The purpose of running a magic mile in Jeff Galloway world is to predict what your training pace and race pace should be at your current fitness level. I really should have read a little more about it before I did it, but I didn't. It wasn't detrimental. It just would've helped to know that I could run/walk at a slower pace for the warm-up mile. It was really nice to be able to run/walk 3 miles and that was what my training plan said to do! We, my friend Allison and I, were slated to do it on Saturday, but I was out at a concert and then couldn't go to sleep when I did get to bed. So, only have about 4.5 hours of sleep, I decided with Allison to postpone. We ended up run/walking on Sunday morning.
We actually ran to people that I knew and we hadn't run (pun not necessarily intended) into on the Sand Run trail previously. It was great to catch up with them. So we set out on our magic mile mission. Allison did remind me to slow down a bit when we started which helped. With all of our positive thinking/talking training combined with our physical training, we hit our second mile with some gusto. The intention was to run/walk faster because this was our timed mile. We skimped on the talking unless necessary. Yes, we may have sang a Miley Cyrus song along the way. We also gave ourselves some credit because it was probably the most humid morning that we have faced yet. I think we even still tried to say hello to people. If I missed saying hello to you during this magic mile, I sincerely apologize. I was just trying to stay focused on breathing.
One of the funny moments was when I was going to jog past the 1.5 mile marker because I was so used to running past it. Thankfully, Allison had her wits about her and reminded me to turn around. And then we got to run/walk down most of the hills that we just came up. That was nice! We were able to complete this magic mile in record time for us. 13 minutes. Yep, that was 13 minutes. We had been do anywhere from 15-16.5 minutes per mile up to this. Now, I understand that this was the whole purpose of the magic mile, but I still feel a sense of accomplishment.
We then were able to do a slow run/walk back to the beginning of the trail. This is also where I wish I read the page on Jeff's website about the magic mile. He says to walk for 5 minutes after the magic mile and then do a slow run/walk for as long is planned. This probably would have helped us recover a little before finishing that last mile. Oh, well. Lesson learned and first magic mile completed.
Our training pace for the half-marathon should be 17:54 min/mile (3:54:29) and our projected half-marathon race pace should be 15:36 min/mile (3:24:22). This is especially exciting because when I registered for the Akron Roadrunner, I had to write down a projected race finish time. Guess what I wrote down, well, typed? I put 3 hours and 30 minutes! When we started training, I did not fully believe that I was going to hit that. And here I am half way into training and that looks like it will be completely do-able. It really is amazing to be able to have not only the mental and physical benefits of training, but the spiritual benefits as well. To be able to face my fears, and train for something that I never thought I could do is just the "face-lift" I need for my spirit. Namaste.
Showing posts with label Sand Run Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sand Run Park. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Week 7 - 8.5 miles
So, I guess this post is the actual end of Week 7. I woke up with my nephews at about 6:45 am. This gave me time to get them ready and get my yoga practice in for the morning. I think it might have been the first time they had seen yoga. It was really easy to try and rationalize why I didn't have time. But it only takes 20 minutes and I knew my body would thank me for it later. Then I dropped my nephews off at my mom's house, stopped at Sheetz for a small bottled water, and set off for Sand Run Trail. As a side note, I only bought the bottled water because I don't have a bottle small enough to carry while run/walking. I don't like buying plastic and usually carry around my large reusable water bottle which is not good for carrying. This means I need to purchase a small reusable water bottle for runs.
I got to the trail at 8 am. One wouldn't think that this is much later than 7:30 am. Well, what a difference a half hour makes! I had to wait for a spot to park, it was warmer, and the trail was very crowded. Also, my trusty friend Allison who is typically at the trail before me was not there. There was one morning where she completely forgot to get up. So, trying to stay positive, I just told myself that I would do the best that I could. That I would still be able to do it even if she wasn't able to join me. I think I even kept repeating. But I decided to give her a few minutes before I started out on my own. And she arrived a couple of minutes after that.
She was admittedly a bit cranky today due to a lack of sleep. And I was just happy to have my friend run/walk with me. We did our warm-up, stretches, and I took a bathroom break before we got started. Okay, if you really want to know how much of a dork I am, here goes. . . I want to know if the ammonia smell in the port-o-potties is from all the "waste" or from their cleaning supplies. It is sooooo strong. It is hard to believe that that is normal compost smell. Anyways, I need to finish my blog before I go searching about that topic.
Armed with our water and electrolyte gel chew thingys, we were off. I was pretty energetic and pumped to be setting out on our 8 mile adventure. I think I went a little fast and hard that first mile. I certainly wasn't able to maintain that chipper pace. It also seemed like people were not as friendly at 8 am in the morning or something. I think the first 5 or 6 people that I said good morning to ignored me and had no response at all. Some people may wave or nod, if talking isn't able to be done while running. But even the ones that weren't wearing head phones. I don't like that feeling when I feel invisible. But I was pretty determined to greet everyone on the trail. Because I seemed so eager and chipper, Allison deemed me the trail prom queen. The only time in my life that will ever be uttered! It was hysterical. Have I ever mentioned how hard it is run while laughing? It is very difficult!
It seemed that first 2 miles were pretty smooth. Still tough on the hills, but smooth otherwise. The section of Sand Run is pretty hilly. I hear that the actual Akron Roadrunner is pretty flat for the Half-Marathon. I liked hearing that info! We passed the 2.5 mile marker, and Allison asked me if I remembered when we thought that was exciting. I do. It was fun to be able to push past what we thought was possible!
Very grateful for the sunshine today even if it made it a little more challenging. We made it to the end of mile 3. The trail we have been using is only 6 miles round trip. So we decided to run the last half mile two times to make up for our 2 extra miles today. It seemed safest to stay on the end of the trail, so we couldn't back out of the higher miles being closer to the beginning of the trail. Doing it this way made for even more hills though. We hadn't really planned on that part. It reinforced our positive thinking/talk though. Continuing to use phrases such as; "I'm gliding", "I love the way I feel when I am done", "Every step gives me benefits", "Endorphins help me relax", etc. It does help. Also, imagining the people ahead of us pulling us forward helps.
One of the funniest things that happened today, as we were running along the trail we came around a bend. On the other side was a young girl running towards us while singing. I have no idea what she was singing. But she was singing, out of tune and enjoying every second of it. And you know what, she stopped singing just to say hello back to us! It was awesome. I think she cheered us up for a good half-mile. She also inspired us to have our own trail karaoke. Yes, it may have been Miley Cyrus's "Party in the USA", but it was upbeat, we knew the words, and it was funny as well as fun. I think we definitely got our share of funny looks, but we didn't care. We had just finished 5 miles and had 3 more to go.
I think we have become regulars. There were quite a few people who are starting to look familiar. This is pretty cool. I never really thought I would become a regular on a running trail! At mile 6, Allison's knees started bothering her, so we slowed our pace and increased our walking stints. She toughed it out and we ran/walked through mile 7. Near the beginning of mile 8, she decided she needed to give her knees a break. So we walked the rest of our route. Jeff Galloway emphasizes that it is more important to stay together than to run faster during long runs. So, I stuck with Allison to the end of our walk. And we did our cool down walk, then stretches.
I iced my knees. I also made sure I moved my legs around today while I was driving to and from Canton. Took some arnica and Ibuprofen. My muscles are somewhat sore, but not anything that is going to keep me from doing my daily life.
I don't know if I can convey how grateful I am to be healthy enough to be able to do my training. Grateful to have had all of the support, all of the experiences that have helped me get to this point, grateful to have the physical ability to run/walk, grateful that my yoga practice helps me mentally and physically be able to do everything in my day, grateful for the trails, grateful for Allison, grateful for all my training cheerleaders-Tony, Jana, Shana, Cassie, Julie, Scott and Michelle. Grateful. Namaste.
I got to the trail at 8 am. One wouldn't think that this is much later than 7:30 am. Well, what a difference a half hour makes! I had to wait for a spot to park, it was warmer, and the trail was very crowded. Also, my trusty friend Allison who is typically at the trail before me was not there. There was one morning where she completely forgot to get up. So, trying to stay positive, I just told myself that I would do the best that I could. That I would still be able to do it even if she wasn't able to join me. I think I even kept repeating. But I decided to give her a few minutes before I started out on my own. And she arrived a couple of minutes after that.
She was admittedly a bit cranky today due to a lack of sleep. And I was just happy to have my friend run/walk with me. We did our warm-up, stretches, and I took a bathroom break before we got started. Okay, if you really want to know how much of a dork I am, here goes. . . I want to know if the ammonia smell in the port-o-potties is from all the "waste" or from their cleaning supplies. It is sooooo strong. It is hard to believe that that is normal compost smell. Anyways, I need to finish my blog before I go searching about that topic.
Armed with our water and electrolyte gel chew thingys, we were off. I was pretty energetic and pumped to be setting out on our 8 mile adventure. I think I went a little fast and hard that first mile. I certainly wasn't able to maintain that chipper pace. It also seemed like people were not as friendly at 8 am in the morning or something. I think the first 5 or 6 people that I said good morning to ignored me and had no response at all. Some people may wave or nod, if talking isn't able to be done while running. But even the ones that weren't wearing head phones. I don't like that feeling when I feel invisible. But I was pretty determined to greet everyone on the trail. Because I seemed so eager and chipper, Allison deemed me the trail prom queen. The only time in my life that will ever be uttered! It was hysterical. Have I ever mentioned how hard it is run while laughing? It is very difficult!
It seemed that first 2 miles were pretty smooth. Still tough on the hills, but smooth otherwise. The section of Sand Run is pretty hilly. I hear that the actual Akron Roadrunner is pretty flat for the Half-Marathon. I liked hearing that info! We passed the 2.5 mile marker, and Allison asked me if I remembered when we thought that was exciting. I do. It was fun to be able to push past what we thought was possible!
Very grateful for the sunshine today even if it made it a little more challenging. We made it to the end of mile 3. The trail we have been using is only 6 miles round trip. So we decided to run the last half mile two times to make up for our 2 extra miles today. It seemed safest to stay on the end of the trail, so we couldn't back out of the higher miles being closer to the beginning of the trail. Doing it this way made for even more hills though. We hadn't really planned on that part. It reinforced our positive thinking/talk though. Continuing to use phrases such as; "I'm gliding", "I love the way I feel when I am done", "Every step gives me benefits", "Endorphins help me relax", etc. It does help. Also, imagining the people ahead of us pulling us forward helps.
One of the funniest things that happened today, as we were running along the trail we came around a bend. On the other side was a young girl running towards us while singing. I have no idea what she was singing. But she was singing, out of tune and enjoying every second of it. And you know what, she stopped singing just to say hello back to us! It was awesome. I think she cheered us up for a good half-mile. She also inspired us to have our own trail karaoke. Yes, it may have been Miley Cyrus's "Party in the USA", but it was upbeat, we knew the words, and it was funny as well as fun. I think we definitely got our share of funny looks, but we didn't care. We had just finished 5 miles and had 3 more to go.
I think we have become regulars. There were quite a few people who are starting to look familiar. This is pretty cool. I never really thought I would become a regular on a running trail! At mile 6, Allison's knees started bothering her, so we slowed our pace and increased our walking stints. She toughed it out and we ran/walked through mile 7. Near the beginning of mile 8, she decided she needed to give her knees a break. So we walked the rest of our route. Jeff Galloway emphasizes that it is more important to stay together than to run faster during long runs. So, I stuck with Allison to the end of our walk. And we did our cool down walk, then stretches.
I iced my knees. I also made sure I moved my legs around today while I was driving to and from Canton. Took some arnica and Ibuprofen. My muscles are somewhat sore, but not anything that is going to keep me from doing my daily life.
I don't know if I can convey how grateful I am to be healthy enough to be able to do my training. Grateful to have had all of the support, all of the experiences that have helped me get to this point, grateful to have the physical ability to run/walk, grateful that my yoga practice helps me mentally and physically be able to do everything in my day, grateful for the trails, grateful for Allison, grateful for all my training cheerleaders-Tony, Jana, Shana, Cassie, Julie, Scott and Michelle. Grateful. Namaste.
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Dreaded Long Run
Last night I spent a lot of time freaking out being able to complete a 4 mile walk/run. I've only been doing 2 miles walk/running, how am I going to complete 4? How long will it take me? How am I ever going to survive walk/running for over an hour? What if I can't do it? These were some of the choice thoughts running through my head. Ha, ha. No pun intended. So, I did what I've been taught to do with other difficult things in my life. I made a phone call to get out of my head and let another person know about the craziness in my thoughts. Then, I talked about it with other people. Oh, and gave myself a pep talk; you aren't in tomorrow, all you have to do it right now. Right now you are driving, and you can totally handle that. 4 is ONLY double 2, that doesn't seem THAT difficult. Then I'd be able to think about something else after the pep talk.
Talking with people about my craziness resulted in one of my friends offering to come along for the walk/run. She must be just as crazy as I am to agree to a 4 mile walk/run at 7:15 am. And I welcomed it. Everything I've read suggests running with others, especially on long run days. Somehow it makes it easier. So, my brave and funny friend Allison agrees to this nonsense. And then I can breathe. I had someone else to brave the unknown with me.
We met at actually about 7:20 am. Neither of us are truly morning people, but she didn't glare at me while I was all awake and smiling AND saying hi to people on the trail. So it was great! We tied our car keys into our shoelaces, and braved it without taking bottles of water with us. I will have to post the photos/videos later, when I figure out how to do so.
It was quite cool this morning which was great! We made it through the first mile and a half pretty easily. Without being OCD about it, we tried to keep a 30 sec run/45 sec walk pace. Neither of us had a stop watch. Then the hills increased. This was definitely not a PG rated walk/run and hopefully the trail/dirt/hills weren't offended by our cursing them. But this gave me the opportunity to share some of the information I read with Allison. To remind her that Jeff(Galloway) says that it's about the mileage, not about the time. And that it's more important to stay together then to try and go at a higher pace then the person you are jogging with. (Is it weird that I still can't stand to leave prepostions at the end of a sentence? Either way, I'm still going to do it.)
I would dare say that I actually had fun on my walk/run today. We talked about all kinds of things, including a movie called Idiocracy. And we laughed. I never realized how much breathe you needed to laugh. It sort of complicates being able to breathe while jogging, but worth it. So, Jeff suggests using certain phrases to help the battle in your brain during your walk/running. I shared these phrases with Allison. You are supposed to choose the ones that relate the most to you, and he has a ton of them. Some may call them dirty little tricks, because they work. The one that stuck out the most to me was "Every step gives me benefits." It helps me stay in the present. Another one was "I'm gaining strength from endorphins." The one word that confused me was "glide." Apparently this is one of his favorites. So this became a joke the rest of the run. . .I'm gliiddinng said in a sing-songy voice. It's fun. You should try jogging and repeating. This conversation actually got us to our 2 mile marker where we could turn around.
Then some more hills. Those downhill spots are bea-u-ti-ful. The scenery also helped. It was a gorgeous morning, blue sky, clouds, sun, AND cool. The streams glistened, there were birds and chipmunks scurring around. The hills were probably the most challenging going back. My leg muscles started feeling heavy. That was when I reminded Allison that smaller strides apparently help and that we didn't have a time goal. And we made it up all those hills. Before I knew it, we were at the bathrooms. I'd had to go since we saw the 2 mile marker. Got a drink of water, and Allison pointed out the very thoughtful doggie drinking fountain. How great is that? A drinking fountain for dogs!
Guess what the great thing is about the bathrooms? The 3 mile marker was about 500 feet away. We made it and I feel like passing out. After a high-five, we jogged on up another hill. Insert choice words here. A conversation about the awkwardness of saying hi to people on the trail. It is sort of awkward. Some people are smiling, some people are jamming to their music and don't hear you. Some are covered in sweat and just trying to keep there body in motion. Those people usually don't even look at you. I think from now on that whenever I say "Hi" to people on the trail, I'm going to view it as saying "Namaste." Namaste is what is usually said at the end of a yoga practice. It has been described as meaning, the divine in me acknowledges the divine in you. I always like that part. Because I do believe that each of has a spirit, and it helps me remember that.
We started passing parking lots, there was no river in site, and we knew we were close to the end. It was amazing, we were almost finished with 4 miles. We jogged a little quicker and then walked our way to end. We made it! We did some walking to cool down and of course stretched. I am a huge fan of stretching. It lessens whatever soreness I may have after my workout. And I can tell when I don't stretch afterwards. Thankfully, Allison pointed out that with our warm-up and cool-down, we actually did 4.5 miles and next weeks long run of 5 miles is only .5 longer than that. And that actually helped my brain.
Leaving the park, I was so thrilled that I had completed the 4 mile walk/run. I will be able to check it off on my training schedule! And my brain was worried for nothing. This experience today has me questioning a lot of things that I worry about and think that I can't do them. I love it. Today is the reason why I wanted to run a half-marathon. (Please remind me of this when I have a 9 mile long run.) For today, I did it. And I am again shown that my higher power will carry me through. I'm very grateful.
Talking with people about my craziness resulted in one of my friends offering to come along for the walk/run. She must be just as crazy as I am to agree to a 4 mile walk/run at 7:15 am. And I welcomed it. Everything I've read suggests running with others, especially on long run days. Somehow it makes it easier. So, my brave and funny friend Allison agrees to this nonsense. And then I can breathe. I had someone else to brave the unknown with me.
We met at actually about 7:20 am. Neither of us are truly morning people, but she didn't glare at me while I was all awake and smiling AND saying hi to people on the trail. So it was great! We tied our car keys into our shoelaces, and braved it without taking bottles of water with us. I will have to post the photos/videos later, when I figure out how to do so.
It was quite cool this morning which was great! We made it through the first mile and a half pretty easily. Without being OCD about it, we tried to keep a 30 sec run/45 sec walk pace. Neither of us had a stop watch. Then the hills increased. This was definitely not a PG rated walk/run and hopefully the trail/dirt/hills weren't offended by our cursing them. But this gave me the opportunity to share some of the information I read with Allison. To remind her that Jeff(Galloway) says that it's about the mileage, not about the time. And that it's more important to stay together then to try and go at a higher pace then the person you are jogging with. (Is it weird that I still can't stand to leave prepostions at the end of a sentence? Either way, I'm still going to do it.)
I would dare say that I actually had fun on my walk/run today. We talked about all kinds of things, including a movie called Idiocracy. And we laughed. I never realized how much breathe you needed to laugh. It sort of complicates being able to breathe while jogging, but worth it. So, Jeff suggests using certain phrases to help the battle in your brain during your walk/running. I shared these phrases with Allison. You are supposed to choose the ones that relate the most to you, and he has a ton of them. Some may call them dirty little tricks, because they work. The one that stuck out the most to me was "Every step gives me benefits." It helps me stay in the present. Another one was "I'm gaining strength from endorphins." The one word that confused me was "glide." Apparently this is one of his favorites. So this became a joke the rest of the run. . .I'm gliiddinng said in a sing-songy voice. It's fun. You should try jogging and repeating. This conversation actually got us to our 2 mile marker where we could turn around.
Then some more hills. Those downhill spots are bea-u-ti-ful. The scenery also helped. It was a gorgeous morning, blue sky, clouds, sun, AND cool. The streams glistened, there were birds and chipmunks scurring around. The hills were probably the most challenging going back. My leg muscles started feeling heavy. That was when I reminded Allison that smaller strides apparently help and that we didn't have a time goal. And we made it up all those hills. Before I knew it, we were at the bathrooms. I'd had to go since we saw the 2 mile marker. Got a drink of water, and Allison pointed out the very thoughtful doggie drinking fountain. How great is that? A drinking fountain for dogs!
Guess what the great thing is about the bathrooms? The 3 mile marker was about 500 feet away. We made it and I feel like passing out. After a high-five, we jogged on up another hill. Insert choice words here. A conversation about the awkwardness of saying hi to people on the trail. It is sort of awkward. Some people are smiling, some people are jamming to their music and don't hear you. Some are covered in sweat and just trying to keep there body in motion. Those people usually don't even look at you. I think from now on that whenever I say "Hi" to people on the trail, I'm going to view it as saying "Namaste." Namaste is what is usually said at the end of a yoga practice. It has been described as meaning, the divine in me acknowledges the divine in you. I always like that part. Because I do believe that each of has a spirit, and it helps me remember that.
We started passing parking lots, there was no river in site, and we knew we were close to the end. It was amazing, we were almost finished with 4 miles. We jogged a little quicker and then walked our way to end. We made it! We did some walking to cool down and of course stretched. I am a huge fan of stretching. It lessens whatever soreness I may have after my workout. And I can tell when I don't stretch afterwards. Thankfully, Allison pointed out that with our warm-up and cool-down, we actually did 4.5 miles and next weeks long run of 5 miles is only .5 longer than that. And that actually helped my brain.
Leaving the park, I was so thrilled that I had completed the 4 mile walk/run. I will be able to check it off on my training schedule! And my brain was worried for nothing. This experience today has me questioning a lot of things that I worry about and think that I can't do them. I love it. Today is the reason why I wanted to run a half-marathon. (Please remind me of this when I have a 9 mile long run.) For today, I did it. And I am again shown that my higher power will carry me through. I'm very grateful.
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