Looking Forward to the Weekend to Run with the Family and Nature!

Well, now that we are all officially over our sickness, I hope the weekend is a healthy one full of running (and Father's day fun too, of course!). Yesterday, both my daughter and I were still sick and on Advil regularly for her fever and my sore throat. Thankfully, I felt OK but we still decided to keep the babies out of a long run and I would just run on the treadmill again while my husband ran outside. It worked out in the fact that he can get out of the house for a few and I can work on my sub 25 min. 5k. So, the night before I was at 25:20, last night I hit 25:01 and tonight's run was 24:37. I'm going to keep trying to and get this down to a science. I still don't have the endurance to run faster than an 8' pace longer than 10 minutes I think. So I start my first 10 minutes out at an 8'30" pace. My stupid Nike Sportswatch kept jumping to a 9'30 or so pace, which made me rage and then I tried to run faster. It's silly because I'm on a treadmill - there's really no way I could slow down that much at a set pace. Anyways, a few minutes after 10, I gradually push my pace up until I hit a pace of 8' by 15 minutes. I run that until 20, then I gradually push those last 3 or so minutes to a little over a 7' pace until I hit my 3 miles. I don't know if I will be able to work on my 5k timing this weekend, as I hope we'll be running family-style outside for a 6 or 8 miler on Saturday or Sunday, but next week I hope to make the last 10 minutes at a steady 7'30 or lower.

It's been a while since I last ran a 5k under 25min and it's not often that I do, but since I've been running with my husband and the baby stroller, I'm afraid my endurance and speed may suffer. I think by doing one 5k a week and pushing to get faster times, I shouldn't suffer too much.

Sick Again?!

Tuesday after work we were planning on another 40 minute run. My daughter and I were both sick that day, so after enduring work, I pretty much was done with the day (after the baby stuff was done, of course). My husband was feeling a bit off too, so there was no run for neither of us.

Today I was feeling way sick and knew I wouldn't be able to as well. However, thanks to my husband, I was able to get a two hour nap with my son (who also might be sick again), while he stayed up with my daughter (who was refusing to nap even though she was sick/feverish as well). Between sick kids and weather, we decided not to run again tonight. BUT! Later tonight, after the babies were asleep, I decided I felt better and to just jump on the treadmill and train for my sub 25 min 5k. 

It felt great to be running and at a nice pace of 8'30" consistently, up until I ramped it up to a 7' for the last half mile or so. Apparently, I should have ramped up sooner, because I was over my goal. 25:20, but I'll do better next time when I'm feeling 100%. 

I've been reading a little on the MAF 180 and might give it a try. I don't have a heart rate monitor on my sports watch, but I know my treadmill has one. Maybe on my next treadmill one, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully we're all feeling better tomorrow so we can go for a family run again. We've acquired a bell for our stroller, so that should add an entertainment value to our run. I know I'll feel a bit silly, but hopefully it will be effective and not offensive.

Get faster at 5k week, Day #1.

Today was our first day to make it to 5k in 30 minutes or less (actually, it's my husbands goal, as when I run by myself I'm around a 26 minute mile when I run at my regular pace). It was a gorgeous day, albeit a little humid, but my husband was determined. I had already started out the run with a little negativity by saying I hope that my side stitches didn't come back today. I told my husband, if they did, for him to keep running and to not hold back with me if I did have them. Thankfully, there were NO side stitches, so my energy was there. However, my ankle was being a pain, but those little hurts I usually can run through by just changing my stride, etc.
We started off great - around an 8'50 pace and pretty much kept it under a 9' pace until the 15 minute marker, where once we turned around, the wind was against us. Wind + baby stroller = no easy Sunday morning jog. But here's the more frustrating part. Throughout our whole run today (and the previous 5k training runs we've been doing), I've always ran ahead of my husband, which he allows for these "speed" runs. I was about 2 minutes ahead of him (maybe a city block and a half distance?). I did slow my pace to a 9'30 and even ended up stopping at a stop light to wait for him. Other than the stop, I had to stop at two side streets for people and their cars, an stop sign intersection as a lady in her car was not paying attention and did not let me cross, and a truck that was blocking the side walk so I had to go around him and run in the street. This, is why I hate street running. I had to pause my GPS more than a few times and because of this, I feel my GPS was probably wrong, as my husbands GPS said his average pace was a 9'36 and my GPS said my average pace was at a 9'50 (even though I was about 2 minutes ahead of him?). Well, I won't get too concerned over it, as it was technically his run/his goal.
All in all, it was a great run - felt like I was actually running and NO side stitches! Hooray. AND my husband made it to his goal; completing a 5k in 30 minutes!