#11in2013 – This Crazy Life of Mine

29
Dec
2013

Favorite posts of 2013

categories: #11in2013, 2013, Autumn, Best Damn Race, Best Damn Race Ambassador, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County, Big Couple, blog, bloggers, Bon Jovi, bridge repeats, bridges, Christmas, Daddy, Daughtry, family, goals, grief, Half Fanatics, half marathon playlist, half-marathon, holidays, hot yoga, hubby, inspiration, Instagram, Jingle Bikes For Kids, Little Brother, Live Life Active, miss you, motivation, Orlando, progress, running, Trader Joe's, vlog, weekend, weight loss, Weight Watchers 360

Another year is coming to an end… As I look through posts from this past year, it’s amazing how much has happened, how much was accomplished. Running, weight loss, personal growth, and more…. My blog has turned out to be the best form of a scrapbook I have ever done. And now it’s time for me to share my favorite posts of 2013. Since I just shared all my race recaps for 2013 yesterday, I did not include those in this list…

I have so much to look forward to in 2014 and continuing my blog is one of them. I hope you’ll stay with me and follow along!

Have a safe and Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful 2014!

17
Nov
2013

Week 13 Half Marathon Training

categories: #11in2013, #beamazing, bridges, Clearwater Beach, cross training, Garmin, running, St Pete, training, training plans, walking, Weekly Workouts Roundup, women's half-marathon

Last full week of training is done. One week from today, I will be running the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Pete, my sixth half marathon. I might be more excited about this one than any of the others and I can only assume it’s because I’ve been training my butt off for this one.

After last week’s 12 mile run that was so hard and ended with foot paint, I didn’t run for 3 days (2 of those days would have been rest days so I missed one day of running). I enjoyed the time off, but it also drive me crazy not to run. I iced my foot and took Motrin. On Thursday, I headed out on a 5 mile run and it was perfect. I didn’t take a single walk break and I didn’t have any foot pain. On Friday, I ran 3 miles. I was very happy to be back to it. This morning, I ran my last long run of 8 miles. It was a great run! Looking back at the last 13 weeks, it’s amazing that I only missed one run. I’ve done my best to play it safe and push myself along the way. Training has done wonders for my running and I am now a believer in structured training plans.

Week 13

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – Rest

Wednesday – Rest (skipped 3 mile run)

Thursday – 5 miles

Friday – 3 miles

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – 8 miles

Several times during this morning’s run, I checked my watch and knew that I was running faster that I maybe should have been, but it was comfortable. I didn’t realize until I finished, just how fast I was actually running, especially on my last mile. A 09:56 minute mile at the end? Holy cow. This is my first long run that has been an average pace in the 10:00’s, even if just by one second. I will gladly take it. And… Being the numbers girl that I am, I checked to see what my time was on my last 8 mile run, which was at the beginning of October and it was 01:34:17 with an average pace of 11:46. Today’s run shows a very nice improvement!

I was very happy to be back at my favorite running spot this morning. The Memorial Causeway and Clearwater Beach is the best of everything – water, sunrise, breeze, beach, and plenty of scenery.

We also saw Beth and Nick running this morning. When we spotted Nick’s car, I had to take a picture for a shameless plug for the Best Damn Race. It’s always nice to see running friends out and about.

Total miles for Week 13 is 16.03. I have 3 short runs this coming week (3 miles, 2 miles, and 2 miles) and then Sunday is my half marathon! I can’t wait!

Do you get excited before a race? What do you look forward to the most?

10
Nov
2013

Week 12 Half Marathon Training

categories: #11in2013, #beamazing, Bayshore Blvd., cross training, Garmin, half-marathon, running, St Pete, Tampa, training, training plans, walking, Weekly Workouts Roundup, women's half-marathon

Two weeks from today is the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Pete! I’m very excited. There have been so many races the last few weeks and my Facebook and Twitter feed are full of people getting medals. I am so ready to earn my next medal!

Week 12 went well. I was right on track and did my weekday runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I had great times for each. I did not do cross training yesterday, hubby and I had errands to run and my niece’s birthday party. Yesterday, I realized that I would not be able to do my 12 miles on my regular route over to Clearwater Beach because of the TriRock Triathlon. So, I had to do some thinking and planning online to figure out the best route that would not have me doing a bunch of loops. I wanted as much of an out and back route as possible. I decided on Bayshore Blvd. in South Tampa. It’s a 4.5 mile mile stretch of sidewalk, so we ran beyond it past the Tampa Bay Times Forum, and through Channelside. It’s quite a long run, but it made me excited for Gasparilla coming up in February. But, I did miss my bridges this morning….

Since we were going to Tampa for my 12 miles, we got up 15 minutes earlier. Hubby is such a champ to get up early and ride his bike along with me. He didn’t even mind this crazy time I set my alarm for….

Week 12

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 3 miles

Wednesday – 5 miles

Thursday – 3 miles

Friday – Rest

Saturday – Rest (skipped cross training – bad!)

Sunday – 12 miles

That was a hard 12 miles. I was feeling so confident after last week’s great 11 miles and the easy miles I had during the week. This morning, I had some foot pain around mile 8 and it lasted through the end. I’m just going to chalk this one off as a character-building run. A reminder that not every run will be a good one. Now that I’ve looked at my split times and compared to last week, I realize even with my foot pain and numerous walk breaks, I was only about 6 minutes slower than last week. Really not bad at all. Finishing today’s run at 02:21:11 and being just one mile shy of the half marathon distance is a very good indicator that I probably can meet my goal of an 02:30 finish time. I hope, I hope, I hope!

One thing about running a different route is new scenery. I snapped a few great pics on my phone this morning…

Total miles for Week 12 is 23.04! Week 13 will be less since next Sunday will only be 8-9 miles. I’m giving my foot some TLC today and even now since I’ve been home, soaked in an Epsom salt bath, and napped, it’s feeling better. Tomorrow is a rest day before I hit the pavement again. With just two weeks to go, I have to continue to be smart and do my best to avoid injury.

How do you quiet that inner voice after a long run that didn’t go as you had hoped?

03
Nov
2013

Week 11 Half Marathon Training

categories: #11in2013, #beamazing, bridges, cross training, Garmin, half-marathon, running, St Pete, training, training plans, Weekly Workouts Roundup, women's half-marathon

Good morning! I am not sure about where you’re at, but here in Florida, it is the perfect morning. A beautiful 60 degrees and low humidity made for a perfect run this morning to finish off week 11 of my half marathon training.

This week was another screwy one for my schedule and I ran a day behind on my training. One thing I like about this training plan is the 2 rest days during the week so I can adjust it if needed. Wednesday and Thursday I ran in the afternoon, it was too warm, but it was my only option. Friday morning I ran my last dark morning run before the time change. I am pretty happy about that, I am not a huge fan of running alone in the dark. Saturday should have been cross training, but I didn’t do anything. Bad. But boy, did I make up for it this morning with a great 11 mile run. After an extra hour of sleep thanks to the time change and glorious cool weather, I had a great run with a great pace. There was also a crazy head wind but it didn’t seem to affect my time too much.

Week 11

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – Rest

Wednesday – 5 miles

*also did a .50 cool down walk at park

Thursday – 3 miles

84*also did a 0.84 cool down walk at park

Friday – 3 miles

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – 11 miles

I am so freaking proud of myself after this morning’s run. In my mind, it was going to take my about 2:10 to do it and clearly I came in under that. My pace is pretty amazing for 11 miles. Only one mile did I go up in the 12’s for my pace and that was because I had a potty stop. My last mile was crazy fast. I was coming down off the Memorial Bridge and I knew I was almost done. This morning’s run was just 2 miles short of a half marathon distance and my goal of finishing in 02:30 is so close I can taste it. So close. And so possible. I’m going to give it everything I have!

Total miles for Week 11 is 23.38. Next Sunday will be my last longest run of 12 miles and then I cut back to 8 or 9 the following Sunday, the last one before the half. I am hoping that Week 12 is a little less crazy on my training schedule and hoping for cooler weather.

Are you running the Women’s Half in St. Pete on Nov. 24? Be sure to let me know if you are!

27
Oct
2013

Week 10 Half Marathon Training

categories: #11in2013, #beamazing, bridges, cross training, Garmin, half-marathon, running, St Pete, training, training plans, walking, Weekly Workouts Roundup, women's half-marathon

Week 10 is done! This was a really nice one, thanks to some cooler, less humid weather that moved in mid-week. I definitely run better in cooler weather. When it’s hot and humid, it is just harder to breathe. When it’s cooler, I love breathing in the cool air – it’s very refreshing.

Week 10 had two 3 mile runs and 5 mile pace run during the week. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of pace runs – there is a lot of pressure on those. While I am always aware of my time and pace, trying to knowingly keep up a specific pace can be challenging for me. But I did very well on my pace run, so I can’t complain too much. And I even went on the “hilly” route. And by “hilly”, I mean not flat. There is an area north of us that I run when I do anything longer than 3 miles and it’s enough of an incline to feel it in my legs. Love it.

On Friday, hubby and I took off from work and enjoyed a run together. He ran his last run of his C25K training so I did 3.11 instead of 3 miles. I am super proud of hubby!

And this morning, I tackled my first double-digit training run. Every Sunday means a new longer distance for my running outside of a race. Increasing it by a mile each week is the way to go. I went into this morning’s run hoping to finish in 2 hours. I know you shouldn’t set time goals for long runs but it’s hard not to. I was happy to come in under that with an even better pace than last week. And, I even stopped at the potty along the way! (TMI, I know…)

Week 10

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 3 miles

Wednesday – 5 mile pace run

Thursday – Rest

Friday – 3 miles

Saturday – Cross Training

Planks / Boat Pose / Crunches and walking around Johns Pass!

Sunday – 10 miles

Hubby rode along with me again this morning for my 10 miles. Once again, I tackled both the Memorial Bridge and Sandy Key Bridge, running over them both ways. I refuse to walk those darn things. We also took our route a little farther north since we had more mileage to cover and then ended up heading into downtown for the end. I was ecstatic to hit 10 miles, not necessarily to be done, but to know that I did it. I struggled a bit during the run, feeling it my knees and right foot, mostly during mile 7 going into 8. But I told hubby I refused to complain because I was running 10 while several runners I know are running the Marine Corps Marathon today. Nope, I have no right to complain about my 10!

Total miles for Week 10 are 21.14. I did not track my walking yesterday, so this is just for my 4 runs for the week.

I am making a slight change to my training plan after talking to my friend Beth. My plan has me doing a 10K distance next Sunday, then 11, then 12, then the half marathon falls the Sunday after the 12 miles. I have been worried that would be too much, I’m trying really hard to PR and I don’t want to be sore from doing a 12 miler the Sunday before. So…. I will do 11 miles next Sunday, 12 miles the Sunday after, then I’ll finish up with 8 – 9 miles the Sunday before the race. That sounds so much better. Thanks to Beth for the advice!

Have you made changes to your training plan as you get near the end?

Tag: #11in2013