Mile Repeat + Blog Searches

I was supposed to do my mile repeats on Tuesday but after changing in to my running clothes, I realized I was exhausted (still attempting to fight off this cold or whatever it may be).  I quickly changed in to my sweats and called it a night.

Wednesday after getting my nails did (I look like a girly girl! whaaaaaaa?) I headed to the gym for my mile repeats, since it was dark, and I knew I'd get yelled at if I ran outside.  :)  I was supposed to do a mile warm up, then 3 x 1600 m. @ 7:38 pace with 800 m. jogs in between.  I was a bit frightened.....as I always am by mile repeats.  I did take a minute to look through my running log to see that I had survived similar mile repeats (and even faster ones!) to build my confidence up.  Uh... this was genius btw.

And the domination continues!  Bahah.  Mile repeats--7:28, 7:29, 7:29.

In super creepy news, while banging out my mile repeats at the gym, I happened to notice an older gentleman on an elliptical behind and to the left of me looking my way.  I know this because those giant windows in the gym.... uh they're uber reflective at night.  At one point, I noticed he had taken out his cell phone, outstretched his arm, and appeared to take a photo of me!  Now I hope I am wrong, because I cannot understand why in the world someone would take a photo of me sweating my butt off at the gym.  Perhaps he was super duper impressed with the amount of swass (sweaty+ass) I was rockin' for a chicky, but either way, totally creepy.

So I've compiled a list of pretty awesome searches that people have used to find my blog.  Enjoy:

• bicycle lean over cleavage
• uff da running/yoga clothing
• pooped my running shorts
• Uh....huh?
• jeri sparkles
• Moonbeams also shoot out of my bum FYI.
• wet t-shirt contests in california april 2011
• You were probably disappointed....sorry.
• 10 mile race strategy
• Run slow for 9 miles.  Sprint remaining mile.  Look horrendous in race photos. Done.

Also wanted to share my newest favorite scarf that's on it's way to New York.  The color is amaaaaaazing, and I'll probably have to crochet myself one now.  :p  If you're interested in an infinity scarf they are $33 dollars ($30 scarf + $3 shipping and handling).  Let me know if you want one!!  jerbearshares [at] gmail [dot] com.

I Do + I Don't (Enjoy Mile Repeats)

Another reason I went home over the weekend (other than to have legions of shenanigans with my BFFF) was one of my favorite classmates was tying the knot on Saturday!  It was hot hot hot out out but a beautiful ceremony and reception and an awesome wedding dance.  My madre was my date and we had a blast.

Before we left the house I realized that I looked like I was going to prom.  Of course we then had to take a photo of me in front of the corn field next to the house.  Nothing says prom like crops.

Me and the BFFF before the dancing shoes came out.  Literally.  I wore gorgeous (insanely tall) yellow heels for the wedding and reception and rocked my black Nike flip flops for the dance.  Classy I am.

Mini photo shoot in the town bar that's technically in a basement.

Besties with the groom.  Love that guy.

Taking a break from the dancing.

We looked like twins with almost matching dresses.

1/4 of our graduating class. Yes you read that correctly.  I was in charge or rounding up the rest of the classmates after this photo was taken to get a pic but I forgot until noon on Sunday.  Ooooops.

Upon returning home, I realized I was missing one Garmin ANT stick.  At this time primary suspects include dog and/or cat.  It appears to be an inside job.  If you can provide any information as to the whereabouts of this missing item, please contact me.  Also, if anyone has an extra/old ANT stick they want to just give me, I'll totally pay for the shipping.  Grrrrrr.

Tuesday night I had the scariest workout on my entire half marathon training program.  4x1600 m. repeats at 7:28-7:45 pace with 800 m. jogs in between.  I tend to have a hate-hate relationship with mile repeats.  I hate doing them.  and I hate that I almost always end up sucking at them.  The weather was a cool mid-70s and I knew I didn't have any excuse for failure.  I ran a warm up mile and then got to work.

1.  7:26.  Wow that was hard. (twss)

2.  7:35.  Wow that was even harder.

3.  7:39.  I swear that was faster than the last.  Don't fail me now legs!

4.  7:48.  Ooops.  Legs = bricks.  

Average mile pace:  7:37.

When I got done with the run I was a little bummed with my paces, so I decided to check my running log to see the results of my last mile repeat session.  And that's when I realized that I've done exactly one successful mile repeat session in the last 9 months.  And my average pace for 3x1600 was 7:40.  Progress.  I had joked all day long that my workout was going to make me puke, and I was pretty close.  All night I was nauseous and not hungry at all.  This is pretty typical with really difficult workouts for me.  Imagine my surprise when I get to work and I feel ever more sick.  After consulting with a co-worker, I realized I probably have the flu, so I'm lucky I didn't spew all over the bike trail.  Now it's just me and Glee chilling on the couch while I'm on the mend.  Good thing today is a rest day.

20 laps around the track....NBD

Sunday I was still feeling pretty pukey so I decided to hit up my road bike in lieu of a boring 5 mile recovery run.  I decided to take my bike as far as the trail would let me (we have a ton of construction on the trails this summer; it's obnoxious).  I also tried to push the pace more so than I have on any other bike ride (which isn't saying much). 

Observations from the ride:

• I'm a speed demon when there is/are a) no one to pass on the trail b) straight paths.
• I'm still a big wienie when it comes to biking downhill.  Also passing people on curvy trails.  Also passing people in general (but hurrah that I'm going fast enough to pass people!).
• Some chicas show more cleave on a run than I do out at "da clubs" trying to catch a man.  Seriously, I was concerned about black eyes/potential knock out situations for a couple of folks.
• I spotted the 2nd cute runner guy running with Boobs McGee.  No wonder she was pulling out all the stops for the run........
• People look miserably hot and sweaty running.  Which means I look 900x worse because I'm a freak of nature when it comes to sweating. :/
• Bikers will actually smile/wave/nod at other bikers.  It must be some sort of secret society or something.  I don't know how many times I've done my friendly smile and wave while out doing a long run to get a cold shoulder in exchange.
• Sometimes I feel like I could bike forever!
• I'm totally doing a sprint tri next summer.
• Maybe I could do a half Ironman someday!!!
• Oh wait..... you're like a toddler in the water.  Hold on, didn't you teach swimming lessons to toddlers?  You should at least be more advanced than they are.  Also weren't you a lifeguard for 5 or 6 years???

Another idea pondered on said ride was re-vamping my training program.  I'm really enjoying a long bike ride every week, and I also love 2 complete rest days.  I decided to do some changing up to go from 5 to 4 days of running/week (which is what I've done in the past) and added biking on the 5th day.  We'll see how it goes!  I can never get myself psyched up for that 2nd day of easy/recovery runs anyway, so just get rid of it.  Works for me (or I guess we'll see if it works for me).

I ended up doing a little over 14 miles with an average speed of 13.19 mph and max speed of 19.2 mph.  For all of the bobbing and weaving I did for some slow pokes, I'm quite alright with that.
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Monday I hit the track for some 800 meter repeats.  Since my car is possibly a goner and I'm waiting for confirmation of such from the mechanic, I am sans car and took Princess Leia to the track.  My legs were pretty tight from the previous day's bike ride as well as the race on Saturday.

I got to the track, and it was the most perfect weather you could get for speed work (for the end of July that is).  Mid-70's, cloudy, a little breeze.  Heaven.  I did my mile warm up and I felt like I was wearing those old school "gym" shoes you had to buy specifically for P.E. class that wouldn't mark up the floor.  You know....the ones that were 20 lbs. per shoe when you weighed about 65 lbs max?  Anyway, not fun legs o' lead.

My pace for the 800 meter repeats was 3:28-3:38.  When I created this training program, I think I did it based on a 23:00 5k time (assuming I was going to hit that time prior to starting the training).  Since I didn't hit that I'm shooting towards the lower end of the ranges for my speed work.

I decided to run in the 2nd lane to hopefully avoid the hip pain that temporarily ruined my life by not having to run as tight of corners.  Some of the laps ended up being slightly long because of it, so I'm posting the pace instead of the time, since it was more than an 800.  Got it?  (3:33, 3:39, 3:32, 3:34).  I ended up knocking out 20 miles on the track before all was said and done.  Fairly certain that in a given season of high school track, I wouldn't race that many times around the track.  100 m. dash, 4x200 m. relay, 200 m. dash and high jump x 12-15 meets.....yup not even close. :)

I jogged a quarter of a mile in between each and did a slow one mile cool down run before hopping on my bike and heading home.  Biking after a sweaty run might even be better than driving with the windows down.  Ahhhhh.......

May in Review + Toughest Workout

Total Miles:   96.7 down from 180 last month.  That's ok with taper time and recovery time factored in.  I was half tempted to do a 2nd run on Monday to get an even 100.  Good thing work #1 handed my booty to me. (74.3 one year ago.)

Total Time: 15:04:50 down from 27:49:32.  

Total Runs: 14 for an average of 6.9 miles/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 5/10/2010-5/16/2010:  38.2 miles 6:01:40

Favorite run: To be honest, I still have marathon brain.  I don't remember really anything pre-marathon as far as runs go.  And took mucho time off after, and am only getting back into the swing of things.  Just the fact that I was able to run within a week of the race should be considered a favorite; meaning I didn't get hurt during the 'thon.  Go legs!

Most hardcore run: 800 meter repeats.  See below for hardcore-osity.  It's legit.  

Favorite Race: Uh.  Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.  Duh.

Current Jams:  Lovin' Kevin Rudolph's--I Made It.  Alyssa suggested it to me for my marathon playlist, and when I heard it during the race I seriously got choked up.  Good jam for that sort of accomplishment fo sho.

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Since I kinda wussed out on my mile repeats last week (or in more gentler terms, i knew my legs weren't 100% ready for speed work yet), Monday's work out was my first legit speed work session of the summer.  I had 6 miles total with 1 mile warm up, and 5x800 @ 3:34-3:44 with 800 m. jogs in between.  I was totally amped up to do these runs, and the weather was actually fairly nice.

I'm going to be honest when I say, I kicked my own ass.  Holy cow.  I had many many tough track practices back in the day, but I think this is one of the hardest workouts I've ever done.  That puke threshold people are always talking about?  Hit it.  Twice.  Impressed?  Because I sure as heck am.  Holy cow.  

Recovery	1 Mi	9:23	9:23	9:23			warm up
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:38	13:01	7:16
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:07	18:08	10:14
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:38	21:46	7:16
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:06	26:52	10:12
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:42	30:34	7:24
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:22	35:56	10:44
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:42	39:38	7:24
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:28	45:06	10:56
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:43	48:49	7:26
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:09	53:58	10:18

I always post this from my log on Runners World and never explain it.  Column 1 time is split, Column 2 is total elapsed time, Column 3 is pace/mile.

I walked ~.05 after each half and then jogged the remaining .45.  Puke threshold (ok, dry heave threshold) was reached at 800 #4 and #5.  

I did 6 miles in 53:58 for a pace of 9:00.  800 m. pace avg. = 3:40.

I found it was pretty easy to hit the paces, and in some cases over shoot them, but I did struggle with maintaining them the last .05-.1 of each interval.  Good to know what your weaknesses are off the bet so you can work on them, right? :)

Someone commented on the daily mile that if these were Yasso 800's I'd be looking at a pretty major marathon PR (and likewise a BQ, bahah).  Which got me to doing some research on them.  Has anyone used these in their marathon training?  I quite enjoy 800 meter repeats (in a sick masochistic way), and am contemplating trying it out for a sub-4 finish in Vegas in December.

Check out Sam's giveaway!!

In other news, I'm an idiot....

Yet another rainy day prompted me to hit the gym again. Seriously this is getting old. But as I've stated before, I actually enjoy doing speedwork on a treadmill, so I did a swaparoo with the schedule to allow just that. On the agenda: 5 miles. 1 mile warm up, 4x800 m. @ 3:43 pace, w/400 m. jogs, & 1 mile cool down.

Totally forgot how packed the gym is right after work. Blech. I did my warm up mile, stretched the quads and calves, set the speed at 9.6 and was off. HOLY CRAP. I did this same work out 2 weeks ago only with 3 instead of 4 800's and felt fine, hence the addition of another 800. But I was s-t-r-u-g-g-l-i-n-g. After I hit .5, I hit the lap button on my garmin to record my split and slowed down to a walk to catch my breath. I couldn't believe that this was so much harder than 2 weeks ago! While walking I scrolled through my history and time to see what my split was: 3:16. A pace of 6:30. WHAT?!?!? And then it hit me, somewhere during my poor mental math skills, when doubling 3:43 I came up with 6:26, and that's what I set the treadmill at. TURNS OUT...3:43 x 2 = 7:26. Heheh, whoops! No wonder it felt so tough. :p

I was relieved (to say the least) that me dying was not from being out of shape/slowing down, and even MORE relieved that I didn't have to do 3 more of those puppies, because I was ready to walk out of the gym after one. Uff. The last 3 felt like a breeze in comparison. It definitely gave me a lot of confidence going in to my 5k for this Saturday.

I did 5 miles in 46:23 for a pace of 9:17. (This included .05 walking after each interval and .2 jogging).
Warm up Mile: 9:52
Interval 1: 3:15 (6:30 pace)
Recovery 1: 3:06
Interval 2: 3:38 (7:16 pace)
Recovery 2: 3:06
Interval 3: 3:34 (7:08 pace)
Recovery 3: 3:03
Interval 4: 3:44 (7:28 pace)
Recovery 4: 3:18
Cool down Mile: 9:47

**Disclosure: I was totally "that girl" during the final 1.25 recovery/cool down. I flipped through the People I had been previously using to cover up the treadmil screen. It helped pass the time sooooo much, and I found the updo I want to wear for my old roomies wedding next weekend. SCORE. But ya, I looked like a douche probably. :) **
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October RACES

So speaking of my 5k this weekend, I'm trying to sort through my races for the rest of the month. Obviously, the weather is changing here in the Midwest, and before too long races will be out of the question. Heck we might've already reached that point, who knows. I'm doing a 5k this Saturday to try to break my current PR and go under 24 minutes. There's another 5k on the 24th of this month that I was contemplating doing and actually racing, just because I figure it'll be my last shot at a 5k for 2009. And then there's a 10k on Halloween that I'm also interested in doing. I've never done a 10k before, so auto-PR. I'd try to race it, but more just to do a 10k then to get a killer time. Also, let's be honest, I remember wearing snow suits under my Halloween costumes as a kid, so there is a good possibility I could be running 6.2 in the snow. :p

Since that's 3 races in 4 weeks time, I realize that could be a bit much, but I was thinking I could substitute the races for the speedwork I currently have on the schedule for those weeks (I'm starting Dallas White Rock half marathon training next Monday. WHOO!) Any thoughts? Suggestions? Interest in dressing up as a banana and entering the Halloween race with me? Seriously...I've always wanted to race in a banana costume. I might try to snag one on clearance post-Halloween this year to have as a standby for the future.

Go to Amanda's blog at RunToFinish for her sweet Moeben giveaway!