I'm following John Bingham's plan, and the first day calls for an easy 40 minute run. I'm a fan of full miles so I made it an easy 4 miles. My legs felt like lead, and I wanted to stop so many times during the first three miles, but we can't start training off like that, can we? So I soldiered through. Surprisingly the last mile was better and I even ran strong up the hill. 4 miles in 45 something minutes.
Day 1 of marathon training done! Even at my heavy weight! This calls for ice cream!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
05/29/11 Weigh-in: 130.0
See that number after the one? Yep, that's a three. No denying it now. I am back in my 130's.
Ugh, I put on my fat pants today. And they fit me perfectly. Actually, after the barbecue at my mom's house they even started feeling a little tight.
This is a pivotal moment. Either I get serious and get disciplined and get that number down. OR I half ass it and the number goes spiraling up. I've been there before. Several times. Up and down. Up and down.
I need to do damage control now. Before it gets too out of hand.
"Discipline is remembering what you want." David Campbell
So remember. And put down the chocolate already!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Awesome 10 miler
I threw on my running clothes this morning to take Katie for our usual walk. I figured if she did well, we'd go for a run. Yeah, no. About a half mile into our walk she started jumping on me. I know that's her way of telling me, "Hey! Let me go run free, lady!" So, I quelled my anger, turned around and took her back home.
Then I told Martin that I was going for a run, and I'd be back in two hours. I actually had a plan for this long run. Usually with long runs I just get out there and try to finish them without dying. My plan for this ten miler was to take it slow and easy for the first seven miles (11:00-12:00/miles), and then run at race pace, or what I'm hoping will be my half-marathon race pace next week (10:30/mile), for the last three miles.
While things didn't go exactly as planned, I did finish feeling super good and happy and pleased as punch with myself. I finished 10.31 miles in 1:54:58, average pace was 11:09/mile. This was almost as fast as my personal record for this route from 08/14/10 - 10.21 miles, 1:52, 11:03/mile. The difference was that today, I actually held myself back for the first seven miles!
Mile - 08/14/10 - 05/28/11
Mile 1 - 10:42 - 10:54 - I forced myself to go slow up the first hill so as not to burn out.
Mile 2 - 10:51 - 11:19
Mile 3 - 10:36 - 10:54 - It sucked holding back, because I was just feeling really good. I thought I was going slow, but then looked at my Garmin and saw 9:XX times. Whoops.
Mile 4 - 11:08 - 11:08 - I would trot along and noticed that my comfortable pace was mainly 11:06.
Mile 5 - 10:58 - 11:46 - My slowest mile on this run. I stopped at this time to take a GU.
Mile 6 - 11:20 - 11:28 - I told myself to make sure to keep it slow and enjoy this nice slow pace for this mile and the next one.
Mile 7 - 11:04 - 11:22 - I was starting to feel tired and was wondering how and if I could manage a 10:30 pace for the last three miles.
Mile 8 - 11:06 - 10:43 - I had a really hard time finding the 10:30 pace. Either I was going too fast or too slow. I got tired towards the end of this mile and walked with a tenth of this mile left to go.
Mile 9 - 10:59 - 10:29 - My average pace may have been on target, but I was up and down with this mile. Again, I was going too fast. I was seeing sub 9:00 miles. I walked the last .15 of this mile.
Mile 10 - 12:02 - 11:33 - And more trouble with pacing. But I knew this mile was going to be wonky because of the giant hill at the end.
Last .31 miles - 9:56 - 10:44 - Finished nice and even going down the last hill.
I had a really hard time finding that 10:30/mile pace. I need to go out on the road again to find it so I can remember what it feels like. Either I was going too slow or way too fast.
However, I am quite pleased with what I've accomplished. During the first seven miles, I kept telling myself to take it easy, "to bank energy" for the end when I would need it. And it worked! The last few miles on long runs have ALWAYS sucked for me. I always peter out and get tired. But today's strategy worked. I just have to force myself to take it easy in the beginning.
Now if I can just keep this feeling and energy for next week's half, I'll be all set!
Then I told Martin that I was going for a run, and I'd be back in two hours. I actually had a plan for this long run. Usually with long runs I just get out there and try to finish them without dying. My plan for this ten miler was to take it slow and easy for the first seven miles (11:00-12:00/miles), and then run at race pace, or what I'm hoping will be my half-marathon race pace next week (10:30/mile), for the last three miles.
While things didn't go exactly as planned, I did finish feeling super good and happy and pleased as punch with myself. I finished 10.31 miles in 1:54:58, average pace was 11:09/mile. This was almost as fast as my personal record for this route from 08/14/10 - 10.21 miles, 1:52, 11:03/mile. The difference was that today, I actually held myself back for the first seven miles!
Mile - 08/14/10 - 05/28/11
Mile 1 - 10:42 - 10:54 - I forced myself to go slow up the first hill so as not to burn out.
Mile 2 - 10:51 - 11:19
Mile 3 - 10:36 - 10:54 - It sucked holding back, because I was just feeling really good. I thought I was going slow, but then looked at my Garmin and saw 9:XX times. Whoops.
Mile 4 - 11:08 - 11:08 - I would trot along and noticed that my comfortable pace was mainly 11:06.
Mile 5 - 10:58 - 11:46 - My slowest mile on this run. I stopped at this time to take a GU.
Mile 6 - 11:20 - 11:28 - I told myself to make sure to keep it slow and enjoy this nice slow pace for this mile and the next one.
Mile 7 - 11:04 - 11:22 - I was starting to feel tired and was wondering how and if I could manage a 10:30 pace for the last three miles.
Mile 8 - 11:06 - 10:43 - I had a really hard time finding the 10:30 pace. Either I was going too fast or too slow. I got tired towards the end of this mile and walked with a tenth of this mile left to go.
Mile 9 - 10:59 - 10:29 - My average pace may have been on target, but I was up and down with this mile. Again, I was going too fast. I was seeing sub 9:00 miles. I walked the last .15 of this mile.
Mile 10 - 12:02 - 11:33 - And more trouble with pacing. But I knew this mile was going to be wonky because of the giant hill at the end.
Last .31 miles - 9:56 - 10:44 - Finished nice and even going down the last hill.
I had a really hard time finding that 10:30/mile pace. I need to go out on the road again to find it so I can remember what it feels like. Either I was going too slow or way too fast.
However, I am quite pleased with what I've accomplished. During the first seven miles, I kept telling myself to take it easy, "to bank energy" for the end when I would need it. And it worked! The last few miles on long runs have ALWAYS sucked for me. I always peter out and get tired. But today's strategy worked. I just have to force myself to take it easy in the beginning.
Now if I can just keep this feeling and energy for next week's half, I'll be all set!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
This close to giving up
Notice how I haven't talked about my dog, Katie in a while? Well, that's because I'm so close to giving her away.
I am so frustrated. Walking her has become a complete nightmare. It's progressively getting worse every day. A few weeks ago she jumped on me during one of our walks. She also started lunging out of the blue. With each walk she does it more and more often.
Each of our walks has become shorter and shorter because I can no longer take all the jumping and lunging. Noelle, our dog trainer, believes it's because she's just very excited on our walks and to just keep praising and treating her when she's walking correctly. I think it's because she wants to go run free.
This morning we came across a man walking his chihuahua. Katie kept lunging and barking. I dragged her back home and I actually started crying on the way. It just felt hopeless, and I was so overwhelmed. When my husband came home from work, I told him that we were giving Katie away.
We had an appointment with Noelle this evening. I told her that Katie's not doing any better on the leash. She just reiterated the need to praise and treat. We reviewed what we've learned - sit, down, stay, heel. But Katie wasn't paying any attention to us, and it felt like this lesson, come, would be a bust since she was pretty much ignoring us. However, towards the end of the hour, Katie actually started listening and we were able to get her to come back and forth between us from each end of my backyard.
Go figure. Just when I'm ready to throw in the towel on this dog, she does something that flickers a spark of hope.
I am so frustrated. Walking her has become a complete nightmare. It's progressively getting worse every day. A few weeks ago she jumped on me during one of our walks. She also started lunging out of the blue. With each walk she does it more and more often.
Each of our walks has become shorter and shorter because I can no longer take all the jumping and lunging. Noelle, our dog trainer, believes it's because she's just very excited on our walks and to just keep praising and treating her when she's walking correctly. I think it's because she wants to go run free.
This morning we came across a man walking his chihuahua. Katie kept lunging and barking. I dragged her back home and I actually started crying on the way. It just felt hopeless, and I was so overwhelmed. When my husband came home from work, I told him that we were giving Katie away.
We had an appointment with Noelle this evening. I told her that Katie's not doing any better on the leash. She just reiterated the need to praise and treat. We reviewed what we've learned - sit, down, stay, heel. But Katie wasn't paying any attention to us, and it felt like this lesson, come, would be a bust since she was pretty much ignoring us. However, towards the end of the hour, Katie actually started listening and we were able to get her to come back and forth between us from each end of my backyard.
Go figure. Just when I'm ready to throw in the towel on this dog, she does something that flickers a spark of hope.
Not a bad-ass
I was at the gym this morning thinking I was the shit because I raised the weight on the single hamstring curl machine from my normal 10 lb to 20 lb. While doing my set, I was watching a guy in the mirror doing chin-ups. I am always amazed by anyone who can do chin-ups and pull-ups. I then noticed a guy on the ground next to him doing super low push-ups. This guy was looking at his buddy. I followed his line of vision and saw his buddy was doing military push-ups. On his knuckles! On one foot! And then he started changing up his hand placements all smooth like while doing his push-ups. I had to stop my set and turn around so I could watch this guy! I was so impressed.
When I got home, I tried doing it. Nope, couldn't. I tried again this evening and damn near snapped my right wrist and got rug burn on my right knee. My wrist is still sore. I won't be trying those again any time soon.
When I got home, I tried doing it. Nope, couldn't. I tried again this evening and damn near snapped my right wrist and got rug burn on my right knee. My wrist is still sore. I won't be trying those again any time soon.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Taking it slow
So I figured that maybe I needed to go even slower than 5.7 to get in a run where I didn't burn out and have to quit and feel all crappy about myself.
On the drive to the gym, the sky was all cloudy and gloomy. Off in the distance though the hills were actually sun-lit and glowing. They looked so beautiful, like they were beckoning me to come and run there. So I passed up the turn to the gym and continued driving to the hills. I felt so happy. The thought of running outside sans garmin (aka no way to track my pace) and in the fresh air sounded so refreshing. I parked my car and started to open my door to get out when the rain drops started to fall. I contemplated running in the rain for a fraction of a second before I thought, "Screw this," turned my car around and headed back to the gym. Yes, I'm a wuss.
At the gym, I decided to run at 5.5 (11:00/mile) and do hill intervals. (5 minutes @ 1.0 incline, 2 minutes @ 5.0 incline, 3 minutes @ 0 incline, repeated 4 times today). I did it! Without stopping. Yay me! I did a little over 4.5 miles. Normally I do the hill parts of the intervals at 6.0, but I always have to walk for a minute after the 2 minute run at 5.0 incline. But not at my constant 5.5 speed. 5.5 from start to finish! Granted, I felt like a slow-poke at this speed, and I wanted to tell anyone who walked by me that I was doing hill intervals. But I did it!
On the drive to the gym, the sky was all cloudy and gloomy. Off in the distance though the hills were actually sun-lit and glowing. They looked so beautiful, like they were beckoning me to come and run there. So I passed up the turn to the gym and continued driving to the hills. I felt so happy. The thought of running outside sans garmin (aka no way to track my pace) and in the fresh air sounded so refreshing. I parked my car and started to open my door to get out when the rain drops started to fall. I contemplated running in the rain for a fraction of a second before I thought, "Screw this," turned my car around and headed back to the gym. Yes, I'm a wuss.
At the gym, I decided to run at 5.5 (11:00/mile) and do hill intervals. (5 minutes @ 1.0 incline, 2 minutes @ 5.0 incline, 3 minutes @ 0 incline, repeated 4 times today). I did it! Without stopping. Yay me! I did a little over 4.5 miles. Normally I do the hill parts of the intervals at 6.0, but I always have to walk for a minute after the 2 minute run at 5.0 incline. But not at my constant 5.5 speed. 5.5 from start to finish! Granted, I felt like a slow-poke at this speed, and I wanted to tell anyone who walked by me that I was doing hill intervals. But I did it!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Hey there, Jillian!
I felt the need to get a second workout done tonight. I would have popped in Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, but I let my coworker borrow it a while ago. So I did her Banish Fat, Boost Your Metabolism work-out. I don't think I've done this in over a year. When I started running and working out with weights more frequently I stopped doing her DVDs because they were getting to be too easy.
But I remember when I first did BFBYM, I turned beet red, wanted to die and give up every other minute and was pouring sweat non-stop for hours even after I had finished it. I swore I was going to shelve it and never do it again because it was too hard. But I did it again a few days later and eventually it became part of my routine. And then my workouts focused on running and weights and BFBYM was forgotten.
Until tonight.
I managed to do the whole thing without wanting to die and was able to keep up and not turn red. I was still sweating buckets, though.
I'm feeling better about myself, even though I just weighed myself and it was 127.4 pounds and 26.6% body fat. I know weight loss and body fat percentage loss doesn't happen overnight. It's a work in progress. And if I stay disciplined I can get there. Like Jillian says, if you want to see results you have to put in the work and get out of your comfort zone. I'm getting there, Jillian, I'm getting there!
But I remember when I first did BFBYM, I turned beet red, wanted to die and give up every other minute and was pouring sweat non-stop for hours even after I had finished it. I swore I was going to shelve it and never do it again because it was too hard. But I did it again a few days later and eventually it became part of my routine. And then my workouts focused on running and weights and BFBYM was forgotten.
Until tonight.
I managed to do the whole thing without wanting to die and was able to keep up and not turn red. I was still sweating buckets, though.
I'm feeling better about myself, even though I just weighed myself and it was 127.4 pounds and 26.6% body fat. I know weight loss and body fat percentage loss doesn't happen overnight. It's a work in progress. And if I stay disciplined I can get there. Like Jillian says, if you want to see results you have to put in the work and get out of your comfort zone. I'm getting there, Jillian, I'm getting there!
How do you shake off bad runs?
And yes, that is runs with an s. Yesterday's tempo run was a failure and today's easy 6 miler turned out to be neither easy nor 6 miles.
I figured I'd take it easy today and do the 6 miles at my old easy speed of 5.7. First mile, okay, felt a little hard but not a problem. Second mie, geez, why do I want to stop and walk? And walk I did at 2.57 miles. Talk about a huge blow to my ego. I did speed intervals until I made 4 miles. And that sucked, too.
I'm trying to tell myself that maybe it was the strength training I did last night. I did do a bunch of jumping burpees and single leg squats.
But still. I couldn't even manage 3 miles at a super easy speed! How am I supposed to run 13.1 miles in less than 2 weeks when I can't even run 3?!
Running slumps are usually followed by good runs, right? Right?!
I figured I'd take it easy today and do the 6 miles at my old easy speed of 5.7. First mile, okay, felt a little hard but not a problem. Second mie, geez, why do I want to stop and walk? And walk I did at 2.57 miles. Talk about a huge blow to my ego. I did speed intervals until I made 4 miles. And that sucked, too.
I'm trying to tell myself that maybe it was the strength training I did last night. I did do a bunch of jumping burpees and single leg squats.
But still. I couldn't even manage 3 miles at a super easy speed! How am I supposed to run 13.1 miles in less than 2 weeks when I can't even run 3?!
Running slumps are usually followed by good runs, right? Right?!
Monday, May 23, 2011
WTF am I doing?!
What do you do when your weight starts pushing 130 and you need to start kicking your legs into your jeans in order to get them up over your fat thighs? That's right, ladies and gents. You scarf down a Big Mac, fries and a Coke.
Sigh.
Oh, yeah, I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon and when I woke up, my boy had laid his head on my lap and had fallen asleep, too. So for the next four hours (literally, from 4 pm to 8 pm), I sat on the couch with him on my lap. And when I got hungry? I called my husband who was upstairs and asked him to come down and bring me my bag of M&Ms. He asked my daughter to bring it to me and I proceeded to polish off the rest of the bag. Yep, one giant bag gone in a day. That's about 2600 calories of candy consumed in the course of 24 hours. Solo.
Jeez.
There really is no excuse for this gluttony. I did run 4 miles this morning. I had planned on 5 - one mile warm up, one mile cool down with a 3 mile tempo sandwiched in between. I did the 1 mile warm up (5.8) and then I managed 2 miles at 6.1, but then I got tired. So I walked for about .15 of a mile and then finished the rest of the mile back at 6.1 and then I was dunzo.
Somehow I don't think the 400 calories I burned on that run will make up for the oh, 8,000 calories I've consumed in the past 24 hours.
Ugh!
Sigh.
Oh, yeah, I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon and when I woke up, my boy had laid his head on my lap and had fallen asleep, too. So for the next four hours (literally, from 4 pm to 8 pm), I sat on the couch with him on my lap. And when I got hungry? I called my husband who was upstairs and asked him to come down and bring me my bag of M&Ms. He asked my daughter to bring it to me and I proceeded to polish off the rest of the bag. Yep, one giant bag gone in a day. That's about 2600 calories of candy consumed in the course of 24 hours. Solo.
Jeez.
There really is no excuse for this gluttony. I did run 4 miles this morning. I had planned on 5 - one mile warm up, one mile cool down with a 3 mile tempo sandwiched in between. I did the 1 mile warm up (5.8) and then I managed 2 miles at 6.1, but then I got tired. So I walked for about .15 of a mile and then finished the rest of the mile back at 6.1 and then I was dunzo.
Somehow I don't think the 400 calories I burned on that run will make up for the oh, 8,000 calories I've consumed in the past 24 hours.
Ugh!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
129.2!
I just hopped on the scale and it read 129.2! I wanted to cry. Then I threw off the dress I was wearing and hopped on the scale again. 128.4. Okay, almost a pound, still sucky but much better than 129.2.
Shit! I remember there was a time not that long ago when I didnt care what my weight was. I was only concerned with my body fat percentage. Now I'm back to being obsessed with my weight again.
I knew I shouldn't have bought that giant bag of peanut butter M&M's (which I've already devoured more than half) at Target today.
And the fact that I've been trying to rest my hamstring doesn't help matters any.
Ugh! I need to stop eating like a horse, like an unhealthy junk food addicted horse.
Shit! I remember there was a time not that long ago when I didnt care what my weight was. I was only concerned with my body fat percentage. Now I'm back to being obsessed with my weight again.
I knew I shouldn't have bought that giant bag of peanut butter M&M's (which I've already devoured more than half) at Target today.
And the fact that I've been trying to rest my hamstring doesn't help matters any.
Ugh! I need to stop eating like a horse, like an unhealthy junk food addicted horse.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Couldn't contain myself
Yeah, you know how in yesterday's post I said it was a rest day because of my pulled hammie? Well, I think I have some kind of addiction because I worked out anyway. I need help.
I figured P90X's Chest and Back would be okay. I skipped the Dive Bomber Push-ups. I told myself they might hurt my hamstring, but in reality it was because I really hate them. I also skipped the last set of Diamond Push-ups because my hamstring was starting to feel sore.
I really really need to rest and quit eating so much.
I figured P90X's Chest and Back would be okay. I skipped the Dive Bomber Push-ups. I told myself they might hurt my hamstring, but in reality it was because I really hate them. I also skipped the last set of Diamond Push-ups because my hamstring was starting to feel sore.
I really really need to rest and quit eating so much.
Friday, May 20, 2011
My poor hammie
I did quarter mile speed intervals on the treadmill yesterday. 1 mile warm-up. Quarter mile at 7.5 (8:00/mile), 1/8 mile walk 4.0, 1/8 mile jog 5.5, then repeat. 2 miles of that and I was done. Nice, fun 3 miles.
And then later on in the day, I started feeling sharp stabbing pains in the back of my right thigh. Crap.
I guess I pulled my hamstring. It's not a constant pain. But when I move just so, or even just sit for a while, I feel it. Sooooooo, rest day today. And if I can contain myself, rest tomorrow and the day after as well. Sigh.
I've got a freakin half coming up in about 2 weeks! My hammie needs to be all better by then. Even though I didn't follow a structured training plan (or well, any training plan for that matter), I know I've got the mileage under my belt as I've been running pretty regularly. And I wanted to try to beat my old half PR of 2:20 during this race.
Speaking of races, I've been going through my marathon training schedule and making little adjustments and adding in races that I want to do. I feel like a race addict. I've got a race every month through October except for July. As a matter of fact, from now until January of next year, I have a race every month except for July and November. Hm, perhaps I should go see what's available in July and November.
And then later on in the day, I started feeling sharp stabbing pains in the back of my right thigh. Crap.
I guess I pulled my hamstring. It's not a constant pain. But when I move just so, or even just sit for a while, I feel it. Sooooooo, rest day today. And if I can contain myself, rest tomorrow and the day after as well. Sigh.
I've got a freakin half coming up in about 2 weeks! My hammie needs to be all better by then. Even though I didn't follow a structured training plan (or well, any training plan for that matter), I know I've got the mileage under my belt as I've been running pretty regularly. And I wanted to try to beat my old half PR of 2:20 during this race.
Speaking of races, I've been going through my marathon training schedule and making little adjustments and adding in races that I want to do. I feel like a race addict. I've got a race every month through October except for July. As a matter of fact, from now until January of next year, I have a race every month except for July and November. Hm, perhaps I should go see what's available in July and November.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The elliptical
Yesterday, my legs were just feeling super tired after doing some weights. I hopped on a treadmill to do my cardio, but I just wasn't feeling it. So I hopped on an elliptical. It was super boring at first and I didn't know if I'd be able to manage a full 30 minutes on it.
But I did it. I even sped up with the last "mile." The thing I didn't like about it (other than the boredom and the inability to see how my time on it compares in real life) was the fact that you can't stretch your legs out when you go fast like running. Your feet are stuck on the pedals and you just make them go around and around faster.
I'm trying to do some cross-training so to give my muscles a break from all the pounding it takes from running. I even did the bike once last week.
It's boring. But I know my body is thanking me.
But I did it. I even sped up with the last "mile." The thing I didn't like about it (other than the boredom and the inability to see how my time on it compares in real life) was the fact that you can't stretch your legs out when you go fast like running. Your feet are stuck on the pedals and you just make them go around and around faster.
I'm trying to do some cross-training so to give my muscles a break from all the pounding it takes from running. I even did the bike once last week.
It's boring. But I know my body is thanking me.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Oowww
With me not exercising as much anymore, but still eating like I am, my weight has slowly been creeping up. It's between 124 and 127 now. So I've been making an extra effort to exercise. Looks like that extra effort turned out to be a tad too much. Or maybe I just need new shoes.
I did 45 minutes of weights at the gym yesterday and then was going to do 3 miles on the treadmill. Well, at about 1.5 miles, I felt my right foot arch start to ache. Okay, it wasn't too bad. It's not really bothering me. And then at 1.7 miles, I felt a sharp pain in my left knee. I figured I could just run through it. Or be smart and stop.
I stopped. I remember when I hurt my foot last year and had to take a break from running. That was not fun.
Sooooo, not only did my right arch and left knee hurt, but my left hip and right hammie does, too. I am a big ol bucket of hurt.
None of it is really too bad. But I feel it. Perhaps I really do need new shoes.
Anyway, today is a mandatory rest day. It is super hard resting. Especially since I continue to shove one cookie after another into my pie hole.
I did 45 minutes of weights at the gym yesterday and then was going to do 3 miles on the treadmill. Well, at about 1.5 miles, I felt my right foot arch start to ache. Okay, it wasn't too bad. It's not really bothering me. And then at 1.7 miles, I felt a sharp pain in my left knee. I figured I could just run through it. Or be smart and stop.
I stopped. I remember when I hurt my foot last year and had to take a break from running. That was not fun.
Sooooo, not only did my right arch and left knee hurt, but my left hip and right hammie does, too. I am a big ol bucket of hurt.
None of it is really too bad. But I feel it. Perhaps I really do need new shoes.
Anyway, today is a mandatory rest day. It is super hard resting. Especially since I continue to shove one cookie after another into my pie hole.
Monday, May 9, 2011
"Are you training for a marathon?"
Yes, someone actually said those words to me this morning! And I beamed with pride, after being confused for a minute wondering how she knew, and said yes!
I had a little over an hour to kill this morning in between the time I dropped my daughter, Kaia off at school and the time I had to be back to help chaperone her field trip. I could have gone and puttered around my house for a half hour, or high-tailed it over to the gym and do a quick 3 miles. I chose the latter.
I was feeling okay at the start of the run, so I did the first mile at 5.8. Still feeling okay, not really great, I started the second mile at 6.0. At 1.5 miles, I upped it a tiny bit again to 6.1. 6.2 at 2 miles, 6.3 at 2.25 miles, 6.4 at 2.5 miles and 6.5 at 2.75 miles. Or something like that. The last quarter mile was really hard for me at that pace and I had to push myself and focus to finish. 3 miles in a little less than 30 minutes.
After I was done stretching, a lady walked up to me and asked if I was training for a marathon. I was bewildered for a moment wondering how she knew or tried to recognize her from the Nike Women's Marathon facebook page. But I didn't, so I just smiled and told her yes. She said she saw me running and I looked fast (hehe, thanks, lady, even though I know that's not true). She said she sees me dropping my daughter off at school in the mornings (her kids go to the same school), and she sees my legs and thinks, "Those are strong legs. I like those legs." Hehe. Flattery will get you everywhere!
Anyway, she teaches a few classes at the gym, boot-camp and spin if I recall correctly, and she also independently does a boot-camp class about once a month at the park. I'm really thinking about taking one of her boot-camp classes. She gave me her card and told me to call or text her.
This lady was super slim, but had really nice muscles. I want to be her best friend. Hehe.
I'm feeling really gross right now. I didn't shower after my run this morning. I always shower after I work out. But there was no time this morning. Either I work out and don't shower, or I just don't work out. I'm sitting here at my desk at work, feeling like I have a layer of salt all over my skin. And my hair looks like I poured a vat of oil all over it. Attractive.
I had a little over an hour to kill this morning in between the time I dropped my daughter, Kaia off at school and the time I had to be back to help chaperone her field trip. I could have gone and puttered around my house for a half hour, or high-tailed it over to the gym and do a quick 3 miles. I chose the latter.
I was feeling okay at the start of the run, so I did the first mile at 5.8. Still feeling okay, not really great, I started the second mile at 6.0. At 1.5 miles, I upped it a tiny bit again to 6.1. 6.2 at 2 miles, 6.3 at 2.25 miles, 6.4 at 2.5 miles and 6.5 at 2.75 miles. Or something like that. The last quarter mile was really hard for me at that pace and I had to push myself and focus to finish. 3 miles in a little less than 30 minutes.
After I was done stretching, a lady walked up to me and asked if I was training for a marathon. I was bewildered for a moment wondering how she knew or tried to recognize her from the Nike Women's Marathon facebook page. But I didn't, so I just smiled and told her yes. She said she saw me running and I looked fast (hehe, thanks, lady, even though I know that's not true). She said she sees me dropping my daughter off at school in the mornings (her kids go to the same school), and she sees my legs and thinks, "Those are strong legs. I like those legs." Hehe. Flattery will get you everywhere!
Anyway, she teaches a few classes at the gym, boot-camp and spin if I recall correctly, and she also independently does a boot-camp class about once a month at the park. I'm really thinking about taking one of her boot-camp classes. She gave me her card and told me to call or text her.
This lady was super slim, but had really nice muscles. I want to be her best friend. Hehe.
I'm feeling really gross right now. I didn't shower after my run this morning. I always shower after I work out. But there was no time this morning. Either I work out and don't shower, or I just don't work out. I'm sitting here at my desk at work, feeling like I have a layer of salt all over my skin. And my hair looks like I poured a vat of oil all over it. Attractive.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Making my marathon training plan
So I spent a good part of tonight logging in all my planned runs into a calendar. I feel like the biggest nerd because it was fun. I'm going to be following Hal Higdon's Novice Plan. It's an 18 week plan, so my first official training run begins June 14th.
A lot Some of the long runs look quite intimidating - 15 to freakin 20 miles! The farthest I've ever run has been 13.1 miles. Well, they say running is 90% mental (or something like that).
Running has been weird for me lately. Earlier this week, I've felt quite dizzy while running on the treadmill. Okay, I know common sense would tell one to stop running, but I pressed on. I felt this way two days in a row on the treadmills. Both times I did 6 miles, but I had to stop repeatedly for fear of falling off.
Things were better yesterday and today. I did 3 miles yesterday after doing 45 minutes of weights (yay, me!). This morning I did 4 miles - hill intervals. And then I had an opportunity to go to the gym again this afternoon, so I did an easy 3 miles at 5.7. I know, it sounds a bit excessive, but I need to get rid of the pounds I've packed on with my past few months of pigginess.
Running has been weird for me lately. Earlier this week, I've felt quite dizzy while running on the treadmill. Okay, I know common sense would tell one to stop running, but I pressed on. I felt this way two days in a row on the treadmills. Both times I did 6 miles, but I had to stop repeatedly for fear of falling off.
Things were better yesterday and today. I did 3 miles yesterday after doing 45 minutes of weights (yay, me!). This morning I did 4 miles - hill intervals. And then I had an opportunity to go to the gym again this afternoon, so I did an easy 3 miles at 5.7. I know, it sounds a bit excessive, but I need to get rid of the pounds I've packed on with my past few months of pigginess.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wildcat 5K Trail - Race Report
Saturday morning, the day of the race, was super-duper cold and windy in my neck of the woods. Being the genius that I am, I figured it would probably also be super-duper cold and windy 40 minutes away, where the race was being held and decided to wear my nice warm jacket to race in. Since the jacket had pockets, I figured I wouldn't need my armband for my iPod.
I got to Steph's house at 7 am, 15 minutes earlier than when I was supposed to, since our friend, Kristi, would be driving us. I looked around my car and realized I forgot my bib at home! Good thing I only live 5 minutes away. A quick drive back home and back again to Steph's made everything better. I had called my husband when I didn't see my bib to see if he could grab my bib and meet me outside to save time, but he never answered. I guess I forgot to hang up, because he played my message for me later, and it was of just me laughing. He thought I was crazy.
We got there around 8, just in time to see the half-marathon runners take off. The 5K would start until 8:45.
Me, Steph and Kristi before the race. As you can see, I am the only dummy with a jacket.
Since it was not cold and not windy, I made the wise decision to run without my jacket and shoved in it with Steph and Kristi's stuff at the bag check. Of course, this meant I would have to run with my iPod in my hand.
While all the 5K folks started gathering at the start, the race director told us that this is one of their hardest 5K's. Aw, how wonderful!
And we're off.
They told us to watch out for potholes, which is why you'll see everyone looking down. It would be no fun to break an ankle at the start of your race. They also told us to remember this warning on our way back since it was an out and back course. No one wants a face-plant photo of their race finish.
Kristi is seven kinds of fit! She's a personal trainer and teaches like a million different classes at several gyms. And that's not even her real job! This lady kicks ass. I was only able to hang with her for about the first ten feet of the race before she waved to me and flew off.
I know it looks like I'm walking, but really, I'm running.
The first mile was all uphill, horrible torturous steep uphill. Every now and then when it wasn't as steep I would run.
Woo-hoo! The 1 Mile mark, meaning soon it would downhill for about a half mile, before the turnaround point.
I remember running down the hill and being absolutely miserable. I was hot and the terrain was uneven and my ankles were hurting from all the abuse. I like running down hills, but your body sure does take a pounding. I saw Kristi running back up the hill on her way back and wondered how far I was from the turnaround point. It wasn't far, thank God! And before I knew I was making my way back up the hill, too.
I maybe ran about 10 feet up the hill, before I thought, "Fuck this!" and just walked. It was tough! But I walked as fast as I could even though I wanted to stop and rest. I told myself I was just walking. Who needs a fuckin' walking break, right?
I saw the photog at the top of the hill and made no pretense whatsoever to run for the camera. I was tired! Yes, from walking. You see the gorgeous view behind me? Yeah, you gotta be freakin pretty high up for a view like that. And I just walked up that much. No running at this point for this chica. Lemme catch my breath first.
I got to Steph's house at 7 am, 15 minutes earlier than when I was supposed to, since our friend, Kristi, would be driving us. I looked around my car and realized I forgot my bib at home! Good thing I only live 5 minutes away. A quick drive back home and back again to Steph's made everything better. I had called my husband when I didn't see my bib to see if he could grab my bib and meet me outside to save time, but he never answered. I guess I forgot to hang up, because he played my message for me later, and it was of just me laughing. He thought I was crazy.
We got there around 8, just in time to see the half-marathon runners take off. The 5K would start until 8:45.
Me, Steph and Kristi before the race. As you can see, I am the only dummy with a jacket.
Since it was not cold and not windy, I made the wise decision to run without my jacket and shoved in it with Steph and Kristi's stuff at the bag check. Of course, this meant I would have to run with my iPod in my hand.
While all the 5K folks started gathering at the start, the race director told us that this is one of their hardest 5K's. Aw, how wonderful!
And we're off.
They told us to watch out for potholes, which is why you'll see everyone looking down. It would be no fun to break an ankle at the start of your race. They also told us to remember this warning on our way back since it was an out and back course. No one wants a face-plant photo of their race finish.
The course bottle-necked us all through a small gate, and then the hill started. Sigh.
Okay, I know I'm short, but this is just ridiculous!
This must have been the start of the hill. My plan was to run up as much as I could at a decent pace, and then when I got tired to just walk.
The first mile was all uphill, horrible torturous steep uphill. Every now and then when it wasn't as steep I would run.
Woo-hoo! The 1 Mile mark, meaning soon it would downhill for about a half mile, before the turnaround point.
I remember running down the hill and being absolutely miserable. I was hot and the terrain was uneven and my ankles were hurting from all the abuse. I like running down hills, but your body sure does take a pounding. I saw Kristi running back up the hill on her way back and wondered how far I was from the turnaround point. It wasn't far, thank God! And before I knew I was making my way back up the hill, too.
I maybe ran about 10 feet up the hill, before I thought, "Fuck this!" and just walked. It was tough! But I walked as fast as I could even though I wanted to stop and rest. I told myself I was just walking. Who needs a fuckin' walking break, right?
I saw the photog at the top of the hill and made no pretense whatsoever to run for the camera. I was tired! Yes, from walking. You see the gorgeous view behind me? Yeah, you gotta be freakin pretty high up for a view like that. And I just walked up that much. No running at this point for this chica. Lemme catch my breath first.
I see how this is one of their toughest 5K's.
The last mile was all downhill, and I was able to pass a few folks. I guess some people didn't want to twist their ankles or tumble down the hill. Not this reckless girl! I will run down a hill with absolute abandon. Two kids passed me, though. I guess me and kids don't give consequences a second thought.
One of the kids who passed me. However, I actually placed faster than him in the results according to chip time. He must have started at the front. And yes, I just spent some time arguing how I am faster than a child. (By the way, a freakin 10 year old girl placed third female! I am still amazed at this child. I was talking to her at the medals table. Her fastest 5K is 25 minutes! And she's only 10! I told her I was going to watch out for her when she's older. Kara Goucher in the making!)
Towards the finish, I felt someone trying to sprint past me. WTF? Oh, yeah, this is a race. So I started my kick (because I had just planned on cruising through the finish line) and picked up my feet. Me and homeboy crossed the finish at the same time. However, again, I officially had a faster chip time. Hehe.
I guess he must have been pacing me the entire time as he was also by me in the earlier pics.
39:33. 12:45 average pace. 1/7 in my age group! 30/100 overall.
Splits according to my garmin:
Mile 1: 14:29
Mile 2: 12:05
Mile 3: 11:16
Last tenth or so: 9:26 pace
Yeah, sounds pretty slow, but those hills were brutal!
Our bad-asses after the race. Steph got third in her age group, and this was being sick as a dog all morning. Kristi got first in hers, as did I.
This race taught me that races are just that - races. And perhaps I should do more than just cruise.
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