Who is having an ENDURANCE give away?

Today’s schedule called for interval training on the track: 6 x 400m at 5K pace. So my goal was to keep my fast quarters below 2:00.00. Starting out was tough and I was sore from yesterdays run but once I got going there was no turning back. I am seeing too much improvement in my times to NOT follow through with this training routine.

Stats for today:

½ mile warm up: 4.43.23

Lap 1: 1:36.96
Lap 2: 2:42.46
Lap 3: 1:39.79
Lap 4: 2:39.28
Lap 5: 1:50.87
Lap 6: 2:42.66
Lap 7: 1:49.83
Lap 8: 3:46.58
Lap 9: 1:45.53
Lap 10: 3:00.34
Lap 11: 1:45.13
Lap 12: 3:31.68

½ mile cool down

Total: 4 miles

I know that my 5K pace is not a 6:30 (ish)/mile pace and ideally I would shoot for an 8 min pace which means I should be doing my quarters at 2 min per lap. So WHY do I kill myself just to get those faster splits? I think know it is in the hopes of improving my overall mile times. I am seeing my times fall below 9 min/mile BUT I am not sure how long I can sustain the pace. Can you say ENDURANCE? I neeeed it! So if any of you see on any blogs that someone is having an endurance give away LET ME KNOW! :)

Today I am grateful for:
Friends at the park.
Airline tickets for November for a sweet multi city West Coast vaca!!
Jeans that are fitting a little bit looser.
A chance to win some awesome Thorlo socks from Tall Mom on the Run!! Head over there for your chance to win too!!! (click anywhere on this sentence)


Run Happy folks!

Bye-Bye 9 minute miles

Today was a nice and easy 3.5 miles. I decided to give The Hill of Death another go. So I drove to my starting point. My initial plan was to run the hill first and finish with a flat three miles. But once I got there I turned left instead of right, sending me on the flat three mile route first. Oops. So I spent three miles thinking about that hill, imagining me running up that hill, picturing me crawling up that hill… My first mile was decent: 8:58.22. I spent at least 15 seconds trying to cross the street frogger style. My second mile was awesome: 8:25.71. I looked at my Garmin and could not believe it! My third mile was respectable: 8:44.07. I purposely slowed a little bit because I knew I would want some energy for the hill, it didn’t help. I turned and headed up the big hill. I made it ¼ of a mile before stopping to catch my breath. Did I mention it was pretty hot here today? The sun was beating down on me and I had a quarter of a mile straight up to go. So I started up again. I got a few “Are you CRAZY?” looks from people driving up and down the hill and I gave them the “Yes, completely INSANE, don’t mess with me look” in return. It was not pretty, it was not fun. But it IS done. One of these days I will run the entire hill all the way to the top (I didn’t run all the way up today) without stopping.

It is CLEAR as DAY to me that I need more hill work, not only incorporated in my daily runs but in my interval training. So I am on the lookout for a good hill that is about a quarter of a mile long so that I can do some hill work. For now I am excited to be leaving my days as a 9 min/mile runner behind! My goal of a sub 2 hour half is within site!!!!

Today I am grateful for:
Beautiful weather.
Confidence in my running!
Improved conditioning and times!

Pre school.


Run Happy!

Not Today!

This is why I named my blog 5 Miles 2 Empty:

I HATE buying gas, and it seems like I am always almost out of it. Today I made plans to meet up with AN the RB for a 6 mile run on 5 Mile(s of hills) Drive. I called her around 3 o'clock and practically twisted her arm over the phone, and maybe drug her out of her afternoon nap. Neither of us really felt like going for a run, it has been one of those lazy days. But she knew that if she didn't come along I most likely would not have made it out. What a trooper! What a gal! What a friend! What a running buddy!!! She came along! We met up and started out. It was painful. It was uphill. We both were achy, tired and full of complaints. We had pretty much decided to do like one mile and come back tomorrow for our 6. But by the time we got to the top of that stupid hill we had warmed up and loosened up a bit and continued on. We are such good running buddies. When ones slacks the other pushes and it just works.

We ran the 5 Mile Drive and I complained nearly the entire way about stupid cars that think it is ok to drive 50 MPH on a scenic drive. REALLY? Come on people, if you are in a hurry then just don't come. Whatever. That is my serious pet peeve: People who drive too fast around pedestrians. Get a life. Aaanyway...We saw 17, yes I said 17, raccoons on the side of the road, in one pack! It was like a convention or something! We feared for our lives. Thank goodness neither of us were wearing anything shiny or had a snack on us or we could have been raccoon dinner!

By the time we rounded the corner and caught sight of our cars we were nearing 4.75 miles. I had decided to stop and get in my car and be happy with 4.75. AN the RB also opted to end her run. Then I had a change of heart. My training this week has been pretty good, my times are improving and there HAS to be a good reason for this 6 mile run piggy backing my 3 Mile Pace run. I could not waste this week of training, 1.25 more miles it is. So I got a drink and headed back out to do the last of my run. It went pretty well and I finished my last mile in 9.03. Not too shabby with the hills and coming off of 5 miles.

So, today was not a 5 Miles 2 Empty day!

What fills your tank?

What keeps you motivated to go just one more mile?

Today I am grateful:

For a fun time at the dog park.
For my awesome running buddy (who is SO much more than that) who

keeps me going and came into my life for a reason. :)
Warm showers.

New razors.

Sweat pants!

Run Happy!!

Run for the Dogs

Today’s 3 mile pace run was uneventful. That is good when compared to an eventful run. On Wednesday AN the RB met me for an easy 3 mile run. Since my half training plan has me doing pretty short runs (3 miles) we decided we could bring the dogs along. If you remember last time I took Lazy Dog for a 3 mile run I was dragging him by the end, his paw started bleeding, and he was out (on a pillow; read about it HERE) for the rest of the day. I am happy to say I am slowly getting Lazy Dog back into shape. Anyway, AN the RB has a puppy (almost 1 year old) black lab that we can call Happy Puppy. She accompanies AN the RB often on runs so this was nothing new to her, but she hasn’t run with Lazy Dog for quite some time.

So we set out on our 3 mile run, the dogs were crazy and tangled in the leases for the first 10 minutes so we let them get it out of their systems before we started. Finally, we were off. Lazy Dog was leading the way, like he thinks he is the head honcho or something, typical German Shepherd. Around mile 1.25 we saw another Crazy Dog on the other side of a fairly busy street. It all happened so fast but that Crazy Dog just KNEW he HAD to come and play with Lazy Dog and Happy Puppy. He tore out across that busy street and tires screeched and yelps were heard! That poor Crazy Dog was hit by a pickup! Thank goodness the truck didn’t squish him with the tires, just hit him with the bumper and made a loud thud. Crazy Dog got up and ran to his back yard. It was quite a fiasco. AN the RB tied up Happy Puppy and ran to check on Crazy Dog. I stayed on the other side of the street for a few minutes, Lazy Dog can be kind of unpredictable under stress (i.e. he may eat someone). Turns out the dog seemed to be ok, the owner reassured the driver (who had a tiny new born baby with her) that it was not her fault and the gate was left open. It was awful. I hate seeing that sort of thing. Hopefully Crazy Dog is ok.

We continued on our run. We ran through a part of town that I haven’t ran through very often, maybe three times before. So we have decided for our next long run we should explore that area again. There were so many pretty houses, yards, and flowers. Before we knew it my Garmin yelled at us to tell us we were done. So we walked. We walked .96 miles home. I don’t know why we didn’t run home but I think it was because I was again dragging Lazy Dog.

Thursday was a rest day, which means I taught water aerobics and did yoga. I can really tell a difference in my flexibility since starting up with yoga again and spending more time stretching in general. Today was a 3 mile pace run which means I was supposed to run 3 miles at the pace I will be running my half marathon (ideally).

Stats for todays run:
Mile 1: 8:25.76
Mile 2: 8:20.66
Mile 3: 9:02.12 (Ooops, what happend here?)

Oh well, this is a good start, now if I can just hold that 8:20 pace for 13.1 miles I will have my sub 2:00 half for sure! I can certainly tell the tempo runs and interval training are helping!! I will press onward!

Today I am grateful for:
Running!
The weekend!
Sushi
Indian Summer!

An awesome giveaway over at Busy Running Mama! Click HERE to enter to win!! I love a chance for free stuff!!!!

Run Happy!

Tempo Jog...er Run.

Tuesday I did my 30 min tempo run. I updated my facebook status to read: Amanda is heading out for a tempo run. And one of my not-so-much-of-a-runner friends thought I said: Amanda is heading out for a tampon run. Well, not so much but it gave me a good laugh.

I have a really hard time doing tempo runs on the streets because of traffic and stop lights. I guess I could try it on a track…but I prefer to save the track for my interval training. So I do tempo runs on the treadmill so that I can control my speed and actually know how much I am speeding up and when I can slow down.

Yesterday I was reading an entry over at Frayed Laces (HERE) where she had a conversation with her coach. Coach? I NEED a coach. Her conversation got me to thinking, how many of my miles are “junk miles”? I need to really focus on my tempos, intervals, hills, and pace runs. I find myself finishing my half marathons (6 of them) all within the same time frame, actually within 2 minutes (except for the Seattle Half which I don’t really want to talk about right now but you can read my rant HERE).

So something has to change. I have to push myself a little bit harder, run a little bit faster. This reminds me of a convo I had with AN the RB a few weeks ago. We were talking about running and I told her I think we might just be joggers. Oooo, those are fighting words. But we don’t run fast. We jog. Then as we were discussing this two girls flew, and I mean flew by us. THEY were running. And they were running 5 Mile Drive so they were at least RUNNING 5 miles, maybe more. Their pace was fast, their strides long, their bodies sweaty. We were sweaty too, and nearing mile 8 but still…jogging. So how do you get over that hump and go from jogging to running? I have emailed my old cross country coach in hopes that she will be my Virtual Running Advisor. I can’t wait to hear back from her! In the mean time, I am going to work on running.

Today I am grateful:
That my mole was “a plain ‘ole mole”.
That AN the RB is on her way over for a RUN.
It is hump day!!!!!
For my new chop sticks from Japan! Thanks Hub!


Run Happy everyone!

Treadmill + Mirror = Let’s just say it hurts to watch.

Today I did my easy 3 mile run on the treadmill at the Y. I hate running in front of a mirror. It is just painful to watch. My iPod is still dead (I am 99.9% certain it will not be revived this time around) so I was running with nothing, old school style. There were two ladies gossiping it up next to me, too bad I was totally uninterested in the latest Y gossip, that could have helped entertain me. Then there was the super fit chick that walked by, like 5 times and was not sweaty at all. How she got to be super fit walking around the gym and not working out I have idea, but I would love to be in the secret. Then the poor lady who kept dropping her iPod, I swear it flew off the back of her treadmill at least three times, hitting a poor old lady in the foot once. It is quite amusing to watch all that goes on at the gym when I am not wrapped up in my own brain with music blaring out my ear drums.

When I wasn’t scanning the room behind me via the huge wall of mirrors in front of me I was watching my stride and my leg action. I sometimes get dizzy watching myself run, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…over and over again. It is almost hypnotizing. But today I noticed what the dude at the running store pointed out, my right foot pronates but corrects itself before it comes back down to strike the ground. So it would kind of come up and kick out to the outside then correct and straighten out and hit the ground in a neutral position. I watched this for quite some time and compared it to my seemingly normal gate of the left foot. Normal except for the fact that it looks like my left leg could come unattached at any moment and fall to the floor like an unfortunate Barbie leg. So my left hip looks strange when I run and I can’t quite explain it. I was told about a year ago that I have pretty weak muscles in my hips and I need to strengthen them, which I have tried to do. But to put it simply, it hurt me watch myself run. That can’t be a good sign. I think I will stick with the treadmill in the back of the room so I can’t watch myself. At least that way I won’t know how bad it is.

Today I am grateful for:
A delicious dinner made by me. :)
A quiet evening.
Spiderman Band-Aids
Cool presents from foreign countries.

Bank to Bay 1K

Today was my Little Running Buddy's big race, Bank To Bay 1K!! We began the day early and headed downtown to pick up his bib and t-shirt around 8 AM. We had plenty of time to get his bib pinned on and the Garmin set up, which he was super excited to wear! I had it programmed for .62 of a mile: 1K! I tried to put the heart rate monitor on him but he is just too skinny and I couldn't get it to stay.

They started the 6 year olds and up first followed by the 5 and under wave. My Little Buddy was pretty nervous, it was really cute. He kept asking if we were going to be running with him. The big ole bull horn sounded and my Little Buddy was OFF! He took off so fast I couldn't keep up! I was swerving and weaving in and out of kids left and right! They were like puppies! All under my feet! And none of them could run a straight line to save thier life. It is really hard running with 100 kids all under 3.5 feet tall! I was a good 25 feet behind my Little Buddy but The Hubs was on his tail. I finally caught up just in time for him to slow his pace a bit. At the halfway mark where we turned around he got passed by a girl with her mom and a man yelled out, "don't let her beat you!" and my Little Buddy was off again! He held either my hand or The Hubs hand for the next 200 yards until we saw the finish. I gave him some encouragement and told him to finish strong. He took off again! The little booger had been holding out for the finish! He ran so hard and crossed that finish line! They gave him his Medal and he posed for some silly pictures. In all it was a blast and I know he had fun too, and in the end that is all that matters.

Race Stats:
1K: 7:41
1/4 mile splits: 4:37, 2:49

For some reason the Garmin logged this as .52 of a mile, not quite 1K. Not sure if this is due to Garmin Grimlins or the course is not USATF Certified Course. I may have to speak with the Race Director about this.

This is my Little Buddy at the finish! He didn't get a medal but a strange laminated piece of paper. Oh well, he thought it was pretty cool nonetheless.

So check out the Garmin Stats here:
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

Shared via AddThis

I am so proud of my Little Running Buddy!

Today I am grateful:

for the beautiful day of sun!

that my Little Running Buddy had a great race today!

for a great date-night with The Hubs last night!

A sweet 100th post giveaway over at Run Faster Mommy! Head over and check it out!

Run Happy!

My New Kicks!

YaY!

I got some new kicks today!!! Here they are...

I tried on about 4 different shoes and this was the only shoe that really felt good. It is hard to tell in the store but I took a jog around inside and down the corridor to see how they felt. I had no heel pain and no shin pain (which I have been noticing a little bit lately). When I tried on a new pair of my old style (the shoe below) I had pain in my heel and a tiny inkling of pain in my shin. I think it is so strange how much difference a good shoe can make.

These are my old shoes. They actually don't look half bad. It is silly but I really try to keep my shoes looking clean. I know I have washed these a couple of times but still...they have lost their mojo and it is time for some new ones. The aches and pains are a tell tale sign that the shoe is beginning to break down, plus I am not in LOVE with the shoe. It was time to move on. I quit while the quitting was good.

So here are my last three pairs of shoes:

Brooks on the right, Adidas back middle, and the new KICKS, Saucony! I have had this brand before but don't really remember how they treated me. We will see! And if they are not perfect I will keep searching for that shoe that will make me run like the wind, lead me to VICTORY! Give me that sub 2 hour half! And carry me weightlessly to the marathon finish! Has anyone found that shoe yet?

Today I am grateful:

For the weekend with my fam!

My new kicks!

A quiet evening!

That The Hubs is home for a few extra days!!

Run Happy Everyone!