Magic Mile #2

I did my second Magic Mile of the Raleigh Galloway season this morning. I decided to head for the American Tobacco Trail, but got there later than I'd planned. The temperature outside was warming up already, but I decided to go ahead and get it done.

Walked 0.52 mi in 12:01 min to warm up
Ran 1 mile in 17:44
Walked 0.63 in 14:10 min to cool down

My first Magic Mile on 5/14/11 was 18:00, so there's some improvement. Not a lot, but some. According to my current MM time, my training pace should be a good bit slower than the pace group I'm running with--or better yet, running behind, but not THAT far behind, and I'm closing the gap. I do feel like my Magic Miles have been a good, hard effort. My knees, in fact, are talking to me this evening, so I'll be taking an Epsom Salt bath after I finish this post!

Jeff Galloway recommends running Magic Miles every two weeks or so. Once you have four Magic Mile times, drop the slowest and average the remaining three for an indicator of various race times. I hope I can continue to see improvements over the summer, even with the rising temperatures. Since my target race for 2011 is the City of Oaks Half Marathon in November, the cooler fall temperatures will be a plus.

Speaking of the Galloway group, George has started a Facebook page for our Raleigh Galloway pace group, the Pacers! Check it out here and feel free to "like" it!

Meanwhile, I've registered for the North Carolina Blueberry Festival 5K, which is in Burgaw on June 18. I'm really excited about it, and hope that I can beat my 5K time from the Catch Me If You Can 5K back on Mother's Day!

Galloway Run #4 from Inside Out Sports (Cary)

Today was the fourth Galloway run for the 2011 season. We ran from Inside Out Sports in Cary. We went a different route than usual from there, and the change of scenery was nice. Someone took a picture of our pace group before this morning's run. We were down a few people due to the holiday weekend, but it was still a good crowd across the different pace groups. We had big storms late yesterday afternoon, but things cleared up nicely for this morning's run, though it was very humid. (It did rain later in the morning, during breakfast at Panera.)

George is still curtailing his mileage due to IT Band Syndrome, but he saw us off this morning, then met up with us at the McDonald's bathroom stop. Since my pace (and our pace group's) is faster than I'd been doing on my own before the season started, I decided to hitch a ride with George about a mile down the road, where he'd decided to start his mileage with the group, continuing to the finish. I'm still having some issues falling behind the group, but I'm working on my mid-week training (which includes speed work) and weight (down 9.6 pounds--yay!). I was able to close the gap between the group and me a good bit this morning, and finished strong. I ended up doing 5.53 miles in 1:47:27, a 19:26 min. mile average pace. This included a warm up walk of about a quarter mile, followed by a run/walk ratio of 00:30/00:30. The slightly slower mileage buildup will pay off , I think. (The rest of the group did about 6.4 miles.)

My splits:

1) 20:19 (warmup)
2) 18:53
3) 19:19
4) 19:12
5) 19:25
0.53) 10:20 (19:26 pace)

Training Update

Saturday's Galloway training run went pretty well, even though it was a hilly course. I struggled at times to keep up with the group for the first half of the run, but after a pit stop at a Burger King bathroom along the way, I did a good job of keeping up with the group on the way back to The Athlete's Foot in Cameron Village. I ended up doing 4.32 miles in 1:26:08, a 19:56 min/mile average pace (which included a walking warm-up at the beginning). I was happy to get the average pace under 20:00 min/mile, definitely a milestone for a "long run" that doesn't include the Magic Mile like the second Galloway run did.

I took Sunday off to recover and spend time with family, but I was back at it yesterday morning. I was planning to run outside, but rain sent me inside to the gym treadmill for a pre-work. I ended up running for 2 miles straight in 37:08 minutes, an 18:34 average pace! I'm happy to see that progress, though I know it was on the treadmill and not outside! I worked to keep myself from trying to go faster, and I'm glad I held back a bit. I was pretty tired from the workout (which included some strength training after the run) for the rest of the day.

This morning, I decided to give my feet a break at the gym, so I rode the bike for 6.41 miles in 37:00 minutes.

Welcome Back, Speed Workout!

I did a speed workout this morning for the first time in AGES! It was long overdue, for sure!


I was inspired, in part, by last Saturday's Galloway group training run, a 4-miler which included a "Magic Mile." I was the last one to finish the 1-mile test, with an 18-minute mile. Now, my average pace for the 4-miler is my best in quite a while, but I'm still at the back of the pack.

On Monday, I ran/walked 1.52 miles outside for 31 minutes, pretty slow, but I was pretty tired from Saturday morning's 4-miler, followed by two fun days of Duke graduation festivities and family time (congratulations, Laura!). Yesterday's exercise was a slow walk, so I decided I'd better work on speed today.

So, I decided to head to the gym and do my speed workout on the treadmill to help me ease into it. After warming up on the stationery bike, I did four 0.25 mile repeats, at 3:47, 3:46, 3:46, and 3:45. It's a good starting point, I think. My legs were pretty spent, but not totally (which is a good thing, since I still had to go to work!). In time, I'd like to build up to Yassos, the mile repeats, and plan to do some on the track or road too.


Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Stretching Again

George has recently started physical therapy for his newly diagnosed IT Band Syndrome, so I've been reinspired to start my own stretching regimen again. I've been through PT twice (at least), once for IT band, and I was told to be diligent with my stretching to help my legs stay healthy. I have been inconsistent at best, until this week. I've even pulled out a couple of yoga books, and my legs have felt so much better after a warm Epsom salt bath and yoga!

Tomorrow's Run #2 of the latest Galloway season. Jeff Galloway, by the way, is against stretching, citing stretching-induced injuries by hundreds of runners. I think it's one of those "balance" things.

Taking a Rest Day

I decided not to head to the gym before work this morning, since my legs are feeling especially tired. I'm missing the feeling of accomplishment after a morning workout, but I'm listening to the legs in hopes of staying injury-free this training season.

Meanwhile, the weight seems to be dropping again. After a quick 6 pound drop a few weeks ago, I've been playing with those last three pounds recently. *rolling eyes*  Two things I've realized this morning: 1) limiting cheese (and the foods I want to put cheese on) helps, and 2) I can't keep peanut butter (regular, reduced fat, reduced sugar, doesn't matter) in the house.

Race Report: 2011 Catch Me If You Can 5K

I've been eyeing the Catch Me If You Can 5K in Garner, NC, for a few weeks now, but finally registered for it last Wednesday. I had to get up at 5 AM this morning, which was harder than I expected it to be! I had laid everything out last night, so it was fairly easy to get myself together this morning. The only thing I didn't do last night was check the weather forecast for Garner this morning, and when I opened the door this morning to leave for the race, I saw that it was raining! Oy!

I paused briefly, but decided to head down the road anyway, since I'd already paid for the race. Surely, the rain would stop by race time!

It took me about 35 minutes to get to the race start and get my race number. The races (my 5K and a 10K too) started and finished at a strip mall, Aversboro Square, so the bathrooms were nice--a big improvement over the usual porta-johns, only we had to go upstairs to use them! I ran into Hardin Watkins, the Town Manager of Garner, who was participating in the 10K, and it was nice catching up with him. (Hardin is a marathoner, and part of the Raleigh Galloway Training Group too.)

The rain did slow down to barely a spit, so I thought it was be a perfectly cool, cloudy morning for a race! The 10K started first, then after about 5 minutes, the 5K started. Initially, I tried 0:30/0:30 run/walk intervals, but my legs were pretty tired and creaky from yesterday's 3-miler with the Raleigh Galloway group, so I took it down to a walk after a while, and worked on my walking form, especially with using my arms and keeping my chin (which tends to drop when I'm tired) up.

Within the first mile, I had to go to the bathroom, and while I eyeballed some bushes and a convenience store along the route, I made it to the finish line for a gun time of 1:00:52.8. If I'd made a pit stop, I would've missed out on the "00" part of the time. Slow as I am, it's the little victories that count! :)

The course was mostly residential, with some "rolling hills." It was pretty, but it was wet! The rain picked up while we were on the course, but there wasn't any thunder, so we kept going. One volunteer, under her umbrella, actually said, "Isn't it miserable out there in the rain?!" Another volunteer along the course said, "Are you the last one?" I told her I was probably the last 5Ker, but I didn't know about the 10K runners. I was a little grumpy by then because of the run, and that didn't help! She probably wasn't having much fun out in the rain, herself!

I was, indeed, the last 5K participant, but came in before a handful of 10K runners. My finish time was slightly faster than my current training pace, but not a 5K race pace of old. It's a good place to restart, though. In fact, Buckeye Outdoors, my favorite online training log, is back up after a hardware crash. All of the runner data was lost, so when I put this morning's race in, it told me that it's a personal record! I know better, but it's a nice place to restart!

Core Exercises for Runners and Walkers

I really need to improve my core for running AND walking, so I was glad to find this video by Jenny Hadfield! I decided to post it here, partly to share, and partly so I can find it again! :)


Core Exercises for Runners and Walkers from Jenny Hadfield on Vimeo.

Catch Me If You Can

Well, I've registered for my first 5K of 2011, the Catch Me If You Can 5K in Garner on May 8. It'll be my first 5K since last September. I'm looking forward to seeing how my times compare. Since I haven't done much speedwork since then, I may be slower. BUT I do have custom orthotics in my shoes now. We'll see. I love the name of this 5K! Maybe it'll help me run faster! :)

Run/Walk AND Water Aerobics Today!

This morning, I decided to return to the Black Creek Greenway, where I did a 3-mile run/walk in beautiful weather. I was able to pick up the pace a bit, but forgot to turn off my Garmin for a bit when I stopped to use the facilities in Godbold Park, so my Garmin time isn't totally reflective of my time on the move. Ah, well, it happens!

Afterward, I met George at the gym for an hour of water aerobics. The pool water usually feels cold to me, but it felt really refreshing after my run/walk!

So after back-to-back exercise sessions this morning, I'm pretty pooped tonight! It's a "good" tired, though! :) I think I'll crawl into bed with a good book now.

Don't Go, B.O.!

I logged into my favorite online training log, BuckeyeOutdoors.com (B.O.), this morning to log yesterday afternoon's walk, and got the following message:

Buckeye Outdoors has suffered a major outage. A series of electrical storms first knocked out the backup servers that were located at the backup up location. Then the unthinkable happened 4 days later and a second electrical storm caused an extended power outage at the datacenter where the primary Buckeye Outdoors servers are hosted. The current situation is pretty grimm [sic] and I'm despritly [sic] trying to recover the data that has been lost. If I am un able [sic] to recover the data I will put the application back online but right now I am holding out hope and I even might send the Hard Disks to a data recovery place. If you have any questions please email here: questions@buckeyeoutdoors.com

Ahhh, rats! A lot of personal data will be lost, but I do hope the site comes back up in time (hopefully sooner than later!). In a way, it would be like having a fresh start with my training. I hadn't planned on "wiping the slate clean," but hardware crashes happen. *sigh* I've really enjoyed BuckeyeOutdoors as an exercise log, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I was able to update my data on DailyMile.com this morning. I like DailyMile, which is like Facebook for exercise, big into the social networking, but lacking in the data and stats departments. I also revisited Running2win.com and RunningAhead.com, two more online training logs I've tried in the past, and uploaded my current Garmin date to RunningAhead (which I prefer over Running2win, but not as much as BuckeyeOutdoors).

New Weapons in the Weight Loss War

I ordered a new bathroom scale from Amazon.com a little while back, and have had it at home for a week or so, but I finally put the batteries in it this morning. It seems to be a nice scale, and it weighed me a little less than the old scale did, so it's my new best friend! :) It is nice to have a fresh, new machine to step on, and I like that the display is backlit. The bathroom scale I ordered is here.

Meanwhile, I'm trying out a new diet website called FatSecret.com. I heard about it last weekend from Jeff Galloway, so I decided to check it out. It's a food, exercise, and weight tracking website that also has an iPhone/iTouch app. Although I use bits and pieces of other similar websites, I'm enjoying the newness of FatSecret.com. It's fun and motivating to see the numbers in a slightly different context.

The good news is that I'm down 6 pounds, the most success I've had in a while. (A little bit of that is the new scale, but most of it is from effort.) Things that have made a difference so far this week: more exercise, packing my lunch for work, and staying away from the Peanut M&Ms, a new temptation at work.

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Galloway Season Starts Again!

Me, George, Jeff Galloway, Margaret

It's been a busy weekend for the start of the new Raleigh Galloway season here in the Triangle. Friday night, pace group leaders and their significant others were invited to the program director's home for a meet-and-greet with Jeff Galloway. This is the second year I've gotten to attend this event with George, who's a pace group leader. It's a lot of fun to visit with the leaders, and to re-meet Jeff Galloway. He is very personable, knowledgeable and encouraging. The picture on the left is from the Friday night gathering. Jeff Galloway is the man in the cap.

The Raleigh Galloway Program Annual Kick-Off was yesterday morning at the North Carolina Museum of Art. George and I both volunteered, so we were there at 7:30 AM! It was fun to see the large crowd (350+), including a number of people I know in the running community. Afterward, George and I participated in the 3-hour running school that Jeff Galloway ran at a nearby wellness facility. It was my third year doing the running school, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's been a little different each year, depending on who's there, mostly. Galloway changed the format a little bit this year, too.

After leaving home at 7:00 AM, we got home around 4:00 PM, after a day full of talking about running, but without actually running at all! It was a fun day, though!

I had planning on doing a 7-miler this weekend, but all I could muster was a 1.5 mile walk at Umstead State Park this morning. I was feeling pretty tired, and my right ankle's tendonitis is fussy from all the standing this weekend. Otherwise, it was a nice, but hilly walk.

Another Long Walk in the Books

George and I did our long run/walk yesterday, since we both went to a Galloway training session Saturday morning. I did 6.2 miles (2:20:00) with George's company, first along the Rocky Branch Trail, then on part of the Reedy Creek Trail, both part of the Capital Area Grenway System. The Rocky Branch Trail was new to me, so I really enjoyed it the change of scenery, and would go back there on my own. Here are three YouTube videos, showing different parts of the Rocky Branch Trail:








I ran/walked about 3.3 miles, and just walked the rest. It really wore me out! My right toes and right ankle bothered me some, to boot. I am rethinking the New River Half Marathon next month. Perhaps I'll continue my training and shoot for one later in the season.

Long Walk on Crabtree Creek Trail

I decided to do my long walk yesterday, instead of Saturday, since I had college reunion festivities Friday and Saturday. It was a really busy week leading up to the reunion, so I was really tired heading out the door yesterday morning. George had promised to do some of the mileage with me, and the fact that he was heading out the door with me helped a lot.

I ended up doing 5.12 miles on the Crabtree Creek Trail in Raleigh, with about 3.5 miles of it run/walking. Even with some running in there, it still took me 1:50:01. Still, it was time on my feet, and Saturday night's rain had everything looking especially green yesterday morning. Crabtree Creek was flowing more like a river, and the sounds of the rushing water and the birds chirping was all very pleasant.

Even though it was slow, I was pleased with the mileage. I'm hoping to do 6 miles next weekend.

Meanwhile, I started back to tracking my food intake this morning, in hopes that it will help with the weight loss.

Water Exercise

Last night, George and I did water aerobics at the gym again. A different instructor was there last night, so it was a different workout! I'm sore this morning in places I haven't been sore in a while!

Afterward, I joined George in some water running for the first time, so that might have something to do with my soreness too! Although it can't totally replace running time on the road, it was a great workout too! I'm really glad our gym has water running belts available.

Here's an intro video to water running, also known as aqua jogging:

Weekend Walk and Workout

Yesterday morning, I joined the Galloway Pre-Season Run from Raleigh Running Outfitters in Cary. It was nice to see some "old" folks and meet some new people! I walked 4 miles in 1:21:56, with negative splits on all miles!
1) 20:40
2) 20:37
3) 20:21
4) 20:13

I was going to do the Cary Road Race this coming weekend, but have decided to pass on that and continue to work on endurance in light of the New River Half Marathon on May 7. I haven't signed up for it, but would still like to do it.

Today I went to Gold's Gym at North Hills Mall, and really enjoyed my workout there. I did 2.82 miles in 37 minutes on the elliptical machine, then did some upper body and core strength training. I also sat in the steam room, which was like dessert after the workout, especially with the eucalyptus spray! Mmmmm!

Umstead Walk

Yesterday I started with some of my Raleigh Galloway friends at the Old Reedy Creek Rd. entrance to Umstead State Park. I've never been to that area of the park before, so I had a very enjoyable walk. (The only downside was the lack of bathrooms at the start!) Once I got past the gravel road leading up to the gate, the trail was packed dirt. The flowering trees are starting to blossom, and there was a good bit of foot and bike traffic, but it wasn't overly crowded. I hear that the airport overlook is off of this trail, but I didn't make it quite far enough down. Check out this webpage about this end of Umstead and the airport overlook.

I ended up going 3.26 miles in 1:09:01 with no toe pain.

Mile 1) 21:28
Mile 2) 21:09
Mile 3) 21:00 (the Garmin called this mile 20:60!)

Afterward, I met up with the rest of the group (they ran longer) at Panera for lunch. After lunch, George and I grabbed our bathing suits and went to the Gold's Gym at North Hills, where they have a saltwater swimming pool AND a saltwater hot tub! Ahhhh!

Race Report: 2011 Tobacco Road Half Marathon



Toni White and Lesley Looper

 This past Sunday, March 20, I participated in my third half marathon, the Tobacco Road Half Marathon in Cary, North Carolina. The weather was perfect, and the volunteers were wonderful!

This was my first race with the custom orthotics I picked up in mid-February. I was curious and concerned about how things would go, since I hadn't trained beyong 3.5 miles with the new custom orthotics in my shoes. I wondered if my right toes would hurts, and how my feet and legs in general would handle the orthotics. Mostly, I was concerned about my lack of training in general this winter, but I was determined to start the race and see what happened.

George and I parked at NetApp in RTP around 5:30 AM and caught the shuttle bus to the park where the race would start and finish. (We were glad we got there early, because others arriving later had problems with the shuttles and late arrival to the race.) We didn't know until we got there that the bus drop-off was about .7 mi. from the start and finish line, an unexpected hike, both before and after the race! The race itself started about 15-20 minutes later than expected, as we were waiting on some of the late shuttles to arrive.

Before the race, George and I had a good visit with Emily, Jon, and Ashby. At the start line, I saw Barbara and Toni too. Toni, pictured with me above, is the cousin of Danny, someone I met on the Outer Banks Half Marathon course back in November 2010. Danny introduced the two of us through Facebook, and Toni and I met for dinner in Raleigh a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun to walk with Toni for the first half of the race (her first half marathon)!  (Thanks for Cara Greening for taking the picture! Cara was a water stop volunteer at Mile 6.)

Speaking of volunteers, there a lot of Raleigh Galloway runners on the course, both participating in and volunteering for the race. It was a lot of fun to see so many people I knew out there!

My right toes starting hurting a little before the Mile 6 mark, and the tendonitis in my right ankle started bothering me as well. At one point, I was glad I didn't see a bench, because I might've succumbed if I'd seen one! When I told my mom about the pain later, she asked, "Well, couldn't you have stopped?" Yes, I could have, but the truth is, I didn't want to, not really.

With about a mile to go, George found me! He finished a while before I did, and after a stop at the first aid tent for his knee, he walked backward to find and walk in with me! How sweet was that?! :)

I finished the race with a chip time of 4:50:06, my worst time ever in a half marathon, but I was mighty glad to finish! I've been thinking about it over the past few days, and here are some things I learned from this race:

1) It pays to train! My longest walk since my last half marathon was 3.5 miles. Even though I've been crosstraining, nothing beats time on your feet when you're training for an endurance race.

2) The extra weight I've gained had an effect, and I don't like it. I need to find a "healthy way of eating" (avoiding saying the "D" word) that works for me.

3) The pain in my right toes came several miles later, a good sign! Time and training will tell if that's the new norm.

4) When my tendonitis gets better, I need to work on building stronger calves, and continue to work on my upper body and core strength.

5) I continue to love, love, love Race Day and all the runners and walkers out there. I pay for it for a few days afterward, though,  in "recovery" since, by nature, I'm an introvert. I think I've been quieter than usual  the past few days as I've tried to recharge internally. I've also been much more physically tired than usual since the race, so that probably has something to do with my quietness too.

6) I want to stop my trend of slower and slower half marathon times. I'd like at least one more that's faster than the last one!

7) I found out last Thursday that I got into graduate school, and today when I registered for classes, I learned that one of my classes in the fall will be every other Saturday. It'll make training a little more interesting, but the things that are important to me will rise to the surface.


Meanwhile, I haven't exercised since the race on Sunday, but George and I are planning to meet for water aerobics this evening. Should be a good way to start my comeback! :)

Icing My Ankle

I've been icing my ankle throughout the morning--under my desk at work (thanks to my efforts in yesterday's Tobacco Road Half Marathon)! I did finish, although it wasn't my prettiest race. A race report will be coming sometime in the next few days.

Meanwhile, I'll be giving my ankle a little more TLC!


Clipart from Clipartheaven.com