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April 25, 2024

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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.

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

Sat, Oct 13, 2007

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Crosstraining miles	Total Miles
11.00	1.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.00

I ran by myself this morning. My group is running tomorrow instead, so I was on my own, just me, Mr. Garmin, and iPod. I made it to the turnaround point (6 miles) in 59:57. I think I even got the runner's high on the way. :-) Haven't felt that in a long time! Soooo, I turned around, planning to pick it up a bit. I was cruising along at about 9:45, stopped for Gatorade, and saw two men pass me. They looked pretty hardcore, with their fuel belts and all. I started running again and found myself right with them, doing 9:15-9:30, and I decided to keep up the pace with them. Then, one of the guys and I almost got hit by a car (not as bad as it sounds). I found out he was doing 10, and it would be his farthest run ever! He's training for PF Chang's in January. So, appearances aren't everything!

When I hit 9 miles, I decided to really pick it up, and I just kept it going, faster and faster. Turns out, I ran the second half over 4 minutes faster than the first half!! Yeah! My splits were: 10:00, 10:10, 10:07, 10:00, 9:48, 9:52, 9:39, 9:29, 9:37, 9:16, 9:11, 8:43. I feel really good now.

When I looked in the mirror, I had 2 bugs stuck to my face-ew! I ran through a couple of swarms of bugs, closed my mouth, and held my breath! Luckily I didn't swallow any bugs-I have done that before!

I'm feeling a lot stronger. The question now is: do I (a) start increasing my weekday mileage next week, (2) increase the pace slightly, (3) do both, or (4) keep doing what I'm doing? I have a half marathon coming up on November 11. One caveat: next weekend I will be in Flagstaff, at high altitude. I'm not sure I will be able to complete over 10 miles at that altitude. Any advice regarding the next step in my training would be appreciated.

Comments

From Christi on Sat, Oct 13, 2007 at 19:15:08

You were kicking butt today! Way to surpass the boys! I'm anxious to see what kind of feedback you get about your training questions you posted today. I have the same questions...

From crumpyb1 on Sat, Oct 13, 2007 at 21:44:00

I was thinking 20 weeks of 38 miles and 32 weeks of 39 miles as a plan for 2008 miles in '08. I am sure some weeks I'll be lower and some weeks higher. Well, I might be higher. I don't know if I have ever run more than 35 miles a week.

Anyway, I know it's possible. My plan for the rest of the year is to work up to 38 miles per week. There are ten more weeks left this year. And if you wanted to get 38 miles by December 31, you could next week do another 32 by doing 6 and 5 mile runs (because you are going out of town). After that you would have 9 weeks to add six more miles to get to 38 miles per week. Probably easier said than done, but it sounds possible. Long story short--I say increase the mileage.

As for increasing pace, (and remember I am not an expert, so take it or leave it) I never take my watch with me unless I am doing a tempo run. When I run watchless, I just run to run. I feel a lot less pressure. I don't get disappointed if I ran slow. I just run however I feel that day. When I do take my watch it adds a new twist to my workout. And I live for variety in my runs.

From Lybi on Sat, Oct 13, 2007 at 23:33:31

Great run, Christi! Wow, that is a lot of miles. Lucky for me, you will probably be tapering on Nov. 3rd. 5 sounds good to me! Tempe town lake sounds GREAT. Beautiful. It will have to be an afternoon run--sunset will be pretty.

Hey, if you are having a hard time putting up a pic, it is probably because the picture files are too big. What I usually do, instead of compressing the file, is just edit it and crop it down a lot. Then it usually probably works. It'd be great to see a picture!

From Lybi on Sun, Oct 14, 2007 at 00:51:04

Geez, I said Christi, but I meant Shauna! So sorry...

BTW I think you'll be able to run far in Flagstaff as long as you adjust the pace a little. (Run slow!) Tempo run would be WAY harder because of the huge demand on your lungs.

From Shauna on Sun, Oct 14, 2007 at 17:37:56

Thanks, Lybi. 5 miles sounds good to me! The afternoon should be OK. Depending on work stuff, I might have some scheduling issues, but I'll keep you posted.

I tried to put up a smaller picture, and it said my blog was updated, but still no picture! It would be good to have one up so you know who you will be looking for! I'll keep playing with it....

Once my husband and I tried to run 14 miles in Flagstaff (we had already progressed up to 16 or 17), and we could only finish 6! Granted, it was FREEZING, snowy, and icy on the trail... We will definitely run slowly next weekend!

From Mark on Mon, Oct 15, 2007 at 09:51:07

I love it when a run goes better than planned. It really starts to feel like things are coming together. I'd add some more miles onto the weekly totals. On the days when you plan on going fast, you could go faster if you feel good that day. On the planned easy days go a little bit farther but not faster. That strategy has been starting to work for me. As for Flagstaff, I guess you'll just have to make adjustments on how you feel.

My $0.02

From Amanda on Mon, Oct 15, 2007 at 12:28:50

GREAT RUN!!! Not only was that a challenging pace, it's always difficult to do a long run alone and keep your mind motivated. I am so excited for the half on November 11th!

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