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By kilax, November 16, 2015 8:29 am

Friday the 13th is a good day to race – I set a new 5K personal record (PR) at the Zee Bee Run Squad Full Moon Run! My previous PR was 22:38, set way back in March of 2013. My new one is 50 seconds faster – 21:48!

Photo by Gibbie Buchholtz

On Friday, I wasn’t sure if I’d do the race. I had a stressful week, an especially crappy Friday, my stomach was having all sorts of odd cramps (like I’d already raced a 5K) and it was super windy. But I reminded myself that I got a massage on Wednesday specifically to be loose for this race, and that I had been training with it in mind for two months! My stomach stopped bugging me, and the wind died down to a barely noticeable 5 mph (phew), so (obviously), I went.

I laughed when I pulled in to the parking lot and saw a sliver of the moon – it made me wonder why it was called the Full Moon Run!

Cute shirts this year!

I registered on site and did a short .6 mile warm up, during which I found out my headlamp was too loose and that I should run with gloves. It was 39°F out, so warm enough for shorts and a tank, but my fingers felt a bit chilly (and I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to wipe my nose!).

There were only a few other people dressed similarly to me. Everyone else was bundled up*, and I got some funny looks and comments, wearing a tank, ha ha. This race isn’t chipped time, so I started in the front. At the “go” mark a bunch of kids surged ahead, and were a bit of a tripping hazard for the first tenth of a mile, but I pulled around them and was surprised to find myself as first woman!

Photo by Gibbie Buchholtz

I felt great for the first mile, and ran it in 6:45. I continued to feel good in the second mile, until about 1.8 miles in, when my stomach started to hurt – typical! The second mile was 7:02.

I tried to keep my pace up, because I saw that the second woman was right behind me, but of course, she passed me at about 2.25. When she passed me, I noticed she only had one shoe on! I’ve seen barefoot runners at races, but never with one shoe on, and one sock on the other foot!**

I kept pumping, trying to keep pace with her, thinking just maybe I could catch her, but nope! Third mile in 7:17, last tenth in 00:35. She finished 9 seconds ahead of me! Ha! I was second overall, and first in my age group. I definitely would have slowed down more if she wasn’t in front of me, so I was happy she gave me someone to chase in the last mile.

Photo by Gibbie Buchholtz. Ha ha, I was hoping for a good finish line photo since I was at the race by myself. NOPE – major derpitty face!

I congratulated her when I crossed the finish line, then walked for a bit. I got that metallic taste in my mouth during the race and was spitting a lot. I thought about doing a cool down run, but decided getting more clothing on was a better idea***.

I didn’t go the race with anyone, or have any friends there from Efit, but saw a few guys I knew and hung out with them during the raffle and awards ceremony. They were very excited about my PR. One of them mentioned that I have lost a lot of weight and that helps for 5Ks – yep – that was the idea!

At this race you get a raffle ticket and there are a ton of door prizes. I was planning on giving my raffle ticket to one of the kids around me, if my number was called, but then I saw a someone pick out a running book, and there was still a copy when my name was called, so I grabbed one! Schweet!

I’m happy I decided to do the race, and got a PR. I’ve done speedwork once a week for the entire year, and it’s nice to see that pay off!

*This seems to be one of the more popular events in the Zee Bee Run Squad Series, with 157 finishers. And I think they encouraged children and parents from two schools to be there. The proceeds from this race benefit Nicasa Behavioral Health Systems.
**Turns out her shoe fell off a mile in to the race! And they weren’t even her shoes – she borrowed them from a friend! She planned to go find the shoe after the awards ceremony.
***I had a pretty serious cough after the race and for most of the weekend – I think my system was in a bit of shock.

Comments (13)

By kilax, November 15, 2015 5:48 pm

Highlight of the Week: Working out with friends and a new 5K PR!

Monday | November 9, 2015: 1.7 m walk (w/Anne!) + 4 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 51°/49°, Time: 33:39, Pace: 8:24 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: so so
Tuesday | November 10, 2015: 11 m run + 3 m run (w/Bobbi!)
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP and back, Temp: 30°/39°, Time: 1:44:22, Pace: 9:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, once I woke up!
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 54°/54°, Time: 31:46, Pace: 10:35 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | November 11, 2015: 15 m run
Loc: Around Round Lake, Temp: 47°/55°, Time: 2:26:48, Pace: 9:47 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: out of it, annoyed in the wind – but too warm without it
Thursday | November 12, 2015: rest
Friday | November 13, 2015: teaching strength class + Full Moon 5K (incl. .6 m WU)
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Zion, Temp: 39°, Time: 21:49, Pace: 7:03, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: like I was working hard, but good
Saturday | November 14, 2015: 20 m run
Loc: Around Town, Temp: 26°/47°, Time: 3:30:13, Pace: 10:31 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: sore/tired from Friday, as expected
Sunday | November 15, 2015: 10 m ride + 10 mins strength + 3.3 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 46:02, Pace: 13.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 53°/57°, Time: 28:39, Pace: 8:39 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, side stitch, too warm

Notes:

• I really should have written that the highlight of the week was getting a sports massage on Wednesday, because the massage felt AMAZING. I got it in preparation for a 5K PR attempt, and have another one scheduled for next month, the week of the Dallas Marathon (if I decide to run it – I will probably get the massage either way, ha!).
• This was a peak week in marathon training and my legs were a bit trashed for my two long runs. They didn’t hurt, I just didn’t have any pep in my step. Next week is a cutback week – phew!
• On Saturday, I hit my goal of running 2000 miles for a year! It’s nuts! When I thought of this goal at the end of December last year, and that I’d have to average 40 mile weeks, it seemed like a lot, but actually… it really hasn’t been! I wonder how many miles I’ll end with for the year!

Link to Training Week 316

Comments (19)

By kilax, November 10, 2015 8:03 am

I had a bit of an eventful run this morning! As I was leaving one park to run to another, I saw a tire rolling down a hill toward me. Confused, I looked up and saw a truck skidding off the road, and, yeah – it was missing a front wheel and tire. Yikes! Luckily, the driver was okay. Not so sure about the truck…

Then on the way back through that park, toward home, I saw a coyote! I think it’s the first I’ve seen while running, this season.

Luckily, the rest of the run was uneventful – I was just ohhing and ahhing over the pretty frost and fog (and water and sun) and wondering when the hell I was gonna wake up (3 miles in).

Comments Off on Training Week 316

By kilax, November 8, 2015 6:44 pm

Highlight of the Week: A naturally fast finish long run!

Monday | November 2, 2015: 7 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Round Lake loop, Temp: 71°/69°, Time: 1:00:49, Pace: 8:41 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: good
Strength: One Dumbbell and Lebert Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | November 3, 2015: 10 m run
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP, Temp: 46°/45°, Time: 1:36:46, Pace: 9:40 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, but tired and hungry
Wednesday | November 4, 2015: rest
Thursday | November 5, 2015: 10 mins kettlebells + 5 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 70°/68°, Time: 43:06, Pace: 8:37 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: pissed about the wind and heat
Friday | November 6, 2015: teaching strength class + 5 m run (incl. 4×800) + 14 m ride
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but not super awake
Loc: hood, Temp: 46°/49°, Time: 43:41, Pace: 8:44, Difficulty: medium, Felt: decent
Indoor Ride Time: 1:01:26, Pace: 13.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | November 7, 2015: teaching fitness boxing + 7 m run
Strength: body weight and boxing , Difficulty: easy (mostly observing), Felt: great
Loc: Around Grayslake, Temp: 44°/48°, Time: 1:04:25, Pace: 9:12 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, unlike me to say this, but the sun felt good
Sunday | November 8, 2015: 17 m run (first 4 virtual w/Kelly)
Loc: Around Round Lake, Temp: 31°/48°, Time: 2:45:37, Pace: 9:44 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: fantastic

Notes:

• My week started with the discovery of a black toenail on my left Morton’s toe! Luckily, it only held me back from doing mountain climbers Monday night, and by the end of the (work)week, it didn’t hurt anymore. Although it still looks hella bad!
• My previous yearly personal distance record for running was 1915.1 miles, set in 2013. I passed that distance on my Thursday run this week and ended the week with 1945.7! My goal for the year is (was?) 2000 miles, so it seems like I am going to make it! I worry if I talk about it too much though, I will jinx it, ha ha.
• Did everyone else have an off week from Daylight Saving Time ending? Gah, I felt so tired every night. And it didn’t help that we started off our week going to bed late Sunday because we were up watching the Royals win the World Series! Hopefully I finish adjusting to the time change this week!
• I’ve been trying to switch things up in my strength classes to keep it fresh for my students, and really… fresh for me. It’s so much fun to research different ideas I have for strength moves, and see what the current industry trends and studies are!

Link to Training Week 315

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By kilax, November 1, 2015 8:20 pm

Highlight of the Week: A super fun Halloween strength class, and a run with my dad (while he biked)!

Monday | October 26, 2015: 8 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP, Temp: 56°/53°, Time: 1:12:16, Pace: 9:02 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Strength: One Dumbbell & Lebert Body Weight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | October 27, 2015: 6 m run (incl. 8×400)
Loc: hood, Temp: 54°/54°, Time: 53:09, Pace: 8:51 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: okay!
Wednesday | October 28, 2015: rest
Thursday | October 29, 2015: 10 m ride + 11 m run
Indoor Ride: Time: 41:54, Pace: 14.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 46°/46°, Time: 1:40:10, Pace: 9:06 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Friday | October 30, 2015: teaching strength class + 20.5 m run
Strength: One Dumbbell and Halloween themed stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Loc: Grayslake & Lindenhurst Loop, Temp: 37°/48°, Time: 3:33:30, Pace: 10:25, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: decent, but tired glutes
Saturday | October 31, 2015: 5 m run
Loc: Cedar Prairie Trail, Temp: 46°/46°, Time: 46:56, Pace: 9:23 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: pretty good! odd side ache
Sunday | November 1, 2015: 10.5 m run (w/Dad on bike)
Loc: Around CF, Temp: 40°/52°, Time: 1:39:01, Pace: 9:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!

Notes:

• I actually did some half chin-ups this week! Crazy! I had a station set up in the studio with a step under the pull-up bar, so people could get a jumping assist, and when I jumped up, I was able to stay up and lower myself up and down several inches, several times. I was able to do it at home too. Schweet.
• I always thought I preferred 400s for speedwork because they are over so quickly. But after running mile repeats last week, then doing 400s this week, the 400s surprisingly felt a lot harder. I think it’s because you have to accelerate so much faster in a 400, than a mile repeat – I must not have as many fast twitch (as slow twitch) muscle fibers. Good thing I’m a long distance runner, and not a sprinter!
• One of my runs this week had a low enough wind chill to warrant covering my ears with an ear band, and it was so nice to have the ear band block out a ton of the wind noise! I forgot how nice that is! I may have to wear one on the really windy days, even when I am not concerned about my ears getting too cold.
• I did NOT set myself up for successful long run on Friday, and boy, did I feel it! I’ll be more purposeful in my prep next week (meaning, no tempo middle distance run 14 hours before, eating enough for dinner the night before, getting more than 5 hours sleep, and not running right after teaching class).
• October recap time! In October I ran 252.2 miles (a new monthly personal distance record!) and cycled 46.1 miles (lowest mileage month of the year – ha!). I taught 10 strength classes. I really enjoyed teaching this month, especially the fitness boxing class! I’ve scheduled two more fitness boxing classes for the year (one in November and one in December) and am teaching an indoor cycling class in December. It’s crazy to be talking about the final two months of the year! And something I thought was odd about October – I wore a tank for most of my runs! I wore arm sleeves a few times, and a t-shirt a handful of times, but mostly tanks. And still shorts, no capris yet!

Link to Training Week 314

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By kilax, October 25, 2015 12:01 pm

Highlight of the Week: A surprisingly successful speed session.

Monday | October 19, 2015: teaching strength class
Strength: plates & cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | October 20, 2015: 9 m run
Loc: hood + Millennium Trail, Temp: 60°/57°, Time: 1:24:58, Pace: 9:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Wednesday | October 21, 2015: 10 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 55°/55°, Time: 1:36:14, Pace: 9:37 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but bored at first and too warm
Thursday | October 22, 2015: 20 mins strength + 6 m run (incl. 3×1) + 4 m recovery ride
Loc: hood, Temp: 57°/56°, Time: 50:44, Pace: 8:27 avg, Difficulty: easy then HARD, Felt: good
Indoor Ride: Time: 20:54, Pace: 11.5 mph, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good to spin the legs
Friday | October 23, 2015: teaching strength class + 8 m run
Strength: plates & cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 52°/54°, Time: 1:17:57, Pace: 9:44, Difficulty: medium, Felt: half asleep / held back by the wind
Saturday | October 24, 2015: 10 m ride + 4 m run
Indoor Ride: Time: 45:02, Pace: 13.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 65°/65°, Time: 36:32, Pace: 9:08 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but too warm
Sunday | October 25, 2015: 19 m run
Loc: Around town, Temp: 40°/50°, Time: 3:14:12, Pace: 10:13 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• Buah ha ha, I totally wimped out on running on Monday. I had the time to run, but we had 24 mph winds with 34 mph gusts. It was warm out, so the wind wouldn’t have felt awful, but I am just so over HEARING it whistle in my ears. Gah, doesn’t this seem WAY too early in the year for me to be complaining about wind? Typically, it doesn’t bug me until mid winter and spring. WTF is my dealio?! At least running in it so much lately has made less windy days feel like a dream. Zzzzzzz, blah blah blah, weather.
• I decided to do 3 mile repeats for my speed workout this week. Mile repeats are the most intimidating speed workout to me (then ladders, ugh), so I was just hoping I could average 8:00 minute miles. I was surprised when I hit the first split in 7:18! And the second in 7:20! And especially the third in 6:52 (yeah, that was hard). Thinking about it now, that probably is where I should be if I am trying to beat my 22:38 PR. I would need to average 7:16s in a race to beat that PR by 3 seconds. And yeah, it would be nice to PR by more than that! Eh, we’ll see if it happens.
• I used a gift card leftover from Christmas (oops!) to get a massage on Friday. Ahh, heaven. I have massages scheduled for pre-race week in November and December too. Even if I don’t do those races, I am still getting the massages!

Link to Training Week 313

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By kilax, October 22, 2015 6:18 am

• I can’t believe how much (Royals) baseball we’ve been watching. I find it enjoyable until it gets too stressful. Then I just feel anxious and want it to be over. Ha. I don’t know how regular sports fans do it! I am not talking it down, by any means, but it just seems so anxiety-inducing to be invested in a team full time. But, not everyone is anxiety ridden and can probably just watch the game for the fun of it… right?

• Did anyone else read this article (pdf here) about the airport in Japan that installed a “track” for wayfinding purposes, and feel disappointed it wasn’t for running on? Ha – I totally thought that was what the article was going to be about when I clicked on the heading to read it!
• Gah, I realized I have four partially finished knitting projects going on – a scarf I started last winter and almost finished, a dishcloth (I’ve been using up all the extra cotton yarn and have made quite a few), a cowl for Steven, and a hat I started for my mom (photo below). I need to finish those up! I also ordered yarn to make this for Steven’s dad, and bought yarn to make Steven a tie!

• I am just now noticing that the Playtex Sport tampons packages have… what should I call them… motivational messages? Fortunes (ha)? on them. I find this amusing, for some reason. Are they supposed to pep you up when you have your period? Giggle.

• This Data cuddling Beaver (the stuffed otter) pose is totally set up, but I have to share it because it’s so cute. To me.

• I just realized that a 5K I am thinking about going for a PR at is on Friday the 13th. Um, that’s a sign of good luck, right?
• Steven and I have taken a ton of stuff to Goodwill and a lot of other stuff to a storage unit, and our house feels so uncluttered and tidy. I love it.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 77

Comments (8)

By kilax, October 21, 2015 12:28 pm

It’s not $20, but it’s the lowest I’ve ever paid! YAY!

And… that’s enough shoes for awhile. Unless my speedwork shoes go on sale… or my trail ones…

Comments (22)

By kilax, October 19, 2015 11:43 am

And other tracking methods…

I keep a safety pin in the band of some of my black shorts and capris, and it’s not to hold them up*…

It’s so I know how old they are!

Since a lot of the items in my running uniform look the same (because they ARE the same), I’ve tried to come up with ways to keep track of how old items are getting (beyond sight and smell), and when they need to be replaced.

I’ve been tracking the mileage on my running shoes in my blog sidebar for a few years. Garmin Connect added gear tracking in the last year, so I use that as well. Knowing when to ditch a pair of shoes is mostly a feel and visual thing for me, but it’s nice to track shoe mileage, because sometimes, that is what clues me in that it’s time to retire the shoes.

Bras. Ha. I used to only wear the black ones to teach class, and the colored ones to run in – the running ones get more use, and get smellier, so I didn’t want to wear those to class by accident! Now I just keep them in two separate bins (although they get washed together, so I still have to sort them), instead of using the color method, and mark the date (month/year) I started using it, so if I see anything too ancient, I know to get rid of it. I know you’re supposed to replace bras pretty often, but the brand I buy seems to last a long time – I just ditch them when they’re too stinky.

And it’s the same with my shorts and capris – they last a long time, but get too schmelly, so they get tossed after awhile. I keep a safety pin in the newer ones – which I wear when I am going to be around other people. Ha – save the schmelly ones for solo runs.

The only other thing I have that is all the same, but don’t have a good way to keep track of the age of, is my socks. I just try to pay attention to if they are worn through on the bottom, then throw those out, and order new ones, if need be!

What do you do to keep track of the shelf life of your exercise items?

It seems I replace A LOT of my stuff because it gets too stinky – I just replaced my weight lifting and cycling gloves for that very reason! And throwing out a pair of gross shorts was what prompted me to write this!

*Ha, although, I have several pair of patterned ones that got too big, and I keep a big safety pin in them to use for that reason.

Comments (4)

By kilax, October 18, 2015 6:05 pm

Highlight of the Week: Some really nice feedback after my fitness boxing class on Saturday (trainers appreciate feedback – positive or… constructive! Ha!).

Monday | October 12, 2015: 15 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: RL Loop, Temp: 63°/65°, Time: 2:32:50, Pace: 10:11 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great, grateful it became overcast
Strength: plates & BOSU, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | October 13, 2015: 4 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 58°/59°, Time: 34:00, Pace: 8:28 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good
Wednesday | October 14, 2015: rest
Thursday | October 15, 2015: 5 m run (incl. 6×400)
Loc: hood, Temp: 54°/54°, Time: 44:59, Pace: 9:00 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: oddly heavy
Friday | October 16, 2015: teaching strength class + 8 m ride + 10 m run
Strength: plates & BOSU, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Indoor Ride: Time: 37:05, Pace: 13.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good – need to build my indoor mental endurance back up!
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP, Temp: 51°/50°, Time: 1:35:37, Pace: 9:36 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but so annoyed w/the wind
Saturday | October 17, 2015: teaching fitness boxing + 6 m run
Strength: body weight and boxing (with step), Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 37°/39°, Time: 58:44, Pace: 9:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, dreaming about a hot chai latte
Sunday | October 18, 2015: 17 m run (miles 4-9 virtual w/Kelly)
Loc: Around RL, Temp: 32°/46°, Time: 2:57:19, Pace: 10:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!

Notes:

• We had some real fall weather this week, and I loved it! (Okay, minus the wind.) Lows in the 30s? Highs in the 50s? Yes, puh-lease!
• I got to talk with Kelly during my long run this week. What a treat – I hadn’t chatted with her during a run since August!
• I’ve been building my mileage up in case I decide to run a marathon in December (and to lose weight to get ready for the race). I’ll decide on the race as close to it as possible… or whenever they start to threaten that it’s about to sell out!

Link to Training Week 312