the road goes on forever...

I took some inspiration from Marion for my after-run smoothie. In addition to my usual fruit (today- fresh strawberries and half of a frozen banana), milk, and vanilla protein mix, I added some carrots and a piece of kale. (Both of which belonged to my bunny- Sorry, Lewis, I'll get you more!) The consistency was a little weird, but the taste wasn't bad. Couldn't really taste the rabbit food, which is good.

Time for new shoes, after I run in either pair my joints are hurting. I have a new pair that was waiting for this moment. Will start running in them Thursday. 

3 x 1 mile

6:21, 6:13, 6:03 (give or take a second)

better than my last mile repeats, so i have high hopes for this weekend! i wish it was a 5k instead of a 10k. 

Wooo my first Gulf Winds Grand Prix win!!! Or Winston Cup Series as Jason likes to call it :)

I was aiming for under 42 minutes, Per mile I was just aiming to stay around 6:45 or under. I also wanted some grand prix points.

From the start I felt horrendous. My calves were on fire, my legs felt heavy so my feet were hitting really hard and I just felt really uncoordinated. I could not get into the pace, it felt really hard.  But I just kept looking at my Garmin and knew I had the ability to run at that pace, so I trusted my training and went with it. The 5k and 10k started together so when we parted after a mile or two I had no idea where I was in the race. I had two other girls around me, and we ran together for a mile or so, then around mile 3 it was me and another girl and someone yelled out "First two girls right here!" That's when I realized it was going to be a race. FINALLY around mile 4 I felt myself get into a rhythm and begin to feel comfortable with the pace. The other girl suddenly dropped back, so I was just left to stay strong and run my own race. Pretty difficult course, the hills felt great until the last 2 miles or so, those hills were a little painful. So my time is not all that great but compared to the other people know I was just where I needed to be, maybe even a little faster.

My splits:

6:49 (tough start, I was stuck behind some people)

6:39

6:43

6:34

6:42

6:37

Pretty steady, so i am happy with that. All in all, I guess I set out to do exactly what I wanted, plus got a win out of it! I would be more excited with a faster time, but with this course I am okay with it, and I am proud of myself for persisting through the difficulties of the first few miles. 

I'm just going to pretend like that one didn't happen.

6x800 with the track club. I am still feeling pretty bad on my runs and I have no idea why. I was able to stay with Micah again but it was much harder and the 800s were a little bit slower. I don't know how to explain it. Definite burning in my calves, and just all over fatigue. After 4 miles in my race it finally went away, and after 5 800s today.  The first few miles I run are miserable. Maybe the stress of my comps coming up is getting to me. Regardless, I can push through it all (although not fun) enough to run times that are fairly close to where I should be, but it requires a lot more effort. 

I decided to take it really easy this weekend for Gate Rive Run. My goals this year are focused on the Grand Prix for my track club (since it's my last full year in Tallahassee), and a marathon, so this race is just for fun. I am also in no shape to PR and there is absolutely no way  could place in my age group since the race is so competitive. So I think I'll just pick a pace (maybe 7-7:15) and just try to hold it.  

Hopefully that will make me feel better sooner, and I can run a decent 10k in a few weeks. 

Took it reallllly easy (started out around 9:20 pace). Felt decent for the first 4 miles, no pain, feet weren't landing hard. Last 2 actually felt good. Looked down at my watch and I had sped up to 8:45 without knowing it. Wasn't a challenge like the last few runs.

I'm still going to count the race this weekend as a good workout, not push too hard, and try to enjoy it. I am excited to go to Jacksonville to visit Becky (yay!!!!!), eat cup cakes, and celebrate my last couple days of freedom before comps next week. I think this is the biggest race I have ever run in, should be a good time.

I planned on taking this race way easier, but it was just too easy to get swept into the excitement. The top 300 runners (of 12,000?) got VIP treatment at the starting line, and I was one of them! It made me feel so important, and I just couldn't go out there and run 7 minute miles or more like my original plan.

So I went out and actually ran a pretty tough race. Mile 1 felt okay, then miles 2-4.5 or so my calves started burning really bad. I even thought a couple times "what if I can't finish." I really wish I could figure out what was wrong with them. Maybe I need to get a massage and get them worked on? I actually think I had this problem once in college, I'll explain at a later date.

Once my calves started feeling better I was able to pick it up a little bit and get comfortable with the pace. The only major hill was when we ran across the bridge around mile 8-8.5. It slowed me up a little but I passed people, and then I flew down the other side of the bridge and in to the finish. I passed four or five girls at this point. I was shocked at my endurance; my major concern going into the race was the distance. But if my calves felt better I may have been able to PR, even though it was a tougher course. For my next race (a 10k) I think I am going to warm up a lot and hope I get all of the pain out during my warm up.

It was really fun running through Jacksonville. When we ran through some of the neighborhoods everyone was in their front yard tailgating with mimosas and tons of food, cheering all of us on (our names were on our numbers). There were a lot of bands and entertainment along the course. The course would have been cooler if we could see anything... it was realllly foggy the whole time.  I highly recommend this event. It was very organized, and if you can get into the top 300 seeds it is really exciting at the start! I received a hat that says "top 10% finisher."

5k splits:

21:15

21:32

20:56 

An extra special thanks to Becky (and Dallas of course) for letting me stay in their beauuuutiful beach front condo :)  

A long-winded update on my calves (Any input is greatly appreciated):

I can feel tightness in my right calf even when just sitting today. It is actually lower and towards the outside of my leg, slightly different than the spot that burns while running.

I have looked up anything I can find about calf problems while running. Most websites attribute it to shoes, over-use injuries, or relatively weak calf muscles or shins.  Since I have had the same type of shoes through 5 pairs of shoes now, and my training has definitely not increased too quickly and I am still only running 30 miles a week, I am thinking that it is due to weakness in my muscles.  I am running faster more often these days, so it could have something to do with that as well. Suggestions include calf strengthening exercises including lots of wall push-ups and calf raises.

If it is due to other reasons most websites say not to run through the pain because it will only make it worse. Luckily since my comps start tomorrow, I will probably only be able to run three days this week. I plan to go long and slow, and hope to not feel much pain. (Although I did feel pain during an easy run last week). I will try to get on a bike on my off days, but since I get 24 hours to answer each set of questions, I most likely won't be able to spend any of those hours at the gym. But we will see how it goes.

I think I had this problem when I was running in college (about 6 years ago...I'm getting old!).  I think I blocked it out because I don't really remember the specific pain (although I think it may have been this same burning sensation), all I really remember is having to go to the trainer to get my calves worked on, having one trainer on each leg, and leaving in tears. (Don't worry, I didn't let them see me cry). 

I'll update on Tuesday when I will be done 1/3 of my written exams! Yay! 

Don't know when I'll be able to run again, so went as long as my body let me. Not bad on four hours sleep. Calf muscles felt fine... maybe it's all the stretching and the rest.

My comps started yesterday. I got to campus at 6:45 am, and did not leave until 5 am this morning.  I officially stayed up 24 hours, 22 of which were in my office. Gross! I got a little delirious around 2am, but Jason helped pull me through.

Round 2 starts tomorrow at 8am. 

Wanted to quit half way through but I had to get home somehow!

2 easy, 1 hard (6:42), 1 easy, 1 hard (6:14), 1.75 easy 

Day 2 of comps went well, I was done in 17 hours and got home around 1am, way more reasonable than 5am. I treated myself to a burger and fries on my way home. (Don't tell Sasha!). It was only like my second time getting fast food this year. Although to my disappointment my fries didn't have the bacon and cheese on them like I ordered.

Only one more day to go! I am getting ice cream tomorrow night (or Saturday morning) when I am done. Steak and Shake has a butterfinger milkshake that looks really good and they're open 24 hours, so that may be the winner!

written comps are done!!! yesterday only took 16.5 hours, a new record. oral defense is in about three weeks.

 coming off a busy week it was really hard to find time to run. so i started as it was getting dark, and decided to run 10 miles around a track so that it was safer, figuring the track would be lit. it wasn't, it got dark, and i was the only one out there. i got scared and realized that it's not worth the risk. i went home after 4 but i REALLY wanted to get in a good run because this week will be just as tough to get runs in. i'll have to try my hardest. 

i fly out for a conference in Vegas at 5am!!! i'll be in your neck of the woods. 

8 on the Vegas strip

wasn't able to complete the 6 i wanted to do due to waking up with a cold. 

Let's start off by saying I wasn't expecting much out of this race due to: lack of training in the past two weeks (because of comps and the Vegas conference), lack of sleep (I got in at midnight and was asleep a little before 2), jet lag, and the cold I got while in Vegas.  I also got some ear problems from the flight. The only positive was my legs MUST be rested after the last two weeks!

So I just kind of went out and went for it, having no real plans. I started off around 10th girl, and was in 4th by 2 miles and 3rd by 3 miles. I was running with girls I had never run with before and it was really exciting. Around mile 4 I started to worry about running out of gas, but I was able to keep my pace fairly well considering how hilly the course was. I got passed at around 4.5 by a super fast girl Sheryl (who runs 3-flat marathons) and tried to stay with her but she had a great finish. She ended up beating me by 20 seconds, and getting the last of the prize money (50 bucks... bummer!!).  But I am more than happy with my time, and completely relieved and thankful the race went so well when the odds were against me.  My legs felt pretty much perfect, so I think the unavoidable rest the past 2 weeks did them well!

Splits: 6:27, 6:53, 6:44, 6:50, 6:52, 6:29. Not as consistent as the last race but pretty good! Everyone's times were slow due to the tough course and humidity, heat, and wind, and I think I had a good showing. 

It's great to be back in Tallahassee! 

Hooray for not being too busy to cook dinner! I made myself a scrumptious dinner tonight and decided to share. As usual everything I make is fairly healthy, easy, and few ingredients. 

Italian Tilapia and Spaghetti:

Ingredients: Spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, tilapia, mozzarella cheese, spices.

Preheat oven to 350. Place tilapia in foil-lined baking dish and spice to liking. I used garlic salt, onion powder and topped with some bread crumbs to add a little crunch. Bake tilapia until almost done (about 8 minutes if they are thin like the pieces I have).

Meanwhile, heat up spaghetti sauce and cook the noodles.  

Remove tilapia from oven and cover each piece with a little spaghetti sauce (about 2 tbl) and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Put back in oven and cook for a few more minutes, until cheese is melted and fish is finished. Plate with spaghetti and enjoy! Yum. I add some cheese on my spaghetti too :) 

Strawberry Angel Food Cake:

Ingredients: Angel food cake mix, strawberry pie filling

In bowl mix the cake mix and pie filling with a spoon. Put in ungreased 13x9 pan and cook according to box directions (don't add any other liquid though).  Mine says 350 for 35 or so minutes, but I think it cooks a little faster. When cooled you can top with cool whip or fresh fruit. I think it's great plain though, and FAT FREE!! Everyone loves it. You can also use a can of crushed pineapple instead, or even pumpkin with some pumpkin pie spice. I think I want to try that next, I love me some pumpkin! 

Easy recovery run. Wasn't too motivated to go out there, which is a shame because I didn't fully appreciate the absolutely perfect running weather. 

I decided to take a shot at joggling. Just for the fun of it. But first I need to learn how to juggle. This morning I got really close to being able to juggle three balls. I think I'll be able to get this down in a few weeks. Right now I can juggle them all twice before dropping them. Then I guess I have to add the running part, which I am sure will be tough. It gets really frustrating at times. Anyway, be back later after intervals tonight.

It's later, and I officially have my first joggling injury. I think from bending over too much to pick up dropped balls I'm really sore in my... bending over muscles (I don't fully understand what that means either, but it's true). 

4x1200 with the track club. Didn't feel well at all. Back to lower leg pain. Booooo.

(Avg. 4:45)