A Year

A year since I posted??  Well, almost.  It has been a busy one.  I've continued to run three times week for most weeks.  I haven't done any half marathons in 2018 but have one schedule on December 8th.  It is at Kiawah Island, SC and we are excited about going.  It will be my tenth half marathon!   I hear it is pretty flat and the weather should be decent. I worked up to 12 miles in my training.....

The goal is to do it under 2 hours and 45 minutes.  I'd love to beat my half record of 2:36, but I haven't tried to run very fast during my training so I am not sure what I am capable of.

I am going to teach a Run For God class at our church beginning in January 2019.  I am excited about it.  I am hoping that there will be some participants that will get the running bug and let it change their lives.  I love running, even at my age and ability (slow) it is the best exercise I've ever done.  I am at my goal weight, and I am in better shape than I was 20 years ago.  I'll be 60 next month. I hope to continue as long as I can.  It is so good for your mental health too.

Happy running!

Ninth Half

I did a new half marathon this year.  Why not since I was already "trained up."  And I did it within 4 seconds of my best overall time, 2:36:34.  I know, not by any means fast, but I'm old and have only been doing this a few years, so I was very pleased with my time.

I was the Rockin' Santa half in Knoxville.  Oops, I've got the medal turned around.....I tried to do some of Jeff Galloway's, short turnovers which seemed to help me be a bit faster.  This year I"ve run more than ever, since I started almost 5 years ago.  I've put in over 600 miles!  My goal was 500.  I'm not going to try to increase it next year, but hope to do at least 500 in 2018. I just want to do enough to stay healthy, and it is so good for my mind/mood.  I took the week off running this week and by yesterday I was itching to run.  Went to the track for 3 miles, and it was wonderful.....for mind and body.

Hope all of you out there have a wonderful......

(my first attempt at calligraphy, on a ziplock bag)

Track running

I'm thinking that I should do more running on the track.  Maybe that is why my knees got a little sore -- all that sidewalk running. I did three easy track miles on Thursday and wanted to get in a few miles on Saturday as well.

The track I run on is close by and has this beautiful view of the lake.  Nice.  I wanted to do a longish run but was wanting to also pay attention to my body and not push it too hard, being only a week away from my last half, where I did push it quite a bit.  Tried something new.

I did my normal 4 minute warm up, then ran three miles at 90/30 intervals. Pretty slow.  Average pace (including the 4 minutes of walking to start with) was 13:05 minute mile. (I really need to quite counting my warm up in my time!)  My average heart rate was 136 with a max of 163.  Stopped to walk some.  I probably walked about a mile, then decided to see if I could run another mile with no stopping.  I was able to and it wasn't that difficult.  My pace was 11:08.  I was pleased with that.  My heart rate was higher, average of 154 and max of 175.  Sounds high, but mine is always pretty high with no puking or feeling faint.  It got up to a max of 208 for my last half.

I've been reading some in my old Galloway's Book on Running, and found he recommends this type of training.  Especially as we age, he said it is better to run less frequently but longer.  Take some time to walk, rest your legs, relax, and then do a few more miles.  Think I'll try to do this more often. I also read of a woman, who didn't start running until she was 47, who ended up doing 12 marathons a year! Eight years after she began running she settled on 2 minutes of running to 1 minute of walking and did her best marathon of 4:13, at age 55! That is awesome in my book.  I also want to try his accelerations.  It is supposed to improve your form.  I'll have to look them up on Youtube to be sure I understand what he recommends.

Isn't it great to read something that is encouraging to you?  No matter your interests or abilities, sometimes just reading how other people improved their lives, it helps you.

Secret City Half Marathon

This is the third time, I've done this race.  It is close, and not too many hills.  The weather was about perfect -- cloudy, mid fifties.  There was some wind, but it wasn't too bad.  I had prepared myself not to PR, with the knee problems I have been having.  I"m sure now it was just overuse.  I looked back at my calendar and I only had 6 days between my 12 mile and 10 mile runs.  I should have given more time after the 12 miler....and also do more leg lunges during the whole span of training.  First up, the pre-race selfie.

This is my cute friend.  She's fairly new to running, maybe only 2-3 years, but she's a natural.  A couple of years younger than me but in the same age group. She did great for her first half.  She beat me, but I knew she would, and very happy for her.

She finished in 2:37 and me in 2:39. We finished 10 and 11 out of 16 in our age group.  She is already talking about finishing better "next time."  Last year was my best time, at 2:36. There was no way, I'd beat that.  I was thrilled with my time. I expected anything from 2:45 to 3 hours. She had hoped to do better, but I think her time was really good for a first.  Her husband, sons, and grands came to see her cross the finish line.  My hubby went with me too, and treated me to Chick Fil-A afterwards.  Yum.

It was tough but the knees didn't bother me too much. Of course today, they are .....wowsers....knees, feet, and hips. I'll be fine in a couple of days and start planning my next one.  What races do you have on your schedule?

Still Running

Oh wow, I haven't posted in such a long time!  I am still running.  I've had my own training schedule to prepare me for two fall half marathons.  I went up to 13 miles in my training.  That run went pretty well. 

The first half came, and I was very sick with a head cold, and it was 100% rain and 51 degrees.  I wimped out.  A couple of days later I went out for a long run, 12 miles, and my knees were really hurting around mile 10.  What is up with that?  They never hurt!  Then two weeks later, I felt like I needed another longish run, so off I go to try to get in 10 miles.  It was about 65 degrees and 100% humidity.  It seems like it went ok, except I know I got pretty dehydrated.

Two days later, my knees are waking me up in the night with pain.  Seriously?  I know I need new shoes.  Mine seem to wear down after about 400 miles, and I can always tell.  I did my 10 miles in some new Brook Adrenalines, but did not like them.  Too stiff, heavy, and felt too short.  Returned them and ordered some Ghost 10s, which should be here about a week before my next half.  Love that if you order from the Brooks site you can run in them for 3 months and still return if you are not happy.

A question for you other late life runners.....have you ever gotten so dehydrated that your heart rate went really low?  My heart rate is normally about 140 something for an average in my runs, but can get up to 200 on a strenuous run and I feel fine, winded but fine.  I noticed yesterday I just didn't feel well for most of the day.  Didn't think to look at my Garmin until later and noticed my heart rate had gotten down to 34-44 for a bit.  My normal resting heart rate is about 56-60.  Maybe my watch was loose?  Maybe it was because I so dehydrated?  Maybe I am just getting REALLY healthy!  Ha. Today I feel fine and it is running between 51-65 or so.  Sometimes I wonder how accurate the Garmin wrist heart rate really is.  Comments?

Soaked

Yes, soaked, but I don't care.  Today's schedule had me doing 3 miles, but since I knew I'd do 3 easy miles on Wednesday, I decided to go ahead and go for 4.  In the rain.  Not bad really. Guess, I've been doing this long enough now, that I know the benefits far outweigh the discomfort.

 Went to the track just in case it started thundering or lightening, I could get to my car fairly quickly.

Absolutely soaked to the bone!

4.01 mi

Distance

50:07

Time

12:29 min/mi

Avg Pace

391 C

Calories

Low humidity in August?!

Seriously, what was up with the weather on Friday and Saturday?  I think it was about 64 degrees with 60% humidity on Saturday morning when I went to do my long run.  I had eight miles on the schedule and it really wasn't too bad.

My running trail.....

 The sidewalk runs along the lake, around behind a ball field, back behind the historic fort, and up through the woods to the paved track.  I usually park here and know I am a mile from the track at this point. I'm doing pretty good on my half training.  I am giving myself plenty of time, and would like to work up to 13-14 miles.  I signed up for a virtual 10k on Solar Eclipse day!  Excited about the cool, keepsake medal.  What fall races are you training for?