Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 7 The Hanukkah Hustle

Today puts me at the end of the first week of training.  It's been a good week.  To end it, I ran the Hanukkah Hustle 5k.  I really enjoy this race as it's small and I love the course.  I like watching the residents of the assisted living facility get out and enjoy time with family and the volunteers.  Here we are before the race.

It was starting to snow as we headed to the start line.  It was a pretty fluffy snow too.  I reminded Mike that he should be thankful that I was only doing the 5k and not the 10k.  He didn't have to stand outside as long.  I know he went inside to stay warm.  He knows my times and knows when to be out at the finish line.  And he was!  Here I am crossing the finish line.

The race itself was okay.  My legs were really tired from my runs this past week.  I knew I would be slow, but I was fine with that.  It took me awhile to get my legs stretched out and feeling good.  By that point I was almost at the finish line.  The finish for this race is uphill.  I got to the hill and kept repeating, "Up the hill. Across the line."  It got me there.  It's not the hill was particularly big or steep, it was just my legs were that tired.  I got my finisher's medal and we headed inside for hot dogs, latkes, and to check results.

I didn't think I had gone fast enough to place, but I was surprised that I got 3rd in my age group!  We stayed for the awards.  The top 3 in each age group got Star of David pendants.  They were pretty cool!

Here's a picture of both my finisher's medal and my age group pendant.

Tomorrow is my rest day.  I will just take River for a long walk.  Tuesday I'm in the gym for speed work and weights, Wednesday it's a 4 mile run, Thursday cross training and weights, and Friday is my long run.  Saturday is my rest day and Sunday I have a swim meet so I can't run then.  I'm ready to tackle the 2nd week of training!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 5

Brrrrr.....I knew we were supposed to get flurries, but we woke up to some real snow this morning.  It wasn't a whole lot, but enough to cause over 100 accidents in our area before 10am.  The whole time I'm getting James ready for school I had to keep motivating myself to run.  I put on my sports bra and running shirt to take him to school.  That means I was halfway dressed when I got back.

Once I got back, I changed into my running tights and still had to talk myself into getting out the door.  River couldn't go with me so I was running solo today.  Plus the route I had to take was hilly and not the slow rolling kind.

I did get out the door.  The first 2 miles were on the shoulder of the road.  Luckily it's a wide shoulder or I would have planned a different route.  The little bit of snow we got made a huge difference in my running though.  My legs were tired by the time I got to the first steep hill.  I got about halfway up and had to walk.  I was upset, but I can't really beat myself up.  The other steep hills were like that too. 

My legs were really tired today.  The whole run they were just tired.  No soreness though so I was happy for that.  The last 2 miles felt really good.  I don't know if it was because it was either downhill or flat or because I knew I was close to home or because I finally hit my groove.  Whatever it was I felt great!

Since River couldn't go with me, I had to get her out for a walk when I got home.  I quickly changed my socks, shoes and coat and went out again with her.  It made for a nice 1.5 mile cool down.  I think it will help my legs recover better.

I did take this picture after my run and quick change as we were walking.  I was tired!

River didn't seem to keen on walking today.  I think she is still tired from her day at doggy daycare.  She also is not a huge fan of the snow.  She pouts the whole time.

Tomorrow I'm hitting the gym after swim practice for cross training and weights and Sunday I have my race.  So far my training is going well.  I feel good and I know I will get stronger everyday.

Day 3: Brrrr.....

Yesterday I just took River for a walk.  I was supposed to do speed work, but Mike was out of town and I just couldn't get motivated to get to the gym later in the day.  Today we woke up to snow and cold temperatures.  After dropping James off, I came home and got ready for my run.  River was excited like she always is.

We started out a bit slower since there was snow on parts of the sidewalk.  I didn't want to slip and fall.  It was cold, but sunny and that made for a nice day to run.  I never really hit my groove today though.  The run just felt off the whole time.  It didn't hurt or fell hard, it just felt off.  My pace was okay even with the snow.  I just wasn't feeling it this morning.

River had a good time though.  She was in her element with this cooler temperatures.  She was happy and smiling the whole time.  Towards the end she was ready to come home though.  She has a point in the run where I think she just gets bored, but then all of a sudden she's back in the run.  It makes for some great interval training for me though.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to be in the gym.  I have to get back in that routine.  I'm back on a running schedule so now I have to get back to the gym.  It's a cross training day so I'll do the bike and weights.  I just have to make myself get up and go.  Friday is my long run day.  Going to try to get 10-12k in that morning.  Saturday is my rest day and Sunday I run the Hanukkah Hustle.  It should be a good next few days!