I can't believe I've been "training" for a month already! That's hard to believe. This was a "recovery" (cut back) week. I must say that I really enjoyed it! Here are the details...
7/20: scheduled rest day
7/21: 5 miles and core
7/22: 5 mile bike ride and upper and lower body lifting
7/23: 7.25 miles
7/24: 7.5 miles
7/25: 9.5 mile bike ride
7/26: 6.75 miles and core
This coming week includes another l-o-n-g run...16 miles. I'm not sure where I'm going to do this one but I'm anxious to see if my lessons learned from last time will pay off.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Week 3: Under the Belt
7/13: 5 miles - easy pace
7/14: 4.5 miles - easy pace, core workout, and rafting
7/15: rest day
7/16: 5.5 miles - tempo run (3.75 m @ 8:00)
7/17: 14.25 miles
7/18: 2.25 easy miles and upper and lower body lifting
7/19: yoga class, core workout and rafting
This week went pretty smoothly. The only major glitch was the long run which I wrote all about in my last post. I'm already thinking about adjustments to make during my next long run.
I'm really looking forward to Week 4. It's a recovery week, so there will be a major cut back in mileage. My long run will only be 6 miles - woo hoo!
The cutback coincides nicely with a visit from my mom. She'll be arriving on Friday. It'll be good to focus on her visit rather than be worried about when I'll be able to get all of my running in. The week after this, however, is a different story. We're heading to Minnesota for vacation with my hubby's family. I'm really looking forward to it, but it'll be tough to train and do the family thing at the same time. I'm going to really have to get my booty out of bed early so I can get my runs done and over with and not cut in to family time.
In unrelated running news...we've been spending a lot of time on the boat the past couple of weeks. The fishing is really heating up, which is exciting. Here's a picture of yesterday's best fish...
And one more for shits and giggles...poor Roan was so tired after a day on the river.
7/14: 4.5 miles - easy pace, core workout, and rafting
7/15: rest day
7/16: 5.5 miles - tempo run (3.75 m @ 8:00)
7/17: 14.25 miles
7/18: 2.25 easy miles and upper and lower body lifting
7/19: yoga class, core workout and rafting
This week went pretty smoothly. The only major glitch was the long run which I wrote all about in my last post. I'm already thinking about adjustments to make during my next long run.
I'm really looking forward to Week 4. It's a recovery week, so there will be a major cut back in mileage. My long run will only be 6 miles - woo hoo!
The cutback coincides nicely with a visit from my mom. She'll be arriving on Friday. It'll be good to focus on her visit rather than be worried about when I'll be able to get all of my running in. The week after this, however, is a different story. We're heading to Minnesota for vacation with my hubby's family. I'm really looking forward to it, but it'll be tough to train and do the family thing at the same time. I'm going to really have to get my booty out of bed early so I can get my runs done and over with and not cut in to family time.
In unrelated running news...we've been spending a lot of time on the boat the past couple of weeks. The fishing is really heating up, which is exciting. Here's a picture of yesterday's best fish...
And one more for shits and giggles...poor Roan was so tired after a day on the river.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Longest Run - EVER
I got started a little bit later than I wanted to today, but I wasn't too worried about it. My main reason for trying to start early is the weather but since it actually rained here yesterday and was overcast this morning - no biggie, right? Well, as luck would have it, the sky opened up and let all of that "glorious" sunshine beat down on the street. Argh. I started off around 7:45 (I think). I was a little worried that I actually felt hungry even before I started running. That's never happened to me before considering I ate, what I thought, was a pretty good breakfast.
The first mile or two were pretty uneventful. I thought I was on the right trail, but when I ended up looping around to where I started I was a little miffed. I decided I'd just blaze my own course. Somehow I ended up on the right road after another couple of miles. My only concern was that I'd end up way over or way under in mileage. Either way I had the option of turning around. Up until mile 10 I felt really good. Great pace and everything. I had to ask for directions from the golf course maintenance guys but it was all good. After I cut across the golf course (on the cart paths) my vision started getting weird. It was like I had a translucent hair in my eye. I remember feeling that before...the start of a migraine. I knew I was dehydrated. I had absolutely no options except to push on. Mile 11 and 12 were grueling and I chugged the rest of my Gatorade. That seemed to help and the vision thing cleared up, but my head was still throbbing. Oh, and remember how I mentioned I was hungry when I started? Yeah, by this point I was starving!!!
I finally made it back to my car at exactly 14.01 miles. I felt happy that I actually ran the miles, my pace was pretty good, but I felt like absolute CRAP. I inhaled a banana and a Z Bar and some electrolyte drink. I was a complete salty, sweaty mess. I thought all of this would help. Wrong.
Since I had driven to Carbondale to kill two birds with one stone - do the run and try out some new shoes - I headed over to the running store. I ended up buying a pair of really great Mizunos. Anyone else ever try these? I can't wait to run in them! I usually wear Brooks (just bought a pair two weeks ago) but I wanted to try something different. So I'm going to rotate them.
Anyway...the head was pounding and the banana I'd eaten had plans of its own. I thought I'd feel better if I ate some bread. So, I went to the grocery store. Before I could search for the much needed ibuprofen and some bread I ended up tossing my cookies (aka banana). Ugh. Plus, I had about a 30 minute drive home.
When I got home I immediately made some toast and ate it while I took a long hot bath. Then took an hour long nap with the pooch. I feel MUCH better now!
If this is what it's going to be like after every long run I'm gonna' be hurtin' for certain!! I think my main problem was (like Southern Yankee) eating too early yesterday and too light. I think I also need to get another fuel belt. Mine only has two flasks and that's not nearly enough! Plus it's too big - it actually fell off TWICE today.
On a bright note...I sure did look cute in my skirt! My legs feel great right now, it's just my head and stomach that are having issues. Thank goodness next week is a recovery week, only a 6 miler for my long run. Overall I'm happy with today's run, I just wish I didn't feel like crap during the last part and afterwards.
The first mile or two were pretty uneventful. I thought I was on the right trail, but when I ended up looping around to where I started I was a little miffed. I decided I'd just blaze my own course. Somehow I ended up on the right road after another couple of miles. My only concern was that I'd end up way over or way under in mileage. Either way I had the option of turning around. Up until mile 10 I felt really good. Great pace and everything. I had to ask for directions from the golf course maintenance guys but it was all good. After I cut across the golf course (on the cart paths) my vision started getting weird. It was like I had a translucent hair in my eye. I remember feeling that before...the start of a migraine. I knew I was dehydrated. I had absolutely no options except to push on. Mile 11 and 12 were grueling and I chugged the rest of my Gatorade. That seemed to help and the vision thing cleared up, but my head was still throbbing. Oh, and remember how I mentioned I was hungry when I started? Yeah, by this point I was starving!!!
I finally made it back to my car at exactly 14.01 miles. I felt happy that I actually ran the miles, my pace was pretty good, but I felt like absolute CRAP. I inhaled a banana and a Z Bar and some electrolyte drink. I was a complete salty, sweaty mess. I thought all of this would help. Wrong.
Since I had driven to Carbondale to kill two birds with one stone - do the run and try out some new shoes - I headed over to the running store. I ended up buying a pair of really great Mizunos. Anyone else ever try these? I can't wait to run in them! I usually wear Brooks (just bought a pair two weeks ago) but I wanted to try something different. So I'm going to rotate them.
Anyway...the head was pounding and the banana I'd eaten had plans of its own. I thought I'd feel better if I ate some bread. So, I went to the grocery store. Before I could search for the much needed ibuprofen and some bread I ended up tossing my cookies (aka banana). Ugh. Plus, I had about a 30 minute drive home.
When I got home I immediately made some toast and ate it while I took a long hot bath. Then took an hour long nap with the pooch. I feel MUCH better now!
If this is what it's going to be like after every long run I'm gonna' be hurtin' for certain!! I think my main problem was (like Southern Yankee) eating too early yesterday and too light. I think I also need to get another fuel belt. Mine only has two flasks and that's not nearly enough! Plus it's too big - it actually fell off TWICE today.
On a bright note...I sure did look cute in my skirt! My legs feel great right now, it's just my head and stomach that are having issues. Thank goodness next week is a recovery week, only a 6 miler for my long run. Overall I'm happy with today's run, I just wish I didn't feel like crap during the last part and afterwards.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Week 2
So this week of training has looked something like this:
Sunday 7/6 = 5 mile easy run
Monday 7/7 = Rest Day
Tuesday 7/8 = Lifting and 3.25 mile easy run, rafting
Wednesday 7/9 = 5 miles speed work (1 mile warm up; 1 mile at 7:30; 1/2 mile at 8:30; 1 mile at 7:30; 1/2 mile at 8:30; 1 mile cool down),
Thursday 7/10 = 12 mile LSD run, rafting
Friday 7/11 = 10 mile bike ride
Saturday 7/12 = Lifting, 3 mile bike ride, rafting
MPW: 25.25
Now that I write it out, no wonder I'm tired today!
My speedwork run went really well this week. I always dread speedwork and tempo runs because it's hard to run fast. But the silver lining in that cloud is that they go faster because of the increased speed. A blessing in disguise I suppose.
Thursday's long run didn't go quite according to plan. My TP was still having issues with her knee all week long and wasn't sure if she'd be able to do it, but wanted to give it the "old college try". We met at 6:30 at a local BLM area. There's a dirt road that goes on forever that we were planning to do an out and back on. We started off with a warm-up walk for about 1/2 mile then started our run. At mile 1 my TP had to stop. Her knee was hurting so bad she was near tears! Thank goodness she has a Dr.'s appointment on Monday - I hope they can help her get back to normal. Anyway...the other 11 miles were mine alone. I wasn't jazzed about that. It's a pretty desolate area with a lot of oil riggers driving back and forth. Before my imagination got the better of me I pushed on. The first half (6 miles) were pretty tough. A lot of hills (mostly up), on a dirt road with lots of rocks. Not the ideal terrain for a long run - an added challenge I suppose. I knew that if I made it to 4.75 miles I could make it the full 12 miles. I kept having to set mini-goals for myself. "If I make it to that shrub." "If I make it to that cattle guard." As soon as I got to 6.01 miles I turned myself right around for the 6 miles back to my car.
This run was a lot more mental than physical. I think that's what running is all about in general. I'm glad I toughed it out and didn't give in to myself. I'm glad that I was out on the trail and saw a beautiful sunrise. I'm glad I got to see a coyote hunting for his breakfast. I'm glad I got back to my car safely. It was a good run.
Sunday 7/6 = 5 mile easy run
Monday 7/7 = Rest Day
Tuesday 7/8 = Lifting and 3.25 mile easy run, rafting
Wednesday 7/9 = 5 miles speed work (1 mile warm up; 1 mile at 7:30; 1/2 mile at 8:30; 1 mile at 7:30; 1/2 mile at 8:30; 1 mile cool down),
Thursday 7/10 = 12 mile LSD run, rafting
Friday 7/11 = 10 mile bike ride
Saturday 7/12 = Lifting, 3 mile bike ride, rafting
MPW: 25.25
Now that I write it out, no wonder I'm tired today!
My speedwork run went really well this week. I always dread speedwork and tempo runs because it's hard to run fast. But the silver lining in that cloud is that they go faster because of the increased speed. A blessing in disguise I suppose.
Thursday's long run didn't go quite according to plan. My TP was still having issues with her knee all week long and wasn't sure if she'd be able to do it, but wanted to give it the "old college try". We met at 6:30 at a local BLM area. There's a dirt road that goes on forever that we were planning to do an out and back on. We started off with a warm-up walk for about 1/2 mile then started our run. At mile 1 my TP had to stop. Her knee was hurting so bad she was near tears! Thank goodness she has a Dr.'s appointment on Monday - I hope they can help her get back to normal. Anyway...the other 11 miles were mine alone. I wasn't jazzed about that. It's a pretty desolate area with a lot of oil riggers driving back and forth. Before my imagination got the better of me I pushed on. The first half (6 miles) were pretty tough. A lot of hills (mostly up), on a dirt road with lots of rocks. Not the ideal terrain for a long run - an added challenge I suppose. I knew that if I made it to 4.75 miles I could make it the full 12 miles. I kept having to set mini-goals for myself. "If I make it to that shrub." "If I make it to that cattle guard." As soon as I got to 6.01 miles I turned myself right around for the 6 miles back to my car.
This run was a lot more mental than physical. I think that's what running is all about in general. I'm glad I toughed it out and didn't give in to myself. I'm glad that I was out on the trail and saw a beautiful sunrise. I'm glad I got to see a coyote hunting for his breakfast. I'm glad I got back to my car safely. It was a good run.
Celebrate Good Times!
I love that our anniversary is so close to the 4th of July! We always have a reason to extend the celebration. So, this post isn't really running related, just sort of an update of what we did that weekend.
I have such a love-hate relationship with the 4th of July. Love it, because it's the day after our anniversary so we always have something fun planned to do. Hate it, because it's the anniversary of the day my dad passed away. Every year I think it'll be better but my emotions are always so conflicted. I know I've never fully grieved, analyzed my feelings, etc. after he passed away. I know I still have issues. I just don't know that they'll ever be fully resolved. So, it's hard for me to enjoy myself on this holiday/anniversary because for some reason I feel like I should still be sad. I don't know...it's hard to explain.
So anyway...we took a nice hike on the 4th on a local trail. We haven't done this one before but now that I know it's there I'll be sure to go back. It was absolutely gorgeous! The wild flowers were in full bloom. I'll never get tired of seeing Columbine! After our 9 mile hike we came home and grilled out. Very quiet, but lovely 4th.
We spent the rest of the weekend in Denver, downtown. We went to a Rockies game on Saturday night - they won. We had pretty awesome seats in left field. We also went to the Sunday afternoon game...seats weren't as good and they lost.
Before the game on Sunday I took a run. I wanted to sort of scope out part of the route for the marathon in October. I'm not really that familiar with Denver so my goal was to sort of put the pieces together. I've been to City Park before, and I've been downtown before but I have no idea where they are in relation to each other. I finally figured it out. It was exactly two miles to City Park from our hotel. When I got there I walked around a bit, then headed back to the hotel. Very nice run.
I have such a love-hate relationship with the 4th of July. Love it, because it's the day after our anniversary so we always have something fun planned to do. Hate it, because it's the anniversary of the day my dad passed away. Every year I think it'll be better but my emotions are always so conflicted. I know I've never fully grieved, analyzed my feelings, etc. after he passed away. I know I still have issues. I just don't know that they'll ever be fully resolved. So, it's hard for me to enjoy myself on this holiday/anniversary because for some reason I feel like I should still be sad. I don't know...it's hard to explain.
So anyway...we took a nice hike on the 4th on a local trail. We haven't done this one before but now that I know it's there I'll be sure to go back. It was absolutely gorgeous! The wild flowers were in full bloom. I'll never get tired of seeing Columbine! After our 9 mile hike we came home and grilled out. Very quiet, but lovely 4th.
We spent the rest of the weekend in Denver, downtown. We went to a Rockies game on Saturday night - they won. We had pretty awesome seats in left field. We also went to the Sunday afternoon game...seats weren't as good and they lost.
Before the game on Sunday I took a run. I wanted to sort of scope out part of the route for the marathon in October. I'm not really that familiar with Denver so my goal was to sort of put the pieces together. I've been to City Park before, and I've been downtown before but I have no idea where they are in relation to each other. I finally figured it out. It was exactly two miles to City Park from our hotel. When I got there I walked around a bit, then headed back to the hotel. Very nice run.
LSD - Week 1
So, it's been a few days since I've reported on the training. Mostly because it's been pretty status quo.
My LSD (Long Steady Distance) run on 7/3 went pretty well. My TP (training partner) and I set out nice and early, around 7:15. We decided to run the river frontage road that parallels I-70. The traffic for the first 1/2 mile was pretty annoying. Lots of gas trucks, water trucks, etc. getting to the access roads. After that it died down.
The first 4 miles felt pretty good and we kept a pretty good pace. Our goal pace was 9:33/mile. When we approached the turn around I picked up my pace to 8:21/mile and felt really good. I was very surprised because I haven't run this distance (all at once) in a long time.
My TP on the other hand was hurting pretty bad for the whole run. I felt really bad for her. I think she was still adjusting to the altitude as she had recently returned from vacation. Plus, she has this weird knee pain going on. We decided that we'd each run our own pace for the last 5 miles.
I got a little worried when I turned around, with 2 miles to go, and couldn't see her. My emotional responsibility was getting the better of me and I couldn't stop imagining her laying on the side of the road curled up in a ball and crying. I wasn't sure what to do at that point. Keep running and get the car and go back to pick her up, or turn around and find her. I wasn't feeling so fresh myself at this point in the run and I couldn't imagine adding another mile or so to my run if I went back to find her. So, I decided to continue on to the car and go back to pick her up. I ended up picking up the pace to about an 8:00/mile for the last 1.5 miles. I felt really good at that pace, but I know I can't sustain that for 26.2 (yet).
Luckily I found TP about a mile back on the road after I got the car. Poor thing! We came back to my house and hit the ice. That's a weird sadistic pleasure of runners after long runs. The recovery from this run took a lot out of me for the rest of the day. I was pretty pooped. But it was a good feeling - such a sense of accomplishment and pride.
My LSD (Long Steady Distance) run on 7/3 went pretty well. My TP (training partner) and I set out nice and early, around 7:15. We decided to run the river frontage road that parallels I-70. The traffic for the first 1/2 mile was pretty annoying. Lots of gas trucks, water trucks, etc. getting to the access roads. After that it died down.
The first 4 miles felt pretty good and we kept a pretty good pace. Our goal pace was 9:33/mile. When we approached the turn around I picked up my pace to 8:21/mile and felt really good. I was very surprised because I haven't run this distance (all at once) in a long time.
My TP on the other hand was hurting pretty bad for the whole run. I felt really bad for her. I think she was still adjusting to the altitude as she had recently returned from vacation. Plus, she has this weird knee pain going on. We decided that we'd each run our own pace for the last 5 miles.
I got a little worried when I turned around, with 2 miles to go, and couldn't see her. My emotional responsibility was getting the better of me and I couldn't stop imagining her laying on the side of the road curled up in a ball and crying. I wasn't sure what to do at that point. Keep running and get the car and go back to pick her up, or turn around and find her. I wasn't feeling so fresh myself at this point in the run and I couldn't imagine adding another mile or so to my run if I went back to find her. So, I decided to continue on to the car and go back to pick her up. I ended up picking up the pace to about an 8:00/mile for the last 1.5 miles. I felt really good at that pace, but I know I can't sustain that for 26.2 (yet).
Luckily I found TP about a mile back on the road after I got the car. Poor thing! We came back to my house and hit the ice. That's a weird sadistic pleasure of runners after long runs. The recovery from this run took a lot out of me for the rest of the day. I was pretty pooped. But it was a good feeling - such a sense of accomplishment and pride.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tempo Time
Today will be the second "official" run in my training. I intended to get it out of the way this morning before my tennis date, however, that didn't happen. Since it's a tempo run today I am planing on doing it on the TM. I made the mistake of sitting on the couch after my tennis this morning - I haven't moved and I attacked the jar of honey peanut butter. Arg. It will get done at some point today, that I know for sure.
Tomorrow is the first long run. I'm a little nervous about it since it's a 10-miler. I'll be doing it with my running partner (RP) who I'm running the marathon with. That'll be good. Our long run strategy is a warm-up, run at a 9:33 pace (it'll probably end up being faster), and we're going to incorporate a 9 minute run, 1 minute walk strategy. It'll be good to take the mental break.
We already have our post-run treat planned - Chocolate Soy Banana Smoothies!
Wish us luck!
Tomorrow is the first long run. I'm a little nervous about it since it's a 10-miler. I'll be doing it with my running partner (RP) who I'm running the marathon with. That'll be good. Our long run strategy is a warm-up, run at a 9:33 pace (it'll probably end up being faster), and we're going to incorporate a 9 minute run, 1 minute walk strategy. It'll be good to take the mental break.
We already have our post-run treat planned - Chocolate Soy Banana Smoothies!
Wish us luck!
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