Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Wednesday Workout Update - "I Wanted To Win This Medal"

 26.2 miles in 2:08:01.  I'm impressed!!!

"I wanted to win this medal" - that's what Stephen Kiprotich, winner of the men's marathon at the Olympics, said afterward in an interview.  Oh how I could relate to that!  Of course, in that particular race, not everyone gets a medal at the finish line like they do in the marathon/half marathon races here.  But the sentiment is similar - getting a prize at the end after doing something very difficult is what most of us want...it's the proverbial icing on the cake, and a nice reminder for years to come, of a big accomplishment.

Jeff and I are going to try and earn medals together for the first time on November 11th - we signed up to run the San Antonio Rock and Roll half marathon!  I'm excited...I've always wanted to do a Rock and Roll race, and we used to live in San Antonio, so this will be extra special.  We were scheduled to do a 12 mile run with our running club that weekend, so we figure that the extra 1.1 will be no big deal...hah!  No, the whole race is going to be a big deal, but we are planning on having fun and enjoying the RnR atmosphere, and crossing the finish line with smiles on our faces, and then driving home with medals around our necks.

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Saturday's 5 mile run went much better than the previous week, although I my legs were pretty spent around mile 4 - normally, I can honestly say that my head is telling me to stop but my legs actually feel fine.  This time, my legs were tired.  I guess that is to be expected, though - after all, I just ran 4 miles.  Jeff was feeling the run, too, which makes me think the heat was making it harder than normal.  I kept repeating my "forward momentum" mantra to myself for that last mile, and soon enough, we hit 5 miles and were done - whew!  Ice-cold washcloths were waiting for us - I swear, after a long run I'd gladly pass up just about anything to get to those washcloths!
Shoes off, washcloth on...beginning to feel human again.

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We had our last official hill workout yesterday - speed work at the track is now on the schedule.  I doubt I'll make many of those, as I am not a fan, but we'll see...after actually making all 5 of our hill workouts - something I never thought I'd do - I've learned to never say never when it comes to running.

Speaking of hills, I was quizzing Erica about the San Antonio RnR race course (she ran it a couple of years ago), and she said "there's a hill at the end, but it's mostly just an annoyance" - I love that attitude and plan on adopting it.  Hill?  Just an annoyance.  Like a pesky gnat.  Nothing to get all worked up about.  I believe that looking at hills as an annoyance, rather than my standard "OHMYGODIT'SAHILL" will serve me much better, don't you?

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This coming Saturday we have 6 miles on schedule.  All I have to say about that is YIKES!

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Finally, this sums up how I feel every time my alarm goes off at 4:45 am so I can get up and run early to beat the heat(which is a misnomer since it's always hot...I guess we're beating the sun?):
Yep.  Looking forward to the short few months where I don't have to run in the dark in order to avoid heatstroke!

23 comments:

  1. I want to do a R&R half too someday. I found out there are a few of those in Europe too. So it's on my running wish list.

    I really admire you that you keep on running despite the heat. Not everyone would do that and give up but not you and that's a compliment.

    Funny though that you are running in the dark early in the morning while I noticed this morning it won't be long before I will be running completely in the dark again: yikes!

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    1. I hear the RnR races are a fun experience - expensive as hell to enter, but we wanted to try it. You could make a mini vacation out of doing one in Europe!

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  2. huh!!
    my day is ending with something I DONT WANT.
    Im stealing that thought.
    "theres a hill at the end of my day but it IS mostly an annoyance"

    thank you...

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  3. Sing it sister - re: the heat. This morning a cold front blew through along with some rain and it's 70! 70! 70! but it's unsafe (for me) to ride my road bike in the rain.

    You guys are going to have SO.MUCH.FUN at the RandR. What a great thing! And congratulations on your hill work! My friend Talia and I have decided we are going to start tracking our "hills" like wine lover's do. Rate them!

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    1. Send that cold front south!!!

      LOL on rating the hills. Takes the sting out of them!

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  4. Love the way you're always raising the bar. Go get 'em in San Antonio!

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  5. All this slow running in heat is gonna make you lightening fast when you get to run and it's cooler!

    Do the track workouts. Do them. Do them for me at least. I wish I had a group to do track workouts with. They are better than anything for improving VO2 Max and speed!

    I know that's a hard choice but come on, make it...

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    1. I sure hope there's a payoff for running in the heat!

      Um, we'll see about those track workouts. I loves ya and all, but it's TRACK.

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  6. A half marathon - that is so exciting! After all the trouble with your ankle, this race will be a really big deal (besides all of the other reasons you mentioned).

    When I'm tired and have to keep running, I think "one foot in front of the other" which is like "forward momentum." Also, Kara Goucher suggests counting up or down from one hundred with each step. It helps!

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  7. How can a human being run that fast for that long?????

    That will be so much fun to run in San Antonio. I love that city.

    I can't decide if I am impressed or horrified that you get up at 4:45 to RUN!!!

    Re cgf 's comment, I do that counting a lot when I am climbing hills!

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    1. Be horrified. I am. ;)

      I'll try what you and cgf do on the backwards counting this Saturday - anything to distract, right?

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  8. So excited for your half marathon!! And kudos for you getting up early to beat the heat - I would definitely be napping in the afternoon!

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  9. Yay for a half! I can't avoid hills around here. The flatest part of our ride area is to breakfast or yogurt. There are a couple tiny blip hills. Everywhere else we go past that and there are many to climb. I actually prefer hills to wind, though. John said the thing about hills and wind - Hills have to end some time, but wind doesn't.

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    1. Wind - yeah, that is hard to power through. I know I'd be a tougher runner if I had no choice about hills, but I kinda do here, and I choose no most of the time.

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  10. Ice cold washclothes sound good - I think I'll pack a little cooler of those in my car for the rest of the summer, or have them waiting for me at home if I am running in the neighborhood. Great idea! I like summer running because it gets light early and stays light late, but I hate summer running because it is so hot.

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    1. I like your take on summer running...spot on! Get the washcloths - you'll love them!

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  11. You continue to inspire me! First with the biking and now with the running. I do both now and love it. Definitely early morning when it's hot and awful, but there's hope--our weather has been getting better and less humid. Hope your weather cools off a bit too--it makes a difference. November, for you half shd be perfect, no? Love the idea of the iced washcloths--I'm adopting it as part of my routine!

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    1. Thanks, Tish! Right now I'm saying it's going to be hot for the November half - it very well could be, unfortunately, and if I plan on that, then I might be pleasantly surprised with a cool front. But I won't be disappointed if it's still hot...

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  12. I'm so excited you guys are doing RNR San Antonio. I really like RNR races, seems like lots of bloggers are down on them lately.

    Oh my, this getting up early to run thing is for the birds! Up at 4:15am today. Ridiculous. You do it to beat the heat, I do it to have friends to run with:)

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  13. OMG! I want to do that race so badly. I can't wait to hear about this recap. And I love that you and Jeff are doing it together.

    Have a great time on the 6 mile run. The heat is just an annoyance. ;)

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