LVTC Low Key 8k

Last Saturday I ran an 8k that my local track club was hosting at the Sunrise Picnic Area. I am so familiar with the out and back course along the bike trail. I knew this would be a good workout and a way to check out how much I'm improving.

I lined up near the front and my plan was to hold back and then really try to hammer it hard the second half.

I had to reign myself in during the first mile because I was seeing 7:15 pace on my Garmin.  I eased off  and I hit the first mile at 7:35. 

At the  beginning of the second mile a young boy and his father caught up to me, then another man joined our group.  We were all kind of running the same pace so, I ran with this group for the next mile and a half.

When we approached the turn around point I noticed that there was another female ahead of me.   I turned on my ipod when I hit the turn around point and decided to try to catch the lead female.

With a mile to go I was able to catch her and I remember telling myself "okay now we just have to run the fastest mile of the workout. you can do this"  I really felt strong through the whole workout.

Here are my spilt times
Mile 1-7:35
Mile 2-7:33
Mile 3-7:29
Mile 4-7:16
Mile 4.98- 7:00 (7:08 pace)

An 8k is just short of 5 miles.



Not the best picture I've taken but, it's progress :)



I'm really trying to focus on negative splits and holding back during the first half of races.  I have always been a  "kicker" but, I also have a history of going out too fast during a big race and blowing up during the last few miles.  I hope that I have enough discipline to follow my negative split strategy during the upcoming half marathon.

It doesn't get easier, you just get faster- Goodbye 130's

I'm pretty happy right now because things have been going well.  I had a slight cold last week so I bailed on my long run this past Sunday. I only ran 4 miles instead of 8. However, I was able to make up the run a few days later on a Tuesday.  I ran 10 miles. It was hot and muggy but, I felt good.

I did stop my watch twice. Once while, I ran into CVS to buy a bottle of water and the second stop was at a quicky mart to buy another bottle of water.

This morning I ran 4 miles tempo and I was able to lower my 4 mile time down from 31:22 to 31:02.  I also lowered my 5k time down from 23:49 down to 23:29.  It feels good to see the progression of  my times getting lower.  My mile splits were 8:25, 7:35, 7:22, 7:40.

I feel like everything is starting to come together. I have about eight more weeks of training followed by a one week taper.  I am itching to run an actual race to see how fast I could  race a 5k right now. 

This weekend I am running a track club low key race. I'm looking forward to it, but it's an 8k which is a funky distance to race in my opinion.  My goal for this weekend is to hit 7:45 for the first two miles and then drop down into the 7:30-7:20's for the last three miles. 

In weight loss news I smashed through the plateau I was stuck at.

Starting weight: 150
Current weight: 129

I'm happy to finally get below 130! I have about 9 pounds left. I'm hoping to be close to race weight in time for the half marathon.

6 Months Postpartum and I Have Hit a Plateau.

In my last post I described how I felt that I was gaining momentum in my weight loss... Well since then it has slowed down some. I have only lost another pound and at my last weigh in I stayed the same at 132lbs.    It's a little frustrating but, I have decided to roll with the punches and tweak my diet a little bit. 

My daughter has just started to eat solids like baby oatmeal and some pureed veggies and right around this time Weight Watchers suggests that you reduce your daily point allowance because you will not need to breastfeed as much.  It's not a drastic drop in calories I just don't have as much wiggle room in my diet for treats and extra snacks. (FYI I'm not actually signed up with Weight Watchers but, I am using an app that tracks food points and uses the same guidelines.)

For those of you that are curious about what my diet looks like. I will give you a few examples of what I eat during the day.

Breakfast at 5:30am
Protein Smoothie- made with strawberries,  1/2 a banana, protein powder and  1/2 cup of Silk Fruit n Protein
or
2 eggs cooked in cooking spray with 2 pieces of white toast with a little bit of butter

Mid Morning Snack at 9:30
Oatmeal with protein powder and a few almonds
or
Veggie egg scramble made with egg beaters, low cal Swiss cheese, & spinach

2nd Mid Morning Snack at 11am
Chicken Breast
or
Yopalit light Greek yogurt and a banana

I visit my daughter on my lunch break, so I try to eat a little something to tide me over until I can eat lunch.

Lunch 1:30pm
Veggie egg scramble plus a few mini Yukon gold potatoes
or
Huge green salad with chicken breast, low cal Swiss, avocado, and croutons
or
Salmon with potatoes and spinach

Afternoon Snack around 3:30pm
PB Pretzels and an apple
or
yogurt with almonds

Dinner at 6pm
Grilled fish or chicken,a sweet potato with butter, and a green salad

After Dinner Snack 9pm
3 cups of popcorn
or
Cereal with skim & almond milk

I try to eat all through out the day.  I tend to do better if I'm not starving... The breastfeeding really keeps your hunger and thirst going. I am diligent about measuring my food portions and keeping track of everything I eat.  I also cut out alcohol a little over two months ago.  I feel like I'm retaining less water when I don't drink.

In running news I recently lowered my 4 mile time down from 31:31 to 31:22.  I'm happy about this because I was able to do this during a regular tempo training run.  I also lowered my 5k time down from 24:34 down to 23:49. This happened during the same training run.  

Today I am going to run 10 miles on the treadmill after work. I'm not looking forward to it, but we are past the halfway point of the brutal hot summer. Soon I will be able to run outside after work and that makes me happy.  This picture makes me really happy too.

Six months old and look at all that hair!