Slow Motion Running

Last night, I ran with Christy (from It Just Looks Like Slow Motion).  We've been friends since high school (Christy graduated the year before me).  We were in choir together and sat next to each other for a year.  I loved the girl then and I still love the girl now.  Last night was the first time that we had seen each other for EIGHT years.  CRAZY!  We found each other again a couple of years ago through our personal blogs and discovered that we both had picked up running at the same time.

Christy has been a pretty big inspiration in my running.  We're almost exactly the same pace (she thinks that I'm faster than her, and I think that she is faster than me) and we've done a lot of the same distances (yeah, I've done more half marathons than her, but she did a FULL marathon in January and plans to do THREE more this fall/winter!).

Anyway, last night I met her at my favorite running path.  It's almost exactly a 5K around this man-made lake near my house.  It rolls a little, but the path is great and it's really pretty up there (except when you are eating bugs, like we were last night - and when I got in my car and looked in the mirror, I had a bug plastered under my eye - Christy, why didn't you tell me this??) and it has never gotten boring for me.  So we went around once and we were both suffering.  It was pretty hilarious.  I never, EVER talk during runs like I did with her and it had a major affect on my breathing, which made me work a lot harder than I wanted to.  And she is still trying to acclimate to the altitude.  We just kept laughing at how pathetic it was.  But we're going to meet up again next week!  I already can't wait! 

And I'll have to run more before then, so I don't look as pathetic.  Anything that I can use for motivation, right?

Stop Traffic 5K/10K

Race day 5:50am: wake up to alarm and the sound of pouring rain.  Great.

6:30am: breakfast is digesting (peanut butter on whole wheat toast, if you really wanted to know) and we're waiting for my dad to pick us up (us being me and the hubby).

7:30am: arrive at the race finish line to pick up our packets.  Skullcandy earbuds in bag.  Sweet!  Rain has stopped but it is chilly (in the 40's).

8am: race director talks about the cause and thanks everyone for coming out.  Then we are divided into the 5K groups and 10K groups and lead to our different starting lines.  Different, but whatever.

8:08am: horn sounds and me and my dad start.  The hubby is running the 5K.

So the route for the race is along the outside of a park in downtown Salt Lake City.  The 5K goes around 2 times and the 10K goes around 4 times.  It was pretty boring, but nice at the same time.  It was totally flat which made me really like it.
 
The rain stayed away for the entire race and on the second lap, I had to peel off my rain jacket and throw it on the trunk of the car as we ran past it.  That was kind of fun, since I knew that when the hubby was done with his race, he would go to the car and get the camera and put our jackets away (instead of throwing it on the ground and hoping no body walked off with it).

Lap 3, I had to warn the hubby that I was coming past him (he wasn't paying attention and still putting the jackets away and grabbing the camera) - I always clap to get his attention so that I don't have to waste breath yelling at him.  He snapped a photo and I was on my last time around.  I would see him again in about 12 minutes.

(No, my stomach isn't as weird looking as that, I had a support belt wrapped around me - the baby decided to push all of my innards up and out on Friday, so I've got a nice little pooch now.)

For the entire race, my dad and I had stayed within 10 yards of each other and as my "finish line" song came on my iPod, I hit the gas.  I thought for sure that my dad would keep up with me (he always does - actually, he usually BEATS me in every race that we run together).  But I ended up coming in almost exactly a minute ahead of him.  I picked off a few girls that had been in front of me the whole race in those last 3 minutes and as I turned off the "loop" to the finish line area, I really took off.  I'm pretty sure I made one girl mad by saying, "Race ya!" as I sprinted past in the last 15 yards of the race.

Hubby was there to cheer for me with his sister and her husband, who also ran the 5K.  The finish sprint picture didn't turn out.  Totally blurry.  I guess I'm just too fast for the camera to catch me.

Finish time: 1:00:23 on Garmin and Garmin said that I ran 6.44.  Official time said 1:00:48.  11th in my age group.  23rd overall.  This was another small race (about 350 runners in both the 5K and 10K).  Small races are more fun for me... I like finishing within the top 25, it makes me feel special.

P.S.  The hubby is fast and came in 3rd in his age group.

Ugh, ugh, UGH!

"I've lost my mojo!" 

I keep hoping and hoping that I will have the desire to run again, but so far... I still don't want to do it.  I get home from work and just want to lay around.  I don't really FEEL tired, but maybe I am?  I'm pretty sure it's all in my head though.

On Saturday, I told myself that I was going to run 7 miles.  I didn't.  Tonight I need to run 4 miles... and I am already coming up with excuses not to do it.

I have a 10K to run on Saturday.  I'm not prepared, but I'm not worried about it.  I'm pretty sure that's my problem.  When I signed up, I said that I would do it "just for fun" and not worry about my time. 

It will be interesting to see how slowly I do it, or if I get caught up in the "race" and end up hurting myself.  I've been known to do that.

But - I'm not worried.

Poor Pitiful Me

I've been letting the weather be an excuse to skip runs for the last week.  Last night, the hubby wanted to run together, so we got in our gear and were ready to head up to our 3 mile trail and it started to rain.  I didn't want to give up so easy (actually, I really did, but I know that I need to run if I have a 10K race next weekend!), so we went over to our little clubhouse to take turns on the Dreadmill.  Oh treadmill - how I LOATHE thee!!!  I made Hubby go first, because he's a faster runner than me and I am really pathetic on a treadmill.  Those numbers get in my head and I get WAY too hot and start to freak out.  It's quite funny to watch (or so he tells me).  So I get on the recumbent bike and plug in a 20-minute program.  I went 4 miles in 20-minutes and I thought that was pretty pathetic (yes, I do have a road bike and love to cycle - I've done a few organized rides with my husband and dad - 70 miles being the longest ride).  And then when I got on the treadmill I made it 3 minutes before I had to jump off and use the bathroom.  Hooray for pregnancy!  And then... I made it 12 more minutes before I gave up.  I went a whopping 1.5 miles.

Treadmill: 1
Whitney: 0

And yet, I still think that if I had a treadmill in my own home, I would use it all the time and would be able to go longer.  And I really think that I could.  Because I could zone out to a movie (like say, Ironman or Lord of the Rings or Finding Nemo!) on my own TV, instead of whatever crap is on the 13 inch screen attached to the wall.

Wind of Change

Yowza!  Look at that graph!  Last night's run was tough - made even worse by the wind.  But at least I got out there and did something, right?

That biggest dip just after the first mile was completed was coming downhill, into a bridge tunnel and the wind was so strong it felt like I was running in place.  Awesome.

My pace was all over the place.  Mile 2 I got an awesome stitch on my right side, but was trying to keep up with my husband... so I just kept going.  I was trying to exhale when my left foot hit the ground, but it wasn't working and I was breathing too hard (and not in a rhythm) for it to work.  Anyone have a good tip for getting rid of a side stitch, without walking?

Another Race

I signed up for another 10K race on Friday.  It's on Saturday the 22nd in downtown Salt Lake City.  It's called the Stop Traffic race and the entry money goes to helping rescue victims of human trafficking around the world.  I'd say that's a pretty good cause for my $25, right?  Plus, another technical race shirt?  I'm in!

I haven't run since the Earth Day 10K that I did... I guess I better get out there again tonight!  6 weeks until the Wasatch Back!

If anyone wants to know - I'm 11 weeks now and still feel fabulous!  I'm getting really lucky with this pregnancy and have had no symptoms, for which I'm grateful.  We get to hear the heartbeat on Wednesday and I can't wait!  Since I don't have symptoms reminding me that I'm pregnant, it's easy to kind of forget and just go along with my life (also it's easy to freak out that nothing is happening inside of me - but I try to stay away from those thoughts).  Wednesday will be very exciting for us!