Last night was the first workout of this phase of training....and I got not even two miles into it and fell, spraining my ankle pretty good. I got right back up and walked (hobbled) for about a minute then started jogging again and just gradually picked back up my pace. We were doing a steady run of 8-9 miles so I had about 6 left to do on it. Coley (my training partner) actually started getting bad stomach pains about 4 miles into it, so the run was quite the disaster for both of us! BUT we still managed to get in 7 and a half miles in 53 minutes (7:07 pace). Slower than we wanted, but with how the night went, we were just grateful. My coach asked me what patch of ice I slipped on....and I just looked at him, smiling, and he says: "You would. I pick the clearest of clear paths that I can find and and you manage to trip over a tiny bump in the road that you probably never knew was there." He was correct.....I have been fighting the black ice, snow, and sleet for a week now and haven't had any issues...the path is finally clear and I hit a bump the wrong way and go down. He has sympathy for me though because he has done that on numerous accounts. :oD It is pretty dark out there when we run, so I am surprised something hasn't happened yet!
SO, today is a day off for me. Just going to give it a rest and keep icing it, trying to keep the swelling down. I'll run my 4 mile morning run tomorrow and then hopefully be able to do the 8-9 mile hilly steady run in the evening.
This month's focus is on mileage and core work. The mileage is to take what we accomplished this fall and have our bodies store it so that when we begin "winter minutes" next month, we are aerobically very fit. I talked with Coach on the phone this morning and he said he knows I am going to improve a lot the next few months, and at a really fast pace, so he may start putting me with the guys on some workouts to push myself to where he knows I can be. He also informed me today that he predicted that I could run 1:20 or faster for a half marathon at this point right now. VERY good news because that would allow me (in theory) to complete a marathon in 2:46, which is the qualifying time for the Olympic Trials. :o)
Well, I am off to ice my ankle some more. :o) Hope you are all doing well!!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Snowy pictures :o)
A path in Hulls Gulch that I run on sometimes...up behind my house.
Top of Hull's Gulch
My house :o)
Snow, Snow, and more Snow :o)
Looks like it has been awhile since I have updated anything on here! Let's see...
I ran my 6k time trial last month and it went very very well. I ran a minute and 5 seconds faster than my PR from a couple of years ago. It was VERY cold that morning and I ran it by myself in 20:55. Also managed to break my 3k and 5k pr's as well :o). My coach was really pleased with it. Mom was here visiting that weekend so she got to see it :o).
I am now almost finished with the de-training phase...this is the last week for it, and then I will begin phase 2 of the training. My mileage will go up a little bit and I will have 2 steady runs a week, one will be hilly. Saturdays will be another workout of a fartlek or FCR (Fast Continuous Run...not the same as a steady...I know, confusing :o)). The other days will be 6-8 miles.
I went home for Thanksgiving and will be home again at the end of this month for almost 2 weeks. I get that time off of work because there is no school, so I get to go see family :o).
I came back to about 3 or 4 inches of snow left on the ground from the storm during Thanksgiving...it got down to about -2 degrees. My roommate said the morning after it had snowed quite a bit, she opened her car door and a pile of snow fell in....and that same pile of snow was there 4 days later because of how cold it got :o).
Another storm came in this week...it is still snowing. :o) It has snowed about 5 or 6 inches since yesterday late afternoon. We had practice last night at 6 and it was VERY pretty to run in :o) We were the only ones out on the greenbelt so it was peaceful :O) The run this afternoon should be interesting :oD
I didn't have work today because of school closures, but I am teaching the holiday cooking class on Mondays and Wednesdays and then the Ronald McDonald (who I think is really creepy...) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For the Ronald McDonald house we will make winter decorations and crafts to take over on the 16th and help decorate for Christmas. We also put on a drive to collect items the house needs so we will make posters for that and put it together to get donations. It should be fun :o)
Well, I am off to make some lunch before I go out and run. :o)
I ran my 6k time trial last month and it went very very well. I ran a minute and 5 seconds faster than my PR from a couple of years ago. It was VERY cold that morning and I ran it by myself in 20:55. Also managed to break my 3k and 5k pr's as well :o). My coach was really pleased with it. Mom was here visiting that weekend so she got to see it :o).
I am now almost finished with the de-training phase...this is the last week for it, and then I will begin phase 2 of the training. My mileage will go up a little bit and I will have 2 steady runs a week, one will be hilly. Saturdays will be another workout of a fartlek or FCR (Fast Continuous Run...not the same as a steady...I know, confusing :o)). The other days will be 6-8 miles.
I went home for Thanksgiving and will be home again at the end of this month for almost 2 weeks. I get that time off of work because there is no school, so I get to go see family :o).
I came back to about 3 or 4 inches of snow left on the ground from the storm during Thanksgiving...it got down to about -2 degrees. My roommate said the morning after it had snowed quite a bit, she opened her car door and a pile of snow fell in....and that same pile of snow was there 4 days later because of how cold it got :o).
Another storm came in this week...it is still snowing. :o) It has snowed about 5 or 6 inches since yesterday late afternoon. We had practice last night at 6 and it was VERY pretty to run in :o) We were the only ones out on the greenbelt so it was peaceful :O) The run this afternoon should be interesting :oD
I didn't have work today because of school closures, but I am teaching the holiday cooking class on Mondays and Wednesdays and then the Ronald McDonald (who I think is really creepy...) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For the Ronald McDonald house we will make winter decorations and crafts to take over on the 16th and help decorate for Christmas. We also put on a drive to collect items the house needs so we will make posters for that and put it together to get donations. It should be fun :o)
Well, I am off to make some lunch before I go out and run. :o)
Friday, November 5, 2010
End of the first phase....
Well, it looks as if I won't be racing the Eagle Island race next weekend. My coach and I have chatted and decided that it would be more beneficial for me to run a 6k race effort on my own Saturday morning instead of competing in the Nike Cross Country 5k. He said with as much as I have accomplished this season (running faster and competing stronger than he predicted), the 5k next weekend wouldn't be beneficial in my training at this point. It would be smarter to run a 6k race test effort on my own. SO, that is what I will be doing.
I had a workout with my coach on Wednesday evening and he shared with me some encouraging news. The times that I was running for my intervals were close to the times that one of his female athletes, Cynthia (she retired this spring), had been running last year at this time. This is encouraging because she ran in the Olympic trials. :O) He said my workouts were right there where hers had been at this time last year and she had been his athlete for a number of years at that point...WHICH bodes well for me as I have only been his athlete for about 9 weeks. His training is all about time and compounding, so it usually takes a year or two before seeing significant increases in successes.
After next weekend, we will start a de-training phase for a couple of weeks, and then begin a new one. The de-training phase is just a time to give our bodies a chance to repair more completely and give it a rest after all the hard interval training and racing we have been doing. I will only be running 5 or 6 miles a day and take a day or two off. I haven't taken a day off in the 9 weeks I have been with him...I think my first day off will be after I have been under his training for 11 weeks. After this phase (beginning of December) we will start a strength and endurance phase. We will begin doing drills (to improve speed and form), running more hilly runs(to develop more power), and longer minutes work-outs instead of intervals (to develop endurance). I have always liked the strength and endurance phases of training, so I am excited :o). It is tough, but very rewarding. I have always been able to see a huge difference in my training when we complete this phase. This phase will probably go until the beginning of March...when we will start running more races again.
The weather has been warmer again...70's and sunny. :o) I think we may have some snow next week so it will get significantly cooler again! I officially start my job at the YMCA on Monday, so that will be good for me. Looking to find another part time job...keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that something comes up soon.
Hope you are all doing well! :o)
I had a workout with my coach on Wednesday evening and he shared with me some encouraging news. The times that I was running for my intervals were close to the times that one of his female athletes, Cynthia (she retired this spring), had been running last year at this time. This is encouraging because she ran in the Olympic trials. :O) He said my workouts were right there where hers had been at this time last year and she had been his athlete for a number of years at that point...WHICH bodes well for me as I have only been his athlete for about 9 weeks. His training is all about time and compounding, so it usually takes a year or two before seeing significant increases in successes.
After next weekend, we will start a de-training phase for a couple of weeks, and then begin a new one. The de-training phase is just a time to give our bodies a chance to repair more completely and give it a rest after all the hard interval training and racing we have been doing. I will only be running 5 or 6 miles a day and take a day or two off. I haven't taken a day off in the 9 weeks I have been with him...I think my first day off will be after I have been under his training for 11 weeks. After this phase (beginning of December) we will start a strength and endurance phase. We will begin doing drills (to improve speed and form), running more hilly runs(to develop more power), and longer minutes work-outs instead of intervals (to develop endurance). I have always liked the strength and endurance phases of training, so I am excited :o). It is tough, but very rewarding. I have always been able to see a huge difference in my training when we complete this phase. This phase will probably go until the beginning of March...when we will start running more races again.
The weather has been warmer again...70's and sunny. :o) I think we may have some snow next week so it will get significantly cooler again! I officially start my job at the YMCA on Monday, so that will be good for me. Looking to find another part time job...keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that something comes up soon.
Hope you are all doing well! :o)
Monday, November 1, 2010
Corvallis 5k.....
Just got back this evening from Oregon. I went to Corvallis to run the Corvallis 5k Sunday morning. It was a good race. I ran a 25 second PR and placed 21st out of 231 overall and second female overall with a time of 17:19. My last race for a little while will be in two weeks at the Nike Cross Country Championships here at Eagle Island (Eagle, ID). It is a 5k on November 13th. It's a pretty tough course, but it will be fun. I ran on it twice when I was at NNU.
I finally was able to land a job at the YMCA here. I am working at an elementary school leading an after school sports enrichment program. Basically I teach soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then basketball on Mondays and Wednesdays. It is less than 10 hours a week, but at least it is a start! I have an interview tomorrow morning for a fitness trainer position at the Nampa Rec center.
That's about it for now! I am off to bed! I have a busy day tomorrow :o).
Here is the link to all the Corvallis 5k info like results, pictures, and live video I think:
http://www.corvallis5k.com/
My bib# was 130 if you need it for the pictures. :O)
Hope you are all doing well!
I finally was able to land a job at the YMCA here. I am working at an elementary school leading an after school sports enrichment program. Basically I teach soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then basketball on Mondays and Wednesdays. It is less than 10 hours a week, but at least it is a start! I have an interview tomorrow morning for a fitness trainer position at the Nampa Rec center.
That's about it for now! I am off to bed! I have a busy day tomorrow :o).
Here is the link to all the Corvallis 5k info like results, pictures, and live video I think:
http://www.corvallis5k.com/
My bib# was 130 if you need it for the pictures. :O)
Hope you are all doing well!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Some pictures....
This is 8th St. right now, going up to my house :o)
Spot by the greenbelt :O) I love the river.
This sign made me laugh :O) hehe
Barber to Boise....
I raced the Barber to Boise 10k yesterday morning here in Boise. The race went very well...I ran a 36:26 (6.2 miles). That is a minute and 16 seconds faster than my track PR that I ran about 2 years ago. My coach was very pleased with my race, as well as the rest of my teammates. I placed 2nd for females overall and 12th out of close to 2000 people I believe.
If you want to look at the race results, pictures, or live video of the finish, go to this link:
http://www.barbertoboise.com/home.html
On the live video feed I am around 24:50 (if you click on the line and drag it to around that time you can see my finish).
Overall, I am very satisfied with how the race went :o) My team did really well too. After the race we went to breakfast together as a team to Big City Cafe downtown (goooood muffins and coffee :O)).
Friday night we had a team dinner at Paul's house. A few of the people used to run for Greater Boise but just recently moved to Oregon and one is in Washington. The two guys are now running for Strands (Corvallis and Seattle) and the girl that used to run here is running for a club in Eugene.
Starting from the left: Kevin Sheehy, Paul Davis, Kevin Peters (holding the mug), Jordyn Smith, Jordan Zwick (holding the other mug), Eddie Ernest-Jones, Sylvia Veal, Coley Fitzgerald (in the white sweater), me, and Mike Sayenko. ....and Moses, Coley's dog, in the front :o).
Jordyn Smith used to run for GBRC but is not in Eugene, Eddie used to run for GBRC but is now running for Strands in Corvallis, and Sayenko is running for Strands in Seattle.
It was a fun weekend...good people to be around :O).
My next race is the Strands 5k in Corvallis, OR on Halloween. I will be coming home that Friday morning and leaving Monday afternoon. :O) Excited to be home and to race! :o) Hope you are all doing well!
If you want to look at the race results, pictures, or live video of the finish, go to this link:
http://www.barbertoboise.com/home.html
On the live video feed I am around 24:50 (if you click on the line and drag it to around that time you can see my finish).
Overall, I am very satisfied with how the race went :o) My team did really well too. After the race we went to breakfast together as a team to Big City Cafe downtown (goooood muffins and coffee :O)).
Friday night we had a team dinner at Paul's house. A few of the people used to run for Greater Boise but just recently moved to Oregon and one is in Washington. The two guys are now running for Strands (Corvallis and Seattle) and the girl that used to run here is running for a club in Eugene.
Jordyn Smith used to run for GBRC but is not in Eugene, Eddie used to run for GBRC but is now running for Strands in Corvallis, and Sayenko is running for Strands in Seattle.
It was a fun weekend...good people to be around :O).
My next race is the Strands 5k in Corvallis, OR on Halloween. I will be coming home that Friday morning and leaving Monday afternoon. :O) Excited to be home and to race! :o) Hope you are all doing well!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Club website...
The club website was just updated by Paul (a teammate) so I thought I would pass along the link to it. I don't know how updated it will stay, but you can look at it from time to time :O).
http://www.greaterboiserunningclub.com/index.htm
http://www.greaterboiserunningclub.com/index.htm
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday...
Well, today is Tuesday...which means I had another hard workout tonight. :O) It went very well. It consisted of running 4 x 800m repeats on a dirt trail at a park here in Boise. We were supposed to run them all at 5k perceived effort for today (what we think our 5k pace would be for today), and then run a 400m recovery loop (slower than the 800m's). I ran them all right at my PR (from high school :o)) which was 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The goal is to run them all at the same pace...definitely no slower. And then we do a 10 minute recovery run over to one of the high school tracks and ran 4 x 300m on the track. They were cut-downs so each one was supposed to get 2 or 3 seconds faster. I ran them in 62, 60, 57, 55. And after each one we go right into a 200m jog and then start the next one. Anyway, it was a good workout...faster than I have ever done them. :o)
I am running in the Barber to Boise 10k this Saturday morning. I a excited for it. All of my 10k's have been frustrating...none of them have been ran well, so I am hoping that changes this weekend. It is hard to run a solid time here because of the elevation, but I am hoping it goes well.
I am still looking for a job...with no luck. I feel that someone has to call me with all these applications and resme's I have sent out...hopefully something happens soon. :o\
The weather is definitely starting to change. Very cold in the mornings and evenings but still pretty decent during the days. It is harder to get warm now after my ice baths in the river...but I will do them until it gets too unberable! Or until we can find a place inside to do them! :o)
Well, I am off to bed...my workout made me sleepy :O) Hope you are all doing well!!
I am running in the Barber to Boise 10k this Saturday morning. I a excited for it. All of my 10k's have been frustrating...none of them have been ran well, so I am hoping that changes this weekend. It is hard to run a solid time here because of the elevation, but I am hoping it goes well.
I am still looking for a job...with no luck. I feel that someone has to call me with all these applications and resme's I have sent out...hopefully something happens soon. :o\
The weather is definitely starting to change. Very cold in the mornings and evenings but still pretty decent during the days. It is harder to get warm now after my ice baths in the river...but I will do them until it gets too unberable! Or until we can find a place inside to do them! :o)
Well, I am off to bed...my workout made me sleepy :O) Hope you are all doing well!!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Good trip....
Sylvia and I ventured back home this last weekend, and we both had a good trip. :O) It was nice to see my family and my nieces :oD I do miss them! I'm glad I was able to be home for Hannah's birthday :O)
Today was another workout day. We did 2 x 1 mile, 1 x 1000m, and 2 x 400m. FINALLY got to do some mile repeats! While I love doing them, the shorter distances are what I need to work on...I need to get some of my speed back so that I can get my race times down. That is my goal for this fall....to run some solid 5k's and 10k's and get my PRs down so that when the time comes to race a half-marathon and a full marathon I will run a good time (hopefully a qualifying time in the marathon :O)). SO, while I am disappointed that I won't be able to run the Big Sur half-marathon in November, this will be best for me in the long run especially because I don't have much time to qualify for the trials.
Well, I am sleepy, so it is off to bed for me :o) Hope you are all doing well!
Today was another workout day. We did 2 x 1 mile, 1 x 1000m, and 2 x 400m. FINALLY got to do some mile repeats! While I love doing them, the shorter distances are what I need to work on...I need to get some of my speed back so that I can get my race times down. That is my goal for this fall....to run some solid 5k's and 10k's and get my PRs down so that when the time comes to race a half-marathon and a full marathon I will run a good time (hopefully a qualifying time in the marathon :O)). SO, while I am disappointed that I won't be able to run the Big Sur half-marathon in November, this will be best for me in the long run especially because I don't have much time to qualify for the trials.
Well, I am sleepy, so it is off to bed for me :o) Hope you are all doing well!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Pictures thus far.....
Waiting for the start of the Women's Celebration 5k
hehe tired of waiting for the start
This one was in the Idaho Statesman paper :o)
Start of the 5k
Me, Jordan, and Sylvia when we visited in August. Standing at the top of Camel's Back.
Breakfast at Big City Cafe with teammates. :o)
Icing in the Boise River!
Top of Camel's back (close by where we live)
Greater Boise Running Club past and present
After the Women'sCelebration (It was HOT!)
Teammates :O) Kelly (on the far left) used to run for GBRC. She raced in the 5k this last Saturday.
Teammates again (Kelly on the far left and Holly in the BSU stuff used to run for GRBC). Holly is the one who ran in the Marathon in the 2004 Olympic Trials. :O)
Suppose I should say how I did this last Saturday in my race. I ran a 17:46 (for 5000m which is 3.125 miles) and I placed 7th overall out of over 10,000 women. I placed 4th out of the Idaho Women. :O) The time I ran is 15 seconds faster than my road race PR and only 2 seconds off of my 5k track PR that I ran almost 3 years ago! A good start :O). We ran well as a team too. The three of us that raced the 5k all won checks. We were 3rd, 4th , and 5th for Idaho women, and 6th, 7th, and 8th overall.
Workout tonight....
Had a hard workout tonight.....it was the same one I did two weeks ago. Two weeks ago it was my first workout in a year and a half and my coach was so pleased with how well I did in it I was able to race the race I did this past weekend! :o) This week I definitely felt sluggish....BUT I am in my third week of my new phase of training, and in each phase this happens. The third week is always the hardest week to get through. My times on my intervals really didn't vary too much from two weeks ago, but it was definitely harder to get through. Once I get through week three it should be up from there. Although, I haven't been in a "training" phase for so long that I may have a few ups and downs before my body gets adjusted to it. I am still, however, running faster than I ever have in workouts. :O)
Found out today I get free deep tissue massages from a lady who used to run for the team (she made the 2004 Olympic Trials). She is also the person trying to help me find a job at St. Luke's Hospital here or Elks Rehab Center. Still waiting to hear from them :O\
Time for me to get ready for bed! :O) Nighty night to you all! :o)
Found out today I get free deep tissue massages from a lady who used to run for the team (she made the 2004 Olympic Trials). She is also the person trying to help me find a job at St. Luke's Hospital here or Elks Rehab Center. Still waiting to hear from them :O\
Time for me to get ready for bed! :O) Nighty night to you all! :o)
And so it begins...
My journey to making the Olympic Trials has began. :o) I have been in Boise for almost 3 weeks now and I am loving it! I feel a sense of true peace for the first time in forever, and I am so excited for my future.
The past few months have been challenging, and I don't doubt that I will continue to be challenged in the future, but I am taking each day as it comes to me. Learning to enjoy my life as it comes at me.
I am here in Boise, ID to begin training for the marathon with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. My first few weeks here have been awesome so far! I have had solid workouts, running faster than I ever have, and I just raced in my first race for Greater Boise and ran strong.
The training schedule we are under right now isn't too bad at all. It's about 10 miles less than what I was doing when I was in Oregon, but the intensity has increased. My training schedule looks like this:
Mon/Wed/Fri : 10k easy runs (about 6.5 miles)
Tues/Thurs : 4 mile morning run, and then workout in the PM at 6.
Saturday: Morning workout
Sunday: Long run of 10-12 miles
I am enjoying it :o) It is nice to be done with a run or workout and walk down to the Boise River to ice :oD
I have two races coming up next month. October 16th is Barber to Boise and I will be racing the 10k. Then on October 31st I will be traveling home to run the Strands 5k in Corvallis. I am trying to figure out a way to run the Big Sur half-marathon in November. It is a really good race to compete in, so I am hoping that I can.
I am still looking for a job...it is tough. I am trying not to stress out about it, but it is a frustrating situation to be in. I trust that something will come up.
Sylvia and I love our place...we have everything put together and we love being here! I just have to paint the top half of my room....not a fan of the dark and light pink stripes :O).
Ho hum...I suppose that is it for now... :o)
The past few months have been challenging, and I don't doubt that I will continue to be challenged in the future, but I am taking each day as it comes to me. Learning to enjoy my life as it comes at me.
I am here in Boise, ID to begin training for the marathon with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. My first few weeks here have been awesome so far! I have had solid workouts, running faster than I ever have, and I just raced in my first race for Greater Boise and ran strong.
The training schedule we are under right now isn't too bad at all. It's about 10 miles less than what I was doing when I was in Oregon, but the intensity has increased. My training schedule looks like this:
Mon/Wed/Fri : 10k easy runs (about 6.5 miles)
Tues/Thurs : 4 mile morning run, and then workout in the PM at 6.
Saturday: Morning workout
Sunday: Long run of 10-12 miles
I am enjoying it :o) It is nice to be done with a run or workout and walk down to the Boise River to ice :oD
I have two races coming up next month. October 16th is Barber to Boise and I will be racing the 10k. Then on October 31st I will be traveling home to run the Strands 5k in Corvallis. I am trying to figure out a way to run the Big Sur half-marathon in November. It is a really good race to compete in, so I am hoping that I can.
I am still looking for a job...it is tough. I am trying not to stress out about it, but it is a frustrating situation to be in. I trust that something will come up.
Sylvia and I love our place...we have everything put together and we love being here! I just have to paint the top half of my room....not a fan of the dark and light pink stripes :O).
Ho hum...I suppose that is it for now... :o)
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