A Treadmill PR (personal record)...

Is there such a thing? If so...I achieved one!
So, my best ever 10K run time is just over 54 minutes & today I did it on the treadmill in 53:33!! So, I totally know that is relatively pathetic compared to most people who run (and, run well) -- but, for me it is pretty good. It was 8:37 per mile pace.
My heart rate was in the upper 160's for the beginning & middle of the run & then went into the 170's for about the last 1.5 miles.
I felt strong today - probably because I had taken the last 2 days off from my workouts (hard to get a workout in when the kids are off from school & there is so much to do before Christmas...).
In fact, for today's workout, I actually did a 1.5 mile warm-up run & then did my 10K PR. So, in total, I did 7.7 miles. Just glad I felt good through it all. I totally hate those runs that are so hard & feel so terrible. Although, I do realize that those feelings are all apart of the training - they must come & even though they feel terrible, they ultimately DO make me stronger & more well-conditioned. Not to mention, those terrible "feelings" are usually no more than my mind trying to over-ride my body & tell it what to do. Rarely, do I ever really feel that bad...but, sometimes my body would just LOVE for me to stop running & my mind loves to chime right in and agree that the discomfort is too much to bear & that I should totally STOP.
I think a HUGE part of training (as I have found out over the last couple years) is so much of a mental game. Yes, it has a lot to do with how strong/fit my body is, but it also has a ton to do with how strong my mind is. And, I do find myself actually lying to myself during those hard workouts - where my body & mind are trying to convince me to quit.
When I am lying to myself about the pain of a particular workout, here is how the internal conversation typically goes:
Me: MAN! This hurts so bad! My legs are DYING! Ok, I am only going 1 more mile & then I am totally done!

Me to Myself: Legs - just SHUT UP! This is NOTHING! You are only doing a 6 mile run - think about all those people that run marathons & ultramarathons in training & preparation for Ironman races.
Me: Yeah, but those people are super-human. They have conditioned themselves to train for 3,4,5, or even more hours in a day. And I, am but a mere mortal!
Me to Myself: True...but, whatever I set my mind to do...I CAN do!
Me: Okay...I CAN DO THIS. I am not giving up & I am NOT cutting my workout short. If I want to get stronger, I have to put in the time.

So, you see....lying to myself actually DOES work...most of the time! I really WOULD be lying if I said that I never let my mind get the better of me, though.
But, this is a process. Both for my body & my mind. Everyday that I try my best, I really DO get stronger.

Some life updates

First, our house is finally starting to come back together & we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Colorful paint is up & the tiling of 3 bathrooms and the dining room should begin after Christmas. Once that is done, all that is left is carpet, some paint re-touches and all the final touches. It sure has been a long journey. Our house flooded on October 7th & we have been living in this apartment since the 3rd week of October.
We had hoped to be have the house fixed before Christmas, but it wasn't to be. The contractor says we should be home by January 15th. We will definitely ready to come home.
The kiddos are doing well & are looking forward to Christmas. Also looking forward to having a couple weeks off from school.

Journey to Ironman - Part 2

I'm starting to journal my workouts on paper again. I had done some of that (workout journaling) on the computer - here & there - but, I want to be consistent now on paper so that I have something tangible to look at to chart my progress with workouts over time.
And, speaking of time, where did the entire month of November go?! And, now here we are in December! Which means I am now officially under the 1 year mark to Ironman in November of '09.
So, now I am in "phase 2" of my training. I got my first half-marathon knocked out & now I am into half-marathon #2 and really hoping & praying that I can continue to train hard & strong over the next 8 weeks until the 3M Half Marathon. I want to train smart (Trev is helping me do that) so that I can stay injury-free and beat my time I had at the San Antonio Rock n' Roll 1/2. My goal is to actually break 2 hours & Trev thinks it is definitely possible. Ideally, for the 3M, I would like be at 1:55 total - to go under a 9 minute mile pace - into the range of an 8:50 or 8:55/mile pace.
I guess I should ask Trev if trying to take off 5 minutes overall is a bit too aggressive of a goal. I dunno. Just sounds like a great pace (for me!) and a nice round number!
I have been consistent with track workouts and working on my pacing and I have been putting in a lot of time running. And, THANK GOD, no aches or pains! Now, I just need to keep it that way.
"Phase 3" of my journey (I think....still have to consult Trev on this) will be immediately moving into marathon training....the Austin Marathon in February, to be exact. I just checked out that race website & it looks like I am gonna have to get registered for that relatively soon. Registration is already at 40%.
Well, I don't want to get too ahead of myself, especially since coach has not specified my direction for after the 3M. One step, one phase, one part of the journey at a time. I really don't want to think too much ahead and either psych myself out or burn myself out. Small steps will get me to my goal.
Writing this stuff down will help with those small steps, too.