Who would have thought a small ache in May would continue to sideline me from running. This blog and I will be on hiatus until I recover from this injury and can get back to running.
Feb
12
Posted by : | On : February 12, 2012
Take that cancer!
With this new concept I will be…
Better, Faster, Stronger
This morning I ran my first negative-split in 38 minutes. Don’t know what a negative-split is? No worries, I didn’t know what it was until this morning. At first I thought it was something we should never do, especially since it contained the word negative. After all negativity wont help us find a cancer cure. Little did I know that running negative can have a positive effect. (Yeah, yeah, I had to do that.)
As Coach Shelby explained, a negative-split keeps you from hitting the wall at the end of your run. The concept is that if you run slower in the first half of your race, your body will be warmed up and it allows your body to conserve precious resources. This allows you to push yourself a bit harder without much effort. If you’re doing it correctly, you should be able to pick up the pace to finish with speed and strength.
While I’m no expert, I believe I completed my first split today.
I also never thought I would say this, but…. Heyyy, check out my splits.
*CORRECTION* The highlighted stat should be under Average Pace. (Sorry I was out of it when making this nice little excel table... which of course I forgot to save.)
My second half was definitely faster AND I didn’t hit any walls! From looking at the Average Pace stats you can definitely notice that as time progressed my average pace got better and better. WOOHOO!
If I’m patient and keep up with my negative splits, I’ll be able to run a full marathon in no time and continue fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so that one day we may find a cancer cure. Little things like this in my training, give me the motivation to push myself even harder.
Dec
15
Posted by : | On : December 15, 2011
My first half marathon was a huge success! Despite having to run 6 miles with a cramp on my left toe, I finished the half in 2 hours and 3o minutes. Not bad for my first half, right? Anyway I should have suspected that running with a cramp for 6 miles would eventually make me stop running.
Days after the Nike Women’s Half Marathon, I started experiencing the repercussions of that cramp. I ended up checking out a podiatrist, who made me walk in a stupid boot for an entire month! That was an entire month of not running! Apparently I had a stress fracture on my pinky toe and I had to lay off running so that it would heal.
Well, I followed the doctor’s orders and here I am. I’m signed up for four half marathons for 2012, and I’m sure I’ll be signing up for a couple more.
This little injury I encountered is nothing compared to what others go through. I’m back to running and can’t wait to beat my personal record of 2 hours and 30 minutes!
Oct
31
Posted by : | On : October 31, 2011
Shorty, my 19 month beagle ran her first 5k race! She seemed to have a lot of fun running and speeding past the finish line. We didn’t really keep a good pace, since she only has two speeds. Shorty can either walk and smell everything along the way or sprint without caring what she tramples on.
Her biffle (best-friend) Flashy also joined us on the run. He really did live up to his name. The little Pomeranian-Chihuahua was a flash of lightning on the course. For the most part, I ran with Flashy and Jose ran with Shorty, but at times I found myself running with both.
Overall, the Dawg Dash was a fun event for us to run a week after our first half marathon in San Francisco. Hopefully next year we will get a much better time. We will just say this was a trial run for all of us.
Husky Dawg Dash 5k Course
Jun
20
Posted by : | On : June 20, 2011
Thank you friends for all of the donations you have sent me. Your support and stories are keeping me motivated. I really wouldn’t be able to do this without your help.
As most of you know, this is the FIRST time I train for a marathon and it is also the FIRST time I have ever run 9.5 miles!
Rick: Today’s run was for you and your dad. I know I’ll never be able to understand what you and your family went through, but running in your honor gave me the strength to keep going. Happy father’s day to you and your dad.
Please help me reach my goals as well as help fund cancer research and patient services by donating to Team Bring It.
May
16
Posted by : | On : May 16, 2011
I had my first 50 minute run and it was at Greenlake somewhere in Seattle. I’ve never really gotten out of the Bellevue area and the journey to Greenlake was much easier than I expected. i dont know what I would do without a GPS.
I continued doing intervals but I switched them up a bit. I had been running 6 minutes and walking 2 minutes. At Greenlake I decided to challenge myself and run 8 minutes and walk 1 minute. It went pretty well until about 45 minutes into the run when I ran past the water stop. Just the thought of water tortured my bladder and I had to take a potty break.
Apr
16
Posted by : | On : April 16, 2011
This morning I went on my first pre-season run and I never thought I’d say that I had fun running.
The last time I ran was when I had to chase my dog, Shorty, because she had stuffed her mouth with mud at the park. It wasn’t a beautiful sight. I looked like a wreck after chasing her for 20 seconds… luckily for me, today was nothing like that day at the park.
I met wonderful teammates, trainer, and mentors, who wholeheartedly believe in Team in Training. Being surrounded by all of their positive energy helped me stay motivated during my run and I felt amazing after completing it. For the next couple of months, I just have to take it one run at a time.
