I registered Jeremy and I for the Indianapolis Half Marathon on Oct. 16th! I'm very excited, but have struggled again this week with going to run. I missed one short run and my long run this week. I'm hoping to make one of them up tomorrow. I'm guessing it will the short run.
This past week was my last week for group swim lessons, so I wont have that EVERY night to work around which will help me get in my runs easier!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
One more day.....
to enter to win a free sweaty band! You must leave a comment on my page and state which way you entered in order to be considered.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
sweaty bands giveaway
what you all have been waiting for - the sweatybands giveaway!
here's how to enter:
1. MANDATORY: Go to www.sweatybands.com website and leave a comment on my blog telling me which one you like best.
2. Become a follower of my blog and post a separate comment telling me you have become a follower.
3. Post this giveaway to your blog and leave me another comment telling me you've done so.
4. Post this giveaway to your Facebook and leave me another comment telling me you've done so.
5. Like Sweatybands on Facebook and/or if you already do like sweatybands on fb leave me a comment telling me so.
**You have 5 chances to enter and win your very own sweatyband. How awesome is that!!
**I have 2 sweatybands to giveaway (see pics below), so I'll select TWO lucky winners to receive one of these fabulous bands! This giveaway will end on Sunday, August 1st at 11:59 pm.
here's how to enter:
1. MANDATORY: Go to www.sweatybands.com website and leave a comment on my blog telling me which one you like best.
2. Become a follower of my blog and post a separate comment telling me you have become a follower.
3. Post this giveaway to your blog and leave me another comment telling me you've done so.
4. Post this giveaway to your Facebook and leave me another comment telling me you've done so.
5. Like Sweatybands on Facebook and/or if you already do like sweatybands on fb leave me a comment telling me so.
**You have 5 chances to enter and win your very own sweatyband. How awesome is that!!
**I have 2 sweatybands to giveaway (see pics below), so I'll select TWO lucky winners to receive one of these fabulous bands! This giveaway will end on Sunday, August 1st at 11:59 pm.
Monday, July 26, 2010
water bottle grab and coming soon sweaty bands give away!
last night jeremy and I went for a bike ride. we hadn't been on a ride in 3 weeks so it was nice to get back out and take a leisurely ride. during the ride i decided i was going to try to be one of those bikers that can drive their bike with one hand and get a drink of water from their water bottle with the other without stopping. i had reached down a few times but had never been successful at actually getting my water bottle out. last night though was a different story! i was able to successfully steer and hold on to my bike handle with my right hand and grab my water bottle with my left and take a drink AND put it back in the cage! some of you might not think that this is a big thing, but to me it is bc I am still uncomfortable holding on with one hand and am no where near being on my bike with NO hands. jeremy tried that last night and it scares me just watching him!
i didn't wear my sweaty band last night and boy could i tell a difference! i had sweat all over my face and forehead and that pesky line of water dripping right into the corner of my eye was back! :( i could definitely tell a difference when not wearing compared to when i did wear it!
sweatybands.com is sending me 2 bands to give away. so check back soon for the sweaty bands give away. go on and become a follower now so you can get a headstart on the process!
i didn't wear my sweaty band last night and boy could i tell a difference! i had sweat all over my face and forehead and that pesky line of water dripping right into the corner of my eye was back! :( i could definitely tell a difference when not wearing compared to when i did wear it!
sweatybands.com is sending me 2 bands to give away. so check back soon for the sweaty bands give away. go on and become a follower now so you can get a headstart on the process!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Sweaty bands, sweaty bands what will they do for you?
(title can be sung to the tune of "smelly cat" from friends).
Impressed and Amazed! These words come to mind when I think about wearing my sweaty band this morning.
I have had some bad experiences with headbands prior to today. They would not stay in place, fly off the back of my head, give me a headache, and hurt behind my ears due to pressing against my glasses! :(.
I have had some friends that tried a sweaty band but I was still skeptical mainly due to my glasses being an issue. My glasses were not an issue today and neither was the sweat!
It worked just like it was supposed to! I had the bottom of the band at the base of my hairline. It stayed in place the whole time! It never slipped, not one time!! On the walk breaks I pulled it down to just above my eyebrows and pushed it back to my hairline just to wipe the sweat off my forehead.
During my previous runs I would end up with a solid line of sweat running right into the corner of my eyes. With the sweaty bands I didn't have that problem either!
And as an added bonus they are super duper cute!! See my pics below. If you have any reservations about sweaty bands put them aside and go buy one so you can see for yourself how awesome they are!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Impressed and Amazed! These words come to mind when I think about wearing my sweaty band this morning.
I have had some bad experiences with headbands prior to today. They would not stay in place, fly off the back of my head, give me a headache, and hurt behind my ears due to pressing against my glasses! :(.
I have had some friends that tried a sweaty band but I was still skeptical mainly due to my glasses being an issue. My glasses were not an issue today and neither was the sweat!
It worked just like it was supposed to! I had the bottom of the band at the base of my hairline. It stayed in place the whole time! It never slipped, not one time!! On the walk breaks I pulled it down to just above my eyebrows and pushed it back to my hairline just to wipe the sweat off my forehead.
During my previous runs I would end up with a solid line of sweat running right into the corner of my eyes. With the sweaty bands I didn't have that problem either!
And as an added bonus they are super duper cute!! See my pics below. If you have any reservations about sweaty bands put them aside and go buy one so you can see for yourself how awesome they are!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
5 miles..done!
I can proudly say I completed 5 miles this morning! Not once did I ask myself my usual question "why am I doing this?".
It was 82 degrees and very humid at 8:30am. Although running really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wasn't focused on my time at all I just wanted to get the miles in. The Jeff galloway program calls for alternating running and walking. I run 1 minute and walk 1 minute currently. I hope to increase my running time over the next couple months in preperation for the half.
The most that I have ever ran before today was 3.1 miles so going up to 5 miles today was a huge feat to accomplish!! Yay me! :)
Jeremy ran 10 miles this morning while I ran my 5. He did have a 20 minute headstart on me but we finished at the same time.
During this run I used sweaty bands. Come back to read my review of this awesome product!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
It was 82 degrees and very humid at 8:30am. Although running really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wasn't focused on my time at all I just wanted to get the miles in. The Jeff galloway program calls for alternating running and walking. I run 1 minute and walk 1 minute currently. I hope to increase my running time over the next couple months in preperation for the half.
The most that I have ever ran before today was 3.1 miles so going up to 5 miles today was a huge feat to accomplish!! Yay me! :)
Jeremy ran 10 miles this morning while I ran my 5. He did have a 20 minute headstart on me but we finished at the same time.
During this run I used sweaty bands. Come back to read my review of this awesome product!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, July 22, 2010
crazy busy
Running this week for me has been a definite struggle. I haven't ran at all since Saturday's 5K. We are trying to put our house on the market and I have been crazy busy trying to get it clean and straight! This week in my half training I should have 2 short 20 min. runs with a long run of 5 miles on Friday. So far my 2 20 min. runs have not happened at all and tomorrow is Friday!! I am going to run/walk tonight for 20 min. I will run/walk tomorrow the 5 miles, then run 20 min. on Sunday to get in the run I have skipped. Next week will start 23 min. short runs and a 6 mile run on Saturday (although due to a race that weekend, I'm not sure how that will work out! I might just skip it and do 7 the following week - we shall see!)
Last week my friend Twila ordered a road bike. She got a Trek as well. It came in this past Tuesday, so we set up a bike ride for last night. One of my former swimmers (Josh), who house sits for Twila, also has a bike, as well as one of my current swimmers. So we all decided to bike together last night. We couldnt' ride with the bike group bc of time issues, so we decided we would be our own bike group last night!
It was a nice ride. It wasn't too hot out. We rode 14.66 miles, just a down and back stretch with rolling hills. It's the same course the sprint tri will be, so i was glad to bike it and have an estimated time for the biking part of it! Twila got to ride her bike for the first time ever, and I got to ride mine for the first time in 2 weeks! Boy, had i missed it!! After the ride, Josh did a little bike tutorial for us, since Twila and I are new to changing gears and knowing when to shift out of the front ones. We plan to go on a ride again next wednesday!
I had planned on running after biking last night but when i got home i was tired and had to make dinner for my hubby, so it just didnt happen! :( atleast i did exercise yesterday, even though it wasnt' running!
Last week my friend Twila ordered a road bike. She got a Trek as well. It came in this past Tuesday, so we set up a bike ride for last night. One of my former swimmers (Josh), who house sits for Twila, also has a bike, as well as one of my current swimmers. So we all decided to bike together last night. We couldnt' ride with the bike group bc of time issues, so we decided we would be our own bike group last night!
It was a nice ride. It wasn't too hot out. We rode 14.66 miles, just a down and back stretch with rolling hills. It's the same course the sprint tri will be, so i was glad to bike it and have an estimated time for the biking part of it! Twila got to ride her bike for the first time ever, and I got to ride mine for the first time in 2 weeks! Boy, had i missed it!! After the ride, Josh did a little bike tutorial for us, since Twila and I are new to changing gears and knowing when to shift out of the front ones. We plan to go on a ride again next wednesday!
I had planned on running after biking last night but when i got home i was tired and had to make dinner for my hubby, so it just didnt happen! :( atleast i did exercise yesterday, even though it wasnt' running!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Success....finally!
I did it! I reached my goal of a 5k under 40 minutes! 39:16 to be exact on a very hilly course to say the least. The first 2 miles is uphill, with the last mile being downhill with some flat stretches.
Jeremy had said he would run this race with me, but after looking at last years results and seeing he could get first based on his current times, I could tell he wanted to run it on his own. Which was fine with me bc I already had another running buddy lined up! :) One of my swim dad's that I have know since I started coaching 8 years ago, David, has started running and goes about the same pace as me. We both wanted to break 40, so we figured we could run together and push each other. I wore the Forerunner so we knew what our pace was and what we had to go or not go in order to break 40.
The course was seriously uphill the first two miles, but our pace was good and we rocked it! What's encouraging is most of the fast runners had slower times today due to hills and heat and humidity, so I figure on a flatter, cooler race day we will really drop a lot of time!
Jeremy unfortunately did not have a good race today, as he got lost on the course and took a 3 minute detour in the wrong direction! It wasn't meant to be I guess for him to win his age group. Even if he had run a PR, there were 3 other guys in his age group today that were 3-4 minutes faster. We haven't seen them at other races this year, so we weren't expecting them. Hopefully they wont be at any of the future races either for Jeremy's sake! :)
the next race is in two weeks. it's a 5K cross country course and a 1 mile track run. I'm seriously leaning towards only doing the 1 mile. Cross country is NOT my thing. (Plus my running buddy wont be there!)
here's a picture of me and jeremy pre-race
Jeremy had said he would run this race with me, but after looking at last years results and seeing he could get first based on his current times, I could tell he wanted to run it on his own. Which was fine with me bc I already had another running buddy lined up! :) One of my swim dad's that I have know since I started coaching 8 years ago, David, has started running and goes about the same pace as me. We both wanted to break 40, so we figured we could run together and push each other. I wore the Forerunner so we knew what our pace was and what we had to go or not go in order to break 40.
The course was seriously uphill the first two miles, but our pace was good and we rocked it! What's encouraging is most of the fast runners had slower times today due to hills and heat and humidity, so I figure on a flatter, cooler race day we will really drop a lot of time!
Jeremy unfortunately did not have a good race today, as he got lost on the course and took a 3 minute detour in the wrong direction! It wasn't meant to be I guess for him to win his age group. Even if he had run a PR, there were 3 other guys in his age group today that were 3-4 minutes faster. We haven't seen them at other races this year, so we weren't expecting them. Hopefully they wont be at any of the future races either for Jeremy's sake! :)
the next race is in two weeks. it's a 5K cross country course and a 1 mile track run. I'm seriously leaning towards only doing the 1 mile. Cross country is NOT my thing. (Plus my running buddy wont be there!)
here's a picture of me and jeremy pre-race
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Running on Marshmellows
Tonight was my first run in my new shoes! Running on marshmellows is the closest thing I can compare it to. They felt great! Jeremy has said shoes make the difference. Don't know if they will help me to drop time, but they did feel very comfy!
I needed to do my long run of 3 miles this week but wanted to wait til it got cooler this evening. Jeremy and I worked in the yard for a while this afternoon then went to my parents to get rid of some limbs. Since we were getting short on daylight hours we decided to run the 3.1 tonight on my parents road. The road was very hilly. We went out and back so there was a steap downhill and uphill and a steady uphill the first half and then a steady downhill and steep downhill and uphill the second half. The steep uphill at the end did me in! It was horrible! I walked up it and almost couldn't do that without stopping! Mom said they call it heartbreak hill. I think heart attack hill is more like it!
Overall, my time was faster than the liberty 5k and my first mile was the best one mile time I have ever done. The third mile was really bad but I attribute that to heart attack hill!
This week my short runs will be 17 min long with a 5k on Saturday in Stanford. Im still focusing on getting faster during the shorter runs. Jeremy said he could tell a big difference tonight in my speed from the last time he ran with me. Cross training this week will consist of biking Wednesday night and swim lessons mon, tues, and thurs.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I needed to do my long run of 3 miles this week but wanted to wait til it got cooler this evening. Jeremy and I worked in the yard for a while this afternoon then went to my parents to get rid of some limbs. Since we were getting short on daylight hours we decided to run the 3.1 tonight on my parents road. The road was very hilly. We went out and back so there was a steap downhill and uphill and a steady uphill the first half and then a steady downhill and steep downhill and uphill the second half. The steep uphill at the end did me in! It was horrible! I walked up it and almost couldn't do that without stopping! Mom said they call it heartbreak hill. I think heart attack hill is more like it!
Overall, my time was faster than the liberty 5k and my first mile was the best one mile time I have ever done. The third mile was really bad but I attribute that to heart attack hill!
This week my short runs will be 17 min long with a 5k on Saturday in Stanford. Im still focusing on getting faster during the shorter runs. Jeremy said he could tell a big difference tonight in my speed from the last time he ran with me. Cross training this week will consist of biking Wednesday night and swim lessons mon, tues, and thurs.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, July 10, 2010
new shoes
Jeremy has been telling me for months that i need to buy some "good" running shoes. The shoes i currently have are from kohls and give me blisters if i dont wear thick socks. i have been holding back bc i didnt want to spend that much money on shoes if i wasn't going to continue running.
he decided to get some new shoes today so i figured why not? if i'm going to run a half i probably need some good shoes now. so we went to the local bike and footwear shop and unfortunately they didnt have color or kind i wanted. they didnt have jeremy's either :( so we went to hibbetts and found mine there. jeremy still had no luck finding what he wanted and in the right color.
i ended up with a pair of pink gel nimbus 12's. They are very pretty and will match my pink running outfit very nicely! (which is all that really matters, right?)
*on a side note, jeremy ran in a 5k this morning and kicked some booty! he got a personal best by 35 seconds and got under 25 minutes for the first time. he went 24.42 on a very hilly course. i'm so proud of him! he keeps dropping time every week!
i didnt run this in the 5k this morning. i was feeling very sluggish last night and woke up this morning with an upset stomach. i have definitely learned my lesson of deciding not to run when my stomach is not functioning properly. :(
he decided to get some new shoes today so i figured why not? if i'm going to run a half i probably need some good shoes now. so we went to the local bike and footwear shop and unfortunately they didnt have color or kind i wanted. they didnt have jeremy's either :( so we went to hibbetts and found mine there. jeremy still had no luck finding what he wanted and in the right color.
i ended up with a pair of pink gel nimbus 12's. They are very pretty and will match my pink running outfit very nicely! (which is all that really matters, right?)
*on a side note, jeremy ran in a 5k this morning and kicked some booty! he got a personal best by 35 seconds and got under 25 minutes for the first time. he went 24.42 on a very hilly course. i'm so proud of him! he keeps dropping time every week!
i didnt run this in the 5k this morning. i was feeling very sluggish last night and woke up this morning with an upset stomach. i have definitely learned my lesson of deciding not to run when my stomach is not functioning properly. :(
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
biking - take 2
tonight was group bike night. i was really excited about this ride bc they were going on the road my parents live on. i was really unexcited about the 92 degrees it was at start time.
after the ride, everyone was going to kathy's house for food and to see her new patio furniture! :) it looked very good by the way! she wanted to cut back early and get ready for her guests and I volunteered to go back with her. unfortunately that meant skipping the road i wanted to go on! :( i know there will be other rides and really dont regret missing it too much. it was so hot i was glad to come back early.
we did 14 miles which is now my second longest ride ever, so not too shabby! proud to say that this week was easier than last and not just bc we did less milage!
tomorrow morning i'm running on the treadmill. i've had enough of the hot and humid for this week, i'll take my airconditioned treadmill any day!
Hot, hot, hot
The heat and humidity are back! This week is my first week of my half training. The program I am using starts off with 15 minute runs 2 times a week with a long run of 3 miles on saturday.
I also want to work on my 5k time this summer. I thought I would do the 15 minutes (rather than run a full 30-40 that i know i can do) and try to run faster during that time.
I had a swim lesson at 7:45 an was going to the movies after that so i thought running before would be a good idea. It was and it wasn't. It wa still 90 degrees at 7:00 pm. Can we say miserable? Oh I think we can!!
I started off not knowing whether i was going to run the whole 15 minutes or do the run/walk technique that my half program is based on. One minute in, I knew there was no way in that heat I could run the speed I wanted and maintain it.
So I did 1 min run/ 1 min walk and ran faster than i normally do when i'm out for a run for that minute. My time after one mile was only 2 seconds slower than my first mile had been at the 5k on saturday. I thought that was great considering I walked for half a mile of it. Which let's me know that I just need to work on my endurance of running faster!
Overall, I was pleased with my run but. I know that I will definitely be hitting the treadmill for my Thursday run this week! 98 degrees for a high = no outside running for me!
I bike with the group again tonight. It's supposed to be very hot again but I still want to go since they are going to be riding on the road I grew up on and where my parents still live.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I also want to work on my 5k time this summer. I thought I would do the 15 minutes (rather than run a full 30-40 that i know i can do) and try to run faster during that time.
I had a swim lesson at 7:45 an was going to the movies after that so i thought running before would be a good idea. It was and it wasn't. It wa still 90 degrees at 7:00 pm. Can we say miserable? Oh I think we can!!
I started off not knowing whether i was going to run the whole 15 minutes or do the run/walk technique that my half program is based on. One minute in, I knew there was no way in that heat I could run the speed I wanted and maintain it.
So I did 1 min run/ 1 min walk and ran faster than i normally do when i'm out for a run for that minute. My time after one mile was only 2 seconds slower than my first mile had been at the 5k on saturday. I thought that was great considering I walked for half a mile of it. Which let's me know that I just need to work on my endurance of running faster!
Overall, I was pleased with my run but. I know that I will definitely be hitting the treadmill for my Thursday run this week! 98 degrees for a high = no outside running for me!
I bike with the group again tonight. It's supposed to be very hot again but I still want to go since they are going to be riding on the road I grew up on and where my parents still live.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, July 3, 2010
the end of the beginning
i titled this the end of the beginning because today was both the end of part of my running career and also the beginning.
after biking wednesday night 3 times as many miles as i had ever biked before, i decided NOT to get up thursday morning for my last couch to 5k run. just couldnt' force myself or my legs and back! unfortunately that night I didn't have time to run either due to other plans. i didnt want to run friday bc I had a 5k race saturday morning and didn't want to do back to back day runs. so, i decided how fitting that my last couch to 5k work out would be at a 5k!!
i was shooting for under 40min but would just be happy to finish it and have ran the whole thing! it was a flat course, the weather was sunny and cool. my official time was 41:45. however, the course was .15 LONGER than a 5k is supposed to be!! :( everyone that had a garmin after the race was asking how long their watch said it was and to everyones dismay they all showed the course was too long!
so looking at the info from my garmin and the map that it showed i did technically do the 3.1 in under 40min. the race just happened to be longer than that! irony maybe? i dont know. but the fact is i did reach my goal, just unofficially!
my couch to 5k training came to an end today, but my half marathon training now begins. i still have the thoughts of "what am I doing?" during the first half of the race. i'm hoping that will eventually pass.
on a seperate related note, jeremy got second in his age group and was a few seconds off his personal best time. if the course had been the correct length he would have smashed his old time and been in the 24 minutes easy. better luck next week!
after biking wednesday night 3 times as many miles as i had ever biked before, i decided NOT to get up thursday morning for my last couch to 5k run. just couldnt' force myself or my legs and back! unfortunately that night I didn't have time to run either due to other plans. i didnt want to run friday bc I had a 5k race saturday morning and didn't want to do back to back day runs. so, i decided how fitting that my last couch to 5k work out would be at a 5k!!
i was shooting for under 40min but would just be happy to finish it and have ran the whole thing! it was a flat course, the weather was sunny and cool. my official time was 41:45. however, the course was .15 LONGER than a 5k is supposed to be!! :( everyone that had a garmin after the race was asking how long their watch said it was and to everyones dismay they all showed the course was too long!
so looking at the info from my garmin and the map that it showed i did technically do the 3.1 in under 40min. the race just happened to be longer than that! irony maybe? i dont know. but the fact is i did reach my goal, just unofficially!
my couch to 5k training came to an end today, but my half marathon training now begins. i still have the thoughts of "what am I doing?" during the first half of the race. i'm hoping that will eventually pass.
on a seperate related note, jeremy got second in his age group and was a few seconds off his personal best time. if the course had been the correct length he would have smashed his old time and been in the 24 minutes easy. better luck next week!
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