Half marathons are so much easier when you train

(I started this post a few weeks ago, hazards of multi-tasking, sometimes things don't get completed.)

I ran in the Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon several weekends ago. I got my third best time out of 6 half marathons over the last few years. I was pretty proud of myself. I came in at 2:37:45. Third best time is fantastic since I had started my training one week before the race and my longest run was just 5.5 miles. I know, I am crazy.

But here is the thing. I am busy. And it was cold. Those are my lame excuses as to why I didn't train. Oh, I knew I needed to train. I thought to myself months in advance, I should start running. Just one or two miles at a time. Then on the weekends I would think to myself, wow, I should be running longer runs. But did I? Uh, no. No, instead I starting running a week before and hurt my shins which made me not run for a few days. Then I bought new shoes...ran 5.5 miles and called it done.

After the run my friends and I went to breakfast. My friend Jessica asked me, "how do you feel?" My response...."Well, for only having trained for a week, I feel exactly how you should. I hurt all over. My hip hurts, my knees hurt, my shins hurt, my feet hurt and I can barely walk. Other than that I am good!"

Don't feel sorry for me though, I know I should train. I have all the intentions of training for races too. Before every race I think I will train, then things happen and it is so much easier to not train, until I am in the race and my hip starts to seize up and I feel like my whole body is out of alignment.

Note to self...schedule training.

The run itself was good. I made it to mile six before I started to feel like running was getting annoying. I had looked up the race course before hand so I knew mile 7 and 8 were on Mockingbird...I just kept thinking...when we get to Beverly, I am almost to Mockingbird...almost to mile 7. I made it up the hill on Mockingbird and turned down Skillman, mile 8 was in sight.

Every mile marker was an opportunity to review my time and calculate in my head my pace and how long it would take me to get to the end. Of course, running and thinking is very hard for me so I would have to go over this in my head over and over again. This used up at least a quarter mile each mile marker.

Somewhere around mile 10 I knew my hip was in bad shape. It was like the femur bone was not in the socket right or something like that. It didn't hurt enough to stop and truly, stopping to walk and then run again just seemed to make it worse. The mind is a powerful thing though. If you tell yourself enough times you are not in pain, that you can keep running, that the pain you do feel is all in your head; it is truly amazing, you legs keep going. Mental determination.

Mile 12 made me cry. I was so close, I just had to keep going. I started yelling at myself to keep running. One step at a time. Every step a win. Mile 13 seemed like the longest mile of my life. I kept running, waiting for the mile 13 sign so I could sprint to the end...it seemed to never come. By the time I had rounded the last corner and I saw the sign, my legs were so beat I wasn't sure I would be able to sprint in. But there it was...mile 13, just .10 let to go. I told my legs to move fast and I gave it all I had, sprinting in to finish at for my third best time.

Never in my life did I ever think I would be a runner. Every race I do is a win for me personally.

My jeans shrunk overnight

I got up this morning and slipped on my most comfortable jeans and was a bit disappointed when I had a hard time buttoning them. I've had these jeans for almost a decade; they are perfectly worn in and fit loose enough they make me feel slim and fit. Ugh. This happens from time to time...too many Starbucks snacks, too little exercise. Time to get moving.

I recently read in Women's Running Magazine the best way to "stay fit", "lose weight", or whatever your goal is, is to find and event and do it. I whole heartily believe this is true. When you set a goal like a marathon, half marathon or even a 5k, the training involved helps achieve the goal. This of course assumes you train which I have a tenancy not to do.

But I am committing to an event; the White Rock Centennial Half Marathon on May 7, 2011. Will it achieve my goal of having my comfy jeans loose again? We'll see, I'll keep you posted. Training will certainly help!

This will be my 3rd event in my Bike Run Yoga Challenge; completing 12 events in 2011. For those of you in the challenge, how are you doing? Need an event? Come run the White Rock Centennial Half Marathon with me!

Dallas Rock and Roll Half here I come!

Today I ran 5 miles around White Rock Lake surrounded by gusty wind, baby strollers and lots of cyclists. Pretty good run. Legs felt good, shins didn't hurt. Probably could have run longer but didn't want to ruin any efforts to run again tomorrow or Tuesday. Still trying to "train" for my half marathon Sunday.

I know, training is suppose to happen over lots of weeks and steady increase of miles. Who needs real training when you can procrastinate and run a few miles each day a week before a race?! lol

I don't recommend this strategy for anyone wondering if this is a good way to prepare for a half marathon. If you are interested in running a half marathon, or any distance for that matter, proper training is key to having a success race. I however seem to have to learn this the hard way but not training (life got in the way) and running 13.1 miles with only a week of training.

Last year I ran this same race, the Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon, in 2 hrs 40 minutes. I hadn't trained much for that one either but I do think I had been running more than this time. So let's see how well we do Sunday!

Oh how the mind can wander

The other day I took a class (Bikram Yoga of course) at Bikram Yoga Dallas and Nita was teaching. I was crafty and waiting until the very last second and slid in on the last row, not feeling really like taking class but needing to take class, this was my compromise with myself. I masked it as a way to "see how the back row felt" with the new heating system. How does it feel? Exactly the same as the front row, hot and humid. That made me laugh when someone asked me later how it felt.

We like that at Bikram Yoga, hot and humid. There are many reasons for the heat, I could go on and on about it but that isn't the point of todays post. Today I am reminded of how my mind wanders into strange places when my mind should be in the room focused on breathing or locking my knee or kicking more or something related to yoga at least.

In Savasana Nita said something that caught my minds wandering desire. She said something like..."Savasana...allows your body to assimilate..." This for some reason made my mind think of those little green army men from Toy Story. Picture this...

Army Guys shout out "hey, heart, you ok?"
Heart says, "yea! I'm good!"

Army Guys "Lungs, you good?"
Lungs "Whew, we're good, how are the quads, that was a tough one!"

Army Guys, "Quads, you still there?"
Quads, "Wholly cow, Triangle almost did us in but we're still here."

Army guys, "Veins, Arteries, you guys still pumping?"
Veins and Arteries, "Working like dogs over here...but I can't feel capillaries."

Army Guys "Oh for the love of God, Capillaries are you all alright?!"
Capillaries "Yes! We are here...a little tingly but still here!"

All of this going on with construction noise in the background and people shouting simultaneously trying to assess the situation.

I thought about this for the entire Savasana after the standing series. Pretty funny. I'm glad my insides can't talk...I can only imagine what stories they might tell when I was asleep.