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December 21, 2024

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Location:

Mesa,AZ,

Member Since:

Apr 04, 2007

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Marathon Finish

Running Accomplishments:

Prs:

1 mile: 6:31

5K: 23:37

Half Marathon: 2:04

My first post-high school 5K, in which I thought I was going to die

The first time I won my age division. Yippee!

My first half marathon, in which I attack Sasha

The time I beat my high school PR for the 5K (as a 31 year-old mommy of 3!)

My first 5K barefooted

Short-Term Running Goals:

I'm just getting back into running after a long break to have my last child. I would like to race some 10Ks, a half, and a marathon in the next 2 years.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Be the oldest woman to complete a marathon. Yea! But hopefully I will also complete some BEFORE I geezer up, like, before I'm 40 for sure. I think it would be fun to dress up really strange for marathons, like impersonating celebrities and stuff. Except I don't really like celebrities, as a rule, so maybe I'll have to stick to the age old question of ninja, or pirate. I say ninja. *Hyah!*

Personal:

I am happily married to James W (Cool Runnings). We have 3 boys and 1 opinionated little girl. I love reading and I'm also a news junkie. I am a stinker.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Thu, Jul 19, 2007

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
1.10	2.00	3.10

Well, a number of good things to report today.

First, I made up 2.5 hours towards my sleep debt last night. That's good. I read an article on sleep that says that your body accumulates a sleep debt over time, and it keeps track of the debt for a long time! I should be able to make up for Tuesday's indiscretion in 2 or 3 more nights of increased sleep. Just think about it: those of you who get by on 6 1/2 hours a night instead of 8 every night have about the same sleep debt as a person who stays up all night once a week.

Second, I went to WW today, finally, and GOOD NEWS! I haven't gained any weight (after 1 1/2 months of not going to meetings) so I didn't have to pay any extra dough, since I am technically at goal weight. (I set it high so I could stop paying sooner--after you've been at goal 6 weeks, it's all free, unless you get 2 lbs. above goal weight. I'd still like to loose a few more pounds.)

Third, I had a great run tonight. Temp was 104. Slight breeze.

Warm-up .67 miles at 11:20 pace. 2 mile tempo run at exactly 9:00 min. pace on average. First mile at 8:49, second at 9:11. Cool down .44 at 12:40 pace (this was the hardest part of the run, I wanted to stop so bad and just lay down on the pavement.) HHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRAYYYYYY!!!!! I'm so excited. I had set my goal to try to beat 9:15 pace on average. I had serious doubts as to whether I could do it. There were several times in the run when I thought I should just stop and try again another night, but then I would look down at the garmin and I was going 8:20 or something, so I would just slow down a little bit--anything's better than stopping. As I was finishing, I had no idea whether or not I met my goal. I had to look at the garmin report. I am stunned--at this temperature, with no competition, still trying to catch up on sleep. YEA! I hope I can beat this next week.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

Comments

From Kristina on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 00:52:30

Man, my sleep debt must be insanely huge. Maybe on the days when I end up not running I can justify it by paying back my sleep debt. Just kidding (though I think that is what I did the other night. Anyway, it's awesome that you had such a great run. I'm excited for you to move here :P but it's probably going to kill me to run with you :P

From Maria on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 04:28:38

You're doing awesome, Lybi! I can't imagine running in 104 degrees. When the weather cools off, you'll see your pace drop significantly. For now, you should go by effort more than any specific pace. Maybe you ran this too hard, because you shouldn't really feel like stopping and laying on the pavement after a tempo :). It should feel hard, but you still should be breathing in a nice rhythm, not wheezing like at the end of 5K. You'll learn what the right effort is with practice. Oh, yeah, and it helps if you sleep at least 7 hours a night (I usually get only 6.5).

From Brent on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 09:51:09

Lybi, If you could run a 5K in 60 degrees, lookout, 8:20 pace in that heat is tough to run. Eye of the Tiger, 15 commando points for you on the effort.

From Sasha Pachev on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 12:29:30

Good, now you will not be afraid of running 9:00 pace. Make sure to measure out a standard loop rather than just running by Garmin all the time. It can fluctuate quite a bit, although will usually average out to the correct distance in about 10 measurements.

The desire to quit could have something to do with the sleep debt. The lack of sleep will primarily attack your neural drive. The result will make the same physical effort that you are very capable of appear a lot harder. That is perhaps the primary reason for the third leg of Wasatch Back Relay being so hard.

It takes a while to overcome addictive behavior. Having a regular fitness evaluation tempo run will help you be more disciplined about sleep. It works much better than the scale. You will not gain any weight by just staying up all night, but the tempo run will be slower, and a lot more miserable on top of it.

From christi on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 12:51:05

Hey Lybi- Great job on your running. I like how you set specific goals. I still need to get a Garmin or something so I can track splits better. I know I've slowed down a lot since spring when I got some PRs, I think its because I've been working on getting in more miles and they've been slower & easier. Oh well. And awesome job on WW. I'm afraid I set my goal too high. I was at top of acceptable weight limits when I signed up, but they put me down for a 10 lb goal for weight loss, but they said to talk to them after I hit 8 because they may stop me there. But I've only lost 4 regardless. I think the last few will be SLOW! But I'm very happy with the progress I've seen so far and love reading about yours! Vacation is going great, beautiful San Jose, Santa Cruz & Folsom!

From James the hubby on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 15:39:47

You rock! You have more guts than me - I would not have tried a tempo run in 104 degree weather . . .

I was not surprised at all to hear that you are still on target with your weight, and I also agree with Maria - right now your tempo run should be by effort instead of time, and you shouldn't feel so exhausted after a tempo run that you want to lay down. Over-exertion, especially on sleep debt, can lead to you getting sick again. And we don't want that to happen . . . love you!

From Sasha Pachev on Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 22:28:53

Yes, James - thanks for mentioning this. Tempo run should be done in the best conditions possible. Of course, creating an opportunity to run in those conditions usually takes some work, but it is very well worth it. And again, we have the law of camel back involved - add up little things, and you eventually break down under their weight. That is one reason I put a lot of emphasis on the details of recovery - sleep and diet in particular.

Also - the tempo run is not a race. It is a test of how fast you can go at a certain fraction of your top capability. You must feel in control start to finish. Your goals should be very approximate, and you must resist the temptation to push harder to reach a particular time goal you hoped for when in truth you lack the fitness to do it with the correct degree of comfort (or discomfort, depending on whether the glass is half-full or half-empty). It is, nevertheless, a very fulfilling experience to be able to run this way, and still beat your race pace from a month or two ago.

From Michael on Mon, Jul 23, 2007 at 10:25:41

Wow running in 104 degrees, I dont like running much when it is above 85. And the lack of sleep can hurt, I know I dont get enough with the busy schedule and the fact that we dont have cooling so it can be 90 in our house so it takes me awhile to fall asleep - need to get a new swamp cooler. Good luck in your training

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