What Have I Done?

Seriously...WHAT is wrong with me?! 

 

Look at what I did...

 

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Message from the Event Director

 

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Registration

Event: 2014 Vancouver USA Marathon - Half Marathon - Sunday 6/15

Participant: Nancy Olschewsky

Items	Price	Quantity	Total
Individual	$49.00	1	$49.00
Finisher's Shirt (included) - Women's Large	$0.00	1	$0.00

Subtotal: $49.00

Processing fee: $4.56

Total: $53.56

 

That's right...I was crazy enough to register for my 2nd Half BEFORE having run my first one. As soon as I hit the button and the message came up I had a little bit of a feeling that I can't describe...something along the lines of "I must be CRAZY!" The whole idea of doing a half came a couple of years ago...HERE. Since that crazy notion a couple of years ago I have done all sorts of running events and even a couple of duathlons and triathlons. So I know that I can muster up the endurance to finish such an event.

 

I guess the question really is, "What happened that I changed my mind?" I'm getting a little bored with the shorter distances  - 5k's, 8k's and a couple of 10k's as well as the odd 12k. I've been running on a regular basis and using training plans to prepare for most of the events I enter and surprisingly, I have been able to reach the time goals for many of those events! To say that I have reached a goal just reminds me that with a little hard work and a lot of dedication I can reach the goals I set for myself. 

 

Week 5 of my training plan is almost done...15 more weeks to go!!! Next week it looks like I move  from doing just easy runs to doing a hard workout on Wednesdays. Speedwork next Wednesday then Tempo run the following week and alternating through the rest of my training. Also, in probably another 5 weeks or so I'll be adding an additional run day during the week. Although, I think I'll go ahead and do that now...an extra mile or two on Thursday, Friday or Sunday would be good.

I really am looking forward to my first Half Marathon - just need to stay healthy!

run, Run, RUN!

 

2013 Every Girl's 5k

I opted to wear last year's shirt - which was helpful for Tom.
I didn't blend into the crowd too much.

In the couple of days before this run, I had tried to convince myself that I wouldn't be running for time - I would be running this as a training run because my long run for this particular week was 3 miles. So I switched around my run days so that I would still have the right amount of no run days, blah blah blah.Well, silly me...I should know better by now. Every run is a race...whether it's training or an event. I can't help myself. It's TOO easy to start out fast...

Even with the steady climb and humidity - I did a decent run. I finished this run nearly a minute faster than last year and pretty much in the middle of my age division and overall. This running thing is starting to stick!

I've decided that I'm not really trying for any records...just going to keep moving for as long as my body will allow. So far so good!

Go HERE to check out the route and profile.

Half and Half

2014 Every Girl's Run - crazy flippy hair

As I have posted here before I am training for my first Half Marathon - WOO HOO! I'm going into week 4 of a 20 week training plan. Here's the question: What sane person would train for their first marathon and then decide to register for their second half marathon before even finding out if the first marathon will be successful?

      Well....possibly ME. 

I've done enough endurance events to know that I am not opposed to a "little" hard work. In fact, I have done a couple of Sprint Duathlons which in the end means that I did a total of 18 miles of running and riding - so I know it's possible to push to the limit.

Now that I have been running pretty consistently for over a year, I'm REALLY enjoying this running thing. Most of my runs feel good and the plan I'm following hasn't been terribly out of reach - but really with 20 weeks to train I think I'll be more than ready when race day arrives. I've trained less for all of my duathlons and the two triathlons that I did and finished those all with some integrity in tact. Can't imagine what it would be like if I spent more time training for those and actually got into good physical condition.

So, the Vancouver USA marathon and half marathon both have Early Bird registration fees which ends at 11:59 pm on August 31. It would be a shame to pass up a $49 half marathon registration fee! $49 for my second half marathon. That price alone makes registering VERY appealing. The registration for the Holiday Half was $65, not a huge amount, but hey $16 buys this girl 6 Iced Triple Tall Espresso drinks at Starbucks! And I would sit down with all 6 and drink them in one sitting...hahaha...no not really.


Or will I??? Maybe after my second Half Marathon...BAY-BEE!

Half Marathon Training Week #2

Now that I have signed up for my first Half Marathon...I had to get serious and come up with a training plan. Actually, I think I may have figured out a plan first and then registered for the run.

The first 5 runs are 2 miles each so, I haven't had much to write about. In the middle of July I did happen to tweak my back, just enough that walking was very uncomfortable and running not even an option. That won me a week of no activity. On top of no activity I had a couple of intense visits to the Chiropractor. So, I tweaked my back on a Friday and did nothing until the following Thursday. That morning I felt pretty good and decided that I would test out running and how my back felt. No PROBLEMS!

That was encouraging as I would be starting my training the following Monday..and here I am, Run #2 in Week 2. Tomorrow will be the fifth 2 mile run and Saturday I jump up to 3 miles. I'm excited...finally progressing upwards.

Week two will end and then I have 18 more weeks of training. The real challenge will be to keep myself as injury free as possible and to continue making better nutrition choices and try to figure out what to do for cross-training. We are going to try plyometrics later this week and see how that works out. I think it will be good - we'll do a couple of days a week to start.

The other thing that I have been doing is helping my friend Mary with beginning running. The point of her running originally was for her son (who needs to be able to run a mile in middle school), but she said that she would benefit too. We have gotten together a few times and it will be slow, but she is working at it and I'm proud of her. The last time we got together I gave her a choice of where we would meet and how much she would run and walk. I may go ahead and let her do that again this week, it's always nice to have some control over something that is very difficult.

So, I'm excited about training for my Half and helping a friend get into running. I am hoping that she will get to the point that it is enjoyable...and I'm going to cheer her on as long as she let's me.