everyone’s advice to get stretching!)

Have a good week! I hope you’re adjusting to daylight savings..blech!

Goodbye Top 5 Friday, Hello Friday 5

March 7, 2014 / Amy / 6 Comments

I think I mentioned last week that Top 5 Friday was probably going to be short lived because I have a difficult time coming up with items to put on these top 5 lists. Luckily, it’s not going away entirely, just getting a little makeover. I noticed that other bloggers do something called “Five for Friday”, or something of that nature, where they list 5 things on Friday. Just any 5 things. I’m not sure if there’s anything more to it than that, but I like that simple idea. So, Top 5 Friday is becoming The Friday 5, and there’s nothing you can do about it!

1. My second spin class was way more fun than the first. I adjusted my bike a lot better this time, and felt more comfortable with everything that was going on. But even more than that, I liked the instructor a lot better. She picked great music, and I could actually hear her. I’m looking forward to next Monday’s class.

2. I started popping my Larabars in the microwave. I read this tip somewhere (another blog maybe?) a while ago, and I just tried it for the first time. It’s amazing! My favorite is the chocolate chip cherry torte. I’ve also tried it with the banana bread flavor, with some added mini chocolate chips. I’ve been eating these everyday for a year, but 15 seconds in the microwave makes it seem like a whole new snack.

3. I’ve been knitting up a storm. My sister’s having a baby in May! And, I’m making a blanket for little Baby C. I ordered the yarn online so I could get certain colors, but there was a big issue with shipping and I got it a month later than I expected. I’ve been knitting like crazy to catch up and finish in time for her shower. It’s coming along nicely, and I really like the pattern.

4. I got a haircut! And I took this picture of it:

I look weird in selfies.

5. My calf muscles are so tight. I should probably stretch. It’s one of my non-running resolutions to stretch. I’ve done it once. So far, not good. Starting today, more stretching!

That was so much more fun than trying to come up with a top 5 topic and scrounging for things to put on the list. I hope this change works for you, too. Happy Friday!