Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

I eat Half-Marathons for breakfast…. January 30, 2010

Filed under: Marathons,Training — Kelocity @ 5:32 pm
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Today’s run was nothing short than perfect. I wasn’t sure how my shins were going to hold up. I’ve been doing a lot of icing, massaging and advil.

But I heard that advil is actually pretty dangerous to runners…. so I stopped doing that immediately. I have to research it a little bit more. But all week, I’ve been nervous to do a long run without Advil. I actually thought I would just do 3-5 miles and have to call it quits, but I went out there today and conquered those 13.1 miles!

I started out with some of my friends from the LA Racers. But they were all doing 16 miles, so I just put my new ipod on, and ran my own race. I actually kind of like running with music now. Why didn’t anyone tell me how great it is?! I’ve been a distance runner for 5 years now, and I had never trained with music before. I was dancing and singing the whole way. It was great! 

I fueled with some Orange Shot Blocks and a Vanilla Bean Gu. I was a little nervous to try the Gu, I actually waited until Mile 11 to try it (in case it had any ill side-effects! I have a sensitive stomach!) But I liked it. I couldn’t eat the whole thing, but it definitely gave me energy. 

I finished all 13.1 miles doing 5:5 intervals (my new favorite). 

Here are my splits:
Mile 1- 12:23
Mile 2 – 12:05
Mile 3 – 12:51
Mile 4 – 12:49
Mile 5 – 13:25 (refuel at the car)
Mile 6 -12:58
Mile 7 -12:16
Mile 8 -12:14
Mile 9 – 12:07
Mile 10 – 12:19
Mile 11 – 13:12
Mile 12 -12:26
Mile 13 – 12:05
Mile 13.1 -1:02

Total time: 2:44:11 (And for those of you keeping track, that’s a non-race half marathon Personal Record for me… by 3 minutes!)

I finished strong, sweaty and giddy!


Right after getting back to my car, I devoured 2 clementines!

Nature’s candy!

Tonight, I’m relaxing, icing and stretching….. and celebrating an amazing run. Half way there!!!

 

Advil is my new best friend… January 24, 2010

Filed under: Marathons,Training — Kelocity @ 2:58 pm
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So this week was a tough one for me. My shin splints were really flaring up. Earlier in the week, I went out and bought some ace bandages to wrap them. I thought maybe the compression might help? It felt ok, but I tried to do Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred, and before the warm up was even over, I knew there was no way that was going to happen. Shooting pain in your shin is never a good sign. I sat and cried because I was so frustrated. Sad. 

But this morning, I was determined to still get my milage in. I popped some advil  and headed out to Balboa Park for a 10 mile run. We had a great group out there today, and the weather was PERFECT. I had my new dri-fit ski band on, and some gloves to keep my hands warm. 

I ran the first 5 miles with my friend, Vicki. We had some great conversation as we enjoyed the scenery. The miles were flying by! We even added an additional mile in there, so instead of doing 10 miles today, I ended up doing 11!! And then I ran the 2nd 5 miles with my friends Peter and Tim. Peter is also doing Dana-Farber, and today was his birthday!!! And not only that, he is celebrating being in remission from cancer for the 2nd time! There was a lot to happy for this morning. Both those guys are super fast, and I was impressed that I was able to keep up with them. 

Around mile 9, I started to lose my momentum. I could feel the advil wearing off a little, and I felt like I hit “the wall” (oh man, what am I going to do when I really hit the wall at mile 18 during the marathon?!) I was urging the guys to go on ahead, but they refused. They kept me going and made sure I didnt stop. 

Tim was my personal motivational speaker today. He kept reminding me why I was out there today. My decision to train for a marathon comes with pain and tears. But there are so many cancer patients out there who don’t choose their pain. They physically don’t have a choice, they have to push forward every single day. My marathon training is literally saving lives. I almost cried at one point, it really drove home the point. 

Then we started doing a little meditation during running: feel the air come into your lungs. Feel the oxygen in your veins. Your hands feel loose. Your shoulders are loose. Your legs are gliding across the gravel. I suddenly felt lighter and faster and we were able to push through and finish all 11 miles at a somewhat decent pace. 

I did 5:5 intervals for the entire 11 miles. Total time = 2:14:03

MILE SPLITS:
Mile 1 – 12:22
Mile 2 – 11:51
Mile 3 – 12:57
Mile 4 – 13:16
Mile 5 – 13:02
Mile 6 – 11:13
Mile 7 – 11:11
Mile 8 – 11:46
Mile 9 – 11:56
Mile 10 – 13:05  (The wall!)
Mile 11 –  11:22

I am just constantly impressed at these times because that includes walking for 50% of the whole run. I walked 1 hour and 7 minutes and still had times like these. That is definitely going to save me during the actual marathon.

And since it was Peter’s birthday, we all headed out to breakfast. Before we even ordered, we devoured almost a whole cake! Breakfast of champions, yes?

I did burn 1100 calories this morning, so I guess it wasn’t so bad. haha. What a great way to celebrate a beautiful Sunday morning.

To support my fundraising, please consider a donation to Dana-Farber here! 

 

It just takes some time…. January 16, 2010

Filed under: Los Angeles,Marathons,Training,Uncategorized — Kelocity @ 11:25 am
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Last night, we went out to a British Pub down the street to celebrate JR’s birthday!

It was great! I knew I had to get up and run in the morning, so I kept it simple with a Seltzer and Cranberry. But check out Irving’s concoction! It was coffee, baileys and whipped cream. He had two! I was jealous. 


This morning, I set out to conquer a 9 mile run per my training plan. We headed to Griffith Park for a change of scenery and some hills. We met up with the lovely LA Racers, which is always a fun time.

I was representing my Dana-Farber team today!
 

In the background, you can see the Los Angeles Zoo! I love LA. 

I settled into a 5:5 interval (five minutes running/five minutes walking) and my pace was actually pretty close to what it is when I run 5:1 intervals. It just proves that a little extra walking is not going to kill my time… it may actually help my time so I dont get exhausted at the end. 

My stats:
Mile 1 – 11:54
Mile 2 – 12:34
Mile 3 – 11:50
Mile 4 – 11:47
Mile 5 – 11:49
Mile 6 – 19:29 (included a rest stop break at the car!)
Mile 7 – 16:10 (walked wth the hubby for a mile!)
Mile 8 – 12:16
Mile 9 – 11:22

Wow, that’s a lot of miles, huh? Not my best pace ever, but it was just so gorgeous out today, I really enjoyed this run.

Towards the end, It Just Takes Some Time by Jimmy Eat World came onto my Ipod and I was laughing at some of the lyrics:

Hey, don’t write yourself off yet…
Just try your best, try everything you can.
And don’t you worry what they tell themselves when you’re away.
It just takes some time,
little girl you’re in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine,
everything (everything) will be alright (alright).
Live right now.
Yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn’t matter if it’s good enough for someone else.

Those lyrics were totally keeping me going at the end. Everything will be alright. I felt like I could have pounded out a few more miles, but I didn’t want to push it. It was pretty rewarding. 

Next week, I go into Double-Digits!! My Boston Marathon race is 50% training and 50% fundraising for the amazing Dana-Farber. Don’t forget, you can support me here!

 

A New Game Plan! January 8, 2010

Filed under: Marathons,Training — Kelocity @ 5:37 pm
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So after coming off of an injury that prevented me from running for 3+ weeks, I had to reassess my training schedule to still be able to safely reach 26.2 miles by April 19th! I feel much better after looking at this because I think it’s still do-able. I lost some recovery runs in between my really long runs, but as long as I diligently keep up with the stretching, icing and strength training, I should be ok.

Here’s what my plan is looking like now:

I decided to do the LA Marathon as a “training” run for Boston. I’m going to push myself at Marathon Pace for 20 of those miles, and then walk the last 6.2. It’s going to be hard to not want to run it for time, but since it’s 4 weeks from Boston, I cant risk an injury. If I have to do a 20 mile training run, you might as well get a medal for it, right?

 

Frustrated, Motivated and Humbled… December 13, 2009

Filed under: Marathons — Kelocity @ 12:06 pm
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I always think that training for a marathon just involves clocking milage, getting up early, and eating power bars, but it’s easy to forget that it also involves patience, mental clarity and the ability to see the bigger picture. Today was a lesson in all three. 

I walked out the door this morning with the intention of running 12 miles. My shins were screaming the minute I woke up this morning, but I tried to quiet them down by taping them up with athletic tape.

I ran the first mile with very sore shins until I realized that there was no way I was going to run 12 miles today. I have shin splits, and running 12 miles with them would only make them worse. 

So I had two choices… turn around and go home, or seek an alternative workout. So I turned the corner and headed to my gym and did a 5K on the elliptical (no impact training = happy shins). All in all, I did a 7 mile work out that consisted of this:

Mile 1: Run
Mile 2 – 2.5: Walk
Mile 2.5 – 5.5: Elliptical
Mile 5.5 – 7: Walk Home 

Let me tell you, those 3 miles on the elliptical were TORTURE! I hate the elliptical. It’s so boring. Plus I don’t have an ipod (hint hint) so all I do is watch the numbers slowly roll by. Plus it’s hot and steamy in there, and knowing it was 55 degrees outside made me mad I wasn’t out there instead.

But back to the other 3 silent factors of marathon training:

1.) Patience: Injuries need adequate time and space to heal, so in the meantime, I should keep walking, ellipticaling and weight lifting to help my legs get stronger.

2.) Mental Clarity: Appreciating the things my body still lets me do. I mean 7 miles is still a great workout no matter how you cut it. 

3) The Bigger Picture: If I pushed through these 12 miles, I probably would have done a lot of damage and/or pulled something in the process, and I still have 4 months of training left to do. I have to tend to this now to be able to push through when the milage matters most. My training wasn’t about this 12 mile run… it’s about crossing the Boston Marathon Finish Line happy and strong. 🙂 

Don’t forget that I’m running the Boston Marathon and curing cancer at the same time! Show your love and support here!! Your donations motivate me to keep on track!

Off to Ice my Legs!!

 

 
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