2 Week Countdown...

To the Super Bowl? ... yes... 

but the Super Bowl is not what I'm counting down to.

I am counting down to February 5th because that is the day that I plan to complete my first Full Marathon!! Yes, that's right I said it...Full Marathon! That is 26.2 miles of pure determination. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would want to or have the fitness base to sign up for one let alone be excited about running in a Marathon.

Run Surf City

I have been training since October. I took a week off after Long Beach half marathon and then began training for this marathon. So far I have completed 14 weeks of training. These last two weeks are taper weeks. Which means my training is reduced to let my legs recover and rest so that they will be fresh for race day. Yippee!

I went back and forth before training started with how I wanted to run this race. I felt there were two ways I could run it: push my pace and finish as fast as I possibly can or not worry that much about pace and just get comfortable with the distance and enjoy the experience. After a lot of thought I decided to not push my pace and just enjoy this distance for my first time running it.
 
I'm running this race with my good friend Karoline and our goal time is somewhere around 4:30. Last weekend we ran the 20 mile run at a 10:29 pace but the training plan predicts our pace to be 10:00 for the race so I'll be interested to see what pace we end up at.

It's funny how scary 26.2 seemed just a few short months ago. I honestly don't feel intimidated by the mileage anymore and really I'm amazed at how strong our bodies are and how much they thrive at being challenged.

So while everyone countdowns to the Super Bowl I will be counting down to my first full marathon in beautiful Huntington Beach!

And just in case you are interested I ran the half marathon at Surf City last year. Here is the recap.

I used a specific training plan which I will share the details later this week. I absolutely loved using this "new to me" method. 

WVA Ralph J. Reddington 10K and Kids Run- Race Recap

On the fourth of July I woke up early and met up with my girlfriends to run our local 10k. I had planned on running the 5k again this year but since I really hadn't done any speed work or really any training it was very unrealistic that I would have been able to run faster than last year. Plus all my friends were running the 10k and it's fun to run with friends.

We wore our cute sparkle skirts because they make any race a little more fun. But this race was not fun for me at all. It was hot and it was hard. I just couldn't find my groove.

It started off on the wrong foot. We stood at the start line chatting and taking pics and then the horn sounded to start and everyone was a little taking back the lack of warning before the start.

I can't really explain why I felt I couldn't run the route I run a couple days a week. My body just did not want to and my mind could not force it to get moving. I wanted to quit a handful of times especially when we ran past the road to my house.

I felt bad because my friends were staying back with me instead of leaving me behind. A couple of times I thought I was going to cry because I was soo frustrated with myself. My friends kept telling me to keep going and they were super encouraging and had it not been for them I may have just quit.

I have never felt this way before about a race and it was a totally bummer to have all those feelings. I finished with the time: 1:02:32.  My pace averaged 10:03.

So the best part about this morning was that my son Weston got to race in his first kids run!! It was a one mile race. I didn't plan on him racing until the night before when he told me how much he really wanted to race too. He has asked a couple of times but I have been waiting for a shorter kids run but this ended up being a fun race for him.

We were super proud of Weston for running this race all by himself! He ran the mile in 9 minutes and 7 seconds. 

So even though it wasn't a great race or a fun run for me I ended up having a good time after I finished and got to celebrate with my son.

Also I wanted to give a big CONGRATS to Tiffany (the one in the white hat above) for winning her age division at this race with a smoking fast 48 min time!

Have you ever had a race you just wanted to quit?

Summer/ Fall Race Plans

Okay since I threw in the towel for P90X I have been casually running here and there. Swimming a day or two then a week or so off and a ride thrown in for good measure every blue moon.

I have not been consistent at all. Which is not terrible but I love how I feel when I am on more of a schedule. I love to cross training days off a plan. Registering for races helps keep me consistent and challenged. I usually have a goal in mind when I sign up for a race and I try to figure out a plan/schedule to help meet that goal.

I have signed up for one fall race so far but I have one summer fun race and one other fall race I am a little too nervous to sign up for.

These are the races I have in mind for the rest of this year and a little into next:

7/4/11-- Ralph J. Redington (aka Woodbridge) 5K--I ran this last year for my first race in CA. It was a really fun race. Here's my race recap.

9/11/11--Pacific Coast Triathlon-- I have not signed up for this race yet. I really would love to complete a triathlon. This is a local tri (I have a group of friends already racing in it) but the swim is in the ocean which really frightens me. You know sharks, big waves, murky deep water, etc. Open water???? Hmmm.. I'm just not sure.

10/9/11--Long Beach half marathon -- This is where I ran my first half last year. Poor organization last year but I hear they have a new event planner this year. Here's my recap.

2/5/12--Surf City MARATHON-- Oh yeah I typed that big fat word MARATHON not half but a full marathon I am pondering for Surf City. I want to run a marathon one day...I think 2/5/12 may be my day. Not signed up yet I have to grow a little more courage to click the marathon option. Yikes! Oh I meant YIPPEE!! :) Here's my race recap.

If you think you might be interested in signing up for a race and you're not sure how to get started take a look at this post.

She Runs LA - Virtual 10K

Last night I ran my first ever virtual 10k with the She Runs LA hosted by Nike. I was able to get together with a couple of friends and pound out the miles. For the event Nike provided super cute pink tanks with the She Runs LA logo. Love it!

Since I have been on a break from running this was my first longish run since Surf City. I was slow as molasses but the company was great and the view was extraordinary! We decided to run Quail Hill Trailhead / Boomers Canyon area. It's very hilly which was a nice change but it was tough. Hopefully since the sun sets later now we can run this trail more often.

If you are ever in Irvine you should definitely run this trail the views are great. We finished a little after dusk and as we reached the top of the last hill we could see all the lights of the city. I was tempted to take a quick picture but decided to drink water instead.

It was really a fun idea to run a virtual 10k especially knowing that there were women all over running on the same day the same distance for the same event. 

I did download the Nike+ app for my iphone so that I could upload my run to their website. I have tried a couple other running apps for my phone in the past but I will say this one was neat. I used it for the first time last night so I haven't had a chance to play with all the features but for $1.99 it looks like you get a  lot of bang for your buck. 

Tonight they hosted the celebration at the Nokia theater in downtown LA for the She Runs LA event. It sounded like it was going to be a blast. Unfortunately I was not able to make it and I was totally bummed! Hopefully some of you were able to attend and if you did I would love to hear all the details.

She Runs LA Powered by Nike and Giveaway

Source

Nike will be hosting their first digital 10k race in Los Angeles and surrounding areas on April 27th starting at 4p.m. and ending on April 28th at 4 p.m. You have that 24 hour time period to run a 10k and then upload it to the nike+ website. The idea is that women all over LA will be running at the same time to show our love for running! After the "race" Nike will be hosting a big red carpet event at the Nokia Theater in downtown LA to celebrate in style. 

They just announced that Mike Posner will be the performer for this event! There will also be guest appearances of Nike athletes and other fun things. Sounds like a fun post run bash Hollywood style!

The best part of this event is that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a program called Students Run LA. This is their awesome mission statement: The mission of Students Run LA is to challenge at-risk secondary students to experience the benefits of goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring and improved health by providing them with a truly life-changing experience: The training for and completion of the Honda LA Marathon.

Nike has offered 50 free passes for my readers to participate in this fun event!! If you would like a free pass for this event please email me: simplyfitmama@gmail.com for the details.

I would love to see a bunch of us out on the streets running on April 27th. If you are not 10k ready that is perfectly okay come on out and run/walk or walk the 6.2 miles. If you are in the Irvine area I would love to run with you!

I plan on running a 10k on April 27th, why don't you join me?

Register HERE!

Surf City Half-Marathon - Race Recap

What an amazing race! First off I just want to give all kinds of praise to Huntington Beach for hosting this great race. It was so well organized from packet pick up to the finish line chute.

This was my second half-marathon. I ran Long Beach in October and it was very disorganized and a bit frustrating at times especially for being such a large race (25,000 runners). Surf City was a large race (20,000 runners) but it didn't have the congested feel that Long Beach had. They had plenty of port-o-potties and public beach restrooms so there was never a huge line to use the restroom. Which was great!

Race morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m. got dressed rolled and took a little time to do some static stretches. By the time I was finished it was 5:30 a.m. and my friends were outside ready to go! I hopped in the van and enjoyed my breakfast on the way to Huntington Beach. I ate a banana and a Luna protein bar washed down with some water.

We arrived in Huntington beach a short drive later and found a good parking spot. Woo hoo! We arrived right around 6:00 a.m. and got to hang out and chat for a while. This is when race day jitters started for me. My stomach got a little upset and I got anxious. It was nice to have friends to chat with so that I didn't focus on unnecessary worries.

From the moment we got out of the car we started getting complements, winks, nods and "oh my look how cute those skirts are". Did I tell you that we bought super cute matching sparkle skirts? I didn't? Since the four of us were running this race and we trained together we thought it would be fun to match. So we bought these skirts from Team Sparkle. Now I want one in every color and adorable race legs to match!

Marathon waves started at 6:45 a.m. half-marathon waves started at 7:45. We had time to walk around and stop for a couple potty breaks. We also said "hi" to the folks at the Train 4 Autism booth. My friend Tiffany is training and racing this year to raise funds and awareness for autism and other social disorders. She is an amazing athlete and mother and it's a pleasure and a privilege to know her and train with her.

Here is a picture of our team before the race:

Left to right: Tracey, Me, Tiffany, Karoline

Next we headed over to our waves. I love how Surf City had the waves organized. Your wave was determined by your estimated finish time that you entered when you registered. They also had a nice wide walkway on the side to get to your wave easily. At Long Beach you had to push your way through the crowds. Thank you, Surf City!!

The weather was great and the miles went by fairly quickly. The goal for time was to finish right at 2:00 or just under 2:00. We knew we needed to keep our pace around 9:10 and under to make that goal.

Official Finish Time: 2:00:02
Average Pace: 9:10 (my garmin says 9:07)

Mile Splits:

Mile 1- 9:03
Mile 2- 9:07
Mile 3- 8:55
Mile 4- 9:18 --left side cramp--ate two cliff bloks
Mile 5- 9:04
Mile 6- 8:53
Mile 7- 9:03
Mile 8- 9:17--ate two cliff bloks--started having some hip pain
Mile 9- 9:16
Mile 10- 9:14
Mile 11- 9:21--really bad right side cramp--ate one more cliff bloks
Mile 12- 9:18
Mile 13- 8:58
Mile .16- 7:45

Of course after making that time I wish I would have ran just a bit faster to get under two but that's for another race I suppose! I am super happy with my time and with the race in general. It was soo much fun running with my friends. They are great ladies and I am thankful for every run that I run with them and the time we get to spend together!

The weird thing about this race was that I couldn't think of anything to talk about. I am usually pretty chatty but my mind just drew blank for nearly the entire race. Sorry race buddies. :(

One thing about wearing the sparkle skirt was that I would forget I was wearing it and then someone would cheer us on by saying "love those skirts ladies, run!!" Or we would see others in sparkle skirts and I felt a little burst of energy to cheer them on! We couldn't get over what a hit these skirts were. Funny how much sparkly things inspire. At the end of this race we were able to meet up and take pictures with the creators of "Team Sparkle" and they are a fun, crafty and sporty bunch of ladies. It was nice meeting you and hope to see more of you this race season. Sparkle Love!!

Left to right: Tiffany, Tracey, Karoline, Me, Elise, Carrie and Kelly

Training for Surf City Half-Marathon and other random things

After my lack of motivation post I decided to get my bottom in gear and just do it! Thank you for the encouraging words and tips on staying motivated.

Source

The Surf City half-marathon is super bowl sunday. One of the fun things about training this time around has been running with friends. I don't think I could have stayed motivated through the holidays without knowing I had a couple of friends waiting for me outside. We are all signed up for the same race and distance, we have the same goal of finishing just under 2:00 hours and we all live in the same neighborhood. It couldn't get any easier than that! It's fun to run with people because it really gives you a chance to chat and learn a lot about them. It's been great getting to know my new Cali friends a little bit better a mile at a time.

Training with friends is different than training alone. Duh, right? One of the big differences/ challenges for me was running without my ipod. When I train alone I like to space out and get lost in the music it makes the miles go faster especially the harder miles. To be honest I was nervous when I first started running with friends. I left my ipod at home because I felt it would be rude to run with it. But I have loved the conversations that we have had and I am happy I am learning how to run without an ipod. I love hearing our feet hitting the pavement. It's fun to hear what the day has brought to each of us. I even run the long runs sans ipod and I don't even miss it. I'm delightfully surprised.

Okay so here's a summary of what I have done to get ready for the race up to this point.

12/8- 5miles @ 9:35 pace
12/9- 5miles @ 9:30 pace
12/13- 5 miles @ 10:08 pace
12/16- 5 miles @ 9:17 pace --tempo run 3 miles @8:55
12/18- 9 miles @ 9:58 pace
12/20- 5 miles @ 9:42 pace
12/23- 5 miles @ 9:41 pace
12/27- 5 miles @ 9:20 pace
12/29- 5 miles @ 8:58 pace--tempo run 2 miles @8:30
12/31- 6 miles @ 9:36 pace
1/1- 10 miles @ 9:36 pace
1/3- 5 miles @ 9:54 pace
1/5- 5 miles @ 9:17 pace-- tempo run 3 miles @8:50
1/8-10 miles @ 9:37 pace

Motivation

After I finished my first half-marathon I needed about two full weeks to recover from bronchitis. The first week was to let the medicine do it's job and the second week was to deal with the tummy issues the medicine caused. Sigh. During these two weeks I signed up for my second half-marathon. I was really itching to get out and run.

After the two week break it was harder to get back out at 5 a.m. and run/swim. So I slowly started running casually around "the loop"- it's a five mile loop and laps in the pool. I didn't track my time or pace I just tried to keep up with three runs a week and one to two swims. Hindsight I wish I would have wrote about them so I would known exactly what I did.

Now there is only eight weeks left to train for the half-marathon I signed up for in February. It's totally doable I'm just struggling to get up and hit the ground running. This may be because of the holidays or the weather shifting. I'm not going to whine about the weather because I know that Orange County winter is extremely mild. Heck, I'm still swimming in an outdoor pool! I know some of you are dealing with single digit weather. 

During the summer I ran most of my training runs alone and in the early morning. This time I am excited to share my training runs with a couple of other runners (they rock). Running with other people can really make the time go by fast. The bonus is that we all have the same goal to run this half in under 2:00. Also I am making a switch to running and swimming at night because I feel like I just want to stay in bed a little longer and snuggle in the mornings, call it hibernation if you will. Because it's the coldest at dawn and sometimes the fog can make a cold and wet run. It's only an hour to an hour and half of my night so when I get back I still have time to hang out with the hubster.

I'm not sure why I have struggled with motivation this time around but I do know that I have to shake it off and get my booty in gear if I want to meet my goal for February. I know this is a rambling post but it's what I've been struggling with so I thought I would share. :)

12/8 stats:

Tempo Run

Mile 1- 9:51--warm-up

Mile 2- 8:53

Mile 3- 9:03

Mile 4- 9:06

Mile 5- 8:50--this was suppose to be a cool-down

12/9 stats:

Easy Run

5 mile run @ 9:30 pace

I skipped my Saturday run due to a Christmas party Friday evening. I only had two and a half drinks but I did not drink any water and my head paid the price for it in the morning. I also wore really pointy (but cute) shoes and my toes were not happy, they were swollen and a little blistered. 

12/13 stats:

Easy Run

5 mile run @ 9:20 pace

Tonight I have another tempo run planned.

What helps you stay motivated?

Long Run

I went for 14 mile run on Sunday morning. I decided not to rush and get out the door super early I took my time snuggled with the family and slowly made my way out the door around 7:45ish. It was overcast and in the 70s which worked in my favor.

I was nervous about running 14 miles. The farthest I have ran is 11 miles and 14 feels like a really big number. My goal was to try and run my race pace during the first half and then speed up for the second half of the run if I had enough energy to do it.

The first 6.5 miles went by uneventful and then I made it to a new turn around spot and noticed this sign.

I was soo happy, I swear I had a skip in my step. That sign made the next 3 miles go by very quickly  I was just giddy about crossing over into a different town. 

After those blissful 3 miles my legs started to feel like lead especially on the hills. Then my mind tried every trick in the book to get me to stop.

For me a challenge I have when running longer distances (especially on the same path) is getting bored. 

When I get bored I start focusing on my aching feet, my legs, my arms, pretty much anything that remotely bothers me. 

When this happens I just try and double check what I'm feeling physically and make sure it doesn't warrant stopping. 

• Feet are numb? I wiggle my toes and that usually helps the blood get flowing again.
• Feet aching? Even if I stop they wouldn't feel better.
• Blister forming? I can fix it when I get home, motivation to get home quicker.
• Arms sore from being stuck in the same position? Shake them out for a second, it feels great.
• Is anything painful? If the answer is no there is no real reason for me to stop.
• Am I just uncomfortable? Yep, running long distances can get uncomfortable.

I have tried to stay tuned to what my body is feeling during these long runs. I never want to push myself to the point of injury but I also don't want to give in to minor aches. 

Stats: 

Distance: 14 miles

Time: 2:16

Avg. Pace: 9:43

Calories Burned: 1364

Splits:

Mile 1- 9:41

Mile 2- 9:50

MIle 3- 9:50

Mile 4- 9:50
Mile 5- 9:41
Mile 6- 9:42
Mile 7- 9:41
Mile 8- 9:35
Mile 9- 9:30
Mile 10- 9:35
Mile 11- 9:44
Mile 12- 9:55--struggled to keep going
Mile 13- 9:55--still struggling
Mile 14- 9:27--WooHoo last mile!

11 days until my first half-marathon!!

Run for today- Easy Run

Tonight was my first run after my terrible Saturday run, boy did it feel good! I took most of the week off from running because I still didn't feel 100% and I didn't want to drag the sickness out with the race just a couple weeks away.

When I left the house after dinner it was already dark and I actually thought I saw lightning. I thought of rain most of my run. I miss rain. It hasn't rained since we moved here in May. I love the smell, the feel and of course the sound of rain. I have been told that here in Orange county it rains in January and February. I can't wait!

Okay back to running...it was a great run tonight. I ran fast much faster than I had planned but every time I slowed down it felt like I was walking.

Stats for tonight:
Time: 45:52
Distance: 9:09
Avg. Pace: 9:09
Calories burned: 482

Splits:
Mile 1- 9:05
Mile 2- 8:59
Mile 3- 9:35
Mile 4- 9:27
Mile 5- 8:37---Oh yeah!!

It didn't rain.

Weekend Fitness- Long run and Speed work

I had a great weekend for training. Saturday's are normally my long run days due to time constraints during the week. Saturday started off with a grumbly Brandy not wanting to run double digits. I dragged myself out of bed and made it outside promising myself that by mile 4 I would be happy I was outside running. After I was far away from my cozy bed I remembered that I like to run. :)

I really have missed having a running partner for my long runs. It's motivating to know someone else will be out there with you grinding out the miles and you feel very committed to getting out of bed because someone is waiting for you.

Source

It was pretty desolate on the path that I like to use for long runs, this is not normal. I did not see a soul out until after mile 5!  It was very foggy outside which may have kept people in for the early morning, my clothes were soaked from the moist air.

My goal was 11 miles @ 10:05 pace.

This is what I ran:
Distance: 11 miles
Time: 1:45
Avg. Pace: 9:33
Calories Burned: 1075

Splits:
Mile 1- 9:46
Mile 2- 9:36
Mile 3- 9:42
Mile 4- 9:36
Mile 5- 9:28
Mile 6- 9:40
Mile 7- 9:42
Mile 8- 9:23
Mile 9- 9:37
Mile 10- 9:32
Mile 11- 9:04 -- Still trying to push myself on the last mile

Speed Work

On Sunday I met up with some friends for speed work. I am not great at self inflicted pain so I asked my neighbor who has trained longer and is a much stronger runner to push me through a good speed work challenge. She had us warm up a little under two miles running to the high school track. When we got there she made me take off my Garmin and water because she wanted us to focus only on keeping pace with her and running as hard as we could.

The Challenge: 
Run 8:15 pace for 800 meters recover for 400 meters repeat X 3

The Results:
Ran 7:33 pace for 800 meters with recovery for 400 meters repeated 3 times!! (Woo to the Hoo!)

She is tricky. And sneaky. This is apparently why we couldn't use the Garmin's because she didn't want us to see the pace and slow down. It was a hard workout and I had a stitch in my side for the half of it but I pushed through and I was happy I did. I would not have pushed myself to run that pace alone. I am thankful to have a friend that is willing to trick me into running faster than I think I can! :)

Run for today- Easy Run

This week has been a great recovery week. I have felt tired this week but I don't think it has anything to do with running. It is probably because we have been getting ready for school to start and there has been a lot of preparation and thought into the new season rapidly approaching. More on that in another post, I promise! 

On Wednesday I ran an easy 6 mile run. My goal pace was 9:50. 

My Stats:

Distance: 6 miles

Time: 57:54

Avg. Pace: 9:38

Calories Burned: 577

Splits:

Mile 1- 9:50

Mile 2- 9:47

Mile 3- 9:49

Mile 4- 9:43

Mile 5- 9:44

Mile 6- 8:54--I've been trying to kick it in high gear for my last mile

For Tonight's run, I had an easy 5 mile run set at 9:50 pace. I ran with a friend and didn't really pay attention to my pace like I do when I'm alone. It was fun to chat it makes the time go by quickly. It ended up being a great run even without paying attention to my pace.

My Stats:

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 47:27

Avg. Pace: 9:29

Calories Burned: 475

Splits:

Mile 1- 9:20

Mile 2- 9:16

Mile 3- 9:35

Mile 4- 9:36

Mile 5- 9:35

Run for today- Easy Run

This week is a recovery week for me. I am really excited about the break! I still could not get my booty out of bed this morning, so I ran tonight. It turned out to be a great run, and it was actually easy. I can't believe I can say that a six mile run was easy, I never thought I would be able to say that!

Every run labeled "easy" leading up to tonight's run has not felt that easy. I think my body is actually getting stronger and that is why this run felt a lot easier.

So tonight the goal pace was 10:00. Here's what I did:

My Stats:
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 58:34
Avg. Pace: 9:45
Calories burned: 578

Splits:
Mile 1- 9:55
Mile 2- 9:46
Mile 3 - 9:57
Mile 4 - 9:48
Mile 5 - 9:46
Mile 6 - 9:17

I didn't get a chance to post about my Saturday 10 mile run, so I figured I would just give a quick review of it today.

Fitness recap for the week

I don't know what has happened to me this week. But I am still here...a little tired, I think the new training plan is starting to catch up with me.

This was week two of my half-marathon training. It was a tough week for me and I really didn't get it done right. I was feeling bummed about and feeling like I could have tried a little harder, but I didn't.

I ended last week with a strong 10 mile run on Saturday. My hip bothered me all weekend. I am working on stretching and listening to my body because I don't want to end of with an injury.

Here is what my schedule looked like:
M: Easy run- 7 miles @10:00 pace ---Actual: Painful 2 miles @11:27 pace
T: Cross Train- 45 minute Swim 1200 meters
W: Tempo run - 2 miles WU & CD 5 miles @ 9:40 ---Actual:  2 miles WU & C 3 miles @ 9:45
Th: Easy run - 7 miles @ 10:00 pace ---Actual: Nothing
F: Cross Train - 30 minute Swim 600 meters fast

So my goal for tomorrow is to run a great 10 mile run and not worry too much about this week. Hope that the time off and reduced miles helped my old lady hip heal and get stronger. 

Run for today- Long Run

This run concludes week one of my half-marathon training. Eight more weeks of training and then one week of taper before my first half-marathon. This week of running was challenging for me, that's good, it's kind of what I needed.

I love learning how to get better, at anything really. I am nervous about the race itself because it is a rather large race but that's what makes it exciting at the same time.

I practiced using Cliff Shot Blok's today, I have been told after an hour I should eat/drink some carbs/electrolytes. I was amazed at the foreign/processed ingredients in some of the gels, gu's, and other stuff. I stuck with Cliff because I love that they use mostly organic ingredients, I can read their ingredients list, and we like their protein bars. The shot blok's were good, not like a treat or anything, but a nice boost in energy. I took them at mile 5 (halfway point), I noticed a big difference at the end of the run, I didn't feel shaky or cranky like I needed food right away.

After the halfway point a running group came up and started running all around me. I couldn't get away, I kept trying to fall back but there were people behind and on both sides of me. I knew I would keep pace with them for a while because I get "herd mentality" especially in races, this is why I am working hard at pacing myself. Of course they were going too fast for me but I hung in there for a while and when I finally broke free I was struggling to keep my pace and the next mile was really bad.

My hip has been bothering me since I started the 10 mile runs. I am using a foam roller to work it out and focusing on stretching more frequently (I am not great at stretching).

My stats:
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1:43
Avg. Pace: 10:17
Calories Burned: 989
Avg. HR: 167 bpm

Splits:
Mile 1-10:22
Mile 2-10:28
Mile 3-10:30
Mile 4-10:23
Mile 5-10:06
Mile 6-9:56- (swept away with the running group)
Mile 7-10:08
Mile 8-10:36
Mile 9-10:19
Mile 10-10:00

My goal pace was: 10:25

Run for today- Tempo Run

My hubby had to go into work pretty early this morning so my morning run had to be an evening run. I asked David and the kids to come along for the run tonight because I knew I was going to struggle and I didn't want to cave. David loaded up the kids in the bike trailer and road in front, behind and along side of me throughout the run.

Around four miles in I was really struggling to keep the pace. I chose a bad running path for a tempo run; this path has a lot of hills. It was great to hear the kiddos yelling "echo" under every bridge, it brightened the mood.

I run this same path on Saturday mornings and it has a different feel early Saturday morning. In the evening you pass by the high school and the band is out practicing, wonderful to hear. Then you pass baseball fields and you hear all the cheering and the unmistakable sound of a ball making contact with a bat. Finally you pass the hockey rink and the music is loud and fun. Thats the last interesting site before  my turn around for tonight.

The original goal for tonight's tempo run was:
Warm up 1 mile
4 miles @ 9:30 pace
Cool down 1 mile

Since my pace on Monday was 17 seconds slower than planned I adjusted my tempo run by 10 seconds. So my goal for the 4 miles was 9:40 pace.

My Stats:
Warm up mile: 10:35
Mile 1-9:35
Mile 2-9:48
Mile 3-9:51
Mile 4-9:37
Cool Down Mile: 13:49

Time: 1.03
Distance total: 6 miles
Calories burned: 570

Run for today- Pacing

Today I officially started my half-marathon training for Long Beach! After the nice ten mile run on Saturday I decided that I could most likely run a half-marathon without keeling over at the finish line. I registered on Sunday, wow, the price jump from 5k's to half-marathon is pretty steep!

One of my focuses will be learning to pace myself. I get too speedy at points during a run and then get slow because I start to burn out. I am keeping all the beeping on the Garmin so I can stay focused on my pace. Pacing is harder than it sounds, or maybe it's me, I am all over the place and not at all on the mark. I have never tried to focus on pacing but I hear it will help improve my running so I am game. :)

Today I had an easy run scheduled; 6 miles at a 9:50 pace. It was an okay run. I had some hip issues around mile 5 which made the last mile tough to push through. I need to learn to stretch better before and after runs. If anyone has a great stretching routine I would love to hear about it.

Here are my stats:
Distance: 6.01
Time: 1:00
Avg. Pace: 10:07
Calories Burned: 589
Avg. HeartRate: 169

Splits:
Mile 1-10:10
Mile 2-10:01
Mile 3-10:11
Mile 4-10:02
Mile 5-10:14
Mile 6-10:01