So, I am officially registered for my big race for the fall. The Long Beach Marathon is October 17 down in (obviously) Long Beach. Nice and scenic and flat and by the water, so much easier to breathe than up here in the High Desert. There are at least 3 other folk from post doing the full marathon, and one who's doing the half, so we'll have a good showing from post down there for the race :)
I know I said last May after the San Diego R&R Full that it'd be a while before I ran another, but circumstances are looking good to be able to do this one. I have time in my schedule to really train well for it (scheduling 20-mile training runs is hard when your job is sucking away all your spare time!). I don't know how much I'll be working when we move, so I'd like to do one now while I have the time to train for it properly. Also, we're getting close to the end of our time here in the desert, so the multi-week training plan is really helping me stay motivated and focused on something to pass time here. By the time the race comes, we'll be in our last couple months (hopefully), so it's really something very mentally healthy for me to pass my last summer here in the desert.
And I have a training buddy, too! She's recovering from injuries, and I'm coming back from just a way-too-busy schedule, so we're at about the same pace. Same goals too, so we're right on par for training. It's great to have someone to meet for the hills and long runs. You know, the runs that are harder to really push yourself on ;) I'm the type of person that if I have someone to meet somewhere (like the gym or the pool), I will go. We don't have to be doing the same workout, even, but if there's someone there to give me a little nudge, just a "hey, we missed you on Friday," then I'm much better at getting out and getting moving. Having a good training buddy is really helping me stick with it!
The other races I'll be doing this fall are shorter distances, obviously. I may be crazy doing a full this fall (seeing as the first half of my training is summertime in the desert), but I'm not THAT crazy! I'm also looking at doing the ET Midnight Half Marathon out in Rachel, NV. There's also a Full and a 51K for that event, but we're doing the half. It's at a week in our training plan, where the long run is "either 15 miles or a half marathon race." The Midnight Marathon races are along the edge of Area 51 on the Extraterrestrial Highway. They really are run at Midnight, and are full of alien and glow-in-the-dark accessories, according to previous years' pictures :) Sounds like fun, and we figure a race is more fun than just pounding out 15 miles around here, so why not do it while we're only a few hours away, right?
After the Long Beach run in October, we are planning on trying to maintain the momentum and train for the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half in December. That race is the same weekend as the Las Vegas Santa Run 5K. I know those races are back-to-back on a weekend, but I've done that twice back in VB (the Dolphin Challenge for the Shamrock Half Marathon is an 8K on Saturday and the Half on Sunday). The Santa race is in full Santa gear (included in your registration fee!), so it won't even be close to a PR for my 5K time, but it'll be lots of fun, and how often can you say you've been part of a Guinness World Record attempt? I wanted to run those two races last year, but schedules in November really killed my running, so I didn't run the races like I planned. Better to postpone for a year than injure myself in attempting something I'm not ready for. This year, though!! Oh, and I keep saying "we" on all these races, because my training buddy is looking to run them too. Like I said, the same goals and paces for the fall - am really thankful for her!
Now the down side. Unfortunately, Saturday I encountered my first overuse injury. Sooooo mad. My right knee was a little swollen and bruised after running our errands down in town. Don't know if I just really pushed myself too hard, or combination increased workout load plus an impact (yeah, I'm the type to walk into tables and not realize it), but either way, knee's a bit out of sorts. Like I said, soooo mad.
At least I'm not alone. My buddy's knee was showing some strain this week too, so we're doing cross-training this week instead of much running. Lots of swimming is helping (whole workouts of pull keeps the strain off the knees - boring but effective!!). Add rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory meds, and things are getting back to normal. Just frustrating when I was getting so motivated and really getting into a routine, and then having a set-back this week. Should be back to normal next week, but just irritated as all get out this one. Very thankful that I've got friends to kick me back into gear when I'm up and running again (Haha! Pun intended!)
I know I said last May after the San Diego R&R Full that it'd be a while before I ran another, but circumstances are looking good to be able to do this one. I have time in my schedule to really train well for it (scheduling 20-mile training runs is hard when your job is sucking away all your spare time!). I don't know how much I'll be working when we move, so I'd like to do one now while I have the time to train for it properly. Also, we're getting close to the end of our time here in the desert, so the multi-week training plan is really helping me stay motivated and focused on something to pass time here. By the time the race comes, we'll be in our last couple months (hopefully), so it's really something very mentally healthy for me to pass my last summer here in the desert.
And I have a training buddy, too! She's recovering from injuries, and I'm coming back from just a way-too-busy schedule, so we're at about the same pace. Same goals too, so we're right on par for training. It's great to have someone to meet for the hills and long runs. You know, the runs that are harder to really push yourself on ;) I'm the type of person that if I have someone to meet somewhere (like the gym or the pool), I will go. We don't have to be doing the same workout, even, but if there's someone there to give me a little nudge, just a "hey, we missed you on Friday," then I'm much better at getting out and getting moving. Having a good training buddy is really helping me stick with it!
The other races I'll be doing this fall are shorter distances, obviously. I may be crazy doing a full this fall (seeing as the first half of my training is summertime in the desert), but I'm not THAT crazy! I'm also looking at doing the ET Midnight Half Marathon out in Rachel, NV. There's also a Full and a 51K for that event, but we're doing the half. It's at a week in our training plan, where the long run is "either 15 miles or a half marathon race." The Midnight Marathon races are along the edge of Area 51 on the Extraterrestrial Highway. They really are run at Midnight, and are full of alien and glow-in-the-dark accessories, according to previous years' pictures :) Sounds like fun, and we figure a race is more fun than just pounding out 15 miles around here, so why not do it while we're only a few hours away, right?
After the Long Beach run in October, we are planning on trying to maintain the momentum and train for the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half in December. That race is the same weekend as the Las Vegas Santa Run 5K. I know those races are back-to-back on a weekend, but I've done that twice back in VB (the Dolphin Challenge for the Shamrock Half Marathon is an 8K on Saturday and the Half on Sunday). The Santa race is in full Santa gear (included in your registration fee!), so it won't even be close to a PR for my 5K time, but it'll be lots of fun, and how often can you say you've been part of a Guinness World Record attempt? I wanted to run those two races last year, but schedules in November really killed my running, so I didn't run the races like I planned. Better to postpone for a year than injure myself in attempting something I'm not ready for. This year, though!! Oh, and I keep saying "we" on all these races, because my training buddy is looking to run them too. Like I said, the same goals and paces for the fall - am really thankful for her!
Now the down side. Unfortunately, Saturday I encountered my first overuse injury. Sooooo mad. My right knee was a little swollen and bruised after running our errands down in town. Don't know if I just really pushed myself too hard, or combination increased workout load plus an impact (yeah, I'm the type to walk into tables and not realize it), but either way, knee's a bit out of sorts. Like I said, soooo mad.
At least I'm not alone. My buddy's knee was showing some strain this week too, so we're doing cross-training this week instead of much running. Lots of swimming is helping (whole workouts of pull keeps the strain off the knees - boring but effective!!). Add rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory meds, and things are getting back to normal. Just frustrating when I was getting so motivated and really getting into a routine, and then having a set-back this week. Should be back to normal next week, but just irritated as all get out this one. Very thankful that I've got friends to kick me back into gear when I'm up and running again (Haha! Pun intended!)
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