Smoothies, Easter and the Marathon, Oh My!

Gavin and I had been talking about smoothies for a while, we were going to hold out and save for the Nutribullet... (Newest version retails $150) A friend of mine at work had just purchased an Oster with the sports bottle attachment and had nothing but good things to say about it. (Retails for about $30) Can you guess which miserly frugal way I decided to go?

And here you have it!

For the money, well worth it.

I also had a coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond for 20% off my entire purchase, so I picked this bad boy up for around $23.  Don'cha Just Love a Bahgain??

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With our 5K coming up, the one that I need want to beat my PR time, we moved our schedule around to run Sundays instead of Saturdays. Which meant that Easter Sunday was a run day.  With time constraints and getting off to a late start we hit a local rail trail and eeked out a quick 4 miles. 

I might have started out slow but I pushed it in the last couple miles. My Garmin has a virtual partner feature. You set up the time/pace you want to hit and it shows you how far behind or a head of the "runner" you are.  On all of my outside runs, I have never beat my VP, as I have said before I am not a speedy runner.  I set it up to pace me at 10:57 pace... like I said not speedy. 

Look what I did!

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I fear I am burying the lead.  Gavin and I were watching the Boston Marathon last year. We decided that in solidarity to the city that we love we would go back for the same events this year. First the Red Sox game and then out to the streets where the Marathon goes by to watch the runners as they approach the finish line. 

What and amazing day it ended up being. The weather couldn't have been better for runners and spectators and the energy in the air was just all you could ask for on a Marathon Monday. 

Just about 1 Mile to go! 

Look who we met, Carlos!!! He was SOOO nice! 

Walking down the middle of Boylston while they wrap up the race.

Week 9

Last night I wanted to make sure to run at least what Hal had suggested. To my surprise, I felt pretty good the whole outing I felt really good. (I think I am going to stop saying "run" I think most people would consider my movement a slow jaunt) When I am outside I feel like my pace is faster than it really is.  If I am comfortable I guess it doesn't matter my pace, it just matters that I am going... right?

The Salem 10K really rejuvenated my positive mentality about the Half.  My "can do" attitude has been in full swing for a whole 3 days, I will keep you posted on how long that lasts. 

Oh the finish line photos...I have had worse.

And for a tidbit of wisdom I feel the need to bestow: Don't go to Target hungry! You will only end up with a much more full cart. 

Last Nights Workout: 3.69 m / 43 minutes (goal per Hal, 3.5 miles)

Salem's Bridge & Back 10K, Fantastic!

I learned a lesson, that when I dread a run, that usually means it will be a better run.  I just think back to all the runs that I could have had that I dreaded so much I talked myself out of going. 

It was definitely a smaller race, but managed really well after a little confusion about where the start line was everything was smooth sailing from there. For only $25 and I received a tech T-shirt and 2 Sam Adams draft tickets. 

The coarse was beautiful from Historic Salem across the Bridge to Beverly Waterfront and then back across the bridge to see move of Salem again.  So these are places that I spend a lot of my time. In fact I ran past a beach that I went back to lay out on later that day.  It is rare that I see these places at 8 in the morning. The weather was perfect, dry cool 70s. What a difference a few degrees makes! 

Me hanging out in the back of the pack, where I stayed. 11th from the end! 

These two ladies were nice enough to let me run with them for a while and I even learned a little bit about pacing and running form.  I felt like I owed her a trainer fee.  Once we hit the first incline of the bridge they were off. 

 The race was for the Boys and Girls Club of Salem, so the support along the course was actually really great. Plenty of people cheering and directing and three water stations.  Even though I was holding up the end of the pack I felt like people were still cheering me on. Not to mention running with this view and salty sea air was so invigorating.

 Since I finished 11th to last out of 335 people I don't really have to tell you that my time wasn't stellar, but I ran the whole thing and I actually feel better about this one than the Gansett run.

Also, Yasso was there again!! If they are the new standard at the end of road races, I want to do more!

I definitely want to do the Bridge and Back again, and try for a spot in the last 25 people. 

Final time: 1:13:50 (I trust this time a bit more since I crossed the timer on the start line and at the finish.) 

Post race hydration?!?!?

2013 so far! With 4 more races on the docket. 

Hit the beach post race! 

Competitive... against myself

Workout: week 1 of Ripped in 30

Work up and did a Jillian video this AM. It is great for strength, jumping part of the new sensation HIIT (High Intensity Ingerval Training). Now I want to take a nap, so I think it worked!

When I sign up for a "race" it never occurs to me to try and win... funny thought, I am not sure that that will ever be me. I know where I am physically. No matter how I will raise my Lactate Threshold or possibly increase my VO2 max, I don't ever see that as being my goal. The pure adrenaline of running with a group of people for a collective goal, to finish, which leads to the feeling of accomplisment.

I can be a competitive person, I get excited when I can guess correctly on Trivia Pursuit and I don't play Pictonary because 60 seconds is not enough time to craft my masterpiece. I get more frustrated when I can't do something than if I don't win, (eg, Baseball on the PS2). When it comes to running, I want to beat myself.  I am very impressed with people that run a sub 7 minute mile, but I succeed to them in a race. I am willing to take my tail back to the 11 minute mile corral.

My current 5K PR is 33:05, now this is something I want to improve. My PR for 5 miles is 54:18 and my only 9K (5.58 miles) was at 1:03:16. I am going to estimate that my 10K will be around 1:10:xx, closer to my 9K time than based on the estimates that my 5K gives me.

If you go onto RunnersWorld.com they give you estimates based on your race times.

• 1500 meters: 9:14 (not sure when I would need to run this distance)
• 1 mile: 9:54 (surprising)
• 3K: 19:15 (another strange distance)
• 5K: 33:05 
• 5 miles: 54:47 (very close to one of my previous times)
• 10K: 1:08:59 (not sure I will hit this, but it is close to my estimate)
• 10 miles: 1:54:13
• Half: 2:32:11 
• 26.2 miles: 5:17:18 (still not sure I want to take on this many miles at once)

I don't feel 100% confident about this upcoming 10K, but it is my first and a good way to set the bar!

For graduation... not sure which one, someone gave me this journal and I haven't done anything with it yet. It has now officially become my running log. I like to actually write my ideas down before they go onto the computer. 

I Heart Coffee

It turns out that coffee isn't the evil vice that everyone makes it out to be.

8 Things Runners Should Know About Coffee

Now I haven't let this go to my head, I have been trying to keep it down to 2 cups a day.  When I am looking for the ritual of drinking it then I reach for the decaf. My anxiety is through the roof if I have too much coffee in the morning, and if I drink it after lunch then sleep isn't going to happen. I LOVE my sleep, it is very important to me, it isn't something I am willing to mess with for any reason.

Workout: 3.1 miles / 33 minutes TM

My favorite ice coffee ever, Marylou's Girl Scout Cookie!

Post dinner drinks. Both decaf, one spiked! 

So here is what I learned on top of coffee being my savior for keeping me from face planting into my keyboard on a daily basis.

Caffeine improves performance. Caffeine: Helping people to go farther and faster since the tea went over the edge of the ship in 1773. 

Coffee works the best when it is consumed an hour before the event. I feel like I couldn't possibly function any less than an hour after having my first sip of coffee.  I get up at 6:30 brew the coffee and it is a struggle to changed and to the gym by 7:30, could it be the hour TV show I feel the need to consume before I go? Maybe, but is time I need to be alone with my trashy TV and mostly uninterrupted  thoughts.

Coffee articles always use the milligrams of how much caffeine you consume.  I feel like this means nothing to me.  However this article gives you an example, a 150 pound person (I wish!) should have 12 oz of strong coffee. (Thank you Runners World for breaking it down!)

There are all these studies that prove that coffee does a brain good! Long term effects of promoting healthy brain function and preventing dementia, makes me extremely happy.

Now this one was a shocker... coffee is not proven to dehydrate.  You would have to drink 5 cups a day to start having hydration issues.  I think my anxiety would have me clawing at the walls.  So I am going to pretend I never read this.

Lastly, it has beneficial post workout effects too.  I have been wanting to try CLICK for a while, but for now I just add half a scoop of Gavin's protein shake mix to some iced coffee... delicious and nutritious.

My favorite mug!