Well, the fall running season is about to begin. For us, at least. We are going to be super busy too. We have a few races planned right into the Winter and Spring and are so excited!
An update on how we are doing first though. My goal over the last weeks has been to make each of my runs no less than 3 miles in preparation for any races. Plus, I figure once you get yourself over 3 miles, you might as well try to stay there for fitness purposes. I admit though, every now and then I just get tired and head home at about 2.5 miles. It happens. Over the next few weeks, my goal is to edge my "long" run right up to about 4 miles and then not drop that run below that. I've had that goal a while now though and haven't made it there yet. I also need to work on getting to running at least 3 times a week, for sure. It's been a busy couple of weeks around here and just haven't had as much energy to run. Though, I think even getting out there in the first place should count for something. I've lowered my average overall pace though as my running intervals are lengthening and getting faster. When I run, I typically run between a 10 and 11 minute mile and I can run a full mile again (plus some) without stopping. Then, I run/walk the rest of the way to make 3 miles. For the first time ever, I actually broke a 40 minute 5k. I was so excited! I was wondering if I would ever get there. Now, the goal is to run even more of the distance rather than walk as much as I do now and try to get it even faster. I have changed my running goals to focus more on running for distance rather than time. I think I like that better at this point because I have distance goals and am working on focusing on running more and less on what my overall pace and time are.
Steven has had to take a bit of a hiatus from his training unfortunately. A couple of weeks ago he was diagnosed with shingles. Craziness. It came on because he was so stressed out and run down (mainly because of work... though partially because we run him like a crazy person when he is home) that his immune system dipped. So, he elected to not run while the virus ran its course. Plus, then he was put on an antiviral and antibiotics so he wanted to finish those out before he took up running again. His first run post meds was actually pretty good though despite his almost 2 weeks off. He ran 2.5 miles and did it at a 12:50 minute/mile pace. I'm pretty impressed. I took that type of time off once for being sick and didn't do nearly as well when I got back into it. Steven's running pace is also pretty darn good in my opinion. He runs between a 9-10 minute/mile so as he increases his time spent running with less walking, he is going to speed way up. He said that his first run back felt pretty good and we had a good laugh about running on Saturday mornings because then we don't feel half as bad when we sit around all day watching football since we already got runs out of the way. Steven no longer uses the c25k app either. It gets weird toward the end and we both found that it was better to let our bodies tell us when to stop and start rather than this app that knows nothing about what or how we are doing. Plus, I think we both felt bad when we couldn't meet the crazy requirements of the running program but could clearly see that we were getting better and running longer distances in quicker times. Also, he runs for distance now, as well. He is more focused on finishing 3 miles, for instance rather than saying he ran for 30 minutes or something.
As for races, we are about to ramp up... and we are going to do it pretty quickly. We were perusing Facebook a couple of weeks ago and came across the U Can Finish 5 Miler & 2 Miler. This race is held on the UCF campus on October 16 and you can choose to run 5 miles or 2 miles (or both and complete the distance dare). We figured that 2 miles was a waste of money for us at this point. Plus, we are working on getting ready for a 10k so we want to try to get as much practice in before that as possible to start prepping for that and see what our timing is likely to be. We didn't think doing the Distance Dare was a good idea for us. That one starts the 2 mile at 7:30 and then immediately launches into the 5 mile at 8 am. We also figured that running 5 miles now means we can get an estimate on time for the 10k and not run the 10k we were thinking about in January. We get to run through the campus, baseball fields, and stadium. Pretty cool. We also get a medal for running the 5 miler (the 2 doesn't have one) so we are definitely excited for that. Haha! We are quickly approaching this race. We are not sure about finishing 5 miles at this point but are going for it. It has a 16 minute/mile minimum like RunDisney so we are happy to have that limit on us so that we can see our timing and I think we will be fine. Both of us average a 12 to 13 minute mile overall pace so we could probably run the first 3 miles and then (quickly) walk the last 2 miles if it came down to it. We are also hoping for cooler weather by then so we will see.
Then, on November 20, we have a 5k on the Clermont Clay Trail. This race is going to push us. There is the option of a 15k, but we are in no way ready for that. Plus, this is on the clay trails. That means that in addition to running on the trail, there are hills. Major hills. This is one of the areas near us where serious runners go to do "hill training" because there are so many. I hear that some go up slightly then level out, then up again, level out, etc.... and some just go straight up. We haven't seen the trail yet, but I hope we can make some time to go out there and check it out beforehand. We will start at 7:40am at the 15k finish and just do a simple out and back. So, the plus is that every hill you have to run up, at some point, you get to run down. Haha! This race is way less about timing for us and way more about pushing ourselves on the hills. Plus, it was only a $15 sign up and still has a medal. We're in!
Then, of course, we have the RunDisney Star Wars Dark Side 10k in April of next year. This is, by far, the one we are most excited about. Of course. I hear that the course is so much fun that you don't even realize you are almost done until you are actually done. Like I said in the last post about it, this race has a 16 minute/mile minimum or the dreaded bus picks you up. We both have serious fears about being "swept" but I think we will be okay. The UCF race will let us get an idea of our timing and it is only 1.2 miles shorter than the 10k. We also have quite a bit of time to continue to prep for this race.
We discussed the option of running a 10k at Lakeridge Winery in January. I don't know that there is free wine at the end because that might have changed our viewpoint on the race as a whole. Who wouldn't want free wine? We have since nixed the idea. It would be a ton of hills, as well. Once we signed up for the UCF race though, we decided that running the 5 miles there would give us an idea in a race scenario about how we might do in a 10k so in order to save the money and time, we have chosen to not do this one this year. Maybe in 2018. We shall see.
The ProBowl is here in Orlando this year. We have heard rumors that they might add in a 5k when that rolls around, as well. In which case, we plan to do it. We can't pass up a ProBowl themed 5k.
In the next couple of months I am also going to find out about the Clearwater IronGirl 5k that I ran last year to start this ridiculous hobby of ours. My mom and sis-in-law are still serious about walking it so it will be nice to have some company this year. Though, if they both do it and can walk together, I am likely to go ahead and run it so I can try to improve on my time from this last year. If I can keep to my under 40 minute 5k, I should be able to do that.
We have just about 6 weeks until our first race this fall so it is time to kick it into gear. Especially since we are starting with 5 miles right off the bat. Should be fun!
An update on how we are doing first though. My goal over the last weeks has been to make each of my runs no less than 3 miles in preparation for any races. Plus, I figure once you get yourself over 3 miles, you might as well try to stay there for fitness purposes. I admit though, every now and then I just get tired and head home at about 2.5 miles. It happens. Over the next few weeks, my goal is to edge my "long" run right up to about 4 miles and then not drop that run below that. I've had that goal a while now though and haven't made it there yet. I also need to work on getting to running at least 3 times a week, for sure. It's been a busy couple of weeks around here and just haven't had as much energy to run. Though, I think even getting out there in the first place should count for something. I've lowered my average overall pace though as my running intervals are lengthening and getting faster. When I run, I typically run between a 10 and 11 minute mile and I can run a full mile again (plus some) without stopping. Then, I run/walk the rest of the way to make 3 miles. For the first time ever, I actually broke a 40 minute 5k. I was so excited! I was wondering if I would ever get there. Now, the goal is to run even more of the distance rather than walk as much as I do now and try to get it even faster. I have changed my running goals to focus more on running for distance rather than time. I think I like that better at this point because I have distance goals and am working on focusing on running more and less on what my overall pace and time are.
Steven has had to take a bit of a hiatus from his training unfortunately. A couple of weeks ago he was diagnosed with shingles. Craziness. It came on because he was so stressed out and run down (mainly because of work... though partially because we run him like a crazy person when he is home) that his immune system dipped. So, he elected to not run while the virus ran its course. Plus, then he was put on an antiviral and antibiotics so he wanted to finish those out before he took up running again. His first run post meds was actually pretty good though despite his almost 2 weeks off. He ran 2.5 miles and did it at a 12:50 minute/mile pace. I'm pretty impressed. I took that type of time off once for being sick and didn't do nearly as well when I got back into it. Steven's running pace is also pretty darn good in my opinion. He runs between a 9-10 minute/mile so as he increases his time spent running with less walking, he is going to speed way up. He said that his first run back felt pretty good and we had a good laugh about running on Saturday mornings because then we don't feel half as bad when we sit around all day watching football since we already got runs out of the way. Steven no longer uses the c25k app either. It gets weird toward the end and we both found that it was better to let our bodies tell us when to stop and start rather than this app that knows nothing about what or how we are doing. Plus, I think we both felt bad when we couldn't meet the crazy requirements of the running program but could clearly see that we were getting better and running longer distances in quicker times. Also, he runs for distance now, as well. He is more focused on finishing 3 miles, for instance rather than saying he ran for 30 minutes or something.
As for races, we are about to ramp up... and we are going to do it pretty quickly. We were perusing Facebook a couple of weeks ago and came across the U Can Finish 5 Miler & 2 Miler. This race is held on the UCF campus on October 16 and you can choose to run 5 miles or 2 miles (or both and complete the distance dare). We figured that 2 miles was a waste of money for us at this point. Plus, we are working on getting ready for a 10k so we want to try to get as much practice in before that as possible to start prepping for that and see what our timing is likely to be. We didn't think doing the Distance Dare was a good idea for us. That one starts the 2 mile at 7:30 and then immediately launches into the 5 mile at 8 am. We also figured that running 5 miles now means we can get an estimate on time for the 10k and not run the 10k we were thinking about in January. We get to run through the campus, baseball fields, and stadium. Pretty cool. We also get a medal for running the 5 miler (the 2 doesn't have one) so we are definitely excited for that. Haha! We are quickly approaching this race. We are not sure about finishing 5 miles at this point but are going for it. It has a 16 minute/mile minimum like RunDisney so we are happy to have that limit on us so that we can see our timing and I think we will be fine. Both of us average a 12 to 13 minute mile overall pace so we could probably run the first 3 miles and then (quickly) walk the last 2 miles if it came down to it. We are also hoping for cooler weather by then so we will see.
We discussed the option of running a 10k at Lakeridge Winery in January. I don't know that there is free wine at the end because that might have changed our viewpoint on the race as a whole. Who wouldn't want free wine? We have since nixed the idea. It would be a ton of hills, as well. Once we signed up for the UCF race though, we decided that running the 5 miles there would give us an idea in a race scenario about how we might do in a 10k so in order to save the money and time, we have chosen to not do this one this year. Maybe in 2018. We shall see.
The ProBowl is here in Orlando this year. We have heard rumors that they might add in a 5k when that rolls around, as well. In which case, we plan to do it. We can't pass up a ProBowl themed 5k.
In the next couple of months I am also going to find out about the Clearwater IronGirl 5k that I ran last year to start this ridiculous hobby of ours. My mom and sis-in-law are still serious about walking it so it will be nice to have some company this year. Though, if they both do it and can walk together, I am likely to go ahead and run it so I can try to improve on my time from this last year. If I can keep to my under 40 minute 5k, I should be able to do that.
We have just about 6 weeks until our first race this fall so it is time to kick it into gear. Especially since we are starting with 5 miles right off the bat. Should be fun!
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