I survived my first 10K today!

So getting up for team runs has been really hard for my lately...don't know why...I always really enjoy them once I'm there, and sometimes I even run my best pace of the week during our Saturday runs!  Well, I missed our team run for the second week in a row today :[ but it's definitely not because I'm a slacker!

I have come to find I CANNOT run during the heat of the day.  I will die [or at least it feels like it], so after it cooled off a bit, I decided to go run--around 6PM.  Saturday's are LONG RUN days, so I wanted to go somewhere with some nice scenery, not too hard of a surface (like concrete or asphalt), etc.  I decided to run the Highland canal trail.  To be honest I don't know how long the whole trail is...I know it's at least 10 miles because it has these cute little mile markers along the way and the 10 mile one is about half way through my run...anyway, it's a long trail, good for long runs!

I have been using the Galloway method for the most part.  Sometimes I run the first mile then start my 3:1 ratio, but Coach Mike says on long runs you need to start out slow so you can finish strong, so I started my 3:1 ratio from the beginning.  It was a pretty good run, but my pace was a little higher (11:09/mile) than I would like it to be, but that's okay because...I COMPLETED MY VERY FIRST 10K (like in my whole life)!  I did an "out-and-back" run, so when I was feeling a little tired toward the end, I realized there wasn't much I could do being 2 miles away from my car...I had to finish.

One thing I definitely should have done this week before today was get a hydration belt!  Coach Mike has told us that once our runs get longer (over an hour) we need to be using a hydration belt, and start experimenting with different nutrition supplements like gels so that we know what works for us by the big day!  I definitely could have used a little hydration along my run, so to say the least I will be getting my belt this week and be ready for next Saturday's long run!

My motivation for this run was this little picture that I found that has really stuck in my mind!

"Unless you Puke, Faint, or Die...Keep Going!"

Love It!

Training Tools
Anyone who knows me well, knows that EVERYTHING I do that can go into an excel spreadsheet, will!  So...since I started training in May, I have been tracking everything--workouts, miles, time, calories, strength training workouts, etc.  Well gotta love technology, but somehow my training file got corrupted! Nooooooo!  Well luckily I also track everything on Runner's World Training Log, and calorie count.  I decided that my excel spreadsheet, while I LOVED it, was redundant of my other tools, so I didn't attempt to rebuild it, I will just use these other tools.

Recap of May & June Runs/Workouts
(I know they are small, but still...)

Chalk it up to another week on the trails!