I managed to complete a 12 mile run after school on Wednesday. I ran the entire way and had an overall average pace of 10:54. I was so excited to have a long run with an average pace under 11:00! I had an energy drink with lunch and then ate a Cliff Bar at my plan time. I took water and GU chews along. I also used music this time. I took about 15-20 minutes off my pace and added a mile, so I was very excited about the results! I'm feeling more and more confident that I will be able to complete my half in a respectable time.
Thursday I ran 2.24 miles after school with one of my co-workers. Since I had such a long run the day before, I didn't really worry about my pace. I ended up at a 10:16 pace, which is fine. I have been trying to use my short run day to push my pace, but with the long run the day before and the 5K on Saturday, I didn't worry about it and just ran at a comfortable pace while having a conversation.
I was excited Saturday to see if my 5K pace had improved. My last 5K was in June. I set myself the goal of completing the 5K in under 30 minutes. It was raining as we were getting ready to race, and it continued to rain throughout the entire race. Dave was not looking for a personal best, since he ran 18 miles on Friday night. I asked him to help pace me so I would finish in under 30. We ran together. Since it was raining, I didn't wear my Garmin. Dave had his regular watch on, so he had some idea of how we were doing but not an exact time. I picked out a person that I would not let beat me, so everytime she would pass me I would speed up (she did the same, so I must have been her person to beat). I felt great keeping up with the pack and continuing to pass people through most of the race. I ended up finishing in what I thought was 29.11, but the official race time was even better...28.51.37! I was so excited when I received the e-mail of official times. Actually I was excited before when I knew I met my goal and beat 30 minutes! I took over 3 minutes off my previous time. My average pace was 9:18! I'm feeling stronger and faster. Actually, I am also feeling hungry and tired a lot of the time, too.
Today I went bike riding with my husband, son, and nephew. My nephew couldn't quite keep up with our usual pace so we had to go a little slower and cut our distance. We ended up riding about 11 miles then enjoyed a nice lunch out. When we got home, I took a 2 hour nap. I think the 21.34 miles I ran this week combined with the faster paces caught up with me. I'm a little frustrated that I'm not losing weight. It seems I'm burning a lot of calories, and I'm not over eating. I'm not really gaining our losing just continuing to go up and down the same 4 pounds. I wish I could drop 10-15 more pounds. I think I would increase my pace even more if I could lose a few more pounds, but I'm worried that I won't have the energy if I cut my eating too much. Maybe I should cut out the glass (or 2) of wine each night.....but it sure does help me relax and sleep at the end of the day. Anyway, I'm very pleased with my improvements this week. Hoping I can keep it up.
Also, say a prayer for Heidi. She has her last two radiation treatments this week. In a few weeks they will retest her to see how well the treatments worked. Staying focused on the training and running is helping me cope and stay positive.
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