Saturday, February 25, 2017

Week 8 half marathon training: Race a 10k!

My training plan called for racing a 10k today. Since  I couldn't get to any live races I registered for a virtual from US Road Running.

It was really cold out when I ran it, but when you're running you don't really notice the cold.

 

I'm really pleased with my performance during this race. I beat my previous 10k time by more than four minutes. I was hoping to do a little better, but I was surprised at how much faster I was able to finish.

This race was a real shot in the arm for confidence. I've been kinda wondering whether this training plan I'm following was helping me out. This was concrete proof that it's doing what it's supposed to be doing and I'm thrilled.

The Garmin Marathon, where I'll be running my first ever half-marathon, is only 56 days away now. I can't wait.


Saturday, February 18, 2017

Week 7 half marathon training


We rode to get groceries on last Sunday and my Beloved tells me my rear wheel is out of true. When I got home I found a broken spoke. Not very happy about that. Thankfully I had a spare wheel to put on till I can figure out what I want to do about that.



Tuesday was Valentine's Day, and my Beloved sure knows the way to my heart!


The Garmin Connect app got an update this week that included this new feature. It will automatically put your activity stats on a photo for you to share. It's kind of limited, it only does this one thing. But it's still pretty neat.


I really like the Orange Mud hydration packs, but they aren't something I really need right now. I will surely buy one of their vests when I start really racking up the miles later this year in preparation for my first ever marathon. I have had my eye on this Squishy Hat they sell. So I ordered one and it came in the mail.


My first run with the Squishy hat and it's exactly what I was wanting in a hat. Something to put on my head so I wouldn't have to worry about my hair before a run (LOL!), something to act as a sweatband that didn't look like a sweatband, and something with a bill I could use to keep the sun out of my eyes. The Squishy Hat performs very well. And it even (mostly) fits my massive melon! I usually have to special order hats from a store that specializes in triple-XL size hats.


Today's long run was my longest run to date. And it's still only half way to the finish line of a half marathon! And there's only 63 days left to the Garmin Marathon! Part of me is screaming, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" But I'm sure I can do this.

Last week's long run was kind of miserable. My usual habit is not to eat anything before my morning runs. But with my runs getting up in the 90 minutes plus range I think that's hurting me. So today I had a bowl of granola cereal with milk and a glass of water. I felt much better on this run, so we'll have to keep an eye on that.

The weather has been crazy beautiful here these last couple days.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Week 6 half marathon training


I've always struggled getting a good shot of this neat, historic building because there used to be a giant tree covering most of the front. We went for a walk Sunday evening and found they'd cut the tree down!



The vast majority of my posting is over on my Instagram page, if you don't follow me there you should! I try to post something every day.




These last three shots were from today's long run. What a difference it was from last Saturday! It was middle 50s -- climbing quickly to middle 70s by the end of the day. It was really beautiful.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Week 5 half marathon training





Training continues. Working up on that mileage.

I bought myself a Garmin Forerunner 230. It is a very nice GPS watch and so far I'm very pleased with it.

That last photo was after my first 90 minute run. Boy was it cold. Middle 20 degrees, with a 10-15 mph wind. It sucked! Haha!