Running in March

The Cowtown 10K is over and a HUGE success! I finished the race in 1:26:30, which is roughly 3.5 minutes faster than my horrible 10K last October. I was really nervous about this 10K, given that I hadn’t run much the past few weeks due to weather and being super sick – but it didn’t matter. I felt overall amazing the entire race compared to the last one and a handful of my 5ks from last season.

The race was expertly organized and planned. I focused at first on tackling the first 5K – aiming to run a steady and even pace so I would not have to stop and walk. Because my standard pace has improved so much over the past 6+ months (from 14 min + to a 12-12:30 avg pace), I am able to run very fast at an 11:30-12 minute pace during races. However, running at this pace means I do have to walk during 5Ks. I wanted to run steady and avoid walking for as long as possible during the Cowtown. I was able to run around 12:30-13 minutes most of the way, stopping only twice at the two water stations. I finished the first 5K in 40:43. That is incredible to me that I can run it in that time, whether I am running much faster + walking, or simply running at a steady pace.

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I haven’t run 3.1 miles straight without walking in over a year. Usually I run faster and walk to catch my breath. It was so powerful and refreshing to see my body take me the 5K distance without stopping to walk and keeping a good pace (for me!).

At the 3.1 mark, I stopped to walk for a 1/4 mile. I took my long sleeve tech shirt off, leaving me to just run in my tank top and sports bra I had on underneath. I also ate a package of sport beans to fuel. Miles 3.5 to 4.5 went rather smoothly. There were a few random sharp inclined hills that I walked up (running up sharp hills = instant hip pain for me).

At mile 4.5 we had a water stop where I took powerade for the first time. Starting around 4.75-5 I was getting bored and hitting a little bit of a mental wall. We were running through an industrial park and it was boring and I was starting to be over the race. By mile 5 I was starving, which is really strange considering I just eaten at mile 3. But mile 5 also brought us closer to the finish line and into a more metropolitan part of Ft. Worth, so my spirits were instantly lifted.

This is the start line for the half marathon/marathon/ultra marathon races from Cowtown on Sunday

5.5-6 was really hard. Like really hard. I was so hot and so tired by this point. I was also starving. Despite this mild exhaustion, I finished strong and had little to no hip pain the entire race. At first I was a little upset about only shaving 3.5 minutes off my last 10K race. That race was dreadful and I barely finished. I struggled the entire time and how I finished in the time I did is a mystery to me. But then I realized I felt so much stronger and amazing during this race and I would trade having a strong and solid race to an earth shattering PR any day.

Matt ran the cowtown half on Sunday, which was his first half marathon. He finished in 2:03:14 and did amazing. I am so insanely proud of him!

The next day I was a little sore in my legs and hips area. I woke up at 5am though and ran all over Ft. Worth all morning trying to find Matt while he ran. I definitely stretched those muscles out and my legs were hardly sore by Sunday night. The parts that were sore were the outside of both hips (minimally), the outside of my left foot (that didn’t start until I was running around all day) and my trapezius muscle in my upper back/lower neck. My back hurt worse than anything on my body. I thought that was strange, but realized it could be from either clenching my fists while running or because I didn’t have enough support on my boobies while running. I usually run with two sports bras or a sports bra, tank top and shirt over it. Because I took off my over-shirt half way through the race, I think I didn’t have enough chest support (the tank top was pretty thin). I haven’t experienced this soreness before, so these are just guesses!

Overall, I’m still amazed that I am now a person that can go out and run 6 miles successfully. It’s been a long time for me and I am so happy I have now finished two 10ks!

More corral shots from the half marathon/marathon/ultra marathon events

Obviously now comes the question of, “what’s next”?

I have a 5K scheduled for April 2nd and then my half marathon in October. That’s all that is scheduled so far. I would love to run another 5K this March, but there aren’t very many that are appealing. A few friends want me to run a race with them, but we will see!

However my intention is to back off from running for the month of March. I’m going to start a new challenge for the month (details coming tomorrow) that involves focusing on cross training (through spin) and strength training. It does not include running. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m going to seek out physical therapy for my hip, as long as my DR will write me a prescription. While my hip has improved significantly since I started an icing, arnica and lifting/cross training regime – there is still some nagging pain that starts to appear around 4.5-5 mile runs. I do not want my hip to hold me back from half marathon training in any possible way. I know that my hips are the weakest part of my body and always have been. This is probably how I got this injury in the first place! Going to PT should help me heal any residual damage and strengthen those babies! The minimal pain I have still been experiencing on these longer runs has made running a chore at times for me and I want to back away from this mindset.

But this challenge actually has nothing to do with my hip. It’s more of a weight loss experiment!

Coming down the hill into the Ft. Worth Stock Yards after mile 6 during the Cowtown races Sunday.

This new challenge is going to be my focus in March. I’m not sure how physical therapy will play into this plan, if I start going this month. But as far as I’m planning, I’m not running again until the end of March because I have the 5K on April 2nd.

Pending how PT goes – I’m hoping my April or mid April, I can start training for another 10k. This time I’m going to use a training plan to improve my time. Since I have the distance down, it’s time to focus on time.

Then in June-beginning of July, I’ll start my half training! My goal is to comfortably be running 6 miles at an improved pace by the time I start half training. I’m actually not far from that now, however taking the time to seek out PT will probably set me back a little there!

Do any of you have racing goals you are working towards right now? If not, what are you doing to get in your daily sweat?!