Long Run and A Question

I finally got my first long run of this training season in today.

A grand total of 5 miles on the treadmill in almost 56 minutes.

It wasn't easy peasy. I had to encourage myself to keep going for 0.5 miles before I can stop for a brief 10 secs or less to take a sip of water. It helps break the monotony up. It helps make the "long" distance seem shorter. At the end of the 5 miles, I thought, I think I can do 6 miles.

In a way, I cannot wait for the next long run. It always makes me feel accomplished.

It is still ever-so-hot here in Arkansas. Triple-digit temperatures are here to stay for a while.  It looks like we might get some reprieve from the heat and enjoy a high 90s temperature with some rain later this week.  I have been drinking lots of watermelon juice. They are delicious.  However, I find that plain watermelon juice lacks some "ooh la la." I usually spike it with a light sprinkle of salt. It kinda gives the juice more body.

In other matters:

I totally just realized it is AUGUST! Now, where did July go?

For August, my goals are simple:

1) Keep up with my half marathon training.

2) Run at least 40 miles this month.

(This would be the most I have ran since my injury. And I need to keep my goal digestable and doable).

Questions

Speaking of half marathon training,
most of you know that I am doing like a Galloway training program and am doing only 3 runs a week. Now, I am feeling a little inadequate, especially since the 2 weekday runs are only 30 minutes long.

I feel like it is quite a jump to go from 30 minutes run (that's about 2.7 miles) to a long weekend run.

What's your take?

Does anyone know how to delete a run from Dailymile? I posted a run last week and somehow, it got double-posted. I want to set it straight. Let me know. Thanks!

Happy Weekend!

Training Starts Now!

New week.
New goals.

New TRAINING SEASON!!!  (Love training for something. I hate running around aimlessly.)

Today marks the start of a new training season.
The next half marathon is on Oct 29th. (More about this specific race in later posts).
Christine helped me find a half marathon training program on Saturday evening.  I settled on Galloway's. Basically, I will do two 30-minute runs on the weekdays and a long run on the weekends.  For the 30 minute runs, I am doing some modifications. I am going to run with a purpose - fartleks, hills, tempo... you know... all that good stuff. Today, I ran 30 minutes, 2.85 miles, average 10:30/mile, at 1% incline.


Sleep has been really funky!
I am totally functioning on a not-school-night sleeping hour. That translates to sleep all day and stay up all night.  Which also means that my running, despite being the first thing I do in the morning, is actually the last thing I do before I go to bed (at 7 a.m.)
Told you it was funky!

Here are a few random thoughts and things that happened today.

I am one who needs to be in control. Running gives me absolute control of myself (compared to my life, where my decisions pretty much revolve around someone, something etc.) 

Corinthians 13:1 to 13:13.   I'm not a Christian, but this is so true. And I will learn to love with respect, with kindness. There are many good morals that anyone can learn and will likely benefit from. 

Starting today, for a week, I will be without any soda. No Diet Cherry Limeades, no Coke Zero, no Diet Coke. Just water and unsweetened iced tea and milk and juice.  So far, this day is good.

I got this wonderful gift from a friend from graduate school in the mail today. She is the nicest, kindest, most sincere Christian I have ever met.  I can talk to her about god without her telling me that her god is the best, is the real deal. We can have open discussions about things like that. Her actions speak of a true Christian. Anyway, she sent this book to me because we had a conversation about Christ, and since I was a journalist before I was a speech-language pathologist

And that sums up today.  Tomorrow, I am going to strength-train/cross-train. I cannot wait to run again on Thursday!

And if you are hesitating about doing a half marathon, or 10K, or the whole entire freaking marathon, sign up! Live this remaining summer, fall and winter with a goal, with something to look forward too.

When I run, the stress in my body melts away.

"Hooking Up" with Galloway

Morning folks!
 
Many of y'all asked about how and when and why I started "hooking up" with Galloway.  
Not a real hook-up, people. Gonna keep this PG-rated.  I'm talking about Galloway's run/walk program. 

I have read about the run/walk thing when I started running sometime in September 2009.  But PRIDE was a big issue. I didn't want to walk at all in my runs. It sounds waaaay cooler to say "I ran 2 hours without stopping!"    Some of you here have been doing the run/walk thing in races and have better average pace than I do.  Hmmm .... Am I missing something here? 

Then, about 3 weeks ago, some sweet child shared his germs with me and I ended up with a cold, which became a bad bronchitis issue.  When that BIG NASTY cleared, I actually went a little over-zealous and ran 2 consecutive days. Dumbo! That led to a grumpy knee. Anyway, with my half marathon coming up in about 2 weeks, and with me NOT training much, Uh-Oh is exactly how I feel right now!

Maybe my last-minute decision at using the Galloway will see me run/walk to the finish line.  I do not want to DNS or DNF.  (Have I already mentioned that PRIDE is a big issue?)
 
Does that mean that I will never run an entire race ever again? No.  I'm going to Galloway-my way through this half marathon.

Hey! Galloway!

I ran the 5K like I said I would yesterday.  It wasn't my best run. 

Pre-run snack: Banana with some peanut butter. 

I tried out the Galloway run/walk thing.

Running and not getting injured?
Yeah. Sign me up! 

I started with 2 minute : 2 minute  run-to-walk ratio.

Then, I cut it short to 1:1. 

With the 1:1, I was able to clock in at a better pace. 

About 2 miles in, my knee felt a little funny, so I eased up and slowed down.

By the time I was through contemplating if I should call it a day, I was already at 2.6 miles. 

So I thought, why not round it up?

Don't judge. 

You do that too! Right? 

Then, I hit the magic 3-mile mark and while on the walk portion, I said to myself, why not do 5K? 

And so I did.

After the run, I hit the machines and did some leg curls, leg extensions and all the jazz 

to strengthen my quads, hammies, ankles. 

Gonna go have a quick egg sandwich now.
Starving!

Presents and Who's Who At My Birthday Party?

Thanks for those who ran yesterday.
I hope you had a good run like I had a good birthday.

After work, while waiting for the boyfriend to come home, I opened up a bottle of wine.
Love this wine. It's from Benzinger in Sonoma, California.

For our birthdays in Singapore, Mom would always made sure we had a bowl of noodles (symbolizes longevity) with an egg (symbolize your birth).
Well, I didn't eat any eggs yesterday. Boyfriend got me some noodles from the Chinese take-out.
And boyfriend got me a wonderful gift - his time.
When a man works like a megamagillion hours a day, his rest of the evening after work IS a huge gift.

And because I am such an independent woman, I bought me some presents!

Needed some flats this year. I've always loved heels.
But a combination of running and having to run after some really active kids at work convinced me to switch over to flats.


*

Now,  Who's Who at My Birthday Party?

Christina and I probably are distantly related from another life.

She might be a slight overachiever (just like moi).
She ran 6 miles instead of the suggested 3.1 miles.
And instead of toasting with a glass, she did the entire pitcher. 

That just means double the birthday celebration, double the good wishes, right?

She is also a graduate student and a mom.
Despite the hectic life, she is keeping it all together and managed to lose some 100 lbs.

You will find her talk about the most random thing - like weird dreams where she is measuring her sagging arms, or about what she thought to be a lopsided belly.
So head over to her blog. 

And check out Christine, her nickname is German Lightning.

 

Christine's just finished running her first marathon. 
And she "showed up" running for my birthday.
And a German Lightning she was - she finished it in 31 minutes.
Here's her toasting with some pink lemonade.
Do head over to Christine's blog to read about how she conquered her first marathon last Sunday and what's in store for her in terms of running. She does the Galloway-type run and did an awesome job.
P.S. I can't help but noticed that lizard crawling behind that wall.
I believe my best friend has that same lizard in Singapore.