Saturday run (East Texas Striders)

Saturday's run was a 3-miler following the half-marathon clinic hosted by the East Texas Striders (a local running club). We split into groups based on pace, and a few veteran runners were gracious enough to hang back with slow little me. I failed to account for the heat/humidity (it was already in the 90s by the time we started running), so I ended up taking a walk break at about 1 mile. We also missed a turn, which added an extra quarter mile to our run (all up hill, if you ask me).

Overall, it was a pretty decent run. The course they had mapped out was pretty flat, unlike the part of town we normally run in. The only downside is that we spent 3/4 of the run in direct sunlight.  We covered about 3.25 miles in just over 40 minutes, which is slightly better than my Race for the Cure 5k time. I'm pretty encouraged to see that I can run the same pace today in 90°+ heat that I ran 5 weeks ago at 65°.

I also got to experience the novelty of new running partners, since Matt decided he was going to sleep in. Everyone was super encouraging and helpful. A lot of them commiserated with me when I told them I was training for my first half. They were all genuinely welcoming and excited for me; I was also encouraged to learn that this process is hard for EVERYONE. If you ever get a chance to run with these folks, I strongly encourage it. They are just too cool.

The best part of the run by far was all the advice I soaked up from the other runners. Here's some that stuck with me.... the underlined ones are my favorites.

Veteran runners' advice for your first half/marathon:

• Train with a plan.
• Listen to your body (repeated ad infinitum). 
• Build up gradually (the 10% rule).
• Run with other people.
• The weekly mileage on your training plan is a MAXIMUM.
• For long runs and races, set a pace for yourself and whatever you do, don't go any faster.
• Adjust your pace for heat, hills, and humidity.
• Take the heat seriously and HYDRATE smartly (in Texas, that means getting glucose and salt in addition to liquid). 
• The first half is all about restraint. If you push yourself too hard in the first half, you'll pay for it in the second.

In other good news, I've completed another week of training which means another notch on the Wish List thermometer!

Tyler Azalea 10k

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but the Tyler Azalea 10k could be a neat event to look forward to after the Tyler Half. I find that I do MUCH better with my running when I'm training for a race. With the 10k in March, I could take advantage of the winter training to work on getting mas rapida (that's "faster" for you monolingual runners out there)!

Other races in our area after the Tyler Half:

The Texas Half - Irving, Tx February 13, 2013
North Texas Warrior Dash - Location and date not yet posted, but we've got to get back in the swing of things after missing the 2012 race, which would have been our third year in a row as a couple. Stupid bronchitis.

Not quite in our area, but still under consideration:

Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k - Austin, Texas. December 15, 2012 (We've talked about signing up as zombies, which drops the price from $75+ per participant to $25. You can still run in a later wave if you choose, but you won't be eligible for prizes. On the plus side, it's a professional zombie make-up job. Sweet! Matt's less than enthused about the December date).

Texas Spartan Sprint - Burnet, Tx, May 18/19, 2013. Distnace is around 4 miles with 10+ obstacles.

Pre-Race blues: Looking ahead

Well, it's T-9 hours till race time and I'm getting ready to hit the hay about two hours earlier than normal for a Friday night. We registered, paid, and picked up our race packets today at Brookshire's. I laid out my shoes, a ballcap, and some colorful clothes to wear tomorrow ... can't forget the sunscreen.

A few things have me a bit bummed tonight. One is that my wrists and elbows feel pretty inflamed and painful today, maybe a 6.5 out of 10. It's probably a combination of my hormones, the weather (lots of rain rolled in tonight), and the fact that I practiced a Tom Waits song on the guitar for about 25 minutes. The good news is that my weight bearing joints feel pretty good (well above average) tonight, and I am optimistic about their performance tomorrow.

The other thing is that my husband doesn't enjoy races; he doesn't want to pay for the privilege of running. So, he's not really looking forward to tomorrow and he spent a bit of time this afternoon grumping about it. I love having him with me because he pushes me to perform better for longer, and he provides just the right combination of encouragement and distraction.  I should be grateful, I expect, that he's running these with me in spite of his disdain for them. I know he doesn't mean to demoralize me when he complains about various aspects of racing (the cost, the people, waking up early). I guess it would be worse if he just refused to go.

I don't think that running is particularly fun for him; he's more utilitarian about it. I hope one day we can reach a point where racing together IS actually fun, and where he gets as much out of running with me as I do with him. I don't know. 

The race is tomorrow morning. It should be nice and cool in the a.m., and I've got a good plan for the race. The secret goal is to break 40, and if I'm extra cute I might convince my husband to take me out for post-race pancakes. :) Wish me luck!