A while

Ok, so its been a while since I posted. Not too much has been going on. Took the week of after NJ to recover and pack (I moved last weekend). Last week was pretty good training wise. Had a solid temp run on Tuesday night and did lots of xtraining and strectching during the week. Coach Josh said I looked much more loose then the week before (thank god).

This past weekend I did a long ride on Saturday morning with the team. Rode with Coach Andreas and he gave me lots of pointers, which was helpful. Did about 19 miles total. This week I am going to clip in for the first time! My friend Peter is going to meet me and help me do it. Wish me luck!

Sunday I did a long run - nothing super long, about 8.5 miles. Slowly building up my mileage. I also had swimming Sunday night. Did 2,900 yards total - about 1.65 miles! Felt great the whole time!

NJ Half Picture

Here is a picture my friend Melissa took of me running. I'm in my new Terrier singlet. I'm the one with the dog on her back :)

NJ Half Recap

So this past weekend was the Long Branch (NJ) Half Marathon. I did really well! I was a little worried going in because my training hadn't been super consistent and we only started doing speed work a little bit ago. And it had really been a while since I'd raced a long distance and my last 2 halfs (Disney and Manhattan) weren't my best results. So I went in with a "Lets just go out and run and see what happens" attitude. It must have worked!

I didn't want to go out to fast and crash at the end, so I kept telling myself to slow down and keep it at a nice and easy/consistent pace. I definitely didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard, but was still managing to run sub-9 minute miles (something I normally don't do - or haven't done in the past!). I was able to keep semi-consistent splits (time per mile), which I am really happy with. Felt really good the entire time. Towards the end started to tire out a bit, but managed to keep my splits pretty consistent. I am also pretty proud that my fastes mile was Mile 13.

My finishing time was 1:54:45 - an 8:45 pace! And a new PR by 5 minutes! I can check one thing off my new years resolutions! But I am totally going to add it back on, because I wanna beat it again :)

And, believe it or not, I went for a bike ride on Saturday morning, so I wasn't on 100% fresh legs. I wonder if my time would have been faster if I had been.

Below are my splits from the race:

Mile 1 - 9:07
" 2 -8:47
" 3 -8:39
" 4 - 8:41
" 5 -8:42
" 6 - 8:38
" 7 - 8:38
" 8 - 8:42
" 9 - 8:55
" 10 - 8:35
" 11 - 9:05
" 12 - 8:51
" 13 - 8:33
" .1 - :51

Busy Week

Been bit of a busy week. Tuesday night was run practice; worked on sprints and form. Got yelled (not really yelled at, lol) for being inflexible and was told to stretch. Lots. I've been trying to and I'm going to find a yoga class to do once a week as well.

Last night was swim. We did 2,520. Felt good. It was bitter sweet because it is my last swim practice on Thursday nights. Being moved into the intermediate group. Which is exciting. But I liked my Thursday night swims. Although, now I'll be able to do spin on Thursday which is exciting!

This weekend is the Half. Should be interesting... Let you know how it goes on Monday.

Also trying to get in a ride this weekend. Weather looks questionable right now, so keep your fingers crossed for non-rainy weather.