Week 26: Fastest half marathon so far...

This past week was, in a word, AMAZING. I was able to get a relaxing run in during the middle of the work day with a good friend along the canal in Indianapolis. It was gorgeous out and the company was pretty terrific, too! It was great to run with a friend, catch up and not worry about how long I had been running, what my pace was or how far I had gone by the end of it.

My knees started to bother after my mid-day run on Wednesday, so I iced them and took it easy for the rest of the week. I didn't want my I-T band syndrome to come back so I took a daily dose of Aleve and iced every evening, 20 minutes on the outside of each knee. By Friday I was feeling pretty good but didn't want to risk making things worse, so I opted not to get a quick jog in and instead, loaded up on protein and carbs.

My new favorite breakfast on the go item is the Power Sandwich at Panera. It has egg, Vermont white cheddar cheese and a slice of smoked, lean ham on whole grain bread. Trust me, after eating one of these you will not be hungry for lunch until much later than usual.

Breakfast Power Sandwich at Panera

Of course, I had one Friday morning. For dinner, the kiddo and I made homemade pizza with Pillsbury's whole wheat pizza crust (it tastes amazing), bruschetta instead of pizza sauce, skim milk mozzarella cheese and turkey sausage. I added black olives and white mushrooms to half of it. It was perfect! The kiddo had three pieces and I, may or may not, have had five... or six.

Since I started the Advocare 24-Day Challenge, I've been drinking more water than normal. Even though I finished the Challenge, I've been keeping up with filling up my water bottle throughout the day, drinking Spark and eating healthy. This past week, I drank one container of Coconut Water a day in addition to my usual drinking habits. I like the pineapple and mango flavors best. It takes some getting used to, but with the added benefit of potassium, it's well worth consuming before a long race like a mini marathon.

Race day morning I had half of a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, a Spark and a banana. I felt great all morning! I was nervous at the beginning, but I knew I was going to really put my best effort into the race. Halfway through, my time was 1:00:16. I was on my way to a two hour mini! Considering my best time was previously 2:09 at the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini, I was pumped. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep the momentum going the last half of the course, and I finished at 2:08:32 (but my pace was a 9:49 mile). Regardless, I'm excited to have a new PR and look forward to working on my endurance so I can maybe get to a 2:05 in May at the first-ever Noblesville Mini!

So here is the update...

I ran 19.6 miles this week!

330.61 miles to go. It's going to be a long April and May... 

Week 25: Going the distance

Well, spring has finally (really and truly) arrived in central Indiana. This past week I was able to get a long run in without rain, sleet or snow!

Overall, I ran 17 miles last week but on Saturday, I was able to complete just over 10 miles without stopping. It was a little windy but really, I couldn't have asked for better weather. I even got a little sun and now have a slightly tanned nose. Yep, that's it... just my nose.

I ran a few more miles on Sunday just to loosen up and then used the foam roller and runner's stick on my calves, I-T band, hamstrings and quads. I'm a little sore today but in a good way -- like I accomplished something.

I ran without music and surprisingly, didn't go crazy. I did, however, keep the Map My Run app running on my phone (which was in my jacket pocket) as I want to track my distance and time. I know I could use a watch but then I'm always looking down at it. If I keep the app running in my pocket it's kind of "out of sight, out of mind." I also really like the app while I'm jamming to Pandora on shorter runs because it will interrupt my music to let me know I just finished a mile and my split time. I've been able to step it up in terms of my pace once I know how fast (or slow) I'm truly going. This helped prepare me for my longer run on Saturday tremendously.

My first race is this Saturday, the Carmel Marathon (I'm doing 13.1). My husband did the full marathon last year and liked the course. So far, the weather forecast says it's going to be sunny and 70 degrees for the race. I'll take it! I have two other friends running and I think we're all going to brunch afterwards. I can't wait to see if I'm any faster than my last mini!

Running over 10 miles after not completing a "long" run in weeks wasn't as hard as I thought it would be; however, the recovery has been difficult. I'm having a little bit of knee pain, although it feels much better since I used the rolling stick over the area yesterday afternoon. My shoes shouldn't be the issue so I'm hopeful that a couple of runs mid-week will help make Saturday as smooth as possible.