February Wrap Up

Photo from http://www.fromoldbooks.org/


Whew! February just flew by, didn't it? Well, it especially flew by for me what with the 69.64 miles I ran for the month!

The end of February also marks the end of my 4th week of training for the Wisconsin Half Marathon May 1st. Four weeks down, nine more to go. It seems like it will never get here and I get a little exhausted just looking at my training schedule but I know that May 1st will be here before I know it.

February had some ups and downs, but mostly ups. Lots of good runs, a great 5K race, and most of my runs were done with friends or groups. I've gotten in a lot of fun cross-training and strength training but I'm still dealing with and thinking about the possibility of being injured. Stupid shin.

The start of March means longer days, hopefully warmer weather, and volunteering at the Shamrock Shuffle 8K. Maybe at this year's race the weather will be more March-like and less winter-blizzard-like!

I hope March brings even more great runs as I increase my long run distance back up to 10 miles. Should be fun!

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And with my monthly summary out of the way, I can tell you about last night's run with the running club. It was supposed to just be an "easy" run. No tempo, not intervals, no speedwork, etc. It was nice to not have to look at my watch and worry if I was hitting my times. Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't push it hard. It's difficult not to when, even though your running buddy says she wants to go slow, she's still running close to 9 minute miles!

Regardless, it was a nice run. I wasn't quite able to talk in full sentences during the last mile and a half but instead I worked on my form. I can tell when I'm getting tired because I tend to hunch over and overstride. So I focused on keeping my hips level, my back a little straighter, my feet under me, and my arms actually moving. It seemed to help.

Last night was also sponsored by Saucony. The Saucony rep brought pairs of the ProGrid Guide 3 to try on. We could run in them if we wanted to but I opted not. The arch support felt like a golf ball on the bottom of my foot. But the rest of the shoe felt so nice and cushiony! After talking with another woman in the group, though, I'm kind of bummed that I didn't try them out. A chance to run 5 miles in a pair of shoes BEFORE buying them? Why did I pass that up? Well, 5 miles is a long way. Maybe if we'd only be running 3...

There was a raffle for various goodies and I ended up winning a water bottle. Not really sure I needed yet another water bottle, but I guess one more doesn't hurt. The rep also brought us cookies. However, they were just regular store-bought Oatmeal Raisin cookies. Nothing as awesome as these Alternative Baking Company cookies that Kim is giving away!

Anyway, it was nice to get out with the group and do our 5.5 mile route.

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Note: The Garmin didn't grab a signal right away so it missed the first quarter mile of the run.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/01/10 Up/Downhill: [+19/-19] Time: 06:39 PM Difficulty: 2.5 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   32 F temp; 75% humidity   32 F heat index; winds N 9 Performance Distance: 5.25 miles Time: 0:47:49 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 06 /mi Calories: 620 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 08 +0' 02 6.6 -0.0 -3 ft 2 9' 09 +0' 03 6.5 -0.0 -9 ft 3 9' 24 +0' 18 6.4 -0.2 +16 ft 4 9' 05 -0' 01 6.6 +0.0 -6 ft 5 8' 58 -0' 08 6.7 +0.1 +3 ft end 8' 47 -0' 19 6.8 +0.2 0 ft Versus average of 9' 06 min/mile

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