Five

Five years later...still just as many butterflies.

Let's Run Away

Escape. It's my favorite thing to do. Trea and I don't travel a ton, but we try to as much as possible. There's a great big world to see, and I can't get enough of it. I have a new place to log all of our vacation adventures, so stop on by, if you're so inclined. amtaylotravels.tumblr.com

Let's Run Away

My 5K time starts with a TWO! Finally!

This weekend, at the Bentonville Running Festival 5K, I set a new PR and finally, FINALLY, ran 3.1 in under 30 minutes. It wasn't the half marathon I was hoping for, but it'll work.

I hadn't planned on trying to PR this race, but I ran with my fav gal, Laura, who paced me to an unofficial 29:37 finish! 

Reaching a time that I have been trying for, for about three years now, was a pretty darn good birthday gift. 

Birthday cupcakes at Savoy Tea!

Bailout Plan

I've been putting off writing this post for a couple of weeks now. This coming Saturday is the Bentonville Half Marathon...and I'm not running it. My training was going great for about 5 weeks, and then I got sick. I stayed sick for two solid weeks, and I just didn't have the energy for any workouts. But you know how we runners are -- compulsive to check the boxes on our training plans -- so I still ran my long runs on the weekends as scheduled. No exercise at all during the week, then 7 miles. No exercise for another week, then 8 miles. Was this a good idea? NO.

It didn't take long until my still-sensitive hip was screaming at me, and I knew I had done too much. I haven't re-injured myself, but if I had continued on that path of not being smart about building up my mileage, I could tell injury would be imminent. So I backed off.

Can you spot where my training fell off a cliff? Um, yeah.

I went back to running shorter miles and tried to build up again gradually, but there just isn't enough time before the race to build up as gradually as what my body needs. Having an old lady hip is the pits. So no half marathon for this gal.

But I have a bailout plan! The nice race people let me trade my 13.1 registration for the 3.1 registration! So I can still participate, and it's only one number different. It's practically the same. OK, maybe not, but at least I won't have another race shirt that I shouldn't wear.

Since I decided not to run the half, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted. Now that I'm not following a plan, I can run mileage as short as I want, which means Trea can run with me again! He stopped training way back in February, and when I continued on, I was running too long for him to be able to go, the few times that he actually had time and wanted to go. So last week, we ran twice together -- 1.5 miles each time. It didn't take long, but it was so nice to run together again. So we're both building up gradually, with no real race plans as of yet, but we'll get there. Until then, I'm running for fun, so glad to be able to run the 5K this weekend, and I'll be wearing my new favorite shirt. Because if you're not running happy, then what's the point?

Music Monday: Madness by Muse

*Edited to remove a video for technical issues.

Madness. I just got home from SXSW in Austin (that's South by Southwest, or just "South by" if you're too cool for school). The only word I can think of to sum up my experience is madness. That also happens to be my latest favorite workout song, so it all works out.

I was at SXSW Thursday through late last night, and I can easily say I've never experienced anything quite like it. I took my first ride in a pedicab.

 Which was sponsored by Game of Thrones!

I spent some time in heaven, er...I mean, Whole Foods. I had never been to one before, and now I want to move to Austin and marry the flagship store.

I ate more food off trucks than I ever have in my life, and the kimchi fries from Chi'lantro were amazing -- a close runner-up to my all time favorite animal fries from In-N-Out Burger.

While I was trying to navigate the madness and massive crowds downtown near the Austin Convention Center, my favorite lunch spot was The Big Cheese, where I could quickly grab a gooey, hot grilled cheese on my way to my next session.

I only went for a run one time while I was there, unfortunately. I spent a lot of time walking though. I walked almost everywhere I went, and I loved experiencing the weirdness that is Austin, although this was one of the most exhausting trips I've ever taken.

I did get away from the madness one night to do some exploring on my own. I had a fantastic dinner at Annie's Cafe on Congress. I got there before it got too crowded and had some of the best food of the entire trip. And on the walk back to the hotel, I got to hear some amazing bluegrass that seemed to really annoy the poor pup who was trying to sleep on the bass case. 

   Oh yeah, and I also learned a bunch of stuff and made a few new contacts. 

We attended the Interactive Festival, not Film. Oops.

Now that I'm back (and slept like the dead for 12 hours straight), I'm ready to get back to the business of training. The Bentonville Half is only a few weeks away! Madness by Muse is at the top of my playlist this week, and on constant repeat in between workouts. I can't get enough. What are you listening to this week? 

All by myself

Running is a pretty solitary sport. It's just you and the road and your thoughts (or your blaring iPod). Unless you're running a relay, you don't really depend on anyone else to get from start to finish. Or do you?

I've learned over the last couple of weeks that running alone is worlds apart from running with a partner. I've run by myself plenty of times, but only for a few miles at a time. The majority of my runs are with Trea. We run the same races, follow the same training plan, and especially for long runs, we stick together. We sometimes chat a little while we're out, but we're usually just trying to breathe. 

From our first 10K in 2011

But the last couple of weeks that he's been either busy with work or suffering with cold and flu season, I've been all on my own. And I was surprised at how much I missed running with someone...even if the only interaction we have is wordless pointing and laughing at fighting squirrels. Before this month, I think the farthest I've ever run by myself was 4 miles.

But this weekend, I ran 8! EIGHT whole miles all by myself! It was hard, but I was really proud of myself for doing it. I know everyone else runs by themselves all the time, but your first solo long run can be pretty intimidating. But I did it!

On Sunday, it was warmer than usual and sunny, which was beautiful before it became incredibly hot. I thought I had enough water...but I didn't. I thought I had eaten enough breakfast...but I didn't. I was underfueled, and after taking a week off because of a bad cold, I was undertrained. It was not a fun run. I stopped twice to sit down -- on a bench, like an old lady! But I pushed through and eventually made it a full 8 miles. It's my longest run since coming back from my injury, and my longest run ever by myself.

I hope that Trea will start training with me again, but I know that if he doesn't, I can make it on my own. I guess after you've run 26.2, a half marathon just isn't scary anymore.

High five!

Betrayal

My heart is broken. I thought we had something real, but all you do is hurt me. All I ever did was love you and cherish you, and you betrayed me. When I was with you, I felt like I could conquer anything. When we were together, I could see jealousy in the other girls' eyes because they wanted what I had -- what we had together. You made me feel pretty. You made me feel special. But now I know the truth. You're no good for me. It's over.

That's right, beautiful pink Brooks Pure Cadence shoes -- we're through. I've loved these shoes more than any other pair I've owned. But alas, I have suffered great shin splints. About two weeks ago, I finally gave up on these babies.

My shins and calves hurt so bad during the first few minutes of every run that it made me limp and changed my stride, which is never good news. Even on rest days, my legs hurt when I was just walking around. I thought I eased into neutral shoes, but apparently I ramped up my mileage in them too quickly.

So now I'm back in my trusty old Nike Zoom Structures. I loved them once too, but now, after having something small and sleek and cute, they feel like giant mom shoes. Not cute at all. But my legs are no longer stabby and my runs are pain free, so I guess that's what's important. I'll still wear my Brooks to the gym, because, ya know, fashion statement. And I'll still wear them on super short runs and attempt to use them more gradually. But they won't be my one and only anymore. It just wasn't meant to be.

Sigh.