Splits

Looks like I did a good job pacing myself on the race...

That final mile I gave it my all!!!! Maybe next time I can start off a little faster...

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Speed	Max Speed	Calories
1	0:10:39	1	10:39	8:36	117
2	0:09:27	1	9:27	8:47	118
3	0:09:40	1	9:40	8:40	119
4	0:09:37	1	9:37	8:35	118
5	0:09:33	1	9:33	8:01	119
6	0:08:44	1	8:44	7:49	118
7	0:02:31	0.3	8:23	7:36	35
Summary	1:00:15	6.3	9:33	7:36	744

Yeah baby!!!!

The race was awesome! The weather was absolutely perfect!!!!

The route was great...just not much to see around mile 2-4....but then at mile 4, I saw THIS:

Of course, How can I not get a burst of energy after that??? :)

I came in at 59'21''!!!! So just under an hour...which was my first goal. Maybe next time I will come under 58 minutes!

Tomorrow is race day!!!

Tomorrow is my 10K.

I would lie if I didn't say I was a little tiny nervous!. I know I can run the distance....but I'm worried about the pace.

The hubs said to just go out there and have fun...does he NOT know me? I have goals!. I doubt I'll be able to meet my 58 minute goal. I ran the distance (6.2 miles) on Sunday and it took me 1 hr 5 minutes. I don't think I can shave a whole minute/mile...

The slice of pizza and glass of wine I just had may not help. Ok, who am I kidding...the slices and the glasses. In my defense, I think I totally deserved them. It was a long day....the poor guys are having a tough time after the shots on Tuesday :( ...not sure if I feel worse for them or for me for enduring 3 days of pretty constant screaming. Did I mention they don't like pacifiers?

Yep, glasses of wine....well deserved. Told ya.

Won't be beating my old personal record...

But I just signed up for a 10K race on March 6th!!!.

If you remember, I ran my first race (ever) a little over a year ago. It was a 10K race and I did better than I expected!. I ran it in 53 mins and 21 seconds.

This year I won't have as much time to train...and I have these extra lbs that slow me down. I'm setting a personal goal of doing this in 58 minutes. That's a pace of 9'21''. My current average is about 10'10'' (according to my Garmin Forerunner!). That would be shaving a whole 5 minutes from the expected time if I ran it with my current average...in less than 2 months. That was my same goal for my first race...but things are a bit different now.

I know it doesn't sound like a very aggressive goal...but keep in mind I have two lil' chunky monkeys to take care, I'm sleep deprived and don't have much time to train!.

So 58 minutes it is :)

Instant personal record!!!

No matter how good or bad I did, today I was on my way to setting a personal record, since this was my first race EVER!.

Of course, it IS always better to set an amazing personal record...and I am pumped with my results!!!!!

• There were a total of 305 finishers in the race...I was #148 - 49th percentile.
• There were a total of 22 women in my age group...I was #5 - 23rd percentile.
• My time.....53:21.2 minutes, 8:36 pace per mile!!!

I know what you are thinking.......what the heck??...didn't I set out for a 9 something mins per mile goal!???. Yes I did!...but it turns out that I don't suck as badly as I did. I shouldn't day it that way, let me try again. I am a lot faster than I thought I was and all this time I have been underestimating my runs!. It turns out my Nikeplus needs to be re calibrated. According to my Ipod, I ran 5.8 miles and averaged 9:13 mins/mile!.

The good news is I am actually performing better than I thought I was...the bad news is I have to recalibrate the Nikeplus!. Wven with that minor problem, I absolutely LOVE the Nikeplus addition to my Ipod and recommend it to anyone that's looking into getting into running. It is an awesome motivational tool, very user friendly and it's an easy way to keep track of your runs. Even without being properly calibrated, I know how much I improve week to week...and that's what really matters to me.

So how was the race??.. AWESOME!!!!. Just look at the beautiful scenery we had as a back drop....

I started this morning waking up early to have some breakfast with a cup coffee,and WATER!. I know in order to perform, I need to have some fuel...so I wanted to get something in me an hour before the race. After that, I was ready to go and so excited to just get there! (pardon the morning face, but look at the happy face ;))

Alejandro (my awesome loving supporting husband!) came with me to document the experience :) . We got there and were surprised at the number of people that were there!. We went to get my chip and number and I was ready to go (after two potty breaks!).

I was very worried about getting too caught up with the excitement that I really wanted to watch my speed as we took off. Now that I look at me Nikeplus graph I am amazed at the straight line!!! I really did keep my pace throughout the entire race!!!.

During the first mile started I got very emotional. I seriously thought I was going to break down crying right then and there. As I was running, with all these people around me and such an awesome view, all I could think about was...my dad. My dad was a marathoner...and he has ran many marathons and practice runs all around the world (he would run in whatever city he needed to go to for work). All I could think about was that my dad had probably ran that same run...maybe not in a race...but he probably ran that same trail during one of his trips. Then I thought how exciting it was to know that I was literally following his foot steps!!. He's my hero, so I am honored to do anything that closely resembles his foot steps (in my case, a lot slower foot steps...haha!). So I had my little moment there...I got a little teary eyed as I looked at the beach...then I thought..."here we go dad! let's do this"...and I started to get into my pace :) Since my dad is my number 1 reader, maybe you think I am making this up to keep him hooked on reading the blog!...haha, but believe me...I had a moment there!!

Mile 2-4 were pretty good...good pace, I felt good. After Mile 4 I kicked it up a notch to finish strong. At Mile 5. I couldn't believe my timing!

When I saw Alejandro at the finish line and saw what my time was, I couldn't believe it!!!. I was just thrilled!!!. I am so excited and feel proud I did what I set out to do..

So here, publicly, I announce that in 2009 I will be signing up for more races and hope to run a half marathon!. I haven't found a good one that fits the time frame and location, but as soon as I do..I'll be posting it here! :)

So yes, I'm hooked and loving it!!.

Thank you everyone that has followed my journey to this race....I really appreciate it :)

Erpapin...we did it!!!!!!!...next year I'm bringing the sisters with me!

Happy Sunday!!!

Almost there!

I'm not doing any real runs this week (other than the short/fast paced runs in the Boot Camp class). I want to give the good ol' legs a rest before this Saturday!

Tomorrow is my last day of Boot Camp..I'm upset because I won't be able to continue attending this class because they switched the time and it will be too late for me. It did serve a good purpose though, it gave me extra energy and I remembered what it was like to be truly challenged in a workout...so in 2009, I will be on a quest for a new boot camp class that I can commit to. I am also happy to report I actually do enjoy working out in the mornings! I almost don't know what to do with myself with all that free time after work! ;)

Tomorrow, up early for the last class and a good stretch at night to be ready in the morning!. Yippeee! I'm pretty excited :)

Under 58 minutes...

* Before the update I just wanted to let you all know I am running the 5K Race for the Cure, to support my sister's friend, Daniela. Please visit the link on the right and support our team (Tati is our team Captain!). You can sponsor us and/or come join us. Come on, a little bit can make a big difference and we want to show Daniela that she's not alone in this fight!. What better way to start the year than by giving to an important cause while getting fit in the mean time!!. Papi, gracias por tu apoyo :))) te quiero! *


Ok, now to the update you all have been waiting for...yeah, yeah, I know nobody was waiting, but humor me :)

Under 58 minutes...

Is my goal for the 10K race next weekend!. Today, I had my long practice run...while I won't tell you it was *easy*, I will tell you I felt ok throughout...a little tired right around Mile 5, but decided to drop the pace a little bit to catch my breath. I finished strong (or so I thought)...completing 6.33 miles (my farthest run yet..and I had Lance Armstrong on my Nike+ to remind me about that fact!). My average pace was 9'35'' mins/mile...not too shabby :)

The last time I ran over 6 miles, was October 24th. That day I ran 6.23 miles and my average pace 10'13'' min/mile...so I shaved 38 seconds per mile in under 2 months. This may not sound like a lot, but it is!!

That long run in October, was when I decided to go to the Doctor for the foot pain and found out about the Neuroma...shortly thereafter, I started the alcohol treatments which has definitely slowed down my training (since I am down for two whole days every two weeks!)...but it has been all worth it!.

Why under 58 minutes?...well, I used a handy little Calculator and decided that I *think* I could average 9'20'' min/miles on race day. I didn't have a method for estimating this, and I'm sure serious runners are probably laughing at my estimates and less than scientific method for selecting a goal, but it just seemed like a good number to me...so we will go with that!

That's 15 secs less per mile, which is 93 seconds less for the 10K (1.55 minutes less than my time today). Again, seems like a little goal, but it really isn't. I'll be thrilled is I can achieve that goal!.

After the run it was time to get dinner ready. The husband asked for "Beef Tostadas" for dinner and even though I was tired, I couldn't say no because he never has any requests when it comes to dinner (and some days I need some help with ideas!), so when he does have a request, I simply can't resist. Let me tell you, I enjoyed them so much too!. They were Delicious!!...of course I had to have fresh salsa and guacomole as add-ons (yummm!). While we were eating I told Alejandro one day I will take him to best tostada place ever. If you are from Caracas you know what I'm talking about...Santa Ana Tostadas!....ahh, so good. Now, I am ready for a warm shower and then going right back to my vampire stories! (I'm almost at the end of the book! sniff, sniff!).

I leave you with my graph from Nike for today's run..Not sure if you can tell (you can click it to see a bigger picture), but I slowed down to about 9'49'' and then sprinted a bit at the end, pretending I was finishing the race..hehe, my head just works in funny ways! (the top there is about 6'59'')