30:30 second run/walk ratio
1:27:25 hours
5.74 miles
15.2 minutes/mile
14:24 minutes Magic Mile
Last long run before the half marathon! Just a short one today, with a Magic Mile. It went pretty well.
It was cool today, around 47 F when I started out, so I wore long leggings and long-sleeved tee-shirt and my zipper jacket. Wore the jacket the whole time. It was all right when the sun was out, but the sun went behind the clouds off and on and the wind was chilly. Good running weather, though.
I brought a GU with me, but didn't get around to eating it. Didn't get hungry, even though all I ate before the run was a mug of soy milk. No problems with digestion or tiredness, although it was such a short run, I'd have been surprised if I had.
Still trying to figure out my health issues. Saw a doctor on Thursday and had blood tests done. Haven't had a followup with the doctor yet, but I've seen my test results and it looks like my iron level is a bit low. Then I remembered that my blood pressure was not dropping much after I started measuring it (except for after my 15-mile run), which is also when I started taking a multiple vitamin every day — which has 18 mg of iron in it. So, that leads me to believe that iron deficiency anemia could well be an issue, considering that taking an iron supplement seems to have helped somewhat, but even taking one hasn't quite gotten my iron levels into the normal range. Will have to see what the doctor says about that when I see her next.
Meanwhile, maybe I should start looking into other ways to get my iron levels up a bit more.
I'm not feeling hugely confident about the half marathon, but all I can do is go and do my best.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Week 10: Fifteen miles
30:30 second run/walk ratio
4:12:25 hours
15.52 miles
16.3 minutes/mile
Meh. Not a great run, but not a terrible one, either. I got started a bit late because I didn't sleep well last night. Had a cup of coffee and a mug of soy milk, but nothing else to eat before getting started at 11:10 AM. I didn't want to upset my stomach by eating solid food before my run, but I still had to stop to use the bathroom at around 6 miles (I think). Felt okay after that, but lost some time there.
The weather was pleasant but a bit hot — around 66 F, but not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was beating down pretty hard when the breeze wasn't blowing.
I ate 3 GU at 4, 8, and 12 miles and drank my water but still started to fade by 11 or 12 miles. I decided to keep running as well as I could until I reached 13.1 miles so I could time myself on a half marathon, and then I'd let myself slow down as much as I wanted to. I hit 13.1 miles at 3:35:20, but I think that time included the 3-minute warmup walk, so 13.1 miles would have been more like 3:32. Then there was the bathroom stop, which took at least two minutes, so if I don't count that, I've got a 3:30 half marathon time. Still right on the line, but disappointed that I couldn't do better.
I ended up walking most of mile 14, which was the uphill direction of the upper loop, but once I turned around and was going downhill, I started to catch my breath and ran my intervals the rest of the way. I feel like I slowed down quite a bit over the last three miles or so. I didn't time them so I don't know for sure, but I was exhausted and having a hard time finishing.
I've been checking my blood pressure twice a day for this past week or so because I know my blood pressure tends to get really low sometimes and it makes me feel tired and weak, and I wanted to track it so I can show my doctor when I see her next week. It occurred to me that maybe it's not entirely the heat or my blood sugar that's been making me lose steam at the end of my long runs, maybe it's my blood pressure crashing. This morning before my run, my blood pressure was 107/64 — low-ish, but pretty normal for me, and I was feeling good. When I got home, I was staggering around feeling light-headed and my blood pressure was 73/42. Erm. That's not good. Maybe I need to be drinking some kind of electrolytes during a run, as well as eating GU. And/or maybe eating more GU — they recommend one every 45 minutes, but I've been using them about one every hour. Sigh. Maybe I've finally figured out what's been going on when I lose my energy after around ten miles, but I still don't know why or what to do about it. And the next half marathon is only two weeks away.
4:12:25 hours
15.52 miles
16.3 minutes/mile
Meh. Not a great run, but not a terrible one, either. I got started a bit late because I didn't sleep well last night. Had a cup of coffee and a mug of soy milk, but nothing else to eat before getting started at 11:10 AM. I didn't want to upset my stomach by eating solid food before my run, but I still had to stop to use the bathroom at around 6 miles (I think). Felt okay after that, but lost some time there.
The weather was pleasant but a bit hot — around 66 F, but not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was beating down pretty hard when the breeze wasn't blowing.
I ate 3 GU at 4, 8, and 12 miles and drank my water but still started to fade by 11 or 12 miles. I decided to keep running as well as I could until I reached 13.1 miles so I could time myself on a half marathon, and then I'd let myself slow down as much as I wanted to. I hit 13.1 miles at 3:35:20, but I think that time included the 3-minute warmup walk, so 13.1 miles would have been more like 3:32. Then there was the bathroom stop, which took at least two minutes, so if I don't count that, I've got a 3:30 half marathon time. Still right on the line, but disappointed that I couldn't do better.
I ended up walking most of mile 14, which was the uphill direction of the upper loop, but once I turned around and was going downhill, I started to catch my breath and ran my intervals the rest of the way. I feel like I slowed down quite a bit over the last three miles or so. I didn't time them so I don't know for sure, but I was exhausted and having a hard time finishing.
I've been checking my blood pressure twice a day for this past week or so because I know my blood pressure tends to get really low sometimes and it makes me feel tired and weak, and I wanted to track it so I can show my doctor when I see her next week. It occurred to me that maybe it's not entirely the heat or my blood sugar that's been making me lose steam at the end of my long runs, maybe it's my blood pressure crashing. This morning before my run, my blood pressure was 107/64 — low-ish, but pretty normal for me, and I was feeling good. When I got home, I was staggering around feeling light-headed and my blood pressure was 73/42. Erm. That's not good. Maybe I need to be drinking some kind of electrolytes during a run, as well as eating GU. And/or maybe eating more GU — they recommend one every 45 minutes, but I've been using them about one every hour. Sigh. Maybe I've finally figured out what's been going on when I lose my energy after around ten miles, but I still don't know why or what to do about it. And the next half marathon is only two weeks away.
Saturday, April 09, 2016
Week 9: Eight miles
30:30 second run/walk ratio
2:22:02 hours
8.89 miles
10 min warmup run
4 acceleration gliders
10x 800m intervals
10 min cooldown run
15.5 minute miles
Well, the history says 16.0 minute miles, but I'm sure the app said 15.5 minute miles when I finished, so I'm going with that.
I had a good run today! I actually felt good today, got out there and ran with no problems, kept up a good pace and still felt good when I was done. The weather was just about perfect, partly cloudy with a slight breeze, temperature around 55 F. I wore long leggings and a short-sleeved tee-shirt — wasn't sure if it would be too cold, but mostly it wasn't. I lucked out and avoided the rain, which started to splash on my windshield as I was driving home. I got started a little after 10 AM and finished sometime after noon.
I didn't want to eat much before I left because I didn't want to mess up my stomach again. So I only had a cup of coffee and a drink of soy milk. I ate one GU at 4 miles and that was plenty.
I started thinking about what could be causing the tiredness and weakness I often feel, if it's not my nutrition, and I remembered that a couple of years ago I was taking my blood pressure and finding that it would drop about 10 – 20 points down from normal on the days I was feeling really weak. So I borrowed my mom's blood pressure cuff and started measuring it again. Yesterday, I woke up feeling week and draggy and my BP was 90/50. Today I felt much better, and my BP was 98/60. I don't know what makes my blood pressure get so low, but I need to figure out a way to get it back up when it does that. Maybe I need to start drinking Gatorade or coconut water or just eating salt. I already put salt on just about everything I eat, but apparently it's not enough.
2:22:02 hours
8.89 miles
10 min warmup run
4 acceleration gliders
10x 800m intervals
10 min cooldown run
15.5 minute miles
Well, the history says 16.0 minute miles, but I'm sure the app said 15.5 minute miles when I finished, so I'm going with that.
I had a good run today! I actually felt good today, got out there and ran with no problems, kept up a good pace and still felt good when I was done. The weather was just about perfect, partly cloudy with a slight breeze, temperature around 55 F. I wore long leggings and a short-sleeved tee-shirt — wasn't sure if it would be too cold, but mostly it wasn't. I lucked out and avoided the rain, which started to splash on my windshield as I was driving home. I got started a little after 10 AM and finished sometime after noon.
I didn't want to eat much before I left because I didn't want to mess up my stomach again. So I only had a cup of coffee and a drink of soy milk. I ate one GU at 4 miles and that was plenty.
I started thinking about what could be causing the tiredness and weakness I often feel, if it's not my nutrition, and I remembered that a couple of years ago I was taking my blood pressure and finding that it would drop about 10 – 20 points down from normal on the days I was feeling really weak. So I borrowed my mom's blood pressure cuff and started measuring it again. Yesterday, I woke up feeling week and draggy and my BP was 90/50. Today I felt much better, and my BP was 98/60. I don't know what makes my blood pressure get so low, but I need to figure out a way to get it back up when it does that. Maybe I need to start drinking Gatorade or coconut water or just eating salt. I already put salt on just about everything I eat, but apparently it's not enough.
Saturday, April 02, 2016
Week 8: Thirteen miles
30:30 sec run/walk ratio
3:32:32 hours
13.46 miles
15.8 minutes/mile
Okay, today's run was good and bad. Good in that my time was pretty good, especially considering that I had to stop for the bathroom three times during my run. Bad in that, well, I had to stop for the bathroom three times during my run: at 3, 9, and 12 miles. Digestion was wonky all day, and I kept having cramps and diarrhea, which made things difficult. Still managed to keep up a pretty good pace. I did get tired near the end, but I think that was mainly because I skipped my last GU because my stomach was feeling so wonky, and each time I ate GU (at 4 and 7.5 miles), it upset my stomach more. I was getting hungry by 11 miles, but I decided to just tough it out rather than make my stomach worse. So I think I was running low on blood sugar and food energy by the end, especially since I'd gotten a late start and didn't finish until around 2:30 PM, and hadn't eaten any solid food all day. I had a cup of hot chocolate and a protein drink this morning before I left, and that was all.
So I really must try to figure out what's upsetting my digestion these past few long runs. Am I eating the wrong things the day before? Usually I eat at Denny's on Friday, a veggie burger & seasoned fries. Possibly the fries are too greasy. Also maybe the cheese I've been eating is hard on my digestion. Next week I'll stick to vegan/no oil food the day before and see if it helps.
Still, I finished almost 13 and a half miles in 3:32, so I'm pretty pleased with my time. I let the app run through my bathroom breaks, which took 1.5 - 2 minutes each, so if you subtract about 5 minutes from my total, that gives me 13.1 miles in about 3:22. I will be very happy if I can do the actual half marathon in that time!
I took my sport watch along so I could time my miles and see if I was slowing down during my run. I kept forgetting to hit the split timer, though, plus the difference in slope and length of the different segments made it hard to compare. Overall, though, I think I slowed down some, especially on the last few miles, but not extensively. I meant to take my GPS watch, which I think does mile splits all on its own, but I forgot to plug in it so it would be charged up this morning. Oh well.
The weather was almost hot today! 70 F and sunny. I wore capri leggings and short-sleeved tee-shirt, and still got pretty warm. Glad I remembered to put sunscreen on — I forgot on my last long run, and ended up with a slight sunburn on my neck. Should have worn my visor instead of my cap, as well — my head got hot! But it was fairly breezy and not really a problem. Wouldn't have hurt to get an earlier start, though. I've decided to start getting up at 4 AM every morning starting the Monday before the race, so I'll be used to getting up at that time on race day. For Long Beach, I was getting up at 6 AM for a few days before the race, so I was sort of used to getting up early, but for Surf City, I didn't make any adjustments at all, and I went from getting up around 8 AM every day to 5 AM for the race, and it was kind of a shock to my system. OC starts at 6:15? 6:30? I can't remember exactly, but it's an early start, and the shuttle picks up at my hotel at 5:05 AM, so I'm going to have to get up around 4 AM. I don't want it to be too tired from lack of sleep on race day.
3:32:32 hours
13.46 miles
15.8 minutes/mile
Okay, today's run was good and bad. Good in that my time was pretty good, especially considering that I had to stop for the bathroom three times during my run. Bad in that, well, I had to stop for the bathroom three times during my run: at 3, 9, and 12 miles. Digestion was wonky all day, and I kept having cramps and diarrhea, which made things difficult. Still managed to keep up a pretty good pace. I did get tired near the end, but I think that was mainly because I skipped my last GU because my stomach was feeling so wonky, and each time I ate GU (at 4 and 7.5 miles), it upset my stomach more. I was getting hungry by 11 miles, but I decided to just tough it out rather than make my stomach worse. So I think I was running low on blood sugar and food energy by the end, especially since I'd gotten a late start and didn't finish until around 2:30 PM, and hadn't eaten any solid food all day. I had a cup of hot chocolate and a protein drink this morning before I left, and that was all.
So I really must try to figure out what's upsetting my digestion these past few long runs. Am I eating the wrong things the day before? Usually I eat at Denny's on Friday, a veggie burger & seasoned fries. Possibly the fries are too greasy. Also maybe the cheese I've been eating is hard on my digestion. Next week I'll stick to vegan/no oil food the day before and see if it helps.
Still, I finished almost 13 and a half miles in 3:32, so I'm pretty pleased with my time. I let the app run through my bathroom breaks, which took 1.5 - 2 minutes each, so if you subtract about 5 minutes from my total, that gives me 13.1 miles in about 3:22. I will be very happy if I can do the actual half marathon in that time!
I took my sport watch along so I could time my miles and see if I was slowing down during my run. I kept forgetting to hit the split timer, though, plus the difference in slope and length of the different segments made it hard to compare. Overall, though, I think I slowed down some, especially on the last few miles, but not extensively. I meant to take my GPS watch, which I think does mile splits all on its own, but I forgot to plug in it so it would be charged up this morning. Oh well.
The weather was almost hot today! 70 F and sunny. I wore capri leggings and short-sleeved tee-shirt, and still got pretty warm. Glad I remembered to put sunscreen on — I forgot on my last long run, and ended up with a slight sunburn on my neck. Should have worn my visor instead of my cap, as well — my head got hot! But it was fairly breezy and not really a problem. Wouldn't have hurt to get an earlier start, though. I've decided to start getting up at 4 AM every morning starting the Monday before the race, so I'll be used to getting up at that time on race day. For Long Beach, I was getting up at 6 AM for a few days before the race, so I was sort of used to getting up early, but for Surf City, I didn't make any adjustments at all, and I went from getting up around 8 AM every day to 5 AM for the race, and it was kind of a shock to my system. OC starts at 6:15? 6:30? I can't remember exactly, but it's an early start, and the shuttle picks up at my hotel at 5:05 AM, so I'm going to have to get up around 4 AM. I don't want it to be too tired from lack of sleep on race day.
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