Stuck in the Last Corral? Can't figure out those Tangents?--No Problem!

This is how I plan to deal with all those issues MOSHING!!!!!!!!! Who knows I may start a whole new trend on the running circuit!!!



I can still call it a PR right????


This will be my last post until the race re-cap. I know a few of you out there looking to PR this weekend, hoping you will all have a great weekend-press on!

Tangents??? HELP!!!

It looks like Rock-n-Roll Dallas might just end up a sell out! The relay has sold out already and they are offering 100 spots for the 1/2 at the Expo. I think the cap for this race is 11,000. Wow! that is pretty close to the attendance of my last 1/2. Below is the course map(s) and a question. I know the best way to run a course is the straight line approach ie: tangents. This course has, I think I counted 15 right turns alone! and a few left turns. My question may be hard to answer in this type of format but I'm begging hoping some of you experienced with tangents will give it a try. So I can try and keep it simple I'm just going to ask my question using the first two turns in mile 1. Okay, on the first right turn do I want to stay in the middle of the road (Young st) aiming at running a straight line (across) the turn kind of ending up on the left side of Houston St.? And then the same would repeat for the left turn in that first mile. Move over to the middle while on Houston St. and aim at the right side of Elm St. as I complete the turn? Ugh! Have I got it wrong??? I have been working on my tangents in training but still not sure I have it right. Thanks for any help! I'm pretty much over the whole corral thing now and want to just enjoy this very lively race and running in beautiful Dallas!

Close up of mile 1





2:40? Really?

I'm a little perturbed, okay a lot perturbed! Got my final conformation in the mail for my 1/2 on Sunday and Rock-n-Roll Dallas put my estimated finish time at 2:40? Really? Not only that but they placed me in corral 12! I know I am not fast by any measure but come-on where do they get their numbers! I ran my last 1/2 at 2:27 and that was with at least 5 quick stops to get fluid or hug my family. It is really discouraging to my goal that they put me so far back in such a large race. I remember having to maneuver around tons of people as well as deal with those individuals who make abrupt stops right in front of you in my last race!!! I was really hoping to see a better time for this 1/2 but all I feel right now is frustrated that I am already going to be starting out at a deficit. I will have my work cut out for me! Today I am not happy about this race!

That's More Like It!!!

After rest and large quantities of Vitamin C over the weekend I was anxious to get back on the road and have a go at it again. Today's run was totally FANTASTIC!!!! Thank you Tina and Kate for your sweet encouragement in my previous post. I had a great 7 mile run today with a time of 1:07. How's that for a rebound ♥

Cough, Moan, Repeat...

Well, I am discouraged... It started Friday on what was to be a 12 mile training run. I left the house and drove to Terry Hershey Park which is a wonderful park that runs along the Buffalo Bayou. Since my last 1/2 in January I have been trying to work on my pace. I haven't done any specific speed work or made any specific goals to improve, I've simply been trying to pick up the pace when I run. I did a little hill work in February but it was only a few times. In my mind I think I need to give myself a little more base building time before starting any "real" speed work but I am also not wanting to get in the habit of slow running. Before I ran the 1/2 in January most of my training miles up to that point averaged in the high 10's (10:35-10:50) Since trying to pick up the pace I have been on average running 10:00-10:35 min. miles. I have run under 10 min. miles but only short distances (and it is very hard to hold). So Friday I head out hoping to average in the low 10's for 12 miles. The first 7 miles were going great and I was holding my pace even with a serious head wind and a slight cramp in my left thigh. Somewhere around mile 6-7 I had planned to stop take in 1 GU and 1 Accelerade (and give my left quad a stretch). I forgot how thin the Accelerade was and ended up squirting it down the back of my throat and proceeded to choke. I think I stood there coughing for 5 Min's. Once I could breath again I started back running and was clocking a solid 10 min. pace when at mile 8 I hit some kind of wall. I just had an immediate shutdown. I felt no energy and total fatigue. To add to it my left thigh and glut were really cramping (I forgot to stretch them from my choking episode). between mile 8-9 I had to take several walk breaks. I made it back to the parking lot and stopped before making it to even 10 miles. I just quit, totally defeated. It is hard for me to even type those words... Since then I have been feeling awful. I continued coughing the rest of the day and went to bed last night feeling just kind of puny. I don't know if I have some kind of respiratory thing coming on but I am feeling so much pressure to get out and run with my next half just 15 days away. I know the experts recommend not running especially with upper respiratory stuff, but I feel like I need to keep pushing my mileage. I am also struggling with feeling silly trying to run all these 1/2's while still being this slow. In my heart I would love to run a 1/2 in under 2hrs. I know that I need to do a lot more to ever see that kind of pace. I have really questioned my conservative approach and wonder if I really have what it takes to ever be that fast... I have decided not to run the Aquarium 1/2 in May and would probably not do this half in Dallas had I not already paid the money. Sorry to moan...I'm normally not this negative...just having an emotional time right now with my running...

Weight Loss Wednesday and boy I'm glad it's March

February was an odd month for me. I don't really know why other than I took several days off at the beginning to rest after my 1/2 and the weather was really cold for Houston which lead to more days off. As a result my mileage this month was pretty low. I decided to start hill training in February and that went well. I didn't get in as many days as I would have liked but more importantly I sustained no injuries and I have seen a small increase in my speed. Loosing weight continues to be my biggest challenge. I purchased one of those fancy scales at Wal-mart that breaks down body fat percent, BMI, etc. The amount of body fat I have is crazy! Considering the total amount of weight I would like to loose this seems to be very lopsided. It really helped me to see how I need to amp up the strength training. I have been being so cautious since getting back into running, afraid I would injure myself if I didn't take it slow, but that's got to change. I do need to push myself much harder if I'm going to see any real results in weight loss and time. I found the article below you might find the tips interesting.

Four Tips To Help With Weight Loss:

Sprinkle cinnamon on a yogurt each day to burn fat. The spice is a powerful metabolism raiser; half a teaspoon a day is enough to burn an extra kilo a month.

Sip green tea. It contains a compound that reacts with caffeine to boost both fat oxidisation and resting metabolic rate by 20 per cent.

Putting tomatoes in your sandwiches will keep you feeling fuller for longer, and will make you less likely to gorge on mid afternoon snacks. The fruit suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin, which is responsible for hunger pangs.

Drinking a glass of carrot juice a day will help you lose four pounds over 12 weeks compared with non-juice drinkers. It's high in fibre and nutrients that help burn the blubber

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