officially registered

I am officially registered for the Battleship North Carolina Half Marathon...no turning back now!

November 1, 2009 at 8am in Wilmington, NC

Here is the course map: half marathon course

Training: Week 7

Last week went well, although I have felt so busy and overwhelmed with Brian out of town for training with his new job. I ran 2 miles in the neighborhood on Tuesday. I went into the gym early on Thursday and completed 4.28 miles of speedwork before I had to get ready to work. I will just have to get there earlier next time. My 7.2 mile run on Sunday was good and I was pleased that I wasn't exhausted at the end! My time was 01:26:08.

Here is the plan for this week:

Tuesday - Easy Run
cancelled this week because of work :(

Thursday - Tempo Run

• 1 mile warm up
• 4 miles @ 10:38
• 1 mile cool down

Sunday - Long Run
8 miles @ 12:10

So, I have missed my easy run, but will be going to the gym early to get my tempo run in before work. I am worried about my long run on Sunday because the weather is a little suspect with tropical storm Danny...I will keep my fingers crossed that I will not have to complete 8 miles on the dreadmill!

Training: Week 6

This week is going good so far. On Tuesday I ran my 2 miles in the 'hood and tomorrow I have 6 miles of speedwork...not my favorite, but a necessary evil.

Here is the plan for the week:

Tuesday
Easy Run - 2 miles @ 12:10

Thursday - Speedwork

• 1 mile warm up
• 3 x 1600m @ 9:57 with 800m jogs
• cool down

Sunday - Long Run
7.2 miles @ 12:10

Here is my planned route for Sunday: WB 7.2 miles

I want to run early, have a yummy breakfast, then hit the beach for some chill time. The waves should be HUGE this weekend because of Hurricane Bill...and I need some sun!

sunday, sunday!

Well, with a banana power muffin and 3 ShotBloks fueling me, I finished my 6.5 mile run in 01:11:50...half of the half marathon! It was a perfect morning at 76 degrees and there was a slight breeze for almost all of my run. I am really happy with my time and performance - a steady pace of around 11 minutes per mile and no walking/recovery breaks.

Thanks to Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church for giving out ICE COLD water...I guess that was my "holy water" this morning.

shopping spree

I did a little shopping today and got some goods for my training...

Balega running socks - my new favorite!

Pink LIVESTRONG visor - since my sunglasses make me feel hot when I run.

CLIF ShotBloks for some energy on my longer runs coming up.

A 13.1 sticker for the Trailblazer - because that's my goal!

And a book that I am really looking forward to reading: The Runner's Body. It breaks down the systems of the body - musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, metabolic, central nervous, immune - and how each contributes to and is affected by endurance training, specifically running. I'm sure that I am going to be learning some interesting things from my new reading material and I will be sharing some info on here.

7 MILES TOMORROW MORNING!!!

Training: Week 5

This week is thrown off a little bit because of circumstances beyond my control. I will get my mileage in, but I don't think it will be on the original schedule.

The original plan for this week is:

Tuesday
Easy Run - 2 miles @ 12:10

Thursday
Tempo Run - 6 miles total

• 1 mile warm up
  
• 4 miles @ 10:38
  
• 1 mile cool down

Sunday
Long Run - 7 miles @ 12:10

So things are switched around some. I am going to run 2 miles in the morning and plan the rest of the week accordingly...7 miles for sure on Sunday.

brain fart

Well, I had a brain fart yesterday and only ran 2 miles instead of 3. Oh well, 4 on Sunday! I like that the easy runs really are easy...whereas several weeks ago they would have been hard for me.

I have some good friends in town this weekend, so I will be hydrated...just not sure that it will be proper hydration for running. Good thing its only a 4-miler on Sunday!

Training: Week 4

This week is just a schedule of easy runs, which is good. I am going to incorporate a light leg workout this week and I am refocused on my meals and diet. I have been off track with my diet and I am looking forward to some structure again. I went to Try Sports this weekend and got Endurolytes, which are electrolyte replenishment pills. Hopefully, this will help me succeed with my longer runs...and, of course, HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!

Here is the schedule for this week:

Tuesday
Easy Run - 3 miles @ 12:17

Thursday
Easy Run - 3 miles @ 12:17

Sunday
Easy Run - 4 miles @ 12:17

6 miler

I had a good 6 mile run yesterday morning, as scheduled. I planned a route at Wrightsville Beach that started at the Loop and went down to the Coast Guard station and back. Here is the link to the route: WB 6 Mile

I knew I had to get down there early so it wouldn't be so hot, but a a little rain gave me a late start. Nonetheless, I was off and running at 8:07 AM. It felt great, but it was humid once the sun came blazing down. According to my training plan, my pace was scheduled to be 12:17/mile and I completed my run in 1:17:25, so I was close to pace. I did have to walk for three 1 minute recovery periods because there were a couple sections that were so hot with no breeze at all! All in all I felt like it was a good run and I am happy that I am still moving forward.

Here is a post-run pic!