From my watch...

Dear Cate,



We've had a pretty good relationship over the last year and a half. Yes, there was some awkwardeness when you realized you'd bought a men's watch and your dad had the same one, but fortunately you got over those insecurities pretty quickly. I was there when you ran your 3rd marathon, and when you ran your first race in Korea, and I hope I stick around long enough to see you qualify for Boston!





After your great race on Saturday, I thought you would be pretty confident in your running abilities. I mean, you did place 9th and PR by over a minute and a half. I was happy to be there for you, timing each of those 10 Kilometers.





But, I think it's time you let me go for a few days. This morning, you were far too anxious about your little 4 mile tempo run. You were so stressed out about being too slow, checking your watch every .5 KM, that it seemed like you weren't really enjoying the running like you should have been...after all, it was an absolutely gorgeous morning (plus you were right on pace)! I don't want you to be that stressed on a simple little training run, so I want you to leave me at home for the next couple days.





That means tomorrow, you'll be free to run 3 miles at whatever pace feels right. On Thursday, when you run up Namsan mountain, you won't have to worry about going too slowly up the hill because you won't know how long it's taking. And this weekend, you'll enjoy your 10 mile run a lot more without me than you would if you were constantly checking the time.





I'm just doing what I think is best for you, so maybe on your tempo run next week, you won't stress so much, and you'll just enjoy the running.





With love,
Your Watch

Best 10K Ever!

First things first... I PRd by over a minute and a half in my race this morning!!



The 7th Annual International Peace Marathon Festival started and finished at the stadium where the 1988 Olympcs took place in Seoul.




Before the start of the race, everyone massaged the shoulders of the person in front of them. I was skeptical at first, but literally EVERYONE was doing it so I didn't want to be that weird foreigner that didn't.







The full and half marathons went off before my race started. They released balloons (bummer for the sea turtles) and set off fireworks for the start of each race.




I had a goal of around 46:30, so I wanted to run each Kilometer in about 4:36. I went through the first 2 KM exactly on pace, but was feeling good so I cautiously sped up a little. The course went out along the river on a bike path, but it wasn't closed to the public so we had to dodge a few bicycles here and there.





I was really pushing hard, but not paying too much attention to my splits. I kind of wanted to slow down, but I kept reminding myself how awful I'd feel if I finished and knew I could have gone faster. So, I held onto my pace and tried not to think too much about how much time I had left.





When I checked my watch at the 8 KM mark, it said 36:12 and I knew that even if I slowed waaay down for the last 2 KM I would still PR. I just tried to hold on and get to the finish as fast as I could. The time on the clock said 45:17, but it was chip-timed, and they're so high-tech that they texted me my official time about an hour after the race: 45:09.





This may be the least flattering picture ever taken of me, but I don't care! I'm ecstatic that I was able to maintain 7:16/mile pace for 6.2 miles!







After the race, I snagged my finishers medal and we headed back home on the subway.




I'm thrilled with how the race went, and I'm really looking forward to the half marathon I have coming up at the end of September. It's great to see training pay off!

Nerves

All day long, I've been jittery and nervous for my 10K tomorrow. Normally, a race like this wouldn't make me nervous at all, but I've actually been training enough that a PR is a definite possibility, and I can't stop thinking about the run!





I ran to the gym this morning and lifted for chest and triceps:


3 sets of 12 -


Decline Chest Presses


Tricep Extensions


Pec Flys (with dumbbells)


Bench dips


... and some abs.





My legs felt really fresh, and I'm going to eat my pasta tonight (because it's tradition...I know I don't need to carb-load!) and go to bed early, because I have to be up at 6 to take a taxi to the stadium where the race starts!





It's my first real race in Korea (I ran a 5K on the base, but it was really informal), so I can't wait to see what it's like!

Long Time, No See

I feel like it's been a long time since I was at the gym. I was so good about going 3x a week for awhile, but lately I've been running more and lifting less.





Still, it was good to get back there today for a little strength training. In addition to my run to and from the gym (a mile each way), I did:



50 Swiss ball crunches


3 sets of 12 cable curls with the rope attachment


3 sets of 12 bent rows


50 reverse crunches


3 sets of 12 dumbbell curls


3 sets of 12 lat pulldowns


50 Russian Twists (w/ 5 Kg plate)


3 sets of 12 back extensions





I'm looking forward to running again tomorrow!

It's Not Pain, It's Just Discomfort

My high school cross country coach always used to tell us that, as if it would make running a fast 5K more pleasant. I think a big part of improving race times is learning to push through the pain of running fast. But how do you do that?





Obviously, races are a great way to get used to running faster. But it's not realistic to run a race every single week. So what do you do? Tempo runs. There's not a whole lot I dread more than tempo runs, because they're definitely not easy. But I know they're an important part of getting used to running with discomfort.





I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail about tempo runs, because there are many people with PhDs in Exercise Physiology who've written far more on the subject than most people would ever care to read. But basically the whole point is to stay at your lactate threshold pace (which is generally where discomfort begins) for a prolonged period of time (generally 20 minutes or more).





There are various ways to find your lactate threshold pace. One method I found through a quick google search says to add about 30 seconds to your 5K race pace. Since I did my last 5K in 22:25 (7:12 pace), my pace for a tempo run should be about 7:42 pace. If you have a heart rate monitor (which I don't), you can also shoot for about 85-90% of your maximum heart rate.





On my six mile run this morning, I did 3 miles of tempo running (which I may have done too fast, but it felt like the right pace - 7:30) plus 1 km at 4:15. I am hoping to run my 10K this weekend at 7:30 pace (for a finish time of 46:36), so we'll see how that goes. For the rest of the week, I'll be doing pretty easy runs in preparation for Saturday morning. I'm really hoping I'll be able to deal with the discomfort so that I can meet my goal!

Take it easy

Sunday morning, I wasn't in the mood to run. I had a little headache, and with all the stress I've been dealing with lately, just relaxing on the couch sounded a whole lot more pleasant.





But I knew exercise would help me feel better, so I laced up my shoes and headed out. I didn't have a plan on where I wanted to go or how far, but I just figured I'd run until I felt like turning around.





I kept my pace really relaxed so I could just let my mind wander. It sort of worked. I had some tightness in my chest and knots in my stomach due to some anxiety about who knows what... but I just kept my pace nice and easy and took in the scenery.





I ended up running 9.3 miles, and my legs felt great. My head didn't clear exactly as it hoped, and my pace was definitely slower than usual, but sometimes just a nice easy long run, with no goals or expectations, can be incredibly soothing, even if it doesn't completely clear my head or take away my stress.

Therapy

This week has been STRESSFUL. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but I've just been feeling incredibly anxious and not like myself. I didn't even work out Wednesday or Thursday (for a variety of reasons -- the weather was disgustingly hot and humid, I didn't sleep well at all, and I just wasn't feeling it).





Today, though, I woke up feeling great, the air was nice and cool, and I had a fabulous 5.5 mile run along the river. It was one of those runs where I just let my mind wanter, my body felt like a well-oiled machine, and I came home feeling like all was right in the world once again.





After a string of bad days and less than perfect workouts, today reminded me why I run.