Holy Brooks Ravennas Batman! (and a Winner!)

OMG guys… the weather Friday was amazing!!! I told you I would get outside and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I stayed true to my word!! ;)  Tomorrow it’s supposed to be 65*!!  I’m super bummed though because I’m inside all day tomorrow working 14 hours! Ugh! Thursday, the day I can actually get outside again, is supposed to be 25*!!  How does that work?! for real!!  I LOVE being outside and just getting out Friday has improved my mental state and outlook on life after being stuck inside all winter long!!

Look guys… no gloves!! ;)

Look at this weather!!  It was absolutely glorious!! (Now this song is stuck in my head)

I was going to pull up some Garmin stats for you all, but somehow I misplaced my USB when we moved… hopefully I can find it!! You’ll just have to settle for pictures and taking my word for it! ;)

I RAN 2 MILES STRAIGHT… WITHOUT STOPPING!!!
Longest run post-injury with no pain to report!! I’m super pumped!!

Do you see that average pace?!! Holy Brooks Ravennas Batman!! Where did that come from?!
I’ve been running 11 something miles on the treadmill but Friday my pace per mile was:

Mile 1 – 9:54

Mile 2 – 10:37

I guess it just felt amazing to finally get outside again!!  Remember how I told you there are no hills where we moved??  Well Friday I even found a little hill to run up! ;)

Like I said… It’s tiny! ;)

After I got home, I stretched, foam rolled, and drank a green monster!  All the stretching, strengthening, yoga, and rolling I’ve been doing must be helping!!  There are some days when I feel a little ache in my knee, but nothing compared to how it used to be!! I’m so happy about the healing progress and pray that it continues to heal!! I’ve made a pact with myself that if at any point the pain comes back/gets worse I will immediately call the orthopedic doctor!! (hold me to it guys!!)

And now the moment I know you’ve been looking forward to… I know you skipped my post just to see if you were the winner!
Really guys??? Really?!!

It’s ok… I’ll forgive you! (this time)

Congrats Tessa B.!! You’ve won the Sprint Pack from Apera Bags!! Look for an email shortly!! :)

 

Are you recovering from an injury??

Do you prefer to run/workout inside or outside??

Do you stretch, foam roll, or stick after working out?

 

#WW: OMG!! Coldest Day of the Week is Long Run Day!!

You can see the original source for OMG cat HERE

Weekly Roundup: April 16 – 22

Monday:  Rest
Tuesday:  4.08miles @10:01/mi (40:55min)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 8.0miles @11:14/mi (1:29:57)
Friday:  Rest 
Saturday:  Rest
Sunday:  Rest
     
**Stretched and foam rolled each day I worked out

Total for Week = 12.08 miles             Bike for Week = 0
Total for Month =  14.08 miles           Bike for Month = 1hr 50min
Total for Year =  86.89 miles             Bike for Year = 1hr 50min

*** @=outside run (refers to pace)  in=treadmill run (refers to minutes)

January  12.6 miles                                                       2011  329.45 miles
February   13.02 miles
March   42.19 miles
April   14.08 miles

 Last Week's Roundup

Thursday’s Long Run

Thursday when I got home from school, it was sunny and 65 degrees and I knew it was supposed to get colder and rainy this weekend so instead of waiting to do my long run, I decided to get it out of the way in the gorgeous weather!  I’m so glad I did, it was such a great run… a little slower than I would have liked, but great none-the-less and it’s been raining all weekend!!  WINNING!! :) 

I ran 8.0 miles at a pace of 11:14/mile which came out to a 1:29:57 run.  It was quite a hilly course so I ended up walking up a little ways on some of the hills… yeah, i know I’m a wimp… but I thought it was still pretty good for not having done the time to train for my half up to now… (2 weeks from yesterday!! EEK!)  Here’s the stats from my long run (you can click it to make it bigger if you want:

After I got back home from my run I took an ice bath (still trying to get rid of my annoying knee pain) while drinking one of my husband’s myoplex lite chocolate recovery drinks (don’t tell him! ;)  haha)  It was actually kinda tasty and has A LOT of good vitamins and minerals and like 20 grams of protein :)

Have you ever tried Myoplex? What did you think?

How far was your long run this week?

Do you always do your long run on the weekend or do you change it up sometimes and do it on a weekday/night?

 

Blog Posts From The Week

Wordless Wednesday: Shower Pictures
The New Blogger Look

Registered Races
 
5/5/12 – Cap City Half Marathon
10/21/12 – Columbus Marathon

18 Mile Long Run Recap (9/24)

Saturday 9/24: It started out pretty good, I was feeling confident and my legs felt great… I had the confidence I needed that would help me finish 18 miles…

And then, I had a run in with a dog.  If you have read my blog for any amount of time, you know that I cannot stand dogs… especially when running!  I am scared stiff of them!

I was about 3 miles in when this dog came shooting across a yard.  I thought it would stop when it got to the road, but it didn’t… it came across two lanes, barking, growling, and scaring me half to death… I was screaming at it to go home, kicking at it, trying to get it to go away.  I’m not going to lie to you, this dog wasn’t very big, but it was the scariest thing to me… everyone has their own fears right?

Finally someone came out to check on me… I guess I was screaming bloody murder, and he got the dog to go back home… he acted like I was an idiot… what a jerk! I continued on my way, but you know when the adrenaline wears off and you are out of harms way… yeah, I started crying so I stopped (a good distance from that evil dog) in someone’s driveway and called my mom.  Mom’s make everything better :)  After telling her about my ordeal, she asked if I needed anything, and I realized that I had been so surprised by the dog that I had lost my gum… she brought me another piece along with a hug… I love my mom :)

I found it hard to get back into my groove after that… it took me about a mile or so and then I started feeling good about my run again… I took a GU Roctane around mile 5.  Once I got to the school/trail there were a gazillion people everywhere… there was a cross country meet going on, so I had to wind my way through everyone saying “on your left” “on your right” the whole time lol… I love running on the trail… there’s all sorts of people out and about… you’re never really alone :)

The halfway point (9 miles) ended up being where my husband works… pretty nifty how that works out ;) So I stopped and chatted for a few minutes while he filled up my water bottle for me and then I headed back.

Around mile 12 I really started having issues… the hills felt worse going back than they had when I first started out lol…(see garmin chart) I ended up walking up most of the hills on the way home… it was slow going…

I also had to stop and ask an older gentleman if he would fill up my water bottle for me because for some reason I was so thirsty the last 4 miles! I was so ready to be done and it seemed like there were hills on top of hills lol… It was tough mentally and my legs were so sore… but I finally made it home!!

18.01 miles in 3:31:31

The farthest I’ve ever run! I was thrilled that I finished and a little bit nervous when I thought that the marathon was 8.2 more miles than I had just run… how on earth will I finish a marathon?! Good thing the Columbus Marathon is mostly flat ;)

Tomorrow I have 20 miles and I’m thinking of doing it on flat ground.. we’ll see lol ;)

ONLY 15 DAYS TIL I RUN MY FIRST MARATHON!!! AHH!!

(Click the image to make it bigger)

Long Run Recap – 8/29

Monday, I ran my longest training long run EVER :)  12.71 miles!!  I was tempted to make it a half marathon but I just couldn’t lol… I was beat!

I started out thinking that I was going to run my planned 12 miles VERY VERY slow because I had been dealing with back pain all week… embarassing story of how I think I hurt it will only be told in confidence so if you want to know you can email me lol ;)

I packed my phone, Gu chomps, a GU gel into my SPIbelt and grabbed my new 22 oz fuelbelt handheld, donned my CEP compression socks and my Brooks running shoes and headed out the door.

I decided just to have fun with this since I was still in pain and it was a gorgeous day out (time to work on my tan since I look like a ghost this summer due to college classes).  Here is a series of  pictures I took along my route.

I decided to keep going when my Garmin beeped at me that I had run 6 miles because I was almost to the college that I went to for my Bachelor’s degree, that way I could fill up my handheld for my return trip.  I also stretched a little bit and then headed back.

On my way back I saw a DVD of IRobot and definitely had a moment where i wanted to pick it up and take it with me because i haven’t seen that movie, but i figured somebody would come looking for it… maybe… so i left it.  Saw a condom. Gross.  And two cars pulled up beside me to tell me that they had passed me about 2 hours ago and that i must be running pretty far… they both told me they could never do it and i said “you can do whatever you put your mind to” with a big ol’ grin :D

By the time I made it back to my car I only had .4 miles to go before it was a half marathon but I was beat, my back was killing me and I just wanted to go home lol… my husband told me I made the wrong decision and should’ve run the half marathon lol… thanks hubs :-p

Here are my garmin stats for the run:

I know I’m behind in my training for my full marathon on October 16th… but I’ve come to terms with how much life has gotten in the way of things and that I would not change it for the world… I will finish my first full marathon, even if I have to walk some, with a HUGE smile on my face! :)

NEXT UP: I am working on compiling the miles I’ve run since I’ve been MIA, including a race report from a 5k in July, and I’m still waiting on official wedding pictures to share with you all :)

NEXT RACE:  Sweetcorn Festival 5k on Sept. 3rd (tomorrow lol)

REMINDER:  Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a signed copy of Mark Remy’s book “The Runner’s Field Manual” Ends sept 5!  CLICK HERE TO ENTER

I DID IT!!!

I totally made up my long run that I may have just not felt like running this past weekend! lol  8.08 miles!

Can I just say that I love you guys?! Seriously… after my last post about how I’m so not ready for the half marathon coming up May 7th, you all reminded me that running is supposed to be fun and that you don’t always have to be racing for time!  So thank you for that and for reminding me that I CAN do this!! :)

I’m not going to lie to you tho, this run was brutal!  I have no clue how I forgot about all those hills!!  Thank goodness the half marathon is relatively flat ;)

I did have to walk a little on some of the hills, but I made sure I never walked up an entire hill and I was always running before I reached the top! I took a strawberry GU Chomp every mile, so I ended up eating an entire package.

Things that happened during/after my run:

~ I saw another runner and his cute collie and after petting the dog and a quick round of witty banter with the older man, I found the strength to run the rest of the hill at mile 2!

~ It was more humid than I prepared for and I ran out of water around mile 4 so I stopped at a nice looking house with kids playing in the front yard and the dad kindly filled up my water bottle after joking that he had just ran out of water and then wished me luck on my journey back

~ Walked a little more than I wanted to

~ Saw beautiful scenery that I wish I would’ve had my camera for… it was just breathtaking!!  I love living in the country! :)

~ End of my run I had the biggest snot dangler!  It started out as a rocket but didn’t quite have take off… didn’t know one person could have so much snot… and runner’s are gross ;)

~ ICE BATH!!! NUFF SAID ;)

I was a tad dehydrated so i was a tad colder than I usually am
and opted to wear a hoodie this time

But then I couldn’t breathe OR drink my protein drink, so I had to untie the hood

And my puppy thinks I’m the strangest person on the planet… what do you think? ;) lol  

 

Here’s the rest of my Garmin stats for my run:

 

2 months exactly from today I will be a married woman!! :D 
Just had to throw that in there ;)

61 Days Left!

An Evening Spent in the ER

Well, I have been MIA this week because I have not been feeling well at all!  Monday evening after I got off work, I decided to head to the track to get in my speed workout.  I was supposed to do 1mi warmup, 4x1600 @8:35 pace with 800 recoveries between, and 1 mile cooldown = 8mi… well, I did the warmup and I got the first 1600 with 800 recovery done.  After that, I just couldn’t do it… Maybe it had to do with being on my feet at work all day or that it was kind of hot but I finished with an 800, 400, 200, 100 working on speed… I really dont know how speedy I was, but probably not very lol.  I started not feeling good but said “Zaneta, you can do a 1 mile cooldown… seriously!”  so I slowy did my last mile and cut my workout short by only doing about 4.5 miles.  I went home feeling yucky… headache, slight cough, feeling nauseous, and kind of like I couldn’t catch my breath. Soo…

Tuesday, I decided to take a rest day and I stayed in bed until I got a text from my boyfriend that said “someone’s here to see you!” He had had class that morning and had the rest of the day off so he came over to chill with me all day… we played games like mancala and guess who and read the latest runners world, then we made french toast for dinner…  I was still feeling a little weak and tired and still like I was short of breath, but felt like it was getting better.  I really enjoyed the day despite being sick.  Then…

Wednesday, I woke up feeling OK, so I got out of bed and met my running partner at my door at 8:30… our plan was to run 9.5 – 10 miles but we only got in 8.25.  We had to stop a couple times due to me feeling a little nauseous and I couldn’t catch my breath… we walked a couple times and cut it short because I just couldn’t do it!  I went to work for 2 hours at my sitting down job then came home and rested the rest of the evening.

Thursday (yesterday), I went to my “Stand on your feet all day” job and actually ended up leaving early because I just couldn’t catch my breath and my chest was hurting on the left side a little bit so I came home and my dad took me to the ER.  My boyfriend met us there and they got me into a room right away which is weird for the ER…  They had me standing and sitting for some of the time and my hands and feet were tingly and my lips started tingling… so as soon as they let me lie down, I started feeling a little better but still was short of breath.  They did blood work, gave me some anxiety medicine thru an IV, did an EKG, and took some chest xrays all of which came back ok.  Also, I had no clue I was anxious about anything?! lol… anyways… They ended up telling me no training until I could follow up with a specialist… which Im doing today!  I was really surprised he could get me in today at such a short notice!  I’ll let you guys know how it goes!  Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

Long Run Recap & SPIbelt Review

Just a quick note: I got a new email address just for my blog! Please feel free to email me there with tips, questions, random thoughts... or just shoot me a fun email!! runners.luck@hotmail.com

Wednesday I was supposed to meet up with Jess (the girl I met up with last week to do my long run), but I received a text at 5:30am that she was ill so I headed out at 8 by myself. I had 10 miles planned and decided I would drive to the nearest bike path so that I could be surrounded with other people getting their workouts on!

Let's go back in the past a couple weeks ago... SPIbelt sent me one of their belts to try out and review... ok, now back to the regularly scheduled program... SOOOO, I decided to test it out on my long run! I strapped it around my hips, put my phone, key, and 2 GUs (review to come later) in the belt. I was actually surprised it could hold that much! I then put my ipod on, grabbed my water bottle, and headed out.

At first, I was definitely aware of the SPIbelt because I hadn't worn anything around my waist to run before, but then... it started bouncing! We're not talking like little baby bounces, we're talking bounces from the ground to the sky sort of thing... and all I could think was, man... I really wanted this to work! It's such a useful thing to have on runs!! So I stopped, unsnapped the belt, tightened it up and snapped it back in place around my hips.



I was a bit paranoid that it would bounce the whole 10 miles and I would end up carrying it the rest of the way. SURPRISE!!!! The SPIbelt actually doesn't bounce at all if you adjust it to be the right size!! DUH! I took my first GU around 30 minutes into my run and was feeling pretty good.. strong, consistent, content. I was having fun saying hi to all the runners, bikers, and walkers! The sun was out, it couldn't be a more pretty day!!

I had a tractor (and its driver) follow me for about a mile... every time i would speed up, the tractor would speed up, every time I would slow down, the tractor would slow down. Finally around mile 6 the tractor passed me, which is what I had been trying to get it to do the last mile! I guess the guy driving was just really impressed by my form! ;) I took my second GU around mile 6 and it was starting to get really hot out, and I was running out of water (again). So I took a detour and stopped by my boyfriends place of work and said hi to him as he filled up my water bottle for me. He informed me that he would be going on lunch in about an hour and would be coming to my house... so I had to sprint the last 2 miles so I could make it home in time to make him some steak! hahaha!! my boyfriend cracks me up ;)

Remarkably, I felt a wave of new energy wash over me and I picked up the pace the last two miles! I passed an older gentleman and he told me that I was doing a good job of making sure I'd live to a good old age! lol... made me smile! I ended up doing 10.14 miles with an average pace of 10:30 which is 38 seconds faster than the pace I was "supposed" to be running at! I got back to my car feeling really good and I had completely forgotten about the SPIbelt being around my hips!! The one that I tried out is the basic belt, but they have many different kinds out! They have a water resistant belt which would definitely come in handy if you sweat a lot! Really though, I sweat quite a bit and my phone was dry when I got done in the original SPIbelt! They also have race specific belts, and belts with inner pockets, and they even have a race number belt! It is one size fits all so all you have to do is adjust the band to fit your body whether you want it around your hips or waist. I give SPIbelt two thumbs up!! Go check out their website to see the awesomeness for yourself!! Thank you SPIbelt for letting me review your product!

Well, I have my 5k race tomorrow and I think I might have spectators!! woohoo!! So I need to head to bed!! I'm terrible at going to bed at a decent time!! Goodnight everyone! I wish everyone luck who is racing this weekend!

** SPIbelt sent me a belt to review, but the opinions are all my own and reflect the way the product worked for me and no one else.

If you have a product you would like me to review, or would like to host a giveaway on my blog, please feel free to email me! My email address is runners.luck@hotmail.com

I'M OFFICIALLY GRADUATED!!!

I did it!! I turned in my last big internship paper today and now I am officially graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Communications!! :D My plan is to go back to a different school in the spring to finish up my sign language interpreting degree which will take 2 years or less! I am so excited to move on to what I actually want to do with my life, but for now I am content with just relaxing, working, and enjoying my next 2 quarters off! :D This is a picture from the spring commencement that I got to walk in even though I wasn't going to graduate til this summer:

WOOHOO!! Anyways... on to my long run recap! I got all my stuff out the night before because yes, meeting someone at 7:45am is early for me, especially since I was up past midnight working on my paper!

And yes... that envelope is a race registration, thanks for asking! ;) I sent in my registration for the Sweetcorn Festival 5k today. The race is on September 4th at 9am... races always make me nervous, but a good nervous.

I woke up this morning at 6:30am and ate 1 1/2 pieces of peanut butter toast and got dressed and checked the weather.. 59 degrees?!! I wore long sleeves for the first time running today! It felt so nice though! I headed out the door around 7:30 and met Jess at her place at 7:45am... right on time! As soon as I walked in, she was beaming and told me she just got of the phone and got the job she's been wanting!! Congrats Jess!! God knew you are perfect for that job!! After saying congrats and smiling ALOT, we headed out the door and she asked me "do you want to do a flat course, or hills?" Well, not being one to back down from a challenge I said "hills for sure!" We started out at a nice crisp pace, I really didn't pay attention because I was having too much fun talking to her... she's such a lovely person!! We did about a mile and then comes the "hill" part... I'm telling you, this was not a hill, it was a mountain!!! seriously... it was the steepest, longest hill I have run to date!! I felt like walking or crying, or both! Jess just kept saying "you can do it!" "you're almost there" "its downhill once we reach the top" Thank you Jess for encouraging me because I'm pretty sure thats the only thing that got me up that crazy hill! lol Well, that and my legs were completely numb by the time we hit 1.4 miles of our 7 mile run!

After that our run felt really good... I felt like she was pushing me, and she felt like I was pushing her... and pretty soon we were back to where we started 7.03 miles and 1 hr and 9 minutes earlier! Let me tell you, I am so proud of that run!! Our average pace was 9:48 min/mile and it felt great!! Jess had to go to work, but I left with promises on both ends that we would definitely run together more often! We both had a blast! I headed over to the park to continue my run... I didn't really tighten up yet because its less than a minute from her house. I did a couple loops around the park for a total of 2.26 miles in an average pace of 10:37 min/mile which is still faster than i had expected!! TOTALLY AWESOME!! Today was one of those days where everything goes well and the run is fun and better than you had hoped and everything just clicks!!

Long Run Total: 9.29 miles (longest run to date)

I then went and stretched beside the pond and believe me, my legs were dead!! (still are) I finished stretching and headed to kroger on my way home to pick up some chocolate milk and ice and when I got home I had me one of these:

First one in about 1 1/2 years (since college basketball training) it felt so good to submerge my dead tired screaming legs into the frigid water!! Then after soaking a bit I got a shower and pulled on my Sigvaris recovery socks!! I love these socks!! Thanks to Erica at I Run Because I Can for having the giveaway that I won!! These socks ROCK!! **Review to come in the next week**

And yes, my dog likes the Sigvaris socks too! :D Speaking of giveaways there are quite a few going on out there right now... check out my sidebar!

Countdown til my first half marathon: 28 days 7 hours and some odd minutes and seconds... less than a month!!

What are some great recipes for runners? Carb loading recipes, pre race recipes, post race recipes... I'm wanting to try some new recipes out so if you have any good ones please share!

Long Run Recap!

Well I know you all have been just dying to read about my long run last weekend haven't you?! It was my longest run to date in my half marathon training... 8 miles!! :D I had bought a couple of powerbar gel packets at my local GNC store because that was the only gel I could find and I wanted to see if it actually helped or not. The week before that I did 7 miles and felt like I was going to die. So, I ate one about 15 minutes before my run, it was vanilla and it actually tasted pretty good! I then proceeded to loosen up and stretch a little and headed out the door with my Ipod.

I ditched my shirt around mile 1, left it on a fence post for pick up on my way back… I was feeling pretty good... like nothing could stop me. I even forgot about my ankle, which I had managed to hit with a softball bat the day before… it was just one of those days lol… then i took another gel packet around mile 4. I dont recommend the strawberry/banana in the powerbar gels, i dont know about other gels but… i gagged and almost threw up in the middle of the road lol… I kept expecting to hit a wall and mile 5 passed and mile 6 passed and i felt better than ever… im pretty sure i was even smiling lol… i even belted out a chorus of a song that was playing on my ipod haha… yeah, i’m a dork… i got back to my shirt and threw it around my neck and just kept running… i felt so alive! :D i picked up the pace the last 800 meters or so just cuz it felt good… I got home and realized that i didn’t even stop once to walk up any hills lol. IT WAS A FABULOUS RUN!!! I did drink the whole 16.9 ounces of water I had been carrying with me though.

Long Run Stats:

Date: 8/6/10
Time: 12:28pm
Temperature: 93 degrees

Goal Distance: 8 miles
Goal Pace: 11:14 min/mile

Actual Distance: 8.02 miles
Actual Pace: 10:27 min/mile
Actual Time: 1 hour 23 min

Elevation Minimum: 860 feet
Elevation Maximum: 1020 feet
Ascent: 312 feet
Descent: -312 feet

I really think the Powerbar Gel worked!! :D It was a great run... I love great runs because they really boost my confidence for my first half marathon! :D I have heard a lot about GU in the blogging world; a lot of people giving it away, talking about it, eating it like candy... so I looked it up on the internet. I then thought "I wonder why that's the only gel I ever really hear about? Why don't people blog about powerbar gel?" So I decided to contact GU to see if there was anyway possible they could send me a sample packet to test out and I told them I would gladly do a blog review about it. They sent me 4 packets of gel in the flavors that I picked out!! So I am really excited to see what all the hype is about! So look for a product review in a couple weeks!

Well, I'm gonna crochet for a little bit and head to bed because a friend of mine from high school contacted me and said that she just got into running and signed up for her first 5k in September!! How cool is that?! So I am going running with her tomorrow!! She has 3 miles planned for a run/walk so i'm gonna see if she'll go 1 more mile so i can get in my last 4 miles for my cutback week...lol ;) I'll probably take pictures before... maybe during... it's in a new place... a state park so it shall probably be pretty! :D

What's your preferred GEL? Do you have a favorite flavor?