Great Columbia Crossing - Done!

Whew! What a day!  This morning Mr. Kawaii and I got up at 3a.m. and drove to Astoria for the Great Columbia Crossing.  I'm veeery sleepy now, so this is going to be a short posting but I wanted to be sure to update the blog with how AWESOME the day went.

This is the first walk I've done solo, and I wasn't sure how well I'd do on my own.  But as the group of 3,000 walkers, joggers and runners headed across the starting line I looked through the crowd to find a couple of people who's pace I thought I could match and just followed them as they made their way through hundreds of people walking at a slower pace.

When I did this same walk last year, my time was 2 hours and 8 minutes... just fast enough to miss the bus that picks up the slow-pokes at the end of the race.  This year though, after months of walking and other types of fitness training, I finished the 10k in 1 hour and 48 minutes.  I couldn't believe I beat my previous time by a full twenty minutes!

I'm feeling pretty accomplished now, and I've got to give big thanks to a few people for helping me to make so much progress.  To M and K, I thank you for walking the track with me this summer and hiking through the forest of Farmers' Markets.  To E, thank you for listening to me gripe when I feel like I'm not making the progress I feel like I should (you're the best firefighter I know).  And to my dear husband I would like to say a special thanks for being the best cheerleader a woman could have - seeing you at the finish line this morning made the whole walk worthwhile.

And do you blog readers, thank you for checking out the blog.  Without your readership, I probably would have given up on my goal to be more fit months ago.  You have all helped to inspire me to keep my promise to myself to be more healthy by keeping me accountable for the workouts I make as well as those I miss.

Now I am off for a couple of days of rest.  Hope you all have a wonderful start to your week, and remember in whatever it is that you are hoping to achieve: the easiest way to get to the finish line is simply one step at a time.

And Around The Track We Go!

Just a week and a day away from the Great Columbia Crossing, and I couldn't be more pleased with my progress getting prepared for this 10k.

The first 10k that my husband and I did together we hardly did any training to prepare for, and the second one we only trained for about 3 weeks ahead of time to try to be in shape enough to survive.  This time around though, I have been active all summer, and I've spent the last couple of weeks testing my endurance and working up to the 6 1/2 mile distance that the Great Columbia Crossing will cover October 3rd.

While last week I walked/jogged 4 miles, this morning I upped it to 5 and hit the track with as much fervor and enthusiasm as I could muster for 8a.m. on a Saturday morning.  I forgot headphones this morning, so instead I gave myself a series of pep-talks and kept verbally pushing myself to keep a steady pace and not worry about checking the time on my cell phone until I was done.  I have a really bad habit of wanting to time every single lap when I train, and while that might be helpful if I was doing a sprint, it is really just unnecessary micro-management over such a long haul.

This morning I was able to complete right around 5.5 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes.   I'm really excited that even though I lengthened the walk a mile and a half further than what I did last week I was able to maintain an 18 minute per mile average.

All this work has really paid off and I can't wait to get to the starting line on the 3rd and push myself to finish ahead of the big yellow bus of doom.  I have truly proven to myself this summer that hitting personal goals, while never easy, can be done if you just put one foot in front of the other.

In other news: My reward for finishing this 10k is a new pair of running shoes.  Hooray!

Endurance? How The Heck Did THAT Happen?

Since the 10k I am committed to doing is inching ever closer, I decided that I should start pushing my walks further and faster than I've been doing over the course of the summer.  I figure one of two things will happen; either I'll be really prepared for the Great Columbia Crossing October 3rd, or I'll be estimate just how far I'll make it before the big yellow "Get-Your-Ass-Off-The-Bridge" bus comes to collect me.

If this morning's walk is any indication... not only will I be able to finish the walk without being picked up by the bus, but I should also be able to thoroughly destroy my last 10k finish time of 2 hours 4 minutes.

This morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed to hit the track.  I decided to time myself walking 4 miles, roughly 2/3 of the 10k distance I'll be walking in just two short weeks.  For some reason about a half mile in both my legs started aching (probably residual soreness from Curves yesterday) and I began to second guess myself.  I started to think that maybe I wasn't in as good of shape as I thought I was... and maybe my third 10k would be my undoing.

Luckily, I pushed through the doubt and worked out the stiff pain in my left calf and right ankle because before I knew it I had hit a rhythm and was truckin' through each quarter mile with more ease than the one before.  From lap 6 onward, I was even able to jog down the backstretch of each lap!  2 miles in I really felt great and knew that I could do 4 miles, and although it wouldn't be easy it also wasn't going to kill me.

I finished the last lap of my 4th mile with a mixture of feelings of accomplishment and nervousness.  I just hoped that I had finished in a quick enough time that adding two more miles to the circuit on the 3rd wouldn't put me over the allotted finish time.  With one eye closed and the other eye cautiously peering through closed fingers I looked at the clock.  1 hour 12 minutes!

Although due to the added distance I wasn't able to maintain the 16 minute miles I did earlier this week, I still averaged about 18 minutes which is a winning number as far as the 10k is concerned.  To finish a 10k (approximately 6.5 miles) within the recommended time of 2 hours, a person needs to average 18 minutes 28 seconds per mile or better.  Although it'll be a close race for me I should be finishing right on time!

If you're interested in joining me for the Great Columbia Crossing, check out their event site: http://www.greatcolumbiacrossing.com/

Taking It Easy... One Step At A Time

Still not feeling totally up to par, I spent most of the day cuddling with Pooch and getting as much sleep as possible.  I got to a point this evening where sleep was no longer an option, and my stuffy nose and sinus headache had left the building so I suited up and headed out to the track with M and K (and Pooch too).

While I have been proud of my progress so far this summer, M has really taken the weight-loss bull by the horn. She announced when I stopped off for a visit yesterday that she had dropped another two pant sizes!!  Truly great results, and a wonderful example of what someone can do when they are focused on getting in shape.

K, M and I took a leisurely hour long walk this evening, getting two miles of track out of the way without pushing ourselves too hard. This gave us a chance to get caught up on what's been happening in our respective lives over the last week, and for M and K to get a first-hand report on Dragon*Con.

I realized tonight that the clock is ticking, and it's time for me to start ramping up my walking to prepare for my upcoming 10K October 3rd.  I hope that this head cold doesn't linger so I can get rocking!

Late Again!!

I am once again blogging the day after I actually worked out.  For some reason, taking a few days off from blogging seriously whacked-out my writing process and I'm having one heck of a time getting back into the groove.  

Last night I met up with K for some track walking.  There are a couple of big 10K's this fall that she and I are planning on participating in and it's time for us both to ramp up the walking/jogging and get ready to complete 6.6 miles in under 2 hours!  We got a great head start on our training for the events last night by completing 2.5 miles in under 45 minutes - one of our best track times since we started walking together earlier this summer.

Although walking the track isn't always the most exciting of adventures, it is a great way to test yourself on a consistent course without a ton of variables... and there's not much thought involved so it leaves you free to discuss world affairs and spend some time contemplating what you'll do when you win the Powerball jackpot next weekend.

Unfortunately, I didn't wear the proper undergarments yesterday and the walk has left my thighs tender to the touch so I am going to take the day off to repair myself before heading back out to the track tomorrow for another round of "Get Your A@@ In Gear".  Next time I'll do myself a favor and change my underpants before I go!