Tag Archives: 10K

2011 Marine Corps Marathon: Pregnant 26.2 Miles

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About a year ago this time I made the realization that there would never be a “right time” to start a family and told my husband I was ready to try. This was significant because in March of 2011 I had run a PR marathon and was mentally and physically preparing to try for a BQ (Boston Qualifying time) at the Marine Corps Marathon in October. I was pretty sure that if we got pregnant before that marathon I would have to change my goals and expectations. And that is exactly what happened. Continue reading →

Race Recap: 5k & Marathon Weekend–LPRM

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When I found the Lower Potomac River Marathon online the first thing I did was email the race director to make sure there was still room in the field. She wrote me back almost immediately confirming they still had space and I was quickly hitting ‘submit’ on Active.com. This event was featured in the March issue of Runner’s World and in the part where they write ‘why run it’ the answer is “for the simple things.” And they are spot on with that reason. Continue reading →

The Run Faster Formula

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Usain Bolt: a speed icon. Photo by thor_matt83 (Flickr)

I was once talking with a running friend, who is an ultra marathoner and who comfortably clocks a sub-7-minute per mile pace on a regular basis, about running faster. I had shared my secret deep down wish to one day qualify for Boston and was talking about wanting to get faster over longer distances. He shared with me the simple formula to running faster. He said, “If you want to run faster, you just run faster.” Continue reading →

Running Resolutions

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It has been a solid eight months since my last post. The good news is that my running and training did not get as derailed as my blogging. And now it’s that popular time of year when we all put our foot down to make a change. I bet you think I’m going to resolve to blog more often? Well, we all know that resolutions don’t work if they’re general. You have to be specific in order to be successful. Suffice it to say that after an eight-month absence I hesitate to commit to any sort of blogging resolution. I also won’t be making any running resolutions. Continue reading →

Cooper River Bridge Run 2010: A 10K PR & Much More

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Seeing my friend Jason in the crowd gave me the necessary energy boost to power through the last half mile or so.

I’m losing count of how many times I’ve posted how the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston is one of my favorite races and this year’s race was confirmation of that sentiment. There are a lot of reasons this year’s 10K race was awesome. The ‘tradition’ has been that every year my husband and I drive down on Friday, run Saturday morning, and drive home Sunday. The whirlwind trip is not an ideal way to visit one of my favorite cities. So this year we switched things up. We corralled a group of friends to join us for a long weekend in a beach house and convinced them to sign up for the Bridge Run.

For once we would be able to enjoy Charleston. We had four nights at an oceanfront house on Folly Beach and we were spending the long weekend with our best friends. I was also excited because for a couple of them it would be their first race. I spent a lot of time sharing my enthusiasm for the race and the city and couldn’t wait for everyone to experience the Bridge Run. Continue reading →

Setting & Adjusting the Race Pace Goal

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When I first started doing running races, I raced to participate, to experience the race, and that was about it. Let me first say that there is absolutely nothing wrong in racing with that mindset. My perception of racing started to change as I learned more about running, form, training techniques and drills, and my own potential. My perception of races also started to change the first time I adopted a real training plan which was for my first half marathon in October 2008.

I distinctly recall that race being the first time I set a hard goal that I hoped to achieve. For that run my goal was to finish under two hours, which I just barely did. That race pretty much set the tone for how I’ve been running, training, and racing which is goal-oriented. Continue reading →

Seashore Striders’ St. Patrick’s Day 5K

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March 13th was the third annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K run and walk put on by the Seashore Striders in Denton, MD. The race is an event centered around the community and supports the Caroline Human Services Council which provides programs for children and youth in Caroline County. I was signed up for the 5k along with friends and colleagues from Benchworks and was planning to use the race as a benchmark in my preparation for the upcoming 10K Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston.

When I originally signed up for the Bridge Run I set the goal of completing it in the 48 minute bracket in order to achieve an 8-minute pace. However, due to the triathlon training I’ve been doing, I’m only getting in three runs a week and have not dedicated as much time to speedwork as I had been planning. All of my runs have been averaging anywhere from an 8:40-9-minute pace so I was curious to see what I might be able to achieve at the 5K. Continue reading →

The Four Mile Focus

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This winter my running mileage tapered off and as I got back into building my base I landed on and stuck with four mile routes and routines for a couple weeks. Three just wasn’t enough and for some reason I didn’t have the time or the motivation to get much beyond four. I know that doing the same thing over and over can sometimes minimize results and effectiveness but I used my four mile runs as a way to experiment and achieve more out of each run. By using four miles as my distance I had a good measurement of what I could achieve in those four miles; I either improved or I didn’t. I wasn’t trying to add miles, I was trying to make those four miles as good as they could possibly be. Continue reading →

Winter Work-out Rollercoaster

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It’s been a couple months since I last wrote and despite my neglect of my blog, I haven’t entirely neglected my winter work-out plan…although it hasn’t exactly gone according to schedule. In November I ran the Richmond Marathon with a PR and had high hopes of maintaining my running base while re-building my swim and bike base and blending in reasonable sets of weight work-outs. My running plan was to run three times a week, with an easy 3-5 mile run, a speed work-out, and a hill work-out. The reason for this is because my goal this year for the Cooper River Bridge Run is to complete the 10K with an 8-minute pace (and beat my husband).

When I look back at my RunningAhead log, I did pretty well with my goals immediately after the race. I took a well deserved break the week immediately following the marathon with just one pilates class that week. I then did a good job maintaining five days of work-outs weekly alternating runs with swims and added sessions of pilates–something I missed terribly during the height of marathon training. And then December came and from the looks of the log, holiday season hit in full swing. Continue reading →

Race Pace vs. Training Pace

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j0241885There are a number of training drills that call for running at 5K pace or a 10K pace. Some drills just tell you to run at your goal race pace. Though I’ve gotten into incorporating more tempo runs and speedwork into my training I still haven’t quite figured out the paces I should be shooting for in those runs. The  most I’ve taken the time to figure out is my goal time for different distances. If I took the time (and was good at math) I’m sure I could quickly figure out those different paces and times that I should be using in training.

I’ve run a consistent 9-minute mile for a long time; on longer runs I might average 9:30 and shorter runs I can usually stay under 9 minutes. These ranges are what I consider to be my “training paces.” I’d like to learn how to better use these paces during different training runs and I’d like to set more training pace goals. However, I also would like to better establish my race pace. On my recent half marathon I finally think I achieved what I could consider a race pace. Mile after mile I managed to maintain an 8:58 pace. Continue reading →