Lunar Rendezvous 5K Recap

This race is special for me.  When I did Couch 2 5K in 2009, this was the first 5K I ran.  You can read my race recap from 2009 right here.  I finished my first 5K and lost to a 3 year old.  I read it again for the first time in a long time a week ago.  I am so glad I wrote it down because there were so many things I forgot and so many things that haven't changed.

• I still just hope that I am not last.  I have to say I am a bit disappointed in my time of 50:17. It is 1:09 slower that my last race that was about 6 weeks ago with a at time of 49:09. I was really pushing for a 45 to 46.  I set my Nike plus to tell me my pace every minute...but it malfunctioned when I paused the music...for a reason I cannot remember.  Then I stopped to try to fix it, well not a complete stop but I really slowed down.  That is what I LOVE about Nikeplus, the ability to see my run and my pace along the whole route.  I slowed down to 19:57 pace when I was trying to fix my Nike (and that is one of my downfalls about Nike...it has glitches).  There is only one run a month I worry about pace and that is my timed one for the FattyMustRunMarathonChallenge. The rest of the time I just love being out there. Did I mention that I forgot my armband for my phone? yeah...so I had to hold it in my hand the hold time...not comfortable.
• I still don't know how to drink from a cup and run at the same time.  I have no problem grabbing the water from the volunteer, and by the way, thank you to all the volunteers.  But once it is in my hand I fill like I am all thumbs and water just goes everywhere but my mouth.  I still feel guilty about throwing my cups on the ground and apparently so are other people because there was a tower of upside down cups on the ground. I decided I would add to the tower.
• I cannot verify it but I think my three year old nemesis was there.  He would be about seven now and there was a seven year old there running along with me...mocking me.  He has a younger brother that is about 5 (Of course he was not there in 2009 because he would have been about 1...not even walking) But this year, this year they both mocked me.  They would run past me just laughing and smiling and giggling.  Then they would wait for their mother and me to get near them again and then they were off again.  One day I am going to beat this child and I better do it soon because once he becomes a preteen...my chance is gone.
• I still don't like people to come back for me.  Last time my daughter ran with me.  She came back on the route to look for me and cheer me on.  She kept her distance. She could tell that I appreciated it but that I needed to do this on my own. however, this time my husband ran with me. It was his first 5K. Kelly and Diane were there again (and yes they one their age groups).  All three came back to look for me.  While I love the fact they came back, to cheer me on, I lose my concentration.  So as they walked up towards me, I waved them to turn around and go back to finish line.  And they did.  Maybe that is why I don't know team sports...I don't want anyone to depend on me. If I fail, it only affects me.  
• I wasn't nervous about the race.  Unfortunately, I had a 14 hour event that I was hosting at my house for 15 women from 10 am to midnight...that same day. So I spent the day before cleaning and decorating until 3 AM and then I was up at 5 for the race.  I love hosting these events and I love the 5Ks but I realized I don't love doing them on the same day.  
• That being said, I was ill prepared.  Last time I worrying about tapering and hydration before the race. This time I just worried about showing up.  

My  hopes is that my next race will have a better time. I am still looking for 45 or sub 45.  I'll get there. I know it.

Kemah Bridge

Well I did it!  This past week, I did my first Kemah bridge run.  I liked it so much that I did it twice!  My daughter and I met my sister at the bridge at 6 AM.  I have driven over this bridge hundreds, if not thousands of times. It is the bridge between me and the nearest sign of box store civilization (Walmart, Target, Office Depot and Home Depot). Why am I running a bridge?  Well, I live in flat SE Texas. We have no hills.  When I say we are flat...I mean we are flat  The Houston Marathon is a great place to qualify for Boston because the run is soo easy...no hills.  But every runner needs to do hill work so us in SE Texas run in parking garages or on high arching bridges.  I happen to live very near to a high arching bridge.  It crosses the waterway that links Clear Lake to the bay.

This waterway is heavily utilized by boaters.  You see Clear lake is home to the third largest fleet of recreational boats in the United States.  Because of all the boat traffic seen, a steep and extreme high bridge was built.   And until my run, I did not realize that the south side is steeper than the north side.  I also didn't realize that cars whizzing by at 50 mph, that are less than 3 feet from you, cause alot of hot wind.  But I loved it.  I loved the way my thighs burned on the incline and the reward of going downhill immediately after the burn.  My sister and I took a picture at the top of the bridge from my phone, which in turn caused my Nike+ to stop recording and my wireless headphones to unlink.  So I am smiling in this picture but moments later I was just frustrated.

Now the bridge is less than two miles from my place but at least 30 miles from my sister's house.  Again, I am truly blessed to have a sister that would drive that far, that early so that she can run the bridge with me.  Isn't she awesome?  There are no words to describe my gratitude.  I am just truly blessed.

Warning: Cheeks appear larger than normal

Two days later I decided to do it again.  Because I was doing it by myself, I decided to go a bit earlier.  The second picture was taken as I was leaving the bridge to go home.  The bridge is 1.9 miles round trip.  I think next week I will try to do it twice which is....3.8 miles.

Running group do's and don't

I am always full of fear the first time I do something. And sometimes I get so scared that I do this thing where I start crying which, for whatever reason, turns into laughing.   Running with a running group was no different.          I would love to say that I took every effort to make sure that I was going to be at my best for this first run.  But I didn't.  I stayed out late with a friend and only slept 4 hours before my run.  Which leads me to my do's and don'ts for your first run with a running group.

Don't stay out late the night before you go on your first run with a group of people you know are faster than you.  You need all the rest you can get.  So if a friend asks you to stay out later, just apologize and let them know that you have made a commitment to become a better you and need to get home for some rest.

Do lay out your clothes the night before.  I had to be in Galveston, about 45 minutes away, by 6:15 AM.  That meant that I had to leave at 5:15 if I wanted to give myself some wiggle time.  Having everything together meant all I had to do was brush my teeth, pull my hair back and put on my clothes.  No hunting through my drawers for matching socks or headbands. No running across the house to the laundry room to find my bottoms and then to the living room for my shoes.  Just do it.

Don't leave the address to the running group at home. Thank goodness I had wiggle room because I made it there at exactly 6:15.  I lost time when I had to Google the store and then GPS the location from downtown Galveston.

Do hydrate the night before and the morning of the run.  It was hot out there and you'll see later on why it was so important for me to hydrate well.

Don't take off on a run without knowing the route.  You see I was slower than the rest of the group and within the first few blocks I was alone on the road. I didn't know the route so I spent alot of time GPSing my location and trying to figure out how to get back to the store where we started.  I wasn't frustrated but I was annoyed with having to stop, pull my phone out of the armband, turn off my Nike+ app and go to Maps.  Eventually I made it back to the store but not on the same route as everyone else.

Don't beat yourself up if you get left behind. I have to admit there were a few times on my run that I felt  a lump in my throat and thought I was going to cry.  It wasn't because I was alone...I run by myself all the time.    I felt defeated.  I felt that my inability to stay up with the slowest group just confirmed my inability to be a part of a group.  Bottom line, I just felt less than. And true to form, what started out as a feeling of wanting to tear up and give up became a feeling of just wanting to laugh. But when I shared how I felt to my husband and daughter, my daughter said something profound, "Stop beating yourself up about how far you have to go and start celebrating how far you've come.  Remember the first time you cried because you couldn't run a minute? Well look at you now.  That is what you need to focus on. "  She is 17 and wise beyond her years.

And yes, if you caught that...I have cried before.  I am a llorona (Spanish for cry baby).  I cry for joy and I cry for sadness.  So don't feel sorry for me because I cried.  The physical expression of the emotion that I am feeling seems to get exaggerated in my body and I know it is ridiculous so I start to laugh.

So this week I am taking on the Kemah Bridge.  Fortunately, I live about a mile from the only safe bridge to train for hill work.  I believe it is 1.9 miles over and back.  Wish me luck.

W6D2 and the IPhone 3GS

So, I ran W6D2 yesterday. It was pretty uneventful. I must say, it is harder to run on my treadmill than it is to run anywhere else, including outside. I also realized I am looking forward to W6D3 because it is a straight run. Say what?!?!?! Yes, you read it right. I like getting into a rhythm and and just going. I don't want to start and stop. It is hard to get going again.



But this week and last week my thinking is kinda skewed. I am "squeezing" time to work out. Funny how I don't think I am squeezing time to brush my teeth or take a shower or watch Rate My Space. I don't want to lose my momentum. They say the busiest weeks at a gym are the first six weeks of a new year. People, trying to fulfill New Year's Resolutions, will usually stop after six weeks.



That is why I am glad I have all my online running friends, wonderful blogs to inspire me, my Nike + and my Polar F6. I am surrounded by motivation and encouragement.



But the best news, drum roll please, the new IPhone 3GS has Nike+ built in software. Yes, you read that right. If you run outside and like to use the Nike + but also like to carry your phone, now you can do both... in one device. That is right, apparently they saw my review of the Nike + and hating that it was not compatible with my Iphone and the acted immediately. I am kidding. But I am sure there are many Nike + users celebrating. Now if I can just convince my husband that a new IPhone is beneficial to my health and safety.

Nike also launched their new running site. I haven't played with it much but you can be sure that I will share any information that I can.

Lost Nike Plus receiver...Reward if found

Sigh. Today is W3D3 of my C25K and I couldn't find my Nike Plus receiver nor my armband. I know, I know. Why aren't they in your chest, you know the one you posted about last week?

I'll tell you why, because I was in a hurry on Saturday and took my nano to the beach in a pink belkin case I got at the dollar star. That's right. You know those cases you can get at Target or Best Buy for the Nano, the previous one to the newest version, for about twenty dollars? Well, because it is not for the latest and greatest version of nano, you can buy it at the Dollar Tree. No joke.

Anyway, back to the day it all happened. I was in a hurry and I remember switching cases but I don't know what I did with the armband one. And inside the armband, is the receiver. It has a place to hold a key while you run but I used it for the receiver when I am not using it.

So, I searched high and low for it and I can't find it. I wanted to use the new application I got for free for my Iphone that allows you to use your own playlist as it verbally prompts you to do run, walk etc. It was great and maybe when I stop fretting about my Nike Plus, I'll tell you about it. So I will give you the cliff notes version

• No nano
• Used C25K program on Iphone ( I really did like it)
• Played my own playlist
• I had to stop running on the last 3 minute run (stopped at 90 secs--another reason I love the application--tell you when I stop fretting what it does)
• Can't use IMapMyRun while using C25K app...bummer
• Couldn't get real time information on my pace...that really helps me stay motivated
• If I had my receiver I could use C25K and still get real time pace and distance information
• Used MapMyRun to map my run...Did 2 miles in 35 minutes.
• Bummer: My mini won't be updated
• Bummer: My goal of 24 miles this month will probably be reached but not recorded because it tracks from my Nike +
• Darn you Nike for getting me addicting to this too cool gadget. If I don't find it tonight, I'll have to go tomorrow and get a new one

So I will do W3 a few more times. So I didn't finish the last three minutes. Doing the 90 seconds was easy and it was hard last week. So I am improving.

Oh, on a side note A friend of mine asked me if me and my husband want to join her and her boyfriend in a Muddy Buddy race in Dallas, in October. Sounds like fun so I am going to do it. See if there is one in your area and sign up with a friend. It looks like tons of fun.

So much to say but I am bummed about the Nike +, need time to look for it.

Need a schedule...dont' want a schedule

Today is my daughter's thirteenth birthday. I am not a morning person so it was a struggle for me to get up before she does so that I can wish her happy birthday. Let me back up. I am deaf in one ear so I do not always hear my alarm go off, if I am laying on my good ear. So last night I asked my husband to make sure to wake me up at 6AM so that I can wake up my daughter to give her a present. Well, at 3:24 he awoke from a dream where he heard an alarm and kept pushing on me to wake up. I didn't know what time it was at first so I was just devastated. I went to bed early so that I could get enough sleep and here I was being shaken, and feeling like I didn't have enough sleep. I turn to the clock and it is 3:30 in the morning. I grumble and go back to bed.

After finally getting up and giving her, her present. (Is that correct?) I go back to my room and try to go to sleep but I can't. I am in one of these, still tired but too much going through my mind that I can't sleep, sort of mood.

Now, here is the thing I am realizing about Couch to 5K. I need a schedule. I know I am to run three times a week because the program goes from day one to day three for each week. I know, from reading other blogs, that I shouldn't schedule these days consecutively. So when do I run? That is the question.

Most of the time, I just run when I make the time. Notice I said "make" the time and not "find" the time. If I had to "find" the time, well, lets just say I wouldn't look very hard. But usually, I look at my day and say either "Great, today is my day of rest." or I say "Ok, I rested yesterday, so I need to make time today to run." Well, today is one of those days I can't seem to "make" the time.

With all the activities today with my daughter, I just don't have the time or energy. So I feel guilty for not running. Had I, in fact, reviewed my schedule before the week started, I could have made time on other days because I knew I couldn't do it today. If I knew ahead of time, I would not feel guilty.

My point is this: If you can pre-schedule your run time, go ahead and do it. It takes the guessing game out of the equation and you won't feel guilty if you have two consecutive days of no training. Or maybe you don't feel guilty. I know that I shouldn't. I know I will run it tomorrow. Well, I know that because I broke down and scheduled my workouts. Besides, I don't want my Nike Mini to talk smack about me because I have not ran for a few days.

Video 1 Nike +

So here is the first video. Here are some of the links I mention in the Video:

Nike + Store where you can view or buy gear.

DIY Nike Sensor pouch Instructions on how to make the homemade pouch.

FYI: You can use the Nike + on the previous version of the Nano. And uh, the shoes don't come in male or female. They are made for men and women. :)

This is my first video ever, so please be gentle. :)