Easing into fall

There's part of me that feels like this was a disappointing week, yet there's another part of me that feels completely satisfied. In the end, I think it's what I realized this week with getting in better overall shape that has me happy.

It's been an interesting week with my mileage. All told I have 32 miles -- 10.6 running, 10.5 biking, 8.6 walking and 2.3 on the elliptical machine. I missed a run this week to get into the teens, but I did do a little more biking -- all this weekend. Adding it all up, it's more than last week and that's really all I was seeking. My desire to run still isn't very strong, but as I've mentioned this week my desire to stay in shape and get in better shape is growing.

I don't have any specific injuries, but I've had a lot of dull, aching pains this week in my feet and my knees. It's nothing major and it's nothing I haven't trained through before. Perhaps its the changing of the seasons and the cooler weather, or perhaps it's because I need the break from pavement. I'm not going to push it right now, but I'm not going to completely stop either. Getting in 10 miles or so a week right now is sufficient for me, as long as I'm doing other stuff.

This coming week, my goal is to increase my overall mileage from this week -- it's nice to be able to take a different approach to fitness with the ability to ease off the running. You may have noticed that I took my 8k counter down. It's not that I don't plan on doing it, but for personal reasons I can't commit to it until that week. I don't need it sitting there if I end up not running it. There's also a 5k next weekend that I'm considering, but I probably won't make that decision until the night before. It sure is nice to be able to do that.

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to my friend Vicki, who also ran the Rock 'n' Roll Half in August. Yesterday she completely the Baltimore Marathon in just under 5 hours -- congrats to her and all the other finishers out there!

My bailout plan is working

While September was a great month to get some rest, I can't continue with that mind frame. That's why this week was all about getting back into the groove and getting October started on the right foot. If I'm going to get back into being consistent, I have to start now.

This week I was able to log 13.9 running miles, 9.6 walking miles and 7.1 miles on the bike. While this is nothing overly impressive, it's far better than anything else I've done since August. With an 8k now less than six weeks away, it's a good place to be. My "long" run this week was 4.1 miles, which is a good starting point. Being just shy of 14 miles for the week, I'm right where I want to be to get consistent with miles in the mid-teens. And I definitely plan to build on my bike mileage too for a few weeks. I'm starting to run out of daylight, so I'm figuring out what to do about that. I continue to ponder joining a gym, but it's a tough commitment.

All in all, I am happy that October has started off well. I've kicked off the last quarter of the year better than what the economy is doing, so I guess I'm doing something right.

Silly September

At the end of the month, I usually do some sort of month recap. I've missed some months along the way -- like last month, which ended with a race and I pretty much forgot about it -- but I usually like to take a look back on what has happened both positively and negatively.

If you have followed my blog, you already know that September was pretty much an off month for me. I did it for various reasons, but the No. 1 reason was to give myself a break by choice. Sure I've had some breaks in the past year, but they were mainly due to injury. I wanted a break by choice. It wasn't a complete break from running -- it was a break from doing things because of a race. My random runs were actually pretty good. I happily increased my dog's miles along the way as well. I also got back on the bike after a couple of months off it. I didn't get many miles, but it was enough to feel comfortable again on two wheels. The totals: 24.8 running miles (compared to more than 100 miles in August); 19.9 biking miles; and more than 20 walking miles. Surprisingly, when it comes to running, it wasn't my lowest total for the year -- that came in April when I was getting over an injury.

So now that September is over, I can finally answer the question of what's next. I have decided to run the Ntelos 8k in Richmond in November. It's the same day of the Richmond Marathon and the new Richmond Half Marathon. Simply put, it's a huge running day in Richmond. While it's not a "big" race when it comes to mileage, it's a "big" race with more than 2,000 people taking part in the 8k. That distance is what I'm comfortable with right now. It'll be nice over the next six weeks to have a few runs a week in the 3-4 mile range and "long" runs in the 5-6 mile range. It's a welcome break from what I've been used to for almost two years. I'll detail my goals sometime in the next few weeks.

I may do a 5k along the way, but honestly I just want to spend the next couple of weeks getting into a normal routine. My September normal is over and it's time to get refocused.

Sweetheart 8k

No race should start with a steep uphill. It's just cruel. But that's the way today's race started. The initial incline wasn't too bad, but then within a tenth of a mile it was like running up a black diamond ski slope. It wasn't long, but it was hell. A young boy running with his father was repeatedly saying "I can't make it." I think he did make it up the hill, but I didn't seem them again. I've never seen a field of runners get so spread out so quickly as I did today.

About the first half mile of today's race was uphill before it flatten out a bit and started going downhill toward the end of the first mile. I happened to glance down at my watch when I hit one mile (there were no mile markers on the course) and was at exactly 8 minutes. Having battled that hill, I was pleasantly surprised, but I questioned whether or not I could maintain the pace. Thankfully there was a decent downhill to allow a recovery and to pick up the pace without trying too hard.

The rest of the race went well. There were several rolling hills that reminded me of my running days in Lynchburg. Richmond is a strange area -- my neighborhood and the surrounding few miles are relatively flat. But in the neighborhood five miles south, it's nothing but hills. Anyway, during the race I kept getting a feeling that my legs were going to cramp. It was cool - about 40 degrees - and quite windy in certain areas. At the half way point, I was screaming at myself in my head for wearing a long sleeve shirt. I took my thin gloves off, pushed up my sleeves, turned my hat around and kept rolling along near that 8-minute mile pace.

Near mile 3, I had one of those annoying people pass me who likes to just shout stuff out randomly. "MILE 3! WE'RE AT A SUB-8 PACE!" While it may come across as supportive, at this point I don't want to hear anyone talk, unless they're cheering us along. "THAT'S 3.5 MILES. ONLY A LITTLE MORE THAN A MILE TO GO!" At that point, the competitive side in me came out and I said to myself -- perhaps I should've shouted it -- I'm not going to let this guy finish in front of me. While running is often individual with racing against myself, I can't help but want to finish in front of know-it-all types. I think another woman near me felt the same.

As we rounded the corner to circle around a lake to the finish line, the woman passed by him, and with less than a tenth of a mile to go, I had enough in me to pass by him. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not complaining about him. I like having people out there like that. It helps me maintain my pace, and it helps get my mind off the fact I would have rather stopped and thrown up at some point this morning.

So, I crossed the finish line in 38:26, a 7:44 pace. It's also a PR for that distance - my previous (and only) best in this distance was in 2006 (on a course nowhere near as hilly) at 39:17. With a month to go until my big race, what does all this mean?

Despite the fact I want to shed a few pounds, I think this is a great sign to get close to my time from last year. My goal, though, is to beat that time, even if by a second. There are a lot of things to keep in mind -- this course was hilly; the Virginia Beach course is basically flat. Today had wind often in my face; Virginia Beach is also windy, but last year it was more of a cross wind. Who knows what the weather will be. Today was close to 40; last year it was in the low 20s at the start -- in mid-March, anything can happen. Today was my first true speed workout in three months; I have four more weeks to get a few more speed workouts in. I want to beat 1:44:23, and today put it in perspective that it's possible. I just have to say focused.

For the first time in a while, I feel pleased with where I am with running. What I need to do is right there in front of me, and I can only blame myself if it doesn't happen.

Pre-race excitement

Tomorrow morning I'm running in my first race since the marathon. I'm pretty excited about it too. Having dealt with being sick, being injured and slowly getting back into shape, this will be a good test for me before the half marathon next month. It's an 8k, and I've only done one other 8k before (plus two 5 milers - close enough, right? Except I can have totally different PRs).

I'm not really setting up any specific goals -- I just want to be able to run a nice steady pace the whole time. Not having run a race for three months is a pretty big gap considering what I did last year, so I'm eager to test it all out. If I set a PR, that'll be nice, but I'm not really worried about that.

I weighed myself today and am mad at myself for letting a few pounds creep back. It's kind of odd with increasing my mileage and seeing the weight go up, too. I know that it's actually common for that to happen, but it's frustrating all the same. I've been doing great with getting focused on running, but no so good when it comes to food I guess. Plus I'm at this age where I can tell things are starting to change too. I know, I know, you're saying that I'm only 29, but I can really tell that my metabolism is changing and that I can't just eat what I used to. I'm mad at myself because I was so determined after the marathon not to gain weight back, but it's just like last year all over again. I guess I have to lay off the goodies at work and get back to eating apples instead. :)