2013 in the Books!

2013 was a long way from my highest mileage year, but overall it was pretty good.  The challenges of travel, heat, humidity, and life made the first three months tough, but I definitely turned a corner in April. 

My mileage as of Saturday was 1,791.59.  I forgot how close I was when I ran yesterday.  After I got home, I realized I was just 1.11 miles shy of 1,800!  I couldn't let that happen.  I could have taken a walk yesterday afternoon or sometime today, but decided to put an exclamation point at the end of 2013.  I ran 3.11 miles (5K) in 29:28, 9:29 pace!  I think it's easier to run a fast pace on a longer run because you can warm up in your first mile then make up time as you go, but 5K is short for that kind of pace.

Favorite running locations:
Diamond Head
Tantalus Mountain
Ala Moana Park

Monthly Distances:
January - 105.96
February - 132.66
March - 111.02
April - 171.31
May - 169.69
June - 164.13
July - 156.13
August - 180.92
September - 167.45
October - 147.49
November - 148.67
December -146.57
Total - 1,802

I have several ideas that I want to implement in 2014.  It's a big year for me - I'll be turning 50!  I'm still trying to lose some of the weight I gained this year - 2 pounds up, 1 pound down, 1 pound up, 2 pounds down.  But I won't give up!  We will be "moving" back to California for good on February 7th.  Once we are home, I plan to start mountain biking again, too.

I'm also going to start following my marathon training plan again starting next week.  Since my marathon isn't until next December (unless I find a Spring one!) I'm going to try a new way.  I will repeat a week until I hit my pace goals.  In other words, if I'm suppose to run 4 miles at 10:05 and run it at 10:45, I'll repeat that week until I can hit 10:05.  I don't want to add speed and distance at the same time - that's a recipe for injury, so I won't go to week two until I can nail the times for week one.  I'll still run hills and not worry about pace on those days.  I'm thinking 2-3 days of pace work is plenty.

Goodbye 2013, it's been quite a year!

Weekly Review

I had a very unusual week.  I only ran three times, but each of those were awesome!  We did quite a bit of exploring on Christmas day and again yesterday.  So while my miles were down, I was very active.

Sunday - Ran 5.02 miles in 52:14, 10:25 pace
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel - I was flat the day before.  I ended up feeling great!  I earned two PRs on a very short run.

Monday - Rested

Tuesday - Ran 8.03 miles in 1:23:12, 10:22 pace
This was an amazing run!  I have been running to and around Diamond Head for almost a year.  It is two miles from our condo to the base of the crater.  Two very flat and boring miles.  I decided to drive to Kapiolani Park (at the base of the crater) and run around Diamond Head twice.  The first time I went around counterclockwise in 41:56, 10:29 pace.  The second time I went around clockwise in 41:14, 10:15 pace.  I was really proud of that negative split! I also earned three PRs. I'll be doing this run again!

Wednesday - Hiked 1.48 miles in 1:25:23
Les and I had an adventurous Christmas day.  We hiked up Koko Head Crater (all pictures on this post are from that hike.)  The only way I can describe it is UP, UP, UP, then DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!  I've read there are approximately 1,000 railroad ties.  That is equivalent to 1,000 lunges going up and another 1,000 lunges going down!  Oh my aching legs and knees!!  It was a strenuous hike with incredible views at the top.

Thursday - Walked 2 miles
My legs were SO sore!

Friday - No recorded miles
Les had a floating holiday he needed to burn, so we were out exploring once again.  We visited the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  We took the Heart of the Missouri Tour, which is a private tour that goes beyond the norm.  It is advertised as 75 minutes, but ours ended up being 2 hours.  That's 2 hours of walking, climbing ladders, stepping over obstacles and navigating narrow doorways.  It was so interesting!  I have no idea how much we walked, but it was a lot.  We were both still sore from Koko Head, and this was probably the perfect activity to get our muscles moving again.

 

Saturday - Ran 4.1 miles in 42:29, 10:22 pace
My legs were still a little sore this morning (yes that's three days post Koko Head!) but I wanted to get out.  I started running and my legs started warming up and feeling better!  I had my second  best time on the two segments that I PR'd on Sunday.  I think some days you just have to get out of bed, ignore the soreness and just run!

Totals
Running 17.15
Walking  3.48
Total 20.63 miles 

Yippee!!!

I checked the Honolulu Marathon website yesterday and saw they had a special going for "locals."

$26.20 Registration fee for Hawaii locals!

We have lived in Hawaii for almost a year, so I called myself a local and registered!  $1 per mile was too good to pass up!

I am now registered for Marathon #3!!

20 + 13

We are in the final 10 days of 2013.  Strava has one final challenge for the year - 20 + 13 - run 33 miles in 10 days.  It starts today and ends on December 31st.  I'm off to a good start - I ran 5 miles this morning.

Here's to finishing 2013 strong!

Week in Review

Happy first day of Winter!  Christmas is upon us and 2014 is just around the corner.  I'm doing my best to finish this year strong.

Sunday - Rested
I took a complete rest day.  It poured most of the morning, so it was easy to do.

Monday - Ran 6.91 miles in 1:16:01, 11:00 pace
Nothing spectacular about this run, a little sluggish, but I did it.
Also met Les for lunch - walked 2.3 miles.  I noticed one of my sandals felt funny, when I got home I saw why!  Yes, I have done quite a bit of walking this year!

Tuesday - Ran 4.6 miles in 57:25, 12:29 pace
I had total lead legs, but the full moon was awesome!

Also walked 3.5 miles

Wednesday - Walked 2 miles
This was my rest day

Thursday - Ran 10.01 miles in 1:53:08, 11:18 pace
Took another trip up Tantalus!  This is such a hard run, but so rewarding.  I had a little bit of everything on this run - calm, dry, windy, wet, full moon, and sun rise!  And strong legs!

Friday - Walked 6.2 miles
I was pleasantly surprised that my legs didn't hurt after yesterday's run.  I spent the morning at the Honolulu Zoo, then meandered home by way of Waikiki and the International Marketplace.  I asked this guy what he thinks about running...

Saturday - Ran 8.69 miles in 1:44:06, 11:59 pace
First day of winter in Hawaii = 68 degrees with 94% humidity.

Totals
Running 30.21 - I'm liking this number a lot better than the last couple of weeks!
Walking 13.5
Total 43.71 miles
Pilates 2 times, too.

And the Winner is...

I had a total of three entries for my giveaway.  I decided to go "low tech" with  my selection.  While Les was getting ready for work, I wrote the three names...

Folded them up and placed all three in a cup...

Les drew the winner...

Congratulations, Caroline!

Please contact me with your mailing address and I'll get your Bani Band to you. Thanks for participating, ladies!

Weekly Review

It's been a better week.  I think my hamstring is at about 95%.  I really babied it for the first half of the week - I didn't even attempt running until Wednesday!  I'm also pleased to say that I did Pilates three times this week as planned.  It's definitely getting easier.

Sunday - Walked 8.01 miles
Spectating a marathon is a lot of work!  I was at the start and finish lines and enjoyed the day so much!

Monday - Walked 4.5 miles

Tuesday - Walked 3.5 miles

Wednesday - Ran 6.74 miles in 1:28:30, 13:08 pace
Hamstring still wasn't feeling great.  My IT band was also a little cranky, I'm guessing my stride was off from the hamstring and was causing IT trouble.  It's a slippery slope...

Thursday - Walked 4 miles

Friday - Ran 8.01 miles in 1:38:45, 12:20 pace
I decided to head up to Tantalus.  I knew I would be slow, and I was, but even walking up Tantalus is a tough workout.  I managed to run down at a pretty good pace.  I wore my compression calves sleeves while out running, I usually just wear them for recovery.  I didn't notice much difference, but I did hear a cyclist say, "Nice socks."

Good morning, Diamond Head!

Also walked 6 miles
Saturday - Ran 5.25 miles in 54:33, 10:24 pace
Today was going to be an active recovery run.  My quads are really sore from yesterday's run.  But once I started running, my legs felt better than they had in about two weeks!  I decided to run fast as long as I could.  That ended up being the entire time!  Must have been my special headband...

Totals
Running 20
Walking 26.01
Total 46.01 miles

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!