Full race recap to come once they post the official times and some pics. But for now a few things:
* My body feels so damn good after running 6.2 miles this morning! My legs have that wonderful soreness. And most importantly - my foot doesn't hurt!
* Oh, it stings so much to come this close to a sub one hour time. 1:00:13 (unofficially right now). I shouldn't have stopped to take off my jacket. Why did I drop my ipod and not notice it right away? Why didn't I push more? Hindsight thoughts that will plague me until the day I do run a sub one hour 10K.
* Immediately after crossing the finish line, I felt like I had to vomit. That one was new.
* Cross-training works! I haven't run in two weeks, and even then it was a measley two miles. But I maintained my cardio fitness with all kinds of crap - elliptical, bike, Insanity, HIIT workouts. I was scared I wouldn't be able to run even one full mile without stopping. But I did it! Thank you, elliptical machine, even though I hate you with all my heart.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Rest
I've been doing pretty good with my New Year's resolution in listening to my body and not running when I'm hurt. I haven't run since Saturday and plan on taking one more week off. However, I do need to listen to my body more, and today, and yesterday, too, although I didn't listen then, it's telling me to rest. I feel tired and beat up. I might even take another rest day tomorrow. Two rest days in a row? Gasp!
I've been doing a lot of strength training and Insanity again. The other day, I even did over an hour of cardio - 30 minutes on the stairmaster (Holy shit, this apparatus is scary!), 10 on the ellipitical (before I got bored to tears), and 25 on the bike. (This workout had me ravenous and eating like a horse all day!) I've been doing a lot of doubles, two workouts in one day. And my body is feeling it. I'm trying to keep my fitness in prep for a 10K coming up next week.
But today, and tomorrow maybe, I shall rest. I'm sure my body will thank me for it.
I've been doing a lot of strength training and Insanity again. The other day, I even did over an hour of cardio - 30 minutes on the stairmaster (Holy shit, this apparatus is scary!), 10 on the ellipitical (before I got bored to tears), and 25 on the bike. (This workout had me ravenous and eating like a horse all day!) I've been doing a lot of doubles, two workouts in one day. And my body is feeling it. I'm trying to keep my fitness in prep for a 10K coming up next week.
But today, and tomorrow maybe, I shall rest. I'm sure my body will thank me for it.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hooray for short-cuts!
After my New Year's Eve Half that left me with a swollen foot and a limp for a week, I wasn't sure I'd be able to tackle the Tinkerbell Half injury free. But I did!
The next day, however, when I set out to do an easy 3 mile shake out run, my right foot arch started hurting, so I stopped running after only 2 miles and figured I'd take a few days break from running to give it a rest.
That was five days ago. My original plan this morning was to go for an easy ten miler. However, I woke up and figured I should take it easy on my body and just do six. I felt awesome for the first mile, picking it up and running fast whenever the chorus of a song came on. And then after two miles, I felt that pain in my arch again. (This was right after a huge guy pulled over and got out of his car and asked me, "Why you runnin'?" It scared the shit out of me until he then asked if I saw a cocker spaniel.)
I really, really wanted to do at least three miles and kept running for a bit, until I told myself I was being stupid and made myself stop and turn around and head back home. I jogged for a little bit, then just made myself walk. It was such an internal struggle to not run. The thought of walking 2.5 miles back home was just not appealing, but it beats hurting my foot more. And then I saw the short-cut path that would lead me back to my house in about 15 minutes that I had completely forgotten about. Yay! Thank God for short-cuts!
I've got a 10K with a friend coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking I might just take a complete break from running until then. I wonder how that will turn out.
The next day, however, when I set out to do an easy 3 mile shake out run, my right foot arch started hurting, so I stopped running after only 2 miles and figured I'd take a few days break from running to give it a rest.
That was five days ago. My original plan this morning was to go for an easy ten miler. However, I woke up and figured I should take it easy on my body and just do six. I felt awesome for the first mile, picking it up and running fast whenever the chorus of a song came on. And then after two miles, I felt that pain in my arch again. (This was right after a huge guy pulled over and got out of his car and asked me, "Why you runnin'?" It scared the shit out of me until he then asked if I saw a cocker spaniel.)
I really, really wanted to do at least three miles and kept running for a bit, until I told myself I was being stupid and made myself stop and turn around and head back home. I jogged for a little bit, then just made myself walk. It was such an internal struggle to not run. The thought of walking 2.5 miles back home was just not appealing, but it beats hurting my foot more. And then I saw the short-cut path that would lead me back to my house in about 15 minutes that I had completely forgotten about. Yay! Thank God for short-cuts!
I've got a 10K with a friend coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking I might just take a complete break from running until then. I wonder how that will turn out.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Great Medal Debate
On a facebook page, I saw some people talking about a Tinkerbell Half race medal they found on ebay. Each poster said they would never give up their medal. They earned it, and it was quite important to them.
I went on over to ebay, did a search and found two Tinkerbell medals up for sale. One was at $76, the other at $167.50! The Tinkerbell medal is the nicest medal I have. It's huge, about 4 or 5 inches across and up and down, and has a Tinkerbell in the center that you can spin.
However, I have no attachment to it, or any of medals actually, except for maybe the first one I earned. I was actually planning on donating it and all my other half medals to Medals 4 Mettle, an organization that gives these medals to people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
(Okay, after typing that out, I feel like I should stick with my original plan and just donate it.)
Anyway, I thought, "Shoot, for 70 bucks, I'll sell it!" I figured I could recoup some of my expenses that way. So I sent Martin a text letting him know what the going price was for my Tinkerbell medal. He replied, "No. You earned that." Which I think is the sweetest thing ever.
Most of my medals are hanging on my closet door knob. Some are scattered around the house, because my kids like to play with them. I'm pretty sure some are lost. However, it doesn't really bother me. Sure it's nice to get a medal when you finish a race. However, my joy comes from the experience itself, the training, running the race, that sense of accomplishment once I'm done. The medal is just gravy.
I went on over to ebay, did a search and found two Tinkerbell medals up for sale. One was at $76, the other at $167.50! The Tinkerbell medal is the nicest medal I have. It's huge, about 4 or 5 inches across and up and down, and has a Tinkerbell in the center that you can spin.
However, I have no attachment to it, or any of medals actually, except for maybe the first one I earned. I was actually planning on donating it and all my other half medals to Medals 4 Mettle, an organization that gives these medals to people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
(Okay, after typing that out, I feel like I should stick with my original plan and just donate it.)
Anyway, I thought, "Shoot, for 70 bucks, I'll sell it!" I figured I could recoup some of my expenses that way. So I sent Martin a text letting him know what the going price was for my Tinkerbell medal. He replied, "No. You earned that." Which I think is the sweetest thing ever.
Most of my medals are hanging on my closet door knob. Some are scattered around the house, because my kids like to play with them. I'm pretty sure some are lost. However, it doesn't really bother me. Sure it's nice to get a medal when you finish a race. However, my joy comes from the experience itself, the training, running the race, that sense of accomplishment once I'm done. The medal is just gravy.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
CHICAGO!!!!!!!!!
After the Nike Women's Marathon, I swore I would never do a big race again. However, I did Tinkerbell, which was about half the runners of Nike, but was still big nonetheless at around 11,000 or 12,000. And if you couldn't tell from my last post, I loved running Tinkerbell.
I met an awesome friend at the Nike Women's Marathon - my good friend, Lisa. I love this woman! Anyway, she posted something vague on facebook, and I asked her about it. She said she signed up for Chicago. I was so happy for her. Marathons are a big fuckin deal, and I had always heard good things about Chicago. Since Martin was sitting right next to me, I casually asked him if we could go. He gave a nonchalant "okay."
And so I signed up this morning!!!
I am so excited! Not just to get to visit Chicago again or run another marathon. I am actually most excited to see Lisa again.
Squeeeeaaaaallllllll!!!!
I met an awesome friend at the Nike Women's Marathon - my good friend, Lisa. I love this woman! Anyway, she posted something vague on facebook, and I asked her about it. She said she signed up for Chicago. I was so happy for her. Marathons are a big fuckin deal, and I had always heard good things about Chicago. Since Martin was sitting right next to me, I casually asked him if we could go. He gave a nonchalant "okay."
And so I signed up this morning!!!
I am so excited! Not just to get to visit Chicago again or run another marathon. I am actually most excited to see Lisa again.
Squeeeeaaaaallllllll!!!!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tinkerbell Half - Race Recap
2:18:54 (Stopped multiple times to wait in line to take pics with characters.)
Steph and I left at 11:30 pm Friday night. We got to LA around 5 am, and she called the hotel and was able to get an early check-in time. Score! We got to the hotel a little before 6, napped for a few hours, then got breakfast and headed to the expo to pick up our bibs and Disneyland tickets. The expo didn't open until 10 am. Booooooo! That was two hours of Disneyland we would be missing. This 10 am expo opening was the only negative thing about this whole experience.
Bibs secured, Disneyland tickets in hand and we were off to go play. I never used to understand adults who went to Disneyland without kids. I always thought Disneyland was so boring. And then I had kids. Now I know that going ANYWHERE without kids is a joy.
4:30 am and Team Eat Our Pixie Dust was good to go. It was a bit cold, but not that bad as we made our way to the start. Everything was easy to find.
We were in Corral B.
Tons of people were in costume. It was all so cute. However, it kind of sucked being behind people wearing wings if you don't like your eyes being poked at.
The gun went off at 5:45 am. We were at the front of our corral, so we managed to cross the start in about 5 minutes.
It was pretty neat running through Disneyland, they had it all lit up. I wasn't worried about time. My aim was to have fun, so I gave Steph my garmin before the race because she wanted to beat her previous half time.
I saw Captain Hook and had to get a pic with him and that's when Steph and I split.
The neat thing about it was not only did they have the Brightroom photographer take your pic, they also had a Disney worker there to take a pic using your camera. How cool is that!
We ran the first few miles throughout Disneyland, then Downtown Disney and out into the streets of Anaheim. The crowd support was amazing! There were tons of families out there supporting their moms or family members, but it was so awesome because they also cheered for everyone. It made you feel like a rockstar. There was crowd support at the Nike Women's Marathon, but I got a whole different energy and vibe from Tinkerbell's crowd. This was actually fun.
There was also a lot of entertainment along the way - cheerleaders, the Red Hat ladies, Hawaiian dancers, an Army Band and tons more I can't remember. You didn't run very long without something to see.There was an aid station at almost every mile. The volunteers were great. It made me smile every time I heard, "Good job, Mary!" thanks in part to Disney putting your name on your bib.
I remember feeling super awesome at Mile 9, thinking that was when my wheels normally fall off. But I felt great, and for the first time in any of my races I was sad it was nearing the end because I was having so much fun. I decided that when I hit Mile 10 I would pick it up. There was a guy pacing me, so I speeded up just because I could.
In the middle of Mile 13, I had to stop. I guess racing that guy earlier took its toll on me. However, I walked only a few feet before I came across this:
I actually ran again to hurry up and get in the line for this picture.
It was just the break I needed to finish up the race.
Steph got her PR and I came in just two minutes after. I'd like to think that if I didn't stop and wait in line for pics, I could have PR'ed, too, since my time was just a few seconds off from my PR. But who knows. Maybe those stops re-energized me. All I know is that I had an amazing time, and I actually had fun during a race.
I felt so happy afterwards and had that runner's high. I felt like I could run another 13.1 miles. I thought all the hype about Disney races was just that - hype. But they really are amazing. They are well organized, you can't beat the crowd support and I was never bored during the whole race.
Oh, and Team Eat Our Pixie Dust came in 16 out of 154 teams!
I was worried about my left foot, but it felt perfectly fine this morning. I went for a shake out run at the gym, but then my right arch started hurting, so I stopped after 2 miles. Looks like it's time to give my body a few days break from running.
Steph and I left at 11:30 pm Friday night. We got to LA around 5 am, and she called the hotel and was able to get an early check-in time. Score! We got to the hotel a little before 6, napped for a few hours, then got breakfast and headed to the expo to pick up our bibs and Disneyland tickets. The expo didn't open until 10 am. Booooooo! That was two hours of Disneyland we would be missing. This 10 am expo opening was the only negative thing about this whole experience.
Bibs secured, Disneyland tickets in hand and we were off to go play. I never used to understand adults who went to Disneyland without kids. I always thought Disneyland was so boring. And then I had kids. Now I know that going ANYWHERE without kids is a joy.
Staying up all night during the drive and having only a few minutes sleep in the morning left us feeling pooped by 5 pm. So we split a fried chicken meal and carrot cake at Disneyland and called it a day and headed back to our hotel. We were asleep by 8 pm and up at 3:30 am to get ready.
We were in Corral B.
Tons of people were in costume. It was all so cute. However, it kind of sucked being behind people wearing wings if you don't like your eyes being poked at.
The gun went off at 5:45 am. We were at the front of our corral, so we managed to cross the start in about 5 minutes.
It was pretty neat running through Disneyland, they had it all lit up. I wasn't worried about time. My aim was to have fun, so I gave Steph my garmin before the race because she wanted to beat her previous half time.
I saw Captain Hook and had to get a pic with him and that's when Steph and I split.
Sure I had to wait in a line, but come on, how often does one get this chance?
We ran the first few miles throughout Disneyland, then Downtown Disney and out into the streets of Anaheim. The crowd support was amazing! There were tons of families out there supporting their moms or family members, but it was so awesome because they also cheered for everyone. It made you feel like a rockstar. There was crowd support at the Nike Women's Marathon, but I got a whole different energy and vibe from Tinkerbell's crowd. This was actually fun.
There was also a lot of entertainment along the way - cheerleaders, the Red Hat ladies, Hawaiian dancers, an Army Band and tons more I can't remember. You didn't run very long without something to see.There was an aid station at almost every mile. The volunteers were great. It made me smile every time I heard, "Good job, Mary!" thanks in part to Disney putting your name on your bib.
I remember feeling super awesome at Mile 9, thinking that was when my wheels normally fall off. But I felt great, and for the first time in any of my races I was sad it was nearing the end because I was having so much fun. I decided that when I hit Mile 10 I would pick it up. There was a guy pacing me, so I speeded up just because I could.
In the middle of Mile 13, I had to stop. I guess racing that guy earlier took its toll on me. However, I walked only a few feet before I came across this:
I actually ran again to hurry up and get in the line for this picture.
It was just the break I needed to finish up the race.
Steph got her PR and I came in just two minutes after. I'd like to think that if I didn't stop and wait in line for pics, I could have PR'ed, too, since my time was just a few seconds off from my PR. But who knows. Maybe those stops re-energized me. All I know is that I had an amazing time, and I actually had fun during a race.
I felt so happy afterwards and had that runner's high. I felt like I could run another 13.1 miles. I thought all the hype about Disney races was just that - hype. But they really are amazing. They are well organized, you can't beat the crowd support and I was never bored during the whole race.
Oh, and Team Eat Our Pixie Dust came in 16 out of 154 teams!
I was worried about my left foot, but it felt perfectly fine this morning. I went for a shake out run at the gym, but then my right arch started hurting, so I stopped after 2 miles. Looks like it's time to give my body a few days break from running.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Handstand Attempt #4 - charging like a bull
With no Martin around to help me up, I had to try it solo today.
The first time I kind of made it up, my head charged into the door. Yeah, just like a bull. My wrists bent all wrong and I crashed down.
The second time I kind of made it up, somehow I hit the door with my lower left back first before falling on my head.
Today's attempt was a complete fail. And now I think I have a giant bruise on my back.
The first time I kind of made it up, my head charged into the door. Yeah, just like a bull. My wrists bent all wrong and I crashed down.
The second time I kind of made it up, somehow I hit the door with my lower left back first before falling on my head.
Today's attempt was a complete fail. And now I think I have a giant bruise on my back.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
3 miles and no pain!
I did 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday. After one one-miler and one two-miler where I needed to take breaks, I was curious as to how the 3 miler would pan out. I did it! Zero breaks! Incline set at 1.0 for the whole run, 11:00 mile pace for the first mile, 10:30 for the second and 10:00 for the third. I was so proud of myself... even when I saw the tall skinny girl on the treadmill over going at a 9:00 mile pace. What made me even happier was when I woke up this morning with no pain in my foot. Hooray!
My friend Steph and I are doing the Tinkerbell half in about a week and a half and I am a tad bit worried that I lost a lot of my fitness taking a running break for two weeks to let my foot rest. An, well, I'm running it for fun anyway.
My friend Steph and I are doing the Tinkerbell half in about a week and a half and I am a tad bit worried that I lost a lot of my fitness taking a running break for two weeks to let my foot rest. An, well, I'm running it for fun anyway.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Handstand Attempt #3
I still had to get Martin to lift my legs up, but I mananged to hold it for a few minutes, long enough for him to get his phone and take this pic.
Then when I went up again, I tried doing a handstand push-up. Negative. I think I managed to bend my elbows maybe a centimeter. I would assume it's the equivalent to shoulder pressing your body weight. Hm, pressing 130 pounds doesn't seem like a good idea.
Later on, I tried getting up all by myself. Once, I managed to get my legs all the way up. And then my wrists collapsed as soon as I got up and I fell on my head.
We shall try again later.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The wonders of being forced to use heavier weights
My hammies and shoulders are screaming today! I love it!!!
I went to the gym yesterday, but could not find any of the 7.5 lb, 10 lb or 12 lb dumbbells. I asked thses two girls if they were using all the dumbbells they had in front of them, and one told me I could use the 15 lb ones.
I only managed 10-12 reps instead of my usual 15 for a lot of the exercises But I am feeling that heavier weight today! I am so sore. It makes me happy. It lets me know I pushed myself and am getting stronger. The only way to progress is to step out of your comfort zone. 15 lb dumbbells for me from now on!
I went to the gym yesterday, but could not find any of the 7.5 lb, 10 lb or 12 lb dumbbells. I asked thses two girls if they were using all the dumbbells they had in front of them, and one told me I could use the 15 lb ones.
I only managed 10-12 reps instead of my usual 15 for a lot of the exercises But I am feeling that heavier weight today! I am so sore. It makes me happy. It lets me know I pushed myself and am getting stronger. The only way to progress is to step out of your comfort zone. 15 lb dumbbells for me from now on!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Handstand Attempt #2, and I ran!
I tried without success again yesterday to kick myself up to a handstand position against the wall. I think my biggest fear is actually making it up and then falling on my head and breaking my neck.
Anyway, when Martin came up I asked him to help me again. And again, I screamed like a baby when I was upside down. My second attempt was better and I actually held it for a few seconds before screaming for help. Martin tried it, too. I had to help him up. It wasn't that hard getting his legs up and he only kicked me in the throat once.
I haven't run since December 31st, 13 days ago. At the gym, I did 10 minutes on the elliptical, an hour of weights, 10 more minutes on the elliptical (planned on 20, but I got super bored), then headed to the treadmills to do one mile. I started out at a super-duper slow 5.0, took a minute break every quarter mile and upped the speed a teensy bit so I ended at a 5.8, which left me super winded, and sad since once upon a time it was my easy speed.
My fingers are crossed that my foot will feel perfectly fine tomorrow morning.
Anyway, when Martin came up I asked him to help me again. And again, I screamed like a baby when I was upside down. My second attempt was better and I actually held it for a few seconds before screaming for help. Martin tried it, too. I had to help him up. It wasn't that hard getting his legs up and he only kicked me in the throat once.
I haven't run since December 31st, 13 days ago. At the gym, I did 10 minutes on the elliptical, an hour of weights, 10 more minutes on the elliptical (planned on 20, but I got super bored), then headed to the treadmills to do one mile. I started out at a super-duper slow 5.0, took a minute break every quarter mile and upped the speed a teensy bit so I ended at a 5.8, which left me super winded, and sad since once upon a time it was my easy speed.
My fingers are crossed that my foot will feel perfectly fine tomorrow morning.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Handstand - Attempt #1
One of my New Year's resolutions (which I have yet to write down here, oops) is to be able to do a handstand.
My first attempt was actually a couple of days ago. I googled on how to get started and found that you use a wall to stabalize yourself. You face the wall, place your hands about a foot in front of it, kick up with one leg, follow through with the other, and have both feet rest against the wall for balance. Sounds simple, right?
Well, I found a nice wall in my house, door actually, that had an abundant amount of free space around it in case I go crashing down. I put my hands down, and kicked up with my left leg and tried following through with my right. Hahahahaha! I could not get anywhere close to the wall. WTH! Do I need super human strength for this? Perhaps it is because I carry all my weight in my bottom half?
After many failed attempts, laughing like a maniac while feeling like the biggest heaviest weakling, my husband took pity on me and volunteered to bring my legs up.
OMG! Yeah, I got no where close to the wall with any of my attempts, because he brought my legs up and just kept on going and going. The wall felt so far away. I felt super disoriented and could feel my shoulders giving out. I had no idea of time and space and how to steady myself. After screaming for him to lower me down, he graciously did so, and all was right with the world again.
Attempt #2 in 3... 2... 1...
My first attempt was actually a couple of days ago. I googled on how to get started and found that you use a wall to stabalize yourself. You face the wall, place your hands about a foot in front of it, kick up with one leg, follow through with the other, and have both feet rest against the wall for balance. Sounds simple, right?
Well, I found a nice wall in my house, door actually, that had an abundant amount of free space around it in case I go crashing down. I put my hands down, and kicked up with my left leg and tried following through with my right. Hahahahaha! I could not get anywhere close to the wall. WTH! Do I need super human strength for this? Perhaps it is because I carry all my weight in my bottom half?
After many failed attempts, laughing like a maniac while feeling like the biggest heaviest weakling, my husband took pity on me and volunteered to bring my legs up.
OMG! Yeah, I got no where close to the wall with any of my attempts, because he brought my legs up and just kept on going and going. The wall felt so far away. I felt super disoriented and could feel my shoulders giving out. I had no idea of time and space and how to steady myself. After screaming for him to lower me down, he graciously did so, and all was right with the world again.
Attempt #2 in 3... 2... 1...
Sunday, January 8, 2012
5 minute plank!!!
I did it! I just did it! I held the plank position for a full 5 minutes!!! 5 freakin' minutes!!!
I was shaking like crazy towards the end, but I did it!!!
I was shaking like crazy towards the end, but I did it!!!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
No more limping!
Today is the first time this year I've been able to walk without a limp. Hooray! I still feel a slight pain in my foot, but I'm no longer limping or having to walk super slow.
I'm already getting bored with my limited exercising. I tried doing P90X's Yoga last night, but couldn't make it past 15 minutes. It was just soooooooooooo boring. So I did my own thing.
Hammie exercise with oblique twist - 8 lb ball - 3 sets of 15 each side
Push-ups with legs on stability ball - 3 sets of 15
Planks - 3 sets (1st set 3 minutes, 2nd and 3rd 2 minutes each)
Side planks with leg lifts - 3 sets of 15 each side
Crunches on stability ball - 8 lb ball above head - 3 sets of 15
Rotator cuff exercise - 9 lb dumbbell - 2 sets of 8, 1 set of 10
I felt really good when I was done. I did most of it while watching I am Legend and Tomb Raider. The bods on Will Smith and Angelina Jolie were plenty to inspire me.
I'm already getting bored with my limited exercising. I tried doing P90X's Yoga last night, but couldn't make it past 15 minutes. It was just soooooooooooo boring. So I did my own thing.
Hammie exercise with oblique twist - 8 lb ball - 3 sets of 15 each side
Push-ups with legs on stability ball - 3 sets of 15
Planks - 3 sets (1st set 3 minutes, 2nd and 3rd 2 minutes each)
Side planks with leg lifts - 3 sets of 15 each side
Crunches on stability ball - 8 lb ball above head - 3 sets of 15
Rotator cuff exercise - 9 lb dumbbell - 2 sets of 8, 1 set of 10
I felt really good when I was done. I did most of it while watching I am Legend and Tomb Raider. The bods on Will Smith and Angelina Jolie were plenty to inspire me.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Oh, just a calcaneal spur... and a spur by my ankle... and a spur by my achilles tendon...
Spurs are little growths on the bone. It's basically my body saying, "WTF! You're doing too much. I'm going to grow these little suckers because you're hurting me."
And they don't go away. My doc told me to rest for a week or two, and then to build back up gradually. If the pain doesn't go away, then she'll refer me back to the podiatrist.
So I haven't run this year yet. I feel a bit antsy, but I'm actually not feeling too bad. I've been doing P90X, Shoulders and Arms on Monday, Chest and Back last night, and some pilates on Tuesday. I just really feel this need to get some intense cardio in somewhere.
I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. Looking at all these fit bodies I have pinned on my board inspires me to do better and not eat too crappy. Oh, I still eat crappy. Just not 24/7. Maybe 20/7. :)
And they don't go away. My doc told me to rest for a week or two, and then to build back up gradually. If the pain doesn't go away, then she'll refer me back to the podiatrist.
So I haven't run this year yet. I feel a bit antsy, but I'm actually not feeling too bad. I've been doing P90X, Shoulders and Arms on Monday, Chest and Back last night, and some pilates on Tuesday. I just really feel this need to get some intense cardio in somewhere.
I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. Looking at all these fit bodies I have pinned on my board inspires me to do better and not eat too crappy. Oh, I still eat crappy. Just not 24/7. Maybe 20/7. :)
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Starting the year with a DNS
Did Not Start.
I had registered for back-to-back halfs, one on New Year's Eve and the other on New Year's Day. And then I won tickets to my favorite band's concert.
I did the New Year's Eve half and finished with a 2:47. That was hard! It was my first trail half and the hills were killer! My left foot started hurting last week and the pain has been off and on. It didn't hurt the morning of this race. But it sure as hell did about 5 miles in. It stopped hurting later in the day though.
And then we went to the concert in Napa. I also won tickets to the sound check party and the meet and greet, but we couldn't make it to that because of baby-sitting issues. Totally bummed about that. But I still had the best time at the concert. Thanks in part to five beers. Yeah. We didn't get home until about 3 am, where I kicked off my boots and passed out in bed.
I already knew there was no way in hell I'd be able to do the New Year's Day half. It was the same trail course, just running in the opposite direction. I'd like to blame my foot. However, it really was due to my drinking. So hungover this morning.
So, to sum up - hungover, DNS and a jacked up foot. Great way to start the new year. Haha.
I had registered for back-to-back halfs, one on New Year's Eve and the other on New Year's Day. And then I won tickets to my favorite band's concert.
I did the New Year's Eve half and finished with a 2:47. That was hard! It was my first trail half and the hills were killer! My left foot started hurting last week and the pain has been off and on. It didn't hurt the morning of this race. But it sure as hell did about 5 miles in. It stopped hurting later in the day though.
And then we went to the concert in Napa. I also won tickets to the sound check party and the meet and greet, but we couldn't make it to that because of baby-sitting issues. Totally bummed about that. But I still had the best time at the concert. Thanks in part to five beers. Yeah. We didn't get home until about 3 am, where I kicked off my boots and passed out in bed.
I already knew there was no way in hell I'd be able to do the New Year's Day half. It was the same trail course, just running in the opposite direction. I'd like to blame my foot. However, it really was due to my drinking. So hungover this morning.
So, to sum up - hungover, DNS and a jacked up foot. Great way to start the new year. Haha.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Update to my resolutions
Man, I totally suck at blogging consistently. Since it's almost the end of the year, let's take a look at how we did with our New Year's resolutions we made at the start of the year. And by we, I mean me.
1. Work towards a 9:30 mile.
* Well, I know I did get faster, at least with my long runs. I have yet to see if I can hold a 9:30 mile pace for 3 miles. I'll test myself next week.
2. Strength-train at least twice a week. Okay, that sounds like too much to expect from me. Let's go with once a week.
* Except for the times I've been sick, I've actually been pretty good with this one. Most times I've actually strength-trained 3 times a week.
3. Drink at least 3 bottles of water a day. An old trainer of mine told me I should be drinking 6-7 bottles of water a day. And I used to. But I have been slacking majorly. So 3 sounds like a doable goal for now.
* I think I managed this one, too. What helped a lot was eating tons of cookies and cake. I get very thristy eating those and hence, down a lot of water.
Ugh, I think I'm 10 pounds heavier from the start of the year. Ah, well, I'm working on it.
I had my wisdom teeth pulled last Monday and took a complete week off from all exercise. It kind of sucked since I have double halves coming up this weekend, and last week was supposed to be my peak training week. Oh, well.
So I headed out and did a ten miler today and plan on a six miler tomorrow. I felt a bit tired, but good on today's run. I managed an 11:08 pace. I told myself not to go fast today and the goal was to take it easy and finish, which I did. But even when I tell myself that and stick to it, I always am disappointed when I don't set a personal record. I know, I'm an idiot.
1. Work towards a 9:30 mile.
* Well, I know I did get faster, at least with my long runs. I have yet to see if I can hold a 9:30 mile pace for 3 miles. I'll test myself next week.
2. Strength-train at least twice a week. Okay, that sounds like too much to expect from me. Let's go with once a week.
* Except for the times I've been sick, I've actually been pretty good with this one. Most times I've actually strength-trained 3 times a week.
3. Drink at least 3 bottles of water a day. An old trainer of mine told me I should be drinking 6-7 bottles of water a day. And I used to. But I have been slacking majorly. So 3 sounds like a doable goal for now.
* I think I managed this one, too. What helped a lot was eating tons of cookies and cake. I get very thristy eating those and hence, down a lot of water.
Ugh, I think I'm 10 pounds heavier from the start of the year. Ah, well, I'm working on it.
I had my wisdom teeth pulled last Monday and took a complete week off from all exercise. It kind of sucked since I have double halves coming up this weekend, and last week was supposed to be my peak training week. Oh, well.
So I headed out and did a ten miler today and plan on a six miler tomorrow. I felt a bit tired, but good on today's run. I managed an 11:08 pace. I told myself not to go fast today and the goal was to take it easy and finish, which I did. But even when I tell myself that and stick to it, I always am disappointed when I don't set a personal record. I know, I'm an idiot.
Friday, November 18, 2011
H.I.I.T.?
We joined a new gym earlier this week, and when I looked over their class schedule I saw a H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training) class that fits into my schedule. I tried recruiting some people to come with me, because I'm a wuss and am scared to try new things alone, but no go.
So I summoned up my courage, told myself that in order to change you need to step outside of your comfort zone and headed out to the gym yesterday at a little after 5 am to get there for the 5:30 am class (the reason no one wanted to come with me).
The class wasn't that big, maybe about 15 - 20 other people. I copied everyone and got all the equipment they had and set myself up in the back. I was expecting Insanity with weights. With the exception of some starfish jacks and jumping lunges with shoulder presses, my heart rate didn't really get too high for the duration of the class. I was a bit disappointed.
I came back later to the gym with Martin to do more weights and a 3 mile run and the instructor saw me and yelled, "You didn't get enough from this morning?" I smiled and told her no.
I'm pretty sure I'll go back to give it a few more shots. I like that there were several lateral exercises that would be good for me. And I like how sore my abs are today (it hurts when sneeze).
I'm just craving something more intense. Maybe I'll go back to Insanity.
So I summoned up my courage, told myself that in order to change you need to step outside of your comfort zone and headed out to the gym yesterday at a little after 5 am to get there for the 5:30 am class (the reason no one wanted to come with me).
The class wasn't that big, maybe about 15 - 20 other people. I copied everyone and got all the equipment they had and set myself up in the back. I was expecting Insanity with weights. With the exception of some starfish jacks and jumping lunges with shoulder presses, my heart rate didn't really get too high for the duration of the class. I was a bit disappointed.
I came back later to the gym with Martin to do more weights and a 3 mile run and the instructor saw me and yelled, "You didn't get enough from this morning?" I smiled and told her no.
I'm pretty sure I'll go back to give it a few more shots. I like that there were several lateral exercises that would be good for me. And I like how sore my abs are today (it hurts when sneeze).
I'm just craving something more intense. Maybe I'll go back to Insanity.
Monday, October 24, 2011
To sum it up- underwhelmed
I've been putting off writing this post for a while. I've just been feeling meh about the marathon. And it's not the post-marathon blues. I've been feeling this since the marathon.
I was expecting an epiphany when I crossed the finish line, a life-changing moment. A "Yeah, I ran a marathon! I can do anything!" feeling. The only thing I felt when I crossed that line was relief, relief that I could stop running.
So yeah, underwhelmed completely sums up the whole experience for me.
Some things I learned:
* The energy of the crowd WILL NOT carry you. It might for some. But it annoyed the shit out of me. I hated running with a ton of other people. It pissed me off. I vowed to myself that my next marathon will be a small race.
* Yes, that's right. I will be doing another marathon. As much as I complained about this one, the run itself wasn't that bad.
* Hills are fun for runs that are 6 miles or less. It is torture for anything over that. I ran my neighborhood 3 mile hilly route on Saturday and it was a piece of cake. I even ran it easy and still came in at one of my fastest times for this route. I kept thinking about that horrible 26.2 miles of hills and was so happy and grateful to just be doing 3.
* My phone kicks ass. It lived off and on in my sweaty back pocket for 5+ hours and came out like a champ.
* I am beyond grateful the support of my family and friends. Martin drove me there in the morning. And drove back to come get me. And even though I fell asleep on the way back, I know that traffic was horrendous. My friend, Lisa was super awesome in sending me messages to get through my long runs. And it was fun meeting her and hashing out all our fears and excitement the night before the race.
So this time, the rainbow was definitely worth so much more than the pot of gold.
I was expecting an epiphany when I crossed the finish line, a life-changing moment. A "Yeah, I ran a marathon! I can do anything!" feeling. The only thing I felt when I crossed that line was relief, relief that I could stop running.
So yeah, underwhelmed completely sums up the whole experience for me.
Some things I learned:
* The energy of the crowd WILL NOT carry you. It might for some. But it annoyed the shit out of me. I hated running with a ton of other people. It pissed me off. I vowed to myself that my next marathon will be a small race.
* Yes, that's right. I will be doing another marathon. As much as I complained about this one, the run itself wasn't that bad.
* Hills are fun for runs that are 6 miles or less. It is torture for anything over that. I ran my neighborhood 3 mile hilly route on Saturday and it was a piece of cake. I even ran it easy and still came in at one of my fastest times for this route. I kept thinking about that horrible 26.2 miles of hills and was so happy and grateful to just be doing 3.
* My phone kicks ass. It lived off and on in my sweaty back pocket for 5+ hours and came out like a champ.
* I am beyond grateful the support of my family and friends. Martin drove me there in the morning. And drove back to come get me. And even though I fell asleep on the way back, I know that traffic was horrendous. My friend, Lisa was super awesome in sending me messages to get through my long runs. And it was fun meeting her and hashing out all our fears and excitement the night before the race.
So this time, the rainbow was definitely worth so much more than the pot of gold.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Nike Women's Marathon - Race Report
The race started at 7am. I went to bed around 11:30 pm (whoops) and woke up at 3 am. I had already gotten all my stuff ready two days prior
I ate my usual breakfast of cereal and tried and tried going to the bathroom, and even though I've been regular for the past few months, my body just didn't want to do its business.
5 o'clock rolled around and it was time to go. I was so nervous and excited! Martin drove me into the city and dropped me off a few blocks away from the start. I immediately hit the porta-potties and dropped off my bag at the bag check.
There were so many people there already and this was an hour before the start.
I thought it was going to be cold, so I wore an old hoodie. I wish I would have checked it in with my bag, but after sitting around with a for a bit before the start, I just left it there since it was pretty warm already.
I met some nice people from Utah and we chatted a bit. One of the ladies had run this race last year. I was concerned about the hills, but she said she didn't even remember them so they couldn't have been that bad. They were really nice and even offered to take a pic of me.
How loser-ish do I feel with no friends?
Finally, the national anthem was sung and I got into my corral. It took 12 minutes to cross the start line.
The first couple miles went through the Financial District. There were so many walkers it was ridiculous. And not just single ones, but huge groups forming walls, which were hard to move past. What the hell were they doing in the faster corrals? I think my splits for the first few miles were well over 12:00 min/mile paces because of them. I wanted to start out slow, but this was a bit much.
My garmin started going wacko because of the buildings, so I discounted anything it said after. I started getting a stitch in my side at Mile 2. WTH? This never happens. I knew right then that this was not going to be a good running day.
I tried pushing all negative thoughts aside and finally turned on my iPod to tune all the people out. We ran along the piers and it was quite pretty. Most of the course was very scenic. My plan was to walk the hills to save energy for the whole race. There were so many hills!
At the top of one of the first big ones.
I was pretty mad at this point, with myself and all the people, but my faith in humanity was restored when a really nice lady saw me and offered to take the pic for me.
We ran down this hill and then along Fort Mason.
And then it was time for the hill. A solid one mile 300 foot climb for Mile 6. Ugh! Yeah, I walked it. The run down was pretty fun, though. I love running down hills. I almost took a couple of guys out. We all laughed and I apologized.
Around Mile 8 or 9 there was another hill by some pretty houses. I was hating life by now and I actually posted something on facebook to try to distract myself. They had orange slices at this mile and they were so sweet and delious! I wanted to eat nothing but oranges for the rest of my life after having eaten these.
More smaller hills followed and then we were headed into Golden Gate Park. The half-marathoners split up at Mile 11. As miserable as I was this early on in the race, I knew without a doubt I was going to finish the full.
The course map showed we had a chocolate mile at Mile 12. I looked everywhere for folks handing out chocolate, but nothing. I was mad. This part of the course had us going into Golden Gate Park and then doubling back. I saw runners coming back and started looking for my friend, Lisa. Immediately I saw her. I was so happy! She put her hands out and gave me the biggest smile. I was just going to high-five her because I was all gross and sweaty, but she gave me a hug. I felt so much better after I saw her. I continued on with a smile on my face because of her. I saw a lady put her hand out for a high (or low) five and I slapped it. Then I saw a lady right behind me do the same thing and ran past me smiling. Ooh, I guess that wasn't meant for me. Whoops. Haha.
I texted Martin letting him know I was at Mile 12. Initial plans were for him and the kids to cheer me on at Mile 17 and then again at Mile 25 when I doubled back. They were all up late the night before so I wasn't really expecting them to make it.
Around Mile 15, I was surprised that I wasn't feeling too bad. I mean 15 miles is pretty damn far. Finally we ran out of Golden Gate Park and along the Great Highway. Now I was starting to feel super tired. I saw the pacer for the 5:00 group pass me. I knew I wasn't going to make that time, so I just mentally said bye and trudged along at my own pace. By this time I figured I would try and run a mile, walk a minute. But sometimes I would keep running and sometimes I would need to take a walk break earlier or longer so that didn't really stick.
Most of the Great Highway was flat. But then more hills came. Gah! Right before Mile 19 we went up a hill and came down to Lake Merced. It was such a pretty sight going towards.
The course runs around this lake for a little over 4 miles and back to the Great Highway a few more miles for the finish back at Golden Gate Park.
Well, running around this lake was ugly, both asthetically and physcially. We didn't run right next to the lake. Instead, we had a chain link fence to our right, couldn't even see the lake, and cars and ugly apartments and gas stations to our left. Oh, and jacked up roads underneath our feet.
It was during this part of the race that my legs started acting weird on me. I would run and my left foot started to roll in on me. WTH? My left shin also started to cramp. I think they were related. I would walk and it would feel better after a while. But then I would start to run again and it would do it again. I couldn't walk the rest of the way to the finish! But I also didn't want to accidentally land on my ankle and break it. This was a miserable, miserable time.
And then I saw them right before Mile 22! People handing out chocolate! Hooray! Spirits lifted!
I ate three of these suckers and wanted to go back for more. I felt much better and started an easy jog.
Finally we were back on the Great Highway for the final stretch. I was trying to figure out my splits and figured that if I could do the last three miles at a 12:00 min/mile pace, I could still make 5:30. My shins started cramping again and my foot started doing that weird thing again, so there was a lot of walking done for Miles 24 and 25. My head and lungs wanted to run, but my legs weren't having any of that. I was pretty upset, but I realized there really wasn't anything I could do about it.
At the Mile 25 mark, I just told my body that it was going to run and it was not going to cramp or roll its foot in on me. Goddamnit, I was going to run that last mile. And my body listened.
I thought I saw the finish line up ahead and picked up my pace. Haha, turns out it was a Ryder truck. I wanted to slow down and walk a bit, but there were so many spectators at this point that I couldn't lose face. Instead, I just picked up my pace, and ran through the finish, arms up.
Hooray! Marathoner!
Final time: 5:30:31. Close enough! Yay!
A hottie fireman gave me my Tiffany's necklace. They gave you a safeway bag and some water and wrapped a warming blanket around you. Nice. I grabbed a bagel and started my way around the finish area. I hopped in line to take a finisher's pic with two cute firemen. I hope that pic comes out nice. I apologized for being so sweaty, but they were super nice and put their arms around me anyway in the pic and told me congratulations.
I picked up my bag and called Martin to see where he was at.
I napped in the car on the way home. Ate a Big Mac, fries and a Coke once we got home. Napped again. Ate. Napped. Ate. Then went back to sleep for the night.
Not too bad of a day.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
4 much needed miles
Wow, how much do I suck on the blogging front. My recent posts have been quite sporadic.
I went to the gym today to knock out 4 easy miles. I was feeling pretty good and I had a lot on my mind. That combo always leads to me pushing myself.
I've been doing all my runs on the treadmill at a 1.0 incline for maybe the past month. It sucks that I can't get out on the road, so I figure I better make treadmill running a wee bit harder.
Mile 1: 5.5 (11:00/mile)
Mile 2.0 - 2.5: 5.8 (10:40/mile)
Mile 2.5 - 3.0: 6.0 (10:00/mile)
Mile 3: 6.2 (9:40/mile)
Mile 4.0 - 4.75: 6.5 (9:20/mile)
Mile 4.75 - 5.0: don't remember, but it was just under a 9 minute mile pace
Total was 4 miles in about 40:10.
When I'm done with my marathon, I'm going to have a take a crack at trying to run 3 miles at 9:30 pace to see how close I am to the New Year's goal I made back in January. I know a few weeks ago I did 3 miles at 9:40 pace.
Tomorrow is my last longish run before NWM. 8 or 10 miles, I haven't decided yet. Wow, I can't believe it's so close!
I went to the gym today to knock out 4 easy miles. I was feeling pretty good and I had a lot on my mind. That combo always leads to me pushing myself.
I've been doing all my runs on the treadmill at a 1.0 incline for maybe the past month. It sucks that I can't get out on the road, so I figure I better make treadmill running a wee bit harder.
Mile 1: 5.5 (11:00/mile)
Mile 2.0 - 2.5: 5.8 (10:40/mile)
Mile 2.5 - 3.0: 6.0 (10:00/mile)
Mile 3: 6.2 (9:40/mile)
Mile 4.0 - 4.75: 6.5 (9:20/mile)
Mile 4.75 - 5.0: don't remember, but it was just under a 9 minute mile pace
Total was 4 miles in about 40:10.
When I'm done with my marathon, I'm going to have a take a crack at trying to run 3 miles at 9:30 pace to see how close I am to the New Year's goal I made back in January. I know a few weeks ago I did 3 miles at 9:40 pace.
Tomorrow is my last longish run before NWM. 8 or 10 miles, I haven't decided yet. Wow, I can't believe it's so close!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Taper madness
I used to think folks who got antsy during their taper were just nutso. How hard can it be to cut back on your mileage? When you're going down from 20 mile long runs to 10 mile long runs I would think that would be cause one to jump up and down with joy.
Well, I've become a nutso.
I don't miss the 20 milers. No siree, bob! I did two of those SOBs and neither were pleasant. The first one I did on the treadmill. The second I did on the road. I was running in a groove for the second one... for the first 15 miles. And then I wanted to die. I walked most of the 16th mile. And trudged the rest of the miles back home.
I was doing good with watching my diet, too. Until two days ago when I ate 4000 calories. Yikes! Fresh baked brownies and Red Vines are my kryptonite. I was down to 123 a few days ago. 128 this morning. Sigh.
I am terrified and excited!
Well, I've become a nutso.
I don't miss the 20 milers. No siree, bob! I did two of those SOBs and neither were pleasant. The first one I did on the treadmill. The second I did on the road. I was running in a groove for the second one... for the first 15 miles. And then I wanted to die. I walked most of the 16th mile. And trudged the rest of the miles back home.
I was doing good with watching my diet, too. Until two days ago when I ate 4000 calories. Yikes! Fresh baked brownies and Red Vines are my kryptonite. I was down to 123 a few days ago. 128 this morning. Sigh.
I am terrified and excited!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Swiss ball planks are impressive
I'm on Stage 2 of The New Rules of Lifting for Women. One of the exercises is holding a plank for 60 seconds. Since that's a bit easy for me, I've been doing a harder version. I'll hold a plank with my toes on a bench and my forearms on a stability ball.
I did this on Saturday and a lady saw me. She came up to me all impressed and asked, "Other than having amazing balance, what does that exercise do for you?" So I told her it was a great exercise for the core and I showed her the normal plank that she can do on the floor.
Heh. That made me feel good about myself. I'm actually going to try the next harder version (lifting one leg up) the next time I do them.
In other news I've been tracking my calories since I would really like to get down to the one-teens by marathon day. I have been eating close to if not exceeding 3000 calories a day! Yikes! So I've been trying to keep it down to 2000 calories s day and I can see the scale starting to move. Hooray!
I did this on Saturday and a lady saw me. She came up to me all impressed and asked, "Other than having amazing balance, what does that exercise do for you?" So I told her it was a great exercise for the core and I showed her the normal plank that she can do on the floor.
Heh. That made me feel good about myself. I'm actually going to try the next harder version (lifting one leg up) the next time I do them.
In other news I've been tracking my calories since I would really like to get down to the one-teens by marathon day. I have been eating close to if not exceeding 3000 calories a day! Yikes! So I've been trying to keep it down to 2000 calories s day and I can see the scale starting to move. Hooray!
Friday, September 16, 2011
30 days!
In 30 days I will be toeing the line to run the farthest distance I have ever run in my life - 26.2 miles.
Up to this point, that was all I could think about - crossing the finish line, getting my Tiffany necklace, being able to say, "I am a marathoner."
However, it's more than that, much more. If I complete that distance, kudos to me. But the thing is, I love everything I already am doing. I have love training for it - planning out a training schedule, testing various fuels, dreading long runs, looking forward to long runs, training races with a friend, scribbling on my now wrinkled schedule runs and workouts completed.
I was talking to Martin on the phone earlier, telling him that I was only going to run 10 miles tomorrow. Heh. Never before would I have put "only" and "10 miles" together in the same sentence.
It's the rainbow, kiddies. The pot of gold will be nice, but I am seriously loving this rainbow.
Up to this point, that was all I could think about - crossing the finish line, getting my Tiffany necklace, being able to say, "I am a marathoner."
However, it's more than that, much more. If I complete that distance, kudos to me. But the thing is, I love everything I already am doing. I have love training for it - planning out a training schedule, testing various fuels, dreading long runs, looking forward to long runs, training races with a friend, scribbling on my now wrinkled schedule runs and workouts completed.
I was talking to Martin on the phone earlier, telling him that I was only going to run 10 miles tomorrow. Heh. Never before would I have put "only" and "10 miles" together in the same sentence.
It's the rainbow, kiddies. The pot of gold will be nice, but I am seriously loving this rainbow.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
20 lovely miles
I think the treadmill is spoiling me. Easy to keep pace, nice fan right above me, water at my fingertips. Ah, well, I'll deal with the road when I come to it
I took the past three days off because I was feeling under the weather and wanted to make sure I'd be better for my scheduled 20 mile long run today. How sick is that? It was actually all I was looking forward to yesterday. And when I look forward to my runs, that's when I know it's going to be a good one.
There were plenty of things to keep me distracted while I ran at the gym today.
Miles 1-5
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.1 (11:45/mile pace)
No Galloway method for me today. I wanted to see if I had it in me to run the whole way, well, except for the short breaks I'd need to gobble some gummy things and drink my water every 30 minutes.
About 2 miles into my run, I felt something on my butt. I thought maybe I had something in my back pocket and it was falling down. Turns out it was just a friend tapping my butt to say hello. That cracked me up. Is it weird that I want to ask her how my butt felt?
Miles 6-10
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.1 (11:45/mile pace)
My friend finished up her run on the treadmill and returned with 5 other ladies who all hopped on a treadmill each in front of me. I guess my friend was teaching some kind of class and each lady would sprint for a little and then slow down. The lady closest to me was doing 5:45/miles and making it look so easy! She was really pretty and thin, too. I hate her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a lady on my right watching them, too. The interesting thing about her is that she was running on an incline and her boobs were damn near hitting her face with each bounce. It was hard not to stare. It looked pretty painful. It almost made me glad that I'm flat-chested. Almost.
Miles 11-16
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.1 (11:45/mile pace)
There is this super hot guy whom I always seeing doing various weights when I strength train. I am in love with this man's arms. For the first time ever, I saw him on the treadmills. He was walking on an incline, something crazy like 15. I secretly commanded him in my mind to run, because I don't think there is anything sexier than a guy running and I wanted to watch this man move. But alas, I guess I still need to work on my ESP skills, because he didn't run. He did take his cap off, though. And I noticed he had a little bald spot on top of his head. Oh. So I forced myself to concentrate on his arms and what little of his back was peeking through his tank. I didn't care if other people saw me blatantly eye-raping this guy for the 20 minutes he stayed on his treadmill. Love me some muscles in motion.
Miles 17-20
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.3 (11:19/mile pace)
That's right, world, make way for The Flash! Hehe. I wanted to do my last 4 miles at marathon pace. Man, just tiny changes in speed makes a world of difference in effort, but not too much in time. It still felt doable, but it required me to focus.
A lady walked over to me around Mile 17. I thought she was going to make a comment on how long I've been on the treadmill. Instead, she asked me if my name was Coco. WTF? I smiled and told her no. That was random. Maybe it was her pick-up line. She did seem to linger for a bit on her treadmill. But I still had about 40 minutes left. She eventually left.
20 miles
Approximately 3:54:30
Average pace about 11:44/mile
I actually felt pretty good for the whole run. It was something I knew I needed, and a great challenge for me.
My legs feel a bit tired. And my left foot, left knee and right hip flexor are screaming at me right now. But I'm feeling good!
I took the past three days off because I was feeling under the weather and wanted to make sure I'd be better for my scheduled 20 mile long run today. How sick is that? It was actually all I was looking forward to yesterday. And when I look forward to my runs, that's when I know it's going to be a good one.
There were plenty of things to keep me distracted while I ran at the gym today.
Miles 1-5
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.1 (11:45/mile pace)
No Galloway method for me today. I wanted to see if I had it in me to run the whole way, well, except for the short breaks I'd need to gobble some gummy things and drink my water every 30 minutes.
About 2 miles into my run, I felt something on my butt. I thought maybe I had something in my back pocket and it was falling down. Turns out it was just a friend tapping my butt to say hello. That cracked me up. Is it weird that I want to ask her how my butt felt?
Miles 6-10
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.1 (11:45/mile pace)
My friend finished up her run on the treadmill and returned with 5 other ladies who all hopped on a treadmill each in front of me. I guess my friend was teaching some kind of class and each lady would sprint for a little and then slow down. The lady closest to me was doing 5:45/miles and making it look so easy! She was really pretty and thin, too. I hate her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a lady on my right watching them, too. The interesting thing about her is that she was running on an incline and her boobs were damn near hitting her face with each bounce. It was hard not to stare. It looked pretty painful. It almost made me glad that I'm flat-chested. Almost.
Miles 11-16
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.1 (11:45/mile pace)
There is this super hot guy whom I always seeing doing various weights when I strength train. I am in love with this man's arms. For the first time ever, I saw him on the treadmills. He was walking on an incline, something crazy like 15. I secretly commanded him in my mind to run, because I don't think there is anything sexier than a guy running and I wanted to watch this man move. But alas, I guess I still need to work on my ESP skills, because he didn't run. He did take his cap off, though. And I noticed he had a little bald spot on top of his head. Oh. So I forced myself to concentrate on his arms and what little of his back was peeking through his tank. I didn't care if other people saw me blatantly eye-raping this guy for the 20 minutes he stayed on his treadmill. Love me some muscles in motion.
Miles 17-20
Incline: .5
Speed: 5.3 (11:19/mile pace)
That's right, world, make way for The Flash! Hehe. I wanted to do my last 4 miles at marathon pace. Man, just tiny changes in speed makes a world of difference in effort, but not too much in time. It still felt doable, but it required me to focus.
A lady walked over to me around Mile 17. I thought she was going to make a comment on how long I've been on the treadmill. Instead, she asked me if my name was Coco. WTF? I smiled and told her no. That was random. Maybe it was her pick-up line. She did seem to linger for a bit on her treadmill. But I still had about 40 minutes left. She eventually left.
20 miles
Approximately 3:54:30
Average pace about 11:44/mile
I actually felt pretty good for the whole run. It was something I knew I needed, and a great challenge for me.
My legs feel a bit tired. And my left foot, left knee and right hip flexor are screaming at me right now. But I'm feeling good!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The quickest gym visit in the history of mankind
I went to the gym around 11 am this morning, because I had 5 hard miles on tap for the day. I was feeling super tired before I left the house. I could feel the exhaustion in my shoulders. That's when I know it's bad. But I figured maybe I would feel better if I ran.
I set the incline to .5 and the speed to a nice 5.8 to warm up. Yeah, no. I made it to .35 miles before I had to stop and walk. I forced myself to walk to at least the half mile mark before calling it quits and leaving. I think the treadmill read 6 minutes.
When I got home I felt all achy and yucky. Aha. The flu!
I set the incline to .5 and the speed to a nice 5.8 to warm up. Yeah, no. I made it to .35 miles before I had to stop and walk. I forced myself to walk to at least the half mile mark before calling it quits and leaving. I think the treadmill read 6 minutes.
When I got home I felt all achy and yucky. Aha. The flu!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Summer Breeze Half Race Recap
The nitty gritty:
Chip time: 2:19:41
17/27 - Age group (Females, 35-39)
251/339 - Overall
My friend, Steph, ran with me on this one. It was her very first half-marathon. I went by her house around 6:15 am. She was still asleep!
We made it there about 30 minutes before the race started, hit the restrooms, picked up our bibs and checked in our stuff with zero time to spare. I ate a Snickers as we made our mad dash around getting all that done. Yum.
Looking at my pacing, I saw that I was walking super slow for my walk breaks in the middle of the run. I think this is when I was pacing the older gent and just had a "just keep moving forward" attitude, instead of the "Go!" attitude that I needed and got later.
Chip time: 2:19:41
17/27 - Age group (Females, 35-39)
251/339 - Overall
My friend, Steph, ran with me on this one. It was her very first half-marathon. I went by her house around 6:15 am. She was still asleep!
We made it there about 30 minutes before the race started, hit the restrooms, picked up our bibs and checked in our stuff with zero time to spare. I ate a Snickers as we made our mad dash around getting all that done. Yum.
At the start line!
I love this course because it's all flat, no hills. Hooray! Beforehand, I wasn't sure if I was going to try to run the whole way through or Galloway it (run/walk). As we started, I figured I would try the Galloway method to see what kind of results I would get.
I used a 9:1 ratio (run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute) to take any kind of thinking out of it. Every time my Garmin's time ended in a 0 minute (e.g. 0:10, 0:20, 1:40, etc.), I would walk for one minute. It was kind of funny at first. I would run, then pull over to walk and watch all kinds of people pass me by. Then when my minute was up, I'd start running again and catch up or pass the people who went by me earlier. They probably thought I was annoying. I know I would have.
Steph spotted the first photographer up ahead around the 3 mile mark maybe, and we started giggling like crazy as we checked out clothes to smooth out any muffin tops.
This one cracks me up because you can see us behind these ladies laughing and trying to look for the camera. I swear, you'd think we were 8 years old.
I ate about 4 Powerbar gummy things every 3 miles and sipped from my handheld, which had Nuun in it. I was feeling pretty good for the first half of the run. The walking breaks were doing me good and I felt energized when it came time to run again.
Things changed after the halfway point. :(
I started feeling tired and was trying to keep pace with an older gent (he's 64 and finished about a minute after me! How kick ass is that!). I would catch up to him, then it was time for my walk break and I'd watch him pull away, then it would be time for me to run again, then by the time I caught up to him, it would be time for my walk break again. Ad naseum.
After a few miles of that, I realized that I wasn't really pushing myself. I was just trying to keep up with him and cursed myself for not doing what I knew I was capable of. I passed the older gent and tried to step up my pace.
Going from focused...
to cheeseball at the sight of a photographer.
This was probably around Mile 10. The lady in the pink tank behind me eventually passed me. I remember seeing her and thinking, "Whoa! Where did she come from?!" I guess I'm pretty oblivious when I run.
I pushed through and managed not to veer off the 9:1 ratio, even though I really wanted to.
About a mile or two left.
I was actually starting to feel okay towards the end of the run, tired, but felt like I could still run more miles if I had to. I was a bit scatter-brained, though. During the very last corner before the finish, I saw a photog who pointed that I should run to his left. I nodded at him and continued to run straight. What the hell, me! When I realized I was stupid, I curved around him and just watched him stare at me. How embarrassing. Yeah, there was no pic of me there because I went the wrong way.
And the sprint to the finish.
I thought it was awesome that there were fellow runners cheering and clapping at the finish line for those still finishing. It totally made me smile. I will have to do that, too, at my next race.
Steph, and her no-training ass, finished in less than a minute after me. I think I hate her.
With the run/walk method, I finished in my best time ever for this course and just a minute over my all-time half-marathon PR. How crazy is that?
My splits from last year, when I ran the whole way.
My splits for this race doing a run/walk.
Anyway, I think I really like the run/walk method. Sure it's not running non-stop (or actually "cheating" like my husband says, insert stink-eye at him here). But my splits are more even, my overall pace was faster and I wasn't as fatigued towards the end like I normally am.
I'm excited to see how this will pan out for my marathon next month. Yikes!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
51 days!
Argh! A friend just posted "51 days" on my facebook. That is 51 days until the Nike Women's Marathon. 51 days until my first marathon. 51 days until I will be out there joining all the other 20,000 crazies running a ridiculous amount of miles.
I want to throw up just thinking about it.
In other news, it sucks major ass being poor. We are super-duper poor right now, and to cut some costs, my husband is going to cancel our gym membership. When he told me this last night over the phone, I started crying. Yes, I know. I am a big baby. But the gym is my me time. Unlike tons of other folks, I actually go to the gym. And I go pretty frequently, 3 to 6 times a week. And not just to use the treadmill, but I use a lot of their weights machines and dumbbells and barbells and ellipitical machines and bikes.
We talked about it some more this evening, and I started crying again. I don't know. It is what it is, and if we can't afford it, we can't afford it. We pretty much have everything I need at home, and I can modify a lot of the exercises to make do with the things we don't have.
My main concern is that I will go bat-shit crazy at home.
I want to throw up just thinking about it.
In other news, it sucks major ass being poor. We are super-duper poor right now, and to cut some costs, my husband is going to cancel our gym membership. When he told me this last night over the phone, I started crying. Yes, I know. I am a big baby. But the gym is my me time. Unlike tons of other folks, I actually go to the gym. And I go pretty frequently, 3 to 6 times a week. And not just to use the treadmill, but I use a lot of their weights machines and dumbbells and barbells and ellipitical machines and bikes.
We talked about it some more this evening, and I started crying again. I don't know. It is what it is, and if we can't afford it, we can't afford it. We pretty much have everything I need at home, and I can modify a lot of the exercises to make do with the things we don't have.
My main concern is that I will go bat-shit crazy at home.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Planks, no, not the stupid planking craze
A few months ago, I made a goal to be able to hold the plank position for 5 minutes. When I first started, I was able to hold it for 2 minutes.
I haven't been doing any real core exercises to focus on being able to hold it for longer. I've just been doing my regular strength training in addition to my running.
Well, I timed myself today, and I was able to hold it for 3.5 minutes today. I have to be able to do it twice in order for it to count. (I know. I'm a bit psycho.) I kick ass. Maybe in a few more months I'll be able to meet that 5 minute goal.
I've got a half marathon this Saturday. I've been doing a run/walk method for my previous long runs because I was dying doing runs longer than 10 miles. It's been going pretty well.
I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do for the half. Part of me wants to try to run the whole thing. The other part of me wants to try the run/walk method to see what kind of results it will yield during a race. We'll see.
I haven't been doing any real core exercises to focus on being able to hold it for longer. I've just been doing my regular strength training in addition to my running.
Well, I timed myself today, and I was able to hold it for 3.5 minutes today. I have to be able to do it twice in order for it to count. (I know. I'm a bit psycho.) I kick ass. Maybe in a few more months I'll be able to meet that 5 minute goal.
I've got a half marathon this Saturday. I've been doing a run/walk method for my previous long runs because I was dying doing runs longer than 10 miles. It's been going pretty well.
I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do for the half. Part of me wants to try to run the whole thing. The other part of me wants to try the run/walk method to see what kind of results it will yield during a race. We'll see.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Bring it, river!
I woke up this morning and started getting ready to go to the gym. However, I could still feel some soreness in my right hamstring from the weekend. I took an extra rest day on Monday. And well, it truly was hard, but I forced myself to take another rest day today. Better safe, than sorry, right? I'm thinking I might give it another rest day tomorrow as well. And possibily even another one on Saturday if it's still feeling iffy. I've got 16 miles (yikes!) scheduled for my long run, and I could always push it off til Sunday.
Since I was up early with nothing to do, I figured I better go and vacuum out my car before it got too hot. I have no idea when the last time I vacuumed my car was. It was pretty gross. It took me about an hour to thoroughly vacuum my car. But it was pretty satisfying to hear stuff flying through the vacuum hose at the speed of nastiness.
Martin got me this pretty nifty tool free from AAA. You know those tools. The ones you can use to slice through your seat belt and break your window out if you ever find yourself trapped in a sinking car. For the longest time, it's been kept in its box in my center console buried behind a bunch of crap.
There was a ton of stuff in front of it. Wipies, tissue, McDonald's receipts, gloves, beanies, etc. (Don't worry. I vacuumed all those crumbs/dead leaf particles (?) later.) I figured if my car and I ever started going underwater, I would be a goner trying to get handy tool out from beneath all that crap, much less still have time to take it out of the box, pull it out of it's bubble wrap and read the instructions.
So in order to be more prepared I took it out. Whadaya know, it's a flashlight, too! Unfortunately, when I pushed the button to turn it on, it didn't work. I also saw that the pointy window-breaking part looked pretty soft, like red rubber. How that would be able to break a car window beats me, but, hey, I'm no engineer.
Before I tossed the box, I figured I should give the instructions a once over. Hey, it's a manual flashlight! You turn a lever for a few minutes and it works! And what's this?! Always keep the protective cover on the the sharp pointie thing (if you can't tell, I'm paraphrasing here) when not in use.
Ooooooohhhhhhhh! Now that makes sense! However, it took me several minutes trying to remove that red thing. It was on there pretty good. So when I put it back, I left it off partially so it would be easier to rip off. I would imagine every second counts when icy cold waters are rapidly rising over your body.
I put the tool back in the bubble wrap and placed it in the driver side door. I am now prepared if my car ever plunges into a body of water. Or if I need a flashlight to find my bank card that slipped out of my pocket during a midnight run to Jack in the Box.
Since I was up early with nothing to do, I figured I better go and vacuum out my car before it got too hot. I have no idea when the last time I vacuumed my car was. It was pretty gross. It took me about an hour to thoroughly vacuum my car. But it was pretty satisfying to hear stuff flying through the vacuum hose at the speed of nastiness.
Martin got me this pretty nifty tool free from AAA. You know those tools. The ones you can use to slice through your seat belt and break your window out if you ever find yourself trapped in a sinking car. For the longest time, it's been kept in its box in my center console buried behind a bunch of crap.
There was a ton of stuff in front of it. Wipies, tissue, McDonald's receipts, gloves, beanies, etc. (Don't worry. I vacuumed all those crumbs/dead leaf particles (?) later.) I figured if my car and I ever started going underwater, I would be a goner trying to get handy tool out from beneath all that crap, much less still have time to take it out of the box, pull it out of it's bubble wrap and read the instructions.
So in order to be more prepared I took it out. Whadaya know, it's a flashlight, too! Unfortunately, when I pushed the button to turn it on, it didn't work. I also saw that the pointy window-breaking part looked pretty soft, like red rubber. How that would be able to break a car window beats me, but, hey, I'm no engineer.
Before I tossed the box, I figured I should give the instructions a once over. Hey, it's a manual flashlight! You turn a lever for a few minutes and it works! And what's this?! Always keep the protective cover on the the sharp pointie thing (if you can't tell, I'm paraphrasing here) when not in use.
Ooooooohhhhhhhh! Now that makes sense! However, it took me several minutes trying to remove that red thing. It was on there pretty good. So when I put it back, I left it off partially so it would be easier to rip off. I would imagine every second counts when icy cold waters are rapidly rising over your body.
I put the tool back in the bubble wrap and placed it in the driver side door. I am now prepared if my car ever plunges into a body of water. Or if I need a flashlight to find my bank card that slipped out of my pocket during a midnight run to Jack in the Box.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
New Rules, Sub 9 Mile and Run/Walk
I got The New Rules of Lifting for Women. The author comes off sounding like an asshole with his "I'm right and everyone else is wrong attitude," which is pretty annoying. However, I've been following the workouts (designed by another guy), and I am quite pleased. I've done them 3 times this week. And my arms are usually sore the next day. You only do five exercises, and they go pretty quick. I was able to finish each workout in under 30 minutes. I think I can stick with this.
This Thursday was supposed to be a rest day, but I actually felt like running, so I headed to the trails to work on some hills. A half mile into my run, which starts off with a one mile hill, elevation gain of almost 300 feet, I saw a guy flying down. I was feeling miserable wondering how I managed to run up this hill nonstop in the past. I gave my usual smile and wave to the guy. And then he started CLAPPING for me. How kick-ass is that?! That totally boosted my morale, and I managed to make it up that hill. I hope that guy wins the lottery.
On the same run, in my last mile, I actually ran an 8:43 mile! Yes, it was going down that same hill I spoke of above, but still! Other than on the treadmill, I've never run a sub 9 mile. I'll take it.
I had been feeling down about my past couple sucky long runs and posted on the NWM facebook page for advice. A few people recommended the run/walk method. I had to get it out of my head that walking = failure. With a new mindset, I headed out on my ten mile run this morning. I took a one minute walk break after every ten minutes. And guess what? It turned out to be my best time ever for this route! Crazy! And when I was done, I still felt like I could still do a few more miles. (10.36 miles in 1:54:11, 11:01/mile avg pace)
I fueled on fun-sized Snickers. After I ate one on my walking break (how sad must that have looked?), I saw two beautiful runners coming towards me. Not wanting to look like a complete loser, I started running again. Both guys gave me a huge smile and in sync raised their hands high at me. I returned the smile and raised my hand, too...clasping the Snickers wrapper. Nice.
This Thursday was supposed to be a rest day, but I actually felt like running, so I headed to the trails to work on some hills. A half mile into my run, which starts off with a one mile hill, elevation gain of almost 300 feet, I saw a guy flying down. I was feeling miserable wondering how I managed to run up this hill nonstop in the past. I gave my usual smile and wave to the guy. And then he started CLAPPING for me. How kick-ass is that?! That totally boosted my morale, and I managed to make it up that hill. I hope that guy wins the lottery.
On the same run, in my last mile, I actually ran an 8:43 mile! Yes, it was going down that same hill I spoke of above, but still! Other than on the treadmill, I've never run a sub 9 mile. I'll take it.
I had been feeling down about my past couple sucky long runs and posted on the NWM facebook page for advice. A few people recommended the run/walk method. I had to get it out of my head that walking = failure. With a new mindset, I headed out on my ten mile run this morning. I took a one minute walk break after every ten minutes. And guess what? It turned out to be my best time ever for this route! Crazy! And when I was done, I still felt like I could still do a few more miles. (10.36 miles in 1:54:11, 11:01/mile avg pace)
I fueled on fun-sized Snickers. After I ate one on my walking break (how sad must that have looked?), I saw two beautiful runners coming towards me. Not wanting to look like a complete loser, I started running again. Both guys gave me a huge smile and in sync raised their hands high at me. I returned the smile and raised my hand, too...clasping the Snickers wrapper. Nice.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Survived 14 miles...barely
We went to REI yesterday and I got this handheld.
It's a little too bright for my liking, but it was between this and a Nathan hand-held, and the hand grip on the Amphipod was tons more comfortable.
So I thought I was going to kick ass on my long run today since I now had some liquid on me, unlike last week's long run. I also packed a couple of fun-sized Snickers in the handheld for fuel. Oh, and I ate a regular sized Snickers pre-run. Sooooooo much tastier than a Clif bar. I also dropped a Nuun tablet (fruit punch flavor) in my water.
Well, the run sucked.
There were many a walking breaks. I don't remember at which mile they started, but it was way before Mile 9, unlike last week, maybe Mile 6. Sigh.
I ran out of water at the halfway point. And I was so thirsty and so dying that this time I actually went inside the Community Center at the start of Mile 10 to refill my bottle. I didn't care that the receptionist looked at my sweat-drenched self all weird. Their cold water from the water fountain was heaven!
I actually paused my garmin before I went in the Community Center, which is why Mile 10 probably doesn't read 15 minutes. Then I trudged the rest of the way back home.
I saw my neighbor walking her dog at the bottom of my last hill. I said hello to her and then proceeded to run up the hill. Thank goodness for her, because I think I didn't want to lose face by her seeing me crawling up that thing, hence the decent (for me) last mile at 12:12.
I'd like to run the marathon at an 11:30-12:00/mile pace. I'm wondering if my Insanity work-outs are interfering with my running times. I think they did during my February half earlier this year. I was doing Insanity in conjunction with my half training and my half turned out to be slower than I had hoped. I stopped doing Insanity and my half in June was much better. I started Insanity again this week. Maybe I'll just try and cut back.
Anyway, that was my long run today. 16 miles next week. Oy!
It's a little too bright for my liking, but it was between this and a Nathan hand-held, and the hand grip on the Amphipod was tons more comfortable.
So I thought I was going to kick ass on my long run today since I now had some liquid on me, unlike last week's long run. I also packed a couple of fun-sized Snickers in the handheld for fuel. Oh, and I ate a regular sized Snickers pre-run. Sooooooo much tastier than a Clif bar. I also dropped a Nuun tablet (fruit punch flavor) in my water.
Well, the run sucked.
There were many a walking breaks. I don't remember at which mile they started, but it was way before Mile 9, unlike last week, maybe Mile 6. Sigh.
I ran out of water at the halfway point. And I was so thirsty and so dying that this time I actually went inside the Community Center at the start of Mile 10 to refill my bottle. I didn't care that the receptionist looked at my sweat-drenched self all weird. Their cold water from the water fountain was heaven!
I actually paused my garmin before I went in the Community Center, which is why Mile 10 probably doesn't read 15 minutes. Then I trudged the rest of the way back home.
I saw my neighbor walking her dog at the bottom of my last hill. I said hello to her and then proceeded to run up the hill. Thank goodness for her, because I think I didn't want to lose face by her seeing me crawling up that thing, hence the decent (for me) last mile at 12:12.
I'd like to run the marathon at an 11:30-12:00/mile pace. I'm wondering if my Insanity work-outs are interfering with my running times. I think they did during my February half earlier this year. I was doing Insanity in conjunction with my half training and my half turned out to be slower than I had hoped. I stopped doing Insanity and my half in June was much better. I started Insanity again this week. Maybe I'll just try and cut back.
Anyway, that was my long run today. 16 miles next week. Oy!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
How the f@#! am I gonna run 26.2 miles?!
Yesterday morning I headed out to do my long run. My schedule called for 10 miles, but I figured I would do 12. My gramin died when I went to turn it on. I added a few tangents to my regular 10 mile route, so I thought I had a rough idea of which mile I was on. I mapped it last night, and I actually did 12.5 miles. In a slow, agonizing 2:31.
Miles 1-4: I felt good, strong, invincible.
Miles 4-7: Felt okay, neither good nor bad.
Miles 8-9: Hard. Felt like stopping, but pushed myself to continue to run.
Miles 10-12.5: Wheels feel off. Walked on and off.
My mantra throughout this run was, "You don't have to go fast. You just gotta go forward." That helped me get through some rough spots.
I think I need to carry water with me. I was soooooo thirsty. I thought about stopping inside the comminity center midway in my run because I knew they had water fountains inside. But I didn't know if they were open already. And I would've been too embarrassed anyway to go inside anyway.
I had a couple of fig newtons during the run. Don't know if they gave me more energy. But I do know they made me super thirsty.
I was so tired during the last few miles of this run. How am I supposed to run more than double this?! What the fuck!
Miles 1-4: I felt good, strong, invincible.
Miles 4-7: Felt okay, neither good nor bad.
Miles 8-9: Hard. Felt like stopping, but pushed myself to continue to run.
Miles 10-12.5: Wheels feel off. Walked on and off.
My mantra throughout this run was, "You don't have to go fast. You just gotta go forward." That helped me get through some rough spots.
I think I need to carry water with me. I was soooooo thirsty. I thought about stopping inside the comminity center midway in my run because I knew they had water fountains inside. But I didn't know if they were open already. And I would've been too embarrassed anyway to go inside anyway.
I had a couple of fig newtons during the run. Don't know if they gave me more energy. But I do know they made me super thirsty.
I was so tired during the last few miles of this run. How am I supposed to run more than double this?! What the fuck!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Upping the mileage
I hopped on the scale this morning. 131.2. And morning is when I'm at my lightest. Sigh. Instead of getting better about what I'm eating, I had deep fried sweet potato fries, rice, beans, tamales, orange soda, cookies, frosted flakes, etc. Nice, huh?
Several months ago I was able to eat like a horse and still lose weight. So what's up with now? Well, I still eat like a horse. I'm just not exercising as much.
Now this is where it (i.e. me) gets ridiculous. This is roughly my training schedule:
Monday - 45 minutes weights, easy run (4-6 miles)
Tuesday - 45 minute weights, cross-train (usually pilates)
Wednesday - hard run (3-4 miles speedwork)
Thursday - 45 minutes weights, easy run (4-6 miles)
Friday - cross-train (usually pilates)
Saturday - long run
Sunday - rest
Plenty of exercise, right? Well, in order for me to lose weight I either need to watch my food intake or exercise more. And I know I can't stop eating sweets. So it looks like I need to tack on more exercise.
I was flipping through an old Runner's World magazine earlier today and glanced over a marathon training plan for a newbie marathoner. The weekly mileages from the get go were a lot more than the weekly mileages in my plan. Not couning cut-back weeks, my mileages have been in the 20-25 range, and I'm already in Week 8 of my training. The Runner's World plan starts off the first week of training at 25 miles.
Looks like I might need to revise my training.
Several months ago I was able to eat like a horse and still lose weight. So what's up with now? Well, I still eat like a horse. I'm just not exercising as much.
Now this is where it (i.e. me) gets ridiculous. This is roughly my training schedule:
Monday - 45 minutes weights, easy run (4-6 miles)
Tuesday - 45 minute weights, cross-train (usually pilates)
Wednesday - hard run (3-4 miles speedwork)
Thursday - 45 minutes weights, easy run (4-6 miles)
Friday - cross-train (usually pilates)
Saturday - long run
Sunday - rest
Plenty of exercise, right? Well, in order for me to lose weight I either need to watch my food intake or exercise more. And I know I can't stop eating sweets. So it looks like I need to tack on more exercise.
I was flipping through an old Runner's World magazine earlier today and glanced over a marathon training plan for a newbie marathoner. The weekly mileages from the get go were a lot more than the weekly mileages in my plan. Not couning cut-back weeks, my mileages have been in the 20-25 range, and I'm already in Week 8 of my training. The Runner's World plan starts off the first week of training at 25 miles.
Looks like I might need to revise my training.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Who am I?
I had a decent 6 mile run this morning. However, on the last huge hill at the end of my run I felt myself starting to fade.
When my kids don't listen to me or tell me no, I ask them, "Who am I?" They know to answer "Mama," which means they have to do as I say.
On the hill I thought of all the training I've done, all my strength-training, all my runs. Then in my head I said to myself, "Who are you?" And I answered, "I am a bad-ass mutha-fucka! I got this!" And repeat.
I made it up that hill with energy left to sprint all the way to my house.
Who am I?
Hehe.
When my kids don't listen to me or tell me no, I ask them, "Who am I?" They know to answer "Mama," which means they have to do as I say.
On the hill I thought of all the training I've done, all my strength-training, all my runs. Then in my head I said to myself, "Who are you?" And I answered, "I am a bad-ass mutha-fucka! I got this!" And repeat.
I made it up that hill with energy left to sprint all the way to my house.
Who am I?
Hehe.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Feeling old as dirt and completely out of modern day times
The neighborhood kids were over our house today. The ten year old girl was cracking me up and showing me dances, dances I had never heard of. Cat-daddy. Stanky leg. Spongebob. It made me feel so, so old. Her eight year old brother was showing me videos on YouTube. Yeesh, I haven't watched music videos in a long, long time. I promptly left and went to Target because I had to buy dental floss.
I got a new phone yesterday. I have to ask Martin how to do anything on it, because I'm a spaz. It has a front facing camera! Now I can see what I look like while I take my own self-portrait!
Can you see how impressed I am?
***Marathon training
06/27/11
Plan: Weights and easy 4.5 miles
Warm-up: .5 miles
Weights:
Back exer on Tricep machine. 100 lb. 3 x 20
Wide grip push ups in assist machine. 60 lb. 3 x 15
Tricep dips on assist machine. 60 lb. 3 x 15
Leg push down thingamajigs on assist machine. 60 lb. 3 x 15 each leg
High mountain rows. 30 lb. 3 x 15
Leg extensions (quads). 40 lb. 2 x 12
Hamstring curls. 30 lb. 2 x 12
Back rows. 45 lb. 2 x 12
Calf presses. 100 lb. 3 x 15
Rotator cuff exer. 2.5 lbs. 3 x 15 each side
I tried doing 3 sets instead of my usual 2 of most exercises to try to get myself to get stronger. I was able to do it except for a few exercises where I struggled with just 2 sets.
Run:
Incline: .5
I started at 5.3, but I was just feeling really good and kept upping it. I think I did most of the run at 5.8, but I know I went faster than that towards the end.
4.5 miles in about 47:20.
06/28/11
Plan: 30 minutes cross-training
Pilates, 30 minutes
06/29/11
Plan: 4 miles hard, strides
Incline: .5
Mile 1: 5.8 (10:21)
Mile 2: 6.0 (10:00)
Mile 3: 6.2 (9:41)
Mile 4: 6.4 (9.23)
4 miles in about 39:25
Strides:
8.5 and 4.0
Ran rest of run at 5.8 to make an even 5 miles in about 50 minutes.
A guy hopped on the treadmill next to me and started running at 8.5 (7:04 pace). It totally inspired me and I turned my run into a progression run feeling strong throughout the whole run. I actually felt like I could go faster at the end, but wanted to save energy for my strides.
The strides were totally challenging at 8.5. It was a sprint for me. I don't know how that guy managed to hold that pace.
I am actually starting to see improvements in my speed and it's making me happy. :)
I got a new phone yesterday. I have to ask Martin how to do anything on it, because I'm a spaz. It has a front facing camera! Now I can see what I look like while I take my own self-portrait!
Can you see how impressed I am?
***Marathon training
06/27/11
Plan: Weights and easy 4.5 miles
Warm-up: .5 miles
Weights:
Back exer on Tricep machine. 100 lb. 3 x 20
Wide grip push ups in assist machine. 60 lb. 3 x 15
Tricep dips on assist machine. 60 lb. 3 x 15
Leg push down thingamajigs on assist machine. 60 lb. 3 x 15 each leg
High mountain rows. 30 lb. 3 x 15
Leg extensions (quads). 40 lb. 2 x 12
Hamstring curls. 30 lb. 2 x 12
Back rows. 45 lb. 2 x 12
Calf presses. 100 lb. 3 x 15
Rotator cuff exer. 2.5 lbs. 3 x 15 each side
I tried doing 3 sets instead of my usual 2 of most exercises to try to get myself to get stronger. I was able to do it except for a few exercises where I struggled with just 2 sets.
Run:
Incline: .5
I started at 5.3, but I was just feeling really good and kept upping it. I think I did most of the run at 5.8, but I know I went faster than that towards the end.
4.5 miles in about 47:20.
06/28/11
Plan: 30 minutes cross-training
Pilates, 30 minutes
06/29/11
Plan: 4 miles hard, strides
Incline: .5
Mile 1: 5.8 (10:21)
Mile 2: 6.0 (10:00)
Mile 3: 6.2 (9:41)
Mile 4: 6.4 (9.23)
4 miles in about 39:25
Strides:
8.5 and 4.0
Ran rest of run at 5.8 to make an even 5 miles in about 50 minutes.
A guy hopped on the treadmill next to me and started running at 8.5 (7:04 pace). It totally inspired me and I turned my run into a progression run feeling strong throughout the whole run. I actually felt like I could go faster at the end, but wanted to save energy for my strides.
The strides were totally challenging at 8.5. It was a sprint for me. I don't know how that guy managed to hold that pace.
I am actually starting to see improvements in my speed and it's making me happy. :)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Put on a shirt, lady!
Hehe. Today was my scheduled long run (just 6 miles since it's a cut-back week), and I decided to hit the trails. And well, why not work on my tan while I'm at it? So, I bit the bullet and ran in just a sports bra, shorts and my shoes and socks. Now, don't get me wrong, I would never wear this while running on the streets or the gym. But it's so common to see males running sans shirt and women in a sports bra on the trails. Why not be one of them?
Me on the trails in all my flat-chested glory.
Now to be honest with you, I did bring a shirt with me in the car to wear if I chickened out. I felt pretty fine in what I had on until I started running. Then it was not a pretty sight. All that belly jiggling around made me think of jello being pounded. However, pulling my shorts up slightly made all the difference in the world and contained the jiggling. Perfect!
I was pretty happy with this run. I felt good and strong through the whole thing. I was surprised to see the 10:54 average pace. Miles 3 and 4 were on dirt trails where I was jumping over a lot of weeds and dodging around uneven ground. I hurt my right ankle a few times.
Check out the elevation in the first mile! Crazy! But other than the time when I walked for a few minutes to readjust my shorts, I actually ran the whole way up. Okay, sometimes I was seeing a 14:36 pace (isn't this walking pace?), but I was still running nonetheless. And I did it in 12:36.
The fun thing about starting all uphill, is you finish going downhill. I love this part about this run. It totally makes me feel like a kid and that I'm fast. Hehe.
I wish I lived right next door to these trails so I could run here everyday. It's just so different from running on the streets.
Me on the trails in all my flat-chested glory.
Now to be honest with you, I did bring a shirt with me in the car to wear if I chickened out. I felt pretty fine in what I had on until I started running. Then it was not a pretty sight. All that belly jiggling around made me think of jello being pounded. However, pulling my shorts up slightly made all the difference in the world and contained the jiggling. Perfect!
I was pretty happy with this run. I felt good and strong through the whole thing. I was surprised to see the 10:54 average pace. Miles 3 and 4 were on dirt trails where I was jumping over a lot of weeds and dodging around uneven ground. I hurt my right ankle a few times.
Check out the elevation in the first mile! Crazy! But other than the time when I walked for a few minutes to readjust my shorts, I actually ran the whole way up. Okay, sometimes I was seeing a 14:36 pace (isn't this walking pace?), but I was still running nonetheless. And I did it in 12:36.
The fun thing about starting all uphill, is you finish going downhill. I love this part about this run. It totally makes me feel like a kid and that I'm fast. Hehe.
I wish I lived right next door to these trails so I could run here everyday. It's just so different from running on the streets.
Friday, June 24, 2011
06/24/11 Weigh-in: 127.0, 26%
So while it's not exactly the greatest numbers, at least I've been able to maintain it. It would be awesome if I could lose five pounds. But I don't know.
This damage was done singlehandedly in one day.
That is 1680 calories of iced oatmeal cookies consumed in one day.
P.S. - I swear I'm not 76.
This damage was done singlehandedly in one day.
That is 1680 calories of iced oatmeal cookies consumed in one day.
P.S. - I swear I'm not 76.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
It's Thursday?!
I just checked my calendar and was surprised to find that today is Thursday. For some reason I thought it was earlier in the week. Not working really throws me off.
I've had all kinds of aches and pains in the past few years from running - piriformis syndrome, runner's knee, bursitis (which I thought was peroneal tendonitis or plantar fasciitis, although my left arch is starting to hurt, too), crazy hip flexor pains, pulled hammies, pulled groin, toe nail falling off, etc.
Yesterday, I was able to add to the list. Iliotibial band syndrome, IT band syndrome for short. Sigh. I got up in the morning, walked to the bathroom sink and felt this sharp stabbing pain just above and to the outside of my right knee. It was super painful and nothing like I had felt before. It went away, but every now and then yesterday it would return, while I was sitting, while I was walking, there wasn't a specific pattern. Wonderful.
This week is a cut back week in my training so I get an extra rest day this week, today. Hooray! I'm actually thinking of not doing my "long run" this Saturday, a cut back 6 miler, to let my IT band rest.
Oh, and our ac went out yesterday. It was 98 degrees in my town. Thank goodness a guy is coming today to take a look at it. The good thing about sitting in the heat was that it killed my appetite.
***Marathon training
06/20/11 - Monday
Plan: Weights and an easy 4.5 miles
.5 mile warm up
Wide grip pull ups on assist machine. 55 lbs. 2 x 12.
Tricep dips on assist machine. 55 lbs. 2 x 12.
Leg presses. Mid. High. Mid together. 20 lbs. 2 x 12 each position.
High mountain rows. 30 lbs. 2 x 15.
Single leg hamstring curls. 20 lbs. 2 x 12 each side.
Back rows. 45 lbs. 2 x 12.
Calf presses. 90 lbs. 2 x 15.
Shoulder/back cross pull. 2.5 lbs. 2 x 12.
Rotator cuff exercise. 2.5 lbs. 2 x 20 each side.
Ab/knee raise. Front, left, right. 2 x 12 each position.
4 miles
1-3 @ 5.3
3.0-3.5 @ 5.5
3.5-4.0 @ 5.7
4.0-4.5 @ 6.0
Little less than 45 minutes.
06/21/11 - Tuesday
Plan: 30 minutes cross-train
Tae Bo Amped
50 minutes
I haven't done Tae Bo in years. It was pretty fun. But I'm not sure if I'll be doing it again. It didn't seem like it worked me out hard enough.
That's right. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I do Tae Bo. And apparnetly I don't clean my room or mirror.
06/22/11 - Wednesday
Plan: Hard 4 miles and strides
Incline: 0.5
Mile 1: 5.7
Miles 2-4: 6.0
I didn't feel like dying during this run. It was hard, but okay from the start. Usually I start out feeling ready to give up in the first mile or two. This run today wasn't that bad.
Strides - 8.0 and 4.0 x 4. The 8.0 is starting to feel a little easy now, at least for the 30 seconds I'm doing them for. Maybe I'll up it a little next week.
Total run was about 4.75 miles in maybe 50 minutes. I don't remember anymore.
I've had all kinds of aches and pains in the past few years from running - piriformis syndrome, runner's knee, bursitis (which I thought was peroneal tendonitis or plantar fasciitis, although my left arch is starting to hurt, too), crazy hip flexor pains, pulled hammies, pulled groin, toe nail falling off, etc.
Yesterday, I was able to add to the list. Iliotibial band syndrome, IT band syndrome for short. Sigh. I got up in the morning, walked to the bathroom sink and felt this sharp stabbing pain just above and to the outside of my right knee. It was super painful and nothing like I had felt before. It went away, but every now and then yesterday it would return, while I was sitting, while I was walking, there wasn't a specific pattern. Wonderful.
This week is a cut back week in my training so I get an extra rest day this week, today. Hooray! I'm actually thinking of not doing my "long run" this Saturday, a cut back 6 miler, to let my IT band rest.
Oh, and our ac went out yesterday. It was 98 degrees in my town. Thank goodness a guy is coming today to take a look at it. The good thing about sitting in the heat was that it killed my appetite.
***Marathon training
06/20/11 - Monday
Plan: Weights and an easy 4.5 miles
.5 mile warm up
Wide grip pull ups on assist machine. 55 lbs. 2 x 12.
Tricep dips on assist machine. 55 lbs. 2 x 12.
Leg presses. Mid. High. Mid together. 20 lbs. 2 x 12 each position.
High mountain rows. 30 lbs. 2 x 15.
Single leg hamstring curls. 20 lbs. 2 x 12 each side.
Back rows. 45 lbs. 2 x 12.
Calf presses. 90 lbs. 2 x 15.
Shoulder/back cross pull. 2.5 lbs. 2 x 12.
Rotator cuff exercise. 2.5 lbs. 2 x 20 each side.
Ab/knee raise. Front, left, right. 2 x 12 each position.
4 miles
1-3 @ 5.3
3.0-3.5 @ 5.5
3.5-4.0 @ 5.7
4.0-4.5 @ 6.0
Little less than 45 minutes.
06/21/11 - Tuesday
Plan: 30 minutes cross-train
Tae Bo Amped
50 minutes
I haven't done Tae Bo in years. It was pretty fun. But I'm not sure if I'll be doing it again. It didn't seem like it worked me out hard enough.
06/22/11 - Wednesday
Plan: Hard 4 miles and strides
Incline: 0.5
Mile 1: 5.7
Miles 2-4: 6.0
I didn't feel like dying during this run. It was hard, but okay from the start. Usually I start out feeling ready to give up in the first mile or two. This run today wasn't that bad.
Strides - 8.0 and 4.0 x 4. The 8.0 is starting to feel a little easy now, at least for the 30 seconds I'm doing them for. Maybe I'll up it a little next week.
Total run was about 4.75 miles in maybe 50 minutes. I don't remember anymore.
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