Getting closer to my 2nd half!

Only 5 days to go till the Chilly Half!

I did 10km today, and felt REALLY good, so I think I should be in decent shape for the race. I'd love to beat my time from Miami but with the lack of training I've been doing that may not be realistic, but oh well.... not the end of the world!

Another couple of photos from Miami

I have resigned myself to the fact that...

I'm just not going to be as prepared as I should be for next weekend. I got out Monday and ran a whole 4.5 km (and was miserable the entire way), then didn't run till yesterday. I did 7 km yesterday and it was actually a really good run so at least I know that I haven't completely un-done all my hard work!

No running today... too cold and windy. My plan is to get out Sunday for 6, then 10 Tuesday, 6 Wednesday and 4 Friday. We'll see if I actually manage to do them all.

So much for that

My last post, that is. Since those 14K I've been sitting on my behind and doing nothing. I had a terrible weekend in terms of eating and feel like I've gained 10 pounds.

I am going to FORCE myself to get out and do my long run (18-20 km) tomorrow. The Chilly Half is only 2 weeks away so I should be starting to taper, but the fact is, I've been tapering for the past 2 weeks... not good...

Why am I feeling so unmotivated these days????

My second half marathon!

Is coming up in exactly 3 weeks!

I slacked off a bit with the running this past week, as the weather was pretty yucky, plus I was away for 2 days, but got back to it today and did my 14 km I was supposed to do. It was actually pretty nice for running - around 0 degrees and sunny - but the sidewalks were a bit slippery, which is never a good thing.

I plan to get in ALL of my training runs for the next few weeks, in the hopes of shaving that minute and 39 seconds off my time!

First real run since Miami

Other than our pathetic (1 mile) attempt to run on the cruise, I haven't been out at all since the half marathon. I got out and did 11km today and it felt really good. The temperature was above freezing for a change so that was nice... the sidewalks were in pretty icky condition... slushy/icy in some places and 6 inches of water in others, but it was still a good run, despite the wet cold feet.

I have my Chilly Half Marathom coming up on March 1st, so I'm trying to basically continue my training without taking too much of a break or a reduction in mileage. I'm cutting back a bit on my shorter runs, as I don't want to end up with an injury but I'm trying to keep up the distance with the long ones.

It's supposed to be ok weather tomorrow but then Wednesday is supposed to be a high of -13. Yuck! I think Wednesday might be my day off for this week!

Mel and I before the race - aren't we pink???

Miami Half Marathon

I can now say I'm officially a Half Marathoner! What an amazing race!

We started out before dawn (had to be in the corrals by 5:55) but neither of us could sleep anyway so getting up wasn't a big deal. There were 15,500 people running so it was a bit of a zoo near the start line, although it was very well-organized. The atmosphere was great - everyone was excited to be there. The temperature was also perfect - about 13 degrees.

The race started at 6:15 but because of the number of people, it was almost 6:30 before we even reached the start line. The first part of the course was incredible, running across the bridge beside the cruise ships. Because it was so early, it was still dark but the ships were all lit up and looked so pretty! The support along the course was good too - there was a police boat in the water along beside us, sounding its siren at everyone. There were 3 helicoptors hovering above us as we ran across the bridge. Really neat!

Running along Ocean Drive was fun - all kinds of little cafes and restaurants, with people sitting outside cheering us on.

At about the 18km mark, I was starting to get really tired. I knew I'd be able to finish but my pace was starting to slow down and I felt like I needed more frequent walk breaks. Luckily, it was also at about that point when there started to be more people lining the course and cheering us on so that motivated me to keep moving.

I finished in 2:31:39. I had been hoping for 2:30 but since it was my first one, I was happy just to have finished it.

All in all, it was a great race and one I wouldn't mind doing again some year.

Tropical 5K Results

Bib Number: 3078
Time: 37:38
Category Place (F35-39): 75/112

Miami Half Marathon Results

Bib Number: 20479
Chip Time: 2:31:39
Place: 6415/9677
Gender Place: 3002/5250
Division Place (F35-39): 544/849

3 days and counting

I'm now less than 72 hours from starting (and finishing) my first half marathon and less than 24 hours from leaving for Miami. Everything is packed except for the last minute stuff and I'm ready to go!

The weather in Miami is still looking good for the race - lots of sun and not too hot.

Getting really excited now!

Less than 24 hours till I'm off to Miami

Yep, only 21 hours to go till I'll be well on my way to Miami. I'm so excited about this trip! Not only do I get to run my first half marathon ever, but I get to spend a week somewhere warm, go on a cruise, and spend a week with Mel! What more could I ask for?

So... about the race. I'm ready. It's funny... when I started training, my goal was just to complete it. They (whoever "they" are) say that that should be your goal for your first one. But then I hit the point where I realized there was no question that I could complete it. I ran 20K in a training run and made it without much trouble so I know I can do 21.1. So now my goal is to complete it in 2:30. That might be a bit optimistic and if I don't make it, I won't beat myself up but I needed some sort of challenge for myself.

We've signed up for the 5K race on Saturday as well. We're supposed to run 3K that day anyway and when we found out the 5K'ers get a medal, we decided we had to do it! We're not going to race it, just treat it as a slow run.

Anyway, my suitcases are calling my name (actually, I think it's a cat IN the suitcase that's calling) so I'd better get packing.

Sick

I've been bad the last couple of days and haven't been running. I started coming down with a cold on Friday and it hit me with full force yesterday. I could have gone running, even with the cold, but then I took cold medication which make me so dopey, I would have been dangerous on a treadmill!!

Today I'm feeling a little better but I just couldn't make myself get out there.

I'll get back to it tomorrow and do the 6K I was supposed to do today, then do my scheduled runs Tuesday and Wednesday. At least I'll only have missed one day.

So... a week from now, I'll have completed my first half marathon!!! I'm getting so excited!!!

Treadmill is growing on me

My run today wasn't as bad... still boring but I think I'm starting to get used to the treadmill. Tomorrow's a day off, thank heavens!

I'm happy to report that I still have all my toenails and none are hurting, unlike somebody I know... :-)

We leave a week from tomorrow... yay!

Hateful hateful thing!

The treadmill, that is. I did 6K on it today and even with my iPod it was horrible! I should be able to run faster on the TM than outside like most normal people do but I'm WAY slower! It took me almost an hour to do 6km!!

Tomorrow is another 6... yuck! It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow too, so there's no chance of doing it outside.

The good news is that I only have 5 more runs till Miami... yay!

I hate treadmills!

I did my 8km today on the treadmill at the gym. That was partly because it was snowing and yucky and -20 outside and partly because I figure I should try to get my body used to running in warmer weather before I head to Miami.

Can you say BORING???? I forgot my iPod so I was using the headphones from my Blackberry and had them plugged into the TV but the gym really doesn't have a wide variety of channels. It was a choice of Cable Pulse News or soap operas that I don't watch. How exciting. So I watched the news but they kept repeating the top stories so by 20 minutes in, I was hearing for the third time about how cold it was outside.

I'm going to make sure to remember my iPod tomorrow... it still won't be as good as running outside but at least I'll have my music.

12 days to go!!

Less than 3 weeks to go!

And I actually think I'm going to be ready. I did 19km on the weekend and managed to do it in less than 2.5 hours and I really wasn't pushing myself (just running at my usual pace!).

I just have to make myself totally keep up with my training for the next 20 days... I'm aiming to get in every single one of my runs and every single km I'm supposed to run in those next 20 days.

I had a crappy run today... I did just under the 6km I was supposed to do but it was really hard. Tomorrow is only 4, which is good, but the next day is 8, so if tomorrow is going well, I might just keep going and do the 8 and save 4 for the next day.

The good news - only 1 long run left before the race!!! Yay!

Getting my butt in gear...

Ok, so I was kind of bad following the Santa Shuffle and didn't get out running for a few (well, quite a few) days. But I've been getting back into it, which is a good thing, since Miami is less than a month away!

Mel and I ran 18K in Florida on Boxing Day. It was hard, especially since it was so hot, but we managed it (with a fair amount of walking). At least now, having run that distance, I have no concerns whatsoever about being able to finish the Half. We did the 18K in 2 hours and 45 minutes, so even if the last 3.1 km took us 9 minutes a km, we'll be done in less than 3 1/2 hours. And we still have 3 weeks of training to go. Plus, we were going really slow and it was a hilly route which slowed us down.

I'm still aiming for my 2:30 finish in Miami and it looks like it might be doable based on the times I've been getting.

I went out for a 7K run yesterday and it was quite nice. Around -1 degrees and light snow. I'm supposed to do 6 today and 8 tomorrow but doing both is looking pretty unrealistic. Plus, it's -18 with the windchill so that's not encouraging me to get out there. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow so I might just save my run for then.

Oh! We finally have bib numbers for Miami. I'm the proud owner of #20479!

Happy new year to anyone reading this!

Resolution Run

I did the Resolution Run this morning... I know, December 28th is a stupid day to do the Resolution Run but I didn't have enough pull to change it to a different date...

I finished in 31:26! Yay!! I'm going to break that 30 minute mark yet!

Santa Shuffle Results

I did the 5K Santa Shuffle on Saturday the 6th. I finished in just under 34 minutes so I was pretty content.

Unfortunately, I haven't been running since. I need to get my butt in gear again!