Shoot for the Stars

Paradise High School. Ran with my dad because visiting Paradise again! Great to get a run in with him on the HS track. Lots of people out working out on different stations from Beyond Fitness. We ran from our home to the track, 3 miles on track and then back. Ran at 6:05 a.m. Felt kinda tired but fairly good considering the amount of sleep I got and eating late. We talked just about the whole time and ran together. Great quality time:) No pain in legs. A steep but short hill on the way back home.

TT:  40:32 min                         Avg: 9:28 min                        Max: 7:56 min

Miles: 9:42, 9:16, 9:22, 9:33, 9:16 

4th of July Independence Day Run at Bidwell Park in Chico, CA. Dad talked me into running a race while I was home visiting. We registered Fri and ran it early Sun a.m. 7:00 a.m. Felt tired from not sleeping well last night but knew I would just have fun with it and try to keep about an 8 min mile or less. First mile, just getting into it, kinda tired. 2nd mile seemed to be feel the hardest. I was able to save a kick for the end. Sprinted the last 100 meters to the finish line. My time was decent so that was fine since that is what I was shooting for. I've always wanted to get a faster time though if I had been training more for speed. Placed 29th overall and 2nd in my age division. Happy about that! I got a gift certificate to a resturant in Chico for $15:) No pain but felt nauseous at the end; I was able to hold it together. Feeling went away shortly afterwards. Small race of about 150 runners. Not too organized, no chip timing. Time was slightly diff from GPS watch from what they gave me.

Their time for me: 24:14 min                   My time according to GPS: 24:07 min

Luckily the mile parkers seemed pretty dang close to what my GPS was saying.

Avg: 7:50         Max: 5:12

Miles: 7:29, 8:11, 7:58

Game Farm Park. 5:30 a.m. Park not opened so parked in a industrial parking lot right next to it. Very tired this morning. Ate late and didn't get too much sleep. Just tried to do the best I could. No leg, knee or foot pain. Beautiful morning, light out so didn't feel as early as it was. Saw 2 guys running with dog who I've seen many times before, as I was finishing my last mile.

TT: 26:34                   Avg: 8:51 min                Max: 7:19 min

Miles: 9:00, 8:50, 8:43        Very happy with my gradual decrease in time!

Les Grove Park. Only worked 1/2 day so decided to go for a mid day run. I would have ran in the morning but I had to start work at 6:45 a.m. Unfortunetly, I chose a day that hit a high of 94 degrees. Ran at 12:30 p.m. Tons of kids at the park going through the mini water park and play set!!! I've never seen so many people around in such a small proximity!!! It was hard to run because kids kept getting in my way. It started out fine but I got really hot fast. I think I was crazy to be running at this time of the day! My goal was to be 5 miles but I coudn't handle it with the heat. I just did 4 instead. Felt okay but very hot and dehydrated.

TT: 35:37 min                Avg: 8:54 min                   Max: 6:30 min

Miles: 8:42, 8:51, 8:59, 9:02 (As you can see, I gradually got slower because it was SO hot and humid)

Roegner Park. Cloudy but no apparent rain except slight sprinkle a few times. Weather was pretty good for running; just felt slightly humid. Hard to get out again and run the long run solo. I was shooting for 10.5 today since last Sun. ran a race and want to gradually get back into the swing of things. Unfortunetly on mile last 7 mile my R knee started hurting. It was more than just a slight hurt and seemed to get worse as I ran. It definetly caught my attention. I felt very frustrated. I stopped and walked some but didn't seem to help. Finally I had to quit on mile 8.5 ish......I just hope this isn't a continual problem because this is my worse nightmare. That I won't be able to try my first marathon. I will just take it easy and try for next Sun. long run. What else can I do? I iced my R knee (more of the outside front was hurting) I will keep trying to do the knee exercises even more dilligently than I have been doing them. I am trying to think why it would be hurting. Maybe due to not sleeping too well or getting to sleep by 2 am? I did sleep in until 9 though.......I"ll be trying to figure out the cuase of my injury. Possibly due to stress and tiredness...\

I did try out a type of energy bar on mile 6 to get used to it on longer runs. Raw Rev 100 calorie chocolate bar by Raw Revolution. It tasted good and did seem to give a little bit more energy, not a ton that I could notice. Trying out new products.

There were lots of people out exercising, some running-2 guys and a lady together. Lots of people walking their dogs. A roller blader, walkers, etc.

TT: 1:19:59                              Avg: 9:22 min                             Max: 6:32 min

Splits: 8:55, 9:12,8:55, 9:16, 9:25, 9:13, 9:20, 9:36, 11:19 (Mile 6 I walked a little bit; the last mile not so accurate because that is when I was having most of my knee trouble and had to slow down and walk. It was just frustrating because I had the endurance to do 2 more miles; my knee just wouldnt' let me, so I was smart and listened to my body) 

Game Farm Park. 5:30 a.m. First run back after having some R knee problems on Sunday. Luckily, run went well. No pain at all. Just took it slow. Ran on even surface. Not too many people out. A couple of older men walking dogs, young girl running, and usual guys with dogs. Beautiful morning, sun shinning! Felt good but kinda sore from Sunday. Ran 3 loops around park-usual route. 

TT: 27:07                           Avg: 9:01 min                           Max: 5:29 min

Splits: 9:20, 9:02, 8:41

Morning pulse: 48 bpm

Game Farm Park. 10 a.m. Weather was cloudy and slightly chilly. Still good weather to run in; not as hot. No knee pain but slight ankle pain on both sides. Pushed myself to run a little faster pace than I had been running but it was struggle this morning. Stayed up late and ate a late dinner. 4 ladies out practicing softball, girls soccer practice going on, a couple of walkers.

TT: 34:38                                  Avg: 8:39 min                             Max: 7:15 min

Spits: 8:45, 8:38, 8:41, 8:33

Long run. The Landing in Renton. Met up with the Balanced Athletes after quite awhile since I had ran with them last. I was really worried about my knee acting up again since my last long run. Howeve, I am so happy to say I didn't have any problems on my long run. It was a perfect morning to run, cloudy and cool. We ran from the BA store along Lake WA to Castle Park and back. They said it was about 11.2 miles but on my GPS I got 10.88....huh? Oh well that was about my goal of distance. Different groups ran different distances. I ran more with the guys because they were doing the long 10 mile ish run. I ran with Tony, Robert, and a couple of others. Tony is such an amazing runner. 3 hrs and 3 min. marathon!! We all ran in a little group there but Tony and his other friend totally left me in the dust on the way back. So it ended up Robert and I ran together because we were about the same speed and both trainning for our first marathon in the fall. It was neat to get to know some of the people better and felt nice they were including me even though it had been awhile. Eric ran with a different group so I didn't see him much. There were some rolling hills which were though, all on pavement, I pushed to keep up but I felt good. Mile 9, 10 were tough but hung in there. Slowed down my pace a little bit around that area. We tried to catch up with this other guy and girl in a group but couldnt' quite catch them. The only area had to stop my watch was when we got to castle park and then once or twice when we were crossing the street.

TT: 1:40:24                          Avg: 9:14 min                   Max: 6:05 min

Splits: 9:40, 9:12, 8:57, 8:57, 8:54, 9:04, 8:48, 9:22, 9:14, 9:29, 10:00

Game Farm Park. 5:15 a.m. Looked not as light as I remember. I can tell that the days are already getting shorter and I also ran 15 min sooner than I normally run. I know that can mkae a difference. No pains. Tough run though; struggle. Didn't see anyone at the park today. Ran 3 loops=3 miles.

TT: 26:43                                 Avg: 8:54 min                       Max: 5:51 min.

Splits: 8:53, 8:56, 8:52

Game Farm Park. 6:45 a.m. Didn't have to work until 9 a.m. this morning. A couple of people walking and work crew around empting trash. Ran 3 regular laps. No knee pain but some pain in R ankle. Gonna ice it just in case. Felt fair. Pushed to run a faster pace this time compared to yesturday.

TT: 25:53 min                           Avg: 8:37 min                    Max: 6:10 min

Splits: 8:41, 8:36, 8:33   (very happy with gradually getting faster each mile! Kept good pace)

Green Lake. I worked up in N. Seattle today so I was able to run around beautiful Green Lake after work today. What a goregous day for a run again! It did get a little hot as I ran around the lake 2x today. Did good; but sad my ipod ran out of battery the last 2 miles or so. I just feel so motivated though with all the other people working out! This is one of my fav places to run for sure! No pain in knees or ankles while running. Started at the paddle boat rental and finished there on the 2nd lap.

TT: 48:06 min                           Avg: 8:38 min                      Max: 6:50 min

Splits: 8:21, 8:30, 8:40, 8:52, 8:45, 8:36

Roegner Park. No time to run with BA today due to Mariners game. Ran solo at Roegner. Ran at about 7:45 a.m. Got pretty hot while running; poured water all over face a few times. No pain probs. 3-4 runners all in a group i passed. Ran reg. route plus extra loop 3 times then ran back to playset and back. 3 times out and back plus sm loop each time is just a little under 13 miles.

TT: 1:57:38                            Avg: 9:03 min                     Max: 5:41 min

Splits: 9:04, 9:00, 8:52, 9:15, 9:00, 9:02, 8:56, 9:00, 9:04, 9:10, 9:08, 9:04, 9:04

Mile 9 and 10 walked for just about 20 sec each. The last 3 miles were very tough! Had to put mind over matter and just finish! My legs got tight/stiff; tricky to keep going. Happy with accomplishment of almost 1/2 marathon:)

Game Farm Park. 5:20 a.m. Don't like it as light out, kinda scary but it's been fun doing the early morning runs. No people around the park. Only one black dog that watched me as I ran around the park 3 times. Also saw a black and white cat:) awww! Felt okay. Ankle slightly bothersome. Pretty good but felt I needed more sleep.

TT: 26:16                              Avg: 8:45                               Max: 6:34

Splits: 8:48, 8:49, 8:38

Game Farm Park. Ran afterwork today and after making errands. 5:30 p.m. ish. Lots of people at the park. Soccer practice for young girls, people practicing soccer, baseball for the youngsters, a group practicing batting, plus all the walkers and strollers, and one older man running. No pain to note of :) Felt actually fairly good for running after work and not getting much sleep this week. The endurance was there. Semi hot in the sun but was happy to have the shaded areas. Ran 4 full loops that include the dirt bumpy trail in the back. Plus I ran reg loop (wasn't quite 6 miles without extra part) to a little past kids placeground. I was careful to run slower on those parts so I wouldn't twist my ankle; almost did once or twice.

TT: 53:32 min                             Avg: 8:53 min                          Max: 7:08 min

Splits: 8:52, 8:56, 8:51, 8:56, 8:58, 8:43

Lake Wilderness Lodge. 7:34 a.m.  Met up with a new group for the first time in Maple Valley. I knew I would love this group because they run along the Cedar River Trail. One of the guys from the Balanced Athlete, Tony, told me about the group. There was just a small group this time because a lot of people were gone doing races. There were about 7 of us. A really nice lady there I got to know but she only did about 3-4 miles. I ran the full out and back route with Tony, Cliff, and Trav (I think that was his name). Dave and anther guy ran part of the way there. We ran on the Wilderness trail from the lodge, near the lake, which then merged into the Cedar River Trail. Weather was cloudy but good for running in. Lots of runners on the trail we passed. Cliff and his friend ended up going ahead of us on the way back after we got to the end of the trail. Tony stayed with me to keep me going. It was soooo hard on the last 3 miles. I was wanting to quit but pushed to keep going. Unfortunetly, the last 2 miles we had to go up a hill, Torcher, let me say straight pain/burn. My L knee and ankle kinda bothersome this time but not enough to stop. My legs just tighted up as I did the last 2 miles. My water bottle was rubbing on my back side some and gave me a little rash area. Started to breathe harder up the hill so we slowed down. I felt so good to be done!!! What an accomplishement, however, so hard to imagine I can run 26 miles, that is like double what I did this morning......ew!

TT: 2:11:20                            Avg: 9:29 min.                          Max: 3:48 min.

Splits: 9"26, 9:11, 9:1, 9:25, 9:25, 9:14, 9:42, 902, 9:02, 9:13, 9:46, 9:57, 10:23, 9:58 (I think the 9:02 times was when we ran with Cliff and Trav, they run fast; as you can see I really slowed down at the end; I just didn't have it in me to keep the same pace, esp considering we were going up hill)

TT