The stars were not able to align to my liking last weekend and thus Issue Three of The Half Times, my weekly chronicle of my journey towards a half-marathon on Saturday, November 10th, 2012, is being combined with this week’s issue for a double whammy! Things have slowed down considerable in regards to actually running “events”. I had one on Saturday morning, August 11th (hence the image above) that I will discuss later on in the post and do not have any more scheduled runs until the 8.5 mile North Shore Trail Run on September 1st. While I am loving running 5K’s and am learning much about myself in the process, trying to fit in a half-marathon training schedule, with easy and long runs, is really difficult when throwing in a 5K every weekend. I have some scheduled in October but am undecided as to what the rest of September will look like at this point.
The last two weeks have been great for a lot of reasons. I’ve worked in some 6 mile runs, I’ve run in absolutely gorgeous weather, and I have had several ‘revelations’ that have taught me things about myself. Its been fun.
The week before last I logged 15.3 miles running, the most I’ve logged since I have started keeping a running journal. That included:
–a 6 mile long run
–a 3.2 mile hills run
–a 3 mile easy run
–and a 5K race on paved trails with rolling hills.
I didn’t spread out my running nearly enough and ended up the week with shin splints in my right leg and pain that took several days to completely dissipate. For once I showed some maturity and eased up last week, giving myself several days rest from running before getting back into it. I missed it, I really did, but at the same time it was glorious to go back to it and now experience any pain.
This last week I logged 9 miles, which included:
–a 3 mile easy run.
–a 6 mile easy long run.
I interspersed two days of rest between each run this last week and I feel much better for it. And I have maintained my strength training routine in between running workouts.
For the 7th straight week my weight has maintained at 140, which makes me happy. I don’t really want to lose any more total weight, just some remaining belly fat. But I want that to be offset with muscle weight gain and I seem to be on the right path as far as that goes.
I awoke before dawn on Saturday, August 11th to an absolutely gorgeous day. I participated in the 6th annual Farmstead Stampede 5k sponsored by the Deana Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park, KS. It really was gorgeous, with temps in the upper 60’s/low 70’s during the run.
I had psyched myself up for this one, telling myself that I was going to push myself a bit harder. I was convinced that I could place in the top 3 in my age group, 40-44, like I did a few weeks prior at the KC XC Championships. I did some good warm up before the race and set out at a faster than usual 1st mile pace and maintained that throughout the race. And in the end that was the biggest problem, my reluctance to open the throttle a bit. This would have been especially easy on this run as the trail was terrific and the miles were marked. I had told myself when I hit mile three that I would kick it up a notch, and then I kept telling myself “not yet” until I hit my usual sprint pace with the finish line in sight.
The end result of my trepidation? I finished 25 seconds out of placing third and medaling in my age group. Needless to say I was pretty frustrated with myself. It didn’t sour the experience, I had a lot of fun and finished with an 8:19/mile pace, just 20 seconds off my best per mile time in a race. But I was still kicking myself. And this is where I learned one lesson.
As I walked after the run and did my cool down routine, I became acutely aware of the difference in myself at 43. Had I been doing this when I was younger I believe I would have gotten easily frustrated, let that frustration taint the experience, and might have even given up racing due to a perceived ‘inability to compete’. As a (hopefully) more mature me, I instead remembered that a)I’m really only competing against myself, and b) I couldn’t wait for the next race so I could try to beat the trepidation. I actually chuckled aloud at myself and how I wished I could turn right around and run the race again to see how I would change my strategy.
And what of the other lessons learned that I hinted about at the opening?
Well, chief amongst them is the fact that I love to run.
I can hear the chorus of “Well duh!?!?” echoing throughout the blogosphere. My enthusiasm and dare I say ‘obsession’ with running has been most evident over the last few months on this blog since I came out of hiding and admitted to the changes I had been making in my life. But this feeling was different. I had just completed my 6 mile run and while I was tired from the effort I felt a combination of the euphoria of finishing my goal for the day and the sadness that it was done and that I now needed to give my body a rest. That is how I came to the revelation of just how much I enjoy this gift of running. It isn’t that I can’t, and don’t, find myriad things to do when I’m not running. It is just that I take such pleasure in every aspect of it, from the exercise itself to truly partaking of my surroundings to getting lost in the rhythm and my thoughts. It really is a pleasure to run.
Another lesson I learned thanks to my aching leg was the value of rest days. Over the last few weeks I have finally become okay with the idea of taking a day off and letting my muscles and joints recover, whether from the running or the strength training. And with that change I’ve also noticed that I’ve been able to settle into a schedule that allows for the exercise that I want to do while having time to spend with my daily devotions, time to spend with friends and family, and time to do more reading and more blogging–things that went by the wayside for awhile during my quest to make a habit of running/exercise/eating healthy.
So as I continue this quest to run a half-marathon, really just a small part of a grander quest to remain healthy and fit, I do so with a feeling of peace and comfort that equilibrium is being restored. There is more adventure to be had, and I am happy to be embracing it as it comes.
Like you, I became extremely motivated recently and wonder of wonders, fell in love with running. I never would have imagined it could be possible! You are certainly logging the miles overall, and your pace is incredible, not to mention coming *thisclose* to that third position! You rock! I am trying to recover from my most recent injury (I’m old and trying to do too much, too soon!) 🙂
I certainly feel old whenever I get done running and feel a tweak here or there. Makes me regret not doing this during the years when my body would have felt no pain. Still I’m doing what I can to learn exercises and stretches and good form so that I can run as injury-free as possible. Congrats on your discovered love of running too!
You’re doing great! That’s some terrific mileage that you’re racking up.
I learned to do toe taps for shin splints from a 60+ year old aerobics instructor who knew a lot of things about how to keep bodies working. I haven’t had a shin splint since I started doing toe taps in my warm ups.
Thanks Joy, and thanks for all the shout outs on Twitter. Thanks even more for the toe taps reminder. I had read about that a few weeks back and promptly forgot about it. I will be doing that from now on.
ok…well.. I am not into running but I have to know what “toe taps” are. In the winter months here (2 out of 12..not good odds) I do walk and I do get shin splints
Here is the easiest way to explain it:
ack! deliberate pain! I see lol and this helps shin splints eh? ok I guess I can even do that without leaving my apartment!
Yep! I did these the other day when I found the video and am going to start doing them regularly as well.
I just love seeing the joy you’re finding in running, Carl! I know this is a passion that I will never personally experience 😛 , but it is truly wonderful watching yours from the sidelines here. 😀
Thanks Debi! Of course never say never, I would have thought the same thing just this time last year. And now I’m an addict. 🙂
Ah, shin splints. I am prone to these as well. I like your attitude. Yes, you may be addicted. But it seems like a healthy addiction. You know when to take a rest and not to get too frustrated with end results. You didn’t get a medal in the last race, but you had fun. I can’t stress the word fun enough. Just keep having fun!
Yes, the bane of runners! I certainly think things have balanced out from my round the clock obsession to eat, drink, sleep all things running to the place where I can concentrate on more things and still keep my health a priority. Its fun getting to this place, and thanks, I will definitely keep doing it for fun.
I was just checking in ahead of my favorite fall R.I.P. challenge and was so excited to read your post. I just started running in an effort to lose weight and get healthy for my upcoming 40 birthday. I was suffering from shin splints but it’s not too bad now. My main problem is to control the breathing. It does not help that this is south Florida and the temperatures is 90 plus degrees. Sometimes it feels like I am literally drowning and cannot get air in. How long did it take you to be able to run comfortably? I am following a runners program that increases the distance you are able to run each week until you are able to run a 5K. It says that usually when you reach the ability to run for 30 minutes straight it starts to become more comfortable.
It is just about time, Ariel! I got artist confirmation for the banners today!!! Can’t wait to reveal all, it will come next week so stay tuned!
Awesome to hear about the running, congrats! And congrats on your impending entry into the 40 and older club! We rock!!!
It took awhile to get my breathing to a good rate and when I race I still breathe poorly, largely because of the adrenaline rush pre-race. I need to learn how to calm myself better. When I do my daily training runs, unless it is one where I’m pushing myself, I run at a slow enough pace that breathing is very natural and it isn’t an issue. But that took a few months for me to relax into a routine.
It takes me about an hour and 10 minutes to run a 10K comfortably and I think the increased distance definitely helps a lot. It is easier to get into a rhythm. But running 5K’s is very addicting. You can push yourself and whatever happens it is over relatively quickly. Please keep me up to date on your progress.
I still can’t believe how much weight you have lost, Carl!
I’m a little nervous to find out how old my body really is once I get started running here in a few weeks.
Just ease into it and you’ll be fine. Trust me, you’ll get lots of aches and pains and the trick is learning which ones need rest and which are things to just push through. I have some books and Runner’s World magazines with a lot of good advice so feel free to borrow them anytime.
52 pounds total and I’ve leveled off there for about 7 weeks so I think that is my ‘ideal’ weight for what I eat and the amount of exercise I do. I hope to continue to gain muscle mass and put a few more pounds back on that way.
Oh, you will be busy helping me.
My strategy all along has been to give you time to figure everything out so it will be easier for me.
Sucker!
Well, it’s almost time for the 5th issue and I’m finally getting around to commenting! Woohoo for Manda! 😀
Seriously, though, I’m glad you put this up. When Issue three didn’t appear, and Issue four didn’t come on the weekend, I thought maybe you’d given up the newsletter, which made me sad.
I do like hearing that you’re trying to work on balance, though. It’s easy to get so caught up in something that you leave other things behind, but later you always realize what you’ve missed. I have one of those personality types that is always getting caught up in one thing or another, so I have to work really hard on balance all the time.
No problem, Amanda. You’ve been busy!
Nope, not giving up at all, just got rocked by work and swamped with other commitments and at least wanted to get some book reviews up. Hopefully this week’s will roll out on Sunday afternoon and early next week we’ll see the RIP VII Challenge post. So excited!!!
I’m that personality type also and it is hard to level out sometimes, but the older I get the more committed I am to putting in the effort to do just that.
Ya know, I’ve been thinking… about time for one of your What I’ve Gotten Lately posts. You usually have ten or more new things, and we don’t know what they are! Also, how’s your Summertime reading coming along? Did you plan anything special? Have you read it yet? Summer’s almost over, you know.