Two new things...

Today I did two things I have never before done. The first was run (and complete) a 10 mile race. I ran in the Broad Street Run, a 10 mi race in Philly that goes from North Philly all the way to the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

Today was the hottest (and most humid) day in Philly so far this year. Actually, we have set a record (or were about to) for the hottest May 2 in history. That made the race MISERABLE! It was hot, horribly hot. But, this leads to the second thing I have never done before- I ran through open city fire hydrants. Because of the heat and humidity, the city had opened the fire hydrants along the race course for us to run through... That was fun!

My goal was to run the whole race and average under 10 minutes/mi. Well, I didn't make that. I ended up having to really scale back my pace to deal with the heat. I have run several races before this (up to 5 miles) and have never needed to take the water at the water stations. I took the water (and Gatorade at a few) at every station. I also purposely scaled back my pace for the last part of the race. My legs were TOAST! Miles 1-3 went pretty well, but I hit a wall about mile 4. I struggled, I mean really struggled miles 4-7. Once I hit mile 7, it was better. Not great, but better.

Overall, my time was 1:48:38. My pace came in at just under 11 min/mi. Out of the 30,00+ people that entered the race, 25,594 finished. I came in at 17,293 (and 8,345 out of 14,149 females). I am quite happy with how I did. I like to think that my time would have been better in nicer weather, but-- I did the 10 miles and finished.

Wow that sucked!

OK- I finished the Revolutionary Road 5 mile run this morning. And man, did it suck! I had never seen the course before, but knew it contained many hills. I thought the hills would be throughout the course, and big- I was wrong.

The first 2 1/2 miles had two KILLER hills. And I mean KILLER. I tried to go to my happy place, but it didn't happen. I was making my way up the hill, and tried to think about the Castle and running in the Magic Kingdom, but all I could think was "There are no hills like this in WDW".

But, I finished, and my time was too bad, either.

And another plus- I didn't get Meganed. What's that? I have a friend who I run with- ok rephase... I have a friend who I go to races with. She runs much faster than I do, and has, on occasion, been known to finish a race and then run back to where I am and 'encourage' me as I go. (I have an evil goal of doing this to some of the lushcrew in October at the Food and Wine 5K.)

So- this race is done. Now, the next big race is the Broad Street Run in two weeks (May 2). That one is a 10-miler, but it's mostly flat (YEAH!)...

I gotta slow down!

I have struggled mightily during my last two runs. My legs are tired, sore, and don't want to go. I've discovered why- I'm running way too fast!

My run on Friday was just over 5 miles, and my run today was my typical 3.4 miles. They aren't new routes- they are the same routes I frequently run. So why I am going so fast?

My natural pace is right about a 10 minute mile. My pace for my 5 mile run on Friday was 9:30/mile and today it was 9:23/mile. What the heck? Where did this speed (for me) come from? I don't feel like I am going any faster- in fact, I've tried not to go fast and just have a nice leisurely run. I don't look at my watch (or iPod) while I run, so I don't monitor my pace as I go. I just go.

All I know is there is no way I can run 5 miles of hills at Valley Forge at this pace. Nor can I keep this pace up for 10 miles at Broad Street, even if it is flat! I guess we'll see what the next couple of runs brings...

Say-it-all Saturday

As I've started to pay more attention to the world of blogging, I've noticed that there are certain things that some people post on certain days- such as Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, etc. Being the kind of person I am, I decided to do my own- Say-it-all Saturday... So here goes.

1. Well, I did it. I signed up for a half-marathon. I have been debating whether or not I wanted to attempt this for a couple of months now. I am doing the Broad Street Run in May, and that's 10 miles- I figured, what's another 3 miles??? So, I am officially registered for the ING Rock-and-Roll Half Marathon in Philly in September. It seems like a good idea right now- we'll see if I'm singing the same tune in September!

2. This week, Disney announced that they have created a Premium Passport. This is an annual pass for both Disneyland and Disney World. (You can find details about what is included here.)

When I heard this, my first thought was WOO HOO!!! We currently have a 3 day trip scheduled to Disneyland this summer, and two separate 6 day trips to Disney World this year. So, I did a little looking into this passport. Disney- you screwed this one up! The cost for this Premium Passport is $700 per person. Adult AND child. There is NO discount for kids. I've priced this out and it is still cheaper to buy separate tickets for everything than to buy the Premium Passport. I'm curious to know how Disney can up with this pricing, because it seems to me that they really missed the mark on this one.

3. I look out my window and I don't see any snow piles. After more than a month of having piles of snow still over 3 ft high, this is a reason to celebrate! Although we may still have some cooler temperatures that come along, I think we have turned to corner into spring!

4. Thanks to everyone who told me about Site Meter for tracking visits to my blog! I was able to figure it out and install it!

Ok- that's about all the unrelated thoughts I have for this morning. Off to make pancakes for breakfast!

It's March?!?

Ok- wait a minute. Is it really March 1. What happened to January and February? I mean, I know we had some snow (ok- a lot of snow), and I was kinda busy, but still. How is it March already???

The problem with it being March is that I only have 2 months to get ready to run the Broad Street Run in Philly on May 2. That's a 10 mile race. The longest race I have run up to this point is 5 miles. I have to go DOUBLE that- soon!

I know that some people train and know if they can run 8 miles, they can do 10 miles on race day. I can't do that. For me, I have to know that I have done 10 miles before and can make it. Yes, it's a mental thing- but that's how it works for me.

So- maybe now that it's March, Mother Nature will get her act together and stop messing with our weather. I run at the Y, but there are only so many times I can go in a circle around the track. I need to get outside and pound the pavement. And apparently, I need to do it soon!!!