Back in the saddle?

April 24, 2024

15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Phoenix,AZ,

Member Since:

Jul 23, 2007

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 22:15 (January 2005);
10K-48:40 (November 2005)
Half-marathon: 1:50:25 (, March 2006);
Marathon: 3:54:16 (January 2006)

Short-Term Running Goals:

BQ

Finish half marathon in January 2010

Run consistently

Lose pregnancy weight + 10 pounds

Long-Term Running Goals:

Complete an Ironman triathlon; run the Comrades Marathon in South Africa (55 miles)
Marathon: sub 3:30
Half marathon: sub 1:40
10K: sub 42 minutes
5K: sub 21 minutes

Find out what my potential is and reach it.

Personal:

I've been running since high school (mid-1990s) and do pretty well when I'm focused on a goal. My main problem is running consistently when I'm NOT training for something specific. I'm an attorney, and I've been married to my husband, also a runner, for 5 1/2 years. We live in Phoenix, Arizona. We had a beautiful baby girl, Caroline, in August 2009.

Click to donate

to Ukraine's Armed Forces

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

Wed, Nov 14, 2007

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Crosstraining miles	Total Miles
7.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	7.00

Well, tonight was a monumental struggle. I'm not sure if it was (a) residual soreness/ tiredness from the half marathon; (2) trying to get back in the groove after 2 1/2 days of not running; or (3) all the junk food I had today and last night. I think it's a combination of the three. Someone at our office is filling every jar, bowl, etc. with CHOCOLATE! It's everywhere, and I can't avoid it! Help!

Anyway, tonight was much slower than normal. I finished in 1:09:51, a 9:59 average. My mile splits were 9:48, 10:06, 10:09, 10:17, 10:03, 9:56, and 9:36. I had twinges here and there, probably from the race. I'm hoping tomorrow I'm back to (or close to) normal.

More good news about the race: I figured out that I ran the last 1.1 mile at a 7:55 pace. I had run mile 11 at 8:01 and slowed back to 8:33, I think for 12, but I was able to pick it up even more for the finish, which probably includes the sprinting at the end. I'm sure people everywhere are making fun of me for the sprinting part!

Comments

From Michelle on Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 22:57:40

I guess I don't know enough about racing? Why make fun of you about the sprinting? Just looks like a great time and race to me!

From crumpyb1 on Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 23:44:19

Did you feel like you didn't leave it all on the course because you had the energy to sprint at the end? I've wondered sometimes if I could have run faster if I wasn't talking so much. And I think it's such a fine line of how fast to start the race. Not too fast, but not too slow.

Don't worry about the sprinting too much. I think it feels good to finish strong.

What are your thoughts on your Marathon on Jan 13? Are you going to go all out? or back off like Sasha suggested? How did you feel after the race last year? I say go with what you want to do. Of course, I am sure you will.

I hope your recovery continues to go well. What kind of chocolate?

From Shauna on Thu, Nov 15, 2007 at 00:29:15

I like sprinting, but I've heard other people say, "Oh, you're one of THOSE people...." I always like to finish strong, though. And, it is a HUGE psychological boost to be passing a lot of people late in a race. I don't know if it's a smart strategy though. I was reading one of the fast guys' blogs the other day, and he said one of his goals is to run a more even pace throughout the race, and not run negative splits. Hmmmm....

Crumpy, I'm going to back off as Sasha suggested. I'm thinking I might pace my friend who wants to break 4:00. I think I should be able to do that reasonably easily with two more months of solid training. Last time (Jan. 06), I set a PR by 17 minutes, but felt awful because I hit the wall. My goal had actually been BQ, and I kept up the pace until 20, where I totally fell apart. I ended up having to walk so much that I was off BQ time by 14 minutes! So, although I Pr'ed, I was devastated (and in serious pain!).

I think I'll run a 5K or 10K here and there until the marathon to gauge my fitness level, and then defer to Sasha on how to run smart at the marathon.

All kinds of fun-size chocolate! Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Mr. Goodbar, dark chocolate, etc. SUCH a temptation!!

From Lybi on Thu, Nov 15, 2007 at 00:34:05

Reese's! That is totally unfair! As if it wasn't hard enough to watch all the holiday goodies...

Good job Shauna, I'm sure you're just still recovering from the half. You're actually recovering really well, I think.

Add Your Comment.

Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.

Debt Reduction Calculator

Featured Announcements

Most Recent Entries:

New Kids on the Blog
(need a welcome):

Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):

Recent Comments: