2010 Eurasia race: 2 weeks to 15K

09.30.10 (Thursday)

So I decided today that I am going to run in the 32nd Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia 15K race.  Well, I guess to be honest that I’ve always had the intention to run in this year’s race, but today is the deadline for registration and it is just now that I am officially declaring that I AM running in the race (procrastination and the fact that I haven’t started training yet to blame or the late start).  This will officially be my THIRD race every (not counting the mediocre job I did at running the 800 meter race in high school).

#1 – 2007 5K Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (NYC) 00:35 time

#2 – 2009 15K Eurasia Race (Istanbul) 01:58 time

#3 – 2010 15K Eurasia Race (Istanbul) 01:37 time

Since I have such an abbreviated training period, I thought I would blog about it to keep me motivated.  Normally I would train for more than two weeks, but since I’ve been doing Bootcamp for 13 months now, I feel that I am at a level of fitness that I will be able to run the race safely.

10.01.10 (Friday) light run + bootcamp | 3K – 17 minutes

Had Bootcamp this morning, so go there early and ran just over 3K as a warm-up.  Feels good to get back into running.  It’s been months since I ran.  Would have run longer if I had more time.

my training course

10.02.10 (Saturday) first semi-long run | 6.5K – 45 minutes

This was the second longest I’ve ever run at one time.  The first longest was last year’s 15K.  In last year’s training I never ran more than about a 5.5K, but in hindsight I don’t think that was proper training.  Ran with a training buddy who would be running the race as well, but recently found out she has to go out of town that weekend.  Felt very proud of us for running this distance today non-stop!  Didn’t have the car today, so had to walk off campus UP a ton of stairs to catch a taxi.  Not what I wanted to do after a long run!

walking up 10 minutes of never-ending stairs like this after a run was not fun

10.03.10 (Sunday) could have should have | 3.5K – 18 minutes

Today we ran a short run, but we should have pushed ourselves to do more.  Barely broke a sweat.  Guess it’s only day 3 though, so having a light run day isn’t the end of the world.

10.04.10 (Monday)  running REST + light bootcamp

Bootcamp kicked off its new Fall season today, so we decided to have a running rest day.  Turned out that Bootcamp was a very light workout, so it was almost like it was a full rest day (minus the waking up at 5:30am!).   Long run tomorrow…

10.05.10 (Tuesday) holy hell long run | 10K – 75 minutes

Our goal today was to run 10K… and we did it!  This is officially the NEW second longest I’ve run before at one time (ousting out my Saturday run).  We were ELATED after this run and I was on a natural high all day.  I felt so proud of us for finishing… and being able to talk to hold a conversation the whole time.  We incorporated some sprints on the last 2K, so by 10K we were definitely done, but if we hadn’t done the sprints we probably could have done at least another 1K-1.5K.

me and my running buddy

10.06.10 (Wednesday) warm-up run + bootcamp | <1K – 5 minutes

Planned on getting to bootcamp a little early to get some light running in, but ended up arriving just on time so only managed to squeeze in a few laps around the track.  Bootcamp was on the light side again, so didn’t have too much of a work out today.  Aiming for a solid run tomorrow…

10.07.10 (Thursday) my birthday run | 6.5K – 48 minutes

Had a really good run today.  I definitely feel like I’m getting into the swing of running again. Also starting to incorporate carbs into my diet too (usually don’t eat a lot) and it’s really making a difference when I run.  I don’t get as tired as easily and have more endurance.  Go figure!

10.08.10 (Friday) unintended day off

I planned on have a light run this morning, but opted to sleep in and skip bootcamp and the run because of my birthday celebrations last night.  Didn’t do anything crazy, but definitely had champagne, wine, ate dinner late… well you get the point.

10.09.10 (Saturday) intended day off

Saving up for a big run tomorrow, so took today off from running.  :)

10.10.10 (Saturday) new course, new challenges | 9.25K – 60 minutes

I was solo running today and tried out a new course – a walking/running path behind in a neighborhood park.  There are no flat spots on the course, so it gave me a good chance to practice some incline training.  I was quite tired from a long week and didn’t eat so well last night (damn three glasses of wine plus pizza and cupcake last night).  Yes, the wrong kind of carbs to be stocking up on.  My run was grueling today because of it.  My goal was to make it to 60 minutes and I will admit there were some parts that I thought I was going to die.  But I’m glad that I ran this different course today because it is more like the actual course I will run.  I think you have to have some tough runs in your training to give you a good challenge.  I just hope that come race day it won’t be like today… although I’m sure I’ll eat properly the night before, plus adrenaline will be pumping.

new course for me today: Santcılar Parkı

 

10.11.10 (Monday) killer bootcamp | 2.5K – 14 minutes

By the time we arrived at bootcamp this morning, I didn’t have much running time, but managed to get in a short warm-up run.  Bootcamp was a killer though and made up for not having a longer run.  I think this power-packed hour of bootcamp 3x / week really helps with my mental training and endurance.  

10.12.10 (Tuesday) solo rain run | 10K – 64 minutes

Got in a long run today since I didn’t feel good about my weekend run.  This is the last long run I will get in before the race this coming Sunday.  I didn’t have my running buddy today and it was raining like cats and dogs, but that didn’t stop me.  I still ran 10K, mixing in some semi-sprints on the track straightaways, averaging a 10.5 minute mile.  The run was actually torture until I finally hit my stride about 7K into it.  But I was quite bored for the first 40 minutes.  Also ran with my ipod for the first time in a long time and realized I have some editing to do on my race playlist.  I realized today that training buddies and music are two big motivators for me.

you can't tell very well, but I had a rainy run this morning

10.13.10 (Wednesday) abs day bootcamp | <1K – 5 minutes

Since I had a 10K run yesterday, I decided to just stick to bootcamp this morning.  It was another killer session today, so I definitely felt like I got a workout.  Especially an abs workout!

10.14.10 (Thursday) solid rain run | 6.5K – 46 minutes

It was POURING rain this morning.  But I had promised my training buddy we would run – rain or shine – so no rain was going to stop me.  It actually wasn’t so bad.  It was definitely pouring, but it was very peaceful and somehow motivating.  About 1/2 way through I started doing sprint training on the straightaways.  There were some U.S. Marines doing early-morning drills at the track, so it gave a nice distraction from the monotony of running laps.  Got to see one of them throw up and decided that I would much rather be running endless laps than doing what they were doing.

10.15.10 (Friday) light run + bootcamp| 3.5K – 18 minutes

I didn’t want to push it and run too close to race day, so I just had a light run this morning to warm up before bootcamp.  I can’t believe the race is 2 days away!  Today I chose my race clothes and set it aside with my hat, making sure the things I want to wear are washed.  Did some extra stretching today.  Went to a friend’s birthday party at a karaoke bar tonight though, and unfortunately somehow I had 4 vodka drinks and stayed out until after 2am… not the early, one-drink-only night I planned to have.  Damn you, Bon Jovi.

10.16.10 (Saturday) REST before race

Definitely felt the effect of going out last night.  Definitely not the wisest thing to do before a big race.  Was pretty exhausted all day today, but think I’ll be fine for tomorrow.  I’ll get a good night’s rest and be ready to go in the morning.  I did venture out today and went shopping for material for our Halloween costumes, so did a fair amount of walking.  Bought fresh salmon at the fish market, came home and made it along side some mushroom risotto and steamed spinach.  It was a great dinner and great fuel for tomorrow.  At night I made sure everything was laid out for the morning since I had to get up early.  Had a really hard time sleeping.  I know I will finish the race, and I know what to expect.  I guess I’m just anxious!

10.17.10 (Sunday) RACE DAY!

(technical problems with blog… will update asap!)…