Back on track.... April's gonna rock!!!

I know I haven't been on here in a while, but that's because I wasn't running for a while.... About a week and a half ago, I ended up getting really sick (and I mean REALLY sick - my fever was bad enough that my roommate had to take me to the ER) and took about a week off from running.  It was terrible, but my body really needed it.

I'm now back on track, but unfortunately feeling a little rusty... distances that once felt so easy are kind of difficult right now!  I figure it'll just take a little time to get back in stride, so I'm just pushing through it.  It's also finals week here at good ol' UCLA, so I think I might also just be tired.  Such is life... hopefully spring break will bring me some rest and relaxation, a boost in energy, and lots of time to run!

On the racing front, I am sad to say that I did not go the race I had picked out for March.  I had planned on running the LA Marathon Big 5K on St. Patrick's Day, but I was a little worried about it due to the fact that I had a chemistry final the very next day and had just gotten over my illness.  So when 17 March dawned cold, gray, and intensely rainy here in LA, I decided to skip it.  I just couldn't risk getting sick all over again.

So to make up for it, I have registered in not one, not two, but THREE races for April!!!  It's my birthday gift to myself: a month-long running bonanza of cool, themed events!!!

On 7 April, I'll be running the Hollywood 10K (not the half-marathon... not ready for another one of those yet), which starts and ends on Hollywood Blvd!  It's super close to Universal Studios City Walk, and there's a post-race brunch at the Hard Rock Cafe!  We haven't yet decided if we're going to brave brunch yet, though... it might be super crowded!

On 14 April, I'll be running the Nike She Runs LA 10K, an 80's themed race down Melrose place.  The after-party includes an giant concert in the Universal Studios backlot with the Spazmatics, an 80's cover band from LA.  I'm getting ready to break out my neon!

And finally, on 22 April, I'll be running the SoCal Color Run, a 5K race slightly reminiscent of the Indian festival of Holi.  Basically, you have to wear white, and at each kilometer mark, people throw colored powder all over you, so by the end of the race, everyone is all rainbow!!!  It should be interesting... not the place to try and set a PR, but it should be tons of fun.

Well, there you have it: my totally awesome, completely self-indulgent, all-April-long running celebration of my 21st birthday!!!  I can't wait.

Oh, yeah, Mom and Dad, don't let me forget.... I owe you $140 in race registration fees.  :)

It seems as if my body's been holding out on me again....

Well, I was all ready to get on here and write about how my training for my upcoming 5K has been okay but not spectacular, that I've been feeling a bit unfocused since my last race (not unmotivated, just unfocused), and that I'm a little discouraged with my progress- it seems to take me so long to get faster!!!  The only ray of sunshine I had planned for this post was that I ran a 5K PR last Thursday- 34:15, which is about 30 seconds faster than my last record.

And then I went running this afternoon.  I've been roughly following a 5K plan I found on the internet, and today was supposed to be a 6x400 speed workout (six 400 meter sprints separated by 400 meter recovery jogs).  But as I was walking to the gym, I was thinking about my mile time- I actually had no idea what it was.  It's been so long since I ran a single mile that I really didn't know how fast I could run one, so I decided that I'd get on the treadmill and try to run a 10:20 mile (it seemed like a stretch, but still reasonable), and then I'd finish up with just 4x400 repeats.

Well, I started running the 10:20 pace.... and then I sped up a little... and when the first mile was over, I just kept going.  I felt totally fine.... in fact, I felt better than I usually did at my normal pace.  I just kept running and speeding up and running, and before I knew it, I had run the whole 5K.  And I still felt awesome.

30:56.

WHAT?!?!?!  That's a 9:57 pace for 3.1 miles.... I had shaved off over three minutes in less than a week.

Obviously, it didn't really happen in a week's time; I had just settled into my 11:20 pace rut and my mind was completely and totally convinced that that was all my body was capable of.  This is not the first time I've fallen into this trap and I'm sure it won't be the last.  It's just proof that running really is 90% mental....  If you can't get out of your head, you're screwed.

It would seem as if that 30-minute threshold I've been idolizing is a whole lot closer than I imagined...