Final Long Run

My final long run was on August 29th. Since it was just a little over a week before the race, I only ran 10 miles. I started at the park where the race starts and ran on part of (what I think) the course will be. This was a pretty good run. It actually felt much easier to run 10 miles. I can tell that I have improved a lot since the beginning of this process. I finished with a my best long run pace ever - 11:25 min/mile. I'm not sure what the actual race will be like (being 3 miles longer), but I hope to try and keep that pace. For this run, I was able to keep up that pace for the whole time - sometimes I will slow each mile, with the last few miles being really slow. I wish I had the answer as to why I run out of steam sometimes.



I love running outside now. Each mile seems to pass by quickly. Now when I run on the treadmill it seems to drag on forever - even just running 3 miles is like torture. It used to be the opposite - I thought running outside was so much harder. It does take more effort, but it is worth it.

Sometimes I feel like I haven't adequately prepared for the race. Like I should have run more or started earlier. I hope that I am prepared for race day. All in all, I am proud of what I have accomplished. We'll see if I ever want to do it again...

Garmin Connect Data

August 15th long run

Today my challenge was to run 13 miles. Since my previous long run had been 12 miles I didn't think it would be much harder. For some reason it was! There were 2 trails that I had run on before. According to an article in the paper, there was a way for them to connect up - you just had to go off trail for a little bit and follow some railroad tracks. I did get a little lost trying to connect the trails - and that probably got my rhythm off a little bit. I also had taken some ibuprofen earlier to help with some aches and pains - I think this made my stomach hurt. The last couple of miles I was walking a lot and in a lot of pain. Hopefully my half goes better! It took me about 2:40 to run 13 miles. My average pace was 12:22. I am shooting for 2:30 or under for the race.



August 15th long run

Rock Island Trail - Long Run

A friend mentioned that she knew about a great trail that was right by our church building. Today I needed an 11 mile run and I thought this would be a great place to try it out. I love not having big hills and running on a trail - as opposed to running on sidewalks around a neighborhood. It was a nice trail and I'll probably do it again sometime. For this long run, I took along some energy gels. I seriously need more exercise clothes that have pockets - how do you runners out there carry around all the stuff you need? I have an mp3 player, cell phone, car key, water bottle, and now energy gel packets. My only pants with a pocket have a tiny hidden one in front that fits one cell phone pretty well. I usually stick my mp3 player in there too. I have tried an armband, but the one I have rubs my arm raw by the time I am done with my run. Today I put 2 gel packets in there too - I just left my cell phone in the car, it wouldn't really fit with the packets in my pocket as well. I just carry my water bottle in my hand. Anyway, I waited until I had run for about 35 minutes, and took "sips" of the gel during my walk breaks. Man, that stuff is nasty. I didn't eat it all at once - just small amounts over the course of about 15 minutes. Then I started the other one at about 1 1/2 hours into the run. I think that it did help. Near the end of my run my head and my heart felt really good - it was just my legs/knees/feet that were killing me. I was able to keep up with the scheduled run periods, but I definitely slowed down on the last half of the run. I set up my watch for an interval workout - I tried 4 mins running and 1 min of walking. When you set up the workout on the watch, you have to say how many intervals you want to do. Since my goal was 11 miles, I had to guess how many intervals it would be. I entered 26 and that ended up being the perfect number. I completed 11 miles during my final walk break. I did better on this run than my last long one (12:22 average pace per mile) and hopefully I'll still improve a little.

Here's the map. I think this trail might connect to the Pikes Peak Greenway trail, but I couldn't be sure. A sign said the trail was ending. There was another established path that I took at the end of the Rock Island Trail - the Shooks run path.


All in all I felt pretty good on this run. I was still pretty tired for the rest of the day, but I guess that's pretty normal. Here is the link to the Garmin Connect data.

Garmin Connect July 11th Run

Pikes Peak Greenway - Long Run

I wanted to find a new place for my long runs because there are so many hills where I live. I found out about a long bike/foot path that goes all the way through Colorado Springs - it's called the Pikes Peak Greenway. One of the places that connects to it is the America the Beautiful park - when the half marathon starts. I thought it might be nice to do a run down there to familiarize myself with the location. I found what I thought was the path - but it was actually a branch off of the main path. It abruptly ended after about 1.5 miles and I was pretty confused since I thought the whole thing was supposed to be 16 miles long. Then I realized that the main path runs north-south just east of I-25 and I had been running west and had gone under I-25. I ran back to the beginning. Part of the reason that I was confused was that the main path was not paved and the one that branched off of it was a nice wide paved path. Also, the trail that went north (the way I was planning on going) was blocked off with a detour sign - and the detour went through the streets of downtown. I ended up going south. It was a very nice path that ran along side a river. Part of it was paved and part of it was gravel. It crossed over the river several times and there were quite a few little waterfalls. I took this picture with my cell phone - so the resolution is not very good, but it was beautiful.

Down by the river were also some tents where I assume homeless people lived. It was a little unnerving, but there were quite a few people on the path, so that made me feel a little better. I needed to do a 10 mile run (my longest yet). At one point I had stopped my watch - when I was trying to figure out which way to go and I forgot to restart it. Luckily I noticed after about half a mile, so I actually went 10.5 miles. I was exhausted by the end and pretty much walked my last mile. Sometimes I wonder if I will actually be able to do 13.1 miles. By the time I got to my car I felt like I could hardly walk and was really beat for the rest of the day.

I think if I try the Greenway again I will go a park a little further north and run the north part of the path. All in all it was a good experience.



Garmin Connect Data

Long Run June 6

This was supposed to be a 9 mile run. I had a course all plotted out on mapmyrun.com and downloaded into my watch. You can put in a target pace for the run, and it will tell you if you are behind or a head of your goal - pretty cool. I stayed on the pace for the first hour - then I hit a huge hill and it was killing me! My heart rate was at my AT and I was barely chugging along. After that, I was pretty wiped out. I had to add a lot more walking breaks and didn't end up finishing the whole course. I went 7.58 miles. I think part of the problem is that I did an hour long step class yesterday. I guess I should really just rest the day before a long run - I think it does make a big difference. Oh, also it has been the warmest weather yet this season - I think it was between 70-75 degrees. Jeff Galloway says you should slow down if it's above 60 degrees, about 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees. That could have made a difference as well.

Garmin Connect June 6 Run

Long Run May 23

I was able to get a foot pod for my watch (so that treadmill runs would also be stored in my watch and on Garmin Connect). The first part of this run I was calibrating my foot pod, so it doesn't show up on the map or the total distance. It was about .65 miles, so the total for this run was actually over 8 miles. It started pouring during the middle of this run, and I got a little lost, but it ended up being okay. I felt really good and didn't get too tired.

May 23 run on Garmin Connect

Long Run May 16

This week was my long run of about 7 miles. I really wanted to go to a track (maybe to help me transition from a treadmill?) and I found a middle school that had an open track. My times were faster on a track - probably because it was a level, flat surface. After a few miles, I went home for a bathroom break and then continued my run from home. I felt good on this run (maybe it was the long break in between?) and felt like I could have run even longer. My run/walk ratio is about 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking. When I'm running, I aim for about 6 mph. It's not as easy to keep a steady pace when the treadmill isn't creating that pace for you.


May 16 Long Run on Garmin Connect

Long Run May 9

This was my first official long outside run. I usually run on a treadmill but I knew I better start training outside. It's a lot harder for a lot of different reasons. Of course there is the weather, the terrain, and the hills. But that's not the only reason it is harder. When you are on a treadmill, you are stationary - you don't have to propel your body forward, and that takes more energy. For this run, I ran down to a local highschool so that I could run on the track - but it was all locked up. So, I had to improvise. I felt pretty good on this run, but got a bad headache afterward. This was also my first run with my Garmin 405 watch that I got for Mother's Day. It gives you the kind of data (and a whole lot more) that a treadmill would give you - distance, pace, speed, etc. It's really fun to know all of that information when you are running outside - it's a great motivation.

May 9th run on Garmin Connect.